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Originally uploaded by jwt9478

Firing up the grill at the park on Memorial Day

Amelia's Graduation

Well it's that time of year again. Graduation Time!!!!

The first one up is Amelia's at Dallas Baptist University. She just
finished up her master's in Educational Leadership. I"m proud of
her. Now it's on the next step of becoming a principal.

Below are a few pics:

http://photos.johnwesleythomas.com/v/AmeliaGraduation/

It was a quiet atmosphere, so no cheering or blowhorns. It's a
baptist school so they made it clear that it was a worship
experience. Good thing I showed up early to hear that, cause I surely
was going to yell and act crazy when they called Amelia's name. ;-)

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View out of the cabana in Bermuda every night at about 8pm

Bermuda Trip

Well I just got back in town from my "Work" trip to Bermuda. It was
nice. I never smelt air that clean and crisp. And the scenary was so
colorful and bright. Here are a few snapshots I took while I was there:

http://photos.johnwesleythomas.com/v/Bermuda/

This was the view outside of our oceanside cabana:

Jaha Birthday - 2009

Jaha Birthday - 2009
Originally uploaded by jwt9478

Is Mavs vs. Spurs a Real Rivalry????

I couldn't help but listen to local sports radio on my way home tonight.  They were going on and on about how they were so excited to be facing the Spurs in this year's NBA playoffs.  One reasons is because the Spurs are facing injury problems, so they have a chance to win a playoff series which they haven't done in a while.  Another reason was so they could renew the rivalry between the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs.

I couldn't help, but think "Rivalry, what rivalry????".  I"ll admit that 7-game series in 2006 was one of the greatest ever, but besides that I don't even remember the other series even being competitive.  So I did the research below:

2006 Playoffs - Mavs (4-3)

2003 Playoffs - Spurs (4-2)

2001 Playoffs - Spurs (4-1)

So what's all the excitement about???  Four series in the span of 8 years?  Haven't the Mavs played just as many against the Suns or Rockets in recent history?  

Plus the only year the Mavs were poised to win a championship with a #1 seed and the league's best record they were ousted in the first round.  I feel if a rivalry is going to be established there has to be something at stake.  Both teams go back and forth battling for playoff position/seeding, division championships, and league championships.  There has to be some form of history to generate the dislike between the teams.  Or maybe it's just me???

That's why I feel the Spurs true rival is the Los Angeles Lakers.  Both teams have the championships, both have knocked each other out of the playoffs, and there is great history established.  I can go back to the Iceman days and trace the pain and suffering that great Laker teams have caused me.  And this is true even this year where the Lakers and Spurs are seeded #1 and #3 respectively.

What is your definition of a rivalry????????????

Great, Part of Another Statistic

I swear up and down that 5-hour energy has gotten thru a number of late night study sessions.  And it looks like a number of others are joining in.

http://www.foodbev.com/report/energy-shot-drinks-double-to-423m

I just hope it's not too good to be true.  There are already stories out there that say that these so called "energy drinks"  have a lot more ingredients not listed on the labels.

http://temple-news.com/2009/03/31/energy-boosters-could-be-cause-of-heart-failure/

Maybe i should just stick to coffee.............

Twitter Lawsuits

It could happen one day. Especially since so many news outlets use
Twitter for material more and more each day. Some interesting
concerns from Mark Cuban below:

http://blogmaverick.com/2009/03/29/are-tweets-copyrighted/

Test

Bojangle's - Chicken n' Biscuits

Bojangle's - Chicken n' Biscuits
Originally uploaded by jwt9478

My dad and I ran into this place on our roadtrip to VA. The radio commercials were so funny we had to stop by. It was pretty good chicken too, but I felt slightly ashamed to liking it tho. ;-)

Worn out!!

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12/30/2008

12/30/2008
Originally uploaded by jwt9478

I love this photo. It was a long drive from San Antonio back to Dallas after Xmas.

