Actually, my daughter finds this and other games through a site called PrimaryGames so that site will get first mention here.

Primarygames is a great site for playing free games for kids of all ages (it has some classic 80s arcade games for nostalgic adults). There are lots of games with hidden educational value as well as some that are just for fun. If you have a Wii console it also works well on the Internet Channel.  I found that with a little positioning of the screen the gameplay using the Wii was just as smooth as playing any other Wii game.  In this sense it may be the preferred method to visit the site as sometimes a PC will hang up momentarily (I suspect the ads off to the side may be the culprit).

There are a lot of unique puzzle games as well as a few twists on Tetris (that game was as addictive for me as Farmville is for most people today). Never thought I would be staying up late playing kids games but I had to beat “Blox Forever”. The games on this site are better than anything I’ve seen on Facebook and given the amount of time people waste on Facebook games this site is well worth checking out.  Plus, unless you manually do it you won’t be flooding your friends with status updates on achieving level 99.

Now on to the extremely short review of Monkey Go Happy 2. This game is actually a collection of mini games such as duck shoot, wac-a-mole, and other carnival type games. Most of the mini-games require only the directional arrows, space bar, and mouse (or touchpad) so even little ones can play. This game definitely falls under the “just for fun” category since there is little educational value.

As an added bonus there is also a little monkey watching you play. While you are playing the monkey is crying. Once you complete each game the monkey “goes happy” with a wide grin and dance. While the monkey’s happy dance was a reward in itself the even bigger prize for me was my daughter’s laughter. It made my smile rival the monkey’s (no happy dance for me though…I have no rhythym).

Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Using my psychic powers (like the ones Dionne Warwick’s friends claimed to have) I will guess your reaction(s) to the title:

1. “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah I’ve heard that before.”

and/or

2. “That’s easier said than done.”

If so then we both are absolutely correct (and I am going to explore a new career field)! There are several fitness experts out there with great advice and several gadgets that can help you. However, nothing can help you without first eliminating the negative attitude.

As I wrote before back in 2006 I was rapidly approaching 300 pounds. Each day I felt I had less energy than the day before. With a very young child and an incredible workload at the office I often felt twice my age.

I would see these fitness experts giving really good advice but I wouldn’t listen. I figured they were probably fit all of their lives and that I couldn’t possibly relate to them. Therefore whatever worked for them wouldn’t work for me. Whenever a new fitness guru burst on the scene I too had a reaction of “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah I’ve heard that before.” The only thing truly stopping me from achieving my goals was my own attitude. Once I decided to eliminate that attitude I saw results: 90 pounds lost in 1 year.

Whatever it takes for you to get rid of this attitude DO IT. If you think you can’t tell me why and then I will tell you why you’re wrong. Then you can listen to the fitness experts and get moving.

As for “easier said than done” that’s obvious. It was a LOT easier for me to say “sure I’d like to run the full marathon” than it was to actually run it. I think too often in trying to portray fitness as fun and rewarding (which it is) experts often gloss over the hard parts. Injuries or just plain sore muscles are going to happen. They will also go away. The feeling of accomplishment will stays. Even though I could barely walk for 2 days after finishing the marathon I look forward to running it again. The sense of accomplishment outweighed the soreness. Or maybe I am just too prone now to focus on the positive:)

As for the picture it is a roadblock I encountered biking that almost shortened my ride. However, having a mountain bike has its advantages and I was able to ride through some fields to find another safe place to cross. I didn’t let a train stand in the way of my fitness goals…don’t let yourself stand in the way of yours.

On the way home from a big Thanksgiving dinner with family I decided it would be fun to stop by the nearest Toys R Us and participate in some Black Friday midnight madness. My daughter has been wanting a Zhu Zhu pet for quite some time. We were going to be passing right by a Toys R Us anyway and the first 100 families get one. Since our daughter was spending the weekend with her granparents this appeared to be too good of an opportunity to paas up. After all, how hard could this be?

For a little bit of perspective our daughter has made it relatively easy for my wife and I on Christmas.  Up until this year the toys she really wanted were not on any “Hottest Toy of the Year” list.  We never had to worry about hitting early bird sales or fighting anybody to get what she wanted.  Therefore I had no prior experience with Black Friday shopping which explains my naiveté.

