Halloween pumpkin carving....

Well, Kelly and I have done this annually for as long as I can remember... or at least as long as we have been married... wait.. that is the same thing. LOL... Anyway, in the Marriage B.C. years (married but before children for those of you who don't know), we used to do about 3-4 pumpkins EACH. In fact, we even hosted a pumpkin carving party one year when Connor was only about 6 months old.

As we get older and the kids get older and they continue their energy-sucking ways out of us, the pumpkin carving has become less and less. Especially now that they want to help so much. We at least get two done every year though. This year they have graduated to marking the pumpkins for us, though we still do most (or all) of the carving. They picked the patterns, and I think they turned out pretty well.

The finished product...

Good Guys Wear Black!

FINALLY! After all these years the good old guys in black are back as World Champs! Now granted, I have come late to the White Sox fan base. Kel and I lived in Chicago for eight years while I went to grad school. I knew all about the Cubs due to WGN Superstation and the fact they were National League. I knew next to nothing about the White Sox. But getting tickets to White Sox games was a WHOLE lot easier, and it wasn't long before we were getting out to a few games per year. I remember sitting in the right field bleachers at Comiskey (I refuse to call it that corporate sponsored crap they have now) for 3 games out of the last 4 games of the season in a 4 game series with the Texas Rangers in a battle for their division. I remember the pain of all the talk of the White Sox being the favorites to win the World Series in 1994 when the strike hit and there was NO playoffs, much less a World Series. Until the day we moved away, that was still a sore point with White Sox fans - we felt robbed!

Now since I have left Chicago my work has kept me too busy to stay in the loop, though caught myself getting back in the loop this season as they tore up the league. But I remember sitting and watching Ozzie, Tim Raines, Joey Cora, Harold Bains PLAY for the White Sox, not COACH. Kinda bizarre to see fiery Ozzie MANAGING, when there were times he needed the MOST managing when playing! LOL... I remember BlackJack McDowell, Jason Bere, Bo Jackson, and even the Michael Jordan debacle/experiment. I remember going to a game on the spur of the moment after work with Kelly and Connor when he was only months old... on a weeknight... and getting to sneak down in the stands behind home plate, watching the game as we held our new, first child. And I remember the brats! Oh, the Comiskey brats! LOL

Now it's the Konerko's, the Uribe's, the Crede's, the Pierzynski's, the Dye's, and so on. And don't even get me started on the pitching! WOW...

Anyway, I just wanted to give props to a true blue-collar, working-guy, regular Joe team that worked AS A TEAM all the way to the World Championship!

Fall Break trip to the mountains

Well, evidently here in Georgia the kids get a Fall Break in addition to Spring Break. So last week they had Thursday, Friday, and Monday of this week off. My family (sisters and their families and my parents) have been wanting to do a big family weekend getaway, so we decided to head to the mountains north in the state. We couldn't find anything available to us in the north Georgia mountains, but did find some chalets at Lake Guntersville State Park in North Alabama. So we headed up Friday morning and had a blast til Sunday when we headed back. Lots of hiking, a bit of fishing, and some just good old sit around and do nothing in the evenings.


The boys had not done any hiking in quite some time. Not since a couple summers ago at Theodore National Park out in western North Dakota. And that is more hiking around buttes and canyons. They had never done any hiking on mountains. Though excited, they quickly tired...LOL (especially Connor). Still they had a wonderful time.

We decided on Saturday afternoon to go on a hike on a trail the smaller kids (Mitch and Katie) could handle. We found one that was supposed to be relatively flat and short. Well, we decided to branch off that one after a while onto another, and it turned out we had to hike down (and back up) a small cliff face! It was fun, and the kids were real troopers! Mitch tired out on the way back though, so I had to hike the last half mile or so with him on my shoulders. Yeah. That was enjoyable!

We didn't get to fish as much as Connor wanted to, so I promised I would take him and Luke out to my parents' house on the lake Monday morning to fish. I ended up having to paddle an old aluminum boat which again was loads of fun, but they had a blast. There seemed to be more playing with minnows than actual fishing, but in typical fashion, Connor always catches at least one!

No time or energy for witty descriptions of things, but I just hadn't updated the place in a while so thought I would throw this up. For more pics of the trip, just click on the Flickr badge thingy in the menu bar on the right over there... I put up some of the better pics there...

Do NOT try this at home!

So my Sunday school class has our monthly social gathering last night. We try to have a different theme each time, and last night's was a home made chili and ice cream "cook off." I am proud to say that Kel's chili came in second place, and her ice cream won first prize!

But never, I mean NEVER, do this all in one night....There were 9 different chili recipe's to sample, and three different home made ice cream flavors. Being the good and dutiful judge, I sample ALL NINE types of chili, two of them twice. I then proceeded to sample only one of the type of ice cream (Kel's... the other two were kinds I knew I did not like)... but I had two full bowls of hers - chocolate ice cream, with like multiple chunks of chocolate and cocoa melted into it, as well as Reese's Fast Break candy bars, with peanut butter cookie dough chunks mixed in...made with eight eggs, whipping cream, and so on... can you say heart-attack-in-a-bowl? I thought you could...

Needless to say, the rest of my evening last night was not pleasant. I have not felt that crappy in I-don't-know-how-long... One of those times where you wish you could just, um, regurgitate the entire contents of your stomach and get rid of the evil that lurks inside your belly... but can't. I mean, doubled over, writhing in pain stomach ache... but doubling over put more pressure on your stomach, hurting more... then you had to stretch out to ease the pain a bit, but then end up doubled over again? Yeah. That kind of stomach ache. Half bottles of Tums and Pepto Bismol later, I am at least able to move this morning...SLOWLY. I have no idea how I am gonna make it through today seeing patients all day. At least I get to sit on my butt all day. But it is like I am moving in slow motion this morning... if I take a step too fast, the nausea comes rushing back! Yuck!

Just say no to chili/ice cream cook off's in the same evening. You'll thank me for it later.

Hitchhiker's Guide to Crap

Ok. So I have seen the previews for the HHGG movie, and thought it looked funny. Since it is now out on DVD I thought I would give it a rent. But before I did, I wanted to read the book. Yes, even though I loved that kind of stuff when I was a kid/teen, I never read anything from the HHGG series. So I, um, "searched" around on the internet for an ebook version I could download to my PDA. I just finished reading it, and I can say is...

wow...

What a complete and total waste of several hours of my life!

HHGG had to be the most tedious, boring, unfunny, extremely poorly written, inane, disjointed, incomplete drivel I think I have ever read!

