My new FAVORITE show!

My new favorite show is CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM.

If you have never watched this HBO series, you must find a way to see it.

I won't go on and on about it here, just make sure you watch if you have never seen it.

I found a link to watch it for free. If you use Winamp, go to "internet TV" under file.
then choose Shoutcast TV. It is one of the links that are called ess.tv.

It plays nothing but Curb Your Enthusiasm ALL day and ALL night. Sometimes it is hard to get in there because not that many people can watch at once. So try at different times, or let winamp continue trying to connect. It's worth the effort.

And if you already knew about this show, maybe you just learned a new way to find it.

I heard Santa!

I had to get out of bed at six on Christmas morning. When I walked out to the living room, I witnessed Randy jumping up and down. That's not just an expression, the boy was literally jumping up and down.

I asked him, "why are you jumping around like a monkey?"
"LOOK WHAT SANTA BROUGHT ME!", he screamed. He pointed to his new remote control car. As I was putting the battery in it for him he told me he had heard Santa.

"When you heard him, what did you do?", I asked.
"I came running down stairs, but he was already gone.", he told me.

I explained that Santa is very fast because he has so many places to go.

Randy said, "Yeah, he is fast for an old man."

Here, kitty, kitty!

The cat has been in a tree for six days. A very tall tree. Without many low branches.
Not my cat. Not my problem.

She was getting upset about this situation, so I offered to help. Don't think for a minute I'm actually going out to get the cat. I'm just the idea guy.

She called the fire department. Can you believe she actually called a fire department to get a cat from a tree? They laughed at her and told her they don't rescue kittens.

Next she called animal control. They also do not retrieve cats from very tall trees. They did offer her a piece of advice. They told her the cat would come out of the tree when it became very hungry.

She has an extension ladder leaning against the tree, still keeping the kitty out of reach. She opened a can of cat food and placed it on the top of the ladder. Still no cat.

That's when she asked my advise. First, I had to draw a picture to help visualize this situation.(click for more a larger version-well worth it to see my artwork)

My first suggestion, and probably my best, was to throw rocks at the cat.
"Throw rocks at my kitten?", she screeched.
"You want the friggin' cat out of the tree or not?", I replied as I tried to knock some sense into her. I didn't suggest she throw a boulder at the cat. Just some small rocks aimed at the cats body.

She called home and reported my theory, but he laughed. My idea was obviously better than what he had already done, because his cat was still in the tree.

Before I ended the conversation, I suggested tying a noose in a rope and yanking the kitten from the tree. That idea was not welcomed.

Several days later I stopped to talk to her again. "How's your kitten?", I asked.
She told me it had come out of the tree. When she went home he climbed the ladder armed with a pool net. One on a long pole. He essentionally knocked the cat out of the tree. She claims the cat caught itself on the way down and is now safely on the ground.

Two hours later her dog chased the cat back up the tree.

Playing cards

This was my first try at playing cards against myelf x2. I'm such a sore winner. I'm such a sore loser too.

Be GLAD about HEFTY

I'm going to tell this story as I remember it.

Rick and his family had come over for dinner one day last week. We needed to make a quick trip to the grocery store for one item. Rick volunteered to go, and I volunteered to help him. For me, going to the grocery store is like going on a field trip. On our way out the door, Cari told me to pick up a box of kitchen garbage bags. I was told to get the ones that have draw strings. She specified Glad or Hefty brand. Which ever is cheaper was the instruction I remember.

After we picked up our one item, Rick and I headed to find the bags. We approached that section, and I went to work doing my shopping.

Shopping is not complicated, and I try not to make it complex. First thing I did was scan the pictures on the boxes for the draw strings. Next I located a brand. First one that caught my eye was Hefty. Several size boxes were available so I chose the largest box on the shelf. Shopping is not fun, and I do not want to be making this trip again anytime soon.

As we headed to the front my team mate questioned my purchase. "Cari said she wanted Glad.", He said.
"These were cheaper.", I replied with confidence. Then I continued, "besides, she said they could be Glad or Hefty."
Rick had that uncertain expression on his face, "Well, she said she prefers Glad. Anyway, you did NOT comparison shop, I saw you pick that one up without a second thought."

This dialogue went on for a while as we were checking out. After telling him I was "pretty sure" the Hefty was cheaper, he laughed. The truth is no comparison shopping took place. The Hefty box had a pretty picture of what I was there to get. I didn't even look at the price until I had to pay the cashier.

Rick continued to contest my decision to the point I thought he was working for Cari.
When we arrived back at my house, we left the box outside. We were going to ask Cari what brand she wanted. Rick claimed that she REALLY wanted the Glad bags. While I said she would accept either.

I entered the kitchen. "On those bags, what brand did you say to get?", I asked Cari.
She said, "Glad."
Quickly finding a way to recover I helped her along, "Glad or what other brand would you like?"
Rick was already doing a victory dance as Cari replied, "I wanted Glad. You can get Hefty if they were on sale."
There was my way in. I jumped in with, "Or cheaper, right?"

Rick was about to tell her I didn't comparison shop, but Cari beat him to an answer by saying Hefty was only acceptable if they were on sale.

