Short message on Friday, Dec 29 2006

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My first recording from the kitchen.? Lighting provided by new 100 watt swag lamp hanging from ceiling.? This is so easy on a Macintosh.? I still havent figured out how to make the movies that I create on my PC using my Logitech camera into movies that you can actually SEE and hear.? Witness yesterdays black movie.

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Just thought I'd create a movie with my Logitech camera on my PC. Maybe this is the way of the future for my blog....a few pictures here and there but I can speak all my thoughts rather than type them......Hope y'all have high-speed Internet....I know that John and Joe do......Edi? Mary (lol).....

Laura is Santa this year!

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Merry Christmas from the Possley's 2006!

Old 55 vocal

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Ok.? So I had this clip laying around.? Might as well post it, eh?

Christmas report 2006
It's the day after Christmas. I'm watching Divorce Court. I'm in my jammies. Liz is in the shower. The cats are asleep. The dog is asleep. The garbage is packed on the curb with care, in hopes that Larry's Hauling soon will be there.

Christmas was wonderful. Theresa and Robin arrived on Friday night and stayed until yesterday. Geoff and Laura arrived at about 8:20 a.m. on Christmas morning and stayed until about 2 p.m. I ate too much. I'm eating too much right now.

We watched "Yule Log" on INHD1. Yesterday, we watched "A Christmas Story" and "Christmas Vacation" on DVD.

Saturday, we drove up to my sister Mary's house near Loyal, Wisconsin and gathered with my two brothers and two sisters and their families. We exchanged gifts and ate tons of sweet, rich foods. Joe was my secret Santa this year. He gave me a set of tableware, a set of glassware and a set of plates. Liz and I have been using the same stuff in the kitchen for the better part of our 33 year marriage and I though a little renewal would be nice. These items proved to be very popular items on my Christmas list. I got other plates and glassware sets too.
Edi was "Santa" at Mary's.

Mary's friend got a pair of Naughty Gnomes.

The weekend was filled with lots of church attendance. We went to mass on Sunday morning at 9:30 because it was Sunday. We went to mass again on Christmas eve at 6:30 p.m. Then I went again on Monday morning because my choir sang at 10:30 mass.

When Geoff and Laura arrived on Christmas morning, we had a delicious breakfast prepared lovingly by Liz. It was a chicken soufflé that we first had a Cyrilla's house when our choir was led by Cyrilla many years ago.

After breakfast, we opened our gifts. I got a belt, a wallet, a stool, several sets of dishes and glassware, a set of headphones, a shirt, a pair of pants, a large screwdriver set, a caramel candle and a reed diffuser.
Laura played Santa.
You can click on the blue words above or the picture of Laura at the left to see a very grainy video....Hey, it's my camera phone, not a professional movie camera. Anyway, you just viewed history as I've never published a movie on the web before. Ta-da!

Among other things, Liz got an iPod and a collector tea pot, Geoff got an air compressor, Laura got a ski jacket, Robin got a GPS unit and Theresa got an iPod.

Later in the day, I got the best present of all. As I sat watching football after the kids had left, my AA friend Chuck called me and asked if I'd help transport some people from his house to our AA meeting in Hingham that night. I said, "Sure."

Liz and I went over to visit Shirley Wolfert, our neighbor, later in the afternoon. I left Shirley's after an hour to go over to Chuck's and pick up people. When we got to the church, we found it was locked so we held the meeting at my house.

It's the first time I've had an AA meeting at my home. There were five people from the Genesis Treatment center in Sheboygan as well as a couple of AA members who occasionally come to the Hingham meeting. It was wonderful to open my house to recovering people on Christmas day. It is a meeting I will remember for a long time.

I had an exciting final week of Fantasy Football losing in my final game by 5 points. If I'd played the Vikings defense against the Packers, I'd have won easily but I just couldn't be so conflicted. My friend Jon P., a huge Viking fan, came over to watch the game last Thursday so I just couldn't root against the Packers offense and at the same time root for them to win. I decided that the Colts defense would be a good bet against the woeful Houston Texans. Boy was I wrong. I didn't learn earlier in the season when Houston gave Indy all it could handle.

That's all for today. I have lots of goals for my vacation.....maybe I'll get to some of them. Thanks for reading.

Ciao, babies!

George Possley Christmas List 2006

1. Wallet
2. Leather belt (40 waist)
3. Screw Driver set
4. Leather gloves
5. Everyday glassware
6. Everyday plates, big bowls
7. Koss QZPro_Black Stereo Headphones
8. Low padded stool (standard chair height)
9. Shirt size Large
10 Pants size 40x30
11, Birkenstock clogs size 43, M10
12. Everyday silverware

Merry Christmas to all!

Ciao, babies!

My goodness! They are doing the freaking Hokey Pokey. Just kill me now!

Editors note: This was posted to my blog through the internet from my Treo 700p cellphone. Another historical first. The first blog from a cellphone! Oh, btw, we were at Liz's cousins daughter's wedding in Mason City, Iowa at Music Man Square, right next to the childhood home of Meredith Wilson, creator of the "The Music Man".

The following were sent to me by my brother Joe, a recent retiree who taught for over 30 years in the Edgar Public Schools. The following photos are of the "other" Catholic church not really in but "near" Thorp, Wisconsin, my childhood home. We belonged to St. Bernard's which still stands in Thorp. The church in these photos has been vacant for many years.

Hi All,

Hope this works! I understand that last week marked the 100th Anniversary of the building of St. Hedwig’s. Hope you enjoy these pics. Let me know what you think.

My love,

JP



This is better in the post card—clearer, but it gives you a general idea of the beauty of the interior. Taken before 1942 which is the postmark on the back of the post card.



