Following the All-Blacks can be hard to do in this country. One would think with the way instant communication is going and that you can get anything on the satellite then it would be easy to follow the ABs. Well not really. At least not actually watching it live. Oh one can pay for it but the cost is not as simple as wanting to watch rugby only. I would have to get Dish or the like and then have the service to watch Fox Soccer Channel then payperview for the rugby tests.
Anyway, the best I can do is go to a NZ website and hope for an audio feed and text commentary at least. So that is what I do. I have found that www.nzoom.com has both that is pretty good. I pull up the text commentary just to see stats and so forth. But I also fireup an audio feed which is NZ biased as heck but then that is ok. Sorta like when I listen to a Cowboys game on the radio...it is usually biased Dallas announcers like ex-Cowboy Babe Laflenburger (spell).
So the audio feed has an email address where you can send in comments to the announcers. I usually send them one saying thanks and they read off my name and location. Sorta fun to send an email to the other side of the world and in a minute or less they read off your name. :)
Well, Emily was up with me Saturday morning listening to the AB vs SA and so I sent in an email from her. Within about 30 seconds there was text on the text commentary with Emily's name. Pretty cool! See out take from the 69th minute of the test below. Then in about a minute or so they read off her name on the audio. Of course she was upset with me for putting her in the public spotlight. Hopefully she has forgiven me.
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69 mins: Emily Adams, thanks for the support! I love the All Blacks too, hope you are enjoying my unbiased commentary. We waste another few minutes trying to set a Springbok scrum and the referee is getting frustrated, giving away a penalty to the home side.
68 mins: The All Blacks' line-out throw is a shocker and the Springboks steal it easily. du Preez clears past halfway with a huge touch-finder.
67 mins: The luck goes in favour of the ABs as the Springboks are called for a shepherd.
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Another fun thing is to listen to the Kiwis and their accents. Emily thinks they are funny. One of my favorite expressions of the Kiwis is the line in the 68th minute. Shocker! Imagine that with a strong Kiwi accent (or say Scottish or Welsh accent.) Usually means awful or surprising. A real shocker.
Anyway, it was fun to listen to the test Sat. morning even if Emily got upset with her Dad.
Oh and the ABs won 45 to 26. They are 5-0 in the Tri-Nations with one test to go against SA again.
28 August 2006
26 August 2006
Feels like summer is ending
Sorta strange around here. With the rains still coming and school already started it feels like falls. This morning it is cool and wet. I wondered if the heater was going to have to come on for the night time. Guess I need to get someone over to look at the furnaces in case some cold spells hit us early.
Well Elizabeth seems to have a bit of a cold. She has a runny nose and is a bit cranky. Clings to Mom a great bit. Gwen may have it now too.
Elizabeth has been fun to watch lately. She is starting to assert herself a bit. The other day the cat was in the window and got his claw stuck in the screen. I looked at him and said to stop it then went back to reading a book paying him no mind. In a minute I notice Elizabeth standing there as close to him as she could get and scolding him, "NooooTankU" over and over waving her arm at him. Sorta like saying bad kitty...stop it.
On another note the men in house are back up to equal numbers with the women. Emily and Elizabeth brought home a new beta fish name Rescue. They got him at WalMart where it seems many of the fish there were dead so they rescued him thus the name Rescue. We do not know if he has much life left in him but at least he might have nicer remaining days at our house. Rescue is sorta orangish with some albino looking features. So far so good.
Emily has started school off pretty good with doing well on her first spelling test. And made a 100% on her pre-test too. Looks like she may start off where she left second grade.
It looks like we will get a new carbarn door in a few weeks. We had the Overhead Door person here yesterday and have one on order. Yea. No more opening the heavy wood door with hail broke windows. :) And maybe a clean out the carbarn so a car can get into it for the up coming winter.
Let's see Tim Davenport went back to Tech last week for the start of his last year. He will be switching from Engineering-Physics to Computer Science as his major. Nate Limback started school here last week at UNM-LA and is on track to finish Dec 2007. He has had to change his schedule at least twice due to classes not making.