After hearing the answer, I headed back to the porch to retrieve my Hefty bags. As I did this, I think Rick was giving Cari a hug.

Not that it matters, but the Hefty bags seem to be working just fine for our kitchen garbage.

Back on track

Trying to get back on track here. I hope to be back to regular updating soon. I also have been missing out on reading many blogs lately, so I hope to catch up on that this week also.

I had to send my new camera for repair last week, and I have not received it back yet. I really only had one day to play with it, so I am excited to see it come back after the 1st. After that, I'll be having more pictures up. I try to get at least one with every post, but that doesn't always work out.

I also enabled the comment moderation. This forces me to approve every comment that gets posted. There is no real negative to this. You just won't see your comment appear until I check my e-mail. The good thing is nobody will have to read crude comments. I appreciate getting comments on my posts, so I hope this doesn't discourage anyone.

Not a fun week

(Hagood Mill, Pickens, South Carolina)

Not very much time to update so far this week. There is quite a bit that I would like to write about. I hope by Wednesday night I'll get a good post up here for you.

Most people now have power back on in their houses. When I got home from work tonight, WE had no power. After making a joke about all the people with no power and no hot water, I was now one of them.

I kinda liked it because I got to use my flashlights. I even had the small light that straps around my head on so I could walk around the house hands free.

We went out to dinner and when we got home, the power was back on. I'll be thankful for that when I take my shower in the morning, but I did have to put my flashlights away.

It's getting kinda cold out there

I just now got internet connection back. It's been off since the ice storm two days ago. Sounds pretty horrible, doesn't it? No internet. How are people to survive?

We do have electricity, something 400,000 of my neighbors don't have.

Ice storms are pretty. Icicles on everything. The problem is that ice is heavy, causing tree branches, and many times entire trees, to come crashing down. Often times they bring down power lines also. Thankfully, we never lost power on our block. Most of my co-workers do not have power. Yesterday they were complaining about sleeping in their coats and having no hot water. Then they would look at me and ask if I had power. In a very soft voice, while looking down, I would reply, "um.. yeah, we never lost power." That's not a good way to make friends.

The morning that the ice storm was the worst, I was driving to work about six am. Every once in a while, I would see a flash of light in the sky. At first I thought it was lightning, but then I realized it was transformers exploding on the power poles.

Birds sit on power lines during the winter to stay warm as the electricity flows through. That's why I thought it was funny driving home from work yesterday and seeing about thirty birds lined up on some wires. Wires with no power.

I realized last night, as I was turning off my Christmas lights that most families in our area don't have a way to heat their house, keep their food, or see in the dark, yet I'm using electricity to power Christmas lights.

This will be a scene I'll be wishing for in July:
It's going to take a little while to get caught back up. I just wanted to post something quick this morning. Sorry my thoughts are so scattered.

The sky is falling!

“Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning”

Picture from our porch this morning:

National Weather Service notice:

...ICE STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EST THURSDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED AN ICE STORM WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EST THURSDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

THROUGH THIS EVENING...FLURRIES AND ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND THE WESTERN CAROLINAS. HEAVIER AND MORE WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO ADVANCE FROM THE SOUTHWEST BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND 4 AM. THE PRECIPITATION SHOULD BEGIN AS A MIX OF SNOW...SLEET...AND FREEZING RAIN. BY DAWN THURSDAY THROUGH NOON...THE PRECIPITATION SHOULD PRIMARILY FALL AS FREEZING RAIN. ICE SHOULD BEGIN TO ACCUMULATE ON ELEVATED SURFACES SUCH AS TREES AND POWER LINES LATE TONIGHT AND WILL CONTINUE TO ACCUMULATE THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING.

TWO TO FOUR TENTHS OF AN INCH OF ICE IS EXPECTED TO ACCUMULATE ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 85 FROM TOCCOA TO GREENVILLE TO GASTONIA BY LATE THURSDAY MORNING. DAMAGE TO TREES AND POWER LINES USUALLY BEGINS WHEN ICE ACCUMULATIONS REACH A QUARTER OF AN INCH. AT THE VERY LEAST...TRAVEL ACROSS UNTREATED BRIDGES AND OVER PASSES WILL BE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.

AN ICE STORM WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. TRAVEL IS STRONGLY DISCOURAGED. COMMERCE WILL LIKELY BE SEVERELY IMPACTED. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL...KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT...FOOD...AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY. ICE ACCUMULATIONS AND WINDS WILL LIKELY LEAD TO SNAPPED POWER LINES AND FALLING TREE BRANCHES THAT ADD TO THE DANGER.

Should be a fun drive in to work tomorrow morning.

Saturday was a good day. I went out and took some pictures for a while at the mill. When I got home, Cari and I got ready to go to Greenville. We had a great time walking around downtown. I saw this guy there again. He was in the same spot, still playing violin. I wanted SO badly to take his picture again, just as an update. Unfortunately he had one eye on me the whole time and I didn't want to take his picture and run. I also didn't want to give him any money.

