Friday Morning.

Another crappy day outside. I look out the window and see wet and wind.

The other two thirds of the K family are asleep as I make this entry. But they will be up soon so I must type quick.

Life is alright for now but who knows for how much longer it will be. I have to mentally condition myself to not be so complacent. The bad economic news around the world has hit me on the fringes but not directly. If and when it does, I should have options.

The bus home last night was not as crowded as it usual is. It is usually more crowded when the weather is bad. Signs of what?

I have an afternoon of preparation and four classes at school today.

I was wondering where my umbrella went. It turned out that I had left it in the car going to Littelfuse.

Did I tell you my wife is a Buddhist? She told me last night. There is mini-controversy stirring because we didn't go to the Ling Shan Buddha on Wednesday. We will go, but not at my wife says is the best time.

I have never talked much to my wife about her religious beliefs. But then she has never asked me about mine.

Speaking of which what does an atheist say to the proposition that gratitude is the key component of happiness? I suppose the atheist might say a person should consider themselves lucky.

Saturday Night Whatevers.

• The wife's been sick the past two days. She began to not feel well at the Christmas Party that was held at the school. She complained about having chills and a headache. Going to work today, I worried that she had enough energy to make it through the day.
• Meanwhile, Tony has an eye infection. Crusty crap (I can't think of the name of the stuff) is forming in his eyes.
• Tony loves to dip his hands in water. Today, he had a good time with our water machine, getting his hands all wet and then running to the couch.
• Tony can pronounce "Ma, Ma" very clearly. Tonight, he chanted "Ma, Ma" like a boy playing with a newly discovered toy.
• Some days, you wonder why you go to work. Today was a day that made me rethink my assumptions.
• How did Bernard Madoff get away with for so long as he did? There were people saying all along that he was pulling a scam. But these people weren't the regulators who Madoff probably also conned. Madoff, being a former NASDAQ chairman, had no problem fooling the SEC. Milton Friedman observed that when the government needs help in regulating industries, it of course goes to people in the industry itself to "help" regulate.
• I haven't been smoking much lately. I can't afford to and I really have to stop bumming smokes. Today, I can say I didn't have any, though last night I bummed four. The lack of smokes has made me feel snarkier than usual.
• Lucky me. I had a seat on the bus both to and from work.
• I listen to the latest edition of Radio Derb which I download from Itunes every Saturday. Today, I downloaded it at work and was able to listen to it on my way back home. Derb's big thought was about the U.S. no longer being a simple commercial republic. When Harry Truman finished his presidency, he had to take out a loan to get the time to write his memoirs. Bill Clinton, as an ex-president, is raking in the dough getting tribute from sultanates and leaders all over the world.
• The inauguration of the Big O will probably attract a crowd of 2 to 4 million people. The Big O if he had any decency, could try and stop this Nuremberg type rally with all its expense from happening by swearing himself in at the registrar's office. I have never watched an inauguration before and I certainly won't be watching this one. I have enough gas as it is.
• I was watching the movie made about the original Woodstock Music Festival tonight. Some of what I saw revolted me. I must be too conservative for my own good. Clearly, people took their wealth for granted and decided to become barbarians. The Love and Peace that was on display at the festival wouldn't have lasted much past the three days of the festival because people have to eat and clothe and bathe themselves. People can be happy together when they don't have to work, but when there is work to be done and human laziness makes an appearance.... Some of the music wasn't bad. The two songs I saw performed by the Who were dynamite. But I couldn't getting around all the people behaving abominably. One kid was interviewed and though he acknowledged that his immigrant parents had done a lot to raise him, his attitude to this was "so what" and he wanted a freedom his parents were too square to understand.
• I went to a nearby grocery store to buy eggs and I couldn't help by be disgusted by these two men smoking as they waited in line to make a purchase. Now, I am no anti-smoking fascist. People complain about smokers ruining their health, and I complain about anti-smoking health-fascists ruining my soul (thanks to the Derb for that thought). But there is a line that smokers should not cross as those men I saw tonight did.
• I don't follow the NHL much anymore, but I was interested to hear about the Black Hawks playing an outdoor hockey game in Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. I saw the setup of the rink on the field though, and I wonder how anyone in the stands would be able to see any action.
• The wife tells me it will be cold tomorrow. The past few days, I have been feeling over-dressed.

Short Day.

Tuesday is a long day; Wednesday's a short one. I don't start till one this afternoon.

Tony was the first person up among the Kaulins family this morning annoying the other members, especially Father Kaulins. FK was feeling G because the W has become Cer.

The peace process may start tonight, but like other roads to peace, I am pessimistic.

Tony, the little bugger, knows how to open those safety latches we put on drawers in hopes of stopping him from getting into things that he shouldn't.

Rainy weather will mean a wet ride to work for me.

Get out of the drawers Tony! Why is it the young mind prefers disorder to order?

I am in a quandry about my Halloween costume. It will have an Economic crisis theme to it. Some have told me that the Chinese wouldn't see the joke in it. But it is the only idea I have for Halloween and it is too late to change it.