Friday, December 23, 2005

T minus 4 days

***** MERRY CHRISTMAS *****

Well .. let me see ... 82 degrees in St. Thomas USVI. I think I can handle that. I sure wish these last 4 days would go faster. Though I haven't started my Christmas shopping yet I have started packing. Just got warm thinking of 82 so I walked down the street and got a cup of ice cream to cool off :)

Christmas eve I am going to see the Redskins-Giant football game with Paul's father. I just hope the rain doesn't showup till late that night. Go Giants!

I hope that everyone has a great holiday and a merry Christmas. To me the best gift is just a hug from a good friend. To those who feel I have wronged them I also hope they find happiness this season and accept the words "I am sorry." To all my friends I offer a big hug and a warm "thank you." I had thought of saying something to everyone who has impacted my life this year but I didn't because I didn't want to miss anyone so I will just give a hug to everyone I meet.


***** MERRY CHRISTMAS *****

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Oh Boy

***** MERRY CHRISTMAS *****

What I have found most interesting this fall and even into the Christmas season is the number of inconsiderate people that love to say "that isn't in my job description." When asked to help that is the best their piddly brain can come up with. Whatever happened to a desire to help when asked. Even more astonishing are the few that call themselves a Christian! How much different would it have been if Christ said that when he faced the cross? What even burns me more is the supervisor's that tolerate what can only be classified as insubordiation. Are we so afraid to send someone like this packing because of the trouble it will cause? Or is it because the supervisor lacks the guts and where with all to deal with this. Maybe we need to adopt a "screw you while I take care of myself" attitude for they sure have and get away with it. It would be a lot less trouble when you were asked to help for 10 minutes and have to delay your coffee break or your smoke break. I can understand this attitude from a non-christian. But since one of these dullards is a "devout Catholic" in his own words .. is that typical of what the Catholic Church preaches? Or should some Priest who cares discuss with this devout one what the term "Christ-like" really means? No wonder Christians around the world are getting pushed aside because of hypocrites like this. Yes, I am dismayed, for all I asked was 5 minutes of their time but got this idiotic response. I hope they have a Merry Christmas and one day before Christ returns, wake up to find out what kind of person they really are.

The mexican food this afternoon was as good as usual. Hot, spicy and a joy to eat. gee, I just realized that I won't get anymore at our resturant until next year. Guess the Carribean Island cusine will have to do. :)

Dad's test was cancelled for two weeks.

Is it time we disband the Political Party system and everyone is independent and representative of who voted them into office? What I see is party politics is more important than the citizens needs and rights. Yes they claim they represent us but I believe they represent their causes more and only if the two cross paths the citizens will get cared for.
District of Columbia is being denied representation because the job of some Congressman in Utah would be jepordized and tilt the balance of power.
Millions spent on research on the sex lives of certain animals while human being in Louisiana are hungry and cold from the lack of shelter.
No budget is being worked on while they pander the Patriot Act because some of our rights were moved aside during the frenzied hunt for terrorists after 9-11. You want to be safe? Then let the right people do their job and stop these fanatics who think nothing of blowing you up.
If you want to drill in Alaska to lessen the impact of terrorist controlled oil .. then make the drilling environmentally safe and friendly .. make the oil companies use some of the billions in profit to make that happen instead of paying massive bonuses and salarys to the top managers and lobbyists. And if they fail then make them pay for messing it up ... surely last years profits could go a long way to repairing an accident. Oh, that is right. This would mean the Congress members would lose their large yearly bonuses from the Oil Lobby.
You say that I am too critical and that Congress is honorable and doing what is right for the American Citizen? Look at all the ones convicted, indicted, and under investigation and tell me how honorable they are. These are the ones that messed up and got caught. I love the phrase used once on a TB show about Congress .. "it isn't nothing but a good ole boys club." Am I wrong? Prove me wrong?


***** MERRY CHRISTMAS *****

Friday, December 16, 2005

Scrambled Eggs

***** Merry Christmas *****

Time is rolling along very fast as we have only 11 days to Cruise Time. Life is going well but I wish it would slow down a bit. There are many things I wish to do but I seem to run out of time.

The first half of the Youth bowling league is done. While we didn't win again, we didn't finish last. Hopefully this team will jell for the second half and make a respectable showing and at least be a player.

#1's interview seemed to prove unfruitful. Oh well, time marches on for him.

#2 is pretty much in the same boat. He some how thinks I am bluffing come January 15th. Is he in for a surprise!

