James found this snake in a crevice in a tree. It's a baby corn snake. I saw a shed snake skin in the tree a few days ago and it must have been from the same snake.

James and his new Godzilla posters.

The Best Thank You

James is a typical 5 year old when it comes to when it comes to complaining about not getting enough stuff. "You never buy me anything!" is his typical saying.

Today we had a special moment though. I was in his room admiring his new Godzilla posters with him and he said, "You do buy me a lot of things Daddy, and sometimes I forget to say Thank You."

Thank you James, it's nice to know you really notice.

Just a Weird Observation

Saturday night at work I got a lot of people coming in with bent drivers licenses, so many that I started thinking how weird it was to be getting so many in one night.

Sunday night I didn't get any bent ones but I did get a rash of cracked drivers licences. One after another.

Weird.

Hooray For Hollywood!

Here's a list of 40 things that only happen in movies. Some good, some not so. I watched a number 34 last night.

OK, here it is! I finally got a picture of this deer at night. Christmas is more like Halloween these days.

Abby Normal

I like Ann Coulter's latest column: Live and let spy

It's one or the other: Either we take the politically correct, scattershot approach and violate everyone's civil liberties, or we focus on the group threatening us and - in the worst-case scenario - run the risk of briefly violating the civil liberties of 1,000 people in a country of 300 million.

Of course, this is assuming I'm talking to people from the world of the normal. In the Democrats' world, there are two more options. Violate no one's civil liberties and get used to a lot more 9-11s, or the modified third option, preferred by Sen. John D. Rockefeller: Let the president do all the work and take all the heat for preventing another terrorist attack while you place a letter expressing your objections in a file cabinet as a small parchment tribute to your exquisite conscience.

We need to do some unpleasant things and make some very difficult decisions to preserve this country and weed out and eliminate the anti-American Rousseau-think the left has so stubbornly embraced.

Yes, anti-American.

I should have particularly avoided, as necessarily ill-governed, a Republic in which the people, imagining themselves in a position to do without magistrates, or at least to leave them with only a precarious authority, should imprudently have kept for themselves the administration of civil affairs and the execution of their own laws.

So says the brilliant Rousseau.

Rousseau's ideas about education have profoundly influenced modern educational theory. He minimizes the importance of book learning, and recommends that a child's emotions should be educated before his reason.

It is amazing how much of his nonsensical thinking has infiltrated our society. It is tearing apart and destroying this great country from within and allowing our enemies (and we do and will have enemies no matter what we do) to gain the upper hand against us.

So, accolades to Ann Coulter for standing up for sound thinking.

I've Got Oranges

I forget how long ago I planted this tree but this year I finally have oranges. It's been a few years. They sure look good.

Still Trying

Since I posted the photo of my neighbors deer she has not turned her lights on. I wonder if she reads this? No, I doubt it. But please turn on your Christmas lights if you do.

Our neighbor across the street has the same deer out front but it is standing normally. His lights haven't been on either. They both turn on the lights every night when I don't care but the minute I want a picture ...

Leaf Blower

James helped me clean up after I cut some branches that hung a bit too low over the driveway. He was playing outside while I cut the trees and when I finished he came over and started helping me clean up the branches and I let him blow the sawdust off the driveway when we finished. What I like most is that I didn't even ask for his help.

This Is Where The Left Is Going

Candidate to supporters: 'Islam won!'

"This is a victory for Islam! Islam won! Islam won! ... Islamic power is extending into Canadian politics," Omar Alghabra, the Liberal candidate for Mississauga-Erindale, reportedly declared to his audience of several hundred.

The Bible is almost outlawed in Canada but Islam is just OK with them - even in the government.

And we're going to follow along right behind if the left in this country have their way. In a bill "Expressing the commitment of the House of Representatives to achieving victory in Iraq," 108 Democrats and 1 Independant voted against victory! How sad!

This Glass Snake stopped by for a visit the other day. He stuck around for a few pictures and moved on. Although it looks like a snake, it is actually a lizard.

Why I Love My Neighbors

I noticed recently my neighbor had some Christmas lights in her backyard. I couldn't make out what it was supposed to be - it was a large white blob hanging from a tree with a red circular spot on the ground under it. This morning I took this picture (a bit grainy because of the distance) and I see it is a deer hanging from the tree by it's hind legs. The best I can figure is the red spot is supposed to be blood. What an interesting Christmas decoration! I will try to get a picture at night.

This Was A Secret?

Bush Secretly Lifted Some Limits on Spying in U.S. After 9/11

Under a presidential order signed in 2002, the intelligence agency has monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants over the past three years in an effort to track possible "dirty numbers" linked to Al Qaeda, the officials said.

Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought that was part of the homeland security laws put into effect after 911. In fact, I remember a controversy over this same thing. I guess it's an attempt by the press to get the country hating President Bush again.

New Book On The Way

A new book by Ronald L. Dart is being published and is available at prepublication prices in paperback and hardback.

It is called "The Lonely God"

"The Bible doesn't contradict itself, but it often runs sharply counter to what we expect. The truth is often presented to us in the form of a paradox. Part of the problem lies in the limitations of the human mind. The very idea of God exceeds our grasp. Traditional views hold that God Himself is the only uncreated entity that is. Everything and everyone else was created by Him. But then that means that before God created the things that are, He was alone.

How is it possible that an infinite God should ever find himself lonely or wanting anything. What in the world was He doing when He created this world and put man on it? What is the purpose for mankind? Is it possible to understand God? Yes, but only on His own terms, and only by His own revelation. When we try to go beyond what He shows Himself to be, we risk creating God in our own image. But God has not left us in the dark.

The Lonely God is about understanding and knowing God as He wishes to be known, not necessarily as we wish to know Him. The picture that emerges is disturbing. God is not only kind, merciful, forgiving, and longsuffering. He is dangerous. This is why the Bible speaks of the fear of God. This insightful, instructive, and provocative book, The Lonely God, will change the way you think about God. Order this book today and save with this special prepublication offer."

It's a well written, clear, thought provoking book. I highly recommend it.

Bad Movie

I just watched the Dukes of Hazard movie. It was terrible, I'm sure glad I didn't pay to see it. Bad jokes, bad acting, bad writing - and the Dukes are on the wrong side of the law even if the cops in the movie weren't dirty. What's the difference between the Dukes and drug dealers? I don't know. They just didn't do this movie right. Some of the old Burt Reynolds movies had him doing the same but he still had some redeeming qualities, a reason to like him. I couldn't find a reason to like the Dukes in this movie.

Crowds

I stopped at Walmart this afternoon to pick up a few things and the lines were crazy. I just wanted a few food items, I wasn't Christmas shopping. They need to have a line or 2 for people who are not Christmas shopping. Where do all these people come from anyway? Where are they all year long? I went to Publix instead - no lines.

Something I noticed though. I hadn't thought about it before, I don't really care, but seeing the lines brought it to my attention.

The stores I have been to are not decorated for Christmas. I didn't see any Christmas decorations at Walmart at all, no Christmas music, no sign Christmas is near except the lines and the Salvation Army guy out front (and they have eggnog). I don't think he had a bell either, don't they usually have a bell? They don't even have all that many toys out. In the past they have actually moved a whole section of the store to make room for more toys and closed the garden center to turn it into a Christmas center.

Maybe the malls are decorated - I'll never know.

Catching Up

James was riding his bike Sunday while I was working on my car. He told me to watch him do a trick, so I did. He rode on the grass, up the hill, he started slowing down and he fell. As he was on the ground, still tangled in the bike, he turned toward me and said, "That's not it!" I started cracking up, it was so funny. I wish I had a video camera, it was perfect.

My car (Pontiac) is not perfect. The electrical system self destructed. I replaced a fusible link last week. It was running fine but after a few days I went to get something out of the car and noticed the interior light didn't work. I checked and none of the lights worked - at all. I've been looking for a car so I wasn't very interested in fixing it.

Then the other car (Cadillac) started acting up, almost the same thing - no lights. The problem was intermittent, it wasn't a fuse. But if I don't have lights I can't go to work and I needed to fix this one. I just went through the wiring, taking out and cleaning the fuses and grounds, checking the connections and finally fixed it. The problem was in some mega fuses that were hidden under a panel in the engine compartment. They were just corroded, I cleaned them up and haven't had the problem since.

