tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70097046305176137962024-02-20T20:58:17.147-06:00Engineering for DummiesChris Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312859343710536460noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009704630517613796.post-26455105747687462812014-02-10T21:03:00.004-06:002014-02-10T21:03:42.881-06:00Clutch<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Clutch is defined by Webster as many things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of them are related to cars and the
connection between the engine and the transmission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of them related to handbags and grabbing
or gripping things but that’s not the one that I am focusing on today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The meaning that I am interested in is the
one that says “clutch (adj.) – done or accomplished in critical situations;
dependable in critical situations.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The last blog that I wrote focused on Hannah’s first
volleyball tournament and how well her 11 year old team played in a tournament
full of 12 year olds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They showed a lot
of spirit, team work and most of all a lot of promise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This past weekend she had another tournament
and this time, as before, they showed a lot of sprit and a lot of team work but
instead of showing promise they showed a lot of progress and a lot of wins for
the effort.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">They played in the choo-choo city tournament that was
sponsored by the host club, choo-choo city volleyball club.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As with most tournaments they started out with
pool play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were placed in a pool of
a total of 5 teams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were seeded 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup>
in the pool based on their performance from the last tournament.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only the host club was seeded higher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As before the tournament consisted of only 12
year old teams except for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As with most tournaments they play 2 sets against a team
regardless of how the wins and losses go and at the end of the day the teams
are seeded into the elimination brackets (gold, silver, etc) based on their
total wins and losses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The format for
this tournament was that only the top two teams in the bracket would advance to
the elimination bracket, meaning that 3 of the 5 teams in the pool would be
eliminated at the end of pool play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last
tournament Hannah’s team ended in 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> place by beating Team 205 but
this was enough to get them into the silver bracket since 4 of 5 teams
advanced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That wouldn’t be nearly good
enough this week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Being seeded second they drew the first match of the day
against the 5<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> seeded team in the bracket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The took the court to play Tennessee Blaze
12-1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coach Heather told Hannah that she
would be held out the first game since she missed a practice due to weather
this past week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The game went well and
11 Black held a 1 – 2 point lead most of the game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first set ended 25-22 with 11 Black
winning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a great way to start the
tournament and super boost for the team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The second game started and it was obvious that the girls were brimming
with confidence after starting so strong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hannah rotated in for several series and made several saves and even a
block attempt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For most of the game
Hannah was in a rotation with Sydney where Hannah would play the front row and
Sydney would play the back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hannah would
come out and Sydney would go into serve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This seemed to work well but Sydney was a little hit or miss with her
serving at times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second game was
very impressive for 11 Black.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They got
on a run and late in the game the score was 21-10.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tennessee Blaze got on a serving run right at
the end and made the score a little closer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The final score was 25-22.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>11
Black was off to a 2-0 start on the day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The next match was against Team Sting 12 yellow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>12 Yellow is a group of big looking 12 year
olds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>11 Black didn’t play 12 yellow in
the first tournament since they were in a different pool and were in a
different bracket during elimination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
match started and immediately 11 Black fell behind. Hannah rotated in for
several series and she (like most of the other girls) struggled to keep up and
catch up with 12 Yellow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As before the
girls adjusted as they played to the speed and the power of the other team and
by the end of the match were keeping up point for point with the older team.
The second match started and this time 11 Black went on the offensive. They
scored several points in a row and took a 4-1 lead. Hannah played the same
rotation that she had in the previous match where she would play front row for
Sydney. At a critical point in the match 12 Yellow had taken a lead and were
serving to 11 Black.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They rallied the
ball back and forth several times and the ball came back over the net short,
Hannah stepped back and set the ball back over the net short to 12Yellow. They
recovered the ball and passed it back over the net, Grace made a diving dig and
Hannah got under the ball and set it. After a brief hesitation (11’s don’t set
and hit that much) one of the other girls stepped up and made a hit on the ball
and scored on 12 Yellow to tie the game again. 11Black went on to finish the game
25-21 and improve their record on the day to 3-1. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The girls had a little time off between their 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup>
and 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> matches so they ate and rested. Eating during tournaments is
a tricky thing. Eat and drink too little and you’ll be tired and dehydrated
from lack of food. Eat and drink too much and you run the risk of being
sluggish and lethargic. When the third match started it was clear that the team
was not as perky as they had been previously. The third match was against the
team 205 12 year old team that 11 Black played in their first tournament. The
match started and team 205 took a quick 7-1 lead over 11 Black. Everything that
had been going right in previous matches was going wrong. The girls weren’t
moving or talking and balls were hitting the floor like never before. At 14-8 coach
heather called a time out to talk to the team. I’m not sure what coaches say to
teams at critical moments in the game but whatever coach heather said during
the time out worked. 11 Black returned to the court, shook the cobwebs off and
started playing volleyball again. Hannah played through her rotations and the
game ended with 11 Black winning 25-20. The second match was never in
question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>11 black took an early lead
and never looked back. The game was never in question and near the end coach
heather put Hannah in to serve. Hannah has a really good serve but has
struggled with having enough strength to get them over the net every time. She
lined up took her stance and belted her serve over the net. It was low and fast
and aced the other team. Her grin went from ear to ear. She lined up for the
second one, lofted it into the air and served it right into the net. It was a
good serve but just a little too low. The game continued and 11 Black won
25-13.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>11 Blacks record on the day stood
at 5-1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shortly thereafter 12 yellow
lost a match and 12 black became the sole owner of 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> place in the
pool and guaranteed of going on to play in the elimination bracket as one of
the top two teams in their pool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
truly amazing to think that a team of 9, 10 and 11 year olds can play with that
much passion, enthusiasm and skill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
team that struggled in the first tournament but played well and showed growth
now was one of the dominant teams in the tournament and a force to be reckoned
with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>11 Black had proven to be one of
the best 12 year old teams that Team Sting had to offer this season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I learned during the break between games that
over the course of the season and practices that each of the girls has gotten a
nick name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coach Heather’s daughter
Maggie is Maggles, Anna is Anna Banana and Grace is Grace Face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The girls like to joke and kid with their new
nicknames and they seemed to be enjoyed their run of success on the day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">From here on out the girls were playing with house
money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any win, any success past this
point is just icing on the cake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
final match of pool play pitted 11 Black against the number one team in the
pool, the host team Choo-Choo City Volleyball.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The match started and 11 Black coming off of a dominating win against
Team 205 jumped out to a 4-1 lead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
game continued and 11 Black continued to lead up to the point that the score
was 20-15.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>11 Black rode strong serving
and good defense to keep Choo-Choo citys best servers from getting on a run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No other team had held a lead on Choo Choo
City all day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The shock of being challenged
in this way was evident on the faces of the players and the coaches for Choo
choo city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two lead servers for Choo
Choo city were very good and had been dominating other teams all day but 11
Black was very effective in their rallies and limited them to a single serve
each.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At 20-15 the lead server for
Choo-Choo came back up to serve and managed to get three serves that 11 Black couldn’t
return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The score was 21-18 when their
second server rolled up to serve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again
the strong serving from Choo Choo city caused 11 Black problems as it had other
teams all day, at the end of her run the score stood at 22-23 and 11 Black had
lost their lead but they weren’t done yet, Sophie, 11 Blacks best server was up
to serve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sophie’s first serve was an
ace, 23-23.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her second serve was not an
ace but it was a good serve and 11 Black rallied to get the point, 24-23, game
point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her next serve was a good one but
Choo Choo city rallied and won the point, 24-24.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Choo-Choo city served next and won the next
two points and won the match 26-24.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was only the second loss of the day for 11 Black against a very good team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second match started and Choo-Choo city
took the early lead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The score was close
for the entire match but in the end 11 Black couldn’t pull the win out and the
set ended 25-22 in favor of Choo-Choo City.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even though they lost two straight to Choo-Choo city 11 Black had played
them closer than any other team in the pool and nearly pulled off what would
have easily been the biggest upset of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They finished second in the pool with a 5-3 overall record and were
moving on to the elimination bracket. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They prepared to play the first elimination
match against Team Sting 12 White as the other teams packed and left.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For the first match of the elimination round we had to move
from Court 1 to Court 2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Court 2 was
located about 2 blocks away from court 1 in a much older gym that looked a lot
like an old high school gymnasium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since
11 Black finished 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> in their pool they were slated to play the
number one team from the other pool, 12 White.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>12 White and 11 Black had played before in the first tournament but 11
Black had come a long way since then and were a much more confident team than
they were in the first meeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>12 White
and 11 Black took the court and the match started.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The match was back and forth with multiple
lead changes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The score went from 5-2 in
favor of 12 White to 7-6 in favor of 11 Black.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hannah and the other girls on 11 Black took turns in their rotations and
played well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each team got their shots
at the other team and it was a very tense match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Late in the match 12 White held a slim lead
at 22-20.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>11 Black rallied on some
strong serving from Sophie and Grace and several impressive digs from Grace and
Sydney.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The score stood at 23-23.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>12 White scored and made it 24-23, game point
but 11 Black wasn’t done and return a serve for a score to tie it at
24-24.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anna came up to serve and uncharacteristically
fired her serve into the net, 25-24 game point 12 White.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>12 White took the serve, 11 Black rallied it
back and then when 12 White returned it again it was more than 11 Black could
handle and it went out of bounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Game
over 26-24, 12 White.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The second match started and just like the first it was a
back and forth affair with neither team being able to gain a substantial lead
