Too beautiful to stay inside

With the temperature in the low 80's and a slight breeze blowing to cool you down in the shade, it is just so inviting to be outside. Carolyn took advantage of the good weather to work on some of her flower beds around the yard. Here she was working on re-placing the yellow rose bush over the arbor when she got a chance to talk with our neighbor behind our yard. We don't ofter see her, so it was a nice opportunity. Carolyn is just so happy to be able to work outside for hours. Only 4 months ago she didn't have the strength or breath to do that.

We also took advantage of the weather to begin work on a new sprinkler line in the back. We have "decommissioned" the sprinklers that were spraying toward the house and possibly caused some of the dry rot damage that we repaired a couple of months ago. We're now in the process of replacing them with a string that will spray towards the back fence. Unfortunately, the ground for the new sprinklers is 50% pebbles that are about an inch in diameter and very difficult to dig through. Once again, we found the people who had installed the sprinkler system hadn't used glue on the sprinkler side of the system. Minor detail.


Here are some examples of the flowers in our garden. We have a deep purple iris that is almost black when it begins to flower.


And a pretty pink flower that somebody gave us as bulbs. It seems to grow well here but we have no idea what it is. Can anybody give us a hint?

Upside down tomatoes

This is what I call "thinking outside the box" - the planter box in this case. One of the items we picked up at the Home and Garden show we attended a couple of months ago was a pair of baskets designed to grown plants upside down. Instead of planting these tomatoes in the raised planting beds you see in the background, we have inserted them upside down in the bottom of this planter. There is a split foam disk which holds the tomato plant tight enough not to fall out but not so tight as to harm it in any way.


Following the directions that came with the kit, we filled the bag about one-third with planter mix and two-thirds with peat moss. There are a couple of foam baffles at the 1/3 and 2/3 level to help the water diffuse through the soil rather than going straight out the bottom. There are drains around the edge of the bottom as well as the slit where the tomato plant comes through.


And finally, we installed a sturdy hook in the roofing support at the corner of the house to try to catch the sun from at least two directions. Carolyn is watering this basket and trying to get the water to stay in better by plugging up the drain holes. That's silly, of course, as it will just drain out as soon as she removes her fingers. Supposedly this is the ideal way to grow tomatoes as you don't need to build cages to support the heavy fruit. It just hangs down naturally.

We'll keep you posted about how well this works.

Quick trip to San Diego

Up at the crack of dawn to board Southwest Airlines Flight 2755 non-stop to San Diego. It's been so long since I flew that I wasn't even sure I knew how to go through security. No need to worry. They tell you everything you need to know. Jackets and shoes still have to come off although I distinctly remember seeing somewhere that that rule had been relaxed. The new parking structure at the Sacramento Airport makes parking really convenient - at least on a non-busy day like today. But the plane is full. No empty seats.

Although I'm flying with a friend and colleague, we mostly read or nap on the way. We're both more the quiet type anyway. He hasn't made any arangements for ground transportation in San Diego so I agree to let him ride with me.

Landing at San Diego's Lindberg Field is just as exciting as I'd heard. I've never landed here before that I recall. Whenever we had meetings in San Diego, I always preferred the one and a half to two hour drive from Long Beach. The plane literally dives between the downtown skyscrapers to hit the runway. Almost close enough to look into the windows of the upper floors.

I have the Dollar.Express reservation so we're shuttled to the head of the line at Dollar Rent-A-Car and on our way before others who had ridden on the same airport shuttle are even handed their paperwork. Nice that I have traveled some before. I also have my route plotted on my PDA so the 15 minute drive to the San Diego Regional Center is a snap.

The meeting is both exciting and frustrating. Exciting because we're seeing some new software development that could make things much nicer for regional centers. Frustrating because whether we get to use this software is going to depend on a political decision about other software without this software even being considered. We're not even making a recommendation on this software we are seeing today. Just a recommendation about whether this would be a reasonable fall back position if the other system is scuttled. Most, but certainly not all, think it would be a great fall back position and some of us think it should be the first choice.

Meeting over, the drive back to drop off the rental and shuttle to the airport is uneventful. What should be a comfortable two hour wait for the return flight, is stretched to almost 3 hours when our Texas originating plane runs into bad weather. Still, I'm on the ground in Sacramento almost exactly 12 hours after arriving at the airport this morning. Long day. Good travel. Good meeting. Nice to see friends and colleagues, some that I've known for upwards of 20 years. But even nicer to be back home with my sweetheart.

A blast from the past

Remember when?

... “The Beaver” was not just a large aquatic rodent
that gnawed on trees?

... Fizzies were on the same shelf as Beeman’s gum,
High Noon, Powerhouse and Wax Mustaches?

... Fizzies set your tongue a-tingling in the fashionable colors of a carefree adolescence?

... your parents said if you swallowed Fizzies Drink Tablets whole, then drank water, your stomach would explode?

Relive the memories ... Fizzies are back!

