Checking In...

Wow, almost the end of January. But, this month I can understand why time flew...

• What was a 4 car family just 8 months ago, is a 1 car family this Tuesday morning. Ole reliable--the 1993 Chevrolet pickup with 142,000 miles rests by himself in the garage. Teri's VW Piece-of-Saat is back at my mechanics after VW refused to help, seems IF we would have been the original owner, they would have considered assisting us (I am sure that is with a wink-wink). So, we are trying to sell it on Craigslist "as is". If not sold in 7 days, we will fix it and then sell again. Austin's Honda meanwhile is at a different shop getting an idle problem addressed.
• Cameron has been battling the 'fraud epidemic'--seems like someone got a hold of his info in Kissimee, FL. and went on a spree at Walmart and the movie theatres and sucked $300 from his account, also known for a teen as "life savings".
• After 16 consecutive weeks of Ebay selling, we are taking a one week vacation as we did not want our items to end on Super Bowl Sunday. MUCH NEEDED break as business has been great!
  
• After Austin's 90 seconds of fame with his recent contest win, his membership increased by over 10% in one week. He is now focused on this contest which is international in scope, but held in our own backyard in Boulder, CO. So, he is trying to mix in high school track training, gym-ratting, school work and his business. Of course, we have told him to focus on his gym workouts :).
• As we have shared before, Cam in his jet refuel job, at times gets to meet some celebrities. Tom Brokaw and Gordon Lightfoot have stopped in before. On Friday, Ted Turner stopped in for a visit. Seems as if his keys got locked in a friend's car who was returning him back to the airport and Cam's company had to arrange for a locksmith. Cam's conversation with Ted--Ted: Is a locksmith on the way. Cam: Yes sir. So professional is our teen son!
• "Save Blogonize" campaign, sort of like Save the Whales. Although the IRS does not see it as a "non-profit" company, we see it as "not making profit" company. Send check or money order to:. Seems like the lad will have to find a 'real job' in about 3 months if he cannot get it monetized as his savings are dwindling quick with his $200 per month server lease.
  
• Tis tax season, so off to buy my software today. I am guessing this may be my last year of helping a dozen or so other families, mostly because I want them to find someone else in anticipation of us moving back to Taxes, I mean Texas...
• Cam has returned back to college with a "GPA builder" set of courses: 1) Intro to Music 2) Intro to Spanish 3)Micro-economics 4) Business speech. I do recall the strategy myself which ferociously backfired when I was a Soph and got a "C" in Badminton---in south Texas, 'birdies' were meant to be killed by shotgun, not rackets!
  
• Tis been 3 years since Shelly went for her vaccination shots. I remember after that ugly battle driving home staring at an 8 year old canine doing the math thinking "ahhh, she will be dead before her next shots are due"---W R O N G! So, on my notes to do is contact Petco and ask 1) Do you have a female vet 2) Do you have a muzzle I can borrow? 3) Will her foam come out of my clothes? 4) Do you know both human and canine CPR? 5) Can we avoid the rectal thermometer experience?

Til next time..

15 seconds of fame...

Well Andy Warhol coined it, but I think Austin's time frame is more like 90 seconds. As many of you know, he started developing internet businesses when he was 13 years old. He sold three of them to work on his biggest project, Blogonize. Simply put, he owns a site where you can host your own blog, or for the non-techno savvy, your own internet diary. Many folks like us simply use it as a platform to keep others apprised of our family happenings while others use it to talk about niches (ie, finances, travel, sports, etc). But with the likes of Blogger and Wordpress as his competition, he is simply a David in this Goliath world.

When in a crowded market, you have to keep on striving to be unique and cutting edge always looking for a break where you can compete. He may have gotten his Monday night. Over the weekend, TechCrunch.com invited folks with new ideas and sites to do a self-promoting video for their review and they would select the top three. Austin did and was selected! It is the best free advertising he could have received as their readership is 615,000 strong!

For the most part of the last six months his feelings were others knowing he was 16 year old would hinder his site's reputation, but now he has learned otherwise. The video he produced which was 90 seconds long can be seen at Tech Crunch

Oh, and why do I use his completion (Blogger.com)? Well, I do but I also 'dual post' over at Blogonize each time I author an entry.

I did ask him if CNN was dropping by the house today...

Congrats!

Arghhh....

Yup, absolutely BREAKING news, as in our cars keep BREAKING! Two weeks ago as she was driving her Maria Andretti speed of 30mph, Teri had her 2001 VW Passat Turbo go kerplunk on her which included the ever dreaded "I heard something rattle in the engine kind of noise". So, she called her two sons, both who were oblivious to the ringing of their phones and both who had cars and could of come and rescued her. To no avail. I then had to leave my work for a one hour round trip and get her home and then arrange for a tow to take it to the shop. Simple diagnosis--a broken timing belt at 71,000 miles. Yes, a car that required it inspected (which we did) at 60K and no replacement until 105K, snapped!

My mechanic then told me to call both VW Corp and the VW dealership since it seems this is a well known problem that VW has failed to issue a recall for. Lo and behold, Audi (the exact same car with different decals) lost a class action suit for the very same problem. The VW dealership mechanic stated it 'broke', meaning it was defective vs. wear and tear. I have never heard such a soothing, calm voice tell someone (that someone would be me) "sir, the damage estimate is $6,412.00" --you got it, a $50 rubber belt snapping resulted in some broken valves and who know what else.

