On Friday, a judge in Florida extended a court order to keep Terri Schiavo's feeding tube in place until March 18, allowing her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, an opportunity to get medical tests that might demonstrate Terri has greater cerebral function than previously thought. This momentary reprieve from what may be their daughter's vindictive and inhumane death sentence – death by starvation – is at least temporary good news. Why on earth should they have to prove such a thing? They love Terri and value her life as she is.

Deuteronomy says: "I have set before thee life and death … therefore choose life." The Schindlers have chosen life for their daughter! Should a court do anything less?

This is insanity. What a chilling precedent it would set for Florida, and conceivably for the United States, this ostensible “right to die.” In the case of Terri Schiavo, it seems apparent that her determined breathing is a nuisance to her wretched excuse for a husband, and in his eyes, it is obviously a “duty to die.” God help us all.

T. G. I. F.

As soon as I post this, Heather and I are heading for the service center. I have a collection of junk to pick up for upcoming service calls. Junk, in this case, either figurative or literal, I would be hard-pressed to differentiate. We will try to make this a brief stop of an hour or so, and then head home again, with any luck. Keep in mind, it is Friday, and casinos tend to call for service on Fridays regarding problems they have been letting slide all week, or longer.

Josh, as in, Uncle Josh, not nephew Josh, will be visiting this weekend. That is another reason we hope to head home in a judicious manner. That is the theory, in any case. My cell could ring at any minute and then all bets are off.

To follow up the last post, the major media have picked up on the story that Randy Moss is on his way to the Raiders. Do I think this is a reckless move for the Vikings? Does a bear crap in the woods? Oh yeah. The universal response I get when asking "casino people" about the loss of Moss is that each and every person thinks this is stupid with a capital "S." There is a lot of anger and frustration and people are wondering, basically, 'What are they smoking at Winter Park?' Moss wants to be with a team he feels can make it to the Big Game, and for him, that isn't the Vikings. Hopefully, the new Viking, Napoleon Harris, has a blatant Napoleonic complex with results to back it up, or this trade will surely come back to haunt us. Okay, I am absotively posolutely convinced that it will.

Randy Moss has left the building?

Rumor has it that the Vikings and the Oakland Raiders have agreed to a trade that will send Randy Moss to Oakland in exchange for the Raider's first-round pick this year, a seventh-round choice and linebacker Napoleon Harris, who was once a first-round pick himself.

I should be worried about this impending hole in the Vikings line and the Minnesota Moving Company's offense. When these guys play up to their potential, they are formidable! This year, though, with his hamstring injury, Randy Moss wasn't the performer he was in past years. True, he did have 13 TD catches and over 750 yards, which is excellent, but he wasn't the All-Pro he was in his first six seasons, with over 1,000 yards every year of his professional career until this year. Injuries will do that to the best of 'em.

So far, this is just a rumor, but once the new NFL fiscal year starts at the end of next week, we will see if this is true or not. I hate to see Moss go, if he does. But in the last minute of that Washington game, when he walked off the field before the game was over, talk about a morale crusher for the other Vikings who were playing their hearts out and didn't give up. Maybe Randy Moss and his colorful antics aren't what we need in Minnesota, not if it will cost the team its cohesive strength on offense. In any case, this is just a rumor so there is no need for panic. Or celebration. Take your pick.

The topic came to me while I was reading

I was reading a few articles from a website that I enjoy. That website is Spirit Daily. Check it out here. The article that made me decide what to write about today was about the visions and the death of Sister Lucia de Jesus dos Santos. She recently passed away at the age of 97, the last survivor among the three people who had visions of Mary at Fatima, along with her cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto.

What I write about, though, is a personal experience of my own. I remember when I was an elementary school student at Saint Raphael School in the second grade. I don’t remember what the assignment was, in particular, but I do remember what I wrote about, my mother’s work with a few other people, organizing people to make a sort of pilgrimage to Necedah, Wisconsin to a site where a woman named Mary Ann (Hirt) Hoof was purported to have had visions of Mary appearing to her, claimed to have stigmata and was told future events. I hadn’t yet gone to see the site in Wisconsin, though some members of my family had.

