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A few from Friday evening's walk to and around Seneca Golf Course.




This one reminds me of those little toy water-drinking birds.

Here's a view from the site of Dad's famous par 4 eagle hole-out.

This tree was nice enough to bend way over so I could photograph the ice on the branches.

Back after a brief hiatus

Ignoring weather isn't always easy. Thank you, Beth and Brian, for giving me a warm place to sleep at night. My compliments on the sofa- you have excellent taste.

Some pics. Click to enlarge.

These first few are from my walk around the neighborhood Wednesday afternoon. I managed to avoid being crushed by falling branches, but I admit to a few nervous moments.

Successfully Ignoring the Weather

Ignorance is bliss

As planned, I ignored the weather all day. I got up 45 minutes earlier than usual-just for the heck of it. It was lucky I did, because the roads were bad. I have no idea why.

Oddly, a lot of people didn't come to work today. Must be a bug going around.

Before I could drive home I had to chip a lot of ice off my car. I don't know what caused the ice to form- perhaps I should have the car's air conditioner checked.

Now I'm trying to watch Monk on Hulu.com and otherwise enjoy a quiet evening at home. But strange noises and lights keep disturbing the quiet. People walking outside make odd crunching noises, and cars keep sliding as they turn the corner which I can see out my window. Every so often I hear a bang-almost like a transformer blowing-and my lights flicker on and off.

Weird. I wonder what causes that?

.

Snow obsession

Wave 3's website actually has a live blog for our anticipated 4" blizzard. I couldn't resist clicking on it. There are actually quite a few people on there right now...at least 5 hours before the anticipated storm's arrival.


One of the best pieces of advice I've ever heard is (I'll use quotation marks, but due to my faulty memory I am more likely paraphrasing) "Weather should be either celebrated or ignored. Complaining about the weather is the most egregious waste of time imaginable."

So to you weirdo snow-celebrators: congratulations.
To you snow complainers: Tough. Get over it.
As for me, I'm going to ignore it.

Giant Rabbit

Yesterday afternoon I cruised Royal Ave. off Eastern Pkwy. and took a look at the 10-foot rabbit carved from a tree.

I obtained this picture through a Google search. I didn't stop for a photograph yesterday because getting a good angle required walking into the yard, and I don't like doing such things. I'm sure plenty of people do, though. You can't sculpt a monster bunny in your front yard and not expect some pedestrian traffic.

I don't think it's exactly 10 feet though. Only the Messiah Rabbit is exactly 10 feet.
According to legend, the Messiah Rabbit is the savior who will one day avenge the bunnies. He's starred in a few of my nightmares- a monstrous, fire-breathing rabbit who calls me to task for a certain lawn mower accident which occurred a few years ago.

I suppose the only thing that could stop him might be the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.

Some basketball

I haven't posted many basketball-related comments since the season began, so I thought it was about time.

*I'm getting fairly sick of hearing about how dominant the Big East Conference is. I confess that this season I sort of believed it to be true, but I was tired of hearing it anyway.

Turns out it's also not true. According to the numbers at RealtimeRPI, the Big East is the 3rd best conference.

The average ACC team is ranked 51st.
The average Big Ten (+1) team is also ranked 51st (behind ACC by about .2).
The Big East is 3rd, and far behind, with an average rank of 60.

Five Big East teams, from South Florida on down, really, really stink.

Alas, the SEC is the worst of the six power conferences, though the PAC-10 is close.


* All season I've thought point guard was UK's biggest worry. It probably is, but as of late I'm finally noticing that it's not so much the point guard play that's causing the trouble as it is the ball-handling from all 5 positions. They just seem too careless with the ball.

* I can't quite figure out why Jodie Meeks' performance has been such a surprise to the media. Yes, a 54-point game is amazing, and no one expected a 25 ppg average. But before his sophomore season it wasn't outrageous to expect 16 points, and thus 18 this year wouldn't have been outlandish, either. Combine that with the fact that he and Patterson are the only scoring threats, and it's not that big a surprise that he's up over 20 per game. I still expect his average to decline some...probably around 21 or 22 the rest of the year.