Cari said we had to be home at 6:30 because the neighbor that had Meredith was having company and we had to pick her up. We got home right at 6:30. It was dark, and sure enough, there were a ton of cars across the street. Before leaving the house, I intentionally turned the Christmas lights on and now they were off. Maybe the power went out.

Cari and I were walking up the steps and the dog was jumping all around my feet. I started to cuss at the dog and push her out of my way as I unlocked the door. When I opened the door, I flipped on the outside light. It came on, so now I wonder what happened to my Christmas lights. I take a step inside and look down the hallway. There were no fewer than four people standing in my bedroom.

At first, I thought it might have been the neighbor getting something for Meredith. Then I thought I recognized one of the faces as someone from church. I took another step in as I stared ahead. Then it happened. . .

Lights pop on and,

"SURPRISE!"

I look behind me for Cari. What are they surprising her about? When I started to go into the kitchen, I saw this:my good friend, Rick.

Then I knew this was about me. There were banners and balloons all with the number 30. I was in total shock. I was speechless.

I like having attention, but I don't necessarily like being the CENTER of attention.
Cari and Rick had planned this surprise birthday party for several weeks. I had not a single clue any of this was going to happen. Cake, cookies, cards, etc. . . it was really cool.

Lots of friends were there, and it was awesome. As I sat down to blow out the candles, I looked up at Rick who was behind me. "You were helping plan this for me while I was doing all that stuff at work?", I asked. He laughed a bit and said it was true. All the "stuff at work" is the barrage of practical jokes I tortured him with all week. More details about that will be posted soon.

I didn't really come out of shock mode until Sunday morning. It was really awesome. All the while, Cari kept saying the same thing to me,

"I got you so good!"

Thank you to everyone that was there. I really appreciate it. Especially thank you to Cari and Rick, you guys are the best! It was a great night!

How did they do that?

Saturday was an incredible day. Over the next few days you will learn why that is. This story is just one part of it.

Driving toward Greenville I see several ambulances and fire trucks up ahead with lights on. I see the back end of a car sticking up in the air. As we approach, we see:Initially we drove past without stopping. The camera was in the back seat of the car and I asked Cari several times if she thought I should get a picture of that wreck. She suggested we continue on to Greenville. Following her direction, I continued on, but only for about two blocks. We stopped at a church parking lot and walked back about five blocks to the wreck.
It's a good thing I got those pictures, because I don't think anyone would believe it otherwise.

My obsession. . .

I started reading about this camera months ago. It started slow. Reading a review now and then. At that point I read about similar cameras in class. Once I narrowed it down to this one, I was hooked. Reading every bit that I could find about it. Talked about obsessively with Cari. I even read the owners manual on the Nikon website. I read the forums related to the camera model on no less than three websites.

At this point I still had never held the camera, so true obsession had not really kicked in. Cari was tired of hearing about the camera. I could tell from the groans she would make when I would start, "Oh, also this new camera would have. . ." Then I would fill her in on another feature that our current camera does not have.

My next step was to sell this camera to Cari. Not an easy task. The first thing is to address the complaints that she had with our current camera. That was easy, but she still wasn't impressed.

About a week ago, we were in Staples. Because of my absolute obsession with this camera, I knew that the model was stocked in most Staples locations. Cari and I wandered over and I picked it up and snapped a few pictures. Then I handed it to her and let her try it.
"Ok, let's get one.", she said.
I didn't buy one there because I knew it would be much cheaper online. As we drove home I asked, "Did you say to buy one just to shut me up?"
"Partly.", she responded.

I ordered my camera online. If it seemed I had read every scrap of information on the camera before, I surprised myself by finding more to read.
The true obsessive behavior started the day my camera shipped. I was off from work that day. The UPS website received no fewer than three thousand hits from my computer that day. I had it shipped ground. That day, it seemed that they may have strapped my box to the back of a Honda. A Honda with three wheels.

It left New York city and stopped in Baltimore. It didn't seem to stay there long before heading to Raleigh, North Carolina. I'm pretty sure the driver took a nap there. He may have gone out drinking, because my package stayed there for what seemed like an eternity. In real time, that would be about eight hours. I continued to refresh my tracking status. I sent UPS a feedback e-mail suggesting that I should be able to see GPS tracking of my box in the truck. Maybe even a webcam of the driver. I want to know what that guy had for lunch. Did he take a long enough break? I don't want him to crash with MY package.

I was working the day the box came. Cari received several calls from me with the following message, "You didn't leave the house did you?"
"I have your box", was the text message I got from Cari later that day.

I went crazy that night. It was freezing and dark out by the time I had the battery charged up for it. I was shooting pictures of Cari washing dishes, and even some of the dishes. If she thought I was horrible talking about the camera, she was in for a surprise.

I took pictures of the new camera with the old camera before I put the old camera "away".





Then, after the old camera had served its purpose, I took its picture with the NEW camera. . .

R.I.P.

It has arrived!

I will tell you about my obsession soon. For now, you can have a few pictures.

Oh, Christmas Tree. . .

You pagan! Displaying your Christmas tree! What does a Christmas tree have to do with Christ?

