We just got back from Idaho (and Utah, and Montana...). It was a very long trip. We left here Monday at about nine PM because we had to wait and see if they would let my son Charlie miss practice to go up. They wouldn't. We also took my daughter-in-law Shannon to Mapleton and since her father Stan had given me a swamp cooler, we took the truck up and left it in Mapleton, too. We started out again the next morning driving into Idaho, then Montana, then back to Idaho, finally reaching Bonners Ferry at about 10 PM.
After all that driving, I didn't really want to go anywhere! My granddaughter Raegan has changed a lot in a short time. Friday evening, we started home but stopped in Missoula Montana for the night then continued on the next day arriving here about midnight. Kind of a repeat of the trip up.
My daughter Valery had a bunch of packages of baking soda and baking powder that she wanted us to take with us. Later, I was searching through my suitcase in a Burger King parking lot and realized that if a cop saw me with all those packages I would have a lot of explaining to do!
my son Robert and Shannon are on their way back to Navajo Mountain from Mapleton. They got separated and Robert has been calling us regularly to see if she'd called us. This went on for hours. Robert even contacted the Highway Patrol. Finally Shannon called from Paige. Somehow she'd gotten ahead of him. I wish they'd bought some two-way radios. They only have one cell phone between them so that's no good.
Richard's main page
Sunday, August 22, 2004
Sunday, August 15, 2004
Well the sheet rock in the garage is done. This despite driving 300 miles to help my son Robert and his wife Shannon move, then returning the same 300 miles (ten of those on a dirt road that they have to contend with anytime they want to go anywhere, and right now it's really washboardy).
Wednesday, I took my truck up to St. George to get it fixed and brought my son Charlie's car along as well. Then I drove him to Mesquite, dropped him and my truck off, picked up my car, and drove to Kanab where I met Robert and went on to Navajo Mountain. They do have a real nice home there, but it's out in the middle of nowhere! We unloaded the truck and Shannon's dad Stan, and I returned to St. George the next day to drop off the truck and then I took Stan to the airport. By then Charlie's car was done so I went to Mesquite, dropped off my car, and my wifw and I drove her car to St. George and dropped it off to be fixed, drove Charlie's car back to Mesquite where we picked up my car and, finally, I got to go home!
Friday I worked in the garage and caught up with my class. Saturday we went to my neice's wedding and came home with enough time for me to finish the sheet rock. Tomorrow I have to do the work for this next week's class so we can drive to Idaho Tuesday. So much to do crammed into so little time!
Richard's main page
Wednesday, I took my truck up to St. George to get it fixed and brought my son Charlie's car along as well. Then I drove him to Mesquite, dropped him and my truck off, picked up my car, and drove to Kanab where I met Robert and went on to Navajo Mountain. They do have a real nice home there, but it's out in the middle of nowhere! We unloaded the truck and Shannon's dad Stan, and I returned to St. George the next day to drop off the truck and then I took Stan to the airport. By then Charlie's car was done so I went to Mesquite, dropped off my car, and my wifw and I drove her car to St. George and dropped it off to be fixed, drove Charlie's car back to Mesquite where we picked up my car and, finally, I got to go home!
Friday I worked in the garage and caught up with my class. Saturday we went to my neice's wedding and came home with enough time for me to finish the sheet rock. Tomorrow I have to do the work for this next week's class so we can drive to Idaho Tuesday. So much to do crammed into so little time!
Richard's main page
Sunday, August 08, 2004
Many changes are happening. My son Robert was promoted then demoted at his job. So, he went looking for a new one, and found it teaching Social Studies on the Indian reservation in Southern Utah. He just started his vacation at Delta, which is lucky because he starts teaching a week from Monday on the sixteenth, so this week he has to move, next week he begins school and Saturday the 21st he returns to Delta for one day. That doesn’t leave us any room for delays in our flight back from Idaho on that day. If we get delayed to the 22nd we have to pay for our ticket!
My oldest son, Rick is now unemployed. He decided to go back to school, which is a good thing. If all goes according to plan, he'll be teaching next year.
My daughter Valery and her husband Mark? Well Mark's working but they're still living with his parents.
