You Wish You Were As Cool As These Guys.

For an incredible song and even better dance moves, bounce over to check out the latest post by the Heathermomster. EXCELLENT! I wonder if I can find that one on iTunes. Great find hc.



Those guys are even better than the Trololo Russian.



Matt

Please Pray

 Sherri and Terri (left and center, respectively)

Please take a minute to say a prayer for my Aunt Terri.  She's in the hospital with a brain hemorrhage with extreme pain and the doctors aren't really sure what to do.  No one seems to know the cause, extent, or what to do about it.  She's been admitted and released a couple of times, only to have to return as things get even worse.

Terri, for those of y'all who don't know her, is my dad's youngest sister.  She's also the lady who shares my love of gardening the most out of my family.  She introduced me to daylilies and encore azaleas, and from there the obsession began.  

L to R: Amanda, Sherri, Jim, Terri, Grandmother, Herb, Amy, Mom, Dad, me

Please pray for fast and complete healing, for the pain to subside, for wisdom for the doctors/Uncle Jim/Aunt Sherri (Terri's twin sister), and for peace and grace for everyone.

UPDATE 6/17: We think Terri is improving and she's been released (again) from the hospital.  Please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Thoughts on Japanese Culture

 The country if full of beautiful temples (Buddhist) and shrines (Shinto). 

This is a statue at Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island.

Japan is an extremely efficient, modern nation, and I was honestly amazed at all of the things they do exceedingly well, with seemingly no effort.
 
Walking through the congested areas of Tokyo, there are hundreds of people within a small space, all going different directions, and no one is running into someone else.  No one is stopping in the middle, backing up others (except for foreigners with luggage, of course :)).  Everyone goes where they need to without getting in someone else's way.  Everyone is accutely aware of others and does their best to not hinder anyone else.

Downtown Tokyo is alive and full of people.

Trains are almost always on time.  Someone told me that if a train is 30 seconds late, people start to get really nervous.  If people tell you that they'll do something at a certain time in Japan, you can take them at their word.

The Japanese do a lot of walking and also practice a longstanding tradition of self moderation in all areas of life.  As a result, you will immediately notice how skinny everyone is.  They teach that you should only eat until you are 80% full and never over-consume or be wasteful.

Kinkakuji, the golden pavilion.  A beautiful temple in Kyoto.

The Japanese are a very modest culture and I think I saw maybe one or two women wearing shorts without leggings underneath the entire trip.  You will see a few short skirts, but they stand out a lot because they make up perhaps 0.01% of the population.  It was kind of nice to not have to see anyone's cleavage, mid-drift, plumber's behind, or butt cheeks for two weeks!  In addition to dressing very modestly, they also go to great lengths to avoid UV exposure by wearing arm coverings, loose fitting long sleeves, and carrying UV protecting umbrellas.

Every bit of space is used efficiently.  

If you live in Japan and want a garden, this is probably how you'll have to do it. 

They are also very conscientious about others around them and go to great lengths to avoid impeding anyone else in any way.  Just a day after our return, Matt and I were out running errands and caught ourselves sharply criticizing the apparent lack of self awareness displayed by our fellow Americans.  At Lowe's, one lady stood silently and happily watched as her children got in people's way and pulled one another in the car in the middle of the entrance to the store, blocking anyone from entering or leaving.  At a clothing store, the family in line before us waited until they got to the cash register before deciding to trade sizes for one of their items.  The father began checking out and paid the cashier before the mother and son returned with the exchanged item.  Instead of getting into the back of the line, she stepped up to the register with her extra item, looked at us and said, "Do you mind?", as if it were perfectly okay to make us wait on them.  The Japanese always put everyone else ahead of themselves in this manner while Americans are overall a very self-absorbed, me-first culture.

Of course, on the flip side, there are some consequences of being an extremely efficient, others-prioritized nation.  I spent some time talking with our friends and missionaries, the Wilsons, about this.  The Japanese are expected to always be on top of everything, to perform to the highest expectations and quickly.  As a result, fathers often spend all week working themselves to death, hardly seeing their families, and sleeping all day Saturday to recover from 18 hour work days.  I noticed that you almost never saw working-aged couples together, especially during the week.  We saw a few complete families on the weekends at the parks, but overall, you only saw groups of females or males together.  I saw one or two retired-aged couples traveling together and lots of college-aged couples, but no one from our age up to 60.  No couples on date nights or doing the grocery shopping together.

