For Profit Colleges

Jen and I were watching a commercial yesterday for University of Phoenix  (may have been some other college) and the lady told a story of being single, twenty and having 2 kids. She told the story how she picked her self up from her boot straps and got degree after degree until she finally became something in an impressive uniform.

Jen asked me if those commercials were real and my only response was yes they probably were. I said they have thousands of students and one or two had to make it good and why not feature them.

Today as I was driving to work I heard a story on PBS how many of these schools are in danger of losing  federal aid.

After months of delay, the Department of Education on Thursday issued new rules that could shut down some for-profit colleges and universities.

The department says the regulations are meant to cut off federal aid to schools whose students cannot earn enough to repay their loans. The administration softened the rules in response to industry pressure.


Before he announced the rules, Education Secretary Arne Duncan paid tribute to the important role played by for-profit schools, such as the University of Phoenix.

http://www.npr.org/2011/06/02/136876216/softened-regulations-issued-for-for-profit-schools?ps=cprs
 

Well it seems there are some success stories, it also seems these people are coming out of college and not being hired. I see the logic in this, but I must also question it. Lets face it teachers coming out of grad school face an uphill road when finding employment when getting out of school. Well let us not split hairs, as this fact is also true across the board, across all professions.

Ironically, there are many people who are out of work right now and it is logical that they head back to school to update their skill sets.

I think I'll go back to college and get a PHD and solve this little dilema.

Disaster From Afar

We have a cat that is a crazy as they come. She used to be shy little cat and over the past few years Astrid has come out her shell and she is quite the talker. And she brings Jen and I presents. She has a toy called Qua duck. What Qua duck actually is a question for another day. It is half octopus (with four legs) and half duck. Astrid meows in a throaty load purr when she has Qua duck in her mouth. The other day she brought Jen a ball of yarn and our bed was like a big spider web. She brought me a fastener that wraps around a head of Kale. Why she brought me that I have no idea.

But I remember many years ago I was in the apple orchard and I was picking apples. (Such an idyllic childhood) and I saw my Mom hanging wash (people used to do that and my Mom was good at it and she liked hanging wash). The I saw our cat Beacon (our Mom called him BJ) walking toward my Mom much like Astrid now does with Qua duck. Only BJ was walking across the lawn with a big old snake in his mouth. The snake was still alive and wiggling like crazy.I saw my Mom hanging wash and Bj walking across the lawn with a present for my Mom and I could see a disaster of epic proportions ready to erupt and I was helpless to stop the train wreck.

It actually didn't end in train wreck but I remember that fleeting feeling of not being able to stop the disaster at hand. It was uproariously funny in my mind but I also wanted to spare my Mom of the surprise present.

As anticipated my Mom turned and started yelling at BJ to drop the snake and our startled cat to my surprise ran like hell and the snake slithered into a bush.

Even in the Quietest Moments

I remember when I was about 15 years old. I was too old to participate in family vacations in my mind. But I still had my favourite childhood memories tied to going to the beach ( I believe we called it the shore)  with my family. We would spend most mornings getting up early and having a big breakfast , walking the beach, doing a little wave riding but when GrandFather Hoover determined that the tide was right we would head back to the bay to do some crabbing, Yes we all loved going to Assawoman State Park and do the crabbing thing. Throw a chicken laden string in the water and five minutes later pulling up the string and snaring a ceab in our net.

I remember riding in our parents car back to our favorite crabbing spot and me being the self centered teenager that I was. I decided that i would pop in Supertamps Crime of the Century cd. In retrospect our Grandfather was in the car and he had made the drive to our favourite crabbing spots a thousnad times before.

But he sat there that day and listened to the cd I had pur on. The song Even in the Quitest Moments came on the car sterwo and everyboday sar silent and listened to it.

My grandfasther commented that was a beutiful song.

I heard it again todat and it brought me back to Crabbing in Deleware. And some of the simple pleasures I miss today.

And Slim as many used to call my grandfather.

And even though the stars are listening

And the ocean's deep, I just go to sleep
And then I create a silent movie
You become the star, is that what you are, dear?
Your whisper tells a secret
Your laughter brings me joy
And a wonder of feeling I'm Nature's own little boy
But still the tears keep fallinThey're raining from the sky
Well there's a lot of me got to go under before I get high
Don't you let the sun disappear

 My grandfather sat and listened to these words with me and I have not recisted them until I  heard it today on WXPN/
 
A beauriful song always stirs a memory.

