Snow in Atlanta

Yes, there is. You just have to know where to look, and despite waking up the last several mornings to temperatures in the low teens, the snow isn't on my lawn--it's at Snow Mountain located in Stone Mountain Park (aka "Redneck Mount Rushmore").

We visited a week ago Sunday, and the girls and I had a great time. Surprisingly, the place wasn't overcrowded, and our 5 hour visit was the perfect amount of time for the kids to play, sled, build a snow fort, throw a few snowballs, enjoy smores, and even take the Summit Skyride to the top of Stone Mountain (free with cost of admission to Snow Mountain). Tickets were $25 each, but pick up a coupon good for $2 off each ticket from Kroger.

Never thought I would see the day...

I'm 39, and in my lifetime I never thought I would live to see this day. It is a day in which I had the privilege of voting for a man who was raised by a single mother from Wichita, Kansas, and whose father was from Kenya, as a candidate for President of the United States. I have faith our next President will end the war in Iraq, invest in American infrastructure, and restore America's standing in the world. My selection of Barack Obama for President gives me hope that my daughters will grow up in a renewed, openly diverse country with opportunities I never imagined.

Regardless who you voted for, here is a bit of levity:

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor.

Free 10-year Term Life Insurance

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance is giving away $1 billion worth of life insurance coverage in 2008. Through a program called LifeBridge, MassMutual is offering a free $50,000 term life insurance policy (10-year term) for those individuals who are:

- age 19-42
- parent or legal guardian of a dependent child under the age of 18
- permanent, legal resident of the U.S.
- employed full or part time with annual family income between $10,000 and $40,000 per year
- in good health (as determined by their underwriting guidelines)

Only one policy per household is allowed. Death benefits are paid into a trust for the educational benefit of the insured's children.

A FAQ on this program is available by clicking here, and the LifeBridge eligibility form is here.

For those living in metro Atlanta, MassMutual will be taking applications in person on September 28 between 10am and 2pm at the Ben Hill United Methodist Church in Atlanta.

Green lodging in Georgia

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Arthur Frommer has nothing on me. There are few destinations where people can travel, stay at a beautiful mountain retreat, enjoy a hearty family-style dinner and breakfast, and do so for less than $90. The Len Foote Hike Inn is an hour and a half drive from downtown Atlanta and located in the Amicalola Falls State Park. There is also a 5-mile hike to get to the Hike Inn--there are no roads leading to this property. And they ask that guests bring no cell phones, pagers, or radios... so I'm guessing that also excludes my Blackberry and iPod.

The Hike Inn is the first lodging property in the country to receive the Gold Level Certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for an Existing Building (Gold LEED - EB) by the United States Green Building Council. Given its remote location, the Hike Inn is all about conservation, from the composting toilets and solar panels to its policy of "pack it in, pack it out" since there are no trash cans at the Hike Inn!

This weekend will be my first stay at the Hike Inn, and I have but one concern: my 4 1/2 year old daughter I'm taking with me. I'm scheduling two hours for the 5-mile hike and am planning on packing as light as possible in the event I have to carry her on my shoulders part of the way. Once we get there, I know she'll have a blast. Each of the 20 guest rooms have bunk beds, and she's already claimed the top bunk.

Become a Friend of the Hike Inn for just $15, and you'll recoup this fee through the end of August as the Hike Inn is running a 30% discount for members. Other benefits of joining Friends of the Hike Inn are discounts on merchandise (only available at the Hike Inn) as well as the ability to serve as a volunteer at the Hike Inn.

Mid-year review

This entry is more for me than anyone who stumbles upon it, as I wanted to do a mid-year review of some life resolutions which will some day become habit. I'd give myself an arbitrary grade of B-, as good progress has been made in some areas while others are untouched. Below is each area with its respective grade:

- Pare down: F. I'm preparing for an October and November barrage of eBay activity, but that doesn't help in the interim.