The youngest, Charlie's been going Ebay crazy, but that's slowed down a little since he now has video games coming out of his ears. He's been spending all his time… reading the Harry Potter series again! Actually I've been playing one of his games more than he has—Lode Runner 3-D, what a great game!
I've got my garage insulated except for a little, itsy, teensy bit. I can't justify buying a whole roll of insulation for that, so I'm looking for spare pieces. It's all sheet-rocked except for the east wall.
I'm running out of time (and money) for my summer projects. School starts very, very soon.
Richard's main page
My oldest son, Rick is now unemployed. He decided to go back to school, which is a good thing. If all goes according to plan, he'll be teaching next year.
My daughter Valery and her husband Mark? Well Mark's working but they're still living with his parents.
The youngest, Charlie's been going Ebay crazy, but that's slowed down a little since he now has video games coming out of his ears. He's been spending all his time… reading the Harry Potter series again! Actually I've been playing one of his games more than he has—Lode Runner 3-D, what a great game!
I've got my garage insulated except for a little, itsy, teensy bit. I can't justify buying a whole roll of insulation for that, so I'm looking for spare pieces. It's all sheet-rocked except for the east wall.
I'm running out of time (and money) for my summer projects. School starts very, very soon.
Richard's main page
Sunday, July 25, 2004
My neice reported her mission today. She told a great story about a class where the teacher threw a party. Before the party he asked an athlete how many pushups he could do. He thought he could do 200, but the teacher asked him to do 300.
At the party, in order to get a doughnut, Jeff had to do ten pushups for the person. The first few went well until another athlete insisted he could do his own pushups. He refused the doughnut unless he could do his own pushups. The teacher had Jeff do ten for him anyway, even if he wouldn't take the doughnut.
Soon four more people arrived making a total of 34 people and the teacher began to worry that Jeff couldn't do enough pushups for everyone. Some of the students took compassion on Jeff and refused to take a doughnut, but that didn't work because the teacher had him do them anyway.
When he was down to the last few people, everyone could see how tired he was and tears flowed freely, Jeff was sweating and his arms shook. Then the door opened and John started to come in. "No! Stay out!" People cried, because they knew that would mean ten more pushups for Jeff to do. But Jeff insisted that John could come in, so puzzled, he entered, and the teacher asked him if he wanted a doughnut. "Sure," he answered and the teacher had Jeff do the obligatory ten pushups. Finally there were only two girls left. When the first was asked if she wanted her doughnut she said no, but Jeff had to do the pushups anyway. The last girl, with tears running down her face, told the teacher she didn't want Jeff to do her pushups. Couldn't she do them for herself? The teacher explained that he and Jeff had an agreement and Jeff had to do her pushups, if she took the doughnut or not.
By now Jeff had done 340 pushups and he had to struggle to do each and every one of the last ten pushups, but finally, he finished and the teacher explained what was going on.
Jeff, you see, had the only perfect score in class. All the others had lost points for one thing or the other. Since on Jeff's wrestling team, the team did pushups when someone messed up, the teacher was requiring pushups for the students to have their doughnuts at the party. But because Jeff was the only one with a perfect score, he was the only one that could atone for the imperfect scores of the others. He pointed at all the uneaten doughnuts and told them that Jeff had atoned for even those who refused his atonement.
By now of course everyone understood what the teacher had been trying to teach them, and it was a lesson on the Atonement of the Savior they would never, ever forget.
Richard's main page
At the party, in order to get a doughnut, Jeff had to do ten pushups for the person. The first few went well until another athlete insisted he could do his own pushups. He refused the doughnut unless he could do his own pushups. The teacher had Jeff do ten for him anyway, even if he wouldn't take the doughnut.
Soon four more people arrived making a total of 34 people and the teacher began to worry that Jeff couldn't do enough pushups for everyone. Some of the students took compassion on Jeff and refused to take a doughnut, but that didn't work because the teacher had him do them anyway.
