Mike Alstott Autograph Signing today!

My daughter Jacelyn and I went to see Mike Alstott at an autograph signing today. Here's a link to all the pics I uploaded to flickr.

Baby Got Back... err uhhh, I mean Baby Got Book

The following video comes from the website GodTube.com.

Watch this video of us scaring the kids...

Please don't call us bad parents. Obviously everyone, even the kids, had a good laugh! Watch the boy's priceless reaction when we showed them the well known internet video of the peaceful happy car driving along in the serene mountains.



Also, below is the original video we showed them to get the reaction.

15 Places to Visit in the US before you die

View the slide show on Forbes.com

Not only are there 1,000 places around the world to visit before you die, now author Patricia Schultz has hit the road again--and she's serving up another collection of must-visit destinations. This time, it's 1,000 Places to See in the USA and Canada Before You Die.

Xbox 360 Exclusive “Halo 3” Registers Biggest Day in US Entertainment History with $170 Million in Sales

The following press release touts Halo 3 as the biggest entertainment launch in history!

Microsoft today announced that the Xbox 360 exclusive game “Halo 3” has officially become the biggest entertainment launch in history, garnering an estimated $170 million in sales in the United States alone in the first 24 hours. The Xbox 360 title beat previous records set by blockbuster theatrical releases like “Spider-man 3” and novels such as “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

“Halo 3” is the conclusion to the epic trilogy and picks up where “Halo 2” left off, answering questions around the fates of the beloved protagonist Master Chief and his artificial intelligence sidekick Cortana as they struggle to save humankind from destruction at the hands of the alien coalition known as the Covenant. In addition to the rich storyline, “Halo 3” continues the franchise’s grand tradition of delivering innovative online multiplayer experiences via Xbox LIVE, the world’s largest social network on TV.

“Halo 3 has become a pop-culture phenomenon,” said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios. “Not only is “Halo 3” setting sales records, it’s also redefining entertainment.

Within the first 20 hours alone, we’ve seen more than a million Xbox LIVE members come online to play Halo 3 – that makes September 25 the most active Xbox LIVE gaming day in history.”

Retailers have also expressed their excitement about the launch of “Halo 3.”

Bob McKenzie, Senior Vice President of Merchandising for GameStop Corp commented that, “With consumer demand for Halo 3 and related products, we expect it to be the biggest video game title generator in GameStop's history."

“The initial demand we’ve seen for ‘Halo 3’ has been astounding, and the game is on track to become the number one gaming title of all time. ‘Halo 3’ is a genuine entertainment phenomenon and our customers have responded very enthusiastically to the release,” said Jill Hamburger, vice president of movies and games at Best Buy.

Developed by Bungie Studios, the “Halo” franchise is exclusive to the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and optimized for the Xbox LIVE^® online entertainment network. The more than 7 million Xbox LIVE users will get a continually evolving gaming experience with “Halo 3.” Its online multiplayer and cooperative gameplay for Xbox LIVE Gold users, the much-talked-about Saved Films feature that enables players to capture and save their favorite moments on their hard drives, and Forge, an innovative map editor that enables infinite customization options are just some of the new features to experience.

More than 10,000 retailers hosted Midnight Madness events to celebrate the launch of this third installment in the billion-dollar franchise. In New York, Seattle, Miami and Los Angeles, Microsoft and retail partners hosted marquee launch events that featured contests and appearances by local celebrities and professional athletes who are fanatical about the “Halo” franchise, including Ludacris and Zac Efron and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.

More than 1.7 million copies of “Halo 3” were preordered in the United States before a single store opened its doors at midnight, Sept. 25, making this the fasting pre-selling game in history, surpassing the previous record-setting pre-sales of “Halo 2.” Well beyond just a U.S. phenomenon, the launch of “Halo 3” was a worldwide celebration that released in 37 countries and available in 17 languages.

20 Years of technology advancement - 1 GB

Click the pic for a larger view. 20 years ago, 1 GB took up a lot of space! At 1st I didn't even notice the person holding a 1GB SD card.

How 'bout them Cowboys!

Cowboys are the richest sports team in football. Actually they are the richest team in all of sports, valued at $1.5 billion.

Click here to view the entire story on Forbes.com.

Most expensive and star-studded zip codes in the US

Click here for the Forbes story on the most expensive zip codes in the US. Topping the list is 07620 which is the Alpine / Bergen, New Jersey area. It is northwest of New York City. Next is an area called Fisher Island, 33109, which is an island that is a part of Miami Beach, FL. A slide show can be found here.

Click here for the Forbes story on the most star-studded zip codes in the US. Again, 07620 tops the list (any surprise there). Here's a link to the slide show.

I think this is why Apple has always trumped Microsoft in marketing

MS-Dos 5.0 upgrade was launched in June of 1991 according to wikipedia. Here's a promotional video done by Microsoft, youtube is great!

