“Potter-ificus Totalus” II (No Spoilers)

I finished “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows” (thanks Barb) early Saturday morning about 1 a.m.  I wish I had Mad-Eye Moody’s magical eyeball, because my eyes were just about ready to fall out.  But it was not possible to put it down with less than 100 pages to go.  Now my case of “Potter-ificus [...]

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Minimum Wage Blues at the YMCA

It is too bad that businesses and non-profit organizations didn’t speak up louder and more often about the minimum wage.  Perhaps the politicians wouldn’t have passed the bill, if everyone clearly understood that the price of food and clothing would go up if the minimum wage was increased, and that some non-profit organizations would be forced [...]

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“Potter-ificus Totalis”

“Potter-ificus Totalis” – the zombie-like semi-immobile state created by spending too many hours reading “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”.  Symptoms include glassy eyes, inattention to food, drink, sleep or family members, and inability to move except to turn pages.  The condition is treated by finishing the book, or by having another family member steal the [...]

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A Great Week to Give Blood

This week is Erie Blogs Week at the Community Blood Bank.  As one of Erie’s newer bloggers, I hereby encourage you to GO GIVE BLOOD THIS WEEK.  And when you give, vote for your favorite Erie blog.  (Or you could just vote for me.) 
If you do that, you will be entered in a drawing for [...]

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Waterford 5K – July 19

5 of us ran in the Waterford 5K on July 19.  Here is a picture of us before the race:

I got a personal best of 25:08.  I also got to beat my son again, for what may be the last time.  (He’ll start cross country training in 2 weeks.)
We tried to get pictures of the [...]

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14 Thumbs Up

Today we went to see Ratatouille.  This is the only first-run movie our whole family has seen this year (usually we wait for the Dollar Theater; 7 people at the theater gets expensive), and it was excellent.  Remy, the main character, is a different sort of rat; he doesn’t like to eat his garbage, and he [...]

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Driving with Miss Anna

Back when I was learning to drive in our 1971 Dodge Dart, I remember my Mom sitting in the passenger seat, pushing the invisible brake pedal with her foot. Her hair started to go gray at that time, but she claims it was a coincidence. Now that I am giving my daughter driving [...]

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First Fruits of Summer

Well, actually the second fruits of summer.  Someone ate the first ones. 
Last year, I moved in July, so the garden was put in late and did very badly.  This year, I got everything in early, and the weather has been nice and sunny, though too dry.  The garden is only 10′ by 10′, but using [...]

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The Real Mystery of Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong

For my out-of-town readers, the big story in Erie this week is that the “Pizza-Bomber” case is finally going to court.   Apparently Brian Wells, the pizza deliveryman who died when the bomb around his neck exploded, was part of a plot masterminded by Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong.  Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong was using Brian Wells as part of her [...]

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Sorry, Pope Benny Part II

In his recent statement, Pope Benedict XVI said that churches that had apostolic succession (such as the Eastern Orthodox churches) were still “deficient” because they did not recognize the primacy of Rome. That is, any church that does not recognize the Roman Catholic church as supreme and does not recognize the Pope of Rome [...]

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