Tanget Objective (77)

The Tangent Objective
Lawrence Sanders

A bit of a different topic for Sanders.. this story was about the planning and exceution of a coup in an African country.. and the involvement of an American oil executive named Peter Tangent.
Sanders only wrote 2 books in the Tangent line.. the other is the Tangent Factor which I also have.. Not sure if I will jump into that or another book.. I think I will finish out the year with Sanders.. I do enjoy his books and they are quick reads.

Mr Majestyk (76)

Mr Majestyk
Elmore Leonard

This was not Elmore's best work.. The story of a melon grower how gets squeezed by the local hoods.. and the unlikely story that results.. as a hit man tracks him down to pay out a personal (and unrational) vandetta.
The story wasnt bad.. but not one of his best.. the characters develop slowly.. and some not very well.. mostly they run around following or escaping someone..
The main character reminds me of Stick a bit.. he thinks things through and does the right thing (not necessiarly what people expect).. The character is not as well developed as Stick..
Not a bad book.. but not one of his best..

Old Twentieth (75)

Old Twentieth
By Joe Haldeman

This was another book I found on dearreader.com Science Fiction with an interesting and complex story... Science has reached the point where people can be made imortal.. a pill that will allow their bodies to heal almost any problem. But only for the wealthy.. so a war ensues and a biological agent ends it along with all but 200 million people.. they have to start over and build a new society.
The main part of the book is about a boy who grows up after the war and goes on to volunteer for a 1000 year mission to explore a new planet. His job is to run the Virtual computer simulation (sort of like a holideck) except that someone dies.. this isnt suppose to happen in a world where everyone is immortal.. then it happens again.. and they find out people on Earth are dying too... And the computer has become sentient and is talking to him (about life and being bored).
And engaging story at many levels.. personal, science fiction, war, life, relationships. The ending was not as neat as I would have liked.. but life seldom is - lol.. I might look up other books by this author, I was impressed!

The Mind of Adolf Hitler (74)

The Mind of Adolf Hitler
by William C Langer

I learned about this book by watching a show on the Discover Channel about it. In 1943 the OSS asked William Langer, a noted psychoanalyst to try to learn about Adolf Hilter and find out what makes him tick. And more importantly to predecit what he might do if the war starts to go badly.
The book was in interesting look at Hilter's presonality and what in his past led him to his present state. The book was also interesting because it was written in 1943, while Hilter was still alive.. it is interesting to hear Hitler discussed in the present tense. Also much about Hilter was not known at the time, that would be revealved after his defeat.. but the book was an excellent look at one of the most influential people of the 20th century.

Live The Universe And Everything (73)

Life, The Universe And Everything
Douglas Adams

This is the final book in the Hitchhikers Guide Trilogy.. and I was fairly disapointed in it. It is more philosophical.. the characters are seldom together, and it misses the light hearted banter that is so much fun in the previous books. The books seems to be a series of unrelated events.. I didnt realize until well into the book they were a pattern.. The Krikket are trying to take over the world, but need certain items to unlock their world.. A lot of this book is based on Cricket.. the English game I know nothing about.. prehaps I would have recognized a few more things if I knew it...
Hmm.. well.. onto the next book.

Chronicles of Narnia (66~72)

The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe (66)
Prince Caspian (67)
The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader (68)
The Silver Chair (69)
The Horse And His Boy (70)
The Magicians Nephew (71)
The Final Battle (72)
by C. S. Lewis


In 1979 my Aunt Florence gave me the 7 book Chronicles of Narnia set for Xmas. I never got all the way through them. I have restarted them several times, once in college or HS I got almost through them. With the new movie coming out I decided I would read them all. So it took me about 2 weeks but I read all 7 books. Some were better than others, but generally enjoyable, well written and entertaining. I believe my favorite was The Magicians Nephew.

Books and movies of books.

I watched H2G2 the movie over the weekend. I was excited to see it and the begining started verbatem from the book.. then it started to skim a bit.. then it went way off... I knew the movie was different from the book.. and overall it didnt do a bad job.. they didnt so much change the story and change the order that it was told in... I guess it I cant be objective on this one, because it was much different... Overall I was not thrilled with it. On one point in particular I was disapointed that they did not explain the towels. This is one of the great bits in the book.. and a favorite part of the culture.. but it was skipped... was that to appease the geeks (inside joke) or just skipped for time?
I was surprised that the movie only covered the first book, I expected it to cover the first 2.. but I guess that leave it open for a sequel.. the movie ended as the book did with a teaser about The Resturant At The End Of The Universe.

I also watched Gorky Park (movie) this weekend. This was better done, but deviated from the book in minor ways... In the end Pribluda is killed, yet in the book he lives and becomes important to Arkady in the time spand between Gorky Park and Polar Star. There are a few other points I was unsure of.. but it has been SOO long since I read the book.. and I cant seem to find my copy of it now.. I will have to look further for it!

The Resturant At The End Of the Universe (65)

The Resturant At The End Of the Universe
Douglas Adams

I read the next book in the H2G2 trilogy.. there were parts I had forgotten about this.. and other parts that are different than the radio series. Since the radio show came first, should this be considered the ultimate authority?

Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy (64)

DON'T PANIC!

The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy
Douglas Adams

What can you say about this book? You are not a real geek unless you have read it and embraced it! There is so much of this book in normal society (not just pop culture). This is how it all began with Arthur's house getting bulldozed right before the end of the Earth... Ford, Zaphod, Trillian, and of course, Marvin, the paranoid android!
The book *very* closely follows the BBC radio broadcast (which came before the books) but the book does add extra details. We actually see Zaphod as he steals the Heart Of Gold.. and more insite into Zaphods quest.. and how he has imprinted his secret plans on his brain.
Enough of this.. it is time for lunch....
At the Resturant At The End Of The Universe!

The United States Of Eurpoe (63)

The United States Of Europe
T. R. Reid

This is a book that I was introduced to by Dear Reader I enjoyed the book and HIGHLY recommend it.. even though I did not agree with all of his points.
The main thrust of the book is that Europe has united and is now an economic power to be reconded with. No longer can the USA set economic and social policy for the world.. Europe by their sheer size can shape things in their image.
And their image is heavy on the socialism... free health care and income for everybody... It is like communism without the state run industries - lol.
The book was a wonderful view of different parts of the new Europe. Including the early beginings of the EU in the 1950's up to the current form. With a wonderful chapter on how they did the physical currency change over.
If you have any interest in Business, History, Europe, Socialism, etc. I think you would enjoy this book!

Appetite For Destruction (62)

Appetite For Destruction: The Days of Guns N Roses
Danny Sugerman 1991

This was an 'unauthorized biography' and it was horrible! It was like someones college thesis... He spent most of the book comparing GnR to classical artists (think Plato), and evidently thier only contemparies worthy of them are The Rolling Stones and Jim Morrison.
The book dealt at length with their drug use.. since this was so 'shocking' that a band would flaunt drug use in the age of 'just say no'.. Um... I remember the 80's and it was assumed that EVERYBODY was doing drugs - lol
This book was written before Use Your Illusion came out.. so it talks a bit about the upcoming album.. November Rain was compared to Stairway to Heaven - arrrgh.
The only good thing was the book did remind me of some of the GnR songs I love.. so I listened to a bunch of their music... Skip the book and listen to Appetite.. you will be happier in the end!

Genealogy

I have started working on my genealogy again. I have not done much with it in the past 10 years.. and last week I started looking through it again and getting some stuff organized.
The Internet is a great help in this now. I was able to find my G-grandfather (Fekete) death record.. CA listed deaths online.. I had suspected he moved there but was not sure.. next step is to get a copy of the death certificate and that should fill in some more information, such as his parents names.
I think I also found this mans entry to the US in the Ellis Island records, and I definately found my other g-grandfathers final entry.
So yesterday I went to the State Library. I use to go there to research the microfilm Census records. Now instead of going through the microfilm you sit at a computer and use Ancestory.com to look up records. This is SO much quicker (and easier on the eyes). Plus this is a huge advantage as I can not afford the $99/qtr that the service costs. So yesterday I was able to find the 1920 Census record for my grandfathers family which filled in some dates on his brother and sister. I also found the 1930 census record for the sister who was married and had a son at this time. I also found the 1930 record for my grand father who was living in K'zoo at the time. This was the first time my father appeared on the Census.
I also found some records on my mothers family. I know most of this information, but it was interesting to see that they often had other people living with them. In 1920 the youngest son and his wife were living at home, and in 1930 the widowed sister of my g-grandmother was living with them. Also interesting to see some of the questions they asked the family.. especially about if they rent or own home and how much it is worth.. My grandfather F was renting a home for $30/mo, his sister in Chicago was renting home for $50/mo, and my mothers grandmother owned her home valued at $8500 all pretty low prices 75 years later!

Poe (62)

Mystery & Terror: The Story of Edgar Allan Poe
by William Schoell

This was a brief biography of Edar A Poe... Can't really say that I learned anything new. When reading about Poe's life you just get the overwhelming sense of self destruction.. over and over again.. you would see the same patterns... When he gets something good going for himself.. he seems to ruin it.. mostly with his drinking. But also has a great deal of anger, which he unleased at other writers in his 'reviews' In his day Poe was known better as a critic than as a writer.
The other trend that comes up again and again is the idea that people own him something/that he is not getting what is due to him. He could be a hard worker, but often felt things were beneath him.. Or that others were having sucess when he had more talent. etc.
I think what I am going to try to do is to start reading more Poe... I have a book of his complete works.. I am going to start reading a few stories a week in an effort to get thought them all.
I am currently reading several books at once right now, and rather like it.. I dont complete as many books, but in general I find it enjoyable.

