I'm not saying that the federal government has to solve or salve every problem of the common man. But I do believe that the federal government should tackle problems that are far bigger and more societal in nature. Taking the "head in the sand" approach never made anything better for anyone. See below for the source of my current feelings of scorn:http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/15148655/the_secret_campaign_of_president_bushs_administration_to_deny_global_warming … [Read more...]
Now that’s a back rub!
June 21, 2007 by Leave a Comment
I took Katie Jo to the doctor and then to Walgreen's for a perscription. As we waited on the Rx, KJ took advantage of the opportunity to use the demo back rub station they installed near the pharmacy. For some reason, I thought she looked hilarious, so I snapped a photo of her:Later in the week, she was playing with Anna Lynn and her friends Kaylee and Savanna. The conversation was also grin-inspiring: Savanna: I'm the Queen of England. Kaylee: Well, I'm the Queen of Sweden! Anna Lynn: Oh yeah? Well, I'm the Empress of Japan. Katie Jo: Ok, then I'm the Queen of Kentucky!I just … [Read more...]
I Dreampt of Odysseus’ Return…
June 8, 2007 by Leave a Comment
A favorite passage from Robert Fitzgerald's translation of the Odyssey....Now from his breast into his eyes the acheof longing mounted, and he wept at last,his dear wife, clear and faithful, in his arms,longed for as the sunwarmed earth is longed for by a swimmerspent in rough water where his ship went downunder Poseidon's blows, gale winds and tons of sea.Few men can keep alive through a big surfto crawl, clotted with brine, on kindly beachesin joy, in joy, knowing the abyss behind:and so she too rejoiced, her gaze upon her husband,her white arms round him pressed as though forever.... … [Read more...]
Like Greeks at the Gates of Troy
June 6, 2007 by 2 Comments
Odysseus is one of my heroes. He was a mighty warrior and a brave leader, but he was most famous among the Greeks for being their smartest warrior. Odysseus was the epitome of arete, the Greek honor code of excellence (of the same ilk as chivalry to the knights of late medieval Europe or bushido to the samurai of the Shogunate era) because he embodied not just the coarser aspects of warrior excellence but also the quieter virtues such as intelligence, self-restraint, creativity, loyalty, and wisdom.It was Odysseus who came up with the idea of the Trojan Horse. It was he alone who lived to hear … [Read more...]
Another TechEd
June 4, 2007 by Leave a Comment
TechEd is Microsoft's largest conference of the year. This year it's in Orlando and has about 13,000 attendees. I'll be speaking on Wednesday afternoon on "SQL Server Performance Benchmarking & Monitoring". Doesn't that sound like the most interesting thing you've ever heard of? One of the things that I do indeed enjoy about TechEd is that I get to catch up with a number of friends who I only seem to see at the big conferences.There are times when I'm really excited about travel. It had better be, since it's such a big part of my job. Lately, though, it's all I can do to keep up the pace. I'm … [Read more...]
The TN Renaissance Fair, our Memorial Day tradition
May 29, 2007 by 1 Comment
We've been doing the TN Renaissance Fair every Memorial Day weekend it seems for at least five or six year. I can imagine that we'll be doing it for many years into the future.The budget wasn't as big this year as in some previous years, so we didn't get to play quite as many games. But it seems like everyone had a lot of fun. Both of the girls tried their hands at "Dragon Joust", but alas, they did not vanquish their foe. (grin)We got to see lots of the shops, the living chess match, and the falconer's demonstration. I really wanted to see the entire knight's tournament event. But it'd … [Read more...]
In honor of Memorial Day
May 28, 2007 by Leave a Comment
...please take a moment to read the letter Abraham Lincoln penned to a grieving mother:Dear Madam: I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of … [Read more...]
Early Music with Kevin and Lara Lay
May 20, 2007 by Leave a Comment
It's been a long time since I've seen my best friend from high school, Kevin Lay, and his family. I was really happy to get an email from them recently that they were in Nashville doing an early music show over in Belle Meade on a Sunday in which I was actually in town and not traveling!The performance was at St George's Episcopal on a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon and included music by Telemon and Purcell. I think there might've been some Bach in there too, but can't recall. One thing that was really interesting about the performance was that it used all period instruments. It was much … [Read more...]
Dylan at the Prom
May 12, 2007 by Leave a Comment
Dylan went to the prom again this year. I have to admit that I don't really "get it". When I went to prom, it was a supremely couples-oriented event, although a bunch of couples would usually hang out together and party. Dylan and a lot of his friends this year seem to be going in small groups without necessarily having a date. I'm not saying that's bad, not by any means. It's just one of those generation gap things as far as I can tell. Still, doesn't he look sharp? Cheers, -Kev … [Read more...]
Anglo-Irish Slang
May 6, 2007 by 4 Comments
The Irish have lots of unique words that have no meaning in our American dialect. They also have a lot of words that mean something very different than what I, as an American, initially thought. Here are a list of words that I ran into that gave me some trouble:Bespoke - "custom" or "boutique", as in Harold's Bespoke Tailor ShopBanger - a breakfast sausage. Beware - they look like but do not taste anything like our sausage.Bogger - a redneck, an uncouth, backwoods personBraces - suspendersBusker - a street performer. Dublin, especially, has oodles of buskers on their busy pedestrian shopping … [Read more...]
