WE MAY LIKELY HAVE BEEN KILLED

Images and news from the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami have been horrific as I've witnessed them. Devastation in Thailand has particularly hit home due to the fact that Railay, Ao Nang and Hat Pra Nang on the Andaman coastline were places we visited in August of 2003. We stayed in bungalows not five feet above sea level, all near the beach. If the waves had hit when we were there, we were particularly vunerable at Railay because there isn't really a road back to Ao Nang, the biggest nearby town with highway access. Railay and Hat Pra-Nang are at the end of a roadless peninsula flanked by towering, verdant limestone cliffs.

The most wrenching testimonial I have read is from an Anchorage, AK college student vacationing at Railay with a friend. They were rock climbing in the area when the waves headed for the shore. His friend snapped some photos, both posted at the Anchorage Daily News website.

Below are three photos from our own vacation 16 months ago, each of places mentioned in the Alaskan's account, followed by two photos of the tsunami taken by his friend.

Railay/Hat Pra-Nang


Jill at Railay/Hat Pra-Nang


Beach at Ao Nang


Railay Tsunami (Anchorage Daily News)


Yachts Enduring Railay Tsunami (Anchorage Daily News)


The best updates about how to help tsunami victims everywhere around the Indian Ocean are found at The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami blog.

The American Red Cross is also taking donations via Amazon.com. To date, they've raised over $2.6 million with no overhead costs reducing the amount actually helping those in need.

Sue Frye, frequent contributor at the Johnson Gardner office, came in to say that a friend of hers that lives in Thailand half of the year to teach diving was unscathed by the tsunami due to his higher elevation home on the coast. However, his diving skills are being called upon to help extract the numerous bodies trapped underwater in coral reefs lining the Thai Andaman coastline.

Prayers and money are all most of us can do for them now.

(IT WAS A) MERRY CHRISTMAS!

...Until about 8pm, that is, when Gabriel had a complete meltdown, which then triggered an acid reflux attack.

But before that, Christmas was quite pleasant and Gabriel clearly enjoyed his nearly five-month-old self. Below is a photo similar to our Christmas card this year, but Gabriel is fidgeting, though smirking. It was a close second.



The plan was to have breakfast ready for everyone by 9:30-10am.. but we have an infant, so what were we thinking? We were up until after 3am overnight Christmas eve wrapping presents once Gabriel finally fell asleep and we were able to get to work.

9:30am came very early. We didn't even notice Tom and Kate knock at the door, having just arrived from PDX with a sweet Volvo rental (heated seats!). We later found out they went to Shari's for coffee and a snack before swinging back by.

By 10am, we did hear the doorbell ring and through the front window noticed nearly everyone gathered outside the front door - include Charlotte.. even she was up and ready to go - and we weren't. So, we let everyone in - many wearing Hawaiian shirts in anticipation of the Hawaiian Christmas dinner - and fired up the stove for pancakes and bacon. By 11am, everyone was eating.

By 11:30am, Gabriel was ready for his pre-noon nap (he's getting quite regular about it), so we handed out everyone else's presents and began to open them. By 12:30, he was up and the major work was to begin.

Gabriel received all sorts of neat toys and other gifts, too many to comprehensively list here. But the immediately big hits were:

-A plush palomino rocking horse that makes galloping sounds and whinneys from Uncle Tom & Aunt Kate;

-A musical train with flashing lights from Gramma Judy and Grampa Koke; and

-A toy aquarium with moving fish, bubbles and soothing music (link goes to a demo - play with the aquarium on the internet!) from Great Aunt Suebee and Great Uncle George.

Presents for Gabriel that Mom and Dad especially look forward to are a cd/clock/radio with a soothing nature sounds CD from Gramma Dianne and Grampa Dave, and some lullabye CDs from (Great Gramma) Me-Ma.

