Spoiling our Children

Occasionally my mother gets the wild idea into her head that my dear wife and I don't spoil our children enough. I don't know where she gets this from, they are plenty spoiled.

We let them have three meal a day. They get new socks once a year whether they need them or not. Heck, just last week we gave them each a full one inch thick piece of foam to put over the plywood that they use for beds. Sometimes we even replace their shoes before all 5 toes are visable through the holes.

But just to remind my mother that as parents we do realize that providing an occasional indulgence for my kids is my job as a father. So a few weeks ago we picked up one of these.



The kids loved this. It sets up quick, but takes a bit more to take down. I guess I have a new regular chore for the weekends this summer.

Finally, since its sometimes tough to tell sarcasm in print, that second paragraph about the way we treat our chldren was a total fabrication. We let them have new socks twice a year. So don't be writing to me about what a horrible father I am.

All Decked Out

We moved into this house in December 1989. When we started landscaping the back yard I left a 12 foot wide strip of dirt the length of the existing patio in the back yard. I told my dear wife that my eventual plan was to put in a ground level deck on one side of the area and paving stones on the other.

Through the years our backyard plans have changed a bit as our family grew. But that strip of dirt remained. About four years ago I finally put down the paving stones to cover half the strip of dirt. Then two years ago we had the patio enclosed and moved my den out there so each child could have their own bedroom. Last year I added the roofing over the patio area.

Well this summer I finally got my rear in gear and finished the ground level deck on the other side of the dirt. My dear wife immediately picked out a nice set of padded chairs and a new patio table. So we now have an outdoor dining area.

BRAC

Well the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, issued his recommendations to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. This has been a major worry point for many people around here the last couple months. They have been afraid that China Lake might get shut down. Well according to the list we may in fact gain some work.

The list reccomends for China Lake to gain about 2500 billets. However this list still has to get through 5 months of committee re-work and then approval by the President and Congress.

So nothing is going to happen fast. Personnally I don't expect a hugh rush of people moving into town. Most folks who work at the bases that are going to have their work sent here will not want to live here and therefore probably won't move.

I just hope that we get some more work and funding here so those of us who are working on programs that are rapidly winding down can find some interesting work to do next.

Field Trip to Short Canyon

I took a day off work today and helped drive for my kids second grade end of the year field trip. We went hiking in Short Canyon.

Short Canyon is only about 20 miles away. Straight up into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It's a pretty easy hike from the parking area. The trail winds up a short canyon that has a small creek running through it. This keeps the bottom of the canyon green.

Here are a few of the pictures I took today.


Giant Nolina - This plant was across the creek from us but looked to be over 6 feet in diameter.

The Beavertail Cactus were blooming all over the place

Rock Live-Forever Plant - which looks to me like it belongs in an aquarium not the desert.

There weren't many California Poppies left on the hills

A desert Thistle - this one was about 5 feet high

The view from the short canyon parking area looking back towards Ridgecrest.

Last, but certainly not least, the real reason we went up there in the first place.

I can think of lots of reasons to take a day off work. But spending today in the outdoors with this group of kids was absolutely one of the best.

Volleyball game 7

After a week off my girls were finally back on the court again. We were playing a team that we beat in week two of the season. But I expected this game to be a lot different than the first one.

Since that night my girls had lost one match. The team we lost to was the reamining undefeated team in the league until they played tonights opponents.

Our opponents tonight beat that undefeated team three straight games.

Well it was a tougher match as I expected. Unfortunately both teams were a little flat. Not much movement or activity on the court. But unlike that last time we had a flat night, this time my team didn't lose their ability to serve. I think that is what swayed the match in our favor. We won the first game 25-12 and the second 25-21. The third game which was just for practice at this time we won 15-12.

The stats for the week are:

Player  7 April   14 April   21 April   28 April    12 May
M        3/5        5/5       10/10       9/9        8/10
A        9/10       13/13   12/14(2/3)  7/7(0/2)    15/16
K1       7/7        4/6       5/7         2/4        3/4
B        12/12      2/5       8/10      7/7(0/1)     6/7
J        2/4        7/9       2/4         dnp        2/5
S1       8/8        0/3       7/10        3/5        5/6
K2       4/4        dnp       dnp         8/9        dnp
D        3/3        3/6       4/5       5/5(5/6)    (5/7)
S2       4/5        dnp       4/4         7/7        6/6
 
Total   52/58      35/47    52/64(2/3)  48/53(5/9) 45/54(5/7)
 
MFS      4          8          3           2         3
SAWIB    10         6          5           3         3
BFP                 29         8           9         10

(the serves in parenthesis are overhand serves)

Next week we don't get to practice. The gym is being used for the upper division tournement. So it's just one more game and then the season is over. I really wish the city would take practice a bit more seriously. The girls don't learn much during the games. Practice is where they need to learn the game. But this league is all about the games. The practice schedule always gets short changed. Well maybe if I keep nagging they'll come around eventually. Or else they'll just get sick of me and not let me coach anymore.

We Finally Made the Big Time

Ridgecrest has been in the news alot lately. Jay Leno has mentioned us in his monologue. We have been mentioned on main stream media news outlets and hundreds of blogs.

And to what do we owe this new found fame? Did China Lake develop new weapon to use in the war on terror? Nope. Did our local high school sports team win a national championship? Not that either.

We are nationally famous now because a husband and wife in Johannesburg were ticketed for letting their chicken cross the road.

Jaywalking chicken lands couple in court

Chicken Ticketed For Crossing Road Near Ridgecrest

These are just a couple samples of identical articles that are appearing all over the web.

So here I sit trying to present a common man's hopefully humorous view of life in Ridgecrest and I get upstaged by a chicken.

I only hope that somewhere some good comes from this whole incedent. Maybe if the story gets enough coverage in Texas the armadillos will learn some road crossing tips from the chicken's technique.

Hair Loss Hypothesis

I have been talking with several friends and co-workers lately who like myself are folically challenged. I asked if they remember back to the time when they had a head full of hair. Most of them remember that along with a head of hair, they were also slimmer and in better shape than they are now.

This leads me to propose the hypothesis:

Hair Loss is Fattening!

Intramural Golf week 3

Well we finally had a normal tuesday night for golf. Windy and chilly. OK, it didn't get chilly until the sun went down. But the wind was blowing. It wasn't blowing hard enough to really effect putts like it occasionally does. But it would move your ball around pretty good up in the air.

We competed tonight against several ex-teammates. When we first joined this league we had a team of 6 guys that by the end of the season had swollen to 12. So the next season when there was an opening in the league for another team half out guys broke way and formed another team. This has worked out well for all concerned. We now play a team at least once each season made up of friends. So it's usually a fun night, we can beat up on each other and still laugh, joke around and have fun.

The last two years they have gotten to better of us in the head to head matches. But tonight we exacted a little revenge. We won 5.5 out of 6 points. Our A player, Shane, had three birdies in 9 holes. I managed to shoot my first net par round of the season.

The Sound of Freedom

While eating my breakfast this morning my perusal of the morning news was interrupted by the sound of freedom flying overhead.

As I have pointed out several times - Ridgecrest is a small community in the upper Mojave Desert.

So what would make 20,000 people move out here into the middle of nowhere? What would make all these people live in a place where the streets get so hot in the summer that your shoes will stick to the blacktop and grabbing any metal object that has been outside with your bare hands can cause first degree burns?

The answer is work. Our jobs are here. Sure some people live here because they love the desert environment. But a great many live here because they love the work they do, and this is one of the few places in the world where they can do the kind of work they love. So many of us are here because of the largest single employer in the valley. The one company that not only employs around 4000 people but is also the main customer for hundreds of support companies here in town - The United States Navy.

That right, we have right here in the Indian Wells Valley our very own land-locked Navy Base - The Naval Air Warfare Station - China Lake.

The Naval Air Warfare Station - China Lake is the current name of the actual Navy Base. The tenant activity, which does most of the work here, is called the Naval Air Systems Command Weapons Division, or NAVAIR. From 1992 to 2001 it was called The Naval Air Warfare Center - China Lake. From 1967 to 1992 it was called the Naval Warfare Center - China Lake. From it's founding in 1943 until 1967 it was called the Naval Ordnance Test Station - China Lake. Navy managers are always playing around with names. Lately they seem to be intent on removing any sense of history or identity that that place has. Our new names don't include the words China Lake. But to the dedicated people who work here and the residents who live around here the place is and always will be just "China Lake".

Founded in 1943 China Lake has a 62 year record of being the foremost weapons research, design, development, testing and integration facility in the US Navy.

Accomplishements here at China Lake over the last 60 years have included over 100 different missile and rocket programs. In addition to missiles and rockets, China Lake has been made major developments in Chemistry, Physics, Explosives, Soldering, System Engineering and Weapons Integration.

A few of the major advancements you might recognize include the Sidewinder Missile - The most widely used air to air combat missile in the world. Do you remember the pictures from Desert Storm showing the smart bombs point of view as it drops out of the sky and is directed exactly to an intended target? Do your kids play with glow sticks? The chemical luminesence technology at use there came from China Lake.

