Hurricane Season 2005

Hurricane season is underway again. Things aren't looking so bad for my home town so far, but it's a different story for those living in west Florida, in Alabama, and in Louisiana.

Hurricane Projection Maps and Information

The History of the Hironimus Name

My mother, who was born a Pennsylvania Hironimus, sent me the following text about the Hironimus family name. It was written by a Hironimus in 1976. I do not know the author, Leon Francis Hironimus, but I'm sure he would not mind me sharing this information. I took the liberty of turning some of the text into hyperlinks, and added some formatting, but have otherwise left it intact, as I found it.

The History of the Hironimus Name

About a hundred and forty years ago, or more, Jacob and Hannah Hironimus settled in the area that would take the name Weikert one day. This little town would locate in Union County, Pennsylvania. The Hironimus children would scatter across the United States from this tract of land that is believed to have been given Jacob as a grant from the country of France. We continue to search our beginnings even in 1976.

There is much history to the Hironimus name, and it can even be traced to the pre-Christian era. The Apocrypha, written just prior to the Roman period that dominated the Hebrew prior to and during the life of Christ, contains two books of Maccabees. The name Hieronvmus can be found in II Maccabees 12:2. The Apocrypha is not included with the Protestant Bible; however is included with the Roman Catholic Bible. During the early Christian period and after the death of Christ a man translated the Bible for the first time. He was later named a saint. He was named Saint Jerome. His correct name was Eusebius Hieronymus. The name seems to have followed the growth and fall of empires and cultures in the Western world. Variations of the name crop up in various places in the world throughout history, but have never varied so far that making a connection is impossible. Names found by this writer are: Hironimus, Hieronimus, Heironimus, and Hieronymous. Thus, the name comes to us from a period sometime within the four hundred years just prior to the Birth of Christ, through the St. Jerome period of about four hundred years after the death of Christ, through the Greek, Roman, and the German empires, and to the present American period. While the nation of the United States celebrates its bicentennial, we can look even further into our history. In my studies in history, I can find no other name that has been so consistent in spelling for so many years.

While this history is by no means complete, and in fact is saturated with assumptions, I believe that it is close enough to fact that we can take pride in the acknowledgement that ours is a name that has spanned the history of the world.

Leon Francis Hironimus

Our Third Anniversary

Charline and I recently celebrated our third anniversary. By cool coincidence, we both bought gifts for each other through the Web site for a store called "Red Envelope."

The traditional gift for a third anniversary is leather. The modern gift is crystal. Charline gave me a really cool and incredibly useful, leather-covered valet box. That's a box in which I can place my wallet, keys, sunglasses, pills, watches, etc. when I come in the house. I gave her a set of bracelets made with colored Murano glass and Swarovski crystals.

I definitely recommend Red Envelope. They have really interesting items that you don't see every day.

Visit to South Florida

The whole family (Charline, Jude, me) went down to South Florida last weekend. That was a long drive for Jude, but he handled it well. We made stops for feedings, since we didn't want to drive with him out of his car seat. Other than that, the drive was business as usual.

Once down there, we introduced Jude to friends of Charline's family. He was a hit. They put up with some fussing and complimented him enough to make him smile now and then.

Charline and I had an anniversary dinner at a Caribbean-styled restaurant called Bahama Breeze. (More on our anniversary later, perhaps.) On another day, we went out to dinner with a large group to celebrate the 50th birthday of a family friend. We ate at an interesting buffet restaurant called "The Ark." The interior is designed to look vaguely like the inside of an old ship. The buffet was great. My favorite item was the crab cakes with buffalo sauce.

Star Wars outing

Charline, Jude, Grandma Barger and I went to see the last Star Wars movie Sunday. It was incredible, of course, as the reviewers are saying. Jude was fussier in this movie than he was at the first two he sat through. For about the first third of the movie, he was threatening to become a problem. Charline had to take him out of the theater for a little while. The last two thirds of the movie were peaceful and pleasant.

Normally, we wouldn't go to a crowded theater with Jude, but this was a special event (and we had four free tickets, thanks to Cingular; I gave one away outside the theater; the guy was pleasantly surprised). For future movie outings, we might be able to leave Jude with his doting Barger grandparents. We just need to get him accustomed to drinking from a bottle occassionally, rather than only breastfeeding.

