When Heat Tape Doesn't Heat

A couple of days ago, I discovered the roof heat tape I put up in September decided to stop working. This is not good as ice dams are starting to form. So I went out and bought a new roll of heat tape and have been working on chipping away the ice so I can get it properly on the roof. The good news is that when the old tape was working, it formed tunnels in the snow so there was good drainage. With a little luck and a couple of more days of warm weather, I will get the new tape up well enough to work. The bad news is I am on roof duty instead of skiing. On the other hand, I hear snowbowl has been PACKED the past few days to the point where folks are getting only 4-5 runs in.

Nanooks of the Northland

So what do my niece and bro' do on a snowy rain/snow mix Christmas day in Flag? They build an igloo of course. This was before settling in for a dinner of a salad of spinach, walnuts, apples and a yogurt-honey-lemon-dill dressing, ham, green beans with almonds toasted in chili oil, oven roasted spuds, cranberries, and croissants. There was also the FIRST dessert course of baked lutefisk - made nearly correctly - my daughter had a taste. THEN had a SECOND taste. She seemed to think it was less than vile, and may be open to having it next year. The second dessert course will consist of the normal Scandinavian cookies. YUM!

How Many Snow Days??

Well it happened again. Both the public schools and NAU were closed today. This is the third day for the public schools and the second this week for the U. My daughter is taking the yard sale bit in stride and seems to have accepted the fact that it is unlikely that they will have it. As far as the U goes, the building I work in was closed this week for repairs, except for those who requested special permission to be there this week. The closure of the U trumps my permission, so I took the time off to stay with my daughter. Now we just need to see what happens tomorrow. My daughter gets out of school at 11:30 tomorrow, so even a two hour delay will mess that up. Oh, well. Snowbowl opens Saturday! Thanks storms.

Snow Daze

The public schools here decided to be smart and add a couple more snow days into the schedule. Let's see if they can blow through half of them in one week of December. Oddly enough my daughter was upset about the snow days. Not because she loves school, but because her had scheduled an indoor "yard sale" yesterday. That was changed to today. Today was changed to tomorrow. If we get another foot tonight, it will be changed to Friday. Maybe I should really test the fabric of the universe and order some lutefisk. Don't worry, it has been established that she hates lutefisk so much, the word "lutefisk" is a dirty word to her. Oh, don't you just love the emblem above?

It Started On The Ides Of December!

Let's see here. It is mid December, Southern California has been getting rain, and the A.M. temperatures are up by about 10 degrees from just a couple days ago. Yes up. The cloud cover and increased humidity hold the heat. Hmmmm I guess that means more SNOW. We have around 15" in our yard, and might get another 12-15' more over the next 36 hours. I have also discovered that using a snowblower makes life a whole lot easier. This would not have mattered when I was 18, 25, or even 40, but WOW how it makes things easier. It also added to my already extended weekend. I was STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to avoid work yesterday as workers would be testing the fire detection system and the alarm would be going off all day. So I took the day off. Today, my daughter had a snow day, and I felt a little guilty for staying home, until I found out the U was closed due to the storm. Tonight is supposed to be a break in the storm before things start again tomorrow. I wonder what round 2 will bring. Keep doing that snow dance; my ski pass is undergoing atrophy.

I Got To Try My New Toy

Well, we finally got enough snow for me to try that new toy I wrote of a few weeks ago. Just enough. The 4-5" was a good practice run in preparation for what we are told to expect over the next few days. The phrases "significant accumulation," and "A foot or more." are being used. One report mentioned 20 inches over 2 days. We'll just need to wait to see. This would be way cool for Snowbowl, and way uncool for the repairs to the acid neutralization tank at the building I work in. But I got to use my new toy. I am a happy camper.

After Years of Service to NAU

Goodbye Timber Inn. You will be missed.

You Can Tell A German (but you can't tell them much)

Consider yourselves lucky; this is the condensed version.
About 4 months ago I placed an order for 2 pieces of glassware "x-7" and two pieces of glassware "x-8." When the package arrived it contained a piece of glassware "x-9" in a box marked glassware "x-8", and a piece of glassware "x-7" in a box marked glassware "x-8." I called the vendor and they got me in touch with the manufacturer. The German manufacturer stopped just short of calling me a liar and refused to correct the shortage and wrong part. The vendor agreed to send the correct pieces.
When THAT package arrived it contained ONE correct x-8 in a boxe marked glassware x-8and a x-7 in a box for the x-8. We now had both x-7 parts, and ONE good X-8, but still needed the other x-8. Another conversation with the manufacturer, where I indicated the boxes were mislabeled. I was quickly informed that we got EXACTLY what we ordered and I was wrong. The vendor tried again. AGAIN we got two x-7s in boxes labeled x-8. Months later and we now have a manufacturer rep. Today the manufacturer rep called me to introduce himself and let me know to call the manufacturers customer service. I did so and was told the problem is that the boxes were mislabeled. (I'm glad they let me know) They also asked to work with the VENDOR rep and I gave them his number. The good news is that the manufacturer now understands that I have been right all along. They just have to correct the problem and get me what I need.

Warnings Run Amok

Ahhhh, to be an American where we are free, strong, brave, and excessively litigious. Maybe it is really the warning label/sign maker lobby and not the lawyers that simplify our lives to the extent they do. It really doesn't matter who is responsible; the end result is the same. I am so glad signs are posted in restrooms proclaiming that the water in the commodes (crappers) is non potable. I was going to use it for coffee, but decided not to after reading the sign. Yo dudes! Just what do you think we all think toilets are used for? Maybe, just maybe Americans ARE smart enough to figure out not to get drinking water from the place where we piss and poop. We should let natural selection weed out the ones who aren't. I'd post an image of the sign, but you get the picture.

Made In Where?

The other day as I was unpacking the daily deliveries for the stockroom, I noticed the sodium hydroxide (AKA lye) I received was made in Sweden. I am used to things made in Germany, France, Japan, and the USA, but Sweden? I guess they need to make a lot of it for all the lutefisk production, and probably decided with my last name I have some sick desire to join in the festivities. Now before you get me involved in a Norge/Sverge war, be aware both countries are steeped in vats of the substance and probably use it instead of conventional weapons as they lob blobs of it across the border. Even Finns have been known to partake in the whatever it is. Oddly enough, the leading producer of lutefisk is in Minnesota - they even export it to Norway, or maybe they are really trying to send it back. Let's keep the lefse though.

Morning Wake Up Call

So after our daughter had the last five days off from school, and I had 5 days off from work (my wife had to settle for a simple weekend), we headed off to work and school in the pre dawn darkness. We were toolin' along the road toward the interstate when our daughter suddenly exclaimed ELK! ELK! ELK! Sure 'nuff a HUGE bull elk sauntered across the road some 20 yards in front of us. It was too dark to count points, but it was a big ol' boy. It served as a reminder that we do share our environment with wildlife and we must always be alert while driving. During my days of playing firefighter I saw what these animals do to even full size pick-up trucks, and it is impressive. What happens to the passengers is even more impressive. Seeing one of these beautiful and powerful animals is a great way to start the week.

Food and T.V. sets

Last night's dinner was amazing. We went to a friends house a few blocks away and partook in a semi pot luck event. One of the highlights was the sausage and apple stuffing made with three different kinds of sausage, bread and apples. It was unique and fantastic. The bird was great, and the squash, potatoes and pies were also extra special yummy. The rolls also went quickly. After overeating and imbibing, we headed on home so my wife could get some sleep before helping open one of the local big box stores at 5:00. She pulled an extra long shift (05:00 - 16:00) and her register pulled in over $32,800 during that time. Folks, that is ONE register at ONE Walmart. She has often commented how chaotic the crowd can be on "black Friday" and how they RUN through the aisles to get the item they want before it is sold out. This level of chaos became all too apparent this morning at another Walmart some 2,000+ miles to the Northeast when one of the openers was trampled to death when he tried to open the doors. According to reports, the doors were destroyed by the crowd in the process. It is nice to know that we value television sets, vacuum cleaners and mass produced DVDs of last years movies over life. This reminds me of crowds at rock concerts as well as parents in third world countries who sell their children into prostitution so they can buy some idiotic brain numbing appliance. We can no longer judge them, now that we are willing to kill in order to save a few bucks on a T.V. We need to get a grip and realize this is all materialistic crap, and refocus on the important things - friends, family, and health, including whatever spiritual health one chooses. F'ing IDIOTS!

A Fusion Meal -- No Wait It Isn't After All

My daughter was off today for the Thanksgiving break, so I burnt a vacation day to stay home with her. My wife was off at work, and I decided to make use of some leftover grilled salmon, cream cheese, and some attachments for the Kitchen Aid. We wound up making some home made ravioli stuffed with a salmon and cream cheese mixture. She enjoyed being able to help feed the dough through the rollers, and use the stuffer attachment. She is getting old enough that her assistance is actually helpful, and is more than welcome. Our daughter decided to eat at the table, instead of on the TV trays, (this happens about 2X a month) and volunteered to set it. She also decided to use chopsticks for said ravioli. We allowed this, and I thought it strange until I remembered the origin of pasta. Still, the squares were a little slick for the dining implements since they were covered in a simple white sauce. Try it sometime

I'm Dreaming of a White Thanksgiving.

As we zoom in on the end of "Ninth Month", the weather is finally getting cool and damp at the same time. Before you gentle readers pull that crap about November being the 11th month on me, consider SEPTember, OCTOber, NOVember, and DECember. Sometime in the future, I might comment on how these are the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th months when their names indicate otherwise. In returning from my Bozoish tangent,the weather sites are using the "S" word, but not mentioning anything about accumulation. In the dead of winter, this would be eyebrow raising as it usually results in 2 feet or more, but this early in the season it usually means little or no. On the other hand little spread over several days can amount to more than some. Unfortunately, because of my early Christmas present, there will be no snow down here. The peaks, however are already showing a dusting.

