My wife and I recently moved into our first home. Our house, located in the Pulte Homes’ Carrington Reserve development, is situated on a lot which is adjacent to a protected wetland. The Jelkes Creek wetland is one of only three wetlands of its type in the world and is a unique ecosystem to live next to. The wildlife is remarkably abundant – I typically see one or two deer every day and numerous species of bird.

As seen on a bumper sticker in Northbrook, Illinois: D.A.R.E. - Dare to keep cops off donuts! Donut Abuse Resistance Education Ha ha ha ha!!!

I was thinking the other day about how I had not written a letter with pen and paper in years and years. In fact, I may not have scribed such a message since I was a child. I realized that I rely completely on email to communicate with friends and family. Of course I still use that archaic device, the telephone, from time to time but pretty much send electronic mail whenever I want to reach out and touch someone.

I ran across this link on the Internet yesterday. It’s written by a woman who lives near the city and rides her Kawasaki Ninja on the roads around the city. She says its the best place in the world to ride because there are no cars or people anywhere to be seen and, therefore, the roads are wide open. She says the roads are in perfect condition because there is no wear and tear on them from constant traffic.

I just got a copy of the latest release in the Unreal Tournament tradition. I got it the day it became available and put in at least 4 hours playing it already. This year’s version brings a ton of awesome new features! First, the return of Onslaught and Assault as game types is a much welcome change. Haven’t played Onslaught yet but Assault is excellent. It really takes at least 2 people, if not more, to play, though.

Yes, yes, I know it usually has another name but I attempt to keep things clean on this website. But here is a list of all the things I can think of that piss me off…and trust me, you don’t want to be on this list. These are not in any particular order and I am sure the list will grow. Little annoying, yippy, soccer ball dogs. If a dog barks, it should sound like Cujo.

Just like I started keeping track of countries I’ve been to, now I am keeping track of states I have been to in the United States. Found a neat little map on World66 which allows me to highlight the states I’ve been to. Illinois. Lived here my whole life. Indiana. create your own personalized map of the USA or write about it on the open travel guide

The movie Pulp Fiction has a ton of great scenes. One of my favorites is when Vincent takes Mia to the restaurant and she orders a special milkshake: Mrs. Mia Wallace: A five dollar shake. Buddy Holly: How do you want that shake: Martin and Lewis or Amos and Andy? Mrs. Mia Wallace: Martin and Lewis. Vincent Vega: Did you just order a five dollar shake? Mrs. Mia Wallace: Ummhh.

This is one dark book. This is the third book in the Prey series by John Sandford. I really enjoy reading this series (there are 14 books in the series now) and watching the development of the Lucas Davenport character. In this book, Sandford introduces the Michael Bekker villain. He is the darkest and freakiest serial murderer I’ve read about in a long time. This book drains you when you read it as it takes a lot to steel yourself against the evil in Bekker’s personality.

I’ve decided to start keeping track of the countries I’ve been to before I forget them. The number after the country name is the number of times I’ve been there. If there is an asterisk (*) then I’ve only been in the country during transit, i.e. on the way to another country and thus I’ve only seen the airport. United States. Duh, I live here, but still it’s a country and going on my list.