Go on, flame me. This book was so bad that I don't care how you try to convince me otherwise. It ain't happening. It started interestingly, with things left unsaid and potential character development and plot issues left enticingly undeveloped to pull you into the book. But it stayed there. You followed these guys along for the whole book, with things thrown out there for you to think, "Wow I wonder where that is going to go?" But then Douglas Adams never went back and did anything with it. It's like it was his own personal joke to throw people setups with no punch lines or follow-through. He just leaves them hanging out there. I can understand the abrupt ending since it was a series. But there were abrupt endings and dead ends throughout this waste of paper and pixels.

Wow. I am just floored that this book has such a following. No. I take that back. I am floored who this endless string of words has such a fan following. I cannot in good conscious actually call HHGG a "book." I feel that term is reserved for pieces of literature that have adequate plot, character development, and correct sentence structure and grammar. HHGG had none of that.

The one good thing is now I know I will be saving valuable hours of my life by not reading any more of this series.

Spit some milk out your nose...

I know a bunch of ya'’ll already know about this place, but I find myself forgetting about it, remembering it, sitting at the computer screen for over an hour laughing, and eventually forgetting it again for months until my memory gets triggered again. For those of you who don't know of the place, it is loaded with funny video clips, audio clips, pranks, flash animations, pictures, games, and so on. I just find myself sitting in front of the screen clicking....and clicking... and clicking... Granted, some of the stuff is a little too off color for my tastes, but a lot of it is fairly clean and hilarious!

The tag line for the site is:

eBaum's World - Media For The Masses - funny videos, flash games, jokes, clean humor, hilarious flash, funny pics, office humor, prank phone calls, flash cartoons, optical illusions, and tons more!

Long tag line, but it really is chock full of all that. My latest favorite is the kid in the National Spelling Bee competition who does a spot-on Napoleon Dynamite impersonation...

...anyway, nothing major to add... just thought you'd like a little milk-through-the-nose time waster resource...

I'm gettin' real tired, ya'll...

I'm getting burnt out. I am blessed with a very healthy practice right now, but cursed with no prospects for hiring a colleague to help out. I am seeing patients til 7:00 pm or 8:00 pm just about every night. I am booked solid (yes, no free slots at all at 60 hours per week) for the next month straight, and am booked daily for psychological evaluations through mid-November already. The only time I have now for the deluge of paperwork and reports is, well, right now. It is 11:38 pm. I was at the office at 7:00 am this morning working on reports. Started seeing patients at 8:00 am. Didn't stop til 8:00 pm.

Sorry to vent. But I am getting worn out.

And to top it off, coming home is no relief. For one, I have to bring work home. So it really isn't a break anyway. But the boys have been rough lately too. Well, those of you who know about my three sons know it is never a break at home, but it seems to have been especially stressful lately. I need time to decompress from the day and the stories I hear all day. And lately I just ain't getting that. It's a dangerous combination.

No, no need to call 911 or remove all sharps from my home. LOL... But I definitely am in the midst of a Job (that's the Biblical Job, not job, LOL) time of life, and definitely in an "Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood" moment.

For those inclined, pray for me and the practice and that I will find someone to hire on staff. For those not inclined, do it anyway. LOL

Thanks for letting me sit on the couch for a while.

See ya at the Pole... this is wonderful...

Now I have heard about the Youth Christian movement, and one of the things they do across the country, called See ya at the Pole (SYATP). This is a day when Christian teens in junior high and high schools meet at the flag pole in the front of their school before school begins for a time of worship, prayer, and meditation. When I lived in Bismarck I had a friend who is a youth pastor, and I remember him talking about going to the high schools to be with the youth as they did this. However, I have never seen it myself. Well, yesterday was SYATP day. As I was driving by my church, I saw a huge crowd at the flag pole in front. See, we are temporarily housing a private Christian school at my church for the next couple of years until the school gets their building completed. So of course, this doesn't surprise me that a Christian school would be involved in SYATP. But it made me curious about the other schools in town. It just so happens that one of the two main high schools in town is on my way to my office, so I made sure to drive by on the way. The front of this school is the "hang out" spot before school, where all cliques, groups, racial and ethnic conglomerations, and so on, congregate before the first bell. The flag pole s dead in the center of this mass of adolescent flesh and hormonology (LOL), so I was curious to see how faithful the Christian teens would be to SYATP in this environment. As I drove by, in the midst of all this stuff, I saw three separate rings of teens holding hands deep in prayer...focused on their internal worship and oblivious to the groups around them. It was wonderful to see about 50 teenagers in a public school unabashedly and unashamed in their faith, and boldly expressing that faith literally in the midst of their secular world.

I wish I had pictures of it. It was a powerful image.

To all you Christian teenagers out there, others are seeing what you are doing, and lives can be changed as a result. Rock on.

Just because I feel like it...

...thought I would post some old pics that I had put up on our old MSN XBLF pages... I know one is your personal favorite, LSG...LOL



Here, Lulu evidently got a little upset with ike... Hope he's okay... what will little ike do?!







And here, Lulu's foreman caught her dipping into Sluggy's Special Blend a bit too much....




First, we almost didn't make to Guntersville for our Annual River Trip.....
...and then this really put a damper on the trip and slowed us down a bit!



Yep... it is getting to be close to good ol' deer season down south... but I think that the deer are mounting a coup this year... I fear their dreaded Bambi Kamikazee Squadron... here's the carnage that can happen when they die for their cause...




What can I say? This guy was just an idiot. Or blind. Or both.

And for LSG, her personal favorite....

Innocence shattered...

So I have decided I am gonna try to put at least one thing on this blog daily, even if it is just a one line quote or something... but today, I have something kind of sad...

So Kelly calls me as I am going to pick up a prescription for our 9 year old son, Connor, and says, "Well, Connor learned the hard way not to stick his middle finger out today." Turns out he was standing in line for something at school, and a kid next to him said something about something having wet paint on it. Connor wiped on it with his middle finger - yes, the bird finger - and held it up to the boy and said, "See? That paint isn't wet." Well, when this kid saw the middle finger held up in front of him, he evidently freaked out. He called the teacher over to them and told her Connor flipped him off. Connor has no clue about "the bird" - he is the most loving, caring, soft-hearted, and generally innocent boy I know - and freaked out likewise because he had no clue why he was getting in so much trouble. His teacher started lambasting him about how inappropriate and rude his behavior was and that he should never do that again and so on and so forth. Connor was trying his best to explain what happened but his teacher kept interrupting him and never let him speak or explain.