But that isn't to say gifts from everyone else weren't appreciated or enjoyed; we just listed the ones Gabriel took an immediate shining to and those that we hope will help coax Gabriel into sleeping. All three of us thank everyone for their generosity in making Gabriel's first Christmas exciting for him and memorable for us. Thank you all!

Everyone able to be here:
Uncle Tom & Aunt Kate
Gramma Judy and Grampa Koke
Gramma Dianne and Grampa Dave
Great Gramma Charlotte
Gabriel & his Mom and Dad.

POST CHRISTMAS STRESS DISORDER

All the well-meaning stimulation definitely took a toll on poor Gabriel. He didn't show signs of problems during the afternoon while the Hawaiian dinner was being prepared. But by 8pm, right after I left for Judy & John's (?!) to finish preparing the Kahlua pork and get the ribs going, Gabriel apparently snapped. Nobody could console him, including his mommy.

Deciding to give him some peace and quiet, all but Jill and Gabriel arrived at John & Judy's for dinner. But the tempest continued, so I left for home to help calm him. By nearly 9:30pm, Gabriel had calmed down enough to eat, so I spun back by to grab some food for Jill and myself. They were waiting for us - and they didn't eat until 10:30pm (!!). The food was a hit, and apparently they all had a great time, though it was late and fatigue had set in for everyone.

Sunday the 26th was low-key to get Gabriel back into a normal pattern. In between naps, he played on the floor with me for quite a while, I helped him walk around the living room, and he went for a walk with his Mom, Dad, Gramma Dianne and Grampa Dave. All was well.

TRIP TO TILLAMOOK

On Monday, while Gabriel and his Mom stayed home to rest, everyone else piled into the Volvo and we headed to Tillamook for a visit to the cheese factory. Everyone stocked up on curds, ice cream, cheese and other goods after a hearty round of samples.

But after that, we visited the Blue Heron cheese factory, which has many more samples of foods and is, in my opinion, a more fun place to visit as a result. Cheeses, sauses, jams, jellies, spreads, and wine are among the many things you can try. Plus, they have a cafe where they serve everything and they have a large collection of farm animals that are quite entertaining in and of themselves. I picked up a jar of sugar-free black raspberry preserves and a small stilton with cranberries, sealed in red wax.

The weather was most agreeable, and the evening was only sullied by the surprise closure of the Bavarian Sausage & Delicatessen in Metzger between Christmas and the New Year. Oh, well Tom, better luck on the next trip!

HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS

I never understood the desire to have a photo with Santa. I didn't enjoy the experience, really, so my parents were wise enough not to put us through it more than once. Besides, I never really got a satisfactory answer to the question "why are there so many Santas at the different malls?"

Looking at the photo below, you can see what happens with Santa more often than not. Carefully note the look on Santa's face.. No doubt about where his paycheck goes when he's off the clock!


(Source: Chicago Tribune)

Enjoy this link, which provides a nice slideshow of other photos in the same spirit as the pic above. Happy shopping!

FOUR MORE SHOPPING DAYS…

Oh, my does time fly when you’re so busy you have to stay up all night working. Well, it is December again, after all. And, unfortunately for me as I gather my thoughts for finally updating this website, much in fact has happened.

So, without further ado..

CAN I HILLS-BORO A CUP OF SUGAR?

Mom and Dad did find a home they liked here in Hillsboro, Orygun. I was at the house when it was inspected, and it is indeed a good find. Below is a photo, but to sum up it was built in 1995, over 1,500 square feet in floor area, 5,000+ square foot lot and right near one of Hillsboro’s better natural area parks with trails.

But after the extensive search for a home with some acreage, it is a bit surprising to see that they’ve purchased something where you might see what your neighbor is eating for dinner. A few walls or hedges and all should be better, though. I’ll have the exact address on here after they take possession of the home on December 31st.



Good news for Gabriel: he has two cookie-baking grammas to run away to when he gets mad at us! But, here’s Gramma Reid’s off-the-cuff take on all of the nearby family: ”Bill, you sure have a tough row to plow.” I told her that if it doesn’t work out well, we’re moving to Hawaii! Why not?!