I am looking forward to the football season. I think the Cowboys and the Red Raiders will have very good years. I think Dallas' weaknesses are the offense line and QB. Of course again several Big 12 schools are picked over Tech like they are every year and Tech does better than picked. At least the last three or four years have been like. No respect. We will see how it goes.
Well I am fixin to turn on the audio over the internet and listen to the All-Blacks play South Africa in SA. Luckily it is in SA so the time change puts it on at a decent hour here. :)
Well Elizabeth seems to have a bit of a cold. She has a runny nose and is a bit cranky. Clings to Mom a great bit. Gwen may have it now too.
Elizabeth has been fun to watch lately. She is starting to assert herself a bit. The other day the cat was in the window and got his claw stuck in the screen. I looked at him and said to stop it then went back to reading a book paying him no mind. In a minute I notice Elizabeth standing there as close to him as she could get and scolding him, "NooooTankU" over and over waving her arm at him. Sorta like saying bad kitty...stop it.
On another note the men in house are back up to equal numbers with the women. Emily and Elizabeth brought home a new beta fish name Rescue. They got him at WalMart where it seems many of the fish there were dead so they rescued him thus the name Rescue. We do not know if he has much life left in him but at least he might have nicer remaining days at our house. Rescue is sorta orangish with some albino looking features. So far so good.
Emily has started school off pretty good with doing well on her first spelling test. And made a 100% on her pre-test too. Looks like she may start off where she left second grade.
It looks like we will get a new carbarn door in a few weeks. We had the Overhead Door person here yesterday and have one on order. Yea. No more opening the heavy wood door with hail broke windows. :) And maybe a clean out the carbarn so a car can get into it for the up coming winter.
Let's see Tim Davenport went back to Tech last week for the start of his last year. He will be switching from Engineering-Physics to Computer Science as his major. Nate Limback started school here last week at UNM-LA and is on track to finish Dec 2007. He has had to change his schedule at least twice due to classes not making.
I am looking forward to the football season. I think the Cowboys and the Red Raiders will have very good years. I think Dallas' weaknesses are the offense line and QB. Of course again several Big 12 schools are picked over Tech like they are every year and Tech does better than picked. At least the last three or four years have been like. No respect. We will see how it goes.
Well I am fixin to turn on the audio over the internet and listen to the All-Blacks play South Africa in SA. Luckily it is in SA so the time change puts it on at a decent hour here. :)
19 August 2006
All-Blacks Win!! Take Tri-Nations Cup!
Well after only playing four out of the six tests the All-Blacks have taken the Tri-Nations Cup. They beat Oz 34-27 in Auckland. They still have two tests left with South Africa in SA but they have enough wins and points to take the cup. They also took the Bledisloe Cup which is a prize that is between NZ and Oz only.
16 August 2006
Life's Lessons - From 10yr olds
Here is an article from a Sport Illustrated writer. He coaches 10yr old Little Leaguers. I found the lessons interesting.
Just click on the post Title Above to go to that article.
The Lessons.
1. Free Yourself From Expectations.
2. Be wary of adults who don't smile around children.
3. Look out the airplane window and daydream.
4. Go Bowling.
5. Childhood passes quickly enough; don't rush it.
6. Cherish every moment.
Just click on the post Title Above to go to that article.
The Lessons.
1. Free Yourself From Expectations.
2. Be wary of adults who don't smile around children.
3. Look out the airplane window and daydream.
4. Go Bowling.
5. Childhood passes quickly enough; don't rush it.
6. Cherish every moment.
14 August 2006
Happening things
This first part is more for Steve and April. At church last week Luke Johnson and Devine Shunk got baptized. Luke is as tall as Chuck now and Devine is so much taller that Chuck asked him to kneel or something. Devine actually sat down on his bottom in the baptismal and was still sticking out of the water good enough for Chuck to baptize him. It was a fun moment. Devine is Kendras husband if you do not remember him. Both of them are very tall.
