Thanksgiving 2008
Thanksgiving Dinner
The dinner was great and the turkey was absolutely perfect. Rachel was disappointed that the skin wasn't golden brown, but it's flavor and juiciness was perfection. We pigged out for a couple hours and then headed out to the back deck to enjoy the new firebowl. Rachel's mom brought lots of delicacies. Perhaps most importantly, she brought the desert.I'm not exactly sure what Katie was trying to do here, but I'm glad her tail end wasn't near the fire at the time. More photos to follow in the Photobucket gallery.-Kev … [Read more...]
Dylan, Sam, and Conner
I got to spend some time with Dylan, Conner Miller, and Sam Holley-Kline (my nephew) over the fall. Dylan got to realize a life long dream of actually holding an Elite Powersword from the Halo game series when we went to Gatlinburg over fall break.Sam came down over the Thanksgiving break and we got to spend some quantity and quality time with him. I took Dylan and him out one night for a lil Dave & Buster's action. Of course, Dylan had to spend some time on the DDR machine. Sam was dragged into it to and, humorously, able to beat Dylan's score because he played on Beginner level and … [Read more...]
Fall Festival Fun
We've been doing this for 10 years now, since Dylan and Emily were in elementary school. That means we only have 5 more years to go until Ava is done with elementary school. The annual Fall Festival had lots of fun activities for the family.There are a few "must attend" components of any elementary school fall festival. First, there's all the big inflatable moonwalks and bouncy playthings. Next, there's the food booths with burgers and hot dogs. There's the cakewalk and silent auctions. And then there's always the horrible injuries to treat at the MASH tent: The poor critters! How will … [Read more...]
My Dance with Stardom
I've told friends from time to time that I had a bit part in big Hollywood movie - Space Camp. It took place in the late summer or early fall of 1985, just after graduation. As an extra, we got paid $35/day plus some really nice catered food.But I got lucky because they had a scene that needed two tall extras. We were needed to conceal a cartload of cables that ran alongside two vending machines. So me and another good looking blond fella who went to Randolph (a private school), got the lucky break. In the scene, the black actor (whose name escapes me) needs change for a coke. He asks if I … [Read more...]
A Birthday to Remember
Ever have one of those "special" events that turns out to be a lot more special than you wanted? That was the case with my 42nd birthday.The week started off nicely. We initially thought I had to leave for a long business trip on Saturday. So we were all happy to see that I had some extra time and didn't have to leave until Sunday. Rachel and I took the kids down to our church's Fall Festival for a hay ride, pumpkin carving, games, and general merriment. You can see Katie, Kaylee, Anna, and Rachel (standing) pretty clearly at right. Katie, who's closest to the camera, is just getting in her … [Read more...]
Was Yeats Prescient?
Somehow this poem, The Second Coming by WB Yeats, seems especially prescient. The first stanza seems especially poignant and appropriate to me. Turning and turning in the widening gyreThe falcon cannot hear the falconer;Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhereThe ceremony of innocence is drowned;The best lack all conviction, while the worstAre full of passionate intensity.Surely some revelation is at hand;Surely the Second Coming is at hand.The Second Coming! Hardly are those words outWhen a vast image out … [Read more...]
A Yeats Favorite
Wine comes in at the mouthAnd love comes in at the eye;That's all we shall know for truthBefore we grow old and die.I lift the glass to my mouth,I look at you, and I sigh. … [Read more...]
Happy Halloween!
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If I Were President, Episode #4 – Alternative Energy
I have issues with our current alternative energy plans. It mostly focuses on a lot of corn ethanol and a little wind power here and there. For example, they subsizes inefficient ethanol technology. Corn ethanol consumes more energy to produce than it creates. It pollutes because it requires significant fertilizer and pesticide. And it help our dependence on foreign oil because it's completely targeted at consumer gasoline, which would require 100 times more ethanol to achieve any degree of independence. First proposal - Sugar cane based ethanol, perfected in Brazil, is much more … [Read more...]
