Homestead: Ladora Iowa

Surprise for Jane

2011-07-06T06:59:00.002-05:00

Hired Jim Thys again, this time to redo the kitchen floor and replace the old rotten French doors with Jeld-Win sliding glass doors (like the one he installed in our basement a couple months ago).

Door ready to hang.

Scaffolding in place.

Old rotten French doors.

Are coming out.

now we have to see what's under the linoleum...

doesn't look good from here

looks pretty bad from here

from bad to worse

cutting into the flooring shows the problems

house has settled, thinset cement had been poured to level the unevenness of the floor rather than repairing it properly...

Maggie and Mollie are awaiting directions... no, just awaiting and awatching...

first step, repairing the header

then three layers of plywood to replace the rotten flooring

custom cuts being made

like a jigsaw puzzle, it's gotta fit properly

final layer of flooring

finally the door in in place

a little trim work is all that's left.... until work on the deck begins :) maybe next summer?

Winter is here

2010-12-28T06:23:00.006-06:00

Frost everywhere this morning.

Mollie the snow dog.

View toward the Frog Pond

Photos taken with my cellphone camera

Road to our place

Williamsburg Square

North view from town

2010-07-28T06:38:00.001-05:00

My Robot Works!!! After three long years, success at last, how sweet it is. First year: too many wrinkles on the bottom and the water was way too heavy to fix it. Second year: discovered my pump wasn't powerful enough. Then finally this year: no wrinkles, new super pump and when I tried to attach it, I dropped it and ...broke one of the bumpers. It worked fine, in only one direction. Fixed the broken bumper, and she's smoking now. Instead of watching the corn grow, I can watch my robot work. Life's good and getting better! ;)

View from the Pool

2010-07-20T18:46:00.001-05:00

Sunday Afternoon around the yard

2010-06-20T19:15:00.000-05:00

Oh dog, that feels so good....

2010-06-20T16:36:00.001-05:00

Weekend Yard Work

2010-06-08T07:01:00.022-05:00

Trusty Assistants:

Repositioned the grill in the firepit:

Created a stand for the pool filter/pump:

Added a couple stands for the pool gear:

Repositioned the steps and bricks for easy access to the pool ladder:

Hedge before:

After hedge trimming:

Bushes before:

After bushes trimmed:

My work is done, till next weekend... Planning on taking a road trip to Denver to visit Tony & crew.

Pool and Patio: Ready for Summer!

2010-06-06T13:38:00.004-05:00

Sunshade umbrella mounted to the concrete now, no more pesky stand to deal with. Hot tub and pool are filled and ready for business. Cool off in the pool's cool 80+ degrees, then a soak in 104 degrees in the hot tub, snag a beer from the cooler and I'm ready for anything. Grill and ice chest are stocked, stoked and ready too! Life is good, and getting better... :)

Pool is up and filtering steadily. Maybe a week or two and it should be crystal clear.

Big disappointment Monday

2010-06-02T07:17:00.007-05:00

For the last three years I've filled my pool with our garden hose. It takes two to three days, and since we have well water, the water is muddy and rusty. Takes a couple weeks of filtering 23/7 (an hour daily to clean out the filters several times) to be able to clean it enough to see to the bottom. This year I 'wised up' and called the Ladora Fire Dept and they offered to bring out a tanker and fill it for me with 'city' water.

Whoa, that got me excited. Couldn't wait. Monday morning they arrived and the first tank poured in clean and sparkling! I was fit to be tied. This is gonna be great, I thought...

Unfortunately, the tanker only holds 2,000 gallons, my pool holds well over 6,000 gallons. So off they went to refill the tanker. An hour later he pulled in with the second load, it poured through the hose..... brown! Brown, muddy, dirty... bummer. The fire chief apologised saying that he'd forgotten to flush the hydrant before filling the tanker. Hoping against hope, I thought perhaps it would only be muddy for awhile and then start pouring out clean water. No such luck.

He left to get the final refill and promised to 'flush' the hydrant this time. I hoped that the last tank would dilute the second, but again, no such luck, it was just as muddy as the previous one.

Dag nab it! Oh well, there goes a hundred dollars, and the dream of clean water for the pool.

It'll clean out eventually, but it'll probably be a couple weeks before it does. The water is cool and refreshing never the less... No worse than swimming in a lake I guess.. Gotta keep positive, right? :(

New stuff for the yard

2010-05-29T07:15:00.018-05:00

Picked up a beverage cooler for the patio, as well as some gear for the firepit from The SportsMan's Guide online store.

Tomorrow the pool goes up! Some friends are coming over in the afternoon to help me spread it out properly this year. Hopefully, together, we'll be able to get the bottom smooth before the Ladora fire department tanker arrives to fill it with 'clean' water. Every year before I've tried to smooth out the wrinkles without being able to get it perfectly smooth and wrinkle free, as a result the automatic cleaner always gets stuck on a wrinkle and won't work properly. And of course after it's filled there is no way to make any kind of adjustments. And since we are on well water, I have to run the filter/cleaner for a couple weeks 24/7 to clean out the rust and residue so that it's clear enough to see the bottom, the fire department tanker is bringing "city water' to fill it this year. Man, we're moving on UP!

More work on the hot tub area

2010-05-23T14:22:00.005-05:00

Last weekend I poured the concrete foundation, this weekend I'm working on the edging surrounding where the hot tub will eventually end up. First planned on using brick or masonry of some sort, then decided to take the easy way out; wood. I bought some treated landscaping timber 4"x4" and cut it two feet long, then added a 2"x10" treated board as a top to hold drinks or whatever. Still a work in progress as you can tell, but I think a heavy rope draped from one end to the other will give it a 'nautical' feel and when the two side panels (only 1 foot high, but also with a 2"x8" top will look just fine. We'll see how it turns out. Hopefully I'll be satisfied because I have a dozen other projects I'm anxious to get to work on.

Tony @ Kennedy Space Center

2010-05-17T06:37:00.003-05:00

Tony flew to Florida to see the last flight of the space shuttle Atlantis.
Space Shuttle Launch Info

Firepit & Picnic Table

2010-05-16T21:46:00.006-05:00

Bird watching, precariously...

Always ready to lend a helping h... "paw".

Frog Pond

2010-05-16T13:00:00.005-05:00

New foals in the neighborhood

2010-05-15T20:21:00.001-05:00

Just discovered two new foals at a neighbors pasture down the lane aways.

Working on the hot tub/patio

2010-05-15T17:58:00.001-05:00

Saturday's projects:
Added a plywood base to the umbrella to keep it from blowing away.

Hand mixed cement and poured it in preparation for the hot tub base.

Next weekend the cement will be cured and ready to build a brick wall behind it. Need a place for sitting drinks..

That's good for today I guess.

Wishing Well

2010-05-14T18:51:00.002-05:00

Jane's Hot Tub

2010-05-04T19:23:00.004-05:00

Jane's birthday present; an inflatable hot tub we can use on the patio in the summer and in the basement when winter comes. Had to give it a try out, just to make sure all the kinks were worked out and she didn't get electrocuted first time out. Hey, it's my job to make sure of her well-being, right? ;)

This thing is better than I expected. Temperature was 101 degrees when I arrived home tonight, after half an hour of 'testing' it had dropped to only 95... Still, it was nice. Janie is gonna like this, I'm sure.

Google Security Founder's Award Group

2010-05-02T18:21:00.006-05:00

Here's a group photo of the Security Team, almost all 160 of them. They strive to keep not only Google, but everyone on the Internet safe and secure. Here's the upshot to the Google-China security incursion situation; Google's New Approach to China

Google Founders Award Ceremony

2010-05-02T14:00:00.018-05:00

The Security team's names (Tony's group) weren't displayed as explained in the parenthesis; they are Google's "secret service" guys.

When the work gets stressful, take a break, have a drink, unwind then back to it. This homemade 'rocket ship bar' is less than 10 feet from their workstations.

Clowning around with a co-worker:

Here's a closeup of Tony (my son), Larry Page and Sergei Brin (the founders of Google). Just hanging out with a couple of the brightest guys in Silicon Valley, who also happen to be billionaires!

First; Tony becomes The Man Who Saved the Internet!

Now; He wins the most prestiegeous award Google offers: Google's Founders Award

What next I wonder? Discovering an end to the energy crisis or famine???? :) I'm awfully proud of this kid, and thrilled to be in his entourage.

Jane told me to Go Fly a Kite

2010-04-28T22:18:00.000-05:00

Sunday in Ladora

2010-04-22T14:40:00.001-05:00

Inflatable Hot Tube

2010-04-21T06:00:00.018-05:00

Saturday April 24th: Doing some prep work for the hot tub that is arriving next Thursday. I'm going to pour cement in a half circle so that half of it will be on the current patio and the other half on the new concrete. That way it won't take up too much of the patio area. Haven't yet decided on what I'm going to do beyond that. Thinking I may want to build a brick or stone semi-circle around the back of it just high enough to be able to hold drinks... Also thinking about duplicating tiered garden on the south side of the patio garden area on the north side (behind and toward the house). Not only would it balance out the area, but with the flowers on both sides we wouldn't have grass to mow on that side...

