Yes, It's Been Quite A Summer....

From Baseball, swimming, concerts, 4th of July in Kansas, playing in the hose, and broken bones it was a great summer.

I'll keep it brief, but MJM started the summer playing machine-pitch baseball on a team that ultimately won their Little League Championship. After a heartbreaking loss in the Championship game last season, the guys worked hard all season and prevailed against talented competition in a double header playoff elimination on a very hot Texas day.

In a daring attempt to defy gravity, MJM "did not know he could not fly...and so he did!" He jumped off the platform of a friends' backyard Fort - breaking his foot upon landing. He was most pleased with this "accomplishment", and enjoyed showing off his walking cast.

He’s one of those who knows that life Is just a leap of faith

Spread your arms and hold you breath

And always trust your cape

~Guy Clark

Other summer adventures involved the simple pleasures of playing in the yard. Keeping the plants alive became an adventure in water...er mud management as MJM enjoyed devising his own methods of keeping cool with limited resources.

Water prevailed as a theme, even when attending the Richardson Wildflower Arts & Music Festival where we listened to Jerry Jeff and Django Walker, Ray Wiley Hubbard and Roger Creager, though MJM would probably have preferred to play in the fountain all afternoon.

And last but not least, let's flash back to where it all began...
The summer began with a marathon party at the Frisco Feeding Frenzy 2, with friends from around the country coming together to celebrate and raise money (~$16,500) for charity due to the inspiration of a man who has made seeing the positive side of life a way of life. Fins up for Jimmy Buffett and all our Parrothead friends...every year.

Texas Heat

It's that time of year again...hot and dry in Texas, so I thought I'd post these words of wisdom. Both for those of you who endure Texas summers year after year, and the rest of you who have never had the pleasure of walking into a blast furnace.

Aside: Today was the 21st day this summer of over 100° temps, and August starts tomorow! Yee Haw!




May 30th - Now this is a state that knows how to live!! Beautiful sunny days and warm balmy evenings. Mountains and deserts blended together. What a place! Watched the sunset from a park lying on a blanket. It was beautiful. I've finally found my home I love it here.

June 14th - Really heating up. Got to 100° today. Not a problem. Live in an air-conditioned home, drive an air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun every day like this. I'm turning into a real sun worshiper.

June 30th - Had the backyard landscaped with western plants today. Lots of cactus and rocks. What a breeze to maintain. No more mowing for me. Another scorcher today, but I love it here.

July 10th - The temperature hasn't been below 100° all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat? At least it's a dry heat. Getting used to it is taking longer than I expected.

July 15th - Fell asleep by the pool. (Got 3rd degree burns over 60% of my body.) Missed two days of work, what a dumb thing to do. I learned my lesson though: got to respect the old' sun in a climate like this.

July 20th - I missed Tabby (our cat) sneaking into the car when I left this morning. By the time I got out to the hot car for lunch, Tabby had swollen up to the size of a shopping bag and exploded all over $2,000 worth of leather upholstery. I told the kids she ran away. The car now smells like Kibbles and shit. No more pets in this heat!

July 25th - Dry heat, my ass. Hot is hot!! The home air-conditioner is on the fritz and AC repairman charged $200 just to drive by and tell me he needed to order parts.

July 30th - Been sleeping outside by the pool for three nights now. $1,100 in damn house payments and we can't even go inside. Why did I ever come here?

Aug 4th - 115 degrees! Finally got the air-conditioner fixed today. It cost $500 and gets the temperature down to about 90°. Stupid repairman pissed in my pool. I hate this state.

Aug 8th - If another wise ass asks, "Hot enough for you today?” I'm going to tear his throat out. Damn heat. By the time I get to work the radiator is boiling over, my clothes are soaking wet, and I smell like roasted Garfield!!

Aug 10th - The weather report might as well be a damn recording: Hot and Sunny. It's been too hot for two damn months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Doesn't it ever rain in this barren damn desert?? Water rationing has been in effect all summer, so $1,700 worth of cactus just dried up and blew into the pool. Even a cactus can't live in this heat.