- Make running a habit: A. The real evidence is that when I pack running gear on a business trip, it gets used; I now run at least twice a week and more if the schedule allows. I've shed over 15 pounds and moved from "Overweight" to "In Normal Range" according to the WHO and CDC, which defines overweight as having a body-mass-index/BMI of 25 or more. A good BMI calculator can be found here.

- Travel more for leisure: B. Gasoline over $4 a gallon doesn't help, but we've been on three trips so far this year with a big vacation scheduled in early December.

- Reduce exposure to media/news: B. I'm a political news junkie, but you won't find me at a methadone clinic as long as I can get my fix of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report.

- Invest more in community: D. It's not what I originally had in mind, but right now this investment in community is through time and money directed at helping to get Senator Obama elected President.

- Manage ADHD rather than having it manage me: A. Just after the first of the year I switched from Dexedrine to Vyvanse, and it's much more effective with zero side effects.

- Simplify investments: B. I'm down to just four individual stocks considered long-term holds (DIS, MRK, SHPGY, and MSFT). All other holdings are in the form of exchange-traded funds. Unfortunately I'm still down 14% since the first of the year compared to a 12.7% decline in the Dow Jones and a 13% decline in the S&P 500. Fortunately the rental properties are all occupied and throwing off good cash flow.

Summer garden

Last year's garden was a success in that we had a good supply of tomatoes for salsa, and the peppers did finally deliver even though they weren't receiving enough sun. Despite the garden's southern exposure, I underestimated the amount of shade from trees on a neighbor's property from mid to late afternoon, not optimal for a vegetable garden.

So last summer I didn't lay sod on a plot of land in the northeast corner of the yard during the backyard renovation in order to dedicate this area as the new garden location. Since last summer I've spent countless hours digging out rocks/boulders and tilling in compost to prepare the soil. Late last month my wife and the girls planted 10 tomato plants, 15 strawberry plants, and assorted herbs and flowers from seed. The seeds have sprouted, and the garden is on its way to producing!

Vacation locally

My wife just enjoyed a well-deserved long weekend in New York away from the family for the first time in 4 1/2 years (since my girls were born), which meant I had sole responsibility for the first time as well. The full-time parenting I was prepared for... what I feared was having to do their hair for the first time!

The girls and I kicked around the idea of going out of town for the weekend, but circumstances led us to stay close to home. We definitely wanted to get away, though. So we decided to book a hotel room in downtown Atlanta for the weekend and take a vacation in our home town. It was a great solution, despite the street closures from the tornado that struck downtown Atlanta a week ago (note photo taken on Saturday: the Omni Hotel's new tower on the left is open while their older tower in the center is closed).

We had a very full weekend and with the exception of the Georgia Aquarium, visited the main tourist destinations: Zoo Atlanta, Centennial Olympic Park--the Children's Playground was a hit, and the World of Coca Cola. We walked and used MARTA rail to get around downtown, and riding MARTA made me wish Cobb County wasn't so ignorant as to not support a regional light-rail transit system. Perhaps that will change with gas approaching $3.50 a gallon, since years of poor air quality have not.

Stretching The Budget: To save on admission to the World of Coca Cola, show your MARTA Breeze card for $2 off each ticket. For other fun things to see and do in Atlanta, visit Viator and enter "FABSAV" (without quotes) as the promotion code for a 7% savings. I'm giving my wife an Atlanta Segway Tour as part of her birthday gift. To keep the hotel cost down, go through Ebates for a 2% rebate and then book the room through Hotwire. Lastly, to save on parking (my hotel charged $18 a day for self-park), consider parking at one of MARTA's stations with long-term secured parking for as little as $4 per day.

Soap box warning... If Atlanta wishes to ever become a major tourist destination, it needs its tourist attractions to be open during minor holidays such as Easter. Both the World of Coca Cola as well as Imagine It!: The Children's Museum of Atlanta were closed last Sunday. I understand the desire to allow employees to be with family on Easter, but you don't find Disneyworld closed on Easter (nor any other day of the year).

