A View From My Window Friday, Sep 18 2009

When I came back from lunch today, I sat down and looked out my window toward the Old State Capitol and the Mississippi River. It was cloudy with one large, dark cloud to the west of me. There was a small, wispy part that hung off the side of the cloud a bit that had the appearance of a curled pig tail. I watched it for a second and thought it has some rotational movement to it. I called my secretary to verify that I was not crazy or seeing things. It took her a minute or two to come. By the time she walked in, the funnel was much more pronounced. She screamed, “Oh my God, it’s a tornado!!” Everyone within hearing distance ran to the window and started taking pictures with their cell phones. One of my co-workers a couple of floors below me got a great shot that made the local news. Of course, we emailed out pics to everyone we knew. It was quite exciting. Ultimately, the funnel cloud withdrew into the bigger cloud and the rain came. We were informed on the news that technically it was not a tornado. To be a tornado, the funnel cloud must touch the ground. Whatever you call it, it was totally fascinating and scary at the same time.

Picture by co-worker Brad.

I have always been a huge weather fanatic. I even report rainfall for the local TV station. I have been outside on several occasions in bad weather when I thought tornadoes may form. Once I was released from school for bad weather. I had to walk home and the wind whipped up very quickly. That was quite scary. You could feel the temperature drop and the wind was wild. But, I did not see a tornado.

Another time, I went to an outdoor concert downtown. Before the show started, a very strong wind blew across the river and blew part of the stage down. Some people were injured when stage lights fell on them. People were running everywhere, just like on 9/11, even though this was 10 years earlier. The weather people determined that it was a straight line wind in an ordinary thunderstorm. Again, no tornado.

While you are always hopeful that you will not witness an actual tornado, some part of you would still want to see one in real life. Today, I feel that I saw the real deal (even if it was just a funnel cloud and not a real tornado!!

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Time Heals All Wounds Saturday, Jul 25 2009

My mother died 30 years ago today. I still miss her.

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Father’s Day and Beyond Thursday, Jun 25 2009

Things have been kinda crazy lately. The summer is here, kids are taking beginner band for 9 weeks, VBS is this week, two of my uncles are ill, Father’s Day has come, and Joshua’s birthday is tomorrow.

For Father’s Day, I got a new electric guitar. After studying the issue for several weeks and looking for deals, I settled on a Fender Stratocaster that looks just like the one pictured here. It was Made in Mexico (MIM) and plays great. I know this because I got a couple of guys in the store to play it. It does not sound near that good when I play it!! However, I am getting better (take my word for it!!). Now I have to find an amp and some time to practice.

The kid’s band instructor likes to take field trips on certain days when they are not in band. This past week, we went to the Old State Capitol, the Shaw Center Museum, and the Arsensal. I tagged along for a couple of hours of fun. We had a great time of fellowship and exploration.

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I’ve Been Tagged Tuesday, Jun 16 2009

I’ve been tagged!

June 16, 2009

I’ve been tagged by Jowanna!

A “get-to-know-you” game.

The Rules:
* List Six Unimportant Things That Make You Happy
* Mention and link to the person who tagged you
* Tag six of your favorite bloggers to play along (which I failed to do – I always have to buck the rules!)

1. dogs

2. babies

3. ice cream

4. the smell of rain just beginning to fall

5. fall

6. bucking the rules!!

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The New Burger King Monday, May 25 2009

Here is Joshua’s account of our recent trip to the new Burger King. He is thirteen:

On May 14th, me and my dad went down to a recently opened Burger King in our area.

Now, we have always known that Burger King wasn’t that fastest fast food. But THIS was ridiculous. Yes, there was a somewhat long line wrapped around the building, but we were third in line, and it took us fifteen minutes to get to the place where we order. That is okay, but it got worse when we went to order:

Lady: Welcome to Burger King, may I take your order?

Dad: Yeah, uh. I will have a ********* with a small Dr. Pepper.

Lady: Hold on a second sir…. *a minute later* What type of drink was that, a Coke?

Dad: No, Dr. Pepper. I-

Lady: Will that be all?

