Rambling thru life

Where are you Christmas? Why can't I find you? Why have you gone away? Where is the laughter  You used to bring me? Why can't I hear music play?   My world is changing, I'm rearranging. Does that mean Christmas changes too?   ------------------   I awoke early this morning.  Unable to sleep I picked up my cell phone and started scanning the news.  I was looking for evidence during this holiday season that the Christmas season was here.    In the news I saw evidence of our nation in distress.  I read about the murder of a pregnant wife and the death a nine year old, who was left in the trash bin.  I read about millions of people gambling their hard earned cash for a once in a lifetime opportunity to win the lottery.  Of course there was news about the weather, and the concern that the dear might starve with all the snow covering the food source.  Finally, in small print, I found a small article of the generous giving to the salvation army.  But the

Today LoriAnn and I are heading home! A big thanks to Kathryne and Brad for hosting the family gathering for Thanksgiving, for letting LoriAnn and I stay with them, and for giving up their bed to LoriAnn and myself.  This day however, we headed north on Interstate 35 which runs almost to our front door.  We topped off the gas tank and got a bite to eat about 60 miles up the road in Perry.  We stopped for BBQ and gas in Des Moines.  We drove into our driveway less than 12 hours later.  For this day, we drove about 780 miles.  The total trip was 3240 miles. Overall impression: Texas is a large state with many different topographical regions.  West of Austin is the hill country that we liked.  East of Austin was flat.  Galveston was fun, and a potentially tourist location but not a place to live.  We liked the region around Tyler and may consider this as a future place to settle.  We did not like Azle and Eagle Mountain for the lack of commerce and arid condition.  We did not lik

From Fort Worth, we drove north to Oklahoma City to visit LoriAnn's nieces Kathryne and Sarah and their families for Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving day, the 3.5 hour drive north was un-eventful. There was hardly anyone on the road. With the help of the GPS we found Kathryne and Brad's house without any problem.  Because Sarah and Josh were visiting Josh's family, the Thanksgiving celebration was postponed until Friday.  But we still needed to eat.  Although I think people should be home with their families on the holidays, I was thankful for the people working at Braum's so that we could get a good burger. That afternoon, I went with Brad to wash his car. LoriAnn, Brad, and I then took the dogs out for a walk.  Honestly, the walk was the most exercise that LoriAnn and I had all week.  That night Brad and I played the Xbox, while LoriAnn and Kathryne were baking in the kitchen.  Thanksgiving day started out as a lazy day with everyone sleeping until after 7:30.  Sar

Our goal today was west of Fort Worth, around the Azle and Eagle Mountain area.  I have friends that live in the Azle area.  We choose to end the Texaz search in the Azle area based on my memories of the area. We left Tyler, Texas in the sun and headed west.  We crossed through Dallas on the interstate just fine.  Going through Fort Worth, the interstate was closed for over an hour as they removed an eighteen wheeler from the road. Sitting on the interstate not moving for an hour was very irritating. Entering the city limits of Azle, our expectations were quickly dampened.  The terrain is rolling hills which we like, but the land was a lot more arid than we like.  We drove through the old town and then into a residential area. Again the first part of town we entered was depressed.  Trying to stay positive, we drove around Azle some more until we found middle and upper class homes.  Leaving Azle we drove around the eastern tip of Lake Eagle Mountain and then north along the lake.

This morning, the wind was blowing strongly and it  was still lightly raining.  It wasn't a pleasant nights sleep.  The power went out in the motel room around 3:30.  When the CPAP machine quit on me, I naturally woke up. When I went around the room verifying the power outage, I managed to leave some lights on,.  And then, of course the lights were all brightly lit when the power came on around 4:30. So I got up and turned them off. Galveston, oh, Galveston,  I still hear your seawaves crashin Galveston is a city on the coast of Texas that attracts lots of hurricanes. The songwriter was on a beach in Galveston when he wrote this. He made up the story about a soldier in the Spanish-American war and the girl he left behind. Most songwriters never find themselves in places like Galveston or Wichita, but Webb found inspiration in the people he encountered in these places. The Vietnam War was going on when Campbell released this. It was considered an antiwar song.   It wasn'

