Immigration Day / Shopping Day

Ok, so come Monday morning, supposedly, all the immigrants are suppose to "walk out" to show us all how important they are. This is suppose to be in response to the tougher laws that have been looked at on illegal immigration.

I don't get what the big deal is for many of these people that have their pannies in a wad. All of this stuff is about illegal immigration, not legal. I have no problem with legal immigration. Shoot, unless you are an American Indian, you're an immigrant. What the law makers are doing is trying to crack down on those that don't follow the legal process and sneak into the country.

If you go to the Immigrant Solidarity web page, you'll find this on their front page along with other stuff.

May 1, 2006: Call to Action!

"El Gran Paro Americano 2006" "The Great American Boycott 2006"

"Un dia sin immigrante" "A day without an immigrant"

Nationwide General Immigrant Strike!
Wear White T-Shirt at May 1st!

We are clling No Work, No School, No Sales, and No Buying, and also to have rallies around symbols of economic trade in your areas (stock exchanges, anti-immigrant corporations, etc.) at May 1st to protest the anti-immigrant bill.

Again, the laws are concerning illegal immigrants, not legal immigrants. Of course, I could be wrong, there may be some things in there to make it harder for immigrants to come into the US. But in a day where people come into our country, and then try to hurt us, I can understand that.

I also think charging illegal immigrants with a felony is a bit harsh, but from what I've heard, that is really the only thing that I don't like in these bills.

Anyway, I got an email today that suggested everyone go shopping on May 1st. Here are some excerpts:

They hope to show that they have an impact on our economy, they hope to hurt American business, they hope to emotionally and economically blackmail us into submission.

So what can we do? All Americans who support LEGAL immigration but demand that all immigrants RESPECT our law are asked to act on May 1st. Wear RED or BLUE that day (They will be wearing white), and go SHOPPING.

...

Wear red or blue to show your pride in your country, and your opposition to weak border and amnesty legislation. And GO SHOPPING!

I personally like this idea.

Flood Watch Issued

We have been in a drought for I don't know how long. A Flood Watch has just been issued.

We so need this rain. Monday's storms raised Skiatook lake about a foot, but it was still 6 feet below normal. The swimming beach at Tall Chief Cove was still closed. Hopefully this storm system will help.

Crazy weather.

Zoo Trip

Yesterday my wife and I got to go with our son on a field trip to the zoo.

It was a lot of fun.
There were a lot of parents there to help out. I was glad to see several dad's there as well as moms.

It was a very enjoyable day.
We had a boy and girl with us along with our son. I was glad I went. I was concerned about going. Kids can get on my nerves pretty easily, but I didn't have any real problems. At lunch, I did get on to one of my boys friends cause he was calling a girl next to him names.

Once the kids got there and got off the bus we took our group and went around. We had a scavenger hunt list to go through to help keep it educational for the kids, but still have fun.

We got to see a good part of the zoo before we had to meet for lunch. All the different groups met at the picnic area for lunch. There were a few of us...


We were not the only school at the zoo that day. There were groups from at least 2 other schools there! It wasn't bad unless you were in one of the buildings, then it got a bit more crowded, but it still wasn't bad.

After lunch, we got to go to the rain forest.



After we met back with the teachers and the rest of the kids to drop off our extra kids and sign our boy out, we stayed at the zoo a bit longer. He got to play at the play ground. We decided we would head to the see lion show. On the way, we walked by some of the monkeys, and we were standing in front of a glass window watching a couple, and my boy was eating his fruit snacks. Well, the monkey saw him and he wanted his snacks. We had too much fun.



After laughing real hard, we went to the sea lion show.


We walked around a bit longer, then finally head out.


After we left, we headed to Ted's Escondido for dinner, we got there between 4:30 and 4:45 (closer to 4:45 I think), and got seated right away. No wait. I almost didn't know what to do.

It was a wonderful day!

Field Trip

Tomorrow, my son's class is going on a field trip. To the zoo actually.

I love the zoo. Always have. I don't go as much as you would think.

My wife and I will be going along to help out. (Assuming my wife feels up to it, she was sick, last night and today).

I hoping for a good time. I'm not sure how I'll do with THAT many 5-6 year olds in one place hehe

Birds & yard work

After church today, my wife and I went out to trim back out forsythia bush. It was over-grown 6 years ago when we moved here. I've trimmed it once, but just a light trim. Today, we hacked it.

We didn't hack it a much as we had planned because we ran across a nesting bird with eggs. And we didn't want to disturb them. Once the eggs hatch and fly away, well finish it off.

