First Good Snow of the Winter

Well, today we got our first good snow of the new winter! (I celebrate these things).

It started with sleet late last night and really poured down the sleet during the night. In fact, Sheila and I were commenting on how intense the sound of the sleet hitting the house sounded. If we had not known it was sleet, we would have thought it was rain. Of course, at 25F the temperature was not too conducive for rain.

The pizza delivery guy got here last night before things got really ugly but even when he showed up around 9pm, there was ice all over the ground. It was a good thing he had a four-wheel-drive truck!

So, not too surprisingly, when I got up this morning, our bedroom window looked like this:



Needless to say, I decided to work from home today. Originally a friend of mine named Peter and I were to go work on a Habitat for Humanity home today but the weather has pretty well shut down that activity for today. So, hopefully we will have a make-up day where we can help.

So, I decided you might like to see a few photos of our snow today. So here we go.....

We are expecting up to about 12 or 13 inches of snow today! Here's the view out the top of our upstairs bedroom window - you can see a bit more of the snow in the street. Some of our crazy neighbors were out shoveling it as soon as they could (ugh) but not me. I figure nature put it there for a reason!



So here's a look at the backyard



Here's Joy's swing - covered in snow - no Joy - come home Joy!



Another view of the back yard - beautiful snow!

Early this morning, I checked the school closings to see if Leah's school was out for the day - it was! She was delighted of course! I walked by her room shortly after telling her that school was closed for the day. She was playing music on her computer - the tune saying "... and since we've no place to go.... let it snow... let it snow.... let it snow." Har har!



Here's a look out the front door - which I could hardly open because it's so frozen shut!



My weather station (it's kind of hard to see).



Another last look at the backyard. I love the snow!



Anyway, I hope you got some snow to enjoy today. The snow reminds me of the quiet beauty of nature, of a time of peace and rest. Winter has always been my favorite season and the snow is really special to me. I hope you enjoy it too. Be safe!

The Mean Nurse!

Ok, so my wife had rather extensive sinus surgery last Friday week and I have been playing nurse to her for the last week. It's a tough surgery as far as how you feel afterwards. The doctor told us to expect this before she had the surgery of course. He was right.

The sad thing, is that if you have to feel that bad, it might be nice to have some kind of cool "ouchie" you could show everyone and perhaps with which you could gross them out really good but with sinus surgery, all the work goes on up inside your nose so there really isn't much you can show someone. Still, you feel like you've been run over and I think that would pretty well describe the way my sweet wife has felt over the last week.

I'm proud of her for hanging in there so well even when she felt so bad. I've had sinus surgery too and though it was not as extensive as hers, I can tell you that it's no fun indeed. Still, the benefits outweigh the momentary bad stuff. I now have viewer sinus infections than I used to have so that's good. I was getting tired of all the antibiotics quite frankly and would prefer to reserve them for my old (older?) age.

Well, with her convalescing at home, I tried to put my best foot forward in helping her get some well deserved rest. You know it's not easy to be a good nurse. Anyone can serve as a care giver but it takes a bit of extra effort to be a "good nurse". I've seen many examples of bad nurses in hospitals and a few examples of exceptionally good ones. The difference of course was in the amount of caring they were willing to impart into their tasks. Certainly our loved ones are deserving of our best efforts so we should aspire to be the good nurse.

So, anyway, my wife was a good patient most of the time but every once in a while she would touch her nose in some way that would bring out the "mean nurse" in me - at which time I would express my displeasure with my patient and threaten to duct tape her hands to the couch. This would result in a short term improvement in my patient's behavior. The mean nurse was satisfied.

Of course my goal was to be an excellent nurse. I can tell you that I've had an excellent model and example to follow. When I am sick, my wife pulls out all the stops to take care of me. She waits on me hand and foot and she is always willing to "baby me". She is very nurturing and loving under such circumstances. So, I had a hard act to follow!

Sometimes we forget that the marriage vows include a line that says we promise to love and take care of each other when things are less than perfect. Times like this tend to remind us of that promise and the fact that it extends beyond just a loving touch or look in the eye when it's convenient but rather includes some pretty good amount of plain old fashioned work!

Of course, I tend to think that's the problem with people and marriage today - they have forgotten that a good marriage takes work! I can say now at the seasoned marriage interval of 24 years that I understand and accept this and I even look forward to opportunities where I can show my love in some act of service for my wife. That's really what marriage is about - loving someone enough to be of service to them.

Jesus said no greater love does a man have than to lay down his life for another. Many people seem to understand this and even (I think with good intentions) proclaim their willingness to do this in an extreme situation. But perhaps the more revealing and truly testing situation is a much simpler one; the case where you have to give up your time and something else you might rather do in order to serve someone you claim to love. I think the difference between a good nurse and a bad one comes down to a few things.... Can I serve without grumbling? Can I serve without feeling "put upon"? Can I serve without feeling like I am giving something up? That's a keen mirror into our own souls' character and our committment to someone and certainly sheds signficant light upon whether or not we truly understand what it means to love someone.

Christ understood this well; He carried it all the way to the cross and along the way, he forgave things that we would have a hard time overlooking and forgiving and He did it all with an attitude of service the entire way.

I think we should ask God: "Dear Heavenly Father, please help us all to be the kind of servants that we should be - a loving soul willing to forsake ourself as Jesus did in setting His splendid example of service and self-sacrifice". That is indeed going to be my prayer.

Til later,

Love - Jerry

The First Snows of Winter 2006-2007

Nothing is as pleasant to me as the coming of cool Fall weather and the first snow of the new winter. (I know - I'm weird). While most people see it as a harbinger of tough cold weather to come, I see it as Mother Nature turning on her air conditioning for a while. After the long and warm days of Summer, I am ready for some calm, peace and tranquility. The quiet of winter is wonderful and the opportunity to rest from Summer yard care a great relief.

Here are some pictures of our first light dusting of snow on 12OCT06. I hope you enjoy them. - JR

Our backyard...


Our doggies LOVE snow!





My Weather Station...

100 Things You Don't Know About Me (and some you do!)

Ok, so everyone seems to be obsessed with creating these "100 things you don't know about me" lists. So, I figured I would join the fray. So here goes and I'll bet some of this might surprise you and some might not. Anyway, I'll blog away because it's the "thing" to do these days.

