Noah boxes

Bouncing good time.

NASA shares a before and after satellite picture.

a google map showing the location of the live New Orleans blogger.

Update: A description of the buildings seen on the camera.

Wow! I just examined the satellite photos and realized that the levee that broke which shows the massive flooding in New Orleans is actually the levee that I used to ride my bike on as a kid. I used to get on skifs and play with crab traps. I'd "hunt" alligator (you use a flashlight to see their eyes sticking out of the water). I shot my BB gun down there and hiked on a railroad track. Well the breach is the west side of Kenner a stones throw from where I lived and flooded mostly undeveloped land. Yes, there are other breaches and water is coming into the city but as soon as I've met today's deadline I want to spend some time drawing on the sat picture and explaining a few things. More to come!

Our New Orleans blogger has put his feed back up but right now it caps at 50 viewers. It is interesting to watch people casually walking down the same street that cars are driving on.

• ...because I kept my cool as my linux development server slowly died
• ...because I only cursed during the first brown out.
• ...because the two trees that fell in the neighborhood missed houses.
• ...because I was able to feed my family tonight.

It is difficult to be happy as my favorite city sits in ruin with so many dead and displaced. My troubles are so minor.

This live feed from New Orleans shows cars moving about, and people walking on the sidewalks on a sunny day.

Does anyone have anything, a webcam (I know...no power...but that's not entirely true: A blogger in New Orleans), blog, news or anything talking about the Lakeview Levee Breach?

This was posted 5 hours ago according to Google News

Engineers have contingencies for levee breaches such as the one that happened Monday, but it will take time and effort to get the heavy equipment into place to make the repair. Breach repair is part of the corps' planning for recovery from catastrophic storms, but nobody Monday was able to say how long it would take to plug the hole, or how much water would get through it before that happened.

Some photos courtesy of Kim at Bacon and Ehs and a Google Earth picture showing the location of the breach.

Get a DVD Rewinder!

Too many DVDs, and CDs and not enough time to rewind? Are your DVDs running a bit too slow? The DVD rewinder is the perfect solution!
...
The DVD Rewinder will spin discs...

Today Opera is giving away license registrations as part of their 10 year anniversary. So if you want Opera for compatibility testing or just to torment yourself, grab it!

As a web developer my bread and butter are my tools. The most important tools of course being my development servers. My linux server has decided that it is at the end of its life. It has picked a really bad time to get on its ice flow.

"Time to wake the doughnuts!"

Sometimes I think I dread the morning routine during the school year more than the kids. On days like today I would like to be under the covers but I need to be super focused working. I can't sleep, but I can work and get the kids ready at the same time.

• ...because I received my monthly Google check

Try 2

My blood pressure and pulse

Amy having a blast!

Last night my wife and I debated the strength of domed buildings. I watched a History Channel special touting their perfect design. But when engineered wrong they crumble.

CNN.com reports "Section of Superdome roof opens up."

I just sat at a 4 way stop waiting for the light to change

And so it begins...

I feel very bad for the people of New Orleans. I lived in Kenner (2 miles north of the New Orleans International Airport) for 4.5 years. I love New Orleans and its going to be obliterated.

 

Time flies by so quickly. We find our ruts, our routines and our habits.

I want to point out this picture again because it is a favorite of mine and when I posted it this past Thursday I failed to mention that it is one of the only two wedding photos that Cathy and I have.

Cathy and I were married at Gatlinburg's Ye Ol' Tyme Photo Boothe. After I proposed, we couldn't wait. We both had already done the church wedding before. We had the marriage license. And everything felt right. Noah was too young to understand. Tommy would not have understood. But Sarah needed to be included so she was brought along. In hindsight perhaps Noah should have gone too.

We triple checked the legality of the Gatlinburg wedding chapels and drove on up. I forget how we decided which one to use but we certainly chose a fun one. We perused different styles of attire and finally arrived at the image we desired. We slipped into the clothing which was then velcro'd behind our backs. The sleeves were rolled up and secured for an appropriate look. We slipped into a back room where the proprietor performed the ceremony and pronounced us married. Then we went to the front of the store and had our pictures made and with copies for the extended family we pranced out into the real world to begin a most wonderful life together!