My On Again Love Affair with Bikram

I write about Bikram Yoga often. I have a love hate relationships with Bikram and yesterday I went back to old friend with a goal of sorts.

1. Reduce stress.
2. Lose ten pounds by July 4th.
3. Reduce the side effects that my back is having on everything else.  (Damn I get winded when I sprint in my soccer games).

Well my wife bought me a wonderful gift of Bikram yoga for my birthday and yesterday I took the first step of actually going to class. Like I have written before I generally hate the 90 minutes of class and love the 24 hours after it.

Yesterday was a bit different. Leah was our teacher for the day and the atmosphere was so much different this time around. The schedule has changed just a bit. Classes are now at 530 and 730 which suits my life a little better. Yesterday's class had around 13 students which is better for myself.

I also found myself very relaxed and not frustrated at all if I did not come close to making the pose. I was very into the moment and my mind did not wonder. I found myself not quite where I was the last time I did Bikram but so what. It is a process, I am 3 years older and I came here with problems with my back and 11 pounds to lose. One day at a time. One pose at a time.

Once class was over that's when the you reap the benefits. The breeze flowing down Fremont street was gentle and beautiful and the light rain felt great on my forehead. We had watermelon for desert and it was the best thing I tasted all day. A cold glass of water after dinner replaced the usual beer. I slept very well last night.

And that matters.

I went for a walk with our Beagle last night and her leg seemed better. Probably not related but I love the Halo effect that comes with Bikram.

Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.”

The Head Talks

Sad Tire
Effective July 16, 2010, Earl Scheib, Inc. has ceased operations nationwide. Each store is now independently owned and operated by a person unaffiliated with Earl Scheib, Inc. Based on this change, customer warranties of Earl Scheib, Inc. will no longer be able to be honored at these stores or by Earl Scheib, Inc. We truly apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you (and the inconvenience we got rid of), however we believe the independent owners and operators will (begrudgedly) continue to provide the same great service that Earl Scheib, Inc. offered for almost 79.9 years.

In other words go take your crappy paint jobs back to them because we made a deal never to deal with this crap again. On second thought go but a new car instead of getting your car fixed.

Having Vibrams = Liking Journey

Apparently there is a school of thought that What Your Favorite Classic Rock Band Says About You


Journey: You own those running shoes that are shaped like feet.

Jimi Hendrix: You are under 20 or over 65.


Click her for a complete listing.

I have no favourite classic rock band as they all suck. But I have the forementioned running shoes. Vibrams and this rocket surgeon study assumes I like Journey and just make you stop believing I will state here that Journey is the worst band I have ever heard. Hands down and I love my Vibram running shoes.

Stolen Baby Sea Lion

Love this essay and memory from Marina.

Marina Schofer


Sophomore English

March 17th 2011



I found my perfect washable pet at Zupans Market. As a second grader at the grocery store all I could focus on was the candy aisle and the miscellaneous toys scattered about – Bam! The white stuffed sea lion in the middle of a body scrubber caught my attention; it was hanging next to the natural body wash above the reach of any 7 year old.

I ran down the long deep wooden floors that held the heavy aisles of countless snacks. I spotted my parents among colorful piles of oranges and bell peppers. I skipped over to my parents and right as I tugged on my dads flannel the sprinklers poured over the bright green, red, yellow and orange bell peppers. I put my face and arms under the mist to feel the same freshness each crispy bell pepper felt. The mist distracted me from my goal for only a few seconds.

“I want to be cleaner daddy!” I said looking straight into his big brown eyes.

He looked at me with the humorous face that he makes where he turns his head to the side a little bit and widens his eyes.

This made me giggle. I pulled him down the aisle towards the baby sea lion. My mom slowly pushed the cart with my little brother in it down the aisle behind us; she was intrigued by all of the packaged goods.

I pointed at the baby seal body scrubber.

“Cute!” He said.

My dad picked the one that I wanted off of the clip and handed it to me.

At that second I knew for sure that I was lucky. Holding that seal gave me memories of warm summer days at the zoo and baths with my baby brother, the only things I knew in life was the family that loved me and my favorite coloring books. Life was amazing.

