Geof's Waste of Bandwidth Blog

May 26, 2009

Mom & Dad's 40th Wedding Anniversary

This last weekend (Memorial Day Weekend 2009) was my parent's 40th Wedding Anniversary. To celebrate my sister and I took them out to eat at one of their favorite places - Varanese. Chef John used to be the head Chef at the Cardinal Club before he opened his own place. Great place, food and atmosphere.

Here is a picture of my parents with Chef John.

For a few other pictures click here

We had a great weekend with my nieces being down for the weekend with great weather. It was also the first time my dog Otto got to meet and play with their dog Lucas. Fun times.

Click here for even more pictures

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November 30, 2008

Thanksgiving 2008

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend with my parents and my sister's family staying at my house. One highlight was heading out to a Christmas tree farm and selecting and cutting down my tree. It was a great time and then Paige and Libbey decorated my tree which looks awesome!!

Here is the finished product:

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September 5, 2008

A picture worth a thousand words

Yesterday, I finally had my firm bio picture retaken. It was definitely time for a new one and I think sums up my progress so far in my weight loss journey.

Here is the old picture

Here is the new picture

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July 28, 2008

Hercules the Movie - 1986

A little over 22 years ago, a group of friends and I made a movie for extra credit in our Latin II class in high school. We had earlier made "The Latin Movie" in the Fall of 1985 - which was not so good and I was on crutches the entire movie having bruised my knee the night before. I hope to find a copy of the Latin Movie and digitize it.

Anyways - we were not deterred by our poor showings in The Latin Movie and we decided to make a movie on the 12 Labor of Hercules. This movie turned about pretty good and became one of the first of many movies that several people made for different classes.

We had no real script but had an amazing sound track. It is also great to look back 22 years and see what we looked like, etc.

Click here to see Hercules - The Movie which was filmed May 13, 1986!

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July 21, 2008

16 Months Post-Op Update and delivery of the SLK 350

Well today is a great day. It has been 16 month's since my gastric bypass surgery and I have crossed below the 270 pound marker weighing 266.8 this morning. The weight loss continues as does my work-out routine. I need to buy some more clothes again - as I keep dropping inches as well as pounds. My waist size has now dropped 24 inches - two feet!! Wow. It was very interesting this weekend, as I attended a party at which I had not seen some people in probably a year - they kept coming up to me and said they could barely recognize me. Felt great but after a while it became a little embarrassing. The most common question I get is how do you feel - well how do you think I feel - I have lost over 330 pounds, no longer have high blood sugar, have normal blood pressure and cholesterol level and can play a round of golf and be ready for more. Yes - I feel amazing and am excited about what every day forward brings. I love wokring out and look forward to running a 5K run sometime in the near future - imagine that me running in a race without someone behind me pointing a gun. Oh well - just to sum up - I feel great and am doing awesome.

The other big event today is that I take delivery of my SLK 350!! It took about 4 weeks to travel across the ocean from Frankfurt, Germany where I dropped it off on June 16th. The car was actually delivered at my local dealer on Friday July 18th and I could have taken delivery that day but I was in Louisville for the weekend for a party. So today after work is the big day - definitely looking forward to getting the car back!

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June 19, 2008

The rest of the pictures from my Europe Trip

Well, I got home a couple of days ago and finally have a few free minutes to upload rest of the pictures from my European Trip.

After Paris, we headed to Luxembourg - not too much exciting there although as I previously mentioned - gas was very cheap.

We then headed to Baden-Baden and stayed at the Schlosshotel Buhlerhohe - the start of the Mercedes Road Rally Package. Definitely a great place to stay. Right up in the mountains and an excellent resort. Here is the links to the pictures from the hotel http://www.geofoberhaus.com/mt/schloss/index.html

We then headed to Hinterzarten, Germany and stayed at the Park Adler Hotel. Another excellent resort at the base of two ski jumps! This hotel also came with a 102 Euro credit which allowed for some excellent dining and drinks/cigars during the Euro Cup 2008 matches. Here are a few pictures from the Park Adler and associated Black Forest http://www.geofoberhaus.com/mt/blackforest/index.html

After the Park Adler we headed to Tyrol, Austria via Switzerland. Had to go through Customs leaving Germany, Entering Switzerland and then entering Austria since Switzerland is not part of the European Union. Also had to buy toll stickers for both Switzerland and Austria. It was a good thing that I got an international drivers license as the Austrian Border officials reviewed everything in very close detail.

Up to this point the Schlosshotel Buhlerhohe was probably the best hotel I had ever stayed at in my life. That was soon to change as we drove into the Interalpen Hotel - Tyrol. WOW!! This hotel is up in the Alps and was simply amazing. You drive right into the basement of the hotel - very nice. The rooms were incredible, the spa, pools, fitness center, five course dining, great bars, cigar friendly! Simply amazing - it was at this point I definitely had wished we were staying more than 1 night. I definitely will return to this hotel in the future - simply amazing!!
Here are the pictures from the stay in Tyrol http://www.geofoberhaus.com/mt/tyrol/index.html

After unfortunately having to leave the Interalpen - we drove over to Innsbruck to see the Olympic Stadium - but due to the fact that the Euro Cup 2008 was having a match that night in Tyrol - the Stadium was set up as a fan viewing sight and it was not easy to drive to - so we got a couple pictures of the ski jump and headed to Munich.

I have been to Munich before and really think that well it is a great city - it is not as great as many others in Europe. On our way to Munich we stopped at Lake Chiemsee to see King Ludwig's Herenchiemsee on which King Ludwig built a castle in similar style as Versailles. Here are the pictures http://www.geofoberhaus.com/mt/ludwig/index.html

We then finished the drive on to Munich. What we didn't know was that it was the 850 year anniversary of Munich and there were massive events going on downtown. We were staying at the Bayerischer Hof in Munich which is the place to be seen, etc. While it was a nice hotel - it really failed in comparison to the previous three places. Yes - Munich is a big city and the others were mountain resorts - but the amenities in the Bayerischer Hof were poor in comparison. First of all - Bavaria is smoke free indoors (except for the Smoking Lounge at the Four Seasons in Munich - which I visited). The lack of fine bourbons and scotch at the bars and the extremely expensive drinks were a turn-off. A glass of wine in the lobby bar was 9.5 Euro whereas the same wine was 3.7 Euro downstairs in the Keller (amazing - same hotel and different prices). Anyways this 850 anniversary thing made it almost impossible to get to the Hotel - after getting trapped by pedestrians and closed roads we finally made it to the hotel. My high school buddy, Josh, lives in Stuttgart and took a train in Sunday morning to show us around town which was great. Because of the 850 year celebration, there were many people in authentic period dress from Bavaria. Lots of fun. That evening, we dined outside the Opera and watched a free performance of the Magic Flute which was simply amazing. Here are the pictures from Munich http://www.geofoberhaus.com/mt/munich/index.html

If I had to do Munich again - I would have only done 1 night having been there in 2004. Another night at the Interalpen Hotel would definitely be my recommendation. In fact for those considering Mercedes European Delivery program with the Road Rally package - I would recommend 2 nights at the Schlosshotel in Baden Baden, 1 night at the Park Adler in Hinterzarten and then 2 nights at the Interalpen Hotel - Tyrol.

We then headed to Frankfurt for a night stay before our flights home. I dropped the car off at the delivery agent and now the long wait for the return of the SLK 350 begins. Hopefully in 6 weeks it will be at the dealership.

A great trip!! Some of my favorite parts: Berlin, every moment driving the SLK (especially when traveling 145 MPH!!), the hotels in Baden-Baden, Hinterzarten and Tyrol, Amsterdam, Paris, my mom's tours with Flat Stanley (especially having locals pose with him), visiting with clients and other lawyers and finally of course smoking Cuban Cigars. In fact my most expensive purchase in Europe was the box of Cuban cigars in Amsterdam. I also bought a Cuckoo Clock in Titisee in the Black Forest. It should be a great addition to the basement!

Once the car is back in the states - I will post some pictures and reviews of it.

Auf Wiedersehen!!

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June 10, 2008

Paris - Day 2

Day 2 in Paris was excellent. We started out the morning by visiting The Louve. This place was huge - we only had about three hours and I am convinced be could have spent a week there. After visiting The Louvre, we had lunch with an excellent French law firm - great lunch and conversation and amazing macaroons for dessert. Then it was on to visit the Tomb of Napoleon. Not that exciting, but obviously to the French he was very important. We then had drinks with another French law firm and then headed out for a great dinner and some evening sight seeing to view the Eiffel Tower in the evening. A very quick but great visit to Paris. The Transit system was excellent - we purchased two day transit passes and I was amazed at how easy it was to get everywhere by train. Only if we had such systems in Cincinnati.

Today we drove from Paris to Luxembourg. We got off the main interstate and drove through the Champagne region of France. Luxembourg is very nice and the gas is dirt cheap (at least by European standards). Only 1.30 Euro per liter - where as France was about 1.65 and Germany was about 1.55 Euro. Don't by confused by the numbers - its still very expensive to fill the tank - about $160 US dollars!!! Also their Resieling wine here was very cheap and excellent in taste (probably had one too many in the afternoon - but oh well - its vacation).

Tomorrow we head to Baden-Baden to start the five nights of the Mercedes Black Forest Road Rally Package. These are all major resorts in the Black Forest!! Lots of Rest and Relaxation. We also plan to head to the Alsace region to find some wineries.

Here are the pictures from day 2 in Paris and a couple from the drive to Luxembourg http://www.geofoberhaus.com/mt/paris2/index.html

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June 8, 2008

Paris - Day 1

Today we drove about 4.5 hours from Amsterdam to Paris. Went to the Eiffel Tower and The Arc De Triumph and then out for some dinner. Paris is interesting so far. Tomorrow some museums and some law firm lunches and dinners - great tax deductions! Should be a great day - the weather has been simply amazing and tomorrow should be 82 and sunny. One week left in this crazy adventure!!

Here are the pictures from day 1 in Parishttp://www.geofoberhaus.com/mt/paris1/index.html

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Amsterdam

We had a great visit in Amsterdam. Lots of interesting things to see - the city was definitely warming up for Euro2008 European Football Championships. Had some amazing meals - one place was right in the middle of the Red Light District down a side alley - amazing food. Visited a couple great Brown Pubs - one of them is the oldest in Amsterdam. Great museums!! I also bought a whole box of Cuban Montecristo Cigars!!! Now I have my smoking needs met for rest of the trip.

Here are the pictures http://www.geofoberhaus.com/mt/amsterdam/index.html

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June 6, 2008

Wismar Germany

Yesterday we travelled from Berlin to Wismar Germany to visit one of my clients IT Gambert Gmbh. They make gas sensors used in medical, industrial and automotive applications. It was a great visit and we had a great lunch right on a bay at the edge of the North Sea. After an extensive tour of their facilities, we then had the opportunity to tour Wismar. Great town and not too well traveled by North American visitors. We spend the night in Bremen last night. Lots of exciting nightlife along the riverwall. We had nice rooms on the 3rd floor but they did not have an elevator but luckily our bags are not that heavy. This morning we drove from Bremen to Amsterdam - it was about a 3.5 hour drive. Right before leaving Germany, I decided to open up the engine some since the Netherlands have a speed limit of 140 km/hr. I got the SLK 350 up to 141 MPH before having to slow down for a construction zone. The handling was very smooth - although I must admit that the road moves pretty fast when you are going 140 mph. I plan to test the 150s once back in Germany - the car allegedly has a chip limiting top speed to 154 MPH - definitely don't want to deprive my car of obtaining all of its potential. Coming into Amsterdam we drove across the Afsluit Dijk which separates the Marker Meer and the North Sea. The dike was about 30 km long and made for a nice drive. The weather has been simply amazing and unseasonably warm - which is great!! It has been in the high 70s-80s everyday and no rain. It is raining in Southern Germany but hopefully that will end before we head there next week.

Well we are in Amsterdam and looking forward to buying a box of good cuban cigars as well as checking out rest of the sights. I will post pictures from Amsterdam over the weekend.

But here are the pictures from Wismar http://www.geofoberhaus.com/mt/wismar/index.html

As well as some from the Dike and more pictures of the car http://www.geofoberhaus.com/mt/slk350/index.html

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June 4, 2008

Berlin

Well today we spent a full day seeing the sights of Berlin. We bought one day all transit passes for 6.1 Euros and it was a great bargain. We went to see the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachtniskirche which was heavily damaged in the war. They built a beautiful new memorial right next to the bombed out steeple (which is basically all that remains). We then headed up to the relatively new Hauptbahnof station which is the most modern main train station probably in the world. I saw an episode on Discovery a few months ago on how this station was built and it was amazing. We then headed up to the Olympic Stadium - always great to visits sights of great Ohio State Buckeyes conquests. Very nice stadium with lots of great history. I finally made it to Check Point Charlie - wanted to get there in 2004 but didn't have the chance. Flat Stanley had a blast as well. Then it was on to Potsdamer Platz which Mercedes Benz helped construct in 1998. Very cool place if you every head to Berlin - a must see. We went to the observation platform (24-25 stories up and got some great skyline shots). Then it was onto the Brandenburger Tur (aka Brandenburg Gate) - I was here in 2004 but even since then it has changes. The US has a very nice embassy right next to the gate. Then onto the Reichstag which is the home of the German Parliament. We went up the glass dome on top of the Reichstag and had some more amazing views. If that wasn't enough, we then headed to a great pizza place called The 12 Apostles - very good pizza - each pizza names after one of the Apostles. I had the Judas and it was very good. The place is right below the S-bahn and U-bahn lines in Mitte. Finally, we headed back via transit to Kurfurstendamm area which is only a block ot two from our hotel. It has all of the best shops in Berlin. We sat at Alt Berliner Biergarden and had some good wine and of course a fine Cuban cigar.

Here is the link for the pictures which also include my mom;s pictures from Mercedes as well as Weimar which we stopped at for some coffee and ice cream.
http://www.geofoberhaus.com/mt/berlin/index.html

Here is a picture of my Spaghetti ice cream (it was diet ice cream aka sugar free) - notice how it looks like Cincinnati chili?

Well tomorrow we head to Wismar for lunch with a client and then onto Bremen.

Have a great day!!

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June 2, 2008

Flat Stanley's trip to Europe

Here is the first set of Flat Stanley's trip to Europe - more to come. My mom got some amazing one's on her flight from Louisville. http://www.geofoberhaus.com/mt/flatstanley/index.html

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The day finally arrives - delivery of my SLK 350

Well - today I had the delivery of my Mercedes SLK 350 and an amazing factory tour. Sorry no pictures allowed on the factory tour - to bad as it was very amazing - almost all robotic except the finishing touches.

We went to the Mercedes Museum yesterday and learned a good amount about Mercedes and saw some vintage cars as well as some of the new ones. I rode in a Mercedes racing simulator which was really cool. They were given free rides in an SL 500 and the Maybach!! But the line was long and I really wasn't too excited about riding in something other than my SLK 350.

Just finished driving the SLK 350 from Stuttgart to Erfurt. The technician told me to break the engine in by driving 30 miles at 80-85 mph, then 30 miles at 110 mph and alternate. Top speed today was 118 mph but I will definitely open it up more after driving around 1000-1500 miles. And about the Technician - he explained every detail of the car in detail - Couldn't use the European Navi DVDs - since the 2009 Navi systems are hard drive based - but they loan you ($349 Euro Deposit) a Mercedes Benz portable Navi (which is basically a Garmin Nuvi repacked). I will post later about the features - but the iPhone sync is amazing and both the phone and music syncs. The car also downloaded my entire contact folders for the phone. More later.

Well - time to head out to dinner and then smoke some Cuban Cigars

Here is the link for the pictures from the Museum and the delivery of the SLK 350 http://www.geofoberhaus.com/mt/mercedes/index.html

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May 27, 2008

Heading to Europe in 2 Days!

