Long Drive Home

Long Drive Home
Originally uploaded by Macmania Pete.

What a drive back from Amelia Island. The weekend was great. Worked on editing the manuscript. Ran each day. Played games. Relaxed.

But damn, the drive home today was un-freaking-believable. Torrential, driving rain for 2 1/2 hours straight on the interstate and more on the back roads. A 4 hour trip took 5 hours. My shoulders were so tight from concentrating on the road. The picture is indicative of the drive.

Glad to be home:)

WH

Some Pics From the Beach

Some Pics From the Beach

This is a beautiful place...

WH

"Wait! I have the wrong shoes on!!!"

The car's front tires are literally crossing the threshold of the driveway on the way to FL and my wife shouts, "WAIT, I HAVE THE WRONG SHOES ON!" To put this is context - we are preparing to drive 4 1/2 hours to Amelia Island, FL. We will be sitting in the car, we are not going out to dinner, we are not walking in the park, we are not even hanging our shod feet out of the window - no we are changing into shoes that we will kick off the split second that we are in the car.

The above picture is of the REAL shoes that merited a trip back into the house, after slamming on the brakes following the shriek. We had stopped at the gas station and Jen was at the counter buying snacks when I snapped the picture.

Can you imagine her surprise when the guy behind the counter leaned over and said, "My did you change shoes before you started on your trip? They suit you so much better."

Do you believe that? You tell me...

WH

My Heart Breaks for the Oil Companies

My Heart Breaks for the Oil Companies

I just think that this is wrong!

I've been waiting for the big oil companies conference calls on quarterly profits. CONOCOPHILLIPS (COP - NYSE) announced last night, that they had a 2nd quarter profit up 51% from the 1st quarter - and a revenue jump of 34%.

Tell me that they are not inflating oil and natural gas prices and sticking the pump nozzle where the sun don't shine to comsumers! Profits of 14%, 20%, maybe 25% on the quarter, BUT 51% during a time that the big oil companies are crying in their beer that they are facing hard times due to crude prices.

Pisses me off it does

WH

Pray For My Son

Jason called about an hour ago and he leaves for Iraq early Thursday morning. My prayers are with the 2nd Marine Division, Delta Company, 2d LAR - Semper Fi

The day that we have been waiting for has come - all of his training and person will be tested.

Keep your head down Boy, keep your head down. I love you more than life itself.

Dad

Go, go, go, go...

Go, go, go, go...

Gearing up for a weekend with my In-Laws in Amelia Island, FL. We love to visit and Jen and I are taking my daughter Jessie and her boyfriend Jesse with us.

The weather looks to be perfect beach weather - hot, hot, hot - with afternoon thundershowers.

The only plans that I have while on this mini-vacation are to finish up the running goal I set last month (100 miles in a month - I have 13 miles left and two weeks to finish - should knock it out this weekend and pad the total some) prior to my backpacking trip, August 12-16, to the Pacific Northwest, and installing Tiger on my In-law's computers. Now that it has been updated to 10.4.2 I think that it is safe to make the change.

I'll drive 2 hours home Thursday evening and we'll change cars and drive 4+hours to Amelia that night - it's always better to get there the night before and get the driving out of the way. It feels like an extra day to me when we do it this way.

I'll be posting some pics from the visit as they happen.

WH

I Love My Church

This is the lithrograph that hangs over the back of one of the toilets in our church bathroom. It is from Dante's Inferno, Gustave Doré is the artist. This particular print is INFERNO 28, The Severed Head of Bertrand de Born speaks.

A link to his other prints from The Divine Comedy is here

Now that gives you something to think about as one takes care of your personal needs. I guess that it can scare the poo right out of you.

WH

It's Great to be an Old School Rocker

It's Great to be an Old School Rocker

I don't know if you have watched TV lately but there has been a return to '70's rock and roll for advertising - Led Zeppelin doing background music for the Cadillac TV ad's is but one example.

Last night I saw a KFC commercial that used Lynard Skynard's "Sweet Home Alabama" as background music. BUT the best new commercial that uses '70's rock has to be the new Subaru Commercial that uses Kansas' "Dust in The Wind" (once you follow the highlighted link click on the "see ad" box in the right corner). It is one of the best commercials that I have seen in a while.

And they said rock was dead!

WH

The BFE Express

The BFE Express

I don't know if you have heard the expression "BFE", as in "They live all the way out in BFE." Now cover your ears kiddies - BFE is an acronym for "Bum-Fuck Egypt" - I really don't know how far that is but it must be WAY OUT THERE.

Anyway, back to the point. Here in Aiken we have a sort of small town transit system. The real fun is that (you know this if you already read the linked page), the system is called "Best Friend Express" - yep, it's the BFE.

In fact here is a picture of one of our public transit buses.


Now you have to admit, that's freaking funny. I almost wet myself the first time I saw the bus with BFE on the side.

I hope that it brought a smile to your face.

WH

A Bit Hot?

Here is a screen shot from Weather Man X of today's weather in Charleston. That's right sports fans, the heat index is 107.5!

WH

The Drive To Work

On my way to work this morning I snapped this shot as I drove over the I-526 bridge toward Daniel Island:



Ok, the car window is still drippy with dew and I was driving 80 (65 Mom), snapping blind with one hand, but you get the idea. It's a great view.

WH

PS - I really like my new camera

Panic Puppy

Ok, so here is a pic from the new camera. It was perfect timing. I just got home from Charleston, SC at 5:30ish and decided to cut the grass. While I was cutting grass I was charging the battery for the camera - you can't use those things without battery power.

