Aunt Kari came for 3 days.

Holiday cheer

...having a fun time during these holidays.. Family came and brought loads o toys, etc for the twins... We are now kinda in a series of visits from friends (Brandy and AJ, Kari, Jessica and Jason, Erik, Jamie) and it is so nice to see old friends. To those who are far away who might be reading this... we miss you all. And now that the twins are reaching a more managable age to travel with, we hope to get out more this year to see you. And yes, that includes the Millers and the Keaslers (smile)

Erik and Jessica having a laugh.... he always brings a lot of laughter and joy to our house when he comes.

Brown and Rylee

Jessica and Jason stopped by. Always great to see them!!!!

What Does "Christmas" Mean?

The word "Christmas" occurs nowhere in the Bible. It is an old English word that means "Christ's Mass" which refers to the celebration of the Lord's Supper, i.e. the Mass. The earliest occurrence of the word on record is 1038 A.D. Christians at this time considered the Mass (Lord's Supper) to be the most important part of the celebration of Christ's birth, hence it came to be called Christmas.

See Francis X. Weiser, The Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs (New York: Harcourt, Brace, and Company, 1958) and Clement A. Miles, Christmas (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1912).

Quote of the day

Let There Be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me.
Let There Be Peace on Earth, the peace that was meant to be!
With God as our Father, brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brother in perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me. Let this be the moment now.
With ev'ry breath I take, let this be my solemn vow;
To take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally!
Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me!

Written by Sy Miller and Bill Jackson

An Embarrasment of Riches

it was an embarrasment of riches...but yet it wasnt embarrasing, or extremely rich. But it was thought provoking to me. The twins celebrated their birthday with a party on Saturday with one of their playmates from daycare, and 3 other kids. They got so much stuff, part from what they got from Jessica and me. Got got stuff from the grandparents, from Aunt Ellen, friends, etc....and it made me realize that they really have gotten more stuff in their lifetime than I EVER got. Period. And I was wondering if it is a good thing? And I think it is.... i guess I want my children to be better off than I was, although I was in a good position growing up. And I hope that my grandchildren will be better off than my children.

Jessica got a fire bowl from a couple of generous friends.... we sat outside until 1:30am last night around the Port-A-Bonfire...kinda was wondering last night if it shouldnt make it warmer around the old campfire, so to speak. Upon further thought this morning, I realized that since it was ...like....10 degrees!!!!!!!! outside last night, i think the fire was working overtime to counteract the extreme cold. It will probably fare better in the future when it isnt as severely cold. But it is cool...a ready made bonfire that we can place anywhere (within reason)

I have got to get our xmas cards out this week...been slack the past week.

Happy Birthday to Rylee and Ian

Happy Birthday to Rylee. Happy Birthday to Ian. Hard to believe that at 12:24 and 12:28 today, they were born 3 years ago. I say that because it seems like they have been here longer than that... and I can hardly remember a time without them in my life now. Oh sure, i CAN remember times when I didnt have to factor them into my life, but I think that times are far better now with them, than without. So now we delve into the world of 3T (well, Ian mostly, and some for Rylee), look forward to officially ending potty training and start pondering things like Dance lessons and piano.

not..a good night

last night, on my way home Jessica called me to tell that she was sick and that she thought Rylee and her had caught something Ian had had over the weekend. She said she was throwing up, etc.... I was feeling just fine, so I thought that I had not been affected. Well, once I arrived home, I almost immediately started to feel queasy, but soldiered on anyway, putting the kids in bath, then to bed, albeit early. Well, as soon as I go tthe kids in bed, it hit me. I started to have to throw up every 45 minutes or so.... It was not good. It sucks to throw up, then have to deal with perhaps having problems at the other end, as well. I ended up staying up most the night between spells, until I finally drifted off the sleep around 4am. By that time, both Rylee ans Ian had meandered into our bedroom, and we had all four of us in our king size bed. I had weird dreams once I got to sleep about Dale Ernhardt and perhps a small part of DNA being needed for some reason...I always have whacked dreams when I am sick...and I do not remember ANY dreams when I am well. oh, and by the way, Ellen called around 10pm asking us if we were sick, as she was sick too... well, once morning arrived, Ian and Rylee seemed to be doing better, and I think Jessica was better, but I am still pretty queasy and am sitting here at work tryin to make it through the day. I might try to leave early around noon and go home and try to sleep till Jessica and the twins get home.

So the jury gave that guy out west the death penalty...kept saying something about him not showing any remorse, etc.... excuse me, but....if you are claiming that yu are innocent, why would you show remorse. Now dont get me wrong..I think he's guilty, but I dont think his not showing emotion would have been a factor in my decision....

Wow..time flies

I didnt realize that I had not posted anything since wednesday... got my stuff for Jessica wrapped this weekend, got birthday stuff for Rylee and Ian wrapped... bought myself a little Compact flash reader to use on the computer at home so I can download pictures from there... but I will probably not post anything until the twins birthday later this week.

Braves making moves at the wintermeetings...looking like they are going to try to contend and rebuild at the same time...tis good....

Rylee refuses to go to bed last night...then comes into our bedroom and crawls into bed at somepoint, hten is all sprawled out and chilled out this morning. For some reason, she was reluctant to get up...got all upset and stuff... keep trying to tell them that they would be better served to go to bed when we tell them to...sigh...kids...tsk, tsk...

What do they say to each other?

While driving the twins to daycare this morning, I was struck as to how much Rylee and Ian talk to each other. And how much of it I do not understand still, despite the fact that they obviously understand each other. Oh, i can understand some sentences...about 60 percent of it. But there are times one will say something to the other, I havent a clue what was said, but the other will acknowledge, understand, and reply. What strikes me is that there will come a time in the future when they will be separated ( it is usual policy to separate twins in school )... and I ponder what will they think then? They have hardly spent a total of a day apart from each other for their entire lives so far. Can you imagine? Even though I am married to my wife, there have been times when we havent seen each other for a couple of days. Ian and Rylee have hardly gone a few minutes...ever in their 3 years, 9 months of existence...without being within shouting distance of each other.

...but what is equally interesting and amusing is to what them when one is upset about something, or especially when one is being scolded. For example, if Ian is upset or being scolded for not doing something right, Rylee will quietly chid Ian saying something like "Ian dont do that!" or kinda giggle at Ian...and you can clearly see the frustration on Ian's face as he whacks Rylee upside the head...in a "I may be getting yelled at, but you sure as hell aint going to make fun of me while it happening" sort of response. Of course, this causes Rylee to start bitching that Ian hit her, and I have to scold both of them, all the while knowing that Rylee had it coming to her..... of course, it happens the reverse way too....

Actualli, we went to the Greenville Zoo with Lynns kids on Saturday. Rylee was not a trooper, but she did liven up on Sunday.

Ian, in his usual pose.

another day, another dollar....

I have been tryin to get my 60 gig external harddrive to be recognized by my laptop. for some reason, it doesnt want to behave. Kinda sucks because that is where most of my downloaded pictures are, and I have one I need to print out and frame. But I still have time....

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"It is better by noble boldness to run the risk of being subject to half the evils we anticipate than to remain in cowardly listlessness for fear of what might happen." - Herodotus

FACT OF THE DAY
Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades - King David
Clubs - Alexander the Great
Hearts - Charlemagne
Diamonds - Julius Caesar

why is it?

Why is it that your kids will ALWAYS wake up at 7:30am on Saturday and Sunday, despite your wishing that they would sleep til at least 9:00am....running into your bedroom, crawling on the bed, and using it as a trampoline...???.... of course these same two kids cannot get up by 7:00am Monday through Friday without major fussing, crying, whining and arguing about "Can't Wanna!"

So, Barry Bonds says he didnt know they were steriods he was taking.... heh, heh...this is the same, notorious control freak who doesnt let anybody or anything control his daily life. Are you telling me that he would just use that stuff, and when he suddenly bulked up and started crushing balls out of the park at the age of 37, wouldnt suspect that something was up?...please....

ah...weekends here.

Its Friday! Going to see SpongeBob this evening with the twins. Not sure how they will react in that type of environment. But I am sure it will be fine for a while, at least. Then going to the Furman/JMU game on Saturday.... will take camera and snap off a few shots...

Ellen, Wes and Jessica...moments before I slipped and crashed into the creek....