Check out the original Rectory and the great post and wire fence. Taken by a Chicago firm called Polonia American Album Publ. Co. Probably shortly after the Church was built in 1896.




Probably taken in the 1940’s at the same time as the interior shot that appears above.




You can see from this picture that Grandpa Possley looked like his Mother. I love this picture because of the wonderful, home-made dress warn by Anna. This is Nicholas and Anna (Michels) Possley. Anna was born in the Town of Belgium, Ozaukee Co. Wi on May 12, 1848 (the year Wis. became a State) and Nicholas was born in Koenzig, Luxemburg, May 28, 1842. They were married February 26, 1867 (after the Civil War) and celebrated their golden Wedding Anniversay at Holy Cross, WI on Monday February 26th, 1917. Anna died a few months later. Nicholas moved out west to Idaho to live with one of his daughters and died out there years later. She bore 6 boys, and 8 girls, 7 of which lived to adulthood. All 13 children attended the 50th Wedding Anniversary. Do you think that she is pregnant in this picture? I can’t tell from the picture whether Nicholas still has a twinkle in his eye! He does have snow on the roof! Uncle Don, Dad and Uncle Roman all show the facial features of their grandmother, in my opinion. Can you see yourself in their faces?

Yeah, Das raht. I DID IT. What did I do? No, not THAT. I finally broke 80 today in Golf!!
I shot 39 on the front nine at Riverdale on August 18 playing with my son Geoff and my brother John. I was a little underwhelmed by that score. Par, after all, on that nine is 34. They took a hole that had been a par five for many years and made it a par 4. It was an easy 5. Now it's a tough four. But, I digress.

I had worked 12 days in a row since that weekend and, needless to say, had not played golf. Two weeks without golf in the summer for me is a LONG TIME. Yesterday, my first day off, I just could not bring myself to golf. The weather was fine but I needed to stay home, watch college football (Go Bucky!) and just veg.

Today, however, I decided it was time to get back on the horse. How rusty would I be? I felt that I was really hitting my peak back those two weeks ago. I was driving the ball straight and generally swinging with a good rhythm and pace and starting to trust my swing.

Today, things started out well. I did not hit any balls on the range before playing. I didn't even call for a tee time. I just drove over to Riverdale and was surprised to see several open holes on the front nine and not many cars in the lot. Cool!

I went right off on the first tee, swung my little red donut a few times with my driver and five iron and teed off. I smacked it straight down the very middle of the fairway longer than I remember hitting it in some time. I had decided to use those Power Distance Nike balls that I won for finishing third in my league this year. Good choice!

A six iron to the middle of the green and two putts later, I was marking my first par on hole #1. The second hole is a 172 yard par three. I hit a five iron a little to the right of the green but safe. My pitch was a little aggressive and I had to settle for a two-putt bogey. The third hole is that long par four that used to be a five. I hooked my drive a bit and it was in the rough (first cut) on the left side of the fairway. A five wood put me just short of the green and right in the middle. I chipped up and made the putt for a par four.

The fourth hole is an easy par four. It's only 267 yards long and the course was quite dry so driving the green was a real possibility. Unfortunately, I drove it into the sand trap on the right side of the green. No problem. I KNOW how to play out of sand. Yes, but not Riverdale sand (or lack thereof). I hit too much ball and the ball went waaaaay over the green and hit a cedar tree. Fortunately, it stayed in front of the tree. From there I chopped a five iron just short of the green. A poor pitch with my lob wedge left me 20 feet past the hole and on the fringe. Two putts from there gave me a DOUBLE on an easy par four. Disappointing but not time to contemplate suicide.

Number 5 is a 116 yard par 3. I remind myself that 4x9 = 36 and I'll just have to get lower than four as often as I can, like on this little hole. I choke down just slighly on my pitching wedge and take a full swing. Shoulda not choked down, I guess. It was short but on the green. Two putts and I have a par.

Number 6 is where I blew it last time I played there. I had hit two shots including my drive in the rough out of bounds on the right. This time, I trusted my swing and knocked my drive halfway to China down the left side of the fairway. An eight iron put me above the hole and to the left. I managed to leave my first putt about 4 feet short and made the putt across a tricky slope. Another par.

Number 7 is a long par five. I blasted my drive farther than I can ever remember hitting it on that hole. I apologized to the threesome ahead of me. They were very complimentary and took no offense. My second shot with a three wood came up just short of the green. From there, I hit a lob wedge about 5 feet above the hole but my birdie putt slid by on the right. A tap-in par.

Last time I played number 8, a 135 yard par three, I hit my eight iron into the people waiting on the ninth tee behind. I know it's an eight iron for me though so I trusted my swing and hit a wonderful shot about 6 feet above the hole. My downhill birdie putt trickled into the cup.

Wow, let's see. I'm two over par with the short par 4 ninth hole yet to play. A par will bring me in at 36!!! But there is a pond on number 9 and I hit a "duck hook" into the water. All is not lost though. I'm laying two with an eight iron to the green. I can do this. I do. I hit the eight iron dead at the hole but it went about 12 feet past. The putt was a double-breaker downhill and I left it about 3 feet short and on the left. I make the putt for a bogey and a 37. That's my best nine hole round in years and certainly my best this year.

At the tenth tee, I ask to play through the threesome ahead of me and they say there's no place to go but I can play with them so I join Andy, Mark and Mark's wife Julie. They are the last group in a family outing that has a foursome in front of us too.

On number 10, I pound my drive once again long and down the left side of the fairway. A six iron gets me about 20 feet above the hole and in two putts I start this nine with a par.

