5 Years

From Pringle

Five years ago today,  I was able to marry my wife, Patricia June Pulver.  It was the best decision I ever made.  Today, I'm going to share some photos from our life that I think tell a pretty good story of where we've been.

Honeymoon at Lake Tahoe

From Honeymoon

Gender Day!

From GenderDay

Grand Canyon

From The Grand Canyon and Vegas Trip

Katelyn's Birth!

From KatelynBirth

Trip to Portland & Seattle

From Seattle & Portland 2008

Patti Learning to Shoot Christmas 2008

From Christmas 08

Patti's Birthday 2008 - Karaoke

From Patti's Birthday 2008

Trip to Italy 2009

From Italy & Switzerland

Magic Kingdom - 2010

From June 25 2010

Chicago - 2010

From July 26 2010

Anniversary 2010

From Oct 27 2010

Patti & Katelyn - February 2011

From Patti & Katelyn

Emily is Here!

From Emily in the Hospital - Day 1 Group 2

Emily's Blessing Day - 2011

From Emily's Blessing Day - 8-7-2011

We've been so blessed in our life, to have experienced so many things, but the greatest blessing is being able to share it with each other.

Eagle Scout

As some of you may know I am a Scoutmaster for Troop 249. I've had the pleasure of working with nearly 30 boys so far in my time as Scoutmaster. I've loved each of them dearly, and have come to think of some of them have become almost sons to me. For those who don't know much about Scouting, I'd like to give a little background. The Boy Scout program was started in England, by Lord Baden Powell. He had served his country in various places in the world, and when he returned home, he felt that there needed to be better training for Young Men to prepare them for the adulthood, and general outdoor living. It was started in the United States in 1910. It has grown to include the Cub Scouts, Venture Scouts, Lone Scouts, and Varsity Scouts. All told there are just over 2.7 Million Scouts in the United States. For the Cub Scouts, the highest honor is the Arrow of Light Award. It is earned as a Webelo Scout. In Boy Scouts, the highest Award, and the only rank that is a lifetime achievement rank is the Eagle Scout award. To accomplish the Eagle Scout award, a young man must advance through all of the previous ranks (Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, and Life). He must earn at least 21 of the over 120 merit badges offered. That number 21, may sound insignificant when compared to the total amount, but let me assure you, it is not. Among the 21 merit badges the Scout must earn, 12 of the merit badges are prescribed for them. These merit badges often require doing things over a period of time, and usually involve some sort of project to be completed. In order to advance from First Class to Star Rank, and from Star to Life, the candidate must have completed 4 or 6 months in a leadership role within the troop, as well as complete at least 4 hours of service for each advancement. Finally, the Candidate must plan, organize, and complete a Service Project (commonly referred to as "The Eagle Project"). This project must be enough to stretch the Scout in the areas of leadership and planning. It should be relatively labor intensive, based on the project, and must show initiative on the part of the Scout. All along this path, the Scout must all demonstrate his commitment to living the Scout Oath and Law.

The Scout Oath:

On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty to God and my Country. To help other people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

The Scout Law:

A Scout is: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent.

After all of these requirements are completed, the Scout interviews with his Scoutmaster, and then is interview by a Board of Review. This panel is made up of Council Representatives, Local Scout Leaders, Community Leaders, etc. It is this Board of Review which gives the final recommendation to the National Scout Council, who will then review his application and approve his being awarded the rank of Eagle Scout. Of all the boys that join Scouting, roughly 2% become an Eagle Scout. It's a difficult course, and one only undertaken by those determined to make it.

So far, as a Scoutmaster, I have had the pleasure of seeing three of the boys I've worked with become an Eagle Scout. I'm anxious and excited to see many more. I, too, am an Eagle Scout. It's an honor I try to wear proudly, and I'm truly grateful for the lessons Scouting has taught me in my life. The Scout motto, "Be Prepared", is something that has served me well. The Scout slogan, "Do a Good Turn Daily", is something else I try to live by.

I'm very excited for the opportunity I've been given to help these boys along the path to becoming an Eagle Scout, because I know that I'm helping them prepare for life, and I'm sure I'm making the world a better place if they live up to the values they commit to and make part of their daily lives.

Oh The Places You'll Go!

I was reading my daughter a book the other night, and the wisdom and insight of a children's book really struck me. The book was "Oh The Places You'll Go" by Dr. Suess.

For me, the message about this journey through life, about how we may have hiccups, and reach different plateaus, and how we deal and approach those is very poignant. I've re-posted the words to the story below for those who don't have the book. I think it's a great reminder for everyone.

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don' t
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both you elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.

I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike
and I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3 / 4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!

Back in the Saddle

So, I've been thinking I should reactivate my blog.  It'll be my thoughts on various topics, and a type of Journal for myself as well, minus any deeply personal or intimate details that I'm sure the world doesn't want to know.  Look for more updates going forward.

A Webpage

I had to create a webpage for my e-Marketing class. Here it is:


www.hiredavidpulver.info

Isn't Technology wonderful?

I'm taking a Consumer Behavior class at UCF. One of our group projects requires creating a survey about 2 competing products and comparing them using a certain matrix based on the answers to the various questions. The first 6 questions are general questions about certain "values" where the respondants give an answer on a certain scale of how important that "value" is to them. Then you ask them about if how each product corresponds to those "values" . Examples of the value question would be : "How important do you consider convenience to be when choosing a theme park?" This would be answered on a scale, of say, 0-5. Then, they would be asked, "Do you believe Disney is convenient" on a scale of 1-5. I would take those two scores and multiply them together and I would have my results. After several questions like this I could then compare the total scores of Disney and Universal and get a pretty good picture about which park is preferred by the sample. I could also look at individual categories and learn how each park does in the various categories.

To accomplish this, I used Google Docs to create a form where I asked each of the questions and provided multiple choice answers for the scale that I wanted. I then posted the link to the quiz in my Facebook status, as well as emailing it to my group members so they could email it to still more people. Google records the answers in a form similar to an Excel Spreadsheet. So, all I had to do then was copy and paste the information over into a real Excel Spreadsheet. I called this Sheet of the Workbook "Raw Scores". Then I created a second sheet in the same workbook, called "Scores Calculated", that pulled the info from "Raw Scores" and did all the math I talked about earlier automatically. As soon as I pasted the new results in "Raw Scores", "Scores Calculated" had the math done.

Now, I can sort the data or evaluate the data anyway I want. Not to mention, the ability to survey hundreds of people in a matter of a couple of days! It's simply amazing how much technology is helping me, some might say that technology is doing most, if not all, of the work for me. I feel kind of bad for people in my class who don't know about these great resources we have. I know some of them are typing up surveys and then handing them out to people to fill out by hand with a pen and paper, and then typing the results in or doing all the math by hand.

I love technology! I love how easy it can make life!

Karaoke Night @ City Walk

Last night we went to City Walk for Patti's Birthday. We went to Rising Star, which is a club with a Live Band that you preform the various songs with. I somehow mustered up the courage to go up there and preform a song in front of all these people. As a side note, I've given lots of presentations and talks in front of large numbers of people many times in my life, but I've never been more nervous than I was up there. My hands were trembling harder than they ever have in my entire life. I preformed Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer. What a rush though at the end, to hear all those people cheering. I came off the stage and all these people were giving me high-5's and then throughout the nigh whenever I left the table or went outside or to the bathroom, people commented on how well I did. That was really cool, it's no wonder why Celebrities can get so prideful and think they are above the rest of us. I"m sure after a couple of concert tours where you hear that all the time, it would be easy to let that get to your head. Anyway, it was tons of fun, and I look forward to doing it again sometime.