eng 101

Freestyle # 14

2006-05-08T09:44:00.000-04:00

I did a cooking demonstration for my final speech (no big surprise here) and I thought I would share the recipe (being the lazy S.O.B. that I am).

SHRIMP SCAMPI

One pound large (16-20 count per pound) shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 teaspoons canola oil

Flour for dredging

1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon capers

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup chicken stock

1/8 cup lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 small tomato chopped

1/2 pound cooked linguini
Roux for thickening (50/50 butter & flour)

1. Preheat pan and canola oil
2. Coat shrimp with flour and place in hot pan, cook approximately one minute and flip
3. Add garlic and capers
4. Remove cooked shrimp from pan
5. Deglaze pan with white wine and chicken stock
6. Add lemon juice, tomatoes and thicken with roux
7. Toss in cooked pasta and serve

Prompt # 14

2006-05-08T09:37:00.000-04:00

I held you in my arms.

You immediately began to nibble my ear and then stuck your tongue in my mouth. You never complained when I kicked you out of bed because of your snoring. You always come when I call. You know that I am the boss and that’s ok with you. You will do any trick I ask you too and all you ask in return is that I give you a pat on the head and a kind word. If I tell you to be quiet, you obey. You never complain when I make you stay in the car. You are the best dog I have ever had!

Prompt # 13

2006-05-08T09:16:00.000-04:00

"We are gathered here today to remember....."

Our friend the gray squirrel. Although he was cut down in his prime by a well aimed shotgun blast, he will live on in our memories. I can still recall the inordinate amount of bird seed he could consume in one sitting. I still think warmheartedly about the way his big bushy tail would stop the door to the Have-A-Heart trap from latching. I can remember as if were yesterday the way he could knock a bird feeder out of a tree with little or no effort. What a guy! He was a squirrel’s squirrel and he will be missed (at least by the 22, hence the shotgun). The memorial service will be conducted today at 12:00. In lieu of flowers, donations will be accepted for the Feed a Bird Foundation.

Prompt # 12

2006-05-05T09:43:00.000-04:00

Robin Redbreast in a cage puts all heaven in a rage……

Red squirrels, on the other hand, are a different story. While drinking my morning coffee, I happened to glance out of the sliding glass door, located off of our kitchen, and looking back at me was a red squirrel. He was on his hind legs with his little paws and nose pressed against the glass peering in at me. I expected him to start banging on the glass and chattering, “Hey buddy, the bird feeder is empty! Be a sport and help out a hungry squirrel. Whada ya say?” I decided it was time to do something about Rocky and the rest of his rodent allies. Fifteen minutes later, I was baiting my Have-a-Heart trap with a scrumptious breakfast offering for my uninvited guest. I spared no expense. A nice crispy graham cracker, topped with peanut butter, cashews and the best sunflower seeds money can buy. In the course of half an hour I had 3 customers at the buffet (which included a one way ticket to Ludger Dr in Augusta) and over the course of the next half hour, two more. Not a bad morning’s work. Although my fellow IRA members and the people on Ludger Dr might not approve of my “Have-a-Heart methods, tonight I can sleep with a clear conscience.

Freestyle # 13

2006-04-26T09:29:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite sayings, much to my wife’s dismay, is “Be careful what you wish for.” After making some off handed comment that went something like, “You would think that one of the fringe benefits of marrying an Aroostook County girl would be free potatoes.” My wife used this line on me. One hour later all of the gardening tools showed up by the back door. I am obviously going to get my wish, fresh potatoes. This also means that I am going to spend the rest of the summer trying to protect these plants from the over weight ground hog that lives under my shed. When I pointed out the ground hog situation she said, “Well, I guess you will have to shoot it, and, while you’re at it, why don’t you shoot those red squirrels!” The moral to this story is pretty straight forward- If you pose a threat to the crop, you must die!

Freestyle # 11

2006-04-25T11:07:00.000-04:00

I just got the phone call from my lawn tractor maintenance people. $585.00! I asked them what was in their heads. I can buy a brand new tractor for $1500.00. They were supposed to call me if the bill was going to be high before they went ahead with the repairs. I said as much to the guy on the phone and told him to keep the tractor. He started sputtering so bad that I think he was having an epileptic fit. He told me that the labor part of the bill was a lot higher than they had originally anticipated. I asked why he thought I should suffer because of their misjudgments. More stuttering ensued. I told him that I would pay $400.00. Take it or leave it. He took it.

Freestyle #10

2006-04-17T13:51:00.000-04:00

I have a Husqvarna lawn tractor, which I think, is the best thing since canned beer. After sitting all winter, it started up on the second try. One loud backfire (which dislodged the mouse nest in the muffler) and she is ready to go for one more season. This will be our tenth season with the Husqvarna and I cannot believe the tractor is still working. I mow about six acres at our house, most of this is a rock and rut filled meadow. This poor tractor has seen its share of hardship. After our second year, I started hiring teenage kids to do the mowing. There is nothing harder on a lawn tractor than a teenage boy. They have one mowing speed, full throttle. One afternoon I watched my mowing kid dive full tilt into one of my apple trees. The tree had more damage than the tractor or the kid. If I were asked to do a commercial for Husqvarna, not only would I be happy to do so, I would also do it free.

Prompt #11

2006-04-17T13:44:00.000-04:00

Just calm down and begin at the beginning.

I used this line frequently when I was a manager at the Maine Veterans Home. I firmly believe that the words manager and babysitter are synonymous. My night cook would corner me on a weekly basis and the scenario would go something like this: “Duncan, I don’t want to get anyone in trouble (she lied convincingly) but I can’t put up with this crap anymore! These kids are out of control and it has to stop! “Just calm down and begin at the beginning.” I reply. “You know what goof off so and so can be! I had to chase him all night to get any work out of him. Then on top of everything, he had the nerve to back talk me! (Blah blah blah.) With infinite patience, I would point out that we were dealing with teenage kids who work part time for next to nothing and if they perform half as well as our full time employees, we should consider ourselves lucky. I would then continue with something like: “This being said you are the night manager and if you believe a written reprimand is warranted I would be happy to help you pen one up and sit down with you and so and so when you give it to him.” Never once, did she write anyone up but, every week, she and I would have some variation of this conversation. The only conversations I plan to have in my Heating and Refrigeration van will be with myself and hopefully the only thing I have to write up is my bill.