Poor Connor comes home with the dreaded "red note" from his teacher to Kel and me telling us that he should be "taught how inappropriate his behavior was" or some such garbage. He asks Kelly if she knows what is so bad about the middle finger, and playing dumb she says, "No Connor, what is so bad about the middle finger?" He says, "See?! You don't know either!" He told Kelly, "She wouldn't let me explain! I tried to tell her the only reason I used that finger was because of the wart on my other finger." See, he has this little seed wart on his pointing finger and is embarrassed by it. Further, Connor tends to use his middle finger a lot in pointing, like when he is reading and following the words in his book, and so forth.

So here's this poor innocent kid who does something innocent. But because of our jaded and antisocial and post-Columbine society, it is assumed that he is being aggressive and harassing when that couldn't be further from the truth!

Chaps my hide something fierce I tell ya!

Needless to say, Kelly called Connor's teacher immediately and tried to explain. But his teacher maintained her annoyed tone and basically told us that we need to do a better job in preparing our children for this crappy, antisocial, and harassing society we live in. Thank you for the advice, Ms. Latimore. But I think I would like for my innocent child to remain innocent as long as he can. Society is going to taint him soon enough.

While I was at the pharmacy picking up his prescription, I bought Connor some pads to help get rid of that wart.

Maybe that kid and Ms. Latimore will wake up with some tomorrow.

The new phone books are here! (Sort of...)

The new phone books are here! The new phone books are here! Sort of…

Well, that’s how I felt… a full-on Steve-Martin-The-Jerk-running-through-the-gas-station moment when Microsoft finally revealed the formal release date for the Xbox 360 in the US… November 22. At midnight I presume.

Though a bunch of people (well, Brian at least…LOL) are not happy with this date – so close to Thanksgiving holiday and the dreaded after Thanksgiving shopping frenzy, I am lovin’ it! Having my own business where, if I don’t work and see patients, I don’t make my house payment and little Johnny doesn’t get the GI Joe with the Kung Fu grip for Christmas, means that frivolously taking days off are out of the question. So launching the week or two before, or the week after, would mean that I would pick up my 360 at midnight on Tuesday, then just get teased for the next four days as I had to work every day til Friday. Now, I get to pick it up Tuesday at midnight, and toy with it a teeny bit for a couple of nights until Thursday when I will have two days off for the holiday!

w00t!

One major question down… two to go:

1. What are going to be the confirmed day-of-launch titles? With rumors flying about Perfect Dark Zero (what was supposed to be the ‘halo’ of this generation’s launch) being delayed til December, it makes me worry about my most desired titles, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion…


2. What is the final backwards compatible title list for day-of-launch? I had only planned to keep Far Cry Instincts and Ghost Recon 2 Summit Strike, and maybe Morrowind. However, with the news that game saves cannot be transferred, I have to decide if I am chucking Morrowind or keeping the old Xbox. Also, given what may be a shrinking Xbox 360 launch day release list, I may want to hold on to more current gen games. Because of all this, that BC title list for launch day is crucial. C’mon Bill and J! Throw us a bone here, will ya?!

Only 68 days to go and counting… Anybody got an extra cryogenics chamber lying around so I can go into cryogenic stasis til Monday the 21st?

Oh! And one other thing! Microsoft reportedly did a video spoof with Bill Gates and Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) in which Bill hires Napoleon to work at Microsoft! That has to be hilarious! If anyone finds it, please send it to me!

The Old Man and the Court...

What can I say?

I do not play tennis, nor do I follow it closely. I do tend to follow certain tennis players that I like and keep up with their careers no matter where they are playing, as well as follow the Grand Slam events closely every year. And I just have to give out kudos to one of my all-time favorites, Andre Agassi. At 35 (Mr. Dinosaur in the tennis world), he gave us an amazing story to watch as this year's US Open progressed. From missing out on the French open and Wimbledon due to chronic back injury and hints of retirement, he blessed us with his typical (though more understated as he has aged) style and finesse. Watching him smash through the early rounds was enjoyable. Watching him outlast and outwit the young guns in the Quarterfinals and Semifinals was thrilling - never bet against Andre in a 5 setter, even at age 35. But then came the proverbial brick wall. For Andre, who has played the likes of Connors, McEnroe, Lendl, Edberg, Sampras, and so on, to say that Federer is the best he has ever played against is quite the statement. Watching the final was like watching someone push a boulder up a hill. Even if Andre played perfect tennis, Federer's game is so flawless that even on an off day he will beat anyone at anytime. Andre looked like he had a spark in him when he won the second set and actually thought he might be able to pull off what everyone, including himself, thought was impossible. Beat Federer in the Final. When he was up a break in the third set, even I began to believe. But when Federer broke back to get back on serve in the third. It seemed as if the wind left Agassi's sails, and no matter what he tried, nothing would stop the Federer Wall. He managed the defeat with style and grace - admittedly more so no than in his early career. However, if you looked close, you saw him wincing at the pain in his back during the awards ceremony, and as he talked, you saw the look in his eye that said, "New York. This may be my last. I love you."

The best image of the tourney, though, was after the semifinal match when you saw Andre playing his other role, Daddy, to his two little children. Watching them run to him in the runway and him grabbing them for a big hug showed that the once brash rebel has turned onto a softer, more gentle, more well-rounded person beyond tennis. Bravo, Andre.

Here's to hoping we get to see more of you in the future.

Game, set, match.

ARE YOU READY?!

I CAN BREATHE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!

No more holding my breath for 7 months…. FOOTBALL IS HERE!!!

Starting with my FSU Seminoles thankfully getting the Miami Hurricane albatross off their backs after six years… all because of a missed field goal! How ironic… my UAB Blazers went into Tennessee and almost pulled off a win… another up-and-coming NCAA football program…

But my baby of babies… the NFL.

The season starts tonight, and as usual I am in two fantasy football leagues. And as usual, I am not completely happy with my roster. A stud here and there, but no depth. Why does that always happen? I see some of my friends’ rosters, and they have a stud or two but are DEEP as well. Weird. I guess I just suck at drafting. Oh well. Heck, I have already hit the waiver wire once in each league and the season hasn’t even started!

