Fred Bryan

Six years ago my good friend Fred Bryan lost his battle with cancer. RIP Fred,  I think of you often.

Captain Rah

 Captain Rah graces the company birthday board for March! To comply with company policies his ubiquitous sword has been removed and his bare rat legs now modestly covered by leggings.

He Really Would Have Loved It

Man I miss Fred Bryan. He would have adored Tuesday's outcome.

 Yesterday was sad and depressing, but as Fred would have said with a laugh, "What are you complaining about? My day was much worse." Thanks to everyone here for your thoughts and prayers, and to Team Slap for their efforts to cheer me up.

Fred Bryan

At 4 AM my good friend Fred Bryan passed away. We met online when he commented on my blog and we began IM'ing. In 2005, still ignorant about how to put images on my site, I sent him pictures of newborn Parker and he added them for all to see. I hired him to do the website for Job Prior.

When I lost that job he was there to cheer me on, and when times got rough in the recession he was the only person who stepped in to help my family.

In recent years we talked on the phone on the long ride home from work as we both worked 3rd shift. I never met him in person; our attempt to meet when I was in Florida didn't work out. We didn't always agree, but he was a good man and a good friend and he deserved more time than he was given.

Rest in Peace my friend. You were loved.

 A friend of mine is dying of cancer. I spoke with his Mom about flying about to visit him in Florida before he passes, but today she wrote to say he is unresponsive and the end is near. I ask that you keep him in your prayers. Not for a recovery; that time has passed. But that when it comes, death is painless and he is received into his Savior's embrace.

Introducing our new cat, Custard!!!

Our new pet, a one eyed 2 year old female that has been transferred from a humane society near Reedsville. It's our second one eyed cat , although this one actually had it removed ,while GusGus just lacks the use of one of his.

it was the eye that sold me on her. We looked at a couple others but it was always going to be her.

As usual the adoption process took forever, but Junie and LuLu held up well. I think the society makes you wait to see if you crack. If you don't they figure you'll keep your cool with the pet.

I feel kind of guilty because my friend Fred has a cat he needs to part with but his cat ventures outside and my nerves just can't handle that, as Team Slap can attest.

The Humane Society named the cat Baby Girl but Junie has changed the name to Custard. I'm not sure that's a final decision.

Welcome cat to the circus that is #TeamSlap!

Yay Fred!

Very happy that my friend Fred Bryan survived brain surgery this morning. Good to know I still have a chance to recover that money he owes me. :)

Quake

This morning, at around 6:51 AM my time, I had the unusual experience of being on the phone with Fred Bryan when an earthquake hit his hometown of Yakutat, Alaska. Cocky as he is, he calmly stated it felt like a "5.0". Sadly, he is no seismograph; the web says it was a 6.0.

Mass and a Grumpy YaYa

 Ash Wednesday Mass with Team Slap

Miss "I don't want my picture taken Dad. UGH, you're the worst Dad ever". AKA

Calm down YaYa. Your parents are your biggest fans. You will not understand for years...but someday you will. - Dale C

You can almost hear here thinking [que "Gone With the Wind" theme music] "as God is my witness, one day I'll put you in a home. - Fred Bryan

Still pretty even when pissed. - Lisa

A Suggestion from a Friend

So if Gov. Walker runs for President, which I'd love to see, why don't you try get a position with his campaign?  - Fred Bryan 

Yakutat on TV

Lisa and I are watching "Hotel Impossible", and lo and behold they are visiting Yakutat, Alaska, home of my good friend Fred Bryan. FANTASTIC scenery, but the lodge/restaurant they are revisiting (having helped it get on its feet a year ago) is . . . .uh . . . yeahhhh. I'I don't think we'll be staying there on any visit to the 49th state.

EDIT: actually, by the end of the show the housekeeping and customer service issues were addressed (again), I think successfully, and it looks like a decent place

My Friend Fred Bryan

 

A Quote from a Friend

We had political saints: respected, honored, inspiring, and [best] of all safely dead and frozen in history. -- Fred Bryan

I'm confused

In a military history book I'm reading is the following quote, one I don't fully understand. It rationalizes the failure to secure an area on the flank of the advance, saying.  ". . . there are security advantages to be gained from having a dangling flank curve behind an advancing front line; it prevent[s] the enemy from rolling up behind the advancing front line." How is that the case? By leaving the flank occupied by the enemy and pushing forward, isn't the enemy (by definition) already behind your line of advancement?  If you know, please explain.

If you're tactics are highly stressful, then your enemy will be driven before your line of advance, or destroyed by it.  Enemies behind your line of advance result from imperfections in, or the failure of your tactics.  - Fred

Sure, but the author was arguing that leaving the enemy on the flank - in this case - helped secure the rear of the advance. I do not see the logic involved. - Me

With forces on the flank, the enemy is prevented from sending troops in a circular maneuver to come at the rear from an oblique angle. - Fred

update: I wrote the author of that military quote (Eric Hammel) and asked him to explain. Here's what he wrote back: 

It's difficult in 2012 to know exaclty what I was thinking in 1991, but it seems to me now that I had had a line described to me that looked like this (taking into account the limitations of keyboard symbols:

  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

<

<

It would prevent--or at least constrain--an enemy force from rolling up the (in this case) left flank in detail from left to right.

If I'm not mistaken, Patton's right flank was open during the September 1944 part of the advance across France, but XIX Tactical Air Command "dangled" on that side of Third Army and thus provided that sort of flank protection.

LOL

(referencing my post about how putting away the kids footstool marked a milestone in our house): 

You're in the years between the bathroom stepstool

and the walk-in bathtub! - Fred Bryan

Question for the Room

Question for the room:

I was considering a campaign to replace Dan's recently stolen bike for his birthday or Christmas.

But then, in a recent post, Dan referred to himself as "middle aged."

So now I'm conflicted: bicycle, or big TRIcycle, of the type suitable for a pleasant ride to the shuffleboard court?

I mean, we must consider the problems that such geriatrics have with balance yes?

:D

-Fred Bryan 

How can I convince the Slap Family that an Alaskan vacation should be on their to do list? Fred Bryan

An Open Letter from Oftencold

 For group discussion:

Tonight, Dan is doing something we've all done in a fit of madness. That is, disassembling and moving his computer to another room.

Now, we all know that no matter how we lie to ourselves and say "this will just take an hour or so, and then things will be better," such a project always turns out drastically different. The cord is too short, the table won't fit, now the sun through the window reflects in the monitor, and so on.

I suspect, that before dawn, the kids are going to have to be told not to repeat some of the extra-special words, most of one short syllable, and all spoken with great zeal that they might hear Dad uttering as he completes this task.

Thoughts?