So what does all this have to do with the Sound of Freedom this morning. This morning I was serenaded during my breakfast by the sound of a military jet passing overhead. This is a very common sound in the valley. Hardly a day goes by that we don't hear military aircraft flying in the area. But it is rarely a bothersome sound; it is the sound of freedom. It is the sound of my co-workers doing weapons testing and/or evaluation. It is the sound of what we do here. It is the sound of the protection of freedom for America and the advancement of freedom for nations who want it by the continued support and advancement of the capabilities of the United States Military.

A pdf brochure about China Lake and the surrounding area can be downloaded here.

A Photographic History of NAF & VX-5 at NOTS China Lake

China Lake

This week in History - 8 May

In 1983 the United States Submarine, MantaRay, was lurking below the Arctic icecap. They were on a research mission to evaluate the changing freeze and thaw patterns of the polar ice floes.

Having been at sea and submerged since November doing nothing but taking scientific measurements the discipline among crew had become lax. In a momentary lapse, the galley crew left a burner on under a pot during a daily drill. The resulting fire quickly spread to the adjoining crew's quarters. In the crew's quarters, as certain materials heated up they began give off a noxious vapor which soon threatened to overcome the vessel.

Realizing that the exhaust system on board was not handling the problem the Captain ordered the ship to surface. Two teeth jarring attempts were made to ram their way through a thin spot in the overhead ice. The third attempt was a success but the hull of the MantaRay was slightly damaged in the process.

The crew was immediately evacuated and the ship exhausted of the noxious fumes. The crew had moved back into the vessel within 2 hours and hull repairs progressed without incident until they were completed three days later.

Once battened up and ready to submerge The Captian of the MantaRay discovered that the ice had frozen in around the vessel and she was stuck fast in place. For two more days the crew struggled in vain to free the ice bound ship. The Captain radioed for assistance but was told that the nearest ship capable of helping was two weeks away, and they should continue to attempt to extricate the boat the best they could until then.

The frustration of the situation led the Captain and the crew to try many different approaches to free the vessel. None worked. Finally the First Officer requested permission to try a more radical approach. With the Captain's approval the First Officer ordered two members of the crew to paint a large mouth and large sad eyes on the bow of the stuck sub.

He then radioed an anonymous tip to the Greenpeace Headquarters in Seattle that an Eskimo had spotted a rare Grey Whale stuck in the ice, and gave them sub's location.

Eighteen hours later in the most dramatic rescue effort ever launched by Greenpeace, 2374 volunteers equipped with axes, chain saws and other equipment arrived on snowmobiles, sleds and snowcats. In little over 5 hours these dedicated defenders of the defenseless, proceeded to chop free the stuck 'whale'. As their ailing charge slipped beneath the surface the volunteers gathered to wish it well. Yet they feared all their efforts had been in vain because throughout the rescue the creature lain so still and lifeless. But they hoped for the best and returned home praying for the animals quick recovery and survival.

Sensing that the Navy owed the organization a debt of gratitude, the Captain of the MantaRay arranged for a shipment of 200 sealskin winter sea coats to be delivered to Greenpeace for use during their North Atlantic operations.

Insanity to the Left of Me

Just how insane has the moonbat liberal left in this country gotten?

Little Green Footballs is reporting that Cafepress is now selling tee shirts that advocate Save America, Kill Republicans!

So you have to ask yourself, is this anyway to advertise a tee shirt?

Making fun of Repubicans won't get them on our side, but threatening to kill them might be more effective.

Right, threatening to kill me is going to encourage me to take a closer look at your side of an arguement. Maybe if you could spell Republican I might take your threat a little more seriously. But regardless, if you believe that threatening to kill me will make me pay attention to your side of the arguement you are wrong. But then you should be getting used to being wrong by now.

Who do you want running your country right now? The Republicans who recognize that we are fighting a global war against terrorism, or the liberals who are fighting a global war against Republicans?

But this tee shirt does raise a question that makes me go Hmmmmmm? Just how are the ranting and raving loony liberal left going to try and kill Republicans?

They don't believe in the second amendment right to keep and bear arms, so theoretically the Republicans are probably better armed than they are.

Are they going to terrify us to death with their scathing wit? Howard Dean the new head of the Democratic National Committe says that we are 'evil', 'corrupt' and 'brain-dead'

Oww, Mommy make the scary man stop saying bad things about me.

They can't run us over with their cars. Can you imagine them trying to take out this:

with one of these

Can you say speedbump?

So how about the tolerant peaceful left go back to wearing tie dyed tee shirts, hemp pants and sandals. You look silly advocating the murder of 50 million Americans.

Intramural Golf Week 2

Wow, two weeks in a row of great weather. If it was like this every week this town would be a nightmare. There would be 200,000 people or more living here. It was low 80's, light wispy cloud cover and only about 10 mph breezes.

I was the C player this evening and we started on the 14th hole. Number one handicap hole on the golf course. Long, straight, narrow with trees on both sides. Par 4 that faces straight into the wind most of the time. I really blew it. It took me 3 shots just to reach everyone elses tee shots. If you ever want to see a really ugly overswing let me know, I'll video tape it for you.

I lost the first 2 holes then made a great chip and putt on 16 to get one back. 17 is a 168 yard par 3 with an elevated green. I hit my tee shot off the toe of my 6 iron. But I hit it well. We were looking straight into the evening sun so seeing was difficult at best. As I looked up during my swing I saw nothing but sun. My partner was sure he saw the ball heading towards the green via a big hook over the tree on the right side of the fairway. My opponents thought they saw my ball bounce near a large rock in the right rough half way up the fairway. Knowing that I had hit off the toe I started checking around the rock.

I eventually found my ball on the green about 20 feet from the pin. I had to ignore what my eyes were telling me about the putt I was facing. It looked like the putt would break to the left, but I know from experience that the 17th green is really flat, so it doesn't break much from any direction. I lined up center cup and drained a nice 20 footer for my first birdie of the season. Lets just hope it's not my last.

I made 2 other 17 - 20 foot putts this evening, unfortunately I missed two 3 foot putts. Opps.

I shot a net 3 over par and lost to my opponent 2 and 1 with him shooting a respectable 2 under par net.

My team went 3-3 on the night thanks to our AB players who went 3-0 to offset my partner's and my 0-3 night.

Last Snows of Spring?

Ridgecrest has a nice view of the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. This picture taken on Saturday shows what is probably the last of the snow that we'll see this spring.

Hoax, Criminal Act or Just Plain Stupidity

Jennifer Wilbanks, 32, disappeared while out for a jog last Tuesday.  On Saturday she turned up outside an Albuquerque NM 7-Eleven.  At first she claimed to have been kidnapped but then later recanted and admitted to running off because she needed some time to clear her head from the stress of her upcoming wedding.

CrimProf Blog asks the question "Should Hoaxes be treated as Criminal Offenses?"

There seems to be a lot of opinions flying around about whether or not this woman immature child should be prosecuted.

Did she commit a crime?  Is it illegal for an adult to just wander off without telling anyone?  Is it illegal for an adult once they realize that they screwed up to concoct a phony kidnapping story to cover up their actions?  Is it illegal to inflict unimaginable emotional distress on your parents, friends, and fiance?

Well I'm not a lawyer and I don't play one on TV.  So I can't answer those questions from a legal standpoint. But I can tell you my answers from a conservative, middle class, father and husband point of view.

Did she commmit a crime?  Yes, the moment she told the police that she had been kidnapped she had filed a false police complaint.  What kind of punishment should she receive?  How about she perform the same hours of community service as the police, and emergency agencies spent in looking for her?  She could do her time giving talks to kids about the appropriate ways to deal with stress.  Of course someone would have to write her a script.

Is it illegal for an adult to just wander off without telling anyone?  Well no it's not illegal, at least I hope it's not.  But it is cruel, uncaring, and extrememly selfish.  My children from an early age have had a lot of freedom to chose how they spend their free time.  But they have to tell us where they are going.  Front yard, back yard, to the neighbors house, Mom and Dad have to know where you are going.  This is not to control them, it is to protect them and us.  But this woman spoiled child didn't think of anyone but herself.  How difficult would it have been to leave a message on some one's answering machine, or a note on the counter - "I need some time to think, I'll call in a few days, don't worry, I'm ok".  Then go check into a spa for a few days.  Sure, everyone is still going to worry.   They are probably going to look for you also. But at least they probably won't mobilize a multiple state manhunt for your kidnappers or murderers.

Is it illegal to inflict unimaginable emotional grief on your family, friends and loved ones?  In certain circumstances it probably is.  In this case, illegal - no. Immoral, selfish, childish, and incredibly stupid - yes.  Her parents of course are thrilled just to know she's safe and to have her back again.  As a Dad I can understand that.  But her fiance who still wants to marry her after she intentionally made him the number one suspect in her disappearance.  She put him into the position of appearing to the nation as the prime suspect in a kidnapping or murder.

