Find The Treat In This Picture.

Wasting Time Wisely

I am going to make some more cinnamon raisin rolls with Anna today; it's the third attempt. The first didn't rise properly because I misread the recipe; the second rose just fine but it was too late at night to bake after spending the entire day in the kitchen. I'm confident that the third time will be the charm.

I feel better today than I have for a while. I'm starting with the PTSD group at the Minneapolis VA hospital; recent personal failures have precipitated a new and earnest realisation that the people around me need me to be more stable and kinder, too. I want to see a lot more tomorrows even if they're not sunny and warm.

The question now: what to make for dinner tonight?

Some Proposed Legislation For Your Perusal

I will resist the urge to editorialise on these bills.


H.R. 15 creates a nationalized system of free health care.

H.R. 414, the Camera Phone Predator Alert Act, requires cameras in cell phones to make an audible sound to alert others (such as in locker rooms) when a picture is taken.

H.R. 346 repeals the automatic payraises Congress receives.

H.R. 390 addresses "college football playoff games" while H.R. 187 says let Cubans play American baseball.

H.R. 227 states that human life begins at fertilization.

H.R. 254 moves voting to the weekend.

H.R. 113 requires anything funded by an earmark to be audited. Perhaps things like H.R. 202, which creates a "Museum of Ideas."

H.R. 116 ends political "robocalls" if you are on the "Do Not Call" Registry, while Senate bill S. 30 wants there to be caller ID honesty.

H.R. 126 would limit citizenship at birth only to those who have at least one parent who is a citizen or legal resident. H.R. 160 would limit Social Security benefits to only legal citizens or residents.

H.R. 155 would ban taxes on unemployment benefits for two years, while H.R. 162 bans taxes on Social Security benefits.

H.R. 87 says "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is," and invites those who like to pay taxes to voluntarily pay extra taxes. Or how about just a "Fair Tax" as called for in H.R. 25.

H.R. 70 would make it a hate crime to display a noose with the intent to intimidate. And H.R. 40 explores paying reparations to African-Americans.

S. 213 would create an Airline Passenger Bill of Rights.

How Cold Is It?

It is -21° Fahrenheit here today. I got one of those remote weather monitors for Christmas and I need to move it because it insists that it is -9° in the sun. Well, at least it's a dry cold...

I wanted to test some of the more common gauges of temperature for your own reference, so I have done a bit of research.

'Colder than a brass toilet in an icehouse' Okay. I trolled the web a little and found the site of an ice-fishing enthusiast. His site has a section for 'Ice Fishing House' but makes no mention of toiletry.

Then, a Vulgar Comparative Metaphor: 'Colder Than A Witch's Tit' Let's presume for a moment that a 'Witch' is actually a warm-blooded human being; her tit would have an ambient temperature of about 96 degrees F. However based upon my knowledge of useless lore, a "witche's tit" is an additional nipple, not necessarily on a breast, and is an indicator of witch-hood. I don't know why it would be cold. BTW, the source I polled on this told me
"il cavagliere oscuro penso possa rispondere alla tua domanda" which I think means that they were going to refer my question to Batman. No, really.

On to Dan's metaphor for coldness: The Well-digger's ass in the Klondike... I never lived in the Yukon Territory's Klondike but I can attest to the bitter cold of digging a hole on Windy Ridge, Fort Wainwright, Alaska. The War Department named the US Army's base there 'Fort Wainwright' in honor of the general who had held Corregidor so long against the Japanese. Bitter.

Over the course of the day, it warmed up and is currently -14° which is still cold enough to make a man happy to have a warm dog-turd in his pocket. It is my bedtime in a perfect world; I have an appointment with the dentist tomorrow to discuss root canals and if I don't get my rest I may just open my mouth and let the cold shatter all my teeth just to spite him.

G'night youse.

Heaven Drafts Jim Mattila “The pope of Hockey”

Ah, crap. Jim Mattila finally "...slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings...put out (his) hand and touched the face of God...."*


In Heaven an hour before the devil knew he was dead.



I'm sorry. There's a short list of people whose funeral I will attend; if you're reading this it's probably you. Jim's friendship was such that I want to be there. I want to be around those who knew him. I want to hear the stories. Bob said "You should have known Jim before the accident." Isn't that the way it too often goes? I wish I had known Jim when he was a deputy for St. Croix County; a hunter; a hockey coach so formidable that he was widely known as 'The Pope of Hockey' in this part of the state.

Dang it, dang it, dang it.


Surely there was a time I might have trod
The sunlit heights, and from life's dissonance
Struck one clear chord to reach the ears of God.**

Our dear, departed, steadfast and worthy; Jim shall not be forgotten nor shall his pain encumber him longer. I am better for his friendship, pleased to have known him and do not begrudge him to Our God whom has gathered Jim unto Himself.

obituary link here

*'High Flight' John Gillespie Magee
** 'Poems' Oscar Wilde

Loose At The Seams

Picture this: your good, old dog needs put down; the rods in your 2007 Chrysler minivan are shot ($7700); you missed the email from your daughters' school where they notify you that one of her teachers committed suicide and there is a day of grief counseling. If you are my friend Carin, this is the dead animal today has dragged to the doorstep and dropped at your feet.

Where do you begin? What is our coping mechanism hard-wired to accommodate in the brief span of one day? Granted I've had worse and I can joke about it now. In one fell day I lost my mom and my girlfriend dumped me when I told her. I lost my dad 8 months later. Bad news is going to happen; life is 100% terminal.

We do what we must do and the sense of stunned, disbelief carries us through the motions and allows for the time to sort it out later, one piece at a time. I've had the world on my mind lately; Iraq of course, where my heart and my mind cannot reach one accord; Israel, where the final act of the bible is played out and each day shows a stronger sign of prophetic hastening; India where, I was told yesterday the persecution of Christians has shifted from nearly overt to the burning of homes and property and murder unchecked. I cannot follow to their conclusion, the threads of interwoven consequence regarding these events. However, let's keep things in perspective; I taught my kids spelling and mathematics today. Anna and I played with her dollhouse. The average cost of a gallon of unleaded is between $1.80-$1.90; bread is $2.40-$2.60; eggs and milk are still in my price range too.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Carin and her family. Let us know if there's anything we can do to help.

The End Of '08

We stayed up past our bed-time last night. That's odd for us but it was necessary if we wanted to go to this party we were invited to; if you ever get invited to the Burton's, go. Thank you for that Jeff and Lisa! The highlight of the night was also maybe the finest moment of my life, so far.

Cheryl and I got to baptise Tim and Anna!

Well, there it is and it doesn't get any better than that, does it?