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Greetings One and All, As 2006 comes to a close and we reflect on the year that was, I hope everyone had a great one! Lots of news to report from the Midwest, so I'll get right to it... Oh yeah... as before, you can click on any photo to launch a window that will give you more of the photo -- and a larger view of it! NOTE:
MAXIMIZE YOUR BROWSER TO SEE PHOTOS ON BOTH SIDES.
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Actually, I'll start off the year in Illinois, which is where I said, "Goodbye" to 2005 and I said, "Hello" to 2006! Craig (an old college roommate), and his then fiancée (now wife), Gena hosted a nice little New Year's Eve party. Ben (another old college roommate) joined us too. This was the first of many get-togethers in 2006 for us! | ) |
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Back in Des Moines... in February, as in past years, I participated in the Des Moines Skywalk Golf Tournament and the State of Iowa Bowling Tournament (for state employees). It looks like they will both fall on the same day again in 2007... ugh! These are always fun events to participate in with friends, family and coworkers. |
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Speaking of games, a friend/coworker of mine, Dan and his wife Melissa, started hosting a new monthly game night. It sounded like a fun time, so I decided to give it a go. Each month there is a new board game of some kind to learn and master -- in one night. The goal is to win the game each month, earn a letter medallion, and eventually spell the word G.A.M.E.R. After twelve months of competition, I was the first to complete the word -- earning my "R" a couple weeks ago -- I guess that makes me extra geeky. When time permits, we even rock out with the Sony PlayStation 2 video game Guitar Hero. |
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In March, I lost an old "friend"... my black, 1995 Chrysler Cirrus. While it was a good car for me, it was starting to become unreliable, and I was spending too much on repairs. I was so fed up with all the repairs, that I went behind my car's back while it was in the shop, and found a new object of my desire... a black, 2005 Chrysler 300. You've probably seen these beasts prowling along the roadways. They have an old-time gangster-like look, with a modern executive edge. It is difficult to find a car that I fit in AND like, but this car fits the bill. While the car dealer was only going to give me $500 for my old car, I opted to try and sell my car privately... this paid off. I turned to eBay to get maximum exposure. After a few false hopes, I found a buyer who offered me over three-times what the car dealer offered. DEAL! | ) |
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Everyone has their 15 minutes of fame (some more, some less). Well, I had about 21 seconds of fame earlier this year through the popular Web site YouTube.com. Being the geek that I am, I follow the rumor sites and seek out "leaked" photos (usually fake) of yet-to-be-released Apple iPod products. By March though, I was sick of people making fake widescreen iPod mock-ups presented in just a digital PHOTO format. So, with a bit of Hollywood-like magic, I decided to step it up a notch and create a fake VIDEO mock-up of the as-of-yet fictional widescreen iPod. I had video playing on the iPod screen from one of the most popular video podcasts on the Web -- "Rocketboom." Of course, in just under two days, another fan of the podcast, sent the producers of "Rocketboom" a link to my video and it got featured on the show! In addition to the more than 167,000 views it has gotten on YouTube, many more people saw it on "Rocketboom" -- as it has a viewership of about 400,000! TIME Magazine is right... I AM the Person of the Year. Ha ha. Watch my fake iPod video that I posted to YouTube... Watch the episode of "Rocketboom" that featured my iPod video... |
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The month of May proved to be very busy with weddings and graduations. I was a groomsman in my sister's wedding. She married her high school sweetheart Matthew at one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever experienced. Another beautiful wedding that I was an usher for (back in Illinois) was Craig & Gena's wedding (they hosted the previously-mentioned New Year's Eve party). I am truly honored to be a part of both weddings, and I wish both newlywed couples happy and healthy lives together. Also in May, my family went to two big graduations. One was in Ames, Iowa, where Matthew (my brother-in-law) graduated from the Iowa State University College of Design, with an architecture degree. The other graduation was in Iowa City, Iowa for our close friend Naomi, where she graduated from University of Iowa College of Medicine. I am so proud of both of them, and wish them the best with their new jobs. View more photos of Kathy & Matthew's wedding from my Flickr site... View more photos of Craig & Gena's wedding from my Flickr site... |
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Also in May (over Memorial Day), I traveled with my parents to Northwest Iowa. We attended a Memorial Day service in Whittemore where my grandfather was recognized. He was a Private First Class in the 17th Airborne Division, 193rd Glider Infantry Regiment, and was killed in WWII. His name is inscribed in a park memorial. Before we left Whittemore, we were also able to visit with a couple locals who knew my grandfather. We even saw the building where my grandfather once owned a downtown billiards hall. Finally, we traveled to the Algona area where we stopped by my grandparents' old house. Just North of Algona, we also stopped and paid our respects at the grave site of my grandparents. It had been a number of years since I was up there, and I was glad I went. | ) |
