St. Jude Walk results

We want your feedback.Please take this surveyabout your experience. Dear Paul, We at St. Jude have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving because of wonderful supporters like you. What an amazing event we had on Saturday! Thank you, Raleigh! We're excited to announce that in Raleigh, we had more than 450 walkers participate in the St. Jude Give thanks. Walk., and we raised more than $63,000 for the kids of St. Jude! St. Jude Children's Research Hospital expects to see 7,800 patients in the coming year and the money we raised will help ensure that no family will ever pay St. Jude for anything. Our great success is shared with walkers in 90 cities across the country who joined us in walking on Saturday. Collectively, more than 32,000 St. Jude supporters participated in the walk, raising $3.9 million. And congratulations to our top fundraising walker, Robert Crawford who raised $3,145 and our top fundraising team, Rally 4 Hallie which raised an amazing $14,755 for St. Jude. We are so grateful for all of you! Thank you to our sponsors and volunteers We also want to thank our incredible local sponsors and supporters who helped make our St. Jude Give thanks. Walk. possible. Many thanks to our sponsors: Target, Crabtree Valley Mall, Jerry Smith from The Light 103.9, Starbucks, Panera Bread, Chick-fil-A and Earth Fare, as well as our awesome volunteers from Epsilon Sigma Alpha, Brooks Brothers and Target. We are honored to have such generous partners! Like us on Facebook! To see photos from Saturday's event (and share yours!), like us on Facebook -- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - North Carolina connection. Again, thank you for all of your support. You have truly made a difference in the lives of the patients and families of St. Jude! Sincerely, Allison Barton St. Jude event staff Allison.Barton@StJude.org 704-877-1645 National platinum sponsors © Copyright 2012. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 501 St. Jude Place Memphis, TN 38105 Unsubscribe

Giving Thanks

A big thank you to all who donated for the St. Jude Give Thanks. Walk. this past weekend.  Thanks to your generosity, I was able to raise $405 personally with our team coming in at over $5,800 in total including company match.

St. Jude Give Thanks. Walk. 2012

Hey guys, it's that time of year.  This is really the only official fundraising I do each year so I don't feel bad reaching out for it.  Killian and I will be doing the "St. Jude Give Thanks. Walk." in just under 2 weeks.  I'm getting a really late start on the fundraising effort for it but we appreciate whatever you can give.


<== Click here for my donation site ==>

Thanks in advance and I hope that this letter finds you in happiness and good health.

Paul

And now for the form letter part of it...


I give thanks for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

I've been moved by the inspirational stories of the precious kids
treated there. That's why I'm participating in the {eventName} on
Saturday, November 17, and why I need your support to help me reach my
fundraising goal of $400.

Will you help me support St. Jude by donating today?

How your support helps:

*  Thanks to committed fundraisers and donors like you, no family
ever pays St. Jude for anything.
*  We speed our research discoveries directly from our labs to the
bedside of patients and to doctors and scientists everywhere.
*  One child saved at St. Jude means thousands more saved worldwide.

Please visit my fundraising Web page to make a donation.

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Paul McRae

Let's Go LEGO

Once in awhile you receive particularly good customer service.  This was the case recently for me with LEGO.  Killian has obtained several LEGO sets over the past few years (which don't come cheap) and, in turn, has about a million individual pieces.  Many of them are replica pieces but several of them are unique.  Such is the case with one that was lost the other night while out to dinner.  As part of a $50 set I decided to try and order the individual piece from LEGO's replacement piece offering.  To do so, you add the needed part to your cart with no stated price.  Following that they sent me the following message:

"Dear LEGO® friend,

Thank you for emailing us.

We know that sometimes pieces from your favorite sets can go missing and we're happy to try to help you to replace them. However if a piece is more than 5 years old it may not be in stock anymore. We will try to find the piece/s you need, this can take up to two weeks because it's such a popular service. We will email again to let you know what the cost will be and how to pay.

Once your payment is received your pieces will be on their way to you so the LEGO fans in your household can finish their building."

Since it was a new set, I wasn't worried about the 5 year issue but I was concerned about the lack of promise or cost in the message.  About 3 days after that message, they sent me this one:

"Thank you for getting in touch with us about your replacement LEGO® pieces.

I'm sorry to hear your LEGO pieces need replacing. We get to play with LEGO sets all day long (the best job in the world?), so I know that sometimes a piece wears out or gets lost.

That's why I've asked for a replacement piece to be sent out to you. We always try to match the color you want, but sometimes stocks run low, so we might have to send you a different one.

Although we usually ask people to pay for replacement pieces, I'm sending this one for free - so now you can get building and have fun!

Your replacement parts will be shipped from our facility in Denmark. Please allow 7-10 business days for delivery.

Thanks again for contacting us. We are always pleased to receive feedback from LEGO fans! If you could take a moment to complete a four question survey by going to the link below, it will help us make sure we are providing the best customer service to you.

