This is me:

Eagerly awaiting spring, but still huddling in the persistently cold temperatures. We won't see over 40F this week. Ugh.

The photo is actually a shot of the leading daffodil on the south side of our house. All around our yard, the tulips, daffodils, and crocuses have made their way out of the ground. The latter two are almost ready to bloom. That excites me. I love spending time in our yard and garden. Every year, I try to do something a little different, whether it's a plant or changing the garden in some way or another. Last year, I intended to make a brick patio in the horseshoe shaped area near my butterfly garden. In addition to my finishing the 18 month training course, I also engaged in cleaning out the basement, which took much more work than I expected, plus a trip to Arkansas and various other things. So - by the time I had time, it was too late in the year to make the effort. I hope to be successful this year. Here's what the area looked like last July. It's not as lush as it normally would be, as we had 80 degree temps this week last year, followed by many freezes which stunted a lot of growth and killed off any fruit possibilities.

The patio would be near the bottom left of this photo, so I could enjoy looking at the plum trees and impatiens/pansies/begonias on the left, near the shed, the primary butterfly garden with two large butterfly bushes as the centerpiece, grape vines as the backdrop, and a variety of other plants. To the right are two cherry trees which I expect will bear fruit this year, and a small vegetable garden where I plant a couple of tomato plants. I have strawberries there - but I'll need to move them. Apparently they don't do well near tomatoes.

Who knew?

I might change the garden bed on the left to a "night garden" which would feature white blooms and something creative - but I haven't decided on that. 

I have a fire pit that @SaintVI and @Joyouswind got me last year. That will go in the center of the patio, so that evenings would be lovely. 

Things at work continue to go well for me, so I remain thankful for that. I spent a lot of years not liking the work I did (navy, and early nuclear career) so it's nice to finally be doing what I enjoy doing. Sadly, the nuclear industry continues to struggle. It won't affect my career, as I'm too far into it, but young people getting in might have trouble down the road. 

Currently, the biggest trouble is the cheap price of natural gas. And while I'm certainly on-board with having a good energy mix, I know the cheap gas comes from fracking. If you're not familiar with this process, there's a nice article in the March 2013 National Geographic about it (current issue, unless April just came out).  Here's a diagram:

Long story short - Fracking is a way to push small pockets of natural gas into the well line by breaking ("fracturing") the rock, and filling the gaps, thus forcing out the pockets of gas. It's actually a very inventive method. Downside - it's almost entirely unregulated. Result? - Unknown chemicals are being put into the same ground where our drinking water is located. 

Who got this started and avoided much of the regulation?

Ah yes ... you might recall that name.

March 1989 - Dick Cheney appointed as Secretary of Defense.

February 1991 - Halliburton is hired by the US government put out the fires on 725 wells in Kuwait after the US pushed Iraq out of their country.

November 1991 (same year) - Dick Cheney paid the Halliburton subsidiary, Brown and Root Services, $8.5 million dollars to "study" the use of private security forces to assist military forces in combat zones. You might recall their name:  Blackwater.

January 1993 - Dick Cheney leaves Sec of Defense with the outgoing Bush Sr. Administration.

November 1995 - Dick Cheney becomes CEO of Halliburton.

July 2000 - Dick Cheney resigns from Halliburton to run for vice president.

May 2003 -Halliburton revealed in SEC filings that its KBR subsidiary had paid a Nigerian official $2.4 million in bribes in order to receive favorable tax treatment.

Oh ... and just one more ...Halliburton was responsible for cementing a BP oil well pipeline seal to prevent natural gas from exploding in the well and polluting the Gulf of Mexico. You might remember it - Deepwater Horizon:

So ... yeah ... "fracking."    Well - it's cheap gas for now, but I have a strong suspicion it'll get a lot more expensive soon.

Well - that was an unexpected tangent.

In other news - Loved "Oz, the Great and Powerful!" It was good enough that I wouldn't be surprised to see a remake of the original Wizard of Oz - but not as a musical. I actually think they could be successful with that.  Next movie I'm looking forward to seeing is The Lone Ranger. I hope Burton and Co. do a better job than they did with Dark Shadows.

