New Family Picture on the Side

We took this ourselves, putting the camera on timer and setting it on the Hacienda Frisbee holder.

Searches for September

Some searches that led people to this blog in September:

• financial crisis dave ramsey
• 2008 presidential election futures
• frosted mini wheats
• phrase and parts of the book socks by beverly clearly
• stephen broken leg
• what happened before connie roop wrote turn on the light thomas edison...?
• brent gall football
• stive gall
• nappanee high school bulldogs
• 15 yr class reunion nappanee indiana
• nappanee running race
• scooter going down a hill

2008 Election - How It's Looking - September 29, 2008

Intrade is now publishing a real-time map and calculation of the forecast that I have been publishing for months.

The current electoral college forecast:
Obama: 338
McCain: 200

Obama is more valuable in the futures market to win Florida, Virgina, Ohio, Nevada and Colorado. If McCain loses any of these states in the election it makes it very difficult for him to get to the needed 270 electoral votes.

Not surprisingly, the market for the winner of the election has swung heavily toward Obama, since McCain was slightly ahead in my last update. Obama now leads 62.0 to 37.8.

There is still hope for McCain though. The Intrade market for the Wall Street Bailout to be approved by September 30 was at 90 three days ago. It now sits at 2.

Want to create various election scenarios of your own? This site has a clickable map.

NCAA Fantasy Football Challenge - Week 5

My dad and I are still in first and second in our college football fantasy league. I retook the league lead from him this week though.

Steve Gall 27356 points
Brent Gall 27302 points

Here was my team for the week:

Offensive Teams
Indiana 703 points
Michigan State 917 points
Penn State 782 points
Akron 488 points

Defensive Teams
Michigan State Defense 412 points
North Carolina Defense 621 points
USC Defense 502 points
Alabama Defense 546 points

A good week for a team would be over 1,000 points. Of course the week I spend the big money on USC's defense they go for all of 502 points - never fails.

My Last 10 Google Searches

Here are the last 10 searches I have done on Google:

• huffington post wiki (I've seen articles come across my news feeds by HuffPo, but didn't know the origin of the site, until now - I just read about it on Wikipedia.)
  
  
• excel add a trendline (I wanted to add a line of best fit to a chart I was making on Excel with my Omron scale data.)
  
  
• wachovia (I think this was a Google News search.)
  
  
• signs of a concussion (Makenna fell off the neighbors trapeze bar and hit her head. We wanted to know what to watch for.)
  
  
• chazown (I was leaving a comment on Rob's blog and wanted to know if this word is capitalized or not.)
  
  
• kid family blog (Somebody found my blog with this search, so I did the search to see where it lists me; I wasn't in the first 100 though.)
  
  
• PRICE INVESTMENTS, L.L.C. (I saw a house in Nappanee listed for sale through them, so I looked them up.)
  
  
• Mrs. McDavid A second grade teacher who said she would link to my class web site - no link yet though.)
  
  
• bus accident (I did a couple searches looking for information regarding a tragic bus accident in Logansport. I had the bus driver's son in my class when I taught at Twin Lakes. They are such a nice family. My heart is breaking for them as well as the families who lost children.)
  
  
• a.j. ellis purdue recruiting (For some reason I thought maybe this was a Twin Lakes student who was being recruited for basketball at Purdue. I was wrong, but ended reading that all four White County schools may consolidate, so then I went to Monticello's newspaper's web site where I ended up reading about the bus accident.)

Miles Biked Update: September 27, 2008

Miles biked in 2008:

Steve 536.8 miles
Kristi 435.9 miles
Kylee 342.7 miles
Kenna 343.6 miles
Landen 30.1 miles

Last two week totals:
Steve 27.7 miles
Kristi 37.4 miles
Kylee 28.2 miles
Kenna 28.0 miles
Landen 6.6 miles

A Fun Way to Use Google

I like to use Google Blog Search to search for events after I attend them to see if any fellow bloggers posted anything about the event.

For example, a search for Nappanee Apple Festival produces results that include:

(Links will open in a new window.)
Nappanee Apple Festival (mine)

Here we are "Embracing the Pace" at the Apple Festival in Nappanee ...

Dinner at the Apple Festival

Festival Fun!

Greetings and Salutations!!