Rylee as a Squaw (with runny nose)

We, Rylee and Ian watching Shrek 2

Ian and Papa on creek rock

Rylee and Ian waving from the creek

man...

...just getting into blogger has been problematic today...Ive tried to upload picture a couple of times.... but i will keep tryin...

spotty internet at FU today

...had spotty internet all day in the library today. Couldnt be online long enough to upload any Turkey day Pictures...will do so tomorrow.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking."
- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

It was a nice Thansgiving break. My family came on Thursday and then Jessica's family came on Saturday. Took pictures, but I left my camera at home, so weekend pix will have to wait till tomorrow.

Top things to be thankful for

Ah yes...Turkey Day is here.... here are the top Five things I am thankful for.

A) I am thankful for the job I have I have a great situation that allows me to do work, have fun and feel like I accomplish stuff on a daily basis.

B) I am thankful for my family and friends. My mother is the most absolute sweetest person to be on this planet. My friends, well... while far flung all over the country (except for a couple) are always near my heart, and I think about them all constantly.

C) Rylee... I can already tell that it will be extremely difficult to let her go one day. She seems to be that type of girl that will always pull on my heartstrings....

D) Ian... I sense that he is going to do great things, be it sportswise, Nascar wise or music wise.... and I know he is going to make me proud.

E) Jessica... I know I dont tell her that i love her enough... I know i dont show her overtly that I love her enough... But I do love her, and I am a far, far better person, and happier, because she is my wife.

Another quote.....

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"We want a lady in the street, but a freak in the bed."
- Ludacris

Quote

"Nothing is as good as it seems and nothing is as bad as it seems and somewhere in between lies the truth"
- Lou Holtz

Wow...no bowl.....

Both Clemson and USC are not going to a bowl. WOW.... i guess the fighting was worth it, huh? I guess being a "Man" was worth it, huh? I guess "keeping it real" was worth it, huh? sigh... "FOOLS!!!!!!!".....

...FOOLS!!!!!!!.....

...sigh....

....FOOLS!!!!!!......

Past weekend

Lets see... Went to game, saw some old friends... saw a fight at the bottom of the Hill inside the band.... saw another fight at end of game.... sat in traffic.... went to Dr. Spedes Honorary Ritual last night.... FURMAN kicks but again... #2 seed in playoffs.... now we are at Turkey Day week... got all xmas shopping done except for Jessica, and a couple of things for Jessicas dad and brother....

This is Kim and Jeremy. She is a Frat colonist. She is a dear friend who I just dont get to see as much as I wish I could. I decided to go ahead and post this picture even though she doesnt like pictures...

This is Claire Compton, a Frat colonist... and probbaly the best oboist I have ever had the priviledge of playing with...

There was a serious brawl during the USC/Clemson game...I have never seen anything like it... but I thought this picture is kinda cool... but still, those fools...sigh....FOOLS!!!!!....

I thought this was hilarious....

uh...29-7?

uh...brawls, winning...at least.

Can you imagine how this person feels?

FACT OF THE DAY
The Nike swoosh was designed by a Portland State University student, and purchased by Nike for $35.

FACT OF THE DAY
A 10-year-old mattress weighs double what it did when it was new because of the debris that's absorbed over the years.

Lets see.... USC/Clemson coming up...what joy!!!!.... still tryin to potty train the kids with spotty success. Lots of jockeying for positions at work, with the new CIO (Chief Information Officer) on board and some people a little nervous about their job security. I had my interview with him today and I am feeling pretty secure that my job is safe. But I get the feeling that some people are going to get moved around...and some people might not be here too much longer. That being said, i still must continue to perform at a high level, or else I might be on the chopping block too. But for now, unless I startr screwing up (which I dont plan to) I am 99.9 percent sure I am safe with my job. And as long as Susan is still around, i will always feel happy here at Furman... Xmas shopping all done except for a few things for Jessica, a couple of last minute things for Wes and Jessica's Dad, and couple of other things. I feel pretty good that Xmas is covered for now... except for maybe having to by a new Xmas tree since our other one seems to have become a casulaty of the flood. I tried to get it to work the other day and one of the branchs wouldnt light up... and it is supposed to light up even if one lamp is out....

back from the weekend

got back late last night from Florence... 3 nascar races in about 30 hours time... a lot of fun...but i think im nascared out until february.... I'll post a couple of pix and more comments on the weekend after i get settled in at work today

On task...

heading to Florence with the twins today. Will meet up with Jessica's parents, then head (hopefully) over to Darlington to see Nextel qualifying, Busch practice then the Truck race under the lights tonight. The only thing that might throw a kink in the plans is potential rain this evening and tonight. Then I am going to the Nextel race on Sunday, then coming home Sunday evening... kinda funny, I noticed that the local bus service was offering Free Shuttle Service to the race from Florence. In a moment of clarity, I picked up the phone and started to call that office and ask how much it cost.... I started reading the article again and realized that FREE usually means that there is no cost...sigh....

Tsk, tsk...sigh....

Every so often, I have someone rag me about my driving too slow, or not pulling out quick enough, or being careful when pulling into places while driving. I always say that I'd rather get their slower than not get there at all. Today, over near the Ga/SC stateline, a car with 5 people was hit by a train. All 5 people were killed. the lights were working at the crossing. 2 other cars beat the train by crossing over before it arrived. But the last one didnt. the train consisted of the engine and 2 other cars. It would have made them wait perhaps a minute for the train to pass. So, if they would have made it, they would have saved a minute. Instead, they are dead. Hmmmm..wonder if their friends, coworkers, family...whoever was at their destination would rather have them there a minute earlier or dead? Like I said...rather be later by a few seconds or minutes...than dead.

on another "tsk, tsk" thought...went to a "Reading to your kids is good" thingy last night at the daycare. They provided pizza, cookies and passed out info on the importance of reading to your kids everyday. Now, we read to our kids virtually everyday, so this is not the gist of my rant... but what i did notice was that I was the only male adult there. You mean to tell me that no other father could find the time to be there? Now I know that some legitimate excuses existed, but surely some guys were being slack asses. I am proud to say that I am always going to make sure to be a positive influence in my twins life, and that starts by at LEAST making an effort, even if it means getting off your ass and showing up for something that might actually bore you. I hope any beginning father ( and I know that some of my friends with kids a little behind me on the timescale read this at times) sacks up and does the right thing for their kids, at anytime possible. Of course, thinking about this makes me realize that I am happy to say that my friends who are reading this are probably all doing what they need to do to raise their children properly. and thinking further, I doubt that the people who need to be admonished for not doing things are sitting online reading blogs.... so...forget I even ranted about that. You guys are all doing what you need to do anyway....

National Security Issue?

Wow, you can get a picture of everybodies Drivers licence? Go to this link....

http://www.license.shorturl.com/

simply...interesting....

by the way,

...they announced the gametime for the USC/Clemson game as 12 noon. What is up with that? wow....

P Diddy's guest are, em, baring all

Tara Reid caused a stir last week on the internet.... here's the link for it....

http://lightbox.retna.com/retna/kf_TaraReid35thDress_1105/index.html

Kinda amusing.....

well, well, well....

..the Tigers come up big against Miami and win the damn game. Who would have thunk it? ...but I must admit that i thought clemson had a chance...and that if they held on and kept it close, Miami would start pressing, and perhaps fold...Miami didnt fold, but they sure didnt play well once it became apparent Clemson wasnt going to go belly up....

...trying to potty train the twins right now... sigh...not the most pleasant of times at home these days....

...Going to Darlington this weekend for the truck race on friday and te Nextel race on Sunday. Sould be lots of fun....

Dude...totally awesome, Man!

the trailer for Star Wars 3 is out online. I tracked that bad boy down, and have already watched it 6 times.... May 19th, baby...May 19th....

just thinking...

wanna know something really wierd to think about...?????.... Rylee and Ian will be approaching 7 (seven) VII years old when the next presidential election comes around.....wow....

Yo...Brown? Democrats want me back in the fold?...

...then this article tells them how to approach it. Of course, the current Dem leadership has its head in the sand, so i'm not worried about it...yet.

Democratic Values
How to start winning the red states.
By William Saletan
Posted Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004, at 1:15 PM PT

Hey, Democrats!

