Most of you who read this blog know that I was pretty excited about the possibility of Fred Thompson in the White House. I haven't been excited about a possible national leader in several elections and this was the first time I had been optimistic that a leader would attempt to steer us as a nation back towards a constitutional form of government. Well since Fred stepped down I have been reading more and more on Dr. Ron Paul and his stand on important issues like infanticide, illegal immigration, the war and foreign policy in general, homosexual marriage, the environment, taxes and government spending, and of course the scope /reach of our government. I'd love to see the government reigned back about 90% and brought back more in line with what was intended by the constitution. We have given up way too many rights and freedoms and that needs to be addressed. The great Benjamin Franklin warned us that if we are willing to give up freedoms for security we deserve neither freedom nor security.
I have always been a little concerned that Dr. Paul is a little more isolationist than we can afford to be as a nation. But, for almost every other issue I agree with the good doctor and am now putting my efforts behind his campaign. I'm not sure I am going to pay to have the Fred stickers on my van changed over but will let people who care know that they should consider him as they examine key issues and choose a candidate. Here is a handy guide to compare some of the candidates and how they appear to stand on important issues. As always this is just a guide, to really know the full story behind the issues read the full story (investigate the candidate's record). Some issues that appear to have a candidate on the opposite side of an issue from you might just be because the candidate thinks that the issue is a state issue instead of a federal issue (most issues were initially intended by the framers of the constitution to be dealt with locally rather than in our nation's capital).
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Interesting Week
As some of you who read Rhino's blog know, this has been a very interesting and newsworthy week. He has a list of events that have made this week more significant in our lives than many weeks are. Our good friend Tim, one of our accountability partners, is moving back home (their house sold in a record 6 days on the market). Rhino is taking a new job that will probably result in some changes in his schedule flexibility ... at least in the short term. I know that God is at work in my friends lives and I am thankful for that, but I am also fighting the urge to be selfish and not want the changes that will impact my comfort and routine. But in all things I desire that His will be done even if I don't necessarily like it.
Life here on Spring Street is good. I am still taking bids for my building projects and hope to l0ck in and begin the building process in the next few weeks. I've had to scale back my ambitions for the garage/hanger so that I don't have to have special permits and hire a engineer/architect for the project. If the building exceeds 5000 sq feet there are tons more requirements from the state of TN so I plan to limit the size to just under the 5000 sq ft limit. So I think I will end up with a building that is 48 feet wide and 104 feet long. That sized building will come in at 4992 sq ft and still allow ample room for my cars and the airplane.
So far, the bulldozer guy is slowly at work on my driveway and ponds. He has about 100 feet of the roadway cut in and if the weather will cooperate and dry out a little should be able to knock out the driveway in a few days. The ponds will then take a few days as well. I am going to dig them out and redo the island at the center to allow a small pavilion. I hope to talk my brother Bob into building a 4 or 5 layer pagoda for my pavilion. My goal is to make it look like a small Chinese garden area on the island. I will then have a sidewalk that goes from my house to a small walk bridge that crosses over the pond to the island. If I get it how I picture, it should be very nice and relaxing. I'm guessing that Cadbury the duck will like it as well.
School is in full swing and is going well so far. I have 2 research projects that are either at the editor's desk or about to be submitted. I am also working on another project looking at distance education and on-line education delivery that I think should get a decent hit from both a conference and a journal (eventually).
Life here on Spring Street is good. I am still taking bids for my building projects and hope to l0ck in and begin the building process in the next few weeks. I've had to scale back my ambitions for the garage/hanger so that I don't have to have special permits and hire a engineer/architect for the project. If the building exceeds 5000 sq feet there are tons more requirements from the state of TN so I plan to limit the size to just under the 5000 sq ft limit. So I think I will end up with a building that is 48 feet wide and 104 feet long. That sized building will come in at 4992 sq ft and still allow ample room for my cars and the airplane.
So far, the bulldozer guy is slowly at work on my driveway and ponds. He has about 100 feet of the roadway cut in and if the weather will cooperate and dry out a little should be able to knock out the driveway in a few days. The ponds will then take a few days as well. I am going to dig them out and redo the island at the center to allow a small pavilion. I hope to talk my brother Bob into building a 4 or 5 layer pagoda for my pavilion. My goal is to make it look like a small Chinese garden area on the island. I will then have a sidewalk that goes from my house to a small walk bridge that crosses over the pond to the island. If I get it how I picture, it should be very nice and relaxing. I'm guessing that Cadbury the duck will like it as well.
