Happy New Year to everyone. May this year bring peace, happiness and contentment to all. If you are watching the weather for here in Sacto -- don't worry -- I am not in any of the flooding areas. It ain't as bad as the news is showing. I promise! (at least not in Sacto)

This is how we did on our predictions for 2005:

Anyone want to start a new round of predictions for 2006?

Comment to this post with your top 5 predictions for 2006

(Cathy hope you don't mind I edited your post... Ronnie)

Bummed. My Magellan merridian died today. Won't power up at all. Ratts.

Santa spoiled me this year

Three accomplished reconstructive surgeons were
playing golf together and comparing challenging
procedures they had performed.

The first one bragged, "I operated on a concert
pianist who lost 7 fingers in a horrible lawnmower
accident. I reattached them, and eight months later
he performed a private concert for the Queen of
England."

The second physician scoffed, "That's nothing. I had a
patient who lost an arm and both legs in an tragic
motor vehicle collision. I reattached them, and two
years later he won a gold medal in the decathlon at
the Olympics."

After remaining quiet for some time, the third surgeon
smugly said, "You guys are amateurs. Several years
ago a lady was high on cocaine and marijuana and she
rode a horse head-on into a train traveling 80 miles
an hour. All I had left to work with was some
bleach-blond hair and the horse's rear end. Now she's
a US Senator from New York."

Merry Christmas, Family! I love you all and hope that you have a most blessed Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

My youngest is very sick. We spent all day at the doctor with her trying to help her breathe. Her fever spiked up to 104F this morning & is sitting at 102F right now thanks to the IB. Please keep her in your prayers tonight. It's sucks to be sick at Christmas - especially when you're only 7.

Snowball Fight

The FIRST Christmas gift!

Why Santa hates Idaho.

Well, Wish me luck I will be flying to Seattle tomorrow to spend Christmas with Frak III.

We're back home and I can eat non-blender food again. Had a great time. (I think I'm getting a new Rolex for Christmas from Susie).

nummers

from another site:



'Twas the nocturnal segment of the diurnal period preceding the annual Yuletide celebration, and throughout our place of residence, kinetic activity was not in evidence among the possessors of this potential, including that species of domestic rodent known as Mus musculus. Hosiery was meticulously suspended from the forward edge of the wood burning caloric apparatus, pursuant to our anticipatory pleasure regarding an imminent visitation from an eccentric philanthropist among whose folkloric appellations is the honorific title of St. Nicholas.

The prepubescent siblings, comfortably ensconced in their respective accommodations of repose, were experiencing subconscious visual hallucinations of variegated fruit confections moving rhythmically through their cerebrums. My conjugal partner and I, attired in our nocturnal head coverings, were about to take slumberous advantage of the hibernal darkness when upon the avenaceous exterior portion of the grounds there ascended such a cacophony of dissonance that I felt compelled to arise with alacrity from my place of repose for the purpose of ascertaining the precise source thereof.

Hastening to the casement, I forthwith opened the barriers sealing this fenestration, noting thereupon that the lunar brilliance without, reflected as it was on the surface of a recent crystalline precipitation, might be said to rival that of the solar meridian itself - thus permitting my incredulous optical sensory organs to behold a miniature airborne runnered conveyance drawn by eight diminutive specimens of the genus Rangifer, piloted by a minuscule, aged chauffeur so ebullient and nimble that it became instantly apparent to me that he was indeed our anticipated caller. With his ungulate motive power travelling at what may possibly have been more vertiginous velocity than patriotic alar predators, he vociferated loudly, expelled breath musically through contracted labia, and addressed each of the octet by his or her respective cognomen - "Now Dasher, now Dancer..." et al. - guiding them to the uppermost exterior level of our abode, through which structure I could readily distinguish the concatenations of each of the 32 cloven pedal extremities.

