Jonathan Coulton Fans, Code Monkey has a video

And there you have it.

Joe.

Today for my birthday, Joyce cooked my favorite meal, Pot Roast.  Daniel got me a card, drew me a picture, and gave me his “I’m 4 years old” ribbon that he wore on his 4th birthday.  Savannah texted me a birthday wish.  And my parents send me a birthday card with some money.

But then I got an unexpected surprise.  My first cousin, Jimmy, got a job in Atlanta and will be moving near me from Florida.  His son and Daniel are the same age and, though they only met at a recent family reunion in New York, they seem to get along well.

I am very excited as I haven’t had a relative live in the same city as me since I was a kid, and never anyone from my Father’s side of the family.

I have wanted Daniel to play baseball for years, but he hasn’t really been that interested, so I didn’t push the issue.  At the family reunion, however, he played baseball with Dominic, who is very good at it. 

When I say Dominic is very good at baseball, I don’t mean he’s good at it for a five year old, I mean he’s very good at it for a seven or eight year old, despite the fact that he’s five.  This kid can switch hit standard sized baseballs pitched overhand.  It is no surprise that Dominic is good at baseball.  His father and his uncle, Michael, both excelled at the game.  Jimmy won a baseball scholarship.

Since playing with Dominic, Daniel has been very interested in baseball.  Now that they will be living in the Atlanta area, not only can they be playmates, but Daniel can learn some baseball from him.

And there you have it.

Joe.

When I arrived home after my Saturday bike ride, I found out that Cartoon Network was promoting the new Clone Troopers TV series at North Point Mall.  “Big Fan” doesn’t exactly describe Daniel.  He will be going as a Clone Trooper for Halloween this year…again.  He was a Clone Trooper last year too.  We were able to play the not-yet-released Clone Trooper game for the Wii.  We got to take a picture in Ben Kenobi robes.  We had great fun.  We spent a good bit of the day at the mall, afterwhich we ate at the Cheesecake Factory.

The next day, we went to Daniel’s Aunt Jenny’s for a family birthday celebration.  Daniel was really excited to see his Grandmother.  They have a strong connection. 

After the party, Daniel and I took our bikes to the Silver Comet Trail.  I am trying to get him out riding with me as often as possible.  He is new to riding a bike and he really likes it.  Though he still has training wheels, he is really getting the hang of riding.  He has one critical bad habit.  He frequently hits the brakes unintentionally while pedaling.  This time out Daniel rode really well.  We rode for four miles!  That’s quite a ride for a five year old beginning bike rider. 

He was exhausted when we got home.  Uncharacteristically, he fell asleep immediately when I put him to bed.  It was a good weekend.

And there you have it.

This morning was my first group bike ride.  I rode with the Atlanta Cycling weekly group ride.  They have rides nearly every day.  They have two to choose from on Saturdays: a 40-53 miler and a 20 miler.

I oft have bigger eyes than stomach, but I avoided this temptation and chose the 20 miler that is rated easy or moderate.  Without realizing it, I chose the moderate group which is significantly faster than the easy group. 

The ride initially seemed like it was going to be enjoyable without much challenge.  That is until I hit the first big hill.  I fell back, but was able to catch up during the straight away.  After assuring the  rest of the group that I was Ok to proceed, I was informed that the hill I had just topped was a beginner hill and only a warm up for the ride.  This, I found, was not an exaggeration, in fact it was quite accurate.  The hills were plentiful and the pace was a around 17mph.  It was quite a work out.

It is sometimes painful to realize that you are nearly as in shape as you once thought.  Experiences like this tend to motivate people or cause them to reconsider what they are doing.

I choose to be motivated.

As a member of the Board of Directors of the Atlanta IASA Chapter, I am in charge of the 2009 Atlanta IT Architect Regional Conference (ITARC).  We have been busy securing sponsors, keynote speakers, and a facility to hold the thing.

Now the hunt is on for Atlanta-based speakers.  Architects who like to present to their peers about subjects that interest us all.  If you are an architect or know one, consider this blog entry a call for papers.  Interested parties should email their profile and abstract to atlantaitarc@iasahome.org. 

And there you have it.

Joe.