Happy Trails To You...

I'm Not Touching You

Harper has learned a new game - "I'm Not Touching You".  Note the supersonic squeak. 

A Day In The Life

Last night I found the little notebook where I recorded the major events (diaper changes, feedings, hiccups, etc.) of Harper's first few weeks. After she came home from the hospital, I was neurotic about logging everything she did so I could be sure that she was eating enough, sleeping enough, peeing enough... I was looking over it last night and it occurred to me that I had forgotten how crazy those first few weeks months were. Here is one example from February 26th (6 days old):

12:12 am feeding

3:00 am feeding

3:25 am diaper change

3:30 am feeding

3:40 am hiccups

4:00 am rocking chair

8:00 am feeding

8:20 am diaper change

10:25 am feeding

10:55 am diaper change

11:40 am feeding

1: 15 pm diaper change

1:20 pm feeding

3:00 pm feeding

4:30 pm feeding

6:30 pm feeding

6:40 pm diaper change

6:40 pm feeding

8:23 pm feeding

9:30 pm diaper change

10:18 pm feeding/bed

Pardon Me

With the changing of the Presidential guard close at hand, I have been thinking about what a weird concept the presidential pardon is. According to the Constitution (Article 2, Section 2 to be exact), "The President ... shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment." So basically the President can pardon anyone at anytime for anything except impeachment. Doesn't this seem a little counterintuitive based on our nation's foundation of democracy and justice? I don't know. It just seems a little weird to me. 

Here are some of the more controversial pardons throughout history:

Brigham Young fought against U.S. troops during an armed conflict as federal forces tried to install non-Mormon officials in the state of Utah. According to some accounts, Young considered burning Salt Lake City to the ground and taking off for Mexico, but he eventually decided to peacefully step down as governor instead. President James Buchanan later pardoned Young for his role in the altercation.

Jimmy Hoffa was granted a pardon by Richard Nixon on December 23, 1971, as long as he agreed not to "engage in direct or indirect management of any labor organization" for ten years. Once released, Hoffa became a supporter for Nixon's re-election bid.

Gerald Ford pardoned his presidential predecessor, Richard Nixon. Ford would later comment that he did it less for Nixon and more for the American people, as he felt that a pardon was the only way for the nation to move on after the Watergate scandal. Still, many theorize that this action caused Ford to lose the 1976 election.

Peter Yarrow, best known for his participation in the group Peter, Paul and Mary and as co-writer of the song "Puff, the Magic Dragon," pled guilty to "taking immoral and improper liberties" with two minors who had come to his hotel room looking for an autograph. He was sentenced to one to three years in prison, but was pardoned by Jimmy Carter after serving only three months.

Junior Johnson was one of NASCAR’s first stars in the 1950s and 1960s, and he later became a successful team owner in the sport. In addition to his NASCAR ventures, Johnson was a legendary moonshine-running driver. In 1956, federal agents caught the rising NASCAR star working a moonshine still in North Carolina. He received a two-year sentence for the crime and spent 11 months in federal prison. Once Johnson got out of jail, he resumed his dominance of the NASCAR circuit. In late 1986, Ronald Reagan pardoned Johnson for his moonshining past.

Ronald Reagan pardoned New York Yankee's owner George Steinbrenner after he admitted that he was guilty of making illegal contributions to President Nixon's re-election campaign.

The heiress-turned-militant,Patty Hearst, spent almost two years in prison for her part in a 1974 bank robbery before Jimmy Carter commuted her sentence in 1979. Bill Clinton later gave Hearst a full pardon on the final day of his presidency in 2001.

Bill Clinton's half-brother, Roger Clinton, was granted a pardon for his conviction of cocaine possession. While this does reek of nepotism, it should be made clear that Roger Clinton had served his full sentence and the pardon merely restored rights denied him as a convicted felon.

Sippy Cup Saga - Part 1

Harper is learning how to use a sippy cup. For the most part, she is only mildly interested. She has proven that she is fully capable of holding it and drinking from it, but she is much more concerned with its musical properties.

Miscelaineous Music - Window In The Skies

Sounds like Love Wins. to me. 




The shackles are undone
The bullet's quit the gun
The heat that's in the sun
Will keep us when it's done
The rule has been disproved
The stone, it has been moved
The grave is now a groove
All debts are removed

Oh, can't you see what love has done
Oh, can't you see what love has done
Oh, can't you see what love has done
What it's doing to me

Love makes strange enemies
Makes love where love may please
Soul in its striptease
Hate brought to its knees
The sky over our head
We can reach it from our bed
If you let me in your heart
And out of my head

Oh, can't you see what love has done
Oh, can't you see what love has done
Oh, can't you see what love has done
What it's doing to me

Please don't ever let me out of here
I've got no shame
Oh no, oh no

Oh, can't you see what love has done
Oh, can't you see
Oh, can't you see what love has done
What it's doing to me

Oh, can't you see what love has done
I know I hurt you and I made you cry
Oh, can't you see what love has done
Did everything but murder you and I
Oh, can't you see what love has done
But love left a window in the skies
Oh, can't you see what love has done
And to love I raphsodize

Oh, can't you see what love has done
To every broken heart
Oh, can't you see what love has done
For every heart that cries
Oh, can't you see what love has done
Love left a window in the skies
Oh, can't you see what love has done
And to love I raphsodize

Let Me Sleep On It

So, I've been trying to learn how to do this surgical procedure at work over the past few weeks. It's not an especially difficult procedure, but it does require a little finesse. Basically, I have to locate a specific blood vessel in a mouse (left common carotid artery, labeled lcc in the diagram below), scrape off the smooth muscle layers without puncturing it, and transplant a tissue graft on top of it.

Well, up until this morning, it wasn't going so well. And then, all of a sudden, this morning I was able to do it like I've been doing it for 20 years. I love it when that happens. Actually, that kind of thing happens to me a lot. One day I can't do something and then the next day I can. It's happened with musical ability - one day I can't play something, I sleep on it, and the next day I can. It's happened with physical tasks like being able to ski or cast a fly fishing rod. It's also happened with the ability to understand information - one day I won't get something, the next day I will. The interesting part is that I never put much effort into the equation. It's not like I go to bed willing myself to acquire a new skill while I'm asleep. Maybe my brain needs time to process the new information. Maybe in the heat of the moment, I over-think the task.  I don't understand how it works or why it works, I'm just glad that it does.