100 Things You Don't Know About Me (maybe)

1. I first felt a very personal and strong desire to follow Jesus and God after a late night "time to go to bed" conversation with my Grandmother Jessie when I was about 12 years old.
2. I knew the first time I kissed Sheila that she was to be "the love of my life".
3. I love children and think our children are one of God's greatest blessings in our lives.
4. My favorite football teams are: 1) The Green Bay Packers (all the way back to Bart Starr days), 2) University of Tennessee, and 3) West Virginia University.
5. I graduated from Christian Brother College - now Christian Brothers University (and I did so with honors: Suma Cum Laude).
6. I at one time considered a career as 1) a professional musician (piano), 2) a doctor, 3) a biomedical engineer, 4) a pilot and 5), a truck driver.
7) When I was 9 years old, I was taking a bath and my Dad told me to hurry up and get out of the tub because we were going to dinner shortly. I looked at him and said "I don't have to do what you say" (just like I had a brain). Due to his response, I never repeated that phrase again.
8) My friend Steve and I used to load crab apples with firecrackers and shoot them on a giant slingshot we made toward Bill's house.
9) I think Music is one of the greatest gifts of love from God. It comforts the soul and gives expression to our emotions in ways that nothing else could possibly match.
10. My favorite color is blue
11. My favorite instrument throughout my life has of course been the piano (big surprise there) - but my next most favorite instrument in the world is my daughter's trombone which is played beautifully.
12. My favorite relaxation moment is to sit with a warm cup of coffee and watch a heavy snow come down in the yard with pine trees in the background.
13. I once competed in a NASTAR ski race in Winter Park Colorado where I won a Bronze Medal on my second pass of the hill.
14. When I was about 11, my friend Judd and I pulled a little 9 year old boy out of a Holiday Inn swimming pool after he struck his head upon the side of the pool (he slipped), was knocked out and went straight to the bottom of the pool. He awoke when I pulled him from the pool and ran to his momma. He was ok.
15. My favorite type of dog is the Sheltie; they are loving and loyal.
16. I love computer games that transport me to a new world or environment (bet no one got that one - right?)
17. My 9th grade Algebra teacher, Mrs. Richbourg, turned me from a C&D student who could care less about school to an A&B student who was inducted into the National Honor Society before I graduated high school.
18. Because of my Grandmother Jessie and my Great Aunt Gertie, I learned how to knit.
19. My Grandmother Jessie taught me to play the piano beginning when I was first old enough to sit up on the piano bench (probably around age 3).
20. My Grandfather Richmond was a doctor and he used to take care of Harland Sanders (Colonel Sanders of KFC fame) and his family's medical needs when they lived in Corbin, KY. See this link . I found out recently that Harland Sanders was a pall bearer at my grandfather's funeral! By all public accounts and things I have learned from my family, Mr. Sanders was a good man who did a lot of good things for Corbin, KY.
21. I hate washing dishes - but I do it because I love my wife and I know she hates it too! ;o)
22. My favorite computer adventure games are: 1) Myst (and all sequels) and 2) Schism (which my son purchased for me).
23. I am an addict when it comes to the game Counter Strike (a first person shooting game involving team work - usually).
24. I cry during some movies.
25. I hope some day to serve as an Elder in the Lord's Church.
26. I used to stay up until 2:00 AM working on programming assignments on our old IBM 1130 computer while in college (using punched cards! UGH!).
27. I once swallowed a raw egg whole just to see what it felt like to be like Rocky (in the movie of the same name). (Note to self - always allow the egg to warm up before you swallow it whole else the egg yoke remains intact and rests in your stomach like some really cold ice cube.) I later tried jumping up and down to break the egg yoke so my stomach wouldn't feel so cold. I don't think that worked.
28. I love to watch football on TV (and occasionally in person - but I miss the instant replays then).
29. I am learning to play the electric guitar.
30. When I was a child, I had a full-size dachshund named "Bandit" (after the dog in the Johnny Quest series) and a cat named "Mittens" (black cat with white paws).
31. My elementary school teachers used to tell my parents that I was smart but just didn't want to do the work (in school).
32. I once took a class (in New Orleans) to learn how to do folk dances from various countries.
33. I am a certified EIT (Engineer in Training - the first half of the professional engineer certification process).
34. I have held nearly every position possible in Cub Scouting including the Cub Master position. I enjoyed doing that with my son when he was little.
35. My favorite instrumental musicians are: 1) David Arkenstone, 2) Yanni, 3) Tim Janis, 4) Secret Garden and 5) Llewellyn
36. I recently saw lightning hit a neighbor's chimney and blow the bricks off the roof.
37. I will practically kill myself to do someone a favor and help them out when they are in need but I strongly dislike people who take me for granted.
38. My favorite car is the Ford Mustang. After many years of driving "junkers" my wife orderd a red 2000 Ford Mustang GT convertible for me! What a great wife!
39. My favorite comedians are: 1) Tim Allen and 2) Robin Williams.
40. I enjoy programming - it's a creative activity - I liken it to drawing and painting in art (which I am not so blessed with ability).
41. I used to play games of imagination with my friend Bill - specifically we created a society of plastic dinosaurs who were heavily vested with technology. We also used to sit in front of his multispeed attic fan (in the attic of course) and pretend we were pilots flying across the country or in a war. We could change the speed of the fan to simulate changing events in our "plane".
42. As a kid, I loved to build models - cars, boats, and planes.
43. My childhood friend Bill would receive plastic models for Christmas and I would put them together for him.
44. I have seen the magician David Copperfield in person twice and shook his hand once.
45. My favorite types of music are both instrumental and vocal "new age" style music (but I do not embrace the philosophy of the same name), country and western and rock.
46. I can whistle without pursing my lips together. I just use my two front eye teeth and my tongue.
47. I like to do a Scottish accent when I am in a silly mood (just ask my kids).
48. I enjoy using my imagination even at my current age. That includes stories, songs and similar.
49. My favorite hobbies are amateur radio, music, astronomy, and computer stuff.
50. I truly enjoy sending my wife flowers. I share in her enjoyment of beautiful flowers.
51. I really love to play Texas Hold-em (but not for money of course - just fun) and I consider myself to be pretty good at it.
52. My daughters can pretty well get their way by just smiling at me and saying "I Love You Daddy"
53. I would secretly like to produce some high quality CDs of my own original music compositions if I could find the right equipment to provide high quality instrument digitization.
54. Babies make me smile.
55. I have a tendency to rescue bugs I find in my house and put them outside (unharmed).
56. I once won a 4.5 foot tall pink and black colored stuffed dog at the Mid-south Fair while I was in college by tossing a wooden ring onto the neck of a small glass coke bottle. Usually they would just bounce off the bottles when people tried this but the first ring I threw went right onto the bottle.
57. My middle name (Perkins) is the last name of my Grandmother's side of the family. At one point, I actually met my great great Grandmother.
58. I once hid a pet hamster in the "storage room" off my bedroom and kept it there. It was a reject from a lab experiment at high school and I rescued him and kept him hidden in the storage room so my Mom wouldn't make me get rid of him.
59. I used to catch spiders and keep them as pets. I would put them in a bottle and then feed them ants and flies. (They love flies)
60. Speaking of eating, my favorite restaurants are: 1) Mexican food restaurants, 2) Chinese food restaurants and 3) Cracker Barrel or Bob Evans (and White Castle - but what category does that fit into?)
61. I once got a fortune at a Chinese restaurant (when I was about 46 years old) that said "A fool at 40 is a fool indeed".
62. My least favorite types of music are hard rap and unintelligible opera (foreign language opera).
63. I proposed to my wife-to-be on Christmas Eve and I wore a suit.
64. I love to remember and tell jokes. I can still remember jokes from the 7th grade.
65. I dislike rude and selfish drivers.
66. I love rapid acceleration in a car, plane or etc.! (Hence why I like my car)
67. I love birds of all kinds. I enjoy feeding them in the winter and watching their behavior.
68. I once held a live hummingbird in my hand in WV.
69. Christmas is my favorite holiday and Winter my favorite season. One of my favorite childhood memories of Christmas traditions with my parents, sister and brother is purchasing hot bread right off the assembly line at Harts Bread in Memphis and then driving around looking at Christmas lights! We still continue this as a tradition every year with our own children. Sheila bakes two loaves of bread, makes hot chocolate and off we drive listening to Christmas music and looking at Christmas lights.
70. I hate mowing grass.
71. I am proud of my Tennessee heritage. - Yes, I love "sweet tea".
72. When I was a kid, my friend Steve and I would dig foxholes in his backyard and play with our GI Joes. We would also set off model rockets.
73. I like people of all types of personalities and I enjoy meeting new people. I am very likely to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger.
74. I was a First Lieutenant in ROTC and a member of the Drill Team. I performed with the rest of the team in Memorial Day parades and drill competitions. We were once inspected by Third Army's General Throckmorton. See this link
75. I have been told I have perfect pitch.
76. At age 12, my best friend Chuck and I (and some other friends) used to ring doorbells in Whitehaven when I would spend the night at his house. We would run up to a house late at night, ring the doorbell and then take off running.
77. I once pitched a tent in a pouring rain in Florida during a Spring Break trip with my friend Bob.
78. One time when I was about 10, I put some pennies in my mouth and climbed up to my tree house (climbing the pole that Dad had affixed to the side of the tree). In my semi reclining position as I climbed, I accidentally swallowed several of the pennies! (I can't make any "cents" out of why I did that).
79. I once pretended (in front of my sister) to put my foot in the toilet. Upon one of my repeated demonstrations of this lunacy, she deftly flipped up the lid and gave me a shove! In went my foot! I later hung the wet sock in my closet to dry so my Mom wouldn't find out.
80. I was friends in high school with Cybil Shepherd's brother Bill (she was two years older than us).
81. I think I am a romantic. I like romantic movies and I enjoy surprising my wife with some romantic gesture.
82. I give blood regularly and I think everyone who is able to donate should do so as long as they are able to do it. We never know how long our health will remain good enough for us to help out in this manner.
83. I have two parents who always put us (the kids) first and who demonstrated parental love and marriage solidarity that other people could surely benefit from today.
84. I really enjoy crunchy food. I can pass up the sweet stuff but give me a chip that goes crunch with some salt on it - and I'll eat the entire bag.
85. I know God wants me to be the best Christian man I can possibly be. I do not want to disappoint him. He is important to me and I want my life to have been pleasing to him.
86. Friends are so important. My wife is my best friend in life and I have been blessed with many other friends through work and church.
87. I think our country has forgotten that just being open minded in and of itself is not a virtue. Righteous judgment can and should still be exerted as governed by God's word. There still is a right thing to do and a wrong one.
88. I think Steve Irwin was a good man who cared about his family and about wildlife and demonstrated a lot of heart and commitment and was true to his mission in life. I will miss him.
89. When I was in elementary school, someone told a funny just as I took a big drink of milk. I ended up spraying milk on my teacher sitting directly across the table from me. She was not amused.
90. I have discovered that you never quit being a parent.
91. I have a heart arrhythmia now and then. (It's been checked out - don't panic - just a part of life). Reducing caffeine reduces it.
92. I have been to Tokyo, Japan. It was a good trip and the people were nice (the food was great!).
93. I was robbed while I slept one time in Florida.
94. I am very stubborn when it comes to solving problems. I will usually beat on a problem until I win. (Sometimes I lose).
95. I believe the Bible is the actual and inspired word of God and that Jesus is His son. I believe He gave the Bible to us so we could understand what we must do to be in a saved relationship with God and to appreciate His incredible love for us. I believe baptism is required for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38) and it is then that we figuratively come into contact with the blood of Christ which provides that remission of sins. 1 Peter 3:20-21
96. I won a free coke from a state trooper at Cub Scout Day Camp one year by shooting a high score on the BB gun range! (Yeah me!)
97. I once blew my car horn at a retarded young man in Metairie, LA who was attempting to cross the road. (I wish to this day I could have apologized to him).
98. I have eaten some weird things in my life including: crawfish, crabs, eel, alligator and sushi (including Sea Urchin).
99. I take a lot of notes when I attend classes and lectures (probably a hold-over from college).
100. I believe that college is essential to success in life.