100 Greatest TV Shows of all time

Time.com has put together the list. What's your favorite? My favorite of all time was the 80's hit Moonlighting, followed closely by Friends.

Click here for the story.

Final outs of Bosox Rookie's no-hitter

Enjoy this while you can before MLB takes it down off of youtube.

Pure electricity.

Video from our Sunday School Lake Day

Barry Bonds through the years

Of course you know by now that Barry Bonds recently tied and passed Hank Aaron's all time home run record. With all the speculation and controversy surrounding his alleged use of steroids, Time.com did an interesting pictorial of him over the years. Decide for yourself. Click here for the photo slide show.

My 360 is back home

Just a note that my 360 is back home, safe and sound. It's a new one with a new serial number. Seems to be running fine... for now. :-)

My 360 is on it's way back home

I just got a note from Xbox customer support saying my 360 shipped back on the 21st. I sent it in with 3 flashing red lights (AKA ring of death) around the 5th of July. I literally shipped it the day that they announced the extended warranty up to 3 years. I had to pay the $139, but supposedly they will be refunding that under the new program. I called last week and they said they were taking longer to repair/replace my system due to the fact they wanted to take extra care to make sure all was okay - in other words, they are swamped with repairs! This is the 2nd time I've sent in a system, originally purchased in April of 2006. I'll update when it's back home, safe and sound!

- Steve

A couple of baseball videos

1st - a new video of my son Cade making a catch in an all-star tournament.



2nd - do you think this is real?


Incredible Accuracy - Amazing videos are here

What do you think of this game?

Looking forward to 2K Sports getting back into football with their entry, All Pro Football 2K8. It features past legends of the game like Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Walter Payton, etc. Here's a video trailer for the game:

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, been playing Forza Motorsport 2

If you have an Xbox 360, even if you normally don't play car simulation games, I strongly urge you to pick this one up. There are over 300 cars in the game, each able to be tuned with manufacturer specific add ons. The amazing thing is how the handling and performance on the car change with just a slight change. For example, add too much power with no handling improvements and you'll be fishtailing all over the track. Also, this is one game that has very real handling, but also seems to know when you want to oversteer or understeer, accelerate through a turn, etc. Here's a nice review at Ars Technica. Another cool feature is that you can upload pics from the game to the Forza Motorsport 2 website. Here's a pic of a corvette I crashed up pretty good:



If you are online, send me a friend invite, my gamertag is to the right, it is SteveShissler.

The Day They Kicked God out of the Schools

Gator visits a neighborhood and climbs a wall

A gator visited Wesley Chapel, a suburb of Tampa, and was seen scaling a wall. Here's a link to the full story.

A couple of new Xbox 360 games I have my eye on

1st - Pirates of the Carribbean - here's a link to the trailer and also the official website for the game.

Also, I recently downloaded the demo for Forza 2. Following are 2 links for the trailer and one for the official website.

1. Trailer #1
2. Trailer #2

They should both be tons of fun. Let me know what you think!

Best and Worst Housing Markets in the US

Click here for the two forbes.com slide shows.

Active Wildfires in the State of Florida

Click here for a google map with all active fires.

Web site says they can predict airfare fluctuations

Farecast.com, a new travel Web site that claims it can forecast the rise or fall of air ticket prices, plans to help travelers solve the long standing riddle of how to catch fast-moving and often illogical fare deals.

The site, which went live on Tuesday after about a year in beta testing, says it can predict with 75 percent accuracy the direction of air fares over seven days.

Need an extra hour in your day?

Get ready for the 25-hour day. A new study, funded by NASA, shows that it's possible to cram an extra hour into the day.

Click here for the full story.

Some Amazing Weather Photos

Check out these amazing photos of Typhoons, hurricanes, lightnings, cloudformations etc...

Click here for all the pics.

Have you ever wanted...

An HDTV Refrigerator?

Well, you can get one from LG for a cool $4,000. Here's some info from the product page.

Weather & Info Center
Thinking outside the box has just been taken to a whole new level. Thanks to LG, now your refrigerator can do some of the thinking for you. Need to know what weather to dress for? The Weather & Info Center has you covered. The Ambient weather service provides a five-day forecast for your area (where service is available).
Need to whip up an appetizer in time for your party? Your refrigerator comes pre-loaded with several recipes. Not only that, but you can also store favorite digital photos and anniversary reminders. The touch-sensitive digital controls also allow you to manage temperature in the refrigerator and freezer compartments as well as monitor room temperature and reset the water filter status indicator.

USA Today lists top 25 quotes of all time

There are audio clips on several of them, check out the list and see what you think.

Click here for the full story.

Just uploaded 3 new videos - Batting Practice

Cameron and Chase Schneider, along with Cade had a little batting practice session on Sunday after church, here are the videos.

Chase:


Cameron:


Cade:

Clemens to return to the Yankees

For $4.5 million per month!

