FUEL CRUNCH HITS SANTA

Looks like the fuel cost crisis has hit the North Pole.

"ONE OF US IS EVIL"

Can you guess which one below? Here's a link to the Bad Santa Photo contest entries, now more than ever this year.



APOCALYPTO

As much grief as Mel Gibson catches for his movies, particularly the last one, he's doing some pretty daring stuff.. making a mainstream hit out of an independent film entirely in Palestinian Aramaic. He's back with another period piece: an epic set in the Mayan empire filmed entirely in Mayan dialects.

Here's the trailer... cool beans.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JILL

Today is Jill's 3Xth birthday and I'm such a rotten husband that I had to be out of town today on a business trip to Boise. However... we plan to formally celebrate this weekend. But I did surprise her with a well-received gift this morning.

Happy Birthday, Sweety!

UH OH!

Gabriel has a new, favorite thing to say and his timing is quite remarkable.

"Gabriel, Gramma Dianne is headed back to Portland." --> "Uh Oh."

"Gabriel, Gramma Judy is coming over to see you." --> "Uh Oh."

Uh Oh, indeed!

I'LL TAKE MANHATTAN

I'm sitting in Boise right now, but Tom is presently enjoying Manhattan. Away on a job assignment, Tom is working in the financial district not too far from the World Trade Center site. His temporary office is on the top floor of a large building that gives a clear view of the Brooklyn Bridge and all points east.

Here's a link to the Google map of where he is located. It looks like if he steps outside and looks west, he can see the Statue of Liberty.

He says he's explored several must-see landmarks and will have a more detailed report soon. Ed Sullivan Theater?

Here's a profile of Rockefeller Center's famous and celebrated Christmas decorations. Tom said he's already visited here.

ME-MA HAVING MORE TESTS

Me-ma is in the middle of a series of tests to determine the cause of her recently very bad headaches. So far, tests are inconclusive but the specialists have a good idea of the issue and hope to confirm. It sounds like she's in far more capable hands than a year ago when she was having heart problems.

We're keeping you in our prayers.

WYOMING PROPERTY CLOSES

Congratulations Mom & Dad. You are now the proud owners of 40 acres of view property in Pinedale, Wyoming. This is quite an exciting development.

I posted a picture of the views from their property of Brokeback Mountain The Grand Tetons back in November.

Here's a Google map pin-pointing Pinedale, less than an hour from Jackson Hole.

Below is the Pinedale webcam shot of the city with the mountains in the background.



CHRISTMAS WITH THE BUNNIES

The Christmas season is in full swing and we hope everyone is having a wonderful time. In my mind, the official kick-off is seeing Charlie Brown and George Bailey on TV.

One of the better internet sites I have seen lately is the Bunnies' versions of different movies... mostly scary ones. How scary can they be if cartoon bunnies re-enact them (in 30 seconds or less.. Jaws is a favorite of mine... We're gonna need a bigger boat).

They've also done Christmas movies, and here they are:

It's a Wonderful Life
A Christmas Story

I'M EXHAUSTED

Yeah, I just got back from vacation, but I'm in the middle of some rather contentious projects and I just don't get around to updating as much as I'd like.

LUCKILY, NO MULE

First off, Mom and Dad have apparently put an offer in for 40 acres of lovely views in Pinedale, Wyoming. There's apparently another offer on the property, so nothing is clear at this point. But I'll report if something is announced. In the meantime, below is a photo of the most compelling aspect of the site. Pretty compelling, I'd say!



THE FLAVOR OF ALASKAN PORK

Instapundit.com, one of my favorite blogs, has been a leader in pushing for the recent Federal transportation bill to be reconsidered in light of hurricane disasters and the federal cost affected areas will incur. I applaud and support his and others' efforts to push Congress to repeal and cut some of the pork.

Alaska, specifically Rep. Don Young, has been a major target of scorn because of at least two audacious pork projects he recently secured. The projects seem a bit much to me, but at the same time I do understand the psychology that explains Young, Sen. Ted Stevens and Sen. Murkowski, Jr.

I distinctly remember a moment of my youth in Anchorage before the triumph of President Reagan over the Soviets. It was a viewing of the movie War Games. Remember that one, with Matthew Broderick as the nerd that nearly starts a nuclear war between the U.S. and the CCCP?

There's a moment in the movie where a computer illustration shows Alaska to be the first and perhaps the hardest hit of U.S. territory should nuclear war break out. I realize it's a Hollywood production, but there enough reality about Alaska's strategic military position to make the thought of nuclear annihiliation hit home.

So, this morning I sent an email to Professor Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit) providing my two cents' worth.

However, there is an underreported side to this story that I think provides context, but not necessarily justification for Alaska's appetite for largess.

During WWII and particularly the Cold War, Alaska was the front line of defense for the United States. During WWII, the Aleutians became the only "mainland" U.S. to actually be invaded by Japanese troops. During the Cold War, Alaska was the pre-eminent location for U.S. nuclear missiles aimed at the Soviet Union. Conversely, Alaska was the first and closest target for Soviet nuclear weapons should war occur due to our silos and Alaska's rich oil reserves. Finally, the vast majority of land mass of Alaska is owned by the Federal Government and regulated/controlled/restricted from development of most kinds that would enable greater economic expansion and possible diversification to make the State more self-sustained.

In other words, Alaska has much more in common with some of the South Pacific territories that per capita are just as subsidized - if not more so - than Alaskans. And like Alaska(ns), the South Pacific territories are shaping up to be (again) highly exploited by the U.S. military to project sea and air power into Asia if China becomes more belligerent.

Prof. Reynolds is barraged by email everyday, so I don't know that he'll respond. I just thought the above context was worth mentioning.

WAL-MART

One of the reasons I've been so busy is that one of the projects I have been working on includes the economic and fiscal impacts of Wal-Mart superstores when they propose to open a store, specifically in Washington state. Because of my findings, my analysis and testimony typically support Wal-Mart in their site planning applications. But as most people know, Wal-Mart is highly controversial and so it's not a simple matter.

The application of proposed store in Yelm, Washington was legally upheld recently that included some of my analysis and public testimony.

At that website, if you scroll down, Exhibits 102 and 103 are my resume and analysis, specifically, in case you're interested. The following is the text of the legal decision. In case you're interested, the issue of my testimony, economic impacts of Wal-Mart and blight, begins in the .pdf decision document on Page 21 (extreme bottom of the page) and continues through Page 26.

GABRIEL DOING WELL AND HALLOWEEN PHOTOS PENDING

Gabriel is now pretty well recovered from his recent ailments and full of the P&V. On Halloween, he dressed up like a little scarecrow, homemade costume courtesy of his Gramma Dianne. He was very cute and I promise photos are forthcoming.

RETURN OF THE GRAMMAS

After a multi-week hiatus, both Grammas are now back in town to spoil the you know what out of our lad. Gramma Dianne was on the road for a couple of weeks, but returned recently in time for Halloween. Gramma Judy flew in last night from Connecticut where she was enjoying a three-week visit with her sisters Sandy and Diana. Welcome Home!

TOM'S CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Tom is exploring a number of legal career opportunities right now, particularly in probate law. He's starting up his own practice to provide legal advisement on trusts, wills and other matters for people, hopefully in California and Oregon. He'll soon be attending a training on the matter in Portland. He also met with an established attorney in Sacramento for whom he might work to learn the ropes. But he's already signed onto a month-to-month lease of an office for his own practice so he's got some decidin' to do.