• ...because we survived the camping trip.
• ...because I came home with only 2 seed ticks.
• ...because I can hug my wife again.
• ...because my baby coo'd and chattered and was happy to see me; and I held him.
• ...because my puppy exuberantly welcomed us home.
• ...because I was able to give a little to another child and mother.
• ...because I was able to teach some boys how to whistle with an acorn.
• ...because both my boys did things on their own that made me proud.
• ...because my boys learned how to stomp a milk carton to make it explode with a deafening pop and I wasn't the one that taught them!

Tommy joins the rest of camp for the lowering of the flag announcements and dinner

Boys opted out of chapel. Homebound.

Breakfast. Mmm

The boys have learned the stomping the milk carton trick. Expect phone calls from the school.

Another tired child says he slept only 3 hours.

Tired but very helpful child watches flag ceremony.

I was up at 2am and again at 4 and rose at 6:30. Night was calm and uneventful. Time to raise the boys.

Boys asleep. I am going to rest.

Tommy volunteered to distribute the marshmellows

Tommy listens to scouts tell stories while waiting for marshmellows

Noah with friends

Noah tommy jeremy and elizabeth prepare for entertainment

Story time.

Preparing for camp fires

Hamburger and hot dogs for dinner. Good meal.

Tommy gets a bullseye in archery

Lunch

Swim buddies

All 3 of us passed swim test

45 minutes later than the start of checkin but we are not alone.

Campsite 5 scores swimming first! I can feel the rain coming.

Oops. We starve. I didn't bring lunch

Checked in.

Hi ho hi ho off to camp buck tom we go

...because I'm taking the oldest two boys camping.

...because I met some really excellent people.

...because I spent some good time with my family in the evening.

It doesn't validate. It doesn't look that great. It is not what I would use as an example of my codign. It is not what it is intended to become. But, instead of sitting stagnant, CompleteLottery.Info now has functionality. If you have a lottery related website or want a directory of lottery related websites, CompleteLottery.Info now allows to you add and list sites by state for lottery related information in the United States.

It's Friday. This weekend I take the boys to Camp Buck Tom's and upon our return I go to a lengthy scout leadership meeting. My current list of stressors:

• Finish and deliver work to client 1
• Return call to prospect
• Make presentable progress on client 2
• Troubleshoot a problem for client 3
• spend 3-4 hours on something I am neither prepared for mentally or materially which could lead to a major life changing event
• Make progress on the financial paperwork because 1 week ago I was supposed to be talking to my Uncle and I can't even find the letter with the phone number I'm supposed to call
• Balance the books
• Send invoices
• Work on family computers (wife's and 2 children's)
• Clean house
• Grocery shopping
• Pack for camping
• Make sure I have enough money for gas to and from Camp Buck Tom's
• Email client 4

My linux harddrive is failing in a bad way. If it dies, doing my linux/php development becomes a bit more challenging! Granted, I'd prefer to be doing CF.

I have one child that refuses to accept my time management lessons and lacks organizational skills. Of course, perhaps I'm not the best teacher or example. I like the Franklin-Covey system based on Stephen R. Covey's First Things First (book) ( the cd version is great too ).

Today this child decides to sleep in then at the last minute explains that she is taking her roller skate shoes and requests I fix a mechnical problem with one of the wheels.

My first inclination is to say "a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine" and tell her that I cannot do it. But this is a sweet child and I want to come to her aid. No! NOOOOoooo! Not the puppy dog eyes!

Let's see if I can come through and get this wheel fixed.

Update: Shoe fixed.

My wife has declared that I am no longer allowed to go to PTA meetings, Open Houses, Parent Orientations, or other similar group functions. The middle school declared this an open house, and last year it was in the true sense of the word with leisurely student guided tours of the building and impromptu discussions with the teachers, but instead put on a scheduled orientation with a 30 minute meeting in the auditorium and then an hour+ presentation in the classroom by all the team's teachers. So when one teacher addressed how makeup work would be done in conjunction with absenses and cited "obviously if they are out for a week having an appendix removed we are going to work with them" I chimed up and asked "so how many times can they use the appendix excuse?" I miss being a student :) My wife feels I've lost my mind.

Thanks to Michael's August Challenge my google ads to the right have turned down right cheery! Currently showing for me are:

"A Positive Attitude Is Everything. Become Positive and Powerful with this Free new system,"
"Feel good about yourself.Surround yourself with positive, Christian people. Learn how."
and
"Why aren't you happy? The reason's simplier than you think. Find out the answer at Paul's tips."