Maybe one of the wise men brought a Fraser fir to the manger that day. Later, it was known as a Christmas tree, so all Christians decorate their houses in memory of that moment. Probably not.
When I was doing some reading, I found that Christmas trees actually started around the area of Germany. Not by Christians either. Druids were known to put evergreen branches in their homes during the winter. It was during the 1800's when this custom was brought to the United States and it started to become a Christmas tree.

Live trees in a house are messy. They drop needles, drip sap, and constantly watering the thing is a pain. The trees also take up a lot of space in a home. They are pretty to look at, but what do they have to do with Christmas?

Just as easily as someone started the tradition of Christmas trees, I would like to end it.
What I propose is

COWBELLS!

You don't need to have a cow. Just the bell would be fine. There were likely cows near the manger scene at the time of Jesus' birth. At least more likely than a Christmas tree.

A tree costs roughly $40 and up every year. A cowbell, $2.50. You could afford to put one in your car, at your desk, in your windows.

In celebration of the birth of Jesus, you should decorate your bell. Some may use lights, some may paint them. The sound of a ringing cowbell would become the song of Christmas time. When you hear that Christmas Cowbell ringing, you would be reminded about the birth of Jesus.


I'm sure that this idea won't be popular with the tree farmers around the world, but the bell makers will be ecstatic.

It's too late for this to really take hold this year. But spread the word! We need a symbol that makes sense! The Jews have the menorah. IT MAKES SENSE! It ties in with their holiday.

Go out, buy a cowbell! Decorate it! Ring it in the streets! Celebrate the birth of Jesus! Don't buy a Christmas tree. Think of the needles you will vacuum out of your carpet. Think of the sap you will have to scrub out of your clothes. Think of the clean up and removal after Christmas. For what reason?

In our house, we will celebrate around our Christmas Cowbell. After Christmas, we will take it down from the window, and place it in it's Christmas Cowbell box.

Merry Christmas!

Post-Thanksgiving Day Chores

(picture is a bit blurry, actual lights are not this blurry.)

It's that time of year again. The yard must be decorated for Christmas. After finishing with the yard, someone must climb a ladder and light the roof line. The children are too small, and Cari took herself out of the equation. That means I had to climb the ladder. That's not my favorite thing to do. I have a nice extension ladder. The part I don't like is leaning it against the gutter, and then as I climb, hear the gutter crushing. I didn't damage the gutters, but you can hear them creak as I reach the top.(note the extreme fear in my eyes as I look to the sky)

We have much more displayed this year compared to last. Meredith loves the two deer we have put out. So much, that she spent an hour making sure they had food. After feeding them she spent some time petting one of them.
Next year I'll put twenty deer in the yard to keep her busy. When I do that, I'll have to hire an electrician to map the extension cord layout.

My what a big nose you have!

On my street lives a nosy neighbor.
In my house lives a nosy neighbor.
Cari is a nosy neighbor.

Ever since Yankee and his ugly wife moved in two doors down, Cari has played the role of investigator. Any time Yankee is outside, Cari finds an excuse to be out there. Just so happens she is checking her mail as he walks past the house. Doesn't matter what is going on, Cari will drop it all if Yankee or the ugly wife is outside.

This happened three times in about two days.

The climax of this behavior happened just the other day. Cari saw Yankee knocking on the door across the street. Cari ran out, being a good neighbor, to tell him that nobody was home. Then she ran out to engage him in conversation. Yankee told her that he had repainted the boys room for his son. Trying to gain entrance to the house, Cari showed great interest in the painted room.

Our friends across the street (that were not home) needed to deliver some papers to the Yankee later in the day. Cari told our friends that she wanted to go with them to Yankee's house. That afternoon, Cari and I were putting up Christmas decorations on the house. I was hanging out of the upstairs window and Cari was on the ladder outside. The friends started to walk toward Yankee house. Cari didn't notice until they were already in the driveway. Cari left me hanging in the window, started shouting at our friends, and RAN across the neighbors yard to catch up. All of this was in an effort to gain entry to the Yankee house and see what was happening inside.

I'm not really sure what she expected to see. Perhaps Yankee lives like some freak, and we could open his house as a museum. More than anything, she was just being nosy. My wife, the nosy neighbor, came back to the house and climbed up her ladder facing me.
"She wouldn't let us in.", she said in disgust.
"The baby was sleeping in that room.", she continued.
I looked at her and saw the disappointment. She made every effort, and was denied.
"Cari", I said, "You are THE nosy neighbor."
After she told me I was wrong, I started to present her my case.

She realized as I was speaking that there was some truth to what I was saying. She told me at that moment on the ladder that she was NOT going to be a nosy neighbor.

Now I am proud to tell you that I am the husband of a REFORMED nosy neighbor. A FORMER nosy neighbor.

Now we get all the gossip from our friends across the street. The true nosy neighbors.

The Yankees are coming!!!

Yankees, ugh. I don't like the baseball team either. The new neighbor is from Massachusetts. He has taught me that New England Yankees are the worst kind.

On the second occasion of talking with Cari, he started making comments about how much money I make. What the heck is this guys problem? He stood in front of our house talking with Cari. She had run outside when she saw him out. There is a story coming about that too. Anyway, he told her that I must make a lot of money to live in a big house and her stay home. Stupid bastard doesn't even know my name and he wants to talk about how much money I have?

