It has been a great Xmas so far. I got a bunch of really neat stuff... 2 ice cream makers (1 doesn't need electricity.. Pennsic ice cream!!), Myth Busters season 1, lever covers forr the bike, and mapping software for the computer.

 

Katya had a blast. She got a bunch of Princess dolls, Chutes & Ladders and Candy Land among other things.

 

All is going well on this end. Life moves on.

4 days till Christmas.. Wow, this year has really flown by. At least we have all our shopping done and stuff wrapped up. Next week we're off to WV for New Years Eve - that should be fun. Work has been nuts lately, I can't wait to have some time off.

Can we say BRRRR?? 16 degrees this morning, and I rode the bike to work. That's -30 on the wind-chill scale...

My little girl is growing up so fast now.. She has grown 3" in the last 2 months.

The other day we went to see santa and she was such a good girl. She gave santa a big hug and sat in his lap and even smiled for the picture. Last year she screamed and refused to go anywhere near him.

We baked chocolate chip cookes tonight. Katya does not seem to be interested in cookies much.

BANG!

 

BANG! <FLASH>

 

POP!

 

That's how my day started this morning at 5am.... I jumped out of bed and ran out into the hall to see what the [h e double hockey sticks] was going on. I found the heater to the fish tank in the hall hanging out of the tank and on fire. I unplugged it and ran for the fire extinguisher to put it out. Once I had it put out, I had to open windows to dissipate the cloud of white smoke form the extinguisher and then clean up the mess. What a mess it made too...

 

It seems that the top seal on the heater leaked, allowing water into the heater. When the heater turned on, the little bulb in the heater exploded, throwing the core of the heater into the air (the glass tube is still fully intact, BTW). This was the first bang.. the second was the heater falling back into the water and the flash was 110v hitting the water. The third was apparently the third time it hit the water. I found the label  from inside the heater on the floor in the hall, it was thrown completely clear and was clearly scorched from the bulb exploding. Needless to say I'm replacing the heaters in both tanks and installing a GFCI on the fish tank circuit (the other tank has one already).

 

What a way to start the day. I can still taste the fire extinguisher.

Last night we went to a xmas get together with the Southern Cruisers. We had fun and are starting to make friends.

I got ambitious and put a lighted wreath on the jeep. I used the power inverter to run it. It works real well.

Well, its been a bit busy lately. This weekend we replaced the diverter in the shower since the old one refused to shut off even after I replaced the rubber gaskets. Oh well, it's done now. We changed over to a single valve setup instead of the 3 knob like we had. I still have to set the max temp on it so Katya can't burn herself. I guess this is a good feature to have. I have never used one of these before so I am still getting used to it.

Treo email...

I'm emailing from my pda.... Pretty cool.

can we say BRRR #$%*ing cold??? 28 this morning and I rode the bike to work. brrrr!! Not too bad though, need to get the heated glove liners and maybe break out the thermal suit if it gets much colder.

 

Katya has been adjusting to her glasses quite well. This morning she actually remembered to put them on all by herself.

Nothing really special has been going on here. Still riding the bike to work every day since the weather is so nice... heck anything above freezing is not an issue so far. We'll see how well that works over the next week or so I guess now that it looks like winter is arriving.

Katya has been very good about getting glasses. Saturday she went in and picked out the ones she liked. She was mad that we could not take them with us.

We had a ball in Vegas... We took a bus tour to the Hoover Dam, saw Lance Burton , and a dinner show at the Excalibur. The only time that we actually spent at the hotel was to sleep. We even toolk a gondola ride at The Venetian. Vegas reminded me of Atlantic City on steroids, but it did have quite a few good shows and the themes of the hotels were pretty cool.

I've been in Vegas 2 days now... Rain just landed... 1/2 hour behind schedule, not too bad. We're going to the Hoover Dam on Sunday and who knows from there.

Vegas is only a day away for me, 3 for Rain... I can't wait. It looks like low 70's all week. Woohoo!!

 

 

Yahoo sucks!

Yahoo disabled my Graewulf account - I am now Graewulf1. Of course there is no explanation as to why they disabled it, and I can't imagine why they would.

Can we say BRRRR? I rode the bike to work this morning. It was 38 when I left the house. The wind chill at 55 is 6 degrees. I guess going to Russia was a good thing. I just dressed appropriately and had no issues.

The pine barrens cleanup was a good time. I had a trailer load of vinyl siding, but it seems there is less & less trash which is a good thing.

We swapped the kitchen table for a smaller one with 2 leafs. It makes the kitchen feel so much bigger.

I think Katya may be color blind. We're going to go have her tested just to be sure.

It's been a little crazy. Sunday we did a bike run for Tyler - the kid with cancer. We bought a new vacuum yesterday - the old one was a pain to use and was starting to not work well.