Tonight’s opening night… New England vs. Oakland. Should be a great game, though I expect the Patriots to end up with the win. Even though they have had some changes to their team this year, you just can’t bet against the Pats these days…

Burning questions of the season:

• Will Seattle break away from the “unrealized potential/underachiever” label this year and actually do something? (On a personal note for me, will Shaun Alexander be in a Seahawks uniform next season?)
• Will the “Glass guys”… Fred Taylor, Michael Bennett, Chris Brown, and the rest, make through the season unharmed? Will they make it through a game? Will they make it through a quarter?
• Will Vick have a “breakout year” everyone has been predicting in the new west Coast offense in Atlanta (for what, the third year already)?
• Which rookie RB’s will have the breakout year and be considered a stud at the end… Cedric Benson, Cadillac Williams, Ronnie Brown, Willie Parker?
• Will Ricky Williams light up a big fat hog at the end of games? Will he yoga at 50 yard line at half? Will he pack up and go home because he is shy?
• Who will have the MVP year? Who will be the busts of the year? Which team will surprise us all? Which team will disappoint us all?
• How will the New Orleans Saints even begin to be able to focus on their season, after Katrina?

There you go. Are you ready for some football?!

Talk amongst ya’selves…

It's all about serving others...MyFamilyCanHelp.com

What a wonderful sign of people who seem to “get” the fact that it isn’t about us, but what we can do to serve others… Some friends of mine I have known for the last few years have put together a website in order to link families in need with families who can help provide much needed stability and shelter to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

I would appreciate it if you could take a moment and visit MyFamilyCanHelp.com. If you are a family looking for temporary living arrangements as a victim of Hurricane Katrina, or if you are a family that can offer your home as shelter, this site will be able to help make those much needed connections.

Those of you who cannot offer up your home, could you PLEASE visit the site here and take one of their banners to place on your website, blog or email signature? The victims of Katrina need your help and would be very grateful. Thank you so much!!

To Jay and the gang, thank you for what you are doing! Our country needs more people like this doing whatever they can to help.

The idiocy and superficiality of youth

So I had someone IM me asking me when I was gonna add more to The Same Routine (though why they are interested is beyond me... something about wanting to know about the 'accident' - must be a NASCAR fan - loves watching for the 10 car pile ups... just kidding you-know-who-you-are...). I simply have so little time that I haven't had time to even begin to continue that thing. I plan to, just no time at the moment. Since I am writing it steam-of-consiciousness style, with no laid out plot outline/character development (choosing to see how it turns out doing all that on the fly), I have to sit and read over what I wrote a bit to get be back into the mindset.

Until I have time to do that, I had planned on throwing up some of my old poems I wrote in high school and college. I pulled out my old composition book with all of it in there, and was apalled at what I read... I thought this stuff was profound and good at 15... 16... 18... 20... It was embarrassing to even read most of it!

So shallow, and so superficial, and so stereotypical for adolescent pains and rantings. There were only a couple I could really even stand to read...

Maybe I will put up one of the lesser of the evils that I call my adolescent writings, but my goodness they are BAD! I warn you... read them at your own risk.

LOL

The Same Routine

The same routine. Another morning, and the same, boring, tedious routine. In fact, this had been the same routine Marcus had gone through religiously for the last 17 months. He breathed and whispered in that groggy tone of his, “Well, at least one thing is different. The halo is gone now.” And with that mantra, he grabbed his legs and swung them over the side of the bed. Reaching for the wheelchair, he half hoisted/half threw himself into the seat and wheeled himself down the hall to start the coffee.

“Vanilla Nut or Columbian Mocha, Sig?”

Sigmund, Marcus’ Golden Retriever, just sat wagging his tail, heedless of the question.

“Vanilla Nut it is then. Good choice.”

Even before he made it back down the hall toward the bathroom, he could smell the hazelnut drifting through the house. The smell of coffee alone was enough to get him going, as much as he could at 5:00 am on a Monday morning. But he knew he was going to have to have more than coffee to get through today. It was going to be his first day back to work since the accident.

He made it to the shower, reached in and got the water at just the right temperature to barely scald his body (he had come to appreciate extreme sensations since half his body sensed nothing any more), stripped, and maneuvered his body over to the stainless steel bench in his shower. Now thinking about it, sensations did come flooding back to him as he soaked under the steaming water. The fact that he did indeed have some sensation on the soles of his feet was a bittersweet notion, since the only sensation he had (or ever would have according to his neurologist) was that of thousands of needles stabbing his foot. The hot water helped the feeling subside after a while though. But then the smells came flooding back. Like the smell of wet metal as the water used to run across the screws of the halo attached to his skull, running down his face, across his cheeks, and off his chin. The smell of Ben-Gay. The smell of bed sores. He sat, for what seemed like hours with his eyes closed reliving the events of the accident and his rehabilitation efforts for the last year and a half. This was something he had done daily since that day in September. As he thought, muscles started involuntarily flexing and tensing, pain began searing through his forehead, and tears began to well up, hidden under the water running down his face...

His morning flashback ritual was shattered by the sound of the alarm on the coffee maker. He was both relieved and angered by this. The relief of avoiding yet another reliving of the accident was mixed with the anger arising from the compulsive drive to force himself through the events of that day again and again, looking for answers, looking for what went wrong, looking for what he could have done differently. He hurriedly finished his shower, realizing he had been sitting in the shower for nearly an hour. The daily rituals of ointments, medications, and annoying dressing habits were only absent mindedly done as they had become instinct to him.

Wheeling himself down to the kitchen, he grabbed his coffee and headed out to work. Crossing the hall to his office, he pulled himself up to his desk, flipped the switch on his PC, and said, “Welcome back to the working world, Marc.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, that's the first stuff that popped in my head. Stay tuned.

Boy, now THAT didn't last long!

Following my last post, I indeed started writing. Just throwing something on screen in an effort to move past that "I would like to do this but probably never will" thing. My wife sees the last blog entry last night and asked me about it. When I tell her the idea I have had in my head (told her about it years ago actually) she comes back with, "Wasn't that the basic premise of a movie we saw?"

She then kicks in her better-than-elephant-super-computer-archive memory, and seconds later says, "Yeah. Don't you remember? It was a movie called Copy Cat with Sigourney Weaver, I think." Of course, my memory being the sieve that it is, don't. In fact, I still do not think I have ever seen the movie, though she swears I must have since she never watches any movies without me. Anyway, look it up if you want details. Suffice it to say, she was right.

Reality 1, Sean 0

So, I still want to use the basic premise I have (psychologist protagonist...hmmm... wonder how I came up with that one? LOL), but will need to work out new plot/character ideas. It is all good I guess, since to write about the other idea I had I would have had to research a lot about networking/hacking/the underground scene. Not something I really had the time or interest in doing.

