A beautiful Sunday evening

We haven't had much rain in June. Not quite as bad as last year, but we're still dry and are needing rain. So the thunderstorm that blew through this evening was a welcomed event.

Then, after the rain stopped, the sky started clearing up a little and we got this wonderful sunset. I went down to the Presbyterian Church on the corner to get a better view, away from the trees that surround our house, and got this shot. Kind of a nice Sunday evening shot.

Hillary Fakes it............... Again!

You know that Hillary has faked a lot of things over the years, especially when it comes to Bill. But this had to be the hardest thing she EVER faked in her life! Just look at this picture. Wouldn't you love to know what she's really thinking there? It's certainly not how great Obama is, how he's the perfect candidate for America, how they are going to Unite the country.

I suspect it might be more along the lines of - who was the bastard that talked me into getting up here on this stage with him? - I should be the one giving that speech, not this newby, who's not even good enough to wipe my shoes. - I'm going to kill Bill for opening his stupid mouth in South Carolina..........

I wonder how long this unity will last?

The Rising Cost of Living

The cost of living is going up. It hit close to home today. No, not the obvious increase in the cost of gas. But an increase in the cost enjoyment, of pleasure, of one of life's little joys.

Denna and I really enjoy our cup of coffee from McDonalds. When we have an early morning errand we like to stop at the corner McDonalds for a cup of fresh hot coffee. Especially now that they started putting in the cream and sugar for you. We like it better than any of the Starbucks or Duncan Donuts. A nice mild breakfast blend piping hot with just the right amount of cream and sugar. I get a large with 4 creams and 2 sugars and Denna gets a medium with 3 creams and 1 sugar. Perfection in a cup!

Every since we started placing that order the cost of the two cups of coffee has been $2.96. It's been the same now for, I don't know, maybe 2-3 years. A long time. It was something you could count on. Got $3 in your pocket? Great, we can get our two cups of coffee. It seemed a reasonable price, less than $3.00. A little high compared to the cost of brewing a cup at home, but still not too big a splurge once in a while. Heck, we're worth it!

I remember once, while visiting Denver, that we stopped by a McDonalds to get our coffee and it was $3.40! Amazing, that much difference between the two McDonalds. Made me glad we lived in Marietta and could enjoy life a little bit cheaper.

But now things have changed. The inexorable creap of inflation, the drip, drip, drip of the rising cost of living has been brought home to us here in Marietta. I'm sure other things have gone up. I keep hearing about it, reading about it. But I really truly haven't noticed if the cost of a loaf of Nature's Best Whole Wheat bread is higher now than it was last year. I don't know if a jar of Duke's Mayonaise is more. I just never have watched prices that closely to know for certain. But now I know!

We had to make an early run this morning and so we stopped by our McDonalds. I call it our McDonalds cause it feels like ours. Like we're a part owner, a partner. I hate the drive-thru's and so I usually go in to get the coffee and I've been there so many times now that the little hispanic girls working the counter know me. They don't know my name, but they know I'm the tall gringo that orders 2 coffees, one large and one medium. They never can remember the amounts of cream and sugar, but that's ok. It's still nice to be recognized, to be acknowledged as a regular. Kind of like Cheers without alchohol.

So I place my order and the register rings up $3.16. What? Not $2.96? I ask her if she rang up two larges instead of a large and a medium? "No," she says, "one large and one medium." I look at her and she gives me that, "What can I say?" look and a shrug and then it dawns on me. It's here, right in my backyard, right in my pocketbook. Things have gone up. I feel it, I know it, I can taste it.

I paid the $3.16 (luckly I had more than just $3 in my pocket) and took the coffee to the car and told Denna about the higher cost. She kinda shrugged it off. Just another $.20 to her. But not to me. The world keeps changing, prices keep going up. It's the normal course of things. Heck I can remember Dad buying me $.15 Krystal hamburgers as a kid. He'd buy them by the bag full for me in an vain attempt to put a little weight on my skinny kid frame. Now Krystals are what? $.89? I don't know for sure, but they're higher.

So yeah, things go up, I expect it. But this one has hit too close to home. Life doesn't feel the same now, like an innocence has been lost. Like maybe we're pushing through that price ceiling they talk about when discussing stocks. That ceiling, that once broken through, erases all limits, allowing prices to just keep going up and up and up and UP. I don't know.

But I'm going to watch the price of Dukes now.

