Terri Schiavo Has Died

I've received several emails, and many questions from friends, about my feelings surrounding Terri Schiavo. I think people perceive that someone with a life threatening disability, who still has a positive attitude, should spew pearls of wisdom.

Honestly, I am very mixed up about this case. I guess if it was an easy decision, there wouldn't be much talk about it in the news.

Here's just a couple thoughts running through my head, which I'm certain have run through most of your brains as well. Nothing earth shatteringly exciting or insightful, just thoughts.

First, I feel bad for the husband and her parents. Their views are polar opposites, however my impression is that they are all good people who truly loved Terri. In the political debate, both groups of people had been portrayed as monsters, but there are no monsters here.

If Michael Schiavo was a monster, he'd have jumped ship immediately after her brain damage. Perhaps he would have waited until he became involved with his current girlfriend to divorce Terri. He's been offered money, substantial money, to walk away. A monster would have cashed the check.

Terri Schaivo's parents, the Schindlers, aren't monsters either. They love their daughter regardless of her condition. Many parents have stopped loving their children for less, while other parents have continued to love their children through worse situations. They are fighting and hoping, and ultimately fighting to maintain hope. Their biggest shortcomings simply lies in hoping too much for a daughter's return.

Starving to death is a slow and painful demise. My stomach turns to think about it too hard. Try taking a large drink of cool water, then not eating or drinking anything for 24 hours. You would feel miserable in less than a day. I can't even imagine the pain of 14 days. Had she been respirator dependent, death would have been quick coming, and occurred about five years ago, when her first feeding tube was removed.

I read an opinion poll. I wish I could remember the source, but it said 56% of people, when asked, said Terri Schiavo's feeding tube should be re-inserted. However, the same group was asked, if they were in her position, would they want to continue living. 82% said they'd rather not continue living. Lycos has noted huge increases in searches for "living wills", clearly indicating that people have interest in making certain their wishes will be carried out without debate.

Finally, the bottom line...

If it were me, I'd want Kristen to make the hard decisions on my behalf. I trust my wife far more than I trust the Florida Supreme Court, the Georgia Circuit Court, congressional committees, or Jeb, George W., or Laura Bush who all have voiced opinions and had influence.

Ultimately, in retrospect, I support Michael Schiavo, not because I support euthanasia or the right to die, but I support him because he's her husband. I support that he was the person she chose to make tough decisions. He made the toughest decision, and survived the flames of dissenting opinion.

This is usually the spot in my articles where I invite opinions. I encourage people to disagree. I enjoy spirited debate. Not this time. Please keep your opinions to yourself. It's painful to think about, and way too personal. If you must, simply send me an email saying "well written" and nothing more.

10 Excuses to Go Home Early from Work

My friend, Miranda, emailed me today with a very short "I'm bored." We started thinking of ways she could get out of work early and come over to play. This list is the result. I hope it helps all of you.

Warning: Some of these excuses may be considered tasteless, while others may be far too flavorful.

1. Go in the ladies room and vomit, then tell your supervisor you are sick. This method is used, and abused too often, so chunks of on your shirt, or clear evidence of puke-breath is essential.

2. Chop off a small limb, but only if you work in a machine shop. In an office, a paper cut will get you a day off, but you spend the day filling out workers compensation papers.

3. Paint red dots on your face and tell your coworkers that a swarm of bees attacked you in the copy room.

4. If the cafeteria is serving split pea soup or New England clam chowder, dump a bowl on your computer keyboard. You will have to pay the guys in tech support a twenty to keep quiet, because they've seen this one a hundred times.

5. Have someone impersonate Ed McMahon and show up at your desk with balloons and TV cameras and a check for 10 million dollars.

6. Shave your head in the men's room and tell everyone you caught cancer over lunch.

7. Have a friend who collects automatic weapons charge into the office shooting. The friend doesn't actually have to shoot anyone to give everyone the day off.

8. Get a large baked potato and place it in the back of your underwear and run around the office saying "Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now!" Chocolate pudding also works well.

9. If you work night shift, start howling at the full moon. Caution, only use this excuse once a month.

10. If you work for a utility company, discreetly light your hair on fire, then holding a dead wire, dance around screaming "zzzt, zzzzzzttt, ZZZZZZZTTT" with your teeth clenched.