A word of advice to her fiance, marry a crack whore instead. At least you will know what you are getting into. Their problems are well documented and you can take appropriate actions to try and prevent them.  This whack job that you are engaged to now needs to be sent back to her Mommy and Daddy where she needs to be spanked, grounded, and watched over very carefully until she grows up enough to be allowed to dress herself. You may still love her and want to be with her. But can you ever trust her? And without trust how stable is your marriage going to be? More importantly will you ever be able to leave her unsupervised? How long will it take for her to get stressed out over an upcomming trip to the grocery store and take off again? Did you enjoy the polygraph test? Did you enjoy having half the country think that you were a murdering SOB? Because that's what most of my coworkers thought of you.

So was this a hoax, criminal act or just plain stupidity? I think I vote for stupidity. If I was a over-legislatively inclined liberal I'd say that we need a law against people being this stupid. Fortunately, I'm not that stupid. (I hope!)

So get the Georgia relief agencies to total up the hours they spent looking for Jennifer (walkabout) Wilbanks and get ready to put this whack job to work, paying back that time.

The DarthSide

Have you ever wondered what evil and maniacal thoughts were swirling around inside Darth Vader's Helmet?

Well we can find out. The Darth Side is

"Journal of Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith and Servant to His Supreme Excellency the Emperor Palpatine."

Lets all hope that GL and his stable of lawyers doesn't shut him down or worse.

This week in History - 31 April

The importing of the crossbow from China into the European culture of the 8th century had severe repercusions on the state of war as the Europeans knew it.

In 921 AD, Baron Willim Stutfiels a minor Holder on the East side of the British Isles commissioned a local craftsman to install two siege crossbows upon the bow and stern of each of this three merchant ships. This desperate act was a result of the increased pirate activity in the area.

Baron Stutfiel's idea was a marvelous success. Soon most ships sailing the English Channel were equipped with such weapons. Unfortunately for every development of war comes a counter measure.

In 922 AD the pirate Juan Diego Calvertes discovered, quite by accident, that one well placed shot of a crossbow into the supply of crossbow quarrels, usually stored near an enemies crossbows, would cause the supply of quarrels to sympathetically fire madly about the enemey vessel. The resulting chaos and destruction provided an easy victory for the pirate.

As the occurrence of sympathetic firings of stores of quarrels increased the Captains took to placing the quarrels in re-enforced oaken boxes. But still the sympathetic firings continued. Soon the quarrels were moved into a storage area below decks, and a winch system rigged to deliver them to the bowmen manning the crossbows.

This led to the tactic of trying to determine where the enemy had stored his quarrels and firing not at the sailors or riggings but trying to pierce the sides of the ship in hopes of striking the store of quarrels.

Shortly after that the quarrels were moved to an area of the ship below the waterline so to be protected from missile fire. This led to the tactic of ramming the enemy ship near the quarrel magazine.

Eventually the amount of protection needed to defend ones quarrel supply from attack by the enemy was so substantial that many ships became overloaded and rode too deep in the water. In the high seas, and unpredictable winds of the Channel this condition caused many vessels to capsize and sink. Finally crossbows were abandoned as a viable naval weapon. Not because they were ineffective but because of the dangerous storage problems of the ammunition.

Trackback now available

I Followed a little of my own advice. Which isn't always a good thing, but in this case it was.

As I mentioned in my last post the Mudville Gazette has a great article for new bloggers. Number four on the list there was Trackback. So I signed up over at Haloscan for thier comment and trackback service. This was so easy there should be a law against it. I used thier auto install feature for Blogger accounts. The hardest part of this whole process was typing in my blogger username and password. I'm so brainwashed to never give out my login names and passwords. So trusting a new site with that information was a bit nervewracking. But in a fit of insanity I forged fearlessly ahead. So if the Ridgecrest Blog starts showing up in Swahili, or becomes a XXX porn site you'll know I screwed up.

New Blogger Advice

No I'm not giving advise to new bloggers. Well OK maybe I am. The advice is this - Go read The Mudville Gazette's latest article Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Blogging

There is a lot of great information there for new bloggers. Like me.

Now I have to follow my own advice and get some changes started on my blog - Trackback here I come.....

Volleyball - Game 6

Wow, I wish I could get my team to turn on their serving in practice as well as they do in games. They were awesome last night. As a team they only missed 9 serves in three games and 4 of those were overhand serves by ladies that are still learning to float serve.

They won the first game 25 to 12 and then had a bit of a let down in the serve recieve department in the second game. At one stretch the opposing team severed 9 staight on us. Fortunately my players were able to get back on track and finally squeek out a 25-22 victory.

This win moves them to 5-1 on the season. Unfortunately we don't get to play the one team we lost to again. But we did learn last night that they suffered their first loss of the season. So we both have 5-1 records now. Unfortunately in any normal tie breaker scenario we would come out second because we lost to them head to head. But the good side is this is a fun league and they don't even track the wins and losses. There is no post season tournement in this division, no trophys, etc. So the only people who are really tracking the wins and losses are a couple of us coaches who use them for some friendly trash talking when our players aren't around.

Stats for the week are:

Player  7 April   14 April   21 April   28 April
M        3/5        5/5       10/10       9/9
A        9/10       13/13   12/14(2/3)  7/7(0/2)
K        7/7        4/6       5/7         2/4
B        12/12      2/5       8/10      7/7(0/1)
J        2/4        7/9       2/4         dnp
S1       8/8        0/3       7/10        3/5
K        4/4        dnp       dnp         8/9
D        3/3        3/6       4/5       5/5(5/6)
S2       4/5        dnp       4/4         7/7
 
Total   52/58      35/47    52/64(2/3)  48/53(5/9)
 
MFS      4          8          3           2
SAWIB    10         6          5           3
BFP                 29         8           9

(the serves in parenthesis are overhand serves)

Unfortunately there is no games or practices next week the gym is being used for other events.

SB 357

Once again the California Legislature proves that collectively they don't have the brains that the good Lord gave the common gnat.

Senator Joe Dunn (D - Garden Grove) and Senator Don Perata (D - East Bay) have authored bill SB 357. This bill and sponsored by Attorney General Bill Lockyer requires:

• Requires all handgun ammunition manufactured or sold in California to be marked with a unique identifier.
  
• The identifier would then be associated with the purchaser of the handgun ammunition at the point of sale and maintained in an electronic database run by the Attorney General's Office.
  
• Requires all vendors and manufacturers who conduct handgun ammunition sales in the state to register with the Attorney General's Office.
  
• Assesses vendor and end-user fees to pay for the costs of the program.
  
• Creates criminal and civil penalties for individuals and corporations who circumvent the requirements of SB 357.
  

Well Congratulations Gentlemen you have produced one more piece of useless legislation that will do absolutely nothing to deter crime in the state of California. Instead this bill is more likely to increase crime in California.

This bill states that "all handgun ammunition manufactured or sold in California to be marked with a unique identifier". What about the CRIMINALS who will buy ammunition out of state and carry it into California? How about the CRIMINALs who melt down tire weights and cast thier own bullits to use when killing people? How about the CRIMINALS who will just steal someone else's ammo and use it to commit crimes? How about the CRIMINALS who will steal someone else's ID and use it to buy ammo? Getting the picture yet? This bill will not stop CRIMINALS from committing murder.

Hypethetical scenario:

I'm vacationing in New Mexico and I stop into Joe's Bait and Tackle shop and buy a twelve pack of Bud, a bag of chips, some beef jerky, a dozen nightcrawlers and a couple boxes of 22 shorts (for shooting the empty Bud cans with the 22 I borrowed from my nephew). On my way home the next week I stop in Barstow to have a flat tire fixed. Then I grab some lunch before hitting the road for home. While having lunch someone breaks into my car and steals my beef jerky, my drivers licence and the handfull of leftover 22 shorts.

Unbeknowst to me, the tire guy, after rebalancing my tires had taken the old balance weights that weren't good any more melted them down to make bullets that he reloads himself, and later took to the gun range. While there someone steals some of his bullets. Later down in Garden Groove (Senator Joe Dunn's district) my drivers licence is used to buy a box of 45 cartridges. Then my stolen 22 shorts are used to shoot a 13 year old kid in order to steal his Nikes. The bullets made from my lead balance weights are used to kill a liquor store owner. The 45s are used to gun down a police officer. Who is the CRIMINAL here?

Joe? Because he sold unmarked ammo to a California resident?
Me? Because I was went on vacation and shot a few beer cans?
Me? Because I didn't leave my leftover 22 shorts in New Mexico?
Me? Because I had a flat tire in Barstow?
Me? Because I let my drivers licence and ammo get stolen?
The tire guy? Who melted down my tire weights to make bullets?
The tire guy? Who likes to reload his own ammo for shooting at a gun range?
The store owner in Garden Groove who sold 45s to the guy with my drivers licence?
The kid who was stupid enough to wear shoes someone else wanted to steal?
The police officer who didn't duck when the serialized 45s came flying his way?
or
The CRIMINAL who stole my stuff?
The CRIMINAL who bought 45s with a stolen ID?
The CRIMINAL who stole hand reloaded bullets from a tire guy in Barstow?
The CRIMINAL who shot a kid over a pair of shoes?
The CRIMINAL who shot a store owner for a six pack and $42?
The CRIMINAL who shot a police officer?

