just in time for the 4th of July…
Posted by Ben in Uncategorized on July 3rd, 2008
I was listening to AM Radio while stuck in traffic (had to turn off Satellite radio to get traffic report) and caught a story about the Redesigned Naturalization Test that people immigrating into our country must pass. The latest changes go into effect October 1st, 2008.
The hosts were quizzing callers and sadly, from the sounds of it, most people who already live here couldn’t pass the test. Here are a couple of the questions…how do you fare? The answers to the following 4 are below, but DON’T CHEAT.
- When was the Constitution written?
- Who was President during World War I?
- How many justices are on the Supreme Court?
- How many amendments does the Constitution have?
You can find all the questions and answers here:
http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/100q.pdf
Keeping in mind WOOD 1300 probably has a fairly conservative audience, they also replayed a self proclaimed “rant” by Rick Roberts titled “I want my country back.” They pull it off the shelf on special occasions to spread the sentiment. It was pretty good – the guy was definitely passionate – you can hear it or read the transcript here:
http://www.760kfmb.com/rick_blog/?p=72
Happy Independence Day!
Answers: 1787, Woodrow Wilson, 9
The Perfect Storm
Posted by Ben in Uncategorized on July 3rd, 2008
Dateline: Grand Rapids, MI. Yesterday we had intense weather – hale wiped out miles of farmer’s fields, rain flooded streets and basements and winds snapped trees like toothpicks. I left work during one of the lulls in the storm so that I could take Bailey to the vet, but was unable to make it to the vet’s office because the highway was shutdown due to a power line that fell, covering all lanes of traffic. On the way home I called the office to offer a ride to others who had to walk a fair distance home or to their cars and then headed home to see what damage laid in my yard. First, there was a tree blocking the entrance to my street but luckily there is another back way into our subdivision. Luckily everything around my house was OK – jut very very wet.
Holly and I were both home now, both fearing the potential of flooding in our back yard and into our basement. The creek/drainage ditch in that runs through our back yard goes from an inch of trickling water to a 3 foot deep river with raging current any time we get a fair amount of rain, and with almost 5 inches of rain in 5 hours we were well past a fair amount. I had to pull my bridge away first because the water was getting close to washing it away, and then we watched, and waited all night. 5 years ago our basement flooded and the damage left behind was unimaginable – the worst is the fear that is left behind that rises every time it rains. So long as the creek is moving we are OK, but the amount of rain was just too much and soon the water rose to within 15′ from our basement sliding glass door.
The creek that is normally 3-4′ wide was now over 30′ wide, wiping out landscaping and my garden. The water peaked around 11:30 and then slowly went down – so crisis was averted, but we still spent hours cleaning the basement making sure nothing important was going to get damaged when the rain came. For the first time in 5 years I was certain the basement was going to flood – the good thing is that I can be reasonably sure that we are safe in the future…if we were going to take on water it would have happened yesterday.
Here is a quick before and after:
Before:
After:
St. Ignace Car Show 2008
Posted by Ben in Uncategorized on July 3rd, 2008
Wow, I am lagging behind when it comes to keeping the blog up to date…so today you get a two-fer.
First post – catching up on last weekend. In a last minute decision I decided to skip going to the cabin in lieu of driving the Upper Peninsula to help Mark bring home his classic Jaguar that has been parked in the barn for the winter. Since I drove it up there late last fall and now home I think I have put more miles on it than Mark has in the last year. This overnight trip also coincided with the 2008 car show in St. Ignace so I was able to check that out at the same time.
This was a quick 28 hour trip – we left Friday afternoon and made it to the campground after a 5 hour or so drive, headed into St. Ignace only to be washed out by rain before the big parade began so we headed back to the camper to drink beer around the campfire while dodging rain drops. We had an unusual mix of people around the campfire so the conversation was lively and entertaining. I drank enough beer to make sleeping on the floor of the camper possible, but woke up feeling like a quadriplegic (no offense to quadriplegics, of course.)
(which one of the above don’t belong? Seriously…I think some people enter their cars just for good parking.)
