Well all the liberals who hate war and voted for B.H. Obama are going to hate this. It is a draft, pure and simple. You can put all the tax credits for young adults you want on it but it is still mandatory service...just like many other socialist countries.
Again (and I will keep saying this) for all y'all that voted for BHO, I hope you will stand by him when he starts implementing his policies. I know who some of you are and I will keep tabs on you just to make sure that you are true to your candidate. God knows I stood by GWB during his two terms. I may not have liked everything he did but I stand by him.
Don't be a hypocrite!
Friday, November 14, 2008
The Report
Well, the doctors office just called and all my blood work was normal. No thyroid or prostate issues and no cancers that they know of.
I then asked about my cholesterol and I was told my total was 199, which is good because it is below 200. The break down was:
Triglycerides (good cholesterol) - 135, which is in the good range
LDL (bad cholesterol) - 119, which is borderline.
They want to wait a year and take it again to see if my LDL goes up, stays the same, or goes down. My diet is already pretty low in cholesterol and I have a feeling that it is mostly hereditary. If it goes up any, they will consider putting me on drugs to lower it. My doc knows I am no a big fan of taking drugs so anything I have to take long term will be new for me. However I am not going to fret...I will cross that bridge when I come to it.
I then asked about my cholesterol and I was told my total was 199, which is good because it is below 200. The break down was:
Triglycerides (good cholesterol) - 135, which is in the good range
LDL (bad cholesterol) - 119, which is borderline.
They want to wait a year and take it again to see if my LDL goes up, stays the same, or goes down. My diet is already pretty low in cholesterol and I have a feeling that it is mostly hereditary. If it goes up any, they will consider putting me on drugs to lower it. My doc knows I am no a big fan of taking drugs so anything I have to take long term will be new for me. However I am not going to fret...I will cross that bridge when I come to it.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Omnivore
You know the routine...post this list and bold what you've eaten. I am borrowing this from Spork who shamelessly lifted it from Ellie Mae...
If I counted correctly I got a 51.
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn or head cheese - I bought some once, but couldn't make myself taste it!
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips - but I don't see the point
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs' legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Har
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
If I counted correctly I got a 51.
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn or head cheese - I bought some once, but couldn't make myself taste it!
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips - but I don't see the point
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs' legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Har
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Es'plain This To Me
I read on Foxnews that there is a ad campaign that has me a bit miffed. It is from Why Believe In A God Dot Org and the reason I am miffed may not be what you think.
Here is a link to the ad. I am not upset that they are telling people they don't have to believe in "a god" (personally I believe in THE GOD, but I understand that I am biased...) but the tag line, "just be good for goodness sake" as me bothered. How should a person define "good"? Wordnet has a great listing for good, but is that really what the ad is asking us to do?
I am not smart enough nor do I have the time to postulate on all the details so I will just leave it at that. Before anything can be defined, you have to have a benchmark. Also if you can do good, then you have the ability to do evil and again, how is that defined?
The web site is pretty clear that we should not have ethics or values set in stone but we must remember that morals and ethics are not the same. Look them up.
Here is a link to the ad. I am not upset that they are telling people they don't have to believe in "a god" (personally I believe in THE GOD, but I understand that I am biased...) but the tag line, "just be good for goodness sake" as me bothered. How should a person define "good"? Wordnet has a great listing for good, but is that really what the ad is asking us to do?
I am not smart enough nor do I have the time to postulate on all the details so I will just leave it at that. Before anything can be defined, you have to have a benchmark. Also if you can do good, then you have the ability to do evil and again, how is that defined?
The web site is pretty clear that we should not have ethics or values set in stone but we must remember that morals and ethics are not the same. Look them up.
Tub Of Lard
Part of the signing up for benefits at work is getting a "health coach" from WebMD (this whole process saves me $300 a year on my medical bennies...whoo hoo!). While I am in pretty good shape (not Sig9 good, but not bad for a 43 y/o who has had some minor back surgery) I knew exercise and diet were some things I needed to work on. So I signed up, got my $300 benefit bonus bucks, and let the "Health Coach" (who I was told by the CS rep, had a "Mastorate"...I am not a smart man and I had not heard of that term before....Mastors, yes, Doctorate, yes, Mastorate, no) call me. We discussed my eating and exercise habits and found out...surprise - I am "fat", or overweight by about 15 pounds.
Most people who see me full clothed (read: EVERYONE but my wife and doc) had no idea that my 5'10" frame carried around about 190 pounds. While I am no Adonis, I am somewhat muscled in the upper body and legs. However when the shirt comes of, the first thing you notice is my "ice cream gut"...which is where those 15 pounds are hiding.
The health coach told me to keep a food and and exercise diary to help me get a handle on my eating habits and since I had a physical yesterday, I figured yesterday was a good day to start. So, I started filling in the health journal WebMD mailed me and was off.
Later that day while searching for the number of calories in a 3 ounce portion of Perch, I found The Daily Plate at livestrong.com . Not only does it have lists of foods by their name brand, but it also has many restaurant menus listed. Being rather curious, I signed up for a free account and started logging my food from yesterday. After entering in some info on my height, weight, and weight loss goals, I was informed I could eat about 2200 calories a day if I wanted to lose one pound a week. Since I am a slow and steady kinda guy, that is the plan I selected.
Yesterday I clocked in just at the total number of calories allowed and still lose my pound this week. I was about 50% higher than recommended in levels of sodium and 8% too high in fat. Everything else was good. This looks like a nice tool to help track my weight lose.
I won't know the results of my physical until the blood work comes back but my guess is that my cholesterol will be a bit high...everyone in my family seems to battle that although my blood pressure was in the "normal" range.
Most people who see me full clothed (read: EVERYONE but my wife and doc) had no idea that my 5'10" frame carried around about 190 pounds. While I am no Adonis, I am somewhat muscled in the upper body and legs. However when the shirt comes of, the first thing you notice is my "ice cream gut"...which is where those 15 pounds are hiding.
The health coach told me to keep a food and and exercise diary to help me get a handle on my eating habits and since I had a physical yesterday, I figured yesterday was a good day to start. So, I started filling in the health journal WebMD mailed me and was off.
Later that day while searching for the number of calories in a 3 ounce portion of Perch, I found The Daily Plate at livestrong.com . Not only does it have lists of foods by their name brand, but it also has many restaurant menus listed. Being rather curious, I signed up for a free account and started logging my food from yesterday. After entering in some info on my height, weight, and weight loss goals, I was informed I could eat about 2200 calories a day if I wanted to lose one pound a week. Since I am a slow and steady kinda guy, that is the plan I selected.
