The Twelve Days of Christmas (Cake)

On the First Day of Christmas, we received a lovely cake!

On the Second Day of Christmas, we ate a yummy slice!

On the Third Day of Christmas, already half was gone!

On the Fourth Day of Christmas, we still had quite a bit!

On the Fifth Day of Christmas, we're down to just a slice!

On the Sixth Day of Christmas, we only had a bite!

On the Seventh Day of Christmas, we saw it's going fast!

On the Eighth Day of Christmas, how long can it go?

On the Ninth Day of Christmas, it's running very low!

On the Tenth Day of Christmas, we still had half a speck!

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas, now there's just a fleck!

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, alas! There was no more!

IT WAS WONDERFUL!! Thank you, Kate V.!

Aunt Margaret's 85th Birthday Party

Aunt Margaret's kids - Paula, Wally and Bill - planned up a surprise party for her 85th birthday.

Aunt Gertie and Uncle Bob came from Huntsville.

Gertie and Edwina planned out their route to visit Grandad Martin tomorrow.

Edwina and Diana May came from Houston.

Here is Aunt Margaret (second row, second from left) surrounded by relatives.

A Visit From Naomi and Danielle

Danielle and Naomi came over to spend the evening. We made some playdoh cookies.

We layed around.

We watched videos under the big blanket.

We dressed up fancy for a party. (The vaporizer was a special guest.)

We ate bread in the tub. (That doesn't work very well.)

Great GrandDad

We went to see a vestibular balance doctor at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. GrandDad did some hearing and balance testing, and was a star pupil.

We got back home in time to get a salad to go with his frozen soup for dinner.

Next time, we get to see Patty, the Vestibular Balance Rehab Expert of the World.

Grandvisit East

When we arrived, John treated us to his latest tricks on the rings. Over the concrete floor. With obsticles. Without padding. (!)

Christopher is still a real charmer.

Scooting for the Prize!

John spent a night with us at the motel.

Christopher is figuring out how sunglasses work.

Sometimes, he gets tired. His blanket is his energy replenishment source.

The Natchez Trace

So we loaded up the minivan, and headed for the Natchez Trace.

Here is a little history of the Trace. In short, it started as a foot trail from Natchez to Nashville.

Here is kind of what it might have looked like at some time. Except for us.

The trail went past lots of interesting areas.

Like this very swampy place.

And this gift shop. We bought a compass and a bird.

The Natchez Trace Parkway is what you actually drive on. It is a wonderful two lane road through beautiful country, with no billboards, gas stations, Walmarts or suburbs. Very pleasant and relaxing - as long as you aren't trying to get somewhere in a hurry!

At this time of the year, the road was almost empty except near towns where it is used by local traffic.

Naomi the Tornado

We met Jenny, Naomi and Danielle at Chik-Fil-A for a get-together.

First, we ate.

And we drank.

And then, Naomi did her Human Tornado trick. It was very exciting.

Afterwards, we walked over to Pet Smart for a visit.

We looked at fish, guinea pigs, gerbils, mice, rats, cats, stuffed toys, and lots of other stuff, and took a bunch of blurry photos that are not worth posting.

It was fun to see everyone!

Trick 'er Treat

Once again, we put on our usual effort to support the Halloween tradition. No, we didn't get to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! We did Trick or Treat.

Mainly, I sat in a chair by the front walk and harassed small children as they came by.

First, after their introductory chant of "Tricker Treat!", I ask them "What does that mean? What does it mean when you say Trick or Treat?"

Almost without fail, I get a blank look of incredulity and confusion. Then, upon pressing for an answer, I usually hear something lame like "It means give me some candy." Poor lost generation. Next year, I may start holding Trick-or-Treat classes, to restore the concept of retaliatory trickery to the treatery.

We did have some cute visitors this year.

There was a little policeman, who could only say "ta cue".

The Mario Brothers, and Sister...

Two Musketeers...

And probably the most accurate portrayal of Dorothy and Toto (live, about the size of a large rat) I've seen:


None of them seemed very frightened by the nearby spooky Halloween bats.

Shredder Fun

We recently added a lot of shredded paper to our compost heap (it's too disorganized to call it a 'pile'.) Naomi decided that it is actually meant for playing in.

We (repeatedly - 4 year old style) filled a flowerpot with shreddings.
Then we dumped it out like beach sand, to form a cake.

Then we sat on the cake to squash it flat.

And completed the cycle by throwing it all up in the air like a snow storm.

Danielle loved it.

Later, she investigated the 'plastic stuff' section of the kitchen cabinets.

