Father's Day Fun

Janie and Madeline gave me a remote control helicopter for Father's Day. It's a ton of fun!! Check out the pics:

The Great Red Shark at Work

The Great Red Shark

Well all of the visitors to The Hive probably think we have degenerated into total Colony Collapse Disorder. The fact of the matter is, life around The Hive is kind of boring. Janie covers our family life over at the Hite House site, and I'm just not creative enough to come up with daily blogs outside of family life. But let me take a minute to introduce you to my cool toy. It is my 2002 Z28 Camaro. I have dubbed this car the Great Red Shark, after Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. I highly recommend it as a read, but I caution it is not for the weak of heart.

Which is why the name is so appropriate for my car. It is not for the weak of heart. This is the car you wanted when you turned 16, and this is the car your father feared when you turned 16. Check out the pic.

Now the Z28 is a stout ride in stock trim, but this baby has been breathed on by a company called SLP, which specializes in souping up Camaros, Corvettes, and Firebirds. I won't bother you with all of the technical specs of this thing, but suffice it to say this car ROLLS. (If you do want the breakdown on this car, send me an e-mail and we'll talk gearhead).

The story on this bad boy goes something like this. Janie's uncle, who is a savvy business man, originally bought the car for his son, but when he got it home, he realized it was a handful and didn't think it was such a hot idea for a teenager after all. At the same time, I'm 38 going on 18 and just retiring from a lifelong passion of self destruction riding all sorts of motorcycles. Well I figured I've beat myself up enough riding these 2-wheeled beasts and here sits Janie's uncle with this 4-wheeled beast and it was sort of the perfect match. The deal was made, and I find myself in proud possession of this street-brawler.

To say that this car is the car that you wanted when you turned 16 is an understatement. It is the quentissential hot rod; low, loud, shiny, and fast. If you are worried about fuel economy, look elsewhere, this car belches unburnt gas when it gets grumpy. But hey, it's all about fun. On sunny Sunday afternoons, I jump in the shark, drop the clutch, and feed rubber to the masses. Yeah, it may sound rude, but it sure is fun :-)

Memorial Day

As you are by now well aware, postings have been pretty infrequent here at the hive. The reason, quite frankly, is that on a day-to-day basis, life is about as milquetoast as things can get. Janie's blog over at the Hite House covers most of our daily happenings, and tracks the exponential development of our daughter, Madeline.

But I did want to take a moment and recognize Memorial Day. In the well-put words of General Logan:

"Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided public."
- General Logan, May 5, 1868.

I think that says it pretty well. Happy Memorial Day.

Mother's Day

"Then Job rose up, and rent his garments, and having shaven his head fell down upon the ground and worshipped, and said 'Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return tither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: as it hath pleased the Lord so is it done: blessed be the name of the Lord.'" (Job 1:20-21)

Today is Mother's Day. For me, this is a bittersweet day. On the one hand, it is a happy day upon which we celebrate all of the efforts of all of the mothers in our lives, and all of the hard work they do year-round to take good care of us. I would particularly like to recognize a special mother in my life, my wife Janie. Janie works hard every day to take care of Madeline and me and she does so without nearly enough thanks. So Janie, from the bottom of my heart, happy Mother's Day.

I would also like to extend a heartfelt "Happy Mothers Day" to all of the Mothers and Mothers-to-be that visit the Hive. One day a year is not enough to recognize everything that you do and have done to make our lives happy and full.

But there is an element of sadness to today as well. Rather than spending time with my own Mother, giving her cards and hugs and special time, today I will go and place flowers at my Mother's grave. It is a profound and life-changing event to lose your Mother, no matter how old or "grown up" you are. Our Mothers are a cornerstone of life, and while we (or at least me) may not always agree with them, our Mothers are our Mothers until we die or they die. So to Mom, happy Mothers Day. You are gone but not forgotten.

But not to worry. The Hive is a forum for happy times and fun. Yesterday Madeline and I went shopping and picked some nice gifts for Janie and today we will celebrate and have fun. Because no hive is complete without a Queen Bee :-)

Return to the Hive

Well I recieved a friendly reminder from my overseas associate that I've been remiss in updating my blog. Worry not, the King Bee has not left the hive, I've just been away. The past couple of days I've been down in southeast Kentucky conducting annual inspections at two of our flood control dams down there. Specifically, Carr Creek Lake and Buckhorn Lake. These lakes are in a very remote region, and I will tell you it was a great experience to get down there and see these places. The country is very beautiful, set in the mountains, the folks were nice, and at night you don't hear the roar of planes, trains, or automobiles. I just got in a short while ago, so I don't have any photos to post right now, but check back in the next couple of days and I should have some photos.

Rookie Blogger in Action

Well I've posted a new "Song of the Day" but I can't get it to auto-start. I think I've got the wrong format. So If you're interested, scroll down to the bottom of the page and check it out!

If any of you experienced bloggers can help me out please do so!