This is truly disgusting and those involved should see the inside of a prison cell for a nice long time.

JOURDANTON, Texas -- Some city officials in Jourdanton, Texas, are outraged that a public works supervisor ordered employees to drown six stray dogs at the city sewer plant, rather than having the animals properly euthanized.

For punishment, the supervisor was ordered to attend classes with animal control officers.

City councilman Darrell Richter said the workers took the dogs from the pound to the sewer plant and dropped their cages into the water.

A child saw the drownings and told his mother, who complained.

Richter told the San Antonio Express-News that he's disgusted by the incident and upset with the supervisor getting "a little slap on the hand." He said a crime has been committed and should be dealt with in a more serious manner.

Beat to a pulp

We started the day with haircuts for the boys and myself and the a quick run to the store for my nieces birthday present. Man that was a tough trip! What do you buy for a 3 year old girl who is spoiled rotten (not in a bad way) and has a ton of toys? I figured you can never go wrong with Barbie Dolls so I bought her 2 of them and then bought the bags and wrap for it to match. Do you want to guess what EVERYONE bought as gifts? That's right, Barbie. At least I was on the right track.

We spent the day at my brothers house for my her birthday and boy she is growing up fast. The next thing you know we will be chasing off boyfriends and sending them off to college. She is going to be a pretty girl as she gets older, you can just see it in her face. However well she will be pretty and she plays with dolls she is daddy's girl and daddy is a motor head and competitive body builder. She is going to be the prettiest tomboy in the area IMHO.

It was a nice day out, low 90's and a slight breeze as well my brother set the BBQ up in front of the house where it was nice and shady so there was no direct sun on us which really made it nice. He had a few wading pools for the kids set up as well as some slides in the pools, toy fish and nets for them, balls and sprinklers. I had no idea that on his little Cul de Sac of maybe 11 houses they have 22 children under 10 years old and of course they were all at the party. Add to that all the cousins from out of town and it was like wandering into a day care center that was out of control.

My youngest had a blast in the water and the second he saw two pools he wanted to jump in and swim, I swear the boy is a fish. In fact he was one of the first in and last out spending the better part of an hour if not a bit more in the water. By the time I made him get out, which he was NOT happy about, he was shivering and pruned all over. Of course for the rest of the afternoon I had to keep an eye on him as he would wait until he thought he was clear and then mosey towards the water.

They (My brother and sister in law) did a very nice job of tying it all together and having the party first and once the kids and neighbors left it was just family, about 12 of us, for the bbq and some private time. It was also the first time that all my parents grandkids have been together as my newest nephew is just a few months old. We made sure to get a lot of video and pictures of the kids as well my oldest did a wonderful job of watching his brother and cousins as needed.

Since they live quite a drive from my house I drove myself and the boys to my folks house and then they drove to and from my brothers. This meant I needed to adjust my meds so I could drive which I do not have a problem doing but combined with the excess standing and then the almost 2 hours to get home and I was ready for my meds when we walked through the door. I also took a nice whack to the back from my sister in laws brother. We do not get to see them but a few times a year and as he was leaving I was facing away from him so he slapped me on the back to get my attention. It felt like someone ran 50,000 volts through me (yes, I have been hit by a taser for training so I know what it feels like). Poor guy forgot all about my back. I hope he does not feel to bad as he did not do it on purpose or with malice.

Some time ago my brother had purchased one of those mini-Jeeps for my niece but being the gear head that he is he went and supped it up by pulling out the standard motors and gears and replacing them with some high torque motors and larger gears so it will go faster. Now when they told me it would go fast I figured "a bit" faster then most but she had this thing in the street doing donuts and spin outs. We of course were all laughing our butts off while she was whipping up and down the street in this thing as well all the neighbor kids with those mini-cars all want my brother to fix theirs for them. I got some video of her driving it all over the place and as soon as I can capture it to disk I will try to post it.

I know I did not want to go the other day but I am glad that I did. My wife had to work, so it was just myself and the boys and I was concerned that if we went my whole day would be having to chase one or the other around. My mom was a huge help with that and let me sit and talk to an old friend while she kept an eye on the youngest and my oldest was tasked by my brother to run the video camera. It was good to see my buddy even though he had decided to be a hippy and grow his hair out...He is a pharmaceutical rep (LOL!) and was dared by one of the oncology nurses to grow his hair long enough for Locks Of Love, which is a great organization.

Well I am beat and my meds are not even close to cutting through this pain right now so I am going to curl up in bed and watch a movie. I can already feel those cool sheets just thinking about them.

This afternoon my son said some interesting things to me about his mother and her husband. Apparently while he was out there they sat him down and played some kind of mind game with him. They went on telling him how my wife and I (my whole family for that matter) are trying to brain wash him. How the only thing we do is fill his head with the notion that he will graduate school and join the Army and so on.

Now I need to sit down and talk some more about what happened while he was out there but from what I gathered his mother thinks we are running an indoctrination camp of some sort here. Ironically the very thing she is accusing us of is what she is doing by having those very conversations with him. When he opens up a bit more and tells me what is going on I will certainly share it.

I am glad he feels that he can share that kind of information with me. It tells me that my wife and I have done a good job in ensuring that he has an open line for communication and that he can share whatever is on his mind. My guess is that this is something that truly bothered him or he would not have brought it out of the blue no less.

The kicker for me was his mother telling him how wrong Bush is and how much she hates him. Of course she left out the part about how she voted for him or how in our conversations she is the exact opposite about him. Gee, I wonder. I wonder why she does not tell him the stories about how she is constantly behind in child support? Or how she has never paid her 50% of the medical insurance and bills like she is supposed to? Just like most everything else she does though this is an attempt for her to create animosity between her son and I. She has been at it ever since I have had custody of him (since he was 4), which was a result of her abandoning him.

She is truly a piece of work and I am no longer surprised by the crap my son tells me she talks about.

Spinal cord research in danger of losing funding

This could have serious implications. Worse yet is that one of the most serious injuries that the human body can sustain is also one of the rarest to occur condemning it to the bottom of the research barrel in both the number of facilities conducting research and in terms of funding.

As long as spinal cord research continues to be underfunded it will be difficult for researchers to find ways to help those of us with those injuries. It is important for the states to continue to help fund those projects. A million dollars or even 8.5 million dollars may seem like a large sum to the average person but when you consider the resources a person with those injuries is going to consume such as Medicare, social security, welfare and so on it is not that much. The sooner we find ways to either cure these injuries or make it so they are not so catastrophic the sooner those with them can return to being productive members of society and stop depending on all those other resources.

Perhaps it is time to get the large pharmaceutical companies involved?

Merck is one of the leading drug companies in the world, if not the largest. In 2004 they had a revenues of $22,938,600,000 (that's BILLIONS) with a net income of $5,813,400,000 (again that is billions).

Novartis is another large company who showed huge numbers for 2004. They generated revenues of $28,247,000,000 and had a profit of $5,767,000,000.

PFIZER had revenues of $52,516,000,000 and a net income of $11,361,000,000 which represents an increase in profits over 2003 of almost 191%.

This is just 3 of the many companies who are in the business and these 3 alone had profits of almost $23 Billion dollars. Can you imagine how much the combined industry has made in the last year? How much of it came from super inflated prices of medications? And they cannot dish out a few extra bucks for research?

Now some of you may be saying, "but they don't make any drugs for spinal cord injuries so why should they contribute"?

Because there ARE drugs that work for spinal cord patients. Of course they are not going to cure or even prevent the injuries from happening but they can make the life of patients better. Of course the research done on those projects can lead to answers across the board.

Those numbers however remind me of why I truly detest those large companies. Those profits come from overpriced medications and with the industry having such a powerful lobby they will continue to post those types of numbers.

By Shirley Wang
Inquirer Staff Writer

A row of rats riding tiny bikes greets you when you walk into one of Itzhak Fischer's labs at the Drexel University College of Medicine. Their hind legs spin round and round, strapped to ever-moving pedals.

They may look as if they're at a health club, but their backs have been compressed, mimicking human spinal-cord injury. The workout helps to keep their muscles in shape and spinal cords talking to their brains. And Fischer hopes they will soon help his team learn how to rehabilitate people.

But funding from the National Institutes of Health is tightening, and Pennsylvania is not among the 14 states that dedicate a tax to spinal-cord research. Fischer faces the prospect that his funding will be cut next year, and his 20-year-old center may have to be downsized.

A relatively small number of people - about 11,000 - suffer spinal-cord injuries each year in the United States, making the condition unlikely to attract significant private funding from sources such as pharmaceutical companies.

Fischer's group - now in the last year of a $5 million federal grant over five years - is one of only four Program Projects, large research centers on spinal-cord injury funded by the National Institutes of Health.

He worries whether he can replace the $1 million a year needed to keep the center going.

"We are in such a crisis," he said. "At the state level and foundation level, we have to find alternatives."

Fourteen states - New York, New Jersey and Maryland included - have designated some kind of surcharge for unsafe driving to fund spinal-cord research. Car wrecks cause most such injuries in the United States, according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center.