The pressures and expectations of marriage on the wives has resulted in many women never getting married.  This, coupled with the Japanese's hard-working culture, has produced one of the highest abortion rates in the world.  People are not getting married and starting families, and the government has succumbed to bribing people to have children by giving out cash and other incentives to families with children.

Even in Japan, the gospel is present if you know where to look.

The sermon preached when we visited our old church, Senri Newtown Baptist, really hit home.  The Japanese pastor spoke of how the nation as a whole has no sense of self purpose and a lot of people have no joy.  With evolution taught as the unquestionable origin of our existence, people feel like they are here by accident, and without any reason.  Only after knowing Christ and learning that our gracious heavenly father designed us each specifically and with a purpose and that He loved us enough to send his only son to die in our place did Pastor Gorou find joy and direction in his life. Japan is not like the Deep South.  People don't know basic Bible stories, regardless of their religious views.  The Japanese Christians are a very small minority, and new Christians start out without any scriptural knowledge gained through general cultural exposure. 

So, I think I can learn a lot from the Japanese, especially putting others first in more aspects of my life, efficiency of time and efforts, and practicing moderation in lots of different things.  But, on the other hand, I'm also more thankful to have been born to a Christian family in a country with a long history of people striving to serve our Lord and to have had the opportunity to hear His Word from a very early age.

Japan in a Nutshell

I promise to come back with more details on our two week trip to Nihon, but here's a quick run through after finally sitting down and spending 10 minutes quickly scanning through some of our photos.

Here's a quick tour and a little of what I learned those two weeks ...

 First off, I learned right away that we are freaking AWESOME (or insane, depending on how you look at it).  After some 30 hours of non-stop travel, we finally got to our hotel for a good night's rest before waking up bright and early to spend our first day in Tokyo doing an 18 mile bike tour of the city.  The Tokyo Great Cycling Tour was one of my favorites and highly recommended.  The best way to see the city. 

 As Matt put it, "There are Japanese people EVERYWHERE!"  It's a little intimidating at first when you realize how obvious it is that you don't quite fit in. 

 Y'all, my dad is hilarious.  Don't let his quiet, "shy" demeanor fool you.  He's a big goof and a whole lot of fun.  I think he's saying either "pea-su" or "word to your muthah".

Another thing about my parents - they are the model for what I hope my marriage to be.  The best example of a loving, Godly relationship that I can think of. 

It's not just my dad that cracks me up.  My whole family is made up of a bunch of goofs and kept me laughing for two weeks straight.  Like this kid.  He's another undercover jokester/prankster. 

 I like to think of myself of just above average when it comes to height, but next to my husband, I'm a shorty!  This is one of the reasons I like wearing heels. Too bad they didn't give Matt a sword to try on.  I think that would have really completed his outfit. 

Boys will pee just about anywhere...

We were rock stars over there.  I can't count how many school kids came up and asked for our autographs and to take photos with us.  It kind of sucks to come back home and not have people running up to you like this anymore.  Ahhh, back to the life of the commoner.

Castles are cool, at least the first couple that you tour.  After that, your feet start hurting and the white boys in the group start complaining about the bazillionth castle you've seen that day. 

I was so spoiled by the food there.  We went to the supermarket one night and got some of the best sushi we had on our trip.  And, it was cheap!  Publix don't have nothin' on their sashimi!

My family is always up for fun.  I really love this about them. Not only do they entertain me, but also all of the Japanese kids and passerby.  I'm glad we didn't get kicked out of the park, or told we couldn't ride down the slide like this anymore (like the 3 of us girls and my dad were told back in '97).

Thirteen years later, the whole fam back in Japan.  I'm so glad we were able to take this trip.  We've been talking about doing it for the last decade, and I think these memories will last a lifetime.
 

