jfields

So far, we actually haven't done any real Lucy-proofing at all. It is iminent though. She likes to walk laps in a circuit from the living room to the dining room, through the kitchen and back to the living room. She'll repeat that for a good while. Every time she goes from the kitchen to the living room, she makes a left turn and goes by the stairs. So far, she has always made the turn, but I'm sure she'll experiment sooner or later. She can climb a whole flight of steps, but she doesn't know how to go down. We've cleared off the living room table and put the fish tank supplies in a big container. She can't open the liquor cabinet yet, but she does reach for the couple bottles of Grand Marnier that won't fit inside. Some weekend soon, we'll put the gate across the top of the steps and put child-proof latches on the cabinets she can reach.

Right. So to carry the theme: Josh: Dishonorable discharge after going AWOL to escape jeering of fellow Marines. Ruben: Heart attack, gastric bypass surgery, "retired" to low-rent home in Florida. Clay: Comes out of closet, loses record deal (unjustly) on "morals clause" and ends up working at WalMart.

"All is fair in love, war and baby smackdowns." Lucy is a fearless toddle-maniac with 3 teeth. She eats everything I give her. We were at a Lebanese restaurant the other day, and she ate hummus, falafel, pita bread, eggplant, marinated cucumbers, chicken and drank some lemonade. For now, I drew the line at my beer, although she wanted it. She isn't 21 yet. She is only 13 months, so she has 8 more months before she's legal. She is getting really comfortable with walking. So comfortable in fact that she sometimes forgets to look where she is going. She is also starting to learn how to run. Uh oh. For the lucky few, there will be a Lucy-viewing at Perris Valley in the first week of July. Yes, I know, a "pre-second". Lucy will owe a case of whole milk.

Exactly! It will be like watching where Gary Coleman, Dana Plato and Todd Bridges are now.

Chris, you got that all wrong. Baaaaah! Now THAT is the "family feel" he wants. It isn't the people shouting.

The whole dream only covered like the first two hours from when I arrived at Champain. It didn't even include any daylight hours. I hope to have the sequel tonight, including the World Record Justin-Way attempt, and me getting all the paperwork done at the correct tents.

Chris, I suppose it is a little different. While still all being about the ratings, American Idol also manages to sucker "fresh new talent" into the music industry in contracts that the contestants will live to regret. When their 15 minutes of fame are over, they'll be stuck with contractual manacles to a record label that has squeezed every marketable penny from them in grueling schedules before tossing them aside. Since they can't escape their contracts and get other decent work, we'll see them as washed-up, burnt-out alcoholics in 5 years. Am I cynical, or what?

Clearly, I am eagerly awaiting the 2003 WFFC. I had a dream about the convention last night. Realism was slightly lacking, however. SkyDekker picked me up from Champain and drove me to Rantoul. Upon arriving, I set up my tent among thousands of others. Tent city was as big as one of those refugee camps you see when entire populations of countries are fleeing. Except the tents weren't all green. Anyway, after I did that, I picked up my pre-ordered tickets from manifest and started to wander around. At some point, I bumped into BillVon and talked about the load organizing for the next day. (Perhaps the one possible thing in the entire dream.) It was evening, so all the aircraft were on the ground. There was a huge (and I mean huge!) tent set up with like 40-50 helicopters of all types. Allouettes, Hueys, the bottle-nosed ones the Coast Guard flies, some Blackhawks and others were all tied down for the night. (I did say the dream wasn't realistic! ) Out beside the main runway was the fixed-wing part of the fleet. Tons of Casas, Twotters, King Airs, along with more C-130s than I saw when I was active duty at Fort Bragg. There were also some C-141s and C-5s mixed in. I was drooling. I finally reached the beer tent, and saw keg after keg of really good Belgian beer. (More unrealistic than the C-5s?) So I started drinking, and chatting with all the numerous scantily-clad skydiving hotties, who amazingly, didn't realize that yes, I am in fact married. Anyway, the dream went on from there, but not quite far enough to even get me in trouble in my dream. Like I said, my dream wasn't very realistic, but it was a really, really good dream!