Dad: No…… *continues order* And three Whoppers.

Lady: What was that last thing?

Dad: *nothing*

Lady: Hello? *annoyed* What was that last thing?

Dad: WHOPPER.

Lady? *super annoyed* You don’t have to need to talk to me like I am stupid, sweet heart. I just didn’t HEAR YOU.

Well, we finally finished our order, and it took us about 20-30 minutes from that point to get the food. It was even worse because I could see a McDonalds across the street. When we finally made it to the window, it was like watching a bunch of Donkey Kongs trying to run a restaurant.. Don’t ask how I know. After waiting for them to figure out what they did wrong with our drink order, we FINALLY got to leave.

The fries weren’t all that warm, might I add.

Well, I better stop talking about this now… I am getting hungry.

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The Way of the Samurai Thursday, May 7 2009

Recently, our new front loading washing machine stopped spinning during the final spin cycle. It would turn at other times, so I knew the number of things that could be wrong were limited. Based on past experience, I went to the best appliance repair resource in the world.

http://fixitnow.com

This is a very unique site where the guru of appliance repair is called the Samurai. Many of the posters in the forums are known as apprentice appliantologists, senior apprentices, master appliantologist, and someone identified as a Fellow in the Academy of Sublime Masters of Appliantology. I think you get the idea.

On the site, you can find FAQs, online manuals, diagrams, and directions for fixing virtually every appliance. If you can’t find the answer, even lowly grasshoppers can post questions. But be careful, not just anyone can be considered a grasshopper. There are some minor requirements to being a grasshopper, such as the ability to use a multi-meter (ok – in my case I know what it is and can utilize some of its functions, but hardly all of them).

When all was said and done, I managed to fix my problem and save a good deal of money. I mentioned my experience to a couple of co-workers. To my delight, they said that their husbands were also aware of the Way of the Samurai.

In exchange for utilizing a great public service website, many people contribute to United Samurai Beer Fund. What else would you expect? Pay virtual money for virtual beer in exchange for some real-life advice that is very valuable. If you have ever have the need to fix a home appliance, consider the Way of the Samurai!

And be prepared to contribute to the Fund.

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Apparently I have GAS Saturday, Apr 25 2009

Being an observer of the computing scene for a while, I have observed many postings by Mac users over the years. One of my favorites is the following:

mac: a waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric
MAC: a data communication protocol sub-layer, also known as the Media Access Control
Mac: a brand name which covers several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc.

This is a witty way of describing various uses of the term “mac.” Anyway, I mention this to explain my recent revelation that I may have GAS. I was informed of this by my friend Steven during a conversation with him, his dad, my wife, and myself while having refreshments prior to a church service.

Obviously, one does not usually discuss the more usual type of gas at church so my curiosity was piqued. Rest assured that it is repeatable in public as evidenced by the fact that we were discussing it at church, and I am repeating it here.

GAS – refers to Gear Acquisition Syndrome.

It is fairly common disease among musically-inclined people, particularly guitar players, that refers to the obsessive and irrational horse trading or purchasing of musical related equipment.

For those who do not know, I have been attempting to learn to play the guitar since the kids got acoustic guitars for Christmas in 2007. I have been playing the acoustic guitar my wife bought several years ago when she considered learning to play.

 After playing her guitar for more than a year, I have been “feeling” the need to buy an electric guitar. I have many reasons for this, primarily because I believe it will save my fingers in the long run. Additionally, I have always been obsessed with Stratocasters. When I was fifteen or sixteen, I purchased a cheap copy of a Stratocaster. It was the classic looking 50’s style two-color sunburst pattern.

Steven, always willing to assist a friend in need, loaned me his MIM (made in Mexico) Strat (an honest to goodness Fender which is the only brand that should be able to truly call itself a “strat” as opposed to a Stratocaster copy) while he was on vacation. Since I am in serious need of gear, I had to borrow his amp as well. After playing with his MIM Strat for nearly a week, he came home to re-claim it. I told his dad that I may claim there was a serious accident, but his dad “ratted” me out, so I returned the MIM.