Ok, there you go - I can't believe you actually read this far! Admit it; you skipped some of it - right?

Oh well. You must not have much house work to do.....

Laterz..... love - Jerry

A Happy Birthday

Well, I have been intending for quite some time now (every since my birthday) to write a short description of how nice my birthday truly was this year. So, you might be thinking... why did you wait til September to write about something that went on in June? I guess that would be hard to answer except to say that our Summer has been extremely busy this year. So, I am just now getting around to it.

I received many remembrances of the day from many family members. I received a huge assortment of pecans from my Mother and Father. They will prove wonderful for pies, baked goods and just general snacking.

I received many nice birthday cards and Rob's family brought me a basket of "nostalgia". It was clear that a LOT of thought had gone into it.



It was an interesting assortment of goodies including many treats I enjoyed as a child (such as Cracker Jack, Raisinets, Sugar Babies, Goobers, and just gobs of other candies - most of which I remember purchasing as a child at the local movie theater). Included were the best hits of John Denver and a game about Legendary Comedians (from my childhood also). So, that was a pleasant and enjoyable edible surprise (with which my children helped me considerably).

On my birthday, I went to work that day(it was a Thursday), but I went home from work in a happy mood because things were going well there. I had been wanting to obtain a pair of replacement lenses for my glasses and perhaps try out the vision store's new "computer glasses" so we piled the family into the SUV and went to the store. There I got my eyes checked (they were A-OK) and ordered the glasses. That was a nice way to celebrate my birthday because my old lenses were starting to give me some problems at the computer screen. So, glasses on order, off we went to dinner!

I would have to say it was indeed a fantastic dinner at Outback Steakhouse. Joy was still out of town so it was just the four of us - Sheila, Mark, Leah and me.