One silver lining in last night's debacle is that for another 24 hours or so, you might be open to rethinking what your party stands for. So, while I have your attention, here's an idea.

Go back to being the party of responsibility.

I'm not talking about scolding people. I'm talking about rewarding them. Be the party that rewards ordinary people who do what they're supposed to do—and protects them from those who don't.

If you think this kind of moral talk is anathema, you're the sort of person Karl Rove wants to be running the Democratic Party. Get out, or get a new attitude. Nearly 60 million people came out to vote for George W. Bush yesterday because they think that he represents their values and that you don't. Prove them wrong and you'll be the majority party again.

How? Start by changing the way you talk about pocketbook issues. Remember Bill Clinton's commitment to help people who "work hard and play by the rules"? Your positions on taxes and labor would be assets instead of liabilities if you explained them in moral terms. The minimum wage rewards work. Repealing the estate tax helps rich people get richer without risk or effort. Lax corporate oversight allows big businesses to evade taxes, deceive small investors, and raid pension funds.

Yes, Republicans will accuse you of waging a class war. I can see you cringing already. Get off your knees and fight. It is a war, but it isn't a class war. It's a culture war, and if you talk about it that way, you'll win it.

Some of you are dismayed by the emergence of a huge voting bloc of churchgoers. Stop viewing this as a threat, and start viewing it as an opportunity. Socially conservative blue-collar workers don't believe in the free market. They believe in the work ethic. Bush wins their votes by equating the free market with the work ethic. Show them where the free market betrays the work ethic, and they'll vote for the party of the work ethic—you—against the party of the free market.

What's your strongest issue among these voters? Outsourcing. Why? Because it's the issue on which you talk most naturally about right and wrong. It's also the issue on which you're most comfortable appealing to nationalism. That's another lesson you need to learn. People are voting Republican because they think you're weak. And, let's face it, you are weak. You say you'll defend this country, but then you go on about consulting other governments, cultivating goodwill, and playing well with others. You make a world full of terrorists sound like kindergarten.

Democrats in the Roosevelt-Truman years didn't have this problem. They called tyrants by their name, and they didn't sound like they were faking it. A party that believes in right and wrong at home must be assertive about right and wrong abroad. You need a serious antiterrorist agenda. Otherwise, when you object to a war like Iraq, you sound like the peace party.

I'm not asking you to act like you care about this stuff. I'm asking you to care about it for real, and not just at election time. When a Republican president runs a TV ad accusing you of failing to protect us from wolves, you should be able to point out that he's the one who emptied our shotgun into a fox, leaving us helpless against the wolves. And you should sound credible saying it.

Once you eliminate the sincerity gap between you and the Republicans on national security, you can exploit the reverse sincerity gap between you and them on responsibility. Think about the values of our armed forces: shared risk, shared sacrifice, and reciprocal duty between officers and soldiers, regardless of race or class. Those are your values.

When leaders betray troops through bad planning and false pretenses for war, that should be your issue. When Republicans cut taxes for the rich while the nation is at war and the Treasury is empty, that should be your issue. When soldiers from poor families die while corporations skim from the war budget, that should be your issue. I've heard John Kerry talk about each of these issues separately, but each time, he sounded opportunistic. To be powerful, they must flow from a common message. That message is responsibility.

All the issues Democrats like to run on—education, the environment, the deficit, energy independence—would be vastly more powerful if united under a single theme. Clean up your mess. Take care of your children. Pay your debts. Stand on your own two feet. It all comes down to responsibility.

The Democrat who talks this way most naturally is John Edwards. (I know, I've got to stop advertising for him.) He's the one who frames every issue in terms of values. He's the one who argued during the presidential primaries that Republicans were favoring unearned wealth over work. He's the one who connected Republican tax policies to make the point. You don't have to teach him the language, because he learned it growing up in one of those red states.

So, there's your candidate, and there's your message. Now go and live it, so you won't have to fake it.

William Saletan is Slate's chief political correspondent and author

Well, I made it...

...to work fine today, after staying up well after 2:00am. Missed the Edwards concession speech, errr, defiant statement that EVRY VOTE WILL BE COUNTED blather..... I understand the principle that everyone should have their say, etc and I agree with it totally...but come on now. Everyone with a clue knows this is over. Even once you count those other votes, unless they all are for Kerry, it wont over come the Bush lead... and there was all this knashing of teeth over what happened to all the newly registered voters. what happened to all the new black voters and young people.... I'll tell you what happened... the new black vote and new young vote didnt vote. Sure, the hardcore people waited in line. But I guarantee you that a lot of newly registered people showed up to vote, saw the line, and said "Screw that!, I'm heading to the Mall" ( or bar, or back home to nap, or whatever)

Wow..its late...

Ok, I stayed up till a little after 1 oclock. NBC just called Ohio for Bush, and he is fixin to take Alaska and New Mexico. I think the ole lady is warming up. I think I'm going to stay up and see this through to the concession speech, unless it drags out to the courts. I have very much enjoyed flipping channels, and especially seeing Dan Rather eat crow..so far. Also looks like Bush carries the popular vote as well.... not a clear mandate, but no-one can say that he didnt get the most votes now, either.....

but who knows.... while some are calling Ohio, CBS is refusing to call it, and I guess that is prudent. Dont want to repeat 2000.... and of course, Kerry/Edwards is saying that the networks are conceding Ohio too early, so I can see where this is heading.... sigh....

sinking feeling

Why do I have this feeling that despite a winner being called at some point in time soon with this Presidential election, that the loser will spend the next four years contesting, bad-mouthing and generally running down the winner. I certainly hope that someone...SOMEBODY...will be able to galvanize a clear majority with the Americans by the time the next cycle of elections. I dont really care if its Democrat or Republican. Well, actually, I think I do care, but it would be best if we could have a clear consensus at some point in time.

Almost there

tomorrow is election Day. THANK GOD ITS ALMOST OVER!!!. goodness, i am so tired of this stuff...all of it. Let's elect somebody, and move on... but of course, both sides are going to contest the election if they lose... sigh...

Put a couple of pix up below. Remember you can click on the picture to get a larger, clearer picture. That one picture of Rylee isnt as clear in its small form . It looks like smudges are on her face, when the actual picture shows the glitter she was wearing....

Falcons lookin good... Tigers lookin good... Panthers lookin...well, ...Falcons lookin good.

Halloween 2004.

Rylee as Princess Barbie

Ian in Trick or Treat mode. this was his usual demeanor.

Rylee and her Princess tiara

Aunt Brandy and Rylee. Rylee really likes to cheese it up.

wrap up

weekend wrap... went trick or treating with twins (pix later)... went to FRAT mini retreat.... cleaned up around house.... Watched Clemson game...had people over on Saturday afternoon/night... Today(sunday) i plan t watch the race and clean up the bedroom of random clothes, and get these halloween pics downloaded.

other stuff

i think perhaps the greatest tool invented by man is the.... leaf blower.

Hooked back up my wireless access point here in the house. i hadnt had it running since we moved, and I had forgotten how convenient it is to be able to chill out withthe CPu somewhere other than at the computer desk. Now perhaps i can sit downstairs with jessica and still be able to keep up with work email and even keep up with sports tickers, etc...

Tigers faced with a decent challenge on Saturday. I am interested to see how they fair.

uh...ice/sleet forecast for hell?

the Red Sox won the Series. I watched about 2 outs of the 4 games. Yippee....

Man, my son can be a tad bit moody. I think he gets a little bit of it from daycare, where he has become the oldest/biggest within his group, and he gets home and wants to have his way all the time and doesnt understand why when he wants something, it isnt automatic. so its."I can't wanna!!!!" all the time....

wow...now this is starting to get a tad interesting...

So...now it seems that the RUSSIANS!!! moved the Iraqi weapons in the days before the US entered Iraq. Good grief! this is starting to sound like a Tom Clancy novel.... at any rate, i cant wait to get up tomorrow and hear what ol Putin has to say about this one.....

Halloween!!!

they say the number 1 costume this year is Spiderman. And that the second is a Princess. I AM SO GLAD OUR KIDS WONT FOLLOW THE CROWD AND BE DRESSED LIKE THAT! THEY ARE GOING TO BE DIFFERENT! THEY WILL BREAK THE MOLD!!!!! THEY WILL FOLLOW THEIR OWN PATH!!!!

