So, here's a new page to my site... the "Briefly" page.  A bit less structured than the "Currently" page, this page will house not so much the what I've done, but what I've found interesting, or thought about...

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Its also the largest city in the US without a light rail system of ANY kind... a distinction its held for years!  The City, County, and State has spent more than $50 Billion dollars studying the issue since about 1960 or so, but we've had nothing to show for it except a study saying that its getting more expensive, and we need one.  No one could come up with a plan, and nothing could get started.

Until Now, it seems.  When I drove down to the airport to drop off a friend of mine, I was pleased to see that there is actually progress on the light rail line that will link downtown Seattle with Sea-Tac Airport - the first of a whole series of lines, including

There's been quite a bit of progress - they started in Summer, after surviving a court battle trying to stop it because there might be a salamander living in a puddle or something.  They're saying the first line will be up and running in 2007... and then Seattle will no longer be quite so far behind.

Philemon 4:
⁴  Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!  ⁵  Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

⁶  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  ⁷  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸  Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.  ⁹  The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Paul doesn't write "Rejoice when the going is good"... he just says "Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS".  Even when its bad.

He follows that with advice: Focus on the good - No matter how bad things are... there's SOMETHING good to be happy for!!!

The difficulty is remembering to look for it.
 

ECCLESIASTES 4: 8-12
8 There was a certain man without a dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, "And for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?" This too is vanity and it is a grievous task. 
9 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.
10 For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.
11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?
12 And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

As the Pastor was preaching about how a bundle of sticks is stronger than one by itself, and how we should strive to avoid being a single twig, which is easily broken, and instead endeavor to find the strength that comes from the support of our spiritual family, a memory was triggered by the last portion of the passage that provided the focus of the sermon...

When I was a kid, there was a summer where my grandfather had come across several huge reels of twine.  I'm not sure where they came from, but he let us kids have at it, and we worked out ways that we could use it to play with.  My Cousin Ray and I quickly noticed that one strand of this twine was not strong enough to do most of what we wanted - mostly, it had to do with holding our weight for one reason or another.  But, our grandmother showed us how she used to braid a single strand of cord into three strands, which made the cord much, much stronger.  We spent several rainy days braiding the cord, and then we had a cord strong enough to trust with our weight, adding a whole new realm of possibilities when it came to lashing boards and branches to trees...

Throughout Jesus' ministry, and later by the Apostles, many attempts were made to reinforce this truth to the body of believers here is only a small portion of the hundreds of passages of advice to us in our walk with Christ....

John 13:34 (Jesus is being quoted)
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.

Romans 15:7
Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.

Galatians 5:13
For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Colossians 3:13
bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

1 Thessalonians 5:13
and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another.

Hebrews 3:13
But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Hebrews 10:24
and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,

James 5:16
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

1 Peter 1:22
Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,
 

1 Peter 4:9
Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

Alone, we are easily turned aside... but in a group, we can help support and build each other up.  You can easily break a stick, but a bundle of sticks... that gets more and more difficult as the bundle grows larger.  The more we involve ourselves in fellowship with other believers, the more strength and support we can garnish from - and provide to - the group.

The Shadow Lady's Sister was ordering a specialized pop that she can't get around here, and - out of the blue - remembered that I liked Moxie, and picked me up a six-pack and surprised me with it.

I had some cans of Moxie sent to me a month or so ago, and I was on my LAST can... and now I have bottles of the stuff.  As I'm sure you know, there's something about glass that preserves the true essence of the contents - they don't put wine in cans, after all. 

It was an awesome gift, and I'm going to have to come up with a fitting way to express my thanks!  It will be difficult, but I'm sure I'll come up with something!  :-)

Its now over 3000 miles, by the way... yep - a thousand miles in 10 days, and 3000 in less than one month... wow!  That's OK, though... its a GREAT car, and I don't plan on getting rid of it for quite some time!

Its awesome to travel more than 300 miles in a car, and put only 12 or so gallons in it!  MUCH better than the 22-23 I had to pour into my truck!

I'm still a HUGE fan of the Mariner... lots of room, a comfortable ride, quiet, all wheel drive, easy to maneuver, good power, little to no blind spots, side impact airbags, and excellent gas mileage!  I'm REALLY enjoying it!

That system worked fine, until this year. Tropical Storm Alpha formed just southwest of Puerto Rico.  Since they've run out of names, they're calling it "Alpha"...