Senators Dunn and Perata apparently think that in order to prevent this situation from happening you have to find a way to legislate the behaviour of Joe, Me, the tire guy, the kid with the Nikes, the liquor store owner and the cop. They just don't seem to understand that the cause of those three deaths were the CRIMINALS!!!!!!

Not the storeowners, the honest guy on vacation, the helpless kid or the cop. The honest citizens didn't commit these crimes, the guns didn't commit the crimes, the bullets didn't commit the crimes, the CRIMINALS committed these crimes.

Obviously this is a completely fictious scenario. Afterall, where in the world are the CRIMINALS going to get a bald old fat guy that looks like me to use my drivers licence to buy bullets?

So in my scenario above, how did SB 357 make solving these crimes any easier? The 22 shorts weren't serialized. But they were bought legally. The cast tire weight bullets aren't serialzed. The 45s are serialized, but the database will show that they were bought by me, in Garden Groove at the same time I was bowling in Ridgecrest, 150 miles away with about 40 witnesses. SB 357 has done nothing to stop these CRIMINALS from stealing, robbing and killing.

But what it will do it this: It will dramatically increase the cost of ammunition that is bought by good law abiding citizens. This bill is going to "Assesses vendor and end-user fees to pay for the costs of the program" Who do you think is going to pay that cost, the manufacturer's? Not likely. That cost will be passed down to the purchaser. And what will be get for our added cost of ammunition? More government bureaucracy when law abiding citizens try and exercise out second ammendment rights. We will also get a program that will only be good for catching the stupidest of CRIMINALS. Sure all CRIMINALS are stupid, or they wouldn't be CRIMINALs. But it won't take a rocket scientist to figure out how to circumvent this law.

SB 357 is also aimed at turning good law abiding citizens into criminals. "Creates criminal and civil penalties for individuals and corporations who circumvent the requirements of SB 357" Under this provision home reloaders will have to stop home reloading, or register themselves with the state and buy expensive bullet marking machines. Out of state hunters are going to have to stop at the border check stations and register their ammuition before entering California? Oh wait, we don't have border check stations. Are we going to have to pay to have them built, manned and maintained. Maybe we could just train the agriculture check stations to ask "Are you carrying any Fruits, Vegatables or unregistered ammunition?" Of course no CRIMINAL would ever dare lie to an agricultural check station agent.

Are regular guys going to have to start driving to Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Oregon to buy ammo because it costs half as much there. Not to mention that the sales tax is less. Then learn how to lie convincingly to the guards at the border. Maybe if they buy a couple oranges to turn into the guard at the border he won't bother searching thier car for the 10,000 9mm rounds they bought at the gun show in Vegas.

Are gun range owners going to have to start checking everyone's bullets before entering the range so that in the event of a raid, there isn't a lot of unregistered ammo laying around?

Finally:
Gregory Markle over at American RealPolitik has a pretty good rant going about this bill as well as a few other ways to combat it.

Jerry Springer (not that one) over at Western Hunter thinks (among other thoughts) that SB 357 is an interesting number for this bill.

Desert Rain

We woke up this morning to the gentle pitter patter of rain on the patio roof. Our morning is cloudy and wet. For a while at least...

It smells wonderful outside. Being the desert we get a lot of dust in the air around here. So a little rain really clears the air.

This has been the wettest winter/spring in the 20 years that I have lived here. It's been nice.

The rain is not going to last. The sun is already breaking through the clouds and once that starts things usually end quickly. Oh well it was a nice way to wake up this morning. And morning showers are better now when the temperature is around 50 instead of a month from now when it will be pushing 90. Hot and humid don't mix well.

More Andrew Bashing

A few weeks ago I mentioned that the liberal left was having kittens over the election of Pope Benedict XVI.

Well even Laurence Simon is starting to wonder if Andrew Sullivan has lost it.

The rest is just logical-sounding balderdash as always, making you wonder if the virus is causing some sort of thought-occluding fever.

Well what does Andrew Snivillan expect, this is the Catholic Church we are talking about here. Did he expect them to stop being Catholic? Their bias against women and gays in the clergy is centuries old. It's not going to change overnight regardless of what some whiney blogger has to say.

I certainly don't agree with everything the Catholic Church professes. But that's the way they are. If you don't like the way the Catholic Church does things, then join the Protestant Revolution, it's been going on for almost 500 years now, so it's probably not going away anytime soon. But be warned that some of the protestant religions still feel the same way about women and gays in the clergy as the Catholics do.

If Christianity isn't your bag you can reject all these new fangled religions and become Jewish, or Druid. I also hear that the Olmecs and Summerians are recruiting.

Intramural Golf Week 1

On tuesday nights during the summer I play in an intramural golf league. The league is 4 man teams that play nine holes of match play golf. There are six points to be won, or lost, each night. There are four individual matches, A Player vrs. A player, B vrs B, etc and two best ball matches, AB vrs AB and CD vrs CD. Player rankings are determined by handicap. So the best player on each team plays against the best player on the other team, etc. The games are played with handicaps. You start the season with the lowest of your last season handicap or your USGA handicap. After three weeks a new handicap is established based on your league scores only. Because this is match play golf the handicaps tend to be slightly lower than our USGA handicaps, due to gimmie putts and rounds where you don't play all nine holes. I started the league this evening with a 20 handicap which is tough because my USGA handicap is currently 26. I finished last season strong and drove my handicap down a couple points.

This season I haven't been playing or practicing much lately. So my game is suffering. Some say it suffered anyway, but it's worse now.

Tonight was gorgeous, Slight cloud cover, temps in the 70s, an occasional slight breeze to cool things off.

I was matched up as the B player tonight and had to play against a 5 handicap. Nice guy named Kurt. I wasn't playing very well, but better than I had the last couple rounds I played. Fortunately for me Kurt was off a bit also. So it took him 8 holes to finally beat me. Actually he was beating me the entire game. It just took 8 holes to end the match.

My partner also lost, and the two of us together lost the A-B best ball match.

Fortunately for our team our D player won both his match and the C-D best ball match so we finished the night 2-4.

One highlight on the night, unfortunately not for us, the other team's A player a great kid named Heath who works at the golf course drove the green on the par 4, 360 yard, fourth hole. I had my ball inside his on the green but it took me two to get there.

Comments.....

OK, I'm going to try turning on comments for a while. But don't expect them to stay on. If they start being used for spam, or advertizing I'll shut them off again.

This Week in History - 24 April

In 1771 Captain Jules Roark from the British Colony of Virginia was in command of the privateer vessel The Silver Cow. The good Captain and his crew had left Charlotte, North Carolina for Boston, with a full cargo of tobacco and rum. Just off the Coast of Nantucket Island they were accosted by the H.M.S. Flounder, Captained by Captain Sir Myles Wickem of His Majesty's Navy.

Captain Roark knew that being caught with a hold full of untaxed tobacco and rum would probably cost him the full cargo and perhaps even his ship. He attempted to evade the British Frigate by running dangerously close to the shoals off the tip of Cape Cod. The British Captain ordered his cannoneers to demast the privateer vessel. The ensuing battle progressed as most of that day were wont. The British's superior number of cannons pitted against the quicker more agile Colonist vessel.

Both ships were sustaining considerable damage until Captain Roark in an inspired show of seamanship managed to bring his full broadside to bear upon the undefended stern of the British Frigate. At this point however he broke from tradition and instead of sinking the British Frigate he decided instead to pull close and hurl a series of insults at the British Captain.

The embarrassment of the situation caused the British Captain to drop his colors and surrender. Captain Roark however ignored the offer of surrender and continued to shout insults.

In the midst of this unusual attack history records that Captain Roark declaring that he had seen Sir Myles's mother buying her petticoats at the local sail maker's shop. Hearing this the Lady in question burst from her quarters in a rage. She stormed to the rail and leapt from the deck of the Flounder onto The Silver Cow. Crashing through the deck she smashed into the main spine of the vessel and snapped it clean.

The Silver Cow sank with all hands on board. The Lady Wickem bobbed to the surface within seconds, screaming to be rescued. Unfortunately attempts to hoist her back aboard the Flounder caused the vessel to list badly and it begin to take water.

Both ships were lost. The Lady Wickem was aided for a while by a passing pod of sperm whales, but was soon abandoned because she continued to frighten the calves.

Ridgecrest Rooster

Early this afternoon my dear wife spotted this little feller sitting on the peak of our roof. I guess he was picking out a spot to crow from in the morning.



Just so you don't think that I'm a total hick, I know that isn't really a rooster. But does he? Well, at least he will be safe from the coyote's up there.

NFL Draft Day 1

Ok so I'm not a football expert. But I can yell at the TV like one. Well today was the first day of the NFL draft. Now I know that watching the draft is like watching grass grow. But with this grass growing you get commentary.

I'm a Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears fan. Have been for years. I started telling anyone desperate enough for conversation that they would listen to me that I thought the Dolphins should use their second pick of the draft on Alex Smith, QB out of Utah. If Smith wasn't available they needed to take Ronnie Brown the Running back out of Auburn. I didn't do a lot of investigation into deciding that these were the two best guys available. I just know that after watching them in thier bowl games that they were future all stars. The last guy I felt that about was a QB out of Pittsburg named Dan Marino. I would have preferred that they had gotten Smith, but Brown brings an added bonus. They no longer need Ricky Williams. They can tell now tell that pot smoking quiter where to mail the 8 mil he owes them and the move on without him.

