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What is it about growing up that causes growing apart? Forget the people we knew in high school. Most of us had nothing in common except that we were into the same kinds of teen drama. What about our friends in college? They meant a lot to us right?
Guys, who talked you down when you saw red from someone hitting on your girlfriend? Who helped you rebuild your senior project after it crashed even though they had just as much to do on theirs?
Girls, who held your hair back as you prayed to the porcelain god after too much drinking? Who kidnapped you and took you for ice cream as your brain started to melt?
We were together for the all night study sessions for the evil tests conceived by sadistic profs that were “weeding out” the class. We were together for the movie marathons or game nights or lan parties over gumbo, fried crawfish or lousy pizza. We meant the world to each other. So what happened?
Sure, we graduated or left but we were still tight friends.
At first we called each other every couple of days. Days turned into weeks and months. Now, our friends won’t even answer the phone much any more. If they do happen to accidentally answer the phone, they have to get of to take care of some, umm, important business, yeah that’s it, business.
Get-togethers are the same way. They start out as “mustn’t miss” events. Then work calls and interferes or gas prices are too high. Eventually, friends can’t even be reached to receive the invitation.
For myself, my closest friends spread out to Houston and Dallas TX, Lewisville KY, Atlanta GA, New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Alexandria LA and even overseas. For Jess’s, the spread of friends is similar if not as extreme, all over LA and TX, but the effect is the same. Except for her best friend, I cant remember the last time I saw any of our friends except in the pictures on my screensaver.
Jess worries about me because I don’t have any “buddies” here. I don’t have any common interests with the guys I know here. I don’t like hunting, fishing, football or racing. They don’t like trains, camping or gardening. I don’t worry about it because I know that I have her. Is that a symptom of the same problem as drifting apart from our best friends?
Apparently, we were not as close as some of us thought though. That begs the question, were we ever really friends? We had to have been. We wouldn’t have put up with each other if we weren’t. But that is the crux of the problem isn’t it? We did quit putting up with each other. Some of us got married and settled and became…well…boring. Some of us went wild, did stupid things and lashed out when friends tried to help. Some got jealous of the achievers among us and resented them. Some created their own brand of drama and moved to the company of others that would participate in their pity party wallowing.
So what does that all mean? The short answer for me is that we were forced together by circumstances and became friends. After those circumstances changed, most of us have moved on. I guess that what is left is to tell those friends that have departed from my life something.
Thanks for the good times and memories. Those will always be important to me.
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For those that haven’t heard, Jess and I got back Sunday from a flying trip south. The unfortunate reason for this trip was a funeral for a friend of Eldrauth and mine from BSA Troop 76. Bryan Chism was KIA in Karbala, Iraq on 1/20/07. He was mischievous, adventuresome and exceptionally loyal to friends and family. He did the fighting there so we won’t have to do it here. He is missed. David was numb, but held it together to be there for Bryan's girlfriend. Mom, dad and a bunch of their friends did a great job being there to support Mrs. Betsy. Julie's friends were taking good care of her as well. The Army provided an excellent group of coordinators and such. The Patriot Guard Riders (patriotguard.org), Louisiana State Police, Ascension Parish Sherriff’s Dept., Gonzales City Police and Gonzales Fire Dept. were out in force to pay respects. That was incredible in and of itself. Something more incredible was the turnout by just the people. People were lining the route from the funeral home to the church and from the church to the cemetery. There were Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, soldiers, veterans, families and even seniors who looked like they shouldn’t be out in the freezing weather for health's sake. Flags and signs abounded. It was a sight to remember. THANK YOU! to all those who went to show their appreciation for Bryan.