Oh, but ugly struggle erupts on number 11, an innocuous par three of about 135 yards. I push my eight iron to the right and hope that it lands on the upslope. It doesn't. Its in a brush pile and there is a really stiff cedar branch right behind my ball preventing a clean swing. I shoulda taken a drop but I hack at it with my four iron hoping to hit the bank of the elevated green and bounce on. It does that but goes way over the green. I chip the ball up about 5 feet from the hole but can't make the putt and it's a double bogey five. This is not what you want if you are going to break 80 but I'm still in control of my emotions.

On number 12, I hit another solid drive down the left side of the fairway but the ball ends up in a particularly lush growth in the first cut and I can't make solid contact with my second shot. My third shot is a lob wedge from about 30 yards that is too aggressive. Two putts later, I've got a bogey.

Ok. Thirteen is a short par four with few hazzards. I hit a solid drive down the right side of the fairway but it again wanders into the first cut. I'm about 90 yards away and my gap wedge is pushed to the right and ends up in the sand trap. This time I take enough sand but my ball wanders over the green and nearly into the trap on the other side. A little chop shot with my sand wedge and a four foot putt give me another bogey. Somebody stop the bleeding!!

Fourteen is a dog-leg right and I know I will hit it through the fairway if I don't cut the corner. Nonetheless, I try to hit driver down the right edge. The bad news is that I hit it too far right. The good news is that I have teed it up high enough and hit it high enough to clear the trees. I am closer to the green than I can remember being in years on this hole. I'm about 90 yards from the center of the green so I hit gap wedge again. I don't get it all and leave the ball just off the front edge of the green. A good lag putt leaves me 4 feet below the hole and I make it for a par. Ah, back on track with a four.

Fifteen is a par five dogleg to the left. I hit my drive a little off center causing it to fade slightly but it's in the middle of the fairway and I can see around the corner to the green. I'm about 220 yards away so I hit a five wood and it is SWEEEET. It's going to the right but drawing back left and heading right for the green. When I get up there, I see that I am ON THE GREEN and only about 15 feet from the pin. I AM PUTTING FOR AN EAGLE!!! Now, I don't know about you, but my only eagle ever was on number 9 when I drove the green and made a 20 foot downhill putt for a two. That was about 30 years ago. Honest! So I'm trying to take deep breaths because I'm starting to really tighten up inside. "Don't leave it short", is the main message I'm telling myself. One of my playing partners has just gone back and forth over the green for the third time and I've looked at the putt from both directions. Finally, its my turn to putt. It looks like it's going to break left so I start it out about a foot right of the hole. This was not nearly enough. It ends up about 3 feet to the right and I make the putt for a birdie. Darn! Another eagle opportunity lost!

Ok. Three holes to go. A 3 a 5 and a 4. Number 16 is a 165 yard par three. I hit five iron but I hit a pulled hook. The ball clears the trap on the left and ends up on the fringe about 30 feet above and to the left of the hole. This is truly a scary putt. I aim about 8 feet above the hole and end up leaving it 4 feet above the hole. Not where I really WANT to be and I miss the putt but make the three footer back up the hill for a bogey four.

Ok, 17 is a par five dogleg left. I hit a perfect drive down the left side of the fairway and long. It looks like I may be able to get close to the green with a three wood but there are trees on the right and I really don't play well from left to right. All those years a slice plagued me and now I can't really hit one on demand. As it turns out, it didn't matter. I topped the three wood about 50 yards over to the right side of the fairway. Now I'm about 200 yards away, the trees on the right are definitely in the way and I need a par. I take my 7 wood and try to "push" it right and over the trees. I do not push it right but hook it left. It hits a fir tree and, to my immense relief, bounces out where I can see it. I back my butt into the tree and hack at the ball with a four iron hoping to roll it up on to the green. The shot comes off fairly well and I'm about 25 feet short of the pin. My first putt comes up 3 feet short AND I PULL THAT LITTLE BEE-YOTCH PAST THE HOLE!!! This is truly the most disasterous thing in the whole round. You just can't miss three foot putts!!

Oh well, how are you doing? Are you asleep yet? Only one hole to go.

Eighteen is a hole that is pretty straight and the grass does not grow well there. It's very sandy and this time of year, your ball can roll forever. My tee shot is hooked down the left side of the fairway but not in danger of going out of bounds. The old timers at Riverdale call this "Hogan's Alley" because if you hit a hook down that left side, it rolls a long way. As it turns out, I'm only 150 yards from the middle of the green (where the pin is) and I have to hit six iron off of burnt grass. I trust my swing and I hit it perfectly. The ball flies straight and high with that lovely little gentle draw on the end and lands 8 feet from the cup. I try very hard to end with a birdie but my putt ends up two inches to the right of the cup and I tap in for a final par. Not a bad way to end, but what's my score?

I walk off the green and then total my scorecard. 42! 42 and 37 makes 79!! AND I'VE DONE IT!!! I've really felt like it was going to happen soon but I never though I'd shoot my best score of the season after a two week layoff.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed my blow-by-blow account of a triumphant day in my life. Some of you have gone and encouraged me to do this so this is for you.

And with that.....

Ciao, babies!!

Geoff and Laura get ENGAGED!