Jane's birthday is the 19th of next month and I'm planning ahead. She has said dozens of times she'd like a hot tube, but since our landlord won't (yet) sell us our home, I've always figured it wasn't a reasonable option.... Till now. I just discovered that there are 'inflatable' hot tubs for sale. Did a good bit of research and decided it might be a good idea for our situation. Not only can we use it during the summer on the patio, but when the weather gets cold we can deflate it, move it into the basement and use it during the winter too. And if we don't eventually buy this place, we'll be able to take it with us when we move. Although the ads say it'll hold four people, I'm pretty sure two people would be the most who could be comfortable without getting too close and personal, so if anyone wants to stop over and give it a tryout, feel free, but know that I ain't getting in it with anybody other than Janie :)

Honey-Do List

2010-04-18T11:55:00.001-05:00

Just finished coating the garden swing. First time in four years, overdue. Looks pretty good if I do say so myself. I also repositioned Jane's clothes line, I moved it away from the bushes to make it easier to mow around and more importantly, give me a better view of the horses' pond from the patio.
Next; level the bird bath and reposition the firepit.
Busy day today, but the weather is beautiful and spring has sprung. Loving it!

Visit to Tony in Thornton, CO.

2010-04-02T07:06:00.003-05:00

First visit to see Tony, Cyndi, Meg & Mel in Colorado... March 23-28, 2010

I Need one of these

2010-04-01T15:59:00.003-05:00

Mike & Tracey Win Tallest Corn Contest

2009-12-19T07:37:00.001-06:00

It's official folks, Mike and Tracey Myers (HomeRun's office manager) have grown the tallest corn stalk in the state. Here's a video clip from the KGAN broadcast:

Watching the Corn Grow

2009-10-02T06:49:00.005-05:00

Mike and Tracey make the local TV news; KGAN channel 2 broadcast this clip last night. Tracey has been our office manager (aka. Office Goddess, Girl Friday) for over three years and her husband Mike has owns the best eatery in Iowa County.

This IS Heaven

2009-09-28T07:23:00.004-05:00

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.

He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years.
He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.

When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold.

He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.

When he was close enough, he called out, 'Excuse me, where are we?' 'This is Heaven, sir,' the man answered. 'Wow! Would you happen to have some water?' the man asked. Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up. The man gestured, and the gate began to open.
'Can my friend,' gesturing toward his dog, 'come in, too?' the traveler asked. 'I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets.'

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.

After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.

'Excuse me!' he called to the man. 'Do you have any water?' 'Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in.' 'How about my friend here?' the traveler gestured to the dog.'There should be a bowl by the pump.'

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it. The traveler filled the water bowl, gave some to the dog and then took a long drink himself. When they were full, he and the dog walked back towards the man who was standing by the tree.

'What do you call this place?' the traveler asked.'This is Heaven,' he answered. 'Well, that's confusing,' the traveler said. 'The man down the road said that was Heaven, too.'

'Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's hell.'

'Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?'

'No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind.'

Sam, Google, Maggie and Sneezer

2009-09-10T21:34:00.008-05:00

A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes.

A waterlogged stick will do just fine.

A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, clever or dull, smart of dumb, give him your heart, and he'll give you his.

How many people can you say that about, how many people can make you feel rare and pure and special?

How many people can make you feel extraordinary?

From the movie: Marley

Google Passes On

2009-08-31T05:13:00.007-05:00

On returning home from my first visit to my son and his family in California I found a kitten in the airport parking lot. I checked with the info desk, but they said no one had reported her missing. And since the airport is a two or three miles from any homes, I figured someone had been planning on taking her on a flight and somehow she'd gotten away and been simply left to fend for herself. She was all black except for a small white spot on her belly, I was wearing a black fleece jacket that Tony had given me from Google... therefore I named her "Google" and she came home with me. Actually for the first year she lived in our store in Williamsburg. Our other young cat had FIP and the vet said she might be contagious, so I couldn't take Google home. Finally after a year I decided to bring her home. She did well, no problems at all other than finding great sport in chasing Sneezer everywhere, until the end of July.

This is the first photo in the Williamsburg store.

First day in her new home she seems to be trying to dominate Samantha... didn't work.

Molly and Googs are best of friends.

Favorite photo of the Googs and Sammy.

She passed away this morning after a month long fight. Tough little cat, she did her best, as did we.

Decided to build my own Slip-n-Slide

2009-08-15T07:51:00.002-05:00

Wanna take a ride?

Ladora Blogsite Added to Facebook

2009-08-15T03:32:00.000-05:00

Just testing this out to see how it'll work.

Google comes home

2009-08-14T18:16:00.001-05:00

After being ill for two weeks, then seeming to get a little better she went for a walk Wednesday morning. Wednesday night rained but no sight of her. Gone all day Wednesday and Thursday, I was sure she'd relapsed and died somewhere in the fields... Friday morning she was on the patio acting like nothing out of the ordinary had occurred... cats, what are you gonna do with 'em?

Google has left us

2009-08-14T06:49:00.007-05:00

For the last couple weeks she's been ill. Four trips to the vet clinic, injections of antibiotics, daily glucose and saline to keep her hydrated, two blood tests... She hadn't eaten for a week then finally Sunday the 2nd, I started feeding her warm milk with an eye dropper. Monday she ate a little, not nearly enough, she usually eats like a cow. But she started moving about and demanding to go outside. We made three trips to the vet Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Eric gave her a glucose injection every day and she started to perk up. Previous to those injections she simply laid in one spot all day, now she was starting to wander around the basement and ask to go outside. I let her out for a walkabout and most times she wouldn't go out of sight of the patio. Monday last though, she disappeared for most of the day and returned in the evening. Tuesday same routine, but by then she seemed as if she was on the road to recovery.

Wednesday morning I let her out after giving her her half pill and eye dropper of medicine. She walked out on the patio and curled up on a towel and a half hour later when I checked she had wandered off somewhere. Today is Friday, we haven't seen her since. Late Wednesday night it rained, poured for about an hour or so. I awoke and called for her at least half a dozen times without any response. I hate to admit it but I am sure she's gone for good. Gonna miss her for sure.

House work

2009-08-12T14:34:00.000-05:00

This afternoon Phil from Mayberry Electric came out to finish up stringing up the electricity for both our patio lamppost and our garden fountain. Dick Martin of Ed's TV also re-aimed our satellite and OTA high-definition antennas after the wind storm of last weekend. He also showed me how to connect my MediaCenter PC to the digital antenna. As an added surprise Marengo Outdoor delivered the generator and garden tractor. Everything is good to go at long last, and all accomplished in one afternoon. Couldn't have planned it better on purpose.

Google comes back to HomeRun

2009-08-01T05:40:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I took Googs to the Farm & Family Vet Clinic in Victor for a checkup. For the past several days she's been lethargic and seemed to be under the weather. Eric Smith, the vet checked her over and couldn't find anything definitively wrong but gave her a shot of antibiotics and some liquid for me to dose her with for a few days. She hasn't been terrorizing Sneezer for a week and believe it or not, I miss it (doubt if Sneeze does).

Rather than taking her home afterward, I decided to bring her to work with me. It's been a good two years since she's been at the shop. So she spent part of her day sitting on Tracey's desk next to her monitor.

I awoke this morning dreading what I might find downstairs. But thankfully she was alive and although she's still not very perky, she wanted to go outside at the first opportunity. Hopefully she'll pull through and be chasing Sneezer all around the house soon...?

California Dreams

2009-06-12T14:35:00.006-05:00

Took my grand-daughters to the movies for the first time (for me). We saw the Pixar movie UP! I expected to enjoy their company, but did not expect to truly enjoy an animated "kids" movie.... If you;(any adults reading this) get a chance to find a kid you can talk into seeing it with you, yank hold of him/her and go (otherwise you may feel silly going to see it without one). Believe me, you will not be disappointed, no matter what kid you drag along with you;)

Jane's Garden Fountain

2009-05-30T18:11:00.002-05:00

Her birthday was the 19th (no, I did not forget), we finally got it setup today the 30th.

Now I'm a "real" Doctor!

2009-05-29T14:12:00.003-05:00

and a Reverand! Need to get married? Give me a call, reasonable rates and I can fix your computer too... What a deal, one stop shopping. :)

Hey, if you can't laugh at yourself, you better not laugh at anyone else.

Horses and Dogs

2009-05-21T18:03:00.003-05:00

Tony's Crew Slideshow

2009-05-21T11:06:00.001-05:00

Tony Flies his NexStar EP May 9th, 2009

2009-05-10T10:22:00.005-05:00

Tony sent me several video clips from yesterdays' flying of his NexStar EP RC plane. I edited a bit, added some titling, music and this is the result.

