John sent more pictures

Good morning all. My son in the Navy John sent more pictures last night from when they, the USS Doyle was in West Palm Beach over the 4th of July. You can read the article here in the Mayport Mirror to find out more about their trip.

John on far right, and shipmates in West Palm Beach

John in West Palm Beach, FL

West Palm Beach

West Palm Beach

West Palm Beach

Weather, and a picture of our son John

John on his Ship the USS Doyle. John on right.

Good morning everyone. It's still hot here in south east Kansas with temps in the upper 90s and no relief in sight. We are coping by staying inside with the air-condition running. :) Our small garden has started to produce. So far I have had 6 tomatoes and 6 green peppers. Last night we made stuffed green peppers with the tomatoes and peppers from our garden.They tasted great and we have lots of leftovers.

I talked to my son John a few times over the past few days. John was doing well and has been busy. John tried to send me pictures from his Gmail account but only one came through. I finally set up an e-mail address for him at my ISP and he will try to send the pictures to us again later this week using that. I had to give John a hard time because the picture that he sent doesn't show his correct rank. He has not put his other stripe on his dress uniform yet. He said that he just has not had the time to do that yet with all the uniforms.

That's about all for now, I hope everyone has a great week.

The heat is here to stay for a while.

Good afternoon. Sorry I haven't posted much lately but there isn't really anything going on here. It's hot here in south east Kansas and it's going to get hotter the next few days. I mowed the lawn today and by the time I was done I looked like I had just climbed out of a swimming pool. I wish that were the case but it was not. :(

I see the surgeon Monday to find out about my knees that have been giving me pain for a while. I will be anxious to hear what he has to say. I am going to spend the rest of today inside where it's cool. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Good afternoon and it's hot here :)

Good afternoon everyone. The temp is getting up there in south east Kansas where we live. Right now it' s 97 degrees with a heat index of 102 outside. I went out to Wal-Mart last night to buy a new fan. We have central air condition in our house but when the temps get this high it's still hot in here so we use fans to help us feel cooler. Our fan that we used in our living room stopped working two days ago so I bought a new one. :) I was doing some stuff outside earlier today and got so hot I thought I was going to pass out so I gave up for the day and decided to just stay in and try to stay cool.

I was able to work on my computers a little and got Synergy working again. It stopped working after Vicki's friend Sheila left after her visit a few weeks ago. It took me a while to figure out what happened. When Sheila came to visit I made her a login on my computer so she could use it, when I did that it changed my computers IP address. LOL I finally when into the router and looked at the active IP table and saw right away what happened. I then went into Synergy and changed my IP address to the new correct one and re-booted and now everything works great. If you don't know what Synergy is it is software that allows you to use one mouse and keyboard with two or more computers at the same time. I have a Linux and a Windows computer on my desk that I use at the same time and it would be a pain to have to use two different keyboards and mice to access them.

I talked to my daughter in the Navy, Cindy a few days ago. Cindy made it to Everett Washington ok and has been working on the base and living in the barracks while waiting to go to her ship the USS Abe Lincoln. Cindy is an FC CIWS tech in the Navy and she just graduated CIWS C-School in San Diego earlier this month. Cindy is a little mad at me because I refuse to put a picture of her new tattoo on my blog. I as a parent find it inappropriate (sp) for this forum. I told her that if she would send me pictures of herself in clothes or even better in uniform I would love to post them. By the way her tattoo is on her chest so you can see what I mean when I say that I am not going to post that. I don't even want to see it myself again. Cindy has a right to do what she wants with her own body but I don't have to share the photos with the world.... God Bless you Cindy and I sure wish you would send me some things that I could post here.. I do love you. Dad

I have talked to my son in the Navy, John several times. His ship the USS Doyle is back in port in Mayport Florida. John said that they had a good cruse and completed all their qualifications. John is going to buy a cell phone charger tomorrow if he gets a chance. His old charger was take from his rack ( bed on the ship ) while he was sleeping. Right now he has to use Skype for phone calls. His ship goes out again in a few weeks and will be gone for a month. I know the exact days but I won't post them here. John is doing well and has his PT test today ( they have to do them every few months ) . He was worried that he might not pass because he is so sore all over from working. I think he will do just fine.

That's about all for now. I hope everyone has a great day.

