July 26, 2008

Blue Saturday

A long-time friend passed away recently and is being buried today after a lengthy struggle and it is a total drag. The shocker of it all is that when I last spoke with her (two weeks or so ago,) she was looking as though her recovery was on track.

I feel terrible that I am unable to attend the funeral because of prior commitments. It is not so much for me as for her family members. My thoughts are with them as they go through a very tough time.

The lone consolation is that she was not in peace for the past year or so and finally can rest peacefully. I will miss her.

Posted by CDogg at 10:11 AM | Comments (0)

June 15, 2008

I think she misses Tony and Julie

Well, going on three weeks ago, Ginger came to stay with us while Julie and Tony jetted over to Hawaii. We have really enjoyed having her here but I think she is starting to miss her family.

Feeling guilty yet Tony? :)

Posted by CDogg at 04:46 PM | Comments (0)

May 30, 2008

Ginger is visiting again

When I ran over to Houston the other night, Tony D swung by the house and said his tearful goodbyes. Not to me... to his dog, Ginger. Tony and Julie are headed to Hawaii for a couple weeks and that means Ginger is coming to visit Lou and I.

Ginger has been here for two days now and wasted no time in starting her vacation.

I was instructed to wear Hawaiian shirts so that Ginger wouldn't feel bad about being left out of the island-hopping. Instead, I told Tony I would invite Dave over... he has the wardrobe already. :)

Posted by CDogg at 09:23 PM | Comments (1)

April 07, 2008

A little deep for this early in the morning

I am having a crisis of faith in my fellow man and was hoping you folks could give me a little feedback.

Is everyone truly out for themselves? Does anyone do things because it's the right thing to do anymore? Did they ever? Sure, you don't rob liquor stores (or do you? haha) but do you choose not to because its the right thing to do, or because the consequences to you in breaking that law are painful? When no one is around do you drop a gum wrapper on the ground? Is it because you think that polluting the environment is wrong or because you'd hate to be seen littering (social stigma) or tickets (financial consequences?)

The reason I ask is because I am get fed up with people who tell me they want to help me. We have all seen this... people who jump at the opportunity to help out when they have something to gain... but are no where to be found if they don't benefit.

What is human nature? Are we good or are we selfish? Is life a struggle to get ahead no matter who you have to step on, or is doing good good enough?

Will you comment here to add to the discussion and assist myself and others in analyzing one of life's biggest mysteries? Or instead - will you comment so you can look smart? Or worse - not comment at all because there is nothing in it for you?

Posted by CDogg at 07:38 AM | Comments (5)

March 26, 2008

Man of steel

I had to snap a picture the other evening. It was a cool night (the kind I love and Ron hates) and we were sitting out on the balcony of Saltgrass Steakhouse in San Marcos. Because Ron always gets what Ron wants, he made his point about his dislike for the temperature. He looks so pathetic, that I told him I'd go inside if I could snap a pic of him first.

Posted by CDogg at 05:31 PM | Comments (0)

March 10, 2008

Finally, some more culture

This past weekend was once again filled with miles and miles behind the wheel, but it was all in the cause of good times. I drove to Victoria Friday to visit my mom (and nephew, Blake.) I spent the night there and then in the morning, Mom and I headed back to San Marcos. I showed her around San Marvelous and then Saturday night took the short drive over to Lockhart, Texas to attend the Gaslight-Baker Theatre production of "Last of the Red Hot Lovers." It was one of the few Neil Simon plays I had never seen.

The production was excellent. I really like the theatre, it is just like the old one in Victoria, but much nicer inside. The cast did a very good job and as is usual with Simon's work, the audience was rolling in the aisles.

I haven't been to live theater for quite some time (over a year) and it was good to watch some with my mom again. Going to plays with my mom is always a treat not only because we have similar tastes in productions, but because it is "our thing" - something that have done for years.

Sunday, we got up and I drove her back to Victoria and then once again hopped right back in the car for San Marcos. I will be heading to Houston late Tuesday night or early Wednesday so that I can catch up on things there and attend the Southland Conference Basketball Tournament in Katy.

Posted by CDogg at 10:37 AM | Comments (0)

January 30, 2008

Aubrey and his little black baby

I've always thought this was one of the best ideas ever - sending teenagers home with an electronic baby that needs to be rocked, burped, and cared for all hours of the day and night. The idea is that if teens can see how much work a baby is, they will think twice about having sex. Whether or not it deters premarital sex, I think it does encourage things like condom use... these little suckers are a lot of work.

Despite Ron and I wanting to make some baby kung-fu videos for YouTube and teasing Aubrey mercilessly about his newborn, he seemed to be adapting well to the job. He complained constantly about what a pain it was rocking the thing to sleep. He tried again and again to get his mom, Machel, to take over for awhile. In the end though, he got the thing to fall asleep and headed off to bed. I am sure it will wake him up during the night and his frustration level will rise. Hopefully, he will take away something valuable from the experience.

I think the resemblance is pretty uncanny. :)

Posted by CDogg at 11:02 PM | Comments (0)

January 14, 2008

Pics from the BDay party

Saturday I headed over to Mike & Julie's place for Bradley's birthday party. While there, I took a few shots.

Mmmm... birthday cupcakes.

With cupcake mustache in place, its time to open presents.

After the kids went home, Mike broke out his LOST board game. Allison was having a good time.

This game seems like it could be fun, but it really had nothing to do with the show LOST and we had to consult the rules way too often.

It was good to see Donald Hoffer (Dr. Don) again - he is another friend I have had since junior high.

The game lasted a little longer than I prefer, but like I said, it was fun. (The beer didn't hurt, either)

Posted by CDogg at 07:54 PM | Comments (0)

December 29, 2007

Tailgating - Texas Bowl style

I promise to upload more photos eventually, but for now I just wanted to drop one in quick.

"Mighty" Mike Wright, Ron "The Eagle" Oswalt, "Terrific" Tony Vasquez, and "The Bandit" Chris Doelle. A good chunk of the Lone Star Gridiron broadcasting crew were on hand for the 2007 Texas Bowl featuring the TCU Horned Frogs vs. the Houston Cougars. The game was a nail-biter and a good time was had by all.

Posted by CDogg at 05:17 PM | Comments (0)

December 24, 2007

Christmas

It is a tradition in our family to do our Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve. It works out well in that we can have all the in-laws and extended families at my Mom's house and then they can all enjoy their own family celebration Christmas morning.

For that reason, I am sending my holiday wishes now because for me, it's Christmas.

Merry Christmas!!!

Posted by CDogg at 11:15 AM | Comments (2)

December 10, 2007

Good times

Coach and I watched Jerry Springer at the Oswalt's last night...

...Ron and Machel watched too. Actually Coach wasn't paying any attention at all.

Posted by CDogg at 04:58 PM | Comments (0)

November 28, 2007

HUG COUNT

Alright, I am less than a week away from being one full month into the hug experiment. The good news is that my "hugs per week" (HPW) has really improved recently. In about a weeks time, I more than doubled the number of hugs that I had gotten during the first couple of weeks.

What I have learned here so far is that my hugs come from an interesting mix of people - friends, clients, even people I just met. The only area that is still pretty hug-free is family. Like I said, "we're just not a hugging family."

When you see me - you know what to do. :)

Posted by CDogg at 08:11 AM | Comments (0)

November 22, 2007

Happy Turkey Day

Just got back from my daytrip down to the country for Thanksgiving with the family. The crew all met at Tim's house, ate too much food, and just generally exercised the gift of gab.

Brian tooled around on his motorcycle...

Kaitlyn and Reagan took turns swinging from a low hanging vine (it finally broke on Scoot)...

As we went to get the golf cart out to take a ride up the road, the horses came over to check in....

Da' Boys (Tom, me, Tim) in a rare group photo...

Aside from the great food and hanging with family, the country is just a cool place to be... where else can you see a doe grazing 20 yards from the front door?

I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving - I know I did.

Posted by CDogg at 07:17 PM | Comments (0)

November 19, 2007

HUG COUNT

In a November 3rd podcast I wondered aloud how long it would take me to receive 100 hugs. I guessed it would be quite some time because I come from a non-hugging family. Periodically, I am updating the hug count here.

Six hugs in just over two weeks - that means about 3 a week. At this pace we are looking at a year. Get used to seeing the graphic above - or if it is getting on your nerves, hug me and it will go away faster - haha.

Posted by CDogg at 08:06 PM | Comments (0)

November 12, 2007

Cool birthday gift

I just got the coolest birthday gift...

That's right - a bunch of embroidered shirts with the Lone Star Gridiron logo. Thanks Ron - you can bet they will get a lot of use during the football playoffs.

Posted by CDogg at 04:11 PM | Comments (0)

November 10, 2007

Happy day in more ways than one

For a couple of my friends (you know who you are) today is a happy day for a couple of different reasons. Enjoy.

Posted by CDogg at 11:08 PM | Comments (0)

October 29, 2007

Busy weekend

The weekend kicked off with a trip to "The Rig" in Pearland for a football game between the Pearland Oiler vs the Alvin Yellowjackets.

Saturday morning began with the game between the Cinco Ranch Cougars and the Katy Tigers. It was carried on Fox Sports Net with KPRC Channel 2's Randy McIlvoy providing the coverage. I grabbed a quick interview with him before kickoff.

Later Saturday, me, Tony D, J-Ron, Machal, Aubrey, and Hayden all headed out to Krystal Burger because they were giving away two free burgers to each customer.

Ron enjoying his Krystal

Before Krystal, we swung by IKEA so I could pickup the chair I have been wanting. I sat in the same chair when I was staying at Michael's in New Jersey and decided that I liked it better than what I was using.

Lou seems to agree.

Sunday has been all about putting together podcasts and frankly, at 2am - I think I am going to put the wraps on things for now and call it a weekend.

Posted by CDogg at 12:35 AM | Comments (0)

October 10, 2007

Looking good, son.

I promise I will explain in an upcoming podcast, but I wanted to post a pic of "my son" Aubrey playing football this week for Labay Middle School. (The rumor mill has just kicked into high gear ...."psst, did you know Chris had a son?" "Yeah I saw it on his blog." "Yeah, I heard he has little C-Doggs in four different states!") haha.

Now THAT looks like a quarterback to me! We even had a bonding moment this week when we changed a flat tire together. Good times - daddy's proud. :)

Posted by CDogg at 01:45 PM | Comments (3)

October 09, 2007

My first couch surfer

I have been meaning to try out couch surfing for quite a while now, but all of my travels the past few months included hotels paid for by someone else. The whole idea is to crash at someone's house who is registered at CouchSurfing.com as having an available couch (or guest room etc.) Millions of couches around the world sit empty each night and traveling is much more fun when you don't give your money to a hotel chain. The bonus is that you get to meet people who live in the area you are visiting - people who are likely friendly and outgoing folks. I mean, if you didn't like people, you wouldn't list your couch.

Well, rather than me trying it out at a stranger's house, I got a last minute request by Chad to stay at my house (I gave him the guest room). He is a young (mid 20's) traveler on his way down the Eastern seaboard of Mexico. He intends to surf couches the entire way and discover whatever adventures pop up. I think this is his third trip out of the country via the kindness of strangers as he "discovers who he is as a person." I agree that this kind of travel education is invaluable and if you are smart person who knows how to avoid trouble, I think it is a very safe way to travel.

He showed up last night beat from driving all day and I found him very friendly. After he showered and ate (he packs his own food) we chatted for a bit about his travels and he hit the sack. As of this writing he is still crashed out but I expect he will be waking soon. His next stop is Corpus Christi where he has another couch arranged and then it is on to Mexico.

As the letters on my refrigerator spell out, my first encounter with a couch surfer was not at all unpleasant. I gave up a room that was empty for the night, made an interesting acquaintance and expect to hear more from his travels. Plus, I have a new listener to the podcast and convert to podcasting in general. I gave him a thumbdrive with myPodder software installed so that he can now grab new podcasts anywhere he can get WiFi.

Posted by CDogg at 09:19 AM | Comments (1)

October 06, 2007

Congrats Matt

Big ups to my nephew Matt Anderson who plays football for my high school Alma Mater, the Industrial Cobras. He made the front page of the Victoria Advocate sports section with his performance Friday night against Halletsville. Matt is shown making a tackle here.

Matt has been a standout on defense since he moved to the district and they are finally starting to take advantage of his talent on the offensive side of the ball. If Industrial would do anything other than run the ball straight up the middle every play, they might have a playoff team, but it appears that they will come up short of that goal this year. Matt is just a sophomore this season, so maybe the coach will get brave next year and open up the offense a bit. Way to go Matt!

Posted by CDogg at 10:59 PM | Comments (0)

September 22, 2007

Ginger drops by again

Once again Ginger's family has taken a trip so she gets to come stay with Lou and I. As usual, Tony was running behind when he dropped her off.

Bundled down with all Ginger's stuff, he asked "I can make it back by 9:30 right?" It was 9:24 and he was referring to getting back home to pick up Julie at their house 20 minutes away.

He may not be much on time management, but he takes good care of his Ginger.

She wasted no time in jumping in the recliner.

Posted by CDogg at 05:05 PM | Comments (1)

September 17, 2007

Down but not out

During my Sunday visit to the dog park with Lou, I noticed that my head was feeling a little stuffed up... I thought nothing of it and went on with my day. While prepping for the PMC Top 10, my head started to hurt so I decided to take a quick break. I slept for about an hour.

After getting the PMC Top 10 compiled and starting to work on the script, I saw it was about time to head out to Houston Roller Derby. I had told Kymberlie McGuire and my friend Tony D. that I was going and figured maybe I would feel better after.

This league skates on a flat track as opposed to the banked one you might have seen on the A&E show, Rollergirls. It was my first time to attend and although the matches were a lot of fun, the venue left a lot to be desired. The floor seating was not very comfortable and the lighting was horrible. You could only see the far side of the track in full light because of the configuration. By the second match, Tony and I moved up the balcony where the lighting was better and the seats more comfortable. If it hadn't been for my then-pounding headache, we would have stayed, but left after two matches.

I came home, blew off the PMC, went to bed and crashed until about 7:30 this morning.

The good news is that I am staying in bed most of the day (this is only the third time I got out of bed to read email, twitter, post in the blog etc.) I will have this thing licked by tomorrow morning and back to my candle-at-both-ends, eighteen-hour workdays in no time.

Posted by CDogg at 02:21 PM | Comments (0)

September 15, 2007

A linebacker in the making

While picking up Mike to cover the Ft. Bend Clements vs. Ft. Bend Hightower game, I got to say "hi" to "baby B." It won't be long before we'll be at "his" games.

I don't know if it's the black that make me look slimmer or Mike's magical photo taking abilities - but I almost look like I'm in shape there. :)

Posted by CDogg at 07:50 PM | Comments (0)

Busy day full of highlights

The day started off with a bunch of work and took a turn for the enjoyable around midday. On the way to the Houston twitter meetup group, I swung by First Community Credit Union to meet with Ron and Hayden. The bank was having a "fun fair" or "kids day" or some such marketing title. The event featured pony rides, facepainting, free popcorn, cokes, a clown with balloons, a dunk booth, music, a bunch of cars for sale (I guess they need a business purpose stuck in there somewhere,) and even a camel.

