My Aging Daughters!

It appears that my days of being the center of my two older daughters attention are quickly waning. The other night Abby went to her first movie with friends. It was actually quite a scene. We jumped in the truck and drove to the nearest Showcase Cinema which is where I thought Abby's friends were going to meet us. We were a couple of minutes late so I was surprised when Abby came back out of the theater to tell me her friends weren't there yet. No problem I figured, they must be there somewhere.  She checked again, no dice. Then she says "this is the Showcase near the Warwick mall right"?  My reply uhhhhh, nope.

She jumps in the truck and we drive as fast as my piece of junk 1996 Chevy truck will carry us, I think we broke the sound barrier, and I get her to the other theater in about 5 minutes. She ran into the theater and I got the obligatory text -" I found them". Phew!  I returned early for the pickup two hours later and sat outside for 15 minutes before the appointed pick up time of 9:02. Not sure where that time estimate came from because the girls didn't emerge from the theater until about 9:20. Oh well, at least I was in the posh cab of my old Chevy. The FM/Cassette player really rocks. It was all worth it though because Abby thoroughly enjoyed the movie and the experience alone with her friends. I really am glad to see her growing up as a young adult, but I'm going to miss my baby! I had to include this picture from the next day of Abby wearing her 3D glasses. Little goober!

Love,

Wacky Dad

Circle Of Life - By My Wacky Daughter

Ok maybe it's just me, but I swear to God that I nearly pee'd in my pants watching this video that my daughter made tonight.  Ailey is so quiet in public that it is hard to believe that she is capable of these kind of escapades, but I swear she is a little comedian.  She is using an app on her 5th generation Ipod 5, called Video Star to create these videos.  She has the same sick sense of humor that I have, but the little booger is just way funnier than her dad will ever be.  You have to see this!  



Enjoy and share!  Ailey would love to go viral on this one!


Proudly,

Ailey's Wacky Dad

Free Apps I Can't Live Without!

Ok I am about to expose myself for the geek that I am.  In the past year or so I have become totally obsessed with what today's smartphones and tablets have brought to the table with some of the amazing apps that are available.  I am an android fan, but all of my favorite apps are available for Apple, Android,  and in some cases even all of you Blackberry holdouts out there.  I am going to list five apps that I use on a daily basis, although I may have to write more than one blog post on the subject - there are way more than five I use every day, but perhaps I might survive without those!  Ok, here goes.

Pulse for Android and Apple has quickly become my favorite news gathering app.  It is totally customizable, and you can bring news in from a plethora of sources including "social news" such as articles your friends might be sharing on Facebook.  It is amazing to be able to press the icon button for Pulse on my phone and have articles available to me, on every subject that I find relevant in my life.  From Wall Street Journal, to Lifehacker, pulse pulls in all of the news I love, and displays it in a totally readable format on my 4 inch Android screen.  Give this app a try and I guarantee you'll be totally hooked!

Pocket for Android and Apple is another app I've come to rely on.  Have you ever done a web search on your phone and been totally annoyed at how small the text displays on your screen.  I used to just give up, or wait until I got to a desktop to read up on my interests.  Not so when you install Pocket.  When you find an article simply hit the share button in your mobile browser and share the page to Pocket.  This automatically shoots the article straight into Pocket.  Here is where the magic happens.  It takes the text in the article and transforms it into a totally readable format susimilar to Kindle or Pulse.  You instantly saved your article and made it available on every device you own with the Pocket app installed.  Brilliant!  My 9 year old daughter uses this app from her iPod touch all of the time to save articles relevant to her school projects.  Another awesome feature within Pocket is the ability to let Pocket do the reading for you.  Simply hit the menu button, hit the play button, and Pocket narrates the whole article for you.  In this busy world of driving from one place to the next, it is totally great to be able to continue learning and discovering even while on the move.  Example : The other day my daughter Abigail informed me that she hurt her shoulder at school and the school trainer said she had a shoulder subluxation.  I had no idea what that was, so I Googled it, found an article, zipped it into Pocket, and then let Pocket do the talking.  By the time I got home Abby and I were experts on shoulder subluxation. She's fine btw :). Totally love this app.

This is a new app for Apple and Android that I discovered while searching Google Play one day.  I am unfortunately on an older Android phone that is far from state of the art, and that includes the camera.  One of these days I will upgrade, but I just can't justify doing it right now while this old G2 is still getting the job done.  Pixlr Express has breathed new life into an aging smartphone camera for me.  Basically this app is like having Photoshop for your Android or Apple product.  I use this app to take all of my photos now.  Simply start the app, take your photo, and choose from a multitude of editing options. My favorite is "auto-fix" which basically adjust the color, brightness, and contrast levels automatically.  Incredibly almost every time you hit auto fix the app generates a much more pleasing picture than you started with.  You can also crop, fix red eye, and about a zillion other things.  The great thing is that when you finish editing you can share that photo staright to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. with the click of a button.  Love it!

Dropbox
Click to open your account!

I can't say enough about this app.  Dropbox has literally changed the way I view computer file storage.  I'm sure you've all heard of the "cloud" by now.  Dropbox is cloud computing at its best.  Simply open a drop box account, download the app to your device, android, iphone, desktop, mac, etc. and you instantly have access to whatever files you store in your drop box on every device you own, or on the web.  Best thing about it is that you don't have to worry about losing data.  It is safe and sound out there in the cloud.  Forget about memory sticks, this makes them obsolete.  I started using Dropbox for work, but use it now to share folders with friends, family, fellow volunteers, etc.  Yes, you can add users of your choice to certain folders that you would like to share information with.  I am not going to do this app any justice trying to explain it, so just open an account and plug and play. You'll love it!

