Hockey Weekend

Harrison's team was in a hockey tournament this weekend. Actually, it might be more accurate to say that slightly less than half of his team was in the tournament! They played Friday night, Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, and again on Sunday. However, since several of the young men decided they didn't want to miss going out to dinner on homecoming evening (Saturday), they didn't show up all day Saturday. Keep in mind, they would have still had time to go home, change, and be at the dance. So, we wound up with barely enough kids to play. The bench should have 18 to 19 kids on it, enough to fill 3.5 lines. Hockey is an incredibly demanding sport and even pros can rarely skate more than a 2 minute shift. So, with only 10 kids on the bench, we were outnumbered by the other teams at least 2:1 - meaning while they had "fresh legs," we had wiped out, tired kids that would skate 2 to 2.5 minute shifts and then be right back out on the ice. The photo above is Harrison (going too fast for my camera!) - he's the blurry one getting speed up to go after the puck - red jersey, big kid!

This second photo is of our pathetic bench. Kinda looks like the game's over, doesn't it? But, no - it was during the first period! I guess when almost everybody is on the ice, nobody is on the bench! For the boys who did show up, great job! Every single one of the kids there skated their hearts out. Those boys never gave up and skated as fast in the third period as they did in the first. A very impressive display of will, determination, and committment. They held the Owls to 4 points (we had 1, which we scored with Harrison on the ice - an assist!).

So, it was actually an exhausting weekend with lots of time spent at the ice arena. I also did a TON of correcting in the wait time (waiting for games to start). Clay stayed home most of the weekend and caught up on rest. He wasn't feeling so great last week (a lot of kids at school are sick), fell asleep within a half hour of arriving home on Friday, slept 2.5 hours, went to bed early, slept in really late on Saturday ... well you get the picture! I think he needed it!

An Update On Baby G!

Well, here he is just a month post-op and doing GREAT! B (G's mom) and I walked yesterday and G was smiling and babbling like crazy. I could hardly believe my eyes when I first saw him - the month since his open-heart surgery has made him almost into a whole different baby! He is so much stronger, it's absolutely amazing. He's gained a few pounds and grown. While he's always had such a great personality, it's was so wonderful to see how he's thriving now. He was doing just fine prior to surgery, but now ... WOW! What a great kid he is - I wish I could have caught him smiling because he's got one of the best baby smiles going.

So, it was great to walk again with B, awesome to see how much of a difference heart surgery made for G, and overall awesome to get some fresh air and relax! On another note, some of my students showed me www.blackle.com . It's google, only the screen is black so it saves you electricity. Pretty cool! Also, I visit www.therainforestsite.com every day - there are tabs to visit other site like the breastcancersite - and just by clicking on the pages, corporations donate!! Another site my students showed me was www.freerice.com where you can donate free rice to hungry people by playing a word game. All great ways to give back to our world without spending a dime!

I Need to Insulate Myself From ... the US?

The past couple of weeks have been really disheartening for me. The political stuff has been pretty much awful, and the financial woes of our country are astounding. I listened to a guy today on cable news on my satellite radio; he was speaking to our current economic crisis. His assessment was that it will get worse before it gets better and right now the only time worse in history was the Great Depression. He was discussing some new regulations implemented in the last day and how lending will dry up; he indicated growth depends on businesses expanding, which they do with loans, but now less than 85% of US businesses will be able to get a loan. That combined with our HUGE debt (individual, state, and federal) will make for some very difficult years ahead. Then, I was reminded by the newscaster of the the hacking of Gov. Palins personal email. I am appalled, and that word doesn't nearly indicate the depth of my feeling. Her privacy has been invaded as equally as if someone broke into her house. What is worse, is things I've read online AND listened to on the news - I can hardly believe the vicious, truly EVIL feelings and pleasure some people are taking in this new invasion of privacy for Gov. Palin. What would possess a person to gloat over someone being invaded in this manner? I have to be honest and say I don't want to be associated with anyone who behaves that way - not even through citizenship.

