Well, here it is 1.5.09
Wow, 2009…2010 is right around the corner..

My awesome wife got me a Presonus PC interface box

Way cool device for recording devices into the PC: fairly steep learning curve,
that I’m glad to navigate.

Also, a GPS which I’ve been wanting for some time, but would never spend the $ for..
My inlaws scored that one for us.

Spring scored a Kitchen -Aid mixer(ooooh you silly romantic you !)
and, we ordered our Finale upgrade so that she can collaborate with a certain theater guru down in Concord,MA.
That was perhaps the most meaningful thing bought this season, in the long run: considering the creativity that will come about because of it.

The kids received some cool toys as well.
We had a very enjoyable Christmas day at home.
There was coffee, yummies etc.
But one thing that was very cool, was the semi-formal dinner we had the night before.
Spring cooked up some completely awesome stromoli, and we had a lovely dinner, complete with sparkling cider.
Afterward, we held our own little humble Christmas eve service, with singing & playing of instruments etc.

A great Christmas overall.

• Read More »

Oh man…ok ok I know I tend toward the critical…sometimes judgmental..don’t we all?

I’m sure I’m the only one in the world whose sick up & fed with the phrase ‘have a safe..{insert holiday of choice}’

I mean, do civilized people really need to be reminded to be safe during holiday?

I was just getting over it, when on a forum, a fellow posts IN RED,:
“Hi all

Merry Christmas to everyone and your families. Have a safe holiday where ever you are.”

I dunno..
It sounds so childish..
I makes me feel like I’m not smart enbough to realize that human beings, by nature tend toward survival, and comfort.

Perhaps we could wish to one another, or at least the menfolk… “hey mack, have a good trip…oh, and do you have clean underwear on?”
or
“Hey, Happy new year!…and be sure to not play with fire”
or
“happy festivus…and by all means, remember to turn all your burners off before you leave to go anywhere”

cmon!
stop it!
Just say…for instance: “Merry Christmas!”
Wasn’t that fun?
Wasn’t that simple?!

• Read More »

You’ve just gottta check out this post written by my most astute, and talented wife.

• Read More »

Yaay we’re on v2.7, and I thought I’d celebrate by breaking out the Cabernet!

Or, at least by shakin up the themes a bit…

Cooler dashboard, methinks: a little more user friendly and quicker to do page/post stuff.

A Little Irishy Christmas tunige to celebrate!

• Read More »

That I own a sword?

And, even cooler…that THIS guy made it!

• Read More »

Words associated with Christianity and British history taken out of children’s dictionary

Words taken out:

Carol, cracker, holly, ivy, mistletoe

Dwarf, elf, goblin

Abbey, aisle, altar, bishop, chapel, christen, disciple, minister, monastery, monk, nun, nunnery, parish, pew, psalm, pulpit, saint, sin, devil, vicar

Coronation, duchess, duke, emperor, empire, monarch, decade

adder, ass, beaver, boar, budgerigar, bullock, cheetah, colt, corgi, cygnet, doe, drake, ferret, gerbil, goldfish, guinea pig, hamster, heron, herring, kingfisher, lark, leopard, lobster, magpie, minnow, mussel, newt, otter, ox, oyster, panther, pelican, piglet, plaice, poodle, porcupine, porpoise, raven, spaniel, starling, stoat, stork, terrapin, thrush, weasel, wren.

Acorn, allotment, almond, apricot, ash, bacon, beech, beetroot, blackberry, blacksmith, bloom, bluebell, bramble, bran, bray, bridle, brook, buttercup, canary, canter, carnation, catkin, cauliflower, chestnut, clover, conker, county, cowslip, crocus, dandelion, diesel, fern, fungus, gooseberry, gorse, hazel, hazelnut, heather, holly, horse chestnut, ivy, lavender, leek, liquorice, manger, marzipan, melon, minnow, mint, nectar, nectarine, oats, pansy, parsnip, pasture, poppy, porridge, poultry, primrose, prune, radish, rhubarb, sheaf, spinach, sycamore, tulip, turnip, vine, violet, walnut, willow

Words put in:

Blog, broadband, MP3 player, voicemail, attachment, database, export, chatroom, bullet point, cut and paste, analogue

Celebrity, tolerant, vandalism, negotiate, interdependent, creep, citizenship, childhood, conflict, common sense, debate, EU, drought, brainy, boisterous, cautionary tale, bilingual, bungee jumping, committee, compulsory, cope, democratic, allergic, biodegradable, emotion, dyslexic, donate, endangered, Euro

Apparatus, food chain, incisor, square number, trapezium, alliteration, colloquial, idiom, curriculum, classify, chronological, block graph

• Read More »

So Hillary Rodham Clinton is to become our next Secretary of State.

hrmph

• Read More »

So, some of you remember the story of this woodstove…the after hours operation,

for which I, and two of my friends were escorted to the Lewiston police dept.