Windows Vista

I talked to my son John a few weeks ago and he was telling me that he was thinking about getting a new more powerful laptop computer for himself. Right now he has an almost one year old laptop running Windows Vista Home Premium and it just doesn't have the power that he wants. It has two gigs memory and a 383mb video card, and a 160gb hard drive. He also has two external hard drives that he uses for additional storage and an ipod. You can click here to see what he has now. I can understand him wanting a new one. John is a computer nut so to speak. He uses it for everything, music, movies, television, phone calls, programming, work and so on. Before John joined the Navy he was in college majoring in Computer Science and doing some tech support on the side. Usually he is doing several things with his computer at once and needs allot of power. "John is a power user".

Now, getting to my point, I have two desktop computers myself and my wife has one. My computers run Windows XP and Linux and my wife is using XP. I get allot of calls asking me for help with other peoples computers and since I don't have Vista I really can't help others that use that OS. John said that when he buys a new computer for himself that he would give me his current laptop. That will enable me to use and learn Vista. I am really excited by the prospect of owning a laptop with Vista. That would enable me to learn the OS and the flexibility to do work from other places besides my computer room/office. It will be nice to be able to sit in my living room in the recliner with my knees up instead of sitting here in my computer chair every time I want to do something with the computer. At the very least I'm sure that my blog will be updated more often when I get a laptop..... I'll let you know what he decides on when he finally buys a new computer, and thanks in advance John. :)

As a side note, I called my daughter Cindy but she was working and couldn't talk at the time. At least I know that she made it to Washington ok. :) I'm sure she will call me later when she has the time and I'll try to let you know what she is up to then.

Good morning from Kansas

Good morning everyone. I had a busy day yesterday. I took our neighbor Doris to Parsons to have a Myelogram and Cat Scan on her back so her Dr could find out what is causing her pain and then I stopped by Joan's house and did a few things to help her out. I left yesterday at 7am and got home at 7pm. :) I have nothing planned for today except to go to the bank and then pharmacy to get some prescriptions.

Our daughter Cindy tried to call when I was away yesterday but she didn't leave any messages and we didn't notice her calls on called ID until late., I assume that she made to to Everett Washington ok and is getting ready for her ship the USS Abe Lincoln..

Our son John also called using skype while I was out but he left a message and then he called again late last night. John is back from his latest cruse on the USS Doyle and will be back in port for a few weeks before going out again. John said that they passed all their qualifications and he was feeling good. He did tell us about a porpoise that rammed the ship and killed itself. He said that they could see it heading straight for bow of the ship on the radar but there was nothing that they could do. Sadly it died after the encounter with the Doyle. Overall John had a good cruse and is off this weekend. He is going to go out and buy a new cell phone charger while he is off so that he can use his cell phone again.

I hope everyone has a great day. It's going to be sunny and warm here with temps in the 90s. Take care everyone, I will post more later or tomorrow.

I love Pie

Mable in her Kitchen

Blueberry Pie :)

In past post I have talked about Joan and Mable. Mable is Joan's mother and she is in her 90s and makes the most delicious pies and cakes. My son John and wife Vicki also rave over them. This week she made me a blueberry pie that is just delicious. Thank you Mable.

'Overworked' Japanese have nothing on U.S. military

'Overworked' Japanese have nothing on U.S. military | State | Star-Telegram.com

It’s understandable if anyone in the U.S. military guffawed at the Japanese labor bureau’s recent decision that a 45-year-old car engineer died of overwork because he had put in an average of 240 hours a month the last two months of his life.

Not to cheapen the tragic death of a man, but perhaps some comparison is in order.

Take, for instance, Lt. Col. Steve Stover, the chief spokesman for the U.S. forces in Baghdad, which include the Fort Hood-based 4th Infantry Division.

Stover, 42, works 15 hours a day seven days a week. That’s 105 hours a week, an average of 455 hours a month. He has worked that schedule for almost 33 weeks. He has 30 more weeks to go.

Then there are Petty Officers 1st Class Dionicio Garza and Billy Ramirez, two Texans who work on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, now in the Gulf of Oman.

Garza and Ramirez, both 29, also work about 105 hours a week, in an environment that is unforgiving to anyone not paying very close attention.

All this while deployed to an area of the world where Friday’s forecast calls for a high of 118 degrees.

What was that about overwork?

