A scene from THE GODFATHER.

A scene from THE GODFATHER.
Originally uploaded by GCAUSTIN

My 5 year old son as Woltz and Bucky as the 600,000 dollars decapitated prized horse.

Halloween is coming...

VID_00002
Originally uploaded by GCAUSTIN

And this is probably the only time that allows me to be creative.

Before Jonathan was born, my wife and I helped kids from our Episcopal church create a "haunted house." The house was a success. We didn't make it scared and we made sure to make an alternate route for kids under 4.

My wife placed barriers on how "scary" I could decorate the house. One halloween, our son, who was 3 at the time, got a bit freaked out with the strobe lights and scary music.

Now that our son is 5, I have been given the okay to be creative and make our home scary for halloween.

This video shows what we have sofar. I'll be posting videos as it progresses towards halloween night.

At times I wish I was back in Hawaii

Waikiki Beach
Originally uploaded by GCAUSTIN

I'll be honest, I do think about Hawai'i. There's something about the island. It's like a beacon calling out to me. As if perhaps I should be there.

If I feel this way, I could only image how my wife feels after she returns. She has spent months and weeks at a time in the Hawaiian Islands.

Its beauty is intoxicating.

High Speed Dub Tape Player

My wife reminded me of when having a high speed dub tape player was the coolest thing. Remember those days?

For me it was the late 80s and early 90s. Tape decks could do things computers in those days were not able to--record music. CD Albums were pricey. Tapes versions were cheaper. Memorex tapes allowed us to record our favorite songs onto a 60 minute tape--you were even cooler if you had the Sony Metal 90 minute tapes.

Fast forward 20 years and we now are able to download CD tracks onto our computers and listen it on our iPods and iPhones.

And yes, that's my Emerson, which has a high speed dub tape player. It still works, and the sound is still quite good.

Labor Day Party

I couldn't sleep tonight. Actually, I was asleep, until my wife came to bed. I got up to go to the bathroom and couldn't fall back to sleep.

Outside, our neighbors decided to throw a "Labor Day" party. Cars were parked on both sides of the street. Although the music was low, I could still make out the conversations and laughter.

As I laid in bed, I started to think about debt. Yes, like many other Americans, I am struggling with debt. I tried to shake my thoughts, but then start thinking about property taxes. I attempt to clear my head, but then heard dripping from our vent and begin thinking about our house.

My wife sometimes experiences back problems and struggles to sleep on our pillow-top mattress. Tonight, she got out of bed and moved down to the floor, which caused me to be a bit more sensitive to the noice from the party next door.

How can people party this late at night? Clearly, they don't care tomorrow is a workday. Perhaps, they took an extra day off to enjoy a four-day weekend. Maybe they are unemployed or work night shifts. How am I going to pay off my debt? What was the dripping noice? Oh, yeah, it's the vent next to our room. Was that laughing or screaming? What makes a girl scream in laughter like that? Maybe I should tell them to quiet down. I hate being that neighbor. Bill consolidation. That worked for my friend. Maybe I should look into that. If I turn on my stomach, maybe I'll be able to sleep. How long has the air conditioner been on? How do you consolidate credit cards? What am I going to do with the pipes. The plumber said the line might be broken. Our summer vacation to Hawaii is killing us. Damn, the property taxes! Okay, I'm up.

I decided that sleep wouldn't come until my thinker stopped thinking. As I walked downstairs, I peaked outside the front window to see how many cars were left. There were a few still parked on both sides of the street. The party was slowly dissipating.

My boy and his dragon

Summer Fun