School is in full swing and is going well so far. I have 2 research projects that are either at the editor's desk or about to be submitted. I am also working on another project looking at distance education and on-line education delivery that I think should get a decent hit from both a conference and a journal (eventually).
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The Practice of the Presence of God
I've been reading a book (compiled letters) by Brother Lawrence - a French Brother who lived from 1610AD until approximately 1691AD. His view on practicing the presence of God is good and I find it fairly consistent with my personal experiences as I strive to walk with God. He points out that as we practice serving God and force ourselves (if necessary at times) to spend time in His presence eventually we will want (in fact crave) to spend time in His presence.
Here is an excerpt from one of his letters.
"Yet, I think it is appropriate to tell you how I perceive myself before God, whom I behold as my King. I consider myself as the most wretched of men. I am full of faults, flaws, and weaknesses, and have committed all sorts of crimes against his King. In deep regret I confess all my wickedness to Him. I ask His forgiveness. I abandon myself in His hands that He may do what He pleases with me.
My King is full of mercy and goodness. Far from chastising me, He embraces me with love. He makes me eat at His table. He serves me with His own hands and gives me the key to His treasures. He converses and delights Himself with me incessantly, in a thousand and a thousand ways. And, He treats me in all respects as His favorite. In this way I consider myself continually in His holy presence." Brother Lawrence ~ 1610-1691
Isn't that so true. Even though I fail Him often, He still treats me like His favorite. The book is just a good reminder of how faithful our God is. I'm certainly not certifying all of the doctrinal content in his letters but would recommend it as a good read for those seeking to walk with God. Just remember it was written by a man, but it is still full of pearls of wisdom. You can find information about it at: www.practicegodspresence.com/
Here is an excerpt from one of his letters.
"Yet, I think it is appropriate to tell you how I perceive myself before God, whom I behold as my King. I consider myself as the most wretched of men. I am full of faults, flaws, and weaknesses, and have committed all sorts of crimes against his King. In deep regret I confess all my wickedness to Him. I ask His forgiveness. I abandon myself in His hands that He may do what He pleases with me.
My King is full of mercy and goodness. Far from chastising me, He embraces me with love. He makes me eat at His table. He serves me with His own hands and gives me the key to His treasures. He converses and delights Himself with me incessantly, in a thousand and a thousand ways. And, He treats me in all respects as His favorite. In this way I consider myself continually in His holy presence." Brother Lawrence ~ 1610-1691
Isn't that so true. Even though I fail Him often, He still treats me like His favorite. The book is just a good reminder of how faithful our God is. I'm certainly not certifying all of the doctrinal content in his letters but would recommend it as a good read for those seeking to walk with God. Just remember it was written by a man, but it is still full of pearls of wisdom. You can find information about it at: www.practicegodspresence.com/
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Plattsburgh and Montreal
I was stationed at Plattsburgh for almost 5 years while I was in the Air Force. As I have written on several of my entries - from there I made trips to places all over the USA and to far away places all over this globe. This entry will be about Plattsburgh and what things were like here at the home station (and nearby destinations).
I arrived on station in early March and there was still about a foot of snow everywhere and it hadn’t quit snowing yet. Every few days it would snow a few inches and the plows would push it to the side of the road where it would remain until late April or May of each year. I had never lived in a place that got any where near this amount of snow. It was also seriously cold up there in Plattsburgh. There was one February when I flew from Plattsburgh to Alaska and in so doing had to remove some of my winter clothing. It was actually 10 degrees warmer in Fairbanks, Alaska when we landed than in Plattsburgh, NY when we left. Of course it wasn’t always that cold but it really could get cold. When we arrived on station we were issued heavy-duty winter gear to include mukluk boots, fur lined winter outer jackets, long underwear, thermal socks and even heavy-duty flight boots. After growing up in Pakistan and Taiwan and then living in Tennessee and Arizona while in the US, Plattsburgh seemed like the great white Northern tundra.