Each of the states spends at least $1 million a year on the research. New York tops all at $8.5 million. Pennsylvania does not have such a fund.

Sue Pendleton, chairwoman of the Maryland Spinal Cord Injury Research Fund, said that "it is literally very fiscally smart to fund this at the state level."

In Pennsylvania, this year's tight budget required cuts for some existing health programs, and some question whether another tax can be added.

"Spinal-cord injuries are a very serious problem," said Sen. Robert Thompson (R., Chester), chair of the appropriations committee. "The question is how many different surcharges do we end up putting on violations?"

The costs of spinal-cord injury are enormous. Those who survive often need special equipment and extensive health-care services. Because their life expectancy is relatively normal, expenses pile up. The lifetime cost of a ventilator to help one person breathe is close to $4 million.

Yet, small improvements in spinal function could lead to drastic effects on patients' lives.

For instance, if the late actor Christopher Reeve, who championed spinal-cord research after his own accident, could have regained function of just one spinal-cord segment, he could have stopped using his ventilator, Fischer said.

Bills to fund such research were introduced at least twice since 2001 in the state House, but have not been enacted.

Legislators are leery to raise taxes on already high traffic fines, said State Rep. Sandra Major (R., Susquehanna), who introduced the bill in previous years but has no plans this year.

Others may, however. "My record is I'm against fee increases," said Sen. Michael J. Stack (D., Phila.), "but something like a fee or tax on reckless driving that would help to aid people who've suffered catastrophic injuries is exactly the kind of appropriate surcharge to consider."

Funds from traffic fines used to cover medical costs for people injured in car accidents. Now the money goes to pay for part of malpractice insurance for physicians, state officials said.

Meanwhile, research is thriving at Drexel - for the moment.

A spinal injury disrupts communication between nerves, and reconnecting them is notoriously difficult.

Using neuronal stem cells, Fischer's lab has had success bridging and regrowing the communication path between nerves in rats, which improved their everyday actions.

In a paper to be published shortly, Fischer found that rats with bladder spasms and abnormal urination improved after getting stem cells, which could decrease the risk of kidney disease.

State funding would help the work proceed. "No one else is going to take care of it," he said.

Hurry up and wait...

The doctor called this morning with the appointment to see the surgeon and I have to say I am taken back a bit. I would have thought they would make the appointment for the next 48 hours but no, it is 2 weeks off.

Waiting on the surgeons appointment

My wife took my son to his doctor this morning to look at his hand and get her opinion on the next course of action. She cleaned it up a bit and examined it, agreeing with the ER doctor that he should see a surgeon. They are going to set him up to see a surgeon and better yet they found one at the Children's Hospital which is a relief. I know a any surgeon can do the job but we feel more comfortable with a surgeon who is familiar with children.

Having both the boys in the house felt good. While he is only gone for 2 months it seems much longer and can make the house a bit lonely. I like having them both with me and I really love the way, despite the age difference, the boys play together. My youngest is enamored with his big brother and wants to be doing whatever he is, of course some day that is going to be the other way around.

He's home

My wife and son got back to the house a bit after midnight and I must say that either I have shrunk or he sprouted in the last 8 weeks. When he left he was maybe to my chest but he is easily up to my chin. I had no idea that kids could grow that fast but seeing how at 6' I am the shortest male in my family we have always expected him to be rather tall.

It sounds like he had a fun time with his mom and step-dad as well he got about a week with his maternal grandmother camping in South Dakota and Wyoming where they went to Mount Rushmore, The Black Hills and did some rafting. Not sure if they would call it white water but my son said they hit a few Class III rapids along the way. Glad to hear he had a good summer and for the first time that I can recall it sounded like he enjoyed his summer.

His hand looks ok but I can see why they are concerned about possible nerve and ligament and tendon damage. He cut himself at the base of the middle finger, right on the inside (palm) of the knuckle where his finger joins the hand. Looking at it he is lucky he did not pop the finger off.

They put some stitches on the inside and outside to hold it all together and splinted it but they did not give him any kind of anti-biotics. Right now my wife has him over with our personal physician to get her opinion as well as the name of a surgeon she would suggest that we see.

When I called our insurance company to see who was in the area they gave me the names of 2 doctors both of whom are a good 90 minutes South of us. However since we live in the the 'burbs of a major U.S. city I figure there has to be at least one or two doctors closer then the ones my carrier gave me. We will see what his physician has to say!

I am glad that he is home as his is little brother. He was running around the house for most of last night screaming "Edwards coming home" and the first thing he did when he woke up was bolt for his brothers room and jump up in bed with him. I love it when he does that and after almost two months of not having his brother around we were curious as to how he would react.

Since he was gone for his birthday we started this morning off by giving him his presents and talking about his summer. We bought him a few DVD's, Major Payne, Mr. Deed's and The Saint and then a DVD/CD rack for his room to help him keep all his stuff organized. I know, within 2 weeks of school starting the DVD's will be on the floor and the rack will be filled with action figures and other junk. We also bought him Spongebob Fact or Fishy DVD Game as he is a big Spongebob fan and a gift card to Wal-Mart. Since he loves his MP3 player he can use the gift card to download songs for it from Wal-Marts music site or go by himself some more DVD's or a CD or two.

It's good to have him back home, just in time for registration for school. I am not sure how we are going to be able to pull it all together and pay for tuition this year but I am hoping that when I talk to the Sisters (he goes to Catholic school) I will be able to barter my services for a discount or possibly all of his tuition. The school is looking to re-design their website, and it very badly needs it, and while I am not a guru I am more then capable of re-designing and hanging a new site for all the campuses as well as each Parish within the school zone.

Small emergency...

I got a call last night at about 9pm from my ex-wife letting me know that my son had hurt himself. Apparently he was reaching for a ball or something under a car and caught his hand and ripped it open. They took him to one of the local outpatient trauma centers where they stitched him up. Apparently though they think he needs to be seen by a surgeon to ensure that he did not do more damage to nerves as the cut was to the bone.

Now he was supposed to have another week with his mom but I am not comfortable with his seeing a surgeon out there (in another state) and then coming home next week. It just seems to be more trouble then it needs to be both with switching doctors and the insurance issues so I spoke with my ex-wife and we are going to get him this evening.

I did some thinking and talked with a few people and decided that no matter how much I hate it I decided to let him fly on his own as we could only afford that ticket at the last minute as our original plans for next week were to drive out. I am not keen, nor is my wife, on letting him fly alone but I did not think we had much choice as driving out would mean he would not be able to see the doctor until Friday or possibly even Monday and that might be a bit too long. Not knowing how badly he needed to see the surgeon I felt flying was the only way. My wife did not agree though and things got tense for a few minutes.

After some talking and several hundred more dollars then we really had we bought her a plane ticket as well and she is now on her way to meet him at the airport and will fly back with him. I am torn on this though. I really do not like the idea of his flying alone and it stems more from the concern that no one is really watching him or if there is an emergency he is not going to be the first concern should someone be watching him. I know, you pay the $40 for the airline to watch them but I have been on plenty of flights with kids and almost never have I seen the aircrew really paying attention like I would expect them too. Top that off with should there be an emergency I would never forgive myself for not being there when my kid(s) needed me most.

I know, sooner or later you have to let go but he is not quite to that age yet. Having just turned 12 we just think he is not quite there yet, he still has a bit of growing to do.

Anyway, I am glad he is on his way home but I am sorry that it is under this circumstances. Hopefully the doctors do not find anything wrong other then the gash as that will heal in a few days. Having chopped up a hand in the past I know that doing nerve damage to the fingers sucks. I did it about 15 years ago while on leave and I still have some trouble with the feeling in my index and middle finger on the left hand.

Who turned on the A/C?

We had a huge drop in the temperature today. After a few weeks of super hot, either close to or over 100F, we are at a whopping 65F this evening. We did get a bit of rain which was more like a drizzle then anything else but other then that it has been a nice day. I think the A/C came on 3 or 4 times all day rather then 3 or 4 times every hour like it has been. I am not looking forward to the electric bill next month either...

Just like the huge jump in the temperature made for some uncomfortable days the sudden drop in temperature was no fun. I am thankful my wife was off for the day as it would have not been much fun to try and chase my son around and be as stiff as I have been since this morning. Obviously pain meds work to help make you comfortable but they don't do much in the way of easing the tension in the joints. Bending from the waist felt like trying to bend plywood. A little bit of play but bend it too fast and it will snap.

The scary thing is that we are actually almost 40F cooler right now then we were at this time yesterday. Now when I was stationed at Fort Irwin this was something you might expect to happen when the sun went down. You could go from 120 during the heat of the day to around 80 or so at 10pm. With nothing to hold the heat in and the winds that came with the setting of the sun you could look forward to some time to cool off. Here in the plains states though this is something that just does not occur very often.

It is a nice break in the heat though and it is nice to hear the sounds of the kids running around and playing. What do they say, "you do not really miss something until it is gone"? Hopefully the heat stays away for a few days as it would be nice to get out of the house for longer then 5 minutes at a time.

Things that go bump in the night...