As I retracted my cranium from its erstwhile location, and was performing a 180-degree pivot, our distinguished visitant achieved - with utmost celerity and via a downward leap - entry by way of the smoke passage. He was clad entirely in animal pelts soiled by the ebony residue from oxidations of carboniferous fuels which had accumulated on the walls thereof. His resemblance to a street vendor I attributed largely to the plethora of assorted playthings which he bore dorsally in a commodious cloth receptacle.

His orbs were scintillant with reflected luminosity, while his submaxillary dermal indentations gave every evidence of engaging amiability. The capillaries of his malar regions and nasal appurtenance were engorged with blood which suffused the subcutaneous layers, the former approximating the coloration of Albion's floral emblem, the latter that of the Prunus avium, or sweet cherry. His amusing sub- and supralabials resembled nothing so much as a common loop knot, and their ambient hirsute facial adornment appeared like small, tabular and columnar crystals of frozen water.

Clenched firmly between his incisors was a smoking piece whose grey fumes, forming a tenuous ellipse about his occiput, were suggestive of a decorative seasonal circlet of holly. His visage was wider than it was high, and when he waxed audibly mirthful, his corpulent abdominal region undulated in the manner of impectinated fruit syrup in a hemispherical container. He was, in short, neither more nor less than an obese, jocund, multigenarian gnome, the optical perception of whom rendered me visibly frolicsome despite every effort to refrain from so being. By rapidly lowering and then elevating one eyelid and rotating his head slightly to one side, he indicated that trepidation on my part was groundless.

Without utterance and with dispatch, he commenced filling the aforementioned appended hosiery with various of the aforementioned articles of merchandise extracted from his aforementioned previously dorsally transported cloth receptacle. Upon completion of this task, he executed an abrupt about- face, placed a single manual digit in lateral juxtaposition to his olfactory organ, inclined his cranium forward in a gesture of leave-taking, and forthwith effected his egress by renegotiating (in reverse) the smoke passage. He then propelled himself in a short vector onto his conveyance, directed a musical expulsion of air through his contracted oral sphincter to the antlered quadrupeds of burden, and proceeded to soar aloft in a movement hitherto observable chiefly among the seed-bearing portions of a common weed. But I overheard his parting exclamation, audible immediately prior to his vehiculation beyond the limits of visibility: "Ecstatic Yuletide to the planetary constituency, and to that self same assemblage, my sincerest wishes for a salubriously beneficial and gratifyingly pleasurable period between sunset and dawn."

Dear Friend:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, nonaddictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the confines of the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion and/or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious, secular and/or atheistic persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all, according to the dictates of their own consciences.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted new calendar year of 2006 - but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures, societies or histories, whose contributions to society have helped make America great (which is not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country, territory, principality or region, or that the only "America" in the western hemisphere is the United States of America) and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting the following terms: This greeting is subject to reasonable clarification or withdrawal, and is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for herself/himself or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole and arbitrary discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and its warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole and arbitrary discretion of the wisher.
__________________________________________________

Disclaimer: no trees were harmed in the sending of this message, however, a significant number of electrons were slightly excited.

Ronnie tests Writely.com

Ok this is a test of http://www.writely.com
so far the site is pretty slow but the interface is cool and the idea of on line word processor is neat.
Colaborate and blog right from the editor

What you see is not what you get!

Mom and I will be out of the country for a few days. Going to Tijuana to get some new teeth. Broke my lowers the other day. Should be home Friday

Andrea and I are waising wabbits on her farm. We got one New Zealand buck and 3 California does. We'll start breeding them early Spring for freezer meat :) Shhhh Don't tell my daughter!

Ed is home for Christmas :) He got in yesterday and its so nice to have him home. He's looking a little beat from Finals Week.

Congrats on the raise, melvin!