Thus Starteth a Short Week

Monday strikes. Being a short week due to the holiday, I am trying to finish a normal week's worth of stuff in two days. My daughter does not have school on Wednesday, and the normal kid care avenues are also unavailable, thus I will need to burn a vacation day and make the week even shorter. So far I have been successful. There is plenty of work to be done to make the days fly. I even have a number of things to keep me occupied at home.

Time flies for bar flies.

Friday night we wound up kidless, and thought we would use the opportunity to slip on down to the Tavern for a couple of drinks. So with dinner finished, we headed out for a quiet evening. An hour later we were still there, Two hours later we were still there, Three hours later, one of our friends bought us a round. Four hours later another friend bought us another round. Somehow it was Saturday and we were still there. This would not be blogworthy if we were 15, 20, 25 years younger, but we arent, and haven't been in a bar that late in MANY years. Fun times, but we sure felt old later in the day. In other news, my wife decided to spring my Christmas present on me early. A snowblower. How cool be that? Just in time for possible snow for turkey day.

Did We Move To Someplace Like The Bay Area Or London Overnight?

We awoke this morning to the faint smell of wood smoke in the house. This sometimes happens on colder mornings if our neighbors fired up their wood stoves. I suspect it seeps in through the vent above the stove, or maybe the dryer vent. Other than that we have a pretty tight house. The smell was stronger in the living room and kitchen. This was still no real concern; it was WOOD smoke, not house fire smoke. As I went outside to feed the dogs, I noticed I could barely see houses 50-75 feet away due to the smoke. The odor also nearly knocked me down, and I had the urge to look for a crew wearing yellow nomex shirts, and carrying firefighting tools. This was like a thick fog, but stinkier and was definitely NOT due to a neighbor. The smoke from nearby burning of slash piles, or a prescribed burn had settled into our area and created a thick haze that reminded me of the wild land firefighters saying: "The blacker the booger, the greener the paycheck." This would be fine if I were digging fire line, but in my current life it is: The thicker the smoke, the blacker the lungs, the sicker the stomach and the poundier the headache. I just keep reminding myself that this is all for the best and will keep us safer from the time WHEN a wildfire does threaten Flagstaff. Remember: it is WHEN, not IF.

Should Have Moved To Paha Sapa (It's Lakota)

A couple of days ago, I finished reading Rolvaag's Giants In The Earth, a story about Norskie settlers on the eastern Dakota prairie in the 1870's. It is similar to On The Banks Of Plum Creek, but slightly more fictional, and written for a more adult audience. It struck me interesting that the settlers had a burning desire to band with like folks. When others would pass by the settlement, it was vital that they too be of Norskie stock, largely due to language issues. Not only was it vital that newcomers be Norskie, but from the right part of good o' Norge. I also found it strange that they longed for the milder winters of the northern Norway coast, or even Minnesota. We complain when we need to travel a mere six miles on snow packed roads to buy something we don't need from the department store. Imagine running out of wood and other heat sources, and food for both livestock and people and spring is still 2 months away. The landscape is covered with 3 feet of snow and another blizzard is brewing. There ain't no snowplow. Oh, and you really need a doctor. Skis were even pointless with that much snow. The women in the story kept wondering what the hell they were doing out there, and the men kept looking further west, further into the wilderness, further away from concentrated populations. This could not have been easy for those who settled the great plains. Kudos to them. And to those who were before who did not view wilderness with fear and negativity - more kudos.

Another Day, Another "NO!"

What arrived at work today?

36 100 ml graduated cylinders
40 vials of capillary tubes
1 case of small nitrile gloves
1 case of medium nitrile gloves
1 case of large nitrile gloves
1 case of extra-large nitrile gloves
2 medium-large boxes of assorted supplies that I have not unpacked yet.

What didn't?

2 20 liter drums of acetonitrile. It seem there is a WORLDWIDE SHORTAGE of the solvent and only "preferred customers" can get any. To make matters weirder, "preferred customer" refers to those who frequently order acetonitrile, not those who order lots of other goodies on a regular basis, with an occasional order of acetonitrile. I guess the world has discovered the joys of acetonitrile, and refuse to call it Methyl Cyanide. That would simply scare many users away and leave more for us. I get the fun of telling researchers they probably can't get any, but I will keep searching for a vendor who will see things my way. There are grad students who have work to finish, and the supplier's attitude of "you don't order enough of it." flies as well as a rock swims. Let's hope the vendor rep can intervene. Oh, I'm not paying more than $20.00/liter either.

Horny Truckers On Our Highways

As we were driving to town in the pre-dawn darkness this morning, a car carrier passed us. As it did so there came the annoying blare of a car horn. We weren't drifting into his lane, and he wasn't drifting into ours, so we were a little confused and simply watched the shiny new cars from soon to be bankrupt companies pass. Shiny, pretty, new cars. The vehicle following it passed us as well, but didn't look or act miffed about anything, so the confusion continued. The sound came again. Once the carrier was fully past us, the mystery was solved. The car alarm of the back most mini van on the upper deck had been activated. Beep beep beep went the horn. Blink, blink, blink went the tail lights. Then a pause for a few seconds before the cycle continued. Our entertainment continued until the carrier headed up the ramp and headed east on 40. Beep beep beep, blink blink blink into the soon to be rising sun.

It Seems To Be A Word - Gotta Love It

Having little to do this evening, I decided to attend a "barking dog" meeting at the local fire station. Actually the one in Kachina, but still local. The woman from the Coconino County Health Department (read animal control) briefly talked about the ordinance covering barking animals, then listened to the onslaught of vingettes. Vingettes of dogs at large, agressive dogs, people who walk dogs off leash in the forest, vindictive neighbors, and even vocal canines. I found it odd that only 30% of the dog bit involved barking dogs; you know that topic the meeting was supposed to be about. The crowd was less than satisfied with the ordinance and wanted a new one. Some wanted to know if they could sue nearby owners of barkers due to a reduced "quality of life." There was no clear answer from the woman from the county. She kept trying to keep it focused on BARKING, but some in the crowd were intent on discussing a shooting incident involving an agressive dog, resulting in a dead person. The reality of living in the county, and Kachina/Mountainaire in particular hit home with disappointment, and gasps were heard from many when one woman stated that her neighbors have FOUR dogs, and most residents here have AT LEAST TWO. She wanted statistics on the number of dogs out here. Her arithmophilia was contageous and others soon asked about dog license records. The obsession continued to grow. The question was eating them all: just how many dogs are there in Kachina Village and Mountainaire. I refrained from telling them to multiply the number of people by four. Yes the barking is a problem, and sometimes the barking level is off the scale, but I prefer that to the constant yapping into cell phones by some of my neighbors. It is to the point that I can not sit in my own yard without listening to someone's private conversation.

Third Time Is A Time

I decided to be a slob and make this a four-day weekend. I must confess I was only semi-wise with the time. I washed the kitchen floor, dusted the plant shelves, or at least tried to. This is a project that is done so rarely that it is nearly pointless. Since it is nearly pointless it is done rarely, which makes it nearly pointless. I also made 3 batches of croissant dough. Roll roll roll chill chill chill roll roll roll etc etc etc. I have 1-1/2 batches ready to do whatever with and 1-1/2 batches scored and ready to form into croissants all freezing in preparation for turkey day. Yes I know I can just buy the things, or even do the canned stuff, but the pain in the ass is well worth it when the diners bite into one and utter "These aren't Pilsbury, are they?" Besides, rolling chilled dough borders on a workout. Unfortunately, flour gets everywhere. EVERYWHERE! At least I was ambitious enough to make extra dough so, as I mentioned earlier, I can make other croissant dough based goodies on shorter notice. The pain in the ass factor for making 3 batches is only 50% greater than a single batch. I also support the dairy industry by using lots and lots and lots and lots of butter. Seriously, each batch uses 4-1/2 sticks of butter. I cut mine down to 4-1/4 - as if it makes a difference at that point. Even when they don't turn out well, they surpass anything available in this mountain town. So try it sometime, and make your own.

Another Missed Opportunity

It seems to be time for another Bond marathon on the ol' idiot box. The movie of the moment is Diamonds Are Forever which is one of my favorites. My wife and daughter went to see High School Musical III with a couple of other girls and their mom; I was informed it was a girls only outing. Imagine my disappointment at not getting to watch a sporting event break into a big song and dance number. How will I recover?
Oh, to H. I did remember, but don't like to bring it up. I prefer to have it be "another day" and not the day we all lost something. Time to find a Blackhawks game and scream at the TV for those who used to.

Don't Abuse The Opportunity

The people of the united states have spoken for change, but the popular vote shows just how tough the job for President Elect Obama will be. There is now the risk that the Democrats will copy the Republicans and abuse the control of the executive and legislative branches of our government. It is up to us to make sure they do not. Control of these branches does not mean the people want the Democrats to do whatever they want. We have the opportunity to keep the democrats from punishing big business, small business, and the wealthy while opening the door to opportunity for those who have been denied a future for so long now. (It will be up to them to go through the opened door.) On the other hand Arizonans have decided to write bigotry into the state constitution. Although this does not change the current situation, it uses the constitution to guarantee that basic rights are only for the special ones. I guess fear still rules.

Rant Rant Rant Rant Rant

It is finally election day, and I am avoiding watching any returns for at least another hour. Despite my respect for the so called maverick, I find myself preferring the Senator from Illinois. This is largely due to the demaverickization Senator McCain has gone through over the past two to three years. Instead of taking a centrist approach to positions, he has moved far to the right in order to appease the far right portion of the republican base. In short he has become more of a gelding. His selection of Governor Palin pushed me offer the edge to the left. I would love to watch a hockey game with the woman, but when she spews statements about what God gave the United States (oil, natural gas, wind, etc.) and what we are entitled (mandated) to do with it, I realize that if she is allowed influence in the Oval Office, that science will be set back another 30 years. Given the past eight years that would place technology in this country somewhere in the middle of the twelfth century. We can not advance as a society when our leaders ridicule or ignore chemistry, physics and biology. That is part of the reason I have looked to the left. There are others, but I am more moderate on those views. I seriously believe that if the right retains control of the executive branch, we will live in fear, lose freedoms, and return to the days of destroyed federal and state constitutions ala Arizona proposition 102. I'm as mad as hell over this crap and did something about it. I voted.