It's pretty pricey so we don't go there often but that night I had a delicious Ribeye steak - man was it good! We also had their "awesome blossom" of fried onions and french fries plus salad. Hey, on your birthday, you gotta have some fun so cholesterol is probably a minor concern - at least for one day! Since it was my birthday and since my youngest daughter took particular delight in passing that along to the waitress (she was getting even for her birthday in May), they brought me a nice desert item (and a song). I enjoyed the desert and it was worth listening to the horrible singing that preceded it. So, my dinner that evening was in a word - delicious and I really enjoyed it.

When we came home, Sheila presented me with my birthday surprise and it was quite a surprise! She had bought me an electric guitar! ! ! It's an absolutely beautiful instrument in black and tan colors with a white border around the outline of the guitar.



It sounds great and she included all the goodies such as a carrying case, a "blues" music book and CD, amplifier, cords and etc (even picks)!. I guess I had mentioned to her one time in the music store where Leah takes trombone lessons that I would love to really know how to play the guitar and I was admiring their many MANY electric guitars. Well, she decided to take the step that she knew I never would take - she bought me one. With the receipt of such a serious instrument, I felt compelled to be more formal about my pursuit of the guitar. I had pursued it in the past and I still have my Frederico Garcia classical guitar from the 70s but I just never found the right teacher I guess. So, I signed up for lessons at the same store where Leah learns and where Sheila purchased the guitar. My instructor is a really nice fellow who can make a guitar sit up and sing. He does a great job of challenging me with new material nearly every time I go and he helps me to learn the "proper technique" which hopefully will let me sound pretty good one day.

I am happy to report that after three months of lessons, I am finding that I really believe that one day I will be able to play the guitar with reasonable proficiency though I have no expectations of becoming the next Chet Atkins. Har har. Still, I have found that practicing the guitar is a great form of relaxation and with time I am sure I will be able to adlib a bit on it like I do on the piano.

So, all-in-all, it was a delightful and excellent day with many happy returns from family members, co-workers and many more. To all of you who participated in any way in making my day a bit brighter, I want to say thank you sincerely. It was great!

All my love,

Jerry

Where NOT to be...

Ok, I admit it. I rarely cower in the corner when a lightning storm goes by. Rather, I am probably more fascinated by it than I should be and with all my fancy electrical engineering knowledge, I just assume that I will know to watch out for my hair standing up on my head just prior to a strike so I can drop down to the ground at the last minute.

Yeah yeah, that's all good in theory but when the real thing comes around, it can really change your perspective...

Well, this afternoon, I had just a few hours between getting home from lunch and evening services at worship so I thought, hey, I'll just try to go ahead and get the yard mowed since the pickup for trash is tomorrow morning early and I really hate for the grass to sit around for a week if I don't make tomorrow's pickup. Well, the forecast was for rain today but none of that stuff seemed to be forthcoming, so I decided to drag out the mower.

It had been beautiful, breezy and bright when we got home from lunch but by the time I got the mower out and fueled up, I discovered that a black cloud was moving in. I can't say it looked like anything unusual and not really one of the heavier types either. Just a typical cloud though it was a good sized one. So far, though pretty dark in color, it was otherwise behaving itself with little thought of lightning nor rain.

So, I jumped in my indy car mower and began cutting the front lawn as fast as I could so that maybe I could get the front yard done before any real rain moved in. Well, I had just finished the front and was cutting the east side that goes back to the gate to our backyard when the rain started up. It was light at first and I thought "hey, as long as it doesn't get heavier than this and as long as the yard isn't too wet, I'll just keep going. I'm gonna need a bath anyway!".

Well, no sooner had I thought that but a lighning bolt came down some considerable distance from me to the southeast. There was the usual and reasonable delay in the report reaching my ears from the time I saw the flash so I said "hey, it's still miles away but I should probably move the mower to the front of the garage until this passes".

As fate would have it, as I started to move the mower to the garage front (which was closed), the heavier rain came in - along with some heavier and louder lightning. It seemed prudent not to leave everything in a pretty good rain, so I opened the garage door and drug it all inside out of the drips.

I stood there a few moments about six feet inside the garage watching the rain get heavier and heavier. Bigger and bigger drops were coming down now and really kerplunking off the Rendezvous and Dodge mini-van parked in the drive. The splashes got bigger and it soon became obvious to me that I would not be taking the mower back out today. So, I began re-arranging all the yard implements to put the mower back in place where it sleeps between jobs.

As I looked toward the front of the garage and the houses across the street, I was quite surprised to see a lightning bolt come down right before my very eyes! Fortunately for me, the object of its attention was not me nor the houses directly across the street but unfortunately for the occupants, it was determined to blast the house on the next street over (of which I have a very clear view between the houses across the street from me).

The bolt came down blue and bright and it struck the chimney with dead-hit accuracy and the report from the blast, instead of being the usual comfortable rumble that takes some several seconds to reach my ears, was an immediate and sharp cracking WHOOM!. As best I can describe it, you would probably compare it to standing about ten feet from a fellow who is firing a twelve-gauge shotgun and you have no hearing protection. It was incredibly loud and it happened all so fast, that I didn't even have time to jump.... I just stood there and watched.

The lightning was of course dissipated in an instant but the next several seconds were vivid. I watched as the entire side of the chimney on the south side of the house was blown out of the side of the chimney! That's right, two sections of chimney wall, about two and one-half feet wide and about three feet tall fell right out of the side. They tumbled off the side of the roof into the yard below and something resembling smoke or steam was left circulating in the air above the chimney.

To my wondering eyes, what had been a solid chimney that looks just like ours outside, was now showing its insides to the world. You could see where the bricks had been blown away and in fact, the clay flue liner was broken too with only the upper portion remaining. I guess the lower portion must have either fallen down into the chimney or blown out with the wall.

I got in my car and drove over to that neighbor's house to see if they were ok. Another neighbor had arrived too with intent to check on the occupants. The lady who came out the front door knew it had been close to her home but did not realize it had struck her home because she said electrical things inside "seemed to be working". Of course we all know that it can take days for electrical damage to show up from a lightning hit sometimes. So, the other neighbor and I explained to her that her chimney had been struck and the entire south upper wall of the chimney was now laying in her backyard. We walked around to take a look at it. There were two massive sections of bricks laying in the side yard and they had missed her air conditioner (which was still running amazingly enough) by only a couple of feet.

I suggested to her that it would be wise to call the fire department and have them check out the chimney above the roof and inside the attic to be sure nothing was smoldering. She went inside to call the fire department and I and the other neighbor headed home. A few moments later, I heard the fire department on its way to the lady's house.

First, here's a picture of the house from my garage so you can see how close it is to my home. It's the house in the background just to the left and behind the dark green tree. Look at the chimney closely.


