It has been one heck of a day!!!

Meeting of Politicians

• Power flicking on and off.
• Computers shutting down and rebooting repetitively.
• Email issues - jammed email accounts, then email that won't process.
• Then to top it all off the phones go out!

Talk about having a tough day of getting anything done.

The laptop is off to HP tomorrow. The need it shipped back to repair the fan. I'll be going through withdrawl until I get it back, and then I'll be behind trying to get everything and it's brother reinstalled (they tell me that they are going to need to wipe the hard drive in order to fix it).

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day: "A man does not have himself killed for a half-pence a day or for a petty distinction. You must speak to the soul in order to electrify him" - Napoleon Bonaparte

All Rain All The Time

Looks like we're in for rain for at least another full day. The tropical storm coming up from the South is really providing some much needed drought relief. I heard that the State Fair of Virginia issued an apology this morning, on WRVA, for not coming opening sooner. As we all know, when the fair is in town, rain always falls!

Starting the Weekend Off with a Laugh

There have been a number of moments this week that I've just had to shake my head and laugh.

Overheard: "My GPS didn't work right and I got lost. Next time I'm going to Goggle it!" When asked about "Googling It". That's right I'm going to "Goggle It."

I'm still scratching my head about that one. You never know what you'll hear in an office.

The shredder had a temperamental moment - for a while there it would only run in reverse. Not that that was of much help to any one. Turned out it's problem was an overstuffed bin of shredded papers and a fickle switch. Thank goodness we did a double check on it before carting it off to the trash bin.

Hope these bring a smile to your face and give you a good laugh to begin the weekend with.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:


Thought for the Day: “Teamwork means not having to shoulder all the blame yourself.”

DWI - TEXAS STYLE

Only a person in Texas could think of this.

From the county where drunk driving is considered a sport, comes this true story.

Recently a routine police patrol parked outside a bar in Austin, Texas. After last call, the officer noticed a man leaving the bar so apparently intoxicated that he could barely walk.

The man stumbled around the parking lot for a few minutes, with the officer quietly observing. After what seemed an eternity in which he tried his keys on five different vehicles, the man managed to find his car and fall into it.

He sat there for a few minutes as a number of other patrons left the bar and drove off.

Finally he started the car, switched the wipers on and off--it was a fine, dry summer night--, flicked the blinkers on and off a couple of times, honked the horn and then switched on the lights.

He moved the vehicle forward a few inches, reversed a little and then remained still for a few more minutes as some more of the other patrons' vehicles left.

At last, when his was the only car left in the parking lot, he pulled out and drove slowly down the road.

The police officer, having waited patiently all this time, now started up his patrol car, put on the flashing lights, promptly pulled the man over and administered a breathalyzer test.

To his amazement, the breathalyzer indicated no evidence that the man had consumed any alcohol at all!

Dumbfounded, the officer said, "I'll have to ask you to accompany me to the police station. This breathalyzer equipment must be broken!"

'I doubt it,' said the truly proud Redneck. 'Tonight I'm the designated decoy.'

Only in Texas!

Great Orators

"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

"The buck stops here." - Harry S. Truman

"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." - John F. Kennedy

And, from today's genius ' ...

"It depends what your definition of 'Sex' is?'' - Bill Clinton

"That Obama ... I would like to cut his NUTS off." - Jesse Jackson

"Those rumors are false ... I believe in the sanctity of marriage." - John Edwards

"I invented the Internet." - Al Gore

"The next Person that tells me I'm not religious, I'm going to shove my rosary beads up their ASS." - Joe Biden

" America is ... is no longer, uh, what it ... it, uh, could be, uh, what it was once was .. uh, and I say to myself, 'uh, I don't want that future, uh, uh for my children." - Barack Obama

"I have campaigned in all 57 states." - Barack Obama (Quoted 2008)

"You don't need God anymore, you have us Democrats." - Nancy Pelosi (Quoted 2006)

"Paying taxes is voluntary." - Sen. Harry Reid

"Bill is the greatest husband and father I know. No one is more faithful, true, and honest than he." - Hillary Clinton (Quoted 1998)

And the most recent gem of wisdom from the "Mother Moron":

"We just have to pass the Healthcare Bill to see what's in it." - Nancy Pelosi (Quoted March, 2010)

HOW LUCKY CAN WE BE - TO HAVE SUCH BRILLIANT MINDS IN CHARGE OF OUR ONCE GREAT COUNTRY?

