The Lights Are On Again

My friends and family, I bring you great tidings of my great joy, so that you may celebrate and share in that joy with us.

We are finally home.

Thirteen months ago, our home was laid to waste by a tornadic storm. You shared in that day and the journey that followed through your thoughts, your prayers, your many expressions of kindness and care. More than you may know, you sustained us through the turbulent days that followed. I give you thanks, and I give thanks for you!

We have rebuilt on the same property. Same floor plan, with upgrades (some by choice, some by code). Landscaping will come over the next few weeks. Nevertheless, we are in.

From the front:

Kitchen (please pardon our progress):

Future teen pad (basement - was unfinished in the first version):

Bonus room over garage:

The bunker:

The new deck:

The view:

Thirteen months ago, I wrote on these pages the following:

With respect to my house, the lights cannot come back on. But in the eyes and hearts of those around us these past couple of days, the light is shining. We are in good spirits, all things considered. The Lord is our rock, and our refuge, in this most certain time of trouble. I will praise Him in good times, and bad, and despite our loss, we have been given much.

As I hold my family close, I cannot help but think: I have been, and remain, very, very blessed.

As I walk around this familiar, but new, home, I am humbled by the grace and mercy that has been extended to me by my Father in Heaven. In good times and bad, I will give Him praise, because I can do no other. We have been, and remain, very, very blessed.

The lights are indeed on once again.

In closing, I offer the following reflection. On behalf of my family, I extend to you and yours my deepest thanks for your thoughts, prayers and expressions of kindness over the last year. May the Lord bless you all, and that abundantly.

How long it's been since razing wind
Left mark on heart and home
Up from rubble we stand again, but
Now laid open for all to see
At the close of this starry night.

Our canopy, our sanctuary
Our vista so starkly altered
A void where majestic oaks stood guard
Their whispering leaves can speak no more
The ache that echoes is my lament.

Then to the east, a symphony, what light!
My breath abates, "I scarce can take it in!"
On my knees, my knees, I'm blind and yet I see!

Yes, my heart, we've lost the trees
But behold, what joy! For look!
We have gained the sky!

It's Time

This is the week. Thirteen months and two weeks we've waited, sometimes patiently, sometimes with anxiety, for the moment when we finally get to go home. And true to form, nothing about this week is going to be simple. The house passed inspection last Friday, the power gets turned on today, and there is a frantic race to finish off most of the items on our punch list for the interior before we move in two days from now. Work on the house will continue after we move in until all interior items and outside landscaping are sufficiently addressed. While there is some inconvenience there, better to go ahead and move in and get out of the rental, rather than wait another 2-3 weeks.

All the while there are school and baseball schedules to keep, an increasingly critical milestone for a project at work, and continued uncertainty in future funding in the face of the defense drawdown. (These latter two are not entirely unrelated). The move this week is followed by a not-quite desperate effort to clean the rental to leave it in better condition than we found it. By the time we turn in the keys on Monday, I figure we'll be about ready to collapse.

In all things, however, give thanks. And so I will. Because if there is one thing in all this chaos I can hang my hat on, it is this: God is good.

And I am going home.


See you on the other side.

"Wait for the Lord and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land ..." (Psalm 37:34a)

Ascending Absurdity

The world has gone nuts. Or perhaps it always was, and just seems increasingly so. Or perhaps it is just our culture, suffering from the all too predictable consequences of relativism and progressive fantasies. Too dour? Perhaps. But if there is any truth to the old axiom "The road to hell is paved with good intentions," one only needs to look around or read the news to see the empirical data.

There is a piece on Ricochet.com this morning that illustrates what I, and I hope others, see. Dave Carter, perhaps my favorite contributor on Ricochet, is a retired U.S. Air Force NCO and Senior Historian who now fills his days as a truck driver. I had the pleasure of meeting him some weeks ago and discovered that at one point in his career, his commanding officer happened to be a certain general that my dad had worked for with the 8th Air Force. (As an aside, in attendance at that meeting was his good friend Bob Lee, also an Air Force vet who happened to be stationed at Grand Forks the same time my family was there). At any rate, Dave is a fine fellow, and has a touch with words that I envy. At the bottom of this post, I link to a few other of my favorite Dave Carter posts.