The headache is doing much better although I was doubtful there for a bit and was thinking about heading to the ER.

I finally laid down to get some sleep only to be awaken by a loud crash downstairs shortly after midnight. Of course being startled from a dead sleep is always a treat and instantly your mind kicks into over drive of what may be going on. My first thought was someone had come through the sliding glass door the hard way.

I grabbed my 6 cell mag light, a giant flashlight you see police officers carrying, and quietly made my way to the top of the stairs. Ok, I actually low crawled as not to make any noise. After listening down the stairs I figured it was safe enough to move to the kitchen where I could see better. Nothing seemed out of place and the glass in the door was intact so I moved around the corner only to find that the shelf I had built earlier this year had come apart and on it's way down spilled it's cargo and knocked the computer and monitor off the desk.

I quickly straightened it all up and went back to bed figuring I would deal with it this morning. A closer inspection this morning shows that one of the braces I used, purchased from Home Depot, had failed and gave way to the right side of the shelf. Now when I bought those braces I checked to make sure they would work for this shelf as it is filled with toys and books which add up to a decent amount of weight. What I did not do was inspect them closely enough to notice that they were not screwed together but rather done with some flimsy long kind of what appears to be a staple. Of course those cheap POS's are not going to hold that kind of weight forever.

I grabbed the drill and fixed the broken one with some screws and then pulled down the rest and re-enforced them so that I do not have to go through this again.

Another major headache today. This one was very much like the ones that have sent me to the hospital in the past but rather then go I crawled into bed and fell asleep in hopes it would go away. I don't feel like writing much today as my head still hurts, my ears are ringing and my eyes are quite blurry still.

See you all tomorrow...

Let's settle this once and for all...

The gauntlet has been thrown and so it is on like Donkey Kong. Obviously one of my commenters and goof friend (however misguided she may be...) seems to believe that stuff they try to pass off as pizza in Chicago is better then a real pizza.

Now perhaps I am a bit biased having grown up on Long Island, smack dab in the heart of where some of the greatest pies are made so I thought we would see what some of you had to say. What do you prefer? A slice of New York style, thin with a crispy and yet chewy crust and a perfect blend of spices, oil and cheese or do you go for a pie that looks like someone was trying to make a lasagna and ran out of noodles?

Gypsy-this is for you! Muwhahahaha...

Military Bloggers...

Looking for something new to add to your reading list? Try some of these military blogs. A good portion of them are being done by our Servicemen and women who are currently stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan and many other places where we are fighting the war on terror. Stop by and check them out, show your support for our troops.

Stupid freaking flat spots...

I tripped over another one of them a few minutes ago and instantly my foot felt like it was on fire. The toes and bottom of my foot are on fire and it is crawling up my leg, it literally feels like a million bugs are scrambling across up it right now wandering aimlessly. Top that off with me tripping over the gate earlier and this is shaping up to be a loooooong night. I took some Oxy in hopes of staving off some of it but this is going to be one of those nights where the pain is one step ahead.

So how does someone "trip" over a 3' gate? Well because of the nerve damage in my left foot I cannot control the muscles properly and my foot droops. This is called drop foot and it sucks. Remember as a kid getting your new pair of sneakers for school? Remember for the first day or so you would catch the toe of your sneakers and "trip", or was that just me and I have always been a spaz? Well imagine a lifetime of that and you have an idea of what happens to me several times a day. Of course the flip side is that I am my own entertainment.

We also got the invitation today to my nieces birthday party next week. I felt bad about having to decline as it is not often enough that I get to spend time with my (not so little) brother¹. My wife has to work that afternoon and is leaving the next day to pick up our son so she is out and they live far enough away that I am not comfortable driving myself that far, especially with my son in the car.

However since my sister in law called and said she really wanted to see us I will see what I can work out with my folks. She thought I could ask them to come get us but I am a bit apprehensive about asking them to drive 30-40 minutes out of there way on both legs of the trip. Perhaps since my wife is driving out to get our son I can go spend a few days at my folks and she could drop me off before she heads to work. If that works then my only other concern is that we (my folks and I) are on each others schedule and that means they are at the whim of a broke dick² and a toddler either of whom can be somewhat cranky at the drop of a hat.

I mentioned that my wife is off early this week and that we could come out one of those evenings. I love to hang out with my brother and my sister in law but we live almost 1.5 hours apart and my wife works a very odd schedule as a restaurant manager making it difficult to coordinate time to get over to see them and vice versa. Being in the restaurant business is no where near 9-5 and most certainly not Mon-Fri where my brother and his wife both work standard jobs, at least in the Mon-Fri respects so our days off are not always (very rarely) theirs.

---

¹-He is a competitive power lifter and is built like a brick wall so while he is younger he is not so-little.

²- Basically a term for something that does not work properly.

Care package away...

Well the first package to the guys is on it's way and I am anxious to see the reaction they have. I am sure for the guys some of this stuff is available for them in Iraq but others we thought would not be and be a neat touch. Smarties have to be an old favorite of everyone and I found a few bags of them so they got thrown in the mix as well. M&M's (6+ lbs), peanuts, sunflower seeds, beef jerky, pringles, iced tea mix (regular and raspberry), 4lbs of licorice, a very dark roast coffee, ginger snap cookies, cheez nips , potato sticks, large bag of baby wipes, gum, lifesavers (the mint kind) and some other stuff that is not in the pictures. The CD's are actually DVD's of shows I burned from the TiVo as well as some music that was requested.

A box of ziploc baggies later it was all packed into 2 boxes, 1 medium & 1 small and was on it's way. I used the ziploc's on the items I was concerned about breakage during transit. Item's like the tea mix could make a huge mess if they leak and who wants to hear 6lbs of M&M's rattle around? Some bubble wrap to hold it all in place and now it is time to start prepping the next boxes to go out.

Stay safe guys!

Fonts and sidetitles...

While looking at my blog on someone elses computer the other day it dawned on me that not all of you may be seeing this blog the way it is designed. I have a font that I used for some of the titles on the side and at the top of the entries called Tall Paul. It is the same one I used to make the "banner" at the top of the page. If you would like a free copy of that font just simply click on the link and follow the instructions.

Trouble with the archives, again...

I do not know why it is doing this but it seems Blogger is not putting the whole URL in the archives. It is truncating them, leaving out the directory on the server in which I keep the archives. While some of them seem to be working (even though they should not) the others are not. Right now it is listing them as ihavearachnoiditis.info/blog/XXXXXXX.html when it should be ihavearachnoiditis.info/blog/archives/xxxxxx.html. Go figure?

I am trying to fix it and I guess if push comes to shove I will just move the archives to the directory it thinks they are in. I did not have anything else to do today anyway...

I did go ahead and download copies of all the entries just in case something is fubar. I would hate to lose them all.

Edit: It looks like I was able to get it all fixed. I just moved the files to where it thinks they are rather then trying to be all high speed and get it to find the new directory. It also looks like the new skin/template is on all the old archives which it was not before.

I wonder if the heat is the cause of the back aches yesterday and today. I know they say a dry heat is ok for you hence the large number of people who move to the more arid parts of the country, but here in the plains it gets hot and humid. It just really makes me wonder if the heat by itself is ok but when you add the moisture does it have a different effect? Guess I have some reading to do tomorrow.

802.11g or b?

Well I had to go buy a new wireless card for the desktop but while I was looking for one that did not cost $75 I started thinking. Yes, I know that is a scary proposition but in this case it was something that needed to be done.

My problem is that my 802.11g wireless PCI card for the laptop fried out a few months ago and since then I have been having to use an old "B" model on it. Now it still works but the transfer rate goes from 54mbs down to 11mbs and the distance I can travel from the base is reduced.

Now while I am standing there looking at all the PCI cards for the desktop I remembered that I saw not too long ago a wireless key that is USB based rather then the traditional slot. If I could find a "G" model then I could use it for both the desktop and the laptop (when it is not needed on the desktop). No more dropped connections because I wandered into the front room or took the laptop upstairs, much faster connection rates mean a cleaner load and I am happy again.

It also means that instead of spending close to $80 after taxes for a card that would only work for the PC as well require me to actually install it in the box that I only spent $35 and have a wireless key that will work on any computer with a USB port. It also came with a neat base that I can plug into the USB port and then plug the key into that allowing me to adjust the line of sight to the router.

Now I need to grab one for the TiVo so I can put that on the wireless network which would then give me the ability to broadcast from the TiVo to any TV/Computer on the LAN!

How's the weather?

I thought I would post this mini-forecast from the local news channel website. Now generally we do not get this hot until August which leaves me wondering, if we are that hot now how hot is it going to be in August?

Time to fill up both the kiddie pools.

Today: partly cloudy this morning then becoming mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 90s. Southeast winds 5 to 15 mph. Afternoon heat index readings 99 to 104.

Tonight: clear. Lows in the upper 70s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Evening heat index readings 98 to 103.

Saturday: very hot. Sunny. Highs around 100. South winds 10 to 20 mph. Afternoon heat index readings 102 to 107.