It's in the Details, Stupid

Here's an interesting bit about Obama, courtesy of Dick Morris. Dick as you may recall, was Bill's campaign manager during his second Presidential campaign. He then had a falling out with the Clintons and is now a very outspoken critic of the them. He's currently a columnist and commentator on politics.

In one of his recent columns he talked about Obama's campaign strategy to keep the focus on the big issues and off the details. Details that include the most liberal agenda ever in Presidential politics. Here's some of those details that Obama doesn't want discussed -

• In effect, he would legislate a 60 percent tax bracket for upper-income Americans, killing all initiative and innovation. He’d raise the top bracket to 40 percent. He’d apply FICA taxes to all income, not just that under $100,000 as at present. So add 40 percent plus FICA’s 12.5 percent plus Medicare’s 2 percent plus state and local taxes averaging, after deduction, at 5-6 percent, and you have a 60 percent bracket.
• He would double the capital gains tax, saddling the 50 percent of Americans who own stock with dramatically higher taxes.
• He’d double the dividend tax, hitting elderly coupon-clippers now retired and depending on fixed incomes.
• He wants to cover 12 million illegal immigrants with federally subsidized health insurance, dramatically driving up costs and forcing federal rationing of healthcare. As in the U.K. and Canada, you will not be permitted certain medical procedures if the bureaucrats decide you are not worth it.
• He proposes requiring Homeland Security operatives to notify terror suspects that they are under investigation within seven days of starting the investigation
• He says that unless they can establish that there is “probable cause to believe that a certain individual is linked to a specific terrorist group,” Homeland Security cannot seize his documents and search his business. The current standard is only that the search be “relevant” to a terror investigation.

Obama is dangerous to our country's future. Very dangerous!

Second Admendment Upheld

Good news today. The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, declared the Washington, DC handgun law unconstitutional, and in effect upheld the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution. This was the first Supreme Court case challenging the 2nd Amendment and after some of the recent decisions by this court I was afraid they would again try to legislate from the bench. Fortunately this time the Constitution was honored and the right to bear arms continues. Hallelujah!!

Crop Circles

I go back and forth on Crop Circles and what they mean, who did them, why are they there? There are so many conflicting theories, with quite a few of the circles proven to be hoaxes, done by groups of people out to have some fun. But then there are the few of them that are truly unexplainable, with no reasonable explaination for their origin or how they were done.

One such circle recently appreared in England..... the Barbury Castle Pattern. What's really interesting about this circle, besides it's unknown source, is the pattern of the spiraling circle within the main circle. If you look closely at the photo below you see a spiral line going out from the center. It ratches out at what first appears to be random points. Interesting, but like a lot of previous crop circles it didn't seem to mean anything.

Then, a retired astrophysicist, Michael Reed from Timberlake, NC, discovered an amazing answer to the seemingly random pattern. He saw that each ratchet was along a radius line and that the radius lines were at 36 degree intervals, or 1/10 of the circle. Using that as a base he analysized the length of each ratchet and discovered that they were in a pattern that spelled out the value of Pi to 10 digits! 3.141592654 It even included the decimal point after the 3 and it was rounded up! Plus the 3 smaller circles at the end of the outward spiral could signify the infinite continuation of Pi.

Again, this doesn't prove anything, just like the rest of the unexplained crop circles. But what if this is an attempt to communicate with us, using the universal language of mathmatics and using a mathematical constant like Pi?

Makes you think! Hmmmmmm?

Giant Woodpecker!!

There has been a lot of time and money spent trying to find the rare, elusive Giant Woodpecker. At one time they believed him to be extinct, but then stories began to surface of sightings of him.

They say they have seen one in Arkansas, and maybe in the Okefenokee swamps. But no one has really been able to capture a good photo of him until now. Check out the size of this thing! The woman in the photo gives you an idea of the scale of it!

OK, OK, I know. But I couldn't help it!

It's just too funny!

Obama, Obama - How Thick is Your Skin?

I heard a great quote today from Dennis Miller. (Man, I love that guy. It's like listening to myself think, only a whole lot more erudite and polished. I mean, he says things in a manner and with a logic that makes me want to shout at the radio..... That's right! That's exactly how I feel! You tell 'em!)