Good evening everyone

Hello everyone. Sorry about the sporadic posting lately, we have been kinda busy the last few weeks here in Kansas. A good friend and neighbor "Joan" had a total knee replacement a few weeks ago and has had a hard time recovering and we have been trying to help her out a little. Another friend and neighbor of ours, "Doris", has been going through a tough time with back problems and we are also helping her a little too. Both of these ladies are more like family to us than friends and neighbors. Vicki and I kinda think of them as surrogate Mom's. Vicki's Mother passed away some time ago and my parents live over a thousand miles away from here. My wife has known them for 20 years and I have known them for 10 years. Today I brought Joan home from the hospital and tomorrow I am taking Doris to the Doctors. As for myself I am still having pain in my left knee and now it is starting to hurt in my right knee. I saw my Dr again today and he gave me more pain medicine and I am going to see an Orthopedic Surgeon on the 28th to talk about surgery on my left knee. :) I have had several surgeries on my knees in the past so I know what to expect and I am not looking forward to more operations but things are not getting better on their own.

Our daughter Cindy in the Navy will travel to Everett Washington tomorrow afternoon. Cindy just graduated from FC CIWS C-School in San Diego July 3rd and will be going to the USS Abraham Lincoln. The Abe Lincoln will be Cindy's first ship. We are excited for her and wish her the best. Cindy, let us know your address as soon as you can and do you have pictures of your graduation that I can post? :)

Our son in the Navy, John is out to sea right now on his ship the USS Doyle. John promised lots of pictures when he gets back which should be in a few days. John is an OS on the Doyle.

I hope everyone out there reading this is doing well and I will post more frequently when things settle down here. Keep checking back for updates.

I'm still alive.:)

Hello everyone, I'm still alive here in Kansas. I have just been too busy to post to my blog lately. My kids Cindy and John are doing good. Cindy is currently on leave in San Diego, Ca and will fly to Everett Washington Wednesday to report to her new naval base and then somehow get to her Ship the USS Abraham Lincoln.

John is still out at sea on his ship the USS Doyle. We have heard from John a few times and he was doing good but tired. He was working some 18-19 hour days. Someone stole his cell phone charger from his rack on the ship so he needs a new one. It looks like anything left out gets taken. He had his shoes stolen another time and other things in the past. I asked him if he was on a pirate ship. :) The lesson here is lock everything up when it is out of your eyesight. Sad but true.... That's about all for now. Hope everyone has a great day.

Good morning all

The crew of the USS Doyle stand at attention during a short presentation ceremony. The Doyle was given the Key to the City and it was Doyle Day in West Palm Beach yesterday.

West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel greets the crew of the USS Doyle yesterday.

Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a Happy 4th of July yesterday. We had a good day overall. I managed to mow the lawn and visit our friend that had knee replacement surgery. Last night I cooked hamburgers and hot-dogs on the grill and then we just relaxed. I am trying to let my knee heal a little more before I do anything strenuous. This past Wednesday I had a cortisone injection in my knee from our local Orthopedic surgeon and I am in more pain now than before the shot. I think the surgeon messed up. I have had over a dozen cortisone injections in my knees over the last 15 years and this is the worst pain that I have ever encountered after an injection. I will see my Doctor next week and see what I can do about this.

Our son John called yesterday from West Palm Beach Florida. His Ship the USS Doyle was docked there for the 4th of July celebration . John was doing well and having a great day. He said that he enjoyed getting off the Ship and eating out with his friends. John said that he will e-mail me pictures when he gets back to his base later this month. West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel greeted the crew of the USS Doyle at the Port of Palm Beach in Riviera Beach yesterday. Mayor Frankel joined teens from the Northwood Youth Empowerment Center for a tour of the ship. The crew of the USS Doyle has been invited to take part in the opening ceremonies of the annual 4th on Flagler celebration. The guys had a good time. John has to work on the Ship today and is off again tomorrow to explore more of West Palm Beach.

That's about all for now, I am going to go sit on my deck and drink my coffee. Hope you have a great weekend.

I'm Back

Sheila's car parked in front of our house. My wife Vicki wants one.

Vicki & Sheila on our Deck

Vicki & Sheila in Vickis Computer Room

Vicki & Sheila getting ready to go out

Vicki & Sheila on our front porch

Hello all, I'm finally back. We have been busy here in Kansas. We had Vicki's friend Sheila come visit us for a week and then a friend of ours had knee replacement surgery so I have been trying to help her out a little. My left knee has also been hurting bad for the last two months. I had a second shot of cortisone in my knee yesterday.

My left knee still swollen and sore.

Our kids are doing good, as you know from my last post our daughter Cindy graduated from Navy CIWS C-School in San Diego today and will be going to her Ship the USS Abe Lincoln soon. Our son John is out to sea on his Ship the USS Doyle and should be in West Palm Beach today or tomorrow. You can read a news article that mentions this here. From the news article that I mentioned.

