Sitting in the van with

Sitting in the van with 2 kids throwing fits while Tricia grabs dinner, I see God's wisdom in having 2 parents/family. Less murder that way.

Tornado aftermath

The storm has passed, but not without leaving its mark.

When I sent that last picture, the three of us were huddled in the basement while Trish ran around and cracked the upstairs windows. Thanks to weather.com and my wireless network, we were able to keep a close eye on the ETA and new warnings. We had enough time to grab a snack and some drinks, set up chairs, and get settled before the storm started blowing hard. I tried to call a few friends in town until I started getting "all circuits are busy" errors.

We're not sure if there was actually a tornado that touched down, but there was plenty of damage. Trish was standing at the basement window when one of the trees in our neighbor's yard bent over from the wind.

The strong winds were accompanied by hail the size of quarters, but no direct damage to our house.

Well, that's not completely accurate. We were so careful to crack the windows, but we all forgot the garage door was open. The 2nd bench from the van was sitting near the door and got positively soaked. The winds were so strong, we had hail all the way back at the steps into the house.

Our gusher in the yard also flowed, as it usually does. This comes from a drain about 30 feet away, between our sidewalk and the street. The city thinks this is an adequate drainage solution, apparently.

We could hear sirens going off all over town for the next half hour, so there must have been quite a few people affected. Trish went out to get food and saw lots of trees down and lots of people with their power off.

Oh, and today was Ethan's first day of first grade. And I went to the doctor, had my blisters lanced again, and went on partial short-term disability.

Tornado

Here we are in the basement waiting for a large storm to pass. Weather channel on the wireless as long as the cable stays up.

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Drained

Went to the doctor. He decided to drain both feet, big relief. However, Trish and I weren't impressed with much else. I saw the Dad of the practice, and he was a little too old school for us. Not very sanitary, quick to cut without explaining. We think we're back in the market for b family doc.

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Emma's haircut

This just in. It's off her neck, but still long enough for a ponytail.

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Handy tip

Handy tip: the fungus of trenchfoot also causes yeast infections, jock itch, and ringworm. Also, it is always present on our feet in some degree. Wash those hands!

Turns out that blogger.com has

Turns out that blogger.com has a blog-by-phone feature that supports pix and flix. How cool is that! This post is so I can set it up.

Don't get around much, anymore.

Ah, the joys of camping. The sounds of nature, the cool breezes, the stars at night, the trenchfoot.

Yes, trenchfoot. Symptoms started up a week ago, and I've been progressively (!) less and less able to walk around. Calling it "athlete's foot" would be a little too ironic.

And not just plain-old trenchfoot, but I also have "pustular lesions" (think blisters). I can tiptoe or wobble along on my heels, but either way still puts pressure on the lesions. Yesterday, the 20-30 bumps on each foot started teaming up. On my right foot, it's as big as a dime, and on my left foot, it's the size of two knuckles worth of my pinkie finger, and at least 1/4 inch thick..

Oh, and I can feel my pulse at all times in both feet. Trish says she can see them change color in time with my pulse, exactly like those cartoonish commercials for pain meds.

The doctor said there's not much we can do for these except fight the cause, so I'm now on two antifungals, an antibiotic, a steroid, and Tylenol III, plus Motrin as needed. <sarcasm>I may be adding Amaretto Sours to that list shortly, if the Tylenol III doesn't help enough.</sarcasm>

The kids have been great. Both of them keep telling me they hope I feel better soon, and they've been very willing to bring me things when I can't get them myself. Trish misses her steppenfetchit boy (but I overheard her saying something to her mom about how she has ideas how I can make this up to her.

I took pictures for historical purposes, but I haven't included them here out of concern for those who just ate. If you're not queasy about such things, go ahead and have a look.

Left foot

Site of Mount Diablo. Note how the sunlight makes it glow like something from an Aliens movie.

Right foot

Site of Mount Krakatoa (get it?) Hopefully, the name is only a bad pun, and not prophetic. Krakatoa is an active volcano.

Would this be an inappropriate time to point out that my Thinkgeek wish list is up to date?

What should Bush be telling us?

It's arguable that President Bush's biggest failing has been in clearly communicating the importance of the war on terror. And there are certainly plenty of people who are willing to overtly or theoretically rewrite the President's words.

With that in mind, I found Diane West's editorial from the Washington Times very interesting. I'm not sure if I entirely agree with it, but I'm willing to wait for Part 2, and to consider the point. After all, dialog comes from considering opposing ideas.

It is, however, in our national interest, and must become a part of our national will, to ensure that Islamic law does not come to our own shores, whether by means of violent jihad terrorism as practiced by the likes of al Qaeda or Hezbollah, or through peaceful patterns of migration, such as those that have already Islamized large parts of Europe.

I'll post an update when Part 2 hits the web.

[via Michelle Malkin]

Our British friends have just broken up a plot to blow up as many as 10 international flights simultaneously. The plan was apparently only days away from execution. Rather than box cutters and guns, this group had more sophisticated plans.

British authorities said the threat involved terrorists who aimed to smuggle liquid explosive material aboard airplanes in hand baggage, including timers and detonators that could be assembled in flight. ...

[Director of Homeland Security] Chertoff, who was briefed by the British, said the conspirators "had accumulated and assembled the capabilities they needed and they were in the final stages of planning for execution. . . . There were very concrete steps," he said. ...

Chertoff said the attackers planned to carry explosive material and detonation components on planes "disguised as beverages, electronic devices and other common objects."