One nit to pick though. Nick Saban have you taken a good look at the Dolphins Offense lately? Probably not, especially since they don't have one to look at. You made a good choice with Brown in the first round. But what the hell were you thinking drafting a Defensive End and an Inside Linebacker in the second and third rounds? In case you didn't notice you still need a young quarterback to replace Gus Frerotte in a few years. Yeah I know that you still have that millstone Feely hanging around your neck. But what they heck your defense can always use him as a tackling dummmy - once or twice.

Now the Bears, I'm really conflicted here. They have drafted so many running back since Walter left and so few of them have lived up their expectations. I think taking Cedric Bensen out of Texas was a great choice. I just hope he doesn't turn into another Rashaan Salaam.

Also great idea drafting another WR in the second round. The Bears always have a tough defense and you can build on it in the later rounds. But Grossman is going to need someone to be trowing long to when he gets back in the fall.

Tomorrow, rounds 4-7, another long day of watching the NFL grass grow.

Volleyball Game 5

My girls were back last night. Serving and volleying like they did the first three games. The stats were much better, but then I expected that based on the match scores. They won the first game 25-12 and the second 25-16. They got a little lax in the third game which was just for practice and squeeked out a 25-22 win there.

I told three of the girls that if they got their first 4 serves in and we had a lead they could try serving overhand. My daughter was the only one that managed and she had 3 tries at overhand serving. Good serves. Not very powerful, but they are a place to start. She served the game point in both first games, both of them overhand. Not bad for just learning and then adding the pressure of serving at game point.

Stats for the game went:

Player  7 April   14 April   21 April
M        3/5        5/5       10/10
A        9/10       13/13     14/17
K        7/7        4/6       5/7
B        12/12      2/5       8/10
J        2/4        7/9       2/4
S1       8/8        0/3       7/10
K        4/4        dnp       dnp
D        3/3        3/6       4/5
S2       4/5        dnp       4/4
 
Total   52/58      35/47     54/67
 
MFS      4          8          3
SAWIB    10         6          5
BFP                 29         8

Oxymorons

Ok, if you don't know what an oxymoron is then I suggest that you look it up.

I know that there are several online listing of oxymorons out there, so I'm not going to try and recreate them. I just wanted to list my 10 favorites - this week. In no particular order.

• Corporate Ethics
  
• This page intentionally left blank
  
• Public School Education
  
• To Infinity and Beyond
  
• Almost Exactly
  
• Modern History
  
• Microsoft Works
  
• Windows Security
  
• Democratic Leadership
  
• Good Morning (there should be a law against talking to me before 10 AM)
  

OnDirectv Sucks

My May issue onDirectv arrived in the mail today. For those of you who don't have directv this guide was great. A small phone book sized monthly publication that listed every show that was going to come streaming into the little satellite on my roof. I loved to sit and page through this book while watching TV. Circling the shows that I wanted to watch or record. This book was like TV Guide on steroids.

Last year TV guide turned itself into a worthless pile of waste paper by cutting down their listings to only list shows that were on from 7 PM to midnight. Well Direct TV the guide followed their example this month and reduced their guide listing by one-third. They now only list shows from 8 AM to Midnight. But I bet they don't cut the price by one-third.

So why is it that we have spent the last 40 years getting television service that runs twenty four hours a day. And the publishing companies that tell us what is going to be on have reverted to 1960 when there was nothing on the air after midnight and before 7 AM.

Do TV guide and Directv really save so much money by dropping cutting their listings that it is worth pissing off thier customers.

I think the worst part of this is cover that says "Rethought, Rebuilt, Redesigned... Just for You". Well if Directv had put any thought into this, they would have bothered to find out that this is NOT WHAT I WANT!!!!!!

Tuesday Night Wind

Well it's tuesday night and the wind is blowing. But we fooled Mother Nature this time. My intramural golf league doesn't start until next week.

For 16 weeks every summer I play in an intramural golf league. The league is 4 man teams, 9 holes of match play. The competition is great and it's a good way to spend a summer evening.

Except for the wind. We can be dead calm all week and on tuesday nights it will be blowing 35 mph. Tonight is only 21 mph so I suspect that it's just a warm-up blow, getting ready for next week.

Bashing Pope Benedict XVI

Well it didn't take too long for the liberal left to start having kittens over Pope Benedict XVI. One of the main screed spreaders is Andrew Sullivan who runs a blog called the Daily Dish. Andrew was apparently laboring under the impression that the College of Cardinals was going to elect an Episcopalian Bishop to be the new Pope.

Andrew is one of the first bloggers I discovered when I started reading blogs. However it didn't take too long for me to decide that he is so full of crap that the overflowing is probably starting to ruin the polish on his shoes. But so many other bloggers were writing about his comments concerning Cardinal Ratzinger that I had to see what the fuss was all about.

I won't link to Andrew's site because I don't want to risk increasing his site traffic. But if you feel you must go roll in his stink like a dog with an itch then open your browser to google and type in "hysterical catholic bashing" without the quotes. His site is the first link that pops up.

Consider the words you are typing into the search engine as fair warning of what you are getting into.

Pope Benedict XVI

Well the Catholic Church has a new Pope. Congratulations Cardinal Ratzinger!

Hugh Hewitt has collected several links to check for more information about Pope Benedict XVI.

"RomanCatholicBlog, The Anchoress, Professor Bainbridge, The Corner and EagleandElephant as well as many other orthodox Catholic bloggers will be the best places to turn for serious commentary on Pope Benedict XVI's elevation and its meaning for the Church."

This Week In History - 17 April

Two Thousand, Three Hundred years ago today saw the birth of modern Naval Combat. Icarus the son of Daedalus, while escaping from Crete on wings made of wax and feathers, flew too near the sun and the wax melted. His plunge into the Aegean Sea ended when he crashed into a Cicelian fishing boat that was arguing with a Greek boat over the placements of some nets.. The Greeks returned home and told the tale of the destruction of their rival. Soon all Greek boats were staffed with wax winged slaves which were sent out to plunge onto rival fishing boats.

No really.. that's how it happened.

A Beautiful Day For Networking

Today was absolutely beautiful. The high temperature was in the mid 80s. Clear blue sky with just a slight wisp of a breeze. A beautiful spring day in the Indian Wells Valley. I had a lawn to mow, a sprinker to repair and a new patio to finish. So what did I spend my afternoon doing? I did what any normal person would do on a day like this. I climbed ladders, breathed dust, moved drop ceiling panels and pulled wires. Working with three other fathers we managed to rough wire the computer network in the middle school and Parish Hall over at Saint Ann School.

We still don't have the network working in those buildings. But we have the main wires pulled. We still have to connect up the wireless access points to connect the buildings and complete the connections between the switches and the hubs in the classrooms. But that's a job for another weekend. The lawn will need mowing again next weekend. Maybe we can do it then.

Volleyball – Game 4

The battle of the unbeatens. We were 3-0 going into tonight’s match and so were our opponents. Several ladies on my team had heard from friends on other teams that this was supposed to be a tough team. So my team was a little nervous. I tried to tell them that the teams that are telling you this team is tough are also teams you have beaten. We're a tough team also. They didn’t listen.

We lost the first game 21 – 25 and the second game 19 – 25. We could have beaten this team. They were good, but not that much better than us. If my team would have served this week as well as they did last week this match would have been a much closer affair.

I expanded my statistics taking tonight to also keeping track of what I started thinking of as sloppy hits. I started noting it as s-hits but decided that I couldn’t start thinking of it that way or sooner or later I would say it or write it in front of one of the ladies on the team – Bad Coach – Bad Coach. So s-hits have been changed to BFPs (Bad Form Passes).

A BFP is any pass where the player swings their arms from the side with no effort to get their body in line with the ball. Standing with your feet planted in place bending over at the waist and reaching for the ball is also BFP. Finally the last type of BFP I noticed my team making a lot is trying a power shot. Here they move into position in front of the ball, then bend over at the waist, and then swing their arms so their hands start down between their ankles and swing upwards until they contact the ball. This pass seems to be intended to drive the ball into the next county. What it usually accomplishes is hitting the ball into the net, out of bounds or up into the rafters of the building.

I’m not going to keep track of which player commits the BFP. I don’t have an assistant coach and keeping track of this much information and the game is about all I can handle.

Also I'm able to keep track of missed first serves (MFS) without any extra bookkeeping.

The stats for this weeks game pretty much show why we lost.

Player   7 April    14 April 
M        3/5        5/5 
A        9/10       13/13
K        7/7        4/6
B        12/12      2/5
J        2/4        7/9
S1       8/8        0/3
K        4/4        dnp
D        3/3        3/6
S2       4/5        dnp
 
Total    52/58      35/47 
 
MFS      4          8
SAWIB    10         6
BFP                 29 

We only missed 6 serves last week and missed 12 this week. Additionally we served 11 less times than last week. I suspect that the total number of serves was off because of the larger number of missed first serves.