This is not a party matter (and if news sources are to be believed, it truly isn't - just some left-wing nut operating on their own); I would feel this way no matter who it was. Our personal mail is personal - both snail mail and email and should not be invaded any more than our homes should be. The last straw today was listening to the next bit of news of a CBC (Canadian) "journalist" (Heather Mallick) who wrote an "opinion" piece on Gov. Palin in which she indicated Palin only appeals to white trash, so only white trash in the US will vote for McCain/Palin, that her husband is a redneck fool, her daughter a #$%@&, and so on. First of all, that is NOT journalism. Second, I do not take kindly to half our country being referred to as "white trash." I am amazed by this woman, who writes for an acknowledged "liberal" company said these things. Doesn't the word liberal come from the Latin word "libre" meaning free?? I thought liberals prided themselves on being open-minded, accepting, etc. This woman must be one of the most prejudiced people I've ever heard of (if you doubt that, replace the words "white trash" with any other racial slur you can think of and tell me if it would have been printed).

I read a book last year entitled "Empire," which discussed this very thing - the "liberals" promoting hate-mongering of anyone ballsy enough to disagree with them and the country being taken over by the president, as an empire, with a resulting civil war. Not too far off. I have to say, I'm not sure I would fault any successionists at this point. What has happened to common decency and respect? Socialism in the rest of the world isn't working - Europe is in a full-blown recession and has had no job growth at all (go ahead, research this on the internet). I take great exception to other countries encouraging us to become more socialistic - if it's not working for them, why should we do it?

So, I've been really frustrated and disheartened and appalled, as well as frightened by the viciousness of the past few weeks. If I have ever doubted the existence of evil, I no longer do. While I have always been somewhat of a "doubting" Thomas, preferring a more liberal and personal belief system, I found myself praying today in a very traditional way. I pray that our country doesn't split apart, even through social unrest. I pray the right candidate wins the election, admitting my personal choice may not be the right choice - I simply pray that God will guide the election in the right direction. I pray that our new president will see the importance of unity and bringing our country together, not splitting us further apart - and this can only be done through cooperation and working together. I pray the evil, hate-mongering, vicious attack behaviors I see are reduced and we can live in a world that respects others and listens calmly. I pray we find a way through this mess.

So, I'm thinking I have to go back to hiding my head in the sand. I haven't watched television programs for years, as I am familiar with all the research done and know it will diminish my cognitive capacity. Now I think I may have to stop being aware of current events (stop watching and listening to news) because it's almost too awful for me to cope with. Truly. I don't know what some in our country have come to, that they thrive on such evilness. I'm going to make an effort over the next few days to watch movies I like, listen to music when I drive, and try to find some peace within myself.

Signs and Pictures That Made Me Laugh

All I can say is .... wtf????!!








Nice of Arkansas to be so up-front about things.










Honestly, we couldn't have made this up 8 or 10 years ago ...
(it says his father was an African Muslim and his mother was an atheist)






Hmmm...













And boy (!) does ever feel like these prices right now! I have to feel a little good about how low the prices went last week - on Wednesday night I noticed it was down to 3.85.9 so I told Harrison we should get gas - it would only go up! Amazing that in 3 days it was waaaaaayyyyy more! So, I'm enjoying THIS tank of gas! (And of course dreading my next visit to the pump)

Powerful Women Motto

Here's another great one from my great friend, Sharon (who seems to find a lot of these things that crack me up!):

Powerful Women Motto

Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders & says... 'Oh shit....she's awake!

For Those of Us Born Before 1990

Each year, Beloit College publishes a "mindset list," which highlights what the world is for the incoming freshman class. It's not only helpful for us instructors to see our student's perspective on the world, but it's truly amazing to see the differences! Here it is:

This month, almost 2 million first-year students will head off to college campuses around the country. Most of them will be about 18 years old, born in 1990 when headlines sounded oddly familiar to those of today: Rising fuel costs were causing airlines to cut staff and flight schedules; Big Three car companies were facing declining sales and profits; and a president named Bush was increasing the number of troops in the Middle East in the hopes of securing peace. However, the mindset of this new generation of college students is quite different from that of the faculty about to prepare them to become the leaders of tomorrow.
Each August for the past 11 years, Beloit College in Beloit, Wis., has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college. It is the creation of Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and Public Affairs Director Ron Nief. The List is shared with faculty and with thousands who request it each year as the school year begins, as a reminder of the rapidly changing frame of reference for this new generation.
The class of 2012 has grown up in an era where computers and rapid communication are the norm, and colleges no longer trumpet the fact that residence halls are “wired” and equipped with the latest hardware. These students will hardly recognize the availability of telephones in their rooms since they have seldom utilized landlines during their adolescence. They will continue to live on their cell phones and communicate via texting. Roommates, few of whom have ever shared a bedroom, have already checked out each other on Facebook where they have shared their most personal thoughts with the whole world.
It is a multicultural, politically correct and “green” generation that has hardly noticed the threats to their privacy and has never feared the Russians and the Warsaw Pact.
Students entering college for the first time this fall were generally born in 1990.
For these students, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Henson, Ryan White, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddy Krueger have always been dead.
Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.
Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.
They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.
GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.
Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.
Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.
Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.
Their parents may have dropped them in shock when they heard George Bush announce “tax revenue increases.”
Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.
Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.
All have had a relative--or known about a friend's relative--who died comfortably at home with Hospice.
As a precursor to “whatever,” they have recognized that some people “just don’t get it.”
Universal Studios has always offered an alternative to Mickey in Orlando.
Grandma has always had wheels on her walker.
Martha Stewart Living has always been setting the style.
Haagen-Dazs ice cream has always come in quarts.
Club Med resorts have always been places to take the whole family.
WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.
Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.
The Warsaw Pact is as hazy for them as the League of Nations was for their parents.
Students have always been "Rocking the Vote.”
Clarence Thomas has always sat on the Supreme Court.
Schools have always been concerned about multiculturalism.
We have always known that “All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”
There have always been gay rabbis.
Wayne Newton has never had a mustache.
College grads have always been able to Teach for America.
IBM has never made typewriters.
Roseanne Barr has never been invited to sing the National Anthem again.
McDonald’s and Burger King have always used vegetable oil for cooking french fries.
They have never been able to color a tree using a raw umber Crayola.
There has always been Pearl Jam.
The Tonight Show has always been hosted by Jay Leno and started at 11:35 EST.
Pee-Wee has never been in his playhouse during the day.
They never tasted Benefit Cereal with psyllium.
They may have been given a Nintendo Game Boy to play with in the crib.
Authorities have always been building a wall along the Mexican border.
Lenin’s name has never been on a major city in Russia.
Employers have always been able to do credit checks on employees.
Balsamic vinegar has always been available in the U.S.
Macaulay Culkin has always been Home Alone.
Their parents may have watched The American Gladiators on TV the day they were born.
Personal privacy has always been threatened.
Caller ID has always been available on phones.
Living wills have always been asked for at hospital check-ins.
The Green Bay Packers (almost) always had the same starting quarterback.
They never heard an attendant ask “Want me to check under the hood?”
Iced tea has always come in cans and bottles.
Soft drink refills have always been free.
They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about “nothing.”
Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.
Muscovites have always been able to buy Big Macs.
The Royal New Zealand Navy has never been permitted a daily ration of rum.
The Hubble Space Telescope has always been eavesdropping on the heavens.
98.6 F or otherwise has always been confirmed in the ear.
Michael Milken has always been a philanthropist promoting prostate cancer research.
Off-shore oil drilling in the United States has always been prohibited.
Radio stations have never been required to present both sides of public issues.
There have always been charter schools.
Students always had Goosebumps.

Scary Ike

Well, as the day progresses, I am captivated by Hurricane Ike. Mr. Chertov, the Arabian Horse Association Chair cum Homeland Security Head is announcing that some non-governmental levies in Lousiana have already been over-topped. Live pictures of Galveston, Freeport, and other coastal location in Texas already are flooded with 16 - 25 more feet of water possible. A frieghter (vessel) is without power 90 miles from the coast and the crew cannot be rescued because of the high winds. Please keep these communities, the people on the ship(s), the rescue and care workers, and others involved in your prayers. This is a very frightening storm.