Elsewhere in the news...Gwen noticed that Metzger's gas station was not selling Krispy Kremes anymore and asked why not. Turns out that the Santa Fe Krispy Kremes went out of business! So Metzgers did not have a supplier anymore.
In White Rock, Rocky Mountain Automotive closed its doors. I am sure Ruth is not surprised and very satisfied after her ordeal with them and her car.
Noticed on the Weather channel last night that it has Los Alamos down for just over 14 inches of moisture for the month of August! Yikes. I might have believed 14 inches since the last week in June but not just for 13 days! That is our annual average moisture. Lee Ankeny said he would check the local weather machine webpage and see what it says. I will report back what they received.
We have had alot of rain since the end of June. This does not mean the drought has stopped since we only got one-quarter of an inch of moisture from October to the first day spring last winter. But the monsoons have gone on longer than normal and this is much more like when we arrived here in 98' and 99'.
Emily got to do some beginning of school shopping. School starts Wednesday here. Third grade it is for her. :)
Elsewhere in the news...Gwen noticed that Metzger's gas station was not selling Krispy Kremes anymore and asked why not. Turns out that the Santa Fe Krispy Kremes went out of business! So Metzgers did not have a supplier anymore.
In White Rock, Rocky Mountain Automotive closed its doors. I am sure Ruth is not surprised and very satisfied after her ordeal with them and her car.
Noticed on the Weather channel last night that it has Los Alamos down for just over 14 inches of moisture for the month of August! Yikes. I might have believed 14 inches since the last week in June but not just for 13 days! That is our annual average moisture. Lee Ankeny said he would check the local weather machine webpage and see what it says. I will report back what they received.
We have had alot of rain since the end of June. This does not mean the drought has stopped since we only got one-quarter of an inch of moisture from October to the first day spring last winter. But the monsoons have gone on longer than normal and this is much more like when we arrived here in 98' and 99'.
Emily got to do some beginning of school shopping. School starts Wednesday here. Third grade it is for her. :)
13 August 2006
Sir Donald (The Don) Bradman
Well, I know these types of posts may not be of interest to family and friends but in the spirit of broadening ones knowledge of culture I am posting this one. Also in the spirit of the Nolen's being in England then cricket is appropriate.
Donald Bradman (of Oz) is considered the greatest batsman in the history of Test Cricket. It is hard to compare the statistics of cricket to baseball. In cricket they do not have what I would call a batting average but they do have what is called a Career Test Batting Average which is the average number of runs hit in per Test. A century (100 runs) is very impressive for one Test in ones career and many batters collect a century or more off and on. But no one has a Career Test Batting Average that comes close to a century except for Donald Bradman. The Don has an average of 99.94 runs for his career (20 years) test batting average and most likely would have stayed over 100 runs if it were not for scoring a duck (or scoring zero) runs at his last at bat before retiring. To put Bradman's accomplishment into perspective then looking at the next closest batsman you will find an average of 60.97 runs. And this record stands still today even though Bradman retired in 1948.
While in NZ we heard alot about Bradman who was at the time still alive. He passed on in 2001. He was highly respected and universally liked. I once saw a picture taken of Bradman shaking Babe Ruth's hand in the stands of a Major League Baseball game. A very interesting contrast to say the least.
To follow and learn more about cricket then go here to Cricinfo.com.
Donald Bradman (of Oz) is considered the greatest batsman in the history of Test Cricket. It is hard to compare the statistics of cricket to baseball. In cricket they do not have what I would call a batting average but they do have what is called a Career Test Batting Average which is the average number of runs hit in per Test. A century (100 runs) is very impressive for one Test in ones career and many batters collect a century or more off and on. But no one has a Career Test Batting Average that comes close to a century except for Donald Bradman. The Don has an average of 99.94 runs for his career (20 years) test batting average and most likely would have stayed over 100 runs if it were not for scoring a duck (or scoring zero) runs at his last at bat before retiring. To put Bradman's accomplishment into perspective then looking at the next closest batsman you will find an average of 60.97 runs. And this record stands still today even though Bradman retired in 1948.While in NZ we heard alot about Bradman who was at the time still alive. He passed on in 2001. He was highly respected and universally liked. I once saw a picture taken of Bradman shaking Babe Ruth's hand in the stands of a Major League Baseball game. A very interesting contrast to say the least.
