The Sun Rises in the SOUTH!

To finish the saga of getting to Caliente, I got to Discount Tire and the flat tire was not reparable, was covered by warranty AND they have the size I've been running in stock, a slightly better tire than what I've been running. So $27 later for mounting and balancing, and I'm now in Caliente.

However, as to the sunrise, as easy a town the border town I spent last night in should be to get around (streets are mostly either numbers or letters), I still have no idea as to where the motel is that I stayed in is or which direction anything I visited is in that town. My solar powered internal compass did not serve me well.

Never on Sunday

So, for those that haven't heard, Grandma died Saturday. My wife flew home to be with her siblings; I on the other hand decided to drive. The plan was simple: take off after church, and 11 hours later arrive. As David & Sarah were heading back to school, and it's "along the way", we drove in a caravan.

The easy to drive northern route was closed, so we took the alternate route through the mountains. What should have been the first two hours of the drive, took 4 hours (and that's the second hour of the drive took 3 hours): heavy traffic, snowpacked roads (but open, unlike the northern route), and just ugly conditions. We can tell by looking at the oncoming traffic (which was also backed up - only more so) that turning around was not an option.

We had just cleared the worst of the "bad roads", and I was able to get up to speed (65 mph) when I noticed the car handling a little funny... then that tell tale sound from the rear of the car... I had a flat tire.

Changing a tire in a Honda Insight is a major production. You have to first open the hatchback, clear out all that's stored there; open up the "secret" compartment, empty the compartment (about 1.2 cu ft of emergency supplies & junk), remove the compartment liner, then you can pull out the tools needed to change the tire and of course, the spare tire.... which was flat, too.

Coincidentally, Sarah's car has a tire bolt pattern that matched mine, and was gracious enough to lend me her spare tire. Not wanting to drive very far on a donut, we stopped at every major town in the next 150 miles to find a truck stop that could fix a flat tire.

We finally figured out that my spare tire would work just fine if we put some air in it, so doing so, we put my spare on, and gave her back her spare. I decided to camp until I could get my tire fixed. Tire stores open in the morning, and in case the tire can't be repaired, I checked the Discount Tire web site to see how much the replacement tire would cost. A replacement tire is $94 plus the extras... and they can have one available in two or three days.

Here's to hoping it can be plugged. For now, 10 hours after leaving home, I'm now 4 hours into an 11 hour drive.

I think I will not be traveling on Sunday again without an exceptionally good excuse.

Mileage: 11/12:Mutual 8.5, Sun 11/16 8.5, Wed 11/19: Mutual 8.5; Thurs 11/20: all over the ward delivering thanksgiving baskets and making calls, and I forgot to track mileage; 11/23 8.5, Sat 11/29 & Sun 11/30: printing programs, directories & church: 56 mi. MTD: 326 miles

Menopause... the Musical

I made the mistake of calling a local radio station to win tickets without paying close attention to what I was winning tickets for. So, I win and have a ready made date to see Menopause, The Musical. The worst part of winning was that the tickets were for Saturday, and my date was in Orlando. That means that one of the kids has to accompany Dad..... and the victim is .... Scooter.

Scooter was definitely the youngest in the audience; I, being male, was definitely in a minority. The show lacked a plot; parodies of songs from the 60's to the 80's performed by 4 middle age singer / actresses describing various symptoms of menopause, for the main part in good taste. The scary part was the audience... a lot of hooting and hollering from middle aged women. I hope that Scooter isn't scarred for life.

American Food

So, I took Samara to the Temple for part of our Stake Temple Day. I had some family file names that needed some work, after my visit with Grandma, and Samara was available (no school), and willing to help.

On the way home, we stopped for breakfast at my favorite local Greek hamburger stand - you know the kind. They have gyros, hamburgers topped with pastrami, shakes, onion rings, and baklava. It's a mom and pop kind of operation and has been around forever. A good example is Greek Souvlaki in Salt Lake, which still has the best "yeero" (which I miss) and now the second generation has opened branch outlets throughout the valley.

Anyway, they're still serving breakfast, so I decide to try the breakfast burrito. Gyro meat, scrambled eggs, hash brown potatoes, in a tortilla bigger than a Chipotle burrito, and green salsa. Sounds crazy. Tastes great. Still, it was too big... I've got breakfast for tomorrow in the fridge from the leftovers.

It's not Greek; it's not Mexican; must be American food.
Mileage: Temple X 2; 149 mi

Remember

So I was at an Arctic Circle and couldn't resist taking a picture of the "reward yourself" ad. It was a quick trip to SLC to see mom, an interesting trip at that. Just as an update, grandma is steadily going down hill. She can no longer use her left hand anymore, and needs someone to feed her. Her speech is deteriorating; it's difficult to understand much of what she says.

However, when the topic came to genealogy (she brought it up), she wanted to know if the Temple work was done for ... and started naming ancestors, whose work wasn't done. For my part, I had to get out the computer to find said ancestors, but she didn't, so she gets the reward.

Find a Wheel... and it goes round and round

And when is a jack not a jack? I was on my way to join Samara at the oral surgeon's office to get the evaluation before her wisdom teeth come out. Then there was this noise. I pulled off to the side of the freeway. Not only flat, but a blow out. And on top of that, the jack was broken. I had to call the office and have the boss come and bail me out. A Lexus jack to fix a Festiva flat. That's changing a tire in style.

The First Week of the Month - Breathe

The first week of the month is always the busiest: reports at work for end of month (plus this month, special reports for our actuary and special reports for the state dept of labor); extra meetings at church (plus this week, there's been a funeral - fortunately my only involvement was to attend), and a few extra self inflicted meetings as we try to make sure we're ready for the Stake Temple Day, which is next week - the second busiest week of the month.

Fester's made two trips to the repair shop - axles and bushings are good things to have, although it is somewhat exciting to have the car pull to the left when you accelerate and to the right when you decelerate, and today it'll be a third - the alignment is off by just a hair and the car consistently pulls to the left, so today will be a third (not that I have to sit in the shop and wait, but it's just one more thing to do)... or maybe that will have to wait until next week after Samara's wisdom tooth appointment - - - just so that the car's done in time to make it to the appointment.

And I'm still trying to get to SLC sometime in October; flights are looking good for this Friday & Saturday (will get me there late morning, and back in time for Stake Conference on Saturday).

Oh, by the way, Carebear - Toni says "hi" - she hasn't kept touch since Laurels - it was her grandmother's funeral. Four of grandma's kids are living or have lived in our ward; the fifth is just outside of our ward boundaries.

