When you play a lot of acoustic guitar, you develop callouses on the finger tips of your left hand. It's weird because sometimes you lose feeling in those calloused finger tips.

Books I've read recently: What Angels Wish They Knew. Alistair Begg
Went to see a concert Friday. Annie Moses Band. Awesome family band. Intriguing blend of classical, jazz, gospel and some other genres thrown in for good measure.

It's too cold for November. It's not even winter yet and we had snow.

The van is fixed. Stay away deer!

Random questions.

How old is too old?

What color is an orange?

Pizza is?

What do they do with braces after they are taken off? Do they reuse them? Do they recycle them? Are they melted down? Can you get them at a yard sale?

What's the difference between a yard sale and a garage sale?

How do you know that the red you see is the same red someone else sees? What if your red is his green or blue?

Water freezes and expands. This is a law of physics. It's the only compound in the world that has that characteristic. Everything else contracts. So if the polar ice caps melt, will this create the flooding of the coasts that some suggest? Won't the water stay at the same level? I don't know the answer. I just think it's a good question.

We were talking about movies. Here are some of my favorites.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Sling Blade
Best in Show
Spinal Tap

I am here. Thanksgiving is a week away. We have much to give thanks for.

Students are working. I am checking blogs.

Dentists...

Does this hurt?
Yes
Does this hurt?
Yes
Which hurts more?
Does it matter?


I wasn't nuts yesterday. Gerald Ford ran for president in 1976 but lost to Jimmy Carter. His appointed VP was Nelson Rockefeller. Interestingly, when he ran for office, his choice was Bob Dole. http://www.nndb.com/people/400/000022334/
Then, who was William Miller? He was Barry Goldwater's running mate (VP) in 1964 running against Lyndon Johnson who replaced JFK after assasination. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_E._Miller

How many former presidents are currently living?

Bush, Clinton, Carter,
Ford has recently passed on.
I think that's all.
Who am I missing?

What is wrong with the Eagles? I think it's time for a complete overhaul. How in the world can you tie to an 1-8 team! If anyone need directions to the Baltimore Washington International Airport, I'm your man. Just give me a call. I don't know how many times now that I've made that trip but it's been plenty. Only a couple days until Thanksgiving. I've already written about Thanksgiving and food. I don't know what else to do. I could talk about animals. I like animals. I am thinking about getting another electric guitar. I don't know what I would get. I know a guy who got a Carvin guitar. They actually do like a custom job. So much of what makes people who play electric play well is their ability to know how to use the electronics of the guitar and that's something that intimidates me. I think I could do it, it's just that it's all new to me. Gibson Les Paul seems like a nice guitar, but I have never understood the difference between that and a Fender Strat. Most lead players are playing a Fender whereas the other members play other guitars.

Personal Days

What's so personal about personal days? I went to the orchard. Lots of apples. An apple a day....finish the thought.

I'll post a picture but I'm not sure which picture. I think I'll post a really old picture from Walt Disney World.

My daughter who works for Disney used to be afraid of the characters. How ironic. Like my shorts. That's embarassing!

Katherine Baker Knoll died yesterday. She was the lieutenant governor. Her service to the state of Pennsylvania was greatly appreciated.
I did mow yesterday; I chopped up leaves with the mower as well. I don't know if this will be the final mowing of the year.
I am reading a number of books right now. I have so many interests I often don't know what to read.

Mowing the Lawn or not?

It looks as though mowing the lawn today is an option. Mostly it would be chopping the leaves. I think they are good for the lawn, and the weather doesn't look to promising for the rest of the week.
Today was the blood drive here at school. There were a lot of pale students walking around.
I couldn't give, out of the country last year.

Pretend it's Wednesday

It's Tuesday night. I am watching House, not really because I like the show but because my daughter does and this gives us something to converse about...really, we text back and forth during the show though right now my phone is in another room. The van gets fixed next week. Hopefully we won't hit any more deer. My insurance allows me to rent a replacement vehicle and I'm hoping to be able to rent something that is absolutely something I'd never choose to drive...like some big ol' Dodge, maybe a huge SUV, but my budget is $35 a day so I guess that's pretty limiting.
It's been a week since the election is over. The revelry has died down. The transition should be interesting.
Who said this? Maps are your friends.
BY
I like Thanksgiving. I feel as though it's a bit less stressful than Christmas. It's a long enough break that you can relax a bit plus I must admit, I believe leftovers are better than the first time.

Veteran's Day. Salute a veteran. Thanks for fighting for our freedom. I think we often take that for granted. God Bless America.

OK. Not the best weekend.
Vikings lost to the Scouts Friday.
Penn State lost. I can’t believe that I was upset by that, but I was.
Mrs. Miller hit a deer.
Eagles lost. They are really frustrating me.
Roya Bicher ran a marathon. Amazing.

Costa Rica canopy tour: Click Here

http://www.cienporcientoaventura.com/video_canopy.html

Parent Teacher conferences. I hope all you young ladies and gentlemen enjoy your days off. I look forward to seeing you on Monday. Good luck football team tomorrow night. Break a leg, play cast, and knock ‘em dead Marching Band!

Lines to vote!

I voted last night. I stood in line outside the Swatara Township Building for a good hour before I was able to vote. I was surrounded by strangers, neighbors, friends, fellow teachers, former teachers, students, former students, and I was struck by how incredible a nation this is. There we stood, complaining about the wait, talking about the Phillies, the Eagles, the Steelers, taxes, everything, nothing; and we voted. We voted without coercion. We exercised our rights, or freedoms, which were won for us by countless lives over the centuries. Some exercised their right not to vote, and as much as this might sound strange, that too is a right fought for and won. No one forced them to vote.

Often visitors from other nations, poor nations, who come to America aren’t amazed at our cars or our homes or our amusement parks and entertainment. They are amazed at our grocery stores, where necessities are plentiful. They are awed by the choices we have. But if our favorites happen to be sold out or missing, we grow frustrated and impatient. How much we have. I think we need to focus on how fortunate we are.

The election is over. The sun rose this morning as it will tomorrow morning and the day after that and the day after that. Lines into a polling place. Great!

The Belron is coming out. We will be giving them out randomly tomorrow. We did find a couple mistakes. Later, we will charge for them. Probably a quarter. What are grades? What do they mean?
Our football team plays Conrad Weiser on Friday. I went to Conrad Weiser. I graduated in 1973. I will root for Northern Lebanon.
Go vikings.
Last night I went to the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert. It was good, but it was also loud. We stayed almost to the very end, but we did leave a tad early so we could beat traffic. I was amazed that a couple had brought their little baby. I think the baby was probably ten months old, and then they allowed the baby to crawl around on the floor....of a concert in the Giant Center for heaven's sake. They knew it would be loud and stuffed something in the baby's ears. I mean, if you know it could be harmful to your child's hearing and well being, and you know your child is too young to even remember this five years from now, why would you subject your child to this? That's my rant for the day.