 

Rain & Katya with Dee Snyder from Twisted Sister.

Rain Rain go away... I want to ride the bike already!!!!

Would you work for a penny a day if they double it every day for 30 days?

I would, how much would I make??

It's hard to believe that we have been married 5 years today....

Well it looks like the heat wave is over and temps are going back down. Time to bundle up again for the ride to work. Oh well, its not really any colder with the wind chill than what we saw in Russia

Can we say BRRRR??? I rode the bike to work this morning. t-shirt, sweatshirt, flannel jacket, leather jacket. I wore a silk scarf to cover my chin & neck. No too bad, only my wrists were cold, and I think I have a solution for that one too. the wind-chill at 55MPH and 45 degrees is 17... brr!

Not much has been happening of interest lately. We went on a ride Sunday and had fun. This Sunday we're doing the toy run at Southern Regional - that should be a good ride- 70+ miles. It's time to break out the cold weather gear.

Only in a Jeep.......

http://www.wftv.com/irresistible/4982688/detail.html#

 

You have to read this to believe it.

 

It has been a sucky kind of week. I got a sinus infection wed and was out of work for 2 days. yuick!

 

We bought a memory foam mattress pad for $49.. I got a king size and cut it down to queen sizre. The reason i did this was I now have a 6' x 18" poiece to make seat cushions for the bike on a long run.

 

 

I wore my chaps to work today. big difference in the temp. I hardly felt the cold at all... :) This is a good thing

We went to the "Roar to the shore" event in Wildwood yeaterday and had a blast. It was a 70 mile ride each way, thousands of bikes (what's with the Harleys all running straight pipe?). I got a pair of chaps for $50 and they are not too bad. Now we just need to get Rain a set... next event maybe.... or maybe for Xmas.

What a day I had yesterday. One of the brake calipers seized on Rain's car. We spend several hours removing the slide pins from the old caliper to put them on the new one. No wonder the brakes were stuck. We had to press the pins out. They are suppose to move freely! At least it is fixed now. I didn't get home until after midnight with the car, then Fred gave me a ride back for the bike. It was the first time in over 10 years I rode on the back of a bike. It's definitely different.

Desperate times call for desperate measures... I never thought I would see the time when it made sense to take the bike on a run to the liquor store. With the price of gas and some stations running out of regular (and even middle grade), it is kind of scary.

Well it looks like our New Orleans trip is canned. It will be nearly 2 months before residents can get back to their homes, let alone tourists.... ouch.

The Levee in New Orleans breached today... It should be interesting to see how much damage is left when we go there in 2 months. Canal st is under several feet of water.

What if bikers didn't see you?

http://www.splicehere.tv/player.php?MF=hi&ID=spotsoffline2

That's what most drivers say when they hit a motorcycle. This is a good ad.

I had to go to work (gotta love telecommuting) so I'm online again. All is going well here, weather has been good and Katya is doing well too. We have another few days here then its back to the daily grind for us. I am hoping the weather holds out for us...

Well, it's another wonderful day at war. The weather has been pretty good, not too hot, not too cold. We got a little rain yesterday and last night but not too much. Katya has made some friends in the next camp and seems to be handling camping pretty well. Geting her to nap has been achore. We bought a hammock in the hopes that it might help her get to sleep.

Hail from war!

Greetings.... Here I sit in a tent at war typing this entry. As of last count (saturday night 9pm) there were 9417 on site, up from 6410 friday 4pm. That's 3000 in 29 hours! The weather has been hot but is cooling down some. I attended opening ceremonies this morning and all is going well. Katye has a few friends to play with and has been sleeping well at night. We are keeping cool when we can and generally having a good time. I'll type more the next time I am on.

5 hours to go until vacation starts. I can't wait!!! I'd be on the road now if I could.

48 hours or less till vacation starts! :) I am soo looking forward to going to Pennsic again - this will be my 10th Pennsic in 11 years! The weather looks pretty good, low to mid 80's 30% chance of a thunderstorm each day - not too bad at all, I've seen far worse. At Heatsic (Pennsic 25 I believe it was) it averaged in the mid to upper 90's and no rain at all, at Muddsic (Pennsic 23) it was like 70's and rained all day every day for a week.The gear is mostly loaded, the last of it will happen tonight, and tomorrow I load the food in the cooler, etc. First thing Friday morning we'll be on the road for yet another war! I'll take lots of pictures as usual, it should be fun with Katya - all kinds of new sights for her to see.

What a way to start the day... I was pulling the bike out of the shed, and when I was turning it around, hit the well head, which knocked the bike over. The problem there is I couldn't lift it (uphill) all the way without hitting the well head again. I had to lift it till the wheels were on the ground and roll it forward to get it upright. My arms are sore.... I need to back it down further before I turn next time.