Now, I am unplugged again, living in a digital, electrical world with my analog, acoustic gear. It should be clear that, at least in my case, GAS is not irrational. I believe that my needs are quite logical and understandable.

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Love Shack Saturday, Apr 11 2009

Anyone who knows me will find this to be funny. For those that don’t know me personally, I will try to explain. I was raised on rock and roll (and a little county – like Loretta and Conway country, not this new-fangled stuff). I spent most of my spare money from my first few jobs on records (yes RECORDS), tapes, and concerts, not necessarily in that order. I saw most of the rock groups that were around in the 80’s and 90’s, everything from AC/DC to ZZ Topp, Styx to Starship, Cheap Trick to 38 Special, Rush to Foreigner…I think you get the idea.

Anyway, I say all this to explain that I am not one that would normally like the B52’s. In fact, I did not like them at all in the 80’s. When friends would play them or it would come on the radio, I would become nearly violent and try to find some Scorpions or Whitesnake to ease the pain.

Well, time has passed on. I have an eleven year old daughter now. We went to see Monsters vs. Aliens on her birthday. At the end of the movie, we were watching the credits and heard a song by the B52’s. My wife and daughter recognized the male singer, Fred Schneider. Shamefully, I have to admit that I recognized his voice as well.

On the way home, I thought back to an incident that had happened a couple of years earlier. My daughter had received a karaoke. Sometimes, we would sing together. One of the songs on the cd that came with the karaoke was Love Shack. She would listen to it and many other songs. Long story short, one night she wanted someone to sing along on mic #2. So, here I am many years later gladly singing along to a song that I avoided like the plague in my rocker days. Just one example how things change.

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Saying Goodbye to the Old Computers Saturday, Apr 4 2009

The kids both got Dell laptops for Christmas. Since they homeschool and most of their work is done on their computers, there was a definite need to upgrade them. I had installed a wireless network when my wife got an Apple MacBook back in September. At the same time, we bought an Apple Time Capsule to back up the computer and to work as a wireless network. After some thought, but not much since I am not great at networking, I hooked our desktop to the ethernet port on the TC. Then we discovered that the “free” printer/scanner/copier that we got with the MacBook would not work as a scanner/copier unless physically connected to a computer. Long story short, I hooked the printer up to the desktop and was able to get everything to work, including the gen.1 Apple I-Pod Touch that we also got “free” with the MacBook.

Then, Christmas came. Until then, the kids had operated on our wired network with their own printers. Since the kids would be wireless, we could get rid of their cheap printers as we replaced their computers. Now all I had to do was to get two Dell pc’s to work wirelessly through an Apple Time Capsule connected wirelessly to a MacBook and I-Pod Touch and a wired desktop with an attached printer. Sound complicated? Well, I got it all working, but it is not working correctly. Everyone can connect to the internet (isn’t that the most important part!!). However, I have not figured a way to share files between the various computers. Did I mention that the desktop is Windows XP, the Dells are Windows Vista, and the MacBook is Apple’s Leopard. I can get the MacBook to print, but not the two Dells. So, I will continue to work for completeness. However, since I am at my wit’s end and can find no solution on the net, I may be stuck at this point for a while.

Which brings me to today. Today, I “finally” (my beautiful wife says) got around to clearing all the data off the kids’ old computers (4 year old E Machine desktops). I uninstalled for a bit. I transferred some things. I verified that stuff would work on the new computers. I re-formatted the drives in the old computers to ensure that all of our data was removed. Then, we took some pictures of them so that we can possibly sell them. Hopefully, another family will take them off our hands and get some use out of them.

They have certainly served their purpose as far as we are concerned. The computers were Christmas presents in 2004 from the kids’ grandparents and look like brand new today. They have been very dependable. The kids have done their school on them, played music, watched DVD movies when the TV was not available, and surfed the web as if they were in Hawaii. All in all, they have been wonderful, but they were ready for laptops and for wireless internet.

Maybe in four more years, I can get a new computer for Christmas!!!

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Running Hot, then Cold, then Hot, the Cold, then Hot . . . Thursday, Mar 26 2009

I don’t know about you, but the whole Global Warming talk has me concerned. However, it is probably not for the reason you would suspect. Please, read on.