When he was down to the last few people, everyone could see how tired he was and tears flowed freely, Jeff was sweating and his arms shook. Then the door opened and John started to come in. "No! Stay out!" People cried, because they knew that would mean ten more pushups for Jeff to do. But Jeff insisted that John could come in, so puzzled, he entered, and the teacher asked him if he wanted a doughnut. "Sure," he answered and the teacher had Jeff do the obligatory ten pushups. Finally there were only two girls left. When the first was asked if she wanted her doughnut she said no, but Jeff had to do the pushups anyway. The last girl, with tears running down her face, told the teacher she didn't want Jeff to do her pushups. Couldn't she do them for herself? The teacher explained that he and Jeff had an agreement and Jeff had to do her pushups, if she took the doughnut or not.
By now Jeff had done 340 pushups and he had to struggle to do each and every one of the last ten pushups, but finally, he finished and the teacher explained what was going on.
Jeff, you see, had the only perfect score in class. All the others had lost points for one thing or the other. Since on Jeff's wrestling team, the team did pushups when someone messed up, the teacher was requiring pushups for the students to have their doughnuts at the party. But because Jeff was the only one with a perfect score, he was the only one that could atone for the imperfect scores of the others. He pointed at all the uneaten doughnuts and told them that Jeff had atoned for even those who refused his atonement.
By now of course everyone understood what the teacher had been trying to teach them, and it was a lesson on the Atonement of the Savior they would never, ever forget.
Richard's main page
Sunday, July 18, 2004
Well I decided to get a little dump trailer for the garden tractor. I made a little hitch so I could pull it with the truck too. Then I built a new screen to fit the trailer. Of course that took the whole day, so the next day, bright and early, I went out and screened a trailer load of gravel. It really wasn't much gravel, but even though I was very careful pulling it out of the wash something must have gone wrong and something bent. That caused a cascade reaction and pretty soon everything on the trailer was bent. I dumped what was left of the gravel and threw the trailer into the back of the truck. I had to take it apart so I could straighten every single piece of it. It's almost as good as new, but I guess it's just a garden tractor trailer. I can't risk putting it on the truck again.
Summer's half over and I still have lots of projects to do. The main problem is they almost all cost money. The ones that don't cost money are the hardest, so of course those are the ones I want to put off!
I wrote a letter to the editor for the Review Journal, but of course they didn't print it. It goes like this:
Several recent letter writers have prompted me to write. Each has used the tired old arguments that the left loves to drag out again and again. One recent letter writer once again blamed terrorist acts on Americans. We deserve it, you see, because we some how interfered in the lives of the terrorists. Terrorists hate us because we are an imperial nation or some such garbage. No, the truth is, terrorists hate us because we are a shining beacon of freedom and they don't want freedom for their people. So what are we supposed to do, eliminate our freedom so the terrorists won't hate us? (Why not, the liberals hate us for the exact same reasons. John Kerry would surely love to see our freedoms taken, with him in charge, of course.)
Another lie the left loves to tell is that President Bush lied about Iraq. Never mind that the U. N., Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, and other darlings of the left all warned us about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, now it's a convenient stick to beat the president with so that the people responsible for allowing terrorists to operate freely in the world for eight years can get back their power. Never mind that weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq and that the rest are hidden in the desert in Iraq and in Syria. The left pretends those facts don't exist.
The third lie is the worst. The left lies that President Bush said there was an al-Qaida-Iraq link. No, he said there was a terrorist-Iraq link, and there is! This is important for every American to think about: The Russians have now told us, and the news media, because they are controlled by the left (who hate America despite their protestations to the contrary), have not told us, is that Saddam Hussein, was apparently planning to use a terrorist group, perhaps al-Qaida, to seize a Russian missile site and launch nuclear tipped missiles at American cities. It would not have been just thousands killed, but millions. Millions of American dead. And despite all the lies of the left, President George Bush, who has not lied to the American people, can be credited with stopping that threat from Saddam Hussein for good.
Oh well, maybe I'll try another sometime.
Richard's main page
Summer's half over and I still have lots of projects to do. The main problem is they almost all cost money. The ones that don't cost money are the hardest, so of course those are the ones I want to put off!