Then, here's a closeup picture of the chimney after the blast. As you can see, the entire south side of the chimney is now gone. The fireman in the picture is inspecting for residual problems. He tugged on the east side wall in front of him several times to make certain it was still securely attached to the chimney. He removed many loose bricks and pieces of masonry and tossed them to the ground:


Last, the fireman is seen leaving the rooftop after inspecting the chimney...



Last, another close-up of the chimney....



Wow! Some excitement huh?

Here's the moral of the story boys and girls. We take it for granted that lightning is always something in the "distance". It won't hit US! Well, that's not true. If you hear lightning approaching your home, turn off and unplug expensive toys (way ahead of its arrival if possible), then stay WAY AWAY from any windows. You will NOT have time to avoid the strike if it comes down near you and it packs a WALLOP! Look at these pictures again if you doubt that. I, for one, will not be standing in the garage watching the next time an electrical storm comes along!

Well, I thank our Heavenly Father that no one was hurt and with some brick-work I'm sure the lady's home can be restored to normal. She was very lucky it did not set her roof ablaze.

So, stay safe and don't think it won't happen to you.... because it just might if you aren't careful to stay out of its way!

Love to all,

JR

p.s. - another electrical storm is on its way... so BYE!!!!!

Watching our Children Grow

I guess there are many mileposts along the road of parenthood; holding your child for the first time as they draw their first little delicate breaths, hearing them say their first words, watching as they cautiously take their first steps and ride their first bike, waving goodbye each day as they embark into middle school and then high school, and ultimately college. There are I hope many mileposts to go as yet including jobs, perhaps marriage and perhaps the miracle of grandchildren.

I recently came upon one of these significant mileposts with my son; the acquisition of his first car. Oh I suppose in the grand scheme of things, it is but a minor detour in the road of life but as shared experiences go between father and son, it is one that affects fathers significantly - perhaps more than mothers.

This weekend I assisted my son with... car shopping. He had done his homework and rather than going for the hottest looking sports car with the largest horsepower rating, he had chosen from a collection of sensibly priced and economically performing automobiles that were likely to protect him in the hopefully unlikely event of an accident. I was proud of him for his frugality and his intelligence in realizing a car is a great thing but there are other things in life worth pursuing that will require future monetary investment and so a car purchase, while important, is to be handled prudently and wisely. He had narrowed the search to a couple of models and a few test drives here and there soon rendered the decision an easy one for him. Once he had chosen the object of his motoring desires, it was off to a dealership that claimed via the internet, to have one just like he wanted. To our surprise, the vehicle was reaonsably priced, very attractive and just as described in the internet information. So, we proceeded over the next two days to purchase his future "wheels".

Yesterday, he and I traveled back to the dealership to conclude the arrangements and drive his "baby" home. It is a pretty blue car with metal flake paint and many nice features. It has sufficient power to keep him out of trouble without the excess horsepower that would likely get him in it. I won't describe it in any real detail here because he is enjoying showing it off in his blog. So, if you wish to see it, go take a look at his blog.

Today he drove ME to work! What a turn about. Instead of my driving him with me to work, he now took command of not only the controls but the entire vehicle because it is HIS vehicle! Wow.

When I look at his vehicle I realize how he must feel because I remember how proud and how enamored I was with my first vehicle; a Chevy II (Nova) with a 230 cubic inch inline six cylinder engine. I could well imagine my father having similar thoughts about my first car - that it was enough vehicle to protect me without tempting me to excesses in terms of acceleration.

I guess I view my son's car with mixed emotions. Of course I am happy for him to have such a fine vehicle and the means to afford it. I am happy that it provides him with a sense of independence and self direction and yet it is probably those same things that affect me personally the most.

Yes, his car is a symbol of his coming of age. It is a reminder to "Dad" that his "little boy" is growing up and sprouting wings and here is a sure sign of it. Oh yes, I know, my "little boy" hasn't been little for some 8 years but I guess you never stop feeling that way about your children as a parent. As he grows more assertive in terms of what he wants out of life, becomes more mobile, more capable, and certainly more self directed, it is a time for me to pass the steering wheel to him in more than the automotive sense. I do so reluctantly out of love knowing that for him to fly, he must test the air. I can warn him of the turbulent zones, the things in life that are downdrafts and the joy of the updrafts but it is ultimately he alone who will control the course of his flight.

So, as I ponder these new thoughts brought about by the simple purchase of an automobile - something I have personally done a dozen times or more (but without these kinds of feelings), I consider the fact that I am proud of my son and I am happy for him as he grows into adulthood. He is a fine man and a very intelligent and capable individual.

Our children grow up, sure - that's just part of the physical side of our lives. We all grow older if we are blessed with good health and avoid the accidents of life. However, I think, for parents, our children no matter how capable, no matter how adult in behavior or responsibility, are always our children in our hearts. I don't suppose we can help but feel that way.

So, I am thankful to God for my son and for my daughters. I am thankful that my son and I have lived to see this day and I pray everytime he heads out on another journey in his new "love" that his trip will be a safe one and watched over by our Father in Heaven.

May God continue to watch over you too.....

Take care my loved ones.....

Jerry

Buying a Used Car

Well, I really hate buying cars. I put it right up there with root canals. It's not that the final result isn't altogether pleasant; I mean, who doesn't like driving a nice new (at least to them) shiny vehicle? For guys, it's a rite of maleness; a requirement so that we may stroll about the grassy meadow beating upon our chests and grunting at all the other males in the community saying - "...hey look - this is MY car!". For women, it's a larger purse on wheels in which to pile most everything they own and as long as a noise is heard when the key is turned and the long skinny pedal is mashed to the floorboard, life is good (maintenance - what is maintenance?) - ok, I fully expect to get some comments on that one.... ;o)

Anyway, I really hate buying cars. It's not that I think that every car salesman is a sleasy, no-good, lying, morally bankrupt, self promoting, thief who is out to work me over any way he can (is it?) but it's just the fact that you have to burn an entire day in the process of procurring your new mechanical baby. I'd really prefer to see a big gigantic car vending machine where you walk up and put in your money (or bank loan papers) and out pops a shiny new vehicle with a warranty that covers it longer than you will live. Yes, that would be great; entire time required for the process, 15 minutes; 1 minute to insert the required money/paperwork and 14 minutes to walk around the car and admire it.

Well, I'd have to say (and this doesn't come easily) that CarMax has taken this process (at least for used vehicles) as close to my desire as possible. I found the entire car buying experience to be very satisfying and I don't say that lightly. The vehicles were all very clean and neat, they had reasonably low mileage, they were backed in many cases by long warranties (up to 60,000 miles additional or 5 years) and customer satisfaction actually seemed important to them (imagine that!). There is no haggling (just like they say on the commercials) and their vehicles were priced fairly (not so cheap that it's a giveaway-a-thon or so expensively that you have to keep saying "are you kidding or what?"). Their service department thus far has been courteous and polite and they seem to really stand behind their first 30 days no fault guarantee that you are happy with your vehicle. So, I would have to give them high marks for making my usual root canal experience a pleasurable one instead. So, Sheila has a new Rendezvous and I have no bad memories of the purchase process - that's a pretty good outcome!

