they say this sort of thing is happening all the time...

We are in Manzanita for the week and the weather, at least for today, is delightful. I am sitting in the driveway of our rental hourse, poaching WiFi from one of the neighboring homes (not sure exactly which), and there is clear, blue sky and the mass of Neahanie Mountain rising up to my left and the sound of the ocean, two blocks away, at my back.

We are here, as every year, with a bunch of Portland friends, Karen's Mom (Sylvia - 97 but still feisty), and her best-friend-from-junior-high (Barbra, in a wheel-chair with MS for many years).

Karen and I slept late this morning. When I got up, Sylvia was nowhere to be seen. I figured she went out for a walk by herself, but knowing her limited eye-sight, was sure she was lost and, indeed, she was nowhere to be seen on the street. Moments later, my cell phone rang, and it was her attendant, from Pasadena, calling with a cell-phone number of someone here in Manzanita, who had picked Sylvia up.

I called that number and, naturally, they were only a few houses away. Sylvia could not recognize our rental house from the street, and didn't know the address. All was well.

Now here's the amazing part. The woman who picked Sylvia up and returned her to us had happened to mention that she had been living in Manzanita for 6 years, but was shortly about to move to Yachats, Oregon, where she didn't know anyone.

Sylvia then told her that one of her old friends has been living in Yachats for years, and gave the woman her name and contact information, and now she has someone to call when she moves there, who will no doubt welcome her and introduce her around to her network.

Maybe there are no 'coincidences' after all.

tee hee!

I had to laugh.

what they think

the other world.

Here's another web site of interest, along the same lines.

Incidentally, my Hebrew name is Baruch, which, obviously, is identical to the arabized Barack. It means 'blessed' (and 'Hussein', as well as being a reference to the early islamic martyr, means 'handsome'). Draw your own conclusions.

revised colonoscopy photo

Sitting around with friends, so I had to show them my innards. It took less than 20 seconds for someone to suggest that Raquel Welch be photoshopped into the image, a la 'Fantastic Voyage', so...

andy borowitz today

for your daily dose, see: http://www.borowitzreport.com/

Obama Releases List of Approved Jokes About Himself

Bid to Help Late Night Comics

Saying he is "sympathetic to late night comedians' struggle to find jokes to make about me," Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill) today issued a list of official campaign-approved Barack Obama jokes.

The five jokes, which Sen. Obama said he is making available to all comedians free of charge, are as follows:

Barack Obama and a kangaroo pull up to a gas station. The gas station attendant takes one look at the kangaroo and says, "You know, we don't get many kangaroos here." Barack Obama replies, "At these prices, I'm not surprised. That's why we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil."

A traveling salesman knocks on the door of a farmhouse, and much to his surprise, Barack Obama answers the door. The salesman says, "I was expecting the farmer's daughter." Barack Obama replies, "She's not here. The farm was foreclosed on because of subprime loans that are making a mockery of the American Dream."

A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says, "Why the long face?" Barack Obama replies, "His jockey just lost his health insurance, which should be the right of all Americans."

Q: What's black and white and red all over?
Barack Obama: The New Yorker magazine, which should be embarrassed after publishing such a tasteless and offensive cover, which I reject and denounce.

A Christian, a Jew and Barack Obama are in a rowboat in the middle of the ocean. Barack Obama says, "This joke isn't going to work because there's no Muslim in this boat."

is the noose tightening on Rove?

We can hope. Here's the latest (the full story) or read the summary here.

It's long but read the first dozen or so paragraphs at least, to get a sense of what is now being revealed about vote-tampering and electronic skullduggery. As one commenter on DU said, "I KNEW there would be a few computer specialists involved".

In the meantime, do your part and go here.

got my copy of the 'New Yorker' today

funny cartoon - let's just keep discussing that, instead of this.

I've been a subscriber for decades, and do think the cover is hilarious. I wrote to them, saying that I'm sure the artist has a suitable McCain cover ready to go, and I can't wait to see it.

Keep in mind that the artist has, in the past, done *savage* send-ups of Bush and other public figures. His Ahmadinejad cover (see above link) was shockingly amusing.

just for joe...