It's been a long time....

Well at least I have a good excuse for not blogging in a while. In school full time working on my PhD, working a 25 hours a week, and I have two dogs now. But I just took my last final last night, so I'm back.

I have some new photos up:

My dogs

My cousins graduation from Prairie View A&M

My last fishing trip - Man it was cold that day!!!!!

A few birthday weekend pics

Other than that everything is cool. I'm looking forward to trips to Chicago for New Year's and Virginia for my Spring Break, so lookout for more pics.

Man, I love being back in school again. I haven't had a Spring Break trip in a while. ;-)

Fwd: This is just beautiful!

Fwd: This is just beautiful!
Originally uploaded by jwt9478

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Man, it's been a while since I've posted

Everything is good, just busy. Finally settled into Dallas after moving from Chicago. I sort of miss the old bachelor pad, but I'm happy with the way things are here in Dallas for me now.

Hey and if anyone is looking for a place in the Oak Park, IL area then check out my place:

http://www.realtor.com/realestate/oak+park-il-60302-1097024237/

The black superdelegates: A guide to the 100+ African Americans who may decide the election - The Daily Voice - Black America's Daily News Source

The black superdelegates: A guide to the 100+ African Americans who may decide the election - The Daily Voice - Black America's Daily News Source

Killer Thrid Quarter

This link below tells the tale of the how the 3rd quarter has looked for the Spurs in these first two games in this series against the Hornets. You can see how the game opens up and the Hornet shooters start to get open shots.

This trend needs to change if the Spurs want to pull themselves back into this series.

PopcornMachine's BoxScore - SAS @ NOR

Who would have thought??

Who would have thought that Ronnie Brewer and Melo had more slam dunks this season in the NBA than LeBron?

Proof

How to Declare for the NBA Draft

This is a funny article about a kid with no basketball talent declared for the NBA Draft as an early entry. Good Stuff!!

Article

Bruce Bowen - a maniac, psycho

I love this video. It has a nice mix of all of Bruce Bowen's questionable plays. Is he dirty? I'm a life long Spurs fan and I even think so. To be a good defender for so long and play in 500 straight NBA games, you have to have a little nastiness in you. He never would have made it in the L without it. I just wish more players played with his passion. He's in there playing mind games with the best offensive players in the league. V. Carter and Ray Allen haven't had a good game against the Spurs ever since they got caught up in Bowen's mind games. Some of the best names in the game play mind games to get an advantage. If it works the game is already over before tip-off.

Funny Article Describing Duncan's Many Faces

This is pretty funny, even though they kind of hating at the end.

Article

Air Jordan Commercial

I love this ad.

Oprah Winfrey debate with Bill Keller of LivePrayer!

Shaq clears the stands AGAIN!

This is funny!!!

New Pics

Amelia talked me into going over to Sears to take some studio photos. I don't know how she did it, but I'm glad I went. A few of them turned out pretty good.

Take a look and see for yourself: Pics

Why are the Bulls so bad????

I was wondering around NBA.com and found this shooting chart breakdown for every single team and player in the league. It's pretty interesting to the shooting characteristics of each player. Who shoots the most layups? Who has a favorite spot for draining 3's? I think the most interesting thing was see that the Chicago Bulls are the only team in the NBA shooting under 47% for layups/dunks. That's rediculous. Even teams like the Bucks, Sixers, Wolves, Griz, or Bobcats are all above 52% for layups. The Knicks are the second lowest at 51%. I knew things were bad, but I had no idea things were that bad.

Part of me wants to say that this is due to the Bulls being a smaller outside shooting team without any inside power offensive game to warrant a high percentage. But this team has been like that since 2004 and they have shot no worse than 52% for layups since then. Go figure

Check out the below link when you get a chance.

NBA.com: Hot Spots

Wu-Tang Martial Arts Montage!

This is a tight little mix of some famous movie samples that RZA used on all the Wu-Tang albums.