Prompt # 10

2006-04-15T17:15:00.000-04:00

No matter how many times I've been told and no matter
how many times I tell myself, I just don't change…

I hate to pay full price. I dickered on the price of my camp (even though the price was already a steal). I talked down the sales girl on my wife’s wedding ring (we all know the mark-up on jewelry). I argued for fifteen minutes over the cost of our last Christmas tree. This behavior makes my wife insane. She prides herself on being a “full price girl” girl and I refuse to pay full price for anything if I can avoid it. A good example of this is our living room furniture. When I was a younger man, the prices at the furniture store were always negotiable. Three years ago, my wife and I went on a shopping spree at Northern Mattress and Furniture. We wanted to buy two leather reclining chairs, a leather couch and a coffee table. I made the initial mistake of asking the sales woman to point me in the direction of the leather furniture. She was on us like ‘white on rice’ from that point forward. My wife found a couch that she liked and I picked out two chairs. I asked our sales woman if they would deliver to Sidney, which she assured me they would. A this point my wife fled, she knew the dickering was about to begin. The combined price of everything we were interested in was $4200.00. I asked our sales girl what kind of a deal she could give me if I bought all three items. She said, “ All of the items you are interested in are already on sale.” How convenient. I told her that I would give her $3200.00. She went in search of the manager. The manager came equipped with some cock and bull story about the prices being “fixed” in the computer and only the owner was able to change them. If I would leave my information, he would be glad to have him give me a call. I made some wise crack about how busy the owner must be with all that typing around sale time and left. My poor wife had to wait a year and a half for new furniture. That was how long it took me to find a furniture guy who was willing to dicker. My wife still asks if the wait was worth the two hundred bucks I saved. My answer is always ‘Yes’!

Annotated Bibliography

2006-03-31T09:06:00.000-05:00

http://www.lovelandfyi.com/businessRh/business-story.asp?ID=4072
This web site contains an article from the Reporter-Herald in Loveland Colarado. The article says that the demand for HVAC jobs is growing at the rate of 6% a year. This is even out pacing the health care field.

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/eng/news/today/?show=80241
This is the engineering news web site. It contains an article about switching systems for heating and refrigeration systems. There is nothing of real interest here.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/13886797.htm
This site had two noteworthy tidbits. The first was the existence of the “Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Institute” and the second was something called a Trombe wall.

http://www.ases.org/
This is the American Solar Energy Society web site. It puts forth the concept that solar is the only eventual solution to our energy problems. This also discusses biomass

http://www.solartoday.org/links.htm
This is the Solar Today website. It contains some good links for more info on solar power.

http://www.ases.org/print_catalog/ases_reports/PS_Hydrogen.pdf
This site is everything hydrogen. Good source for this topic

http://www.marketresearch.com/browse.asp?categoryid=970
This is a good web site containing recent reports on innovation and market trends in HVAC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_magnetic_resonance_imaging
This site is a free encyclopedia that has some merit for generic overviews of my various subtopics.

http://www.advanceair.net/technology.htm
This site was found by searching “cutting edge heating” Finally Pay dirt
This site has cutting edge diagnostic controls and concepts that are worth more research

http://www.howellsac.com/webapp/GetPage?pid=232
This website contains information on different refrigerants.

http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/
This is The Energy Blog website. It has loads of information on everything from geo-thermal to ethanol. Contains some good insight to the “ big picture” when it comes to the overall outlook in HVAC

http://www.akeena.net/size/index.html
This is the Akeena company website. This article says “Typical New York/New Jersey/ New England Area Solar Energy System There is an average of 4.6 hours of full sun per day at a 70% annualized efficiency for well designed systems. With 17 high output modules (lower operating temperatures reduce the number of modules you can install on a single inverter), each producing 160 watts peak, this system will generate approximately 3,200 kwh per year -- or about $384 worth of energy per year at current rates.” This site also gives facts and figures that lead me to believe that the 45,000 dollar price tag for a residential system does not sound cost effective.

Prompt # 9

2006-03-27T15:48:00.000-05:00

14K white gold wedding band wrap Three diamond cluster on each side Never been worn, brand new Appraised at $400, asking $350 OBO-Contact Information-Corinth, ME (Uncle Henry's 3/27/06)

I do not know how things are done in Corinth, Maine but my wife has assured me that in Sidney, Maine, $400 does not a six-diamond ring buy. I suspect that the same might hold true in Corinth. When I was in my 20’s my sister gave me some advice concerning women that I have never forgotten. She said, “When it comes to gifts for a woman, you will never go wrong with precious gems or fine fashions.” The key word here is “precious”. There is nothing precious about industrial grade diamonds bought at Ames’s 70% off sale. The gentleman posting this ad obviously does not understand how seriously a woman treats her wedding ring. I, on the other hand, do understand and it does not surprise me that the ring in question has “never been worn”. I once put forth to my wife the possibility of upgrading her wedding ring if we ever renewed our wedding vows. She became appalled and explained that her ring had sentimental value and she would never part with it. She went on to explain that the proper thing for me to do would be to buy a “yesterday-today-tomorrow’ ring. Because of this conversation I have placed my own add in Uncle Henry’s.
Swap or Trade
One 1994 Harley Davidson w/low miles. Will trade for 2crt three stone diamond ring of equal vale. Corinth residents need not reply.

Prompt # 8

2006-03-27T15:45:00.000-05:00

A room full of young people, at lest relatively young compared to the two I am looking for. I scan the airport lobby for the tenth time, wondering if my ladies have missed their plane. Five minutes have passed since the last person disembarked and there is still no sign of the girls. The plane had arrived twenty minutes late and I was getting impatient. Finally, two white topped heads come bobbing into view. Per usual, the girls have taken a wrong turn and are trying to make their way through the check in security area. While the security guard turns the girls around and heads them in the right direction, I cannot help but laugh and wonder what my life will be like at seventy years of age. My mother-in-law Marilyn is first through the door, followed closely by her best friend Wilma. After some brief hellos, the girls make a beeline for the rest rooms. I am sure that at least one more such trip will be in order before we all arrive safely back in Sidney. Ten minutes later, we head downstairs to get the girls luggage. When we arrive at the luggage carousel, not only is it empty, it has also stopped spinning. This is not a good sign. Forty-five minutes later, the lost luggage paper work is done and the girls and I are driving home. Thank goodness! It had been a long day and I was getting cranky. On the ride home, I was expecting multiple bathroom stops and long stories about people I did not know. Instead, I was almost immediately treated to stereophonic snoring. The girls are sleeping like babies. Silently I berate myself for being an grumpy S.O.B., turn on the radio(the classical station) and enjoy the rest of the drive home. I hope that people will find a little extra patience for me when I turn seventy.

Freestyle # 9

2006-03-27T15:31:00.000-05:00

As April 1st draws near, I am reminded of an April Fools Day when I was on the receiving end of the jokes. It was April 1st 198? and I was the opening cook at the Old Port Tavern in Portland. I arrived at work that day late and extremely hung-over. As I pushed open the kitchen door a bucket of water fell on my head. It took me a few minutes to realize what day it was and, more importantly, who the fool was. During those minutes, the following things took place:
I opened the reaching cooler and water bucket #2 poured all over me.
I tried to turn on the ovens and all the knobs were missing.
I opened the deli cooler and cocktail sauce poured all over my feet.
I found a note on the counter that read “Good morning Duncan, I hope you have a nice day! Greg”
Greg was the dinning room manager who had just become the focal point for my campaign of revenge. After lunch, I enlisted the help of Dennis (the chef) and put my plan into motion. We went upstairs to the employee locker room and used a coat hanger to break into Greg’s locker. I found a 65-gallon trash bag and placed it inside the locker. Dennis ran a hose from the prep room and waited for my signal. I stuck the hose into the trash bag and closed the locker. With the locker shut (except for the top corner where the hose was), we were able to fill the locker ¾ full of water. We pulled out the hose and the trap was set. The idea was simple; Greg would come in to work, open his locker, and be drenched by the 40 gallons of water. Unfortunately, things did not workout as planned. Two weeks later (Greg never did open his locker) the owner of the restaurant, Rich, wondering why the clothes in his locker were wet, decided to use his master key to check the neighboring locker. Dennis told me afterwards that the weight of the water actually knocked Rich right off his feet. I never cared much for Rich, so in retrospect, I guess my plan worked out fine after all.