* The other day two of my co-workers were discussing that night's Rutgers/Louisville game. One guessed Louisville would win by 20, the other said 'probably about 12 to 15.' They then asked for my prediction.
I asked "who are they playing? Rutgers? Let's see, I'll guess, ummm... 63 to 14."

Not a very accurate guess, but it was fun twisting the knife a little.

Chuckles

Yesterday, I posted a youtube video of highlights from the "Chuckles Bites The Dust" episode. Tonight it was gone, except for the heading "For Mom."

I suppose the video must have been removed from youtube. Sorry if the "For Mom" above the goofy John Lennon picture confused anyone.

President Obama

Brian beat me to the punch, but I'll weigh in, anyway.

I like Obama. I suppose back in January '08 he was my top choice-by a hair, over Biden and Clinton. And I've been more impressed since then.

I've now voted in 5 presidential elections and I've voted for the Democratic Party candidate all 5 times, with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
-1992 was more in opposition to G.H.W.B.
-By 1996 I liked Clinton quite a lot.
-2000 I was very enthusiastic about Gore. I'm glad he won.
-2004 I didn't care much for Kerry, but I loathed Bush.

This year I was enthusiastic for Obama, but not nearly as much as I was for Gore.

The Obamamania still amazes me, though.

The mania from the African American community is completely understandable. I would feel the same way.
I also wholeheartedly understand the elation that comes from the end of the Bush Years (Bush League?). I voted against him for governor of Texas, for president, and for president again, each time with more loathing.

But I can't quite catch the craze. As I've said before- I think on this blog, but I'm not sure- there's no way to know if someone is qualified to be president. I think the only two presidents who've come close to proving it before-hand were Washington and Eisenhower. For a job this big, there just aren't too many opportunities to prove you can do it, until you are it.

Still, I've very happy to have President Obama. I get a kick out of the anguish it causes right-wing whackos, and I feel confident that he won't swing the government way out to the left, as wished by the nuts on that side. The hopes they have for him are nearly as nutty as the fears on the right. I like him because he seems both idealistic and practical, and because he's a deft politician.

In short, I guess he's as well-equipped to preside over the liquidation of the U.S. as anyone. I just hope he increases funding for foreign language education, so I can communicate with my future employers and landlords in Mandarin.

Yuck, but ...

I've been working consistent overtime lately, and today we were informed that overtime would be increased tomorrow and Friday, and we have to work Saturday.

I guess I could stomp and kick and otherwise throw a tantrum, but at least I'm not downsized or furloughed or seeing my wages reduced.

It's tricky to predict, but I'd guess the heavy workload will last through February, at least. I wonder if that carpenter from Seinfeld could build a little bed under my desk...
_______________________
Again, in an attempt to reach a couple more lost email contacts: I changed email and lost my email address book. My new email is almost the same as the old one- just add the number "1" before '@' and you have my new email. If we sometimes correspond, please send me an email to that address so that I'll have your address, too. -------1@insightbb.com

One weather system I DEFINITELY hope misses us...

From the National Weather Service:

THE UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM PROGGED TO MOVE THROUGH TONIGHT MAY HAVE BROUGHT ENOUGH MOISTURE WITH IT TO SEE SOME LIGHT SNOT ACROSS CENTRAL MISSOURI

Pop quiz

Pick the fake George W. Bush quote! It's fun and edumacational!
1
a) “You don't get everything you want. A dictatorship would be a lot easier.’
b) “There’s no I.Q. tests in Texas.”
c) “The important question is, how many hands have I shaked?”
d) “They misunderestimated me.”


2
a) “There ought to be limits to freedom.”
b) “I don't believe witchcraft is a religion and I think the military should be re-examine their standards.”
c) “I will swear to not, to uphold the laws of the land.”
d) “I don‘t know why, but there‘s lots of folks who want me to be president.”

3
a) “I believe the children are our future, unless we stop them now.”
b) “ One of the great things about books is, sometimes there are some fantastic pictures.”
c) “Reading is the basics for all learning.”
d) Rarely is the question asked, ...is our children learning?


4
a) “I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family.”
b) “Money doesn’t grow on trees. Except for paper money.”
c) “We ought to make the pie higher.”
d) “The best way to relieve families from time is to let them keep some of their own money.”