On the bright side we had 4 less instances of everyone standing around watching it bounce.

So I guess next Monday’s practice is back to basics. Serving and passing!

Kern County Science Fair

We just got home from the Kern County Science Fair in Bakersfield. Saint Ann School because of it's small enrollment is only allowed to send 5 students. One each from each grade 4 - 8. One child is selected to be each grade's representative by winning the school science fair that was held about 4 weeks ago. This year it was my daughter - Chaos's opportunity to represent the seventh grade.

So yesterday afternoon we made the quick trip over the pass to Bakersfield. We checked into the Holiday Inn right next to the Convention Center and then went next door so my daughter could set up her display. There wasn't much to set up. Her project was comparing the vitamin C level in several fresh fruits and vegatables. So there wasn't much to set up. She had her triboard with it's pictures and graphs, her log book, and a small sample of each fruit and vegatable just for looks.

After set up we met my niece and her husband for dinner at the Outback Steak House. The prime rib was delicious. So was the boomerang shrimp that I snitched off my daughter's plate. My niece who is 5 months pregnant with her first child is looking great. She is still burning the candle at both ends with her teaching, going to school, swim coaching and being a new wife. I wish she would slow down a little and rest more, but she has always been on the go. I doubt that she really knows how to slow down. But as this pregnancy progresses I suspect that she's gonna learn......

We spent all of today at the Science Fair. I recommend you go to go one of these if you ever get the chance. Even if you don't have a kid entered. The displays were great. The variety of scientific study that these kids try is amazing.

Well, as I said Saint Ann's had five children entered in the 4th through 8th grade competition. Out of about 800 projects we took home one honorable mention (5th grade) and two second place awards (4th and 8th). Unfortunately my daughter wasn't one of the three award winners. She was bummed which also makes her daddy sad. But I guess it was to be expected. It was her first county competition and we didn't really know what to expect. Plus there were at least 5 other experiments similar to hers. So it was hard to really stand out.

Well, it was then a 2 hours windy ride back home to the high desert. I'm looking forward to crashing in my own bed with my own pillow tonight. Getting old sucks - I just don't sleep as well in an unfamiliar bed as I used to.

Desert Variety

Well you can never say that the scenery around here is always the same.

To start, just a few miles south of town is the Rademacher Hills. These hills rise up behind the community college. Driving to the top of these hills and looking south this is the view you see:


Also, if you turn exactly 180 degrees and face north you get a view of the city that looks exactly like the one in the Ridgecrest Blog Header at the top of this page.

Then continuing south the dirt roads connect to highway 395. Just a bit further south on Hwy 395 the view to the east looks like this:



Taking the Trona Cutoff and then the road towards the Trona Pinnacles you find yourself just 11 miles east of Ridgecrest and the view looks like this:



Turning south again leads you to the Trona Pinnacles:



So if you get tired of the view out of your front window. Just hop in the car and hit the road. You don't have to go far for a radical change in scenery. We visited all these places in one afternoon and only used an eighth of a tank of gas in the minivan.

I'll post more pictures from more directions later.

Flowering Desert

Last month I posted a picture of some wild flowers that I took along hwy 395 on the way home from Anaheim.

This morning the whole family went over to the Maturango Museum for the wild flower exhibit. I'm not sure what I expected. The grounds around the museum doesn't have many flowers. So I wasn't sure what they were going to do.

Inside the museum they had a room with tables around the perimeter. These tables were covered with vases of wildflowers. I was amazed at the number of different flowers that grow here in the desert.

Each table easily had 20 - 30 or more vases of flowers. Each vase held a different flower. Each was tagged with it's scientific name, common name, and the area it was collected at.


If you would like to see some more pictures of wild desert flowers check out Nature Ali's Website.

Volleyball – game 3

Tonight my team played a team coached by an old volleyball teammate of mine. Terry is a real fireball. Lots of energy, good understanding of the game, and she’s a 6th grade teacher, so she probably has an edge over me in ability to relay information to 10-12 year old girls.

We lost the first game close, 24 to 26. Then my girls got on fire and started servering up a storm. We won the second game 25-14. Which put us into a third game to decide the match. I tired to convince my girls that the third game was only to 15 points so we couldn’t let the other team get any easy early points. Well they proved me wrong. My girls stood around and let them run up an early 7-1 lead before rallying to a 15-12 victory.

So we’re 3-0 at this point.

I started keeping track of some statistics for this game. Since I’m also using this season as coaching practice for myself I figured I needed to try something new also. Most volleyball coaches keep track of things like service aces, spikes (kills), and assists (sets). Well I have a bunch of beginners who if they serve an ace it’s usually because the other team messed up not because it was a particularly good serve. We haven’t spiked yet in a game. We’re working on it in practice, but they’re not confident enough to try it in a game.

So I decided to just keep track of number of serves that were good – over the net and in bounds, also the number of SAWIBs (Standing Around Watching It Bounce). I have to find a better acronym for that, but essentially it’s the number of times that a ball hits the floor with one or more girls just standing there watching it. If someone is lunging or diving for that ball and others are watching it’s not a SAWIB it a good effort.

Here’s the service record for this game. Special note should be taken that I had 5 ladies that were perfect serving:

M – 3/5
A – 9/10
K – 7/7
B – 12/12
J – 2/4
S1 – 8/8
K – 4/4
D – 3/3
S2 – 4/5

Total – 52/58

Remember this counts just good serves. If it’s a good serve that gets returned and the opponent scores a point with it, it’s still a good serve. So some of the girls only get to serve once or twice per service rotation. The ones who get into double digit severs are usually the ones who are serving well enough that its not being returned. This night each girl got at 3 rotations at the service spot.

Keeping track of SAWIBs showed that we had 10 of them in 3 games. Not as high a number as I would have thought it would be. But more than 1 is too much in my book. I keep telling this team that I’d rather see you hit the ball out of bounds than stand there and watch it fall to the floor.

Why Catholic School - part 3

Next on our list was Pilgrim Lutheran School. Pilgrim Lutheran is a small Lutheran Congregation that is a " Non-member congregation in fellowship" with The Lutheran Churches of the Reformation.

Lacking the online reference capabilities that are available today I started asking around about Pilgrim Lutheran and the LCR.

I was told they were an offshoot of the Missouri Synod that had separated because they were dissatisfied with the way the LCMS was becoming too liberal in it's thinking. We were told that their school is very exclusionary, and that they as a congregation encourage all children to be educated in either their small school, or home schooled.

More conservative than the Missouri Synod? Heaven help me, how in the world was I supposed to ask them about Halloween?

We moved on down our list.

Next was Saint Ann School. My dear wife was born and raised right here in Ridgecrest. She attended Saint Ann School in the 1970s. For a variety of reasons, but mostly because of the nuns who taught there at the time, her experiences there were....umm.....let just say they were less than enjoyable. So when Saint Ann School came up on our list she was hesitant to even consider it. Well the list was getting short and if something didn't work out soon we were going to have to make some hard choices.

So we called the office and asked talk to the principal about sending our child to school there. We were immediately transferred to the principal who said she would love to show us around.

When we arrived for our appointment the Principal was out. So we were invited to have a seat in her office to wait for her return. Our position in her office provided us a view of the main office and a chance to watch the morning routine without being seen. The office was busy. There was a constant flow of children and parents through the office. Every person that approached that counter was greeted with a smile and called by name, no matter how busy the office manager was at the time. Everyone who came into that office had their needs attended to quickly and efficiently. But what caught my attention was the number of children who stuck their heads around the corner into the office where we were sitting and were disappointed that the Principal was not there to receive the smiles and hellos they wanted to deliver.

We have been sending at least one child to Saint Ann School now for 7 years. The School has had three different Principals in the time. Each of them has followed the same open door policy. Every child that walks into the school office pokes their heads around the corner and smiles, waves or says hi to the Principal if she is in her office. I like that. When I was in grade school, the Principal was not our friend. None of us would have ever gone out of our way to try and attract her attention.

Well the principal was really busy the day we had our appointment. She had a teacher out sick that day and was shuffling schedules with other teachers and filling in herself where needed. But she took the time to show us around and then allowed us to slip into the back of the first grade room to observe for a while.

We actually had to sit there for a longer time than I had intended because the seating arrangements in the classroom were such that there was no place to sit that did not have us in the peripheral vision of at least one child. So we waited until the kids eventually forgot we were there. But it wasn't hard to wait. The class was fun. The teacher was bright and engaging. Every student was involved and participating.

As we made our way back to the principal's office my dear wife looked around and muttered, "Wow, the buildings are all still the same, but the way they run things around here sure has changed."

Well after getting a few more questions answered by the Principal, and getting a copy of the school handbook to read we headed home. We thought that we had found a school that we would be comfortable sending our children to. But I wanted to read the handbook - carefully. So after a couple hours of reading my wife and I had changed roles. She was ready to sign our daughter up on the spot. But now I was hesitant. I knew that the Catholic education that my kid would be exposed to daily at school would conflict with the Lutheran teachings that she got at home and on Sunday. I was really unsure about how much of a problem that was going to be.