His ugly wife was walking around in the street the other day trying to figure out how to get garbage service. We don't live in the city, so you have to call a private company for stuff like that. Cari thought she would go out and give the lady a number for the company we use. By the time Cari went out, the lady was back in her house two doors down. So Cari walked over and knocked on the door. Cari heard them walking around and there was two cars in the driveway. The lady had been out just minutes ago. They didn't answer, even with Cari's relentless pounding on their door. Friggin' Yankees! Run your own trash to the dump! Bury it in your yard! Whatever you people do! Get out of the South! GO BACK WHERE YOU BELONG!

Maybe I need more rest. I'll keep you updated as they continue to irritate me.

When animals attack!

If you think having two young children, Cari, and myself in a house is crazy, imagine what happens when you add two cats and a dog.

The dog will not go upstairs. The cats live up there. The trick is that the cat food and water is kept downstairs. The dog spends a lot of her day outside and this provides ample opportunity for the cats to eat. The dog loves cats. A special kind of love. A kind of love like I have of hamburgers.

Sometimes in the morning, the cats start coming down the stairs while the dog is still inside. The clicking of the dogs' nails start getting faster as she dances around staring at the cats. The cats growl and hiss, and sometimes show their claws. This is all very entertaining to watch when it doesn't happen at five am.

I was getting ready for work one morning when this started happening. It was about five am.
Here is a diagram, to help you visualize what I'm going to tell you.

You can see from this drawing why I stick to photography.

I was in the bathroom with one cat sitting on the counter. The dog was very excited about this. As I got out of the shower, the two animals were quietly staring each other down. I walked into the bedroom and saw the other cat sitting on the bed. It was looking at the dog.
This is when it got good.

The cat in the bathroom lost patience with the dog and jumped down, hissing with claws raised up. The dog got scared and started to back up into the bedroom. This prompted the other cat to hiss loudly and show claws behind the dog. The dog freaked out and try to run down the hallway, but her feet were slipping on the laminate floor!

The cats don't seem very scared of the dog, just irritated. The dog is very interested in the cats, just not interested in their claws. I don't blame her.

The only way I know

One thing we did on Thanksgiving was rake up the leaves. This may not sound like fun, but it was.

Of course, after making a pile of leaves, the entire family must throw them and roll in them. Essentially spreading them back out in the yard. This is only our second winter here, so this is still a new thing to us. I'm sure the neighbors look out at us like they would at a zoo exhibit.Meredith prepares to jump in the pile like she would a swimming pool.

After raking the leaves up for a second time, there is only one way that I know to get rid of them. BURN THEM! This method is also the quickest way to get the children out of the pile.

Of course I didn't burn my children in a smoky pile of leaves. What actually happened was the four of us were having a leaf fight. Leaves were flying everywhere and even going into everyone's shirt. Until . . . someone shouted, "SPIDER!"

Working in the dark

CSI, (the original one, not the Miami or NY variety), is one of my favorite shows. They have great characters, interesting stories, and some really cool science.

Something that I have noticed recently about CSI is that these people love to work in the dark. If you watch the show, you know that the story is based around the night shift CSI crew. Most of their work is done at night.

That still doesn't explain this:
While this guy performs an autopsy, he uses one small fluorescent light. He puts that light in the corner and puts a sheet over it. Yeah, that just seems to bring out the details in a dead body.
There is never a fully lit office or workspace. Here's a guy doing some DNA tests. Very sensitive and careful testing, where every detail matters. Turn the lights off before you start.

So, the lab guys like to work in the dark. What about the CSI team themselves? Out at the scene. How do they work?
You got it, in the dark. Go into the house where someone was murdered and start looking for the evidence. Don't turn the lights on. That little pocket flashlight, that runs off of two AA batteries will do it. Looking for that smallest hair in the carpet? How about reading that fake suicide letter? Do it in the dark, if you are going to do it at all.

There are times when the lights need to be out so they can use their fancy equipment and lasers. But there are several times in each episode, I just sit and ask myself, "Why didn't they turn the lights on?"

Go help yourself!

Our neighbors from two doors down moved last week. They moved to the house directly across the street from us. They are pretty good friends of ours. That means Cari offered to help them move. She also offered me to help them move. Last Saturday was a big day for them to get going and I didn't have to work. Cari got up early and went over.

Cari was trying to persuade me to get over there. I told her that I would not paint, but I would be happy to help move furniture and boxes. Pretty much all the work that was being done at that time was painting. So, I stayed home. When I got tired of playing on the computer, I went and lay in bed. I watched Nascar qualifying and started to fall asleep. Cari, again, came home and told me to at least go over and see the pretty colors going up on the walls. After I declined the offer, she went back to work, and I went back to watching television.

The kids were running back and forth between the houses and managed to keep me from falling asleep. This didn't put me in a better mood. So, the third time Cari came in and told me to get over there, I got up and put my shoes on with a bit of disgust. I was putting on a bit of a show, much like a child. The show was to let Cari know I was not happy about going over there. I put my hat on and pulled it low over my eyes. I reminded her that I would not paint, and from looking out the windows I knew no boxes were being moved.