[link was here]

Please contact us again if you need anything else (you’ll need to remind us of your reference number 031582720A). It’s free to call our experts at 1-800-835-4386 (from within the US or Canada) or 1-860-749-0706 (from outside the US or Canada). Our phone lines are open Monday through Friday from 8am EST to 10pm EST and on Saturday and Sunday from 10am EST to 6pm EST or you could go to service.LEGO.comwhich is always open!

Sincerely,

Hannah
LEGO Direct Consumer Services"

How freakin' awesome is that?  Not only did they have the piece but they are going to ship it to me free of charge from Denmark.  That, my friends, is quality customer service.

LEGO, I applaud you on this and share the story as a testament to such service.  Yes, it may be a simple single piece of plastic but it's a huge deal to one little boy.  Thank you for your kindness.

Words for Small Sets

Yep. That's pretty much the deal. 

http://xkcd.com/1070/

Student Wax Museum With Dr. Seuss

Killian's school hosts a student "wax museum" each year performed by the 2nd grade class.  This year's theme was Great Americans.  Killian elected to fill the position (apparently one of 20 or so kids that made the same decision) of Dr. Seuss (aka Theodor Seuss Geisel).  The general idea is that you walk up and put a token in the cup of the wax model which, in turn, comes to life and performs their speech.  Here is video footage of Killian's.  Yes, the audio sounded just like that in the echo filled cafeteria populated with many children doing so simultaneously.

Part 1

Part 2

And here is a still from my chauffeuring Mr. Geisel to the event:

06.08.2012

Heheh...
Cyanide and Happiness Comic.

http://www.explosm.net/comics/2823/

Inspirational

Certainly not a life or death situation but very inspiring nonetheless.

And the Geocaching Goes On

Killian and I found 4/4 of them after work/school today.  Woohoo!  The extra daylight really opens up opportunities to that end.  Although, I'm not looking forward to the extra vegetation that comes with Spring and Summer.  It's definitely going to up the difficulty in hunting these things down.  Hard to believe I'm up to 42 already.

One o' My Heros

Rodney Mullen.  Wow.  Amazing me for the past 28 years.

The wiki:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_Mullen

The website:  http://www.rodneymullen.net/

The story - Part 1:

(oddly, the image on these video clip stills is Steve Rocco talking about Rodney Mullen)

The Story - Part 2:  

The airwalk:

Tweets June 9, 2011 Through February 12, 2012

12 Feb

Found 6 geocaches on the first day. Had a really good time with Killian and friends doing so.

11 Feb

Getting ready to try my hand at geocaching with Killian. Could be fun. :)

10 Feb

I need to get my brakes checked out and possibly new pads/shoes. Anybody got any recommendations/warnings for service in the Raleigh area?

8 Feb Tim Siedell @badbanana

Sometimes when I say "I guess" I'm not really guessing. Feels good to finally clear the air.

Retweeted by Paul McRae

31 Jan

It so pains me to intentionally make bad plays. :)

31 Jan

Teaching Pokemon to Killian. pic.twitter.com/ckevD6gz

13 Jan Tim Siedell @badbanana

If I seem disinterested it's only because I'm a terrible actor.

Retweeted by Paul McRae

3 Jan

Comical for those who watched the newer Battlestar Galactica series: http://t.co/ukRI5P7G

29 Dec Seth MacFarlane @SethMacFarlane

I mean, this description works for any and all reality shows. lockerz.com/s/169552897

Retweeted by Paul McRae

25 Dec

Ok, Skylanders *is* a pretty clever implementation. Having fun playing it with Killian.

18 Dec Tim Siedell @badbanana

I know crazy dudes who wear women's sunglasses always die in threes, but did we start counting with Gaddafi or Al Davis?

Retweeted by Paul McRae

15 Dec

Skyrim. It's dangerous to your free time.

14 Dec

Emmit Otter's Jugband Christmas!

9 Dec  

"Air stagnation alert"? Really? That actually exists?

5 Dec  

Inflatable outdoor Christmas decor makes for some pretty depressing looking daytime/deflated viewing.

3 Dec Seth MacFarlane @SethMacFarlane

Modern Day GI Joe just fucks up Cobra’s shit with a drone while muttering “Go Joe” into his Diet Coke.

Retweeted by Paul McRae

22 Nov Tracy Breyfogle @tbreyfogle

And so it goes. Farewell, good friend; I'll always cherish my memories of dancing and singing and doing other things. http://t.co/MvulqcPT

Retweeted by Paul McRae

19 Nov  

Yes, xkcd... yes. Wisdom of the Ancients xkcd.com/979/

19 Nov  

Best thing I've seen for Movember yet: http://t.co/OFuDtyk0

10 Nov Julius Sharpe @juliussharpe

If "The Love Boat" came out today, it would be called "The Fuck Ship" and cancelled after two episodes.