CHARLOTTE IN OREGON

Gram Charlotte Wachdorf arrived in Portland on the evening of Thursday the 16th escorted by her second daughter, Sandy Nemeth, who resides in Connecticut with her husband Jack. Char and Sandy both flew in from San Antonio where Charlotte is staying with her youngest son, former Air Force Colonel Art Wachdorf. I posted a photo of the two of them on here before.. here’s the link.

Sandy had to leave for Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon where her eldest son Mark and his wife are expecting their first child, a daughter, with a due date of Christmas day. Beware the low pressure system – it has a tendency to cause early labor! Here’s a photo of Sandy and wee Gabriel on Saturday.



Charlotte will be in Oregon for several weeks, or until she gets absolutely sick of all of us. So far, however, it seems Gabriel has charmed her as well, so she’s not likely going anywhere soon. We’re very happy she can be here to visit and see G.F.

GABRIEL ENCHANTED BY THE GROTTO

The Grotto Festival of Lights has come to be a family Christmas tradition with us over the past seven years. The Grotto is actually the Our Lady of Sorrow retreat center, among other things. It’s a beautiful sanctuary in Northeast Portland that at Christmastime decorates their trees and paths with all sorts of lights, the main of which has a decorated narrative of Christ’s birth. It’s like walking through Linus’s answer to Charlie Brown’s famous question.

We all met for early dinner at Gustav’s, but Charlotte wasn’t feeling well so she and Judy went home. That left Gabriel, his Gramma Dianne, Jill and me. So, the three of us took Gabriel to the Grotto, where the poor little boy was overwhelmed with lights to look at. He had a wonderful time, even talking to some of the lights – a very good sign. He even enjoyed sitting still in the church listening to both the St. Stanislaus Polish Choir and another local, high school choir. Though, during the latter, he fell asleep during a song and would be startled awake by everyone's applause.

We especially enjoyed returning to the Grotto since last year. It was there, though earlier in December, that we learned that Jill's pregnancy would continue all the way through to August. And now we have Gabriel. That's what inspired his name.. the Archangel Gabriel.. deliverer of the most joyous news.

SAD NEWS FROM NEW MEXICO

We recently learned that Marge Proffitt, Terry's octegenarian mother in Farmington, passed away. She was able to attend Terry's wedding earlier in the Fall and reportedly had a wonderful time seeing much of her family.

Jill and I pass along our heartfelt condolences.

QT-P2T

Okay, I've waited long enough. Here are a few photos of Gabriel that I personally find to be among my favorites, all taken quite recently.

CHRIS BLAKNEY ENGAGED

My co-worker Chris Blakney recently proposed marriage to his girlfriend Jessica and was greeted with a resounding yes. Congratulations, you two!

JOHN'S SURGERY A SUCCESS

John (Koke) Korynasz's hernia operation went well this past week. A 1.5 hour procedure and a three-day stay in the hospital was successfully endured. John got to go home yesterday (22nd) and he's much happier, of course. The doctors found no signs of a return of his colon cancer, so he's a happy fellow.

The Demerol he was taking did cause some odd side-effects (mild hallucinations), but nothing harmful to him by any stretch. Welcome Home!

ANITA BUTCH GETS HITCHED

Anita's wedding was in Tempe this past weekend, where she tied the knot with Mr. Sam Means. Sam's daytime (and nighttime) job is with the duo rock group The Format. Here's a link to MTV's website with a bit more information. Apparently, attendance at the wedding was considerable.. many family members made it, though Gabriel, Jill and I were unable to attend.

Congratulations, you two. Here's to many happy years of royalty checks!

HAPPY TO BE WHEAT-FREE

Gabriel (and Jill, of course) is wheat-free for a couple of weeks now and it appears to be helping with his acid reflux. Jill's naturopath recommended the change in diet given that wheat can be a huge allergy problem for some people. Well, it seems both Jill and Gabriel have enjoyed improvements. It can be a bit inconvenient planning for meals sometimes, but it is definitely worth it given Gabriel's general improvement in demeanor and disposition in the evenings.