Tony flies over Google

2009-05-06T06:51:00.003-05:00

Tony attached an SD video camera to his Blade helicopter and takes a flight over the Google campus;

Sunday May 3rd, 2009

2009-05-03T12:56:00.003-05:00

Home Entertainment Computer work in progress

2009-04-19T13:25:00.004-05:00

To allow me to make life a little easier, and my significant "other" to actually turn on a TV program without having to call me... And get rid of 11 various remote controls, I'm struggling along trying to find the ultimate remote controller for my PC, Blu-Ray, A/V tuner, DVD carousel, DishNetWork receiver and a few other devices in my basement den...

Spring is coming...

2009-04-11T18:21:00.003-05:00

And we're starting to prepare for it. Decided today was a good day to burn off some dry grass...
Maggie goes swimming in the frog pond while Mollie watches but isn't yet convinced...

Last Day in November; Snow

2008-11-30T07:40:00.003-06:00

Google discovers snow. She'll have a hard time hiding from me in this stuff.

MacGruber & MacGuyver

2008-11-29T18:48:00.002-06:00

Wait till the commercial has finished to see the funny MacGuyver spoof:

Mollie & Maggie playing on T-Day 2008

2008-11-28T09:56:00.011-06:00

Formerly known as Brownie, now called Molly, is living, playing, digging and chewing everything within reach with us in Ladora Iowa. We're in the country with plenty of woods, fields, pastures, horses, cats, and Maggie (our yellow labrador) to keep her occupied... in a word; Dog-Disneyland.

I think she likes it here.

We adopted her the 8th of November, 2008 from the
Poweshiek Animal League Shelter

Here's the latest video clip of her and Maggie in the backyard on Turkey Day.

Megan's Senior Portraits

2008-11-21T06:55:00.005-06:00

My granddaughter Megan is graduating from high school this year and Cyndi asked me to choose my favorite photograph.... Here are only a few of the choices. Beautiful girl, almost impossible task, I like every one of them. How in the world can I choose?

Visit from my sister Carol

2008-11-10T18:01:00.004-06:00

Carol came for a visit this weekend, first time in a dozen and a half years we've gotten together. Bout time. She brought her dog Chance and they both met Jane and the rest of my crew. Good time, gotta do it a little more often in the future though.

Closeup of Molly

2008-11-08T17:49:00.004-06:00

Molly comes home with us today

2008-11-08T13:05:00.001-06:00

Jane and I (and Maggie) made a trip to the PALS shelter in Grinnell this morning to pickup Molly. She's about seven months old and as you'll see in her first video, a real sweetheart.

Maggie's Leg

2008-11-06T05:53:00.005-06:00

November 5th, 2008; Just a note to record an event, Maggie threw out one of her hind legs again this evening. It has happened many times since we've had her, and the first couple times we rushed her to the vet for aid. I've now gotten to the point where I can remedy it myself within a few minutes. Unfortunately, it takes about ten or fifteen minutes before she is back to normal again, and during that period she is in excruciating pain, she trembles and quivers, but not once has she ever whimpered a sound. I can't imagine how painful it must be, she can't stand, and as hard as we've tried, we still can't determine for certain which leg is effected. I straighten both of them out slowly but forcefully till the muscles stretch out fully and then bend them up several times and massage her thighs and eventually it goes away. At first I thought she had dislocated a joint, but I've yet to feel or hear the "pop" of joints and sockets realigning. I'm starting to believe it is more a muscle cramp of some sort that afflicts her from time to time. I can't recall the last time, it's surely been six months or so, and then it had been some time since the previous one as well. That is why I decided to note this occurrence, so that the next time I'll know. Hopefully there won't be a next time, but I've thought that too many times in the past to expect it's something she'll ever grow out of.

January 12th, 2009;
Maggie threw out her leg again today. Jane said it wasn't too bad and she was up and around shortly.

The only dog who ever taught me to 'fetch'

2008-10-31T06:59:00.007-05:00

When I'd come home I'd oftentimes go sit out on the porch for awhile with Jane and the dogs would both run around all over the yard looking for a hard rubber ball to play toss with me.. If Maggie found it, she'd run up to me, put it in my hand and they'd both turn and run out into the yard for the toss... Sam on the other hand would run up to the edge of the sidewalk, about six feet away from where I was sitting on the porch and drop it right there, turn, run out about twenty feet, then turn again to face me, hunker down like a short-stop waiting for a pop-fly and wait.... I'd call her to bring the ball "to me"...

After three or four calls, she'd finally relent, run up, pick up the ball, mouth it around a few times, then drop it in exactly the same place and again run out for the toss...

This would go on many times, (with Sam's running down and plopping into her pool every three or four tosses to cool off)... But never, not once (without my grabbing her collar and pulling it out of her mouth) did she ever voluntarily "put" the ball into my hand.

I could never get that dog to put the ball in my hand. Indeed, I always had to get up off my lazy butt and walk a couple steps to get it to finally make the toss.

Several days after she passed, Jane and I were talking about her, laughing at how silly she could be at times, and remembering the great times we'd all shared and I mentioned about how I was never able to teach her how to "fetch" properly.

Jane said; "you know why she did that don't you?"

I said; "cause I didn't spend enough time teaching her."

Jane laughed and said; "no, she wanted you to be more involved in the game, she was teaching you to 'fetch'."

At that moment it was like a light bulb suddenly turned on, I realized we must have had the smartest dog in Iowa County, she not only 'controlled' our gaming, but she also insisted on 'interactive gaming'!

What a dog!

Critter Shorts

2008-10-20T18:48:00.002-05:00

After Samantha's passing I've been cursing myself for not having taken more videos and photographs (and thinking especially of all those I've lost due to carelessness), and am determined to not make that mistake again. We have so much rich and wonderful technology available, it is a shame not to take advantage of it and preserve images and records of everything important to us.

Death in our family

2008-10-20T11:55:00.000-05:00

Tuesday Jane took Samantha to the vet. She'd been having a harder than usual time getting around. She seemed as if she was having a lot of distress in just walking. They prescribed new medications to hopefully alleviate her pain. But Wednesday and Thursday she declined rapidly and was unable to even stand unassisted.

Friday morning the vet Jeff Cheney made a house-call and injected her with steroids. He said that any effect would not be seen for probably 12 to 24 hours. By this time I was convinced she would have to be put to sleep, she was obviously in a great deal of pain in addition to being immobile.

Friday night I went to bed early only to be awoken at 10:30 by Jane who had discovered that the basement door was open and Sam was gone. We searched everywhere to no avail.

Saturday morning at seven I found her a full 100 yards or more away in a corn field....
We brought her in and I spent the day nursing and caring for her. Given that the previous day, before the steroid shot, she was unable to stand and yet a dozen hours lately able to wander a hundred yards away... I had hope. But she'd spent the night outdoors laying on the cold ground before I'd discovered her... She had a good last day, waited on "hand and foot" so to speak, loved and held and comforted like never before.

Sunday morning she passed away, with her head in my lap and surrounded with care and love.

Sammy was a big part of the joy in our lives, she was always full of love and affection no matter our mood, no matter our disposition, no matter. Unconditional love is what she always offered, without restriction, qualification or demands.

A number of years ago I came home from a trucking trip with a red saddle-pack for her. Back then I still had dreams of one day hiking the Appalachian Trail. Sam and I hiked our gravel road together many times, practicing, preparing, just enjoying walking together. She loved that saddle-pack and when we returned home each time she'd prance around the living room showing it off (honest to goodness). And more often than not gave me fits when I would finally take it off, I swear she'd have slept in it if I'd let her.

Twice we had to take her to the veterinary teaching hospital in Ames, Iowa to have corrective surgery for both her back legs. I remember talking to Jane's brother in law about it, and him asking what it had cost. I told him and he said, "holy cow, you spent that on a dog?" I replied by saying Samantha was my baby and asked if one of his kids needed an expensive operation what he'd do… Quick as a flash he said, "well, depends of which kid needed the surgery"! We all howled with laughter. But the truth is he'd have spent whatever was needed to help his kids, as did we, ours. Those operations gave her five more good years of ball chasing, and her making me fetch as well. Best investment of my life, without doubt.

Sam passed away at eight Sunday morning. I awoke at 4:30 (slept in the basement with her) and discovered that she'd moved during the night off her bed and onto the cement floor. I moved her back and gave her a good drink of water, which she furiously lapped up. She seemed to be doing much better, able to hold her head up to drink although she leaned against my legs for comfort and reassurance. I petted her for awhile until she again fell soundly asleep.

Fortunately she seemed to have had a sound restful night's sleep and although she was still breathing when I awoke at seven she couldn't take a drink of water. She watched me with her eyes, I know she was glad I was holding her in my lap, but a little while later her breathing became erratic and labored and then I prayed to god to help us. Please god, please take her or heal her… whatever is best for her.