Living green

Having traveled for work each week since the start of the year, I've been on a lot of planes. That bothers me, and not for the obvious reason that I don't like to be away from the family, but I know that air travel is the largest component of my carbon footprint.

A Carbon Footprint is a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide. I'm not a rabid tree-hugger, but I do want to live responsibly and leave the earth in good shape for my kids after I turn into compost.

The first step in trying to live green is to know how well (or poorly) you're doing right now. There are numerous calculators to help you determine your carbon footprint, and they vary wildly. On an annual basis, Climatecrisis.net calculated my footprint to be 5.7 tons of CO2, Conservation International pegged my output at 7.9 tons of CO2, GE said I produced 5.76 tons of CO2, and CarbonFootprint.com calculated my output of CO2 to be 7.758 tons. So which is it? I think GE is probably closest as they asked more in-depth questions about how I live. According to GE, the average American is responsible for 9.96 tons of CO2 emissions per year.

So great--I'm below average. But the above calculations excluded my air transportation. Add those in, and I'm an abuser of the planet. Climatecrisis.net now has me at 16.2 tCO2, Conservation International shows I produce 27.6 tCO2, GE reflects 13.52 tCO2, and CarbonFootprint.com calculates my annual CO2 output at 24.766 tons.

Until my employer offers me the ability to pay for (and expense!) carbon offset credits from a company like TerraPass, Carbonfund, LiveNeutral, or NativeEnergy, I'll continue to work to reduce my carbon output from other activities. Click here for some simple steps to help reduce your carbon footprint.

Let it snow!

Just a few weeks ago, Atlanta was surprised with several inches of snow--twice within the span of a week. The first snowfall was gone within 24 hours, but the second stayed on the ground several days.

On the evening of the first snowfall I fashioned a toboggan out of cardboard, rope, and duct tape. It worked well enough, but I longed for one of the plastic discs from when I was a kid. When it snowed 3" just days later, I began my quest for a pair of snow saucers for my girls, and there was no use looking in Atlanta as they won't be found.

This past week I found myself in a pair of cities with lots of cold weather and even more snow--St. Louis and Grand Rapids. Fortunately I was in-and-out of St. Louis, but during my visit to Grand Rapids I stopped by Meijer where they were beginning to close out their winter merchandise despite getting about 4" of snow the day before I arrived. I purchased exactly what I was looking for--a pair of foam snow saucers, which attracted plenty of unwanted attention from the TSA (Thousands Standing Around) going through airport security on my way back to Atlanta. Until the next snowfall the saucers will add a splash of color to my garage wall, so let it snow!

Life resolutions starting now

No New Year's resolutions for me. I'm not interested in being part of the majority who commits to a new way of life, only to fail. If I'm going to commit to change, I want it to stick. So below are several commitments I've made to myself that my friends and family are welcome to hold me accountable to. And perhaps it's just a symantics game, but I'm not calling these New Year's resolutions, they're life resolutions.

- Pare down. If 2007 was the year to de-clutter, it was just a start. I'm committed to eliminating physical clutter and unnecessary material items which only lead to mental clutter.

- Make running a habit. Since Thanksgiving I've added an extra 15 pounds, and that needs to go permanently.

- Travel more for leisure.

- Reduce my exposure to media/news, more mental clutter.

- Invest more in my community. I need to practice what I preach to my girls.

- Manage my ADHD rather than having it manage me. Two years ago I switched from Adderall to Dexedrine, and while effective, Dexedrine just isn't working as well as Adderall XR did.

- Simplify my investments. For me this means moving cash investments from individual stocks to index funds. This will help avoid mistakes like NovaStar, down 97% over the last 2 years, despite its hefty dividend (recently discontinued). I'd rather have base hits than strike out swinging for the home runs.

Bobby Flay for Christmas

I'm not sure if this will become a Christmas tradition, but yesterday I decided to trash the kitchen and spend a few hours preparing something other than our usual Christmas dinner of king crab. Having always enjoyed barbecue ribs but never having cooked them, I watched my share of the Food Network in preparation for this holiday feast.

