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GRAFFITI -- May 15, 2006 thru May 21, 2006 >> 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   
May 15, 2006

0627 - Good morning. I promised pictures, right? First up, our visit to the temporary Memorial Site for Flight 93, adjacent to the crash scene, outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

We drove up to Pennsylvania on Saturday afternoon. After checking into our motel, we headed on over to Shanksville, and out to the site of the temporary Memorial for Flight 93. Our directions were a bit hinky, but got us there with just one missed turn. The road is barely paved now, just a step up from the gravelled surface that was there before. Out past a junk yard, we crested a hill overlooking an expansive meadow. To the bare eye, there's nothing left to indicate the events on September 11, 2001, when United Flight 93, bound for SFO out of Newark, was crashed into the ground by her hijackers. The available evidence is that the hijackers flew the plane into terrain purposefully, rather than losing control of the plane to the passengers. Those passengers had overpowered their captors in the back of the plane, and were breaking through the cockpit door, according to recorder data. The supposition is that Flight 93 was targetted on the Capitol Building, 20 minutes flying time away from the Joint Session of Congress convened at that time.

At the closest edge of the meadow, we found a couple of small parking lots, and a small building abutting some benches, stone memorials, and a chain link fence where any visitor could leave a memento as a Memorial to the crew and passengers of Flight 93. Each of the forty benches is engraved with the name of one of the dead at the site (excepting the hijackers, of course).

As we looked out over the site, and listened to the volunteer describing events of that day, we were shown the actual site of the crash. It's barely visible from the temporary Memorial site - in the picture above left, the little berm directly behind the flag on the fence is the location where the plane went down. There is a site for the formal Flight 93 National Memorial. It was a moving and emotional visit for us.

At Fallingwater, I took about 150 pictures. A number of those are reasonably good, while a goodly number are total crap. Here's a teaser:

I'll put up many more for tomorrow morning, but I've got to get to work. Marcia will be heading over to Herndon, VA, for some training on CA documents, so I'll need to get my work done, and back home to take care of the mutts. Have a great day!

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Mon    TUESDAY    Wed    Thu    Fri    Sat    Sun   
May 16, 2006

0927 - Good morning. I'll need another day to get through those pictures. Marcia stayed in Herndon last night, to get an early non-commuting start on her second day of training. So by the time the chores and bills and dogs and trash were done last night, I just didn't feel like going through all of the Fallingwater pix. Thanks for your patience. However, about the Flight 93 Memorial site, Svenson had this to offer:

The names of the hijackers and the other terrorists of that day should be engraved on the ground, where everybody can walk over them with dirty feet.

Muslims like that.

Back to the grindstone. Have a great day!

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May 17, 2006

0549 - Good morning. Here's a batch of snaps from our Fallingwater adventure this last weekend. Hover over the image to get the title or alt text. I'll wax prosaic some other time...

That's enough for now. I've got to get to the office. Have a great day!

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Mon    Tues    Wed    THURSDAY    Fri    Sat    Sun   
May 18, 2006

0609 - Good morning. And some more ...

The middle two pictures in the bottom row are taken from the observation platform that was the final shot from Wednesday's group. We really did have a glorious time visiting Fallingwater, and look forward to going back again in a couple of years, to see more (there just isn't enough time to soak it all in, in one visit). Highly recommended.

I've got an electrician meeting me at the office at about 0730. So I'd best be on my way. Have a great day!

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Mon    Tues    Wed    Thu    FRIDAY    Sat    Sun   
May 19, 2006

0612 - Good morning. Yep, another early start. Although the electricians (is that trade related to phoenicians?) didn't show up yesterday morning until about 0845, they promise they'll be in by 0730 this morning. So I've got to get there, get keys from the building management and get the electrical closets unlocked again. These guys work fairly well and I'm pretty pleased, actually. And I'm looking forward to the extra 100 amps of service in our server lab.

Nope, no more pictures for a little while. Garden pictures are probably next up, though. The first blush of pink is showing up on the largest strawberries. The first flowers are blooming on the tomato plants. And the corn planted just last week is all poking up above soil level already. This week we planted the carrots (two varieties), some more squash, and some parsnips. If everything comes up, then the garden's dance card is full until fall. I may give a bed or two to garlic for the winter, to see how that might grow in our climate.

I'm pleased for John Dominik. I'm not pleased at the FBI spending taxpayer dollars digging up a yard in Michigan, looking for the remains of Jimmy Hoffa. Look, fellas ... he's dead. Any of the folks that might have killed him are dead. Time to let the cold case go. Stop wasting my money. I'm pleased that I've never seen a television show starring two pretty people named Nick and Jessica. I'm even more pleased that I don't care they've gone their separate ways. I'm sad for Paul and Heather, unable to work it out. I thought you sang "We can work it out.", Paul? Or was that "Live and Let Die"? Some bloke is talking about a US border as a one-stop-shop for drugs and sex slaves. Now I've given up most vices, but is that designed to scare people about the border, or entice them?

Oh. There's this: Dear NSA...

Time to hit the road. Friday morning traffic is usually the best of the week, but in an extreme case of overcompensation, Friday afternoon traffic double-sucks. Happy Friday, anyway!

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May 20, 2006

No Post.