And found some tools to her liking.

We all had fun.

Travel Plan

When we go to Clemson week after next, I think the Natchez Trace Parkway will be our 'New Leisurely Travel Style Interesting Place to Visit.'

Here's a possible route.

Heli Video

The mini-video camera finally got mounted on the helicopter. It's the white blob underneath the tail.

Here is a view of the heli and camera, looking from underneath.
This is a 1 1/2 minute video made up of segments of a 9 minute flight. The major scenes are:

Takeoff

Brief cameo of the pilot

Top of the house

Top of the oak tree in front

Driveway and neighbor's nice landscape area

Top of the John Michael/Naomi tree in back

Not very smooth landing

It's Been A Busy Week Or So

We visited with Great Grandad a few times.Our friends Ken and Judy were in Dallas, in between their work for Wycliffe Bible Translators in Kenya and their new project in Vietnam which they start next May.

Since they were in town, our friends and theirs, Gene and Candice, came over from Slidell, LA for a visit.
Naomi and Danielle came to spend the night. We watched some videos.
And we talked and visitied. Gene and Candice were here, too.
When it was time for Gene and Candice to load their car to head home, Danielle helped.
Winston is Gene and Candice's little dog. He rides in the back seat.
Naomi told Winston goodbye.
Then we all did the Horn Family Goodbye Wave.
We had a nice sunset. It was a busy week or so.

Helicopter Crash in McKinney

There was a minor helicopter crash near a home in south McKinney this afternoon. The pilot apparently lost control of the aircraft, and it dove into a bush next to the front window of the house.

The owner of the house, who was home at the time, said "I saw it coming at me at a high rate of speed, and I wasn't sure what to do, so I just stood there and watched it crash." The other occupant of the home was overheard telling the pilot "I don't think you can afford to keep doing that."

Fortunately, the tiny passengers of the helicopter were all made of plastic, so there were no fatalities. The remains of the aircraft were repaired and test-flown later in the evening. The bush is expected to recover.

I Don't Do Free Surveys

Ok, I've had it. From now on, when someone calls with a cheerful "Howdy Do, would you answer a few questions" my answer will be "Yes, if you pay me. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions and give personal information for free. Can you use Paypal to deposit money in my account?"

My rate will be $60 per hour.

Why is it always midnight...

... by the time I finish my blog??!

The Shallows by Nicholas Carr

I just finished the book The Shallows - What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains.

Nicholas Carr is a well-respected writer/blogger. His previous books are The Big Switch and Does IT Matter?

First, I urge any parent of a pre high-school child to read this book (this means you, my daughters!) Prepare your child to defend his or her humanity against the world of electronic media!

While the onrush of computer/net technology is pervasive and probably unstoppable, it is not without hidden dangers. Not the kind most people think of - evil people trying to seduce children and so forth. Carr carefully lays the groundwork for the last chapter of his book, which succinctly summarizes the problem: as we humans get more comfortable and reliant on our information processing tools, our brains get better at interfacing with the machines. Getting better means our brains change to be more adept at dealing with multiple continuous streams of snippets of information, resulting in broader but shallower thinking skills. At the same time, the overloading of our 'working memory' (where our brain stores the most recent thoughts and sensations) crowds out time for contemplation, assimilation, correlation and storing of deeper thinking. And, worse yet, the parts of our mind that make us most distinctively human - compassion, sympathy, morality, appreciation of the state of other persons' emotions - take time to work through their thought processes. The Net's 'intellectual ethic' doesn't permit that time.

The final paragraph of the Epilogue particularly struck me with its dark prediction using an illustration very familiar to me. Carr summarizes the closing scene of the movie 2001 - A Space Odyssey, in which the astronauts shut down the computer HAL's mind. "HAL's outpouring of feeling contrasts with the emotionlessness that characterizes the human figures in the film, who go about their business with an almost robotic efficiency... In the world of 2001, people have become so machinelike that the most human character turns out to be a machine. That's the essence of Kubrick's dark prophecy: as we come to rely on computers to mediate our understanding of the world, it is our own intelligence that flattens into artificial (therefore inhuman*) intelligence."

* my insertion. Also, as I remember it, there was only one astronaut left.

Carr references two books which I intend to read:

Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man by Marshall McLuhan

Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgement to Calculation by Joseph Weizenbaum

The Texas State "Fry" (aka "Fair")

It appears the big hit this year is Deep Fried Frito Pie.

Has anyone thought of Deep Fried Barbeque Chicken yet? (or pork, or beef of course...)

If it appears at next year's Fair, I hope I get a royalty.