But this brings me to another point: Was it really my idea, or did I really see that movie, thinking it was a great plot idea, and over time slowly turn the movie into my idea? Interesting notion. And not one I like to think about. Because if you consider that as a truth or at least a possibility, then you really have to begin to wonder how many of your ideas really are your ideas. Oh well, that is more of a philosophical idea than my brain is used to, so I will stop on that note and let you talk amongst yourselves.

I will post what I have as a start, but it really isn't enough to give a decent character introduction. So it will have to wait a bit.

So I'm thinking about writing...

So I was over at Pete's blog, and noticed an entry about ANOTHER blog where much of it is used for writings, such as poetry, short stories, and such. I have had an idea in my head for a book for a long time - a basic framework, mind you, that's it - but have never even bothered trying to begin writing. I am much like my mother in this respect. She has a talent for writing, but poor self-esteem about her writing abilities. She has started so many books and short stories over the years, only to abandon them due to being down on herself and her ability. She has gone so far as to have "requirements" that are what are preventing her from writing. First, it was a computer. So my dad got her one. She didn't use it. Was scared of it. So then she said she just needed a good typewriter. he got her one. She didn't use it. Not until the death of her father (who also wrote a lot and bordered on genius, insane...but that is another entry another day) did she get motivated, and started writing WITH PEN AND PAD...LOL

Anyway, I am consider throwing caution and self-doubt to the wind and starting something here. Writing ideas or excerpts in my head out, stream of conscious style, as an effort to organize my thoughts on the matter. Kind of think of it as being inside the writing process. well, er, mine at least.

Hold on. You might be in for a bumpy ride.

And in reading. Be gentle. But honest.

Netgear wireless access point....success!

So I told you about the Netgear WXGB102 wireless access point that just plugs into the wall. Well, as I was looking at stuff on it this weekend, I noticed Best Buy had it on sale. It can be had for around $120 in most places. Best Buy, in their typical fashion, had it retailing for $150, but had it on sale with $70 in mail-in rebates. So I went and snatched one up. After rebates it will only cost me $80. And this is how hard it was to get it to work...

Plugged a CAT cable into the base device. Plugged it into router, then plugged into wall. Walked to another room on the other side of the house. Plugged in the remote unit into a wall socket. Waited about 30 seconds. Then I had a wireless signal for my tablet pc.

Whew! That was tough! LOL...








Now I did notice that I am getting about 48mbps throughput with the Netgear access point instead of 54mbps near the main router, but still, that is more than fast enough for web surfing or transferring files from one PC to another.

All in all, great success! Go down to your local Best buy and grab one before the mail-in rebates expire (9/3/05).

Sage - a great blog/newsfeed Firefox companion

Man, I must be in a really big blogging mood today (that or I am desperately trying to avoid doing any work around the house). A buddy of mine hipped me to a great Firefox extension called Sage. I hadn't really used it much, but am really discovering how cool a tool it is and how easy it is now to keep up with my favorite newsfeeds and friends' blog sites. The extension opens up a sidebar where you can keep a listing of your favorite newsfeeds. Click on one and the latest feeds from that site display in the main screen. Some nice features include not having to know the RSS/atom URL. Just click the magnifying glass "find feed" button and it automatically searches the website for any valid newsfeeds. You can also click a button to refresh your lists, and it will highlight all your newsfeeds with new posts since your last visit. Saves a whole lot of time going to all of them, or keeping them all on a google page but trying to remember what is new and what is old. Sorry, Jay. The Google thing was cool and all, but I think this is an easier and more elegant solution to our "keeping up with the Jones" problem! LOL

Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper

I know ya'll know about my beliefs about my faith. And I am sure ya'll have heard me mention Promise Keepers (PK for short) before as well. Well, the whole Promise Keepers movement is based on the following Seven Promises:

1. A Promise Keeper is committed to honoring Jesus Christ through worship, prayer, and obedience to God’s Word in the power of the Holy Spirit.


2. A Promise Keeper is committed to pursuing vital relationships with a few other men, understanding that he needs brothers to help him keep his promises.


3. A Promise Keeper is committed to practicing spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purity.


4. A Promise Keeper is committed to building strong marriages and families through love, protection, and biblical values.


5. A Promise Keeper is committed to supporting the mission of his church by honoring and praying for his pastor, and by actively giving his time and resources.


6. A Promise Keeper is committed to reaching beyond any racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity.


7. A Promise Keeper is committed to influencing his world, being obedient to the Great Commandment (see Mark 12:30-31) and the Great Commission (see Matthew 28:19-20).

I know most aren’t interested or care about this, but this is what I am referring to when you hear me talking about being a Man of Integrity, and what the foundation is of this PK thing I am all gung ho about. (Plus I wanted easy access to it on my blog since my memory is like a sieve…LOL)

Netgear wireless access point... this looks cool!

My wireless stuff just does NOT have good range in my house, and though I do already have an access point I could use at home, I loathe the idea of running CAT cable under the floor and through/up the wall to a central location in the house. However, as I was surfing (as I am wont to do), I came across this from Netgear. One piece plugs into the router and then into a nearby wall outlet. Then you simply plug the second piece into any wall socket in the home. The wireless signal is sent through the wall outlets to each other. No need to run CAT cable! Now, they do say you don't quite get the 54mbps speed due to a little loss of signal through the wall outlets, but if you just need to spread your wireless signal better through the house for surfing or sharing files, this could be awesome! Has anyone ever seen them in use, or know anything about them? I know some of my PC/networking/wireless guru geeks out there will have an opinion, and I would love to hear it.

Great Xbox360 video!

Everyone... quick... go over to Gamespy and download one of the videos of the Xbox360 Xbox Live demonstration from the conference in Germany! Yeah, the text on the screens are in German, but the demo is being done by MS reps and is in English... Oh man.... I just saw NEON on a 30 foot screen in the video....sweet! Bliss! Pure, trippy, psychedelic bliss!

November.... November... go to my Happy Place.... go to my Happy Place....

Argh... Fed Ex!!!!!!!!!! Don't tease me!

So as you know, I got my FlexDock (no, not my Bowflex, you fitness crazed people.. and you know who you are!) the other day for my Tablet PC, and am loving it. I was supposed to get my extra battery and bluetooth keyboard designed for my Tablet today. Remember how I said they were coming from California and the FlexDock came from China, but it got here first? Well, even though my other stuff was to be delivered today, here it is almost 6:00 pm and it ain't here yet. So of course since this is Friday, I won't get it til Monday. Fed Ex why do you tease me so! Tracking has had it in the state since 6:59 am this morning, but the couldn't get it 3 hours down the road TODAY. Bums.