A Few Thoughts on the New Democrats

I am a committed "independent," albeit with Libertarian and Green Party leanings. Over the 29 years I have voted (and I have voted in almost all elections I was eligible to vote in), I have cast votes for Democrats, Libertarians, Greens, Socialists, Independents, and Republicans. Over the past decade, my votes for Democrats have been declining. Why? Because so many have turned into a creature I not only don't recognize but am truly frightened by. Many have become angry, almost rabid haters of everything that isn't their idea. It's really weird. Democrats were not like that 25 years ago - what is happening? An example : tax the rich. Why are we supposed to hate those who have "made it?" Isn't that the American Dream? Shouldn't we be proud of and applaud those who have done it? Isn't hating them rather hypocritical?? What incentive is there for people to work harder, go to school longer, take more risks, if the government is going to take it all away in taxes, spread it out among everyone else? Isn't that COMMUNISM????

Anyone who is reasonable (including several of my still reasonable Democratic friends who also despise the new anger and hatred) recognizes the amazing, incredible bias in the news media, particularly televised news and coastal news (both east and west coast). The bias against Sarah Palin is two-fold: there is obvious, blatant sex bias as well as bias against her affiliation! She can't do anything ... I am STUNNED at what I have read and listened to! It is absolutely incredible how her words are cut and pasted out of context. While I am not even close to being as conservative as Gov. Palin (and those of you who know me well know that), I am appalled that people in this country are OK with the distortions and in fact seem to take great pleasure not only in making the distortions, but in gobbling them up, believing them, and spreading them! All I can say is this woman has my respect. The fact that she is willing to do this for our country and not come unglued at what is being said about her, her beliefs, and things she supposed "said," is truly amazing and a testament to her character. An example of how bad this is getting: a guy wrote a satirical (comedy) piece making up fake Palin quotes that were amusing; stuff about dinosaurs being satanic creatures, etc. It was purely a humorous piece - but NATIONAL news networks ran these quotes as if she actually said them! NBC, CNN, and CBS all did. I sat here at my computer with the tv behind me and my mouth hanging down to the floor. Anyway, here is an article I read that made me laugh, especially at the last line of tongue-in-cheek humor and be glad some people are defending this brave woman.

Who Hates Sarah Palin?
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
By Greg Gutfeld

According to many in the media, we truly have discovered someone worse than Hitler — and it's Sarah Palin.Head to any left-wing blog or even CNN for that matter and you'll find the zaniest of conspiracies -- froth that even a dude with rabies would find unseemly.
So how can one person create so much bile among folks who claim to be the most tolerant in the universe? I mean, liberals are the good people: They're open-minded, caring and of course, fair.
But somehow, a Republican lady in her 40s is exempt from this treatment. Perhaps, she truly is the devil in a dress, a ghoul that eats children and pollutes the planet and possibly beats Barack Obama, the patron saint of every customer buying wheat germ in bulk at GNC.
But I know the real reason why every single elitist media type is terrified of her. They've never met her. And by "her," I don't mean Sarah Palin. I mean "her", an actual normal woman with a bunch of kids, an average husband and no desire to watch "The L Word."
She's scary to these folks the way Wal-Mart is scary to them: Both are alien to someone who blogs about their chakras. They won't go there, because they've never been there.
To them, hating Sarah Palin is a symptom of larger bigotry against the rest of us, the normal. If they saw her at a party, they would wonder how she got in. She's the anti-Obama, the anti-New York Times, the anti-everything that Tim Robbins loves, which is why I love her — and you should too.
And if you disagree with me, then you sir are worse than Hitler.

So, here's one Independent voter that is begging the Democratic party to get real again. You know what? I LIKE voting all over the place. I LIKE having choice. I LIKE voting for who I think will do the best job. I feel the Democratic party is taking that choice away, because unless I want to be an angry, unreasonable, accepting of others only when it comes to Democrats, hate-the-rich goofball, I can't vote Democratic. This doesn't mean (to my Democratic friends!) I think ALL Democrats meet that description - it means that is where I think the party is going and I don't feel I can jump on board. Perhaps it is time for a viable third party for all us middle-of-the-roaders.