Well, she’s finally installed.

And may I say, it throws some good heat.

Very much an improvement over our previous stove.

This is a 1979 Garrison Model 1

Some ductwork behind the scenes…

• Read More »

More isn't always better, Linus. 

Sometimes it's just more.
Pick one.
I don't know anything about--
Don't take a picture. Just look.
Ocean, ocean, ocean, ocean.
Quaint little fishing village. Ocean, ocean.
Lighthouse. Guy going into the lighthouse.
There's a job for you.
What must that be like?
What kind of a guy takes a

 job keeping a lighthouse? 

Today, that's what I wanna do...
for some reason...keep a  lighthouse
Points for recognizing from whence this 

movie quote comes from…

				  

				   
Read More »
				    

				  
		        

when did we become so stupid?

This is a question on a safety test I’m currently taking:

• Read More »

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=92662&page=1

• Read More »

I believe my wife  was right on, when she said many will vote for the opposing party, due to angst over the current state of the union.

I believe she’s been proven right.

I hope the ‘change’  that Barack has touted will come, will prove to be change for good, and not for evil.

Only time will tell…

R

• Read More »

Wel, it’s over for another 4 years.

If folks ask how I voted, all I have to say is “I’m a pro-life, liberty loving capitalist”.

• Read More »

I am increasingly becoming convinced that decent, thinking people are ready to take the US further down a Marxist ideological path,

all for the sake of electing an administration that supposedly cares more about the environment, social justice, change and ‘the little guy’.

Or, because John McCain supposedly represents BIG BUSINESS BIG MONEY BIG TAX BREAKS FOR THE RICH  blah blah blah…

It’s gotten to the point that decent, thinking people that I thought knew better, are unwilling to debate on a rational plane, Obama’s far left ideology.
Notice, I didn’t  even bring up religion…..

• Read More »

‘Spread the Wealth Around’ Comment Comes Back to Haunt Obama

I’m sorry folks, I’ve never been a fan of mandatory redistribution of wealth…
or > NARAL(interesting who they fully endorse)

…some interesting comments there too…

or > pro-abortion  stances:

AT A GLANCE

• Reproductive Choice: Obama has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving a women’s right to choose under Roe v. Wade a priority as president.
• Obama also supports expanded access to contraception, health information and preventive services to reduce unintended pregnancies.

OBAMA’S PLAN

• Protecting a Women’s Right to Choose: Obama will make safeguarding women’s rights under Roe v. Wade a priority. He opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn that decision.
• Reducing Unintended Pregnancy: Obama will work to reduce unintended pregnancy by guaranteeing equity in contraceptive coverage, providing sex education, and offering rape victims accurate information about emergency contraception.

OBAMA RECORD

• Throughout his career, in both the Illinois Senate & the US Senate, Obama has stood up for a women’s right to choose, consistently earning 100% ratings from pro-choice groups.

or> One who leans toward a pro-gay platform( I acknowledge his desire to allow states rights to have jurisdiction here, and his belief that marriage is a M/W)

However, seen as a whole, it is my belief, that an Obama administration, coupled with a left-leaning judiciary, would do little to dissuade homosexual agendas from being even further pushed onto very young minds via public schooling.

I realize that these are divisive issues.

And I know some of my ‘progressive’ friends will chalk these sentiments up to me being narrow, or ultra-fundamental or what ever…

I would counter that on at least some of these issues, I have the burden of scripture on my side (for those who care about that sort of thing).

me

• Read More »

• Read More »

Though I do not yet know the details, I have heard that the venerable Jan Mee is being sold!

Suffice it to say, it will take some time before the full effects are known…

• Read More »

What a great movie.

• Read More »

The nation’s largest teachers union, the National Education Association (NEA), attracted 9,000 delegates to its annual convention in Washington, DC over the Fourth of July weekend. Delegates sported buttons with provocative slogans such as “Gay marriage causes Global Warming only because we are so hot”, “Hate is not a family value,” “The ‘Christian Right’ is neither,” and “Gay Rights are civil rights.”The delegates passed dozens of hard-hitting resolutions which now become the NEA’s official policy. The resolutions authorize NEA members and employees to lobby for those goals in the halls of Congress and state capitols.