Homeland Security is involved and reacting, once again demonstrating their ability to identify that a horse is missing so they can close the barn door.

U.S. officials raised the "threat level" for air transport to red, the highest alert. The terrorists had intended to target flights to Washington, New York and California operated by American Airlines, Continental Airlines and United Airlines, a U.S. official said.

Passengers at all airports in the United States were told to expect intensified searches, considerable delays and new restrictions on carry-on items. The Transportation Security Administration announced that passengers on all U.S. flights, domestic and international, would be banned from transporting any type of liquid or gel in their carry-on luggage. The ban applies to all types of beverages, shampoo, toothpaste, hair gels and other items of a similar consistency, the TSA announced.

I guess it's not totally pointless to lock down on liquids. It should help control the copycatters.

One can only imagine the riots if they ban people from bringing their own shampoo and toothpaste in their checked luggage. I wonder if this means I won't be able to carry on a fresh Starbucks? My guess is it will be OK, as long as I buy it inside security. At worst, I might have to demonstrate that the contents are injestible by drinking some. Horrors!

Thankfully, they don't seem to be making motions toward banning electronic devices. Such an action might truly lead to rioting. Business people couldn't bring their laptops, cell phones and PDAs, vacationers couldn't bring all their many cameras, and worst of all, parents of young kids couldn't bring their CD/MP3/DVD players and GameBoys. I was just on a flight that was at least half families. The noise level was higher, but not as loud as it would have been a few years ago. I thank electronics for that.

[via The Washington Post]

Question:

You're walking down a deserted street with your spouse and two small children. Suddenly, a dangerous looking man with a huge knife comes around the corner and is running at you while screaming obscenities. In your hand is a .357 Magnum and you are an expert shot. You have mere seconds before he reaches you and your family. What do you do?

Liberal Answer:

Well that's not enough information to answer the question! Does the man look poor or oppressed? Have I ever done anything to him that is inspiring him to attack? Could we run away? What does my wife think? What about the kids? Could I possibly swing the gun like a club and knock the knife out of his hand? What does the law say about this situation? Is it possible he'd be happy with just killing me? Does he definitely want to kill me or would he just be content to wound me? If I were to grab his knees and hold on, could my family get away while he was stabbing me? This is all so confusing! I need to debate this with some friends for a few days to try to come to a conclusion.

Conservative Answer:

BANG!

Southern Conservative Answer:

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! click
(sounds of reloading)
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! click

Daughter: "Nice grouping, Daddy! Were those the Winchester Silver Tips?"

[found on Proud Conservative]

Incredible celebrities

On his radio show today, Bill Bennett got into a discussion with his callers and assistants about musicians and actors who take political stands. Mentioned were Dixie Chicks, Toby Keith (who wrote Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue), George Clooney (spoke during Academy Awards), Johnny Depp (stumped for John Kerry) and others like them.

One caller said he has a hard time enjoying the work of an artist (George Clooney and Johnny Depp) after they have spoken out against the U.S. and the President. He went on to apologize for having a double standard, because he enjoys artists who speak out in support of the country, like Toby Keith.

Bill responded (correctly, I think) that this is not a double standard. There's nothing wrong with liking people who speak out for something you believe in. It makes me uncomfortable as well to know that some people who are enjoying the freedoms of this country are so intent on weakening it.

On the other hand, I am not so upset by performers who make grand pronouncements about politics and foreign policy. I would pretty much go to see any movie Johnny Depp appears in. He is a fabulous actor, and really has that "slightly crazy" persona down pat, as he recently demonstrated in both Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. (I could just be going slightly crazy myself from seeing Chocolate Factory so many times recently, but never mind that.)

On the other hand, he has no credentials as a political pundit, and has not demonstrated (to me) any particular deep insight into matters international. Without those credentials, his opinion counts no more than anyone else's. For him to speak out as if his opinion means something extra only makes him look foolish. Opinions are still like armpits — everybody has them, and most of them stink.

It's like if I'm sitting in my dentist's chair and he starts telling me how to manage my finances, or fix my car. He might be right, he might be wrong, but he really doesn't have any more of a vote than anyone else I bump into on the street, until he demonstrates he has some extra ability in this area. As long as he's speaking within his domain of expertise, he's an authority. When he's not, he's not.

What does bother me is the importance given by others to the spoken opinions of Depp and others. The media treats their opinion as more important (assuming, of course, that their opinion is liberal and gets any press at all), star-struck masses listen and start to believe, and what they say becomes "everybody knows..." knowledge, true or not.

The other difference between the supporters and detractors (on the whole) is that the detractors' actions serve to tear down the reputation and authority of the United States of America on the global stage. Even if they get a Democrat elected President in 2008, that President will have been hobbled in his ability to influence international matters because of the attacks made today against President Bush.

President Clinton's despicable actions in the Oval Office have had the same effect. The image of the POTUS has been tarnished with the image of lechery and abuse of power, and also the belief that we, as a nation, are on the whole, OK with this behavior. It's no wonder the muslim faithful see us as "The Great Satan" and want to destroy us. In an earlier age, Christianity also held high standards. Now we name homosexuals to high offices within the church, and soft-pedal sin.

I stand with Israel!

I just added a corner banner to my site, courtesy of Jack Lewis.

The banner mentions Genesis 12:3. Here's Genesis 12:1-3 for context:

¹ The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.
² "I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
³ I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you."