Only 2 days until I head over across the pond for my trip to Europe. I get my new SLK 350 on June 2!! Should be a great time. I will be posting photos during the trip so be sure to come back to this page for the goodies!

Auf Wiedersehen!

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May 1, 2008

Initial Goal Reached!

Its been a little over 13 months since my gastric bypass and I have reaches a significant milestone. 300 pounds lost. I now have lost more pounds than I currently weigh!! Having reached the initial goal - I am not sure how many more pounds I will lose - I would guess between 30-60 pounds (some of that as a result of a tummy-tuck in a year or two).

The other exciting news is that I head to Europe to pick up my new 2009 Mercedes SLK 350 in four weeks! Last night I completed all of the paperwork and now am just waiting to head across the pond and pick up the car.

Here is a picture of the car (although mine will be Iridium Silver - not white).

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April 28, 2008

Derby Week 2008

Its Derby Week! I went to opening day of the Spring meet on Saturday and had a decent day wagering. Hopefully my luck will continue on Oaks and Derby day.

The photo is for all of those who have been asking to see more than just my head.

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February 11, 2008

The Update - Issue #14

Here is another issue of The Update - Issue #14

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January 2, 2008

My iPhone (aka the $400 cigar)

So Sunday I was smoking a cigar and cooking a steak on the grill. Utilizing my iPhone's countdown timer to remind me to flip the steak, I set the timer and put the phone in my coat jacket and sat down on one of my patio chairs. The iPhone slipped out of my pocket and fell about 2 feet to the concrete below. Now - I have dropped my iPhone at least a dozen times from even greaters heights but except a few nicks and scratches on the case - everything has been ok. But it was not my lucky day as the beautiful glass on the touch screen cracked. Hence the $400 cigar smoking experience.

Here are a few pictures of the phone

So I headed out to the Apple Retail Store and went to the Genius Bar to find out the news that I was already expecting to hear. The glass is not covered by the warranty and it would cost $250 for Apple to replace the glass. Well, given the delay for the repair and the fact that a new iPhone was only $399, I purchased a glorious new iPhone and headed home to investigate other options. I did find some online places which sell the OEM touchscreen/digitizer/LCD and they want about $150. After watching a video of the repair - there was no way that I would do it myself to save approximately $100.

While reading one of the websites on repairing iPhones it mentioned that people were selling cracked iPhones on ebay. Only in America I said to my self. Intrigued I decided to check it out and yes people were selling them and even more amazingly people were buying them for 50-75% of the cost of a new iPhone. So I took a few pictures of my old iPhone and put the phone on ebay for $0.99 opening bid with a Buy-it Now price of $315 plus shipping. Well less than 48 hours later - the phone sold for $315. Amazing. So that $400 cigar smoking experience now only cost $85 plus tax. I also found on eBay that people will buy new and used iPhones for lots of money. Apparently due to the low US dollar against the British pound and the Euro - people from overseas want to but the US version and then I guess they unlock the iPhone to use with the carrier of their choice.

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December 22, 2007

Paige & Libbey sing their favorite Christmas Songs

Here is Paige singing "Santa Claus is coming to Town"

Here is Libbey singing "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

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December 15, 2007

hulu.com

I recently started a beta test of the new video service hulu.com Lots of great movies and tv shows available to watch online. They even allow posting of clips from their shows.

Here is an example

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December 12, 2007

The Update - Issue 13

Here is another issue of The Update

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November 26, 2007

Thanksgiving 2007

Another great Thanksgiving is in the books. This year I did not head out in the early hours for any of the Black Friday Doorbusters. I didn't find anything that great that warranted such efforts. My sister did head out to Best Buy at 3am. I went to Circuit City later in the morning and it was still a madhouse - and they had sold out of the 1TB External Hard drives. Oh well.

Its been about 8 months since my gastric bypass surgery. I have lost 230 pounds since the start of the year! Things are going great and I feel great.

Today - my mom is having surgery (cosmetic lower body lift) as a result of her successful gastric bypass about three years ago. She looks awesome and hopefully the surgery proceeds successfully without any issues and she heals quickly.

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November 10, 2007

Oberhaus Thanksgiving

Today was the Oberhaus Thanksgiving gathering at the Taylor's house in Farmington, Michigan. Here is a photo of the family.

Libbey has hi!

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October 31, 2007

Happy Halloween

Wow - its the end of October already. Tonight is trick or treat night. Kind of different this year buying all the candy to hand out to the kids and knowing that I am not going to eat any of it. In years past - I would usually "test" the candy before I gave it out and then enjoy the leftovers. But now I have no such desire and plan to give any leftovers to the neighbor kids or take into the office.

How about them Buckeyes!! Getting the job done week by week and really looking like they could be headed to another BCS Championship game. While yes - that silly team up North that managed to lose to Appalachian State is on the schedule - I think the Bucks won't have any problem with MeatChicken and good old Lloyd Carr (soon to be enshrined in the Buckeye Hall of Fame for his coaching skills against OSU).

My weight loss continues and everything is going great.

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October 10, 2007

The Update - Issue 12

Here is another exciting issue of The Update

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September 24, 2007

6 Months Post-op

It has been just over six months since my gastric bypass surgery. My weight loss has been proceeding at an excellent pace. I have now lost over 192 pounds since the start of the year and over 153 pounds since the date of the surgery. I had a sixth month check-up with my surgeon and dietitian and everything is going great. It is great to have so much more energy.

I went to NYC about two weeks ago for a conference and had a great time. I went to a taping of the Late Show with David Letterman - guest was Dr. Phil. It was very cool. Then I saw Hairspray on Broadway and ended the evening with drinks with my cousin.

Well its football season - although the weather last weekend would not have indicated such. OSU is 4-0 and looking stronger each week. That silly team up North has managed two wins - one against Notre Lame who is 0-4 and probably couldn't beat any high school team in the top 10 in Ohio. Finally, Louisville is really struggling. It looks like the change of coaching staffs have had an effect - sure Kentucky is much better - but the performance again Middle Tennessee State was the warning sign of a long season to come. The defensive coverage schemes are not working and many times it appears that the coaching staff is unaware of what is going on.

Finally got my new driver, Callaway FT-5 - very nice club. I played 18 holes yesterday in the oppressive heat - hit a few nice drives - hopefully I will get a few more rounds in yet this year.

I will have a video update in a day or so - until then take care.

Posted by Geof at 8:44 AM | TrackBack

September 7, 2007

Labor Day Weekend 2007

Our Family

Robin's Family

It was a great Labor Day weekend. First - I tailgated for the season opener of Louisville Cardinals Football. Even better - it was my first day of being able to drink alcohol since my surgery!! Nothing better than Jack Daniels mixed with some Crystal Light lemonade. Then on Friday and Saturday I played 18 holes of golf each day at The Cardinal Club. Good times - great course and weather. The rest of the weekend was spent with family around the pool relaxing, playing games and smoking cigars!

I am heading to New York City on Sunday for a conference and have tickets to see The Late Show with David Letterman as well as Hairspray The Musical. Should be a great, quick trip.

As for my weight loss - it continues and I have now passed the 180 pound mark. Time to buy some more clothes.

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August 26, 2007

Xbox 360 Disc drive dies!

My Xbox 360 disc drive died over the weekend. I had been playing Madden 08 and then decided to try out the new EA Sports NCAA 08 to beat up on silly Michigan with my Buckeyes, but no go. At first I thought it might be the actual disc as this was the first time I went to use it - but all of the discs now get the same "unreadable disc error". At least the HD DVD drive still works for movies, Watched 300 and Letters from Iwo Jima in HD. But it looks like I will have to ship the Xbox 360 to Microsoft for repair so no HD DVD viewing in the near future. Oh well - college footbal starts this week and the new HD channels for Directv will be live by the end of September so my free time to play the Xbox would not be that great.

Looking forward to college football starting this week - and the NFL the week later. Time to get my fantasy players ready to go,

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August 17, 2007

The Update - Issue 11

Here is another issue of The Update - 5 Months Post-Op

Posted by Geof at 8:42 AM | TrackBack

July 31, 2007

Working out and the iPhone

I have been working out at my new gym for the past 3 weeks. The gym is LifeTime Fitness - it is simply an amazing place with great staff, tons of machines, nice locker rooms and excellent protein shakes. My iPhone has been a great addition to my workout routine. I often watch a TV show while I am working out which makes the time fly by. My favorites lately on the iPhone are: The Office, Flight of the Concords and NBC Nightly News. It definitely is nice to watch the shows while avoiding looking at the time and distance display.

I am still waiting for my new golf clubs to arrive, but in the meantime my old driver must have discovered it is on its way out of the bag as I am now hitting it better than I have in many years. Our firm outing last week was partially rained out and we only completed about 12 holes.

Looking forward to this weekend as I am heading to Defiance to see a couple good buddies for the weekend. Today is Media Day for the Big Ten - Bucks picked to finish third behind that team up North and Wisconsin. Should be an interesting season. Especially with the Big Ten Network in HD on Directv

Posted by Geof at 11:12 AM | TrackBack

July 20, 2007

Issue 10 of the Update - 4 Months Post-Op

Below is another exciting issue of The Update

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July 9, 2007

Its Time for Fred

As many of your know, I am a life-long Republican. Given the mess in Iraq, it is almost like admitting you are a Cleveland Browns fan - of which I am as well. It is time for a change and Fred Thompson is the man to do it. Who knows who the Democratic nominee will be - Hillary, Barrack or I would put my money on Al "Ozone" Gore. I watched and listened to some of the Live Earth concert this weekend. One of the most comical moments was Melissa Etheridge talking about the future and Ozone Gore. She even stated how he was bullied into not pressing the environmental agenda when he was Vice-President. Too bad - Ozone got bullied - if he wants to be leader of the U.S. can we really trust someone who was so easily bullied? I think not. Also - Ozone kept talking about 2 billion people watching or attending the concert - from the crowds I saw - I bet the estimate is more the possibly of likely 2 million or less. Then Ozone flies from Washington to DC on a private jet - and all the other celebrities flew their private jets into the concert venues - talk about useless pollution.

Posted by Geof at 9:17 AM | TrackBack

July 2, 2007

Issue 9 of The Update

Happy 4th of July Week! Below is another issue of The Update

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June 26, 2007

14 Weeks Post - Op

It has now been 14 Weeks today since my gastric bypass surgery. I have lost 93 pounds since surgery day and a total of 132 pounds since January 3, 2007!! Last week at Disney was a great experience as I could walk without getting tired! Just had to buy a new belt and some more new clothes!! I will do a video update in a few days. Take care!

On the way home from Orlando - my parents and I stopped in Lynchburg, TN to tour Jack Daniels!! I have toured the facility several times but it was the first time for my parents. The picture above is a free shot of Jack Daniels on the rocks!! We also visited the Squires Room which is always a delight!

Posted by Geof at 9:21 AM | TrackBack

June 22, 2007

Disney - Day 5

Today was our last day at Disney. Today we started at the Magic Kingdom and hit a few rides that we missed the first day as well as riding Splash Mountain again - this time with Libbey. We got absolutely soaked on Splash Mountain. We then headed to MGM Disney for dinner and the Fantasmic show which was great. If there is one thing that definitely should be seen, I would have to say it is Fantasmic. Arrive early - at least 90 minutes before the show to get a great seat. We were right in the middle and everyone had a great time.

Tomorrow, we head back and will stop in Lynchburg, TN to visit Jack Daniels Distillery. I have tour Jack's place several times and look forward to the return and a visit to the Tennesee Squire's room.

Great vacation - I will add more photos to the main portion of the website in a few days.

Posted by Geof at 10:40 PM | TrackBack

June 21, 2007

Disney Animal Kingdom - Day 4

Today was Day 4 of our Disney Vacation. Today we went to the Animal Kingdom. It was a great day. My favorites for the Day were the Safari and the Dinosaur ride which was awesome. Also the Finding Nemo the Musical was very good - definitely recommend for those with children.

Tomorrow is the 5th and final day of our Disney Vacation - we plan to hit several parks and end up at MGM Disney for the Disney Fantasia fireworks show.

Posted by Geof at 5:08 PM | TrackBack

June 20, 2007

MGM Disney Day 3

Today was day 3 at the park. MGM Dinsey was fun. Mom and Robin got to be actors in the Backstage tour adventure. Check out the clips below.

Posted by Geof at 6:31 PM | TrackBack

Epcot - Day 2 of Disney Vacation

Yesterday was day 2 of the magical Disney vacation. Epcot was great - very humid day but fun none the less. Only disappointment was the Nemo attraction - long line and very short and non-exciting ride. But all in all - a great day. Today we are heading to MGM-Disney Studios.

Posted by Geof at 7:34 AM | TrackBack

June 18, 2007

Disney 2007

Today was our first day of our family vacation to Walt Disney World. Today we did the Magic Kingdom. It was about 94 degrees which made it hot but it still was a great day. I will post all of the pictures once I am back at home. Disney is always fun. Tomorrow we head to Epcot Center!

Posted by Geof at 10:36 PM | TrackBack

June 13, 2007

Issue 8 of The Update

Below is another fascinating issue of The Update! Enjoy!

Posted by Geof at 6:51 AM | TrackBack

May 29, 2007

10 Weeks Post-Op

Today marks the 10 Week Post-Op point since my gastric bypass surgery. Things are going great and I feel awesome. As noted by the updated ticker below, I have lost 110 pounds since the start of the year and 71 pounds since the day of the surgery.

It was a great Memorial Day Weekend! I went down to Louisville to see my parents. We went out of the Cardinal Club to hit some golf balls. Then later we went to the Turf Club at Churchill Downs to bet the ponies. I didn't have the best wager effort at the track, but hopefully that will improve next weekend during the firm's outing at Churchill Downs.

Later, I went shopping for some more new clothes. Due to the ongoing weight loss, I need to continue buying new clothes. This is exciting due to a greater selection and at the same time expensive. The new clothes will probably be too big in 1-2 months - then I will donate them to Goodwill. I did discover another company that targets their products to large folks like me - its called Living XL. Some great products.

Thats about it for now - short work week as I am golfing on Friday at the firm's partner retreat.

Posted by Geof at 10:34 AM | TrackBack

May 21, 2007

Issue 7 of The Update

Below is another exciting edition of The Update!

Posted by Geof at 7:09 AM | TrackBack

May 14, 2007

Fred Thompson GOP 2008

Its time for a real conservative to get in this race. I have long been a fan of Newt, but his negatives may be too much to win the battle against the Dems. But one candidate that could easily beat them is Fred Thompson. Yes - he's the actor from Law and Order - but he is so much more. Check out the Draft Fred Thompson for President website here to learn more.

Posted by Geof at 7:55 AM | TrackBack

May 6, 2007

The Update - Issue 6

Here is the latest edition of the Update - about 7 weeks post-op

Posted by Geof at 6:46 PM | TrackBack

The Girls at Work

A few weeks ago, I took my two nieces to my office at work. They had a blast hanging out in my office and getting some free Lexis-Nexis schwag from our library.

Here are a few photos:

Posted by Geof at 6:42 PM | TrackBack

Kentucky Derby/Oaks 2007

This last weekend was the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby. I had a great time at the Marquee Village at the track. The weather was decent given the forecast. I won a decent amount of money at the Oaks, but gave it all away on the Derby. Oh well!

One highlight every year at the Oaks/Derby is listening to "The Real Deal" barbershop quartet.

Here are a couple clips (albeit recorded on my digital camera) of The Real Deal

Posted by Geof at 6:24 PM | TrackBack

April 27, 2007

Issue 5 of The Update

Here is the latest video of The Update

Posted by Geof at 7:40 AM | TrackBack

Pictues are finally returning to Geof's Waste of Bandwidth Website

I am in the process of restoring all of the picture files on the main website pages. As I mentioned earlier, the transition from my old hosting company was done very quickly and as a result most of the picture files did not get put onto the new site. I have regenerated all of the files and hopefully they will all be back in place by the end of the weekend.