''Life's tough ... it's even tougher if you're stupid.'' - John Wayne

Meatloaf

A recent bride called her mother one evening in tears.

"Oh, Mom, I tried to make Grandma's meat loaf for dinner tonight, and it's just awful! I followed the recipe exactly, and I know I have the recipe right because it's the one you gave me. But it just didn't come out right, and I'm so upset. I wanted this to be so special for George because he loves meat loaf. What could have gone wrong?"

Her mother replied soothingly, "Well, dear, let's go through the recipe. You read it out loud and tell me exactly what you did at each step, and together we'll figure it out."

"Okay," the bride sniffled. "Well, it starts out, 'Take fifty cents worth of ground beef'…………."

Learn From Your Elders

A lawyer and a senior citizen are sitting next to each other on a long flight.

The lawyer is thinking that seniors are so dumb that he could get one over on them easy.

So the lawyer asks if the senior would like to play a fun game.

The senior is tired and just wants to take a nap, so he politely declines and tries to catch a few winks.

The lawyer persists, saying that the game is a lot of fun. I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me only $5. Then you ask me one, and if I don't know the answer, I will pay you $500, he says.
This catches the senior's attention and, to keep the lawyer quiet, he agrees to play the game.

The lawyer asks the first question. 'What's the distance from the Earth to the Moon?'

The senior doesn't say a word, but reaches into his pocket, pulls out a five-dollar bill, and hands it to the lawyer.

Now it's the senior's turn. He asks the lawyer, 'What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four?'

The lawyer uses his laptop and searches all references he can find on the Net.

He sends e-mails to all the smart friends he knows; all to no avail. After an hour of searching, he finally gives up.

He wakes the senior and hands him $500. The senior pockets the $500 and goes right back to sleep.

The lawyer is going nuts not knowing the answer. He wakes the senior up and asks, 'Well, so what goes up a hill with three legs and comes down with four?'

The senior reaches into his pocket, hands the lawyer $5, and goes back to sleep.

An Afternoon Melody

While in my office this afternoon, I heard piano playing and it wasn't from the radio playing in the office. Turned out that it was the UPS guy giving us an afternoon concert on the baby grand piano in the lobby. It was nice to hear someone playing it, especially when they are good.

I really should have taken the camera out and snapped a picture at least, it would have been better to have gotten a video though. Oh well, perhaps he'll entertain us on another afternoon and I'll be prepared.

Harvest Moon

A beautiful full moon of the first day of Fall, a once in 50 year occurrence.

Pardon This Interruption

I don't know who the idiot was that posted this to my site, but it surely wasn't me.  I apologize for the stupidity of others.

Judy

Hello,
Look - http://sites.google.com/site/ewhhldmraom/nqeqi
it's very good ;-)
hzih

Birthday Happenings

I had a nice surprise on Wednesday evening, the boss gave me the day off on Thursday (my birthday). I scrambled around to figure something adventuresome to do with the day. I decided to head over to Maymont Park and take a walk through the gardens there to see what was still in bloom or if there were any butterflies, etc. still hanging around. I got a great bunch of shots and had a really nice time.

My Birthday Outing Photos From Maymont Park

Later on in the early afternoon I dropped into the VMFA, I thought that I'd take the opportunity to see the new building and some of the new exhibits. I was disappointed. Many areas were closed for construction/setting up new exhibits and access to the sculpture garden was limited due to landscaping going on.

Then there were the guards. I know it isn't their fault, but they were down right annoying. Walk in a room and they follow you around, and around, and around. It made me feel very uncomfortable. It surely detracted from what I had hoped would be a very nice experience.

To top the day off, I received a surprise delivery of a beautiful live arrangement. What a thoughtful thing for them to do.

Today (Saturday) started off as a rather usual Saturday, that was until we got back from picking Sean up. As the boys started splitting wood in the backyard we noticed that someone had tried to pull one of the screens on the sun room out. Lovely, we hadn't been gone a full hour and this happened. Thankfully they weren't able to get into the house. The dogs were a great deterrent, I'd have hated to come home to find what they would have done to someone who came in uninvited.