In other news... we are going to buy a leaf blower tomorrow. Awesome... those things kick butt.

Man this election carp is getting a little ridiculous. And despite my leanings toward Bush, I think it is safe to say that Kerry is way too obviously trying to court the dumb and stupid vote by repeating obvious midsleading statements, knowing full well informed people know he's full of crap, but that the idiots will take what he says a face value. of course, the same can be said for Bush....but, i think the absolute hatred and bias that has been demonstrated by the so called news media is a little shameful.....

oh, by the way...Ian is dressing as Spiderman and Rylee is a Princess for Halloween

Random

Lynn Sparks? Can you AIM me when you get a chance?

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Most people are more comfortable with old problems than with new solutions."
- Anonymous

FACT OF THE DAY
The most productive day of the workweek is Tuesday.

The freaking Bengals were on Monday night football? Wow, i remember when the Bengals were my favorite team back in the 80's.... when they would go 12-4 one year, 4-12 the next... but of course, I know pull for the falcons and the Panthers, who seem to do the same thing now....

and down the stretch they come!

8 days til election...FINALLY...I am tired of hearing about this stuff.....lets have the elections and get some winners and get a new set of stuff for the left wing wackoos and right wing zealots to complain about....

i think we have officially decided to have a Hallowen get-together here on Saturday night. I dont know how many people will come, especially since most of the people i know will be coming into town from elsewhere, etc. So , whoever comes by...cool. but i also understand if a lot of people cant come either. Babies, long drives,... whatever are the most important things right now...

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I've been to Canada, and I've always gotten the impression that I could take the country over in about two days." - Jon Stewart

FACT OF THE DAY
In the last 6 months, over 4,000 Americans registered to vote at strip clubs.

Weekend, again...

Ellen and Kenneth came to town again. stayed here. We went over to a fellow teacher of jessica's last night with the twins. Had dinner, etc...Tom actually taught me real quick how to play the bass quitar and I played Louie Louie with him on guitar and his son on drums. I have been wanting to learn how to play bass for a while now. i may try to pickup a cheap bass guitar somewhere and learn a new instrument.

Clemson wins in a squeaker. All these yahoos are calling into the radio and internet complaining about the game and the team. Dude, i'm just glad to win. Period. rather WIN 10-7 than LOSE 43-42 any day. But...while I like the Purple uniforms, the purple top/Orange pants combo does NOT work. gotta do one way or the other...purple tops, white pants (cool)...orange tops, white pants(cool)....White tops, Purple pants (real cool)...White tops, Orange pants (cool).... the rumoured Black jersey, Black helmet, with orange trim and purple piping for Halloween...way cool....

Not sure what is up today. Perhaps going to Mall somewhere.... meeting with FRAT tonight.

also, we're thinking about having a Halloween party on Saturday night for people who might be in town...

babysitting...

...had a couple of girls (young women?) babysit the twins last night from the FRAT. We havent had anybody except family, Brandy and Lea keep the kids so far, so this was sorta new in regards to that. But we trusted miriam and renata because they have shown maturity in the past and have experience dealing with their own family members of the same age. So we felt very comfortable leaving them behind.

So we went to Sobys downtown in Greenville for dinner. It was actually very nice, and the food/service was excellent. Jessica didnt like her crab cakes and didnt eat them, and they didnt make her pay for them, which was a 20.00 rebate off our check...which is always good....

it was nice not have to feel guilty asking my mother or jessica's parents to sit twith the kids while we went out for a change. Sometimes they should be able to not be babysitter at times....

Yankees go down in flames....ah yes...I agree...what price hubris?.... been there... remember the Raiders of recent past? the lakers recently?...yep.... done that...

Clemson girl in Playboy

Has anybody seen the current Playbot coed of the week? its a girl from Clemson. you can see the link at

http://www.playboy.com/on-campus/pictorial/biancajames/

warning, there is a little bit of, em, nudity.....

Weekend was ok...

Past weekend was OK. Went to game at last second, sat up in a box seat. Pretty cool...have food, dricks, etc. there for you. Was kinda cold though.... Saw several brothers..always good to see everyone doing well. Jessica's parents came up...Aunt Ellen and Uncle Wes came up...James Clemons dropped by... pretty typical Fall weekend...

Clemons drops by for a visit.

Kenneth and Aunt Ellen. They seem thrilled to be here.

TellyDawg (Wesley's Dog)

Uncle Wes

Rylee ans Ian playing out back

Rylee with one of her...let's see.... 4 barbies?

Doin rylee's hair... she doesnt seem thrilled.... come to think of it, she never is.

Rylee with finished hair....

Ian rollin....

Quote for the day....

"He that never changes his opinions, never corrects his mistakes, will never be wiser on the morrow than he is today." - Tyron Edwards

well, that was pleasantly surprising...

...meeting tonight went very well. I honestly think that a segment of brothers may have reached that point where they are starting to get ...IT. And this is really good news, for it will be another upturn for the chapter if i am correct in my observation from tonight. And what I believe will happen is that this group will bring the last MEP class with it. Some things got talked out and i think the future holds some good things....

..i have got to figure out what the deal s with the thingy on the side there. i will work on it during lunch. If i cant get it to clear, i am going to remove it....

This weekend brought better results sportswise, for a change....

I also took some pictures that i will probably wait till tomorrow to post up...

Here's a interesting link.

Here is an interesting link that we will probably all need come Election day. It explains how the elections and the electoral college works.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/special/president/electoral.college/more.html

Just how important is this fraternity stuff?

Back in the day, I was pretty involved in the FRAT. Still am, but as an advisor to the current group of brothers...but my involvement isnt nearly what it was when i was active, or a National Officer. i look at how life and death the current group makes EVERYTHING. I remember how we did the same thing...how slights, percieved and real, became so important that they clouded the true purpose and meaning of the fraternity. How one "they did this to me and i lost" turned into "i'm going to get them back eventually"... How pledges didnt become brothers simply because somebody got done wrong at sometime in the past. How people would profess to love each other, and not even try to show that love. how peope would talk about each other and what they were/were not doing and how that effected the fraternity. But somehow...somehow...never actually talked to the person who was doing the supposed wrong things.... about how people did really crappy things to fellow brothers, under the guise of bettering the fraternity. Dont get me wrong, the FRAT was all good far more than it was all bad. And it still is. The FRAT, its old version, and its newer version is awesome. But people take this WAY too seriously.

You see, people go to college to learn. There are so many arenas to learn at college. Leadership positions... student teaching... Co-op...the actual classroom.... but those are not the only places....Huddle House, Tiger Town, the Amphitheater, the Dike/levee...on long bus rides, trips to the Mall, late nights talking in the dorm.... parties at 4AM, or on AIM at 9AM...standing on a ladder in front of 80,000, or being one of the soldiers way out on the 35 yard line... being a section leader or just being... those are but some of the arenas for learning....then there is the FRAT.

if you are in the FRAT, you are offered so many avenues to learn things such as leadership... and also how to follow. you learn things like trust, and also how to communicate...and how NOT to communicate. Some people lead one way, some people lead another. Some people learn that they are effective. Some people learn that what they are doing is not being effective, and figure out what IS efective. Some people eventually get IT. Some people never do.... My outlook is that the college experience, and especially Kappa Kappa Psi is engaged learning. That it is an excellent training ground for so, so many things....

but you have to have perspective. And you have to learn at some point to look at the big picture, and not just at where the party is this weekend. Do you act like you are in the 10th grade, or act like an adult? Do you approach someone who is having a problem or you have a problem with ,take them aside and have a meaningful conversation? or do you lay in wait and drop the bomb on them, ruining not only a valuable experience for them, but your own experience?

Oh, i know how difficult it is to look down the road when you havent even seen the road to look down. been there.... but at some point, the best of the best have to. You gotta look at where this puts everybody. And trust me, if you dont you simply end up wasting a lot of time and 5 years down the road you are left wondering what might have been....

