Archive for May, 2009

Published by Patrick on 21 May 2009

Today, I am exactly 2000 weeks old!

Fascinating. Turns out, I am exactly 2,000 weeks old today. I have lived exactly 14,000 days. I guess it’s a milestone of sorts. There’s really no reason for this post except to mark the occasion here on my blog with a permanent reminder of this day. It’s beautiful and sunny here in Walnut Creek, perfect weather for such a special day. For those of you who have lived less than 2,000 weeks, I’m jealous. For the rest of you, I’m catching up!

Published by Patrick on 09 May 2009

Generating Website Traffic – Carnival 15

Welcome to the May 6, 2009 edition of website traffic.

zangozzz presents How To Speed up Firefox | Tweak internet browser speeds posted at Glowicki ProBlogger – Blogging Tips, saying, “See how to twek Firefox to work faster than Google Chrome or any other web browser!”

Larry Payne presents Building Website Traffic posted at Business Software Downloads, saying, “Most Internet business operators recognize the importance of attracting the right kind of prospects to their website, the challenge comes in finding the right methods of attracting web traffic without breaking the bank. Most proven methods of creating targeted traffic such as the Pay-Per-Click method can be a bit pricey for a start up web business with little money to spend on advertisement. While standard forms of Internet advertising might not be cost effective for many, there still exists more wallet friendly forms of traffic generation. A few useful ways to bring in the kind of traffic a particular web site needs is through the use of news groups, forums and article directories. These alternative and free forms of traffic generation can be effective means of bolstering web traffic for those who know how to use them.”

Debbie Foster presents Keys To Article Marketing posted at Internet Income – The Journey, saying, “Article marketing has long been used as a form of advertisement, long before the advent of the internet. With websites competing for business, it is amazing what article marketing can do. When writing articles, think of it as creating a press release, publishing advice that people would search for. Having complimentary products on your website adds value for your customer. For example, writing about how to find good keywords would be a good segue to a keyword search software product on your site.”

Larry Payne presents Improving Your Search Engine Ranking posted at Business Software Downloads, saying, “Research the keywords. Decide what search queries you want to show up for. Do some research on how many people are actually searching for your site. Many times it is best to consult a ”

Tim presents Google SEO posted at Search Engine Optimisation.

Tim presents Google SEO posted at Search Engine Optimisation.

Debbie Foster presents Massive Giveaway Begins April 6th posted at Internet Income – The Journey.

Peter OBrien presents Chosing Your Keywords posted at Free Internet Marketing Tips, saying, “Keywords will not work for you if you keep them generic. Mostcustomers log onto the internet already knowing what they needor want. Remember, these shoppers can”

Peter OBrien presents Create A WordPress Blog To Generate Profits posted at Free Internet Marketing Tips, saying, “Many people dream of blogging for profit, and this goal is not far beyond the reach of someone with average intelligence, a willingness to work hard, and a basic grasp of blogging technology. However, very few people manage to reap the profits they want from their blog. Most people who attempt to make money with their blogs do not succeed for two reasons.”

Tim presents Google SEO posted at Search Engine Optimisation.

Peter OBrien presents Creating Keyword Rich Articles posted at Free Internet Marketing Tips, saying, “The struggle between literate, grammatically correct article”

Tim presents Site Authority – The Factors That Matter posted at Search Engine Optimisation.

Larry Payne presents Golden Keywords Are Priceless posted at Business Software Downloads, saying, “Let”

Patricia Turner presents 99 iPhone Apps for the Best, Brightest, and Brainiest Kids – Ultrasound Technician Schools posted at Ultrasound Technician Schools.

Diego Cervantes presents The Real Estate Toolbox: Top 50 Resources & Web 2.0 Sites for Buying or Selling a Home posted at Bankling.

Debbie Foster presents Massive Giveaway Begins April 6th posted at Internet Income – The Journey.

Sarah Scrafford presents 100 Free and Essential Web Tools to Launch Your Art Career posted at Online Best Colleges.com.