Sun:Viewing 12.4 mi, Mon:Funeral 36 mi(I skipped crew meeting), Tues: Interviews 8.5 mi; Wed Interviews/MIA/city utility dept 13.4mi; Tonight Training: 8.5 mi. Total for the week/MTD: 87 mi

Spiders

I've been known to sit in bed and update my blog as the last thing before I hit the hay. The lights are out, because mom's sleeping, so it's touch typing at it's finest. The occasional fly or gnat will occasionally land on the screen, attracted by the light. A nuisance, but understandable, and tolerable.

Tonight as I was contemplating a topic to blog on, a spider came crawling across the screen. So, I quietly freak out a bit (can't wake mom), get the computer over the floor so it won't crawl onto the bed and flatten the spider once he's on the floor (can't crush a spider against an LCD display).

The world is once again a safe place to be... at least until Tuesday's results come in.

Oct mi: Mon: Crew: 40 mi; Tues: HT: 11 mi; Wed:Court of Honor - lots of awards 8.5; Oct Tot: 463; Sep 428; June-Aug=1467; Jun-Oct=1958
Nov: Sun 11/2: 8.5

The Car that I wanted...

You might have noticed that I wanted to buy a Festiva. A GEO Metro was not even on my list - a three cylinder engine is something to be merely tolerated. But the price was right and it ran reasonably well, and a quick look under the hood showed that it was reasonably clean, but not so clean that somebody was trying to cover up something (cleaning up the damage), so a test drive later and a bit of an assist from Berserk in picking it up, and I have a Metro.

Now, looking under the hood, there's a four cylinder engine (like a Festiva), in fact a 1.3 liter engine (like a Festiva). The engine compartment is a knock off for a Festiva. The biggest difference that I see is that the Festiva was made by Mazda for Ford and the GEO Metro was made by Suzuki for Chevy.

Hidden Mouse's Survey

Place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not. Answer the 30 questions at the end.



( ) Gone on a blind date

( ) Skipped school

( ) Watched someone die

(X) Been to Canada

(X) Been to Mexico

(X) Been to Florida

(X) Been lost

(X) Been on the opposite side of the country

(X) Gone to Washington, DC

(X) Swam in the ocean

( ) Cried your self to sleep

(X) Played cops and robbers ... not very recently

( ) Recently colored with crayons

(X) Sang Karaoke/Tried

(X) Paid for a meal with coins only

(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't

( ) Made prank phone calls

( ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose

( ) Caught a snowflake on your tongue

( ) Danced in the rain

( ) Written a letter to Santa Claus

( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe

( ) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about

(X) Blown bubbles

(X) Gone ice-skating

(X) Been skinny dipping outdoors

(X) Gone to the movies



1. Any nickname: nope

2. Mother's name: yes, but not on the internet

3. Favorite drink? Squirt

4. Any Tattoo's? No

5. Body piercing's? No

6. Do U love your job? Yes

7. Ever seen or been in a tornado? Yes

8. Favorite vacation spot? Family History Libray

9. Ever been to Africa? No

10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? yes

11. Been on TV? No

12. Ever stole a traffic sign? No

13. Ever been in a car accident? Yes, rear ended

14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? Generally

15. Favorite salad dressing? Bleu Cheese

16. Favorite Pie? Round

17. Favorite number? 13

18. Favorite movie? Mary Poppins

19. Favorite holiday? What ever's next

20. Favorite dessert? Ice Cream, Vanilla, French

21. Favorite food? Gum drops

22. Favorite day of the week? Not really

23. Favorite brand of body wash? No

24. Favorite Toothpaste? Crest

25. Favorite smell? The absence thereof

26. What do you do to relax? Do?

27. How do you see yourself in 10 years? Almost retired and still having fun

28. How many siblings do you have? 2 and 3 halfs

29. Furthest Place you will send this message? Not being sent

30. Who will respond to this the fastest? No clue

The Stake Conference that Wasn't A Stake Conference

So I received an invitiation a few weeks ago to attend a Field Training Meeting last Saturday morning from 8-noon - a training meeting for all Stake Presidencies and Bishops in our mission (9 stakes all together). Training us were Elder David A Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Elders Jay Jensen, Bruce Hafen, and Tad Callister of the Seventy, and our local Area Authority Seventy. While they were in the neighborhood, there were also special meetings called for the missionaries, young single adults, and one for everyone in our Stake.

Everyone in the Stake knows that we have one of the largest two Stakes in a multi-state Area and that our Stake Presidency has been serving a long time - - and that we have a regulary scheduled Stake Conference in November, so RUMORS WERE FLYING! The Stake's going to be divided (the Stake next to us has 6 units, we have 12); attendance was at an all time high. People went home because there was NO PLACE TO SIT and HEAR. (Chairs were set up in the hall!). And as to the changes: ABSOLUTELY NONE! They really came, as they said, to visit with the members while they were "in the neighborhood".

A couple of highlights from the Saturday Training: 1)don't take copious notes - they distract from what is being taught and what you need to learn. What you learn may be totally unrelated to what the teacher is talking about; listen for those promptings that are unrelated (Yes, it's okay to zone out a bit and follow a train of thought). 2)when teaching, don't put people on the spot playing that "guess what's in my head" game: "Brother Jones, would you name the parts of the [fill in blank]?" As soon as a question like that is asked (especially by an Apostle), Brother Jones can't even remember his own name, let alone guess the three or six parts that the teacher is thinking about. That was from the first 15 minutes; and then it got better. I didn't take copious notes.

The Special-Stake-Meeting-that-Wasn't-a-Stake-Conference, was (except for not conducting Stake business - sustainings & releasings), suspiciously like a Stake Conference. We arrived at 9:20 for a 10:00 meeting - cars were already lining the neighborhood streets, the lot was fairly packed, and there was one spot on the street outside my office that we could parallel park in (I drive a small car and I CAN parallel park with relative ease). We walked in, I walked up to one of the ushers and asked for "a table for two", saw that the chapel was already full and went out to the opposite foyer to visit before heading back to the stage for a long distance view of the proceedings. The usher, I'd talked to then snagged me and said that there was room for two on the second row! C&MJ arrived at 10:30 (Jack-Jack was not awake in time) and got the no-room-in-the-inn, chairs in the hallway, and related issues that made it impossible to stay.

A couple of highlights from Elder Hafen's talk: he noted how we have moved over time from a culture of thrift to a culture of debt, reiterating the counsel to get out of debt. He also, referring to the difference between the hireling and the good shepherd (the hireling saves his own skin; the good shepherd saves the flock), said that too many marriages today are between partners that are hirelings - they cut and run at the first sign of trouble; and that we need to be good shepherds to one another.

