/ September 30, 2005 / Leave a comment

Charlie Turns One!

Charlie is One!It is hard to grasp that a whole year has passed and that Charlie is going on two! We had a fun birthday party on Sunday September 25th with a great gathering of family. Charlie decided to take advantage of the gathering and show off by taking his first steps in front of the whole party. It was a great moment and we’re thrilled so many of his loved ones were there to witness it. Charlie has since taken many steps and will probably be running by next week.

Charlie had his one year doctor checkup on Monday. He is in the 97th percentile for height and weight (30.4 lbs). He had his little finger pricked for a few standard tests and he didn’t like that at all. He does really well with getting shots.

You can find recent pictures on our flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/detoffol/

And you can still find a bunch of “old” baby pictures of Charlie here http://www.detoffol.com/charles/

Family
/ July 27, 2005 / Leave a comment

Real info about Gitmo; a changing landscape

We are finally starting to get some real information about the Bush Administration’s actions regarding detainee treatment in the “War on Terror.” This blog post describes the recently declassified JAG reports on the DOD’s change of policy regarding interrogation, specifically of detainees at Gitmo. Sadly, this new information isn’t all that surprising – it just confirms many people’s suspicions. The Bush Administration wants to do as it pleases regardless of the Geneva Conventions, the Constitution, U.S. law or even the armed forces own policies. This is why the founders of this country demanded checks and balances – because in times of stress leaders can go overboard. I believe the Bush Administration is trying to protect us, but they are going about it the wrong way. We need to keep the high ground and do what’s right, not what’s easy.

In a related note, the Administration has now changed their catchphrase describing the war. It is no longer “The War on Terror,” but the “a global struggle against violent extremism.” I think we should be even more specific: we’re fighting Islamic Extremism. I think that we need to get past the political correctness of not naming names.

The Islamic communities around the world need to recognize this and help to fight from within — if they don’t and this trend of violence continues, the natural reaction will be increasingly to punish the Islamic peoples in mass to get at the bad seeds. And the many stupid people on the Earth will start to take matter into their own hands without the ability to distinguish between peaceful Muslims and the extremists.

Politics
/ March 7, 2005 / Leave a comment

A long week

This last week has been a doozy. Jodi complained of a stomach ache as we hit the sack last Tuesday night. She woke up at midnight with severe stomach cramping, nausea, and sharp pain on her right side. We waited a bit to see if it calmed down, but it didn’t so we packed up Charlie and headed in to the emergency room at 2:30 AM. It took the emergency physician about a minute to diagnose appendicitis, but he wanted a cat scan to confirm, which came back positive. The surgeon showed up around 7:30 and said Jodi was scheduled for laparoscopic appendectomy at 9:00 AM.

Besides the obvious concern we had for the surgery, we had Charlie’s breast feeding to worry about. All the drugs and anesthesia that come with this procedure had the potential to interrupt our great success so far with breastfeeding. But with lots of help from Jodi’s sister Kris and mother Sue, a limited but essential supply of expressed milk, and our diligence informing the doctors and nurses, we were able to choose the timing and types of drugs that gave us the shortest amount of time that Charlie couldn’t feed from Jodi.

On top of all this, Charlie had been battling his first cold for about a week. The day of the surgery his cold made a turn for the worse, even though his spirits stayed good. This weekend, however, he was more fussy than usual. It turns out he developed an ear infection and is now on antibiotics.

Everyone is recovering and feeling better every day. Thanks to everyone who called or sent flowers. And a special thank you to Jodi’s wonderful family, who graciously stepped in to help us with watching Charlie, bringing food, and even fixing leaking sinks!

Family
/ February 23, 2005 / Leave a comment

Helly Hansen of Minnesota

hellyhansen.gif

My cousin George McGowan has opened a Helly Hansen clothing store at Ridgedale Mall in Minnetonka. If you’re shopping for high-quality outdoor apparel make sure to check it out. Also, I’m starting to work on some projects for George, but more on that later.

Misc
/ February 22, 2005 / 1 Comment

New web stuff

I’ve made numerous updates to DeToffol.com. First, a new graphic and layout for the front page. I’ve added picture gallery software which will enable me to easily upload batches of photos and keep them organized. Plus, it gives visitors some cool tools like printing on Shutterfly.com and viewing slideshows. Let me know what you think.

Website
/ February 20, 2005 / Leave a comment

New web log (aka weblog or blog)

This is my weblog, also known as a “blog” for short. I’m using a free version of MovableType blogging software. You can still get to my old blog entries from 2004 and 2003.

Website
/ November 1, 2003 / Leave a comment

Digital tuners mandated in new TVs by 2007

Wanna new TV? The FCC’s ruling that most new TVs must have digital tuners by 2007 was upheld by a judge. This will supposedly help spur broadcasters to offer more over-the-air digital content because TV owners will have the capability to see it. It is the classic chicken-and-egg scenario. Digital TV (DTV) does not necessarily mean High Definition TV (HDTV), but you need a DTV in order to see the full resolution of HDTV. So even if your TV includes a DTV tuner, you may need a separate HDTV tuner to get the cool, widescreen, high-resolution content.  Click the picture to learn about the advantages of widescreen movies for home theaters.

Technology
/ October 28, 2003 / Leave a comment

Bush’s disregard for intelligence

Seymour Hersh writes in The New Yorker about stovepiping — the Bush administration’s direct sourcing of intelligence information in order to get what they want to justify their policies. Hersh also answers some questions about the article.

Politics
/ October 24, 2003 / Leave a comment

ALLETE to spin off Adesa to shareholders

ALLETE (NYSE: ALE), the parent of the company I work for (Enventis Telecom), is spinning off its auto-auctioning business. Good for me and probably good for Enventis as well.

Work
/ October 6, 2003 / Leave a comment

2003 George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service to…Ted Kennedy?!?

On November 7, George Herbert Walker Bush (the elder) will present his 2003 Award for Excellence in Public Service to none other than long-time Massachusetts Democratic Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy. What gives? Some feel that awarding the sitting President’s most virulent critic a prestigious and personal award is a signal that Junior’s foreign policy could use some tweaking. Prior to the Iraq war, Poppy warned that going into Iraq without international backing would lead to major problems. The speeches at the November 7th ceremony will certainly be interesting.

Politics
Newer Posts
Older Posts