Blessing of the Animals

   This afternoon at my church (St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church) in Stillwater, Father Ken performed the annual Blessing of the Animals, which is usually held on a Sunday close to the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi (October 4).  I put my cat, Captain Morgan, in the pet carrier for his annual pilgrimage into town for the ceremony.  He's a good car rider, and if I could ever get him used to a leash, I'd probably take him with me places more often.
   Anyway, when we got to the church we saw the usual cats and dogs.  Captain Morgan likes most other cats and is pretty tolerant of most dogs that are his size or smaller.  Today, though, somebody brought a horse.

   I love horses, so I took Captain over to meet it.  Other than people who ride their horses down our road occasionally, he's rarely seen horses except from a distance.  Up close and personal was another thing!  He tried to get as far back into the pet taxi as he could as he eyeballed the monster.  The horse, as horses tend to do, took a liking to me and started nudging my arm so I would pet it.  Captain Morgan did not like that one little bit.  He started hissing - I guess he thought the horse was going to eat me or something.
   We went back to where the smaller animals were and the ceremony began.
   Father Ken spoke a few words about biblical stories involving animals and how important animals, especially pets, are to people.  Then he began the blessing, which has parts where he speaks and the people respond. 
   Every time a response was called for, he raised his hand and we responded.  About the third time, the horse had apparently figured out that when Father Ken raised his hand, the people spoke (including the horse's owner).  At this point, the horse whinnied.  And he did it another time or two during the response.
   Animals truly are amazing, aren't they?  And they certainly are a blessing!

Am I Too Simple-Minded?

   Maybe I'm stupid, but it seems to me that if more people were employed (thus increasing revenue from income taxes without raising the rates), then more people would buy stuff (thus increasing revenues from sales taxes, excise taxes, property taxes, etc.).  And if more people bought stuff, there would be an increase in demand for stuff, which would result in hiring more people to make stuff and to transport stuff and to sell the stuff.

   Sounds almost too simple.

I'm Gellin'

   Shameless plug here, but I love my Dr. Scholl's shoes!
   I like working at O-State sporting events, but as one of the behind-the-scenes personnel, I'm often there long before the first fan arrives and until the last fan is gone.  It calls for several hours on my feet and, especially during football games, many miles of walking around the venue, doing my best to ensure things go smoothly for the fans.  Afterwards, I'm usually pretty tired.
   A few years ago I was so tired and achy after some football games (the ones where my workday lasted 14+ hours) that I could barely walk to my car.  I learned quickly that good insoles were essential.  Then a year or so ago I found some Dr. Scholl's shoes at reasonable prices.  To my surprise, they weren't just comfortable, but sturdy as well.  And they are made with the Dr. Scholl's insoles as part of the shoe.
   Today I bought some insoles to go inside my already-comfy shoes.  With the heat we've had lately, tomorrow is going to be tough enough to deal with.  Might as well make sure I can "stand" it for the duration.

My Dream for Today

If I had a million dollars, I'd:
get my dishwasher fixed,
get the electrical problems in the house fixed,
get a lawnmower and mow and mow and mow,
get the car fixed,
get the dryer fixed,
get the house's siding fixed,
rent a truck to haul off the junk that needs to go,
get caught up on all my bills,
pay off the house, or at least get it ready to sell,
find a doctor who will actually listen to and help my wife with her numerous ills,
find a doctor who will actually listen to and help my daughter with her ills,
make sure my family members have the things they need,
and throw a party for all my friends who have stood by me during these troubling times.

And if there was anything left, I'd probably give most of it away to those who need it.

Maybe I dream too much.  But without dreamers, where would the world be?

Information, Please

   I'm going to teach C# at OSU-Tulsa this Fall semester.  If you, dear reader, know a C# developer, or a company with a C# shop, who would be willing to give me some "real world" info, I'd really appreciate it.
   I'm not looking for proprietary code or anything like that.  Just some basic information like:

• "We develop X number of apps for Y number of clients", or 
• "We have X number of C# developers, but we also focus on this other language as well", or 
• "We usually take on Z number of college students as interns during the summer"

   It would be nice to introduce things that are currently happening, because my goal is to make this class a dynamic process and, hopefully, more meaningful to my students.

   This idea may go up like a lead balloon.  But, as "Mythbusters" showed, when done right, a lead balloon can indeed fly.

You Know What's Cool? Not This Summer!

   The heat won today.  All during this heat wave it's been chipping away at me and I finally reached a point where all I wanted to do was lie down in front of a fan and do nothing.  And so I did.  And I fell asleep.
   It felt so good.

   The mountain of chores waited for me, as I knew it would.  But I needed the time to at least partially recharge myself. 
   I do the best I can, but once in awhile I have to take care of me.  You can call me selfish if you wish.

Victim of the Summer Heat

   The heat wave took another victim today.  I guess it's been so hot that the glue finally gave out on my car's passenger side mirror.  The whole assembly will cost about $80 (which I doubt includes installation), or for about $42 I can get a new piece of glass installed (the whole assembly is in good shape - just the glass mirror fell out). 
   The only option I can afford at this point is to go old school and actually look over my shoulder before changing lanes.  Probably a good skill to brush up on anyway.  By example, I'll be showing my kids a safe way to drive.  Not sure if it's still taught in driver's ed any more.  But I'm old enough to remember when most cars didn't have side mirrors, and we were taught to use the one mounted inside the car, then look over our shoulders to check the blind spots.
   I'm looking forward to this new challenge, although I'll also be saving up to get the thing fixed.