Coop du Jour

Who will YOU vote for?

2008-10-24T16:45:00.000-07:00

Election day is right around the corner, so the question is, "Who will you vote for?" Obama and McCain both have strong and passionate ideas of what they want to do with the country. As you can see above, they also seem to have very similar fashion sense.

Fun with iChat

2008-10-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking...TWO blog posts in TWO days!!! What has the world come to??? Well, this is a short one just to extol just one of the many virtues of being a Mac owner: iChat. Rebecca and I had a blast using this Mac program to have a video chat with our friends Justin and Holly who live in Boston. Just in case you're wondering...that's not how Justin really looks.

Freedom of Religion on the Cereal Aisle

2008-10-10T17:38:00.000-07:00

You know those moments in life when you think, "Man, I wish I had my camera!" Well, thanks to the magic of cell phone cameras, many of those moments no longer escape us. Case in point: Rebecca and I noticed the scene above several months ago at our neighborhood Lowes Foods. Both of us had that "Man, I wish I had my camera" moment, but sadly our outdated cell phones had crappy cameras that didn't encourage such paparazzi tendencies. Several weeks later, armed with an updated camera phone, I was able to capture this image of humor.

On the left you have cereal "as described in the Holy Scriptures." I wonder if eating this cereal takes the place of your morning devotional?

On the right you have cereal that promises "inner harmony." I'm glad to see that zen monks are now in the cereal business!

You gotta love our great nation where freedom of religion is evident everywhere...even on the cereal aisle at the grocery store!

So You Think You Can...Ummm...Dance?

2008-08-06T19:24:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been 4 months and change since our last blog post. I only have one word for a plausible excuse: Facebook. That website will suck you in worse than heroin. For those of you still checking in on Coop du Jour (all three of you), we promise we will get better at posting more frequently from here onward.

So I think Rebecca and I would agree that we probably watch too much TV. Well, I think we would both agree that I (Brad) watch too much TV. Bec doesn't really have any shows that she watches religiously...with one exception: So You Think You Can Dance. I don't really see the appeal myself, but I have noticed that every other female member of her family is just as serious about it, so maybe the Y chromosome makes me immune or something.

As I observe the intensity of her viewing each episode, I wonder...is this how I look when I watch Lost? Yeah, I have to admit, it probably is. I should criticize, though..she definitely puts up with me watching my fair share of shows she doesn't care for (i.e. seven seasons of Smallville, anyone?)

That's all for now...we'll try to get some real pictures up in the next post. Until then, farewell...

Google Yourself

2008-03-28T07:02:00.000-07:00

We've all either done it or wanted to do it at least once. I myself have done it a few times, but I never really paid attention to the results...until now. I'm up way past my bedtime and really should be getting some sleep, but times like these are perfect for a stream-of-consciousness blog entry. Alas, I digress...

The latest time when I googled myself, I found out that I have apparently done some very interesting things, for instance:

1. I'm a famous Hollywood actor who starred in Wedding Crashers and Alias.

2. I own a contemporary art gallery.

3. I'm a reknowned motivational speaker.

4. Did I mention that I'm an accomplished web designer?

5. I'm a published author.

6. I'm a student pastor who apparently owns a piece of the Internet.

7. I won a gold medal for swimming freestyle in the Olympics.

8. Oh yeah...almost forgot, I sing tenor!

If you haven't ever done it...try it sometime. You may be surprised at what you find!

Game Days and Fair Nights

2007-11-04T19:11:00.000-08:00

There are two things that signal the arrival of fall to me...football (and football weather), and the State Fair. Football weather is those days where the air is so crisp it snaps,the sky is a deep azure blue with nary a cloud in sight, the trees are smoldering with the blaze of red, orange and gold leaves, and you don't feel like you can breathe deeply enough to take it all in. It takes me back to Saturday afternoons in Kenan Stadium, cheering on the Heels, which they need a bit of this year. But hey, they're young, they're learning, and there's always the Carolina fan's standard fallback of "waiting till basketball season."

