I think it's about time to baby-proof the house...
Nate
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Ready for Combat!
Gwyneth hit a HUGE milestone this past week...she started combat crawling (on her elbows)! She's seriously been on the verge of doing this forever, so it's very exciting (as I'm sure it is for any parent) for us to see it...we're hoping she'll be crawling on her hands and knees very soon. Here's some video proof!
I think it's about time to baby-proof the house...
Nate
I think it's about time to baby-proof the house...
Nate
The Shore - The Cape May Zoo
I only took a few hundred pics this past week while on my mini-vacation, so I figured it would be best to split this up into a few posts...
Anything you see in "quotations" is a Yankee/Jersey word/phrase that this southern boy normally wouldn't use.
Tricia and Gwyneth arrived in Jersey on Thursday, and drove with most of her family to "the shore", Ocean City on Friday...all of her brothers and sisters, with families in tow, spent, at least, part of the weekend hanging out and having fun. Tricia's parents rented a beach house in northern OC, a few blocks from the ocean, literally at the very north end of the boardwalk. I arrived late Sunday night.
I was told that the weekend was nice and warm, but from Monday morning through Wednesday when we left to come home, the temps were in the 70's, the sky was overcast and there was a strong wind blowing off the water...which, of course, makes for some unfavorable beach conditions. I only spent about an hour total in the sand on the beach, most of that time fully clothed because it was so chilly. But, that's fine with me because I can go to the beach anytime I want anyway. Here's the one picture of me and Gwyneth on the beach, enjoying some fishes (they're so delicious!)...Tricia stayed wrapped in a sweatshirt and towel.
But, when we weren't directly on the sand by the ocean, the weather was perfect for everything else we did! Tricia grew up vacationing at Ocean City and other places along the shore in southern NJ, so she had 101 things for us to do. Monday afternoon, the three of us headed down the coast about 20 miles to the Cape May County Zoo!
This was probably the best zoo I've ever been to, which is saying something since I've been to some pretty sweet zoos. Here's a few reasons why (all you other zoos pay attention):
1) It's free...yes, free (although we did give a donation), which, based on my experience of the NJ shore, is pretty remarkable (considering you've got to pay just to physically be on the sand/beach...).
2) It was probably about 90% shaded...nearly everywhere you walk, you're under the shade of lots of trees (in comparison, our local Norfolk Zoo is basically a giant concrete oven).
3) It's not too big and not too small...it took us about 2 hours to walk through the entire thing and look at every animal.
A couple of other highlights from the zoo include a newborn lemur, a local snake just hanging out near the alligator exhibit, and a very loud and lightning fast cheetah fight.
Nate
Anything you see in "quotations" is a Yankee/Jersey word/phrase that this southern boy normally wouldn't use.
Tricia and Gwyneth arrived in Jersey on Thursday, and drove with most of her family to "the shore", Ocean City on Friday...all of her brothers and sisters, with families in tow, spent, at least, part of the weekend hanging out and having fun. Tricia's parents rented a beach house in northern OC, a few blocks from the ocean, literally at the very north end of the boardwalk. I arrived late Sunday night.
I was told that the weekend was nice and warm, but from Monday morning through Wednesday when we left to come home, the temps were in the 70's, the sky was overcast and there was a strong wind blowing off the water...which, of course, makes for some unfavorable beach conditions. I only spent about an hour total in the sand on the beach, most of that time fully clothed because it was so chilly. But, that's fine with me because I can go to the beach anytime I want anyway. Here's the one picture of me and Gwyneth on the beach, enjoying some fishes (they're so delicious!)...Tricia stayed wrapped in a sweatshirt and towel.
But, when we weren't directly on the sand by the ocean, the weather was perfect for everything else we did! Tricia grew up vacationing at Ocean City and other places along the shore in southern NJ, so she had 101 things for us to do. Monday afternoon, the three of us headed down the coast about 20 miles to the Cape May County Zoo!
This was probably the best zoo I've ever been to, which is saying something since I've been to some pretty sweet zoos. Here's a few reasons why (all you other zoos pay attention):
1) It's free...yes, free (although we did give a donation), which, based on my experience of the NJ shore, is pretty remarkable (considering you've got to pay just to physically be on the sand/beach...).