VW Corp told me they would contact the local dealership by last Monday to see if they could be of assistance. As of today, they have yet to contact them. I guess they know they have a problem. Based upon my Google research, I have mixed feelings whether they will come to an acceptable resolution or not.

So, in the interim, we know only one thing-- our VW is history as we are going to sell it once it gets repaired and NO WAY (unless VW pays for it all) is the dealership repairing it. It seems their labor shop rate is $150 per hour. Are the flipping mechanics living in the same subdivisions as the brain surgeons??

If you go here , you will see what many other owners think of this car. The only satisfaction of this whole ordeal is I have renamed the Passat to a Piece of Saat...

We will keep you posted...

In memory....

Our Heavenly father welcomed home his most recent angel this morning. For those who knew her well, she was the salt of the earth and the epitome of simplicity and generosity. She was a gentle and kindred spirit who loved the Lord and will dearly be missed. Her heart cared for others. Praises to my 'care warrior' twin sister who was with her when she passed.

My darling wife, caretaker of all of our Hallock archives, has found these few photos all taken of my Aunt Ruth over the past 6 months. While there are many who scorn the Internet as a 'bad thing', it has proven once again to be able to connect generations of families who had been separated. It was somewhere around 5 years ago we began to get reconnected with her recounting our Summer visits to upstate New York via email and blogging. And through the Internet, she sent us an 'e-card' wishing us a great Christmas just three weeks ago and only days before her diagnosis.

We enjoyed our monthly email from her and she always was inquisitive of our happenings around our Denver family, especially our two boys. Our boys will always remember her as the Aunt who did the 'genealogy thing'. Ruth was our family heirloom and our treasure chest and we look forward to cherishing her research and relics.

Until we meet again...

AUNT Ruth and UNCLE Sam :)

Halloween at 'the home'

'Wild child' at 92 years YOUNG....

Princesses

As the Lord peacefully called my 92 year old Aunt Ruth to her Heavenly home this morning, it is a true blessing to have another joyful princess around our house today. Our darling 2 year old niece was working on her cheerleading routine last night as the Denver Nuggets played on the TV in the background.

Your Next Two Professional Pilots...

Cam in Dance Training

Cam's Adventure

Cam had seen too much cold in his outdoor job as a re fueler so was looking for a warm climate for a quick trip. He called Thursday night and asked me to explore Phoenix, but the 5 day forecast had it as low 60s with drizzle. So, we suggested Austin and 5 day forecast had it partly cloudy and low 70s. He and his friend, Eric, the owner of a very nice Vans RV-10 experimental aircraft, agreed to the destination and all they needed was some free lodging and deep discount food. Grandpa and Grandma north of Austin were willing to be the perfect host, so that is where they are tonight through Tuesday.

They departed a bit after 1015pm for a night flight to Amarillo where they would stop for fuel and a nap in the pilot's lounge Lazy Boys. It was his highest flight ever (altitude of 17,000 feet) and the first where they had to have oxygen flowing as the air is a bit thin up there. Cruising speed about 180 mph. Upon arrival, they asked to borrow the fleet car that most Fixed Base Operators offer to their pilots and in to town they headed for their midnight snack---Whataburger!

They awoke about 6am after a 4 hour nap and were able to get airborne and watch the sun rise while enroute to Georgetown. Total flight time about 5 hours--sure beats driving! The Grandpa limo awaited them and whisked them off to Rudy's BBQ for some fine smackin' breakfast tacos. From there, off to the Nunn Resort where they began their naps!

The beauty of a sunrise as you fly over the flatlands of Texas...

When you have your instrument rating, you get to fly above God's cotton balls...

Dave's Top 10--2008 Challenges...

OK, just got done cleaning up the bathroom and ready to post my 2008 goals!

1) Change template on my Blog (so refreshing to check off a goal Day One of the New Year!)

2) "Rubber 1,609 K" exercise goal--or 1,000 miles--yes, my tennis shoe soles, bike tires, treadmill track and stationary bike pedals are involved! Why a 1,000-- that is the distance from Arvada, CO to Central Texas--our next and final stop and this thought will (might) keep me inspired. My specific goal is to avoid dress shirt size "Men's Triple Chin"...

3) Do something big for God--something I haven't done before and devoted to glorify Him. A couple of ideas stirring around in the brain He gave me...more to come and praying that my youngest teen son techno-guru will give me a hand..

4) Take a family airplane vacation. We missed one last year and it is always tough now to get Cameron's schedule to cooperate with ours.

5) Keep the Ebay biz going and shooting for 5 digit gross income. This supports items 3 and 4.

6) Home improvements---master bath flooring and living room entry way--upgrade this year so we can enjoy them before attempting to sell the house. Too often we make last minute remodel changes to sell the house versus to enjoy it.

7) Be a good neighbor. One thing that really influenced my heart this year through listening and reading is Jesus really intended to keep this all simple--love Him, love your neighbors and take care of the elderly, widows and orphans. So, for the Winter time at least, I have put this into play by snow shoveling our entire cul-de-sac sidewalk. Additionally, I shovel the driveways of my widow neighbor and the most elder couple at the end of the block. Most importantly, I try to do this in conjunction with Matthew 6:1 and go out when they are not around.

8) Help support Cameron's flying efforts and goals

9) Help support Austin's business adventure with ideas, solutions, financing, etc.

10)Buy Teri some tennis shoes (Dave's Top Nine didn't sound right).....

Off to work on #2....(not to go #2)......