Too bad I can't say the same for the rest of my boys--I didn't even watch the Panthers game this afternoon, which was probably a good thing, and I'm currently watching the Eagles continue their season's demise at the hands of the Cowboys. The Cowboys! At least there's the SuperCooper Bowl to look forward to...

On the other hand, the State Fair is always highly anticipated, and somehow doesn't disappoint. We had the chance to go twice this year, stocking up on fried food, vertigo-inducing rides, the sights and smells of various farm animals, and our fireworks fix for the year (right Melissa?), as well as taking in a concert by Mercy Me and Aaron Shust. We had a rather adventurous year...we sampled some of the deep-fried novelties--I recommend the deep-fried oreos over the chocolate chip cookies, but we didn't try the deep-fried PB&J, twinkie or moonpie (I think it helps if you like the food in it's original form first)--we saw a sheep fight in one of the barns, the boys saw a people fight in line for the Gravitron, and we almost got taken out by a dozen cops descending on a pickpocketer. Good thing we were at the fair, since I don't know who was policing the rest of Raleigh that night...

Good Times

2007-10-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

We're still getting settled in the new house, so we'll post pictures soon. I think it must be some law of nature that as soon as you move in to a new house, you have something every weekend. We are enjoying it, though, and we have plenty of weekends ahead of us for those "around the house" projects. Our biggest problem right now is just deciding where to start!

In the meantime, we celebrated our niece's first birthday a few weeks ago with a good old Southern-style pig pickin'. It was fun to have family over, and let the niece and nephew break in the playset we inherited with the house (much to our mothers' delight, you can imagine). We also got to enjoy the patio for the first time, thanks to a brief tease of deliciously cool weather. Here are a few pics from the festivities...

The next weekend we celebrated the wedding of one of my best friends, whom I have known since second grade and have had the privilege of growing a great deal with over the past two decades. We had a two-day pseudo slumber party, catching up with old friends and making new ones, at a wonderful B&B in Fuquay. If you ever find yourself in Fuquay, NC, check out the Chateau Belle Vie on Hwy 401--beautiful accomodations, fantastic food (and coffee :o), and the owner is wonderful. Here are the ladies at the bridal brunch:

It was also a great chance to catch up with some of the friends I've grown up with since elementary school and haven't seen in years--and now there are kids in tow. Guess that officially makes us the "adults"...maybe...some of us, anyway.

Anyhow, the wedding was fantastic, the weather cooperated, and the setup looked like a photo shoot for Martha Stewart Weddings. Thank you Stancil family for everything, and congratulations Missy and Rod!

Cartoon Brad

2007-08-23T12:50:00.000-07:00

So yeah, this is a blatant rip-off of Chris' blog, but I really got a kick out of making my very own Simpson's character. Here's what I would look like on the show:

If you want to make one of your own, click here.

Adventures in Househunting: Conclusion and Epilogue

2007-08-19T19:59:00.001-07:00

So you can get a little burned out house-shopping. And overwhelmed. Of course, once you find a house you like, the real fun begins. All the back and forth, lots of legal documents that say very little and mean even less in normal English, not to mention trying to get your own house ready to go on the market and hope someone else falls in love with your little abode. Needless to say, blogging has fallen by the wayside as we have been living in a "model" home for the past couple of weeks, ready to vacate the premises at any potential buyers' whim, but all was not for naught...as of August 30, we will be Raleigh-ites no more. Here is a picture of our new home in Wake Forest--woo hoo!

The process was slightly impeded by my need to have four impacted wisdom teeth removed surgically (why, oh why did I not have this done in school like any normal person? that's a rant for another day, but the moral of the story is don't let your kids leave home with their wisdom teeth!). Therefore, the first and only time we saw the house before we actually made an offer I was under the influence of a fairly strong dose of hydrocodone...probably not a suggestion in the house-hunting handbook, but apparently just what I needed to turn off the "overanalyze" switch. The whole time we were waiting to hear back about the offer, I kept asking Brad, "did we check this? what did this look like? why didn't we take pictures?", but after returning for the (4-hour long) inspection, we had plenty of time to confirm we do indeed like the house. In fact, here is one of the primary selling features for me: the huge screened-in porch. It will be nice and inviting when the upper 80s and low 90s of September offer a cool respite from the lovely weather we have been experiencing for the past month or so. Ahh, summer in the south...