50 hours and counting until vacation starts... :) but who's counting??

 

3 work days left and counting!!! This time 4 days from now I should be setting up camp at Pennsic. Yay!

www.weather.com - Tenday Forecast - PENNSIC!!!

www.weather.com - Tenday Forecast

Well, it's been a pretty busy week. Pennsic is less than a week away now so we have been working our butts off getting ready. I found a new chandelier for the tent - It holds 15 candles. I even added a new shelf to the sink setup so that we have more under sink storage. I bought a Radio Flyer wagon today. I think it will really come in handy. It has a 200lb capacity and will really make getting water & ice so much easier. I'm sure we will find uses at all kinds of events especially with a 3 year old. No more stroller - we can bring the wagon and carry Katya, chairs, and other stuff.

Katya is growing in leaps & bounds. She as grown a foot since we brought her home last year. Today she showed me that she can turn the light in the bathroom on without using her stool. I can remember when she could not reach it even with the stool. I guess the miracle-grow is working.

I've been building a web site for Fred. I am having fun with it. If you want to see my work, go to www.kaoskidd.com ....

ways to drop your motorcycle

ways to drop your motorcycle

well it looks like it should only cost $200 to fix the car. 3 quarts low on the trans will do it every time.

Well, it looks like we may be shopping for a new (used) car soon. I think Rain's transmission is going and it needs other work too. It might be cheaper to buy something else than to repair a car with 186000 miles on it.

Way to go!

The space shuttle made a successful launch this morning. Its about time.

We had a good weekend at the event. We made a wrong turn and it took longer to get there than it should have, but otherwise, the Jeep handled the load well even with the air on. Katya started "are we there yet" on the ride up.. ugh! I knew it would come sooner or later.

 

I got an intercom system for the bike so me & Rain can communicate better while riding. It also has inputs for cell phone, mp3 player, and FRS or cb radio and a push to talk button that I can mount on the handlebars. That way I can communicate with other riders and/or a car I'm traveling with. I tried the FM radio it has - it definitely works at highway speed.

Its been a pretty tame week. Tonight we pack for our camping trip and I'll start loading the trailer. I don't think it will be too bad since it is always the same stuff getting packed for the most part. I have it down to a science.

FW: Yahoo! News Story - Doohan to Be Sent to His Final Frontier - Yahoo! News

Beam me up Scotty!

Doohan to Be Sent to His Final Frontier - Yahoo! News

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050721/ap_en_tv/obit_doohan

Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.

James �Scotty� Doohan dies at age 85 - TELEVISION - MSNBC.com

RIP Scotty.....


James �Scotty� Doohan dies at age 85 - TELEVISION - MSNBC.com

The Wave By Tom Ruttan CYCLE CANADA

The Wave By Tom Ruttan CYCLE CANADA

PETA Kills Animals | PetaKillsAnimals.com

My only thought is this is really sad.....

PETA Kills Animals | PetaKillsAnimals.com

We had a fun day yesterday. We went on a ride for the Deborah Heart & Lung Center. It rained as soon as we started the ride, and it rained hard. Rain got pretty soaked but I had my rain gear on so it wasn't too bad, and the sun came out by the time we got to our destination. I'd say there were maybe 100 bikes there, nowhere the number that I would have expected. I'm not surprised, as most bike riders won't ride in the rain (though I don't know why).

It looks like we need to look for another baby sitter since my parents are going to things the same time as we want to go on bike cruises (sometimes the same place) and they can't take Katya in the ford. Our regular sitter isn't available all the time so another would be a good thing. It looks like Sunday we're doing a charity ride for Deborah Heart & Lung Center which should be fun. Katya is doing well, she got lots of stuff for her birthday and we had wonderful weather for a pool party. Maybe next year we'll do ice cream cake or something.

Here's the new saddle bags & back rest.

Let's see.. Katya's birthday party is Saturday - her birthday is Sunday. We're doing a "princess party" which should be  interesting.

 

I'm expecting saddle bags and backrest to be delivered for the bike today. Hopefully the backrest will help Rain on the long rides.

I've been getting lax about posting lately. Monday we did our 1 year follow-up with the adoption agancy. It is hard to believe that it has been a whole year since we adopted our daughter. She turns 3 in less than 2 weeks now and we are plannign her birthday party. That should be fun. She wants to do a princess theme.

We went bowling last night.. it was fun but the only strike that I got was the result of bouncing the ball out of the gutter halfway down the lane. I have a witness or I don\think anyone would believe me.

We might not be doing the bike cruise Sunday since we don\'t have anyone to watch Katya. Maybe if the blueberry festival is delayed a week from the late harvest we\'llget lucky. Somehow I doubt it....