Being a youngster at the time, of course, I didn’t understand that the Catholic Church doesn’t recognize that location as having been the site of a valid apparition. When I wrote about it, my essay was posted on the bulletin board along with every other second grader’s work. When I brought that assignment home, mom told me that I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, because of the implications for some of the believers who had gone with mom to the site. There weren’t one or two local people who went, but dozens. One person who I mentioned in particular, I wasn’t supposed to reveal. She has since passed on, so there isn’t any risk of her being ostracized, and I can now say that she was Sister Marina, one of my favorite nuns at the school. She was an elderly woman but so full of life. I recall how entertained I was each time I spoke with her. Thinking back, I wonder if she wasn’t younger than I remember. Being seven years old, almost everyone seems elderly to you.

As I said, I wrote this assigned composition before I went to Necedah. I don’t remember how old I was when I actually went to the site, but my visit was within a year or two after the essay. I suppose I was 8 or 9 at the time. Mom worked with some others, though I don’t remember their names, and they arranged motor coaches that would take many people at a time to the site of the visions. The coach we traveled on was full to capacity. I had to stay in my seat. I remember that, because I was a kid, and I wanted to roam around the bus.

We went to the site in the spring. I remember that the grounds were muddy so I am assuming this was early spring, before planting time for the farmers. There was a house standing there, where the woman who witnessed the apparitions lived. Nearby was a circle of stones around a tree, the tree above which Mary is said to have appeared. After we toured the site, Mom bought a rosary with a silver chain for me. When the afternoon arrived, we all knelt down at the appointed time to recite the rosary. I remember this part clearly. Being a kid, it was difficult for my to be still for so long. I truly wanted to be part of this whole experience, so I tried very hard to focus on the prayers with my new rosary. I recall stories of how people went there to pray and purportedly, their rosaries would occasionally turn to a gold color (not actual gold as far as I know). We prayed the rosary and when we were done, I put the rosary in my pocket and ultimately, we got on the coach to return to Minnesota.

During the trip home, mom stood at the front of the coach to talk to everyone and to lead everyone in a prayer. She said that every so often a rosary would turn gold during the visit. Well, I took out my own rosary and, guess what? It didn’t have a silver chain any longer. The chain was gold.

You would suppose that I would be one of the most saintly, faithful people after that incident. I count myself among the faithful but I have struggled with living the way that Jesus lived and still wants us to live. As I get older, I have become more conscientious and mature, thank God for that. I have thought about that experience, looking for an explanation. The color of the rosary chain changed that day, and it wasn’t simple tarnishing of the chain. I say that with conviction because I got the rosary during the noon hour, and by 3 p.m., it had changed to a gold color. Can tarnishing happen that quickly? Everyone knows that inexpensive jewelry can turn your skin green, right? I suppose everyone has seen that at some point in time or heard of somebody who had that happen. In the course of three hours, the chain turned from a silver color to gold, not various shades or irregularly as tarnishing would. It was a solid color of gold. This is something that I cannot explain to this day, other than what I have just stated, which is God’s honest truth.

In researching the stories that this woman has told, I don’t know what to believe. Many say that she was a devout Christian who sought God in prayer. Others say that Mary Ann Hoof was a fraud and led a life that would make a sailor blush, that she came up with peculiar stories. Apparently, some of those who believed her elevated her to cult-like status. I was too young to base anything solidly upon my own insights at that time.

I do not know what I should read into what happened from my viewpoint, other than to say two things. One, my rosary did actually change. It can be argued, I suppose, that maybe it was Satan’s influence to bring another soul to venerate a false representation of God’s image. Alternatively, it could be something to demonstrate the splendor and supremacy of God. I choose to believe in the infinite power of God, gently nudging me in the right direction.

