While browsing facebook.com today I found a great bit of fun in Microsoft's HR engine.  But I am getting ahead of myself.

I regularly encourage people of all walks of life to see good employment.  This includes telling high school aged girls and/or their parents about Microsoft's Diversity program, DigiGirlz, which encourages young ladies to seek IT careers.  Those young ladies that are interested should check out the events:  http://www.microsoft.com/about/diversity/programs/digigirlz.mspx.  Both DigiGirlz Day programs and DigiGirlz High Tech Camp are given across the country.

Now, this lolcat like gem was found on http://microsoftjobsblog.com/blog/how-much-experience-makes-me-an-experienced-candidate.

Some of the fun career sites included are:

www.microspotting.com

www.viewmyworld.com

www.hey-genius.com

Recently, I downloaded the latest Zune update and found a great new feature: Buy from FM.  This feature lets Zune users listen to the built in FM radio, and when the station broadcasts song and author information, the user can purchase and download the song directly from Zune's Marketplace.  I tested this integration of FM, Zune, and Wi-Fi and found I was able to quickly and easily purchase songs I like from the local K102.1 FM Country Station.  This rocks.  Good Job Zune Team.

Some time ago, I had to figure out how to move an music collection part purchased and part just stored in ITUNES.  The move was complex because some content purchased at the time on ITUNES could not be downloaded a second time to a different PC and could not be copied from the IPOD to a new PC without first setting the IPOD to act as a Hard Drive and and using it to manually transfer the song data.  Zune made this easy today when I was transferring my collection my laptop to my desktop.  Zune software automatically seeks out DRM licensing for files when they are transferred to another system, can be copied from the ZUNE to a new host in guest mode without having to set the Zune device as a hard disk, and even better:  The Zune Software will allow the users to view purchase history and re-download content purchased from Zune's marketplace as long the user logs on with the same Windows Live ID used to purchase the content.

Nice.

-

David T.

PS:  The family and I are doing great.  Alicia, Daniel, Joshua, Nathan, Lydia, and I wish you all a Merry, Merry, Happy, Christmas.

Today is Friday.  With the exception of the end of the week time keeping entries I have yet to make, the work day is done.  I spent the last 4+ hours at a local customer providing them expert guidance on integrating DNS with their 3rd party DNS as well as giving them some unexpected value add in the form of a Post Service Pack 2 fix for Windows Server 2003's:  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950224.

Saturday & Sunday is the weekend:  Time for Stargate:  The Ark of Truth & Stargate Continuum.

Monday, the 20th, is my wife's B-day.  Exactly 5 month ahead of mine.

Tuesday, is 21st, is my daughter, Lydia's birthday.

I wish you both a happy birthday, Lydia & Alicia!

-

David T.

Not all women lie, and not all men try to protect women who lie; but I am amazed at how some men & women, will do anything to get what they want.

Some people bully by getting in your face and using intimidation, others go right for your heart, your children.  Western culture seems to instill such a since of "mother knows best" that whole families truly believe that children ought to be with their mother without regard to any facts.  Evidently there are not yet enough liberal women in this great country, that or many liberal women are liberals of convenience.  I wonder if Sarah Palin's sister expected her then husband, trooper Wooten, to help out with baby duties, child rearing, etc... before their divorce.  Did she bill herself as a modern woman?  We may never know.  But we know for certain that 50/50 child custody was so objectionable to her, or possibly her under pressure from her family, that the judge in the child custody case had to admonish them to stop trying to harm Trooper Wooten's livelihood.

We are not talking about some creepy man who was an abuser.  "In front of Judge Suddock, Molly testified that Wooten never hit her or never physically abused her or ever touched the children. She told the judge she was feeling pressure from her family to file the order."  http://www.andrewhalcro.com/vetting_wooten_and_troopergate

The nastiness against Trooper Wooten and the brave, brave soul we know as Walt Monegan, seems to be just the tip of the iceberg of what goes on in many child custody cases.  There are people out there who will lie, threaten, defame and harass in order to get what they perceive to be the advantage in divorces, especially those involving children. 

It is very possible that the family had enough money that they didn't care if Trooper Wooten could pay child support and/or spousal support (they just wanted him to not have involvement with his children or themselves).  Also, it is possible they were trying to do everything in their power, without regard to conscience, to get more child support.  Or, both.

