-CORRECTION-
I completely forgot that former(?) Dixiecrat Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC) passed away the other day at the age of 100. That makes 78(9?)-year-old Buddy Hackett #3. Click the Dixiecrat link to an interesting story about how Thurmond never did renounce his racist past.
UPDATE: TWO DOWN...
Drudge Report is reporting that Buddy Hackett has died at the age of 79... meanwhile, CNN insists he was 78.
Well, if celebrities truly die in threes, then that creaky sound I hear must be Bob Hope crossing his fingers.
Okay you're saying, enough morbid humor.
By the way, I'm not proud that a tropical storm shares my name, but the coincidence makes for amusing headlines over at the Drudge Report and elsewhere.
Monday, June 30, 2003
SHOCKING BAYLOR BASKETBALL HOMOCIDE
I don't diligently track news out of my alma mater Baylor University and Waco, but when Matt Drudge has a Baylor murder story at the top of his page, then something big has definitely happened.
Apparently, sixth man Carlton Dotson (transferred from the Paris, TX ju-co) allegedly shot and killed his teammate Patrick Dennehy. If you follow the Patrick Dennehy link, you'll find that he transferred from UNM and was apparently a strong player for the Lobos. Sorry, Dad. Apparently UNM doesn't pay its players as well as Southern Baptists do.
I did check and Carlton Dotson is no relation to Baylor football standout Santana Dotson. Dotson was an intimidating Baylor defensive tackle from 1988-1991. In 1990, he led the team to defeat the U of Colorado team that had won the championship the year before. Baylor went on to a peak ranking of #8 in the nation... before sputtering and crashing as usual. Don't even get me started about the Big 12 conference..
REID TRIP TO PORTLAND UPDATE
Today I received final confirmation of travel plans for Mom, Tom & Kate. Unfortunately, Tom & Kate will not be able to come to Portland next week as was being discussed. Tom has a lot of studying to do for his bar exam...whiskey & vermouth for a Manhattan, brandy & vermouth for a Wachdorf Manhattan, and scotch & vermouth for a Rob Roy...bu-dum-bum (Jill just winced).
Kate is apparently booked solid at her job with Hanna & Brophy. Send complaints about Kate's work schedule to Richard Brophy at rbrophy@hannabrophy.com - JUST KIDDING. We wouldn't really do that to you Kate. We're disappointed you two won't be able to make it. We looked forward to having a good time with you. Besides, Jill's mother won't take the contest prize, so we thought Hemingway could use a friend!
Mom, on the other hand, will be flying LUV on July 4th on Flight 1776, no less. She arrives at 11:10 am and will depart for Las Vegas on Sunday the 13th at 4:55 pm. She'll be here a full week - Tom, on second thought, I think I'll need that whiskey and vermouth. Actually, we'll be picking berries, canning jam, and hitting some 4th of July events among other things. We'll visit Bend, Oregon on Saturday, July 12th. We look VERY forward to her visit and hope to knock her socks off with our hospitality. Mom was disappointed to hear that Peacock In The Park had already occured; she's bringing her digital camera with her to prove to folks in Las Vegas how weird Portland truly is - specifically, the fact that we dare to go outdoors in July.
BANGKOK TICKETS PURCHASED!!
Well, it's a done deal. We went over to the travel agent and purchased our tickets for Bangkok, Thailand. We'll be leaving Portland on August 8th and will be returning on the 30th. We'll be flying Cathay Pacific Airlines, whose hub is Hong Kong. That's how we were able to have the free two-day layover to see the sights in Hong Kong. Our flight from San Francisco is 14 hours and we'll be time travelers, actually arriving on the 10th of August rather than the 9th because we're crossing the international dateline. On the way back, we'll be travelling back in time one day.. Heavy, Doc!
The flights between Hong Kong and Bangkok are about two hours each, so that's no problem at all. The travel agent told us that the seats are actually spaced for smaller, Asian passengers.. but she did tell us how to get the exit row for more space on the Hong Kong flights. She also said first class on Cathay Pacific is quite an experience.. bed-like reclining seats and all kinds of other perks. Then she told us the tickets started at $6,000 U.S. for Business Class. I must have Scottish heritage because after I coughed, I felt more than willing to pocket the difference and fly with my chin resting on my knees for 14 hours.