Prompt # 7

2006-03-20T12:55:00.000-05:00

In the drawer is a box made of carved and joined bits of driftwood, which holds objects meaningless to anyone else but sacred, precious, unforgettable to me...

The box for me is wooden, a gift from my sister. There are two pictures on the front. One picture is of my parents, both gone. One picture is of a young child (me) with a hat and a fat belly. Some things do not change. When I open the box I am reminded that some things do. Inside the box are memories. There is the spare clip for my Raven 25clbr. I bought it years ago from an old girlfriend for 25 dollars. Money that at the time, I felt was well spent to keep the gun out of her hands. There is a tortoise shell razor blade inside the box. It has coral inlays and a leather cord. It was hand made for me in Jamaica. It reminds me of Jimmy Buffet songs and a life style I have left behind. There is a money clip inside the box. I used it often when I had my own restaurant. Most cash business owners do. There is a key inside the box. This brings back memories of my mother. On her deathbed she made me promise to use the money she would leave me to buy something fun and for myself alone. The key is for my Harley. Thanks mom. The last thing in the box is a pocket watch. The chain is old and tarnished though the watch itself looks new. The face of the watch is clear glass. This allows you to see all of the many gears and springs that normally would be hidden. So many pieces. All of them blended together to make it tick.

Freestyle # 8

2006-03-18T15:37:00.000-05:00

Today was the start of apple tree maintenance. I have over 40 trees and they all need pruning. What a daunting task. Last year I hired a local guy to come and do some of the pruning for me but he never showed up. I spent two hours this morning armed with my saw on a pole and managed to get three trees done. The only one in our family who enjoys this type of work is my dog Wako. There is nothing better in the entire world to chew than a freshly cut apple limb. His enthusiasm helps make the work tolerable. At least I will have plenty of nice wood for my smoker and Wako will have something to chew while sitting in the shade on those hot summer days to come. Tomorrow I will hopefully knock out three more trees. Next weekend I will only have 34 more trees to do. Can you say; “Never ending”?

Graf # 14

2006-03-17T09:45:00.000-05:00

When I read Gale’s essay about going home the most striking thing, for me, was the amount of detail. I feel that her attention to detail and choice of descriptives actually created some of the feelings that I associate with my home and growing up. Her descriptive choices also set up the contrast. Words like large, sugar, hosted, and alive on one side, and words like shrunk, impassible, and modest on the contrasting side. Very nice!

Graph # 13

2006-03-15T08:49:00.000-05:00

When I think about research that I have done in the past, I can’t help thinking back to the days preceding the opening of my restaurant. I do not remember a time in my life when I had more important decisions to make in such a short amount of time. Every one of those decisions required some sort of research. Which insurance company would I use, which propane company and which food vendors. I also had to research the possible advantages of incorporation. I decided to incorporate and then had to research and compare C corps to S corps. When it came to choosing the menu items, research into what the other area restaurants were doing was in order. I did research to find out what common mistakes other restaurants made so that I could avoid them. I Polled friends and family to find items they would look for when they went out to eat. I did extensive research to find innovative recipes and techniques. All this research ended up paying off. The restaurant did well and I made a tidy profit when my partner bought out my shares.

Classification Essay

2006-03-09T10:16:00.000-05:00

Periodically I search the web for real-estate listings grouped under the heading: Water Front Property. After my wife and I watched the value of our camp on Wassookeg Lake double in a very short period of time, we decided that another piece of property on the water would be a good idea. Unfortunately, unless this weeks Power Ball ticket is a winner, money is an issue. We have some money tucked away but the longer we wait the more expensive water front property becomes. We need a bargain. Experience has told me that there is no such thing but I still find myself getting excited every time I see a 50,000-dollar price tag floating in the sea of 250,000-dollar price tags. Before I click on the link, I can’t help wondering which of the three types of water front property it will be.
If, for the paltry sum of 50,000 dollars, our piece of property falls into the first category, it would be the equivalent of buying that old car in the barn for 500-dollars and discovering a 63 Corvette hiding under the tarp. This category is entitled Ocean Front Property. Of course, the chances of this happing are a million to one. Land on the ocean is so far out of my league that I really have no idea what it sells for. I do know that a commercial broker usually handles the sale of property on the ocean, and an asking price of a million dollars is not uncommon. I also know of a ramshackle, one-bedroom, ocean front camp in Cape Elizabeth that sold for 250,000 dollars. The land was not included with the camp but instead; it was leased on a year-to-year basis with no guarantee that the lease would be renewed. If I click on my link and find Ocean Front Property for 50,000-dollars I will be able to retire early.
The second category our property could fall under is entitled: Lake Front Property.
This grouping of real estate covers a vast number of options and price ranges. It would be more accurately categorized as “Any” Body Of Water Front Property. Ponds, streams, brooks, rivers and lakes are all fair game in this category. When I click on my link I am hoping to land in this category. If I am lucky I will find something on a decently sized lake that is not more than a 2-3 hour drive from Augusta. I am hoping to stumble on to an undeveloped lot that I can possibly build on ten years from now. The prices on Lake Front Property vary greatly, but in general, the further north you travel, the cheaper the price. There are exceptions. Moose Head Lake would be a good example of one. A quarter of an acre lot, if you could find one, would go for at least 100,000 dollars.
Our last option under the water front property heading is where I hope not to end up. When it comes to real estate I have found that the word disappointment can be spelled R.O.W. This is real estate jargon for Right of Way. The property in this category is not on the water at all. If you purchase property in the Deeded Right of Way category you obtain access to some body of water (usually by walking through the back yards of two or three of your neighbors) or the use of a communal beach (typically shared by thirty other lot owners in a development of some sort). Every time the land I am interested in ends up in this category, which is most times, I can’t help but feel bamboozled.
Five years ago, a friend of mine was trying to sell an old post and beam camp in upstate Maine for 20,000 dollars. Someone suggested that he advertise it in the New York Times as a Maine hunting camp. They also told him that no one would give anything priced under 150,000 dollars a second glance. Two months later he was a 100,000 dollars richer. My property in Sidney abuts a good size beaver bog. Perhaps I need a New York Times add that reads: Water Front Hunting Camp for Sale-1, 000,000 dollars / willing to negotiate.