Okay - pat myself on the back time. I got a raise and it isn't even raise time. They looked at how much they are paying me and realized that I was underpaid for the amount of work, quality of work and experience that I bring to the position. It was more than my last merit increase!! Yay for me. Plus, I am still eligible for my merit increase in Feb. Then to top it off I got a bonus for the same hard work this year. This bonus is in addition to the bonus all the company gets for gainsharing. The extra bonus is not freely given out so it is a big deal. It is good to be appreciated after all. Whoo hooo!!!

http://www.thatvideosite.com/view/115.html

I have fruit flies in my cubicle. I hate when people store food at their desk

ascii-movie

This gives whole new meaning to the term "ascii art"

Woke up at 1am with a cold. Ugh! I hope it goes away quickly. I have company coming on the 20th & sure don't want to be sick for that. I just got over a virus that turned into an infection, grrrrr!! I hope it isn't one of those years again. Nyquil here I come. heh heh

found this in a forum I read. Keep them in your prayers.

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
my daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep
in perfect contentment, or so it would seem.
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eye when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble le, I struggled to hear,
and I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,
to the window that danced with a warm fire's light
then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night"

"Its my duty to stand at the front of the line,
that separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
then he sighed, "that's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers,"
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red white and blue ... an American flag.

"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home,
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat,
I can carry the weight of killing another
or lay down my life with my sisters and brothers
who stand at the front against any and all,
to insure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right,"
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone.
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,
to know you remember we fought and we bled
is payment enough, and with that we will trust.
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.

Beginning Tuesday, December 13, my telephone number will be ***-****. I'm turning off the cell phone in favor of heat :>) Brrrr. BTW, you auction going brothers of mine. If they ever have one of those old fashioned looking telephones, wouldn't that just look sweeeeeet in my house? (No more than $20 please. I'll pay you back)

Hey everyone... I got a DOG. He sits... He downs... He stays in his crate during the day... He eats and poops and EVERYTHING. He's the cutest thing on the planet, Australian Cattle Dog, aka Heeler. He's red/tan with brown and black splotches on his back. Smart as all heck and he lurrrrves me. I'm taking an obedience class with him and I'm already far more obedient than I used to be. I rescued him from certain death and the dog trainer lady only charges me $5 a lesson because I saved his life and all. Nice dog lady. His name is Sparky :>) (dog lady's name is Julie. She's teaching Andrea obedience too. She needs it more than I do.)

Ed comes home for Christmas next Sunday. Woo Woo!!! He's in the middle of finals this week. I hope he's eating right and studying smart. He'll be home until the 28th. Geez I miss that boy!

Seen on another forum.

A goody from Bob Rivers and his group. Inspired by the classic "White Christmas"...you will enjoy this little cartoon called "White Trash Christmas".

It was on this day in 1941 that Japanese bombers attacked Pearl Harbor. The attack came after the United States had frozen Japanese assets and declared an embargo on shipments of petroleum to Japan.

On the morning of December 7, soldiers at Pearl Harbor were learning how to use a new device called radar, and they detected a large number of planes heading toward them. They telephoned an officer to ask him what to do. The officer said they must be American B-17s on their way to the base, and he told the soldiers not to worry about it.

A sailor named James Jones, who would go on to write the novel From Here to Eternity (1951), was in the mess hall that morning.

There were ultimately 2,390 Americans killed at Pearl Harbor and 1,178 wounded. Two days after the attack, the Navy passed out postcards to the survivors and told them to write to their families, but not to describe what had happened. Some families did not get their postcards until February.

(The Writer's Almanac by Garrison Keillor)

Curtis! I need your mailing address. Can you or someone else post it or email it to me? Thanks!

I saw Rent today. It was pretty good. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone but I liked it.

JeffBridges.com - Photography

My sweety is fond of saying that my last words on this earth will be something
akin to "Well, I have out done myself once again." No doubt you will see
this true story chronicled in a Lifetime movie in the near future.

Here goes...

Last weekend I spied something at the pawn shop that tickled my fancy.
(Note: Keep in mind that my "fancy" is easily tickled). I bought something
really cool for my wife.

