Just to be clear, we are a cat family. But we have friends with dogs and neighbors with dogs, and we’re OK with that, too. However, you can’t help but get a little biased about cats or dogs after a while.
I got a big kick out of this video, from the show Creature Comforts, which pops up on Animal Planet from time to time. Particularly, I like the part where the hamster is mocking how cats cry around all day to be fed. It’s true. :):
More from the reunion: Just how many children did Archie and Nellie (Call) Brott have and what are there names? My Aunt Bonnie, with assistance from my Uncle Archie, gives it a shot:
It has been a long time since I posted anything around here and, not that you’re worried or anything, I’m doing fine. What’s been going on, you ask? Well:
FAMILY REUNION: It was a great thrill to travel to Spirit Lake, Iowa, to see many of my family on Brott side. To be clear, this was a reunion of my dad’s family, which meant there were people I had a) met when I was a child growing up in Minnesota and barely remember or b) never met at all and didn’t know I was related to them. And the frosting on the cake was my two brothers were there and so was my mom so I was able to introduce them to my kids. As another bonus, several of my nieces and nephews were there, too, so my kids got to meet some of their cousins — and there are a lot of them in my family.
INDEPENDENCE DAY: Most years, it seems, we end up going to South Dakota over the Fourth of July because my in-laws live along a lake and so it makes it an enjoyable time in several ways. This year, right after the family reunion in Iowa, we took my son and daughter to S.D. so he could attend camp at Byron Bible Camp and my daughter could help in the kitchen there. As is our practice, this turned into an extended vacation for the kids and us from each other. After camp, the kids stayed at my in-laws, who live about a quarter of a mile away from the camp. It’s a great arrangement because it allows the kids some special time with their grandparents and it allows us a chance to do things without them (although we miss them dearly!).
So, when the Fourth of July rolled around, we were able to join them in S.D. and have a pleasant time. Also, my wife’s brother and his family were there so it was another good time for family reunion. And, of course, we all enjoyed shooting and watching the fireworks.
GARAGE SALE: Today, we are sitting out in the front yard watching people look at our treasures, hoping they will buy some. I am thankful for shade, a cool glass of lemonade (thanks, Andrew!) and wireless access. I am also aware that I have way more than I need and ask God’s forgiveness for forgetting from time to time that he is all I need.
And now, for a little break, here is the late, great Nickel Creek (not disbanded, but on hiatus) with their cool video rendition of “When In Rome.”
From an ad in Salvo magazine:
Does your son act too much like a little boy?
Is he fidgety and rambunctious?
Does he have trouble listening or have a puerile sense of humor?
Is he easily distracted?
Does he have a propensity to get dirty?
Does he enjoy playing with violent toys?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then it might be time to medicate your son. Even if he doesn’t have ADD or ADHD, you’ll most certainly agree that he’s annoying.
Well, now you can curb the boyish tendencies in your son and make him almost comatose in the process. E-MASQL8 Plus has been clinically proven to remove in boys all signs of unwanted boyishness. You’ll never have to deal with snips, snails, or puppy-dog tails again.
E-MASQ8 Plus: A Cure for the Common Boy
Also see, in that same issue, this article entitled “Girly Men: The Media’s Attack on Masculinity.”
HT: Between Two Worlds and Wittingshire
OK, I’ve been waiting for this since I saw the trailer played in a movie theater before “Prince Caspian” in May. If space travel doesn’t give you you goosebumps, then I think you should check this out for sure. If it does already, then you don’t need me to tell you this looks like it’s going to be awesome.
Here is how the mini-series is described on the Discovery Channel site:
When We Left Earth is the story of mankind’s greatest adventure, leaving the earth and living in space. For the first time this series has digitally re-mastered the original film and audio recordings from NASA’s vault, including and all the key on-board footage filmed by the astronauts themselves. From John Glenn’s Mercury mission to orbit the earth, to Neil Armstrong’s first historic steps on the moon, to the unprecedented spacewalks required to repair the Hubble telescope, these epic stories are shown in stunning clarity and told by the astronauts and engineers who were there.
This week’s episode:
ORDINARY SUPERMAN
Premieres Sunday, June 8 at 9:00 p.m. E/P
NASA selects seven men to become the first astronauts. They’re all test pilots, prepared to risk their lives. No one has ever survived a vertical launch on top of a rocket, but it’s the only way they know to put an astronaut into earth orbit. The Mercury astronauts and engineers need to figure out how to launch a man into space on top of a converted intercontinental ballistic missile.
FRIENDS AND RIVALS
Premieres Sunday, June 8 at 10:00 p.m. E/P
For Project Gemini, a new generation of astronauts arrive at NASA — their mission, to test all the procedures required to land men on the moon and bring them safely back to earth. Each Gemini mission launches two men into space, leading to some of NASA’s greatest moments — Ed White’s spacewalk, the first orbital rendezvous of Gemini 6 and 7.
I know my friend Scott has been waiting for this, and I know he didn’t need anyone to tell him it was the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” playing in the background of the trailer, either.
OK, so this is not the new iPhone that is supposedly supposed to be released next week. Rather, this is a new iPhone at the Ridgedale Mall Apple Store in Minnetonka, Minn. It was still cool, and my son, Andrew, and I enjoyed killing some time at the store while the rest of our family shopped.
I think Apple stores are the adult equivalent of those playgrounds that are in the center of malls for parents to bring bored children during shopping trips.
Today is my birthday! To celebrate my family took me to one of my favorite places to eat in Grand Island, Sutter Deli. I had a delicious bowl of chicken noodle soup while Ruth Anne had the oriental chicken salad, Andrew the simple pepperoni pizza and Liz the Sutter Deli club. Four stars all.
On this milestone day I am thankful that in the past year God has mercifully loved me and guided me. I have failed him often, but I know that God has stretched me to hopefully be the man he wants me to be, or at least closer to that man.
I also am thankful for the many people God has put in my life to serve his purposes both to serve and be served by. God is good, and I am hopeful at the start of another year of getting closer to Him for his sake and my happiness.
According to new research, humans can see into the future ever so briefly, which explains why we are tricked by optical illusions.
Researcher Mark Changizi of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York says it starts with a neural lag that most everyone experiences while awake. When light hits your retina, about one-tenth of a second goes by before the brain translates the signal into a visual perception of the world.
Scientists already knew about the lag, yet they have debated over exactly how we compensate, with one school of thought proposing our motor system somehow modifies our movements to offset the delay.
Changizi now says it’s our visual system that has evolved to compensate for neural delays, generating images of what will occur one-tenth of a second into the future. That foresight keeps our view of the world in the present. It gives you enough heads up to catch a fly ball (instead of getting socked in the face) and maneuver smoothly through a crowd. His research on this topic is detailed in the May/June issue of the journal Cognitive Science.
The article goes on to explain that illusions occur because our brains try to perceive the future but reality doesn’t match our perceptions. The question that comes to my mind: Is this something that has evolved or is it one more way we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” ?
HT: Centurion
This is something that has become a big event on our calendar: Big Band Night. Last night we had the thrill of seeing Liz perform a solo on one of the songs. For your enjoyment, here is a clip.
Rockstanding 
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