Heat Wave

Okay, I love summer. I really do--this is my favorite season. But this is heat wave is a ridiculous, crazy kind of stupid! It's 8:00 in the morning and tying my shoes just made me sweat. Yep, just sitting in my house sweating at 8:00 AM. This is going to be a great day!

Independence Day

I love the 4th of July! It's definitely my favorite holiday of the year. What's not to like about it? Grilling, swimming, volleyball, warm evenings, and things that explode. I LOVE IT! I celebrated the holiday with my wife's extended family in Wellsburg, WV which is about an hour west of Pittsburgh. The fireworks weren't as good as Williamsport's but they were MUCH closer which made them really really loud, and I liked that.

Hope you all had a nice 4th of July. Keep having fun, safe summers! And stay cool in this heat!

World Cup Fever

Do you have World Cup fever? Were you jumping around your house when Landon Donovan scored the game winning goal last week? Then watch this YouTube video of America's reaction to Donovan's goal. It could have been you. The Americans were knocked out of the World Cup on Saturday, but the legacy and memory of this goal will carry on.

Some of these clips from personal homes were probably staged, but my favorite is the shot of the crowd of people watching at a TV in a store window in New York City. Great goal; great video!

(PS I promise I'll stop blogging about World Cup soon...promise.)

Proud Work

My wife and I are investing a lot of energy into home repairs/renovations. Just recently, we finished updating our downstairs bathroom. Mrs. Rodgers did most of the work on this, but I helped out by doing some plumbing work as well as tiling the floor and setting the toilet and sink in place. It looks great!

Then, last week I built a fence around the vegetable garden in our backyard. Our neighborhood is home for lots of rabbits (and when I say lots, I mean it's not unusual for there to be 3-5 rabbits in our yard at one time) who like to jump the fence and eat our vegetables as they grow. As a result, I ripped up the old fence and built this structure in its place. This fence is 3 feet high (twice as high as the old fence) and I buried the chicken wire 1/2 a foot under the ground so that rabbits will have trouble burrowing under it. Yeah, it's just a fence, but every once in awhile, when you finish a project, you can step back and very proudly say "Yeah, I built that!" It's a good feeling.

In other news, remember when we made 3-D maps of Africa and you had to identify Victoria Falls? Check out this video of "the most dangerous swimming hole on Earth" where people are swimming on the edge of the falls. This is nuts!!!

Hate the Drama, But I Love the Yanks!

Did you see the goal? Landon Donovan's rebound goal in the 91st minute that put the Yanks, as the world has nicknamed our US National Team, into the knockout stage of the World Cup. Excited? You know I am!!! I was literally sitting in my living room with my head in my hands, thinking hope had run out on the US, who had to win to advance in the World Cup. Then, out of nowhere the US converted a 4 on 2 break for a goal with only 3 minutes remaining in the game.

The drama for the US team these past 2 weeks has almost been too much. First there was the high profile matchup against world powerhouse England. Then, the US came from two goals down to tie Slovenia 2-2 (and would have won if the referee would not have made a REALLY bad call that cost the US what would have been the winning goal). Next, today's game when the US scored the winning goal with just 3 minutes left. Up next for the US--Ghana in the first round of the knockout stage. (Saturday, 2:30) Will you be watching? You know I will be!!!

(Photo credited to Matt Bonesteel, Washington Post Blog)

America's reaction to the Donovan goal!

BP Oil Spill Graphs

I just saw this graph on CNN.com and found it amazing. This is a great look at just how big and costly the Gulf Oil Spill has been. Of particular interest, check out how much money BP makes each year, as compared to how much money they have currently spent in cleaning up the oil spill. Very interesting.

Click here for CNN graphs.

Excellent Showing

I had a great time today with the Junior High Boys' Soccer Team as we watched the US World Cup game at my house today. 10 players showed up to watch the game and saw the US tie England 1-1.

What a great showing for the US! England is one of the strongest soccer teams in the world and it shows how soccer has matured in the US that we can go toe to toe with one of the world's most storied soccer countries. People may say that the US got a lucky goal to tie it. Yes, it was a terribly lucky goal, but the US had many chances in the game, and probably had the best chance of the second half when Jozy Altidore hit the post after it was deflected by England's keeper. In that light, the US could have won. As a result of the tie, the US and England both get 1 point (team's get 3 points for a win, 1 for a tie, and 0 for a loss). The two teams with the most points after 3 games advance to the second round. The US plays again Friday morning versus Slovenia. So, the fact the US tied mighty England and got a point is a victory. I know that sounds weird, but it's a good thing. The US has shown it is a force to be reckoned and that it can hold its own with on the world stage.