A revelation about the attorney he met with yesterday may be a deciding factor: her office is 50 footsteps from an In N Out Burger!

ROSEOLA AND AN EAR INFECTION

As if high fever and general ickyness weren't bad enough for Gabriel while we were in Sacramento over the weekend, the doctor confirmed last night that he now has an ear infection and prescribed antibiotics.

Poor little guy. Jill became alarmed when after his fever broke the day before yesterday, he developed a rash all over yesterda and he was very fussy and restless. The rash is the last stage of roseola I have now learned, but the ear infection is independent of that and needs to run its course, medicated naturally.

SACRAMENTO A SICKFEST

Poor Gabriel came down with his fever Saturday morning and suffered from illness the whole time we were there. Needless to say, the visit wasn't what we all had intended, but we did lay low and let him rest.

In the meantime, we enjoyed several visits to In and Out Burger (3x3 Animal Style!), the Borders Books Educators Weekend Sale, Java Cafe, and I got to see where Tom's new office is going to be as he starts up his own legal practice. (link promised in the future).

Tom and Kate have a very nice house with a huge lot, big pool and hot tub, waterfall, and great privacy with the landscaping that's in place. They admit they have much work to do outside - the previous owners let things go. But we were impressed with the amount of work they had done so far in such a short time.

We also got to see Kate's sister and her newlywed husband on Friday night. Then on Saturday, Kate's parents Ron and Cloris (sp?) visited to see Gabriel. They live not too far away and were busy with their own improvement project for their deck.

All in all, it was a pleasant visit, though Gabriel had a bad time due to illness. We visited two doctors while there just to be safe. That was an ordeal in and of itself. But all is well.

Besides, how bad can it be when Avis gives you a free upgrade to this:

WE'RE BACK

I hope to write more about our final week in the coming day or so. But in the meantime, the following photo, I think, says it all.



HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US

Today is Jill's and my 8th wedding anniversary. It's been a happy eight years, particularly the last 14 months. I love you, sweety!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MOM

Today is also Mom's birthday, though I won't say how many times she's celebrated her 39th birthday. Happy Birthday!

A WEEK ON THE NORTH COAST

It’s Tuesday and we’re now on the north coast in a rental home at Anini Beach.



Anini is located halfway between Princeville, a resort area, and Kiluea, the location of a picturesque lighthouse. The difference between the north coast and the south coast is very much like the difference between the west side of the Cascade Mountains and the east side. The north coast is lush, wetter and cooler. The south coast is sunnier, but definitely has more arid vegetation.

The north side, in my opinion, is prettier due to the wetter climate. Mountains are more dramatically carved by erosion, the jungle is more dense, and the agriculture is more varied. Hanalei is the site of a famously beautiful valley full of taro.



Geologically, the north coast has far more coral reefs off the shore, creating calmer waters for swimming and other fun. When we went for our first swim last night, Jill commented that Anini is like a giant swimming pool because there really were no waves. Gabriel loved it.

AVOID KOLOA LANDING COTTAGES

I seriously doubt anyone looking for accommodation on the south coast will bump into this website when they Google “Koloa Landing Cottages.” But just in case they do, they should read the following review I submitted to Fodors.com (and I'm not alone):

It was the filthiest, noisiest and most regrettable $150 per night we've ever spent anywhere (Sept. 2005).
The establishment has new owners that are not the same as the ones that get rave reviews elsewhere on the web - including Fodor's. The current owners are unresponsive and irresponsible in our finding.
The unit was FILTHY. Huge stains on the floor. Screens, shades and fans completely dirty. My wife had allergy issues while we were there as a result - with trade winds blowing through window screens it was still that bad. Hair left in the shower/bathroom. Mosquitos/blood killed and smeared on the walls at our arrival. Ants and cockroaches everywhere at night or day. Our second rental elsewhere at same price has been spotless.
The stove/range was completely inoperable and it took them until our third night to get a two-burner hot plate in the kitchen.
Pots and pans that were in terrible state and not safe to cook with. I won't even go into the grime and cockroach dust/filth I saw when standing on a chair cleaning up an ant trail on the wall.
Full payment is made upon arrival, so no recourse. We didn't see the female owner until we checked out. At check out, she asked what would be a fair discount/refund. She ignored the cost of having to eat out all the time and offered us minimal refund.
Having no recourse, we had to take it. She then had the gall to say that they would be buying a new stove AFTER we left (!) and then intimated that we just didn't do as good a job as she does of living cheaply as her. Traveling with a small child and at such short notice, finding an immediate alternate rental was not an option.
Until ownership again changes hands, I cannot more strongly recommend that people AVOID Koloa Landing Cottages at all costs. I have never felt more cheated by a lodging establishment than I do about this dump.

SECOND RENTAL INCREDIBLE

Our arrival at our second rental proved to be shocking: it is far cleaner and more beautiful than we could have hoped, particularly after the preceding week's accommodation.

Don't get me wrong: we had much fun on the south side swimming at Poipu beach and Baby beach, hiking, going to the market, sightseeing and enjoying the National Tropical Botanical Gardnens - Allerton and McBryde. In fact, we managed to go on a second hike, the Kukui Trail, that took us down a mile into the canyon for some unbelievable views. Gabriel had a great time going down, but coming back up he was a bit fussy if he couldn't see his Mama.

Despite all the fun, our expectations for our second rental were quite low. Well, we have been shocked ("This whole thing is ours?") It's been quite a treat the night we've been here so far and we look forward to having this as a home base for a week. Anini Beach is literally across the street. Gabriel could walk there himself, but he'd have to cross a semi-busy street. It's fantastic.

And speaking of Gabriel, he's up from his nap and we're off to the beach!

RAIN

It’s Friday, Day 5 of our Kaua’i trip, and the past three have been somewhat soggy. In Waimea last night, we heard from the local pizza joint that there are two storms off the coast of the Big Island. The result has been off-and-on showers and strong winds all over Kaua’i.

Poipu (The Sunny Side of Paradise!), our home base for the first week, has not been spared. Located on the south side of the island, it has a track record of typically-drier weather. Not so right now. There have been flash flood warnings all around and even the Allerton Garden had to close yesterday afternoon due to damage caused by water and wind. For us, vacation and rain go hand in hand.

The forecast calls for decreasing and isolated showers over the next couple of days. Then next week, when we are on the north side, it’s supposed to be much more typical this time of year - drier and sunny.

GABRIEL BECOMING A BEACH BUM

We’ve only managed to make it to the beach a few times so far: Tuesday at Baby Beach here in Poipu; last night (Thursday) at the beach in Waimea for a walk; and then this morning at Baby Beach again.

Gabriel wasn’t keen on the motion and noise of the waves when he first tried the water. He’d happily walk along the shoreline where the sand was modestly wet. Then we carried him out to waist-deep water and let him get in a bit more. He learned to relax in it, so long as he wasn’t right near a wave as it hit the beach. Towards the end of our two-hour stay, he learned to enjoy the water.

Baby Beach, hidden from most tourist traffic, is so named because of the many lava rocks out in the deeper water that do a good job of breaking up the waves.

