Changing the belt on our vacuum cleaner
Mar 31, 2008
Have you ever noticed how some things that should be simple are often quite difficult? Take for instance the routine task of putting a new belt on our vacuum cleaner. You would think that after all these years the vacuum cleaner manufacturers would have devised a quick and easy way to change the belt, but [...]
I’ll never get Cheria to ride the “London Eye” after this!
Mar 31, 2008
At 443 feet, the London Eye is the world’s tallest “Ferris Wheel” in Europe and one of the tallest on the planet. That means that Cheria (who is deathly afraid of heights) likely would have never gotten on it anyway, but after she finds out what happened last Tuesday there will no longer be any [...]
Singing in the shower
Mar 30, 2008
As a young boy I enjoyed watching the old “Flintstones” cartoon series – you know, the one with Fred, Wilma, Barney, Betty, Pebbles, Bam-Bam and Dino. Most of my memories of that iconic show have long faded away, but one episode has stuck with me all these years. This particular show started out with Fred, [...]
Satellite Television
Mar 28, 2008
These days we take all of those ubiquitous satellite dishes we see on rooftops and lawns across America for granted, but I can remember a time when it was just a dream for rural folks who had a hard time getting decent reception on their TV sets. Back in the 1970′s we lived “up in [...]
Reflecting on “Hog Thief Creek”
Mar 27, 2008
Some of my most enduring childhood memories of my dad are of the times he would drive our family down the narrow country road that followed a stream known as “Hog Thief Creek”. The name of the creek intrigued me from the start, and every time we went down that road I would ask him [...]
First mowing of the season
Mar 27, 2008
Well, it’s that time of year again. Late March is when the grass really begins to grow here in southwestern Virginia, requiring us to dust off the lawnmower and get to work. I was hoping to put off the first mowing of Spring 2008 a little longer, but after looking at my mom’s yard I [...]
“Red Light Cameras” make intersections more dangerous
Mar 21, 2008
The premise is simple: If drivers know they’ll get an automatic ticket if they run a red light, they’ll be more careful when approaching an intersection. But that premise is also apparently flawed. Study after study has shown that “Red Light Cameras” are actually causing more accidents and serious injuries than they are preventing, [...]
When “Pastors” abuse the pulpit
Mar 21, 2008
The controversy surrounding Barack Obama’s pastor Jeremiah Wright brings to mind several questions: 1 – How can a “pastor” preach partisan politics from the pulpit without prompting the IRS to strip his church of its tax exempt status? 2 – How can a “pastor” stand in the pulpit and repeatedly take the Lord’s name [...]
