We better keep them happy...

U.S. and China relations on a rocky path - International Herald Tribune: "For now, Beijing continues to loan Washington money by buying U.S. Treasury bonds and other U.S. government securities, helping to finance the ever-growing budget deficit in the United States. But there are signs that Chinese leaders may be considering trimming these holdings as China experiences its own economic slowdown. Strains between the two economic powerhouses seem to be growing with the change in administrations."

The world worries - who is going to pay?

U.S. stimulus plans raise concerns for global economy - International Herald Tribune: "'The U.S. needs to show some proof they have a plan to get out of the fiscal problem,' said Ernesto Zedillo, the former Mexican president who helped steer his country through a financial crisis of its own in 1994. 'We, as developing countries, need to know we won't be crowded out of the capital markets, which is already happening.'"

Her face will be on a stamp some day...

Lilly Ledbetter - TIME: "The first piece of real legislation Barack Obama signed as the 44th President of the United States helps ensure that workers discriminated on the basis of gender have a fair chance to sue their employers. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is named after a woman who was paid less than her male co-workers at an Alabama tire factory. Ledbetter did not set out to be an activist; she did not even involve herself in politics much. But after the Supreme Court ruled against her, she decided it was time to start"

Let the states decide

Such a topsy turvy world we live in. One of the few great ideas Reagan had was his vision of federalism, getting the federal government out state's business. Yes, I know there are limitations to this theory. I have my list of laws to fix issues too.

But, I think Obama is on a good track with this:

Obama shows openness to a broader role for states - International Herald Tribune: "The Obama administration seems to be open to a movement known as 'progressive federalism,' in which governors and activist state attorneys general have been trying to lead the way on environmental initiatives, consumer protection and other issues, several constitutional experts say."

Don't tell Simon "Be careful"

"American Idol" Judges Mistake Local Saying For A Threat: "Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell took that as a threat. Abdul scolded Mudd, telling him, 'You don't say that to people, 'Be careful.' That's just not a normal thing to say.'"

Feel good story

Faith Christian coach's kindness is rewarded | NFL News | Sports News | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News:


"Grapevine Faith Christian football coach Kris Hogan did something unusual in November by asking his team's fans to cheer for an opposing team. The coach's kindness resulted in something else unusual: an invitation from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to attend the Super Bowl."

A Reverand after my heart

I seldom see my religious views expressed on a national level...but I like what Reverend Wallis says. A breath of fresh air...

Reverend Jim Wallis - TIME: "Do you feel heard by this White House so far?

I'll say this: my relationship with past White Houses was that they arrested me for protesting. With this one, they've reached out to us to serve on transition teams. We're on the innovation and civil society team, the faith-based office, of course, but [we're also involved in ] a lot of issue areas — foreign policy and criminal justice. None of us want to go into the Administration. We're being faithful to our own religious and prophetic obligations to challenge the powerful. But they are reaching out to us."

Wow!

98-year-old Howard Bell has never missed a shift at Good Samaritan Hospital & Medical Center - OregonLive.com

Disability awareness...

Cal Poly VIPs wheel around at halftime - Lifestyle: "'You want to be able to feel what they feel and to ultimately have that empathy because that's what it's all about.'"

Victorious coach fired...

Honor, integrity over humility?

WORLD Magazine | Community | Blog Archive | Coach fired over 100-0 win

Yes...I am a coffee addict

Now I have a good reason:

Coffee linked to lower dementia risk - International Herald Tribune

Leonard says it well...

Far-right Obama critics get a reply - Leonard Pitts Jr. - MiamiHerald.com

Ratings first, country last...so sad...

100-0 basketball...who really won?

I  think it was a tie...a learning experience for both schools.

Brandon Roy

We love our Blazers...and our Brandon Roy.  The guy is a scrapper...and this endears him to us even more:

Roy, who has a learning disability and struggled to become eligible, didn't join the Huskies until midway through his freshman season. He became a starter as a sophomore, when he averaged 12.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

Obama rocks!

Busy guy these days.  Still, he remembers the disabled. 

Not lip-synching...

...but finger-synching.

I was moved...

...by the whole inaugural ceremony yesterday.  I was listening on NPR.

When the Queen of Soul started to sing, my tears started to roll.

A salute to the new Pres...

...from The Greatest.

The day beyond dreams is tomorrow...

We honor Martin Luther King today, but there is no higher honor for Reverend King then what is going to happen tomorrow with the swearing in of Barrack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.

