Case in point. When I found out that my contract was ending, I quickly started a job search. I had two great interviews lined up in short order, and went to both on the same day. Less than 24 hours later I had two very solid job offers. Initially, I tentatively accepted the offer from a nearby publishing firm, but when the other company found out that I was planning to turn their offer down, they responded with an even more tempting offer that was impossible to turn down. With that, I accepted a permanent employment offer with a local company building supply company called ProBuild.

ProBuild has over 17,000 employees across the country and is financially owned by Fidelity Capital. ProBuild has grown rapidly over the past few years by acquisition and growth in 40 states. The IT department that I have been hired into is only about 120 employees. I was actually the first Java developer hired into my group. In the short time I’ve been there, I have worked on the company internet website (a new version is rolling out shortly that I worked on) and also on one of the first applications that my group is responsible for.

It’s a unique situation, and the group I’m a part of is very talented and a great group of people. I look forward to the challenges ahead, and being a part of something new and exciting. If you are interested in more details, just ask next time you see me!

Thanks to some McDonald’s coupons received in the mail, Tobey and I ventured out three weeks ago to have a Saturday morning breakfast. Three weeks later, it has become a fun and welcome way to start the weekend.

Tobey and I are breakfast people. We both are ready to eat something just minutes after we wake up. So now, we go out to a McDonald’s, order some pancakes, hash browns, an OJ for Tobey and a coffee for myself, and plan out the day, and maybe play a little DS Lite.

Today, on our third breakfast outing, Mom and Dad joined Tobey and I. I picked a McDonald’s in between Englewood and Boulder, with the added bonus for Tobey that it had a playland. (None of the McDonald’s near our house have that feature) We had a blast, and you can see pictures in my Mom’s and my photo streams.

Maybe after our McDonald’s coupons run out, we’ll mix up our new routine and try an IHOP.

I wouldn’t recommend this movie for most people. I really enjoy Will Smith, so I knew I would like it on some level. I knew the storyline is one that intrigues and scares me - that we will someday overstep our bounds when it comes to medical science and create something (inadvertant, or to be used in warfare) that will spiral out of control and run thru the world population as a pandemic. Anyway, I enjoy a movie that makes me think, even if it isn’t the happiest of tales. Interesting note about the story - this is actually the third time it has been made into a movie, with “The Last Man on Earth” in 1964, and “The Omega Man” in 1971 being the two previous versions.

Well, quite a few other people out there felt similarly or had their interest peaked because it sent all-time box office records for the biggest December opening (77 million at the box office) of all time.

So, overall it was another great movie outing with my Pops, who I always have a great time with!

You will find updates on our children - Ashley and Tobey, our chocolate lab Twizzler, Carrie and I, and a few added bonuses, like a downloadable holiday song/MP3!

If you have any comments about the holiday newsletter - please leave them here!

Happy Holidays to all!

This past weekend Carrie and I hosted our first annual Halloween Party - hopefully just the first of many. If you didn’t already know, Halloween is one of Carrie’s favorite holidays, and Tobey and I feed off her enthusiasm. Ashley, Tobey and I have gotten Carrie many Halloween themed October birthday presents over the years.

This year, we decided to throw a party the weekend before Halloween for Tobey, his friends, and their parents. The weather cooperated for the most part (it was a little chilly, but sunny) so we were able to have the party in our garage, where we had decorations, spooky music, art projects, food & drink, a pinata, and even several rounds of “Captain Jack Says”. (Think “Simon says”… )

Check out the Halloween 2007 set on Flickr for pictures before and during the party. Hope everyone had a great time - we sure did!

If you haven’t heard about the Colorado Rockies run for the ages… one of the all-time greatest winning stretches in ANY sport, then you haven’t been to ESPN.com, watched a sports show in any part of the country, or even read the past few posts of this blog!

Winning  21 of their past 22 games helped the Rockies roar from 4th place in their division to a tenuous wild-card playoff game, on to the playoffs, and then onward to two incredible sweeps in the Division Series and now the National League Series.

