Madison Ollar, daughter of my sister Debbie and her husband Steve Ollar. 

It seems like only yesterday that we welcomed Madison into the world, and now she’s heading off to her first day of school. 

It’s been a busy week, hence slow posting. 

Our Nanny Rachel unexpectedly needed some time off to deal with some personal issues so that thew our schedules out of whack a little. Because Brenda is working on a big project in the city for the next several months we wanted to be sure that her missing the time didn’t cause problems with our client, who has been very patient and understanding. 

We also both joined a local health club (again). It’s been years since either of us have belonged but I think it’s the right time for both of us. For Brenda it works out great because they actually have a babysitting service that allows you to work out for up to 2 hours, and it’s included in the membership price. For me I’ll get more use in the winter when it’s too cold to run outside. Right now I still prefer to getup early and run 3-4 days a week. 

Business is picking up and the fall could be very busy for us. It’s too early to tell, but from what our clients are saying there’s plenty of work coming down the road. We’re always the last stop for any project so we normally see others get busy before we do. The last few weeks have been slower then usual so we’ve used that time to get long needed things done around the office, as well as do some upgrades that will help us with the work load. 

And finally, we’re making good progress launching our new business, TimeLine Creative. We’re close to having the website done, a logo designed and business card created. I have a commission based sales person who is very enthusiastic and has a lot of leads already, and we are going to do a free video for somebody in the next month or so that will be used as our “Your Baby Story” video demo on the site. I have a very good feeling about this business, and the best part is it will take a lot less of my personal time once it’s up and running. It’s being designed from the ground up to NOT revolve around me. 

The boys are doing just great and they seem to be more fun each and every day. They’re just so full of personality and life I feel like I could spend all day sitting on the floor with them. They genuinely seem to get excited to see each other and I feel like they really enjoy seeing me when I get home now too. In the past they seemed to not really notice either way, but now they get all excited and start smiling. We’re hoping to get some updated photos soon of them, it’s just been very busy. 

So in a nutshell, that’s what’s been going on. I hope to have some new photos up soon, and I have a few more video clips coming. 

Have a great rest of the week!

In very simple terms, his head is bigger then average. As a result, the brain does not totally fill his head so there is a small amount of fluid around it to fill in that space. Over time, the brain fills in the space and the fluid goes away. Nobody knows exactly why it happens and unless there are developmental issues there’s no reason to be concerned. 

Just to follow up and make sure it’s gotten no worse, she wants us to come back in 8 weeks and get a MRI which will show her even more details and just verify that nothing has changed. She said over and over that there was absolutely nothing to worry about. 

So all is well that ends well. Both of the boys enjoyed flirting with the nurses too! Those are my boys!

Almost 2 weeks ago Andrew had a scan to make sure there was no extra fluid in his head. The scan came back normal, but the pediatrician that Andrew had seen said she just wanted to be absolutely sure nothing was missed, and requested that we schedule an appointment with a Neurosurgeon to get a second opinion on the scan. As she put it to me when I talked to her on the phone last week, “If it was my child I would just want to be absolutely sure”. 

So our appointment is today at 1pm. I’m not expecting to find out anything different then we already know but I’ll post an update this evening. 

It’s hard to imagine I can go over 40 years of my life not visiting Asia, and then go twice in the same year. Although it’s been in the works for at least a week, I have officially been given my flight information so I am indeed going to Beijing China for a job. I leave September 14th and return on the 23rd.

This trip will be to work on a job for ATKearney. I’m still waiting for the details of the job but from what I know there is the need to turn things around very fast and get them posted to the web.  

We’ll be showing up just after the Olympics end, so unfortunately there’s no chance of going to any events while there. But I’ll be sure to visit The Great Wall at the very least!

More details to follow in the coming weeks. 

The last video that we edited turned out OK, and we made our deadline with plenty of time to spare. The last 30 seconds are so is always a rush to cut, and you have to make sure you leave just enough room for the last shots, but not too much space that you have hoes to cover in the video. This is my 3rd year doing this job and it’s one that I really enjoy.

Overhead shot of the show from the catwalk. 

The last day is always the stressful day. I have 2 days to edit most of this 4 minute video, but the last 30 seconds of the video is shot only minutes before the video plays. At the very end, once the very last events are shot by the photographer, I have about 12 minutes to get the footage, import it, edit the shots in, create a beta master and get it back to the control room behind stage. 

To add to the tension, last year we missed the deadline because of a problem with the edit computer in the very last minutes. So they ended up playing a safety tape that I had made hours earlier (so the last several hours of work didn’t even count). To this day, that is still the lowest point in my career. Letting people down on a job is not something I’m used to or comfortable with.

So I’m in that holding window now where I’m done except for the shots of things that have not started yet. The final deadline for delivery is around 11:45 pm tonight. I’m feeling confident that it will go better then last year. 

Joining me this time are my coworkers, Jeff and Scott. 

I’m stuck here late, I’m pretty much done except for an hour long render, and almost another hour to layoff and check tapes. So, what kind of fun can you have when left to your own devices? I’ve watched it 3 times and I still laugh each time. I hope you do too. 

I’m pretty sure this is not the last one I do. 

This year I setup a client table with an extra monitor and speaker to make sorting through all the footage easier. 

Today is probably the most difficult day of the trip, at least for me. Yesterday Brian and John interviewed 13 people, which today has to be turned into four, 4 minute videos that all have to be done and on tape before I leave today. I started around 10:30 and my guess is I’ll be here until close to midnight. 

Yesterday there were some technical problems that required an overnight FedEx of a new AJA IO box, and thank god that seems to have fixed the problem. Thanks to Steve and Kathy at AJA for chasing down the FedEx truck to make sure I was able to get it in time! I was a little freaked out about it all yesterday afternoon. The problem was that the audio kept dropping out during any kind of playback, including mastering. Everything is working fine now.