This morning we awoke with the temperature in the mid thirties, and the rain was slightly raining.  We headed east towards Houston and then crossed across the inner coastal highway into Galveston.  After a lengthy traffic delay going through Houston we finally turned south towards the coast.  Going south on Interstate 45, we saw signs for NASA's Houston Space Center.  Although it wasn't on our agenda, we got off the freeway and found the space center.  It was just a quick drive by.  Someday it would be fun to actually tour the place. Galveston, oh Galveston,  I still hear your sea winds blowing. LoriAnn and I blew into town on a gust of wind. When I thought of Galveston before this day, this is not what I expected. This town is a seaside town very similar to many others that I have visited before.  It is similar to Virginia Beach with its tourist shops, motels, and restaurants. The rain never quit, but we made the most of the afternoon.  This was a fun destination, not

Austin is really a tale of more than one city.   To the east is the plains. To the west are the hills.  Old town Austin is rich with history. The newer town of Round Rock is..  well its new. LoriAnn and I have often talked about what we are looking for on this trip.  We agree that we don't need Ocean.  Mountains are not necessary, but we love hills.  The region we settle in will need to have some lakes cause we do like to play on water.  The lakes will typically indicate that the region has the water to support its populace. We got onto the road this morning at 8:30 with plans to head west into the hill land before the rain and sleet started to fall. Heading North West on 183, we left town.  Initially we were concerned. This was supposed to be hill country.  And we didn't see any hills.  This looked like Iowa.  Then we turned West on 1431 and drove to Marble Falls.  1431 was a great curvy road.  The flat land turned to hills that reminded us of Missouri and Arkansas.  I cou

Other years we have gone to places such as Williamsburg, Puerto Rico, Branson, and Southern California.  This year we decided on a road trip to Texas, with a stop in Oklahoma City to visit LoriAnn's nieces. At 4:00PM on Friday, LoriAnn and I logged off of our work laptops and began packing.   After the third exhausting week of more than 57 hours of work, the two of us were off on our Thanksgiving holiday vacation.  LoriAnn actually had most of her packing done.  Besides having selected most of her clothes, she also had gathered up snacks and other stuff for the trip.  I hadn't packed a thing. So when 4PM came around, I went into overdrive packing my clothes, computers, and winter wear (just in case).  LoriAnn scurried about putting items into her suit case, bags and what not.  During lunch we went over to the car rental and picked up the vehicle we are going to use.  So we had the car and we just needed to shove items into it and head off. With the trunk almost full and the

My desk is a real mess.   I try hard to process through all the paper work and projects that I have going on.  But it doesn't seem to end.  Lately I have just been following the old rule, if you don't work with it for 3 month, evaluate.  If you don't work with it for 6 months, trash it.  Perhaps I need to finish some of the projects.

Todays motorcycle ride took LoriAnn and I down new roads between Zumbrota and Wabasha. Highway 60 between Zumbrota and Wabasha has always been a favorite of mine.  Recently, when looking at the map, I noticed that a highway travels along the Zumbrota river South of the favorite Hwy 60.  So today we set out to take a new route. B-C-D was the targeted portion of today's journey.  The blast down the Highway from Home to Mazeppa (B) was fast an a bit chilly with a morning starting temperature at 54 degrees.  Mazeppa to Plainview (C) was a fun ride with lots of curves and scenic waterway.  From Plainview to the Hwy 61 along the river was fun.  Once on Hwy 61 we shot up Wabasha and crossed the Mississippi to Nelson.  At Nelson, we stopped for lunch at Beths Café and then struck out in land.  Up at Urne (E) I missed my turn but we found some new and fun roads that took us up to Hwy 10 and into Durand (F).  Hwy 10 into Prescott (G) is a pleasant and curving road.  At Prescott we took