There is some serious lack of trust shown here - Hayden in the camel, and my cloven friend in the guy taking the photo. Good times.

Then it was off to the twitter meetup at Star Pizza on Washington. There were about 10 people in attendance and even though I've forgotten most of the names already, there were some old faces and new ones. Here are a couple that I have known online only and finally met in person.

Laurie, my "stalker," and "Kimberly" - if that is her real name. :)

It was great to finally mesh the online version of them with real people. More good times.

Posted by CDogg at 03:21 PM | Comments (4)

August 27, 2007

The feud comes to blows?

Rumors of a feud between myself and Dwight Silverman have floated around for the past couple of years. It all seemed to start after Dwight blogged about a post I made back in July of 2005. (The podcast covering the tiff.) Since that time, I have had many readers and listeners assume we are bitter enemies.

Well, BarCamp Houston II was an opportunity to clear the air - or was it?

The story I heard was that I had a little too much to drink - threw a drink on Dwight and he responded with a verbal assault.

Then, I punched him in the face as onlookers rushed to pry us apart.

Or it could all just be another sordid rumor combined with some poorly staged photos - I'll never tell. :)

Posted by CDogg at 12:20 PM | Comments (3)

August 26, 2007

For Dave

Kick this thing in the butt, the fans need their Anti-host.

Posted by CDogg at 09:20 AM | Comments (0)

August 25, 2007

Happiness is a "bug-eyed" contest

Another nice night with the Oswalts:

Gas to get over there - a couple pennies (its not far)
Grilled burger - free (they bought the meal)
BBQ chips - free (see above)
Something cold to drink - free (ditto)
Hanging with good people - free
Having a bug-eyed photo to take home - PRICELESS

Life really doesn't take Mastercard.

Posted by CDogg at 07:29 AM | Comments (0)

August 22, 2007

How do you stay friends and co-workers for 20 years?

I have known Davad Sneed for right at twenty years and through that time we have always gotten along. Actually, it's more than just getting along - he often refers to it as sharing a brain. I think it started with D&D at college (yeah, we spent more hours rolling dice that attending class,) but we quickly discovered we both loved basketball and played almost every day for up to four hours at a time (yeah, the waistline looked a lot better then.)

While cleaning my house, I found some old VHS tapes of some games we shot sometime around 1996 or 97. I uploaded to YouTube a sequence of a five shot hit streak we made enroute to one of our many driveway victories. Not only was it fun to watch the game from the standpoint of the slimmer waistlines - it brought to mind that connection we have always had as friends. I took some screen shots with my camera so forgive the resolution, but this excerpt shows a loose ball that I grabbed, whipped a behind-the-back-pass to Dave, who tossed it up and in. There was no talk, not even a glance at each other - it was all a matter of Dave knowing what I would do, me knowing what he would do and trusting that the other wouldn't let you down.

I was grinning ear-to-ear while watching this. If you want to see it with some actual motion, here is the YouTube link.

Posted by CDogg at 05:20 PM | Comments (0)

August 04, 2007

How to unwind from a very busy week

After another week of burning the candle at both ends AND the middle, it was good to take a few hours off and head over to J-Ron's house for beers and burgers.

Their dog Coach was a big hit and probably enjoyed the evening as much as anyone.

Coach is definitely a momma's boy - when Machel even looks his way he responds immediately.

Contrary to how it looks, even J-Ron gets mucho love from Coach.

Hayden took a break from playing with his Hot Wheels to pose for the camera.

Posted by CDogg at 08:35 AM | Comments (0)

July 08, 2007

J-Ron and Leelee

I just got back from dinner with the J-Ron family and I have to stand by my assertion that I am going to steal his wife Machel. Everything she cooked was amazing and the sausage that Ron grilled wasn't even burned. (I doubt the leftovers she gave me will last until lunch tomorrow... midnight snack, here I come.)

After whupping Ron's butt at Arena Football 2: Road to Glory, and being equally whupped by Hayden at a Nascar game, we were treated to chocolate pie and television. The pie was so good that I hardly noticed the TV was on the Lifetime network... until Leelee Sobieski showed up. What a perfect way to top off an excellent afternoon, sweets with a sweetie. She, like chocolate pie, has always been one of my guilty pleasures.

Good people, good food, good times!

Posted by CDogg at 07:41 PM | Comments (0)

July 04, 2007

Happy Birthday America

Here's to everyone have a great 4th of July holiday!!

Posted by CDogg at 01:15 PM | Comments (0)

July 03, 2007

Update on the water at (in) Mom's house

Yep... the water continued to rise and as of right now it is chest deep in the kitchen. Uggghhh.

Posted by CDogg at 01:21 PM | Comments (2)

July 02, 2007

How high's the water Momma?

I just got back in town from a quick trip down to Inez to deliver Scooter home and to see if I could help out with the preparations for flooding. Yes, all that horrendous rain we have been having in the Houston area is a bit worse 100 miles to the south.

This shot was taken just a few feet off my mom's driveway. My brother Tim (behind me) setup a stick as a water gauge and we were checking to see how fast things were rising.

The good news is that the rate of rise is slowing as the rains have stopped, the bad news is that the water is about 40 feet above normal levels, the ground is soaked from weeks of rain, and the forecast predicts two more weeks of the wet stuff.

Posted by CDogg at 09:27 AM | Comments (0)

June 11, 2007

Hey

How's it going? Just thought I'd ask.

Posted by CDogg at 11:07 PM | Comments (8)

May 19, 2007

Great way to kickoff the festivities

How do you kick off a Podcamp? With a night of ribald songs and waaay too many shots. We downed "Mind Erasers," "Buttery Nipples," "Lemon Drops," and a few that I can't remember. The night started at the Naked Iguana and moved over to Durty Nellie's where the piano dude entertained us with everything from horrible disco tunes to bawdy drinking songs.

The night ended at just after 2AM and we walked backed to the hotel - just two blocks away. I will try to remember all the details for my next podcast... for now, it is time to sleep as Podcamp kicks off bright and early in just a few hours.

Posted by CDogg at 02:17 AM | Comments (0)

May 14, 2007

On the road again

On the way to Mom's house the entire road was closed. (They can do that on those lonely stretches of country road.) It struck me as odd that the flag woman was uber-hot. The whole scene was a little surreal.

I am in town because my mom has been having some balance and falling-down issues and I just wanted to be around as we find out what is going on. I am updating the blog from the waiting room while she visits her doctor. Hopefully, it is something minor.

Posted by CDogg at 02:40 PM | Comments (1)

May 13, 2007

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my mom... the best mother ever! She has been a great influence in all that I do. She has been a guiding force in what is "right" and "good." She has been a source of comedy and joy. She has been a calming force in turbulent times. She will always hold the title of "Worlds Best Mom," and I love her.

Posted by CDogg at 06:24 AM | Comments (0)

May 10, 2007

You know what they say about good help

Tony came by today because we are working on a couple projects together and of course, when he comes over, so does Ginger. The two of them are hard at work.

Actually Tony was a lot of help as usual, he just takes full advantage of idle time. Ginger also did a fine job in her role of looking cute.

Posted by CDogg at 06:41 PM | Comments (0)

May 07, 2007

Tony broke my couch

Now, I am not going to cast aspersions at my fellow Monster of the Midsection by saying he needs to lose some weight (or did I just do that?) but my couch now sits alone on the curb waiting for the garbage men.

It served me well for many years, it held the asses of friend and foe alike, it never complained as the surface area covered by said asses continued to expand. That came to a metal-twisting end yesterday as several springs just could no longer bear the load.

It is just another sad end in a long line of couch deaths. Okay, the line isn't that long, but the deaths are sure memorable. My last sofa died a fiery death and it was on that fateful night that I learned a valuable lesson about falling asleep with candles burning.

You see, I woke to the most horrendous smell and a strange glow in the room. With my feet tucked up in a fetal position, I had been sleeping on the opposite end of a couch that now featured jets of flame roughly four feet high. (Thank goodness for long couches)

I lept from the non-burning end, ran to the sink, tore off my shirt, doused it in water, and proceeded to fight the flames. It took awhile but I finally won the battle.

That was the first time I made that lonely couch-drag to the side of the road. This one wasn't nearly as traumatic, but it certainly brought back a lot of memories.

Posted by CDogg at 09:03 AM | Comments (2)

April 25, 2007

And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down...

I should be heading to Houston's Intercontinental Airport (IAH) right now, but I sit in a holding pattern at my desk. Why the delay? A little thing called Mother Nature.

It's really amazing to think about how the natural ebb and flow of the planet can throw a monkey wrench into the plans "of mice and men." In the old days, it would mean maybe having to harvest early or plant late, but as we continue to develop our "society," the disruption becomes larger and affects more people.

I am delayed because my sister, flying in from Raleigh, is sitting on a tarmac waiting to take off. My sister is delayed because the airline (America West) has been told they cannot head to Houston right now. America West is delayed because IAH is not allowing planes to land during the bad weather. As Houston is a hub for air travel from all over the country and the world, planes from all airlines are circling the airport or sitting on runways worldwide waiting for the weather to clear. Even if cleared up in the next hour or so, the delay will domino through 100's of scheduled flights until they steal back enough time to get back on track.

It all comes full circle as I am sitting in the weather that is delaying people across the planet.

Oh yeah, and the most important delay of all - Lou is waiting patiently for the weather to clear so we can go on our morning walk.

Posted by CDogg at 07:46 AM | Comments (0)

April 05, 2007

Noice

I got a call last night, about 10:30 or so, from the neighbor. This is a kid I have literally watched grow from diapers into a giant high schooler (6'3" or better and built like a linebacker.) You know what they say about the bigger they are...

...yeah, that is his Ford 4x4 sitting in a huge hole - wheels up. This is no small vehicle, I think its a Bronco or something and it has a lift kit and the monster tires. When he parks next to his parent's Explorer, it dwarfs the thing.

I am still unsure as to how he managed to get the thing upside down in a hole and worse... how he is going to get it out. My Ford Focus really isn't up to the task of pulling him out.

Jeff, take some shots today in the light so we can see all the gory details.

EDIT: As Russell pointed out in the comments, I forgot to mention that everyone is okay.

Here are the daylight photos

Posted by CDogg at 06:41 AM | Comments (4)

March 31, 2007

RWTWD salutes "The Mescan"

I have to take a second and, in the name of international relations, thank my good friend "The Mescan" for his assistance this past week. No, the Mescan is not from Mexico... he's actually a German-born American that has been a good friend since my early college days. I said international relations - not US/Mexico relations.

That aside, he was extremely helpful this past week as he took time out of his schedule to come help me organize some part of my life in preparation for adding some new duties. The trip doubled as a fact-finding mission for him because toward the end of May, he will likely be moving to Houston.

He will be looking for employment and let me say, friendship aside, you will not find a harder working, more honest person. He has a background in the home medical field, but will fit in well in any job that allows him to help people. If you'd like his resume, let me know.

He made his first appearance in the RWTWD back in '04 as the Best Costume Ever. (he's the one that isn't a psychotic dictator)

Posted by CDogg at 04:54 PM | Comments (1)

March 16, 2007

Good news and bad news

As Lou and I embarked on our walk this morning, a car pulled up and the driver said, "Hey, how are you doing?" (or something like that) The problem was that the morning sun was blinding me and I really couldn't make out the face. I headed over and saw that it was DJ and Romeo. It was just over a year ago that we met because Romeo got out of his fence. It was great to see both of them again.

The bad news is that Romeo has a bum leg. Back in December (or was it January?) they were in a car wreck and the impact paralyzed his right front leg. It sounds like it is going to be removed soon. :( He seems to be taking it quite well (as dogs do when faced with injury - we could learn a lot from them) and will probably do even better without the leg hanging.

We decided to get Lou and Romeo together for a play date way back when we first met, and never have. We are going to try again to make that happen.

Posted by CDogg at 07:47 AM | Comments (0)

March 05, 2007

Surrounded by greatness

Everywhere I look one of my friends is getting some sort of publicity... it appears I am surrounded by famous people.

My long-time friend from Victoria, Tony Vasquez was in the local paper handing out an award for the women's bowling champion. (He is the one on the left.)

You'll remember him from many appearances here on the blog - most notably his Kim Jong-Il costume for Halloween.

Another good friend, Ruben Gonzalez recently got some slightly more impressive pub. He was featured in the new issue of SUCCESS magazine.

Ruben is a former Olympian turned motivational speaker. Ruben's story is one of inspiration and motivation as he chronicles his journey to unlikely three-time Olympian. I have had the pleasure of knowing him as a friend as well as in business and am alway happy to hear people talking about him... albeit never surprised.

These are two of the nicest guys on the planet - kudos guys.

Posted by CDogg at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)

January 21, 2007

The Game is Afoot

Mike and I went to a Houston Social Gamesters event last night and had a great time. I have been a member of the group for about three years now and no matter how inclement the weather or how far I have to go, I faithfully attend about once a year :) (they meet monthly and sometimes even more frequently so that tells you how bad I am when it comes to attendance.) I never fail to have a great time when I do make it out for a night of competition, strategy, good times, and of course... food.

The event was in the Sugarland/Richmond area and ran from 6PM to about 1AM and I think there were right at 20 people in attendance. Everyone brought something to eat and it was arranged on various counters - potluck style. After the eats, at least five tables filled with games and gamers. The first one I sat down to play was Escape from Atlantis. While it looked like a kiddy game, the playing pieces were deceiving as it was a pretty strategic game of kill or be killed. After that I moved to a different table for another game I had never heard of - Domaine. It too was a blast and involved an even higher level of strategy.

I think Mike had a good time and despite the fact that he didn't get to play Age of Mythology (which he brought with,) it looks like he might be up for coming back to another one.

I have to thank Denise and everyone at Gamesters for their patience in allowing me to fit my attendance into a pretty tight schedule... it is great when a free day coincides with one of their events.

Posted by CDogg at 05:32 PM | Comments (0)

January 11, 2007

Miss Manners, he ain't

I am sitting outside a CVS Pharmacy where I have sat for the past 65 minutes. Why am I here? Because my friend is very inconsiderate. We went to dinner and as I was taking him back to his house, he asked if I would drop by so he could print out some pictures using the automatic machine. I agreed and we headed over. After a few minutes of being bored watching him thumb through his memory card thumbnails, I opted to go out in the car and watch the video iPod. I watched EVERYTHING on the damn thing.

I called him from the parking lot at 40 minutes and said, "You have passed the length of common courtesy. Its been 40 minutes already." He said it would be just a little longer. Steamed, I went back to listening to podcasts. He called at 56 minutes and said, "I'm printing them out now." Holy crap! I asked how many and he said some ungodly amount like 150 or so. I informed him that I thought it incredibly rude to turn a "quick stop" into such a long trip. His response was, "I thought you were going to print them with me." What can you say to that? haha I hung up.