Posted by Geof at 7:25 AM | TrackBack

April 23, 2007

Thunder Over Louisville

This last Saturday night was the annual Thunder Over Louisville air show and fireworks. Thunder is the largest annual fireworks show in America. It is simply amazing. I was with official cigar boy on the boat.
My Dad's company had chartered the Destiny which is based out of Cincinnati. They have utilized this amazing yacht for at least the last five years. The boat is amazing and provides an excellent platform to watch the air show and the fireworks.

The cigars for this year's events were Holt's Factory Specials - simply a great bargain and a good quality smoke. The weather was awesome and a good time was had by all.

Posted by Geof at 1:06 PM | TrackBack

April 15, 2007

Moving on up!

Yesterday I started the next phase of my diet. The Soft Cooked Food Phase. The big addition to this phase is Cheese!!! Its amazing how good one slice of American Cheese can taste - plus it has 4 grams of protein!. I also can now have many soft meats and vegatables (no red meat). So fish, chicken, turkey, etc. as well as cooked vegetables. I can even have a slice of toast (haven't tried that one yet).

I have had no problem getting my daily intake of protein. I love making a creamy vanilla - banana shake. I use the Isopure Creamy Vanilla protein mix, a little skim milk, a chunk of a banana and some ice cubes in the blender and it is fabulous. I also tried a new product called a Protein shooter. Kind of like the shooters in test tubes in a bar - but this is three ounces of a somewhat thick liquid that has 42 grams of protein and zero carbs. I only have the orange flavor and its not the greatest taste - not bad but certainly not that great.

I visit my normal doctor this week for a check-up on my vitals after the surgery. Its hard to imagine that it will have been a month since the surgery this Tuesday. Time sure does fly. I am getting close to the point of having to buy some new pants and a new belt. I have really started to notice the weight loss when I wear my dress clothes - shirts much looser and pants keep wanting to fall down - thankfully I wear suspenders to keep any accidental moonings from occuring.

Everything else is going great. The wound from where my G-tube was is starting to heal. I haven't taken any tylenol in the last 2 days as the discomfort has really gone away. Looking forward to the weather improving and getting some sun - its been absoultely misearble weather wise lately. Take care!

Posted by Geof at 9:04 AM | TrackBack

Back to Work

Last Tuesday I went back to work. It was good to get out of the house. Anytime someone is away from work for a week or more - the mail, voicemail and emails can build up to such an extent it can take a day or so just to read them and follow-up on them. But it is great to get back to work!

I had my first and to date only nausea issue my first day back to work. I basically broke the two big rules. First I was drinking water before and while I was eating some blended turkey and mayo. Second, I didn't chew it that well. I was talking to a friend in my office and just by old nature I gulped the turkey down without chewing it. Wow - My pouch (aka the new stomach) sure let me know that it didn't appreciate that. After about 4 minutes of nausea and a quick call to my mom - I made a quick trip to the bathroom and after making an offering to the porcelain goddess I was fine. Good learning lesson - I now make sure to chew everything extensively.

I have also progressed far enough in my recovery to start eating at restaurants. I eat mostly soup but starting next week I will expand the menu to some fish items and other soft cooked food. On Tuesday I had a Turkey Noodle Soup at Culvers with My mom and sister and my two awesome nieces - Libbey and Paige!. It was great!. Later in the week I had some rice and creme chicken soup in the deli in our building and even got out to lunch at PhoParis with another partner in the firm. I am definitely heading to PhoParis many more times. Quick access and great food.

Posted by Geof at 8:44 AM | TrackBack

April 10, 2007

The Update - Issue 4

Its been three weeks since my gastric bypass surgery. Check out the latest update.

As I mentioned in The Update, my law journal article was recently mentioned in an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court. My law journal article was on Flow Control of Waste and the Dormant Commerce Clause. I actually won the Albert P. Blaustein Memorial Award for the highest legal scholarship published in the Rutgers Law Journal for 1997-98. Here is a link to the amicus brief. My article is referenced on page 23 of the brief. Download file

Posted by Geof at 9:02 AM | TrackBack

April 2, 2007

Cigars!!

Today I also got the approval to resume the cigars!!! I have not had a cigar since March 16th, 2007. Its been really tough not smoking with the recent great weather.

So tonight it will be Cigars and Buckeyes!

Go Bucks!

Posted by Geof at 5:57 PM | TrackBack

March 29, 2007

Issue #3 of The Update

Here is the latest edition of The Update! Thanks for all of your support!

Posted by Geof at 1:10 PM | TrackBack

March 25, 2007

I'm Home!!

Just want to let everyone know that I am home from the hospital and on the road to recovery. The surgery went very well and the doctors were very happy with my recovery so far. Its good to be home. I will post some more details in the next day or so - but just wanted to thank everyone for their support and prayers.

Posted by Geof at 12:10 PM | TrackBack

March 19, 2007

Tuesday is the big day

Tomorrow, Tuesday March 20th is the day of my gastric bypass surgery. I have to be at the hospital at 5:30am. Surgery is schedule to start around 7:30-8:00am. I will post an update once I get home from ths hospital which will most likely be sometime this weekend.

Thanks for all of your support!

Posted by Geof at 8:39 PM | TrackBack

Fischers Radio Commercials

Some of you have mentioned that you thought you heard my dad on the radio recently. You are correct. My dad is the voice is the Fischers ads. In fact, in a recent commercial my sister Robin and my niece Libbey even star in the commercial. Check it out for yourself.

Posted by Geof at 4:16 PM | TrackBack

1and1 Customer Service

Check out the latest email I have received from 1and1.com

-----Original Message-----
From: support@1and1.com
Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2007 02:24:20
To:goberhaus@XXXX.com
Subject: CXXXXXXXXX - 1&1 Internet Support Error 404 - resolved

Dear Geoffrey Oberhaus, (Customer ID: XXXXXXXXXX)

Thank you for contacting us.

We are please to inform you that the error 404 issue has been resolved. Please be informed that your domains are now pulling up the assigned websites. We appreciate your patience in resolving this matter. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

--
Sincerely,
Xavier Huan
Technical Support
1&1 Internet
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Then today I receive this email (this guy must be a real genius!)

Dear Geoffrey Oberhaus, (Customer ID: XXXXXXXX)

Thank you for contacting us.

I can see that you have since cancelled your account. This is why it can no longer be used. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
--
Sincerely,
Joseph Quinn
Technical Support
1&1 Internet
> Customer ID XXXXXXXXX
>
> One of my websites www.geofoberhaus.com is not functioning. In
addition, I have been unable to access vie FTP. I called technical support and
she informed me that 1and1 was having some difficulty with some new
servers. This is simply unacceptable!!
>
> Also - I cannot understand why some of the domains work that pull from
my same user account and not the main one. After waiting on the phone
for over 20+ minutes - I still have no answers, Please tell me what the issue
is - when it will be resolved and what type of credit to my account can I
expect for this unacceptable outage.

> I used to be a major fan of 1and1.com - Now I am really starting to think
> it is time to move my sites somewhere else.
> Thank You
>
> Geof Oberhaus
> 513-XXX-XXXX

Yes - I did cancel my account effective April 15, 2007 - but that still doesn't resolve your hosting problems!!

Avoid 1and1.com at all cost!! I have called technical support 5-6 times in the last week and each time (when I actually get connected) they apologize for their "connectivity" problem with their new servers location - One would expect them to test this before moving everything to the new server location. Oh well - GoDaddy servers have many more useful features and much better customer service.

Posted by Geof at 3:09 PM | TrackBack

Now on the new server

The blog is now hosted on the new server. I am sure that most of the image links do not work. That will be fixed in the future - but at least for now - the blog is up and running and hopefully www.geofoberhaus.com will start pointing to this site later today.

Posted by Geof at 10:47 AM | TrackBack

March 15, 2007

Major Hosting Problems

The hosting company for my website www.1and1.com has been having major outages lately. Looks like I am going to have to shop for a new hosting company. Major pain as I will have to back up several thousand files, etc. But if the hosting problems continue, I will have no choice.

Posted by Geof at 5:36 PM | TrackBack

March 14, 2007

Less than a week to go!!

Well its T-6 days and counting. I had my pre-admission testing and physical yesterday. I have lost 25 pounds since the beginning of January 2007! I have cut out the sweets, eliminated diet coke, drink more water and before the two-week liquid diet tried to eat somewhat more healthy. Although I did enjoy a trip to Amor de Brazil and a last pint or two of Graeters ice cream.

Week two of the liquid diet - its not that bad. It actually many more carbs than the Atkins Diet - I consume approximately 100-119 carbs per day compared to 20 carbs under the Atkins diet. The difference - quantity. Under Atkins I could have lots of eggs, cheese and steaks and hamburgers. Not under this 2 week liquid protein diet.

Here is a typical day under this diet: 1) Morning - 8oz of skim milk with Unjury protein mix, 1/2 cup of oatmeal (Artificial sweetener added to make it have some taste) and a banana or orange. 2) Mid morning snack of either sugar-free pudding or unsweetened applesauce or Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt or Yogurt Smoothies. 3) Lunch - Unjury protein powder with 8 oz of water or Crystal Light lemonade and either sugar-free pudding or unsweetened applesauce or Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt or Yogurt Smoothies. 4) Afternoon snack of either sugar-free pudding or unsweetened applesauce or Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt or Yogurt Smoothies. 5)Dinner - 8oz of skim milk with Unjury protein mix, 1/2 cup of low fat cottage cheese 6) Bedtime snack - Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt Smoothie mixed with Unjury non-flavored protein mix.

The Unjury protein powder mixes are decent - not the best that I have tried but not unbearable. My favorite is the Vanilla with skim milk - very tasty. Next would be the Chocolate with skim milk. Least favorite is the strawberry sorbet - especially with water. I typically have the strawberry sorbet with water or Crystal Light Lemonade for lunch - it goes down - but not that enjoyable. Another great way for the Unjury protein is to mix in the yogurt smoothies!

Its March Madness - should be a great tourney - good luck on your brackets!

Posted by Geof at 7:30 AM | TrackBack

March 6, 2007

The Update - Volume 1 Issue 2

Two weeks to go to the big surgery. As noted in the update, today I started the presurgey diet which consists of mainly a liquid protein diet. The protein product is from Unjury.

Enjoy The Update!!

Posted by Geof at 8:39 AM | TrackBack

March 2, 2007

15 Minutes of Fame

You might remember that last year my dad and I sponsored the Oberhaus Cigar Classic at Churchill Downs. A few months ago I decided to submit the photo from the group in the Winner's Circle to Cigar Aficionado for their Moments to Remember section in which the publish people enjoying cigars. A few nights ago I received the April 2007 edition of the magazine which has the Sopranos on the cover and many articles about the Final Season. On page 226, our photo is published. Wow!

Then last night I was at The Party Source where I buy most of my cigars (great selection and prices!). As I was leaving one of the managers stopped me and asked me if I was in Cigar Aficionado - How amazing! I told him yes and he was very impressed and also happy to know that one of his good customers was published. He informed me that The Party Source has a cigar tasting club that meets on Tuesday nights - might have to start making that a required calendar item.

Posted by Geof at 7:23 AM | TrackBack

February 25, 2007

Great weekend for Ohio State!!

Besides winning the Men's Big 10 Basketball championship - the Men's hockey team beat Michigan last night. Michigan wasn't too happy to blowing the game and a fight broke out after the game. Check out the video below.

Geof is currently listening to Hang On Sloopy from the album "A Touch Of Brass" by Ohio State Marching Band

Posted by Geof at 11:28 PM

HDTV - How has it changed your viewing habits?

Sure - HDTV sports are awesome and it becomes almost difficult to watch sports in Standard Definition. But the biggest surprise to me - is PBS-HD and Discovery HD. I barely ever watched PBS - now I am a devoted fan of Nature, Nova and Frontline. Frontline is currently running a 4 part series on the New media - excellent stories and great refresher on the first amendment and so-called reporter's privilege. Tonight, Nature aired a great show on the Andes mountains and area surrounding.

Also on HDNet - Dan Rather Reports has been an excellent surprise. Very good stories and of course in HD!!

Geof is currently listening to Adagio from Trumpet Concerto from the album "The A to Z of Classical Music (Disc 1)" by Georg Philipp Telemann

Posted by Geof at 11:24 PM

Ohio State Big Ten Champs!! - Hoops Pool Updates

Kudos to Matta and the Thad Five!! Another Big Ten Championship. Could this be the year for OSU to win the NCAA? Probably not - but one never knows. I am contemplating buying season tickets to the Bucks next year for hoops. While I am sure I would likely miss a few games during the week, its less than 1.5 hours to the arena. Time will tell.

Nenni is absolutely running away with this year's hoops pool. Doesn't hurt that he has the Bucks either. Very competitive year for third place. Should be interesting to see how the conference tourneys effect the outcome.

Geof is currently listening to Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: I. Prélude from the album "Bach: The Cello Suites" by Yo-Yo Ma

Posted by Geof at 11:03 PM

February 20, 2007

The Update

I have decided to start The Update - which will be a video which will supplement my blog. Afterall, what could be a biggest waste of bandwidth than video?

Here is the premier edition - I am sure that my editing and camera techniques will improve in the future.

Enjoy!

Posted by Geof at 8:22 AM | TrackBack

February 14, 2007

Comments have been enabled again

I have enabled comments again for the blog. This was requested by several readers who did not like the previous Authenication requirement. It will be interesting how well the spam filter works. I am sure some junk spam will occur - hopefully I will be able to stay on top of it.

So comment away!

Posted by Geof at 11:48 PM | TrackBack

Waste of Bandwidth return to original home folder

I have moved the blog back to its original folder - primarily due to some file association problems. I have placed a redirect on the previous location and will modify the homepage in the next few days.

We have had a major snow and ice storm the last two days and now it is bitter cold. Looks like it will be a while for the ice to melt from the power lines.

Posted by Geof at 6:43 PM | TrackBack

February 11, 2007

Great weekend!

This weekend two longtime friends, Brian and Dave, from Defiance came to visit. We headed out to a Brazilian Steakhouse (see previous post) and then headed back to my place for some drinks and Cigars. Its always a pleasure to get together with these guys. Each of us have been very successful in our careers and its good to discuss the good old days, politics, money, careers, etc.
We enjoyed some fine Rocky Patel 1990 Vintage Cigars. Very tasty. I love smoking Cigars and Rocky Patel is one of my favorite brands along with CAO.
This morning we headed of to The Cracker Barrel for some Grandma's Breakfast Special with Grandma's pancakes. Brian suggested these on a previous visit and they never disappoint. Great weekend as always!

Geof is Currently listening to Sleep Monkey from the album "New Year's Vacation Shows (Live) [Dec 31st, 2003]" by Widespread Panic

Posted by Geof at 1:09 PM

Amor de Brazil Fiery Steakhouse

Last night, two good friends cam down from to Defiance to visit. We headed out for dinner to the Amor de Brazil Fiery Steakhouse. Simply Amazing! We arrived and the wait to be seated was approximately 1 hour and we headed to the elegant bar and had a beer. Then we were seated and explained the system. For one flat fee we were getting the 50 item salad bar and 15 cuts of meat. A meat lovers paradise. We headed to the salad bar which was good - not over extravagant but it did have smoked salmon, Ahi tuna, shrimp, and other slices of meat, soups and cheeses. Then the real fun began as one by one the gauchos came by the table with their large skewers full of meat. We tried everything - the best was the filet mignon wrapped in bacon, the garlic sirloin, and the flank steak. The price also included sides of mashed potatoes, fried bananas and some other mystery items which was also good. We didn't eat much salad or mashed potatoes as we were saving room for the meat. We all ate a good amount until we were stuffed.

I would recommend anyone coming to Cincinnati to definitely include a trip to Amor de Brazil. Excellent experience!