She found a bike just her size at the dealership the other day.

Our little gymnast in action

Here's my little darling on my new toy....

gps on the bike

why is it that auto/motorcycle manufacturers can\'t seem to gear a speedometer correctly? I mounted the GPS on the bike and it is off by 3 mph @ 55 mph....

well, one thing is certain... Katya makes friends easily. At the park she runs and plays with new friends every time we go. It's amazing how far she has come in a year... Next saturday will be one year since we adopted her. Its amazing how time flies....



I had a bit of a scare today when a bolt fell out of the front fender and the wheel kicked it up over the handlebars... I stopped and found the bolt and took it back to the dealer to have them check the bike over. I have 314 miles on it already. Tomorrow we are going to buy Rain a helmet so she can ride too.

Well, We took Katya to get Xrays done to rule out TB. I hope it comes back negative, I'd hate to have her on medication for the next 6 months....

 

I've been riding the bike to work all week and I absolutely love it. It's a good thing that I have rain gear in my pack.. Today when going to Staples I needed it.

 

I fixed the air in the Jeep - I went to Pep Boys last night and bought a recharge kit and it seems to have done the trick. I just hope it doesn't leak out too fast.

well, I did it... I bought a 500cc Kawasaki Vulcan... brand spanking new, it had 1 mile on it when I drove it home. Now it has about 70 miles on It and I am really loving this. I made room in the shed to park it and built a ramp. I plan on driving it to work whenever I can. I'll put the laptop in a backpack.

I think i'm going to puke now......

http://www.6to8mustang.com/ForsakeTheMilitary.wmv

 

http://www.forsakethetroops.net/

 

 

Life moves on.... I finally got the last of the camp gear put away. Now when I get a bike I can pick it up with the trailer.

It's official... I have my motorcycle license. Now I have to find a bike to ride. I hope to find something pretty cheap for a starter bike. I figure the next one can be a little nicer, but since I don't have a garage it won't be kept up as nice as it could be.

I did it!

I passed my test! Now I just have to file the paperwork at DMV and I'll be a licensed motorcycle driver. Yay!

Ugh! Its raining.... Should make my class fun tomorrow. I'm off to buy rain gear.

--

Mobile Email from a Cingular Wireless Customer http://www.cingular.com

Grocery Store Wars | Join the Organic Rebellion

This is way too funny!

Grocery Store Wars | Join the Organic Rebellion

This weekend I am going to be taking my motorcycle class. lf all goes well, I will have my license on Monday... Then I'll be ready to buy my own bike when I find the right one. I won't have to worry about whether or not it will get through the course or not. Rain is visiting friends since I won't be home most of the weekend anyway.



Tomorrow we're getting the portab le air conditioner for my office/server room. No more 80 degree temps in there.... Yay!

Wish me luck... Tomorrow I start my motorcycle class....

--

Mobile Email from a Cingular Wireless Customer http://www.cingular.com

It's been hell week at work. I still have not had a chance to unload the trailer since I have been working late every day. Ugh!

I can now blog from anywhere using sms and my cell phone... Way cool!

I'm testing to see if I can text message to my blog....

--

Mobile Email from a Cingular Wireless Customer http://www.cingular.com

I think I just figured out how to edit blog entries before I send them once I mark them to send on the next sync. I'm liking this more and more.... Now if only I could justify unlimited data access on the phone. Maybe I can talk the boss into paying for it. Somehow I doubt it. If I had it then I could publish to the blog realtime from anywhere instead of waiting for my next sync.

We got back from Quest without incident. I need to make a drop bracket for the cooler so it doesn't block the air flow on the front of the jeep. I don't like running it that hot for very long. I definitely need to figure it out by Pennsic since that is a 400 mile trip one way. The trailer held up well and I think it will work out for Pennsic. Katya slept better last night than she did the prior 2 nights. I hope she will adjust quickly to camp life at Pennsic. On the plus side it looks like my Treo can last 6 days on a charge if I don't use the phone... I left the phone on all weekend and was down to 56% by the time we left. If I turn the phone off I should be able to go all of Pennsic on a charge. I'm starting to figure out the video on this phone. I took some at Quest ans was able to view it in Real Player on the computer. Last time I made the mistake of trying to access it right from the phone instead of letting it synchronize first.

its sunday night and we just put katya to bed... I'd say that it was a good weekend overall, the weather has been pretty good... Not too hot not too cold. I'm now the baronial archery champion. I think its pretty cool... I'm already thinking of a shoot for next year's championship. Katya has been handling it pretty good though I think it will take more time for her to fully adjust to camping in the SCA.

I made a birthday cake for rain... I think we'll have it after court this evening.