Wilma, done from stalling for a few days over Cancun, is now setting its sights on Florida.  Its currently a Category 2 storm, with winds at 100 mph, but it could strengthen to a Category 3 by the time it comes ashore.  After that, it should gain speed, and zing on up to the North Atlantic, pushed along by a strong front that is currently dumping LOTS of rain in upper New York.

So the amazing season continues...  There's a more than a month left to the Hurricane Season... How far into the Greek Alphabet will it go, I wonder?

I love it.

I've not had one second of "buyer's remorse"... I researched out the type of vehicle I wanted, evaluated the different vehicles in that class -- even giving foreign vehicles a fair shake.  The Ford Escape came out very favorably, especially when the price was included in the mix.  After looking at the Mercury, I liked the lines better, and it had better options, for only a few percentage points more on the cost.

The options seemed to be nice, but not frivolous, so I went with the Mercury over the Ford.

Its not a sports car by any stretch, but its fairly zippy, and definitely not "Gutless".

Its very maneuverable.  The ride is very nice.  It has TONS of room inside.  It corners well, stops well, and the driver has great visibility.  I also like the gas mileage I'm getting... 17.5-18.5 in the city, and 23 - 25 on the highway.  Awesome!

What don't I like about it?  The road noise is a bit loud, but I still haven't gotten the sound proofing/undercoating installed yet, so that will improve. I'm getting used to the smaller steering wheel, and to the wiper controls being in a different location.

The first place we stopped at (Olive Garden) was way over-crowded, so we left for someplace else... and stumbled on Elmer's. 

Elmer's is a lot like a fancy Denny's, and is a local chain of eateries that started in the Portland Metro Area, and has grown throughout Oregon, into Idaho, Montana, California, and Southern Washington... in the Puget Sound area, they are known as Mitzel's American Kitchen.  Great food, at a great price.  It had been a while.

Yep, I am, as they say, "Head over Heels" about her.  She's wonderful, and I continually am shown just how wonderful she is, and almost daily I find myself falling in love with her over and over again.  I am truly blessed, and I thank God each and every day that He's allowed her to be in my life.

I'll beat her eventually, I'm sure... just as soon as her smile doesn't flush everything out of my mind.  It might be a long while, though, but that's OK.

Jamie Moyer came to Seattle after a trade with Boston in 1996, and had pitched to Dan Wilson in 190 games.  A statistician, 50 years from now, might look at start number 191 as just another start between two of Seattle's more endearing players... but for those who were there, it was much more than that.

Earlier this season, "Super Dan" injured his knee.  He and his wife had planned on retiring at the end of the season... only it seemed that that last season was going to be cut short.

Consumer Guide® Automotive places each vehicle into one of 17 classes based on size, price, and market position. Among utility vehicles, Compact SUVs are the least costly and offer the best fuel economy. Most utilize a car-type chassis and are not designed for heavy-duty, off-road use. Nearly all are five-passenger vehicles.

Our Best Buys include Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Mazda Tribute, and Mercury Mariner.

Pretty cool...

Pastor Greg called them up to the front, and we all prayed for them, and committed ourselves to continued prayerful support of their task, which is to plant churches within the 6 or so communities of the Yei people.

What an incredible undertaking!  Nathan is an excellent speaker -- he's preached at our church, and got a great message across about honoring our mother and father... he presented a different way to look at how we are to carry out this commandment... and now, he's presenting his honor in his life.

Maybe those tsunami signs will be needed soon...

On a day where most congregations spent time looking at the past (we did some of that, too - members of the police and fire departments were honored at the start of our Sunday Service), our church had the opportunity to build a memory that will help dampen the ill that is associated with 9-11... we installed our new Senior Pastor.

It's been around since 1884, and its one of those drinks that hasn't changed the formula.  Coke said they hadn't, but they did -- they made it sweeter over the years.

It used to be used as medicine, and moms added carbonated water to make it easier for kids to drink it, and it caught on... but apparently, only in Maine. 

No one I know outside the state of Maine likes it... but to me, its just plain GOOD!

Human nature... greed... lust... fear... anger... and a host of other shortcomings that we're unfortunately born with.

When God is the priority, then these things are tempered, even removed, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and by a earnest desire to do His Will.

In 1906, in San Francisco of all places, after the Earthquake, people were without police supervision for more than a month... there weren't any gangs of people roaming the streets, robbing, raping, and murdering at will... everyone turned to God for help and guidance.

with the "let's ditch God from everything" mentality of our country, there's nothing for the majority to turn to, so they falter in the time of trouble... No Shelter in the time of Storm.