Other cool stuff, but this post is a day late and too long already.

Mileage: 8.5 Conf; 6.5 EPrep

Baby You Can Drive My Car ...

The search is over. It runs well, and could use a little body work on the rear fenders. It's not a Festiva, but the evil cousin the GEO. We took it out for a test drive, and it runs well and even does highway speeds. The owner came along for the test drive and was impressed that I didn't kill the car. Evidently not too many people know how to handle a manual transmission.


Wed Mutual 8.5 (the older youth went to the People's Republic on a site seeing tour, but I stayed at the Church with the rest); Thurs 8.5 (council at Church); Sat Field Training Meeting 19 mi; Crew Social 45 mi; Sun more later... MTD 409

And the search goes on..... the search goes on....

There are too few Festivas, so I'm now also searching for Aspires, Justys and Swifts. I've found two Aspires. (Samara really loves the one - from what she's seen of a cell phone picture. Both have body damage. One's an automatic, the other a 5 speed. The automatic has a cracked window; both have a good deal of wear in the passenger compartment.

Wed: MIA 8.5; Sat Bldg Cleanup 8.5; (Thurs - forgot Aux Training 0 mi). Sun Church & Delivery: 26 mi; Mon: Crew 40 mi; MTD 328

Anyone got a good slightly used Festiva for sale?

Samara is itching to get her license. It's time to get another car. She's been looking on Craig's list and I get to follow her leads.

Tues: Temple 74 mi; MTD 255

The Long and Winding Road

So we went to the camporee... the FALL camporee, or so it was billed. It was COLD. If there had been snow on the ground to start with, it would have qualified as a Klondike Derby. The trip to the camp involved driving across town to the meeting point, heading up the highway to eat pizza, and then coming in the back way (70 miles from front door to camp). The trip home was considerably shorter: 40 miles. Between the snow storm (we ditched a little earlier on Saturday night than we had anticipated because the road is only plowed once a day in case of snow and didn't want to get stuck), and the fog (once we got down to lower elevations), it was a white knuckle drive.

The camporee was otherwise quiet; I've posted other comments about the trip (and post trip activities) on Berserk's (Awake and Unafraid) and Scooter's (most rediculously unbelievable day...) blogs, so there's not much more to say.

Mileage: Fri/Sat 110 mi; Sun 18 mi; tot MTD: 181 mi

Old Timers.... Not us!!!

Scooter was telling us about an old couple that had come into the restaurant to celebrate their anniversary. They were getting up there in years... it was one of those "milestone" anniversaries. Why, they must have been married for 35 years!!! (that's when mom got the offended look on her face... and explained that we were coming up on our 32nd and that we weren't old!!!). We were all laughing so hard that it took a bit of time for Scooter to finish the story. But it ended with a good tip!

Disney II

Another wonderful weekend. AND I got to go to two attractions that mom hadn't been on before (well technically one, because the other she'd been on with a passholder sneak preview):

1-Canada - the new film in 360 degree surround video. Martin Short makes what was once a very dry film worth seeing. Kind of like Soaring, without the motion - and standing instead of sitting.

2-Toy Story Arcade (ok - that's probably not the name, but you get the idea). After waiting in line for about a half hour, the ride was closed for maintenance... but we got back there JUST IN TIME - it was opening up and the line hadn't yet gotten long. Standing in line is part of the fun - the line follows a CandyLand board and has all sorts of neat toys to look at, with typical subtle humor - eg. US $4.95, $500 Canada. (and no, I didn't slip a decimal point). There's also an interactive Mr. Potato Head (which we didn't get to chat with, as the line was short when we went past).

I have enough days left on my pass for Jan 2010, so I guess this is my last trip for a while. Maybe I'll have to look at EuroDisney sometime in 2009.

Miles: Sun 28 8.5 (total for Sep=436); Wed 1 Mutual 8.5; Thurs 2 BpricTrng 8.5; Wed 8 Mutual (airport hangar) 36 mi. MTD: 53 mi

A Week In The Life

The radio station I listened to as a kid is back!!! Of course, it's on the AM dial (which is where it was when I was younger - back before FM was the hot spot) and that it's playing the 50's and 60's, except now they're oldies. It's been three weeks and still no commercials. Afternoon drive time DJ started today (from the former Oldies station which is now the 70's and 80's); the morning DJ starts Tuesday (another long time DJ).

So for the rest of the past week, it's been mostly a busy week - a trip to the Church on Monday to make sure the building was locked after the Seminary teacher found youth in the building on Monday morning who were not members & beat a hasty retreat when he arrived; Tuesday was Welfare & Interview; Wed BYC & an assistance check run (couple with 7 wk old special needs baby); Thursday was a seminar at the local victim's center - I'd not been to the rape crisis center before, but considering what I have the opportunity to work with as a Bishop, it was good information. The curious thing is that while they focus on the victim, I'm in a position where I could be counseling a perpetrator as well as a victim. I was thinking that I'd taken Friday night off, but I was out trying to deliver a manual for a parenting class. Tomorrow's the communications group's face-to-face meeting.

Miles: Sunday 8.5; Monday lockup 2; Tuesday 8.5; Wednesday BYC, Welfare 15 mi; Thursday 23 mi; Friday 2 mi. Week total: 59; MTD 428

EFY

The kids from the Ward went to EFY today. We had 4 that cancelled for various reasons - illness, funerals, etc., but we were able to place at least three of the 4 extra tickets. And Samara has been recounting the events of the afternoon / evening since she got back.

I'd say that makes the event worthwhile.
Moving (new family in ward):5 mi EFY: 80 mi

I'll Gladly Pay You Tomorrow for a Hamburger Today

So, when I got to work this morning, there was a message from mom, asking if we were going to ride together "tomorrow" or if I was too enamored of my car to ride with her - when she has a class, it's just down the road from my office. I sent back a reply that it depended on what radio station she wanted to listen to. After a little banter, she wanted to know if I'd take her out to lunch - break time is at 11:45. I told her "sure" and saved the email so that I wouldn't blow her off.

Later that morning the boss wanted to know if I could go out to lunch with him today to review a couple of proposals. Good deal - two lunches out in two days! I never do that, unless I'm traveling.

I get back from lunch with the boss and find a note on my computer screen - something along the lines of "you're going to pay for this!". Not quite sure what crime I'd committed, I called mom - seems I stood her up for lunch "today". Back to the original message labeled "TOMORROW". It was sent yesterday about 5:36 pm - after I'd left the office. So "tomorrow" turned out to be "today"!!! She'd been emailing me from her class. I'd thought she was emailing me from her office!