Retweeted by Paul McRae

11 Nov  

Just wrapped up some Dance Central with Killian. That is some fun (and active) stuff.

8 Nov  

Upgrade complete. pic.twitter.com/tMFdrUqs

18 Sep  

TBGT #8 is in the books for me. A sincere thanks to all who were able to attend. As always, I had a great time with some great people. #tbgt

18 Sep  

Igor, 7 Wonders, SongBurst, Time's Up Deluxe, Time's Up Title Recall, Password, 7 Wonders, Fits #tbgt

17 Sep  

Quarriors #tbgt

17 Sep  

Pantheon #tbgt

17 Sep  

Poker, Time's Up, Catch-Phrase, Co-motion #tbgt

16 Sep  

McMulti, Mammut #tbgt

15 Sep  

Thunderstone #tbgt

15 Sep  

The Adventurers, King of Tokyo #tbgt

15 Sep  

Dragons of Kir #tbgt

15 Sep  

Le Havre #tbgt

13 Sep  

File Transfer xkcd.com/949/ <-- It's amazing how many times per week this question comes up at work.

1 Sep  

4 days out o' the sling. The arm is slowly starting to work it's way back into shape.

22 Aug  

Doubtless this is news to anyone but Star Wars Episode I is really really bad.

14 Aug  

Yonana experiment number 1 = success. 1 frozen banana + 2 strawberries + blender = ~ 1 cup strawberry banana "ice cream". Pretty tasty.

13 Aug  

Suckier moving weather: extreme heat or rain?

1 Aug  

The correct answer was TJ Maxx. That's TJ Maxx. Congratulations to our winner out of California.

1 Aug  

Anybody know where in Raleigh I can find a "single strap backpack" for my kiddo? "Like Freddy's in iCarly" to be specific.

1 Aug  

And so begins 2nd grade...

30 Jul  

Word that I do not find acceptable: "bestie" for best friend.

30 Jul Seth MacFarlane @SethMacFarlane

All the autotune in the world still doesn't sound as cool as talking into a desk fan.

Retweeted by Paul McRae

25 Jul  

Had my 1st post-op visit today for the shoulder. Stitches out. 5 more weeks o' sling. Physical therapy starts next Tuesday.

15 Jul  

Surgery survived. Now for the loooong road to recovery.

11 Jul  

Killian just said to me "So you cracked your back knuckle?" when I just rotated my spine for a stretch.

10 Jul  

Killian finally has his first "wiggly tooth".

5 Jul  

Pet peeve: ending a sentence with "did he/she". Example: "Opened the door and threw out a mangled palindrome did Ernie."

29 Jun  

Played #BattleLore 2 times today http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/25417 #bggplay

22 Jun  

If only I were a tea drinker... http://blinkingline.org/post/6757778543

18 Jun  

Saw Green Lantern last night. Not as bad as reviews indicate. I enjoyed it well enough. 3.5 stars from me. Worth a theater viewing.

18 Jun  

F you right in the A, anything scheduled at 8am on a Saturday. This day in particular: 1st grade baseball.

16 Jun Tim Siedell @badbanana

Sometimes I just need a break from the computer. Thank goodness I have an iPad.

Retweeted by Paul McRae

15 Jun  

Irritants: The sudden barrage of "Please 'Like' our facebook page" requests. Where exactly do heavily "liked" facebook pages reap reward?

11 Jun  

Breaking Bad season 3 on DVD. Woohoo!

10 Jun  

Looks like I'm destined for shoulder surgery. Any suggestions for (or warnings against) orthopedic surgeons in the Raleigh area?

Geocaching

A friend of mine started geocaching a few months ago and my cousin has been doing it for years.  It has held a mild interest for me since I first heard about it and, this weekend, I finally decided to give it a go.  For those unfamiliar with the term, check out the video below for a 2 minute definition or go to geocaching.com to read all about it.:

It sounded like a fun activity that I could easily do with Killian as a team.  All I needed was a GPS (iPhone 4s already in my pocket), some coordinates which I got from the geocaching.com website as well as the Geocaching app for the iPhone and I was on my way.  We were not able to locate the very first one that we tried, but the 2nd one was a much easier find and exciting for the two of us to have found our very first geocache (named "Red Diamond (wrong puzzle)")!  We found two others on our own and went out with some friends to find three additional ones later in the day for a total of six overall on the first day of geocaching.  

It was definitely an enjoyable activity and one I see likely to carry on for years to come due to the number of these things out there in the world.  There are a *TON* of them just in our local area.  I would rate it as a great family activity and I look forward to our next opportunity to hunt.  If you have the inclination, I would definitely recommend checking it out.  I have posted a link to my profile in the Useful Links.  If you catch the bug, send me a friend invite on the website.

If You Watched the New Battlestar Galactica Series

Then you'll have to appreciate this...

Which led to several comical headlines reading such as "How fracking might have led to an Ohio earthquake".