Sunday I fixed the Pontiac. It was another fusible link, a different one, and a real pain to get to. I still don't trust that it won't happen again because I'm thinking there was a reason why they blew in the first place. I won't drive it except locally and I have AAA so I can get a free tow home.

I've been looking hard for another car. I found one I liked and it was priced right but when I went to buy it, they were closed (Friday, after Thanksgiving), Saturday I couldn't go, Sunday they are closed and Monday morning bright and early the car was gone. They sold it Saturday. I was very disappointed. I believe there was a reason it didn't work out though, it was an incredible deal and like they say, you don't get something for nothing.

I have my eye on another, a 2002 Chevy Impala, but I'm not ready to buy it yet. It costs more than the other but it's in near perfect shape - almost a little too perfect. It checks out on Carfax and I have gone over it carefully - it's on a raised platform and you can go under the car - look for signs of flooding or some sign of wear beyond the rest of the car but it looks good.

We'll see, if it's there when I'm ready I just might. I can't find anything else close in the price range I need. The Impala is on the upper limits of my price range. I'm keeping my eyes open.

Assassin's Mace

This is an interesting commentary by Lev Navrozov which gives a brief history of the development of nuclear weapons.

How Easily Hitler Could Have Subjugated the World

Will It Work?

Andres Kello is trying to break the world record for most expensive internet domain name.

Crash!

Here's something you don't see everyday: Ouch!

Yesterday ...

... did not feel like Thanksgiving Day to me. We went to the inlaws and had dinner and all, I don't know why, it just didn't feel like thanksgiving.

I wanted to get a siphon to take the gas out of my car - because I want to trade it in and don't want to give them a full tank - but of course it works out I want to do it on Thanksgiving Day. I couldn't find one. More on this later, I don't want to say anything unless I can make this deal. If it works out I will be very happy with it, if not, it's back to car shopping. I just want it over with. I hate the car buying process.

We Can Rebuild It

Irma got used to using my laptop and started asking me to fix the Mac laptop (Powerbook Titanium) so she could use it while I was at work. The Mac crashed big time - the modem stopped working, the CD/DVD player broke, one of the memory cards went bad, and the hard drive started dying and I lost all the photos on it (had copies on the other computer). This all happened at the same time. Needless to say I was less than impressed with it, especially when I saw the cost of fixing it.

I bought my Gateway laptop, which I have been very happy with, and left the Mac in the closet for a while. When Irma asked me about it I searched out the parts on the internet and the prices have come down. I could actually fix it for a reasonable price. I ordered the hard drive, super drive (CD/DVD burner), and modem and replaced them all in about an hour. I also upgraded the operating system to OS X Tiger and the computer never worked better. I didn't get a memory card because it still has 512 megs but I still may get another to double it again.

I bought the hard drive, superdrive and OS X from Other World Computing and I am very happy with their service and products.

Now, the only thing I don't like about it is the WiFi is not very sensitive and I can pick up a signal on the Gateway while the Mac says there is no signal. It works if the signal is not weak but it should be better.

Indiana Kitty

Cat Survives Traffic, 70-Foot Fall From Bridge, 600-Foot Swim

The cat is resting up at an animal shelter in Washington state after leaping from a pickup, scampering through traffic, plunging 70 feet into the chilly Columbia River and swimming 600 feet to shore.

And now, for her next trick ...

Put It On eBay

1 Square Inch of Land for Sale at $1,500

You have to read this for the explanation. It's incredible that someone legally owned a plot of land that small.

Liberty

Liberty has consequences. Man wants freedom, and at the same time he wants to be free from the consequences of his actions. These two wants simply cannot be reconciled.

It is only recently that I have begun to truly understand what freedom is all about, what it costs, why people are so willing to lay it down and what it takes to get it back.

Man is conflicted about freedom. Freedom is good, but we will lay it down in a heartbeat once it becomes too heavy to bear. We are tempted to lay our freedom down if someone offers us food, shelter and clothing. People have actually accepted slavery in order to fill their empty bellies and to get a kind of security from those who would do them harm. History is full of stories like this.

Sounds a little too familiar.

They want to be taken care of, they want to lay their freedom down, they want to be slaves. They want to be servants because then, someone else can take care of them.

We are all like this to a certain extent, we all have our own tolerance level of freedom.

The quotes are from this essay by Ronald L. Dart. I've been following his evolving understanding of freedom and how to get out of the bondage we all get ourselves into. This is a must read.

If You Have a Secret ...

don't tell James. Yesterday was Irma's birthday and we got her a gliding exercise machine (cause that's what she wanted me to get her), along with flowers, cards and ice cream cake. We put the glider together in the living room and James decided he loved it so much, it should be his.

Well, we blew up some balloons and Joshua made balloon animals out of them (he is surprisingly good at it) and we put them on the machine for when she got home. I told James he couldn't ride on it anymore until Mommy got home. Irma called and James told her we opened her present and put it together. I grabbed the phone away from him and she didn't understand what he said anyway. I was going to tell her he meant the coffee maker her Mom got her.

When she came home James ran outside and told her that he wasn't allowed to ride her glider because there were a bunch of balloons on it, and on and on. She was cracking up.

He got to ride it again and Irma asked if she was ever going to get to use it. Maybe not.

Change of Plans

I was going to paint the porch last Sunday but had to put it off after I got in my car Saturday night to go to work, turned the key and heard a small bang, saw a flash of light, the car died and a burning smell permeated the air. What now?, I thought.

Upon investigation Sunday morning, it turns out the insulation pulled back on some wires attached to the starter and they shorted out - how, I don't know. How long had the insulation been pulled back and how did it manage to short out then? I thank God it happened in my driveway and not somewhere else.

I fixed it and the starter was still good. Still, I'm starting to get that itch for a new car.

Paristinians

Joseph Farrah has the solution for France in French solution: Paristinian state

James found this turtle outside the other day. He was so excited! He didn't want it to leave.

New Pictures!

I uploaded a photo album of our trip to Ft. Walton Beach and the Feast of Tabernacles. Click here or the Photos link on the left.

I Guess He Was Ready

Today, after I picked up the kids from school, I went out to work on my car. James wanted to ride his bike. OK, no problem. I went inside to get something and James had taken a wrench from my toolbox and started taking off his training wheels. I watched, curiously. He got them off no problem, got on his bike and, after a couple of false starts, started riding down the driveway!

I was amazed! He had previously shown no interest in taking off the training wheels. In fact, I did try to do it a while back and he resisted. He rode a few times with me holding the bike and walking with him and he even could ride (barely) if I let go but couldn't turn or stop. He asked me to put the training wheels back on. That was months ago, at least. Way to go James!

Damage Report

We've been home a few days now, it's hard to get back in the swing of things. While I was at the feast I was a bit worried about what damage Hurricane Wilma would cause to my house. I even considered coming home to board up the windows, but no. I prayed about it and decided to leave it in God's hands. We weren't in the direct path but they were forecasting 50 to 60 mph winds and I left all the chairs and plants outside. I watched the radar on the internet carefully and saw some massive red returns right over our town.

Well, I was right not to worry too much about it. It looked as if nothing happened at all when we got home. James had a little red car he rides on in the yard - still in the same place. All the chairs on the porch and deck - same place. There were a few dead, broken tree branches and the garbage cans moved about ten feet. That's all. It even looks like the power stayed on because my clock still had the right time.

Next time I'm away during hurricane season I think I will take normal hurricane precautions so I will not even have to think about going back.

The surf covered this spot yesterday. A lot of shells left behind, mostly broken.

We took a ride and ended up in Navarre. The area is not as built up yet and what was there was damaged by hurricanes last year. You can see the red flag for the dangerous surf but there are still a lot of people on the beach, more than we've been seeing on Okaloosa Island.

The end of a beautiful day.

The hurricane is really kicking up the surf, even though it is still down by the Yucatan. I'd hate to be here for a direct hit.

Sunset in Destin.

We went on a dolphin sightseeing cruise yesterday. The seagulls were flying along with the boat looking for handouts. Fort Walton Beach and Destin are beautiful.