The store is now closed, he is still inside printing and I am venting. It wouldn't be so bad if this wasn't the same friend that spends an awful lot of time pointing out flaws in all of my other friends. Telling me things like, "you should just wash your hands of them." I am not going to name his name, he knows who he is... I just think its pretty crappy to be so self-absorbed and inconsiderate of other people's time. It doesn't matter that all I wanted to do was go home and relax with my dog... he took that option away. Actually, I could have just left him... his is only about ten blocks from his house... but I am a good friend.

If it weren't for electronics... the iPod and my laptop... I might not be so accomodating. (PS. He finally came out after an hour and 23 minutes)

Posted by CDogg at 10:16 PM | Comments (1)

November 16, 2006

Pics from NC

Some quick pics from North Carolina

I was heading out to shoot some pics for and got a little silly in the mirror.

Lou and Nick fighting over his stuffed puppy (which Lou got from my mom about a year ago, and is still his favorite toy.)

That, my friend, is excellent ice cream cake.

Posted by CDogg at 05:48 AM | Comments (0)

August 12, 2006

Shots from a week ago

Tony V. was in town last weekend and we did some things around downtown. I was surprised to discover something else I never knew existed in Houston. Apparently, George Bush (the good one) has a monument... now, we are not talking the likes of Washington, Jefferson, or Lincoln... but it does actually say it is a monument. Is it just me, or shouldn't a monument be a little more monumental?

Its nice and all... but a monument?

Its a very nice little park, George cuts a fine figure next to Tony...

... and his view certainly is nice.

I am not really ripping on the thing... its a very cool little piece of Houston, I just thought they should have called it a park or something a little less... well... you know.

Posted by CDogg at 10:16 AM | Comments (0)

June 25, 2006

Something fishy here...

I still want to know how it was that Mike made such a good looking kid... I mean, I can see it from his wife, Julie... but Mike?

At least he's bringing him up right - with the silver and blue!

Posted by CDogg at 09:09 PM | Comments (3)

June 02, 2006

EJ may have just made an enemy

As you know, I am watching Tony's dog, Ginger. Well, when EJ came over the other day he was rattling on about something and paying no attention to Lou and Ginger sniffing at his feet for attention. He went on and on about whatever and finally sat down. By this time, Lou had went over to me and laid under my desk. Ginger was still at his feet looking up at him.

Apparently, EJ had not even registered that a second dog was down there and assumed it was Lou all the while. When he finally quit talking, he reached down to pet Lou and exclaimed, "Holy CRAP! What happened to you buddy?" He thought Lou had gained a lot of weight, got a different haircut and shrunk a couple inches.

After I clued him in that it was Ginger and not Lou, he started referring to her are "Bizarro Lou." I am pretty sure that is not going to sit well with Tony and Julie, but it is kinda funny.

Here's Lou:

...and Ginger (Bizarro Lou):

Posted by CDogg at 09:14 AM | Comments (1)

May 24, 2006

They say its your birthday...

Best wishes on your special day, Laura!

Posted by CDogg at 08:26 AM | Comments (2)

May 14, 2006

To Mom

Happy Mothers Day, MOM!

You are the greatest* mom in the whole world.

(A painting I did for Mom in 2001 - acrylic on canvas)

* not an exaggeration

Posted by CDogg at 08:59 AM | Comments (9)

April 13, 2006

Results of the trial

Ooops... I addressed what happened in my court appearance on the podcast, but failed to put it up here for those of you who just read the site.

Bottom line - everything was cancelled and my friend is getting some sort of a settlement deal and there will be no trial or prison time. Again, after it is finalized, I will give the details, they point out some interesting weaknesses in the legal system.

Posted by CDogg at 05:24 PM | Comments (0)

April 09, 2006

I'm going to court

Well, without giving too much away about the case and the friend that is involved, I thought I would let you know that I am heading to criminal court Monday or Tuesday. A friend has been charged with a crime and I am going to be a witness for the defense. It will be my job to convince the jury that the friend is not a criminal and that he should not be going to jail.

I am all for punishment when someone does something wrong, but not unless it is deserved. I met with the lawyer Saturday to go over the basic information of the case and will be "on call" to take the stand.

I thought about bringing in the audio recorder and making a podcast out of it, but figured that it probably would not help the friend if I caused a big commotion in the courtroom when they discover I am recording the proceeding. I will give you more details after the case is resolved.

Finally, all those years of watching court dramas is about to pay off!

Posted by CDogg at 09:25 PM | Comments (1)

January 12, 2006

Pics from the trip

Well, the flickr site has a bunch of pics from the PodcasterCon2006, but I thought I would put a couple here as well.

Okay, they are not really from the con, but they are from the trip.

Nick tearing it up on the motorcycle. (It was the only time he would let me take a photo)

Big Head Fred (Buck) and Lou walked Cheyenne around the beach.

Posted by CDogg at 04:23 PM | Comments (0)

January 09, 2006

Congratulations Mighty Mike!

Well, its official... the end of days is near - as is evident by the fact that Mike Wright has bred. Not only has he bred, but he has shocked the world by doing it with a real live female... his wife, Julie.

A huge congratulations is in order as Bradly Ray Wright made his arrival January 9th at 1:09am. Both Mom and baby are doing great. Brad was 7 lbs 14 ozs and 20.75 inches long. Way to go!

Now get that boy a football and a Cowboy's shirt so we can start training him right!

Posted by CDogg at 09:52 PM | Comments (0)

January 06, 2006

70 - From Texas to North Carolina at 1300 mph!!

#70 - Join C-Dogg and Lou as they drive cross country enjoying the sights and sounds of our nation. That's right - a 1,300 mille trip in one hour!!

(Time: 54:49)

Lou waiting patiently for his Hardee's meal!

PodAsia
podcast411
On a Podcast - Cruisebox
Geocaching
History According to Bob
IMAO Podcast
Jawbone

Posted by CDogg at 08:25 AM | Comments (0)

December 08, 2005

63 - Update on travel plans for 2006 and Nardo's big day

#63 - A quick mention on the progress of A Podcast Christmas Carol, travel plans for 2006 and Nardo the Nardless.

(Time: 14:18)

More Than Seventeen - Adrina Thorpe

Posted by CDogg at 07:54 PM | Comments (1)

October 31, 2005

Weekend Update

Yet another busy weekend... if you listened to my Saturday podcast, you know about the fall I took in the garage Friday or the return to basketball stardom. Let me pick it up from that point.

After I put the podcast to bed, I waited around a bit for Tony and Allison to arrive from Victoria. They were going to his sister's party Saturday and came in early to hang with me. When they showed up, we all went in the backyard, kicked back in the cool weather with a nice fire burning and chilled while listening to some music. I think we finally went to bed around 3AM.

Saturday, started off with some computer work until my guests woke up. We then headed out for a breakfast buffet courtesy of Tone. We pigged out pretty good and then headed to store to get some Halloween makeup. Once home, we watched a little TV and talked about what we wanted to do. It was decided that we would take Lou for a walk.

Allison walked Lou while Tony and I strolled along behind. We headed all around the neighborhood and back into the woods by the bayou. As you can see from the photo, Lou was none too pleased with the large Frankenstein we found along the way - he growled, barked, rutted up the ground, and generally protected us. It was a good walk after our large breakfast. Allison and I did some video karaoke while Tony checked his email etc. and then we watched some more TV until it was time for them to get dressed for their costume party.

I put on Tony's face - as he was wearing cloak ala the Grim Reaper. The design was best described as a "creepy dead guy." They headed off to the party and I put together the PMC Top10 for this week. That podcast is exploding in listenership and despite getting a few critical emails, I think it is going very well.

Sunday, I woke up and was inspired to change the PMC Top10 logo - I like the new one a heck of a lot better. EJ kept calling and wanting me to help him trim the bushes at his folk's house, but I put him off while I worked. Then, I went out and trimmed my own bushes while Lou ran on the lead in the front yard. EJ & I headed to the library to return some stuff and after a couple side trips returned to trim his parent's shrubs. We then went for a bike ride around the 'hood before calling it a night.

I got an email from iSportsCaster asking me to be one of the podcasters for the NFL teams. After telling them I didn't audition (in my best - I'm a big podcasting star - attitude,) I was signed up to do the weekly Dallas Cowboys report. It was something we were looking at doing on Lone Star Gridiron anyway - expand into other areas of Texas football, so it seemed like a good time. I put together the first Lone Star Gridiron Cowboys Cast and posted it to both sites. Both sites are looking for a Houston Texans reporter too if you are interested!

There you have it - another weekend without much down time. It's good to get back to work. :)

Posted by CDogg at 09:27 AM | Comments (1)

September 30, 2005

Chill Cast #1 - Lou and I kick back in the backyard with a cool drink and ramble

#46 - The first ever Chill Cast. The wind played havoc with the microphone, but there is nothing like hanging out in the cool air with a cool drink, a cool dog, and mindless rambling.

(Time: 43:12)

My backyard
My sunflowers
Sparrow Beach
Serenity
World of Warcraft
Roger Miller - Jason Fleming
Roger Miller - Engine, Engine, Number Nine

NOTICE!!!!
Please add this podcast to your favorites at the Pickle! You only need to do it one time - no monthly voting - just once!!!

I have a special favor to ask... Show #50 is coming up and I would love to get some audio feedback about the first 49. Please, please, please send your audio files to cdoelle@gmail.com or call the voicemail line 206-202-3644.

Intro and outtro music is I'm on Board by The Ride Theory.

Posted by CDogg at 09:46 AM | Comments (0)

September 17, 2005

Lou and Nardo, a sad tale, and TONS of movie PREview reviews!

#41 - Podcast supply running low, Lou and Nardo getting along fine, a sad tale, tons of movie preview reviews!

(Time: 32:03)

Lou and Nardo taking a break...

Lone Star Gridiron
The Zone Read
World of Warcraft

Podcasts I am digging
PodCheck Review
Earthcore
The Big Show

Movie Review
Lord of War

PREview Reviews
Waiting
Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Flightplan
Pride & Prejudice
Elizabethtown
V for Vendetta
Chronicles of Narnia
Rize
Domino
21 Grams
The Weather Man
Fun with Dick and Jane
Oliver Twist
Corpse Bride
Legend of Zorro
Desperado
2046
Murderball
Two for the Money
Shopgirl
Aeon Flux
Saw II
The Fog
The Constant Gardener
DOOM
Cars
Chicken Little
In Her Shoes
Ice Age 2
Walk the Line
Jarhead
Cry Wolf
Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang
Serenity
Firefly

Intro and outtro music is I'm on Board by The Ride Theory.

I want to thank all the listeners for tuning in - the growth has been amazing and I really appreciate the feedback. If you have a comment on anything you have read on the blog or heard on the podcast, take a second to call 206-202-3644 and leave your audio feedback. The line is setup to record your audio and email the .WAV file to me... anytime day or night - drop me a line or leave a voicemail.

Posted by CDogg at 09:37 PM | Comments (1)

September 12, 2005

039 - Props, best wishes, good tunes and saving the planet all in one episode!

Its catch-up time and time for me to hand out some props, some get-well wishes, a criticism and yes - I even saved the planet this weekend. Oh yeah - some great tunes too!

(Time: 21:14)

Fosco & Jack's Kickass Podcast
Skepticality
FTL
Jawbone Radio
K9Cast
Digital Flotsam
Lone Star Gridiron
Houston MetBlogs
This Week in Houston
S.W.A.M.P.
Cafe Artiste
Blind Willie Johnson-If I Had My Way I'd Tear The Building Down (1927)
Warren Zevon-Mohammed's Radio (1986 Tralfamadore Cafe - New York)

Intro and outtro music is I'm on Board by The Ride Theory.

Posted by CDogg at 11:49 AM | Comments (2)

August 29, 2005

Wayback - January 2, 1989

First entry of the new year! Well, I've been to see Dawn every night for the past five days. Don't freak out - theres nothing romantic going on... she is happy with her friend Brad - in fact, she's in Corpus Christi visiting him which probably explains why I found the time to write.

My foot injury flared up - it developed an abcess and just as I thought it was getting better, it swelled up and started hurting. This morning I went in to see Dr. Ted and get it fixed. It was his day off and he saw me anyway. (He is a good friend of my dad.) He cut it open and squeezed all the puss and blood out. It hurt like #@*!! Right now its 9:30PM and it hurts like hell. I haven't been able to bicycle or play basketball in several days.

I also lost my voice yesterday. I don't feel bad, but I can't talk very good.

In the sports world - #1 Notre Dame deated #3 West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl total to capture the National Championship. UCLA defeated Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl. UCLA's quarterback Troy Aikman is likely to be the number one draft choice of the Dallas Cowboys - but I think if Steve Walsh decided to quit college ball early, he would be a good choice.

Well, I guess that's all for now and until next time, may all your jumpers hit nothing but the bottom of the net.

PS. In reading back, I realized that I didn't explain the foot injury - back on the 20th, I stepped on a toothpick which went into my foot about an inch. It was right on the ball of the foot making walking impossible. It got better and a couple of days ago, it started to swell so I had to get it cut open today.

Another interesting post... I spent an awful lot of time that Christmas break writing about Dawn even though we had been broken up for a very long time at that point. Reading the post also caused me to reflect on the fact that my dad, his friend Dr. Ted and Notre Dame's football program are now dead. The post also points to conclusive evidence of what I call my greatest sports prognostication flub ever... I was in the Steve Walsh camp and thought that Aikman would not develop into a long-term pro QB. Oh well.

Posted by CDogg at 02:36 PM | Comments (0)

August 28, 2005

036 - Logan stops by and we talk about the hole in his head, lightning storms, Florida's weirdness and more!

A long-time friend drops by for the show, he chooses a new name for security reasons and we rap about all manner of strange things.

(Time: 23:57)

Sound Scientist by bill

Intro and outtro music is I'm on Board by The Ride Theory.

Posted by CDogg at 05:43 PM | Comments (0)

August 24, 2005

Busy, busy week

How many times have I used that title for a blog entry? It seems like every week is a busy, busy, week - but this time... it is super busy. We have been doing a corporate video shoot all week and will continue that this afternoon. Monday, I went for the tech setup and check - it was supposed to be from about 10am to 11am... I was there until around 9pm! Let's just say that some of the other folks involved in the production were a little behind in their setup.

Yesterday was a fun day... in a hectic sorta way. We did a three camera shoot that was projected live to large video screens and recorded. It was a five man operation as my brother Tim and nephew Scooter came into town to assist. Dave, Dave, and Tim worked the cameras, Scooter handled gopher duties and I produced the show from backstage. I sat at a panel of three monitors on headsets to the camera crew and called out the shots while assisting the switcher in determining what went on the big screens. In actuality, the camera guys did such a great job that my job was pretty darn easy. I spent more time on the switching that directing the cameras.