Wonderings

Our Weekend.. (I am actually in one of the photos on this blog by Dee - someone I do not know. If you enlarge the photo of the boy with the ribbon, you can see me sitting beside the Mark Souder sign.)

The Corinth Brethren (This one is interesting because it is clearly about this year's festival, but the picture of the 7 foot apple pie appears to have been taken at a previous festival because the picture is from Traditions, not the Mexican restaurant that is there now.)

The Treatment of Vince Makes Me Wince

I empathize with Vince Young. There's something about a good guy getting booed in his own stadium that just sort of tugs at my heart. I'm not going to cry over it or anything, but when I see a clip of Titans fans booing Young, I think that it's just mean. I can't believe they do that.

I think Donald Miller empathizes with Vince Young too. He posted an open letter to Vince on his blog. It's worth a read.

Coming within the next couple weeks, a post about a guy with whom I REALLY empathize.

What Dave Ramsey Said Tonight

In the midst of the financial crisis our country is facing, listening to the pundits on the news and talk radio has been a little scary.

When I turned on the TV this evening, the Tivo was dutifully recording Dave Ramsey's TV show. I quickly rewound so I could hear Dave's opening commentary. I wasn't sure what his take on the situation would be. I didn't figure he would be a doomsdayer, he wasn't. I thought he would be for the bailout, he's not.

I thought Dave's comments were insightful enough that I rewound again and kept pressing the 8 second replay button until I got a portion of his commentary transcribed. Here it is:

"Paulsen, our own secretary of money in Washington says that if we don’t give him a blank check that the world is going to come to an end, financially. It’s not darling. It’s not. If a couple banks crash, could it be a long winter? Sure. But we will survive. The American people and the American economy is much more resilient than a couple of banks going down and a couple of Wall Street types not getting their dag gum bonuses. We’ll survive that. And for Congress to get a blank $700 billion blank check, well it’s not even 700 billion because they really want no limits on it, off a two and a half page proposal is mmmm, ludicrous.

It seems like the Democrats have never met a tax they didn’t like and the Republicans have never met a debt they didn’t like and I’m pretty personally as a tax payer pretty ticked off at both of them. I wish they’d just stay out of our lives and let some of these things take their natural course. Now, some of you, that scares you, because you don’t have the emotional stomach to ride a roller coaster. You can’t afford to think it might go down this winter and oh we’ll never recover. Well I honestly think it will recover. And I don’t think that the Great Depression is right around the corner. As a matter of fact, I’m really sure it’s not. But I do know if we put another trillion dollars in debt on the books in honor of our national economy that your great grand kids are going to be paying that bill and so will mine. And there’s something in the pit of my stomach that just doesn’t sit well with that." -Dave Ramsey

NCAA Fantasy Football Challenge - Week 4

My Dad took the lead following week 4.

Brent Gall 22,769 points
Steve Gall 22,385 points

Since we didn't get any other takers in the league I set up, we switched our teams to a league that has about 20 active teams.

In this league, my dad is in first place, I am in second. Since we just switched to this league after the second week, my dad and I joked to each other on the phone that the other players are probably asking "where the guys came from."

Nappanee Apple Festival

We took full advantage of the Apple Festival happenings over the weekend. Some of the events we either attended or participated in included the parade, pedal pull, circus show, baby Olympics, church service, pet parade of fashion, and the 5k run.

Landen won all three events for his age group in the Baby Olympics and both of the girls held their own in the pedal pull.

Kylee ended up running in the 5K race. She won her age division (girls under 10.) She decided to enter when we got there and we didn't have our bikes, so Kristi couldn't ride along with her. We were a little concerned that she would get scared running the 3.1 miles by herslef, so we were so thankful that Dick Pletcher rode his bike along with her. This made it a lot of fun for her. Dick even put a call in to Kylee's grandpa in Las Vegas to let him know her progress during the race. She ran the 5k in 44 minutes, 30 seconds. Dick said she ran at least 80% of the time. Thanks Dick! And great job Kylee!

My goal for the race was to beat my previous best time. Trying to beat 26 minutes was in the back of my mind as well. I ended up finishing the 5K in 24:40. My previous best time was 26:49, so I guess the "race" aspect of the run inspired me.

Thirteen Nappanee Apple Festival Pictures

All Creatures

This song rocks.