Yesterday I clocked in just at the total number of calories allowed and still lose my pound this week. I was about 50% higher than recommended in levels of sodium and 8% too high in fat. Everything else was good. This looks like a nice tool to help track my weight lose.
I won't know the results of my physical until the blood work comes back but my guess is that my cholesterol will be a bit high...everyone in my family seems to battle that although my blood pressure was in the "normal" range.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Do They Really Deserve It?
Reports are streaming out of the news agencies that a top priority for the Obama camp is "to work on policies to help the stricken US auto industry adjust to the economic crisis." (quote taken from breitbart.com). Why?
Why must the American taxpayers give money to those who ventured into capitalism and are failing? Why reward good behavior? Also on the list is helping those with upside down mortgages. Again, why? An upside down mortgage only hurts if the person is trying to sell. Why does this person need help? Owning a home used to be "the American dream", but now it is viewed as a right. If you bought beyond your means, then I think you need to reflect on what you are doing. This country has become too entrenched in credit. Now I understand mortgages to buy homes and I can even see loans to by cars but America is addicted to credit cards.
"Come on El Gee, you have credit cards." Yes I do. I have one that I use for online purchases which is paid off each month and I am also paying off one that we got carried away on but other than the $2000 I owe on that one card and our mortgage, we have no debt (except for a hospital bill for my wife's thyroidectomy a few months ago).
"AHA! See, you have debt and part of it is medical. If we had a socialized medical system then you would not owe on it at all."
Wrong. Had we been on socialized medicine, my wife would not have been given the surgery and while the details are personal, lets say that had it not been for her PAC (Physicians Assistant, Certified) being very curious then the surgery would not have happened at all.
I have a real problem with the stimulus packages and bailouts that have been granted and that are proposed. It just seems to me that we are rewarding bad behavior and bad business choices. Using the logic that our federal government is using I should go out and start a business and when it fails, expect the fed to bail me out. How ludicrous!
I am not going to jump on the anti-Obama train because after re-reading my history I learned a lot about the great depression and how we are mirroring it to some degree right now. FDR did some radical things that were viewed as "socialist" at the time and this country survived, even flourished. Obama and the democrats are looking to head down the FDR road and I cannot say that I blame them, but I can say that I really do not like where that road leads.
This country is in a bit of a mess. We have allowed greed to overwhelm us and cloud our thinking. We have become excessively greedy and I am afraid that it has really hurt us this time.
America, pray for our leaders. Pray for our country. Pray for Jesus to come quickly. And if you do not know Jesus as your personal savior, then please search your heart and accept him. He knocks, will you answer?
Why must the American taxpayers give money to those who ventured into capitalism and are failing? Why reward good behavior? Also on the list is helping those with upside down mortgages. Again, why? An upside down mortgage only hurts if the person is trying to sell. Why does this person need help? Owning a home used to be "the American dream", but now it is viewed as a right. If you bought beyond your means, then I think you need to reflect on what you are doing. This country has become too entrenched in credit. Now I understand mortgages to buy homes and I can even see loans to by cars but America is addicted to credit cards.
"Come on El Gee, you have credit cards." Yes I do. I have one that I use for online purchases which is paid off each month and I am also paying off one that we got carried away on but other than the $2000 I owe on that one card and our mortgage, we have no debt (except for a hospital bill for my wife's thyroidectomy a few months ago).
"AHA! See, you have debt and part of it is medical. If we had a socialized medical system then you would not owe on it at all."
Wrong. Had we been on socialized medicine, my wife would not have been given the surgery and while the details are personal, lets say that had it not been for her PAC (Physicians Assistant, Certified) being very curious then the surgery would not have happened at all.
I have a real problem with the stimulus packages and bailouts that have been granted and that are proposed. It just seems to me that we are rewarding bad behavior and bad business choices. Using the logic that our federal government is using I should go out and start a business and when it fails, expect the fed to bail me out. How ludicrous!
I am not going to jump on the anti-Obama train because after re-reading my history I learned a lot about the great depression and how we are mirroring it to some degree right now. FDR did some radical things that were viewed as "socialist" at the time and this country survived, even flourished. Obama and the democrats are looking to head down the FDR road and I cannot say that I blame them, but I can say that I really do not like where that road leads.
This country is in a bit of a mess. We have allowed greed to overwhelm us and cloud our thinking. We have become excessively greedy and I am afraid that it has really hurt us this time.
America, pray for our leaders. Pray for our country. Pray for Jesus to come quickly. And if you do not know Jesus as your personal savior, then please search your heart and accept him. He knocks, will you answer?
Friday, November 07, 2008
It Is Getting Ugly
I will be quite honest and admit that I am not happy about the results of the elections but I refuse to disrespect the president elect Obama. I may not respect him, but I will respect the office.
I am really disappointed in many comments left on the conservative blogs this morning. I am also disappointed in the proliferation of "My President Is Black" mementos that are for sale online. Had I wore a shirt that says "My President Is White", then someone would have called me a racist.
People, this is not the time to fight with each other. This is EXACTLY what the Enemy wants us to do. All the Devil can do is lie and that is what he is doing right now. White or Black, we need to stand together and get over our differences.
Barack Obama, I implore you to bring this nation together. We are becoming more polarized each and every day.
Conservative bloggers, stop feeding the fire. Show the world who is "the bigger man".
I am really disappointed in many comments left on the conservative blogs this morning. I am also disappointed in the proliferation of "My President Is Black" mementos that are for sale online. Had I wore a shirt that says "My President Is White", then someone would have called me a racist.
People, this is not the time to fight with each other. This is EXACTLY what the Enemy wants us to do. All the Devil can do is lie and that is what he is doing right now. White or Black, we need to stand together and get over our differences.
Barack Obama, I implore you to bring this nation together. We are becoming more polarized each and every day.
Conservative bloggers, stop feeding the fire. Show the world who is "the bigger man".
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
OMG, Now What?
I have been reading a lot of news sites/blogs this morning, trying to get a spin on what they are feeling and I am proud to see that while they are disappointed, they are not sore losers.
Many people are asking, "What now?" My answer, which is the same as the other conservatives, is "keep fighting the good fight". Fight for what you believe in, support the officials you elected, keep writing your congressmen and representatives, and mostly, RESPECT the OFFICE of the president.
We cannot afford to lick our wounds, pout, cry, or withdraw. This is the time America needs to stand together. If things "go to hell in a handbasket", we dare not shout to all the liberals, "WE TOLD YOU SO!!!!" As much as it would be liberating, it would be the wrong thing to do.
As I have mentioned, I voted Baldwin/Castle (and I still need to see how they did) so I was going to be disappointed either way, but I am happy to see that it looks like record numbers of voters turned out this year. That is a POSITIVE THING. More people need to vote.
