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GRAFFITI -- July 25, 2005 thru July 31, 2005 >> Link to the Current Week << Last Week << Mon   Tues   Wed   Thu   Fri   Sat   Sun >> Next Week Search this site : Welcome to Orb Graffiti, a place for me to write daily about life and computers. Contrary to popular belief, the two are not interchangeable.     About eMail - I publish email sometimes. If you send me an email and you want privacy or anonymity, please say so clearly at the beginning of your message.

MONDAY    Tues    Wed    Thu    Fri    Sat    Sun   
July 25, 2005

0622 - Good morning. Marcia and I did fun stuff all weekend. We went looking at antiques (but didn't buy any). We looked at dining room furniture, but didn't buy any. Some of that furniture we might afford someday, when the dining room is redone, but most of it was way above our league. We picked up a cut-rate PS2 console and a few old games (like Tetris and Jeopardy) and had fun playing together. We slept in late, got the shopping done, but otherwise enjoyed each other's company in favor of all other occupations. It's good to do that, at least every once in a while. Home ownership seems mostly about keeping up with the chores, the cleaning, the yard, the chores ... Hey, wait! Didn't I already do those? And on and on. So a weekend for each other was a nice treat. My Marcia's a sweetie.

In IRC, Matt posted a link to the world's ugliest dog. He's right, you know. Here's a close-up shot. Don't be eating breakfast when you look at that. Now it's time for me to go driving off into the crashing thunder and rain that woke me up this morning. Have a lovely Monday!

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Mon    TUESDAY    Wed    Thu    Fri    Sat    Sun   
July 26, 2005

0626 - Yeah, it's hot here, too. Good morning. We're going to have heat-index numbers around 105-110, according to some estimates. Then I look at the news. Then I wonder, what possible argument could anyone rationally construct for "Intelligent Design". The world is a screwed up place, and there's nothing to blame but each other. On the other hand, sometimes I have some pretty good moments. But for now, after a restless night's sleep, I guess I'll just stagger on into work.

0841 - Sad news but clearly there's still room for good thoughts and hope: John Doucette's wife Emma has a spreading cancer that started from a melanoma not caught in time. I've been lax at keeping up with all of the Gang, as life keeps me pretty busy, so I didn't see this until this morning, although I dropped in a couple of times over the last few weeks, they must have been the less eventful ones. I've sent them an email and am beaming positive vibs that direction. Now back to work...

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Mon    Tues    WEDNESDAY    Thu    Fri    Sat    Sun   
July 27, 2005

1053 - Good morning, more or less. It's supposed to be 97° F or more, heat index as much as 110 F. Lovely. Tonight sometime a cool-front pushes through and drops us 20 degrees for the next few days. I'm looking forward to that! Lots on tap for today, so I'd best be back at it. Ciao!

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Mon    Tues    Wed    THURSDAY    Fri    Sat    Sun   
July 28, 2005

0632 - Good morning....

More need not be said. Sometimes life is good, after all...

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Mon    Tues    Wed    Thu    FRIDAY    Sat    Sun   
July 29, 2005

No Post!

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Mon    Tues    Wed    Thu    Fri    SATURDAY    Sun   
July 30, 2005

1102 - Good morning. Yah, nothing up here yesterday. I was up, out of bed and on the road in a flash. It was a productive day, including some Exchange server configuration successes and taking part in the interview process for a bright woman looking at one of the open positions we've got. I found myself thinking that I would make time and energy to post in the evening, but a nearly two hour commute home (due to multiple accidents on the road) wiped out my remaining motivation for the evening.

Instead, I harvested some peppers and tomatoes, and chopped them up with garlic and onion to make a nice little salsa. I marinated a couple of small steaks in that, and barbequed them to perfection. Back inside, I put the plate on the table, and went to pour milk. When I looked over my shoulder, Molly was sniffing at the air at the edge of the table, right next to the plate. I walked back and nudged the plate in a few inches. I admonished her, "If you hoover those steaks, I'll be having Lab burritos for two weeks. Don't think I won't, there's more dogs where you came from!" I'm pretty sure she believed me.

Today we have a couple of errands to run -- getting a print from the Barnes Foundation framed, and a couple of replacement annuals for out by the mailbox need to be purchased and planted. Not a lot on our list for today. That's good, I think. So happy Saturday and I'll see you tomorrow.

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Mon    Tues    Wed    Thu    Fri    Sat    SUNDAY  
July 31, 2005

2126 - Good evening. I'm mostly recovered from the day's events. I've been rather drained by some summer bug that Marcia and I seemed to come down with simultaneously overnight on Thursday into Friday. This morning, after the weekly shopping run, I headed outside to finish up some front porch drip watering installation, and get the lawns mowed. Our neighbor Chet pointed out a bit of awry siding from the windstorm last Tuesday, so that moved to the top of the list. Fortunately, once I got the ladder positioned, it was a matter of a minute or two to reseat the siding and set a couple of screws so that it wouldn't come free again. Then I finished and tested the watering setup in under an hour. Another hour got up all the dog presents in the back and edged the lawns front and back. It's hot and bloody muggy, but I soldiered on, mowing the front yard and 90% of the back when BAM! All of my energy was gone. Gone. Yes, I'd been taking in liquids, I was still sweating profusely, it didn't feel like heat exhaustion -- I'd just done too much under the circumstances. Harumph, I'm not particularly pleased about that. Marcia graciously finished up the last 5 minutes of mowing, I put away the mower, locked things up, went inside and collapsed for a couple of hours. Much better now, thanks!

I pretty much missed last week's Sunday post, but our soldiers in the Middle East are never far from my mind...

