Marks Blog

Barach Obama Inauguration 1/21/09

2009-01-21T07:41:00.001-05:00

*) Incoming First lady Mrs. Obama gave outgoing First Lady Mrs. Bush a diary to write
her memoirs on and it had a quote in it I really liked:

"There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. Yet that will be the beginning."
-Western fiction writer Louis L'Amour

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090120/ap_on_go_pr_wh/inauguration_bush

Jaw bone of an Ass, what does it look like?

2009-01-18T08:09:00.000-05:00

I was doing some web surfing today and came upon some articles about Sampson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson) slaying 1000 philistines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philistines) with the "Jaw bone of an Ass" (). This brought back memories of my Sunday School days and made me wonder, what does an Ass Jawbone look like? I was thinking that it must be a pretty impressive thing to be such potent weapon. I did some searching and found this link with a picture of one:

http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/12/21/are-you-looking-for-a-gift-that-functions-as-both-a-musical-instrument-and-a-weapon/

Now that is no joke! I guess you could use that as a weapon!

Freds Shark Fishing Pics 12/08

2009-01-14T19:52:00.000-05:00

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=u4g0e8v.97566jyr&x=1&y=9kn5qp&localeid=en_US&cm_mmc=site_email-_-site_share-_-core-_-view_photos_button

spider payment

2009-01-14T19:51:00.001-05:00

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=665847

20 Things You Didn't Know About ... Hygiene

2009-01-03T07:39:00.000-05:00

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/Features/Lists/?article=20ThingsHygiene&GT1=27004

20 Things You Didn't Know About ... Hygiene

Cleanliness is serious business; dirty hands killed a U.S. president
By Liza Lentini and David MouzonProvided by Discover magazine

1. Hygiene comes from the name "Hygieia," the Greek goddess of health, cleanliness and ... the Moon. Ancient Greek gods apparently worked double shifts.
2. The human body is home to some 1,000 species of bacteria. There are more germs on your body than people in the United States.
3. Not tonight dear, I just washed my hands: Anti-bacterial soap is no more effective at preventing infection than regular soap, and triclosan (the active ingredient) can mess with your sex hormones.
4. Save the germs! A study of over 11,000 children determined that an overly hygienic environment increases the risk of eczema and asthma.
5. Monks of the Jain Dharma (a minority religion in India) are forbidden to bathe any part of their bodies besides the hands and feet, believing the act of bathing might jeopardize the lives of millions of microorganisms.
6. It's a good thing they're monks.
7. Soap gets its name from the mythological Mount Sapo. According to legend, fat and wood ash from animal sacrifices there washed into the Tiber River, creating a rudimentary cleaning agent that aided women doing their washing.
8. Ancient Egyptians and Aztecs rubbed urine on their skin to treat cuts and burns. Urea, a key chemical in urine, is known to kill fungi and bacteria.
9. In a small victory for cleanliness, England's medieval king Henry IV required his knights to bathe at least once in their lives -- during their ritual knighthood ceremonies.
10. That's their excuse, anyway: Excrement dumped out of windows into the streets in 18th-century London contaminated the city's water supply and forced locals to drink gin instead.
11. A seventh grader in Florida recently won her school science fair by proving there are more bacteria in ice machines at fast-food restaurants than in toilet-bowl water.
12. There's no "five-second rule" when it comes to dropping food on the ground. Bacteria need no time at all to contaminate food.
13. The first true toothbrush, consisting of Siberian pig-hair bristles wired into carved cattle-bone handles, was invented in China in 1498. But tooth brushing didn't become routine in the United States until it was enforced on soldiers during World War II.
14. Please don't squeeze the corncob. In 1935, Northern Tissue proudly introduced "splinter-free" toilet paper. Previous toilet paper options included tundra moss for Eskimos, a sponge with salt water for Romans, and -- hopefully splinter-free -- corncobs in the American West.
15. NASA recently spent $23.4 million designing a space-shuttle toilet that would defy zero gravity with suction technology at 850 liters of airflow per minute. That's a lot of money for a toilet that sucks.
16. In 1843, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. campaigned for basic sanitation in hospitals. But this clashed with social ideas of the time and met with widespread disdain. Charles Meigs, a prominent American obstetrician, retorted, "Doctors are gentlemen, and gentlemen's hands are clean."
17. Up to a quarter of all women giving birth in European and American hospitals in the 17th through 19th centuries died of puerperal fever, an infection spread by unhygienic nurses and doctors.
18. TV kills! University of Arizona researchers determined that television remotes are the worst carriers of bacteria in hospital rooms, worse even than toilet handles. Remotes spread antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus, which contributes to the 90,000 annual deaths from infection acquired in hospitals.
19. It is now believed President James Garfield died not from the bullet fired by Charles Guiteau but because the medical team treated the president with manure-stained hands, causing a severe infection that killed him three months later.
20. What on earth made them think manure-stained hands were remotely acceptable to treat anyone?