I've been asked to substitute teach for the Sunday School class this week. I still find that quite a redemption from being removed of all leadership roles in the Baptist church we attended. Absolutely NO regrets for leaving that situation. I've grown more spiritually in the five or so years since we left there than the fifteen I was there. Hate how the relationships ended - but life transitions are seldom clean. Perhaps the friendships will one day be redeemed.  "The topic?" You say.  I'll be discussing the difference between the church as an "organization" and as an "organic" body of believers with regard to how Christians address issues of social justice.  Yeah - the teacher left me a simple topic to deal with. 

@SaintVi has blogged about our new cell phones:

We're pleased to report that it only took us five days, forty-three "apps," and an indeterminate number of spoken and unspoken expletives to download music to the phone's hard card. Remember this stylish beauty?

And to think AT&T was so very happy to "rent" the phone to you, so you wouldn't have to ever worry about its maintenance. 

Rather than go on another middle-aged rant ...

... I'll let Stephen Cobert explain it to you (probably following a 30 sec ad)

 

 

Some mornings my hair is less cooperative than others.

I'm told my hair is what makes me "distinctive." (note: not "distinguished")

As an aside, I always thought I'd be able to do well in comedies.

Subject change.

I get up around 5:30 on weekdays, and 6:15 on weekends.

The past few days, I've heard something in the attic that has been awake, as well. 

It sounds like it scurries, but not far. 

Perhaps a rat?

Perhaps a bat?

I've looked a few times for a bat. They do find their way in, but I don't think they're good at finding their way out. I've seen their droppings, but haven't been able to find the little beast(s).

This afternoon, I looked carefully, since I knew I heard noises. First, I banged on the floorboards to see if I could startle a rat. Kind of compromising in retrospect, as my head would be poking through the floor at about eye level if I did stir one up. Imagine if one jumped on me, and ran down my body, and then into our bedroom and I couldn't find it.

Boy am I glad that did not happen.  At least, I'm pretty sure it didn't.

What did happen is that I moved something things around after inspecting all the rafters. Finally - I heard hissing. 

I kept moving things until I could get a good idea of where it was coming from. I finally found it inside of a rolled up piece of carpet. 

So, I picked up the carpet and took it outside. I'm glad today was a nice day.

And then, I unrolled the carpet.

Sure enough - brown bat.

I tossed it into the air, but it just plopped onto the snow. Who knows, it may be dehydrated. So, I put it in a tree and will let nature take its course.

 

... and you need a good laugh, check out this hysterical video.

Wait for the cows .... wait for iiiiiiitttttt!!!

 

Again??

 

Actually, this snowfall didn't turn out to be much more than what you see in this photo. The reason I have the expression on my face that I do is because there was an enormous spider hanging from the ceiling. Seriously - I deal with a lot of spiders, most of them live in the basement and visit me at my desk. They tend to be ecru in coloring and not generally more than a half-inch long. This one was black and had a leg span that made you want to believe it was an umbrella. When I raised my cell phone to take the picture, I realized my hand was within a foot of this thing. You can see where our dog ran away from it. His tracks are in the snow. I made an attempt to dispatch the arachnid beast, but it was fleet of foot ... or leg ... or whatever. It got behind the refrigerator and I couldn't get to it before I had to go to work. Haven't seen it this evening, so maybe it found it's way out the door.

I think this photo is one of it's family members.

((Shudder!!))

Gives you the willies just thinking about it, doesn't it?  It'll be nice when spring comes around and these things can live outside.

So ... what else?

My poor Dodge Dakota had it's driver side window mechanism break. I love the truck, but after a couple hundred thousand miles, it shows wear. On the outside, other than a little rust, it's in pretty good shape. The interior isn't too bad either, but you know the mechanics of the vehicle are starting to go. It's a lot like being middle-aged. We still look pretty good on the outside, other than a little gray and a few laugh-lines; and most of us can still wear shorts in public without scaring small children and animals. But on the inside ... things like dairy, jalapenos, and beans don't treat us as the friends they once were. Also, one or two beers or glasses of wine and it's "lights out." But back to the Dakota ...