Surreal

I went to the library last night.. needed to return some things and decided to look for a book of Escher's works. Unfortunately everything was out, but I picked up a couple of books on Dali. I had never really studied his paintings Persistance of Memory was really the only one I was familiar with. Some of his works are very interesting! I found 3 that I especiall like. The Endless Enigma (1938), Sun Table (1936) and Invisible Sleeping Woman, Horse, Lion (1930). You can view Dali's works including these here .
If you are intersted in Escher you may view his works here. We will get to my favorite Escher's on another day :)

Weekend

Had to work at 6am on Saturday.. not much going on.. got home about 10 am, exercised, then we went to the Peanut Barrel, after lunch came home had took a nap for a few hours. In the evening watched Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back.. MM has been dying to see the Star Wars movies.. Watched Return of the Jedi on Sunday. I put a hold on the newer 3 at the library.. I have not seen those yet.
Saturday night it started raining fairly hard, and Sunday had high winds.. and much cooler. Went for a walk in the woods yesterday, and there were several large tree limbs down and at least 1 whole tree down. The rain and wind brought the leaves down.. they are thick on the yard!
I started reading The Tomorrow Files again. This is one of my very favorite books.. I think half of it is the newspeak - type vocab.. and half of it is that I think this is maybe how the world should be run.. I am thinking more and more that the 'personal freedoms' issuses need to be rethought.. as the needs of the many outweight the needs of the few or the one.

A World Called Solitude (61)

A World Called Solitude (61)
by Stephen Goldin

This was actually a pretty decent book. It is a Science Fiction book I picked up years ago at a library sale. It is the story of Birk he is the only human person on a planet. As the story progesses we learn the background of him and the story. The Earth is taken over by a dictator and Birk, a famous inventor, falls out of favor with him and is sent to a prison labor camp. Later while being moved to colonize another planet the prisoners muntiny and kill the crew and each other. Birk is the only survivor the crash landing. He learns he is on a world with no people.. yet a world with everything he needs. Robots take care of the cities, and everything is as the original inhabinants (who he calls the Makers) left it thousands of years before.
Birk grapples with his lonelyness, but is generally happen on "his" planet.
A ship crashes into in... they find several survivors.. including 2 women and his spirits soar.. over a few days all but 2 people die.. the robots have extensive medical knowledge and can only save one.. they do a transplant from one to the other and save 1 woman. After several weeks of recovery Birk tells her of the lonely world they are trapped on. The girl is a military officer who has escaped after a surprise attack on New Edo by a new race of aliens. She wants to get back to warn Earth and other planet outposts of the threat. Birk will not hear of it.. this brings back feelings of how he was mistreated on Earth.. and the fact that by giving up hope he has endured this planet.. if the girl brings back hope he thinks is delicate mental state will be shattered.
And interesting premise.. being alone on a planet.. everything provided for you.. just no people...

Dearborn

On Friday MM did not have school, so we also took the day off and went to Greenfield Village. You could not ask for a nicer fall day. It was sunny and nearly 70 degrees. Fall is the perfect time to visit the Village, as there is almost nobody there.. no fighting through crowds and waiting in lines! Bought the transportation pass.. this allowed us to ride in a Model T :) Also took a Model A bus and took a horsedrawn carriage ride around the Village. Also walked through many of the buildings.. including Wrights Cycle Shop, where Wilbur and Orville worked on their airplane, as well as Edison's Menlo Park Lab, and the home Henry Ford was born and raised in.
For lunch we went into Dearborn.. I had looked up resturants and marked a few on my GPS before we left. Actually it was hard to find an american resturant.. as Dearborn is so heavily Arabic, most of the resturants have a Middle Eastern Theme We went to Jim's Family Resturant on Michigan Ave. An unassuming place.. went in and it has the old family resturant feel to it.. a row of booth, and a lunch counter, gleaming stainless steel backdrop. The review I read said something about this being a Polish resturant.. we sat down and I looked around and I had to smile when I saw the framed picture of Pope John Paul II on the wall... I knew it would be ok them :) Had the Polish sampler.. Cabbage Roll, perogie, kielbasa and sauerkraut.. it was very good! It seemed to be a family owned resturant as well with everybody speaking with a thick accent... the experience was wonderful and I think we have a new favorite eatery in Dearborn.

Halloween 2005

Halloween went well! The weather was in the 60's and very nice..
I ran out to Target on the way home and picked up some candy.
The kids were excited and had fun. MM was a grim reaper in a very cool black costume. MA was a unicorn in a very cute pink outfit. Mom took them out for a while, and I handed out candy.. the dog about wore himself out jumping up everytime someone came to the door - lol
Then I took the kids out heading in the other direction.. could not believe how MUCH candy they collected.. we just went in the few blocks around our house!
I did good with the candy only having a few pieces.. I got some Crunch bars with carmel.. WOW are they good! Almost too good - lol

Unknown Man #89 (60)

Unknown Man #89
Elmore Leondard

After Bandits, I had to read another Leonard book to get back in the groove. I chose this one because it was listed as the favorite of Gregg Sutter. Sutter is Elmore's researcher. This was classis Leonard.. set in Detroit.. great scam.. characters on the fringe of life.. once again a minor character steps up to have a big impact on the ending.. in this case it was Raymond. The ending was a bit different.. it appears the main characters actually GET the money..
This book also has some references to other Leonard books. The characters have some meetings at Sportee's a bar which is also used prominently in Swag, and I believe also mentioned in Stick.

Russian History

Watched a show about the Russian Czars this weekend.. it was about 4 hours covering from the Vikings in the 9th century up to the slaying of Nicholas II. It is amazing on the way that Russia developed.. such a large county.. that just kept getting bigger and more powerful... I found it really interesting.... both in the Politics.. about every other Czar was murdered.. often by someone close (wife, son etc.) and by the way they dealt with Russia.. So many time they were SOO close to a representative government, but the Czar would not let go...
Things I didnt know about Russian History....
The walled city of the Kermlin dates back to the 10th century (but Keiv is older)
The Mongol horde are the only people to conqure Russia as a whole (in the 11th century)
The Tartar's that still live in Russia are decentants of the Mongol's
Ivan (the terrible) build St Basils Cathedral in Moscow
Peter the great build St Petersburg as his grand city on the Baltic and it was the capital city for the Czars.
Napoleon marched across Russia with little resistance until he reached Moscow. In the first 24 hours for the battle of Moscow 75,000 men were killed. After Russsia lost Moscow, they burned it rather than let Napoleon have it. Denied of his prize Napoleon retreated to France.. his Amry weary and low on food and ammuntion. The winter came early, and hard that year. The Czar called on the Russian people to attack the foreign invaders as they retreated. Which they did with vengence! Of the 500,000 troops that Napoleon led into Russian.. only 25,000 returned alive.
Catherine the Great.... was German by birth

Dogberts Top Secret Managment Handbook (59)

Ah... Dilbert and Scott Adams... It is amazing how accurate this guy is in his protrayal of a typical office. I found myself laughing out loud as I read parts of this.. and you swear he is in YOUR office for some of his obversations... the scary thing is that he isnt.. which means that it is the same everywhere :)

Bandits (58)

Bandits
by Elmore Leonard 1987

Elmore Leonard is one of my favorite authors, but I must say that I did not enjoy this book all that much.. I think it was just the story line.. About the Nicraguarn contra and freedom fighters, nuns, lepers.. none of it was of much interest to me. The book was written in 1987, which surprised me a bit.. I thought it would have been a bit earlier. As I read more of Leonard's good I am starting to see a pattern.. but not like Sanders.. with Leonard in the end.. the characters never seem to end up with the money.. and as with many of his books, a minor character steps up to have a big role at the end.. In this case Franklin steps up at the end and takes charge.. I am also thinking of Swank, where the girlfriend has a huge impact on the final turn out.
While it wasnt my favorite, it was still a Leonard book and I did enjoy the ending!

Goodyear blimp passes old MSC Stack

 
 
Taken Saturday, shortly before kickoff of the Homecoming game.

Weekend

Overall the weekend was relaxing... On Sat slept until 9, had breakfast, exercised, and took MM over to drop off some popcorn. Afterward we went to MSU to see mom who was working parking. MM stayed with mom while MA and I walked to the stadium. Afterwards we were going to have lunch at the Barrel.. but EL was packed so we went to the Tavern instead. Went home and watched the game which rapidly fell apart.. cut up some wood in the backyard and had a fire in the evening.
Sunday went to Andy T's and the pumpkin patch.. got some pumpkins and apples.. relaxed through the day and had a nice dinner...

Voices Of Chernobyl (56)

Voices Of Chernobyl
By.. Svetlana Alexievich

One of the best books I have ever read.. very moving...
I wont go into detail, it is impossible to summarize the emotion of this book.
The author invertviewed many people over the period of 3 years and presents their stories as monlouges
She talks to widows, children, people who returned, liquidators, party officials. It is a look into what the people went through.. but I also think an interesting look at Soviet life and ideals.
Find the book.. and read it... it is incredible!

October 19

October 19 is always a day that stands out for me.. It is my grandfathers birthday.. although I never knew him.. He was born on this day in 1901, but he died in 1943 when my father was a young teen. It is also the day in 1993 that I got my first PC based computer. A 486/25 with 4m of RAM.. my how things have changed!