I am in Fort Walton beach, Florida and this is the view. Like? We drove up yesterday to attend the Feast of Tabernacles.

This morning the garbage man knocked on my door to tell me he hit my mailbox. I don't know what the problem is but it seems everybody hits my mailbox. I told him thanks for telling me but don't worry about it. I'll bang it back into shape and this time I think I'll paint a target on it.

This is Funny

Republican Women Vs. Democrat Women

What's This About?

I can't do it on command and I don't know if it's just me or it's something everyone experiences sometimes - it's just weird. I could be driving down the road, listening to the radio and I'll see a sign or a billboard or something, read it, and at the same time as I read a word someone on the radio will say the same word. Sometimes it happens alot, sometimes I don't notice it for a while.

This evening I was using a calculator (an adding machine) and I punched in the number 1495 at the exact same time a television commercial was on and the man said 1495 (as in "only $14.95 a month). I was adding a column of numbers, it didn't come from my head, but I punched in those numbers at exactly the same time he said them.

I don't know what to make of it. It's a pretty much useless thing to have happen. It's not like knowing lottery numbers in advance or something.

Mychal Massie Tells It Like It Is

'Ugly is as ugly does'

There is nothing that separates the ugliness of the Ku Klux Klan, white supremacist groups, Elaine Harrington, Julian Bond, those who gathered in Atlanta for Jesse Jackson's hate fest, the reprehensible attacks directed at the president by the NAACP leadership at their national convention held in Philadelphia or that of Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas.

And that's the truth.

Watch That First Step ... It's A Doozy

And you can't go back.

Meth Lab May Have Caused Explosion At St. Cloud Condo.

I can get my mind around why someone might want to make and sell Meth - for the quick money. But I cannot understand for the life of me why anyone would ever take Meth. I get people who come to the hotel sometimes and I stand there looking at a skeleton, looking 30 or 40 years older than they should, bad teeth, no job, no home - and they show me their I.D. and they actually look good in the picture. What a shame to throw away their life. No matter how bad it may have been it was light years better than what Meth did to them. Light years.

Don't Ever Forget This

From 'Michael & Me'

In other words, the police aren't there to protect average citizens. It happens sometimes. There are brave police officers who put their lives on the line for strangers. They are to be applauded. But that is not the everyday occurrence you might imagine. Most police work occurs after the fact. Most responses are post-victimization. And, frankly, most of my contact with police these days occurs after I see red lights flashing in my rearview mirror.

For most people, the only time they come in contact with the police, it's a negative experience - and a costly one. It shouldn't be that way.

This morning when I got home there was a rabbit hopping around the yard. A white rabbit. When I walked toward it, it was not afraid (Why is the rabbit unafraid? 'Cause he's smarter than the panther). Anyway, it wouldn't let me get too close. He kept moving off, slowly. I got a carrot and tried to lure him with it and it worked like a charm. He came right up to me and started eating. I petted his head. He let me just pick it up, no problem but, now what? I put him in an empty 20 gallon tank. I was pretty sure the rabbit belonged to Cyndal down the road. I fed him and watered him and walked over to ask them and sure enough, it was hers. James helped me carry him over to her house. Now James wants a rabbit.

This is where some crazy guy shot a shotgun into the floor of his hotel room. No one heard it.

He shot twice. This one into the safe and wall.

Perspective

Not to minimize the hurricanes and the damage they caused but compared to the earthquake in Pakistan, we got off easy. I don't believe America has ever seen destruction on that scale.

Crazy People

There seems to be no end to the supply.

Shortly after I got to work tonight, we heard a loud noise and some cursing outside so we went out to investigate. There were four people out there. Two were walking away, toward the road and it seems they were fighting, the source of the noise. They were leaving, fine. Walking towards me is an old, drunk guy, carrying a dirty, broken styrofoam box - he said something about the couple walking away, I didn't quite make it out. My coworker recognized him, he was drunk when he checked in. He went quietly towards his room.

Coming up behind him, about fifty feet or so, is a younger guy carrying a few packages of, what else, beer. He was walking in the middle of the parking lot just inside the entrance of the hotel. As I was watching him his packages started moving, he started juggling a can but it fell. Then another, and another. Then they all came tumbling down, spilling onto the parking lot. It was like watching a Laurel and Hardy episode. I couldn't stop laughing at how it happened, I had to go inside so he wouldn't hear me.

He started picking everything up but then he just sat down among all the cans. He was just sitting there, if I didn't know better I would have thought he fell and got hurt. I felt bad now. I looked for a large box to bring out to him but he managed to pick everything up. He walked toward the back and met up with the old, drunk guy. I walked back to make sure they were OK. They got in the room OK but not before dropping more beer cans and leaving about six broken cans in the parking lot. I picked them up and threw them away. One wasn't broken. I smelled like beer.

Meanwhile, back in the lobby, my coworker said something about a shotgun blast in one of the rooms. What? I didn't hear about this. Sometime in the past few days, one of our guests blew a whole in the wall with a shotgun. Nobody heard, or at least reported, the noise. I had to see that. The blast hit the safe first, putting a deep, long dent in the heavy metal, then went on (luckily) into a outside wall. Of course, the guest had checked out by the time the hotel noticed. A police report was made.

I don't have my camera to take a picture of it and I'm off Friday night. I will bring my camera Saturday night and hopefully they won't fix the room before then. I want a picture of that.

To top it off, a hotel down the road was robbed at gunpoint Thursday morning at 6:15am.

Oh what fun.

OK ... but, Why?

Man Wins Award for Creating Fake Dog Testicles

Miller has sold more than 150,000 of his Neuticles, more than doubling his $500,000 investment. The silicone implants come in different sizes, shapes, weights and degrees of firmness.

I'll take the large, firm model, please.

Washington, Too

For a baseball park. Landowners must yield to ballpark

The District will begin using eminent domain to acquire parcels of land at the site of the Washington Nationals' ballpark by the end of this month, after unsuccessful negotiations with nearly half of the landowners.

Baseball. Stealing. How apropos.

Another One

This one in New Jersey.

Union Twp. moves to seize land, give supporter building rights

They want to steal the land from one developer who legally bought the land to develop condos and give it to another developer who intends the same thing.

On May 21, Albert G. Mauti Jr. and his cousin Joseph hosted a fundraiser for Assemblyman Joseph Cryan at the Westmount Country Club in Passaic County. The two developers and family members picked up the $10,400 dinner tab, donated another $8,000 and raised more than $70,000 that night for the powerful Union County Democrat, according to state election records.

Three days later, the governing body in Cryan's hometown of Union Township -- all Democrats -- introduced an ordinance paving the way for the Mautis to build 90 or so townhouses on six acres of abandoned industrial land along the Conrail line in town.

There is just one problem: Union Township doesn't own the land.

It is owned by Carol Segal, a 65-year-old retired electrical engineer. Over the past 10 years, the Union Township resident says, he has spent about $1.5 million to acquire the property, and he, too, wants to build townhouses there.

Segal said he met with Cryan, who is head of the township's Democratic Party, and other local officials "scores of times" over the past five years to discuss the project. He claims the talks turned adversarial after he rejected proposals to work with various developers they proposed.

On May 24, the five-member township committee voted unanimously to authorize the municipality to seize Segal's land through eminent domain and name its own developer.

"They want to steal my land," Segal said. "What right do they have when I intend to do the exact same thing they want to do with my property?"

I don't care if the Supreme Court says it's OK or not - the government is stealing this land at the point of a gun, it's no different. The government has the guns to force you to do what it wants. It's WRONG.

That's Gotta Hurt!

13-Foot Python Dies While Trying To Eat 6-Foot Alligator

The snake apparently tried to swallow the gator whole -- and then exploded. Scientists stumbled upon the gory remains last week.

Someone Wants Your Home

Florida City wants to steal the land of 6000 of it's residents.

"Now eminent domain is affecting people who never had to deal with it before and who have political connections," Mr. Brown said. "But if we don't use this power, cities will die."

Well, whats wrong with cities dying? Cities have a "basic right" to life but babies don't? Cities come and sometimes they go. So what? Our government is out of control.

The Kelo v. City of New London is perhaps the 2nd worst decision made by the Supreme Court, topped only by Roe v. Wade. Both decisions marked a major decline by our courts in the sense of right and wrong, a darkening of national conscience.