This picture says so much:

Another tight spot for Jet White

Friday, E had a basketball game at Riverdale Elementary in SW Portland. It is up in the hills.

I initially pulled to the front of the school. I should have parked Jet White, our Dodge Sprinter van, there. But I saw what looked to be the gym, at the other end of the school. I drove around to see if I could park closer.

I found a very small parking lot by the gym, and one handicapped parking spot just for us, as shown in the Google satellite view below.



View Larger Map

It was not until I drove down the driveway into the small lot that I realized how steep the driveway was and that there was not much room for me to turn around.

I parked Jet White in the handicapped spot. I figured I would worry about backing out after the game.

But I worried about it through the whole game!


After the game (E's team won 49-17), we went to the van. I had been worried that I would need to back up the steep driveway. I saw room to turn around, if I was very careful. I backed up, angled, went forward. Someone came out to leave. I pulled back into the parking spot until they left, figuring that the fewer cars in the lot, the better.

After a lot of maneuvering, I got the van turned around.

Jodie had called the school earlier in the week to find out whether the gym was accessible. The lady was not sure, so she went outside to check, and yes, there is a ramp. I never thought to have Jodie ask about where best to park our monster van!

Wind storm!

The wind is howling through Gresham.

E spent the night at grandma's last night.   Jodie and I drove down Birdsdale Avenue to pick him up this morning...it was closed at Stark St. and we had to drive around.  The traffic lights were out at Division & Stark.  Kind of scary trusting everyone to stop as a 4-way stop, considering the speed people fly on Division.

Our power has been of and on for two days.  40 mph sustained winds I think.

We get wind here...but not this high for so long.

"Mad Men" saved

Yes!

Need my cup of jo...

At least one business is expanding.

Inaugural ball for the disabled

A barriar free ball for the disabled community sounds like a refreshing idea to me, especially after the lack of accessibility to the inauguration as documented by Wheelie Catholic.

It sounds like Obama's people are trying to accommodate, but hey, crowds are crowds...I hate 'em!

My favorite show going a way?

I loved the show "Nothing Sacred".  It did not last long.  What was that one with that young senator...with the young  Brolin?  It went away.

I got hooked on "Mad Men" this past season...now this news.  I need to order season one still.

Just don't take my "NCIS", "Leverage", and "Worst Week".

Bring back "Homicide: Life on the Streets."

Never too old...

Chinese Woman, 107, Seeks First Husband

He is moving the reed again...

So nice to hear Pastor Roger's voice again!

Clearwire not so Clear....

I received a netbook for Christmas from my dear Woman. I wanted to try out the new wireless internet service from Clear.

When I ordered the service online, I marked that I did not need a Clearwire PC Card. I did not think I needed one, because my netbook automatically detects and connects to my wireless home network.

I learned that the wireless modem in my netbook was not able to connect to the Clearwire wimax network.

I jumped on a chat line with a person from Clearwire support. I told him I had not ordered a clearwire pc card, but now realized I needed one. He insisted that I ordered one and that it was being mailed to me. It never came.

When I log in to my Clearwire account, it does not give me the option to order the PC Card. I ordered the wimax antenna, thinking that might do the trick. It came. It works with the PC Card to get stronger reception.

I went to the one Clearwire dealer near where I live. He has the PC Card that I neaded! He logged into my Clearwire account. He could not find the option on there for me to buy the PC Card. This was yesterday, Saturday. He told me I would need to come back on Monday, when whe could call Clearwire to figure out how to bill me for the PC Card.

I was not happy!

I went to Radio Shack. My thinking was that since I had marked the choice "bring my own gear" on the initial order, they might know what gear that would be. The lady there was kind. It took me a lot of explaining to tell her what I needed. She thought I was trying to connect to my home network. I told her I could do that. She did not understand my problem. I had her google the Clearwire PC Card. Another guy at the shop said I would need to get it from Clearwire, that they handled Verizon service, but not Clearwire.

I went home and had Jodie call Clearwire support for me. After some explaining, the guy understood that I needed a Clearwire PC Card and why I had not ordered it initially. He sold us one and we should get it in a couple days.

I think Clear (Clearwire) should do a better job explaining on their website the specifications required for your modem to get their wimax service. Also, there should be an option, when you log into your account, to buy the Clearwire PC Card. And let the local dealers know how they can sell them to people like me, who bought the service and not the PC Card.

I fear that I will get the Clearwire PC Card and still not be able to access the wimax service. Stay tuned!