LoriAnn and I jumped on the motorcycle for a ride yesterday.   We headed north towards Duluth. That was the only destination that I specifically had in mind.  Waking up to the sound of rain, we were delayed about a hour in getting out of the house.  To make up some time, I blasted up Interstate 35 for about an hour.  Getting bored of interstate I jumped off and rode on two lane for a half hour until we got to Hinckley MN.  Then it was a blast up the freeway to Sandstone, MN.   Route Map At Sandstone, I jumped off onto Hwy 23.  This was once one of the main highways into Duluth.  Now it is just a two lane road that takes you quietly into the back side of Duluth.  It usually is very empty as people tend to take the Interstate.  It is a very nice scenic road with a couple of state parks for you to pass through.  Vista on Hwy 23 Just south of Duluth I cut east over the state line and drove the rail and auto bridge into Superior Wisconsin.  In Superior,  I asked LoriA

When a torpedo starts to "ping", that indicates it has zero'd in on on another submarines location.  The targeted submarine will jam the throttles full speed.  If the target can't put distance between itself and the torpedo, it will certainly increase it's time alive by decreasing ithe torpedo's rate of closure on its location.   This allows the target time to launch counter measures and gives the target time to find thermal layers to hide above or below.   Even a surface ship will try its best to out maneuver the torpedo.   In the end, it can be a matter of life or death. For some people, perhaps the torpedo is in the water and that person is fighting for his life.  The escalated maneuvers are part of the persons fight for life.  My project manager at work is really pushing us hard on a project that is , despite the problems and issues we are facing.  He wants to move the progress line forward.  My co worker stated that project manager 

This weekend I came down with a Spring Head Cold.  You probably know the type.  Stuffy head and congested lungs that makes you feel like what the cat leaves in the litter box.  It was so bad that I stayed home from work yesterday and took a few naps during the day.   To end the day yesterday, I went to bed with my chest covered with Vicks vapor rub.  This morning I awoke coughing the yellow mucus out of my throat and lungs.  Its gross I know, but its reality. Afterwhich, I felt better than yesterday.  So, with the sun shining, I got myself dressed and prepped for work.  When I reached for the keys I asked myself if I wanted to take the motorcycle to work.  There haven't been that many dry days to ride the bike to work.  This morning was certainly one of the better days.  But with reluctance, I grabbed the car keys instead of the bike keys. You see, taking the bike this morning added an additional level of consciousness that I just didn't want to take.  With a stuffy head, I

Cassie has just not been herself these last few days. When she doesn't eat her softfood or her treats something must be up. Normally she is around our feet crying all the time. But lately she just sits in her dinning room chair. I have found spots in the carpet where it looks like she had wet. Her litter box is being used, but I didn't find any fresh stool samples. Finally, we noted that her puking has been occuring more recently, and it is not conaining hairballs. LoriAnn and I took her in to the vet yesterday. The vet noted that she is very skiny and seemed dehydrated. A full blood workup was performed and the results came back very positive. Her temperature was good. Teeth and gums were good. The vet checked her over and didn't seem to find any masses inside that shouldn't be there. Positive is good, but it doesn't tell us anything. I cam home late from work and in a rush had to get her into her transport and whisk her off.  She went into i

Loriann and I walked our two mile loop tonight.   I didn't take any pictures cause I didn't want to make you jealous cause it was only 28 degrees, a brisk breeze out of the north chilling us a bit as we climbed over snow banks still three feet high, splashed in ice covered puddles and slipped on ice covered side walks.  Hot dang we had fun!

I will be working from home today.   There is at least 8 inches of new snow that fell overnight and it is still coming down like crazy. After a 7AM meeting, I went outside and used the snow blower to remove the snow from the driveway so I could get out.   When I went into the house to clean up, the snow plow went by again.   And now as I type this message, sitting in my kitchen in front of the window looking out at the beautiful snow covered hills that line my driveway, the plow just went by again.       For those of you that do not remember the days without laptops and networks, this would have been a day that we called into the Plant Open / Closed phone number to hear a recorded message telling us if we had to brave the weather and get into the plant or stay home.   This is one of the days when we called our boss and told him we couldn’t make it to the office.   Then we would settle in and watch movies all day long, or we would trudged across the tundra to a neighborhood park wi