Family Outing #2 - Dinner, Shopping and Movie

Charline and I took Jude out on the town again this past weekend. We went to the big, new shopping center, "St. Johns Town Center."

The sling-type-thing that Charline bought to carry Jude around sure worked well. And, it was a good thing we had it, because Jude didn't seem to like riding in the stroller very much -- even though his Peg Perego "Aria LB" is practically the Ferrari of baby strollers.

In the sling carrier, he was great. We had a very tasty meal at a place called "Ted's Montana Grill." Then, we strolled around and checked out several shops. Jude fussed a bit now and then, but once we gave up on the Peg Perego, he was fine.

After the shopping trip, we took Jude to his second movie, a simple romantic comedy called "A Lot Like Love," starring Ashton Kutcher. I thought it was pretty enjoyable, although it did get to a point where I thought the plot was repeating and dragging out too much. Funny stuff, at times, though.

Jude only made a couple little noises during the movie. He never cried or screamed or ran around the theater yelling. So, it was another theatrical success for the boy. The next big test, if we are brave enough to try it, will be the final Star Wars installement, which opens Thursday. We have some free tickets to see it during the weekend, thanks to our mobile phone provider, Cingular.

Jude on Mother's Day

The Bargers Celebrate Mother's Day

This past Sunday was my wife's first Mother's Day as a mother. It was also our son's first big excursion out of the house and around the town. He was amazingly calm and content the whole day.

To start the day, we took our son, Jude, out to a brunch with his paternal grandparents, the "elder" Bargers. We went to a typical Mother's Day brunch at a hotel restaurant. I did have to walk around the outside walkways of the hotel with Jude for a while to keep him calm. Later, his grandmother did the same for a little while. But, we were able to have a whole meal together. I thought that was impressive enough and would have been happy just going home at that point and declaring the day a success. But, Jude was ready for more.

Charline thought it would be nice to go to the Cummer Gallery of Art to see their impressive riverfront garden and take some pictures of Jude there. We invited the grandparents and headed across town to the gallery/museum/garden. It went very smoothly, except for the time I wasted trying to figure out how to put the car seat into the stroller (I'll have to figure that out later).

We walked around the good-sized garden and got some nice photos of Jude and the rest of the family. I even managed a group photo of all of us, in spite of the fact that the Cummer forbids camera tripods. A had brought a tripod along, but was told I had to leave it in the van. Little did they know I had a miniature tripod inside my camera case. Ha! You can't stop a determined photographer. The mini-tripod did the trick nicely, when placed on a table on the garden lawn.

Now, once again, I was thinking "This is great. I'm impressed that this has been so easy with a one month old baby." But, Charline was feeling gutsy. When the grandparents turned down an offer to go get ice cream, Charline and I decided to take Jude to his first movie. Yes, that's right. A one month old baby at a movie theater. Crazy, right? Wrong. It actually worked.

We went to see "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," which was a cinematic version of the renowned book of the same name, which I loved when I was in junior high school. Amazingly, this was the easiest part of the whole day. No crying. No noticeable fussing or agitation. And Jude did well too. But, seriously though... Jude didn't seem to mind the movie sounds or popcorn smells or being in one place for two hours. It was wonderful.

Afteward, Charline said something to me along the lines of "And you thought you'd never see another movie again." It's true. I thought it would be years before we could peacefully sit through a theater movie again.

Of course, all this is due to Charline being in tune with Jude's needs and having good instincts. Also, I think the fact that Jude is breastfeeding makes it easier. Charline tells me you need to lug around a fair amount of apparatus when bottle-feeding the kid. Having a minivan to sit in while changing a diaper helps too.

So there you have it. A full day of activity: brunch, photos at the museum, and a real theater movie. Not bad.

A Summer on the Road

My best friend and I took a road trip around the contiguous 48 states in the last summer that we would both be in college together at the University of Florida. The western boundary of our clockwise circumnavigation of the country was the Pacific Coast Highway. It was a gorgeous drive. We travelled the full length of it. My only regret is that we were driving north. For the best view, one has to drive south on the PCH, so as to be as close as possible to flying off the edge of the continent. (Because we drive on the right side of the road here, in the States.)

See more progress on: Drive the Pacific Coast Highway.