But back to the point. Politicians at all levels like to experiment with new ideas and new policies, promising the world without ever truly counting the cost or the collateral damage. And rarely will anybody perform an honest assessment or audit of results that determines the policy was a bad idea. The answer is always more money or a new policy, not the termination or defunding of a bad one. Our representatives like to think that we always expect them to "do something." Frankly, I wish every now and then that they would "undo something" or "not do something".

Dave writes:

"We mean well but do ill, so we justify our ill-doing with our well-meaning," goes the saying I heard long ago. The idea that security can be achieved through the dismantlement of defenses in the face of gathering threats, the idea that national prosperity is to be found in the confiscation of capital from the productive sector, the idea that people will be happier and safer at city pools if only the distribution of life-saving resources mirrors the current ethnic nose-count, -- these are rank superstitions and would be laughable were it not for the human cost they impose. Does a drowning child wave for help only in Spanish? Can she be saved by a lifeguard who has, "a little bit of fear of the water," and, if not, will her family be comforted that she died while in the care of someone who at least had no "language issues"? If North Korea reduces Seoul to dust, will history record that, while over 10 million people perished, at least our failure to resolutely develop the necessary defensive capabilities was well intentioned rather than provocative? Does it matter to the American who just lost his job because his employer can't afford the demands of Obamacare, that the President's heart was ostensibly in the right place? Is the family traveling down the highway in something the size of a golf cart immune from the laws of physics by virtue of their compliance with ever-rising mandatory fuel standards?

Be sure to read the whole thing.

We are (and have been) in an age of hyper-legislation, where our politicians are hyper-regulating, hyper-bloviating, hyper-infiltrating every facet of daily living. In a word, they're hyper. And they are ignoring the real and painful consequences of this progressive push to perdition. Will they, will we, ever come to our senses, and truly count the cost and weigh the consequences of our intentions? And whether, in fact, those intentions are even good at all?

I long for hope, but it seems to be in short supply, not unlike everything else these days.

If we suffer the foolish to lead us, we will reap the result of what they sow. Indeed, we already are.

A sampling of Dave's writing:

Life on the Move

Of Memories and Quiet Peace

Unsuitable to the American Palate

I encourage you to read them all.

The Force is Not Strong with Lego

Look, I get it, okay? I get that there are people and cultures that get sensitive about things. I get that perhaps we should at least take care not to be blatantly in-your-face offensive when we know it might cause hurt or harm.

But we're talking about Legos, here.

A $20 $150 Star Wars lego set.

From the article:

Lego will cease production of a popular “Star Wars” toy set after Muslim communities complained about the product as the company says the criticism played no part in the decision to do so.

The Independent reports that several Muslim groups in Austria claimed “Jabba’s Palace” was anti-Muslim as it showed popular “Star Wars” character Jabba the Hut in a mosque-like lair with a hookah, guns and an imprisoned Chewbacca.

“This sort of thing does not belong in a child’s bedroom,” Melissa Gunes, spokeswoman for Austria’s Turkish Cultural Association, told The Independent. “The game is pedagogical dynamite. It depicts Muslims as terrorists.”

It's true that Lego has a rotation on its playsets (heaven knows there are sets I've tried in vain to look for over the years near birthdays and Christmas). But the timing provides an awfully convenient cover that is nevertheless ridiculously transparent. It is no secret that some in the Arab and Turkish world hate what they perceive as the George Lucas caricatures of their cultures in the Star Wars movies. But this is a toy - a $150 toy on Amazon (a bit pricy for most people) - based on a movie. Last I checked, there were no Muslims on Tatooine. For that matter, there aren't any Christians there either.

I suppose we should be grateful that Lego still provides blasters and light sabers with their Star Wars playsets. For now.

An Artistic Diversion

Spring Break has come and gone, with sadly little family time to show for it. I did manage to take Friday off to spend with the boys, highlighted by a trip to the bowling alley. It always feels good to know that even after 10 months or so since my last trip there, I can still pull down a 160+ average over 3 games. Not great, but certainly passable.  But I digress.