Secondly, Mary, the mother of God, when she has appeared, as acknowledged by the Church, has had few requests, other than to say, fundamentally, “People, you need to pray, live righteously and believe in God.” Some people elevate Mary to a place so near God that it is dangerously simple to worship Mary, from our flawed human view. Losing a perspective on what I will call the hierarchy of Heaven is fraught with peril. Mary was Jesus’ Earthly mother, and the Bible states clearly she was chosen to be “the hand-maiden of the Lord.” As such, she was born without sin and raised Jesus knowing it wouldn’t be a bed of roses, but a crown of thorns, literally and figuratively. She knew that he would suffer and die to save those who accept him and believe. Of course, she was grief-stricken, as any mother would be, and yet, she fulfilled her obligation to the Father.

I feel that praying to God through Mary is fine, as long as we bear in mind that Mary is not a god, but one of the deservedly honored people through which God is working his great eternal plan. God unquestionably knows our intentions, no matter how we might try to conceal our human failings.

Regarding the whole Necedah experience from my perspective, this is my conclusion: Discernment of reports of miraculous occurrences needs to be carefully and prayerfully done. Anyone willing to place their beliefs and actions solely at the mercy of a particular "visionary" is courting disaster. Before making a decision as far-reaching as this, any sensible person will examine and evaluate all the evidence for the claims being made, find out what the local medical and religious authorities believe is occurring and then prayerfully consider the possibilities.

When impostors misrepresent His message for their acclaim and attention and are exposed as being self-interested hypocrites, it denigrates the messenger while it muddies the message. The Catholic Church has condemned this woman’s message and her claims. About one third to one half of the research I have read seems to indicate that she was a phony who was seeking attention and recognition. A group formed around her, most likely not at her behest, to collect donations from those who believed or wanted to believe. Sadly, it seems possible that she was out of her mind or purposefully acting in her own interest. Her early “vision days” drew tens of thousands of people, the curious and the earnest crowds that wanted to believe. Years later, Van Hoof said she still talked regularly with the Virgin Mary, but few listened. And fewer believed. It seems she probably was telling the truth, at least in the beginning. I wonder, though, if she deviated from that truth, when her claims grew to be fantastic in detail. Assuming that is a true statement, whether she intentionally misled or was just a sick woman, it is very regrettable and it detracts from God and his message.

Maybe you disagree with me on some parts of this. Maybe you think I am a raving lunatic. So be it. I feel the power of God in my heart, and I try to live my life for his glory and not my own. I have accepted Him into my life as my personal savior. I have a long way to go to be even a little bit like Him. No matter… God loved me enough to sacrifice his own son, paying a penalty in Jesus’ blood that I can scarcely comprehend. I know one thing. My God is an awesome God.

If only we had leaders like this today.

"First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen, he was second to none in humble and enduring scenes of private life. Pious, just, humane, temperate, and sincere; uniform, dignified, and commanding; his example was as edifying to all around him as were the effects of that example lasting.... Correct throughout, vice shuddered in his presence and virtue always felt his fostering hand. The purity of his private character gave effulgence to his public virtues.... Such was the man for whom our nation mourns." --Official eulogy of Washington, written by John Marshall and delivered by Representative Richard Henry Lee, December 26, 1799

If only we had leaders like this today. Our forefathers were loyal to the ideals of liberty, not available to be bought and sold by lobbying groups. These men loved America and risked their lives for future generations. Our country's fathers knew that they could be executed when they fought for our liberty, and yet they placed a value on freedom for future generations which exceeded their personal interests. These men did what was right for America. This is so unlike the luxurious lifestyle our modern leaders are basking in, with their unearned and egocentric celebrity not born of a desire to protect the American legacy of freedom. Sadly, the question of "Is our Congress really protecting our American interests?" today doesn't have a clear and resolute answer.

Of course, our children will understand the history of George Washington's birthday (which is tomorrow). Today, for the history of President's Day, check out this page.

God bless America, freedom, family, and you. Happy President's Day.

Visiting the old neighborhood

I worked on a Wheel of Fortune Special Edition game Saturday, with Heather and Gabriel along for the ride. It seems the malfunction is an intermittent problem, but fairly inconsequential. After that casino crisis was remedied, we stopped at the store where Dave works and he walked by on his way to clock in after lunch. We had a good conversation and then he had to work.

