An Inch an Hour

A Wii for Christmas

2012-01-02T14:17:00.001-05:00

Christmas Vacation Science Demonstration

2012-01-02T14:09:00.000-05:00

The. Worst. Christmas. Present. Ever.

2011-12-23T07:30:00.001-05:00

Part 1

Part 2

more messing with photos

2011-06-14T21:32:00.003-05:00

messing wth photos

2011-06-14T21:19:00.001-05:00

Jumping Desi

2011-05-12T06:03:00.000-05:00

Recent videos

2011-05-06T05:41:00.001-05:00

Sponsor my half marathon by donating to Relay for Life

2011-04-12T05:45:00.004-05:00

Help me beat cancer!

I am running the City of Plattsburgh Half Marathon on Sunday, April 17 and I would love for you to sponsor me. I will be wearing a special t-shirt that features my Running Semicolon design on the front and cartoons of my sponsors on the back.

All you need to do is make a donation of any amount to get your cartoon added to the shirt (I won't quarantee that it will look like you, but I will do my best!)

If you need time to think about it, I am going to be wearing the shirt in several races this year and will always be happy to add a face to my effort.

Please make a donation today! by clicking on this link: Graser's Relay For Life Donation Page

Tom

this is what the front of the shirt will look like!

And I hope the back will look something like this!

Click here to donate today

I only did four and then I quit for some reason.

2011-03-15T21:23:00.002-05:00

My top twenty albums
These are not the 20 albums I like the best. They may not even be the albums that most influenced my musical tastes. They are 20 albums that mean something to me. I have left a lot of early stuff out.
I am not good at remembering years. I am attempting to put this in some sort of chronological order, but I am not sure if it will be 100 percent correct.

So we start in high school. I was a Plattsburgh High School Hornet and everybody was listening to Elton John and “Stairway to Heaven” was the last song of every school dance. When I got home I listened to music that others did not.

1. Todd Rundgren – “Runt”
I probably should have picked “Something Anything” it is a better more complete album. I found Runt long after I found Rundgren. It was in a cutout bin at a department store. I don’t think it cost more than 2 bucks. It is notable because it is all Todd. He is every voice and plays every instrument. This was in the days when that wasn’t easy. It’s an amazing feat when you think about it. In college I traded my copy of “Something, Anything,” to a girl for a copy of Steely Dan’s “Pretzel Logic.”

2. Steely Dan – “Countdown to Ecstasy”
I guess the above entry indicates I should have chosen “Pretzel Logic.” I chose “Countdown to Ecstasy” because of two songs – “Bodhisattva” and “My Old School.” The first song will, to this day, hypnotize me and the second song conjures up a memory of unbridled joy. I happily and distinctively recall my sister Ellen, my buddy Tony Vavra and me playing air band to this song, over and over and over on the third floor of my parent’s U.S Oval house in Plattsburgh, N.Y.

3. Joe Jackson – “Beat Crazy”
Back in the pre-Internet days it took a little work to follow your favorite artists, especially if your faves were not the faves of everybody else. I always knew what Joe Jackson was up to and I always knew when his next release was going to be. “Look Sharp” and “I’m the Man” cemented me as a fan, but “Beat Crazy” floored me. I remember trying to explain it to a girlfriend, “It’s like reggae for punks,” She didn’t get it. “Listen,” I said, “There’s nothing nice and nothing hopeful. It’s all anger. It’s punk!”

4. Neil Young – “Tonight’s the Night”
I knew that Young and Steven Stills played together in Buffalo Springfield, but I could never understand his association with the group Crosby, Stills and Nash. Those guys sang those pretty harmonies and Neil Young sounded like, well ..Neil Young. He certainly wasn’t a singer like those guys, I thought at the time. Then one night I was in the listening room in the library at Oswego State University. I picked this album out of the stacks, put on the headphones and dropped the needle. I had a musical epiphany. Crosby, Still and Nash might sing harmonies, but none of them, alone or collectively could sing a lick next to Neil Young. On “Tonight’s the Night” Young opens up a vein and bled his songs on the studio floor.

