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"A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and does what he wants to do." - Dylan Cool Weekly JPG |
Carbonboy's New Improved Web Log |
"Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them." - Einstein |
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Chapter 2 Coming The story of my good friend Donny Laing continues right after the new year. This time is even worse -- more snowmen. Ironically, I brought in my seafood pasta and the locals shied away from it preferring the deer meat strew. Recovery
Without question, the economy has GOT to be improving, as this was my view for most of my trip on I-70 and ALL of the trip on I-80. Someone's buying all the stuff packed in that endless caravan of trucks. But not me. I'm finished buying toys for the year and I have threatened "gift cards" to all on my Christmas List! |
December 28, 2003 Green Bay was THE Place to Be
NFC North Champions I was just happy to visit my sister's family up in Green Bay this day for, what we all thought was to be the last Packer game of the season. They played well, but this game will not be as remembered as last Monday's game when Brett Favre played his best game of the season one day after his father died. But the circumstances of this game will be remembered forever as well. An easy 31-3 win for the Pack was a great way to close the season. But what a surprise with a mere few minutes to go: "But when Favre got wind of the details of Arizona's ridiculously improbable 18-17 win over Minnesota, which concluded in Tempe, Ariz., just minutes before the Packers' 31-3 throttling of the Broncos was complete, sending the Green Bay fans into a state of delirium, he didn't know what else to make of it other than divine intervention." -Don Banks Green Bay was indeed the place to be today, thanks not only to the Packers, but to a now known unknown Arizona receiver named Nathan Poole. What a great way to finish up the Christmas holidays with my sister and her family! Oh and thanks Nathan. I wish I could come back next week -- my other sister and her husband will have their new HD super wide screen set up by then. Beer, Brats and the Pack on a cold winter Sunday -- football gets no better. December 20, 2003 Christmas When it Seemed to Matter More
As children, my two sisters and I always seemed to have a pretty good time at Christmas. At least that was my perception of things, at about age eight. My parents were not wealthy by any means, but they always seemed to go all-out when it came to buying presents. Either that or they had good connections with Santa Claus. I think, back then, having a smaller family helped a bit. We, naturally, saw much more of our relatives during the holidays, but there were a few traditional visits that occurred only during the holidays. My mother had an uncle and aunt that lived in a spacious modern brick ranch home. Our family was invited there every year. I don’t recall ever seeing my great uncle and aunt any time other than Christmas. There were no other kids to play with and our gifts always consisted of a sweater or shirt, but that was all perfectly OK. It was an enjoyable visit. Uncle Elmer always had a blazing fire going in the big brick fireplace, Aunt Wilma provided plenty of Christmas snacks and the visits remained fresh as they were but once a year. My father also had an aunt that we called Tatta. She was a sweet white-haired lady that would cook a feast for us – sometimes before Christmas, sometimes around Thanksgiving. Her son from Detroit would visit her over the holidays. She had a lovely little Christmas tree with the colored water filled candles that bubbled when you plugged them in. After dinner, I would sit by that tree and indulge in a box of chocolates that Tatta would pass around – a simple but fond memory. I was pretty good at identifying the caramel filled pieces, which were my favorites. Christmas Eve After all the holiday preparations seemed to finally come under control, my mom would have a little time to get dressed for the evening. To begin Christmas Eve, my father would read the passage in the Bible about the birth of Christ. I’m sure this was something that my mother insisted he do, but he seemed to enjoy it anyway. My mom would like to burn a small pine branch over the kitchen sink, just to get the slight sweet aroma of pine in the house. She, like my sisters today, had the house decorated throughout (I, to this day, possess no Christmas décor whatsoever). Then it was off to church (unless mom planned for church the next day). Our church had two massive blue spruce Christmas trees, one on each side of the church alter. Each seemed to have a thousand lights or more. I recall nothing more stunning as a young child, especially after dark with the church lights turned down. The Christmas hymns had a bit more meaning on that one night. I didn’t even seem to mind having to wear a suit and tie. After church, we’d often go to my dad’s sister’s family for a ham dinner. Cousin Rich and Jerry were about my age and Cousin Linda was the same age as one of my sisters -- so these visits we could do kid stuff. We’d play lots of board games and the boys had a cool train set in the basement. All the children would eat in the living room on card tables. Our grandpa would hand out candy bars or quarters to us all. Of course he did this just about every time we saw him. The evening would not be complete without everyone huddling in front of the tree for pictures. When we grew older, my Cousin Jim’s family moved into a bigger house which had a large open hall and staircase – perfect for a twenty foot tree! After dinner with my dad’s side of the family, we’d go