Dave thinks he found the world's biggest dog.  I take issue with his assertion and present my vote for the world's biggest dog.

There are many large dog breeds and bigpawsonly.com does a great job of providing helpful information.

I don't know who this is or even what kind of dog this is...only that is is one big dog.

I have been using a new theme lately called Zune.  It was made available from Microsoft soon after the release of the Zune product.

I didn't like the desktop image, but I like the color scheme of the menus, the eye-popping orange, and the subtle shadings.

You can download the theme here.

(This theme is a little like the one Dave blogged about...but a lot better!)

I just got one of those emails which I normally just send quickly to the garbage bin.  For some reason, I paused with this one...maybe because it started with the subject line "Things You Never Really Knew...".  I am a curious one so i read...and I thought some of you might appreciate the info.  I have tried a few of these...but not the second one yet...but I am excited to try.

There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival. Check out the things that you can do with it:

FIRST 

Subject:Emergency

The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile; network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out.

SECOND

Subject:Have you locked your keys in the car?

Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other "remote" for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).

Editor's Note: 

It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked our car over a cell phone!"

THIRD

Subject:Hidden Battery Power

Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, pressthe keys *3370# Your cell will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell next time.

FOURTH

Subject:How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?

To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: * # 0 6 # A 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. When your phone get stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.

And Finally....

FIFTH

Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don't have to. Most of us do not carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation even more of a problem. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial: (800) FREE 411, or (800) 373-3411 without incurring any charge at all. Program this into your cell phone now.

If you know of any other secrets, let me know...

Vicki and I have talked at times about getting a Great Dane.  Danes are big...and convincing Vicki to get a big dog is more of a challenge than I thought.  Dave sent me this email about another big dog.  i am not sure if it's real....but take a look for yourself.

Here's some info that came with the picture...

Answers to the name of Dolly.
FREE to approved home, will eat anything, excellent guard
dog. Loves other small-dog breeds.
Owner cannot afford to feed him anymore, and there are no
more thieves, murderers, rapists or molesters left in the neighborhood.
Your help will be appreciated....

 Other big dogs to come...

I remember a college professor who offered me these simple words...."Whatever you do, do it 100%".  Those words have been recited in my mind often since then.  His encouragement was not about quality of work, but rather the focus we apply to any given task (namely the current one).  I find I am, at times, plagued by inefficiency.

As I look back on 2006, one area that I want to improve on is efficiency.  Far too often I engaged in activity, tasks, and efforts that revealed themselves to be inefficient in how they were accomplished.  Some of the inefficiency was discovered within the task and at other times it was discovered as I looked back.  I am learning to look more broadly at tasks and activities and to correctly evaluate how time, energy, and resources should be applied to them.

The book, The Economy of Inefficiency, is ficticious...perhaps one day I will write it, but for now it lives in my head.

I spent the last two weeks away from work and close to home.  It was a good time to be home and make some progress on some things around the house and just to be home.

During my 2 week sabbatical, I generally stayed away from technology, computers, and the like...so my blog has been silent.  As 2007 begins, my hope is that this next year will as enjoyable, challenging, and rewarding as 2006 was.

Over the next few days, I will look back a little on 2006 and post a bit about this past year...and what in in store for 2007.

Happy New Year to all...

Nicholas just started wrestling a few weeks ago.  He is the kind of kid that needs to be pushed a little to get involved with things, but after he is pushed a little, he does just fine.  One of the hard parts of being a parent is to know how much to push your child to do something, when to push them, and when to back off.  Vicki and I are just beginning those skills...it's good to have friends that can be honest with you about how to navigate these kinds of issues.

Nicholas was hesitant at first with wrestling.  Wrestling practice consists of exercise and skills practicing...single leg take downs, double leg takedowns, and sprawling.  He said he was a little bored...until he actually got to wrestle someone.  I got his first "wrestling match" on video.

After church on Sunday, while a number of families were hanging around talking, off in a corner Grace was playing with another girl her age (about 2).  They were playing quietly for a little but then I noticed something that interested me.  The other little girl started to hop up and down and yell, yelp, and holler.  It only took about 5 seconds for Grace to begin to hop up and down and yell, yelp, and holler.

My mind raced to junior high, high school, and beyond.  Hopping today  = something tomorrow.  I hope she has positive influences around her and she chooses to mimic things worth mimicking.

Last night Vicki and I reached a milestone in our lives.  At about 7:00pm I ceremoniously removed the right side of Grace's crib thereby turning her infant crib it a "big-girl" bed.  There was not a lot of fanfare, there were no tears, but it was meaningful.

For Vicki and I, it marks the end of an era; all our kids are now in "big-kid" beds.  It is a great feeling, but it caused me to pause for a moment and realize that the end of one era simply means the start of another.  I don't know what to expect in the next era of life, but I do know that Vicki and I will depend on the wise input of friends and family who have already helped us navigate through the first era.

Having four kids is great...and two boys and two girls is an additional blessing.  It hasn't been easy...it has challenged my patience, my ability to spend time and show love to four kids (and a wife), and has forced me to evaluate myself in light of God's desire for my character (Galatians 5). 

Coming soon...no more diapers.

On the way home from the Thanksgiving weekend, I stopped into my old neighborhood.  Vicki, I, and the kids parked the car in front of the house I grew up in and took a walk around the neighborhood.  It is amazing how fast 20 years went by.

I noticed that the people who currently live in my old house were looking out the window and checking us out.  As to not alert them, I went to the front door and let them know who I was and that I was just taking a look around.  Can you imagine how I felt when they invited me in to take a look around.  I got to walk through every room and the new owner, Kevin, and I talked about the house, history, and the Patriots.  What an experience.  It sent my mind into overdrive recalling memories and times gone past.

I thanked Kevin a number of times and then we took a walk down the street.  After a little prodding from Vicki, I knocked on the Meyer's door.  I was friends with their oldest daughter Kristen and I really wanted to say hello and catch up.  After a ring of the doorbell, Mrs. Meyer came and gave us a great greeting and asked us to come in.  We spent about an hour talking....

On the walk back to my car, I faced toward my old house, and through the woods in the distance, I saw the glow of the Gillette Stadium lights.  It was a great time.