As 2006 fades away ....

* Met with Mr. D at Lu High in the pm and got MCW's Spring schedule.
* KAR & J visited from Friday last to Sunday. We opened presents and Saturday and wen to 7:00 pm service on Sunday. KAR performed an amazing packing job with the new presents on Sunday.
* Saw RMR on Christmas after noon then went to HFW's house. We saw DJW (& family) in KC from Tuesday, Wednesday and left Thursday (12-28).
* On Wednesday, I found out that EJB had died on Friday (12-22). RAH called me on cell phone. Sent flowers.
* Saddam Hussein was hung last night and Sunnis ain't happy about it. Is that a bad thing?
* As of Thursday 12-28, I am on short rations until further notice. I've been fighting back problems. clothing problems, family problems, etc for too long now due to my weight. Hunger is my friend.
* PCW called us in KC to thank LCW & I for Christmas gift.

Why Left vs Right ...

It has been a mystery to me since before I ever had Internet access as to why the Left and Right spheres of thought exist. When I used to just read newspaper columnists it frustrated me that my opinion never seemed to be represented in the newspaper. When I received access to the Internet (10 or so years ago), I found that there were others like me that looked at events (public and private) in a traditional conservative light. We admired Ronald Reagan for call the Communist bluff, were thrilled then disappointed with Bush '41 and gnashed our teeth at Bill (& Hillary) Clinton's pecadillos and were aghast that the electorate elected him TWICE! Gadzooks, was everybody insane? We finally found, in George Bush a no-nonsense traditional valued president. Saddam Hussein played peek-a-boo with the no-fly zone in Iraq, the 911 event precipitated Afghanistan invaded then finally Iraq. The

I am not surprised that the Sunni's and Shiite's are no longer awed by American military might because they know that the might is on a very short leash and they know that the clock is running out. The American Left has done everything humanly possible to thwart success in Iraq (with the blatant support of the American media).

I have to ask: "WHY?" I have now formulated an opinion as to what is transpiring here and why.

1. World view is everything: The worldview of the Sunnis cause them to kill civilians (in the name of Allah) and Shiites, the Shiites worldview causes them to work toward establishing a ne Caliphate, the American Left see Marx class struggle at work, and we Christians see that sin is alive and well in the world (Come, Lord Jesus).
   

Christmas 2006 minus eleven ...

When last we talked, it was the weekend before last. Since then:
* I have worked a lot of "casual" overtime at work on the Compass, the Maintenance Meter, and the RFID switch
* DG seems to be taking over the UL/CSA stuff for the hourmeters pretty well
* I heard yesterday that Ed Breitung's cancer has spread to his liver and he is in the hospital and will likely enter hospice care
* Tomorrow night is the office Christmas party - actually a dinner theater at a winery north-east of here
* Received HFW's Christmas gift and sent a check to DJW for H's gift. I plan to send a check to PCW's place of employment (No other address).
* LCW & I shopped for her presents and, as usual, LCW is handling Christmas
*

A Sunday in winter ...

* Four or five squirrels on the backyard fence eating acorns ...
* Read three chapters from Romans ... but skipped church ...
* Instead L & I watched "You've Got Mail" DVD (Remake of an old Jimmy Stewart movie re-set in the Upper West Side of New York)
* L let Kit Cat out of basement (her new home) to play with Leo ... Kit Cat climbed on gerbil cage and set gerbil to thumping out a warning ...
* Might to see Nativity Story movie again this afternoon
* M just got up (11:30 am)
* Reading Guns of August bit by bit (it was a birthday gift). I have yet to finish Signal & Noise.

A winter wonderland ...

Several newsy items today:
* My 1996 white Lumina died on Monday so I bought a 1998 white Lumina (middle picture) on Wednesday ... wierd, eh?
* A major ice and snow storm raged hear from Thursday noon to Friday noon
* Mark missed two school days due to illness (sore throat) and one day due to the ice storm
* Mark got a shot for his throat infection that was diagnosed as "Staff" ... called RH-G and let her know that her son might have been exposed somehow.
* Power went out early Friday morning and came back on early this morning (Saturday) ... we spent Friday night at the Hampton Inn
* Took Lila to see "The Nativity Story" movie last night ... we both loved it.