Saturday Night: clear. Lows in the upper 70s. South winds 5 to 15 mph. Evening heat index readings 100 to 105.

Sunday: very hot. Mostly sunny. Highs around 100. South winds 10 to 15 mph. Afternoon heat index readings 102 to 107.

Sunday Night: mostly clear. Lows in the mid 70s.

Monday: mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 90s.

Monday Night: mostly clear. Lows in the mid 70s.

Tuesday: partly cloudy. Chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the lower 90s. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.

Tuesday Night: partly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows around 70.

Wednesday: partly cloudy. Highs in the lower 90s.

Wednesday Night: partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly clear. Lows in the upper 60s.

Thursday: mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 80s.

Tweaking Firefox...

This is what I get for being up this early, or is it this late?

I was not very tired so I spent the evening running back and forth between TV's setting and recording shows while watching Boondock Saints. While watching the movie I have also been playing around with the extensions and themes for Firefox and Thunderbird which is the Mozilla email client that I use. Without a doubt they are the best browser and email client I have used.

For those of you using Firefox here is a quick tweak sent to me by one of my "geek" buddies. I have done it to both my computers and am tickled pink with the results. Now you are not going to be seeing such an increase in speed that you don't need to upgrade from that cheap assed Earthlink Accelerator (waste of money IMHO) but you will see a change right away.

How To Speed Up Firefox (Helpful Vanity)

Posted on 12/12/2004 12:45:50 PM PST

Here's something for broadband people that will really speed Firefox up:

1.Type "about:config" into the address bar and hit return. Scroll down and look for the following entries:

network.http.pipelining
network.http.proxy.pipelining
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests

Normally the browser will make one request to a web page at a time. When you enable pipelining it will make several at once, which really speeds up page loading.

2. Alter the entries as follows:

Set "network.http.pipelining" to "true"

Set "network.http.proxy.pipelining" to "true"

Set "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to some number like 30. This means it will make 30 requests at once.

3. Lastly right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set its value to "0". This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it recieves.

Would you like some soda?

So I am sitting in the recliner this evening and my youngest brings his cup over to me and asks for some soda. Now he does not drink a lot of soda, neither do we. We probably go through two 2 liters between all of us in a week, bottled water is our preferred poison and I generally kill a case of Ozarka in 2 days by myself.

So he brings his glass, we are weaning him from the sippy cups, over and asks me for some soda. Only problem is that I was drinking some water and I have not seen a bottle of soda since the day before yesterday. I tell him, "Sorry buddy but Daddy does not have any soda for you tonight" and with that he just turns and walks off.

I thought he left the room but a second later he emerges from behind the couch with a bottle of soda and tosses it in my lap. Apparently much like the cookie caches he used to keep he has a stash of soda he keeps behind the couch. Nice warm soda. Bleech...

I'm stoked!

During the run down to the doctors office yesterday brought us right past the Sam's Club so we cruised in to check some prices for the care packages. I scored a very good deal on some DVD+R's so I can record some shows for the guys. Now the cheapest place I have been able to find them in my area is $16 for a spindle of 15 so finding 75 for $29 brought a pretty big smile to my face. Yes, I am easily amused.

I also found they had CD-Music¹ and a spindle of 100 was only $16. This is about half the price I have been finding them around here but I still have some left from the last spindle I bought. I put most of my music on the computers and then rather then burning entire CD's so it would take me almost a year if not longer to go through 100 of them versus the DVD's where I will probably go through that 75 in the next month or two.

I felt so good about finding those for such a great price I forgot to check on the price for the beef jerky and powdered drink mix. D'oh!


¹- In order for music to be played back on a normal CD player it must be burned to a CD-Music. If you used a regular CD R/RW media disc you might be able to get playback but chances are it would not work properly or 100% of the time. So if you are planning on burning some CD's pay attention to the type of disc you purchase. I learned this the hard way awhile back.

Another ordinary day...

Very sore and stiff this morning and I have no idea why. I came down early as lying there in bed felt more like I was sleeping on a piece of plywood, wide awake.

The heat for the last few days has been reminding me of my time spent stationed at Fort Irwin CA. where summer temps can soar into the 120's easily. However I would prefer to be there right now as it is 1-cooler then here and 2-even when it is hot the humidity is not bad. Living in the plains of the U.S. means 105F and 85%+ humidity and the only way to truly beat the heat is to get in the pool. That for us means the kiddie pool which I cleaned and refilled yesterday and then spent the morning sitting in it with my little guy. Seeing as it has been blazing hot he has not gotten much outside time so he is bouncing off the walls from being cooped up.

Went to see the doc for refills yesterday. My appointment was for 16:00 but we were in the area for another appointment which ended much earlier then we expected leaving us a block from the doctors office with an hour to go. On a whim my wife suggested giving them a call and seeing if they had anything earlier. BINGO! They were able to get me in right then and by the time my original appointment time rolled around we were half way back home. The visits are going well and I am pleased that we have found this doc to help me.

My sister is the best!

I have been completely humbled this afternoon by a group of people I have not had the chance to meet (as of yet) but I have to say to my sister, "You are the best sister a guy could hope for and your selflessness is beyond comparison."

Ok, an explanation...

I stated in a recent entry that I wanted to adopt a small unit and send them some care packages. Now I figured the bulk of this project was going to be on me. It is my idea, I made the contacts and I figured that other then my family very few people, let alone complete strangers, would care enough to help me out. I was wrong, WAY WRONG.

I started putting together my first package for the guys and decided that I should ask my parents and sister if they would like to help me out. I was not looking for a ton of stuff but if they could each chip in a bit it would mean a bunch to the guys. I had no idea what was going to happen next. I knew without a doubt that they would help but not that my sister would wrangle up close to another 10 (and growing) friends of hers to help out.

I called my sister last night to confirm that she got my email and see what she would be able to help out with. Of course she said she would help but this morning I got a great surprise, she had forwarded my email to a group of graduate students that she works with (she is a PhD in a sub-section of psychology) and the response was overwhelming.

She said that the students who responded were excited to help out and that they were printing out my email with suggestions on it, double checking for redundancy and planning on going to the store to get the items they had chosen. Even better was that she was still waiting to hear back from some of them and that perhaps by morning we could have a few more chipping in for the project. I had no clue that this was even possible but I am walking on air here knowing that we should be able to send a few more boxes then I even thought we would.

I think the guys will be excited to receive some boxes, letters and maybe even some pictures from a group of college students who realize it is important to support the soldiers, while at the same time finding out that this is a group of many single, young, cute girls! LOL!

Anyway I will get with my sister tomorrow to arrange the details for this and then when I can come back down and collect the items. I am hoping that I can head out to the campus and do this when they are all in a group because a groups photo is a must. I also want to personally thank them. This is not something they had to do and more so while $10-15 may not sound like a lot when you are a graduate student and trying to survive on minimum wage of not less that is a lot of money. I want to make sure they realize how much this will be appreciated.

I am also excited that my wife's employer (a large national restaurant well known for their support of the troops) has given her the go ahead to help support projects like this. We will be going to corporate HQ tomorrow for some other business so I am hoping perhaps they will be able to contribute in some way. Obviously with this project growing this quickly we are looking at increased shipping costs. Of course I have a few other ideas but I will wait until I talk to them before I post them here.

I would also like to offer the chance to my readers to help out. I know that I am not a huge blog like Kos or Little Green Footballs nor am I a tax exempt organization but I do have a Paypal account and a debit card linked to it. Any donations made from readers would go 100% to the costs of the packages and I would be glad to provide a complete accounting of all donations to those who choose to help.

Once again though I would like to tell me sister that she is the greatest. I only hope that each time we put together these packages we can contiue to have this kind of support.

So what do you do?

Not sure why I am wide awake at 0500 but I have been so since about 0300. I decided to come downstairs and burn some CD's and DVD's to get into the box for the guys in Iraq. I figure if I am going to be awake I might as well put the time to good use rather then just sit there in bed and stare at the ceiling until I doze off again.

This pisses me off...

Two children drowned in a backyard swimming pool Monday.

Officials said it happened in the XXXX block of XXXXXX Road, which is in southern XXXXXXXXX County.

XXXX reported that the victims were a 3-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl. The children were taken to a local hospital, where they later died.

Police said the owner of the pool had been baby-sitting at the time. She believed the children were playing in the basement.

This happened right down the road from my house and this is UNACCEPTABLE. This is what concerns me with my neighbors and that poor little girl. Thankfully they took out their pool last year after the tornado damaged it or I am sure this would be that poor girls fate. Scary though is that we still have to worry about her wandering out into that busy street.

This is why you WATCH your kids. Watch means just that, you can see them from where you are and they DO NOT leave your site for even a minute. How this idiot thought they were in the basement I do not know but they should look him/her up for neglect.

I pray those little kids Rest In Peace.

Doing something bigger then yourself!

