California Free Fish

California Free Fishing days for 2009 are JULY 4th and SEPTEMBER 7th.

California Lifetime

California Lifetime Fishing License? Does anyone know about this? Comments?

Watching "Maid in Ma

Watching "Maid in Manhattan" with my wife.

ROCStock XXIX is coming

ROCStock XXIX is coming June 12 - 14 ( http://htxt.it/ZLw4 ) Today I purchased a Night Skeeter model rocket kit ( http://htxt.it/y93A ) to start getting ready. Anyone else going?

Back from the High School

Back from the High School Class of 2013 Freshman / Parent Orientation. High school class of 2013? Nooo, I'm not ready!

Hello to the world f

Hello to the world from Google Talk! Way too cool for me.

I'm wasting time wai

I'm wasting time waiting for the new woot at http://www.woot.com . Only 14 more minutes. Anybody there?

is anticipating anot

is anticipating another night of tossing and turning in the heat. We're setting records here in the OC. Don't like.

I wanted to let you

I wanted to let you in on a great story, The Miracle of the Pacocha, http://htxt.it/1W4l . A good friend created a documentary about the miracle. I recommend it.

Cross-combobulated!

Cross-combobulated! I've managed to get all of my Web 2.0 apps confused. I need to figure out where Jott, Twitter, facebook, blogger, HelloTxt, and Plurk are all going, posting, and cross linking...

" I get up every mor

" I get up every morning determined to both change the world and to have one hell of a good time. Sometimes, this makes planning the day difficult." -- E.B. White

I'm noticing that no

I'm noticing that not all of my updates from HelloTxt don't seem to make it to the 'net. What's up with that?

Another great Worldw

Another great Worldwide Marriage Encounter Community evening tonight.

Feeling pretty torqu

Feeling pretty torqued off today - the trials and tribulations of living with a teenager... Lord help me, please.

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky calls free speech "Despicable' and "Shameful"

I read with interest Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky's press release on the tax day "Tea Parties".  The tagline on her press release was, "Schakowsky Calls Parties "Despicable' and "Shameful"".

I myself don't see how the tea parties were going to create change but they did create some publicity.  I did see them as events of Constitionally protected free speech. It seems that the exercise of this free speech, however, offends Rep. Schakowsky. It would appear that any disagreement with President Obama's policies are promoted by right-wing republicans and corporate interests and that paying income taxes are a significant, honorable moment of American history.

I disagree with most of President Obummer's policies.  He is leading us into socialism and away from what made this country great.  I didn't support President Bush either.  We have been on the wrong track for a while but we're picking up speed in the wrong direction.

Pacific Ocean Fishin

Pacific Ocean Fishing Trip Planned I'm making plans to go fishing on Saturday, May 2, at 5:30 PM for four hours with Dana Wharf Sportfishing. Wanna join us? Go here http://htxt.it/kPmI to buy tickets on line. Let me know if you're going so that I can look for you.

Testing a text msg from my cell phone

Testing a text msg from my cell phone to HelloTxt. Cool.

Just saw this on facebook

Just saw this on facebook:

_ took the Which math equation are you? quiz and the result is Gaussian Distribution

f(x) = 1/(SQRT(2π)*σ)*e^(-(x-μ)^2/(2σ^2))

You are very normal. You are always positive, and although you have a mean, you usually aren't.

Cool...

Just finished publis

Just finished publishing the update scout directory. Off to finish my UCI class homework.

Time for Trout fishing?

Time for Trout fishing? Mile Square Park Lake in Orange and Alondra Park Lake, Arroyo Seco Creek, Belvedere Lake, Castaic Lake, Cerritos Lake, Downey Lake, Echo Park Lake, El Dorado Park Lake, Hollenbeck Park Lake, Jackson Lake, Kenneth Hahn Lake, La Mirada Lake, Legg Lakes, Lincoln Park Lake and Pyramid Lake in Los Angeles are getting stocked this week.

Easter Sunday

It's Easter Sunday and I'm back to bloggin' again.  40 days in the digital desert - whew!  It was tough not complaining about all of the stuff I saw and not writing down all the stupid things that popped into my head.  But, Lent is over and I'm rarin' to go.  I'll be firin' up all of my fingers and on-line posting brain cells to get going and share some nifty new stuff with you.

The Lord is risen, Hallelujah!  

Ash Wednesday

It's Ash Wednesday, time to begin Lenten sacrifices.  I am considering several sacrifices but I've decided that fasting from and abstaining from social networking web sites is a good start.  I'll resume blogging after Easter Sunday.  May your Lenten Sacrifices be fruitful in your spiritual life.  God Bless you.

What are you doing for Lent?

Lent is a time of doing Pennance and sacrificing to move towards the Spiritual realm away from the worldly realm.  What are you doing for Pennance and sacrifice?  Things that I am considering:

• Give up fast food
• Give up snacking between meals
• Give up dessert
• Give up candy
• Give up social networking web sites
• Partaking of the Sacrament of Recocilliation more often

I have less than 36 hours to decide...

Lunch tomorrow is at an all-you-can-eat chinese buffet.

Mike

What are you doing for Mardis Gras?

Mardis Gras is french for "Fat Tuesday" meaning the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.  Ash Wednesday is this Wednesday and is the start of Lent.  On Ash Wednesday we are reminded of the mortality of our earthly bodies - our bodies will eventually return to the earth from whence they came.  Our Souls are another matter.  At the end of our earthly existence we are moving to a new home for eternity, Heaven (possibly by way of Purgatory) or Hell.  And so Ash Wednesday begins a season of preparation for celebrating Easter - the Resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  We spend this time of Lent doing Pennance for our sins.  Most of us execute that Pennance by fasting from a worldly pleasure.  As a kid it was always candy.  As an adult it has been coffee, snacks, dessert, candy, fast food, beer, and other things.  I think that it is human nature that if we know that we are going to fast from something for 7 1/2 weeks we want to indulge in it one last time.  That indulgence is the celbration of Mardis Gras.