The reality that we have proven that a man of color can run and be elected to the highest post in the USA is reassuring. This truly is a great nation and can remain that way if we all work together. Black or white, we are all Americans.
There is one thing that puzzles me. Why is the world so interested in our elections? They don't want to live here and they have no direct connection with our government. Americans don't fret over who the next king or queen of Europialand is (although we do take a mild interest when a communist government becomes a democratic or socialist one) and we shouldn't. Alas, I digres.
America, your change is coming. You have a mostly democratic government now and your ideas will have an easier time to be passed into laws. Make the most of this time. Prove all the Independents and Republicans wrong...show them that BHO is the man and the liberal Congress is right. I will be glad to admit that I am wrong, but I have a funny feeling that I won't have to.
One other thing. When things don't turn out the way you wanted them to, don't start blaming the Bush Administration. We were not allowed to do that with Clinton and Carter, so you don't get a free pass, either.
The democratic process has been used and we have seen a changing of the guard. I am glad the race is overwith and patiently wait until January when BHO takes office. I am interested in seeing who he appoints and what his first actions are.
Many people are asking, "What now?" My answer, which is the same as the other conservatives, is "keep fighting the good fight". Fight for what you believe in, support the officials you elected, keep writing your congressmen and representatives, and mostly, RESPECT the OFFICE of the president.
We cannot afford to lick our wounds, pout, cry, or withdraw. This is the time America needs to stand together. If things "go to hell in a handbasket", we dare not shout to all the liberals, "WE TOLD YOU SO!!!!" As much as it would be liberating, it would be the wrong thing to do.
As I have mentioned, I voted Baldwin/Castle (and I still need to see how they did) so I was going to be disappointed either way, but I am happy to see that it looks like record numbers of voters turned out this year. That is a POSITIVE THING. More people need to vote.
The reality that we have proven that a man of color can run and be elected to the highest post in the USA is reassuring. This truly is a great nation and can remain that way if we all work together. Black or white, we are all Americans.
There is one thing that puzzles me. Why is the world so interested in our elections? They don't want to live here and they have no direct connection with our government. Americans don't fret over who the next king or queen of Europialand is (although we do take a mild interest when a communist government becomes a democratic or socialist one) and we shouldn't. Alas, I digres.
America, your change is coming. You have a mostly democratic government now and your ideas will have an easier time to be passed into laws. Make the most of this time. Prove all the Independents and Republicans wrong...show them that BHO is the man and the liberal Congress is right. I will be glad to admit that I am wrong, but I have a funny feeling that I won't have to.
One other thing. When things don't turn out the way you wanted them to, don't start blaming the Bush Administration. We were not allowed to do that with Clinton and Carter, so you don't get a free pass, either.
The democratic process has been used and we have seen a changing of the guard. I am glad the race is overwith and patiently wait until January when BHO takes office. I am interested in seeing who he appoints and what his first actions are.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Busy Week
Last week was rather busy for me. Not only was work busy but home/church life was rather busy as well. I had a meeting on Monday night, two meetings and corporate prayer on Tuesday, Care Group on Wednesday, fix a friend's computer on Thursday, Church Work Day on Saturday, Teach Sunday School on Sunday and I still had to prepare the lesson at some point...WOW!
While I was tired, I did manage (with God's help) to get it all done. I still managed to go out on Sunday and do a little geocaching, although it was not overly memorable. I am just trying to get to my goal of 1000 caches by the the end of 2008. I have 138 to go and not a lot of free weekends to do it in. Wish me luck.
This week does not look quite as bad, but I am on call. I was supposed to be at two meetings last night at church but I had to cancel because I was working on a call. To my knowledge there is nothing planned for tonight and we have care group on Wednesday.
Most of the meetings at church are geared around our financial situation. We have a lot of things that we have to consider and the decisions are not ones to be made lightly. Pray for us as we try to do God's will.
While I was tired, I did manage (with God's help) to get it all done. I still managed to go out on Sunday and do a little geocaching, although it was not overly memorable. I am just trying to get to my goal of 1000 caches by the the end of 2008. I have 138 to go and not a lot of free weekends to do it in. Wish me luck.
This week does not look quite as bad, but I am on call. I was supposed to be at two meetings last night at church but I had to cancel because I was working on a call. To my knowledge there is nothing planned for tonight and we have care group on Wednesday.
Most of the meetings at church are geared around our financial situation. We have a lot of things that we have to consider and the decisions are not ones to be made lightly. Pray for us as we try to do God's will.
A Tale Of Two Installs
Ubuntu Linux released version 8.10, aka "Intrepid Ibex" last week. I have been a faithful Ubuntu user since lat 2004 when I installed it on an older 400 mhz sandbox I had. It did not take too long for me to duel boot that and WinXp on my main PC, a P4, 3 ghz, Nvidia 5600 video card home built unit with Ubuntu being the OS of choice.
I have only done a complete reinstall a couple of times and those were mostly due to upgrade failures...I am not sure which version but one of them failed horribly on most of my upgrades (both home and work). I have been very pleased with the free OS from Canonical. It has been stable and performed very well in the Windows-centric world we live in.
I have faithfully upgraded to each new version with only a couple of failures along the way...not bad for seven to eight upgrades. On Saturday I upgraded my loaner laptop from work, an HP NC-6000 with an ATI Mobile Radeon 9600 graphics card, 1 gig of RAM, and a 1.5 ghz processor. It was formally my work laptop until the handware refresh a few months ago and it served me well for 3+ years.
The install went smoothly, albeit slowly (the download speeds were bouncing up and down a lot) so it took about 3 hours to download, install, and configure the laptop before I considered it finished. Outside of the length of time it took to get the upgrade complete, my only complaint was the video. I kept getting an error telling me that it was going to default to generic video settings. I fought with it for a while before I managed to find this link that explained and helped me out. A few minutes later and I was back in business with the open source drivers and the laptop was "good to go". Well, there was one small issue. Since I was wireless when I did the upgrade, I was knocked offline and forced to enter the WEP info again. I was glad I had it memorized.
On Sunday, I decided to upgrade my dual boot "main" PC to 8.10. After my experiences with th laptop, I was a little nervous, but I knew that there was little I could not fix if I set my mind to it.
As before, the download took a long time but the installing and configuring went much faster since the P4 was faster than the mobile centrino processor in the laptop. Once the configuring was done, I rebooted and BINGO, the machine was back up and running.
So, what do I think? Not much difference so far. No problems or crashes to report. I will have more to report later.
BTW, 8.04 will not prompt you to upgrade to 8.10 unless you tell it to (System | Administration | Software Sources | Updates | Normal Releases).