Aug 14th - Welcome to Hell!!! Temperature got to 123° today. Forgot to crack the window and blew the windshield out of the car. The installer came to fix it and said, "Hot enough for you today?", wife had to spend the $1,100 house payment to bail me out of jail.

Aug 30th - Worst day of the damn summer. I'm not leaving the house. The monsoon rains finally came and all they did is to make it muggier than hell. The car is now floating somewhere in Mexico with its new $500 windshield. That does it, we're moving to a cooler climate for some peace and quiet.

UPDATE: North Texas hit its 22nd day of triple-digit temperatures on August 1. Now, it’s going to get hot.

Tips Dealing With 100 Degree Temperatures

Heights Rocketship Blasts Off

Richardson’s Heights Park playground flies into history (article)

It's been two weeks since the Rocketship came down. I've been meaning to post about it, but it's been too painful.

Intellectually, I understand the dangers the equipment presented; but for both my Son and me the Rocketship, the Planet, the Submarine, the Giraffe, the Radar and even the old Jungle Gym capture the memories of childhood. Now the Rocketship Park is part of a childhood that is no longer Earthbound, but can only be touched in our minds.

I suppose the analogy is appropriate, and probably why the Rocketship Park was so special to me. Rocketships, and the hope they inspire for all of mankind have been an important symbol to me since Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon 39 years ago this month.

There's a fine line between staying grounded in the here and now and looking into the stars for a better tomorrow. But keeping the hopes and dreams of young people alive is one way that I believe that we will reach the stars one day, and by climbing on Rocketships when we are children is just one way to nurture an imagination that doesn't know the boundaries of time and space....yet.

How To Lead Your Life...

You cannot change the cards you are dealt. Just how you play the hand.

Dr. Randy Pausch, a Computer-Science Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, died this morning at age 47 of pancreatic cancer.

Why is this important?

I'm not a computer science major, nor did I ever meet Dr. Pausch personally; but he made a huge impact on me when I watched the following lecture:
(The book is also available)




Dr. Pausch exemplifies & validates the positive attitude that I've aspired to for the last decade. While it is a constant struggle for me to avoid sinking in the morass of negativity, Dr. Pausch inspired me to the core, that the benefits of the struggle are worth the effort.

Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.

Dr. Paush also taught me to have fun while I'm getting experience.

The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough.

My son's recent experience (see previous entry), encourages me that I am achieving some measure of success at inspiring persistence in the face of adversity.

Thank you Dr. Paush for sharing your thoughts on living life and showing us, by example, that attitude is everything.

We Are The Champions...

My Son’s Baseball team won their Little League Championship on Saturday. These boys played the Semi-Final and Championship Games back to back in 100 degree Texas heat and never wavered in their commitment and enthusiasm to achieve their goal (and redeem their loss in the Championship game last year).

While my son was unable to bat and field on Saturday because of his broken foot, he was determined to support the team from the dugout. He proved both to himself and his teammates that you don’t quit in the face of adversity; an important lesson for us all.

Netiquette

After a recent experience on a beloved internet community where the banstick was inappropriately and spitefully administered in an appalling abuse of power to many productive and non-controversal members of that community, I think it might be useful to review some basic Netiquette tips:

• Remember, on the other side of that screen are real humans with real feelings.
• Everything you write is stored on the internet for anyone to see. Even Private Messages could come back to haunt you. Say what you mean, and mean what you say.
• Follow the same standards of behavior on-line that you follow & expect in real life.
• Lurk before you leap. In other words, get to know what's acceptable at the community your at. Don't make assumptions.
• Respect other people's time by NOT posting/sending superflurous messages or expecting immediate replies to your pet project.
• Spelling and grammar matter, but don't point out other people's spelling/grammar errors.
• Make sure what you post is clear and accurate.
• Be pleasant and polite. Don't use offensive language, and don't be confrontational for the sake of confrontation.
  (I realize many forums allow swearing, but I don't swear at home, I don't like to hear people swearing in real life, so I don't swear on the net.)
• Share what you know - that's why were here! I'm looking for answers to questions that bother me so!
• Don't feed a flame war.
• Respect other people's privacy. I have been at two sites where the Admin's publically shared information that they only could have gained by reading Private Messages. Lot's of people got their feelings hurt, including the Admin's.
• Don't abuse your power. Admin's and Moderators have to separate any personal feelings from their job. If they are unable to stay objective, they need to turn control over to someone who can.
• Be forgiving of other people's mistakes.
  