Mardis Gras is not a time to commit sins of the flesh.  It is a time to partake and enjoy one last time (and for most of us it seems, to excess) our pleasure that we will be fasting and abstaining from for the next 7 1/2 weeks.

So, what are your plans for Mardis Gras?

The sky is falling

OK, maybe the sky isn't falling but it sure is getting crowded up there and more dangerous.  The WSJ posted an article about a collision between a commercial commsat and a defunct Russian military bird.  It's just a wee bit bothersome and I hope that our military is doing more to protect our own birds.

My Father-In-Law, Dan

I'm sitting here continuing to reflect on the day, the weekend, and the week.  I was doing this all the way home on the plane from Dallas and I'm not done yet.  I suspect I may lie awake in bed for a while tonight continuing to think, ponder, and pray.

Let me bring you up to speed.  On Tuesday I got a phone call from my Mother-in-Law, Linda (aka Nana).  Dan was struggling and having some problems.  Talking to the doctor she pushed for an answer and was told that the doctor was guessing that Dan only had 2 to 4 weeks to live given his current rate of decline.  A. and I had some discussions and the decision was made that we would all fly down to visit - G. and I for the weekend, A. for the duration - however long that was.  We all went down on Friday with G. and I coming back today.

Dan is on some serious pain killers and spends a lot of time sleeping.  He has periods of great lucidity and periods where he doesn't want to communicate.  His mornings are much better than evenings.  We watched the Steelers/Ravens game together yesterday.  He was happy that the Steelers were going to the Superbowl and disappointed that his beloved Cowboys were out.  He's rooting for the Steelers in two weeks.

Today I went shopping out at Costco.  I enjoyed a hot dog for him.  Over the years of visiting him he always made sure that I understood it was right and proper to enjoy a hot dog on the weekend.  I've been trying to have a hot dog out every weekend for a few years and every time I do I think of him.  I guess that this is a habit that I will pass on to others with stories about Dan.

I had to say goodbye to him this afternoon to get to the airport to come home.  It was a very hard goodbye for me realizing that it was, in all likely hood, my last time to see him alive.  I am already missing the father of my bride.  I can see that it is his time and it was remarkable seeing how death comes to us.  His appetite is getting weak.  He is still drinking lots of water but the nurse says that will be stopping as well.  He is in bed and won't be getting up again as he continues to get weaker and needs others to take care of his needs.  I recommend Tuesdays with Morrie for a better description of what is happening to Dan.

So for a short time I've loaned my wife back to her father so that she can help nurse him and take care of him.  I miss her as well but, God Willing, I will get her back soon after she has had the opportunity to say her goodbyes.

I love you Dan.  God speed.  Please put in a good word with the Lord for me when you get there.  You will missed, but not forgotten.  May God Bless you.

FOCA Novena

I received this e-mail and wanted to pass it along to all of you.  I am participating in this Novena.

If you are opposed to abortion then there is bad news on the horizon.  For those of you who do not know, the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is set to be signed if congress passes it on January 21-22 of 2009.  FOCA would essentially remove all restrictions on abortion, including moral objections by health care providers.

The Plan:

To say a novena, 9 days of prayer, along with fasting starting on January 11th. For Catholics, the prayer of choice will be the Rosary with intentions to stop the FOCA.  For non Catholics I encourage you to pray your strongest prayers with the same intentions, also for nine consecutive days.  The hope is that this will branch and blossom as to become a global effort with maximum impact.  We have very little time so we all must act fast.  Just do three things:

1. Pass this letter to 5 or more people
   
2. Do it in three days or less
   
3. Start the novena on January 11th and pray for nine consecutive days.
   

(please also fast for at least two days during the novena)

Remember that with God all things are possible and the power of prayer is undeniable.  The time is now to do something to save the unborn!

May God bless you all!!

"We cannot fight credibly against other social and moral evils, including poverty and violence, while we tolerate mass killings by abortion."

- Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Government Plans to Overhaul Healthcare

The New York Times is reporting that Tom Daschle is preparing to have the government overhaul the US Healthcare system.  Tom is saying that the deepening recession is going to create more uninsured and that many uninsured people face financial bankruptcy when they get sick.  I agree with Tom that these are serious issues.  Very serious.  But I'm more scared of Tom and his plans.

Everytime the government says that they want to help me and make my life better they make my life worse.  They "reformed" campaign finances and the political ads got worse and I was told it was illegal for me to exercise my right to free speech.  I smell universal health care in the wind.  Those with no insurance will get some.  We will all have long waits.  And the US taxpayer will be paying for everyone's health care.  We need change.  Let's put doctors back in charge of their patients, reduce malpractive lawsuits, and get the government OUT of healthcare.

Poll: When will you take down your Christmas decorations?

The poll, "When will you take down your Christmas decorations?" is now closed.  There was only one registerd vote (mine) and the results are:

They're already down:  0%

New Year's Day:  0%

The first weekend of the new year:  0%

After Epiphany:  100% (yea me!)

I will leave them up for next year:  0%

Though Curtis did sneak a vote in via the comments for a split between the first weekend of the new year and after Epiphany.  Thanks Curtis.

Have a great day and may God Bless you!

Finally Tried An Original at Tommy Pastrami

The address I had was in Santa Ana but I never found that store. Instead, I found the one on Irvine Center Drive. It was a tasty sandwich and I really enjoyed. The rye bread was phenomenal. The meat was tasty, too. I think it’s a toss up between The Hat and Tommy Pastrami. I guess I’ll have to eat at both again to compare and decide which I like better. It’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it. It may as well be me. Yummy!

See more progress on: Eat an Original Pastrami at Tommy Pastrami (http://www.ocweekly.com/2008-10-23/food/tommys/)

New Poll: When will you take down your Christmas decorations?

New poll on my blog:  When will you take down your Christmas decorations?