--

Mobile Email from a Cingular Wireless Customer http://www.cingular.com

sunday... katya is handling quest pretty well. once we got her to sleep last night she slept most of the night through. she only woke up a couple of times mainly because she was cold. once she learns to stay in the sleeping bag she will do better. friday night we had to let her sleep with us because she was just so darn tired that the camp sounds kept her awake. yesterday I shot in the baronial archery championship and I became champion. :) yay! now I can say I was champion in carillion and settmour swamp. now I get to design next years champion shoot. that should be loads of fun.

well it looks like this weekend will be a little rainy but not too bad. It should be a decent weekend for camping. I got more plastic containers for our gear so we have room for katya's stuff.

rain rain go away

It looks like its supposed to rain every day for the next week. that sucks since we're going camping this weekend. At least its just supposed to be showers and not rain all the time.

Well, its official... I m now officially a Tread Lightly master trainer. This means that I am qualified to train other Tread Lightly trainers as well as do presentations to other groups.

Well Katya got a huge jewelry chest that is bigger than she is.. its amazing what people will throw away.

thank goodness I'm not an AT&T customer.

If you had trouble accessing our web site, it is because someone at AT&T screwed up royally and has a whole bunch of domains redirected to some at&t fraud warnign site. They don't host the domain or the web site.. nice, huh.

 

ahh... bathtime at the irvine's... what an experience it is. more toys than any kid could want. its hard to believe that less than a year ago we had o fight with Katya to get her to take a bath.... now even the mention of the word has her running for the bathroom and taking her clothes off.

Big day tomorrow

Tomorrow I go to the class to be a Tread Lightly master trainer. I'll be qualified to train other trainers and to train groups on Tread Lightly. I can't wait.

Tonight I replaced the valve seals in the tub faucet. I've never done this before so it was a real accomplishment for me. it seems not to leak so I guess I did it right.



I'm loving this Treo... I'm actually writing this post on my phone. In the morning when I sync, it will get posted to the web site. way cool!

I should be able to create as many blog entries as I want to.

I think I am going to start blogging on the treo now...

just testing a new blog tool

This weekend the boss was so kind as to buy me a new Treo 650 smart phone. Basically it is a Palm Pilot with a cell phone attached. I am loving this thing. It has a color screen, 1 mega pixel camera, etc..

Another pic

Our little artist helping daddy paint.

Katya got some new chalk.. and I got a new camera on my cell phone so I just had to test it out.. :)

Wow, can my daughter eat.. last night she put away a whole can of ravioli by herself. I'd say that she is going through a growth spurt again. I think she may b eating as much as me if not more, considering I weigh 4x what she does, its alot. She is making some serious forward progress. You would never suspect that less than a year ago she spoke no English at all and could barely walk.

New Orleans

Looks like we're going to New Orleans in November for a few days. It should be fun. I'll be down there for a few days at a seminar and then Rain will fly down & join me. We'll have to see about booking a hotel in the French Quarter if we can. I'm really looking forward to going.

New Orleans

<DIV><SPAN class=428300719-11052005><FONT face=Arial size=2>Looks like we're going to New Orleans in November for a few days. It should be fun. I'll be down there for a few days at a seminar and then Rain will fly down &amp; join me. We'll have to see about booking a hotel in the French Quarter if we can. I'm really looking forward to going.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=428300719-11052005><FONT face=Arial size=2>

Camping...

I got the tent set up last night. It looks like termites got into a few of the support poles so I need to replace them ASAP. I'm gonna set everything up over the next few days and make sure that nothing needs repairs, etc. I don't think I'll need to do much except restock some supplies. I'm going to see how well the 2 beds fit with the shelves while I am at it.

Here's our little darling playing int he basement.

We had a rather successful shopping trip this weekend. New pants for me, new stuff for camp. Katya has her own sleeping bag now. The sinks turned out rather well. I have some minor adjusting to do but all is well. This weekend the tent goes up and I am going through the camp kitchen, etc.

May all your wishes come true

Yesterday on the way home from Lancaster I saw what was probably the most touching tribute that I have ever witnessed. Heading the other direction was a line of (I'm not exaggerating) 50-60 fire trucks, and at least 200 big rigs (everything from a cement mixer to a tractor trailer). They were all sporting "Make a wish" banners on their front end and at least 30 of them had "Wish child on board" banners. This parade was over 10 miles long headed down US222 toward lancaster. I could not believe it, I've never seen so many big rigs before in my life.

Its amazing what people throw away... I just grabbed a 25 gallon fish tank off the curb. Maybe we'll set it up for Katya.