Wed Bpric Mtg/MIA: 8.5 mi; Thurs Welfare Assist: 20 mi. MTD=289

Maybe You Can Drive My Car

I dropped off the car to get the battery fixed this morning; and got a call on my way to work that the part hadn't arrived (which I thought of as rather typical with an orphaned vehicle). At 4:30, I got another call: the battery had arrived, they had installed it and charged it and all was ready to go!!

Picking up the car, I've put just shy of 50 miles on it. My mileage (around town and freeway at 55-65 MPH) has so far averaged 65 MPG!!! This is an improvement of 15 MPG over the normal average for the car. If this keeps up, I would suggest that the battery should have been replaced about 70,000 miles ago - about the time I bought the car.

Sat: Bp's Retreat: 178 mi; Sun:Church/Choir: 17 mi; Mon: Welfare/Crew Mtg: 47 mi MTD: 261

I love Honda

So, yes the battery is dead. The warranty, according to the service writer is 157,000 (last I'd heard it was 150,000 miles). I have 157,600 miles on the car.

They're going to replace the battery anyway!!!

Life After Disney

So, I came back to the office - my computer was displaying the "blue screen of death", which normally is solved with a reboot; except it really was the blue screen of death. My hard drive was totally toast. I cobbled together a system so that I could get some work done. Spare parts have been ordered and installed; most of the required software has likewise been downloaded and installed; however, some of the software supposedly is too difficult to install remotely, so now the help desk wants me to send my computer to MN to be reimaged. I told them no, at least not until my new lap top computer arrives.

Tuesday night, instead of going on the Ward Temple Night outing, I went to Greeley. Seems that my car has a couple of lights on that shouldn't be on: Check Engine, and IMA. The former is likely caused by the latter; the latter is a fairly sure sign that the hybrid's battery is toast. The car goes in to be checked tomorrow. (The battery replacement, if what I've heard is true, is about $3,000).

Best part about it all: I'm in such a good mood after the Disney trip, that I don't care... and my phone is still working.

Disney Days 3 & 4

Day 3 - EPCOT - The phone dried out and life is good. Dinner in Japan with an EXCELLENT cook.
Day 4 - the park formerly known as MGM and then back to EPCOT to finish off what we didn't do (and an extra trip on Soarin'). Still missed Off Kilter and the British Invasion. You can't do it all, but the best ticket deal seemed to be a 10 day park hopper that doesn't expire, so I've got my ticket in place for 2010, and probably a trip sometime next year.

My Second Day at Disney ... Incommunicado

Yesterday was 1)sleep in, 2)go to Animal Kingdom, 3)go to Magic Kingdom. I spent the first hour in Animal Kingdom on my own - mom was in guest services changing future reservations. They felt so bad for how long it took her that she scored a number of fast passes - - - most of which we didn't use because the lines were so short.

Somewhere between Kali River Rapids and Splash Mountain and something else that gets you wet, my cell phone died. The message is "Check SIM" - - - I did - - - it's there, even if it looks a little gray around the edges. I took it out for the night, and so far this morning, the phone seems to be working ... maybe it's time for a new phone....

My First Day at Disney World...

Since, I was missing a few vital pieces to my CPAP machine, I made a "quick" run to downtown Orlando to pick them up. Since Mom was still snoozing, I even offered to let her sleep in while I ran downtown. She wanted to be dropped off at a park instead.

So after NUMEROUS calls to the doctor's office, and to the various branches of the unnamed national vendor of durable medical equipment, (Florida requires a prescription to get DME; my original chart from home had been sent to Kansas for archival, where it was purged from the records; once retrieved, it turns out they didn't have a copy of the Rx, anyway). Turns out the doctor's office had sent the Rx within five minutes of my asking; the Florida vendor didn't get it. They resent it at 3:30 local and I was successful in getting the required pieces.

Glad I didn't leave mom sleeping in!!! I made it back to the hotel at 4:30.

All was not lost; we did get to eat some Cuban food (not overly remarkable), and see Dark Knight (a somewhat disturbing film), and shop in Downtown Disney.

OOPS I DID IT AGAIN...

Now that I've got that song running through everyone's mind (see how long it takes to really clear your head), I visited Carebear's ward last Sunday - they had a special combined meeting for all the adults with a presentation from Family Services on adoption. They also showed the adoption video from the 1980's.

AND I STILL HAVE THE THEME SONG FROM THE SOUNDTRACK ECHOING IN MY HEAD

"And maybe, you can tell your baby ..."

But I digress. I've brought the CPAP machine to Orlando; I just forgot to bring any of the attachments. I think Orlando has a better selection of spare parts than some small town in Nevada, so don't look for another picture of me with a candy wrapper duct taped to a CPR mask in the near future... then again ....

Flex, Cairngorm, and stupidity

WARNING: TECHNOBABBLE ALERT

So, I've been refactoring a simple Flex project that I did to use Cairngorm. "Best" practices separates the user interface from the business logic. So, I've spent an excessive amount of time over the past week trying to figure out how to communicate from one part of the program (the user interface) to the other (business logic). I finally pinned that down and can follow the event to the command (spelling is a plus here, where "Login" is different from "login" - capitalization counts). I had to talk two of our MN programmers through my project before I could explain to them what I had done wrong.

So since then, I've been trying to find a way to trigger a process in a view that reconfigures the available options from out in the command processor (business.commands.MyCommand did it's work, and now needs to start something in views.MyView). Except there was no way to call a function in "MyView" from "MyCommand" (and here's where I earned my STOOPID award for the day)... "MyCommand" has FULL access to all the variables in the Model - change a variable in the Model and the corresponding view is IMMEDIATELY (if not sooner) updated with the new value. (That's the obvious purpose of the [Bindable] metatag).

So, to execute a function in "MyView", all that needs to happen is to change the reference to the bound variable (eg. "{ __model.Value }") to a function that uses the bound value as a parameter (eg. "{ MyFunction(__model.Value) }"). When __model.Value changes, MyFunction is called to return a new value based on the new input parameter ... even if that parameter is not used in MyFunction.

So, the business logic can do what it needs to without the view needing to be cognizant of any business activities. And when the business logic changes something that is of interest to the viewer, it can update itself without disrupting any business functions.

After pouring through every example I could find for a week, I now see why I couldn't find anything about the topic - it's because the concept was too easy for anyone to document!!!

Cairngorm is growing on me. Something like mold on cheese.

