Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund MATCH

This is one thing where I have no qualms asking you to "be like me". Click on the above logo and donate some funds. The need is huge. Like Jesus said, "I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." Luke 16:9

I'll match your gift. Here is what you have to do for me to match your gift.

1. Leave a comment that you are donating and the amount of the donation.
2. I'll follow up with you by email, so you have to use your real email when leaving the comment.
3. After I email you, you need to forward a copy of your donation email receipt.
4. I'll match your gift and then send you a copy of my email donation receipt.

I don't have unlimited funds, so I'll only match up to $1,000 above what I've already given. So, hurry up and give.

At the office

My office is without power and the electric company says that we will not have power until sometime after Monday the 22nd, but our manufacturing buildings do have power. You know what that means? On Tuesday, it was my pleasure to move the computer network from our Glenmont building to our Evergreen building. It was a lot of work, but it went pretty well. The Glenmont office is now up and running at Evergreen.


It's getting cozy and it looks like we are going to be here together for a week or more. Sometime in the future, I get to tear it all down and move it back. Yippee! Here's a couple of pics of our new customer service area and server room.

We remain

Everyone is safe and well.

Things are still weird. Everyone was so worried about Max and Rachael. Their house was in a mandatory evacuation zone. Yet, when all was over. They came out the best. As of today, we are still without power at our house, yet Max and Rachael already have power. Mom's still without power. The electric company says that her power should be restored by end of day Monday the 22nd.

Here's some pics of after the hurricane at our house and neighbors.

Lake Hornwood at Tam O Shanter

Up rooted tree in our neighbor's back yard.

Split tree in the same neighbor's back yard.

The split tree split the sun room at my neighbor's house.


Our fence blew down and against the mini van. Remarkably there is no actual damage to the van.

The gathering storm and gathering family.

We've spent all day getting ready for Ike, yuck. The family has gathered, except my mother. It is me (Byron), my wife (Brenda), mother in-law (Ani), father in-law (Al), brother of another mother (Max), and sister of another mother (Rachael). We've "hunkered" down. Lots of chips and dips as we await the unwelcome visitor. So far, it looks really bad for the low lying areas.

The most distressing news is the 520' boat, without power, floundering in the storm. Coast Guard can't help. Twenty-two souls on board. Pray for their safety.

We have lots of DVD's, if only the power holds.

The sky is dark and the winds are starting to pickup. So far no rain.

We are grateful to be together.

Yikes, Ike

Well, today we're getting ready for Ike. Being in charge of the computer department at work, I get to spend the day securing our computers and data. Our moto: "Backup, Shutdown, Unplug, Elevate and Bag." Later we'll be moving the servers into an interior room. Of course, that means there will be lots of extra stuff to do on Monday to set it all back up.

Palin Jokes

Here's some pretty good Palin jokes. They came from a Chicago Tribune article.

JAY LENO:

"Back in 1984, Sarah Palin finished second in the Miss Alaska pageant. Now she might be the vice president. You know what that means? For the first time in history, a beauty-pageant contestant might actually bring about world peace."

"Today President Bush called Gov. Palin and congratulated her. Bush told Palin the job of vice president is very important because as vice president, you get to tell the president what to do."

CONAN O'BRIEN:

"Oprah Winfrey's in the middle of a big scandal, because she is refusing to have Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on her show. She won't let her on. Yeah. The friction started because Palin said if she's elected, she'll be the most powerful woman in the country. And Oprah said, "The hell you will."

JIMMY KIMMEL:

"Sarah Palin's got a 4-month-old of her own, she's about to become a grandmother and she's partnered with John McCain. How many diapers can one woman possibly change?"

CRAIG FERGUSON:

"Some people are saying that McCain picked Sarah Palin to appeal to women who supported Hillary Clinton. This is crazy. You can't just replace Hillary Clinton with another woman. Bill tried that, it didn't work out."