We carved up a few pumpkins last night. This was not my first attempt at a detailed carving but it was the first time I’ve used a pattern. (And the answer is yes, the relative size of the pumpkins does correspond to my choice for president.)

Thank God for small graces…

Bob and Brian: now heard on 104.9 in Wausau, WI (however, the music played on this station is thoroughly reprobate).

I went duck hunting on Saturday. Between the 7 of us we got 15-20. It was a lot of fun and I like duck hunting because you get to talk and be with the other guys. I stir-fried some duck yesterday and it turned out okay. To wit, I liked it but more experience will produce a better dish.

Today…he snores…

No joking: The fellow across the cubicle wall from me just played a game of solitaire, then shut off his light, popped in some earplugs, and closed his eyes for a nap.

I have so little time to write but a couple of things to mention:

The Jimmy Eat World concert was pretty good. I’d give it 4 stars out of 5. It was really an amazing evening to go to a concert. The fog was coming in off of Lake Michigan and there’s a magical, a mysterious, a dreamlike quality about fog. I’d never seen fireworks in the fog before so that was intriguing too. As the concert progressed, the band played their hearts out. They played well together and played and sang almost all of the parts that you would find on their albums. Even one particularly satisfying piano part was translated to guitar. However, because of the mix that was given to the audience, we weren’t able to hear all of those parts as well as I would have liked and the contrasts between peaceful passion and frenzied fervor that work so well for Jimmy Eat World weren’t as contrasting as I would have liked. That’s my take on it.

I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to vote for Bob Welch in the Republican primary for US Senate. He’s outspoken about what matters and he’s not afraid to be specific about what he believes. On the other hand you have Michels and Darrow who have so far stuck to their plausible generalities — Darrow more so than Michels. In the end I will support the Republican candidate because Feingold has got to go.

I haven’t wrote anything in some time because I’ve been busy preparing. I’m going to be giving the message at RiverVallley Church this coming Sunday (Look for the audio early next week). Anyway, something pretty important came up that I just have to post right away!

I’ve been waiting all of my programming life to write a computer program that has an option to “Run Faster”. Today, my ship has come in. Here’s the screen shot:

Moreover, if it didn’t really work, it wouldn’t count. So assure yourself that it’s no cosmetic option. The program runs in 10 minutes if you say “N” and about 3 minutes if you say “Y”.

Just got back from Key Largo and D’s wedding. The wedding was lots of fun. Key Largo was great. Somehow the heat doesn’t bother me much these days. I enjoyed it quite a lot. If you want to see pictures, just ask. Here are some samples:

A few things that aren’t exactly rare yet you don’t see every day but I’ve seen in the last 7 days:

• A coyote (in my back yard).
• A 38″ northern (M caught it Saturday, T and I claim partial credit).
• A road named “Dead End Road” that isn’t a dead end road.
• An 8 1/2 mile per hour speed limit.
• The world’s shortest extension chord. These latter two will be added to the Bonus Anomalisms.