My optimism was quickly dashed when we arrived at the store.  Given that folks usually show up at least an hour before store openings like this I knew we were too late to be one of the first (we arrived about 15 minutes prior to opening).  However I was gambling that all of the Thanksgiving turkey had everybody sleeping that night.  I was wrong.  Traffic around the store was a mess. I dropped my wife off as close to the store as I could so she could get in line.  After fighting traffic (never fun but especially not at midnight) I was finally able to park and run over to the store. Here is the sight that greeted me when I arrived:

Front of Toys R Us by the Time I Got There

It may be hard to see but the actual line had formed off towards the back of the photo and stretched past the parking lot and down an access road (total length of the line was approximately 3 blocks).  The people directly in front of me were either just watching the action or planning to cut in line (which by the way I learned later is a violation of Olathe city ordinance).  Also not visible is the line of police officers up against the doors (apparently Olathe takes their line cutting ordinance very seriously).

What I did not know at the time was that my wife was surrounded by the group of “line cutters” fairly close to me.  When the doors opened she got caught up the crowd that was pushing past all of the other people in line.  Of course tempers flared and small skirmishes broke out.  A little old lady even slammed her cart into my wife’s heel which was a bit uncalled for.  Isn’t being forced to break a city ordinance by the crowd surrounding her bad enough?

I realized I had no chance of snagging Mr. Squiggles so I walked around the line taking pictures.  As I walked toward the back of the line people looked at me as if to say to me “why bother…the store will be empty by the time you get in”  As I walked back toward the front I got dirty looks (apparently I looked like a line cutting ordinance violator).  One individual actually made a snide remark to me as I walked forward (and away from them).  I reacted by turning and staring them down (I was too tired to engage in conversation).  It was amazing how this person’s big mouth suddenly snapped shout at that point.  To give you an idea of just how far the line extended here is the view from the back of the line:

The Back of the Line

Meanwhile, my wife was using Twitter to report what was going on inside while dodging parents behaving poorly (ramming carts into each other, dumping whole shelves of toys into their carts, and using plenty of “sentence enhancers”).  I was trapped outside feeling both helpless and left out.  After all, this was probably my only shot at ever playing bumper carts.  I did briefly talk to her while she was inside and it sounded like fun (if you consider absolute mayhem fun that is).  At that instant the song “Kung Fu Fighting” was stuck in my head where it would stay throughout the weekend (catchy song).

Once reality set in that all the good toys were long gone the folks standing in that nearly 2000 person deep line people calmed down and started being friendly again.  I felt like I was surrounded by a bunch of Jekyll and Hydes.  I think at that moment folks began to realize how absurd their previous angry behavior was and were trying to make up for it with kindness.  I have to say I definitely admired them for their devotion to their children (except for the little old lady who slammed my wife with a cart…you are old enough to know better).

Sunday 11/29/09

Toys R Us advertised that they would have Zhu Zhu Pets for the first 50 customers so I found myself standing in line at 6am for the store opening.  This time my wife stayed home recovering from her cart injury. It was MY turn to play bumper carts (FINALLY).  Unfortunately (for me) everybody there with me was behaving like adults and laughing so I didn’t get a chance to smash carts into anybody.  However, I did get to hear stories from all of these Black Friday veterans about similar incidents happening at other places which was sort of a consolation prize.  In return for my sacrificing sleep on a weekend I was awarded with Mr. Squiggles AND an accessory.  No fighting, no slamming carts, and no sentence enhancers on this trip.

I wanted to share this story both to show how crazy people really can be and also to demonstrate my basic attitude on everything.  I set a goal: get Mr. Squiggles.  I put forth some effort to get it done (of course my wife did as well).  I achieved my goal. If you know what you want and are willing to work to get it good things will happen to you:

Here he is heading home with me

During one of my recent 10 mile runs a light bulb snapped on in my head and I came up with a great idea to help others. Listed below is the patent pending process I used to come up with this plan:

Step 1: Identify the “What”
First I had to figure out who I wanted to help the most. The first charities that came to mind were Harvester’s International and Children’s Miracle Network (CMN).

I had joined my wife and her coworkers for Harvester’s “Day of Caring” late last year. They had a brief presentation with some surprising stats (for example a large portion of the food donated goes to children). Whatever opinions you may have about their parents having to rely upon such assistance I don’t think anybody could justify their children having to suffer.