"Fourth on Flagler

West Palm Beach will celebrate Fourth on Flagler from 5 to 10 p.m. The free event, founded 20 years ago, has shifted temporarily because of waterfront construction. Flagler Drive will be closed from Lakeview Avenue to Banyan Boulevard.

The event starts with a salute to the troops ceremony at the Meyer Amphitheatre, with a welcome to the sailors of the USS Doyle, one of the Navy's guided-missile frigates.

Remix, a Top 40 cover band, and the Youth Orchestra of Palm Beach County will perform at the Meyer."

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July tomorrow. That's all for now, I have too much stuff to do. Talk to you later. :)

Congratulation's Cindy

My daughter Cindy graduated from Navy CIWS C-School in San Diego today. I want to say Congratulation's Cindy. We are very proud of you. Cindy will be going to the USS Abraham Lincoln as a CIWS Tech sometime this month.

It looks like it's going to be a nice weekend.

Picture of Sheila from when she was here a few months ago.

Good morning everyone. It's Friday and it looks like it is going to be a nice sunny weekend here in our part of Kansas. Our friend Sheila is coming to visit today from Arkansas. Sheila has been friends with my wife Vicki for over 34 years. Vicki doesn't know that Sheila is coming up today so it will be a real surprise to her. :) I'm sure we'll have a good time. I am planning on coking some chicken on the grill tonight for dinner and have everything else ready for company. I hope everyone else has a nice weekend.

Good morning

Good morning everyone. I am just starting on my 4th cup of coffee for the day and am starting to wake up. Yesterday was a bad day for me. This past Sunday night I started to feel bad and went to bed at 10pm after falling asleep in my recliner for several hours. I slept in until 8am Monday morning, that is very unusual for me to slept that long. Yesterday I just felt like crap all day and slept most of the day. I usually sleep about 6hrs a night and that is all I usually need. I feel much better now. I hope it keeps going that way. This morning my wife has a Dr appointment so I have to get ready for that soon. I'm not sure what I will do the rest of the day, it really depends on how I feel.

My wife Vicki talked to our son John yesterday for a few minutes. His ship was underway and he just called to check on me. He was worried because Sunday morning when I was trimming a bush in the back yard I feel off a ladder. The bush was about 12 feet tall and I had to use a step ladder to reach the top. We have had so much rain this month ( 17.17in this month as of yesterday morning ) that the step ladder sank into the ground when I was standing on it and I fell off backwards and fell on our neighbors metal closeline. I have a large bruise and am a little sore for my efforts but I will be fine.:)

I am looking forward to getting a new lawn mower this week with the Walmart git card my son John got me for Fathers day. My current mower sputters and just about stops every 60 seconds or so and it takes me forever to mow the lawn. Last week when I mowed it took me 4hrs to get it done. I love mowing the yard but 4 hrs is way too long.

I hope everyone has a great day.

Happy Fathers Day

My parents having Lunch at Racing North Turn in Daytona Beach today.

My Dad Playing Golf

Good morning everyone. I want to wish my Dad and all the other Fathers out there a very Happy Fathers Day today. My Dad has always been a great father. He is always willing to listen and he gives great advice. He is also one of the smartest people that I know. If you didn't know already my Father is an astrophysicist. He also has a great sense of humor. When I was a kid my friends were kind of intimidated by my Father but he tried to make them feel at ease. I remember one time when a friend of mine came to our house and my Dad answered the door and made this face with his hands upside down over his eyes and sang "Junior Bird Man". That was so funny watching a 6.6 guy in a suit singing that. LOL I also remember another time when he had to take a trip to Florida to do something with the Navy and he brought me along. It was just me and him. That was really special. We went allot together as a family but nothing beats one on one time with your Dad when you're a kid. Thanks for all the great memories Dad. I Love you.

I hope all of the fathers out there get to do something that you enjoy doing today, as for me I am going to do some yard work today. I love working in my yard.

My sons Mike and John called me yesterday to wish me a happy Fathers day and my daughter Cindy and my son John also called this morning. Mike has to work today so he wasn't going to be able to call today, I really enjoyed talking to him.

My son John called last night to tell me that he ordered me a Walmart gift card for fathers day and that I should have it this week. I am going to buy a new lawn mower with it. Thanks in advance for the mower John, I really appreciate it, my current mower is on it last legs and sputters as I mow. There is nothing more satisfying than mowing the lawn, you go out and the yard looks like crap and then you spend a little time mowing and it looks great. It's that instant gratification thing. :)

I hope you all have a great day.

I Love this Grill

Our Weather Forecast ( Click images for full size )

My Grilled Chicken

Our Dog Tanner waiting to see if he gets any Chicken.