on the other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hannah rotated in to play
front row for Sydney and made several saves including one near block over the
net that resulted in a score for 11 Black.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As with the first match the score stood at 22-23 in favor of 12
White.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then everything stopped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kathyryn was standing in the middle of the
court holding her face and crying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Somewhere in the last rally one of her team mates had accidentally elbowed
her in the nose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was no blood but
it was clear she was in a lot of pain and her nose and cheek were
swelling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a brief timeout in
the match and Coach Heather was given a substitution to replace Kathyrn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coach Heather looked at her sideline and at
the girls standing there and after a brief hesitation said “Go Hannah”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh my, my heart jumped up in my throat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>12 White took the serve and it came
over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hannah was standing at the front
left and grace took a dig on the ball and Hannah passed it back over the
net.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>12 White bobbled it and it fell to
the floor, 23-23.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hannah was up to
serve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>12 White’s Coach called a time
out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>11 Black went to the side line and
huddled up with Coach Heather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I learned
later what Coach said to the girls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
told them that she was very proud of them and they had played fantastic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said that they had a chance to win this
game and then she looked at Hannah and told her that they really needed a point
and to go out there and do her best.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
timeout ended and Hannah walked out on the court to serve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She stood in the middle of the court with the
ball at her side and took a deep breath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The referee whistled the play in and Hannah took her stance to
serve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She lofted the ball into the air
and the hit it harder than I have ever seen her hit a ball before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The crack of her hand hitting the ball was
something you could feel as well as hear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The ball cleared the net by 3 inches and landed in the middle of the
court untouched., ACE!!!.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>24-23 11
Black.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The adults and other spectators
erupted in cheers but the team was happy but solemn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They knew that the game wasn’t over and there
was still more work to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hannah stood
back in the middle of the court again ready to serve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as before she lofted the ball and hit it
over the net.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The middle back player
went to a knee to dig the serve and popped it back up but to the right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two of the girls chased it out of bounds but
were unable to get to it in time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ACE!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Game!!! 25-23.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>11 Black Wins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The arena erupted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hannah and all of 11 Black went nuts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>9 little girls were jumping up and down and
screaming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were all high fiving
each other and especially Hannah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the
midst of the celebration Coach Heather pulled Hannah close to her and said
something to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I learned later that
what she said was that she now knew what Hannahs nick name should be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Clutch”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The best nick names are earned and Hannah earned hers with a gutsy
couple of aces with the game on the line.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Chris Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312859343710536460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009704630517613796.post-38347621738227508452014-01-29T21:50:00.000-06:002014-01-29T21:50:30.872-06:00Back in Black...I got to watch my daughter play volleyball this past Saturday... <br />
<br />
That's nothing new right?<br />
<br />
Except this this time it was Hannah and not Beth.<br />
<br />
Hannah had her first club volleyball tournament yesterday and it was one of the most exciting sporting events that I have ever seen. I know I'm a little prejudiced because I'm her father and all daddies think that their kids are amazing but there was more to it than that. <br />
<br />
Hannah was nervous, very nervous. She had never played anything like volleyball before and was visibly nervous as we got ready to leave for the tournament. She had her spandex, jersey, court shoes and cover up on. She had her duffle bag packed and ready. She looked like a volleyball player but she was not confident that she could be a volleyball player.<br />
<br />
We drove to Pelham High School where the tournament was going to be played and got there a little early. When we went in a couple of the other girls were already there and were milling around in the lobby. Hannah started to get ready to go with her team and warm up. <br />
<br />
I guess I need to give a little background here.<br />
<br />
Hannah is 11. If you think that's a little young to be playing club volleyball you would be right. Typically, the youngest team at most clubs is a 12 year old team. USAV has rules all the way down to 10 year old but there just aren't that many. Team Sting has had 12 year old teams for a while now but this year they decided to create an 11 year old team due to the number of younger girls who were trying out. Hannah was placed on 11 Black with 8 other girls who range in age from 8 - 11. Most of these girls are playing volleyball because they have a sister, a friend, a cousin or a mother that is playing or has played. <br />
<br />
There aren't many clubs with 11 year old divisions so 11 Black was entered in a tournament with 9 other 12 year old teams. This doesn't sound like that big of a difference but in reality when you see the difference in 10 and 11 year old girls and 12 year old girls it is huge. Most of these girls were 4 - 6 inches taller than the girls on 11 Black. <br />
<br />
Hannah's team was a year younger than the other girls in the group so they were seeded last in their pool which meant that they had to play first match. The girls took the court and it was obvious that they were all nervous and not sure of themselves or what was about to happen. They started practicing and warming up. Hannah served a few balls and very few of them went over the net. Hannah has been working on her overhand float serve and while she has a good serve she typically is a little short on power. <br />
<br />
Finally, the time for the first match came and the girls lined up on the court and got ready to play. The other team served first and the game was started. In tournament pool play typically each team plays two matches against the each of the other teams. After all of the teams have in the pool have played each other the top teams in the pool advance to the elimination bracket and the lower teams in the pool are sent home at the end of pool play. In this tournament the top 4 teams would advance and the last place team would not. The first two matches went about like I expected. The girls played hard but lost convincingly. They were trying act as much like a volleyball player as they could but it very much looked like a team of 10 and 11 year olds playing a team of 12 year olds. The scores were respectable at 25-17, 25-14, etc but the outcome was never in question. Hannah made some digs and missed several as did most of the other girls. Hannah didn't hit any of her serves in the first two matches and most of the other girls serves didn't make it. What was surprising was that 11 Black didn't get discouraged or upset. They did a little cheer after every point just like they have seen the older girls do and kept right on playing. The second match was a little better than the first but basically had the same outcome.<br />
<br />
There was a 3 game break after the second match and we noticed that 11 Black had disappeared. The team took the court for the third match and this time they had a new cheer that was original. They had gone out during the break between matches and made up an entirely new cheer. The first game was similar to the first two matches but the girls seemed to be responding better and getting more in tune with the speed of the game. The score was 25-18, their best showing of the day. The second game started and things were going fairly well. The score was 14-11 as Hannah came up to serve. I because nervous since Hannah to this point had not made a serve all day and the coach kept putting her into serve every rotation. I must admit that at this point I questioned why she kept putting her in when she apparently wasn't ready to serve. Hannah stood at the line and one of her other team mates, Grace, came up to her, patted her on the shoulder, and said "good luck, you can do it". The referee blew the whistle to signal Hannah that she could serve. Hannah took a deep breath, tossed the ball in the air and swung. The ball was a line drive serve right down the center of the court. It cleared the net by 12 inches. The ball hit one of the opposing players hands and shanked out of bounds. Ace. Hannah (and every other girl on the team) went nuts. They jumped up and down and screamed and congratulated each other. The mood and energy of the team changed from that point on. These were not the same little kids that played the first two matches. Hannah served two more serves and tied the match at 14-14. The match ended in a loss at 25-20 but something was different. These girls were no longer trying to imitate their mothers, friends and sisters. They had become a volleyball team.<br />
<br />
The fourth match started and 11 Black had to play the Team 205 12 year old team. 11 Black took the court again. The nervousness was gone. They were ready to play. 11 Black took the lead and never looked back. Hannah served several in the game and didn't miss any. There were several saves that she made that kept the other team from getting points. All of the parents were cheering for their kids and the girls who weren't playing were cheering their team mates on. Hannah came in to serve at 24-21. Game point. I have seen Beth in this same situation dozens of times but being a new player Hannah has never been in the position with the game on the line that she had to perform. Especially with her serving being a little questionable. She stepped to the line and again her team mates wished her luck. The whistle blew, Hannah tossed the ball and served. Right over the net to the middle of the other court. The other team got a quick dig on the ball and passed it back over the right, right to Hannah who had just gotten back to her position in the back court. She immediately dropped to a knee and passed the ball back up into the air. A quick hit from one of the other girls and the ball went back over the net. The girl on the other side of the court missed her pass and the ball shanked out of bounds. 11 Black had just won their first game. Everyone went nuts. The girls were high fiving each other and jumping and cheering. I will remember the look on Hannah's face. She was as happy as I can ever remember seeing her. The second game against Team 205 started. This time it wasn't the 10 and 11 year olds who looked worried, it was the 12 year olds. The second game went faster than the first and the match ended 25-17. 11 Black never trailed. They had swept Team 205 two game to zero. The wins against Team 205 gave 11 Black enough wins and enough points to place them into 4th in their pool and into the Silver Tournament Bracket.<br />
<br />
There was a little time off between matches before the silver bracket match started and the girls sat in a circle with the coach and talked quietly. They were all very happy and proud of how far they had come in a short time. Once all of the pool play matches were finished they found out who was their opponent in the silver match. It was 12 Black. 12 Black is the Team Sting 12 Year Old Elite Team. This is the top rated 12 year old team team for the club. You wouldn't have known it from the faces on 11 Black. They looked like they were ready for anything. The girls warmed up and took the court. The first game started and went back and forth. 11 Black scored nearly point for point with 12 Black. After a few series the score was 11-11. 11 Black trailed by a point or two for most of the match and caught up to tie the score. 12 Black went on a run and made the score 14-11. Then Hannah and Grace went through service and the score was tied again at 15-15. 12 Blacks best server came up to serve and got on a roll. She was able to serve some difficult balls that 11 Black just couldnt field. The score went to 19-15. 11 Black got a point and made it 19-16 but 12 Black went on another run and the game ended at 25-17. I began to feel like maybe 11 Black had met their match.<br />
<br />
The second game of the set started similarly to the first and after a few series the score was tied at 15-15 again. 11 Black was playing well and keeping up with 12 Black as best they could. It was as even as it could be between the two teams. Then Hannah came up to serve again. Ace. 16-15. Her next serve wasnt an Ace but it was returned by 11 Black for a point. 17-15. There was as much tension as I have ever felt at a volleyball game. Hannah served the ball but 11 Black failed to return it. 17-16. 12 Black went on a run and the score went to 20-16 in favor of 12 Black. Again it was looking like 12 Black was going to finish it but the 9, 10 and 11 year olds werent quite done yet. They rallied back and made the score 22-20. It was amazing to think that these little kids who had never played volleyball as a team before today were 3 points from beating an elite team that was 1 to 2 or more years older than them. My daughter, who had never stepped on the court to play a game of volleyball, and her friends were 3 points from what would be a huge win for them. They had accomplished an awful lot in a day. They went from being an inexperienced timid group of kids trying to learn a game to being an amazingly effective volleyball team that would make even the best player or coach proud. In the end 12 Black rallied and the game ended 25-23 and 11 Black just missed getting that big win but for their first tournament they accomplished more than anyone could have imagined.<br />
<br />
I feel sorry for any 11 (or 12) year old team that they run up against, they wont be expecting 11 Black.Chris Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312859343710536460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009704630517613796.post-47174343577534852572013-03-17T23:03:00.004-05:002013-03-17T23:03:55.921-05:00Firing People Sucks...<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Im sure that sounds a bit obvious…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We had to let someone go this week. It has been a long time coming and was
totally justified from a business standpoint.
