Civil Liberties

This is an extremely powerful clip from Boston Legal talking about how “…the Bush administration has done more to dismantle constitutional protections of our liberties than any president in modern memory.” Please take five minutes to watch it, it is very moving and should, at the very least give one something to think about.

Ice Storm 2007, Part II - This is for the Birds!

Well, it is now mid-Thursday and I along with 139,277 people in Oklahoma City am still without electricity. Its for the Birds - quite litterly. This is Coco, Tony's Goffin Cockatoo. She's very sweet. Well, to everyone but Charles, whom she hates.

Ice Storm 2007, Part I

I added the Part I to the title, because, I am assuming there will be at least a Part II. Oklahoma Gas and Electric is saying it could take seven to ten days to get the power back on everywhere. When I got to work this morning, there were a hair over 225,000 people in the metropolitan area without power. It is now 267,798. THEY ARE GOING THE WRONG WAY!!!

Just think, it all started with a single rain drop....by 10pm the ice was an inch thick on my car!

It is now day two without power or heat....THIS REALLY SUCKS!

At lunch Charles and I went to check our respective houses for power, but alas, there was nothing. We took these pictures as we drove around our neighborhod.

Party at The Bird

The Phoenix Rising, affectionately referred to as The Bird, had its Christmas Party this past Sunday, Dec. 2. Great food and great drinks were a’plenty. Below are some pics from the event!

Thanks Craig and George we all had a GREAT time!!!

Vegas Vacation Recap, Part IV

After Wupatki and Sunset Crater we headed straight for the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. I have flown over it many times and seen countless photographs; however, neither does it justice. You really can’t fathom it until you stand on the ridge. It literally goes on as far as you can see stretching out across the horizon. It is 277 miles long, 6000 feet deep at its deepest point and 15 miles across at is widest!

After spending the day at the Grand Canyon, we made a bee line to Vegas! The drive to the hotel was indirect, to say the least, due to some bad Google Directions. We finally made it downtown about an hour and a half later than we should have. We checked into the Four Queens then meet up with David’s parents, his niece and her boy friend. Then we headed out for the Black Jack tables.

Saturday we checked out of the Four Queens and into the Golden Nugget. We then promptly headed back to the Black Jack tables at the Four Queens. In summary, Friday night was good, Saturday morning was fine but Saturday afternoon was BRUTAL! Neither of us could win a hand! Things began improving Saturday night. Sunday was fair. David ended up doing quite well. I did less well, but did come home with money in my pocket.

Monday we decided to head back to OKC. We stopped for a minute at the Hoover Dam. Wow! What a big chunck of concrete! We drove all the way back to Santa Rosa, New Mexico on Monday. Got up early Tuesday and hit the road. We made it back to OKC around 4:30 Tuesday afternoon.

Vegas Vacation Recap, Part III

The last site we visited on day two was El Morro National Monument. El Morro means “the headland” or “the bluff”. The 250 foot tall massive sandstone bluff was formed largely by ancient sand dunes. The soft sandstone made it easy for travelers to carve pictures, names, dates and messages. Some of the inscriptions date back hundreds and hundreds of years.

On day three we headed to Wupatki and the Sunset Crater Volcano in Arizona. Around 1100 a series of eruptions brought the dormant San Francisco Volcanic Field back to life. Even though the field has been dormant for 800 years a working seismograph at the Sunset Crate Volcano visitor center is continually monitoring the area.

Sunset Crater Volcano



The Lava flow

More lava flow



even more lava flow

In addition to the volcano we saw pueblo ruins. The people who built Wupatki and other pueblos here were ancestors of the Hopi, Zuni and other puebloan peoples of today. Wupatki is the largest pueblo in the park. It was build around 1100.

Next update - The Grand Canyon and The Hover Dam