Fortunately for me there was a family at church who also sent their children to Saint Ann’s. So I called them and badgered them with questions for a couple hours. I was assured over and over that it wasn't going to be a problem. Sure the first couple years the kids occasionally get confused. But I was assured that by they time the finish school at Saint Ann’s my kids will know more about their faith than most kids their age that only attend one church. This has proven to be very true. Chaos and her religion teacher at school are always having side discussions about how what they are studying differs from the Lutheran perspective. Plus her Lutheran Pastor constantly singles her out in Confirmation Class when he wants an answer from a student because he knows that she will have the answer.

So we signed over our first-born child to Saint Ann School for the next school year. That was seven years ago. For the last three years we have had three children attending Saint Ann School. Sure there has been some confusing times with the differences between being Lutheran at home and acting Catholic at school. Noise was genuinely surprised early this year to find out that she wasn't Catholic. But we have not regretted this decision for a moment.

One final thought. We never got as far a checking out Emmanuel Baptist School. But they run a k-12 program where Saint Ann’s is a K-8. So we have one year to decide where Chaos will be attending high school. Emmanuel and the public high school are the only two choices in town. Gee do you think I should stop by the high school and try and get an appointment to see the Principal?

------------------------------

Why Catholic School Part 1

Why Catholic School Part 2

Other Reasons on why we send our kids to a Catholic School are here:

Why Catholic School

Why Catholic School - Part 2

OK, public school was off the table. So we looked around town and asked what are our options? They were limited.

• Home School
  
• Charter School ( not open yet but expected in 1-2 years)
  
• Adventist Christian School (Seventh Day Adventist)
  
• Ridgecrest Christian School (Lutheran - LCMS)
  
• Pilgrim Christian School (Lutheran - LCR)
  
• Saint Ann Catholic School
  
• Emmanuel Christian School (Baptist)
  

Home School - I don't think so. My dear wife and I both work. Sure we both think that education of our children is our prime responsibility, but we want them taught by professionals. People trained to educate others. You know - teachers.

Charter School - There were rumors floating around town that there was a charter school starting up. But it was a year or two away. Well we didn't have a couple years to wait. Besides, even a charter school has to ultimately answer to the same pubic school system that I now found so repugnant.

Adventist Christian School - OK, to be fair, we never even looked at this school. Call it bias, shortsightedness, whatever, my dear wife and I looked at the name on our list and both just said - Nope.

Ridgecrest Christian School - This school was first on my list. Growing up Lutheran and raising my children Lutheran I liked the idea of sending my children to a Lutheran School. Ridgecrest Christian School was supported by the local Missouri Synod Lutheran Church. I was raised in the American Lutheran Church which joined with the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches and the Lutheran Church in America in the 1980s to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America(ELCA). I had little first hand knowledge of Missouri Synod Lutherans. But I had been told growing up that the Missouri Synod Lutherans were die-hard conservatives who rejected the more inclusive ELCA as being un-Lutheran. I had heard that they didn't even accept ELCA Lutherans as Christians with whom they could share communion.

But I was willing to check out the school. We called and asked if we could make an appointment with the Principal to tour the school. We were immediately transferred to the Principal who assured us that we could stop by anytime. I mentioned that I might like to see a classroom and meet the teacher. The Principal had no trouble with this but asked if we could do so that week because the next week they were testing and she was afraid that there wouldn't be much to see then. So we made an appointment for the next morning. Wow! That was easy.

We arrived the next day and were greeted at the door by the Principal who sat with us and visited for about 20 minutes. I was a little nervous that the Principal was also the Pastor's wife. She seemed nice and competent, but I was concerned about her objectivity if a disagreement between the school and the church should ever arise.

Then we took a tour of the facilities. We ended our tour by being allowed to slip quietly into the back of the 1st grade class and watch the class in session. We spent about 10 minutes there and then headed back to the Principal's Office. The Principal was surprised to see us back so quickly. She was even more surprised when she asked what we thought of the teacher and I replied, "I don't know. I didn't pay much attention to her."

I tired to explain that I wanted to see how the children acted and related to the teacher. I figured the teacher would have to be a complete moron to do or say anything controversial while were sitting right there in her classroom. But after a few minutes the children forgot we were sitting behind them and class continued. I was impressed. The children all seemed alert, eager, and anxious to be a part of the classroom dynamics. It all looked good to me.

We got a copy of the school handbook and promised to call them back in a couple days.

Later that evening while reading the handbook, I ran across one sentence that read something to the effect that the school didn't celebrate Halloween, but would have a harvest festival for the children in the fall.

Well this confused me. They didn't celebrate Halloween? But that was our second favorite holiday of the year. Well we didn't want to be nitpickers or seem ignorant so I was hesitant to call and ask the school what was up with that.

Instead we stopped by our church to ask Pastor if he knew what the Missouri Synod Lutheran's had against Halloween. The secretary at the church told us that Pastor was busy and asked if there was anything she could help with. So we asked her our question. She didn't know, but the choir had just finished practice and she was sure that one of our choir members was a teacher over at Ridgecrest Christian School. So she went and tracked this lady down so we could ask her.

We were introduced to this sweet mild round little woman who at first glance seemed to be everything you want in someone your child would be spending the day with. She cheerfully assured us that she would be glad to answer any questions we had. It became very apparent very quickly that talking about her school was one of her favorite pastimes.

Eventually I popped the question. "Why don't you celebrate Halloween?" I swear the skies darkened, the earth rumbled, and the temperature in that office dropped 20 degrees. Then this sweet gentle woman's face split open! Her eyes started spinning in her head. Her soft gentle voice ratcheted up several octaves as she started ranting and raving about demons and devils and Satan's high holy day. She shouted about possessions and evil works, heathen rituals and sacrifices, all the while stomping towards us like a little kid stomping on ants. She almost came right over the counter at me. She was still ranting and raving and waving her hands in the air as we backed out the door of the office.

We said a brief prayer thanking the Lord for our safe deliverance and raced home to cross Ridgecrest Christian School off our list. We were both terrified. Was that the kind of response our child was going to receive if she asked the wrong question in class one day?

I wasn't sure what bothered me the most about this teacher's outburst. The emotion and outrage that it was delivered with, or the obvious incredulity of this woman that we could be so naive as to not understand the dangers we were courting.

Later we learned that many of the teachers at Ridgecrest Christian School did not have teaching credentials. In fact the next fall we were shown a notice in their weekly bulletin that they were looking for a second grade teacher and wanted to know if anyone in the congregation was interested in helping out.

Two years later Ridgecrest Christian School closed their doors and has not reopened for business.

To be continued...
------------------------------

Why Catholic School Part 1

Why Catholic School Part 3

Other Reasons on why we send our kids to a Catholic School are here:

Why Catholic School

Why Catholic School - part 1

OK, I know that sarcasm usually doesn't go over well in print. So for the sarcastic impaired or humor handicapped I'll redo my post on Why I send my kids to a Catholic School.

When my oldest child was in kindergarten, it was early spring, and we were starting to think about where we wanted her to go to first grade. We live about 1/2 mile from Las Flores Grade School. We had heard pretty good things about Las Flores as a public school but I wanted to check it out myself. So I stopped by the school office on my lunch hour one day. I only had to wait a few minutes in line to talk to the office manager (OM) who while she seemed busy, didn't seem hurried. After watching her handle a phone call to a parent for a sick student and a student summons for a parent who needed to take the child somewhere it was my turn. Our conversation went like this:

Me: Hello, my name is David Cordes and I'd like to make an appointment to see the Principal.
OM: He's very busy right now can I help you.
Me: Yes, I understand he may be busy now, that's why I'd like to make an appointment to see him.
OM: What do you want to see him about?
ME: My daughter may be going to school here next year and I'd like to meet with him to discuss the school.
OM: What exactly do you want to know about the school?
Me: (not really ready to have this conversation now, I was just looking to make an appointment) I would like to see the school, perhaps arrange a meeting with the first grade teachers and generally find out more about the school and its curriculum.
OM: Well, you can't just walk into a classroom and interrupt a teacher while class is in session.
ME: I didn't ask to do that, I would just like to make an appointment to meet with the Principal.
OM: Well he doesn't have time to see you now.
ME: Fine, when can I see him? I'm willing to make an appointment and come back when it's convenient for him.
OM: What do you want to see him about?
Me: (getting irritated now) I would like to make an appointment to see the Principal. Does he make appointments for meetings?
OM: Of course he does, are you a parent of one of our students?
Me: No, my daughter will be in first grade next year and I want to talk to the Principal about this school.
OM: You don't need to do that, just sign her up next month and make sure she is here in the fall. Do you live in our district?
Me: Yes we live just up the road, but I'm not sure where I want her going to school yet, so I'd like to get an appointment to see the Principal.
OM: Well you can send your child wherever you want.
ME: I unerstand that. Now, can I get an appointment to see the Principal?
OM: He doesn't take appointment from non-parents. He's too busy. You'll have to excuse me I have parents waiting behind you.

So I left. I went home and called the school district to complain. I called the number in the phone book. That conversation went like this:

Voice on the Phone (VOTP): Sierra Sands School District?
Me: Hello, my name is David Cordes, and I just tried to make an appointment with the Principal at Las Flores School and the office manager there refused to let me have an appointment.

