Stowers' Corner

Baby Owen Zachary Stowers

2007-09-17T01:10:00.000-04:00

I know, I know... it's been nearly a year since my last blog entry (on this site anyways). Times have been crazy busy: at my job, with ministry, and 9 weeks ago having a baby! Boy time flies.

Well, I thought I'd send a shout out here to say that I am still alive and do blog every now and then ; ) Actually, in the next couple of months, an actual website may be in the workings... (to host photo galleries, have personalized email, a spot for blogging, and other fun things). But we'll see.

Here's a picture of Owen (looking all cute). He's 9 weeks old (as of Saturday, Sept 15). He's over 13 lbs now, and at least 24 inches long!

(N.B. This picture was actually taken just over a month ago... but I still think it's a cute one!)

Vacation

2006-07-23T15:37:00.000-04:00

Hey all. Work is going well... and surprisingly there's a lot for me to do already--that's why I've decided to take a vacation ; ) Well, actually I had this planned before I began interviewing for a job.

This week I'm going to Kelley's Island with some in-laws, and then this coming weekend, Amy and I are going to Niagara Falls with my cousin and his wife. It should be some good times.

I must admit I kind of feel like the president a little bit during his first term: I worked for 7 days, and I am taking 5 days of vacation : )

It's Official

2006-07-09T15:33:00.000-04:00

It's official that I'm a lame-o because I have posted in a while... that, or it's official I'm busy because I haven't posted in a while.

Naw, it's official that I received the official offer and officially accepted the position at MI&ES... officially speaking, of course. : )

I begin THIS THURSDAY, July 13. I had to wait two weeks from the time I returned the acceptance form, which was 2 weeks ago this coming Thursday, of course. As part of the position, I need to get a "Top Secret Clearance." What that essentially translates into is a bunch of crap work looking up where I've lived the past 10 years... who I worked for the past 10 years... my family members, their spouses, their cousins, their uncle's cousin's former roommate... etc. And then people who are not my spouse or relatives to vouch for where I've lived / worked, etc. Yea...

But I am excited to start working and use a degree it took me 5 years to get (legitimately--I didn't "squeeze 4 yrs into 5 or anything"). I've kinda missed problem solving--I know, I'm a geek. So be it.

Guess What?!

2006-06-20T14:16:00.000-04:00

For my birthday present, I got a professional massage on Friday. I suggest them!

Also, I talked today with the hiring manager for the MI&ES position that is open (see previous posts below). There is nothing "official" yet (because I still have to interview for 2 other positions), but as long as the position is approved, they would like to offer me the position... which is good news, because these other 2 jobs I am interviewing for, from what I've heard described to me thus far, are not as appealing as this one!

Yea! That also takes some pressure off of my interviews tomorrow.

It's Been A While, I Know

2006-06-20T09:04:00.000-04:00

It's been a bit since I've updated, and a lot has gone on--thus me being too busy to update : )

Interviews:
~Phone Interview, June 12: I passed the screening and I have an in-plant interview tomorrow, Wednesday June 21.
~In-Plant Interview, June 15: I was there from ~10 am to 4 pm. I had 5 interviews for this position in the "Military Inlet & Exhaust Systems" (MI&ES). Overall, I was getting good feedback from the people. (e.g. "You previous experience is very applicable to this position," "It looks like you'd be a great match here," "I'm impressed with... XYZ," etc.) I have a follow-up phone call with the hiring manager today, so we'll see...
~Phone Interview, June 19: A third position contacted me Wednesday June 14 inquiring about some things. I had a phone interview yesterday, and they would like to see me tomorrow when I come in for my other in-plant interview.
~In-Plant Interviews, June 21: I have interviews regarding 2 different positions (at least) tomorrow. One is Mission Analysis in the Rotating Parts Center of Excellence (my 6/12 phone interview & original 6/21 in-plant interview), and the other is in Military Performance Engineearing (my 6/19 phone interview & the add-on in-plant interview tomorrow 6/21).