40 Inspirational Speeches in Two Minutes

2009-01-02T08:28:00.000-05:00

Noticed this on MSN's home page today, it's a mash-up of inspirational movie scenes\quotes and is pretty cool!

http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&vid=ad02b87d-201a-4082-933c-b33c8111adf4&playlist=videoByTag:tag:viral:ns:Gallery:mk:us:sf:ActiveStartDate:vs:1&from=MSNHP&tab=m137&GT1=42003

If this link doesn't work, try googling "40 Inspirational Speeches in Two Minutes"

Here it is on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6wRkzCW5qI

Peregine Falcon in Burke, Va

2008-12-27T10:24:00.000-05:00

Today I glanced out the window from the back of my house and noticed a large bird land
on the branch of one of the trees. I looked closer using my binoculars and I think it was a peregine falcon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peregrine_Falcon). It was really exciting to see such a magnificant bird almost in my back yard!

I wish I could've taken a picture of it but it basically looked like this:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/animals/images/primary/peregrine-falcon.jpg&imgrefurl=http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/peregrine-falcon.html&h=450&w=365&sz=29&tbnid=nB6VTpLGic4TWM::&tbnh=127&tbnw=103&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dperegrine%2Bfalcon&usg=__fKI6MGaqWzqNrx_qbNGph4U3xro=&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=1&ct=image&cd=1

Oakley the Cat, ?/?/1989 to 7/18/2008

2008-08-03T07:44:00.000-04:00

We are sad to announce that Oakley, our beloved Gray kitty, died today, 7/18/08, at the age of 19 (or so). We'll miss you kitty!

Love,
Mark, Kate, Jack, and Megan

Request for DON Civilian Meritorious Service Award for Mark S. Wallace

2008-01-17T05:47:00.000-05:00

This is to request that Mr. Mark S. Wallace be given a DON Civilian
Meritorious Service Award in recognition of the extraordinary
contributions he has made over the last several years to a number of
high visibility projects undertaken by this command. Mr. Wallace has
become the absolute sine qua non for the DMDS project. DMDS forms the
basis for the Fleet SIPRNET System (FSM). FSM, in turn, will be used
as the starting point for the Navy's Tactical DMS projects (FAMIS) and
very likely SI equivalents of these systems. It will be used as the
starting point for the Secure Message Routing Platform (SMRP), a major
new system this organization is developing for the US Customs Service.
And when DMS replaces AUTODIN, DMDS will replace MDS, now estimated
to be installed at over 6000 sites world wide and aboard most Navy
ships.

Mr. Wallace has skillfully developed over four-fifths of the DMDS
software, about 40,000 lines of complex Visual C++ code that exploits
Microsoft's Extended Mail Application Program Interface. Mr. Wallace
is the only individual in this organization who has mastered the
skills and abilities needed to write a system as complex as DMDS. As
striking as this achievement is in itself, it is even more remarkable
in that he has acquired the knowledge needed through his own
self-study efforts in less than two years.

