From my desk calenda

From my desk calendar: "You might be a redneck if ... You spend more time retrieving lures than catching fish." I guess I'm a redneck.

RT @pacolarsen Yikes

RT @pacolarsen Yikes! http://bit.ly/x04N3 - Comrade Obama?

IBM is seeking to fi

IBM is seeking to fill in their new Iowa operations. If you're interested take a moment to learn more by clicking on the link: http://htxt.it/Some I don't know anything else about the job or the recruiter.

Chris Shols of Broad

Chris Shols of Broadcomm asked me: Hi Michael: I need a QA engr and mgr for BRCM Security. Any old Seagate Bay Area folks you know who might have an interest? Thanks, Chris If you're interested let me know and I'll connect you.

Too much Conan + not

Too much Conan + not enough Tonight Show = fail. He isn't very funny. I'll give him a little more time before I give up on the Tonight Show.

It's 10:30 here on t

It's 10:30 here on the left coast. Another hour before we see what Conan is doing with the Tonight Show. All of you east of us have already seen the show if you cared to watch.

is a very proud Papa

is a very proud Papa tonight. George got several 8th grade awards tonight including Best Technology Student and the President's award.

RT @John Owens: A tr

RT @John Owens: A true warrior can make his armor out of anything.

Sometimes the line b

Sometimes the line between open-mindedness and ignorance is blurry, Satch. - Rob Wilco of Get Fuzzy

Happy Birthday to yo

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday Mother Church! Happy Birthday to you! I just realized that today is Pentecost!

RT @CurtJester Every

RT @CurtJester Everyone who condemns the murder of Tiller, RT this IMMEDIATELY! #Tiller (via @AdoroteDevote)

Russian Firm Buys a

Russian Firm Buys a Stake in Facebook: http://htxt.it/6Dic

Just got back from l

Just got back from lunch with my bride at @beabonehead. Thx to @jonlan for the idea this morning and the pointer to a great coupon.

The Galileoscope™

The Galileoscope™ is a high-quality, low-cost telescope kit developed for the International Year of Astronomy 2009... http://htxt.it/r54B

Attention California

Attention Californian, Don't forget to vote tomorrow, May 19!

RT @TheOnion #Earthq

RT @TheOnion #Earthquake Safety Tip: Be sure to mail your house-insurance payments five business days before a major earthquake strikes.

A moderate earthquak

A moderate earthquake occurred at 8:39:36 PM (PDT) on Sunday, May 17, 2009. The magnitude 5.0 event occurred 3 km (2 miles) NNE (24 degrees) of Hawthorne, CA. The hypocentral depth is 14 km ( 8 miles).

Cool! I just felt th

Cool! I just felt the earth move. Earthquake!

is enjoying a Coors

is enjoying a Coors beer in a unique baseball bat shaped bottle that he got as a White Elephant gift Christmas 2006. It's still OK!

Grrrr, frustrated (v

Grrrr, frustrated (very) with trying to set up a streaming video service.

Seen on woot.com, "W

Seen on woot.com, "We even had to get rid of our pot-bellied pig because there wasn’t room for him. I won’t put my kids through that again, no matter how delicious Spanky turned out to be."

I started typing a g

I started typing a groan about work, Friday and all, and then I thought of my friends that are unemployed and I realized how Blessed I was.

Here's a shout out t

Here's a shout out to my tweeps! Thanks for following me!

I just read an inter

I just read an interesting new word. People that Twitter are Twitterers or twits for short. Twits that follow me are my Tweeple.

is bummed. I'm a hug

is bummed. I'm a huge fan of the Yamaha XS-1100 motorcycle. There was a guy, Bob Jones, that made a business in Merriam, KS from the XS-1100. I always wanted to buy a bike from him but it seems that his business is gone. Something called "Southbridge Retail Center" has taken over his URL, http://htxt.it/peu7 .