Here's the wordle this drivel produced:

Half - Marathon update

2011-03-14T14:43:00.003-05:00

I am just past the half-way mark in my half marathon training. Seems like a good time to post an update.
I have run 93 miles in training since I started my 10-week plan on Feb. 7.
Except for two days when I was in Washington D.C., where I ran on treadmills, I have done all my running outside.
The coldest was a 3-mile run at 2 below zero. That was the only sub-zero run. There were a few more cold ones, but most of my training has been in the 20s and 30s.
I have worn a ball cap, instead of a touque a couple of times.
The mind game I have been playing is that I have been hoping that as the runs got longer and harder, the weather would getting better and more tolerable.
So far, it has been working.
I did run once in the rain and once in an ice storm.
I feel pretty good.
I have lost about 9 pounds in five weeks. If I could lose another 9 or 10 over the next five weeks, I should be in great shape for the run on April 17.
I completed a 10 mile run this past Saturday and that has me confident that I will be able to complete the 13.1 mile half-marathon. The questions that remain are: 1. How long will it take me to finish? And, 2. How painful will it be?
I am working on completing a plan to use my attempt as a fund raiser for Relay For Life.
I am just finishing up the details now.
Part of it will be a t-shirt that I am in the midst of designing.
The front will look like this:

On the back I am going to include something to represent the individual people that contribute.
Stay tuned.

wordle

2011-03-14T03:41:00.001-05:00

movie is as ready as it is going to be

2010-12-17T06:39:00.002-05:00

Half Marathon an Inch at a Time

2010-12-08T07:03:00.002-05:00

It is time to get this blog fired back up. No need to change the name. An Inch an Hour seems appropriate for my next personal challenge.
Last week I decided to sign up to run the second annual Plattsburgh Half Marathon.
My longest run, so far, has been the 8.4 mile Race the Train run from Riparious to North Creek, N.Y.
I should be able to run 13.1 miles right?
I don't know. I have a ten-week training plan that should start sometime in January. I haven't backed it up from the date of the half marathon yet (April 17).
Until I do, I am just trying to do something every day.
Saturday, Dec. 4, I ran in the Frostbite 5K in downtown Marion. Sunday I did an hour on the eliptical while watching the Browns wear down the Dolphins.
Monday was a rest day.
Tuesday I did an hour of gut busting yoga (seriously - it was brutal).
This morning, Wednesday, I ventured outside for a 3.1 mile run (run is my word for what I do).
As usual, I am going as low tech as possible. I will have to break down and buy a pair or two of decent running shoes and maybe some cold weather gear.
Today I ran with the shoes I bought last summer - which are OK, but I am not in love with them - a tech shirt, a long sleeve T-shirt, a fleece pull-over, some fleece pajama bottoms (Homer Simpson suitable apparel for shopping at Wal-Mart), cotton sweat pants, a touque, a scarf, some Marion Star gloves and a pair wool mittens that used to be the liners for a pair of deerskin mittens I used to wear in the woods in New York.
It was 11 degrees out and I completed my run in 37:23. considered the clothing and the snow on the ground and my lack of extra effort ( I was just amazed I was out there), I consider it a pretty good start.
I need to lose some weight before the real training begins, but I have been reluctant to step on the scale.
Maybe tomorrow.

Where the Good Ones Go (New Original Song!)

2010-06-09T06:28:00.001-05:00

You can pre-order Danielle's new album!

All-City Fourth Grade Choir Highlights

2010-04-16T18:38:00.001-05:00

Rugby video

2010-04-03T19:30:00.000-05:00

Some photos from a rugby match

2010-04-03T19:09:00.002-05:00

Marion is in red.

This was a huge hit.

Marion ruggers converge.

You don't often see a line out from this angle.

This shot came out nice.

I have never envied the scrum half.

Mayhem football

2010-04-03T16:54:00.002-05:00

Lucy and I went to the Marion Mayhem's home opener Friday night.