I can hardly wait. I guess I'm getting a little nostalgic in my old age. The good old days weren't all good but some of them were and some of the things we enjoyed back then were great. That's why I now have Stadium Checkers and a Poosh-Em-Up-Big-5 pinball game in my closet. And just the other day we were wondering "whatever happened to Fizzies?"

My own personal favorite memory of Fizzies was eating at a nice restaurant in Germany. My folks had sent me a few packets of Fizzies. I had ordered ice water with my meal and when the waitress returned with the food, she was surprised and puzzled that I had some sort of "root beer" looking soda. She kept looking at her order pad until I explained what I had done and showed her with another glass of water how easy it was to make "root beer".

According to the Old Time Candy Company

Once upon a time in the '50s -'60s there was a popular drink tablet that fizzed when placed in water. FIZZIES® were invented by the Emerson Drug Company. The idea derived from scientists working with chemical formulas similar to "Bromo Seltzer" and wondering if a fun, fruit flavored drink could be developed the same way.

"Wouldn't it be grand if we could drop a tablet in a glass of water and have an instant soda pop?" After long hard work, they finally figured out how to combine the right combinations of fruit flavoring, sweetener, citric acid and sodium bicarbonate (a substance that is much like baking soda) into a magical tablet that when dropped into water, turned water into an instant sparkling, effervescent fruit drink!

Fizzies were made in grape, cherry, orange, punch, berry, lemon-lime, and root beer flavors and 8 tablets cost 19 cents. Unfortunately Fizzies contained the sugar substitute cyclamate. In 1968 the FDA banned the use of cyclamates citing research showing that cyclamates caused cancer in laboratory animals and the company went out of business.

They returned in the mid-1990s containing NutriSweet, a substitute 200 times sweeter than sugar. A new company purchased the formula and reintroduced them to the market in 1995. It was short lived because the company went out of business and all of the inventory was gone by late 2001.

Well, according to the folks at Fizzies.Com, the delightful "instant soft drink" of the 50's will soon be back again. Marketing is set for mid- to late May of this year. We'll all be able to enjoy the magic again. But probably not for 19 cents per pack of 8 tablets. More likely $2.99 per pack.

Google, Googler, Googlest

Google is a search engine, right? With it, you can find something on virtually every topic known to man if it is mentioned on some web site somewhere. But were you aware that Google does much, much more than that? Do you know, for instance, that you can search for weather, travel information, or stock quotes? You can find reviews and showtimes for movies showing in your area. You can ask to see a snapshot of websites as they were last captured by Google, even websites that no longer exist on the Net. Looking up a definition is as easy as typing "define dipsomania" in the search box (without quotes).

One of the fascinating usages I just discovered was as a calculator. Unlike your pocket calculator, Google allows words and phrases such as "two fortnights" or "$25 in Euros". Just type your caculation question in the spot you'd normally type in the query. Google decides that you don't really want to look something up. You want an answer and it gives it to you.

Here's a link to a great Google Cheat Sheet that lists all Google Services and tools as well as background information on the company. Much of this information is available right on the Google main help page.

I'd be interested to hear what your experience has been with creative uses for Google or one of it's offspring.

Waiting for the call…

Is it time yet? No, not quite. There’s still time to read this morning's newspaper. Maybe one more trip to the bathroom so I can settle down comfortably in the recliner and wait. Oops, better make sure I have my glass of soda handy. This nasal congestion and cough can really act up if I don’t have something to drink. Now, let’s see… did I do anything today worth talking about?

What time is it? Oh, she’s probably going to wait until a few minutes after 8:00 to make sure that she’s using her free minutes.

Hmmm, better check the phone. Yup, I can get dial tone. Wonder what the delay is. Oh, there she is. Funny, the caller ID is saying unknown caller, not Carolyn’s Cell Phone.

Hello. Hello. No, I’m not inter… No, I’m …. WOULD YOU PLEASE SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME!!! Take…..us…..off….your….calling…list! Damned telemarketers! Only a survey he said. Lovely Indian accent, too.

At least I know the phone is working. Now, what can I say about my day. Wasn’t much to talk about. Board still hasn’t picked a new CEO. I guess it’s only been 3 months. I could talk about lunch. How’s that for an interesting day – lunch!

It’s so late I need to go to the bathroom again. What did people do before cordless phones?

Now I’m getting pissed. I don’t have all evening to sit and wait for her phone call. Wait a minute. Yes, I do. And it’s not like I have to sit here doing nothing while waiting. Cool it, Arnold. She’ll call.

What was I going to talk about? Oh, yeah – lunch. Oh, that must be her. Yup, right on the Caller ID.

Hello. Oh, hi. Fine. Not much. How about you? I hadn't noticed. No, I understand. No problem……
.
.
.

... Love you. Thanks for calling. G'night.

$3.25 per gallon!!