Today, we continue the shoot by filming what the client refers to as their "Skit Night." It will again be a three camera shoot, but since it is not being switched or projected live, we will not need to do much in the way of direction. That will free me up to schmooze with the client about things like editing etc.

Thursday will be another long day/night as we will be shooting a party and band... I expect it to wrap around 1AM. It will be followed by a keynote speech Friday morning... and then we will be done. Whew!

Oh yeah - but Saturday, Mike, Scoot and I are getting up early to head to San Antonio as the Lone Star Gridiron podcast will be covering the Texas Classic - the annual kickoff to the high school football season. We will be there for three games so it will be another VERY long day.

Well, gotta run - just thought I would update folks on why I haven't returned calls/emails or posted on the blog.

PS. Oh yeah, I gotta squeeze in two Lone Star Gridiron podcasts, one Riding with the window down... podcast and the latest PMC Top10 Countdown all before I go to sleep Friday. Did I say I was busy? :0

Posted by CDogg at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)

August 10, 2005

Faces of EJ

I was asked by EJ to put some of his pictures and video clips from the accident online so that his folks could check it out.

They are up - but let me warn you that if you are easily grossed out, there is one in particular that you do NOT want to see.

EJ's Wild Ride

Posted by CDogg at 09:15 PM | Comments (0)

August 09, 2005

Grim Reaper: Hey Buddy, don't get too comfy.

Well, death has sent me a reminder of my own mortality recently. It started when a client and friend passed away from cancer recently and nearly continued yesterday when another good friend was in a head-on collision. Many of you know EJ and know that he has been in Florida running his roofing business for the past year.

I got a call from him early yesterday saying that in a couple weeks he would be heading back to Houston for awhile. A few hours later, I got a call from a mutual friend that said EJ was involved in an auto accident. The details were sketchy at best with his condition being described as "serious and okay" in the same sentence. After tracking down his parents and finally erasing all the layers of "he said, she said" stuff - I finally got to talk with EJ.

Apparently, he was a passenger in a pickup without a passenger's side airbag. The head-on collision messed him up pretty good leaving a huge gash across the forehead and several torn ligaments and broken bones in his right hand. He escaped the reaper purely by luck and is now facing countless surgeries by hand specialists and cosmetic surgeons.

Things like this used to roll off me and my "I'm invincible" mentality - but more and more, it makes me sit up and take notice of how short our time in this gig really is.

Posted by CDogg at 08:31 AM | Comments (3)

August 03, 2005

030 - Clean podcasts baby - rant continued - rockin tunes!

WOW! This podcasting thing is getting exciting. I just had to throw a show down because all this stuff was rattling around in my brain. This show features some great songs, talks about CLEAN podcasting, reprises an earlier rant and just has a good time!

(Time: 20:52)
MENTIONED IN THE SHOW
PMC Top10 Countdown
K9Cast
Jawbone
Lone Star Gridiron
Greater Houston Podcasting Association
Houston Chronicle Tech Blog
Bitz of Brin

TUNES
Sick of Chicks - Brother Love (get ya some!)
Lose Control - De La Vega (get ya some!)

Intro and outtro music is I'm on Board by The Ride Theory.

HEY HELP OUT!!
Please take a moment to vote for this podcast at Podcast Alley.

Posted by CDogg at 04:56 PM | Comments (0)

July 24, 2005

023 - Music Man - Lord of the Rings - PMC Top10 and more!

Another soundseeing tour - this time I take my mom and her friend to see the TUTS presentation of The Music Man. We also went to the museum of Natural Science to see the Lord of the Rings exhibit. The show is bookended by two blistering songs by Brother Love.

Theatre Under the Stars
Houston Museum of Natural Science
PMC Top10
Brother Love!
featured songs: Push (buy album), Sick of Chicks (buy album)
(Time: 19:26)

Intro and outtro music is I'm on Board by The Ride Theory.

HEY HELP OUT!!
Please take a moment to vote for this podcast at Podcast Alley.

Posted by CDogg at 09:18 PM | Comments (2)

July 20, 2005

020 - Deep thinking 20th episode

I wax philosophical in my (wow) 20th episode (Time: 16:17)

HEY HELP OUT!!
Please take a moment to vote for this podcast at Podcast Alley.

Posted by CDogg at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)

019 - Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Podcast

A little soundscape featuring one of my favorite musicals - Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. (Time: 18:30)

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (DVD)

HEY HELP OUT!!
Please take a moment to vote for this podcast at Podcast Alley.

Posted by CDogg at 01:22 AM | Comments (0)

July 11, 2005

Bummer News

Dave, Laura - I am sorry to hear about Swee'Pea... it is a very tough thing to go through and I completely understand what you are feeling. If there is anything I can do, let me know.

Posted by CDogg at 05:59 PM | Comments (1)

July 04, 2005

Podcast #012 - 4th of July - Skype - Gamesters etc.

A ton of stuff going on with this podcast (Time: 17:56)

* An update on the Tour de France after Stage 3
* 4th of July idiocy
* Problems using Skype and Audacity together
* Just started Houston Podcasting
* Look ahead to Stage 4 of the TdF
* Still trying to get listed on iTunes
* Gaming with Houston Social Gamesters
----Snorta (game I couldn't remember)

Please take a moment to vote for this podcast at Podcast Alley.

Posted by CDogg at 09:38 PM | Comments (2)

July 02, 2005

Podcast #011 - Tour de France Stage 1

A recap of Stage 1 of the Tour de France

Please take a moment to vote for this podcast at Podcast Alley.

Posted by CDogg at 08:39 PM | Comments (0)

June 30, 2005

WOW - Now that's some chocolate!

My friend and co-host of Lone Star Gridiron, Mike Wright came by this morning and brought with him some brownies his wife Julie created. When I say created... I mean these things are works of art. WOW! The first thing that caught my attention was how perfect they 'looked.' Yes, they looked perfect - she did some sort of swirl on the top (the fudge covering of the brownie) that looks like something you would find at a 5-star restaurant.

Not to be overshadowed by the appearance was the taste... Jiminy Christmas! These things are soooooo frickin' good. I had two of them and forced myself to walk away and ride my bike. After doing ten miles, I figured I earned another. I just finished it and had to blog. I think I will use them as incentive to exercise... look for my riding mileage to skyrocket as they are worth it!

Julie, all I can say is that you need to quit everything else you are doing and become a chef... I have heard about the brilliant dishes you have created for Mike, but even if you just open a pastry shop - you will make a lot of people very happy! Thanks again and congrats on the bun in the oven too!

Posted by CDogg at 11:03 PM | Comments (1)

June 26, 2005

Another action packed weekend - Day 1

Tony and Allison came into town because Ally is bowling in a youth tournament. It's good to seem them as it has been quite a while.

The day started off with a trip to the dog park when Tony arrived. (Allison came in with her mom so we didn't see them until later in the day.) I didn't take any pictures because I figured I had plenty of recent dog park pics. As it turns out I wish I would have because we met a really cool little dog named Bentley. He was ball of activity and spunk.

After the dog park, we came back to the house and chilled for a bit. Tony and I caught up on "the haps," and then headed over to Katy Mills Mall to find a Dallas Cowboys hitch cover for my nephew, Nick. I still haven't found one. At the mall, we decided to grab a bite. There is something about when Tony and I get together that seems to make us do dumb things... like order an entire pizza at Sbarro's and split it instead of just a slice like normal. We also stopped by the chocolate store and bought a bar of dark chocolate (mmmm.... dark cholocate.)

It was time to head to the bowling alley and watch the tournament. Allison was a ton of fun as usual. We cut up and played around between frames. She did pretty good averaging more in her three games than normal.

It was then back to the house to relax a bit and screw around on the computers. Tony's PC is crashed so he got online and caught up on his email, games etc., while I logged on and played some World of Warcraft (Windrunner server). Time sorta got away from us and next thing we knew it was 10PM. We wanted to go catch Batman Begins so we had to settle for the 11:55 showing.

Before leaving, I let Lou outside to do his business and he got all fired up about something in the bushes. It was pitch black outside so I couldn't see what was up until I ran back in for my little pen flashlight. In the dim beam I spied what appeared to be a cat or maybe a large rat dodging him as he climbed into the shrubbery. When it ran across the path, I spied what looked like a HUGE rat! Being a country boy, I knew exactly what it was - a 'possum!

Lou tracked it down and pounced on it and, as they do when threatened, it rolled over and went rigid. Lou sniffed around and then looked to me as if to say, "see what I got? cool, huh?" I grabbed Lou, put him in the house and grabbed a towel to carry the opossum. It played dead right up until I lifted it by the tail. It then slowly opened its eyes but didn't get too excited as I took it into the front yard to release it. (Access to the bayou is much easier from there.)

With the excitement abated, we went to the movie. I will write up a full review of Batman Begins later, but let me say that it is without a doubt the BEST comic book movie with a DC character ever created. At the theater Tony offered to buy the drinks and proceeded to order us each a large soda. Have you seen these drinks? There must have been a gallon and a half in each one! I think he is trying to kill me... haha.

We made it in around 3:30AM and after being up until 4AM the night before, I was pretty bushed.

1 2

3 4

5

1 - Tone "gettin after it"
2 - Ally scheming
3 - Allison's team
4 - Playin possum
5 - Relocation

Posted by CDogg at 11:43 AM | Comments (0)

June 24, 2005

Doing my part to advance science

Thanks to a link I found on Laanba's blog, I took asurvey being conducted by MIT.

Posted by CDogg at 09:04 PM | Comments (2)

Gauntlet is Laid Down & Tour de 1/10th is on!

Manny has done it - he called me Granny once too often. After outriding me a couple weeks ago, he decided that he earned the right to talk smack. Those of you that know me well know there is nothing I hate worse than a sore-winner. To me, it is the ultimate classless act to rub it in someone's face after you beat them. Sore losers I can abide... their pride is hurt, they are defeated... if they want to throw up an excuse or two - more power to them. I mean afterall, if I just beat you at something, how does it hurt me if you bring up the fact that you have a pulled muscle, skipped your prerace meal, or heck - had your underpants stolen by gnomes throwing you off your game? It doesn't hurt a bit.

I realize that victories for some people are few and far between and the temptation to talk smack (expecially when beating a more skilled competitor) must be great. But come on - do the right thing.

Anyway, Manny bought his bike four months ago and in that time, I rode maybe 3 times while he has been riding regulary. He beat me fair and square with this disparate amount of training, but can he do the same if I have training time? That is the challenge I have placed in front of him. Give me four months of training and lets do it again... then lets see who comes out on top. I realize that I am giving him eight months of training to my four months, but I will take that handicap as I feel my 18,000 miles and 23 years of cycling experience should more than make up for having half the training.

To that end, I am once again attempting to do what I call the Tour de 1/10th. I take the distance of the Tour de France riders each day and do 1/10th of that amount for time. In the past several years I failed to finish until last season where my times put me at 147th place.

This years race:

1 Saturday, July 2 19 km 1.18m
Fromentine > Noirmoutier-en-l'Ile (TT)
2 Sunday, July 3 181.5 km 11.2m
Challans > Les Essarts
3 Monday, July 4 212.5 km 13.2m
La Châtaigneraie > Tours
4 Tuesday, July 5 67.5 km 4.19m
Tours > Blois (team / TT)
5 Wednesday, July 6 183 km 11.4m
Chambord > Montargis
6 Thursday, July 7 199 km 12.3m
Troyes > Nancy
7 Friday, July 8 228.5 km 14.1m
Lunéville > Karlsruhe
8 Saturday, July 9 231.5 km 14.3m
Pforzheim > Gérardmer
9 Sunday, July 10 171 km 10.6m
Gérardmer > Mulhouse
R Monday, July 11
Rest day - Grenoble
10 Tuesday, July 12 192.5 km 11.9m
Grenoble > Courchevel *
11 Wednesday, July 13 173 km 10.7m
Courchevel > Briançon
12 Thursday, July 14 187 km 11.6m
Briançon > Digne-les-Bains
13 Friday, July 15 173.5 km 10.7m
Miramas > Montpellier
14 Saturday, July 16 220.5 km 13.7m
Agde > Ax-3 Domaines *
15 Sunday, July 17 205.5 km 12.7m
Lézat-sur-Lèze > Saint-Lary Soulan (Pla d'Adet) *
R Monday, July 18
Rest day - Pau
16 Tuesday, July 19 180.5 km 11.21m
Mourenx > Pau
17 Wednesday, July 20 239.5 km 14.8m
Pau > Revel
18 Thursday, July 21 189 km 11.7m
Albi > Mende
19 Friday, July 22 153.5 km 9.5m
Issoire > Le Puy-en-Velay
20 Saturday, July 23 55 km 3.4m
Saint-Etienne > Saint-Etienne (TT)
21 Sunday, July 24 144 km 8.9m
Corbeil-Essonnes > Paris Champs-Élysées
TOTAL 3,607 km 224.1m

Posted by CDogg at 09:28 AM | Comments (0)

Lone Star Gridiron Launches!

Chris Doelle & business partner Dave Sneed just launched the Lone Star Gridiron Podcast. LSG is the first and ONLY podcast dedicated to high school football in the Lone Star State - Texas! Every week show hosts Chris Doelle and Mike Wright will highlight the top stories in Texas high school football and give a preview of the best upcoming matches.

Drop by the site, listen in to the first show (the audio is a bit rough while the new studio is being setup) and then tune in each week for the best in Texas high school football. Lone Star Gridiron is also up for consideration for the Podcast Awards and between now and June 30th, it needs all the nominations possible so that it can be considered for the balloting. Please click on the link and nominate Lone Star Gridiron under the sports category.

Posted by CDogg at 08:30 AM | Comments (0)

June 16, 2005

Family Reunion - Day 2

Day two started off early as I awoke about 6:00am and took the bike for a spin around Hot Springs. It was pretty sweet flying through this otherwise traffic-clogged little burg with hardly anyone around. I did meet a cop who informed me that it is illegal to ride on the sidewalks as I cut across in front of the bathhouses. I only did about 8 miles, but they were a far cry from a little jaunt in Houston. The onlyelevation changes in Houston are the overpasses - here, even the areas that look flat are really long slow climbs.

After I got back, I hooked up with the Rich, Andrea and the Doelle clan for breakfast. (Thanks, Rich) We loaded up Julie's Yukon and headed out to Wal-Mart to process the photos from the day before. They planned to surprise everyone by giving out pictures from day 1 during our dinner. With pictures in hand we headed back downtown after only a couple side trips. Tim and I managed to run by and pick up a geocache while Julie and Sandra were doing some shopping.

Back at the hotel, it was time to gather for lunch and despite the good-natured ribbing about ham sandwhiches again, it was nice not to have to go out to eat. The goal of the reunion is to see people you haven't seen in awhile - this allows us more time to hang out and reconnect.