I hope your next vehicle purchase experience is as enjoyable. - See ya!..... Jerry

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST - A Personal Narrative of Life with Microsoft

Ok... I'm not really Richard Henry Dana, Jr., so I suppose I should drop the silly allegory. However, I suppose I am starting to understand something of what he felt.

I feel like I've been chained to Microsoft Word now for years(it's actually been weeks - but who's counting?). I am working on the wonderful stage of product development in which we define every last jot, tittle, and nuance of meaning related to the specific satisfaction of a list of requirements handed down by the customer, massaged by the system engineer and dropped quite firmly in our laps. Now we pour over a hot monitor to impart every last detail of essence into a document that very likely no one will ever read. I guess in theory it goes like this... Boss: "Go forth and document - be fruitful and multiply the pages...." Engineer: "Yes my Liège". Engineer pours over odd looking and unusually ungainly template form for the functional design specification. Returns to boss. Engineer "but it's horrible looking!" Boss: "Go forth and document...." Engineer returns to Microslop Werd. Engineer writes a page or two. Returns to boss. "Done.... Now, on to the CODING!!!!". Boss: "Not so fast Mario - remember, this document has to cover every possible nuance of the design in case you get hit by a garbage truck". Engineer "I'll look both ways when crossing the street." Boss "Go forth and document and show theyself well approved in the tracing of thy requirements". Engineer returns to Microsloft Wrd. Stares at screen. Plays with pencil on desk. Changes out current selection of MP3s (Removes "top 10 polka hits", puts on Tom Jones singing "It's not unusual....."). Stares at screen some more. Types in a couple more pages of dribble. Returns to boss. "Done.... now on to the CODING!!!!!". Boss "I don't think so - let's see the FDS". Engineer stares at floor, drags toe around on the carpet, finally looks up and says "you know we aren't going to make our schedule if I have to waste time on documentation!" Boss "I've heard that one before .... go forth and document!".......

Ok, maybe it's not quite that bad but who ever said an engineer loves to do paperwork? Paperwork is for accountants. Paperwork is for accounts receivable clerks. Paperwork is for origami experts. Let's face it, paperwork is for the birds (if they are in a cage). Most engineers won't get near it. However, in steps ISO and makes us behave. Everybody wants to be ISO. It's what tells the customer that you might know what you are doing (emphasis might) but at least even if you don't know how to do what you are doing, at least you can repeat it! It gives repeatability!

Ah the lovely standards bodies and certifications organizations. Imagine the industy that has arisen out of making "quality" a household buzzword. Of course every engineer wants to produce a quality product. He just doesn't want to have to design the whole thing on paper before he starts turning the ole wrenches and getting some good ole grease all over him! Yeah - that's what I'm talking about! Argh Argh Argh (a Tim Allen tribute and manly moment).

Yes, all engineers want to skip the dopey design phase and go straight to flinging that sucker together! It's a fact. Nothing is quite so rewarding as watching your creation "evolve" before your very eyes. Of course, nothing is nearly so hard to maintain as something that came into existence through man-made evolution. Ah reality. What a pain. Ok, so front end documenting is probably a good idea - but at least make the other guy do it not me!!!!

:'{ (crying face)

Ok, so I am now in the final week three of a tough documentation project. I'm tired, I'm beat, and I think I need new glasses but that's another problem. On the bright side, I have no social life so I'm saving money and I'm getting a nice tan from the monitor (the whole face glowing in the dark at night thing has me a bit concerned but I'm sure it will pass). The wife is kind enough to throw a towel over my head at night so the glowing won't disturb her sleep.

Anway, it's all due this week and then we have the ego-less beating to death of my infant child (document) by merciless Hessians whose sole delight in life is to criticize me and my child. Then they will forward pages of design review comments that say things like "on page 10, paragraph 3, section 1.2.4.2.3.2.1 - you forgot to put a period at the end of the sentence". Then I get to revise the whole thing and sit through another Smashbrothers session. Hey, it doesn't get much more fun than this. Oh well, it is the way of the Force and I must follow it. Because it's better. I know it is because they tell me that..... and they couldn't be wrong now.... could they?

Well, one more day of drudgery to go (actually it's a holiday - lucky me - that gives me another 17 hours to document!).

On a lighter note, I was flattered today because my wife called me "Tim" (referring to Tim Allen). The circumstances were quite funny. We were having lunch at our favorite Chinese place today (Sorry Joy) and while we were eating, this other family got up from their table and put coats on intending to leave. It was a young couple and they had two small children - a boy around age 4 and a girl around age 2 plus a pair of obvious grandparents. Well, as they got ready to go, this little girl (cute as a button! - wait a minute... why do they say that? since when is a button cute? what kind of button would it have to be to be a "cute button"? are some buttons more cute than others? if so, how do the other buttons feel about that? is there an organization that defends un-cute buttons from unfair discrimination in the "ain't it cute" work space?..... but I digress....) Anyway, this really cute little two-year-old girl walks up to me and she just stands there smiling this really beautiful little smile. She has this expectant look on her face and she just stares at me and smiles expectantly. She totally ignores everyone else (including her brother who is trying to retrieve her) and she just smiles at me. Well, once the adults were clad in full winter garb (it was barely 10F today here), they finally gather up the little tike and off they go. That's when my wife laughed and said "well Tim!". I didn't get it immediately but then it finally hit me - oh, she's talking about the scene in The Santa Clause (#1) where Tim is sitting on a park bench (in full Santa beard but dressed in Sears best) and these little kids start walking up to him and wanting to tell him what they want for Christmas. Of course the little kids are the only ones who know him as Santa because he's dressed in his civies.

Well, I really had to laugh at that. I could see her point - the little girl was looking at me just as if I were Santa and she was ready to recite the list of 2006 goodies she would be expecting come December. Very cute and of course I was flattered to be even momentarily linked with my favorite comedian. Everybody who knows me knows that I am personally trying to wear out my DVD players with repeated playings of "The Santa Clause (#1 and #2 - of course) and Galaxy Quest - my two favorite movies of all time.

It was quite a day. Well, back to da dockyamentin!!! (I've really got to stop drinking caffeine laden coke late at night).

Good night all. Have a nice week coming up and I send my love your way.

Jerry

I leave you with this thought....

There once was a young engineer,
Who feared that his boss would appear,
and ask him to write,
just for meanness and spite,
a document large and most drear.

A joke for you

I thought this one was particularly funny so I would share it with you....

This very blonde young woman decided she was tired of all the "blonde" jokes so she went to her favorite beauty parlor and had her hair colored.... bright red!