Her pain ceased a few minutes later....

I've been wrong about so many things in my life, maybe I've been wrong about God, especially a caring God, as well... thank-fully or perhaps, thank-God, she's out of pain and at peace now.

She was the first addition to our family twelve years ago, and we'll both miss her sorely. I'm sure also that Sneezer (who loved to pounce on Sam's tail as she wagged it laying on the floor "talking" to us), Google (who would walk past and rub herself against Sam's nuzzle) and Maggie, especially Maggie Mae, will miss her as well. Chloe Jane's upstairs cat, who's been with her for a dozen and a half years probably won't... But the rest of us will I know.

She was a good dog and shining example of "Man's (our) Best Friend".

She was her momma's baby and protector and she taught me how to play catch.

Every-time I threw her ball for her, she'd bring it back and lay it down just out of reach.

She taught me to "fetch" for her.

She'll be cremated and buried between the pines trees behind our home tomorrow.

Death in our family

2008-10-19T15:01:00.033-05:00

Tuesday Jane took Samantha to the vet. She'd been having a harder than usual time getting around. She seemed as if she was having a lot of distress in just walking. They prescribed new medications to hopefully alleviate her pain. But Wednesday and Thursday she declined rapidly and was unable to even stand unassisted.

Friday morning the vet Jeff Cheney made a house-call and injected her with steroids. He said that any effect would not be seen for probably 12 to 24 hours. By this time I was convinced she would have to be put to sleep, she was obviously in a great deal of pain in addition to being immobile.

Friday night I went to bed early only to be awoken at 10:30 by Jane who had discovered that the basement door was open and Sam was gone. We searched everywhere to no avail.

Saturday morning at seven I found her a full 100 yards or more away in a corn field....

We brought her in and I spent the day nursing and caring for her. Given that the previous day, before the steroid shot, she was unable to stand and yet a dozen hours lately able to wander a hundred yards away... I had hope. But she'd spent the night outdoors laying on the cold ground before I'd discovered her... She had a good last day, waited on "hand and foot" so to speak, loved and held and comforted like never before.

Sunday morning she passed away, with her head in my lap and surrounded with care and love.

Sammy was a big part of our joy in life, she was always full of love and affection no matter my mood, no matter my disposition, no matter. Unconditional love is what she always offered, without restriction, qualification or demands.

A number of years ago I came home from a trucking trip with a red saddle-pack for her. Back then I still had dreams of one day hiking the Appalachian Trail. Sam and I hiked our gravel road together many times, practicing, preparing, just enjoying walking together. She loved that saddle-pack and when we returned home each time she'd prance around the living room showing it off (honest to goodness). And more often than not gave me fits when I would finally take it off, I swear she'd have slept in it if I'd let her.

Twice we had to take her to the veterinary teaching hospital in Ames, Iowa to have corrective surgery for both her back legs. I remember talking to Jane's brother in law about it, and him asking what it had cost. I told him and he said, "holy cow, you spent that on a dog?" I replied by saying Samantha was my baby and asked if one of his kids needed an expensive operation what he'd do… Quick as a flash he said, "well, depends of which kid needed the surgery"! We all howled with laughter. But the truth is he'd have spent whatever was needed to help his kids, as did we, ours. Those operations gave her five more good years of ball chasing, and her making me fetch as well. Best investment of my life, without doubt.

Sam passed away at eight Sunday morning. I awoke at 4:30 (slept in the basement with her) and discovered that she'd moved during the night off her bed and onto the cement floor. I moved her back and gave her a good drink of water, which she furiously lapped up. She seemed to be doing much better, able to hold her head up to drink although she leaned against my legs for comfort and reassurance. I petted her for awhile until she again fell soundly asleep.

Fortunately she seemed to have had a sound restful night's sleep and although she was still breathing when I awoke at seven she couldn't take a drink of water. She watched me with her eyes, I know she was glad I was holding her in my lap, but a little while later her breathing became erratic and labored and then I prayed to god to help us. Please god, please take her or heal her… whatever is best for her.

Her pain ceased a few minutes later....

I've been wrong about so many things in my life, maybe I've been wrong about God, especially a caring God, as well... thank-fully or perhaps, thank-God, she's out of pain and at peace now.

She was the first addition to our family twelve years ago, and we'll both miss her sorely. I'm sure also that Sneezer, Google (who would walk past and rub herself against Sam's nuzzle) and Maggie, especially Maggie, will miss her as well. Chloe won't, but Jane's the only one Chloe cares about. :)

She was a good dog and shining example of "Man's (our) Best Friend".

She was her momma's baby and protector and she taught me how to play catch, every-time I threw her ball for her, she'd bring it back and lay it down just out of reach. She taught me to "fetch" for her. Sam required "interactive" gaming!

Afterall she wasn't a working dog, she was the Top Dog and Senior Partner of our family.

She'll be cremated and return home on Wednesday to rest between the pines trees behind our home, near us, forever.

We will miss you Sammy....

More Grand-Kids Come for a Visit

2008-08-29T19:55:00.007-05:00

Last week Jane and I enjoyed having Ruthie, Gracie and their mom Katie spend time with us.
Kate is Jane's second daughter, Ruth and Grace are her daughters.

With Jane, Kate, Ruth, Grace, Samantha, Maggie, Sneezer, Google and Chole, I was surrounded by females! Life is good, better than I deserve for sure:)

Two weeks ago we had Colin and Hanna spend a week with us as well. They belong to Jane's youngest daughter Amy. It's been a fun summer with all the rascals keeping us hopping, and the dogs worn out.

Pebble Creek

2008-08-19T19:42:00.010-05:00

Starting out with an idea:

Ending up with a creek:

Finish Backyard Garden

2008-08-15T20:59:00.002-05:00

Well, here she is finally.... With a small "water feature" as well... Don't I wish :)

This video was taken today at Kloubec's Koi Fisheries, a new client of ours.

Patio & Pool Area Work

2008-06-30T06:04:00.018-05:00

July 20th
Patio and Pool areas are coming along nicely, finally. Grass is starting to grow over the bare dirt, our "dry" creek bed is pretty much finished. Bushes are planted and the pool area is just a hop and a skip down the hill. I've installed a pole lamp, but have yet to finish the wiring to make it work. Hoping to get an electrician over to not only wire it up for me but also to put an outlet (both electrical and water) on the retaining wall by the pool.

July 13th
Now the real work begins; with several delays due to the rainfall of the last month, the patio and pool retainer wall concrete has finally been finished. It took almost a month to complete a "two to three day" job, but finally it is finished. Although the lawn has taken a much bigger hit than expected, and there is a lot of lawn work to redo, I am pleased. Jane and I spent most of this weekend digging out the perimeter of the patio to plant bushes. This morning a scheduled delivery of four tons of pea gravel, and next weekend I'm planning on finishing the landscaping timber border around the pool... It'll take awhile, and a good bit of work, but I'm convinced it'll be worth the effort in the end...

Sonny & Kate Arrive

2008-06-10T07:57:00.004-05:00

New additions to our "critter" family. Sonny (paint pony) and Kate.
Best kind of horses, someone else's. We get to enjoy looking at them, feed and pet them, groom them, ride them, but the owner does all the maintainence and pays the bills. Now I like that deal, yeah buddy. :)

Garden Slideshow

2008-06-02T06:45:00.008-05:00

Here are some photos of our yard and Jane's garden. Work is being done on a new pool area and the patio is scheduled to be completely redone and enlarged within the next week, weather permitting.

Woodpecker

2008-06-01T17:12:00.007-05:00

Just sitting at my patio and saw a woodpecker flying around. Grabbed my camera and got this video. Life is good, nature is wonderful and wildlife can be beautiful.... especially here.

Critters at work

2008-06-01T07:51:00.002-05:00

First Flight

2008-05-26T14:34:00.004-05:00

Finally decided to get away from the flight simulator and go for the real thing. Tried several times to get up enough speed to launch from my yard at home, but the grass and gravel wouldn't allow it, so we headed for pavement... Old highway 6 just west of Ladora was pointed directly into the wind and after waiting for several cars to clear, I gave her a thumbs up and taxied down the highway and became airborne for the first time.

She Flies!

After about three minutes until the undercharged batteries gave out... In all the excitement, I also forgot to extend the antenna and lost control, but she landed without damage. Not bad for the first attempt, can't wait for the next one. This time I'll be sure and give the batteries a good full charge, and extend the antenna.

From the cameras shakes, looks as if Jane was as excited as I...

Thanks Tony & Cyndi, best gift anyone has ever given me!

Extreme Flier

2008-04-27T02:24:00.003-05:00

One more day at Great America. Tony bought tickets for the Extreme Flier for the whole crew while Cyndi stayed on the ground to take this video. We had talked about doing it last time, but since I didn't have my video camera with me, I said "no, if I'm going to risk my neck I'm going to at least want it to be recorded".