With the price of gas continuing to climb ever higher, the least we can do is try to find the best deal. Of course, the best deal is to run an oil company so you can retire with a $400 million retirement package like the CEO of Exxon did recently. But the best deal we can find will probably be more like the lowest price for gas in the neighborhood. A friend sent this MSN link to us recently. Unlike some gas price comparisons which compile individual user-reported prices, this service appears to use credit card processing data from major credit card companies throughout the nation. That tends to leave out some outlets such as Costco or Sam's Club but otherwise it appears to be a pretty good comparison.

Another location that is really interesting is GasBuddy.Com which gives comparative prices for various locations around the country they have this great map showing where in the country gas prices are the highest and lowest. It would be interesting to compare this map with the President's approval rating.

And while you're thinking about all this, you may wish to write to your legislator and/or president and thank him/her that we even have gas to buy. With the crazy things happening in the Middle East, it's probably only our Iraqi occupation forces that are keeping the pumps open over there.

Earth Day and beyond

Yesterday was Earth Day and I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that not only did I not celebrate it in any way (other than working in the yard to make my little corner of the earth a little more tidy) but I also really didn't even think about it. I was brought up short about it this morning when Carolyn and I attended the Sunday celebration of the Spiritual Life Center where a good friend of ours was preaching for the first time since she was ordained a minister in the Unity Church.

The service was lively and invigorating, a mixture of Hawaiian, Native American, and African traditions describing the beauty of the earth and the importance of giving back to the earth more than we take from it. From the beautiful stained-glass windows of the Pioneer Congregational Church to the brightly colored clothing of the singers and dancers to the poetic imagery of speakers and singers, we saw, heard, and felt the beauty of this world. Reverend Shannah McAleer's message repeated the word "stewardship" over and over again from several major religious traditions in the world reminding us that we all have a responsibility to keep and maintain the world.

Even President Bush, yesterday while visiting a West Sacramento company involved with hydrogen fuel cell technology, went on record as saying that "we're going to a day... where the United States of America will not be dependent on oil [and] will be good stewards of the environment..."

So even though I forgot, the world celebrated Earth Day with conferences, meetings, and church experiences like we witnessed this morning. Thank you, Reverend Shannah and the Spiritual Life Center.

The end of a vacation

It was with just a little bit of melancholy that we bid the kids and grandkids goodbye this morning. They need to get back to their "normal" life just as we do. We won't miss the controlled chaos that accompanies children of all ages but we will miss the squeals of delight and the signs of children developing their natural abilities.

We've enjoyed things as disparate as the labyrinth at the Pioneer Congregational Church in Sacramento to Fort Sutter, Black Chasm Cave, the Jelly-Belly factory, Grinding Rock State Park, the Sacramento Railroad Museum, Old Sacramento or just playing around Grandma and Grandpa's house.

I think it is interesting how some of the old classics such as Tinker Toys can interest the youngest
and the oldest and be as entertaining as field trips around the area.

Thanks to our family members for joining us for vacation.

Keeping up with the Joneses

I have used Google to search the Web for about as long as it's been around. And I'll admit it, a couple of years ago I began using Google to look up friends and acquaintances. It was kind of fun to see what people were doing or where they were or what was being said about them. Of course, the more unusual the name, the easier it is to Google a person because the "hits" will relate to the person you know rather than the 1,000,000 other John Smiths that you don't know.

I learned from Newsweek this week that a new web site has opened (it still describes itself as a "beta" site) that has become the overnight rage on the Internet. That site is www.zillow.com. By entering an address on this site, you are presented with the estimated value of the house and property located at that address. Using what must be one of the nation's largest real estate databases, Zillow also presents the values of homes surrounding the one you entered, the description and size of the home, recent recorded sales of the property, and comparable houses in the area which have sold recently. Basically, you get, instantly and for free, everything you used to have to ask a realtor to get for you. In addition, in some parts of the country you can get an aerial and/or satellite photo of the property although the photos seem to be several years old.

Now, you too can see how your property compares with your neighbors, your co-workers, or your relatives. What will be next?

Which is hardest - religion or science?

Nothing is harder than science. All the answers are there - they have to be because they're intrinsic to the process that raises them. But the answers aren't all known, and the questions keep changing.

Nothing is easier than religion. The questions are there, of course, glorious in their changelessness. But the Answer is known and is wonderful in its simplicity.

This quote from R. Joseph Hoffman, professor of religion at Wells College, illustrates one of the great divides between science and religion. Like most quotes, it contains a germ of truth but can we take it at face value?

I think one could make a good case for just the opposite - Science is easy, Religion is hard. After all, science is based on observable, repeatable, verifiable facts. If we fair to detect something today, tomorrow we might be able to build a better detector and find that fact that has been eluding us. Einstein's theories put forth in 1905 could not be verified or disproven until decades later when technology had developed sufficiently. Cold atomic fusion reported by University of Utah scientists in 1989 raised hopes about a cheap and safe energy source that seemed too good to be true. It was. Attempted verification by other scientists quickly threw a wet blanket on that enthusiasm. Verification or faslification in science is relatively easy.