IN UPCOMING UPDATES - What the heck kind of food are they going to force us to eat on the plane, what does it REALLY look like, and what food are the folks in 1st Class enjoying that we don't know about? - all with PHOTOS!
I don't diligently track news out of my alma mater Baylor University and Waco, but when Matt Drudge has a Baylor murder story at the top of his page, then something big has definitely happened.
Apparently, sixth man Carlton Dotson (transferred from the Paris, TX ju-co) allegedly shot and killed his teammate Patrick Dennehy. If you follow the Patrick Dennehy link, you'll find that he transferred from UNM and was apparently a strong player for the Lobos. Sorry, Dad. Apparently UNM doesn't pay its players as well as Southern Baptists do.
I did check and Carlton Dotson is no relation to Baylor football standout Santana Dotson. Dotson was an intimidating Baylor defensive tackle from 1988-1991. In 1990, he led the team to defeat the U of Colorado team that had won the championship the year before. Baylor went on to a peak ranking of #8 in the nation... before sputtering and crashing as usual. Don't even get me started about the Big 12 conference..
REID TRIP TO PORTLAND UPDATE
Today I received final confirmation of travel plans for Mom, Tom & Kate. Unfortunately, Tom & Kate will not be able to come to Portland next week as was being discussed. Tom has a lot of studying to do for his bar exam...whiskey & vermouth for a Manhattan, brandy & vermouth for a Wachdorf Manhattan, and scotch & vermouth for a Rob Roy...bu-dum-bum (Jill just winced).
Kate is apparently booked solid at her job with Hanna & Brophy. Send complaints about Kate's work schedule to Richard Brophy at rbrophy@hannabrophy.com - JUST KIDDING. We wouldn't really do that to you Kate. We're disappointed you two won't be able to make it. We looked forward to having a good time with you. Besides, Jill's mother won't take the contest prize, so we thought Hemingway could use a friend!
Mom, on the other hand, will be flying LUV on July 4th on Flight 1776, no less. She arrives at 11:10 am and will depart for Las Vegas on Sunday the 13th at 4:55 pm. She'll be here a full week - Tom, on second thought, I think I'll need that whiskey and vermouth. Actually, we'll be picking berries, canning jam, and hitting some 4th of July events among other things. We'll visit Bend, Oregon on Saturday, July 12th. We look VERY forward to her visit and hope to knock her socks off with our hospitality. Mom was disappointed to hear that Peacock In The Park had already occured; she's bringing her digital camera with her to prove to folks in Las Vegas how weird Portland truly is - specifically, the fact that we dare to go outdoors in July.
BANGKOK TICKETS PURCHASED!!
Well, it's a done deal. We went over to the travel agent and purchased our tickets for Bangkok, Thailand. We'll be leaving Portland on August 8th and will be returning on the 30th. We'll be flying Cathay Pacific Airlines, whose hub is Hong Kong. That's how we were able to have the free two-day layover to see the sights in Hong Kong. Our flight from San Francisco is 14 hours and we'll be time travelers, actually arriving on the 10th of August rather than the 9th because we're crossing the international dateline. On the way back, we'll be travelling back in time one day.. Heavy, Doc!
The flights between Hong Kong and Bangkok are about two hours each, so that's no problem at all. The travel agent told us that the seats are actually spaced for smaller, Asian passengers.. but she did tell us how to get the exit row for more space on the Hong Kong flights. She also said first class on Cathay Pacific is quite an experience.. bed-like reclining seats and all kinds of other perks. Then she told us the tickets started at $6,000 U.S. for Business Class. I must have Scottish heritage because after I coughed, I felt more than willing to pocket the difference and fly with my chin resting on my knees for 14 hours.
IN UPCOMING UPDATES - What the heck kind of food are they going to force us to eat on the plane, what does it REALLY look like, and what food are the folks in 1st Class enjoying that we don't know about? - all with PHOTOS!
Sunday, June 29, 2003
DOES THE GROUND FEEL COLDER TO YOU?
In what I consider to be an incredible development, it appears that Palestinian terrorist groups have all agreed to temporarily halt murdering Israelis. Someone send the devil a sweater! Alternatively, if this holds, I'm optimistic about the possibility of a peace agreement. After all, there very nearly was one in 2000 before Arafat spiked it.