Geof is currently listening to Either Way from the album "Lost and Gone Forever" by Guster

Posted by Geof at 12:57 PM

February 10, 2007

Newt in 2008?

After reviewing the list of GOP candidates for 2008 - I think it is time for Newt. In almost every poll he is running third to Rudy and McCain and Newt hasn't even announced he is running. If not Newt - who is going to step up for the GOP and right the ship?

Posted by Geof at 1:15 AM | TrackBack

February 3, 2007

Did O-Zone Gore invent the Environment

Last weekend I watched Ozone's documentary about himself and the environment. It was quite difficult to listen to Ozone for 1.5 hours. What was comical was here is a movie about global warming, but yet he had to include footage of his failed bid to be President and even called himself the winner. He showed clips of the chad counting, Supreme Court etc. Two thoughts: 1) You lost - you even did a study afterwards to recount independently all of the punchcards and you still lost. 2) What does this have to do with the environment? You were vice-president for 8 years and really did nothing for the environment. You failed yourself. Even environmentalists know the solution to global warming and the dependency on fossil fuels - Nuclear Power. Sure wind, solar and water are other great sources but Nuclear (how ever you want to pronounce it) is the solution to power electric cars and homes.

Gore says he's on a campaign "more important" than presidential: " Video: Gore says he's on a campaign 'more important' than presidential. Speaking at the Silicon Valley Joint Venture event in San Jose, Calif., former Vice President Al Gore said there's still time to combat the expected effects of climate change. He said the investment and innovation that built the high-tech and biotech industries is now needed for green tech.
"

(Via CNET News.com.)

Currently playing in iTunes: Red Rabbits by The Shins

Posted by Geof at 9:37 AM

February 1, 2007

Great Website for Music

A friend yesterday sent me a link about a great music website. It is http://www.pandora.com. This site utilizes the Music Genome Project. I remember checking out the music genome project several years ago and thinking what a unique idea. But it only provided a textual list of different songs/groups that you may be interested in. Now with Pandora - you can set up a music channel and stream great music all day and even share your channels with friends.

My Pandora page is at http://www.pandora.com/people/geof.oberhaus

Love the music channel I created for The Shins!

Posted by Geof at 1:39 PM | TrackBack

Upgrade to MT3.3 Completed

It wasn't easy, but I have upgraded to the latest version of Movable Type ver. 3.3. I also moved the weblog to a new folder, which in the long run should make things easier - but in the short run some if not all of the old search engine results will be wrong. Short-term problem.

Posted by Geof at 12:59 PM | TrackBack

Upgrading to MT3.3

I am in the process of upgrading to MT3.3.

Pardon the dust

Posted by Geof at 1:28 AM | TrackBack

January 31, 2007

Google Ads

Well, I have finally entered into the modern age and have placed Google Ads on my blog. After viewing the recent server logs activity, I realized that many more people are accessing my website than I had thought. Favorite areas include my rants and the Basement Project which averages several hits a week.

I plan to be blogging much more in the future. Many exciting things coming up to talk about.

Stay tuned!

Posted by Geof at 3:20 PM | TrackBack

January 13, 2007

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone!

I finally loaded some recent pictures from my camera into my computer. Using iWeb and iPhoto made for a real quick addition to the website. You can even click on some background music and then view a slideshow of the pictures. Those photos are from around Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2006. I also have a set of photos of my dad's Snow Village.

Lots of great pictures of the girls! They are growing up so fast!

2007 has lots of excitement ahead! So stayed tuned to hopefully more frequent updates.

Posted by Geof at 12:37 AM | TrackBack

December 7, 2006

Smoking Ban not to be enforced

Christmas comes early as the Attorney General decides not to enforce smoking ban until the regulations are written!! Its about time some sanity prevailed. How can you ban something and enforce it without an y enforcement regulations? So smoker rejoice and hopefully most of the Cigar friendly establishments will continue to allow smoking. I did get an emergency email from Havana Martini Bar today that they would continue to allow smoking! It looks like Christmas won't be cancelled afterall. Its too cold to step outside and smoke a cigar without a good number of propane heaters. Hopefully, the Ohio Senate will revise the law enacted by Issue 5 - or possibly maybe another ballot initiative to replace issue 5 with a smoking law that respects the citizens of the great state of Ohio and treats them with some respect. If people don't like smoking, they are free to choose where to go with their pocketbooks. Although I am a cigar smoker - there are several bars that I avoid due to their poor ventilation system. On the flip side, cigar bars like Havana Martini have state of the art ventilation systems and no one there seems to mind people lighting up.

Merry Christmas and Smoke 'em if you have 'em!

Posted by Geof at 11:43 PM | TrackBack

November 25, 2006

XBOX 360

Well, I finally broke down and bought an XBOX 360 yesterday!! Micro Center has a $100 rebate - so I decided it was time to take the plunge. Still a very expensive plunge with the wireless internet adapter another $100 and each game at least $50-60 dollars. I bought Tiger Woods Golf which is simply amazing and the new Gears of War from Microsoft. Both games are excellent - the graphics on both are incredible. Another thing very impressive is XBOX Live. The Online community - more than just online gaming against others - you can download games, movies, music, even listed to ESPN Radio when playing certain EA Sports games. Its like a dashboard portal into everything - finally Microsoft is headed in the right direction - in reality the XBOX 360 could be the one settop box for TV, movies, music and gaming. You can even download movie and tv shows in HD.

I downloaded a demo of EA Sports upcoming March Madness game - the graphics are so amazing in the demo - the shine off the court is simply unreal - at points it is hard to tell what is digital or are you watching real people.

Oh well - have to get back to the system - here is my gamertag if you are on xboxlive

Posted by Geof at 9:55 AM | TrackBack

November 7, 2006

Election 2006 - Issue #5

Well - it looks like Issue #4 will fail and Issue # 5 will pass. What a joke. While I understand many people's opposition to the format of Issue #4 being a constitutional amendment, the passage of Issue #5 banning smoking at every single place of business is absolutely ridiculous.

Goodbye to your favorite cigar bars - like Havana Martini Club in Cincinnati. I feel terrible for the owners who had to endure the downfall in business due to the Riots and the rest of Cincinnati's downtown failures. They decide to make an important move and create an excellent spot in the Carew Tower and now here comes Issue #5 to eliminate smoking. Same feelings towards Brazenhead which had created an excellent Cigar and Scotch bar in the basement of the mammoth facility. Gone.

But at least Issue #5 lets me smoke in my personal residence!! Simply amazing.

There is little doubt that in 2006, Issue #5 will be overturned - it may even be unconstitutional. Sad day for Ohio businesses and patrons who choose to dine at places that may have a smoking section or places like Havana Martini Club that have state of the art exhaust systems to remove the cigar and cigarette smoke. Simply Amazing. It may be even difficult to smoke at your local tobaccoo shop as 80% of their revenue must be from tobacco and accesories and they cannot have a liquor license.

The overall election in Ohio was all about Bush and the war in Iraq. Poor Blackwell and Dewine had no shot. Voters are tired of the war and want the troops home now or at least a game plan for the removal of the troops. Sadly it appears that Pres. Bush has no idea of how to get out. Now I am a very conservative life-long Republican and proud to say so, but the time has come for getting out of Iraq. I propose we get the blackhawks, Apaches and A-10s fueled up and blast a 5-mile wide path from the green zone to the airport and get everyone out of Iraq. Oh yea - don't forget to bring Sadamm with us - or even better yet just kill him on the way out. So what if Iraq falls to shambles and civil war begins. It may have already. We can always launch air strikes in the future to take car of any Iraq government that gets out of hand. Moreover - maybe a democracy will come out of our leaving.

Finally, the only good thing to come out of tonight is a sure failure of the Democratic Party to lead us anywhere - which will greatly help the GOP presidential candidates in 2008. Its time to create another Contract for America and tell the America People what a GOP Congress and President in 2008 will do and then do it. Come on Newt - start drafting it - the campaign for President starts next week.

Posted by Geof at 10:36 PM | TrackBack

October 21, 2006

New Design for Geof's Waste of Bandwidth

I have redesigned the front end of Geof's Waste of Bandwidth. I used iWeb - which is a great program for those who don't have a website - but not that great for updating an existing site. Nonetheless - it should allow for more multimedia posting and quicker editing in the future.

I love my new Mac Mini - Super fast and powerful = yet a foorprint smaller than a DVD case.

28 Days until The Game. Looks like it could be Ohio State #1 and that school up north #2. Which would be awesome to end their perfect season and watch Jim Tressel go 5-1 over Lloyd Carr.

Posted by Geof at 2:19 AM | TrackBack

September 5, 2006

Labor Day 2006 and new entries

Its been a few months since I last have created an entry. A great summer 2006 is quickly wrapping up. College Football is here and the Buckeyes look awesome and it could be another special year. I also recently found out that I have been voted into the Partnership of the firm effective January 1, 2007!

Over the Labor Day weekend, Libbey, Paige and I did some science experiments. More photos are listed under the More Libbey & Paige Tab and then Labor Day 2006.

I hope to post many more entries this fall and get back in the habit of blogging.

Hope you had a great summer. Go Bucks!

Geof's iTunes currently playing Warning Sign from the album "The Last Kiss (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)" by Coldplay

Posted by Geof at 12:58 PM | TrackBack

June 30, 2006

Mentos and Diet Coke

I love all of these Mentios and Diet Coke Experiments

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The Oberhaus Cigar Classic

Last week was the First Annual Oberhaus Cigar Classic at Churchill Downs. The Oberhaus Classic was the 5th Race on the turf. It was great sponsering a race and good to do it with my dad.
Here is a picture taken in the winners circle with my dad and other attorneys from the firm.

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May 21, 2006

Associate Family Picnic 2006

Yesterday we had the First Annual Associate Family Picnic which was organized and funded by the Senior Associates. I think it was a great success. The weather was awesome and it was good to see so many family members of the attorneys. Thanks to Tim for coming up with the idea and really taking the initiative to make the event happen.

More pictures are on the main page under "Summer 2005 and 2006" and can be directly accessed by clicking here

Sno-Kones were a big hit for young and old

The weather was awesome!!

Geof's iTunes currently playing Despair In the Departure Lounge from the album "Who the F*** Are Arctic Monkeys? - EP" by Arctic Monkeys

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April 5, 2006

The Fun Continues...

Here are a few more photos from the ongoing Hilton Head vacation. Lots of good times and excellent weather.

A view from the pool - the beach is only 40-50 feet away!

Late night game session!

Geof's iTunes currently playing absolutely nothing - its 2:40 am and I am going to bed

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April 3, 2006

Paige & Libbey's Birthdays

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated Paige and Libbey's Birthdays in Louisville. Libbey is 5 and Paige is 2. Here are a few pictures from the day.

Geof's iTunes currently playing In the Sun from the album "In the Sun - EP" by Michael Stipe

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Spring Break in Hilton Head

I am on vacation this week in Hilton Head. I am staying with some friends at an awesome oceanfront home. Check out this video
for the property. BTW, the property is for sale for a cool $4.5 Million.

More pictures will follow in due course.

Yes, the place has its own pool and the beach is less than 50 feet away!!

Geof's iTunes currently playing Move Along from the album "Move Along" by The All-American Rejects

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February 11, 2006

This time of year

This is the worst time of the year. Late January and February always seem to be the most depressing months. A lot of this is due to the fact that it is dark when you come and go to work. Plus sports slow down these months. The holidays are over - football withdraw takes over. With nothing much on TV one would thing it would be a billing hours bonanza. However, it seems just the opposite happens as you stare outside at the dark streets and think I should be home now - its dark outside. Oh well, March Madness is just a few weeks away - then you have April which means Spring - Keeneland and May brings about the Oaks and the Derby.

My mom had knee replacement surgery on Thursday - both knees. It will be a long recovery but I am sure that she is looking ofrward to being active once the rehab is over and she can start working on her golf game. Spent most of Thursday in the surgery waiting room. Luckily I had my ipod with me - as I was probably in the waiting room for about 9-10 hours.

I put a new power supply in my main PC that had been dead for several months and it now is back up and running. I had decided if the $40 power supply failed to do the trick, I was going to buy the new 20" iMac with intel inside. But it looks like I will hold off at least until the next round of apple announcements. I love my powerbook and it is still doing great, but I needed a good computer in my office - now that the main pc is back up - it will do the trick. I used to have 4 pcs running in the office - but the last year they have slowly started to die or become unusuable due to age. Ideally I will get down to just one pc and the iMac - still like to have a pc for software ease - but maybe when the new windows comes out if it truely does run on the intel iMac - I can just go with the iMac.

The guys from Ovation Audio-Video are coming over to do a few more install items for the basement - adding a set of speakers to the poker room and connecting the LCD TV in the poker room to the main AV set-up. Also need to change out the lamp in the Sony projector as it is on its last legs and has dimmed.

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January 21, 2006

Knight Rider in HD

Once you go HD - SD is simply unacceptable. Have to give kudos to Universal HD which has converted lots of classic tv shows into HD. Just watched an episode of Knight Rider in HD, Lots of good memories. Growing up I loved that show and undoubtedly it as well as a few other shows led me to become an engineer before the law career.

I finally figured out how to make ringtones for my Verizon Wireless 7130e Blackberry. I used the open source Audacity audio editor to select and convert the file into the proper format. It really is nice having mp3 ringtones - my old blackberry, the 7250, just did mono midi tones.

I have decided to get a new Mac - looks like the new intel Imac. I still have a few PCs running up in my office, but they are really getting old and slow and I only use them for rare tasks. Still deciding on how to connect my music collection to the basement AV system. Probably will use the Xbox 360 to connect to the mac wirelessly. Assuming I ever can get an Xbox 360.

Geof's iTunes currently playing The Geeks Get the Girls (Album Version) from the album "The Geeks Get the Girls - Single" by American Hi-Fi

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December 28, 2005

Christmas 2005

Merry Christmas!! The last few days I have been celebrating Christmas with my parents and my sister's family here at my house. We had a great time, although my dad was somewhat under the weather. Lots of good times and great food. Also a great chance to use the new basement.

Here are a few pictures and more have been added to the main page section under the More Libbey & Paige section.

Finally, its bowl time. I hope your picks are working out. Go Bucks!!

Geof's iTunes currently playing Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) from the album "A Very Special Christmas" by U2

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December 3, 2005

Wow - zero entries in November

I just realized that I made no entries to the blog for the entire month of november. Thats amazing considering it was a great month. I went to Vegas at the beginning of the month. Had a great time, went to The Big Smoke - second year in a row. Always a great time. And of course the Bucks beat Michigan. Even better was that I was in the Big House. Great game. Also the basement project was completed - I will do an entry for that.

Here are some great shots of two nieces. Paige is wearing a Michigan cheerleader outfit, but the Bucks still won and they do live in Michigan and their dad is a Michigan fan. Not to worry, I'll teach her O-H-I-O cheer in about 6 months, just like her big sister.

Geof's iTunes currently playing Flood (iTunes Originals Version) from the album "iTunes Originals - Jars of Clay" by Jars of Clay

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October 25, 2005

U2 Concert and visit with Libbey & Paige

I just returned from Michigan and the U2 concert last night at the Palace of Auburn Hills. I went with a good friend and fellow U2 fan, Brian and my sister and her husband Jeff. Along the way I got to visit with a couple other high school buddies by attending the Defiance Rotary meeting.

Before the show, the four of us headed to an irish bar in Farmington, MI. Great bar - John Cowleys and Sons on Grand River Ave.

We then headed to the Palace. Traffic was not extremely bad considering it was a sold out show - but the parking lot situation was terrible. We eventually found a spot and headed into the show. Our seats were great. Third row from the floor - about middle of the walkway of the stage - so many times the band members were less than 20 feet away.

Great show!

Here are a few pictures of me visiting with the girls before we left for the show.