Baby Beach


By the time they reach the shore, the waves are weak with very little current at all. The water is not deep and the sand doesn’t stretch out under the water too far, so swimming for an adult is not great without water socks. But for a little one like Gabriel, it’s fantastic. There’s even a small area of tidepools nearby, so he’s seen little fishes, crabs, and even a sea urchin.

At Waimea last night at dusk, we walked along the beach and watched the large, crashing waves. It was quite dramatic to see the large waves carry big, fluffy white foam across that beach’s black sand. Gabriel enjoyed walking through the foam with his little bare feet, leaving little foot prints all over the place.

This morning, we went to Baby Beach again and he really enjoyed himself. He held mommy’s hands and marched right down to the water to walk around in it, even with the waves. He soaked a while, then walked back out and around to the tidepools to walk on the rocks and enjoy the water. This morning he talked and giggled a lot, so he clearly has gotten the hang of the ocean.

WAIMEA CANYON AND HIKING

Wednesday, in a mostly successful attempt to avoid the rain, we headed to Waimea Canyon and Koke’e State Park to go for a hike.

Waimea Canyon


We didn’t get there until a little later, but the winding drive was worth it. At the Kalalau Viewpoint – the end of the road - we got an unbelievably clear view of the Kalalau Valley of the Na Pali Coast. The last time we were here, the valley was socked in by clouds and one couldn’t see a thing.

Kalalau Valley


On the way back, we stopped at Koke’e State Park to hike the Berry Flat Trail. It was roughly two miles and was not, unfortunately, very impressive. The vegetation was the most remarkable thing for us: groves of spindly guava trees, much passionflower overgrowth, banks of tall kahili and aromatic white ginger, and a nice assortment of coniferous trees. There were actually groves of California Redwoods that were planted in the 30s, for whatever reason – erosion prevention maybe.

We enjoyed the hike, but our theory is that for the typical Hawaiian, the vegetation is novel – conifers, blackberries and strawberries, etc. It was very much a temperate forest, in some ways like we have at home. But given other hikes that have better views of the canyon, we know we can do better next time.

POIPU: THE VERDICT

We’re having a good time visiting the south and west sides of the island. The west side has been good in particular due to its drier climate in the island’s rain shadow. Yesterday, avoiding the rain less successfully, we got to go to the farmers’ market in Hanapepe to buy tropical fruits and vegetables. And, Gabriel got to try shave ice (cold sugar water – yum!).

But in general, we find Poipu itself to be a less enjoyable location than we would have expected. Unless you’re able to afford $250+ per night at the nearby resorts, traveling independently here is difficult. Everything is spread out forcing you to drive a ways for everything including shopping, restaurants, going to the beach, or anything else, really. Nothing is really a short walk. That’s very different from other places we’ve been lucky enough to visit, like Playa del Carmen in Quintana Roo, Mexico or other places in Hawaii – like Waimea. This developed first as a resort area and it lacks the charm that a town would have. Koloa Town is more like what I’m talking about; and at least five minutes’ drive from here.

KOLOA LANDING COTTAGES: THE VERDICT

What a difference it makes to have a child. I think that now with Gabriel, we are far more concerned about certain issues of cleanliness and safety than we were before. Having said that, we haven’t been too impressed with our accommodations. Although we realize this is a rental home after all, the place is still too grimy (what exactly do they do with the cleaning fee at departure, anyway? Off Track Betting?) The gardens outside are lovely and they even have a variegated ginger plant that Jill covets. But unfortunately, we’re not renting the grounds, we’re renting the house.

We found out that the owner has been out of town and will be back today, Friday. I guess we’ll see if management will be a bit more responsive with her return. It took them three days – at $150 per night, mind you – to get a two-burner hot plate put into our kitchen so that we can prepare our own meals. The second night, they provided us with two camp-style stoves that expressly warn against using indoors. Most of the pots and pans they provide are Teflon with much of the coating scratched off or dangling, so it’s not safe to use most of them.

I suppose that given what we’ve been able to buy in accommodations elsewhere for $150 per night, including a Victoria Harbor-view room at the Hong Kong Sheraton (check out the rooftop pool and view.. it's really cool), this rental has honestly been a bit underwhelming – so far. But the view out the window is pleasant and we all are definitely enjoying our vacation, despite the weather and the stove problem. And, we hear that some sort of refund/credit offer will be likely for the inconvenience of an inoperable kitchen. We shall see.

GASOLINE PRICES – YOU THINK YOU HAVE IT BAD?

Kaua’i is presently sporting an average gas price at roughly $3.80 per gallon of regular. That’s right, nearly $4.00 per gallon. I won’t even say what I spent last night to fill up the Trailblazer we rented. Oh, and let’s not forget the $5.00 loaves of whole wheat bread.

Alternatively, Hawaiian Host Caramacs at the Lihue Wal-Mart are half the price we pay at home. Huzzah!

BEST FLIER AWARD GOES TO...

Gabriel Francis, of course. Two flights and nearly 7 hours by plane didn't seem to greatly phase him, even with a somewhat rough landing in Honololu. I arrived feeling sluggish and with a headache; Jill had the same but with a bout of nausea thrown in.

We actually arrived into Kaua'i on an earlier flight that scheduled because we remembered to check with the help desk for seats on the soonest flight after arrival. You can easily change your tickets to leave on any flight between islands... usually. That wasn't our experience last time, of course.

So now we're in our rental home in Poipu. Not all is pleasant here, yet anyway. The stove doesn't work and we haven't yet heard back from them about whether or not they can fix it. The whole point of staying in the rental home was for Jill to be able to cook things without wheat (even soy sauce has it! - not easy to avoid in Hawaii) and fix Gabriel things whenever he gets hungry. So, feeling ill and tired and having the realization that the rental house is defective, it wasn't a pleasant day yesterday.

Ah, but Gabriel is a trooper... literally. He's trooping all over the house on his own, even holding objects in one hand and both. He's really taking to walking very quickly and happily. He still falls on his behind frequently, and he still will wall-walk and crawl, but his bipedal wanderings are longer and more ambitious each time.

It'll take a while for all of us to get used to the time and daylight difference. We're three hours behind Pacific time. We were all basically awake by 4:30am local time this morning/7:30am Pacific. All in good time, I suppose.

Well, we have arrived safely and we're looking forward to daily adventures. We'll keep things updated as time allows. Gotta run.. Gabriel got his head caught in the backpack.

Okay, back. Here's a message from Gabriel:

ug thyvj nbvhy`dub` n hghtyhgbv cdc``n j8h87

Aloha!

GABR-GABR-GABR

Little Boy has slowly been learning to say his own name. His babbling started out as gobba-gobba-gobba.. sounding a little bit like a gobbling turkey. But recently, he's added a distinct "r" sound to the end and he's clearly saying gabr-gabr-gabr.

A skeptic might say he's just babbling random sounds. But what a coincidence that his babbling should be growing in complexity and similarity to his own name, a word he hears us say very regularly. We don't think it's coincidence.. he's clearly mimicking the syllables of his name.

Speaking of mimicking, here's a shot of Gabriel growling back at me and showing off his teeth.



He also now has 11 teeth, can stand on his own without assistance from object or person and is taking a few steps in between furniture. He's learned how to make the Indian tremolo sound with his hand and mouth.