This year's Nativity scene...














Typical ice storm damage ...














From the porch ...









"New" Lumina from the porch ...









Another from the Porch ...

We were thankful ...

• Just got back last night from Thankgiving break in KC.
• CS (FW's dad) died a week ago Saturday and was buried last Tuesday - DJW & NW dropped into Tulsa for visitation. FW has three houses and will live in the mansion on the hill.
• CG's son (NG) announced his engagement at dinner on Thanksgiving (marriage is two years off).
• Compass module issues - No PO from Alphabet until February (EJG is despondent) ; diode must change from S1D (200V) to S1G (400V); Transistor must change from FZT493 (100V) to FZT458 (400V); SPW to send sample to MH at IT&E.
• Much casual OT in November
• SPW & LCW straightening out issues
• Dem's in power after election - after some posturing, cut & run is inevitable. No one's buying what USA is selling.
• Getting some UL help from DG.
• In KC, HFW thought MCW was more social.

Another log on the fire ...

Here's a fat old man who was testing electronic compass modules in the north parking lot at work a couple of days ago. Kind of a low-tech setup, eh? Weather was nice but windy.

Tidbits:

* M turned 16 on Sunday last.

* It was Halloween yesterday but we only got one group through.

* L & M composed a paper about Wierd Al Yankovich yesterday for English

* M is learning matrix arithmetic in Algebra II and is filling electron shells in Chemistry.

* Good news! My PCB design package is now working (I got a new unlock code from the supplier).

* M got a "B" for his ill-fated Narnia presentation.

* The eCompass module asymptotically approches production, consuming manhours and embarassing for all involved. Typical.

* Twenty MMeters samples with PC/PET cases to ship today and I will seal terminals on Friday or Monday. After a cursory leak and gas test, they will go to customer next week.

* RFID project advances slowly. Maybe I should have done something else in life. A bit late to realize this now, eh?.

* No work from R or P. K calls regularly.

* Some kids painted grafiti on the garage but L painted over it.

* The cat, dog, and gerbils are all fine.

The daily grind continues ...

Work days have been relentless responding to the meter case failures and jumping through hoops to get the compass module into production. Then in the evening I've been fighting with the PCB design software on the RFID switch project. Auggggh ....

Tonight I am helping L fold pages for the church newsletter.

M has been home sick for a couple of days. We met with his counselor, Mr. D this pm. End of the quarter and stuff is due.

At-last-a new post

I kept waiting for some free time to produce a nice news readable post with photos - and it never seemed to happen so I'll just list any news I can remember in bullet form:

* Downloaded new PCB software (WinQPAD) and it seems to be the right package for my needs. I am designing schematics and PCB for a new RFID switch.
* Stuffing bulletins with L today.
* L & I saw the movie "Flag of Our Fathers" about the Iwo Jima flag raising last night. Great movie.
* M FINALLY presented his report on "The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe" yesterday (about two weeks late).
* We adopted a stray young cat we call "Kit Kat" a couple of weeks ago. The cat normally stays on the back porch but I got careless yesterday and the cat tried to eat Cocoa the gerbil.

There and back ...

* Photos of River Ridge Winery in Commerce, MO near C's new place.

* Left 11:00 am Friday
* Ret'd 10:00 pm Sunday
* R's bday dinner at Smith's in Bolivar
* Super 8 (door lock battery problem)
* Fishing at 5:45 am
* Slow fishing day at Whitewater crossing (3 smallies for S vs 7-10 smallies for W)
* S & B: BBQ sandwich in Jackson
* Mexican dinner
* Lamberts Cafe
* Visited kids & grandkids (surprised J at home Sunday afternoon)
* C dropped by (while moving)
* J & S dropped by
* Visited winery on Sunday

* RAH & spouse ate with EJB & spouse yesterday. EJG taking iron treatment and planning cruise soon.