Kerouac and Pooh

Try “On the Road,” by Jack Kerouac. If you don’t like this book, you don’t like life. It’s full of it. Life, that is. And, “The Tao of Pooh” is also a great book for anyone who wants to jump start their reading habit. It’s quick, fun and truly inspiring.

See more progress on: Read more books

Read the Tao of Pooh. It helps.

I highly recommend the Tao of Pooh for anyone who likes being happy and content. It really helps.

See more progress on: be happy

Find your mate on a Southwest flight

Southwest airlines lets passengers choose their seat when they board the plane. Do this. Wait until plenty of people are on board, but not so late that all the seats are filled. Then, be prepared to scan quickly, follow your intuition and sit next to that person who looks intriguing. Strike up a conversation about the in-flight peanuts. It worked for me. We’re happily married and just had our first child. Thanks, Southwest!

See more progress on: Fall in love

Buy a digital camera

A good digital camera, along with a good printer (with built-in card reader) makes photography so easy that it can be a regular habit. Digital cameras have reached the point where the quality and flexibility matches that of traditional film cameras. Try one.

See more progress on: Take more pictures

Fatherly Advice from a Three Week Veteran

Ever since April 9, 2005, I have been a father. So far, it's been much easier than people led me to believe. That's mostly due to all the work that my lovely wife, Charline, has been doing. It's also due to the fact that our son, Jude Dylan Barger, is pretty easy to get along with. He's not too demanding or temperamental (yet?).

Here's my advice to all those novice fathers, from a guy who's been at it for a solid three weeks.

• Choose a mate who likes the idea of breastfeeding. If there's no bottle, the father doesn't have to get up at crazy hours to feed the kid. Kudos to Mother Nature!
• Get a midwife during the pregnancy. Many midwives adhere to a philosophy that says the father should not be expected to become some kind of coach or expert advisor in the childbirth process. He should be there and help out during the birth. But, why try to teach a man to tell a woman how to give birth? It's much better to have someone with experience do that.
• Take time off work to get to know the kid. I took a little more than a week off work and plan to take off more time in a couple months. If I lived in a more rational country, like Sweden, Switerland, France, Germany, etc., I could take several weeks off work without having to give up my paycheck during that time.
• Move to Sweden, Switzerland, France, or Germany before having children. That way, you benefit from real paternity benefits, unlike America where the benefit is that you're "allowed" to take all the time you want to be with your new child, so long as you don't expect a paycheck during that time.
• Buy more trash cans. Those kids can really help increase the total waste output for a household, even when they're not doing anything useful.

That's all I've got so far. Look for more wisdom here as things develop.

Hey, Jude!

Over on our main Web site, Charline and I recently announced the birth of our first child, Jude Dylan Barger, born in Jacksonville, Florida on April 9, 2005, at 11:06 a.m.

Jude was born weighing 9 lbs. 9.6 oz., at a length of 21.5 inches.

Mother and child are doing very well and are relaxing at home.

See our Photographs page for more images, including shots of the nursery.

Daytona 500

My father and I went to the Daytona 500 on Sunday. Dad bought the rather pricey tickets from a scalper a couple hours before the race, and didn't even let me chip in, since this was a birthday present for me.

For those of you who live in caves, the Daytona 500 is the kick-off of the NASCAR racing season. It's also the most-hyped, biggest event of the NASCAR season, which makes it's placement at the beginning a little odd, but there you have it.

Watching the race

Our seats weren't as good as Dad is used to, but I really enjoyed the race, especially since my two favorite drivers were battling for the lead for a good portion of the race. Which two? Well, most NASCAR fans wouldn't normally group these two guys together, but my favorites are Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, in that order. After those guys, I guess I root for the crowd favorite, Dale Jr., then the "other Dale," Dale Jarrett, after him.

If you saw the race (and who didn't?), then you already know that Stewart led most of the race, but was overtaken near the end by Gordon. In fact, Stewart led for a very impressive 107 laps. If it weren't for two yellow flag delays near the end of the race, he most likely would have cruised to victory lane.

Dale Jr. made a very exciting run in the final 20 laps or so, seemingly moving up in position one or two spots on every lap. The crowd was going crazy, watching him maneuver past one car after another. Kurt Busch was moving up to challenge for the lead too, but that's not who the crowd was rooting for. Everyone turned their attention to the leader board for a few seconds each time the front of the pack crossed the start/finish line, to see where Dale Jr. was listed. Amazingly, he made it all the way up through about 15 positions in the final laps, to the take lead around lap 195, but relinquished the lead to Gordon on lap 198, after a wreck caused a re-start, and finished in third place.