However, I felt a somewhat closer connection to Children’s Miracle Network. My daughter was born premature but other than being small was fine. However some of her fellow NICU patients were not. I still remember the faces of one little girl’s parents. Their daughter apparently was not doing as well as mine and I could see the emotional roller coaster they were on each time I passed them.

Also, I noticed there weren’t too many CMN fundraisers in Kansas City this year so the scales were tipped in favor of CMN. If my idea is a success and raises enough donations I may add Harvester’s in later.

Step 2: Identify the “How?”
For the rest of that run and the next couple a plan came together. Remember the old school fundraiser methods used a long, long time ago (the 1980s)? As a kid whenever there was a charity run/walk I used to go to everybody I knew with a sheet asking them to pledge a certain amount per distance interval.

Shazam!!! I could do that now too. However, thanks to the marvels of modern technology I no longer have to go door to door nor do I have to orchestrate a large gathering of people. This site will be the central resource for information and Twitter/Facebook/e-mail updates will keep everybody informed. I will upload and share with everybody the GPS data thanks to my Garmin handheld and www.motionbased.com.

I am still working out some logistical issues (what information I would need to collect from donors to distribute the GPS information and how to get the donations directly to CMN without me having to be in the middle of the transactions).

In the meantime please consider helping these children and keep them and their families in your thoughts and prayers. Also, my “Personal Me” page will be updated over time to provide all of the details as I get them.

While I could write about the marathon itself (especially how up until mile marker 20 I felt great then my legs felt as if they caught fire) the journey to get to the race is more significant.

Throughout my adult life my physical fitness level was the typical seesaw you often hear about. Over a period of nearly 2 decades my weight ranged from a low of 160 to a high of 283. I would develop good habits only to fall off the wagon and become worse off than ever before. When I hit the 283 lb mark and realized I was trending towards 300 pounds I snapped. Then I changed.

A lot of folks in the fitness industry at the time were too busy trying to make themselves rich with complex schemes. For example one well known company created a dietary point system with little to no real meaning that did not teach good habits (if I ate a food with the right fiber to fat ratio I could eat all day and still lose weight – not realistic). What it did do is create a dependency on their reference materials.

Of course several people were following the “all carbs are evil” approach at that time as well. That one did have an appealing aspect to it: everybody loves to be told you can eat all you want and still lose weight. However, as with other diets or pills that seek to eliminate or block one of the basic components of food (protein, carbs, fat) most of the weight loss was actually water.

I love to keep things simple if at all possible. I decided to focus on the fundamental rule of weight loss: calorie intake must be less than calorie expenditure. My diet plan was set and I didn’t even need to use Staples’ “Easy Button”.  To increase my fitness level I put my money where my mouth is (or was) and bought a treadmill. If you are “on the fence” about starting an exercise routine a big purchase like that will get you moving:)

Now that I had my diet plan and exercise equipment it was time to get to work. I monitored my food intake, exercised 30 minutes a day, and….that’s it. No fad diets, magical contraptions, or pills needed. I lost over 90 pounds that year. It was that simple.

Once the weight was off and had stabilized I increased my workout intensity over the last 2 years. My routine included alternating running, cycling, and weightlifting.

For most of this year I pushed myself harder biking than I did running. I typically ran 6-8 miles per outing and biked up to 38 miles per outing. I ran 10 miles once and thought I will never run that far again. Just those extra couple miles made a big difference.

However, in late September Crown Center ran a Facebook contest with the prize being a free entry in the KC Marathon. All you had to do was send a message stating which race (full marathon, half marathon, or 5k) you wanted to run. Remembering my 10 mile run I played it safe and stated I wanted to run the half marathon. Later that day I found out I won an entry and had 15 days to train.

The best way to train for something is to actually do it so I loaded the half marathon course into my GPS and ran it a few times. Other than having to go through some rough neighborhoods in parts it was easier than I thought it would be. I then began thinking about running the full marathon.

Once I found out I could use my prize to enter the full marathon instead I asked my friends and family if I should run the full or half. Either being supportive or seeing if I would actually do it they all encouraged me to go for the full marathon. In the end I chose the full marathon and the rest is history.