Birthday trip

I'm just killing time this morning waiting to hit the road to see RMR in Boliver for his 22nd birthday and then drive to Sikeston. WT and I plan to fish tomorrow (see pirated image) while LCW, MCW and DT visit. Looing forward to the trip.
Ate at Xochimilco's last night with JH & LH. LH will tend our livestock. One gerbil died last night (no known reason) while another injured by his cell mates. It's a tough gerbil world.

Mercifully baseball season is over. St. Louis is in the playoffs (are the White Sox?). Work problems continue but are being resolved. The American electorate will choose the next batch of scoundrels to represent their interests next month.

Shot at and (I hope) missed ...

Crazy week. M was caught "cheating" at school by walking over to a use a reference book during a test ... Mr. D (counselor) intervened with the teacher and reduced the punishment from the teacher (due to M's A/S) ...
Discovered that some polycarbonate maintenance meter cases may have failed (cracked) in life test due to gasoline application
(see photo from my toy camera).

Sensical ...

<= (View of Airbus A380 Flight Deck)

Spent all day on Fly-By-Light brainstorm session ... see no particular future in this ... Weekend trip to Cape Girardeau is cancelled because DT is ill with cold. L has been running and coughing all week too. I've been struggling at work with MMeter life test failure investigation. L is at Xochimilco's with other A/S mothers. M is doing homework. R is watching tv and leaves Saturday(?) for Bolivar. Started to close pool this week but haven't finished the job yet.

Spewing nonsense ...

* Pope got creamed for quoting a medieval emperor ... and they won't let him apologize ... it is what it is ... projects at HH are going south .... L is down with cold ... M is finally doing a little computer self-study ... R is kicking back (per usual) ... KC is going to finish in cellar ... W chatted to UN today (who hate him because he doesn't buy in to their brave new world) ... Kurt Marquardt died (smartest Lutheran in the Synod) ... L is stacking the pastor candidate list at Trinity with confessional pastors ... MUST schedule optomoetrist manana ... MUST turn in receipts for HH compensation ... L is closing pool (30's tonight and/or tomorrow) ... Jewel/Osco's to close manana ... gas is down to $2.10 ish ... traveling this weekend ...

Busy September weekend ,,,

A very busy weekend here in Lake Woebegon... This weekend L & I saw BP clogging in New Salem, saw classic cars in Springfield, and heard Bluegrass music in New Salem.

...nonsense

PERSONAL: Mr. D (Lu Hi) called Friday noon about M (S). Saw Barnyard movie Friday nite & ate Mexican. L called D (S-I-L) yesterday: M (S) & her friend Beth stayed Monday with them, then left ... they should be home by now. Mom called me and wants me (again) to order glasses - I said I would. L and I off ... then on. Worked 4 hrs (studying CAN bus stuff) and stuffed bulletins.
NEWS: Bunck of Al Quaida dead in Afghanistan and #2 leader arrested in Iraq. Iran playing footsie with UN while trying for nukes.
WEATHER: Still cool and comfy - rain maybe tomorrow.
SPORTS: KU handily beat Northwestern in preseason and K-State scraped by ISU (could be a long season for the Wildcats). KC Royals won #1 and lost #2 with White Sox.

Stuff ...

* Hey look! I was able to use my toy camera to make some decent clse up shots at work (for a memo) the trick is that I used a magnifying glass. Wierd, eh?
* Took a chili dog to Lila at the church for lunch (she was printing newsletters).
* Lila got her name in the paper in an article about the autism meeting the other day.