Diego Cervantes presents Top 10 Social Networking & Media Sites for Finance & Investing Nerds posted at Bankling.

farid presents Build One-Way Links With 10000 MyArticleNetwork Blogs posted at Easy Ways To Make Money From Blog And Get Profit, saying, “would you like to get fast and evective one-way backlinks? if your answer is yes than this is your best chance to make it happen. With this network you can build one-way backlinks quicker than you can imagine, submit your article to 10000 blogs relevant with your niche, and put 3 link inside the article to make triple backlink, and aslo you can rewrite the article to make sure the search engine index your article…”

LeadMastersUSA presents How A Website Evaluation Can Help Your Business Make More Money Online posted at LeadMastersUSA, saying, “The real secret to marketing on the Internet is not making proper use of technology, but rather how you communicate with people.”

LeadMastersUSA presents How to Make Money off Your Small Business Website – web marketing strategies for 2009 posted at LeadMastersUSA, saying, “There is a HUGE disconnect between what small business owners DO online and how they view the potential of their website.”

LeadMastersUSA presents How to Create a Profitable Business Website for any industry – yes even in economy 2009 posted at LeadMastersUSA, saying, “In order for a business website to be profitable it must be an Integral part of the sales process.”

zangiii presents Monty Python – Cosmetic Surgery | Cosmetic Surgery posted at Cosmetic Surgery GOne Wrong, saying, “See the funny version of cosmetic surgery by Monthy python the famous comedy group!”

Freebies Page presents Download Adsense Arbitrage posted at Freebies Page, saying, “Complete 2 very simple tasks and you get a copy of Brad Callen”

Freebies Page presents Google Adwords Made Easy posted at Freebies Page, saying, “Complete 2 very simple tasks and you get a copy of Brad Callen”

Freebies Page presents Search Engine Optimization Made Easy posted at Freebies Page, saying, “Complete 2 very simple tasks and you get a copy of Brad Callen”

Freebies Page presents Silver Member Access to MembershipMillionaire.com posted at Freebies Page, saying, “Grab 3 Complete Training Packs, Full Audios, Transcripts, Private Forum Access, JV Networking, Site Critiques”

Freebies Page presents Web Traffic Juggernaut posted at Freebies Page, saying, “Complete 2 very simple tasks and you get a Free Web Traffic Juggernaut Gold Membership.”

Erika Collin presents 50 Terrific Twitter Tips for Job Seekers posted at MBA Jobs.

Verna Morris presents 25 Most Popular Web Designers on Twitter posted at Designer City, USA.

Larry Payne presents Wasting a Big Part of Link Building posted at Business Software Downloads, saying, “Did You Know That your domain name with the slash after .com (or .info or .ws – whatever) and your domain name without slash are TWO DIFFERENT PAGES for Google?”

Peter OBrien presents Increase Traffic To Your Website posted at Free Internet Marketing Tips, saying, “I believe that one way links are the links that you should betargeting to get your site ranked in the top 10 on google foryour keywords. One way links are links from site A toyour site but you do not have a link back to site A. This typeof link is more powerful in googles eyes because you have a votefrom another site without having to link back to them yourself.”

Peter OBrien presents Inside Search Engine Rankings posted at Free Internet Marketing Tips, saying, “A problem that search engines encounter often is the design ofwebsites that purely use advanced programming such as C ,JavaScript or CGI. If the navigation links within your site arepowered by these advanced scripts alone, the search engine willnot be able to fully browse your site. You need to provide linksdone in basic HTML so that the engine can read your website.”

Peter OBrien presents Keyword Density Percentages posted at Free Internet Marketing Tips, saying, “Some will say that 2% to 8% is the ideal density of keywordsfor SEO purposes. Others claim that optimum density for Googleis specifically 2% and that anything higher will result in yoursite being penalized. For Yahoo and MSN, they specify a 5%keyword density. But is it really?”

Peter OBrien presents Optimizing Your Website posted at Free Internet Marketing Tips, saying, “It is only natural that webmasters continuously crave highersearch engine rankings. After all, the closer your site is tothe first entry in the search engine results page, the morechances you have of bringing on surfer traffic to your website.”

Tim presents Google Keyword Competition – A Quick Way To Assess Your Chances posted at Search Engine Optimisation.

Shaun Connell presents How to Get Website Traffic posted at Make Money Online, saying, “So now you have your niche picked, your website built, and some articles written. What next? Traffic, of course. “Traffic” is another word for “website visitors” – people actually who “visit” your website, read what you’ve put together, and browse around.”