Here's a link breaking it down:

http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/15-11/pl_music

Angry Coach Spoof

Fu-Schnickens - Whats up doc?

I forgot Shaq used to be able to move like that. Those were the days.

Great Article on the 1993 NL Pennant Race

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Originally uploaded by jwt9478

Check out this article on ESPN:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=93pennant

New Big Ben shoes Due out this Fall

----------------
Now playing: Akon - when the time is right -21st
via FoxyTunes

I might cop these when they come out

SLAM ONLINE | » Starbury Big Ben: "Starbury Big Ben"

Funny Marbury Interview

I don't know what he was on during this joint.

Positive Article about a Professional Athlete

ESPN - Wildcat payback: Jefferson gives $3.5M to Arizona - Men's College Basketball

Interesting Article of Black Atlanta's Opinion of Mike Vick

Check it out!!!!

Rhain Davis the Whiz Kids join Manchester United

This kid is awesome.

Fireworks over Chi

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Originally uploaded by jwt9478

While on a late-night boat cruise I got a chance to catch the fireworks off of Navy Pier.

Akon throws kid into audiance

Funny Stuff!!!

Interesting Article on the NBA referee scandal

Check it out.

Chicago Boat Tours

Took a tour along the Chicago River and Lake Michigan today.




Take a look at more photos here: Photos

Motorola Q9h

My phone just broke, so I see this as an opportunity to get a new phone. I'm looking at the Motorola Q9 for starters.

2007 NBA Draft Probabilities

For better or worse -- NBA draft lottery probabilities

Another Summer Another Softball Season

Well the summer has finally arrived, so it's time for me to torture myself by playing three softball leagues for the summer. Only 3 games and my captain has already started sending out stats for our team. I'm getting off to a good start for some reason. I can't explain it, I haven't touched a bat all winter.

You can check out the latest stats here. Softball Stats

Hottest New NBA Stat Website

Something I ran in to a few days while slacking off at work was a website popcornmachine.net. It gives an interesting perspective of NBA statistics. It has a good representation of runs, player impact, along with familiar stats.

Take a look at the stat sheet from the Bulls game I went to last night:
Apr. 24 - Bulls vs. Heat

You get a good look of how the gameflow went. Chicago led throughout most of the game, but Miami put in a good few runs to cut into the lead. U can also tell that it was mostly D. Wade that cut into most of the leads. But with two huge runs in the second half of the game sealed the 'V' for the Bulls.

You get alot more information from this website than you can a regular box score.

The NJ/Toronto game wasn't even on TV, but I was able to take a look at the gameflow on this website and get a good idea of what the game would have looked like. A whole lot of Chris Bosh.

Apple TV

I've decided to put my bonus money to good use this year. And of course I'm saving most of it. But I think I'm going to purchase an Apple TV. I like how it's able to sync and stream all iTunes content, while also having the potential of streaming my recorded video with my MythTV setup. U can check out the specs below

Apple - Apple TV - Tech Specs:

Here's a photo of how it might look in my home setup:

2007 NCAA Basketball Bracket

This year's field is kind of tough to select from. I got an early upset with Long Beach St. winning over Duke and I also have North Carolina not making it to the Final Four either. I got a good feeling about Georgetown though. So we'll see how it turns out.

Take a look at my bracket (pdf)

New Years 2007!!!!

Kicking it with a bunch of people in Dallas, TX for the New Years 2007

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Soldier Field

New Jeep!!!!

New Jeep!!!!
Originally uploaded by jwt9478.

This is something that I've been promising myself for almost 3 years straight. I finally have a new car.

Downtown Chicago from top of Sears Tower

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I can't wait man

I found this cool website for the PS3 for Europe. I don't know why there isn't one for the US yet, but this will do. It has some nice video clips of the graphics as well as more details on the actual system and accessories. Hot site!!