2) It was probably about 90% shaded...nearly everywhere you walk, you're under the shade of lots of trees (in comparison, our local Norfolk Zoo is basically a giant concrete oven).
3) It's not too big and not too small...it took us about 2 hours to walk through the entire thing and look at every animal.
A couple of other highlights from the zoo include a newborn lemur, a local snake just hanging out near the alligator exhibit, and a very loud and lightning fast cheetah fight.
Nate
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Home From The Shore
Just a quick update to say that we're home safe and sound from the Jersey Shore...
...lots more great pics coming soon!
Nate
...lots more great pics coming soon!
Nate
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Off To Ocean City
I'm heading to Ocean City, NJ this afternoon for a mini-vacation with Tricia's family...I plan on not being anywhere near my computer until Wednesday evening/Thursday morning. I'll take lots of fun pics, and I'm sure will have some interesting stories to tell.
Nate
Nate
Friday, June 12, 2009
Gone Baby Gone
Tricia and Gwyneth drove up to NJ yesterday to hang with family...I'm heading that way on Sunday, and we're all going to be taking a mini vacation to the "Jersey Shore" with her family for a few days. Ocean City, if you must know. I'm not crazy about the beaches in NJ, but I'm committed to having a good time because I know how much Tricia loves it, and she's especially excited to take Gwyneth for the first time. And, I'm pretty sure I'll get some great photos that I couldn't get on the beaches down here in NC.
But, until then, I'm missing my girls a whole lot...at least, I have some sweet pics to look at...
Nate
But, until then, I'm missing my girls a whole lot...at least, I have some sweet pics to look at...
Nate
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Scammers and Fake Blogs
I've thought several times about writing this post, but with the recent discovery that another, widely popular blog is indeed a scam, I've finally made the decision that this is as good a time as any to share what little bit of experience I might have to add to the conversation.
Having been personally duped by a fake blog about a year ago, and having observed (but thankfully not invested any energy, links, etc. into) the blog referred to above, I feel somewhat experienced in the art of spotting some potential red flags that might signal a scammer or a fake blog.
Here are a few fake blog red flags that I've identified:
> The blog author posts few to no pictures of him/herself and his/her life (like his/her family and friends, house, town/city, etc.). Both of the fake blogs I have experience never showed a single photo (face) of the author of the blog, and showed very few, if any, pictures of his/her life. There are some bloggers who like to protect their privacy, but by it's very nature, blogs are an incredibly public form of communication, and most people who get into blogging (for honest reasons) are very open about their lives...those bloggers who desire privacy usually set their blogs to "private" so that they are only viewable by a select few people. A blogger (especially one that has thousands of followers) who never posts a a picture of him/herself has always seemed a bit of an odd thing to me.
> The author uses an alias and/or refuses to post his/her real name or other personal info like hometown, names of hospitals, etc. Both of the fake blogs I have experience with had authors who either refused to post their real name, or often used an alias when posting. It's one thing to use nicknames for your wife or your kids or your friends, but it's another thing to not want people to know your real, full name. Again, blogging tends to attract people who don't mind some of their basic personal info being displayed to the world.
Personally speaking, we have been very open about our story, using pictures and much of our personal information. Our story has also been well documented in news papers and on television, and we have met countless blog readers in person who would be more than happy to vouch for our existence. Although we do atempt to protect our privacy to some degree, we have always welcomed a certain level of publicity for several reasons, not the least of which being to give ourselves some credibility should anyone (and some have tried) attack our integrity.
> There are multiple anonymous people authoring (posting) the blog. Both of the fake blogs I have experience with had multiple authors/posters. And, as it turned out, each of the scammers had also, to some extent, scammed the other author(s) of their own blog into believing their story and posting for them. Obviously the scammer realizes he/she is creating a web of lies, and it appears to me that, to use multiple authors gives the scammer a false sense of security and authenticity.
> The blog asks for money/donations of some kind that directly benefit the blogger. Without a doubt, money is one of the biggest reasons these fake bloggers get into it. Both of the scammers that I have experienced asked for personal donations or gifts.