NEA resolutions cover the waterfront of all sorts of political issues that have nothing to do with improving education for schoolchildren, such as supporting statehood for the District of Columbia, a “single-payer health care plan” (i.e., government-run), gun control, ratification of the International Criminal Court Treaty, and taking steps “to change activities that contribute to global climate change.”

The NEA strongly opposes designating English as our official language (even though this is supported by more than 80% of Americans).

The NEA fiercely opposes any competition for public schools, such as vouchers, tuition tax credits, parental option plans, or public support of any kind to non-public schools. The NEA opposes homeschooling unless kids are taught by state-licensed teachers using a state-approved curriculum. The NEA wants to bar homeschooled students from participating in any extracurricular activities in public schools (even though their parents pay school taxes, too).

The NEA wants many additional (job-creating) services and programs to be provided by public schools such as early childhood education (i.e., baby-sitting for pre-schoolers). NEA resolutions call for “programs in the public schools for children from birth through age eight,” and for “mandatory kindergarten with compulsory attendance.”

NEA resolutions include all the major feminist goals such as “the right to reproductive freedom” (i.e., abortion on demand); “comparable worth” (i.e., government control of wages according to feminist ideology rather than the free market); full funding for the feminist boondoggle called the Women’s Educational Equity Act; and “the use of non-sexist language” (i.e., censoring out all masculine words such as husband and father).

The NEA even urges its affiliates to work for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. The ERA was declared dead by the U.S. Supreme Court 26 years ago.

The influence of the gay lobby is pervasive in dozens of NEA resolutions adopted by 2008 convention delegates. Diversity is the code word used for pro-gay indoctrination in the classroom.

The NEA’s Diversity resolution makes clear that this means teaching about “sexual orientation” and “gender identification,” words that are repeated in dozens of resolutions. The NEA demands that “diversity-based curricula” even be imposed on preschoolers. NEA convention delegates were invited to an Open Hearing by the SOGI Committee in Room 149A on July 1. In case you don’t know, SOGI stands for Sexual Orientation Gender Identification.

The NEA urges its members to offer “diverse role models” by the “hiring and promotion of diverse education employees in our public schools.” The NEA puts domestic partnerships and civil unions on an equal footing with marriage.

The NEA wants every child (i.e., regardless of age) to have “direct and confidential access [i.e., without notification to parents] to comprehensive health [i.e., including learning how to use condoms for premarital sex], social, and psychological programs and services.” The NEA wants all sex education courses, textbooks, curricula, instructional materials and activities to include indoctrination about sexual orientation and gender identification plus warnings about homophobia.

The NEA wants public schools to take over the physical and mental care of students through school clinics that provide services, diagnosis, treatment, family-planning counseling, and access to birth control methods “with instruction in their use.” Family planning clinics are called on to “provide intensive counseling.”

The NEA is very generous with taxpayers’ money spent on illegal aliens. The NEA not only favors amnesty for illegal alien students, but also in-state college tuition and financial aid to illegal alien college students.

The NEA is strong for “multicultural education,” which the resolution makes clear does not mean studying facts about different countries and cultures. It means “the process of incorporating the values” and influencing “behavior” toward the NEA’s version of “the common good,” such as “reducing homophobia.”

Of course, the NEA supports “global education” to teach “interdependency in sharing the world’s resources.” It’s also no surprise that the NEA adamantly opposes any requirement that schools “schedule a moment of silence.”

Will parents be silent about the radical goals of their children’s teachers?

• Read More »

This is Redistribution of Wealth.

Gov Sarah Palin brought up that phrase last night in discussing the dems propsed tax hike on those earning >259K.

It’s a subject I’ve tossed about as well, and which will likely have far reaching effects should our opponent win the seat in the White House.

I know there are those who think that ROW is a good thing.

However, I would challenge those folks to point to a society such as ours, who enjoy our levels of freedom, where it has enjoyed a positive, and sustained run.

It is usually spun, using the guilt method.

I.E. “you’re taking food away from the hungry”

or

“you’re forcing children out onto the streets” etc etc etc

or

“my aunt Roberta is now a prostitute thanks to Ronnie Reagan”

So,  to use a word that Joe Biden repeatedly used in last nights debate, a FUNDAMENTAL worldview/paradigm difference exists between the two parties.

It seems to trace it’s roots back to the subtle inclusion of Marxist principles into our society, which I believe have blossomed during the late 50’s era forward. (this would bear researching at a greater level)

Anyway, the debates roll on..

Oh, and BTW, I’m almost shocked to hear the Dems adopt a hardline position as to the cause of Global warming.

Despite extremely compelling evidence to the contrary, they are insisting that humans have caused this phenomenon, solely due to carbon emissions.

ugh…

later

• Read More »