I settled upon four dishes to cook: ribs, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and asparagus. The one underrated skill in cooking a meal like this is time/project management. I settled upon four recipes that weren't too complicated which offered good guidance on prep and cooking time. The wine pairing was a Shiraz.

The first recipe is from Guy Fieri, and it's Johnny Garlic's Famous Garlic and Rosemary Mashed potatoes. Should you try this recipe, double the listed cooking time. This was the only item that wasn't ready on time, and I didn't find any reason for them to be famous.

The other three recipes were from Bobby Flay: Ribs with Chipotle-Molasses barbecue sauce, Grilled Asparagus Wrapped in Proscuitto with Shaved Pecorino Romano Cheese, and Grilled Corn on the Cob with Garlic Butter, Fresh Lime, and Queso Fresco. Each of these were fantastic--especially the ribs. Fortunately I have another rack and enough barbecue sauce left over to make another tasty dinner this week!

For the record, my wife gave dinner an "A" for taste with a "C" for presentation, mostly because I didn't have time to clean the kitchen before sitting down for dinner.

Tracking Santa

NORAD's Santa Tracker has upgraded its technology this year, with webcams and aerial video of Santa and his sleigh as well as a Santa-tracker using Google Earth. Finally... government money well-spent!

Those wanting to speak with a member of the NORAD Santa Tracking team can call toll free: 1 (877) Hi NORAD or 1 (877) 446-6723.

It's time for Mrs. Claus and I to get to work assembling Santa's gifts for our girls. Merry Christmas!

No more camping for awhile

I had my reservation booked weeks in advance, and on our day to pitch the tent, conditions were perfect--no rain in the forecast and daytime temperatures in the low 70's with evening temps in the 40's.

So a couple of weeks ago we drove up to Red Top Mountain State Park late in the afternoon and checked in at the lodge. Despite being nearly full, we were able to get a campsite with a fantastic view of Lake Allatoona. The view is much different than normal, however, as the lake is incredibly low.

Grilled hotdogs over an open fire were on the menu for dinner followed by smores for dessert. Sleep came early as we had big plans for the next day. I had a new gas stove to cook scrambled eggs & bacon on, and what is fall camping without hot chocolate? After breakfast we were then going to go on a nature hike, but first we needed a good night's sleep.

By the light of a full moon, we all trecked up to the bathrooms to brush our teeth and then climbed into our cozy sleeping beds. Everyone slowly dozed off to sleep... except for me. I heard the fall leaves rustling in the trees as the wind blew across the lake. I heard the crunch of fellow campers walking along the crushed rock path next to our campsite. I heard the metal zipper in the corner of the tent tapping against the metal teeth. I heard the polyester tent whipping in the wind. And I heard the owl, which couldn't have been but 50 feet from our tent, hooting throughout the night. The hours passed slowly: 10:00pm, 11:00pm, midnight, 1:00am, 2:00am...

And then around 2:30am, my youngest daughter stood up in her pack-and-play. We got her back down, but then my oldest declared that she wasn't tired at 3:00am. "Close your eyes and go to sleep," was our retort. By 3:30am, I had a full mutiny on my hands. After consultation with my wife, whose idea of 'roughing it' is staying in a Holiday Inn, I asked, "Who wants to go home?" It was unanimous, except for me. I wasn't about to pack up camp in the middle of the night and wake up other campers. So I loaded the family into the minivan, and they left for home. I then had the good fortune of falling to sleep and not waking up until my wife called at 10:30!

I did get to cook that breakfast and drink hot chocolate, albeit alone. I packed up the gear, and was especially careful in folding up the tent, knowing it will be several years before I try to push camping on the family again.

Life lesson from a last lecture

If you had an opportunity to give one final speech, one last chance to be heard, what would you talk about? For Carnegie Mellon University professor Dr. Randy Pausch, that question wasn't a hypothetical. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, this husband and father of three children (ages 5, 2, and 1), has only a few months to live. Last week he delivered his final lecture entitled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." It's well worth watching (but be forewarned: the video runs an hour 30).