We don't have cable TV, so I can only assert that this development is being drowned out on the news channels by the more popular, though clearly less important, Katherine Hepburn death story. I can't say I was ever much of a fan of hers. Well, what two celebrities are next? I fear Bob Hope is feeling a little nervous right now.
On the other hand, I had a greater appreciation for Gregory Peck, mostly due to his role as Atticus Finch, among others. As Jill said that night the story of his death broke: "Well, Bill, now you're the sexiest man on the planet."
YARD WORK CONTINUES
Jill finally got to put her 5th anniversary present to good use today. We rearranged the patio and put her water fountain outside, which features a maiden pouring water out into a basin. It looks great surrounded by the citrus plants and one of the banana trees.
I spent the whole day moving a lot of dirt and gravel. At one point though, I was taken aback by how I told Jill that I was going to put a handful of weeds into the yard debris bin. "Just a second, I gotta put this thing in the thingy". Now who does THAT sound like?
HONG KONG POLITICAL PROBLEMS
Here's a link to an interesting story in the British liberal newspaper The Guardian about how Hong Kong is struggling to honor its pledge to the UK to retain greater personal freedoms than mainland China given political pressure from Beijing. Not a huge surprise, but the story has more detail and history of Hong Kong than is normally found in U.S. papers.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently lifted its SARS travel ban to Hong Kong because the situation is now under control as measured by potential contagious cases and necessary incubation period. By August, all should be even more smooth. In the meantime, there's apparently a lot of good deals on hotels to be found and we're on the case.
In what I consider to be an incredible development, it appears that Palestinian terrorist groups have all agreed to temporarily halt murdering Israelis. Someone send the devil a sweater! Alternatively, if this holds, I'm optimistic about the possibility of a peace agreement. After all, there very nearly was one in 2000 before Arafat spiked it.
We don't have cable TV, so I can only assert that this development is being drowned out on the news channels by the more popular, though clearly less important, Katherine Hepburn death story. I can't say I was ever much of a fan of hers. Well, what two celebrities are next? I fear Bob Hope is feeling a little nervous right now.
On the other hand, I had a greater appreciation for Gregory Peck, mostly due to his role as Atticus Finch, among others. As Jill said that night the story of his death broke: "Well, Bill, now you're the sexiest man on the planet."
YARD WORK CONTINUES
Jill finally got to put her 5th anniversary present to good use today. We rearranged the patio and put her water fountain outside, which features a maiden pouring water out into a basin. It looks great surrounded by the citrus plants and one of the banana trees.
I spent the whole day moving a lot of dirt and gravel. At one point though, I was taken aback by how I told Jill that I was going to put a handful of weeds into the yard debris bin. "Just a second, I gotta put this thing in the thingy". Now who does THAT sound like?
HONG KONG POLITICAL PROBLEMS
Here's a link to an interesting story in the British liberal newspaper The Guardian about how Hong Kong is struggling to honor its pledge to the UK to retain greater personal freedoms than mainland China given political pressure from Beijing. Not a huge surprise, but the story has more detail and history of Hong Kong than is normally found in U.S. papers.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently lifted its SARS travel ban to Hong Kong because the situation is now under control as measured by potential contagious cases and necessary incubation period. By August, all should be even more smooth. In the meantime, there's apparently a lot of good deals on hotels to be found and we're on the case.
Saturday, June 28, 2003
-CORRECTION-
Yesterday, I stated that Judy first guessed "England" and then "Greenland," where we then in turn declared her the contest winner. In fact, on her third try she guessed "Thailand" and is, therefore, authentically declared the winner.
SANDY DOG NOT DOING WELL
We learned today that Sandy, Jill's parents' 13-yr old golden lab, has taken a turn for the worse in her bout with cancer. Not willing to eat this morning, she apparently started eating later in the day. Jill picked up some natural medicine information for Sandy from Sundaye's naturopathic vet. We sure hope she gets better; she's been a great, if not enthusiastic, puppy dog.
Sundaye had these words to say: Hope Sandy feels better. That natural food's not bad, but the acupuncture is no picnic.