Take Your Daughter To A Game Day

I realize it has been a spell since I blogged at all y'all. It has been a mostly normal week, except for Saturday night when we met some friends in Phoenix for a Coyotes game. One of the two we met for the game was unaware of the personality change I go through at a hockey game, and he was certainly unprepared for the effect hockey has on our daughter. Neither was all of section 201, most of whom seemed humored by a nine year old girl screaming at the players. Most. There seemed to be a seat in the row in front of us that was equipped with a stick that penetrated the sphincter of the man sitting in it. The crustier his glances at us, the more I wanted to tell our little sports fan to keep yelling. I avoided the urge, and just let Kim be Kim. She was in rare form telling the Coyotes "Bash them into the boards, you're allowed to do that in hockey!" So to the lifeless blob in front of us, Lighten up, get a life, and start living it.

OOPS! I dropped the ball - AGAIN

Tonight was the Lumberjacks homecoming game and things started off poorly, then got worse quickly. Then got worserer quicklier. I was left wondering if some of our fine players didn't sneak off to tequila sunrise with the rest of the student body. Either that or dem Mormon boys from Weber State had the spirits on their side. Fourty-something to something-teen.

Fall is Falling?

Did I say 20's? I mean early morning temps in the teens; high teens, but teens. The flip side is that town hit 69 today. Gotta love that dry climate that gives high daily temp swings. I also love the PHX weather personalities who tell people to wear a jacket when it is 60 degrees, because 60 degrees is chilly. Up here on the mountain, 60 is nearly run nekkid weather.

Can't think of a title.

Happy Thursday. Mornings keep getting chilly, in the 20's anyway. At least there was no wind today. Now if we would get some moisture, we could have some snow. This morning as I was riding to work, I saw a street cleaner on campus leaving a nice trail of a thin layer of ice behind it. How cool is that?

That Sinking Feeling

So my daughter was relaxing after homework and was watching some insipid program on the Disney Channel when I said something that made her immediately switch to the Weather Channel for an hour. Yes, she watched the weather channel for an hour. What, you may ask, would make a nine year old abandon the Disney Channel for MTV for geezers? Why When Weather Changed History, of course. Tonight's program was on the Titanic. To say that my daughter is into the history of the Titanic, is an understatement. Robert Ballard's interest in the ship pales in comparison to that of Kim's. When she grows up and has children she will probably give them names like Harland and Wolff, Southampton, Titanic, White Star, or Iceberg. She even drew a picture of the Titanic during the program, and exclaimed "Darn it!" when it was over.

A Non Repentent Apology

A few days ago a friend posted a blog with a music video embedded in it. The song enumerated the stereotypical advantages of being male. Although I do not agree with all of the listings, I have examined some of my traits and behaviors and I wonder if I am self centered because I am male, or if it is because I am the center of the universe. I have had friends be apprehensive about medical procedures, and not relate to their apprehension. Is it because the science behind the procedure is just another application of that found in some chemistry labs, or some innate "it's just a MRI" maleness, or because I have had a smaller MRI myself (and an angiogram, and a nuclear bone scan.)? I feel like a jerk about it, but these things happen when one is the center of the known and unknown universe. It is also true that despite some of the drawbacks to being male, I have NEVER felt like singing "If I were a girl." So I apologize for my self centeredness, but doubt I will do anything about it.

Twist and Shout

If you have been so bored that you have been following my blog, you may remember a post during the summer where my daughter finally went down the simple slide at the athletic club. I remembered the problems we had trying to get her to go down that slide when we checked out the new city aquatic center with the much bigger dual slides. Dreading a repeat of the drama, we asked if she wanted to go down the slide. We were greeted with a "I'm thinking about it." I tried the old "If daddy goes down, will you?" Without any hesitation, the answer was "Yes!" So up the steps we went to sit at the tops of the slides and down we went. During the trip down my tube, (twist twist turn turn in semi-dark) I figured my daughter would hate me forever. Nope! Again and again and again. No tantrums, no hesitations, no bribes. Anyway this is a pic of the outside portion of the slides.

Wow Lao Ben Baw?

Last night after getting flu shots, we went out for Chinese food. As it turned out our waitress was from Thailand so I thought I'd ask (in Thai) where she was from. It has been over 20 years since I lived there and my tones are usually a little off, but I was surprised by what came out of my mouth. All I wanted to say was "mah jahk nai?" but out came "mah deh sai?" The waitress looked confused for a second, then laughed-smiled and said "That's not even Thai!" My response was "Well, yes, but it's the northeastern dialect." (In dialect) She agreed. The problem was that I couldn't for the life of me speak Thai, and was left "wowing lao." Fortunately the waitress was from Issan. For a few moments, English was also a problem. Is this a reaction to the vaccine?
On the other hand, our daughter is quite ill today with an "overactive gut" which means she had something before the shot. Massive purging. No fever, no aches, no headache. Just purging.

Daughter and Daddy do Shots

Tonight is the night of the Hunter's Moon, the full moon in October. The air is crisp and the needle cast has been noteworthy this year. The high winds last Friday and Saturday accelerated the annual shedding of the pine nedles. The gutters were overflowing with them, and there was a good layer in the "valleys" of our roof. Today was also the day that they were offering free flu shots for employees of NAU and their families. The cut off age for children is 9 years old, which happens to be the age of our daughter. We held of on telling her where we were going until we got to the room where the shots were being given. Then we bribed her with going out to one of her two favorite restaurants. There was some quiet protesting, but no screams of terror. A few words of comfort from the nurse, and a moment later it was done. No tears. But, of course, I'm 46 so that would have been poor form.

And They Shall Be Termed Equini - even if it is wrong.

It seems that the cable company is blaming solar radiation interference for the reduced reception on some of the channels we subscribe to. The nerve! Did they suddenly become astrophysicists or something? They also say this occurs around the equini - what is the plural of equinox? This drop in service was most annoying last evening when I was watching the Coyotes/Anaslime game. Tracing the puck on our small T.V. set is hard enough without a 2 second outage every 5 minutes, so I propose drastic action. I suggest we either ban the sun, or simply skip over the equini. Or better yet, we should get McCain-Palin to blame the Democrats. This is exactly what they will do unless the Obama folks defuse the Ayers/Wright/Rebel of the day pseudo connections. (I promised some type of jab against the Dems.) As more of these pseudo connections are brought to life, Senator Obama will need to be more detailed in the relationships. I think the Republicans are grab-bagging, but it seems to be working for them. The republicans are also milking the MYTH of the evil liberal media to their full benefit. The Democrats are caving, and the media is adjusting their coverage in a way that only Rupert Murdoch would be proud of. Just in case you are wondering: I find both the McCain-Palin and Obama-Biden camps to have strong points and weak points. I am a registered Independant and politically am between the two camps, but am weary of the influence of the FAR FAR right "Do as we say, think what we tell you, pray ONLY what we pray" philosophy. I am also tired of the Democrats "give us your money and we will redistribute it for you." mentality.

Oh, according to the Astronomical Dictionary it is equinoxes. I can't believe I was wrong.

What I Didn't Know and How I Learned It.

Yesterday, one of the folks who works for the NAU Office of Regulatory Compliance came by my office to get a key to the old stockroom that is being used as storage by the Laboratory Manager. His mission was simple: to estimate the cost of cleaning it out for the room's next life as classrooms and offices. This was one of those things that make me go "Hmmmmmmm." You see, the lab manager intends to use this area as storage forever. It became obvious to me that the administration is not communicating with Chemistry. The Administration even has plans and drawings and people slated to move into these areas, including the offices that are OCCUPIED by personnel in Chemistry and Physics. The funny thing is that the administration has one room labeled as inaccessible - special key needed. I am the holder of that key. That is how I came to know what I didn't know. I decided to let the lab manager know what I learned, and although he knew nothing of the plans, he was less than surprised to know he knew nothing of these plans. Now we have the fun of letting the administration know what they didn't know. The administration also gets to learn that the old chemistry stockroom was used to stock and store things such as CHEMICALS used in chemistry. As a result there is residue of said chemicals from ~40 years of storing chemicals. Don't worry, I'm sure the spilled Hg in the very back room is vaporizing by now. That's not a problem, is it?

Capitalism in the forest.

As I had hoped for, there was a dusting of snow on the peaks today and I am sure it increased the turn out for the annual Flagstaff Ski Club ski swap. We headed out to the Flagstaff Nordic Center for their fall fest. A friend told us about it and the $5.00 parking fee. What she didn't mention was the $5.00 per person fee on top of that. I am still trying to figure out what the $5.00 per person covered. There were games the kids could play, but if they wanted to try for a prize, there was a charge. The food was not free, nor were the pumpkins. I guess the hay ride was free, as was the "stick buddy" which turned out to be a small paper bag with a face drawn on it, stuffed with straw and tied to a stick. The bird seed and peanut butter covered pine cone bird feeder was also free. Now where would one find sticks and pine cones in the middle of all dem pines? Overall it was a good time, but someone is makin' a buck off of it.

The Best Thing About October

Final score Rangers 2, Lightning 1. As the ice is being resurfaced in Prague, the Pens and Senators are battling it out in Stockholm. The air is cool, it is raining, there should be fresh snow on the peaks by morning, and there is a fresh slick surface on arenas across the land. Drop the "pre" IT'S HOCKEY SEASON! Puck yeah I'm happy about it. Forgive me for using a brand name, but I WANNA DRIVE THE ZAMBONI. It rolls off the tongue better than "I wanna drive the Olympia" (or any one of the other makes of ice resurfacers.)

