Angel Decoys

I got these pictures from my Aunt Michelle--thought they were cool (and kinda spooky)!

ANGEL DECOY>>These are photos of an Air Force C-130 releasing flares to repel heat>seeking Missiles. The pattern formed by these "decoys" are how they got >their name> . . . Angel decoy. It's absolutely awesome!>>Maneuvers are usually in remote areas and over water, therefore the >general>public does not get to view these exercises.

Great Google-y Moogley

Google's great, right?

You can pretty much get whatever information you want by using it. Sometimes I get distracted by stuff that would be cool to Google, stuff that I think of that I pretty much think nobody else is thinking about.

Movie lines ("Badges, we don't need no stinking badges")
Poems (Theme in Yellow)
Lyrics (Bob Marley's "Is this Love?"
Goofy stuff I did as a kid ("What's inside Stretch Armstrong?")

and

People (Especially if they have weird names)

I was thinking about people that I had known in the past with weird names that would jump out on Google--then I remembered a random, weird guy that had a matching weird name: 7 (yes, the number).

Anybody that reads much of my humble little blog knows that I try not to throw out real names if I can avoid it, but I used this guy's name because:

1) He's a jerk
2) Somethings are so funny you just can't make it up
3) Wasn't that a Seinfeld?
4) What could I possibly replace it with? another number?

I was involved in an unpleasant "negotiation" with this guy in my former life as company management over a period of about a year--they withheld a huge sum of money that they owed us and I ended up being the "bad cop", sending letters to his Board of Directors at their homes, calling and yelling at him, setting up meetings with our lawyers, and hammering out our case emphatically to encourage them to settle so the court fees and delays didn't kill us. After a year, "good cop" went in for the kill and closed the deal. We actually came out ahead on the deal after all of that!

Anyway, I Google'd him the other day because he had a weird last name, too which I wish I could erase from my head by shaking vigorously like an Etch-a-sketch (Nope, didn't work). Turns out he's a big game hunter in Africa. Good, I hope he gets gored in the ass by a Thompson's gazelle....

Google is great for people with ADD (I'd say I'm at least borderline).

You can just sit and type anything and surf through your obsession. I wonder if my Google history paints a good picture of what's on my mind, like a Rorschach test:

Here's my last several entries:

1) When did they start serving breakfast at McDonald's? (A: 1977--did this for a short story I'm writing)
2) Truman Capote (obsessed)
3) Truman Biography (For my TR blog entry--had to make sure McCullough wrote it and didn't want to go downstairs and check)
4) Texas Parks and Wildlife (hunting license)
5) "7" and "safari" (20 million possibilities so no one lets this idiot know I'm writing about him)
6) Braum's ice cream (don't know--guess I was hungry--Double dip Hot Fudge Sundae!)
7) Smoking cigarettes (not sure about this one)

Add these up and what do you get? Dunno...but I welcome your comments and analysis...

Google: It's almost "Giggle".
You heard it here first.

Theodorus Rex

Here's something somewhat funny--through star-crossed chance, my wife, Fran, and I ended up together and we are both, independently, HUGE fans of Theodore Roosevelt.

Now, Fran has read his Biography by David McCullough, but I haven't. (I just think he's a cool guy, but Fran can tell you why she thinks he's cool...) But (just so you don't think I'm not cultured) I have read some biographies: Truman and have a somewhat rare copies of both Profiles in Courage by JFK and Carl Sandburg's Abraham Lincoln Biography. So...take that!

A confession: One time I walked back into a store (after walking out due to shock) to reconsider spending $850 on a framed picture of TR with his actual autograph below--these people got an official government document and chopped his signature out of it. $850!!!!! Yikes. Yeah, Yeah--I'm sure it's more now. It was a nice frame, too...

Ryan at his Soccer Game today

You never give up.
You never quit running-
THAT's what makes me proud!

BUSY!

Yes, I get the irony that, although I'm swamped, I'm taking moments here and there to blog. So---please don't criticize if my spelling and/or punctuation is off a little.

I have this personal myth that I thrive on stress--when things are too easy I get lulled into sleep. This blog entry is a reminder to myself in the future how bad it sucks to be behind (this isn't intended to make any of my friends feel bad--it's just a convergence of circumstances).

Here's how busy I am: I have 78 unanswered Emails (down from 120). Haven't checked my voicemail in 24 hours, and I have an appointment in one hour. Funny thing is, it's an urgent issue but not so important. By meeting that appointment I'm making two people happy but pissing off 30 others...

I'm so busy that I haven't taken time to write a list of all the things I need to do--whenever that happens, little stuff slips through the cracks.