The official PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3) Website from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe

NBA - Bulls to deal Chandler to Hornets for Brown, Smith

Ok. I was already excited about the draft that the Bulls had. Then came the news that we signed Ben Wallace. But for this latest deal I can hardly contain myself. The trade of Tyson Chandler to the Hornets fills almost every hole that this young talented team has had the past few years. It solves the problems with size on the perimeter and inside. PJ Brown should supply an inside presense similar to what Antonio Davis gave a few years ago. And JR Smith is long and athletic and should provide good help for defense on the perimeter. I know my Spurs have been chasing him for the past two seasons. I'm glad someone picked him up. I'm really looking forward to being a season ticket holder once again this season. Check out more details on the latest trade at the link below.

ESPN.com - NBA - Bulls to deal Chandler to Hornets for Brown, Smith

New NBA ball

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Originally uploaded by jwt9478.

The NBA changes their game ball for the first time in 35 years. The biggest change is that it's no longer made of leather. Now is some kind of composite material.

Chicago Brawl

Chicago Brawl
Originally uploaded by jwt9478.

A co-worker and fellow Sox fan sent this to me at work. I thought it

was funny. :-)

Interesting article on the transition of the NBA in recent years

I ran into an article by one of my favorite writers at ESPN.com. I talks about the recent rule changes in the NBA and what it means to the game. We no longer see the 70 point games that we used to see in the 1990's or even up to 4 years ago. Now the NBA is all about high octane offenses that can average up to 107 points a game. It also mentions how this transition can effect the upcoming NBA draft as well. Maybe JJ Reddick will turn out to be the better NBA prospect over Adam Morrison after all. It's an interesting read. U can check it out at the link below:

ESPN.com: Page 2 : Installing the NBA upgrade

2005 World Series Trophy

I got a chance to take a close look at the White Sox 2005 trophy. The trophy is taking a tour around the city all year long and on this particular day they stopped by my job.



You can check out more photos here.

Toyota Trucks made in SA

Looks like the new Toyota plant is going to start producing trucks in mid-November. I wonder what kind of deals they'll be offering. I'm definitely in the market for a new car.

Check out the article here!!!!

Roof Top Party

Today I got the rare opportunity to attend a rooftop party at a Cubs game. These things are really rare and is very unique to Wrigley Field where the Cubs play ball. I actually attended a party on the roof of a neighboring building where there was free food and drink during the whole game. It was a hook up through my alumni association at Columbia University. I knew that one day there would be a good reason why I keep paying my dues to that club. ;-)

Originally uploaded by jwt9478.

Pittsburgh

Originally uploaded by jwt9478.

Pittsburgh

I've been looking everywhere for this jersey!!!

I finally found it. It's a Nathan Vasher Chicago Bears jersey. He owns the record for the longest TD run in NFL history. He was a pretty big impact player this year for the Bears who had one of the nastiest defenses in the league this year.

Plus he went to U of Texas. And he also grew up in Wichita Falls, TX where my Dad is from. In fact, my dad grew up with his mom.

So what more reasons do I need to pick up his jersey. I've just been waiting to find the orange alternative jersey somewhere. I've been searching malls and eBay for months now and I finally found it.

2004 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited

I think I found what new car I want to get at the end of the month. It's a Jeep Wrangler. My first car was a Jeep Cherokee and I was always fond of it. I can picture myself now taking the top off and cruising around in the summertime. I can't wait. Well I'll have to wait a little for my annual bonus to come at the end of the month. ;-)

Motorola iRadio

Man, I can't tell you how excited I am about this new product that Motorola is going to push later this year. With the latest trend of merging MP3 players with cell phones, Motorola is adding a suite of bluetooth modules to add to your home stereo, car, and even headphones so you can stream your music from your phone to any of these places. So basically you will have your music with you whereever you go. You can subscribe to Internet radio stations or even stream your own MP3's. Hopefully it will do well.

Check out this link to find out more info!!!!