Inside the house, I saw a lot of people painting. They were painting a lot of colors. The neighbor said that she didn't think I was going to get off the computer. I corrected her by telling her I was trying to take a nap.

Cari picked up her roller and started back to painting. Without saying anything, I walked back to my house. Cari didn't ask me to help any more that day.

That is not the end of THIS story. Later on in the evening, Cari came over and told me that they were having pizza and I should come have some.

"I refused to help them all day, I certainly will not go eat their food now.", I informed her.
Then she offered to buy me some dinner and I could eat it at the neighbors house with everyone. "You don't get it. I'm not going to their house today. I did nothing to help them.", I explained.

The end of this story is that I ate pizza. With Cari. . . in my house.

Later this week, I'll tell you about the Yankees that moved onto my block.

SuperCool

We have one of those small refrigerators under the counter at work. We keep bottles of water in the freezer part in the morning to be sure they get VERY cold by the afternoon. We noticed recently, that a very odd thing was happening when a bottle was opened.

Taking it out of the freezer and holding it up, it was still pure liquid. Very clear, clean water, and not frozen. As the bottle is opened, the water crystallizes before your eyes. Starting at the top, the water turns to a icy slush. The slush quickly forms through to the bottom of the bottle. This has become daily entertainment for us. "Quick, he's going to open a water, everyone to the office to watch ice form!". Many have witnessed the amazing ice trick, but nobody could explain the science behind it.

I did a bit of research online, and it seems we are "supercooling" the water. In the freezer, the water is below its freezing point (32 F), but the clean spring water doesn't have a place to start the crystallization process. When you open the bottle or if you shake it up, you will create a nucleation site in the molecules. I found this was the best site to read about it: Department of Energy

It's a fun trick. So, if you don't have a lot to do today, go watch water turn to ice!

You don't have to HURRY anymore.

The boy is learning to use the technology available to him.

As we approach Christmas, he is influenced by marketing geniuses.

He has chosen several items to teach Cari and I about. When a commercial comes on while the kids are watching television it is very common to hear, "MOM! DAD! COME LOOK! I WANT THIS! HURRY!"


We use TiVo to record things we want to watch later. We also use it to avoid watching any commercials.

Randy uses TiVo to record commercials he wants to show us later.
At least now we don't have to "hurry" when a commercial comes on.

What have you done to my lights?

Our bathroom light bar holds six bulbs. We had let them burn out one at a time until only two were left burning. Cari went out last week and purchased new bulbs. When I was in the bathroom that evening, I noticed all the lights were working. There was a bit of dust still on two of them, so I knew that she didn't change those. A quick quarter turn to the left and they went out.

A bit later, Cari came out of the bathroom complaining that the only two bulbs she didn't replace stopped burning. I couldn't hold back my laughter as I walked past her and tightened those bulbs.
She didn't love the joke as much as I did. The next day at work, I told this story to my friend, Rick. As I told my story, Rick got this crazy look in his eye and face lit up. This is an expression that I am very familiar with. Rick provided me with an idea to continue my joke on Cari and he provided the props needed.

Last night was MY moment. The plan was to wait until Cari went to sleep Saturday night and then make my move. She would realize my genius Sunday morning as she was getting ready for church. The problem was that I fell asleep on the couch waiting for her to fall asleep.

I woke up at two am. After checking that she was asleep, I went and got the small disks. I went in the bathroom with a flashlight and closed the door. As I unscrewed each bulb I held my breath. It seemed like I was making so much noise. With the bulbs out, I popped in the small disks that cause a bulb to randomly flash on and off. While putting the bulbs back into the sockets, I thought I heard Cari moving about. At that moment I was about half done with my setup. For a minute, I thought about abandoning the project. If she woke up and went into the bathroom before morning, my joke would be ruined.

After another minute of holding my breath, I finished with the bulbs. I flicked the switch and all the bulbs came on. Then, randomly, they started flashing on and off. SUCCESS! I turned the switch off and quietly snuck into bed by two thirty this morning.

At seven, Cari woke me up, "What have you done to my lights?"
I thought about playing dumb, but the big smile on my face was going to give me away. I turned my head away from her and asked what she was talking about.
"All the lights are flashing. You need to fix this. How did you do that?", she continued.

As I got up to start un-installing the flashers, I was laughing. Cari's last words this morning as we were getting in the car for church, "I will get you back."

TONIGHT
IS THE
NIGHT!
-------------------------------------
Tomorrow,
all will be
revealed!

Estoy enojado

Yesterday I read an article that said the Florida legislator is proposing that all students from kindergarten thru second grade be required to take Spanish. The key word for me being, "required". Not offered but required. The school day wouldn't be any longer, and I don't believe there is any empty space in the current school day, so something would have to give. Math, maybe? Nope. They are talking about reducing or dropping art, music, or PE.

That's Awesome! Let's give up culture for learning someone else's language! (I sure hope you picked up the sarcasm in that line.)

If I still lived in Florida, I would be writing letters like mad. I propose taking the money they want to spend on this madness and using it to check work permits on the citrus farms. Check the guys working the sugar in the Everglades too.