I have only done a complete reinstall a couple of times and those were mostly due to upgrade failures...I am not sure which version but one of them failed horribly on most of my upgrades (both home and work). I have been very pleased with the free OS from Canonical. It has been stable and performed very well in the Windows-centric world we live in.
I have faithfully upgraded to each new version with only a couple of failures along the way...not bad for seven to eight upgrades. On Saturday I upgraded my loaner laptop from work, an HP NC-6000 with an ATI Mobile Radeon 9600 graphics card, 1 gig of RAM, and a 1.5 ghz processor. It was formally my work laptop until the handware refresh a few months ago and it served me well for 3+ years.
The install went smoothly, albeit slowly (the download speeds were bouncing up and down a lot) so it took about 3 hours to download, install, and configure the laptop before I considered it finished. Outside of the length of time it took to get the upgrade complete, my only complaint was the video. I kept getting an error telling me that it was going to default to generic video settings. I fought with it for a while before I managed to find this link that explained and helped me out. A few minutes later and I was back in business with the open source drivers and the laptop was "good to go". Well, there was one small issue. Since I was wireless when I did the upgrade, I was knocked offline and forced to enter the WEP info again. I was glad I had it memorized.
On Sunday, I decided to upgrade my dual boot "main" PC to 8.10. After my experiences with th laptop, I was a little nervous, but I knew that there was little I could not fix if I set my mind to it.
As before, the download took a long time but the installing and configuring went much faster since the P4 was faster than the mobile centrino processor in the laptop. Once the configuring was done, I rebooted and BINGO, the machine was back up and running.
So, what do I think? Not much difference so far. No problems or crashes to report. I will have more to report later.
BTW, 8.04 will not prompt you to upgrade to 8.10 unless you tell it to (System | Administration | Software Sources | Updates | Normal Releases).
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
New Shiny
I am a geek, but I am a cheap geek. I cannot afford to spend large amounts of money on toys. Even if I could, I am not sure I would spend $200+ on a smart phone/PDA phone.
My Palm Tungsten E (I am a Palm snob) is three plus years old and is under powered. My freebie cell phone from Cingular (now At&T) was acting up (dropping it on concrete a few times will do that) and the menus were a bit garbled. It was evident that I needed a new phone and a new PDA, so after careful examination of my available funds and my current needs, I decided on the Palm Centro (Electric Blue). It is a lot smaller than I thought. The CNET employee who reported on this must have tiny hands.
To be honest, it has a lot of things I will never use because I don't have a data account. What I really needed was a replacement for my failing Palm T|E and a phone in one unit so I would have less to keep up with. Oddly enough it was my wife who suggested it.
I got a refurbed Centro for $49. While not a stellar deal, I like what I see so far. I do not know how well the battery will last, but it is rated pretty well and according to CNET it exceeded expectations. Go Palm!
First impressions:
The Good - It is a tad faster than my T|E. Simple Palm navigation helps a lot. Being able to dial from my contacts list is nice. It appears to run all my old apps (paid and freeware). It feels solid. It is "pocket friendly". It is much louder than my T|E or my Samsung phone.
The Bad - The stylus is pretty flimsy...I much prefer the metal one on ny T|E. The screen and the keyboard are both small. It will take some getting used to.
I will post a review of it a little later when I have had time to play with it more. Hey, it has been less than 24 hours...cut me some slack!
My Palm Tungsten E (I am a Palm snob) is three plus years old and is under powered. My freebie cell phone from Cingular (now At&T) was acting up (dropping it on concrete a few times will do that) and the menus were a bit garbled. It was evident that I needed a new phone and a new PDA, so after careful examination of my available funds and my current needs, I decided on the Palm Centro (Electric Blue). It is a lot smaller than I thought. The CNET employee who reported on this must have tiny hands.
To be honest, it has a lot of things I will never use because I don't have a data account. What I really needed was a replacement for my failing Palm T|E and a phone in one unit so I would have less to keep up with. Oddly enough it was my wife who suggested it.
I got a refurbed Centro for $49. While not a stellar deal, I like what I see so far. I do not know how well the battery will last, but it is rated pretty well and according to CNET it exceeded expectations. Go Palm!
First impressions:
The Good - It is a tad faster than my T|E. Simple Palm navigation helps a lot. Being able to dial from my contacts list is nice. It appears to run all my old apps (paid and freeware). It feels solid. It is "pocket friendly". It is much louder than my T|E or my Samsung phone.
The Bad - The stylus is pretty flimsy...I much prefer the metal one on ny T|E. The screen and the keyboard are both small. It will take some getting used to.
I will post a review of it a little later when I have had time to play with it more. Hey, it has been less than 24 hours...cut me some slack!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Throwing My Vote Away
Well, that is what my dad would have called it. My wife and I voted early (Tuesday last week) and while my wife voted straight republican, I did not.
I just could not bring myself to vote for either Sen Obama or Sen McCain so I voted third party for Baldwin/Castle. My dad would have thrown a fit.
My father (who is deceased) always thought that if you did not vote Dem or Rep, you were wasting your vote. I always disagreed with him and it caused some very interesting arguments. I know that the popular vote does not elect the president and no matter who I vote for, the Electoral College has the last say. So with that in mind, I voted to let the college know not everyone voted for "the lesser of two evils". The lesser of two evils is still evil.
Baldwin is not perfect but he closely resembles what I want to see in a president.
I voted my conscience.
I just could not bring myself to vote for either Sen Obama or Sen McCain so I voted third party for Baldwin/Castle. My dad would have thrown a fit.
My father (who is deceased) always thought that if you did not vote Dem or Rep, you were wasting your vote. I always disagreed with him and it caused some very interesting arguments. I know that the popular vote does not elect the president and no matter who I vote for, the Electoral College has the last say. So with that in mind, I voted to let the college know not everyone voted for "the lesser of two evils". The lesser of two evils is still evil.
Baldwin is not perfect but he closely resembles what I want to see in a president.
I voted my conscience.
The Warm Up
This weekend was a warm up for what I expect to be a busy week. Let me start with Friday.
Friday at work was rather slow, the way it has been for the past few weeks. I am not complaining but I know that it will hit with a fury sometime...most likel when I am on call :).
On Friday I finally took the time to order new mobile phones for me and my wife. I ordered her a basic Nokia 6085 (in pink) and a refurbed Palm Centro, in blue for me. It will be my first PDA "smart" phone.
The ordering process on AT&T's web site was pretty painless although I could not order both phones (which share a family plan on the same accout) at the same time. I had to make two separate orders. No big deal, but it was a tad frustrating. They should be in Tuesday.