So as a final treat to those who have been keeping up with our house hunt, we have one final gem to offer. While not actually a house we were considering, it is quite a sight to behold--we came across it while helping my brother and sister-in-law find their new house, quite close to us in fact. It isn't often you see such a convincing argument for a homeowner's association...
The picture doesn't quite do it justice; what you see is only the tip of the iceberg. The statue gardens in the back and side yard aren't visible, and neither is the abundance of red and yellow-painted accessories. We thought someone just really caught the decorating bug, but we found out it is actually used as a church. Nonetheless, it is still one of the most interesting incarnations of the bland 1950's ranch brick I have ever seen...maybe we can should send it in to HGTV...I'm sure they have a show for that kind of thing, right?

The Joys of Searching for a New House, Part 2

2007-07-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

This really isn't a new post, per se. It's more of an addendum to the last post. For those avid Coop du Jour readers, you know that Rebecca and I have spend quite a few weeknights and Saturdays looking at houses in the North Raleigh/Wake Forest area. Our last post centered around some interesting vehicles that were outside of a home we visited. We thought we had seen all there was in the wild world of house hunting, but today we saw something on an all new level.

We ventured out to see five houses this afternoon, one of which was a foreclosure. For those of you who don't know, a foreclosure is a home where the bank has taken over direct ownership of the home for one of a few reasons (most often because the homeowners can't pay the mortgage). So we arrive at this foreclosed home and the first thing I notice is this:

Obviously, when you a see a notice like this from the county sheriff, your internal alarm starts going off. My first thought was "Is this a former crack house?" Upon further inspection of the house, we're not exactly sure what went on in the house, but the popular theory is that they were part of an illegal dog-fighting ring. The backyard had marks in the grass where multiple dog cages had probably been located. In the end, there were a lot of other issues that caused us to cross this house off our list. The search continues....and who knows what we'll find at the next house!

The Joys of Searching for a New House

2007-06-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

As most of you probably know by now, Rebecca and I are looking for a new home. In past weeks we have viewed houses of every shape and size in a effort to find "the perfect home." Let me tell you, we have seen some really strange things during this process, but something we saw tonight literally compelled me to blog about it.

When you're searching for a new house, one of the terms you'll learn is "convey." When something "conveys," that means that it is included with the purchase of the house. In other words, if the home listing says that the refrigerator conveys, then you'll get to keep it when you buy the house. Tonight, we saw a few things that we really hope convey with this house. Number one is this:

My jaw hit the floor when we pulled up and saw this masterpiece of the American automotive industry. We instantly thought we had found the perfect house...until we saw on the sheet that (sadly) the car did NOT convey.

We got excited again when we went into the backyard and saw this:

Wow...who wouldn't want a funnel cake trailer with a brand new house??? Come on people, you know you're all salivating for a warm, fluffy funnel cake with some chocolate syrup and powdered sugar! MMMMM....

Alas...this also did not convey. So, the search for the perfect house continues. Who knows what we'll find at the next house? A space shuttle? Bigfoot? Your guess is a good as mine...

Can you survive a zombie apocalypse???

2007-05-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

63%Mingle² - Free Online Dating

Happy (Belated) Easter

2007-04-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

Our niece Eden and our nephew Connor
checking out each other's new Easter do...
we hope your Easter celebration was wonderful as well!

Zeroes

2007-03-29T07:20:00.001-07:00

Check out this hilarious spoof of "Heroes".