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This has not only been a super year, but a Superman year... ok, it has really been an average year, but I needed a segway. While many people saw the Superman movie this year, I got to see the new Man of Steel in-person. In June, movie star Brandon (B.J.) Routh came to Des Moines for the Iowa premiere of "Superman Returns." Routh played Superman and Clark Kent in the latest Superman movie. Because he is from Norwalk (a suburb of Des Moines), it was somewhat of a homecoming. His whole family was with him on the red carpet. Being at the premiere must have been inspirational for me, because I went as Clark Kent (in transition to Superman) this year for a couple Halloween parties. |
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June was a milestone for me... I turned the big 3-0. Where has the time gone?!?! To pay tribute to the end of my 20s and to bring in the 30s, I had an "In Memoriam: Goodbye 29, Hello 3-0 Party!" I was ecstatic that so many of my friends and family were able to attend and help me "mourn." Even my old college roommates from the Chicagoland (Craig) and Kansas City area (Ben) were able to make it to town. While Craig had his 30th Birthday party last year, Ben's was about a month after mine this year... and to celebrate, we all went to Vegas again! And since what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, I'll just say that fun was had by all. Oh, I almost forgot to mention... thanks to my ol' roomies Craig & Ben, I now have a cell phone! It is my FIRST cell phone... you heard right! They got me a birthday gift card with the intention that it be used for a phone, so I chose the coolest one I could find... the Motorola Q. It does email, Web surfing, takes photos & video, text messaging, and oh, yeah... I can make phone calls too! It was an awesome gift... thanks guys! If anyone still needs my cell phone number, just shoot me an email (and be sure to include yours). |
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In July, my sister Kathy and her husband Matthew bought their first house in Sioux City, Iowa. It is a very cozy house in a quiet neighborhood. I traveled there in late July to help them move in. Speaking of manual labor... I participated in a two "Mens' Baby Showers" this year. If you are not familiar with this practice, it involves a soon-to-be father coming up with some home project that needs to be done, inviting his friends over to help him get it done and keeping his buds happy with food and drinks. So, in April I got to help build a deck for my friend Tracy, and in September I got to help paint a house for my friend Jon. Eric... you are next buddy! |
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In October, my friends Ben, Craig and Gena made a pilgrimage back to Iowa. We all drove up to Ames for the Iowa State / Nebraska football game. Before the game, we did a little tailgating... and, before that, we did a little reminiscing through the ol' campus -- including a stop at our old apartment. We even found a mountain bike that Ben had left chained to a fence which is close to our old apartment... it has been chained up there for almost eight years!!! It was Gena's first time visiting ISU since meeting Craig, so we had fun showing her the old stomping grounds. | ) |
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Once again, this was a very busy year at work. Yes, I am still doing Web and DVD projects. New this year at Iowa Public Television is podcasting. Being the podcast junky that I am, I was excited about diving in to this new phenomena and technology. I was instrumental in launching six separate podcasts. In related news, I was an advisor on a recent TV program about digital technology that we produced... I even made a few guest appearances in it. If you blink you might miss me, as I was just in the B-roll (supporting video) footage. If you missed the broadcast of the program, you can still watch the entire show on our program Web site. The project at IPTV that I am most proud of this year is a DVD & Web site that I worked on back in March. "Iowa's WWII Stories" is a nice tribute to those who have served their country. | ) |
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The most recent wonderful news is the engagement announcement of my brother to his long-time girlfriend Brooke. She is a great girl and they make a perfect couple. I am so happy for them. No date has been officially set, but early word is that they are looking at a day late in 2007. As for "Little Miss Railey," she is growing so fast, and it is exciting to see her learn. She can now say all of our names! | ) |
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Ever taken vacation time from work -- only to get sick? Well, that happened to me earlier this month when my parents and I visited my grandma during an early Christmas visit. I was within only an hour of Grandma's house in Ohio, when I started feeling "icky." The moment I walked in the door to Grandma's I was off to the bathroom -- not to emerge for days. While I initially thought that I had food poisoning, that later proved untrue when both my father and my 94-year old grandma got sick too! Fortunately, we all made a speedy recovery... of course, it was just as our vacation was ending. | ) |
I had intended to get this letter published before Christmas, but technical difficulties and laziness on my part delayed it's release. The screen on my laptop fizzled and flickered a bit and then finally went dark while I was visiting the family over Christmas. Good thing my folks had a spare monitor that I was able to plug in to... truly a Christmas miracle! |
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Seems like this letter is always a little too long, but hey, Web space is cheap. As always, I'd love to hear what is new with all of you, so don't hesitate to write. Have a great Christmas season, and have a happy new year!!! | |
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- Danny
Greetings of Christmas Past:
2005,
2003,
2002,
2001 |
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