After a couple of years in Plattsburgh I grew to love the place. You become acclimated and get used to the cold weather and short summers and appreciate the incredible beauty that is present in any direction you look. Here is Ausable Chasm just South of town
. Plattsburgh is located right on the shores of Lake Champlain and is also not too far from the Adirondack Mountains. I spent a few weekends in the mountains hiking and camping while I was in Plattsburgh. Lake Placid was only a 45-minute drive from my apartment and provided many weekends of skiing adventures as well. An hour drive to the East (including a ride on the Lake Champlain Ferry) and you could spend an evening in Burlington, VT. Burlington is a decent if not weird city with a rather diverse and unique population. It really wasn’t my cup of tea but again the fact that it is located on the lake with incredible views makes it a place worth visiting. Another close by destination was Montreal, which was about an hour and 15 minuets North of Plattsburgh just across the Canadian border. Usually the border crossing was an uneventful affair but at times it was a little more interesting. Quebec province had a law against the use of radar detectors and included a $200 fine for violation of said law.
One afternoon I took off for Montreal to meet some friends for dinner. As I arrived at the border I removed my radar detector and stowed it under the passenger seat of my car. Anyway, I guess one of the Mounties watched me stow it and decided that he was going to give me a hard time for having a radar detector. So anyway I made it through customs and started to drive away when I saw a patrol car fall in behind me and then hit his lights. I pulled over and a Quebec Police officer walked up to my car and asked to see my license. I still had my TN drivers license and I handed it to him. He then asked me if I had a radar detector. I told him that no I was not using a radar detector. He then told me that he knew I had a radar detector and was going to confiscate it and give me a ticket for $200.
The whole time he had me pulled over knowing I was American, he would say something in French and then I would tell him to speak English and he would say it again in English with an attitude. Anyway when he threatened to take my detector I got out of my car and told him that there was no way he was getting my detector and to stick the ticket where he wanted. He threatened to arrest me and I told him to go for it but that he wasn’t getting my detector since I wasn’t using it while driving in Quebec. I told him that the only way he could know I had a detector was if somebody at customs had tipped him off. Anyway, after a few minutes of threatening to take me in he backed down and just wrote me a ticket for $200 and didn’t take my detector. Needless to say I never paid the ticket and I kept my radar detector.
Montreal is a great city. It is almost like traveling to Europe but only having to drive an hour to get there. I spent many a weekend night in Montreal eating dinner and hanging out with friends. Montreal has a crazy nightlife with things going on until 3 or 4 AM --- even during the week. There was a place called Chez La Mere Tucker that had great steak and prime rib. I’m not sure if it is still around or not but I went there more than a few times for dinner. There was also a place called Bar-B-Barn, which was a great barbecue rib place. And of course tons of other restaurants, bars, and clubs located all over the city. Before you leave the city you also have to spend some time near La basilique Notre Dame
and old Montreal. There are cobblestone streets and plenty of nice little eateries and shops throughout the area.
Montreal also has a great underground city (La ville souterraine), which has all kinds of shopping and restaurants. Many of the underground stations have access to this underground shopping mall. It has grown since I lived in Plattsburgh and now includes more than 3.6 square kilometers of floor space according to a quick search of Wikipedia. If you ever make it to Montreal the underground city is a must see. And, in the winter it is a much warmer and more hospitable place than the frigid streets above ground.
Just a hundred miles or so North East of Montreal is Quebec City. It has a walled section of town and is very old French speaking (even more so than Montreal) city. Any trip here requires a stop at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Shrine
. You also need to check out L'Île d'Orléans (Orleans Island) and just enjoy the slower pace of life and friendly people who live here.
As you can tell my 5 years in Plattsburgh were incredible years and gave me the opportunity to explore and visit places that I had heretofore only dreamed of and read about. I can’t imagine a more incredible place to have had the opportunity to live than Plattsburgh, NY. I still have dear friends in Plattsburgh and I try to visit at least every few years. If you are trying to think of a place to visit that is both exciting and different, take a trip to the Adirondacks and enjoy the sights, smells, and sounds. And, if it's for the Fall colors, even better.
