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.