UNCLE TOM & AUNT KATE VISIT

Gabriel got to visit with his favorite aunt and uncle, Kate and Tom. They flew up from Sacramento to visit for a long weekend. Activities were a bit limited with Gabriel's nap schedule and the fact that Kate unfortunately caught the cold that was passing around up here. I was knocked out by it and didn't make it to my company's summer barbecue as a result.

But when they were here, Gabriel quickly reacquainted with Tom & Kate and had a great time playing with them. We had smoked red (sockeye) salmon on the grill before they left, so the weekend wasn't lost.

Thanks for coming up!

FUNDRAISER UPDATE

We recently received another $300 donation and a $35 donation, bringing the grand total up to $1,835.

Thank you everyone for your generosity. We greatly appreciate it. We urge you to also give to charities helping with Hurricane Katrina aftermath.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO MISS NEW ORLEANS?

I certainly do - my undergrad years in Waco and my friendship with Bryan Moore, then of Covington, LA, allowed me a handfull of trips to New Orleans. I have yet been to a city of more distinct character and flavor... and the home of Ignatius J. Reilly.

Which is why it saddens me so greatly that the City has taken the hit that it has. So, I urge anyone and everyone to donate money to relief efforts for that wonderful town and the surrounding areas deveastated by Hurricane Katrina.

My charity of choice was The Salvation Army. You can designate that your money goes specifically to Hurricane Katrina relief.

Instapundit has a nice round-up of various charities that one can send money to and be confident that it gets spent efficiently.

The Times-Picayune has bravely weathered the storm and its resulting dangers to provide crucial reporting of conditions and events. I urge everyone to give it a read.

Craigslist in New Orleans has turned their Lost & Found classified section into a Missing Persons page where people are able to post inquiries about lost relatives and other loved ones. Give this a read, too.

Our prayers go out to the victims and the relief workers in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

By the way, for those interested, of the two retailers below, one has already donated $1 million to the Salvation Army for early hurricane relief and invites customers to donate and one has offered no donation and only directs customers to a website to donate their own money.

Costco
Wal-Mart

GABRIEL HAS A (MOSTLY) HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY

Gabriel's 1st birthday luau was a fun time and his cake was definitely a hit as he demonstrates below. He's begun to eat wheat now, and the cake was his first major intro. He did not complain.



We thank all of those who attended - even Grandpa Dave was able to be here - and Gabriel thanks you for his birthday presents. He did seem to have forgotten all about the bee sting he got two days before his birthday, so all was well.

So for fun, and to prove the old cliche "they grow up so fast," here's a side-by-side of his first photo ever posted to this website, taken the morning of his birth, and a photo taken right before his birthday (and minutes before the bee sting).



As for my birthday, it was fun turning 29. I've enjoyed it so much, I've done it four times. I highly recommend it. Plus, among other nice gifts, I got a great DVD collection of the Yes, Prime Minister BBC TV series from Jill.

WEBSITE SABBATICAL

Yes, I've not updated in a long time. I'm not going to bother writing about everything that has happened, so fuggedaboudit. I've been a bit busy, much of it with work.

Now that I'm driving into work, though, I have to say I see some crazy things along the freeway. There's been a lot of construction lately on the Sunset Highway.. like this:




FUNDRAISER UPDATE

We received another donation for $35, so now we can send on another bit of money to the Quilas. Thank you all!

TOM AND KATE ARRIVING FRIDAY

Aunt Kate and Uncle Tom will be arriving to visit this Friday. They'll be staying the whole weekend. Gabriel will be delighted to have four new arms to help him walk around.

WE'RE HALFWAY THERE!

This is just an update to say that we have hit the half-way point on our fundraiser. We received another generous, firm $200 donation, so we are now at $1,500 firm and are awaiting a $100 pledge.

Thank your for your generosity! You know who you are!

You'll get a personal thank you also, of course.

Gabriel says Thank You, too!

FUNDRAISER UPDATE

I'm happy to announce that of the $3,000 we hoped to send to our Guatemalan family for materials for their new house, we've received $1,300 firm and have a pledge for $100 that hasn't yet arrived.

Thank you all for your generosity!

But I have to plead: we're not yet half way there. We did, however, receive an email from Vivi yesterday. We sent an advance of $1,000 based on what was generated through Wednesday. Vivi wrote to say that her family is incredibly grateful and overjoyed at being able to build a new, bigger place that's safer for their family.

I recall the last time we were there, they had a rat problem (the cheeky rodents scurried across the roof, visibly, while we ate dinner). I imagine it hasn't gotten much better in the meantime. But that didn't stop them from being gracious hosts to us while we visited Guatemala City.

Hopefully this weekend we'll have some photos of their family on-line so everyone can see who we're helping and learn a little about life in Guatemala.

Thank you all again! You know who you are!

And if you haven't already, please consider donating to help this very brave and warm Guatemalan family we've been privelaged to know for more than ten years now. Just click the Paypal button to the left and a secure credit card transaction/purchase can be set up if you don't have a Paypal account already.

GUATEMALAN FAMILY FUNDRAISER ALMOST UNDERWAY

As you can see in the margin to the left, I have added a Paypal Donate button. We are in the early stages of raising funds for our Guatemalan family, the Rucuch Quila's in Guatemala City (Villa Nueva, actually).

Vivi wrote Jill to say that their ramshackle home is finally about to give out and they desperately need to build a new home. As many of you know, their current home is made up of corrugated metal, cardboard, 2x4s, blue tarps and some cinderblock masonry they've managed to put together over the past few years. We have sent them money occasionally over the years, but its mostly been for other big expenses, including emergency medical care and college tuition for Vivi.

We hope to post more extensively about Vivi and her family, many of whom still work for CONAVIGUA, a human rights organization of Guatemalan civil war widows. In the meantime, we invite anyone and everyone so inclined to help us with our goal of $3,000. That's all that's required to build a home big enough for 5-6 people where they live. Vivi insists on an interest-free loan, but we'd really rather just send them the money as a lump-sum gift.

You can donate by clicking the Paypal button to the left - it's secure.. EBay owns it and uses it - or you can contact me directly with questions and/or further instructions.

Thank you for your time and generosity!

FUN WITH THE LOONY LEFT PART II

Well, I got some response to my comments yesterday at the website I mentioned, BlueOregon.com

Someone responded that Wal-Mart creates sprawl, but when pressed they couldn't give a satisfactory answer to how sprawl, defined as uncontrolled development, is controlled in Oregon by a UGB, even though one might not like the type of development that's occurring.

It's clear that by "sprawl," at least in Oregon, opponents of Wal-Mart really mean "development I personally don't like." UGH.

Here's the link for a continuation of the dialog. I made the point this morning that since the Supreme Court has ok'd governments taking private property to benefit a private developer (under the thin veneer of "economic development"), and since our urban growth boundary has helped push land prices sky high, lower-income individuals living in mobile home parks are threatened with homelessness because their largest asset - their homes - are in jeopardy.

So I pose the question, what's worse: more traffic from a Wal-Mart OR hundreds of people threatened with being homeless because of too-restrictive land-use rules in Orygun?

FUN WITH THE LOONY LEFT PART I

I'm not pleased about today's Supreme Court decision that allows municipalities to seize private property for the purposes of economic development that benefit private parties. It's terrible interpretation of the Constitution and frankly, it just emboldened powerful land owners and their corrupt city partners.