Religion on the other hand is hard. We pray for a cure and receive more sickness, perhaps to increase our strength of character or patience. We plant seeds of hope, often to reap weeds of despair. People don't respond like elements. Something that worked for Johnny won't work for Jimmy. Of course, often god does work a miracle in our life or that of a loved one. But then we're that much more aware that it was a miracle and that the next time we might not be so fortunate. Promises of rewards in the life after this sometimes sound too good to be true. But technology will never advance far enough to verify or disprove that. Only dying will. Religion really is hard.

Spring vacation

Just a couple of quick pictures to tell you about our spring vacation with the grandkids:
As always, the Sacramento Train Museum was a big hit. Grandma and grandpa get everyone in for free because of our new membership in the museum. We enjoyed the guided tour and many of the exhibits but the Thomas the Train exhibit at the end was still the favorite.

Everyone was hungry by the time we got out of the museum so it was time to stop at Annabelle's Pizza for an "all you can eat" pizza buffet. The boys enjoyed hamming it up as much as eating.

To work off a little of the extra pasta, we rented a bicycle built for 8. However, grandpa kept hitting his knees on the front bars so he elected to sit our most of the time. Michael decided he really liked coasting down the alleyways in old Sac "screaming like a girl".

Grandma's Easter Basket

As our family grows in size and number, the distance between the families makes it difficult for us all to gather for special occassions. However, every once in a while we can get a couple of families together. This Easter was one of those. And we're going to make the most of it. I'm calling this photo essage "Grandma's Easter Basket."


Starting in the afternoon, and hoping that the rain would hold off long enough for the kids to play outside we opened the sandbox for the first time this season.


The recent rains had left the sand just damp enough to make perfect sand castles.


Over at Ed & Tiff's the first activity was coloring Easter eggs. It doesn't take long for seven kids to color three dozen eggs.


The next activity was hunting for Easter eggs that the Easter bunny had left around the back yard. Jillian found several and then found that the only way down the play structure was on the slide.


The older boys thought Jillian might have missed some.


Dinner was followed by cupcake decorating for a belated birthday party for Grandma.


Chocolate frosting and sprinkles were favorites.


Grandma thought the cupcake was delicious.


While Jake finished the day making Grandma's birthday card.

Malibu ants

We have a nice set of Malibu lamps lighting the path from our driveway to our front door. At least they were until a couple of weeks ago when they stopped functioning. It was raining so much at the time (and still is) that I couldn't just step out into the garden and check out the system without sinking to my ankles in mud. But when I did open up the timer to see if it had stalled, the thing was teeming with ants. I don't know if it was shelter, warmth, or actual electricity they were craving but they had managed to make the timer completely non-functional. Even turning it manually would not let power reach the lights. Of course, I didn't feel comfortable working on the timer with ants crawling all over my hands so I sprayed the ant killer and waiting for another day.

When we got another break in the clouds, I checked out the timer again. No more ants but still no power. Fortunately, I had a replacement timer and 10 minutes later the lights were back on. Well, all but one of the lamps were back on. That lamp was crawling with ants. Coincidence? I think not.

Presumed Alliance - book review

It couldn't have been more timely although at the time I checked it out, it really didn't seem so. The book is "Presumed Alliance: The Unspoken Conflict Between Latinos and Blacks and What It Means for America" by Nicolas C. Vaca. It is the story behind the "other" civil rights struggle in modern America. The title comes from the presumption that many people have that blacks and latinos share much of the same history of segregation and civil rights suppression and that, therefore, they are "presumed" to be allies in the struggle for full citizenship. To the contrary, there are many differences in their historical struggles and currently blacks and hispanics see themselves engaged in a zero-sum conflict where any gains one group makes must be at a cost to the other. In fact, the message is loud and clear enough that it makes me wonder how much of the current immigration reform is being instigated by African-Americans.

Of course, hispanic occupation in this country existed before America even existed. For a couple hundred years whites were the aliens on the west coast, not the hispanics. There is a reason so much of California is named in Spanish terms. The hispanic people did not suddenly move south of the border after the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed February 2, 1848, ending the Mexican-American War. In fact hispanic residents of what is now western United States were given automatic American citizenship if they so desired. Later, labor for farms and the building of railroads was welcomed, encouraged, even recruited from Mexico. Although many workers returned home after the harvest or the completion of the railroad, even more stayed. They continue to cross the border in search of a job and a better life. Farmers and construction contractors plead with the U.S. government to turn a blind eye to the immigration problem as cheap labor is needed to stay competitive. Many Americans would rather take welfare than the jobs offered to the Chicanos. About every 10 years lately, we've offered amnesty to those already in the country and attempted to stem the flow. All it seems to do is encourage more illegal immigration by those who hope that 10 or 20 years down the road another amnesty will be approved.