The details of what the Palin family did to try to "support" their daughter can be seen clearly documented here:  http://www.andrewhalcro.com/rebranding_troopergate_a_seinfeld_moment.

It will take many more brave souls to rectify the injustice of the presumption that mothers know best and therefore ought to have primary custody.  Kudos to the state of Minnesota for making some changes over the past few year to help bring us closer to a presumption that 50/50 custody is best for the children.  We are not there yet, but Minnesota bases child support on the ability of both parents to provide and presumes moves are not in the best interest of the children.

-

David Taylor

PS:  Alicia, thank you for being the kind of women that lives up to her convictions even when it is not fun.  Kudos for you for not trying to shut your ex out of his children's lives despite the issues that ended your marriage to him.

After reading this recent article where McCain's campaign goonies used D&D as part of a political slam against Obama, I have many questions for the candidates:

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/08/john-mccain-cam.html

1.  Have any of the candidates (Pres. or VP) ever played a RPG? If, so which one(s)?  (Sorry Dick Cheney, the question was only open to current candidates and I did not ask if you had fired an RPG; that's a different type of RPG.)

2.  Does either candidate know what a MMORPG is?

3.  What does "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" mean?  (No, this is not a pro-Palin/McCain slogan.)

4. If all you have is 10 side dice, how many do you need to role to get a random 1-100?

5.  Do you see D&D and other RPGs as educational fun for children or an anti-Christian activity that is deprave of any value?

6.  Rate yourself, if you understand how to do so, with proper D&D terms:

Strength:

Dexterity:

Constitution:

Wisdom:

Intelligence:

Charisma:

Now, I am going to email and call both campaigns to ask for them to answer my blog questions.  :)

-

David T.

I got up early this morning to finish working on a report I am writing for one of my many customers.  Since I found too many thoughts in my head to work on the technical report, I figured I would lay them out here:

Family:

My lovely wife, http://sunshinefloridagirl.spaces.live.com, who maintains some wonderful family photos online, is fast asleep.  This is a good thing, since like I, she is a night owl, and unlike I, she needs to rest before a bit of oral surgery.  It seems her mouth is just too small for the dentist to pull a wisdom tooth, so under general anesthesia she must go.  Fortunately we have good insurance.  If you pray, keep her in your prayers.  If you do not pray, may I suggest you start?

The Finance / Housing 'Crisis':

Headline news this morning claims further turmoil on Wall Street.  Now, I have some investments in my 401k but managed to sell off my other very meager investments before the market took its latest dive.  Like many people, I do not have a significant amount of money in my 401k account.  However, overnight I saw a 2k drop in its total balance.  Not surprising with the market fall of around 777 points yesterday.  Unlike some others I have read about this just does not bother me at all.  Why?  I think I adopted the attitude long ago that investment is risky and the money may simply turn into vapor so, so I do not sit and watch it all day long.  I am not saying it is not important to save for retirement, although I do not plan to retire, ever.  I am simply saying I am not going to fret over it even though my personal rate of return year to date was -24.1%.  Time for a little adjustment since investing is costing me more money than I pay in interest on even my worst credit line.  Despite my small losses, I have still written to let lawmakers know that I consider how they handle any bailout proposal as voting issue and will be watching to see if they honor my request that they not support a bailout measure of any kind that rewards banks for preying on lenders, though eased mortgage restrictions and poor loan terms.

In my divorce last year, to avoid both my ex and I having to declare bankruptcy, I agreed to keep a house I never really wanted and really could not afford.  Roll back the clock with me, to August, 3 years ago.  At that time GMAC was actively soliciting mortgages and tried to get me to accept an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM), but I refused one.  I have always considered ARMs to be a very bad idea having understood some simply financial lessons from my parents.  Why should I ever agree to a loan that has a possibility the repayment rates and interest might change against my favor?  Yes, I am aware of the real reason people do this:  They want to own a home to enjoy and save money by paying tax deductible interest.  This is not a bad goal but is more risk than I can bear.  So instead, I went for a low rate fixed mortgage with no early payoff penalties:  I was declined.  Why?  Although I had a good job, having just started for Microsoft, I had a small ding in my credit file that I was unaware existed and GMAC said that meant they could not give me the lower rate I needed to keep the house payment within what they believed I could afford.  The ding existed because when I moved from Duluth, MN to Charlotte, NC the ex had closed our accounts at a local credit union but left a very small overdraft without telling us.  It was so small we could have paid the overdraft protection account off with pocket change but since the credit union had no forwarding address, since we had not found a place to live, they ultimately reported it as unpaid debt more than 90 days over due.  My ex had no income at the time.  At that point, the ex and I were going to have to find another home that cost less but in stepped my ex in-laws who gave us some cash to pay points.  A gift, but one that we should have rejected.