Many of you who read me here and there know that I am a former Soldier and spent nearly a decade serving my country as an Infantryman (and an NCO). I have spent a good deal of time reading some of the military blogs out there, especially the ones of some of the soldiers who are deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

I do not care whether you support the war(s) or the current administration but I have always believed that you should support the troops. This is an all volunteer military and many of those currently serving were in the military a long time before we were attacked in 2001. When they were told it was time to pack up their bags and move out they did so leaving behind family and friends and for many of the soldiers it has been or will be close to 18 months before they are back home.

That means we need to be stepping up to the plate and making sure we are supporting those Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen and Coasties (don't forget they are fighting the war on terror too!) who are away from their loved ones so that you can be home with your. You can write letters, you can ship a box of goodies to them every few weeks or you can donate money or your time to some of the organizations in your area like AMVETS, the VFW or even some of the local civic organizations or church groups who are putting together packages for the troops. It does not cost a ton of money to do this either.

I have been reading a this blog for some time and it got to me. It made me realize that while I am sitting here whining about my back hurting or my son not taking his nap my buddies are halfway around the world worrying about much more important issues like will they live through the day or will they make it home in one piece. So I decided to contact some of the guys I know overseas and I have adopted a small unit. Now not having a ton of money myself I have decided to enlist the help of my family to do this project. The first box going out is all me but my hopes are that in the next few weeks I will have my parents and siblings on board and contributing some goods for the boxes I plan on sending.

I hit up Wal-Mart for some items and then went to the dollar general store today to round out the first box. The Dollar store was a jackpot and I spent less then $20 there and walked out with tons of stuff for the guys from ginger snap cookies to cans of pringles and bags of peanut M&M's (they do not melt in the boxes!). Add that to yesterdays haul from Wal-Mart of sunflower seeds, peanuts, peppermint lifesavers and a bag of good coffee beans and I will be putting out a box tomorrow for the guys. Grand total for the box plus shipping should be less then $50 but the knowing that a group of guys will feel that much closer to home makes me feel good.

I am also including some other goodies for the guys. I have been recording TV shows for them on the TiVO and burning them to DVD's and will ship those out as well. The good thing with the DVD's is that they are cheap to buy ($15 for 25) and I can burn several hours worth a day and mail them weekly using the USPS Media Mail rates to make it dirt cheap.

If you would like to help me out simply then you can send me email with your info and how you would like to help. I have a paypal account as well as debit card for it and would be glad to provide those who donate a copy of all transactions from that account. I will not keep a single dime for anything on this project, 110% of it will go into the goodies as well as some for shipping.

Caution: Tired toddler!

My youngest decided to be a bear this afternoon. He did not want to take his nap and when I tried to get him to do so it turned into a screaming fit which I can only imagine was because the poor kid was so tired. If you have ever dealt with a cranky toddler you will know what I mean. They will kick, push, pull and do anything to try and prevent your picking them up, putting them down or anything else and my back was not in the mood for that so I finally just gave up.

I finally sat down and a few minutes later he crawled into my lap and within a minute he was out like a light, sprawled across my legs and taking up all the free space. I decided to let him sleep a bit which of course turned into 3 hours. Of course now my back is smoked from all of that especially his cramming himself into the seat with me. It kills my back for some reason but at the same time it hurts it is so cute when he does it that I don't have the heart to ask (or make) him move. While it is difficult to use the laptop with him in the chair he is too funny and insists that I bring it up with us and play some videos from Grouchy Media or go to one of the sites like Go Baby.

We have a set of keyboards that we keep on the floor for him to play with. I bought them a few years ago for my wife and while they are not top of the line they do some amazing things. In addition to playing several hundred pre-recorded songs, and dozens of instruments you can use it to record what you are playing and then play it back to add or mix it with other recordings. He will sit there for hours with them and just play music and dance along to it. My mother has a baby grand that is also a player piano and he loves to play that one as well. Who knows, maybe he is the next Mozart? Mozart began playing at age 3 and by 5 as composing, my little guy has a 6 month head start!

Problems with duragesic?

This is interesting. I know several people on the patch and have considered it myself on several occasions. Since they have not determined how or if the patches are the cause of death we will have to wait and see how this one plays out. I will do my best to follow this in the wires as well as see if my doctor has any information on this and post it as soon as I do.

From what I know about the patches, which admittedly is little, I understand that work quite well for the majority of the people who are on them. The ability to slap one on and go about your business is a wonderful idea for people doing long term pain management as having to remember to get refills of your meds, sort them out into your daily dose routine and then remember to take them on time is a pain in the butt. Especially when some of the meds are taken at different times.

Story Here

WASHINGTON - The government is investigating 120 deaths among users of patches that emit the painkiller fentanyl and warned patients Friday to be sure to use the powerful narcotic properly to avoid accidental overdose.

The Food and Drug Administration is probing whether any of the deaths are related to inappropriate use of the painkiller or factors related to the product's quality.

At least some may have been accidental overdoses, and reports suggest patients or prescribers weren't aware of crucial safety information on the drug's label, said FDA's Dr. Robert Meyer. That prompted Friday's unusual public health advisory.

"Here are important warnings — pay attention to them," Meyer said.

Among the warnings in patient information sheets issued Friday:

_Fentanyl patches can cause trouble breathing, which can be fatal. Get emergency help if you have trouble breathing or extreme drowsiness with slowed breathing; feel faint, dizzy, confused; or have other unusual symptoms. They can be signs that you were prescribed too high a dose or took too much.

_Fentanyl patches are only for round-the-clock pain that is moderate to severe and expected to last for weeks.

_The patches should not be your first narcotic painkiller; they're only for people whose bodies are used to morphine or related painkillers known as opioids.

_Do not use fentanyl patches if you have sudden or severe asthma, or a gastrointestinal problem called paralytic ileus.

_Store patches out of reach of children and dispose of them by sticking the adhesive sides together and flushing down the toilet, not in trash cans where children can find them.

Abuse of fentanyl patches is a recurring problem because they contain such a high concentration of the controlled substance. But Meyer said the current concern stems from legitimate patient use.

"The directions ... must be followed exactly to prevent death or other severe side effects from overdosing," the FDA warned in letters to doctors that also advise prescribing the lowest possible dose.

The patches were first approved under the brand name Duragesic in 1990, and a generic version hit the market in February. FDA has reports of death among users of both, Meyer said. It's not unusual to receive increased side-effect reports shortly after a new product reaches consumers, he said.

Happy Birthday Kiddo!

It's hard to believe that it has been 12 years already. It seems like just yesterday we were taking your mom to the hospital only to be told it was not time yet, and just a few short hours later we had you.

It has been a great 12 years and I would not trade them for the world. You are the best son that a dad could possibly ask God for, and apparently he was listening that day because here you are.

I hope you are having fun today on your camping trip.

Happy Birthday buddy.

Going to the market

Living in the small town that I do provides some unique chances to get out to some neat places. Living 30 minutes from a major city as well as 30 minutes from one of the largest Universities in the Country means we can hit some cool stores and markets.

Yesterday we hit the City Market after leaving an appointment and only wish we had been able to go a bit earlier in the day. By the time we hit the stands most of the fruits and veggies, although priced well, were limp from the 100+ temps we have been having. We did grab some pineapples, squash and some spices from the local spice shop. That gave us the idea and this morning we were out the door bright and early heading in the opposite direction for their farmers market and a trip to the Mercantile (think While Foods but locally owned). The farmers market was nice and we were able to grab some corn, carrots, shallots, garlic, basil, bbq sauce and some breads (all locally made/grown). We then went to grab some breakfast at the local bread bakery where we bought 2 more loaves of bread, a steel cut oats loaf and then a kalamata olive/Italian loaf. We rounded out the day heading to the mercantile to grab some almond milk and soba noodles as we cannot find them in this town and a few other items for our son. By the time we were done shopping and driving the 30 miles both ways it was still only a bit after 11 am but I am glad we did it early as we were sweating from all the walking around outside.

While we did not buy any meat or dairy while we were there they do have it at the farmers market. In fact they have all kinds of meat including buffalo/bison, chicken, beer (Angus as well), rabbit, emu and so on as well as milk, eggs and cheeses made at the local farms. Since we just bought a bunch of meat (from the local meat locker) a few weeks back we really did not need anything.

I would love to live somewhere that has a daily market like that when items are in season. Grab a spray of fresh flowers every few days to brighten up the house, fresh local grown foods for each days meals I guess somewhat bohemian if you think about it but better for you and better for the local economy. I think having been in the brewing business it really opened our eyes up to using locally grown/made products. They do tend to be a bit more expensive but the flavor comparison, quality and craftsmanship that go into it just puts it over the top. I am looking forward to using the bbq sauces we bought today. For $4 a bottle they were not much more then the mass produced brands but they use 100% local products in the recipe and all the money you spend on it stays in the community. Someday we will be able to move somewhere like that but then my concern would be all the damn hippies. I wonder where I can find the best of both worlds???

The truly nice thing about this morning was that it was some good quality time with my family walking around and then sitting down to a quiet breakfast. We also were able to get most of what we needed and while we spent a bit more (maybe 5%?) then we normally would on groceries we feel good about what we got and where we bought it from. It is an important lesson to our children showing them that you can eat healthy while supporting your local merchants and you can spend the day with your family, have some fun and not need to spend $300 at the amusement parks. Hopefully this is something they will remember (we do this every few weeks) as a fun morning and when they have their own families they will do something similar.