Patricia Turner presents 100 Quick Firefox Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks to Transform Your Research posted at Online University Lowdown.

Debbie Foster presents Private Label Rights Products posted at Internet Income – The Journey, saying, “I”

Sam Fox presents How To Explode Your Affiliate Income Online? posted at Affiliate Marketing 4 Cash.

Sam Fox presents Learn Affiliate Marketing Fast posted at Affiliate Marketing 4 Cash.

Sam Fox presents What Is The Best Internet Business To Get Into In This Economy? posted at Affiliate Marketing 4 Cash.

Sarah Scrafford presents 100 Awesome Cheat Sheets to Get You Through College Admissions posted at Online Best Colleges.com.

Andre Nilsen presents Nightingale – an amazing resource site posted at Qualitynetworkers, saying, “Nightingale – an amazing resource sitePosted in March 29th, 2009 | Editby admin in All posts, Self developmentIf you haven”

Andre Nilsen presents Autoresponder posted at www.qualitynetworkers.com, saying, “The very first steps of any online marketer”

Erika Collin presents 25 Celebrity Commencement Speeches That Were Surprisingly Good posted at Online College Degree.

Erika Collin presents 100 All-Time Best Productivity Tips for Working & Learning from Home posted at Best Universities.

Larry Payne presents Building Your Opt-In List posted at Business Software Downloads, saying, “There was an old rule of thumb that was taught to me a long time ago and it still sticks today. ”

Andre Nilsen presents REVIEW: Listbuilders – ViralURL posted at www.qualitynetworkers.com, saying, “As you all know, we are testing advertising methods for our online business continuously. All online marketers and businesses are looking for traffic, and by systematically testing traffic generators and reviewing them we hope to add interesting and quality content to our blog. Anyway, off to the review.When signing up for ViralURL, we were a little bit sceptical but we followed the advice given and signed up for a Gold Membership for $197 a year. We list some features of the Gold Membership below:”

kemei presents infomaniac: get more blog traffic posted at infomaniac, saying, “To help new blogger get more form their blogs”

Tim presents Google Anchor Power – Warning! This Goes Against Fundamental SEO Principles posted at Search Engine Optimisation.

Tim presents Local Rank – Think Relevancy – Think In Community Links posted at Search Engine Optimisation.

Debbie Foster presents Article Underground posted at Internet Income – The Journey.

Brent presents How to make shiny letters with the GIMP posted at Late Nights Coding, Manic Euphoria Setting In, saying, “I made shiny letters using the GIMP for my fishnet games website. I saw a tutorial on Youtube. But it didn’t have any audio so in this post I will show you how I did it.”

Sarah Scrafford presents 50 Useful Twitter Tools for Writers and Researchers posted at Online College Degree.

Sarah Scrafford presents 100 Tips and Tools to Research the Social Web posted at Select Courses.

Andre Nilsen presents How To Generate Huge Traffic With Google Blogs posted at Qualitynetworkers, saying, “Google Blogs is nothing new, but there is a very simple way to use it that many people overlook and it can be a very powerful traffic source for any website.”

Verna Morris presents Top 50 Free Open Courseware Classes to Develop Better Web Sites posted at Designer City, USA.

Erika Collin presents 100 Free and Excellent Online SAT Prep Tools posted at Rated Colleges.

Kelly Sonora presents Top 25 iPhone Apps for Nurses posted at Online Nursing Degree Guide.

Praveen presents Another Round of Website Sales Page Testing Completed posted at My Simple Trading System.

Roy Miller presents Easily Create Your WordPress Blog posted at Post Room sms.

Roy Miller presents Need More Business? Blogging is the Way posted at Post Room sms.

Marketing Ace presents The Things To Know About Web Hosting posted at Internet Marketing Ace.

Jacques Groenewald presents Make Easy Money On Ebay posted at Monkeyprofit, saying, “Here is a quick and easy way on how to make easy money on ebay”

Jacques Groenewald presents Millionare Mindset- How to think like a millionare posted at Monkeyprofit, saying, “A guide to understanding how you should think if you wish to become a millionare and prosper in life”

Ruoall Chapman presents Cheap ways to make your own online beats posted at Make Online Beats, saying, “By far the cheapest way to make online beats”

Andre Nilsen presents Qualitynetworkers – Resources posted at www.qualitynetworkers.com, saying, “Rescources – Training material – SoftwarePlease frequently check our growing list of resources for personal development, website traffic, software, useful tools among other. These are trusted and tested resources that is highly recommended by Qualitynetworkers.com. Enjoy!”