Matter of fact it was over due and we probably let things drag on a lot
longer than we should have. That doesn’t
make it any easier. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a manager and business owner you often have to do things
that you don’t like. It seems pretty
simple in theory. You have a set of
rules that the company operates by and if an employee fails to observe those
rules you give them a warning, then you give them a more severe warning and
then if it still continues you terminate the employment. In practice it’s a whole lot harder than
that. It’s not black and white. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In this case the employee was fired for repeatedly being
late or missing work altogether without reason.
It has gone on for months and we have had meetings and talks and while
it would get better for a time the employee never complied with the rules of
the company. It was to the point that it
was affecting the other employees and as employers we really didn’t have any
right to reprimand or say anything to the other employees given the attendance
of the other one. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As an example this employee has missed or been late 17 times
since the beginning of the year and we are only half way through March. When you have as few people as we do everyone
is important and everyone is critical to the production of our projects. Engineering is a very deadline based
business. We work on projects and if
those key people working on that project just go missing for a few days in the
middle, it can put the entire project and even the rest of the office in a tail
spin when we have to scramble to cover all of the deadlines and reallocate
people to make sure everything gets done.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
None of this makes any difference it still is hard. This is a person and you know that firing
them has ramifications beyond just our company.
You start to think about what you are doing to them and their lives. This person has a family and kids. Will they be able to find another job? Will they be able to get insurance? Will they lose their house and their car? What makes it even worse is that since we are
a small business with 12 (now 11 employees) we are a family. I know these people and care about them and
it hurts to have to let one of them go.
In the end the only consolation that I can offer is that they brought
this on themselves and that we did everything we could to help them and avoid
this. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It still sucks.<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Chris Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312859343710536460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009704630517613796.post-20437953500222573652013-03-17T23:01:00.000-05:002013-03-17T23:01:03.724-05:00Engineering for DummiesMelinda took over the blogging about noah trachs and CCHS in general and she does a much better job at it than I ever have so I have decided to change the focus of my blog. Im going to focus on engineering and what I have learned running a business. This might not be as interesting as CCHS and Noah but its very relevant to me and what I do. So here goes Chris' Blog 2.0Chris Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312859343710536460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009704630517613796.post-63100855427533504192012-04-13T22:40:00.000-05:002012-04-13T22:41:34.467-05:00Spike This (Part 4) - The Good, The Bad and the SwedishAfter the middle school volleyball season ended Beth decided she wanted to play more volleyball. I thought volleyball might have been over for us but she really seemed to enjoy playing and wanted to continue. To continue playing in the off season you have to sign up for a club team. As I have learned this is an entirely different animal all together. Actually I have learned a lot of things since the school season ended, like that she just really scratched the surface of this volleyball stuff at school and there was a whole lot more to learn.<br />
<br />
We began to investigate different club teams and narrowed our choices down to Alabama Juniors and Team Sting. Beth attended both tryouts and was accepted onto both teams. She decided that she liked Team Sting better, which was fine with me since the training facility was closer to the house. In November they started having workouts and preseason conditioning for the players. These were all held at D1 sports in homewood. Most of the workouts consisted of different exercises to strengthen and condition the players for volleyball.<br />
<br />
Volleyball teams are divided into Divisions by age. Beth is 13 and turns 14 in august. This puts her in the 14 and under division. The team that she was placed on was the 14 Local team. We chose a local team this year so that we wouldnt have to do much if any traveling. Initially, she was placed on a team with 6 other girls. As the preseason workouts progressed we were notified that they were merging the 15 Local teams and the 14 local teams to create two 15 year old teams. This was due to the fact that beths team only had 7 players which is a couple short and the 15 local team had 12 players which is too many (did i mention that her school team had 18 players, yikes!!!) When they merged they created a team with 9 players and a team with 10 players which works much better. Beth was placed on the higher level team with mostly 15 year olds.<br />
<br />
In December the practices started in earnest and Beth learned that everything she knew was wrong. She found out that she served wrong, she stood wrong and she moved wrong. the process of relearning how to play volleyball again had started. She attended practices twice a week and gradually she got her game back together. She learned how to serve correctly over hand, pass, block and spike.<br />
<br />
Club volleyball is a tournament based sport. In beths teams case they practice all season for 4 tournaments. Originally, the first tournament was supposed to be played in February but as it turns out the tournament was overbooked and team sting had to reschedule a new tournament. The first tournament was chosen to be the gadsden volleyball tournament in march. the girls had been practicing for nearly 3 months without playing a real game and were ready to play someone else besides the other team sting teams.<br />
<br />
the day of the tournament came...<br />
<br />
Needless to say beth was nervous. She hadn't played a volleyball game since late September and had never played a game with team sting. The first tournament was in Gadsden so we got up early the morning of the tournament and got ready to go. The ride was pretty quiet (mainly because we were all still asleep, or wished that we were). We got to gadsden and started and went into the tournament. I ould tell that Beth really was a feeling very nervous. What she didn't know is that I had a surprise for her. Beth loves Swedish Fish. For those of you who don't know what they are, they are these little gummy fish. But they are very stiff, much more so than regular gummy bears. They are also not very sweet. Anyway, I secretly brought her some Swedish fish and I gave them to her before she wnet into the tournament. The effect was immediate, she calmed down and started to smile. She seemed to get her confidence back and went into the school. Beth met up with her coach and her team and they went to start stretching and getting set to play.<br />
<br />
The pool play portion of this tournament consisted of four matches for each team. Stings opponents were NASA VBC, Gadsden VBC, Alabama Elite and Southwest Georgia VBC. They played their games well. In the end the team only won 2 of their 8 games but beth played well and went on several sustained serving runs. One of them was 9 consecutive serves and the other was 6. I was very proud of her. I have said before that I never pictured my daughter as the sporty type but she has repeatedly proven me wrong with that. She is one heck of a volleyball player and I am eager to see what she does next.Chris Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312859343710536460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009704630517613796.post-84100746140920337512012-02-28T20:15:00.001-06:002012-03-27T21:27:05.230-05:00Mediate This...I was involved in a mediation this past week. That in itself is not that interesting. I mean the process is interesting from a legal stand point. Rather than going to a court like a lawsuit or having a panel of arbitrators and hearing evidence you sit in two different rooms and a mediator goes back and forth trying to negotiate the differences and come to a solution. It reminds me a lot of buying a car. You make an offer to the mediator (your salesman) and he goes to the other party (the sales manager) and tries to get them to accept the deal. When they don't he comes back with a counter offer and so on until one of two things happen; you settle on a deal or you get so tired and pissed that you walk out and decide to take the other party to court. But like i said, that wasn't the interesting part just the setting...<br />
<br />
Lets go back in time a little bit...<br />
<br />
When I was in high school and college we went to East Lake United Methodist Church. During that time I decided that I was going into engineering for my career and we had a pretty big group of youth that were graduating and going to college around the same time. One of the ministries that developed in the church was a mentoring ministry where an someone in the church would "adopt" one of the college students and help guide them as they went through school. Ideally, the mentor would be in a similar career field to the student so that they could provide relevant experience and advice and possibly even help with contacts and getting a job once you got out of school. <br />
<br />
My mentor was Jim Smith (the names have been changed to protect those involved). He was the president of Smith and Jones Engineering which was a local consulting engineering firm that did electrical and mechanical engineering. Mr. Smith and I kept in touch pretty regularly since I was going to school in town and was at church most every weekend. He also made a point of telling me to let him know when I was close to graduating and he would see what we could work out about some sort of job. At the time the economy was not great and the job market for engineers was slow. Finding a job was not easy for newly graduated engineers.<br />
<br />
I entered my Junior Year of college and I began to look for a co-op job. In engineering school you are encouraged to take a co-op position in the last couple of years to expand your experience and help get you ready for the "real world". Quite often these co-op positions become permanent positions with many firms like Southern Company, BE&K and Rust (I'm dating myself since most of these companies have changed names). I thought this was the ideal chance to go ahead and let Mr. Smith know that I was getting close to graduation and looking for a co-op job since he had made a point to tell me to get with him when the time was right. I talked to him and explained my desire for a co-op job and he said that they were looking for a couple of co-op positions. I went to their office (by now they had changed their name to BQR Engineering) and met with Mr. Smith. He passed me off to one of the engineers that worked in the mechanical department. I got an interview and a tour of the building. I thought I was on my way. A week went by and I didn't hear anything so I checked with Mr. Smith at church and he said that he would see what was going on. Another week went by and I didn't hear anything. I called him and he told me that they had filled the positions. He said that he was sorry but that it was the mechanical engineers decision and he had chosen someone else. He then told me not to worrry that he would "take care of me" next time and make sure that didnt happen again. I was disappointed but I felt like I still would have a job in a year or so when I got out of school. In the mean time I got a co-op position with the City of Birmingham Engineering Department. We didn't really do that much but I got to do a lot of home work.<br />