I also took a wack at a pine tree we had in the yard. The lower limbs are all over the ground making mowing very difficult. Plus, it just didn't look very good (plus my wife wanted those lower limbs gone) . So, we had basically finished with the forsythia bush, so off to the pine tree I went. Well, I finally got the lower limbs removed, but I really needed a bow saw. And since I didn't have one, I'll go back out and get some of those limbs a bit closer to the trunk of the tree.

In the process, I ended up getting pine sap on my arm. Specifically, my arm hairs. It is very, very sticky. Have you ever tried to get sap off arm hairs? Well, I tried one of the orange cleaners. Didn't work. I tried Dawn dish soap. I put some on, let it soak. Didn't work.
I finally tried some of the hand cleaner I use when I get grease and oil from working on the car. That took it right off. So, remember, hand cleaner you can get at any automotive store will take tree sap off your skin and hair.

Back to the birds. I'm trying to figure out what kind they are. They are a reddish brown to me. There are two of them which means the male stays around. It made a twig nest in the forsythia bush. I first thought the eggs were gold, but I looked later, and they may just be whitish with dark colored spots. I'm going to try to get some pictures soon.

Well, I'm sore and tired. I think I'm off to bed.

Soccer

We had a game today. As usualy, the kids are getting better. They seem to get better each game.

It was a good game, and not just because we actually tied. But because we played a team who's coach tries to do the same things I do. Teach the kids how to play soccer, and have fun.

Too many people forget that is what sports are really about.

Silly Car

So, as I've said before, my car was acting up this morning.

I was afraid it might be the transmission, so I called my mechanic, and made an appointment for Friday morning. I just took the car down there, and had absolutely no problems with it. None at all.

So, either I've completely lost my mind, or it's going to be one of "those" problems.

I decided to leave it down there and let him take a look at it anyway.

We'll see what he has to say I guess.

Planting

I finished planting my garden tonight.

I got my okra, some mint and sweet basil planted today.

The mint and basil I've planted in pots.

While out shopping with my wife, I picked up a soaker hose at Big Lots. I put it around the peppers, tomatoes, and okra. Then I gave it all a nice good soaking.

Wont be long now.

Yummy!

I don't think so

My car was acting up today, so I ended up taking the day off.

I went with my wife who also had the day off shopping. First stop was Goodwill.

She loves this store. Other than the amount of money it saves me when she goes shopping, could care less.

I was perusing, just seeing what junk they have and see if anything just jumps right out at me.

One thing did. What do I see on the shelf but an athletic supporter.

That is something you just shouldn't buy second, um, hand.

More Garden updates

Last night, I got my cucumbers planted. 2 different types this year.

One is the same as last year that everyone commented was so good. The other is a new type I'm trying that says it is good for pickling (which my whole family loves).

Now, I just have to get my okra in the ground and I'll basically be done.

Stupid People

I saw a signature today that I just had to share

I'm not saying there should be capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we remove all the warning stickers from everything and let nature take its course?

This is just too good!

Sounds like a plan to me.

Pain and Hope

I know several people that are going through a lot of pain right now.

One has lost her faith and trust in someone close to her.

One has lost trust with those around her.

One has had his heart broken.

People turn to so many different things when they are in pain. Some turn inward, others turn to friends, some turn to other things.

Some turn to God.

Sometimes, people give their problems to God, and then promptly take their worries back!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD , 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" - Jeremiah 29:11

Jeremiah was hurt and in pain too. But God was there to truly comfort him. And like Jeremiah, God does have plans. He has plans for all of us, if we want to hear them or not. Willing to listen or not. He truly has plans to prosper each one of us. (not necessarily monetarily, but prosperity.)

Remember, it is ok to hurt. Pain is something we all deal with. Remember to share your pain with those close to you, but remember to give it to God (and let him keep it).

You have hope.
God has given you hope!
God has given you a future!

Gardens Etc

Title sounds like a name of a store.

My garden is doing pretty well. It wont be long till we are eating lettuce from our garden. The spinach is starting to go. The cilantro is about to bolt I think. And the peas are doing well. Last week, my wife picked up a square collapsible tomato cage. I took it a part and opened it so the peas could climb on it. But it only did one row. So, I went today, and got 2 more so I could get the peas to climbing. While I was at Atwoods, I also picked up a gate to go behind the pond, 2 roma tomato plants, 2 jalapeno plants, and 2 Rutger's Select Heirloom tomato plants. Got them all planted and mulched. Got it planted 6 days earlier this year than last year.

