Last Day of July and Last GNAW of Visit

Can you believe it is already the last day of July? Where is the year going? We will also hold our final GNAW before the Desert Disciple and crew go home and then college. The future college attendees (in just 15 years!) from Queen Creek will also make an appearance tonight in Tempe. Oh, the excitement. For now, I'll let today's CoV make an appearance.

Some comic strip ideas have been given, but I have not found the final panel twist that it takes to complete them. Still, thanks to those who have assisted. I did think of another Rambo-related strip, so those will run through Tuesday.

Well, I need to go work on my dashboard. No, not in the car. That is the industry label for a display of data that can be grasped easily, especially by executives. So, if they see an indicator is red, they can dig deeper into the data and see if they can assist. Or if a disk shows 85%+ full, they can order a new drive to prevent downtime. Those types of data analyses.

Off We Go, Into the Wild Blue Yonder

I do not want to hear of any of my readers trying to go off into the tame blue yonder. Today's CoV starts a short series of Rambo-related comic strips. The guy in the next cubicle made the mistake of mentioning that he had a Rambo Weekend coming up, and that led to this.

We had a little GNAW meeting last night at the grandparent's house. You know, Game Night At the Walkers. Yup, we played Bang! and Ticket to Ride (which is train-related, not Beatles-related). Alison won one and Leigh and Alison won one. Anyway, we went by because Preacher Bro and family are in town. I even made a DVD cover for Pastor Keith, Desert Disciple. I includes that now-famous picture of Keith holding a gun on someone outside the shot. I don't think it was race-related, but only a president can make that call. No, of course I am not going to create the actual DVD. That is a task for someone who likes him. I did not hug everyone goodbye, so they can be sure I will swing by again tonight or tomorrow night. We haven't played the Monopoly card game yet.

Ahh! According to my CoV log, I am down to six cartoons left. I hope the strip does not come to an end on my 33rd anniversary next Thursday. That should be a day of new beginnings. Maybe my brain will kick in before that. Ideas, folks, ideas.

An Old Fashioned Shoot-'em-up

Today, I take aim at a recent law passed by the Arizona Legislature and Governor. No, not necessarily because I disagree with their ruling (although I do), but because a funny idea popped into my head when I read about it. Well, here. You can see where my mind took this.

We are supposed to be down to 109F today. Yeah, baby. That's what I'm talking about.

Yesterday, they cleaned out an office area to place a new hire there. As a result, they dumped a bunch of swag in the break room. You know, T-shirts, branded bags and books, etc. So, I brought a little home in case Kathie or Ali need bags or something for school stuff. Do y'all ever get company-branded items? I've already got a pile of Motorola and ON shirts and pens and stuff.

SNL and DVT

Did anyone notice that there was a lack of clarity on the web yesterday? I'll fix that.
Listen, we still need prayers for Dad. He now has Deep Vein Thrombosis in his right arm. It seems this is another of the fairly common side effects of chemotherapy. I think he was supposed to go to the doc yesterday, but I have not talked to him today.

Alison starts at her new school job today. She has training this week and classroom prep next week, and then she starts teaching Kindergarten. Whoo Hoo. If you watch Family Guy, you will know how to correctly pronounce Whoo. Kathie goes back tomorrow, and her kids start early next week.

A Little Cube Refurbishment Is Always Nice

I have a new whiteboard in my cubicle. It is a clear plastic sheet 2'x3'. Behind it is some white foam to hold it steady and provide the white background. Somehow, writing on it does not give the same tactile feel as the usual whiteboards. It is an IQ from Quartet if you want to research it on the web. Enough with the white; let's go green.
I played a bit with photos last night, but not much Alison and I got started on this year's Torchwood series on BBCAmerica. This is their third season, but it is on for five consecutive nights and that is all for the year. Kind of odd. It is about a team in Cardiff, Wales, that hunts aliens (out of this world type). Warning: NSFP material - Not Safe For Preachers - The lead character is bisexual.