News: Hurricane in Florida fizzled out.
Weather: Cool and overcast with occasional drizzle.
Sports:

Stuffed-nonsense

* Last relatives (Virginia & Joe) left our house on Sunday pm
* Lila and Marty weren't speaking much when Marty left (in a bit of a huff) Sunday after lunch
* Told Bill I'd see if I could arrange a trip down to his place for fishing before the snow flies.
* Chilled out last night while Lila attended and Autism group meeting
* Mark is starting very slowly at school. I mey need to ride herd on him.
* Read hundreds of blogs in response to "Don't Marry Career Girls" article. Female blogs to a woman were outraged but then, if you're not taking flak then you're not over the target. This guy may, however, have executed a career limiting move. His premises made pretty good sense because, after all, feminism was not developed to enhance male wealth, prestige, and power.
* Having raised four sons, I used to worry about the toll thy would pay for the feminist movement. I'm now of the opinion that self inflicted wounds are boys' worst problem. Feminists correctly say that "Just because girls are advancing doesn't mean that boys are suffering for it." Boys normally inflict MUCH more damage upon themselves than anyone else could. I guess the school of hard knocks will always be the ultimate teacher for those who survive.

End of the T Family reunion

We all visited the Lincoln Presidential museum yesterday. I cooked ribs on the grill (after Lila boiled them). We took some photo's which I'll try to post tomorrow. Everyone was finally tired and sated. This morning we're all going to church. Everybody leaves today.

Went to church ... getting ready to eat ... Marty wanting to travel ...

T Family reunion day

This is the T Family Reunion day.

Hump plus one - T Family Reunion Week

Here are photos from my toy camera taken at an outing by Lila, Marty, Beth, & I to the Carillon in Washington Park last evening.

A Largy Husky dog on a leash took a dip. Someone said that the dark blue water was caused by copper sulfate.




Here is the sunset sky reflected in the pool ...
A shot of the tower...
Another shot of the tower...
And Mary, Lila, and Beth (with chicken from the Colonel) ...

Hump day - T Family Reunion Week

Personal News: Lila's sister arrived yesterday with her friend and travelling companion. Company slept in the upstairs room while Ryan slept on the couch. Mark had a half day at school. I had a busy day at work. We'e going out to listen to the carillon in Washington Park (see photo) tonight and picnic.
News with Commentary: There will apparently be no "peace-keeping" troops in Lebanon (surprise, surprise!) and Syria vocally opposes foreigh troops in Lebanon. Europe seems perfectly happy to permit the Arabs & Persians to drive Israel into the sea with the concurrence of the American Left. The diatribes from the Left about the Iraq War drone on. It gets harder to excitedly defend the USA (verbally & mentally) from the unending onslaught by Muslims and Communists when half the USA agrees that the Great Satan must be brought low. So be it. After the Left finally achieves their ends by means fair or foul, I intend to become quite vocal in my criticism of Islam. I am, after all, a Christian and until I am brought down, I intend to exercise my freedom of speech to unmask the demon in the desert. Rminding Muslims jihadists of the fat population centers in blue state areas would be in order as well.
Weather: Nice and relatively cool for August. Mosquitos are thick.
Sports: KC beat Cleveland yesterday & play them again today.

Tuesday of T Family Reunion week

This is T Family Reunion week. Lila's sister Martha is due in sometime today. Lila has been remodeling (see photo) & frantically cleaning so, of course, Marlene calls from the church to ask Lila to help with some printing. I just installed the new toilet yesterday afternoon. (13:30) Martha is in the vicinity looking for our house.

Mark starts his sophmore year at Lutheran High tomorrow. Mom didn't answer the phone when I called Sunday afternoon so I called Don. Evidently Mom's phone goes directly to voice mail if she's on the phone (she was). Mom says that Felicia will move back to big house with her Dad and she and Cecil will sell their smaller (but not small) homes. Doesn't surprise me. Matthew will attend ITT this fall. Working on hourmeters, RFID keyswitch project, proportional retarder, shuttle speed control, etc. at work.

A mid-August Thursday ...