Want some facts (real ones) on Gov. Palin? Link: http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/sliming_palin.html

Tax Facts (yes, the "rich" already pay more than their fair share): http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/04/tax_facts.html

Pausing in Gratitude

As I sit and pay bills this morning, I am listening to the television in the background highlighting the events of the day which commemorate 9/11. As I sat here and paused for a few moments of reflection, I am so thankful for my wonderful family. The boys bring so much joy to our lives; I can't imagine how empty I would feel without either one of them. We have been blessed with a good life, much love, wonderful friends, and as the boys would note - 2 incredible kitties! I have attached a couple of pictures of their beloved cats, Shanty (1 year old calico) and Tiger (9 year old grey tiger).

I am also so thankful for my country. In the past 7 years we have successfully disrupted many terror cells throughout the world. We have prevented any further attacks at home. This is something I think our population fails to notice or be thankful for ... can you imagine if the terror attacks had been allowed to continue??

I am also grateful to our military and all the men and women who serve. I am thankful for the amazing job our military and government leaders have done. We have kept our casualties to 4,155 as of today. Each one of those lives was special and beyond value; however it is amazing that the number is so low in a war. To put this in perspective, keep in mind that in the exact same 4.5 years since the war began, DRUNK DRIVERS have KILLED 68,000 innocent children, women, and men right here in the United States.

I have to say, when I see people that are far left, such as Code Pink, protesting the war and calling certain politicians "murderers," I am consumed with rage and shame at my fellow countrymen. Why don't they feel any gratitude for the safety we have gained? Why aren't they thankful to the politicians and servicemen and women who have sacrificed to keep our lives safe? Why don't they care about the 68,000 completely innocent people who have been killed in our own country for no cause?? I say shame on these far left kooks.

I hope we will all take a few minutes today to relect on how fortunate we are to live in this country, to be safe and secure, and to have people who are willing to lead us even while some of us threaten them and insult them.

Well

I got up at 3:26 am and stayed up until 3:44 am. Things seemed ok! As the kids reminded me this morning, it could be years before we see an effect .... Geez! I guess I'm going to have to apply myself to physics at some point within the next couple of years so that I have a better understanding and thus don't feel so weirded out by this stuff!

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." Albert Einstein

Doomsday

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,419404,00.html

I don't know about anyone else, but this is really starting to creep me out! Maybe because my kids have been so freaked by it all and talking about it a lot at school and home. Stephen Hawking thinks if a black hole does open up, it would be a parallel universe. I guess my lack of understanding of the theories and math behind this stuff makes for my level of discomfort (don't we always fear that which we don't understand?). So, they're doing this at 3:30 am ... a short 5 hours and a few minutes away from now. I'm going to set my alarm; I'd like to be awake at that time, rather than sleeping. So, now that I'm done reassuring my kids and wishing I could make my own uneasiness go away (!), I think I'll go set my alarm.

Shift Happens

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljbI-363A2Q

Back To School

The kids are back in school ... I guess that's both good and bad! I hate getting back into such a grinding schedule and I miss having them around, as well as I miss being able to do things on the spur of the moment with them. The upside ... I suppose that they'll get an education! I go back to teaching tomorrow, so lots of new faces for me!

Labor Day Weekend passed in a blur. I finished up my final statistical analyses (15 hours on the calculator towards the end) and finished writing up the results. I also got started on chapter 5 and today finished up my first draft of that. The next few months will consist of revisions, rewrites, approvals, and so on. I've been so overwhelmed and concentrated on my dissertation the past 2 months, it feels like there wasn't a summer! It's kind of like a dream. After typing the last word of my draft of chapter 5 today, I sort of wandered around the house feeling really lost and without anything to do! Even so, with all the rewrites and revisions I know will be coming, as well as teaching (correcting homework, preparing for class, tests, etc), I'll be just as busy again within 2 days!

Both boys seem to be happy with their school schedules and teachers this year. Harrison really enjoyed driving his new Dodge Charger to school!