Effective Blogging

Ian Richardson presents Just what IS the best way to get traffic? posted at Make Everything EzyAs123, saying, “What is the easiest, most reliable, and cheapest way to get traffic to your website?Want the quick answer?”

ITAKEOFFTHEMASK presents Time Consuming Activities for Bloggers posted at Make Money Faster!, saying, “Are you guilty of these time wasters when you blog? Efficiency is the key to successful blogging and making money online. Make money faster by saving time!”

GreatManagement presents Overcome Your Internet Marketing Obstacles posted at We Build Your Blog, saying, “Woo-hoo, you have a website / blog with some banner adverts, you”

Brian Terry presents Breakthrough WordPress Plugin Proves Popups Really Work! posted at Big Selling Website Design.

Ian Richardson presents PPC Web Spy from Brad Callen (Keyword Elite), No Cost! posted at Make Everything EzyAs123, saying, “A fantastic plug-in for Firefox which allows you to spy on your competing Adwords ads that appear in Google Search. Best part about this program is it’s free.”

GreatManagement presents How To Create An Email Marketing Campaign That Works posted at We Build Your Blog, saying, “A high percentage of your email list will not buy from you. Period. They just want free goodies. So, how do you create an email marketing campaign that works?”

GreatManagement presents How To Build Your Email List posted at We Build Your Blog, saying, “Your task is to grow your email addresses list as fast as possible. Don’t succumb to the mistake of ”

Ian Richardson presents WordPress 2.7 Plugin Widget, Global Translator. posted at Make Everything EzyAs123, saying, “Recently I was noticing a lot of traffic from other countries, especially when I was using yet another excellent plugin which shows you what people are searching for and find your blog.”

GreatManagement presents How To Write An Effective non-selling Resource Box posted at We Build Your Blog, saying, “In the first blog posting of this series we discussed the overall benefits of Article Marketing and how it can generate loads more traffic to your site.In the second we discussed How To Write An Article Headline That Compels Readers to Take Action!And today, we shall discuss writing the Main Body, the Conclusion / Summary and How To Write An Effective ”

Stephen Pierce presents Use This Simple Free eBook Marketing Strategy And Produce More Traffic, Optins & Sales posted at DTAlpha TalkBack with Stephen Pierce.

Jim DeSantis presents An Easy Way For Newbies To Get Articles! posted at On Line Tribune | Internet Marketing Blog, saying, “Writing content is not as difficult as it looks. You may be judging yourself harshly by forgetting that every writer can attract a loyal following. It’s not about perfection, it’s about personality. There is no question that articles are a fast and cheap way to build your online business, drive traffic to your site, and put money in your pocket rather quickly. So, what can you do if you cannot write articles?”

ivan presents 42 Sites Where To Submit Your Tutorials posted at PC Hacks, saying, “Here are all the possible places, where you can submit and publish them, where I think it’s worth to submit.”

GreatManagement presents How to Promote Your Articles for Maximum Traffic posted at We Build Your Blog, saying, “So now we are ready to promote your articles for maximum traffic.Where are you going to submit them? Which sites?How often should you promote to the Article Directories?”

GreatManagement presents How To Write An Article Headline That Compels Readers to Take Action! posted at We Build Your Blog, saying, “Anyone can write a 500 – 800 word blog posting (article) and submit it to an Article Directory.But a badly written article can cause you and your reputation a lot of damage. You have probably read some badly written articles.How does that make you feel?”

GreatManagement presents Creating Your Own Web Marketing Strategy posted at We Build Your Blog, saying, “When I built my first website (a few years ago now), I naively thought, build it and wait for the money to come rolling in. Then I could relax, work an hour or 2 a day and become a millionaire”

Silicon Valley Blogger presents A Blog Optimization Report To Increase Your Web Traffic posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Thanks!”