Over the past year i have seen so many babies born to people 5 or 6 years ago i was sitting in the circle with arguing over whether or not to let this or that person join our precious little band service organization. Or some other CRISIS of the week. I spent time at my little brothers wedding a couple of weeks ago. Not much, if all, was even spoken of the fraternity, but it WAS THERE. THAT BOND. you dont drive 13 hours for just anybody. She knew that, i know that. You dont even have to speak it. The FRAT is bigger than that. i spent time with another brother in the CITY. He bought tickets for me to see John Coltrane's son play tenor Sax in a little dive on Time Square. this is the same guy who once threw chairs in a meeting because he was having a coniption over some silly constitutional something or another...so insignificant that i doubt we could ever remember... he was the best man at my wedding and the GODFATHER of my son... The FRAT is bigger than that. It is everything, and it isnt. It is truly special because it is part of Music.

To simply blow somebody out of a position because you think they are a jackass is wrong. Especially if people havent sat down and talked with that person. especially if you havent walked up to that person and asked them if you could sit down somewhere quiet for 5 minutes and express your concerns with them. No one is perfect, and sometimes people need to learn from their mistakes. if you dont give people a legitimate chance to take criticism and change, then you havent lived up to the Oath that you took. If they are stil a jackass, then you have a right to tell them that they dont have to go home, but they got to get the hell out of here. But you gotta talk to them. You cant just say "here is a list of stuff you havent been doing, so you got to go, depspite the fact the the rest of us have been slack too."

oh i dont know...maybe the FRAT has passed me by. I am sure some of the current brothers think so. But i dont think so..but i do know that the FRAT was the basis for many changes that I made years ago...changes i feel made me a better person...not better than you, but a better person...not a perfect person, but a better person.

You gotta look at the big picture. And the big picture is that if you want to use this valuable learning tool and leave it for others to use, you have to use it for the betterment of yourselves and the band program. if you blow your trust out of the water, then in a couple of weeks...NO-ONE will trust anyone.

ah hell...what do I know....

recent sports tally

OK, the last round of games, matches, whatever of the past weekend was ...well...interesting.... Braves? Crash and burn....Tigers? the same.... High School team?Lost... Panthers? Lost... Falcons? Lost....Ohio State? Lost... Furman? Lost..... Dallas Cowboys? Lost....Oakland Raiders? Lost....Hell, even the Gamecocks lost. Anybody notice a trend here?

Perhaps a positive swing....USA beats Panama last night 6-0 in soccer.

And, Kristen gives birth to a healthy baby boy on Monday...gotta say thats probably more important than the aggregate losses my teams suffered...

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' -- the pig was 'committed'."
- Unknown

???

my little doodle pad thingy wont erase...i keep erasing it and the same virginia stuff keeps coming back. So..if you read that...substitute Utah state instead of Virginia. of course, the results will probably be the same.

Oh, and is anybody going to show some gumption and actually talk to the person? or do you have actually do something to warrant suspension for you to be popular? And i certainly hope that the Oath everyone took to work with people in office was taken..i mean, i thought I remembered hearing people recite it...sure as hell havent seen people following it. Have a problem with people, ya gotta go talk to them. if you dont go talk to them, then ya cant be acting as though you are better than them.

does anybody....

ANYBODY?...ever stop and stand up and ask?" why do we spend so much damn time dividing ourselves? "

sigh...

..my kids are cool. I have been blessed to have two seemingly healthy normal children..a boy and girl. but....

but... I think the terrible 2's might have arrived a year late. Constant noise, getting into EVERYTHING, running around screaming at each other, the "I CAN'T WANNA" response to any direction given. Its starting to get annoying, to say the least. But I cant really complain too much. It is indeed a blessing to have 2 children. And they do seem to be advancing normally.

but.... they sure can whine.

Come on now...

...a shooting at the Freaking STATE FAIR? what next? by the way, Braves pull out a nail-biter and get to game 5 tomorrow.

nothing can right a disaster

..of a sports weekend like an upset loss by the Gamecocks. I can hear Dixie playing right now.

well,

...i guess circling the wagons had its usual effect. destruction...offense has got to move the ball more. The defense is playing well, but cant be on the field all the game. Og well... at least the Braves pulled it out last night. our drunk driving shortstop put one out in the 11th....

a long day

today has been a strenuous long day.

Braves have salvaged a tie a the moment, but gopher ball Aphonseca is now pitching.... the outlook is NEVER good when he is pitching. NEVER.

Tiger kick-off momentarily in Va. night games there are never good...the drunk frat guys were always a problem.

...OK...Braves pull it out. Now, lets ee how Whitehurst perfoms tonight.

Rylee has discovered pizza

Ian...after pizza, and after haircut...the hair is itching him....

hair cut time....

Ian has decided that he now likes Pizza. Suddenly..out of the blue...pizza is now good.

Grand Central Station... oh the humanity.

Brown looking over menu at a cafe in Manhattan

Jessica and Brown in "the Village"

touring around the city...seeing the usual stuff....

The Chair dance thingy, part 1. Not sure what the proper Jewish name for this is. But it looked pretty fun. Jessica, Jason, the mothers fathers all got a turn.

Jessica doing her chair dance...its a Jewish Thang

a quick run down....

..of the past weekend..... dropped kids off on thursday morning at daycare and bolted out of town by 8:45am. arrived in New jersey by 7:00. ate dinner with Kristen and Michael and sat around talking til 11ish. Got up on friday morn around 6:30 and went to breakfast with kristen at a local diner. After breakfast, we took off for white plains, new york...arrived there around 11ish. room wasnt ready so we went to the big mall connected to the hotel and actually got some Xmas shopping done. Came back to hotel, checked in and chilled out till the rehearsal dinner that night. Did rehearsal dinner, then bolted for NYC around 10pm, arriving at a jazz club at 51st and Broadway (TIMES SQUARE) where Erik had purchased us tickets to see John Coltrane's son play. very good music... stayed there till about 2:am, returned to hotel...sleep by 3:15ish....AM

wake up at 10:30am friday morn...catch 11:56 express train into the city. Meet Erik at Grand Central Station...catch subway for lunch in the Village, catch subway back up to 5th Avenue...window shopped and picked up a couple of Xmas gifts. Back to Grand central where we caught the express train back to White Plains.... JUST IN TIME to catch the shuttle to the wedding site. Wedding was pretty slick, and there was an abundance of beverage and food. More than i have EVER seen at a wedding. It was a grand celebration, to say the least. botlted wedding just after the desert course was served and got to sleep by 1:00am...woke up on Sunday morn around 7:30, go tpacked and car loaded, met Jessica and Jason at their morning brunch, then bolted White Plains around 9:20am...arrived back in Easley by 10:10pm

Up for work at 630am Monday morn....

I have a few pix, as i have mentioned and I will post those tomorrow when I get my cable in my office. It was a fun weekend, and a very tiring weekend. Its 9:00pm right now and i think Jessica and I are heading to bed....

sorry no pix yet

...my download cable for my diggy cam is in my laptp bag, which is at work.... I will have to post them all tomorrow by mid morning.

...

back in town..finally....

whew... 12 and a half hours yesterday. New york, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina...and FINALLY, South Carolina. That was a haul. Not as long as my 16 hour drive from Stillwater Oklahoma a couple of years ago, but it gets more difficult everytime. I have picture, etc... but I need to get caught up here at work before I dicker with this anymore....

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Never explain -- your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway."
- Elbert Hubbard

Sometimes wonder just where the kids are heading. Still too early to figure out, but...Ian certainly seems to be moved by music. Put any song on and he immediately starts singing Or what we would call dancing. But Rylee doesnt react the same way. She certainly has shown an ability to memorize theme songs and jingles remarkably well. But she doesnt seem to be a internally affected by music as Ian does. I just hope this doesnt have a negative affect on his draft pick status....

No flooding

creek bowed up and all last night, but it didnt get all wild and come in the house or anything....

into last minute preps for the weekend trip to NYC for jdean's wedding. Talked to Brown yesterday and made plans to hookup with him late Friday evening. Going to do some Xmas shopping in NYC with Brown possibly on Saturday midday. Rehearsal dinner Friday night and wedding Saturday night. Seeing Avolio on Thursday night/Friday morning. get back to Easley late Sunday night.

oh goodness, started this at work a while ago, then got busy ..working...

more later

well...

...once again...ANOTHER hurricane...and once again, I am sitting here waryly eyeing the creek every 10 minutes or so. Doesnt seem like its going to get out of hand, but I keep eyeing it. I have my immediate plan of action this time, with a stop gap solution for the garage as well.....

While i am not a huge country music fan, some songs just strike me as downright pure artistry.... there is an excerpt from one...