Possible answers:

• They're already down
  
• New Year's Day
  
• The first weekend of the new year
  
• After Epiphany
  
• I will leave them up for next year
  

Poll closes in 6 days.  Vote now!

Long New Year's this year

Are you ready for an extra long New Year's celebration this year?  There will be a leap second!  This extra second is inserted between the end of 2008 and the start 0f 2009.  The clock will reach 11:59 and 60 seconds and pause for an entire second before it reaches 12:00 and 00 seconds the following day.  That's right, 2008 will end and 2009 will start a second later.  We have a second out of time with no year attached.  It is a rogue second - we'll be in neither 2008 or 2009.

You can find the leap second news here:  http://www.space.com/spacewatch/081226-ns-leap-year.html

What will you do with your leap second?  I plan on kissing my wife for that extra second.  That is, if I'm still awake.

Where will you be during your leap second?  At this point I'm planning on being home.

Porta-Pot Shot Rocket is assembled

The Porta-Pot Shot Rocket is now assembled and ready to fly. An easy kit, it only took an hour or two. Now I’m 67% complete on this goal – just waiting for the next launch. Expected completion date is January 10, 2009.

See more progress on: Build and fly an Estes Porta-Pot Shot rocket

Got a Porta-Pot Shot for Christmas

My lovely wife gave me a Porta-Pot Shot kit for Christmas so I’m one third of the way towards accomplishing this goal:

1/3 Acquire kit, done
2/3 Assemble kit, haven’t started
3/3 Fly kit, Planned for Jan 10, 2009

See more progress on: Build and fly an Estes Porta-Pot Shot rocket

Church embraces new media

There is an article on the AP (see link above) that says the Church is in favor of a iPhone application called iBreviary.  The Breviary contains all of the daily prayers and such that Priests are supposed to pray - the lay people are also welcome to say the same prayers but are not required to.  Vatican approval was cited in the following paragraph:

"Monsignor Paul Tighe, secretary of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Social Communications, praised the new application Monday, saying the Church "is learning to use the new technologies primarily as a tool or as a mean of evangelizing, as a way of being able to share its own message with the world.""

How cool is that?  I need to work on a Podcast...

Obligation or enjoyment or stress relief?

This morning I went to the gym to workout again under the guidance of my trainer (Hey Joanne!).  During the workout we chatted on various topics and I admitted that I hadn't worked out since last Tuesday.  I had all of the excuses - mandatory meetings, layoffs, and family activities conspired to keep me out of the gym.  She asked me if I thought going to the gym was an obligation or a way to relieve stress.  Hmm, insightful question!

I think it's obvious that a person doesn't get a shape like mine because exercise and working out are "fun".  Eating foods high in fat, sugar, and salt and sleeping are my preferred ways of dealing with stress.  Although I have to admit I do feel better after working out.  Perhaps if I weighed less and were stronger the workouts would be more "fun".

So, to answer Joanne's question, going to the gym still feels like an obligation but I like working with her, I do want to get stronger and fitter, and I like the way that I feel afterwards.  But its still a struggle to go workout.  I'm happy I went this morning and I'm looking forward to the end of the next session.

Faith?

Faith, it's a funny thing or maybe I either don't have it or have enough of it.  I'm not sure.  The iPdare was talking about some stuff in a recent podcast that got me wondering.  So, I went and found references on the 'net.

The title of the article was, "The sign of the cross and Orthodox prayer are capable of killing microbes and change the optical properties of water."  The article claimed that saying a blessing and making the Sign of the Cross in the Orthodox manner over food and water purified it and killed pathogens.  The person making the Sign of the Cross did not have to be a believer in order for the miracle to work.

The website that I found the article on reminds me of the tabloids at the check-out in the grocery store.  Here is my conundrum.  If I say that this can't be true am I then putting a limit on God?  Certainly God could accomplish this - it's a very tiny miracle from his point of view I am sure.  I suspect that it's a sin not to believe that God could do this.  OK, I believe that God "could" do this.  I am, however, very skeptical that he does do this.  So read the article and tell me what you think.

Podcast Status

iTunes is reporting that I now have 489 new podcasts occupying 11.79 GB and it will take me 10 days to listen to it all.  Currently I am listening to:

• Catholic Rockers - pod faded
  
• David Allen Company Podcast - pod faded
• Going Fourth - pod faded
• iPadre Catholic Podcasting - active
• The ManlyCatholic Pdocast - active
  
• Maximum Impact Podcast - pod faded
• pray-as-you-go - active
• Rosary Army Catholic Podcast - stopped broadcasting
• That Catholic Show (Video) - pod faded

Wen I started listening to the ManlyCatholic I went back in time to the beginning of the podcast, episode 1.  I'm at about the halfway point.  I'm trying to get through the rest of the podcasts so that I'm current on all of them but it'll take me a while.

No Rocket Launch Today

"Due to sustained high winds on the lake bed, we have decided to CANCEL today's launch.  We apologize for the late notice, but we had been hoping that conditions on the lake bed would be better.

The next launch will be in January."

So said the official e-mail at 7:40 AM.  Of course, we were on the lake bed for an hour at that point.  We saw what they call rockets and they're not kits from Estes.  There was one that was so big, even in half it wouldn't fit in the bed of the pickup but had to hang over.  It was fiberglass coated, 10ish inches in diameter and I'm guessing over 12' tall.

We pick up two really small tumble recovery rockets from the vendor that was there and picked up our badges that are good for all of next year.  Time to build more model rockets and fly in our imagination.

Words & Slang, kinda like Bangers & Mashers

I love to learn the stories of slang words and slang expressions.  Things like "caught red handed", "lock, stock, and barrel", "balls to the wall", and "freeze the balls off of a brass monkey".  Btw, none of these are "dirty" and are perfectly fine in mixed company if you know where they came from.  I friend (Hi Bill!) sent me a link for "Bob's Your Uncle, Lame Duck, Malarkey, Dressed to the Nines, MindYour P's and Q's, and Uxorious".  Enjoy!  I sure did.