5
a) “I’ve been a failed business in the past. I understand the difficulty.”
b) “I understand small business growth. I was one.”
c) “Will the highways on the Internet become more few?”
d) “Sometimes things aren't exactly black and white when it comes to accounting procedures.”


6
a) “I was raised in the west. The west of Texas. It's pretty close to California.”
b) “I want you to know that farmers are not going to be secondary thoughts to a Bush administration. They will be in the forethought of our thinking.”
c) “Clear-headedness is an important quality in a clear-headed thinker.”
d) “There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — I can't get fooled again.”


7
a) “It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it.”
b) “They want the federal government controlling Social Security like it's some kind of federal program.”
c) “Some of these businesses aren‘t profitable.. We need to restore them to prodigality.”
d) “I hope you leave here and walk out and say, 'What did he say?’”

8
a) “I think we all agree, the past is over.”
b) “Well, I think if you say you're going to do something and don't do it, that's trustworthiness.”
c) “I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them.”
d) “Mistakes were made, but I didn’t make any.”

9
a) “The environment is important because everybody has one.”
b) “I know that the human being and the fish can coexist peacefully.”
c) “Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.”
d) “I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to come and witness my hanging.”

10
a) “I have a different vision of leadership. A leadership is someone who brings people together.”
b) “God leads. I follow God. The American peoples follow me.”
c) “I do know I'm ready for the job. And, if not, that's just the way it goes.”
d) “I'm a uniter, not a divider.”

11
a) “My job is to think up new ways, to find new ways, to make life difficult- less difficult- for citizens.”
b) “It was amazing I won. I was running against peace and prosperity and incumbency.”
c) “The thing that's important for me is to remember what's the most important thing.”
d) “I am mindful of the difference between the executive branch and the legislative branch. I assured all four of these leaders that I know the difference, and that difference is they pass the laws and I execute them.”

12
a) “Most things aren’t easy. At least, most things don’t seem easy to me.”
b) “I've coined new words, like 'misunderstanding' and 'Hispanically'.”
c) “For every fatal shooting, there were roughly three non-fatal shootings. And, folks, this is unacceptable in America...And we're going to do something about it.”
d) “As I'm sure you can imagine, it is an unimaginable honor to live here.”

13
a) “This crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while.”
b) “One of the great goals of this nation's war is to restore public confidence in the airline industry. It's to tell the traveling public: Get on board. Do your business around the country. Fly and enjoy America's great destination spots. Get down to Disney World in Florida.”
c) “Well, you know, I think the American people are sacrificing now. I think they're waiting in airport lines longer than they've ever had before.”
d) “All Americans have a job to do. And that job is to mind their own businesses.”

14
a) “I couldn't imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Hannukah.”
b) “This foreign policy stuff is a little frustrating.”
c) “There are lots more countries than I thought. It's a big coalition.”
d) “I call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers. Thank you. Now watch this drive.”

15
a) “I don't know why you're talking about Sweden. They're the neutral one. They don't have an army.”
b) “ I said you were a man of peace. I want you to know I took immense crap for that.”
c) “We don’t concern ourselves with foreign erections. What? Oh, foreign elections.”
d) “The best way to get the news is from objective sources, and the most objective sources I have are people on my staff who tell me what's happening in the world.”

16
a) “Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”
b) “I made it very plain: We will not have an all-volunteer army. Let me restate that. We will not have a draft.
c) “The internets and webs are wrong about the draft. Our voluntary army will win this war as long as you don’t questions its leaders.”
d) “I think it's very important for the American president to mean what he says. That's why I understand that the enemy could misread what I say. That's why I try to be as clearly as I can.”

17
a) “And as a result of the United States military, Taliban no longer is in existence.”
b) “Wow! Brazil is big!”
c) “I think we are welcomed. But it was not a peaceful welcome.”
d) “You can’t reach out to other countries by digging a hole. Well, maybe to China, but that’s it.”

18
a) “See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.”
b) “The believability issue is an important one, and one I believe I intend to address.”
c) “One of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq with the war on terror.”
d) “I can only speak to myself.”