Saturday, we took a trip as a family to the Huntsville Museum of Art, where our youngest son was among many area students selected to have their artwork displayed. It was quite interesting to see a nice-quality caption card with his name affixed to the wall next to his piece. Almost 10, I still marvel how one day he looks older than his years, and the next day, just by the angle of the pose, he seems even younger. The boy likes to draw, and I think I'm finally starting to figure out how, as a parent, to get out of the way (sometimes) and let my children explore their capabilities and their interests.

Here's a close-up of his piece, a mixed media creation using watercolor and crayon:

After the trip to the museum, we went over to Hobby Lobby so the boys could buy some models.  The photo below, taken at the museum beforehand, gave me the notion to also buy him a sketch book and some charcoal pencils.

I have no idea how long this hobby will last, but I for one am certainly not going to do anything but encourage it.  After a little tutoring today in charcoal pencil technique, he's diving right in.  I can't wait to see what imagination comes to life on paper.

Page 17

On this special day, brimming with meaning, I offer this performance of my favorite hymn. The group is called Reprise. There are few hymns as rich in meaning, expressing what every soul deeply needs to express, as the Spirit-inspired words found here. Its timelessness spans beyond the years, be it 19, 93 or 128, to an eternity of wonder and praise.


Amen.

PS: Page 17 is a reference to the 1966 edition of the Methodist hymnal (the old red hymnal). Some will insist on it being page 77 (1989 edition), but for me, it belongs on page 17.

3 Weeks. Could It Be?

Two days ago, I sent an email to the property management agent for our rental house, officially setting the date for what I hope will be our last day of occupancy. We have finally broken through a few major bottlenecks, and once again Chase Manor 2.0 is a beehive of activity.

Cabinet frames have been installed, countertops and sinks too. Flooring started yesterday and will continue through next week. The electrician has been on site, and appliances are on order. HVAC and plumbers are at the ready. A race is underway to schedule and pass an inspection by the second week of April. Our goal is not completion, in the sense that we have a closing on the house and the construction loan. Rather, we are shooting for a certificate of occupancy that will allow us to get out of the rental and into the new house, while outside work (landscaping and retaining walls) continues. Insurance support for the rental has dried up, so the sooner we get into the house, the better.

Here's a shot of our new Corian countertops, an upgrade over the original Formica:

Deck construction is also underway. This is one feature that I am very much excited to see, and I pray that it is done well. The original house had a screened deck under roof, with a small landing for a long set of stairs that went down to ground level. With the loss of our towering oaks, however, I wanted an extension that could take advantage of the view. The result is a creation of our own design, handed off to the builder. And now it is finally coming together:

It is hard to describe how I feel, knowing now that this time next month, perhaps, I'll be sitting inside a recreation of my home. It is not a feeling of pure joy, or even relief, though I'll allow there is some of both. We've been so consumed by this chapter in our lives, that the prospect of it coming to an end is strangely unnerving. I'm not sure that makes sense, to have even a little trepidation of this next transition. Maybe I'll better understand it all once it comes to pass.

One thing I know for sure: We'll be home soon.

Killing the Mood

I know I'm not supposed to judge a book by its cover. I know that our perceptions and attitudes are often shaped by our environment and our upbringing, those cultural peculiarities that are impressed upon us from a very early age. I know that I should never ever judge a thing by the color of its "skin."

But the man in me just cannot wrap my mind around this. I found that I couldn't even bring myself to approach what ultimately may be a fine product, because I was instinctively repulsed by the blinding glare that filled my vision.

And at Sears, of all places. Right next to the stellar, sleek lines of Craftsman grey, black and red.

Forgive my prejudice. But I just can't. If this were in my garage, it would totally kill the mood. It's just .... wrong.

Stop the Presses: The Senate Drafts a Budget!

After 4 years of blowing off one of their primary Constitutional responsibilities, the Democrat-controlled Senate finally came up with a draft budget. I guess we should chalk this up to "progress." At issue is the direction this so-called progress would take us (emphasis mine):

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats unveiled a largely stand-pat budget on Wednesday that calls for $1 trillion in new tax revenues over the coming decade and increases spending while protecting the party’s domestic policy priorities and adding $4 trillion more to the national debt than a slashing alternative from House Republicans.

The plan by Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray of Washington blends about $1 trillion in modest cuts to health care providers, the Pentagon, domestic agencies, and interest payments on the debt with an equal amount in new revenue claimed by closing tax breaks.

