Engagement

Erin and I are engaged! It all happened this past Tuesday! Here you can see a picture of us along with a picture of the ring. I discovered that a diamond is a difficult thing to take a good picture of, at least with a cheap camera. The small image is actually what the ring looks like. The bigger image of the ring on Erin's hand is simply my best effort at taking a snap of it. It's a classic six prong platinum ring with round shaped diamond. It's fun to watch it sparkle on her hand!

Candy Corn Kisses

Strolling down the Halloween candy aisle at Target, we came across Candy Corn flavored Hershey's Kisses. As you can see, both the packaging and the kisses themselves mimic the color of a classic candy corn. It's a nice looking candy. The flavor isn't bad either, but equating it to a candy corn takes a little imagination. It's a super sweet thing, and despite multiple colors (yellow orange and white) on each kiss, nearest I can tell it is a single flavored affair. My advice? Buy the smallest bag you can find one time during the month of October, enjoy the novelty, and then forget them forever.

Best Husker Home Game

A loyal blog reader pointed out that I had never finished the top 10 countdown of best Husker home games. Sorry about that. Here's the best game ever played at Memorial Stadium - 1978 Nebraska tops #1 ranked Oklahoma 17 to 14. It's the only time Nebraska has ever beaten a #1 ranked team at home. They could not pull it off a few weeks ago versus USC.

Have Ideas for Jack's Playlist?

Here's what it consists of so far. The general rules are the song must reference Jack, Baby or something that can be related. Oh yes...and no Mariah Carey or No Doubt allowed!

Best suggestion for a new "Jack" track will when a copy of the disc.

1. Happy Jack - The Who - this is Jack's theme song
2. Jumpin' Jack Flash - The Rolling Stones - of course
3. Jack of all Trades - Jack Johnson - kind of a double jack tune
4. Hey Jack Kerouac - 10,000 Maniacs
5. Jack - Tom Petty
6. Choo Choo Ch'Boogie - B.B. King
7. Jack-A-Diamonds - Waylon Jennings
8. Puff (The Magic Dragon) - Seal - the least Jacky, Babyish of the bunch
9. Come Take a Trip in My Airship - Natalie Merchant
10. American Baby - Dave Matthews Band
11. Who Needs Sleep - Barenaked Ladies
12. Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby - B.B. King
14. Someday Baby - Bob Dylan
15. Don't Cry Baby - Etta James
16. Jingling Baby - LL Cool J - not really sure if this one fits...

What's the MSRP for having a baby?

Our insurance company was billed $27,796.00 - of course they won't pay that much.

While that may seem high one look at the little flapjack and your quickly realize that it's a bargain!

New Candy Review

Dots are good. I've always thought that. So what are they trying to pull adding yogurt to the mix? Fruity Yogurt Dots are weird indeed. I can't decide if I love them or hate them. They have an odd, deep fried donut smell. Tasty enough, but I'll probably stick with the original the next time I want some Dots.



What do you get when you combine the peanut butter cup idea with the 3 Musketeers execution? Reese's Whipps. The nougut is peanut butter flavored, but its texture is like the 3 musk center. Verdict: worth eating.

Cool Ad for new Halo 3 Game

I'll let you know how the game is next week.

Jack Gears up for GT Football!

Jack crossed the 8lb mark yesterday. Today is football day for the little tike with four big games: GT vs. Boston College, USC vs. Nebraska, Arkansas vs. Alabama and Michigan vs. Notre Dame! He started off the morning in his GT gear!

After his activity time he even settled down with a Tech pacifier.



Even though he has shown tendency towards Georgia Tech gear - his Mom still loves him! And who could blame her. I'm the lucky guy who loves them both!

Best Home Husker Games Ever Games 7 through 2

Game 7: Oct. 31 1959 Nebraska 25, Oklahoma 21 - Huskers knock off an OU team that rode a conference unbeaten streak of 74 games. Husker Coach Bill Jennings' one great triumph.

Game 6: Nov. 10, 1923 Nebraska 14, Notre Dame 7 - From 1922 to 1924, Notre Dame's Vaunted Four Horsemen went 27-2-1. Both losses came to Nebraska.

Game 5: Nov. 21, 1987 Oklahoma 17, Nebraska 7 - Nebraska vaulted OU for the No. 1 spot in the polls the week before the game. Billed as "Game of the Century II," the game did not live up to the enormous hype. Husker fans would just as soon discard the game from memory.

Game 4: Sept. 17, 1977 Nebraska 31, Alabama 24 - Alabama coach Bear Bryant almost passed out from the heat in the old visitors' locker rooms. This was Nebraska coach Tom Osborne's first victory over a top-five team.

Game 3: Oct. 31, 1992 Nebraska 52, Colorado 7 - Halloween, Homecoming, on ESPN. The teams were tied for No. 8 in the AP poll. Huskers outyarded the Buffs 428 to 144. The first time many saw that freshman QB Tommie Frazier just might be something special.



Game 2: Oct. 29, 1994 Nebraska 24, Colorado 7 - This matchup of undefeated teams had national championship implications. This victory vaulted Nebraska to No. 1, a position the Huskers never relinquished en route to Tom Osborne's first national title.