<br />
Another couple of years passed and graduation was getting close. My co-op job with the City was just a co-op and would end when I graduated so I had to start looking for a "real" job. I remembered what Mr. Smith had told me and called him again thinking that this time would be different and I would have a job that would become a career and I would be able to take care of my new wife and provide for her and the family that we wanted to have. He asked me to come down and talk to him so I did. I went to his office and we had a nice talk and at the end he told me that he didn't have anything right now but that he would call me as soon as a position was available. I told him that was great and that I was willing to do anything to get started. He said that he understood. I left, again thinking that a job was a sure thing and that I would be hired soon. Weeks turned into months and no job ever materialized. Finally, the time was approaching for my wedding to Melinda and i knew that I had to find some job that I would be able to have insurance for us so I finally went to work at Randy's Computers selling computers. In over 2-1/2 years I was unable to get a job doing anything at BQR after virtually being promised a job. The rest is history; I finally got a job at Miller and Weaver and from there joined BBG&S Engineering as a partner.<br />
<br />
Back to 2012...<br />
<br />
So the week before the mediation the attorney for the side that I was assisting called me to go over the process and told me that the way mediation works is that your party sits on one room and the other party sits in the other room and you rarely if ever see each other and the mediator goes between them negotiating the dispute. This put me at ease a little since the engineering firm that is in the dispute is the one where I tried to get a job and Mr. Smith was the president. Now we work with them on some projects so I have to interact with them on a regular basis. Well of course the first thing that the mediator does is put us in the same room to start. And to make matters worse the president of the company is the one that came to represent them in the mediation. Did I mention that he is the son of the guy that didn't give me a job on two occasions??? <br />
<br />
Wait...<br />
<br />
Why am I upset?<br />
<br />
Dont I want to stick it to them a little?<br />
<br />
No, thats not the way I am, thats not how I roll.<br />
<br />
Well ok I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a part of me that enjoyed it a little.<br />
<br />
Anyway, it was more awkward than anything. I just didn't like being in the room with them and having to tell them all of the things that their firm screwed up on this project. Its a first for me and I don't hope to repeat the process either as a member of the prosecution or defense.<br />
<br />
What I really thought about most of the time was how all of this might have been different if they had given me that job so many years ago. Would I have been the engineer on that project? Would I have been able to make a difference and keep them out of the court proceeding? Would I have been the one making the huge mistakes and costing the company thousands of dollars in legal fees and settlement costs? How would my life and my career been different? How would the reputation of that company been different? These are all interesting questions that I have no answers to?<br />
<br />
I just find it very ironic that I was the one who was calling them out on their mistakes and that my testimony is the one that prevented them from getting out of the case and forced them to have to go to mediation and settle. I guess the moral of the story is that you should beware of even making what appear to be small mistakes in life because you never know which ones are going to come back in a big way and bite you in the ass later down the road.<br />
<br />
<br />Chris Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312859343710536460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009704630517613796.post-61285767848657722622012-01-01T18:22:00.000-06:002012-01-01T18:22:19.025-06:002011 A Golden Retrospective2011 was a very eventful year. I think that it will be remembered by the Golden family as a good year. If you havent been there for the blow by blow this is a recap of the highlights.<br />
<br />
Noah: At the beginning of 2011 Noah was getting over the flu and his 3 day hospital stay. From that point on to the end of this year he has been awesome. He hasnt had to have oxygen at all this year and we have controlled his CCHS with nothing more than adjustments to his ventilation rate. For my Non-CCHS friends that is a huge achievement. He has had colds and minor illnesses but we have managed them and due in a large part to a correctly functioning CO2 monitor we are able to accurately measure his CO2 and make the appropritate changes to his ventilator. <br />
<br />
Noah has transitioned from using an HME (artifical nose) to a Passy Muir valve and then to a full cap over the course of this year. We now wear the cap on a daily basis. As documented in prvious blog posts, the use of the cap has helped his speech and breathing tremendously. He now knows most of his alphabet and all of his colors. His speech is getting more distinct. This has caused us to lose most of our therapists and for them to declare him on track developmentally with a normal 2 year old. Again that is truly amazing considering where he started from.<br />
<br />
On the developmental side Noah has learned to walk and then to run. He is now working on the daunting task of going up and down stairs. My hard headed son has tried to escape from his bed by diving out and learned that this is not the best way to get up in the morning. Noah is also en expert at using an Iphone. He can find it, unlock it and change screens to find his favorite games.<br />
<br />
We were once told by one of the doctors that they couldn't say that they felt good about Noah and his prognosis. I'd love to see how he feels about him now.<br />
<br />
Hannah: 2011 has been a good year for Hannah too. She has started to transition from a child to a young lady. She has the biggest heart of anyone that I have ever met. She continues to get better at piano and did exceptionally well at the first recital with her new piano teacher. In school, she was evaluated for the RLC (gifted program) program and accepted. She now goes to RLC every Monday and is really enjoying it too. She also is the best big sister that a little brother could have.<br />
<br />
Beth: What can I say about Beth... 2011 has been the year of volleyball plain and simple. The year started with Beth deciding that she wanted to play on the school team and then practicing like a mad woman to make the team. Then once the school season was over she decided that she wanted to play on a club team and she went out for that and made it too. So as I write this we are in the beginning of the club season. It will be interesting to see if her new love of volleyball will be something that remains through 2012 and beyond. She has also developed from a young lady into a young woman and is preparing for high school. She is also working on her application for Jefferson County International Baccalaureate high school. She continues to amaze and impress me with her determination.<br />
<br />
As a family we went to Disney World this year. We went before in 2008 and had a blast and we all decided that it was time to go back. We were concerned with how Noah would hold up to the heat and the walking required since Disney World is part amusement park and part marathon. He did excellent. Our only gripe was that we had to push the trip back couple of weeks and it turned out to be a hot week. Next time we go we are thinking that we will try for a Thanksgiving trip rather than a summer trip. The family is already talking about the "next" visit.<br />
<br />
I hope that 2012 will be as healthy and fun as 2011 was. I look forward to finding out. So we say goodbye to 2011 but we will always have the 12,223 pictures that Melinda (and I) took during the course of the year to remember it by. Here's to a happy and prosperous 2012.Chris Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312859343710536460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009704630517613796.post-63640304036871198042011-11-23T15:10:00.001-06:002011-11-27T10:27:35.384-06:00All I want for Christmas is a Toothpaste Cap...Its amazing how the simplest things can be what gives you the greatest pleasure. <br />
<br />
Think about small children at Christmas and Birthdays. What do they always play with the most? Its not the fancy clothes or the new trendy toys with the kung fu grip. Its the wrapping paper and the ribbons that most kids play with and enjoy the most.<br />
<br />
The same is true with Noah and his progress.<br />
<br />
We have been working for the past couple of years to get him to wear his speaking valve and we thought for a while that it would never happen. Finally over this past summer, literally overnight, he decides that it is something he wants to do and he starts wearing it. His speech improved remarkably over a matter of just a few weeks. It improved so remarkably that one of his speech therapists declared that he was caught up and another reduced his sessions to one a month. This in itself is a huge accomplishment. <br />
<br />
However, Noah's tenure with the speaking valve didn't last very long.<br />
<br />
When Noah went back for his October clinic visit they were so impressed with how well he was wearing the speaking valve that they decided to try giving him a full cap. <br />
<br />
For my non-trach and vent friends the speaking valve is a plastic cap that goes on the end of the trach and has a small flap of plastic in it. it will allow air in but not out. So since speaking is a process of exhaling (try talking while breathing in) it allows him to speak nearly normally but he doesn't breathe through his mouth and nose. The cap is just a small plastic cap that covers the trach entirely and closes it off so that all breathing (in and out) is through the mouth and nose (like normal). It looks like the cap to a tube of Crest Toothpaste.<br />
<br />
We tried to get the doctors to let us try a cap on Noah in previous clinic visits since he wasnt tolerating the speaking valve. They were not in favor and even though they humored us once and let him try it, they were quick to deem it "unsuccessful" and sent us away capless.<br />
<br />
This time the doctor covered Noahs trach and he fussed about it but she decided to let Melinda try it and Noah was perfectly happy. They gave us a few caps (that I am sure they got from toothpaste tubes that they had lying around and just sterilized and then sold for $300 each) and sent us home.<br />
<br />
If we were impressed with the progress Noah made with the speaking valve that was nothing compared to the explosion of speech and new behaviors and unexpected helpful side effects that came from using the cap.<br />
<br />
His speech has gotten remarkably better. Words that he learned to say while wearing the speaking valve have become clearer and much more understandable and he now uses many two word phrases. He is still a picky eater but he is getting much better and eating much more that he used to. We are really starting to push the table food now. The most entertaining benefit is that he has learned how to yell. I mean really yell. His favorite thing to yell is "DIE!!!!". I'm not sure why or where he picked that up from. We don't frequently scream "DIE" in our house, well we didn't use to. Now we do because its fun to get him going. I'm sure we will regret that later. <br />
<br />
The benefits of the cap arent just developmental either. We usually had to suction his trach once or twice a day (which isnt
that much) but now we will go days without suctioning him since he is
wearing the cap. Also, his oxygen saturation and CO2 levels are much higher when he sleeps. Typically when he sleeps his saturation would dip to the mid to low 90s at times (anything below 90 is bad) and his CO2 levels would drift up into the 40s (anything higher than 50 is bad). Now when he wears the cap most of the day his saturation stays 98-100 most all of the time and his CO2 stays in the mid 30's, both of which are excellent. I dont know the medical reason that the body works better when you breathe the way that God intended but it seems that he did know a thing or two about how to build a human.<br />
