I love rain and thunder; but man Dallas has just been getting more than it's fair share of bad weather of late. From harsh rain and high winds, to flash floods and huge hail. For about a month now Dallas has been living up to the phrase, "Spring Storms." During the last storm there was so much hail in some areas it looked as though it had snowed. The time before that the weather was so bad that the whole family, dogs and all, turned our stairwell closet into a 6th bedroom; at 4:00 am in the morning.

Anyway, tonight we are going for yet another round. Not sure how bad we will get hit, there were tornadoes apparently near Fort Worth earlier; but that's not terribly unusual. So far we have been very lucky and had no real problems, either at our hours or anywhere in Wylie. I don't want to jinx us, but it shouldn't be a bad thing to acknowledge ongoing luck when it comes to bad weather in Texas.

So here we go again, and I sure we will again and again for another month or so.

Tags: Weather

Putting photos on my site is not exactly the easiest thing in the world and since I want to store my favorites on-line anyway I might as well use existing tools. I've tried this in various forms over the past few years and I feel the best way to achieve this is to go back to using SmugMug again. The trick of using SmugMug with my website is getting it to "brand" the same or at least similar to my current website. Because of the tools I use to build my website branding SmugMug the same way has turned out to be a serious challenge.

I have gotten the menu on SmugMug to mimic the functionality of the menu on KellysWorld and maybe in time I will be able to get SmugMug to the point that the only difference between KellysWorld and SmugMug will be the URL. That could be a very large MAYBE.

Tags: KellysWorld

Looks like I have failed again in updating my blog. I'm not sure why it's so hard to load a program, write a few sentences and then upload a page or two; but it seems to be bloody difficult. I'm not making excuses. I'm not saying I'm going to stop blog posting all together. I'm just saying I'm pretty lousy at regular updates. I'm not the only one out there, but then there are many who are much better than myself as well.

It's not like I'm the quiet one either or that I am without opinions. I'm sure anyone that knows me would say, "Kelly, I'm sure you can think of something annoying to say about something; you always do when I'm around." I'm sure they would say it in the most loving of ways too. Right?

Well, I again will make a promise to try harder, work longer, think broader and lots of other "ers," to make this a better blog and website. The whole site needs regular updates to be honest. I've got to find a way to get photos on-line easier too so that grandmas and grandpas as well as far flung family can more easily see the events that make up the lives of the Wylie Spores.

Again, I PROMISE!

Tags: KellysWorld

I've waited a little while before posting my personal review of the iPhone. While the phone was released more than six months ago, it still garners a great deal of attention and hype. The iPhone seems to have a following that is nearly as polarized as American politics. People seem to either think it a wonderful device that at the very least changes the face of mobile telephony for ever or that it's just a phone that while pretty is missing key features. While detractors are correct in that some features other phones have the iPhone is missing; they miss the simple fact that the iPhone has the features most people want and does them very well. Best of all, the key function "phone calls" work terrifically; and it is after all a PHONE.

Until someone has actually used the IPhone it's very hard to describe how different the experience is from other so called "Smart" phones, or any mobile phone. I can say this after using both Blackberries and Windows Mobile devices as well as many other phones. Most phones have lots of features, yet do few of them well and most poorly. These features seem added by the marketing department first and then rushed through the engineering department to meet a long decided release date. In stark contrast, the features of the iPhone seem to have been thoroughly thought out by both marketers and engineers then compromises made with the end user in mind. Some features were seemingly left out, while others were added with missing components; both of which Apple new could be added later and since the phones release Apple has done 3 updates, two bringing feature enhancements. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: iPhone, iTunes

On Friday morning Tracy and I began our day in the usual way, great reluctance to actually get out of bed. Typically Tracy is the first one up during the week. She gets up, lets out the dogs and makes her first cup of "joe." On Friday though, she slowly retuned to our room with head hung low and tears nearly in her eyes speaking softly, "it's dead." I didn't understand what she was trying to tell me. "I think the coffee maker is broken," she said to me with sullen eyes. I then understood the situation, and if you know Tracy well at all you know how serious a situation this could be for her. Coffee is Tracy's life force in the morning; without it, she moves more slowly.

I immediately went into the kitchen and entered, "Husband Fix-It" mode, where I immediately repeat every step I'm sure my wife has taken, but I'm taking again just to say I did. I'm lifting the levers, pressing buttons, unplugging it and even turning it nearly upside down. Why? Well, because that's what a husband does in a critical situation like the one I found myself. I quickly came to the same conclusion Tracy came to, during the night our coffee maker passed. The heating lamp comes on, but nobody is home. Our fancy-smancy coffee maker, a wedding gift from friends had moved on to a better place; leaving me with a wife that wanted coffee and none was to be had. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Tracy, Shopping

If you've been following my website for a while, you know that near the end of last year I added a Twitter box to the navigation side of my website. Since getting my iPhone I've begun Twittering and following Twittering more closely. I don't have a wide network of friends, mostly it is folks that are into technology (mostly Macs) and whose opinions I care about. I've met, virtually of course, a few others that I follow. I have to say that Twittering is fun and during the day makes me feel a little more connected to the world at large. It's strange how a service that allows folks to connect virtually with no human contact, makes me feel more connected.

After getting more involved in Twitter, I heard folks talking about Facebook. So I decided to see what all the fuss was about. I created a Facebook account a last week and it's pretty interesting. I even found an old friend from college. i found another, but he hasn't yet responded. I even found my daughter on Facebook; but she hasn't responded either. Hmmm, could it be a pattern?

Anyway below are the links to my Twitter page and my Facebook page. Check them out and Join the Digital Social Revolution!

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kspore
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Kelly_Spore/1032206172

Tags: Twitter, Facebook

Yeah, I know... Yet another long period of time has passed since my last entry. I've been involved in many different events and activities since Dec. 9. There was a little holiday called Christmas, then New Year's and of course working towards adopting a child. Lots of paperwork, classes and other necessary work that has to be done before we can even begin the process of adopting. More on that in a future entry.

I've also had my time consumed by a little device called the iPhone. Yes, for Christmas my wife got me that one gift I just had to have but wasn't going to buy for myself. Apple Inc.'s well known iPhone. You've seen the ads. You've heard the hype. You've seen the news and maybe read a review or two. I'm here to tell you.... BELIEVE EVERY POSITIVE WORD. It isn't a perfect phone, but it is far more perfect than any mobile phone I've ever used or owned. It's actually better than any phone I've every used before. More on the iPhone to come later as well.

I've been busy, VERY BUSY, at work. I arrive each day around 8:00 and leave each day around 6:00 or 6:30. Long days that go at an incredibly fast pace. My company operates in 33 markets now, crossing every time zone in the country. Since most of our major clients are either medical or financial, our clients are fast paced operations as well. Since I am the Manager of Customer Service as well as one of the chief operation managers, I stay busy answering questions, researching problems and approving actions. I love every minute, even if I'm often exhausted by days end. I don't blog much about work, and I don't see that changing. Work is work, all that needs to really be known is that I enjoy my job and the responsibilities that come with my position.

This post is short and a bit "all over the place," but I promise to try and make at least one entry a week. That's not much is it, one post a week?

Tags: Adoption, iPhone