to my mom’s. Jim’s mom had a more informal setting for food and treats, an open house so to speak, with people coming and going throughout the evening. We kids were allowed to sample the punch on that evening (perhaps we weren’t really allowed, but no one stopped us). Given it had a little more in it than fruit juice, a sample is all a kid needed, or one could expect a really bad stomach ache, as I recall having one year. By the time the evening was over, I’m sure that all of the family was quite tired. Once home, I’d take one last look around our tree at all the presents, knowing that the real important ones would not arrive until Christmas morning, after Santa’s visit. Christmas Eve was now complete. I don’t recall ever having any trouble sleeping. Before we knew it, morning would arrive with my mother shouting up the hall “Merry Christmas.” We’d fly down the stairs and have some milk and a piece of Christmas Stollen. Then the real fun began! As with us all, as I grew older, Christmas was never quite the same. My first experience with holiday stress came as a teen shopping for gifts. Maybe it’s a “guy thing” but I came to dread shopping around the holidays. When I got to California, my fondness for the holiday drifted even further. My first Christmas in LA was sunny and 75 degrees. It was surreal compared to a lifetime of Wisconsin winters. I expect, in spite of the blatant commercialization of the holidays these days, many kids and families still experience some of what I recall as a young boy. I would hope that all kids, regardless of culture or tradition, grow up to have some fond memories of special times. I would think that simple joy and excitement, even briefly, could be a remarkable offset to overcome the hardships so many children face today. It’s funny, -- back then, Santa, the Christmas tree and the Celebration of the Birth of Christ seemed to blend together without too much conflict, at least for a kid. Now it’s more complicated -- we have one side of the fringe trying to eliminate the holiday altogether and the other side saying the Christmas tree is a pagan tradition. They don’t care much for Santa either. Foolish adults. December 19, 2003 White Ships
Two Yawls and three Navy Ships -- San Diego Bay -- 1984 -- Nikon F, 100mm I found this print today in a cardboard box under the flap on the bottom. I remember taking this shot only to be disappointed when I got the print. I could not steady the camera as I was bouncing around in a runabout at 20 knots in the Bay. I scanned the print and did a little creative distortion just to keep it interesting without looking like the bad photo it is. I like the contrast of the two white yawls against the grey ships. I wonder what it means? If I manage to Photoshop it into something redeeming I'll post it later. December 16, 2003 One Down My first impulse was to paste an ugly picture of Suddan and express a few choice words regarding his capture. But as it's already been done a few billion times around the world in the last few days, I decided to pass.
I will say this:
I doubt that the Saudis will be offering him a home, as they did with Idi Amin. "Big Daddy" whom, of course, has since left the living, and was responsible for about as many deaths as Suddan (est. 300,000+).
The best thing one can hope for on this day is that, the killing now stops. That's a big hope.
December 9, 2003 PORK
Not that I'm going to get into this on a regular basis (or even ever again), but this is what I ate tonight -- or what I am about to eat (I just put the carrots into the steamer. As is often the case, what you see is not the full picture. After reading in detail today about all the PORK PROJECTS that did not get passed into law today (because of deadlock they were deferred until 2004) I was compelled to have some pork. I chose a really good cut of a butterfly pork chop and grilled it in red wine and mushrooms to absolute perfection. My real craving was for pork & beans, because I can more easily associate that combo with Washington politicians. Yet as I had no beans in the house, I decided to go healthy. More coming later, dinner's ready . . . November 30, 2003 MY BLOCKS
Well, just to prove I don't lie -- I got my blocks back! I mentioned them on my very first Blog when ranting about Bad Design. Sure they look a bit "used" but hell, they are as old as me! My brother-in-law was kind enough to meticulously search for them in my mother's basement before we put her house up for sale. What a great surprise! Big deal you must be thinking. Well it is for me as I've stated before, those blocks were my first remembrance of me doing something creative . . . over and over and over again (as kids tend to do). Anyway, it was a GREAT week visiting mom and my sisters. My 14 year-old nephew gave the new HP notebook a road test and I was amazed how easily he could pick up the basics of 3D solid modeling. He'd make a good engineer! Hey, I actually got to visit my cousin Jim and his wife. We talked for hours. I best get started on the next Jim & Mike Adventure before making the trip back over Christmas. Back to reality tomorrow. Hard to believe one could be bored working on a NASA Project. Still much uncertainty there but exciting things on the horizon. Come back soon as I am gushing with ideas and gearing up for radical changes . . . and with my new HP, I no longer have to be in Piney Point to post. I'm well overdue for a much improved format as well.
© 2000-2003 Michael Milauskas - Composites-By-Design Corporation |
New Format in 2004 Yes I'll stop being so lazy. Cool Stuff coming. Column III Ever have to come up with a quick IDEA and draw a blank?
Time for bed.
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