I've replaced the mechanisms before. The electric window motors are the usual failure. In this case, the plastic pulley broke which complicated things. To remove the window, it needs to be in the "down" position to unfasten the screws that hold the bracket that hold the glass that's in the door that's in the truck that Jack used to build his house.

Mine was in the "up" position. Now, while a challenge and like most things male, it was better having it in the "up" position than the "down."  In this particular case, we were dealing with nearly two weeks of sub-20 degree temps, plus 20 mph winds, and plus-or-minus 20 lb shovelfuls of snow. I had the replacement part on hand over a week before the weather broke enough for me to disassemble my truck door, do some contortionist mechanics to free the window, replace the mechanism, change the centerfold model picture, put the door back together and get back into the house before the next round of snow arrived. I was successful. I can now go "up" and "down" at will.

There's the part. It's called a "window regulator." I like to think of it as Metamucil for electric windows. It keeps things running.

The sticky note reads: "Window is stuck."

This is because our security officers at the nuclear plant are heavily armed with weapons of greater-than-to-be-trifled-with-destruction, but less-than-mass destruction. One of their firearms looks like this:

(not our site - but typical of a nuclear facility these days)

So "yes" we do have a lot of these weapons to protect against the threats of terrorist attacks. Just imagine how safe things would be in the classroom if we could get our teachers qualified and trained to use them, and our clergy, too, so we would be safe in our churches, synagogues, and mosques. I know if my minister looked like the guy above I'd be able to pray peacefully, by golly!!

But back to our site security officers. They do get a little edgy when one rolls to the security check-point and one doesn't roll down their window, so I put up the sticky note. It worked rather well. So well in fact, that when they saw me coming, they usually let one of the junior officers come let me though. 

Oh ... don't let her smile and "Hello Kitty" assault rifle fool you! If I didn't have the sticky note, I'd be searched in ways no one wants to be ... and it wouldn't be by her. So yeah, we do have a lot of security at our site, and we seem to continue to build more and more. Truthfully, there is now more armament and barriers than the submarine bases had when I served in the Navy. I get scared just going into the plant, mostly because I'm afraid they're going to lock the gates and convert it into a maximum security prison before I can escape!!

On an odd note, a group of security officers were in the training center for a class and passed by me in the halls. One bright young female face looked up at me and said, "Hi, Mr. Watson!"

"Eh??"

Very few people call me "Mr. Watson." Most are young adults who were once my Sunday School students. It took me some thinking to place the face, but I finally realized it was a young lady from our old church - Micah! I didn't get a chance to chat with her, but I'll look forward to doing so if I get the chance.

@SaintVi said she was perusing some of her old emails or files and came across a church annual report that was written a year after we left that church. I'll spare you the details, but here are the high points:

Part of the reason was because I have more liberal viewpoints than conservative Baptists - like I believe women are 100% equal in all spiritual roles, and that I believe the spiritual value of scripture far precludes the literal wording of many passages (e.g., Genesis chapter 1 and 2 and most eschatology).  The annual report said we left because we were in "church discipline." Which is partly true - I was stripped of all my leadership roles. But I could serve in the nursery or kitchen, if I liked.

Oh, naughty boy me! 

They neglect to mention, that in very pharisee fashion, they held a church congregational meeting and intentionally did not tell us about it. Prior to that meeting, the church leaders never spoke with us as a couple to present the charges laid at our feet. I had been in discussion with the pastor, but did not realize I was contributing to my own prosecution.  One of many great ironies is that I chaired that very elder board when each man was selected to serve on it. 

But enough of the past.

I'm very pleased with the Congregational United Church of Christ church where we now attend. Interestingly enough, I've been asked to substitute teach for their adult Sunday School class on occasion. The pastor said he'd be more concerned if I were not allowed to teach than if I were. That was encouraging to me. These past few months we've been doing a study on Timothy Keller's book "Generous Justice."  It speaks to how Christians struggle with being generous to the poor. It has passages like this in it:

Old Testament scholar Bruce Waltke  concludes, after studying both the word mishpat and its kindred word tzadequa (righteousness), that in the Old Testament

"the righteous [tzaddiq] ... are willing to disadvantage themselves to advantage the community, the wicked are willing to disadvantage the community to advantage themselves."