The DMDS related projects are not the only ones that absolutely
depend on Mr. Wallace's skills and abilities. Maintenance of all of
the GateGuard software code has now been placed at his door step. In
addition to all this, he has developed a number of other utilities
widely used in various other projects supported by N91. His
co-workers eagerly seek his help when especially difficult technical
problems arise. All of us hold him in the highest regard. It is
truly a pleasure to work with someone as gifted, talented, and
gracious as Mr. Wallace.

Mr. Wallace's attitude, skills, and abilities represent the finest
qualities of a civil servant. His contributions to this command, to
the US Navy, and to his country deserve every recognition.

Joseph V. Kelly
19 March 1998

My little sis Sharon's bike camp 2007

2007-09-29T06:14:00.000-04:00

My sister Sharon worked with a bike camp (http://www.losethetrainingwheels.org/) the summer of 2007 to help special needs kids learn how to ride a bike without training wheels.

Way to do sis!

I attempted to capture all the emails Sharon sent over the summer about this to save them for posterity!

------------------------------------

*) Sharon's YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YQvJhPyw3s

------------------------------------
*) From: Sharon Colantonio

Sent: Monday, August 20, 2007 7:45 PM

St Louis to Bay Village, Bay Village to Rochester Hills, Rochester Hills to Waunakee, Waunakee to Chicago, Chicago to DC Flight, DC to Chicago Flight, Chicago to Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne to St Paul, St Paul to St Louis, St Louis to Peoria, Peoria to Fairfax Flight, Fairfax to West Hartford, West Hartford to Appleton Flight, Appleton to Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac to Merrillville, Merrillville to St Louis: Total: more than 4000 driven just to locations Total: 4 flights So after driving more than 4,000 miles just to arrive at each camp and flying on four flights I am finally back in St Louis. I have gone through three pair of shoes and acquired more than 8 new t-shirts. I have found out that cloths weigh more than you think and if you don’t think a medium size suitcase can contain more than 50lbs well I’m here to tell you it can. It’s amazing how many layers you can put on just to get under that mark…and no I didn’t take a pictures of Sharon the marshmallow woman ;) Needless to say I didn’t get cold on the plain!After leaving West Hartford, CT I arrived in WI. Where Heidi and I joined back up for one finally hurrah! We arrived on the scene to find out we would be working in the “Cow Palace”, see picture in attachment. Talk about crazy! And yes the place lived up to its reputation. It smelled like COWS, and it made all the more since as we found out in the week prior to camp they had the county fair there and can you guess who stayed there? If you guessed cows you are right!!!! This was a much smaller camp; in fact it was the smallest of my summer totaling 14 participants. Of the 14, 11 learned to ride, this was just crazy! I have attached a few more pictures for your viewing pleasure. One is of Heidi getting beet up by two of the boys. She told one of them we sold his bike so the other boy jumped in to restrainer her while the other beet her up. It was all very cute! So just a few final numbers on the summer: Total Participants in the camps I supervised: 231 Total Participants who left as riders: 188 For a success rate of 81% In the mean time it’s back to reality for me and time to return to my real job! I can’t wait until next summer! I hope you have enjoyed your travels, next year posses to bring even more trips as there are rumors we may go international at some point in the next 12 months, we’ve had over 10 requests thus far!!! Take care and happy school year to all! Sharon “A community that excludes even one of its own is no community at all!”

------------------------------------

*)From: Sharon Colantonio

Sent: Sunday, August 05, 2007 9:17 PM

Subject: It's that time...