Graph # 12

2006-03-06T09:13:00.000-05:00

After looking through the various class essays I came up with the following things. I didn’t particularly care for the telemarketing one and I did enjoy the one about fishing. This probably has less to do with the writing and more to do with my love of fishing and dislike of telemarketers. The essay about the puppy dog tails was a great example of something personal that no one else could sign their name to. I think that I have grasped the general idea and I hope that I can put together something worth reading. We will see.

annotated source list

2006-03-06T09:09:00.000-05:00

Freestyle # 7

2006-03-05T09:32:00.001-05:00

I miss my old convertible. Back in the day, Eisenhower was president, gas was 25 cents a gallon and I owned a beautiful 1962 Chevy Impala convertible. This baby was mint. I purchased it from a gentleman who was in the process of making it into a pace car for Beech Ridge Speedway. Luckily I got the car before he ruined it by welding on a roll bar. The car was totally restored. It had a new interior, new ragtop, custom paint job, dual exhaust with glass packs and room for six people. Sweeeeeeet! It also had something called a Poly Glide 500 racing transmission. I didn’t know what this meant at the time but I discovered, to my delight, that the car would not shift to a higher gear unless I let up on the gas. Having that kind of control over an automatic transmission made this car really fast. I am lucky I still have a license. I loved that car until Dutch elm disease killed her. At this time in Portland the public works department was busy cutting down half the trees in the city because of Dutch elm disease. By mistake one of these trees landed on top of my baby. She never had a chance. The City of Portland quickly apologized and wrote me a check but to this day I have never received an apology from the Dutch.

Class Essay Intro #2

2006-02-28T14:42:00.000-05:00

This really irks me. Every time I search through the real-estate agents listings for water front property I get sucked in by their bait and switch tactics. I would like to buy an undeveloped piece of property on the water for investment purposes. I am not made of money so I have a definite price range in mind. All water front property should be divided into two categories: The property I can afford and The property I can not afford. But No! These self-serving bastards have decided to divide it into three categories.

Class Essay Intro#1

2006-02-28T14:38:00.000-05:00

Periodically I search the web for real-estate listings entitled Water Front Property. After my wife and I watched the value of our camp on Wassookeg Lake double in a very short period of time, we have decided that another piece of property on the water would be a good idea. Unfortunately, unless this weeks Power Ball ticket is a winner, money is an issue. We have some money tucked away but the longer we wait the more expensive water front property becomes. We need a bargain. Experience has told me that there is no such thing but I still find myself getting excited every time I see a 50,000-dollar price tag floating in the sea of 250,000-dollar price tags. Before I click on the link, I can’t help wondering which of the three types of property it will be.

Prompt # 6 - D

2006-02-26T09:17:00.000-05:00

The keys were thrown on the table like an invitation. At least that’s what it seemed like with the front-end loader sitting in the driveway day after day. It might as well have been calling my name. All of the things that I could do with that piece of equipment kept going through my mind as it sat there, staring me in the face. My contractor (Dick) said he would be back in a couple of days when he dropped it off but over a month had gone by. Yesterday, when the workman from Adelphia showed up to run some underground cable, was it my fault the front-end loader was in the way? No, of course not. It was fortunate that I was able to get the thing started and move it out of the cable guy’s way. Once I had it started, can anyone blame me for wanting to move a little dirt and a couple of bushes? After all that’s what front end loaders are made for, right? So what if I had no idea how to run the thing. I am a smart guy. How hard could it be? Every thing was going fine until the low hanging tree branch ripped the lights off of the top of the cab. I panicked, stalled the machine and was unable to start it again.

Now my contractor is standing in my driveway looking at his front-end loader and shaking his head. The monster is sitting in the middle of my apple orchard with the cab lights dangling from their wires. It is time to pay the piper. I walk out of my front door, not knowing what I will say when I reach the bottom of the stairs. Dick turns my way and lo and behold, there is a smile on his face. I start to apologize but he interrupts me and says, “ Don’t worry. I can fix the lights easy enough. What I want to know is did you have fun?” With a sense of relief I answered, “Yes I did.” And Dick became my contractor for life.

Freestyle # 6

2006-02-23T14:49:00.000-05:00

Thursday, February 23, 2006
The fire is toasty, the vehicle maintenance is done (oil change and tire rotation) and the time has come to dig myself out of my homework dilemma. This was supposed to be my day to go ice fishing, but having procrastinated on my schoolwork, here I sit. My wife, Sandy, has set me up with her spiffy lap top computer. This enables me to lounge in front of the roaring wood stove instead of hiding in the spare bedroom where our computer is. Now that I think of it, I could also be writing in the ice shack. That sounds like a good plan for tomorrow. I don’t think my wife will approve of me taking her little jewel out on the lake. She will just have to realize that, in the quest for academic excellence, sacrifices must be made. The promise of fresh salmon might help too.

Graph # 11

2006-02-23T10:52:00.000-05:00

When I look over my cause essay I see a lack of detail and explanation that probably leads to confusion for the reader. Let me break it down. I think that the intro was all right although I could have done better at conveying our emotional state during the flood. The paragraph supporting my statement that contractors are hard to find is adequate. Now the problems begin. In my paragraph about replacement logs I described my specific need for hand-hewn logs without taking into account that most log homes are built with more conventional and readily available logs. In the paragraph about leaky windows I should have included some of the conversations I had with fellow log homeowners that experienced similar window leaks and log rot. The worst thing about the essay was the lack of explanation about the vinyl siding. There were many factors that led to the decision to side my log home with vinyl, none of which really helped to support my three cause statements. It would have been less confusing for the reader had I not even mentioned vinyl siding. In the future I should try to be more concise and not pick subject matter that requires long-winded explanations.

Prompt # 5-17

2006-02-21T16:09:00.000-05:00

I was trying to escape the inevitable. In front of me were five sheet pans of meatballs. The dinner rush would start any minute and they were the advertised special. I had two choices: Give up my search or destroy the meatballs. I decided to retrace my steps one more time. It was an hour earlier that I had noticed my wedding ring was missing. All my employees had helped in the search. We had emptied and gone through all the trash. What a mess that made. We had sifted all of the fried food breaders. No luck. We swept all the floors and searched the dustpans. Nothing. We took all the tubs out of the ice-cream cooler. No ring. I searched the dishwasher. Two pieces of pepperoni and a bread tie. Did someone get a surprise in his or her fried platter? Panic had me firmly in its grasp. I had only been married for three months and this was the second time I had lost my ring. All I could think about was how disappointed my wife was going to be. How could I have been so careless! As I looked around, one of the waitresses tried to lend some moral support. “Did you check the walk-in cooler?” she asked. “The only place I haven’t looked” I responded, “is in the 140 meat-balls that I made earlier. I am going to have to search each one.” “Can I take a look first?” she asked, “I can spot a diamond a mile away.” We went in to the cooler and, without the slightest hesitation, Cindy reached out and plucked a meatball off of one of the pans. She stuck her fingers into it and Voila! One diamond wedding ring. Cindy smiled and asked me if there would be a bonus in her check. As I pulled a fifty out of my wallet I couldn’t help but think that whomever coined the phrase “Diamonds are a girls best friend” must have known Cindy.

