Some of you may recall that last halloween I carved a giant pumpkin for the first time. It was great fun and I look forward to carving more pumpkins in the future (the pumpkins might not be so happy). I've found a website with the most astounding carved giant pumpkin I've seen. You have to see this thing. Also, I was surprised to find a Giant Pumpkin Carving webring. But given the nature of the Internet, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised at all.

Hey Howdy.

Ever listen to Rush Limbaugh? I never did. But in Las Vegas, the city with no 24hr news radio, sometimes you're forced to listen to him to gleam a bit of news. This has been especially true for me in the last few days since 9-11. Alas, that too may be coming to an end. Rush appears to have lost his hearing. This is sad, I don't wish this sort of thing on anybody. I wonder if he'll be able to continue on without the use of his hearing. Longtime listeners have written and said they've noticed his voice has changed, which he says is probably due to the fact that he can't hear himself anymore. He certainly won't be able to have heated discussions or in-studio guests. Seems like his options are limited.

Not that I'd put him in the same catagory, but Rush now shares the fate of one of my favorite people in American History-- Thomas Alva Edison.

Good friend Chuck is spending a few relaxing days with us right now. As it happens Good friend Terri is also in town, so what better cause than to go get some good food at Hush Puppy. It's near Rainbow on Charlston and has been there for 34 years. It's operating hours are 5pm to 10pm, and there are lines out the door that whole time, which tells you they must have something good going.

Had a great time story swapping and eating catfish and hushpuppies. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Also of note, I picked up a 25 pound block of WED clay and am now looking forward to sculpting it. My 3D skills are better than my 2D skills, so I'll try and document my process and keep you updated.

At work we have Wednesday sales meetings at 4:30. Usually they're in the office, but from time to time they like to go out to a bar and have a few drinks while discussing events of the week. This is great fun, but there is so much smoke in the air by the time I leave an hour later my throat is sore and I'm feeling wheezy. So, do I ask them to move these meetings to non-smoking areas? In Las Vegas, that generally means to a non-bar location. It also means that my boss won't be able to smoke during the meeting.

major grrr! Even with the accessibility of the internet, cableTV has become my window to the world following the horrible events of September 11th. And, as of right now, the cable is down. So I did the sensible thing, I called COX communications to find out what the deal-e-o was. Alas, they are even less informed and capable to do anything than the phone company is. Although they knew the system was down, and techs had been dispatched, they couldn't give me an ETA or even a phone call when my service came back up. They couldn't even verify for me that techs were actually on scene and not just planning to show up at some later point. These monopoly's should have mandated levels of customer service or be forced to refund a portion of their bills.

Last night we had a couple of visitors over. One brought an Ostrich egg she had done a relief carving of a sunflower on. She says the going market rate for a good egg is $500. I can see why, it was beautiful. She's getting her training at Two Cows studio, right here in Vegas.

Hey... the cable is back on!

Am back from CA with two days of work under my belt. Nothing to show for it, however. Stacey has been busy studying and decorating the house for Halloween. While we were gone one neighbor had decorated their home, so the pressure is on up and down the cul-de-sac to get into the spirit. Christmas decoration is going to get brutal. :-)

One of the e-lists I'm on has a wonderful collection of personalities, historians, political observers, etc.. Today someone posted a link to a story on their website. It has a unique view of the 'recovery' effort in NYC.

Another day another blogger...

The Fiance and I are taking off for a friends wedding in LA. So we'll be on the road in a few minutes. Even with all the great airfare discounts it is still cheaper to drive than to fly and rent a car. Not that I'm afraid of flying. If I had the dough, I'd be in the air to WDW or NYC right now. We still have our Tix to PDX in November and we plan to go.

The lack of tourists and, more so here, business travelers has hurt the travel and tourism industry. I don't know if Vegas will ever completely recover. This really sucks for me as I was days away from an interview at a strip property, and now they're not hiring at all.

Star Trek Enterprise
New show, with old plots, sounds good
First show a good start.

Saw the two hour pilot for ST:E last night. It's going to take some time to get used to the new faces and their personal story lines. I can barely remember the captain's name... Archer, I think. But, the plot was good. I'm just a little worried that it had too many in jokes for trekkers to see and not enough explanation for the new viewers (like all of today's youth). I was also impressed with the special effects. I'd like to see a few episodes shot in HD Widescreen (like ER has been doing). s

But mostly, I'm happy the show won't conflict with The West Wing. =)

Everyone has been saying how the Taliban has installed such a different world view in their people that there is no chance of reaching peace between us. In this interview a spokesman claims that in American supported countries "If someone follows the path of Islam, the government arrests him, tortures him or kills him." Well, this is true if the brand of Islam they follow calls for the murder of Americans and other innocents. This is true if it strips people of their basic human rights. But it is obviously not true if you follow the true peaceful path of Islam as there are millions of followers of Islam here in the USA. None of whom are tortured. None of whom are killed, unless convicted by a court of law.