Many schools offer English as a second language to students. Take some money and expand that program. They want to come to the United States, they should learn English. They aren't on vacation here. They are not tourists.

Learning a second language is a great thing for students, but do not offer only one choice, and then make that a mandatory class.

This makes me irritated. I have seen job applications offered in Spanish and English. If they can't read an English job application, then how in the F'ing world are they going to function in this friggin' job!?? None of the managers speak Spanish! 95% of the customers don't speak Spanish. Guess what, you can't work here unless you speak ENGLISH!

Sit Down!

Cari and I went hiking at Glassy Mountain. When you get near the end of the trail, there is a spot at the rock face that you can sit and look out. I call it the look out area.

It can be kind of scary up there, for me anyway, knowing that one slip and you are tumbling down to the trees below.

When we got to the look-out area, Cari was standing near the edge. She was looking out. I was standing a few feet behind her getting my camera out and putting down the backpack. Just before I went to join her, I dropped my bottle of water near the backpack. The bottle bounced just a bit and started it's way down the slope. Cari heard me say goodbye to my water and she lunged for the bottle! Maybe she wouldn't call it a lunge, but from my point of view, it was definitely a lunge. She took a step toward the bottle at her side and bent down a bit. The bottle was sliding fast and was gone by the time she took that step. For a second, I thought my wife was going to catch that water for me, when she got to the bottom.

"You sit down right there!", I yelled at her. She started to try and calm me down a bit, but I continued, "It's just water! Stop moving, just SIT DOWN!"

She sat down on the edge of a mountain, looking out at the fall leaves.

Food on a String

I really learned something during the week of Halloween. I learned that if you tie your kids' food to a string and make them try to get it without use of hands, that I would be entertained for a very long time.
(click this picture for a MOVIE)

We did this "game" at a Halloween party. I have now rigged my own food from a string above each chair at our dinner table. Some things are easier to eat from a string. A hotdog, is very easy to eat from a string. Apples, not so easy. Some things are difficult to attach a string to. Rice is not a good meal from a string, you tend to eat much more string, than rice.

Plans are in the works to put the dog on a similar feeding plan.

Ear Game

Randy loves to play games. He came to me asking if I would try a new game with him. Maybe I should have suspected some trouble based on his evil grin, but I agreed. After I sat on the floor and stood nose to nose with him, I was ready for the game. He said, "It's called the ear game."
Before I could ask how to play, he started the game.

He grabbed my ears and pulled them sideways away from my head. This did not seem like a fun game, but I let it continue. Randy said, "Now tell me ten trees that I know." The trick is that with someone pulling your ears off your head, it's hard to think of ten trees. I listed a couple, Maple, Oak, and Christmas as he counted my answers. Then we hit a problem. I said, "Birch."

"I don't know that tree.", Randy answered. Then he pulled harder on my ears. We were both laughing now, as I desperately tried to think of trees that a six year old would know.
After I answered the tenth tree, he released my ears. Quickly, he reached for them again in an effort to start round 2. At first I avoided being pulled into this game again, but he eventually caught me. The challenge for round two was to name ten things he knows that goes on pizza.

Ten toppings later, I stood up to keep my ears out of his reach. I don't think I could have handled another round at that time. Don't worry, I got revenge when I grabbed HIS ears and said, "Name ten banks that I know."

toothpaste

Why do I have to decide among the THIRTY TWO feet of retail space devoted to toothpaste? Some stores probably have even more if you count all the whitening products. I just want to brush my teeth. I need a toothbrush and a bit of toothpaste. The toothpaste does not have to have pretty pictures on the tube. It does not have to be three striped colors, it does not have to be in a pump tube.

I don't like to shop. I want to get in and get what I need so I can leave.

I don't want to live in a communist country, where my neighbor and I are issued toothpaste that we must ration for the next five years. Capitalism is awesome. I think it is great that Colgate and Crest can go out and make every stinking variety of paste. Sometimes we go overboard.

Air condition filters bother me more than toothpaste. They have an ENTIRE aisle devoted to air filters at Lowe's. There are so many sizes. Why can't the air condition manufactures get together and have some standards? No reason really, they choose not to.
Small, medium, and large filters will be your sizes. Then you will get to choose between good, better, and best filtration. You know what? I just took an aisle of product and reduced it to NINE ITEMS! Better for consumers because there will be less confusion. Better for retailer so they have more room for other products. The manufactures can help this. They don't want to help.

Is there a need for more than NINE types of toothpaste?



It's late. I'm going to go brush my teeth and get in bed.

Candy Day!

A few pictures from Halloween.

In our house, we had a PIRATE . . .
A PRINCESS . . .
and a . . . well, you figure it out . . .We started out walking around our block with a neighbor. We were doing just fine. Then the other neighbor pulled up. A truck pulling a flat bed trailer that was holding about six kids. We hitched a ride with them. The truck would stop in front of houses with their lights on and ten kids would jump off this trailer and run to the house. It was kinda funny to watch.

The result is what you would expect. Excessive amounts of sugar in the house. I'll be sure to do my part of getting it consumed.