Wow. Crazy talk, I tell 'ya! All this from a man who earned his PhD from the liberal, leftist, loose-with-scripture ... Dallas Theological Seminary. 

Oh my!  

I wonder if he's under church discipline, now? I wonder if was told? 

The ministry work Chuck, Donna, and I have been doing at various assisted living residences and nursing homes continues to be a blessing. We hear a lot of really personal stories. The fact of the matter is that when facing the very end of life, a lot of the little things in life turn out to be the big ones, and often those things we though were so big, become very small indeed. 

For instance - we've been specifically welcomed by staff members who do not attend church and various residents because our music and messages focus on experiencing the Kingdom of God that is now and upon reaffirming they are not forgotten (though many are abandoned by family, friends, and churches).

Apparently, dogma and doctrine and political issues are still preached by many other ministers in these facilities. Oddly, few seem to care much about the topics that separate denominations and congregations. Imagine that.

One man didn't come to our mid-week Bible Study because he was sure we were going to ask for money. After many months, he did finally attend, and does so on an irregular basis. Turns out he was very involved in his church both physically and financially. Some period of time after being in the care facility, all communication from them stopped - and with it, came his bitterness. 

One woman insisted on giving Donna $20. We refuse financial offerings to the best we can. Like the Apostle Paul, we don't want anyone to say that we do this for the money. (I Cor 9:11-16)In this instance, Donna relented because the woman began to cry and say "I don't have anyone else to give it to." She had a profound need to contribute something financial. So - Donna bought a money order and mailed it in the woman's church. Within a week, someone from that church came to visit her. Guess they'd lost track of where she was. 

And I could go on, but that gives a flavor of things.

There are also the amusing things.

I've been at various times, Chuck or Donna's son. (Chuck is the oldest, and I'd guess he's about 12-15 years older than me. Donna is 6 years older, so it's less amusing for her.)

We've been offered the leftover candy bar or drink or meal of a resident.  "Umm ... no thanks. We just ate." "Are you SURE?!"  "Yeaahhhh."

One woman "Margaret" has an ongoing crush on most men, but I'm a particular favorite. It's a little challenging when she gets up while we're singing, says "I like YOU!" and  begins to bump into the keyboard, mic stands, etc.  She's also got a grip of iron.

Which brings me to a safety point - be careful when you shake hands with nursing home residents. Some are very frail. Others want to use you as their Hug-a-Bear.

Guess it's getting time to close, but the safety point reminds me of ".... just one more thing, sir."

I was evaluating some of our operators perform tasks inside the power plant. One of them, Pat, noted that a small drain cover had gotten offset, and could create a tripping hazard. He corrected it on the spot. Small potato. We recalled that our site managers felt like we were correcting small safety concerns, but not reporting them. Doing so would better show others that we really do care about industrial safety. So - I told him I'd report the good practice. We both thought it would amount to a "thank you" and another data point for an indicator. 

And then Pat got a "safety parking space" notice. And then he got a $25 gift card. And then he got his name put into our daily newsletter. 

I apologized for creating any over attention before he got his name on our electronic street sign, and on CNN.

Whew!

I think that about does it for me.  I had leftover enchiladas for supper ... and I am middle aged. Enchiladas have cheese and jalapenos.

My "intes - tines" are going to hate me.

Chuck, my ministry partner, is great on a number of stringed instruments. Generally he plays bass and 6-string guitar for services, but he often spices things up with other ones. Lately, he's been trying his hand at the ukulele. For the past few weeks, he keeps prodding Donna (my other ministry partner) and me to watch "The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain." 

If you remember Victor Borge, and loved how he mixed both musical talent and humor, and you've seen "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" (or are at least familiar with the theme song) ... I think you'll enjoy the selection I have below.

(It may have the obligatory advertisement leading into it.)

 

"Putting all women into one room is never good."

This piece of wisdom, I learned from Tracy, an administrative assistant I've worked with for many years. The topic was a plan in consideration by our training management that all of the building's administrative assistants would work together in one room, functioning as an administrative hub for all of our paperwork. In the end, the plan died out for reasons unknown to me, although I suspect that various male managers like having their girl-Friday's just outside their door.