I brought my baby seal over to my best friend Isabelle’s house, we ate snacks and played with polly pockets until my mom came and picked me up. I always missed her at this point. We drove down the hills of western Portland and into the valley of Beaverton. The second that I realized my baby seal was missing I called Isabella’s moms. I was furious, nobody had ever stolen anything from me before, especially an item of such value.

“I just wanted to let you know… that Isabella stole my baby sea lion. I want it back. It is white and fluffy and is wrapped in a purple body scrubber.” I said with the slight attitude I still have today.

“Okay sweetheart!” she said with a full kind heart despite of my attitude. I hated her and Isabella because of my lost baby seal.

I sat on my bed with my mom’s cell phone in hand expecting a very important call. It didn’t come. I called back after an hour went by; I was furious about the ticking clock. Isabella and I were never friends again.

About Culture

This here is an absolute brilliant peace of journalism. It has me awestruck.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/edwest/100079703/why-is-there-no-looting-in-japan/

And solidarity seems especially strong in Japan itself. Perhaps even more impressive than Japan’s technological power is its social strength, with supermarkets cutting prices and vending machine owners giving out free drinks as people work together to survive. Most noticeably of all, there has been no looting, and I’m not the only one curious about this.


This is an absolute amazing human trait amongst a large group of people. I did not read the analysis as to why that is. I will save that for another day. For now I can only guess with reasonable accuracy as to why that actually is.

Japan as a culture has a 'we' mentality as opposed to a 'me' mentality. This is taught from school age on up all the way into the community and corporate culture. The demographics of the Japanese people is quite different. There is less a disparity in income as seen in the United States. The poor are generally taken care of better in the Japanese culture. This results in less need to loot for basic needs. There is also less hostility toward those with ample resources. This takes away the , for lack of a better word, urge to plunder. The need to take what is rightfully their own.

Purging at 50

10:00 and All is well

• Oh sheiss, no food for today. Drink only clear liquids and mix this crap together. One bottle of some crap mixed with Gatorade.
• 40 minutes until I have to take the pills and evacuate the system. A friend said I should prepare for flu like symptoms. I already have that anticipating tomorrows jocularity.
• At least I have the new REM CD to listen to. What associative memories I will have of that.
• Of course I am hungry as hell.

Noon

• Take the four pills every 15 minutes .
• I actually followed the directions and these pills make me feel like crap.
• Riley Is eating food which is driving me crazy. I showed her and took a bath. (She currently can't take baths)
• All concentration now is gone.

Two

• Okay the directions say to drink 8 ounce of this stuff every 15 minutes. The Gatorade -shatever (new word)mixtures tastes like day old oral sex.
• The directions said that i would get chills. Check
• I didn't realize I would have to go to the bathroom exactly 15 seconds after drinking that regurgitated cum. But I did and it was not a placebo bathroom break.
• Shit , 30 minutes are up and I have to drink that stuff again.
• All hands on board.
• Taking a bath is not a wise decision. The bunny hop from tub to toilet is amusing.
• The colon is 4 feet long so they tell me.
• Who aspires to be a colonologist - my doctor evidently.

Directions from the Portland Clinic

Foods that are acceptable. Jello, pop sickles soda apple juice etc.
Foods that are not acceptable. milk, creams, dairy, soy nut dairy replacements, orange juice, foods with red or purple colour. I do not see Vegetarian Reuben from the Goose Hollow on the list. I am assuming I can have one.

I did not realize I had to drink a second batch of that crap at 700. The second batch was horrible as it was more concentrated and more crappy. I use that word here plenty.

I was afraid to go to bed because I was always going to the bathroom. I was getting more familiar as to how my colon worked. I also became a little more familiar with how woman feel monthly.

Colon OZ Comy day

My wife couldn't sleep either as I was up all night, but we arrived at 715 on the dot. Strip down naked into hospital garb, and on to a gurney. It was so surreal and calm. I listened to a lady being interviewed next to me. It was so predictable in my world.

Nurse - Are you wearing any hearing Aides
Patient -What
Nurse - Are you wearing any hearing Aides

Patient -Louder -What
Me (over the curtains) -Assume she isn't.

The procedure is such a non event. I was done and out out of there by 930. It went faster than advertised.