Prompt # 3-9

2006-02-19T08:14:00.000-05:00

Taxes… taxes…taxes. I should take some time right now and pull the paper work together. Don’t worry about it. Sandy said she would take care of it. Yes but you know she cant get all the stock info together. No one can understand your filing system. Did you even down load this year’s historical activity? I don’t think I did. Remember the 5 P’s (Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance). What about –All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?
Your name is not Jack. (The next 45 minutes is spent sorting through file totally unorganized file folders full of monthly statements from Ameritrade and computer print outs labeled account activity.) What a mess! If you would take care of this stuff once a month you wouldn’t have all this trouble. If pigs had wings they would fly. Speaking of pigs, I have that new smoker I got for Christmas. BBQ brisket! Hey focus! You are missing 2005’s account activity. You have 3 stocks with no purchase value assigned. Your accountant is going to be pissed if he has to call you five times to get this information. I wonder if Sam’s club has any brisket? If you keep daydreaming you are never going to get any thing done! Well Mr. Smarty Pants it just so happens I did get something done. What might that be? My English homework.

Freestyle # 5

2006-02-18T16:08:00.000-05:00

You have no power. Your access is denied. This is what a very large oak tree said to me earlier this morning. It was lying across the road to my camp with power lines clutched in its branches. My wife had begrudgingly agreed to ice fishing with me, and then spend the night at our camp in Dexter. As soon as Mr. Oak tree put in his two cents worth, I new that fresh fish was no longer on the board of fare. We did stay long enough for Wako to have a nice walk and a sniff around. At least one of us wasn’t disappointed. Now that I am back home by the toasty wood stove, listening to wind howl, I have to admit that a cold day with no power probably wasn’t such a good idea. There will still be time to ice fish next week.

Graf # 10

2006-02-18T15:24:00.000-05:00

After looking at the various I-Search examples I saw a few things. I noticed some typos and broken sentences resulting from cutting and pasting. I will try to keep an eye on this in my paper. The outlines seem to vary slightly but all follow a time line. I have to wonder at some of the subject matter. Some of this stuff could have been written for personal tragedy 101. I even found myself initially wanting to write about death, or the life there after. Is there something about putting pen to paper that causes the average person to want to pour out their pain? Does this occur because we are lacking emotional outlets in our day-to-day verbal communications? Curious questions for a curious time.

Essay # 1

2006-02-17T09:11:00.001-05:00

The water keeps pouring in and there is no way to stop it! While the wind from Hurricane Floyd continues to howl, my wife and I work frantically to contain the deluge. “ I can’t believe this is happing!” My wife exclaims, “We have been at this for two hours and its only getting worse!” As I empty my wet-vac for the twelfth time I have to agree. Water continues to cascade down the interior walls of our log home. I knew we had a couple of bad logs on the north end of our home and some minor leeks in the past but I never dreamed we could have water damage this bad. Water is coming in between every log in the wall, over the window, under the window and even in the closet. Now, close to tears, and overwhelmed by the mess, my wife is the first to admit defeat. “ It’s three in the morning and I can’t do this anymore!” She says. “ Everything in here is already ruined and I need some sleep”. Exhausted and depressed we head for the guest room, as the dark stain in the hallway carpet grows larger and larger. This was the scene in 1999. For everyone with the romantic notion of some day owning a rustic log home nestled under some majestic pines on the shore of a picturesque lake this is your wake up call. Once they are built no contractor wants to work on one. Replacement logs are astronomically expensive. The windows all leak. I will never own a log home again!
I knew that I needed professional help. I pulled out the yellow pages and started calling log home dealers for help. Every one of them had a crew standing by to build my new home but not one of them would work on an existing home. Next I tried the general contractors. I managed, after numerous calls, to get three to agree to come and look at my problem. The first group of guys pulled in, took one look, and left so fast I thought they stole something. The second contractor gave me an exorbitant quote of 30 thousand dollars and explained that, “he was sure to run into unexpected problems” and had to “cover his ass” and that he “didn’t really want the job. The third guy wouldn’t give me a quote but agreed to work by the hour. He too had to “cover his ass”. Out of desperation and lack of options he was hired.
My contractor’s initial diagnosis had determined, among other things, that I had between ten and fifteen rotten logs on the back end of my house. Since I had insisted on buying the materials myself, it was my job to find replacement logs. After two days of research I found a company with the special hand hewn pine logs I needed. Unfortunately they cost 11 dollars per foot not including shipping. I could build with teak wood for that price! My contactor suggested that I go to a lumberyard and have them milled. “Will they do the hand-hewn thing?” I asked. He laughed, packed up his tools and said, “Call me when they are ready”. I paid two thousand dollars for the logs. I stripped the bark off every one by hand. I called my contractor back. He Quit.
Eventually I was able to find a new contractor. Unfortunately his diagnosis turned up the root of my rotten log problem. Leaky windows. “Log homes are known for this.” he said. “I pretty much knew when you called what I was going to find. The problem is with the flashing.” he explained, “It is really hard to install flashing correctly on a log home. Over time the water works its way around the windows and rots all the wood, logs included. What we have to do is replace all the windows.” I asked him what we could do to prevent any future water leakage. Vinyl siding was his answer.
Today our log home is warm, dry and all the bills have been paid. We have weathered the storm. With the sun coming up over the majestic pines, the newly refurbished cabin bids welcome to the day. The romanticist looks with wonder at the immaculate vinyl siding and the pristine replacement windows. As the sun climbs higher in the spring sky, his eye is drawn to a large, neatly stacked pile of hewn logs. Upon these logs the romanticist is surprised to see a hand printed sign. The sign reads: FOR SALE BY OWNER.

Outro # cause essay

2006-02-15T09:27:00.000-05:00

Today our log home is warm, dry and all the bills have been paid. We have weathered the storm. With the sun coming up over the majestic pines, the newly refurbished cabin bids welcome to the day. The romanticist looks with wonder at the immaculate vinyl siding and the pristine replacement windows. As the sun climbs higher in the spring sky, his eye is drawn to a large, neatly stacked pile of hewn logs. Upon these logs the romanticist is surprised to see a hand printed sign. The sign reads: FOR SALE BY OWNER.

Prompt # 4 -B

2006-02-12T12:07:00.001-05:00

To Whom It May Concern:
I have been a customer of yours for sometime now and I am very unhappy with my service of late. A couple of weeks ago I realized that I was not receiving a large number (250) of my e-mails. This is totally unacceptable. I depend on the timely delivery of e-mail to make my living. Your company’s lack of dependability has not only effected my livelihood, it has severely damaged my credibility with my colleagues. I do realize that any business can have problems on occasion but unfortunately, in my case, your customer service representatives were substandard at best. After first experiencing some problems, one of your service people instructed me to delete some files. I am sure your programmers would not be comforted to know that some sub-contracted video game addict, who is sitting home in his underwear doing bong hits, is giving your customers advice like this.
Obviously this so-called professional advice was totally wrong. Three weeks later another one of your representatives told me to reinstall the file and my mail finally began to arrive. In a technological world where I can Fed-X a brick to China in 24 hours, waiting three weeks for e-mail is ludicrous. It seems that in your world the "I" in ISP stands for "incompetent".
In closing I do not expect to hear a response you. I am sure you will have lost this e-mail or at best I will have to wait the prescribed three weeks for a response. We will both see if Verizon can do better.
Thanks for nothing,
Your former customer