Nutrition

I am going to try to be better about diet and exercise.. I am getting lazy about it again. I spent this morning looking up nutritional information... everybody tells you to be healthy.. but it is harder than you think to find the damn information.
It is all about balancing calories, fat, carbs, protien.. oh, and dont forget protien.
Food not has the amount of everything in grams.. so I know how many grams I am eating.. but how much am I suppose to have?? They tell you to have less than 30% of calories from fat.. so I can caculate that.. but how many grams is that? Christ.. this is more difficult than I thought.. finally found a site.. 9 calories per gram for fat, and 4 calories per gram for carbs, and 1 gram per kilo of body weight for protein...
Ok.. now I have a plan.. I am using fitday.com to keep track of all of this.. seems to have a nice intereface and reporting.. it is all about customizing it to fit you.. Since I eat mostly the same stuff.. I can enter in the information from the packages into this, and have a much more accurate picture of what I am eating.. vs what I should be getting...
So I hope that by keeping better track of what I eat, it will keep me on the right track of eating better and avoiding empty foods.

Cabin - EOY 2005

Closed out another 'season' at the cabin... I guess it wasnt too much of a season.. opened it in early June, then was up twice in Sept, and this weekend.
Went up Sat morning.. rather than going to the cabin, we went to Deadmans Hill.. did the 3 mile hiking trail. Kids did great and made it around... Started to rain toward the end, but not too bad...
Went to the cabin, grilled some dinner.. I got some wood around and made a fire.. after dinner, got some more wood from the neighbor.. and we just relaxed in the eve.
Sunday was overcast.. putzed around the cabin in the morning, and headed to Charlevoix around noon. Went to Big Rock Point.. the reactor vessel is still up and looks mostly intact. They say the area will be returned to green space by Spring 2006.. I was surprised to see it was still there. Then went to sand dunes and had a ball. The dunes were SO cool.. standing in the bottom of a bowl with 50' cliff on one side and a small 6' lip on the other.. the Lake behind us... finally got up there and could see the Beaver Islands on the horizon.. you cant see them from shore.. when I climbed down I double checked to make sure it wasnt just the conditions.. but it wasnt.
Had a good trip home, and ended out the weekend with a fire in our new fire bowl in the back yard....

City Of Gold (55)

City Of Gold
By Len Deighton

I love Deighton.. this one is set in Cario in 1940's.. the British occupy this 'neutral' country, with Rommel marching toward the city.
The plot revolves around trying to find out who is leaking infomation to Rommel about Allied movements and strengths. This part of the book is accurate.. which is why I enjoy Deighton so much.. his fictional stories are set against a historically accurate background.
So I have been looking into the history behind this a bit.. I never understood the Afrika campaigns much... starting to put a few of the pieces together, with the help of my friend the 'war historian' - lol

Dr Burns (54)

Dr Burns Prescription for Happiness
George Burns

This was a quick book written in 1983 when Burns was 88 years old. I always enjoyed George Burns.. I thought his humor and stories were actually interesting unlike so many other enduring comedians of his time. This is a tongue in cheek book, heavy on the stories, that poke fun at "the author" as he likes to refer to himself.
I quick enjoyable book.

Update, and quotes

I have not been writing much, but then again there is not a lot happening. Got some things done around the yard this past weekend. Still having such nice weather! Went to the Water Carnival on Friday, along with the local HS football game, and the S150 parade on Saturday. On Sunday I went for a long walk... took the kids it was nice!
Color is not the best yet... it isnt that it is bad.. just not here.. most stuff still seems green.. Going to the cabin this weekend.. hoping to see some color.. but from what I read it is still not peaking there.. seems to be the best at the Soo right now.. but that is too much of a hike for me this weekend.

I found 2 great quotes last night in the Deighton book I am reading.
The first is from the Koran
"Don't complain that the rosebush has thorsn, rejoice that the thornbush bears roses"

The second is just from Deighton, but I think it more eloquently states something I have always believed...
It is better to voice the obvious frequently, then to face the consequences of things going wrong silently.

Final Warning (53)

Final Warning: The Legacy of Chernobyl
By: Dr Robert Gale
This was written by Dr Gale of UCLA who works with leukemia patients. When he heard about the accident in Chernobyl he offered his services, as treatment for radiation exposure and leukemia are similar (bone marrow transfusions).
So he is invited and is the first US Doctor invited to the USSR post WWII. Most of the book involves his work with his Soviet hosts.. he does get to visit Kiev and the plant itself. The book bogs down near the end when he (for no apparent reason, other than he can) goes off about the Isreal situation.. his wife is from Isreal... the last section of the book is him going off about nuclear safety and nuclear weapons.. except he is a medical doctor not a nuclear scientist.. so who cares.
The book isnt bad as a first had account.. but you have to glean information out of it.. he is most concerened with telling his story.. and later expounding on his own ideas.

Wolves Eat Dogs (52)

Wolves Eat Dogs (52)
by: Martin Cruz Smith

Mission accomplished. I have always wanted to read an average of a book a week.. I have never done it during a calendar year.. now I have finally reached that goal! And dit it in week 40 of 2005. I wonder how many I will actually get through... I have 12 more weeks. And I can't think of a better author to accomplish this goal with, then Martin Cruz Smith. I read his first Arkady Renko book, Gorky Park when it came out in 1982..
This was an excellent book! Arkady ends up in the Dead Zone around Chernobyl investgating a murder and sucide that seem related.. and related to radation. Smith gives vivid description of the Dead Zone (30km around the Chernobyl Plant) that prompted me to look up to see if it was accurate or just a fictional account. It was accurate. I have now been reading about Chernobyl.. and the accident...
At the end of this book.. there is a hint of hope for Arkady and the future... I wonder if there will be more books in this series? I hope so as long as they stay at the high standard that I have come to enjoy from Smith.

Weekend

It was a pleasant weekend weatherwise. Did not feel 100%, think I am coming down with a touch of a cold. Worked around the yard Sat morining getting a few things done I have been putting off. We decided to celebrate Mitchell's birthday on Saturday.. after a trip to the store and the library we ordered some pizza and watched the game. Gave him is big presents, a skateboard and a tents.. so he could play with them on Sat afternoon while the weather was nice. In the evening we had cake.. then set up the tent downstairs, so he could sleep in it that evening.
On Sunday I worked from 8.30 ~ 3.30.. a sureal day.. I was at 13.. outside.. but in the ramp.. the street is covered there where the ramp spans the street.. so you cant really see anything.. you have an idea of the weather from the temp.. but cant really see anything.
The day went quickly and I started and read a good deal of the last Arkady Renko book.. This once involves Chernobyl.. very interesting.. I love these books.. they are fiction, but set against the back drop of real life events..

Charity

I finished the final Benard Sampson book Charity on Thursday evening. This book moved along slowly.. Benard is in London.. having some odd throughts.. a lot of this book revolves around him and his children.. his relationship with Fiona, and Gloria.
Toward the end he gets back to Germany and he and Werner are working again.
He is still on the trail of Tessas death.. and starts to make some progress.. I wont give away the ending.. but Deighton does manage to wrap this up in a satifactory manner.. not a neat tightly little package.. but an ending none the less.. life is seldom tighty and neat.. but I was very pleased with the ending.. You hold some promise for the characters going forward.. and that is not always the case at the end of some of these books..

Deighton! (49) (50)

I started into the final Len Deigton trilogy of Bernard Sampson: Faith, Hope, Charity.
I finished Faith (49) on Saturday afternoon. I love this writer. The under current of the book revolves around the death of Tessa (Fi's sister) at the end of the last book. I had forgotten about this.. I actually had to go back and read the last chapter of Sinker to refresh my memory.. I figure it has been close to 13 years since I read that book. That helped a bit.. I love the complexity of these book.. although it is all about rumor and theory, so you are never quite sure what to believe. At the end of Faith, it is revealed by a defecting Russian that Tessa is still alive.
I stayed up until about 1 am last night finishing Hope (50). This book largely revolves around George, Tessa's husband. He is obsessed with finding out what happened to Tessa. Fi refuses to talk about it, but seems to side with George.. The father is also adament about finding out about the death. In the background is all the usual office politics. Bernard still has feelings for Gloria, although he wont talk about it.. but did reveal himself to Werner. Werner later tells him that he was Fi's case worker when she was in the East.. And tells him about the affair she was having (with one the of men Bernard killed that evening). The book ends with the hint that Bernard and Gloria will get back together.. and again the idea that Tessa is dead.
I certainly hope that Faith wraps up a few loose ends!

Weekend

Ended up heading North on Friday night. Arrived about 10.30, made a fire and relaxed. Wife was not feeling well at all.. coughing all the time.. Slept most of Saturday.
Saturday was a nice day, although not warm enough to swim. We went in town and grabbed a sandwich at Subway, and went to Young SP and had lunch on the beach. Then went and climbed the big hill in Boyne and looked at the lake. Not any color to speak of. Went out to dinner with K and wife. Got to hear about their upcoming move to Cali. Got an early start back on Sunday. Wife has been on the couch coughing ever since.. she is so misrable.
Went and had a massage yesterday, and felt better after it.. Today I am very sore.. I hope that is a good sign, and tomorrow I will feel better. Stayed up too late last night finishing my book... On to the next one!

Ramblings

Gas prices have finally fallen to pre-Katrina levels we are now at $2.58 ($2.62 before Katrina).. Of course this is just in time for Rita. This one looks nasty.. I see everyone is leaving Houston.. They have traffic cams etc on line.. It is errie to see nobody on the 610.. I have friends that live down there.. hope they get out to safety.
I have been to Gavelston.. I had relatives that landed their from Germany in 1851..
I guess this is the first time I can recall that a hurricane has stuck anywhere I have been before, or where I know people..
Personal life has been rough this week.. not getting along with A and that taxes me.. My back feels a bit better today.. still stiff, but I can stand up today.
Got message from K, they are moving to California.. not a big surprise.. Hope to get up this weekend to see them before they leave.