Once everyone was up and around we headed back to St. Ignace to walk through the car show – I’ve been to the show multiple years and I am always amazed by the dedication people put into this hobby. I would love to own a classic car, but I am not sure I want to have a hobby car that handled with kid gloves and can’t be driven freely or enjoyed like other transportation. Holly will be glad to hear that this is one purchase I am not looking to make. If someone has an extra car laying around however, I certainly wouldn’t turn it down. After a terrible weather forecast and crazy storms in the straits area the weather turned out great and the attendance at the show grew exponentially as the day went on.
Once we made a couple passes up and down main street it was time to head back to the camper, pack up and head to Pickford to pick up the jag. With a little coaxing the car started up and was back on the road in no time. We took advantage of running water while at the house, got cleaned up and then ate at Big D’s in Pickford before getting back on the road. (Side note: if you find yourself in Pickford, MI you should try the worker’s breakfast at Big D’s – you won’t be disappointed, all the food is excellent and fairly priced.)
I took my time heading home – a scenic route for sure but I made it back in 6 hours and early enough to watch the original SNL episode with George Carlin. I even stopped at the scenic park by the bridge since I never stopped there before. All in all, it was a good trip but must have taken a serious toll on me as I fell asleep during the Sunday morning news on CBS after the story on removal of the pistol ban in Washington DC and didn’t wake up until after noon. Don’t worry – I have the DVR set to record the news program so I didn’t miss a thing.
Taking a shortcut…
Posted by Ben in Uncategorized on June 20th, 2008
I was walking to a meeting today on the other side of the river when I noticed a duck up ahead of me, walking over said bridge. As I got closer I noticed the duck was followed by a chain of ducklings. Maybe this is just my sense of humor, but I appreciated the irony of the little duck family taking a shortcut over the bridge vs. wading over the river. Odd as I am, it made me think of how times where I have taken the easy way out of things rather than the better/more expected route. Politically, I would equate this to Obama’s decision to not accept public funding – I think he is taking the easy route of fund raising rather than fixing the inherent problems with the public funding model that has been in place since Watergate.
I only had my phone with me so the quality may not be the best – you can click on the image to see the larger version on Flickr.
Maybe this would be a good picture for a “apply your own caption” contest.
Back to normal schedule again
Posted by Ben in Uncategorized on June 19th, 2008
Compared to the past several weeks of travel and family obligations the next couple weeks seem rather mundane. After an eventful flight home last Friday I immediately made my way to my mom’s house on the other side of Michigan to help with chores around the house in preparation for my youngest sister’s graduation party. Saturday was the party – which meant lots of family, many new faces, countless conversations, and sometimes feigned interest in any subset of these things. At least my mom put me in charge of picking up beer so there was some good Oberon to make the day better.
Just when I thought I was done for the day, I got a call that someone wanted to buy a canoe that I had been trying to sell for sometime on Craigslist. I had given up hope that this would sell since the posting was over a month old by now, but a very nice family made a long drive Saturday night to pick up the canoe before Father’s day. Stan and his family were like some adaptation of a Rockwell painting – two kids, a dog and all very pleasant. It just felt good to send the canoe to a family that will get good use out of it. This was the type of family that my dad would have given the canoe to just knowing that it would bring them enjoyment – my mom, while happy for one less eye sore in the yard, probably wanted the money more.
Tuesday brought the family to Grand Rapids for my sister’s orientation at Aquinas College, I entertained my Grandpa and sister by showing them the sights around Grand Rapids and eventually heading to Muskegon to visit a campground my grandparents used to manage. It was nice seeing some old faces and now I would love to eventually spend my own summer season at that park on Lake Michigan – too bad there is a waiting list of almost 60 people to get in. This is an Elk’s campground, so my friends and I may explore becoming members. Now my co-workers will really think I am getting old – I like grandfather clocks, 60 minutes, and the Elks.
Now everyone is caught up again – I hope to spend some time this weekend fishing at the cabin, or maybe just relaxing in between various projects. I’ve told myself that there will be no more birdhouses built for awhile so maybe I will start my 12′x12′ shed. I’ll post pictures of whatever we do next week.