Please don't lock me out ...

I'll come back. I promise.

Swarming Warhawks

I've recently finished editing my second book for Squadron/Signal Publications. This one traces the developmental history of one of the more frequent fighters of WWII, the Curtiss P-40. It became most famous for its use by the American Volunteer Group, the Flying Tigers, but it was much more prolific than that.
The book was written by Richard Dann, and you can see profiles of the plane in various incarnations at his Web site.
Here's a video of the early-war workhorse from History Channel's "Dogfights":

Happy Birthday, Zoe!

Well, my little girl turned 2 last weekend. That's her on the left with a fistful of lollipops. Her BFF, Becca, seems to enjoy the pops, too. The seemingly incessant rain we've had in North Texas stopped, and we had a party with many friends and much fun.
It's hard to believe it's been two years since my life turned upside down and the most important thing in it emerged.
What a beautiful day.

I didn't make this up ...

Zoe's already putting on her own makeup.
Those are some kickin' eyebrows, little girl.

We're here

I know it's been a long time. Hush already.
We're here, and life is great. Ticla and I moved to Richardson, just minutes from my parent's place. And it's a blessing. We never could have done it without them.
Ticla is working as an office manager and I'm editing books.
Right now I'm working on a book about a Cold War Russian jet, the Su-27. It's an outstanding plane.
Here's a clip of it performing what has become known as Pugachev's Cobra. It's not really a tactical maneuver; it's more for show. But it's cool nonetheless.
Now, here is one of the Russian Knights:

Tao for today

"Throw away holiness and wisdom,
and people will be a hundred times happier.
Throw away morality and justice,
and people will do the right thing.
Throw away industry and profit,
and there won't be any thieves.

"If these three aren't enough,
just stay at the center of the circle
and let all things take their course."

Ice storm

Well, we got hit pretty hard. But after six days, the ice is starting to melt.
Many people are still without power, but we were fortunate. We only lost power for half a day.
Trees are down all over town. The National Gaurd is here, which is fitting beacause many neighborhoods look like war zones.
But it's a nice sunny day today. Things are warming up, and the sounds of transformers exploding and trees crashing have been replaced with the sounds of ice falling off of everything. Of course, this weekend's forecast calls for 4-6 sinches of snow. So here we go again. Sheesh ...

Peace on Earth

Grow your own

We're talkin' furniture here.


This is an upholstered stool made out of maple and a sycamore frame of the same design ready for harvesting.

Truly the utmost in organic design ...

Check it: Grown furniture.

Juggle different

This looks pretty cool when he gets several balls going.

Thank you

"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nation."
— Pres. Woodrow Wilson
November 1919

My Clone

Here in Missouri, voters will be deciding Nov. 7 the fate of several Constitutional amendments.

One of the more controversial is Amendment 2, the stem-cell initiative. Basically it would guarantee that everyone in Missouri has access to all stem-cell research and treatments that the federal government allows. It's a safeguard against an overactive legislature that's tried to ban stem-cell research many times before.

But the fight is over some of the smaller type that attempts to address cloning fears.

All this cloning talk reminded me of a little ditty by Isaac Asimov. It's sung to the tune of "Home on the Range."

Warning: Not only does this tune deal with cloning, it deals with sex. So if you're easily offended, skip down to the cute picture of Zoe. She's not a clone.

"Oh, give me a clone
Of my own flesh and bone
With its Y chromosome changed to X
And after it's grown
Then my own little clone
Will be of the opposite sex

Clone, clone of my own
With its Y chromosome changed to X
And when I am alone
With my own little clone
We will both think of nothing but sex

Oh, give me a clone
Is my sorrowful moan,
A clone that is wholly my own.
And if she's X-X
And the feminine sex
Oh, what fun we will have when we're prone.

My heart's not of stone
As I've frequently shown
When alone with my own little X
And after we've dined,
I am sure we will find
Better incest than Oedipus Rex.

Why should such sex vex
Or disturb or perplex
Or induce a disparaging tone?
After all, don't you see
Since we're both of us me
When we're having sex, I'm alone.

And after I'm done
She will still have her fun
For I'll clone myself twice before I die.
And this time without fail
They'll be both of them male
And they'll each ravage her by and by."

Trick-or-treat, smell my feet

Zoe put on her princess garb for Halloween and went looting at the mall. Tons of kids were running everywhere. She didn't get much candy (the proprietors at the mall are notoriously stingy with their treats), but that wasn't really the point. She had a blast, bouncing off the walls and smacking people with her princess wand. We're already planning next year.

Congratulations Jessica and Mike!

My cousin Jessica got married this past weekend to Mike. A Jew and an Irish man, they decided to beautifully blend their families' traditions. In addition to the hora at the reception, they had the chuppah made out of Mike's family tartan. Well done.
May you have a long and happy marriage, y'all.
Mazel tov!

Belly dance

Zoe was born less than a week after this video was taken. We've all been dancing ever since.

Uke joint

Jake Shimabukuro will make the ukulele cool again. Seriously. Check it:

Avast, ye scurvy dogs. Hoist the mizzen and yer tankards. Tomorrow be the highest of Pastafarian high holy days.

My pirate name is:

Black Sam Read

Like anyone confronted with the harshness of robbery on the high seas,
you can be pessimistic at times. Even through many pirates have a reputation
for not being the brightest souls on earth, you defy the sterotypes. You've
got taste and education. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from
piratequiz.com.

Wedding Shots
I've put up a few pics from MP & McD's wedding.
Check them out here
Some could be considered incriminating — but only if you know the story behind them.
Enjoy.

Congratulations Mary Pat and McD!

Their wedding in South Bend went off with just one hitch -- and it was beautiful.

The town is beautiful, too.
Some of the hotel rooms looked out over Pier Park. Below is a panorama.

I'll put more pictures of the town and the wedding on Flickr, as soon as I weed out the crappy and incriminating ones.

Boulevard Baptist Church in Springfield has decided to try some blatant honesty.
The sign's been up for weeks. If it were a joke, wouldn't they have taken it down by now?