Yankees vs. Royals

Erin, Mullins, and I went to see the Royals/Yankees game in KC last night. We witnessed A-Rod (They say he's A-Fraud) hit homerun #50 and #51. Between the three of us, we consumed 5 beers, 1 margharita, 3 ballpark dogs, 2 giant pretzels, one giant nacho with extra jalapeños, one bag of peanuts, one bag of cracker jacks, one bag of cotton candy, 3 ballcap ice cream sundays. We ate too much.


Mullins and I wear the tiny Royals helmets from which we ate ice cream sundays.

Yellowjacket Update

Not the football team, which won 69-14 over mighty Samford (not to be confused with Stanford) but rather, the ongoing battle with the infestation just off our driveway.

Two traps have now been installed and I've emptied the first of dead yellowjackets and reinstalled with fresh bait.

The contents of the trap were quite revealing. I've been able to confirm the exact species of yellow jacket I'm up against. It is a Western Yellowjacket by the name of Vespula Pensylvanica. The most common of the yellowjackets in these parts.

Chinese Take-out Place Remodels

The Chinese take-out place near our house recently completed a remodel.



The picture doesn't really do justice to the simulated in wood bronze horse on the counter but she's a beaut. Their food remains excellent.

Your Own University

A bit of interesting junk mail showed up last week. You can now order t-shirts, caps, and sweat shirts proclaiming pride in "Tangeman University". Looks like you can get these made up with whatever name you want. Anyone interested in acting like a U of Yuki alum?

Top 10 Games Ever Played at Nebraska

Leading up to the showdown with USC next week in Lincoln, the Journal Star is revealing the top 10 best games ever played at Memorial Stadium. So far, 10 - 8 have been revealed and I have been to two of the three games (10 and 8).

#10 - Sept. 8th 2001 Nebraska 27 - Notre Dame 10 - Hype meter hits 9 out of 10 with ESPN Game Day on the scene. Atmosphere ranks 8 out of 10. Game quality hits only 3 out of 10 as #5 ranked Huskers bash #17 ranked Notre Dame. Legacy meter hits 4 out of 10.

#9 Sept. 12, 1987 Nebrasks 42 - UCLA 33 - Hype meter is 6 out of 10. UCLA ranked #3 and Huskers ranked #2. Atmosphere 9 out of 10. Game quality ranks 8 out of 10. Legacy ranks 4 out of 10.

#8 Oct. 27, 2001 Nebraska 20 - Oklahoma 10 - Hype meter hits 9 out of 10, Atmosphere hits 8 out of 10...Many fans who were at the game say they've never heard Memorial Stadium louder than when Eric Crouch caught the TD pass from Mike Stuntz. Game Quality hits 5 out of 10. Legacy Hits 6 out of 10, hindered by Nebraska later losing to Colorado and then losing badly in the Rose Bowl.

Jayhawk recruiting materials

One of the football players in my class is being recruited by the Jayhawks. He left some recruiting material laying around which is pictured below. The two "did you know" cards offer the following KU Football trivia nuggets:
1. Did you know Head Coach Mark Mangino is the only coach in KU history to take 2 teams to bowl games in 3 years?
2. Did you know KU is the only school in Big 12 history to have back to back winners of the Offensive Newcomer of the Year Award and both players were recruited by Head Coach Mark Mangino?


The 3rd card offers a work ethic quite "Those who believe they can and those who believe they can't are both right." On the back the player is wished, "Good luck with 2 A Days! by an assistant KU coach named Blaney.

Another victory for the Yellow Jackets!

This one is a bit easier to stomach though!

What has Shawn Casey been up to?

Shawn has been working for THQ, a software developer in Dallas, TX. The video game Shawn has been working on is called Stuntman Ignition which released last week. It puts you in the roll of a movie stunt driver and you have to hit the stunts in such a way as to make the director of the action movie happy. I haven't gotten to play a ton of it yet, but it seems pretty fun.

Jack at 4 Weeks!

To celebrate his 4 week birthday Jack weighed in at 7 pounds this morning!




That's the last picture you'll see of him in his tan and white puppy outfit as he is now too tall for the thing. He's now graduated to the "Newborn" size.

He then decided to punch out a monkey on his activity mat to show how tough he was.



The toughness didn't last too long though as he then pooped his pants, started crying and fell asleep!

What a baby!!!!

'07 Tunnel Vision Reviews Wanted...

Men - Are you Ready?
http://www.ketv.com/video/14028751/index.html

The Yellowjacket War!

Battle 1 Winner - The Yellowjackets
About a month ago, as I was clipping the bushes on the side of the driveway a stream of aggressive yellowjackets streamed out of a hole in the ground beneath the bushes. I sustained ~6-8 stings as the jackets followed me around back and even into the house.


Battle 2 Winner - The Yellowjackets
I launched my counter attack with cans of hornet killer and water. Over the course of the few weeks I dumped buckets of insect killer and at least four cans of hornet killer into the hole leading to the nest. No noticable impact. I also attached the hose to a 15 foot PVC pipe and shoved it into the hole and turned the water on for 15 minutes. No material impact. At least no more stings though.

Battle 3 Winner - The Yellowjackets
I bought a throw-away yellowjacket trap and daringly hung it just outside the hole. They seemed to love it...but would not fly into the holes on top and get stuck inside. Rather, they just swarmed around it. Here's a picture. If you zoom you can actually see a yellowjacket by the wire holding the trap.



Battle 4 Winner - Undecided - but it is looking good!
I found a reusable trap and hung it across the driveway before heading to the store. When I returned I was pleased to find ~10 yellowjackets had already been trapped. I'm quite optimistic.