Survey for my (3) readers: Pig Latin… we all know the easy ones, like Nix = ixnay. However, how does one do a word that doesn’t have a simple one-letter consonant at the beginning.

So, here’s the survey: We’ll use “spoken”. Should it be “okenspay” or “pokensay”?

for illjay

Here’s a select set of clippings from different “news” articles I read today. Sometimes I have a sadness for the human race. Usually, though, it’s just worth laughing at.

• Drunk Man Gets Trapped in Ex’s Chimney: Firefighters requested assistance from police after arriving because they said Connie Deweese was hampering the rescue effort by blocking the fireplace.
• Man Bitten After Putting Snake in Mouth: Snake collector Matt Wilkinson…to impress his ex-girlfriend, he stuck the serpent in his mouth. He was soon near death with a swollen tongue that blocked his throat. Trauma doctors at the Oregon Health and Science University saved his life.
• Man Calls Feds About His Lost Cocaine: According to the complaint, he told …he had stashed two blue backpacks containing 68 pounds of cocaine. [Leroy] Carr asked if ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] could put out a news release saying that federal agents had seized the drugs. That way the organization he was working for would believe his statements that he hadn’t stolen them.
• Bored Naked Man Tries to Rob Pa. Store: Authorities said a man wearing nothing but a hat tried to rob a convenience store.

Wow. Someone call the blog-update police… I’m sure I’m in neglect.

According to the “property” category, July 25th was my last update. Holy cow. I’ll save the excuses, no one wants to read that drivel anyway. (I suppose an argument could be made that no one wants to read any of this drivel. But, then, why are you here? …It’s my sparkling personality and amazing wit. I know, it’s ok.)

To cut to the chase - we are moved in. August 18th (yes, a month ago!) was the scheduled main move day, and we did indeed get about 90% of it done that day. Over the next couple weeks, the remainder was either moved, stored, or recycled/dump’d.

Since we have no internet access at the Barn, it makes it a bit difficult to upload pictures from there. However, I plan to have bunch updated in the near future–I just have to be a bit more diligent in sorting and burning them to CD, then I can upload them at work (*cough* shhhh *cough*). So expect that.

Things are very much to the end stages, obviously. Since the last posting…

• we now have a section of pavement in the driveway & turnaround (makes for a pretty good basketball court).
• the burn site (from the Burn-To-Learns) has been cleared, cleaned, and excavated. In a few months, you’d never know there was ever a house or any buildings there.
• finish grading at the burn site, as well as around the Barn has begun. Basically, they’re leveling the ground, removing large rocks, and generally preparing the location for grass planting.

Upcoming on the agenda is…

• final trim painting (cripe, i swear the painting never ends)
• building a shed
• tending to the yard/landscaping

On top of this, if you recall, we are expecting our 3rd child to arrive. We ordered him for October 6th, but based on the shipping history, Storks-R-Us has blessed us with early arrivals–at no extra charge. So, when he arrives (yup, 3rd boy), who knows what will happen with the changes to the Barn (or to this blog, for that matter).

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned!

Think you can follow directions?

Start by printing this .pdf. After printing, get a sharpened pencil, and turn the sheet face-down on your desk/table. It is a timed test, so mark 3 minutes before beginning. Be honest with yourself–it’s the best way to truly see how you do on this test.

When your done, tell me how you did! (If you haven’t yet taken the test, I trust you won’t cheat by looking through the comments…)

For you teachers reading this, perhaps a good exercise for your class!?

I know I haven’t posted in about a decade, and that will change soon - I promise. Life is beginning to stabilize…until the baby arrives, of course!

I had to put something up about this… from AP:

The final fallout from a disastrous opening weekend for Michigan came Tuesday, when the Wolverines dropped all the way out of The Associated Press Top 25, an unprecedented fall from No. 5 to unranked.

Since the AP poll expanded to 25 teams in 1989, no team has taken a bigger tumble in one week.

After an opening college football weekend filled with blowouts and highlighted by Appalachian State’s stunning 34-32 upset of Michigan at the Big House, there was little notable movement in the Top 25 other than the Wolverines.

Read all about it from App State themselves!

As an MSU alum, I’m loving this!

Mud Murphy

Late August 1993 - August 9, 2007

SALEM - Muddy ‘Skip’ or ‘Mocket’ Murphy passed away peacefully at the Companion Pet Clinic Thursday evening, as a result of kidney failure. The family painfully decided to have him euthanized after learning of his sickness.

Mud was a strong-willed, warmly loved cat to the entire Murphys of Oregon family. He first came to live with Patrick in the early fall of 1993, in an apartment in Haslett, Michigan. Over the years, Mud called many houses “home”, living in several cities in Michigan including East Lansing, Cass City, and Flushing before moving to Salem, Oregon.

Mud enjoyed spending time sleeping & eating — as most cats are wont to do. He also enjoyed wrestling with his “brother” Clovis, as well as chasing toy mice. Some of his favorite activities were knocking over glasses of water or flowers, pushing items off of tabletops, and pawing the metal blinds in the middle of the night. Of course, now, those actions will be missed.

Mud has touched many lives and will be greatly missed.