"In every community nationwide, and for all people in those communities, local health departments and their staff seek health, equity, and well-being through public health policies and service. In this especially challenging time of epidemic and recession, the value of these departments and staff is demonstrated most visibly. The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), in partnership with Research!America, salutes the dedication of these frontline heroes whose work combat disease and improves the quality and length of all lives. Their work is good for everyone.""Public Health Thank You Day is an excellent opportunity to recognize those who have committed their lives to promoting a long, productive and healthy life for all people. As there is greater focus on improving our health system, your hard work, expertise and dedication are critical and greatly appreciated. I am optimistic about our ability to preserve and protect the health and lives of Americans."
—Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
I managed to look like a tard from 9:30am until around 3:30pm due to a double shot of novocaine, thanks to Dr. Dentist. Don't get me wrong, I am glad he numbed me because he needed to pry apart my molars and make sure I don't get a cavity in between there...however, the novocaine was .....a very lasting effect that made me unable to say words starting with F or P all day. Arg.
On the second day, we did a less intimitading trail called the Mirror Lake trail. Even the warnings about mountain lions didn't scare us as we made our way as far as we could go before coming to a place where the trail was closed due to a rock slide avalanche. It was at that point that we ran into a very unafraid deer that let us get within a few feet, which was a little nervewracking but also very cool. We were pretty tired out by the time we finished up and headed back into the bay area.
You can look at my pictures from the park on my picasa page: Yosemite Album
This was by far the most awesome hike so far! I can't believe I have never been to this amazing park until now. The full set of pictures are posted ....you guessed it...on my picasa page.
It is that time of year again! We camped up at Mike & Sarah's and took the canoes out on the Upper Iowa for a nice paddle-fest! I posted the pictures up on my picasa album.
The Indian Creek Nature Center is dedicated to protecting the land we have, and restoring it to pre-settlement conditions. Staff and volunteers are always working on a wide range of restoration activities. Conservation projects vary with the season, amount of degradation an area has suffered, and the desired habitat. The Nature Center is reconstructing tallgrass prairies, restoring oak-hickory savannas, and improving wetlands and riparian habitats. Restoration activities include: removing exotic trees and plants; planting native trees and plants; managing controlled burns in appropriate areas; and, creating animal nest boxes and habitats.
My pictures from the hike are on my picasa album now!
Indian Creek Nature Center Hike
Joel Siverman from the Animal Planet trained this dog for commercials! We got to listen to his talk, demonstration and get our books signed at the Cedar Valley Humane Society's fund raiser! I postd a bunch of pictures from the event on my picasa album. It was so cool to meet him and hear about his career!
Ethan is really getting to be a "big boy"...they grow fast! He has such an amazing sense of humor too, I mean....he is genuinely funny!
Ethan and Alex wrestling around. Amazingly...even though all parents say, "it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt!" there were no injuries this night! Well.....except when Ethan made a running leap onto the couch and racked his shin on the couch frame. He was fine though.
The caption is.... "raaaaawr" because we were being Tyranasaurus. He tricked me into reading a really hard to read book about dinosaurs. He was a little frustrated about me going "steg.....a......luff....a..........saurus?" but then it turned into a game of what dinosaurs eat. 
Granted..he was probably filling his pants, but when Alex hides in the curtains, it is really amazingly cute.
Sarah came over on Friday to pack up the car for our camping trip in Wisconsin. See, we were supposed to start camping on Friday but skipped out there because it was raining. We used the time to shop for gear, try out the new Old Chicago restaurant.... stay up too late. Haa! Imagine!
The weather was perfect for camping! We snagged a cliff site and lugged our gear out. We saw eagles at close range! Of course, you can't beat eating in the fresh air. We didn't even put the flap on my tent....so we slept in the open air! It was a little chilly but in the good way. Aside from cold noses, we were toasty and comfortable! We spent the days hiking and geocaching! On our way home, we crossed up at Prairie Du Chien, checked out La Riviere park for more hiking and geocaching....then came home on the Iowa side. Lovely day for green rolling hills, sunshine and singing along with the radio. It was perfection. I love the area there and Sarah was fun company *grin* We saw a [dead] snake, scarlet tanegers, woodchuck....did I mention eagles!?