<br />
So this year we have gotten our Christmas present early. It wasn't big and fancy. It was a tiny little (toothpaste) cap that came with a huge amount of progress.Chris Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312859343710536460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009704630517613796.post-15786844944642620742011-10-16T23:07:00.000-05:002011-10-16T23:07:56.199-05:00Spike This Part 3 (She didnt need those eyebrows did she?)The next match Beth didnt play at all. She kept working and going to practice but she wasn't put in to the game. I had mixed feelings about the next time she was put into the game (if there was a next time). <br />
<br />
We continued to practice at home too. I just didn't get the sense that her heart was in it any more. I felt like I needed to say or do something to help her get her confidence back or at least the desire to play. <br />
<br />
Beth is kinda funny. <br />
<br />
I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, though. <br />
<br />
If she is interested in something she is something akin to an unstoppable force. You don't want to get in her way. She will do anything or work as hard as necessary to get what she wants. By the same token if she isn't interested or has lost interest in something she is the unmovable object. She is extremely hard to motivate and will do only the bare minimum necessary. It has been true with her in school, piano and everything else. When she wanted straight A's, she made straight A's. When she wanted to learn piano, she learned piano. When she wanted to play volleyball she learned the game and all of the techniques on her own. <br />
<br />
I got the sense that her motivation for the game was waning and that was bad. She would spend what was left of the season on the bench or just going through the motions of the game and getting little or no playing time. <br />
<br />
I felt like I needed to do something to help her want to do this again. <br />
<br />
I wasnt sure what to do. <br />
<br />
I didnt feel like threatening to pull her off the team was the right approach though. A few days passed and we were in the street practicing and she was half-assing it and going through the motions as she had been doing ever since that game. <br />
<br />
I finally stopped and walked over to her and asked her if she wanted to play volleyball anymore. She gave a disinterested shrug and said "Yeah, I guess so". <br />
<br />
I said "Do you, really? I'm serious. If this isnt what you want tell me and I'll understand". <br />
<br />
She said "I do, I guess". <br />
<br />
Thats when I kinda lost it. "Then play the game. Get out there and play. Play volleyball or get off the court and quit wasting every ones time" I said. <br />
<br />
I came out pretty sharp and I could tell that she was a little misty eyed after I said it. <br />
<br />
Then she said "Ok. I will" with a little bit of venom in her tone.<br />
<br />
We played a little while longer and went in. <br />
<br />
Beth is a tough person to read. I didnt know if anything I said had actually registered with her or if she was just giving me a little but of her normal attitude.<br />
<br />
The next match was at Pleasant Grove Middle school. As with all of the matches the team from the fartherest out plays first. Since Rudd was the farthest geographically we got to play Hueytown first. <br />
<br />
Beth didn't play. <br />
<br />
Rudd played poorly, they didn't call their balls or work together. It was 6 individuals on the court. There was no team work at all. The sad thing is that it was a game they could have won easily if they would have worked together. Rudd lost and went to the sidelines to prepare for the next match against Pleasant Grove. <br />
<br />
Beth didnt play the first game. <br />
<br />
The girls played better but not great. There was some more cooperation between the girls but again it wasn't a lot. In the end it was enough to win the game 25-23. The second match was about to start and I could see that the girls were huddled on the sidelines and Ms. Binder was talking to Beth. She had her by both shoulders and looked like she was encouraging her. I leaned over and told Melinda that it looked like Beth was going to be put in. <br />
<br />
The butterflys came up in my stomach. <br />
<br />
The truth is that I was probably more nervous than she was. The Lady Indians took the court and sure enough Beth took her position. As usual she looked over at me and I gave her a smile and a thumbs up. I said a silent prayer that things would go right for her and she would have a good game and get to play a while. <br />
<br />
I was totally unprepared for what came next.<br />
<br />
The match started and the first couple of points were volleyed back and forth and went to Pleasant Grove. Pleasant Grove served again. I went back and forth a couple of times and came to Rudd. The first girl to hit it bumped it up. The setter hit and put a perfect set on the ball. <br />
<br />
It came to Beth. <br />
<br />
A thousand thoughts went through my head. Would she hit it. Would she duck. Would she watch it hit the ground thinking it was someone elses ball? <br />
<br />
No. <br />
<br />
She moved under it, bent her knees and went to spike it as she had tried and missed so many times before. She jumped slightly and her arm moved to the ball. <br />
<br />
The sound of her had hitting the leather on the ball sounded like a gunshot. <br />
<br />
The ball sailed over the net very fast right at the head of the girl on the Pleasant Grove side of the net. <br />
<br />
She put her hands up and covered her face and ducked. <br />
<br />
The ball bounced off her her hands and went out of bounds. <br />
<br />
She had scored. <br />
<br />
Beth scored and spiked the ball. The Rudd side of the court erupted in cheers. Beth looked over at me and a tiny little smile crept up at the edges of her mouth. <br />
<br />
It. Was. On.<br />
<br />
It was as if the heavens opened up and the gods of volleyball had possessed my daughter. She spiked three more balls, all for scores. She served 5 serves for points. She returned three balls that she had to dive for that no one else had a chance to get. What was even better was that her team responded. They began to communicate and they worked together. She got high fives from her teammates and their parents were yelling "Go Number 20". She looked over at me in the middle of the game and instead of mouthing "Im scared" she smiled and mouthed "Its hot in here". I smiled and thought to myself that right now the hottest thing in here was her.<br />
<br />
Poor Pleasant Grove never stood a chance. <br />
<br />
The final score was Rudd 25, Pleasant Grove 17. When the game was over the team gathered around Beth and congratulated her on the game. The parents all patted her on the back and told her how good her game was. <br />
<br />
I couldnt express how proud I was of her. What was best was that the twinkle was back in her eye and she was happy to be playing volleyball again. <br />
<br />
There have been good games and bad games since that evening at Pleasant Grove. Beth has played fairly well for the most part. She hasn't gotten discouraged even when things don't always go well. I think she has learned that she can play and just has to keep working hard. Her dedication to the game has increased and we are now looking at playing club volleyball to keep her in the game and help her to continue to develop. <br />
<br />
There might be another chapter to this story in the future. We'll just have to find out where it goes from here.<br />
<br />
<br />Chris Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312859343710536460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009704630517613796.post-91767557150180281712011-10-02T14:57:00.000-05:002011-10-02T15:07:08.813-05:00Spike This (Part 2) ((The Empire Spikes Back))So the season started...<br />
<br />
Let me just say that as a first time sports parent I was unprepared for several things. First, was how short the season is. Well I should clarify... The season is short time wise. It runs from August to the end of September but in that time nearly every day of the week has some volleyball related activity (practice, games, etc) so your entire life revolves around volleyball for those two months. The second thing that I was unprepared for was how skilled these kids are. I expected them to play ok, maybe a little better than your average school yard game but these kids are good and hit hard. They dive, slide and jump at the ball and set up complicated shots against their opponent. A large part of them serve overhand and some of the serves will flat take your head off.<br />
<br />
Again I figured that Beth would be overwhelmed, that maybe she had started a little too late in sports to catch up with where these kids are. I realize now that I have underestimated my daughter and her desire to play this game.<br />
<br />
The 2011 Rudd Lady Indians have 17 members on their team. 4 or 5 of them played last year and are the veterans. The coaches try to insure that all of the girls get some playing time as much as possible. But due to the large team size and being a first timer Beth typically plays about every third game in relief of one of the veterans. After several practices they determined that Beth would play middle. Most of the time she plays front middle. Beths typical playing schedule is to have games on Mondays and Wednesdays. The first week we were at home for the games and after that we travelled to other schools to play.<br />
<br />
With Beths limited playing time and her natural disposition to be quiet and reserved she is not the most aggressive player and didnt have to opportunity to develop as quickly as she needed too. <br />
<br />
About the 3rd of 4th game in Rudd played McAdory and Beth was put into play in the first game of the match. She played well, better than before. She served 4 straight un-returned serves and returned several balls that came to her. Overall I felt like it was a good game for her and that her confidence in her skills would benefit from it.<br />
<br />
The season rolled on.<br />
<br />
I am making this sound like months ro weeks went by but in reality the whole middle school season takes place in a month and a half start to finish. At this point we are a little over midway through the season and Rudd was scheduled to play Irondale and North Jefferson at North Jefferson.<br />
<br />
The game started and the first match was Rudd vs Irondale. I learned that in these games the team that is the farthest away geographically gets to play first. Presumable this is to help with the travel time back home from the game site. This meant that Rudd would play the first and the third matches since they were a little closer to North Jefferson than Irondale. Beth didn't play the first match against Irondale and Rudd got beat in two straight games. They didn't play well and Ironale took advantage of their mistakes. Once that match was over Irondale played North Jefferson; the team that just had beaten Rudd pretty convincingly got hammered by North Jeffereson. During this pounding I started to look around and I noticed that there were banners on the wall and North Jefferson was the reigning the County champion two years running. Yikes.<br />
<br />
Rudd took the court and Beth was put into play. I was already a bit nervous about our chances against them and rightfully so. North Jefferson seemed to be moving about twice the speed of Rudd. The girls were not calling their balls or working together in any way.<br />
<br />
This was going to be bad.<br />
<br />
After a couple of serves North Jefferson netted a serve and Beth rolled into the serving position. While we were still working on her overhand serve she was using her normally reliable under hand. She never missed an underhand, ever. She didn't miss in practice and she had never missed a serve in a game. She took her position and served the ball.