So, to get rid of some of my frustration, I'm going to have some fun with the unhinged opponents of "Sprawl-Mart" or as normal, thinking people call them, Wal-Mart. Yeah, they're big, cheap and buy a lot from China. So what? We all do. But a meme has gathered steam to the effect that Wal-Mart is the root of all evil. In some places they've accelerated the decline of the local economy, but in other areas they're just like any other big box retailer if you really look into it.

Well, a local website BlueOregon.com had one of these unhinged Wal-Mart activists talk about how a proposed Wal-Mart in Gresham, Oregon needs to be opposed because Wal-Marts cause sprawl. That's clearly impossible as Oregon cities literally have lines drawn around them, called Urban Growth Boundaries (UGBs), that restrict development outside of the boundary. So how, exactly, does Wal-Mart cause sprawl with a store well within the boundary? Who knows.. but the guy who wrote this screed apparently does.

Below the article, I wrote a critical comment and I'm curious to see what kind of response to this I get:

Posted by: Bill | June 23, 2005 03:57 PM

Can someone please explain to me exactly how Wal-Mart causes sprawl in Oregon when it must abide by Oregon's land-use planning regs, including urban growth boundaries which restrict expansion, among other things.

Since technically you can't have sprawl when there's literally a line drawn around what can be developed and keeping everything else off-limits, what exactly does the unhinged opposition mean by sprawl?
Traffic?
Development in general?

It seems to me that if individuals support a UGB and all related planning to make a place more "liveable" (whatever the hell that means), one needs to get used to the idea that things are going to be crammed in more densely - including Wal-Mart.

Here goes nothing!

HAPPY BELATED 30TH BIRTHDAY TO TOM

It seems he had a nice birthday on the 30th. Here's his summary of the festivities:

Yeah, we had a pretty good party. Most of Kate's family, some friends from work and Chris were there.. We got to meet some of the new neighbors too, so that was good. We have two retired people, a stay at home mom and her husband, and a veterinarian and her husband living next door to us. Yeah, i talked to mom and Andi yesterday morning. They called around 8am just as I was getting up. And dad called me yesterday (seems mom reminded him it was yesterday and not today!).

YES, I'VE BEEN BAD ABOUT POSTING

I've been quite busy. To the left is a new photo of Gabriel, courtesy of his Gramma Dianne. As time allows, I'll post.

GABRIEL A FUSSY EATER

He's just coming out of a fussy eating phase where all he'd eat was either milk or little rice-based snack crackers flavored with juice. The doctor wanted to see him, but ended up not being worried because he's still gaining weight. Just a phase I guess.. lately he's been blowing out the cabinet of food of all sorts.

Lately, though, he's enjoyed fresh strawberries and boysenberries from our garden. Last night, we sat down and ate a peach together. He opens wide and bites right in and gnaws the thing to death, but he loves it.

He's in the beginning stages of trying to stand. And when assisted by holding an adult's hands, he'll walk all around the house non-stop until your back gives out. Plus, he loves to give kisses - but sneaks a bite in every now and then <NO BITING!>

Other developments: he's pulling himself up in his bed or by grabbing a table. He's pulled himself up by grabbing my hands for a long time now. He sits up on his own and loves to roll all around the floor after Nino.

Finally, and most impressively, the little guy is already demonstrating a fascination with bugs. When held in front of his bedroom curtains, decorated with all manner of colorful, cartoon garden bugs, if he's asked to pick out the ladybug he'll grab for it every time. Smart little guy.

Just remember this when you watch the Olympics in Beijing.

ANYONE IN SACRAMENTO NEED RAILROAD TIES?

Free Railroad Ties

TOM REID PASSES THE CALIFORNIA BAR

Tom called yesterday to break the news that he had passed the California Bar exam. He apparently found out late Friday afternoon and probably had a very celebratory weekend. Currently employed at E*Trade, Tom can now pursue positions with District Attorney's offices statewide, as well as a position in the California Department of Corrections if he chooses. He still apparently has a contact in the latter, where a job reviewing either parole appeals or death penalty verdicts (I can't remember) might materialize soon.

CONGRATULATIONS, TOM!

He can now breathe a sigh of relief and turn 30 with no regrets next week!

CORRUPTION AT LOCAL CHURCH BENEFIT AUCTION

That sounds a bit dramatic, but we had an evening of intrigue and disgust at an auction at a local church here in Hillsboro friday night. A dinner, silent auction and vocal auction was held at the Calvary Chapel Worship Center, located behind the Goodwill on Tualatin Valley Highway. Many local businesses and individuals donated items to be auctioned off, with all proceeds going to fund missionaries and relief work all over Africa.

Making the rounds, there were a few items that Jill and I took a shine to, particularly for putting in Gabriel's room: a Noah's Ark wall hanging, several quilts, and some original watercolor paintings of various scenes in Africa. One in particular had a homemade frame of Hawaiian hardwoods. It was quite a nice little item; very colorful for Gabriel's room.

Anyway, long story short, after rebidding on the item after anyone else bid to make sure I got it, the clock ticked down and as the bidding was publicly announced "closed," I noticed that my name was the last on the sheet with the highest bid. Woohoo!

The volunteers descended upon the table to circle all the final bids and make them official for later payment and pickup. As I waited to ask the volunteer handling the watercolor when/where pick-up was, she glanced around, hunched over and wrote her name & number below mine, circled it and, therefore, became the winning bidder on Gabriel's watercolor well after bidding ended.

Jill was nearby, also saw it, and we were both angry and disgusted. A volunteer. At a Church. Abusing her position of trust to violate the accepted rules of bidding. Stole away Gabriel's watercolor painting. How pathetic. If this were Christies or Sotherby's, her actions would be have been a felony.

I don't mind being beaten fair and square. In the grand scheme of things, the item was a small watercolor painting of minor value. And truly, the whole evening was for the benefit of those less fortunate than us.

But petty greed, and in my view more seriously, abuse of entrusted duties were demonstrated by a church-member volunteer right before our very eyes. That says paragraphs about that individual - the experience put a bad taste in our mouth about the church itself. If this woman was doing it, how many other member volunteers were as well? And how exactly does this help grow the church?

Neither of us were keen on the rest of the auction thereafter, much less the church itself. Most members were nice and we still think highly of our neighbors Greg and Sandy, who invited us to the event. I chatted with Greg a bit and he was the model volunteer. But it was a black eye on what was our date night for the week.

At the end, we managed to walk away with a different watercolor, though not as nice as the other, and a homemade baby quilt.

SUNDAYE NOT DOING WELL

Little Sundaye Korynasz, our 18-year-old long-haired cat, has undergone a serious decline in health lately. A kidney infection (what's left of her kidneys), weight loss and no appetite have made it next to impossible for her to take medication for the infection itself, her kidney function and her arthritis.

We will likely have a final consultation with her vet tomorrow- the one that helped her to have three more quality years of life after her traditional vet gave her 6 months due to kidney failure - and then will likely have Sundaye put to sleep.

Days are not happy of late at our house, understandably. I will have an update of the situation as soon as any development, positive or negative, occurs.

BUSY BUSY BUSY

I have been a bit busy lately and haven't had time to put together what I want to update. Long delayed items are still on my plate (Mother's Day, Gabriel's 9th month, Steve's wedding, etc.) but it's been a bit difficult to carve out the time. Soon enough.