There have been several stories in the newspaper recently about where people keep their thermostats at night. The emphasis is around cost savings, but it highlights the differences between those that keep their house cooler and those who prefer warmer. I am sure Lyndsay's mother, Phyllis, prefers warmer. We like cooler. My folks seem to be in the middle. In the articles, many of them stay around 80F, even at night. Anyway, we let it get up to 81F during the day, but then kick it down to 71F at night. Not very green, huh? What about y'all?

A Green Sacrifice

Today, let's explore the sacrifices we must make in order to go green and the possible impact on our lifestyles and the lifestyles of those with whom we interact.Oh sure, it sounded grand in words, but was less than serious in CoV. I will leave the seriousity to Craig and others while I bring things to mind in a lighter vein.

Right now, there are 11 comics in my hopper. Hmm. I'd better become creative in the next few days or else you will move from the fine dining experience of CoV each day to the gruel of our normal blogging world. You do not want that, I am sure.

Kathie and Alison have been going down to Casa Grande every day to get Ali's room ready. Then Kathie goes to work next week, with one week before the student's arrive. I think Ali officially starts the following week. OK, let's get going. Also, congrats to Shelby Rostas on getting an eighth grade history teaching position in Maricopa.

It's Not Easy Being Green

Ah, today's title came from a song recorded by Kermit the Frog. I suppose it should really have been tweaked to say it's not easy thinking of funny 'green' ideas for CoV. Well, here's today's strip, somewhat inspired by Paul and Kari and their usage of cloth diapers for Audrey.

This past Sunday, our pastor was out after his car broke down in El Paso on a Saturday afternoon. So, one of the lay members spoke. He did very well, but it set me to wondering about Bible study habits. OK, so imagine that you are asked to speak in the worship service. How would you go about finding inspiration? Would you just open your Bible and hope God guided your eyes to the best scripture? Would you sit in quiet meditation hoping God will guide your thoughts? Would you stick your finger into a random spot and hope God would guide your finger? Would you read a Ted Dekker book and then preach about David and his army? While I cannot sit in true quiet meditation, I think I would be most likely to pursue that way.

Hey, I just remembered a Sunday School lesson we heard back in Lubbock (I am fairly certain it was there. Maybe Lewisville) from a lawyer. He took Paul's discourse on Mars Hill in Acts 17 and taught it from his unique viewpoint of how well it would stand up in today's legal environment. Unfortunately, I cannot remember specifics, but I do remember how powerful it was. What other professions could take a passage and evaluate it against their training? Maybe a doctor and the Crucifixion? Any you can think of?

A Vision of Green

Since I posted before Caleb, I should get credit with starting off this "green" week. Hey, be sure to check his blog and sign up so he can be written into a new Ted Dekker novel. Still, I had this green series planned over a month ago, so really, he is just copying me. Mom! He's copying me!

No, I will not think you are original if you comment that the strip today "sucks." Did y'all see Kyle's comment sometime last week with all the ideas for renaming CoV? I enjoyed that comment. A couple were family jokes, such as Kathie's famous statement.

It was a dark and stormy night. Well, it was last night and is still stormy right now. I left home early to beat the major ugliness I expect on the road by 7am. Well, I think I left home early. I plugged in my clock and it was 12am. Ha ha.

I did remember that Preacher Bro was coming yesterday morning when I blogged. However, I forgot last night so neither went by nor called. Sorry, bro. I'll catch you on the flip side next Wed or Thurs. I think we should be into the Rambo series by then.

I tried to work on some photos last night, but I wasn't really into it. I did not go to dance class (and why would I since I am not taking lessons). No, I do not know where these random thoughts come from, and I do not usually share them, but they are there. Oh yes, they are there.

Six Days Late Is Nothing

Denise, I apologize for my lack of memory. Happy birthday six days ago, right? I think your b-day is July 14. If it is not, my memory is even worse than being late. Anyway, Happy 39th again.

This week, we embark upon a Green series in CoV. Today, we'll see how to save some energy. This is really important right now as we swelter in the 110+ time of year.


We went to see Wicked on Saturday. Wow, that is one cool show. Catch it at your local musical theater. Go on. I'll wait.

I heard that Preacher Bro and family are supposed to be in town through tomorrow morning. I'll have to get by tonight and see if Dad was telling me the truth. Maybe he thought I couldn't handle the truth. I think the truth is out there.

