David Obbee's (obbee) Blog

I'm seeing more and more commercials on tv lately for the new A-Team movie, which opens on June 11th... and I am so excited!  Even as a "purist" fan who watched every episode on NBC when I was in elementary and junior high school, I can't wait to see the film. Sure, it was corny.  Thousands of ro...

A while back, my daughters won one of those dollar goldfish at a carnival- the kind that comes in a plastic bowl and usually dies within a day or two.  Well, I bought some colored gravel and a little castle for the bowl, and three years later he's still alive and kicking.  I named him "Batfish" a...

Yesterday my wife and I took our puggle for a walk around the neighborhood, as we often do.  It's especially important lately, as his penchant for "Chef Michael's Chicken Rotisserie" dog food is making him a little pudgy around the middle (Of course, I can use the exercise, too!). One thing I alw...

Every morning I make coffee at home.  I brew a couple of mugs in my kitchen and drink them while I have a bowl of cereal, trying to keep an eye on the kids while they get ready for school.  For me, it's not just about saving money (it costs less than a buck a day at home, even for "good" coffee)....

I had an interesting lesson in "hype" this evening.  When I pulled in the driveway at home, returning after a day at the office, my older daughter and my puggle were outside waiting to greet me.  Both welcomed me in their own way.  Then the puggle saw a dog across the street and started barking. ...

We feed our puggle twice a day: once in the morning, when we get up, and once in the evening around 6 o'clock.  At each of his two mealtimes, he gets a small metal bowl filled with dry dog food ("Chef Michaels"- we spoil him).  The puggle usually devours his repasts in a matter of nanoseconds.  T...

Last night before I left the office, my wife asked me to pick up Chinese takeout on the way home.  I "Googled" the place by our house to get the number and saw the restaurant had its own website.  I clicked on it and was pleasantly surprised to see the entire carryout menu (including the combinat...

Over the weekend, my wife and I stayed at a high-end local hotel, since we had won a one-night "romance package" from a recent charity raffle.  It was... ok.  It's hard to complain when you win something, but I was less than wowed by our stay.  The mini-refrigerator in the room was barely cold, m...

This past school year, I was involved with a local non-profit organization as a mentor to a group of high school students.  Yesterday was our last session for the year.  The woman who runs the program gave a short farewell talk, and she asked everyone in the room to raise their hands as high as t...

I came across a great quote today from Maxine Clark, the founder and CEO of Build-A-Bear, the popular retail chain which allows children to make their own designer stuffed animals.  Ms. Clark said, "Conventional wisdom in itself isn't bad.  The problem is that following it makes you look like eve...