GRAMMA REID IN THE HOSPITAL

I spoke to Gramma Reid on Mother's Day. She was in the hospital still with pneumonia in one of her lungs. She was feeling better than the previous two days and managed to have a decent conversation with me before getting tired.

I can honestly say I don't know of her current condition, but based on my experience talking to her she was on the mend. We keep her recovery in our prayers.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Our Mother's Day celebration was good.. Gabriel gave his mom a very nice gold locket not shaped like a heart and I gave Jill her favorite hot cocoa powder from Moonstruck Chocolates.

Then we went with Gramma Dianne, Gramma Judy and Grampa Koke to the Raccoon Lodge for a surprisingly good brunch (some of the other, fancier places were not good for scheduling around Gabriel's nap). Then we went to the garden of Barbara Blossum Ashmun, a well-known garden designer that leaves in Beaverton. She opens it up the public only on special occasions, including Mother's Day.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY WILL GARDNER (BELATEDLY)

Boy did I screw up the date. Will Gardner, the son of our Seattle Principal Matthew Gardner, celebrated his first birthday on Wednesday. Here's the most recent photo I have of him, from Christmas 2004.



Apparently, Will's mom and dad Dana and Matthew threw a nice party for Will Wednesday night. Will's Godfather even flew in from Paris for the occasion - apparently hand-delivering some very good champagne. Congrats to Dana and Matthew.

The Gardners have been extremely busy lately with Will's birthday and selling their home in Bellevue. I can't even begin to imagine the stress. But they have a new home picked out and look forward to the move and the new space for Will to cruise and then run around!

Happy Birthday, Will!

WEBSITE IS (SORTA) GLOBAL

Here's a graphical report of who reads this website by worldwide time zones. Readership is obviously biggest in U.S. Pacific time, but then it gets more interesting.



U.S. Central time is second, followed by U.S. Eastern, Mountain, Alaska and then Central Europe (or Africa - Nigerian scam artists?) and Asia.

So, to everyone, Hello from Oregon!

GUEST BLOGGER THIS MORNING

Below is a photo of this morning's guest blogger. He might look a little familiar. His entry onto the website is below his photo.


Today's Guest Blogger 

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HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY HENRY JOHNSON

Today is the birthday of Henry Johnson, the son of my employer Jerry Johnson. Henry gets to call the shots on food today, and apparently insulin is one of them - Krispy Kremes and cupcakes were part of this morning's breakfast. Way to go, Henry! Here's a repeat of his recent photo with his new baby sister, Margaux.



Henry's birthday is also a milestone because it was five years ago that Jerry split from Hobson Johnson & Associates (where I was formerly employed) and started Johnson Gardner, my current place of employment. So it's a dual celebration of sorts.

Have a Great Day, Henry!

TOM'S TRUCK TROUBLES

Tom's been having more truck trouble lately.. yes, he owns a Chevrolet. Here's his update:

After being quoted roughly $150 to fix the muffler (based information from auto part catalogs and the internet), mom called Amigo and discovered, through Rick, that the part I need, instead, runs around $700. So I called another couple of muffler shops, and they both quoted me around $200 to fix it (again, relying on the same info).

Today, he called me back after looking at my truck and discovered that my truck (and I assume all 1995 S-10s) actually have the 1996 part on it. So to make a long story short, Chevrolet decided to improve thier automobiles by adding roughly $600 to the cost of a catalyic converter. Can you say "TOYOTA!"?

I recommended to Tom that he check out the Car Talk MechanX Files and find himself a good, trustworthy, independent mechanic. The website is a huge database of mechanics all over the country for all sorts of makes (skews towards imports - the website is for the extremely funny Car Talk radio show on public radio) with detailed user opinions of trustworthiness, quality, price, etc.

Not to bash dealerships, but they cash flow on financing and service and unless you know the dealership well, they likely don't have your best interest at heart. No one can be fully trusted, but in my experience independent mechanics have more to lose with a bad service track record: fixing cars is all they do, so all their eggs are in one basket. Good luck!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREAT GRANDMA REID

Today is the 80th-plus birthday of Gabriel's Great Grandma Betty Reid. I called Farmington this morning and chatted a bit, but my phone died out on me. Turns out the battery was damaged, so I'll have to call later today.

She was in good spirits and looking forward to her sister Kathleen's arrival from Florida later in the day. I haven't seen her since Gramma's 80th birthday party blowout a few years ago. I hear Florida living has been very good for her.

Anyway, have a very Happy Birthday!

TOM AND KATE MOVE INTO NEW HOME

Less than two weeks ago - yes, I'm late on all of this - Tom and Kate moved into the first home that they own themselves. They had much of the stuff moved for them, then had a big painting party to get the house in shape. Kate took some time off and they got everything squared away.

New Info:

xxxx Ackerman Way
Fair Oaks, CA 95628
(916)966-xxxx
Tom's Cell - (916)342-xxxx
Kate's Cell - (916)342-xxxx

Our cell phones work now at the house.. WOOO HOOO!!

You'll have to email him to fill in the numbers: thomas.reid1@etrade.com

BAYLOR LADY BEARS ARE NATIONAL CHAMPS

Also in old news I've been meaning to document, Baylor's women's basketball team won the national championship with an 84-62 humiliation of Michigan State on April 6th.



Congratulations Ladies on a hard-earned victory!

Longer-time readers of this lousy website might remember that Baylor's men's program had the kebosh put on it by the NCAA after one teammate murdered another, and in the ensuing investigation, recruiting and other violations and a cover-up by the then-coach were discovered.

The victory by the Ladies was a very much needed boost to a campus shocked by the scandal. Particularly shocking, since despite all the apparent cheating, the Men's program still stunk.

HAPPY 56TH BIRTHDAY TO GRAMPA

Grampa Dave Reid is 56 years old today. Born in a barn in rural Colorado, Wyatt Earp was the local sheriff at the time and dirt wasn't yet invented. And don't forget that to get to his one-room school house, he had to walk 5 miles in the snow, barefoot, uphill both ways.

Here's a link to other major news stories that occured on April 25 in past years, courtesy of the History Channel. Befitting an engineer, groundbreaking on the Suez Canal was today in 1859.

And here's a photo of Grampa meeting Gabriel for the first time last summer, followed by them in Farmington playing together in March.



Happy Birthday!

THE WELFARE GAMES REVOLUTION

A quick Googling of my 1999 Urban Economics paper about Welfare Games (well, my paper with David Figlio and Van Kolpin) has turned up quite a bit on-line at other academic journals, as well as government write-ups and classroom curriculums in a number of universities across the country.

Google Scholar: Welfare Games.
Google General Search: Welfare Games

Specifically, my paper is in the bibliography of at least 48 other studies in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world. The paper is now standard reading in a number of political science and economics college classes. There's even a powerpoint presentation (link goes to the class syllabus - scroll down) by a student at Brown University outlining the paper for fellow students. The guy gets an A- in my book because he needs to spell Van Kolpin's last name correctly!

So now, six years later, the Welfare Games theory - or fact, as our paper and others have empirically shown - is called the Race to the Bottom (RTB) and the paper is being used as a methodological model in showing negative government competition on public health care in the U.S., as well as tax policy in Italy, Switzerland and other countries.

Looks like the hard work paid off and has taken off, even internationally. I'm proud and humbled at the same time.

I always wanted to make my very own permanent mark that lasts well after I'm gone. Looks like I've managed that, and in a very constructive way!