The Yankees badly need the pitching, and they have decided to pay dearly to get Clemens. I have always been a fan of Clemens, but for some reason, I'd like to see the Yankees go ahead and turn around the season, maybe make the wild card with the Red Sox winning the division. Then, of course, it would come down to the Yankees and the Red Sox again for a trip to the series. I'd love to see the Red Sox win it in 7, maybe beating Clemens in the decisive game.

Click here for the full story.

Forbes.com Most Expensive Beachfront homes

Break out the flip-flops and swim trunks, beach season is just around the corner. The only question is, In which of the country's crop of über-luxe beachfront homes to invest?

A $40 million, 22,000-square-foot mansion on a secluded island in the Pacific Northwest or Shaquille O'Neal's house on Miami's Star Island?

Click here for the story and slide show on Forbes.com

List of 10 videos that made Youtube famous

Click here for the story on forbes.com and links to the videos. If you just want the list, here it is:

1. Saturday Night Live's "Lazy Sunday"
2. "Hillary 1984"
3. OK Go, "Here It Goes Again"
4. Avril Lavigne, "Girlfriend"
5. "Guitar"
6. "Evolution Of Dance"
7. Pokemon Theme Music Video
8. Lonelygirl15: "First Blog / Dorkiness Prevails"
9. Stephen Colbert at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner
10. Free Hugs Campaign

Field Trip to Lowry Park Zoo

Click Here for all the pictures from the field trip

Cade's Double Play vs White Sox

Cade's Double Play vs White Sox
Originally uploaded by steveshissler.

Cade turned an unnassisted double play against the White Sox. This was on the same day as major league rookie Troy Tulowitzki turned an unnassisted triple play - click here for the story on mlb.com.

There were runners on 1st and 2nd, Cade caught a line drive headed towards 2nd base. He turned to tag the runner who was on 2nd, but he got back on the base. Then, he looked up and the runner from 1st was not tagging up and he was almost to 2nd base. Cade quickly ran him down for the 2nd out.

Thanks to April Messick for the picture.

TheSimExchange.com

The simExchange - (noun) the video game prediction market for forecasting the number of copies games will sell.

Here is one of those original ideas that could be a gold mine if they can monetize somehow the information they gather about how well gaming consoles and games will sell.

http://www.thesimexchange.com

New Xbox 360 Gears of War maps available

Check out the awesome pics of the new downloadable maps on Xbox Live:

Hammerhead shark steals tarpon from a fisherman

This guy is fishing for Tarpon off the west coast of Florida and a hammerhead shark takes off with his catch.

Carolina Panthers cut Me-Shawn

Interesting twist of irony...

After Keyshawn Johnson touted how he could help the newly drafted WR, Dwayne Jarrett, and "Take him under his wing", he was cut by the Panthers.

Click here for the story

Mister T Snickers Commercial

Evangelist Challenges Atheists to Bible-Less Debate

A prominent Christian best-selling author is asserting that he can prove the existence of God without using the Bible, and has challenged two atheists to a debate.

Ray Comfort, author of God Doesn't Believe in Atheists, alongside fellow Christian and actor Kirk Cameron (Growing Pains) will butt heads with two ardent nonbelievers using only scientific fact in a debate sponsored by ABC. Comfort says that the evidence will “absolutely” confirm that there is a God, and he will not speak about his faith.

Here's the full story.

Tampa Bay People's Hero Awards

You can vote online until tomorrow, May 1st, for this award.

Click here to vote and read the bios of the people up for the award.

St. Louis Cardinals suffer another tragedy

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock was killed Saturday in a car accident. This is the 2nd tragedy in the past few years for the Cardinals. You may remember Darryl Kile who died of a heart attack in 2002. Click here for a link to the story on ESPN.com.

Call of Duty 4 High Definition Trailer

This game looks like it is going to be fantastic all around. It looks to have a modern warfare theme as opposed to WWII. Should be interesting. Haven't found much info as to an exact release date.

Here's the trailer.

Ways to grow your Sunday School Class

Sunday School Coffee
Originally uploaded by steveshissler.

If any of you have ever had the coffee maker go down or run out, this pics for you!

unfortunate placement of yahoo ad

unfortunate placement of yahoo ad
Originally uploaded by jkenning.

An extra 50 points if you can name the stadium?

Sosa hits 2 homers in record 44th ballpark

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=270426105

I have always been a fan of Sosa, especially since his record setting days with the Cubs

The Power of Parishioners - Forbes.com

Most readers will be surprised to learn that the largest international network is not Wal-Mart, (in 14 countries, with 1.8 million employees) or McDonald's (in 119 countries, with 465,000 employees) or even Digg.com. It is the Christian Church.



read more | digg story

What? Schilling's sock may not have had blood on it?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2849747

Interesting story about Schilling's bloody sock in the 2004 ALCS.

1st Post - an inspirational video: Jesus Painting

Hi everyone, I hope you enjoy this inspirational video.