  Here's a fun little video about "How To Behave On An Internet Forum".
  
  
  
  

I've made many friends on the internet, quite a few who I've met IRL and have become more than virtual friends. I've seen the power of people pulling together in times of illness, death, birth and marriage...not to mention some amazing JB tailgates. All these in addition to the common interests that may have brought us together in the first place (in my case Jimmy Buffett, LOST and Star Wars).
There are many wonderful experiences to be shared in cyberspace; and, as in real life...remember to PLAY NICE!

17 Years Ago on the Winter Solstice...

...I married my best friend.



As I recently told a friend who just got married, it's been a long and winding road,
And, as in any relationship there's been good days & bad days & going half mad days.
But through the years, and miles and tears and smiles
I'm proud to have found a lover who is also my friend to share the road with me.

May each of you find such Peace.

Life is a Vapor...

Surfer Girl....Thinking of you and your cross country move.

As always, I know you'll do fine. :)

John Mayer - Lost in the Music

Saw John Mayer Friday night...

Great show, even the Dallas Morning News agrees (which is unusual)




Do yourself a favor.

Life Lessons Learned From Star Wars

On this 30th Anniversary of the release of Star Wars, it seems appropriate to acknowledge that Star Wars changed my life...

Everything I Need To Know In Life I Learned From Watching 'Star Wars'

By Shawn Adler

30. Wretched hives of scum and villainy always have the best music.
It's no coincidence that the bar at Mos Eisley has the most kick-ass band this side of Naboo. Dives always have the best live music — directly proportional to how many felons they're serving at any given time.

29. Before making out with someone, make absolutely sure they aren't your sister.
This one goes without saying, but it's especially important for those who suspect they may have been adopted.

28. "Don't tell me the odds!"
According to C-3PO, the odds against successfully navigating an asteroid field are approximately 3,720 to 1. Buckle up and take some chances.

27. "These are not the droids we are looking for."
Searching is futile when you don't know what you're looking for.

26. Fear and anger always lead to the dark side.
Even if you're facing certain death at the hands of a playful sadist (who just happens to be threatening your sister), releasing your anger will only please him more. Relax — victory can only be achieved through calmness.

25. "Do or do not. There is no try."

Any task worth doing is worth doing right.

24. "At this moment, the Internet is completely empty."
Not strictly from "Star Wars," but said by the guy behind me in the movie theater as the opening title for "The Phantom Menace" crawled across the screen. It remains the truest statement I have ever heard.

23. All things are true ... from a particular point of view.
This is what Obi-Wan tells Luke when asked why he didn't reveal the truth about Darth Vader. But truth is a delicate and malleable thing: Is Luke Skywalker a freedom fighter or a terrorist? I guess it depends on what side of the Death Star you happen to be on when he blows it up.

22. If your girlfriend tells you she loves you, it's totally badass to reply, "I know."
She will love you more.

21. Always let the Wookiee win.
Why? Because Wookiees pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose. Knowing your opponent is integral to defeating him, and conceding a small battle doesn't mean you forfeit the war.

20. Everybody means something to somebody. Remember that scene at the beginning of "Return of the Jedi" when the Rancor dies and a guard comes in bawling after him? Even the most twisted, deformed and evil beings can be loved for who they are. Everybody is somebody's child.