Dad isn't doing well with his tests this time. Today was a remake after yesterday's debacle. After stopping his heart it took 3 restarts to get it going. I wonder if the starter was missing a few gears? They seem to create more stress and anxiety than what the accomplish. I would tell them next time to go play with someone else .. this old ticker is off limits.

This week at work has been a blur. The main office server managed to die and after 30 hours we got it going and stable once again. Backing up some 91Gb of data and restoring it isn't fun. Then some idiot cut the telco cable with a backhoe and our Baltimore AM station is off the air and they say it will be 9pm Saturday before they finish splicing it. The GM ain't happy.

Way to go Congress, lest anything get in the way of your holiday break, leave us hanging on a lot of things as Alternative Minimum tax, Patriot Act, your silence on the budgets for next year. Your penchant for playing Inquisitor has left little room for doing your real job.

Thanks DC and the Mayor, your screwing around with the stadium lease will lose us our Nationals Baseball team and you will whine how unfair MLB has treated you. Well, we know better.

They say driving and talking on a cell phone makes you 4 times more likely to have a serious accident. Well, duh, lets get serious and stop it. Perhaps tripling the penalties if you cause and accident while talking would be a good start. If you are chatting on one and are involved in an accident then you assume the responsibility. Why you ask? If you weren't talking you would have been more attentive and might have taken defensive action sooner and avoided it.

As for the death penalty, make it mandatory that the sentence must be executed before the end of the 5th year. No more dragging it out for 25+ years. This can be modified if they come up with a way to extend the death of the victims equal to the appeal time of the convict.


***** Merry Christmas *****

Monday, December 12, 2005

Head Scratching

Sitting here this morning I listened to a story about the man in a California prison that is facing death in 18 hours. Every bit of the story was about how the man deserved to live because he had "changed and was doing so much good". I just have a problem with that logic. He killed a person and they were permanently sentenced to death. How much good could they have done or tried to do? I am of the thought that when you are convicted of certain crimes the sentence is carried out no matter how much you have changed. Why does he deserve another chance -- the victim gets nothing but a shortened life? The simple fact here remains he killed someone so he must be punished as the court sentenced him. I am sad his lifestyle and anger placed him where he would commit this crime. That is a black eye on society and their failure to make a difference. But the simple fact is He killed someone and was sentenced to die -- so carry out the sentence. Until people are held accountable and punished according to the law, we will never see the murder rate go down.

I had an interesting conversation with #1. While talking about jobs I commented that he needed to be aware of where he worked and the hours since in most likelihood we would have to help get him there. You know, be considerate of mom and dad. He responded he would work off shifts so he could use the car and not interfere with us. Of course I reminded him he had lost his car and had no insurance. Then I said he wasn't on my policy so he could not drive them. Of course he fumed and said "come on lighten up, it isn't like I am going cross country or anything like that." Naturally I said no and that I wasn't willing to chance losing everything I had because of an accident he caused. I wonder where these ideas come from. I have heard it from several young adults that if you are just driving around town that there is no need to have insurance. It is as if they feel if you don't have it then the other person can't take it. Another one is they keep their checking account balance at a minimum, write checks for every penny based on their idea of the sequence of withdrawal. However the bank operates on an entirely different schedule and bounces a check. They actually think it is the banks fault and refuse to pay it

The pre-hugged Christmas bears are back. So it takes a while to hug every one. Lou would hug them and give a grunt since it was a bug hug. He did hug everyone and even a few twice. He is at the stage he parrots anything I say. Needless to say the language filter must be turned up full strength to prevent those slippages.

#2 in all his wisdom still is job hunting. When asked how it was going he rattled off a bunch of business names of places he filled out an application too. I stated it sure sounded like the same places he tried before he tried the Job Corp. He nodded yes and restated he tried .. My question was "how many interviews?" None but I did a lot of applications was his response. I responded that applications were paper and like toilet paper, something used and thrown away, get an interview, that was called job hunting. Needless to say, the attitude appeared and the conversation ended but not before I reminded him that rent was due in 30 days. He spent the rest of the evening away from us.

Friday, December 09, 2005

Which Holiday Cartoon Character Are You?

You are:

Alvin from Alvin and the Chipmunks

Like Alvin , you love Christmas—for all the stuff it brings! You love getting all gussied up and being the center of attention. It's great that you're having such a great time, but remember, there's more to the holidays than getting gifts. There's a lot of joy to be found in the simple pleasures and thinking of others.

