CECILIA WACHDORF VISITS PORTLAND

Cecilia, Judy's cousin from Florida, was in Portland for the better part of last week for a Midwifery convention. Cecilia recently earned her Ph.D. in public health with focus on midwifery practices nationally and internationally. She's been delivering babies for a few score now, including in ABQ and Papua-New Guinea, and her research has been well received in various speaking engagements she's had nationwide.



After the conference, she stayed at John and Judy's for a couple of nights visiting and touring the area. Apparently, a visit to a historical graveyard was a part of the tour, interestingly enough. Gabriel got to meet his third cousin that was an invaluable source of advice to his Mom and Dad during the pregnancy.

Thank you, Cecilia, we all very much enjoyed your visit and look forward to another chance in the future.

ACID REFLUX AND EVIL ZANTAC

Sweet Gabriel boy, whose photo was updated in the left margin as you can see, has been diagnosed as having infant acid reflux. He's creating too much stomach acid and can't keep it all down sometimes, so it irritates his little system and interrupted his sleep - not to mention Mom and Dad's sleep.

But Dr. Snyder figured it was likely acid reflux which is surprisingly common in infants. So now, Gabriel gets a 1.5ml of mint-scented Zantac twice a day. The stuff is horrid and Gabriel's shrieking reaction to its flavor is completely understandable. I tried the stuff and it'll be a miracle if he doesn't develop a phobia for mint because of it.

It also turns out that Jerry and Sue's son Henry also has acid reflux, though he's better than four years old and likely takes the meds a bit better. Poor fellow.

But, things are better and the future's so bright, Gabriel's gotta wear shades.


OFFER MADE ON YAMHILL COUNTY RESIDENCE

Mom and Dad made a lower-ball offer on the house and five acres, but we'll see if it's received and accepted. Meanwhile, Dad is now on a three week-on/one week-off schedule in Tulsa. Mom has been in Las Vegas & Gallup over the past 10 or so days and will be back up here this weekend with Me-ma.

PACKERS-'SKINS GAME TO DETERMINE PRESIDENT

I've been beating this drum a bit too much lately, but whoever wins the Oct. 31st game between the Packers and the Redskins will determine the presidential election.

Madness! you say?! Well, it's true that for every presidential election since 1936, the outcome of the last Redskins home game before the election determines who wins the White House. It goes like this:

Redskins Win = Incumbent Party Wins White House
Redskins Lose = Challenging Party Wins

So, if you're a Democrat, you're a Cheesehead on Halloween. But if you're honest with yourself, is this really what you want to align yourself with?


TRIUMPH AT THE THIRD DEBATE

You have to have a slightly crude sense of humor to appreciate Triumph the Insult Comic Dog - he can be inconsistently funny/crude - but every now and then he scores dramatically on assignment for Conan O'Brien.

This link is to Triumph's appearance in the "Spin" Room after the third presidential debate in Arizona. He actually gets to encounter and provoke actual pundits and party hacks, some of them with serious political power.

It's a big download, but very much worth the wait. Warning: Marginally SFW... keep the volume low Just click on the photo of Triumph, wait and enjoy!

UPDATE: ERUPTION PHOTO

Here's a still-shot of Mount St. Helens from the USFS VolcanoCam I've linked to the left. It was off for a while, but back on now.. for a while.



To clarify, Mount St. Helens is apparently blowing off steam according to this article in the Seattle P.I.

I suppose this proves that volcanos release tension with methods other than those recommended by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia as reported by The Guardian UK newspaper.
Warning: Link NSFW, apparently unless you work for the Supreme Court.

UPDATE: MOUNT ST. HELENS ERUPTS

You wouldn't know it from my live WebCam link because traffic to the original USFS site is so heavy, but Mount St. Helens indeed has erupted. I'd guess that the eruption is a "medium" one given the fact that a sizeable plume of ash extended a few thousand feet straight up (by my estimate) and then drifted west and then south.

The four of us here in the office headed up to the roof of the building and got a pretty decent view of the volcano, though visibility is marred by haziness despite a beautiful, sunny day. No loud explosions or anything else to report. Local traffic helicopters were taking off and flying towards the crater when we arrived to the top of our 12-story building.

I don't think air traffic will be too affected, though commuter flights between Seattle and Portland are the most likely affected. Winds are pretty calm, though if they pick up, Portland International Airport is right along the south bank of the Columbia River and could get a faint dusting.

As soon as I get a good webcam photo, if possible, I'll perma-post it and update with more info.