Journal - Darth Vader Interview

www.annearkham.squarespace.com - Journal - Darth Vader Interview

untitled

Summer is approaching.. The camp gear is coming along nicely and I should hopefully have the sinks re-done tomorrow. In another 2 weeks I'll be training to be a Tread Lightly master trainer, which means that not only will I be qualified to teach people on the tread lightly ethics (which I do now every time I talk to people about the outdoors), I'll be able to train others to train people. Pretty cool if you ask me. And in another month I take my motorcycle class and get my license. One more thing off the to-do list.

untitled

I think I got the webcam working, Now I just have to see about getting the audio working. It seems to be fighting me. Once I have it running I can see about using it to talk to Amy.

Camping season is upon us. I built Katya a collapsible camp bed something like ours. Now I have to get her a sleeping bag and such. We'll probably go to Lancaster next weekend and get it at camp Coleman. This week I think I will get the tent set up, and I am working on a new sink setup for this season as well.

 

Well i finally got a webcam. Now I am trying to get it working... fun fun

ScurvyDawg.com - News Flash! Sith Lord Becomes Pope!

See the link for details

ScurvyDawg.com - News Flash! Sith Lord Becomes Pope!

Well, We're in Maine visiting my sister. It's scary how much Mary Jane looks like Amy.

untitled

Well, the Catholics got a new pope and religion is still in the middle ages as a result... This guy is dead set against anything that would lead to progress it would seem. Let's see.. he was responsible for disciplining the priests in the sex abuse cases - he obviously failed miserably at that, he is against priests marrying (why? makes no sense at all, other religions allow it), he is against female priests (hello.. this is the 21st century), birth control (hello.. wake up & smell the AIDS), he denounces Rock & Roll (Uhh.. I'll have some of what he's smoking), and of course thinks homosexuals should go to hell....

 

Quote from Yahoo "He has denounced rock music, dismissed anyone who had tried to find "feminist" meanings in the Bible, and last year told American bishops it was appropriate to deny Communion to those who support abortion and euthanasia. "

 

What's next, declaring that the earth is indeed flat? progress? I think not!

Beanos.com - Teeeeejirrrrr : Lego Palm

OK this was too cool not to link to. THis is a fully functional palm pilot rebuilt from legos.....

Beanos.com - Teeeeejirrrrr : Lego Palm

Well, I got my permit - now I just wait for the class so I can get my license. Maybe in the meantime I can find someone with a motorcycle that I can practice on for a bit. If not, no big deal, its not the first time I have ridden a motorcycle. Looks like rain got my bronchitis so she's miserable lately. We can't win... We're going to the Russian embassy this weekend for an Easter celebration. We went last year - this year we will bring Katya so that should be interesting.

Yahoo! News - W.Va. Makes English Its Official Language

I just thought this was too funny.....

Yahoo! News - W.Va. Makes English Its Official Language

Way too funny!

untitled

Well, today I'm going ot go and take the written test for my motorcycle permit. I'm already enrolled in a driver education class so I'll have my license in June... On ce I have it I can see about getting a bike when I feel like it....

I hate being sick,.... I was sick all last week. If it wasn;t for the woreless network I installed the week before & the laptop I would not have even been able to get to my email. I still haven't gotten downstairs to use the computer yet.

Yahoo! News - Schiavo Dies 13 Days After Tube Removed

It's finally over... Nobody should have to live the way she has the last 15 years....

Yahoo! News - Schiavo Dies 13 Days After Tube Removed

Well this weekend we had Katya's first Easter. She enjoyed the Easter egg hunt a whole lot. It's a shame she did not want her picture taken with the Easter bunny.. oh well, maybe next year. Saturday we went and got family photos taken. She was fine with that.

This week has been pretty tame. I am expecting the front hitch for the Jeep to arrive on Monday - that will be next weekends project I guess. I'm getting my motorcycle permit and signing up for a course as well. I figure the class can't hurt, and they provide the motorcycle to take the test (part of the 3 day class).

This week has been pretty tame. I am expecting the front hitch for the Jeep to arrive on Monday - that will be next weekends project I guess. I'm getting my motorcycle permit and signing up for a course as well. I figure the class can't hurt, and they provide the motorcycle to take the test (part of the 3 day class).

This week has been pretty tame. I am expecting the front hitch for the Jeep to arrive on Monday - that will be next weekends project I guess. I'm getting my motorcycle permit and signing up for a course as well. I figure the class can't hurt, and they provide the motorcycle to take the test (part of the 3 day class).

Yet another test. Hopefully we have a photo this time.

Testing.. this is only a test. If this were an actual post, your screen would have melted by now. 

Yahoo! News - Teen's Rampage Leaves 10 Dead in Minn.

I see the system failed yet again.. If this isn't a case for gun control, I don't know what is. I think that the owners of the guns (if they are still alive) should be on trial as accessories to murder since they obviously did not have the guns (and ammo) secured in a way to prevent the child from gaining access to them. It is sad.. because of stupidity like this the gun control advocates will probably succeed in removing guns from the citizens. A simple set of locks or better yet, gun safe could have prevented this.