But I digress..... Dennis was talking about Obama and his speech last week in Florida where he brought out the race card, not accusing McCain of doing or saying anything, cause he hasn't. But instead, Obama said "We know what kind of campaign they're going to run. They're going to try to make you afraid. They're going to try to make you afraid of me. They're gonna.... They're going to say, "You know what, he's -- he's -- he's young, inexperienced, and, uh, uh, he's got a funny name. Did I mention he's black? "

Now the drive-by MSM just lapped it up, talking about how brilliant it was to make fun of it, to throw it out there before the Republicans do, to imply that it was a bomb just waiting to go off.

Well, here's where Dennis made the great quote, one that I whole-heartedly agree with. "It's not about the color of your skin Obama, it's about how thick it is. And Obama, you have thin skin" Dennis went on to say that this ploy by Obama with this recent speech is the last straw for him, that he had given Obama the benefit of the doubt earlier in the campaign when all this stuff about Rev. Wright and his church came up and Obama denied that over 20 years of attending the church that he never heard any inflammatory sermons like was seen and heard on YouTube.

It's not about whether Obama was or will be influenced by Rev. Wright. No, that's not an issue like some want to make. It's about how Obama expects us to accept his statement, against all logic, that he hasn't heard Rev. Wright say those things. It's about Obama, the "agent of Change" showing his true self, a liberal politician that will lie. He's not bringing anything new or different, it's politics as usual. And now with this last speech, after saying throughout his campaign that he's past the racial stuff, he throws out the race bomb!

So now it's time to start exposing Obama, and to take off the gloves and try to let the nation see what he's really about. For those of you that read this blog and are Obama supporters I hope you will come back to read my future posts. I'm not saying that McCain is the absolute best possible President for this country. I really don't like some of what he's done or said. Or where he say's he's going to take the country. No, what I want to have is a dialogue ( and I hope you'll use the comment section to let me know your thoughts) a non-emotional discussion about who the candidates are, what their policies and plans are and how realistic they are. And who will be the best Presiden to lead us through some tough times ahead.

D*&#, George Carlin Died

I was sorry to hear that George Carlin passed away today. What a talent, what a comedian and free-thinker. Over 40 years of side-splitting entertainment. He wasn't just a talented stand-up comic. He acted in several movies, some pretty good. Wrote several books, all on the NY Times bestseller list. And was even nominated for an Emmy for his part in a PBS program for kids.

In case you haven't seen it in a while or maybe you've never seen it, here's his all-time classic, The Seven Words You Can't Say on TV! (Not for minors or to be played at work!

You gotta check out his website. The opening is classic Carlin. He'll be missed!

Adam and Taylor's Wedding Reception

The end of last week was a whirlwind of activity as friends and family arrived in town to attend Adam and Taylors Wedding Reception. They were married in a beautiful ceremony in March, but had waited until now to have the reception and (more importantly) the honeymoon.

Our good friends, John & Jo Renfro, who have visited us here in Atlanta annually for several years now, planned their trip to coincide with this event. They have been friends of Dennas since Jr. High. They arrived on Wed and on Thursday, we enjoyed our normal boys and girls day with John and I playing a round of golf while Denna and Jo had a spa day. I can't imagine the girls having a better time than John and I. It was one of those rare summer days when the weather was perfect for golf. Too bad I can't use the same adjective for describing my game. Oh well, even a bad round of golf is fun! The day was topped off with a fabulous meal at the elegant Thai restaurant, Nan's, in downtown Atlanta.

On Friday we were joined by another couple of long-time friends, Jim and Mary Cline. We've known the Clines since our early days living in KC. They were our neighbors at Mayview and their daughters were our first babysitters for Adam and Angela. They started babysitting for us when Adam was only 6 weeks old and we've grown to consider them part of the family, just like the Renfros. What a treat and a blessing to have such wonderful and close friends willing to come so far to help celebrate your family's events. Thank you John and Jo, Jim and Mary. We love you all!

Friday evening everyone came to our house for a Green Egg meal of ribs and fixings. Jim entertained us with his stories of his near-death experiences with Molly, our Australian Shephard that passed away a few years ago. Molly was known to get pretty protective at times and Jim experienced that firsthand once while visiting us here in Atlanta. (Molly wasn't that bad, was she?)

Saturday morning we were joined by Denna's brother and wife, Keith and Debbie, from Chicago. They got up at 3:30 that morning to catch a flight to Atlanta to join the festivities. We all then went to Adam and Taylor's loft for an Open House. Taylor, with help from her mother and sister had their place looking great, with fresh flowers and festive lights and lots of refreshing sangria! Yum!