Orange & Yellow Hi-Flier

I finally completed the building of the Estes Hi-Flier Model Rocket Kit that I started. It's ready to fly and the launch is next Saturday. It'll be her maiden flight with a 1/2A6-2 engine. It may fly with one of the following as well: A8-3, A8-5, B4-4, B6-4, C6-5, or C6-7. The C6-7 is supposed to send it up over 1675 feet! It'll be long out of site at that altitude. I wonder if we'll pick it up visually as it falls back to earth from that height. If we get video of it's flight(s) we'll let you know about it. I'm excited and can hardly wait until next Saturday!

The Gospel Truth

Marriage, when it's good there is nothing better.  Marriage Partnership had another great article this week.  Some questions I need to ask my wife more often: 

1. What can I do to help you?
   
2. How can I make your life easier?
   
3. How can I be a better husband?
   

I believe that asking these questions in my marriage is the best thing that I can do for my marriage.  The problem is that asking these questions requires humility.  Humility is a virtue with which I struggle.  I need to pray and ask for the humility to ask my wife these questions often.  Please pray for me to have the humility to not only ask but then do.  God Bless you.

Abortion a right?

In an article from Catholic News Service there is the following paragraph:

"On Dec. 10, the U.N. General Assembly also was to be presented with a petition to make abortion a universally recognized human right."

I find this to be very disturbing and more reason to dislike the UN.  I've believed for a long time that the US should get out of the UN.  This is one more reason. But I digress...

Let's talk about why this is a problem.  It comes down to my beliefs that abortion is wrong.  I do support a woman's right to do what she wants to do with her own body.  If she wants to tattoo her skin or piece a body part then she should go for it.  I might not like those actions but I won't stand in the way.  But the unborn baby in her womb is NOT part of her body.  I believe that life begins at conception and the fertilized egg is a new and different person.  Yes, the baby requires food, water, warmth, and oxygen from it's mother in order to live but so does a newborn.  In fact, pretty much every person under the age of about 2 still requires all of that from their parents.  If a 2 year old is a person then so is the unborn baby.

The discussion to have is when does a person acquire "personhood".  Killing a person with personhood is murder - legal or otherwise.  I believe that life begins at conception and so it is logical that abortion is murder.  Abortion before life begins would not be murder and we have no argument.  When do you say that life begins and why?

The 25 Days of Christmas????

ABC has an advertising campaign going on right now called "The 25 Days of Christmas".  They claim that the 25 days of Christmas are Dec 1 - 25.  They couldn't be more wrong.  They are misleading people into thinking that Christmas ends on the 25th when that is actually the day that it starts.

I had wanted to be counter-cultural and wait until Christmas eve to turn on our Christmas lights and then have them on until the Epiphany.  My wife and son wanted them on now.  Now when they're on until Epiphany it won't be seen as the counter-cultural statement that I wanted it to be - it'll just look like I'm lazy.

I protest against ABC's 25 Days of Christmas.

Poll: When do you put up your Christmas decorations?

The answers and tallies:

• After Halloween:  0 (0%)
• After Thanksgiving:  0 (0%)
• During Advent:  1 (100%)
• I never took them down:  0 (0%)
  

Total votes:  1  (me!)

Poll closed

There'll be a new poll soon.

Getting Older

I discovered another sure sign that I'm getting older.  I still remember the first time I realized that I was getting older.  I was chaperoning a church youth group dance and the DJ put on a "golden oldie".  I was expecting something from the 50s or maybe the 60s.  Instead, much to my surprise, what he played was one of my favorite songs:  Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin.  I knew then that I was moving in to the "old" category.

The sure sign that I learned today was that a trip to the doctor's office is no longer a trip to the doctor's office.  It's now a trip to the doctor's office and another trip to the doctor's office for a followup.  :-(  I went to the doctor today to get the results from my blood work last month.  The numbers are better (in general) but now I'm scheduling more blood work in another three months.

Deep Thoughts: Cup of Joe edition

This morning I wondered why coffee is also known as "Joe".  I pondered it momentarily and suddenly I had to know.  So I googled "why is coffee called joe".  I found two plausible answers there:

1. Josephus Daniels (18 May 1862-15 January 1948) was appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913. Among his reforms of the Navy were inaugurating the practice of making 100 Sailors from the Fleet eligible for entrance into the Naval Academy, the introduction of women into the service, and the abolishment of the officers' wine mess. From that time on, the strongest drink aboard Navy ships could only be coffee and over the years, a cup of coffee became known as "a cup of Joe". - Big Red on Yahoo! India Answers
2. In 1860 a popular song of the times was "old black Joe" written by Stephen C. Foster the same man who wrote "Camp town races" and "Oh! Suzanna". Diners of the time picked up the slang 'Cup O Joe'.  From Wiki Answers

I guess I'll never really know unless you know a better answer.  Let me know if you know of a reason that coffee is called "Joe".

Headline Bistro

There is a new Catholic Headline Internet portal called Headline Bistro.  Headline Bistro is a service of the Knights of Columbus dedicated to bringing readers the top, daily headlines that Catholics need to know.  It's a great website.  You can sign up to have headlines popped into your e-mail inbox on a daily basis on their front page.  I like to get the headlines in my e-mail.  I scan them over my morning coffee and if one the headlines captures my curiosity I follow the headline link to the web site and from there to the "real" article on the web.  If you're Catholic (and even if you aren't) and you want to know then you should add Headline Bistro to your favorites.  God Bless!

Foolish Advice

The Motley Fool gives this advice to beat the recession, "Spend less than you earn."  Duh.

Easy to say, hard to do.  Wish I had.  Now I need to.

Random thoughts

Nothing heavy in this post...

First, a note to self.  American Cheese is good on a Cheeseburger.  Cheddar Cheese is good on a Cheeseburger.  Provolone Cheese is NOT good on a Cheeseburger.  Don't do that again.  Yuch.