Well, since he bought the tickets (without mentioning it to me, and giving me an opportunity to find another excuse why not...), I was hemmed in and committed.

And the girls were going as well, so I just couldn't back out. I'm discovering, this is risky business, this father and grandfather "stuff".

Dr.John's Computer Helper

2008-04-20T15:28:00.010-05:00

Tony and I have been talking about creating a website for helping novice computer users. Only the basic topics will be covered here. The web is full of information about complicated and detailed "how-tos" for those who have problems, but we've not been able to find much help at all for the truly "novice" users which includes most people in the world. Those who have computer skills and are geeks or even wanna-be geeks can navigate the web and find the help they need. But those who are not, have trouble even doing an effective "search" let alone being able to understand the terminology and instructions that they may find. This web-site will be devoted to the everyday home computer users who use computers but find themselves lost when they encounter even "relatively" simple to remedy problems. I am convinced that there should be a huge market for this kind of assistance, if it can be assembled or created, and if it can be "found by"or "sent to" those who need it.

Staying another week!

2008-04-20T14:11:00.005-05:00

Thursday night I realized my nine day vacation was coming close to an end. Friday we had a trip to Great America (where Megan is working), and Saturday a softball game that Melanie was playing in, on the day-planner. And Tony and I had just started talking about a new idea for a web-based help site for novice computer users. I was really excited about that idea and knew that with everything else we had already planned, there would be little time for us to brain-storm any longer.

So I checked with Jane and got an OK from her, it would require her to drive home everyday (a 75 mile trip) to take care of the critters, but she told me to go for it.

Then called the office to check with Tracey and Dan to see if there was anything crucial that I needed to be back for... After all the cheering died down, the champagne was put away, and the sighs of relief subsided, they agreed that I could stay another week.

So finally after checking with Tony and Cyndi just to make sure I wasn't over-staying my welcome, I called United Airlines and re-booked my flight to come home on Monday the 28th!

Wow, what a deal! Another week with the California crew.

HomeRun West Coast Division

2008-04-20T13:50:00.009-05:00

I sent a logo sign to hang in Tony's garage workshop. Silicon Valley Division of HomeRun. Then the girls, Meg, Mel & Cyndi got to work sprucing it up for us...

Helicopter Flight Experience

2008-04-20T00:09:00.003-05:00

Friday morning Tony took me to a local park to show me how he flies his remote control helicopter, sort of..
And how to do "on-site" repairs. ;)

Friday Afternoon at Great America

2008-04-19T09:08:00.004-05:00

We spent the day at Great America.

Ready for the Prom

2008-04-15T14:35:00.006-05:00

Megan's Junior Prom April 11th, 2008

Video Clips from California

2008-04-15T12:27:00.006-05:00

Megan's first prom date:

Melanie's softball game:

Cyndi & Tony's Friday night bowling league:

Paul "Tony" Watson links

2007-12-11T15:32:00.000-06:00

Here are a few of the many interviews done after Tony discovered a flaw in the internet software that could have potentially caused a breakdown of the entire system.
CBC

CBS

TechTV

Back in Silicon Valley again

2007-11-18T09:38:00.000-06:00

November 18th, 2007:
Once again, I'm in California visiting my son and "our" family. This is a short weekend visit, flew in on Friday and will head home on Monday. Tony and I are continuing to get to know each other, and are hurriedly putting together the necessary applications and finish a short three minute video clip to send in to CBS in an attempt to be chosen as team-mates for the next season's The Amazing Race program.

I've been watching the program since it began a number of years ago, Tony has seen only a couple episodes, but with my encouragement he's finally agreed to try out for the show.

As any of you who have seen the program will know, it's a race around the globe with a dozen or so teams, who have to accomplish a variety of tasks both physical and mental. The last team to arrive on almost every episode are eliminated and sent home.

But the winning team split a cash prize of a million dollars.

Need less to say, winning would be wonderful. But simply making the first cut and being in the race is my only goal at this point. My hope is to simply make it to the race, and hopefully stay in the race as long as possible.

What a wonderful way to spend a month with my new-found son, collaborating, being team-mates, racing and competing with others in the most intense and concentrated frame of time and space imaginable.

On a previous visit Tony and I spent an afternoon at the Computer History Museum;

Belle Plaine is Open, finally!

2007-04-11T07:23:00.000-05:00

Well, Belle Plaine opened for business today. We had a half page color ad in both the Benton and Iowa County papers, unfortunately most people won't see it until they arrive home tonight since it's distributed to many in Wednesday's mail. Hopefully tomorrow we'll have a better turnout. Today was a bit discouraging, only a couple people stopped in, but I'd told everyone ahead of time that I didn't expect many would even know we were open until this evening, so I shouldn't be surprised. Tomorrow and Friday should be better and as Williamsburg took awhile to generate stop in traffic, I expect it will take some time for word to get out in Belle Plaine as well. The store really looks good, I am very pleased.

The computer below is a dual display custom system.

This is an Apple MacIntosh dual processor with OSX.

And this is the ultimate in processing power with all the bells and whistles, an Intel Pentium 5 dual core 3.6Ghz CPU with four SATA 250GB hard disk drives, RAID, Water Cooled (no fans needed, it has it's own radiator built in for cooling. And it also has the latest state of the art graphics card, an nVidia GeForce 4 8800XT with 768mb of GDDR3 onboard dedicated graphics memory, dual DVI, PCI-Express and an onboard 7" XVGA LCD touch panel display that automatically slides out for use or rolls back in when not needed. This is my dream machine, way too much for the mere mortal geek!

Below is another shot of the sales/display floor.
And finally Dan Blanchard putting up the lower of two signs on the outside. It snowed last night, so we won't be able to put up the larger sign till it melts, hopefully soon.

The bigger sign below will stay inside till the weather clears.

Where did the day go?

2007-03-18T07:23:00.000-05:00

Recently, I was diagnosed with A. A. A. D. D.
Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder

This is how it develops:

I decide to water the lawn.
As I turn on the hose, I look over at my car and decide my car needs
washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the porch
table that I brought up from the mailbox earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage
can under the table, and notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage
first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox, when I take
out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my checkbook off the table, and see that there is only 1 check
left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the
house to my desk where I find the can of Coke that I had been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside
so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

I see that the Coke is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep
it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the
counter catches my eye--they need to be watered.

I set the Coke down on the counter, and I discover my reading glasses
that I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water
the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water
and suddenly I spot the TV remote, someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for the
remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide
to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the
flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the
floor. So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and
wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:

the car isn't washed,
the bills aren't paid,
there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter,
the flowers don't have enough water,
there is still only 1 check in my check book,
I can't find the remote,
I can't find my glasses,
and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really
baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for
it, but first I'll check my e-mail.

Do me a favor, will you? Forward this message to everyone you know,
because I don't remember to whom it has been sent.
Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!

GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY.

GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.

LAUGHING AT YOURSELF IS THERAPEUTIC.

P.S I just remembered.

I LEFT THE WATER RUNNING IN THE DRIVEWAY!

Second Store Opening in April

2007-03-11T13:44:00.000-05:00

We just made arrangements to lease a new store location in Belle Plaine, Iowa. It's about 15 miles north of Ladora, as Williamsburg is also 15 miles east. The store was formerly a restaurant and catering business but has plenty of room and a reasonable price tag as well as being right in the middle of the business district with lots of pass-by and walk-in potential.

John's Bar, Grill & Computer Repair Shop....?

2007-03-06T06:07:00.000-06:00

Here's a novel idea for making your computer a little more user friendly.

New T-shirts

2007-02-28T16:47:00.000-06:00

New t-shirts hot off the press, arrived today! No, the model isn't a just another Tom Cruise look-alike, it's me.

We have medium, large and extra-large, all for only $9.95! Limited supplies, so put in your orders quick before they're gone. :)

Ice Storm Hits Iowa

2007-02-26T08:26:00.000-06:00

Saturday morning we lost power due to a major ice storm that hit Iowa. The governor declared emergency conditions in 58 of the 99 counties. As you'll see be the photos below, all taken by me on the way to check in at the store Sunday morning. Williamsburg fortunately faired well, power was disrupted Saturday night at about midnight, but was quickly restored. In Marengo, Big G supermarket was open Sunday morning, running on generators for those of us who needed essentials. My hats off to Garth the owner, running a supermarket on generator power must have been a major expense for him, but he was open never the less. Talk about customer service, and service to his community!

First photo is of my totally covered Scion tire:

Our patio table and chairs;

Fence posts;

Everything from grass to brambles were ice covered:

This was taken off the rearview mirror of Jane's Ford.

Notice the thickness on this plant potter.

Power and telephone poles snapped like twigs.

Another roadside of downed power lines.

Back of my Scion, almost an inch thick.