NEWPORT TRIP A SUCCESS

I was holed up in Newport, Oregon for the second half of last week. I'm working on the City's economic development strategy. Regular readers will recall a photo and newspaper article link a couple of months ago.

Well, now I'm nearly done with the project and I gave a presentation of findings to date last Wednesday. This link goes to the article itself.. I'm quoted quite a bit in the second half of it. Tom thought I actually sounded professional after he read it

The photo is of Al Benkendorf of The Benkendorf Associates, a frequent collaborator on projects like these. We're about to kick off another similar, though smaller, study in LaGrande, Oregon.

TOM AND KATE TO VISIT FOR CHRISTMAS

Tom and Kate are arranging for a Christmas morning arrival to the Portland area for a roughly three-day stay. Should be fun. This is Gabriel's first Christmas, so he'll be happy to see his only uncle and aunt!

UPDATE: GMAIL SUCCESS WITH FIREFOX

Wow.. I can do all three now in a consolidated manner and I don't have to use Microsoft Explorer ever again! Amen!

UPDATE: SUCCESS WITH FIREFOX

There, I reported. It worked like a charm. Now on to see if Gmail works with it as well...

ANOTHER EXTREMELY QUICK UPDATE

I'm creating this post with Mozilla's new Firefox 1.0 web browser. It seems a lot like Opera, except I can edit this blog with it (or so it seems) while Opera won't let me.

I'll report soon enough on its success...

EXTREMELY QUICK UPDATE

The website World66.com allows you to map the countries of the world you've visited as well as map out all the U.S. states and Canadian provinces you've visited.

Here's my world map:



Here's my U.S. map:



Here's my Canadian province map:



Here's Gabriel's U.S. map.. he's off to a good start:

BUSH EASILY WINS NASCAR NATION

Websites are tracking actual votes and called races now, so exit poll results are winnowing. I'm finished with reporting poll results as a result. It's not looking good for Bush at this point. But then again, it didn't look good for him last time, either.

More news in the morning. Good night!

ELECTION SPOILER SPOILER **5:25pm Pacific UPDATE**

I'm updating the following list of States all day, so check for the time stamp above for the latest updates. Anything in italics denotes the change or new information since the last post.

As of 5:25pm Pacific Standard Time, Exit Poll results...
Bush - 108 Votes Kerry - 77 Votes
Bush States: West Virginia (5), Georgia (15), Kentucky (8), Indiana (11), Oklahoma (7), Alabama (9), Tennessee (11), Mississippi (6), South Carolina (8), North Carolina (15), Virginia (13)
Kerry States: Vermont (3), Illinois (21), Maine (3), Massachusetts (12), Connecticut (7), New Jersey (15), Delaware (3), Maryland (10), DC (3)

Arizona: Bush 55%, Kerry 45%
Colorado: Bush 50%, Kerry 49%
Louisiana: Bush 56%, Kerry 43%
Michigan: Bush 46%, Kerry 52%
Pennsylvania: Bush 46%, Kerry 53%
Ohio: Bush 46%, Kerry 48% Bush Up 2%
Florida: Bush 49%, Kerry 51%
New Mexico: Bush 48%, Kerry 50%
Minnesota: Bush 46%, Kerry 52%
Wisconsin: Bush 47%, Kerry 52%
Iowa: Bush 49%, Kerry 50%
New Hampshire: Bush 44%, Kerry 53%
Nevada: Bush 48%, Kerry 49%
North Carolina: Bush 52%, Kerry 48%
Missouri: Bush 52%, Kerry 47%
Arkansas: Bush 54%, Kerry 45%
New York: Bush 36%, Kerry 62%

GABRIEL'S FIRST HALLOWEEN

Gabriel looked smart in his Tigger costume for Halloween Sunday night. However, due to a bad bout with reflux, we got a late start and only made it over to Grandma and Grampa Korynasz's house. His photo is posted in the left margin of the page.

