A year away....

A year away from our wedding.... Everyone has been telling me how fast it will fly.  Luckily we have got the date set, the wedding venue set, the reception venue set, the photographer almost set(have to send the down payment), and our DJ decision almost set as well, hopefully finalizing that this weekend.  As far as the rest of the tangibles, we will be getting there slowly and surely, as we all know that is how the tortoise won the race.

A little update on the weather, today and Saturday will be GREAT outside.  Low humidity, cool temps, maybe a sprinkle or two, but at least it will feel great.  The heat and humidity will start working back into the area Sunday and really get hot and sticky next week.  Enjoy it while it lasts and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Football Season is Almost Here...

So Sunday I woke up in bed and it was pouring down rain.  It was cooler than the last few days and the combination of the two just made it feel like fall was here.  I took a few seconds to lay there and rest and it just felt like the Browns were going to be on TV later in the day.  You may wonder "Browns!?!?!"  No worries, I will explain....

I have grown up here, in the Miami Valley, my entire life and we are geographically closer to Cincinnati, and as a matter of fact my mother is from Cincinnati.  However, my dad, who as long as I could remember, would root for the Browns and I fall in love with their excitement every game but ultimate sadness and overall defeat every year.  My mothers side of the family ridiculed my father, myself, and my three brothers at all of the family get-togethers, but through the torment we never even thought about budging from our loyalty.  I even remember after a surprising Browns win, back as a kid, my mother was bringing us back from Cincinnati(visiting her family), my father stayed home working on the farm....  Anyways, we were pulling into the driveway late in the evening and we knew the Browns upset the other team, when my mom opened the garage door, out of a box on the ground, mounted on the garage door, my dad's only Browns shirt at the time, came rising up.... Ask a kid it was awesome to see and all of us boys were excited because he taped the game on VHS, so all of us watched the game later that evening.

So as you can see, football was a huge part of our lives as kids.  During second grade my dad didn't know that it was picture day at school and he sent me to school wearing Cleveland Browns sweatpants and matching sweatshirt.  He went to Purdue and wanted me to go there, but I felt my heart was in Columbus with Ohio State after visiting it the very first time.  So between the Buckeyes as an Ohio State Alumni, and the Browns, my weekends are pretty much booked through the fall....(not to mention doing weekend weather).  But last Sunday I just wanted to wake up and turn on the pregame show and sit there in my Josh Cribbs jersey and watch the pigskin getting thrown around. 

The best part about early fall is the hopes are still alive for any team.  You never know what team is going all the way.  Sure you might have hopes, ambitions, and inklings, but it is always so much fun the first 6-8 weeks when it is anyone's game.  Teams are still working through their playbook and players to see what is the best match-ups and scenarios.  What a great American tradition!

Now my own personal thoughts on the upcoming season???  Well I still am in shock that the Bengals signed T.O.  I hate to say it, but I think they are going to be a hard team to beat due to their different weapons.  I think the Ravens will be decent, but nothing great, same for the Steelers, but they will be a little better.  Browns: Superbowl Champs!  Haha, no I think if we end up 8-8 this season we will be lucky.  I have faith that next year we will be solid contenders once the management has all the joints and bearings greased and we are running a solid football machine, but as for this year, I think the division will go to the Bengals.  Well I gotta get going, just thought I would share my thoughts on this years football season.  Have a good one.

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

If ya can't stand the heat....

Then reading my blog in an air-conditioned room is a good start!  Boy, what a BUSY week.  I was off Monday(did a lot of house cleaning and laundry), then anchored the morning news Tuesday with Malcom, off Wednesday(worked on my mopeds), then morning weather and morning news anchor Thursday and Friday.... and let me tell you, I barely had time to sit still.... which woulda been nice considering by the time you factored in the humidity it has felt over 100 degrees the past few afternoons.  After work on Friday I finished installing new tires on my mopeds, which isn't super strenuous.  However, just the minor work I was doing, was enough for me to sweat more than I think I ever have in my life.  It was just running down my face, back, arms....everywhere.... nasty I know, but who doesn't sweat, let's be honest.

We do have good news on the way though, cooler weather starting tomorrow.  A cold front is going to push through tonight with scattered storms, and then Sunday, Monday and Tuesday will be cooler with lower humidity.  Monday looks to be the best of all the days before the humidity slowly starts climbing once again.  More rain on Wednesday before things cool off, slightly.