Fast forward to the divorce last year.  The housing market was down, our house listed on the market but did not sell.  I tried to refinance it in my name only just to hear Quicken Loans tell me there was no way it was going to happen on my income alone.  Months later the ex wanted me to live up to my good faith effort agreement to refinance the home.  I agreed to do so because I did not want to be financially tied to her and because should things go bad it is better for my children if they only go bad for one of their parents.  No, I am not advocating divorce as a way to make sure children have a better chance of having a home to live in -- despite the market.  My attempt to perform a refinance at GMAC was met with rejection.  They said that I simply do not make enough to refinance it on my income despite the fact that we ultimately got the current loan on my income only.  So, I tried for a general assumption, which according to my ex would not require an outright refinance and/or credit evaluation.  She was simply mistaken, a check was done; and the request met rejection for the same reasons.

The point of all this description is not to disparage my ex, but rather point out that the banks gave loans that they can no longer give.  The markets have changed.  They do not have the funds available they had some time ago.  It looks like it will be a while before I can refinance as I had hoped.  I cannot blame the banks for not wanting to take one of the creditors off of the mortgage without reassessing how they will be paid.  However, they should have never given us a loan for this much of a house to begin with.  They knew the risks better than I or my ex did.  So, even if the markets get worse, bad things happen, I loose my job, I have to declare bankruptcy, I do not think the banks should be rewarded for their lending tactics.

Food / Vegetarianism:

I have been enjoying trying to eat healthier.  Although I have not adopted a pure vegetarian diet I am trying to adopt, but occasionally drift on meaty side of, flexitarianism:  http://www.newsweek.com/id/161559/page/1.  It is hard for a red meat and seafood lover to cut back on those things.  Maybe I should just adopt an easier "no fowl" diet.  I really do not care for fowl and pork:  wait, unless we are talking about my late Uncle Alice's (a teasingly pet name for my late Uncle William) pit cooked hog...  Anyhow, I know flexitarianism is better for me and means I do not have to deprive myself of freedom to taste things.  Yes, like the article says, the name is terrible.  I prefer to call myself a vegetarian friendly omnivore.  Please don't bother to try and convince me to try Vegan.  I like cows milk and cheese... especially good cheeses with wine.

Church Wanted:

We are still looking for a place where our children and we are welcome.  Something in the range of Christian non-denominational, charismatic - with kids programs.  I used to be involved in the Vineyard (www.vineyardusa.com) but also like the CI Ministries .  So, if you know of a place near Bursnville, Apple Valley, Lakeville (all near the Twin Cities in Minnesota) that has lively worship music, good teaching, and will not consider my involvement in D&D or other role playing games to be a sin, don't hesitate to let me know.  If you see a conflict there, check out:  http://www.christian-gamers-guild.org/faq.html.

-

David T.

Alicia, the kids, and I flew back to the Twin Cities (Minneapolis / St. Paul) yesterday from an awesome trip to the Florida panhandle (Penacola, FL area).  Many pictures are forthcomming but until we post them here is the teaser:

We released native Florida butterflies (or as I like to call them, flutterbies) in the yard before the weather invited us to wed in front of my parents fireplace.

Butterflies are symbolic of resurrection, spiritual transformation, caring, delecacy, freedom, renewal, new life, etc., etc., etc.

...it also stands for the grade I give myself on maintaining this blog.

Each year I look forward to Fourth of July fireworks.  As a child there were several regular events I enjoyed, some of which were:

The Blue Angels, this is the United States Navy's flight demonstration team.  Originally ordered up by then Chief of Naval Operations, Chester Nimitz, they started flying from Jacksonville, FL in 1946 but have been based out of Pensacola, FL since 1954.  We lived in the Mayfair neighborhood for most of my childhood - and we could occasionally see and hear them flying right over our heads.  A home show is scheduled for the 12th of July, perhaps I will see them on this trip to FL; but if not, maybe I will see them in Duluth, MN for their 19-20 June show this year.