19
a) “I like my buddies from West Texas. I liked them when I was young, I liked them when I was middle-age, I liked them before I was president, and I like them during president, and I like them after president.”
b) “I think- tide turning- see, as I remember- I was raised in the desert, but tides kind of- it's easy to see a tide turn- did I say those words?”
c) “Too many doctors are going out of business. Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their...their love with women all across this country.”
d) “The health care industry's important. So's the food industry, and the manufacturing industry, and touristism. What's that? Touristism- you know, travels.”

20
a) “Yo Blair, how are you doin’?”
b) “She was neat.”
c) “I was able to get a sense of his soul; a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country.”
d) “Suck one, Gerhard.”

Answers: 1-B, 2-D, 3-A (IT WAS HOMER SIMPSON), 4-B, 5-A, 6-C, 7-C, 8-D, 9-A, 10-B, 11-A, 12-A, 13-D, 14-C, 15-C (THOUGH HE DID SAY SOMETHING SIMILAR), 16-C, 17-D, 18-B, 19-D, 20-A (JUST KIDDING. IT WAS D.)


This started out as a 5-question quiz. But it was so much fun I ended up spending all of Car Talk and an hour of Whad'Ya Know working on it, and there was so much material that I think I used very little from 2006 through 2008.

The most difficult part was trying to remember which quotes were the ones I made up.
And remember, "I think people attack me because they are fearful that I will then say that you're not equally as patriotic if you're not a religious person. ... I've never said that. I've never acted like that. I think that's just the way it is."

UK Football on the Onion

Looks like I have to do another copy and paste job- after 10 more minutes trying to figure out why I can't link.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/kentucky_player_must

Kentucky Player Must Explain Significance Of AutoZone Liberty Bowl Before Coed Sleeps With Him
January 8, 2009 | | Onion Sports


LEXINGTON, KY—University of Kentucky freshman Lauren Austin demanded defensive end Ventrell Jenkins explain "what's so great" about the AutoZone Liberty Bowl before she would consent to participate in sexual intercourse with him, sources reported Monday.


"Technically, it's not the championship, but it's a lot like a championship," Austin's suitemates overheard Jenkins say. "Trust me. It was an important game." Jenkins also reportedly told the coed a trophy was awarded for the victory, and that this validated the game's significance. "With the BCS, there's not just one winner," he continued. "We're all winners in, like, diverse ways. It's hard to explain, but there was confetti and shit. We're the 2009 AutoZone Liberty Bowl champs.... Hey, come here." Austin reportedly put her clothes back on and left the room when Jenkins accidentally mentioned that Notre Dame had also played in a bowl game this year.

**** football note I tacked on late in the 1st quarter of the "national championship" game ****
Until a few minutes ago I didn't have a rooting interest in the game. Yeah, an SEC win would be nice, but I don't like the Gators much so I can't really pull for them.
But I just realized something. If Florida loses,, then every time I watch college football next year I will be subjected not only to the endless stream of announcers extolling Tim Tebow as saint, as warrior, and as the greatest leader since Alexander, but also incessant yammering about how the interceptions in the title game really ate at him, he felt he let his team down, and he's sooooo committed to winning a championship for his pals. And I might just have to vomit.
So Go Gators.

Basketball Upsets and Vocabulary

I just read ESPN.com's recap of the Harvard win over Boston College. So in a span of 3 days BC knocked off #1 North Carolina and then lost to ...hold on...according to realtimerpi.com, #182 Harvard. I think that might be enough to break the RPI calculating software.

But the real reason I wanted to post something about this game was the quote from Boston College coach Al Skinner. Apparently, he knew his team might come out flat against the Crimson after such a big win Sunday. "I tried to pre-warn them," Skinner said.

The redundancy of the comment doesn't really irritate me in this case. He's a basketball coach, not a scholar. It's not like he has a script, either; it's just a post-game press conference.

So 'pre-warn,' in this instance at least, doesn't bug me as much as 'very unique.'
It doesn't 'literally blow my mind,' (not a redundancy, I know. But I hate it) and it's not as bad as the Advance Warning Super Doppler because it wasn't premeditated in advance. It's not the exact same thing. (A two-fer in two sentences!)

Some others redundancies:
free gift
ATM machine
PIN number
White Republican
And this is the very last one

My book report

As a public service, here's a hasty, completely non-thorough review of the last few novels I read.