With that introduction, I turn to Jane Austen's literary masterpiece: Pride and Prejudice.

I won't recount the plot line. Either you've read the book, or you've not. If not, 2013 is its 200th year in print, so it is available. It might even be free in Google Books or Kindle.

It is a wonderful book filled with rich and engaging characters, every one of whom have some sense of pride or prejudice. Nevertheless, I confess I found the early reading of it a bit difficult. There is the early 19th century style of writing that takes some adjustment, but I've read many books from centuries past, so that wasn't the stumbling block.

The stumbling block was just how socially shackled women were at that time, and in this particular book, we're talking women within families of money. There was in 1813 but one good outcome for women: a good marriage. Anything less, and all was lost. It is with this very real backdrop that Jane Austen tells the story of women, in particular a spunky Elizabeth and her circuitous path to her eventually love - the inestimable Mr. Darcy. But in truth, Pride and Prejudice is a story not about love, but about women.

I was fascinated with the many types of women Jane Austen included in her story. 

Lady Catherine: the woman who WILL have her way, including who will marry whom, and ensures every other woman knows that.

Mrs. Bennet: Elizabeth and her sisters' mother, who has but one goal in life - marry her daughters well. Why? Because their estate is forfeit to Mr. Bennet's male cousin, since their marriage produced no sons. Once forfeit, the women could be deprived of any and all things. Ensuring her daughters were securely married ensured both their life and her own. This is no small thing, despite Mrs. Bennet's quirky personality.

Jane: Elizabeth's older sister, who is stunningly beautiful, and for that, she should be assured a good marriage. Oh to be sure, being well versed in music, art, and language were a credit, but in the end there were only two things a woman in 1813 could successfully bring to a marriage: her beauty and her dowry.

Lydia: Elizabeth's teenage sister who runs off with Mr. Wickham, a man a good 10 years her senior, who is also a gambler and a con artist. But don't say that to Lydia! She's gaga "in love" all over him. He is perfect. He is "the one." She runs off with Wickham, without getting married, thus forfeiting any chance of a good marriage. A woman who has sex before marriage in 1813 is damaged goods. Wickham's intention is simply to use her while escaping his creditors, and then ditch her and marry a wealthier woman for her money. Mr. Darcy thwarts that plan, and forces Wickham to marry his star-struck teenage sycophant. 

Mrs. Gardiner: A good friend of the Bennet family, and also the news-anchor of the area. Near the end of the book, I had a couple of good laughs. One was because Mrs. Gardiner's need to share created a very amusing situation in the Bennet home regarding Mr. Darcy's heretofore unknown intentions toward Elizabeth.

Miss Bingley: A conniving and shrewish young woman who is determined Elizabeth will not capture her financial prize. (Imagine one of Cinderella's step-sisters.)

Charlotte: Elizabeth's best friend, who marries Mr. Collins, the cousin who will inherit the Bennet estate. This, but a few days after Elizabeth turns the self-absorbed clergyman down cold, repeatedly, amusingly, and much to the frustration of her mother.

Perhaps the most striking line in the book is this line spoken by Charlotte to Elizabeth:

"I see what you are feeling," replied Charlotte, "you must be surprised, very much surprised - so lately as Mr. Collins was wishing to marry you. But when you have had time to think it over, I hope you will be satisfied with what I have done. I am not romantic, you know. I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collin's character, connections, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state."

Charlotte, I believe, captures the greater part of the feminine psyche in 1813; I believe much of it remains. Because it does, the noble Mr. Darcy remains the holy grail of husbands: kind, humble, confident, wealthy, handsome, unyielding to opposition, and desirous of a wife who will bring out his joy.

Recently, there have been blogs regarding women being "allowed" to fight on the front lines, and how to know if your boyfriend is "THE one," should young women marry old rich guys, and the perennial topics of beauty, equality of pay, women's reproductive rights, women in ministry, women's "place" in the home, and on and on...