Source: despair.com (many like this for sale there...)

GABRIEL'S FIRST AIRPLANE TRIP

I'm only now getting around to posting photos and information. But Gabriel had a very good experience travelling to Las Vegas/Pahrump and then to Albuquerque, Farmington and then back home, all on his first airplane rides back in March. Once he got settled in, he definitely enjoyed looking out the window.



OVER THE HUMP TO PAHRUMP

After a great crab buffet at Green Valley Ranch, we headed to Pahrump, about an hour west of Vegas through the mountains.

The town itself is small, surrounded by a ring of dramatic mountains - more impressive than Las Vegas in my opinion. The town is definitely Red State. I saw nothing smaller than an SUV while there, and certainly nothing made in Japan. A Wal-Mart marked the end of town.

Local color was everywhere. In fact, while walking into the Smith's (which carried Tillamook Cheese, by the way) a sixty-year-old fella sitting outside, face carved by too much smoke and too little sleep, was bragging to his friend about how he had "kicked her a$$ out last night." Lively neighborhood he lives in, I'm sure.

Sue and George have a nice, big house with great views of the mountains from their back patio. George was gone at work much of the time, but Aunt Suebee and Me-Ma got to spend a lot of time with him. We had a good visit, even though Gabriel decided to not sleep so well our second night there. Following are a couple of pictures.



We didn't have a lot of time there, so we didn't get to make a day trip to Death Valley and see the 100-Year bloom. They had much rain earlier in the spring, even while we were there. The result is that Death Valley has been in full bloom, a rare sight indeed. Below is a photo taken by an amateur photographer I found by Googling.



But as this website attests, Pahrump is about much more than the gateway to/from Las Vegas and Death Valley. (Note: This is actually a well-done website by a resident of Southern Nevada, with details of the ins, outs, and hidden bits of Vegas in great detail. This particular page I linked is her description of actually touring a brothel in Pahrump out of curiosity. Funny stuff...)

The town has carved out a market niche for sin that Vegas doesn't seem willing to serve: prostitution and fireworks. Brothels are well-known and common in Pahrump, with the subtlety of a belch. Billboards advertise the establishments, as well as where to get your hands on bottle rockets, roman candles and other incendiary devices.

In fact, Pahrump even has a brothel museum that is apparently quite good, though we I didn't get to go. There's a winery, too, but we'll be saving that for another trip as well.

ONWARD TO FARMINGTON

The trip to Farmington via Alburquerque was good. Gabriel got to ride with his grandmother on the plane, though slept much of the way. Waiting for us were Dad, Tom and Kate. We all loaded up into the Blazer and headed northwest for Farmington. Not far along, a Good Samaratin did his level best to run us off the road trying to warn us that our tail lights were out. Nice fella, though blocking us off right in front of the I-25 onramp was probably less safe than the aforementioned tail light problem.

After stopping and fussing with the fuses - not the problem it turned out - we headed for Farmington, anyway, though much later than planned. After a stop at El Bruno's in Cuba - great New Mexican cuisine, but don't be afraid of capsicum if you go there - we arrived in Farmington rather late. On the plus side, we were able to visit with Casey, Pony, her husband, son and newborn daughter before they headed off for Austin. I hadn't seen them in over ten years, so that was a nice visit.

The next morning we headed over to La Plata Drive - Did you know you have a spruce tree in your front yard? - to visit Gramma and Grampa. Below is a photo of everyone there but Dad, who's taking the photo.


Gabriel's Farmington Trip 

We had a fun visit and Gabriel clearly enjoyed visiting his Great Grandparents and Gus, who was nice enough to cook us a fried turkey dinner without overboiling the bird and firing it in the air like a cannonball. It was quite good and he's 2-0 in the times I've been there. Below are photos of Gabriel with his Great Grampa George and Great Gramma Betty.



We headed back to Albuquerque that night and left for Portland the next, very windy day. Gabriel did quite well on the three-hour direct flight, sleeping most of the time. So much for fears of a screaming baby! ...this time

Postlogue: Gramma went into the hospital for a brief visit due to complaints of heart palpitations recently. But after examination, it turned out her oxygen unit was not functioning properly and all was remedied. She's reportedly doing well now, just as she was in good spirits during our visit.

STILL WORKING ON THE POSTING

But in the meantime, here's a great little story out of Soldotna, AK - my birthtown.

A local biologist was mauled by a brown bear (cubs nearby - bad sign) while jogging on Monday and has become the first recorded survivor of two bear attacks.

Not the most enviable distinction.

UPDATE ERASED

That's right.. I had something ready yesterday afternoon but when I went to save, Blogger was undergoing maintenance so I lost it all. I'm still fuming.

But in the meantime, here's a bit of fun for the voyeur in you. This link goes to a site called PostSecret, where people mail deep, dark personal secrets written on a postcard to a website and they post them anonymously.

Here's an example..

HAROLD & CHIQUI BAHR's 50TH ANNIVERSARY

Harold & Chiqui recently celebrated their 50th anniversary in Anchorage. This is a link to the Anchorage Daily News Together story on their marriage.


Source: Anchorage Daily News

For fun, I Googled some of the locations in the Philippines. Here are a couple of photos of the church where they were married 50 years ago, the Malate Catholic Church in Manila.


Source: VirtualTourist.com

Congratulations on a Well-Lived Life Together!

MAJOR UPDATE PLANNED.. SOON

It's been an extremely busy few weeks.. much to write about, and very soon.

HAPPY EASTER!

It was for Gabriel until his cold relapsed in the evening. Below is a photo of him with his Easter basket from Gramma Judy and Grampa Koke. He's ready to dive right in.


Gabriel's First Easter 

We enjoyed dinner with his grandparents - leg of lamb and steak (for Jill). Very tasty food.. cute animals are the best. Gabriel was a pretty good sport and enjoyed himself, but then started coughing more and began to run a fever... even with the house like a furnace with all the cooking going on.

He was up every hour or so last night coughing and restless. I slept dead to the world while Jill woke up every hour or so... even after she moved him into our bed later in the night. All we can do now is comfort him, get him to eat and wait it out.

GABRIEL'S AIRPLANE TRIP A SMASH

I have several photos and narrative to write.. I'll get to that tomorrow hopefully. I've been a bit busy.

More later...

TRYING OUT "HELLO" PHOTO POSTING PROGRAM

Below is a photo of Gabriel on the day he turned 7 months. I posted the photo with a new program called "Hello" (click the quotation box icon below the photo for details) and I'm pleased. The photo is hosted for free, they resize it for me and when anyone clicks on it, a larger version comes up that you can print yourself.

The program also has a messenger service intalled so that people can share photos instantly. I also recommend another program in Google's empire, Picasa2. It's free and a really nice way to store, organize and edit/enhace any photos you have on your machine. Anyway, enjoy!


Gabriel at 7 Months 

WATER BABY

Mom generously contributed these photos of Gabriel and Jill enjoying swim lessons recently. Apparently, her digital camera has a better flash.

I'd say they were enjoying themselves!

7 MONTHS OLD

This past Sunday, Gabriel turned 7 months old. It's astonishing that it's already been 7 months.. I'm going to blink and he'll be asking me for keys to the car.

But his seventh month was indeed a busy one. I already wrote about his first meal of rice cereal. Here's a bit of an update of latest developments:

-He enjoys a variety of fruit and vegetables now, including pears, apples, bananas, peas, sweet potato and avodado. He's not a big fan of squash.

