David Wicks Gets Around.

Boy, only 3 months to go in the womb, but David Wicks already has quite a biography. Lets see some of his highlights:

1. He's a fictional character on a BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actor Michael French. See the Wikipedia article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wicks

2. He was the plasterer supervisor for the 1985 movie Brazil. See the IMDB site here: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926983/

3. He's the managing director for the NASDAQ stock market, having earned his business degree at NYU. For a complete business biography, see here: http://www.fei.org/chapter/_meetings/meeting_detail.cfm?item_id=1595.

4. He is the webmaster for the Floyds Fork Photogallary. Click here: http://www.floydsfork.org/pg/pg_main.htm

5. He was the 1983 president of the Institute for a Sustainable Environment, based out of the University of Louisville, in Kentucky.

6. According to this site: http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/gen/report/rr17/rr17_072.html, he married a Dorothy Weld sometime in the 1880's.

7. David Wicks went before the 4th Curcuit of Appeals Federal US Court to appeal his convictions for possessing forged securities.

8. He is an assistant professor and the director of instructional technology for Seattle Pacific University.

Now, I'll stop there, but if you want mored, try "Googling" it yourself!

Spring Has Arrived!

The grass is getting green, the birds are churping, and the flowers are blooming at ye olde Stack homestead.

It Wasn't My Idea...

Erica thought it would be great to try out something we had registered for but hadn't yet used. Its official name is the "Snuggli", and I am opposed to calling it that.

What about man hammock? Brady Pack?

Anything but snuggli.

The Living Room

The green paint has found its way from the office into the living room, thus completing yet another project. This room was by far the easiest to do, it just required paint.

Next up? Time to get outside and get the yard ready for the summer. The breezeway and the bathrooms will have to wait until summer.

Happy Easter!

Little Papi

Red Sox Nation would like to welcome its newest member, Brady Michael Stack!

Get To Know The REAL Brian M. Stack

So, you've all been reading my blog lately, and I'll bet you've been asking yourself, do I really KNOW Brian? Well, I figured for my 27th birthday, I'd give all of you some previously unknown information about me. We'll do this as a quiz. Answers will follow at the bottom.

Good luck!

1. If I could go anywhere for vacation, where would I go?
2. What was the name of my first pet?
3. What has been the defining moment of my life so far?
4. What is my single most favorite food?
5. What is my earliest memory?
6. If I could have any job, what would I want to do?
7. If I could live life over again, would I do anything differently?
8. Who is my inspiration?
9. What contestant am I routing for on Idol?
10. How do I take my coffee?

OK, here are the answers:

1. Italy. I can't think of a more beautiful place to visit, full of histroy, culture, and great food.
2. Fisher. I got my first gold fish when I was in third or fourth grade. When he died, I got another one, appropriately named Fisher II. Original, eh?
3. The birth of my son, Brady. No doubt about that.
4. Pizza. Always.
5. My father and I went sledding in the woods when I was three, and as one would imagine, we crashed into a big tree. Go figure.
6. I'd love to be a big-name Hollywood director, the likes of Spielberg, perhaps.
7. I'd take time to stop and smell the roses. I was always in such a hurry to get to the next step. It seems like such a bad way to live life, but I still do it to this day. Its something the I've started to think about more and more lately.
8. Depends on what for. My father is my inspiration in life, I've always looked up to him as a model for what success and happiness in life is all about. As for my teaching career, my inspiration is my friend Peter Arthur, who passed away suddenly this past weekend. Peter had a way of inspiring his students to become so much more than they would have ever dreamed possible.
9. Katharine McPhee. I've liked her since her first audition.
10. Iced, skim milk, three splenda. If at Dunks, always caramel flavoring.

Mission Accomplished.

At 2:00pm today, a commercial jet from Germany will touch down at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, carrying with it Lt. Stack, who is coming home from a seven-month tour in the Middle East.

Lt. Stack was stationed at Central Command in Qatar, but made regular trips into the Middle East countries, Iraq included. He also spent some time in Africa while over there. My mother, grandmother, aunt, and uncle will be there to welcome back to US soil. He is due home to NH in late April. Congratulations Jason, and welcome home.

People Ask. Yahoo Answers.