But because Democrats want to restore $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts over the same period — cuts imposed by Washington’s failure to strike a broader budget pact — Murray’s blueprint increases spending slightly when compared with current policies.

I guess adding another $4 trillion to the national debt, already over $16 trillion now, is no big deal. After all, the president has told us that there is no debt crisis.

Here's what an Alabama senator had to say (emphasis mine):

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala), the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, summarized the contents of that budget effort: “The Senate Democrat plan offers $7.3 trillion in new debt in the first 10 years, with interest payments climbing to $791 billion in the tenth year and total debt rising to $24.4 trillion. Debt remains permanently elevated above the danger zone of 90 percent of GDP, resulting in slower growth and lost wages. Excluding war spending gimmicks, net deficit reduction is only $279 billion. In the Senate Democrat plan, the deficit in 2023 is $566 billion; the House Republican plan, in contrast, produces a surplus in the tenth year.”

Obviously, I'm in no position to assess the veracity of these descriptions, as the spin cycle is already in full force. In fact, a later version of the AP article removes the sentence about adding $4 trillion to the national debt.

In 2008, the national debt stood at about $10 trillion, and we thought it was bad then. If the Senate's budget were ever enacted (which it will not as long as the Republicans hold the House), by 2023 - a timeframe of a mere 15 years - we will have fully doubled the national debt.

So you'll have to forgive my snarky attitude and my pessimism about the fiscal direction of this nation. It is just plain stupid. Not a nice thing to say, I know, but it is true.

Brennan's Symbolic Gesture: Oops

Public figures of all sorts will from time to time make grand, symbolic gestures designed not so much for their intent, but rather for the PR they receive in making them.

Such was the case when the White House related the nature of the oath taken by new CIA Director John Brennan:

Hours after CIA Director John Brennan took the oath of office—behind closed doors, far away from the press, perhaps befitting his status as America's top spy—the White House took pains to emphasize the symbolism of the ceremony.

“There's one piece of this that I wanted to note for you,” spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at their daily briefing. “Director Brennan was sworn in with his hand on an original draft of the Constitution that had George Washington's personal handwriting and annotations on it, dating from 1787.”

That's nice, taking an oath on an authentic copy of the Constitution you are swearing to uphold and defend. But wait, there's more:

The Constitution itself went into effect in 1789. But troublemaking blogger Marcy Wheeler points out that what was missing from the Constitution in 1787 is also quite symbolic: The Bill of Rights, which did not officially go into effect until December 1791 after ratification by states. ...

That means: No freedom of speech and of the press, no right to bear arms, no Fourth Amendment ban on “unreasonable searches and seizures,” and no right to a jury trial.

Oh, the irony.

Word of advice to all who would try to make a grand gesture and then crow about it: make sure you do your homework and know your history, else risk sending an entirely different message than the one you intend.

Awesome Image of Coronal Activity

I came across the image below following a link to dallasnews.com. At first, it looked a little too fantastical, and I was sure it was simply the fine work of a graphic artist.

Au contraire. I poked around on NASA's website and found the posted image. The image was indeed captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. While the image has been "enhanced" to make additional wavelengths visible, it is altogether real.

And very awesome.

This image provided by NASA shows an image captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory of a blast of plasma streaming from the sun in August 2012. (NASA)

Outcomes-Based Governing

Is there a right way to govern? I ask this question, because as easy as it is to pound my fist at the cynical abuse of rules and processes committed by both parties when in the majority, I cannot help but to wonder that if there is a "right way," would this or any forthcoming generation of politicians even recognize it, much less employ it.

This phenomenon of "outcomes-based" governing, while it may not be entirely new, is a troubling trend that can only undermine further the already fractious relationship between the voters and those who purport to represent them. By outcomes-based governing, I simply mean the trend that "anything goes" in the quest to get desired legislation into force. Outcomes will not engender trust nearly as much as the transparency of the process used to achieve those outcomes.