Walter did a through check of the house before letting anyone back inside. Nothing was missing, but we did go ahead and report it to the police. Who knows this could a link that helps solve something else down the road. Anyway after the officer left, Walter split wood and Sean and I started filling the woodpile. Somewhere in there Sean got a good portion of the yard mowed too. Looking good for the rest of the weekend.

This evening we had a big birthday bash at Mom & Dad's to celebrate all the family September birthdays. We had a great time together with loads of laughter. What a nice way to end the day.

Peaceful Saturday

After a wonderful night's sleep - windows open yet again - I spent the day working on doing some video editing.

The dogs, both, enjoyed spend a large part of the day outside. Carla slept in the sun on the deck and Bounce did the same in the side yard. It was truly nice to see them both being so peaceful.

This evening we went out to dinner at Don Pepe's with friends. We all had a great conversation and food. It was nice to see new faces and catch up with others who hadn't been around in awhile.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Weddings and Funerals

Old aunts used to come up to me at weddings, poking me in the ribs and cackling, telling me, "You're next."

They stopped after I started doing the same thing to them at funerals.

Remembering

Pedaling Towards A Cure

Dr. Scott Krosser will be pedaling towards a cure for cancer in the 6th Annual Century for the Cure. They will be riding 100 miles through some of the most difficult hilly roads of Central NJ. To raise money for research at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Join me helping him reach his fund raising goal.

Another School Year Begins

The day began with school buses rolling down the road in front of the house, yet this is the first year that I have no children in the county school system. How did that happen? It doesn't seem that they should be old enough. Wasn't it just a few months ago that they were all bickering with one another about where they were sitting in the van as I drove them to school?

Well I guess it is right, Walt's been doing his own thing for a number of years now. Danielle is married and putting her own children on the bus for school; and of course, Sean just graduated in June.

Walt was complaining this morning on his way home from work about all the new traffic on the road. Getting everyone back on a 'school schedule' does disrupt the usual summer traffic slow down. Time to make adjustments in our travel schedules to accommodate the extra vehicles on the road.

Time marches on and everyone moves on. I definitely noticed a big change in the kids that catch the bus at the corner. Everyone has grown so over the summer - next thing we know it will be time for them all to get out for the summer and we'll be scratching our heads wondering where the time went.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

So very appropriate for the first day of a new school year.

3rd Grade Assignment

My daughter's third-grade teacher had assigned the children to write a story titled "Biggest Surprise." Not until the end of the school year did we see Marina's work. It read: "I got up this morning and I ran into Mommy and Daddy's bed and hopped in. But it wasn't Mommy at all. It was Mrs. Del Campo!"

What her essay neglected to say was that we had called Mrs. Del Campo late at night to stay with our children while I took my wife to the hospital to have our third child.

Learning Through Play

Our Lamaze class included a tour of the pediatric wing of the hospital. When a new baby was brought into the nursery, all the women tried to guess its weight, but the guy standing next to me was the only male to venture a number.

"Looks like 9 pounds," he offered confidently.

"This must not be your first," I said.

"Oh, yes," he said. "It's my first."

"Then how would you know the weight of a baby?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I'm a fisherman."

Family Fun

The family gathered at Mom & Dad's this afternoon for a cookout. Dad did a great job of manning the grill, while Mom, ever the gracious hostess, had everything put together before any of us even arrived.

It was nice getting everyone together, even if it was only for a short while. The nieces & nephews are all growing up so fast. Andrew & Cassie are starting 8th grade tomorrow!! And the babies (we can't call them that now) Abbey & Terry will be starting 3rd grade. Wow!

Walking for Christ

This morning I passed a man walking along Hull Street Road heading West. Now normally this wouldn't have attracted my attention, but this was not the usual walker. Nick Della Valle is out to walk 3,300 miles for Christ.


Learn more about his storytelling and ministry at www.ChristWalk.us

A New Backyard

The boys worked so hard yesterday, I wanted to show everyone just how much work that they really accomplished.  I can now sit in the sunroom and look down the road that runs next to the house instead of just seeing a wall of green.

And God Created Virginia

God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael, the archangel, found him, resting on the seventh day.

He inquired, "Where have you been?"

God smiled deeply and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, "Look, Michael. Look what I've made."

Archangel Michael looked puzzled, and said, "What is it?"

"It's a planet," replied God, and I've put life on it… I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a place to test Balance."

"Balance?" inquired Michael, "I'm still confused."