Other Strategies

David R Young Jr presents Niche Marketing Resources posted at Niche Marketing Resources, saying, “unique uses for autoresponders”

Susan Tatum presents The Three Easiest Marketing Decisions posted at Technology Marketing by Tatum Marketing.

Roy Kuruvila presents 7 Easy Ways To Increase Your Website Traffic posted at List Building and Website traffic Tips for Internet Marketers, saying, “So, we all know that in the core of it all, website traffic is the most essential thing to a successful internet business. Aside from ensuring that you have a great product to sell, and you have your website running, it would be time to get to the nitty gritty of things, generating traffic. Not just traffic, targeted traffic.”

Susan Tatum presents How to Get More Leads at No Extra Cost posted at Technology Marketing by Tatum Marketing.

Richard Ryan presents Biz Ad Splash posted at Biz Ad Splash.

Richard Ryan presents Message Magic posted at Message Magic.

Robert Bravery presents Make your blog posts go viral – Ride the success wave of others. posted at The Brave Programmer, saying, “Want to get oodles and oodles of traffic? Want instant gratification? Want to see your blog posts soar in traffic ranking? Then you have to get your posts to go viral. But what if you just can’t do that. Well then do the next best thing. Ride on the back of someone else.”

Susan Tatum presents Simple Changes Drive More Prospects through the Pipeline posted at Technology Marketing by Tatum Marketing.

Nancy Miller presents 35 Gmail Labs for Engineering Students posted at Top Online Engineering Degree.

Rick Foreman presents Keeping Up On The Internet posted at Waiting for the Singularity.

The Smarter Wallet presents How To Earn Money Online, Get Free Stuff On The Internet! posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “Thanks!”

PPC/Adwords

Jim DeSantis presents PPC Marketing: Instant Traffic, Instant Sales, Or Instant Bankruptcy? posted at On Line Tribune | Internet Marketing Blog, saying, “The world of Pay-Per-Click (PPC) is like having the keys to a bank vault stuffed with cash, yours for the taking anytime you like – If you know what you are doing. Finding out what to do so you don’t go broke fast is the challenge. So, how do you break the bank?”

SEO/SEM

Thursday Bram presents Content: The Real SEO posted at Hyper Modern Writing, saying, “Content is king, even when it comes to getting traffic.”

Michael Gvirtzman presents Web Site Keywords Maintenance posted at Mind Listings, saying, “Improve your keywords to attract more traffic from search engines.”

Brian Terry presents Simplifying the complex to help you succeed… posted at Big Selling Website Design.

Stuart Reid presents All About Keywords posted at Netpreneur News, saying, “Tips and strategies on selecting the right keywords for your website or blog.”

Social Media

Helen Trump presents Twitter Contest: Acer Aspire One Netbook posted at Social Marketing by Michelle MacPhearson, saying, “Blog on the twitter contest winner to be announced”

JL Scott presents Balancing your personal and your business goals posted at Strategies for Making Money Online and Your Home Business | JL Scott Revolution.

Helen Trump presents Likaholix – Closed Beta Invites posted at Social Marketing by Michelle MacPhearson, saying, “New closed beta invites Likaholix discussed on this blog”

Helen Trump presents Best in Social Media – April 11, 2009 posted at Social Marketing by Michelle MacPhearson, saying, “Cool blog update of the Best in Social Media for April 11, 2009 issue”

Robert Bravery presents Promote your blog the easy way. posted at The Brave Programmer.

Helen Trump presents Best in Social Media – April 18, 2009 posted at Social Marketing by Michelle MacPhearson, saying, “Blog post on Best in Social Media for April 18, 2009″

Anna Farmery presents Importance of Social Networking to Business posted at Buzz Networker.

Anna Farmery presents When A Pause is A Great Marketing Step Forward posted at The Engaging Brand.

Helen Trump presents Best in Social Media – April 25, 2009 posted at Social Marketing by Michelle MacPhearson, saying, “Best in Social Media update from this blog for April 25, 2009 issue”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of website traffic using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Published by Patrick on 07 May 2009

Eulogy for Charles Schwerdtfeger, my Dad, my Quiet Hero

All of us here today have a Dad. For many of us, our Dads have passed on and for others, they are still with us. But we all have a Dad. My name is Patrick and Charles Schwerdtfeger is my Dad. He’s the only Dad I have and on Tuesday afternoon at 1:45, he passed away.

