bbaier.com

I changed the theme on my website again. I like this one alright, except for the picture of the little girl on the side which I am currently too lazy to change. Despite what you may have thought, that picture is not of me. I also don’t like the look of the flickr feed picture mosaic thing, but that will be a simple CSS fix. Someday when I get tons of time, perhaps if I win the lottery, I will create my own WordPress theme. Then you’ll be sorry because the sheer beauty of it will bring a tear to your collective eyes. As an aside, did you know they build web publishing features right into the functionality of Office 2007? I think that’s just the berries.

This is a test post of Live Writer!

Does it work?

So here we go, again….

I wanted to post this cool little quote by John Adams, our second president, that I saw on the NBC evening news tonight. Our country is 230 years old and doesn’t look a day over 50. God bless America!

“The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epocha in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore.”

He apparently wrote this in a letter to his wife Abigail. He said the second day of July because he was talking about the day all of the colonies passed the resolution that said “that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.” The day we know as Independence Day is the day they signed the document that came out of the resolution passed on July 2, 1776. There is your American History lesson for today.

If you are interested in more John Adams Quotes check out the Wikiquote site devoted to it.

Oh look. It’s a smartly designed website……and look at that; my name is at the top of the page. I don’t understand how this could have happened. What is more troubling is the fact that I haven’t updated since October. Maybe I’m just not cut out for this sort of thing. Maybe my “I’d rather not update my website and try and do something more worthwhile” gene is stronger than my “Wow I’d better update its been about 5 minutes people might start to get worried and not know what to do and start jumping off of bridges in the absence of some really great content from my website” gene. But the worst part of it all is that “something more worthwhile” often entails entering the land of Azeroth and playing my character in World of Warcraft, playing some Xbox, PS2, or Gamecube game(yes I now have all 3 consoles), or watching some television program, more often than not some crazy Anime series I’ve decided I love. The long and short of it is that I realized last night that I am the world’s largest nerd. A dork of epic proportions I would be teased mercilessly if I were still in middle school today. And not just for the fact that I am 24 and still in middle school, but more so for the fact that I love Anime, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Video Games, and other such nerdy endeavors. This Christmas I actually asked for and got a Katana. But alas it has not always been so. Once I was rather normal. I myself seemed to shun such things. I played hockey in high school, I was pretty normal. Now…oh….now.

I think I am having my quarter life crisis. That’s right. I want to be a kid again. And not just any kid, a dorky computer nerd kid. I don’t mind. It’s actually sort of fun. It kind of shields me from the harsh realization that I will have to move on soon and get a real job and go out and be a grownup. I don’t even know if the term “quarter life crisis” is actually a phrase anyone has ever used before, but that is the only way I can describe how I feel. Not that I am particularly unhappy. On the contrary I find joy in the things that I do to be more like a kid again. The thing I don’t understand is what makes adults not want to those sorts of things any more. My parents always told me that one day I would turn on my favorite radio station and I would find that all of the songs I used to love would suddenly be silly. So, what is it that makes us change? More importantly when does this happen?

All I know is that I don’t want it to happen. And even thought everyone tells me it will happen, I don’t really think I’ll “grow up.” I want to be playing video games well into my 80’s. Think of all the great games we will have then. Think of all the fun I will have with my children as they grow and get to experience different games for the first time. Perhaps this generation of ours that grew up with the game industry will never cast it aside and embrace the monotony of adulthood. This is my hope. “All children, except one, grow up.” ~ James M. Barrie

I have this memory of when I was very young my parents took me to a cider mill far away from our house. It was at a very unassuming farm out in the country where we lived. Perched in a sea of brilliantly colored trees a white farm house and big red barn stood unchanged for decades. I remember we sat at picnic tables under the trees and drank fresh apple cider and ate warm doughnuts. For most of my life fall has been my favorite time of year. I love those cooler crisp days where the vibrant orange and red trees shower country roads with leaves. I can only imagine this would be the perfect scene if I were zipping down said country road in a BMW M3 with the windows and moonroof wide open. And I would, of course, be on my way to a cider mill and apple orchard. Over the years I have become somewhat of a coinsurer of southeastern Michigan cider mills. I would like to share some of my favorites with you…

This is a very nice cider mill very close to my parent’s house. Everything is housed in an old barn (the way it should be) and everything is very traditional. I think they give demonstrations but I cant remember for sure. I don’t believe they have a U-pick orchard on site.

Alber Orchard & Cider Mill
13011 Bethel Church Road Manchester
734-428-7758
Sept. 3-Thanksgiving: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun.
Established in 1890. Unpasteurized cider. 45 apple varieties include McIntosh, Gala, Red and Golden Delicious, Ida Red, Northern Spy, Snow, Chieftan, Liberty, Empire, Winesap, Granny Smith and Cortland.

———————

Dexter Cider mill is one of my favorites. Right in town on the river they have some of the best cider and doughnuts around. They also let you watch them making the cider with the old fashioned presses. Again no orchard on site and sometimes not many places to sit down by the river (but hopefully they have remedied this.)

Dexter Cider Mill
58 Cavanaugh Lake Road Dexter
734-426-8531
Aug. 25-Nov. 15: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sun.
oldest continuously operating mill in the state.

———————

Wasam is more of an apple orchard than a cider mill, but it is one of the best orchards I have ever been too. They have all kinds of apples there, including my favorite, the Cortland. A little less rustic than the rest, but still worth the trip out to Milan.

Wasam Fruit Farm
6580 Judd Road
Milan, MI
734-482-2842

———————

I have not been to either of these last two but hopefully I will get the chance to go this fall. They look very intriguing.

Parshallville Cider Mill
8507 Parshallville Road, Parshallville
810-629-9079.
Labor Day weekend-November: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily.
More than 125 years old, one of the few remaining water-powered mills in Michigan.
Fenton

Windy Ridge Orchard and Cider Mill
9375 Saline-Milan Rd.
313-429-7111
Saline

Surf Board

Originally uploaded by bbaier.

My trip is now half over. I have moved on from Waikiki beach on Oahu to Wailea, Maui. I am currently staying at the Grand Wailea Resort and Spa. I have some pictures posted on my Flickr site at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbaier. Check them out.

This surf board was by far my favorite picture so far. But there are a few more. I will be updating this page with pictures periodically throughout the next few days. My trip is just over half over, but I know these last few days will go fast. Check back for more.

Its 5:17 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Or its 10:17 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). I don’t know why I just had the intense desire to check GMT but it is 5:17 a.m. Today is the start to my Hawaii trip 2005. In my grand scheme I have decided to re introduce my blog while on the trip. So whenever possible I will be updating. With pictures from my new exotic locale of Hawaii for the next 16 days. Now I go to the airport.

Going to the hockey game tonight. It will be fun.

After a weekend of deck-work (sunburn included) and no internet I’m back at the office ready to jump into action…Actually I’m sitting in more of a reclined position in the corner ready to go to sleep.

In this post apocalyptic era of summer most of my friends find themselves thrown out on their collective behinds by the University of Michigan. After four (or more) years of being shielded from the fray of reality they must embark from the protective space that is college life into a cold cruel world of uncertainty.

This scares me.

I see it happen to them and I know that it is only a matter of a little longer than a year before I find myself in that same position.

I wish I could just stop time.

That would make everything better…

….