Recycling Before Moving Day

We've been clearing out our house before the big move. Buying a new home is a very cleansing experience. Our rule of thumb became "if we haven't touched it in a year, we won't miss it if we don't move it." This only became a serious issue when Kristen tried to get rid of my old baseball cards.

Trash day arrived. Normally we have one large can and a small recycling bin. That weekend, trash and recycling was in two large piles. Together the piles were roughly the size of a compact car. Our house isn't that big, I can't believe one home could produce that much refuge.

Beyond the trash, we also have a section of our basement dedicated to yard sale inventory. (By the way, our yard sale is scheduled for April 2nd. Come by and purchase some high quality, ultra-rare uber-crap!)

That weekend inspired me to write the following article:

10 Tips to Improve Recycling without Turning into a Radical Flaming Environmentalist

By Jason Tweed

I strongly believe in recycling, reducing, and reusing. Here are 10 tips to improve your recycling, without turning into a radical flaming environmentalist. It's the easy, little things that everyone can do to make the world just a little better for my three-year-old twins. Keep your recycling bin full

Newspaper Recycling

If you read the newspaper daily, please recycle them. Newspapers account for huge landfill usage. Contrary to popular belief a newspaper (nor anything else) will not bio-degrade in a landfill. If for some reason you can't recycle your newspaper, throw it in your front yard. Newspaper will bio-degrade in only a couple days if ample water and oxygen are available.

Paper Recycling

Our township recycles newspapers, but not other paper. We put all junk mail and office paper recycling in with our newspapers.

Kids and Recycling

Babies are a horrible drain on the environment. Don't give birth if you don't have to. Disposable diapers are bad, but let's face it, only radical flaming environmentalists use cloth diapers. You can however purchase baby wipes in refill packaging rather than the plastic tubs. It reduces waste. Also, flush-able wipes are better if you actually flush them.

Plastic and Steel Recycling

Some communities still only recycle aluminum. They tell you to remove steel cans and plastic bottles. Throw all your steel cans in with the aluminum. They run magnets over the aluminum cans and pull the steel out anyhow. These companies are required to recycle the steel and plastic. Your steel and plastic will get recycled with the aluminum.

Recycle Jokes

If you hear a good joke, or even a mediocre joke, don't let it take up brain landfill. Tell it to someone. If you don't have any friends, submit it to Friday Funnies Recycling Program.

Composting

If you live in a rural community, take all food waste and toss it in a pile in your backyard. This compost pile will actually create high quality soil that can be used. Food doesn't decompose in a landfill nearly as effectively. There are lots of sites on the Internet that teach you how to compost easily and effectively. While a simple pile in your yard (away from the house) will work in some areas, you may want to build a compost bin or compost tumbler.

Recycle Money

Contribute to a favorite charity. Give it to your church. Give it to a guy who looks like he has less money than you. Finally, buy something... even silly stuff pays somebody's salary. Saving is good, but if you have discretionary income, don't be discretionary about spending it. It helps the economy, which will do as much for our children as having a clean planet.

Have a Yard Sale

Take the crappy stuff you normally throw away and drop it in a large cardboard box in your basement. Every spring take the box, along with everything else in your house, into the front yard. Mark prices on it and sell it between 7 a.m. and noon. Use the money you earned to buy yourself a nice lunch. Then, here's the key, everything that doesn't sell, leave it beside the curb. Write FREE on the big cardboard box. It's amazing, stuff people won't pay a quarter for something, but will steal it during the night. By morning everything should be gone. Anything left is truly trash, so leave it out for the sanitation engineers. Lastly, recycle the big cardboard box.

Computer Recycling

A new trend in trash has evolved over the past few years. No one used to throw away computers, they'd simply give them to less fortunate relatives who were computerless. But now, all your relatives who want one already have one, and you have three old computers. Don't throw them in a landfill (especially monitors) because they have lots of bad stuff in them. Instead, call a local computer repair shop and ask them how to dispose of a computer properly. If they have a good answer, offer to drop your old computers at the shop and they can reuse and recycle them for you.