Miles: Tues 11 (church, city hall to help keep someone's utilities turned on), Wed 8.5 (MIA/Bishopric): Sept to date: 19.5 mi and for what it's worth Aug=511 mi; July=618 mi; June=338; June-Aug=1467

Step Away from the Ball

A reminder - - - if you touch that ball, the dog will follow you wherever you go and make sure that you play ball.

The Republicans are Coming!!!! Or is there life in Minneapolis???

So, maybe I'm clueless as to what's been going on in Denver with the Democrats in town, but being in downtown Minneapolis for the week has been quite an eye opener. The local police force has been augmented by a number of officers imported from other jurisdictions. I've seen more police at night in downtown here than at any other time I've been in town. They're roaming the streets in groups of two to four and have taken over a parking garage near our office for a staging area for their vehicles.

And the convention doesn't start until next week, and it's in downtown St. Paul!!

Otherwise Minneapolis is still a town that rolls up the streets at 6:00 pm. I tried to eat dinner at Chipotle last night. At 7:30 they had been closed and gone for some time. I found a Panera tonight to eat at - it closed at 8:00, so I made it in time... and it's right off the main downtown mall. If someone knows where there's life in Minneapolis after 6, I'd be curious (not that I'd go there - - I might miss Hillary or Barrack on the motel room TV ... on second thought is there life in Minneapolis???)

Condolences to Denver with all the Democrats in town... ditto for next week and the Minneapolis with the Republicans.

Mileage update: 8/20:MIA 8.5 mi; 8/22:Visit 4 mi; 8/23: visits: 16.5 mi; 8/24 Church/Fireside: 17 mi; MTD:511

Graduation

I have officially received the certificate that says that I have completed the First Responder course. I guess that means that I know enough to not treat anything major unless it requires CPR, to provide simple basic first aid treatment (with informed or implied consent), to call 911 for backup, and to not become part of the accident scene.

That, and I get to go camping and help provide med support at a number of council and community activities with Samara and eat at Chipotle.

Monday: 42 miles (DIA/Crew Mtg/Home) Tues: 12 miles (N.R. Visit with HP) MTD: 465

Genealogy - we're all family....

Once in the distant past there were three young men who were inseparable, until moves took two of them out of town. Berserk and The Orb were two of the three. So it was fun to figure out the family ties when those two became related when each of them had sisters that married brothers. All this is ancient history.

Now the third has joined the extended family. His younger brother recently married Berserk's aunt's sister in law.

Thanks to Carolyn for putting together the pieces when she saw the wedding announcement on the fridge when picking up Samara, who was visiting the aunt.

Mileage for today - 2 trips to church and one visit to a member getting ready for a baptism - 21.5 miles, total for month=411

Weddings, X-Games, and Radios

John & Brenda were married last Saturday; David was the best man and I performed the ceremony. BBQ followed the ceremony in the back yard. The best of all was that the weather held.

Unlike for X-Games, which was RAIN, RAIN, RAIN. I got "easy" duty. I manned one of the stations from 9 pm to 7 am. The kids used GPS coordinates to find each location and performed some task - Mountain Biking, Swimming, team building activities, or in the case of the station I was assigned to, identify what was wrong with the model camp site. We had visitors at 10 pm, midnight, 1am 3am and 6am checking out the "model" camp site - the rest of the time we "slept" in the Festiva. The most obvious problem was the tarp pitched over the fire pit; the least obvious problem was silicon gasket compound in the first aid kit. The kids were creative in finding things wrong - and came up with answers that weren't on the answer sheet, such as the camp doesn't have a latrine, and there's only one tent / sleeping bag, so the buddy system is not being observed.

And for the radio - I was on my way to the wedding and found an audio store that had the antenna conversion cable for a 2003 PT Cruiser. The radio is now fully installed.

Mileage: Rehersal & Wedding: 24 mi; Church trips: 8/5 welfare check; 8/6 Mutual; 8/7 Bpric Trng; 8/10 Sun, 8/13 Bpric Mtg (8.5 X 5 = 42.5); Temple 8/12 76 mi; 8/15-16 X-Games: 156 mi. Total Aug to date: 389.5.

City Hall (Part II)

The day after receiving the offer to pay $80 with a reduced charge of broken headlight or some such the following notice came in the mail:

The City Attorney's Office has reviewed the above-captioned case and, in the interest of justice, filed a motion to dismiss the case. The Judge has granted that motion and the case is hereby dismissed.

In other matters, I'm still working on the radio...

Beam me up, Scotty!!!!

Let's combine this Romulan technology with Borg nanoprobes and install it in our Federation warp core. Reconfiguration might take an hour or two.

On the other hand, let's install a car radio in a PT Cruiser. Four trips to the store since Saturday to get the right mounting kit. A call to customer service to let them know that the kit that "includes everything you need to install" doesn't. (They offerred to sell me the missing piece for $14.95 and waive the shipping charge - - - Walmart had it for half that, but thanks anyway). Get it all put together and plug it in and VOILA, the Chrysler antenna jack cord doesn't fit the antenna jack in the radio.

And I thought this would be easy. 2 am time for bed. I've found the antenna adapter online; I'll try Target later today - maybe I can exchange the spare parts.

For now, the CD player works... anyone want a PT Cruiser?

You CAN Fight City Hall

In the matter of mom's ticket for improper lane usage, which she got while I was at girl's camp, I emailed our local council woman. I complained about the ticketing as an inappropriate way to deal with a traffic problem that is better resolved by striping the road so that there's a turn lane longer than 100 feet that can be legally accessed (the ticket was for improper lane usage - using the lane between the double yellow lines to get into the turn lane).

Tonight on my way home, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the lane has been restriped - in exactly the manner that I suggested would be appropriate.

Now all we need to see is what it will take to make the ticket go away.

FWIW: August Mileage: Sat & Sun to/from Church 3x & Relay for Life 35 mi; Mon Crew Meeting: 56 mi; Aug to date = 91.

Soooo NOT off the Power Grid

(Sequel to report on girl's camp). I spend several days at scout camp this past week. I had changed a bit since I was last there for a summer camp. First of all, my cell phone worked EVERYWHERE on camp property that I went. There were hot showers (every camp site) and flush toilets (if you knew where to look).

However, the food seemed more like season end leftovers: I arrived midweek and was told that it was the second time that they'd had chicken patties (a hamburger shaped chicken nugget) for dinner. Then lunch the next day was chicken nuggets - with more of the same mixed veggies as the previous dinner & potato chips instead of instant mashed potatoes. The Friday lunch was PB&J sack lunches.