On a personal note, before my blog became so popular, I had a link on my sidebar that asked for people to consider donating to Tricia's health care trust fund. Shortly after the blog exploded, however, I decided that it would be best for us not to use this blog to ask for personal financial support because 1) I determined that was not the purpose of this blog, 2) I knew it would turn some people off from reading our story, and 3) I didn't want our asking for personal financial support to come back and bite us in the butt. In fact, a year ago, when a popular CF related blog that I had linked to was found to be fake, several people (read trolls) began, very publicly, pointing fingers at me, accusing me of scamming people because I was also constantly asking for personal financial support...fortunately, several of my level headed blog readers also pointed out that had not been asking for any personal financial support for several months, and wisdom and truth prevailed.
> Something doesn't feel right. Bottom line, trust your instincts. If something feels off or if things just don't seem to add up, nobody is pressuring you to support or even read any blog. Again, we're each responsible for our own decisions, and even if thousands of others are hooked, you don't have to be.
I personally had some doubts about the legitimacy of the fake blog that I linked to last year before it was found to be fake. After it hit the fan, I realized that my doubts were legitimate and should have taken them seriously and trusted my instincts.
Now, having identified a few red flags, it is incredibly important that you understand that I am NOT attempting to purposely bring suspicion to any blog that has not already been proven to be fake, nor do I believe that every blog that includes any or even all of these red flags is indeed fake. Furthermore, my list of red flags certainly is not an exhaustive list, and I have no doubt that there are many authentic blogs out there that might include some or all of the red flags I just mentioned. I know of several blogs that I believe are legit whose authors maintain a high level or privacy, use multiple authors, and offer the opportunity for people to donate and support financially...there are some very good reasons to do those things, but they tend to be the exception, not the rule. I'm certainly not an expert on this subject, and I did not sleep at a Holiday Inn last night...
Here are a few more thoughts that I've posted before about scamming blogs.
> Fake blogs and scammers have the potential to do great harm for those who are completely honest in sharing their stories of medical hardships and miracles. They mock people who are dealing with very real and serious health issues and bring an unfair level of doubt and scrutiny to honest bloggers. Because of scamming blogs, I have been told by a few people online that they have vowed to never again read mine or anyone else's blog simply because we talk the same topics as those of fake blogs.
> People react in a very hostile and knee-jerk way when they have been fooled by a fake blog. People who have been hurt begin going on witch hunts, accusations start flying all over the place, and blame is passed to any blogger who also innocently linked to the scammers. The only people to blame for these fake blogs are those who knowingly participated in the deception, which, it turns out, is usually just one or two people.
> Scams have the potential to do great harm to reputable organizations like CFF who raise funds and are making a huge difference in our world. Because fake blogs are often accused of raising moneys through fraud, many people are tempted to write off any future online fundraising opportunities as possible scams and accuse those who might be participating as fakes.
> Truth is truth, no matter the messenger. Whether concerning a health issue, discussions about faith, or posts about life in general, even the most twisted and deceitful person can still share very real and honest facts. Often, people are so quick and extreme to react to fake blogs that they throw the baby out with the bath water...they disregard everything the author wrote as one big fat lie, when, in fact, some of what was written is very true and very helpful.
Discovering a blog is fake is very frustrating, and really, nobody comes out looking good. People are seriously hurt, because blogging, by nature, is a very personal thing. The stories that scammers use are aimed at pulling at our heart strings and drawing us into an emotional attachment and involvement. It is frustrating beyond words to place your trust in somebody who asks for so much compassion, only to be made a fool.
While some become extremely jaded by a fake blog, most people understand that there is a healthy balance to be found between compassion and common sense. I'd personally rather be open and willing to show compassion at the risk of being called a fool than to be hard-hearted and cynical to anyone who appears to be in need of love. There is something good to be said about a world that can show such incredible love to perfect strangers.
Anyway, I'm probably preaching to the choir, and all of what I've just written may have been pointless. But, feel free to ad your healthy thoughts and comments, and I'd be more than happy to try and answer any general questions about fake blogs and online scams.
Nate
Having been personally duped by a fake blog about a year ago, and having observed (but thankfully not invested any energy, links, etc. into) the blog referred to above, I feel somewhat experienced in the art of spotting some potential red flags that might signal a scammer or a fake blog.