I arrived on station in early March and there was still about a foot of snow everywhere and it hadn’t quit snowing yet. Every few days it would snow a few inches and the plows would push it to the side of the road where it would remain until late April or May of each year. I had never lived in a place that got any where near this amount of snow. It was also seriously cold up there in Plattsburgh. There was one February when I flew from Plattsburgh to Alaska and in so doing had to remove some of my winter clothing. It was actually 10 degrees warmer in Fairbanks, Alaska when we landed than in Plattsburgh, NY when we left. Of course it wasn’t always that cold but it really could get cold. When we arrived on station we were issued heavy-duty winter gear to include mukluk boots, fur lined winter outer jackets, long underwear, thermal socks and even heavy-duty flight boots. After growing up in Pakistan and Taiwan and then living in Tennessee and Arizona while in the US, Plattsburgh seemed like the great white Northern tundra.
After a couple of years in Plattsburgh I grew to love the place. You become acclimated and get used to the cold weather and short summers and appreciate the incredible beauty that is present in any direction you look. Here is Ausable Chasm just South of town
. Plattsburgh is located right on the shores of Lake Champlain and is also not too far from the Adirondack Mountains. I spent a few weekends in the mountains hiking and camping while I was in Plattsburgh. Lake Placid was only a 45-minute drive from my apartment and provided many weekends of skiing adventures as well. An hour drive to the East (including a ride on the Lake Champlain Ferry) and you could spend an evening in Burlington, VT. Burlington is a decent if not weird city with a rather diverse and unique population. It really wasn’t my cup of tea but again the fact that it is located on the lake with incredible views makes it a place worth visiting. Another close by destination was Montreal, which was about an hour and 15 minuets North of Plattsburgh just across the Canadian border. Usually the border crossing was an uneventful affair but at times it was a little more interesting. Quebec province had a law against the use of radar detectors and included a $200 fine for violation of said law.One afternoon I took off for Montreal to meet some friends for dinner. As I arrived at the border I removed my radar detector and stowed it under the passenger seat of my car. Anyway, I guess one of the Mounties watched me stow it and decided that he was going to give me a hard time for having a radar detector. So anyway I made it through customs and started to drive away when I saw a patrol car fall in behind me and then hit his lights. I pulled over and a Quebec Police officer walked up to my car and asked to see my license. I still had my TN drivers license and I handed it to him. He then asked me if I had a radar detector. I told him that no I was not using a radar detector. He then told me that he knew I had a radar detector and was going to confiscate it and give me a ticket for $200.
The whole time he had me pulled over knowing I was American, he would say something in French and then I would tell him to speak English and he would say it again in English with an attitude. Anyway when he threatened to take my detector I got out of my car and told him that there was no way he was getting my detector and to stick the ticket where he wanted. He threatened to arrest me and I told him to go for it but that he wasn’t getting my detector since I wasn’t using it while driving in Quebec. I told him that the only way he could know I had a detector was if somebody at customs had tipped him off. Anyway, after a few minutes of threatening to take me in he backed down and just wrote me a ticket for $200 and didn’t take my detector. Needless to say I never paid the ticket and I kept my radar detector.
Montreal is a great city. It is almost like traveling to Europe but only having to drive an hour to get there. I spent many a weekend night in Montreal eating dinner and hanging out with friends. Montreal has a crazy nightlife with things going on until 3 or 4 AM --- even during the week. There was a place called Chez La Mere Tucker that had great steak and prime rib. I’m not sure if it is still around or not but I went there more than a few times for dinner. There was also a place called Bar-B-Barn, which was a great barbecue rib place. And of course tons of other restaurants, bars, and clubs located all over the city. Before you leave the city you also have to spend some time near La basilique Notre Dame
and old Montreal. There are cobblestone streets and plenty of nice little eateries and shops throughout the area.Montreal also has a great underground city (La ville souterraine), which has all kinds of shopping and restaurants. Many of the underground stations have access to this underground shopping mall. It has grown since I lived in Plattsburgh and now includes more than 3.6 square kilometers of floor space according to a quick search of Wikipedia. If you ever make it to Montreal the underground city is a must see. And, in the winter it is a much warmer and more hospitable place than the frigid streets above ground.