Hi patient readers! I'm posting using the Opera web browser today. I just updated my Internet Explorer 7 to RC1. I got tired of the Viewpoint Media plugin reminder. Today is September 2 and my first day off in 12 days. I had to work both Saturday and Sunday last weekend while the St. Norbert students moved in. It's been a hard week. We have major printing problems on campus where people's print jobs end up printing on some random printer on campus rather than the one in their area. Not fun for those printing confidential documents. As usual, my department's response is too slow and too conservative for me. Of course the problems with students having problems connecting to the campus network are as prevalent as ever. Job security some might say. I'm feeling a lot weird today as it's a nice day, I haven't played golf since August 19 and I'm not golfing today. It's September. There's a different feeling in the air. Football is upon us. I've been watching Michigan and Ohio State kill their lesser opponents and hope to watch the Badger game tonight. That's at six. At 5:30, the Packers are announcing their final cuts. I'll be extremely interested in that news too. I keep waiting for others in my Fantasy football league to begin messing with the website but nobody has. I guess I have to wait another week for the games to actually start. Here's hoping that Koby figures out a way to register with CBS sportsline so he can manage his team. It's a little hard to type with Murry sitting on my arms. :-) Perhaps I should post a few pix from my summer of picture taking but I can't get my phone to synch with my PC. The BlueTooth adapter is messed up and I've tried for a couple hours to fix it with no luck. ho hum. Here's a picture of Geoff and Laura taken on July 4. They are now engaged. Geoff, my brother John and I played golf on the morning of August 19 and on the 9th tee, Geoff said he had some news. He told us that we could not tell anyone else but that he had bought a ring and was going to ask Laura to marry him. A week or so later, he called to tell us that they had gone to a movie and that he had asked her after that. So Geoff and Laura are engaged. That's so wonderful and so exciting. No wedding plans have been released as of now but one thing at a time. That's all for now. I need to make a food run. Ciao, babies!

36 Holes at The Bull

Golf Heaven! I decided to go over and play The Bull, the Jack Nicklaus design golf course just south of Sheboygan Falls today. They charge about a hundred fifty bucks to play 18 holes but if you are a county resident and tee off before 9 a.m. or after 2 p.m. the rate is $95. I justified it because the county golf tournament is being played there this year and I need to get comfortable on the course. The last time I played The Bull last year, I shot about 120. My goals today were to break 100 and to score less than 10 on the 8th hole. Both times I have played the course in the past, I had double figures on #8, a par 5 that features a lot of the Pigeon River. Today, I played 18 holes and it went by so fast I couldn't believe it. As I motored away from the 18th green, the GPS screen on the cart informed me that I could play again for only $65. I couldn't resist. It was such a beautiful day and since I was riding a cart anyway, I wasn't nearly tired out so I managed to play a full 36 holes of golf today. The first time I played hole number 8, I hit a 5 wood off the tee perfectly down the middle. Next, I hit a five iron on the fairway to the right of the river. I nailed it too, right in the middle of the club. Then, from about 60 yards (the cart tells you exactly how far from the pin you are using a GPS system) I hit my lob wedge (60 degree) about 6 feet from the cup. I sunk the putt for a birdie 4 and broke that hole's terrible jinx! I found about two dozen golf balls while I played. I played by myself the whole way so I had lots of time to look for balls in some of the nasty locations. I was pretty much the first person on the course when I teed off at 8:30 a.m. but on the second 18 I played through about 3 foursomes and a two-some. So, anyway, I had a wonderful wonderful day of golf today and I am ready to play the county tournament at The Bull even though it isn't being held for another month. That's it for now. Oh, by the way, I shot 97 on the first 18 and 99 on the second. I can live with that. Ciao, babies!

I am posting this because I want to have a place to cut and paste. The smoking issue is one that this country has been in denial about ever since the scientific evidence first SUGGESTED that second hand smoke might be harmful. If you read below, it's not a suggestion any longer. It's cold hard black and white in-your-face fact.

Conclusions of the U.S. Surgeon General's report on secondhand smoke:

Many millions of Americans, both children and adults, are still exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes and workplaces despite substantial progress in tobacco control.
Secondhand smoke exposure causes disease and premature death in children and adults who do not smoke.
Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections, ear problems, and more severe asthma. Smoking by parents causes respiratory symptoms and slows lung growth in their children.
Exposure of adults to secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and causes coronary heart disease and lung cancer.
The scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
Eliminating smoking in indoor spaces fully protects nonsmokers from exposure to secondhand smoke.
Separating smokers from nonsmokers, cleaning the air, and ventilating buildings cannot eliminate exposures of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke.
Source: The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General.

What does this mean to me specifically?

Until smoking is no longer permitted in these buildings, I will no longer be setting foot in the following locations:
1. Sheboygan Family Restaurant
2. Chissys
3. The 1907 Club.
4. The Rightway club.

Upon reflection, I'm wondering whether our favorite steak house, Nino's, allows smoking? I bet they do in the bar. Hmmm, might be hard for me to stick to my semi-fanatical stand here. But does this issue not beg a fanatical stand? I think it does. It's about life and death. How much intelligence does it take to digest this?

It's the "Welcome to Summer vacation" edition of my blog!

Today, I had to drive up to DePere because I had accidentally forgotten a key in my pants pocket the day before my vacation was to begin. So, I got up at the usual time this morning and headed up to De Pere. I saw two deer near the road this morning. That's kindof unusual. You'd think I'd see a lot more deer but I don't.
I decided to drive over to Fox Hills Resort to play golf on their "National" course. They have 45 holes of golf at Fox Hills and I was led to believe that their National course was something special. Oh, it was alright. It was especially vacant when I got there. Maybe only two or three cars in the parking lot. Their fee was also special. It cost me $21 to play 18 holes. That's as cheap as Hickory Hills near Chilton or Badger Creek near New Holstein. Both of those courses are lacking in the kinds of polish that you see at more expensive courses. The National lacked polish too. No bent grass fairways here. The fairways were a bit on the shaggy side. Nearly all holes had either sand traps or berms (not mowed at all) on either or both sides of the fairway.
I found that I am pretty good at hitting a golf ball to the left or to the right or my target but hardly ever straight at it. My first three shots on the last hole were about the only on target shots I hit all day. I shot 50-45=95 which is in keeping with the fact that it was my first time at the course and that I can't hit the ball in a predictable direction.
It would appear that the National course is far from the kind of upper-crust golf course you'd expect at a golf resort. I played by myself the entire 18 holes and never saw anybody ahead of me or behind me except for the first two holes when I followed another single golfer. The greens were in good shape but not the lightening fast greens you'd see at The Bull or Blackwolf Run. The sand traps were nearly all full of water. There are an exceptional number of traps and lots of water on the course but it's basically flat. It was built out of some perfectly good farmland it seems to me. I had to walk because the course was too wet for carts (I only ride when I'm playing a course for the first time or when it's extremely hot). By the 18th hole, I was ready to quit. I'm definitely not in shape yet to play 18 holes without being a little "wasted" afterward.
I stopped at Town and Country golf course on the way home and paid my fee for my WSGA handicap. I also tried out a few center-shaft putters. I found that I can spray the ball on either side of the hole just as well with a center-shafted putter as with one whose shaft is on the outside of the head. I did not buy a new putter today :-)

