Saturday, May 06, 2006
Adi Can ...
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Adi can celebrate Cinco de Mayo
[click pictures to enlarge--Adi likes that]
That was yesterday, May 5, the holiday which celebrates Mexico's 1862 military victory against the French in Puebla.
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It was on our usual walk after the ride to the proshop with Mrs. Jim that Adi found the yellow John Deere machine.
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I'll bet you thought all John Deeres were green and yellow, right? Well if so, maybe this wasn't a John Deere at all, just a cousin named Deere, a yellow Deere.
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Yellow Deere, sounds like an Indian name, doesn't it? Chief Yellow Deer. Our cousin is named Chief Running Deer. He is quite a guy. I did his divorce here in Texas before he moved to Louisiana. We should see and visit with him at the family reunion the end of this month.
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At the end of the walk, Adi stopped to smell the flowers, these yellow daylilies, Little Bronzenes (Houston Chronicle link)(Green Space, Houston Chronicle blog link). Then she posed for a photo op.
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Addendum:
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When I worked for Ford Aerospace at NASA here in Houston, I had to turn in a weekly status report for my Ford supervisor. This was because we all were doing diverse activities and there really wasn't any way the company could monitor our contract performance by observation.
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The thought occurred to me that since so many of my family read the blog--only Susie and Mitch comment now that I've eliminated the anonymous option--I could do a status report. Others might find it interesting or could just skip it. A form will make it easier for me. If you have suggestions you could let me know what you think.
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SAMPLE DAILY STATUS REPORT:
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Health check--blood pressure/heart rate 129/61/68 8:10 AM, 134/66/58 11:58.
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Day's biggie--it rained last night so had to cancel golf. Just cool it today, read the paper, blog, drink coffee, do some organizing and cleaning.
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Go Bob and John**
Go for the Roses!!
Can he make it for Bob McNair?
12 to 1 odds say he will have to run very hard, which he will if Bob Baffert has his way.
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Bob and John
See Bob and John
See Bob and John run
Run, Bob and John, run
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Bob and John lives at Stonerside Stables, in Paris, Kentucky. Bob McNair lives in Houston, Texas, and is the billionaire owner of the Houston Oilers as well as Bob and John. [McNair uses horse sense with Texans, John Lopez, the Houston Chronicle (link)]
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Bob and John has 9 starts, 4 wins, 1 second, and 3 thirds. His earnings to date are $680,070. I could retire on that but he can't. Not yet.
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**Our TV gets NBC, so maybe I'll see you there this afternoon, ladies, wear your pretty hat.
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Whoops, NBC anouncer said odds have changed to 11 to 1 now.
Go for the Roses!!
Can he make it for Bob McNair?
12 to 1 odds say he will have to run very hard, which he will if Bob Baffert has his way.
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Bob and John
See Bob and John
See Bob and John run
Run, Bob and John, run
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Bob and John lives at Stonerside Stables, in Paris, Kentucky. Bob McNair lives in Houston, Texas, and is the billionaire owner of the Houston Oilers as well as Bob and John. [McNair uses horse sense with Texans, John Lopez, the Houston Chronicle (link)]
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Bob and John has 9 starts, 4 wins, 1 second, and 3 thirds. His earnings to date are $680,070. I could retire on that but he can't. Not yet.
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**Our TV gets NBC, so maybe I'll see you there this afternoon, ladies, wear your pretty hat.
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Whoops, NBC anouncer said odds have changed to 11 to 1 now.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Our days in Palermo -- IMarch 13 to March 19, 2006
[Pictures enlarge when you click on them]
(You can have this map separately [link].)
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Our Spring 2006 Sicily, Amalfi Coast, Provence, and Tuscany vacation:
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We were to spend the first two weeks in Sicily, another week around Amalfi, a week in Provence, and a final week in Tuscany.
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Initially, we flew to Palermo, staying there six nights while we toured northern and western Sicily. We would end up at Taormina near Mt. Etna before departing for the Amalfi Coast.
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Our friend, Gene, has a daily Sicily run of pictures on his Web site(link). They didn't go on to the Almalfi Coast.
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In last Friday's blog (link) I asked, "what is Mrs. Jim doing here?"
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You would never guess, but she is eating a boiled potato at a Sicilian market. Italian people close their places of work and trade from noon until about 3:00 or a little later.