"They always think economic redevelopment will bring more joy than what is there now," she said. "Once someone can be replaced so something more expensive can go where they were, every home and business in the country is subject to taking by someone else."

You may be next.

And justice is driven back, and justice stands afar off; for truth has fallen in the street, and right cannot enter. Isaiah 59:14

Helpful Tips

This tips are from an email. I like the second one.

• Tape a chocolate bar to the outside of your microwave. If the chocolate melts you will know that the microwaves are escaping and it is time to have the oven serviced.


• A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep.


• Old telephone books make ideal personal address books. Simply cross out the names and addresses of people you don't know.


• Before attempting to remove stubborn stains from a garment always circle the stain in permanent ink pen so that when you remove the garment from the washing machine you can easily locate the area of the stain and check that it has gone.


• Lose weight quickly by eating raw pork and rancid tuna. I found that the subsequent food poisoning enabled me to lose 12 pounds in only 2 days.


• Avoid parking tickets by leaving your windshield wipers turned to fast wipe whenever you leave your car parked illegally.


• High blood pressure sufferers: Simply cut yourself and bleed for a while, thus reducing the pressure in your veins.


• Olympic athletes. Conceal the fact that you have taken performance enhancing drugs by simply running a little slower and letting someone else win.


• Create instant designer stubble by sucking a magnet and dipping your chin in a bowl of iron fillings.


• X File fans: Create the effect of being abducted by aliens by drinking two bottles of vodka. Yo'll invariably wake up in a strange place the following morning, having had your memory mysteriously 'erased'.


• A sheet of sandpaper makes a cheap and effective substitute for costly maps when visiting the Sahara desert.

Watch Out For That ... Zebra?

Truck Hits Escaped Zebras Along Rural Road

A zebra? In Florida?

"It's going to sound crazy, man, but I ain't lying. I got zebras in the road," a caller to 9-1-1 said.

Float Free

Quicksand Myth Debunked: You Can Float Free

The researchers simulated a quicksand pit in the lab and placed an aluminum ball of greater density than the quicksand on top of the pit. The ball didn't sink until the researchers began to shake the pit, simulating movement and turning the mixture of sand and water more liquid. When they did this, the ball sank right to the bottom.

But when they used an aluminum ball with a density equal to the human body, which is less than the density of quicksand, they found it impossible to sink the ball, no matter how hard they shook the pit.

I'd feel a lot better about it if they had jumped in themselves and demonstrated how it is done, an aluminum ball doesn't do it for me.

If you ever get stuck in quicksand though, you might want to give their advise a try. Even if you don't (get stuck in quicksand), it's an interesting read.

How Bizarre Is This?

Police Find Missing Man Driving Dead Deer In Ambulance

A man reported missing from a Florida hospital was found in North Carolina dressed like a doctor and driving a stolen ambulance with a dead deer wedged in the back, authorities said.

Opportunities for Re-investment in What Really Counts

I like this.

No More to Roam

From time to time in this world, God allows his people to suffer, in ways great and small. All these are trials of faith. They are times of dis-investment in one world, and investment in another. God has given us this great gift which he has not given to his other creatures. We know that we will die, and in our better moments, we know what Solomon learned and wrote for us: It is all vanity and a striving after wind.

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday Kathy! (My sister)

Check out what happened today in history and who else has a birthday today.

When It Absolutely Has To Be There Overnight

This FedEx truck was going so fast it burst into flames on the Florida Turnpike.

Not really, but the package won't be there - ever.

Missed It By That Much!

Don Adams of 'Get Smart' Dies at 82

I wish Get Smart was on the air. Maybe TV Land will do something in memory.

Nice Shootin' Tex!

Road-rage bullet hits tip of a raised finger

Opera

Opera Web Browser is now completely free - no ads.

That's Incredible!

Puppy Swallows 13-Inch Knife, Survives

How does a puppy, even a Saint Bernard puppy, swallow a 13 inch knife? It was 4 days before they operated to remove it. Ouch!

Watching Rita

Eventually, one of these reporters on the front line of these storms is going to be caught short and won't make it out. I've seen at least one reporting from Galveston and apparently there are other people who didn't evacuate that town. They might get lucky as Rita drifts eastward but in a direct hit they wouldn't have a prayer. The reporters in Port Arthur better watch it as well. They are staying in a new, strong building. OK, whatever. Man is no match for the natural forces at work here. One of these days you'll see an "I think we made a mistake" report form one of them. I hope not.

I also think if one of these storms comes towards Florida we would be screwed. After watching the evacuations in Texas I don't look forward to having to evacuate the peninsula of Florida. A Cat 5 storm so large would require evacuating most of Florida. After seeing the damage from the hurricanes in 2004, and the after effects (no gas, no power) I don't think I'd like to stick around through a Cat 5.

Not So Fast

Houston Residents Struggle to Get Inland

"Drivers ran out of gas in 14-hour traffic jams or looked in vain for a place to stay as hotels hundreds of miles in from the coast filled up. Others got tired of waiting in traffic and turned around and went home."

You're damned if you leave and you're damned if you stay. What do you do? Hurry up and wait. Don't wait for the government to save you, that's for sure.

What Do You Mean, Again?

Just heard on the morning news:

"Trouble at the pumps, it could start hurting again."

Again? It still hurts.

I think a buck a gallon is a nice round number, lets go back to that.

Get Outta Town

The morning that Katrina was making land fall, when Shepard Smith was calling the all clear in New Orleans, I asked the girl who relieved me if she had ever been to New Orleans. She said "No, why?" I said, "It's too late now." Little did I know how right I was.

I'm saying the same thing about Galveston now. If you live in Galveston, you better get out. They have learned some lessons from Katrina and are bussing people out who don't have another way. Good. If Rita keeps this course, anyone who stays in Galveston will have no excuse and I don't want to hear anything about the government blowing up the sea wall or the ethnic cleansing BS we're hearing from New Orleans. Take responsibility for your own mistakes. Better yet, don't make the mistake - get out of town.

There Oughta Be A Law

Dennis Prager is absolutely right in this essay: First fight yourself, then society

Judeo-Christian values believe the road to a just society is paved by individual character development; the Left believes it is paved with action on a macro level.

That is one reason the Left is far more interested than the Right, i.e., religious Jews and Christians and secular conservatives, in passing laws, whether through legislation or through the actions of judges. That is how the Left believes you make a better society. There is, incidentally, a second reason the Left passes so many laws: As the Left breaks down the self-discipline of Judeo-Christian religions, more and more laws are needed simply to keep people from devouring each other

Refining this subject further, Ronald L. Dart has this to say while going through II Corinthians 3:14-16:

I don't know why some persist in misunderstanding this passage. "When Moses is read," which happened Sabbath by Sabbath in synagogues everywhere, the Jews do not see what lies within, behind and underneath the law. But, said Paul, when one turns his heart to the Lord, the veil, not the law, is taken away. Thus one can see the real spirit of the law behind the letter.

And on II Corinthians 3:17,18, he adds:

The law cannot ensure freedom if it does not reach men's hearts. As long as the law is external, it inexorably destroys liberty. Men break the law, and since there is no remedy except punishment, we send them to jail and pass more laws to plug loopholes in existing law. Law alone cannot hold back a moral landslide. Only the Spirit of the Lord can guarantee liberty.

I see this clearer now than I ever have in the past.

Channel Surfing

I was watching the news the other night and they said a face transplant operation was being planned, I know you've heard it, it's been on the news lately. I flipped through some channels and HBO was showing Face Off, the John Travolta/Nicholas Cage flick. Eerily coincidental.

Tonight I caught a mini marathon of DOG The Bounty Hunter on A&E. It was pretty good, better than the other bounty hunter show that was on Discovery Channel (I believe - may have been HBO) a while back. I hope I can catch it again.

I watched a movie the other night that kind of freaked me out. I don't care for horror movies but this one took place in Japan and I watched it just to hear the Japanese and see the sites. I don't know the name of the movie, but it was about a house where some murders took place and everyone who goes in the house is killed by the evil spirits - eventually, not right then and there. I saw it was on a couple of times since I watched it but I didn't care to see it again. I just looked up the name of the movie, it was The Grudge. It's hard to forget the imagery of that movie.