Here are a few fake blog red flags that I've identified:
> The blog author posts few to no pictures of him/herself and his/her life (like his/her family and friends, house, town/city, etc.). Both of the fake blogs I have experience never showed a single photo (face) of the author of the blog, and showed very few, if any, pictures of his/her life. There are some bloggers who like to protect their privacy, but by it's very nature, blogs are an incredibly public form of communication, and most people who get into blogging (for honest reasons) are very open about their lives...those bloggers who desire privacy usually set their blogs to "private" so that they are only viewable by a select few people. A blogger (especially one that has thousands of followers) who never posts a a picture of him/herself has always seemed a bit of an odd thing to me.
> The author uses an alias and/or refuses to post his/her real name or other personal info like hometown, names of hospitals, etc. Both of the fake blogs I have experience with had authors who either refused to post their real name, or often used an alias when posting. It's one thing to use nicknames for your wife or your kids or your friends, but it's another thing to not want people to know your real, full name. Again, blogging tends to attract people who don't mind some of their basic personal info being displayed to the world.
Personally speaking, we have been very open about our story, using pictures and much of our personal information. Our story has also been well documented in news papers and on television, and we have met countless blog readers in person who would be more than happy to vouch for our existence. Although we do atempt to protect our privacy to some degree, we have always welcomed a certain level of publicity for several reasons, not the least of which being to give ourselves some credibility should anyone (and some have tried) attack our integrity.
> There are multiple anonymous people authoring (posting) the blog. Both of the fake blogs I have experience with had multiple authors/posters. And, as it turned out, each of the scammers had also, to some extent, scammed the other author(s) of their own blog into believing their story and posting for them. Obviously the scammer realizes he/she is creating a web of lies, and it appears to me that, to use multiple authors gives the scammer a false sense of security and authenticity.
> The blog asks for money/donations of some kind that directly benefit the blogger. Without a doubt, money is one of the biggest reasons these fake bloggers get into it. Both of the scammers that I have experienced asked for personal donations or gifts.
On a personal note, before my blog became so popular, I had a link on my sidebar that asked for people to consider donating to Tricia's health care trust fund. Shortly after the blog exploded, however, I decided that it would be best for us not to use this blog to ask for personal financial support because 1) I determined that was not the purpose of this blog, 2) I knew it would turn some people off from reading our story, and 3) I didn't want our asking for personal financial support to come back and bite us in the butt. In fact, a year ago, when a popular CF related blog that I had linked to was found to be fake, several people (read trolls) began, very publicly, pointing fingers at me, accusing me of scamming people because I was also constantly asking for personal financial support...fortunately, several of my level headed blog readers also pointed out that had not been asking for any personal financial support for several months, and wisdom and truth prevailed.
> Something doesn't feel right. Bottom line, trust your instincts. If something feels off or if things just don't seem to add up, nobody is pressuring you to support or even read any blog. Again, we're each responsible for our own decisions, and even if thousands of others are hooked, you don't have to be.
I personally had some doubts about the legitimacy of the fake blog that I linked to last year before it was found to be fake. After it hit the fan, I realized that my doubts were legitimate and should have taken them seriously and trusted my instincts.
Now, having identified a few red flags, it is incredibly important that you understand that I am NOT attempting to purposely bring suspicion to any blog that has not already been proven to be fake, nor do I believe that every blog that includes any or even all of these red flags is indeed fake. Furthermore, my list of red flags certainly is not an exhaustive list, and I have no doubt that there are many authentic blogs out there that might include some or all of the red flags I just mentioned. I know of several blogs that I believe are legit whose authors maintain a high level or privacy, use multiple authors, and offer the opportunity for people to donate and support financially...there are some very good reasons to do those things, but they tend to be the exception, not the rule. I'm certainly not an expert on this subject, and I did not sleep at a Holiday Inn last night...
Here are a few more thoughts that I've posted before about scamming blogs.
> Fake blogs and scammers have the potential to do great harm for those who are completely honest in sharing their stories of medical hardships and miracles. They mock people who are dealing with very real and serious health issues and bring an unfair level of doubt and scrutiny to honest bloggers. Because of scamming blogs, I have been told by a few people online that they have vowed to never again read mine or anyone else's blog simply because we talk the same topics as those of fake blogs.