Sunday Movie

2010-03-22T06:00:00.001-05:00

Looky Here, Lego Up Your House!

2010-01-02T13:15:00.000-05:00

Lucy's piano recital

2009-12-19T10:59:00.000-05:00

Christmas Movie 2009

2009-12-17T09:53:00.002-05:00

We have completed our fourth annual Christmas movie. We hope you like it.

Tree Movie Trailer

2009-12-13T17:23:00.002-05:00

If this lowers your expectations, I have succeeded.

T-Shirts II

2009-11-29T15:11:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving video

2009-11-26T15:46:00.000-05:00

Mary and Lucy are in Chateaugay for Thanksgiving. I am home in Marion earning money so we can buy things to be thankful for. I am thankful for the many, many t-shirts I have. Someday I will sew them together into a giant sail and sail far, far away. I just need a boat and access to a waterway. and some thread and a needle, I guess.

I am back

2009-11-26T15:43:00.002-05:00

I feel so sorry about ignoring An Inch an Hour for so long. I have been spending most of my Internet time over on Facebook.
Lucy, Mary and I went to Syracuse a few weeks ago to go to a Tragically Hip show. Lucy spent time with Uncle Mike and Aunt Dianna while we went to the show - Maybe next time Lucy!
Here is a video I shot with my lousy camera. considering my age, this is incredibly close to what I saw and heard.

Daily Mugshot

2009-09-10T07:57:00.001-05:00

Daily Mugshot

Newest Ohio Graser

2009-08-18T19:42:00.003-05:00

We believe he is mostly American Eskimo.

wind turbines

2009-08-08T07:22:00.001-05:00

2009-08-03T09:05:00.003-05:00

The road to the upper lodge on Titus Mountain near Owls Head outside of Malone, N.Y.

Adirondack Cemetery.

Lucy testing out the strength of an antique piano stool.

Front Porch Bluegrass

2009-08-02T12:18:00.000-05:00

First Day of Vacation: Family photos!

2009-08-02T09:12:00.002-05:00

Pete in a motorcycle helmet and Tom and Lucy in a motorcycle helmet!

Cousins!

Siblings!

The formal portrait!

First Day of Vacation: Front Porch Bluegrass

2009-08-02T09:04:00.003-05:00

Shoes are not required.

Aunt Janet and Liz concentrate.

Grandma Sandy and Aunt Janet!

Aunt Janet!

Aunt Joy and Rich.

Glamorous Lucy

2009-07-31T05:17:00.001-05:00

Photos from Lucy's professional photo-shoot prior to her recital.

camp photos

2009-07-25T19:04:00.004-05:00

Lucy got the environmentalist award!

She is a different girl with a week of camp behind her.

Lucy's camp counselors!

Camp cartoons

2009-07-22T05:28:00.004-05:00

I created a cartoon for Lucy to open each morning at breakfast while she is at Camp Nuhop.

This event actually occurred.

Fiction and fact from Tom's Almanac.

The reality is I watched the Tour de France upstairs and Mary watched a movie downstairs.

Marion, Ohio: It's just cats and newspapers to us.

I have to admit that this is not that funny.

Latest stop action experiment

2009-07-19T16:22:00.001-05:00

With Lucy leading the way, we are getting more ambitious.

New Toy

2009-07-12T21:15:00.001-05:00

We purchased a tandem bicycle from a neighbor. Put 13 miles on it the first afternoon. I think this is going to be fun.

A man and his dog

2009-07-11T12:59:00.001-05:00

Our first attempt at stop-action animation. Lucy did most of the work. I provided advice, which would account for the quality, and some help with spelling.

Sponsor a Newspaper Professional

2009-07-09T13:06:00.001-05:00

Holiday Weekend Videos

2009-07-05T11:45:00.001-05:00

Dance recital

2009-06-28T07:18:00.000-05:00

Dance Rehearsal

2009-06-27T06:03:00.001-05:00

Birds in a tree

2009-06-26T08:48:00.000-05:00

Coach of the Year!