The C Word

In order to pretend to be open minded, I have been watching the debates. Unfortunately, I have found them to be one long dual campaign ad, he said - he said - she said - he said fest. Add food, drinks, drugs and a twister mat and we would have one big dysfunctional orgy. Anyway, I thought I had heard it all before during one of Governor Palin's answers that was an answer to something other than the question asked. Caution: flaming liberal rant ahead! She was spewing the normal republican mantra of DRILL DRILL DRILL EVERYWHERE EVERYWHERE EVERYWHERE NOW NOW NOW! when she inserted the obligatory mention of energy sources other than oil when this came out of her mouth:

So even in dealing with climate change, it's all the more reason that we have an "all of the above" approach, tapping into alternative sources of energy and conserving fuel, conserving our petroleum products and our hydrocarbons so that we can clean up this planet and deal with climate change.

She actually said: "conserving fuel, conserving our petroleum products and our hydrocarbons so that we can clean up this planet and deal with climate change.'

Republican Governor married to an employee of big oil say what?

"conserving our petroleum products..."

Again?

conserving

There has not been a politician seeking to get elected that has used that word in 28 years, and he paid dearly for it. I was shocked, surprised, flummoxed, and almost impressed.

But, I soon knew it was not a dream when the chant for "Drill, baby drill!" returned.

The evening progressed without a re-utterance of the word. Not even from Senator Biden.

The End is Upon Us

My daughter's school has a dress code that bans shorts between October 1st through April 30th, so my daughter had to wear her new jeans today. Her new and pretty jeans with cute dasigns on the pockets. Or as she put it her "hot, sweaty, stupid jeans that I will have to turn the cuffs up on to keep from dying from heat in the classroom in the afternoon that everyone will laugh at me stupid smelly jeans." The ones Patty and I thought looked nice. The ones she said "Are really stupid and I'm the only one who follows the dress code stupid smelly hot ugly jeans." Those jeans.

The 'Rents Came to Visit

My parents have been visiting us for the past few days. The extra sets of hands were a blessing as my dad and I built a gate in the front part of our fence, and realigned the bumper on our truck. It had suffered an adjustment in a Wal-Mart parking lot when someone backed into it. Mom and Dad bought a new set of vertical blinds for our house since the old set was acting and looking its age. While I was at work, dad installed them. COOL! The extended family also did a bit of yard work and planted a bunch of bulbs. Many of these things could have been done without them here, but again, the extra sets of hands made it much cooler. Mom also spent some time in the kitchen and we have at least two nights of leftovers.

I Thought It Was A Slot Machine

Gambling: It's not just for casinos (and airports, and grocery stores) anymore!

The first wheel stopped at "7" as did the second and third. This would have been fantastic if it had been a slot machine, and was missing the negative sign in front. Before panic sets in, we need to realize that this wasn't even a 7% drop in the DJIA. Folks, this doesn't even make the top 10 list for big percentage drops in "the market." So lets all have a drink, get a geed night's sleep and tackle tomorrow with a level head.
Frankly, I think congress is acting appropriately by not rushing into some quick fix loan, and instead creating a bill that addresses the needs of most of the players. This does not cover the wants of us all, nor should it. I think the Paulson-Bush Bailout bill reeks of socialized banking. If we had been paying attention we would have realized that we have had socialized banking anytime the feds loan banks money. This bill, however takes it to a whole new level. If we loan financial institutions the funds they say they need at what I expect to be no or low interest, they will gladly use it to loan funds to regular folks at a MUCH HIGHER interest rate. At some time in the future when these institutions are profitable, we will be paid back, probably without interest nor adjustments for inflation. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Mix it up

One of the things I like most about Flag is the philosophical balance. There is a mix of liberal and conservative views that I have not found other places I have lived. Growing up in Boulder, I was easily (over)exposed to the liberal end of the spectrum, although some of my friends were staunch conservative republicans. When I lived in the Black Hills in a SMALL (650) logging town the cattle ranching, tree sawing, land is here to make a profit from philosophy reigned. Flagstaff takes the leftish ideals a college town and mixes it with the town's history of ranching, logging and the railroad. The university itself maintains this mix. The department I work in has close to a 50/50 mix of liberal to conservative. Or maybe the conservatives are just more vocal? A fellow blogger and NAU staff member frequently seems surprised to find other conservatives on campus, but I would expect if she were to hang out in engineering or business she would find many like minded souls. I am still searching for the jaded cynic department where my brethren might gather.

Nothing of substance here.

Looking over my past few blogs, I conclude that I have been rant prone lately. I will try to avoid senseless ranting tonight and supplant it with senseless rambling. As I write this a rerun of Two and a Half Men is on the idiot box. Since I have seen this one only four times, I will watch it again. Besides my wife has the remote. I conclude that the writers of the program have kids of their own and use the opportunity to vent through writing with the sole purpose of avoiding murdering their kids. It seems much funnier when it is a T.V. kid and not a real one belonging to my wife and I.
Things got a little interesting at work today. Most days, I can push pencils without interruption, but today I had no less than 6 phone calls, 4 deliveries of chemistry supplies, and 3 appointments - all between 8:30-11:30. I was hoping that the afternoon would slow down, and was just thinking that that was the case when one of the instructional lab teaching assistants came into my office and asked if I knew where the laboratory manager/safety officer was. I did not, but was overjoyed to be told that there was an accident in one of the labs and the student involved was already in the shower room. It was a VERY small volume (~10 ml) but it involved the face and heated DMSO BAPNA concoction. YUM! Things turned out okay, mostly due to the small volume and low hazard of the chemicals involved. Kudos to the T.A. and the other students. At least I don't have to do the paperwork for the incident reports. I just changed channels to arrive at Good Eats to hear Mr. Brown exclaim "Know your fish monger!"

700 billion points of light

Things to/not to do with 700 billion dollars.

1) Give $100 plus some change to every person on earth. Not
2) Reward global corporations for poor bets - no questions asked. Not
3) Reward global corporations for poor bets - some questions asked. Probably
4) Reward individual families for poor housing decisions. Not
5) Push for a new regulatory bureaucracy while campaigning as an anti-bureaucracy,
anti regulation maverick. Yep
6) Give it to me. Not
7) Use it for leverage to get votes away from the party of a former beauty queen.
Yep.
8) Use it to explain why the opposite political party is to blame for everything
instead of working to solve the problem. Yep
9) Empower international banking and investing executives - give them whatever they
ask for whenever they ask for it. Absolutely!
10) Piss off the American taxpayers. DUH!!!

I am part owner of several global corporations!

Well, the last half of the week has been much less hostile to the stock market than the first half, and my portfolio seems to have grown, at least in number of things owned. It seems I am now part owner of AIG and a whole bunch of mortgages of a whole bunch of banks. I will keep telling myself this, and ignore that what I own is a sack of manure wrapped in pretty foil paper. Some economists believe that is things go well, this may be good for the taxpayer/investors. I will continue to tell myself that I own things I didn't before. It also seems that the maverick that is for small government and deregulation is also for another bureaucracy to regulate the private sector. Ain't election years great.

This isn't funny

Let me see if I understand this: Oodles of people and businesses have paid AIG insurance premiums, and now we must have some of our tax dollars go to rescue the MAJOR CORPORATION. Just think of the folks who have/had AIG who are actually winding up paying twice. If AIG manages to nurse itself back to health, will we get our tax money back with interest?

Any bets on how bad this week will end up being for the DJIA? How many shoes are there, and who keeps dropping them.

Political Question and comments.

If it is appropriate for a politician to boast about the activities of one of their children in the armed services, is it also appropriate to discuss the less savory activities of another one of their children?

Also, at the very least, it was STUPID to use any cliche involving farm animals and lipstick. I know this is old news, but...

My mom was a "hockey mom", drove herself to work, and cooked meals for the family, so where is her nomination?

Why are the Republicans getting major kudos for doing what the Democrats did TWENTY FOUR years ago, and why are the Democrats too chicken to point this out?

Dog dishes and what goes down...

It felt a touch cool in the house this morning and even cooler when I went to fetch the morning paper. There appeared to be some frost on our roof so I made a point of checking the thermometer. It read 34 degrees. Since the sun was up, and the air was warming quickly, I wondered if it froze overnight. I went outside to feed the dogs, and there it was...a very thin layer of ice on the water dish. It was too thin to support the weight of a housefly, but it was there. Freezing in the middle of September? This usually doesn't happen till the END of the month. There seems to be a feeling of folks in Flag that we are going to have another longer, colder, wetter winter. COOL!! In other news... For our daily family bike ride today, our daughter wanted to ride to the convenience mart in our neighborhood. The ride is only a little more than a mile each way, with about 30+ meters difference in elevation between our house and the store. I kept warning her that the ride down is great, but the return trip can be a doozy because the elevation difference is spread over only half a mile.(Don't you love mixing imperial and SI units?) She wanted to do it anyway. I again warned her that after we ride down, we need to ride UP. On the return trip, our daughter wound up walking her bike half the way up the hills. Suprisingly, she is willing to do it again. Yes, the steepness of the hill makes for great fun when the roads are icy.

ODe to Automobiles

Oh, driver of the cherokee
Why did you turn in front of me?
I left a pretty skid,
I did.
Skipped a beat, did my heart.
And now I can not fart
Because puckered is my ass
And my language is crass.
It must be a strange sight
To see a bike
In the BIKE LANE of a college town
Even one that almost laid down
You, dear driver, owe me a whiskey
To keep my nerves from being frisky


(In your defense, a city bus had just passed me.)
(In my defense, there was PLENTY of time for you to see me.)

(note the most commonly accepted spelling of the beverage)

The Power of Thought

Yesterday while we were treating our daughter to the high quality nutrition that only McDonald's can provide, a McCain-Palin rally came on the television. Another patron asked if we were Republicans, and was quite pleased at my wife's response, but dissapointed to find me to be an independant. He said "That's too bad, you should be a Republican." Although I said "Oh, well.," I thought why should I be a Republican when I can be something else and think for myself. In reality, I also have problems with the Democrats - stay tuned for my jabs on them.