7 Movies for '07

2007-03-21T11:51:00.000-07:00

The summer movie season is fast approaching, so it's time to start pondering the age-old question, "Which movies am I willing to throw down $8.25 to see and not end up disappointed afterwards?" Well, friends, I'm here to help! Here's my breakdown of some of the most exciting movies coming out in the months ahead:

1. "TMNT" (March 23rd) - Yes, I know this isn't technically a "summer movie" but it is definitely one you can't miss. I know all you 20/30-something guys out there remember the 80's cartoon with Mike, Raph, Leo, and Don. For those of you who need a head's up on the turtles, click here. Whether you're an old fan or new to the turtles, this film will not disappoint! From the few trailers I've seen, the computer animation is amazing and the action is intense!

2. "Hot Fuzz" (April 20th) - I owe this one to my brother-in-law, Matt. He introduced me to the low budget British horror/comedy "Shaun of the Dead." If you haven't seen "Shaun" then you need to rent it ASAP. "Hot Fuzz" is another comedy starring the same duo from "SOTD" and looks absolutely hilarious!

3. "Spiderman 3" (May 4th) - DUH!!! I don't think I need to say anything about this one. Anyone who knows me should already know about 4,387,544 reasons why they should see this movie!

4. "Pirates of the Caribbean 3" (May 25th) - I have to admit...I wasn't too thrilled about this one since the second installment wasn't so hot. However, I saw the first trailer of "POTC3" the other day and it looks AMAZING. Plus, my super intelligent wife reminded me of the fact that the second movie in a trilogy almost always lets you down (Spiderman 2 being a notable exception)

5. "Fantastic Four 2" (June 15th) - I know a lot of people complained about the first installment of the Fantastic Four series, but I honestly liked it a lot and I can't wait to see the next one. Anyone who has seen the trailer with the Silver Surfer HAS to admit he looks awesome.

6. "Transformers" (July 4) - Earth invaded by aliens...Giant transforming robots...Explosions courtesy of Michael Bay...can anyone say "popcorn movie?" I'm sure this one won't be too deep in the plot department, but every now and then your inner geek just needs to sit back, relax, and watch alien robots kick the ba-geezus out of each other.

7. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (July 13th) - Rebecca, what better way to spend the 5th anniversery of our wedded bliss than to see Harry Potter once again on the big screen? For all you fans of the books, you know you're going to love this one. For all of you who aren't fans of the books...well...are their any of you out there?

That's it folks...hope you enjoy the movies...comments are appreciated as always!

Cave of Despair

2007-03-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know that those cheesy little online games are responsible for SO much lost productivity at work, but you HAVE to try this one! It's really addictive!

Cave of Despair

Help Dr Carter beat the Lava and swing his way to safety.

Play this free game now!!

2007 ACC Champions!!!

2007-03-11T19:40:00.000-07:00

They did it!!! Roy's boys won the first ACC tournament since 1998. This heartfelt victory can't be celebrated too long, because now we've got a long road to Atlanta and the NCAA Final Four. However, for tonight, enjoy the victory boys. NC State didn't let us have it without a strong fight, so savor the victory and move on to March Madness with your heads held high.

Vote for F4K!

2007-03-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

Futures for Kids, the nonprofit organization I work for, needs your help! Rezoom.com is awarding more than $200,000 to nonprofit organizations all over the county based on number of votes received. From now through March 31, you can vote once per day per email address, with the regional winners receiving $5,000 and the chance for $100,000 in the second national voting round. That's where you come in...since you're already online, just click here to vote.

If you don't know what F4K is, you are welcome to read the essay posted on Rezoom for a more detailed explanation, but in a nutshell we are an online career exploration tool for middle and high school kids that is trying to help kids stay in school and be successful by showing them the relevance of education. Numbers just released show North Carolina's high school graduation rate to be only around 68%, and while the number of students attending college has increased the number of graduates has not. Without a plan or goal, students will continue to drop out and be faced with little or no options, while at the same time creating a severe shortage of skilled labor. I don't know about your experience, but the only reason I saw my guidance counselor was because she was my cheerleading coach. This is a chance to motivate students and show them their options before they give up on school or spend 8 years in school then realize they don't want to be a doctor.