After lunch, several bunches headed out to various activities such as the alligator farm, the winery, the bath houses and more. I used the time to catch up on some business. By the time I was finished, I had scheduled a video shoot and photography session for Saturday as well as a client visit Monday. Dave seemed to have things well in hand despite the fact that he was dealing with a flat tire when I called.

Tim, Sandra and Julie returned from The Winery about that time and invited me to go along as they did some shopping downtown along the strip outside the hotel. As there is nothing I hate more in the world than shopping, I naturaly said "sure" and took off. It was pretty painless and in fact, entertaining.

We got back in time to cool down a bit and change clothes for the evening banquet. The centerpiece was a bunch of flowers surrounded by the framed pictures from day 1. The gang did a smashup job decorating the banquet room with enough candles to qualify as a three-alarm fire. Despite the fire-hazard, they pulled it off well.

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Prior to the actual meal, we held a chinese auction... it was a lot of fun as usual. The meal was another chance to chat with the extended family. After the meal, the kids went swimming and the rest of the gang headed out on the patio to toss back a few and shoot the shizzle. We were regaled with many of the old stories and one or two new ones, but the cool thing was how easily everyone fell back into old comfort levels. A lot of us have not spoken, written, or hardly thought of the others since our last reunion, four years ago, but you couldn't tell it by the cacophony of laughter.

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After awhile, the girls (Andrea and Cheyenne) wanted to go ride go-karts and asked if I would join. One of the above-mentioned old stories by Tim involved me wanting to ride a go-kart just because Troy wanted to... I remember it differently, but in Tim's defense - it did make me want to ride some right then. Richard, Cheyenne, Andrea and I headed off to the go-kart track and had a really good time.

1 - Chinese auction
2 - Chinese auction
3 - Chinese auction
4 - Chinese auction
5 - Chinese auction
6 - Chow time!
7 - Dan & Ann
8 - Rich
9 - Mom & Julie
10 - Mom & Carol
11 - Ann & Dan
12 - Avis, Mom & Carol

The reason we are all here...

Posted by CDogg at 06:33 AM | Comments (0)

June 14, 2005

Family Reunion - Day 1

The day started off a little slow because I had to wait for Shiny to wake up. We finally said our goodbyes to Lou and headed out about 10am. (This will be the longest Lou has been without me since I got him... but I think he will do fine in Dave's hands as they are the best of chums.)

We rolled out of town listening to country music and blathering nonsensically about everything we saw. Somewhere around Nacogdoches, Cheyenne wanted to listen to her Avril Lavigne CD (so she could point out something about one song.) We ended up listening to the same CD OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND... well, you get the idea.

After only one or two harrowing near-misses going down winding mountain roads (she has this annoying habit of pushing my hat over my eyes just as I "really" needed to see,) we made it into Hot Springs.

(As we crossed into Arkansas, we stopped at the welcome center to commemorate the event - then stopping for gas in the midde of nowhere, came across some hillbilly attendants and this archaic pump)

It was good to connect with the part of the family tree that I rarely see. We gathered around and shot the bull for a couple hours while grabbing a snack. After that, the group headed down to the pool area to talk and/or swim. It is from there that I am writing this blog.

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1 - Julie, Madison & Tim
2 - Mike, Hannah, Carol & Madison
3 - Dan & Ann
4 - Ann & Andrea
5 - Troy & family
6 - Me
7 - Avis, Penny, Pam & Steve
8 - Carol & Mike
9 - Cheyenne & Andrea
10 - Sandra & Tim

Posted by CDogg at 09:32 PM | Comments (0)

Shiny Takes Over

Well Hurricane Shiny (my niece) rolled into Houston and proceeded to take over. She agreed to ride with me to Arkansas today so the folks dropped her off yesterday on the way. She waited patiently as I completed all my work-related duties and then unleashed her fury.

Okay, it wasn't really bad - we actually had an excellent evening. First, we went through some photos on my regular and my photo blogs. That got her inspired to shoot something so I handed over the Casio camera and she went to town in the backyard.

After that we went to Chili's for dinner where she proceeded to laugh so much she nearly choked to death. I told her that I am not really sure how to perform that new-fangled hiney-lick maneuver and that seemed to dislodge her chicken chunk.

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1 - Cheyenne stalks the photographic world
2 - I took this shot of her taking a closeup shot of a lizard
3 - She caught a very nice shot of her new buddy - Lou
4 - Shiny was obsessed with trying to get a shot of me with food in my mouth (I will spare you the rest of them)
5 - Shiny learning that you can't eat and laugh at the same time

Posted by CDogg at 07:20 AM | Comments (4)

June 12, 2005

Weekly Dog Park Visit

Once again, the Saturday dog park visit was moved to Sunday. This time Clancy stayed home and Jeff came with Mindy and Kali.

We met a super sweet Great Dane and Kali found some cool brindle Boxers.

On the way home - Lou is tuckered out but still smiling.

I had a yellow lab that kept bringing his retriever dummy toy and dropping it at my feet. I guess I looked like the playful type because sure enough, I picked it up and whipped it off into the water. He would sprint to the pond full blast and then launch himself halfway to it, swim out, nab it, and return it back to my feet. Despite the heat, it was fun as usual.

Posted by CDogg at 12:01 PM | Comments (0)

Is this what facing your mortality is about?

Ever since helping Manny pick out his sweet new Gary Fisher a while back, we have been planning on doing a ride together. Since our ride the day of his purchase, our schedules have never quite matched up. Well, that changed yesterday and we decided to ride Braes Bayou. The problem is that in the three months since he bought the bike, Manny has been riding regularly and I have ridden almost not at all. Note to self: don't do a thirty mile ride into downtown without any training.

I could go on about the various reasons why I didn't perform up-to-snuff, but the bottom line is that I wasn't prepared. I made the mistake of not logging many miles this year. I made the mistake of eating a huge lunch at the halfway points. I made the mistake of choosing the hottest part of the day for riding. I made the mistake of choosing the most open, treeless trails in the city. In short, I made the mistake of thinking that I could approach things like I did when I was much younger.

Oh, I finished it... I am still stubborn enough to ride until I die rather than quit and admit defeat. I have still never "sagged" out of any event without a mechanical failure and wasn't about to start. What I did however, was slow down. Manny was patient with my lameness as somewhere around 4PM and mile 22, I stopped sweating and got a little concerned about heat stroke. I just dropped it down to "old lady" speed and cranked out the last half dozen miles or so at about 8mph.

We stopped at Boone's Cycles near Hermann Park to rest up before lunch. It was evident even at the halfway point, that I wasn't my old cycling self. So what does this mean? Are my cycling days behind me? Have I completely tumbled down the far side of "over the hill?" Hell no! This is just the sort of thing I needed to get me back in the saddle. (And no, I am not mixing metaphors here - I am talking about the bike saddle.) With the Hotter N' Hell behind me, I haven't really had a cycling goal in several years... I am now working on defining a few. I'll check back with you later.

Posted by CDogg at 08:34 AM | Comments (0)

June 09, 2005

Houston Loses a Great Talent

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Michael Gray a couple days ago due to liver failure. I met Mike when he played the lead gangster in our indy film, "It Could Be Worse." Mike has been a stalwart in the Houston acting community for years and in addition to the wide range of local commercials, he has appeared in over eighty stage productions, was a featured character in television's "Walker, Texas Ranger," as well as playing the character Caldwell on each episode of the WB's "Arrest and Trial." You will be missed, Mike.

Posted by CDogg at 08:03 AM | Comments (0)

June 05, 2005

Another weekend gone to the dogs...

Saturday was hotter than all get-out and Dave, Kim and I did the neighborhood garage sale thing. It went pretty well, we all got rid of a lot of junk and put a little jingle in our pockets at the same time. Saturday's garage sale meant that the weekly dog park trip with Lou had to be moved to Sunday. Mindy brought Kali and Clancy along and we made it a neighborhood outing.

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1 - Lou started the day by showing Kali the lay of the land (and water)
2 - Clancy wasted no time in getting into the water
3 - Kali was the popular girl with the numerous Boxers
4 - Lou seemed unimpressed with the paparazzi folling him
5 - Kali was a little unsure about all the new faces
6 - Lou is large and in charge as always (even if he is the only one who knows it)

Posted by CDogg at 09:21 PM | Comments (0)

June 03, 2005

Good food, good company

Last night Alison and I went out to Spaghetti Warehouse for dinner. It was good to connect with her again - she has been off at college and I missed talking to her. I forgot to bring my normal camera, so I had to make do with the one on my phone. The dinner was good, the conversation was lively, and the service was subpar... but two out of three works.

We also swung by Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream on the way home where we ran into the most insane girl working the counter. She did a good job of selling though, as her antics brought in customers left and right. The ice cream indulgence is something I rarely do, but it was a special occasion - well, at least that was my justification.

Posted by CDogg at 08:11 AM | Comments (0)

May 31, 2005

Wayback - December 27, 1988

It's journal time again... its been awhile and I had planned on writing earlier but I don't seem to have the time. I know, I know - just set apart a time everyday to write... easier said than done. I think this entry will try to summarize whats been happening lately.

Right now I am on my way to San Antonio with my brother Tom. I'm back at home (Victoria) because of the Christmas holidays. Christmas is over - it was pretty cool. I got riding shorts and cycling tights from the folks. Tim got me a miniature basketball goal & backboard to put up in my room at college. Tom got me a shirt. The best part about Christmas though was Scooter and Brian (my nephews.) In fact, the best part about coming home was seeing them.

I've called Sandy twice during the break. Both times we had a good talk. I can't wait to get back at college to see her. I sent her a musical teddy bear for Christmas - it plays a little melody when you squeeze the paw. It has like a dozen different Christmas songs - I'm sure she'll like it.

My sister Julie had a baby boy at about 6:30 Christmas morning.

She chose the name Nicholas for him. I was happy because I suggested the name. She said it was between Nicholas and Christopher and when I told her that I like Nick and wouldn't be offended by not naming him Chris, she picked it. I think his middle name is gonna be Bernard. That should make my pops happy. Anyway, she's bringing him home from the hospital today.

I guess I should also mention our little trip to Houston last week. Tuesday the 22nd, Tony Vasquez and I went to visit Mike Wright and to go out dancing. Anyway, we went to a club called Randy's and had a pretty good time. Mike and Tony were pissed at me because I was dancing with the good looking girls and they were just standing around. I met a real nice girl named Barbie. I'm supposed to see her when I go up there again.

Two nights ago, I went to visit Dawn and her family (Christmas night.) Dawn and I had a heart to heart and I can't figure it out but things may be improving between us - maybe she feels threatened by Sandy - maybe she feels that she can be friendlier since I have other romantic interests. .....

..... I had a 2:00 basketball appointment with the missionaries so I took off over there. There were 6 missionaries and they were finishing up a game when I got there. We had seven people so we decided to go 3 on 3 with one person sitting out. After a game, the winning team would stay in and the guy sitting out would play - of the three losers they would shoot free throws to see which two got to play. The first game I was in we lost, but I made my free throws to keep playing.

This new team was the right combination. I started off not shooting too well - I was cold. I hit and 18ft turn-around jumper that ripped the net to end the first game. We won so we kept our team intact. Our one liability on our team was a 5'8" guy who would shoot every time he got the ball. He shot about 15%. My other teammate, Elder Mooy, is about 6' 2" and quick for his size as well as a good shooter. We won 5 straight games and my friend Tony showed up so we went full court 4-on-4... we won both fullcourt games too - I had a blast.

Well, I think I set the one day writing record for this journal - Oh and just a little sports tidbit - my favorite basketball team, the LA Lakers, winners of the last two championships have lost 7 of their last 9 - their worst in ten years... bummer.

Geez, I covered a lot in that entry (and I edited out a ton of stuff.) The biggest bit of news had to be the birth of my nephew Nick... The story of going out dancing with Mike and Tony is funny too - I actually remember that night really well. And what would a journal entry be without some reference to my sports exploits... it was a huge part of my life back then.

Posted by CDogg at 10:24 PM | Comments (2)

Everybodys working for the weekend...

Wow... I have said it many times and it still holds true - I need to get back to the work week just so I can relax. The Memorial Day weekend was a whirlwind of activity.

Saturday morning started off with a fun romp at the dog park with Lou. As usual, he met some new buds and we had a great time - I cannot recommend enough this sort of outing with your pet. After that was the meeting with Sharon, Kelly, Jennifer and Jaclyn - it was cool and it turned into dinner at Sweet Tomatoes. I met up with more of Dave and Sam's family and had a really good time.

Sunday, I got up - took Lou for a walk and started doing housework. I busted on it pretty hard in the morning and then kicked back to catch up on some shows I had TiVo'ed in the past weeks. I fell asleep in the recliner and woke up in time to rush downtown for the Houston Comets game. (see earlier post) It was a blast, but sitting on the basketball court for that long is quite uncomfortable. I got home in time to kick back a little bit before Manny called with an offer I couldn't refuse. He offered to not only pay for my dinner, but to pay for a movie as well. We went to see Layer Cake (post coming soon) and it rocked! It is one of those small English gangster films (ala Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels) and I just love that stuff.

I woke up Monday, watched the final day of the Giro D'Italia. It was great as Paulo Salvodelli took home the first of the three grand tours for Team Discovery. Could this be the year of the sweep for Lance's newly formed team? Last year, US Postal won the Tour de France (Lance Armstrong) and the Tour of Spain (George Hincapie.) The team is the same, just a new sponsor and they have won the first of the three already.

After watching the Giro, I headed up to Conroe to hang with Dave & Sam's gang for the holiday. It was a really good time with great food to boot. I also took the opportunity to introduce the gang to geocaching and it was a hoot. We travelled around the Conroe area in the heat and then the drizzle, with two vehicles and a dozen people and it went well. We found three of the five caches we attempted and everyone seemed to enjoy their unique holiday.

I finally got home a little after midnight and went straight to bed.

And you thought I was joking when I said I needed a break from the weekend.

Posted by CDogg at 02:09 PM | Comments (0)

May 16, 2005

IT'S WORKING!!!

Dave fixed my computer! Dave fixed my computer! BIG thanks to Dave for his help in getting my PC back up and running. As it rose from the dead after three days (hmmm??) I told Dave that the sound of it booting felt like "crawling into a warm bed on a cold night." I think I may be a little too attached to this thing. :) Mental health issues aside... I am grateful to him for getting my addiction back on track.

Posted by CDogg at 03:55 PM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2005

Podcast Episode 4 - Friday the 13th

The latest podcast was recorded over various times on Friday the 13th. It begins with a couple snippets from the filming gig we did and finishes with a rather lengthy discussion with a waitress at Hooters.

With my main computer dead, I had to jump through some pretty major hoops to make this cast happen, but it is finally up. Hopefully, Dave will get me up and running soon on my regular computer.

Please take a moment to vote for this podcast at Podcast Alley.