To follow and learn more about cricket then go here to Cricinfo.com.
Car Bed and other wonderful things. :)
Here is Elizabeth's first bed. Instead of the Emily's first bed Gwen decided to get one like this since ALB likes the truck shopping carts at Smiths so much. So Emily and her make a fort out of it and play in it for now.We tried an ALB nap the other day but she got up and come back into the family room almost immediately. So the crib stays til she figures a way out of it regularly. :)
This one is for April. Recognize the dress April? It is so cute. Believe it or not ALB looked even cuter in it than this picture shows. She wore it to church and her first day of Childrens Church and Sunday School. No nursery for her anymore. She is a big girl now. Picture courtesy of Emily.
This is one atop the tram in Estes Park. Bob and the girls went to feed the chipmunks and squirrels. They got a good look around Estes Park from up there. See the Stanley Hotel below. Picture courtesy of Emily.
Emily took this one of Elizabeth and Grandpa Colorado. It is not totally in focus but it was very sweet.
Here is the picture of the Stanley in Estes Park, CO. It is a site to see when driving through the town. Of course legend has it that Stephen King based The Shining around the Stanley but he denies it in the beginning of the book. Picture courtesy of Emily.
This one is for Steve. I am sure he is needing a chile fix something bad. And Viola's is the place to go for that. We had lunch the other day with the Mallets here.
12 August 2006
Greatest Game Ever Played
An incredible, but true, underdog story about a twenty year old amateur named Francis Ouimet and his ten year old caddie named Eddie Lowery at the 1913 U.S. Open. This poster was created using a real image of the two walking up one of the fairways at the 1913 U.S. Open. The image was selected as the logo for the USGA 's Centennial celebration."Mr." Ouimet won that Open beating Harry Vardon, whom many consider to be the greatest British golfer in history even today, in a playoff.
Ouimet and Lowery's stories were only beginning and are incredible in themselves.
Link to Francis Ouimet's story with links to all the other players found at this site. Please follow it and learn more about these incredible men.
All this was kick started by the Disney Movie called The Greatest Game Ever Played starring Shia LeBeouf of Even Stevens fame. Shia did a great job in this movie. The movie was is a good one to watch if you did not. Inspiring.
Well with all the rain stopping for a few days then I might be able to get the lawn mowed and the gutters clean. We will see how the weekend goes.
Gwen got in Colorado, thru Ebay, Elizabeth a cool car bed for when she no longer need the crib. Meaning when she no longer can be contained by her crib. Until then we do not need her coming to wake us up when she gets up. :) We will have to post a picture of the bed. Elizabeth loves it.
Emily had Emma Schmidt over for a sleepover and the two had a good time. Went swimming the next day. Tali will be coming over for a sleepover next Friday while Ruth and Rich are on a cruise to Alaska.
The girls can now go get their favorite cinnamon rolls again. After their friend Sam who owned Cafe Alegra closed shop they could not get those cinnamon rolls anymore. When Bryan and Patty Booth (of Coffee Booth fame) opened up a cafe on DP road Gwen asked Bryan to see if he could get the cinnamon rolls. Sure enough they serve breakfast and Bryan was able to get the cinnamon rolls.
The Booths are also going to try to serve Hot Meals for the LA school system. This is good news for Emily since she likes to eat hot food at school and they will try serve a Hot Meal every day at the schools. Good news for us since we run out of things to send her that are hot and will stay hot. Right now the Booths have contracts with three or four schools and are working on more. This will keep them busy. Bryan will not have time for working on cars anymore....we will have to find a new mechanic for our cars.
School starts this coming Wednesday the 16th. Hard to believe Emily is in third grade.
It is going to be a busy week coming up.
06 August 2006
Kiwi Words
Ran into this list we had saved while living in NZ. Found it interesting and fun especially since the Nolen's are in the UK. I imagine many are similar to the UK. These are the ones we remember.