An Open Love Letter to My Wife

September 16, 2008

My Dearest Kristi,

Over the years our love has blossomed like a poinsettia at Christmas. A day without you is like a day without a bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats. My love for you grows and grows - like a kudzu vine in Georgia. You are such a wonderful mother. Your work ethic puts even the busiest beaver to shame. I don't see how you do it all. The least I could do is give you some extra help.

I know shopping is not your favorite activity, so I decided to do a little early Christmas shopping to assist you. So, I ordered a Fit Bit for my Christmas present from you. That's right, you can cross me off of your list already! I know you are spending a little more money on me than usual. It's okay though. I approve. The way I see it, this Fit Bit will keep me healthier and is actually an investment in my future good health, which I'm sure will someday more than cover the $100 price tag.

Also, this order will work out perfect because the Fit Bits won't actually start shipping until December, right at Christmastime. When I discovered this, I knew that my "Christmas shopping" idea was simply meant to be.

One more thing, my love, if, after reading about the Fit Bit, you decide you would like one for Christmas too, go ahead and order another one. Then on Christmas day we can simply trade Fit Bits.

I think this is going to be the most romantic Christmas ever!

All my love,

Steve

Carlos Zambrano

Last night Carlos Zambrano took a no hitter into the bottom of the 9th. With two outs, Darin Erstad stepped to the plate and launched a towering home run to break up the no hitter. Kerry Wood then came in for Zambrano, recorded the final out and got the save.

That's what would have happened if I would have been watching the end of the game.

Instead, I didn't realize history was being made as I monitored a rather dull Sunday night football game and blogged about chapter book read alouds.

So, thanks to me, Erstad struck out swinging and history was made. Carlos, you owe me one.

Chapter Book Read Alouds for Ages 3 to 7 - Ranked

I recently finished reading Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary to Kylee and Makenna. This was the 22nd chapter book that I have read to the girls. I started reading chapter books to the girls about four years ago when they were three years old. (Charlotte's Web was the first one.)

Today I made a form for Kylee, Makenna and I to each rank these 22 books in order from favorite to least favorite. (1st through 22nd)

I quickly read the list of books to them and we briefly discussed the plot of a few of the books to jog our memories. Then I walked us through the rankings by telling them to mark a 1 by their favorite book, a 2 by their second favorite book and so on. I also reminded them to remember to carefully look over the whole list before the next book was chosen. We didn't look at each other's sheets at all and didn't discuss where we were ranking the books.

I then tabulated the results, football poll style.

So, here are the chapter books that I have read aloud to Kylee and Makenna during their three year old, four year old, five year old, six year old and seven year old years, ranked. (And if you are looking for chapter books to read aloud to your children, hopefully this paragraph will help you with your search results.)

The Rankings:

1 Holes by Louis Sachar
2 Shiloh by Phyliss Reynolds Naylor
3 Thank You Squanto by Peter and Connie Roop
4 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
5 Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
6 Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo
7 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett
8 Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
9 Turn on the Light Thomas Edison by Peter and Connie Roop
10 The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
11 Miss Holly is Too Jolly by Dan Gutman
12 Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
13 Ragweed by Avi
14 Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
15 Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
16 Socks by Beverly Cleary
17 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
18 Mr. Klutz in Nuts by Dan Gutman
19 The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
20 Mrs. Roopy is Loopy by Dan Gutman
21 Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo
22 Strange Happenings: Five Tales of Transformation by Avi

My thoughts on the rankings:

• I wasn't surprised Holes is ranked first. I am a little surprised all three of us ranked it first though.
  
• Thank You Squanto being ranked third is sort of like what it would be like for East Carolina to make a run at this year's BCS national title game.
  
• All three of us liked The Magician's Nephew better than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
  
• I haven't read them my three favorite chapter books to read aloud yet: Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, Poppy by Avi and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo.
  
• Kylee and Makenna's teacher did read Edward Tulane to their class last year. I'm going to read it to them again at some point anyway.
  
• There was quite a bit of consitency between all three of our rankings. The rankings Kylee and I did are especially similar.

Click the chart for a larger, more readable view of the ranking chart.