New T-shirts and Decals

2007-02-24T07:51:00.001-06:00

We've just received new vinyl stickers that include our toll-free phone number that will be affixed on each computer that goes through our shop. They can be easily removed if desired by the customer, but will be a contant reminder of how to reach us when needed in the future, as well as noticed by any friends who happen to see their computers.

In addition we've ordered six dozen new T-shirts from EliteSports silk-screeners here in Williamsburg. All will be white with just the logo and our toll-free phone number, and another two dozen employee shirts will be black and have the logo displayed below along with the words "Support Staff" under the logo.

Signs finished for the Scion

2007-02-03T16:27:00.000-06:00

Hollywood Graphics of Iowa City finished detailing the Scion yesterday. Nice job, Josh! I am very pleased, this is going to be a great "rolling billboard" for HomeRun. AutoToyz of Iowa City also finished installing the Panasonic DVD/Radio/XM/Rear video/Navigation unit yesterday as well. We've got a Geek Mobile now guys! Now to make enough money so we can order the next 200 of these and cover the midwest with HomeRun Service Calls! :)

Final Logo Design

2007-01-27T10:11:00.000-06:00

Here it is after years of highly paid graphics designer's toil:

New photos from my sis Carol

2007-01-27T09:31:00.000-06:00

The first photo was taken January 4th, 2007 at the Williamsburg Recreation Center after a dinner party for family, friends, investors and clients.
from left to right are: Tony, Cyndi, Megan, "Doctor" John, Melanie, Jane and Peggy.

Helga, my 1972? VW bus, she gave me over 400,000 of the best miles of her life. I pretty much lived in Helga for a good part of my photography days (almost eight years in the eighties) and traveled from California (where I swapped a Commodore 64, TV, and floppy disk drive for her) all over the country many many times. She finally had a viking's funeral when she caught on fire and burned to a crisp.

1978 I bought my first big truck, a Stetson and Tony Lama boots and became an over the road trucker... Then within six months Jimmy Carter's fuel crunch hit and deisel prices soared from 50 cents a gallon to over a $1.20! Not the best business move I've ever made. Oh well, live and learn. Sometimes "location, location, location" isn't the key, sometimes it's timing as well.

Look at me, I'm a cowboy! Taken at my dad's place in Arkansas, Ben Lomond, AR. population 157. About the size of Ladora, IA. Must have been in the late 70's or so...?

Larry Linville, aka; Major Frank Burns of the television show M.A.S.H. and I discussing hang-gliding. Notice the hair? Yep! If you know me now, you wouldn't have believed it but I had hair once upon a time, enough to have a pony-tail by golly!

Me and my pop, I taught him to play chess, and he beat me our third game, and more often than not afterwards.

Another photo of my favorite aunt Jackie, the rough rider!

My last hang-glider, a Cirrus 5 with spoilers and ailerons. Jackie, my aunt is trying to decide whether she really wants to learn to fly... My last flight ended up demolishing the kite and breaking both my arms.

Phoenix, AZ. around 1972 or so, I was building and flying hang-gliders for a living... well, not much of a living, but it sure was fun. Only 13 broken bones, but tons of thrills and chills.

This was around 1970, first sales job with Career Enterprises, Inc. Keypunch Academy director, notice the sharp clothes, and hair? Slim, trim, sharp and a couple bucks in my pocket, life was good for the kid!

Around 1965-66, at 15 with dreams of being a rock star...

This must have been in 1963, New Carlisle, In. God & Country Award in Boy Scouts.

Oh man, these are oldies but goodies!

2nd Ugliest Car update

2007-01-21T11:06:00.000-06:00

According to Click and Clack of NPR's Car Talk radio program, last year's pole of listeners voted the Pontiac Aztec the ugliest car ever produced, with the Toyota Scion coming in second. Well, I just discovered that Pontiac stopped making the Aztec in 2005. So by default my Scion has inherited the title; World's Ugliest Car... at least of those still in production.
Wow, I'm so pleased! Until I become wealthy enough to be able to buy a 1964 Jaguar XKE roadster (world's most beautiful car, in my humble opinion anyway, they are over 40 years old but still command $50-$60,000 on eBay), I'll settle for the world's ugliest and be grateful to Pontiac for letting my Scion slide into first place. :)

New Company Vehicle

2007-01-18T06:16:00.002-06:00

Just bought the first "Flagship" company car today!

I know, voted 2nd Ugliest Car in the World! According to NPR listeners.
I had three criteria for choosing a company vehicle:

Will it do the job we need?
Is it noticable and will therefore draw attention to the advertising signs?
Would I enjoy driving it?

First; yes it has 21 cubic feet of storage and the back seats fold forward for more storage as well.

Second; being so outrageously ugly it can't help but be noticed, and with the signs I have being made will be a rolling billboard for HomeRun.

Third; believe it or not, it has more room in both the front seat and rear seat areas I've seen since riding in a Cadillac. I'm a fairly big guy and yet have plenty of room in all the seats to spread out and be comfortable.

In addition it's one of the most econonimical vehicles on the road, with between 30 and 34 mpg, and the price including a few options was less than $16,000!

Basic Coverage:
All components other than normal wear and maintenance items are covered for 36 months/36,000 miles.

Comprehensive Extended Warranty: full coverage for 8 years/120,00 miles.

Powertrain Coverage:
Your engine, transmission/transaxle, front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, seatbelts and air bags are covered for 5 years/60,000 miles. Rust-Through Coverage:Corrosion perforation of sheet metal is covered for 60 months/unlimited miles.

Is it pretty or would (if I were a young single guy and had my hair back) I be able to pick up chicks with this car? Not a chance I'm sure! But for the job it is needed for, I think it's a perfect fit.

Also another consideration in choosing this vehicle was the thought that hopefully in the near future we will need several more vehicles, and all must be the same.

This easily fits into all of the criteria listed above especially as being "noticable" and when it is seen, people will immediately know "HomeRuns" are in progress.

Additional note; rather than paying outright for it I financed it thru Toyota Motor Credit at a 6.75% rate, better than my bank could offer. Also purchased the comprehensive extended warranty for 8 years/120,000 miles (it's gonna clock up miles pretty quick I'm sure) and although it was titled under the HomeRun name, I personally co-signed the note.

Hollywood Graphics of Iowa City is busy working on the signage. I've also contracted with LogoWorks.com to create a new logo for HomeRun and hopefully this will add to our company image and be used in the vehicle signage as well as be incorporated into all our signs and printed materials as well as advertising. It's time to establish the logo to carry us into the future.

Family Reunion

2007-01-07T18:39:00.000-06:00

It may be awhile before I can find time to write about this last week, so many things to tell... But I wanted to post some of my favorite photos (simply click on a photo to enlarge) right away to share with everyone. It was simply the best week of my life!

Family, business and "family business", everything I could ever hope for all rolled into one wonderful week, and I'm exhaused. I am afterall, since Saturday, 58! :)

In addition to everything else that's happened this week, I just got an email message on my birthday from Dr. Kerry Gatlin, my uncle, only two years my senior (but older than me, I'm compelled to point out :)

He and I spent many summers together riding pigs, turning over outhouses, and generally getting into mischief when we were not yet teenagers, looong time ago!

Anyway, we haven't had contact since then, and now he teaches at the University of Northern Alabama.

He is Dean of the College of Business Administration as well as being on the board of directors (treasurer) of the:
Shoals Entrepreneurial Center.

And after we resolve the question of; "who was the instigator" in the great pig stealing adventure of circa 1952-'53? (he claims it was me), but he was older and I claim must have been the leader, perhaps he'll also offer advice on my entrepreneurial venture... ?

Here are Tony, Cyndi (his wife), Megan and Melanie (his daughters, in front of me), Jane and Peggy (my mother).

Tony and Melanie swinging on the square.

The "Harp" boys from down the road came and took Meg and Mel for four-wheeling Friday afternoon and when it became too dark they all watched a movie together downstairs while us grown-ups strained to hear every word (very few) and chuckled, as we recalled being young ourselves. Thanks for entertaining our girls, guys.

Tony in the basement at HomeRun preparing for his Kiwanis speech.

Father and son, "tag-team" at Kiwanis.

Tony blows them away telling about his experiences and down-playing his notoriety when the press dubbed him "The Man Who Saved the Internet"! Jane told me later there wasn't a dry eye in the place (with the women, of course) as he talked about our reunion. One minor slip-up, during his talk he said, and I quote: "I was married, had two girls, and discovered my life was miserable.... then when I rediscovered my dad..." No one noticed the flub until later. Cyndi, his wife, as we watched the videotape afterward, sat straight up in her chair and said; "married and miserable you say?"! Of course, he stammered, as we all howled at his feeble attempts to explain himself. It was hilarious and although Cyndi knew what he meant to say, she played him like a harp for our entertainment. :)

My mother with my adopted father and mother Col. and Jane Lewis.

Food line for the dinner buffet. Fantastic spread from Mike at Myer's Grill & Catering, highly recommended!