VOTP: Do you have a child at Las Flores School?
ME: No, I have a child who may be attending there next fall.
VOTP: If you don't have a child there what did you want to see the Principal about?
Me: I have a daughter who will be in first grade next year and we are trying to decide if we want to send her to Las Flores, one of the other schools in town, or to a private school.
VOTP: Well you have the right to send her to any school you want.
Me: Exactly, that is why I wanted to make an appointment to see the Principal at Las Flores.
VOTP: Well you have to understand that our Principals are very busy and can't see everyone who just drops in.
ME: I dropped in to make an appointment. I didn't expect to see him right then. But his office staff will not even let me make an appointment.
VOTP: Well if he doesn't want to meet with you that is his business.
Me: (really pissed off now and talking in short clipped tones) Look, I am a tax paying citizen who will have a student in the school system next year, and two more in 4 years. All I am asking for is a chance to meet the Principal of the school that you expect me to turn my child over to on a daily basis. Since I can't even get an appointment to see that principal, I forced to ask what is he hiding from, and what is going on in that school that you don't want me to know about?

She hung up!

At this point in time I decided that it would be a cold day in hell before I trusted the Sierra Sands School District with the care and education of my children. I immediately became an advocate for the complete dismissal, overthrow, or removal of the existing school board and a voter whose number one issue is 'what is the politician's stand on school vouchers'.

So every time I step into a voting booth when I get to the school board section I vote for anyone who does not have the work 'incumbent' next to their name. In the state elections I will only vote for a politician that is pro school vouchers. I have many other political issues, but if you are running for office and are anti-voucher you just lost my vote.

To be continued......

------------------------------

Why Catholic School Part 2

Why Catholic School Part 3

Other Reasons on why we send our kids to a Catholic School are here:

Why Catholic School

Why a Catholic School?

I've mentioned before that my immediate family and I aren't Catholic but that we send our kids to a Catholic School. I often get asked "Why?" Then when I start mentioning things like 'Christian Environment', 'Academic Standards', 'Small Class Sizes', 'faith based education' and 'Moral Standards' most people's eyes glaze over and they start ignoring me. So instead I decided to compile a list of reasons why you should not send your child to a Catholic School. I call it

Do not send your kid to a Catholic School if....

1. You figure the best way for your child to lose weight is to have the class bully beat them up and take their lunch money each day.
   
2. Your son is going to be a carpenter or plumber and you want him to get an early start at wearing his pants so low that he moons people while standing up.
   
3. You suspect that the French Streetwalker fashion is going to be big this year and want your daughter to get in on the ground floor.
   
4. You can't afford college and are afraid that your kid will do well on his SATs.
   
5. You think that your child should be suspended from school for praying on her math test for some help from the almighty with factoring a quadratic equation.
   
6. You think it's the schools job to educate your children, you did your part when you dropped them off there this morning.
   
7. You think that kids who test well above national norms on standardized tests are freaks.
   
8. You think it is un-necessary for your child to learn and use good manners when dealing with others.
   
9. You think that the nice guys always finish last.
   
10. You think it builds character for a kid to occasionally beat up another kid, or get beat up themselves.
    
11. You think that buying a new car every other year, taking fancy vacations and wearing lots of bling bling are more important than your childs future.
    
12. You think that your child should learn about sex education in the hallways between classes.
    
13. You think that nachos is a nutrious lunch, and that ketchup is a vegatable.
    
14. You think that it important that your child not only learn how to say four letter words but they should be able to read them in the graffiti as well.
    
15. You think that tagging is an art program and shouting down those who disagree with you is a debate team.
    
16. You like the idea of someone stomping your kid into the ground in order to steal their new tennis shoes or jeans.
    
17. You think that having teachers who take a genuine interest in their students will make your children soft.
    
18. You think that sportsmanship has no place in school athletic programs.
    
19. You think a student tossing a rubberband onto a teachers desk is an attack with a deadly weapon.
    

------------------------------

More Serious Reasons why we send our kids to a Catholic School are here:

Why Catholic School Part 1

Why Catholic School Part 2

Why Catholic School Part 3

Papal Transition

We're not Catholic here in this house, but our children attend Saint Ann's Catholic School here in Ridgecrest.

Since the passing of Pope John Paul II my family has had a lot of questions about the Papal Succession. Well I found an online article that pretty much answered all our questions.

Papal Transition

Rest in Peace Pope John Paul II

Ok, so I'm not Catholic. But I send my kids to a Catholic School. My dear wife and I like having our children in a Parochial School. Being a small town the options are limited. When our oldest started school there was a Lutheran School in town but several of their teachers were not certfied. Additionally we had an encounter with one teacher teacher and she scared the crap out of us. That school closed several years ago and we weren't surprised.

Our other options were a Baptist supported school and the Catholic School. We checked out the Catholic School and liked what we saw. Mostly we like the strong academic program and that the school and teachers were all certified. So our kids attend a Catholic School.

Being Lutheran there are several things about the way the Catholic's practice their faith that I am uncomfortable with, or just flat out disagree with. However my disagreement with their practices is paletable. Since the school is very accommidating to non-Catholics neither I nor my children have ever been asked to do anything that would compromise our own beliefs.

Sure my children cross themselves when they pray. They pray Holy Mary's at school and have to do reports on their 'favorite' saint. But I figure the intense exposure to a church other than the Lutheran one that they experience on Sundays is good for them.

So what has all this to do with the passing of Pope John Paul II? Our participation at the kid's School has led us to forming several friendships with the people there. The Pope is the head of thier church. He is their spiritual leader on earth. That makes him important. Plus he was a man who rose to the very pinnacle of his profession. He got there by being kind, generous, loving, spiritual and true to his deepest beliefs. Show me one CEO of a major corporation who can say that!

Catholic or not you have to respect the man. He lived his faith. So specifically for my Catholic friends, and for all Christians everywhere - Rest in Peace Karol Wojtyla. Thank you!

I'm a Baaad Daddy

Today is April Fools Day. Our morning was filled with little kids say "There's a spider on your back" Then shouting "April Fools." You know, the kinds of jokes that greatly amuse kids.

This week is also Easter Break so our kids are out of school all week. Since my dear wife and I still have to work, the kids have been spending thier days at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

All week the kids have been begging us to take them to see the movie Robots. My dear wife and I had decided early in the week that I would take this afternoon off and take them to the movies. But we didn't tell them.

This morning I drove the kids out to Grandma and Grandpa's. After getting them into the house I kissed them good-bye and said I'll be back to get you at noon so we can go see the movie - Robots.

The twins immediately started their "We Won the Superbowl" celebration. They were dancing around and cheering loudly when I steped to the door, turned and said "April Fools" and walked out the door.

It was really quiet in that house when I walked away.

Jump ahead to noon. I pull into my in-laws driveway. The kids greet me with guarded optimism. We make our goodbyes and climb into the car. As we drove home each time I passed a street that we would normally take to go home the excitement level in the car increased.

Finally I pulled into the theater parking lot, stopped in a parking space. I think the only thing keeping the kids from bouncing off the headliner was thier seatbelts. Without turning off the car, I turned to the kids and said "I think we should all go inside and see a movie. What do you think?"

My children in unison responded "Yes" and reached for their seatbelt buckles.

I replied "April Fools", put the car into gear and drove off.

I drove about 100 feet. Pulled into an empty parking space. Unloaded my stunned children. Then we all went into the theater, bought popcorn and watched the movie - Robots.

Robots is a pretty good movie. But it will take a couple viewing to get all the site gags and jokes. The Ice Age II trailer was cute. My eight year old twins were very upset to find out that the new Star Wars movie coming out in May is going to be rated PG-13.

Turning Over a New Leaf

I've been thinking about making some changes in my life. So from now on, I'm dedicating myself to a few new attitudes:

• I will stop calling Senator Clinton - The Hildebeast
  
• I will stop calling ex-president Clinton - That Lying Sack of Shit.
  
• I will stop swearing and changing TV channels everytime Jimmy Carter comes on.
  
• I will start reading the Democratic Underground daily, and not just for laughs
  
• I will support Senators Boxer and Feinstein.
  
• I will stop referring to the city of Berkeley CA as Berserkly.
  
• I will stop registering and voting Republican.
  
• I will admit that John Kerry would have made a good President.
  
• I will stop staying up late at night watching Cary Grant and John Wayne Movies.
  
• I will start getting 8 hours of sleep a night.
  
• I will stop writing this drivel that no one is reading.
  
• I will clean up my garage/shop and start catching up on my honey-do list.
  
• I will be more organized and start putting all my things away when finished with them.
  
• I will stop calling my kids - Chaos, Noise and Destruction.
  
• I will get better at answering my e-mail.
  
• I will stop expecting my children to learn how to take care of themselves and will just spoil them rotten instead.
  
• I will stop making jokes about Ridgecrest and just enjoy living here.
  
• I will stop refering to the Daily Independent as the Not Nearly Daily Insufficient.
  
• I will finish one do-it-yourself project before starting the next one.
  

Oh one last thing......

April Fools!!!!!

Especially to that last one, who do you guys think I am - superman.