If you want to find out more about F4K or sign up as a Career Coach for the students, check out our website at www.f4k.org.

Okay, so I'm a sucker for my nephew Connor!

2007-02-12T14:13:00.000-08:00

While most of you know that Super Cooper Bowl V was clearly the big deal of last weekend, one of the lesser known highlights was having our nephew Connor stay with us Sunday night. I don't know what it is, but for some reason I just LOVE entertaining this kid...and he loves being entertained by me! I think it might have something to do with the fact that we're on roughly the same maturity level, except for one slight difference: I think girls have cooties, while he doesn't even know what girls are!

The Evolution of Ty Pennington

2007-01-24T16:22:00.000-08:00

Like many of you North Carolinians out there, Bec and I enjoyed the latest episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The focus of this weeks episode was the demolition and rebuilding of a family's home in downtown Raleigh. As usual, Ty and the design gang did a fantastic job making a new home for a deserving family.

There's an interesting undercurrent to this family show, however. We're talking about the gradual evolution of Ty Pennington himself. When we first met Ty on the set of Trading Spaces, he quickly became recognizable by his propensity to never wear a shirt while doing carpentry, as seen here:

As time went by, Ty joined the cast of EM:HE as team leader and began sporting the hippy/granola hemp necklace, as seen here:

Then, we see Ty as we know him today, having graduated to a greater hippy/granola status with several more necklaces:

Due to the miracle of modern technology, forensic artists have rendered a speculative image of what Ty Pennington will look like in 20 years, assuming the same trend continues unabated.

We here in the Cooper household hope that Mr. Pennington gets the help he needs before the damage to his neck becomes irreversible.

Whose kid is that???

2006-12-16T08:10:00.000-08:00

Not mine! That is my adorable niece, Eden Stewart McKinney, taking a nap with her favorite uncle.

Halloween Fun Facts

2006-10-29T16:04:00.000-08:00

In light of the upcoming All Hallow's Eve, I thought I'd browse the inter-web and see what fun Halloween stuff was out there. Here are some of the interesting links I found:

-Click here for some interesting Halloween info from the U.S. Census Bureau.

-Have fun with Boogie Bones, courtesy of Ben and Jerry's.

-A fan of Michael Myers? Here is a site for you.

-Yummy yummy for my tummy...

-Want some spooky sounds?...here are some from none other the geniuses at NASA...gotta love our tax dollars at work.

-And finally, carve your own pumpkin online here.

Chuck is the man...NOT!

2006-09-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay, so I'm getting a lot of flack for not updating this blog in quite some time. I could make up some fancy excuse...abduction by aliens, etc...but the truth is that it just kept slipping my mind. So anyway, Coop du Jour is back for your viewing pleasure (unless you're a State fan). Some of you may have seen this video before, but I had to put it up here cause it's H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S!!!

Coolest Birthday Present Ever!

2006-07-27T14:13:00.000-07:00

Kudos to my wife on this one...she knows me so well inside and out. Aren't you all SOOOO jealous???

Oh yeah, this other picture is for Jared...

Man-Friendly Stores

2006-07-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

So the lovely wife and I spent most of the day at the Outlets in Smithfield, NC. For those of you who haven't been there, it's fairly typical as most outlet shopping centers go. The store composition was what one would expect:

52% - clothing stores
33% - stores involving dishes and various household items
11% - shoe stores
4% - other (i.e. man friendly stores)

As you may have noticed, only 4% of these stores are what we would call "man friendly." In other words, these are the stores that men WOULD go into without being dragged in by their wives, girlfriends, or mothers.

This is a problem.

You see, by only providing 4% of stores to service 50% of the population, the owners of these outlet malls are shooting themselves in the foot. It's really simple economics...if the demand is there, then the supply must change to go with it. Actually, that's not really an economic premise, but it sounded good...so just go with it.