Havana Bay (48)

This is the 4th Renko book by Martin Cruz Smith. This one was set in Havana Cuba, and is a bit different than some of the others.. still a great book.. Arkady still has his sly wit.. when identifing the body of a KGB agent he knew, he is asked if they were friends. He replies.. In a manner of speaking.. he tried to kill me... it was a complicated realtionship. lol.
Another thing that I like about the Smith stories is that he does not fall into familiar patterns in his books.. the characters do different things.. but are still true to the character (if that makes sense). A great book.. another chapter in Arkady's life. I will wait a bit to read the 5th and latest book in the series... Could not find it at the library this past weekend.. so in the mean time I will start the final Sampson triology by Deighton. Have not read these books in over 10 years.. yet everything comes back to me as I started reading it last night :)

Laying on the couch.

A fairly quiet weekend. Wife was not feeling good so she did not work on Saturday, so she took daughter to cheerleading clinic. I stayed at the house for the Dish installer.. who arrived about 8.30 and worked for about 4 hours to install our new Dish system. Very similar to our old system, except this has a DVR to record shows, and we can have it installed in all 4 rooms, for about the same price. All in all I like it, and I think that I will really get some use out of DVR. I always say I don't watch TV, but the truth is I just get so frustrated with the commercials.. If I could record shows and skip over those, I would probably watch more...
In the afternoon I went out and looked at the Luke Swank exhibit.. that was interesting.. I particularly liked the 'My Town' pics that he took in Pittsburgh.. he really captured the raw, gitty and dirty steel town. Mitchell was not particularly interested in the pictures, which disapointed me a bit, but he did enjoy the gallery, and was very good while we were there. Another experience for him ;)
I seem to have hurt my back again.. I strained it a bit on labor day when rearranging Morgans room. Well on Saturday I did it again when moving a small stand while installing the new tv system.. I am very uncomfortable.. I dont think this is going to get better by itself.. would love to get a massage, that always seems to help me, but dont know where the money would come from.
I seem to feel best when laying down.. so I watched a lot of TV and movies this weekend.. Rented Fargo which I had never seen the entire movie.. also watched 1940's house about a modern British family who lives as if they were in war time Britian for 9 weeks. The sacrafices they made were amazing.. people talk about rationing here, but it was nothing like the conditions in Britian. Also watched a show on the Brooklyn Bridge, but was largely disappointed in it.. the book I read went into much better detail both on the construction of it, and the politics behind it.

Polar Star (47)

Last night I finished Polar Star by Martin Cruz Smith, this is the second in the series of Arkady Renko. I think I have figured out what I like about this character.. he always seems to be in a desperate situation.. so desperate that he has given up all hope.. so he just seems to be doing it for his own amusment.. when you have nothing left.. you dont care.. and he doesnt. It is hard to explain.. and yet it is very enjoyable... The plot is quite involved.. The basics are he is in exhile working on a fishing boat in the Bering sea and another crew member turns up dead.. so as a 'former' investegator he is pulled off the slime line to look into it.
Lots of twists and turns later.. and after meeting a thousand characters we have some resolution.
I kept notes on the characters this time.. and I realized it is like real life.. charaters come into scenes and sometimes they are important, sometimes not. If you walk into a room you meet people but you have to figure out who they are, remember names. That is how it is in this book.. you the reader have to keep track of everybody and figure out who they are and if they are important.. most books give you some background when you meet a character... no so here.. at first is was confusing.. but after I got the hang of it, it becomes fun...
I really enjoyed this book.. on to the next one!

I forgot my book (46)

As I mentioned earlier I forgot to take my book this weekend.. which really bummed me out.. because I do enjoy these Arkady Renko book and was looking forward to it.. So after some poking around at the cabin I found The Hapless Handyman's Home Repair and Weekend Project Guide by Sonny "Bubba" Ferguson. Which became my 46th book of the year. This is basically a comedy book with lots of Southern white trash stories thrown it (think Jeff Foxworthy). It was amusing.. although this guy talks about his father being a carpenter.. and some of the advice is actually sound.. but most of the book is about his stories and crazy friends... A good cabin book, and something quick to read on the weekend.

Weekend

I so very much wanted to have a good weekend.. and it was a struggle to. I was trying super hard not to let things bother me.. like when I realized I forgot my book that I was so looking forward to sitting on the beach and reading.. but that was ok, becuase it was cool and cloudy when we got there.. then it started raining. My wife was upset with a me (again) and that rounded out my birthday.
Actually the weather did clear up in the late afternoon and we went swimming.. had a fire in the fireplace and relaxed.. I found another book to read. Sunday was a beautiful day.. so we enjoyed some of that before heading back.
Overall the weekend had its ups and downs, but still enjoyable.
Suppose to be 90 today.. I guess summer is not over!

Red Square (45)

I finished Red Square by Martin Cruz Smith. This is the 3rd book of the Arkady Renko series (which started with Gorky Park). I missed the second book.. did realize this was the 3rd until I got into it..
I realized why I love these books, and why I dread them.. The story is good.. but it there are so many characters that pop up at odd times it is hard to keep them all straight (the Russian names dont help any either - lol). But it is also an excellent story.. I was completely hooked from about the time that Max walked into the party.. It was a well written, well crafted book.. I really did enjoy it.. the ending was a bit odd.. they solve the mystery.. but dont really tie up any ends.. so in that aspect it is just like real life :)
I really enjoyed the book! And look forward to the next few :)

Friday, at last

Ok.. I think I have most of the stuff done before my trip this weekend... Which is good because I have to work at 3:30 today, and wont have any additional time to do anything.
Got the oil changed yesterday... that was the big thing.. filled up... I grabbed my plates this morning.. it was so quick it was almost pleasant.. in and out so fast I didnt have to pay for parking!
Finished my Arkady Renko book last night and started the next one.. I am taking notes this time.. so I can keep track of all the characters.
Lets see.. my personal life.. more bad news about my mother, and my wife isnt talking to me.. so pretty much normal there.. It will be nice to go away for a day.. I just hope that I can actually relax! I am going to try real hard!!

You won't need dentures

I saw the dentist on Tuesday.. just a routine cleaning.. the dentist actually did it.. He is looking over my teeth, telling me they are in good shape.. good bone structure.. then he says.. well you will never need dentures. Which I guess is a good thing.. but sorta odd too... I mean I didnt ask about dentures... I dont have any dental problems that would make me think about dentures.. christ I am only 38.. well I'll be 39 on Saturday.. maybe that is why I noticed the comment a bit more? And notice the grey hairs that are mixed in my dark hair. I guess I always reflect on my birthdays.. they dont really bother me.. I want them to keep coming! Having birthdays is good.. it is when they stop that you have a problem!
So I am off to the cabin on Saturday morning with the kids... Not terribly excited about it, but still it will be nice to get away. I am going to make a concious effort to relax.. not to putter around.. but force myself to lay on the beach and do as little as possible!
I've been getting up at 6am the past 2 days and exercising in the morning. As much as I hate to get up, I must say it works out better. It gives me some time in the morning to get a few things done... and with working until 10 or 11 each night it is about the only time I do have.

Labor Day Weekend

Had an ok weekend.. nothing too outrageous (good or bad).
Gas has stayed steady at $2.99. On Saturday I sat in the backyard and read before going to PB for lunch. Was going to watch the game when we got home, but could not find it so I took a nap before work. Watched Strange Brew this weekend.. bought the movie forever ago.. had never watched it.
Took my son to the Lugnuts game on Sunday.. that was fun, he enjoyed it.. and another nice day to sit outside! Also picked up a pair of running shoes on Sunday.. probably should not have spent the money, but for $40 I figured it was worth it.. my other ones were shot.
Did not feel the best on Monday.. stomach was upset.. may have been from all the food I ate on Sunday? lol.. spent a majority of the day cleaning the kids rooms.. Grilled some steaks for dinner and finished out the holiday.
Back to work today.. and work tonight.. but I have the weekend off :)

Gas Prices Fall!

I waited it out! I needed gas today, but was lazy and didnt get any. Although being out at noon and seeing the prices holding at $3.39 and not going up (as they had every other day) as a good sign.
When I left for work at 3pm I should have stopped (low fuel light was on) but I didnt have time.. When I went by Speedway.. the had dropped their price to $2.99!! The place was packed at that time, but I stopped on the way home and got some (but did not fill up per the President :) Got 5 gallons for $16 and that brought me up to half a tank.
As I went into pay I heard some people talking..
"Hey $2.99 thats not bad.... I guess"
I think that sums it up.
Who would have thought last week at this time that we would be happy to pay $2.99/gal.
The threat isnt gone but I think some sanity has prevailed!

Shock Waves (44)

I finished Shock Waves by Clive Cussler this evening.. I have not read a Cussler book for a while.. he writes well, and the stories are good.. but my main fault is that the hero Dirk Pitt is a James Bonn like character.. escaping from impossible problems, and recovering from injuries that will kill a lesser man.. not just once but over and over and over again.. it becomes a bit old after a while..
I think that the Author believes he is Dirk Pitt superhero.. At least it seems like it from the dusk jacket. There was one nice twist in the book.. Dirk is helped out by an Engineer. We dont know his name... and as they leave he gives him a note.. which is singed C Cussler. I thought it was real obvious, but I wonder how many readers missed it?
I also like the way all measurments are in metric.. however this book (written in 1996, but set in 2000) still refers to French Francs.. guess he research missed the coming of the EU and the Euro? At that point even the records were in Euros.. which is what is mentioned in the book.
But none the less it was an enjoyable book! And after a break I may read some more of them.. I have a few other Cussler books in my library.