Saturday morning, we had the oil changed on all three cars. Luckily, the place we use has an in-house Dunkin' Donuts. Oh yes, breakfast was had by all.

Waaah!

OK, so it's stinking hot here. When the humidity moves in, though, it is hot AND unbearable. We woke up to high humidity today. Now, I am still feeling uncomfortable even at work.

OK, we have reached the end of the minister series today. I guess my character couldn't handle the pressure that preachers deal with every day. Thankfully, I do not have to, either.

Dinner and Wii at KLBK's house last night. No photos, although Lyndsay did take a few. One of them if for Justin, so I need to get a copy and publish it. That's right. We went running. We stayed in the living room, though. I am sure Kyle and Lyndsay are going 2-5 miles during their exercise period. We did somewhat less than that.

And Now, The End is Near. So Dad Faces the Final Chemo

Great news yesterday that Dad only has one more chemo treatment. So, praise the Lord for that blessing. Speaking of blessing, today's cartoon is Bible-related. I said Bible-related, not biblical.
When I got home last night, KLBK (Kyle, Lyndsay, Bella, Kendall) were at the house. For a while, Kendall was glued to me. That's a great ego booster, whether you've had a great day or a horrible one. Tonight, we are heading over to their house. Kathie and Ali will go with Bella to her swimming lessons, and then Lyndsay is cooking gourmet hot dogs.

Caleb, your hair still needs some work before it is evangelistic. However, you probably have taken enough Bible courses to be ready. See, as an evangelist, since you go to a new city or location every week, you only need about 10 sermons...ever. Most people don't realize that Billy Graham only had 12.75 sermons that he rotated. Why 3/4 of a sermon? That way, when he wrapped back over to the first one, it starts in the middle of the last, so no one recognizes it, even if they saw him 15 sermons in a row. Also, be sure you get one of the Bibles that has very floppy covers so it will wrap around your hand. I should probably have saved that last section for a CoV. If you see it in the future, you will know that Caleb got me started.

Third in Twenty-Four

This is my third post in the last 24 hours. Be sure and check out the Red River pictures I posted last night from our vacation. But since you are here, go ahead and check out Clarity of Vision.

Justin, you can now see how lonely the life of a blogger is. People drop by (we think), read the post, and leave nothing behind. No comment, no footprints. Welcome to the big leagues. We do this for ourselves and are happy if we get a comment every month or so.

Dad came by the house yesterday and did some electrical work. As always, he doesn't bother to turn off the breaker before jumping in with metal screwdrivers and wire strippers, etc. For me, I flip off the breaker before I even turn on the lights. I even had them turn off the power to the wiring aisle at Home Depot before I bought some 14-gauge wire.

Red River Photos

I finally took a few minutes and played with my photos. Here are some shots from our few hours in Red River, NM.

As we drove between Colorado and New Mexico, we passed a memorial for Vietnam vets erected just southeast of Red River. A man's parents originally built it in memory of their sun, but now, the state has taken it over as a state park. It was very moving.

Here is a shot down the main street of Red River as we entered from the east. Surprisingly, from here, it looks much as it did 30+ years ago when we came every summer.

Now, there are a few differences from the past. One of them is a park built around the Red River. Here, Kathie, Mom and Dad are looking out from a small covered bridge (not quite as fancy as those up north).

We decided it was a good day for a picnic. Notice some of us wearing jackets...in June. You can tell they came up from Phoenix.

Thanks, But No Thanks

Does the title of today's post refer to whether or not I would become a minister or to Kyle's suggestions that he commented yesterday for renaming my comic strip? I will let you decide for yourselves.
Nope, I did not work on photos last night (but Linsday Ward did. Check out Multnomah Falls. I like that shot). Maybe I can convince all of us that pictures are like wine. They are better with age. Or maybe not. We went out to a strip mall over in Gilbert until the house cooled down. They had a container store that was fun to look through. Well, no longer. It is gone. They also have an Apple store that focuses only on iPods, no computers. Kinda interesting, huh?

I tell you, folks. The old creative juices are slowing down. I only have strips ready through 7/27. Early on, I had 2 months ready and waiting. That gives me time to consider each one and tweak it as needed. Tomorrow is Televangelist. Where would you go with that premise?