So Yahoo! has started a new feature called "Yahoo! Answers." On this site, people can post a question to the internet public, which anyone can answer. I must say, this site is quite a riot if you are bored at work and need something to pass the time. Let me share with you a few questions people were asking at 8:0pm, when I posted this blog entry:

1. How do I create a wedding registry for money instead of registering at stores?
2. What's the best way to move from one state to another?
3. How do I get big forearms?
4. What is wrong with my car?
5. How do I invite a girl to go to the movie theater?
6. Are any coconuts grown in orchards, or are they all picked from wild trees?
7. What r sum good songs?
8. Why do drivers pick their noses at stoplights?

A Tale of Two Bradys

So Erica and I decided to try our hand at making some "professional" pictures of Brady at home. By "professional," I mean we made it LOOK like we took him to a portait studio. The problem with our digital camera, though, is the delay. A good two seconds pass between the time when you hit the button and when the picture is taken. In order to catch one of Brady's smiles, we have to gamble as to when he might smile and hit the button, hoping he does. So, we end up taking 50 pictures to eventually get one good one. Well, the two pictures you see above are the result of that hard work. The problem is, the one on the top has been altered. I morphed Brady's head over the picture because he had a smile on his face. The one on the right is an actual picture. What do you think? Is the morphed picture believable? I think it is, Erica's not convinced.

Oh well.

Let This Be a Lesson...

At 5:00pm yesterday, Erica and I were in the kitchen preparing dinner when we heard a loud noise. I looked outside the window and saw a crashed-up minivan in my driveway. There was a BMW on the opposite side of the street. I couldn't believe it! Erica and I ran outside. She checked on both drivers while I called 911. Amazingly, both seemed ok, just in a bit of shock.
Soon after, people started coming from down the street and in cars that were now blocked from passing. The police, fire, and ambulance crews showed up within minutes. The story of what occurred began to emerge. The guy in the BMW was drunk, very drunk, and hit the minivan traveling the opposite way head-on. That's why Erica and I never heard the sound of brakes. The cars: Totaled. What really got me were the empty car seats in the back of the minivan. A horrible drunk driving accident could have led to the death of innocent children right in front of my house, but luckily, it didn't. Let this be a lesson to us all. Stay off the road of you've had too much to drink!

The BradyMobile

Brady, Erica, and I decided to take a tour of the neighborhood in the BradyMobile today. Ahh, spring has finally arrived.

Top Billing, Finally!

They always say the cream will rise to the top. Well it took the whole season, but in the last US College Hockey Online poll of the season, the Terriers did just that. Here are the rankings:

1. Boston University
2. Wisconsin
3. Minnesota
4. Michigan State
5. Miami
6. North Dakota
7. Harvard
8. Cornell
9. Boston College
10. Maine
11. Michigan
12. Colorado College
13. New Hampshire
14. St. Cloud State
15. Nebraska-Omaha
16. Denver
17. Dartmouth
18. Northern Michigan
19. Holy Cross
20. Colgate

Not This Year, BC!

After BU's Hockey East Title victory over the Eagles, Brady, who is wearing his BU sweatshirt, learned to stick out his tongue.

That one is for you, Eagle fans!

Two Notches Added To My Teaching Belt This Week

I added two more notches to my teaching belt this week while at Andover High School (pictured left).

First the not-so-exciting news: I spoke at my first conference. For the past few years, I and four other teachers from AHS had been working for an education consulting firm in Boston on a new professional learning community model. We have been having quite a bit of success with this model, and last month, I was asked to speak about it at a state-wide math educator conference, called ATMIM. With my laptop & in-focus in hand, I kept a crowd entertained with my friend Brooke. It was fun!

Second: And those of you who know me well probably won't believe me, but I broke up a fight at lunch. Oh yeah, I watched these two senior boys start to go at it in full force right in the middle of the cafe. I didn't have time to react, I just dove right into the middle and pulled them apart. Hahaha....You should have seen me. I actually looked like I knew what I was doing. It was only afterwards that I realized I could have gotten a few punches swung at me too. Oh well, I guess every teacher needs to say they could do something like that.

The Final Touch

The great kitchen remodel of 2005-2006 is finally complete. Cabinets, countertops, island, lighting, sink, and new stainless steel appliences. This week we added the new refrigerator.

Erica and I went with a stainless steel "french door" style made by LG (yes, the company that also makes cell phones). I just put in a water line for the ice machine today.

Best part about the new fridge? It has a "fingerprintless" finish...just for those little hands that will be all over it before we know it!