As for me, I am determined now more than ever to keep making more and better bullets to shoot at the Islamic terrorists that caused such pain to all of us.Current Mood: predatory Current Music: A nice soft breeze |
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Well, we are off and running with a good start to 2007. Day 3 has me at work, but that’s ok. I am saving vacation days for a badly needed getaway at some time in the future. There are a bunch of movies I am looking forward to coming this summer especially. The plant is looking more stable. Babies are bouncing aplenty amongst our friends. The cherry on the day so far is that KCS is going back to the Southern Belle paint scheme on an order of new SD70s (and presumably on future orders and reshops). I like the Grey Ghost scheme, but I will be thrilled to see the Belle. So far so good. 2006 can RIP (rust in pieces) but so far so good on 2k07.
Jess and I had a great Christmas. My family came in to visit over the Christmas weekend. We went to her parents for new years since her mom got sick. Now we just need to keep on keeping on.Current Mood:  pleased |
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My mind had gone completely numb. Since 7 in the blessed AM Monday morning till now, all I have been doing at work 10 hrs a day is watching video of hand grenade and fuze testing. I am watching and counting frame by frame to find the start time and detonation time. I am then running a calculation to find the delay time between those. Out of 1100 video clips I’ve gotten 600 done. I need 2 pints now!...before my head explodes. At least the boss is leaving me alone to help me keep the rhythm. I need to be done by next Wednesday. This is seriously sucking. Though I did get one frame of vid where the grenade is just starting to explode. It is kinda cool.
That’s ok, once it is done then ARDEC can have it and I can go back to business as usual. I am getting my new puter tomorrow. I have already named it Triton. Ganymede has suffered hardware failure and really isn’t worth the fix so.... Christmas is right around the bend. Poor Jess, has to work, but that’s ok, my family is coming up to visit us. Her family cant make it till new year's weekend since her mother also has to work Christmas. Such is life when you work in a hospital.
I am expecting a shipment of rail and turnouts in mid January. Then I can start laying track for the Winnsboro Extension of the Louisiana Central Belt. I already have ties and ballast and the terrain work is done.
I need to talk to Em and Lan at some point to see about getting more info on the Grapevine RR. Mainly, I need to know just how serious PW was about offering me a spot as engineer on Puffy (an 1894 4-6-0 Heavy Pacific). I am interested, but I have a good thing here and wont make the move unless its a good deal for us.
I need a vacation... The plant is supposed to be slower between October and December, but we have been running full throttle all frelling yr. and I’m burning out. It also isn’t showing any signs of slowing. Thank God the plant Christmas shutdown is coming in 2 weeks. Then, Jess and I are going to make a long weekend trip to Hot Springs in April for our anniversary so that should help me retain my sanity. Oh well, such is life.Current Mood: Fried Current Music: Dire Straits |
| » Vive la Reagan Revolution |
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Take this you linguini spined liberals. Though realistically, this quiz sucks. I really tend to lean more libertarian (personal freedom and personal responsibility).
| Your Political Profile: | | Overall: 95% Conservative, 5% Liberal | | Social Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal | | Personal Responsibility: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal | | Fiscal Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal | | Ethics: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal | | Defense and Crime: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal |
Dec. 11th, 2006 @ 08:34 pm
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| » Predictable |
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| Which Star Wars Jedi/Sith are you? Obi-Wan Kenobi You’ve managed to train both a great evil and a greater good, not to mention whipping the ass of the coolest looking Sith in the series. However, you do have a few weaknesses, like Count Dooku and a douche bag of a Padawan. Other than that, you are the epitome of class. The accent, the outfit, and your care for those around you is highly admirable. Arguably, you are the best Jedi that ever lived, having owned Maul, Anakin and Grievous, a total of seven lightsabres among the three. 
| Click Here to Take This Quiz
Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests. |
Nov. 24th, 2006 @ 03:28 pm
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| » Knock, Knock, Knock |
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Opportunity comes in all forms and at all times. It is also very rarely convenient, but can also make dreams come true. Jess and I went to see Em and Lan this weekend for the baby shower. Once Lan and I dropped the girls off, we went to the rail depot in town. It now operates as the northern terminus for a tourist railroad. We were looking around at the engines and I identified one and explained it. He called his dad to check some of my info. After talking to his dad for a few mins, Lan got off the phone and said his dad must really like me. He said we had the run of the roundhouse and offered me a job. He wants me to become an engineer to operate the steam locomotive. The thumbnail sketch of what Lan got out of his dad is that I would be paid to go to school to learn the operation and then run the road. I think the only dream job I have ever hoped for that come close to this dream level is to be an astronaut. I really dunno what to do.