I'm beginning to understand one possible reason why there might be more Christmas lights up here than elsewhere.  I've never put up Christmas lights in short sleeves before.  I might be able to get used to that.  A single story house makes for a nice low roof line - only a step ladder is needed.  The roof line has lights.  Now to start worrying about the windows, the porch supports, the gazebo, and the long wall.  It's a good thing that Advent is long enough.

The rocket is assembled and has a first code of paint on the body.  The fins will have to be hand painted.  I think the rocket will be completed in time for it's scheduled launch date.

Boondoggles to the LA Bulk Mail Post Office on a Sunday evening are a great start to a date night.

Launch 2 weeks from 2 day

Rocketry of California is having a sport launch on December 13th.  It sounds like a fun day.  I think I'll take G. out for the day and launch rockets.  Of course, launching rockets means building rockets.  I need to put a rocket or two together for the day.  I've got an Estes Rocket kit called "Hi-Flier" - perhaps I'll make a slide show of it's assembly and maybe even a You Tube video of it's launch.  Stay tuned...

PS:  Cruising Estes for a link to my kit I saw a really neat one.  Now I need to build a "Porta-Pot Shot".  I'll add that to my 43 Things list.

Economic Stimulus

Well, Black Friday is over for us.  We spent our money and have done our patriotic duty to provide an economic stimulus package.  We spent more than we should have but not as much as in the past.  It'll have to do.  We did manage to come home with ... well some presents.  I don't think I should say more.  One of these presents might be for you and I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise.  You'll have to wait until Christmas.  Sorry.

Made a demo podcast

I got an idea of a podcast I might be able to do with a friend. I put together some theme music that I think is cool. I made a demo last night to give him a sense of what it might be like. My microphone is terrible. I need to get my better equipment out and record with that instead. So maybe, just maybe, I’m actually doing something to accomplish the goal of creating a podcast in my list of (not quite) 43 things.

See more progress on: Create a podcast that is actually worth listening to

Black Friday

Yuck.  Another Black Friday is coming.  Up before the sun and out to the stores.  I don't like it and I wouldn't do it if it were left up to me.  But my wife really likes it so I go out and help her.  It's a group plan.  She drops me off at a store with a list and then she heads off to a different one.  She comes back to get me later and then drops me off somewhere else.  Twice as many stores in the same amount of time.  It works for her.  It's a sacrafice that I make for our marriage.

Christmas & Happy New Year

It's almost the new year.  Year B in the Catholic Church starts this weekend and so does Advent.  As Advent nears my thoughts turn to Christmas.  This year is looking to be an interesting Christmas.  The news is full of stories about people cutting back and spending less on Christmas presents.  Our family will be one of those spending less.  As I ponder this I am getting excited - excited in a good way.  With fewer presents in the way the true meaning of Christmas will be more apparent - the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  I think that this may be our most joyous Christmas yet.

But I got to thinking about a friend of mind in Colorado.  This friend was not Christian.  In fact, I think he was an atheist if I remember correctly (and I often don't).  He celebrated Christmas with his family.  I asked him why since I new he would not be celebration the birth of Jesus.  He said it was a holiday to give and receive presents.  I didn't understand it then and I still don't.  But thinking of him I got a little bit sad.  For him this year with a lessening of presents the Holy day won't be a celebration but just another day off of work.  That just makes me sad for him.

So, I believe that if you focus on the meaning of the holiday and celbrate the birth of our Salvation this year that you can possibly have the best Christmas ever.  If you lose track of Jesus and reduce it to gift exchanging then it looks to be one of the worst.  Let's all look to Jesus to guide us, soften our hearts, and celebrate our inheritance of the Kingdom.  And of course, pray for those who will be struggling.

Motorcycles Are Gone

Well, that's it I suppose. At least for now. Sold both motorcycles. They were rusting away next to the house. Maybe this way they'll get ridden again. Someday I may buy another bike. It might even be another XS1100. That'd be nice. Or it might be a new american bike. We just know what the future will bring. I was sad seeing them go but they'll get ridden again.

See you on down the road - maybe even on two wheels some day but for now it'll be four wheels.

How to make pumpkin pie!

"Yummy, yummy, yummy, I've got homemade pumpkin pie in my tummy."

How I did it: I got 4 smallish pumpkins (6 to 8 inches in diameter).  I removed the stem, cut them in half, removed the pumpkin guts, and put them innards down on a cookie sheet.  I had covered the cookie sheet with aluminum foil to keep them from staining the sheets and I let the pumpkin skin take the heat.  I baked them at 350 degress like baked potatoes for almost an hour.  I pulled them out when they were soft and peeled the skin off.  I got about 8 cups of mashed pumpkin.  From there I followed the recipe in a cook book using store bought pie crusts.

Lessons & tips: Bake the pumpkin - don't boil it.  Boiling makes the pumpkin too wet.

Resources: Aluminum foil and a cook book.

It took me 3 days.

It made me happy.

See more progress on: Make pumpkin pie!

Learn to cook - Now!

I just read an interesting article from Britian on Reuters titled, "We can't cook for a downturn, chef says".  According to the article, the Brits have forgotten how to cook meals at home and in the economic downturn they're turning to Fast Food because that's the only way they know how to feed their families for less.  Now they want to appoint a "Minister of Food" to work out policies to teach people to cook and to open government sponsored food centers.  Scary.  I'm glad I know how to cook some things - I made* three pumpkin pies from actual pumpkins yesterday.  I'll taste them tonight.

* I did cheat and use a store bought pie crust.  I guess learning to make pie crusts is my next kitchen lesson.  I'll add that to my 43 things.

Fishing Trip

Another thing to do on my life’s list…

Grab a charter fishing trip that goes overnight or even better, Friday night to Sunday night. I hope to put some Tuna steaks in the freezer. Yumm, yumm.

See more progress on: Overnight or Weekend long fishing trip

Boxes! Sheesh.