Vaca describes the segregation that occured in the American Southwest in the early 1900's, segregation as bad as anything in the South against blacks, and the legal battles that set the stage for tearing down the "separate but equal" doctrine in segregated education. He also describes racial tension with blacks where the black population seems to be saying, "We fought long and hard for a place in society and we're not about to give it up." For example, although blacks make up about 10% of the Los Angeles population, they account for 37% of city and county employees. The numbers are almost exactly reversed for hispanics. And Vaca asks how we can balance this without there being some loss to the black community. He also points out that the hispanic population are not yet politically connected. Many, of course, are not citizens and can therefore not vote. Of those who could vote, registration and actual voting rates are even lower than whites. Vaca claims they do not generally vote as a bloc unless they feel disenfranchised.

Hispanics, even 2nd and 3rd generation American hispanics, have a cultural bond with current hispanic immigrants - both legal and illegal. Recent demonstrations throughout the country have made that clear. They don't have the attitude of "now that I'm here let's pull up the drawbridge and shut the gates". Part of it is political as they are certainly a population to be reckoned with but the other part is a desire to share the American dream. Presumed Alliance is an excellent book to provide a solid background for the current immigration debate as well as dicussions we will certainly be having in the future to cope with the growth of the hispanic American population.

Change your job or the way you do your job?

I know they get a bad rap sometimes, but I think we have some of the finest post office employees in our local post office. I just finished mailing for the Friends of the Sacramento Public Library the annual federal, state, and attorney general reports that non-profit organizations are required to submit. Since each package contained a different numbers of sheets of paper, I couldn't just slap on a couple of stamps and hope for the best. Besides, I needed another roll of 100 stamps.

The postal clerk was decorated with dozens of pins (flair??) to give anyone an opening into a conversation with him. He asked the person four customers ahead of me the usual "Do you need something else?", "Would you like some of our latest stamps?", "Would you like extra cash back?", and finally "Would you like to pay for the next four or five people in line?" Those of us paying any attention at all just cracked up at that while the customer took a moment or two to realize he was being ribbed.

Two customers ahead of me, the clerk said, "Okay, everyone listen up. Who can come up with the names of all seven dwarves?" Although I'm sure he'd played this more times than I can count, he pretended to be just as puzzled and working just as hard to come up with the names as we were.

As I got to his window, he yelled pleasantly to the other clerk, "Hey, quit working so fast over there. You've taken care of four customers to my one." Those of us keeping track knew that wasn't the case, but it did express what many of us have felt from time to time. More laughter. I thanked him for bringing a smile to us and making us feel that he enjoyed his job. He replied that he had attended a seminar some years back where the instructor had advised the group, "If you don't enjoy your job, change!! You may not be able to change jobs or afford to quit your job, but you can always change the way you do your job. Since then, he said, he's decided to make his job as enjoyable for him and his customers as he can possibly make it. And it shows. Thanks, Tom.

Happy Birthday, Carolyn

We're both old enough that we're starting to fall apart in places. But I don't know any alternative to growing older than doesn't involve something much more disabling. And in any case, growing old is no reason one has to grow up. I caught this candid shot of Carolyn riding a shopping cart in the parking lot at Costco. Nothing like the feel of the wind in your hair on a balmy spring day in Sacramento.

How awesome!

Just in case Mormons are feeling, well, left behind in the fundamentalist Christian "left behind" series, Roger McKenzie, former Mormon missionary and part-time instructor at BYU, has an answer. His book "How Awesome Will It Be? A Teenager's Guide to Understanding and Preparing for the Second Coming" will be just the thing, at least for worried teens.

According to the Editorial (publisher's) review on Amazon.com

Roger McKenzie knows firsthand that teenagers are unsure, even terrified about the events surrounding the Second Coming. He has personally talked to hundreds of teenagers about the events of the last days and has heard questions asked such as: "Will my family be okay?" "How can I know I’m ready?" "Have I repented enough?" "What will it be like if I’m still alive when the Savior comes again?" Relying on the scriptures, insight from Church leaders, and the effective way he connects with youth. Roger McKenzie helps fill a gap for teenagers who should know that the faithful need not fear.

If this book doesn't make you wonder what kids are learning in Sunday School, I don't know what will. Sad.

Crappy to Happy

In my Archaeology class we just turned in our second take-home test for the semester. After deadline had passed for the papers to be turned in (10 minutes after the start of class), the professor began picking up the pile of tests that were on a desk at the front of the class. But rather than just straightening them into a pile she could slip into her briefcase, she seemed to be carefully reorganizing the order they were in. I asked, "Are you sorting those tests?" She said, "Yes, from crappy to happy. And yours by chance is on the bottom."

She went on to explain to the class, or at least those close around, that she liked to sort them in that order so that she could get over the drudgery of reading the crappy tests first and then enjoy spending more time actually grading the decent tests. She expected that after the first 4 or 5 tests the rest would be all B's and A's anyway.

I guess that's a variant on the old idea of tackling your hardest tasks when you're fresh and then reward yourself with easier or more pleasant tasks when you've got them out of the way. But I don't think I've ever heard of a teacher being so up front about doing that. And now, even though I did the best I could on the test, I worry that I may have let her down. She's got me pegged for an anal retentive perfectionist anyway.