Grandma and Grampa Reid visited last night (Monday) and Gabriel donned his orange and black costume just for them to everyone's delight. We went to the Helvetia Tavern for dinner and had cheeseburgers and onion rings. Yum!

His lazy father didn't carve his pumpkins, so we'll just have to have Mexican pumpkin soup or something like that.

ELECTION SPOILER SPOILER

To the extent that I can, I'll post Associated Press exit poll results for different states and territories today BEFORE the networks report the results tonight. But I won't use the invisible font type, so you're just going to have to avert your eyes if you don't want to see the results.

First Up: GUAM
George W. Bush - 64%
John F. Kerry - 36%

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.

UPDATE: MT. ST. HELENS LIKELY TO ERUPT

This story from CNN.com indicates that U.S. Forest Service geologists believe there is a 70% chance that Mt. St. Helens, located 40 miles north of Portland, will have a small or medium eruption.

That's far more likely than I originally heard, so in the left-hand margin of this blog, I have posted a live feed to the US Forest Service VolcanoCam at Mt. St. Helens. To update the photo, all you have to do is click your "Refresh" button in your browser tool bar every so often and the most recent photo will appear.

Ah, will miracles of the internet never cease?

DANGER WARNING: MOUNT ST. HELENS

There's been considerable news lately about how the frequency and intensity of earthquakes under Mount St. Helens have picked up. Volcanic activity warnings have been issued, particularly since the lava dome inside the crater has grown. These are all classic signs of pending activity.

But today, on the US Forest Service's Mount St. Helens webcam, the true threat at the mountain was discovered:

Giant Fly Attack!

GABRIEL'S DAD IN THE NEWPORT PRESS

Last week I was in Newport, Oregon giving a presentation to the City about the local economy as part of a larger economic development strategy and planning study we are conducting. A newspaper reporter was there to do a story on the study process, but when giving my talk, I didn't even notice that the guy had a camera. If I had, I would have kept my top chin up higher so as to not reveal my second one.

Well, it turns out that Al Benkendorf and I were in Newport's News Times September 24th edition. Al is President of The Benkendorf Associates Corp., a planning firm that we work with frequently on assignments throughout the State. Immediately below is the photo.



The story itself can be found here. A different client pointed out that an associate saw me in the paper, so I figured there was only one possibility... my mugshot from this weekend likely won't be printed.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO JILL AND ME

Jill and I celebrated our 7th Anniversary over the weekend. We enjoyed a nice dinner at Monteaux's Public House. Jill liked the Nicaraguan food (ropa vieja) so well a few nights before that we returned for an encore. Again, all was exceptional. Gabriel barely lasted to the end of dinner before registering his displeasure with having to wait for his meal. Jill slipped out with him while I waited on the check.

A bottle of Broadley Vineyard's 2002 Pinot Noir and new wedding bands will be enjoyed in the many days to come. I love you Jill.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MOM

Yesterday was also yet another 39th birthday for Mom. How many is that now? 16? We took her and Jill's parents out to dinner at Newport Bay restaurant for fish.. South Beach dieters in the group, after all. Everyone enjoyed their meals, except Gabriel. Well, Judy's oysters were fried in oil that tasted too strongly of fish. They remedied with pan fried oysters that were met with her happy endorsement. Gabriel, however, decided he was hungry not too long after we sat down. But then he changed his mind, preferring to fuss and stare at the parking lot lights rather than actually eat. Little stinker.

We returned home to enjoy a brownie cake made by Judy for the occasion. Thank you!

AUNT KATE AND UNCLE TOM VISIT

Tom and Kate were in town from Thursday night to Sunday evening. While they were here, they visited with Gabriel (while he and Jill were awake), went out for dim sum, looked around the area and went wine tasting with Kate's friend Meika (sp? sorry if I misspelt). Kate started her visit here with a meeting with one of her law firm's clients in Portland.