Grudzielanek agrees to $4 million, one-year extension

Personal: Ryan cut and laid the last bathroom tiles last night. I just dropped off 2 rolls of film at lunch for developing. Mark has Gregory coming by on Friday afternoon. Lila continues to wash and clean for her sister's visit. Mowed the yard last night.
Work: I ate some sausage loaf brought in by Dan Johnson. Ed Breitung stopped by the office this morning.
News: Jon Rene Ramsey's alleged killer has been arrested in Thailand. I think the girl's mother just died of cancer last month - tragic. Yesterday was the anniversary of the deaths of Babe Ruth and Elvis Presley.
Comentary: I read about a new term: "Transnational Progressive". This term (coined in 2001) described folks who reject national authority in favor of "group" authority - the next step after multiculturalism. This might explain the mystifying phenomenon of Liberals siding with Islamics (a marriage truly made in hell). Their common enemy may be the authority of national governments and they don't consider each other as immediate threats. I pity our children. It appears that they will live in chaotic times. Come, Lord Jesus.
Weather: Cool and comfortable weather.
Sports: KC (43/78 dropped 3 games in Cleveland and is 2 for 3 (out of 4 games) so far in Chicago (71/48). St. Louis (63/53) leads the NL Central while the Cubs (52/68) are in fifth.

2006 Hump Day No. 32

Tried for a photo with my toy camera of this fellow in the office parking lot this morning. Obviously too much sun in his face.

Randomizing ...

The phot to the left is from a camera at the fair. This 20' or so young Lincoln figure is seen by every fair visitor.

Its a good day to randomize:
* My Yahoo site won't let me log in unless I sneak up it through mail or bookmarks. I emailed Yahoo and they responded with four (as-yet) unhelpful suggestions.
* Looking at LOTS of blogs lately. Many are funny, useful, arty, etc. and many are wasted space. Don't see many comments.
* Blogs remind me of Geocities of several years ago. I let my old Geocities pages (I had two) lapse and fall ito disrepair and Yahoo cancelled at least one of them.
* Lila is in St. Louis today with some A/S mothers and Dr. Davis. She's showing them the health food stores while Mark fends for himself.
* Looks like I'll have work for awhile (RFID keyswitch CBA design and possibly programming).
* Conservatives suspect that Israel lost the latest Midwest dust-up. Conservatives believe that radical Islamics are waging a surreptitious jihad against the western world and I agree. The weak Left wing (and, to some extent, the Right wing) think that the "enemy of my enemy is my friend". It reminds me of American Indians facing the European invasion and may produce a similar outcome - failure. The Left wing would succumb to jihad to dislodge the hated Right wing from power. We indeed live in a fallen sinful world. Come Lord Jesus.
* Man it would have been fun to go the the fair today (the temperature feels GREAT and the sun is shining). Could have sucked down beer & food and listened to all kinds of music. Ah well, work before play.

After the Fair ...

Lila & I had a difficult day (my fault) and after 4 hours of printing and stuffing bulletins and other related items, we went to the fair on Saturday evening. We had a good time (ate food & looked at horses) and had a good day on Sunday. Photo above is of Lila in Lutheran Laymen League tent at the fair. I also took this blurry electronic photo in the "Pork Producer" shelter at the fair. On Sunday, I cut the side panels (a task that I had dreaded for a year) for the bathroom on Sunday. After all my worrying, the panels didn't look too bad. I assume Blockbuster is now officially closed to the public. I paid bills via the web (rather than paper checks) on Saturday and Sunday. Lila took Mark to hospital for fluid tests (blood & urine). I owe $10 to Ryan for gas.

News: The Mideast combatants ceased firing today, a Fox newsperson got kidnapped in Gaza & some more GI's bought it in Iraq. This world remains fallen & sinful indeed.

Weather: Cool and overcast.

Sports: Royals are losing steadily. Can't be much fun at their games.

More on coffee mug day ...

I just want to see if the coffee mug shows up as my member photo. I tried to photograph one of my hourmeter products just to see how the toy camera would handle it. Looks blurry to me. I alao found that increasing JPEG resolution (from the default value) doesn't seem to affect image clarity.