Work has been gruelling for the past several weeks. I personally installed and imaged over 150 new PC's for our labs. When I lifted our birdbath the other day it seemed lighter than usual. This is no doubt because of my increased upper body strength from lifting all those computers on a daily basis for two weeks. I am definitely ready for summer and it's slower pace of life with less emphasis on work to be here.

Well, it's up to St. Paul on Sunday to be with Edi for her start at a new life. I'm excited at the prospect of all the good that can come out of this surgery for her. Yes, there is some risk, but the benefits, I think, are well worth it.

I feel a nappy poo coming on. That's it for now.

Ciao, babies!!

Bucky
December 1, 1989- May 10, 2006

New Guitar and George cleans the upstairs room Edition!

Some of you know that I bought a new guitar last week. I discovered that I could record myself on this program called Garageband that I have on my Mac laptop. So, in order to facilitate recording, I had to buy 1. a new acoustic-electric guitar, 2. An amp (really more for playing in church but I got a good deal on it with the guitar), 3. A mixer that I can use to control the guitar and a microphone for recording, 4. A microphone, 5. A mic stand, 6. a few assorted patch cords. Fortunately, I don't have to find a new address.
Friday morning, I began clearing the old waterbed frame in the upstairs bedroom. Today, I stayed home from work so I could finish. Below is a picture of how the south end of the room looks now.
Here's a closeup of the Taylor 210e model that is now mine.

It sounds amazing. I've downloaded the words and chords to lots of the songs on the album Prime Prine and am enjoying singing them. Also I've been singing Across the Universe (Beatles) and Pretty Woman. Of course, I don't have anything memorized but I enjoy playing and singing from a song sheet.
The waterbed is now in the back bedroom waiting to be re-assembled. Think I'll wait for Geoff to help with that. I now have enough room upstairs to have a permanent "music room" where I can record myself and just plain sing to my hearts content without bothering anyone else.

Woo Hoo!

Ciao, babies!

33rd Anniversary / Easter 2006 edition!

Liz and I were married on April 14, 1973 so this year, we celebrated 33 years together. We put together a weekend getaway kindof at the last minute. I thought heading for the Mississippi would be a good idea so we got a motel in Prairie du Chien. We stayed at the AmericInn and I highly recommend it. Though the rate was about $90 per night, they bought us a free pizza of our choice (well, they paid $10 toward what we ordered) and their breakfast was anything but Continental. They had scrambled eggs, GOOD donuts, fruit, coffee, juice, bagels and you could even make your own waffels. They had a large selection of free DVD movies to watch (we chose Walk the Line on Saturday night) and they even called the restaurant we were interested in to see if their was a wait. Again, if you ever stay in Prairie du Chien, the AmericInn is the BEST!
We didn't arrive until about 6 p.m. on Friday so after we ate (we were very hungry due to it being Good Friday) we took a walk over to St. Feriole Island. It was only about two blocks from our motel. We learned that many homes had been razed and families relocated due to the frequent flooding that occurs there.
Saturday dawned sunny and warm. We first went to Pikes Peak State park in Iowa, just south of McGregor. Here is an example of the amazing panoramic view of the Mississippi were the Wisconsin River enters.
There was a tow going by (they've always fascinated me). You can see the mouth of the Wisconsin in the upper left of this photo. I managed one photo with my digital camera and then the batteries died. I had just bought extra batteries at Radio Shack last week when I picked up a digital hygrometer (measures relative humidity, more on this later) but, of course, didn't bring them along. We relied on Liz's camera the rest of the time and I did take some pix with my Treo.
Here is a view upriver toward the bridge at PdC.
The day was incredible and so were the views.
After we took some pictures and just stared out into the beautiful warm sunshine, we decided to take a hike to Bridal Veil Falls. There was a wooden path with railings all the way to the Falls. It wasn't too dramatic as all it could muster was a few drips.
What we have here is a picture of the Bridal Veil falls and a man with very little hair on his head taking a picture with his camera/phone.
Just after the falls, we headed up the trail to view some Indian burial mounds but we had unexpected company.

What you see there is about a four foot rat snake that calmly crossed the path right in front of Liz. I was about 20 yards ahead of her at the time. I heard this "eek" and then went back to investigate. I took a couple snaps with my Treo but you can't make out the snake in either one. The resolution (.3 megapixels) is just too low.
After Pikes Peak, we went up the road about 10 miles to Effigy Mounds National Monument. We walked about an hour on a trail that also had some incredible views of the Mississippi River. All the places near the bluff were equipped with railings and warning signs. We saw a Turkey Buzzard feeding on a dead raccoon. Liz got a snapshot of the ugly bird.
Next, we headed back to PdC and had a little fast food lunch. Then we went down to Wyalusing State Park on the southeast corner of the intersection of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers. We wanted to do a little more hiking so I chose the Bluff trail because it promised good views and wasn't as long as the other trails. By this time, we were getting a little worn out. WHAT A MISTAKE!! As you know, I'm afraid of heights and this trail was a nightmare for me. It was about two feet wide, covered with leaves in spots and rocks and sticks and if you fell to your right, there was no way to stop your fall until you fell to your demise. I have never been in such danger for that long in my life. When we reached the end and I walked up the stairs to the top, I wanted to kiss the ground and thank God that Liz and I were OK.