Posted by CDogg at 11:28 PM | Comments (0)

May 14, 2005

The good, the bad, and the excellent

Friday the 13th, its supposed to be a bad luck day right? NOT! Not when you were born on the Friday the 13th. The day certainly started out on a downer note... we had to cancel our trip to Scarborough Faire because of "family issues." The silver lining to this dark-cloud start to the weekend was that we wouldn't be rushed to head out after working all day Friday and as it turned out, it was a pretty good weekend. (I say that with one day remaining)

Dave, Kim and I went to the Renaissance Hotel for a video shoot... it went really well and looks to be well worth our time as it generated more work. Dave handled most of the shooting while I did my "Hi, how are you?" routine with the clients etc. Kim just generally helped out - she seems to like her new job.

After shooting all day, I kicked back a bit at home before getting a call from Manny about going out to eat. We settled on Hooters because I wanted to interview our waitress for my podcast. As usual, their wings are probably the worst in town, but the view seems to make up for it. I got a lot of audio with our waitress Jessica and should be able to put together an interesting show.

I got home to the first really bad news of the day. A burnt electrical odor overwhelmed me as I walked in - my computer decided that some sort of internal self immolation was in order... apparently passing quietly while I was out. It was late, I was tired and I had to be up at 5:30 AM, so I just went to bed.

This morning, I got up - met a bleary-eyed Kim and we headed off to the 1st Annual Spina Bifida walkathon where we had volunteered to shoot video and create a DVD of the event. Kim was already scheduled to shoot because I figured I would be in Waxahachie today, so I brought Lou. My thinking was that I would be there if she needed anything and Lou would get some more "outside" time which he digs so much.

As it turns out, Lou was the big hit of the walk... we had our own little "Pet Stop" on the side of the paved trail. Each lap, the walkers and their families would stop and pet Lou. If he isn't careful, he might end up an official mascot. The kids in their wheelchairs just flocked all over him and he loved every second.

Expecially touching was the one girl that Lou kissed. A hundred or so people had attempted to get him to lick their faces by making smooching noises - but he wasn't interested. One girl had been leaning in her wheelchair trying to reach him as he was surrounded with fans, but couldn't quite make it over there. She stretched to reach him, calling to her mother quietly, "Look at the dog mom, can I pet the dog?" Her mom was talking to another person and had missed it the first couple times. Lou seemed to sense it and struggled to squeeze past the fans and headed straight over to her. He stood on his hind legs, gently placed a paw on the arm rest of the chair and leaned in to give her a faceful of kisses. It was an instant tear-fest from adults who had watched it play out. The girl loved it - her mom loved it - Lou loved it...

This was definitely not a blown weekend.

Dave came by after we returned to assist me with my dead computer. We picked up a new power supply and attempted to revive it with no luck - so, I thanked him and decided that a weekend without my computer is probably a good thing. Geez - I must be mellowing in my old age.

After a early afternoon nap to recharge, it was time to take Lou to the Millie Bush Bark Park. Two trips for Lou in one day - could this dog be any more spoiled? If he can be, I'll figure out a way to do it. I am trying to make the Saturday dog park a regular thing so that maybe he can see some of the same dogs... this time none of last weeks buds were there. We did meet William a beautiful little Westie (West Highland Terrier)- I am now 100% convinced that Lou has a lot of Westie in him as their faces were nearly identical - albeit cut a little different. Again, I met some nice dog owners whose names I either never bothered to get or forgot. Lou seems to take me right to the nice people each time he arrives. He headed straight to the bench where they sat and made sure we met. He had a ton of fun as usual and is sound asleep under my desk as I type this.

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1 - Lou meeting William the Westie
2 - Lou and Will's parents
3 - Will and Lou agree to share them
4 - Lou with some Schnauzer buds

Posted by CDogg at 08:39 PM | Comments (0)

May 11, 2005

Wayback - November 26, 1988

Well I just rolled back into Nacogdoches following the Thanksgiving break. I took a bus from Houston where I went this morning with Tim. I know that I sound somewhat fickle when I say this, but I'm very interested in a girl named Sandy Green. She's from Canada. She pitches on the SFA softball team. She's a really nice girl and I think I'm falling for her. She doesn't know yet what she wants - haha. Oh, I still like Margie, but I think she's seeing some guy named Lance.

We played the fourth annual Turkey Bowl (football game) Thursday morning - we won the fourth straight. The score was 77-35. I threw four touchdown passes, caught three TD passes and ran back an interception for one score - I had a blast.

I saw a few of my friends and my family, but my mind was miles away (Canada.) I told Dawn about her and we had a fun conversation. I miss her too! haha I don't guess I've said anything about Dawn - I started dating her when I was a high school senior '82-83. We went together for about 3 years. We broke up - I won't go into why or how.

Oh... Monday we're moving out of the on-campus apartments into a real apartment complex - 3 bedrooms 1 1/2 baths. Dave, Bryan and I are living together. And just so I have it in writing somewhere, I plan on buying a Jeep come summertime. I've been without a vehicle for about a year and it makes dating rough. This weekend I'm going to Houston to watch the Houston Rockets play the Charlotte Hornets (an expansion team) with Terry Rochen - my friend from Houston and Michael Wright, who I graduated high school with. Well, I guess I'll go to bed and dream of Sandy. I'll try to write more often.

Wow, how sappy was that? I guess you figured that the Sandy thing didn't really work out - maybe it could have been my lack of focus... haha. I kept thinking of Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days" while reading about the Turkey Bowl... and it really was a full crowd of people playing - not just me against a couple geriatrics. Oh yeah - and I never got the Jeep that summer.

Following is an excerpt from a letter I received from my brother Tom around the same time:

Say Bro,
What's happening? Thought I'd better surprise ya by dropping you a line, heard you had a little problem with your old rommate, have you found one yet? How are things at the old alma matter? What are your classes this semester? San Antonio is just great. Me & Kirby are in business for ourselve already, we are doing windows in houses, so far we've done two jobs and have only had to work 4 days out of 2 weeks to pay all the bills and screw off the rest of the time, now this is how life is meant to be - relaxed! Of course the people we work for all live on the north side of SA and all got bookoos of bucks. I had to put the remainder of my settlement money in a business account because to have one you have to maintain a balance of no less than $1000 but at least it will always be there!

Still haven't been back home but I have called them, and I'm still going to take time to help them with their jobs now and then. I heard dad got him a 88 ram charger with a 318 in it sounds cool, did you see it? How was the biathalon you and Mike entered, did you win? Well suppers cooking, got to go.

I had forgotten all about Tom's stint in San Antonio as well as the biathlon that Mike Wright and I entered. He did the running portion and I did the cycling part. We did not win, but we came in way toward the front and calculated that if each of us trained we could be winning those things. (Despite our best intentions, that was the only one we ever did.)

Posted by CDogg at 07:37 AM | Comments (0)

May 07, 2005

Art Cart Buildoff Underway

WOW!!! Here we go... the marathon weekend has kicked off and somehow I have even found time to post some pictures and record a podcast from the first day.

Dave, Manny and I headed out to Gallery 101 for the Orange Show Art Cart Buildoff. You can get the scoop by listening to the podcast, but in a nutshell, we are filming the three winning teams in the contest. Each won a monster go-cart from Yerf Dog Go Karts and a $500 budget to create their "art cart." They have 24 hours to complete the project and we are created a DVD about the event.

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[all photos by Davad Sneed, except #6 by me]

1-Settling in for a long shoot
2-Hanging with Isaac Cohen (car artist)
3-Kae from Red Bull
4-Manny gearing up for a long night
5-Manny and I discussing a shot
6-Dave and Manny interviewing teams

Posted by CDogg at 01:17 PM | Comments (0)

April 27, 2005

Wayback - October 29, 1988

Its been awhile since I wrote last. Its 11:13 PM - I'm sitting in the apartment listening to Billy Joel on my tape player.

I went to the football game today. Prior to todays game, the SFA Lumberjacks (our team) were ranked #9 in the nation (the best in their history) and we played the team ranked #1 - the University of North Texas. (DIV-II) We beat them! It was great. We should be ranked in the top 5 by tomorrow.

I've become really good friends with a girl named Margie. She's everything you could ask for in a girl. She's smart - shes funny - she is just a joy to be around. Her qualities are too numerous to mention.

Well, my lofty goal of a 3.5 GPA this semester is shot to heck. I'll probably end up somewhere around the 2.0 range. I constantly procrastinate about studying.

Bush is ahead of Dukakis in the polls by 10-15%. The election is a few days away.

Larry Centers who went on to NFL fame was our running back and Todd Hammel who went on to be one of the top QBs in Arena Football was our quarterback... it was a fun team to watch. We won't go into any detail about Margie - haha... obviously she wasn't so darn perfect. (Hmm... or it just may have been me - haha)

Following is an excerpt from a letter I received around the same time from Tony Vasquez shortly after a visit up to see me at SFA:

What's happening crazy one? Right now I'm watching the Dodgers demolish the Mets . It is 6-0 right now Dodgers winning. Boy this is great a possibility that the Dodgers will be playing the A's in the World Series.

I have spent most of my fun time with Annie (you know my special friend from Cody's) that I have not seen or heard from Mike or Donald lately....

I can't just wait to say hi to all the fine and gorgeous babes that are up there like Lisa, Denise, and all the babes. I ain't getting myself caught up with just one.

So you think you're ready for me now in basketball? Well, thats enough for now because my mind keeps flowing on Annie so I will keep you in 20/20 touch.

Your Minority Friend,
Tone the Bone

Posted by CDogg at 10:12 PM | Comments (0)

April 26, 2005

Aeros' season fades away

I won free passes to the Houston Aeros playoff hockey game when I called into the Steven Kay Show on AM 700 KSEV. Mike Wright agreed to go along and we headed out to the game. The situation: the Aeros were down in the best-of-seven series 3-1 to the Chicago Wolves. This was a must-win game. It was non-stop, crash-the-boards excitement as the Aeros rolled up an early 3-1 lead.

The hopes of the Aeros' faithful were dashed like their team against the boards as the Wolves proceeded to not only come back, but rolled to a 5-3 victory. The season ended on a sour note, but the event was fun throughout. From the national anthem performed by the ONLY school in the United States named after a child *, to the raucous fans screaming all manner of inane and often confusing comments toward the refs **, it was a blast. Thanks Steven, and thanks Aeros for a fine season.

*
I forgot the name of the school, but it was named after the Bubble Boy (made famous by the John Travolta movie.)

**
"Your mom is a hooker too" - when an opponent was guilty of hooking.
"Dumbest land mammal ever, the orange banded zebra" - in reference to the head referee wearing orange bands on his arms.

Posted by CDogg at 10:52 PM | Comments (2)

Dave does wallpaper...

He doesn't know it yet, but his photo is now my wallpaper. When I was at lunch with Kim the other day, Dave took some shots in the backyard and got a couple good ones of Lou. I was dumping some shots to the PC (look for the sunflower post soon) when I came across his shots. I loved the shots of Lou - but I hated the background where he was laying so I cropped all that out and now Lou is my wallpaper.

I shrunk it down and made this crude rendition of what appears on my desktop.

Posted by CDogg at 02:31 PM | Comments (1)

Wayback - October 2, 1988

The Jennifer thing was over before it got started - same reasoning! I'm working as a flag-football official. I've been doing mostly girls games but its a lot of fun. I met Anne this way. She also cycles so we plan on riding together. In the six months that I've owned my newest bike I'm averaging over 150 miles a month. I plan on getting that up to at least 100 miles a week. My savings ran out just as the financial aid came in so things are okay financially. I've been communicating with Bryan and he plans on being back in the Spring semester.

Oh, I guess I'll give a little historical background. George Bush is the Republican candidate for President and Mike Dukakis is the Democrat. I tend to agree more with the Republican platform - as per the last two elections I'm voting Republican. November 8th is election. Last week the space shuttle went back into space after the delay caused by the Discovery explosion. The Summer Olympics are finishing up and America did well overall.

I am really starting to like a girl named Margie - a girl I met here last year. She has been dating a guy for over 3 years so I'm not holding my breath, haha, but I'm going to give it the old college try. I'm about 5'10 and I weigh 165-170 pounds. I have sandy brown hair with blue eyes. Forgive the jumpy appearance of this journal - I write things as I think of them. My favorite singer is Billy Joel - he has been called the Mozart of the 20th Century.

I've changed my major again... first, I was a computer science major, I then changed to coaching, now I am a non-teaching Kinesiology major with a Psychology minor. I hope to get into corporate fitness.

My birthday is coming up next month - November 13th. I'll be 24. I was born in 1964 - hey, it's not THAT long ago.

I think that two sources of maybe my greatest joy nowadays are my two nephews Brian and Blake (Scooter.) Brian is in the 1st grade and Scooter is 3 years old. Brian gave me the nickname "Uncle Bud" when he was about Scoot's age and now Scoot uses it. I really love those two! I only wish I could see them more - being away at college and all.

Well, its 2am in the morning - I guess I'll end it here for now

Wow... that was a HUGE entry. It also had to be the most schizophrenic - but very informational. I don't know what is more shocking as I look back - the fact that I only weighed 165 pounds or that I actually showed some emotion in a post.

Posted by CDogg at 08:03 AM | Comments (3)

April 16, 2005

I think the Hell's Angels are Safe

Well, I found a little something to do... actually Brian came by with this micro bike that belongs to his girlfriend's son. I have seen these things around quite a bit and scoffed at how silly they are... but that doesn't mean I could resist trying it out. It was actually kinda fun. Not very useful, but definitely fun.

I was actually considering getting another motorcyle (real one) since the gas prices are so damn high. My last one was a Kawasaki Vulcan 500 and I really liked it, but rarely rode it in the summer since it was so damn hot. That was back when I had to wear a tie to work everyday too - so with my current lifestyle, it might be a little more convenient. There is the problem of hauling things, but I could get saddle bags to carry things like groceries and library books etc. It could probably knock out a lot of my normal neighborhood trips.

Posted by CDogg at 07:59 PM | Comments (0)

April 13, 2005

Big Ups to Dave

I have to give huge "ups" to Dave for getting Movabletype installed on the servers. He sweated bullets and birthed more than one migraine making it happen, but it is running smooth as shizzle. (Hmm... that doesn't sound as good as I intended) Anyway, Dave did an excellent job of helping me feed my need to be noticed - it's always good when a friend understands your insanity - or at least understands that I am insane and humors me.

I am still racking my brain to figure out the intricacies of style sheets and templates, but it seems to be coming together. But you know what? It just doesn't matter because I am no longer at the mercy of Blogger.com. Don't get me wrong - I still think blogger is great and would never have jumped into blogging had there not been such a great entry-level site, but I have outgrown it and moved on. Thanks Blogger - don't let the door hit yo... well, you know.

Posted by CDogg at 04:49 PM | Comments (2)

April 09, 2005

Brian stops by...

Brian was in town this weekend to visit his girl and came by the house before heading home. When he showed up, I was out back investigating what sounded like a rat in my rafters. Turns out that a squirrel was climbing in my soffit vents. I guess I startled the little dude because when I walked up, he dropped to the ground behind my AC.

I pointed him out to Brian and he volunteered to try to catch him. Sure enough, he did.