The weekend

Ahhhh, Saturday. Relaxation, fun and sleeping in until 6:00, or even 6:30. Life is good.

When Dyslexia Strikes

Okay, so I haven't blogged in a few days, but the wife and daughter have been using the laptop and I have been watching the DEM and REP convention speeches and all. I am speeched out! I am more jaded than ever, and am sick of the misinformation, lies, and nonsense told by all speakers at both conventions. I think as punishment that McCain should be forced to run with Biden, and Obama should be forced to run with Palin. For added effect, they should shift positions on the ticket. As an observation, the font/graphics on the McCain/Palin comes across as either McCain - Pain or McCain - Plain when the posters are waved around. Am I the only one to have noticed this?

WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD IDIOMS

Tuesday I was listening to THE WORLD on NPR and found a humorous use of an idiom. Simon Montlake was reporting on Anwar Ibrahim, a Malaysian MP (Member of Parliment) who was convicted of sodomy in 1998. He denies the charges, which is not the funny part. The reporter artfully mentioned that when he was jailed in 1998, his wife "Kept the seat warm for him." My mind which resides several levels below the gutter, made a connection between the charges and a warm seat. It sounded much more refined when spoken with Simon Montlake's British accent.

Death Wish Fish

Our daughter has been wanting a hamster for quite some time, but we will not allow her to get one as long as her two fish are among the living. I suspect she secretly wants them to die so she can rush out and get a rodent. She has continually been asking "How long do goldfish live?" Anyway, last night as Patty was reading her a bedtime story, they heard a funny sound like something jumping out of the gap of the cover in the fish tank and landing on a piece of paper. My assistance was required, so I assumed the superdad persona and moved the stand the fish tank is on, but no fish on the floor, and only one in the tank. I carefully looked under the dresser that is next to the stand, but no fish. I am expecting our daughter to be happy about this because she would be a mere 1 fish away from a hamster, but she was looking distressed. No, SERIOUSLY DISTRESSED. We then cleared off the dresser and removed the drawers, then moved the dresser to find what appeared to be a lifeless fish on the carpet. As I scooped it up, it barely moved. I put it back in the tank anyway, where it looked as if it would float to the top any second. This morning it was swimming around, looking pale (not gold) and most of the carpet fuzz was out of it's gills. I am expecting the stress of the event and remaining carpet fuzz to take it's toll and have told our daughter this, but the improvement is noteworthy. Oh, and the gap in the tank cover has been ungapped. It would also appear that Kim wants the fish to live after all.

The Power Of Thank You

My wife had her company picnic today at a ramada in the county fairgrounds a few miles from home. It has been held in the county fairgrounds the past few years, it has been at a different ramada, and many attendees had difficulty finding the spot this year. I find it humorous that it was at the Navajo Ramada and even the Navajos my wife works with had a hard time finding the picnic spot. But that is all in a name anyway. As soon as we arrived, my daughter connected with a friend who had her bike there. I was instantly encouraged by my other two thirds to go home and get my daughters bike. I reluctantly complied and headed off in a grumpy mood to fetch the apparatus of personal conveyance. As I pulled back into the parking lot for the picnic, my daughter ran to the truck and exclaimed "Thank you Daddy!" My grumpies evaporated and all was good again.

We Must Be Getting Old

Last night the cable was out, so our daughter put a VHS tape (yes, we STILL have some)into the VCR and watched Rug Rats In Paris until her bedtime. After which my wife and I decided we were bored and tired, so we went to bed at 9:00. Yes, we didn't put in a non-cartoon VHS or DVD, or read, or even snuggle. I could fool myself and say it was 21:00, thus feel less nerdish, but I have the mathematical ability to subtract 12 from 21 and arrive at 9. Anyway we took the chance to catch up on our sleep. Imagine 7 1/2 hours of sleep on a Tuesday night.

Oh, the clogging of the streets.

I can tell summer is winding down by the level of activity on campus. After the summer session ended a couple of weeks ago, campus became very quiet as many faculty and staff members took vacations of varying lengths. Over the weekend, things started to slowly pick up, and activity is increasing by about 10%/day. There should be an explosion of activity late this week in preparation for classes to start next Monday. Soon Flagstaff will be filled with thousands of new students getting lost as they attempt to navigate in a town that is new to them. The real fun will start when the returning students discover that several of their favorite parking lots on campus no longer exist.

The Revenge of The Gods

About a month ago, we had what was to be an extra four kids at our house evaporate into our being kidless for a night. I wrote that the Gods would exact revenge at a later date. That date was last night. With around 24 hours notice we agreed to take care of a friends 4 kids for the night so she could drive to Phoenix and pick her husband up at the airport. Since they would be getting home late, we agreed. She didn't mention until the last minute that the four of them were all in a week long state of rebellion. We had a ten year old girl K#1 who our daughter gets along with very well. We had a 6 year mildly special needs girl K#2 with casts on both feet from a recent surgery. We had a 4 year old boy, C and a 3 year old sassy bullet proof boy, B. For the most part, the girls were fine. The boys had less discipline than our two extra spoiled dogs. Submitted or your approval (or disapproval) is a snapshot of the next 18 hours.
C: Whats that?
A toy.
I want to play with it.
You need to ask our daughter, it's hers.
I want to play with it.
Ask Kim.
I want to play with it.
You need to as....
What's that.
It's a dog leash.
I want to play with it.
No.
I want to play with it.
Meanwhile, B is climbing on furniture
B! Get down please.
No.
B, you need to get down
No!
C: What's that?
It's an M&M dispenser.
I want some
Eat your... B, get down from there, NOW! ... hot dog
NO!.. / I want some
Eat your...
WAAAAH, I fall
see, I told you to get dow....
Get off of that
I want some.........
Then K#1 and K#2 get issues
Night falls, morning rises and the production starts again. Good times developed after the boys who weren't hungry and did not eat their pancakes got hungry and noticed ONE leftover donut and split it.
I want donuts
You ate the last one
I want donuts
There aren't any left
I want donuts, I'm hungry
Have a pancake, there are still some left
I want donuts
They're all .... GET DOWN NOW .. gone
I want / NO! / donuts / oops water spill
My wife then got to have a conversation with C about M&Ms and breakfast and hunger and pancakes. No M&Ms were dispensed, yet I feel the adults were still the losers in this conversation.
OH! Did I mention that none of the four add ons are used to dogs, and our dogs are not used to people who are not used to dogs, or that the pick up happened 2 hours after the phone call saying "We will be right over." making us late for the appointments we made right after the call saying "We will be right over." or that I love run on sentences.
I'm making an appointment for a second vasectomy... just in case. I also wonder if such an event qualifies one for a prescription for medical marijuana.

New Math

Today we will study new math.
If we have a petite nine year old girl
If we add a semi-picky appetite and the one bite and "I'm Full" syndrome
Then add swimming
And McDonald's where she LOVES the fish sandwich we get what?

The answer is a Big Mac of course and she ate the WHOLE thing -- and was STILL HUNGRY!

What Else Can I Forget?

With summer rapidly winding to a close, we decided to take a short 1 night camping trip to Ashurst Lake. We loaded the truck with all the essentials, rented a 2 burner Coleman style (Brinkman brand) camp stove from the good folks at NAU Outdoors and headed out to Ashurst Lake. We arrived at the campground and set up camp when my daughter held up the jar of bait and exclaimed "Now we get to put hooks on the fishing poles!" My mind loaded the image of my tackle box sitting in the front of the garage so I would have to step over it when I walked in front of the truck before getting in the drivers seat. That and I would put the new jar of bait that we just bought in it before I put it in the truck. My mind loaded the image of my walking behind the truck before getting in the drivers seat. My mouth loaded the response of "Oh, crap." So I headed off to the Lake Mary Store to pay the you should have remembered this before coming fishing prices for some hooks. I got back to campsite and we headed off to the lake. At the lake, I realized that bobbers would have been nice. No, I didn't go back to the store. We roasted hot dogs and made s'mores. Our daughter was too beat to continue and was asleep by 8:00 As bedtime for the adults rolled around, I suddenly remembered that campgrounds like this one have dueling RV generators and a passel of peons partying past 11:00. Although there were fewer than 7 out of 25 spots occupied, and our nearest neighbor was 75 feet away, I felt as if we were in a colege dorm during the first week of school. It finally got quiet enough to listen to the coyotes serenade us off to dream land. I love the sound of barking/howling coyotes, it sooths me and frees me of the thoughts of the material world I spend too much time in. Our two dogs were too beat to respond - most of the time. Despite the antics of the absent minded chemist, it was a great time, and a perfect end to the summer. Reality hits on Thursday when our daughter starts the fourth grade. Oh, and a reminder to all parents out there: take the kids fishing/camping - Andy and Opie will bless you for it.

Finally! Really, FINALLY!

After months of struggling, we FINALLY broke down and took our daughter and her bike to a park with a gentle grassy slope for bike riding practice. The trip began with our daughter telling me NOT to put her bike in the van because she wasn't going to practice. When she found out her bike was in the van, she protested loudly and insisted that she wasn't going to ride her bike, but instead play with her friend that was with us. When we got to the park she complained that she didn't get to play, but instead had to practice her "stupid old bike." Her friend and I went off to the playground while our daughter and Patty (the other third of the family unit) went of to the other part of the park so Kim could practice riding her stupid old bike that she was NEVER going to learn to ride. Less than 5 minutes later, this happened.

Now That's Relaxation

It is not too frequent that I have a day when I do next to nothing. My big accomplishment for the day was cleaning the kitchen sink. I was amazed to discover that it is white, not coffee stain brown, with other foods highlights. I feel so proud. The good news is I wasn't even watching T.V., just napping. I'm telling myself it is my reward for riding my bicycle home yesterday.

Where Architects Dare

Some of my favorite buildings/structures in the U.S.