Here is the blessed stairway to heaven at the end of the Bluff Trail. I never walked up a nicer stairway.

Here is a picture of the happy couple at the famous marker at Wyalusing.



Ciao, babies!

Spring Vacation Edition 2006!
I took two days off last week when I honestly ran out of interesting things to do, realized my vacation had built up to 28 days already and felt I just needed to get away. Today is my last day of vacation and retirement is looking real good right now. I just don't need the hassle of work but I guess I'll go back Monday. :-)
I discovered that I can listen to my favorite (I think it's my favorite anyway)Madison, WI radio station via streaming on the Internet. Early indications are that they play lots of the same stuff that I hear on WMVY , my former favorite Internet radio station. Not quite sure if MMM in Madison might be too commercial-laden though. MVY doesn't play many commercials. I just thought maybe it would be cool to be part of the "Madison scene" rather than linked to Martha's Vineyard, a place I've not yet visited. We'll have to see how this goes.
I've been playing guitar lots while I've been home. I got the Martin Backpacker back from Theresa and gave her my nearly brand new Fender Squire and a small amp. She wasn't messing with the Backpacker much anyway and I'm so glad she was willing to swap. I love playing something that says Martin on it. There may be a very expensive Martin in my future someday. Not right now...but someday I may walk into a music store and fall in love.....Then again, I was just doing a little Facebook (yes, they let college staff have accounts on Facebook)crawling and one of the members of the "Guitar players have better licks" group is showing pictures of a new Les Paul that he bought. Yeah, I'd like one of those too. I don't know that I'm really into Electric playing but those Red Les Paul's look soooooo cooooool!!
I found chords and lyrics for a bunch of the songs from John Prine's Prime Prine album and I've been playing them. I had been wanting to learn "Please don't bury me" for a long time and never realized that so many of the other songs on the "must-have" Prime Prine album were so easy to play. Playing and singing makes me feel better. I did, however, determine that I can make a movie of me playing a song using my web cam. I don't sound as good hearing myself on a recording as I think I do when I'm performing. Guess it's not going to make me quit though. Playing and singing feels good. Having the Backpacker laying around and easy to pick up makes me play more often.
I also found my old Eagles and Dylan songbooks that I'd been wanting to look for for many months.

Ok. How did I aquire the cool western hat you ask?
Well, Liz and I went down to Iowa on Monday and jumped into the old farmhouse where Lize's mom used to live before she passed away in 2002. It is unheated but still has electricity. Our intent was to get some stoneware crocks, an old hall-tree and a couple bedroom sets for the kids. We cleared stuff away and tried to find stuff in the attic on Monday. Having done that, I felt the need to get a respirator for Tuesday. The attic was sooooo dusty and so was the bedroom upstairs where we had to move lots of stuff to get the bedframe.
I managed to get all of JL's old hats. The one above is nice. So is this one.
And this one is called "The Wedge by Mallory". It says "Style selected by Sam Snead".
This last one, even though it is a 7 1/8 like the other two seems a little smaller. I like hats. I also got John Leo's collection of farmer hats. Here's a sample.
There are lots of seed-corn and implement dealer hats. I really need a place or a way to display all of them....
We rented a U-haul truck in Clinton, Iowa on Tuesday and filled it with crocks, furniture, hats and quilting material. I thought we were going to dump all of the bags of cloth for quilting at Theresa and Robin's cuz Robin is a quilter but many of them ended up with us........Here's how I feel about that.............
We left on Wednesday morning with me driving the 10 foot U-haul and Liz following in her CRV. We stopped at Theresa and Robin's and dropped off their bedroom set as well as a few bags of cloth for Robin to peruse. We killed a couple hours keeping Snickers and Maisey, their cats, company then set off for Oshkosh. We arrived in Oshkosh at about 4 p.m. picked up sone KFC and took a walk around Geoff's new neighborhood. Laura arrived at about 4:45 and we went inside. She showed us pictures of her new nephew, born just a few days ago to her sister and her husband. Geoff arrived home from work shortly after 5 and we viewed their progress on texturing the walls of the living room. It's coming along well. We unloaded his bedroom set into the garage and then came home.
Thursday was supposed to be a big snowstorm and we were worried about returning the U-haul before 9:15 a.m. but there was very little snow and we had no problems. It cost nearly $400 for the truck, insurance and fuel but things went well and the furniture (as well as it's sentimental value) is worth at least that much.
I was going to do the taxes this week but I haven't yet and I don't plan on it any more this weekend. It'll just have to wait.
So, anyway, that's what's going on around here. I don't want to go back to work on Monday, but that's life.

Ciao, babies!

Found in Lize's old purse:

Note the date at the top. After such a solemn promise, it still took me five years to get into treatment. I conveniently forgot about this for five years!
The particular incident which generated the above was that on Jan. 24, 1982 it was Super Bowl Sunday. I went across the street to my neighbor's to watch the game and suggested that we drink a shot every time somebody scored. See http://www.superbowl.com/history/recaps/game/sbxvi
There was plenty of scoring and I suggested we go out to dinner with our wives and families after the game. We went to the CandleLight restaurant where I used to bartend (got fired for being drunk on the job) and I threw up in the entry way on our way out.
The next day, I swore off liquor forever. But I thought I could do it on my own willpower. That turned out not to be the case. I went from quitting forever to quitting for lent and you know where that ended up.
I've shared this story with my recovering friends many times. It was probably the longest period of time that I stayed sober once my drinking got bad enough for me to want to quit.
I thank God today for my sobriety and I don't leave it up to my own "willpower". I get the strength from a Higher Power.