Same time of year, same people, same basement with no phone reception, and same exact room as the last 2 years. It feels like I never left. 

The big difference this year is that I didn’t bring the big tower system that I normally have. Why you ask? Because laptops are now so powerful that the laptop I’m using this year is faster then the full size tower I had the last 2 years. It’s also about 100 lbs lighter and easier to pack. 

The other big difference is that we’re shooting tapeless. Everything is being recorded on P2 cards and dumped to a hard drive, that I just import from. I still have to create beta masters though. 

Setup, complete with client table, monitor and speaker. 

The doctor called and said that the CT scan was totally normal and not to worry. So I’m banking on him being really super smart now. 

Andrew is back home and we’re just waiting for the results from the scan. We might not have them until tomorrow though. We’re at the mercy of the doctor at this point. 

Everything went fine at the hospital though. More as soon as I find out.

Andrew has been thinking about the best way to attack this CT scan, and I think he finally has it figured out. He’s just going to show them that everything is perfectly fine. 

Max is not worried at all and told Andrew to have fun in the hospital gown. 

Another travel job, this time in the fine city of Minneapolis Minnesota. I’ll be there until Monday. The amount of equipment I take on this job requires the rental of a truck, so I’m really going to enjoy it while I have it. 

This morning the boys had their 6 month checkup, although due to recent travels it’s actually closer to a 7 month checkup.

Overall things went as expected, the boys are developing fine and health. The only unexpected news is that Andrew’s head is growing faster then average for his age. To make sure that everything is fine, they want to do a CT Scan this Thursday to make sure there is no fluid build up. This is just a precaution and even the doctor said that anytime she’s ordered this test it’s always come back fine. So we’re not thrilled about it, but not overly concerned either.

He’s scheduled for the scan at 1pm this Thursday. I’ll post an update later this week with the results as soon as we get them. The big bummer for me is that I’m traveling on a job this week so I will not be there for him or Brenda. 

Brenda, her sisters, and niece Randi all went out tonight to see a band at a local festival. Before leaving they all came over to love on the boys and make them feel special. 

And Dad was able to spend some quality time with the two crabby boys that didn’t want to sleep. 

After several days and way too much $$$, we have a new air conditioner, new furnace, new air cleaning system and whole house humidifier. Now if we can just have the washer and dryer fall apart it will be the PERFECT week!

We may have only known him for the last 10 years, but 42 year old GE Air-conditioner (we called him Mr. Coolie) pushed out his last cold breath on Friday. Time of death is estimated at 7:39am. 

Brenda is quoted as saying “Early that morning I heard a loud scream and crashing noise from the yard. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but later when Rachel called (our Nanny) and told me the house was 125 degrees and that the boys hair kept catching fire, I knew in my gut that Mr. Coolie was gone”. 

Memorial services will be held sometime this week when Mr. Coolie’s replacement (Mr. Efficient) is brought in to take over his duties. 

Mr. Coolie, we will miss hearing your loud clanging startup sounds and unheard of high electric bills. May you be in a better place now. 

We purchased tickets a few months ago, but tonight we finally went to the Joel Osteen show in Chicago at the United Center. For those unfamiliar with him, he is head of a non-denominational ministry based in Huston Texas that my mom turned me onto over a year ago. Actually, she kept pestering me to listen to him and I only did once I realized he had a podcast I could download. Once I listened to the first one I was hooked.

His teachings are very uplifting, inspirational, and hopeful and can really turn your thoughts around if you’re having a rough day.

To find out more you can check out his web site, or download his podcast on iTunes.

Just a few years ago I would not have imagined going to an event like this, much less enjoying it. But it was really quite amazing. Thanks Mom!

So if it wasn’t enough that you could do web browsing, email, SMS Text Messaging, watch movies and listen to music, now with the new updated software you can do about 500 new things (if you so choose to do all 500 things that is).

I have downloaded several free applications, as well as a few inexpensive paid applications that are making my phone even more useful. For example, my to-do lists and projects that I’m working on that I normally keep track of on my computer automatically sync to my phone now as changes are made. And if changes are made on my iPhone, the changes update on my computer as they are done!

I love being a nerd.

We made much better time coming home then we did going to MI. Traveling at night seems to be the key, and I think we’ll be doing a lot more of it. They normally go to bed around 7pm, which is a great time to travel. No traffic, and no delays through the many constructions zones on I-94 right now.

Here are a few photos, and  you can find more on Flickr. I should have some video posted later this week.

Since we were unable to make the trip last weekend for the family reunion, we made a last minute decision to visit the family this weekend instead. We’re here until Sunday night when we’ll drive back starting at 8pm in hopes of making better time then we did coming into Detroit. Due to traffic and non-stop construction, it took us 8 hours to make it here. That’s the longest it has taken, with the only exception being a snow storm trip that took 12.

On the up side, we got some great mileage. We averaged over 50 miles per gallon over 300 miles, a new personal best! Normally it’s in the low to mid 40’s. So it took less then a half tank of gas to get here with a 12 gallon tank. Not to bad!

Photos later, as well as some video of Madison.

Because I have not been feeling well since getting back from the Thailand trip, we decided not to make the trip to MI this year for the annual family reunion. I think we made the right call even though we were both disappointed that we didn’t go. The boys were really looking forward to it, it’s all they’ve been talking about. 

So, instead we took a much shorter trip down to Chicago’s Millennium Park and walked around with the boys and just hung out on the grass for awhile. 

There are more photos here of Andrew only because Max was still sound asleep in the stroller when we stopped. By the time he was awake they were both ready to eat so we didn’t have time to get more photos of him. 

Here’s a short movie clip as well of them playing in the grass for the first time.