Amanda, Alaina and Becky came over for the weekend....whee! We ended up shopping downtown CF...tried out the new restaurant called My Verona. Had a nice walk around the Prairie Lakes because the weather was so beautiful! We even went to the Springs, Sprockets & Pullies exhibit at the museum. That night we played games and laughed. And laughed. After meeting on Sunday we had an excellant dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Amanda & Alaina got on the road then and Becky and I went on a geocaching adventure. When we got home, we found out that our little walk was 5 miles! It was eventful too because we saw horses....several geocache (including the birdhouse one that was AWESOME!!) and got plenty more fresh air.
Here is a sample page from Ethan and Lisa's footprint book! I had footprints/paw prints on one side and the actual foot picture plus the animal in full on the other side. It was just a little 4X6 photo album like you can buy anywhere but I put a cover page on it and then we cut out the footprints and animal pictures I had printed out .....and made Ethan's footprint book! He was so excited about it. It was probably the most rewarding thing I did this week! There were even some quiz pages that had a footprint and then you had to choose from 4 animals to answer the quiz about which animal made the print. GIS Seminar
GIS Applications in Environmental Health
Lisa Swanson, Environmental Health Officer/GIS
Black Hawk County, Iowa
Abstract
Environmental health comprises those aspects of human health, including quality of life, that are determined by interactions with physical, chemical, biological and social factors in the environment. It also refers to the theory and practice of assessing, correcting, controlling and preventing those factors in the environment that may adversely affect the health of present and future generations.
The Black Hawk County Health department utilizes geographic information systems (GIS) to manage geographically based data pertaining to environmental health such as water quality, environmental contamination, visualizing distribution of resources, tracking chemical application for vector control, disease prevention, stream-lining workflow, environmental assessment and permit/licensure management. Projects from the department will be presented along with general overviews of other applications of GIS, demonstrating the power and challenges of using GIS technology as a tool in environmental and public health.
I have so much travel and meeting and calling and everything that I won't know where this week went.......
Poor Tyler......he banged his head and got 3 stitches on his noggin. Got the picture from Janet's facebook (hm, is that stealing?). Her date is wrong....I mean, he wasn't even born yet and what not. But he had a hard week.....good thing healthy little boys heal fast!
Sunday afternoon I hopped the plane to Atlanta again. It made for a long evening but I made it to the hotel by about 10pm and settled in. A few of the other fellows were in town already so I met up with them and caught up a little. Monday was the day those of us that presented went to the CDC and set up our presentations....ok, that was a mini-disaster because I couldn't get in at the last minute, but it turned out that we weren't going to practice our presentations orally anyway so the biggest disaster was that I had to pay $30 for a taxi ride back to the hotel (my choice, rather than sitting in the lobby waiting). When I got back to the hotel, the guys had finally arrived and I had a good time getting teased and talking to them while we figured out what to do for supper. There was a "networking" reception with the incoming class so we decided that since we were "big guy on campus" we were going to meet up in the lobby and walk in all together in a group. Also, we were laughing pretty hard at the quote book by that point and nobody was super anxious to go to the reception anyway....so any chance to stall. After a while though, the smells of the appetizers sped up our progress towards the reception..... and it was good! It was fun to talk to and observe the incoming fellows as they tried to figure out what was going on and attempted to be "cool" about introducing themselves and mingling. Of course, our group had spent the last year together and had all kinds of crazy inside jokes and shared experience. I think most were really feeling it that it was our last "hoorah".
Mark, Josh and I (the meet up gets low turn out when it's in the high 20°s and snowy) met up for a nice winter hike at Palisades. It was our second trip down there and we were hoping that there would be less ice so we could go further. The good news is that we had a gorgeous day and proper walking sticks (except Josh....sorry Josh). But there was still enough ice that we didn't attempt the big hill. We saw some coyote tracks!
Coda is back to his normal self again. Thanks to the advice of my favorite vet and the effects of a pampered lifestyle, he was really only down one day. Here is a picture I took on my cell phone (hence the poor quality) of Coda taking a nap this weekend. As a joke, I bundled him up and even gave him a pillow, figuring he would get up but he just settled in and took a long nap that way. He is hilarious.
Your result for The Great Minds Advice Test...
33% Mother Teresa, 25% Franklin, 17% Freud, 17% Wilde and 8% Leonardo!
Your life advisor is Mother Teresa. She has the philosophy of living life by a spiritual commitment for the benefit of the masses.