• Sgt. 1st Class. Tricia L. Jameson, 34, of Omaha, Neb., died on July 14 in Trebil, Iraq. Jameson, a health care specialist was responding to a casualty incident when a secondary improvised explosive device detonated near her location.
• Pfc. Timothy J. Hines, Jr., 21, of Fairfield, Ohio, died on July 14 at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., from wounds sustained on June 19 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV.
• Spc. Jared D. Hartley, 22, of Newkirk, Okla., died July 15 in Taji, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV.
• Staff Sgt. Travis S. Cooper, 24, of Macon, Miss., died on July 16, in Balad, Iraq, from wounds sustained the previous day in Baghdad, Iraq, when an inprovised explosive device exploded near the vehicle he was searching.
• Cpl. Clifton B. Mounce, 22, of Pontotoc, Miss. died July 14 when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Trebil, Iraq.
• Cpl. Christopher D. Winchester, 23, of Flomaton, Ala. died July 14 when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Trebil, Iraq.
• Staff Sgt. Frank Tiai, 45, of Pago Pago, American Samoa, died July 17 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his position.
• Lance Cpl. Efrain Sanchez, Jr., 26, of Port Chester, N.Y., died July 17 as result of a non-hostile incident at Camp Blue Diamond, in Ramadi, Iraq.
• Staff Sgt. Jorge L. Penaromero, 29, of Fallbrook, Calif., died July 16 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV while his unit was conducting a mounted patrol.
• Sgt. 1st Class Ronald T. Wood, 28, of Cedar City, Utah, died July 16 in Kirkuk, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV.
• Spc. Ronnie D. Williams, 26, of Erlanger, Ky., died on July 17 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained on July 16 in Baghdad, Iraq, when his M1A2 Abrams tank left the road and entered a canal during patrol operations.
• Pfc. Lavena L. Johnson, 19, of Florissant, Mo., died July 19 in Balad, Iraq, of non-combat related injuries.
• Staff Sgt. Jefferey J. Farrow, 28, of Birmingham, Ala., died July 19 in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, of non-combat related injuries.
• Sgt. Arthur R. McGill, 25, of Gravette, Ark., died July 19 in Baghdad, Iraq, where an improvised explosive device detonated while he was on mounted patrol in a HMMWV.
• Petty Officer 3rd Class Travis L. Youngblood, 26, of Surrency, Ga., died July 21 of wounds received July 15 from an improvised explosive device during combat operations in Hit, Iraq.
• Cpl. Steven P. Gill, 24, of Round Rock, Texas, died July 21 from an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Zaidon, Iraq.
• Sgt. Bryan J. Opskar, 32, of Princeton, Minn., died July 23 when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Ar Rutbah, Iraq.
• Sgt. Jason T. Palmerton, 25, of Auburn, Neb., died on July 23 in Qal'eh-Yegaz, Afghanistan, where he came under enemy small arms fire while conducting a dismounted patrol.
• Sgt. Christopher J. Taylor, 22, of Opelika, Ala., died July 24 in Balad, Iraq, when he was hit by mortar rounds while he was exiting a bunker.
• Spc. Adam J. Harting, 21, of Portage, Ind., died July 25 in Samarra, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Bradley Fighting Vehicle.
• Staff Sgt. Michael W. Schafer, 25, of Spring Hill, Fla., died July 25 in Oruzgan, Afghanistan, when he was shot by enemy forces while on a quick reaction force mission.
• Capt. Benjamin D. Jansky, 28, of Oshkosh, Wis., died July 27 in Al Taqaddum, Iraq, where his HMMWV was accidentally struck by another military vehicle.
• Cpl. Andre L. Williams, 23, of Galloway, Ohio, died July 28, when his unit came under attack by enemy small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades while conducting combat operations in Cykla Village, Iraq.
• Spc. Jacques E. Brunson, 30, of Americus, Ga. died on July 24, in Baghdad, Iraq, where an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV while he was on patrol.
• Staff Sgt. Carl R. Fuller, 44, of Covington, Ga. died on July 24, in Baghdad, Iraq, where an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV while he was on patrol.
• Sgt. James O. Kinlow, 35, of Thomson, Ga. died on July 24, in Baghdad, Iraq, where an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV while he was on patrol.
• Sgt. John F. Thomas, 33, of Valdosta, Ga. died on July 24, in Baghdad, Iraq, where an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV while he was on patrol.
• Spc. Edward L. Myers, 21, of St. Joseph, Mo., died July 27 in Samarra, Iraq, where his unit was conducting patrol operations and an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV.
• Lance Cpl. Christopher P. Lyons, 24, of Shelby, Ohio, died July 28 when his unit came under attack by enemy small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades while conducting combat operations in Cykla, Iraq.
• Pvt. Ernesto R. Guerra, 20, of Long Beach, Calif., died July 29 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained on July 28 in Baghdad, Iraq, when his HMMWV was involved in an accident.

That's thirty lives spent in the service of Freedom, far from our shores. From the reports that I hear that aren't anti-war screeds, our soldiers rotating in and out of theatre operations strongly believe in their mission, and think they're going to meet the goals set for them. I'm proud of our young men and women.

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Visit the rest of the DAYNOTES GANG, a collection of bright minds and sharp wits. Really, I don't know why they tolerate me <grin>. My personal inspiration for these pages is Dr. Jerry Pournelle. I am also indebted to Bob Thompson and Tom Syroid for their patience, guidance and feedback. Of course, I am sustained by and beholden to my lovely wife, Marcia. You can find her online too, at http://www.dutchgirl.net/. Thanks for dropping by.

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