2009-06-22T16:00:00.001-05:00

Photo Gallery :: PostStar.com

Shared via AddThis

Brother-in-law John Reynolds named Glens Falls Post Star Coach of the Year.

summer

2009-06-22T07:57:00.000-05:00

Dance photos and Father's Day Crown

2009-06-21T11:56:00.002-05:00

2009-06-20T09:54:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning

2009-06-20T08:23:00.000-05:00

Lucy with curls and mulberries

2009-06-18T15:42:00.001-05:00

2009-06-18T10:53:00.000-05:00

2009-06-17T13:11:00.001-05:00

The son of a friend

2009-06-15T19:53:00.001-05:00

Daily Mugshot

2009-06-10T07:18:00.001-05:00

Daily Mugshot

I can't get this out of my head

2009-06-04T05:36:00.001-05:00

"But that night as I drove back to Montreal I at least discovered this: that there's no simple explanation for anything important any of us do, and that the human tragedy, or the human irony, consists in the necessity of living with the consequences of actions performed under the pressure of compulsions so obscure we do not and cannot understand them." Hugh Maclennan

Cancer news

2009-05-18T15:47:00.001-05:00

The cancer doc now says I only have to see him every four months, rather than every three months. That's an annual savings of $40!

Love it

2009-05-10T14:58:00.000-05:00

At school

2009-05-09T21:05:00.003-05:00

One of the staff members at Lucy's school is going to be heading to Iraq soon. They held an assembly to wish him luck. They asked all the kids to wear red, white and blue. Lucy wore the American flag t-shirt that she painted herself. I love the shirt almost as much as her. Not sure what she was going to ask when this photo was taken by one of the Marion Star photographers. Maybe she just need to use the bathroom.

The Embellisher

2009-05-09T05:01:00.000-05:00

Too Biological

2009-05-07T06:43:00.002-05:00

Lucy made and photographed these Silly Putty sculptures. I find them disturbing. And, so, I share!

Lucy school photo, spring 2009

2009-05-05T22:05:00.000-05:00

Photos from a 5K

2009-05-05T21:53:00.001-05:00

The start of the Rocket 5K trail run.

The end of the rocket 5K trail run. That person behind me is not part of the sweeper crew.

Lucy photos

2009-05-02T21:49:00.001-05:00

Lucy's latest school photo propped up on the kitchen crap magnet.

Gotta talk to this girl about dentistry.

Lucy takes a camera to a rugby tournament

2009-05-02T17:50:00.004-05:00

Great shot of a lineout. The Marion team won this and converted into a try!

Here is the Marion team walking off the field after the game. I think they will like this shot.

A player from Cincinnati goes in for a score while three Findlay players chase him.

Nice tackle in the Cincinnati vs. Findlay championship game.

The Marion Rugby squad after beating Canton 15-0.

Good job Lucy!!

More nature observations

2009-04-22T18:09:00.004-05:00

Lucy needs to make observations of nature in a field book for school. We went to the pond at McKinley Park to see what we could find. We found water fowl! Hurray!

Ducks or Geese? I don't know!

Lucy sits down to do some sketching.

2009-04-21T05:41:00.002-05:00

Lucy and I went on a walk in the woods near our house as part of a class assignment. She is supposed to be doing a nature journal. Above is a photo of one of the turkey vultures that kept circling overhead. I knew they would be there. I chose these woods because I thought we would get to see them up close, but they never landed while we were there. Below, is Lucy sketching a plant.