Pros: dream job, moving closer to jess's Godson and a couple of other friends.
Cons: moving to a big city, leaving the friends we have made here, moving further from home, uprooting jess from her brand new job that she likes.
Unknowns: MONEY, the health and longevity of the bullet mill.
I would definitely like to explore the possibility. Jess isn’t excited at all about it because of the potential problems, but is supporting me because she would hate it worse if I said No and then lived a life with such regrets. I don’t honestly expect it to pan out, but just the possibility is ....wow.
I told my boss about it this morning in such a way as if I were not seriously considering it, and told him he should remember my loyalty in Feb. when performance reviews come out. The most common response I got from coworkers was a goggle eyed stare. It was quite amusing.
Other than that, the weekend was great. It was so very nice to visit and see friends. We don’t get to do it often enough. Em and Lan racked up at the shower, but there is still much to go. Thanks very much for the hospitality, it was great. We will of course have to go and visit after the baby is born too. =D
Nov. 20th, 2006 @ 05:30 pm
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| » Clearing the Table |
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Well, it had to happen some time since all good things must end... and it’s about time too. Today we bought off on the X-ray facility that I’ve been working on since this time last yr. We had a good contractor to work with. The building and equipment work well. I am glad it is over though so I can have a small sliver of time back daily. Realistically, something else will come along and eat that time but that’s tomorrow.
Life around the house is going well as well. If anyone wants light blue or white iris bulbs, let me know soon. I just divided ours and have almost 20 pounds of them. I know my mom wants a few pounds of them so speak up for the rest now. The garden will be glorious this spring.
Work in the kitchen is also going... slowly. I am ready to sand the lower cabinets by the windows. Then Jess can paint those while I strip the doors and drawers that go with them.
As usual, Jess's gumbo was a big hit with our Sunday school class. We had a great time with those friends. Hopefully, we will get to see more of you soon, but don’t count on it. I don’t think we will be able to go anywhere for Christmas or thanksgiving. Such is life when one of us starts a new job. I couldn’t be more proud of the work she had to do to get the job. She is doing really well, but that’s something she can post on.
Nov. 8th, 2006 @ 05:29 pm
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| » Reinforcements |
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Well, The cavalry has arrived in a manner of speaking. Marie is working now!!! On the day shift!!! I’m happy. Have I mentioned how proud of her I am? She bore up well to the long year away from home to get her degree and is now reaping the rewards for her labor. She has also taken the pressure off of me. Should DZI go in the toilet and I lose my job, we will be ok because she is helping to support us and allowing us to build our safety net.
On the DZI front, there is a flurry of letters to the editor going back and forth in the local paper. www.Texarkanagazette.com Its amazing the ignorance of the dumb masses who want to associate anything government related with the purity on par with Jesus and anything related to big business with the scandal of Enron and WorldCom. It makes little sense, but it’s the way the government schools have trained those who are too lazy to think for themselves and be responsible for their own wellbeing. That however is a rant for another day.
There is also a meeting going on right now between the union reps and management to keep the unions informed on the behind the scenes work on privatizing the plant. Of course, I have my moles who will report on the meeting once they get out. Once I find out what is going on, I will of course share.
In the mean time, it’s time to get back to work on the kitchen. Since Jess will be at work tomorrow, I will get to open the house and play with the toxic chemicals. The furry demons will love that, a day out on the sun porch. I love this time of yr almost as much as spring. I think it’s also because I get to do some more planting. Its just bulbs, but I expect to have a lovely garden this spring. I have more iris, crocus and hyacinth. Anyone who wants some blue or white bearded iris, let me know. I will be dividing and replanting the bed over the next couple of weeks.