Their loft is just at the edge of downtown Atlanta and they have a great view of the city from the patio on the roof. Adam has a set of cornhole boards up there and we played a few games before it got too hot.

A lot of Taylor's family and friends were at the Open House as well and it was good to meet and see them once again. It's wonderful how the two families have joined and become close so quickly. We feel like we've known them forever.

A little later that afternoon Denna was pleasantly surprised when her other brother, Daryl and his wife Faye, arrived from Wisconsin. Adam had kept their attendence a secret. Now Denna had her whole family in town. That meant a lot to her. Daryl and Faye also had to get up well before dawn to make the flight from Madison. I guess those Shackelfords love the early dawn!

Taylor and Adam received many fine gifts, but as is his style, Jim put his own unique touch on his gift for the newlyweds. It seems Jim had learned of an old Irish tradition regarding a Ships decanter and it's use as a measurement of marital bliss for newlyweds. Let's just say that we'll be counting beans for the next few years as we visit their loft!

The festivities continued later that evening at a hip urban restaurant, Two Urban Licks. Adam and Taylor had selected it for their reception and it was the perfect location, just off the other side of downtown, with a view of the skyline. We had the courtyard section for the party and about 75 friends and family attended. Here's a couple of shots from the evening. I have the rest of the photos posted here.The reception ended mid evening, but the party continued back at their loft. Adam and Taylor are such gracious, easy-going hosts. Everyone feels at home at their place.

The newlyweds departed early Sunday morning for a week-long honeymoon at St. Martins in the Caribbean. And our guests had to take off too, back to KC and the midwest. We had such a wonderful time with them all! Thanks to all for being such good and loyal friends!

Tiger and Rocco

What a match! What a battle, like two heavyweights battling it out. Except here, Tiger's the heavyweight champion and Rocco is a middleweight contender. Sure people will say that if Tiger hadn't had the knee problem then Rocco never would have stood a chance. Maybe, possible, probably. But Tiger did have a knee problem, shot some of the best and some of the worst golf of his life and Rocco stayed with him. Never backing down, never getting knocked out. Heck, Rocco even challenged Tiger's tradition of wearing red on the final day of the tourney. Rocco comes out wearing a red shirt and a black vest, exactly like Tiger. (Tiger takes off his vest)Case in point is the par 4, 15th in today's playoff. They were tied after 14 holes. Rocco punched his drive out into the fairway. Then Tiger sliced his drive sooooo far right that it landed in the fairway bunker on the adjoining 9th hole fairway! Rocco hits his second shot onto the green, about 25 feet away from the pin. Then Tiger makes an unbelievable, but amazingly typical shot - out of the bunker, power fade around a tree, landing 10-12 feet away from the pin, INSIDE of Rocco's ball. Here's a shot like no one else in the world can make, which would totally take the steam out of any normal player. Did it faze Rocco? Hell no!! He just turns around and makes his 25 foot put for Birdie! How do you like that Tiger!! Then Tiger misses his birdie putt, settleing for par. Rocco one up on Tiger!!

It was like this all day, with Tiger finally using his overwhelming power advantage to birdie the 18th, tying the playoff round forcing a sudden-death playoff. Unfortunately for Rocco, the sudden-death started on the 7th, one of the few holes giving him trouble through-out the tourney. Rocco hit his drive into the bunker, Tiger in the fairway, advantage Tiger..... Tiger wins..... the 14th Major of his career. An epic battle I'll never forget. Nor will Tiger.

What a great Father's Day

I had a wonderful Father's Day yesterday. I'm truly blessed by my children. Angela and Adam are everything a father could ask for. Adam and his wife Taylor, along with Angela and a long-time family friend Gene, came over for a Father's Day Brunch. Denna whipped up a sausage and egg casserole and Adam and Taylor brought this fabulous french toast, pecan, apple and cinnamon dish. Combine that with some Mimosa's and what a treat!

After letting things settle for a while we played a few games of Cornhole before it got too hot. I have admit the ladies, after some private coaching by Denna, started to make a run at us guys. Here's a shot of Gene and Angela celebrating a nice toss.

Later we watched the U.S. Open and Tiger's comeback. That was some riveting drama for a golf match. I have mixed emotions about who I want to win today. Rocco Mediate is the journeyman golfer that all us duffers can identify with. His attitude and love for the game is so infectious that you just have to root for him. But at the same time I'd love to see Tiger keep his streak alive of never losing a Major when tied or in the lead on Sunday. I guess if it's a close match that'll be good enough.