Geof's iTunes currently playing Miss Sarajevo from the album "The Complete U2 - Original Soundtracks 1" by Passengers & Luciano Pavarotti

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October 14, 2005

Yummy~issimo!!! My personal chef

Many of you may have heard that I had decided to get a personal chef. It makes perfect since given my busy schedule. Well, my personal chef came to my home on Monday and cooked an entire month's worth of food, packages it in portions and put it in the freezer and the refrigerator. It has been awesome. Now when I get home late and have no desire to cook something, I can still eat a healthy meal, rather than fast food junk.

The service is called Yummy~issimo and it definitely rocks!
The website is http://www.uspca.net/oh/yummyissimo/

Here is a view of my freezer and refrigerator after the cooking

Geof's iTunes currently playing Lost Tonight from the album "Somebody's Miracle (Bonus Track)" by Liz Phair

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August 31, 2005

Some Blog problems

I just upgrades to the new version of Movable Type (ver 3.2) unfortunately there is a problem in rebuilding the archive indexes. Hopefully, I don't lose everything.

Always seems to be a problem when upgrading versions

update: Problem is solved - unsure why - but making this post after the upgrade seemed to eliminate many if not all of the problems.

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August 30, 2005

Wow - first post in over 1 month

Its almost the end of August and this is my first post of the month. What has happened? Hard to say. I guess I have been busy and not been able to get an update. Work has been very busy. Our summer associates left about 2-3 weeks ago. The first years arrive next Tuesday and recruiting season has just started for next year's summer and entering classes. I am starting my 8th year at the firm. WOW - eight years - sometimes it seems like it was only a few months ago that we entered the building for the first time. But most of the time it feels like it has been twenty years.

Had lunch today with Helana - we are two of the three remaining associates of the entering class of 1998. There were 13 of us. We had difficulty remembering all 13 but with each person there were vivid memories of both good times and some times bad times. Wow - senior associate and hopefully this will be the last year as an associate.

College Football starts thursday night. The Buckeyes look like they could win another Big Ten championship and possibly more. Louisville probably won't lose a game all season long.

The basement project continues - I'll post a separate entry with more details.

Hopefully, I'll post more in the days.

Geof's iTunes currently playing Run from the album "Final Straw" by Snow Patrol

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July 22, 2005

Vacation in Phoenix - its HOT!!!

WOW - its hot in Arizona. Sunday we arrived and the temperature was 116 degrees. A storm blew into town with winds around 30-40 miles an hour but no rain. When we would go outside it felt like opening the oven door when removing something from the oven. HOT!!

Yesterday, we went to the Grand Canyon - I will post some pictures from that trip in a few days. The pictures below are from Rawhide - which is an old western tourist town - good fun, but it was hot. Libbey and Paige were not too happy with the gunfight story about Billy the Kid.

On our way to Williams, Arizona and the Grand Canyon - we stopped by to see Montezuma's Castle

Geof's iTunes currently playing In God's Country from the album "Mountain & Deserts" by U2

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July 6, 2005

Libbey's Smile Makin' Kids photoshoot

Fischer's is hosting a contest looking for new kids for their billboards. Here is Libbey's photo

Posted by Geof at 11:09 PM | TrackBack

4th of July with the family

This year's 4th of July weekend was excellent. I headed down to Louisville on Friday afternoon and hit the pool. Later that night, Jeff and Robin and the girls arrived. We had a blast. Dad, Jeff and I went golfing at the Cardinal Club while the woman went shopping. We cooked out and enjoying the pleasant weather.

The highlight of the weekend was the fireworks. I am sure that for many years we will remember the grand finale - "For best viewing place this side towards the audience" - that sure made it exciting.

I have posted pictures from the weekend under the "More Libbey & Paige" section

Geof's iTunes currently playing Baby I Love Your Way from the album "Reality Bites" by Big Mountain

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June 25, 2005

Churchill Downs Trip 2005

Yesterday was the annual summer associate Churchill Downs trip. It was a great trip and I even won money for the day. In addition, we hit the big group bet at the end of the day. More photos are posted in the Summer 2005 photo section on the home page.

Geof's iTunes currently playing With or Without You (Single) from the album "The Complete U2 - With or Without You" by U2

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May 22, 2005

The Basement Project

This weekend, I selected the winning contractor to finish my basement. When finished, the basement will have a home theater area with a 92" screen and an HDTV Sony projector, a half-bath and a full bar with an upgraded soda fountain system. In addition, there will be room for exercise equipment and poker tables for poker parties.

I plan to document the project through this blog. In a few days I will post the before photos and hopefully a sketch of what it will look like when completed.

On other news, I was in Philadelphia a week ago for an AIPLA conference. It was great to be back in Philly and see some friends from law school and to spend the weekend with one of my good buddies from law school. The trip's highlights were: 1) Visit to Holt's cigar store, 2) Cheesesteaks, 3) Mahogany on Walnut - cigar bar owned by Holt's, 4) Hanging out with Vince & Tina, 5)Phillies game against the Reds - great new stadium. The trip reminded me of how great a city Philadelphia is. I hope to get back soon.

Summer has started - at least the summer associates at the firm has started. I always enjoy when they start - brings new energy to the firm as well as social life. June should be another great month with an associate retreat and a trip to churchill downs with the summer associates.

Geof's iTunes currently playing Pretty In Pink - Psychedelic from the album "The Big 80's" by Psychedlic Furs

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May 8, 2005

Kentucky Oaks 2005

Friday was the Kentucky Oaks - what a great day we had. The weather was simply awesome and so was our group. We may not have cashed a lot of winners - except on the actual Oaks itself, but we had amazing seats.

This is a photo taken from our seats - we had a great view of the finish line!!

Here are a few other great shots from the day

Finally, this entry would not be complete without something said about Low Cost Limo. Our limo company was very inexpensive and the limos were very outdated - for a good amount of time it looked like we were left at the track - however we spotted another low cost looking limo and it turned out to be from the same company - eventually after some negotiating we finally got a ride back to the Derby Eve party.

Geof's iTunes currently playing American Baby from the album "American Baby - Single" by Dave Matthews Band

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April 24, 2005

Blog Problems

I upgraded the blog today - during the upgrade I used a new version of my FTP program Transmit3. Apparently I wasn't paying attention when I moved the upgrade files to the server and I ended up checking to replace and MIRROR the files - which ended up deleting all extra files in the directory. What this resulted in was a loss of many images from the blog - mainly those images that I use ecto for and I had not previous set the default to store the images in the archive directory. Oh well - lesson painfully learned.

Posted by Geof at 6:26 PM | TrackBack

Thunder Over Louisville

Yesterday was Thunder over Louisville. Brrrr. It was very cold. Friday the high in Louisville was 80 degrees. Saturday was a completely different story. The high was around 44 degrees. The wind was the real problem. Down by the river the wind was 20 to 30 miles per hour. Heather and I ventured out into the elements to join some other attorneys from the firm and our clients for Thunder. Luckily we had a tent and it was heated. Heated is a very broad concept as it was still very cold in the tent. Unless you were right in front of the heater it was still freezing. Luckily we kept dry and the fireworks as always were awesome.

Less than two weeks until the Kentucky Oaks & Derby!! So looking forward to betting on the ponies. Go Baby Go!
As I mentioned in a previous post, I started another blog www.iproundtable.com which was hopefully going to be a group collaborative effort - but it has become apparent that I will have to carry this effort by myself. I think I will ask some other IP folks I know to help contribute some content.
Speaking of blogs - I have started yet another one www.bigslammers.com which will follow the trials and tribulations of the firm's softball team in the Cincinnati Bar Association softball league. The Big Slammers have won the loser's bracket championship the last two years. This year they go for the threepeat.

Geof's iTunes currently playing Somewhere Only We Know from the album "Hopes and Fears" by Keane

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April 9, 2005

Lack of entries - spring is here

I haven't had much time to keep up the blog lately. Its spring and the calendar is packed both at work and at home. Only two weeks until Thunder Over Louisville and 1 month until the Derby!!!

Baseball has started. Went to opening day for the Reds - great game with a comeback win in the bottom of the 9th. I ended up getting the Major League package on Directv this year - hoping to catch more Indians games as well as the Tigers (who I think could win their division - I wish it were the Indians, but the Tigers would be great as well). Golf clubs in the car - ready for some action.

My big Spring/Summer project is that I am going to finish my basement and install a home theater/media room, bar and bathroom. In addition, I hope to install new countertops and ceramic tile flooring in the kitchen. Massive home improvements - I plan to keep the progress of the project here in the blog. I am going to start getting estimate in the next week or so and hopefully the project will begin in early May.

I am also heading to Philadelphia in May for the AIPLA Spring Meeting. Looking forward to visiting Philly again as well as seeing some great friends.

Derby CD's are done and in the mail - if you didn't get yours - oops!
Here is the cover photo.

That's it for now - but hopefully I will be posting more often.

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March 26, 2005

Kentucky Derby Only 6 Weeks Away

The Derby is only 6 weeks away. Wow - its almost here. Churchill Downs has massively revised their website for the Derby and has really done a great job with using existing technology. They even haves a photo gallery from the infield.

I finished my annual derby bash CD just a few minutes ago. The music came together pretty good this year. Louisville is currently down 6 agaisnt West Virginia, but I have a feeling the Cards will find a way to prevail. Correction down 9 - the three pointers are deadly.

Oh well, watch for your CD in the mail in the next week or so - I have to make the cover graphic yet and get some blank CDs and burn them.

Thunder over Louisville only 4 weeks away. And spring football starts up soon. Spring is definitely here!!

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March 20, 2005

Paige's 1st Birthday

This weekend we celebrated Paige's 1st Birthday. Lots of fun. Be sure to check out the picture located in the "More Libbey & Paige" section. Crazy week with the NCAA tourney starting up and other developments at the firm.

Paige was very excited to have her own little cake all for herself - as they next photos demonstrate without the need for any additional words ....

Great hoops games this first weekend. Hopefully Louisville will advance to the Sweet 16 and keep the hope alive. Only 7 weeks until the Kentucky Derby - I will have to starting creating my shortlist of favorites. Watch for more entries. The Blog has slowed in entries lately, but I anticipate that to change in the next couple of weeks. I have been working on The IP Roundtable. Still needs more work but hopefully I can dedicate sometime to make this blog useful and stimulate some great IP discussions.

Geof's iTunes currently playing Speedbumps from the album "Rendezvous" by Luna

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March 16, 2005

Its the most wonderful time of the year

Tomorrow begins March Madness - I love this time of year. I am all ready - have the Directv Package with all of the NCAA games. Should be some great games tomorrow. My personal favorite for getting to the final four is Louisville. I doubt they can win it all - but I think they have a shot at least getting to the final four. My other long shot is Texas Tech - Bobby Knight has a team that under his coaching may make some movement. First major upset - a toss-up between Washington and Arizona. I hate west coast teams - probably bias due to lack of television coverage on east cost and midwest.

A Cincinnati - Kentucky second round game would be great - but lets see if the Bearcats can play a game without a cold shooting spell. Iowa is decent - not great, but definitely capable of taking down UC. Could this be the year of the small guys? Pacific, Southern Illinois, Nevada? Gonzaga is small but not in the tourney.

Good luck in your brackets. I never win - as I love picking all the upsets that could happen - this way I can say I had the upset.

Posted by Geof at 11:38 PM | TrackBack

March 3, 2005

New IP Blog

I have started working with a few others on a new IP blog entitled "The IP Roundtable"
The blog is at http://www.iproundtable.com

It will hopefully be a good discussion engine for IP issues and resources for those protecting intellectual property

Geof's iTunes currently playing The Geeks Get the Girls (Album Version) from the album "The Geeks Get the Girls - Single" by American Hi-Fi

Posted by Geof at 8:41 PM | TrackBack

February 22, 2005

Cincinnati Bell's new TV Commercials against VOIP

Last night I saw the latest Cincinnati Bell TV commercial. I couldn't stop laughing at just how stupid the dialog was. The premise of the commercial is a potential VOIP user calling into the cable company asking questions. One of the questions asks what happens when the power goes out. The answer given given is that you won't have any phone service. What is so comical is that the person is calling on a cordless phone, so the answer would be exactly the same even if they had Cincinnati Bell landline service. Amazing!

The local phone company has had a monopoly for many years and now that they are having some competition, they launch a propaganda campaign against VOIP. Interesting to note that Cincinnati Bell provides VOIP to many businesses.

I am very happy with my AT&T CallVantage service. Excellent features and great service and easy to use. If the power or cable modem goes out, the service automatically routes to my cellphone. In addition, AT&T works with fax machines and modems, including Tivo and DirecTv.

Geof's iTunes currently playing Candy Shop from the album "Candy Shop - Single" by 50 Cent

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February 19, 2005

Libbey's 4th Birthday Party

Today, we celebrated Libbey's upcoming 4th birthday. Libbey turns 4 on Monday. We went to Build-A-Bear Workshop and then to Gattiland. Lots of games and lots of fun.

Libbey named her bear "Fuzzy"

The pictures have been added under the Libbey & Paige photo section. Click here for a direct link to the pictures.
More pictures to come....

iTunes currently playing Video Killed the Radio Star from the album "I Want My 80's Box!" by The Buggles

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February 15, 2005

One difficult puzzle

This weekend my sister and her husband brought two puzzles each comprising only 9 tiles with pictures of dogs or cats on them. It was probably one of the most difficult puzzles that most have ever seen. I spent a few hours with no luck and several of my relatives spent equal amounts of time with no success. My cousins, Sam and Jake - were very diligent for several hours but still no luck.

Finally, last night just as I was about to put them away I decided to try one last time. I focused on the fact that three tiles comprised only three animals, whereas all the others had 4. The tiles have either a head or body of one of four animals.

With that in mind, I solved the cat puzzle - I then moved onto and solved the dog puzzle.

Luck? who knows - but I did save the $15 bounty that I has posted to the first one who solved them.

Here is a great picture of Libbey - a real Apple fan already and she is not even 4 years of age. She loves listening to music - whether on tape or on an iPod.

iTunes currently playing One from the album "American III - Solitary Man" by Johnny Cash

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Henry Intellectual Property - Patents and Copyrights

As mentioned in the previous post, my grandmother passed away last week. While my mom and her brother and sister's were sorting through all the items in the home, my uncle Tom brought up a box of the "Buck-A-Neer" fishing lures that my grandfather and great-grandfather used to make and sell. A few years back I searched through the USPTO archives to see if they ever got a patent, but had no success. This weekend, my mom found the patent!! What a great find.

Here is a scan of the Official Letter Patent:

Here is a copy of the patent

The patent if for the "Buck-A-Neer" which was Manufactured by Buck Henry's Baits, located at 507 Belmont N.E., Warren, Ohio.

The product brochure:

If that wasn't impressive enough for the Henry family, I also have some original copyrights from my relatives that my grandmother had given me last year. One of the copyright registrations is dated April 1896.

I plan to have these items framed and placed in shadow box displays for in my office at the firm.

iTunes currently playing Landed from the album "Landed - Single" by Ben Folds

Posted by Geof at 7:36 PM | TrackBack

Grandma Henry

As mentioned in an earlier entry, my grandmother passed away last week. She was a great woman and will be dearly missed by her family of five and her five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Here is a picture of the five grandchildren taken a few days ago.

And the great-grandkids taken at my grandmother's 80th birthday party last year

It was a sad, but great weekend to remember about my grandmother and grandfather (who passed away 12 years ago yesterday). I am sure they are now out fishing together once again.

iTunes currently playing I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You from the album "Garden State" by Colin Hay.

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February 10, 2005

RFID casino chips

I can already see the new Texas Hold'em tables with individual RFID readers connected to a live display which allows everyone to know exact chip totals and how much is in the pot, control side pots etc. Time to file the patent application?