Since Gabriel's sleep schedule is still so irregular, our waking hours made it feel like their visit was incredibly brief. But we had a good time and all three of us look forward to their return.. before Gabriel's 6' tall - you two better hurry and book new tickets!.

CHRISTMAS IN SEPTEMBER

Well, our clothes dryer finally keeled over this weekend. Tom and I tried to disassemble it to see what was the cause of the burning smell (the duct was clean as it was new). Well, Amana dryers are not built for repair as we soon found out. So, it's kaput.

But Mom & Dad generously agreed to give us a new washer and dryer combo for our Christmas gift(s) this year, so we went shopping with her and found stackable front-load washer and dryer at Best Buy. Great deal and Consumer Reports rated the models as Very Good quality. In return, she gets from us the slightly used Kenmore washer and dryer we so very much love, but have had to store in the garage since we moved into our house. The space for the washer and dryer is too narrow for both of those wonderful high-capacity machines to fit.

Win-win for everyone! Particularly Gabriel, who goes through clothes like nobody's business. Thanks, Mom & Dad.

SPOILER SPOILER: THE FORGOTTEN

No, I haven't forgotten I had this blog. Yes, I've been rather busy. I'll update more substantively soon enough.

But really quickly, I managed to track down the Suprise Ending to the upcoming movie, The Forgotten, starring Julianne Moore. It's the spooky mystery movie about a mother who grieves her dead son that everyone else claims she never had. So she tries to find the truth behind the big charade.

So here's my Spoiler Spoiler* (highlight the invisible text below with your mouse to read it):

After spending most of the movie trying to uncover the conspiracy theory behind why no one remembers her dead child, it turns out she never did. Aliens, interested in studying human behavior, have toyed with her reality and memory until she discovers the truth in the last few minutes.

*This is a slightly speculative spoiler. Unlike other movies, this one has kept a pretty tight lid on the surprise ending. But between bitter reviewers (bad reviews) flirting with letting the cat out of the bag AND some reliable website forums I scan, I'm confident that 2+2=4. If I'm wrong, so what.

More photos and more news around the corner.

SELF-PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN

Gabriel wasn't too pleased that I posted photos of his bare self last time, so he insisted that I hold him while he snapped some of his own photos. Whichever one you, dear readers, like the best (email me with your vote), I'll put in the left margin on Friday.

Classical, Avant Garde, & Blue Period

EYE CONTACT

After many attempts, Gabriel finally allowed me a photo of him with eye contact.. here it is, the cute little devil. Enjoy.

QUICK UPDATE

I've made some modifications to the website that I'll call out:

New Links (In Link-O-Rama)
Snopes.com - The definitive source for debunking urban legends, annoying chain emails, etc.
National Review - This conservative magazine replaces The Weekly Standard, which I feel has slouched in quality since David Brooks migrated to the New York Times editorial page.

Babel Fish Translator
In the left margin, I've added the Babel Fish translator from Altavista. If it works correctly, you should be able to click the flag of the representative country's language and this page will be translated - rather roughly - into the desired tongue.

GABRIEL WITH GRAMMA JUDY

It seems Les Hardison linked us again with the news of Gabriel's arrival, so here's a photo of Judy with her precious, new grandson Gabriel for any family members that stumble into our page. HI! from the three of us.



Les and Dolores have had quite a trying few weeks with Hurrican Charlie, Dolores' sudden illness - and gradual recovery, the purchase of a new winter home in Carefree, Arizona, and the discovery that someone had charged thousands of dollars to Les' credit card in Turkey. He put a stop to it quickly, thank goodness.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

CHARLOTTE AND SANDY TO VISIT

Charlotte Wachdorf and Sandy Nemeth, Gabriel's great grandmother and great aunt, respectively, are slated to come to Portland in about a month to see Gabriel. Once some health care issues are sorted out for Charlotte, they'll be headed over to enjoy the baby and Oregon's lovely Autumn weather.