Earlier today I changed the oil in mine and my daughters car. I hate doing it, but I'm happy once it's done.

Soccer was ok. The kids had fun. I'd have more fun if the other coaches would concentrate on teaching all their kids how to play the game instead of making sure their "good" players get the ball so they can score a lot.

1 Year Anniversary

I have been blogging 1 year today. I find it funny that I was not sure what I would think of it when I started as you can tell by my first post entitled, ehh.

Now, one year later, I manage to blog almost on a daily basis (sometimes multiple times a day) and have 456 posts in this blog not counting this one. Not only that, but I have also started another blog to help parents find good Playstation games their kids can play called Playstation Games 4 Kids.

My friend Steven had an interesting entry for his 1st anniversary of his Roemerman on Record.

I thought I'd give it a try. Steven had commented on how hard it was sometimes to pick just one post, and I'll have to agree with him.

So, here is an interesting post from each month of the past year.

April
Raising Seeds was a post concerning similarities in raising children and gardens.

May
More on Daughters

June
We took a trip to Maryland. In stories from the Trip, pt 3 I talked about the fun trip to Virginia Beach and my boys first time to see the Atlantic.

July

In 1 down, I talked about how my son lost his first tooth.

August
I had several things I would like to post for my months highlight, but I think the Good News of my wife stopping smoking tops it all. She's still smoke free! I'm so proud of her!

September
Truth from a 5 year old.

October
Kid Crafts for the Seasons and Holidays was about a crafts page I found with activities for your children.

November
I found a fix to my problem of the Windows XP Firewall was grayed out and I had a blank screen.

December
I had a Busy Vacation with a home makeover.

January
I posted on the creation of my new blog on Playstation Games for Kids.

February
I had some helpful hints on how to handle Spyware & Viruses.

March
Who is St. Patrick?

Google Calendar

Google has added another feature their expanding web based programs, Google Calendar.

Gmail has been modified to automatically recognize when messages mention an event so you can seamlessly add it to your calendar.

SBC DSL had teamed up with Yahoo, and they have had a web based calendar. I never really used it much. It defiantly didn't help put appointments from emails into my calendar. I'll have to see how this goes. I would imagine for someone without a PDA or Outlook on their PC, this could be extremely useful!

Online TV

All I can say is it's about time they started.

Disney to put TV shows: "Hits like 'Desperate Houswives' and 'Lost' will stream for free, but commercials can't be skipped."

This is good news. Ever miss that show? Well, if you have high speed internet access, you can watch. Now, unlike your TiVo or PVR/DVR, you wont be able to skip the commercials. Small price to pay to get to see your show.

This can also be good news for my cousin Laura in Saipan who watches Lost one week behind the rest of the world!

Now let's get the rest of the shows aired.

One thing I would really like to see, and probably eventually will, is just having the channels streamed so you can tune in from any High Speed computer and watch your favorite channel.

UPDATE: Forgot to mension, this begins April 30th

Beautiful Morning

This morning was so beautiful. Sun was shining and birds were chirping. It was just beautiful.

I wish I could have just sat on the porch swing and just sat there and watch the day go by.

It's days like today that make me wish I had a job where I could enjoy it. (and it's nights like Sunday night that make me glad I don't).

Update Finally

Long time since I've updated. Let me catch you up.

Saturday, was a soccer game. It was pretty good. They played well. My boy had several really good plays. Made me happy.
Saturday was also Prom here in town. So my daughter went to it as well. From what little I heard about it, it was good. I do know that my girl looked awesome! See...



They have a thing here in town called the grand march. It's when all the kids come driving in and show off. There were limo's in all shapes and sizes. But the most interesting was this.


Yes it is a covered wagon. There are three couples in there. What I find most amusing is those aren't horses. They are mules. I tell ya. Nothin fancier than goin to prom in a mule pulled wagon. hehe

Sunday, I changed the blade in the lawn mower since I hit something in the high grass the week before and broke the blade. So, I was mowing, and it died. Strange, I started it back up, and it died again. Ok, what's up. I checked the gas. It was fine. I opened the oil and smoke came out. Put some oil in there, and tried to pull the string. Nothing. Engine was froze up. So, I had to buy a new mower. Sorta an expensive lesson, but I guess it's cheaper than a car engine.

So, after church last night, I was able to finish mowing the yard. Had a nice dinner. Things were going pretty well. But then I tried to sleep. Couldn't. I woke up at least once every hour with my allergies. I had to call into work sick today because of them.

As the day progressed, I felt better, but we had soccer practice in those winds this evening, and as I sit here and type, my eyes feel like they are on fire.