Saturday I had a laundry list of thing that I needed to get done. My wife was helping a a local charity event so that left me with some laundry, the dishes, the vacuuming, stripping and making the bed, getting my hair cut, and mowing two lawns. It was enough to keep me busy from about 8:30 AM until noon, when I stopped and did a little geocaching. I was only out about four hours then I came back and mowed the two lawns, finishing about 7:00 PM. I was exhausted and after a shower, I hit the hay.
Sunday we had church as usual but afterwards we took our Nigerian visitor, E.C. Okoye to lunch. Two other couples asked if they could join us and we all went to a local Italian place and had a couple of hours of good quality time. The only drawback was that one of the couples has three boys and I just felt that it was not very intimate with them along, but it was not too bad.
During lunch I got a call from a sister at church who needed some PC help. I went over but did not have what I needed to complete the job so I told her I would have to return. She only had Thursday free so I guess that is when I am going back.
After I got home I did some e-mail and watched a few of the fights from UFC 90 on the mma video sites. It looks like it would have been a good event to see live but I am okay with watching the videos online.
Before I knew it, it was time to go back to church for a meeting/covered dish supper with E.C> Okoye. The food was pretty good but I did not eat much. I was rather full from lunch. We had our meeting afterwards (which was just a call to band together and not have any division among ourselves) and then we had dessert. Again, I ate very little. once I was finished, I washed up a few dishes and then we went home.
I called my mom and chatted for a while. Nothing much new with her...same old, same old.
It was then I realized I have a busy week lined up for me:
Monday - Care Group Leaders meeting
Tuesday - Church Board emergency meeting and then after than, corporate prayer.
Wednesday - Care Groups
Thursday - Computer house call
Saturday - Church work day
Sunday - Teach Sunday School class (meaning I have to write a lesson sometime this week)
Not a whole lot of time for me, but I tend to get a lot of that anyway.
The next two months will of course, be very busy with Thanksgiving and Christmas (no shopping done yet). The good nest, I am not on call during either holiday. The bad news is I have to make up a weekend in November and I am on call the first and last week in December.
Friday at work was rather slow, the way it has been for the past few weeks. I am not complaining but I know that it will hit with a fury sometime...most likel when I am on call :).
On Friday I finally took the time to order new mobile phones for me and my wife. I ordered her a basic Nokia 6085 (in pink) and a refurbed Palm Centro, in blue for me. It will be my first PDA "smart" phone.
The ordering process on AT&T's web site was pretty painless although I could not order both phones (which share a family plan on the same accout) at the same time. I had to make two separate orders. No big deal, but it was a tad frustrating. They should be in Tuesday.
Saturday I had a laundry list of thing that I needed to get done. My wife was helping a a local charity event so that left me with some laundry, the dishes, the vacuuming, stripping and making the bed, getting my hair cut, and mowing two lawns. It was enough to keep me busy from about 8:30 AM until noon, when I stopped and did a little geocaching. I was only out about four hours then I came back and mowed the two lawns, finishing about 7:00 PM. I was exhausted and after a shower, I hit the hay.
Sunday we had church as usual but afterwards we took our Nigerian visitor, E.C. Okoye to lunch. Two other couples asked if they could join us and we all went to a local Italian place and had a couple of hours of good quality time. The only drawback was that one of the couples has three boys and I just felt that it was not very intimate with them along, but it was not too bad.
During lunch I got a call from a sister at church who needed some PC help. I went over but did not have what I needed to complete the job so I told her I would have to return. She only had Thursday free so I guess that is when I am going back.
After I got home I did some e-mail and watched a few of the fights from UFC 90 on the mma video sites. It looks like it would have been a good event to see live but I am okay with watching the videos online.
Before I knew it, it was time to go back to church for a meeting/covered dish supper with E.C> Okoye. The food was pretty good but I did not eat much. I was rather full from lunch. We had our meeting afterwards (which was just a call to band together and not have any division among ourselves) and then we had dessert. Again, I ate very little. once I was finished, I washed up a few dishes and then we went home.
I called my mom and chatted for a while. Nothing much new with her...same old, same old.
It was then I realized I have a busy week lined up for me:
Monday - Care Group Leaders meeting
Tuesday - Church Board emergency meeting and then after than, corporate prayer.
Wednesday - Care Groups
Thursday - Computer house call
Saturday - Church work day
Sunday - Teach Sunday School class (meaning I have to write a lesson sometime this week)
Not a whole lot of time for me, but I tend to get a lot of that anyway.
The next two months will of course, be very busy with Thanksgiving and Christmas (no shopping done yet). The good nest, I am not on call during either holiday. The bad news is I have to make up a weekend in November and I am on call the first and last week in December.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Avatar
I have gotten a few questions about my avatar in the upper right corner of this blog. I built it on the Yahoo! web site and yes, it is as close to looking like me as I can get...including the type of clothes I wear when I am at home.
Surprise Attack
It seems like a long time since 9/11/01. It has been seven years and to many people, seven years is a long time.
After thinking about the election and the condition of the economy this morning, I had a chilling thought. What would happen to the US if we were to fall victim to another major terrorist attack akin to 9/11? What would happen if it happened in the next two weeks?
We are a nation that is polarized. Our economy is in bad shape. We are fighting amongst ourselves. People are being laid off. We have a fiercely fought election coming up in less than two weeks. If some extreme terrorist group were to launch a major terrorist attack now, I am not sure how bad things could get. We have a lot of enemies and the enemy loves to kick you when you are down. Wouldn't Ahmadinejad just love to see us stumble again? He believes that the US is in a downward spiral and this would confirm it to him.
Now on the bright side, it is quite possible that the people of this great nation would band together and we would rally to overcome, just like we did after 9/11. There would be a surge of patriotism and people would work together to get this nation back on its feet. We have been through a lot and we can weather a lot. It reminds me of a Charlie Daniel's song, "In America":
Well the eagle's been flying slow and the flag's been flying low
And a lot of people are saying that America's fixing to fall
But speaking just for me and some people from Tennessee
We got a thing or two to tell you all
This lady may have stumbled but she ain't never fell
And if the Russians don't believe that they can all go straight to hell
We're gonna put her feet back on the path of righteousness
And then God bless America again
And you never did think that it ever would happen again
In America, did you?
You never did think that we'd ever get together again
Well we damn sure fooled you
We're walking real proud and we're talking real loud again in America
You never did think that it ever would happen again
From the sound up in Long Island out to San Francisco Bay
And ev'ry thing that's in between them is our home
And we may have done a little bit of fighting amongst ourselves
But you outside people best leave us alone
Cause we'll all stick together and you can take that to the bank
That's the cowboys and the hippies and the rebels and the yanks
You just go and lay your hand on a Pittsburgh Steeler fan
And I think you're gonna finally understand
Of course the Russians are not the same Russians Charlie sang about...today he would probably use "al qaeda" or "bin Laden", but the sentiment is the same.