You know, this whole thing about being 30 is no big deal. In fact, I kinda like it.
L8r
Sep. 28th, 2006 @ 08:24 am
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| » Setting the Primer. |
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Well, Vegas was ok. I learned alot in X-ray school. It was definitely a different type of environment from what Im used to. They fussed there when the humidity climbed UP to 20%. The landscapeing was mostly mixing different colors of rocks, and the only pools I saw were at the hotels. I stayed at Treasure Island on the strip. I tooled about alot in my copious free time. I saw the sights, did some shopping and took in a couple of shows. My only wish is that Jess had been able to come too. I went walking down the strip and played tourist. Ive got some good pics. If you want to see, message me. The Mirage volcano and the Bellagio fountains were really cool. That must have been a programing nightmare to set up those fountains (I have video of them too if you want it. M&M world was cool and the pirate show at TI was cute/kinda corny. The Tournament of Kings at Excalibur was excellent. While the food was ehh at best, the fighting and performance was VERY well done. The best show I saw there was the Cirque du Soleil show, Mystere. It was also playing at TI. That was worth every penny I paid. The athleticism demonstrated puts to shame every olympic athlete I have ever seen. I strongly reccomend anyone go see this show. It was cool. Friday, I went out to see Hoover Dam. MWUAHAHAHA, MORE POWER! For now, I am glad to be home.
Getting caught up at work was/is rough. While I was gone to learn about repairing our Linatron M3, it failed.
I spent most of the week out at the annex working on the machine. The service rep came in Thursday and managed to get it fixed Friday. On the way out Jess called me about the getting her job offer. We celebrated! by eating out. The weekend with Erin and Carl over was great. We need to do it more often.
Back at the grind for another week, Im hearing disquieting news about the plant. The plant manager met with the union reps to tell them what all is going on yesterday morning. It is now crystal clear that LRA wants nothing to do with DZI staying on this site. They want us gone. That's why DZI made an offer to the Army to buy the site outright a few weeks ago. A mediator from the Army was here yesterday afternoon in theory to try to iron out some of the differences between LRA and DZI. There should be another meeting with the union reps next week to keep them informed. Shortly thereafter, I should get the poop from the grapevine. It doesnt look good but at theast the Army knows that the LRA is up to no good. We shall see.
For now, PLZ pray for Jess. She has her board certification test tomorrow at 1PM. Let the games begin!
Sep. 7th, 2006 @ 01:08 pm
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| » Lauch Sequence Initiated |
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Good lord, its nearly midnight and I am wide awake. I fly out for Las Vegas tomorrow at 5:30pm. Xray school should be cool. Ive also gotten a good idea of the things I need to see while I am out there. I wish Jess could come with me but, A) NSF and B) she has her interview Monday at St Michael's. I think the main reason I am still up is the drugs. I got ant bites while working outside in the shed and of course, it was fireants. I swelled up and felt the itching running up my arm quickly. Benydryl to the rescue. I slept much of the afternoon till we went to the church ice cream social. That was nice. Nummy nummy ice cream! I still feel kinda hung over from the meds but im better. At least it gave me an excuse to get out of the 105F heat. We tackled the back bedroom today too. Its coming along nicely. Its amazing how much 2 packrats can accumulate. The garbage men are not going to like us for a while. At least there will be plenty of space in there for people to sleep at the party. Jess is really going full bore to get ready for the party while integrating her stuff back into the house. Im going to miss her this week. I think im finally starting to crash. G'nite.