My Dad died surrounded by his family. As he took his last breath, I was holding his right arm and my mother was holding his right hand. My sister was holding his left arm and my brother was holding his left leg. And Ben, one of the incredible caregivers that have been helping my parents, was holding his right leg.

I have a number of things I’d like to share with you today and am very grateful for the opportunity to do so. But even though I’m the one who’s up here today, I’m speaking on behalf of my whole family.

Let me begin by thanking all of you for being here today. My two sisters, Annette and Denise, are here with their families. My brother, Tom, is here with his wife, Jennifer.

My Dad’s brother, Paul, is here with his wife, Mimi. My Dad’s two sisters, Susan and Louise, are here. For Louise, this was her first trip to the west coast and her first time in Canada. She came here today for my father.

We have been very fortunate to have wonderful caregivers helping my parents for the past two years. Ben is here with his family, Lalie is here and Evelyn, a girl who worked with my parents more than a year ago, is here as well. Evelyn is nine months pregnant and is due any time but she is sharing this day with us.

And there are friends here from MacKenzie Place, the walking group, the church choir, the Physics Department at UBC, Crofton Manor and a variety of other groups my parents participated in. Your presence here today is special for my Mom, it’s special for me, and it’s special for my Dad.

During these past few days, one of the most difficult things for me has been to listen to the different ways people say good-bye to my Dad. All of you had different experiences with my Dad. All of you have different memories of him.

I can never speak to all of your memories. I can only speak to my own. But by listening to all of your good-byes, I see the many ways my Dad touched other people’s lives. And to see all of you sitting here today makes me so proud to call him my Dad.

My Dad never said very much, yet he touched so many people’s lives. He never showed off despite building his career from the ground up and securing a comfortable life for his family. He never complained – not even once – as he struggled with his crippling Parkinson’s disease. And perhaps most amazing of all, he never lost his sense of humor amidst extremely difficult circumstances.

Today, his struggle is over and he can finally rest in peace. It is now up to us to carry his beautiful spirit forward.

My Dad was kind and gentle and even in the hardest times, had more dignity than anyone I have ever known. Even from a distance, people knew quickly that he was a truly good person. For me, my dad is a Quiet Hero.

Since we all shared moments with my Dad at different times of his life, I’d like to share some brief history so you can all get an idea of how his life unfolded.

My Dad is a pretty smart guy and he knew at a young age that his intellect would take him far. He had a vision of the life he wanted and was 100% determined to get it. And he got it. He took jobs in the iron works, among other places, to pay for his education. He never asked for help from anyone.

After completing his PhD in Physics, he went to Switzerland for his post-doc. During the preparations for that trip, he corresponded with the secretary of the head of the Physics Department in Basel; a young woman who later became my Mom.

About a year ago, I asked my Dad about the first time he met my Mom. I asked him what he noticed first about her. He said a few things and tried to make it sound meaningful and significant. But eventually, he just shrugged his shoulders and said simply, “I thought she was really cute.” That’s meaningful enough for me, Dad.

Three days ago, I asked my Mom about the same topic. She told me that my Dad’s first question of her when he arrived was if she knew a Catholic church he could attend while in Switzerland. She responded that she was Catholic herself and that they could go together. And although she didn’t admit it to me, I suspect she thought my Dad was pretty cute too.

My Mom and Dad went to church together often and would take walks through a nearby park afterwards. Dad was fascinated with my mother’s cultured European upbringing and told her about his own life in America. My Mom tells me Dad made it clear he wanted to get closer to her but also described him as the most polite and respectful man she had ever met.

He was soon introduced to my Mom’s parents and impressed my grandfather because – get this – they were standing on a patio on a cloudy evening and there was a small break in the clouds and one star was shining through. As an avid astronomer, my Dad knew exactly which star it was and told my grandfather. He couldn’t believe it. Neither can I.

My Mom told me Dad was exceedingly polite and dignified whenever they spent time together and she was impressed with him from the start. My Mom and Dad got married and soon moved back to the states and then on to Canada. My Dad was a Solid State Physics Professor at UBC.