Hollywood Arms - play review

Hollywood Arms, written by Carol Burnett and her daughter Carrie Hamilton (NOT the little girl in this photo), is a delightful play that debuted on Broadway in 2002 and is based on Burnett's memoir "One More Time". The play takes place in 1941 and 1951 and shows young Carol (played on Broadway by this 9 year-old girl Sara Niemietz) having to deal with an overprotective grandmother, an absent, alcoholic father, and a mother who is so focused on her own career that she can't provide for her own family. There are literally dozens of scenes but the breaks are short with just enough stage light that the small scenery changes keep your mind distracted. There are some truly funny spots but more emotional heart tugs. I ended up spending a lot of thought wondering "How could this situation have been fixed? Could anyone have made all these characters live together more happily?" I also felt grateful for my wonderful, boring life.

This was an excellent play performed well at the Chautauqua Playhouse in Carmichael. I highly recommend it.

Happy 10th birthday

I've never been good at remembering birthdays as all my family can attest to. I would probably even forget my own if it weren't also that of President Bush (tongue firmly planted in cheek). So it's no surprise that I missed the 10th birthday of one of the inventions that has changed my life. But at least it wasn't that invention's fault.

For years I carried around a little black appointment book in my shirt pocket - a habit that I picked up when working for Long Beach Community Hospital when I also carried around 3 or 4 IBM Hollerith (80 column) cards in my pocket to take notes. Each year I would carefully transcribe to the new appointment book all the recuring appointments and contact information that I had in that black book. Fortunately, it was only a couple of hours work, a day at most. And as the year progresses, I would carefully cut off a corner of a page each week making it easy to quickly "tab" to the current week.

My first real contact with a PDA was the one that Ron Penrod kept for the stake president with all his appointments and the upcoming agenda items for stake meetings. I was impressed with how well he could call up information that he had stored weeks before. I looked at several and we even bought one once we were assured that it could be backed up on our desktop computer. But it was large, slow and cumbersome. It languished, for the most part, in Carolyn's purse.

I saw the Palm announcement on March 27, 1996 but didn't see that is was any different than what we had already tried out. I waited for a year for Palm to work out the bugs and see if others would come on the market. I didn't trust the "Graffiti" handwriting language that made humans conform to the computer rather than the other way around.

When I finally conviced my employer to buy me one, it was an immediate bond. I don't think I've been away from my PDA except during vacations (and not always then) for more than a few hours. I've gone through a progression of Palms from the Palm Pilot to the Palm Pilot III to the Palm V. Then I jumped ship to the Pocket PC ipaq series manufactured by HP and using Windows CE 4.2. I'm convinced they will continue to get more powerful and useful. I certainly don't know what I'd do without mine.

Transition

I went to the dentist for my semi-annual teeth cleaning ordeal. The door to the office had a new sign. Two new dentists' names were now listed above the one that I have been visiting for the past five years. I knew, of course, that my dentist (who is also my cousin) has been considering retirement and we had received the nice explanatory letter introducing the new dentists. But I hadn't fully felt the change until seeing that sign on the door.

Of course, for all practical purposes nothing has changed. I rarely see the dentist even when I go to the office. I think I have a brief exam every year but unless I have to replace a filling or work on a crown, I don't see him. The dental hygienist and the office receptionist/billing clerk are the same ones we've worked with for the past five years and they appear to be continuing on. That's good. I need my changes to be gradual.

What is normal?

I've always liked the bumper sticker that reads: Normal is just a setting on your clothes dryer.

But for those of us who want a little more definition of what is "normal" or whether or not we're "normal", Bernice Kammer has written several books to help us decide.

According to her web site Ms. Kammer has written:
Are You Normal? Do You Behave Like Everyone Else?
Are You Normal About Money? Do You Behave Like Everyone Else?
Are You Normal About Sex, Love, and Relationships? Do You Behave Like
Everyone Else?
When it Comes to Guys, What's Normal?
Lies My Parents Told Me: The Hilarious, Outrageous and Outright Incredible Things We Grow Up Believing

So it seems like she is somewhat of an expert on things normal. The following list of items come from her books.

Facts about us Americans. Did you know that........

-only 30% of us can flare our nostrils
-21% of us don't make our bed daily. 5% of us never do.
-Men do 29% of laundry each week. Only 7% of women trust their
husbands to do it correctly.
-40% of women have hurled footwear at a man
-85% of men don't use the slit in their underwear
-67.5% of men were tightie whities (briefs)
-the average bra size today is 36C whereas 10 years ago it was a 34B
-85% of women wear the wrong bra size

-3 out of 4 of us store our dollar bills in rigid order with
singles leading up to higher denominations
-13% of us admit to occassionally doing our offspring's homework
-91% of us lie regularly
-27% admit to cheating on a test or quiz
-29% admit they've intentionally stolen something from a store
-50% admit they regularly sneak food into movie theaters to avoid
the high prices of snack foods