Boxes, boxes, boxes. Boxes everywhere. Boxes in the Living Room. Boxes in the Garage. Boxes in the Kitchen, Dining Room, and Office. Boxes in the Guest Room, the Master Bedroom, and the Master Retreat. Boxes are even outside. But no boxes in the Bathroom. Boxes in the closets. Working on emptying EVERY box this time.

See more progress on: Empty EVERY box from the last move

Bake Pumpkin Pie

We got 4 baking pumpkins at the store yesterday. Now I need to turn them into at least three pumpkin pies. One for eating now, one for eating on the next campout, and one for Thanksgiving. I’m the only one that eats pumpkin pie in our house so I have to eat the WHOLE pie before it gets moldy. It’s a tough task but someone has to do it!

See more progress on: Make pumpkin pie!

No More Sierra Nevada Beer

I just heard on a Rosary Army Podcast that Sierra Nevada Company contributes to and supports an abortion mill.  That's not good.  That's not right.

I'm joining the Sierra Nevada Beer boycott.  Too bad, it tasted pretty good.  If you hear that they've stopped supporting the abortion mill let me know - I'll celebrate with a Sierra Nevada Beer but I won't taste it again until then.

Alaska

I've always thought it would be way cool to be far enough north in Alaska (or anywhere I suppose) to be able to experience a 24 hour period where the sun never sets (mid-summer) and a 24 hour period where the sun never rises (mid-winter). Image a day with no night or no day. What is that like?

See more progress on: Go to Alaska for a 24 hour "day" and a 24 hour "night"

Obama Won the Election

The Oval Office turned blue.  he Senate and House both remained blue.  I fear that legislation is going to be passed like a run-away freight train.  Mixing metaphors, not only are we likely to throw out the baby with bath water, I think we'll be seeing that they put some more babies in the tub before they do it!

The talking heads claim it was the economy.  The democrats will tax and spend us into a worse economy.  I predict sweeping legislation that disrepects the right to life, personal property rights, the natural law, and gives up our freedom.  As a friend of mine uesd to claim, "We, the US, have gotten the President that we deserve."  Pray for us.

Election sites to monitor

National Presidential on CNN

California Statewide General Election

Orange County General Election

Which sites are you monitoring?

My vote is cast(?),...

My vote is cast.  The wait was just over an hour.  Now, I'm off to get my free cup of coffee at Starbucks. listen

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It's Election Day Today

So get out and vote!  Or forsake your right to complain for four years...

Deep Thoughts

"In order to succeed at anything in life, you have to do 3 things effectively - manage information, track commitments and allocate resources."

 - http://www.davidco.com/

All Souls Day

For all of our departed brothers and sisters...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Merciful Father,

hear our prayer and console us.

As we renew our faith in Your Son,

whom You raised from the dead,

strengthen our hope

that all our departed brothers and sisters

will share in His resurrection,

who lives and reigns

with You and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen

Podcasts

What am I listening to now?  How about these podcasts:

• Catholic Rockers
• David Allen Company Podcast
• Going Fourth
• iPadre Catholic Podcasting
• Maximum Impact Podcast
• pray-as-you-go
• Rosary Army Catholic Podcast
• That Catholic Show (Video)

PS:  iTunes says that I have 10.5 days of listening to do.  I'm way behind but I'm current.  I listen to the new podcasts as they come out and then go back a month at a time to listen to the old ones.  I'm listening to June '08 right now.

The Mythical Man-Month

I just started reading this book.  You can read my thoughts on the book at http://www.bookcrossing.com.  Follow this link:  http://www.bookcrossing.com/isbn/9780201835953.

That explains it

So my brain is now slowing down.  Brains work best at age 39.  I've got a medical excuse now.  Good thing!

"Scientists at the University of California Los Angeles are reporting that while some people may think "life begins at 40," all it seems to do is slow down. According to recent research, at age 39 our brain reaches its peak speed, and it's all down hill after that."

New test blog entry...

New test blog entry with new ID. Working?

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It's still here?

What'd'ya know?  The old Blog is still here.  Perhaps I should play with the Blog a bit again...

Western Digital stock price higher than Seagate's today

Bricks, not ceramic tiles

Ceramic tiles?!?!?!? Don't these folks know anything? If you're gonna put some thing in a disk drive box other than a disk drive it's tradition to use a brick not ceramic tiles. I saw an article called, "Best Buy Customer Gets Box Full of Bathroom Tiles Instead of Hard Drive", on slashdot where a consumer claims to have bought a disk drive box with ceramic tiles in it. Here we go again...

Laptop vs. Desktop Computers

I used to think that a good desktop computer was the way to go. They're cheaper, more powerful, more easily expanded if desired, and have way cooler peripherals. But I think I'm changing my mind and may start replacing my desktop PCs with laptops. The Santiago Canyon fire is close to us, very close. Close enough that we've packed the cars just in case. So, when you're preparing to evacuate what do you grab? The important papers, the jewelry, the pictures, the wedding album, and the really expensive stuff - at least until your car is full. But wait a second, the hard drive is full of pictures that were never printed and all sorts of important paperwork that never got backed up. What about that stuff? Well, I got most of the My Documents folders onto a portable hard drive but did I get everything? One computer was copying files for several hours and was only half done. We wound up disconnecting it and throwing it into the car as well. A laptop would've been so much easier. Couple that with a networked hard drive running regular backups and you got something that is a lot easier for the grab and go. Time to upgrade...

New Goals

I was cruising the Internet wasting time and I found these two ideas in the How To Wiki that I must try out. They'll be added to my 43 things.
The first is carbque-ing. I hafta do that some day just to try it out. My engine runs nice and hot in the Expidition so I'm sure it'll cook fast, if I can get to stay on the engine.
The second is a lasagne in the dishwasher. I have to try that out as well. It just sounds like too much fun to do. Let's do dinner, lasagne, at my place.

Woot!