On a lighter note, I liked Taxi, with Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon. Very funny.

Germany Split

German election ends in deadlock

"Germany slid into political chaos on Sunday night as the election produced a hung parliament, with both chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his challenger Angela Merkel claiming victory and the right to form a new government."

Challenger narrowly wins election in Germany

"Conservative challenger Angela Merkel narrowly won German elections Sunday but fell short of a clear mandate to govern, as Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder staged a dramatic comeback and proclaimed that he should head the next government."

This all sounds so familiar. How long will it take to decide this election?

Power Dressing?

Power-dressing man leaves trail of destruction

A guy in a fitted suit and red tie goes off in the office? No, not quite.

"An Australian man built up a 40,000-volt charge of static electricity in his clothes as he walked, leaving a trail of scorched carpet and molten plastic and forcing firefighters to evacuate a building."

I don't know if I believe this. He's walking along, minding his business, burning the floor as he goes and completely unaware of any of it?

"Frank Clewer, who was wearing a woolen shirt and a synthetic nylon jacket, was oblivious to the growing electrical current that was building up as his clothes rubbed together."

Yup. Oblivious.

"We tested his clothes with a static electricity field meter and measured a current of 40,000 volts, which is one step shy of spontaneous combustion, where his clothes would have self-ignited," Barton said.

They must have done this before. One more step and he's toast.

"Static electricity is a similar mechanism to lightning, where you have clouds rubbing together and then a spark generated by very dry air above them," said Gosden.

Really? Lightning is caused by clouds rubbing together? And thunder is caused by God bowling. Are you sure that's right?

Anyway, must have been cool to watch. It is pretty incredible.

Public Service Announcment

Katrina victims are eligible for up to 14 days free stay at a hotel - paid by FEMA and the American Red Cross. You must be from a qualifying zip code but, as a hotel, that is all we are required to check. I believe the hotel must be registered with FEMA first. Many hotels here in Kissimmee are advertising this but it must also be true of hotels throughout the country.

Cypress Gardens Adventure Park and Splash Island Water Park are offering free admission during the month of September to those displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Proof of residency required.

The World Holds It's Collective Breath

Bill Clinton as world saviour

"Clinton will open Thursday the inaugural meeting of his Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), aimed at wiping out poverty, ending conflict, rolling back climate change and promoting better governance worldwide."

Why not put him in charge of New Orleans? First save New Orleans, then the world.

And when you loose control, you'll reap the harvest you have sown.
And as the fear grows, the bad blood slows and turns to stone.
And it's too late to lose the weight you used to need to throw around.
So have a good drown, as you go down, all alone,
Dragged down by the stone. -- Pink Floyd

James wanted to wash my car for me. Good job James, clean but dented. He didn't really hurt the car.

James loves to help me paint! We're painting the porch. It's not the best picture but I love the look on his face.

Chips-Ahoy!

The other day I found whole grain Chips-Ahoy! cookies at Walmart. I looked on the Nabisco website but there was no mention of them. I don't know how much healthier they are than normal cookies, probably not much at all, but they taste good and I prefer whole grains in my food if I have a choice.

Another product I like is Barillo Plus pasta. I never tried a side by side taste test but I serve it to my family and they don't know the difference. It tastes good. If anything, it tastes better. I don't buy anything else anymore.

9-11

I wish I could say we had learned the lessons of this tragic day but it is painfully obvious that this country - collectively - just doesn't get it. We don't have the backbone to do what it will take to put this threat down for good, at least not yet. I just hope the day we come to our senses it will not be too late.

"Last time I saw it all coming and cried aloud to my own fellow-countrymen and to the world, but no one paid any attention. Up till the year 1933 or even 1935, Germany might have been saved from the awful fate which has overtaken her and we might all have been spared the miseries Hitler let loose upon mankind. There never was a war in all history easier to prevent by timely action than the one which has just desolated such great areas of the globe. It could have been prevented in my belief without the firing of a single shot, and Germany might be powerful, prosperous and honored to-day; but no one would listen and one by one we were all sucked into the awful whirlpool. We surely must not let that happen again."

--Sir Winston Churchill
Mar. 5, 1946 - Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri

Bush Derangement Syndrome

Craige McMillan hits it: Bush Derangement Syndrome - not!

"PC says some truth can never be investigated, because it might be found to be true. Thus in the realm of PC science, only a "correct" hypothesis may be investigated, lest some uncomfortable and politically unacceptable truth be discovered."

That about sums up political correctness and it's one of the reasons science cannot be trusted to find the truth. Science is a tool and it's only as good as the person using it.

"Bush Derangement Syndrome is the beginning of a very pure form of evil that the world has rarely seen - one that, like its forbearers, will destroy both those who are its victims - and those who are its perpetrators. This hatred is being channeled by some in power in this and other countries, for their own gain. As with their predecessors, they will find that they do not control it."

I wouldn't call it Bush Derangement Syndrome, the Bush hatred is a symptom of a much larger problem, but the evil he speaks of exists and seems to ebb and flow through the world like the sickness it is. It is in the beginning of an upswing now and the very people in it's grips truly believe they are free and not infected. Fasten your seat belts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

Some related articles: What New Orleans shows by Joseph Farah

He writes about our losing our ability to govern ourselves.

"The Founding Fathers knew that even the best designed government wouldn't work if the people were not righteous, moral and God-fearing - if they didn't love liberty and cherish it."

That is more true than you ever imagined. The closer the people adhere to The Perfect Law of Liberty, the more there will be true freedom. A lawless people must be governed with a heavy hand.

Also a good read: Too many takers in New Orleans

Governor and Mayor Still Not In Gear

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin don't agree on the mandatory evacuation of the city of New Orleans ordered by the Mayor. Maybe the Governor needs 24 hours to think about it. Of course, it's still Bush's fault.

Accurate Weather

I've been very impressed with the hurricane forecasting by Joe Bastardi from AccuWeather.com. He called Katrina accurately, including the flooding of New Orleans, on FoxNews before it hit and I watched him forecast Ophelia, also on FoxNews, before it was anything to speak of - now a tropical storm.

Gilligan is Off the Island

Bob Denver passed away September 2, 2005.

All the Fish in the Aquarium of the Americas are Dead

That's something I had not heard from anywhere else. Not that it's so important when compared to the human tragedy still playing out, but I visited that aquarium in New Orleans and it had some really nice fish. I heard the animals at the New Orleans Zoo are OK, but I forget where I heard it.

Where did I hear about the aquarium? Right here: The Interdictor. He's blogging from New Orleans.

Update: New Orleans' aquarium mostly killed off

He Knows

I bought James a set of Godzilla figures on eBay but I didn't tell him about it. It came in the mail yesterday and I hid it in my room so when he got home he wouldn't see it until I was ready to give it to him. When I went to pick him up he got in the car and said, "I know you got me a Godzilla." He kept saying it. Usually, he asks if I will get him one or asks if I did. This time he knew. I didn't let on and I asked him about some other things on the way home. When we got to the house I went to the kitchen and he went down the hall. A minute later he comes out with the box, proud as can be.

How did he know that?

Nouvelle Orleans

Here's an interesting little article about how New Orleans was created and why it sits so low.

The City Below Sea Level

Tickets for Sale - Cheap

Everybody wants a deal. Where can I buy discount tickets? It's the most asked question in this area. Basically, you can't - not legally. There is no way to tell if the tickets you buy have been used or not and people get taken all the time. Buy only from a legitimate source.

Black Market For Park Tickets Is Dark Side Of Orlando Tourism

They Were Well Warned

Here's another article, Gone with the Water, that lays out precisely what happened to New Orleans during and after Katrina - written before the disaster. It was well known that it was only a matter of time before this happened. They should have had buses lined up to get people out of there before the hurricane. They also should not let people live in those low lying areas again. Name it Lake Orleans and leave it at that.


But rebuild they will.

Bible Verse of the Day

Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Ecclesiastes 8:11

My thoughts while watching coverage of the looting and violence going on in New Orleans. It's a symptom of underlying problems in society these days. One of which is not teaching kids right from wrong - they teach that there is no right or wrong to our children, it's all relative. Another is not executing justice and necessary vengeance against evil acts.