As this was an all LDS week at camp, there was a midway around the lake on Friday afternoon - each Stake manning an activity. Someone from our Stake forgot to show, so I was drafted to put together an activity that ca. 500 scouts could participate in, one patrol at a time. Our assigned topic was First Aid - which worked out well; training from Samara's Venture Crew to the rescue (again). We even got to perform "First Aid" on one of the visiting Webelos Scouts - he had a "scratch" (almost fully visible) an alcohol wipe cleaned it up (without stinging, so you know how severe the scratch was) and a couple of band aids made him happy.

The BSA camp has somewhat less tolerance for puking than girl's camp. At girl's camp we told the pukers that they hadn't been drinking enough water (true) and that once they'd rested a bit and rehydrated, they needed to get back into action. One of our visiting 11 year old scouts stepped out of the car on arrival at camp and proceeded to upchuck (car sick - eating in the car; bumpy road; past history...) The BSA HQ staff were witnesses; he was rushed to First Aid and quarantined until one of us could break free to take him home. The normal quarantine option is 48 hours, but since our plan for the visiting scouts was overnight, getting him out of camp ASAP was preferred. (Our state regulates our scout camp as a day care center, so there are some rules that may seem a bit extreme). I ended up getting home about six hours earlier than I'd otherwise planned. I missed the final campfire program, but got a date and a good meal.

I think I came out ahead.

Mileage: 155 Total for July= 773. June-July=1111 miles (is this a sign?)

Samara Saves Fester

Odometer at 234,567.8 - couldn't resist taking the picture.

But first, the crew meeting was fun tonight. We got to practice starting IV's (which is clearly beyond the scope of our training), but they gave us some quick training and let us practice finding veins on each other and inserting the needles into a dummy.

On the way home, Samara not only noticed the check engine light flashing on and off, but had the presence of mind to say "Dad, why is the ...." The engine temp gauge was pegged on "H". We were able to pull over at a gas station / mini-mart, let the car cool down and add a gallon of water to the radiator. So far I've noticed that the radiator cap is toast - worn, cracked gasket, not suitable for use. We'll see if there's a hose also leaking.

Hopefully I can get the car back together so that I can drive to and from Scout Camp tomorrow.

For tonight: mileage: 42 miles; July to Date=618.

Not worth reading....

Really....

Miles Sunday: 27;
July to date 576.
Going back off the grid on Tuesday.

Off the power grid

I just spent a week at Young Women's Camp at a "remote" Forest Service group campground, that was nonetheless part of the metro area address scheme (go figure). Running water (cold), two hole outhouse (his and hers, or in our case hers and hers and knock before you enter if you're male), and no cell phone service (except for Verizon on a couple of odd hills here & there).

I was able to power my CPAP machine for the week using one of the Festiva batteries with no problem, so I guess I'm back in the camping business - no need for an extension cord. I think winter camping may be a bit of a problem, though. My nose was a bit cold on a couple of the summer mornings with the cold fresh mountain air blowing on it. I was also able to charge my cell phone a couple of times; even with no service, there were times when I wanted to know what time it was or to play an MP3.

So, what does a Bishop do at YW Camp all week? YW leaders have things pretty well planned (and then some - nothing like when the boy's go camping). Monday was camp setup: a GP-Medium for a rain shelter, a second GP-Medium for the first year girls to sleep in, help set up shelter and stoves for the cooking area. Friday morning was break down. Other than that, it was mostly hang out, make a nuisance of myself, and have fun. Watch the girls work on various projects, help the cooks when needed, pass out plates in the food line, pour water for hot chocolate - all the high skilled tasks. My "specialty" was stomping on the trash in the dumpster (one dumpster is not enough for 150 girls for a whole week). Others in the Priesthood support team (there were usually three of us around at all times) went out with various groups on 5 mile hikes, but somebody had to stay behind and watch the grass grow. Other duties included instigating water fights and encouraging girls to drink to keep from becoming dehydrated (it was fairly hot in camp - likely in the 90's in the day). But after the second day, most of them figured out that drinking water was preferable to getting sick and barfing. I only went through two pair of gloves on the one cleanup that I was involved in. I also got to burn charcoal and start fires...

Wednesday night was Bishop's night - I had surveyed the youth for their top 5 favorite songs - any genre. The results were used as material for our own version of the Swedish TV game show "Så ska' det låta". It was a blast - the game was fairly evenly matched and was decided by a one point margin. The one strategic error that I made was having our girls in the GP-Medium tent. I'd picked the spot so that we could stay out of the rain, but as the rain had stopped, it served instead to keep the noise in. I think I was close to deaf by the end of the evening. Our Young Women's leaders were super and brought up ice cream treats.

Mileage from Sunday to Church to return from camp:187

I don't have an accent

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
The South
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

And add 12 miles for 7/16 - Church + detour on way home

Clothes make the man...

... naked people have little or not influence in society - Mark Twain

So, we dressed up in our first responder clothes and went off to the mountains to provide medical support for a 120 mile bike ride with 3000+ riders. Samara & I ended up at different points on the course, so she'll have to tell her own story. In addition to the station that I worked, I also got to make a run to one of the other stations to deliver equipment & also help out with KP. (I am somewhat prone to not being prone, but to be doing something).

The first aid duties at our station were slow - a little road rash here & there being the chief complaint; providing sunscreen being the major activity of the First Aid Station. Our youth run team started off a bit rocky, but became quite proficient before the day was out.

Our pit stop was moved rather last minute (thanks to the nameless local big city closing down access to the road that ran along one of their dams - "security"). The locals were not too happy with big city closing down one of three major roads in their county. Our station was relocated to a small parking lot just outside of a marina instead of large school parking lot because of adjustments needed to keep the ride at 120 miles.

There was a bike path / road crossing that was a bit of a nuisance - recreational traffic had the right of way (no stop sign), but there were 3000+ bikers that wanted to cross, and a number of which were blowing through their stop sign. For a 4 hour shift, we had a representative of the local Sheriff's dept directing traffic. For breaks & a couple of hours after his shift, I put on my yellow web vest (hence - clothes make the man) and played traffic cop. Most drivers cooperated with my directions (better than the pedestrians and cyclists) although one driver gave me a what appeared to be a subtle but courteous one finger wave.

Many bikers thanked us for being there; we in turn thanked them for not needing our services. Some other stations saw a bit more activity than we did.

Afterwords we all met in a big park for a VERY nice catered picnic. The poultry had a very nice crusted herb seasoning, and the lemonade was all you can drink (which was needed).