Man oh man,
It has been a crazy few weeks. If you’ve every played an old school pin ball machine…imagine how the ball feels. Yup that’s about right…I departed from the St Louis area last Sunday to head to Peoria, IL. I meet up with Richard (he’s the guy who invented the bikes) and Mike (the new tech I would be with). Richard decided since we were taking his new bikes on their “maiden voyage” (his words) he wanted to be there just in case…so we set off on the short trip, only three hours. If you ever have the need to feel less than smart spend some time with Richard, if you ever want to feel really really less than smart spend three hours in car vehicle with Richard. Anywho, we began our week and it went off without a hitch…by Wednesday I started to think the week was going way to easy. That was my first mistake…at about 1pm a call came in and the long and short of it was, as floor supervisor was sick on the east cost and they needed to get some one out there…here’s where the pin ball machine comes in. So it made the most sense to send me since I was already booked on a flight for the east coast. Only catch I had to drive to St Louis first. So after camp finished I went back to the hotel got my things together and wrote up some notes for the person coming to fill my shoes. I jumped into a rental car drove to St Louis and was able to sleep in my own bed J Only bad part I had to get up at 4am to catch my flight. So I was on the first flight out I could get on and landed at about 12 where I was promptly delivered to the Dulles Expo center to fill in. Nothing like getting off a plane and running. It was truly a case of mind over matter…I spent the night in VA and finished out the camp on Friday. Kristen is doing just fine for those who are wondering seems as though she had a kidney stone L All is well and she finished out camp on Friday with the rest of us. I then left VA with the passenger van and trailer in tow. I spent Friday night at my folks and then left about mid day to begin my journey to New England. My dad was kind enough to pick up Mike from the airport…you know the tech I left in Peoria. We thought it might raise a few eye brows if a single person driving a large passenger van and towing a trailer pulled into the airport :-0 So we met up on 95 at about 1pm or so. Mike and I began the journey, me driving of course…I drove over the GW bridge, you can see the pictures and had a blast…I think I upset a few people a long the way…but hey I used my turn signal!!! In the mean time I’m now in CT where I will spend my week then I fly back to the mid-west to meet up with Heidi for my last week of camp L So there you have it. A bruise on Heidi’s leg from falling off the truck…a picture of LTTW’s president riding a bike with his daughter in VA, and a few pics of Mike and NY’s beautiful skyline J

Take care everyone and see you soon!
Sharon

--------------------------------------------------
*)From: Sharon Colantonio
Sent: Sunday, July 15, 2007 8:58 PM
Subject: A little behind :)

Well, as you can tell I’m a little behind. Since my last update Heidi and I were in Wisconsin and had a great week there. We had a special treat with a race car showing up at Culvers and I was able to get some great pictures of it. Moving on from WI it was time for a week of R&R. Heidi head to Las Vegas to visit family and I headed to DC to visit mine. We both had a great week off. Last week was a bit more challenging but we survived! We had a camp in the suburbs of Chicago and we stayed with Heidi’s family…more importantly her mom made dinner for us almost every night so it meant one more week of NOT eating out. Believe it or not it can get oldJ. This week we are in Fort Wayne, IN. We arrived here last night and we are anticipating a great week. Fortunately nothing to outrageous or crazy has happened and we continue to be amazed with the kids and families we come in contact with each week. Enjoy the photos I’ve attached.

Sharon

"...And you never can tell how close you are; It may be near when it seems so far. So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--It's when things seem worst that you must not quit."

---------------------------------------------------
*) From: Sharon Colantonio

Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2007 12:04 AM
To: Amy Heidotten
Subject: FW: Waunakee camp coverage

So I suppose this would be my first real TV interview. Heidi the girl I travel with made me do it. Anyway, I thought the news crew did a really great job considering it was all last minute and we weren't expecting them today!
Take care and enjoy!
Heidi and I are now in Chicago for the weekend and we will have this next week off. I will be in DC for the week.
God Bless,
Sharon
http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/8253082.html

------------------------------------------------------------

*)From: Sharon Colantonio

Sent: Saturday, June 23, 2007 9:07 PM

Subject: So this past week!

This past week was a bit crazy!!! We had 40 campers and one runner! What do I mean by a runner…this kid would ride the bike for 30 seconds and just as you thought he was going to get down to business he jumped off the bike took of his helmet and made a break for the nearest door…needless to say he kept us on our toes J Despite that he managed to learn to ride a bike!!! Trust me I can’t begin to tell you how that happen!!! 29 of our 39 participants this past week made it up on bikes and some made it outside. Heidi and I are just outside of Chicago staying at her parent’s house for the weekend and we will take off for Madison, WI in the morning!!! Once I get to the hotel I will shoot you all some pics from this past week.