Kate and Gracie, Jane's daughter and grand-daughter.

Megan smiling at the camera as the family table enjoys our meal. Although the food was wonderful, I didn't discover that until the next day. I was too anxious about having to delivery my speech after dinner to even be able to taste anything. Fortunately there was plenty to share and take home for later, then I discovered what a great job Mike Myers had done for us.

Tony and Megan in the foreground as Dave Gott clowns in the back, and notice Issac Dave's son across from him, wonder what's going though that young man's mind? :)

Tony in the park across from his pop's store.

Cute? Nah, way more than cute, this grand-daughter is my "snow-bunny"!

The Man Who Saved the Internet is coming!

2006-12-17T18:00:00.001-06:00

Paul "Tony" Watson will speak at the Kiwanis luncheon Thursday Jan. 4^th from 12:00 till 1:00 at the Williamsburg Recreation Center south of town.

RSVP required; please call HomeRun Computer Service 668-9706 if you'd like to attend.

Free admission for presentation & lunch courtesy of HomeRun Computer Service.

Please help me welcome my son to Williamsburg, I hope you all can come. Please call and let us know if you can attend, we need to make sure we have enough seats and food for all.

Mouse pads, pens and I guarantee an interesting discussion about both the internet and future of personal computing.

Below are excepts from a couple international news publications describing his work.

New York Times: April 24, 2004

The flaw affecting the Internet's ``transmission control protocol,'' or TCP, was discovered late last year by a computer researcher in Milwaukee. Paul Watson said he identified a method to reliably trick personal computers and routers into shutting down electronic conversations by resetting the machines remotely.
Experts previously said such attacks could take between four years and 142 years to succeed because they require guessing a rotating number from roughly 4 billion possible combinations. Watson said he can guess the proper number with as few as four attempts, which can be accomplished within seconds.

Chicago Sun Times: April 21, 2004

WASHINGTON: Researchers have uncovered a serious flaw in the underlying technology for nearly all Internet traffic. The British government announced the vulnerability in core Internet technology on Tuesday. The Homeland Security Department issued its own cyber-alert hours later that attacks ''could affect a large segment of the Internet community.'' The flaw affecting the Internet's ''transmission control protocol,'' or TCP, was discovered last year by a researcher in Milwaukee. Paul Watson said he identified a method to trick personal computers and routers into shutting down electronic conversations by resetting them remotely. Routers continually exchange important updates about the most efficient traffic routes between large networks. Attacks can cause them to go into a standby mode that can persist for hours. In recent weeks, some U.S. government agencies and companies operating the most important digital pipelines have fortified their own vulnerable systems because of early warnings. On Thursday, at an Internet security conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Watson is expected to disclose details. He predicted that hackers would understand how to launch attacks ''within five minutes of walking out of that meeting.''

BBC News World Edition: April 21, 2004

One of the net's central technologies has a serious security vulnerability warn UK and US infrastructure protection agencies. Security researcher Paul Watson has found a way to quickly discover the code numbers used to preserve streams of data travelling, for example, from a particular website to your net browser.

For more information and our personal story, click this link;

The Man Who Saved the Internet!

(319) 668-9706 Dr.John@HomeRunComputer.com

Monday: Google Tour

2006-11-11T07:47:00.004-06:00

I awoke today and realized that Tony had said he'd planned on giving me the "full" tour of his workplace, Google. Under any other circumstances, I'd had given anything for a tour of Google. But this was my last day with my new family, and when Tony awoke I asked if we could take a raincheck and spend the day as we had the previous three, sitting around the kitchen table, talking. And we did and I wouldn't have changed a single moment of it even for Google! :)

Later in the afternoon he did give me a ride in his Lotus. We started up a winding narrow road toward the top of a hill nearby, he'd said something about a "view"... I noticed a road sign that said: "Speed Limit 20", next thing I knew I was hanging on for dear life, white knuckles, not breathing, wanting to yell, but not wanting to let him know what a coward I was.... Finally as we approached a right angle turn and I figured he was going to show off his cars' brakes to me, and discovered to my horror that instead, he demostrated that his tires must have been covered with some kind of automotive super glue... No, we didn't brake, didn't even seem to slow down for the turn, we just whipped around the bends and curves at 80mph!!!! Whoa, good grief, this ride, this car was far more exciting than any roller coaster I've ever ridden. Finally I had a moment of horror; I'd been gone all of his life and now after careful planning and setup he was finally getting even for all the lost baseball games and birthdays and movies we hadn't shared. My kid was bent on giving me a heart attack! This was just a momentary, panicked thought, and when finally we got to the top of the hill and sat looking down at the "view" he'd originally told me about I admitted to him that the thought had entered my mind; he howled and we both laughed till tears streamed down our faces.

He wanted me to drive home, I declined, he insisted, I was adamant. Even at the posted 20mph, this was way too much of a car for a grandfather to drive. :)

As much as I wanted to bring up the topic of "safe driving and a wife and children who depend on him, and a father who is scared to death", and I will eventually, I figured it was too soon in our relationship to critize yet...

(Tony; we gotta talk about that car my boy). :)

Sunday: day three with my family

2006-11-11T07:46:00.001-06:00

Tony's birthday; 38! Where has all the time gone? One day I wander through Indiana and on an impulse stop to see whatever happened to his mother, and am surprised to not only find her, but to discover him as well. The son I didn't know I had.

When I arrived in LaPorte at her home and she asked me if I could wait an hour for a surprise, and being as impatient as I've always been, pestered her to explain what kind of surprise, and when she finally told me about him, I doubted her. I didn't believe her, my shame and suspicious nature coming to the surface. Then when, after forty-five long and anxious minutes of waiting, I saw him walking down the street a block away and knew instantly from that distance that she'd told me the truth afterall...

No doubt, at first glance, even from far away, although I couldn't yet see his features, I recognized his gait. Just like a movie image of John Wayne's retreating figure on the big screen when you can't see his face, yet you recognize his "walk", I saw in this slim young man my own "walk". As he approached and finally I could see his features, I saw myself twenty years younger....

Afterward, a few phone calls, too few letters and a final meeting before another separation. This one to last another almost two decades....

Now we've been reunited at long last. Cyndi his wife did the searching, and after they discovered a photo of me during a hiking trip three years ago: Yellow River State Forest, they searched for my name in Iowa towns and cities finally discovering my business and phone number. And after finding the phone number and debating for several days calling, his daughter Megan, as she was being given a good night kiss by Tony said simply; "Call your Dad, you would want me to call if it was you, right?...".

I'm so glad you called, Tony. I'm so glad you found me, Cyndi. I'm so glad you said "Call your Dad", Megan. Thank you all. And thank you Melanie for breaking the ice for all of us by wrapping yourself around my neck with no hesitation whatever, and hugging me like you've missed me for all your life.

So many good and wonderful things have occurred in my life in the last few years... "It's all good", as Megan told me. But this makes them pale in comparison. This has been the best that I've ever experienced in all of my life, and I know the best is yet to come. The rest of my life with my son, new daughter-in-law and grandkids.

I can't wait for tomorrow. And especially for my next birthday in January when they are all coming here to visit us. And Tony, get ready for a Kiwanis presentation. There are a couple old coots who still don't know what the internet is yet, maybe you can bring them up to speed...

Saturday: day three with my family

2006-11-11T07:42:00.001-06:00

Time goes so fast sometimes. I am trying to relive the last week and recall so many things, so many conversations, so many emotions... And more often than not, although they are all burned into my mind and will never fade, the timeline gets confused. I do know that these several days have been the most wonderful of my life, filled with love and tears, laughter and confessions and a regret or two as well, but I'm having a hard time sorting and organizing the events into time slots. I brought a laptop, four digital cameras (two with video capability), an electronic notepad, two PDAs..... but I never used most of them. I was far too busy with life to be bothered with technology. Now I regret not taking the time to summerize the events at the time or at least at the end of the day. No matter, what happened, what I experienced was far more important than the "when"s and "how"s.

Friday: day two with my family

2006-11-11T07:10:00.000-06:00

Friday Nov. 3rd, 2006:

When Tony and crew had come to pick Jane and I up last night at the airport, Cyndi had stopped for him at Google and he'd left his BMW there. So this morning she carried us both to pick up his car. While there we had an opportunity to walk thru a good part of the campus and I was absolutely amazed at some of the things I saw. No "offices" that I could see, every workspace was a cluster of several workstations, each with at least two huge flat panel LCD displays. Many had three or even four 21" LCD panels on the desk. A workout/exercise room that would put a "Curves" or any other gym to shame. Saunas, pools, huge beanbag chairs everywhere. Soda and snack coolers occupied every hallway. Every so often there was a video game, foosball table or massage recliner along the walls and open spaces. Some work areas even had a wetbar, one with a half empty bottle of champaigne sitting atop the counter! And the cafeteria... I was huge, with every type of selection to choose from you could imagine. And FREE, no cost whatever.