We are strong.
We are Americans.
After thinking about the election and the condition of the economy this morning, I had a chilling thought. What would happen to the US if we were to fall victim to another major terrorist attack akin to 9/11? What would happen if it happened in the next two weeks?
We are a nation that is polarized. Our economy is in bad shape. We are fighting amongst ourselves. People are being laid off. We have a fiercely fought election coming up in less than two weeks. If some extreme terrorist group were to launch a major terrorist attack now, I am not sure how bad things could get. We have a lot of enemies and the enemy loves to kick you when you are down. Wouldn't Ahmadinejad just love to see us stumble again? He believes that the US is in a downward spiral and this would confirm it to him.
Now on the bright side, it is quite possible that the people of this great nation would band together and we would rally to overcome, just like we did after 9/11. There would be a surge of patriotism and people would work together to get this nation back on its feet. We have been through a lot and we can weather a lot. It reminds me of a Charlie Daniel's song, "In America":
Well the eagle's been flying slow and the flag's been flying low
And a lot of people are saying that America's fixing to fall
But speaking just for me and some people from Tennessee
We got a thing or two to tell you all
This lady may have stumbled but she ain't never fell
And if the Russians don't believe that they can all go straight to hell
We're gonna put her feet back on the path of righteousness
And then God bless America again
And you never did think that it ever would happen again
In America, did you?
You never did think that we'd ever get together again
Well we damn sure fooled you
We're walking real proud and we're talking real loud again in America
You never did think that it ever would happen again
From the sound up in Long Island out to San Francisco Bay
And ev'ry thing that's in between them is our home
And we may have done a little bit of fighting amongst ourselves
But you outside people best leave us alone
Cause we'll all stick together and you can take that to the bank
That's the cowboys and the hippies and the rebels and the yanks
You just go and lay your hand on a Pittsburgh Steeler fan
And I think you're gonna finally understand
Of course the Russians are not the same Russians Charlie sang about...today he would probably use "al qaeda" or "bin Laden", but the sentiment is the same.
We are strong.
We are Americans.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Ten Days Later...
Yeah, I know it has been a while and I am sorry. I really have not been in the mood to update my blog...no motivation. I have updated my geocaching blog but not this one.
So, what is going on? Well, work has been about the same, albeit a bit slower. That of course will change next week as we start end of month close and we prep for Period End Close (PEC) with our customer.
I have been unusually tired the past couple of weeks. I have been napping almost every day and go to bed early as well. I still get up at the same time but my body seems to crave sleep in the afternoon.
Our church life has been pretty good although we (the church leadership) are struggling with finances. We simply have too much debt and not enough income and that has many of us scared. We have some plans but only one of them looks good...the others will be painful.
I still have a couple of more times to cut the grass then I will be finished for the season. I will still need to put out fertilizer and weed killer but that is just about all I need to do on the lawn.
We still have yet to paint the outside of the house and I fear that the wood will have rotted some before we get a chance to do it. We had some wood replaced a few years ago and my wife prepped it for painting with Killz, but we never actually finished the job. We really need to buckle down and do that.
My wife has been struggling with low energy levels as well. Of course hers is related to her thyroid and the doctors are trying to get her on the right dosage so she will be back to normal but that is long process. so far the 88 mcg dosage does not look like it is quite enough.
My wife and I have been keeping up with the presidential election process and have been blown away on how biased the main stream media (MSM) is. If you believed everything they reported, John McCain is the anti-christ and Barack Obama is the messiah. The smears (from both sides) have been pretty bad, but the media bias is bad as well.
Hopefully I will have something really blog worthy in the next few weeks.
So, what is going on? Well, work has been about the same, albeit a bit slower. That of course will change next week as we start end of month close and we prep for Period End Close (PEC) with our customer.
I have been unusually tired the past couple of weeks. I have been napping almost every day and go to bed early as well. I still get up at the same time but my body seems to crave sleep in the afternoon.
Our church life has been pretty good although we (the church leadership) are struggling with finances. We simply have too much debt and not enough income and that has many of us scared. We have some plans but only one of them looks good...the others will be painful.
I still have a couple of more times to cut the grass then I will be finished for the season. I will still need to put out fertilizer and weed killer but that is just about all I need to do on the lawn.
We still have yet to paint the outside of the house and I fear that the wood will have rotted some before we get a chance to do it. We had some wood replaced a few years ago and my wife prepped it for painting with Killz, but we never actually finished the job. We really need to buckle down and do that.
My wife has been struggling with low energy levels as well. Of course hers is related to her thyroid and the doctors are trying to get her on the right dosage so she will be back to normal but that is long process. so far the 88 mcg dosage does not look like it is quite enough.
My wife and I have been keeping up with the presidential election process and have been blown away on how biased the main stream media (MSM) is. If you believed everything they reported, John McCain is the anti-christ and Barack Obama is the messiah. The smears (from both sides) have been pretty bad, but the media bias is bad as well.
Hopefully I will have something really blog worthy in the next few weeks.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Just Some Guys In The Woods By The Lake
This weekend was the annual Faith Fellowship Men's Retreat. The date is always fluid, as is the location. In past years we have gone to a Methodist camp in Glen Rose, TX and to Sky Ranch near Tyler, TX. This year we went to Camp Straight Arrow, in Pottsboro, TX which is right on Lake Texoma. The weather was perfect.
This year also marked the first time that James organized the retreat, with a little help from our pastor. Since it was his first time scheduling an event like this he was a little nervous but it turned out pretty well. There were only a few snags and I am sure those will be worked out next time we go.
This retreat was a little different because instead of staying Friday and Saturday night, we just stayed Friday. While we were able to stay late on Saturday, we did not spend the night. I am not sure why but it was the pastor who vetoed the Saturday night stay. To make up for that, those who could come up early could stay on Thursday and Friday night (for an extra $15). I was on call last week but I did manage to switch Friday-Sun with my TL so I could enjoy the retreat.
Friday I took off work and cleaned house before I headed north to Pottsboro. I decided to do a little geocaching along the way and took my time driving. The lake is only about an hour away but I took four hours to drive and cache. More about that on my geocaching blog.
I arrived about 5:00 PM and went to the fire pit where everyone was meeting and talking. About half the men were still out playing golf, which is the kickoff event of our retreats. Since I do not golf, I show up around dinner time.