Tough Guy.

The Patriots have lost some key players, including David Givens, Willie MacGinist, and (possibly) Mr. Clutch himself, Adam the Great.

Don't you think Brady would amke a good draft pick? I mean look at him, he's tough!

Next Stop: USA

Lt. Stack (my brother, that is), will be headed home from Qatar in just a few weeks. He just returned from a week long trip to Africa, guarding some military bases. During his tenure, he's also spent a good deal of time in Iraq as well. We'll be happy to see him home.

What's next? A year in Korea, but he doesn't leave for that until August.

Stack & Wicks, The Sequel

Who says sequels can't be better than the original? Some twenty years ago, The Doc and I became good friends, and now Brady and David might be able to do the same thing. Congratulations you guys!

Happy Birthday, To Me! By Brady Stack

Well, today is my five-month birthday. To mark the occasion, Dada asked me to write down on his blog everything I've learned in five months. OK, here I go:

1. Whenever Mama and Dada get frustrated with me, all I have to do is smile, and they forget all about it. This works especially well when I want to see then at 3:00am.
2. Whenever I see someone new, a "howdy do" doesn't quite cut it. I prefer to just spit up on them.
3. Whenever I am hungry, I just have to cry. If Mama or Dada don't get the bottle to me within ten seconds, I just cry louder, and make it sound convincing.
4. Bath time means splash time.
5. Why eat your food when you can wear it too? (hence the picture)
6. Rolling over is hard to do.
7. I like going to church every week. I especially like "doing my business" right in the middle of mass. To make it ever more of an event, I throw in a few extra loud grunting noises.
8. Whenever Mama changes me into a new outfit, I like to "christen" it by spitting up on it.
9. I like to talk to myself in the morning before Mama and Dada come get me from my crib.
10. I can't wait to be able to crawl.

The Office.

Well, I can check another room off the "completed" list for painting. This weekend, I got my office painted. Erica and I decided to do a sage green in both the office and the living room. Hopefully, the green won't make the living room look too dark, or we are going to be in trouble!

If you have been keeping track, here's a list of what rooms have been completed (in the order of completion):



1. Brady's bedroom.
2. Our bedroom.
3. The kitchen
4. The dining room.
5. The upstairs hall and stairway.
6. The office.

Still to be done (in the order they will be tackled):

1. The living room.
2. The upstairs bathroom.
3. The downstairs bathroom.
4. The breezeway.
5. Brady's new bedroom (in a year or two, he'll be moving to the other bedroom to make way for baby #2! :)

Nice Work Guys.

This weekend, the Terriers claimed the Hockey East regular season crown. As an added bonus, Maine jumped up to number two, leaving the Eagles as a distant third. Ahh, all is well in Terrier-Land.

What Stack's Watching on TV

I'll bet you've all been wondering what I like to watch on TV these days. Well, in no particular order, here they are...




1. American Idol
2. Ask This Old House
3. Beauty & the Geek
4. Biggest Loser
5. Good Eats
6. King of Queens
7. Law & Order SVU
8. The Office
9. Scrubs

I'm sure I'm missing at least one...I may amend this list later. But let me tell you, we've had DVR for the past year and it has been simply wonderful. Has anyone seen how KFC is combatting the DVR'ers and the TIVO'ers as they pass through commercials? They have embedded a secret code in their commercial that can only be viewed through DVR show-motion, and when you enter the code into their website, you get some sort of a coupon. Not a bad idea, especially since it is rare for someone like me to catch a commercial these days...

You Say Potato, I Say "Po-tah-toe"

Erica and I were having quite a heated discussion this morning over what to call the dish you see to the right.

Now I, like just about everyone else in America, calls it "Shepard's Pie." It has even been referred to by some as "Hamburger Casserole."

My wife, however, contends that the official name for this dish is "Hamburg, corn, and potatoes".

Now, there are two issues to deal with here. First of all, why would you call a dish by its ingredients? Do you refer to pizza as "crust, sauce, and cheese?" I don't think so. Neither does anyone else. Try to google the phrase. You won't find anyone calling it this way.

Ther second, and seemly more important issue, as that she claims hamburger should be called simply "hamburg," unless referring to the grilled burger. Again, I claim this is wrong. In fact, when I google "hamburg", I simply come up with references to either Hamburg, Germany, or Hamburg, NY, two places that lay some claim to the ground meat's origins.