Well we are getting the big stuff finalized for the wedding.... got the venues for the wedding and reception done, we found a photographer that we are really excited to have, and we are pretty certain what DJ we want as well.  Next up for the planning will be the cake, hotel for guests to stay at and then start looking into invites, etc.  Well enjoy the cooler weather.... you can find me on my moped Monday and Tuesday, my days off.... Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Back in Ohio

It is nice to finally be back home, even though Dawn and I were only gone about 24 hours.  We went to Chicago for a wedding, well actually it was Itasca, a suburb.  The wedding ceremony was gorgeous and the reception was breath-taking.... Now that Dawn and I are planning our own wedding it was very fun to see what Andrew(my roommate from college) and his wife Erin did.  Everything matched perfectly, and the food was so delicious.... I will have to admit, my favorite was the lemon sorbet.  I ended up eating Dawn's as well because she was starting to get full, but trust me, I didn't complain.  I always get the lemon freezes at the Reds games; they are soooo good.  Anyway, the entire evening went off without a flaw.... well no, I take that back... We told the DJ the story of Andrew when we were roommates:  Andrew used to sing, loudly, Beast of Burden about three times a day on average and would tell myself and my other roommates, Kacy and Christian, that he was going to sing it at our weddings. So we told the DJ that we wanted to sing it at his wedding since none of us were married yet.  He acted like he was game, but I think he thought it would ruin his reputation.... so he didn't play it.  Other than that, it was a very beautiful wedding and I wish them both a lifetime of happiness.  I know Andrew and her are perfect... I think on my external hard drive I have the video of him singing a love song to Erin many years ago when we were in college.  I was the only one with a webcam and editing software and I still believe it would be buried in a digital file somewhere....

But we are back and let me tell you one thing, to avoid traffic problems in Chicago, either hit it late-late at night, or super early in the morning.  We hit some rough traffic heading in around noon, but when we left around 7AM, not a problem at all.... It is also nice that it only about five hours away.... We may be making more trips up there soon.

Well I got a fun week ahead.  I am obviously in doing the weather tonight.  I got Monday off, then return to work EARLY Tuesday to anchor the morning news with Malcom.  Mike will be doing the weather.  I will be off then Wednesday and then returning Thursday and Friday to do morning weather AND co-anchoring the news with Pete. Then back in Saturday night to do the weather.  And since I will have Friday night off, I think Dawn and I will go out to the movies and have a date night, which we haven't done really in several months. Get ready for a fun-filled week!

Speaking of this week, we got a chance for rain every single day, although not a great shot each day, a pop-up shower or storm cannot be ruled out.  Also, it's going to be very hot, upper 80's if not 90 this week, so stay cool, stay dry and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Moped Trip Wrap-up

Well as I stated in my previous blog entry, I was planning a moped trip, and today it happened... All the way from my house to Hueston Woods State Park and back, 65 miles of open road...... Well it turned out that it was about 60 miles of open road... 5 miles were a one lane gravel back-road....

Before my brother arrived, I had to somehow fix my pedal situation, the threading on my left pedal had warn smooth, so as a quick fix I tried using JB Weld and hoped it would hold it in after 90 minutes of drying, but just to give it some extr a time, I planned on riding with my feet up on the frame in order to not add any extra stress. I had plenty of pedals, so I grabbed an old one and secured it into the pedal arm and after a test, it was holding nicely....

Bryant, my brother, arrived around 11:45 and we hit the road at 12:00. I let him take my 1.5 HP Puch Maxi and I took the 2 HP Puch Maxi because I am (cough) fatter and I was taking about 20 lbs of water bottles and tools. Keep in mind the heat index was close to 100 all day long, so if we got stranded water would be a necessity. The tools...well just hang on... Anyway we hit the road and it was very apparent he didn't r ide mopeds on a normal basis, he was hugging the side of the road like a prom date.... I told him to scoot out, and by law we got three feet from the curb. PLUS, if some crazy "mean person" passes when they shouldn't or how they shouldn't and you could reach over and knock off their passenger mirror (no it hasn't happened, yet), but if they get to close, you got a buffer area to slide over and not have to throw yourself and MY bike into the ditch. So we rode on and got about 4 miles away from home when his moped died, it seemed that it was getting too much air and not enough fuel so I opened up the carburetor and noticed some sediment from residing rust flakes in the fuel tank. I cleaned the carb, put it all back together and it ran as good as new. I have to admit I was afraid it was going to be a really short trip and I would have had to retur n home to get the truck to pick him up, but not just yet, we continued....