Loretto Chapel, Santa Fe, NM

Chrysler Building, NYC

Seattle Space Needle

National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO. (rent the Woody Allen movie "Sleeper")

The "older" part of the Denver Art Museum

The now defunct Columbia Savings in Boulder circa 1973-1990. It was sort of a smashed truncated octahedron on stilts.

Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde NP

Fallingwater

When Diversity Goes Too Far.

Rejected Ideas for Fast Food Chains:

Dieter's Dumpling Den (Dieter is a name, not an activity)

Manny's Menudo Mesa

Lars's Lutefisk Lounge

Brenda's Barbecued Bovine Brains

Somchai's Seasoned Seaweed

Calling Dr. Dolittle

I need to learn to speak dog. Our black whoozawhazit is desperately trying to communicate with me, making a series of half grunt and guttural sounds as she sets her head on my lap. The funny thing is my wife is sitting next to me, and she has no computer on her lap, so why does Bear prefer to talk to me? Maybe my life if a hallucination and I am really not human, but a dog. If this is true, what type of dog am I? I will take votes, but all frou frou/froo froo suggestions will be disqualified. I remind those who may suggest pansy breeds that I have access to a venerable pharmacopoeia of elements, concoctions and substances that may appear in your beverages. Certain hormones that cause funny things to happen to the gender of various species of animals come to mind.

Heavy Reflections

One of the characters in Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451 stated that one should live one's life as if one were to die within 10 seconds. Given that one can suddenly die on a bus in Manitoba, this carries a lot of truth. I wish the family, friends, and loved ones of Tim McLean deep peace and love. I thank all carneys everywhere for allowing young children to win every time. (I have a daughter who manages to win every time.) Seriously, Peace and Love! - A winner every time.

Brandy, you're a fine girl!

Hmmmmm, lets see here. I've got butter, brown sugar, bananas, ice cream, a heat source, a flame source. Oops, no rum. But, I found some brandy - that works. So lets review. Butter + brown sugar + heat + bananas + heat (again) + brandy + flame (oooh, pretty colors) + ice cream = YUM! Plus I get to play with fire.

ROAD TRIP PART II

Yesterday as we were driving to Sky Harbor a HUGE! bug splattered itself on the windshield. The guts covered at least 25% of the glass, and at first I thought it was a hummingbird, but the splat color was the definitive "bug gut yellow," not "hemoglobin red." Not less than five minutes later, my wife started laughing and pointed out we had just crossed Big Bug Creek. I spent the next 3 minutes wondering what Bloody Basin Road would bring.

EARLY MORNING ROAD TRIP TO AIRPORT

Freeway Flagstaff at four = fine.
Freeway Feenix at five-fifty-five = F!
(and that's when the traffic is not heavy)

Oh, and ADOT - you might consider posting the road construction (speed limit 45) at Happy Valley and vicinity on your web site.

Would You Like Some Mercaptan With That?

My parents have commented that when they are visiting, we never fail to run into smebody I know no matter where we go in Flagstaff. I have argued this point, but have realized it is a losing battle. A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I went to the U-Haul place to fill the back-up propane bottle for the grill and were amazed to find only one other customer there. Usually the place is Flag's version of Grand Central with at least a 30 minute wait. As luck would have it, another customer arrived with his back up bottle to be filled and it wound up to be someone I know from one of the watering holes near town. I expect to run into folks I know at the mall, or even the hardware or grocery stores, but 9:00 at the propane place is quite unexpected, especially considering the number of propane dispensaries to choose from. Happy Grilling!

HOW TO TIE ONE ON

Soooo, Wedmesday night I made stir fry at home, Thursday I met some friends at for lunch at a Thai restaurant, and tonight my wife and I are meeting some other friends for dinner at another Thai restaurant. That may sound like a lot of Thai food, but I used to have Thai food for B, L & D for over two years. Aroy mahk!

HUMID HUMID HUMID

Although the thunder boomed and the sky lit up today, there did not seem to be a whole lot of rain. The operative word is seem. As I was leaving work, there were numerous puddles, and when I got home, there was about 1/4 inch of water in the rain gauge, which I am sure leaks. Now you folks in Brownsville (Thanks, Dolly) may laugh at this, but for us folks in Flag 1/4 inch in less than an hour is pretty damp. As much as I love the monsoons, the down side is that the humidity keeps it from cooling down at night - here we are at 8:15 and it is still above 70 degrees outside and around 75 in the house. How can we be expected to sleep with it this warm? It makes it hard to believe that in about 2 months or less, we can expect freezing temperatures for the overnight lows.

What Would Arthur Dent Say?

So far this week has been less than productive. Three of the four orders I tried to place on Monday have run into one snag or another. I asked a vendor for a tracking number on an order, and they graciously emailed me an invoice. Two people had to use the pallet jack at the same time. Oh, it was also brought to my attention that one of our adjunct faculty members has a collection of vials of his custom organic synthesis (read who knows what) stored in a fume hood. I also received a warning that our departmental operations budget may be lessthan 50% of what it was this year. Don't get me wrong, I'm not actually whining about this - I'm simply listing what tends to happen on a Tuesday. Douglass Adams is right; Tuesday is the roughest day of the week. The good news is that by tomorrow afternoon most of these issues will be resolved. The better news is that I can't do a thing about the vials, so I don't need to worry about them. Oh, and I still get to live in Flagstaff.

PHUN WITH PHOBIAS

I do not know which concerns me more: That this is a fear, or that there is a word for this fear. Anyway, today's word is rhypophobia.

Once cured of his rhypophobia, the senator was able to lose over 100 pounds.

Change in Plans

This weekend started with our hosting an extra 4 kids between the ages of 3-10 for Friday evening with plans for 2-3 of them to spend Friday night at our house. Their dad was out of town, and their mom had functions to attend in town. About an hour in to the festivities, I had a craving for valium. Our dogs were tolerating it well too; in fact, they seemed to love being chased by 3 and 5 year old boys. As the evening went on, I wound up bouncing the boys on my knees with no end in sight. When it came time for their mom to pick them up, she had forgotten to stop to pick up the overnight bags and in about 2 minutes we went from having extra kids for the night to our daughter spending the night at their house. We were suddenly kidless (de facto viagra.) Pandemonium became silence. I am positive the Gods will get us back at a later date.

Gravity Check

Just in case you were wondering, our daughter does not spend all of her free time testing gravity at swimming pools.

Ode to Jim Stafford circa '73

"Daddy, there's a spider on the outside of the container."
"Okay sweetheart, daddy will take care of it."
"NO!! It's a daddy long legs! Don't kill it, we need them. Don't you know anything? Daddy long legs are good. We need spiders; save the spiders."
"Okay sweetheart, daddy will let it be."

I guess she showed me, eh?

It's AWESOME!!!!!!!

After years of trying, we FINALLY got our daughter to go down the slide at the outdoor pool of the athletic club. During the past two summers, we have tried bribing to no avail. We tried leaving when she refused to slide. We tried copy daddy, see he went down the slide. Stil no luck. This summer she gave it a try. Now we almost need to bribe her to stop going down the slide. If one slows the clip down, it almost looks like she is running on water. Maybe we should be happy that when she is in one of "those" moods, she wants to be treated as a mere princess.

Can You Find The Jimmy Buffet Song Hidden In this Post?

Well well well... I know it's a deep subject for a mind as shallow as mine, but actual lightning, bona fide thunder, and puddles of water abound. The only thing missing is barefoot children in the rain. There are, however, shoe wearing adults in the rain. Although still in the early stages where we walk in the rain just to get soaked, (it's an Arizona thing) the monsoon is getting more widespread every day. I, for one love the beginning of the monsoon; next to October, this is my favorite time of year in Flagstaff. The moisture brings out the best in people. If this continues, I may need to mow the lawn again.

How Many Children Do You See?

I had my daughter at work with me for about half an hour this morning. As she was wandering around the shelves, she spotted the storage cabinets for flammable compressed gases and asked me what the big machines against the wall are for. After I told her, she seemed disappointed as she replied "Oh, I thought they were cloning machines." This leaves me wondering if clones have the same moods at the same time. Just picture the thrill of double happy, or the agony of double steroidal grumpy.

Just Who's Emergency Is It?

A recent event at work left me in major stress mode, all because I wanted to make everything right for as many people as possible. We ran short on an item which is delivered on Mondays ONLY and only in a limited quantity. When last Mondays delivery was to be made, we had enough supply that no more could be delivered, thus no additional dry ice was delivered. Unfortunately shortly after the scheduled delivery, there was a major run on it and we were completely out by Wednesday morning. Oh, we also needed an additional 50 pounds to get us through the weekend. This is where I should have remembered my fire/EMT training and put myself into the "It's not MY emergency" mode and let it go at that. But nooooo, I had to go into the "it's my responsibility to fix this" mode and insist on being at a grocery store by 07:30 this morning to buy 50 pounds of solid carbon dioxide. By 8:00 the dry ice was in the bin and a lock was put on the bin. By 8:45 people who were not part of the emergency, were wanting dry ice. Because I was away from my desk, I missed the call and they had to go to a store to get some, which is what I would have told them to do anyway. I suddenly realized that I shouldn't feel guilty, I don't need the stress and it is NOT my emergency and it would have fixed itself by next Monday. The worst part is I will do the same thing with something else again. Am I really that slow to learn?

No Point Here

I have been at a loss as what to blog about for the past two days. It isn't although there is a lack of stuff to blog about, it is more a matter of my getting the thoughts organized. Thursday evening, when we arrived home we had no water pressure, so I called the water utility. The recorded message told me there was a broken main and the water should be on in the evening. It was, but to to a lot of the folks from Phoenix and Tucson visiting their second homes, the pressure was not great. Friday morning the pressure was back to normal, but by evening it was back to a trickle. This was the case on Saturday, and Sunday. Finally on Monday we had what is normal pressure in the evening. This is usual for a long weekend in the summer, as the water system in the upper reaches of Mountainaire is less than modern, and tends to crap out when the population increases by 20% as it does during holidays in the summer.