I didn't last long:

I didn't last long: Sandisk 512MB MP3 Player with FM Tuner, USB Disco Mouse, Sony VAIO 15.4” 1.6Ghz Notebook, Funko Star Wars Bobble Heads – 6 Pack, and Garrity Rechargeable LED Flashlight with Nitelite. G'night all. We'll look in the morning.

It's a woot off over

It's a woot off over at http://www.woot.com ! I wonder how late I'll stay up to woot? I'd really like to get a bucket of cabbage!

RT: digitalcatholic

RT: digitalcatholic - plenary indulgence during the upcoming "year of priests" http://htxt.it/WU0a

Headline: GM falls t

Headline: GM falls to 76-year low as execs sell stock ( http://htxt.it/Ghwd ) - So much for that investment that I made. :-(

SQPN Podcast Maratho

SQPN Podcast Marathon is ON THE AIR! Go to http://htxt.it/c311

Happy Mother's Day t

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Moms out there. Thanks for being a Mom and may God Bless you today and every day.

Getting old. It stin

Getting old. It stinks. But as my father-in-law always said, "It sure beats the alternative!" Bought my first pair of "readers" today.

There was a message

There was a message hidden in my Cheerios this morning. It said, "oooooooo". I read it four time to be sure I had it right.

US News ( http://htx

US News ( http://htxt.it/IyzX ) is reporting, "Though the Obama administration has announced that it will issue a proclamation marking the National Day of Prayer, it will not hold a formal White House event, as George W. Bush had done for the past eight years."

Lord, help me to rem

Lord, help me to remember that people in my life that frustrate me are created in Your image and that You love them and find them beautiful.

Night Skeeter Update

Night Skeeter Update: Step 1: Read through all of the instruction steps before starting work on this model. Done, it was my bedtime reading last night. Only 38 days to ROCStock.

Night Skeeter Update

Night Skeeter Update: My Night Skeeter model rocket kit from LeadingEdgeRocketry arrived today. Only 39 days to ROCStock. I have to finish up the StormCaster kit real quick and get going.

Schlotzsky's Deli (F

Schlotzsky's Deli (Funny name, Serious Sandwich) for lunch. An original meal deal - nom, nom, nommy, nom, mmmm. http://htxt.it/bnca

Happy Star Wars Day!

Happy Star Wars Day! May the fourth be with you.

Happy Star Wars Day

Happy Star Wars Day to you tomorrow, May 4th. It's a really bad pun & can be found here: http://htxt.it/s3gS

Lord, I ask for the

Lord, I ask for the grace to want you enough.

It started out a goo

It started out a good day to not go fishing but ended up well. I caught 2 Sculpin and 1 Calico Bass. Only the first Sculpin was a keeper.

Ah, today is Merit B

Ah, today is Merit Badge Day and fishing. Let's see if my teen will get up this morning.

Man with money meets

Man with money meets man with experience. Man with experience gets money. Man with money gets experience. - Old Chinese Proverb

1 hour done, 1 2 go.

1 hour done, 1 2 go. Loud music, people dancing, game playing, & pizza eating - fun!

Back from Boy Scout

Back from Boy Scout Court of Honor. Working in WWME computer stuff - Northern Colorado website and Orange Encounter Community Blast.

Dilbert My page-a-da

Dilbert My page-a-day Dilbert calendar today has Dogbert saying, "I plan to build my own country on the ocean using barges. I shall rule with an iron paw. Punishing citizens for no reason other than my own entertainment. BUWHAHA! I'm hoping people will put up with it because their homes are near the ocean." As a recent Californian this makes sooo much sense.

I need to learn the

I need to learn the fine art of toilet tank repair. I have a water waster that has a slow continuous flow of water - barely more than a drip. Any local experts?

Yet one more way to

Yet one more way to feel like a complete idiot. Attend a meeting where you are scheduled to make a presentation and then leave the presentation home. What a schmoe I can be...

We'll be off to an O

We'll be off to an Orange WWME Community meeting in a bit. We're presenting.

Look out California!

Look out California! I'm going native - shorts and no socks. (Please don't make fun of my scrawny white chicken legs.)

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.