Does anyone else see my point?

Pork Chops and Applesauce, Please

But hold the pork chops!

Brady reached another milestone last night, taking his first bites of "solid food", if you can refer to applesauce that way, anyways.

The verdict? He loved it!

Look Mom, No Hands!

Well, Brady is closing in on 16lbs. At the doctor's today, we got the latest on his statistics. We are proud to report he is in the 50th percentile for weight, 90th for height, and 90th for head circumference. Way to go Brady!

In other news, he is dangerously close to rolling over, the next big milestone. Yesterday I went to get him in his crib, and he had migrated to the other end of it, and rotated himself around.

Also, the doc said we'd be able to start him on solid foods by the end of the week. Hmmm, what should we give him first: peas, carrots, squash, or applesauce? Decisions decisions decisions.

Movin' On Up!

This week's US College Hockey Rankings:

1. Minnesota
2. Wisconsin
3. Miami
4. Boston University
5. Michigan State
6. Colorado College
7. Cornell
8. Maine
9. Boston College
10. Nebraska-Omaha

Nice work Terriers, nice work!

Don't Cry, Jerry York.

Your team just lost another beanpot to the Terriers. Your team has dropped 3 of 4 to them this season. You really are an overrated coach, and if I had to choose between you and Jack Parker to run my school's hockey program, it would be Parker all the way, baby.

Face it Jerry York, you'll just never be as good.

Brady Update: 4 Month Check-In

Well, Brady is just about 4 months old, and here's an update on where he is at:

1. He loves him new "jump-a-roo" toy, and is working on those muscles to hold up that big head of his!

2. He loves to talk and smile at just about everyone he meets. He can't get enough of people, and they can't get enough of him! Brady's Babcia & Dziadziu visit him a few times a week, as does his Aunt Alyssa, and his Aunt Shanna, Uncle David, and cousin Mackenzie. He loves his family!

3. He is very close to starting solid foods. He's ready too, I think he now holds the record for fastest-downing of a 5oz bottle of formula!

The Great Dining Room Make-Over

Well, the dining room is finally complete? As you can see from the before and after pictures, we changed the light, built a new mantle around the fireplace, put up a chair rail and wainscotting, and painted the entire room a deep red. It took a little while, but we think it is an improvement on the pink walls and wall-paper border.

Stay tuned for our next make-over project as operation renovate continues this spring!

What does 2 mean to you?

2: The number of times the BU Men's Ice Hockey team has lost a game since December 3. Oh, 12 is the number of games they have won since that date.

Last night in a predictable fashion, BC knocked off the Huskies while BU sent Harvard to yet another consolidation game. Next week: A familiar story: BU/BC for the rights to the "Terrier Classic" beanpot, as I like to call it. I like the Terrier's chances, but then again, would you ever want to vote against them in early February?

The better news was to see BC fall again this week in the www.uscho.com poll...down to 5. The Terriers, on the other hand, are up from 8 to 6. Let's hope for a role-reversal next week.

That's right BC

Last Friday night: Boston University Men's Ice Hockey shows them they are still the kings of the rink.

Last night: All that "hype" for nothing...Duke walks away with a victory.

Hey Eagles, how do you like them apples?

P. Sophie's Kid: Boy or Girl?

OK, is it too early to make some early gender predictions? Not so when you know they are going to be finding out early!

My vote: Girl all the way. Whadayathink?

You Owe Me Money, Uncle Sam!!!

Well, tis my favorite time of the year, the time to collect my dues from good 'ole Uncle Sam. Yep, its tax season baby. For some, this marks impending doom, but if you know you are getting a refund, it is like Christmas all over again. To all my avid fans out there in blogger land, I have some advise for you. Now, listen carefully: DO NOT PAY SOMEONE ELSE TO DO YOUR TAXES. Why, you ask? For just $19.95, you could do them yourself and get them e-filed for free! Ask any tax consultant to do them that cheap and they'll laugh at you. Now, I know you are saying, "But Stack, I'm not up-to-date on the latest tax laws. How will I know how to get the most in my taxes?" Well my friend, there is help. Actually, for the past four years, I have done my taxes online with H & R Block. My $19.95 is well spent, because as long as I have all my paperwork with me, I am walked right through the process. I even have the option to ask a tax professional in a live chat any question I encounter that the program doesn't answer for me. It is such a breeze, and I, like many, do not have a straight-forward tax situation. Heck, just this year, I bought a house and had a child, two great tax write-offs. Now, my complaints for any out there who know about taxes. WHY CAN'T I DEDUCT REAL ESTATE TRANSFER TAXES? I was pissed when I found this off. The State of New Hampshire charged me almost $3000.00 just to buy my house, and I can't deduct this from my federal return. Bah!

