Hooray! Diana is back!

Amy and the Redford Civic Symphony kick off Summer Concerts in The Park

Hooray!

Amy's at

it again!

.

You play

that sax, lady!

.

.

Tuesday's concert was

the last event of

the 2005-06 season ...

.

... so if you missed

seeing her, you'll have

to wait for the new season

to start in the fall.

.

I am proud of you!

Name That Cuteness!

OK...

Today's entry asks the question:

.

What is this?

.

(You can click the pictures for a bigger view)

.

.

Since I know relatively

little about wild animals,
I'm not sure, but it looks
like a beaver to me.

.

.

.

.

.

Either way, he (she?)'s

awfully cute.

He hangs out near
the office's of my primary
client site in Wixom, MI.

.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

UPDATE! MYSTERY SOLVED!

.

Hint - it's a little too late for one of them to six more weeks of winter by seeing his shadow!

.

I dont know why I never guessed . . . since this is such a fun favorite of mine! I only thought about it when one of my peers at work reported that one of our remote client locations lost network (and telephone) service when one of these guys ate through the underground cabling between the site's buildings!

June Updates - Part 6 - ARI in Michigan

On June 12th, 2006, the Ayn Rand Institute brought their "State of ARI" Presentation to Southfield, Michigan.

The talk was given by director by Dr. Yaron Brook, who gave an exciting presentation, and answered lots and lots of questions.

Most surprising was his discussion of just how successful the current programs of the Institute have been, and how bright the future looks.

Besides the majority of the core EGO Group regulars, several people who I haven't seen in years showed up! Also in attendence was head honcho Andrew from The University Of Michigan Students of Objectivism, and we met some folks we've never met before, including Chris and Carrie!

Afterward, Amy and I, and Chris, Carrie, Andrew and Steve went out in search of a restaurant (it took several tries to find one that was open) and stayed out too late for a school night. Fun!

June Updates - Part 5 - 2006 SE Mich FDP Jam II

Misc updates - the 2006 Southeast Michigan Fender Discussion Page Jam II was a good time. Like the 2006 Jam I, it was held at Corktown Tavern. More info here and here. Special thanks to organizer Smokin'Pickin' Doug, and bandmates Rob, Jeff and Drew.

Diana is visiting my parents (her grandparents) and of course Trixie the poochness one, in Florida.

I miss her, but the weather's been so beautiful this weekend that I'm not too jealous that she's in Florida!

This Tuesday, Amy performs at the last Redford Civic Symphony event of the 2005-2006 season, at Capitol Park - be there! (Or you'll have to wait for my report!)

June Updates - Part 4 - Hewlett-Packard Laserjet 8150

Oh, before I forget, if you own a Hewlett-Packard Laserjet 8150, an excellent high volume laser printer, and you get random errors including fuser warnings (and your fuser's tests out OK), check the power supply PCB #2 for burnt-out solder at the middle pin (drain) of the power FET.

Easy solder job - but use good quality solder, and keep it smooth, it's a rare, but known trouble spot.

Just thought you should know.

June Updates - Part 3 - the EGO Surprise Impromptu June Karaoke Party

Just a bit more on the EGO Surprise Impromptu June Karaoke Party - Eric hosted a karaoke get-together, scheduled more-or-less at the last minute, when the plans for the July EGO meetings got switched around (EGOists Note: the first July meet is at Peter's, then the second's at Eric's).

Eric was determined to have folks over to see his beautiful remodelling, hardwood flooring, new paint, and more.

Wanting to celebrate before his charming & lovely guest Lulu headed back to Mexico on Sunday, it was decided (three days beforehand) to have a karaoke party Saturday night. Word went out quick over the super-secret and efficient EGO communication channels.

As karaoke goes, this was a good one!

Eric ordered salads & pizza for all, and Amy and I brought ingredients to make sangria (white zinfandel, brandy, ginger ale, and fresh citrus & other fruits) as well as the karaoke equipment.

Unlike some karaoke events, everybody got up and sang at some point - hooray! The singing was the best ever, and the dancing - oh, my! It was so much fun, I don't know if we'll wait until the annual EGO Halloween Karaoke Party to do it again.

(Speaking of EGO hosts - thanks again to Eric, Dave and Peter, who've all been hosting EGO meetings and have all been very generous, inviting us all into their homes, and feeding us as well. Amy and I did this a few years ago, while Eric was living in Germany, and it was great fun - but is also quite an effort, and so I can't repeat often enough that it's really appreciated!)

June Updates - Part 2 - June is the month for romance!

June is the month for romance! (Who'd a' thought? Well, if you'd been at the EGO Surprise Impromptu June Karaoke Party last night, you'd'a seen some of it for yourself!)

People just seem to be falling in love. You lovers out there, you know who you are.

Nature's been busy making lovers, too. The gooses around my office are bringing up their kids. Funny, they were just little puffs of feathers in April!

(Geese are properly referred to as gooses when they are especially cute.)

There's also a very silly beaver who keeps waddling around there. Michigan can be a funny place.

I haven't formulated an explanation for why geese, and ducks, and bunnies, and even beavers, make me happy. But they do.

Dahly Bun is, as usual, sweetness - except that she's been a bit demanding lately, and it's got her biting (well, OK, nipping) when she wants attention. So to train her, we're giving her punishment/reward/distraction therapy, which includes picking her up more often.

She (usually but not always) hates that!

June Updates - Part 1 - Diana's an Adult!

Wow - since the last update, Diana attended her high school prom, turned 18, and attended her graduation ceremony - many proud moments!

She chose a lovely prom dress, and even let her mother & I take lots of photographs, before taking my camera to the prom with her. She was beautiful! (Later that weekend, she'd be receiving a digital camera of her own for her birthday.)

The birthday party was, by her choice, at the Westland Civic Center park, a tradition for the family, as her birthday's right at the unofficial start of spring (and this year fell right on Memorial Day). Diana was gracious and charming as usual, and a good time was had by all.

And her graduation was quite a ceremony - she looked so sharp in her cap & gown. I think her ceremony was much more interesting than mine was ... but I guess that was 25 years ago, so it may my recollection may be a bit hazy!

I'm so proud of her!