Try it yourself!

Whimsical Thoughts

Last night we attended the pre-showing of the Chronicles of Narnia. That was fun and the show was very good. Even #1 flatly stated that he liked the movie. The snowstorm they predicted was a fizzle once again. Just enough sleet and snow to make life miserable They were predicting 4-6" where we lived but it barely covered our grass. Two weeks from Monday our great adventure starts -- warm weather, good fun and lots of fun.

Why would you sit there and watch a virus warning continually pop up and not do anything about it. These are the people that sit there with a finger crammed up their nose and tickling their brain. Then they choose to blame me for hacking into their system and infecting them. Only thing I would hack into is their dried up brain and inject some common sense. Then they want me to fix it, as if I do this to generate more work for me. I guess this is the low quality of news reporters you get when they are paid minimal wages.

Our Christmas party on Wednesday night was great. Good food and the view of the District of Columbia from a restaurant on the 14th floor.

Trial by DNA? Could it be that in the future you won't get a trial if the DNA at the crime scene matches yours? The evidence is collected, the DNA processed, your are arrested and the judge sentences you with the appropriate sentence. We turned another corner when a death sentence was overturned because the DNA evidence was destroyed. They disregarded the jury's decision based on all the evidence and the belief that he was guilty. Yes, the law changed and what the clerk did was wrong but don't blow off the original trial because of it. If the DNA evidence is gone all the new trial can consider is the testimony of the witnesses. Well, Duh, that is what happened the first time so why not accept that finding. meanwhile we continue to provide a living to someone already found guilty.

The other night I saw a program on the transgender issue we face. It brought up some interesting question but also showed the lengths some will take to disguise the truth of who they are. That one guy married a he/she and wouldn't let he/she remove the crank. So instead of accepting the fact he is homosexual he masked it as he was normal and just in love with a transgender female. Unscrew the brain and see the lack of any gray mass? Needless to say, I laughed a lot. Seriously, the transgender people did present some issues but the other people were just perverted.

Monday, December 05, 2005

White Christmas?

Paul's Update: 12/04/05

Dear Friends: -- Many good things happen every day. We can praise God for these small miracles. Today Bobby & Tabby got to see Paul open his eyes (both according to Bobby) and look at them. He appeared to have a somewhat frightened look. I suspect he IS a bit frightened and confused about what & where he is, not to mention what happened that got him there. He is opening his eyes (mostly the left one) quite often. It is usually in response to either touching him or talking to him but not always. I came into his room today and before I even spoke or touched him I noticed his left eye open. It stayed that way for about a minute. He still doesn't appear to respond directly to commands but I think he is getting closer each day. Please continue your prayers for Brenda (Austin's grandmother) & her family. She is having tests done tomorrow to decide what kind of cancer she has and how her doctors will plan to treat it. Also continue to remember all those families that are victims of trauma that are at Fairfax ICU. One family is struggling with the impending death of their 70 year old father & husband that fell at home and hit his head causing massive bleeding on the brain. His doctor says there is not any brain activity and they will probably have to remove him from the respirator soon. I pray that God will comfort them! God Bless, -- Lynne & Carl

***** *****

Well, it snowed today and it was a far cry from what they predicted. 3-6" and we will barely get 1 1/2". But even with that piddly amount the cancellations are piling up. If they cancel school every time they get an inch .. this school year will never end.

Work is going well. I finished a new server buildout and installed it this weekend. It is good to be able to finish something without having it changed on you before it could be finished. Time to move on to the other 999 projects all due yesterday. :)

Well, the District of Columbia shows their ineptitude when it comes to the Nationals. They got the concessions from MLB that they wanted but today's news makes you grin. A document surfaced that stated the cost of the new stadium was some 165 million under the actual cost. Mayor Williams used 535 million as the cost and now it is reported the number will be 700 million. To add insult to injury, if the cost is too much and the fall back to the RFK Stadium site, the report says it can't be done in time for the 2008 deadline. This is starting to look like a texas-sized goat rope.

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Brrrrrr ... Is it Winter Yet?