R.L. Burnside died September 1, 2005 at a hospital in Memphis.

"Blues artist R.L. Burnside, who redefined the blues genre by incorporating indie rock acts and hip-hop production, died September 1, 2005, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Burnside was born November 21, 1926, in Harmontown, Mississippi, and spent most of his life in the north Mississippi hill country, where he worked as a sharecropper and a commercial fisherman and played guitar at weekend house parties. In 1968, noted folklorist George Mitchell recorded Burnside for the first time."

The Lost City

I keep hearing they want to rebuild New Orleans and I can see preserving the French Quarter and around that area, which I believe is on higher ground than the rest of the city, but to have so many people living below sea level - essentially in the bottom of a drained lake - doesn't really make a lot of sense. Of course, people don't always make decisions based on sound judgement and who am I to say what they should do.

Here's an article from Dec. 2000 that looks at New Orleans from an insurance perspective: The Lost City of New Orleans?

Very interesting, especially considering it is from 2000.

Unbelievable

Check out some of the pictures coming out of Louisiana/Mississippi. Just incredible. There are a couple of pictures of dolphins in a hotel pool but it doesn't say why or how they got there. Storm surge?

I watched the hurricane coverage pretty much all night Sunday and around 5am I heard a reporter in the French Quarter saying it wasn't as bad as they were saying it would be and New Orleans was getting off easy, yet the hurricane was still a few hours from reaching New Orleans. I couldn't believe it. The hurricane is not even there yet and he's acting like it's not going to be that bad. I wonder what he thinks now?

You'll find a lot of interesting Katrina links here - scroll down the page.

Home of the Brave?

Question Marks and Exclamation Points

"The question is whether we have the patience when it takes longer and costs more than expected. Would this generation of Americans have stayed more than the decade long course that spanned the time between the Declaration of Independence and the ratification of the US Constitution? Would this generation tolerate the hundreds of thousands lost in World War II and the financial burden that went with it?"

Keep Them in Your Prayers

I feel bad for all those in the path of Katrina, whether New Orleans or not. South Florida didn't fare very well and it was only a category 1 storm - now a category 4. I sure don't want to go through a hurricane again.

Beware the U.N.

Endangered Sovereignty

"The time to halt this diplomatic rake's progress is now - and to do so on the principle that Americans are a self-governing people. If Tony Blair is prepared to surrender Britain's democratic sovereignty to either a European government or a U.N. committee, that is a matter for him and the British people. American democracy needs no external examiners."

Weird

I just checked in a minister named Jim Jones. He even looks similar to the other Jim Jones but with lighter hair. If I were him I think I would change my name.

Freedom. Worth the Price?

There is a high price for freedom. That's the way it is , and there is no shortcut. The alternative seems easy by comparison, but in the end you pay a much higher price. Pay a lot now, or lose it all later.

Here's a must read post from an Iraqi living in Baghdad:

A Message to Cindy Sheehan

Ma'am, we asked for your nation's help and we asked you to stand with us in our war and your nation's act was (and still is) an act of ultimate courage and unmatched sense of humanity.
Our request is justified, death was our daily bread and a million Iraqi mothers were expecting death to knock on their doors at any second to claim someone from their families.
Your face doesn't look strange to me at all; I see it everyday on endless numbers of Iraqi women who were struck by losses like yours.

Our fellow country men and women were buried alive, cut to pieces and thrown in acid pools and some were fed to the wild dogs while those who were lucky enough ran away to live like strangers and the Iraqi mother was left to grieve one son buried in an unfound grave and another one living far away who she might not get to see again.

We live in pain and grief everyday, every hour, every minute; all the horrors of the powers of darkness have been directed at us and I don't know exactly when am I going to feel safe again, maybe in a year, maybe two or even ten; I frankly don't know but I don't want to lose hope and faith.

Your son sacrificed his life for a very noble cause... No, he sacrificed himself for the most precious value in this existence; that is freedom.

Science and Creation

Scientists Speak Up on Mix of God and Science

At a recent scientific conference at City College of New York, a student in the audience rose to ask the panelists an unexpected question: "Can you be a good scientist and believe in God?"

Reaction from one of the panelists, all Nobel laureates, was quick and sharp. "No!" declared Herbert A. Hauptman, who shared the chemistry prize in 1985 for his work on the structure of crystals.

Belief in the supernatural, especially belief in God, is not only incompatible with good science, Dr. Hauptman declared, "this kind of belief is damaging to the well-being of the human race."

His kind of thinking is damaging to the human race. The fact of the matter is, even if you buy into evolution, there is still a leap of faith required to explain how matter (or atoms or sub-atomic particles or the laws that govern all of this) came into existance in the first place. There was a beginning and the laws that govern the universe preclude self-creation.

Dr. Collins said he believed that some scientists were unwilling to profess faith in public "because the assumption is if you are a scientist you don't have any need of action of the supernatural sort," or because of pride in the idea that science is the ultimate source of intellectual meaning.

But he said he believed that some scientists were simply unwilling to confront the big questions religion tried to answer. "You will never understand what it means to be a human being through naturalistic observation," he said. "You won't understand why you are here and what the meaning is. Science has no power to address these questions - and are they not the most important questions we ask ourselves?"

No Sleep? No Problem?

Wonder drug beats sleep loss

I've often wished it were that easy. What are the side effects? What happens when you stop taking it? I doubt it's as easy as they make it out to be.

A Dead People

Palestinians: Get us out of Gaza

The Palestinians have destroyed themselves, with plenty of help from their fellow Arab nations. I don't believe there is any hope for them at this point. I'm not sure why Israel pulled out, perhaps to prove a point. Unfortunately, that point will most likely be lost on a world turned upside down. The Palestinians will never rest until all of Israel is destroyed. If they actually managed to achieve that, and they won't, they would still not be able to settle down and live peaceably with themselves.

There's a lot of history behind all of this, but if you were able to sift through it all and find the reasons for their condition, ultimately, the fault would lie on their own shoulders.

Not Quite What You Think

Stunned waitress gets Porsche as tip in Sweden

What's the first thing you think of? A new Porsche, right?

"It turned out to be 1979 Porsche 924 worth 4,000 dollars."

Great tip, no doubt. I'd take one. Just not quite what the headline promises.

Open Season On Private Property

Better hope a developer doesn't want yours.

Daytona businesses must sell property

"You don't own anything any more," said Darrell Hunter, whose business, Capt. Darrell's Oyster Bar and Restaurant, has been condemned. "The government owns it and can do whatever they want with it.

Same thing going on in a neighborhood near you. If not, it will.

Never mind that private property rights are one of the foundational principals of this country.

Thunderstorm

I was going to write a post yesterday about how the rain has been bypassing my neighborhood lately. When I look at the radar there are storms all around my area but there would be a clear circle where I live. I'm not complaining, I just noticed this. Well, Sunday afternoon was the end of that. We got hit hard. Lightning was striking all around and hit in my backyard. All this while I was trying to sleep.

Having Fun Yet

Sunday morning I thought I would change the oxygen sensors on Irma's car. There are two. Unfortunately, I believe Cadillac engineers gave no thought whatsoever to replacing parts on this engine after it was installed. The idea must have been to make a really good engine that lasts well into the second owner but when parts start aging you just throw it away. What do they care at that point?

The front sensor wasn't too bad, just had to remove the upper engine mount and air cleaner and squeeze your hand down to it. Disconnecting the electrical connection was actually harder because of it's location.

The rear sensor is a completely different story. You cannot reach it from the bottom - just forget it - ain't gonna happen. You can see it from the top through a sliver between the engine and fire wall (actually the vent blower assembly). Remove the upper strut brace and the bank of ignition coils. Look again and wonder if this is actually possible. It's close to a straight shot down so getting the socket on it wasn't too bad, you just have to add some long extensions. Loosening the sensor, you soon find the wires getting tangled up and jammed between the engine and tool. It helps to do this in the hot Florida sun so the sweat pours off you and lubricates the engine, but not much.