Back, but Sleepy

Ohmigosh... it's almost June!  My posting has really been on a downward spiral the last several months.  At least I have an excuse for the past couple of weeks, but I'll just have to ask you to overlook the lack of regular posts since winter.

We got back from a two week stay in Japan a few days ago but are still a little jet-lagged.  This morning, I got up around 4 AM, caught up on some household things, got dressed, went to the store, bought stamps, and still got into work well before 7.  Weird.  I'm usually having to drag myself up in the morning to get there early enough to make up for missed hours due to school.

For anyone who might not know, Matt and I took a two week tour of Japan with my parents, sisters, and brothers-in-law.  My mom's job moved us to Osaka for a year when I was in high school, and we've always wanted to go back.  After everyone graduated from college, got married, and started working, we figured now was the time.  Better get in any major trips like that before we start having kids! :)

We started out in Tokyo, and then visited several places: Hiroshima, Miajima, Osaka (including our old apartment, school, and church!), Kyoto, Nara, and then saw our friends, the Wilsons, in Nagoya.  It was a lot of fun, and a LOT of walking.  It was definitely not a restful trip, as we got up early every single day (except for one, when I got to sleep in till 9) and did a lot of sightseeing.

I haven't even gone through our bazillion photos of our trip yet, let alone seen the photos taken by the rest of the group.  I'm sure we'll have a ton of great shots as my Dad and Amanda are both excellent photographers. 

So, until I get a chance to go through our photos and notes from the trip, here's something to hold you over.  A little taste of Japanese entertainment.



This is a famous Japanese comedian who was pranked.  He is put into a taxi and is on his way to the airport.  The cab driver asks if he's in a hurry and he says yes.  Then, it all goes downhill.  The cab driver tells the comedian he's going to take a shortcut to the airport and to buckle up (the comedian gets nervous because it's a racer's seat belt).  After it's all over, the driver asks for payment of 660 yen.

Teacher of the Year

This post is a little belated, but I wanted to congratulate my gifted mother-in-law, Diane, who was honored on Thursday night as the Elementary Teacher of the Year for the entire city of Huntsville!

I have met many parents of her former students and they have all told me the same thing: Mrs. Harness is an excellent teacher.

This a very high and exciting honor! Congratulations, Diane!!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Matt, who is 31 today!

Us at our first AXO formal, Fall '01.

Here's to another year of growing "old" together!

Circuit Diagram

I think I may need a little help with this one. I never did all that well in any EE classes and Becca doesn't seem to want to help.


(2000 points for whoever figures out the equivalent resistance of that resistor ball.)

http://xkcd.com/

Spring 2010 Plant Sale

 The Huntsville Botanical Garden is hosting its annual spring plant sale this week.  Members can shop on Thursday and the rest of the general public is welcome on Friday/Saturday 9am - 5pm, and Sunday 1 - 5pm.

Spring Plant Sale - Public Shopping

The Garden Guild is gearing up for its 2010 Plant Sale! Don’t miss what promises to be the best year ever. In addition to all of the wonderful plants you are used to finding at plant sale, you’ll find NEW for 2010 – berry and fruit trees!

Shoppers are encouraged to bring their own wagons for their shopping convenience. As always, Master Gardeners will be on hand to perform a PH test on your soil. Please bring ONLY clean, DRY soil for testing!

This is one of the best places to buy your spring plants. They have a great selection of herbs, vegetables, trees, roses, perennials, shrubs, and more.

Algae Blooms?

Do you remember "Crashergate" last year, when two reality tv wannabes crashed the Obamas' state dinner?  Well, the White House Social Secretary, Desiree Rogers, has been sacked as a result, and the security heightened. 

Now, a Congressman is saying that lawmakers are being punished because of the security breach.  Not sure what I think about that, but I found this quote to be highly entertaining:

Gohmert called the White House’s handling of the incident “incompetent.”

“The point here is that this is a circus over there,” he said. “Nobody seems to know what’s going on and when accountability was demanded and the social secretary was requested by members of Congress to come testify, they said we’re not going to let you come testify.

“It is a circus going on over there and now the people of the circus want to be in charge of your healthcare. Good grief, it’s time to say we don’t want clowns in charge of something as important as our healthcare. I don’t even want them in charge of algae blooms.”