Vegas casino bets on RFID

Published: February 9, 2005, 4:00 AM PST
By Alorie Gilbert
Staff Writer, CNET News.com


Casino mogul Steve Wynn has pulled out all the stops for his new $2.7 billion mega-resort in Las Vegas: an 18-hole championship golf course, a private lake and mountain, and a bronze tower housing 2,700 plush guest rooms.

But when its doors open in April, the Wynn Las Vegas will have one unique feature that few visitors are likely to notice--high-tech betting chips designed to deter counterfeiting, card-counting and other bad behavior.

The fancy new chips look just like regular ones, only they contain radio devices that signal secret serial numbers. Special equipment linked to the casino's computer systems and placed throughout the property will identify legitimate chips and detect fakes, said Rick Doptis, vice president of table games for the Wynn.

Click here for rest of the article

iTunes currently playing Landed from the album "Landed - Single" by Ben Folds

Posted by Geof at 8:44 PM | TrackBack

My Grandmother

Maxine B. Henry, 80 passed away at 8:30 AM, on Thursday, February 10, 2005 in her Howland, OH home.

She was born on Saturday, August 9, 1924, in New Castle, PA the daughter of the late Leroy Brown and Cynthia Kreske.

Maxine has lived in the Howland and Warren area for most of her life. She has wintered in Florida for the past 25 years.

Maxine married Emerson F. Henry on November 23, 1946 who preceded her in death on February 14, 1993.

She was a member of the First Presbyterian church of Warren, OH. She taught at Bascom Elementary school in Leavittsburg, OH from 1963 to 1970. Maxine helped her husband run their construction company, E. Henry Construction, for over 40 years. Upon retirement she became her husbands First Mate on his boat in Florida. She enjoyed crafts, traveling and reading. Maxine loved to go on gambling boat cruises with her girl friends.
She loved spending time with her family of: 3 daughters; Diane (William) Nichols of Warren, OH, Cindy (Luther) Oberhaus of Louisville, KY, Susan (Steve) Littin of Huntsburg, OH, two sons; Herb (Eva) Henry of Cortland, OH, Tom (Cindy) Henry of Laguna Hills, CA, one brother, Lee (Marilyn) Brown of Cortland, OH, 5 Grandchildren; Rachel Strate of Gates Mills, OH, Geoffrey Oberhaus of Mason, OH, Robin Taylor of Farmington, MI, Sam and Jake Henry of Laguna Hills CA. Two Great grandchildren; Libbey and Paige Taylor of Farmington, MI. She is also survived by her beloved pet Schnauser, Cinder.

Visitation will be at MCFARLAND AND SON FUNERAL HOME on Sunday, February 13, 2005 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM and First Presbyterian Church on Monday February 14, 2005 from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM.
Service will be held at First Presbyterian Church on Monday, February 14, 2005 at 10:30 AM
Burial will be at Crown Hill Burial Park, in Vienna, OH following the service.
Family requests that contributions in lieu of flowers be sent to the First Presbyterian Church, 256 Mahoning Ave., NW, Warren, OH 44483.

Services performed under the direction of MCFARLAND & SON FUNERAL HOME
271 NORTH PARK AVENUEP.O. Box 86WARREN, OH 44481

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February 3, 2005

Time Warner VOIP - too little, too late, too much

So today I get this email from Time Warner. They finally are offering digital phone here in Mason. But they want $10 more per month than AT&T for less features. The only way they will ever be successful is to bundle it at a price that no one can refuse. Oh well, I am happy to be with AT&T CallVantage - great service at an excellent price.

Posted by Geof at 8:37 PM | TrackBack

U2 working on ticket situation

Just another reason that I am a U2 fan. The following open letter from Larry Mullen explains that a solution is in the works to hopefully prevent the scalpers from getting into U2 presale events.

Dear geof

This is not something that I would normally do, but I feel that I have
to do something to redress this situation.

There was a mess up in the way the tickets were distributed through
U2.com for the Vertigo pre-sale. Some of it was beyond our control, but
some of it wasn't.

I am now in the process of figuring out a way of distributing the
tickets for our intended return to North America in the fall. The only
fair way of doing this, is to give U2 Propaganda members, who are now
U2.com members, priority in the queue.

After that, people will be given priority in the order in which they joined.
Many people who joined U2.com and didn't get tickets are
understandably angry. They now have the option to get a full refund of
their subscription fee.

The idea that our long-time U2 fans and scalpers competed for U2
tickets through our own website is appalling to me. I want to apologise
to you who have suffered that.

If your U2.com pre-sale experience has left you disappointed, I hope
this will go some way towards reassuring you of our total commitment
to our audience.

Slainte
Larry.

By the way, a note to those so-called U2 fans who are quick to accuse
U2 of unseemly behaviour, I've only got two words for you...


****************************************************

A refund on your U2.Com Subscription - how it works.

If you would like a refund on your U2.Com subscription because you have not
been able to purchase tickets with your unique code for the Spring and
Summer legs of Vertigo 2005 Tour, please complete the fields below.

The refund window is open for two weeks from today - February 2nd to
February 16th.

- I am a U2.Com Subscriber who has not been able to secure tickets for the
Spring and Summer legs of 'Vertigo 2005'.

- I further agree that I am in compliance in that I have not used my access
code to purchase tickets.

- I understand that by submitting this form for a refund that I agree to
have my account privileges, including e-mail, completely disabled.

- I understand that refunds may take as long as 3 weeks to post to my
credit card.


The U2.Com Team

Please click below for information on a refund.
http://www.u2.com/refund.php

---------------------------------------------------------

iTunes currently playing I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (Live at Point Depot, Dublin, 31 Dec '89) from the album "The Complete U2 - Live From the Point Depot" by U2

Posted by Geof at 8:28 PM | TrackBack

February 2, 2005

Technology upgrade continues at the firm - New phones

Cisco IP Phone 7970

Our office is converting to VOIP phones in the next few months. I am getting the Cisco 7970 model shown above. All of the firms other offices have already upgraded to the Cisco VOIP phones. Looking forward to the advanced features at work and the return to symmetry between the offices, especially the ability to forward voicemail between offices.

My office in a few months will have completed a major technology overhaul - I have a new Dell 19" LCD monitor. The Logitech MX Duo Wireless Mouse and Keyboard, and Sirius Radio. I think the next addition will be a web cam to allow video conferencing with inventors directly from my desk.

iTunes currently playing Miracle Drug from the album "The Complete U2 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" by U2

Posted by Geof at 11:29 PM | TrackBack

Review of AT&T CallVantage

Well, its been 1 week since I made the switch from my local phone company (Sprint) to a voice over IP service (VOIP). I chose AT&T's CallVantage. Based primarily on reviews, features and the price.

As noted in my blog entry last week, the installation was very quick and relatively painless. I have had no problems with the service and I have been very impressed by the sound quality. I have a Sony T-60 Directv Tivo unit which calls out approximately every 2-3 days. I was very concerned on whether the VOIP service would be compatible with the modem data calls. I also have an old Sony Directv receiver which also calls out periodically. I am happy to report that there have been no problems calling out from the Tivo units. I had to remember to add the area code as a prefix as the VOIP service uses 10 digit dialing.

A few features of CallVantage that I really enjoy. First is the ability to manage the phone services from anywhere via the web or phone. The call log is useful to see who called and what calls are going out from your place. Another feature I like is the delivery of an email when someone leaves a voicemail. I even have the email contain the voicemail recording.

Another cool feature is the Locate Me feature. This directs your calls to several numbers either in order or simultaneously at the same time. You can choose this for all callers or create a VIP list. This is what I did and have the calls ring simultaneously on my home phone, cell phone and the Onstar phone in my Envoy.

It was a great pleasure to call the local phone company and tell them to cancel my service. With AT&T's CallVantage I am saving at least $20 per month and getting many more features.

iTunes currently playing That's Me Trying from the album "Has Been" by Aimee Mann, Ben Folds & William Shatner

Posted by Geof at 11:13 PM | TrackBack

January 26, 2005

AT&T CallVantage - VOIP Service

Today the Fedex with my AT&T CallVantage VOIP gateway arrived. The gateway is a DLink VOIP Gateway.

The setup took just a few minutes. The first thing I did was go outside and access the user access panel for the phoneline coming into my house. I then unplugged the line to remove the outside line power from entering the home wiring. Next I attached the VOIP gateway into my network. I took the recommended design with placing the VOIP gateway before the router. I have read about poor bandwidth issues with the Dlink VOIP gateway in front of the router but as of yet I have not seen any issues. It was interesting to note that AT&T did include instructions on placing the VOIP gateway (or TA as they call it) behind the router - but they caution against this as possible effecting call quality and voicemail. I then reset the router as it obviously has a new gateway to work with.

Once that was done - I plugged a phone into the back of the VOIP gateway and got a busy signal. I then went to AT&T website and configured the VOIP gateway - within three minutes it was configured and the phone rang to signify it was ready. I had a dial tone. Made my first call - have to remember to use the 10 digit dialing. Next I then connected the VOIP Gateway to my home phone-line wiring. AT&T included excellent diagrams to walk through this.

Basically entails just plugging a phone line from the gateway into one of the phone line jacks in your home. Then all of the phones in my house were powered. So far so good. I then activated the fax and modem support to allow my DirecTV and Tivos to call home. This is the crucial step as if Tivo fails to call home - its back to a landline and no VOIP yet. I tried to make a few test calls with Tivo - but they failed. Then I remember 10 digit dialing and that I needed to add the area code to the number. Presto - connection and successful call.

Total installation time was less than 30 minutes. Phone quality sounds great. Set up voicemail with forwarding voicemail to my gmail account. Nice feature. I also activates the Locate Me feature for my VIP list of phone numbers which will simultaneously call my home phone, cell phone, and the phone in the Envoy - pretty cool.

iTunes currently playing New Slang from the album "Garden State" by The Shins

Posted by Geof at 11:45 PM | TrackBack

January 24, 2005

U2 Presale tomorrow at 10am

U2 will begin the first leg of their Vertigo//2005 world tour in San Diego on March, 28th 2005.

I wish they would do a stadium tour here in the US. Its been so long for them to play stadiums in the US - Popmart?

Unforutnately, U2 will only visit 13 cities in North America before arriving in Brussels on June 10th for the first of 24 scheduled European performances, finishing up in Lisbon in the middle of August.

The closest show to Cincinnati will be in Chicago. I need to decide before tomorrow morning whether to buy tickets for the Chicago show or possibly fly back to Philly or NYC to see them a few weeks later.

NORTH AMERICA DATES AND TICKETING INFORMATION

March 28th San Diego, CA - Sports Arena
April 1st Anaheim, CA - Arrowhead Pond
April 5th Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center
April 9th San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion
April 14th Phoenix, AZ - Glendale Arena
April 20th Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
April 24th Seattle, WA - Key Arena
April 28th Vancouver, BC - General Motors Place
May 7th & May 9th Chicago, IL - United Center
May 14 Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
May 17 & May 18 East Rutherford, NJ - Continental Airlines Arena
May 21 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
May 24 & May 26 Boston, MA - Fleet Center

EUROPEAN DATES AND TICKETING INFORMATION

June 10th Brussels - King Baudouin Stadium
June 12th Gelsenkirchen - Schalke Stadium
June 14th Manchester - City of Manchester Stadium
June 18th London - Twickenham Stadium
June 21st Glasgow - Hampden Park
June 24th Dublin - Croke Park
June 29th Cardiff - Millenium Stadium

2nd July Vienna - Ernst Happel Stadium
5th July Katowice - Slaski Stadium
7th July Berlin - Olympic Stadium
9th July Paris - Stade de France
11th July Zurich

Posted by Geof at 11:01 PM | TrackBack

January 22, 2005

Making the switch to VOIP

I have decided to finally make the switch to Voice over IP (VOIP) for home phone service. I looked at Vonage, Time Warner and AT&T Callvantage. Time Warner, although heavily advertising the service, is not yet in my neighborhood and in addition their service is $39.99 per month. Vonage - simply read too many poor reviews. Ended up with Callvantage.

Recently rated #1 by C-Net. I am so excited to get away from Sprint as my local phone service - ever since I moved to the burbs I had to give up Cincinnati Bell and get poor old sprint. So long Sprint. Although they refuse to port my number - which blows - but I really am looking forward to saving almost $20 a month and have advanced features. Voicemail, call forwarding, threeway, a version of 911, and integration through the web. All this for only $29.99/month.

Based on my research it should support my Directv and Tivo Systems. Once its all hooked up I will report back on how the installation went - problems encountered, etc.

iTunes currently playing New Slang from the album "Garden State" by The Shins

Posted by Geof at 11:23 PM | TrackBack

2. Garden State (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) - Garden State

Excellent Album - saw the movie today - good but the soundtrack is awesome. Great collection of songs!

2. Garden State (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) - Garden State:
Garden State (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)
Garden State

Release Date: August 10, 2004
Total Songs: 13
Genre: Soundtrack
Price: $9.99
Copyright Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

(Via iTunes Top 10 Albums.)

iTunes currently playing New Slang from the album "Garden State" by The Shins

Posted by Geof at 11:09 PM | TrackBack

January 19, 2005

Time to start planning now

So do you know the significance of the following: Afleet Alex, Declan's Moon, Rockport Harbor, Fusaichi Samurai

The last one is sort of a tip off - yes its nearing Derby Time and the experts are starting to create the initial list of prospects for the 131th Run for the Roses at this year's Kentucky Derby on May 7th.

CDSN Handicappers' Top 20 Kentucky Derby 131 Selections

Another great article over at Bloodhorse.com describing what may be the fastest field ever for the Derby.

To demonstrate just how fast a group of youngsters we're talking about, it's best to use the Beyer Speed Figures, which most can identify with. In looking at the Beyers, no less than 10 juveniles registered a figure of 100 or higher. And all have the pedigree and racing credentials to be considered legitimate Derby contenders.

They are Declan's Moon (Beyer Speed Figure of 107), Roman Ruler (106), Afleet Alex (102), Rockport Harbor (102), Galloping Grocer (102), Proud Accolade (100), Lost in the Fog (109), Devils Disciple (103), Going Wild (102), and the filly Sweet Catomine (102), who may very well be headed for the Derby trail. Nine of those have already won or placed in graded stakes, and another is a listed stakes winner and track record holder.

Posted by Geof at 11:19 PM | TrackBack

January 16, 2005

Gmail, Hold'em & Hoops Pool

Well, I finally got a Gmail invite and have setup my account. If and when I get some gmail invites I will post them to the blog.

Great Hold'em game last night. Kudos to David B. for winning it all. I was first out, which really sucks - but thats poker. I had a good night going but my betting strategy took a major departure on one hand and I called all-in without taking in account of who was left in the hand. Clay had a straight after the flop to my two pair. Needless to say, I didn't pull the boat on the turn or the river. Oh well - still a great night. Prent's outfit was quite a sight to see.
The hoops pool standings have been updated and are now available online. I am probably out of it, but it does appear to be setting up for one of the closest finishes in recent years.

iTunes currently playing Undone from the album "The Hard Way" by Owsley

Posted by Geof at 3:58 PM | TrackBack

January 4, 2005

Summer Plans?

The 36th Annual World Series of Poker is scheduled to begin June 2, 2005 at the Rio, Las Vegas, and will run through July 15. An estimated 5,000 players are expected to participate in the $10,000 buy-in, no-limit Texas hold 'em Championship, double the number that competed in 2004.