After an hour or so of pleasantries, we went back to the cabin to prepare dinner. James wanted to kick the retreat off in style so steaks (on the grill) were on the menu, along with baked potatoes and corn on the cob. After dinner and clean up, we headed back to the fire pit area, lit a nice bonfire and had some worship and fellowship until about 9:00 PM.
After worship, I grabbed a shower and then joined some of the men and watched, "The Bucket List" which is a great movie (with the exception of the language) with a great message. After the movie was over I decided to go up stairs and try to get some sleep. We had 20 men in two large rooms (each room slept 20 people) so we had room to spread out a bit. There were still a lot of people up so I did not get to sleep until about midnight or so.
At 4:30 AM, woke up, unable to go back to sleep. I got up and got dressed and headed out to the fire pit area for some "God time". It felt really good to be out under a starry sky away from the city lights and noises. After about an hour, I went back to the cabin and chatted with a couple of the other early risers until the son came up, then I went back to the fire pit and read my bible until breakfast was ready.
After breakfast I helped clean up (I washed dishes) then got ready for our morning devotional/message. All in all the speaker did a good job, although I am not a fan of his style. Mind you, that is just me...there is nothing wrong with being outspoken and charismatic, but it is not me. I am a little more reserved.
After the first message and a small break, we gathered back in the great room for the final message. This one was rushed a bit since the first one ran over the alotted time so I did not enjoy it as much. We went directly from the message to preparing lunch, which was burgers on the grill with all the fixin's. While I was still kinda full from breakfast (pancakes, grits, bacon, eggs, and sausage) I still ate a couple of burgers. I helped clean up a little (cleared the table, put away leftovers) then wnet back to sit down, maybe take a nap.
We had a large block of free time that many of the men were going to use to play yet another round of golf. Since I had not been to this area before, I took my geocaching equipment and went out on a geocaching expedition. More info about that on my "Geobloggin'" web page.
Once the men who went golfing had left, it only left about 10 of us back at the cabin and over half of those just went home early. A few stayed back and played cards, ping pong, and chatted. By the time I got back at 5:00 PM, I was a bit hungry but I did not want to put the pizzas in the oven since the majority of the guys were not back yet, so I waited. Once they returned we put four of the six pizzas in the oven and ate in record time. It was getting late and the we were supposed to be out by 8:00 PM. It was about 7:30 PM or so and James called us all together to recap the weekend. It got a little drawn out but I was able to leave by 8:30 PM and was home by 9:30 PM. I was sweaty from the geocaching that afternoon and I needed a shower before going to bed so after I unpacked, I hopped in the shower and slept like a baby.
Sunday morning I woke up refreshed and ready for church. Dr David Reagan from Lamb and Lion Ministries was preaching and since I really enjoy his energy and message I was not going to be late. As expected, the sermon was great and we were able to chat some as well.
The rest of the day was filled with a nap, a quick meal, our "Voice of Faith" service that evening, a phone call to mom, and walking of the dogs...oh we are dog sitting Kelsie again.
One interesting thing that was mentioned during the conversation I had with mom was that my sister and her husband are buying some land and are buildin a house. They want mom to move in with them but the are not biulding a "mother in law" wing, they are just giving her a private bed and bath. Mom is not too keen on that idea and asked them to put a small mobile home on the log (it is in the country) for her. They are not real keen on that so it looks like I will have to call them and help move the idea along.
I am glad mom is sticking to her guns. My sis and her hubby smoke (in the house) and he swears like a sailor. Mom is a Christian like me and my wife are so she does not take kindly to that sort of talk. Also they have a boxer and mom has a little Shitz-zhu and they do not get along. Since mom is not is bad health, I think it is kind of degrading to have to live with someone if you do not have to. I want mom to keep her dignity.
This year also marked the first time that James organized the retreat, with a little help from our pastor. Since it was his first time scheduling an event like this he was a little nervous but it turned out pretty well. There were only a few snags and I am sure those will be worked out next time we go.
This retreat was a little different because instead of staying Friday and Saturday night, we just stayed Friday. While we were able to stay late on Saturday, we did not spend the night. I am not sure why but it was the pastor who vetoed the Saturday night stay. To make up for that, those who could come up early could stay on Thursday and Friday night (for an extra $15). I was on call last week but I did manage to switch Friday-Sun with my TL so I could enjoy the retreat.
Friday I took off work and cleaned house before I headed north to Pottsboro. I decided to do a little geocaching along the way and took my time driving. The lake is only about an hour away but I took four hours to drive and cache. More about that on my geocaching blog.
I arrived about 5:00 PM and went to the fire pit where everyone was meeting and talking. About half the men were still out playing golf, which is the kickoff event of our retreats. Since I do not golf, I show up around dinner time.
After an hour or so of pleasantries, we went back to the cabin to prepare dinner. James wanted to kick the retreat off in style so steaks (on the grill) were on the menu, along with baked potatoes and corn on the cob. After dinner and clean up, we headed back to the fire pit area, lit a nice bonfire and had some worship and fellowship until about 9:00 PM.
After worship, I grabbed a shower and then joined some of the men and watched, "The Bucket List" which is a great movie (with the exception of the language) with a great message. After the movie was over I decided to go up stairs and try to get some sleep. We had 20 men in two large rooms (each room slept 20 people) so we had room to spread out a bit. There were still a lot of people up so I did not get to sleep until about midnight or so.
At 4:30 AM, woke up, unable to go back to sleep. I got up and got dressed and headed out to the fire pit area for some "God time". It felt really good to be out under a starry sky away from the city lights and noises. After about an hour, I went back to the cabin and chatted with a couple of the other early risers until the son came up, then I went back to the fire pit and read my bible until breakfast was ready.
After breakfast I helped clean up (I washed dishes) then got ready for our morning devotional/message. All in all the speaker did a good job, although I am not a fan of his style. Mind you, that is just me...there is nothing wrong with being outspoken and charismatic, but it is not me. I am a little more reserved.
After the first message and a small break, we gathered back in the great room for the final message. This one was rushed a bit since the first one ran over the alotted time so I did not enjoy it as much. We went directly from the message to preparing lunch, which was burgers on the grill with all the fixin's. While I was still kinda full from breakfast (pancakes, grits, bacon, eggs, and sausage) I still ate a couple of burgers. I helped clean up a little (cleared the table, put away leftovers) then wnet back to sit down, maybe take a nap.
We had a large block of free time that many of the men were going to use to play yet another round of golf. Since I had not been to this area before, I took my geocaching equipment and went out on a geocaching expedition. More info about that on my "Geobloggin'" web page.