It hit the net.
The color drained out of her face and you could see any bit of confidence that she had drain with it.
North Jefferson took over serving and the beating continued.
Beth was in the center of the court and several of the serves came to her.<br />
<br />
She missed every single one.<br />
<br />
She was in the wrong position, her approach to the ball was wrong and none of them had a chance for anyone to assist. To make matters worse when she went after one she was slow getting back in position and and the next serve came to her spot and someone else had to scramble to cover it, unsuccessfully.<br />
<br />
North Jefferson scored 6 quick points.<br />
<br />
In between serves Beth frequently looks at me. I like to believe this is for reassurance or to see what my opinion of the game and her performance is. She did during this game and I struggled to think of something positive to say. I mouthed "Its ok" and she mouthed back "I'm Scared". I knew right there that she was done in this game. Her confidence was gone and she was not going to be able to help her team. She was in the process of self destructing mentally and it wasn't going to get any better. I told Melinda that the best thing they could do at this point would be to pull beth out.<br />
<br />
They should have cause it didn't get better.<br />
<br />
The next serve came over and someone managed to get it back over the net. On the return it came directly at beth. I said a silent prayer that she would somehow find the strength to get the ball, that luck would go her way and something good would happen to settle her down and get her back in the game.<br />
<br />
It didn't.<br />
<br />
She did the one thing that you never, ever do in volleyball.<br />
<br />
She ducked.<br />
<br />
She ducked the ball like she was in the world championships of dodgeball.<br />
<br />
She had no intention of trying to return it or play anymore.<br />
<br />
Finally, mercifully, they pulled her out of the game. I think she was as relieved as Melinda and I were.
The game finished, North Jefferson beat Rudd very convincingly and we went home. Privately I wondered if volleyball was the right sport for us or if Beth was really cut out for the pressure of team sports or not.<br />
<br />
I tried to reassure Beth that it was ok and these things happened but I could tell that she was pretty upset about the whole thing.
I hoped things would get better as the season went on but there wasn't a whole lot of time left in the season and it didn't appear that things were going to have a chance to get better. Honestly, it wouldn't have surprised me if they never played her again.<br />
<br />
Stay tuned for Part 3... Chris Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312859343710536460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009704630517613796.post-16256012390673226192011-09-15T22:55:00.000-05:002011-09-15T22:55:59.854-05:00Spike This... (Part 1)I've never played a lot of sports.<br />
<br />
I mean I like to watch college football and I played soccer for a couple of years and baseball one season in 6th grade but I never went out for the football team or the baseball team in school. Just wasn't my thing. Melinda was even less sporty, way less sporty. Way way less sporty.<br />
<br />
You get the idea.<br />
<br />
So needless to say I was a little surprised when Beth came home from school one day and said that she wanted to try out for the volleyball team at school. I was even more surprised when she said that tryouts weren't until April or May and it was like February and she started asking me to go out and practice in the street with her. We started practicing at home at least two or three times a week. We practiced serving, hitting balls, returning, etc. I have never seen Beth go after something so intensely. She was so dedicated to learning a game that she had only played for recreation at school. She just inherently knew that if she was going to have a chance of making the team she had to learn the game and get good enough to compete.<br />
<br />
I was impressed.<br />
<br />
Honestly, I still figured that it was a fad and would pass. I figured that she would either go try out and most likely not make the cut or get bored with it and let it go. There were so many things that were against her. She had never played team sports before, she was going to try out against girls that played on the team last year, and she was very inexperienced. She just had some basic, self taught skills. When tryouts came around Beth was excited and nervous. They had over 70 girls show up for the try outs. It was almost twice as many as tried out last year. Again I figured the odds were against her. She made the first cut which went from 70 girls down to 25 girls. I was impressed. Then after another day of tryouts she made the second cut to the 17 girls that were to be the 2011 Rudd Lady Indians. I was so happy and proud of Beth. She was ecstatic, of course. Rather than thinking that she could stop, back off or quit practicing she got even more into it and we started practicing more. She went to a volleyball clinic at Samford over the summer. It was required for all players on the team. She had a blast at clinic and you could tell that she refined a lot of her basic skills and learned the rules of the game.<br />
<br />
Finally, the season and practices started. She really seemed to be enjoying and getting better and better. Her confidence and skill really seemed to be growing.<br />
<br />
Rudd was invited to play in a pre-season jamboree. They played 4 games and Beth got to play in the last one. Beth was very inexperienced. She didn't know where to stand or how to rotate through the positions. However, she played with some confidence and even though the team wasn't playing very well Beth held her own, she returned several serves and served several balls to the other team that they didn't return. I found out after the fact that she had bent her thumbnail back and it was bleeding during the game and she kept on playing. She showed some toughness and I thought that she could really have a chance to do well at this. I was very proud of her first effort and she really seemed to enjoy it. We left the game very optimistic about her team and her chances to play and grow. In a few short months she had gone from knowing nothing about volley ball to playing in a tournament and scoring points on the other team and doing her part. We left very excited and encouraged.<br />
<br />
Part 2 Coming Soon.Chris Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312859343710536460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009704630517613796.post-14725801841995943272011-08-07T10:19:00.000-05:002011-08-07T10:19:48.514-05:00Progress is a funny thing...Someone recently asked me if I remembered way back when I wrote a blog. It couldnt have been that long since I wrote one. It was just the other day wasnt it? What do you mean it was April? Ouch. It has been a while. Anyway, my apologies I'll try to do better next time.<br />
<br />
Progress is a funny thing. I said that already didnt I? Most of the time progress happens slowly; so slowly you can barely even notice that it is happening. My children only grow one of two inches per year. It takes years for them to learn numbers, letters and colors and then take that information and learn to read and write and then even more years to go to college and learn a career and get a job.<br />
<br />
Although if you look at the big picture progress appears to be a painfully slow moving snail-like thing sometimes it can be very fast and abrupt and nearly instantaneous. This is the case with Noah lately. Noah is nearly two years old and has been home from the hospital for 20 months. In that time he has done a really fantastic job of adapting to his condition. He has learned to make noise and around the trach and sign words that he couldn't say. His progress has been slow but continuous. We have had a Passy-Muir Speaking Valve (PMV) that we have tried to get him to use. For those of you who aren't up on your tracheostomy lingo a PMV is a small device that attaches to the end of his trach that allows air in for him to breathe but wont allow it out so that it goes up his airway and out his mouth and nose (like normal). This allows him to speak since speech is a process of exhaling air and vibrating your vocal cords. <br />
<br />
Noah hated his PMV. <br />
<br />
That's an understatement. He hated his PMV with a purple passion.<br />
<br />
If we put it on him he would hold his breath til he nearly turned blue and then when he couldn't hold it anymore he would start screaming and crying. This would go on as long as we kept it on. As soon as we took it off everything would be fine again. As parents we really wanted him to wear the valve because it really would help his speech development and get us one step closer to capping the trach and ultimately getting it removed. It represents progress. His reaction to the PMV was so severe that we began to question if he would ever tolerate it and if he wouldn't tolerate the PMV how would he ever tolerate a cap over the trach that would force him to breathe in and out through his nose and mouth. I never realized that breathing normally was going to be a challenge. We even began considering modifying the PMV by drilling a hole in the side of it so that it would allow some air to exhale through it and some through his nose and mouth in hopes that maybe he would tolerate it. We were desperate for some sort of progress that would help him speak and breathe better.<br />
<br />
About once every two or three weeks we would try to put the PMV on him because we are into torture and screaming. The reaction was always as described above. No progress. While we were at the beach a couple of weeks ago someone asked about how he was tolerating (or not tolerating) the PMV. I felt like a demonstration was in order. I wanted to show them how severe his disklike of the PMV really was. I took it out of the case and put it on his trach and braced for the screaming fit that was coming.<br />
<br />
I waited.<br />
<br />
Waited a little more..<br />
<br />
And a little more...<br />
<br />
He wasn't screaming or turning blue. He was just standing there. Then he started making a few small noises. Then it happened. He made a zurbit, you know, a rasberry, mouth fart whatever you want to call it. He had been trying to do them already with the HME on but since all of the air comes out through his neck it just comes out as a puff of air. With the PMV on it all of a sudden came out of his mouth. He giggled. Then he did it again. Then he started making noise all kinds of noise. He just started doing a continuous stream of sound. He had never been able to do that before. <br />
<br />
He still wasn't screaming. He actually seemed to be enjoying it.<br />
<br />
You could almost see him realizing that he could do something new. <br />
<br />
Over the past two or three weeks since the beach he has worn the PMV nearly continuously when he is awake. In that short time his speech has improved noticeably. He already has several new words and sounds that didn't exist previously. He has had to learn volume control. The first few days that he wore it he talked very loud. He had to use so much air to make noise around the trach and he was doing the same with the PMV and it came out very loud. He is learning to talk a little softer now but he does like to scream a little just because he can now.<br />
<br />
Noah insists on wearing the PMV now. That is a huge change. He now brings the PMV to us if he wakes up from nap and we don't put it on him immediately. That is amazing considering that he used to run from us crying if we were to show it to him. <br />
<br />
Progress is a funny thing but I am enjoying the heck out of it and I cant wait to see whats next.Chris Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312859343710536460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009704630517613796.post-85654946227687558132011-04-06T22:58:00.001-05:002011-04-07T21:32:40.136-05:00Water Cooler Talk...Water. H20. Aqua. Other than air it is the most fundamental substance on earth. We cook with it, drink it, bathe in it, swim in it and if you watch old movies they need it for birthing babies. Although I have never seen it used for that with any of my three. However, most of us would never willingly put it in our electronic devices. That usually results in the magic blue smoke coming out and it never seems to work the same after that.<br />