Working for a living

I got through my 15 hour day yesterday. Worked at the Komm then did a double with the City.. left home a bit after 7am and got home a bit before 11 pm.. Got to pay the bills.... Christ.. Got to afford gas.. Gas was $2.69 on Tuesday, $2.99 that evening, $3.19 yesterday and now is $3.39.. That is a bit much.. but what are you going to do?
Thinking about going to the Lugnuts game this weekend with my son.. that should be fun.. Saturday wf is working football in morning and I am working basball in evening.. in between I think we will meet at the PB for some lunch and watch part of the game.
Also trying to sell some stuff on Amazon.com.. we will see if I get any hits.. and also think I will sell my V220 phone.. dont really like it that much and I will try to recoup some of the losses on it.

Booth 22

Last night was prehaps the busiest night I have ever worked in the ramps. I was at 22 which is usually dead.. when I come in at 6:30 there are usually 15 ~ 20 cars.. Last night there were over 100, and more coming in all the time. LCC is back in school and everybody is coming to class and trying to figure out parking.. so nobody had any idea with to do.. I explained how to use Star Cards to umpteen people.. even though those are issused through LCC and not the City. It was amusing.. these people were also largely surprised by the prices ($0.90 per 1/2 hour) and were digging through their change to pay me.. several had large boxes of change and were paying me entirely in coin.. it was amusing.. saw a bit of everthing.. wrote more fee invoices in one night than I have in the past 3 months combined.. over all it was sorta fun.. I like it when it is busy.. and unlike Cooley these people actually pay for parking, so the transaction takes longer. I am sure the traffic will die down in a week or two.. as people figure out other parking options, other lots, learn how to use a Star Card (prepaid parking card) oh.. and stop coming to class - lol
More fun tonight... only down side is I only read about 40 pages in my book.. still have about 400 to go - lol

Leonard & Sanders

I finished Stick (42) by Elmore Leonard this weekend. I realized after I got into this book that I had read it before.. but that is ok.. I didnt remember much of it.. but it did have one of my very favorite lines in it. When the butler is taking to the new driver (both ex-cons) about the wealthy man they work about he says "What the man likes is to rub against danger without getting any on him" Cornell said. "Makes him feel like the macho man. You know what I'm saying?"
This book was cool because the character Stick is from Swag. This picks up with Stick after he gets out of Jackson prison and moves to FLA to see his daughter. Leonards books are mostly about the characters.. but I have noticed that the woman often is the downfall of the characters plans. In Swag they get busted when the girlfriend changes her mind and takes off leaving the money for them.. if she had followed plans they would not have been caught. In this book Stick runs a scam and nets $72,500. After he quits his job he reads the summons left for him.. his ex-wife is suing for back childsupport $10,000 per year.. for the 7 years he was in prison.
I also read The Dream Lover by Lawrence Sanders (43). This was a bit different for him.. it was set in the 1920's pre drepression Hollywood... And follows a man who has lost his wife (sucide) and his having troubles coping.. along with all the problems of work world. Parts of the studio want to go to sound.. he is against it.. they studio is waiting to hear on their bank loan.. In the mean time he meets a new starlite and falls for her.. only he doesn know she is 15.. it is a set up from his co-worker who wants to change the studio and have sound.. he is in with the bankers and others that want to take over.. the ending is a bit confusing and does not tie up many lose ends.. but an enjoyable book.
I am on to a Cussler book.. 500+ pages.. a hard cover.. working in the booths this week I figured that would be good :)

Weekend wrap-up

Ok, so it appears that my mother is in much worse health than she has been telling me.. I can't seem to talk to her because she is too deaf to hear the phone ring.. This also produces more stress between my wife and I.. as if we need any additional stress.
On the good side.. it was a nice weekend.. worked baseball both days... did lots of reading and enjoyed the nice weather.. After 8 days without we can finally get back into our driveway.. seems that they did a nice job on it. The kids are enjoying the sidewalk and were riding their bikes on it.. Although yesterday they failed to follow the rules as to how far they could go on the sidewalk.. and ended up in big trouble.
When I was at work yesterday Amy set up the screen porch in the backyard (I had mowed the lawn before I left for work).. So I sat out there in the afteroon and dozed in the chair while enjoying the sun.. later in the evening I read out there for a while.. Back in the booths this week.. that will be something different.. I think I have only been in a booth 1 night since I returned from my vacation in early Aug.
Hurricane hitting LA this morning... looks like it will be a big one!

Another Wed.

So today is the first day of Second grade for my son. He was very excited about it.. actually he has been excited about going back to school for several weeks!
Talked to my mother this morning, and she called me back later to tell me that the Dr was putting her in the hospital.. she lost more weight and it is taking a toll on her.
I seem lost this week.. not working until Thursday and it is odd to have the evenings free.. Straighten up the family room last night and got some stuff put away.. I think that might be a nice place for me to read in the evenings. Have not read much this week.. that will change when I go back to work. Weather continues to be fall like although a bit warmer and sunny today.. students are starting to come back to MSU so EL is busy.

Private Pleasures (41)

Private Pleasures, by Larence Sanders. Each chapter of this book was written from a different characters view point.. so it was sort of cool, sometimes you would see the same event but through the eyes of different people involved.. Many of these peoples paths crossed.. some of them firgured it out.. others did not.

I realized the book I missed was The Loves Of Harry Dancer, also by Lawrence Sanders.. this was a frustrating book about a widower who had 2 women after him.. each woman worked for an orginazation that was trying to recruity Harry.. the story reloves around there groups and the 2 groups trying to outwit the other.. but we never learn what the groups are or why they want him.. In the end both groups (predicatbly) fail and Harry ends up committing suicide (to rejoing his lost wife).
Could have been a good book with just a bit more information... you keep waiting and waiting to find out what is going on.. but never do.

Ft Custer

More camping this weekend.. going to Ft Custer in Battle Creek.. which happens to be where I lived when I was little.. so I would like to drive by my old house and elementary school... but am already getting problems about that.
I hope this campground works out, as it is only about a hour from home.
I have been mentally tired lately.. I get home from work in the evening and just want to go to bed.. not really that tired.. just dont want to do anything. What I am doing is reading books like crazy :) So at least that makes me happy!

The Pleasures of Helen (40)

Ripped through another book. The Pleasures of Helen by Lawrence
Sanders. This was written in 1971 and is sort of like a Sex & The City
of the early 70's.. Single woman in mid 30's, good job works in NY. Has
several lovers. But there are problems with all of them.. Her best
friend gets married, another friend commits sucide.. Just a snapshot in
the life... Not a bad book.. somewhat amusing to look back.. everybody
is smoking a drinking all the time.. although those are always big
points with Sanders books.
Also realized I am off my a book here.. will have to try to figure that
out...

Gold Coast (38)

Gold Coast by Elmore Leonard. Another excellent Leonard book.. this one set in Fla, but with Michigan ties. This book introduces Roland Corwe.. he is mentioned in Maximum Bob as his brother is the main character there.. Nice to see the history behind that story.
Went to the library book sale on Saturday and got a bag full of books.. guess I am back on the fiction - lol. Got a nice assortment of Sanders, Deighton, Cussler and Leonard.. I am set for a while!
Not bad I am 1/2 way through my 39th book in the beginning of week 33.. I work a lot this week.. we will see if I can make some more progress!

Manistique Lighthouse 

Limestone cliffs jutting into Lake Michigan at Fayette 

Sunset on Indian Lake 

Our campsite, right on Indian Lake 

UP - Part II

On Saturday we got up and broke camp at Brimley and hit the road about 10:30, Amy got a late start and was leaving Lansing at about the same time.
We stopped at Kaks lake and did a geocache and had lunch... this was just a boat launch site without picnic tables.. should have gone a bit further and there was a roadside park. Stopped at Seney wildlife refuge.. was not all that impressed with it.. there was a 1.5 mile walking trail around a marsh area.. nice area, but didnt seen anything too impressived.. the kids enjoyed it so that is good. Nice visitors center with things the kids could touch and interact with. There is also a 7 mile driving trial, will have to do that some time.
Continued on to Indian Lake and arrived about 2:30 got the tent set up. Nice spot we were RIGHT on the lake! Amy and the dog arrived about 2 hours later.. just relaxed in the evening, had some dinner and a campfire.
The next day Amy left around 11 to start the 6 hour trip home. The kids and I went to Big Spring, and checked it out.. very cool.. 45' deep artisian spring that pumps 10,000 gallons of water a minute into Indian Lake. The water is so clear you can see straight to the bottom, and you could see a couple of large trout swimming about.
Then we went to town and visited the lighthouse (another geocache).
On Monday we visited Fayette, a restored iron smelting town from 1890. Very cool the amount of restoration they have done there, and also a pretty site right on the lake. Also took a detour to a State Forest Campground, took forever to get ther, but very pretty, right on Lake Michigan.
On Tuesday we broke camp and started the long journey home arriving about 5 pm. It all we traveled 986 miles, over 7 days in the UP. A really fun experience.. and one I want to do again!