Yahoo! News - Teen's Rampage Leaves 10 Dead in Minn.

classroom video

Here's a link to the video.. this teacher was way out of line.. demanding that the student stand for the National Anthem - when the student has the right to not stand.... Something is way wrong with our school systems these days.... It's time to put a stop to the nonsense.

classroom video

from thisistrue mailing...

This is truly sad.... Zero tolerance is out of hand (not that it was ever in hand)

 

SHOOT THE MESSENGER: Students at Brick Township (N.J.) High School say that teacher Stuart Mantel often "went nuts" when they didn't properly respect the national anthem. One student brought in a video camera "to expose the teacher in case he did anything again." Apparently he did: the resulting video allegedly shows Mantel screaming at students who talked during the anthem, and yanking a chair from under one who did not stand. There is no law or school requirement for students to stand during the anthem. After the video was made public, school officials took strong, decisive action: the student who made the recording was suspended for 10 days, and the school moved to prohibit cameras in classrooms. The teacher was not disciplined. (Asbury Park Press) ...Respect is taught by example, not by force.

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/wabc_030105_classroomoutburst.html

Wow, it's been over a week since my last post. We went to WV for the weekend for the annual cabin party.. We had a blast, this years theme was "sitcoms" - next year we are doing "Nursery rhymes".. Katya came out for the trip and stayed with her uncle Dave for the night of the party (No kids allowed). Not too much else has been going on lately, I am hoping to spend some time at home for a weekend or 2.. what a concept. I just ordered a front hitch for the Jeep - with any luck I will have it to install this weekend. Maybe we will go to the Franklin Institute with Katya this weekend as well, since we have a family membership. I figure if we go every month or 2 and let her have fun there (maybe bring a friend or 2 along) we'll get our money's worth. I was looking through the book and saw that there are museums in Baltimore and up in Maine near my sister that participate so we should be able to go to them for free also. I should be returning the car trailer this Friday if all works out and will be towing Dad's old truck down to Bob's to drop it off at the same time.

Well, right now we should be on our way to NJ....but since the Jeep blew the pinion seal on the front axle, we're not going anywhere. We're sitting here in Barnes & noble using the wireless internet while we wait for Fred to get here with the trailer to bring us home. It should be a long day but at least it won't cost an arm & a leg to get it towed home, or trying to find somewhere local to get it repaired. Once I get it home I can get the parts and fix it myself. Katya is majorly over tired as she has not gotten her nap yet. The wireless internet is a pretty cool idea.. $3.95 for 2 hours is not too bad. I guess we're going to try and find some lunch now.

The Credit Card Prank

This is real sad, but oh so true.... So you think that signature strip on the back of the credit card does any good? Think again....

http://www.zug.com/pranks/credit/

What a year....

Wow.. Today marks one year to the day that we first saw Katya. I can't believe it has been a year already. One year ago we were sitting in Khabarovsk, Russia - probably sleeping since they are 15 hours ahead.

Wow... It's hard to believe that this time last year we were packing for our first trip to Russia. We left for Russia on Feb 29th last year (Leap day... funny). We were nervous about going to see the little girl that we wanted to adopt, and really nervous about travelling better than half way around the world. Neither of us had ever been out of the country (I had never flown further than Texas). Now that I look back on it, it all seems so long ago now. I would not be nervous about it now, I'm a seasoned world traveler. I've travelled 15 time zones and seen the sunrise over Europe. We have been to the Kremlin and within spitting distance of China. I've stared down the barrel of a Russian T1 tank (Museum piece) and walked the streets of Moscow as if I was in New York City. We got to see the world's largest bell and cannon. And best of all, we got our little girl. How many people can top that? Our daughter speaks English like an American, eats American food, and watches Americn TV. If we did not tell you she was adopted from Russia, you would never guess it from seeing her. She loves her Grandma and Grandpa, all 5 cats (she even yells at them when they are bad). I can't wait to take her to Pennsic with us this year so she can have the experience. I can't wait to see what the next year has to offer.

Well we had more snow today.... about 3" so far. Enough to make a mess, but not too bad. Katya loves to play in the snow. We went out and played for a while until it was time for dinner.

Things are calming down at work now that Dell replaced the server we should be much more stable.

It was a pretty good weekend. We all had fun and nobody broke anything. I was glad I carry the toolbox in the Jeep - Fred had his spring pack come loose and a spring leaf was rubbing his rear tire. We used the Hi-lift to jack it up - I found a use for the Jack-Mate... It dug into the snow & ice and the jack held fast (the flat foot on the jack slipped the first time and dropped the Jeep) - We got it fixed right there on the trail.