The occasion was her birthday and I was looking for a little something extra
for my sweet girl.

What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse-sized stun gun with a
clip. For those of you who are not familiar with this product, it is a
less-lethal weapon with two metal prongs designed to incapacitate an
assailant with a shock of high-voltage, low amperage electricity while you
flee to safety.

The effects are supposed to be short lived with no long-term adverse affect
on your assailant, but allowing you adequate time to retreat to safety.

You simply jab the prongs into your 250 lb. tattooed assailant, push the
button, and it will render him a slobbering, goggle-eyed, muscle-twitching,
whimpering, pencil-neck geek.

If you've never seen one of these things in action, then you're truly
missing out--way too cool!

Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home. I loaded two AAA
batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was so
disappointed. Upon reading the directions (we don't need no stinkin'
directions), I found much to my chagrin that this particular model would not
create an arc between the prongs.

How disappointing! I do love fire for effect.
I learned that if I pushed the button, however, and pressed it against a metal surface that I'd get the
blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs that I
was so looking forward to. I did so. Awesome! Sparks, a blue arch of
electricity, and a loud pop!

Yipeeeeee!

I'm easily amused, just for your information, but I have yet to explain to
her what that burn spot on the face of her microwave is.

Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it
couldn't be all that bad with only two AAA batteries, etc., etc.

There I sat in my recliner, my dog looking on intently (trusting little
soul), reading the directions (that would be me, not the dog) and thinking
that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh and blood target.

I must admit I thought about zapping the dog for a fraction of a second and
thought better of it. She is such a sweet pup, after all.

But, if I was going to give this thing to my sweety to protect herself against
a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised. Am I
wrong?

Was I wrong to think that? It seemed reasonable to me at the time.

So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my glasses perched
delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, Taser in the
other.

The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your
assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a loss
of bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your
assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water.

All the while I'm looking at this little device (measuring about 5"
long,
less than 3/4 inch in circumference, pretty cute really, and loaded with two
itsy, bitsy AAA batteries) thinking to myself, "No friggin' way!"

Friggin' way - trust me, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best.
Those of you who know me well have got a pretty good idea of what followed.
I'm sitting there alone, the dog looking on with his head cocked to one side as
to say, "Don't do it buddy," reasoning that a one-second burst from such "a
tiny lil' ole thing" couldn't hurt all that bad (sound, rational thinking
under the circumstances, wouldn't you agree?).

I decided to give myself a one-second burst just for the heck of it.

(Note: You know, a bad decision is like hindsight-- always 20-20. It is so
obvious that it was a bad decision after the fact, even though it seemed so
right at the time. Don't ya just hate that?) I touched the prongs to my
naked thigh, pushed the button, and HOLY -*#&!$-!!!!

I'm pretty sure that Jessie Ventura ran in through the front door, picked me
up out of that recliner, then body slammed me on the carpet over and over
again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, nipples
on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, soaking wet, with my left arm tucked
under my body in the oddest position. The dog was standing over me making
sounds I had never heard before, licking my face, undoubtedly thinking to
himself, "Do it again, do it again!"

(NOTE: If you ever feel compelled to mug yourself with a stun-gun, one note of
caution. There is no such thing as a one-second burst when you zap yourself.
You're not going to let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your
hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor. Then, if you're lucky, you
won't dislodge one of the prongs 1/4" deep into your thigh like yours
truly.)

SON-OF-A-GUN that hurt! A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a
relative thing at this point), I collected my wits (what little I had left),
sat up and surveyed the landscape. My glasses were on the TV across the
room. How did they get there??? My triceps, right thigh and both nipples
were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain,
and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. give or take an ounce or two, I'm pretty
sure.

By the way, has anyone seen my testicles? I think they ran away. I'm
offering a reward. They're round, kinda hairy, and handsome if I must say so
myself. Miss 'em; sure would like to get 'em back.

Never Touchin' the Taser Again!