I should hear back from all of these within a couple weeks with a "yea / nay" answer. There is NO competing within GE, so if all three of them want to offer me a position, all the hiring managers talk, agree on salary, etc., and then I get to choose. If you pointed a gun at me and told me today to choose, from what I have heard thus far from these departments and managers, the position in MI&ES is by far the best.

This Past Weekend:
It has been a while since Amy & I went to Norwalk, and we did that this past weekend. We went up Friday (June 16, MY BIRTHDAY... I am now 24 in case you are wondering), her cousin got married Saturday in Toledo, and we came back home Sunday.

Sorry to end this post on a sad note, but Amy's family has had 2 dogs for a long time now (almost 8 years?): an Alaskan Malamute female (named Phoenix) and a black Labrador [mix maybe] male (named Danny). Well, Phoenix has had a surgery to remove some kind of benign fatty tumor right behind her left front leg area. She hadn't been using it really since the operation, and just hopping around using 3 legs. She went from weighing 115 lbs to 93 lbs! After doing all they could, Amy's parents took Pheeny (aka Phoenix) to the vet again to see why she just seems to be lazy, not eating much, not wanting to try and use her leg, etc... and they've been noticing she's panting a lot more than usual. When the vet saw that, she decided to take x-rays of Pheeny's chest and saw that there is cancer all around her lungs & that there's nothing more she could do to make Phoenix more comfortable. So, they decided the best thing to do was to not allow her to suffer any more and put her down yesterday. Like I said, they've had her about her whole life, and she was around 8 yrs old... which from what I hear is pretty good for big dogs such as herself. She was to be a show dog, but due to her size (being too huge... 115 lbs, people!!), that's when the previous owner's sold her to my in-laws.

So, around 8 yrs ago, they had gotten Danny from the pound, and about a week later, they got Pheeny. Now, they still have Danny, and he's a good dog, too, just as Pheeny was a good dog.
(I would post a photo, but I do not have one right now... at least not any where I can think where they are.)

Phone Interview

2006-06-12T12:54:00.000-04:00

Well I just had a phone interview today for a job at GE. If I "passed" this screening, then I get called in next week for a face to face panel interview. We'll see how it all goes.

This Thursday I have an interview at GE for a different job (as I posted a few days ago). So it seems things are happening, but at a snail's pace.

Another item of interest I found out through it all is that GE as a business is going to a mandatory 4 hours of over time a week (it is paid). I don't know if I like that. I have things to do outside of work: family time, ministry, etc. And all these things take time.

More Reviews Updated

2006-06-09T10:07:00.000-04:00

If you peruse the links on the side, you'll notice that more Reviews have been updated (books, movies, and tv). If you want something reviewed (whether an item or a category of things), let me know. My experience is vast and deep... unfortunately a bit too much with some pop culture stuff.

I'm thinking of adding "Game Reviews"... what do you think about that?

The 5 hr Interview

2006-06-09T08:51:00.000-04:00

Guess what? GE contacted me again, and wanted to set up a time for interviewing me. The date is set for next Thursday, June 15... from about 10 am to 3 pm! I have five 45 minute interviews (the HR manager, the hiring manager, etc.).

I hope they don't ask me questions like "If you were an animal, what animal would you be and why?"

Read Any Comics Lately?

2006-06-06T10:20:00.000-04:00

This sunday while at home in Cuyahoga Falls (*shout out to homeys*), I read the Sunday comics (the "in color" version!) for the first time in a loooong while. With me being as computer savvy as I am, I duly noted the comics that referenced our technological / computer age in which we live.

So, in order for you to enjoy, as I did, the in color, comic relief of Sunday, I have posted them on one of my other blogs, namely An Action Verb. Or you can just link straight to it here: "Comics: Computers".