I really don't like it when this:

becomes this:

I think I have a Woot addiction. I got a few things in the Woot Off! tonight. I was really hoping for a Big Orange Creamsicle but I didn't see one. :-(

Fishing

A few weeks back G. and I and some other folks went fishing out at Irvine Lake to try to catch some catfish. We never did catch a catfish but we did convince a few blue gills to get stuck on our hooks. I think this is G.'s first fish - I'm not really sure. This one came home and got eaten. A few weeks later we were out with Dana Wharf Sport Fishing in Dana Point for a twilight trip and got a few more fish. We just bought some deep sea gear to go out again.

SleepTracker?

This headline came across my PC from Crave: 'SleepTracker' watch knows when to wake you so I just had to track this down. The website for the company that makes the watch is at http://www.sleeptracker.com/. It's an interesting concept, give the watch a 90 minute period window in which to wake you and it will go off at the optimal time. You're supposed to wake up refreshed instead of groggy. If this really worked it'd be pretty cool. Do you have any personal experience with one of these things? Should I get one?

How 'bout them Rockies?

Colorado Rockies baseball team that is. Playing the San Diego Padres in a an extended season one game playoff for the National League Wildcard. They played 162 games in the regular season and now they've played another 9 innings and none of it counts. Extra innings for game #163. It's down to a sudden death overtime situation and a single inning, the 13th inning. Wow! Yea Rockies! The Padres played a good game, gotta give them an appreciative shout as well. Yea, Padres!

The Rockies are heading to Philly.

I would've liked to see this be a 2/3 series as any team can win any game on any day and a three game series would've really settled the idea of who is better.

Funny Algebra

I found this image on the net in the extended entry of May 5, 2007 on some one else's blog:

It really made me laugh. The innocence of those learning algebra...

First earthquake today

This morning I felt my first earthquake, a magnitude 3.4 near Lake Elsinore, about 15 miles away. It was a single bump. I was sitting at my desk at work when it happened. My first thought was that someone had bumped into the cube wall pretty hard. Then I realized that the ceiling tiles fluttered at the same time and I thought that someone had run into the side of the building. Finally, I realized it was an earthquake. It seems it was just a little aftershock, nbd. All of the latest quakes that I might feel can be found here.

10 Tagged Cars

CNN Money tagged 10 cars with bad or unfortunate reputions. The picked on my beloved Vega, my mom's Chevette, and several others. Many of the cars got a reputation worse than they deserved but you can't control public opinion, can you? I'll have to defend the Vega some other time.

TV Quote (words to live by)

Just heard this on some TV show:

"If I'm gonna sleep in a rental car I'm not gonna do it sober."

Aerogel, Frozen Smoke

Very cool. NASA has created a company that has created a new material. It's called aerogel and it's nick name is frozen smoke. I first read about it here. I do believe that it has the ability to change the world. It seems that this was on CNN.com in May 2002. I'm a little behind.

Can't Delete Files?

DragonHawk wrote an article on SlashDot that got my attention. The title is "DMCA Means You Can't Delete Files On Your PC?". It's worth a read. It seems that some of the things we agree to means we can't delete files off of our PC. Amazing.

When is two equal to three?

From the quote of the day:

2 is not equal to 3, not even for large values of 2.
- Grabel's Law

Somethings that make me go, hmmmm....

Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

- Susan Ertz

I'm not so sure I'd know what to do with myself on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Do you?

Secret Virtues

I saw this quote on the quote of the day gadget on my Google home page the other day:

No one gossips about other people's secret virtues.
- Bertrand Russell

Wouldn't this world be a better place if folks DID gossip about other people's secret virtues.

Fish ‘n Flush?

Fish in the toilet? This article makes me want to claim that now I've seen it all. Past experience though, says that I'll say this again soon. The internet is an amazing place...

This is such a stoopid idea that I think I want one except that it doubles the cleaning time of the toilet - once for the "stuff" that I've made and another for the "stuff" that the fish have made. Would my aim be less accurate because I was watching the fish? I'll let you know if I ever get one of these things.

The truth about the Federal Reserve Banks?

In an article on Bloomerg.com by William Pesek titled "Subprime Mess Finds Central Banks in Their Prime" there is a paragraph that really caught my attention:

"William Greider's concerns about central banks are as potent in 2007 as they were in 1989, when he published "Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country.'' Concentrating so much power in the hands of a few unelected officials is a dangerous situation."

How very interesting. I've longed maintained that creating the Federal Reserve Bank system was a huge mistake for the United States. Personally, I'd like to see the Federal Reserve Bank system abolished and go back to either a gold or silver standard and give our money intrinsic value.

Give Me Back My Rights! the Dangers of Mandatory Arbitration Clauses

Give Me Back My Rights! the Dangers of Mandatory Arbitration Clauses

Warning for Longmont Roman Catholics

I debated with myself for a while as to whether I should bring this up or not. I've decided to bring it up as a warning. Someone calling themselves Fr. Scott Jenkins is starting a new mass at the Longmont Senior Center. They claim to be catholic with and

"an independent Catholic faith community that seeks to make the richness of Catholic spirituality and tradition available and accessible to the many people who, for some reason, have felt excluded from the Roman Catholic Church"

I googled the Pastor, Fr. Scott Jenkins, and came up with this:

"Early in 1996, a former Lutheran pastor, Fr. Scott Jenkins, and his wife, Kris, joined our church. Bishop Peter ordained Scott a deacon on Pentecost Sunday of 1996. Deacon Scott served at Saint Matthew until August of 1997 when he moved to Colorado to work with Christ the King American Catholic Church. Deacon Scott was ordained a priest shortly thereafter. He became the founding pastor of a new independent Catholic faith community in Colorado called Church of the Holy Family."

at some place called Saint Matthew Church.

So the bottom line is that this new so called catholic church in Longmont is not a Roman Catholic Church. They are either "Ecumenical Catholic Communion" or a "Christ the King American Catholic Church" but certainly not a Roman Catholic Church in Communion with the Holy See. If you are Roman Catholic then I advise you to stay away, far way.