Can we consider the black athletes of today leaders?????

I ran into an interesting article this morning from one of my favortie writers on ESPN.com. Scoop Jackson writes about the black athletes of today and points out that they are totally different from the Muhammad Ali's and Jim Brown's of yesterday. He points out Washington Wizards forward, Etan Thomas in particular as someone who is trying to follow those steps made in the past.

Check out the article here!!!!

I also learned what a Baobob Tree was. ;-)

Corretta Scott King

I got a hold of the funeral program for Mrs. King. This program must have gone on for at least 5 hours. There are some pretty impressive names on the tribute list within the program.

Check it out here!!!

MySA.com: KENS 5: Sports

An interesting article on an economic survey conducted recently on the impact of an NFL team coming to SA. It sounds like the only way that it would work would be to build a new stadium. The Alamodome wouldn't cut it.

Check it out here!!!

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New TV!!!

Originally uploaded by jwt9478.

Saints Game!!!

Columbia hires first black head coach in Ivy League

My Alma Mater making Ivy League history.

Check out the article here.

ESPN.com: Page 2 : The NBA's Big Picture Show

I found this article at ESPN from one of my favorite writers there, Bill Simmons. This is his latest NBA team power rankings. And of course my Spurs are sitting pretty at #1.

Check it out here.

Originally uploaded by jwt9478.

My First Snow

Another HDTV Buying Guide

This article gives some insight on purchasing a service plan to go along with the television. Usually I'm not the one to purchase a service plan for any electronics. I think it's pretty much a rip off. But I've also never made puchases for more than a G, so I might reconsider.

Check it out here!!

Generation Y: They've arrived at work with a new attitude - Yahoo! News

Interesting article on Generation Y'ers entering the workforce of Corporate America. I especially like this quote:

"Generation Y is much less likely to respond to the traditional command-and-control type of management still popular in much of today's workforce"

And I always thought I was wierd to always question my management's decisions. And sometimes even ignoring them.

Check it out here!!

Motorola Scholarship Opportunity

Check it out here.

Helpful Glossary of digital television terms

This should come in real handy as I shop around for HDTV's to purchase this holiday season.

Check it out here!!!

Originally uploaded by jwt9478.

Baby Nick

Well there's a brand new addition to the planet Earth. His name is Nicolas Andrew Williams. He's the brand new son of a co-worker of mine. I actually help take the mother, Daisy, to the hospital when she began to have contractions.

iRadio

This is pretty cool what Motorola is doing. They are looking to incorporate every Motorola phone with online radio stations. This means that you will be able to take online content or even your own music library anywhere that your phone goes to play at home, your car, or even with your headphones anywhere.

Find out more here.

Harley-Davidson 883 Custom Sportster

I'm really feelin' this Harley Sportster bike. It has all the specs of a regular sports bike, but has the look and feel of an old school cruising Harley. I think it might be for me.

Check out the specs here.

I even found an online sportster fan website here.

Fortune - Technology - BitTorrent: The Great Disrupter

I found an interesting article on BitTorrent creator Brian Cohen. It gives a brief explanation of the technology and it's rise to power among file sharing networks.

Check it out here!!

ESPN.com - Hollinger: Curry just not worth it

Interesting ESPN article detailing the Eddie Curry trade. When I first heard about it, I really hated the trade. Especially since I just became a season ticket holder. But after reading this article, the author makes some good points as to why the Bulls might still be alright afterall.

Check it out here!!!

This could be the one!!!!!

I have my motorcycle safety class next weekend, so it's inspired me to start shopping around once again for motorcycles. This is the best time to shop around for them up here in Chicago since so many people are looking to store or get rid of their bikes for the winter. You can usually catch people desperate to get rid of them.

Here's one that I've been looking at the past couple days. It's a 1997 Suzuki Marauder and it looks pretty nice. Especially since it's only around 2k.