Restaurants

2006-06-06T10:10:00.000-04:00

With the scare of fast foods (e.g. McDonald's after the movie "Supersize Me," a piece of rat found in a salad bar at a Wendy's, etc.), restaurants in general might be in some dire straits.

To help counter this possible anarchy against the food industry, I've decided it is in the best interest of both me and my readers (that's you) to provide an honest feedback system--dare I say, "Review"--of any restaurants I go to.

So, in the very near future, probably the next couple of days, Restaurant Reviews will be added to "My Reviews." I understand for those of you who want to get up on more reviews that I haven't posted new ones lately, BUT I will let you know that there are many drafts saved of movies and books, etc. Soon, a plethora of reviews will be released... and be forewarned, you may go into "hyper-ophthalmological info sensory overload shock syndrome" (or what I like to call: HOISOSS). {Don't look that up in a medical dictionary, you won't find it because I just made it up.}

Camping

2006-05-30T09:25:00.000-04:00

Over this past (looong) weekend, Amy and I went camping with a couple friends. It was good--I haven't been camping since the summer of 1999!

Would you like a glimpse of our nature expedition?

Don't worry, there were no bears : ( It was fun, but Amy & I were glad to get back home and take a shower! Later Sunday night, we all watched "Fun with Dick and Jane"... and that was pretty good overall. It had a couple HILARIOUS parts to it!!

And the break on Monday (being a holiday) was restful and needed.

Travelling the U.S.

2006-05-24T10:10:00.000-04:00

The red states are where I have been--or at least travelled through by car. A couple of them I haven't stopped in, but... eh. Also, I had to shrink this image to fit on the blog--so if some state lines are "splotchy" or "not there"... that's why.

create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

An Updated Look

2006-05-23T21:48:00.000-04:00

Well, as you can see, I've updated (again) the look of the blog. Links can get long when you list them out... and if I ever add more to the side, the side matter will be twice as long if not longer than the entries! So, I hope you like the drop-down box style...

and if you don't--oh well.

(p.s. if you want code to do it too, I just scrapped it off of someone else's blog--and I'd be happy to email you the code and where to put it!)

The Da Vinci Code

2006-05-23T21:47:00.000-04:00

Kyle, Amy, and I all went to see The Da Vinci Code on Saturday night. As a movie, I thought it was pretty good. Not the best Tom Hanks or Ian McKellen movie I've seen, but good nevertheless in it's own right.

I can see why the Catholic Church might have some issues with it. But people, IT'S A MOVIE! I do not understand why the church is so reactive anyway! That's part of the problem with the institutional church today--most people want to be "nice" and pacify everyone... when they should be proactive in the world and especially with people. Don't get me wrong, their purpose should not be to intentionally piss people off, but there is so much the church neglects or doesn't do "for the good of being cool, considerate, liked, and nice" to the detriment of Christ.

Go see the movie and decide for yourself. I think this movie could be a good discussion starter even for those who do not believe in Christ personally.

More Good Stuff

2006-05-19T15:04:00.000-04:00

About Reviews
Within the next couple days, a handful of new reviews will be coming (see My Reviews). I remembered the other movie we are watching tonight--"Supersize Me." I gues once you see it, you'll never eat at McDonald's the same way again (if you ever eat at McDonald's ever again, that is).

About Thinking
The answers to the first 3 lateral thinking puzzles have been posted (again). Now you can stop pulling out your hair, and see what the answers really are. A new one is posted as well (see An Action Verb).

About Life
Well, I am done with my first year of graduate school! And, I have applied to a few positions at GE. Things in life really change fast--and the only thing that seems to be a constant is change itself. It seems like there is so much I want to do, and not enough time to do it in. Well, I hope I make the most of my "dot" (which is my life) on the line of time...