Travels with my ostomy

2009-04-10T05:10:00.001-05:00

Fun with my ostomy

I think I set a broadcast record a week ago. I was going on and on about something on my weekly radio show on Hometown Radio WMRN. It is a sort of roundtable public affairs call in show. It’s not really my show. I am the co-host with the radio station’s news director.
Now, you might not know that a stoma is beyond the control of its owner, but it’s true. It does it’s thing without input from its owner and can be remarkable unpredictable.
So, as I said, I was going on and on about something or other when my stome decided to release some gas.
It is usually not that big a deal. Most of the time I don’t even know it is happening and since the odor is contained by my pouch, no one else notices either. Sometimes, however, there is an aural component. This was one of those times.
When the stoma makes a noise it sounds exactly like what it is. And, this time it really sounded like what it was. This particular event was notable, not just for its remarkable sound but also for its length.
It is impossible to measure these things. It was probably not more than 10 seconds but seemed much longer.
The other remarkable thing is that the sound was picked up beautifully by the microphone. I was wearing headphones and could hear the raspberry, in stereo, as clear as a bell.
I have no way of checking it out, but I am sure it was the longest, clearest and most recognizable fart ever broadcast on WMRN.
Am I proud? I don’t know. I know I will always remember the moment.

She won't read music

2009-04-05T18:18:00.001-05:00

2009-03-30T20:28:00.002-05:00

We took this photo of Lucy at an Asheville Tourists game in 2001 with a panoramic camera we got with a magazine subscription. I ran it through a simple photoshop filter to make it look like a painting. Meh.

This is my latest cartoon. It is about cancer. If you want to donate to my Relay For Life team you can find the link in my blogroll to the left.

My Cancer Story

2009-03-20T06:35:00.000-05:00

Mayhem video

2009-03-15T16:34:00.001-05:00

My talented kin

2009-03-11T06:44:00.002-05:00

Niece Ellen

Nephew Marly

Another column

2009-03-10T06:09:00.001-05:00

I have been busy

When I first started writing this column in January of 2005 the intent was to keep readers up to date on what is happening at The Marion Star. I wanted to let people in on the way we make decisions on what we cover, what we don't cover and why we do the things we do.

I also wanted to add a human element.

Often the decisions I make are based on past experience. I have worked in the media business since 1985. I have been a reporter, a radio DJ, a sports broadcaster, a paginator, a photographer, a paste-up artist, a photo-tech, an online editor, an assistant managing editor, and a managing editor.

Nearly every day, we make a decision about one thing or another that calls on experience. It might be something big, like how we are going to pursue a story or something small, like how best to crop a photo.

My personal experience comes into play as well. We all have lives outside our place of work. We have families and friends that color our lives and alter our perspectives.

Almost every decision requires you to think like a journalist and call upon your experience and knowledge to make sound ethical judgments, but you also have to think like a reader and call upon your experience has a father, friend and community member.

It might be journalistically sound to reveal the name of a juvenile offender, but the father in you tells you that the name can wait while more of the story is pursued.

Nothing changed my perspective on how I run this office more than the cancer diagnosis I received almost three years ago.

I don't think there is anybody in my field that hasn't contemplated the possibility of dropping dead at their desk.

Anxiety is a byproduct of our work. So is stress and emotion. We also spend a lot of time at our desks, exercising only our fingers, and the meals we gulp down at our desks are hardly the most healthy available

This job might eventually kill me. If it does, we'll be even, because in 2006 this job saved my life.

I was writing an editorial about colon cancer. March is, after all, Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. As part of the editorial I started to list the symptoms of colorectal cancer.

As I transferred the symptoms from the American Cancer Society's Web page into the editorial, I checked them off in my mind.

I had enough of the symptoms to get me worried.

Taken separately, the symptoms are common enough and explainable. It was not until I saw them listed together that I thought maybe something more than my diet was causing me problems.

Getting beat up with radiation and chemotherapy, months of anticipating major surgery and learning to live with a body that has been altered forever changes you.

It doesn't take the fight out of you, but it makes you consider what you are fighting about and for.

It makes you want to get things done now, but it also makes you want to slow things down and savor every moment.

The ethics of journalism don't change. Decisions based solely on journalistic principles are the same today as they were three years ago. It's the gray areas where your life experience comes into play that we find changes.

Cancer Survival

Speaking of cancer survivors I had the opportunity to meet Mary Miller this week. Mary has just completed her cancer treatment and she is moving full steam ahead. Mary is a comedian, a comedy consultant and a singer/songwriter.