On a side (but actually more important) note, Democratic Representative Stupak, the guy fighting to keep federal abortion funding out of the government health care plan, gives the reasons that he's been told that Democratic lawmakers will not strip taxpayer-funded abortions from their health care bill:

“If you pass the Stupak amendment, more children will be born, and therefore it will cost us millions more. That’s one of the arguments I’ve been hearing,” Stupak says. “Money is their hang-up. Is this how we now value life in America? If money is the issue — come on, we can find room in the budget. This is life we’re talking about.”

Update

So, I've noticed that the blog postings have dwindled to the single-digits over the last few months... have you?  I could chalk this up to school, but that's probably not all of it.  I just haven't had the time or interest to keep up with my former posting frequency.  I sometimes think that there's not a whole lot to post about - we're pretty boring as far as married people go, but there are still a couple of things going on in our lives.

We've really enjoyed fostering for Weimaraner Rescue of the South.  Cypress was adopted last weekend.  We went back and forth about 100 times over whether to keep her for ourselves.  I still can't believe we let her go; I hope I don't regret that decision.  She went to a really good home where she will get endless amounts of one-on-one attention and no snotty foster brothers (Ace) who growl every time she comes near.  I feel really good about helping out these dogs and have really come to love the breed.  Weims and dachshunds - what a weird combination of dogs to love!  Anyway, I'd like to get another foster, but with some upcoming track time for Matt and a big trip this spring, I'm not sure that now would be the best time to get the next foster dog.

I am really struggling with time management.  Things at work have been slow lately, and it's starting to get to me.  On the other hand, at home, I'm unable to get everything done that I want.  I want to devote an hour or two every week towards working on a drawing of Matt and his brother that I started two months ago and I also need to find time to regularly sit still and complete more Rosetta Stone Japanese lessons (in preparation for that big trip we're taking this spring).  Plus, I want/need more practice with my new camera.

We're starting some home projects and will hopefully have the first one wrapped up in the next several weeks so that I can actually post photos.  I decided to stop thinking about what we'd like to have in our next house and spend a little time concentrating on how to make the one we're already blessed with more fun for us.  So far on the list are smooth ceilings in a few of the rooms, some crown moulding additions, and tile backspashes and floors in the kitchen.  Matt is very handy in the garage, and I can plant a mean perennial, but larger-scale interior home improvement tasks are a little new to us.  Scraping popcorn ceilings was a mess, but I'm hopeful that it will all come out beautifully in the end!  Those are my goals for this year, so we'll see how it goes.

Matt's been spending a lot of time in the garage, transforming the old white e30 into a beast of a track car.  He's got the roll cage in (thank God!) and fully padded, a new paint scheme, stickers, and all sorts of mechanical revisions that I can't begin to understand enough to list here.  He's really excited about all of the track time he's going to get this year.  After the wreck in December '08, he didn't get much car time last year.  He's already signed up for several weekends this year and will be working towards eventually getting a competition license (to race, which he'll do as a hobby, not professionally).

Our church's yearly missions conference is coming up soon, and I don't have to do a single thing for it!  That's right, I've been on self-imposed sabbatical since the fall and it has been great!  I'm not saying that I don't cherish serving on the missions committee (I really do), but I needed a break from something, and this was the first to go.  I'm really looking forward to attending the conference, seeing all of our missionaries, and just being able to enjoy the weekend without any responsibility attached to it. 

The weather warmed up for a spring preview last weekend and I was able to get out and enjoy the sunshine for the first time in months!  It was absolutely wonderful.  Now I'm getting excited for spring and dreaming of a green yard and lots of colorful blooms!

So, that's us.  What's new with you??

Puppy Photoshoot

A few weeks ago, I got my very first SLR.  After pestering all of my coworkers and several camera-toting friends, I settled on this - the Canon XSi.  It has everything I need, and then some.  I wanted a nice camera that would last a long time; something I wouldn't outgrow too quickly, but was easy enough to use for a beginner.  I contemplated the Nikon D5000 and D90 models for a while, but was convinced that a Canon was the way to go since I have a couple of Canon owners in the family who have *very* nice lenses that they're willing to lend. 