The case du jour: A few weeks ago, Alabama Republican legislators crafted a bill designed to provide a method for local school systems to opt out of a state-mandated school calendar. The background, in brief, is that in late spring 2012, just weeks before the end of the school year, the state passed legislation mandating the start and end times of the school year. School cannot start before the 3rd week of August, and must end within days of Memorial Day. The result of the 2012 legislation forced school systems to scramble to adjust their 2012-2013 calendars, and was generally received negatively by all except the Alabama Tourism Department. This new bill was designed to give local systems the chance for a waiver to opt out of the mandate, and thereby the ability set their own calendars. This bill actually had some bipartisan support, the endorsement of the state superintendent of schools, and was on track for quick passage. The state Senate passed it, then the state House passed it. From there it went to committee, where all hell broke loose.

What happened in committee is still a little murky, but the 9-page bill for school flexibility came out as a 27-page bill establishing what amounts to a school voucher program. There was no substantive debate allowed on the revised bill, and both the state House and Senate passed it. The governor was supposed to sign the bill on Tuesday, but a judge issued a restraining order, and now we're at an impasse. The Republicans are appealing to the state Supreme Court, completely Republican, but the outcome is far from certain. Just for the record, this type of back-room behavior is standard operating procedure for Alabama, no matter which party is in power.

My beef is this. I'm supportive of the school flexibility bill, and in principle, I'm supportive of school choice solutions. But the manner in which the state Republicans handled this matter disgusts me. If you want a school voucher program, craft a bill, debate it and vote on it. Make a public case for it. You may win, you may lose, but at least you did it the right way. Instead, the perception is now fully entrenched that somebody hijacked a simple bill to push through something entirely different. And that perception may be the truth. While I personally think the judge is out of line in preventing a passed bill from going to the governor's desk, the Republicans only brought this upon themselves.

In the end, good legislation may not see the light of day, because somebody got greedy and tried to ram something else through the process. Outcomes-based governing is a live-by-the-sword, die-by-the-sword proposition. It fully undercuts and erodes virtue and principle. And it is clearly the wave of the future.

But it is a terrible way to govern.

Testing the New Headphones

The company for which I work recently completed a major relocation. We left our original facility, home to us for 8 years, for "new" digs a mile or two away. The new arrangement has us temporarily sharing offices, while some additional renovations at our new facility are completed over the next several months.

Although I have had my own office for the last decade, I'm no stranger to office-sharing, so it is really no big deal. However, I can no longer just close the door and put on background music while I work, or watch that must see news video telling me how screwed up Washington is. So I invested in an inexpensive set of Bluetooth headphones by Kinivo.

But I needed a test run. So what better sound test of frequency range and depth (not to mention assurance that I'm not disturbing my office mate) than to pump up these guys. If you have 26 minutes and 3 seconds to spare, put this on in the background and enjoy. I love this. Oh, and the headphones work great!

One Year

A year ago today, I came home mid-morning to this:

In the year since a high-end EF-2 tornado turned our lives upside-down, I can only marvel at how fresh the memory remains. Reminders of our struggle are everywhere, but so are the reminders of grace, of blessing. It is this light we hang on to, knowing that in time all things can be restored, after a fashion. Not the same, but we press ever onward.

Today, we're still waiting for this long year to end. It won't end until we can finally move back in to this:

Projected homecoming: April.

April, please hurry.

Sequester's Eve

At the stroke of midnight tonight, the much ballyhooed sequester goes into effect. The sequester - that series of across-the-board, mandatory budget cuts being forced upon the witting and unwitting alike - will either feel like a slap on the wrist or a sucker punch to the gut. As for me, I think one side is seriously overstating the impact, while the other side may in fact be understating it. I'm not inclined to follow Henny Penny and his band of friendly fowl, but neither am I naïve enough to think there's not a fox waiting to take advantage of the moment. Even though the cuts amount to a paltry 2% of the annual "budget" (ha), these cuts WILL have an impact as the map below indicates. How much of an impact is really a matter of degree.


The above map from the Tax Foundation leaves much to be desired, as it does not explicitly illustrate the origin and nature of the federal funding that the states receive. But it does show that every single state of the Union depends in part on federal funds to supplement revenue at the state level. Now as I understand it, the sequester is essentially an across-the-board reduction (and practically, it only reduces the projected increase in spending, but that's another matter). What that means is that a state like Mississippi, which relies on federal outlay to fulfill almost half (!) its revenue requirements for services, could potentially have a harder time absorbing the cuts than a state like North Dakota, which only relies on federal outlay for 26% of its revenue needs. The sequester will not in itself evenly and equally reduce federal outlays to the states by 2%, but every state WILL feel its impact, some more than others.