-He now has his two bottom teeth. They're still emerging, but they flash when he smiles really big. He touches them and has started to get used to them.

-He sits up marvelously, though isn't able to pull himself upright from laying down yet.

-He enjoys time on his tummy far more now, propping his head and shoulders up high off the ground. He's not yet figured out how to move his knees up under himself to crawl - all in good time.

-He's presently in swim classes twice each week. No underwater swimming, but he's learned how to kick his legs and enjoy floating around in the water, even submerging his eyes. He's also learned how to keep his mouth shut under water and not gulp. I hope to have photos of this soon.. mine were all too dark as my flash is weak.

-He's babbling more and more now, copying noises and sounds. The other night, Great Grandma Charlotte was over playing cards and exchanging noises with Gabriel. Her oxygen unit makes an occasional puffing sound and he began imitating it.

-He's now sleeping for 7 or so hours each night reliably, though he does occasionally wake up hungry.

-He enjoys going outside and playing on his blanket when it's sunny.

And finally, he's grown to have an interest in the cats. Here's a succession of shots of Gabriel sitting next to Sundaye. He sat there for a while clinching her hair with slobbery hands - and she remained pretty calm. But clearly here, she gets a bit tired of his enthusiatic affection.

ME-MA UPDATE

Me-Ma has been out of the hospital and back in Pahrump for a while. She is able to take new heart medication and apparently is gaining strength every day. She still gets tired more frequently, but with a new wheelchair, she's getting around and feeling better about each day.

I haven't reached her yet, but we'll be visiting her in Pahrump from March 17th to 19th. I'm sure she'll enjoy seeing Gabriel - he certainly enjoys visiting.

GRAMMA UPDATE

I talked to Gramma Reid yesterday and she sounded like she was feeling better. She does get more exhausted during the day, but she seemed happy and we had a good conversation. We'll be visiting Farmington from March 19th through the 21st.

Tom and Kate will be joining us on that leg of the journey apparently.

TOM & KATE: NOT TOO EXTREME MAKEOVER-HOME EDITION

It looks like Tom and Kate will soon be proud homeowners. After shopping around in the Sacramento area for a house, they found one in an established Fair Oaks neighborhood and made a slightly low-ball offer. Here's a link to the listing. A photo of the house with the pool and spa is found below.



The current owners are going through a divorce and wanted to sell quickly and it looks like they're getting their wish. Interestingly, the house is just a few blocks away from Kate's parents' home.

It apparently will have fixer-upper projects, mostly updating, but they're excited to get in and make it their own.

Congratulations on the big step!

*SPOILER* (highlight after the dash with you mouse) - I predict a cousin for Gabriel within two years.. there's just something about owning a house. Nesting is inevitable!

MARGAUX JOHNSON ARRIVES

The Johnson True family welcomed their third addition on Monday, February 21st. A roughly 7 lb. baby girl, Margaux Johnson is happy, healthy, and apparently sleeping much better than Gabriel did at that age. Here are a couple of photos of Margaux, the first with her big sister Emma and the second with her big brother Henry.

Congratulations! It looks like the balance of power has shifted back to the ladies.

PASS THE MAALOX TO MT. ST. HELENS

Mt. St. Helens put on quite a show yesterday afternoon around 5:30. After several months of small steam plumes barely escaping its lava dome (see the VolcanoCam in the left margin), the mountain emitted a rather grand "ash burst" - an apparent vulcanology term (link goes to a photo of a fascinating team of French vulcanologists).

The plume reached over 36,000 feet.. or roughly 6 miles high! Photos of the event are below. Both are from viewers of the local TV station KATU via their website. Viewer descriptions of the shots are included in the .jpg.





As you can see, it was quite an ash burst. I guess this means St. Helens is currently the biggest ash hole in North America. Sorry - I couldn't help myself.

TOM TAKES THE CALIFORNIA BAR EXAM

Tom took the California bar exam last week, beginning on Monday the 2nd I believe.

Good luck, Tom! Sounds like you were more confident this time based on your studying.

WORD FROM BRYAN MOORE

I heard from Bryan Moore, my old Baylor friend and roommate. As poor graduate students, we managed to attend each others weddings in Dallas, Texas and Eugene, Oregon, respectively. I'll quote him directly:

We (Bryan and Renee -ed) have a 2.5 year old little girl named Sydney. She was born in Chicago and since then we have lived in many states like Maryland, California, and now Indiana. I took a new job last year with Roche Diagnostics and it is going very well. I think we will be here for a number of years. We like the town, our house, and my job...a rare combination.

Sounds like things are going well for him. I did some digging and he has a website. Pictures aren't up (yet).

LEANER, MEANER ME

After two-and-a-half weeks on the Atkins diet, induction phase, I've managed to lose 13 pounds. I still haven't reached my target weight yet (195 lbs.) but I'm only five pounds away.

I work out in the exercise room in this building every day for an hour to an hour and a half. Most of it is aerobic training on a machine that looks a little bit like a stairmaster crossed with an x-country ski machine. It works is the bottom line.

PAUL THEROUX: 1994 EYEWITNESS TO GERMAN VIOLATION OF IRAQ SANCTIONS

I'll admit that I'm a big fan of Paul Theroux's non-fiction writing about travels in various parts of the world. Many who are not familiar with him might be familiar with movies made from at least two of his fictional works: The Mosquito Coast and Half Moon Street.

I've read nearly all of his travel books, starting with The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific. His body of nonfiction work basically starts with The Great Railway Bazaar: through Asia by train, chronicling his journey by train, ship and caravan round trip from London over to Japan via India and Southeast Asia and then return through Russia. His most recent, Dark Star Safari, is about his travels from Cairo, Egypt to Capetown, South Africa by any means available except airplanes.

I got the latter from Jill for Christmas and I just cracked it - he's wandering through Cairo waiting for a visa to Sudan at the present moment.

But in the The Pillars of Hercules, his tour of most of the Mediterranean in the early 1990s - foreigners were being robbed and executed in Algeria at the time - Mr. Theroux makes an interesting observation while held up at the Syrian/Turkish border while trying to get into Syria.

The delay at the border today was caused by a group of Syrians smuggling shirts and pants in large suitcases. The absurdity of it was that while these smugglers opened their cases, revealing stacks of shirts in plastic bags, huge trucks rumbled past. They were German, and they were loaded with crates of German machinery, from a firm called Mannesmann. The crates were stamped For the Ministry of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq. Six of these vast flatbed trucks. They were headed towards Iraq, through Syria-and they were waved through by Syrian soldiers. It seemed to make little difference to anyone that Iraq was subject to U.N. sanctions and such a shipment of German machine parts was illegal. In the meantime the shirt smugglers were bullied and denounced.

Theroux is a stickler for honest observation - if sometimes characterized as cranky. But I'd say this is extremely reliable documentation of German and Syrian complicity in Saddam Hussein's abuse of the U.N. Oil-for-Food program. I suppose it isn't if you dine on military telecommunications equipment.

The book was particularly fascinating for these observations, as well as others as he sees activities and hears reports along his travels that provide foreshadowing of the names and events all too familiar since September 11, 2001. His account of travel through Croatia, Slovakia and Albania during the Serbian war is worth the price of the book alone.