1) A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
I enjoyed this book tremendously, but Moore will probably never again come close to writing anything as good as Lamb.
This one's about a guy who finds he's somehow been appointed the job of the Grim Reaper. Or a grim reaper, anyway. The plot dragged a little- 50 fewer pages would have been very beneficial- but there were quite a few extremely funny bits. I actually laughed out loud a number of times.

2. Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire
A couple of months ago I noticed the 3rd book in the series in the bookstore. I thought about getting it, then realized I wasn't sure if I ever finished the 2nd book. Turns out I hadn't. It was one of those that I started, thought I'd like eventually, but had never gotten into. When I picked it up this time I loved it.
I wouldn't recommend the series to everyone. I can see how it wouldn't appeal. Maguire uses the Baum stories as a jumping off point into his own narrative, but don't expect it to be anything like Baum. It's not.

3. A Lion Among Men
See 2. Overall, I'd rate this the worst of the series, but still quite good. Son of A Witch was probably the best of the three.

4. Ghost by Alan Lightman
Since Einstein's Dreams, which is one of my favorite books ever, I've made it a point to read any new Lightman works. Unsurprisingly, I keep being disappointed. As I read each one I find myself thinking "Wow, he's a really good writer. He has great structure, smooth, beautiful phrasing, and he's terrific at conveying his ideas."
But I don't much care for the books anyway. Ghost was about a guy who saw what may or may not have been a, well, ghost. His life gets crazy after he tells someone who tells someone else, and he's caught in the middle of a tug-of-war between new age nutcases and rational academics.
I don't recommend it. The whole story -not the seeing a ghost thing, but what happens after, which is the point of the story- was too implausible. I assume a guy might get a lot of attention from weirdos afte seeing a ghost, but I didn't buy the media and academic interest.
Plus a big portion of it-probably the majority- was devoted to his emotional state as it related to his work, his divorce and new relationship, his mom, etc. Too touchy-feely for me.

"Well, as Mrs. Krabappel already mentioned, the name of the book was Treasure Island. It's about these pirates. Pirates with patches over their eyes. And shiny gold teeth! And green birds on their shoulders! Did I mention this book was written by a guy named Robert Louis Stevenson? And published by the good people at McGrath Hill."

- Bart Simpson

Drat!

For my prediction, I should have stuck with my erased paragraph. I would have looked a lot smarter if I'd posted my thoughts about how Kentucky's front court really is better than Clark, Samuels, and Williams, but sloppy ball-handling would doom Kentucky.

I'm not really at all upset, though. I see quite a lot of potential in this Kentucky team. I can handle losing to T-Will, E-5, S-Sam, J-Smi, and Presto this weekend. R-Pit has a talented team and it was a road game. I'm happy with most of the performance.

I mean, it's not like it was a bowl game or anything.

Golf Goody Bag

On Christmas night I came home and found a few things by the front door. They were odds and ends that were still in Lena's apartment which she had dropped off.

One item was an old golf bag cover which was filled with golf balls, tees, ball markers, etc.

I didn't recognize it, though. When I looked inside I noticed a bag tag from a 1992 St. X golf outing. I didn't recall playing in any St. X. golf outings. Also, though I don't know what the entry fee that year may have been, I'm fairly certain that in 1992 I couldn't have afforded it. Apparently the bag was left in the apartment by a prior tenant.

The bag lay in a corner until last night, when I dumped it out to see what else was in there. Not a bad haul, overall. The four metal divot fixers were an outstanding find. One has a St. Xavier logo. Pretty cool.


Also, there was 84 cents, 17 balls, a bunch of tees, spikes, a range finder, a shoe brush, and a shoe tool. Plus a UofL bag tag, which was enough to convince me the stuff wasn't mine.

There's a disposable camera with 11 pictures left on it. I'm thinking about seeing if I can get it developed. Maybe I'll recognize someone if they're from St. X.



Since I was pointing the camera at this little (night stand? dresser? chest of drawers?) thing, I decided to flip it around and get a photo of the back to post. It says "Julie and Dad painted the basement," or maybe "Julie, Dad painted the basement."
In the days before sticky notes were invented, Wagners evidently used graffiti to warn of wet paint. The peace sign is an especially nice touch.