The kids and I (Lydia, Nathan, Joshua, and Daniel) are flying to Pensacola on the 4th of July for a much needed vacation.  Alicia will join us in time for our wedding on the 8th of July.  In the early evening we are heading right to my parents home in the small town of Chumuckla, FL.  Later we will head to nearby Milton, FL, formerly known as Scratch Ankle, for the fireworks and fun that are "Riverfest", the largest event Milton, FL has each year (Riverfest Schedule of Events).  As a Veteran, I look forward to celebrating the Independence that my fellow veterans ensured.  Of course, in honor of Independence we had a great viewing of on of the best movies ever just a few weeks ago:  Independence Day.  Who knows, perhaps at the festivities the kids will see some furries.

Huge thanks go to our friend will for his Will-ingness to look after the house and cat while we are away despite all our cries to "shoot at will" while playing any First Person Shooter games on XBOX 360.

Speaking of the x360, mine has gone back to the shop for the 2nd red ring.  While many would find this frustrating, I am surprised it has not happened sooner.  Our x360 is on all the time so I would be surprised if at least one or two parts had not reached their mean-time between failures (MTBF).  Eventually, I will have to replace it altogether and I wonder what will happen when I try to get all those XBOX Live game licenses ported over.

Since Microsoft has not released a blue-ray player yet, and I needed to by one, I have broken down and bought the cheapest good one I could find:  a Play Station 3.  As a Blue Ray player the PS-3 works great, but without a duplicate title for the x360 I cannot speak to game performance.  I can however tell you where Microsoft is obviously stronger on the gaming platform:  ease of use, ascetics, menus, and patch / download management.  I am not sure if the slow downloads are the PS3 itself or if the problem is that the back ends servers on the Playstation Network (PSN) are just not able to deliver; but having to wait to download and again wait to install is just too long -- especially when there is not a readily apparent way to tell the system to automatically download system updates and demos without having to go search for them through the PSN's interface.  I have not tried the PSN's free game matching -- but if my XBOX does not come back soon I will  have to purchase a game and give a stab at it.  If I have to do that, Sid Myer's latest -> Civilization title will be the likely fun.

On the depraved side:  Once again, I am disgusted but not surprised by the news of yet another female teacher having sex with a student.  According to studies, 25% of all child sexual abuse is perpetrated by females and 86% of survivors of abuse where not believed they said the abuser was a woman.  I hear more and more of men and boys who are willing to admit they cry, who do not have to pretend to be a burley-man.  Now, what I would like to see is some equality in sentencing.  It amazes me that the news continue to refer to these women as "having sexual relationships" with children rather than simply calling them the rapists or pedophiles.  A good discussion of the topic by the Canadian Children's Rights Counsel is here (which although written in Canada has North America information):  http://www.canadiancrc.com/female_sexual_predators_awareness.aspx

Anyhow, back to trying to get all my paperwork done before the day is done.

-

David T.

Spring is here.  It has been spring since my birthday, the 20th of March.  This year is a great year for a great spring.  Alicia and I have been enjoying each other's companionship for the last winter and look forward to doing the same through the Spring and into the Summer.  Summer starts on the 20th of June this year.  By then Alicia will have been sharing my home for about 8 months.  This might seem like a long time to some, but has gone by very fast for all immediately involved.  While she has shared over the last year she has shared my heart for about 21 years.

Alicia is my high school sweet heart.  I saw her first outside the school library in the 10th grade.  A mutual friend saw my jaw hit the floor when I saw Alicia.  That friend invited Alicia to Teens for Christ where I regularly attended.  Alicia got my attention, by dropping her books, but she didn't realize she already had it.  We started dating immediately and dated the whole year then took a break for the summer - which stretched into a year.  The first 1/2 of our Senior year we had a blast doing everything we could together.  Alicia and I burned up the dance floor at the ROTC ball, enjoying everything and each other as often as possible.  She's the girl I had hoped to marry when I graduated from high school.  I had wanted at one time to marry her the day after graduation, but things did not work out for us.  I ended our dating spree about December of that year and we both went our own ways, lived our own lives.  We lost contact immediately and both regained it and lost it several times over the years.