The High Cost of Gas

I don't know about you, but having to pay $80 to fill up is getting old and a real pain in the wallet. But I'm equally tired of the politicians blabbering on about what THEY can do about it.

Here's an interesting piece showing what each side is proposing. Obviously this was prepared by a Republican, but based on what I've been reading it's not off base. The Dems are giving us rhetoric and the Repubs are at least giving us some action. Keep this in mind as you vote this fall.

Joe, American

Here's a great piece. I don't agree 100% with all of his ideas and viewpoints, but I love his attitude and feelings toward the candidates. Everyone needs to see this. (I tried to post the video itself but that caused problems for some people, so here's the link) Make sure you watch it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPch2k63uj4

This is Crazy/Scary stuff

Check this video out! It shows raw popcorn popping when placed between cell phones and then the cell phones are called. There are several like it on the web, so I don't think it's a fake. If this is real, and your cell phone will do this, what does that mean the cell phone is doing to your brain?
Here's the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V94shlqPlSI

American Cornhole Association

Yes sir, life is good. It's official now, I are one. A bona fide card carrying, corn bag tossing member of the American Cornhole Association. See.... here's my card.

For those not in the know, Cornhole is not what you first thought. No, it's actually a pretty fun game, sort of a cross between horseshoes and the toss the bean bag game at the carnival. Adam introduced it to me one day, saying "Hey Dad, lets make some Cornhole boards! It'll be fun."

Well, this is one of those times he was right. He had a set of plans he had gotten off the internet, so with one trip to Home Depot and a few hours of work in the garage, voila, we had each a set of Cornhole boards.

Here's Denna and Adam, with Denna showing her championship form. She says that years of SkeeBall, of which she is the unofficial Gladstone, MO Champion, makes her a natural for Cornhole. Maybe.

Anyway, for those of you hankering to give it a whirl, here's the official Cornhole Ass. website. Hmmm, maybe that's not the best way to spell it?

The Hanging Gardens

It's a hot one in Atlanta this weekend, like it is up and down the east coast. That means that we have to do a lot of watering of the plants to keep them from drying up. But this year it seems to be worth it.

I built a window box for the backside of the porch behind the Egg. We've had boxes on the side railing for a number of years, but I wanted to add some more color to the deck so I built a big box, big enough for a lot of hanging plants and some herbs. It's taken off nicely, very nicely.

For the main plant I used white Million Bells. Million Bells is a fairly new plant, very similar in appearance to the petunia, but about 1/4 the bloom size. The nice thing about it, like the Purple Wave petunia, it that it blooms all summer, takes very little maintenance and grows like a weed. I added some red geraniums, a couple of Purple Wave petunias, the herbs and kept watering and fertilizing it. In about a month and half it's taken off and looks great now, reaching 2-3 feet below the box. But boy does it take the water! Oh well, a small price to pay for such a great looking box.

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a CHANGE! The chicken wanted CHANGE!

JOHN McCAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road!

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure -- right from Day One! -- that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.......

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun!

AL GORE: I invented the chicken!

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it!It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on 'THIS' side of the road before it goes after the problem on the 'OTHER SIDE' of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his 'CURRENT' problems before adding 'NEW' problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road...

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's GUILTY! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hard working American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain. Alone.

JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth? 'That's why they call it the 'other side.' Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media white washes with seemingly harmless phrases like 'the other side. That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that.

GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life long dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together , in peace.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2007, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of the Chicken. This newplatform is much more stable and will never cra...#@&&^(C% <mailto:cra...#@&&^(C%> .........reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

It's Official - We're Screwed in '08

I'm really getting depressed. It looks like Obama has the nomination, has tremendous momentum and has already been coronated by the MSM. And McCain, who once was the darling of the MSM when running against anyone to the right of him (which were ALL of the candidates), is now getting worked over.

It's going to be really tough to beat Obama in November. We can only hope that what's left of the Republican party machine will work to get out the message about who and what Obama really is. The most liberal, socialistic leaning, inexperienced, hollow Presidential candidate we've ever seen. I shudder to imagine an America with him as President.

Contact your Senator, Now!