2nd half Liberty Bowl post

In-game thoughts as I watched on ESPN360


*NFL prospects: Lindley should enter the draft. He's smallish and injury-prone, but very good. He shouldn't risk a senior season. Micah Johnson should come back his senior year, be a beast, and go high in the draft next year. Jarmon should return-he doesn't seem quite ready.

*Alfonso Smith must be the worst blocking back in UK history. I've never noticed it myself, but I don't know what else could explain why he doesn't play more.

*How come Kentucky tackles well on every down except 3rd and long?

*Has Kentucky ever had a 50/50 call go their way after a video review?

*I've lost count, but I think we've had 10 kicks blocked in the last 16 games. That's unbelievably bad.

*Huge win, though. Huge, huge, huge. Three straight winning seasons is great for Kentucky, and since the media doesn't seem to pay attention to the fact that there are more games played each year than there used to be, and haven't adjusted accordingly, a 7-win season is still viewed as good.
Plus, winning 7 games with this offense is phenomenal. I don't know how much blame the coaches should get for having an offense like this, but to win with this offense seems like a minor miracle.

*The country's longest current non-conference winning streaks:
1) LSU- 19
2) UK- 14

*Whew, this is a long post. But this is the last one. At work today I was having fun listening to 3 UofL fans complain about how bad the basketball team was playing. I told them it was all Kragthorpe's fault. They said "you mean Pitino?" I said, "No, Kragthorpe. He's also the cause of the stock market crash and the collapse of the automakers. I think he has something to do with global warming, too."

Happy New Year!

First politics, death, destruction, etc., and then the important stuff.

1. I can't wholeheartedly back either side in the Israel/Arab fight. Both sides have great arguments and claims, but every time I research such claims they end up with so many caveats, exceptions, and shady back story that I lose some sympathy.

But the idea (which the BBC especially espouses) that Israel is using too much force, or that their response is inappropriately disproportionate, is ridiculous. If you get in a fight, you don't win by hitting the other person just as hard and just as often as they hit you. You have to hit them harder and more often.

If Hamas stops firing rockets but Israel continues their assault, I might understand the 'disproportionate' argument. But if Israel's goal is to stop the Hamas rockets, and Hamas is still firing those rockets, then it doesn't seem disproportionate to me.

2. The BCS format has just about ruined the New Year's Day bowl-watching experience. I hate it. What a bunch of useless games.
A small article in yesterday's sports section about the 1985 Orange Bowl reminded me of how much fun it used to be. This year's Virginia Tech vs Cincinnati Orange Bowl (yawn) pretty much typifies how it is now.
The few good games are now stupidly moved to other dates. Texas/Ohio State is interesting. I'd love to watch it today. Too bad it'll end late Monday night. I'll read about it Tuesday, I guess. Thankfully, we still have that clash of titans, Ball State vs Tulsa, to look forward to sometime next week.

3. Speaking of useless bowl games, my first 2009 Kentucky football prediction is: Victory!
Based on their scores and stats, East Carolina's Sagarin rating of 52nd seems about right, and makes the 3 point spread about right, too. But East Carolina seems to have a lot less room to improve. From what I saw this year, Kentucky probably benefited more from the last month of practice and healing than any other bowl team. I expect they'll look a lot better, and I expect some receiver to step forward like Stevie Johnson did a couple of years ago.

4. My first basketball prediction of 2009: Victory! I'm so unsure of this that I wrote a paragraph about how Louisville was going to win, and how Kentucky's back court is still not ready to handle Louisville's pressure and athleticism, but then I deleted it and changed my prediction. Kentucky's a better team right now. They'll be intense on defense, and this year's game seems like just the kind of scenario that will end up with Michael Porter or some other unlikely Wildcat scoring 15 points and becoming a youtube hero.

Finally, a note I'll probably put on every post for awhile, in hopes of attaining a few of my lost contacts. I changed email and lost my email address book. My new email is almost the same as the old one- just add the number "1" before '@' and you have my new email. If we sometimes correspond, please send me an email to that address so that I'll have your address, too.