But it is peace of mind. The day off was nice. They warned me that people lose their short term memory after said procedure. I was hoping I would find mine.

A Call from School

I just received a call from the principal at Davinci Arts Middle School. Ususually that means trouble in my world. Today Max was in Mr. Marshall's office once again. I picked up the phone with some trepdation and it was Mr. Marshall on the other end of the line.

Mr. Marshall said that we had Max in his office and I immediately thought "OHNO". Mr Marshall I think wanted me to think that for a second. To make a long story short he told me Max was in his office to recieve an outstanding citizen award for having an outstanding Oaks Testing score. One small victory and a tribute to the hard work Max is putting in. Mr Marshall is thankful also.

Link to Davinci

My daughters perfect paragraph

Thought I would keep it just to look back at it later. It is what it is.

The brain is constantly developing throughout your life; the brain does the most developing from the ages of 2 to 18. I do not agree that minors who commit felonies should be treated as adults in the U.S. criminal justice system. When one is under the age of 18 it is easier to learn from mistakes because of the connections the brain is still creating. A minor should not be sentenced to death when they still have a chance to be a better person and bring positivity into the world. Being a teenager is difficult and comes with a lot of pressure from peers to make mistakes and push limits. When one still has the chance to make up for what they have wronged they should be given every chance to make better.

Comets from the Stars

Sometimes out of the blue, from something you have prepared for forever, whet you trully expected would happen actually does.

The perfect weekend is sometimes not a trip out of town or gala celebration but rather just a simple quiet weekend at home with family.

With gentle dis-agreements with your daugher that ends in gentel agreements gaining new level of repsect that was hard earned on both sides.
And a weeknd with being in synch with your partner in life, when a gentle nod of the head neans I am with you. That gentle nod of the head that says I am with you.

What Constitues Normal TeenAge Behavior

In general, normal behavior is behavior that does not interfere with a person's ability to cope with his environment or to get along with others.

Become Aware of the Attitudes and Behaviors of Adolescents Your Child's Age

However, you must consider your teenager's peer group and take into account the behaviors and actions of his age mates in order to determine if your teenager's behavior is typical or should be of concern.

Here in lies a particular problem as who are the kids peers and how exactly does he or she pick them. I as a parent always hope for kids (Our) to pick peers that are better than them and help them raise the level of their game. By choosing peers\boyfriends with low standards you are already setting the bar pretty low.

Some peer groups are themselves deviant, and may be associated with serious impairments or difficulties.


Not sure how to address this as we have little say in that and when we help choose them we get resentment and ill guided behavior.
 
Consider Individual Differences


Children have different personalities. One child may be sensitive, another talkative, a third shy, and so forth. In determining whether behavior is normal. Other parents are going through the same thing. Parents with multiple children sometimes have some that behave according and others that do not. They are all different.

The Nascar Demographic is Dead and how it Relates to the Portland Timbers

Just finished reading "Southern Culture on the Skids" talking about the dying demographic of NasCar fans. Ben Austin describes the early beginnings of NasCar and tracks it through an ill-fated pit row spat that rocketed Racing's popularity and now NasCar is left with a model that is indeed broken.

Competitive stock-car racing has its roots in moonshine-running, NASCAR president Mike Helton has said "The old southeastern redneck heritage that we had is no longer in existence.  But what NASCAR has done is that it has strayed away from its roots. NASCAR had grand ideas of tracks in New York City, fans have now complained that drivers are too corporate and bland and that the racing is now boring. The cars no longer look like the cars the fans had driven as kids. In another odd move NASCAR moved race times to later in the day that no longer coincided with the traditional time when people where arriving home from church. What NasCar has done is to get away from its traditional base. They now screen off entire sections of Daytona grandstands so the track appears full to sponsors and fans.

What does that have to do with the Portland Timbers one may ask.

Well the Timbers have had similar success with a campy comfortable product with a real feel good approach to its success. It has been a grass roots word of mouth growth where the the team now is drawing 10000 fans a night to see their beloved team play in a league that is truly bad.  Not really the players but rather promotion and opponent fan base.

Well the Timbers have been awarded an MLS franchise and start playing next year in what looks like a  beautifully renovated  PGE park. It is estimated the 10000 figure next year will be 20000 and that is not a stretch. That will happen in the short term. Now the challenge is to produce those numbers in the long term and the Timbers will do that by sticking to their roots.