Cause I'm a redneck woman
And I ain't no high class broad
I'm just a product of my raisin'
And I say "hey y'all" and "Yee Haw"
And I keep my Christmas lights on, on my front porch all year long
And I know all the words to every Charlie Daniels song
So here's to all my sisters out there keepin' it country
Let me get a big "Hell Yeah" from the redneck girls like me
Hell Yeah
Hell Yeah

gretchen wilson....A classic blues riff, in country mode with the usual guitars, steel guitars and a violin thrown in... lifted straight from the cotton fields of a 150 years ago, but pure genious.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Happiness isn't getting what you want, it's wanting what you got."
- Garth Brooks

well, I guess i had it coming

I was tired last night, and when the Braves got down 7-5 last night going to the bottom of the 8th inning, I gave up and went to bed. well...seems like minutes after I had fallen asleep, the Braves score 3 runs and CLINCH THE DIVISION!!.... AGAIN.... and i missed the celebrations and all that. Im kinda annoyed.

today, the Tigers have Fla State on the docket. it doesnt look good. then Virginia looms...looks even worse.....

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Either you're part of the problem or you're part of the solution or you're just part of the landscape."
- Sam in Ronin

Kitty Cat

So Cat "Morning is Broken" Stevens tried to sneak back into the USA... but seems like we are saying..."You dont have to go home, but you need to get you ass out of here"...kinda funny, as he is acting all shocked. I know that if I changed my name to Allah Rahimizah Muhammed, I could expect a little bit of a problem getting back into the US should I be stupid enough to leave. Especially if I was famous, and was known to be involved (albeit indirectly) with known terrorist factions... had couple of good songs back in the day... got an album coming out with his greatest hits soon...How's that Muslim stuff working out for ya financially? heh, heh... I bet some Capitalist money in your pockets will help you out right now, huh?

anyway, thats kinda funny considering I'm sitting here in my office with a wool skull cap on (its frigid in my office and I dont feel like turning on my space heater) and have the Black Muslim look going....

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Good judgement comes from experience. Sometimes, experience comes from bad judgement."
- Jim Horning

ah...nothing could be better

There is nothing better than having your kid throw up all over themself and their carseat a few minutes away from daycare. Nothing.

...except when BOTH of them throw up all over themselves and their carseats (and your back seat)

for those of you who only have one kid to deal with...you just have to count your blessings. those of you with more than one know the drill.

Of course, I wouldnt give away one of my twins for anything. But when both do something like this, its a little frustrating. Especially when you have to be at work.

what in hey?

where did summer all of a sudden go? Dont get me wrong... I am a Fall type of person. But, I also prefer a gradual change. Not the 92degree one day, 55 degree next day sort of thing. I like it when it cycles down through a bunch of 70 degree days before dropping into the 60's early October. Plus Fall is a great time to lower that power bill real good. No AC, No heat.

desperation?

I used to consider myself a Democrat. I think kinda started going toward Independent when Al Gore started ranting and raving and the rest of the party started their shrill yelling and whining after the last election. Right now, i am ashamed that I ever even considered myself Democrat. The blatant desperation and bias of some people who call themselves Democrats is silly. Notice that I said some. CBS is so blatant in their bias. Dan Rather? please? I wish the leadership of the Democratic party were people I could feel would act in a respectable manner. Good Grief.

Random?

Tigers at 1-2, with 1-3 looming. I wonder how soon before the "Tommy must go" yahoos are going to start up again?

Got the Tile in the Kitchen down. Got a couple more days of work, then we have to tthink about the back deck.

on my way home last night from Clemson, i took the back way. And I was struck at how much that made me remember the ole days... Clear Fall nights with a quarter moon. I rolled down my window and could smell people burning fires.... I always loved when I got to go play on nights like that. I guess we are all getting old.

I was also struck this past weekend at how it kinda sucks when all the people you would do anything with are either 4, 8 or 12 hours away, or married. Not that being married is bad, but it does change how things work, and i have no expectations that people will just drop whatever they are doing to go hang out at the spur of the moment. But it does sorta suck. SOmetimes I just wish there people that I could go grab a beer and watch the game with. And yes, i know Jessica would gladly go with me, but I dont want have her think she has to go simply because, especially when she could care less about any particlar event. I'd ask her to go with me to a Braves playoff game, and I know she would gladly go if asked, but would she get anything out of it, outside of simply being there with me? Sorta like if she would have wanted me to go to a Enya concert. i would gladly go, and I would probably be interested, but I would think she would have a better time with another Enya fan. at any rate...i ramble. by the way, I've been to a couple of Braves games with Jessica, and I know she had fun, so that was probably not the best of examples....

looking forward to driving up to see Jessica Dean and her wedding gig. Will get to see Kristen and Brown as well during the weekend. Kristen should be a bout ready to explode with her kid the way she looked when I was up there in July. And I hope Brown has an itenarary planned (snicker) ...oh let me guess, some local dive(bar) with a pretty bartender... actually , that would be interesting, as things seem to be somewhat different since my last foray into Gotham City.

ahhhh so, Dan Rather and CBS got duped? yeah right? how about more like "we wanted to get Bush so bad we just did whatever we could do" at any rate, CBS is toast for a while...no credibility for them for a while.

at least the braves are winning

you know, kinda sitting here watching the Tigers look kind pathetic on TV. at least I dont get too worked up about these fools anymore. If i did, i'd be really upset. I think having kids has taken a little of the urgency concerning any sort of sporting team and event. except maybe the Braves.

But, there are some problems with the team. Offensive line problems are probably where it is all starting from.... and those guys are freshmen and walk-ons... last year when the team gelled, it coincided with the offensive line getting good. then several of those guys graduated.

oh well...

not sure if the fuddy duddy comment is directed at me, or someone commenting on themselves.... well, if it is, so be it.

what the hey?

So since Jessica and the twins are in florence for a couple of days, I decided to swing by the mall for a few minutes today. Can someone explain to me just WHAT the kids of today are wearing? College girls have more clothes on than these girls...what is up with that?

didnt spend any money, but did manage to narrow down a xmas gift or two for future consideration. then came home and watched the Braves, cleaned up the bedroom and tried to iron some clothes. then i watched the Yankees implode vs the red Sox on ESPN and had a quiet chuckle on behalf of my esteemed friend in New York. this of course prompted me to get out the Grundig and pick up the AM out of New York and listen to the Yankees fans on suicide watch. Another quiet chuckle.....

Rylee being cheesy.

ALL time blunder

was it just me, or did that dude on The Apprentice last night really, really, really screw himself over as much as I think he did? As soon as he said that he would give up his immunity and go to the boardroom, I knew it was OVER for him. And Trump set out after him immediately. didnt matter that the two women were screwups...it mattered that he had taken a decided advantage and threw it away. guess what?...he got fired. and he seemed like an early favorite to win. tsk, tsk...too bad.

Creek didnt rise like the last big rain event...kinda rose up like it used to. Got all loud and stuff, but that was about it. The wind was pretty stout at times, though. But Im not sure if I would have noticed it much had I not been so tuned to listening for rising water. So, I am certain that the flood of last week was a freak, once every 50 year, type of thing. stillleft a whole lot of branches and, of course, leaves...everywhere. I may have to break out the ole leaf blower tomorrow.

I have managed to avoid sports talk and espn since the Tigers took the gaspipe last week against GaTech. I will end the moratorium beginning tomorrow at 11 with College Gameday. Hope the team comes through on the road

little green men

Chris Collins sent a link to ORGs today. While Im skeptical, it was interesting. I am not a big conspiracy theorist, but I do also like to know other points of view, and perhaps their might just be an inkling of truth in there somewhere.... but what i thought wierd was this little tidbit that i found on an associated link that follows....

9/11 Baseball Coincidence

by Kevin Todd

Saturday's game between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets had more connections to the tragedies of 9-11 other than the fact that the game was in New York, was played by teams representing two states that were hit in the attacks, and featured a ceremony remembering the tragedy three years to the date.

After the first nine innings the visiting Phillies had nine runs on 11 hits. After the same nine innings the host New York Mets also had nine runs on 11 hits.

The two teams played four additional innings, one for each plane used in the attacks.