I am very pleased that regardless of the failure of each of our own marriages, Alicia and I have found a way to share caring hearts and real companionship with each other.  My parents and I are happy that we have decided to get married this summer.  We are planning to have a very small wedding of family and very close family friends in Florida.  We'll share online photos and stories as soon as possible after the wedding.

What do the kids think?

Not long ago when I asked my kids if I should keep Alicia around "for a week or two more" they emphatically told me "No.  Forever."  This goes down just like the game I have played with the children ever since we first received Betsy our cat that looks like a Holstein (a type of cow).  The kids know I love Betsy and would not give any real consideration to sending her away, but I used to tell them almost as often as I think about how much I love that cat that, "She's a pretty good cat; I think I will keep her for a week or two."  It's a game I loved to play until one day, due to the divorce, the kids had to see the cat go away.  It took more than 1/2 a year before I could get Betsy back from the shelter since they had placed her with a bunch of sick kitties and did not want to spread the yuck.  So, since I am concerned that the kids might have a hard time if I lovingly tease about the cat, I choose to do so about Alicia instead.  Of course, I love her enough I do not want to get rid of her either.   My children, Nathan (9) and Lydia (7) have been enjoying friendships with Alicia and her boys, Josh (14) and Daniel (16) and must feel the same.

-

David T.

In the article, "Galls make passes at guys who wash glasses", Laurie A. Rudman, a psychologist at Rutgers University, is quoted as saying:  "...What is it about gender equality that brings about more relationship satisfaction?"

The full article is here:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23015839.  The article is good and does a good job at pointing out that there are more and more men who where raised with the attitude that household chores are for the whole household and not just the wife and/or children.

However, I question just how much research is truly needed to figure out that equality within any relationship makes it more satisfying.  Baring those who are truly into S&M, no offense intended if that is your life style choice, most people have a desire to be treated fairly.

Now, some have said life is not fair, get over it, deal with it, etc.  I also espouse that idea from time to time; however, in my household and with my family and friends, I tend to follow a different philosophy:  Although life is not fair, if we truly care about those we profess to care about, then we will endeavor to treat them fairly.  Children, and significant others, do not need us to model for them how to dominate, how to be waited on, or how to wait on them so much they cannot care for themselves.  Instead we need to model for them that although life is frequently not fair, in keeping with the Golden Rule (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethic_of_reciprocity), we should do our best to treat them fairly.

Now, I am continually surprised by the number of people I invite into my home who do not know, claiming to never have heard of, the Golden Rule, which is commonly defined as:  do to others as you would have them do to you OR treat other people like you want to be treated.

There are several verses in the Bible and other religious works that espouse this idea but my favorite in the New Testament is: 

Matthew 7:12
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."

-

David T.

I have been looking forward to the incidental opportunities that sometimes can arise in my work travels.  In particular 3 things I want to see, in no particular order:  Wicked, the Tutankhamun exhibit, and and Cirque Du Soleil.

Bodies The Exhibition was on my list, but I saw that last year while attending some Microsoft training in Seattle, WA.

Wicked, from my limited understanding is the tail of Wizard of Oz told from the witches perspective.

When I was about Lydia's age (7), I saw Tutankhamun including the full headdress, which was then on tour in Seattle, WA.  I would love to see it again since i have only fleeting memories but a complete fascination with glyphs.

When I arrived in Cleveland, as I frequently to when visiting new places, I asked the customer what was around here of interest.  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is just blocks away and a science museum is nearby.  A few other suggestions were made, but then I went to the hotel's concierge desk and found they had a weekly printed guide to what was happening, "Around Town".  My eyes fixated on:  Cirque du Soleil-Saltimbanco, showing Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays at 3:30p and 7:30p.  I called to apologize to Alicia for not being able to take her this trip, but I must go to see this while I have the opportunity.  I expected to receive a scolding for going without taking her, hear wining and complaining about how I get to do fun things on the road while she does hard work at home, etc.  What I got was that she did not know why I was apologizing and that she hoped I would enjoy the show.  She actually encouraged me to go, despite having a lover of the show herself.  Of course, she said, I know that if it was here in town we would both go, but it is not.