Ciao, babies!

I'm a published writer! The following appeared on the February 17, 2006 issue of the SNC Times:

Dear Editor-

Since my coronation as Student Computer Support Specialist (SCSS, pronounced skuzz) here at St. Norbert in 1996 shortly after I was fired for playing the audio from the fake orgasm scene in "When Harry Met Sally" in a sophomore geometry class, one thing has caused me unrelenting agony. That ONE THING would be the stapler in the general computer lab in Cofrin hall.

Stapling in the General Lab began in 1996 with a free-standing Swingline stapler. To my great consternation, the humans who frequent the General Lab feel they should loco-mote outside the confines of Cofrin 101 with said Swingline. They have no concern with their fellow humans, only their own, sick, selfish, seething, stapler salacity. (http://www.dictionary.com)

Thus, several swinglines swiftly snuck silently skyward.......Or at least to the hole in the universe that, unbeknownst to all, is really beneath the dust bunnies (a distant cousin of staple bunnies) under my desk in Cofrin 103.

This troubled the me to the point that I began (er, continued) losing my hair, hummed "In-a-gadda-da-vida" incessantly and chewed the heads off several aluminum bats (Relax, you excitable PETA proponents. I said ALUMINUM....AS IN BASEBALL?).

Further, the song "Bodies" by Drowning Pool was heard blasting from my crude lodgings in Cofrin 103 at a volume that caused John Beck, Director of Computer Services, to frown unappreciatively and make the tisking sound that old (Mr. Beck is 4 months my senior) people are known to emit.

I petitioned Mr. Beck for funds to purchase that savior of sanity, that golden glowing promise in the sky, AN ELECTRIC STAPLER. And, lo, though we had to postpone implementing Banner by two years, stretch Pegasus Mail another decade and generally underpay the mice that gnaw at the network wires in the basement of Boyle hall, Mr. Beck found the money.

The sun shown as a Platinum Promise in the sky that happy morning when I showed up fresh from Office Max with the Stanley Bostich Model XQ7374-2 (not the real model number...didn't want to start an internet industry as in the red stapler from Office Space).

"Bossy", as she became affectionately known, was secured by her electrical cord to the countertop and began happily fastening student papers (even the illegally produced multiple copies) with ruthless efficiency. She barked like an AK-47 and was known to make freshmen girls piddle every so slightly, but Bossy was the Queen of Staplers.

Alas, of late, Bossy has taken a beating. The aforementioned HUMANS have dropped her on the floor and various plastic pieces have broken off. Bossy still fastens ably but when she is out of staples, she must be opened surgically (with a phillips screwdriver) in order to release the staple tray. Yes, Bossy is sick and we may have to put her down. Sniff....sob...........waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!! Oh, AGONY!!

I fully expect a spread for Bossy in the Times that will make the legend of the Albino Squirrel seem like the life of a "runt of the litter" mosquito born in a mound of spoiled Crab Rangoon in the dumpster behind Number One Chinese.

So I may have to prostrate myself before Mr. Beck soon to ask for funding for a replacement for Bossy. A sharp stick in the eye sounds more appealing.

Please, dear reader, be gentle with the stapler in Cofrin 101. Further, I ask that you mount a full blown protest against the use of paper in general. (I'm calling for at least one hundred naked students to protest at the next faculty meeting.) Why should we kill so many trees to produce paper and thoughtlessly slaughter so many innocent staple bunnies just so our "lost in the sixties" faculty can bathe in a pile of paper? (Oh, yeah, they need them to do that "throw them down the stairs thing for grading.) Strike, I tell you. STRIKE!!! ......but take it easy on the stapler.

--the skuzz

So far the boss has not called me in to his office to ream me a new one. Life is good.

Ciao, babies!

feb 16, 2006 - SNOW DAY!!
Yes, my friends and beloved relatives, I stayed home today. There is a good foot of new snow out there!
Last night, Liz and I joined Geoff and Laura for a birthday dinner at Red Lobster in Appleton.
I arrived a little early, knowing that there was a Birkenstock store down there somewhere. After driving around for about 20 minutes looking for it, I walked into the store and my phone rang. It was Liz. She had gotten a ride up there from a co-worker who lives in Brillion but was going to visit a brother in Hortonville. Liz asked me to come and get her so Bonnie could travel on to Hortonville. So I walked out of the store and drove across the street (the very long way as navigating near the Fox River Mall in Appleton takes some experience which I lacked) and picked up Liz. Since we were a half hour early, we went back to the Birkie store and I bought these.

I've been wearing them around the house all day. I at first thought that the wool socks were too thick but after a little while they felt just fine. I had been thinking about getting some clogs for some time and I knew that the only Birkenstock store in the area was in Appleton, so it all worked out well.

We had a great time with Geoff and Laura. The food was wonderful and the service was fantastic and we didn't even have to wait long for a table. When we used to go to Red Lobster in Wauwautosa, we always had to wait a long time and the place was like an ant hill.

It's been a wonderful, delicious day at the computer while it snowed lots and continues to blow like crazy. Having a Thursday off is wonderful because you just have to work one day and then you are off again.

I've been thinking about picking up the guitar again and playing some. I want to make some movie clips of me playing and singing. I can do that with my webcam. To my dismay, I learned today that my camera is not compatible with Trillian Pro, which I paid $25 for. So far, no family member has been able to see me because nobody has the capability of receiving video via IM. Oh, well, someday. In the meantime, I'll continue to provide a face of the day every so often. It's all about MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

That's it for now. Ooo there goes a grader. Not gonna get out of the driveway without blowing snow....may wait till tomorrow morning to do that. No telling how much it will blow tonight.