So anyway, I got the camera in the mail several weeks ago and after fiddling around with it some the very first night, I was a little worried I'd bought a very expensive paper weight.  I had no idea how to use the thing and the photos I was taking (inside, at night) weren't any better than my little point and shoot. 

Well, after reading some good entry-level photography articles and a quick tutorial from 'lil sis, I feel like I'm starting to figure it out.  My Dad loaned me his 50mm EF f/1.4 lens, which is GREAT for indoor shots.  I got some fun photos of my favorite furry subjects...

 

  

  

  

  

  

 

Meet Cypress

After our last successful weim fostering experience, Matt finally caved and let me get a new foster dog. 

I talked to the area foster coordinator for Weim Rescue and had to choose between two dogs - Gaylord, a sweet, well-socialized male, or Cypress, a younger (and more energetic) female who had been kenneled since September due to lack of foster homes.  I was initially leaning towards Gaylord, but we chose Cypress since she needed a foster home more.

Boy, was I in for a surprise!  In a lot of ways, she's is completely different from Charlie.  She's sleek,  high-strung, graceful, very energetic, and likes to antagonize Tyson and Ace.  In other ways, they are a lot alike.  Both are stubborn, sneaky, and quite affectionate.

Even though she has about 100 times more energy than Charlie, I think she's actually a bit easier to handle.  For one simple reason... she's crate-trained!  She goes right into her crate, lies down calmly, and often falls asleep.  We can put her in there while we eat dinner, vacuum, or when she gets too excited.  She's definitely got the potential to be a bit more destructive than Charlie ever was (he could be left alone inside all day with no problems), but it's nice to be able to put her in the crate and not worry about what she could be destroying while I'm at work.

Cypress, like Charlie, came into rescue heartworm positive.  The Southeast is one of the worst places for heartworm infection.  I don't know why people don't use heartworm prevention!  It's so easy, and fairly inexpensive.  The treatment is not.  It's also very hard on the dogs (they have to be confined with no physical activity for two months).

These two spend most of their time wishing they had the other's bone/chewie/toy/etc.

Cypress's heartworm infection is the only reason I can think of that someone might have turned her into a shelter (a kill shelter, no less).  Someone has obviously spent some time with her.  Besides the crate-training, she also knows sit, stay, and go away.  She's been a pleasure to have around the house.  She's a little bit alpha, and tends to harass "the boys" a bit, but she's still a very sweet dog.  She's also beautiful.  I could watch her run for hours, she's just so gorgeous.

Come over and meet her!

Be Still My Soul

I've been humming this tune in my head for days now.  I finally had a free minute to look up the lyrics, most of which I couldn't remember. 

My favorite line(s): "Leave to thy God to order and provide; In every change, He faithful will remain."  Sometimes we just need a nice reminder that we can't do everything ourselves and it's best not to try. 

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

Runnin' Shoes

Who knew that picking out shoes could be so complicated?   

Before last month, I always bought my sneakers based on which ones were the cutest and on sale.  Not again.

For the last year or so, I had noticed an increasingly common occurrence... my feet hurt during Amanda's Body Attack classes.  The arches and balls of my feet would ache through all of the countless rounds of plyometric lunges and jumping jacks.  Manda took me to Fleet Feet last year to get some inserts for my gym shoes.  They made a difference... but only for a little while.

Finally, I went back up to Fleet Feet for one of their "fittings".   I haven't had someone measure my feet since I was a kid and my parents bought my shoes at Stride Right (where if you wore a hole through your shoes on the playground before you outgrew them, they'd replace them for free), and wasn't sure what to expect.    I don't normally like someone touching my feet unless they're giving me a pedicure or foot massage!

They measured each foot multiple times and talked about arch settling and foot shapes.  Then, they had me run on their video camera-equipped treadmill and recorded me.  They played it back very slowly, analyzing my gate, foot placement, and all sorts of other intricacies that I've never considered before.  I just sat there wondering, "What the heck is pronation, anyway?"