Intro # 2

2006-02-12T10:25:00.000-05:00

In 1997 I bought a beautiful log home in Sidney Maine. I had the romantic notions that many people share about log homes. The strong and sturdy dwelling built from the fruits of the forest, is guaranteed to stand the test of time. Log homes symbolize a pioneer spirit, the need to be secluded from the city and the desire to be coddled in the arms of nature. Today, the romance is gone and all I have left are bills and horror stories. The culprit in these stories is the leaky window. This villain when given a little time leads to rotten logs, water damage, beetle infestation, two years worth of work and 25 thousand dollars worth of bills. The moral contained in these tales of woe is simple. Never buy a log home. The reasons for this are three fold:
Log home windows tend to leak
Replacement logs are hard to find and very expensive
After they are built no contractor wants to work on them

Intro # 1

2006-02-12T09:28:00.000-05:00

2006-02-08T14:54:00.000-05:00

Dryocopus pileatus

Freestyle # 4

2006-02-08T14:39:00.000-05:00

Wako and I discovered a Pileated Woodpecker ( Dryocopus pileatus) on our daily tote road adventure behind my house in Sidney. What a magnificent bird! I don’t know how long he/she had been working on the hole in the photograph but regardless the size and depth are impressive. Although we both heard the machine gun like hammering of the woodpecker, Wako was the first to spot it. He alerted his father (me) with the classic retriever point, one paw off the ground, nose held level and ridged, tail held high and proud. This must be an instinctual thing since Wako has had minimal training at best.
Now that we know what to listen for, we will keep everyone updated on this one bird wood-chipping machine.

Graf # 9

2006-02-08T13:33:00.000-05:00

Out of the three different cause essays I liked the one about Valentines Day the best.
I think that by clearly stating the three reasons outright we have a nice sturdy bridge over to the body of the essay. I didn’t particularly like any of the endings. Perhaps I am being over critical but I find that my own endings are also lame. I find myself trying to think up an ending even before I start my paragraphs. Is this bad in your opinion? I like your idea of going back to the beginning to look for ideas to include in the paragraphs ending. I really like the discriptives in the three supporting paragraphs of the Valentines Day essay. Most days I find my personal descriptive well to be as shallow as the gene pool in the town in which I live. I will try to drill deeper.
( Ps I think you missed my #7 Graf)

2006-02-08T13:28:00.000-05:00

Wako

Graf # 8

2006-02-04T14:18:00.000-05:00

One morning, as I left my camp to go fishing, my next-door neighbor yelled over to me.
“Hey, is what Frank tells me true?” “What now?” I reply. My neighbor continues, “He says that when ever you fish with live bait you make Sandy (my wife) bait the hook.” My neighbor laughs and I just shake my head. We both know that Frank is a bullshit artist.
The first day I met Frank was when my wife and I went to look at a camp that he had for sale. Frank told me that he had built the camp himself and had 50,000 dollars invested in it. (I later found out it was more like 20,000.) He then went on to point out that, although there was no well or septic system, he had priced them both out and the combined cost would be about 8,000 dollars. (It was more like 18,000.) We were both very pleased when I finally bought his camp. Frank thought he had bamboozled me into paying twice what his camp was worth and I was reasonably sure that I had just doubled my money. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, while taking care of some details before the closing on the camp, Frank offered me some advice. Stay away from the crazy lady and watch out for any small pets you might have. “The crazy lady owns those woods across the road.” Frank explained, “Her husband went missing a couple of years back and the police found him three months later dead in the woods. His head had been bashed in with a hammer. Even the tax assessor won’t go over to her house alone.” “What about the small pets?” I asked. “We have bald eagles up here.” Says Frank, “Last year one swooped down and snatched my dachsund right out of my yard. I found the poor little guy two days later with his eyes pecked out.”
During the last few years Frank and I have become pretty good friends. He still sticks to his stories about the crazy lady and the eagle. Perhaps the stories are true. Last year I was offered almost three times as much money as what Frank originally sold me his camp for originally. I don’t have the heart to tell him this. I don’t want to let money or a few exaggerated stories ruin our friendship. Besides, he knows all the good spots to hunt Jackalope.

Freestyle # 3

2006-02-04T11:05:00.000-05:00

A friend of my wife’s just called to ask for my award winning Tarragon Haddock Chowder recipe. Since I have to write it down anyway, I thought it might be nice to share.

2 lbs haddock (hake or cusk work fine too)
1 stick butter
2 med onions (diced)
3 stalks celery (diced)
2-3 med potatoes (cubed)
3 Tbl tarragon
1 can evaporated milk
3 cups half & half
Salt & pepper to taste

Boil cubed potatoes in a separate pan until soft. Do not over cook. Reserve some of the starchy water (3/4 cup)

Sauté celery and onions in butter until soft
Add fish, tarragon and potato water

Poach the fish gently until almost cooked thru

Add half & half, evaporated milk, cooked potatoes and salt&pepper

Slowly bring up to temperature. Do not boil.
Do your best not to break up the fish too much

You can also add scallops, clams or shrimp at the fish poaching stage.
Enjoy

Graf # 7

2006-02-04T10:15:00.000-05:00

The rabid coyote bares its deadly fangs. Yellow foam drips from the powerful jaws. The evidence of its disease. Tensing its muscles it prepares to strike. The woman stands alone.Her companion has fled. She draws her hunting knife and braces herself for the pending attack. She is ready.
This is the scenario that goes through my mind every time my wife says, “ I’m taking the dog for a walk” and then, for safety’s sake, grabs her hunting knife. The knife in question is an L L Bean hunting knife. The knife is 8 inches long and has all the features of a superior quality knife. Full tang, rosewood handle, stainless steel blade, and leather sheath. My wife is very possessive of her knife and has instructed me not to touch it on more than one occasion. “You have your own knives,” she says. She is correct. Unfortunately I don’t have any idea where “my” knives are. I do know however that “her” knife is, as always, strategically placed next to the back door. Just in case. Although my wife’s knife is impressive, I do not think it would be my weapon of choice if I were to be attacked by any of the numerous and deadly animals of Sidney, Maine. My dog Wako agrees with me. That is why he had the common sense to run home and get a gun.

Prompt Reaction # 2-5

2006-01-30T18:33:00.000-05:00

If my Harley could talk...

Hey you up stairs!! Yeah, I’m talking to you Sally! Get your butt down here and lets go for a ride. What??? Quit your whining about my parts falling off and get down here. Go into that closet of yours, find that tough-guy leather coat and lets get rolling. Are you listening up there? Hey man, I’m a Harley Davidson. The last thing I need is to be stuck in a basement next to a Honda. I represent America God damn it. Come on, you know you love that feeling of power and freedom. Acceeeleraaaaaaation! The noise, the wind in your hair, the call of the open road, excitement beckoning from around the next bend. That’s what it’s all about. Snow?? Have you ever heard of bike week? Daytona Beach? Pop me in the back of that pickup of yours and let’s go! Helmet? We don’t need no stinking helmet! Come on! Buck up Barbie! Hey, is your wife home? Let me talk to her, she loves to ride. Maybe she is the one in the family with some Moxie. If you don’t talk to me soon you are going to be sorry. Are you listening? Well are you?? Too late Buckwheat, there’s a nice puddle of oil for you to clean up. Hey, where are you going? I’m not through with you yet. Look, I’m tired of this sh*#, if you don’t get down here $#*^$#

Graf # 6

2006-01-30T18:24:00.000-05:00

How much is that doggie in the window?