-90% believe in divine retribution
-10% believe in the 10 Commandments
-82% believe in an afterlife
-45% believe in ghosts
-13% (mostly men) have spent a night in jail
-29% of us are virgins when we marry
-58.4% have called into work sick when we weren't
-10% of us switch tags in the store to pay less for an item
-Over 50% believe in spanking---but only a child over 2 years old
-35% give to charity at least once a month

-How far would you go for $10 million?
-25% would abandon their friends, family, and church
-7% would murder

-69% eat the cake before the frosting
-When nobody else is around, 47% drink straight from the carton
-85% of us will eat Spam this year
-70% of us drink orange juice daily
-Snickers is the most popular candy

-22% of us skip lunch daily
-9% of us skip breakfast daily
-66% of us eat cereal regularly
-22% of all restaurant meals include french fries
-14% of us eat the watermelon seeds
-only 13% brush our teeth from side to side
-45% use mouthwash every day
-22% leave the glob of toothpaste in the sink
-the typical shower is 101 degrees F

-Nearly 1/3 of U.S. women color their hair
-9% of women and 8% of men have had cosmetic surgery
-53% of women will not leave the house without makeup on
-58% of women paint their nails regularly
-62% of us pop our zits
-33% of women lie about their weight
-10% of us claim to have seen a ghost
-57% have had deja vu
-49% believe in ESP

-4 out of 5 of us have suffered from hemorrhoids
-the average girl starts her period at age 12
-44% have broken a bone
-only 30% of us know our cholesterol level
-14% have attended a self-help meeting
-15% regularly go to a shrink
-78% would rather die quickly than live in a retirement home

-46.5% of men say they ALWAYS put the seat down after they've
used the toilet, yet women claim to ALWAYS find it up
-30% of us refuse to sit on a public toilet seat
-54.2% of us always wash our hands after using the toilet
-23.5% admit they don't always flush
-45.2% pee in the shower
-44.9% pee in the ocean
-28.1% pee in the pool
-55.2% will let someone else come in the bathroom while they're
using the toilet.
-39% of us peek in our host's bathroom cabinet. 17% have been
caught by the host.
-81.3% would tell an acquaintance to zip his pants

-29% of us ignore RSVP
-71.6% of us eavesdrop
-22% are functionally illiterate
-less than 10% are trilingual
-37% claim to know how to use all the features on their VCR
-53% prefer ATM machines over tellers
-56% of women do the bills in a marriage
-2 out of 3 of us wouldn't give up our spouse even for a night
for a million bucks

-20% of us have played in a band at one time in our life
-40% of us have had music lessons
-44% reuse tinfoil
-57% save pretty gift paper to reuse
-66% of women and 59% of men have used a mix to cook and taken
credit for doing it from scratch
-53% read their horoscopes regularly
-16% of us have forgotten our own wedding anniversary (mostly men)

-59% of us say we're average-looking
-blacks are more than twice as likely to call themselves beautiful
-90% of us depend on alarm clocks to wake us
-53% of us would take advice from Anne Landers
-28% of us have skinny-dipped. 14% with the opposite sex.
-51% of adults dress up for a Halloween festivity
-on average, we send 38 Christmas cards every year
-20% of women consider their parents to be their best friends

-2 out of 5 have married their first love
-the biggest cause of matrimonial fighting is money
-only 4% asked the parents' approval for their bride's hand
-1 in 5 men proposed on his knees
-6% propose over the phone

-71% can drink in a stick-shift car
-45% of us consistantly follow the speed limit
-2/3 of us speed up at a yellow light
-1/3 of us don't wear seat belts
-12% of men never use their car blinkers
-44% of men tailgate to speed up the person in front of them
-25% of us drive after we've been drinking
-4 out of 5 sing in the car

-the average sexual experience lasts about 39 minutes
-men say the average erect penis is 10". Women say it's 4"
-56% of men have had sex at work
-1 in 3 of us have had an extramarital affair
-62% think there is nothing wrong with affairs
-60% of men and 54% of women have had a 1-night stand
-the most common fantasy is oral sex
-women buy 4 out of every 10 condoms sold
-8% of us have regular anal sex
-58% like dirty talk during sex
-22% rent porno flicks at least once

Want to see more? Check out her books at Amazon.Com or your local library.

A spot of rain!!

As the following graph shows (taken from rssweather.com), the whole month of April we should expect about an inch of rain. When I got home last night and checked our rain guage it registered just slightly more than 3 inches! It's been so rainy that some of us are driving around looking for an old man building a gigantic boat in his front yard.

Average Monthly Rainfall for Sacramento
Month Precipitation
Jan 3.84in.
Feb 3.54in.
Mar 2.80in.
Apr 1.02in.
May 0.53in.
Jun 0.20in.
Jul 0.05in.
Aug 0.06in.
Sept 0.36in.
Oct 0.89in.
Nov 2.19in.
Dec 2.45in.