I wrote a letter to the editor for the Review Journal, but of course they didn't print it. It goes like this:
Several recent letter writers have prompted me to write. Each has used the tired old arguments that the left loves to drag out again and again. One recent letter writer once again blamed terrorist acts on Americans. We deserve it, you see, because we some how interfered in the lives of the terrorists. Terrorists hate us because we are an imperial nation or some such garbage. No, the truth is, terrorists hate us because we are a shining beacon of freedom and they don't want freedom for their people. So what are we supposed to do, eliminate our freedom so the terrorists won't hate us? (Why not, the liberals hate us for the exact same reasons. John Kerry would surely love to see our freedoms taken, with him in charge, of course.)
Another lie the left loves to tell is that President Bush lied about Iraq. Never mind that the U. N., Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, and other darlings of the left all warned us about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, now it's a convenient stick to beat the president with so that the people responsible for allowing terrorists to operate freely in the world for eight years can get back their power. Never mind that weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq and that the rest are hidden in the desert in Iraq and in Syria. The left pretends those facts don't exist.
The third lie is the worst. The left lies that President Bush said there was an al-Qaida-Iraq link. No, he said there was a terrorist-Iraq link, and there is! This is important for every American to think about: The Russians have now told us, and the news media, because they are controlled by the left (who hate America despite their protestations to the contrary), have not told us, is that Saddam Hussein, was apparently planning to use a terrorist group, perhaps al-Qaida, to seize a Russian missile site and launch nuclear tipped missiles at American cities. It would not have been just thousands killed, but millions. Millions of American dead. And despite all the lies of the left, President George Bush, who has not lied to the American people, can be credited with stopping that threat from Saddam Hussein for good.
Oh well, maybe I'll try another sometime.
Richard's main page
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
We had a very busy week. Last Tuesday we went to Can Cun. We flew all night arriving early Wednesday morning. We dropped our luggage at a very nice hotel on Isla Mujeres, then hopped the ferry back to Can Cun for the bullfight, which was way more than we expected but it was worth it. We rode the ferry back to Isla Mujeres and crashed.
The next morning we toured all the hotels, the night club "The City of Can Cun," and the new master plan community being built by the same man that owns our hotel. The next day we went on a sales meeting in one of the hotels and did a little touring in the city afterwards.
Finally on Saturday we finally spent the time on the island instead of all our time in Can Cun.
The hotel was unusual in that only the rooms were air conditioned, the common areas were hot! Still it was a wonderful hotel, we had a lot of fun and never had a chance to get bored. We were busy all the time.
We got up at five to leave on Sunday. We flew into Miami and went through customs which puts you outside the security area, so you have to go through security again, which is stupid.
We were in the air only half an hour when they turned the plane around and landed in Miami again. It took four hours to fix before we finally got on our way. We got home late Sunday night.
Unfortunately for my sleep time, I had to be in Mojave California by 6:30 the next morning and I wanted to arrive by 3:00 to get the best parking. By then I was sick and had to stop at every town to use the bathroom. I was so tired, too, but luckily my youngest son Charlie was able to drive some and let me nap.
Monday morning Space Ship 1 became the first non-government funded craft to go into space and Charlie and I were there!
Richard's main page
The next morning we toured all the hotels, the night club "The City of Can Cun," and the new master plan community being built by the same man that owns our hotel. The next day we went on a sales meeting in one of the hotels and did a little touring in the city afterwards.
Finally on Saturday we finally spent the time on the island instead of all our time in Can Cun.
The hotel was unusual in that only the rooms were air conditioned, the common areas were hot! Still it was a wonderful hotel, we had a lot of fun and never had a chance to get bored. We were busy all the time.
We got up at five to leave on Sunday. We flew into Miami and went through customs which puts you outside the security area, so you have to go through security again, which is stupid.
We were in the air only half an hour when they turned the plane around and landed in Miami again. It took four hours to fix before we finally got on our way. We got home late Sunday night.
Unfortunately for my sleep time, I had to be in Mojave California by 6:30 the next morning and I wanted to arrive by 3:00 to get the best parking. By then I was sick and had to stop at every town to use the bathroom. I was so tired, too, but luckily my youngest son Charlie was able to drive some and let me nap.
Monday morning Space Ship 1 became the first non-government funded craft to go into space and Charlie and I were there!