Oh, yeah, this post would not be complete without some cat talk. Alas, it is sad talk. I discovered last week that Murry is doing what Liz feared she would. She is peeing to mark territory. There was cat pee all over the bed in the back bedroom and on a chair cushion in that room too. Thus, Murry's litter box and water dish and food tray are now down in the basement. We need to get a door on the stairs up to the second floor so we can be sure she doesn't go up there and pee on the bed. Into each life, some rain must fall. Maybe a little cat pee too. :-(

Ciao, babies!!

It's the day of my NEW GLASSES! Here's the first FACE of the DAY with my new look!


So what do you think?

Nothing much is yanking my chain today. So........


Ciao, babies!!

Faces of the day: Murry and George


Murry has been gradually integrating into our household. She has the old back bedroom all to herself at night but I bring her into the house during the day. She and Smokey don't like each other. Murry is the aggressor. We try to keep them apart as much as possible. Cat fights are not pretty.

Nothing much else is happening. I'm hoping my new glasses arrive this week. They are rimless and extremely minimal. I'm looking forward to getting them.

Work has been like play. I have lots of diverse things to do. Some PC work, some Mac work. Some lab work. Some individual faculty members to assist. We are close to beginning interviews for the vacant networking position in our department. This is an exciting propect. The new person will have the office right next to mine. The committee (which I am not a member of) will meet this week Tuesday to decide which candidates to invite in for interviews. This will probably be 3-5 people. Then we'll have to have time to interview them all. Then, if we have a candidate that we want to hire, we'll have to wait till they are available to start. This may go into March but could happen by the end of this month at best.

I just got my new chair this past week and am getting new glasses soon, but I'm still fighting the winter blahs. A couple weeks in a warm climate would really help out, I imagine.

That's it for now.

Ciao, babies!!

This Chair is as comfortable as it looks!

The face of the day is really a chair. My Christmas present was received on February 1. I won't be sitting in it to watch the Super Bowl because we are going to Theresa and Robin's to watch the game. Oh, and I haven't farted on it yet either :-) Ciao, babies!!

Waaaaalllllll, I'm on vacation today to help Liz take Bucky, Smokey and Gidget to the vet. Here is the Face of the day:



That would be Bob Van Pelt, married to my cousing Connie, Me, and a bunch o'trout caught in the American River near Sacramento, CA in 1972. I shoulda got some photos of that rattler that Bob stoned.
I'll never forget trying to walk out of that river. I thought I'd die down there.

And, of course, here's a non-fish face:


Yeah, just squeezin' one out.

Ciao, babies!

Face of the day for January 23, 2006



And now the prettiest kitty in the WORLD!!




Ciao, babies!!

Okay, so I planned a "Face of the Day" every day. Silly plan.

Some days are just too busy. Classes start at SNC on Monday so I've been sprinting for the finish line the last several days trying to get all those "last minute" things done. Silly me.
Today, we will be going to mass this afternoon. Tomorrow, I will be going to Madison for the Area75 Agenda Planning meeting. I'll be leaving at about 6:30 a.m. We have committee meetings starting at 9 a.m.
We got 3-4 inches of snow last night. The forecast was for "maybe an inch". The track moved more north than they thought. I ran into snow about two miles south of De Pere and the trip home was slow and careful. Once again, my "take the back roads and stay away from others" strategy paid off. I didn't have to follow any more conservative drivers at all.
Here is today's Face of the day:

You asked for it. One of the reasons I wanted a webcam for my computer was so I could photograph plenty of diverse images of my face. Narcisistic? Perhaps. A guy has to have some vices.
Of course, I'm hoping to be able to use my webcam with Instant Messaging but currently, I don't have any buddies that have cameras or even a fast enough Internet connection so I can broadcast my image to them. That will probably change over time.

Here is another picture of faces for today:

It's Nappy and Nouli. I sure miss them. However, I don't miss all the fresh puncture wounds and scratches that I used to have.
Also, we now have Murry as a house cat. She is currently playing with the mousie and the thing that hangs from the step stool. She doesn't have any claws so she never scratches and she's a super lap cat. She likes to crawl up on Liz'es lap when we are watching TV at night.
Murry and Smokey don't get along too well. But the surprising thing is that Murry attacks Smokey. Smokey used to attack Nappy and Nouli and now she's getting payback. Oh, Murry can't do any real damage. She, after all, does not have any claws.
Well, on to exciting life experiences!

Ciao, babies!

Tonight, we begin a new feature on my blog, THE FACE OF THE DAY!

Herewith, for your viewing pleasure, Day One, the Face of the Day!



And no face of the day would be complete without a picture of Murry!



She is the prettiest kitty ever!!

Ciao, Babies!

Window Treatments 101!

Now that the kitties are gone with Geoff, we finally got some window treatments for our remodeled dining room and living room. Here are some pictures:

First, the fireplace! We are gonna light fire in it as soon as I post this.

We put up curtains and blinds in the living room. Liz did a great job of picking them out, don't you think?


Now, how about one of me looking right into the camera?


Here is my whole department plus Spanky taken at our pot-luck this Christmas season.

Now, lets see what good photos I've taken on my phone lately.......

This is looking north out of one of the faculty offices on 3rd floor Cofrin. It looks out over the DePere bridge north toward Green Bay.


This is my new mirror right beside my monitor on my back desk. Liz thoughtfully bought it for me so that I can see my door behind me and I don't get "snuck up" on.

This is my new golf poster that Liz bought me. You can see the golf-bag pencil holder that my sister Mary gave me for Christmas too.


Oops! almost forgot the dining room. Ain't it pretty?


That's it for now. Gotta light that fire.

Ciao, babies!