Average Year Round Temperatures for Sacramento
Month Low High
Jan 38.8°F 53.8°F
Feb 41.9°F 60.5°F
Mar 44.2°F 64.7°F
Apr 46.3°F 71.4°F
May 50.9°F 80.0°F
Jun 55.5°F 87.4°F
Jul 58.3°F 92.4°F
Aug 58.1°F 91.4°F
Sept 55.8°F 87.5°F
Oct 50.6°F 78.2°F
Nov 42.8°F 63.7°F
Dec 37.7°F 53.9°F

Sunshine
Month Sunshine Hours
Jan 48%
Feb 65%
Mar 74%
Apr 82%
May 90%
Jun 94%
Jul 97%
Aug 96%
Sept 93%
Oct 86%
Nov 66%
Dec 49%

Mommas, don't let your babies grow up to be atheists

From the Minnesota Daily I read that "U.S. Trust Lowest for Atheists".

According to the article:

Based on a telephone survey of more than 2,000 households and in-depth interviews with more than 140 people, researchers found that Americans rate atheists below Muslims, recent immigrants, homosexuals and other groups as “sharing their vision of American society.” Americans are also least willing to let their children marry atheists.

“It tells us about how Americans view religion,” said Penny Edgell, an associate sociology professor and the study’s lead researcher. “Many Americans seem to believe some kind of religious faith is central to being a good American and a good person.”

Isn't that interesting. Apparently it is much better to have the wrong religion than not having one at all. We certainly have seen that here in Sacramento with avowed atheist Michael Newdow. He's the one who feels so strongly about the separation of church and state that he has made a second career of trying to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance and off our money. Silly of us not to think of putting God's name there in the first place. Newdow is reviled as much for being an atheist as for attempting to clarify the line between church and state.

Needless to say, this finding surprises no atheist. They've heard it all. It probably goes back to the anti-communist furor of the 50's when atheism was made synonymous with communism which was as low as anyone could get. And once you believe something irrationally, there is no way that reasoning can overcome it. On the other hand, some Christians can accept atheists because, as Marantha Christian Fellowship President says, "I don’t believe that anybody is really an atheist. I believe that deep down everyone knows there is a god.”

What do you think? Do atheists exist? And is it better to believe in the wrong god than no god at all?

Now I remember

Just in case any of you were thinking about leaving your kids with grandma and grandpa, consider the following story:

With all the new technology regarding fertility recently, a 61 year-old woman was able to give birth to a baby. When she was discharged from the hospital and went home, her relatives came to visit.

"May we see the new baby?" one asked.

"Not yet," said the mother. I'll make coffee and we can visit for awhile first."

Thirty minutes had passed, and another relative asked, "May we see the new baby now?"

"No, not yet," said the mother.

After another few minutes had elapsed, they asked again, "May we see the baby now?"

"No, not yet," replied the mother.

Growing very impatient, they asked, "Well, when can we see the baby?"

"WHEN HE CRIES!" she told them.

"WHEN HE CRIES?" they demanded. "Why do we have to wait until he CRIES?"

"BECAUSE I forgot where I put him."


The following poem may appear in this blog more than once because, well... I think that's going to be obvious:

My forgetter's getting better
But my rememberer is broke
To you that may seem funny
But, to me, that is no joke

For when I'm "here" I'm wondering
If I really should be "there"
And, when I try to think it through,
I haven't got a prayer!

Oft times I walk into a room,
Say, "what am I here for?"
I wrack my brain, but all in vain
A zero, is my score.

At times I put something away
Where it is safe, but, Gee!
The person it is safest from
Is, generally, me!

When shopping I may see someone,
Say "Hi" and have a chat,
Then, when the person walks away
I ask myself "who was that?"

Yes, my forgetter's getting better
While my rememberer is broke,
And it's driving me plumb crazy
And that isn't any joke.

Church statistics

At the Saturday afternoon session of the semi-annual Mormon Church conference in April of each year, the church releases a brief summary of statistics regarding the membership and unit growth. While the numbers are interesting, I appreciate those who put these numbers in context and even in a graphical format because they mean a little more that way. The graph above and the following ones are available on the website for Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research (FAIR) have done some very nice graphics with those statistics. Here is the thread with the graphs.

Weekend visit from Steve and Lisa

We're only 3 hours apart so you'd think we'd get together more often. But a three hour drive isn't trivial especially in the kind of weather we've been having lately.


Steve and Lisa did make it to our place about noon on Saturday and we were able to take in some of the sights that afternoon as indicated on a previous blog entry. We hooked up with Ed and his boys for dinner at Tugboat Fish & Chips and a tour of the work Ed and I have done putting lights and outlets around the outside of their house.



Sunday we managed to spend most of the afternoon in Old Sacramento including lunch at Rio City Cafe, a ride on the Old Sacramento train from the downtown depot to Baths, and a couple of hours in the Railroad Museum when rain threatened.



By the way, Carolyn discovered a great bargain in the Rairoad Museum's "Conductor Pass" which lets the two of us invite two adult guests and related children ride the train and visit the museum for the next year. With a couple of visits on the calendar already, it will definitely pay for itself.


Steve and Lisa got a chance to see what it was like living with the Energizer Bunny (aka Jacob) and his brother. Thanks for visiting.