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28 January 2008
For Parents
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18 January 2008
Another Wow! :)
This is some dad:
Dick Hoyt
Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in Marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a Wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and Pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.
Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back Mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. On a bike. Makes Taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?
And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.
This love story began in Winchester , Mass. , 43 years ago, when Rick Was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him Brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.
"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him And his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an Institution.''
But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes Followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the Engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was Anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his brain.''
"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a Lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed Him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his Head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the School organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want To do that.''
Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran More than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he Tried. ``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore For two weeks.''
That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, It felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''
And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly Shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.
``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a Single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few Years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then They found a way to get into the race Officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the Qualifying time for Boston the following year.
Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''
How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he Was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick Tried.
Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii . It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud Getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you Think?
Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with A cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.
This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best Time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world Record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to Be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the Time.
``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the Century.''
And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a Mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries Was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' One doctor told him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.'' So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.
Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass. , always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.
That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.
``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.''
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15 January 2008
My Wife Is Temporarily Mute!
So, my beloved wife has a virus in her throat and it just won't go away.
Last week she went to the doctor and was told to take a week of sick-leave from her work and she was not allowed to utter one word/sound during a whole week!
It's very strange having a wife at home that is totally quiet.
Aron thinks it's very strange as well that mommy isn't talking.
And I have noticed that I suck at reading lips.
Tanja is having good laughs about my guesses though...
It's like I see what's on my mind at the moment.
She said, in her mute way, "sometime" and I got it to be "cinnamon bun"...
On other things.
I was to the dentist today.
I really hate going to the dentist.
Last night I could barely sleep, my body was in total stress and anxiety for the upcoming visit to the torture-chamber...
But now when it's over it wasn't so bad.
It went fast and relatively painless.
Later at work I spat coffe at my co-worker because I had no feeling in my lips after the dentist.
That was a bit embarrasing...
And now, for all you who love industrial/beat/techno/metal/rock!
Here is a album that is free for download!
It's the demo version of Celldwellars upcoming album.
http://www.celldweller.com/
It's really good!
Let's see if I can find some youtube video that I can post here about Celldwellar (the man that's also behind the band Circle Of Dust...)
It seems I found an old music video by Circle Of Dust. :)
And as people love to watch people dance, I will also post a video of someone dancing to industrial music.
All right!
That's it.
Have a good day.
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11 January 2008
Funniest Bible Animation Ever!
These are 11 short short bible animation that I found on youtube that seriously are the funniest ever.
At least I laughed my bum off while watching them!
I will only display one of them, and then link to the rest.
Best ever.
Samson
Noah
Jericho
Jonah
Ten Plagues
David and Goliath
Balaam
Tower of Babel
Abraham
Daniel
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10 January 2008
A Different Episode of Cribs
So, for you that don't know the dude, it's Brian "Head" Welch, the ex-guitarist from the band called Korn.
And if you don't know what I mean with the topic of this post, it's a reference to the MTV show called cribs.
A show where they show the homes of superstars.
This is a different take on that show. :)
Enjoy.
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02 January 2008
Akiane Kramarik
You just have to watch this.
It's amazing.
EDIT:
I forgot to add the link to her homepage where you can view her paintings.
You really need to check them out as well.
http://www.artakiane.com/akiane_art.htm#
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