Aug. 19th, 2006 @ 11:45 pm
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| » Go West My Son. |
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Well, August is shaping up to be quite the month. The 12th is the big move to get my wife home. YAY! Then on the 20th, I fly out for Las Vegas. I will be there all week for a maintenance school for our new Xray system. I like to travel, but I wish I could take Marie with me. I dont care for the gambling and sex that makes Vegas so well known. Of the things I do want to do, most of them would be much better with company. Though, I expect she would get bored with my wanting to go find a good VR flight sim. I wish the shows wernt so bloody expensive either. There are plenty that look quite entertaining, but at 50-100 a pop for the cheap seats...Ouch! Oh well, there will still be plenty to do. I will also be looking forward to getting home saturday night. Then of course comes the Labor Day Graduation Bash at our house. That will be fun! I look forward to seeing all of those that can make it. If there are any questions or such, I can answer them if Marie can't.
Im gone for now. We are in the midst of our triennial ISO audit. YUCK!
Aug. 1st, 2006 @ 09:59 am
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| » Gold Watches |
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Well, everything is shaking out. Im still not happy about the layofs and what it means for my future here but I'm ok with it for now. In the mean time, there are a slew of retirements. There were 2 last week (1 engr and 1 enviro). Today there are 2 more (1 engr and 1 HR) and 1 more tomorrow (enviro). These are the lucky ones of the RIFs (reduction in forces). They are gone into retirement and no longer need to work. After 40 yrs each out here, Im thrilled for them. They are good guys and Im glad to have worked with them. Those of us left behind inherit a leaner company that will continue to work hard to be competative. All we neeed is a little luck.
As for the dept Im in, the Quality Control dept has been folded into our Quality Assurance dept. They never should have been under production in the first place. That is now moot and Im happy because it gives us badly needed depth. We are still very specialized but now we have more ppl to stretch that little bit thinner when problems crop up. This is going to be interesting.
On the home front, I get my wife back on a permanent basis in just 2 weeks. She is ruling in school and internships and I am proud of her. I just miss her. Im also looking forward to not having to pay for her rent and utilities there, putting all those miles on our car and getting Luna back for me to drive here at work. We will look into getting her a new car once she is working but that could be a little while. Oh well.
Jul. 26th, 2006 @ 07:34 am
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| » The Hammer Falls (Part I) |
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By all rights I could call this part II but since I didnt post about it last yr I won't bother changing my numbering. Anyway, I knew things would start happening quickly when we didnt get the Hand grenade. Yesterday morning about 45 non-hourly ppl got their walking papers. The list was long and gut wrenching to hear. Some of these ppl are still a few yrs from being ready to retire. Most are in their 50s. These are the ppl who will be hurt the worst because they are now being uprooted and told to do something they havnt done in 20-30 yrs. Reentering the job hunt is not going to be pretty for them. For most of the rest, it will hurt them emotionally but thats life. They are retirement age, many in bad health. They have all of the money they need but were hanging on because they had no life outside of the plant. Better in their minds to hang on and keep doing something than go find a dark place to wither away. Some of these going into retirement had announced their retirements about a month ago so they are being allowed to finish out the time that they had put into their retirement notice. Good for them.
None of the 4 of us in my dept were downsized. (I hate to hear the word "downsized". It produces a visceral reaction in my mind.) Because we are already just keeping above water on our current workload, we have been spared so far. Our test range supervisor will be retiring at the new year so that will put us in a crimp to pick up the slack. It looks like we may get some form of help when the Quality control dept is melted into our Quality Assurance office. QA handles incoming component inspection and Xray and function testing. QC currently handles physical inspection during assembly. We shall see what comes of this.
As I have survived this round, I am left with the doubts and worries about what comes next. I have told my boss that I am not looking for another job. At the time I said that, it was true. I was talking to Lucky (Tambo) last nite. A company in the Baton Rouge/ New orleans area is looking for Manufacturing Engineers to work on their production line where they make Kevlar armor for Humvees. This kind of thing is darn close to right up my alley. I like my current job but WOW! A MFG ENGR job right around home turf asking for ppl with experience doing government contracts. Damn if I dont fit that description perfectly. I am currently praying over this REAL HARD. I love what I am doing but this could be a great opportunity. Only time will tell what comes of this.