The warning label on a "Moisture Absorbent" pack in a bag of Beef Jerky was pretty funny... the mouth on the cartoon character is quite comical!  (OK, bad pun, but if you look at it, you'll smile...)

At the same time, its sad.  Someone must have been dumb enough to eat it once, and sued Oh Boy! Oberta because the company failed to protect them from themselves.  To me, that's sad.

The Jerky, by the way, was AWESOME!

I beat the Sun in this morning, both a sign that Fall is upon us, and that I get to work too early in the morning.

The sunrise more than made up for what was going to be a long day!

I really like it when the start of the day puts you in the right frame of mind!

The result of his success is that our tabs are only $34.99 again!  Awesome!

On an unrelated topic related to the event in the picture... I realized on Friday that my tabs were expired on my truck... on the 19th!  I didn't get a ticket or anything... but that would have been costly!

In the effort to comply with these rules, the designers of our building got a bit liberal with the definition of "a parking space"...

One night, on the way to our truck, long after everyone had left, we sized up one of the spaces... I really doubt a car of ANY size could park between those lines!!!

I guess it's an Ultra-sub-mini-compact spot.

Of course, that means we've been working too much, but if you have to be in the shop, anyway... you may as well enjoy the food!

Unfortunately, we've been averaging 10+ hours days since we got back from our Vacation... and that's COUNTING weekends!  Its tough, but we're managing to enjoy what time we DO get off well enough...  Its got to slow down eventually, right?

Back to Outback... Mmmm... good stuff!

When I was taking pictures of the Blue Angels practicing for their show, I was looking around during a lull, and noticed a construction site... I even took a picture!

I guess I haven't changed much... I'm still as fascinated now with that sort of thing as I was then...

Wow.  That was FAST!

Remember when you were a kid, and your mom would say that you couldn't go in the water for an hour?  Remember how long that was?  Or how long a single day would last?

I've known "The Shadow Lady" for 7 months, now... Time truly does fly when you're having fun!

Things change in 24 years... somehow, they made the causeways larger underneath the stands... there's more room to walk.  The bathrooms are larger than I remember them being, and much more closer to 'modernized'... there's seats over the Green Monster, and on top of the Grandstands, and the press box has much more glass, and a lot more seating.  The box seating is gone along the baselines (there's boxes over the Green Monster, though)...

I touched the Green Monster.  I ate a Fenway Frank.  I stood in the causeway when it was raining.  I was in Fenway, sitting in a seat that countless other fans have sat in, watching the very same game played there for nearly 100 years.

It was good to be back.

One more thing, but this one is new in my personal Fenway Experience -- I sang "Take me out to the ball game" with the woman I love... THAT was awesome!

Its in Kennebunkport, Maine, the town that the Bush's call home in the summer.

Gotta love a sense of humor!

I'll be offline for a bit... the Internet hasn't fully reached my former home town, so getting online just to check email will be a chore, let alone updating a website...

"Vacationland?"  That's the Maine State Moniker on its license plates...  as you can see from the plate on our rental car.

While not the type of person who revels in the agony of others, large storms really fascinate me... I've put up a Tropical Storm Page that reviews the storms, and follows their progression, as well as various news tidbits that I find interesting.  This wave, for instance, was taken at Guantanamo Bay, where the US has a military base.  It was hammered by Dennis.

This has been a busy season so far... 4 named storms before July 4th... and only 3 storms in recorded history have hit the US in July or earlier... so this storm will

Its also seeming to be quite large... winds were up over 150 miles per hour at one point!

Hopefully, it comes ashore where folks are prepared, and it doesn't do much damage... I like the storm, and the suspense, and the thrill of seeing the waves and wind... but I don't want anyone to get hurt, of course!

We went hiking out at Mt St Helens, and just as we were leaving, the mountain belched a steam and ash plume that rose several thousand feet above the crater rim...  I noticed it because the color of the initial burst was more of a gray than the clouds hovering around the crater... by the time I managed to get my camera, the cloud had dissipated somewhat, and was lighter, but you could still tell it was different... WAY COOL

OK, so it wasn't anywhere near to being the 'big one'... but it was impressive anyhow!

I was very happy to note that they FINALLY have the name up on the outside of the tower... very cool!

I actually noticed the name up on the tower on Tuesday evening, but it wasn't lit up, and I didn't have my camera, anyway...

I have to say, though... I sure would be upset if I had the offices who's view was being blocked by those letters on the outside of their windows!!!