(No animals were hurt in the creation of this post - the squirrel was released into the neighbor's tree and we put some screen over the soffit vents to keep him out.)

Posted by CDogg at 05:32 PM | Comments (0)

April 01, 2005

Wayback - September 11, 1988

Talk about your big breaks. It's been six months since I had an entry. Summer has come and gone. I managed to save $1,200 which will make this school year less of a financial burden. I am paying for all of my college expenses by myself. This is the start of my second year at Stephen F. Austin State University. I had planned to room with Bryan O. this semester, but he had some emotional problems and is now in a psychiatric clinic. I found a new roommate - Davad Sneed. He is a friend that I met last year. I think we will get along fine.

I broke it off with Lisa Grainger - she is just too wild of a girl for me - I want more of an old-fashioned girl. I have started seeing a girl named Jennifer - no big plans. As of now, I am not working but if the money situation gets too tight, I may get a job. I am taking Officiating Football, Kinesiology, Folk Dance, Abnormal Psychology & Human Sexuality. My plan right now is to bring my GPA up to a 3.5 this semester.

How simple was life back in college - I saved $1,200 and wasn't worried about how I would survive for a whole semester. THAT is the power of having no bills - you just don't need much to live. This was the first offical mention of Dave in the journal (although he was mentioned in letters to and from friends over the previous summer.) And yes, I guess we did end up getting along fine. :) (PS - Who would have imagined that 13 years to the day later we would be attacked by terrorists? It was the furthest thing from my mind back then.)

Posted by CDogg at 03:03 PM | Comments (0)

March 30, 2005

Falling down on the job

I spent the day in Victoria yesterday and despite having my camera along, didn't get one picture. Geez, what a slacker. Actually, I was there to assist in tax returns for my brothers, mother and nephew. I think I am going to break my record of tax returns I work on this season. Last year, I did 12 returns and I should be right around there again this tax season.

It was a good visit because the taxes actually went pretty fast and then I got to relax with the family. Tim and I spent a lot of time talking while waiting for Sandra, who had an appointment in town. He has become an invaluable source of information on my plans to get a place in the country. He has got me considering the Victoria area as well as the range I had drawn up earlier. (I was assuming Austin was a longer drive from Victoria and didn't want to eliminate Austin from my range.)

I am really coming to appreciate Lou's size as I didn't have to make arrangements for someone to watch him. He is travel size. After the first ten miles or so of staring out the window, he settles down and relaxes. As usual, he loved his trip to the country because of all the smells and critters.

Posted by CDogg at 10:21 AM | Comments (0)

March 03, 2005

I know the Duck Man!!

First off, I have to say big "ups" to my friend Tony DeMaria. He was in the Houston Chronicle today under the article headline, "Man takes a stand for sitting ducks." The article describes his one-man crusade to protect the welfare of a family of ducks crossing Richmond Avenue. For those of you not from the Houston area - we are talking about one of the busiest streets in the city.

Apparently Tony has silently been championing their cause for some time, but his pleas have fallen on deaf ears. The Houston Chronicle article should help to put the responsibility for the duck's welfare in the hands of the local businesses that build ponds, encourage ducks to enhance the appeal of their property and then turn a blind eye when it comes time to take care of their new residents.

Way to go Tony! I never doubted I would see your name in the paper some day - I just figured it would be for something TOTALLY different. :) haha

----------------------- book challenge update----------------

It appears that I will shatter the point total - that just means that next year it will be something like a 500 or 1,000 point book challenge.

43 points

Posted by CDogg at 12:07 AM | Comments (0)

February 24, 2005

Wayback - September 3, 1988

(excerpts from a letter to Terry Rochen who had to sit out a semester for grades)
...Jon actually went out and played football with Dave and I. Believe it or not, Dave didn't hurt him... I did! Oops! I was playing defensive back and he was going out for a pass. Dave threw a short little dump, Jon headed for the sideline and then turned up field. He thought he could outrun me. I caught him about 15 yards up the field and grabbed him around the shoulders. Since we weren't playing tackled, I was planning on just slowing him up. I guess he tried to wriggle free or duck away but he just went down, got backwards somehow and hit the back of his head on the ground rather hard. It wasn't anything serious, it gave him quite a headache though. He won't play anymore now.

I have a new major!!!!! Its not a drastic change. I am now a non-teaching Physical Education major with a Psychology minor. I'm thinking about getting into corporate fitness. I'm taking Folk Dance, Kinesiology, Officiating Football, Abnormal Psychology, and Human Sexuality. I think Folk Dance is gonna be my most fun class. Its full of great looking girls!

I hear that Huey Lewis is going to play on campus this semester. It should be pretty great!

This letter is a good glimpse into what my life was like in '88. Dave and I spent a lot of time playing basketball during this time and a little football too. And yes, I liked (and still do) Huey Lewis and the News - it was a big deal that they were coming to play on campus. Now that I think about it - I am not sure they ever made it. We did have Jay Leno (when he was still doing standup) and Chicago.

Posted by CDogg at 12:17 AM | Comments (0)

February 20, 2005

Lou's Big Day!

Lou went to Inez! We took a trip to visit the folks and it was definitely a big day for Lou. First off, we went to Mom's house where he proceeded to sniff out every corner - this was a very cool new adventure.

"Hey, will you check this out? She sure keeps things cleaner than at our house."

Next up, we headed over to Tim's and he really got to bust loose. He ran around, chased the chickens, horses, cats - you name it.

"Look at all this space! Look at all these animals! SUH-WEEEET"

And then the dreaded Mexican Chihuahua Gang discovered he was there...

"Aye Gringo.. we are going to cut you man!"

Brian was a huge help when Lou decided to explore the nearby woods...

"Lou, get back here... dammit, STOP!"

Half a mile later... I caught up to Brian teaching Lou about not running off...

"Yeah, yeah, yeah - does that mean we're going for another run now?"

And as if awaiting the final cue... I said goodbye to the family and Lou ran to the largest pile of horse poo he could find and rolled in it!

"If I smell bad, he won't make me go home."

I got him cleaned up and we headed back to the big city. We had a ton of fun. Lou's first trip to the country was a blast. As I write this, he has been asleep on the couch for the last two hours - dreaming of being a country dog to be sure.

Posted by CDogg at 04:42 PM | Comments (0)

February 12, 2005

Three for one...

Manny and I met up with members of Houston Metblogs at the monthly meetup. We gathered at Brasil's on Dunlavy. We had a really cool time - met some really cool people. (Nick & Katie are pictured here) It was really cool putting real faces with the names (handles) of people from the blogosphere. I look forward to attending more of them in the future.

After the meetup, we headed downtown to take some shots. I completely forgot what I had planned to do today, but oh well. I was selected for a car commercial that was being shot downtown. They were looking for men and women who looked European to be in this commercial. I sent them the latest photo of me in a suit and they asked me to shoot. When I heard it was about a 15 hour shoot and I had to wear my suit all day, I thanked them for the offer and begged out. Anyway, long story short - I was going to go by the shoot and get some pictures on the set but completely forgot that it was happening today.

We grabbed the metrorail down at Hermann Park and rode to downtown. We did get a ton of cool shots downtown (look for a few of them to appear on my photoblog "ShutterDog" over the next few days or weeks) I will have to head back down there and spend the day shooting because there are just so many great subjects.

We walked down to the Spaghetti Warehouse thinking we could grab a bite before we headed back to Hermann Park, but the waiting list was over an hour.

After leaving downtown we swung by Buffalo Wild Wings on Gray for some wings and trivia. The last time we went I won all three games and Manny was set on getting revenge. We were greeted by Dana who remembered us from the last time we were there. (I'm not sure if that is a good sign or a bad one... haha) She gave us the hookup with the wings and we commenced to doing battle with the rest of the bar.

In the first game... I missed first place by just a few points when someone named CUTTER took the win. We fought it out over the next couple games but by the end each of us had our share of fame as we bested the other 9 competitors . My handle BIGDOG and Manny's RENTON each graced the screen after our wins. I had to congratulate Manny on that victory because his first victory was an impressive one. If you have no idea of which I speak... go to www.ntn.com and sign up for an account. You can play without one, but having one will allow you to play at any location and continue to earn points towards free stuff.

Overall, it was a pretty full day - Brasil's started at 3pm - I have no clue how long we spent downtown - and not really sure how long we were at BWW. All I know is that amazingly enough we did three "outings" in the same day - each of which would have rated as a good time. In the end though, I guess its a testament to my philosophy on life... "Have fun!"

"It is only possible to live happily ever after on a day to day basis."

-- Margaret Bonano

Posted by CDogg at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)

January 15, 2005

Dog Park Social

Saturday began with an early-morning walk to the neighborhood park. The 1st annual Dog Park Social was being held in the 'hood and I walked up there with Lou. Mindy and Alison brought Clancy and Kali as well. There was a photographer there doing a free photo so Lou and I posed for this one.

The event was pretty cool overall... there were a TON of dogs there. This mastiff's name is Vladimir... he was a monster... but downright loveable.

As you can see, Lou had the upper hand in their new relationship...

Ali and Kali watched the frisbee dogs while Lou was busy showing all the other dogs that he was the boss...

Posted by CDogg at 10:44 PM | Comments (0)

January 14, 2005

Big doins...

I think I have used that title for a blog entry before but what the heck... I think it applies.

Tomorrow is a full day. First off, the neighborhood will be having their first annuaul Dog Park Social. It is being billed as a day of fun and frolic for residents and their dogs. There will be a parade, costume party, free dog treats and lots of cool dogs from the 'hood.

I will only be able to stay an hour or so because I have to scoot off to Galveston for a photo shoot. I will be covering the Krewe of Gambrinus' first event of the year. I also plan on taking advantage of being in Galveston to get some other good shots.

Then, just as I get back - it will be time to rush near downtown to the 2005 Horror Dance. It will be an indy film festival featuring horror films made by local filmmakers. It should be a pretty long day, but I expect to have a ton of pics.

Speaking of pics... I submitted a photo to the Mirror Project that was accepted. They accept submissions of any photo in which the photographer and camera are shown in the reflection of something. Check it out to see some really creative shots. You can see my submission here. I plan on getting more creative with it eventually, but wanted to get something on the site.

Posted by CDogg at 03:29 PM | Comments (0)

January 01, 2005

Happy New Year!!!

HAPPY

NEW YEAR!!

WELCOME TO 2005

So what did you for the New Year? I worked. Okay, well it wasn't really hard work - but it was a paying gig. I went to the New Year's Party at the Houstonian to do party photography. I got all swanky and headed out to rub shoulders with the pretty people...

I did the 8:00 - 10:30 shift and took a lot of pictures, had some great food and listened to some excellent bands. Before all the drunks hit the road, I decided to head back to the neighborhood to ring in the actual new year. Once back, things were rocking down at the Gray household...

Della and Kathy were all grins as they prepared the champagne...

The story here seems to be Kathy worried about what CPS will think of Kaycie drinking champagne with two hands or the fact that Andy seems jealous because he doesn't have any...

(Kaycie was faking - she didn't really chug the champagne)

This is your brain on champagne...

Hollen (sp?) and Courtney rang in 2005 in fine fashion...

The boys were busy with the serious business of blowing things up...

Oooh, check out the fireworks... uh, Scott... over here...

At some point Rodney and Rob started dancing and thats when everyone knew it was a party...

Della and Mike were happy - but check out Jake... he seems to be feeling no pain...

I'm not sure what was said, but we certainly thought it was funny...

There really were a lot of fireworks too, it was just hard to get a good pic of them. This one looked cool though...

Around 2AM Rob broke out the Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy and others to the delight of his new best-friend, Andy...

It was a loooong evening as we finally split up around 3:15 AM and I walked the 50 yards back to my house. It was a lot of fun though and good to get the neighborhood back together.

On the way home, I ran into Alison who was just returning from her own celebration of the new year...

Posted by CDogg at 02:55 PM | Comments (0)

December 28, 2004

The Audition

We took advantage of a day off and started filming on our upcoming short - The Audition. The film is about a couple of wannabe hoods who get an opportunity to 'audition' for a local crime boss. The problem is that things go a little wrong.

It is a short film starring the neighbor kids and some friends. We have been wanting to do one for a couple years since completing our first neighborhood film - American Ninja. For Christmas, we released a collector's edition of the American Ninja DVD - complete with extra features and a limited edition run. Those involved sold the DVD to relatives and/or bought them for Christmas gifts with the idea that the funds collected would be used as a budget for the next one.

We didn't have much of a budget for this one, but since we already own most of the equipment needed, all we really needed money for was lunches and an occasional prop.

Here we (Dave, EJ, Brett & I) are onsite, setting up a shot...

Manny allowed us to use his vehicle as the getaway car... I don't think he realized what he was getting into until Brett asked, "Okay, okay, I can drive... but one question. Do I use one foot or two?"

Our two heroes.... Martin and Brett

Shooting at Carlos and Tatiana's house... thanks again for the use of the location.

We have a few shots left to film but should be able to finish things this weekend. After that, the film will be at the mercy of my schedule and motivation as it will likely take about 20-30 hours of editing to put it together. We will most likely hold a premiere presentation somewhere and then follow it up with a DVD release sometime in the summer.

Posted by CDogg at 10:06 AM | Comments (0)

December 25, 2004

The Blizzard of '04

As most good adventure stories do... it started off innocently enough...

Tiny flakes of snow (actually, they were more like tiny hailstones) dropped on my truck as I readied myself to head to Victoria for our annual Christmas Eve celebration. We do our Christmas on the eve so that everyone can then go home and have Christmas morning with their respective families.

On the drive down to Victoria, I took about forty pictures out the window of the truck to record the "amazing" amount of snow in the Houston area. (It wasn't that amazing, but in places it would actually stay on the ground long enough to photograph.) Suffice it to say that none of those pictures will be posted here because in retrospect, they are pretty darn boring when compared to the ones that will follow.

As I reached Victoria County, the snow started to pick up a bit. It still wasn't real snow and it still wasn't real heavy, but it was impressive. When I reached Tim's house, I was greeted by Brian and Scoot's snowman (well, snow triangle, really)... tangible snow (sleet) that stuck around long enough to shape into something.

Kaitlyn posed with it to give some sort of reference to its size....

As we headed down to Mom's house, I snapped what I thought would be a rare chance at a winter wonderland shot - the snow was picking up a bit...

With thoughts of snow behind, we made it into the house all gussied up for Christmas...

In no time at all, everyone settled in for typical holiday hi-jinx...

Scoot was there...

Brittney was there...

Bubba was there...

Reagan and Kaitlyn were the life of the party...

Brad and Randy did their part to liven things up...

Brian was on hand to make sure the Corona didn't go to waste...

Blake and Sissy watched as the presents flowed...

Tim and I took this "2/3 of the Doelle Boys" shot...

After the presents were all handed out and the wrapping paper all ripped to shreds, we noticed that it was snowing REAL SNOW outside. Not only that, it was picking up...