<br />
I think I might be getting ahead of myself a little bit. Let me back up a little bit.<br />
<br />
As most of you know I like computers and electronic stuff. I have been building and fiddling with computers for 30 of my 40 years. I built my first computer at the age of 16. It was a clone of an IBM 80286. It had a whopping 256K of RAM and a 32 Mb Hard Drive. My cellphone puts that to shame these days. Before that I had a home built Apple 2E with DUAL FLOPPY DRIVES!!! I have probably built 200+ computers for myself and others over that time and upgraded or repaired more than that.<br />
<br />
However, over the past few years with my increased responsibility in my engineering business and the addition of my third child I have found less time and desire to build and rebuild my computer every few months. Three years ago I gave my desktop up for a laptop computer. Over the past few months I have been getting more involved with some new 3D drafting software at work and the hardware requirements are significant. The limitations of my laptop were beginning to show. I decided that it was time to build a new computer for myself that would have the increased horsepower necessary for my work needs. I made the decision to build my new machine rather than buy something prepackaged. Building from scratch gives you the ability to control whats in the computer and truly tailor it to your needs. You also get more bang for your buck since you dont have to pay for things you already own or bloated software packages that you will never use.<br />
<br />
So I started to research components.<br />
<br />
I knew I needed a CPU with some real power so it didnt take too much to convince me that I needed an Intel Core i7 processor. AMD still has some nice chips but nothing out there today compares with the dual-quad core power of the i7. I could write a whole blog about the cool things that Intel has done with that processor. I chose the i7-940 running at 2.93 Ghz.<br />
<br />
The motherboard is almost as important as the processor. I have always been a fan of Asus components but for this machine I settled on a Gigabyte Ultra-Durable 3 motherboard. It was very highly rated and uses the Intel LGA1366 chipset, SATA 6.0, DDR3 support and USB 3.0. It also had the M.I.T. integrated into the BIOS. This is the tweaking function that allows you to dynamically overclock the processor and get more CPU power for your buck.<br />
<br />
I decided that I needed a minimum of 8 GB of DDR 3 RAM. The motherboard is rated for DDR 3 1600 (overclocked from 1100). So I chose G. Skill Ripjaw. I got a matched dual channel set of RAM with 2 banks of 4 Gb each.<br />
<br />
The hard drive is a Hitachi Deskstar 2Tb SATA 6.0 hard drive.<br />
<br />
The optical drive is a 16x LG Blu-Ray Writer.<br />
<br />
The video card I already had at the office. It was left over from some upgrades that I did to the other machines. It is a Zotac implementation of an Nvidia 220 GT with 1 Gb of VRAM on board.<br />
<br />
The case is several years old. I bought an all aluminum case (most of them are steel) several years ago. I really liked the case but when I made the move to laptops it got moved to the computer graveyard in my basement. The aluminum case is much lighter and is supposed to help with heat dissipation. So after a little cleaning it was ready to go. I also found a multi-function card reader in one of my old computers and removed it and put it into the new machine.<br />
<br />
I was really starting to feel good about this new machine. I thought this was going to be one hot computer. Boy was it...<br />
<br />
Assembly went well. I was surprised how much fun I had assembling one from scratch again. After an hour or so I had it all put together in the case and it was ready for the test run. I hooked up all of the wiring and pressed the power of button. Fans started whirring and I was greeted with the familiar beep of a booting computer. I went into the BIOS and started poking around a little. I typically check the system diagnostics to see if something seems out of whack. While there I noticed that the processor temperature was 55C at idle. Thats 131F. That is really hot for a computer that isnt doing anything. Back several years ago processors would shut down at 60C and my computer was 5C away from that and it wasnt even doing anything. I shut the machine down and started to check and see if anything was hooked up wrong or not working. Everything appeared to be in order. <br />
<br />
I did some more research on the internet and found out that i7's are the hottest processor intel has ever developed. Literally. The temperatures that I was experiencing weren't uncommon and were actually well within design limits. I finished with the computer and started loading software. After the initial shock about the processor temperature I started logging the temperature during usage and I found out that the processor would go up to 100C when it was fully loaded. Holy crap!!! 100C is 212F. Thats boiling. Again this is within design limits and the processor has circuitry that actually will reduce the speed of the machine to keep the computer from going over 100C and damaging the processor.<br />
<br />
After a week or so with the new machine I started to wonder if there was a better way to cool the computer than the stock fan that came with the processor. My brother said that I should look into a water cooler like his alienware computer has. I told him that water coolers were too much of a risk and too much hassle to use. In all of my years of building and working on computers I had never fooled around with water coolers. A water cooler is a system where you construct a piping system in your computer that has heat sinks that attach to your processor , video card, hard drive, etc. These are piped to a radiator unit and a pump unit that circulate the water and cool the system. They have been used by people who wanted to seriously over clock their machines for years. The problem is that you have to custom build the system and cut the tubing and assemble all of the compoents and insure that you dont have any leaks in the case with your very expensive components. One mistake and you have a big steel box full of wet, non functioning computer equipment.<br />
<br />
He told me that the water cooler in the alienware was different. It was a closed loop system prepacked from the manufacturer. I started to do a little research and I found that he was right. Corsair makes a system called the H50 that is a prepackaged water cooler for Intel systems. All you do is install it on the processor like a typical air cooled fan and them mount the radiator to the back of the case like a case fan nd connect the power. It is already prepiped and ready to go. I ordered it and installed it in the machine.<br />
<br />
The results were amazing. Prior to the installation of the water cooler the computer idled at 50C and went to 98C under load. With the H50 installed the computer idles at 38 C and under a heavy load of all 4 cores ripping a Blu-Ray disk it went to 60C. That's a full 40 degrees cooler and only 5 C warmer than the air cooler kept the processor at idle!!! Physics tells us that water has 4x the capacity to absorb heat than air. That is why it is such an effective heat transfer medium. <br />
<br />
Ill run some bench marks of temperature and performance and post them later. Suffice it to say that it is a very <i>cool</i> machine now.Chris Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312859343710536460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009704630517613796.post-32053049708629862772011-04-02T22:02:00.000-05:002011-04-02T22:02:28.530-05:00So I went back to the hospital...Ok so I went to Brookwood Hospital last week.<br />
<br />
<br />
(oh no here he goes again)<br />
<br />
No its not like that I promise. My friend had a baby and we went to visit<br />
<br />
(see, its coming)<br />
<br />
We parked in the parking deck and got everyone out (noah, beth and hannah included). We all walked across the bridge to the hospital.<br />
<br />
(brace yourself)<br />
<br />
And everything was fine. See I told you it wasn't going to be like that. We had a nice visit, got to see cute little Levi. Melinda decided that she wanted another one. I decided she was nuts. We said our goodbyes and headed back to the car. <br />
<br />
At Brookwoods Women and Childrens center you have to pay your ticket in the hospital at the automated machine. So I put the ticket in the machine, forked over three bucks for a 30 minute visit and we headed back up the elevators.<br />
<br />
We got the herd loaded up in the car and attempted to find our way out of the parking deck. Brookwood has the most confusing parking deck that I have ever seen. You drive up to go down, left to go right and farther into the deck to leave. I'm not sure what genius designed it but whoever it was they paid him too much.<br />
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When we finally made it to the gate there was a car already in front of us. If you arent observant enough to take your ticket into the hospital with you then you have to do the whole ticket pay thing at the gate. Apparently the guy in front of us was one of those people. He was in the process of putting his ticket into the flashing blue slot as we pulled up. It took him a few tries but he got it to go in finally and the automated machine told him that he owed brookwood hospital $3 for the privilege of parking his car for 30 - 45 minutes. Apparently this was a bit more than the hapless fellow had in his cup holder because he began frantically looking around his car for change. You could tell he wasnt really getting anywhere because the searching got more frantic and the passenger seat and glove box were next on the treasure hunt. Im not sure what he found there but it wasnt a fistful of washingtons because he had to look in the back seat next. I guess thats where he hid his stash because he started feeding the machine money. Im not sure if he just wasnt that good at counting or if he had to call the bank for a loan because he had to go back to the back seat again and get some more cash He then proceeded to feed another round of quarters into the machine. The whole ordeal of paying his parking had taken nearly 10 minutes. We enjoyed watching the show. Especially considering that the gate had been up the whole time. Every freaking second tat he spent rummaging around his car for wadded up dollars and quarters stuffed between the seats. We drove out without even stopping and laughed nearly all the way home. I was so amused that it didn't even occur to me that we paid our ticket unnecessarily until I was almost all the way to the house.Chris Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312859343710536460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009704630517613796.post-28003184409744778342011-03-16T21:02:00.000-05:002011-03-16T21:02:46.931-05:00The bridge to hell...I wasn't prepared for what was coming.<br />
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My brother went to the ER monday morning. He was having chest pains. You don't want to mess with chest pains and he hadnt been feeling right for a few days. He got to work Monday and the pains got worse and were followed by dizziness and nausea. He left work and drove himself to the St. Vincents downtown emergency room. He spent the better part of the day in the ER undergoing all sorts of tests to see if he was having any sort of cardiac problem. After several hours of this they decided to admit him for observation and testing. I thought being the good caring brother that I am that I would run by there on the way home and check on him.<br />
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I left the office and drove downtown to the hospital. I had a lot on my mind that day. I have several ongoing projects with approaching deadlines and I was thinking about various details of them as I drove. I have to admit I was sort of in auto-pilot. You know how auto-pilot is, you just end up somewhere and dont even remember how you got there. Im sure if there had been a wreck or something in flames on the way there auto-pilot would have switched off and brought me back to consciousness. Maybe. <br />