As part of the move, our network domain is going to change, and difficulties with a few of the applications I support were attributed to problems between the two domains - a "Trust" issue.

To test that the applications will work correctly, I was allowed into the 'new tower' to run them on the new network. 

I brought my camera along to snap some preview shots of our soon-to-be new home...

Parking is going to be difficult!  VERY small slots!!!  I drive an F-150... so that might be a difficulty for me...

In all, though, it'll be nicer - At the very least, things will be new, and they'll (hopefully) work better, and since I'll be on the 17th floor, I should have an awesome view.

I'll probably have pictures a month from now or so...

The games, the car races, the flag waving, the opportunity to meet everyone, and the friendliness of everyone really made me feel welcome and at ease...

This memorial day will be memorialized in my heart and mind for quite some time to come.

Until now, a Coke Slurpee was a GREAT way to knock the edge off a hot day, or the lack of an edge of a long drive...

So, now its the banana-strawberry Slurpee.  Its not the same, but at least its not Pepsi.  As Luke so valiantly stated, "I will NEVER turn to the dark side!"

I thank God every day that she's in my life... I truly am blessed.  The happenstances surrounding our meeting are so out of 'norm' they could NOT have happened by random chance - there's just too many things that had to happen at the exact right time.

I cannot remember a time where I felt more loved by anyone.. its so amazing!

I guess that's a good thing... I COULD be saying (like I was earlier in the year - before I started archiving the 'briefly' comments) that I was working too much... or, worse, I could be saying that I've been bored half to death, and not doing anything - although, with as wonderful a woman in my life as I am blessed to have, I don't see that as an option!

 I DO work a lot, but I'm more consistently getting off in time on most days to go do something fun... and that's what we're doing!

We've also finally started to do what we'd been saying we should do for a while now... schedule weekly hikes to someplace.  We started with the "Talapus Trail", which goes up to Talapus lake.  The plan is to go on at least one hike a week, and plan a longer one (more than one day, even) a month or so, if we can swing it. I'm planning on starting a new Hiking Section in the Pictures area, which will probably grow pretty quickly.

Things are well, though!  They're GREAT, to quote the famous Exxon mascot turned Cereal enthusiast.

There's lots of stuff planned coming up... I'm going to a speech, migrating the GL to a new set of servers (OK, that one is actually work), a hike someplace, and maybe a trip to The Mountain... its been a while!

So, now my Red Sox Garb goes back in storage... until I get to break it back out at FENWAY PARK IN BOSTON, on our trip to New England to do the "Meet the Parents" thing...  It will be a BLAST!

As bad as the Red Sox fans were, though... I don't think I'll be able to talk her into wearing anything more than the hat... and I'm sure that the "Let's go, Red Sox!" chant will bring back bad memories, too...

What will I remember?  Damon and Manny looking up at the Jumbo Tron... They both watched the "Blooper" videos, and Manny would watch the replay after he made a good play.

Oh, and the single that Ichiro slapped that I caught on a picture was pretty cool, too, as was him outrunning the tag at first, too... that guy can RUN!

The Red Sox lost the first game of 3 in a resounding way. losing 14-7 in a slug fest that the up-to-now lethargic Mariners won quite handily! 

The M's came out with 3 runs in the first, and basically rolled on to victory from there.  Sexson, Beltre, and Ibanez hit home runs, making one wonder why Seattle entered the night ranked close to the bottom of the American League in nearly every significant offensive statistic.

Veritek tries to dodge a tag

This pic is from MLB...

You know, though... Halama plays for Boston, now.  The bane of the M's from a few years back, he really stunk up the place, giving up 8 runs in only 2 innings... it was awful.  I CANNOT believe that he is still pitching in the Bigs, let alone for the RED SOX, of all teams!  He needs to go back to teaching... hopefully he's better at that than he is pitching.

I go back tonight for round two... this time with the "Shadow Person's" parents... So maybe they will redeem themselves!  Either way, it'll be a good time!

Millar frustrated after a poor showing at the plate

This pic is from MLB...

I know people might think this a bit odd, but when I found out that I was going to San Diego for a couple of days of R&R, I had two things I *really* wanted to see... The USS Ronald Reagan, and The Galapagos Turtles.  An odd combination, eh?