There can be no doubt that the Earth’s temperature has fluctuated over time. We know this from scientific as well as anecdotal recordings throughout history. Only recently have we felt compelled to raise an alarm, if not panic, over these minor and survivable variations.

Based on fairly reliable data, we know that the Earth’s temperature was somewhat higher before the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages, the temperatures went down considerably. Then, they came back up. During the 1800’s we encountered what was called a mini-Ice Age.

These fluctuations in temperatures and the media coverage of theses fluctuations were documented in a United States Senate floor speech delivered by Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) on September 25, 2006, entitled “Hot & Cold Media Spin Cycle: A Challenge to Journalist Who Cover Global Warming.”  Senator Inhofe sagely noted:

Since 1895, the media has alternated between global cooling and warming scares during four separate and sometimes overlapping time periods. From 1895 until the 1930’s the media peddled a coming ice age.

From the late 1920’s until the 1960’s they warned of global warming. From the 1950’s until the 1970’s they warned us again of a coming ice age. This makes modern global warming the fourth estate’s fourth attempt to promote opposing climate change fears during the last 100 years.

In my own memory, I have noted just what the Senator was talking about.  For instance, I was taught during  my elementary school years in the 1970’s by my well-informed science teachers that we were headed for another Ice Age.  Then, less than twenty years later we are told by equally well-informed science teachers and researchers that we are NOW heading into a major period of Global Warming.  Not just Global Warming, but MAN-MADE Global Warming.  Nevermind that the data is sketchy, that the alleged culprit, CO2, has failed to produce the extreme temperatures predicted by all of the models, and that the sun has decided it was going to pursue another cycle of cooling right in the midst of the Global Warming hysteria.

I point out all of this to demonstrate how thin the so-called proof for either Global Warming or the new Ice Age really is.  I believe we can all agree that temperatures are always in a flux.  The Sun undergoes various cycles that we do not know about or understand.  There are processes at work in our environment that have never been documented well, much less incorporated into any Global Warming model.  Most glaringly, no Global Warming model adequately calculates how precipitation would affect the alleged rise in temperature.  Wait a minute, and hear me out.  We are taught that heat causes water to evaporate, which leads to cloud formation and precipitation.  If you have ever been outside on a summer day and it starts raining, the temperature drops dramatically.  Wouldn’t it stand to reason that increased heat just MIGHT cause increased precipitation.  The precipitation, in turn, would have a cooling effect.    However, no model accounts for the variations in temperature caused by this heating and cooling cycle generated by precipitation. 

Just in the last few weeks, we have heard of a team headed into the Arctic prove that ice levels are diminishing becoming trapped in a major spring snow and ice storm.  Any time Al Gore makes an appearance to preach about Global Warming, the weather turns freakishly cold.  In a recent article, we learned that a rapid growth spurt in sea ice formation brought sea ice levels to the same level as existed in 1979.  Does this mean that we have suddenly erased nearly thirty years of Global Warming’s alleged effects on global sea ice levels?  Additionally, despite predictions that the North Pole could melt entirely in 2008, instead the Arctic ice saw a substantial recovery.  A noted researcher with the University of Illinois’s Arctic Climate Research Center, Bill Chapman, indicated that the increase in sea ice ”was due in part to colder temperatures in the region.”  I just had to include this line so that you would see the mysterious science at work here – notice that he does not hold back anything – the new ice was due “in part to colder temperatures in the region.”   WOW.  I do not claim to be a scientist, but even I could have predicted that colder weather causes ice formation.

For my part, I have determined that I will not accept Global Warming until after the Ice Age.  I am sorry, but I have to go in the order that the competing theories were presented.  If we were taught in the 1970’s that an Ice Age was imminent, then we should have an Ice Age before Global Warming can logically occur.  Regardless to what Gore and other alarmists predict, we must proceed in an orderly manner.  After all of the media gyrations on the subject since the turn of the century, they should simply remain silent until there is a definitive answer.  They have been consistently wrong on this subject long enough.

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