I am 43 years old. I own a log home with vinyl siding. As a matter of fact I own a lot of things. I own a Harley that I never drive. I have a BowFlex I never use. I have CD’s I have never listened to and video games I have never played. I have a corker of a bass boat. This baby has a 50-horse power engine and moves right along. I prefer to use the trolling motor. This makes me smile. I know things. I know that the Chinese are buying up the world’s scrap metal to make the cheap frying pans that are sold at Wal-Mart. I know that this is causing a shortage of rebar. I also know that I like to fish. Although I enjoy eating fish I don’t like to clean them. I advocate catch and release. I also advocate libertarianism. I think that all drugs should be legalized. Let the proverbial chips fall where they may. Speaking of chips, I love Las Vegas! I also like New Orleans but it smells bad. Two of my best friends are Sausage and Vodka. They make me smile. They make my doctor frown. He says they are a bad influence on my cholesterol. He thinks that I should befriend oatmeal and light beer. I don’t particularly like my doctor. I also don’t particularly like country music, waiting in line, taxes, tow-truck drivers, strange people in my yard and left wing Democrats. I hate loggers. I can hear one out back right now. This makes me frown. Perhaps its time to pay a visit to my friend Vodka. He always has a little time for his old pal Duncan.

Graf # 5

2006-01-29T15:30:00.000-05:00

Big Trouble in River City

This couple should have their breeding rights revoked! While mom has been busy with her computer job and dad has been away on his hunting trips, the children have been forced to set their sights on some very unsavory role models. The first sibling is living in some sort of “ Fantasy World” where Harry Potter is the president and Stephen King is the “go-to-guy” for moral guidance. The next little angel is the most disturbing. Armed with Spiritual guidance from Don Paul’s Knife Bible and wholesome words of wisdom gleaned from Great Living in Grubby Times, he is looking forward to the day he can embrace the World with his Small Arms. At this very moment he is probably out in the back yard, (AR-15 in hand) getting ready to “off” anyone or anything that happens to infiltrate the perimeter. Fodor’s Las Vegas??? More like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas!
Of course all these assumptions could be wrong. Perhaps this couple is simply renting out a room to Hunter S. Thompson in order to earn a little extra money for a couple more “self-help” books.

Graf # 4

2006-01-29T13:07:00.000-05:00

Antique mahogany bookcase with three shelves
Dimensions approximately 4’x4’x1’
Shelves are full-overall appearance cluttered
The contents are listed from top to bottom, left to right and are as follows:
Top Shelf

· Five small paperback books piled one on top of the other, condition: used and titled as follows:
1. The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Victor Hugo
2. Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
3. Gulliver’s Travels – Johnathan Swift
4. The Invisible Man – H.G. Wells
5. Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
· 1 antique clock-2``x 2`` x ½``- green in color-paint chipped-face square-crystal intact-non working
· Two antique silver collapsible cups embossed with bicycles-tarnished
· 1 wooden box style turkey call
· 1 silver bowl- 2`` tall- 3`` in diameter- unadorned- tarnished
· 1 silver picture frame with photograph-frame is unadorned and tarnished
Photo depicts bride and groom- bride is stunningly beautiful-groom is devilishly handsome
· 1 clay statue of a gargoyle 3`` tall
· 1 metal tin of “Trout Tin Mints”- unopened
· 1 wooden book end with a carved raised relief of a man wearing a bowler type hat, trench coat and baggy pants-he has his hands in his pockets and faces to the left
The following items are between the bookend and the end of the shelf:
· 1 deck of UNO cards-unopened
· 2 decks of Bicycle Playing Cards- used

The remainder of the bookcase contains the following books listed by the following format: Title-Author-Type (hard-H or soft cover-S)
· Critters of Maine – Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (S)
· Log Cabins and How to Build Them – Swanson (S)
· Wild Turkeys: Hunting and Watching – Mettler (S)
· The Survival Handbook – Peter Darman (S)
· Birds of North America (Eastern Region) – Smithsonian Handbooks (S)
· The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook – Piven & Borgenicht (S)
· Set of 5 imitation leather bound books all (H)
1. The Game Rifle – Hagel
2. Bowhunting Big Game – Dietrich
3. NAHC Wild Game Cookbook
4. For Big Bucks Only – Murry
5. Hunting Whitetails Successfully – Fears
Middle Shelf
· Set of 3 imitation leather bound books all (H)
1. The Unabridged William Shakespeare
2. The Unabridged Edgar Allan Poe
3. The Unabridged Mark Twain – Volume 1
· Investing for Dummies – Tyson (S)
· Poker for Dummies – Harroch & Krieger (S)
· DOS for Dummies – Gookin (S)
· Idiots Guide to Networking – Wagner & Negus (S)
· A+ Certification for Dummies – Gilster (S)
· Casino Gambling – Roger Gros (S)
· Fodor’s Las Vegas (S)
· Great Living in Grubby Times – Don Paul (S)
· Set of books entitled Combat and Survival numbering 1 through 28 (H)
· The Lord of the Ring – J.R.R. Tolkein (H)
· History of Art – H.W. Janson (H)
· The Complete AR-15/M16 Sourcebook – Long (S)
· Sporting Rifle Take Down & Reassembly Guide 2nd Edition – J.B. Wood (S)
· Everybody’s Knife Bible – Don Paul (S)
· Redneck Dictionary – Jeff Foxworthy (H)
· The Field and Stream Shorting Sports Handbook – McIntyre (S)
· The Field and Stream Firearms Safety Handbook – Painter (S)
· Moby Dick – Herman Melville (H)
· The History of King Arthur and His Knights – H Pyle (H)
· The More than Complete Hitchhiker’s Guide – Douglas Adams (H)

Bottom Shelf
· Gun Trader’s Guide 24th Edition – Stoeger (S)
· Shooter’s Bible 2001 Edition – Stoeger (S)
· Small Arms of the World – Ezell (H)
· Assault Weapons – Jack Lewis (S)
· The Dark Tower – Stephen King (H)
· The Elric Saga Part I – Michael Moorcock (H)
· Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – Rowling (H)
· Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – Rowling (H)
· Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – Rowling (H)
· Last Chance to See – Adams and Carwardine (H)
· The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations 3rd Edition (H)
· Mostly Harmless – Adams (H)
· The Gunslinger – Stephen King (H)
· The Wastelands – Stephen King (H)
· Songs of Susannah – Stephen King (H)
· Wizard and Glass – Stephen King (H)
· The Elric Saga Part IV – Michael Moorcock (H)
· The Lone Drow – R.A. Salvatore (H)
· The Two Swords – R.A. Salvatore (H)
· The Earthsea Trilogy – Ursula K. Le Guin (H)
· Nineteen Eighty-four – George Orwell (S)
· M*A*S*H – Richard Hooker (S)
· Anthem – Ayn Rand (S)
· We The Living – Ayn Rand (S)
· Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck (S)