After much aggravation and cursing, just get some vise grips and pull the wires loose so you can continue loosening the sensor. Don't forget to break the connector so you can't give up and leave the old one in there. Having a 5 year old around asking a bunch of questions kind of adds to the excitement here. Forget about using the socket now - you got it loose and it will not come any further with the socket - it's stuck. Luckily, the sensor had anti-seize compound on the threads and can acually be turned by turning the wires while wiggling the sensor. Slowly but surely. Got it? Yes, it's out. Now take a break, drink plenty of fluids.

Go back out there and take a look. Start worrying because the hardest part is yet to come. Try putting the new sensor in the socket and guiding it down into the hole. No problem, right? Now try to actually get the threads started. Don't crossthread them. The angle is wrong and it's not possible. Consider using a knuckle on the extension but notice the socket is going to break the wires if you try that again. Forget that idea, you have to do it by hand. Try every position possible to get your hand down there. Cursing doesn't help, but do it anyway. It doesn't help to burn the back of your hand on the lawnmower exhaust 2 days before trying this, so don't do it. You will just tear the skin off the back of your hand and even that doesn't give you enough room to get your hand down there.

Take a break before you really break something. I know watching the car burn in your driveway would look pretty good right now but just walk away.

OK, ready to try again? Good. Try and try and try. Try some more. Stop trying. Think. You need smaller hands. Look at your 5 year old son and wonder if he has the dexterity to do it. Look at the 13 year old and realize his hands are as big as yours. Look at 5 year old again. No, that's a very last resort. Think some more.

Keep thinking, your almost there. Who's car is this anyway? Irma's car. Irma can't drive her car if this part doesn't go back in and Irma really hates driving your car. Hmmm. Irma has smaller hands. "Oh, Irma! I need your help here!"

Just explain the situation to your wife. Emphasis the fact that if this sensor isn't in the car she can't drive it. Show her your bloody stumps hands. Get a carpet and put it on top of the engine so she can lay down and work.

Hey, it worked. It took a while and a lot of false starts but it's in.

Have a Banana

This is an interesting article on bananas. Can This Fruit Be Saved?

Just Asking

What's an environmentally friendly shooting range? They want to build one in Saint Cloud.

Ah, here it is:

Kelly also said making the range environmentally sound is a current trend being embraced by law enforcement groups nationwide and the U.S. military. By using non-lead ammunition and special gun components to prevent release of minute amounts of toxic gases that can build up over time and harm range personnel, the St. Cloud facility would be one of first totally "green" ranges in the country, said Kelly.

Ungrateful

Woman Files Lawsuit After Being Saved From Drowning

Barbara Connors is suing the town of Old Saybrook, Connecticut, saying she was rescued too late to prevent serious brain damage.

I thought there were Good Samaritan laws to keep people from sueing rescuers? If you're going to be sued after saving someones life, why bother? That's the point of the law, to keep people from thinking twice about saving someone.

The Jokes On Him

Man Picks Wrong Car For Joke Traffic Stop

I don't know if it's nationwide but here in Central Florida the police have undercover vehicles that look just like any other car on the road - pickups, vans, cars you wouldn't think would be a police car - and the flashing lights are completely hidden until they come on. I've never been pulled over by one but I would be concerned it was possibly just some idiot like the guy in the article.

Speaking of idiots, I've seen a rash of people pull over to the left or even stop in the traffic lane when being pulled over. What's that all about?

James At School

James had a great time at school yesterday. He enjoyed art the most, he did finger painting. He got some paint on his new shirt but I was able to wash it out before Mommy saw it. He had no problem at all adjusting to a new environment. The teacher said he was very well behaved, too.

I didn't get any sleep though. The power steering pump mount broke on my car (while Irma was driving it - for the first time in ages) and I can't get it until later today. So, I had to drive Irma to work ... but ... She went to work late. I had to take her to Walmart, went to the dealer to get the part for my car (they didn't have it), then she wanted to stop at a car dealer and look at a Ford F150. We drove that down the road- it had a few problems I didn't care for.

We went home and found out I had missed a FedEx package I needed to fix a problem on her car. I was not happy about that. I started taking her to work and there was a FedEx truck in front of AutoZone. I turned around but by that time he had left. We spotted him on a side road and after a few turns were able to catch him at his next stop. I asked if he had my package and he sure did. Perfect. By the time I got home it was 1:00pm and I had to pick up James at 2:30pm. I took a nap for 1 hour. I put the part on her car when I got up.

I still have to change the oxygen sensors and the front wheel bearings on her car and change the power steering pump mount on my car. Not doing it today.

What's Going On At Disney World?

"From Mission: Space to Tower of Terror to Typhoon Lagoon, Disney has had a horrible story come out of each this summer. A four-year-old died at Epcot in June. A 16-year-old collapsed at MGM-Studios last month. A 12-year-old died at the Typhoon Lagoon water park last week."

What a year Disney is having, eh? Now ...

Fire Department Serving Disney May Scramble Calls

"The public might not have heard much about the incident if a call for paramedics didn't go out over the scanner. Reporters and others monitor those transmissions. But soon, those scanners could go silent."

In Memory of Joseph T. Neal

Joe was killed on July 26, 2005 in an automobile accident.



This is Joe on our day trip to New Orleans. He will be missed.

School Starts Today!

Today will be the first day of school for James. He's excited and I think he will be just fine. I'll let you know what he says when he gets home.

Shouldn't Have To Say It

If the United States brought all the troops home, dismantled it's military, destroyed all of it's nuclear arsenal and completely minded its own business, not only would it not bring peace to the world or to the United States, but it would make the world a much more dangerous place. Far worse than it is now.

A mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, demanding President Bush bring home the troops, completely misunderstands how the world works and how freedom and liberty are bought and paid for. Here's the link.

Missing Teen?

There has been a missing teen in Florida since July 21 and the first I heard of it was on Fox News Saturday night. She has been found murdered.

I watch the news every night and every morning I am working. I don't always like watching it but I put it on so I know what's going on. Usually, when a child is missing, it's all over the news - at least locally. What about the amber alert? Did I really just miss it or did it not get reported as much as others?

It's amazing that some missing or murdered victims get so much attention that you can hardly stand to hear any more about it and some just seem to get lost and forgotten.

What Are We Fighting?

A couple of very good articles by Lee Harris:

Al Qaeda's Fantasy Ideology

War in Pieces: The Blood Feud

To The Moon

Google Moon

Just don't get too close.

No Peace, Anywhere?

Woman Bitten By Poisonous Snake Hiding In Toilet

No one knows how the snake got in the toilet, or where it went after that.

It's not all that unusual to hear of a snake in plumbing, it's happened before. Usually it is an escaped pet, however, not a poisonous snake. I think the woman will be moving soon. Very soon.

I wonder how they know it was a water moccasin? Most people don't have a clue what kind of snake they are looking at and nine times out of ten the news has the wrong identification of snakes they show. The picture of her thigh doesn't look like anything happened, a poisonous snake bite usually causes some serious damage or a least discoloration. How long ago did it happen? The picture of the guy with the shotgun looks a little over the top - he's gonna shoot up his house trying to kill it? I don't know but I think a little exaggeration may be taking place here.

How To Stop Spam

Russia's Biggest Spammer Brutally Murdered in Apartment

Vardan Kushnir, notorious for sending spam to each and every citizen of Russia who appeared to have an e-mail, was found dead in his Moscow apartment on Sunday, Interfax reported Monday. He died after suffering repeated blows to the head.

The Man-Machine

Seventh wonder! Armstrong wins last Tour

Says Lance Armstrong:

"...there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it."

That's putting it mildly. Congratulations Lance!

Why You Don't Swim During A Thunderstorm

Lightning injures four on Clearwater Beach

Pitcher, 46, and girlfriend Susan Berg, 35, said it appeared the male, standing in water that was not even waist high, took a direct hit. He looked to be coming toward shore when the bolt struck his head, Pitcher said.

The bolt flickered for about three seconds. Then, the man's arms went up in the air and the electricity appeared to lift him out of the water, Pitcher said. When the bolt disappeared, he dropped back in the water and sank, Pitcher said.

"It sucked him right out of the water," said Pitcher, a hospice nurse from Port Richey. "The lightning stopped, and it dropped him. I couldn't believe it. It was scary."

You would be surprised how many people won't get out of the water when a storm rolls in.

Why Is This Guy Still Alive?