Due to the number of expected players, they plan on dividing the players into three starting groups as noted below:
"The Main Event"
No-limit Texas Hold’em World Championship Event


July 7, Thursday Day 1A, The first 1,000 - 2,200 play down to 500-650
July 8, Friday Day 1B, The second 1,000 - 2,200 play down to 500-650
July 9, Saturday Day 1C, The third 1,000 - 2,200 play down to 500-650
July 10, Sunday Day 2, Start with 1,500-1,950 play down to 500-1,000
July 11, Monday Day 3, Start with 500-1,000 play down to 200-400
July 12, Tuesday Day 4, Start with 200 - 400 play down to 100-150
July 13, Wednesday Day 5, Start with 100-150 play down to 27
July 14, Thursday Day 6, Start with 27 play down 9 @Binions Horseshoe
July 15, Friday Day 7, Final table @Binions Horseshoe

iTunes currently playing Flood from the album "Jars Of Clay" by Jars Of Clay

Posted by Geof at 10:02 PM | TrackBack

The weather outside is dreary

The drive home tonight took forever due to the steady rainfall. All this rain on top of the snow melt is causing flooding in lots of surrounding areas. Day 2 of 2005 is in the books. Starting to get back in the groove. Had a good recruiting lunch with a summer associate candidate. I am currently watching Jason White and Oklahoma throw away the national championship and along with it my 2nd place finish in the firm's bowl pool.

Here is a picture of Socrates ("So Crates") my goldfish in my office at work.

He just keeps growing and growing. SoCrates is a red-cap goldfish so he has the fleshy almost tumor looking cap on his head.

Have you tried the new Firefox web browser yet? It is such an improvement over IE. One feature that is great is the ability to subscribe to the RSS feeds of a web page automatically. This allows you to check the content of the website quickly without having to visit the site. Geof's Waste of Bandwidth Blog has an RSS feed which can be syndicated as well. RSS is definitely becoming an important feature for news gathering. As mentioned in a previous post, Freshpatents.com allows you to receive RSS feeds of newly published patent application by industry groups. A great feature for monitoring the competition's patent portfolio.

Here's two pictures of my two awesome nieces. You can click on the thumbnail for the full picture.

Come on Oklahoma, get back in this game. Its not looking to good as its currently 28-7. Lucky for LSU, the Buckeyes are not in this game as they definitely played better the last two games than Oklahoma is looking right now.

iTunes currently playing Sometimes (Lester Piggot) from the album "Laid" by James

Posted by Geof at 9:46 PM | TrackBack

January 3, 2005

New Year - New Monitor

To start the new year off right, I "invested in my practice" and bought a 19" LCD Monitor from Dell to replace the 17" CRT Box on my desk. It took awhile to get the font sized properly, but its pretty decent now. I have the monitor at the far edge of the desk and I can easily read it from 3-4 feet away. I also have on order the Logitech MX Duo Cordless Keyboard and Mouse

Part of my annual technology upgrade program. BTW - my goldfish in my Macquarium is getting huge. I will try to shoot a few images of him this week. Its amazing how fast he has grown. His name is Socrates - aka "So Crates" from Bill & Ted's Excellent adventure.

iTunes currently playing Open Arms from the album "Journey: Greatest Hits" by Journey

Posted by Geof at 10:27 PM | TrackBack

January 1, 2005

Happy New Year 2005

Happy New Year! Some great football games on this weekend. The Louisville game was definitely exciting, but the Iowa finish was amazing. New year means new goals and resolutions. What will 2005 bring? Its hard to believe that the New Years 2000 was already five years ago. Started reading a great book today

iTunes currently playing Look What You've Done from the album "Get Born" by Jet

Posted by Geof at 6:28 PM | TrackBack

December 22, 2004

SNOW!

The weatherman were correct for a change and we are getting hit with a major snowstorm. I would estimate at least 8 inches of snow already and it is supposed to keep going all night, although right now it is more sleet than snow. I have already used the snow blower twice on the driveway and sidewalks. The last time I accidently ran over the extension cords for the outside christmas lights. Oops!! It took about 35 minutes to remove the cord from the blades of the blower. Yes - I unplugged the cord first. When I finally finished removing the cord, I had to redo the half of the driveway that I did right before the incident as it was snowing big time.

My new motherboard and CPU came today. I just finished the install. I am amazed how quiet the CPU fan and power supply fan are. My old ones seemed to shake the room. Everything went smoothly and XP even booted up without a fresh install, although it did need to redetect a good number of items. Next week I plan to also load Linux on the machine. Probably SUSE or Mandrake.

I worked from home, which is always nice to do as the phone doesn't ring near as often and less interruptions by others walking in. Hopefully, the weather will break tomorrow as I am hoping to file a patent appeal brief before the Christmas Holiday. Looking forward to the days of a purely electronic filing system for all filings with the USPTO.

iTunes currently playing Ding Dong! Merrily On High from the album "Best Loved Christmas Carols" by Choir Of King's College, Cambridge

Posted by Geof at 9:49 PM | TrackBack

December 21, 2004

New version of Movable Type Released

The latest version of Movable Type has been released. Version 3.14 fixes the issue of extreme loads witnessed on servers under the strain of a massive spam attack. Because these attacks are increasing in both frequency and severity, it is recommended that all Movable Type users install this update. This is particularly important for any installation that is visible to the public on the web.

New version of Movable Type Released

iTunes currently playing Once In Royal David's City from the album "Best Loved Christmas Carols" by Choir Of King's College, Cambridge

Posted by Geof at 10:35 PM | TrackBack

December 20, 2004

MT-Blacklist installed

I just installed the MT Blacklist plugin. The comment spam has become simply a major pain. Today someone comment spammed 300 times. Its really pointless as I have to approve all comments before they are posted, so I just delete them. But in the meantime, it takes up storage and I have MT send me an email for each comment posted. My blackberry sometimes just buzzes for minutes on end and my friends ask whats up - comment spam.

Very busy week at work this week - and next week looks just as busy as items I had hoped to finish in December are quickly becoming January items. It seems like everyday more new work keeps coming in, which is good but its starting to remind me of the busy times of 1998-2000.

Posted by Geof at 9:11 PM | TrackBack

December 19, 2004

Its cold outside ...

The current temperature is 9 degrees with a wind chill of -3. Looks like winter is here and possibly some decent amount of snow midweek. Possibly a white Christmas.

I was able to get a $150 off certificate from American Express for Dell on a $600 purchase. The certificate expires Christmas Eve. I can't decide what to use it for, but my current thought is:

1. A 19" LCD monitor for my office at the firm. (The 17" CRT just takes up so much space)
2. A wireless keyboard and mouse (goes with item #1 - help free up even more desk space and get the computer off the desk)
3. A firewire hard drive to help with video editing and to back up my music collection. (Over 18 GBs of music in iTunes collection).
4. Past ideas have included:

• Dell 23" LCD TV
• Dell 42" Plasma TV
• New Dell computer (I really can't see buying a new PC - my next new computer purchase will be another Mac!)

The TV idea sounds nice but I am waiting for the price on the DirecTv HD DVR units to drop in price. Still about $1000 right now. Ouch!

iTunes currently playing Linus and Lucy from the album "A Charlie Brown Christmas" by Vince Guaraldi Trio

Posted by Geof at 11:32 PM | TrackBack

Less than a week until Christmas

My two nieces are getting in the Christmas spirit. I am so looking forward to seeing them next weekend. Here is another picture of the girls having some fun together.

Should be a busy, yet quick week of work. I love this time of the year. Football bowl games, college basketball games and spending time with good friends. I plan to rebuild some of my computers over the holiday and possibly rebuild the website. Time will tell.

iTunes currently playing Original of the Species from the album "The Complete U2 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" by U2

Posted by Geof at 10:59 PM | TrackBack

December 14, 2004

Its almost my Birthday

Wow - tomorrow I turn 35. I used to say that I would settle down and get married when I turned 35. Well, I seem no closer to getting married today than I did at 25. I used to hope to semi-retire at the age of 45 and teach high school math and get an RV and travel to every buckeye game. Still might be possible, but 50 looks more probable.

Work has been really busy the last few months which results in few posts by me to the blog. Most posts are just syndicated from my news reader programs. One of these days I will get back to updating the Federal Circuit decisions and offer more IP content, but right now there are only so many hours in a day.

Posted by Geof at 10:57 PM | TrackBack

November 23, 2004

The Complete U2

WOW! The Complete U2 Digital Box Set is amazing. “The Complete U2,” a digital box set containing 445 songs, including their iTunes-exclusive latest album, “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb;” all the group’s previous albums, more than 100 rare live cuts, remixes, covers, demos, and b-sides; and 40 previously unreleased tracks. The boxset also packs a digital booklet (PDF) containing album art, track listings, and band commentary.

The only downside is that it does take some amount of time to download 445 songs. I am about 1/4 of the way done and already enjoying the new tunes.

iTunes currently playing Original of the Species from the album "The Complete U2 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" by U2

Posted by Geof at 10:23 PM | TrackBack

November 20, 2004

Hoops Pool Draft Day

Today was the draft day for the annual NCAA hoops pool. I have posted the draft picks on the website. Hard to say at this point who did a good job. Afterall the Ohio State Michigan is less than 13 hours from now.

I am in enemy territory right now - only about 20 minutes from Ann Arbor. Did you see the Detroit Pistons/Indiana Pacers brawl - amazing. Only in Detroit.

Posted by Geof at 12:08 AM | TrackBack

October 28, 2004

Keeneland, iPod photo and Univ. of Detroit

Getting ready to head to Keeneland tomorrow for a day at the track. Should be a great day. I got to check out the 60 GB iPod photo edition today. Very nice, color screen and 60GB storage. Definitely a nice improvement, but my 20GB iPod is just fine for now.

I got a letter from my former dean of the engineering school at the University of Detroit. U of D is playing at UC this December and I got invited to an alumni event and to the game. It should be very exciting to see what other U of D alumni are in the area and to catch up with the dean.

Saturday its off to Nashville for a wedding and then back to Mason on Sunday for trick or treating with the neighbors. Busy times but good times.

Posted by Geof at 10:15 PM | TrackBack

October 26, 2004

New iPods announced

Apple today announced the long rumored iPods. The U2 iPod is black with a red click dial and comes with an iTunes gift certificate to download the entire U2 collection. They also introduced the photo iPod with a color screen and dock for the TV. This photo iPod also is the first to use the new 60GB drive and they somehow have improved the battery life to approximately 12-15 hours.

Looking forward to seeing R.E.M. tomorrow night in concert at the Taft Theater. Such a great small venue - should be a great show. Finished moving into my new office - bigger and a better view plus back on the same floor as the patent files and rest of the group.

The election is one week from tonight - Go GOP!!
Vegas trip is two weeks from Thursday - definitely should be a great time.

Posted by Geof at 11:07 PM | TrackBack

October 24, 2004

Busy Times

It has been very busy as of late both professionally and socially. On the work front, the economy is definitely picking up steam as the patent work seems to be increasing each month and the plans for 2005 are very good. This month has been busy with a trip to Jekyll Island in Georgia for wedding of some good friends, a weekend at my parents and another Louisville Cardinal's football game. The Cards are good and should run the table rest of the way out. This week I am attending some firm seminars on China and India and a trip to Keeneland on Friday before heading to another wedding in Nashville.

Great to see the Buckeyes get back on their winning ways - its definitely a rebuilding year but if they get better each week hopefully they will beat Michigan and then it can be considered a good season. After all, any season with a victory over Michigan is good. Just ask John Cooper.

In November a group of us head to Vegas. Hoping to attend the Big Smoke by Cigar Afficianado while in Vegas. The time has really been flying, haven't spent more than 2 weeks at home since Labor day. But that always seems to be the case during football season.

One of these days I will starting including more IP content again such as Federal Circuit decisions, etc. but lately its been very busy and limited free time to really keep up on this blog.

iTunes currently playing Another White Dash from the album "Another White Dash - Single" by Butterfly Boucher

Posted by Geof at 8:23 PM | TrackBack

October 13, 2004

Comment Spammers

I just have to love the comment spammers - everyday they post spam comments and then I delete them. That is until a few days ago when I upgraded to the new version of MovableType which finally allows the blog owner to approve the comment. Now I can delete all the unapproved comments in one easy step and they never get posted. Score one for blog owners!

Posted by Geof at 6:48 PM | TrackBack

October 6, 2004

I love my iPod

Its been a while since I have posted to this blog. I have been very busy at work and free time to compose entries is limited. I hope to start summarizing patent cases again soon and to increase the amount of IP content postings.

I recently was given a 20 GB iPod. Thanks Mom! I love it. I am able to put my entire music collection on it and still even a little room left over. The sound is incredible. Looking forward to the FM modulator to be delivered as then all the music in the car. Looks like my satellite radio will be mainly used in the office. Today Sirius announced that Howard Stern is coming to Sirius effective January 2006. With all the sports and now Stern, Sirius will no doubt become the number one satellite eadio provider.

Looking forward to the weekend and the Buckeyes returning to action after the disappointing loss to Northwestern. Next week T-Buck gets married at Jeckyl Island un Georgia. Looking forward to teeing it up while there. Its the Fall and the weather has been awesome. Its making it very difficult to concentrate at work - knowing that this great weather will soon be gone.

New U2 single is awesome - can't wait to get the whole album in November.

Posted by Geof at 9:23 PM | TrackBack

September 3, 2004

Its finally here!!

The long wait is over as the Buckeyes kick off the season Saturday morning against Cincinnati Bearcats. I can barely sleep at night as I am so excited the season is finally here. We are leaving for Columbus at 4:40am to ensure a good tailgating spot. Should be a great day.

I love this time of year. I am doing the double dip on college football again this year. After the Buckeyes game I am heading to Louisville for Sunday's UK vs. U of L game. That game always is crazy and usually exciting due to lack of defense and big plays by each side.

Well, its about time to head to bed given the early departure time. Go Bucks!

Posted by Geof at 8:56 PM | TrackBack

August 29, 2004

Comment Spam

In order to try to reduce the comment spam being posted, I have added a security code to be inputted when entering the comment. Its similar, but less complex, than similar techniques used at Ticketmaster and other websites trying to prevent bots from performing tasks on their websites. I am sure the spam will continue, but hopefully this will reduce it. At least for a while....

Posted by Geof at 5:42 PM | TrackBack

Root Canal

What a week. Last sunday evening, I started to experience some minor toothpain that grew exponentially by the hour. On Tuesday, I had an emergenvy appointment with my dentist as I had several teeth that were is pain. Unfortunately, the nerve was playing tricks on me and we were unable to identify where the actually infection was originating from, so I was sent home and basically told to hope that the pain will pass. Of course it did not - the pain increased to the point where I was taking Motrins like breath mints and they had little if any effect. For a period, I discovered that cold liquids kept the pain to a minimum, but after about 2 minutes without the cold liquid the pain would return. The pain was very intense - it felt as if my brain was going to explode out my left ear drum. Apparently the nerve runs near the eardrum from the teeth. By Thursday evening, I was mentally exhausted, but luckily the pain had localized to one tooth so I knew that treatment could begin. Friday morning another visit to my dentist and he scheduled me in with an endodontist in the afternoon and prescribe some pain killers and antibiotics. Unfortunately, the endodontist did not want me to take the pain killers until after he root canal. Finally, the time for the root canal came. The tooth was all the way in the back of my mouth which added to the difficulty, but the endodontist was a pro and about 1.5 hours after sitting down in the chair he was finished. The procedure was painless as he numbed me up adequately. Later that evening as the novacaine wore off, the pain was very minor and felt like any pain associated with a typical filling. Its been a few days and my mouth is still somewhat sore but easily manageable with some motrins. In a week or so, I will return to my dentist to get a permanent crown to replace the temporary crown now in my mouth. It will be good to get back to work and actually be able to concentrate - the last week was very difficult - little sleeps and lots of pain. Heading to the Sarah McLachlan concert tomorrow and then on Saturday to Columbus to watch The Ohio State Buckeyes play UC and then sunday to Louisville to watch UK vs. U of L. Lots of football - Its so great that the season is finally here.

Posted by Geof at 3:22 PM | TrackBack

August 24, 2004

Weekend Visit with Paige & Libbey

I had a great weeekend visiting with Paige & Libbey while at my grandma's home in Warren. It was great to see everyone and we even got out to play some golf. I will upload the pictures later tonight as no bandwidth right now due to bittorrent of Phish shows.