With this in mind you may be well served to do more charity work and live your life simply with regard not to self gain but to do what is best for those that are less fortunate than you.
Remember to greet each person you meet with a smile. Love of others is your goal.
Your result for The 3 Variable Funny Test...
Your humor has an intellectual, even conceptual slant to it. You're not pretentious, but you're not into what some would call 'low humor' either. You'll laugh at a good dirty joke, but you definitely prefer something clever to something moist.Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test...
15 Ukiyo-e, 13 Islamic, 8 Impressionist, -8 Cubist, -20 Abstract and -2 Renaissance!
Ukiyo-e (浮世絵, Ukiyo-e), "pictures of the floating world", is a genre of Japaneseand paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries. it mostly featured landscapes, historic tales, theatre, and pleasure. Ukiyo is a rather impetuous urban culture that has bloomed in popularity. Although the Japanese were more strict and had many prohibitions it did not affect the rising merchant class and therefore became a floating art form that did not bind itself to the normal ideals of society.
People that chose Ukiyo-e art tend to be more simplistic yet elegant. They don't care much about new style but are comfortable in creating their own. They like the idea of living for the moment and enjoy giving and receiving pleasure. They may be more agreeable than other people and do not like to argue. They do not mind following traditions but are not afraid to move forward to experience other ideas in life. They tend to enjoy nature and the outdoors. They do not mind being more adventurous in their experiences. They enjoy being popular and like being noticed. They have their own unique style of dress and of presenting themselves. They may also tend to be more business oriented or at the very least interested in money making adventures. They might make good entrepreneurs. They are progressive and adaptable.
Take What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test at HelloQuizzy
Last night Coda started to concern me because he was acting really aloof and very out of character. He wouldn't relax and was very restless. He stood in the middle of the living room and stared off into space but then when I asked him to come over, he did but was very distressed. He would lay and immediatly stand back up...sit, then immediately stand back up. Repeat. And, the worst part was that he kept looking at me with those puppy-dog eyes (literally!) as if to ask me to make it stop. I walked him around a bunch outside. Nothing. I felt him all over, looking for a sore joint or muscle or something that would explain his discomfort. 
Not to be "that guy" that always talks about the weather....but this is a screenshot from just a few minutes ago. The actual temp is MINUS 24!! The windchill puts us close to negative 30-40. That is crazy talk! Not sure how cold it got overnight but this brings a whole new meaning to cold snap!
I haven't been blogging much these days due to my......stress levels. And traveling to Green Bay for New Years but that part is another entry. Ok...the stress is due to having loads of things pulling me in all directions. (see bunny picture, that's how I feel....bedraggled but still huggable).....I will make a bulleted list. These are pleasing, easy to read and help me to focus on be stressed.
Remember how I said I was no meteorologist!?! Well.....turns out I'm not judger of depth of snow either. By the time I got home last night we already had something like 4 inches, nice and fluffy but it was downpouring (if you can use that expression with snow). So by the time I went to bed, the snow was even with the bottom step of my front porch. By the time I woke up for work this morning, it was about 6-8 inches but with drifts that were about a foot (I measure this because when Coda walked out in it, his belly was rubbing on the drift!!). So the first and most obvious concern is.....will my car clear this?! I shoveled out around my garage, thinking if I could get going on it, it would just blast through and I'd take care of it later when I get home. Ok....the problem with that plan is that when you take a little Pontiac Vibe and it becomes high centered on snow (which is where I was by the time I was at about the sidewalk level)....I mean, all of the .....yah. It was bad. So my neighbor man finally noticed my dilemma and came to help shovel out the tires. Finally, with him using the manual transmission and me pushing, we got it out onto the street and proceeded to finish clearing out the drive entrance. 