How Kylee Ranked Them:

1 Holes by Louis Sachar
2 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett
3 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
4 Thank You Squanto by Peter and Connie Roop
5 Turn on the Light Thomas Edison by Peter and Connie Roop
6 Shiloh by Phyliss Reynolds Naylor
7 Miss Holly is Too Jolly by Dan Gutman
8 Mrs. Roopy is Loopy by Dan Gutman
9 Mr. Klutz in Nuts by Dan Gutman
10 Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
11 Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
12 Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
13 Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
14 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
15 Socks by Beverly Cleary
16 Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo
17 Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
18 The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
19 The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
20 Ragweed by Avi
21 Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo
22 Strange Happenings: Five Tales of Transformation by Avi


How Makenna Ranked Them:

1 Holes by Louis Sachar
2 Ragweed by Avi
3 Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo
4 Shiloh by Phyliss Reynolds Naylor
5 The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
6 Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
7 The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
8 Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
9 Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo
10 Thank You Squanto by Peter and Connie Roop
11 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett
12 Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
13 Socks by Beverly Cleary
14 Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
15 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
16 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
17 Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
18 Miss Holly is Too Jolly by Dan Gutman
19 Turn on the Light Thomas Edison by Peter and Connie Roop
20 Mr. Klutz in Nuts by Dan Gutman
21 Mrs. Roopy is Loopy by Dan Gutman
22 Strange Happenings: Five Tales of Transformation by Avi


How I Ranked Them:

1 Holes by Louis Sachar
2 Shiloh by Phyliss Reynolds Naylor
3 Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
4 Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
5 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
6 Thank You Squanto by Peter and Connie Roop
7 Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo
8 Turn on the Light Thomas Edison by Peter and Connie Roop
9 Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
10 Miss Holly is Too Jolly by Dan Gutman
11 The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
12 Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
13 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett
14 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
15 Socks by Beverly Cleary
16 Ragweed by Avi
17 Mr. Klutz in Nuts by Dan Gutman
18 Mrs. Roopy is Loopy by Dan Gutman
19 Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
20 The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
21 Strange Happenings: Five Tales of Transformation by Avi
22 Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo

Ike

I ran two miles through tropical depression Ike today. It was awesome! I finished the two miles within a few seconds of my best time, which was pretty good because my shoes were so wet it felt like I was running with bricks tied to my shoes and I think my drenched Cubs shirt added a few more pounds. I figured running heavy made for an extra good training session (and better than usual work out.)

This was maybe the perfect rain in which to run, lots of drops, steady, yet gentle. I saw some guys braving the elements out on the golf course while I was running. They both looked over at me, obviously having discussed "the guy who's crazier than they are." We exchanged a friendly wave.

When I got back, I laid down in the driveway, exhausted with my face to the sky and simply enjoyed the rain drops hitting me in the face.

When I was taking the girls to quiz practice tonight, we saw some high school aged boys getting ready to swim in the retention ponds by the NorthWood parking lot, pool noodles and all.

Miles Biked Update: September 13, 2008

So far in 2008:

Steve 509.1 miles
Kristi 398.5 miles
Kylee 315.4 miles
Kenna 315.6 miles
Landen 23.5 miles

2008 Election - How It's Looking - September 11, 2008

The Intrade.com futures market for the presidential election keeps getting more interesting. In the market for the individual winner of the election, McCain now leads Obama 50.9 to 47.8. Basically this means that the people who are placing their own real money on this market think there is a 50.9% chance that McCain will win the election and a 47.8% chance that Obama will win the election.

Here is the chart for Obama over the last 90 days.

However, when I take the leader from each state's market and plug it into an electoral college calculator, Obama comes out ahead 273 to 265. The closest states are Colorado, Nevada, New Hampshire and New Mexico - all states listed for Obama that could switch to McCain. (Sept. 13 update: Actually McCain had a higher value in Nevada at the time of this post, which is correctly reflected in the electoral count; but is incorrectly identified as "being listed for Obama" in my "closest states" sentence though.)

Way Before They Blogged - Jon Andrews

Jon recently celebrated his 40th birthday, so this picture of Jon is obviously from way, way, way, way before he blogged.

My Endorsement for President of the United States

Rocki Stillson would make the best president.

Iblogdoyou.com announces its endorsement of Rocki Stillson for President of the United States of America.

Rocki kisses a baby on the campaign trail.