Posted by Geof at 8:55 AM | TrackBack

August 14, 2004

Changing Big Fella Jams Servers back to Windows Platform

I decided earlier to day to change back the servers from Linux to Windows 2000. Thr primary diving factor was the ease of sharing between the multiple computers and my lack of knowledge on Linux on exactly how to efficiently share the drive space. This was a result of my decision to change all of my computing bandwidth for Big Fella Productions to BitTorrent for etree shows. This is a better way to distribute the music and allows more people quicker access. As of now I do not plan to keep up an FTP server, but that could change.

I just wish that one of these times I would have imaged the windows 2000 setup rather than the arduous task of installing from the ground up.

Looks like it will be a late night tonight as I have a few patent applications to write while at the same time I am doing the conversion back to Windows 2000.

Posted by Geof at 8:21 PM | TrackBack

July 28, 2004

Motorola posts iTunes announcement movie

Earlier this week Apple and Motorola announced the development of a version of Apple's popular iTunes music player software created to run on Motorola cell phones. The software -- expected to make its debut as standard issue on new Motorola mobile handsets planned for release in the first half of 2005 -- will allow Mac and PC users to send music, including songs purchased on the iTunes Music Store, to Bluetooth and USB-equipped mobile handsets. Apple CEO Steve Jobs spoke during the announcement. Now Motorola has posted the video online, in MPEG format. [MacCentral]

Posted by Geof at 8:41 PM | TrackBack

Back to Back Champions

The Big Slammers once again prevailed and won the Softball league championship. Technically, it was only the lower division championship - but it is another championship nonetheless. Sad that the season is over and the mandatory after game trips to Zips. We didn't get to Zips as often this year as the participation level for the team was very high and sometimes too many people to fit into Zips. Kudos to the team! Great job!

Posted by Geof at 8:36 AM | TrackBack

July 23, 2004

Firm Golf Outing

Today's the firm's golf outing at Shaker Run. Always a great time. Looking forward to teeing it up and playing a round of golf with some good buddies including Mr. Jack Daniels. Should be a great day!

Posted by Geof at 10:19 AM | TrackBack

July 18, 2004

Back in the USA

Well, back in the USA. Excellent Germany trip but its great to be back in the USA. Final set of pictures have now been posted on the website.

Posted by Geof at 10:45 PM | TrackBack

July 16, 2004

Ulm

Went to Ulm yesterday - home of the birthplace of Albert Einstein - 125 years this year! Also the Munster - which is a tower on one of the churches that reaches over 500 feet in the air and hair a spiral staircase with 768 steps.

Today we saw the Neuschwanstein Castle - Now we are staying just outside Munich for our last day tomorrow. Visit to Dachau and the Hoffbrau Haus are planned.

Posted by Geof at 12:06 PM | TrackBack

July 15, 2004

The trip continues ...

Tonight we are staying in Oberommergau. We went to Ulm today. Last night we stayed in Rothenburg. Tomorrow we head to Munich fo the last two days. No more new pictures today as no connection except internet cafe terminal. Danke!

Posted by Geof at 11:33 AM | TrackBack

July 13, 2004

Worms, Rhine Cruise & Heidelberg

Today was a very busy day. First this morning we headed to Worms to see the Lutherdenkmal - Luther Monument. Then later we headed to Boppard to begin a cruise on the Rhine River. It was a great time and the beer was very good. We ended the cruise near Bacharach and had lunch there. Great Sauerbrauten! We then later in the early evening vistited Heildelberg and the Heildelberg Castle. Tomorrow we head to Rothenberg to do some shopping and enjoy the afternoon.

Beer is Good!

Posted by Geof at 6:39 PM | TrackBack

July 12, 2004

Eisenach - Fortress of Wartburg

The trip continues - I climbed the stairs all the way to the castle of Wartburg. Thought I might die on the climb but once up there it was very nice. Pictures are being posted as I type this of the trip to Erfurt and to the Wartburg castle. Today we are in Ladenberg and tomorrow we take a cruise on the Rhine as well as tour Heidelberg Castle.

Lots of great beer. More later - take care!

Posted by Geof at 10:14 AM | TrackBack

July 11, 2004

First Days of Germany Trip

Just posted the first pictures from the current germany trip. The bus leaves in about 15 minutes for our next two stops and this afternoon we are seeing a castle. Depending on internet access - more photos coming as the trip progresses.

The most important german words learned to date: "Ein grosse bier" equals one large beer!!

Beer is good.

Posted by Geof at 2:01 AM | TrackBack

July 10, 2004

Germany - We made it!

Well we made it to Germany - We arrived yesterday, Friday afternoon in Frankfurt and the proceeded to catch a plane to Berlin. We visited some sights which will be posted to the site in about early Sunday morning. Then today we headed to Wittenberg. After Wittenber we headed to Leipzig, which is where we are staying tonight. We had dinner at the Auerbachs Keller - next year it will turn 480 years old. Then we had an experience riding the trains and ended the night with an unplanned 2 mile walk. We depart in 6 hours for wherever we are headed next. Time to grab some sleep and prepare the files for download. The Beer is Good!

Posted by Geof at 6:07 PM | TrackBack

July 7, 2004

Tomorrow is the day - Germany trip

Well, tomorrow I head to Germany for 10 days of sightseeing. Definitely looking forward to this trip. Just one last agreement to finish up for a client toniight and then head to Germany tomorrow!

Hopefully, I find some high-speed WiFi access over in Germany - if so I will keep frequent updates and add a whole Germany photo section.

Posted by Geof at 9:09 PM | TrackBack

July 2, 2004

Great Dinner

Great dinner tonight with Dan and Kim. We first went to Havana Martini Club to ponder the meaning of life and the went to Dee Felice in Covington. I really like Dee Felice. Great atmosphere and great tasting food. Definitely a great place and great to chat with Dan and Kim for the evening.

Its the 4th of july weekend. Looking forward to relaxing some this weekend before a few days back at work before heading to Germany.

Posted by Geof at 11:32 PM | TrackBack

June 30, 2004

The End of the billing year

Today was the last day in the billing year. I had a busy month and drafted 6 applications for a client in addition to numerous office actions and agreement work. Lots of changes this month which will present some excellent opportunities for the future. Germany trip is in 1 week!! Definitely looking forward to the trip only 4 work days until then!

Posted by Geof at 9:01 PM | TrackBack

June 26, 2004

The weekend

Looks like the weather is going to be simply awesome this weekend. Great happy hour last night at R.P. McMurphy's. Less than 2 weeks until the Germany trip. Definitely need to start thinking about what to pack, etc. Still debating on geting an iPod for the trip. Probably will pass on it due to the price. Its the end of the billing year this week. A few last projects for some clients to wrap up over the weekend and early next week. No major weekend plans, just some work and hopefully head to see a movie or two.

Posted by Geof at 9:43 AM | TrackBack

June 21, 2004

deipnosophist: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

deipnosophist [Dictionary.com Word of the Day]

Posted by Geof at 9:59 PM | TrackBack

A great day at the races

Friday was simply a great day at the races. The bus ride to Churchill Downs was a great time and provided a chance to get to know everyone in a less formal enviornment. Food at the track was great as always. The day seemed to fly by - probably due to the trip to the Jockey Cklub Suites which took about 1 race to get there due to the construction.

After a great day at the track, I went to my parents home for a meeting on our upcoming Germany Trip. Definitely looking forward to that trip. Saturday, Prent and I drove to Nashville to visit with Curtis and Rebekah. Tom and Amanda drove up from Atlanta the night before and the four of us guys headed down to Lynchburg to tour Jack Daniels and visit our property. Dusty was our tourguide and he provided lots of laughs and items for discussion. We then went to Outback for dinner to remeber the good old days and then downtown Nashville to Roberts Western Wear Boot Shop for some great music. Finally, we capped of the weekend by playing some golf before heading our repesctive ways on Sunday. Prent and I had a Mustang Convertible for the weekend. Lots of sun and Prent was looking pretty pink by the time we arived in Louisville.
Great Weekend.
Now time to get things moving forward at work and look forward to July 31!

Posted by Geof at 12:13 AM | TrackBack

June 17, 2004

What a week

The events that unfolded this week seemed right out of a teenage romance paperback. Oh well, time to move on and get the ship righted. Luckily, this friday is the Churchill Downs trip. Definitely looking forward to the track and then heading down to Nashville to see Tom and Curtis.

Posted by Geof at 10:53 PM | TrackBack

June 13, 2004

Great Weekend with Libbey & Paige

This weekend, My sister, her husband, my two nieces Paige and Libbey and my mom came to Cincinnati to visit for the weekend. We had a great time. Saturday, Jeff, Robin, Libbey and I went to the The Newport Aquarium . It was excellent. We saw sharks, fish, turtle, penguins and birds that even landed on my head and ate from my hand. Libbey got to pet a starfish and a crab. The tunnels were amazing and the fish appeared to literally be floating in air above you. Then we had lunch at Brio at Newport on the Levee. Rest of the day was spend relaxing at my house before a trip to Longhorn for dinner. Then Sunday morning, we headed to the Cincinnati Zoo. The weather was great and we saw some large elephants, rhinos, monkeys and Libbey really liked the Manatees and the Elephants.
Thanks to Mom for watching Paige the whole weekend and cleaning my laundry room. Thanks to Jeff & Robin for trimming the hedges and cleaning the front window area. The only bad part of the weekend is that the AC is not working, but luckily there has been a nice breeze both days to somewhat help the heat and very high humidity.

Very busy week coming up with a trip to Churchill Downs on Friday and then a trip with Prent, Tom and Curtis to Lynchburg, TN to tour Jack Daniels to see our property. Looking forward to seeing Rebekah and Amanda that weekend and enjoying the spoils of Nashville with the guys.

Posted by Geof at 3:44 PM | TrackBack

May 29, 2004

Update photos from Summer Associate - Mentor Party

Great Happy Hour last night at Nicholson's. It was great to see Stephanie in from Chicago. We had a summer associate-mentor party Thursday night with Candle-Pin Bowling. Pretty interesting game and lots of fun. Except for the Cicadas. The bowling was in wyoming and there were millions of cicadas. Makes me really appreciate living in Mason - not a single cicada spotted yet.

Posted by Geof at 11:40 AM | TrackBack

May 26, 2004

Phish calls it quits

Well - Phish called it quits yesterday. They will breakup after the end of this summer's tour. Trey made clear that this is not another hiatus but instead the end of the road. Having been a Phish fan (I don't think I am a Phishhead - not that dedicated) for the last 6 plus years its been a great ride. Some excellent shows down at the Crown, at Polaris and at Riverbend. Met some great friends through Phish and other great jam bands. Will someone pick up the slack in the jamband movement after Phish bows out? My money is on Widespread Panic. Great group and awesome live. Interesting that Phish is releasing a new studio album in a few weeks - it will contain tracks that will never get to be fully developed into great live jams over the years by Phish. But the guys are busy with other projects and for that we can still enjoy some great music.

Posted by Geof at 2:01 PM | TrackBack

May 22, 2004

Time Time Time

Great time last night sending Steve off in style. Thanks to Tivo for driving once again. We went to Grand Victoria Casino, another riverboat along the Ohio river. Great to see $5 and $10 dollar tables, but unforunately luck did not improve any. Looking forward to playing some cards tonight with the Executive game. Great happy hour last night at Havana - lots of summers in attendance. Its amazing it will be June in one week. Less than 2 months for the trip to Germany. Should be a very busy June to finish out the billing year. As always, the delta will present options for consideration. Time will tell, time will tell.

Posted by Geof at 10:47 AM | TrackBack

May 19, 2004

Great Dinner

Every city that one lives in usually produces a favorite place to eat. When I lived in South Jersey my favorite place was Chammps Americana in Marlton. Great bar, great food and excellent location. This last weekend I was in Michigan near Livonia and went to a Chammps Americana - very similar design to the one in Marlton, NJ. Brought back a lot of great memories gathering with budies for drinks and to watch college football on the weekends. In Cincinnati, one of my favorite places is The Precinct. Simply great steaks and service. I had dinner there tonight with two friends, one who is leaving the firm and heading to Cleveland to pursue a new opportunity. I like to arrive a few minutes early so I can enjoy an adult beverage in the bar area. Same bartender as usual as well as the Captain. We then were seated and I enjoyed the Porterhouse - simply melts in your mouth. Its so good, you really don't mind paying the expensive check. My only complaint is that I don't get there often enough.

Posted by Geof at 11:18 PM | TrackBack

May 16, 2004

Paige's Baptism

What a great weekend. Paige had her baptism this morning. I am her sponsor. She look beautiful and got some very nice gifts. I had a great weekend visiting with Libbey and Paige. Some new photos posted on the main webpage. I am looking forward to their visit to Cincinnati in 4 weeks for a trip to thw Newport Aquarium, Cincinnati Zoo and a few other places as well.

The summer schedule is really starting to fill up - Germany trip is less than 8 weeks away. Can't wait!

Posted by Geof at 8:50 PM | TrackBack

May 15, 2004

The weekend

The weekend is finally here. Very busy week. The workload has majorly increased - it will be a very busy finish to the billing year. Great happy hour last night. Always fun to hang out with Helana and great to see Heather and her roommate Faith. Looking forward to the trip to Michigan today for the baptism of Paige. It will be great to see both of my nieces. Lots of escitement starting in the region, summer associates coming, happy hours, etc. Looking forward to a trip to Nashville and Lynchburg to visit Jack Daniels again with Tom, Prent and Curtis. That will be a great weekend.

Posted by Geof at 8:07 AM | TrackBack

May 11, 2004

Big Slammers

Well tonight the Big Slammers did not fare so well. But at least the weather was good and good fellowship afterwards at Zips. Great to see the summer associates coming out to the game. Good sign of things to come this summer. I got the headlight issue fixed on the Explorer today. $200 to replace a bad multiswitch (i.e. turn signal and switch). Great service department - went to John Nolan Ford - free shuttle to work and they even came and picked me up at work to get the Explorer back. I have a feeling that I will start spending more money each year on the Explorer. Looking forward to getting that Mercedes this fall.

Posted by Geof at 11:04 PM | TrackBack

May 8, 2004

Explorer getting old

Well, my Explorer is starting to have some senior moments. Each summer it needs to the coolant to be recharged for the AC system. Then recently I started to notice that the headlights would shut off while I was driving. I had been able to jiggle the turn signal and they would usually come back on. But last night, or should I say early this morning around 5 am as I was driving back home from a trip with some buddies to the Boats, the lights kicked out and I couldn't get them back - the only thing that works is to hold the turn signal high beam switch towards the drivers seat which flashes the high beams - I had to hold it to keep the high beams on and I drove the last 10 miles on highbeams. Called the ford dealer today and have a service appointment for tuesday, so I will have to limit my driving to daytime hours until the lights are fixed.

Lots of fun last night at Belterra - while its a little further than Argosy - I think its much nicer and you can easily find $5 and $10 blackjack tables. Great weather today, went to the driving range to hit some balls - things starting to come together on the swing. I may go hit another bucket tomorrow, but I did get two blisters on my right hand fingers while getting adjusted to the new clubs. I also saw Kill Bill Vol. 2 today. Good movie with lots of artistic style.

Posted by Geof at 11:06 PM | TrackBack

May 6, 2004

Change is inevitable

The economy is heating up and the new jobs numbers are increasing. Today signs of these increases landed squarely today with a buddy announcing he heading off to another firm in Cleveland. It sounds like a good opportunity for him. He will be missed. Great guy to grab happy hour with. I remember him with his "Excaliber" cigars at Havana Martini club. Oh well, these times are a changing.

Posted by Geof at 8:08 PM | TrackBack

Chamber Annual Auction

I got some great bargains last night at the Chamber of Northeast Cincinnati's annual auction. One of my favorite items is golf for four and dinner for eight afterwards at the Heritage Club. Also won a silent auction for a six shot liquor