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With so many women working now, the markets cater to prepared foods. This is similar to our take out/take home style eating in the states. How would you like to work all morning, commute home and cook for the rest of the family. Not any more now that all these preparted foods can be purchased at the markets.
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While we were looking around at the market, this guy was filling a paper bucket with boiled potatoes.
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We didn't pay him any nevermind until our tour guide started handing them out. We were on a walk on our first afternoon in Palermo, compliments of our Grand Circle tour guide, Maurizio.
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Not everyone had arrived yet and because the natives (us) were getting restless, we all went out, letting Maurizio show us around. He knew we would be hungry after our long plane ride so he bought us these.
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Later he would take us to a cafe/bar where we could eat a late afternoon meal or have a snack.
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We continued this walking tour, finding the essentials like the Internet Cafe, eating places, and a couple of grocery stores.
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We all were very tired, but there was the welcome dinner at the hotel. Our whole group hadn't arrived, but we still had dinner that night.
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There were 29 in our group, eight of them showed up the next day. There was a problem with their plane (Delta Airlines) so they were stuck in Chicago for the night. The rest of us were glad we went ahead and ate, no waiting for them.
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Our hotel was an old one, in the middle of town. When we found our room, it had twin beds. Maurizio changed that for us, getting us a room matrimonial. It had a king size bed. From then on, all our Italian rooms were matrimonial. Ask for them when you are in Italy.
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The only English TV broadcast was CNN. That was enjoyable, but we hadn't been to bed for two days, just slept a little on the plane. You can bet we really did sleep good that night. Had to get up early for breakfast the next day and be on the tour.
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The next day was a morning bus and walking tour of Palermo. Breakfast was superb for a continental one. I was already getting to like Sicilian cheese.
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This was the view from our dining room. It was a little foggy (pollution?) in the mornings, but you can imagine the Mediterranean laying beyond those buildings.
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Then on to a couple of Cathedrals.
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First was the Palermo Cathedral. Construction was began in 1184 A.D. (link)(another link). These tombs contained remains of the Royal and clerical people. Perhaps the most famous was Costance de Hauteville (link). Significant also because it would be the first of many, many, churches we would visit in Europe.
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Next was the Monreale Cathedral. This one was started in 1174 (link). Looking towards the alter,
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and this is the Cloister of Monreal. .
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And on
to the Palermo Opera House, Teatro Massimo. It is the second largest historic opera house in Europe (after the Paris Opéra's Palais Garnier).(another link). 
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NOTE: Gene has a lot more pictures than I will post here anyway (link). BE SURE TO LOOK AT BOTH gallery pages, 1 and 2.
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And what do you think we did that night on our first whole day in Sicily?See you next week, Friday or so. Jim
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Labels: Italy, Jim Does, Places, Sicily, Travel
Thursday, May 04, 2006
. It's June Bug!
No,
It's May Bug!!
And a lot of them!!
[click picture to enlarge]
. . Remember the April bug? (link) Well, these are May bugs but they came early, a whole bucket we found, all those in the picture were here in April. .
We do have a few June bugs now too, there aren't very many yet so the birds can eat them about as fast as they appear.
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May bugs have another name, after the place they live in. You see they live in the mud and are also called mud bugs.
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Southern people eat these mud bugs. They are boiled with a ears of corn and whole potatoes (enough for every eater to have at least one) and highly seasoned. The tail meat can be breaded and deep fried, put in etouffee (link) or gumbo, and a lot of other Southern dishes.
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The best way to eat the boiled ones is to bite the head off and suck the juice out. Then split the tail and eat the meat that was inside. Some people dip the tail meat in cocktail sauce or tartar sauce.
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---------------------------------------------------
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Labels: June Bug 1
Catching up
(some more)
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Headline said:
FEC Rules Exempt Blogs From Internet Political Limits
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In a 6-0 decision, "the Federal Election Commission left unregulated almost all political activity on the Internet except for paid political advertisements."
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Important things happened while we were gone. Some will never go into my memory bank, this one jumped out at me while I was going through e-mail, it was a 'Technology News' alert in my Yahoo from The Washington Post, Daily Report of March 27 (link).
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According to the article, now you can stay late and do political blogging from your work, on the company computer even, as long as the boss didn't direct you to do it.