You have two chances to see her locally in the next few weeks.

On Sunday March 15 she will be hosting a comedy show at Bluefusion. You can call 740-386-4255 for more information.

On Thursday, March 19 you can see her at our Laughs and Lipsticks Expo at Marion Centre (formerly Southland Mall).

Mary and I shared our cancer stories with each other. We both talked about the people we met, the help we received, the acts of kindness from friends, families, nurses, doctors and strangers. I am going to bet that Mary's cancer has influenced her work just like it has mine.

The basics we learned from years of experience are still there and still important. Our cancer experience has given us a profound view of the world that we didn't and couldn't have had before.

We're not smarter or better, but we are changed forever.

Tom Graser is the managing editor of The Marion Star. You can contact him at 740-375-5107 or tgraser@marionstar.com

My Sunday column early

2009-02-27T18:21:00.000-05:00

Hopefully, this will get a few edits before it publishes in the newspaper

Why yoga is like journalism

If you read last Sunday’s newspaper I hope you took the time to read Jeannie Brewer’s column about yoga and equanimity. Equanimity, as Jeannie explained, is eveness of mind, especially under stress.

In yoga it means, as I understand it, keeping your mind at ease even while you have contorted your body into a strange position.

My full disclosure is that I have been taking Jeannie’s class for the last 14 months.

Yoga, I have discovered is a lot like journalism.

Anyone can do yoga. Anyone that can read and write and has access to the Internet can be a journalist.

My first yoga class was Dec. 20, 2007. I was trying to lose weight and get in shape and Jeannie had talked me into trying out the class. I could try a couple of classes for free and she would let me borrow a mat. She had me at the word free.

I thought the first class was easy. I got a bit tired in the inverted V of the downward facing dog position, but other than that it seemed like nothing more than a pleasant stretch.

At the next class, Jeannie showed us how we could increase our heart rates by a simple breathing exercise. Maybe, I thought, there was* more to this than stretching.

During the second class, I pushed myself a little more. When she told us to push into the floor while in the warrior pose, I pushed hard into the floor. I started doing a thing I called “angry yoga.” I pushed like I was mad and stretched like I had to reach out and strangle someone.

I would leave each class on wobbly legs. I don’t think I was doing the yoga very well, but I was getting something out of the class.

It wasn’t until the summer that I started to really get it.

It was hot and we were about half-way through a class. With sweat rolling off my bald head we moved into the downward facing dog position and I let out a yelp.

It is usually pretty quiet in the class, but I couldn’t help announcing that instead of balancing on my toes, my heels were on the mat. Jeannie came over and adjusted me a little and reminded me to breath. I inhaled slowly and finally understood what she meant when she told us “relax into the pose.”

The downward facing dog had always been a position of stress for me - I used the stress to my advantage but I wasn’t getting everything out of the pose.

Now, I love the dog. It’s still hard and it still hurts when it stretches my legs and lower back, but now I let my body handle the stress while my mind dwells on something else, or nothing at all.

So, how is yoga like journalism?

Anyone can do it. It’s easy to be an angry journalist and push an agenda and get caught up in politics and jump when the scanner chatters and chase ambulances and fire trucks.

It isn’t until you can achieve an eveness of mind that you can really understand your community, really understand what is important and use your resources towards the most beneficial outcome.

You need to work hard and push and stretch and fight, but you need to do it with control and eveness or you waste a lot of energy.

Testing

2009-02-26T15:52:00.000-05:00

Budget meeting

My legs

2009-02-25T07:04:00.002-05:00

I went for a run last night. I intended to run three miles, but about 3/4 of a mile out my calf muscles began to stiffen up and then to hurt. I walked home. The pain is concentrated on the inside of each calf - more on the right leg than my left. I have a lopsided gait and my right leg is the one that comes down gracefully, my left leg thumps down. Not sure what it all means.
Last summer I always waited two days between runs, lately I have occasionally only waited one day. I am hoping that I just overdid it and that a few days rest and I will be OK.
I did the TV yoga class "Inhale" this morning to make up for my laxness. If you want to start the day with a real good sweat, I have to recommend "Inhale." 6 a.m. on the Oxygen Network.

toys

2009-02-24T06:15:00.002-05:00

I wish I was a better photographer. Or wanted to take the time to take better photos. Here are some quick snaps of the hand-sewn stuffed felt animals Lucy and I made last week.
Spot the dinosaur. I made this one. It took way to long for the lousy result.