A lot of people train specifically for marathons and make them their ultimate fitness goal so once they cross the finish line there is a burst of emotion. My wife read about a lot of runners experiencing a bit of depression after completing a marathon. Those feelings are understandable given the significant work they did to get there and the realization they just accomplished something extraordinary.

Not me though. I looked at it as not the end of the fitness journey I began 3 years ago but instead the elevation of it to a new level. Besides, since the last 6 miles set me way back on time I have plenty of room to improve. I will see everybody at next year’s KC Marathon.

I figured the best way to see the base would be to jog around it. I began my run on a highway that leads around the perimeter of the base. Most bases I had been to growing up as an Air Force “brat” and later as an enlisted member were completely fenced off so I knew I couldn’t get on base anyway. Being very familiar with security procedures (at least pre 9/11 ones) I figured this would keep me at a safe distance and avoid seeing anything that might be classified. I also like to take pictures from my runs and afterwards share them online. I figured from my vantage point any pictures from my Blackberry would not capture any sensitive information. Surely I wouldn’t cause any trouble, right?

Wrong. I had taken a couple scenic pictures (nothing close up) mainly overlooking the “residential” part of the base (shopping area combined with base housing which was MUCH nicer than the bases I lived on) and of the extravagant front gate during my run. I was careful to make sure I didn’t catch any military equipment or personnel in my pictures. I intended to later upload the pictures when I finished my jog. Little did I know that at the same time I was being reported as a security threat.

I found out soon enough though. I was nearing the end of my run when a military police vehicle performed a quick U-turn on the highway and stopped right in front of me. A couple of military policeman stepped out of the car…one was smiling but the other wasn’t. A minute later a pitch black Dodge Charger pulled up behind them (turned out it was the County Sheriff). The sheriff wasn’t smiling either. I initially thought those gentlemen were mad at me for being able to run farther than they can.

That’s when they began questioning me about why I was running around the base and if I took any pictures. Further into the interrogation, er conversation, I learned that taking pictures ANYWHERE near a military base is now taboo – even if you are on a highly traveled highway. I immediately complied with their request to delete the pictures I had taken and actually had a nice conversation with them. One of them had just previously been stationed at a base I was at when I left the service. Even while almost being arrested for nothing more than being nostalgic I still had a good time. Those airman did their job well.

However, the incident brings up some questions. While I could certainly understand if I was taking close up shots of hangars or of planes why get so uptight about a picture of the front gate? And if you are trying to hide its location why make it so extravagant? My guess is that they don’t want taxpayers guessing how much of their money was spent on it.

Also, why pick on me with my Blackberry cell phone when you can already get a far more detailed view of the base from Google Maps – that is how I found the base in the first place. In just a few seconds of reviewing the satellite images I had way more information about the place than I could have gathered on my run.

In the end though I am not angry about the incident. Whatever it takes to keep our soldiers safe here and abroad is fine with me. I’m sure several will think I should’ve known better but I never thought I would appear to be the least bit threatening…especially while jogging. The incident sure does make for a funny story though:)

I am not the Curtis W. Smith who is the defendant in a trial somewhere in New York. I have not been in trouble with the law so other than a short dury duty stint the closest I have been to trial is watching Law & Order in HD.

I am not an orthopaedic surgeon from Cleveland. I have been fortunate enough to never have any major health issues therefore my knowledge of medicine is limited. Hopefully the only extended hospital visits I have will be to help them set up new broadband data networks.

I am not a company in Corrigan, TX although I do have a habit of doing work myself that used to take several people.

I am not into making miniature models of Captain America. However I do like to make inanimate objects talk to each other (computers, routers, handheld gadgets).

I am not an Extension Horticulture Specialist located in Arizona. I am not even sure what extension horticulture is. That’s OK because I doubt any of them know as much as I do about dense wave division multiplexing, SONET, microwave and RF radio, or even the GPS constellation of satellites (I was fortunate enough to be involved in the deployment of that system which I now use to reach fitness goals).

In case you are still wondering where I came up with this list I did what most career experts did and “Googled” myself. Except for the first one who is in court they seem to be fine upstanding people. Of course with a name like mine, or more to the point exactly like mine, they’d have to be, right?

I'm not any of these Curtis W. Smiths