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Isn't that what this means? "The rule allows the unlimited use of corporate and union computers for political activity by employees and members, as long as they are not doing so on company time or are not under orders from their employer or union."
I haven't read the ruling. Who knows when it will be published." (Ibid)
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I haven't been able so far (and I may never do it) to read the ruling itself. So this is all based upon my interpretation of the Washington Post.
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(how did this get here?)
(some more)
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Headline said:
FEC Rules Exempt Blogs From Internet Political Limits
.
In a 6-0 decision, "the Federal Election Commission left unregulated almost all political activity on the Internet except for paid political advertisements."
.
Important things happened while we were gone. Some will never go into my memory bank, this one jumped out at me while I was going through e-mail, it was a 'Technology News' alert in my Yahoo from The Washington Post, Daily Report of March 27 (link).
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According to the article, now you can stay late and do political blogging from your work, on the company computer even, as long as the boss didn't direct you to do it.
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Isn't that what this means? "The rule allows the unlimited use of corporate and union computers for political activity by employees and members, as long as they are not doing so on company time or are not under orders from their employer or union."
I haven't read the ruling. Who knows when it will be published." (Ibid)
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I haven't been able so far (and I may never do it) to read the ruling itself. So this is all based upon my interpretation of the Washington Post.
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(how did this get here?)Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Keels & Wheels Concours d'Elegance,
auction set for this weekend
per the Houston Chronicle, May 3, 2006
What is a very Elegant car and boat show at the Lake Yacht Club in Seabrook, Texas. The car show will be Saturday and Sunday, the auction will be Saturday, May 6.
Five cars are expected to sell for more than a million each. The proceeds will go to the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Houston. Most of the time when I hear that organization someone has been sentenced by the court to do public service. Last year the donation to charity from the auction was $6.6 million.
You can see the cars for sale and read about the show at www.theWWG.com (link to the 'list,', complete with pictures). If somebody counts the cars for auction, please tell us in a comment. For the younger guys there are a couple of Shelby Mustangs.
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My low budget favorite is a 1940 FORD DELUXE COUPE (link), expected to bring between $40,000 and $50,000.
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I also like this 1963 TRIUMPH TR3B ROADSTER (link). They think it will be a little less, between $30,000 and $40,000.
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General admission is $20, or $17 advance through www.keels-wheels.com.
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auction set for this weekend
per the Houston Chronicle, May 3, 2006
What is a very Elegant car and boat show at the Lake Yacht Club in Seabrook, Texas. The car show will be Saturday and Sunday, the auction will be Saturday, May 6.
Five cars are expected to sell for more than a million each. The proceeds will go to the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Houston. Most of the time when I hear that organization someone has been sentenced by the court to do public service. Last year the donation to charity from the auction was $6.6 million.
You can see the cars for sale and read about the show at www.theWWG.com (link to the 'list,', complete with pictures). If somebody counts the cars for auction, please tell us in a comment. For the younger guys there are a couple of Shelby Mustangs.
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My low budget favorite is a 1940 FORD DELUXE COUPE (link), expected to bring between $40,000 and $50,000.
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I also like this 1963 TRIUMPH TR3B ROADSTER (link). They think it will be a little less, between $30,000 and $40,000.
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General admission is $20, or $17 advance through www.keels-wheels.com.
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Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Is there a story here?
[yes, actually there are three little stories here.]
[and click the pictures to see them bigger]
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Mrs. Jim and I went golfing this morning. Golfing always starts with a little routine. I back the car out and get the cart ready.
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Then Adi has to go for a ride. This is the first story. Two things happen with Adi's ride: 1) Mrs. Jim takes Adi and me to the proshop and we walk back; or 2) I am playing golf also, so Mrs. Jim takes Adi for a little ride and brings her back. That is what we did today.
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Second story now. When I was filling our divot filling sand vessels with sand, there were two practice balls beside the score cards. I brought them out with us and announced to Mrs. Jim that we could take a practice shot before the drive we would count.
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Mrs. Jim wouldn't have any of that--not in the rules, you know. I went ahead and used the black striped ball anyway. It was a really good shot. So, since she wasn't going to do Mulligans, I said that would be my drive.
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That ball played so well, until the 14th hole. I was playing it as my ball generally goes in the water or bushes, then I would just get out a better one and play with it.