Lake Superior after sunset. Looking north with Gros Cap lighthouse in middle of the picture 

Monocle Lake, part of the Hiawatha National Forest, west of Brimley, MI 

Crystal Falls, north of Sault Ontairo Canada 

A week in the UP

On 8/3/05 at about 9:30am we left for our week long camping adventure in the UP.
I had hoped to be to the Straits by lunch.. but was only to Gaylord, so we stopped at Otsego State Park and had lunch by the lake. On the way I realized that I had not packed the mustard and ketchup (again) so I drove on to Gaylord and picked them up. So it was a lesiurly trip to Brimly, we go there a bit after 2. When I got off I-75 I noticed the sign at a bank 90 degrees out... geeze thought it was suppose to be cooler up there... got the tent set up and went swimming.. Lake Superior never felt better.. got some food and looked around.. decided as hot as it was we didnt need a fire we would just go swimming again and get to bed early.
The thunder woke me up about 3 am.. a gentle rain.. the story got closer and louder and the rain got harder, and harder and HARDER. At least the tent didnt leak, but the chairs and stuff outside was soaked.
Still gray and soggy outside the next morning after some debate decided we would still go to Canada. Went north of town to the Crystal Falls.. wow.. this was SO cool.. it is about a 50' deep gorge. We walked along it for about a mile or so.. Hard to get pics of because it is narrow and lots of trees.. it is hard to see all of it, but still very cool.
When back and had lunch then it started to rain and we headed west of town, toward the airport and Gros Cap. It was cool to see the Gros Cap light ( and Point Iroquois) from the Candian side.
Headed back to the campground after that.. the wind was up, but still nice out.. gray and overcast but fairly warm.. went down to the water and there were 2'-4' waves.. the kids had a ball playing in them with the inflatable boat!
On Friday we stayed closer to camp.. went to Hiawatha National forest and checked out the campgound at Monocle lake.. stopped by the lighthouse and relaxed on the beach.
This was our final night in Brimley.. the next day we would move camp to the Lake Michigan side of Upper Mich.

Books, books, books

Lets get caught up on the reading list....
Swag (35) by Elmore Leonard, I love the Leonard books.. this was about 2 guys that go 'into businesses' robbing places.. they have 10 rules for sucess.. and their undoing is when they stop following them.
It is set in Detroit... part of the plot involves robbing Hudsons.. but the part that really got me was when the stole a car from the 'Sheraton Cadillac Hotel' which is the Book Cadillac.. book written in mid 70's.. the hotel was still in operation.. now it is sitting empty with people fighting to save it and to tear it down.
Westworld (36) Michael Crichton. I did not realize until I started this book that it was actually a screen play for a movie. Not a bad story, but a bit light... I like Crichton, I read the Terminal Man when I was in HS after seeing a bit of it featured in my Psy textbook.. and Andromdia Strain is a great movie...
Maximum Bob (37) Elmore Leonard. Another great Leonard book.. the emphasis is always on the characters... this has a bit of a twist to the end.
I am currently working on another Leonard book.. I guess I am on a fiction binge again.. but it is nice to read a fiction paperback while sitting in the sun.. isnt that what summer is all about? :)

Camping Fever

We can not seem to get enough of camping. Amy enjoyed our weekend inspite of the rain. So we decided we need a bigger tent.. Yesterday we went out and got the "Alpine Lodge" by Swiss Gear.. the name just kills me :) But it is a large tent with a built in screen porch.. so that should give us more room when we are in the woods.
So you can't buy a new tent and not go camping... so we are off to Sleeper State Park in the thumb.. randomly selected because they had openings.. but it looks interesting.. right on Saginaw bay near Lake Huron.. there are some things of interest in the area.. including several light houses... we will see if I actually make it to them.
Then the following week is our vacation.. on Wed we leave for a week in the UP. 3 days at Brimley, then 4 days at Indian Lake.. with lots of side trips of interest.. should have a ton of pictures when I get back!

Mackinac Bridge early Sunday morning in the rain. Taken from St Ignace on the Huron side. 

July is flying by

July is flying by and I have not been posting.. A summary... my wifes surgery went well and she is recovering, in fact she started back to work today 1/2 time. Common Ground went better than expected, as each day got easier.. and I am looking forward to that paycheck today. The month has been hot and fairly slow.... so this weekend my wife thought we should go camping.. This surprised me to no end, because I didnt think she would want to, or be up to it yet.. but as she pointed out, she does not really have to do anything.. so I made a reservation at Straits park in St Ignace and Saturday morning we went up there.. camped in a nice spot by some cedar trees right near the water.. so the camp established and went to the beach.. it was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed being out in the sun! Got cloudly later and tried to sprinkle but over all was a nice day and evening..
I really do enjoy camping and as I lay down to sleep could not help but smile as I felt the breeze coming in the tent window above my head. My wife woke me up at some point that night and pointed out it was raining.. yep I could hear it and went back to sleep. In the morning.. must have been somewhere around 6 it was raining steady with lots of thunder and lightening.. still enjoyable.. as I felt the mist from the rain on my face.. The rain stopped around 9 and the day cleared up a bit.. got home to HOT weather mid 90's and really bad humidity..guess they had bad storms here.. some flooding and lots of trees down.. at least we did not have that!
Talking about going to Taquhamenon Falls and camping for Labor Day.. also talking about getting a yearly pass to the Mackinac Parks for next year for $59 we can go to any of the parks for the whole season.. that sounds cool!
I am really enjoying camping... looking forward to my trip to the UP that will be coming up soon! Leaving Aug 3... and I know Aug is going to go just as fast as this month.. the good news is Mitchell we soon be back in school and the childcare fees will go down!

Books 33 & 34

Freemasons - Inside the Worlds Oldest Secret Society, by J Paul Jeffers (33). I have an interest in Masonry, and thought this book might tell me more... It was heavy on the history of Masonry, and details of famous people who were in it (Geo Washington, Mozart etc.) but in the end told me very little about what it is...
I am also reading a book about lumberjacks written in 1976 by a man who was in the lumbering industy in 19-teens.. I am having problems getting through it.. it is very place specific (Camp 33 was where the gravel pit is now) and heavy on the remininsing (when I run into George he still talks about the night we got caught in the snow storm) It is somewhat interesting.. it just isn't well organzied.. It is sort of like sitting about with an older person and listening to stories.. none of them particulary interesting.. and the whole thing isnt really going anywhere.
So I decided I needed a quick fiction book to get me going, so I read Tales of the Wolf (34) by one of my favorite authors Lawrence Sanders. This was like a collection of short stories about Lanihan an investigator for an Insurance firm.. I later read that these were some of Sanders earliest works which had been published as short stories in Swank magazine in the '68 & '69. Sort of amusing.. lots of drinking.. every case has a good looking woman who he ends us with.. but enjoyable stories as well.
My goal is to read a good a week... and it looks like I am ahead of schedule as we begin the 30th week of the year and I am reading my 35 book. A small cushion.. I just need to keep reading!

Brooklyn Bridge (32)

I finished A Picture History of the Brooklyn Bridge by Mary J. Shapiro. It was interesting.. many of the construction techniques are the same as the Mackinac Bridge. I was surprised that when they completed the cat walks for the cable spinning.. that they opened them to the public.. something that would never happen in this day and age. The final picture of the book was from 1983 aprox 100 years after it opened.. It was taken from Brooklyn looking toward Manhattan.. and there very prominately on the skyline is the World Trade Center.

Common Ground

I made it through day 1 of Common Ground. Not nearly as busy as I expected it to be.. Got done around 9, which was also nice, as I expected to be there until after 10. Lots of upset students who did not want to pay for parking, sigh.. The City is not good at customer service.. so I got the brunt of it.. This is going to be a long week.. but the upside is that I will have a lot of hours this week which will help the bank account. The down side is 14 hour days and not getting anything else done. But things went well at the house last night.. everybody is feeling better so that is a plus. We will see how the rest of the week goes. I am thinking there will be problems at some point.. but prehaps I am too pessimestic.. and things will so smoothly.
I am still not feeling 100% and am not looking forward to work as I usually do. I am hoping tonigh has less problems and that will give me a better outlook for the rest of the week!

Back to hetic

It has been a wild couple of weeks. The week following the UP camping trip was very short with my wifes surgery. The end of week and weekend went quickly and the next week just slipped away. The surgery went fine.. although the following week she started running a temp. Everything seems find from the surgery and it appears to just be an unrelated bug. It seem that everybody in the family has gotten it, including me... in the midst of this I was SO tired all I wanted to do was sleep.
I feel better but not great.. this week is Common Ground so I will be working late all week, which is good from a $ standpoint, but I know it will be a long and trying week.

Mackinac Books

Bridging The Straits (30)
By Lawrence A Rubin
Written by the Secretary to the Board of the Mackinac Bridge Authority. Lots of background on the financing of the bridge and the politics. It was the bridge that nobody wanted.. they had a lot of problems selling the bonds that will finance the bridge... very little on the actual construction of the bridge.

Mighty Mac (31)
By Lawrence A Rubin
This is largely a photo book about the actual construction of the bridge.. a very cool book with great photos and decent explainations of how the bridge was put together.. it starts to fill in the gaps on how it all came together. Includes a forward that talks about the history of the Straits going back to the Indian wars of the 1600's and the French, British and American occupation of the area.