Now if I could just find a fresh fish market! Being land locked in the middle of the country I am weary of any thing water based that says "fresh." Having grown up on Long Island I know what fresh is and is not, here it "is not!'

Why is he up this early?

It is 4am when I heard the first rustling of a little boy who should be asleep. That giggle followed by the "hey daddy" told me all I needed to know, it was time to get up.
I tried to ignore him in hopes he would think we were all still asleep and he too would go back to bed but when am I ever that lucky?

I guess it is ok though as I had monster headache and both my arms and hands were so numb that I could not sleep anyway. It has been that way for the last few nights, the numbness I mean. Like the shoulders going numb and the legs shaking for no reason the numbness in the hands is something that comes and goes when it wants and without any warning.

It is alive!

Many years ago we were given a computer for Christmas by my father in law. Now when we got this thing it was high speed state of the art but through the years it has become more of a paper weight as we have replaced it with a laptop and the work computer I was using.

The problem with the work computer is that it belonged to my fathers corporation and since I was no longer able to really put the hours into that kind of work (50+ a week if you want to make anything) he had to take it back and put it to better use. I do not blame him one bit and should we ever get the pain management down to a science where I am able to do that (or any really) kind of work then I will get back on board.

However with the loss of the desktop we are (or were) down to just the laptop as all the desktops in this house were DOA. In fact 1 of them is so old it would barely support Win 95 let alone 98SE or XP home so it is sitting in the closet right now. However this old computer is not so bad, it just needed a little TLC to get going and this morning I was able to breathe some life into her. I salvaged some parts from here and there and found an old hard drive that would work perfectly. I slapped it all together, re-installed Win 98 and grabbed the USB wireless key and away we go.

Surprisingly it only took me about an hour to get it up and running and most of that time was spent trying to re-configure the pins for the drive. Apparently the last time it was used it was set to slave mode and of course there were no instruction for it in the box it was in. That meant a few minutes online trying to find that info. I found some old speakers for her, a keyboard and mouse and now we are up and running.

While it is not going to be doing cartwheels it is good enough to get online and do some basic word processing. It should be perfect for the boys to play with as well. I took the old desk from the front and wheeled it into the family room, set up the wireless USB key on it and now they can be online and not be hiding in another room like it used to be setup.

Ok, I am beat so I am going to try and get the little guy down for his nap (that means I want a nap and so he must take one too!)

Paul Bannon & Peter Pike

Paul Bannon
Peter Pike

I have always been very interested in the recovery efforts of our servicemen listed as missing in action and for the last almost 8 years I have worn the MIA bracelet of Paul Bannon who along with Peter Pike were shot down on July 12th 1969 over Laos. Their bodies were never recovered.

While I remember them everyday I wanted to share their stories with you today because today is the 36th anniversary of their last mission. I will be using today to post information about MIA's & POW's and how you can contact your representatives to do something about finding our servicemen and bringing them home. For some men it has been more then a lifetime since they went missing and while it may be to late for them there are men it may not be too late for. Men like Scott Speicher who was the first pilot lost during the opening barrages of the '91 Gulf War. There is also Keith Maupin who is missing and listed as a Prisoner Of War from Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Remember, you do not have to agree with the conflicts that these men have fought in or even the politics that brought them to those conflicts but all of these men have friends and families who want them home and by contacting your legislators you just might be able to help bring some of them home.

I would love nothing more then to remove my bracelet and give it to Paul Bannon himself and if that is not possible when his remains are repatriated to return my bracelet to his family. I would prefer to give it to him.

Paul Wedlake Bannon
Colonel (See Note below)

PERSONAL DATA
Home of Record: Hueytown, Alabama
Date of birth: Monday, 10/15/1934

MILITARY DATA
Service: Air Force (Regular)
Grade at loss: O4
Rank: Colonel (See Note below)
ID No: 417449746
MOS: 1115F Pilot
LenSvc: Not recorded
Unit: 433RD TFS, 8TH TFW, 7TH AF
Note: O4 at loss. Promoted while in MIA status

CASUALTY DATA
Start Tour: Not recorded
Incident Date: Saturday, 07/12/1969
Change Status: Monday, 01/22/1979
Missing to Died while Missing
Age at Loss: 34
Remains: Body Not Recovered
Location: Laos
Type: Hostile, Died While Missing
Reason: Air Loss, Crash - Land - Fixed Wing - Crew

ON THE WALL Panel 21W Line 105

You get what you give

Well a few weeks ago the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a huge blow to property owners in the U.S. with their Kelo vs. City of New London decision. In this decision they basically stripped property rights from landowners saying that a persons property can be seized and turned over to local developers if the project could help boost a local ailing economy. It takes eminent domain a step further and allows private companies to bring to the courts a lawsuit to seize the land. Prior to this ruling any claims of eminent domain were brought about by the government for projects designed for the betterment of the community. This ruling clearly gives that power to anyone who has enough money and an idea.

Well now it appears that the tables have turned and Justice Souter finds himself in the unique position of having this very ruling turned against him with land he owns in the Town of Weare, New Hampshire and I am tickled pink over this development.

I hope they are successful in their efforts to build this hotel. In small towns like this (They have about 8,300 people) even a small hotel can provide a significant number of jobs as well as tax revenue from hotel operations. A hotel means tourists, tourists need other services like restaurants and shops to spend their money. While a small town may have these amenities the increase in tourism can mean a few new shops which equates to more jobs and a larger tax base. It has a snowball effect in essence and this can be a great thing for small towns, breathing new life into otherwise lagging economies. (note- I am not saying that the Town of Weare is in desperate need but any new development bringing in tax dollars is always a good thing IMHO.)

Please note that if you are interested in helping this project they have a need for both monetary support as well as miscellaneous needs to help keep this project on track. If you can help support this project I urge you to do so.

Weare, New Hampshire (PRWEB) Could a hotel be built on the land owned by Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter? A new ruling by the Supreme Court which was supported by Justice Souter himself itself might allow it. A private developer is seeking to use this very law to build a hotel on Souter's land.

Justice Souter's vote in the "Kelo vs. City of New London" decision allows city governments to take land from one private owner and give it to another if the government will generate greater tax revenue or other economic benefits when the land is developed by the new owner.

On Monday June 27, Logan Darrow Clements, faxed a request to Chip Meany the code enforcement officer of the Towne of Weare, New Hampshire seeking to start the application process to build a hotel on 34 Cilley Hill Road. This is the present location of Mr. Souter's home.

Clements, CEO of Freestar Media, LLC, points out that the City of Weare will certainly gain greater tax revenue and economic benefits with a hotel on 34 Cilley Hill Road than allowing Mr. Souter to own the land.

The proposed development, called "The Lost Liberty Hotel" will feature the "Just Desserts Cafe" and include a museum, open to the public, featuring a permanent exhibit on the loss of freedom in America. Instead of a Gideon's Bible each guest will receive a free copy of Ayn Rand's novel "Atlas Shrugged."

Clements indicated that the hotel must be built on this particular piece of land because it is a unique site being the home of someone largely responsible for destroying property rights for all Americans.

"This is not a prank" said Clements, "The Towne of Weare has five people on the Board of Selectmen. If three of them vote to use the power of eminent domain to take this land from Mr. Souter we can begin our hotel development."

Clements' plan is to raise investment capital from wealthy pro-liberty investors and draw up architectural plans. These plans would then be used to raise investment capital for the project. Clements hopes that regular customers of the hotel might include supporters of the Institute For Justice and participants in the Free State Project among others.

Pain sucks...

I have been in decent pain all day and even with the max dose of my meds I am very uncomfortable. The pain has shifted majorly over to the right side of my back as well as the left which has been troublesome for some time. I know, I have said if it continued I would go see the doctor and I will.

My appointment for my monthly checkup is on the 20th so I will mention it to my doctor at that time but I will also need to make an appointment with the doctor who does all the imaging and he will probably want to do an MRI with contrast or possibly another myelogram although I will be saying "no freaking way" to that though unless the say it is 110% a must, and that is not likely.

I am not afraid of the pain that comes with having something jammed into your spine, which if the doctor is good is minimal, but rather I cannot stand the headaches that happen or the other problems (arachnoiditis) that they can cause. Screwing around with the cerebral spinal fluid, either by removing some or adding another substance such as contrast agents to the space, is not something I find fun. There are side effects that go along with ESI's as well as myelograms. Sure they will tell you that side effects are rare but they are not the ones getting the needle jammed an inch or so into their back.

Stay down!

Well I hope all our fellow bloggers down in the path of Dennis are buckled down and ready for him. The radar image is centered in Mobile Alabama on the National Weather Services web site. If you would like more information on the hurricane and the other areas possibly affected by Dennis you can check out the National Hurricane Center also part of the NOAA website.