Rhyme Time

Today as we were on our way to town, Kim said that there are no rhymes for the word girl. I was quick to point out that girl rhymes with pearl. Kim replied "Oh yeah, and it also rhymes with hurl.

Name That Solvent

Every once in awhile, the HVAC system in the science lab building is kind enough to spew intoxicating aromas into my office. Sometimes it is exhaust from contractors vehicles in the area smoke from nearby forest fires. Todays flavor was described by a faculty member who was in my office as a faint xylene, organic solvent, spray paint type odor. It came and went, but it is really par for the course for a $35M building that is less than 2 years old. Don't get me wrong, the taxpayers have provided us with a vast improvement over the old building, and besides, the effect remindes me of how I used to feel at Dead concerts.

Happy New Year

It is a new fiscal year at NAU and due to a self-imposed moratorium on orders for the past week, I have had a back log of orders to get out. Fortunately, I was more alert than usual this morning and finished placing the easy orders and getting the necessary quotations for the other before noon. This meant that a particular vendor also had to be prepared for my request, and was able to confirm the receipt of my order by 2:00 PM. This is for a chemical I usually buy in bulk and started to run low on about 2 weeks ago. I had to wait for the new fiscal year to order so as to not throw the account out of balance. I can now order as a republican member of congress spends tax dollars - at least for another year.

Working in a university science laboratory building, one never knows what to expect when reporting to work in the morning. Sometime between 7:00 and 8:00 this morning, this "display" appeared in one of the common areas of the third floor. A previously toynapped inflatable cheetah appeared with another inflatable animal toy in this bed. The nightstands make a real nice touch. No, the bed does not belong there. I am now paranoid that vapors and fumes are accumulating in our climate controlled building and causing our graduate and undergraduate researchers to partake in pranks that are confusing even by science geek standards.

Save The Buckets!

Another weekend is drawing to an end and I wonder how many people I was able to either humor or offend. I usually manage to inadvertently do both to the same person with the same comment. My friends sem to be disappointed when I fail to take the opportunity to monopolize on onothers comment, so I usually run with the opening. This almost always works out fine, but I have had to do some fast talking on several occasions whrn the seven-foot tall 325 pound logger/sawyer in the bar does not share my sense of humor and thinks my sarcastic comment was directed at him. This is when I refrain from comments about it being wrong that such a tough tree trunk has such a thin skin -- or was that something about a stump? Oh, well. I am also under the impression that the more opportunities I pass on , the greater the pressure inside and before one knows it we have a situation reminiscent of Mr. Creosote in "The Meaning of Life." I guess I'll continue to provide commentary and conserve buckets.

Has Anyone Seen The Dog?

Yeterday, Kim's summer camp grpup went to a zoo of sorts named "Out Of Africa" about 80KM south of here. Our usually reserved nine-year old pet this snake.

Another Bad Joke Warning

The opthamology student named Iris explained her frustration with being referred to as a pupil to her blind carpenter father. His only response was "I see." as he picked up his hammer and saw.

Wimbledon on Tour in Flagstaff.

The world as we know it is near an end, at least to a nine-year-old's black and white logic. It seems she gave a "whatever" as a response to one of her mother's request-commands despite a warning that if it ever happened again she would be grounded until school starts. The conversation in our house is a tennis volley of a tearful "But you said..." followed by the return "But you might get another chance, and I can change my mind." followed by a "But you said..." I just sit here blogging, and it is probably a good thing, because I would interject a logical, factual and helpful "But, you said..." And if I did, I would be an instant eunich, so I will continue to blog until the world gets another day, and before I find a more appropriate way of saying "But you said..." In fact, Kim has realized that although she has some consequences, she is not grounded for the next seven weeks. Patty is reading a bedtime story to her and she is quietly lisening. The world is already much better, and I get to keep my globes. Life is good again.

How To Put The "PRO" In Procrastination!

As the fiscal year draws to a close, I have been trying to balance the department's local and state accounts. During this process, I have realized that I must have been brain-dead for the past few months as things that should have been reimbursed from other university departments have not been, but only because I have not submitted the paperwork. This afternoon I found $12K+ from an October transaction to be reimbursed into our state account. This is the third significant months old reimbursement I have discovered in the past week. I must have been distracted by something. By what, I don't know.

Another day in the high 80s.

Wanting to make something good, quick and at least semi-light for dinner tonight, I came up with shrimp scampi overr angel hair pasta, steamed broccoli, and a wedge of lettuce. Even Kim liked it, but said next time I should use less pepper. She is probably right. The best part is I didn't need to fire up the oven and make the house even hotter.

The good news is I did get an early start on staining the deck today and we finished before 10:00 so the sun could help bake the chemicals into the desiccated wood. It's a good thing our dogs use the back yard, otherwise the s in desiccated may have to be an f. That would be icky.

When Did We Get This Boring

Our daughter had a friend sleep over at our house last night and as a form of retribution she is sleeping at her house tonight. She also spent the whole afternoon there. So what did the parental units do with the freedom? We went to the local tavern where I had a glass of merlot and Patty had a rum and coke. Then we went home and Patty watched TV while I took a nap. After I woke up there was more TV time while we waited for the ambient temperature to drop below 85. Don't laugh folks, 85 is a hot day in Flag. I lightly sanded the deck and washed it off in preparation for staining it tomorrow morning. While I was doing this, Patty vacuumed the floor and took the covers off the sofa chshions and washed them. What a use of being temporarily kidless. I supose it counts as foreplay.

Anderson Cooper and Dogs

As we wind down the day by throwing the tennis ball in the house for the dogs to chase, Anderson Cooper on CNN is anchoring coverage of the floods in IA and MO. Levee broke blah, blah, blah, underwater blah, blah, 1993, blah blah. Happen again, blah blah blah, development in the flood plain, blah, blah, blah, should we develop in the flood plain, blah, blah, OOPS! the ball wasn't supposed to go there. Should we really play ball in the house?

Please Define Insignificant.

What does it mean when a cardiologist says something is abnormal, but insignificant? Is that similar to a minor breach of a levee? Or is it more like when a teenager reports that she is a little bit pregnant?

No, It Isn't Orange And Shaped Like A Football

I have decided that my sense of humor is best described as a "run-away 50 thousand ton Nerf freight train."

Emails Not To Send.

Note to self:
Refrain from sending following email friends who are visiting China:

Dear Friend,
Please adjust spellings as we discussed prior to your departure.
Thank you for financing my recent trip to the city pound where I was able to LIBERATE an INDEPENDANT minded LHASA apso from its' OPRESSORS. I have named it DOLLY. I enjoy watching it bark at the neighbors LLAMAS.

Thankfully,

Ty and Bette

The authorities there may not understand my sense of humor.

Beer, TV and Snacks

There was once a great philosopher who contended that Father's Day is like Mother's Day, but for men and shall be called BEERTVSNACKS Day. At least that is what the Father's Day card our dogs got me says His name is Homer and he lives in Springfield. Millions of family men have benefitted from his wisdom.

I've got bats near my belfry!

We wound up at an outdoor party/mini fair at one of the elementary schools in town today. There were free burgers, hot dogs, sodas, games and baloon animals. Kim wound up getting a tattoo of a koala, and I got talked into getting one of red bats (the flying mammal type) on my arm. It looks more like a mottled bruise, so it't probably a good thing it is temporary.

K and M are metric metrics - learn them!

It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who exclaim that "Flagstaff is such a small town!" Flagstaff may not be a teeming metropolis of three, two, or even oneM souls, but it is far from a small town. Although I grew up in a place with a population nearly 50% more numerous than Flag, I have also lived in a small town. The town I lived in before moving here had a population of 653, that's only 3 more than my high school graduating class. A news flash folks, 60K is NOT a SMALL TOWN. Flagstaff is 90-100 times more populous than Hill City, SD. Hill City IS a small town. Flagstaff is not. I have a friend who grew up in the L.A. area who agrees with this. So why do so many people state the contrary. I conclude that these people have never seen, let alone lived in a city of fewer than 250K people. I pity them.

Lava and Algae, and Kids, Oh My.

Kim had a field trip to the lava tube as part of her summer Mountain Jacks Kids Camp/Dolphin Day Camp program and returned tired and hungry. Because all our protein sources for dinner were still in the freezer we decided to dine on fat and salt laden evil fast food. As Kim was taking a spoonfull of ice cream from her frosty float, she asked if we could go out for ice cream after dinner. I fully understood the logic of this, but wanted to make sure she did, and pointed out that the float had ice cream in it. In all the surliness a nine-year-old can muster she said "I know, but I want a dipped cone." Anyway, she got what she wanted, but only because I wanted a dip cone. I tell myself that because it was soft-serve it has some sort of algae/sea flora derivitive in it and must be healthy in a warped macrobiotic way. Either that or my gut is now lined with media suitable for growing bacterial culture.

Seeing What I Want To

There is a tremendous amount of construction on campus these days ranging from repairing damage to a broken water main to finishing an addition to the dining hall at the student union. There are contractors vehicles, backhoes, front end loaders, and fences everywhere. This coincides with the arrival of various conferences, incoming students and their parents for new student orientation, and other activities that result with campus crawling with people who have not seen campus without construction. As I was walking along the pedway, one of the visitors was coming the other way and commented that we had a beautiful campus. It dawned on me that even with all the mess, NAU is in a beautiful location and I was able to see past the construction and see the trees, mountains, and all else that make NAU and Flagstaff a great place to be. I will need to remember this over the next few years as several MAJOR projects are slated to start. We also just finished 3 new 80,000sqf or larger buildings.