DAVE REID BORED IN GILLETTE, WYOMING
I spoke with dad in his Gillette hotel room this morning and he was so bored that he actually hung in there for a conversation that lasted longer than five minutes. Apparently he's already visited most every Indian battleground within a 100 mile radius of his hotel. He didexaggerate report that he and Steve "Nosmo King" Reid hauled in more than 30 brook and rainbow trout at one of Steve's infamous fishing holes the other day.
I took a look at the following link to the Gillette Visitor's Bureau and there's PLENTY to do there! Holy cow, who wouldn't want to go to an RV Rally or take a coal mine tour? In fact, Gillette is officially the Energy Capital of the Nation with 15 active mines, a few of which are the largest in the world.
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR DAD???
On a different note, as soon as I get my picture storage site up and running, we'll be able to put some of his digital camera pictures on here for everyone to see... so long as they're not all oil rigs.
TOM AND KATE HEADED BACK TO SACRAMENTO
After a week of laying tile and painting in Las Vegas, Tom finally gets to head back to balmy Sacramento tomorrow morning (Sunday - 29th) with Kate, who flew down for the weekend.
Jill and I just wanted to say that we promise we'll be easier on you, Kate, if you are able to come up here in a couple of weeks! The weather is nicer, the berries are in season, and we'll be on our best behavior... but please, no trips to Long John Silver's.
Yesterday, I stated that Judy first guessed "England" and then "Greenland," where we then in turn declared her the contest winner. In fact, on her third try she guessed "Thailand" and is, therefore, authentically declared the winner.
SANDY DOG NOT DOING WELL
We learned today that Sandy, Jill's parents' 13-yr old golden lab, has taken a turn for the worse in her bout with cancer. Not willing to eat this morning, she apparently started eating later in the day. Jill picked up some natural medicine information for Sandy from Sundaye's naturopathic vet. We sure hope she gets better; she's been a great, if not enthusiastic, puppy dog.
Sundaye had these words to say: Hope Sandy feels better. That natural food's not bad, but the acupuncture is no picnic.
DAVE REID BORED IN GILLETTE, WYOMING
I spoke with dad in his Gillette hotel room this morning and he was so bored that he actually hung in there for a conversation that lasted longer than five minutes. Apparently he's already visited most every Indian battleground within a 100 mile radius of his hotel. He did
I took a look at the following link to the Gillette Visitor's Bureau and there's PLENTY to do there! Holy cow, who wouldn't want to go to an RV Rally or take a coal mine tour? In fact, Gillette is officially the Energy Capital of the Nation with 15 active mines, a few of which are the largest in the world.
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR DAD???
On a different note, as soon as I get my picture storage site up and running, we'll be able to put some of his digital camera pictures on here for everyone to see... so long as they're not all oil rigs.
TOM AND KATE HEADED BACK TO SACRAMENTO
After a week of laying tile and painting in Las Vegas, Tom finally gets to head back to balmy Sacramento tomorrow morning (Sunday - 29th) with Kate, who flew down for the weekend.
Jill and I just wanted to say that we promise we'll be easier on you, Kate, if you are able to come up here in a couple of weeks! The weather is nicer, the berries are in season, and we'll be on our best behavior... but please, no trips to Long John Silver's.
Friday, June 27, 2003
WE HAVE A WINNER!!
Mrs. Judy Korynasz of Eagle Point, Oregon
has won our "guess the vacation destination" sweepstakes. CONGRATULATIONS!
Judy's guess, Greenland, was deemed by the judges as "close enough for government work." Her first guess, England, was probably closer to the true answer given all three clues available here: warm climate - popular destination - and many languages. But since we love her anyway, we're sending her the prize! Expect a tattered box stamped Third Class in just a few days. Oh, and for your own safety, don't open the box too quickly or near your face.
The correct answer was: THAILAND
with a free two-day stop-over in HONG KONG
(No.. not stuck at the airport)
MORE UPDATES LATER!!
Mrs. Judy Korynasz of Eagle Point, Oregon
has won our "guess the vacation destination" sweepstakes. CONGRATULATIONS!
Judy's guess, Greenland, was deemed by the judges as "close enough for government work." Her first guess, England, was probably closer to the true answer given all three clues available here: warm climate - popular destination - and many languages. But since we love her anyway, we're sending her the prize! Expect a tattered box stamped Third Class in just a few days. Oh, and for your own safety, don't open the box too quickly or near your face.