AUNT KATE AND UNCLE TOM TO VISIT

Kate emailed to say that she and Tom are eager to return to Portland to visit Gabriel, likely at the end of September or early October - the date is not yet cast.

CLOUD FAMILY GENEOLOGY HOMEWORK ALREADY DONE

While MeMa was here, I asked her questions about the origins of the Hays, Chambers, Harris and Cloud families for the purpose of making a family tree for Gabriel. I won't go into all of the the juicy details here now, but maybe later.

However, I will say that there is a website out there, Cloudweb, that has already traced the geneology of the Cloud family. As a reminder, Lela Harris, the mother of my grandfather J.C. Harris, was Lela Cloud before marrying James Lester Harris.

Well, at this website link, you can trace Cloud family geneology from her (my great grandmother - you have to scroll to nearly the bottom of the page for Lela's entry) all the way back to William Cloud, born in July of 1621 in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. It seems he was the first family member to cross the Atlantic and begin life in the New World. He died in August of 1702 in Chester Co., Pennsylvania Province.

It's rather fascinating what a few simple questions and Google can do!

BACK TO WORK

Starting today, the 25th, I'm back to work full time after taking some time off to be with Jill and Gabriel in the daytime during this fun but challenging transition we're going through. Gabriel (see the new picture in the margin to the left) is getting better about sleeping each night.. marginally.. and so Jill is better able to get along by herself. Judy has come over a few times with either cooked meals or just to help with some chores, though, and it's been greatly appreciated.

HEALTHY BABY - FATIGUED MOM

Gabriel passed his two-week check-up with flying colors at Dr. Snyder's office. He's better than birth weight - gaining nearly a pound in ten days - and everything else checks out fine, including the slight irritation in his left eye that likely occurred during birth. The appointment ended with a handshake from Dr. Snyder and a congratulations on a healthy son.

Jill, on the other hand, did not fare quite as well at her own two-week medical check-up with her midwife. Physically, she seems to be healing just fine. But Mary Popkes, her nurse midwife, said she was not getting enough rest given the stress and adjustment that a new mom must undergo, particularly after an unmedicated birth. So, Jill's now doing a better job of spending more time trying to sleep during the day when Gabriel is napping.

GABRIEL MEETS MORE FAMILY

I apologize right now for not having photos prepared to go with Gabriel's introduction to other family members.. hopefully when I get some time...?

Grandpa Dave got to meet Gabriel on Thursday the 19th. Both enjoyed the visit very much it seems. Dad returned to Oklahoma on the following Sunday.

Last week, Leigh and Teri flew up to Portland to visit, take a short vacation and meet Gabriel. They returned to New Mexico on Saturday. Friday they all went on a trip to the coast, which included stops in Astoria and Tillamook.

Jim Ed, Andrea, Jim, Laurie, Tyler and Drew drove down from the Spokane area over the weekend to visit everyone. They came to the house on Saturday for a few hours and got to meet Gabriel. It was a very enjoyable visit. And I nearly sold our 1950's dinette set.

I do have a photo of our own family.. mom, dad and Gabriel altogether:


THANK YOU FOR THE GIFTS

Gabriel has received a number of thoughtful gifts recently for which he and we are very grateful. Just as soon as we get a bit of a break, Thank Yous and/or birth announcements will be sent. Thanks again!

We're also grateful for hot meals prepared by our very generous neighbors Greg & Sandy and Vassam & Sahar (and Grandma Judy already mentioned), as well as a bounty of local farm produce from Mom.

Thank You All!

BABY BOOM AT JOHNSON GARDNER

Something very clearly is in the water here as a new announcement was made this week. My employer Jerry and his wife Sue announced that they are expecting their third child in the Spring of 2005. Emma, their oldest, was overjoyed with the news and apparently lost sleep over her excitement. Henry, their four-year-old, was happy also, but he's all new to this; Emma is a veteran.

Congratulations Johnson True Family!