We spent the afternoon visiting with our former neighbors, Janet and Paul. They wanted to meet Gabriel but since he is a cute kid, who wouldn’t want to meet him? True, I am a bit partial, but aren't all dads?

Visiting our former neighborhood brought back memories. There were no police cars or street brawls, and that was encouraging. Snow was falling so that may have kept the delinquents indoors. After having dinner with Janet and Dave Saturday evening, with much conversation and catching up on things, we headed home in the snow. Whoohoo! My excitement is not about driving home in a snowstorm. That part reeks, primarily due to drivers who don’t slow down in poor driving conditions. The snowstorm itself is cause for enthusiasm. We both love snowstorms. Did I ever tell you that?

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Heather and I are holding off the spring fever but we did browse the garden center this weekend. Clearly, our gardening mania will kick in before long. Our love of winter still holds sway, but soon, the balance will tip the other way and we will wish we could be playing in the garden.

Trippin' Hippies in Foam Rubber Costumes

I have gotta tell you, our kids are going to grow up watching some of the 60s and 70s classics, like H.R. Puffenstuff, Sigmund and the Seamonsters, Doctor Shrinker, and the Land of the Lost. I have no solid information here, but it seems evident that it took the influence of some mighty potent hallucinogenic mushrooms or an exotic psychotropic substance to inspire Sid and Marty Krofft when they created this stuff. Still, in a very cheesy way, these programs are wholesome entertainment compared to the garbage on TV these days. If you disagree with me, too bad... you're wrong. Right, Heather? The Magic 8-Ball says... "Without a doubt."

A succinct summary of a great book

I borrowed this summary from a site offering this great book. The link is here, too, if you want to check it out. From the Faith and Family Bookstore:

Michael Reagan’s life is much more than just an interesting story. It is a testimony of how Christ allowed him to find healing from many of the issues that confront our culture today, such as sexual abuse, divorce, loneliness, the feeling of rejection, and the belief that God does not care about us. Michael Reagan’s first adoption gave him an identity, but he did not find his true identity until he found Christ. In this book, Mike Reagan shows how others can meet a God who loves them, and who wants to embrace them and bring them healing, salvation, and meaning to life.

Twice Adopted

Heather and I gave her Dad a book on CD for Christmas and it has come back to revisit me. Now I say this in a very positive way. The book I am talking about is “Twice Adopted” by Michael Reagan. I now have the audio recording from Heather’s dad, so I can check it out, too. Michael Reagan does speak through the first hour of the recorded version of the book. Then, another narrator takes over. On the long road trip to Thief River Falls and back today, I listened to the first 7 hours of the book. It is exceptionally well written and at times, the story of Michael Reagan’s childhood takes you on a roller coaster from tears to hope and even an occasional chuckle. When you are in a truck a hundred miles from nowhere, you don’t have to worry too much about other drivers wondering why you are looking like a sappy, emotional doorknob, all because an audio book has your heart in knots. As a sidenote, whoever heard of an emotional doorknob anyway? Maybe Sid and Marty Krofft and their H.R. Puffenstuff world of foam rubber-costumed characters has a few doorknobs that aren't just inanimate objects. But I digress.

“Twice Adopted” is the true story of many things. One part in particular is the story of Michael Reagan and his relationship with his father, Ronald Wilson Reagan. At least as enlightening is Michael Reagan's childhood experiences from self-loathing to accepting Jesus Christ in his life. It was a journey that began with his adoption by Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman, parents in a setting that his peers assumed was the idyllic life. The behind-the-scenes story of his life is remarkable and painfully familiar. That is, he was the son of the 1950’s version of Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt, and yet, he is just like you and me in so many ways. Michael Reagan has many anecdotes that anyone can relate to, with insight and candor that came from surviving a mixed-up childhood. His “wonderful life” began to unravel when he struggles with the divorce of his celebrity parents, and seeking the reasons why his biological mom “didn’t want him”, feeling worthless and unloved. He finds a verse in Deuteronomy that seems to state that a de facto fatherless son and the ten generations following him are condemned and banned from Heaven forever (in the mind of a child, incorrectly understood to say he was doomed). Thus, he turns his back on God for thirty years, after concluding that God has forsaken him. He leads the listener through his victimization at the hands of a man he trusted, when a trusted camp counselor molested him when he was 7 years old. The story continues with his bitter adolescence and his misguided attempts to shield his parents from his shameful secret by acting so disruptive that he hoped to ultimately force them to forsake him. Michael tells the story of finding comfort in his middle-aged years after a lifetime of hating himself and hating God, blaming both for the sexual abuse he experienced as a child.