As she drove home through the country afterwards, she spied a shepherd standing alongside the roadway - tending his sheep.

She stopped and watched the peaceful animals grazing for a while and chatted politely with the shepherd. After some time, she looked over at him and said "Hey, I got a challenge for you - if I tell you exactly how many sheep are in that field, you give me one.... ok?"

The shepherd thought about it a minute (there were a lot of sheep in the field) and he said "sure - go ahead and give it a try"

The woman quickly replied "There are 258 sheep!"

Astonished, the shepherd replied "You are absolutely right! Well, a deal's a deal - go pick out your sheep".

The young woman looked over the sheep for a moment or two and then strode out into the field to collect her reward.

As she walked back to her car prize in hand, the shepherd said "Hey lady, I got a challenge for you....."

"I'll tell you what your natural hair color is and if I get it right.....


you give me back my dog!"

;o)

Now THAT's funny!

Keep smiling - Jerry

Officially smart person

Well, tonight was the night. We went to the high school and watched Leah be inducted into the National Honor Society. We were so very happy for her and proud of her for her accomplishment. Each of the current members of the NHS came forward and introduced two of the new members for this year. Leah sat toward the front - second row, on the right - far end.

At the appointed time, they announced her contributions to the school in terms of Wind Symphony, Marching Band and the school pride award she received a couple of months ago for her work at the school (Leah tutors other students in English each day). Leah marched across the stage, signed the log book, and lit her candle in the centerpiece (there were four candles on the center table that stand for: Service, Scholarship, Character and Leadership plus the one candle (in the center) used by each new inductee to light their own. Parents were asked to stand as "their" student was announced and we were happy to do so when Leah was announced. I sent pictures (screen captures) to all the family Ceiva's tonight so our extended family could see some of the proceedings. When I have time, I will edit the proceedings into a video DVD.

A reception was held in the cafeteria. We decided to leave shortly after so we could celebrate with Leah in a private dinner (Olive Garden - her second choice because Fudd's won first place - but sadly was closed by the time we got there). As we were walking out of the building, Leah smiled and laughed and said ... "now I am officially smart!" (as she pinned her NHS pin to her blouse. ;o)

It was an enjoyable evening. Wish you could have been there. Hope you get to see the pictures soon. I'll try to get them up on the web site too.

Best regards,

Jerry

Leah Inducted

One last thought for tonight....

I forgot to mention that Leah will be inducted into the National Honor Society tomorrow! That's quite an honor and she has worked hard to earn it. We are proud of her for her accomplishment.

Take care - Jerry

The Fog....

An odd weather thing happened today - during the night last night, a dense fog set into our area. Apparently, while the fog was coating most everything in sight, the temperature dropped down below freezing. The result was that the trees, shrubs and other stuff ended up coated in ice! It was beautiful this morning. Each delicate branch was coated in ice and it looked like a fairy land with all the trees glowing in the early morning sun. It was truly a unique sight. I took some pictures and posted them on our family web page. Check them out!

It's been a good weekend and believe it or not, tonight I finally got our Christmas tree out the door (whether it needed it or not!). Come to think of it, it needed it. It wasn't the dryest one I have ever thrown away but it was getting there; not quite a cactus yet but not suitable for turning the lights on (unless you actually like flambe de Christmas tree) I do not prefer indoor fires unless they are actually "inside" the fireplace. So, sadly, another Christmas period is officially over because the tree has hit the curb. We still have remaining Xmas type items to put away but at least the urgent one has been dealt with.

I'm teaching the adult bible class at Church this semester and we are studying the life of Christ in chronological order. It's a fair amount of work in that I put some 5-8 hours each week into the preparation including slides, notes, and hand-outs. The class is a popular study and I am learning a lot (as teachers always do when trying to teach their students). We are just getting to the birth of Christ after talking about the gospels, their intended audiences, the prophesies and the birth of John. Next week we talk a bit about Herod (one bad dude).

I was thinking about my kiddo's a lot today. We have lots of little ones at Church these days. They range in age from a couple of months up to 11. There are a few after that in the teen years too. Seeing them run about and act so happy made me think of my own children and how precious they are to me and how much I miss those days when they were little.

I talked to Sam for quiet a while tonight - Sam's 10. He talked about how much he enjoys reading, his pizza party on Friday (coming), his gym class, his ice cream party on Friday too (for reading a certain number of books) and etc. He's quite the pleasant and talkative little fellow and he's quite bright. He reminded me of Mark when Mark was the same age - many lifetimes ago....

I guess life has a cruel aspect to it in that you never can really fully appreciate the gift that your children are to you while they are little and living at home. Oh I know we love them and we care about them but we are so busy wiping noses (and other stuff), taking them to sporting events, music lessons, school things, scout things, and etc that the daily cares of life kind of diminish our ability to see clearly.... and specifically - to see how lonely life is going to be without them some day. I have enjoyed each stage of my children's lives. I think I enjoy them even more now that they are all maturing so well and they are able to converse intelligently about things that matter to them - even very serious things. I am happy that they are becoming adults and able to take care of themselves. Yet, a part of me still longs for those sweet days of the past when me and three little people would flop on the couch on Lanesend Drive and watch some silly Disney or Nickelodeon show.

It all goes by so very quickly! I don't think any young parent (having been told this by an older parent) really understands this - or at least truly appreciates it's meaning and impact. However, someday they will.....

Well, a new week emerges from the sleepy haze of the weekend. I hope yours was restful for you and you too have your now defunct Xmas tree sitting outside for the next trash collection if you haven't done so already (I'm sure you have).

Kiss somebody you love. Tell them how important they are to you. Hug them and tell them how much they mean in your life. - Repeat, smile then repeat.... you get the idea.

My best to you for the coming week.... Jerry

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....

Well, tonight we are getting a pretty good snow! Yes! By morning we may have somewhere between 4-9" depending on how it tracks. Yippee!

It's not one of our really big snows but hey, every snow is great. It looks nice coming down tonight and the crazy Shelties just love it. I turned them out an hour ago and they barked with glee as they bounded through the snow. They love it. However, they don't love the towel that greets them when they come inside (can't have wet doggies walking around the house!).

I even decided to put a picture of the snowfall on our web page so check out my WX (ham radio operator abbreviation for "weather") link on my web page.

Well, the Bejeweled competition continues between Sheila and Joy with some considerable ferocity. I was told this evening by my wife that she has established a new lead in the race for Bejeweled dominance. If you haven't played Bejeweled, check it out on the Internet. It's quite an addictive little game.

It's been a good week with the new project at work. The complexity of what we are attempting to do is a bit daunting but hey, it will be fun once we get all the facts together. Right now, it is a bit challenging to be sure we cover all the issues. Still, things are lookin good so far. It's going to be a busy period for the next few months.