Two wrecks in the final few laps kept the pack close, but on the final two laps, nobody could pass Jeff Gordon, as is usually the case when he gets out in front. He took the Daytona 500 checkered flag for the third time in his career.

Barger tradition

Going to the Daytona 500 is a bit of a Barger tradition. My parents took me to the Daytona 500 to celebrate my birthday a couple times when I was a wee tyke. Since then, we've gone a few more times over the years. The NASCAR folks have been nice enough to keep the race on or about my birthday all this time.

In those years (the 1970s), tickets were relatively cheap, good seats were easy to find, the stands had plenty of room left for everyone to spread out, and Richard Petty ("The King" of NASCAR Racing) seemed to win every year. Back then, the race wasn't even televised in its entirety (CBS was the first to do this in 1979).

Big-time racing

These days, tickets cost a minimum of about $100 if you buy early, and at least $200 if you wait until the day of the race (and then they're only available from scalpers, due to the early sell-outs). The stands are packed with more than 168,000 fans (the largest in all of motorsports), mostly wearing red to support crowd favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr. He and a handful of other drivers, like Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, are annual contenders for the Daytona 500 victory. And, since 1995, television ratings for the Daytona 500 have been the highest for any auto race of the year -- with more than 25 million viewers this year.

View my photos from the Daytona 500

Survey says... Jamie's old.

Can you believe that only one day after my 35th birthday, I'm already confronted with this survey question...



Right smack in the middle of the range. My youth is over. (See previous post.) Aarrrg.

Turning 35. Am I middle-aged now?

This is my 35th birthday. If I eat too many greasy cheeseburgers and pizzas and only make it to age 70, then this will have been my "middle age." What a strange feeling.

Like everyone says, I don't feel any different than I did at 18 or 21 or 25 -- except that I'm a little calmer and my interests have migrated from entertainment (music, TV) to what I consider "real life" -- science, history, politics, family, religion. Of course, my body's not quite the same quality that it was when I was younger, but since I'm not a professional athlete, that hasn't bothered me.

Fortunately, I am at just about the spot in life that I expected I would be at this age. I have a wonderful wife, a nice house, a good job, and I've seen some interesting places around the world. Best of all, Charline and I will soon have a child, which I expect to radically change our lives, just as college, graduation, and marriage did.

The only thing that bugs me about getting older is the way that time speeds up. A summer used to last forever when I was young. That's another thing everyone says. To avoid any more cliches, I'll just wrap up this posting here.

Fly-By Cafe at St. Augustine airport

I ate at the Fly-By Cafe at the St. Augustine airport a couple days ago. The place has a great atmosphere, with huge murals of flying planes covering the walls. The murals and the rest of the interior design conjure up images of the time when barnstorming was in its heyday.

The guy behind the bar was taking all the orders and waiting on the tables. One guy hidden behind the wall behind the bar was frying up the food with some hard core music blaring from his confines. He didn't turn the music up quite so loud until about the time the sun went down outside the large windows, which look out across the runway and hangers.

The medium-rare cheeseburger with bacon and mushrooms was cooked just right and served with a hefty helping of thick fries.

This place is a great respite for anyone cruising along the old US 1 highway, just north of St. Augustine. Just look for the airport and stop in.

Let the time wasting begin

Well, well, well. It looks like I've found yet another way to waste my time (and yours) while sitting in front of a computer. I already have a blog on my main web site, but I've chosen to create one here too, just because I can. Plus, I didn't build this one, so I don't have to worry about adding new features or fixing bugs, like I do on the one I developed.

This web log (blog/journal/diary/newsletter) will be the one where I put lots of small thoughts on big topics, and big thoughts on small topics, and plenty in between -- but nothing too way-out-there controversial. I'm saving those rants for other blogs.

If you want to know about a cool new restaurant I've found, or how many migraine headaches I have each week, or what new tricks my dog has learned, this is the place for it. On the other hand, if you want to know who you should vote for and why, or what sort of unethical hucksters I've come across lately, you'll have to seek out my other blogs.

So, let the time wasting begin!