A recent uprising against the new crest was a result of a perceived lack of management insight into sticking to their roots. Out sourcing the logo design to an out of state firm was not a great start. Hopefully that public relations hiccup was merely that.

But change is constant but change need not be chaotic. The Timbers must keep with what got them here.

The Timbers are not NASCAR and they are not the Portland Trail Blazers and there is no need for cheer leaders or for gods sake (NASCAR term) please keep out the pumped in music. Footy fans are spur of the moment and don't need cues as when to be fired up. The Timbers Army is doing a great job in talking with the field office and vise versa. This needs to continue as the fans understand the direction of the teams just as well as the field office much like the fans of the Oval sport.

But it is the teams money and resources. It is preferred to put a winner on the field, but it just as important to stick with tradition. Little traditions such as "Green is the Color" playing before games, sales reps stopping by your seat and asking for feed back, plenty of bike racks for those riding to games and may i repeat NO PUMPED IN  MUSIC. Sorry a little pet peeve of mine but we are fans and not customers and we like seeing PGE park filled to the brim. We have great tradition, a great city and it what got us here and will help us grow in the future.

Guns

When I lived in Arlington Va. I went for a run and waved hello to a neighbor and his friend who were innocently drinking beer on sultry typical DC fall evening. When I got back from my run there was a swarm of police and ambulances in front of the house and apparently they had played with their Dads hand gun and it went off and killed one of the boys. I still remember the neighbors gathering that night and the father of the boy who owned the gun was pissed that he could not get blood stains out of the carpet. He had the only NRA bumper sticker on a mostly liberal minded community.

Yesterday a 3 year old got to playing with his Dad's handgun (a police officer non the less) and we lost another young person. Story here if you are so inclined.

Our founding fathers are 286 years old and their original intention is now distorted. It took 5 minutes to load a damn musket. Now a days we have guns that can shoot 100 rounds a minute. I must admit I did not research the fact but the direction of my statement should be understood.

My questions are.

1.Why does one have to own a handgun.?
2. If so how hard is to lock it up.?
3. What if anything can be done?

From some Pro Gun site
A fatal gun accident, particularly when a child is involved, often makes state or national news. This gives the impression that: fatal gun accidents are more prevalent than other fatal accidents, gun accidents are increasing, and civilian gun ownership must be further restricted or regulated.


The reality does not correspond to the perception created by media coverage. Fatal gun accidents declined by almost sixty percent from 1975 to 1995, even though the number of guns per capita increased by almost forty percent.

Tongue in cheek one can concluse the per capita is up because we accidently killed so many. But once again it is a single life that ended, a father lost a son and its an acceptble risk.

I disagree.

Just Random stuff that Comes to My Mind

I am really doing some repetitive work and when something pops in mu mind I will just jot it down.

From NPR of Montreal

1. NPR is a great place to listen to new releases. Currently Listening to the New "Of Montreal cd" . I used to like this band but it seems like they now have Prince like vocals. On second thought its a little more like Spoon.

2. UP is playing PSU in soccer this weekend. That PSU is my ala mater Penn State. Go Lady pilots. Wonder where Kendra Chandhoke has disappeared to.

3. Muslims find America, the Tolerant. It seems like they have not ventured out side the city, but that Jones dude in Florida is crazy.

4. When I asked my family via text message what the score of the Braves/Cards game was they all had an answer within 10 seconds.

5. This is the last scheduled around-the-clock weekend closure for southbound I-205. Crews plan to use night time double-lane closures through October to complete joint work and restripe lanes on both directions of the bridge. I hate this as I will be missing my soccer game again.

6. Just started reading a book with a cover and Pages. My first one since I got the kindle a year ago. J. Robert Lenin's Funny Papers. and its pretty good.

7. My wife is reading to her students and playing the cd from our wedding. Wonder what the kids thing of the Loch Lomond song called Carl Sagen.

Love this  JRL wackiness. (This is lifted from here).