American - Kiwi:
College - University or Varsity
High School - College
Diaper - Nappies
Maxi-Pads - Napkins
Napkins - Serviettes
Apartment - Flat
Tire - Tyre (as in car tyre)
Tired - Buggered or Knackered (funnily Knackered sounded like Naked to me)
Cookie - Biscuit or Bickie (there is the Digestive type of Biscuit too)
Biscuit - Scone (loose translation since they did not have what I would call a biscuit.)
Dinner - Tea or Dinner (late afternoon meal)
French Fries - Chips
Powder Sugar - Icing sugar
Tea - Cuppa or Smoka
After Dinner snack or meal - Supper
Fanta Orange - Fanta (no other flavors I could find over there)
Lemonade - Lemon Squash (Orange Juice might have been similar)
7-Up (or the like) - Lemonade
Jello or Gelatin - Jelly
Jelly (or Jam or Preserves) - Jam
Shrimp - Prawn
Z- Zed
Scotchtape - Sellotape (not Cellotape though it is logical to spell it this way.)
Pitcher - Jug
Thanks - Cheers or Tah
Elevator - Lift
Pharmicist - Chemist
Hike - Tramp
field hockey - hockey
hockey - ice hockey
Kiwi - Kiwi Fruit
Kiwi (the person or bird) - Kiwi
Candy - Lolly
Cantelope - Rock Mellon (except much smaller)
Grill or Cookout - Barbaque (hamburgers, sausages, steaks and so on).
A line - A queue
To Go - Take Away (as in take out food)
Cat - Puss
Sweater - Jersey
Pickup - Ute (short for Utility)
Shopping Cart - Trolley or Trundler
Parking Lot - Car Park
Speed Bumps - Judder Bars or Dead Policeman
Wash Cloth - Face Cloth or Flannel
Shower - Shower Box
Band-Aid - Bandage or Plaster
House Plant - Pot Plant
Clothes Pins - Pegs
Bicycle - Push Bike
Wind Shield - Wind Screen
Car Trunk - Boot
Car Hood - Bonnet
Turn Signal or Blinker - Indicator
Autobody Shop - Panel Beater
Truck - Lorry
Gas(oline) - Petrol
Yard - Garden
Trash Can - Rubbish Bin
Trash - Rubbish
Rubber Boots (or Wellingtons) - Gumboots
Football - Grid Iron (not to be confused with soccer-football)
Rugby - Rugby or Football (note Rugby by default means Union not League)
VCR - Video
Apartment - Flat
To Move - To Shift
Dish Towel - Tea Towel
Lightbulb - Globe
Electric Plug - Power Point
Flash Light - Torch
Earser - Rubber
Junk Mail - Circulars
Shovel - Spade
Mailbox - Letterbox
Beets - Beet Root
Ice Cooler - Chilly Bin
Glass of Beer - Pint
Sale Ads (in the mail) - Catalogs
Tomato Paste - Tomato Purie
Ketchup - Tomato Sauce (not our ketchup, there was no ketchup I might add.)
Dollar Bills - Notes
Bathroom (or Restroom) - Toilet, Water Closet, or Loo (no tub and/or shower..what we call a half-bath)
"Non Toilet Restroom" - Bathroom (tub and/or shower only..... very in convenient I might add. Sorta the other half of a half-bath or the inverted half-bath)
Porta-Potty - Porta-Loo
Your Welcome or Sure - No Worries (loose translation since it can be used at the same place as a "your welcome.")
French Press - Coffee Plunger
Shot or Injection - Jab or Injection
Class - Paper (To take a class - To sit a paper)
Fix or Figure out - Suss or Sussed
Other Kiwi expressions:
Good as Gold
She'll Be Right
Wee Bit
On another note the girls are all back home safely. Very nice to have my family here again. Bob and Gale drove the down to Pueblo and we met at the Cracker Barrel. As usual I had a bowl of beans and cornbread. Yum. Thanks for bringing the family to me Bob and Gale. Love you.
It is raining again this morning. We need it but I cannot get the lawn mowed or anything.