Do I think such a change will occur? Probably not. But I can hope...

Big Blue is BACK!!!

2006-07-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

Oh man oh man oh man.....

Wow...

If you haven't seen it by now, heed these words of advice: Drop what you're doing and go see Superman Returns RIGHT NOW!!! I don't care if it's 3:00am...it's playing SOMEWHERE....so go see it!

Now that you're going to go see it, I have another piece of advice: If you can swing it, go see the IMAX 3-D version! It only has 20 minutes of actual 3-D footage, but those 20 minutes are amazing! I know what you're thinking...you don't want to wear those cheesy 3-D glasses the whole movie just for 20 minutes here and there...well don't worry, they'll flash a signal on the screen to show you when to put on and take off the glasses. It really is worth the extra 3-4 bucks to get the full experience.

On a completely unrelated note...this is my first post from our brand new Macbook. I'm still getting used to it, but so far it's really amazing!

Friday night...I have a date with destiny...

2006-06-29T20:30:00.000-07:00

...and destiny is wearing blue tights and a red cape. That's right folks...the day has finally arrived. Friday night at 7:45pm, my lovely bride and I will be viewing Superman Returns for the first time...and on the supersized IMAX screen no less! How is such an experience possible? The credit is due to one person alone: my amazing wife Rebecca. Although she has a passing interest in comic book characters, seeing Superman Returns on opening weekend is NOT on the top of her priority list...so to set up something like this for me and then surprise me with it is something I will cherish. I know, I know...some of you are thinking, "Geez, dude, it's JUST a movie." To me, however, it's a little something more...and the fact that my wife recognizes and encourages that....well folks, that is something special all by itself. Thanks, babe, for everything you are and everything you do...you're the best and I love you so much!

Brad

To Mac or not to Mac...that is the question...

2006-06-28T18:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I've been hearing from several fronts that Macs are the greatest things since sliced bread. I've always been skeptical...I mean, it used to be that you could only run a select few programs on a Mac...and then there was the whole non-compatibility with PC's...basically, I always thought buying a Mac was a bad idea.

Well...lately, I've been rethinking that idea. It probably has something to do with our PC desktop screwing up more often...or me having to restart my work laptop more and more frequently...but I think those cute little Mac vs. PC commercials are starting to have an effect on me. I mean, who really wants to be the geeky guy from the box on the left? If we honestly look within ourselves, I think we would all agree that we want to be the cool, hip guy coming from the box on the right. Don't lie to yourselves people...it's shameful.

All that being said, it still remains to be seen if we'll get a Mac or not. The big X factor right now is whether or not the wife goes for it. She's been a Mac supporter in the past...but is she willing to feed my gadget hunger one more time in exchange for getting a possibly-superior home computer? Only God knows...

Two more days...

2006-06-25T06:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm foaming at the mouth at the impending release of Superman Returns...just like I'm sure the rest of you are. However, I feel I must address an errant bit of news that has come to my attention recently. Apparently there are some misguided elements of the American populace out there that feel that this latest incarnation of Superman is "gay". Just so we're clear...they aren't saying that the actor portraying Superman (Brandon Routh) is gay...they're saying Big Blue himself is gay.

SUPERMAN IS NOT GAY.

There, I said it. I won't entertain any further notions of this fallacy. For those of you who require evidence to the contrary, feel free to research DC Comics' vast database of material on the Man of Steel. As for me, I'm going to wait the required two days and enjoy seeing my biggest hero on the big screen once again!

Oh, how the mighty have fallen...

2006-06-13T19:41:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems that Duke's golden boy has finally fallen from his pedestal. Read the story here:

http://www.wral.com/news/9361971/detail.html

X-Men 3....yawn....

2006-06-06T17:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, if you're reading this and you haven't yet seen X-Men 3, then stop now because I'm going to spoil it all. So I was kinda worried when I found out that they changed directors mid-stream, but I was hopeful that they would at least stay true to the comic book roots of the series. Sadly, my hopes were dashed in the first 30 minutes. During the course of the movie, the writers proceeded to kill off THREE of the main characters and take away the mutant powers of THREE MORE!!! I wanted to throw something at the screen!