Katya had a good weekend at my parents house, it looks like she may have a bit of a cold. She spent last night in her castle - she asked me to set it up for her so I did. I figure she is a good kid for the most part, she deserves something special once in a while.

I got Dell to replace the server at work. Hopefully I'll see it in a week or so.

untitled

Well, tomorrow we will be spending the day at Paragon Offroad Park. It should be a fun day for all. We will have somewhere between 3-6 Jeeps in our group.

It's been a crazy week. I had a server go down twice this week and had to restore from backup both times. It's a good thing that I'm compulsive about my backups... They saved the day each time. Of course it meant a couple of real long days (and nights) but it all worked out. I haven't had much time to blog lately between work and being in Philly. We had fun in Philly and I definitely want to do it again. Maybe next time we'll bring Katya to the Franklin Institute. Katya is doing well, She is actually starting to get out 4 syllable words and her reasoning is getting much better. She really is a smart kid. Tomorrow I am taking the day off to spend with her before we go to Paragon park this weekend. This will be the first trip to the park in over a year I think. We went after I got the Jeep, but that has been a year and a half.

Weekend in Phila

We spent the weekend in Phila, it was pretty cool. Yesterday we went to the auto show, today we are planning a little shopping and maybe the Franklin Institute. Katya is staying with my partets this weekend. We had a nice dinner last night but I think Rain had some bad food... She was up all night with a sick stomach.

untitled

Its been pretty busy at work lately and I haven't really been on the computer much to write. I'm still chugging away at the Russia trip 2 log. Getting closer... a page or 2 at a time. Katya is growing... She started with a 5 1/2 size shoe and is getting ready to move into a size 7. 2T clothes fit well now and by spring she will be moving up from there too.

 

untitled

Katya has a new favorite movie - Peter Pan - the original version. She has to watch it once a day.....

untitled

Snow... more snow and sluch on top of what we already have.

 

I have been working on typing up the journal from our second trip to Russia.

untitled

Its been busy lately. We're plannign a Paragon Park trip for next month, doing Philly for Valentines, and generally runnign around lately. Katya is doing well. I finally got a replacement for my 35mm that died on Ebay.

untitled

Well, We got another inch of snow on top of the foot we got last week. Katya had fun in it though. I had to do oil changes on bopth vehicles so that was my excitement today. I got our taxes E-files today as well. It will be nice to get that refund and pay off some of the adoption expense.

Yahoo! News - 'No Name-Calling Week' Begins in Schools

This is just sad.... leave it to the narrow-minded, homophobic right wing extremists to ruin everything. Why does everything that promotes tolerance toward others have to encourage people to be gay????? Get a life, people... Or better yet, move to another planet and leave the rest of us alone...

Yahoo! News - 'No Name-Calling Week' Begins in Schools

untitled

We had nearly a foot of snow. Yesterday we took the Jeep out and did a trail ride - pictures are posted in the offroading section. It was fun running through nearly a foot of powder snow. It didn't pack down under the tires like the wet stuff. Katya loved the snow. She wants to put her snow suit on and go play every chance she gets now.

3" and counting

We're up to 3" of snow here and counting. After Katya gets done napping we'll head out and play for a bit.

Busy weekend

I am so sore today.. I spent Saturday & Sunday helping Fred put a new roof on his house. On Sunday I must have laid 30 bundles of shingle. Thank goodness he got an air hammer or it would have never gotten done...

Yahoo! News - 66-Year-Old Romanian Woman Gives Birth

The only question I have is.... WHY?????? That is just insane. If anything, she should have adopted. Chances are she will be dead before the kid graduates high school.

Yahoo! News - 66-Year-Old Romanian Woman Gives Birth

OK, I'm impressed....

Last night Katya opened the binder of DVDs, took out Finding Nemo, put it in the DVD player, and turned on the TV. When she got tired of watching that one, she took it out, put it back, and put in Monsters Inc. When she was done, she put that one back and turned the TV off.

This weekend we took down Xmas and rearranged the living room. We got 2 rockers from Ikea - boy are they comfy! I've got the same cold that Rain had, so it has been a long weekend. Now we're starting to plan a trip to Paragon Park next month to do some 4 wheeling... It's about time, I'm going through withdrawal.

It is a fun week. Rain has bronchitis so she is home from work sick. Work has been hell, but the first week of the year always is. Katya is doing real well. She is starting to tell us when she has to go pee now so it won't be too much longer that she will be in diapers. Woohoo!

Happy New Year!

This weekend went OK. Katya stayed up till after midnight with the rest of the kids. We had a pretty good party with some of Rain's family. We did the Xmas thing with Rain's sister too.

Scary.. the Tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean has killed 114,000 people. I'm sure that number will go up quite a bit before this is all over with.