If it seems like something is missing at the end, it is. Click here (Windows Media Player will open) and "fast-forward" to 01:25 in this other video to see the awards and honors presented to Dr. Pausch.

Update 2/22/08: Palliative chemotherapy is working, and Randy Pausch is still alive and healthy.

Update 7/25/08: Randy Pausch died today at the age of 47. He is survived by his wife, Jai, and children, Dylan, 6, Logan, 3, and Chloe, 2. Donations can be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, or to Carnegie Mellon's Randy Pausch Memorial Fund, which supports the university's continued work on the Alice project.

Life-changing events

I can count on one hand the number of events that I find simultaneously scary as well as thrilling. All of these impose great change, and without exception are life-altering. In my experience, most of these turn out to be overwhelmingly positive while the risk of heartbreak always exists. My family is possibly in the early stages of such an event, and we're doing everything we can to prepare. I was recently reminded of a quote by Churchill which I find all-too fitting, however, "Planning is essential, but plans are useless."

I promise to share more when it becomes appropriate.

Never forgetting

I was waiting in the carpool line to drop off my oldest daughter at preschool this morning when it hit me... today is 9/11, it's a Tuesday just as it was 6 years ago, and the time was 8:55am which was after the first and before the second plane struck the World Trade Center towers. Of course I'll never forget where I was on that date: home and safe along with my wife, who was home sick. Were it not for a late cancellation of a meeting, I would have been in a plane bound for San Francisco along with two other coworkers from the east coast. And were it not for that late cancellation, one of them would be dead. My friend and coworker in New York had a confirmed seat on United Airlines Flight 93.

My daughter wanted to know why Daddy was crying, and I did my best to explain what happened 6 years ago in language that a preschooler would understand. I'm sure I failed miserably. When she's old enough, I'll introduce her to The September 11 Digital Archive, Here is New York, or the New York State Museum's digital history of 9/11 entitled, "The World Trade Center - Rescue, Recovery, Response."

Backyard living is great!

After taking a six month hiatus from our last North Point Community Group, we joined a new group earlier this year. It was a horrible experience. Barely a month after meeting weekly, two couples quit, and the group leader asked the remaining couples to "hold tight". A month later he sent out an email letting us know he too was quitting and advised us to find a new group. We won't be joining another one anytime soon as we've found a more productive use of that time--every Sunday afternoon a babysitter arrives and my wife and I enjoy three uninterrupted hours of peace.

Yesterday we traveled to our new Atlanta IKEA to do some shopping, and in addition to a bookcase and some plastic dinnerware, we came away with a great find--a children's picnic table for $30. My oldest daughter (3 1/2) and I put it together last night in less than 10 minutes. It's perfect and saved us over $70 vs. others we were considering.

This morning the same daughter got up, put her clothes on, went downstairs, climbed onto the counter in the kitchen to grab the new dinnerware, and set the table on our back patio before coming back upstairs to wake us. She is so excited about her new backyard and really wanted us to join her for breakfast on the patio! After a quick shower and clothes, we did just that.

The weekend was spent working on assembling the playground... and I'm guessing it'll be Wednesday night before it's done.

Garden update

It's been three months since planting, and we've already made our first batch of salsa with tomatoes from the garden. Unfortunately the peppers aren't getting enough sun and the sunflowers were devoured by birds.

The tomato plants look like they'll keep producing for a good month, and the Sugar Baby watermelons are coming along just fine.

Visit Amusement Parks for FREE!

There are numerous scam "mystery shopping" websites, but I wanted to highlight one that is completely legit: Amusement Advantage. Should you choose to apply, be sure and have 25-30 minutes available to register.

I live in Atlanta, and they currently have 5 open assignments (opportunities for prospective mystery shoppers) for Six Flags over Georgia, two for weekdays and three for weekends, as well as 3 weekend assignments for Zoo Atlanta.