In the mean time happy travels!!!
Sharon

"...And you never can tell how close you are; It may be near when it seems so far. So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--It's when things seem worst that you must not quit."

-----------------------------------------
*) pics from "Bay Village, OH.pps"

---------------------------------------

*) From: Sharon Colantonio
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 8:04 AM
Subject: Update LTTW

I know I've not even left and here is your first update. I've already worked our first camp in Edwardsville, IL. It was conducted in conjunction with a under grad/graduate course and we only conducted two session. It was a great teaser to get ready for the summer. Below is also and update on my trip itinerary. You will see that a few empty weeks have already been booked. AT this point we are up to 35 camps in all. They are planing that I will conduct 9 of those!!! Crazy, I'm so excited and can't wait!!! Take care and we shall be in touch soon. Once I hit the road I hope to be able to send a long pictures. That should be a little more entertaining. In the meantime this will have to do :)

Love in Christ,
Sharon

Here is the article that ran in the Post Dispatch, the local St Louis News Paper for those of you who didn't see it:
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/CC7DAC03E7EEC7EE862572E5000C5774?OpenDocument
6/11 Bay Village, OH
6/18 Rochester Hills, MI
6/25 Wanuakee, WI
7/2 OFF
7/9 Villa Park, IL
7/16 Fort Wayne, IN (not confirmed)
7/23 Glenview, IL (not confirmed)
7/30 Peoria, IL
8/6 West Hartford, CT
8/13 Fon du Lac, WI

--------------------------------------------

*) From: Sharon Colantonio
Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 7:49 AM
Subject: Sharon C

Okie dokie!
First let me say if you get this and don't want to be a part of this e-mail let me know and I will remove you from the list of senders...OK
So where will Sharon be this summer....
WK 1: June 11 - I head to Bayville, OH - This is the week after we finish school for the year.
WK 2: June 18 - Rochester Hills, MI (Near Detroit)
WK 3: June 25 - Waunakee, WI (North of Madison)
WK 4: July 2 - We drive to Chicago where I will fly to MD for the week, this is vacation.
WK 5: July 9 - Ville Park, IL (outside of Chicago)
WK 6: July 16 - Fort Wayne, IN
WK 7: July 23 - I drive to Excelscor, MN but I do not run the camp.
WK 8: July 30 - No camp YET!
WK 9: August 6 - West Hartford, CT
WK 10: August 13 - No Camp Yet!
So as you can see I will be doing a little bit of traveling. I can't wait!!!! As you can see I will be in Maryland the week of July 4th this is my vacation! There are three other weeks that remain a surprise. One of the camps had to cancel do to the floods in NJ. So I currently have three weeks outside of vacation that I'm not assigned to yet. The exciting part about this, I may get to go out west for a week or so as well!!!
I just wanted to keep you all posted.
Take care and be sure to wave if you see us drive by!
In Christ,
Sharon

--------------------------------

*) From: Sharon Colantonio
Sent: Monday, February 05, 2007 5:44 PM
Subject: Awesome news!