Race Day: Atlanta

Cari and I went to Atlanta Motorspeedway for the Nascar race on Sunday. The first thing I need to tell you is that traffic was an absolute nightmare. We sat in our car for hours. A person could die sitting there so long. In fact there was a small cemetery along side of the road next to the track. That says something about their traffic. I am so sorry I didn't get a picture of it.

On the way to the race, the idiots on the radio kept telling us how bad one road was and how great traffic was on the NEW road. We were headed for this new road, so should be good. We had left the house with plenty of time to spare.
As we sat motionless on the new road, the traffic people on the radio updated their message, "Hwy 20 is backed up about 10 miles." So much for this great NEW road. Sitting still on the road made me bored and I got my camera out. Here are a few examples of my entertainment:

With a dish THAT big, the people
living here are certainly
stealing HBO!

Either that, or they have
launched their own
satellite. I already have
my application in
with the neighbors to
approve one like that for me.
I guess that's what you do for HD TV.



99% of Nascar fans are white.

99% of the guys buying
and selling race tickets
on the side of the highway
are black.

The two guys in this picture
are taking a break to count
all their money.



Frustrated with the tracks free parking lot, we went down the street to a small airport and paid $10 to park. We made it to our seat as the National Anthem was finishing and the airforce jet flew over the track.

We had good seats, and the race was good to watch. Not a lot of crashes, but there was some good racing going on for the top five spots. I took my camera, as always, and snapped about 80 pictures. We had a good view of pit road, here are a few pictures I got.
After we watched Carl Edwards to his victory back flip, it was time to go home.

Traffic at the track reminded me of an hour-glass. You take thirteen lanes of traffic coming into the track from all directions and funnel them into a single lane parking lot.

Traffic leaving was an equal or larger mess as coming in was. In over three hours we drove less than 10 miles. That is not an exaggeration. It takes no more than two and a half hours to drive to this track from my house. The race ended at 4:30 and we got home at 10:30pm.

I'm going to print out a map of the roads around the track and e-mail them a proper traffic plan. They obviously don't have one.

This was our fourth Nascar event, and fourth different track. When we decide where to go next year, it probably won't be Atlanta.

Yet another hike

The picture above is a small panoramic I made by stitching a few photos together. This was taken while standing about 3200 ft above sea level. Thankfully, they had a railing to hold onto.

Went for a hike yesterday morning. We were searching out a waterfall that I had not seen yet.

I've seen it now. I'll spare you the hour and twenty minute walk through the woods to find it. Even better, I'll spare you the hour and forty minute walk out as you climb uphill.This is Raven Cliff falls. From top to bottom, it is about a 400ft drop. You can see the leaves are starting to change colors up in the mountains. It was a beautiful sight.

It was cold, very cold, as we hiked. Finding something like this makes you forget how cold it is, for a few minutes.

Then last night, Randy and I went camping with the cubscouts. We camped at the Scout campground, so there were a lot of activities for us. The temperature dropped below 40, so it made for a rough night. Believe it or not, I left my camera at home for this outing. It seems I have pictures for everything I do, but I intentional left it behind for this camp out.

Randy and I had a great time last night. This morning was even better. He got to shoot bb guns and use a bow and arrow. His bb gun paper target survived without a scratch.
We also did fire building and hiking this morning.

I'm getting tired after yesterday and today, but the fun has not ended. I'm heading out early in the morning toward Atlanta. Cari and I will be sitting 56 rows up from the Atlanta Motor Speedway to watch the Nascar race tomorrow afternoon.

I must sleep now.

Glory of Cheese!

I found one of those books that leads people to Christ. At least I thought that's what it was. Then I started reading this eleven page book of Spanish. I have taken portions of this book and am going to translate for you, this story:

THE GLORY OF CHEESE!The skull and cross bones are there to prepare you for the scary story you will find inside.

The devil and Papa talk about this chunk of cheese as kitty watches over the mouse. The devil requests some crackers to eat with this glorious cheese.

The devil tells kitty about the delicious crackers Papa has. A bird flies in to witness this glorious cheese and the kitty inhales that small mouse.

The devil becomes angry when the bird flies off with the cheese, leaving him holding a single whole wheat cracker.

The devil begins to recount his days in Egypt. Back in the day of cracker worship. This is in the time before cheese. All the people of Egypt would bow down to the mighty cracker in prayer for a piece of cheese.

Papa was a very famous priest, praying to the cracker gods for cheese. When he learned about the power of Jesus, he sent all the people looking for him. "Jesus has the cheese!"

Papa sends people out in every direction looking for where Jesus would have hidden the cheese. As the day goes on, he squeezes kitty tighter and tighter.


In this final frame, Jesus' friend is tied to a stake and threatened to be burned. Papa demands to know about the secrets of Jesus Christ. The man at the stake is taunted with the mighty cracker, but that is not enough for him to betray Christ as he says, "no".



When I first turned the pages of this small book, I thought it was a joke. What in the world does following Jesus have to do with cheese and crackers? As I spent the next month translating the text, I realized that Jesus is the source of cheese to those with dry, wheat crackers.