And when the game was over, the final score was New York nine and Philadelphia 11. The game also featured three errors. Philadelphia committed two errors equal to the number of planes that hit New York. New York committed one error equal to the number of planes that hit Pennsylvania.

a little slow

Yes..I know...not much being said right now...I'm really busy at work with 2 buildings getting new equipment installed and classes starting, etc.... plus, I have been somewhat sick and heading to bed early everynight...I will probably post more this weekend... if not tonight

ok...

..this hurricane thing might be getting a notch ridiculous.... just a bit....

a parable.....

Lessons from Geese

Fact 1: As each goose flaps its wings it creates an "uplift" for the birds that follow. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.

Lesson 1: People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

Fact 2: When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front of it.

Lesson 2: If we have as much common sense as a goose, we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.

Fact 3: When the lead goose tires, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies to the point position.

Lesson 3: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each others' skills, capabilities, and unique arrangements of gifts, talents, or resources.

Fact 4: Geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

Lesson 4: We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is much greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one's heart or core values and encourage the heart and core of others) is the quality of honking we seek.

Fact 5: When a goose gets sick, wounded, or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then, they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock.

Lesson 5: If we have as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.

Flooded floor, carpet runied....

new floor in den..furniture still in awray

well, well, well...

...ah..seems like Dan Rather just doesnt want to admit that he might have been duped by someone. using forged documents for a major story? and then CBS acts like they are above reproach? now WHO is being biased?

sigh..

probably NO sportstalk all week now...the 29 doesnt get in the final 10...and the Tigers punt snapper takes the gaspipe, and the team with him. oh, and lets not let Tye Hill get off easy either... wel, i need to get work done anyway...

goodness

normally, i dont talk trash about another marching band because, being a band guy myself, i know the amount of work that goes into the gig.

But.... The Miami University band is horrrible. there is no way around that. And it probably has a lot to do with the fact that the music school there is geared toward Graduate level musicians. but...on tv, they sound....retched.

Something to ponder....

I actually stumbled across this the other day. I thought it somewhat provoking.

<>
I've learned that men and women treat friendship differently, and I believe this distinction extends even into co-ed friendships. Most of this has come from discussion with my mother, who is always amazed that Alex and I never seem to know what's going on in our friends' lives, yet we remain steadfast in these friendships. Here is the difference as I see it: Men tend to bond on a level that runs deeper than language; the link extends not above, but below conscious appreciation. Men are friends simply because we are. Women, on the other hand, seem to define their friendships much more discreetly. They know what they like about each of their friends and why, and they can tell you if you ask them. (Please correct me if this is not the case) Perhaps it has to do with the more verbal nature of the female gender, or perhaps it hs more to do with a sixth sense men have about each other. I don't think it really matters, it's just the way God saw fit to design us.

directive.blogspot.com

the aftermath....

Power washed the driveway, deck, and the garage. CHECK!
Totally cleaned out the flooded garage, and got rid of a lot of stuff, and replaced it. CHECK!
Checked washer, dryer and HVAC. All working. CHECK!
got water out of kitchen CHECK!
pulled up carpet from den. CHECK!
Cloroxed Concrete in Den. CHECK!

so far, so good.... putting in new flooring over the weekend, replacing tiles in Kitchen as well. The deck seems to have floated, and that is why it is slightly catawhompus right now.

The Great Flood, part deux...

...spent most of my morning clearing stuff out of my garage, and power washing the driveway. The water damaged the back deck, shifting it over a enough to mess up the steps. we will have to jack up the deck to replace the steps properly. Carpet is shot. Wet vac'd the kitchen and got up most of that water. Fortunately, the basement (den, kitchen...whatever) is actually sitting on concrete, so we dont have to worry about lingering water damage and the walls are concrete blocks as well. the only thing that really sucks is that most of the stuff in the garage is toast. I think our Christmas tree might be toast too, but all our other decorations were up on shelves. Havent dared to try the HVAC yet...probably need to let that dry out first....

from the THAT COULD NEVER

HAPPEN TO US!... Department. Well, it flooded our kitchen, den, garage... i mean like, WEATHER CHANNEL, NEWS AT 11 flooded... this is going to be a major pain in the ass. Im sitting here right now on the second floor looking out at the River HADES and seeing that it is now subsiding. i can see the steps to the back deck (i.e., door to the den) now.... but the rain has picked back up... i anticipate a long night hoping that it doesnt get to much higher. I was able to move the stereo upstairs and put most stuff on top of our furniture. I hope it doesnt get THAt high. But, i didnt think it would actually flood here, either. So, All my hope are getting squashed tonight....

Seems like a freak thing where the rain is moving straight up the mountains, meaning that all the rain is piling on top of each other...sigh... our next door neigbor had his 2 prize Z-28s have water OVER the top of the car. As in, you couldnt see the car anymore.

I guess it was time for a little rain (sic) to fall into our lives. We've been very fortunate so far. Now, lets see how we deal with adversity.

Adendum: Spent the night at Lynns last night. Carpet is ruined. everyhing in garage is probably toast as well, including washer and dryer. My efforts to put towels around the doors probably saved us somewhat, as water only seeped in around those sots, depite the watermark being at a foot and a half up the side of the doors. Seems like the water pipe/bridge got blocked by something or another, and water just suddenly backed up from there. The neighbors lost everything.

and i guess it has rained..

looking out from my bedroom, I see that the little creek that is so "cute" normally has the look of the Colorado river right now. I am....concerned enough to move my car back up the driveway in case stuff starts sliding into said colorado river, although I think we got about 3 more feet to rise before it gets to the level of the yard, so to speak. But it is pretty impressive... and impressive enough for me to ponder just what will be staying downstairs for the future. The Garage, kitchen, livingroom, 1/2 bath are downstairs....But it would have to be a Noahs ark type of flood for it to get up to coming in the house....

By the way, it was nice to sit outside last night and pick up 880 out of NYC and listen to the Yankees game. Although Im not a huge Yankee fan, they do interest me. Of course, to sit outside tonight would mean instant drenching....

goodness...why dont it rain some.....

....a LOT of rain today....good grief...

I know its been a few days, but Ive been busy at work, and at home too...

I will get back on track tonight when I get some time at home.

surprise

yesterday, when I got home i saw a package sitting on the table. I thought it was a xmas present that I had ordered for Jessica, so I kinda didnt bother with it till later. Then, when I had some free time, i went over to open it.... Well, I noticed that it was addressed to both Jessica and Jerome, so I thought that odd. come to see that it is something from Jessica Dean, a cool set of candles from Illuminations, one of my favorite stores... 29 days left for jdean...

Labor day weekend coming up. And I finally get to sleep in until at least 7:00am tomorrow, Sunday and Monday. WOW!!!

JOKE for today and this weekend.

A Jewish student was doing well in school, except for math class, so his parents decided to send him to a private Catholic school.

While there, the boy came home from school and studied every day. At the end of the semester the boy got straight A's. So his parents asked him, "What motivated you to do so well in school?"

He replied, "When I saw that guy nailed to a plus sign I knew they weren't fooling around!"

Ian and Rylee

Rylee sporting her "natural" look...i.e., the "i didnt go anywhere so i didnt do anything to my hair" look.

Ian wanting to measure how tall he is...

the creek (rapids) running through the backyard..its kinda sedate normally, but when it rains, its like a river....

This is the back of our house, from the creek...its the back, but it is the way we enter the house normally

Kobe, email, pixs and BRAVES!!!

well, well, well... in the words of the great Erik Leotious Brown...the chickens have come home to roost...or something like that. All charges dropped against Kobe. Heh...go figure. Imagine that. I wonder what all the people who automatically assumed he was guilty of raping that girl ( lets see, virtually every chick I talked to about it) now have to say..now that the facts of what this girl was doing leading up to, and immediately after the events of that night. And imagine that...she doesnt want to get on the stand and testify...But...she is willing to testify in the civil case? cha-ching!$$$$$$$ (before you girls start screaming, I KNOW he did have sex with that chick, and i NEVER said he wasnt an IDIOT)

seems our charter email accounts got screwed up when we moved our service. i spent 45 minutes on hold tonight only to have them tell me that they WILL get them re-activated, but it will take a while, or something like that.... sigh.... that means Jessica's email is screwed up, for the most part. i will still use my FU email as my mail address, anyway

I have a few pictures that I will post above. a couple of the house, and some recent kids pix...

by the way, this hurricane closing in could be a big one...wow

still a little sick

Ian's still got a fever, although not as bad as it was yesterday. However, Jessica had to stay at home with the kids today. Kinda sucks. I am hoping he feels better this evening, and also hoping Rylee doesnt catch whatever he has, else I will probably have to take my turn at home tomorrow if they dont get better.