Chucky the chick. Lucy did this one. I think the perspective is amazing.

The Frankentoys together.

Back from the dead

2009-02-23T05:18:00.002-05:00

I go back to work this morning after a week off. Mary went on a short trip to visit with her mom and sister and niece. Lucy and I stayed in Ohio. Lucy was sick most of the time. We made stuffed animals. I will post more pictures later.
I didn't do any exercise on Saturday. Sunday, when Mary got back, I did a three-mile run.
I thought I was picking up speed from previous runs but ended up finishing in 34:41, about 15 seconds slower than the previous run.
Oh well, I will keep plugging. Last year at this time I couldn't think about running three miles.
No yoga on Tuesday. I have to go to a meeting out of town.

training

2009-02-21T07:09:00.006-05:00

Winter came back and Lucy has been sick, so running is out.
I have been on the bike trainer, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I did yoga on Thursday.
I guess my only full day off this week was Tuesday. On Tuesday, we went to see a doctor in Columbus (nothing to get excited about) and then spent the afternoon at the Columbus Museum of Art.
I guess walking around a museum for four hours has to count for something.
Mary is off for a weekend with her mom, sister and niece, leaving Lucy and I to wallow in our own filth.
Last night we watched "Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco."
It was pretty awful, but Lucy liked it.
We also made some stuffed animals this week. They are supposed to be cute, and I guess the ones that were designed by someone else are kind of cute. The ones that Lucy and I designed are more gruesome than cute.
don't know how that happened.

This is "Whaloe," the whale I designed. Lucy helped with the tail.

This is Lucy's Alien. Not sure if he has a name yet. She did this all herself.

The Panda was professionally designed and the parts cut out by the nice ladies at the Marion Public Library. Lucy sewed him together. No name yet.

The rabbits were professionally designed and cut out at the library. Lucy sewed the orange one, her name is Libby (for the library). I sewed the blue one, her name is Summi (because it sounds Japanese and we live on Summit Street).

Here is the whole menagerie. I wish I was a better photographer, and sewer.

You really need to click on the photos to appreciate the dreadful photography and horrifying stitchery.

Fun with the president

2009-02-18T20:44:00.000-05:00

Another visit to the doc

2009-02-17T06:19:00.002-05:00

Saw my new oncologist Monday. We went over my latest blood work and my recent cat scan. There is absolutely nothing to report.
I am now on quarterly visits for the next two years.
Hurray for me!
Yesterday was Presidents Day so Lucy was off from school and I am serving my one week furlough from work.
We went to the playground and played "Animal Ninja Warrior." It is a game we made up based on the popular "Ninja Warrior" television show.
Basically I make up an obstacle course using the playground equipment and then tell Lucy was sort of animal she is and then she completes the obstacle course while I provide hilarious play-by-play.
Then we went to the Library where Lucy made a little stuffed animal that I will take a picture of today.
Today we are going to Columbus for a doctors appointment, then maybe special surprise.
More on that later.

On the training side of life. I ran three miles on Saturday then rode my bike trainer for 45 minutes on Sunday and ran another three miles on Monday.
I have no training plans for today.
I have a three-mile run planned for Wednesday.

guess which one is mine

2009-02-13T08:02:00.000-05:00

My big plan

2009-02-10T06:31:00.003-05:00

The big plan was to ride the bike trainer last night. I was not prepared for the horrendous toll I would pay for my sudden leap to running on Sunday. My thighs were extremely sore yesterday and don't feel much better today.
I thought it might be best to give them a rest last night.
Tonight I have yoga class. That should help.