I can't wait for reality TV to die. Either that, or get moved to some reality TV cable channel, which is about the same thing. When will people figure out that there is nothing real about it?

Wendy, I know. And I know that you know. You were just the last poster in the thread.

Yeah, I heard Sebazz did like the ribbed kind.

The other side is when the reverse happens... You put in your money: no refund and no candy. That is much more common than the reverse. So perhaps it WAS karma, telling you to get it while the getting was good.

Putting objects on the sandy bottom of the gulf does help the fish population. There are lots of projects involved in that mission that are unrelated to the oil industry. Fish populations aren't the justification for offshore drilling. That is about the oil. As an example of a way to help the fish without the potential of oil spills or being the target terrorist attacks, look into "Reefex." The US Army worked with the Environmental Protection Agency, state Fish & Wildlife agencies, and others to clean obsolete equipment and make artificial fish reefs. Pictures and articles here: http://www.jennandjustin.com/photos-reefex-intro.asp

That and the insane good looks are probably why you're a greenie. Since I don't know the boss man, I can't say which was more important to him.

NacMac, Here are a couple fresh photos. I'll put Lucy's curly hair, baby blues and dimples against any baby, any day. And, yes, she still sleeps through the night every night.

Sebazz, I don't personally know any of the participants, nor was I witness to the events (obviously). It sounds to me like you acted responsibly and helped the situation by letting everyone know what was going on. Regardless of whether you actually pulled it or not, your follow-up actions were in the best interest of everyone's safety. It sounds like you were on the ball. It is skydiving and shit happens. Nothing malicious, no injuries? Move on, people. It doesn't sound to me that you are the one with the problem. Don't let "them" get to you, whoever they are. Just my $.02.

Yeah, but before computers and the Internet, stalkers didn't have the time to read the whole phone book looking for the name and address to match the phone number they found in the bathroom stall. Or did you?

For many places, it is kind of moot. Verizon releases the same information as a reverse-lookup on the web. So opting out of Google doesn't really do much, as it is all public information anyway, thanks to the local phone company.

Fallrate, You forgot the part about grooming. Clay will so be all over this. Kinking positions and grooming...

1. Put $1 bill in wallet. 2. Put survey in recycle bin. Seriously, if people are interested in the survey, they'll do it because they want to do so. If you actually dilligently filled out the stupid thing, it would be a waste to do so for $1. It is like my mom driving all the way across town to save $.03/gallon on gas, for her 15 gallon tank. Amount saved: 45 cents. Time wasted: 20 minutes. Calculated value of her time: $1.35/hour. That isn't even minimum wage. Unless she does it for enjoyment, it isn't worth it.

It is kind of like a Ford vs. Chevrolet issue. Some people hate them and some love them, often for equally goofy reasons. More important than the brand you buy is the condition of the particular rig, and your understanding of both it's limitations and yours. For what it is worth, my rig is a Reflex that I bought used three years ago. I'm happy with mine.

I hear ya. My grandmother died a fairly slow agonizing death from emphysema about 15 years ago. My grandfather on that side also died of cancer related to smoking when I was 8. Smoking robbed me of pretty much any chance I had of knowing my grandparents. It was their right to do it, but it sickened me and I think it was pathetic. Luckily, my parents were strong about it. When my parents bought a house (when I was born), they nailed a big brass no-smoking sign on the front door. They firmly told my grandparents that the sign applied to them and they'd have to stand outside to smoke, snowing or not. I never had to worry about second-hand smoke in my own home. If people choose to smoke, that is up to them. I feel bad about their addiction, but it isn't something I feel obligated to deal with. There will be no smoking in my house or vehicles. When I'm around smokers in public, I'll respect their wish to light up. I won't complain. Usually, I just leave if it bothers me. Works for me, works for them.

That is a relief. I'll be without a car, but I'm sure it won't be hard to bum a driver as long as I'm willing to share.

Speaking of which.... I know that beer is part of the deal, but I'd assumed it would be along the lines of mass-produced American swill. You are talking about real beer from a local store, right?

Whuffo works units are welcome, as long as they are quiet about it.