You asked for 'em - you got 'em!

It's nice to know that, at least for a few hours, I was not full of shit.

colonoscopy day!

All over, and it was no big deal. Stopped eating solid food Sunday night, and all I had yesterday was one glass of regular apple juice and 64 oz of Gatorade, that had been augmented with an entire bottle of Miralax. The combination worked wonders.

The anesthesia was great and it was over without my having to actually be there. Karen picked me up a bit later and we just got home, after grabbing a bite to eat (at last!) and shopping for tile grout, a bathroom sink and a faucet.

I am tired, but glad that it's over. They did find another polyp (there were 3 at my first one, three years ago), and I'll get the biopsy results in a week or so. The fun never ends!

time warp

I came downstairs around 7:20 yesterday morning, anticipating a leisurely breakfast, shower and shave, before I was to meet a client at 10:30.

However, I soon heard an anguished cry from Ben, who burst out of his room announcing that he had overslept, and was supposed to be at his summer job (Pizzacato Pizza) at 8. Since he still doesn't have his driver's license, he's been taking the bus - a tortuous 2 hour commute to the utterly-inconvenient location in an upscale community high in the West Hills.

Rather than remind him of the fact that he was still rummaging around the house at 1:30 am (I was up due to back problems), I looked at my watch, mentally traced the cumbersome route to the store, and said, 'OK'.

We quickly fed the animals, grabbed the necessary work things (him and me), and sped off, and a cumbersome route it was. Amazingly enough, I got him there at 7:54. I think he was appreciative, but it's hard to say.

So, there I was, at 8 am, high in the West Hills, unshaven and hungry, with 2 1/2 hours to kill, and no specific need to drive all the way home.

I joined the slow-moving commuter parade down Cornell Road into NW Portland, and headed for breakfast at the Stepping Stones cafe. As I drank my coffee and enjoyed my Eggs Benedict (bless you, Benedict, whoever you are), I flashed on a time-warp, and shared it with the counterman.

One morning long ago (12/12/86, to be exact), I also had breakfast at the Stepping Stones, after which, while walking back to the nearby Good Samaritan Hospital, Karen leaned against a car and said "we better hurry". Ben was born a few hours later.

How time flies.

After that, I made it to my client (they loved the software change I made for them), went to the chiropractor to see if something could be done about my intensely-painful pulled back muscle (still hurts today), and continued on home to a full afternoon of other duties, too numerous to mention.

For a few minutes, though, I flashed on the passage of 21 years, thru the prism of breakfast at an old, funky NW Portland landmark. Hollandaise are here again!

home again

after many hours of traveling, I landed at PDX around 11:30 last night.

had a pretty good visit with Mom, playing piano for the crowd at her facility every day I was in Wisconsin.

my brother and I went to a crackerjack fireworks show in a very-crowded park - fortunately, the mosquitos were not a problem. except for one very testy ten-minute stretch, we stayed away from politics.

lots to do today - more later.

this might be interesting

Jack Abramoff about to sing.

In other news, I forgot to mention that my physical therapist released me on Monday, so I am now officially 'just-about-back-to-normal'. I do feel like walking is now like it was before surgery, although there is still a little swelling (another month to go) and occasional twinges.

Heading to the airport in 6 hours, for the red-eye to Minneapolis and on to Milwaukee, for 3 1/2 days with my Mom and family there. Back in Portland late Saturday night. Have fun while I'm gone.

evil or stupid?

Watching the ABC Evening News with Charles Gibson. He is reporting on Wesley Clark's comments today, questioning whether getting shot down while piloting a fighter jet qualifies you to be Commander-in-Chief (since the GOP has been a frequent raiser of 'doubts' about Obama's qualifications).

ABC wants us to seriously consider whether this "attack on McCain's war record" is dirty politics. Attack on McCain's war record? I guess that, if you say it fast enough, nobody will notice that you are being evil (or is it stupid?).

Or both?

and now for something completely different

wonder bread!

sex and the city

Never watched the show, but we were casting about for a movie on a hot night, and it was the most convenient, playing at a reasonable time in a small local theater where parking is never a problem (the Tigard Joy).