Well, it's time for bed. I hope this weekend affords you (and me) some rest and perhaps the beauty of nature (if you are also lucky enough to get some snow). Sadly my weather station doesn't measure snow... I'll just have to work on that....... hmmm....

Goodnight and take care,

Jerry

Christmas past

Well, as the saying goes, all good things come to an end. That is sadly true of the winter holidays as well. As we have finally reached the end of my two college kids' vacation period, it was necessary to return them to college again.

Well, yesterday was truly a long day but I am thankful to God for the safe passage he afforded me and the kids. Sheila had to work, so I got them all packed up here (took till about 1:30 PM) and then unloaded and installed at their apartment again. Joy and I went grocery shopping too and we all had a few bites of pizza before I headed back home around 8:30 PM. That much of the day was long but uneventful. I would have been home around 11pm but for an apparently serious and bad wreck south of Gibson. They must have had every piece of emergency equipment out that they could muster. We were forced to make a perimeter loop around the accident scene; looping out about 5 miles around it. You could see it from the loop though. They had emergency vehicles all over the highway – covered about ½ mile of road I would guess. The end result is that I saw one ambulance going south from the accident scene with lights flashing after they first detoured me and then as we went around the detour loop, we had to stop three times for three other ambulances to go by. So, it must have been very serious. All the ambulances “appeared” to have people inside they were treating as evidenced by the lights being on inside and the technician working over someone. Very sobering indeed. It was raining and I attribute the accident to the wet roads although the road at that spot is quite straight. I hope those people fair ok following the incident. I have often thought of this possibility many times myself. I usually say several prayers along the route that God will keep me and the people coming at me at a closing speed of 110-120 mph….. safe. A sobering thought as well.

Even though Christmas is now well and truly behind us and tax time approaches, it was a good holiday and I enjoyed our time together. I look forward to the summer when hopefully the kids will return although Mark may be going off to his new vocation then. Guess we will see what the future brings.

So, today, it is back to school for all my kids - their usual state and back to work for me. I am enjoying the new project but we are in the daunting startup phase of the project so it is going to take a bit to get things under control well enough that we can proceed forward with the work. That's kind of the normal state of things. The initial phase is quite difficult in that you want to be sure you have captured all the requirements for the work before you begin the work. Hopefully we will be done with that very shortly.

My weather station continues to update regularly and is a source of much amusement and enjoyment. I have it updating our web page daily now (including rainfall measurements) and it mails the data to me at work periodically too. It has been a lot of fun.

Well, gotta get to work and start the new week. All my best to all of you and I hope you have a good week too!

Jerry

More fun with the Weather Station

Well, today I got the rain gauge mounted on the fence and connected to the remote unit of my new weather station. So, I am now able to receive rain data too. This is really fun. I now have the weather station doing the following:
1) updates my web page every 5 minutes (via ftp)
2) sends an email to my work email address on the hour showing the current weather
3) emails out my weather data to my friend Peter at 6 a.m. every day - who travels from Indiana every day to work and therefore it is handy for him to know what kind of weather he is driving "into"
Great fun with a Christmas present!

Today was a good day - I was off work because of my son and we got some good results. Mark had some tests at the outpatient clinic and it all turned out good. So, that's a relief and something to be thankful to God for indeed. I love my son very deeply. It still hits me hard when he must endure the medical things that I have grown used to over the years. Yeah, I know he's an adult now and able to deal with stuff on his own but it never stops me from feeling like his father and that he might perhaps need me during times of stress. I guess that's the way it is with our children. We want to spare them all the less than pleasant things we have experienced along the bumpy road of life. Well, I'm glad that's over and I'm sure he will feel better tomorrow.

I was happy to get my emulator working at my vocation on Monday. It is a debug tool for solving problems with the software that runs in our CPU card. It had been giving me some trouble and so with some help from another engineer, we were able to get it to load the latest compiled code into the CPU for testing purposes. Now that it works, I am ready-to-go for development activity on the new project. Now all I need to do is read all the documents we have available to us so I can see what are the next steps to beginning this substantial feature.

We ordered pizza this evening and watched a couple of movies with the kids today including one called "The Village" by M. Night Shyamalan - one of my more favorite movie producers. Nothing too very horrible ever happens in his movies and they always have a substantial surprise buried in them. Things are rarely what they appear in his movies. He seems like a very likeable young guy with a great vision for cinemetography. Anyway, if you haven't seen The Village - check it out at your local video rental store.

It's back to work tomorrow but I have much to do so that's good.

Thinking about all the family members who are in need of prayers lately and God's support and thankful my son is ok. Those things will surely be in my prayers as I end my day with a little Bible reading.

May God look after all of you. Goodnight and all my love,

Jerry

Ok, long time no blog....

Well, it's been a long time since I commented on my blog - the 23rd to be exact. I'm back.

I had a great Xmas with the kids. They are with us a few more days before school starts back up again. I hate to see the end of the holidays. I look forward to it all year, anticipate it with great joy and dread the return to work and loss of my kids to the school systems again. Thus is life though.

Xmas was nice. I received a new weather station (in amateur radio, the abbreviation for weather is "wx"). I put it up pretty quickly after receiving it and I now have a PC interface that allows the weather to be transferred over to my PC from the weather station. It is wireless and communicates to the "outside pieces" over RF. I have really enjoyed it. It seems that it tracks the local airport weather very accurately.

If you want to see what our weather looks like at any given time, just go to our family web page and take a look - I added a screen there that updates every 5 minutes via my weather station. I hope you enjoy it.

New Years was fun. We gathered at Don Jr's and all the kids exchanged gifts and we opened our packages from the Lemleys Sr. We even got to talk to them a bit on video camera - ah - ain't technology great! It was really nice to feel a bit closer since they could not come here due to health concerns.

It was great to see WV win the Sugar Bowl - first time they had ever won the Sugar Bowl. Great effort and smart football play all through the game lead them to a great victory over the gators. Well done, WV!

We have seen many good movies this holiday season including "Harry Potter and the whatever it was", Narnia, King Kong (well it was fairly good - impressive in terms of what they can do but very gory), Fun with Dick and Jane (a remake of an old Jane Fonda/George Segal vehicle that was very funny back in the day) and tonight we saw Pride and Prejudice - an excellent movie if you are into "chick flicks" - aka lots of love, lots of crying, lots of romance, lots of emotion. It was really good and well acted. One of the impressive things about the "period" in which this took place was the respect with which men and women greeted each other and with which they conducted themselves in conversation - it was refreshing given the casual and sloppy (even familiar) behavior that occurs between them today when they barely even know one another. We could benefit from a little less familiarity or assumption and a little more polite respect.

Well, gotta turn in for the night. I hope this night finds you peacefully resting in bed and looking forward to the new year. Happy New Year to all of you and may you be healthy and happy all year.

Love - Jerry