The requirements of an assignment as well as the payment varies, but don't expect to quit your day job to become a mystery shopper.

Out of Pocket Cost
For the Six Flags assignment, the shopper is required to: purchase at least one ticket at the ticket booth, buy a prepared food item at a food location, pay to play an employee serviced game, and make a purchase at a gift shop. Here is my "back of the envelope" calculation of the minimum cost for a family of four (two adults & two children--a 4-year old and the other child under 2): $10 parking + a children's ticket is $29.99 + $3 tax (no fee for children < 2) + $30 for food + $5 for the game + $5 for a gift shop purchase ~ $83.

Shopping Requirements
The assignment requires the shopper to have a digital camera and spend 5-6 hours at the park. In addition to the above tasks, the shopper also needs to take 10-15 pictures of employees without name tags as well as any conditions that warrant a picture (such as overflowing trash cans, etc.). After the visit, the shopper will need to upload the photos and complete a 10-12 page evaluation that will take 2-3 hours to complete. Receipts for the ticket booth, food service, and retail purchase will also need to be submitted.

Pay
In return for completing the assignment, the shopper will receive 2 tickets to Six Flags before the "shop" and 2 tickets after. Amusement Advantage indicates that these 4 tickets are worth $175.96, but you can buy tickets online for $39.99 each + $3 charge for "Print-n-go" = $162.96.

I look at mystery shopping as a way to offset some of the cost of visiting an entertainment venue that I already plan on visiting. Should you choose to become a mystery shopper, don't forget to look at other states for assignments before leaving on an out-of-state vacation!

Camping trial run

Camping in the back yard before venturing away from home was a brilliant idea, and we decided that Saturday was as good a night as any. The tent was raised with ease, and I'm even more happy with the purchase than when I clicked "buy".

My toddler and preschool-age daughters had a late nap in anticipation of a late evening. We gathered up sticks and started a fire in an outdoor metal fire-pit. Once the fire was red hot, the butter-laden and foil-wrapped corn on the cobb was left in the fire for 15 minutes to cook. Hot dogs grilled over the fire rounded out the nutritious backyard dinner.

By the time we finished the first two courses, the sun had set and the mosquitoes were finishing their own feeding (of us). We put my youngest in her pack-and-play, and closed off her "room" of the tent. She didn't like the distractions we provided and let us know with her crying, so she got half the tent.

To round out the camping culinary experience, the rest of us cooked marshmallows & made smores.

Next up was the true test of whether we'd be able to go camping anytime soon... bedtime for our 3 1/2 year old. She was going to sleep in an all-in-one Dora sleeping bag/inflatable mattress while my wife and I were on a queen size inflatable mattress with a cotton blanket to help wick away the sweat; even laying on top of the sleeping bag was too hot. How could I forget to mention the temperature was 86 degrees with absolutely no breeze?

Other environmental factors not boding well for a good night camping included a bright spotlight on a neighbor's house behind us as well as what sounded like an outdoor party at another house in the neighborhood behind us.

Once settled into the tent, I told a couple of camp stories, and my wife and I read several books before officially declaring it bedtime. We stared out the open top (we didn't have the canopy over the tent since there was 0% chance of rain) and saw the moon, a few stars, but mostly we just saw airplanes. This peace was interrupted with, "I need to go potty."

Since I was closest to the tent exit, I climbed out, put my shoes on, and carried her into the house to do her business. This scenario was repeated several more times within a 45 minute period. Once back in the tent, she was too excited to go to sleep. She wanted to lay on the tent floor rather than her sleeping bag/mattress. Then she wanted to sleep on Mommy and Daddy's mattress. Then she wanted to talk about the stars. Everyone was hot, and it was pretty obvious that only my youngest was going to get any meaningful sleep unless something happened. And at 11:21pm Saturday night, it did. Without a complaint, we all decided to head to our cozy beds and air conditioned house.

October sounds like a great month to try this again!