I have saved the absolute best for last. Evernote for Iphone, Android, Windows, and Mac has totally changed the way I do business.  I am a project manager for a general contractor.  I am always running multiple jobs at the same time.  This means that I need access to tons of information for different jobs.  Up until 3 months ago when I began using Evernote, I used to lug a giant bin full of file folders with me wherever I went.  I also had a notebook that was filled with an abominable amount of scratched notes, etc.  It was all a recipe for a lot of sleepless nights!  Evernote instantly changed that within a week of using it.  I am able to electronically save all of the information I need within Evernote Notebooks.  After you create a named notebook you can fill it with notes.  Each note can carry text, multiple file attachments, photos, pdfs, word files, excel files, the sky is the limit.  So when I am out on the jobsite now I can click into Evernote, pull up the proper Notebook, and instantly have access to all of my specifications, customer selections, etc.  As with Dropbox, all info is in the cloud and you can share notebooks with others who have an Evernote account.  Our company has recently adopted Evernote company wide and will be storing all of our documents, notes, etc.. electronically.  I am excited to see what this does for productivity.  No more searching through crappy folders for a piece of paper that might be there.  Simply open the job notebook, run a search for the info your seeking, and voila, there it is.  Within Evernote notes you can shoot pictures, dictate verbally, make checklists, tables, etc.  If you have to spin a lot of plates at work or at home Evernote is the perfect solution to hold it all down.  5 Stars!!!

I hope you go on to try some of these apps out and enjoy them as much as I do.  Have fun!


Geekily Happy,


Wacky Dad  

Buried In Snow!

Perhaps all of you out there have come to expect my yearly snowmaking posts, so here goes.  We have enjoyed a solid week of Arctic cold here in Rhode Island.  We've been waiting all year for that in the Costantino household.

A huge snowmaking mound atop

the hill.  Waiting for the groomer! Me with

a shovel!

While most families cringe when temps go below freezing, we rejoice!  There isn't a whole lot to do here in Rhode Island in the winter.  We are a family of skiers, but we still need something to do on the off weekends and weeknights.  Of course the only solution to this boring existence is to cut a sledding trail on the little hill in our back yard, and make snow like Snow Miser!

Snow Art - You can only
 do this with a snowmaker!

I have enjoyed snowmaking as a hobby since I was 12-13 years old, back before internet plans and instructions.  With my father's support I tinkered my way to an operable snowmaker.  Over the years I have improved my little snowmaking operation, and have it pretty much perfected at this point.  I've been running solid since last Sunday.  Almost a week and never shut down.  I have to applaud my bride Cathy for putting up with my obsession. 

Snowgun blazing!

You see snowmaking doesn't come very quietly.  We have had a 2 stage, 18 CFM air compressor running in our basement for almost 6 days solid.  It pretty-much sounds like an Amtrak train running through the cellar!  I know for a fact that most wives would not put up with the kind of shenanigans that I pull, but Cathy gets right into it, and we all really enjoy sledding on our little "Brook Hill" with our friends and family.

Brook Hill, named after the brook in our yard.  The kids came up with that name.

 Usually a long snowmaking run like this will end with a "sledding party".  The impromptu invites (tough to plan because of weather) go out by email, Facebook, texts, etc, and we basically have a block party out in the back yard with sledding as the focal point.  It is just pure fun.  Watching everyone from toddlers to my 68 year old father riding the hill is just a blast. Check out our video from a couple of years back.

Look for a post soon with photos and videos of this years party!  Today I'm posting a few photos of what I consider to be the beauty of snowmaking.  Happy winter and enjoy!

Happily Snowbound,

Wacky Dad

"Twas The Night Before Christmas" Wacky Dad Version

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a Meathead was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that Santa soon would be there.

The rug rats were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of Home Made Snow danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long bloggers’s nap.

When out near the snow maker there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and fell on my ass.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a tangled up sleigh, and eight angry reindeer.

With a livid old driver, all covered in snow,
I knew in a moment it was St. Nick - Oh no!
More pissed off than snakes, his coursers they came,
The Elf Meathead whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on Donner and Blitzen!
Untangle yourself from that snow maker hose! Please hurry and get your ass out of that snow!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away now!"

They shook off the snow, the compressed air, and water,
and finally took off which was still quite a bother.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and the Fat Meathead too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The stamping and pawing of sixteen angry hooves.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney the mad Meathead came with a bound.

He was dressed in wet fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all covered with ice and with soot.
The bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
Were snow covered and smashed, a really sad sack.

His eyes-how they squinted! his dimples no fun!
His cheeks were like roses, from the spraying snow gun!
His droll little mouth was drawn up in a scowl,
And he looked over at me and said go get me a towel.

The stump of a pipe was all smashed in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a great big beer belly,
That shook when he toweled off, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, one pissed off old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A twinkle in his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had something to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
he poured a bucket of poo on the floor like a jerk .
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He shuffled to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew, deer poop raining down like a missile!
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, never make snow on this night!"


I gave him the bird as he flew to the right
and hollered I AM WACKY DAD, AND WILL MAKE SNOW JUST TO SPITE!!!!  




MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ALL  IN THE WACKY DAD HOUSEHOLD!
rhode island snow