Oh well, I move on. My taxes are almost done, and in just three days, my money will be direct deposited in my bank account. Until next year, Uncle Sam, when we meet again.

Doc Jr.

So official congratulations go out today to P. Sophie and "The Doc" for their recent announcement of the coming of Jr. Erica and I are excited for several reasons. Here are just a few:

1. We know they are going to make great parents, and LOVE having a baby in the house. This is something they have wanted for some time.

2. We are selfish. Its about time someone else joined us in the "baby" club. Do you know what it is like to be the only person in your group of friends to have a baby? On the one hand, it is cool, but on the other, you feel so old. We must have spent three hours talking to the Doc & Sophie when we found out, because we finally had someone we could talk to about everything we have gone through in the past year.

3. Brady is going to have a new playmate soon. He can't wait.

Doc & Sophie, we are so happy for you!

Brady Scare #1

Well, Brady spent two nights at Lawrence General Hospital last week, due to a urinary track infection. The cause? Still undetermined, but kidney tests confirm there could be some sort of a kidley reflux going on. Our doctor's solution? She has made an appointment for Brady to see a urologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in February. Until then, he is on a preventative dose of an antibiotic. What was Brady's reaction to all this? He continued to smile, laugh, and play. What a trooper! But the latest weigh-in shows he has but on almost 7 lbs and 7 inches since birth. Yikes!

Dining Room Update

Slow but steady wins the race. Well, I'm making progress on the room. As you can see here, I have completely removed the wallpaper border, installed a waincotting and chairrail, dismantled the mantle, and I am in the process of building a new one. Since this picture had been taken, I have finished all the woodwork and I have painted the lower half of the room (in the same ivory color we are using throughout the house). The top half of the walls will be painted a dark cranberry color, sometime int he coming weeks. I've also installed a new chandelier (not shown).

More pictures to come as I continue!

The Great Dining Room Make-Over: The Beginning

Well, the dining room is next on the list of rooms to renovate. For those of you keeping count, we have already done the master bedroom, Brady's bedroom, and the kitchen.

The dining room has lovely pink walls and wonderful "Aztec" wallpaper border. To boot, there is a "hack-job" of a mantle. Our plans: Put up a chair rail with wainscotting ont he bottom, painted the ivory we are using throughout the house, and paint the top a nice deep garnet color. The only difficult part of this room is going to be to build a new mantle...something a little fancier. My brother-in-law told me I should paint the bricks white too with some mason paint, but I'm not convinced on this yet. I'm going to have to get some pictures to see what it might look like first.

Brady is Growing!

He started at 19 inches, and now he is nearing 26. The doctor says he is going to be tall. Looks like he is going to outgrow the new kitchen sink in no time!

Mini-Me

Brady and I like to wear our matching Brady jersey's prior to every Pats game. Tonight, the Pats take on the Broncos. Go Pats!

My First Playoff Game, By Brady Stack

Well, this is my first official blog. Dada told me I should write about my first playoff game. Well, lets see. Auntie Alyssa, Babcia, and Dziadziu came over around seven. Dada told me to put my game face on, so I did. The game was great, but Mama made me go to bed right after Tom Brady threw a touchdown pass to Troy Brown. That Mama, she always spoils the fun. Oh well, I guess that's what I get for only being thee months old.

How To Cure New Year's Boredom.

Fill a glass with champagne, and put a raisin in it. It will bounce up and down for hours.

Mud Hens

What is a mud hen? I saw someone with this NH plate when I was driving to work last week in Boston. The weird thing is, when I was leaving the city five hours later, I saw them again on the highway. Weird.

The Great Kitchen Make Over, Part II

So tonight I enthusiastically took out the trash, and with it went 732 ugly tiles, one ugly kitchen sink, the ugliest rust-colored counter tops you'd ever find, and a few other odds and ends from the old kitchen. Now behold, our kitchen is complete....except the new stove and hood, which will be delivered Friday.