Finally, recycle hugs

The latest medical evidence has proven that your heart can actually explode inside your chest if you receive too many hugs and don't get rid of them. If you feel your heart expanding, give hugs immediately. Give them to children, because they have very small hearts, and can handle the pressure. If you feel your heart shrinking, you may have given away too many. Try asking someone with a large heart to recycle some of their hugs.

House for Sale by Owner

You could own your own home! Actually, you could own my home. Just imagine the value of owning the birthplace of SunFyre!

This adorable Cape Cod style home is for sale. As you probably read a few days ago, Kristen and I bought a new home closer to her family. We are moving the last week in April.

It occurred to me that I better sell the old house pretty soon. It's hard, I love this house, but who couldn't use an extra $117,500.

This 1 1/2 story house is located at 621 Byram Street in the Mount Penn area of Reading, PA.

We are about 45 minutes from the Philadelphia suburbs and an hour from Center City. Within about 150 miles radius you can visit New York City, Atlantic City, Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Harrisburg.

It's located in a quiet neighborhood built in the '40s, in an era before cul-de-sac housing developments. Lots of mature trees.

The neighborhood is minutes from shopping areas including a Wal-Mart, video stores, fast food and groceries. The nearest supermarket is within walking distance.

The lot itself is small, but you have a nice front yard and small back yard. Friendly neighbors with elementary age children live nearby.

We chose this house for the kitchen, in photo two. It's truly a gourmet kitchen, designed for someone who loved to cook. Incredible counter space, including a lower serving bar. It is perfect for that wheelchair user who likes to cook. The attached dining room is huge, larger than most separated dining rooms.

The living room, in photo three, has recently refurbished hardwood floors. They'd been carpeted since the house was built. We removed the carpet to find beautiful wood in perfect condition. They'd never even been finished.

Photo four shows our kids room. It's on the first four, just off the kitchen. It is small, and was used by the original owner as storage. We carpeted the room and fixed it up when the Kristen was pregnant.

This master bedroom has conceived twins, so obviously it is in complete working order.

Finally, the Green Room, Sunfyre's Office, where Sunfyre Magazine was conceived, among other business and creative ventures. In the original house, this was the kitchen. In the '70s the original owner added the huge kitchen addition, but never removed the old kitchen. They used it as a laundry room. We gutted the room completely down to the studs, and turned it into my office. The green paint seemed a little much at first, but now I find it invigorating. I spend up to twelve hours a day in this room without going insane. We added tons of outlets, literally four to six plugs on every wall. It also has a private entrance for those times when you are doing private business.

For the right price, I'll even throw in my crappy office furniture numerous collections of my personal belongings. You can have these things to create your personal SunFyre Museum! Just imagine the income potential!

Ok, your probably wondering about square footage, taxes, acreage, bathroomsThe house actually isn't for sale by owner. We are using a realtor.

Buying a New Home

Sorry, I've been busy with a new project. Kristen and I had been seriously considering buying a new home. We've been house hunting on and off for about a year, then got real serious in January. We weren't finding any houses that met our criteria, at least not that we could afford.

We needed four bedrooms. My father visits from Kentucky several times each year, and we needed a guest room or guest house.

I need an office. I'm finding it increasingly difficult to work at home with two three-year-olds, and no door on my office.

It had to be a wheelchair accessible home, either a very large ranch-style, or two floors with an elevator. We considered building a nice two story until we found out that good elevators add $20,000 to construction without increasing the value of a new house.

Finally, a realtor pointed out a huge ranch home. It had four bedrooms, an office space, a large yard, and a swimming pool. We made an appointment for the next Friday.

Thursday night at 9:30 the realtor called to say another couple made an offer. They were holding the offer until the next day, so we could see it.

We went to the showing, and knew it was ideal. In seven hours we toured the home, secured financing and a pre-approval letter, and made an offer. Twelve hours later, our offer was accepted... then mild panic set in.

If you ever make a quick decision to spend a quarter of a million dollars, mild panic is natural. Major panic is natural. But, life is good.

Over the next couple days, I'll fill you in on details, with complete tutorials including:

• How to buy a house in seven hours

• How to secure financing with no income and no assets

• How to fire your realtor

• How to get mortgage companies competing for your business

• How to go hopelessly in debt and still have an excellent credit score

Meanwhile... here's photos of our new home.