With a run like that, what’s left? The World Series!

The Rockies will now wait to see who survives in the American League, and will face either the Boston Red Sox or the Cleveland Indians. It has been an amazing, joyous run thru the postseason so far, something baseball fans in Colorado had had to wait 12 long years for.

Congrats to the Colorado Rockies, and bring on the World Series! Helton, Holliday, Tulo, Francis, Fuentes, Corpas and the rest of the boys will be ready!

Go Rockies!
Originally uploaded by aswitzer.

Denver’s Major League baseball team has provided a memorable summer and fall for myself and many other Coloradoans. On Sunday afternoon they put themselves in position for a chance for postseason glory, for the first time in 12 years.

It has been a wild and thrilling ride since June, with the Rockies commanding the best overall record in baseball, after a rough April/May. They topped this by finishing 13-1 over the last 14 games, eeking out a tiebreaker game with the San Diego Padres after the Milwaukee Brewers beat them the past two games.

No matter what happens in this extra game on Monday night, I thank the Rockies for rekindling my interest in baseball and providing numerous memorable nights after the past months. Good luck to Holliday, Helton, Hawpe, Fogg, Tulowitzki and the rest of the team - play well and leave it all on the diamond!

I have fond memories of going to Cubs games while growing up in Illinois - having several birthday parties at Wrigley Field.

Much like my beloved Nuggets went thru in the 90’s - the Rockies have had a long stretch of losing, empty seasons. The last time the made the playoffs was 1995. This year, the Rockies trotted out yet another hopeful cast of players. Longtime Rockies firstbaseman Todd Helton, emerging superstar left-fielder Matt Holiday, and young pitching ace Jeff Francis, along with a few new players, and several rookies.

Troy Tulowitzki - one of those aforementioned rookies, is the Rockies starting shortstop this season.

If you hadn’t already put it together - he is my candidate for National League Rookie of the Year, and this post is my way of showing my support. Troy just may be the catalyst for getting the Rockies a wildcard berth for the first time in more than a decade. At 81-72, they are still a long-shot as they are currently 4 1/2 games behind the wild-card leading San Diego Padres. But - they play the Padres 3 games starting this weekend, so anything can still happen.

Tulowitzki should be the NL ROY this year, and here’s why:

• He leads all of baseball in putouts and assists this season, with only 11 errors
• He owns the NL all-time record for home runs by a SS - 22
• He’s hitting .295 and has batted in 90 runs
• He’s durable and has played in 145 of the 150 games played so far this season.
• He’s already considered a leader and catalyst for the Rockies at the age of 22, because he brings enthusiasm and intensity to every game

Troy’s my favorite Rockies player and if I doesn’t help lead the Rockies to the playoffs this season, I predict he’ll be a huge reason why they make it next year.

Lastly, is it just me, or does he not look just like actor Shia LeBeouf?

Here are a few photos from our visit with them when Bryce was 9 days old, which also just happened to be his first Broncos game!

In early August, Carrie and Tobey and I headed to Florida for our annual trip to check on our condo and enjoy a family vacation. What made this trip special was that we also planned it around the NASA Space Shuttle Mission - STS -118 - a day launch from Kennedy Space Center, which is less than a half hour drive from our condo. Carrie had seen a night launch years ago, and Tobey and I had not yet seen a launch before. We were all very excited.

Planning a vacation around a space shuttle launch can be tricky. The best approach is to plan the start of the vacation as near to the launch as possible - which then allows for delays in the launch - typically from the weather. Our launch changed days a couple of times before we got to Florida, but when the day of the launch came, the weather was perfect.

The other part of the story is the fact that I met up with my cousin Steve Tyler for the first time in around 20 years, just so happens to work on the space program. Steve and his wife Caroline have a son Aidan that is near Tobey in age. Steve was gracious enough to take Carrie, Tobey and I onsite at Kennedy to enjoy the launch with his family from a closer spot that most of the public is allowed to go.

Visit the Space Shuttle Endeavour Set to enjoy more photos from the event.

What a blast - literally!