This isn’t a story about being a “woe-is-me” victim. It is a story of survival, faith and praise to God for peace and understanding, through the dark days, and from the dreadful past into a hopeful future. It is a story about the end of innocence for one child, which concludes with hope and joyfulness, knowing that God never turns from anyone who trusts in Him. The story moved me, and maybe it will move you, too. Check it out sometime.

Cure #3

The Friday before Valentine's Day I called the clinic and the nurse suggested straight vaseline for Gabriel's diaper rash. That wasn't working so Doug and I took him to the doctor and got prescription #2: "1:1:1 butt cream". I called the doctor back yesterday, though, because every where that I was putting the stuff (a wider path than the existing rash) was getting irritated. So, cure #3 is Bacitracin 4 times a day and A & D Ointment at every diaper change.

You can imagine that having a sore butt is making Gabriel a bit cranky. Keeping that in mind, the two of us decided to stay home instead of accompanying Doug on a road trip to Thief River Falls. I would have liked to go, but I didn't think Gabriel could handle 3 hours straight without being fed and held. That only works during long naps, which are completely unpredictable. So Gabriel and I are hanging out.

Gaining weight isn't a bad thing

We took Gabriel to his pediatrician. I needed a pause from the work I was doing so it worked out well in that regard. I try to be at the doctor’s visits when it is possible. Gabriel is only 3-weeks old and the reason for a visit is evident, to make sure everything is going fine. The thought of taking your child to the doctor frequently when there is no sickness or concern, i.e. “well child visits” seems a bit wasteful once your kids are old enough to have a healthy history with no evident concerns. At any rate, that wasn’t the situation yesterday.

Gabriel has that wicked rash that Heather mentioned. It looks very uncomfortable and hasn’t improved enough to reassure this Mom and Dad. Gabriel’s doctor agreed and wrote a prescription for some mysterious concoction that should aid in the healing process. The good news is that Gabriel has a healthy weight gain. He has gained 28 ounces in 19 days. Actually, the pediatrician asked if we have been feeding him turkey and mashed potatoes and said that his weight gain is unbelievable, so that sounds like an affirmative doctor’s opinion. When we can get this rash to clear up, Gabriel will be a happy little guy.

How could something be so painful?

No, I'm not talking about childbirth. I'm wondering aloud how something on my baby's body could be so painful to me. Gabriel has some really wicked diaper rash. Since I'm always putting stuff on him when I change his diaper, and I change his diaper every time I feed him (about every 1.5 to 2 hours), I wonder how he got such a bad case of diaper rash. Mom tells me that it could be something I ate, since I'm breastfeeding. Anyway, my point was that I see how painful it is to him when I change him. It is not the tangible pain of being pinched. It is looking at his raw little butt and cringing from the pain that I imagine he is feeling. I'm normally very empathetic, but I suppose this is the empathy of motherhood. I can't stand to see my baby in pain, and I would do anything to bear that pain in his place. It has started looking a little better, but if it doesn't clear up in a couple days, I'm calling the doctor.

We have a full house this weekend. Heather’s parents and her brother are spending a few days with us. Josh has been here a few times since Gabriel was born, but for Laura and Dennis, this is the first opportunity to get acquainted with their grandson. Heather and I always look forward to their visits, particularly because it is a long drive from Indiana. The absences and time commitments required to visit make the efforts very meaningful.