He never talked much about his work. In fact, he rarely spoke about himself at all. My understanding of his work came when my oldest sister, Annette, took one of his physics courses. She told us many times how clear and patient he was with his students. At the time, it surprised me. Today, I couldn’t imagine him any other way.

Growing up, my Dad was always the voice of reason. He didn’t say much but what he said was important. When there were difficult situations, my Dad was the one who took care of it. When emotions ran high, it was my Dad who brokered the ceasefires. If my Mom got worried or upset, it was my Dad who calmed her down. And if one of us screwed up, it was my Dad who set us straight.

He was a problem solver. He fixed things. He got things done.

One time, after getting his finger caught in a car door and ending up with a painful blood blister under his fingernail, he took me downstairs to the workshop and turned on the big drill press. He put his own finger on the platform and drilled a small hole in his fingernail to relieve the pressure.

It seemed he had no fear. He was always in control over his emotions. I’ve never seen him lose his temper. I’ve never heard him yell and up until his Parkinson’s disease, I had never seen him cry. His patience and steady temperament made him the perfect husband and companion for my Mom.

My Mom and Dad love each other in the truest sense of the word. They are completely devoted to each other and I believe that the successful marriages my brother and two sisters have found for themselves are, at least in part, influenced by the example set by my parents.

I’d like to tell you about a few things my Dad enjoyed in his life. I think he was happiest raking leaves and trimming the dahlias in the yard. He always took great care of our garden and lined each individual area with flowers. My Mom always said our backyard looked like a park.

He enjoyed his miniature trains. He would set them up every year at Christmas time, complete with a miniature town for the trains to run through. Later, with his passion for electronics, he dismantled a Commodore Vic-20 computer and used the processor inside to automate those little trains.

In fact, we kids all remember Herbie, a little robot my Dad built when we were young. He did it for fun. That’s what he called fun. I think it’s when building your own robot is “fun” that you realize you’re dealing with someone special.

And of course, my Dad loved the stars. One of the things my grandfather was most impressed with was that my Dad ground his own mirrors for a telescope he built himself while in high school. In our family, August 6th was always an important day because that’s the peak of the annual meteor shower and we would lie out in the grass on those warm summer nights waiting to see shooting stars.

My Dad loved Star Trek and James Bond movies. All those electronic gadgets, combined with his knowledge of physics and astronomy was an irresistible combination for him and we all knew, as kids, that we could stay up late when 007 was on TV.

And as a graduate of Notre Dame, my Dad was a big Joe Montana fan and I grew up watching American NFL Football on Sunday afternoons. We would sit in the TV room and watch the San Francisco 49ers with a bowl of peanuts and a Coors Light. We would say almost nothing for 3 hours. Those are some of my best memories.

Perhaps most of all, my Dad’s sense of humor lasted until his last days. Despite incredibly difficult circumstances, my Dad always had something clever to say. Even near the end when it was difficult for my Dad to speak, I would struggle to understand his words only to realize he was trying to tell a joke.

In so many ways, my Dad was an incredible man. And now, he is no longer with us. But I assure you he’s gone only in body.

I look at my oldest sister, Annette, and I see his modest and unassuming demeanor. Annette and her husband, Clement, are doing extremely well and are building a beautiful family together, but Annette never shows off. That’s my Dad’s humble confidence shining through.

I look at my second sister, Denise, and I see his methodical and pragmatic approach in life. Denise sets her sights on a target and always follows through. That’s my Dad’s logical and deliberate nature one generation removed.

I look at my brother, Thomas, and I see the complete absence of baseless fears and anxiety. To Tom, all problems are simple problems and he tackles each one without hesitation. My Dad was the exact same way.

And I look at myself and I see my Dad’s stubborn determination to live his own life. Dad, just like you, I am chasing my dream and I promise, Dad, I promise that I’ll create it for myself, just like you did before me.

And there are so many others among us who were inspired by the way he lived his life and his courage as it came to an end, and who now carry his spirit with them.

So my Dad may have passed away earlier this week but I know his legacy will live on. You are a part of us, Dad. You have given us something to live up to. You have set an example of kindness, patience and courage.

Dad, I love you. We all love you. Thank you for being who you are. Thank you for being my Quiet Hero. And thank you for being an amazing Dad.