After Tony and I arrived home, the day became tense. Melanie had a schedualed checkup with her doctor and they preformed a CAT scan of her chest. Everything seemed just fine until about 3:00 that afternoon. Cyndi had just left to go to Starbucks and a moment later called in tears saying she'd gotten a call from Melanie's doctor asking them to take her in immediately for more blood work and after to go directly to the doctor's office for another checkup. Needless to say we were all concerned, including Melanie. Fortunately everything worked out fine, false alarm, nothing to be worried about in the end, thank God. But for a couple of hours it was pins and needles and forced smiles and lots of reassurances for both Cyndi and Melanie.

Reunion: first day with my family

2006-11-04T14:46:00.000-06:00

Thursday November 2nd, 2006 07:07 CST:

Today's the day. We are flying to San Francisco to meet my son Tony and his family. It's been eighteen long years. I can not possibly explain how excited, anxious, nervous and joyful I feel. Thanks so much for all of the kind words so many of you have expressed. And I promise to keep everyone posted and up to date with notes and photos.

So far as "business" is concerned; I haven't been "concerned" for the last two weeks and I apologize and will get back in the saddle soon. Things are under control and business is good, fortunately we've got Dan Blanchard running the show while I'm away and Tracey Gobush "manning" the front desk, so I'm confident that all is and will be under control. I've also taken two cell phones with me to keep in touch, as well as a PDA and laptop for email and postings.
Wish us well, as I know everyone does, and thanks again for your support.

John & Jane

Update San Francisco: Both Jane and I arrived about an hour late due to airline delays but when we arrived we received a wonderful reception by Tony, Cyndi, Megan and Melanie. Even Molly their German Shepard/Labrador seemed glad to greet us. As late as it was, and as long as the trip was we stayed up far too late talking and catching up.

First greeting at the San Francisco airport, it's been waaay too long!

Tony and I: meeting of the minds.

Melanie & Megan

Cyndi and a proud new father-in-law.

Mollie

Home Coming at long last

2006-11-02T07:19:00.001-06:00

Nov. 2nd, 2006 07:07 CST: Today's the day. We are flying to San Francisco to meet my son Tony and his family. It's been eighteen long years. I can not possibly explain how excited, anxious, nervous and joyful I feel. Thanks so much for all of the kind words so many of you have expressed. And I promise to keep everyone posted and up to date with notes and photos. So far as "business" is concerned; I haven't been "concerned" for the last two weeks and I apologize and will get back in the saddle soon. Things are under control and business is good, fortunately we've got Dan Blanchard running the show while I'm away and Tracey Gobush "manning" the front desk, so I'm confident that all is and will be under control. I've also taken two cell phones with me to keep in touch, as well as a PDA and laptop for email and postings. Wish us well, as I know everyone does, and thanks again for your support.
John & Jane

The Man Who Saved the Internet!

2006-10-22T08:43:00.058-05:00

Monday night October 16th, 2006 at a little after 7pm the most amazing thing happened. Without doubt it is the most unexpected and wonderful thing that has ever happened to me (with the notable exception of snagging Jane, of course).

This story needs a little background to allow you to understand it properly though. Let me begin by reminding you of a news story that broke in April of 2004. Although probably everyone saw the story most will not remember simply because it wasn't something they understood or were concerned with. It was important to me and anyone else who may have been interested in computers or the Internet.

There was a security flaw, a vulnerability detected, having to do with the Cisco routers that control most of the Internet. This vulnerability fortunately was repaired and just like the scare of Y2K nothing much really happened, at least to most of us. In fact, this flaw, this vulnerability required the efforts of tens of thousands of highly skilled programmers the world over.

To make the importance of this understandable to those not knowledgeable about the Internet and how it works, I'll use the example that Paul (Tony) Watson used during a CBS and CBC news interview.

"If you think of the Internet as the interstate highway system and replace the word router with bridge it may be easier to understand. If somehow all of the bridges on the interstate highway system were to disappear you would certainly be able to pull out of your driveway and head for work in the morning, but more than likely you wouldn't arrive. Bridges are everywhere and are as essential to travel as are routers to the Internet. The routers (bridges) were at risk and therefore the Internet itself was at risk."

CBS "Up to the Minute"

CBC “NewsWorld Today”

TechTV "Screensavers"

Paul (Tony) Watson is the name of the young man who first discovered this vulnerability.

Paul is currently employed as a senior network security engineer with Google. He has over 15 years of experience in the information technology area, including 13 years focused on information security. During his career, he has presided over 3 start-ups, as well as having been employed by the U.S. Air Force, Iridium LLC, CapitalOne Financial, VeriSign, Rockwell Automation, and now Google. Watson has accumulated a wide area of technical expertise throughout his career including information security, network design and architecture, e-commerce, cryptography, Unix and Windows system administration, and software development. He has authored and presented several talks, papers, and training classes on information security topics, as well as having been featured in articles and stories on information security by the New York Times, Washington Post, San Jose Mercury, CBS, Fox News, CNBC, and many others. Watson is also a co-recipient of the MIT Brunnell award for macro engineering for his efforts on the development of the U.S. Air Force Command Tactical Information System, as well as the Smithsonian science award for his participation in the Iridium project.

The New York Times

Wall Street Journal

Chicago Sun Times

Los Angles Times

US-CERT Cyber Security Alert

Now you may be asking yourself what this has to do with my story. Well, first of all, Monday night at a little after seven o'clock I received a phone call. The man on the other end of the phone was this very same Paul Anthony Watson.

At first I didn't recognize the name, but soon discovered that I knew him briefly almost 20 years ago. I knew him then as Tony. You see I first met him when he was only about 19. He was the son of a girl I'd known briefly in Indiana after returning from the army. He had just graduated from high school and we had a short-lived relationship, and shared phone calls and letters for a only about a year or so. The last time I heard from him was before he had married and moved to North Carolina with his new bride. I was living in Boston at that time and traveling the country photographing state fairs, carnivals and conventions. The last time we spoke if I recall correctly, I had given him some advice that I later figured was unwanted. I didn't hear back from him after that occasion, even after I mailed him a laptop computer along with a letter encouraging him to learn what he could about them... computers. I often wondered whether he had ever received that computer, but had no way of knowing.

Well it turns out that he did, he became interested in computers, joined the Air Force to learn more and has obviously learned far more than I ever will, and the rest is history.

As I've also recently discovered, he had tried to track me down for a number of years, but as I was constantly moving, he was never able to, and of course this all occured long before Al Gore invented the internet :), and searching for someone was much harder than it is now.

Now he lives in Silicon Valley (Milpitas, CA.), works for Google, drives two sports cars, a red BMW and a Lotus Elise sportscar worth probably more than I'll ever make, and is world-renowned for his expertise and skills with computer systems, internet security and is in fact;

The Man Who Saved the Internet!

He's done well for himself and his family and it makes me especially proud.

Oh, and one more thing: as Paul Harvey used to say;

"Now, for the rest of the story"

Even though I was nuts about his mother back in 1968 she wasn't about me, and although I had heard she was carrying a child, she told me the child belonged to another. I didn't know he existed until 1987, when I discovered that he is, indeed, my son.

After we lost contact although I often wanted to try and reconnect, given the fact that I had not been there for him until he was almost grown, I didn't want to intrude and chose to wait for him to connect with me, if he wanted. I wasn't a part of his life until it was too late, or so I suspected. Monday evening he proved me wrong.

For more info including photos, news links and documentation:

Tony's Website

Articles & Interviews

You bet I'm proud! And will probably turn into a boring old bald-headed man crowing about his kid's accomplishments to anyone who'll listen.

Thursday, November 2nd both Jane and I will be flying to San Francisco for our long overdue "reunion".

Thank God for the internet, Google for a way to search for things and people that didn't exist two decades ago. And thank you especially Cyndi, for being a good wife and mother and for doing the searching and finding me.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, I'll never be able to thank you enough. Everyone be sure to click on the Random Photos link on the sidebar and look at the photos of Cyndi, (Tony's persistent and beautiful wife) Megan his almost grown 16 year old daughter and especially Melanie my youngest granddaughter, who by the way wants to ride her bicycle to Iowa to meet our kitten Sneezer.

If you'd like to leave a comment, we'd all appreciate your thoughts; simply click Post a Comment at the bottom. Click "other" to put in your name, (unless you already have a Google username) and type your comments, then simply click Publish. And please forward this webpage to everyone you know, I'm too old to climb on top of the court house building to shout my good news to the world, besides email and the internet is a much more effective way to "shout to the world". And to find long-lost fathers and sons!

This is the only photo I have of us when we first met in 1987.

"I'm so happy about this, proud, humbled and regretful that it's taken us so long to reconnect. But we have the rest of our lives to make up for lost time."

Updates to "Our" story:

If you'd like to "comment" please do, and if you'll email me directly I'll be able to respond.

DrJohn@HomeRunComputers.com

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