Richard's main page
Sunday, June 13, 2004
We had a good time at the family reunion yesterday. Of course, today my shoulder hurts from all the shotgun shooting I did.
My daughter and her husband, Valery and Mark agreed to come down for the reunion, but reneged on the deal, but everyone else was there.
I was very worried about the heat. Doing it in Alamo in June! What were they thinking? But the reunion was held under a grove of Ash trees and there was a slight breeze, so I don't think it was ever very uncomfortable, except around noon when the sun was coming straight down and the sun was filtered by just a few layers of leaves.
We did some skeet shooting and my score was good—for me—60%. My son Rick was using my gun so I borrowed my brother-in-law, Mark's gun. Later they started launching the pigeons with a hand launcher, instead of the machine. Again, Rick was using my gun, so I used my brother-in-law, Sam's single shot. Oh what a sweet gun. It kicks like a mule since it's a light gun, but it's really a fun gun. And I found out they're very inexpensive, under a hundred bucks! My brother-in-law who owns a gun store says he has some similar guns in stock. Oh yes! The hand launching is what did my shoulder in. It's much harder and faster than the machine, because you had to be fast or someone else would shoot the pigeon first. So, since I was using a hard kicking gun, and was shooting fast so the gun wasn't as tight to my shoulder, I got a bit banged around. It was worth it.
I had the slide show Rick had done for Grandma and Grandpa's 50th anniversary party. I did a video CD version so those who wanted, could play them on their computers, even with no DVD player in the computer, (thinking that any DVD player could play it) but I've found since that some DVD players don't play video CD's. Well I can always burn a few DVD's for those who have trouble. I've tried them in four DVD players, and only one has refused to play them. I also did a computer only version and a VHS version for the low tech people.
My granddaughters Anna and Haley had so much fun yesterday. It's too bad two others, Raegan and Damia, missed it because their parents wouldn't bring them.
Another reason it was so much fun for me yesterday, is because I've spent an intense week writing a paper for a class I'm taking. I didn't think it would be that hard, but there was so much material to wade through. Now I've got to rewrite and send it off, in two days! Since we're going to Cancún I won't have time after that.
Richard's main page
My daughter and her husband, Valery and Mark agreed to come down for the reunion, but reneged on the deal, but everyone else was there.
I was very worried about the heat. Doing it in Alamo in June! What were they thinking? But the reunion was held under a grove of Ash trees and there was a slight breeze, so I don't think it was ever very uncomfortable, except around noon when the sun was coming straight down and the sun was filtered by just a few layers of leaves.
We did some skeet shooting and my score was good—for me—60%. My son Rick was using my gun so I borrowed my brother-in-law, Mark's gun. Later they started launching the pigeons with a hand launcher, instead of the machine. Again, Rick was using my gun, so I used my brother-in-law, Sam's single shot. Oh what a sweet gun. It kicks like a mule since it's a light gun, but it's really a fun gun. And I found out they're very inexpensive, under a hundred bucks! My brother-in-law who owns a gun store says he has some similar guns in stock. Oh yes! The hand launching is what did my shoulder in. It's much harder and faster than the machine, because you had to be fast or someone else would shoot the pigeon first. So, since I was using a hard kicking gun, and was shooting fast so the gun wasn't as tight to my shoulder, I got a bit banged around. It was worth it.
I had the slide show Rick had done for Grandma and Grandpa's 50th anniversary party. I did a video CD version so those who wanted, could play them on their computers, even with no DVD player in the computer, (thinking that any DVD player could play it) but I've found since that some DVD players don't play video CD's. Well I can always burn a few DVD's for those who have trouble. I've tried them in four DVD players, and only one has refused to play them. I also did a computer only version and a VHS version for the low tech people.
My granddaughters Anna and Haley had so much fun yesterday. It's too bad two others, Raegan and Damia, missed it because their parents wouldn't bring them.
Another reason it was so much fun for me yesterday, is because I've spent an intense week writing a paper for a class I'm taking. I didn't think it would be that hard, but there was so much material to wade through. Now I've got to rewrite and send it off, in two days! Since we're going to Cancún I won't have time after that.
Richard's main page
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
I've put off doing this because I wasn't quite ready.