God explained, pointing to different parts of Earth. "For example, northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth, while southern Europe is going to be poor. Over here I've placed a continent of white people, and over there is a continent of black people..

Balance in all things.

God continued pointing to different countries. "This one will be extremely hot, while this one will be very cold and covered in ice."

The Archangel , impressed by God's work, then pointed to a land area and said, "What's that one?"

"That's Virginia , the most glorious place on earth. There are beautiful mountains, rivers and streams, lakes, forests, hills, and plains. The people from Virginia are going to be handsome, modest, intelligent, and humorous, and they are going to travel the world. They will be extremely sociable, hardworking, high achieving, carriers of peace, and producers of good things"

Michael gasped in wonder and admiration, but then asked, "But what about balance, God? You said there would be balance..."

God smiled, "Right next to Virginia is Washington , DC . Wait till you see the idiots I put there."

The Problem with Cats

I love sitting outside, but the darn feral cats are driving me crazy. Not so much there being around, but they are absolutely tormenting Bounce. No matter where he is there is one lurking just at the edge of the yard or on the woodpile. Clearing out the back of the yard of underbrush and trees can only help - taking away the ground cover that they have been hiding under. I surely do wish that I could put 'blinders' on Bounce so that he couldn't see them. At least then he/we could get some peace.

Great Start to Fall

We have had one busy and productive day around here today.

Walter brought Sean over to the house first thing this morning. The two of them put in a full day of work in the yard. Sean was busy loading up a trailer with old landscape timbers, brush and felled trees. Walter was out machete in hand clearing out the back property line. He took out an additional 50 trees, granted they weren't very big around but there were sure a lot of them.

While clearing out the corner of the yard, Walter stirred up a Yellow Jackets nest. They swarmed up and gave chase. He and Sean both lit out across the yard. Both of them ended up with at least three stings each. After a brief respite from work and to attend to the stings, the guys got back out to the yard to load up the trailer with additional stuff.

I did get out in the yard with the camera for a bit while they were working.

I grabbed the Talstar and hit the yard. I was able to eradicate the the Yellow Jackets' nest next to the tree that Walter had been falling. Then we found a second nest about 50 feet from the first. Took care of that one as well. I just love insecticides that work promptly!

This evening, Miss Kelly came over to visit and have dinner with us. Walter cooked out on the grill and I roasted up some vegetable. Walter did a great job with the burgers and we had a great time visiting.

September Photos

Hurricane Earl

Hurricane Earl has been huffing and puffing out in the Atlantic this week.

The Outer Banks (NC) were evacuated in anticipation of his arrival. Thankfully all that turned out to have been great practice should another storm come along. Earl lost a lot of strength and thankfully didn't hit there or Virginia very hard at all.

I was expecting to at least see some rain here in Richmond, but that didn't materialize. Looks like clear skies for the upcoming Labor Day weekend.

Enjoy everyone!

September!

As I have said, more than once this year, "Just where has the time gone!" Eight full months of the year already gone and so much has happened and there are oodles of things on the calendar for the remaining four months of the year.

September ushers in a new school year for the nieces and nephews. They all are growing up so fast. Dang the youngest is in 3rd grade this year and the oldest two are in 8th!! They can't be that old already. I suppose that even the granddaughter will be going to school this fall, possibly pre-K? Maybe? As for myself, I need to finish up my Masters Certification program and do some further training at Lynda.com.

Sometime before the end of the year I'm going to try to fit in a mini-vacation to somewhere. Now only to figure out the when and where.

Several of my work and facebook friends have new blogs:

• Kindled Being 
• Spiritual Revolution

Check them out an be inspired!

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Barack Obama has Jumped the Shark

By Rich Carroll

In Hollywood circles, the death of one’s career is known as “jumping the shark." Happy Days fans will remember the episode when Arthur Fonzarelli jumped the shark. He water-skied, shirtless, and millions of American fans saw for the first time his sunken chest and thin little girl arms. “Fonzie” always hiding behind that cool leather jacket, had shown his weakness; a non-athletic body that resembled an anorexic emphysema patient more than a street tough. His popularity plummeted. Happy Days was now doomed.

