StraightAhead

Our Zephyr Lodge

Originally uploaded by Memphis Joe

This is where we stayed in Winter Park on our recent ski trip. I skied for three days and lasted pretty well. The third day was the best. All around Dec. 14, 2007. The lifts were really close to where we stayed. I need to ski at least once a year to keep the feeling and skills going.

Who knew there was a competition for this? It’s in Vegas of course.  I guess it’s perfect.  It’s sure better than any I ever tried.

I’ve always thought that HOV lanes that are physically separated made a lot more sense. If they aren’t separated people just start using them as an extra “fast” lane and this article is saying that a lot more accidents happen because of it. I admit that in Houston it is hard to find the entrances to the HOV lanes often, but when you do it really works well and you usually zip right along waving at the heavy traffic in the regular lanes as you go by. It’s pretty easy to get on Google maps and find the entrances to the HOV’s and how to get on them.

I just kindof discovered thenewspaper.com recently and have enjoyed reading the articles in it. I would , I guess, since I like to drive so fast.

Another example of big brother at work.  Funny thing, this hasn’t actually made the streets safer like it was supposed to.

A great shot of my dog that I took today on a 4 mile hike that I went on with her. She had a great time.

what a crock this is.

Hopefully this will never happen, but I won’t be too surprised when it does.  Homeland Security, Indeed!!

this is the beer that we had in Germany a lot. We were at specs downtown yesterday and they hadn’t heard of it. They couldn’t order it either. It is good. Ed had a lot of it.

Oct. 12, 2007 | While the Bush White House promotes the possibility of armed conflict with Iran, a tantalizing passage in Wesley Clark’s new Memoir suggests that another war is part of a long-planned Department of Defense strategy that anticipated “regime change” by force in no fewer than seven Mideast states. Critics of the war have often voiced suspicions of such imperial schemes, but this is the first time that a high-ranking former military officer has claimed to know that such plans existed.

How many find this hard to believe , I don’t. If it weren’t for the genocide that would follow, I would say get out of Iraq as soon as possible.

Why are people dumb enough to do something like this in the first place.  I guess people just don’t get enough adventure in their lives but there are a lot of safer ways to take care of that.  A big problem that I see with this sort of thing is that at times the lives of the rescuers are put in peril trying to get these people out of the situations they put themselves in.  I am a first responder , so I kindof know whereof I speak.  I can just imagine crawling on my hands and knees for over two miles, wow , what a thrill.  I’d rather do a zip line in Belize or do some rappelling.  I know those can get dangerous too, but they are a heck of a lot more fun.

I bought a new Trumpet last week.  I am loving it.  It has a smaller bore and is supposed to help with endurance.  I am being faithful to a daily practice regime now as well.  Here is the trumpet that I bought from Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center in D.C.  They had the best price and I looked around a lot.  I got to try the horn first because a friend of mine at a band rehearsal had one and I liked it right off the bat. So, now I have a Yamaha Fleugelhorn and Trumpet.  I really like the laquer finish better, because it is easier to keep clean than silver.