Apologies to Bill Cosby

Today's waste of space has overtones of a Bill Cosby routine from the 60s or 70s. Do not think you can judge me just from this cartoon, however. No, I am afraid I have even more fuel to add to this fire before we put it out. Stay tuned.
Kathie and the crew made it back from the cool climes of San Diego just in time to enjoy our 110+ temps. In fact, for lunch yesterday, we had chicken. Yeah, Dad went and bought it raw and by the time he drove home, it was ready to eat. OK, maybe not, but it is a bit warm.

We fixed up Alison's room over the last few days with Ikea's help. No photos yet. No photos from the first part of the vacation yet. No new photos of the granddaughters.

We played Bang! the Bullet yesterday. Sheriff Dad won. Paul and Jay cannot sit beside each other in the future, though.

Happy Birthday, Rick

I don't know how you are celebrating, but maybe some of us are celebrating your birthday by going to the beach in San Diego and up to Disneyland for the evening. Hey, I said maybe. Others of us might celebrate by assembling Ikea furniture in a front bedroom. Can't you see I am trying to say Happy Birthday?

Enough birthday news. Let's get on to Clarity of Vision. Before we get there, though, recent comments (and similar comments here at work) have alluded to the desire for a new name for the comic strip. OK, send them on, my friends and family. No guarantees, but maybe, if I rename it, I will send the winner something special, like a copy of the soundtrack to Jeremiah Johnson or something. Hey, I said maybe.

Dad gum it! You heard me. Dad, take out your teeth and gum it. That is one weird phrase, isn't it? Anyway, my invective was because I still did not get around to posting more vacation pictures. Well, it is the weekend. Hopefully, I will take some time to do that in the next couple of days. However, Kathie and crew come back tomorrow night and I'd like to get as far as I can on Alison's room, so it probably will not happen before Sunday.

July 24 is the last CoV I have written so far. I have got to get the mental funny bone in gear and crank out more hilarity and joviality. And this is just for four-panel strips. Now you can see why there has only been one eight-panel strip so far.

Twice as Much to Love

No, it is not Sunday (which is when they increase the size of comic strips in the paper), but this is my first double-sized CoV. How can you tell the story of the Statue of Liberty in only four panels?OK, maybe that wasn't entirely accurate, but as I told Dad, it is my vision and my version of bringing clarity. I just inflict it on you because you came by my blog. I'd like to finish the week patriotic, but I've got nothing yet. Let's see what happens tomorrow.

Kathie and the grandfamily leave for Southern California mid-day. Alison and I are working, so we are left behind.

We got an Ikea shelving unit yesterday. I started assembling it, but did not finish due to a pulled muscle in my back. I had it all day, but it felt better, so I thought I would make it last night. Nope. Today, it is more sore (doesn't that kinda sound weird?), but I still hope to get it set up tonight.

Factually Correct

Whether you find today's CoV humorous or pedantic, I researched it on the web to find a second name to counterbalance Betsy Ross. I found that there is some discussion as to whether Betsy or Frances actually created the first flag. So, it could even be possible that this is how they got inspired.
We are on an electric plan that charges more per kilowatt hour during peak times of the day and less on off-peak. So, it costs us more to cool the house between 1pm and 8pm. As a result, we have been getting out of the house until close to 8pm recently. I end up not spending as much time on the computer and so, have not finished publishing vacation photos. I mentioned yesterday that I am trying to put together a photo book. I checked out the site Zachary mentioned, but no decisions yet. All of this is to say I will put more on A Legend in my Own Mind soon.

I am thinking I could borrow Kyle's video camera and film myself crossing a finish line so I can be cool like Lindsay and Justin. If I go downtown, there will be a bunch of people and it will look like they are cheering for me. Congrats to them for actually running.