Saddam Complains About Access to Lawyer

I seem to remember a video of Saddam on stage in a full auditorium happily announcing the names of so-called traitors while the audience sat nervously horrified while those whose names were called were dragged out and shot. Where were their lawyers? Where were the lawyers of all the people in the mass graves all over Iraq, not to mention anyone else who Saddam or his henchmen decided to torture and horribly kill?

The fact that he is still alive is a dishonor to the memory of everyone he is responsible for killing.

Goodbye Scotty

Star Trek's Scotty dies aged 85

One Big Shark

Massive Shark Caught Off Vineyard

Check out the picture. It's 1100 pounds but it doesn't say how long.

The Truth Comes Out

Palestinians: Gaza evacuation bad for us

"We know once Israel leaves, Hamas is in power. A lot of the Palestinians in Gaza are really upset about this because life won't be good for us," said Mahmoud.

"We are treated much better in Israel than by Palestinians in charge," said Saed.

Saed explained when he crosses into Katif he is regularly extorted by Palestinian forces to guarantee his safe passage.

"On the Israeli side no problems. But on the Palestinian part of the crossing, the security forces make us give them sometimes 50 percent of any produce we bring back just to get through okay."

Said Mahmoud: "It's not good for us. I want Israel to stay."

Hurricane Emily

I was watching the news and was surprised to see people just showing up in Cancun for vacation who didn't realize there was a hurricane on it's way. I haven't really been paying attention to the news lately but I was very aware of the hurricane, it's mentioned on the news about every ten minutes around here. I guess they don't cover them so much up north, but still, if you're going on vacation aren't you curious to know what the weather will be like when you get there? I guess not.

I Hate AOL

AOL is worse than any company I know when it comes to forcing itself all over your computer. I just got a new computer and all they had to do was put the AOL disc in the box but they preinstalled it. Fine, use the remove programs to get rid of it. Oops, that doesn't quite work. There were four entries for AOL, one is still there. I tried uninstalling it a few times and it says it is not there. Then why is it still there?

I did a search for AOL on the computer and found 36 entries, some of which are applications. I don't want anything AOL on my computer. Is there a program to get rid of all this crap? It should be considered spyware as far as I am concerned. Unfortunately, I'm afraid to just delete all these files in case it breaks a program I need.

What good does it do AOL when they make people hate their product so much. They need to go out of business.

Kim Komando helps a little.

First Post On New Computer

I was finally able to get a new computer to replace the Mac. I went with a Windows PC this time. The Mac was nice but I prefer the programs I use on Windows and I always feel out of place on the Mac. James wants the old one. So does Irma and Joshua. I have been letting James play around with it and he figured out how to change the background picture and the login picture. Mostly he just likes to watch DVD's on it and he types a mess. He's working.

Hurricanne Update

They were predicting a lot of rain for this area (Central Florida) but so far today it has hardly rained at all. The wind has been steady but not overly strong. There is a small storm approaching now, I can hear the thunder but it doesn't look any worse than a normal afternoon storm. On radar it looks completely normal, in fact it just updated and seems to be pulling away from me. Good.

Congratulations Marianne!

Congrats to Marianne Gilmour for becoming a registered nurse. I'm very proud of you!

MythBusters

Here are some "Myth or Fact?" quizzes to test your knowledge. Interesting and I got 1 or 2 wrong on each one I did. Didn't do them all. Like I have nothing better to do.

It's Done

It's finally done! Actually, I finished it last week but I haven't had time to even download the picture until now. That was the biggest project I ever tackled on my own. More to come. But not another roof.

The Roof

I should have finished the roof today but they said it was going to rain early today and I stayed home. I was really beat anyway. I only have a little more to go, I can't wait to finish, it really is beating me up to do that after working all night. Yesterday I got maybe 2 hours of sleep and that after working up there till I couldn't work anymore. I don't recommend replacing a roof by yourself.

Multitasking?

I've discover that when you are ripping CD's to your computer (Windows XP) you can't do anything else. Well, you can, but any sound that the computer makes is recorded on the music file. I didn't think that would happen with a direct rip, but it happened to me. I was using Windows Media Player 10.

Take Two Aspirin

This guy woke up with a bullet in his tongue. A woman stuck a gun barrel in his mouth during a dispute that night and pulled the trigger, then he went home to sleep. Something seems weird about this story. Something.

Let God Work It Out

Last week Irma had to have an operation to remove a small lump in her breast. They rushed the operation and did it Friday. She is OK and it turned out to be nothing serious. But I was expecting a very important Fedex late in the week and it didn't come Thursday, so Friday was the day it would come. I couldn't be home, I had to spend the day in the hospital. I didn't want them to leave it on the porch and didn't want to wait over the weekend but what could I do? Whatever.

My neighbor across the street is never home. I don't think they are really neighbors, every few months they show up and do a little work around the yard and disappear for another couple of months. Well, I'm bringing Irma home late in the afternoon and here comes the neighbor walking up the driveway with my package. Wow, cool. But, where'd he come from. He just happened to show up on Friday - I have not seen him nor has anyone been in that house for at least two months. He worked there Friday and Saturday and disappeared again. Thank you, neighbor. And thanks to God for bringing him to the house Friday. It worked out perfectly. Not to mention nothing was wrong with Irma, thank God for that as well.

Son of Divorce

I can't even begin to tell you how important this essay is to America. Everyone should read and understand what it is saying - and take heed. Unfortunately, we have been so deluded and most of what we believe are lies. This essay tells the truth about divorce.

"Marriage forces us to face ourselves."

One thing people can't do very well is take a good, hard, honest look at themselves. They can't handle it because it means they will have to admit fault and start the long, hard process of change. Most Bible owners don't really read the Bible for that very reason. The Bible is a mirror into the deepest recesses of your heart. But this essay is not about the Bible, it is about the truth of divorce. Face it.

Peterbilt Ford, Revisited

A lot of people seem to like this truck, so here's another shot of it. I have some more detailed pictures and I'm glad I got them because I haven't seen it around in a while. Perhaps I'll post them another time.

Rain. Again.

After all the rain last week I was able to get over to the roof I have been replacing yesterday. I removed all the shingles from the other side of the roof. Today, the plan was to begin replacing the sheathing. I watched the weather reports last night and this morning. They even have a graphic and gave a thumbs up for outside work today. The rain was supposed to start in the late afternoon. So, I went over there around 10am and lifted 4 sheets of plywood to the roof to begin replacing them. I removed the tarp from a section of the roof and it suddenly began pouring rain. The car windows were open, my car was getting soaked, the new plywood was getting soaked, I was getting soaked. I quickly got the tarp back on, closed the windows in the car and put a tarp over the now wet plywood. It has been rainy ever since.

I would really love to be able to trust a weather report araound here. I wonder what the excuse will be?

Here's a Tuff One

A 17 year old is pregnant and wants an abortion, but she wants to do it herself. Why, I don't know. Her boyfriend helps. When the authorities find out the boyfriend is prosecuted and sentanced to life imprisonment, the girl cannot be prosecuted because of her right to an abortion.

What a mess we have made of our legal system.

I Like Fish ...

But not this much.

"During the search, customs officers became suspicious after hearing 'flipping' noises coming from the vicinity of her waist," said the statement.

People will smuggle anything.

Here's James and Eric eating your birthday cake. Happy birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy birthday Mom! James sends his love and said he wants to send you a Godzilla movie.

See what else happened today in history. You have to select the day youself, they don't let you link directly to the day.

European Union

Here's an interesting commentary on the recent upset of the European constitution: Betrayed ... By the French!

My German colleagues were all teary eyed today. All voiced their resentment of "another French betrayal." Make no mistake about it, the majority of Germans continue to hold the French in contempt, and display antipathy for anything French. Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schroder may appear on television as "best buddies," but the typical German man or woman on the street harbors no love for the French. One young German man that I know told me, "Sabotaging the EU Constitution is a serious betrayal to the German nation, and the whole of Europe. We won't soon forget this, but we should have known. Afterall, we are dealing with France here. The French are our traditional enemies."

Gonna Drink and Drive?

Do it in Seminole County, Fl. Just take the breath-alcohol test and when you get to court, ask for the software source code of the breath-alcohal machine and you will be aquitted. Simple as that. Amazing.