Some Reviews

2006-05-15T11:05:00.000-04:00

I saw the movie "Crash" on Saturday night. It was better than I thought it would be! For a fuller review of the movie, see My Reviews. Posted there are and will be more reviews about movies I've seen recently, books I've read, CD's, etc. Scope it out for the scoop from Rob : )

This friday my home church is having a movie night. We are watching "Hook" and something else... I forget what. I like "Hook," and I'm sure there will be something written about it soon ; ) Don't forget folks, you need to have times of relaxing, a "break" if you will. So, when you do, check out a good movie sometime.

Check Out Some "Lateral Thinking Puzzles"

2006-05-14T11:46:00.000-04:00

-Do you get bored?
-Are you at work, school, or home and on the internet reading this blog?
-Do you sometimes get severe rashes for no apparent reason?

I do not know what that 3rd question gets at, but the first two are easy to respond to! Go check out some puzzles and some fun (An Action Verb)!

The answers to the "Later Thinking Puzzles" have been removed temporarily. This has been done so that more people can go insane before truly knowing the answer. So, if you haven't yet, try your hand at them:

The Mathematical Probability (Lateral Thinking, p. 83)

Some English Grammar (Lateral Thinking, p. 46)

How about some Fine Arts (Lateral Thinking, p. 33)

And have fun(!), for Pete's sake...

Robbie's Big Adventure

2006-05-14T01:32:00.000-04:00

Adventure, Part 1:
It was a cold morning. I awoke at 6:40 am. A 3 mile sojourn lay ahead of me. No, it was not the flying pig--it was the NAMI of Hamilton County walk. I arrived at 8:30 am and checked in with my aunt (in-law), Barb. Lo and Behold, she would be my sidekick / adventurer for the day. Starting at 9 am, together we walked over the Purple People Bridge and around the Ohio River, weaving and bobbing through the crowd greeting the people known to us. It was quite the adventure dodging some walkers' dogs (and the dogs' odiferous deposit of fertilizer). Finally, around 10:15 am, it was over!

Adventure, Part 2:
Meeting up with Barb once more, after lunch, we attempted to trek up I-75 to Tri-County. Alas, our adventure was hindered due to a motorvehicle impairment (in layman's terms, a car accident). Yes, we were "car 1," and while waiting to turn left onto the entrance ramp of I-75 at Mitchel Ave., "car 3" couldn't stop fast enough and hit "car 2" into us. Luckily there was no damage done to our car or the front half of "car 2." Unfortunately, "911" was dialed for the first time on my cell phone. For the pregnant driver of "car 2" was slightly upset, and the front end of "car 3" was a bit smashed... we waited with the pregnant woman for the cops, and then since there really was no damage to our car, we left after the policewoman said it was OK. Everyone was undamaged, but unfortunately the same cannot be said for their cars.

Adventure, Part 3:
Finally, we made it to Tri-County area and scoped out a couple appliance shops (washer, dryer, frige/freezer, stove, etc.). The new "fun" info learned today is that there are "scratch & dent" sections to these appliance stores. A tiny scratch in the door to the frige could knock the price down an easy $100. That knowledge kind of wanted to make me kick a door or two and see what the new price would be! Operation "price comparison" was accomplished.

Our adventure for the day was over... but I am sure there will be more to come--I just hope they do not include car accidents!

Frisbee Golf

2006-05-10T12:40:00.000-04:00

Today I played frisbee golf for the second time ever in my life. It was pretty cool. I bettered my technique for "long distance driving" and it helped dramatically. After playing a few holes with my partner in crime ("gimpitis" - a 2nd degree felony), I was surprisingly ahead +1 to +6... but don't worry, my "natural ability" came back to me, and we finished the day even keel: +7 each. (I overshot a couple holes a bit...)

Kyle's ankle is better, and my index finger is worse! It was exacerbated to a deeper level of a mild case of "overactive syndrome." It sounds made up to me... Well, until next time, Gadget!

Beginning Afresh

2005-12-11T16:10:00.000-05:00

After many laborious months (totalling more than 2 years!), Stowers' Corner has a new look, and hopefully will be more regularly updated. Its main usage: a dumping place for my mind.