Mileage Trivia:
7/8: Church - 8.6
7/9: Park & Church 10 mi
7/11-7/13: Odometer: 233793-234094:Triple Bypass/Support & Church/Interviews=301 mi
July to date: 350.5 miles

Duct Tape, Dishwasher Drain Hoses, and Gummi Snake Wrappers

What do these all have in common? They are implements that can be used to improvise missing parts for a CPAP machine. I packed everything I needed for the trip to the small town - except for my CPAP mask, head gear, and hose. The first night I didn't sleep as well - something about snoring. For the 4th and 5th, my brother-in-law had a spare dishwasher drain hose, which coincidently was 3/4 in inside diameter - the perfect size to hook up to a CPAP machine. I had a spare CPAP mask in my first aid soft pack - useful for body-substance-isolation in providing the mouth-to-mouth portion of rescue breathing in CPR. I also had duct tape in my pack, so I was able to make head gear to hold the mask in place.

As the dishwasher hose is somewhat stiff, I returned it on our way out of town. While shopping for snacks, I saw a three foot long green apple gummi snake, which I couldn't resist. While devouring the snake, I realized that the wrapper was the right size for a CPAP hose. More duct tape to hold everything in place, and another good night's sleep was the result.

Tonight, it's home with all the "correct" parts.

July 4th - Fun in a small town

Where else does the fire department show up, hook up the hoses and take aim. First it's a bit of a game with the kids trying to cool down (I went out for a chance to cool off). Jack-Jack got hit by some over spray and was not pleased. Then it gets "serious" with those who are trying to pick up money thrown in the street. Kind of like an Easter Egg Hunt - different age groups each had a turn from 0-3, on up to adult. I guess the similarity ends there - there's money instead of candy, and a good soaking for the effort. Chaelomen received something like $11 for his efforts and quite a soaking.

I saw all the action from the front of a bake sale waiting for the fry bread to be cooked for our Navajo Tacos. They were planning on selling only 100 Tacos; we had to wait about 2 hours a the front of the line while more dough was made.

The day ended with a fireworks show in the main town park. This year, the hill outside of town was not set on fire.

A good time was had (mostly) by all.

Mileage Update

On the eve of a long weekend of driving in a car without air conditioning....

First catchup on miles: 320+6/25:Mutual&Welfare 9mi+6/29:Church 9mi=JUNE 338 MILES
July: 7/1:Welfare 10 mi;7/2:Sam's+Church 21 mi (+$120 for food) = 31 mi

Next: I've given the Festiva a look over; we'll be delayed getting out of Dodge: the muffler needs to be replaced. Tell mom to expect us about 7 or 8 pm local time. I've fixed the battery mount so that it doesn't bounce on the transmission (the battery mount tray is long gone). The wind shield wiper repair will likely require a body shop to do the welding. I might be able to improvise something, but I doubt it. Otherwise, as previously stated, the car runs well and gets about 47 mpg. About the same as the Insight, but with more power!!! I'm off to look for a CHEAP radio.

I've Been Had

So, I'm sitting on the stand, ready for Sacrament Meeting to start - everything is ready, except the speakers (Chaelomen & MJ) are nowhere to be seen. The text message exchange goes like this:

Me: Donde esta?

Chaelomen: I'm not sure we'll make it today.

Me: What's up?

< No reply... I start pulling together notes so that I can talk fill 40 minutes... my First Counselor is gone and my Second Counselor filled in for a no-show last week. Then Chaelomen and MJ walk in and sit down, and a message shows on my phone: >

Chaelomen: I think it's the Plague cough cough.

So, be careful when asking members of your family to speak. You may get more than you asked for. However, the talks were definitely way above average, not that I'm biased.

I am Legend

We picked up the movie a couple of weeks ago and started watching it for a date night. It was getting a little too scary for mom (plus, it was dark outside), so we put it on the back burner. Chaelomen was willing to watch it with mom so she wouldn't get too scared. (I finished watching it the next day, but also promised to watch it again later).

Tonight we watched the last half, and while Jack-Jack napped, Chaelomen joined us. I neglected to mention that I was playing disk #2 with the alternate ending. I enjoyed the look on his face (probably more than the movie) when the movie didn't proceed according to the script that he'd seen, even though he maintained a poker face until the movie was over.

The movie was only "okay" in my mind. (STOP here if you haven't seen it). I was willing to suspend belief for the premise of a miracle cure gone bad, but were I the last survivor in the city, it doesn't seem remotely plausible that the utilities would still be running - especially with the state of decay that was shown, or that there'd still be a supply of gas and food years after the catastrophe. Also, too much violence for my preferences.

First Responder

We had "finals" Monday night; Samara passed them all: Medical, Trauma, and CPR. I passed CPR & Medical; I checked my brain at the door for the Trauma test: victim had fallen 20 feet from a tree, broken leg & bleeding from the nose & mouth. We had a new c-collar and I tried putting it on inside out, then upside down, before I figured it out; the backboard had an unusual strap configuration, which threw me, so I forgot everything else on the check list - didn't check vitals, didn't maintain airway.

I'm glad that there were some "new" wrinkles in the test that weren't on the prior practices. It keeps it interesting, even if I fell apart; there's still next week. "Finals" again next week....

Happy Birthday Grandma

I hopped a plane on Wednesday to go wish Grandma a Happy 80th birthday. After getting to town, I found out that she wasn't home because of a flood in the assisted living center and the related evacuation. It kind of messed up her lunch plans; she spent a day or so at my brother's.

I got to eat a gyro with Carebear, and then hop a plane back home. Long day - - - then off to church for the regular Wednesday night stuff;

Miles: Wed: 9 mile round trip, with side trip. (and I just checked - those 6 mile round trips to the Church are really 8.6 miles, without side trips); Thurs: a Welfare Assistance trip: 8 miles; Friday: a followup Welfare trip: 3 miles on lunch break to pay a phone bill; Saturday: 8.6 miles to cleanup church; Sunday 8.6 miles + 6 miles for YW Mtg.; Mon: 40 mi RT to Crew Mtg... June total to date=121+126+83 = 320.

Cub Scout Day Camp

The Crew is doing medical support for some of the local Cub Scout Day Camps, so I put on my Crew shirt and drove Samara to Cub Scout Camp. We were there for a couple of hours. So were the mosquitos!!!! I spent the last 15 minutes of our stay in the car to keep from being eaten alive. First aid requirements were at a minimum. Samara taped a 3X3 on a cub to dress a scrape.

I'd forgotten how small Cub Scouts are.

Mileage: 67 today; 40 for yesterday's Crew meeting + Sunday = 126 miles this week.

