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Welp, the day is almost here. I leave Charlotte at about 4:30 tomorrow afternoon and begin my long journey to Ireland. I will be flying to Atlanta and then boarding an overnight flight to Shannon, Ireland. I should be there by about 5am Eastern Time Tuesday.

I will post my first pictures and videos sometime in the mid to late afternoon Tuesday. Lauren will follow on Thursday.

See y'all on the other side...

Labels: Ireland, Personal

Posted by Matt Johnson at 6:21 PM | Permalink | Comments

Sinclair Broadcast Group, which includes WLOS in Asheville and WXLV in Greensboro, announced it has pulled the Republican Governors Association’s false negative ad against Bev Perdue off the air.

Way to go Sinclair!

Labels: Politics

Posted by Matt Johnson at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments

Here are some new photos of our house I took yesterday...Click on the photo to view the full image.

Labels: New House, Personal

Posted by Matt Johnson at 9:17 AM | Permalink | Comments

Beautiful sunset this evening...

Labels: New House, Weather

Posted by Matt Johnson at 8:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

So I have been trying out digital cameras for my trip to Ireland. We already have a nice Sony but I think we need two since sometimes Lauren will need one, and sometimes I will...and we will not always be in the same place. I first bought a Kodak M753. Really nice features...but the pictures kinda sucked...especially distant and low light pics.

Today I bought a Canon Powersot A470. Very nice pics. Below is a cute one I took of Gavin while he was spending the evening lounging on the bed...

Labels: Gavin, Personal

Posted by Matt Johnson at 8:01 PM | Permalink | Comments

A risk of fire? Are you freaking kidding me?? Wanna know what is scarry? This warning is on the box because of a lawsuit stemming from house fires caused by flaming pop-tarts. Evidently, flames up to a foot high can shoot out of your toaster if you leave them in too long.

Labels: Personal

Posted by Matt Johnson at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments

Just as scary but with less experience...

Labels: Politics

Posted by Matt Johnson at 7:22 AM | Permalink | Comments

It was a great 30th birthday party for Lauren last night. Rob brought his guitar as always and fun was had by all...Here is Michael Jackson's "Thriller".

Labels: Personal

Posted by Matt Johnson at 8:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

Some photos from Lauren's 30th birthday party!

Labels: Personal

Posted by Matt Johnson at 6:23 PM | Permalink | Comments

Video of the cool rainbow on my way in to work this morning.

Labels: Personal, Weather

Posted by Matt Johnson at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments

Yep, its my pic! Right there on the front page of CNN's iReport web site. I snapped the photo while in line to get gas near my house in Bether, NC. Soon after emailing it from my phone to CNN, they called me back and asked for more info.

Posted by Matt Johnson at 8:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: Personal

Posted by Matt Johnson at 7:23 PM | Permalink | Comments

Click to read the entire story from the Anchorage Daily News as reprinted in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

WASILLA, Alaska — Back in 1996, when she first became mayor, Sarah Palin asked the city librarian if she would be all right with censoring library books should she be asked to do so.

According to news coverage at the time, the librarian said she would definitely not be all right with it. A few months later, the librarian, Mary Ellen Emmons, got a letter from Palin telling her she was going to be fired. The censorship issue was not mentioned as a reason for the firing. The letter just said the new mayor felt Emmons didn’t fully support her and had to go.

(Rread the entire story from the Anchorage Daily News as reprinted in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Labels: Politics

Posted by Matt Johnson at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments

The preparations for Ireland are coming along. We ran into a slight snag this past weekend when the person we were going to rent our cottage from emailed us saying that the skylight above the bed was leaking badly and we would not be able to rent the space.

After some frantic searching, we found a small apartment for about the same cost. Whew! I have also secured a rental car for the month and two cell phones with service for Lauren and I. It will not be a cheap trip, but it promises to be a great one!

Lauren and I leave September 31st. Lauren is flying via New York and will arrive on October 2nd after laying over a day in the city. I will be flying straight in to Shannon via Atlanta and will arrive on the morning of October 1st.

Labels: Personal

Posted by Matt Johnson at 8:26 AM | Permalink | Comments