Keeping with the Patriotic Theme

Sure, I know the national holiday is over, but is that any reason to stop being patriotic? I say no and here is my proof. I imagined some comments from those great beacons of freedom enshrined on Mt. Rushmore. It seems maybe they became a bit more lighthearted in the last 100 years or so. Well, that is the way I hear them.
So, I was looking to make a book from our Ouray trip using iPhoto, but they have so few page layout options. And I cannot use whatever it is that Lyndsay uses because I am a Mac dude. I have used Shutterfly in the past. I also used Kodak Gallery. Blurb is a bit expensive. Myphotopipe is for prints only (some day, my prints will come. Hey, could I create a CoV using that as the punchline?). I'll let you know.

More patrioticosity tomorrow. I am working on one for Thursday, also, although it has not gelled yet.

What? No Fireworks?

Well. Most of us are back at work after an Independence Day break. I got Friday off. I don't know about the rest of you. At church yesterday, the first part was the pastor, music, and your ministers reading excerpts from correspondence and documents written by various founding fathers. Kyle noted it might be different if someone tried to Twitter it. Here is where I took that.
Dad is doing well. Thanks for asking. No cookout this year. No swimming because he cannot get in the pool. A nice, quiet visit. Even more quiet because the granddaughters did not come over, Kathie was sick, Ali was missing, Carey and Leigh are in NY. There was a hiccuping great-niece, if great-niece is the right nomenclature. I think Jay just calls her "it."

Did y'all see Susan's comment the other day? I have seen that card game she mentions at Target for only $12 or so and toyed with getting. Sounds fun. Dad, it sounds like the new rules we made up for Slam.

Taking Care of Business (Health Care)

No, this is not a commentary of the benefits or drawbacks of universal health care. It is merely my warped take on not getting to pick my own physicians. I don't even want an HMO.
How is Dad doing? I don't know. I haven't talked to him since Sunday. Bad son.

How are grandgirls doing? I will see them tomorrow morning at the local public pool. Why don't they come to our pool? Two words. Slide. OK, maybe one word, but you know what I mean. And there are other people to watch. There might be a kiddie pool, although I have not been there in 20 years or so. I remember Sandy Lake was my favorite pool back in the DFW area. However, as I write this, I can remember a pool within biking distance at Webbs Chapel near Rawhide. That was where we spent many a summer. And there was another even closer by Valwood Elementary. Maybe it came along later?

Kyle is thinking we may want to take the girls to a fireworks display. Could be fun, if a bit on the warm side.

See, like I said yesterday, I think about vacation pictures when I am sitting at work. So, no, I did not work on them again last night. We are off tomorrow, so maybe I will think of it then.

Alison played Apples to Apples last weekend. Just as Susan noted a couple of months ago, it is a fun game. We took the Scrabble-based card game, Slam, with us on vacation. We tweaked it a bit to make it more of a strategy game (instead of everyone playing at once). When Kyle played it last weekend, he decided spelling was incidental to getting the cards down. If we challenged a word, he said, "Oh well. It's already played and past, so let's keep going." And for Father's Day, I got a train card game, although I cannot remember the actual name right now. We played it Saturday night, also. Kyle won. And Dad gave me a copy of Bang! the Bullet. Nice. A couple of weeks ago, we played Mom's word game that we gave her for her birthday (Maze Amaze, maybe?). Dad won. He shined a light off his bald head and blinded us. Well, that is how I remember it. He might also have outplayed us. I got stuck in a corner for several turns, no thanks to Paul and Kari.

Getting All Acronymical

I remember that the original seed idea for this was nothing more than my PB&J sandwich that day. So, I started trying to think what PB&J could stand for, and needed to add the MY on the front of it to get a good acronym. Well, here is where I ended up.
Doesn't it seem like short weeks last forever on the part we have to work? This week is crawling.

I slept terribly last night. I think it is the high humidity right now. It is in the 20%-30% range. Not much for you humid-area dwellers, but much more than our typical <10%. Maybe I can get a better nap here at my desk. How can you coffee drinkers stand the heat of the coffee added to the heat of the day and the discomfort of humidity?

See, what happens is that I get busy with stuff at home and forget to work on the remaining photos until I get here and start blogging and remember that I am still missing some days of vacation. Sure, Dad put up a few, but there are more that should be shared with the masses.

Hey, saying the word masses makes me think of the word Mass which makes me think of certain Preacher Brothers that I have. Is there a way to use something like that in CoV? OK, I will work on it. If I get there, you should see it in about a week.