By no means am I suggesting that states should strive to be 0%. There's nothing inherently wrong with federal money flowing to the states. It is another argument for another time whether it is fiscally responsible for states to be grossly dependent on federal funding. What I am suggesting is that as long as states do depend on federal funds to balance their budgets, any cuts that come out of Washington ARE going to have an impact. Services and benefits WILL be reduced, or other revenue will have to be found (state and local tax increases) to perpetuate those services. Defense cuts will impact local economies, the degree of which will depend on the level of dependency a given local economy has on such funding.

I find it likely that at some level, everyone is going to be touched in some way by spending cuts. At the individual level, for some, it could be devastating - loss of job, benefits, etc. Others might only experience more hassle and delays in dealing with government driven programs and services. But at the 50,000 ft level, for the overall good of our Nation's fiscal health, the pain can be a good and necessary pain. Do I like the WAY it's being handled? Absolutely not, as I again state that this poorly planned, across-the-board approach is a blind, reckless approach to reducing spending. But if it works, it might in the long run be worth the pain. Because I'll tell you this: suffering the effects of a 2% cut is far preferable to a full economic collapse that will undoubtedly result from continued runaway spending and debt.

Now, it would be nice if Washington was smart enough to realize that spending cuts would actually be much easier to handle if it wasn't suffocating the economy with over-regulation and over-manipulation of the market.

See you on the other side. Because come March 27th, we'll be doing this again. Except then, we'll be talking shutdown.

Accio Hogwarts!

I'm almost 42 years old, yet I am not ashamed to say:

I want one!


Check out the gallery too.

A Feel-Good Story for Today

Finding a good news story buried among the doom and gloom headlines can be a tough business. When you do run across them, they often end up being isolated local stories that are nice to read, but are likely forgotten as soon as you click the next link.

I saw one today however that may stick with me a bit longer, if only because it gives hope that our generation - and the next generation - might yet turn out all right. Worst case, there's a candle shining in the darkness.

An unemployed teenager who embarked on a 10-mile walk through the snow for a job interview saw his dedication pay off after another restaurant owner, impressed with his work ethic, offered him a job at his business.

…

“I said, well how come you’re not on the bus?” Mr Bouvier said. “He said, 'I can’t afford the bus until I get a job.’

“I’m thinking to myself, here’s a kid walking almost 10 miles in the ice and slush and snow for the hope of a job at minimum wage. That’s the kind of story your parents used to tell, my parents used to tell.”

Read the whole thing. I'm glad this young man found a job, and I'm glad the restaurant owner was able to provide an opportunity for him. I know minimum wage may not seem like much, and the higher it goes, the less likely there will be jobs for teens and young adults. But it is nice to know that sometimes things work out. Character, perseverance and work ethic really do matter. Here's hoping this arrangement works out for both. It sounds like it just might. And if it does, the re-telling of this tale will undoubtedly grow and resonate over time. (Ten miles in the snow? That's just too easy.)

A Note on the Sequester

As much as I loathe the idea of dipping my toe into the cesspool of national politics on this frigid three-day weekend, allow me a quick thought on the looming budget cuts known as the "sequester." As you may recall, the sequester is a series of forced spending cuts written into the Budget Control Act of 2011. Basically, the sequester provision was written in as a failsafe in the event that Congress failed to reach a budget agreement that satisfactorily reduced the deficit by $1.2 trillion over 10 years. Despite the protestations you may hear in the news, it doesn't matter where the idea for the sequester provision originated. In the end, the Republican-led House and the Democrat-led Senate passed the bill, and the president signed it into law. All bear responsibility for the idea.

If there's any blame to be had, you'd be better served focusing on the fiscal irresponsibility of the Democrats for failing to even attempt to pass a budget in over 4 years, which by the way is their Constitutional responsibility. The House continues to write and pass budgets that get ignored by the Senate. We can beat this dead horse all day, but the fact is, the press doesn't care, and the American people enable this behavior by continuing to vote the way they do.