Last night, I geared up for an all-nighter to try to get caught up, but my body overruled me and I crashed out on the couch against my will.

Neglecting personal things like the fact that my boss forgot to submit the paperwork correctly for my paycheck this month and I'm pretty sure I can't pay bills with IOU's and the fact that my laundry is piled so high I'm going to have to wear my Halloween costume from last year to work today (Batman).

Looking forward to next week--there are things that I need to work on that I need to get the ball rolling on today in order for them to come to fruition, but obviously can't. I think tomorrow I will work from home and try to get caught up as much as possible.

So: note to self: stress sucks. Gotta run!

Vision

When I was six I looked for Santa Claus.
My eyes strained into the cold stars,
Just trying to glimpse his coming-
Or Rudolph with a red nose.
At some point I went to sleep,
Disappointed and anxious.

One time a beautiful girl,
dark-haired, dark-skinned,
petite and smelling of roses,
sat across from me eating, smiling.
She was a stranger.
She fainted suddenly and fell to the ground, twitching.
Instead of helping her I turned away,
averting my eyes from her exposed panties.

In the woods I clench my jaw,
strong against the inevitable snake-
coiled, patient, potent, waiting.
I know he's there.
I refuse to see him and hope he goes away-
Like a child who pulls the cover over his head
to thwart monsters around him.

When I was a student I flipped on the switches
of a huge roomful of electron microscope.
It hummed as I whirled and twisted away
In some ways searching hour after hour for God,
(who cleverly obscured himself behind tiny
masses of waxy molecules,
giggling at my folly.)

I try to control what the cinema of my mind
reels to itself and stores away.
My life is relentlessly, passively catalogued
and these visions are me.

Talking Amongst Myself...

I guess I've been tagged! My Malaysian friend has thrown down the gauntlet and challenged me to answer these questions, so here goes...Just as an aside, I really enjoy his blog which is called Human+Universe and often has some excellent photos on it.

So here are your answers, my friend:

Seven things you plan to do before you die!! (I reviewed this list and realized I could probably do all of them before the end of the year...)

1. Take my wife to Hawaii (and bring her back)
2. Write a good book
3. Catch a marlin
4. Drive a BMW (even if it was just for a month)
5. Scuba Dive
6. Jump out of a plane (I would prefer with a parachute)
7. Go moose hunting in Alaska

Seven things you can do!!
1. Let people know how much I appreciate them
2. Try to be a good listener
3. Be healthier
4. Be positive about things
5. Be a great role model for my kids
6. Be content--I'm a lucky guy
7. Forgive

Seven things you can't do
1. Cut crown moulding properly
2. Spell the word Occurrance--occurrence, occurance?
3. Tolerate idiocy, sloth, or greed
4. Pick up a snake by the tail and say "Crikey, look at this beauty!"
5. Give up eating chocolate
6. Make it without Fran
7. Sing karaoke

Seven things that attract you to the opposite sex!!
1. Dark hair
2. Dark eyes and long eyelashes
3. Loves to discuss philosophy, books, art
4. Never takes things too seriously
5. Someone who isn't afraid to tease me about being goofy
6. Helps if your name is Fran and has given me two children (go figure)
7. A vibrant personality that runs deep

Seven things you say most!!! (FYI--Fran reviewed this list and only agrees with #4)
1. Doh!
2. Uhhhh, okay.
3. Man!
4. (*&(#$&/!!!
5. No way!
6. Fran! You'll never guess what I did...
7. Whassssup?

Seven celebrity crushes!!!
1. Maura Tierney
2. Tea Leoni
3. Marisa Tomei
4. Gwen Stefani
5. Fran! (had to put that in there--yes, it's gratuitous pandering, but it may save my butt)
6. Maura Tierney :)
7. Do I really have to think of 7?


Here are people I would like to tag, but this may cause mayhem and warfare, plus, these people don't all have blogs they can post it on...--you are welcome to post it in comments on mine (Yes! you can be a guest columnist!) Have fun with it!

Don
Melanie
Nicole
Gar
Nancy
Anonymous (you know who you are-but you won't do it, will you?)
Mike D.

(Wow, that got to 7 very quickly)

Trying to get back into the swing of things--I took a mental vacation from things and just enjoyed life for a long weekend--it was so relaxing! I'll ramp up t0 full power over the next few days.

 

 

Dove Hunt

Nate and I went hunting in South Texas (Dilley) last Saturday. It's hard to describe dove hunting to people that haven't done it--it's just a unique experience that is part of the hunting culture in Texas. This hunt, while not one of the most productive I've been on, was one of the most enjoyable bird hunts I've ever experienced.