Father's Day

Father's Day was nice. Cinnamon rolls & milk at church for all the fathers, then leftover cinnamon rolls for all the youth, then a second round of cinnamon rolls for the youth. Burgers, brats, dogs, potato salad, ... family & fun (Killer Bunnies). A good time was had by all. I found the perfect car yesterday. We'll see if someone else had the good sense to buy it before I get back to the dealership... more later, maybe.

Mileage update: 3 more 6 mi round trips to the Church Friday & Saturday last week, but only one of which was in my official capacity - the other two were dropping off & picking up Samara. Total for last week: 121. This week starts today with 19 miles today: home - church - city hall - bank - a couple of visits - and back home. It's this kind of day that I would have typically counted as "6 miles", not counting the "side" trips.

I Sneezed!!!!

Up until now, Jack-Jack has been totally oblivious to my sneezes. The sneeze that makes babies cry and wakes the dead has not even fazed him. However, tonight he was a bit fussy, and we were in the same room when I sneezed. The wide eyed startled stare and stunned silence that followed was amazing.... and funny... I guess you had to be there.

Mini Car

We stopped by a couple of the car dealerships on the way home from the Temple on Tuesday; one was the Mini dealer. Of course mom loves the car. I was just glad that the sun roof was OPEN - it left some place for my head to go when I got in the car. We also stopped at the Smart dealership; it was closed but they did have two cars on the lot and I had to look.

Mileage: 40 + 6 miles round trip to the church tonight = 115 miles for the week, so far.

Water Rescue

Tonight the Venture Crew conducted training in a swimming pool: water rescues. Shallow and deep water with a buoy, back boarding in the water. Everyone that wanted to had a chance to be victim or rescuer. The games and pizza after an hour and a half in the pool wasn't bad, either.

I have had trouble remembering to declare all my mileage for tax purposes (schedule A - charitable miles). I'm going to try and log mileage here for a bit to see if I can't keep better track. As a committee member, theRound trip 63 miles, counts.

Add 12 miles for two round trips to the Church yesterday: 75 miles so far this week.

The Coolest Car in the World

We got word that there was a 2007 Smart Car for sale for $1,600. Needless to say, I left the office, and high tailed it to the car lot, where I caught up with mom and a couple of her co-workers. Turns out there were a couple of minor details that were left out... like it was an import that wasn't street legal in the USA (supposedly the upgrades would cost about $6,000), ... the decimal point was misplaced in the asking price, so my check book stayed in my pocket.

BUT, I DID GET TO TAKE IT OUT FOR A TEST DRIVE. The 768cc engine was enough to make the car run, and run well; the tap shift was cool - no clutch, so it's a bit hard to kill the car. It behaves like a standard transmission or with the touch of a button, it switches into automatic mode. Although, it only seats 2, the front seat room was about the same as in a Festiva (and have you heard? Ford is starting up production again for the US small car market - granted it's the Fiesta, not the Festiva, but that will still be a cool car).

The search for a used Smart Car continues...

Canoing on the Battenkill

We went canoing for a couple of hours down the Battenkill river. The tour company hauled us up to the starting point, unloaded the canoes, and sent us on our way. The trip was not without its challenges, the first being that the river was running a bit low. We bottomed out before we got away from the dock. Mom took the front and I took the back, so I not only could paddle but also use my paddle as a rudder to turn as needed. Mom was a trooper, but didn't have a whole lot of fun. Did I mention that it RAINED. We got soaked. And she never quite figured out that for the main, it really didn't matter much which side of the canoe she paddled on, I still could steer with my paddle. Still it was fun being together.

After warming up and drying off at the hotel, dinner tonight was a "clam bake", which included steak, chicken and lobster. Very good.

Mexican Food, New England Style

So, we're staying in a resort in Vermont for the weekend, and tonight we were on our own for dinner. We ate at the only "Mexican" restaurant in town - nachos, chile relleno, and a taco. The food was good looking, and good to eat, unless you like your mexican food with some flavor. It was so bland that MJ would not have had any problems with it being too hot, and would have likely had to spice it up a bit.

On the way to Vermont, we stopped and ate at a combination antique store / lunch counter (that served mostly vegetarian food - the only meat was the tuna in the tuna sandwich - BLT's were made with soy bacon. We shared a tuna sandwich and bowl of chili (no meat in the chili - beans and corn). The chili was considerably spicier than dinner and it was mild.

My Password - so safe, I don't even know it.

So, I'm out of town for the week, but I left the itinerary on my desk at home. No problem - just log in to the company email from the airport on the free wireless connection and download a copy. Good theory, except for those airports where there isn't internet access. Plan B: Call home and have a family member login and check my email. That would work well, except it turns out that I don't know my own password. I had gotten tired of thinking up new passwords, with corporate password change policies, so I currently use a pattern rather than a password. Place hands in well known position on keyboard, and drum out a pattern. The stupid thing is that I can touch type, but I can't name the keys on a keyboard in order, so I don't know my own password. With the failed attempts and guesses, it's a miracle I didn't end up having my account locked out. In the end, I got to town, went to the courtesy phone for car rentals and started calling rental companies with the question "Do I have a car reserved?"

Clarifications

Yes, I "lived" in Alaska; granted it was only a month and a long time ago, but long enough that I figured out that I don't ever want to live in a trailer again.

And as to only 4 jobs - technically, I've had the job as computer programmer with 8 or so different employers, on both left and right coasts and points in between. The oddest change in employer occurred while I was installing a package for my present employer. I got a call from my then current employer advising me that they had just gone out of business, but that I would have a job with a successor company that was picking up the pieces, so keep on doing what I was doing.

Another one

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?

Same house, same job, more kids at home, pre-grandkids; likely something with Scouts...

2. Five things on my "To Do List" today:

1. Work, 2. Bank Deposit, 3. Visit, 4. Buy TP & milk, 5. Sleep

3. Snacks I enjoy:

Ruffles, ice cream, nuts

4. What would I do if suddenly I was a billionaire?

Pay off bills, buy a library.

5. Three bad habits: not enough sleep, not enough excercise, not eating right.

6. Five places I've lived:

Colorado, Utah, California, Sweden, Alaska

7. Five jobs I've had:

1. Paperboy, 2. Dishwasher, 3. Computer Operator, 4. Computer Programmer, no #5 yet

8. Five things that MOST people don't know about me:

Your asking that of someone who hasn't had 5 jobs?

Tag 5 People: The first miracle: I've responded to this; don't hold your breath for the tag

Bererk, it's your fault

Ok, so I can take apart a computer, and put it back together. And now I have done the unthinkable and started a blog. Next thing you know, I'll be even responding to some quiz or another.