Holy Crap...we bought a HOUSE!!

Buying a new home wasn't on our agenda for last weekend, but that's what we did. We had been shopping for a new house, and even considered building, but weren't finding anything large enough without breaking the budget.

Here's lots of photos of the new house. You'll see plenty of interior photos. Enjoy.

Northumberland is along PA Route 11 coming 50 miles north from Harrisburg. The house is 4 miles north of Northumberland, just off PA Route 11.

Here's a little closer view of Northumberland. Our house is directly under the red star.

The front

The view of our new house from the driveway, toward the front door. The house has a narrow stone sidewalk over gravel. We will have to build a gradual ramp from the driveway to the front door (behind that tree).

We like the interesting windows and roof line. They also angled the siding on the gabled parts of the house.

Standing in front of the front door, you can see a nice porch and the garage.

This gate is on the left end of the house and leads to the backyard. The front yard is nice and large sloping toward the house. The backyard slopes away allowing for a walkout basement. We have over 8/10 of an acre. A nice big yard for two kids!

The living room

Coming in the front door is the little entry hall. To the right (out of view) is the hallway to the bedrooms. Straight ahead is a dining room, which we will use as a family room.

To the left of the entry is a huge 34 x 13 room. We will use this as living room and dining room.

Here's the family room again. The French doors open out onto a deck balcony.

The kitchen and dining room

The kitchen is large and absolutely beautiful. It's electric cooking, but that is the only negative thing. Lots of cupboard space and a nice pantry.

Next to the kitchen is a breakfast area with a nice large window. A great place to eat your Cherrios. Beyond the dinette you can see the doorway to the office.

The kitchen exits into the living room at the far end. Currently, there is a banister separating the living room into two smaller rooms. They used this for a dining room. We will probably use it for dining too, but might remove the banister.

Jason's office

Jason's office is large with laminate flooring. (the red rug is an area rug, that the owner's will take). He loves the office, except for the small window. He's already dreaming of a giant glass wall.

The office has a half-bath with laundry hook-ups. We may move the laundry to the basement and Jason can use it for storage. We know Jason has lots to store!

There is also an exit from the office into the garage. We will have to ramp it, so Jason will have two exits. The basement door also exits from the office.

Beds and Baths

Ainsley gets her own room with a big window and pink carpeting.

Jason gets one too, in green. We honestly don't envision them sleeping in separate rooms for a while, but at least we now have a place to say, "Go to your room!" that they can't continue to fight with each other.

This is the very small guest room. We hope very small guests come to visit.

This is a very big master bedroom!

There are several bathrooms, but this one will be called "Kristen's sanctuary". This should make up for not owning a bathtub for the past five years. It has a whirlpool tub, walk-in closet, a shower stall and a lock on the door; everything a mommy needs to relax.

Backyard

Come out the family room doors onto the deck. As we said, the ground falls away behind the house so the deck is almost a story up.

Looking off the deck to the right is a large fenced backyard. The fences are split rail, but have wire to keep dogs and kids in. (Kristie says "what dogs?!")

To the left of the deck is another lower deck and the swimming pool. It looks a little chilly now, but it will be great this Spring. Pool parties will be every Tuesday and the third Saturday of each month, BYOB (Bring your own burgers).

Here's a couple more views of the pool and deck as seen from Jason's office window. The house in the background is 40 Manor Drive and listed at $280,000 in case any of you want to become neighbors.

Two days after we bought the house, Kristie exclaimed, "Holy crap! We have a pool!" Thus, the naming of this page.

Basement

Finally, we have a full basement. Lots of storage (shelves and stuff). And a big place for kids to play.

One of the great features of our house is a ground level walk out basement, so Jason can even get downstairs. He literally can get everywhere in the house!!! His wife and children haven't decided for certain if this is a blessing. The little room to the right is the facilities management department, with water heater, water softener, furnace, sump pump, breaker boxes and even a toilet. You can come in from the backyard. Please keep the P out of the OOL!

Kristen, Jason Andrew, Ainsley Grace and I feel so blessed. This house, this home, will truly be a place that we can make memories and live comfortably for many years to come. We hope it becomes a welcoming happy place, not only to live in, but also to visit.