19. Don't ever apologize to your boss.
Especially if you did something really dumb, like jump out of hyperspace close enough to be detected from the ice planet Hoth. It will only get the goofball next to you promoted while you are Force-choked to death.

18. People who smoke need to "rethink" their life.
Obi-Wan's moralizing encounter with an alien shilling death sticks in "Attack of the Clones" is a bit schoolmarmish but nevertheless true. It shouldn't take a Jedi to tell those things are bad for you.

17. Crime doesn't pay.
Jabba the Hutt, Boba Fett, Sebulba, Greedo — the bad guys in "Star Wars" always get what's coming to them, even if it takes a while. The reverse of this, however, is not true. While crime doesn't pay, not paying for your past crimes does pay. Just ask Han Solo.

16. Don't trust a liar to save your girlfriend from prophesied doom.
They're lying.

15. Never desert your friends.
The best we can hope for in our journeys across the galaxy are good, honest companions. They stick by you through thick and thin and won't judge you based on your crazy family. So next time you're debating leaving Jedi training to rescue your friends from Cloud City, remember who it was that shot down Darth Vader during the Death Star attack. You owe them.

14. Girls are really good shots.
If you must fight a tyrannical empire capable of sending endless waves of Storm Troopers, bring along a few girls. They never miss.

13. "Size matters not."
This is a cooler, more complicated way of saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover."

12. "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine."
People can become heroes in life, but only in death can they become legends.

11. Dictatorships run much more smoothly than democracies.
At the beginning of "Phantom Menace," the Republic is a shabbily run confederacy that can't even protect a sovereign planet from being gobbled up by warring trade unions. That's why Queen Padmé calls for a vote of no confidence. By "Revenge of the Sith," it takes Darth Vader roughly 10 minutes to end the threat. If you can stand a little repression, nothing beats an empire when it comes to efficiency.

10. Everything smells better from the outside.
Some mysteries are better left unsolved. Slicing through a Tauntaun is like breaking a trash compactor to see how it works: The only thing you're going to discover are some really bad smells.

9. No matter where you are or what you're doing, someone is going to have a bad feeling about it.
Go ahead, say it aloud: Admitting your fears is the first step toward overcoming them.

8. If you want the job done, it's sometimes necessary to call in bounty hunters.
Even the most powerful Sith lord can't be everywhere at once, which is why to get what you want you sometimes have to associate with less-than-reputable fellows. There's little shame in finding the most capable aides. And none at all in admitting you need help.

7. Sand people always walk in single file to hide their numbers.
If something's bothering you, chances are it goes deeper than what appears to be the immediate cause. Look closer. Troubles come not as single spies but as battalions.

6. Life is better the first time around.
Often imitated, never duplicated. The original is always the best.

5. Even if you're the galaxy's most powerful army, never underestimate guerrillas defending their home turf.
Not even laser canons and AT-ATs can defeat stone throwers like the Ewoks at home. Regardless of your ideological persuasion, feel free to make your own contemporary political joke here.

4. "It's a trap!"
Rest assured, the battle station you're attacking is fully operational. Don't assume your enemies are idiots, no matter how many Bothans died to bring you the information.

3. No matter how many people you kill or how many galaxies you destroy, one good deed can make up for everything.
Anakin Skywalker gets to go to Force heaven, or whatever the heck it's called when he's palling around with Obi-Wan and Yoda at the end of "Jedi." And this is after killing roughly 8 billion people (give or take the population of Alderan). Can we be forgiven for our crimes? Can we forgive ourselves? A lot depends on whether or not you believe the next statement.

2. The worst enemies you'll face are those you bring with you.
When Luke enters the forbidden tree cave on Dagobah, Yoda tells him that all he will face is what he fears inside. Evil doesn't come from some external trickster — it is a reflection of our own foul natures ...

1. Use the Force.
... but the tools to our salvation lie within us as well. Discovering how to channel these forces is what makes our journey. Let it go. The greatest lesson "Star Wars" teaches us is that the hero is within.