Happy 4th of July! Because the 3rd is my birthday, I’ve always had an odd attachment to this particular holiday. And yet, here it is once again. No fireworks for me this year. For once, I don’t have kids of the age where they need to be taken. I enjoy fireworks, but it’s too much of a chore to get where you need to be to see them best.

I received the picture at right via email this morning, and looked into it a little further. It’s of a field of flowers display created back in ‘02 near Vandenburg AFB in Lompoc, CA. Something like 400 thousand flowers were used to create it. It’s very cool. More details and bigger pictures here.
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I was driving down one of the main drags in Columbus (OH) last week, checking stuff out, as I am wont to do. I was waiting for the light at the intersection of Lane Avenue and North Star (a busy intersection) and noticed a sign stuck in the mulch. What caught my eye was the mention not only of Chris Spielman’s name, but also the web site ChrisSpielman.com. Why did this catch your eye, you ask? Well, hey…I’m really glad you asked that!

I was a fan of Spielman’s play as a linebacker at Ohio State in the 80s. NO ONE played harder than this guy did. He wasn’t the biggest and wasn’t the fastest…but he never stopped fighting to get to the ball…and when he arrived, you KNEW it. He went on to an All-Pro career with the Lions, and briefly with the Bills and the Browns. Eventually, he broke something in his neck and his career was done. In the midst of all that, however…his wife Stefanie was diagnosed with cancer. Chris took time off from football to be at home with her…supporting her. There was a famous picture of the two of them, bald, after he shaved his head in support during her chemo/radiation treatments. Nearly 10 years later, she seems to be well (although she’s had some relapses), and football is just a memory. They have raised a ton of money for cancer research. I admired his example a lot.
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Hello to the handful of my friends who are likely to read this blog anytime soon. After several ill-considered attempts to launch topical blogs which I never had time to keep up with in the first place, I’m pleased to be back online with a newly-refined vision for why I blog: To share stuff I’m interested in or excited about. Doesn’t sound too complicated, does it? I can’t promise to break any news. While I tend to be an early adopter…I’m not often a first adopter…just because I don’t have enough time to keep up on what’s really important in the midst of the info-overloaded society where we find ourselves these days.
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