Well the JB Weld didn't hold and my left pedal fell off sometime at this point, but I didnt care, I had my feet up on the frame and was loving every second....pedals, we don't need no stinking pedals, and on we went past cows, chickens, and corn.....

We took Manning Rd which is a fairly hilly road with some steep grades until it T-boned into a river. At this point I noticed a shortcut on Old Gratis Rd. (Well Google Maps gave me the hint the night before) So, before I got there, I had no idea the word "Old" really meant it, the bridge to cross the river was sheets of metal that were held up only by a few rusted beams. We got across the river only to find gravel, potholes, and pudd les. Riding a moped, the last thing you want is potholes because some of them can swallow a moped whole, and to be hidden by puddles.... well it was an interesting few miles... We rode along the dried up river bed (how there were puddles and hardly a drop of water in the river I will never know), but we came out of the road dirty and the mopeds acting up from all the jostling. After a quick break we continued on our way with no hick-ups for a while... Then after about ten miles, I did notice my rear tire was starting to lose some air, so I opened up the throttle and pulled ahead so I could pull over and add more air and Bryant could catch up. A little air and we continued to Camden, Ohio. We fueled up because I had been riding the mopeds a lot and hadn't fueled them up in a few weeks, so they were getting a little thirsty.(Only took about $2.35 to fuel up both bikes) From Camden on to Hueston Woods we were golden, hilly roads and smiles all around. We finally arrived after about two hours and 32.5 out of the 65 miles were complete.

We visited with my family and I also cleaned the carb on my bike because at full throttle it started bogging down and acting funny. After our quick hi, congrats, and goodbye we started heading back out. Bryant's rear tire was low so we filled it up, back onto the road and my freshly cleaned carb did the trick and I was "blasting" the hills once again.(Well 28 mph isn't blasing, but when you are all alone in the country, I will take it) We got about ten more miles and then realized that Bryant's tire started getting flat again. Luckily when I went to get more JB Weld this morning I stopped by my friends car dealership, Fox Motors, and got a can of "Fix-a-flat" We sprayed that into his tire and it seemed to be holding air once again. The bad part was the foam that was inserted fused the can's hose to the tire valve. We had a heck of a time with our foamy, sticky fingers trying to get it off, Bryant even proceeded to burn his hand on the muffler, but eventually it was off.

We were now at the 40 miles into the trip and 25 left to finish. We made it another 5 miles before we had to repeat the "Fix-a-flat" nonsense. We were hoping the foam would fill the leak, but no dice. After another 8 miles we repeated it again. And then two miles after that the tire was completely flat and even using my mini bike pump, we realized the tire was dead, only 10 miles left in the 65 mile trip.... I normally carry an extra tube, but I completely forgot today. Well at this point all I could do was finish.

I have been to several moped rallies and my bike has never finished the long ride (normally 25-35 miles), and I was determined to finish the day's 65 mile challenge. Bryant stayed to try pumping up the tire, and I opened up the throttle and finished the last ten miles with one pedal fully determined, knowing that I had to get my truck to retrieve my brother and daily rider. I rolled into home just as my fiancee was getting home from work, so she hopped in the truck and we picked him up.... I am so happy to have finished the trip with no mechanical fatalities.... only a blown tire..... So a combined 120 miles on my mopeds in 100 degree heat....complete day.

Lessons learned(new or reiterated):
1. Riding in a group always beats riding alone.
2. The tires were old and nasty, shoulda had new tubes and tires before the long haul.
3. Mopeds are awesome.

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Buck and Bryant's Moped Adventure

Buck and Bryant's Moped Adventure
07/14/10
Well it happens that tomorrow is my day off; as well as Friday and Saturday(vacation day).  It also happens that it is the start of a five day party that my grandparents are having at Hueston Woods State Park.  We have family flying in from all corners of the country for their 50th wedding anniversary.  Anyways I am also going to a wedding on Saturday in Chicago, and have a TON of stuff to do before I even think about Saturday.  So I have been wanting to take my mopeds on a long trip.  I mapped out the trip from my house to Hueston Woods, and it will be a 65 mile round trip journey.  Once my brother, Bryant, arrives from Columbus after a morning test at Ohio State, we will be on our way through the rolling hills and countryside of Ohio.  The only bad part is that we are doing this trip when it is going to be 90 degrees, but after you factor in the humidity, it will feel close to 100....sound like fun?  I think so!!! 