Coffee mug day ...

I recently bought a new toy digital camera (288 x152 pixels) for $10 at Walgreens and now carry it in my pocket pack (but I had to ditch my NKJ New Testament to make room). Here are pictures from the camera that I took of a keepsake coffee mug that I keep at my desk at work. (I bought the mug at a Medieval Arts Festival in Normal, IL the weekend that I met my wife in October of 1987). I can get good (for me) pictures if I am careful - but it is very easy to take bad pictures. Text messaged my daughter Annie to wish her a belated happy birthday. Lila is preparing for her family's visit in two weeks.

News: The Brits caught about 20 homegrown Muslims trying to blow up about 10 jets this week. Israel is still trying to clean Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon.
Weather: Rainy and cool and sometimes muggy this week. Grass (& weeds) growing well.
Sports: Royal swept three game series with Boston - but still have worst record in baseball.

New camera day

Bought a new digital camera on Saturday from Walgreen for $10 & I took the above pictures with it. It has a 0.9 mega-pixel resolution. Lila put the flag on our house on 9-1-1 and it is still up. Ryan works at Walgreen's but it is closing in a few weeks (a victim of mail order videos).

Lila finished installing tile in the main bathroom this weekend. ISO audits are being held at work but Engineering will not be hit this time. This is Anne's birthday (should give her a call. Lila's sister is due in on 8/23.

News: Gas prices are high due to the latest Mideast wars and an Alaskan oilfield has been shut down for maintenance due to rusty pipes.
Weather: Rained last night and is relatively cool today.
Sports: Minnesota thumped KC for several games. An American cyclist was bounced due to an apparent drug violation.

Saturday am at work

I'm Leo. I have just stolen my Master's blog - just like I do with his socks and underware. Arf-arf - this is fun ...

...Master's at work a little after noon to test hourmeters. Mistress Lila stayed up late to get the bathroom tile done except for the closet. Master will help with Lila with bulletins. I, however, will sleep & play & beg food while the humans work.

Its August now ...

Attended Microchip Masters Conference at the Marriott Desert Ridge resort in Phoenix last week. This photo shows s view of a desert "garden" below my motel balcony.

...Kevin bought a $300K house...Lila is doing bathroom floor...Rox bought a house in Austin...Martha here on 8/22...Mark in school on 8/23

Monday, Monday ...

Personal: Weather was great this weekend (in Springfield). Celebrated L's birthday. We ate at Applebees and saw "Godspell" at New Salem theater then had cake at home. Returned a pair of jean shorts (too big) and need to return a t-shirt (too small). Bought a new dryer at Sears on Sunday because the old one is dying. L dried some clothes at her friend LH's house and we ate dinner there. It turns out that L is still trying to finish assignments for her Autism class (Tuesday night deadline). L chelated M all weekend. I leave tomorrow at 2:00 o'clock for Microchip Masters conference. No clothes for trip and no dryer! Called Mom and R in KC: Mom is getting new house and laundry help, D returns tomorrow, and R leaves Thursday. R's house is essentially sold but the paperwork lags and she needs to find a house in Austin. Mom said that Felicia called: Ima is in nursing care facility (temporary?) while Cecil is having tumor over stomach removed. Ben is a big help. I wrote out bills and need to mail same after I balance checkbook.
News: St Louis had two storms last week and much is without power. New York Cithy has power outages to. Springfield has some outages too. Crazy weather this summer. Mid East rages in Iraq and Lebanon (SNAFU).
Weather: Threatened to storm on Saturday night at New Salem. Sunday was nice.
Sports: KC Royals are back to their losing ways (0.347 season so far).
To Do: Prep for trip ... cleanup finances ... birthday card to Rox.

L's Birthday !!!

