Steve's Online Brain Dump

Joseph Harlan Frey

On the morning of October 28, 2010 (8:03am to be exact), Joseph Harlan Frey saw the light of day for the first time in the arms of Steve and Maria Frey; well, the doctor’s arms to be truthful, but I don’t think his eyes were really open until he landed in mom and dad’s arms! All 21 inches, 8 pounds and 9 ounces of him.

We can now buy a “family size” meal and not have leftovers; we can go to an amusement park that offers a family four-pack of tickets and not have to waste a ticket; we fit nicely into the US census statistics of how numerous a family should be; mathematically, we divide nicely now–but I wouldn’t try to divide us physically if I were you (over-protective dad speaking there…sorry)!

We’ve got the house, the cars (and the payments that go with both), the dog, and now the kids. What’s next? Who cares! We’re taking this thing one day at a time as best as we can figure how to and that seems to be working well (just as long as I don’t need to operate heavy machinery–no sleep in the foreseeable future).

Yesterday, November 11, 2010, Veteran’s Day, I was privileged enough to meet Maj. Gen. James Mallory (USAR) Assistant Deputy Army Chief of Staff. Please excuse my boy-ish likely over-dramatic reaction to this encounter. Most people would think it’s no big deal…just some military guy. To that I say, in the words of John Pinette, oh Nay Nay! This was a GENERAL–a two star “Major General O-8″ to be exact; three away from the top! One of only 302 allowed by law in the US Army. This is one of two ranks (the other being “Admiral”) that kids pretend to be when playing war with friends: “I’m the General!” This is a rank that hundreds, if not thousands of troops look up to for leadership and direction in times of war! I won’t get into the nit-picky details of whether or not this specific General actually stands on a battlefield and points at things and demands his troops to “capture it!” The fact that this guy has dedicated his life to service in the US Army (Reserves, to be exact) long enough and distinguished high enough to reach this esteemed rank is impressive enough (for the money-oriented types out there, the position comes with a base pay in the range of $120k-$150k per year, depending on years of service). Add to that the immortal history of the rank (think: Generals Eisenhower, Patton, Lee, Grant, Jackson, Washington, LeMay, et al) and there’s just an air of awe surrounding someone wearing the star(s)–at least, to me there is.

Maj. Gen. Mallory and I

I’ve had an urge lately to get some more “stuff” posted on this $8.99 per year piece of the internet. Some of it’s been started (just not posted yet), I’ve thought about others, and really have no control about some of it. In any case, here’s a sample of what I hope to get posted in the coming weeks here on this site:

• Trip Guides
  If there’s anything I know how to do well, it’s over-prepare for a trip; that includes learning as much as possible about a place before, during, and after a visit to a new location. I’ve got at least three or four places that I know more about than most tour guides (in fact, a co-worker’s asking me about what to do at one of the places is what sparked this idea), so I figured I might as well pass along that knowledge to help others possibly make the best out of their trips. Places include Asheville, Orlando/Central Florida, Seattle, and a few others. I’ve got Asheville in the works right now, but it’s turning out to be a novel’s worth of info…gotta trim it down if I don’t want you all to fall asleep while reading it!
• More Pictures
  I’m almost embarrassed at the lack of photos I’ve posted here as I’ve got literally thousands of them from all sorts of trips and events. Sheer statistics say I’m bound to have at least a small handful of pics worthy of showing the world. It’s simply a matter of me pulling them out, cleaning them up (cropping, putting a border on it, stamping my name on them, etc.), and posting them with descriptions–easy enough, right?
• Music Reviews
  One thing I definitely like to do is get the word out about good music. I’m certainly not on top of the new music world, and I simply don’t have the cash to buy every new album that hits the streets. But every so often I run across something that just needs to be bought and added to my collection; and if it’s good enough for me to sink cash on it, it’s usually good enough to tell others about it! Bluegrass has been the flavor of choice lately, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find some old Metallica bootleg reviews or other seemingly random pieces show up here too!
• Carhartt Clothing & Gear Reviews
  That’s right…there’s an awesome chance that I might be reviewing Carhartt clothing and other gear in the very near future to let other folks know whether it’s good or “eh.” (it’s doubtful that any Carhartt stuff is truly “bad,” so I won’t use such a harsh word here)

I’m not going to pin a time frame on any of this stuff making its way to your screen…sooner than later is what I’ll commit to! (if the Carhartt thing happens, likely much sooner than later!)

Stay tuned to your favorite Steve Frey website for more details!