I hate Thursdays...

So here it is, 8:00 pm. On Thursdays I see patients from 8:00 am til 8:00 pm. Except since I am too busy to book out time for paperwork, I have to do that in off hours. So I have actually been here since 7:00 am. I know I don't get sympathy from some of you folks who have to do 12 hour shifts and such, and my job clearly is not physically draining, but let me tell you. This job can be amazingly emotionally and mentally draining. Nothing like hearing people's pain and frustration and sadness and depression and whatever-else-you-can-think-of for 12 hours to wear you down. I am just glad I am a guy and good at that whole "compartmentalization" thing, where I can leave it here and not drag it home. Sorry. Just had to vent.

Speaking of home. I am going there now.

Anybody know where I can find one of these?!

OK. So I have lots of testing software for the evaluations that I do on my patients. Most of it is in CD format, though some (like some key disks) are 3.5" floppies. Companies like Fellowes and Kensington used to make media storage containers designed for both CD's and floppies together. Since CD's and flash media are becoming ubiquitous and floppies are starting to go the way of the dinosaur, nobody seems to make them any more. Does anyone know where I can find one? I have even looked at Ebay to no avail...

Thanks ya'll!

Fun with Blogger hacks!

I am really digging playing around with blogger, figuring out how to customize the theme and such. I knew there were add-ons, but I have recently discovered hacks! Basically customizing the CSS/HTML code to tweak the blogging features.

I have already added two. I will let you explore the place and see if you can find them. I really like them and plan to add more. Oh, right. In my SPARE time... Anyway, ya'll should check them out... I am off to google around for some more hacks before my next patient in, oh, two minutes...

Um...we were just wrestling!

OK. After the earlier post about blogs and faith and trying to stay on the straight and narrow, I am going to try to keep this as G Rated as I can. However, this is one of those bloggable moments that any of you with growing children will eventually encounter...

...so one night last week Kelly and I get the boys to bed, and we start chatting and get, um, amorous and all...things are going along just fine (if I do say so myself) and we are settling into quite the extended session of uneven-bars-floor-exercise-vault-mattress-play...

You see what's about to happen don't you?

As were are in a somewhat compromising position on the bed, our nine year old Connor opens the door! Partly in surprise and partly in admitted anger that, um, certain rhythms had gotten interrupted, I spoke loudly to Connor to get back to bed. He says, in a most sheepish tone, "Oh, uh, sorry. Sorry." And starts to close the door. I get up (luckily the lights are very dim so it is difficult to see so he didn't actually see anything, though my beached whale skin does tend to glow in the dark) and walk to the door as he is heading back to bed. I say, "Connor I will be there in a minute!" (Well, not just a minute really... it is just a figure of speech)

Kelly and I start giggling about this - we had been saying how it was only a matter of time before this happened since our boys were getting older - but troopers that we are, we completed the gymnastics routine with, oh, I would say at least a 9.775. Except for that Russian judge... he always gives low marks. Go figure. Anyway, we recover from the rigorous exercise, and I throw on my gym shorts and go to Connor's room. Turns out he has a tummy ache. I talk to him for a bit seeing if he needs or wants anything, and he just asks for a glass of water. He then says, "Dad, sorry I interrupted your's and mom's "thing" (using the double-handed-two-finger move for a quote as he said it) a while ago." I kind of shrugged it off, saying, "Oh Connor, it was no big deal bud. Me and mom were just goofing and wrestling around on the bed."

Did he buy it? He sure seemed to - he is a relatively sweet innocent little guy. However, this weekend I think I need to go buy some wrestling tights just in case.

I love new toys....

So Motion Computing, the makers of my wonderful Tablet PC, put some of the accessories for my model on sale, since they just released two new Tablet models. So I promptly ordered a FlexDock, extra battery, and bluetooth keyboard designed for my Tablet. Evidently the keyboard and battery are being shipped from California and the Flexdock from China. I get the Flexdock first. Go figure.

This thing is great! All my power and peripherals plug into the dock instead of my tablet. So instead of plugging and unplugging everything multiple times per day, all I have to do is slide the tablet into the dock and it automatically connects to my power supply and peripherals. It even adds an extra USB port on the front of the dock.

But here's my favorite feature. Those of you who know Tablet PC's know you can use them in portrait or landscape orientation. Though I typically use mine in portrait mode, there are times when I need landscape. And pressing a button to "scroll" through all four orientations (90, 180, 270, 360 degrees) to get the orientation I want is a pain. With the Flexdock, all I do is rotate the screen on its bevel thingie, and it automatically changes the screen orientation!

Yeah, a lot of you people go, "So what?" But those tech geeks out there (and I know who you are) are loving this and wondering why YOU don't have one!

I don't have my camera with me, but I will wait until the wireless keyboard comes in and take pictures of both together. See ya then. Back to work. Got patients to see.

Blogging dilemma... putting my faith where my fingertips are...

So here I am blogging again... wow... amazing that I have done it what? two days in a row now? I have been enjoying trying to figure out how to customize it a bit... probably spending more time... no... I KNOW spending more time on it than I should.

Here's the dilemma though: my interest in blogging got rekindled when a bunch of my XBox Live gaming buddies (most of whom I have known since the beta days, what.. 3 years ago already?) decided to start posting and linking their blog addresses. So I have been in the process of going through all of them and adding them. But... some of the content on some the other sites makes me a bit uncomfortable, especially given my own personal Christian beliefs and personal "fleshly" weaknesses which I consciously try to avoid. I have family that pops by here, as well as possibly other friends from other circles of life. The last thing I want to do is be a negative witness to others or damage my own integrity by ignoring my faith and my conscience and convictions to avoid those things. I know my weaknesses and know where I fail if given the chance. All my mind needs is a "foot in the door" and the search for "more" will be on. The lessening of my standards will begin AGAIN. I have to fight and scratch twice as hard to get them back every time. It is just exhausting.

Ya'll have to understand that trying to walk the Christian walk in today's world is TOUGH, and I have to make conscious efforts to avoid things that I know make me fall. As Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14... "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." In other words, it is a whole lot easier to mess up your Christian walk than it is to stay on track. So sometimes you step on a few toes when you do in your efforts. As such, there were some that I simply did not feel comfortable listing just now given some of the content. You may feel I am being a prude and stickler or whatever, but I gotta go with my convictions. No, I am not condemning anyone. Each man in this world has their own decisions to make, and it is not my place or desire to judge them, since I have so many weaknesses myself - I am in no way blameless in this world. That is hypocritical and definitely not a Christian way of thinking (though way too many Christians today ARE too judgmental).