Personal: It's my wife L's birthday today. There's a "3" and a "5" in her age so she must be "35". I've bought gifts and reserved seats for a musical in the park I need to plan a dinner and a cake too. She's working at the church this morning. I need to cut grass and pay bills, then I'll help her stuff the bulletins. Called my sister Rox who is staying with my mother Helen in Kansas City til next week. All is well & Mom's arm is healing. R pried up a bathroom tile for his mother. Lila worked furiously on her "Autism" course to finish it yesterday.
News: Israel is sort-of invading Lebanon. Mostly a propaganda war. Iraq remains a five way pi**ing contest. Cubs is goint to buy Jewel.
Weather: Cool (front come through yesterday with rain).
Sports: KC has won two from LA Angels in KC. Not too shabby.
Today in history: Friday, July 22, 1988: Lila & I celecbrated her 35th birthday. She thinks the kids were out of town and I gave her a red and black swim suit, a fishing pole and a thimble shelf with doors. She said that I wasn't so irritating and such a comedian then.

Thursday - Two days till L's birthday

Weather: A freak storm swept through Springfield from the north at about 5:30 pm yesterday. There were 80 mph straight line winds and a tornado warning. Storm hit Cardinal's new stadium and did some damage. St. Louis then won the game.
Personal: I was at work when the sirens went off so a took a short trip to the basement. Lila is trying to write a paper for her ISU on-line class - its due Friday. I go home from KC on Monday night and stayed home Tuesday. Busy as all getout yesterday.
News: Israeli multi-front war continues. Christie Brinkley's hubby cheated (she's 52). Billy Joel is probably have a rough time working up much sympathy.
Sports: It's Boston's turn to beat up the Royals. KC is going to play at home for awhile - maybe this will help.

Dispatch No. 1 - Shawnee, KS

Personal News: Arrived in KC last night at 8:45. Don and Nancy were here and briefed me on Mom's status. Mom's physical therapy coordinator came by this am. Mom has done well today. Shopped at Penney's and Walmart.
Weather: Blistering hot
Sports: Royals have lost 3 to the Tigers. It's bleak.

Daily post

(No pic today)
News:
(International) Israeli conflict rages (Iran involved?) ...
(National) More reverberations from Novak's "Plame" story source ...
(Springfield) South Grand is being resurfaced
(My House) Lila & I are being very friendly & had had lunch together ... Mark is behaving well - even without pills!
(Work) Productive day for a change
Weather:
Rained last night .. very muggy and hot today
Sports:
KC (31/56) plays at Detroit (59/29) tonight. Could be a long weekend for KC.

Hump Day

News: Rove admitted to being source of exposing Plame ... 200 Indians dead from 7 bombs... Israel invading Gaza and Lebanon after attacks and kidnappings... 29 Iraqi deaths during Rumsfelt visit...
Weather: Some rain today...mid 80's
Sports: Italians beat French for World Cup (French guy head-butted Italina player) ... American league won All Stars game
Personal: Wife & I had a long talk last night ... we're getting along better today
Work: Performance is sluggish this week ... things are stacking up

My House

Hey! Look at me! I'm down here in the back yard inside the red box. I'm the guy waving up.

Channel 20 TV Station Cam-shot

Just for fun, here's a fresh cam shot from Channel 20 WICS-TV looking northwest toward downtown Springfield (IL) on our nice sunny day. The tall structure is the Hilton hotel.

Day "Whatever"

Personal: On Sunday, I fished at Sanchris lake for the first time in a couple of years. Caught & released some small bluegills. Not too hot. Nice afternoon. Saw the "Pirates of the Carribean" movie (finally) and watched the "Boys and girl from County Clare" DVD. Had a blind preacher at church. Didn't talk to Mom or Don. Ryan worked at Blockbuster. Mark got chelated. Lila & I ate at Xochimilco on Friday. Lila heard from Kevin over the weekend.
News: Shiites and Sunni's killing each other in turn. NYT still at war with Bush over the war. CWLP may buy power form windmills in the future.
Weather: Cool and comfortable - not swimming weather.
Sports: KC is starting to lose some games again. Maybe the magic is wearing off.