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May 21, 2006

0943 - Good morning. I've crawled out of bed, shuffled through my morning routine, and shortly we'll go do the weekly shopping. Yesterday I put in about 7 hours of yardwork, after 2-1/2 hours of mowing, edging and whatnot on Friday evening. However, the bulk of the work is behind me now... Here are some snaps of the assorted vegetation:

Out in front, our tea roses (which are in pots flanking the front step) have exploded with color. They overwintered well and I'm very pleased. The begonias and marigolds that we planted all seem to be acclimating fine, too. Yesterday's big project was putting up a fence around the strawberry patch. You may remember last year's fun with Molly and berries. Instead of staking out around both beds, I constructed some form-fitting chickenwire corsets for the beds this year. That'll allow Marcia to do some of the harvesting, and let me mow, instead of letting that area go for the 6-8 weeks of berry production.

I also lost carrots last year, with some predatory vegetarian cropping off the tops of the plants. I don't know whether it was birds, rodents, or Molly. I hope that this response keeps them a bit safer. You can see all the corn is coming up nicely. The view from the bottom of the garden isn't stunning yet, but I need a point of comparison. The tomatoes all look quite healthy, and I've got flowers popping on several already.

We're approaching Memorial Day rapidly, and our troops overseas are much on my mind. The W keeps inventing new missions for which our soldiers, marines, sailors, guardsmen and aviators weren't properly trained and equipped ... and our uniformed services step up and handle the job. This is a credit to all the young men and women serving. Still, there are losses. My condolences to the families of our fallen troops, and to their units, who surely miss their strength and friendship. This was a bad week, folks...

• Lance Cpl. Jason K. Burnett, 20, of St. Cloud, Fla., died May 11 as a result of a vehicle accident in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Lance Cpl. David J. GramesSanchez, 22, of Fort Wayne, Ind., died May 11 as a result of a vehicle accident in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• 2nd Lt. Michael L. Licalzi, 24, of Garden City, N.Y., died May 11 as a result of a vehicle accident in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Cpl. Steve Vahaviolos, 21, of Airmont, N.Y., died May 11 as a result of a vehicle accident in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Spc. Ronald W. Gebur, 23, of Delavan, Ill., died of injuries sustained in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 13, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations.
• Spc. Armer N. Burkart, 26, of Rockville, Md., died of injuries sustained in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 11, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat patrol operations.
• Lance Cpl. Adam C. Conboy, 21, of Philadelphia, Pa., died May 12, as a result of a non-hostile incident in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Pfc. Eric D. Clark, 22, of Pleasant Prairie, Wis., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 11, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat patrol operations.
• Pfc. Stephen P. Snowberger III, 18, of Lopez, Pa., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 11, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat patrol operations.
• Lance Cpl. Richard Z. James, 20, of Seaford, Del., died May 13, while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Lance Cpl. Jose S. MarinDominguez Jr., 22, of Liberal, Kan., died May 14, while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Lance Cpl. Hatak Yuka Keyu M. Yearby, 21, of Overbrook, Okla., died May 14, while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Spc. Brandon L. Teeters, 21, of Lafayette, La., died on May 12, in Ludwigshafen, Germany, of injuries sustained on April 20, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Bradley Fighting Vehicle during combat operations in Baghdad, Iraq.
• Staff Sgt. Marion Flint Jr., 29, of Baltimore, Md., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 15, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat patrol operations.
• Pfc. Grant A. Dampier, 25, of Merrill, Wis., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 15, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat patrol operations.
• Maj. Matthew W. Worrell, 34, of Lewisville, Texas., died on May 14, in Yusufiyah, Iraq, when his aircraft was shot down during combat operations.
• Chief Warrant Officer 5 Jamie D. Weeks, 47 of Daleville, Ala., died on May 14, in Yusufiyah, Iraq, when his aircraft was shot down during combat operations.
• Capt. Shane R. Mahaffee, 36, of Alexandria, Va., died on May 15, in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, of injuries sustained on May 5, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat patrol operations in Al Hillah, Iraq.
• Staff Sgt. Santiago M. Halsel, 32, of Bowling Green, Ky., died of injuries sustained in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 16, when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was conducting a dismounted clearance mission during combat operations.
• Chief Warrant Officer 4, John W. Engeman, 45, of East North Port, N.Y., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 14, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations.
• Master Sgt. Robert H. West, 37, of Elyria, Ohio, died in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 14, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations.
• Cpl. William B. Fulks, 23, of Culloden, W.Va., died May 18, at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, from wounds received while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar province, Iraq, on May 1.
• Lt. Col. Daniel E. Holland, 43, of San Antonio, Texas, died on May 18 in Baghdad, Iraq, from injuries sustained on May 18, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV during combat operations.
• 1st. Lt. Robert A. Seidel III, 23, of Gettysburg, Pa., died on May 18 in Baghdad, Iraq, from injuries sustained on May 18, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV during combat operations.
• Sgt. Lonnie C. Allen Jr., 26, of Bellevue, Neb., died on May 18 in Baghdad, Iraq, from injuries sustained on May 18, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV during combat operations.
• Pfc. Nicholas R. Cournoyer, 25, of Gilmanton, N.H., died on May 18 in Baghdad, Iraq, from injuries sustained on May 18, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV during combat operations.

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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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