Jun. 27th, 2006 @ 02:44 pm
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| » Taking on Water |
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Well, this has been one of those weeks. If our plant was a ship we would have a nasty hole in the hull below the water line. Wether it will be fatal or not remains to be seen. I dont think it is but its sure about to get interesting and tougher. Even if our plant survives, it will ultimately become a VERY different place. All I need here is 2 more months to get my lovely wife back from Little rock.
The main gist of all of this is that we didnt get the Hand Grenade System Copntract. Because we are still a govt. installation, there is a bunch for crap that we are required to have per the feds. What that means is that because of that overhead, our bid was almost 20% higher. EWWWWW. This means that for the first time since Korea, we will not be the source for hand grenades. Oh well there. The real rub is that our already high overhead now has to be concentrated to fewer projects. This is not a good thing. Hence the boating allusion.
Other than that, things are looking good. Seeing my wife's godson last weekend makes me question our desire for children. Though thats a negligable concern. That boy could power a small city if her were hooked to a generator. The garden is looking very good. The cats are as evil as ever. And I am routinely taking five allied computers in starcrack.
Jun. 21st, 2006 @ 10:49 am
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| » Boom |
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OK, as promised, here are 2 pics from our testing range. Notice in the first shot the handle is flying off the grenade.
5 seconds or so later, Welcome to Hell.
Any questions?
I do enjoy this part of my job.
Jun. 12th, 2006 @ 02:03 pm
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| » I love my life. |
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Dont ask my why but today I am both happy and and contemplative. I went to bed last nite after talking to my wonderful wife stuck in Little Rock for school. I am so very thankful that she will finish internships in August and be able to move back home. There is never a doubt in my mind how much this wonderful woman loves me. We are now starting to plan the schedule for our having children. Its still at least a year off but now is a good time to plan. Im sure much in our calculations will change by then but its nice to think about what is good in this world. To be sure my realism (cynicism to some) and sarcasm are still in full force but for today, I am happy.
I woke to wonderful news this morning after good nights sleep. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has now begun his long awaited and deserved eternal desert sand nap. I dont really like reveling in the death of others, even nominally bad people. For this occasion, I will make an exception. Good riddance to bad rubbish. Osama will get his ticket punched too. So in eager anticipation I wait.
Right now, I am editing and exporting testing videos from the function testing from last Thursday. We were functioning M67 Hand Grenades. Some of the images in the video are spectacular. It's almost like looking into hells own kitchen. I really want to post some of these. They are certainly worthy. Of all the kids in my school, there were several of us that always wanted to play with explosives. MWUAHAHAHA, I now do just that. I make the bombs that go BOOM on the bad guys. The best feeling of all in this is that by turning the places that terrorists hide when our troops come for them into hell, I am bringing more of my friends and neighbors home alive.
Jun. 8th, 2006 @ 11:50 am
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| » Wisdom of those who came before |
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Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.
Benjamin Franklin
Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.
Ronald Reagan
All men having power ought to be mistrusted.
James Madison
Democracy... while it lasts is more bloody than either aristocracy or monarchy. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide.
John Adams
Old minds are like old horses; you must exercise them if you wish to keep them in working order.
John Adams
The happiness of society is the end of government.
John Adams
Think of your forefathers! Think of your posterity.
John Adams
A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.
Douglas Adams
All great change in America begins at the dinner table.
Ronald Reagan
Politics I supposed to be the second-oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.
Ronald Reagan
And Im just scratching the surface of the genius of old.
Jan. 31st, 2006 @ 12:42 pm
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| » Thoughts to toy with |
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The day is progressing slowly but inexorably towards its end. In about an hour, we are going to have a BBQ lunch for this quarter's safety treat and retiree's visit and Christmas. It will be nice to see everybody and not have to see them over a stack of paperwork. Cost estimating is going well. If we get half of the jobs we are estimating, we will have enough work to keep us busy all year long. YAY!
After work its off to the house and then off to the south. I will be glad to be home for christmas and have a chance to visit and rest.
Dec. 22nd, 2005 @ 11:28 am
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harbinger76's journal