I'm not sure what you will be doing this summer but I know what I will be doing. I just received the e-mail below with the awesome news...some of you have been aware this has been in the works for sometime now others of you are just now finding out. I had the opportunity this past summer to work with LTW for two weeks and it was an awesome time. If you don’t know what this is about check out the website:
http://www.losethetrainingwheels.org/
I hoped I might get the east cost fleet but that didn't work out. So what does this mean...simple put, I will be on the road for 10 weeks this summer traveling the Midwest.
So Becky White I will be on a summer break from DAT (sorry, Patti N., Dennis, Ann and Christy) I will start back in September.
Tim I will also be on a summer break from the band (June, July and August). I will start back in September.
Mark K please keep this under wrap since nothing has been finalized!
I wish I could adequately put in to words how excited I am to have this opportunity. Please continue to keep Heidi (my mechanic) and me in your prayers. Emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually this is hard work. I have to really start working out again…back to training days. This is not work for the faint of heart so anyone interested in getting in to shape…I have to start running againL ? We will also be traveling (driving every one of them) many, many miles leaving camps on Fridays to head for our next destination. I guess now would be a good time to update Rosie (my GPS) J
My family back east…you need to decide when you want me to come home. The week off in August is for family time. So think about it talk it over and let me know. Personally, I would like to be home for Jacks birthday since I missed it last year. BUT I know this is an insane amount of time to try and plan ahead unfortunately it has to be written into the contract So even just an idea would be helpful.L
I’m signing off for now. If you would like to be part of a mailing list of my travels and what is going on from town to town let me know and I will create only an e-mail list to be sent to those folks. I Hope everyone is doing well and staying warm…it is bitter cold here in St Louis, it reminds me of Frostburg!
With Love in Christ,
Sharon
Sharon,
Hey, the board of "Lose the Training Wheels" met this past weekend. You
Have officially been approved as the Floor Supervisor for the Midwest Fleet
(with Heidi Curtis as your technician). I hope you're still interested in the job!
Please send me your dates of availability for summer, 2007. I remember that
you had a week in August that you would not be able to work (we have several part-time Floor Supervisors to fill in when you are not available).
Thanks,
Tammy
p.s. You will be receiving a contract to review. I'll check with our board
president (John Lord) to see when that will take place.

*) Here's a PIC of Sharon with her Bike Camp when they were in FairFax Va. from the FairFax Count PARKTAKES magazine winter 2008 issue:

http://picasaweb.google.com/msw2005/Sharons_PARKTAKES_FairFax_Magzine_PICs_Winter2008_issue

Jacks Shutterfly video 2007

2007-09-17T13:42:00.000-04:00

Here's a "picture show" with music that shows Jack's 2nd year:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5378198986084675860&q=Jacks+Shutterfly&pr=goog-sl

The Cleve PIC 1986-1990 Frostburg era

2007-08-22T11:43:00.000-04:00

----- Original Message -----
From: "Padua, Ron" <Ron.Padua@USPTO.GOV>
To: <ed.mcdermott@ed.gov>; "Lagman, Fred" <Fred.Lagman@USPTO.GOV>; <cyndi.lambinicio@oracle.com>; <mark.wallace@terpalum.umd.edu>
Cc: "theCleve - home" <thecleve55@yahoo.com>
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2007 4:06 PM
Thought you all might get a kick outta this pic that Cleve managed toget his hands on...a flashback to yesteryear :-)

recipe: Donna's Beef Brisket

2007-03-18T13:26:00.001-04:00

This is the beef brisket recipe that Donna made for use right after Jack and Megan were born. It is AWESOME!
I'm think it might be good with Flank steak also.

Mark

-------------------
Donna's Beef Brisket
1 C + 5 oz Soy Sauce (I think "C" means CUP)
2 C cooking Sherry
46 oz pineapple juice
6 oz red wine vinegar
1 1/4 C sugar
1 T fresh crushed garlic or garlic powder (I think "T" mean Tablespoon)
Mix all ingredients together and let meat saute over night in frig.
Cook meat at 300 degrees 9-12 hours.
This can be used for "any meat" (actual title of recipe is "Saute for any meat").
When Donna uses this for 3 lbs of brisket, she used:
3/4 C soy sauce
1/2 C sherry
2 small cans of pineapple juice
1/4 C of red wine vinegar
1/4 C sugar
1 1/2 tsp. fresh crushed garlic

Senator Howard Dean's Scream video

2007-03-08T19:25:00.000-05:00

My buddy Aaron told me about this, it's hilarious!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5FzCeV0ZFc

First post

2007-03-04T17:17:00.000-05:00

Just created.