By all means this is not something that people should be heading outside to check out either. Last I heard Dennis is a Category 4 hurricane which means sustained winds between 131 and 155 MPH. Those winds will take you off your feet and slam you around like a ping pong ball.

I am praying that tomorrow and the next few days bring as little damage and loss as possible. I know a lot of those in the path are still recovering from Hurricane Ivan last September. Those poor folks are still rebuilding from that storm, just in time to quite possibly have all the damage done again.

I know that many of the local utilities have rallied their crews and a few of my buddies who work in that field are probably already driving to staging areas just outside the storms path so that when it passes they can get right to work. CNN is reporting that they are predicting 500,000+ people will be without power for close to 3-4 weeks. Having been there with tornadoes I can understand the frustration of the people having to do without so I am hoping for the best here.

Edit- Wow, in the few hours it had been since I was watching the news on this it has been downgraded to a tropical storm. Still not something that is going to make life easy but better then a CAT4 hurricane in my opinion.

New pool for the boy

We had to buy a new pool for our youngest the other day and believe it or not finding a small inflatable pool is not as easy as you would think. We did have a huge orange one that I thought would be great but it turned out to be too big of a pain to deal with. It is 18" deep and like 12' across and holds more water then I was willing to put in it, for several reasons.

First I like to empty and move the pool every other day or so to keep the grass from dying. I also like to empty it to keep bacteria and other crap from forming in the overnight stagnant water and finally I do not feel like filling such a large pool every other day as my water bill would easily triple if not quadruple. No thanks!

I did find one at K-Mart for $3 from Joe Boxer that is not only the right size, it fits on the deck and once it is full you can hook the hose up to it and it has little holes around the outer rim which then sprinkle water from about 12 spots into the middle of the pool giving the kids something to play in as well as keeping it somewhat full. It also fits on the newly stained deck which means no worrying about my grass dying from sitting in one spot.

I set it up this afternoon and let it sit for a few hours to warm up before letting him out in it. The very second we walked through the door the little girl next door was screaming to come over and get in the pool. I had to say no because I was not in the mood for her antics or to have to watch her because we know mom is not going to come out. Each day I feel bad for the kid as she is banished to the backyard with no one else to play or talk with. I often wonder if she gets in trouble for going in the house. Anyway, my son had a ball splashing around while I watered the yard and the checked out the deck to see where I needed to touch up a bit. He was in there for a good 30 minutes and when I told him it was time to go in for dinner he threw a fit. Normally parents would hate that but since he was playing it did not bother me so much. However, he still needed to get out so we could eat.

Last night was also his first time taking a bath in the tub without his mini-tub. Up until last night we had been using a smaller tub that you put in the regular one and then fill up. It fits nicely and makes it almost impossible for them to stand up in the middle of the tub. He had a problem with that for a bit and the tub worked great for a year or so but he is getting too big for it. We found a mat for the tub that is not one of those grip tape stick to the bottom things and instead it is a very soft one that is very much like the self liner you might use for glasses. I do not know what they call it but it is not solid which allows for drainage but it is not slick either which keeps him from slipping. He seemed to like having all that water to play in and was thrilled at the amount of bubbles daddy put in the tub (I always over bubble it on purpose). Now that he is in the big tub and we found a wading pool we like I need to get some boats, subs and other tub/pool toys for him. I always loved having toys to play with in the tub and I am sure he would too.

My back is ok today but it is not exactly pain free. I have a knot that is spreading over to the lower right side, the same place I was complaining about last week. I took my meds and even the full dose for breakthrough but it does not seem to be working to well right now. I can put my patch on here in a few minutes and that should help some but I am guessing that sleeping is going to be a bit tough this evening. I need to find something more sturdy to prop my legs on if I plan on getting any decent sleep.

The problems with propping my legs is that I only have pillows and I either end up kicking them off the bed or they flatten out and do not work worth a damn. I looked for something like they had me using during physical therapy but the only ones I found were either the wrong size for me or cost more then I really could afford. Perhaps it is time to go to the fabric store, grab some denim and some stuffing and make my own. I think I remember how to thread a needle. I am sure that as soon as I can get my knees bent a bit and take some stress off my lower back while lying down I will be sleeping MUCH better then I have been.

I did hit True Value hardware today for a new security bar for the sliding glass doors. We have one that we use and it works great but I got a bug the other day and bought a new one that actually has tension to it and you can clamp it down into place leaving no gap or play in the door. It can also be put up higher then the old one which means if someone were to fiddle with the door and it fell it is going to make a ton of noise (it is steel). So now we have the general lock that is on the door and the 2 rods as well as the house alarm that is tied to the door as well as the motion detectors in the back room. Yes, I am into triple redundancy.

While we were out I also spent $15 on a new DVD/CD binder that holds about 200 DVD's (out of their cases). I was growing tired of the pile of cases and the pile of DVD's not in their cases. Everyone wants to watch a movie but no one ever puts them back. That leaves them in reach of a 2 year old and then Daddy spends 3 hours hunting them down, cleaning them and removing scratches from them. So I bought the binder, pulled all the DVD's from their cases and piles and then arranged them somewhat so that they are all in some semblance of order. I took the boxes and put them away in the front hall closet which we use for stashing stuff like that (it's a big closet). It's amazing how clean a room can look when you get rid of all the little cluttering junk that is lying around.

Well I have babbled quite enough for this evening. I am going to go find my lidoderm and put on 2 patches and then I am going to get my son to come sit in the recliner with me and doze off to sleep.

Downloaded some new tools

I downloaded the Zoundry a blog editor which works with Blogger, movable Type 3.X and Type Pad and rather then have to log in to do an entry you can do it and then publish right from the desktop.

Download was less then a minute on DSL (less then 30 seconds) and install on XP SP2 was quick and painless. With download, install and setup to log in and publish was only 4 or 5 minutes. The editor itself has far more tools then the basic blogger editor which makes it easier for those who might not be proficient with all the editing tags of HTML and CSS. The only thing missing and it is a dooozie in my humble opinion is a spell checker so if you find a ton of them here, that is why!

The editor also allows you to add pictures to the entry, format them and then publish them with the entry which is pretty cool. I have not tried that out yet but I will have to give it a whirl to see how it goes. If you are like me then you probably are frustrated with using something like Picasa to get your photos online.

It also has a save feature so that if you are not online or near a connection you can get your entry in and publish later. I know I take my laptop almost everywhere I go and there are times when we are driving I just get the urge to put something down. I used to have to use Word or some other editor and then cut & paste and re-edit/format to fit.

Wannabe gangbangers...

While getting out of the car at the store this morning I noticed 3 "kids" (14-16ish) walking through the parking lot. All of them were wearing the same thing, long baggy shorts and oversized shirts and all the same color, red. Now small town USA is not someplace you typically find gang members sporting colors. They do exist but with the colors they stand out like a sore thumb. My guess is these geniuses did not get that memo however because the were acting like they owned the place.

So as I am heading towards the store I realize they are shadowing me and as I cross the lot and get between the row of cars they stop at a Jeep with a guy inside of it. Now it is obvious the guy is in the military but they proceed to ask him all sorts of stupid questions and I can see he is aggravated. He is sitting in the Jeep, it has no top or windows so if they decide to be stupid he is screwed and as I am thinking this to myself his eyes and mine met and I just stopped for a second. I am sure he got the message that while I did not know him I was not going to stand idly by. That is when they looked over towards me as well and realizing that they were no longer alone they started to back off the guy a bit. By now half the parking lot must have stopped (very big busy store) and was staring at the schumucks.

Figuring they were done and with the guy backing out of the lot I headed into the store. Of course now my mind is wandering and checking in the windows to see how far behind me they are. When I hit the main doors they were about 10 meters behind me so I cut a quick left through the register area and then out the other side by the pharmacy and as I turn back down the aisle they are standing there and looking like they were trying to figure out where I went. Of course I continued to the back of the store, grabbed what I was there for and bailed out the garden center register which leads into the parking lot. Stupid punks...Hahahaha I figure they were still standing around scratching their heads trying to figure out how the hell the crippled guy disappeared so quickly.

The lot of this store is poorly planned on entrance/exit and you basically have to go out the same way you came in which is right in front of the doors. As I drive past the doors I see them coming out the front and they are just standing there looking like a bunch of dumbasses. Then the funniest thing I have seen in a long time happens. The cops show up and these idiots bolt. No, they do not run the opposite way instead they run right past the cops because remember, this parking lot sucks. It is surrounded by walls on 2 of the 4 sides and that 3 side is a good 200-250 meters the other way. Nope, they tried to beat the cops to the exit by running RIGHT PAST the cops. LMAO! Not sure what they got tagged for but our local paper publishes the police blotter each week so I will have to read it tomorrow and see.

Now there are a few lessons here. The first one is "Life is tough. It's tougher if your stupid." The second is that when you are living in a small town, don't wear your colors. You stand out like a sore thumb and the last is that just because someone looks incapable of taking care of themselves it does not mean anything. Enjoy your evening in the JDC.

Time for a break

Well I hung the new rods for the drapes and then the drapes and we tried to put up the privacy tint but man that stuff is a PITA to work with. After exhausting all the 4 letter swear words I know and even some 5 letter ones I decided it was time to rest for a day or so before going back to work.