> People react in a very hostile and knee-jerk way when they have been fooled by a fake blog. People who have been hurt begin going on witch hunts, accusations start flying all over the place, and blame is passed to any blogger who also innocently linked to the scammers. The only people to blame for these fake blogs are those who knowingly participated in the deception, which, it turns out, is usually just one or two people.
> Scams have the potential to do great harm to reputable organizations like CFF who raise funds and are making a huge difference in our world. Because fake blogs are often accused of raising moneys through fraud, many people are tempted to write off any future online fundraising opportunities as possible scams and accuse those who might be participating as fakes.
> Truth is truth, no matter the messenger. Whether concerning a health issue, discussions about faith, or posts about life in general, even the most twisted and deceitful person can still share very real and honest facts. Often, people are so quick and extreme to react to fake blogs that they throw the baby out with the bath water...they disregard everything the author wrote as one big fat lie, when, in fact, some of what was written is very true and very helpful.
Discovering a blog is fake is very frustrating, and really, nobody comes out looking good. People are seriously hurt, because blogging, by nature, is a very personal thing. The stories that scammers use are aimed at pulling at our heart strings and drawing us into an emotional attachment and involvement. It is frustrating beyond words to place your trust in somebody who asks for so much compassion, only to be made a fool.
While some become extremely jaded by a fake blog, most people understand that there is a healthy balance to be found between compassion and common sense. I'd personally rather be open and willing to show compassion at the risk of being called a fool than to be hard-hearted and cynical to anyone who appears to be in need of love. There is something good to be said about a world that can show such incredible love to perfect strangers.
Anyway, I'm probably preaching to the choir, and all of what I've just written may have been pointless. But, feel free to ad your healthy thoughts and comments, and I'd be more than happy to try and answer any general questions about fake blogs and online scams.
Nate
Monday, June 8, 2009
A Weekend of Pics
We had a busy, fun weekend...
Starting with a wedding rehearsal and BBQ...I know I'm not alone in my opinion that Tricia is a beautiful as ever with her short hair...and I don't mind the freckles either...
Then the wedding on the beach on Saturday...I was in charge of the sound system, and Tricia was in charge of looking beautiful again and taking a few smashing photos of me.
The wedding reception was all about seafood, which is totally cool with us...even Gwyneth had a few bites...
And, after an awesome morning of worship, including a full immersion ocean water baptism by the sea (anyone besides my dad remember that song?), we enjoyed a few hours at the beach with my family and some good friends. Gwyneth got her first dip in the ocean, which is finally warm enough to enjoy...
She also enjoyed some leisure time in the pool...
With her best friend, LK (aka, Paddington Bear)...
Sorry to those of you who are looking for more than pics on my blog right now...that's about all we've got time or energy for...we're making the most of our summer, between work and other responsibilities, and since we basically missed out on all the fun last summer, we've got a lot to make up for.
Nate
Starting with a wedding rehearsal and BBQ...I know I'm not alone in my opinion that Tricia is a beautiful as ever with her short hair...and I don't mind the freckles either...
Then the wedding on the beach on Saturday...I was in charge of the sound system, and Tricia was in charge of looking beautiful again and taking a few smashing photos of me.
The wedding reception was all about seafood, which is totally cool with us...even Gwyneth had a few bites...
And, after an awesome morning of worship, including a full immersion ocean water baptism by the sea (anyone besides my dad remember that song?), we enjoyed a few hours at the beach with my family and some good friends. Gwyneth got her first dip in the ocean, which is finally warm enough to enjoy...
She also enjoyed some leisure time in the pool...
With her best friend, LK (aka, Paddington Bear)...
Sorry to those of you who are looking for more than pics on my blog right now...that's about all we've got time or energy for...we're making the most of our summer, between work and other responsibilities, and since we basically missed out on all the fun last summer, we've got a lot to make up for.
Nate
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
@ The Park
The weather has been beautiful here the past few days, and we've been taking advantage of it, including a trip to the park for an hour yesterday. Here are a few pics...
Nate
Nate