Rocki's embrace of setting a maximum work week of 30 hours (20 hours for working single mothers) is proof enough that the American family is of the utmost importance to Stillson. "How can we raise the next generation of America's workers if we are always at work?" Stillson rhetorically asked a crowd gathered in the gymnasium at Samuel Gompers High School in the Bronx last week.

Furthermore, her pledge to cap fuel costs at $1.50 a gallon for gasoline in addition to heating fuel oil is proof enough that she is looking out for the rest of us, not just for her stuck-with-an-antique-furnace self.

Rocki is a natural born salesperson, so her plan to close the trade deficit by beginning to export oxygen is just the kind of forward thinking our country needs. She's not afraid to make the cold call. And soon after taking office she will be "on the phone with the leader of every other country on the face of the earth," selling our oxygen in a way that will put even Zig Zigler to shame. With Rocki's understanding of weather patterns and wind currents, we can all rest assured that her prediction is correct that "plenty of oxygen will drift back in to the United States at no charge from over the Atlantic, Pacific, Canada and Mexico to replace the enormous amount of oxygen we export." Her plan is in a word: brilliant!

While I do find fault in her health care plan requiring all Americans to wear a coat if the temperature drops below 50 degrees "so they don't catch a cold." (Unlike the "oxygen drift-back plan" there is little scientific evidence to support the "wear-a-coat" theory.) However, her suggestion that all Americans wash their hands 12 times a day is spot-on and if adopted by the general public, really should reduce common-cold and influenza outbreaks.

Perhaps Rocki's greatest potential as President lies in her ability to balance the federal budget AND ELIMINATE the national debt by the end of her first term. Her plan to stop spending ANY government money on durable goods is bold. But by simply asking the other nations of earth if we can BORROW their stuff is workable. If a country turns down our petition, Rocki has promised to make them feel so guilty for not sharing that sooner or later they will relent to our request. Then after we have "borrowed" their goods, Rocki has guaranteed that we will not be returning the items to their rightful owners. . . ever!

Rocki's plan for education that would place all children in the same class as all of their friends is revolutionary. "We will have the happiest students on earth . . . happy students learn better," she stated at a campaign stop in Dewey Beach, New Jersey. Her belief that kids should always be in class with their "best buddies" is progressive, but it is at least a fresh idea during this time of stagnant test scores.

The grassroots nature of her campaign has been unprecedented in American history. However, the "drafting of Stillson" should surprise no one. Rocki has the vision, ideas, values, and peskiness to be the next great American president. She has my vote and . . . my endorsement.

My pick, a media darling!

Bay Forrest

Today when I was running, I listened to a Hoops Addict podcast of an interview with Bay Forrest. Bay is a former NBA player. He is going to be speaking at my home church, Wakarusa Missionary, this Sunday, September 14.

If it sounds interesting you might want to download the podcast. The Hoops Addict preview is below.

"I recently had the pleasure of chatting with former NBA player Bay Forrest. While that name may not be familiar to a lot of basketball fans this interview is worth listening to because he had a lot of interesting stories about his basketball career such as turning down UCLA and North Carolina to play for a small Christian college with his brothers and being the first player to turn down a NBA contract to play amateur ball for a year.

• Why he choose Grand Canyon College over big-name schools like UCLA, Duke and North Carolina
  
• Being a three time All-American at Grand Canyon College
  
• What is was like to play win a National Championship with his younger and older brother at Grand Canyon
  
• Why he turned down a contract worth $625,000 by the Kansas City Kings following his junior season
  
• Why he decided to turn down the Seattle Supersonics after they drafted him following his senior season with the #19th overall pick
  
• Being the first player in the history of the NBA to turn down a contract to play with an amateur team.
  
• His experiences playing for Athletes in Action
  
• His experiences playing for the Phoenix Suns
  
• The work he is doing with Focus Ministries"
  

NCAA Fantasy Football Challenge

My dad, Brent, and I are neck and neck after week two of the college football season.

Steve Gall 11,208 points
Brent Gall 11,124 points

Running the 5K

A few weeks ago I signed up for the Nappanee Apple Festival 5K run. The race is now less than two weeks away.

Thanks in part, I'm sure, to the cloudy, cooler weather; today I set a new personal best 5K time, 26 minutes, 49 seconds. I bettered my previous personal best by nearly two minutes. Today was actually the first time I was able to run the whole 3.1 miles without walking part of it.