1 egg = 2 T vegetable oil

1 T prepared mustard = 1 t dry mustard

1 prune = 8 raisins

1 pizza = 12 dollars

1 C Coke = 1 C Pepsi

sunrise = sunset

1 wasp = 14 ants

1 hug = 5 handshakes

1 punch in jaw = 8 middle fingers

1 stomach flu = 10 staff meetings

completing free coffee card = spying nude neighbor through the window

licked by dog = gift of ugly necktie

cloud = crow

bowling trophy = promotional t-shirt

finding a $20 bill on the sidewalk = finding 20 $1 bills on the sidewalk

thunderstorm = trick-or-treating

car door slammed on fingers = testifying against brother-in-law

legalized gambling = africanized killer bees

car alarm = painful urination

misspelling = untied shoe

 lawyer jokes = 1 C bread crumbs

empty parking lot = dream-within-a-dream

shaving = sauteeing

pinking shears = parsley

tapanade = “Rashamon”

bone spur = church pew

eleventy-twelve = 122

 

9. A new way to make eggplant happened by accident as we were out of eggs.

• Soak sliced eggplants in salt and water
• Dip in a mixture of vegetablee oil and Mayo.
• Bread accordingly
• Broil in Oven

 10.  I swear or cat Astrid was getting poop out of the liter box and taking it to our Beagle who promptly ate it and then proceeded to run around like Marion Berry on Crack.

Our weather has been weird  We get sights like this. But how can one argue as it has been late October weather in early September.

 

Let's Build a Temple for the Overly Religious

http://en.wikipedia/.

Lets for arguments sake just say that Timothy McVeigh (At the end of his life he would state his belief that the United States government is the ultimate bully) was a Christian zealot. For example, " Throughout his childhood, he and his father were Roman Catholic and regularly attended daily Mass at Good Shepherd Church in Pendleton, New York" .This statement ,alone taken on purpose somewhat out of context from Wikipedia, (a common Internet tool that many times is mistaken as absolute truth by those doing book reports) can in our media driven world be read and interpreted as true by many in American society. It happens all the time.

Which in a sound byte world would come across as "Christian goes Jihad on Government Building"  if the press decided to report this in such a way the fallout could be different..  It is a far fetched scenario of sorts but the truth is somewhat close. Number one and besides the point the the basically pro Christian Press would not report it this way. Number two -Let us suppose the press reports it this way and Americans actually believe that a Radical Christian bombed the  Federal buildings (including a day care center) that actual resentment toward Christians would result in threats against God Loving Christians/

Would it cause a national uproar (Ill call it a major chasm) against a church going up near ground zero in New York.

The Sunshine Goal

SUNSHINE SUNFLOWER PROJECT

From soccercityusa

Thursday Sept.2 will be the last regular season home game at PGE Park for our beloved Portland Timbers before the leap to MLS.
Please bring a large Sunflower to this historic event.
At the 80th minute we will sing "You are my Sunshine" and display these tokens of our affection until the end of the match.
Sunflowers will be collected and given to players and coaches as the Timbers pass the Timbers Army.


"You are my Sunshine" is part of Timbers lore. It is sung at every Timbers game as a tribute. Timber Jim's daughter, Hannah, was killed in an automobile accident in 2004, and in her memory, the Timbers Army made a tradition of singing "You Are My Sunshine," often led by a tearful Timber Jim.

Tonight was a tribute to everything Timbers as it was the last home game for the Current squad and we were locked into a key division game against the Islanders from Puerto Rico. The atmosphere at the park was trully electric. Sunflowers were every where and there was a great game on the pitch as both sides settled into a defensive struggle. Ryan Pore nearly found the back of the net as the first half ended.

As the 80th minute approached sunflowers appeared out of every corner of PGE park and almost everybody in attendance broke into "You are My Sunshine" with sunflowers raised. The game proceeded and James Marcelin wrestled a the ball away midfield sending a cross to Ian Joy who fed Doug Demartin on the wing. Demartin lofted a perfect through ball that Ryan Pore out marked his opponent and headed in the game winner as the crowd was singing. The place went absolutely crazy.

You honestly could not have scripted it better and it retrospect as I write this it seems like a script but it happened at PGE park in front of 15000 thousand plus fans. Some had tears in their eyes, others donned sunglasses and it was a magical moment that I was happy to share with my wife, my son and our friend Erin on her bithday and 15000 people I will see agian.

As we walked out of the stadium I ran into a friend and he asked me if I shed a tear.

My answer was simply "Yes". one guy speaking to another.