Thanks Alicia for being supportive of me and not being a ball buster.

-

David T.

Singing:  "On the road again... life I love is...."  Hmm.  I used to like that song, but these days I find myself not able to complete it.  Perhaps that is because I find that since I no longer have to come home to deal with marital strife, things are more enjoyable at home.  Thank you Alicia, Daniel, and Josh for helping make house into a home.  It will be nice to come home.  Although I am in Kansas City, I am not Dorothy, or Toto, nor have I have I defeated a wicked witch, I now find myself looking forward to a heel tapping experience when I get home.  Perhaps it is time to take Alicia for another spin on the dance floors in downtown Minneapolis.  If anyone knows of a good dance floor in the Twin Cities area with hip-hop or better yet 70s & 80s please let me know.  I may be interested in another good dance floor if it is on the south end of town near Burnsville / Apple Valley / Lakeville, etc.

My children, Nathan & Lydia, were happy to hear that our cat, Betsy, is still trying to get better from her bout of worms.  She has been in a Cause for Paws shelter home after my ex surrendered her back to the adoption agency last summer.  Of course, the kids and I both want her back, and the agency would love for us to get her back, but she was exposed to worms that seem to enjoy the taste of anti-worm medicine.  There must be two consecutive worm free tests for for Betsy to be able to come home.  She had one clear test, but the second was positive.  Since tests are done about three weeks apart and there were many other cats in the home that were infected, it may take a while yet.  Our prayers are for Betsy.  During her stay with all the other cats I hear she is enjoying the feline social atmosphere, and so I suspect I will want to adopt another playful kitty to help us entertain her.  I expect to get a photo of her with her playmates in sometime next week.

My Dad reports that he is enjoying being at home and feels noticeably better each day.

My XBOX 360 has finally been sent in again for repairs.  Yes, I must follow the exact same repair process the rest of the world's XBOX owners must follow to get repair services.  Mine was sent in for repair last summer, due to the red ring of death as many call it, and it came back without the red ring but with a propensity to spit out the CD-ROM tray more often than not when inserting CDs.

According to XBOX's online repair status tool:

Repair Status: Waiting for Device at Service Center

According to FEDEX:

Jan 23, 2008 2:56 PM MCALLEN, TX/Delivered

So, my guess is, that this means my XBOX is sitting in the mail room or in a stack somewhere in Texas enjoying warm weather while waiting for an XBOX technician to take the first peek at it.  I am sure all of us, the Taylors and the Tilleys wish at a happy, restful, restorative vacation, and a safe return.

-

David T. 

It has been a busy new year.  I was at home for vacation with my kids, Alicia, and her kids.  Then, I got a call from my mom saying that my Dad was going in for some heart tests and a sudden trip for Alicia and I to Florida since Dad was going to have to have heart work.

Ultimately, Dad had a choice of a stint via heart cath with low risk or open heart surgery with higher risk.  The concern was that if the stint was put in, there was a chance it too would close off and then surgery would be needed.  We all thought it was a good idea, and Dad ultimately decided, to have the heart surgery since other option might result in a need for emergency surgery if it failed -- and those do not go as well.  In fact, 13 years ago, my dad had a by-pass under emergency conditions.

Open heart surgery did not go well.  When they cut his breastplate open, the aorta was adhered, just due to how the last surgery healed, to the back of the breastbone.  The small niche took just one stitch to heal.  Seven pints of blood and around 5 pints of plasma later he was all put back together with a newly graphed bypass in place.

Surgery was on a Tuesday and dad was back home the following Monday.  He is doing well and is on the road to recovery.

Many thanks to everyone who prayed for the Dr's, my family, and my Dad through it all.

Of course, I had to tease my Dad, by telling him it was all just a stunt to see my cute new girl friend.  :)  When he told me, jokingly, that he would steal her if he was 30 years younger -- Alicia told him that would make her about 6 years old.

Heart surgery is one way I do not want to follow in your footsteps Dad; one of the few.  Duncan was sure to recently tease me for the way that I am following your footsteps -- by having a blended household of 2 adults and 4 kids.  :)  I am enjoying that one.

Guess it is time to start blogging more, but since the camera was knocked off the tripod over the holidays, I will have to wait till Alicia's new one comes in to get more good photos.

Goodnight and God Bless

-

David