If I can just strip another 10 minutes off today's time in the next 13 days I just might finish second.

Oh, and I liked it better when they called the Apple Festival's 5K "The Road Apple Run."

Donald Miller

I started reading Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller today. I'm just into the first chapter, so I don't know much about the book yet other than I've enjoyed the first few pages.

I was reading Jeff Bell's blog tonight. Jeff is the pastor of the soon-to-open Elkhart campus of Granger Community Church. Jeff had a post with a video of Donald Miller delivering a prayer to close an evening at the Democratic National Convention.

So, how does a follower of Christ end a prayer in front of a large group of people, some of whom are sure to not be Christians and not make it nonsectarian? I thought Donald found words that were especially eloquent and appropriate.

Here's how Donald ended his prayer at the DNC.

"I make these requests in the name of your son, Jesus, who gave his own life against the forces of injustice. Let Him be our example, Amen."

There is a spot in the middle of the video in which the audio cuts out, but it only lasts a few seconds.

Thank You Judy

Rob and Derry both have a series about their "greatest hits;" happenings that made significant impacts on their lives - turning points.

I may do a "greatest hits" series myself at some point, but for now I think I will begin a "little hits" series - those events in my life that were seemingly insignificant, but keep coming back to mind, significant or not.

Here's the first one:

The kindle:
We went to the NorthWood football game last night. Kristi and Landen left early so Kylee, Makenna and I caught a ride home with Jeni Kern. When Jeni dropped us off I thanked her for the ride.

The memory (circa my middle school years):
Whenever Mike Engle and I would be getting ready to leave their house to ride with someone somewhere, Mike's mom, Judy, would always remind Mike to thank the driver for the ride. And Mike did always remember to say thank you. My mom would sometimes comment to me how Mike "always says thank you when we drop him off."

Thoughts:
Mike's mom indirectly taught me some manners. While, I don't know if I've ever been as appreciative as Mike was (and I'm sure still is,) I make it a point to tell people thank you for little things like rides. Kylee and Makenna didn't say thank you for the ride last night. I need to teach them to do this, just like Judy taught Mike.

Sarah Palin's Speech

Previewing Sarah Palin's RNC speech, Howard Fineman writes,

"We are about to see a true rarity in politics: an unpredictable, unscripted, scripted moment. Wednesday night, an unknown and barely tested woman from a small town in far away Alaska will make her debut as a would-be global leader in front of the Republican convention, the country and the entire world.

No one has the faintest idea what will happen."

Governor Palin is just wrapping up her speech. I couldn't wait to hear it, wondering what would happen myself. Before I hear what the pundits thought, I will say that I thought she delivered a great speech. She is an excellent speaker. She was tough, yet warm. Her points were predictable, but were made with conviction. I like her.

Searches for August

Here are some searches people used to find this blog in August.

• weddings at wakarusa missionary church
• online diary of mr. gall s second grade class best second grade site on the web
• 9th grade teachers
• address for little paws playground; nappanee in
• st louis city museum children broken legs
• fractured fibula rocker boot cost
• nappanee middle school

Chrome

I've been trying out Google's new web browser, Chrome, tonight. I think it is a fine browser. Chrome loads quicker, displays more of each page on the screen and has more customizable tab starting points than IE.

The thing I really don't like about Chrome though, (besides not being able to change the icon of my "Link" bookmarks,) is that I don't seem to be able to install Google's own toolbar in their new browser, nor does the browser come with the features I really like in the toolbar.

I will probably stick with IE at least until Google's toolbar works in Chrome.

Mountain Biking at Winona Lake

From what I've read, one of the better mountain biking trails in the Midwest is the trail in Winona Lake, Indiana. Kylee, Makenna and I rode this trail once last year. We went again today. We stuck to the beginner trail, taking the long loop once and the short loop once.

We ride bike so much we should really go to Winona Lake more often, because riding a trail like this is just a barrel of fun compared to our usual riding routine. I sold my mountain bike last spring, so I tackled the trail today on my Trek hybrid bike. The girls have good quality kids mountain bikes and they ride a lot, but are certainly not powerful riders. They are seven years old and have to walk their bikes some on this trail, but there are spots where the difficulty level is just right for them.

Kylee taking it easy down a pretty steep hill.