Back to training

2009-02-08T11:12:00.002-05:00

I have decided to transform this blog into my training blog. I had a training blog on Marionstar.com for a full year, but was urged to take it down. I think it was a uninformed urging, but I don’t want to go into it.
So, I haven’t really trained since Nov. 16, 2008. I did ride my bike trainer on the weekends through December, but have done nothing in January and thus far in February.
I should mention that I have kept up with my yoga classes. I go twice a week. I miss one now and again. I have not been doing the morning yoga on TV that I was doing over the summer.
Today I ran three miles. I think I will be kind of sore tomorrow.
I set the bar kind of low. My first three mile run in 2009 was completed in 35:35. I had to stop once because some moron, who lives in a big house on nice street never shovels his walk. I am going to write them a letter. They live on a very busy street so running in the road is not an option. It looks like they could afford to hire someone if they are physically incapable.
So, here we go again.

&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/run/united-states/oh/marion/344146723655"&amp;gt;09/03/2008 3 mile loop&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-run/united-states/oh/marion"&amp;gt;Find more Runs in Marion, Ohio&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

A look into the past

2009-02-06T07:16:00.001-05:00

You might have to click on these to read them clearly.

Check out third paragraph. My coach really liked me.

I am pretty sure this is the only high school hockey game we ever covered. We did high school football and basketball and college hockey!

I gave away a cake every morning on my radio show!

Check out the third paragraph. I had forgotten all about Penn State.

family newspaper

2009-01-31T10:46:00.002-05:00

We claim to be a family newspaper, yet we publish these photos of Blondie and her see-through skirts!

Another Cartoon

2009-01-30T07:58:00.002-05:00

I was on a conference call at work and mindlessly doodling while I listened attentively. This just appeared on the page before me.

2009-01-25T18:47:00.001-05:00

Click here to see more of these photos.

2009-01-23T20:08:00.000-05:00

Trip to the doc

2009-01-21T07:03:00.002-05:00

I went to see a regular doctor yesterday. I haven't had a real physical since early 2005. The cancer guys are good but they don't care about cholesterol. So the nurse finishes up asking me a bunch of questions and gets up to leave. "I'll get out a sheet and some lubricant because she will want to do a rectal exam," she said.
"I have a stoma," I said. "So, she won't want to do that."
She said ok and walked out the door. Then, she turned right back around and said, "But you know she will want to check your prostate."
"I don't have a rectum at all," I said. "So, she can't do that. And, I don't have a prostate."
She looked at me for a moment and said, "Then you're all set!"
There are some advantages to having a stoma. This is the most obvious.

Sledding!

2009-01-17T16:57:00.003-05:00

Long time no bloggy

2009-01-15T07:40:00.002-05:00

Not sure what I have been doing lately. I went to a play in Saratoga Springs, NY last weekend. I have been starting cartoons and not finishing them. I have been watching Mary make teeny tiny stuffed felt animals and herding Lucy.
Here is our Christmas movie, one more time. This time from our Youtube upload. I am posting this only because I got nothing else.

cartoon madness

2009-01-07T18:40:00.002-05:00

Melissa sent me this idea.

Another one from my brother Mike.

Thanks folks!

More cartoons

2009-01-05T22:35:00.002-05:00

More of this nonsense.

a puppet show

2009-01-05T14:45:00.000-05:00

Fun with Light Bright

2009-01-05T14:17:00.002-05:00

Lucy has usually been doing free form images with her Light Bright. This time, however, she chose a nautical theme all mapped out by the manufacturer.

more cartoons

2009-01-04T15:28:00.001-05:00

It's pretty much all I do now.

And I turned out OK

2009-01-03T07:31:00.001-05:00

Cartoon idea

2008-12-31T08:10:00.001-05:00

I have an idea for a series of cartoons called, "And I Turned Out OK!" This is a prototype. Now I just need some gags.. anybody got any?

Latest photo

2008-12-31T08:08:00.001-05:00