We got there with 7 minutes to spare, which didn't matter, since the entire audience numbered about 12. I think I was the only male.

I began to squirm at about the 65 minute mark, but, I'm happy to report, made it to the end.

Here's the message that I got: Most men are unbelievable jerks, but, if you give them long enough, they will eventually do what you want, and all your fantasies will come true (especially having stunning members of the opposite sex cherish your body and cater to your every whim).

This is not a bad thing, though, since the message of most summer blockbusters, aimed at men, is: most of your sworn enemies are unbelievable jerks, but, if you fight them long enough, they will eventually die horribly, and all your fantasies will come true (especially having stunning members of the opposite sex cherish your body and cater to your every whim).

So, in the end, little difference, except the clothing is definitely cleaner in girl movies.

It's all fantasy, in service to the Pax Americana, just as every other Empire's PR department has labored to produce. The best part of it all was that (thanks, American Empire!) Fred Meyer was open even after 10 pm, so we were able to buy all the food (human and dog) that we wanted, passing up anything we didn't feel like taking at the moment, simply by presenting a piece of plastic.

Now that's a genuinely amazing fantasy!

evidence that computers are not quite ready to take over

I am doing some Visual Basic coding, and needed to find the opposite function from the 'split' command (anyone know it, off the top of your head?). I use 'split' all the time, but, oddly, have never, until today, needed to do the opposite (which, I now remember, is the 'join' command).

But I digress.

I went to one of my standard VBscript reference sites to look up 'split'. It gave me the syntax and usage (and actually pointed to 'join' - I didn't *really* remember it). This was great, but, in the upper-right corner of the page, under the heading 'ads by Google', I see...

well heck, here's a partial screen-shot (click to enlarge):

still depressed

yes, the weather is great, and tonight I picked the first pea from my garden (many more coming soon), the string beans are up, the squash, basils, and tomatoes are doing great. There is more rhubarb to cut and the plum trees are making little green plums.

So what's the problem? I am dreading news from our friend with cancer, I am dreading the future of my species on this planet, and I am bewildered that my spouse and son are in the next room watching (and commenting on) 'So You Think You Can Dance?'

We went to Costco tonight, and I was overwhelmed by the abundance. Still thinking about 'The Road' - sorry I read it.

Work is going well. I volunteered at KBOO for a couple of hours. I had lunch with one old friend today and another tomorrow. I'm going to Wisconsin next week for a few days, to see Mom and my brother and his little family.

But I am not feeling like any of this is real. Must not be getting enough coffee.

well, at least we were warned

uh oh

I took the dog for a little walk in the neighborhood this evening. There was incredible light on the trees, with a blue sky speckled with fluffy clouds and Mt. Hood gleaming on the horizon.

It was lovely, but George Carlin is dead, one of our best friends has serious cancer, and we are all living on borrowed time. My foot is almost back to normal, but my heart is very heavy. Just finished reading 'The Road', and it didn't do much to cheer me up.

It's all so very unreal.

ok, ok - here's the before-and-after composite photo

driving me crazy

All the disdainful references to Jimmy Carter's presidency from the Repubs never fails to get my blood-pressure to rise.

Not only was I younger, hairier, and slimmer then, but I thrilled to Carter's speeches on energy conservation and renewables, not to mention honesty in government (a quaint notion).

All that and more was dismissed with contempt, when the 'Reagan Revolution' (sic) took hold, and it's been a downhill slide since, in just about every measure of American leadership in the world.

When the McCain talking-heads sniff that Obama is running for Jimmy Carter's 2nd term, I say 'and about time, too!' Carter was the last president that I'd like to have a beer with (as long as it's not a 'Billy').


Meanwhile, as I approach 4 months post-Op, my Left Foot continues to approach normality. I am able to walk virtually limp-free now, and the past month of physical therapy has done wonders, in reducing swelling and pain. I even had an acupuncture session on Monday (at Karen's urging) - can't tell if it made any difference, but one never knows.

I think I am about ready to post the final Before/After photos - stay tuned.