Well, that's Hollywood for you. My hopes now rest on Superman Returns, which comes out later this month. From what I've read, it should live up to the legend and then some! We'll find out June 28th!

By the way...in case anyone is wondering....I am NOT a dork. I just happen to have an unhealthy knowledge of comic books.

Brad

Coop du Jour

2006-05-28T20:34:00.000-07:00

Coop du Jour

The Baby Boom

2006-05-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

So lately it seems we are surrounded by babies and people having babies, a club we have yet to join (we don't even have the dog yet; evidently we're way behind). Nothing against motherhood, by any means, let's just say the maternal instincts haven't exactly kicked in...blame it on parents who think the mall is a great place to bring spoiled and poorly-behaved children. People keep telling me it's different when it's your own, a theory I'm not sure I buy into yet, but now we have the chance to test it--from a distance. We went to Charlotte this weekend to meet our first nephew, Connor Michael Simmons, born May 2 at 6lbs, 15oz and 20" long. Here he is sporting his Carolina pride from day 1--go Heels! He is a sweet little angel and has been so good, and yes I can see how it's all worth it (although seeing my sister in recovery mode does not do much to alleviate my own misgivings). My brother and sister-in-law are expecting as well, a little girl due in September, so give us a few months (or years...sorry mom and dad) of babysitting and we'll revisit this whole kid thing--for now, I like the sound of Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Brad.

War of the Roses

2006-04-29T21:28:00.000-07:00

So today my wife decides she's going to plant some new flowers in our spacious 4 ft by 4 ft backyard. I'm thinking this involves just a quick trip to Lowes. How wrong could I have been???

What began as a simple trip to Lowe's turned into the errand trip from H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks. First, we're off to Lowe's, then to Target, then to Tuesday Morning, then to ANOTHER Target, then BACK to Tuesday Morning....and finally home. It was a fine example of good ole American consumerism (Die Commies!!!)

Anyways...enough ranting...that's all for today...

Brad

To Dork or Not to Dork...That is the Question.

2006-04-28T21:33:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so Jared thinks he's funny by posting our dorky e-mail conversation. I could launch into a tirade about the lameness of such an act, but I find myself looking at the larger issue of Dork-ness. What does being a "dork" really mean? To find the true meaning, I think one must break down the word into it's two integral parts. First, we have "do". For those of you not well-versed in the English language, this is what we call a VERB. "Do" simply means to commit, to perform, or to execute. Now that we have mastered the first part of "dork", we must look at the second part of the word, "rk". Aside from being an abbreviation for radial keratotomy, "rk" clearly has no definite meaning. In other words, when you combine "do" and "rk", you are left with the following meaning:

DORK: (dôrk)

1. (verb) to commit an act of utter meaninglessness
2. (noun) one who commits an act of utter meaninglessness

If you have read this far into the post, please be aware that the last five minutes or so that it took you to read all this will be five minutes that you will never get back in your entire lifetime. They have been completely wasted reading the ramblings of a self-proclaimed dork...but at least now you know what the word means.

Until next time...

Brad

Inaugural posting

2006-04-27T19:38:00.000-07:00

Hello out there...this is the first ever Cooper blog. We used to make fun of all our friends who had blogs and told ourselves that we would NEVER do this. Now here we are...

The first words out of Rebecca's mouth when she saw was I was doing were, "You've sold out!!!" Yes, I have sold out...I have succumbed to all the momentous peer pressure of our blogging friends. Oh well....chalk one up for conformity.

So yeah, that's about it...be sure to look for fun stuff in the future from us. I warn you in advance...Rebecca and I have a VERY strange sense of humor. Don't feel strange if you don't get a particular joke that we post...it's probably just something for us to laugh about. If you're really good, we might clue you in one day.

Brad