The Great Kitchen Make Over, Part I

Well, let me recap for you how the first day of the great kitchen make over went. At 7:00am, I took the first picture you see, which basically shows how our kitchen looked when we moved in (minus the new dishwasher, and the repainted cabinets with new hardware). Anyways, We hated three things about the kitchen: The lack of counter space, the ugly ugly ugly red counters, and the ugly tile backsplash. It just needed a face lift. In the second picture, during demolition, I am showing you just how much I hated the old counters. By the third picture, which was around lunch time, you see the counters are gone, as are the tiles. In fact, most of the new under-cabinet lights were hard wired to a dimmer switch at this point. By dinner time, you see the cabinets are in, the wall has been sheetrocked, the new sink is installed, and the island has been added. Not bad for day one! Over the course of tomorrow and Wednesday, I will be sanding the walls and painting them a pale yellow color, which will look nice with the grey counters and stainless steel apliances. Oh yeah, the stove and fridge will be going in the near future too, to make way for the new ones. Stay tuned for a final "reveal" some time in the coming week. So long for now!

What's a 5:00am post look like? This.

Well, it is a little past 5:00am, and I am already dressed and ready to go to work. It is a little early, even for me, but Brady decided it was time to get up, and so we did. Let's see, here is what has been going on with me since I last posted:

1. I've gotten just about all my Christmas shopping done, and everything is wrapped. (Thank you, Supterintendent, for that wonderful Friday off).

2. I've started thinking about what I'll do on my vacation next week. Some of the leading choices are: Spending time with Brady & Erica, finishing my kitcken counters, and maybe even painting my stairs and hallway. Hmmm...doesn't that sound like fun!

3. I've come to the conclusion that I need to stop teaching seniors (which is all I have this semester). While I enjoy the fact that I can treat them like adults, they just don't act like them! I've had better behaved freshman classes.

4. I came to the conclusion last week that I need to invest in a snow blower. Shoveling a foot of snow off my driveway just isn't fun! Perhaps I'll look for one next week.

5. I opened Brady's first bank account up. He is now a legal financial entity.

6. Patriots again this year? They've started to kick things up a notch these past few weeks. If they keep this up, they might have as good a chance as any of the other playoff teams for making the Super Bowl. Oh wouldn't it be great, too, to see Indy's streak end with the Pats.

7. I was secretly hoping for a Pats-Dallas Super Bowl. How cool would it have been to see Brady vs. Drew, little Bill vs. Big Bill. The networks would have LOVED it. Oh well, maybe next year.

8. I actually watched Bush's propaganda speech last night to drum up support for the war. I knew it was going to be a waste of my time, but I couldn't reach the remote, and I was waiting for National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation to start. Its funny, after three years in Iraq, he has still yet to come up with a good reason why we went there in the first place, and why the helll we can't just leave now. AT least put together a plan of exit, anyway.

9. Speaking of Iraq, my brother has been there now for a few missions. Not sure if he was involved at all in the recent vote, but since we haven't heard from him lately, I'd say he likely was. He's got to figure out what he'd like to do next. He was saying possibly a year in Korea. AT least that would potentially be a little safer than where he is now.

10. And finally, not for nothing, but I'd like to give a little shout out to my mother, her brother, and her parents, who recently celebrated their 43rd anniversary of coming to America. Yep, don't know what you were all doing on December 17th, 1962, but they were waiting in a customs line to get their visas stamped. Congratulations!

Erica's Back

My dear wife has finally started updating her blog. Check it out at http://www.ericalynnestack.blogspot.com.

Everything is just a little harder.

I went to the mall today to do some much needed shopping. It was just me and Brady, and it seems everything was just a little harder. First of all, I had to push around a stroller all day. That meant being in people's way, having to look for elevators and ramps, and having to make two trips to the car with bags because I had no where to put them since I have the stroller. Trying to use the bathroom was interesting too. But I'm not complaining, not at all...just noting that things are just a little harder now, that's all.

No In-Flight Movie On This Ride

Lt. Jason E. Satck is seen here, about to board his ride for a trip into Iraq for a special assignment.

Jason says he is doing quite well. A couple weeks ago, he had a one-day leave to Doha, Qatar's capital city. As the pictures suggest, Doha is very accepting of American culture. Jason even spotted an Applebee's, a Toys 'R Us, a KFC, and a shopping mall with a Christmas tree on display.