There's my huge walking stick! And.....notice by my face that it was slippery-as. I am surprised to announce that I never fell once! Actually, none of us did! I hiked with my MeetUp group for about an hour. When they left, I pulled out the GPS and proceeded to try to find a few caches on the opposite side of the park from where we were hiking earlier. I got to see a really beautiful stretch of trails that were not nearly as steep. I am definitely going back to this park. Next time, I will bring my camera FOR SURE!!! Anyway, I was not very successful with the caching....I found one easily. The next one was a multi puzzle cache, where I found the first one, did the calculations and headed out to find the final stage. I don't know if it was the hills or my fatigue from hiking all afternoon, but I could not for the life of me find it. Finally I realized I needed to give up and start heading back before the sun was down. Ask I hiked back toward where I left my car (completing a loop, I didn't go back the way I came), the GPS noted that I was within 250ft of another cache! So...I figured, ok, I can see how close I am to the parking lot, even if it gets dark, I can find my way back.....so I decided to go for it. Not probably the wisest thing considering that as soon as I left the trail/road area it was a pretty steady decline. Well, the 250 was pretty much downward, therefore, I found myself on a creek bed at the bottom of a ravine. The thing about a ravine is that it is sometimes easy to lose your satellite lock....which is what happened (sats must have been low in the sky by that point anyway.....sigh). Anyway, once I got down there, the arrow was bouncing around and other times not even moving. So I hiked down and up for nothing....except that it was beautiful. I was sooooo tired by the time I got back in my car. All that fresh air and sun and adventure did me good!
Dear Nerds & Gamers,
I'm sorry....but this watch is way too complicated. Who the donk would use this watch!? Click on the picture to see the full webarticle about it. I think it would be easier to just open the window, look at the sun and estimate the time. Quicker probably too.
I know, there is something seriously wrong with someone that finds such giddy, snide pleasure in finding typos....but check this out. It was wrong all day on the XM radio screen. I took such snide pleasure that I went to the trouble to make s screen shot and circle it. Who is the screw up now!?! ehahah don't answer that.
Nothing takes an intruder by surprise quite so effectively as a Ninja trained guard owl.
As the lights go down in the city....I am wondering where the week went. Actually it is not surprising because I was playing catch up....but wow. If I can just make it through tomorrow, I will be home free for a relaxing weekend.
What an ordeal. I finally arrived at home (as in....on my homeland soil) at 2:00am Saturday morning......I'll back up and tell you how it went down.
Pretty, right! Some of the other fellows were in early too, so we walked over (past the lighted building in that picture) to a little restaurant near our hotel. I had a club sandwich and some homemade potato chips. The other guys were more creative......meatball sandwiches, pasta dish....pork chops. I think we will be going there again, so I will try to branch out a little. 
Lifehacker reader Gil writes about a whole bunch of neat features in the Picasa 3 Beta's "Experimental" menu we totally missed in our screenshot tour of the photo manager's new features. The most wonky among them is a color search tool, which, as Gil points out, is only so helpful without percentage scaling. On the more useful side, "Show duplicates" helps you weed out carbon photo copies, and you can save searches and compile tagged photos as albums. Hit the link for a screenshot roundup of the not-quite-ready-for-primetime features.
like an outing...which we often will do in groups of two...like the buddy system. So at least twice, Brett has been with me when the machine ate my money. It got to be a joke because the stupid thing was so finicky. There is a big pad of paper to leave a note for the machine people if you have lost money....well, that pad was 3 sheets full by the last time I checked, nobody had been reimbursed. So anyway....today Brett went down and a quarter got stuck. This is typical. But Brett was thinking....not me, machine...not today.... because he whipped out his little pocket knife and tried to pry it out. What he did was loosen what was several dollars worth of change stuck in the machine because he said when he wrenched it around a few times all of a sudden all these quarters came out. So he went around and reimbursed people (us first of course). I have $4.00 in quarters sitting here in a neat little pile. Hooray for vending machine justice!
I love the Fall. Just got back from our annual camping trip in Wisconsin..... and we had perfection for weather. We tried out a new park, Nelson Dewey, which was amazing. Jackie and I are definitely interested in going back. The sites were all surrounded by woods so you didn't really have to deal with neighbors. Another cool thing about this state park is that I took a ferry to get there. I was giddy over this for days. The alternative is to drive an hour south and cross at Dubuque or an hour north to cross at Prairie DuChien. I took the road of adventure, paid $12 and barely controlled my glee.
Dear Loess Hills,
Later, Meredith called when her boys were up from their nap. We had been talking about taking them out to visit the pumpkin farm. Ethan was so excited...there's really nothing like those simple pleasures when you're 3 years old (almost 4!)...they were adorable. If you click any of the pictures below, you can see the rest of the snaps from our outing.
Yah....I'm sweepin....move along, Ben Franklin.
Dear Allen Wrench,
