That's when I decided I had to go to Apple. I got up early this morning, and went into the local (somewhat, it's a fair distance from where I live) Apple store.

Read more »

My thoughts are with them, and I hope that, which ever god(s) they pray to, will listen and let them get out safely.

I know I could never do what they do, especially since the last few years, when we've seen collapse after collapse of mines both here in the USA and other countries.

Good luck guys!

I'm sure I'd pass both with flying colors, but hey, what the heck. I'm no bank for anyone... She admittedly was well-off, and didn't want to get hooked by a gold-digger, but she could have at least MET me first...

Oh well, lots of fish, and all that guff! LOL

At least work is keeping me busy enough that I don't have to think about much else... We're onlinle to go live sometime in November, I think, and things are really ratcheting up.

I received my new case, gratis from Apple, although the case I picked from the FreeCase application was from Speck (The PixelSkin model). It looks and FEELS really nice. The back is a checkerboard style that really gives you a good grip, and the case over all doesn't increase the size more than 1/8 inch.

But the good news is, it definitely stops the Death Grip loss of signal. I tried several different grips on the phone and watched the bars stay where they originally were.

I did notice over the past few weeks that I no longer have a full 5 bars all the time, so the software fix they put in iOS 4.0.1+ is definitely making a difference in how it shows the availability of signal.

Friday was Dad's 80th birthday, and we celebrated with the family on Saturday. It was a good turnout, with my brother Mike and two of his three kids, Calvin and Sean. My daughters, Denise and Andrea, were both there with their beaus, Mike and Sean. And my ex-wife Wilma came along, since she and Dad were close.

The pictures above are from the party. The present Dad is holding in one is an "anti-squirrel" bird feeder, spring loaded so if the squirrels try to get to the seed inside, it closes down automatically. Kinda neat idea... LOL

Mom went out of her way to make some good chow for everybody, a creamed chicken concoction for sandwiches, the ever-present deviled eggs, and pasta salad. It was really good, thanks Mom!

It was good to get the family together for a while. Don't see much of Andrea since she and Sean moved to Pueblo, and Denise and Mike are constantly working, so it was good to have a day together.

Happy Birthday, Dad!!!

Today the California ban on gay marriage is still in effect, but Proposition 8 has been ruled as unconstitutional.

Personally, I'm not gay, never have been, never will. But to deny people the right to form unions in marriage with the ones they love just seems wrong. What right do we have to say that two gay men can't love each other with the fervor that the heterosexual couples do?

To me, this is a slam dunk. To say otherwise is to say that well, maybe cross-racial marriages shouldn't be allowed either, or cross-religion, or any other mix of cultures... Equality means just that, equal and open to all people.

Lo and behold, the tears were just smeared across my cheek instead of being absorbed by the tissue like they should be!

After a little time, I was able to see clearly,  and looked at the bottom of the box at the "ingredients"... Hmmm lotion contains... (drumroll) PARAFFIN! What idiot decided that the lotion in the tissue was supposed to WATERPROOF the damn tissues???

Here's a case of the hype not telling the whole truth! Besides the paraffin, the lotion in the tissues also have ALCOHOL! Yeah, that sounds like something I want to wipe my eyes with!!!

Come on K*******, get your research assistants off your laps, and THINK about the product and how it's supposed to be used! You can make it soft enough without waxing the damn tissues and including a painful (in the eyes) ingredient!

Am I the only one who looks at the box???

Finally got all the work on the backyard completed. Here's a few pics to show the end result!

I ended up hiring out the job because it was just too big a job to do by myself...