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Gabriel isn’t a happy camper with the rash he has, but otherwise, he is satisfied with his feeding and sleeping. Ah, the life of a child is nice, isn’t it? How ironic that when we were children, the benefits of maturity are “obvious” and we long to magically leap into adulthood without delay. (What autonomy adults have, right?) Then adulthood arrives, with career, mortgage and responsibility weighing profoundly on the mind. How fantastic it would be to revisit the age of innocence.

The call center gave me a call last night, though my cell phone never rang, which is very normal. Eventually, that, ummm... wonderful piece of... technology, started beeping, to indicate once again I didn't answer the call when the phone never rang. Understand one thing, that cell phone almost never rings; messages just show up from time to time. Anyway, I have to a service call to attend to this morning at Fortune Bay, near Ely. I am not thrilled about leaving during this weekend, since Heather's parents arrived last night from Indiana. However, that is how it goes sometimes. I am on-call and it is part of the job responsibilities. Heather and I, long ago, learned to deal with the unpredictability that comes with the job. The benefits of my job far outweigh the occasional interruptions.

Since my in-laws are only here for the weekend, I want to come home as early as possible. Therefore, I am leaving at 6 a.m., a few hours before they wake up. With any luck, I will return from the service call by 2 p.m. Wish me luck.

I am not at home tonight, but instead am staying at the Wingate Hotel in Oakdale. I was in the middle of a Fort Knox progressive system install at one of the Lakes-area casinos, when I got called to the office. Since the manager said it was urgent, I left within minutes and stopped at home long enough to pick up a change of clothes and paperwork to be turned in during the inventory process. Some of the Rapid City personnel are in Minnesota to inventory the service vehicles, and they want to head home Friday and as early as possible. Admittedly, a bit more notice that I would be traveling would be helpful, but that is how my job works now and then. It goes with the territory and both Heather and I are used to unpredictable schedules with this job. We deal with it as it comes. I will be in the hotel one night and should be home by tomorrow afternoon.

Heather’s parents will be traveling to Minnesota, leaving before morning. They are coming to meet their grandson for the first time. I am sure that they are as excited as we are about our son and their first grandchild. Work has been a lot busier this week for me, keeping me away into the evenings. While I am absent, Heather keeps busy being a stay-at-home Mom. Gabriel is doing quite well, with the usual things a 16-day old baby does, sleeping, eating and, well, polluting, so to speak. Gabriel is an adorable kid, but of course I am inclined to say that since he is the most perfect baby I have ever seen. =) As he becomes a bit more energetic, his random smiles are enough to make my day brighter than ever.

I don’t mind traveling, mostly because I truly enjoy my job and I like the variety that comes with this work. Nonetheless, a hotel room will never measure up to the warmth of having your family nearby. This hotel stay is a necessary situation, being away from work, and though it is essential, it makes me appreciate the comforts of home. When I travel, coming home to my family makes the inconvenience that much more meaningful.

I had my annual review today. I am not going to go into the details of it, but I am pleased with the outcome of the evaluation. I am committed to the demands of the job and it is nice to be recognized. There are days the job drives me nuts, but in the big picture, this is an extraordinary company to work for and I wouldn’t change jobs for anything. Tomorrow, I am going home to my Heather, and our beautiful son, Gabriel. As ever, I am exceptionally blessed. Life is good, very good indeed.

Woo-Hoo!!! SNOW!!!

It is currently snowing, folks. Yes, I'm very excited. I wish Doug was here to see it, but he got called out of an install earlier today to go down to the office and have his truck inventoried. Big deal, right? Well, it was annoying to him that they didn't give him any warning and expected him to be there ASAP. It is annoying to me that he has to spend the night in the Twin Cities so they can do this. I got his stuff together while Doug was on his way home. Hopefully, the supplies I packed him are adequate. I hate when he spends the night away from home. Even with our entire zoo here, I feel lonely. Nope, 2 toy poodles and at least 2 cats in the bed still aren't enough to convince me that I'm not alone. Nobody can take Doug's place. Just in case anyone reading this is thinking that I'm suffering from hormonal/postpartum issues, rest assured that this is how I always react to Doug spending the night in a hotel without me. I can survive a night without him, but it is not as much fun.