The correct answer was: THAILAND
with a free two-day stop-over in HONG KONG
(No.. not stuck at the airport)
MORE UPDATES LATER!!
BLOG PROGRESS
Well, I'm working on a method by which photos can be posted to this site. With help from the Rhode Island office and a greenlight from the boss, I'll likely set up a folder on our company webserver where I can store our photos or any others that are sent by anyone along with narrative or updates.
Until then, you'll have to just be satisfied with my witty text of exciting topics.
CONTEST UPDATE
Response has NOT been overwhelming, to say the least. I truly expected someone would correctly guess where Jill and I are going for vacation already. Remember: warm - popular - lotsa languages - "___land"
You better hurry. I can't truly tell due to the brown wrapping, but by the sound of it, the prize has mangled the inside of the box since last night and I can't remember if there were holes for air.
DONOTCALL.GOV
It appears I'm not the only one tired of having to get up off the couch during dinner or bongo monkey to talk to a rude telemarketer. The federal website http//donotcall.gov received 1,000 sign-ups per second today in its first day and will likely top 2 million home phone numbers by tonight.
You have all summer long to sign up three phone numbers at a time, but political and charitable groups are exempt.
Well, I'm working on a method by which photos can be posted to this site. With help from the Rhode Island office and a greenlight from the boss, I'll likely set up a folder on our company webserver where I can store our photos or any others that are sent by anyone along with narrative or updates.
Until then, you'll have to just be satisfied with my witty text of exciting topics.
CONTEST UPDATE
Response has NOT been overwhelming, to say the least. I truly expected someone would correctly guess where Jill and I are going for vacation already. Remember: warm - popular - lotsa languages - "___land"
You better hurry. I can't truly tell due to the brown wrapping, but by the sound of it, the prize has mangled the inside of the box since last night and I can't remember if there were holes for air.
DONOTCALL.GOV
It appears I'm not the only one tired of having to get up off the couch during dinner or bongo monkey to talk to a rude telemarketer. The federal website http//donotcall.gov received 1,000 sign-ups per second today in its first day and will likely top 2 million home phone numbers by tonight.
You have all summer long to sign up three phone numbers at a time, but political and charitable groups are exempt.
CONTEST STILL GOING
We still don't have a winner in our "guess the vacation destination" sweepstakes. I can't imagine what would be keeping people from guessing, much less the correct answer. After all, the grand prize is truly special, and I don't just mean that in a short bus sort of way.
Okay, I'll sweeten the pot: I'll cover postage for the prize for whomever correctly guesses the destination.
We still don't have a winner in our "guess the vacation destination" sweepstakes. I can't imagine what would be keeping people from guessing, much less the correct answer. After all, the grand prize is truly special, and I don't just mean that in a short bus sort of way.
Okay, I'll sweeten the pot: I'll cover postage for the prize for whomever correctly guesses the destination.
Thursday, June 26, 2003
Wow, okay. That didn't take long. Something interesting really did happen.
Turns out we are actually going to be able to take a vacation this year. Here's the fun part for you - guess where we're going and you win an orange cat.
I'll give you a hint: It's a very popular tourist destination, it's warm all year round and you'll hear many languages spoken there. Give up?
One last hint.. fill in the blank: "____land"
Click the Bill email link to the left and guess your way to a fantastic prize!!
Turns out we are actually going to be able to take a vacation this year. Here's the fun part for you - guess where we're going and you win an orange cat.
I'll give you a hint: It's a very popular tourist destination, it's warm all year round and you'll hear many languages spoken there. Give up?
One last hint.. fill in the blank: "____land"
Click the Bill email link to the left and guess your way to a fantastic prize!!
Good Day and Welcome to the Bill and Jill blog live from Hillsboro, Oregon.
In between extended spells of laziness or indifference, we'll update this site with any information that we might find interesting, important, or worthy of documentation for posterity. Over time, we'll invite submissions from family and friends for the benefit of all who might be unlucky enough to stumble upon this site.
Until then, welcome... and pick up after yourself before you leave.
In between extended spells of laziness or indifference, we'll update this site with any information that we might find interesting, important, or worthy of documentation for posterity. Over time, we'll invite submissions from family and friends for the benefit of all who might be unlucky enough to stumble upon this site.
Until then, welcome... and pick up after yourself before you leave.
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