My back is a giant knot and my leg is so numb that it just hurts. However the good feelings (either from the endorphins or paint fumes, I am not sure though) from getting these tasks done almost outweighs the pain. Thankfully we have the wonders of modern science to help mitigate the pain.

Almost done...

Oh I am so beat. My back is screaming at me and my leg and foot have been numb since early yesterday morning. They are all actually burning pretty good as well as the lower back feels somewhat swollen. I know I over did it and it is certainly not something I plan on doing again in the near future but I needed to do this. I had to have something to keep me busy and make me feel like I can still contribute to the house. Like I said I really enjoyed getting my hands a bit dirty again and having the pride in seeing a project finished. I am also quite happy that in all the painting and staining, over 6 gallons used of all, I did not get one single drop on my clothes, in my hair or on my skin. I would however be a bit more cheery if I could get the smell of the stain out of my head...

I have been going non-stop since basically the day before yesterday and I am paying for it big time. I am only about 1/2 way through my projects as my back has made it slower then I was hoping to go. We finished putting down 2 coats of primer in the bathroom and painting the first coat but it will need a second coat to make it look really good. There are some light spots and a few roller marks that a second coat should take care of as well I need to get the top of the walls where they meet the ceiling. Some of the old color is still showing through a bit.

I am really happy with the color we chose and after looking at it on the walls it really matches well with the paint in the baby's room. We also changed our minds on our oldest sons room and rather then laying down some primer and then a new color we are going to leave the original paint (Behr's Celtic Blue) and go over it with a roller made from a natural sponge. It should add some texture to the room as well as give it a bit lighter color that I am going for. We also looked at some posters for when we are done with it, some music groups and actors, as well we are looking for a nice periodic table of elements that we can put a decent frame on and then put that over his desk.

While we were back at Home Depot looking for a few small things my wife found some mulch ($4.44 a bag) that she thought would look nice in the front garden so we grabbed 4 bags of that and some citronella candles that were on sale. The mulch is Cedar but whether it was red to begin with or stained I am not sure. When she was done weeding and throwing it down it looks really good. Tomorrow we will go grab 3 more bags so she can finish around the rose bush and then down in front of the retaining wall so it will all come together. I have to say that for about an hours worth of time and $30 in mulch it came out really nice and added some ambiance.

The last things we need to do is finish the deck, around the handrails and banisters, the second coat of paint in the bathroom and put back on the fixtures and mirror, paint the other bedroom and finally put up the privacy tint on the patio doors. For that we went with the mirror finish from Gila Films and I am glad I waited and went to the store to see if they had it rather then buy it from the website. I saved almost $10 a roll and since they had an extra 10% of for all veterans it turned out to be about $26 cheaper for the 2 rolls then had I bought them online, and that does not account for the shipping they would have charged so it is more like $40.

Once that film is up I will be putting up the drape for the doors that we got to match the curtains. We bought them years ago but the drape turned out to be sheer. That presented a few issues with the biggest being that it let not only the light in (which we want) but all the heat from the afternoon sun (the patio doors face west) turning the room into a greenhouse. It also presented a privacy problem or should I say lack of privacy. Since the back of my house faces a hospital it means a lot of people are in and out of the lot across from us and they could see right into the house. With the privacy film is will help reflect the sun and heat as it is mirrored and since it is mirrored it should be most difficult to see in from a distance. That will allow us to put the drape back up, allow in some of the natural light and very little of the heat as well as open the room up some. We are looking forward to that.

While it may seem like a lot of stuff to do we are having some fun doing it. So far we have stayed in the budget and have not spent a lot at all. We figure though that what we spent would easily be recouped ten fold in value on the house, especially the deck. Gone is that peaked looking thing that we were almost embarrassed to entertain on to something that has a rich color and looks almost brand new and we cannot wait to be able to use again. We also found a gate that fits across the stairs. It is a bit taller, almost 3.5', then the ones in the house so our son should not be able to climb it. That means on the nice days I can open up the sliding doors again and leave the screen shut. Previously we could not as he figured out how to undue the screen lock and on a few instances we found him wandering around the deck.

Ok, enough of the rambling for tonight. I am so tired that I am not even sure I am making sense right now (of course that generally does not stop me.)

A sick deranged man

I am glad that they caught the sick bastard that kidnapped that young girl as well as killed her family, tortured her and so on. I am thankful that in Idaho kidnapping is punishable by death.

Apparently this creep was keeping a blog on Blogger called The Fifth Nail but it stops a few days before the killing of the family. Truly a sick and deranged person and after trying to read some of the entries I am concerned that this sick piece of crap is going to plead not guilty by mental disease/defect and get off with nothing more then some time in a pysch facility.

Hopefully though that does not fly and his charges include the death penalty. In Idaho kidnapping is punishable by death. Idaho is also one of a handful of states that still has the firing squad as a means of execution.

I pray that the poor girl is doing well and that someday she will be able to be free of the demons this piece of crap has created for her.

The deck...

Well we got out today in the BLAZING hot son and got the deck, or at least the planking, stained and weatherproofed. We still have to do the handrails and banisters but it looks 500% better then that peaked old thing it was just yesterday. I forgot to take a before picture but I think I have some on the other computer that have the deck showing. I do have some pictures I took as we worked and the first one here is what the deck looked like after using the cleaning stuff from Home Depot and then the second shot is after putting down Behr Redwood 502 weatherproofing sealer and stain.

As you can probably imagine I am exhausted and in pain because once again I did WAY more then I should have and doing it in the heat just zapped me.

Training the neighbors dogs...

I have written in the past about the herd of yap dogs my neighbor has. The ones that bark constantly and have made us think seriously about putting up a privacy fence. I cannot stand the dogs and the neighbor really does not seem to care that they are barking but this is the same neighbor who allows the 2 year old to wander the neighborhood without any supervision whatsoever.

Well this morning while I was talking to my dad (on the phone) about the work we have been doing on the deck I stepped outside to admire it once more. Of course the second I did so those little rats started yapping, so loud that I could barely hear my father so I had to step back in the house. He instantly told me that I should get something like these to put on my side of the fence. GENIUS!!! Now some of them make noise and others are ultra-sonic, those are the kind I want to find. Much cheaper then a fence and perfectly legal within this city. My dad said they had the same problem with their neighbors once and after talking had failed to control the problem (as it has for us) he said he bought one of these and it worked like a charm. Apparently my brother in law has one as well for their yard. I am all over this!!!

Funny thing is that just like the ill mannered kids they have running around the dog issue is a training one. We have had several dogs and have never had a problem with them barking constantly at people in their yards because we spent the time to train them and not just for the neighbors sake but our own. Having pets is great but when they annoy your neighbors and you do nothing about it that pisses me off. Well I am going to hunt one of these down and as soon as I get that stain down today. Say goodbye to those little yapping freaking mutts barking.

Tired!

I spent this morning cleaning the deck and getting it ready to put down the sealer/waterproof/stain tomorrow. I had to clear everything off it, which is just amazing how much junk can collect on a deck, and then wash it all down. I looked for a power washer but they wanted $75 for the day to rent it and that blew the budget so I opted for a deck brush and the $15 bottle of chemicals they had for stripping the deck.

It took me awhile to get it all done as I obviously had to keep stopping to rest but it was finally finished. Once it dried it looked really good with just the cleaning. I was amazed at the slime that was coming off the wood. I mean it looked clean before I started but once that stuff started doing it's job and hit it with the brush it was coming off all over the place. Once I was able to scrub the planks I then just hosed them off and let it dry in the sun. I am anxious to get the stain down on the wood.

My only concern is that while I was looking at the railings they seemed to have some kind of crud on them that did not come off. I tried to sand it real quick with the power sander but that did not work. I am hoping that it does not show up like that through the finish. I also need to remove all that crappy lattice work on the base of the deck (our deck is elevated) as it looks like crap and then just get under the deck and clean it out. The lattice just screams "white trash" to me and while I will stain it to see if that changes my mind I am betting that it does not. Tomorrow will tell!

I also bought a gallon of Kilz 2 primer for the bathroom since we are going over such a dark paint. With the Kilz 2 it is designed for use in moist areas like bathrooms and will help prevent mildew and mold from growing on/under the paint. We put it down on the floors in the bathroom before we laid the tile down and it worked great.

I am anxious to finish all these tasks, to have something to do but I am also mindful that I am not over doing it. Since my wife is off for 2 days in a row and does not have to be to work until 4pm the day after we have plenty of time to work ad take our time. I will get some pictures up when we are done.

I also got a call from my son this evening. He is doing good but just like last time for some reason he had to call me collect. Why she won't let him use the calling card she does not have long distance service she said, I do not know. It makes it feel like she is telling him he cannot call or pulling that "now is not a good time BS", I don't know. I hope she understands that I 1-document all this in case I need it for the lawyer and 2- (and most important) our son sees the crap she is pulling and it is only going to bite her in the ass if she is doing it on purpose.