New fathers ...

Congratulations are in order. Dennis and Jim are with their first baby. Dennis and his wife are expecting a healthy little boy. Jim and his wife are expecting a healthy little girl.

Jim's little girl

Dennis' little boy

Dancing Matt is back ...

I admire the way this guy named Matt travels around the world and dance in front of famous landmarks. This time around he put a little twist. Watch for it. It is great fun!

Let's get physical, physical ...

I made a pact with myself to exercise more this summer. I don't feel good about my physical shape. This is not help what is already a poor self image. I have been running longer and more often last three weeks. When I am not running I have been hiking up Piestewa Peak. I am having a little problem with my right calf. I did not used to have this problem. I should go back to stretching more often.

I am also keeping track of how many times I am climbing Piestewa Peak. One old couple climbing told me that they must have climbed it more than 3,000 times. 3,000 times!!!! I live close by and climbed it a number of times, but I don't think I climbed it fifty times. Hmm. I went up to the summit 3 times so far this summer. I also have skipped one day from either running or hiking.

Zen master in me says no, but ...

I hate the fact that acquiring things makes me happy, and I try hard to live a simpler life. Living a simple life is not always so easy. I am talking about my obsession with tech toys. I purchased a second LCD monitor so I can have a dual-monitor system. I really like having big real estate to compute. It also set me back few bucks.

I also bought a little set top box from Roku for streaming free movies from Netflix. I am an avid user and a fan of Netflix. There is one feature Netflix offers, Watch Instantly, that I could not take advantage of, because it is only for streaming to PC. I can use the Watch Instantly feature, thanks to the little set top box!!!! I really like the easy set-up, quick streaming, adequate video and sound quality. This set top box will only get better with time, because bandwidth of net will get wider, which means better quality video and sound will download faster.

June also means I am buying a new pair of running shoes for the next year of running just like last three years. I've put on at least 500 miles. I've decided to buy a pair of Brooks instead of Asics. The new pair feels stiffer. Hopefully, I can run more this year and stay in better shape.

Back to ASU ...

I am starting a 3-week Physics modeling course tomorrow at ASU-Tempe. I have not set foot on them campus in quite sometime. Now that I am older it feels weird going back to school, and yet I am looking forward to being there to learn.

Why am I taking a class during my precious time-off? I am told by other physics teachers in the district that it is an awesome class that would make me a better physics teacher. I feel much pressure to take this class. At least it is only three weeks!!!! I wish this class was about electromagnetic instead of Newtonian mechanics.