You must forgive me for not writing in so long, but we've been pretty busy. Over the last few weeks, Beth and I went on vacation to Hawaii and we hosted the Mannings for Thanksgiving, all pretty much without a break. I have a lot to say about both events but right now, and by popular demand, I'm going to focus on sharing our pictures from Hawaii. So without further ado, here are the pictures. And don't worry, I'll write more about our trip and Thanksgiving later.

UPDATE: Sometime between last night and this morning, it would appear that the internet gremlins had their way with our Hawaii pictures site. You can access the site but none of the pictures will load. I don't know what happened, but I won't be able to fix it until I get home from work tonight. Check back later tonight or tomorrow and I'll let you know when I have things back up and running. Sorry.

UPDATE: All fixed. Everything is up and running here. If you tried viewing the site earlier and you are still having trouble seeing the pictures, clear your browser cache and refresh the page. That should clear up any technical difficulties.

Posted by Thom at 9:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's been about ten months now since I first started to study the martial art of iaido. I have certainly come a long way in that time, but what I really have managed to learn is that there is so much more to know — and that's why individuals devote a lifetime to studying even just one style of iaido. I myself study two styles and I'm happy to say that I have achieved the rank of ikkyu (pronounced EE-Q) in Muso Shinden. When I tested, it was a complete surprise. I nearly botched it as got increasingly nervous and stiffened up but, somehow I showed enough aptitude to pass (either that or my sensei felt sorry for me). Ikkyu is the first of six rankings before I reach the first black belt or "dan" level — I have a long way to go.

Posted by Thom at 10:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

...actually, no I didn't. But, I watched about 40,000 other people do it. In case you didn't know, this weekend was the annual New York City Marathon. With the course running through all five boroughs, the city pretty much shuts down to accommodate the runners with many of the locals heading out-of-doors to root the athletes on. This year, I headed out to my usual spot on 106th Street and 5th Avenue, hoping to catch my friends John, Rick and Pete accomplish something that I have neither the inclination nor the willpower to do — run 26.2 miles. If you've ever tried to pick 3 people out of a large crowd, you know it can be difficult. Now imagine finding 3 people out 40,000 as they steadily and quickly stream past you down a 3 lane road. Rick managed to get past me but, I did find John and Pete. Yes, my life is hard. Congratulations to you guys, and to everyone who ran this weekend.

Posted by Thom at 3:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)