In 1996 I lost my father. He'd had multiple sclerosis for decades and we knew he was going to go, but it still hurt—more than I expected it too. I still think of things I would like to tell him, just for a moment forgetting he's gone. You've heard the cliché about not appreciating someone until they're gone. Well it's true. I miss him.
When I got the news that President Reagan had died, I realized I felt the same way as when my father died. Ronald Reagan was the first president I ever voted for. It was the primary when he ran against Gerald Ford. I met him during that campaign, across the street from John Ascuaga's Nugget in Reno, where he made a campaign stop. When he lost to Ford, I reluctantly voted for Ford. I was thrilled four years later to vote for him again against Jimmy Carter. He was a wonderful president to have for the next eight years.
I will miss him.
Richard's main page
In 1996 I lost my father. He'd had multiple sclerosis for decades and we knew he was going to go, but it still hurt—more than I expected it too. I still think of things I would like to tell him, just for a moment forgetting he's gone. You've heard the cliché about not appreciating someone until they're gone. Well it's true. I miss him.
When I got the news that President Reagan had died, I realized I felt the same way as when my father died. Ronald Reagan was the first president I ever voted for. It was the primary when he ran against Gerald Ford. I met him during that campaign, across the street from John Ascuaga's Nugget in Reno, where he made a campaign stop. When he lost to Ford, I reluctantly voted for Ford. I was thrilled four years later to vote for him again against Jimmy Carter. He was a wonderful president to have for the next eight years.
I will miss him.
Richard's main page
Sunday, June 06, 2004
I've had several interviews at various schools for next year, but as of this moment I'm still at my old school, where I definitely don't want to be next year.
When I got to school Friday, I found that I had forgotten my keys, which I needed to turn in so I could check out for the summer. I also had an interview for ten o'clock, which I scheduled at that time so I would have time to attend the faculty meeting first. Well they delayed the faculty meeting until 9:30! I told my supervisor I was going to go get my keys. I called my son, Charlie so I could get him to meet me half way, but he decided to come in to see the latest Harry Potter movie. It worked out well. By the time I was done, he'd arrived, so I was able to get my keys and check out by one PM.
Yesterday we loaded up my daughter, Valery's things and they headed back up to Idaho. Her father-in-law, brother-in-law and nephew, having come all this way, had to cope with record heat all day as they helped load.
My daughter-in-law, Jessie finally passed her last test, the math portion of the tests. Since her kids score higher in math than any other teacher's in her school, it just goes to show that's it's not content knowledge that's important, but knowing how to teach! People used to realize this. Now everything is the teacher's fault, despite that fact that the teacher is probably one of the most powerless to change the real problem, which is discipline!
Richard's main page
When I got to school Friday, I found that I had forgotten my keys, which I needed to turn in so I could check out for the summer. I also had an interview for ten o'clock, which I scheduled at that time so I would have time to attend the faculty meeting first. Well they delayed the faculty meeting until 9:30! I told my supervisor I was going to go get my keys. I called my son, Charlie so I could get him to meet me half way, but he decided to come in to see the latest Harry Potter movie. It worked out well. By the time I was done, he'd arrived, so I was able to get my keys and check out by one PM.
Yesterday we loaded up my daughter, Valery's things and they headed back up to Idaho. Her father-in-law, brother-in-law and nephew, having come all this way, had to cope with record heat all day as they helped load.
My daughter-in-law, Jessie finally passed her last test, the math portion of the tests. Since her kids score higher in math than any other teacher's in her school, it just goes to show that's it's not content knowledge that's important, but knowing how to teach! People used to realize this. Now everything is the teacher's fault, despite that fact that the teacher is probably one of the most powerless to change the real problem, which is discipline!
Richard's main page
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
The pictures are of Space Ship 1 (SS1) It will most likely become the world's first private space ship on June 21st!
Richard's main page
Richard's main page
Just after landing SpaceShipOne on May 13 flight. Pilot Mike Melvill describes the experience while Scaled Composites chief Burt Rutan and crew chief Steve Losey listen. Note color stripes on leading edge of wing to measure aerodynamic heating on the craft's thermal protection system. Scaled Composites
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