Pobre Citos

I can always tell when my diet has gone to hell and I haven't been to the gym by how little it takes to set me off. Such was the case this morning when I was at a use-tax training/information session for the business managers at the university. Everyone in the room could have easily fit in the first 4 rows, but most people were sitting 8-10 rows back. These are not high school students. These are 30, 40 and even 50 something degree holding professional university employees who should know how to set an example for others. As it would happen, one of the speakers had a soft voice and could not reach the microphone, which didn't work well anyway. The people in the back kept yelling that they could not hear her. As their frustration grew they began yelling microphone using directions to her, but nothing could be done to have her reach, let alone use the malfunctioning equipment. It took a whole flotilla of Viking warriors to keep me from telling them to move their bony/fat asses to the front. I did exclaim that they should sit in the front without mentioning anything about their bodily proportions. Fortunately nobody heard me, because my reputation in this crowd is already well circulated. This is pathetic that a group of educated adults sits far from the front then complains that they are deprived of the information presented. Pin heads. Twits. State employees. Vacuum headed, vestigal brained bimbos. The good news is I was able to make it to the gym and work off some of my aggrevation.

Extra Lazy Monday.

Today ended with extreme laziness. Despite having a refrigerator full of leftovers, our daughter talked us into doing a frozen pizza thing. Now how lazy does one have to be to bake a frozen pizza instead of reheating leftovers? In case anyone is wondering, the leftovers consist of oven roasted red potatoes, green beans and chicken cordon bleu. Oh, there is also peach cobbler and lemon pie - all home made. We promise to have the leftovers tomorrow.

Easily Influenced

I sit here watching television and have the sudden urge to run out and buy a box of lavender lilac Gain laundry detergent and a vanilla whatever Swiffer. Unfortunately, I will not have any money left after I buy a Clapper. It's probably all for the best as the vapors from the detergent could mix with the vapors from the Swiffer and have the same result as mixing bleach with ammonia. I wonder when they will come out with scents for men. They could have beer and pizza scented soaps, and motor oil and tire rubber after shave.

No More Pencils...

Kim finished the third grade today and is all set for her summer day camp which starts tomorrow. The program is called 'Mountain Jacks Kids Camp/Dolphin Day Camp" and is run by the recreation center of Northern Arizona University. She was in it last year and had a great time and is hoping for the same this year.

The season's over. Waaaaah!

Thus endeth another season of hockey. At least the Pens made the Red Wings work a little for it, and at least I like Detroit enough not to be too upset. They are such a disciplined well oiled team stocked with well seasoned players. As tired as I am of them, I usually wind up admitting to myself that they deserve to win. If the stanley cup could talk, it would tell some wild tales.

Soft Drinks For The Kiddies

If one were to mix a Roy Rogers with a Shirley Temple, would the result be a hog-tied Shirley?

Poor dejected doggie

Our dog Bear is having a hard time lately as she does not understand that I am yelling "No no no no no no!" at the T.V. when the wrong team is about to score a goal. She is even at the point where she leaves the room and avoids me. I've tried explaining the blue lines to her, but she seems disinterested and confused.

More Politics and More Hockey

So the DNC rules committee decided that the voters in Florida and Michigan are worth half a vote. I am reminded of a Monty Python skit about pet licenses and "Eric the Half a Bee." This halving of the delegate was to punish the states for holding their primaries earlier than Feb. 5th. Enter the New Hampshire question. Although NH by state law must have the first primary, they moved their primary to an earlier date, but suffered no penalty. Did NH violate DNC rules by moving their primary to an earlier date? If so, why not penalize them as well? Also what does the penalty prove?

Game 4 ended Det 2, Pens 1. Det leads series 3-1. %$##@!#$!

Word of The Day

Yardarm
either end of the yard of a square-rigged ship.

Well, since the sun is over the yardarm, I guess it is O.K. to have a beer.

I might even make it a yard of beer to go with the theme.

GO PENS!

GO PENS. Again, I like the Red Wings, but I like the Penguins more. It would also appear that I love yelling at the TV.

Drunk Amateur Astronomers With Machetes

The following is true and the names have not been changed to protect anybody.

"Don't worry about it, Becky. It's just something you do when you're drunk." Nick said as he walked out of the house carrying a machete.
How the house was able to carry a machete, I'll never know. But seriously, we needed the machete to "girdle" a eucalyptus tree in order to bring the rapidly disappearing moon back into view. Anyway, even although the tree survived, and astronomers called it an eclipse, you can thank Nick, Greg, and myself for saving the moon.

The Sudden Realization of the Intuitively Obvious

Star and Bear have been driving me crazy for half the day. I finally realized they needed their walk -- DUH!

I took time to remember those who hsve served today, did you?

I'd better start behaving.

My wife looked out the window this morning at the snow, sleet and rain and complained that she wanted to sit outside in the lawn chair. I told her she still could. The look I recived told me that if I were to continue that line of thought, she would turn me into something that sounds like "unix", but starts with the letter E, and ends with the letter H.

It's not rain, it's not snow, it's SNAIN

Yep, snain. And don't think I mean sleet, because it's really snain. Cooler temperature, higher humidity, but still mild enough for that last mile or so bike ride to work. I find this double-digit R.H. business refreshing. Did I mention a lack of morning traffic on campus, or that it is Friday, or that it is pay day, or that it is a three day weekend. Kind of has the makings of a good day.

If It Is Late May, It Must Be Time For Snow.

If I had not grown up in Colorado I would think the weather in Flagstaff is weird. Two days ago we had a record high temperature (85), and now we are having record low highs (high 40's.) Snow is also in the forcast; somewhere between 2 to 12 inches. More at higher elevations. Hmmmmm 2 to 12 inches -- that certainly narrows it down. I find this normal for spring and even enjoy the fluctuation. I do, however, think of the fools who packed their winter gear away. They know better, or at least should. As I mentioned in an earlier blog -- NEVER BEFORE JUNE!

Because I Still Have A Turntable...

As I strolled past the "Records" office at the university today, I successfully fought the urge to ask the receptionist for "Led Zeppelin IV." I figured she had probably heard that joke many times.

Why Materials Managers Should Not Write Grammar Textbooks

Dialogue example #1:

"It is not allowable to charge alcohol to federal grants under any circumstances." said the man from the Comptroller's Office.
The crowd was in agreement until the smart aleck stockroom manager interjected "Unless it is used as a chemical." Snickers and smiles of support for the chemist filled the room as the first man concurred with a chuckle of his own.

Heat Wave

I am definately not built for heat. We broke 80 today and it nearly felt brutal (It used to nearly feel terrible, but terrible threatened a law suit and the heat backed off) especially in the sun. Fortunately there was some cloud cover and it became tolerable. I know the rest of the planet laughs at 80, but here in Flag, everyone gets snippy when it gets this warm. When it breaks 90, we become downright hostile. I hope this summer has very few days over 85, but it does not look promising.
In other news, a good friend of mine left for a four week trip to China. She is bound to have a blast. It will also give the planets in her universe on this side of the planet time to realign - something that is long overdue. With any luck, when she returns, the astronomical bodies will be where they should.

Bad joke warning #2

Because I missed yesterday's blog, todays is an extra special bad joke. So without further ado:
It seems a big moron and a little moron went rock climbing. The big one fell off a ledge while the little one remained safe. I suppose it was because he was a little more on.

Word for the day

The word for the day is the foreign word "FARANG"

Despite my plans to make stir-fry for tonight's dinner, we wound up having farang food. How uninteresting!

How to use a day off.

Today the building where I work is shut down for repairs/maintenance so I have the day off. Apparently the epoxy they are using on the floors is so nasty the building needs to be closed while the substance is applied and cures. It will be closed tomorrow too. Anyway, I still was up and about before 5:30. I had breakfast, put my daughter on the school bus, went grocery shopping, gassed up the truck, did the Rachael Ray clean the produce as soon as you get home thing, de-pooped the back yard, and sorted three weeks of non-vital mail all before noon. Why the hell 90% of stuff in the important mail envelopes is junk, I will never know. I suspect banks and insurance companies are heavily invested in the paper industry. The afternoon has been far less productive, but at least the back yard poop deposition machines got a walk. I plan on cooking ahead for the coming week tomorrow.

Viva Polygamy

We had a pot-luck "breakfast" for the staff of the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences (plus Forest-tree) this morning. I soon noticed that the ratio of women to men was around 5 to 1; at one point it was over 10 to one prompting one of the other men there to comment that he felt he was in "that polygamist cult in Texas."

ALWAYS WAIT UNTIL JUNE

It must be all because my wife planted tomatoes and flowers Sunday afternoon. Okay, okay, it was around 70 degrees then, but NEVER plant in Flagstaff before Memorial Day. Sure enough, yesterday the news folks said to expect the wind to bring in rain and maybe an inch of snow. At 6:00 this morning we had at least 4" of wet heavy snow on our deck and it was still coming down at an impressive rate. The roads were covered with the easily navigable layer of white slush, but as we got closer to town the layer got thinner and eventually disappeared from the roads. By late morning the precip had ended and started to melt off the grass - a typical Flag spring event. We had covered the plants, but only time will tell if they make it. With the recent snow and a clear night in store, the temp may drop too low for the plant's survival.

It must be spring in Flag.

Whether it is of the head variety or the cross variety, when one is riding a bicycle, wind BLOWS.

Stuck in the Middle

The Democrats nomination process is starting to begin to start to wind down. The mud slinging continues, but with less passion, and smaller dirt clods with less manure. I expect that in three weeks or so the factions will coalesce and start to make nice, just in time for the real mud bowl. I hate to admit that as the process has gone on, I have paid less and less attention to the whole pagent. Perhaps because I am neither a Democrat, nor a Republican and have no voice until the general election. Of course I made this choice, or maybe it is because I felt that the Democrats had little room for a white, heterosexual, middle class, white collar, male and left that party. On the other hand, the Republicans are reluctant to make room for those who refuse to cram one specific religious philosophy down the throat of the populace.

Our Talking dog.

Bear hates when I use the computer and will rest her head on my lap and start "talking" anytime I start surfing or blogging. She doesn't bark when I do this but uses a series of varying pitch non growl growls. She will keep it up until I stop. She only does this when I use the laptop; the desktop does not concern her as much. She has quite the vocabulary and seems proud of it. Star will just bring the tug-of-war rope to me and drop it on the keyboard.