Just a hundred miles or so North East of Montreal is Quebec City. It has a walled section of town and is very old French speaking (even more so than Montreal) city. Any trip here requires a stop at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Shrine
. You also need to check out L'Île d'Orléans (Orleans Island) and just enjoy the slower pace of life and friendly people who live here.As you can tell my 5 years in Plattsburgh were incredible years and gave me the opportunity to explore and visit places that I had heretofore only dreamed of and read about. I can’t imagine a more incredible place to have had the opportunity to live than Plattsburgh, NY. I still have dear friends in Plattsburgh and I try to visit at least every few years. If you are trying to think of a place to visit that is both exciting and different, take a trip to the Adirondacks and enjoy the sights, smells, and sounds. And, if it's for the Fall colors, even better.
Friday, January 18, 2008
College Football Bowl Picks
It's been a few days now and I was reviewing my bowl picks for the end of the college football season. I picked 6 correct winners out of the 32 games on the list. I came in dead last in my group and am sure that I could not have picked any (better) worse if I had tried to pick every loser. I wasn't even close in many of the games. I had Ohio State winning the national championship game simply because of how embarrassed they had been from last years butt whipping. I assumed (I know what that does) that they would have something to prove and come out playing strongly. Boy was I wrong. Anyway I want to extend my congrats to Ryan for selecting the most correct winning teams in our group.
On another note, General continues to do well and is growing like a weed. This is difficult, but I thought I would share a miracle that recently happened at my house. A few weeks ago when I first got General he was only 8 weeks old and was quite small. Anyway, one night when I came home I noticed that none of the lights were on in the house and knew that I was going to have to be careful so that I didn't roll over General and hurt him. Well, I cracked open the back door and got my front tires over the door threshold and was creeping forward slowly when I saw a little flash of gray run towards me. I froze where I was and reached around the corner to turn on the light. I looked down and saw that my rear tire was right on top of little General. I backed up and reached down to get him.
He was lifeless and as I picked him up he gently moaned and quit breathing. I picked him up and listened to his heart and could tell that he was not breathing and could barely hear a heartbeat...he was seriously injured. About that time he lost his bowels and bladder and I knew that he was dying. He wasn't breathing and I started to cry and pray. I told God that I knew I was being selfish but to please save General. While I was praying I began to give him CPR and each time I shifted his chest he would gasp for a breath. The whole time I was sitting there working on him I was fighting with the fact that he was in pain and about gone and wondered if I should just let him go or continue to fight for him to live. Anyway I continued for about an hour ( about every 3 seconds I would shift his chest so he could gasp for a breath) before he could breath on his own. He laid in my lap all night and continued to breath stronger and deeper as the night went on. By the next morning he was breathing with less effort. At about 9am I offered him some food and water and he ate a few bites and drank some water. He continued to get better and stronger as the day went by and by that evening he was starting to want to play and run again. I'm still not sure why he is with me but thank God that He answered my selfish prayer and let me keep General. The only good result from this near fatal accident is that he nows stays clear of me and the door when I first get back home each day. Here is a recent picture of him.
On another note, General continues to do well and is growing like a weed. This is difficult, but I thought I would share a miracle that recently happened at my house. A few weeks ago when I first got General he was only 8 weeks old and was quite small. Anyway, one night when I came home I noticed that none of the lights were on in the house and knew that I was going to have to be careful so that I didn't roll over General and hurt him. Well, I cracked open the back door and got my front tires over the door threshold and was creeping forward slowly when I saw a little flash of gray run towards me. I froze where I was and reached around the corner to turn on the light. I looked down and saw that my rear tire was right on top of little General. I backed up and reached down to get him.
He was lifeless and as I picked him up he gently moaned and quit breathing. I picked him up and listened to his heart and could tell that he was not breathing and could barely hear a heartbeat...he was seriously injured. About that time he lost his bowels and bladder and I knew that he was dying. He wasn't breathing and I started to cry and pray. I told God that I knew I was being selfish but to please save General. While I was praying I began to give him CPR and each time I shifted his chest he would gasp for a breath. The whole time I was sitting there working on him I was fighting with the fact that he was in pain and about gone and wondered if I should just let him go or continue to fight for him to live. Anyway I continued for about an hour ( about every 3 seconds I would shift his chest so he could gasp for a breath) before he could breath on his own. He laid in my lap all night and continued to breath stronger and deeper as the night went on. By the next morning he was breathing with less effort. At about 9am I offered him some food and water and he ate a few bites and drank some water. He continued to get better and stronger as the day went by and by that evening he was starting to want to play and run again. I'm still not sure why he is with me but thank God that He answered my selfish prayer and let me keep General. The only good result from this near fatal accident is that he nows stays clear of me and the door when I first get back home each day. Here is a recent picture of him.