Remember the date of Friday, August 13, 2010 as the day President Barack Hussein Obama jumped the shark. From this day forward, he will be remembered as “that guy” who supported an Islamic memorial to 3,000 dead Americans in New York at ground zero. This is the day all suspicions were set-aside and Americans watched (and heard) Obama associate himself more closely with Islam than “we the people.” Any American second-guessing about this guy being a Muslim has been answered once and for all. Like the Fonzie’s missing cool leather jacket, Obama’s cool demeanor was missing when he blatantly endorsed a Mosque at ground zero. He has jumped the shark.

Obama’s political career has ended. Effective August 14, 2010, Obama became a lame duck president. Oh sure his handlers are trying to tell us what we heard was not really what we heard, but even members of his own party are outraged and whispering behind closed doors. Who wants to be endorsed by someone who supports Muslims over mainstream America? What politician in the Democrat party wants to be seen with Obama now?

On Friday August 13, Barack Hussein Obama hosted an iftar dinner in the White House State Dining Room. That’s the meal that breaks the dawn-to-dusk fast for Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan. Not bad for a guy who cannot seem to find a Christian church to attend after two years in office. Over 100 Muslim guests listened to Obama’s strong endorsement of Park 51, the proposed Islamic community center and mosque to be built two blocks from the 911 ground zero terrorist attack that slaughtered 3,000 Americans. Some of the people present have ties to Muslim terrorist groups such as Hamas.

Was Obama pressured by some of these Muslim friends to support this Islamic Mosque de Triomph? Since February of this year, Obama has rewarded Hamas accomplishments with $1.23 billion U.S. taxpayer dollars. Or is this some Alinsky move, intended to heighten contradictions and “rub raw” (in Alinsky’s words) the emotions of the public for yet-to-be revealed purposes?

Obama’s remarks drew a standing ovation from his Muslim guests. His remarks drew bitter criticism from an outraged “We The People of the United States of America.” So, he tiptoed around his words on Saturday, August 14, by lying (recall this tactic from Rules for Radicals) to the American people and saying he did not endorse the construction of this mosque at that site.

Oh? Did he lie to the 100 guests who roared with applause during a standing ovation, or did he lie to the press on a Saturday morning with a “courtesy lie” to the American people? With 70% of the country opposed to building this mosque, Obama’s support also plays into the great liberal narrative, their “noble calling” of their great commission, that they are bucking the odds, standing in the battlements waving the bloody shirt of social justice. In spite of great unwashed ignorant masses. If this sounds like adolescent nonsense, I have just described a Progressive.

Before they race to their computers to call us Tea Partiers “prejudice, racist, or bigots" - that dog don’t hunt anymore! Whatever “cats” Obama had in his secret bag have been let-out. Defending the construction of an Islamic mosque at ground zero pretty much cemented his hatred towards Americans and this nation. Remember, the quote from his book, “Dreams of My Father” on page 261 he told us “If the political winds shift in an ugly direction I will side with the Muslims.”

And he has. He wasn’t lying, so neither should you. This foreigner in our White House is a Muslim, born in a Muslim country, given a Sunni Muslim name and his allegiance rests with his Islamic brothers who have vowed to kill us all.

Parallels of Abraham Lincoln and B. H. Obama

I'm sure most of us have read the so-called comparison of Lincoln and Kennedy, but did you ever consider the relationship between Obama and Lincoln? You might be surprised.

1. Lincoln placed his hand on the Bible for his inauguration. Obama used the same Bible.
2. Lincoln came from Illinois . Obama comes from Illinois.
3. Lincoln served in the Illinois Legislature. Obama served in the Illinois Legislature.
4. Lincoln had very little experience before becoming President. Obama had very little experience before becoming President. 
5. Lincoln rode the train from Philadelphia to Washington for his inauguration. Obama rode the train from Philadelphia to Washington for his inauguration. 
6. Lincoln was a skinny lawyer. Obama is a skinny lawyer. 
7. Lincoln was a Republican. Obama is a skinny lawyer. 
8. Lincoln was in the United States military. Obama is a skinny lawyer.
9. Lincoln believed in everyone carrying their own weight. Obama is a skinny lawyer. 
10. Lincoln did not waste taxpayers' money on personal enjoyments. Obama is a skinny lawyer. 
11. Lincoln was highly respected. Obama is a skinny lawyer. 
12. Lincoln was born in the United States. Obama is a skinny lawyer. 
13. Lincoln was honest, so honest he was called Honest Abe. Obama is a skinny lawyer. 
14. Lincoln saved the United States. Obama is a skinny lawyer.