Day Three

To the left a white 1996 Lumina that looks like my POS. Mine has 190K(+) on the odometer, no A/C, a cracked windshield, and a leaky head gasket so that the engine only cools intermitently. It still runs ok in town but overheats on the highway.

Used to have a 1998 dark blue Lumina but it eventually siezed up. We also now have a dark green 1999(?) Ford Windstar.

News: "FBI disrupts New York transportation plot". Some autistic child won a $43 million settlement for his MMR vaccination. Mark got a cavity filled by Dr. Ford this afternoon. Gregory Small is visiting and may spend the night. Ryan is working this evening till eight o'clock (Day One for him at Blockbuster). Updated my "Assets" spreadsheet. Mark is pretty well recovered from a yeast infection that started about two weeks ago after he took some antibiotics.
Weather: Cool & dry.
Sports: KC Royals won the first of three with Toronto Blue Jays yesterday.
Editorial: Translators keep plowing through old Iraqi records keep finding tantalizing tibits about possible terrorism and WMD links. Hope they eventually find something that the gov't. & the MSM can't shrug off. After all, 2500 men died for this cause.
Entertainment: New Pirates of the Carribean movie starts tonight so Lila and I may eat Mexican then see the movie.

Day Two

Well... I survived Day One, let's see how Day Two goes. Boy there are so many things to talk about. I think I need to get organized. For good or ill this blog will reflect my interests. First things first, I think I'll plan to do most of my data entry "off-line" and then cut-n-paste the text etc. to the blog posting. This gives me greater flexibility. I'll save this draft and finish it later...

Random musings:

• KC Royal won third in series with Minnesota in KC. (33%). In general they have a lousy record.
• Iraq has generated into a long term propaganda war with the Left firmly in the corner of the Islamists (“enemy of my enemy is my friend”). If the Islamists prevail in the war of wills and propaganda, it would serve the Left right if the mujadeens blew up the NorthEast (but the Left would just blame Midwestern values) .
• Kevin (Lila’ oldest boy) built some nice sturdy railings around our front steps this weekend. Everyone is very impressed. (It was also very hot work)
• Ryan Lila’s No. 2 son returned to his upstairs room for a stay of a month or two. He’s been in Bolivar, MO for a few months and will probably return in August.
• Lila’s sister Martha will be visiting us for a few days in August.
• My mom fell down last week and hurt her wrist and bruised her face last week. She’s 88 and very frail but otherwise healthy. I may stay with her for a few days in July.
• Our son Mark (with Aspergers Syndrome – “A/S”) is recovering from an apparent bout with yeast (common problem with kids on autiosm spectrum.)
• Work is ok – still have a job.
• Fishing: I tell everyone that I am a fisherman – but I rarely go fishing. Need to fix that at some point.
• Mrs. White & I need to steal away for a nice romantic interlude as some point if we can swing it. Home is just not the place for it. Neither of us have much energy and we can’t seem to coordinate the energy that we do have.
• My son Paul hasn't make it back to town since Feb. 1999.
• I owe a call and letters to Anne.

Here is what we look like (or at least used to look like):

Time out here ... I have tried several times to show a bitmap photo but it doesn't seem to work.

15:41: I was finally able to get a bitmap picture loaded but I still don't know why this one worked but others didn't. On well ...

• Ken Lay's death: Extremely ironic - he never served a day in prison on the one hand but he got the death penalty on the other hand. AND he's chilling while he waits for his NEXT trial (get it?).
• Read Ann Coulter today and she & I agree on Bush and national politics. REALLY smart gal - and tough!
• Israel: I don't believe that they really have inherent ownership of Palestine from God but the USA & Britain somehow gave them the land 1948-ish. If they oust the Jews then what happens. Does the intifada continue until the Islamics own the earth?
• What happens if the incredibly shrinking western Christian culture is overwhelmed by the joint efforts of Islam and Communism. Who wins then?

15:49: This is a little addictive. Need to get back to work soon. Another unhappy customer just called.