There's a bill being debated in the Senate, the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security bill. It's purported goal is to reduce the impact on the environment from the US through a cap and trade scheme. It's a complicated fool's game that will ruin the US economy. It's estimated by some to be the greatest tax on the US economy in the history of the country. Something we cannot afford, especially now.

But it's more than just that, this whole Global Warming bit is really an attack on the free enterprise capitalistic society by the lefty loonies. Here's an excerpt from a great column by Charles Krauthammer - "Two decades ago, however, socialism and communism died rudely, they were buried forever by the empirical demonstration of the superiority of market capitalism everywhere from Thatcher's England to Deng's China, where just the partial abolition of socialism lifted more people out of poverty more rapidly than ever in human history."

"Just as the ash heap of history beckoned, the intellectual left was handed the ultimate salvation: environmentalism. Now the experts will regulate your life not in the name of the proletariat or Fabian socialism but -- even better -- in the name of Earth itself."

Here's how the bill will give the Left the ability and power to control us -
"And having proclaimed the ultimate commandment -- carbon chastity -- they are preparing the supporting canonical legislation that will tell you how much you can travel, what kind of light you will read by, and at what temperature you may set your bedroom thermostat.

Only Monday, a British parliamentary committee proposed that every citizen be required to carry a carbon card that must be presented, under penalty of law, when buying gasoline, taking an airplane or using electricity. The card contains your yearly carbon ration to be drawn down with every purchase, every trip, every swipe.

There's no greater social power than the power to ration. And, other than rationing food, there is no greater instrument of social control than rationing energy, the currency of just about everything one does and uses in an advanced society. "

Now would be a good time, a very good time to contact your Senators and let them know your thoughts on this bill. Here's a link to find your Senator in case you don't have it.

PB & J Sandwiches

Here I am, enjoying a peanut butter and homemade blackberry jam on white bread sandwich, (Denna's still out of town, so I'm roughing it) thinking about the pizzas I made the other night.

I had been on a search for a good Thin and Crispy pizza dough recipe I could use on the Egg. I really like Pizza Hut's, Pizza Inn and recently California Pizza's neapolitan style pizzas. And fortunately they're all still close by so I can get one if I want to go out. But I have the Egg and a wonderful setup so I wanted to be able to enjoy the same style pizzas here at home.

I've tried premade dough mixes like from Trader Joe's but they turned out too thick and chewy. So I started Googling and found a couple of recipes that seemed to fit the bill. Especially this one, Thin Cracker-Crust Pizza Recipe. The photos and description seemed to be just what I was looking for and didn't seem too hard. The key they said is to use a high-gluten flour with at least 12% protein or higher. Yeah, right. Like I'm going to know how to figure that out. Luckily they said any good bread flour should work, so I picked up a bag at Whole Foods and went home to try it out.

The only draw-back is you have to make the dough the day before and keep it in the refrigerator. Denna and I are way too spontaneous, spur of the moment type diners for that to work too well, but it did say you can leave it in the fridge for a few days. That may work for us. We'll see.

I made the dough up and left it in the fridge. As it was, the AVP tourney interrupted my plans and so it was 3 days before I had the chance to try it out. Angela was over that night so I fired up the Egg, put the pizza stone in it to get it nice and hot and we began to make our pizzas. I had made up some basil pesto in anticipation of this so I used that with a little tomato sauce for my base, topped it with mozzarella and then some large thin sliced pepperoni. I had worked the dough out really well with the rolling pin, (can't do the hand-tossed thing), so it was looking pretty good. Unfortunately I didn't take a shot of it so I don't have a photo to show you. (Jo, I know you can visualize what I'm describing, can't you?)

Angela doesn't like pesto so she made one with tomato sauce, some Tuscany Italian seasoning we had on hand, fresh sliced tomatoes, mozzarella and pepperoni. Umm, they both looked great. Popped them in the egg, one at a time. Cooked them about 12-15 minutes each and They Were Perfect!! The crust was crispy, flaky, with just a few of those neat little air bubbles here and there. The bottom had about a dozen almost-burnt spots on it, and the flavor was just like Pizza Inn. Bingo, I now have my perfect Egg pizza dough recipe. This isn't a shot of my pizza but the crust looked just like this one, so at least you'll have an idea of what I'm talking about.

I think I'll mix up some dough tomorrow so I'll have it on hand just in case Denna wants to try some when she gets home later this week. By the way, the PBJ's were amazing! Are you hungry yet?