Although women have gained much in the way of freedom and equality since Jane Austen's day, they still continue to fight the gender war. And in this war, perhaps the oldest war in history, each battle starts with these two words: "Should women ...."

Pride and Prejudice, indeed.

Jane Austen - you were not only a masterful writer, you were and remain a prophetess for women's equality.

 

 

I've been in a Xanga coma for nearly a month now.

No idea why, really. I just go through phases where I have things I'd like to blog about and then I have phases where I look at the screen and stare, and then nod off, and then wake up, and then wipe off the drool, and then log off.

Sometimes I think I'll get all political and post a link to the video of Jon Stewart talking about gun violence, and then I think "nah," Xanga is "my-opinion-land-and-to-hell-with-the-rest-of-you."  Not really a dialogue forum. But if you're looking for good traffic points, blast gay anything, gun control (pro or con), evangelical Christians or atheists, women's reproductive rights (pro or con), etc.  You'll find traffic.  As for me, I live on a dead end street, in a town with a dead end main street.  Traffic doesn't interest me.

Sometimes I think I'll post about my work, and sometimes I do, but here's what my biggest frustration has been. Count how many words you get before you quit reading and move to the next paragraph.

My recent training cycle to the operators includes a discussion as to when we have to have the Fuel Handling Air Exhaust Ventilation (FHAEV)fans running. Our Technical Specification states that they should be running anytime we move spent fuel assemblies in the auxiliary building. The basis is founded on the hypothetical drop of one assembly in the spent fuel pool (SFP) or transfer canal, not the drop of a cask holding the fuel. So, do we have to run the FHAEV fans when we are moving a cask of spent fuel within the auxiliary building, even if it's not in the spent fuel pool per se? I thought I had the answer, and piloted the class, but it wasn't until the about the third crew that I got the best accepted answer from our Regulatory Affairs department which, frankly would bore me to tears to write here. Suffice it say that we don't have to, because we have a crane that is designed to be single-failure-proof in accordance with NUREG some-number-or-another. Only when I had the lengthier explanation was I able to teach the remaining crews, and I also had to send an e-mail with said lengthier explanation to the previous crews with the original question.

 

Hi!  How far did you get? Winner gets a Twinkie. Even if you made it all the way through, I'm guessing that's not top-blog material. Not that I care about traffic. Did I mention that they shoot fireworks at the end of my dead end street? It's fun, but the traffic is a drag.

Did I mention that we think we've lost one of our spent fuel assemblies? It's possible that terrorists stole it and are planning on using it as part of a dirty nuke bomb to use against the anti-gun union who is responsible for shutting down Hostess and its Twinkies.  Not really, but you gotta think that would hit top blogs. All I need is a catchy title: "Twinkie Terrorists Nuke Gun Control Baker Unions."

So how about my ministry work?  I really, really love that. After today's spirit-numbing laity Sunday church service on the topic of "joy" of which there was none in that building for that hour, I love my independent ministry work all the more. To be fair, I really enjoy most of the services. Today was a joy-killing exception. But, when I speak of my ministry work, I usually hear: "That's a nice thing you do."

 

Translation: "Booooorrrrriinnngggg."

 

Did I mention that the last weekend we took  a half-dozen nursing home residents on a plane ride so they could parachute out of the plane? It's a very progressive activities department. The tricky part was keeping the wheelchairs secure while in-flight. Eventually, we just decided to open the cargo door and put the plane in a climb. The chairs all rolled out in a beautiful formation. You can see it on YouTube if you search: Skydiving Seniors Pray and Pull."  Not really, but you can imagine the recs photos of that event would get!

@JoyousWind gave me a remote control helicoptor for Christmas. I love it. The dog hates it. It's too cold outside to play with it. So what's a guy to do? Well .... that which all parents tell their kids they should NOT do - play with the toy inside. Hey - privilege of being a grown-up. What happens? The blades shred the window shade.

Oops.

So, I replaced the window shade. I also put up mini blinds in our bathroom. They look cool. I'd post a picture, but hey - who hasn't seen a pull-shade or mini-blinds?