Brittney and Scoot posed amidst the flakes...

Not to be outposed... Kaitlyn and I recorded the moment...

Then it was time for a group photo...

Brittney and I...

Scooter volunteered to make the first snow angel and did a damn fine job...

Just when we figured we had seen everything Ma Nature could throw our way - the snow started to pick up...

It was then that it started to dawn on everyone that if we were going to get home it would be wise to get started. A little slow on the uptake there - but hey, who was thinking about driving? We were all about fun in the snow. I got back to Tim's house and saw that my truck was covered...

Tim's house certainly didn't look like South Texas...

I beat a hasty retreat amid numerous pleas that I stay the night. Okay, it wasn't hasty - it was about 10 miles an hour. I reached Inez in about 20 minutes (a five minute drive normally.) Although the snow completely covered everything, it didn't appear to be too deep and I figured that by the time I reached Wharton, it would lighten up anyway...

In retrospect, it was a very DUMB thing to do, but I drove on. Forgive the lack of pictures from this point, but when you are clutching the steering wheel in a death grip with a very high pucker factor working, you are not really in the mood to take snapshots.

I was able to get up to 20mph on long straight shots but on the curves it was all about avoiding the slide. You don't realize just how much of an embankment is on those curves until you start sliding sideways while taking one at 10mph. You know that "no brake - turn into the skid" thing really works. There were three points during the drive when the back end of my truck started to catch up with the front without warning. When you take one of those banked curves the tendency is for the truck to slide down to the inside of the curve. With all the weight on the front wheels, the ass-end would start sliding down the hill - I would let off the gas, turn down the curve and it would catch enough to get around the curve.

I later discovered that if you get up to the top lip of the curve and put one set of wheels into the fresh snow (which was now a foot and a half deep where noone had driven) you could maintain traction all the way around. You can use those ridges cut into the road to judge how far off the road you were going. (You know those ones that howl when you drive over them to keep sleepy drivers from running off the road.)

It took me three and a half hours to reach Wharton (the half-way point.) The entire trip is normally only one and a half hours. Along the way there were a total of 59 vehicles in the ditches... I am sure there were many more, but I couldn't see the other side of the highway through the driving snow and could barely see ten or fifteen feet around myself. Here is the only shot I got while driving...

Once I reached Wharton, things started to lighten up and by the time I reached Rosenberg I saw a stripe on the road for the first time. The only hazards from that point on were icy bridges... and BOY were these bridges icy. Each time I approached one, I slowed well before, totally let off the gas, pointed it straight across and gave it no opportunity to get me sliding. It took me another two hours after I left Wharton, making the total trip 5 1/2 hours of hell.

I told my mom before I left that I figured I am in the top 2% in intelligence and I would drive until I saw 98 people in the ditch - that would be my sign that I am pushing my luck. What I failed to calculate was the couple hundred people that probably thought better of making the trip at all - by that calculation, I pushed my luck waaaaaaay too far.

Am I glad I did it? You bet... anytime you can do something harrowing without injury it is a rush. Not only that, it is one heck of a story.

Would I do it again? No way! I saw too many better equipped vehicles in the ditch and felt more than my share of slides that started without any warning and seemingly unrelated to anything I did.

Posted by CDogg at 10:15 AM | Comments (0)

November 14, 2004

BestFest

This, the final day of RenFest for the year was the best RenFest ever. It was the best temperature ever as it was cool all day without raining! Pennie and I went by ourselves and moved around at our own pace - no agenda, no deadlines - just hanging out... that is definitely the way to do it.

The big news is that I finally made it to the fireworks... and BOY were there fireworks! Pennie, who had seen them before stated that there were a heck of a lot more than the time she saw them. It could be that as it was the final show, they always do a bigger finale - or as Pennie surmised, maybe they had a bunch left over from the various rainouts and figured it was now or never. In any event, it was pretty cool.

The day featured all the usual characters... I'll save all the trouble of uploading picture after picture of the same old stuff.. but I will put up a couple of unique ones...

Of course there were knights, princesses, wizards and wenches... but did you know there were fairy hookers?

...even crossgendered ones for the discriminating customer. Check out the guy in the white... haha.

And the ultimate... here are the Dorks of the Rings... (I think they were late for a game of D&D)

Posted by CDogg at 10:13 AM | Comments (0)

October 31, 2004

Best costume EVER!

Here it is... the best Halloween costume ever. Or is it? Could Tony Vasquez really be North Korea's Kim Jong-Il in disguise? You be the judge.

Which is the real Kim Jong-Il?

Posted by CDogg at 05:45 PM | Comments (0)

October 15, 2004

Austin, Night #1

Tony and I met up with Alison to grab some dinner. She wasn't feeling well earlier today, but seemed pretty good (other than a cough) tonight. We picked her up at her apartment where we met her roommate Christina (sp?) who was gracious enough to loan me the DVD Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (look for a review soon) and Mean Girls from Alison.

Here she is on the stairs that caused the ankle injury...

We went out to the Boatyard Grill and enjoyed a good seafood dinner...
(I'll fix the redeye when I get home... I don't have any good photo editing software with me.)

After dropping Alison back at her apartment, it was off to 6th Street to see what the night held. We found a place called Coyote Ugly (a knockoff of the movie,) and got these shots.

The staff did the normal dance-on-the-bar thing...

and then it was time for the body shots...

Back on the street, we met King and he played a bit...

We got a bike ride back to where we parked in one of those bicycle rickshaw things by Jessica... she says this is the best job she has ever had.

Posted by CDogg at 05:18 PM | Comments (2)

October 14, 2004

Is this great weather or what?

Sure, my video project is in the toilet (not literally) and I haven't slept in the past two day (literally,) but after the rain stopped and the sun rose this morning, I was greated with what looks to be a pretty awesome day.

I am still working on salvaging some sort of deadline on my video project (which crashed again when power went out about 4am) but because the front and back doors are wide open, the sun in streaming in and most importantly this great cool weather has cooled down the oven that is my house. (with 11 computer systems running full time, it tends to stay pretty warm in here.)

I put the baby gate barring Littlefoot from bolting out the front door...

and with the back door open, I can hear the birds chirping, watch the butterflies and lizards and hear the gurgle of the pond...

Littlefoot seems to be enjoying it too. (Pennie... those chairs are calling to us.)

If this is some sort of cosmic payback for all the shizzle that has rolled downhill in the past few days - I'll take it.

Posted by CDogg at 05:02 PM | Comments (0)

August 29, 2004

Close call for Cali

The Rockenroller's dog "Cali" got out on Friday morning and took off in her usual mad sprint to see the world. Before she could be corralled, she was gone. Pretty standard dog escape, right? Well it was until a neighbor said they saw Cali get struck by a car and then run off.

The good news was that she run off under her own power. The bad news was that she was nowhere to be found. We scoured the neighborhood talking to everyone we met, we checked in backyards, garages, the bayous that snake through the neighborhood, but nothing. Mindy put up signs and alerted the vets, but felt pretty helpless.

It was Saturday when the call came in that a neighbor had found Cali in his garage. She had a gash on her leg, but seemed to be okay. I went to visit the injured traveller Sunday morning and snapped these pictures.

Her leg was pretty swollen and the wound looked painful..

... but she seemed in great spirits, albeit much more calm than usual.

All's well that ends well - or so the saying goes. Hopefully, she learned a little something about making a mad dash into busy streets. Welcome back Cali!

Posted by CDogg at 12:41 AM | Comments (0)

July 19, 2004

Add A/C Repairman to the List...

My A/C system has really been struggling lately as it seems to run day and night. I have been doing things like fixing some weatherstripping, shutting off the computers more (I have ten running in my house day and night) and nothing seems to be enough to get the place cooled. Brian and I investigated the attic and found several of the large air ducts were deteriorated to the point of having almost no insulation around them. The uninsulated ducts were sweating like mad, losing valuable coolness and making stains on the ceiling from the condensation drops.

I bought some ducts and we set out to replace the really bad ones. As you know, the summer time in Texas is NOT the time to be in the attic as regularly you hear of A/C repairmen dieing while working in attics this time of year. We put on some light clothes (thanks Dave for the CoolMax shirt you gave me a year or so ago,) loaded up with water (I took my Camelbak) and headed up there.

Here we are all geared up and ready to face the heat... dig those cool do-rags.



Instantly, it was about 120 degrees and we tried to work fast so we didn't pass out.

Here I am taking a swig from the Camelbak... already covered in sweat



Here is Brian hard at work on the junction box...



And me removing the old duct from the vent...



With the job finished four and a half hours later, we got the hell out of there and it was then that we realized what a toll the effort had on us. We were both wobbly-legged and a little light headed. I checked my weight before and after knowing that I would sweat a lot and found out I lost seven (7) pounds! Not the diet I would recommend.

After long showers, we both kicked back to relax a bit and fell asleep. Brian slept from 4 in the afternoon to 8 am the next morning. I got up at 7:30 to run the sports sim leagues and then crashed out as well.

We still have a lot of work to do because we noticed several other things that could use some attention while we were up there. We plan on replacing a couple more of the ducts, but figure we better get our hydration back for a couple days before we chance it.

Posted by CDogg at 12:49 PM | Comments (0)

June 09, 2004

Bye Teddy

I just heard the most horrible news. One of my best friends in the neighborhood was hit by a car and killed. Teddy was the sweetest dog ever. Sure, dogs are always glad to see people, but there was something special in the way Teddy approached. She was the most loving and bright dog around and brought an instant smile to the face of anyone she touched.

I will miss her terribly as too will everyone in the neighborhood.

Posted by CDogg at 06:47 PM | Comments (0)

April 24, 2004

Pennie and I had a great dinner at the Beck's Prime at Memorial Park yesterday. This was my first time at that location and I have to say it was very nice. After dinner, we decided to take in a softball game that we saw in progress. It was entertaining despite the fact that there was nobody there that we knew. In no time at all however, we met someone. This is Grace, the ump's puppy.

Pennie got this shot (the kid just sorta jumped in the picture) because Grace sleeps like her dog Abbie (sp?).

Well, my satellite is out and I saw the first season of "The West Wing" available on DVD from the library and thought I would give it a spin. At least it would be noise in the background while I work. The ads never appealed to me, but I figured I would give it a go. It is just more of the same tired television drama - more pablum for the masses. The show really failed to live up to its potential and tries to be way too funny. The drama is very predictable, the characters are very stiff stereotypes and the slant is more liberal than most left-wing Hollywood political pieces. In fact, they should rename the show the "left wing." It is a preachy and long winded hour of propaganda.

Oh and I am writing this halfway through the first show... and I have to admit - the same tired TV dramas work. Despite the carboard characters and over-the-top attempt to make politicians seem human through common humor, it is a bit entertaining.

AARRGGGHHH! I hate this show, but I find it strangely compelling. It is like watching a car wreck - no, I take that back. A car wreck is easier to watch. It is more like when someone hands you a milk carton and says "Does this smell bad to you?" It is exactly the same as that compulsion to take a sniff of something you know is going to smell bad, but you just have to make sure.

Naw, that analogy doesn't fit either, because I sit here knowing it stinks, but can't stop smelling of it. Maybe rank-smelling crack would be more appropriate. It appeals to all that is base and simple in us... just as the rest of network television does. I feel dirty watching it - but it hasn't been shut off yet.

PS Rob Lowe does an excellent job. Martin Sheen as President is made out to be a philosopher-genius with a heart of gold... it is way overboard on the "we should revere our great leader" scale.

Posted by CDogg at 06:10 PM | Comments (0)

July 15, 2003

Jules & Shiny come to town

I finally got around to taking some of the pictures off my digital camera. Mom, Julie & Cheyenne visited on Friday and we went and hung out at Buffalo Wild Wings playing trivia. Here is a shot of Jules and Shiny. No, Julie is not a Buckeye fan - she probably doesn't know what a Buckeye is - Pennie loaned her the sweatshirt because it was cold in BWW.

Posted by CDogg at 12:28 AM | Comments (0)

May 27, 2003

Catch-up Time

Wow, where to begin. The problem with taking a break it you are left with a lot of things to do to catch up. Kinda like this long 'vacation' weekend - possibly one of the most hectic and tiring weekends in recent history. It is a tired cliche, but I need to get back to work so that I can relax. :)

I will attempt to cover the following in this post. Saturday, Tony, Allison, Pennie & I went out and did some things, Sunday, hung out more with Tony, Allison & Pennie, Monday - went to the Alamo Draft House to see Bruce Almighty....

Saturday: I got up early and did some housework and awaited the arrival of Tony & Allison. While waiting for them to arrive, I got the bug to do some home improvement. I hung some blinds in the kitchen and then set about to build a shelf for a TV in my bedroom. Brian assisted and we did a fine job I must say.

They arrived and we said our hellos after not seeing each other for a long time - Allison wasted no time in cutting up...

We hung out a bit as Sam and Allison got acquanted...

We then headed to the baseball game at Minute Maid park to watch the Astros take on the Cubs. We stopped off at the downtown aquarium and took the train ride and met this HUGE horse outside the ballpark.

Allison managed to entertain everyone around us. She wanted a picture to prove she was at a big league ballpark..

Well, I am going to leave Sunday and Monday's recap to another day as I have some work to do.

Posted by CDogg at 10:05 AM | Comments (0)

May 14, 2003

Things are looking good.

Business is picking up well (all the businesses!) I went down to visit my mom on Tuesday for a late Mother's Day. I hung out and chatted with Mom - it is always good to see her. It was good to see everyone down there again. Looks like Tim will be in town tomorrow to help out on a cable job.

Today, I went to my BNA (Business Network Alliance) breakfast club meeting and had a good meeting. Bob Hardwick was back amongst the group after his rotator cuff surgery and although he was favoring his shoulder, he looked to be up and running at regular speed. In fact, him and David Postma were discussing a bike trip which he seemed eager to partake of...

I am relieved to be able to attend the meetings more often as Pennie has been assisting me with well, just about everything. Did I ever mention that she is pretty darn cool? !! :)

Pennie is coming over tonight to watch her Cleveland Indians on satellite. That will be cool.

Posted by CDogg at 07:45 PM | Comments (0)

May 13, 2003

The BIG WEEKEND blog!!

Jillian's was a lot of fun... hey - there are even pictures!!! Click here to see the pics

Sunday, Pennie came over and her, Tony, Brian and I spent the day cleaning the house... YEAH!! What fun. Actually, it was a lot of fun because there was a lot of help. And here are a couple pics of the results. Those of you who know how messy my house is normally will be impressed - the rest of you will roll your eyes and say, "Whats the big deal?"

I postponed the Mother's day trip because I have the most understanding mother in the world and she knew I was meeting a real estate agent Monday morning and really needed to get the house cleaned. I am planning on taking the day off Tuesday to go do a Mother's Day thing. (I scheduled two meetings Tuesday - so I am not taking all day off - but like I said, she is the most understanding mom in the world.)

Posted by CDogg at 08:22 PM | Comments (0)