TwentyGems shown at Celebrate Your Life!

Here's an update on Denna and her visit to Oprah's Celebrate Your Life conference in Chicago.

As I mentioned in a previous post , the best selling author and world-renowned psychic medium, James Van Praagh had said he would try to arrange to play her DVD, TwentyGems, Journey to the Self prior to his keynote speech Saturday night. After meeting with him on Thursday and Friday (and thanks in large part to her great friend and unofficial but very aggressive p.r. agent, Rita Alexander) James did arrange to have her DVD play at his presentation.

So Saturday night, before 2,000 attendees, including the top authors and speakers of of the metaphysical world, (Neal Donald Walsch, James Twymann, etc) Denna's DVD #2 was playing on a large screen as the attendees were being seated. But even better than that, about 5 minutes before James was to start, a spokeswoman came out and asked on behalf of Mr Van Praagh for the audience to refrain from talking and to observe and listen to the beautiful video in order to set the proper atmosphere for his presentation! So there in front of this huge audience, now with everyone's total attention, Denna's production was playing! And to top it off, the particular segment playing had her I AM affirmations being spoken, so everyone there also got to hear her voice and her affirmations! Rita said the sound system really emphasized Denna's melodic voice and it totally captivated the audience. What a night , What a night!! Don't know yet what will come of this, but what a wonderful confirmation of the truly inspirational piece of art and love Denna has made!

In addition, Denna spoke to the producer of Oprah's Radio show while at the conference and they said they will be contacting her later for a possible appearance on the radio program. Yowzerr!!

Finals of AVP Tourney in Atlanta

I was able to make the Men's and Women's finals of the AVP Tour stop in Atlanta on Sunday. The stands were full for the matches and they really got to see a great mens' match. The #1 men's team had been eliminated for the first time this tour, but the teams in the finals were both very athletic and very skilled and put on quite a performance in the hot Atlanta sun.

I was able to beat the heat, along with Adam and Angela by staying under the shade in the VIP tent. Here's a shot of Adam and Angela.

What was amazing about the match is the jumping ability of these guys. Of course this is coming from a guy with a terminal case of the white-men-can't-jump syndrome, but I tell you, watching these guys sky over the 8' net for the kill shots was amazing. Remember, this is two-man beach volleyball, so they're playing on sand which is tough enough. But the guy who's hitting the kill shot is the one that has just made a dig for the ball, which usually means he's been on his knees in the sand. Now, after bumping it to his partner, who is setting it up for him at the net, he leaps up from the sand, runs to the net, plants his feet, then leaps. All the while watching the ball, sensing where the other players are, listening to his partner tell him where the open area is, and timing his leap and arm swing to perfectly match the falling ball so he can spike it at a 100 mph down the opponents throat.

Take a look at this guy, Tony Medel. He's 6'3", which is on the short side for the tour. But look how high he his on his leap and where his head is in relationship to the net. See the ball up at the top of the shot? Tony, as you can tell from his form, puts his whole body into the hit. And he usually was able put them away. Here's a close-up of him.

Tony and his partner put up a good fight, but ended up losing to Gibbs and Rosenthall, who have won in Atlanta two years in a row now. As great an athlete as Tony is, Rosenthall is even more spectacular and powerful in his hits. Unfortunately I didn't get any good shot of him in action.

On the women's side, Kerri Walsh and Misti May easily put the competition away, extending their winnig streak to 40-0. They've won the AVP five years in a row and are unstoppable.

What a set of Wheels

While pulling out of the parking lot from the AVP tourney in downtown Atlanta I saw this car pass in front of me. What immediately caught my eye were the wheels. There, on each wheel was the iconic Atlanta "A", the monogram of the city, the logo of the Atlanta Braves. Yet it wasn't spinning around! These were those spinner wheels found on urban mobiles with at twist. As the car rolled by all you saw was the big Atlanta "A". Hmmmm.Now, I'm not a fan of the typical hip-hop urban car, too much chrome on the wheels, too much bass shaking the windows near by. But I have to admit that something about this car kinda said class. Then when we pulled out and came up beside it I got another surprise. Airbrushed into the body of the car, under a nice clear coat were the people and sites and landmarks of urban Atlanta. Here's a closer shot. If you look closely you can see MLK, Spellman College, Six Flags, Auburn Ave. You know, someone did a really nice job on this. Not what I'd drive around in, but hey, this wasn't bad at all.