Ode to Technology

At a Public Relations Society of America luncheon today (I’m the president of the Las Vegas Valley Chapter this year), someone at our table commented on how professionals utilize Microsoft PowerPoint. He mentioned that there was a website that illustrated the point well. I looked it up and sure enough, it does a good job. At least I got a big kick out of it.

If the topic interests you, check out the Gettysburg Address in PowerPoint — how President Abraham Lincoln would have presented his address on November 19, 1863 had PowerPoint been available.

And for what it’s worth, our seminar today on Communications in Times of Crisis, led by Dan Burns (director of communications for Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt and a member of the State of Nevada Public Information Officer Committee's Joint Information Center, and part of Nevada Homeland Security) and Erik Pappa (Clark County director of public communications and former public information officer for the City of Las Vegas) was certainly an informative and though provoking discussion on effective crisis communications with commentary on hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and potential disasters, natural or manmade, that could occur in Las Vegas.

In the words of the Backstreet Boys, “It’s a Weird World.”

Capistrano Beach 2005

Our second annual trip to the beach proved fun for all. We loaded up the Sequoia, including the luggage rack on top, and headed for Southern California on Sept. 9. We rented a roomy beach house on Capistrano Beach with the Coglianese family and Amber’s mom and step-dad Kim.

It was a week full of playing in the sand and ocean, and pretty much just hanging out. I had some work to do while we were there, but other than those couple of hours for a few days, I was able to rollerblade and just enjoy time with the family.

The kids built sand castles, watched movies and did a pretty good job of behaving themselves.

The trip included the traditions of going to Crazy Shirts, dining at Ruby’s and Harbor House.

It also included throw-up episodes from Jared, Sarah and Amber, which was unfortunate, and some sinus infection troubles for Mark, Vickey and I, but what can you do. Usually when you travel at least one family member manages to get sick.

Tank stayed home with our friends, Travis and Kirstin Reed, who did their best to console a dog used to having daytime company. Tank managed to break free from his crate and do his typical separation anxiety doggy poop all over the carpet and tile. We could tell by the smell when we returned that something wasn’t right. Poor Travis and Kirstin did all they could to clean it up. We ended up moving all the furniture and having the carpets cleaned on Saturday after we returned. So in addition to returning after a week long trip, we had a house turned upside down with furniture stacked in the garage. It was a crazy few days.

Eliana keeps saying she misses the beach. Maybe we’ll find a way to visit before next summer. Or maybe she’ll just have to be patient and wait.

Vickey’s Birthday

Yesterday we celebrated Vickey’s birthday. We enjoyed a relaxing day at Capistrano Beach and are enjoying our time with the Coglianese family. We took in a sacrament meeting in a beautiful new stake center building in San Clemente and went on a walking tour of the old town. We tried going into the Catholic mission here, but they were closing just as we arrived. This area’s history dates back to 1776.

We enjoyed a lasagna dinner (I made it a few days ago and brought it frozen to the beach house) and a great double chocolate bundt cake for Vickey’s birthday. We also had a campfire on the beach and made smores, with a caramel addition suggested by my sister-in-law Melissa. Good suggestion Mel, it was a hit!

Eliana’s enjoying the sand and water. Most of us have managed to get a little sun burned. All of us are enjoying the gorgeous weather. And little Dominic’s taking it all in stride, eating, sleeping (through most of the night) and growing like a cute little weed.

Eliana’s Birthday

Today was Eliana’s fourth birthday. She’s growing to be such a cute little girl.

First thing this morning I ate breakfast while she unwrapped a whole kitchen table full of presents from her grandparents and mom and dad. We had them all displayed the night before so when she came down she’d be surprised. And she certainly was excited to open them.

She got plenty of toys and fun things to do. She’s a very fortunate little girl to be loved by so many people.

She took strawberry cupcakes to her preschool group. They had the letter A on them because this week they learned all about the letter A.

Tonight we celebrated by having Eliana’s favorite pizza, pepperoni, and had the Coglianeses and Zurfluehs over for a piñata party with more strawberry cupcakes. Everyone had a great time.

Eliana Heads to Preschool

Today was Eliana’s first day of preschool. She’s going to a neighbor’s home for preschool with a half dozen other kids. Tammy Johnson is Eliana’s teacher.

It’s weird knowing your kid is growing up. But it’s a good thing too.

Eliana doesn’t seem to hold back. She’s a pretty outgoing kid. We’ll see how she does in school and how she’s able to focus on her studies.

She’s got a cute, fun personality most of the time. She gets grumpy when she doesn’t get adequate sleep…kind of like someone else I know.

She’s learning to be a good big sister and helps out on occasion during Dominic’s diaper changes and baths. She’s a good kid. We’re lucky to have her.

Labor Day 2005

We gladly welcomed Labor Day and a third day to our weekend. There’s so much to do with fall approaching.

Eliana’s first day at pre-school is tomorrow. She’s equipped with a new school outfit and book bag, although I don’t really think she understands what it means to be going to school. She’ll know after tomorrow, won’t she? We enrolled her in a neighbor’s in-home pre-school class. She goes Tuesday and Thursday morning and we’re hoping she’ll learn a lot.

We measured how tall Dominic is today and he came in at 25 inches. Of course, our non-scientific measurement style may not yield perfectly accurate results. But the point is he’s growing and healthy. He’s a patient, easy going baby. We’re blessed.

Tank and I went for a rollerblade run this morning (I rollerbladed, he ran). He had a great time being out of the house and visiting with the other pets and owners along the jogging trail. It was relatively crowded at 8 this morning due to the holiday.

We spent the afternoon at the pool and barbequing with the Coglianeses. It was a great time. We watched the news and reports of hurricane Katrina recovery for a while. It was hurricane Alicia in 1983 that really taught me the power of hurricanes. In Houston our family lived through several hurricanes and tornados, but that was the worst one. We were without power for nearly a week. We watched with amazement as the six foot tree in the front yard was blown over to the right, then after the eye of the storm passed, to the left. And I remember watching my father walk a few yards down the street at more than a 45 degree angle just to make progress against the strong winds.

Like I said before, my heart goes out to all those effected by Katrina. There’s nothing like a natural disaster, even in the world’s supposedly most wealthy nation, to show you who’s really the boss. Certainly not mankind.