Finally, they brought out several different pairs of shoes that matched my foot type and gave the support I was looking for.  I picked the ones I liked best, a pair of Mizuno Wave Inspires, and held my breath as I checked out.

Several weeks later, I am still in love with these shoes.  I've done several of Manda's classes, run on the treadmill, and not had a moment where I thought about my feet.  In fact, I think that I went a little too hard the first day and wore out the rest of my body because my feet weren't hurting.

This kind of thing is probably a no-brainer for serious runners, but it was all a new experience to me.  I can't say enough good things about Fleet Feet; I think I'll be buying my tennis shoes from them from now on.

Switcheroo

A lot of talk today was about the decision by an Alabama congressman to switch parties.  What's caught a lot of people's attention is the fact that he's switching to the minority party.

That sounds like crazy talk!  Why would you switch to the minority party?  Well, you switch to the minority party when your district is pissed off at the spending and over-reaching government control being pushed by the majority party.  You switch parties when you know that you might get your butt handed to you in the next election simply because of your party affiliation. 

The Republicans  welcomed Parker Griffith to the Republican Party with open arms, but Politico remembers:

"The National Republican Congressional Committee poured in $514,000 to air ads attacking Griffith, including one that suggested he was soft on Islamic terrorism.

"And the committee raised questions about whether Griffith engaged in medical malpractice when it released decades-old documentation accusing his cancer center of underdosing patients with radiation so that he could collect more money."

That's a lot of money to spend on ads like this, only to sing a different tune a year later.

This is what's so frustrating about Republicans - they want to win so bad that they'll take anyone who wants to caucus with them regardless of what they said about them during the last election and without reviewing their full voting history.  Glenn Thrush sums it up:

"While the left is dismissing Parker Griffith as an unreliable Democrat who often sided with Republicans on big issues, one Democratic aide points out that Griffith actually voted with Speaker Nancy Pelosi 85 percent of the time.

"According to these rankings compiled by washingtonpost.com, Griffith has a higher party loyalty score than Democratic Reps. Heath Shuler (N.C.), Frank Kratovil (Md.), Glenn Nye (Va.), Harry Mitchell (Ariz.), Gene Taylor (Miss.) and Walt Minnick (Idaho)."

Yeah, Griffith voted against the most recent big bills pushed by the Democrats: cap and trade, healthcare, the final TARP bill, but he voted for Pelosi as Speaker of the House, for SCHIP, for most of the TARP spending measures, and against all of the amendments limiting spending.  He also campaigned on the fact that he is a doctor and thinks everyone should have health care coverage.

Griffith only started changing his voting after his constituents caught wind and pitched a royal fit.  He met with lots of angry voters at town hall meetings this summer and had to make a strong (new) stance against any government healthcare takeover.

Note to Republicans: it always helps to check the facts and the past history.  Anyone willing to change their "convictions" based on the latest political poll is not usually someone you want in your party long term.

On the other hand, check out Les Phillip.  He's an immigrant, former Navy pilot, Christian, and staunch social and fiscal conservative.

Manda Panda

My sister is... wait for it... AWESOME.  Just recently, she succumbed to our repeated requests for a private photoshoot.

After Matt's church photo session turned out like this, we decided that we needed a professional who knew us just a little better to take our picture.

We haven't had pictures taken since we got married, 5 1/2 years ago, and this was well overdue.

She came to the house to shoot us (we originally planned to head downtown and take all sorts of cool, artistic shots, but life got in the way and we ran out of time).  We even got a few with "the boys", and afterward, she used her Photoshop magic and took out all sorts of blinks, blemishes, and wrinkles.   

So, please admire the talents of my beautiful, and incredibly gifted kid sister.  She's awesome, don't ya think?

The Second Lady

I usually say that I love politics.  However, I've been annoyed with our politicians a good bit lately; it's basically to the point where I'm so frustrated with every single thing they do (both sides), that I can't stand to read or hear anything about the current legislation being drafted, debated, and voted on.

And then I saw this story last weekend and really enjoyed it.  It gave new insight on the vice president and his wife.