Happy pill cartel

Last night at Providence Hospital in Portland, I dropped Jodie and E off at the front of the hospital. I then had to go park Jet White.

The upper parking lot was closed. There was a sign directing people to park in the parking garage. The height limit in the garage is six-and-a-half feet. Jet White is 2 feet taller. I headed to the end of the building that houses several clinics down to the end where the therapy pool is. There is a very small lot there. There was only two cars in the lot.

As I was unloading the scooter, both the cars left. Kind of strange being in a empty, secluded lot at night. The fun part is driving the scooter, flying down the sidewalk, and making it too my mother-in-laws room in warp time.

My mother-in-law and my sister-in-law who had been there most of the day commented on how nice the doctors, nurses and the other staff had been throughout the day.

When I left to get the van, I was scooting down the hall and there was a doctor talking to another doctor or nurse. I go cautiously and try to get around them best I can without interrupting them. I was surprised when they took the time to make eye contact with me and ask me how I was doing...then they waited for me to answer. It caught me off guard!

Providence Hospital has a happy pill cartel is all I can figure.

Great job Providence!

Looking for that tall handsome cowboy

We were frightened yesterday when Jodie's mother wound up in the hospital.  She had fallen against her bathroom wall.  There were symptoms that could point to heart problems, or mini strokes.

She was admitted for 24 hour observation.

In the end it turned out to be extreme dehydration.  A lengthy bout with a cold had reduced her consumption of water --- to the extreme.

But I know the real reason she did this.  She is looking for a tall handsome cowboy, and she is not finding him at church.

Maybe he is at the hospital...

Let's see...what should I put on Ebay today?

My dear mother-in-law found this story about a 72 year-old woman in Fresno who came upon this treasure as she was putting items up on Ebay: a 139 year old baseball card.  

The whole story of this Cincinatti Red Stockings card is well worth reading.

For God so loved....

Florida QB makes 'John 3:16' hottest Google search

Pretty cool!


16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,^[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Middle East mire

As Isreal gets mired in this sad conflict,  Luthran presiding Bishop, Mark Hanson, is making a plea for peace, and is part of a small Lutheran contingency visiting the region and blogging about it. 

Double theft

A scam to be aware of.

What's your password?

Most popular passwords.

Pretty interesting...rated R.

"I don't know what to say..."

A friend of mine at work stopped by the other day.  It was her day off, but she stopped by the office to share the news.

It was not good news, but not really a surprise.  Her husband has been having memory problems for at least 7 years.  The doctor's kept saying it was his heart medicine.  In the past year, they have started to say it could be Alzheimers.

Her husband is a security job.  He writes notes so he can remember stuff.

My friend had the results from the tests.  Her husband has Alzheimers, stage 3 going into stage 4.

It wasn't really a surprise.  He has to quit work.  They need to apply for disability.  A major life changer.

I struggled for words to say.  I gave up.  "I don't know what to say."

"I know," she said.

Gov. Patterson

He cannot read his notes because he is legally blind.  He spent 60 hours memorizing his state of the state speech.

Good ol' disability mantra: you do what you have to do to get it done.

Best and worst jobs...

...according to WSJ.

E...Keep up with your math!

Supporting your pastor...

...can mean shaving your head.

Making technology work for the blind

A blind engineer at Google making a difference.

Mr. Raman has also been instrumental in creating a Braile form of the Rubix cube and is working on a touch screen cell phone dialer.

Christmas Eve on New Years Day....

New Years Day we went to my mom's for our snow-delayed Christmas eve celebration. We all live on opposite sides of town...30 or 40 miles maybe. We don't see each other much. Christmas is often the only time we are all together.

Sis is an empty nester now. Daughter Tyf is now in college studying to be a dental hygienist. Bro is living up in the woods and has the beard to match. Mom and John are waiting to hear what his company will decide regarding upcoming layoff decisions.

E is five foot seven; taller than his aunt and cousin. People change in a year, well, kind of. Circumstances change. Kids get older. Actually, everyone gets older, except myself, of course.

Beans, rolls and deli meats for lunch...a Costco chocolate fudge cake for dessert.

John likes to talk politics and issues. I know enough to ask questions. John knows way more than I do and can actually answer my questions. He has no answers for the Middle East woes. Such as disappointment!

E played santa and passed out the gifts.

Simple and ordinary...that's what makes our Christmas celebration special.

We part with a promise to see more of each other through the year.

Fudge...mom, I didn't see my fudge. And John, that wonderful fruitcake that your brother always sends, the one that we always split, I didn't see that either..