Timbers by dougall5505, on Flickr

I Remember 1969 -Researching the Expanding Past

I was having a discussion with Dad the other day and he told me he played baseball with Charlie Engle when he was 53. Charlie is an interesting chap who just threw a no hitter at the age of 79. I replied that the last time he (Dad) played baseball was when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon.  Dad's flippant response was that he was not 30 in 1958.

So a little research. Debunking the myths.

When we were kids on Sunday nights all our cousins (The Hoovers) would come over to the house and we would usually eat Chicken Delight. I did some quick research and the place still exists in some form. We loved the chicken wings, the blueberry muffins and the coleslaw. We would usually eat, the parents would drink beer and the kids would run around the house and eventually get their leg stuck in a wagon or some other calamity.

And in some seasons the parents would sit down and watch Roller Derby. The Philadelphia Warriors.with the likes of Buddy Atkinson. Jim Trotter and Judy Arnold. They would watch them them play or skate or what ever they did.

Well the reason for this diversion is that Dad tells me he was not 30 when Niel and the gang landed on the Moon. But he did back up his mis-claim that the lunar landing happened in 1958.

So I did some checking as Charlie Engle is real and one night in the summer of 1969 Roller Derby was pre-emted by the lunar landing. I remember watching those grainy images and to me it was one of the more exciting moments in my life.

The Basic facts behind it.

The Apollo 11 space flight landed the first humans on Earth's Moon on July 20, 1969. The mission, carried out by the United States, is considered a major accomplishment in the history of exploration and represented a victory by the U.S. in the Cold War Space Race with the Soviet Union.. I did some additional research and July 20th was indeed a Sunday. It all fits.

Whether Dad played against Charlie Engle at the age of 53 is open for debate.

It Broke Free

Our car broke down the other day on the way to work. I left home from work and noticed my front tire looked really low.  So I stopped and filled up the tire hoping the problem would Brake Free. Brake free is my term for fixing it self. I was sitting in traffic on the Marcum bridge and somebody signaled me that my tire was flat. Portland is that type of town and people are nice that way. So 3 long minutes later (they were probably 72 seconds long -you know you have had them) I pulled in front of OMSI and put the wobbling car next to the curb. Quickly a homeless person pedaled up to me on his bike and offers to fix the tire. I once again wondered if the problem would break free again.  But for the life of me I could not find the spare tire and the homeless man quickly grew restless and pedaled on. There I was with a flat tire and with  precious little time to rush home get our son and head off to our beloved soccer teams game at PGE park. Then I thought like a super hero. At the time super hero could have been a term for large hoagie from Pennsylvania. But out of the phone booth I emerged determined to make the footy game.

From droppingtimber.com

So I did the illogical thing at the time and took out the directions provided in my car. The car never broke free or fixed itself. Then I read the directions and actually followed them. All the time thinking about one time when I had gnarled my finger as a teenager changing a tire for my girlfriend on an icy frigid day in Pennsylvania.   But i surprised my self and actually located the spare on the Prius (Toyota hides them to save mileage by encouraging walking when having a flat tire) and changed it with an attitude.

Thank you tire for not breaking free and fixing your self. We made the game and had a glorious evening at the Timbers game.

We just back from Maui on what I would describe a perfect vacation. We had a wonderful young man named Anthony house sit while we on vacation. He was asked to do he usual stuff like walking our very bad beagle, watering the plants during Portland non rain season and just live there and not party too much.

We got back and the house was in an expected disarray when a teen ager stays in your house. But the one thing I did notice is that garbage disposal simply did not work when we got home. I would turn it on and either the entire sink shook violently or the disposal did nothing but hum. I asked Anthony about the disposal and sheepishly said that it shook violently albeit rather surprised that I would notice such a thing.

So I spent the last few days just doing nothing to the disposal (taking an Allen wrench and spinning the nut on the  bottom of the disposal like some direction book I had once read) and still the disposal either hummed or shook the kitchen violently.

Today I woke up early for work and mindlessly put the coffee grounds from the coffee maker into the disposal. In retrospect, I usually dump the coffee grounds into the compost can we have on the kitchen counter but in my groggy state I put he grounds down the drain then Iand mindlessly turned on the disposal.

The disposal had broken free.
It was working perfectly.
It had fixed itself.

It broke free.

As in no charge to fix it when its broken.