Hope ya'll will understand why I did this, and why I had to talk about it here. Heck, for all I know, my discussion here (and what will be a theme of this blog - my faith) will likely turn some of my friends off and they'll remove me from their links list. I respect and understand this. If any of you need to contact me about this more... you know where to find me.

Sean

My Christian "Mantra"... Colossians 3:2... Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.

Everybody needs a fresh start...

Well, I started my days with Blogger... then switched over to MSN Spaces because it has a few extra features. But it just doesn't have enough storage space. So here is the beginning. I am going to transfer all my old posts there (to be honest there weren't many) to this place to keep it up to date.

Now I also thought about switching to the old McKay Wildlife Preserve theme I had before since most of it was about my three boys. But really, my posting tendencies are becoming much more varied than just them. Really, this place is MY place to vent and share my feelings and thoughts, since I spend most of my days providing that to others who walk through my office. So welcome to the place, but it's My Turn to be on the Couch!

Promise Keepers 2005...The Awakening

So this year I had to trek up to Nashville for Promise Keepers. Six hour drive, but hey, I was used to that when I lived in Bismarck and had to drive to St. Paul, MN for the nearest event. It was in Atlanta last year, and will be next year. But this year Hotlanta got skipped and the nearest were in Nashville and Mobile, AL. It is virtually the same distance to each, but I found out that Steven Curtis Chapman was doing the concert in Nashville, so that settled it. Promise Keepers (and men's ministry in general) has been a passion of mine since my first PK event four years ago. I was able to wrangle up 17 other guys to go with me this year from my church, and it turned out to be a great event!


Now, if you don't know what Promise Keepers is, it is an organization started by former University of Colorado football coach, Bill McCartney, as he saw a dire need in our country for Christian men to become more involved and connected with each other. These events are filled with worship music, wonderful speakers on all kinds of aspects of issues important to the struggles of Christian men in this unfortunately increasing secular culture, drama, comedy, and just general "guys being guys." But because it is men only, there is no pretense, no trying to be macho to protect your image (since everyone there admits having the same struggles you do), no "men are strong and don't show emotion" stuff. It is honest talk and exploration about what we Christian men struggle with to "stay the narrow path" and overcome pronography, infidelity, workaholism, ignorance of our families and our children, substance abuse, anger, and so on. But since it is men talking to men about being men, let's just say that things are informal and lively and at times hilarious. Speaking of hilarious, Christian comedian Brad Stine performs at all events now (well, for the last two years) and, if you have never heard the guy, he is amazing. I have never seen a man so intricately weave comedy, evangelism, and social commentary with such agility!

I know many popping through here may not be excited about something like this, but it is an amazing ministry that has personally touched me and helped me re-focus my life on what is important. I gotta tell you, there is almost nothing as emotional and awe-inspiring as being in an arena like this and hearing 15,000 men singling "Holy, Holy, Holy" acapella!

If you want to know more, you can always email me... or join me in Atlanta on July 21-22 2006! *hint hint*

Yet another month has flown by...

I just don't get it. Am I the only one in the time-flies-faster-than-Tom-and-Katie's-courtship time warp? I guess when you're dealing with your own business, 3 VERY ACTIVE boys, becoming more involved in church activities and organizing our Promise Keepers trip, time just skips by (and blogging drops WAY LOW on the priority list)...

Some recent and upcoming things.... So we fenced in the back yard a couple of months ago so the boys could play unattended (especially Mitch and the pups), but nobody was playing in the back yard.... Hmmm... I wonder why? BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING IN THE BACK YARD TO PLAY WITH. So we decided to add a bit to the debt (why would you want to start crawling out of that hole NOW? LOL...) and get the boys a nice play set. Professionally constructed out of redwood, with two swings, a glider, slide, club house, and deck on top... Was done on Monday. I will get pics soon and post a few. Needless to say the boys are excited. LOL...

Tomorrow night I am taking Connor, Luke, and my sister page to a DCI (http://www.dci.org) drum and bugle competition. Haven't been to one in years (well, kinda hard to when they never came to North Dakota!), and since Connor has started drum lessons I figured he'd love it. We are ALL excited to go, and I can't wait to suck my two older boys into the "shock and awe" of a field full of brass and drums blowing our faces off with a wall of sound! Will post their reactions afterward...

Upcoming goodies for daddy... My annual River Trip with my dad and our buddies as well as my annual trek to a Promise Keepers event is coming up in August. Though we usually do the Chattahoochee down to the gulf and back, this year we're gonna do the Tennessee-Tom Bigbee River in, um, Tennessee (duh!). Whereas the 'Hooch is littered with sand bars all the way to the gulf - great places to stop and eat and relax - the Tom is huge and WIDE. No sand bars to stop at there.... I guess whenever we want to stop, we'll just all tie-off together a'la Jaws 2 and have a floating barge of sorts. I can't wait. One of the things I am most looking forward to is seeing my cousin Scott. We only get to see each other about 1-2 times per year, and this is one of them. Great guy. Just wish our families got to see each other more...

Then there's Promise Keepers! Started going I think 5 years ago, and wouldn't miss it for the world now. I need a good spiritual recharge every now and then, and this is it! Where else can you be in a sporting arena with 15,000 other men praising God and learning how to become better and more faithful fathers, husbands, and mentors!? I think this is gonna be our best trip yet! So far I have 18 other guys on board to go with me, and the event is not til mid-August. Hope to fill up a bus by then! Men are supposed to be the spiritual leaders of the household, but unfortunately we are usually the ones dragged kicking and screaming. I hope this event does some miraculous things in the lives of these men (and me)!

Well, better get back to work. It never ends. LOL...

Oh, speaking of work... the practice is really growing and I HAVE to hire a colleague... This is a scary step for us since we have never done anything like this! The ad will be in the July/August edition of the psychologist's trade magazine. Please keep us in your prayers that we will find exactly who we need (and God wants to be here) quickly, and the transition occurs smoothly!

Until next time (which hopefully will be sooner than later)....

Geez! Where have I been?

I can't believe it has been a month since I added an entry... I guess it has been due to a few things... 1) Work has been off the hook and I simply have had virtually no time to add anything... 2) As most of you know, I am an Xbox, um, "aficionado".... yeah, that's it... and so I have been delving deep into info on the Xbox successor - the Xbox 360 - due out in November.... So no entries have come from valid, responsible reasons (work) and not-so-responsible reasons (my hobby/waste-of-time)...LOL

Kel's parents were in town this past weekend so they could be here for Connor and Luke's baptism at church. That was so cool! To be IN THE BAPTISTRY with them as they were baptized, proclaiming their newfound faith in Jesus Christ, to the congregation and having my parents and in-laws there was so awesome! Unfortunately I have no pics of it since Kel said the camera wasn't working right.... Gotta teach her to check the "record/preview" switch before trying to snap any shots....