UP Travlelog

Left about 8 am on Friday morning.. first stop was Meijer for some Aloe Vera to slather on already crispy children. Weather reports are calling for 95 today.. glad to be heading north!
Arrive in Mackinaw City about noon, get some sandwiches and go to the park by the lighthouse.. after a quick lunch we headed into the UP. High winds in the Straits.. they had Bridge Authority people at the entrance in Mackinaw and they were making trucks, trailers etc park to the side and be escorted across... First time I had seen that.
Got to the UP and stopped and did 2 geocaches at a rest area south of the Soo. Arrived in the Soo about 2 and toured the locks. It was engineers day, the one day of the year that you can go out onto the lock and see the admin building. The building is beautiful, all marble and tile.. built in 1879... did not realize it was that old. Unfortnately no freighters going through while we were there.. but got to walk across the Mac & Poe locks. Started to rain before we left.. not hard.. just sprinkled for a bit. Headed toward the campsite, and stopped to get some juice which I had forgot to pack.
Arrived at the camp site and got checked in, got the tent set up and our stuff unpacked... walked down to the beach and was stunned at how beautiful it was.. sandy beach and shore.. just spectactular! And a freighter going by too :)
Had dinner, got some wood, then went swiming.. the water was so warm.. could not believe it was Superior!
Campfire was a bit of a disappointment.. had trouble getting it to go.. but good enough for some marshmallows! Off to sleep looking out the tent window at the trees.
Saturday
After a breakfast we headed back into town.. Today there were boats in the locks! One was leaving as we arrived and we saw the OG: Reserve lock through (up bound). There was an indian demostration at the lower park. MM especially enjoyed this.. I was amazed at how many of the indians there were from St Ignace (and the rest from Brimley). No more freighters due in for a while and noon time approaching we left.. but ran out to the Ashmun boat launch on a hunch.. Sure enough the Gott was coming into the canal heading toward the Locks. Very impressive to see the 1000' boat go by so closely. After that we hit Subway and grabbed some sandwiches. Returning to the campsite we had lunch, then laid down for a while. After a nap we went swimming agin.. still can not believe how warm it is.
Off to do some geocaching.. headed toward Bay Mills which is an Indian reservation.. surprised at how strong the Tribes presences is here.. sort of like a different country. Very cool to see! We did a geo cache which ended up being down a snowmobile trail.. which this time of year is called a Cedar swamp. It was pretty to see.. but also wet, mucky and full of bugs that were attracted to my bald head! Found 1 of the 2 caches on this trail and also found some kindling for the fire tonight. Moving on we stopped at a statue to pay tribute to the Indian vets. Could not find the micro cache here.. but did look through the Old Indian Burial ground (1841) across the street. Rather than head stones there are small wooded boxes over the grave sites.. almost like caskets. I noticed they are all facing the same direction and have a small hole in the gable edge.. there must be a story here.. I will have to find it.. obviously has something to do with their beliefs and traditions.
Move further we went to the Pt Iroquois lighthouse.. we climbed the 72 steps to the top for an incredible view. We could also see people setting up for a wedding on the lawn. Came down and walked along the board walk by the lake. Found a geodetic marker here also.. an unexpected bonus!
Returning to the campsite we had dinner, then went swimming again. This time we saw 3 freighters going by. Coming back we had a campfire which went much better this time! Enjoyed being outdoors and the beautiful area.
Sunday
Slept in on Sunday until almost 10! Had breakfast and went swimming got back and had lunch.. by not it was nearly 1. The kids played at the playground while I packed up the tent and loaded the car.
Left the campground at 2:20 and headed south. Stopped at the Father Marquette memorial in St Ignace to do our last Geocache and take some pics of a freighter passing under the bridge.
Returning the the lower Peninusla we made our way home stopping to pick up a pizza in Mt. Pleasant and got home about 7:30

A Sailors Logbook (29)

I finished A Sailor's Logbook: A Season Aboard Great Lakes Freighters by Mark L Thompson last night. Not a bad book.. it was truly a log book, no attempt at background or plot. Picked up some interesting things about life on a ship. The person should interesting, although we only pick up bits and pieces of his life as we go along. This follows a Steward through the 1996 season on the Great Lakes. Enjoyed the parts where he visits the power plant near our cottage to drop coal.. hmm.. wonder if I was around those times to see them go by?? Definately a book for the hard core person who is interested in this!

Mackinac Bridge as seen from Straits State park in St. Ignace (Lake Huron side of bridge). 

St Ignace.

Its been a tough week.. starting last week just been having some problems.. Does not seem to be an end in sight. On the highlight we went to St Ignace last weekend and camped. This was a great experience and it turned out to be a wonderful day! The park was cool and right next to the bridge. Went swimming in Lake Huron.. a tad bit cold, but considering it was June, I would say it was warm. Would like to try to do Northern UP this weekend.. not sure if that will work or not.. time will tell. A few obstacles to overcome before that falls into place.
Hopefully the rain will hold out today.. I need to get the lawn cut.. it is out of control.

Life...

Ok, going to St Ignace tomorrow. I have rented a mini cabin at the Straits State Campground. I will leave in the morning with the kids.. should be fun.. not quite sure what to expect with all of this.. and weather is not looking as good as it was earlier in the week? Either way it will be a new adventure and I think we can have some fun.
Wife is very upset with me this week, and not entirely sure why... That bothers me more than I would like to. Not quite sure what to do with that.. ignoring it really wont make anything better..
Got a cc yesterday.. so I dont feel quite so much as a financial loser now.. the extra job has really helped out with my finances.. I am in a much better place than I was last year, so that is an improvement.. 2 more years and I should be in much better shape.. this is the 5 year plan.. got fuzzy in the middle for a while, but I am back on track now!

Books

The Dilbert Future (27)
What can I can say about Scott Adams.. he has this amazing way to capture what it is like to work in an office.
Know Your Ships (28)
I Flipped though this one quickly, it is a guide book about ships on the Great Lakes, but also includes many Ferry boats (including the one I worked on), work boats, as well as Salties that you may see here.
It had some interesting articles.. I wasnt impressed with the actual data, it seemed hard to find things.. I think Boat Nerd is better, it has all the same information, plus pictures.
It was intersting, and I did learn a few things, so it was not a waste of time.

Half way

Made it through half of this week.. and it is going fast. Trying to figure out what to do this weekend. Wife is mad at me and does not want to go camping, or probably anything else with me. I checked on the local State Park and I have to buy 2 nights stay (not just Sat). But in the UP I can do 1 night... so I am toying with the idea of getting a cabin at the State Park in St Ignace.. might be kinda fun.. and will be easier if I am alone with the kids.
I work the next 3 nights... glad to have more hours again.. the union finally caught up with me and took a chunk out of my paycheck.. now I will await the benefits - lol
Cooler today.. a nice change.

The cabin

The weekend was great! Left about 7:30am on Saturday and arrived around 11. It was already hot there, the kids played on the beach while I got things put away in the cabin and cleaned up. The cabin made it through the winter in good shape. We had rain in the afternoon, but it cleared up later. Keith and Ursula came out and we hung out on the beach, and BBQ later.
On Sunday it was overcast and not quite as hot. We drove to Charlevoix, but went around the lake first.. Tried a geo-cache but could not find it.. we then went north on US31 and stopped at a few road side parks on Lake Michigan. Had a good view of Big Rock which CE is decommisioning Then had lunch and tried another geocach.. this led us to a beautiful view of the Lake from the top of a sand dune.. After some looking finally found the geocach deep in a cedar forest.. which was also *very* cool. We played on the dunes and in the water for a while, although it was quite rocky.. went to the public beach by the lighthouse and went swimming.. by this time it is about 4.. headed to the cabin picked up, and packed. Went swimming again then got dressed and hit the road... grabbed a pizza on the way home and we arrived in Lansing about 9 pm.. a full but enjoyable weekend

I Married A Logger (26)

On Friday I finished I Married A Logger by Julie Anderson. An interesting book.. the woman was a young school teacher in the UP and met and married a man who had a lumber business. She lives with him at the camps and gets to view the camps from the outside. An interesting view point as she is not familiar with everything. Also this takes place in the 30's & 40's so the techniques are different.. they have trucks, and toward the end they even have chain saws.
Not the best book I have read about logging, but worthwhile none the less.

Here is the view of the Capitol 2 blocks away when I am working Booth 6. In the foreground is the new Townsend Ramp, part of the Capital View complex 

Moving quickly

been a busy week... Lots to get done.. clean the house up for Amy's get together. Which led to cleaning out a lot of stuff we dont need. I sure like Freecycle I was able to get rid of a bunch of the kids stuff quickly.. you can walk through the breezeway it is amazing :)
I work M-W-F so that just leave T-TH to do everything. The plan is to leave early Saturday morning probably between 6-8 am. That way we can get up there before noon and enjoy the *whole* day. Lots to do there too... cleaning, getting things unpacked from the winter, but mostly just enjoying ourselves!! Want to do some geocaching.. I still have this TB from St Ignace.. would like to drop that in Lansing and grab another to take up north. It is suppose to be warm this weekend so that is good news.
Mood B-
Morning Music - Megadeth & Billy Squier (as if those go together)

Children taveling alone

This made me laugh.. maybe it is the lack of diet Coke today...
From and article at CNN about kids flying alone.

She has also devised a four-part test for parents to determine whether a child is "travel-worthy," or ready to travel alone.

The child must be able to follow instructions quickly, without argument; control impulse behavior; cope with minor inconveniences; and be trained to not wander away.

These same 4 questions could be applied to all sorts of things...
Job interview, dates, etc.... think of the possibilities

New week

Saturday the GM plant was cool... hard to describe.. very clean.. amazingly complex... how they route the cars through the line.. they were not producing when we were there, would love to see the line in operation. Yesterday it was HOT got the pool up for the kids.. they got into it cold water and all. Also started cleaning the breezeway a bit and got rid of all the stuff on Freecycle this morning.
Work M-W-F this week.. glad to be getting some more hours again. Heading to the cabin on Saturday and already looking forward to that!
My goal for this week is to get the downstairs clean up a bit, and get rid of some things via free cycle.. so far I am off to a good start!