It should be a fun ride along the farmland of Ohio.  I know one part is an unpaved road, so that should be interesting, but it runs along the riverbed and will be a shortcut.  Hills are a little bit of a concern considering we have to dip down into about three river valleys, but I am taking the mopeds that are geared a little more for torque.  Hopefully no major hick-ups along the way, but I will be taking my tools, as always.

So we got that planned for tomorrow, Friday it looks to be rainy so I will be getting stuff done around the house and getting ready for the wedding in Chicago.  Once Dawn gets off work Friday night we are heading over to see the family for a few hours at the state park because she hasn't met ALL of my mom's side of the family.  Saturday leave early for the wedding, then leave super early (7AM) Sunday to make it back in time to do the weather..... Should be an action packed next 96 hours....  I am a little sad to miss the airshow this year, but maybe when I drive back in on Sunday I can catch an act or two from the highway.... Stay cool and have a good one.

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Heat returning/Wedding planning

Get ready for the heat to return, it will feel like the mid 90's this week with all the humidity only making things worse. Rain will roll into the are later Friday and overnight, and as of right now, the rain will start letting up early Saturday morning.  The models are showing the rain stopping just in time to get the air show started on Saturday, which is great news. Lower humidity will be a welcome sign for the air show as well for both days and Sunday more sunshine and then once again, we will heat up next week with more rain on the way.

Well planning the wedding has been a whole lot of fun.  We officially got the date booked for the wedding and reception.  The hardest part was the date, mainly because we are going to be having an outdoor wedding at Ohio State, where we met.  Also, with work I can say goodbye to almost anything in May or July because it those are "Sweeps" months. We really couldn't do it in June either because with all of the severe weather we see; it is basically an unwritten rule for Jeff, Mike and I that we didn't want to be understaffed for severe weather.  So since July sweeps are over the 28th, we took the first weekend after, plus it holds sentimental value as well.  Oddly enough the two venues we were trying to get anyways only were BOTH available on that date.  I am also looking forward to the reception, the food is amazing!!    Anyway, the date and venues are solved, so now it is on to photographers and music, since those book up fast, especially photographers.  I know Dawn is VERY picky about what kind of photos she likes, so I will be along for the ride and I will over very little suggestions.  If there is one thing she is very adamant about, its the style of pictures.... Everything else she is pretty laid back because the photos will be there forever and she wants to make sure it is captured in a specific way.... My idea of disposable cameras for the guests was shunned....  Well at least ONLY disposable, just kidding, I know full well that would have been a bad idea.... Anyway, the biggest hurdle is done.... Stay cool and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Wonderful Weekend, but now Wet Weekdays

This weekend turned out awesome.  Lower humidity, sunshine, and cooler temps than the last week.  Well we are about to see storms start brewing up and temperatures going up as well in the coming days.  The rain will be scattered for the coming days, so not a constant rain, but keep the umbrella handy.  One thing you may want to also keep handy is the pool pass.  A few days we will push 90 and with the humidity it will feel like the mid 90's once again.

I will be filling in for Jeff Booth for part of this week, then I got a lot of fun things planned for my days off.  Thursday I plan on relaxing and catching up on stuff around the house.  Friday I am going to my grandparents 50th anniversary party at a local state park.  Then finally on Saturday I will be heading to Chicago for a former roommates wedding.  It should be a blast seeing a lot of old friends I haven't seen since college.  Then back to work on Sunday and then the week after that......well, we will see.  Stay cool and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Some say I am crazy....