American - Kiwi:
College - University or Varsity
High School - College
Diaper - Nappies
Maxi-Pads - Napkins
Napkins - Serviettes
Apartment - Flat
Tire - Tyre (as in car tyre)
Tired - Buggered or Knackered (funnily Knackered sounded like Naked to me)
Cookie - Biscuit or Bickie (there is the Digestive type of Biscuit too)
Biscuit - Scone (loose translation since they did not have what I would call a biscuit.)
Dinner - Tea or Dinner (late afternoon meal)
French Fries - Chips
Powder Sugar - Icing sugar
Tea - Cuppa or Smoka
After Dinner snack or meal - Supper
Fanta Orange - Fanta (no other flavors I could find over there)
Lemonade - Lemon Squash (Orange Juice might have been similar)
7-Up (or the like) - Lemonade
Jello or Gelatin - Jelly
Jelly (or Jam or Preserves) - Jam
Shrimp - Prawn
Z- Zed
Scotchtape - Sellotape (not Cellotape though it is logical to spell it this way.)
Pitcher - Jug
Thanks - Cheers or Tah
Elevator - Lift
Pharmicist - Chemist
Hike - Tramp
field hockey - hockey
hockey - ice hockey
Kiwi - Kiwi Fruit
Kiwi (the person or bird) - Kiwi
Candy - Lolly
Cantelope - Rock Mellon (except much smaller)
Grill or Cookout - Barbaque (hamburgers, sausages, steaks and so on).
A line - A queue
To Go - Take Away (as in take out food)
Cat - Puss
Sweater - Jersey
Pickup - Ute (short for Utility)
Shopping Cart - Trolley or Trundler
Parking Lot - Car Park
Speed Bumps - Judder Bars or Dead Policeman
Wash Cloth - Face Cloth or Flannel
Shower - Shower Box
Band-Aid - Bandage or Plaster
House Plant - Pot Plant
Clothes Pins - Pegs
Bicycle - Push Bike
Wind Shield - Wind Screen
Car Trunk - Boot
Car Hood - Bonnet
Turn Signal or Blinker - Indicator
Autobody Shop - Panel Beater
Truck - Lorry
Gas(oline) - Petrol
Yard - Garden
Trash Can - Rubbish Bin
Trash - Rubbish
Rubber Boots (or Wellingtons) - Gumboots
Football - Grid Iron (not to be confused with soccer-football)
Rugby - Rugby or Football (note Rugby by default means Union not League)
VCR - Video
Apartment - Flat
To Move - To Shift
Dish Towel - Tea Towel
Lightbulb - Globe
Electric Plug - Power Point
Flash Light - Torch
Earser - Rubber
Junk Mail - Circulars
Shovel - Spade
Mailbox - Letterbox
Beets - Beet Root
Ice Cooler - Chilly Bin
Glass of Beer - Pint
Sale Ads (in the mail) - Catalogs
Tomato Paste - Tomato Purie
Ketchup - Tomato Sauce (not our ketchup, there was no ketchup I might add.)
Dollar Bills - Notes
Bathroom (or Restroom) - Toilet, Water Closet, or Loo (no tub and/or shower..what we call a half-bath)
"Non Toilet Restroom" - Bathroom (tub and/or shower only..... very in convenient I might add. Sorta the other half of a half-bath or the inverted half-bath)
Porta-Potty - Porta-Loo
Your Welcome or Sure - No Worries (loose translation since it can be used at the same place as a "your welcome.")
French Press - Coffee Plunger
Shot or Injection - Jab or Injection
Class - Paper (To take a class - To sit a paper)
Fix or Figure out - Suss or Sussed
Other Kiwi expressions:
Good as Gold
She'll Be Right
Wee Bit
On another note the girls are all back home safely. Very nice to have my family here again. Bob and Gale drove the down to Pueblo and we met at the Cracker Barrel. As usual I had a bowl of beans and cornbread. Yum. Thanks for bringing the family to me Bob and Gale. Love you.
It is raining again this morning. We need it but I cannot get the lawn mowed or anything.