Need to get down here more

Ok... so I've been delinquent when it comes to the blog. Gabriel takes up much of my time. Consider this: a half-hour to feed him, five minutes to change him, ten minutes, if I'm lucky, to get him back to sleep after changing him, if he'll go to sleep...and he eats every hour and a half. That's time consuming! If the computer was upstairs, away from Harry, the loud-mouthed Moluccan Cockatoo, I'd probably write more. However, I don't want to damage my baby's hearing by bringing him down here. That's ok. I'll just write when I can.

I should be doing laundry and cleaning right now. My parents are coming this weekend to meet their first human grandson (Mom calls my cat her grandson). I'm excited for them, and anxious to tap my mother's experience with certain parts of motherhood that one can never learn from a child care job. I'm going to go back to cleaning now, or my pathetic attempt at it anyway. "Mother" is a role that I am confident I'll be much better at than "homemaker". For the sake of our child, thank God.

Back to work

I went back to work today. I didn't mind the idea of returning to the daily grind of casino service and support. However, my first day back at work was spent on an install of new games. It didn't go as well as it could have. The casino hadn't installed enough electrical circuits. We were supplied with 3 circuits, when we needed 8. Let's do the math. Fourteen games plus three 40-inch LCDs, 2 media controllers and 1 progressive controller, drawing a total of 128 amps of current. Three circuits? Only if each circuit can carry more than 42 amps. Not good, since the three circuits we had only supplied 20 amps each. Oops. Finally accepting that it wasn't going to happen today, I gave up and headed home. I will try again tomorrow, and hopefully, the casino will have added enough circuits for the work to get done. I love job security...

Ronaldus Magnus

In 1948 the liberal historian Richard Hoftsadter wrote in that Franklin Roosevelt's passing "left American liberalism demoralized and all but helpless." Conservatives mourn the passing of Ronald Wilson Reagan, but will never be demoralized and helpless because they have taken to heart the message Reagan always wanted to be his legacy, never more poignantly stated than in his last public message in 1994: America's best days are ahead.

Ronald Wilson Reagan's life gave truth to the platitude that just one person - possessed with vision, integrity, the courage of his convictions and an unshakeable sense of optimism - really can change the world.

Happy birthday, Ronald Reagan. Rest in Peace.

My son IS named after Ronaldus Magnus). Heather and I gave Gabriel Reagan Denis his name in honor of Ronald Reagan's humility, compassion and faithful ideals, something we endeavor to raise our children to embrace in their lives.

Heather called her Dad to see if the packet of pictures and other things we sent arrived. We have been taking pictures of Gabriel and printing them, and saving them to surprise our parents. The CD that contains Gabriel’s birth announcement had arrived, so Heather asked him to look it over to ensure that it works correctly. The word we got back a bit later is that it did. Papa J. planned to cover the kitchen counter with pictures of their new grandson and turn out the lights so that when Nana J. got home, she would have a surprise. Heather's parents haven’t met their grandson yet. Admittedly, I wish that Gabriel’s grandparents lived closer but since they don’t, I want to make it easy for them to see their grandson growing, in whatever means are available to them, and me.

My prediction for the Superbowl? The majority opinion is favoring the Patriots. I don’t like to tag along with popular opinion, but my feeling is, in this case, that the crowd is correct. The NFC is a weak conference compared to the AFC, and few question that. With that in mind, the Eagles are one of the best NFC teams in recent years. Put them up against the AFC's powerhouse Patriots, and I see the Eagles a little flat. Donovan McKnobJob is a weenie and he isn’t going to bear the pressure, with at least one interception, probably two. The Eagles will not fall on their faces, theoretically, though the Patriot defense will sack McNabb one time too many and his self-confidence will wither. The Superbowl will not be a blowout, and the Patriots will win the game by 3 points, as they have done in their last two bowl games, world champions winning by a field goal . That is my prediction.