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On number 14, my striped practice ball almost went out of bounds to the left, under a whole lot of trees. I said, fine, and played with the ball in the middle of the picture.
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That ball in the middle of the picture, along with thirty others were in a tray outside the fence of some poor soul's back yard. I guess a lot go there.
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Son, Mike generally gives me his very nice used balls to play with. He is about a scratch golfer and plays a new one after using it for nine or so holes. But I was running low and hadn't been to Mike's for a while. These were pretty nice and were very convenient.
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Third story. After we got home, Adi bounded out the door, through the garage, and got in the golf cart. You can write the rest of that story.
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Note: You are correct, that striped (black) ball isn't the one I lost. That nice fellow with the tray of balls had this one too.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Add to all the woes, Houston is short on gasoline.
[see Reuters.com (link)]
As are a lot of other cities in Texas and the East Coast. Yesterday we had to buy premium. That's all there was at the pump. Shell was completely out at most stations as was Valero (formerly Diamond Shamrock). I don't know about the others.
The problem: Archer Daniels and their like? Houston and a lot of other pollution problem cities must use reformulated gasoline. About one third of the gasoline sold in the U.S. goes to these pollution prone areas requiring the reformulated gas.
No, not Archer Daniels this time. It is a transportation problem. When our country went for the replacement of MTBE by ethanol in reformulated gasoline people weren't expecting this culprit: the transportation industry.
The new reformulated gas can't be carried effeciently in the pipelines as the alcohol picks up too much water. It must be done with trucks and tankers. And they didn't have their act together this time.
[see Reuters.com (link)]
As are a lot of other cities in Texas and the East Coast. Yesterday we had to buy premium. That's all there was at the pump. Shell was completely out at most stations as was Valero (formerly Diamond Shamrock). I don't know about the others.
The problem: Archer Daniels and their like? Houston and a lot of other pollution problem cities must use reformulated gasoline. About one third of the gasoline sold in the U.S. goes to these pollution prone areas requiring the reformulated gas.
No, not Archer Daniels this time. It is a transportation problem. When our country went for the replacement of MTBE by ethanol in reformulated gasoline people weren't expecting this culprit: the transportation industry.
The new reformulated gas can't be carried effeciently in the pipelines as the alcohol picks up too much water. It must be done with trucks and tankers. And they didn't have their act together this time.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Sunday morning, going for a check up,
how are we doing?
Psalm 8:6 You have made him [man] to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, **
Well, six billion people in this world, three billion [one half] make under $2.00 a day income.
50,000 people die every day of preventable disease.
50% of the world population can't read or write.
The Amazon rain forests (Rainforest ?) are dying so fast that there is no hope of them being replenished.
Americans spend eight billion dollars a year on pornography.
A test: in one word, describe the world we live in.
____________ (your answer?)
The top three answers--sounds like The Family Feud Game here--are 1) confused; 2) lost; 3) sick.
I did go to church this morning, and when I got fully awake the preacher was saying all those things. I will try to take them to heart.
I would have written this earlier but Karen and Billy met us for brunch after church at Perry's (link) in the Woodlands. Then we all went to a movie, RV (link). It is funny, stupid funny. Karen and I laughed a lot, the others, well? [some laughter was heard from them also]
Psalm 8 in full:
1 O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens!
2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?
5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen; Even the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
how are we doing?
Psalm 8:6 You have made him [man] to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, **
Well, six billion people in this world, three billion [one half] make under $2.00 a day income.
50,000 people die every day of preventable disease.
50% of the world population can't read or write.
The Amazon rain forests (Rainforest ?) are dying so fast that there is no hope of them being replenished.
Americans spend eight billion dollars a year on pornography.
A test: in one word, describe the world we live in.
____________ (your answer?)
The top three answers--sounds like The Family Feud Game here--are 1) confused; 2) lost; 3) sick.
I did go to church this morning, and when I got fully awake the preacher was saying all those things. I will try to take them to heart.
I would have written this earlier but Karen and Billy met us for brunch after church at Perry's (link) in the Woodlands. Then we all went to a movie, RV (link). It is funny, stupid funny. Karen and I laughed a lot, the others, well? [some laughter was heard from them also]
Psalm 8 in full:
1 O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens!
2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?
5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen; Even the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