U.S. Mint Gears Up To Issue Commemorative County Pennies

You know, sometimes The Onion is down right rude, offensive, and obscene but every once in a while they generate a news article that I think is absolutely hillarious. Imagine that, County Pennies instead of State Quarters. At 5 a year they estimate a run of 639 years for 3,143 counties. This is multi-generational collecting at it's finest. Something else I hadn't thought about:

"But after the lesson of the New Hampshire quarter, I'm not too comfortable putting a natural rock formation on our penny. Luckily, we have another 438 years to decide on a symbol that accurately conveys the spirit of Richland County."

I hadn't thought about what the collapse of the "Old Man of the Mountain" would mean to the New Hampshire quarters. Funny, I thought that would last forever. My parents talk of seeing it on their honeymoon. It was kind of an icon for us even though I don't remember seeing it personally.

I'm Worried About Our Great Republic

I'm worried about our great Republic for a couple of reasons. Let me go over them with you.

First, it seems that most of our citizens don't even realize that we have a Republic and not a Democracy. A democracy leads to "tyranny by the majority" while a republic is a "rule by law". In our Republic we have (or is that had?) the protection of the law and the courts. Lately courts seem to be willing to create laws but that's another topic. Our President is intent on creating democracies around the globe and we ourselves are eroding into a democracy. It's scary how easily so many people go from being uncomfortable about something to crying out for a new law to prohibit it creating a Nanny State. Seat belt laws come to mind. Colorado is poised to join the masses with a primary stop seat belt law. That is, the law will allow police to stop and ticket you for not wearing a seat belt. Currently, they have to have another reason to stop you and then can write up the lack seat belt usage as a secondary offense.

Second, I'm watching the Senate with Bush's judgicial nominees, the filibuster, and the "nuclear option". The Republicans are upset over the Democrats filibuster. Let me state my personal opinion - if the judge is qualified the Senate should aprove them. Right now, that would work in my favor and when Clinton was in office it would have been judges that I don't like but so be it. They are either qualified or they are not and that should be the only thing to determine their fitness for judgeship. There should not be a litmus test for judges.
So the Democrats should not be filibustering judges and the Republicans are going to fix that by changing the filibuster rules. You know that'll come back to haunt us. They should put the original rules back and force the folks in favor of the filibuster to keep talking and bring Senate business to a halt. This "we'll pretend someone's talking when they aren't so that we can continue with other business" is just wrong. It makes the filibuster too convenient. If the filibuster is not more important than other business then it should end of it's own accord.
The Republicans are going to change the rules so that a simple majority vote can end the filibuster. Seems to me like they've neutered the filibuster. If a simple majority can end a filibuster and then a simple majority pass legislation then what's the point of the filibuster?
Someday, the Democrats will have the majority again and the Republicans will not be happy that they can't filibuster either. The rules should not be changed.

Thirdly (and lastly), our own personal and national tolerance... Think back to the last Presidential election. I don't care if you voted Democrat, Republican, or other. What was your opinion of the other candidate. And, even more importantly, what was your opinion of people who voted for the other candidate? There was a large number of people that voted for Kerry because it was "anyone but W" and there were people that voted for Bush because Kerry was an idiot. But both sides were spewing vile hate towards each other.
Strong opinions are to be expected. Even as our Republic was being founded there were strong opinions. The Federalist Papers comes to mind. But I think that both side respected each other and allowed folks that they disagreed with the benefit that everyone was trying to do the best thing for our country. These days the opposition are "ignorant idiots". So much for tolerance, eh? Some so called prolifers murder abortionists and some so called environmentalists are willing to disregard property laws because they are personally offended. We won't last much longer if we keep this up.

What do you think?

Dykotomy Apollyon

So I have a favor to ask. Back on the 19th of April I put up an entry talking about Dykotomy's CD. The CD is available for sale here and they are participating in an on-line battle of the bands. Please vote for Dykotomy here. You can listen to the tracks on the CD at the for sale site. I put up a page for the band at http://www.wossil.com/dykotomy - http://www.dykotomyapollyon.com should also get you there. If you can spare the cash please consider buying a copy of the CD. Some of the tracks remind me of Black Sabbath and over all IMHO it's a well done local band CD. Take a listen, buy a copy, and vote for it. You'll make Tim's day.

Uh, Oh - Random webbing alert

So I started doing some random webbing 'cause I didn't feel like doing anything constructive. Found some interesting productivity stuff. Follow along as I recreate the journey...

First I was at Excite and found an article called, "'Tags' Ease Sifting of Digital Data", where it says,

"Noah Brier regularly looks for bookmarks tagged "lifehacks" - for everyday productivity tips - and recently ran across an article on better ways to shave."

So off to Google to do a search on "lifehacks" where I find a page called "Technorati: Tag: lifehacks" and if you read the earlier article would seem very interesting so I followed the link. And right there towards the top of the list is "GTD with Gmail (Conclusion)". So, being a Gmail user I am going further down the rabbit hole and realize that this is the last article and just what is GTD? So I start clicking the link to the previous article to get back to the beginning of the Gmail articles. The link to the prior article is called "Shaving...the Old Way", curious, I click. And amazingly enough it's the article on shaving mentioned in the link I followed from Excite. And I wasn't even looking for it.

So back to the Gmail articles. They keep talking about GTD as if I should know what it is. Fortunately, the first Gmail article has a GTD link. This GTD stuff looks really cool. I may have to buy a copy of the book but for now I'm going to go off and read the Gmail articles. I hope you found some of this interesting.

Changing Blog Habits

Happy May Everyone!

Read several interesting things in the paper today - not that I read the paper often. Saw this article and I've decided that I need to change my blog habits. Not that it's really a big deal. I only write things here that I don't mind other folks reading. (Duh!)

Quoting from the article though:

"employees could be blogging on company time or computers, making the company potentially liable for what they say"

I didn't know that. I don't blog about company stuff and I respect my employee agreement with my employer. I guess I'll blog from home now on.