Paul's Update: 12/03/05

Dear Friends: -- Today was a pretty good day. Paul had a CT scan first thing this morning. The doctor decided that the depression in his skull was nothing to worry about. The shunt seems to be working fine and his brain is in good condition. The swelling in his neck area is just a hematoma (a collection of blood under the skin) from the installation of the shunt and it should reabsorb into the skin in a few days. He actually looked better already today! Much of the same movements are present. He still opens his eyes occasionally (mostly the left eye) and he moves his head and arms frequently. His heart rate & BP are normal and he seems to be doing very well although he still doesn't respond directly to any commands. He is still in the ICU2 unit but as soon as a bed in a room with someone else who has staff infection in the intermediate care unit comes available he will be moved. Many new families have arrived in the ICU unit. Please continue to pray for them. Also, many of you have heard about Austin and his recovery. He is at Mount Vernon Rehab center but his maternal grandmother was admitted this weekend with a mass in one of her lungs. It appears that she may have cancer. This is a serious concern for her since she just lost a sister to cancer. Please pray for Brenda and the family as they endure another difficult situation. Thanks for your continued prayer!! -- Love & Hugs -- Lynne & Carl

***** *****

I knew the Christmas season was here because we started our Christmas teddy bear program. Everyone brings teddy bears for the next few weeks and everyone hugs them. Then these "pre-hugged" bears are given away to kids and really anyone needing some extra love. Snuggle -- Snuggle

Three weeks to cruise time .. I can't wait.

Work continues to be fun, hard but fun. It is kinda sad watching them let my old network system crumble from neglect. It still amazes me that someone can sit there with a broken computer system and bellyache that they weren't hired to fix them. Where I came from refusing to do your job got your butt canned. But then again it takes a manager with balls to enforce it and I guess there aren't anymore left over there.

Christmas parties and the pre-screen of the Narnia movie will highlight this week. Add in choir and bible study and who has anytime left?

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL ... and those who are ashamed about that phrase --- Season's Greetings ...errrr ... MERRY CHRISTMAS anyways.

Friday, December 02, 2005

The Weekend Arrives

Paul's Update:

12-01-05 --- Dear Friends: -- God is soooo good. We have been anxious to see signs that Paul is doing better. Today Paul was more active. He seemed to be very aware that we were in the room. His eyes opened quite a bit. He appeared to be trying to lift his head and shoulders toward Tabby. His heart rate would go way up. The nurse said she believes it is because he is becoming more aware and wants to communicate but can't. Although he is still in a coma he appears to be very close to waking. The doctor said he needs to respond to commands, like "squeeze my hand" and "open your eyes" before they consider it to be things he does intentionally! Friday will be the completion of 4 weeks in ICU. It appears that Paul may be moved to intermediate care ICU maybe as early as tonight or Friday. Thanks for your prayers....we may finally be on the way to having Paul back with us!! -- Love, Lynne & Carl

12/02/05 --- Dear Friends: -- Today was the completion of the fourth week in ICU. Paul was a lot quieter today. Not as much movement as yesterday. His heart rate was up quite abit this afternoon. The BP & respiration rates were also up. We had a bit of a scare tonight after the shift change. When Carl and I went in to visit we noticed that the part of his skull where the bone was removed was sunken in quite a lot. The other noticeable thing was a lot of swelling in the neck area just below the jaw. The nurse checked to see if there was any change in his neurological responses (eye dilation, response to pain, and some reflex action in the foot). All these seemed the same as when she checked him earlier in the evening, but she said the skull did look quite different from an hour before. The resident doctor and the head of the trauma team came to look. They seemed to think it may be from the shunt draining the fluid from his cranial cavity but they were a little concerned with the swelling in the neck. The neurosurgeon on Paul's case was called and he ordered a CT Saturday morning to see what is going on. They didn't seem to think it was life threatening but it does warrant a look. The good thing about tonight's visit was that the doctor and the nurse both seemed pleased with Paul's neurological status. We are glad to hear that they at least think he is doing well for his situation! We will just continue to pray for God to hold & heal him. His doctors are doing their part!! -- God Bless, Lynne & Carl

***** *****
Looks like our first real snow is coming Monday. It makes the thoughts of our cruise in 24 days much warmer. Do I feel guilty? No! :)

I couldn't help but shake my head as I listened how some German Youth group was making an erotic bible calendar. The adult (used lightly) leaders thought it was great that the youth were taking an interest in the bible. This is the same logic that believes take a bunch of porn stars and have them hold the bible or some religious artifact and revel in joy when a bunch of men come back into the church. Perhaps the German leaders could teach them of Christ's love and draw the kids in ... and the results would last longer. That formula has worked for a long time.

Thank you Federated Stores and WAVA FM 105 for taking a stand and using the phrase "Merry Christmas." It is time to quit trying to hide who we are and accept that God and religion was the basis of our nation.