It's really easy to form our opinions of public figures based on their politics or public gaffes, but sometimes you might feel a little differently about them when you hear something about their personal natures.

Take Vice President Joe Biden.  I knew the general story of how he was widowed when his boys were very young, his first wife and young daughter died in a car wreck at the beginning of his political career.  But other than that, all I knew about his second wife was that she was prone to occasionally sticking her foot in her mouth just like her husband.  (Remember when she told everyone that Biden was offered the Secretary of State job after Obama was elected?)

Now, knowing that even though she's married to the Vice President of the United States of America and still works as an English professor at a community college, I have a different opinion of her.  Not many women could make that claim.  The story of how she and Joe began dating and finally got married also showed a softer side of our VP.

I also like their admitted use of 3M products!  Scotch Tape!


Watch CBS News Videos Online

While discussing this piece on the Bidens, my father brought up another incident showing V.P. Biden's decency.  In 2001, there was a fierce debate on the passage of Bush's budget which was going well into the night, and every vote counted.  Senator Strom Thurmond, who was 98 years old at the time, was fading quickly and it was apparent that he might collapse if forced to stay for a vote.  Then-Senator Biden offered to leave with Thurmond, so that their votes would cancel each other out.  For a recap, see here.

I'm tired of elected officials dropping their responsibilities to run around on their wives and children, calling stewardesses names and generally acting like first-class jerks!  Just when you begin to feel like there is no decency left in politics, it's nice to be reminded of a few past examples of common courtesy, even if they don't always act that way.

Charlie Has a Home!

Charlie was adopted over the weekend by the Gills, who were looking for a playmate for their dog, Bella.

Charlie is a great dog, and I miss him already. He is very sweet-natured and loves to have his neck scratched. We had some adjustments to make, such as always keeping an old rag handy to wipe his mouth after drinking to avoid the slobber wipes on our pants and my homework. He also kept us on our toes in the kitchen - stealing a Subway sandwich off of the counter, disseminating the contents of the trash can, and ripping into bags of flour and cornmeal when we forgot to close the pantry door.

Sleeping has been a little quieter at our house the last few nights. Charlie would circle and paw at his bed, trying to find just the right spot. Then, he'd bump into the wall or dresser, making a lot of noise as he finally laid down. No more nose nudges at eye-level to ask to go out at 5:30 AM - the other two are too short to reach.

Ace will especially miss having his partner in crime, who pulled out this board, allowing Ace to roam the neighborhood pond for several days. We didn't catch him right away because he would come back home in the afternoons so that he would be sure to get his dinner! That story could've been a whole post on its own, but as you can see, I haven't posted in a LONG time!

Thanks to Lynne, the eternal matchmaker, Charlie now has a built-in playmate, Bella, and a wonderful new forever home.

"We're gonna be in the Hudson"

If you'd asked me one year ago if a person could land an Airbus A320 with 155 people on board in a river without killing anyone I would have said that it was absolutely impossible.

Now, I'm no pilot, but I do have a degree in Avaition Management and therefore had quite a few classes dealing with flight, crew resource management, crashes and and a varity of subjects avaition related. I've seen the news, photos and the following incredible animation of US Air flight 1549 landing in the Hudson and I STILL have an increadibly hard time beliving that they actually pulled it off. The pilots certainly deserve TONS of credit for the way this turned out, but I'm convinced that they weren't the ones determining the outcome that day.

I just found this today and had to share... Here's an amazing 3D animation of US Air flight 1549.





There is a bunch more info HERE.

One note that really stood out to me was this line:

"The Branta Canadensis [Canada Goose] has an average mass of about 3700 grams. At the time of impact, the closure rate between Flight 1549 and the flock of birds was approximately 120 m/s [meters per second]. The kinetic energy dissipated by collision with a single bird would be approximately 27,000 Joules. This is about the same amount of energy as a 2,000 pound car traveling 17 mph."

That's just ONE bird. If you've ever tried to push a car to get it rolling at just 2 mph you know how much force is required Also, for comparison, car bumper tests are commonly done at 5 mph. This was a HUGE ammount of force to hit an entire flock of Canada Geese.

Wow. Those guys did an amazing bit of flying that day.