I called Mom tonight to see if her packet was delivered. We had a good time while I walked her through the steps to load the CD. Mom and Dad watched the announcement and I showed them some other things on the disk and stepped them through the contents of the CD. One of my brothers emailed and said he couldn’t access the birth announcement. That had me worried, but as I created the disks, I tested the CDs on two different computers. I am speculating that the difficulty was a copying error or miscommunication on which file is the birth announcement. Hopefully, it will work when tried again.

Being a new Dad, it is in my nature to be excited to want my family to see Gabriel's photos. With the many CDs we sent to our siblings, parents, friends, and extended family, I am anxious and hopeful that there haven’t been problems with accessing the pictures and particularly seeing Gabriel’s birth announcement.

Like a lead Zeppelin?

In lieu of a birth announcement to introduce Gabriel to our family and friends, we chose to do something special. We created a PowerPoint presentation, with music, sound effects and pictures of Gabriel with those people who have met him in his first 5 days of life. We waited a week after he was born to start working on the project, so that we could take plenty of digital photos and have an abundance of material. This is our beautiful child’s introduction to the world. Of course, I will announce his birth enthusiastically!

I have spent some free time in the last few days burning CDs. I thought, ten for my family, ten for Heather’s, more or less. The reality is often far removed from the anticipated, I assure you. The end result? After consulting with Heather’s mom to be sure we hadn’t missed anyone, we burned 50 CDs and family-specific customized labels. I produced two unique CDs so that the material was pertinent to the side of the family who would be viewing the content. Between feedings and diaper changes, when Gabriel was sleeping or babbling contently in his bassinet, we worked on his birth announcement.

Only time will tell how well our efforts work out, as computers are funny creatures, so to speak. What operates flawlessly on one PC may not function on another. Hopefully, everyone is able to navigate the content and this little project doesn’t fall flat on its metaphorical face. We wanted to create something a bit distinctive, unique and contemporary.

Will this go over like a lead zeppelin? I don’t know yet… but hey, did you know that is how the band got its name? Robert Plant said his new and as-yet unsigned band would probably go over like a lead Zeppelin…. And the rest is history.

Spring fever in the middle of winter

If this warm spell continues, we will soon be suffering from spring fever and wishing the winter was over. Now, don't take this the wrong way. For the record, Heather and I both love winter and we hope for record-breaking snowstorms that last for days. The more snow, the better, we say!

But, once the snow starts to melt and we are out shoveling slush off the driveway in t-shirts and shorts, we start to wish we could be gardening. We have 2 vegetable gardens, strawberries in a raised bed, and flower beds all over the yard. As Heather always says, "You can take the boy off the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the farmboy."

I am still hoping for significant snowstorms this year but with each passing mild day, the hint of spring makes me that much more eager to play in the dirt. One day soon, spring fever is going to overwhelm my love of winter and snow. When you hear me say "I don't want any more snowstorms!", you will know, spring fever is here to stay.

Another day, another dollar

It is nice to not think about work for awhile. I was just going over finances and being on vacation isn't the same, financially, as working. You would think it shouldn't matter, but the on-call pay and overtime make a significant difference. Anyway... that was just an observation. I am not looking forward to going back to work on Monday, but admittedly, I do love my job, if you can believe that, and so I am not dreading the return to work either.

Visiting

It was great to visit with my family. Almost everyone made it, and those who couldn't were working or had other acceptable excuses. I will overlook it this time as long as they make it to the farm at Easter. =) Life is so busy for everyone that we are happy to visit when we can. It used to be that we only visited on the big 3: Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. In recent years, though, we have been getting together at least once in the summer and on other occasions as well. It is like we have a healthy family. I know, scary thought. Heather and I enjoy the visits and look forward to them.

The one thing I have a problem with is that we are still waiting for Dave to contact us. Its a tired, long story and not one I am going to detail here. Speaking for the Doug and Heather Juenemann family, we want him to rejoin our family gatherings and hope someday that he will. If you don't have family, what do you have?