Monday, January 14, 2008
School starts back
Well, today was the first day of Spring semester classes here at work. I have Tuesday and Thursday classes again this semester as well as a distance MBA class. The schedule has been consistent since I started work here and I have grown to like it. It allows a lot of flexibility during the week for working from home, lunch with friends, and even research time. I am also going to be working with one of the engineering professors this semeter on an aviation related project with his engineering design class. So ti looks like it will be a busy semester.
I am supposed to receive final word on tenure in late Spring and plan to ask for some release/sabbatical time if everything goes as expected. I still want to spend some time in Chile in a language immersion program. Hopefully I can also team up with a local university in Santiago so that I can still do some research with their faculty. This should happen, if I get the release time, during the 2008-2009 school year.
I still need to take my van to the adaptive dealer repair shop to get the power door mechanism fixed. I hate the thought of driving all the way to Nashville for the day so I ended up putting it off over Christmas break. Now I have to try and schedule it on a Friday or Monday to avoid conflict with my class schedule. Hopefully I can get it done here in the next couple of weeks.
I am supposed to receive final word on tenure in late Spring and plan to ask for some release/sabbatical time if everything goes as expected. I still want to spend some time in Chile in a language immersion program. Hopefully I can also team up with a local university in Santiago so that I can still do some research with their faculty. This should happen, if I get the release time, during the 2008-2009 school year.
I still need to take my van to the adaptive dealer repair shop to get the power door mechanism fixed. I hate the thought of driving all the way to Nashville for the day so I ended up putting it off over Christmas break. Now I have to try and schedule it on a Friday or Monday to avoid conflict with my class schedule. Hopefully I can get it done here in the next couple of weeks.
Friday, January 11, 2008
The Vet (Dr Burke)
Well, General Robin Olds had to get his 3rd set of shots today. So we took a drive over to Smithville, TN to see Dr. Mark Burke and have him check out General and give him the shots. We made it fine to the office but when trying to exit the van my door/lift mechanism started acting up. The door has been kind of jacked up for a couple of weeks now and I guess the rain last night got some more of the electronics wet causing more shorts and malfunctioning. Anyway, I pulled the main fuse to the door opener and one of Dr. Burke's assistants came out to the van to help me get out. He ended up disconnecting the battery to reset the system and then after reconnecting it functioned correctly. What a pain.
Anyway, the General checked out OK (he is favoring his right front paw after jumping off of a high counter - Dr. Burke said it appears he sprained his paw). He got his shots as well as worm medicine. So he should be set on shots for a year now. The paw will just have to mend on its own (if he would only quit climbing to high places and jumping).
Friday is the weekly meet at Pizza Hut day and we had a good crowd today. It is always fun and affords great fellowship for those of us who attend. I'd hate to see this tradition ever end. The picture above was taken a few weeks ago but shows most of the "regular" crowd.
Anyway, the General checked out OK (he is favoring his right front paw after jumping off of a high counter - Dr. Burke said it appears he sprained his paw). He got his shots as well as worm medicine. So he should be set on shots for a year now. The paw will just have to mend on its own (if he would only quit climbing to high places and jumping).
Friday is the weekly meet at Pizza Hut day and we had a good crowd today. It is always fun and affords great fellowship for those of us who attend. I'd hate to see this tradition ever end. The picture above was taken a few weeks ago but shows most of the "regular" crowd.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Catch up
Sorry for the long pause in service. I am still on Christmas break from school and as a result have done little productive for almost 3 weeks now. It's been great!!
Well, a couple of weeks ago I mentioned an addition to the family so thought I would post a couple of pictures of said addition. He is a Russian Blue and is now almost 10 weeks old. He is still tiny and is always trying to run under one of my wheelchair tires. I am very careful and hopefully he will survive these first few weeks and live to grow old with me. He is a miracle since I almost killed him once already so I am just thankful he is still with me and growing each day. He is already an integral part of the family and is even making friends with Stormy my 15 year old Himalayan.