About an hour after cutting the grass a typical summer thunderstorm came rushing through - our dog, Cinnamon, goes a bit mental when she hears thunder - her teeth chatter, she shakes and pants like she's just run 5 miles on three legs. Oh, to add to that trauma, she hates having cameras pointed at her. So here is a picture of her in double meltdown - thunder and camera.



She hides behind the couch and peeks around the corner as she shivers, pants, and chatters her teeth.

Our goal in picking another dog is one that is a touch less mental. But she is our "muppy" and we love her - panic meltdown and all.

You have to admit that she is cute!

WH

Report on My Recent Study

Report on My Recent Study

Just a quick report back concerning my little theory and experiment on Jessica Simpson's Breasts.

I was wrong. The "Men Pissing" entry continues to lead the search list by a LARGE MARGIN. Sad really. I think that society has taken a turn here...

More people are looking for men pissing than they are a woman's breasts - we have come to the end of the world my friends, at least my world.

Maybe I have lost touch with the mainstream, BUT if I have a choice to see men pissing or a woman's breast's my choice would be, well... let me just say that I don't spend any more time in the Men's Room at the airport than I have to.

WH

Perfect Timing

Perfect Timing

As I have bored you with the details of my little gadget escapade over the past week or so, I have been patiently waiting for the new camera to get delivered.

Quick recap: Ordered on the 11th of July. Resisted the extortion of amazon.com to have it shipped next day instead of 3 weeks later. It shipped out on the 15th. Bastards.

So, as the "package delivery gods" would have it, after all of my smirking and poo-pooing amazon.com, after waiting patiently (and checking the web site multiple times per day), the package was delivered to the house THIS AFTERNOON.

"So what's the big deal?" you say. "Thanks for asking"

I'm 120 miles away and spending the night. Poo. Now I have to wait another day. BUT I will have pictures from the new camera posted here by Wednesday night - you can bet your sweet bippy on that (Laugh In nostalgia for those old enough)

So I wait.......

WH

Last Night's Party for Linda

Last Night's Party for Linda

Our pastor's wife was the big five-o yesterday so we had a party. Here are some pics:



Linda is on the right, pink shirt. Happy Birthday Linda!!

The Three Amigos: Hanson, Dan, and Mike

Mike and Karen

It was fun, even though we had some party crashers late - we gave them some cake and let them watch crazy people have fun.

WH

I Finally Cut My Locks

I Finally Cut My Locks

Well, it's done. I've been mulling this one over for the past few months. I have had a pony tail for the past decade. It has gradually gotten grayer as the years have passed - and I have less hair on the front of my head as it has turned "loose".

I woke up this morning thinking about cutting the "mane", and, after some discussion with my stylist, she clipped it off.

She cut off 8 inches of salt and pepper ponytail and it will be donated to Locks of Love.

It is always interesting to see people's reactions and just how long it takes for them to notice the change. We have a party to go to tonight so I'll post a short update afterwards to let you know how reaction times are.

Back in college I cut half of a full beard off - from the middle of my nose to my Adam's apple - one side was as smooth as a baby's butt and the other was bushy with growth. It took people minutes, at least, to notice. This was when they were staring me right in the face, talking to me. It could have been the 55 gallon trash can of Grape and Grain...

Hopefully the crowd tonight will be a bit quicker on the draw.

WH

My Freaky New Contact Lenses

My Freaky New Contact Lenses

Left, right, left, right. Blink, blink, squint.

I went to the eye doctor yesterday to get my check up. He is a brilliant doc who we do a number of referrals to in Charleston, SC. I had a few questions concerning my eye care and possible options.

I have been considering laser surgery and getting rid of my glasses

The possibility of "blended" contacts - wearing a close-up contact in one eye and a long vision in the other

Extended wear contacts for when I backpack so I don't have to mess with glasses while out in the "bush"

The simple answers for me were - don't worry about laser yet, I'll need cataract surgery later anyway and we can put refractive lenses in then - don't wear extended wear contacts, anytime, they don't allow your eyes to breath as you sleep, and let's try the "blended" contacts and see how I do.

So here I sit without reading glasses, for the first time in a year or so, typing away. My one eye, the right one, is my long vision; my left is the close vision one. It's kind of weird. Doing close up work my right side is a bit blurry, and the opposite is true when looking far away.

Since it takes the brain a week or so to adjust fully to this dilemma I will wait before ordering more contacts. So far I like the idea of not carrying my reading glasses around - one less thing to lose:)

But I do find myself closing one eye then the other, just to see how the view changes.

WH

It Wasn't Three Weeks

It Wasn't Three Weeks

In my post of July 11, I confessed to being a gadget whore. I was also calling Amazon.com on the carpet for stating that they wouldn't be able to send my camera for three weeks.

I just checked the web site (OK, OK, I've been checking 20 times a day but who's counting) and the item is shipping out today - 5 days after ordering.

Rat Jackals. There, now I feel better.

WH

You Have Got To Read This

You Have Got To Read This

I stumbled across this blog the other day and the post is very insightful. Have you been here? I have - on both sides of the equation - may God free us from this type of shit: either as victims or abusers.

Bridget Jones Goes to Seminary: Fundy Sunday

Thanks for the post Meg.

WH

Our Visit to The CF Clinic In Charleston

Our Visit to The CF Clinic In Charleston

Jen and I went to the CF clinic at MUSC in Charleston, SC this past week. We were very impressed with the doctor and his staff. They are caring, competent, and aggressive in the treatment of CF.

It is exactly what we were hoping for - the clinic is also a Phase 1, 2, and 3 center for trials regarding new treatments for CF. The staff and Dr spent a great deal of time answering questions and interviewing Jen. Treatments were mentioned that we hadn't even heard of (which was a bit irritating since we had been at another clinic for 4 years without any mention of these methods).

We are very thankful for people who have a passion to help others.

WH