The Reagan is undergoing scheduled maintenance.  I had a direct view of the grand ship from my hotel room... Its quite impressive!  $2.5 million per day to operate, and able to distill 400k gallons of water a day, the numbers around the Reagan are HUGE -- Just like the man she's named for.  (USS Reagan web site) 

I had never been to San Diego before.  I quickly noticed that there was NO WAY I was going to see everything in one trip, so I schemed with my "Shadow Companion" to visit again... and fairly soon.  We'll be going back before too long, for a weekend of fun away from the wiles of work.

The rest of Sea World... we only managed to take in the shows, but not the rides or much of the displays, and I really would like to do the "dolphin experience"...

The Point Loma Lighthouse, now a National Park... The Hotel Del Coronado... the Cabrillo National Monument... the list goes on and on...  One day... SOON!  San Diego, it seems, is going to be a popular vacation destination!

Pictures From the San Diego Trip

I'm really enjoying the Eagle Cam this year!

There's been some really good shots of the little ones, and watching the adult eagles care for them is quite spectacular. 

The Morning Break usually has some good pictures from the previous day or so on it... This is the 4th year I've actively kept watch... you'd think it would be old hand by now, but every time I see them interact with the young ones, especially when they do it using team work, its like I'm seeing it for the first time!

The Eagle Cam is one example where our money goes to a good use... when someone buys a "Vanity" license plate, a portion of the proceeds goes to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (more information at: http://wdfw.wa.gov/viewing/plp.htm).

Sorry to gloat, but this thrilled me so much, I just have to share...  I was recently reminded that I am loved, and it is AWESOME!

The woman to whom my heart is endeared is away on a business trip.  She knew I would be missing her, so  she sent me a bouquet of sorts -- a bouquet made of sugar cookies!!!

I remember her asking, ever so innocently, a couple of weekends ago, "What kind of cookie is your favorite?" when shopping for foodstuff items in the local QFC, while walking past the many racks of cookies and snacks...  I know she's a "Planner" and a "List person", but since she so expertly worked the question into the situation, one has to wonder... did she manipulate the situation to fit the question so seamlessly, or did she take advantage of the situation that unfolded before her?  Either way, it was awesome, thoughtful, and so very wonderful!

So, now I am looking forward to seeing her again even more than I was!  :-)

Well, the 4th month of the year is ALREADY behind us... this year seems to be FLYING by!!! 

The Mariners went 12 and 12 in this season's first month... not great, but not bad either... after all, the Red Sox, defending Champions that they are, only went 12 and 11.

Getting spiffed up and sitting with someone you really want to sit next to really makes for a good night.  I ended the month watching the last showing of "Miss Saigon" at the 5th Avenue Theater.  Not only was it the last show in Seattle, it was also on the 30th Anniversary of the US Departure from Saigon, and its immediate fall to the forces of North Vietnam, effectively ending the US Efforts in the region. 

The music and singing were AMAZING, and once the opening scenes were past, it was VERY enjoyable!  IN all, I had a fantastic time!  

We went with some friends and family, and had a great meal  before the show.  I say "great" mostly because of the company... the food was 'OK', and took a long time to get there, but I'm only just meeting most of the family, still, so it was good to have that opportunity. 

One portion of the play brought forth a flood of memories.  As powerful as the "nightmare" scene depicting the Fall of Saigon was, my memory of seeing the images of that fateful day are quite vivid, and extreme in and of themselves... I remember watching in complete shock at the images on the TV, my 10-year old brain not able to understand the politics that caused the horrific scene unfolding before me.  The feeling I felt watching the news scenes flash by until my Mom had my grandfather change the channel remains one of the most vivid memories of my childhood.

Reflecting on that while listening to the conversation between family members jump from person to person in my truck on the way back, I came to think that it was then that the true spark ignited the fire of my disdain for the liberal left... I still have trouble thinking that personal agenda's could so damage the policies of our government and military so as to cause such a terrible event from happening.

There's just something about Mt St Helens that calms the soul...

On Saturday, I went and did the 'Sunrise thing' at The Mountain.  (yep, look for pictures in the next few days)  I left a bit late, and got there just as the sun was about to rise, but that didn't matter much.  I was with the person I wanted to be with, who wanted to be with me, and it was good.

There's just something about reveling in God's handiwork, and getting to share that feeling with someone who also 'gets it' that really makes it all that much better... you know?

When out one night, killing time until we could go hear the "monks" sing Mass on the top of the hill at that church in Seattle, we stopped at a Kid Valley Burger stand, and got a snack.

This onion ring was curiously shaped... :-)  Shortly after this picture was taken, it was soundly and enthusiastically devoured, so there's no Onion Ring for sale on E-Bay... sorry.

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