Check it out

Groomsmen at Robbies Wedding

Groomsman at Robbies Wedding
Originally uploaded by jwt9478.

I'm working on posting some more photos from wedding.

Me and KC Celebrating our Birthday

KC Birthday Lunch Pic
Originally uploaded by jwt9478.

Some co-workers took us out to Stir-Crazy for our birthday. KC's B-day is just a few days after mine.

State of the Mavs Address

It's Mark Cuban speaking about the mistakes he made while managing the Mavs that led to Michael Finley's release.

Check it out here!!!!

Are the Baby Bulls Leaving????

An interesting article on the Bulls free agency situation this summer. It looks as if either Tyson Chandler or Eddie Curry might be out the door.

Check out the article here!!!

Family hangin' out at the Corn Palace

My family reunion in Souix Falls, SD. Yeah, I know I couldn't believe that black folks live there either. ;-)

Another disappointing end to the softball season

Well another year another chance for my softball team to get bounce out of the playoffs early. It was a double elimination tournament and both teams we lost to we were able to beat in the regular season. It doesn't make sence.

Here are the stats for the season!!!

Softball - Week #10

Well we are starting to pick the "O" back up. We had a nice little 24-5 win over a decent team. It just seems like our offense is up and down all year and you can tell by looking at our season. We haven't had a winning or losing streak sinse the month of May.

I'm still a little disappointed in my numbers because I tend to pop the ball up too often. I lead the team in "reached on error" plays. But overall my numbers are starting to pick back up. And besides my boy Jeff that is new to the team has been picking up the slack. And now that I bat behind him in the cleanup spot, he takes a few of my RBI's since our 1 and 2 guys have OBP's around .700. It's all good though, I just need to adjust my game and get on base to let someone else hit me in.

Here are a look at our team stats

Apple 1 to 1 Learning Solutions

This is an interesting educational program set forth by Apple Computers. Their initiative is to have a 1-to-1 ratio of computers to students in every school.

Apple - Education - Apple 1 to 1 Learning Solutions

I even read about a school in Arizona that is in the program and is getting rid of all text books. They will be creating a totaly digital learning environment.

Arizona School Will Not Use Textbooks

Another Nice Tube!!!

I don't know what it is, but it seems like the more I start looking at condos to buy the more I look at big screen HDTV's. Here's another one that I like. And to top it off it's on sale at Best Buy now.

Check it out here: Best Buy add for Toshiba 57H94

Nice Tube!!!!

A friend got me hip to this new LCD TV. This is hot. And for the 3G's that it's worth it better be.

Maybe one day. ;-)



Check out more info on it here: Hitachi 50VX915

Cleveland Indians game

Cleveland Indians game
Originally uploaded by jwt9478.

Had a nice time at the Cleveland Indians game this weekend.

Softball - Week #5

Well surprise surprise. My team pulled off an upset of a decent team in the A League (the good league of teams). This just might be what we needed to instill a little confidence in us. Hopefully we'll take this game and build on it. We still play everyone in out league at least one more time and we are only 3 games out of first place. And once the playoffs start anything can happen.

Here are a look at our team stats:

Softball - Week #4

Well we had another tough outing on the diamond last week. We ended losing to another team that we shouldn't have. We were winning this game like 11-2, but gave up our lead and took the game to two extra innings. We ended up losing in the end.

Here's a look at the stats.

This week we play a team from the A league (the good league). I don't see things looking up for a while. Everyone is starting to get frustrated on the squad. This might be what we need to turn the season around.

Nice Article on Manu

It's good to see Manu Ginobili get the national media attention that he deserves. I've always loved his game. He's an impact player that does many things to change the game. He can score, dish, play D, get a steal, grab a board, take charge, and pop the 3.

Check out the ESPN article on Manu here!!!!

My Giraffe

Originally uploaded by jwt9478.

My giraffe

This is a photo of my friend Josie acting silly. I just had to put this up here. ;-)