Graf # 3

2006-01-26T19:15:00.000-05:00

Being new to Blogging I expected to see a lot of boring journals, baby pictures and various rants. Instead I was surprised by the following:
1) The number of business that had Blogs
2) The sophistication of some of the graphics
3) The number of blogs in a foreign language
4) That all this is free

This exercise has opened my eyes to some of the different ways I can incorporate the internet into my every day life.
I found these Blogs to be of particular interest
http://www.pokerabby.blogspot.com/
http://budgetingbabe.blogspot.com/
http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/

Freestyle # 2

2006-01-26T11:20:00.000-05:00

I am very conscious about my age. I often wonder what my “slightly” younger classmates think when they see me wandering the halls or chain smoking in my car. So … for the sake of anyone who is curious, (which is doubtful) and for John, (who finds himself forced to read this drivel) I would like to post the following:

I would like start with a brief synopsis of my educational background. During the years of 1967 through 1976 I attended St Patrick’s Parochial School in Portland, Maine. In 1977 I received a full scholarship to attend Cheverus High School. Academic challenges were easily met however my troubled-teen lifestyle adversely affected my performance. I left Cheverus after two years and later got my GED.
At the age of 16 I started my first full-time cooking job. By the time I was in my early 20’s I had advanced through the ranks to the position of Chef. For the next fifteen years I worked at various places as a Restaurant Manager. Early in 1995 I decided to do some risk taking and opened my own business.
Being a Restaurateur had its drawbacks including extremely long hours, cash flow problems, equipment failures and disgruntled customers. Nevertheless I came to enjoy the sense of accomplishment that came from hard work and self-motivation. In 1999 I sold my restaurant (at a tidy profit) and re-entered the work force.
Over the next few years I found myself reconsidering self-employment. I began looking into starting another business but found that the influx of chain restaurants had created an unfavorable economic climate for this type of endeavor in the Augusta area.
I started to ask myself where my interests lie and what other self-employment opportunities were viable. Viola refrigeration! During my twenty plus years in the restaurant business I spent many hours troubleshooting and tinkering with refrigeration and heating problems. I arranged to do some job shadowing with a friend of mine in the refrigeration business and decided that this type of work appeals to me. I became unemployed at the end of September 2005 and now find myself with an opportunity to go back to school and pursue a career in Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning. I am looking forward to the challenges of a fresh start. The prospect of working for myself again is exciting and revitalizing. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks!

Graf # 2

2006-01-23T09:29:00.000-05:00

" I see that you decided to grace us with your presence today Mr. Kinney."

8:31 am: The sarcasm had begun and I was bearing the brunt. This was pretty much typical for Father Kane’s Geometry class. His monotone continued “Since the highest grade on yesterdays quiz was a D (pause for emphasis) I will be forced to back track (read- waste my time) and go over All of the material again”. My hero proceeded to write the following equation on the board:

x + yi (xu + yv) + (–xv + yu)i
------- = ------------------------
u + vi (xu + yv) + (–xv + yu)i

“Since we don’t know how Mr. Kinney would have fared on yesterdays quiz perhaps he would be kind enough to come forward and solve for “u”. " Mr. Kinney?”
I was clueless. After twenty minutes of lecture and two more guinea pigs, it became apparent that I was not the only one. At this point his frustration got the better of him.
Father Kane started smashing his wooden pointer against the board and screamed “What is wrong with you people? This is as plain as the nose on your face!” The math class that Father Kane taught was, what he termed, the second attempt at an experimental approach to Geometry. Our hero explained to us “although the first attempt failed, with my expert tutelage, the gifted student will be able to excel”. After a few questions to my homeroom teacher I was informed that Father Kane was indeed a certified “ mathematical genius”. Unfortunately even with “expert tutelage”, by a “mathematical genius” most of my “gifted” classmates failed Geometry that year.

Freestyle #1

2006-01-22T11:51:00.000-05:00

I just got back from walking my dog Wako. When Wako first arrived at our house, (my wife and I) he was such a little terrorist that I wanted to name him Osama bin Laden. This was well before 9/11, at a time when I was convinced that Osama was either a fictional character or someone who’s notoriety had been greatly exaggerated. Similar
perhaps to Zanfir “ World Renowned Master of the Pan Flute”. My wife nixed this idea,
(“Thank God”. My wife works for the government and the resulting background check could have been problematic.) and instead we settled on Wako. Why Wako? Well, Waco Texas of course! (Why did They pump that pond dry just before the fire?) In order to register a dog with the American Kennel Club, the dog must have a middle name. Wako Jackanapes (conceited young man) Kinney had arrived. (We’ll get back to the walk in freestyle # 2).

Prompt Reaction #1

2006-01-22T10:11:00.000-05:00

“ Alone in a quiet room. What do I see?”
I am sitting by myself in our spare bedroom. (This happens to be the room my computer is in). The walls and the ceiling are tongue and groove pine. They are finished with a “natural semi gloss stain” (I know this because my wife and I did the work ourselves). Although the room is quiet, the internal chatter in my head is deafening. The noise has been there all week. (It has been twenty some odd years since I have been in school and I am scared shitless). The walls of the room are hand hewn (not by my hand) pine logs. The logs themselves are very irregular in both length and width. They are mottled with an abundance of bark and knots. They have character. (At least I think so). The carpet in this room is something left over from the Eighties. It is shabby, stained
(hurricane flood damage) and dirty. It is begging to be replaced.
I am no longer alone.
Judging from the forlorn look on my dogs face it is time for me to end here and to go explore the mysteries of the tote road out back.

Graf #1

2006-01-18T09:41:00.000-05:00

My Hands

When I examine my hands I immediately see that my left hand has many more stories to tell than the right. Sure, the right hand exhibits qualities that, with a little deductive reasoning, can reveal a few things about myself. Dry skin (I heat with wood), dirty nails (grooming is not high on the priority list), nicotine stains (I smoke). Now I look to the left.
The index finger of my left hand is missing the tip, a fine example of stupidity. One afternoon, early on in my 28-year stint in the restaurant industry, I found my self with a French knife and a little down time. In an endeavor to amuse my self, I was chopping the ends off of four-inch long toothpicks in an effort to launch them over the end of the counter top. Field Goal! (I actually yelled this.) Instead of the extra point I ended up with blood loss, cauterization, a skin graph, thirteen stitches, and a life lesson about knife safety.
Thinking back to that time in my early twenties brings to mind the myriad of stupid things I have done over the years… Until once again I come back to that left hand.
The ring finger of my left hand has just that upon it, a ring. When I think back to the day I got married I start to recall all the positive things that have happened to me since then.
The marriage it self (best quality of life decision I have ever made), our dog Wako (the second best quality of life decision), our camp in Dexter, and the list goes on. In spite of their short fingers, dirty nails and dry skin, I like my hands. They are calloused with the memories of my life