June 9, 2006 – Next Investment, A Concrete Wall

Boo Boo was in deep doo doo this morning. At about 5:00am he decided he needed to wake me up so I could let him out to go chase cats. So I let him out and go back to bed. I wake up at 6:30 and go to let him back in and he is nowhere to be found. So I call out to him and hear some jingling in my neighbor’s back yard. I look over the fence and there he is as happy as could be. Apparently he decides to dig thru the fence to chase some cats.

So at this point I figure he is locked up in the neighbor’s yard and should be ok for five minutes while I change out of my PJs. I get dressed and nock on the neighbor’s door and explain how Boo Boo dug threw the fence to get into there back yard. When we go back there to get him the fence is wide open and he is gone.

So I jump in the car and start driving around the neighborhood for the next 30 min hoping I would see him peeing on someone’s lawn or something.

On my first loop I drive by the park and see two guys that are there walking there dogs. So I ask them if they had seen Boo Boo. Neither of them had. However one suggested I go home and make a flyer. So that if anyone dose find him they would know how to contact me. What a freaking moron. That still bothers me. With in the first couple of minutes of loosing your pet you don’t go home and make a freaking flyer, you go at and try and find the thing. Plus Boo Boo has his tags on him so there is a number and address to contact if he gets lost.

So I continue driving around the neighborhood hoping to see him, and I see a lady that is out on her morning walk. So I ask her if she had seen Boo Boo. She said she did see him on the concrete path in the park. So I drive right over there and as I get there he comes walking down the path following a lady that is walking her dogs.

Of course when I try to put his leash on he runs away. After a while he gets tired and lays down wanting to be petted. Man I could have killed that dog. So now I have one more project I need to get done this weekend.

Let’s see, other things that have been going on. Tuesday after work I went over to Linda’s house and helped her with some lawn work. I took Boo Boo with me and he really enjoyed playing in her back yard. After that I got to baby sit Peyton and Adie for a couple of minutes while Robin was out playing cards with some friends. Unfortunately Peyton and Adie were already a sleep, so I did not get to play with them.

On Wednesday night I got to play poker with Alicia, John, and all those guys. It was a blast. Originally I was going to have to go to bed early so I could give Dave a ride to the airport at 5:00am, but luckily Boris had to fly out about the same time so he gave Dave a ride instead, and I got to play poker. I took Boo Boo with me. The entire time John’s dog Rito tried to play with Boo Boo, but Boo Boo was busy being a lazy punk and would not play.

Thursday night was really nice. I got to stay home and watch the Mavs tear up the Heat. It was great the Mavs looked awful yet still beat the Heat.

Hopefully I can scan some old Germany pictures later today and tell you some good old stories, however for right now let’s get to today’s discussion questions.

Rep.William Jefferson is a US congressman that is suspected on some bribery charges and was asked by the FBI to turn over some documents which he never did. So the FBI obtained a warrant and searched his office and collected boxes full of documents. Before the boxes could be examined several other members of congress, both Democrat and Republican, started to scream foul. They claim that sense the FBI is an extension of the executive branch or the government, the search is a violation of the separation of powers. When all these congressmen started complaining the President freaked out and came up with a magical presidential seal on the documents to keep them from being opened for 40 days. (Because that is how many days Jesus spent in the desert) Now let me remind you Jefferson is not convicted of anything yet, however Nancy Peloci House Democratic leader wants to give up his spot on the House Ways and Means Committee until the matter is cleared up. Now just today the Congressional Black Caucus which Jefferson just so happens to be black has said the first correct thing in this whole situation. They say that Jefferson has not been convicted of anything yet and as a result should not be forced to give up his post.

Ok here are all the mistakes as I see them:

1. Congressmen yelling at the President to do something when it was the judicial branch the ordered the search. A warrant is a judicial order. If you want the seized material returned or sealed you need to petition the judge that ordered the search in the first place. Not the President. The President has no power in this situation. Coincidently Jefferson has petitioned the judge, but not till after the magical Presidential seal was applied. Separation of powers is a very important thing as we all know from the Watergate scandal; however congressmen do not have diplomatic immunity. Therefore they are subject to court ordered searches. To what extent do you think congress should be protected from the executive branch?
2. The magical presidential seal. The President is chief of the FBI and basically every other law enforcement agency. So what he says goes with those guys, however I have never heard of another situation where a chief or commander in a department can order evidence to be sealed. That type of stuff is up to a judge. So do you think the President has the authority to seal evidence or do you think that this could be considered obstruction of justice?
3. Peloci has no business asking Jefferson to give up his spot on the House Ways and Means Committee. Jefferson should volunteer to give up his spot but that is his choice. If everyone accused of a crime were to have to give up there position then every one would start accusing everyone else of different crimes. So do you think Jefferson should be forced to give up his spot?
4. The fact that I as a novice realized all the mistakes that have been made and the people that are making the laws do not seem to understand them. Do you think since teachers are required to take a competency exam shouldn’t politicians?

Ok next topic. I have several crape myrtles in the back yard and I love them. (Man dose that make me sound gay or what?) Anyway I have a couple of areas in the yard that I would love to fill in with some more crape myrtles. I figure the best way to go about doing this would be to do a cutting. So I got on the interweb and looked it up. This is what it said:

Propagating

Crape myrtle is propagated easily from semi-hardwood cuttings taken during the growing season. June, July and August are excellent times to root cut-tings. Take cuttings from new growth of the season, leaving three to four nodes per cutting and several leaves. Rooting hormone is generally not necessary, and cuttings should root in three to four weeks. Place cuttings in well-drained rooting medium in a shaded area; keep them moist by enclosing them in a clear plastic bag. Cuttings also can be placed in prepared outdoor rooting beds. Thoroughly cultivate the soil to a depth of 10 to 12 inches. Add 4 to 5 inches of organic matter such as peat moss, leaf mold or pine bark to the surface and thoroughly mix it into the soil. Place cuttings approximately 6 inches apart. Insert them one-half their length into the soil. Mulch with 2 to 3 inches of pine straw, leaf mold or pine bark to conserve moisture. Keep them moist with regular misting. The young rooted plants can be transplanted to their permanent location during the fall and winter.

What the hell dose that mean? What is a root cutting? What is cutting from new growth? I need pictures dam it!

Ok I got the scanner to work the other day. So I am going to try this thing out.

This picture is of the first day I meet my first host family. For the most part a lot of them seem pretty normal. You do have to remember this picture was taken over ten years ago. I meet my family in Berlin about three hours before this picture was taken. Apparently this was a family reunion. Most of these people had only met each other once or twice before, if at all. You might recognize me to the far left of the picture covering up some family member no one cares about. Just below me was my host mother Heidi. On the far right side of the picture you might notice a guy with a beard and glasses. That was my host dad. I forgot his name like most other things about him, very forgettable person. Heidi wore the pants in that family. Now four heads to the left of the dad there is a teenager that looks like he has down syndrome. Sorry to everyone who dose have down syndrome I do not mean to insult you like that. This kid is Ule my host brother.

That party was probably the most fun I ever had with that family. It was the first time I ever saw one of those little mini kegs, great invention. For the most part everyone else at the party was really nice and pretty cool. I don’t have a really cool story about this picture other then it is of a party I attended and did not know anyone. Next time I will pick out a better picture.