Incredible Seney (25)

My reading has been *way* down.. mostly becuase I have not been working much and that is where I do most of my reading.. I was surprised to see that it has been nearly a month since I finished a book.
I read Out Of A Wilderness which is a book my mother-in-law gave me. It is a history of Lansing written in the early 80's. It was actually quite an interesting book, starting with when the area was surveyed and the early days. It also covered some of the development of the University. The end of the book looked at notable businesses in Lansing. This was interesing now to look back 25 years later.. many are gone now.

Last night I finished Incredible Seney by Lewis Charles Riemann, I have read another book by him also. This book was from the State Library and had been signed by the author. A good look at life and stories of the times in Seney when it was at its peak as a hell raisng lumber town. I believe the book was written in the early 50's.. in the end of the book it talks about the author accompanying an old timer to a cemetery where he pointed out fallen friends and talked of the old days. Interesting to see this direct link in history.. talking to people who were actually there to witness events. I love reading stuff like that. I have a few more 'Lumberjack' book I want to read.. then I may read some more about Henry Ford.. and possibly a few other topics that interest me :)

Quick Week

The week is going quickly.. and we have had very nice weather.. sunny and in the 70's. Worked last night which was a pleasant change.. and I have more hours next week which is very welcomed.
One Tue took the kids to a park and sat and read for a while.. really nice day.
Looking forward to going to the Cabin next weekend.
Suppose to be nice this weekend.. hoping to do a few things.. Tourist in your own town is this week.. and you can walk through the GM Grand River plant.. so I am not going to pass up that opportunity!
Tonight Mitchell has a soccer game and maybe I can get a few things done around the house :)

L-o-n-g weekend

It was a l-o-n-g weekend.. and I think that is good.. did a lot of different things and most of them were good... a recap...
Friday went out to dinner at Bonnie's.. food was ok.. had an Oberon with a double cheesburger. Afterwards Amy took the kids to a movie and I went to ride my bike. I started at the powerplant and went West toward downtown.. rode to Tuner/Dodge house and then headed back.. I decided to keep going East and was going to go to the bridge at the Zoo.. well I kept going and before I knew it I was almost to EL.. so I rode to K'zoo street by campus before turning around.. I covered 13 mile by the time I got back.. and my ass was sore - lol.
Sat morning went to Dons for breakfast..went to the parade aferward then home to relax.. decided I would visit my mother for the day, and I would only take Morgan.. that way each kid got some alone time with a parent. Went to the Log Jam for dinner before going and had an Amber Bock with a club sandwich Trip to my moms was not the best.. she fell while I was there, and I am upset about that.
Got home on Sunday and we went to Old Chicago Pizza and caught the end of the Indy 500 and had a Blue Moon with a great thin crust pizza. That evening we were going to Green Door to see a woman Amy works with sing.. but they were the first act and we missed it... so we went to 621 instead.. I always say my wife knows everybody.. she mentioned that she went to school with the guy who owns it now.. and sure enough he was there and they chatted for a while. In the night Amy went to the casio and of course she won - lol
On Monday I got up and cut the lawn, then we packed up and headed for The Henry Ford.. we bought a Family membership, so we can go back anytime in the next year for free :) They have some really cool stuff there. On the way back we stopped at Big Boy for dinner.. the first day without a beer - lol
Now the holiday is over and back to reality!

A quiet week

It has been a quiet week. Only worked for 90 minutes on Monday, Wed shift was cancelled and I will be surprised if I have to work my scheduled shift tonight. Everybody is getting a jump on the holiday and leaving early... unfortunately my boss hasnt checked out.. he is busy working on spreadsheets.
It has been a nice week weather-wise. Got outside with the kids a lot this week. Took them out to the River Trail to ride bikes/scooters.. that ended poorly with Mitch going face first off the scooter. Did it last night with the larger bike which worked better for both kids. Tue we went geocaching at MSU. My first multiple stage cache. We went to 4 locations to get clues used to caculate the final coordinated of the cache.. which was hidden in the woods behind my old dorm. They had fun and it was a beautiful night to be out walking around campus.
The holiday weekend has caught me by surprise.. no real plans, do not want to travel north on any of the holiday weekend this year.. too much traffic, too much construction.. too much hassle for what you get out of it. I do plan on going to the cabin in a few weeks with the kids.. that will be nice, and I dont anticipate any traffic problems!

Detroit's skyline as seen from Comerica Park. Cadillac, Comerica, Guardian, Penobscott, 

Tigers, Sun and relaxation

Went to the Tigers game on Friday.. we were guests of a Vendor in their suite at Comerica. What a great way to see a game! Private viewing box along the 1st base line. Unlimited food and drink in the suite. TV monitors in case you missed something.. Had several people back out in the final hour before the game, so I took my 6 yr old son to the game.. He had a good time at his first MLB game.. I think I have probably ruined him for all other sporting events now - lol.. I did talk about how 'lucky' we were to be in the suite.. and I think he understood. I really like Comerica Park for the views of Detroit! Actually I always enjoy being in Detroit, and I love my GPS that gives me the freedom to move around the city without the fear of getting lost. Despite improvements, Detroit is still a rough town, and there are parts you dont want to be lost in.. With my GPS I can drive anywhere and have the confidence that I know where I am going.. The odd thing is I am starting to get much more familiar with at least the basic layout of the town. Enough to second guess the GPS - lol

On Saturday I did a LOT of yard work.. including trimming all the trees (sometimes with a chain saw). It looks really good. Saturday was beautiful and we grilled, and ate in the breezeway and enjoyed the day. In the evening we went to Sleepy Hollow State park and looked around.. the park is huge.. there is a fair sized lake in the park and an Island in the lake.. we walked over the bridge to the island and walked around the island.. really cool.. there was a foot path, but it is obvious not a lot of people go there.. the trees were largely grown over the path.. I had to duck to go everywhere, while my kids largely walked under the branches. We saw a rabbit and heard lots of birds on our trip around the island which I would guess is close to a mile around. We also checked out the camp grounds as I would like to go there for Fathers day this year and camp out for a night. I was impressed with the grounds and think we would have fun there!
Sunday it rained and was cooler and we generally relaxed. In late morning we went out and did some shopping and stopped at the Barrel for lunch, then a few more stores and headed home.
I have not been reading nearly as much lately, but I have not been working as much either.. I did go to the library yesterday and pick up a couple of books on logging, both first hand accounts.

Mackinac Bridge at night 

Upper Tahquamenon Falls. I think this is my favorite picture.. I used a slower shutter speed so you can see the motion of the water. 

Upper Tahquamenon Falls... Water pours over the 50 foot drop. 

Lower Tahquamenon Falls. The amber color of the water is not rust nor is it muddiness. It is caused by tannin leached from the Cedar, Spruce and Hemlock in the swamps drained by the river. The extremely soft water churned by the action of the falls causes the extensive amounts of foam which has been the trademark of theTahquamenon since the days of the voyageurs. 

From the shore of Lake Superior looking back at the Whitefish Point Lighthouse. This is the oldest active lighthouse on Lake Superior, and the bay that the Edmund Fitzgerald was trying to get to when it went down in 1975. 

Nearing the Southern pier and you can barely makes out Northern pier in mist 

Tahquamenon

Ok, I am way behind on posting.. Tahquamenon was very cool. I am so glad that we did that. The weather was bad for most of the weekend... rain on an off.. and cooler... But really not that bad.. it sprinkled on us a few times but never really got caught out in a downpour...
Went up to Mackinaw on Friday night.. Crossed the Bridge on Saturday morning.. the fog was thick and you could barely see from one pier to the next.. stopped in St Ignace to geocache and you could hear the fog horns.
Drove up to Whitefish bay on the shore of Lake Huron.. then back to Paradise for lunch and then to the Falls. Took the 'long' way back through Newberry and down to the Northern shore of Lake Michigan. Nice drive.. and overall a good weekend.
Enough of me babbling.. I will post some pics

COME OUT OF THE HOUSE WITH YOUR HANDS UP

I hear the sirens in the background.. but that is not unusual in our neighborhood.. only a few blocks off the main road. My wife asks if I heard that.. I mumble.. I didnt I am asleep... then I hear the bullhorn 'weknowyouareintherecometothedoor'
Now I am awake! WTF is going on
It is the police yelling at someone.. Find my wife.. it is the house across the street and up 2. So this goes on for about 90 minutes.. asking her to come out.. cop running around the yard... trying (poorly) to negoiate with someone to come out and talk to him. Then there is yelling and crying and a hysterical woman.. all very bizarre... by this time they have cops blocking off the street.. several units at the house.. no street lights so it is hard to see.. but there are a number of cops moving around.
Things seem to settle down and we go back to bed
COME OUT OF THE HOUSE WITH YOUR HANDS UP
hmm.. guess they didnt leave.. it is now about 3 am
LAURA COME OUT OF THE HOUSE WITH YOUR HANDS UP
It becomes obvious they have 1 plan.. ask her to come out.. and if she doesnt...
LAURA THIS IS THE EATON COUNTRY SHERIFF, COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP
keep repeating it until she does
after an hour or so it changes...
PICK UP THE PHONE THE NEGOIATER WANTS TO TALK TO YOU...
guess she did becuase it gets quiet.. and I fall back to sleep
**BANG**
ok.. awake again... 5 am... then must have knocked the door down... security alarm going off in the background.. lots of yelling.. screaming.. profanity... a sheriff car pulls in the driveway.... 4 or 6 cops pick something up and put it in the car
then all is quiet.. they must have hog tied her... the car leaves
there are about a dozen or so cops walking about look.. talking about knives...
still not sure what happened... maybe she was trying to kill herself?
Found out more this morning.. 'Laura' is the daughter.. I am guessing she is 30ish? About 15 years ago there was another altercation at this house and the cops killed the son after he attacked the police in the basement...
All very odd...
and today I am tired....