As to the sequester itself, despite the risk it may represent to my own livelihood, I really can't say I'm opposed to it. Our government cannot continue indefinitely spending money it doesn't have. And while I think it disproportionately puts our national interest at risk, given the drastic impact it will have on our defense and military readiness, maybe forcing down some ill-tasting medicine will bring back a measure of seriousness to the critical near and long term fiscal issues facing this nation.

Of course, there are some who will never take it seriously. Consider the comments of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, speaking in the context of the sequester's impact to congressional pay (emphasis mine):

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that she opposes a cut in congressional pay because it would diminish the dignity of lawmakers' jobs.

"I don't think we should do it; I think we should respect the work we do," Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol. "I think it's necessary for us to have the dignity of the job that we have rewarded."

Wow. We shouldn't cut congressional pay because it would undermine their dignity. Talk about a sense of entitlement. In my career, I've been very blessed. Yet I have also experienced pay cuts and a layoff. While I certainly remember learning to check my ego through those experiences, I'd like to think I didn't lose my dignity in the process.

Dignity is not found in the title or the position, but rather in the man or woman who fills it. This truth applies no matter what "station" one has, if you choose to consider such.

We have to stop kicking the can down the road. We have to break the cycle. If the sequester is painful, it is only because we chose to ignore our fiscal imbalance for far too long. But we'll get through it. Whether we learn anything from it, however, remains to be seen.

A Title Goes Here

Sorry, folks. I've been absolutely buried by a corporate relocation, a flurry of decision making on the house, and a final review on a proposal. As a result, I now have the mental acuity of a bowl of oatmeal. No room to process sequestration, North Korea nukes, or an asteroid fly-by.

So here's a pretty picture instead. TTFN.

News From the Groundhog

And the groundhog came up from his hole, turned his eyes toward the skies, capturing in view the early glare of the sun against shingled slope and brick façade, to the pile of broken cinder, wherein he turned and declared to all who would hear, "I have risen and I have seen, and therefore I proclaim: Six more weeks of rental." To which the builder replied, "Well, maybe seven or eight." And the clouds came, and the sleet and snow began to fall.

It occurs to me that it has been a couple of months since I last provided an update on Chase Manor 2.0. A great deal of progress has been made, to include the completion of the bricking, hanging drywall, stairways and rails, and trim work. There's a new garage floor (with a significant defect that'll need to be repaired), garage doors and openers, and built-in bookcases in the bonus room upstairs. The Hardieplank siding is finally up at the front door and on the backside where the deck will be, ready to be painted when it is warm enough to do so.

Interior painting is about to begin (hopefully), to be followed by flooring, cabinets, countertops, deck construction, low voltage finishing, bath fixtures and landscaping. We had hoped to be in by the one year anniversary, but that is no longer in the cards. If things go well the next few weeks, we may be able to get a certificate of occupancy by mid-March or so.

The garage exterior. The keystones are new - we didn't have those the first time.

We changed the column design in the great room / foyer / dining room from a cylindrical design to what you see here. Not entirely sure about it, but maybe it'll grow on me. One change not pictured, is that the trim at the top of the column was reduced in size, so that it is not quite as obnoxious as you see here.

The new fireplace mantle design. Lower than the first by about 6 inches or so.

And now to the bookcases. In the original house, the built-in bookcases spanned the length of the bonus room wall. Each set of shelves was painstakingly sanded and painted (by me), with the backpanel painted the wall color and the shelf faces painted the trim. This produced a wonderful effect that I really enjoyed. However, the new roof truss construction forced a change to a narrower cavity design to fit between the trusses. Given this constraint, we opted for fewer shelves across the wall, giving us the corners back and a little more wall space. Fewer books, to be sure, but we will now have a long basement wall for standalone bookshelves if we so desire. And yes, much to the painter's relief, these new shelves will be trim color, including the back panels. The additional wall space eliminates the need to paint the backpanels separately.

Below is a picture of the original bookcase wall design.

Yes, I was hung up on the bookcases. But I'm over it now. Really. (You believe that, right?)

Not much else to say at this point, other than we are very ready to have this finished. The sleet and snow mix have stopped now, leaving just the lightest of dustings on the ground and ice on the roads. Here's hoping the next two months fly by.