Good morning everyone. I just woke up and am drinking my second cup of coffee. It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day today with temps in the mid 80s and no rain.

Last night I grilled chicken on my new gas grill and it turned out perfectly tender and juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside and completely cooked but not burned. I made enough to last me all weekend. I just love having a gas grill, it is so much easier than dealing with charcoal .

Yesterday I went to Walmart and bought a whole chicken that was already cut up for less than $4.00 and added two chicken leg-thigh combos that I had in the freezer. It was a very inexpensive dinner that will last us three days. Today I am going to paint some for a friend. I love painting, I find it very cathartic and relaxing. I hope everyone enjoys their weekend.

Flag Day today

It's Flag Day, time to salute Old Glory.

On June 14, 1777, the first American flag, also known as the Stars and Stripes or Old Glory, was approved by the Continental Congress. In 1818, after five more states joined the union, Congress fixed the number of stripes at 13 and required the number of stars to equal the number of states.

Popular accounts trace Flag Day's roots to 1885 when a Wisconsin teacher began celebrating the flag's birthday in her schoolroom.

The Order of Elks played a significant role in the day's history when it became the first national fraternal organization to adopt Flag Day in 1907. Observances became an Elks obligation nationwide in 1911.

Though former President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation in 1916 establishing Flag Day, it wasn't until 1949 that a member of the Elks, President Harry S. Truman, signed the congressional act designating June 14 as National Flag Day.

Johns Ship was in the News

John's Ship the USS Doyle was in the News. 

"USS DOYLE – The USS Doyle (FFG 39) is the Navy team’s Fleet Honoree for the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway. The USS Doyle was commissioned on May 21, 1983, and is named after Vice Admiral James Henry Doyle The USS Doyle’s mission is to provide multi-threat protection for military, merchant and shipping, amphibious task forces and underway replenishment groups. Simply stated, the crew of the USS Doyle provides a well-maintained ship, operated by a well-trained crew, ready for a variety of peacetime and wartime tasking."

You can read the article here. 

Good morning and a little about how the kids are doing in the Navy

Good morning all. Sorry I haven't posted much recently but I have been busy. Today is going to be a rainy day so there isn't really much to do so I am just going to relax and get some things done around the house today. Fathers day is Sunday and both of my kids mentioned it on the phone this week.

I heard from our daughter Cindy in San Diego Wednesday night. Cindy graduates Navy CIWS C-School July 3rd. Cindy said her orders have her going to Everett Washington right after graduation. She will be there in Washington for three weeks and then Fly out to the USS Abraham Lincoln to begin her first tour on her Ship. Cindy also said that when the Abraham Lincoln goes in the Yard next year that she is going to volunteer for an IA assignment in Iraq. IA is "individual augmentee (IA)". Cindy is doing well and is looking forward to getting on her Ship. Cindy sounded very positive and happy when I talked to her on the phone. We are very proud of her. :)

I have talked to our son John several times, he has been very busy lately. His Ship the USS Doyle has been busy getting qualifications. John is cranking ( working in the mess deck ) at this time. As you know John is an OS "Operations Specialist" in the Navy so this isn't his normal job. Everyone has to do a stint working in the mess deck when they first get into the Navy. John's days start at 3am and he has been getting off at 9-10pm. John is exhausted and has lost some weight but he is doing ok and sounds good. I am sure he will be doing better when he gets back to doing his normal job in a few months.

I have to tell you that I don't understand the whole idea of Cranking in the Navy. It doesn't make sense to me to send these Sailors to Specialized Schools for months to learn a technical job and then put them in a Kitchen where they forget what they just learned.

I have to say that I agree with Cmdr. Matt Brown's statement in 2001 where he said "Sailors need to be able to learn their rate (job)," Brown said. "When you have somebody who is taken out onto the mess decks, they’re losing some of their specialized training." If the site is up you can read the entire article here.

That's about it for now. Hope everyone has a Great weekend. :)

We made it through the night

We made it through the night. With all the hype about the impending storms yesterday we were ready for something big to happen and it never did. We did get a thunder storm at about 10pm with allot of rain and lightning but that was about it. :)

Yesterdays predictions were off the chart as far as the weather was concerned and we were worried. The "Emergency Alert System" was sounded on television around 7pm telling us that severe storms were on the way and would be here in another 2hrs or so. I guess everyone was worried about what was about to happen. It turned out to be fairly mild when compared to other storms that we have had this year. I think we're all glad that the predictions were wrong for our area. Today it is supposed to be mostly sunny and 85.