Night Trippers

The crew who is driving Melissa to Connecticut includes her brother Chris (in back on right), friend Hunter (back left), and Jake (front right). Chris and Hunter will begin driving Melissa's car all night tonight to make it to Dollywood tomorrow. Melissa and Jake will begin driving the moving truck tomorrow morning and try to make it most of the way to Connecticut. Cosmo is not a dependable driver, so Melissa says he will be sedated for the trip.

Moving Day

Our 'roommates,' Cosmo and Melissa, moved out today to begin their journey in Connecticut. We will miss you!

Tree House Demolition

Today Todd began the last task of fixing up our house that is a big 'visible' task - tearing down the unsightly tree house in the back yard. This tree house has been an eyesore from the day we moved in, but other projects took priority. Maybe we'll put an arbor or just a flowerbed there.

Slate Steps

One of the last things Todd has done to improve our house is to cover our front concrete porch and steps in slate tile. He did a lot of the work himself and we are thrilled with the results. I won't publish the 'before' photo!

Fans on Cell Phones

I took this photo as soon as we (from left to right, [other] Todd, Rob and Todd and I) got into the stands at Saturday's Saints preseason game. After 30 minutes of waiting at the security checkpoint, we were admitted at about 5:50 - 10 minutes before gametime. I can't complain, though, since some people did not make it into the game until 7 p.m. Anyway, as we found our seats, there were plenty of other seats around us in the same section, but gradually the entire section filled up. The stadium is horseshoe-shaped and we were at the bottom of the U. At any rate, the three of them proceeded to whip out cell phones almost immediately. Both Todds were on the phone when this photo was taken.

Saturday's Saints Game

I attended the NFL pre-season game Saturday between the Saints and the Colts. This was a big event for Jackson. There were 58,000 tickets sold for the 60,000-seat Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. Some of the big names on the field were the Colts' Peyton Manning and the Saints' first round draft pick Reggie Bush. This photo was taken in the first quarter, but the crowd continued filing in until well into the 2nd quarter, so the stadium appeared to be full by halftime. It was reported that long lines to go through security kept people in the parking lot a lot longer than anticipated.

S is for Silence

I recently finished reading Sue Grafton's latest entertaining mystery. I have to admit I have also read A through R as well :-)

Freakonomics

Todd and I both recently finished Freakonomics and enjoyed the book. It creates endless conversation fodder, whether you buy into the theories or not. There's also a thought-provoking Freakonomics blog.

Freakonomics Web Site

Freakonomics Blog

Barefoot Wine

I'm going to get a plug in for Barefoot Wine, the generous company that furnished all the beverages for a business event that I went to last week. This photo is a print available on their web site. Stacey was gracious enough to take me with her as her guest to the event, which featured a reception at the Governors Mansion and dinner at the Old Capitol Inn. So anyway, back to the wine tasting. Upon entering this event, a glass of sparkling wine was put in our hands. When we were seated, we noticed three wine glasses at each place setting. Sure enough, these wine glasses were filled almost to the brim before the night was over. Some of the ladies at the dinner were having trouble standing up at the end! I was the designated driver so I only literally tasted each wine. My favorites were the burgundy and the sparkling wine.

CyberCat Rocks

I have to put a plug in for our computer guru, Cybercat. We returned from our recent trip to Panama only to accidentally delete all 200 photos taken from our computer. Aak! Cybercat helped us out by making a house call and recovering all the photos, saving not only our marriage, but our memories of the trip. To reach this all-knowing guru, call 601 713 0887. There's nothing he can't do.

Trivia Champs!

I did not take my camera, but Tuesday night our Nosehounds team won the Jackpot Trivia at Sportsman's Lodge in Jackson! Players include me, Todd, Carl, Rebekah, James and Skye. We will defend our title forthwith. Sportsman's does not have a web site that I can find so I can't even provide a link.

The Happy Couple

The wedding of our friends Jeff and Grace in Panama was held at the Iglesia de Santa Marta in Panama City, a beautiful, and thankfully air-conditioned, cathedral. Here Jeff and Grace are pictured leaving the church at the conclusion of the ceremony.

C'mon Ride It

The night before the wedding of our friends Jeff and Grace in Panama, a party bus cruised around town with a live band aboard and a ton of dark and light rum. This party bus is a modified American school bus with one side carved out open to the elements. It would never pass safety regulations in the U.S. Anyway, the musicians played extremely loud 'Carnival' music. Nonstop dancing and music for hours. It was loads of fun. People looked at us wherever the bus went - it must have been impossible to look away. Picture a pep rally on the inside of a school bus, for hours!

Which is the Monkey?

During our recent trip to Panama for the wedding of our friends Jeff & Grace, we went on a Panama Canal boat tour and made a stop at Isla de Monos - Monkey Island. The 'wild' monkeys would come up to the boat to take a treat (bread) out of one's hand. I didn't touch any monkeys because I hate monkeys, flat out. But Todd agreed to be photographed with one. See if you can guess which is Todd and which is the monkey! :-)

Four for Floating

On our recent trip to Panama for the wedding of our friends Jeff & Grace, we took a boat trip on the Panama Canal. The motorboat sped around the big, slow-moving ships, giving us a spectacularly close view. Pictured are me, Todd, and fellow Mississippians Tony and Sheila - who were essentially on their honeymoon themselves, as they had gotten married the Friday before going on the trip.

Miraflores Locks, Panama Canal

Duing our recent trip to Panama, the country, for the wedding of our friends Jeff and Grace, we visited Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal. It takes a big ship 30 minutes or so to go through the locks, or 'water elevators,' as they repeatedly refer to them as. We stayed on the observation deck and watched a huge ship go by - it was neat to be so close to the ship itself. Pictured are Tony, Sheila, Todd, Bobby and Grace at the locks.

Gamboa Resort

In early August we visited Panama City, Panama. This photo, of the nearby Gamboa Eco-Resort in the middle of a rainforest, was one of the most beautiful and inviting places we saw. This terrific view is from the open-air lobby. Almost everything is open-air there. It's not as hot as you would think in August because it's the "rainy season" (read: their version of winter). Sure, it rained every day, but it didn't get much higher in temperature than 88 or so.

Panama City Panorama

In early August we visited Panama, the country, for vacation and the wedding of our friends Jeff & Grace. We stayed in the very modern and nice Panama City, seen here from a big hill overlooking the city.

Vacation in Panama

In early August we took a trip to Panama, the country, for the wedding of our friends Jeff & Grace. They are pictured here with Todd on the night of our arrival in Panama City at a great Spanish restaurant.

World War II Memorial

During my trip to Washington D.C. last week, the one landmark I made a point to see was the new World War II memorial. It was a tourist hotspot that day, with even a huge group of Japanese students there.

RFK Stadium

It was hot as hell at the old RFK Stadium on Thursday July 27 as the Washington Nationals took on the S.F. Giants. Lots of seats are in the shade, but our group sat in full sun. The Nationals won.

Counterparts

I just returned from a conference in Washington DC - it was a conference of people who do the same work that I do in other states - and had the privilege of meeting my counterparts from New York, Indiana, Florida, Wisconsin, Washington and more. Those are the states represented here - pictured are Laura, Karen, Bret, Monique, Kristin, Megan and me at '1789' restaurant in Georgetown.

Georgetown U

Last week I went to Washington DC for a conference and had some free time one afternoon, and explored the campus of Georgetown University. This is the administration building.