The scourge of all things flying was at her best yesterday. I took a few minutes of “shaky-cam” video on my phone and put it up here on Youtube.com. I have it below for your enjoyment.
Well now, that got your interest. It will take a day or two for them to get back to me. But the winner was selected by a careful process this morning – I asked my mom to pick a number between 1 and 10. She picked 7.
Odd meant down, even meant up. So I went to my list of subscribers and counted 1/2 way down. Then I went down 7 more. And that’s how the winner was chosen.
I did notice something worth mentioning – A lot of people signed up to subscribe but never sent back the confirmation email. So, if you would like to subscribe it’s pretty easy to do it right here and now.
Just click on the box over on the right. They’ll ask you for your email. You fill that in and they will send you a confirmation email. You have to click the link saying that you want the subscription. If you don’t, they won’t send you another. That prevents your friends from signing you up for free subscriptions to The Watchtower and it’s online version. Or worse yet, my blog.
So, I’ll announce the winner as soon as they respond. And if you’re reading this here blog and your email starts with the letters ma… look for an email from me today. I’ve already sent it.
And, no, my mommy didn’t win the cookbook. But I’ll probably send her one anyway. Out of my own pocket.
Famous Dave’s new cookbook: Famous Dave’s Barbecue Party Cookbook
And, while you’re at it – Please follow me on Twitter, and “Like” the Facebook author page.
When this posts, 0742 Central Daylight Savings Time, you will have 18 minutes left to subscribe to the blog (box on the right) and be eligible for the contest. Yes, a final chance. I will be notifying the winner via email and once they contact me in return I will announce their name.
Famous Dave’s new cookbook: Famous Dave’s Barbecue Party Cookbook
And, while you’re at it – Please follow me on Twitter, and “Like” the Facebook author page.
Now that the tub thumping is complete we can talk about the dog.
Stormy is not properly named. Cringer might be more accurate. Especially when you have a thunderstorm.
For the last week we’ve had wicked storms in the Twin Cities. I know she doesn’t like thunder so I’ve been bringing her upstairs to bed instead of putting her in her box at night. That way she can be secure when the show starts.
The net result is that after my convalescence from surgery and a week of bad weather the girl is more firmly in my heart than ever before. On several occasions she’s hopped up on the bed to be near me at the peak of the storm. If it wasn’t raining she’d be sticking her nose in the corner and ignoring me.
Nose in the corner.
Not the case anymore. On two different occasions I’ve fallen asleep with her sleeping next to me on the bed, my arm draped over her warm little body. She lies there staring straight ahead and flinching when the thunder strikes. I’ve had a few sleepless nights comforting her during those storms. I can sleep when I die. This is premium bonding time.
As a result I’m getting eye contact. And requests for pets. And a general sense that she’s actually enjoying my company. It started to get better when I was on leave as my knee healed. But this last week has been special. I don’t mind losing the sleep if it calms her down. And I genuinely like the warmth of her laying next to me.
I am blessed to be able to give her that love. I know that she’s not trusting. She’s not able to give her heart to me at this point. But every time it rains I get blessings from Heaven.
What blessings do you get when it “rains” in your life?
Wander on over to Julie Canfield’s blog and take a peak. I have first world problems that need to be explored. And, this officially counts as my Haiti blog for the week.
Famous Dave’s new cookbook: Famous Dave’s Barbecue Party Cookbook
Please follow me on Twitter, and “Like” the Facebook author page.
Let’s kick this off with full disclosure – or a complete lack of it as the case may be in my particular situation. I signed a non-disclosure agreement with the United States of America back in my days as a Cryptologic Technician. I worked for a little bunch known as the Naval Security Group. We were essentially a branch office of the NSA. I take that oath seriously.
I will be going into hiding – not.
“But you talk about this stuff all the time!” True. And if you can find a single thing I’ve ever said, or written, that isn’t on at least half-a-dozen government websites (the official ones at CIA and NSA in particular), has been released by the White House in order to increase their prestige, or found in the Navy’s own recruiting materials, I’ll gleefully turn myself in at the nearest Federal Pokey. Add to that the simple fact that I’ve been gone for almost 1/4 of a century and the technologies have obviously changed in that time. As have the tactics. And the military, and… I have been repeatedly shocked at the amount of stuff that has been declassified by the government from that era. But the “spook” gene lives on and I will not talk about what we did where and when. That stuff is under lock and key forever. Anything I write as a novelist or as a blogger is 100% made up. I take great care in crafting things that adhere to a fine line of what is out in the public. Nobody could read anything I’ve ever said in public or printed and determine specifics that would damage security. I have not, and I will not, discuss classified material that can cause damage to the people of this nation. Nor will I disclose sources and methods. I’ll leave that to the White House. They seem to be really good at it the last few years.
Now, are we all clear on what I will and will not talk about? Excellent. Read on to see my feelings about the latest NSA scandal. Continue reading