The boys are continuing to have a great time at our community pool, and getting darker by the day. hey are getting that bleach blonde, surfer dude hair color now too. Kel, on the other hand, seems to just be turning red! I think my niece and nephews are coming over today for a splash at the pool... maybe they will get pics! Upcoming events include taking Connor and Luke to a DCI (Drum and Bugle Corps) show in Atlanta in June. Since Luke loves music so much and Connor has started drum lessons, they should have a blast! And last thing I can think of... I think I am gonna surprise everyone at home with a trip to Florida soon... maybe even this weekend. One of my fondest memories as a kid was my dad spontaneously loading us up EARLY in the morning, driving to Florida, spending the whole day at the beach, then heading back home... Apart from gas and food, a really fun and CHEAP day trip! Now if only I can convince Kel... she is more of a plan-it-out kind of gal... probably not too keen on a spur of the moment tip to Florida...LOL

Well, I just had to add SOMETHING here... it has been too long! Back to work now...

The pain and joy of being a daddy...

Tonight I experienced overwhelming emotions across the entire spectrum with my two older boys, Connor and Luke. They each have their own pets - Connor a parakeet, and Luke a hamster. Well, tonight as we were getting the boys ready for bed, Luke came in the room in a panic. "Mom," he said, "I reached in to pet Spot and she didn't move. Is she sick?!" Kelly and I both go in there not expecting anything wrong, and sure enough, Spot is not moving. Luke, who loved this hamster more than anything, just broke down sobbing. We got her out, and she was just barely breathing and had her eyes open. We tried to give her water, but she would not even open her mouth. Of course seeing her eyes open gave Luke unrealistic hope, and we had to tell him that she was dying. He could not talk he was in so much pain and sorrow. I had brought the cage downstairs so it wouldn't be in his room, and he came down and asked if he could say goodbye. Kelly and I just sobbed as we watched our little 6 year old boy hold and cuddle his hamster and rub it against his cheek saying he loved her and telling her goodbye.

Then I was filled with pride and emotion as I watched Connor, Luke's older brother, walk in with a wad of cash. "Luke," he says, "here's my money out of my bank. You can use it to buy another hamster if you want." And Connor hands Luke almost $40 he has saved for months. They hug each other and as Luke says, "Thank you," Connor replies with, "It's okay, that's what big brothers are for."

As I am tucking Connor in bed and telling him how proud I was with what he did, he simply said, "Dad, I had to do something, it just hurt my heart watching Luke so sad."

For those of ya'll that know me and my boys, and how nuts they can drive me sometimes, right now I am having a hard time remembering any of that right now....

Who's on first...

Below is something I HAD to share with everyone who stops by. Here is a transcript of an email my wife Kelly sent out to family describing a conversation she had with Connor, our 8 year old son....

*********************************************

What a frustrating day in our house. Mitchell has clogged the toilet twice, Connor and I have been working on homework for 2 hours, and Luke has changed clothes twice...all since about 3:00. This conversation struck me as so idiotic, I had to share it.

I had just unclogged the toilet for the second time and then while vacuuming I heard a strange thumping noise. No one screamed so I figured all was well and kept vacuuming. A little while later I walked past the 1/2 bath and saw a very large hammer on the floor. I braced myself for absolutely anything and asked what I thought was a straightforward, clear question with one of two answers:

"Who brought a hammer into the bathroom?" I asked.

"There was a spider," said Connor.

I said, "OK, but who brought a hammer into the bathroom?"

"I did," Connor said.

"Why did you need a hammer?"

"I told you. There was a spider."

"Where did you hit with the hammer?"

"I told you. On the spider."

"Yes, sweetheart, but where was the spider?"

"In the bathroom."

(Starting to grit my teeth a bit) "Yes, but where did you actually hit the hammer?"

"I told you. On the spider."

(I start looking around for cracks in the sink, holes in the wall, cracked toilet...)

Turning red..."Where was the spider when you hit him with the hammer?"

"I told you. In the bathroom."

"Yes, dear, but where was the spider crawling when you were hitting him with the hammer? Did you hammer the sink, the cabinet, the walls, WHAT?"

"No."

"Where did you hammer?"

"Around in here," pointing in a general area next to the toilet.

"Did you just hammer the floor?"

"Yes."

Starting to lose it a bit..."Could you please take the hammer and just pretending to hammer, please show me exactly what you did with the hammer on the spider?"

Connor proceeds to pretend to hammer all around the floor around the toilet.

I said, "Thank you. Now, where did you get this huge hammer?"

"Dad was going to hang a clock."

"OK, but when you decided to hammer the spider, where did you go to get the hammer?"

"My room."

"Take it back there, please."

I go into the bathroom to clean up the water around the toilet from it overflowing and guess what I saw on the wall next to the toilet? A curled up spider...on the wall...not the floor. At least there weren't any holes in the wall.

Figured I'd give you a laugh. That's what I have to do to keep from crying.

*********************************************
Some of the just wonderfully stupid silly moments we have in our house... you gotta admit... they always keep us entertained...

Charmin is evidently evil...

...so we bought this 10 year old nice house in a nice upper middle class residential community just outside the city limits. Since we're not in the city, we do not have sewage, but instead have septic systems. Well, lately we have noticed that flushing just ain't working like it is supposed to, and as of yesterday, nothing, I MEAN NOTHING, was going anywhere but back up and onto our floor....

...so today Kelly gets the septic tank guys out and they find the tank, open it up, and it is literally full to the top... an 8 foot deep septic tank, FULL TO THE TOP. He said it needed to be drained every 3 to 5 years, and he guessed it had never been pumped in the 10 years of its existence. Then he said, "Ya'll use Charmin don't ya?" Kelly, said, "Yeah we do." "Naw... don't use Charmin... it's BAD! Just soaks it all up and swells up like a tick. It'll just fill your tank up with paper. Use AngelSoft instead. Good stuff."

So there you have it. Pump them septic tanks every 3-5 years. And for all that is good and wholesome, DON'T USE CHARMIN.

This Public Service Announcement was brought to you by "I had to take a spit bath in the sink this morning 'cos everything was stopped up."