Braves are clicking along... you just gotta feel good about their chances at making the playoffs again. Sept 1 mark and 8 1/2 games up. I just dont think they are going to fold.

I took a couple of pictures of the house this morning as I was leaving. I will try to get some time here and post them today. probably more like around 5 is when I will be able to do that.

Why do all the girls want to date the Alto players? A: They are so SAXY!

ah..sleep is good

went to bed at 10:15...feel very good this morning. However...Ian does not... has quite a fever, and I absolutley have to go to work today. So I must take him with me. I dont think he will be a hindrance.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech."
- Martin Fraquhar Tupper

oh, and I forgot...

The twins had a problem getting up this morning...especially Ian. He was dragging something fierce. I think we might have to consider moving up their bath/bedtime from 8:00, 8:30ish to perhaps 7:30ish. I think that might would allow for a little more time for Jessica and I to have some sanity before we go to bed at night too. I also think I am going to officially set my weekday bedtime to 10:00pm. I feel so much better in the morning when I get that extra hour or so of sleep, especially since we are having to wake up a 6:00am now...

by the way, did you see that dude tackle the leader of the Marathon (a mighty fine chocolate bar if their ever was one)? What the hey?

no pictures

yes, yes, yes...I know I said I'd drop some pictures in of the house, but I just didnt feel like fooling with the camera this weekend. I will attempt to take some this evening, if it doesnt rain.

Speaking of rain, it again pounded the coast again...some sort of sneak attack Hurricane/Tropical storm hit the coast yesterday and dropped a ton of rain and caused some power outttages down that way. I hope our friends down there are doing OK!! I must admit that the upstate is pretty damn good about weather. Never too rainy, too hot, too cold, too tornadowy, too whatever for any length of time.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Get the facts first. You can distort them later."
- Mark Twain

The King is dead...long live the KING!

...ok...before I go into my rant.... i must comment. The way those fools celebrated after the game is only going to insure about 10 more years of ass whoopings from the USA basketball team in the future. They were doing some sort of Greece Stomp at center court... sigh... but, you cant say too much more right now. They were the better team today...they win. You take your medicine, suck it up, play taps, give props, keep your mouth shut...and FIX THIS SHIT!!!!!!

This team was awefully flawed. And sheer talent alone isnt going to win now. not with only 3 weeks to prepare for teams that have playing together for 3 or 4 years. TIME TO GET A NATIONAL TEAM THAT PLAYS YEAR ROUND. Something like what USA soccer does...you know, got a National game coming up, you call up Kobe, Kidd, Shaq, Duncan...WHOEVER, and you go take cae of business.

now, that being said...we have to have a group of players that plays together ALL THE TIME. So, maybe the KOBE, Shaq, WHOEVER solution might not hold quie true. You might have to hold tryouts...offer a damn good salary and say that these guys are the NATIONAL team. Get them together a year out and they play exhibitions against the NBA, college...Globetrotters up until the Olympics... Wait...maybe, we should send the Globetrooters..Hell, those guys can play!

Anyway, I cant say I faulted the effort of the team recently. The coaching seemed solid too. But...ony 1 big man? no spot up, white guy, dead-on shooters? I blame the NBA and the selection comittee. Man..I'm bummed.

And I am just a little peeved because i suspect racist motivations as to the outcry publicly against this team. Seems like if we had others there, people would have been with these guys. Instead, we send not our first team..not even half our second team, these guys compete...and they lost. USA aint that much better any more than everyone else. Sorry.

sigh...I bet this causes changes in how we approach basketball on the International level. And I bet you see total domination at this level again for another 10 years until the world catches up...again.

of course, they still lost. They still got outplayed at times...and I dont think the players understood what they were up against...until it was too, too late.

Damn...this is sad.

Taps....

TGIF

Today, they are doing some sort of something or another in the Library, and there is this obnoxious smell. I mean...ob...noxious.

I hope to be able to get a lot more settling in this weekend by going through the stuff in the garage. That way we can go from the "livin out of boxes" feel we still kinda have in some rooms.

seems like a little terrorism is going on in Russia...2 planes go down within 4 minutes of each other? hmmmmm.... of course, there is a muslim group that is claiming responsibility. You know, if i was a normal muslim person, id be seriously thinkin about my religion right now. I know that 99.5 percent of muslims are peaceful and want to co-exist with everyone. But those yahoo extremists cranks must sure be making people feel uncomfortable to be muslim these days.

Point to ponder

You see, EriK?.?.?...you dont HAVE to make it as a point guard for the Knicks...you can be whatever you want tobe.... Joe Cool, an draftsman, a designer, a pimp...whatever...

Are There More Professional Black Athletes Than Black Professionals?
While many African American children may be influenced to believe that a career as a professional athlete is more within their reach than one as a doctor or lawyer, the truth is exactly the opposite. Records indicate that in 1990 the amount of professional black athletes, meaning the combined total from all professional sports, was only 6,862 (9.4% of all pro athletes). It's a relatively low number when compared to the number of black professionals, which includes physicians, lawyers, doctors, and dentists. In 1991 there were 2,300 black dentists alone, 17,250 black physicians (3% of all physicians), and 25,700 black lawyers and judges combined (3.4% of the total). Although less glamorous than athletes, these professions proved to be much more promising for black youth, as well as within their reach and beneficial to their communities.
Nearly ten years later the chances for black youth to become professionals is only increasing. As black athletes have become more prevalent in sports besides baseball, football, and basketball, their numbers have increased as well. In 1999 the number of black pro athletes had risen to 20,900, and they comprised 19% of all pro athletes. However, the number of black professionals had skyrocketed. In 1999 black physicians totaled 41,000, and are now 5.7% of the total. The number of black judges and lawyers had swelled to 50,100, almost double, and they now compose 5.2% of the total.
---africana.com

Clothes

..its been a while since I have even pondered clothes for the twins. Kinda weird because I remember having a hard time believing that the 2T stuff was actually going to last a year. They had grown so fast (especially Ian) that I thought that certainly those converse hi tops would not last till May, let alone September. Well, now for the first time in a while, I can see some of the clothes starting to get a tad tight on Ian. No panic trip to Walmart yet, but I suppose its time to ponder the Fall lineup of clothes for the twins....

Team USA taking care of business today. Got to the semi's... still reserving commentary till the team either wins gold, or gets eliminated.

and, of course, Braves win.

hmmmm

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Read not to contradict and confute, not to believe and take for granted, not to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider."
- Sir Francis Bacon

ah...Braves come back and take the victory last night...

just thinking..

driving into work this morning, I just got to thinking back to what it used to be like every morning getting ready for school growing up...wake up at 6, on bus by 6:45..etc.

man, things used to be sooooo much simpler. I wish I knew how good it was then.....

Sometimes it feels like this world is spinning faster
Than it did in the old days
So naturally we have more natural disasters
From the strain of a fast pace

Sunday was the day of rest
Now its one more day for progress
But we can't slow down
Cause more is best
All in the process

But I miss Mayberry
Sittin on the porch drinking ice cold Cherry --- Coke
Where everything was black & white
Pickin on a Six String
People pass by and you call them by their first name
Watching the clouds roll by
bye bye

Sometimes I can hear this whole world stopping
Through the trees as the wind blows
Thats when I climb up here on this mountain
And look through God's window

No I can't fly
I've got to be
To get me high up here
Far from the noise and city streets
My world receives the peace

But I miss Mayberry
Sittin on the porch drinking ice cold Cherry --- Coke
Where everything was black & white
Pickin on a Six String
People pass by and you call them by their first name
Watching the clouds roll by
bye bye

Sometimes I dream I'm driving down an old dark road
Not even listed on the map
I pass a dad and his son carrying a fishing poll
But I always wake up everytime I try to turn back

But I miss Mayberry
Sittin on the porch drinking ice cold Cherry --- Coke
Where everything was black & white
Pickin on a Six String
People pass by and you call them by their first name
Watching the clouds roll by
bye bye

- Rascal Flatts