Wednesday, October 28, 2009

SDG Reunion


I took a quick trip to the bay area last weekend for a reunion. It was great to see all my old friends from SDG and as a bonuns I got to stay with Dan, Tuk & Kit.



Kit is growing so fast!!!




None of the pics I took at the reunion are any good, but here are a few of Kit :)








Saturday, October 10, 2009

Tootsie!!


Well, Jessica was her name. That's what she was named by her breeder. We've changed her name to "Tootsie".
She's 10 months old and her birthday is just a few weeks before Romeo's. Romeo was born on 12/27, Jess was born on 12/18.


She's a real sweetheart, very quiet and calm. The total opposite of Romeo!!










Friday, October 9, 2009

Celtic Knot

It's been 15 years since we sold 'Kelika', our US-27 that we had in the bay area. I guess that was long enough to heal our sailboat wounds because we've gone and done it again.



Currently named 'Glory', this Ericson 27 became ours on Sept 26th. Her new name will be "Celtic Knot". If you don't know what a celtic knot is, here's a link to the wikipedia entry on the topic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_knot .

Here are a few examples of celtic knot artwork.






I really wanted my Irish ancestory to be represented in the name and I came up with a lot of ideas but when I stumbled on "Celtic Knot" while browsing the web for things Celtic, I just kind of liked it. Other names high on the list were "Shamrock", "Asgard", "Leanhaun Shee", "Leannan", "Maeve Erin", "Paladin", and "Tara".

I also like "Goblin" and "Gunslinger" but those were vetoed.


The boat will be kept at the Everett Marina for now. I think I want to eventually get a berth at the Edmonds marina but there's a 12 to 18 month wait for that and I'm not even on the wait list yet. So far, I like Everett. It's an interesting place to sail from and the marina itself is very nice with good restaurants and services.

Friday, August 7, 2009

A new adventure!



Well, we've gone and done it now! I guess we're definately OLD. After selling the boat, the camper and the van, we decided to buy a motorhome. We actually had planned to buy a somewhat smaller rig, something on the order of a 27 foot class C but we found this one at a really good price so we went ahead and bought it.

It's a Bounder 34 foot class A motorhome. It's a one owner coach and is in really excellent condition. Queen bed, dual A/C, two TVs, Microwave oven and a regular
oven. It's call a "basement" model because it has tons of storage in all the compartments underneath the floor.

Speaking of tons, it weighs eight of them. Yep, eight tons, 16,000 pounds. I guess
that's why it only gets around 8-10 mpg.

This is the "living room" The passenger seat swivels to face the couch so there are two recliners in the living area with a table between them.

Kitchen and dinette area.


This is the "living room" with the passenger seat facing forward as it would be when we're on the road.

The kitchen area. Dual sink, stove, oven, etc.


The bedroom. Queen bed with a small nightstand on each side.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Harleys and Guns

Now it just doesn't get much better than this. Maybe it's time to trade in the geezer glide and get a new bike!!!


Jul 28, 2009 6:06pm

Eastside Harley and Wades Guns in Bellevue will be starting a promo via the internet. When a customer purchases a new 2009 big twin Harley from now through the end of July (could go into August), they will get a $500 voucher towards a purchase of a firearm or merchandise at Wades Guns. This offer is internet-only promotion, share and pass this audio file along. We are also posting a video to www.eastsideharley.com

Monday, July 27, 2009

Goodguys Rod & Custom Show



Last weekend was the 22nd Pacific Northwest Nationals at the Puyallup fairgrounds. I took Friday off so I could enjoy the day there and go to the Nostalgia drags up at Pacific Raceways Friday evening.

To say it was hot would be an understatement. For the pacific northwest it was positively scorching!!! As hot as it was, it beats rain on the weekend of a hot rod show.

Saturday I slept in a bit and Carole went back to the show with me for a few hours of browsing the vendors and cars. After an all too expensive hot dog and rootbeer float we relaxed in the shade for awhile then headed home.









Here's a slideshow of some of the photos I took over the weekend


Tuesday, July 21, 2009

545 PEOPLE

545 vs 300,000,000



EVERY CITIZEN NEEDS TO READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THIS JOURNALIST HAS scriptED IN THIS MESSAGE. READ IT AND THEN REALLY THINK ABOUT OUR CURRENT POLITICAL DEBACLE.




The author of this piece, Charley Reese, has been a journalist for 49 years.










545 PEOPLE
By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.


Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?


Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?


You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.


You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations.. The House of Representatives does.


You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.


You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does..


You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.


One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash.

The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes..

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.


What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is also the leader of the majority party.


She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want.. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red .

If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way..

There are no insolvable government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We must vote ALL of them out of office and clean up their mess! Whatever you do,....next election,
DO NOT RE-ELECT ANY OF THESE INDIVIDUALS!!!!!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

What you do with this article now that you have read it.......... Is up to you.