Once the men who went golfing had left, it only left about 10 of us back at the cabin and over half of those just went home early. A few stayed back and played cards, ping pong, and chatted. By the time I got back at 5:00 PM, I was a bit hungry but I did not want to put the pizzas in the oven since the majority of the guys were not back yet, so I waited. Once they returned we put four of the six pizzas in the oven and ate in record time. It was getting late and the we were supposed to be out by 8:00 PM. It was about 7:30 PM or so and James called us all together to recap the weekend. It got a little drawn out but I was able to leave by 8:30 PM and was home by 9:30 PM. I was sweaty from the geocaching that afternoon and I needed a shower before going to bed so after I unpacked, I hopped in the shower and slept like a baby.
Sunday morning I woke up refreshed and ready for church. Dr David Reagan from Lamb and Lion Ministries was preaching and since I really enjoy his energy and message I was not going to be late. As expected, the sermon was great and we were able to chat some as well.
The rest of the day was filled with a nap, a quick meal, our "Voice of Faith" service that evening, a phone call to mom, and walking of the dogs...oh we are dog sitting Kelsie again.
One interesting thing that was mentioned during the conversation I had with mom was that my sister and her husband are buying some land and are buildin a house. They want mom to move in with them but the are not biulding a "mother in law" wing, they are just giving her a private bed and bath. Mom is not too keen on that idea and asked them to put a small mobile home on the log (it is in the country) for her. They are not real keen on that so it looks like I will have to call them and help move the idea along.
I am glad mom is sticking to her guns. My sis and her hubby smoke (in the house) and he swears like a sailor. Mom is a Christian like me and my wife are so she does not take kindly to that sort of talk. Also they have a boxer and mom has a little Shitz-zhu and they do not get along. Since mom is not is bad health, I think it is kind of degrading to have to live with someone if you do not have to. I want mom to keep her dignity.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Medication Changes And Other Updates
I have been taking Zyrtek D and Flonase for a little over a week and the difference between then and now is like night and day. Breathing and sleeping peacefully is a Godsend!
After taking both meds for a week (and being low on Zyrtek D) I decided to skip a dose yesterday and again this morning. So far I cannot tell any real difference by just using Flonase. I am still able to breathe at night and I wake up refreshed. No major sneezing and no infection that I can tell. I still have the sinus drip in the back of my throat causing a mild cough now and then, but I still feel great 24+ hours on only one med.
I am not a big meds person so I try to take as little as I can. Flonase has worked because it is just two sprays in each nostral once a day. It is a steroid, but it is safe enough for kids to use, so I am not worried.
I have been on call for the past few days and worked solo yesterday. The calls have not been bad but the really nice things is that I get a day off tomorrow to go to a men's retreat at Lake Texhoma with the guys from church. My TL traded weekends with me so I will have to make up the time next month but that is a small price to pay to get away again. Who knows, maybe I will even do some geocaching in the area...there several nearby.
After taking both meds for a week (and being low on Zyrtek D) I decided to skip a dose yesterday and again this morning. So far I cannot tell any real difference by just using Flonase. I am still able to breathe at night and I wake up refreshed. No major sneezing and no infection that I can tell. I still have the sinus drip in the back of my throat causing a mild cough now and then, but I still feel great 24+ hours on only one med.
I am not a big meds person so I try to take as little as I can. Flonase has worked because it is just two sprays in each nostral once a day. It is a steroid, but it is safe enough for kids to use, so I am not worried.
I have been on call for the past few days and worked solo yesterday. The calls have not been bad but the really nice things is that I get a day off tomorrow to go to a men's retreat at Lake Texhoma with the guys from church. My TL traded weekends with me so I will have to make up the time next month but that is a small price to pay to get away again. Who knows, maybe I will even do some geocaching in the area...there several nearby.
Monday, October 06, 2008
I Can Breathe (And Sleep)
Well, the doc knew what he was doing. I went in and told him what was going on he listened and made some notes. The he told me to continue taking Zyrtek D and that he wanted me to try FloNase. Wow! I can actually breathe through my nose (something that I rarely am able to do because of sinus issues) and sleep through the night. The only down side is the draining in the back of my throat, causing me to cough once in a while. I was given a 'script for that (as well as an antibiotic) to fill only if I got worse. Well, I feel much better.
I still take the Zyrtek D twice a day and the Flonase keeps me from sneezing constantly. The two together work very well.
Whoo hoo!
I still take the Zyrtek D twice a day and the Flonase keeps me from sneezing constantly. The two together work very well.
Whoo hoo!
Fear or Fodder?
I noticed that Tina Fey has now performed three skits in four week on SNL portraying Sarah Palin and it got me wondering. Is the liberal media afraid of Sarah Palin or is Sarah Palin just providing fodder for NBC?
Now, to begin, I am most likely not going to vote for McCain/Palin (nor am I voting for Obama/Biden), but I am rather proud of Sarah Palin's accomplishments as a mayor and a governor. While I still think she needs some more polish to become an effective national leader, I appreciate her down home attitude and style. She does not look or act like a Washington insider.
NBC, like most of the mainstream media giants, are incredibly liberal and any threat to their ideals will cause them to begin mocking the easiest target. McCain is old and an easy target but how many old jokes can you tell before it gets old? Palin is the shot in the arm to the Republican party and the liberals know it, so they attack her instead of McCain.
The other side of the coin is that Palin offers so much that can be used as fodder that the liberals at NBC and SNL cannot help but latch on to it. But I doubt his theory because the skits that have picked on Palin have been centered on her with some light jabs to liberals once in a while.
Oh, why doesn't anyone mock Obama on TV? The answer is quite simple. If you poke fun of a black it is racism...poke fun at a white and it is humor. Forget politics...all parties have given SNL something to pick on.
Now, to begin, I am most likely not going to vote for McCain/Palin (nor am I voting for Obama/Biden), but I am rather proud of Sarah Palin's accomplishments as a mayor and a governor. While I still think she needs some more polish to become an effective national leader, I appreciate her down home attitude and style. She does not look or act like a Washington insider.
NBC, like most of the mainstream media giants, are incredibly liberal and any threat to their ideals will cause them to begin mocking the easiest target. McCain is old and an easy target but how many old jokes can you tell before it gets old? Palin is the shot in the arm to the Republican party and the liberals know it, so they attack her instead of McCain.
The other side of the coin is that Palin offers so much that can be used as fodder that the liberals at NBC and SNL cannot help but latch on to it. But I doubt his theory because the skits that have picked on Palin have been centered on her with some light jabs to liberals once in a while.
Oh, why doesn't anyone mock Obama on TV? The answer is quite simple. If you poke fun of a black it is racism...poke fun at a white and it is humor. Forget politics...all parties have given SNL something to pick on.
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