And I am sure my neighbors would agree today...  If you were awake anytime this morning, you knew it was raining, and raining a lot.  I had always wondered.... why not just grab a towel, soap, take off your shirt, and just have a good ole time washing the truck?  If you think about it, you use the most water trying to rinse off the suds on the truck... So in the middle of the downpour(no lightning) I did just that.... It was quite a interesting experience because I was wearing my glasses, which got water all over the lenses, and by the time I came inside I was soaked to the bone, I had to put the clothes in the washing machine immediately along with a few other items and wash them since they were so wet.  Even a "warm" shower felt hot after the chilly rain, and let me tell you, after the heat wave we have seen the last week, it felt GREAT!!!!  I will note that next time I plan on turning on some tunes from the garage to keep me a little more entertained, because for the 10-15 minutes all I did was laugh at how silly I probably looked out there in the pouring rain washing my truck.... but ya know what? It sure is purrrrty! 

Yea, call me crazy.... speaking of craziness.... I am heading up to Country Concert later today, and I will be live for all of the evenings shows, so if you can't go, watch for me, and if you are going, make sure to say Howdy!  Enjoy the beautiful weather for the weekend and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

And my pick is......

When I get as famous as LeBron James, I will announce everything.... and then get a slice of the commercial time.  It will never happen, but just in case it does, I already have a plan, and as Malcom Maddox says, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail....

Well a wet end of the workweek will result in a cooler, dry weekend, but most importantly: lower humidity.  It will feel much more comfortable than lately for this weekend with a mix of sun and clouds.  Next week looks unsettled with a chance for scattered showers for most of the week with a few storms mixed in there as well.  Temperatures will be in the mid 80's, but as it currently looks, not nearly as hot as this last week. 

We did manage to string the last 3 days of 90+ degree temperatures, meaning it is officially a "Heat Wave."  We also hit 92 today, which was the warmest day of the year, and a total of five days above 90, so far this year.  Last year we only got above 90, four times, so this year is also officially warmer than last year.  Well, LeBron still hasn't decided, but is about too....have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Sticky Weather Sticking Around

Last week was too good to be true.  These next few days(my "weekend") will be the warmest of the year.  High temps will be in the lower 90's and factor in the humidity, it will feel more like 100 in the afternoon.  I guess I will be trying to come up with good ideas on how to beat the heat.... mopeding in heat like that may still be fun, but also uncomfortable.  Then again, anything outside without water involved will be uncomfortable.  Stay cool, drink plenty of water, and make some sun tea.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Knee High by the Fourth of July?

Well if you are a farmer, or know anyone that is, you probably have heard this saying.  Well this is honestly the first time I remember the corn actually tasseling before the Fourth of July.  The saying normally is meant that the farmers' corn crop has reached about 2 feet tall, but here in Ohio we are normally above the curve.  This years heat and abundant spring rain has helped the corn crop along far more than in recent years.  As long as we continue seeing adequate rain, we should have a huge bumper crop(larger than average yield).  While many people thing that is a great thing, it actually means the price per bushel will drop and farmers will not get as much money per each wagon full of corn.

On to the forecast, we will continue seeing the humidity climb and stay muggy through the next week.  Temperatures will be flirting with 90 for the next week and the humidity will make it feel like the mid 90's.  With all the heat and humidity, pop-up afternoon showers and storms cannot be ruled out.  It appears we will be in this pattern for quite some time, so get that grassed mowed now, before the heat really sets in. Stay cool and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Interesting morning...Anchoring the news

That's right, the powers that be wanted to see what else they could have me do around work and decided to have me do the news.  It was my first experience doing so, so I apologize for the millions of errors.  Just kidding, actually it went pretty smooth....I was a bit nervous at first, but Pete Scalia helped me calm down and have a great time.  We kept having jokes, that if Mike Terwilleger needed a break or whatnot, all he had to do was tap my hand and I could swing in front of the green screen and take the reigns a few minutes, although I never actually see that happening.  Mike is one of the nicest people you will ever meet, but his dedication to his job is second to none.  Anyways I had a fun time and personally, I feel I did surprisingly well for my first time.  Reading the prompter is much harder than people think it is....words constantly scrolling up and you really gotta be on top of your game.... Anyways, I will be back on in the morning on Friday, and possibly time to time depending on what the schedule happens to read.

The beautiful weather will continue for the next few days.  We will slowly start to warm up as we head into the Fourth of July Weekend, but we should stay dry until Tuesday or Wednesday next week.  So if you have any activities planned with the coming holiday, it looks great to be outside and with temperatures warming up, we should see great weather for the pool. Just remember not to get too burnt from all the sunshine in the coming days.  Anyways, just thought I would drop a quick line before grabbing a quick nap before a meeting.... Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael