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

Quote of the day

Ain't nobody talking about nothing. Everybody's talking about the same old things. It's a perfect road for me — this is like a varsity dude coming back to play JV.

-Mase

Big league popcorn chew

So...Ian's eating popcorn, and finishes his bowl. of course, he wants more, but is denied a second bowl (i.e., bag) of popcorn. i notice that he has even done away with the unpoped kernels. No problem, we think. Move ahead to bathtime, and I'm drying him off. notice that he seems to still be chewing on something. I ask him to take whatever he has out, and he takes it out...its the popcorn kernals...seems he's been using them as some sort of chewing tobacco substitute, getting that hit whenever he wanted some more wintery movie popcorn flavor. He even had his speech effected when he tried to sppek...kids funny.... i think.

Rylee posing for camera with chocolate on her face

Ian is a little confused

Ian and Rylee being cheesy

well, Kappa Beta...the tenth edition....

First official meeting tonight. Went pretty well...big snafu involved meeting time... GO figure, couldnt see that one coming, did we? The usual time was selected, with discussion regarding several creative meeting times...which would work if they really thought brothers would willingly come at those times. There was only one brother who couldnt meet the time, due to a work conflict. It is unfortunate, and there is always a couple of brothers who have a conflict. But i think that the chapter did try hard to consider that brother. I can also understand his feelings and his disapointment.

lets see... Braves win....

melanie muldrow returned, and it was good to see her and get to chat with her.

Cable modem back up and running

ah...finally, got the cable modem back online. They wouldnt "activate" the modem until they came out here and did it in person, even though it is the same modem as was at the other house. Man, while i get a great connection and the digital cable is cool and all, I still dont like Charter. its just a convenience, thing I guess... We also got the kids a cable line into their playroom. While they cant get Noggin in there, they can get Nick and Disney.

this morning, i actually got to sleep in. didnt get up until 7:05am today.... I think i will hit the bed early agan tonight. i figure one more night of good sleep should get me caught up.

Braves bit it last night...i think it os because i took off my lucky hat when I went to bed, although i DID have it in my hand. I dont thing the lucky karma works that way though...gotta have it on the head, I suppose

Team USA playing right now... i think I will go downstairs to the den and watch, catch the Busch race and perhaps take a nap while the twins are napping. Of course, as sooon as I close my eyes, Rylee will be awake.

oh, and an explanation

Lisa asked what the Huppah thingy was. Here is a brief explanation...

The huppah—meaning 'that which covers or floats above'—is a canopy supported by four poles. It is a sign of God's presence at the wedding and in the home, and it symbolizes the home the bridal couple will establish together. While the huppah represents the emotional, physical and spiritual transition in the lives of the new couple, its frailness mirrors the fragility of shalom bayit—peace within the home. You may also see it spelled chupah, chuppa, huppa since the spelling variations are transliterations.

Susan, (Jessica Dean's mother, and also my boss here at Furman) is making the above for Jessica and her wedding. They are making it from squares from people who are attending the wedding (and those who are not). It will have sayings, thoughts, pictures...whatever on it. We have a square piece of cloth on which to write. The pen isnt that special, except it is a permanent sort of marker in various colors to make the blanket...pretty.

OK

..i got the den area set up and looking livable last night. Still dont have the stereo put tigether, but the components are all located in their right spots. I will probably put that together tomorrow.

Its pretty interesting to see how Ian reacts to things. this morning, i fixed his milk in what I thought was a random cup. I go to give it to him and he's like "No..Rylee's cup..." I look at the cup and notice that it is pink... I try again. He says... "pink...Rylee's cup!!!" So, I had to tell him that it would be OK this time, and that she wouldnt mind. he looked at me reluctantly, realized that milk might not be coming in any other cup, and I think he took his chances with Rylee's pink cup.

and Rylee is the same way...give her a choice in the morning between a pretty white dress and an ugly pink dress...."PINK!" she says...always has to be pink.

Braves did me right ...AGAIN...last night. wow!

however...

..the basketball team sacked up and beat the Aussies. Sorta like the Clemson football team sacking up and beat Daniel High School.

Found a good thing to put on Jessica's huppah thingy. Get that done and over to Susan tomorrow. I lost her special pen in the move and when we went to do it the other day, no pen...and I knew that there was some special pen to use. So I had to grovel to Susan and get another pen.

Nearly broke my leg walking into my office this morning...seems that construction has started up again right in front of my office...didnt know that there was a HOLE under the carpet... sheesh....

Band Camp going on in Clemson. I got the invite to the end of camp thingy, so I guess I'll wander over and listen to this years incarnation of Tiger Band.

Falcons..gone...no autographs... no pictures...no nothing.... sigh. DO i pull for the Falcons or the Panthers this year? I may wait until game 8 and then make my decisions....

still...no cable modem

I think the cable people have to do something on their end in order for me to get an IP address. So, I will call them this evening when I get home.

Braves...doing me right while I sleep...

went to bed at 930 last night...felt like I slept 8 hours, woke up and looked at clock...1:30!!!! WHAT A FEELING THAT IS!!! to know you still have several hours of sleep...woke up again a 5:00am when the cat came to the window out side our bedroom, and wouldnt shut up. Still, went back to sleep after dealing with cat and woke up at 6:00am refreshed. AWESOME.

so the drive is 25 minutes to work, 10 minutes to walk to office.... longer, but stilll doable.

Tonight, must get cable modem running, then setup stereo in the den, and get the den presentable for visitors....

More later today...need to see if the USA basketball team is going to implode this morning

Sorry

Due to my lack of a cable modem at home for the moment, I havent been able to take as much time blogging. I have been fairly busy at work tryin to get this move stuff ready. I have to have my equipment in several areas consolidated into one area. I hope to have my cable modem up and running by tonight, if I can get some info later today at work.

Mens BBall team wins... barely. WHew...well...I guess the chickens are coming home to roost, as Brown suggests... but I am not ready to concede basketball to the world yet.. I mean, we didnt even qualify a baseball team for the olympics. We've already lost Jazz music to the Euros, Jerry Lewis to the French, Automobiles to the Germans/Italians....what next, a team from Amsterdam wins the Super Bowl? Somebody from Austria becomes the best Rapper?

I've given in

OK...I'm going to track the USA/Greece game online through the Olympic website since they havent hooked up cable yet in my office... Im getting the over air HDTV broadcast of the Games, but Im geting the men's gymnastics right now, and truth be told...while I certainly cant do ANY of the stuff they do, I just can only stomach so much mens gymnastics... probably about 17 seconds is about my limit.

rain in Greenville, not good for the weedeating I needed to do this evening....

school starts...

School has started for Jessica, which means we are going to have to spool up a new routine for the mornings.... wake up at 6, shower and ready by 6:30...kids up, clothed, breakfast and out the door by 7:10. I went to bed last night at 10:00, while Jessica stayed up to watch the Olympics... I felt real good this morning. I think I may have to settle in for 10 everynight during the week. The one good thing is that I rteally dont have to be at worjk till 9, so I can take my time in the morn after everyone else leaves. My new drive to work, as I figured it out this morning will be about 25 minutes.

Braves did me right while I was asleep...

Couldnt figure out how to get the cable modem up and running at home last night. I guess I will have to bite it and wait on the cable guy on Saturday.

And regarding the USA basketball team..I have no more comments unti they either win the gold (nothing else will be acepted) or lose. I will make my comments then.

Ok...whew...

...got moved, cleaned the old place, now tryin to unpack in new house. Not sure the cable mosem will worj in new house yet, and I havent even unpacked the computer. I will try to do that tonight and see if it works, or if I will indeed have to wait for Charter to come on Saturday. The digital cable box works as normal, So I suspect the cable modem might work. I am unsure though...

Braves actually held their own despite only winning 1 in 3. Lat night was a debacle for an inning

The USA basketball team.... ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Gotta go for now...seems a projector has been stolen...again...

OK...frantic mode

...in full move mode for the next 48 hours...moving there, cleaning here, unpacking there...

Big series with the Cardinals this weekend. Lets see if the Braves are for real or not.

"First you have to teach a child to talk, then you have to teach it to be quiet." - Prochnow

???

God, the Falcons looked AWEFUL tonight. jesus....

"You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance." - Franklin P. Jones

by the way, How long did the Thirty Years War last?

good grief...more rain?

I have nothing against rain...I even kinda like rain... however, too much rain at one time is a problem. Anytime I have to actually give pause to where I park here at Furman, lest I end up with my car under 3 feet of water, it might be a tad too much rain. Of course, i don't really have too much control over the weather, as far as I can tell... but a couple of tropical storms within 24 hours of each other is a litte much.

And of course, the movers are coming on Saturday at 10:00am. Much joy!

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good." - Samuel Johnson

dude....moving sucks.

...well, everyone reading this has moved before. Everyone knows moving sucks... but this really bites the big one.

But it has been cool coming across old pictures...kinda funny too. And i finally located my old 8mm hi-8 tapes from 94,95, 96 era... and the picture of Lynn circa 1988 was pretty funny....

....but..moving sucks.

and the rich get?...richer?

LOS ANGELES -- Former Lakers forward Rick Fox, who was traded to the Boston Celtics last week after spending seven seasons with Los Angeles, filed for divorce Tuesday from singer-actress Vanessa Williams.

Of course, a quick check of the internet finds stories saying SHE filed for divorce against him. So... which one is it? and does it matter. I'm sure if he is officially splitting up with her, he has to have something lined up in waiting...rumours have been floating around about their splitup for a while now. But...wow..how full of yourself do you have to be to be punting Vanessa Freakin Williams? ifhe is divorcing her, I am anticipating what the call up from Triple-A will look like. Mercy!

Construction, construction, construction...

...I'm really tired of it. Between listening to jackhammers all Spring to being forced to move into an incomplete office, to having to wait on furniture to having construction workers in your office doing work, to having to move equipment for carpeting 3 times in one day...sigh.... dust, dust everywhere....

Ah...Art Farmer and Benny Golson...Cool Jazz

South Carolina changed their uniforms (football) again. Going to the Black scheme again, but they took out the white inset they had on the garnet last year, which I thought was cool. Also going to Black helmets with their outlined logo . Not too sure about the helmet. Their best uni was the All Black with the garnet helmets from the Joe Morrison era. Rumours abound about Clemson's supposed uniform change for this year. I think they are going to stay withthe Orange for home and perhaps tinker with the purple pants thing more on the road. I suspect they will break out something for one of the home games, be it purple helmets or something. Bowden will only do that however if the season is going good. If it is going roky, he will sit on the idea.

packed up clothes yesterday...I have a lot of pants. Perhaps too many pairs of pants. When I take out clothes at the new house, i think Im going to try to eliminate 1 in 5 pairs of pants and the same for polo shirts. I just get into a rut wearing the same set of 5 or 6 things every week.

also tryin to elinate some of the toys... since we have enough toys currently to stock ToysrUs, I tried to do away with broken stuff last night. Seriously, Rylee must have around 20 different dolls and stuff animals while Ian has almost 30 different cars/trucks/fire engines/tractors/dinosaurs/airplanes and helicopters. We could start our own daycare and not have to buy toys....

Killer Joe

a quick word of advice to my tomcatting friend... "if you dont come strong, dont come at all!"

the Boy kinda has me with visions of him walking in and out of parties and bars with that song "Killer Joe" playing in the background...

sigh...

Ian's current hairstyle of the moment..soon to be cut after move.... Welcome Back, Kotter!

progress

made serious progress on the new house this weekend... the bedroom is just about ready...new paint on the moulding, in the hallway and some other touchups this week will have it ready for this weekend.

....Braves have gone 31-9 since I initially sent up the white flag a while back. Wow....

I've got a couple of pix of Ian with his current Gabe Kaplan hairdo....his hair seems to be straight short, and a fro long. I'll post later today.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on."
- Sir Winston Churchill

why?

Why is it that if you clean up the den, make sure their is NO crayon, pen, pencil, chalk, magic marker, dry erase pen or any other writing utensil possibly none to man located in said den, and THEN place the twins in that den..that somehow, your son or daughter will somehow mysteriously find a crayon, pen, pencil, chalk, magic marker, dry erase pen or any other writing utensil possibly none to man and draw all over your wood coffee table?

why?

and for those of you reading this with kids a few months behind us in the development stage who are reading this thinking that MY kid wont draw on anything..... they will...heh, heh, heh....they will. And just wait until your son/daughter walks across your lily white comforter in their muddy shoes.... or better yet, eats a bluberry poptart in your bed, leaving a lot of blueberry for you to discover at 11:00 at night as you are sliding into bed.... oh, and that nice spotless couch you have been able to keep them from pooping on, spitting up on, whatever... ah, wait till they walk off with that cup of juice and decide that they want to sit on the couch, with the open container of juice/milk.... and wait...just wait..when they pitch a fit in the store. You think it wont happen to YOU? you always snickered at other parents? just wait until your normally well behaved kid decides to blow a gasket while behind 7 people at the checkout line, all because he/she/they(in our case, its ALWAYS two of them, therefore...they) want that Spongebob trinket so brlliantly located in the checkout line...or, (I'm on a roll now)... wait till you go out to eat and your son/daughter decides to have a meltdown 15 minutes into the event...5 minutes AFTER you've ordered, 5 minutes before your appetizers have even arrived.

..but, i digress... I think i hear Rylee scribbling on the table again...

thought this was kind of a reflective moment type of pic

Been really hectic

Its been sorta busy at work, tryin to get situated with the move, get equipment inventoried, do maintenance and etc.

On the way into work today, I sorta wondered what the real gig is between Kerry and those other swift boat guys. I bet if it is what it usually is, the truth lies somewhere in the middle of both sides of the story. And if it is that, that means Kerry has imbellished some of his Vietnam stuff. And that is going to blow up on him, especially since he virtually never seems to talk about his senate career, etc. ...its all about the 4 months in Vietnam. My father was there for 13 months and he hardly ever mentioned his time there...but I know he shot people...I know he was shot at.... I know he burned villages.... I also know he said that they couldnt trust anyone...the very kids playing in the streets during the day would be shooting at them and throwing grenades at them at night.... what a mess.

Bigtime packing/cleaning/mvoing stuff needs to get done this weekend. Oh joy.

thought?

"When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water."

by the way

...it is still a little surreal to hear your kid sing along to the TV...the Kidzbop commercials that Rylee has memorized already...the jimmy neutron themesong... the reciting along with the script of many Spongebob episodes....

weird.

Meltdown alert!

Ok..today was a decent day...saw the Falcons practice, got some work done in the office, played a quick game of Unreal tourney.... ate dinner with the wife and kids...all going soooo s moothly. A normal day, just like so many others...blissful... serene.....happy....

hop online to check ESPN for any updates so I can make sure my fantasy baseball team lineup is ready.....

Associated Press

COLOGNE, Germany -- The U.S. men's Olympic team did more than merely lose. It was embarrassed and exposed in its most lopsided defeat since adding NBA players in 1992.

Losing an exhibition game for the first time when using NBA players, the Americans were completely outclassed by lightly regarded Italy, never even making it close in the fourth quarter of a 95-78 upset Tuesday.

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? JESUS CHRIST!!!! ITALY???!!!

this would be like the Clemson Football team getting together on Monday and catching a bus over to Seneca to play the highschool team there.... a friendly scrimmage against a bunch of slow white 15 year olds, most of which would be better off in the band. And Seneca winning the scrimmage 63-17...

I think I might need to start pondering getting to the church more...the end might be closer than I thought.

Falcons

I took a few minutes out of my day to go take a look see at the Falcons practice. It was pretty typical of what I have seen in years past. Looked like a football practice... did get to see Woody Dantzler up close. At the end of practice, he had stand through 5 interviews.... 25 minutes later, he's still there while the reast of the team is eating lunch by now... then he has to field the kids wanting autographs.... today, kinda ignored all of them and ran off. It must be a hard gig when EVERYONE wants your time, and you only have so many minutes in your schedule... but...they are paid rather well for that time....

...what is it about fresh cut grass and this time of the year? always reminds me of band camp...

another day, another dollar

FACT OF THE DAY
Texas has 254 counties; Alaska, which is over twice as large, has 27.


"Every person takes the limits of their own field of vision for the limits of the world." -- Arthur Schopenhauer

I think I really need to buckle down on my diet. I am just running out of gas at 9:00 every night. I know I feel the best when I strictly follow my diet. So...let's see what this comes to.... Follow strict diet = feel better. Feel Better = happy times I think the decision is obvious.

goodness...

is it August already? Lets see... spent the greater part of this weekend preparing for the move in 2 weeks. I suspect that we will need to really hit this house hard in prep for the move. We have movers coming on Aug 14th, but I really want to be able to have them move everything they will move, and have the house virtually cleaned out by midday that Saturday, get thi shouse cleaned up fully by that Saturday night and get situated in the new house Saturday night, Sunday. The wall project is going slow, but it is going. As i mentioned before, many thanks to many people, including Jessic'as father this weekend. I forgot the other day to mention my mother and brother coming up and doing some yardwork, getting rid of some Ivy along the driveway, etc. touch up work on molding and finally painting is what needs to be done now. We will have significantly more space... more than we really know what to do with. Kinda will have to fight the urge to put stuff into places just because there is nothing there. The kids will have their bedroom, plus another room to call their playroom(the third BD). The piano will have its own foyer... we will have a bedroom (with fireplace), plus a sitting room. A kitchen with a dining area separate from the kitchen. the den will be plenty big, (with fireplace) but i am not sure how we are going to setup the TV in order to get the best sound setup. But, like I said...far more room than what we have now...

(I kinda included the above description for the ladies who always want details....)

I guess once we get in and settled, we will have to have people over and all that....


"The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend." - Henri Bergson

Alert today from the Homeland people for the NY financial places...i sure hope that stuff isnt going on when we go to NY in a couple of months...that would put a serious crimp in the plans...i rmember it took me 2 hours to get into New York City the last time that crap was going on and I was there... I can already sense jessica will be balking at having to deal with that., which would mean no trip into THE CITY, which would suck.

OK..tonight is a little strange

First of all...MORGAN FREEMAN is narrating Kerry's little film vignette? Morgan Freeman?

next, just talked for 20 minutes to Mr Clemons...james ...Jamie. He said he was drunk and that he was driving home and that he had 40 more miles to go and that he was going 85 miles an hour down the highway. Sigh... I certainly hope he makes it home alright. i told him to stop at a hotel or something...he wanted to get home and throwup. I hope he makes it home alright....

Rylee ate a bunch of cheese and gummy bears..then seemed bewildered as to why her stomach was hurting....

Uh...OUCH!!!

FACT OF THE DAY
The Chinese ideogram for "trouble" symbolizes two women living under one roof.

Quote

"The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase; if you pursue happiness you'll never find it." -- C. P. Snow

Hopefully today I will get caught up.... (ha!)

Work

its 11:20pm and guess where I am? At work!!!! sometimes work is cool... sometimes work sucks. right now, i feel somewhat overworked. Its not that my superiors are giving me extra work. But that my staff resources are limited, i have no way to get around campus quickly, yet expectations remain high.

But...I still really like my job. Its just that right now is a kinda stressful time because it seems that the User Services and CIS department are everybodies whipping boy.

I've traveled here and everywhere followin' my job,
I've seen the paintings from the air brushed by the hand of God,
The mountains and the canyons reach from sea to shining sea,
but I can't wait to get back home to one He made for me,
'cause anywhere I'll ever go and everywhere I've been,
nothin' takes my breath away like my front porch lookin' in!!

That's a carrot top that can barely walk with a sippy cup of milk,
a little blue-eyed blonde with shoes on wrong 'cause she likes to dress herself,
and the most beautiful girl holdin' both of them,
yeah the view I love the most is my front porch lookin' in!!

-Lonestar

Hot Damn!!!!

IM GETTING A FALCONS TRAINING CAMP T SHIRT!!!!!!! now... I need to seriously think about where my allegiance is going to be this year. I have a habit of jinxing the team I pull for between the Panthers and the Falcons. I choose the Falcons, they go 3-13, the Panthers go to the Super Bowl. I choose the Panthers, they go 4-12, and the Falcons go to the Supper Bowl..... Gotta think very hard about it this time....

Taste test

Diet coke? Diet pepsi?... george bush? john kerry?
why do i have this feeling that we did this 4 years ago? polls showing both guys at 47, 48 a piece... ya know what that gets? law suits and Supreme Court rulings again.... sigh.....

Having to step it up a notch or two at work..the current climate at Furman has C & IS kinda in a stress test right now. Seems everyone is out to do us in. Hopefully, this new CIO will provide some leadership at the top. Right, now, we have some strong leadership from within, but no recognized leader to the community. Too bad my boss (jessica's mom) didnt apply for the CIO job. She would be a great CIO. of course, i wonder if the powers that be really want a great CIO, or someone to run over....

FACT OF THE DAY
Man has tiny bones once meant for a tail and unworkable muscles once meant to move his ears.

wall comes down...wall goes up

Many thanks to AJ, Ellen, Tex, Lynn amd especially Trent for the help and work of tearing down a wall and placing a new wall in the house we are moving to next month. Not sure Jessica and I could have done even remotely as good a job as Trent helped us do. Or should I say more appropriately, DID for us.

also, thanks to Brandy for watching the kids for us on Saturday all day long.

Lets see..Armstrong wins the Tour de Lance... Braves are still hanging around first place..Harvick still in the Top Ten in Nascar...gunshots and bullets are flying around the clemson football team...

Oh, my office furniture was placed in mostly on Friday. Not totally together. i suspect they will return first thing monday morn to finish. unfortunately, i have several things on my plate tomorrow and wont have time to "decorate" properly...that will have to wait till Tuesday or wednesday.

Falcons advance team arrived on friday...the big boys start wheeling around Furman tomorrow. this year I am going to actually attempt to get michael vicks autograph, since my satelitte storage area is next door to the Quarterback film study room.

"We will be friends until forever, just you wait see." - Pooh Bear

Article for the weekend

I had a discussion recently with Kristen about what I would do if my son was gay. With that in mind, I recently ran across this essay online. i thought it had some good points... I am always looking for different points of view to help me reach my own point of view.

Unity

By Tim Billiter

...Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me...
Christian hymn

I used to play in a gay men's volleyball league for several years. It was a fairly enjoyable experience, but it had its downfalls. The league was plagued by many of the same problems faced by humankind in general. There were personality conflicts, jealousy, attitudes, arrogance, "back stabbing", etc. It just seemed so normal; I didn't give it a second thought. I participated despite all of the dysfunction. Then, in 1994, I had and experience which changed my point of view.

About this time, friends of mine in the league were getting a team together for the upcoming Gay Games IV and they asked me if I wanted to participate. This was very flattering to me and I was more than thrilled to take them up on their offer. In hindsight, I am very glad I did.

I can honestly say that the 1994 Gay Games were one of the greatest events of my life. Besides the fact that it did wondrous things for my self-image, by helping me to release much of my own residual internal homophobia, it also gave me a chance to encounter what life could be like without political boundaries. It was a week where I saw people from every corner of the earth come together for the purpose of a unifying cause. Yes we were different, yes we were competing as athletes, but for that week we were one in the same. It was truly a life changing experience for me.

I went back to the world of my volleyball league and suddenly realized I didn't want to participate anymore. I had had a taste of life without pettiness, and I found myself miserable in these familiar surroundings. I managed to play that season, but quit there after and haven't played in the league since.

It was not until recently that it occurred to me that this small example held the key to my entire existence. As of late, I have been honestly looking at the world and my place in it. I have learned to live in a world where differences are considered threatening. I recently heard a line in a television show that suggested if one was to view the world from outer space; the one thing you would never see was boundaries. This is because they are only in our minds.

I realize as I write this that there will be those who will reject all of my thoughts and beliefs because of my sexuality. These are precisely some of the very boundaries of which I am speaking and this is just one example. I have to ask myself why I see everyone as separate from myself. Why do I choose to live in a world of petty differences even after I have had the privilege of experiencing life from a different point of view?

This is a call to me and to the world to wake up. We are killing each other because we don't agree. Why does someone have to be wrong for us to be right? People have existed on this earth in different places and with different ways of living for the entire history of man and they will continue to do so. If only one point of view is correct, how has the human race survived this long?

Today I understand that the world will never heal until we begin seeing ourselves as one. Our family is not restricted to bloodlines. Things that I would never find acceptable in relation to my immediate family, I choose to ignore when it comes to others. This has to stop. I cannot change what another does, but I can change my attitudes. Hopefully by doing so, I will affect the whole.

Copyright 2003 T A Billiter

You can contact Tim at: (Tim.Billiter@frx.com)

ah... just the right type of quote

"All [we are] trying to do is tell America we are not mascots.

We are people of dignity, we are people of character,

we are people of pride."

          

Billy Mills (Oglala Lakota Sioux), Olympic gold medalist, author, mentor, youth teacher, 

speaking about the use of Native-American characterizations as sports team mascots
Now, where is my damn Braves jersey at? Go Braves!!!

Quote of the Day

"Friends are like television. Some are like PBS and always asking for money. Others are like the news, with sad tales to tell everyday, some are like that one station with the foreing language; you don't understand a word of it but you listen and watch anyway. And then there are the ones like the commercials, always changes, ever-so-annoying and only seem to be there when you are bored. But every once and a while you meet someone who's like a really good movie of the week or that one tv show you hardly ever get to see anymore because you're so busy. My point is hold on to the friends you care about and since we don't have a remote control to mute someone or just change the channel, pick your friends carefully."

I am not sure who to attribute this quote to, but i thought it to be pretty true.

I just checked in on the twins before I am going to take my shower and head to bed...they look like little robots re-charging overnight. Not sure why that imagery flashed into my head.

Missing People?

If you’re missing, it helps
to be young, white and female

That is what the story on MSNBC says. Alex Johnson, an MSNBC reporter brought up a great point, and I have to agree. While I feel for the families of all missing people, and certainly the current big story about the lady in Utah is tragic, why does it always have to be a young, white woman that gets all the national news? Ever see a big story about a young black woman? What, only young white women go missing?

...still a sad story, but you have to wonder about the slant the mjor media gives you.

I get my furniture tomorrow...Falcons arrive for training camp tomorrow (always fun dealing with them)...already have my new Aeron chair. Damn thing is AWESOME.

Is this worth it?

Ok...I KNOW Lynn (sporadically) Brandy, Lisa and Jessica Dean read this at times. i know Brown catches up about once a week..maybe. I am not even sure Jessica reads this anymore than perhaps once a couple of weeks... I just wonder today why I am doing this. Oh, i know I gave some sorta reason a while back. But today is one of those melancholy days...

...today is a day when you kinda feel a little down. not sure totally why, but I do. It might be because my blood sugar has been a little high. That is a sure sign of some sort of stress with me...so then I have to ponder why I might be stressed. Hell, i might not be stressed. i might just need to buckle down on my diet. I do know that I am starting to tire at 8:00 or so, and I still feel tired in the morn. I suppose I should just shut up and monitor my diet more carefully.

But i wonder if this blog is actually useful to those who read it. Or is it just a bunch of nothing? Or, is it even meant to be useful. it certainly isnt entertainment, is it? I suppose that it does let some friends have a geneal idea about whats going on with me and jessica and the twins. Maybe I should just give the kids an early bath and go to bed. i think i'm tired, and I think I am just..."blah". perhaps intelligent conversation with anyone might work. Hopefully Jessica will get home early tonight and fill me in on what house improvements she has done today.

sigh...

"Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything." -Muhammad Ali

Tour de Lance?

This Tour de France thing is getting hilarious. Lance Armstrong today won the time trial up the side of a mountain about as steep as a elevator ride to take a lead by almost 4  minutes. The guy who was closest to him started 2 minutes ahead of him. LANCE PASSED HIM ON THE WAY UP! It just makes me laugh because the Euros get all hacked because an American is destroying them in their precious event. Start accusing of steriods and all that. Whatever.
..this is sorta like if the Germans got 50 guys together for a football team, and came over here and played all their games on the road, and won the Super Bowl 6 years in a row, the last year beating the All-Pro team 65-0 or something.  I would compare it to perhaps the Argentenians beating the USA in Basketball, but.. well, lets not revisit history.

 Choose in marriage only a woman whom you would choose as a friend if she were a man.     - Joseph Joubert, 1754 - 1824

Color between the lines...

ah...nothing like seeing your kid coloring SpongeBob. Coloring, such beginnings of artistic expression, etc. She was kinda off, using a pink crayon to color in SpongeBob, who is yellow. Of course, the fact that SpongeBob was on my 32 inch Sony Trinitron Flat Screen TV was kinda alarming. To see crayon all over the screen is...well... not all that cute. Thank goodness a little Windex did the trick, or this event would not have been as amusing. Of course, the VCR full of Q-tips was kinda amusing, only because I can get one from my inventory of 50 at work. I guess that wouldnt have been as funny if I didnt have the job I do.

we move to our new house in Easley in about a month. Well, it isnt new, but it is a new location. Creek in the backyard, 2 acres of land, almost 1600 square feet. 3 bedrooms, 1 and half baths. Should be enough room. Some fix-up will be needed. But that will increase the value for when we sell sometime down the road. Kinda different layout... but not different if you look at the house from the rear instead of the front.

Plan to put the webcam in the kids room with a dedicated server when we get set-up there.

Instant camera!!!

For a few people, I have granted access to Jessica's AIM camera that is connected in our kitchen. If you are on her buddy list , you will be able to "video talk" to her..that is, the camera is always on and you can access picture and sound. You probably wont see much...you will definitely hear a lot in the background if the kids are home.

Braves in first place.

I'm playing around with Sepia...

Instant messenger news

A while ago, I had a failed attempt to talk to Lisa via Instant messenger. I am not sure, but I think she was trying to Direct Connect to me, and Icould hear what sounded like a baby perhaps, and someone typing. At any rate, i hope to get that fullu operational tomorrow, and with the webcam already installed, a microphone added to the CPu should do the trick. So...for anyone reading this who might want to talk to me or Jesica va Instant messenger, make sure you have the latest version, and contact us if you ever want to. jessica's AIM account is o ususally at the house, and i am on my account usually at work.

STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

- Robert Frost

Has it hit you yet? The realization that your kid is talking (or crying, or screaming...whatever) to you, and while you hear them, you still kinda tune them out...that kinda concerns me that i wonder if I have gotten to the point where it takes my kids several times saying something in order for me to answer. There is so much noise at home. Pandalerium, I tell ya... constant noise, and toys, food, trash...everywhere. sigh...

"What tha Hell is going on out here?" - Vince Lombadi

You Might Be A Redneck If. . . . . .
You go to a stock car race and don't need a program....

What is up with Julian Bond and Kweisi Mfume? Why do they seem to feel that because they are the leadership of the NAACP, that they speak for me? Why does Spike Lee think that ALL people who go to Nascar Races are white? And that ALL those people are thinking of lynching black people? Why does the leadership of the Black community (whoever that might be) feel the need to constantly divide? And why is it that virtually none of that said Black community stood up and applauded Bill Cosby and his comments? However, it goes virtually unoticed by the mainstream that the "mainstream" black community agrees with Mr. Cosby, and that the mainstream Black Community yearns for a legitimate person to speak to them to the issues that are actually important. Of course, the actual question might be more of whether or not the Black community actually has to have a "leader" or " spokesperson". I am tired of the "40 acres and a mule" bit exposed by Spike Lee and etc. While I have enjoyed his movies and the messages in some of what he has tried to portray, I am not an extremist in that sort of thought. I understand that my Grandparents had a fight on their hands to be treated fairly, and that they made it better for my parents, who still had issues to deal with. Then I had it better than them, and (given a probable generation skip with my delay in having kids) my kids are in a far better world than what it was... at least in the USA concerning these issues. Are there still racists who would do nothing better than try to keep blacks, women, asians, muslims...whoever they are against, in a place of percieved inferiority? Yes.... hell, I know blacks that do the same thing toward other races, so it works all ways. What i do know is that when I see my kids at Daycare go get hugs from white, black, hispanic and asian kids everyday as they leave, there doesnt seem to be any racist thoughts among ANY of them. And it makes me smile to see that...and it saddens me to think that somewhere along the line, some of those kids wil be tainted by people like Spike Lee, or Julian Bond, into thinking that everyone is trying to keep them down... and thet Rylee and Ian are priviledged because of their heritage and light skin. It saddens me to think that there are people reading this who think that i was wrong to marry the person I did, and that i have somehow sold out. Well, as I have told people before...the good ship Happy Jackson Family left dock 5 and a half years ago, and the gloom and doom forcast by all the obsolete people we left behind has yet to come to pass...the boat is sailing along, heading toward to new horizon. Of course, some of those left behind seem to have caught a motorboat and caught up somewhat, but I have no room for the type of racist bullshit Julian Bond, Spike Lee, the KKK, NOW...whoever... wants to try to throw at me. I have left all that behind, and while I acknowlege that it exist, that I still have to fight it, that others still have to fight it, and that it will never truly go away (as all people are different)... I aint playin that game.

Ok..so that rant went from subject to subject..kinda shows how deep and complex the actual topic is... it also makes me think of the frat Im involved with, and how some brothers are always trying to bring that sort of stuff into it... some people are always tryin to make it a "women in the frat" issue...or "blacks in the frat" issue... they lose sight that it is a service to music issue that is what the Frat is all about. If you want to bring the women's right issues into the FRAT, NOW is what you need to be trolling with...the Black issue...NaaCP might be where you can rant and scream about that sort of stuff...

ANYWAY....

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"When you win, say nothing. When you lose, say less."
- Paul Brown

Angry Shaq!!!

Today they traded Shaq to Miami. looking at the Miami Heat website, the slogan is "Shaq in Black" They already have Shaq jerseys and T's for sale. This is going to be huge.

mercy...

ESPN.com: Page 2 - Lakers ignored history's mistakes

ESPN.com: Page 2 - Lakers ignored history's mistakes

here's a couple of sports links that pretty much sum up my dissapointment with this whole Shaq/Kobe thing. I doubt the women will know or understand all this (Hell, most of the guys wont either)...but a couple of you will....

I am a Laker fan...for the moment. if Kobe stays, my allegience goes to the Bobcats. As I have told anyone who asks, I am a Shaq man, not a Kobe man.

also, you may want to check this link out too.
ESPN.com: Page 2 - The wrath of Fu

From the "ignorance is no excuse" department...

New York Daily News
Spike's pointed remark

Don't go looking for Spike Lee at any NASCAR events this summer.

The ornery movie director and Knicks fanatic nurses a paranoid fantasy about the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing circuit.

"I just imagine hearing some country-and-Western song over a loudspeaker at NASCAR: 'Hang them n-- up high! Hang them n-- up high!' I'm not going to no NASCAR," Lee vows in the August issue of Playboy.

Wow...considering that evertime I go to a race, all i hear is 3 Doors Down, Blink 182, John Mayer, Kid Rock, etc., I think that he is WAY off base. Now, i know there are probably some people who still think the way Spike describes, and some of them are probably at those races...but... those people are everywhere, unfortunately. Hell, in the fraternity I am involved with, they exist. And it still is going to take a while before that mentality to totally gone. If it ever does go away. Im sure their will always be someone somewhere thinking that sort of stuff...

..and they will get left behind.

some observations...

...watching the All Star game... Barry Bonds looks suspiciously smaller than he did before all the steroid talk. HMMMMMMMMM???? I mean, he doesnt look as bulked up...

...my mother and brother are off on a cruise this week. I went home to just check-in on things. I think one of the most shocking things I noticed while I was at the house was the sheer quiet. We have a quiet neighborhood right now, but this was so peaceful, so...quiet. I actually took a few minutes to walk around the property. So much has grown up now. The paths of my childhood through the fields and woods are mostly gone. it seems that my uncle has tried to keep the major pathways behind the house cut. I started to walk them, but thought better since no one was there in case I ran across some animal not used to people coming across them. Perhaps I shall return this Fall and walk around some. And I asked myself if I missed that sort of quiet. Actually, no. I dont miss it. Its cool, and somewhat comforting, but I also sense a detachment from the world that I am not ready to do away with right now. No cable out where I grew up. Internet access by dial-in. At any rate, i think I like Greenville. and this area. I like being able to access civilization and be at a Mall in 20 minutes. While the area near my home has experienced growth, it still is out in the country. Living there would be a drastic change.

The trip last weekend to see Kristen and Erik was nice. I miss them both, and the effortless banter that comes from that type of relationship. I certainly will try to get a more frequent dialogue with these guys. And I certainly need to try to figure out how to do better with Lynn and Brandy, as it seems as though my only contact with them now comes through thier contact with Jessica.

Time it was, and what a time it was, it was
A time of innocence, a time of confidences
Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph
Preserve your memories; They're all that's left you

- Paul Simon

Quote

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company."
- Mark Twain

Sweet Adelines are in town...lots of extra work for the singin sorority.

Legionaires something or another in Furman Hall......yeah, right! One lady gets sick and she freaks out and brings the entire University to a stand still. Tests are supposed to come back tomorrow, but the way i see it, if the construction guys are still in the building, things are just fine. You KNOW they wouldnt be in that building if something like that was up. Those guys wont even get within 10 miles of a building wih asbestos, so you know they dont mess around with this sort of stuff.

This is Kristen. She was not amused. She is eagerly awaiting the arrival of her first child this October. It was great to see her, and we must make sure that the time between seeing each other isnt great.

This is Brown... most people call him Erik. His neighborhood is behind him.

Brown talks

wow... that is a little strange... Brown sounded very familiar.

Jazz from Brooklyn

Ok, so the music overloaded the phone....

this is the African Jazz that Brown and i went to listen to in Manhatten. We then went to a bar in brooklyn heights , that Brown has a crush of the bartender, who is also the owner.

Lots of subway riding today..no pictures, didnt feel like carting the camera around

From New Jersey

I am coming to you via cellphone dial-in...at the stuning speed of 14.4k. I got to Kristens last night, and we had dinner, then went to Ritas, some sort of local ice cream establishment. I had a sugar-free lemonade slushie sorta thing. Today, we went to the Avolio business, where I saw the parents and kristen's brother, Michael. (Kinda funny...her brother, her father and now her husband are all named Michael.) After lunching at a local diner, we then went to some outlets in Jersey and then into Pennsylvania. We then met Michael and had dinner at a pretty nice restaurant. Michael and I shared a couple of bottles of wine, then we returned to her house here in Jersey. I then watched the Braves implode, then logged in here. I am currently watching the Yankees propaganda network YES and understanding just why they have to spend the money they do on their team...

Tomorrow, i wake up, grab some breakfast, then head into Manhatten, then Brooklyn to meet up with Brown. We will take the Subway into "the City" to the Bronx, to see the Yankees play the Deviled Eggs at 4:00. Its Old Timers day, so I hope to get to the stadium early and take some pix from our bleacher seats.

I will definitely post some pix from Brooklyn tomorrow night before I return home on Sunday...

Its been almost 5 years since I have been here to this area directly. Althought I drove throught here on my way to Kristens wedding, i didnt stop... wow, how time flies.It has been way too long. I need to do better keeping contact with these people for they are so important to me.

hittin the road

I leave in the morn for New Jersey. It's a haul, but I plan to see if I can get to Kristen's house in 11 hours, 1 tank of gas and 3, 10 minute stops. We shall see. I will post tommorow night, dialing in using the celly.

Jessica and the twins are off to Florence for the weekend.

I hope the office doesnt implode while i'm gone. I felt really good leaving the office today...for the first time in a while when I have been leaving town. I will have to still do business on the road, which sucks.

Ian gives Rylee an hug.

Fireworks at our house. A somewhat subdued happening...twins still a little "alarmed" by them...

This is my Mother. She came to visit on July 4th. Her name is Patricia.

July 4th

We Shall Be Free
Written by: Garth Brooks, Stephanie Davis

This ain't comin' from no prophet
Just an ordinary man
When I close my eyes I see
The way this world shall be
When we all walk hand in hand

When the last child cries for a crust of bread
When the last man dies for just words that he said
When there's shelter over the poorest head
We shall be free

When the last thing we notice is the color of skin
And the first thing we look for is the beauty within
When the skies and the oceans are clean again
Then we shall be free

We shall be free
We shall be free
Stand straight, walk proud
'Cause we shall be free
When we're free to love anyone we choose
When this world's big enough for all different views
When we all can worship from our own kind of pew
Then we shall be free
We shall be free

We shall be free
Have a little faith
Hold out
'Cause we shall be free

And when money talks for the very last time
And nobody walks a step behind
When there's only one race and that's mankind
Then we shall be free

We shall be free
We shall be free
Stand straight, walk proud, have a little faith, hold out
We shall be free

We shall be free
We shall be free
Stand straight, have a little faith

We shall be free

Well...I doubt that this is going to happen while we're alive...but I truly think that my children as well as the children of people like Lynn/Trent, Lisa/Tj, Kim/Jeremy, Andrea/Will, Sara/Danny, Lisa/Brian, Kristen/Michael, Matt/Janet and coutnless others (I only listed those I KNOW have seen this page, i apologize for anyone omitted)will have a far better world, and the background to make it even better than what it was for us...

God, I love those Red Sox

Wow... the Red Sox may have single handedly turned the Braves season around. The season is still not quite at the All-Star break, but there are stirrings of life. I have gone back to the flag pole and am pondering bringing down the white flag i raised earlier. I might have to lower the white flag, raise the Braves colors and hunker down for a pennant race with the Phillies, Mets and Marlin(s). By the way, isnt the plural spelling of Marlin..Marlin? seven Marlin, the Marlin are swimming away? I need to look that up...

Useless fact(?) Using the software, researchers estimated it would take 124 weapons to destroy the U.S. and 51 to eliminate Russia as a country. The computer program mimics the U.S. military's SIOP, or Single Integrated Operational Plan, which outlines the targeting of America's nuclear weapons and the likely consequences of each attack.

Ah...I found the answer to my question above... using the Toronto Maple Leafs (a hockey team)as an example.

[T]he noun being pluralized is not leaf, the unit of foliage, but a noun based on the name Maple Leaf, Canada's national symbol... [A] noun that does not get its nounhood from one of its components cannot get an irregular plural from that component either; hence it defaults to the regular form Maple Leafs.
Same goes for The Florida Marlins (the plural of marlin is marlin).

Thought for today
"Remember! Things in life will not always run smoothly. Sometimes we will be rising toward the heights - then all will seem to reverse itself and start downward. The great fact to remember is that the trend of civilization itself is forever upward, that a line drawn through the middle of the peaks and the valleys of the centuries always has an upward trend." -- Endicott Peabody

misogynist???

ah, the esteemed Brown tried to tactfully drop that word in on me, albeit as a joke, but thought he might slip that one by me... Of course, the esteemed Brown realizes that that is absolutely not true, especially when he remembers the good ole college days...

by the way, when some one who makes more money in one year than me, my children, their children...and probably THEIR children will make in their lifetimes goes into the stands to catch a ball, and scratches his face, I dont see what the big deal is. ISNT THAT WHAT HE IS SUPPOSED TO DO? afterall, he is the Captain of the FREAKIN NEW YORK YANKEES!!!...he better go diving after that ball...

...raining a lot here in Greenville this summer. Only one day over 90 degrees so far. People complaining about the rain... hmm, are these the same people who were complaining about the drought a couple of years ago? Rather have the rain and lower temps anyday, than dried up brown grass and dead vultures in the road. People cant stand prosperity.

Propaganda and the Elite Academia

The Head Librarian came to my office today to ask about a placement of a control panel in the new renovations. When she is about to leave, she ask me if that is Rush Limbaugh I have on the radio. (I always have the radio on either Talk Radio, or Sports Talk in my office, and either Foxnews or MTV on the TV) I said yes (although it was actually Mike Gallagher), and she proceeded to tell me that she "hope you don't believe the stuff he says"... Now, I was annoyed because that was a rather pretentious thing to say (this coming from someone people call pretentious at times) to someone you hardly know, outside of the professional relationship we have at work.I told her that I listen to Conservative Talk Radio because it gives me a different point of view, blah, blah, blah... kinda funny, because I think she almost immediately realized that she was out of bounds and started talking about being in the Library, and it being a place of information, and knowing as much as possible....WHATEVER, she was just trying to keep me from being pissed off. Plus the fact that she seems to want to micromanage everything about the library, including me...but I dont answer to her, nor does her name appear at anypoint in the heirachy flowchart running all the way up to the President. I can see problems on the horizon with this...

Now, I must admit that I have become more conservative as I have gotten older. But I would not classify myself as a Republican, or right-wing. I think Moderate, or conservative democrat, or...perhaps... Independent is more what I am right now. I agree with "conservatives" on many issues, and I agree with "liberals" on many issues. I also disagree with both groups on some issues. So... anyway, I listen to talk radio because i like to hear what that side is saying. And I must admit, the Air America solution drove me batty after about 20 minutes. I just wish the Air America people didnt have to act like an extension of NPR. It just sounds like a bad Saturday Night Live Skit of NPR all the time.