Btw, I forgot to mention that I made my first sale for "Around Your Home" magazine yesterday. If you're inclined to give Premere Images Jewelry any business please tell them you saw their ad in "Around Your Home" magazine.

'Twas an uninteresting day. Called about 100 locations and only got one interview. Very few nibbles in todays market, let alone any one wanting to place ads in our magazine. Working totally on commission sucks. Hopefully it will start paying dividends soon.

Stacey made some more cupcakes. She's been a baking mood and I've gained 5 pounds over the last couple months. But I'm trying to eat better these days, not eat anything within a few hours of going to bed, and walking at least a couple hours a week. Eventually I'll start bike riding again. Who knows, next time you see me I could be skinny as I was in HS again, which is to say slightly plump. =)

I've been trying to write more these days as well. I am, however, not happy with what I'm producing. It's missing something: description, motivation, what have you... but maybe I'm one of those people who can't read his own work without being too critical of it. If you'd like to read what I'm writing email me and I'll send you some of my recent stuff.

It's Sunday and the official period of mourning is over. Flags should be flying at full staff again and maybe people can get back to living their lives as close to normal as this new world paradigm will allow. On the Val-L reading list I read a post about how this war is very much like a short cut to the unified economic market place that groups like the WTO and G8 have been building toward. Let us hope that along the way the humans that occupy these natural resource rich areas aren't forgotten.

If we follow our forces with a new Marshall plan to rebuild these destroyed parts of the world (many destroyed since long before WWI) then there might be hope.

In my personal life, I am affected in that trying to sell ads in a recession is very difficult... and the position I was hoping to get to provide some cash flow is no longer and that company has now laid off hundreds of people. So people! hurry up and come back to Vegas.

The New York Times is working hard to become the paper of record again (having lost its title to the various news sources on the internet a while ago). This story on Bush's feeling that God has called him to his cause is a good one and will no doubt be quoted time and again in future books about this period in time.

It's a little scary at how Bush might be running on what he feels is his date with destiny, but at the same time it is reassuring that there is someone in charge who is willing to do what it takes to 'bring freedom to the world.' Yes, I've been slowly falling into the Pax Americana camp. I thought we could do it through more peaceful means, but the actions of a few Terrorists have forced us to move quicker to establish encampments of everlasting freedom in every nation across the planet. Either you are for freedom, or your for fear, said Bush. When it comes right down to it, this is truth. Love each other like brothers, or be prepared to be slain like enemies. I'm still developing my thoughts on this issue, but I think we must face this thread now, or face it later.

Nothing brings it home like Liza Minneli singing NewYork-NewYork with a kick line of New York's finest behind her. Nobody does it weirder.

Over the course of the week I've read about 50 weblogs from people in
NYC. This, by far, is the most powerful.

http://partygirl.diaryland.com/index.html

You will have to hit previous a number of times until you get to 9-11
and then read forward in time.

The first story I've read from a firefighter's perspective.

This article draws an interesting parralel between the War of 1812 and our present situation.

I've also heard people discuss the ties between fighting Terrorism and the fight against Pirates that Jefferson led during the early days of our country's history.

Any thoughts from people more familiar with these situations than I?

Why did people jump?

I am not a religous man anymore. Whatever happened on Tuesday was outside the realm of the spiritual or the work of any god. Still, I was raised Catholic and have some familiarity with its words and music. This hymn has always given my comfort in times of tremendous sorrow. I hope it helps you as well.

On Eagle's Wings

You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord,
Who abide in his shadow for life.
Say to the Lord: "My refuge;
My rock, in whom I trust.

And He will raise you up, on eagle's wings;
Bear you on the breath of dawn;
Make you to shine in the sun,
And hold you in the palm of His hand.

You need not fear the terror of the night,
Nor the arrow that flies by day.
Under His wings your refuge;
His faithfulness your shield.

And He will raise you up, on eagle's wings;
Bear you on the breath of dawn;
Make you to shine in the sun,
And hold you in the palm of His hand.

For to His angels He's given a command;
To guard you in all of your ways.
Upon their hands they will bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

And He will raise you up, on eagle's wings;
Bear you on the breath of dawn;
Make you to shine in the sun,
And hold you in the palm of His hand.

And He will raise you up, on eagle's wings;
Bear you on the breath of dawn;
Make you to shine in the sun,
And hold you. . .
And hold you. . .
And hold you. . .
Hold you in the palm of His hand

My heart goes out to all the victims and rescuers who were killed or injured by this attack.

Ooof. So what does this mean? Are we at war? Who is the enemy? Can we overcome the terror and fear they meant to install and find a measured response to this? Or will this escalate?

All questions waiting to be answered.

Okay. The 4th was my birthday and I made off with some good loot. Mostly dough, which is really appreciated at this time. But also the Disney Monopoly game. It's very cute, I like almost everything but the layout confuses me. None of the properties really go together like the original Monopoly game. btw, I didn't win the first game.

In other news, I landed a job today. It's a commission base position selling advertising for a new, but really good magazine. Check out their website at allthatwork.com.