Today marked an exciting event in my technology world. I drove over to K-town with Ryan and Tim to visit the MAC store to have Tim's laptop worked on and to retrieve Ryan's MAC that got fried in an electrical storm last week. For the past few months I have seen advertisements, commercials and have even read reports and reviews on the iPhone but had never actually seen one. Today I got to play with a live working iPhone at the MAC store. It is even better looking in person than in the ads. It is small, sleek and beautiful. I was more impressed than I thought I would be. The screen is impressive and though it isn't huge I was really surprised at how good video looks on it. I watched some video clips and was pleased with the clarity and sharpness of the picture. I was also impressed with how easy it is to browse the Internet compared to browsing on my Verizon Razr. Not even in the same ballpark with ease of use and picture quality of the websites. I'm still not 100% convinced I will buy one what with the $400 price tag for a phone but I was impressed.
Well, a couple of weeks ago I mentioned an addition to the family so thought I would post a couple of pictures of said addition. He is a Russian Blue and is now almost 10 weeks old. He is still tiny and is always trying to run under one of my wheelchair tires. I am very careful and hopefully he will survive these first few weeks and live to grow old with me. He is a miracle since I almost killed him once already so I am just thankful he is still with me and growing each day. He is already an integral part of the family and is even making friends with Stormy my 15 year old Himalayan.
Today marked an exciting event in my technology world. I drove over to K-town with Ryan and Tim to visit the MAC store to have Tim's laptop worked on and to retrieve Ryan's MAC that got fried in an electrical storm last week. For the past few months I have seen advertisements, commercials and have even read reports and reviews on the iPhone but had never actually seen one. Today I got to play with a live working iPhone at the MAC store. It is even better looking in person than in the ads. It is small, sleek and beautiful. I was more impressed than I thought I would be. The screen is impressive and though it isn't huge I was really surprised at how good video looks on it. I watched some video clips and was pleased with the clarity and sharpness of the picture. I was also impressed with how easy it is to browse the Internet compared to browsing on my Verizon Razr. Not even in the same ballpark with ease of use and picture quality of the websites. I'm still not 100% convinced I will buy one what with the $400 price tag for a phone but I was impressed.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Vacation
Today was just another day of my Christmas break. So basically I was lazy and slept until about 8:30am before I got up to shower. I then feed the animals and checked email before spending an hour or so on my Spring class syllabus and schedule. Next semester I will use the next edition of the book I taught last year. That isn't a major deal but it does mean that I have to make some changes in the schedule and make sure that I am familiar with the new content in the textbook. I reviewed the textbook during the Fall semester and with the changes I made in the schedule feel pretty comfortable with the new material and am about ready for the Semester to begin. We don't start back until the middle of January so I have a week and a half to relax and get mentally prepared.
At about 11am I headed towards Woodbury to see my folks and my little sister and her husband. They (my sister and her husband) leave on Thursday and I wanted to spend some time with them before they head back to CA. I usually only get to see them once a year so it is nice to spend some time catching up and talking. My mom and sister fixed black eyed peas, cornbread, green beans and some meatloaf. It was good and even though we didn't have any greens, I think we should be covered (I'm not sure what that superstition is supposed to include) for 2008. I headed back towards Sparta at about 5:30PM and ran into some snow flurries about half way home. When I got to Sparta there was a light dusting of snow on the ground but I doubt much will accumulate unless we get some serious snow over night tonight. I'd love to get about 10-12 inches at least once this year just for the fun of it. Well, I hope anybody who reads this had a great Christmas and here's wishing you a happy and fulfilled New Year.
At about 11am I headed towards Woodbury to see my folks and my little sister and her husband. They (my sister and her husband) leave on Thursday and I wanted to spend some time with them before they head back to CA. I usually only get to see them once a year so it is nice to spend some time catching up and talking. My mom and sister fixed black eyed peas, cornbread, green beans and some meatloaf. It was good and even though we didn't have any greens, I think we should be covered (I'm not sure what that superstition is supposed to include) for 2008. I headed back towards Sparta at about 5:30PM and ran into some snow flurries about half way home. When I got to Sparta there was a light dusting of snow on the ground but I doubt much will accumulate unless we get some serious snow over night tonight. I'd love to get about 10-12 inches at least once this year just for the fun of it. Well, I hope anybody who reads this had a great Christmas and here's wishing you a happy and fulfilled New Year.
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