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I drive downtown at least 3 or 4 times a week and I ahve been to St. Vincents at least 100 times or more so auto-pilot took me off of 280, down the off ramp and into the parking deck at the hospital. As soon as I parked I started thinking more about my brother and all of the things that might be causing his issues other than a heart problem. So again I was sort of in auto-pilot as I got out of the car, walked to elevator and pushed the button. I got in and rode it up to the lobby of the Womens and Childrens Center. I pressed the button for the elevator up to the crosswalk to the main hospital and got on the elevator with several other people who were going up.<br />
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The doors opened and I got out on the third floor and it started.<br />
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I stepped out of the elevator with the other people and the first thing I noticed was the odor. It was bad but it was that very distinct hospital / delivery suite smell. I didnt really know why at first but my heart started beating faster. I started walking to the crosswalk and my as of yet unrealized anxiety started to grow. I felt flush and I could feel small beads of sweat popping out on my forehead. It was now at the entrance to the bridge that I started to ask myself what was wrong. It was almost like I caught a virus with a 5 minute incubation period. <br />
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What the heck?<br />
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About 15 feet into the crosswalk the question was answered and in a matter of 3-1/2 seconds 21 days of hell came rushing back. The realization of where I was and what auto-pilot had let me do hit me like a blow to the chest. I was back. I had not been to St. Vincents since the day Noah was transferred to Children's NICU.<br />
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I am not prone to panic attacks, i don't get too overly emotional or worked up about much. Things usually slide off my back pretty easily. I'm a very laid back guy. None of that mattered. I stopped walking.<br />
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Keep walking. Cmon.<br />
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Breathe.<br />
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Not too much.<br />
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You need to keep walking.<br />
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I need to get the hell out of here.<br />
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I managed to pick my feet up and get moving. <br />
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Wait, not that fast.<br />
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Slow down. People are going to think your weird.<br />
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I dont give a damn.<br />
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In retrospect I think it was the lack of mental preparation that let me get to that bridge without realizing where I was. I spent so much time in autopilot on the way there that the reality of where I was going never occurred to me. I had unknowingly parked in the same deck, taken the same elevator and walked the same way that I went twice a day to see Noah in the NICU after he was born. I had returned to this place.<br />
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This is the place that my children were born. This is also the place that my son spent the first 21 days of his life in the NICU. This is the place that a "doctor" told me that my son would be institutionalized for his whole life. This is the place that pumped my son full of anti-seizure drugs for an epileptic condition that they were sure he had and could never find. This is the place that put IV's in my sons head. This is the place that told us that Noah surely had a variety of metabolic and genetic conditions that were most likely untreatable. This is the place that made me sit in a waiting room while my son had a series of seizures and let me think that he might have died. <br />
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This is the place that I learned that there are a lot of well meaning people who call themselves "doctors" that don't know much at all once you get them out of their little area of experience.<br />
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By the time I made it to the 6th floor where my brothers room was I had calmed down a little. My breathing heart rate were less frantic. I made it to my brothers room and spent a little time there checking on him. As it turns out he didnt have any cardiac issues. It appears that he has a gall bladder or stomach problem that is not too serious. <br />
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I left and headed home to my family who are healthy, happy and very much not institutionalized (although sometimes I think that we might need to be). I went back to my car a different way that didn't involve walking across that bridge.<br />
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I didn't drive home in auto-pilot.Chris Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312859343710536460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009704630517613796.post-9241961971178456452011-03-10T20:05:00.001-06:002011-03-13T08:41:05.527-05:00Apple IOS 4.3 Ho Hum...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Well I didnt really intend to write another blog entry today but oh well here goes.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Let me just preface this with the warning that this post falls in the NERD category of posts. So if you are wondering when I am going to get around to talking about Noah or the girls or Melinda, I'm not. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Sorry. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Ive definitely got plenty to say about them but thats for another day.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The reason for todays post is the release of Apple iOS 4.3. This update to the operating software for iphones, ipod touches and ipads came out yesterday. It has been anticpiated as a semi-big update that would bring improved speed and features. Maybe I was expecting too much from a point release but I was less than thrilled with what was included.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The new features were improvements to Airplay which would let you stream content from your iphone or ipad to your television through an apple tv. I dont have an apple tv so this was useless. Even if I did Im not sure that I would frequently use this feature. I mean how often are you going to have content on your mobile device that you need to play on the big TV? Maybe its just me.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Safari received a speed increase from the updates to the underlying javascript engine that runs it. This is ok. I cant say that its a night an day improvement. The ipad version of safari was already a fairly fast browser. I can tell that the iphone version seems to load things a little quicker.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Apple added itunes home sharing. This is the feature that will let you play things from your itunes library on your i-device as long as you are on the same wifi network. This is a little more useful if you have a home PC. I do everything on a laptop so if I am going to go to the trouble to open the laptop and start itunes for sharing I might as well use the laptop. Plus with 16 Gb on the ipad and iphone I already have most everything I would want to play on my device already.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The feature I was most excited about was the Personal Hotspot which would let you use your I-device as a wireless hotspot to access the cellular network. This has been available through apps like MyFi for a while if you were brave enough to jail break your phone. I was looking forward to doing it legally. AT&T decided to step in and felt like they needed to make money from this. So in order to use it you have to add an additional data plan that changes your 2Gb data plan into a 4Gb data plan for an additional $15 a month. If you were one of the early iphone adopters that is grandfathered in to having an unlimited data plan (like me) you will have to give that up to get the hotspot feature. So the thing I was most looking forward to became the thing that I am most bummed about thanks to AT&T.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Therefore the feature that became the most useful to me out of this update is the ability to specify what the switch on the side of your i-device does. On iphones this switch muted the phone and on Ipads it locked the rotation. Now you can choose what it does and the other feature is available through the app switching menu (double tap home).</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">How exciting.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Maybe iOS 4.4 will be better.</span><br />
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</span>Chris Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312859343710536460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009704630517613796.post-5004651192064644382011-03-09T22:44:00.001-06:002011-03-13T08:43:51.989-05:00What was I thinking...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Yes I started a blog.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">No I didnt do it because I think Kevin O'Kelley is cool and I want to be just like him. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">I promise. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Really. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Ok maybe that had a little to do with it. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Anyway, I have been thinking about starting one for a while. I really meant to do it after Noah was born to chronicle his life, challenges and triumphs, etc. I got a little distracted. Yes, I know that he is 18 months old. At least I started this before he got married.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Hopefully I will make more than and embarrassing three entries before he gets married too.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">As you might have guessed, Noah is one of my main reasons for writing this but I am sure being the nerd that I am I will drift into other topics like football, video games and work. I know most of you arent interested in all of the riveting current happenings in the world of mechanical engineering, construction and green building but you can skip those days.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">So what finally kicked me into blogging? Noah decided to start walking today. I mean he has been flirting with it for a while. He will let go and take a few steps. Sometimes it takes a little encouragement (read as small push from dad). Today he just let go and started walking around like he had been doing it for years. Its really weird to turn around and see a little two foot tall guy wobbling around. Melinda says he looks like Frankenstein walking. He holds his arms out and has a pretty stiff walk. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">I know thats not earth shattering to most people. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">I mean every kid walks, right? </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Its just one of those moments that make you stop and take a look back at where the little guy started out and how far he has come. 18 months ago Noah was born a month premature. Two hours later he turned blue and spent the next four months in the hospital, had a few surgeries and got a really expensive pile of equipment to make sure that he doesnt go into seizures due to oxygen depravation every night. It makes you realize how much of a miracle even the simplest developmental milestone really is. Walking is just another small miracle that reminds me how special Noah is.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">That's it for the first post. More to come.</span></span><br />
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</span></span>Chris Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312859343710536460noreply@blogger.com5