Well, enough typing.

Canon Printer Problem Update 2

Monday I gave an update on my Canon Printer Problem Update, well last night, UPS dropped off my new printer.

I got it unpacked and set up and no problems. Packaged up my older printer, and shipped it back today.

Not too bad. It broke on Saturday. Monday I called. Thursday I had a replacement.

Old programs and new printers

For anyone out there with kids, you may be like me and find really neat older computer programs for the kids to play.

That happened to us. My boy had a program called Blue's Clues Kindergarten. It's a really cool program that he likes to play. As you finish activities, you get pages that you can print and continue learning off the computer as well.

My boy went to print and he couldn't. The program said there wasn't a printer attached to the computer.

My guess was that since the printer is a new USB printer, and the game was probably written for LPT printers. So, how can he print on this newer printer.

After some Googling, and some trial and errors, I found the answer and wanted to share with you.

1. Open Printers and Faxes
2. Right click your printer, and click on properties
3. Click on the port tab
4. Click the check box next to "Enable printer spooling"
5. Make sure the check box that your printer is connected to is check, then scroll up and also click on the LPT1: check box and hit OK.

That's it. Start your old application, and print your merry little heart out.

Tired

I am so tired this morning.

I went to bed at a decent hour last night (after watching Lost), but I set the alarm for 5:30 instead of 6:30 so I could go for a walk this morning.

During the night, I woke up with my allergies bothering me. I hate allergies, I really do. I've had them all my life.

Anyway, the alarm went off at 5:30 and I turned it off, and laid there for a few minutes. Got up and went for my walk. It was a beautiful morning for a walk. I got to spend some good time in prayer during my walk.

So, it was a real good morning, but I'm tired. I think I've planned out my day.

1. Take a nap
2. Go to lunch
3. Have a siesta
4. Go home
   

Not a bad day if I do say so myself... Course, that wont happen. Well, 2 and 4 will, but I'm sure 1 and 3 wont.

Nano breath test for cancer

While cruising Gizmodo.com I ran across this article on we make money not art titled "Nano breath test for cancer"

A team, led by Joerg Lahann at the University of Michigan, have won funding to develop a breath test device which will use nanotechnology to detect breast cancer.

I can just imagine that most women that would rather blow into a tube for a breast cancer test than have her boobs smashed between 2 ice cold plates for an Xray.

Now if they can only do that for prostate cancer before I get to the age for those tests.

Funny Oddity Thursday

Something funny will happen 2 times on Thursday.

3 seconds past 1:02 the time will be

01:02:03 04/05/06

I said it was funny, not profound.

Canon Printer Problem Update

As I talked about a couple days ago, I started having problems with my Canon Pixma MP450. I got a hold of their tech support this morning, and just as they were about to help me, I was paged for work. So I had to hang up with Canon.

This evening, I called again. I ran through some tests they wanted me to run on it. What I told him on the phone was that I think the wheel that pulls the paper into the printer isn't rolling. Once I finished all their test, and it still didn't work, they offered to get it serviced or replaced. I chose replaced.

They are shipping it UPS, and it should be here on Wednesday. Not only that, but I also get to keep the ink that came with this broken printer.

I've been real happy with this printer, and the service I received so far has been great.

Raising Happy Children

Steven had a really good post on Raising Happy Children

I've actually seen parents take making their kids happy to the extreme. They don't want to discipline them because that will make them sad or mad. Know what? Tough!

Though the article that Steven referred to did not say it, kids need discipline. They need to know that parents have rules and will stick to them. If you cave in all the time on punishment and what not, it lets the kids realized that what you say doesn't really matter.

Some people fail to realized that we punish our kids because we love them, not because we hate them. We want to see them grow into great adults.

Show me a kid that doesn't have a lot of stuff, but who knows their family really loves them and supports them, and I'll show you a happy kid. Sure, they probably would want "things", but they don't equal happiness.

Many of you probably know kids (and maybe even some adults) that have all the stuff in the world, and are not happy.

Happiness = Love

Cannon Printer Problems.

The first weekend of March I believe, we went and bought a new printer (Canon Pixma MP450) My old one had died after several years of use.

I ended up with a Cannon 3-in-1 (copy, scan, print).

Today, I printed a map from Map Quest. It finished printing, then the printer complained about a paper jam. Well, I looked, and there was no paper at all! After much looking, poking and prodding, it still says the same thing.

So, I called Canon. They are closed on the weekend. They will reopen on Monday at 8:00 ET. (Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind they are closed on the weekend, but it's frustrating when you need them.)