Adam Koch » Personal

Spiders

Adam — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:46:58 +0000

I don’t like spiders. I especially don’t like spiders that crawl out from the shelves above my desk, drop down to my desk and then disappear when I’m trying to sweep it off my desk onto the floor so I can step on it. I hate those.

Corporate Cup

Adam — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 02:44:51 +0000

Have you ever had a goal and did everything you could to reach that goal? Yea. Neither have I.

I decided to give it a try by setting a goal of running in the 2012 Corporate Cup Run.

I just got back from my 5th run. 1.5 miles around the neighborhood. And I can honestly say, I hate exercise. I don’t get any pleasure (read: endorphins) from exercising. I am listening to Java Posse so I did get a couple of chuckles along the way. But boy am I beat.

What the kids want to be when they grow up

Adam — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:52:43 +0000

After asking Joel, his first response was, “What do you want to be?” When I said “computer programmer” he said I was already one and I was like “Alright!”.
He had to think about it but eventually said “Rock star”.
Alyssa said she wanted to be a teacher. A “teacher-teacher” not a “teacher-helper” like mom.

Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me – Texting Bear

Adam — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 01:21:17 +0000

This is hilarious!

April 14, 2012 show

Sliver Moon

Adam — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:27:11 +0000

The moon blushes behind the clouds
I’ve caught it in a vulnerable state
The smooth curved sliver
A newborn’s round bottom
Or the sculpted lady’s breast
I divert my eyes from her beauty
Though neither us should be ashamed

Cars

Adam — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 05:43:23 +0000

This post was created a long time ago. I’m just publishing it now.

The auto industry has received a lot of media attention in the last year. I just wanted to jot down my thoughts about bailouts and recalls.
First, the bailouts. Looking back I am glad the gov’t bailed out GM. At the time I didn’t like the idea because 1) it was coming from a fund created for bailing out the finance sector and 2) I didn’t like the idea of bailouts. I didn’t like the “too big to fail” argument. The bigger they are, the harder they fall, but they still fall. I’m glad the fed wasn’t as shortsighted. I’m glad that GM was helped and believe that if the fed hadn’t bailout GM and the financial sector we would be in a much worse situation.

I wish they hadn’t helped Dodge/Chrysler. I’m never been a fan. Even the Viper received little respect from me. When I see my friends driving a Chrysler I point and snicker… well, at least in my head. (Sorry Eric and Hope!)

I’m so proud of Ford! I feel like a parent and my step-child just won the spelling bee! They haven’t been admired by me in the past, but they’ve made some smart moves in the last decade and I’m willing to make ‘em part of the family. (In fact, the last car we bought was a Ford.)

Too bad for Toyota

I feel sorry for Toyota. I believe they make quality cars. Even now, after the recalls I’m thinking that maybe I can get a deal now on a Prius with all the bad publicity Toyota has received. The loyal customers are the ones who will probably feel burned the most. I keep wondering how my Toyota-fan friend is feeling. A co-worker I talked to
Toyota employee thinking there was some gov’t conspiracy.
Dodge/Chrysler can die. Snicker and point at friend’s cars.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Adam — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 05:27:04 +0000

We had parent/teacher conferences tonight. It has always been good and tonight was no exception. The teachers had nothing but good to say about Alyssa and Joel. I still wonder what am I doing right? How do I know if I will keep it up? I also worry that my kids have set the bar high early on, so will I expect high marks for the rest of school? Also, my parents were very strict when it came to grades. I got 3 B’s the first semester of high school and was grounded for a month. Recent proof shows that my kids are smart. I don’t want to put so much pressure on them, but I know they are capable of good grades. That’s what my parent’s thinking was when I was growing up. So, on one hand I think my parents were too strict, but on the other hand I can see how it is easy to believe that my kids are capable of good grades.

Discussion of God with Alyssa

Adam — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 05:16:14 +0000

Alyssa peppered me with questions tonight about God and heaven. Being an atheist it is hard to answer those kind of questions. There’s an urge to tell her it’s all hogwash, but at the same time she is a child and I want her to be optimistic and believe in magic, like Santa. I feel like as an adult I am very much a pessimist. I could use some advice on how to raise a child when one person is Christian and one an atheist.

Official language of states and their political predominence

Adam — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 02:37:29 +0000

I was hoping for better stats, but…

* of the 22 red states only 2 (Louisiana, Texas) don’t have English as the official language
* of the 7 “purple” states 3 (Arkansas, Colorado, Florida) have and 4 (Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, West Virginia) don’t have English as the official language
* of the 21 blue states 5 (California, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, New Hampshire) have English the official language

Source: Wikipedia

Another Opinion

Adam — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:58:56 +0000

My PCP referred me to Dr. Waltke, a vascular surgeon, for his expert advice on whether there was any preventative care that could be taken to prevent another stroke. He disagreed that the anomaly in my right vertebral artery caused the stroke.

Original suspect area

He told me about how the vertebral arteries join back together in the brain and that the area of my brain that was swollen is after that join. (Although, looking through the scans it seems to me that the join in much higher in the head. Maybe I heard him wrong.)

Where vertebral arteries join back together

Bright Area is Swollen Cerebellum

Damaged area after the joining of vertebral arteries?

So, even if my left vertebral artery was twisted, pinched, abnormal the right vertebral artery would have supplied the blood needed to that part of the brain.In fact, the spot where it tapers and then bulges that everyone, including myself, suspected was the culprit wasn’t of concern to him.

He mentioned my Circle of Willis, like 40% of the population, wasn’t complete and the front and rear arteries didn’t join together. This wasn’t the cause, but if they were joined there’s a chance I wouldn’t have had the stroke.

Missing Posterior Communicating Artery?

Dr. Waltke thought there was probably something that “broke off [from the side of an artery]” and clogged the artery to that part of the brain. At this point I’m hoping my brother can call him and get a better understanding. I’m not a doctor and I don’t remember all that he said.

Just a creepy image