Did I mention that Miss Michigan stopped by our house on the way to the fireworks field at the end of our dead end main street? She needed a place to change into her show gown.  She couldn't figure out how to close the mini-blinds. I happened to be outside and noticed. I didn't take a picture, nor did I go blind. Not really, but you gotta admit, a post about going blind from peeping through mini blinds while Miss Michigan was changing clothes would be a high-traffic post.

I could post about how my imaginary girlfriend who died  inspired me to be a top blogger, but I think that's been done.

On a related note, I recently learned that "catfishing" doesn't always involve a fishing pole. Who knew?

I could post about how much fun it was to be half-dressed and trying to get my barking dog to come into the house because he was afraid of the fallen trash bin, but everyone would just say: "Poor Boo."  or "Oh, how cute." Boo is evil. He needs neither sympathy nor attention. He needs to be groomed.

I could post about how cool it will be when Peyton Manning wins the Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos, making his two Super Bowl wins with two different, but well-themed teams: Broncos and Colts.  Oh, that's right. The Broncos choked. Now we're curious if it will be the "Angry Birds Bowl."  (Falcons and Ravens)  Given the way the Falcons currently look like they're trying to throw away a 17 point lead, I doubt that will make blog fodder either.

Staring.

Nodding.

ZZZZZzzzzz.....

*Snrrk!!*  "I'M AWAKE!!"

Ick.

Excuse me. I need to find a napkin. There's drool all over my keyboard.

 

It is not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves.

~William Shakespeare

 

Not quite 5:00, and I'm just about too tired to write, but I want to brag a bit on what I did today.

First, I made copies of this month's Bible Study, stuffed them into about 35 envelopes, and mailed them. Takes longer than you might imagine. Usually my ministry partner, Donna, does it, but she's visiting family in Pennsylvania.

Next I made this:

Christmas is but two days away, and we have a 30% chance of snow in our forecast for Christmas Eve.

Although the spiritual meaning of Christmas is deepest in my heart, I do enjoy the merriment of the secular holiday, including the beloved and maligned and over-marketed Santa Claus.  As his home is the North Pole, I thought I'd share that I've actually been to the North Pole. Perhaps you already knew that, perhaps not. If not, then settle in for my little tale.

Our family moved to Pearl Harbor, HI late in 1984, following several months at the naval nuclear prototype in the Idaho desert. Entertainment wasn't huge in that Mormon corner of the world, so we did what young couples often do, and soon thereafter our daughter was conceived. In the same month, we bought a new car - a silver Dodge 600, and we received orders that I would be stationed in Pearl Harbor, HI.  

  

 

We moved in late 1984 and our daughter was born in April of 1985. That summer, our submarine, the USS Aspro SSN-648 was deployed for an Arctic run. Our mission was secret and only on a need-to-know basis. With the exception of a few crew members and a couple of cryptologists we had on board, the crew only knew we were deploying some sort of listening array for Soviet submarines. 

The ice is thinner in the Arctic summers, and our submarine was designed to break through the ice. The layer was too thick on our first attempt, and we actually got stuck underneath for a while. That's an interesting predicament if you think about it. What if you can't break free? One could then only hope for assistance and that the hull of the sub would withstand the pressure of the shifting ice.

For us, it was a moot point. We took on enough water to weigh the sub sufficiently to break free. We then tried a different location and succeeded. We surfaced and broke through a 4-6 foot section, such that the sail of the sub (the part that stick up and houses the periscopes) was the only part that came through - well, that and part of the rudder. 

We were there for a couple of days, so all of us had the opportunity to go out on the ice. It's really kind of weird. There is absolutely nothing to see but ice from horizon to horizon. The days were clear while we were there. More accurately, the "day" was clear. Instead of rising and setting, the sun rotated around the horizon, at about the same place you would expect it in mid-morning. 

Yes, it was cold, but not so bitter as one might expect. There wasn't much wind while we were there, and a thin fog was usually present. 

We brought a red and white "North Pole" that we put out on the sea of white ice and took pictures standing next to it. Our children delighted in knowing that their dads had stood where stories of Christmas legend were born.

Regrettably, I did not meet Santa ... although I'm told his magic has ways of hiding his workshop even from intruding submarines.