More silliness - marathon tracker

W put in a few evenings to generate this half marathon mapping application. Warning: May be a little slow to load

Ouch!

A sudden yell from Renny that he had stapled his thumb prompted Walter to slowly look over to see what joke R was playing this time. R stared in shocked horror at the staple embedded in his thumb, meanwhile N moved much quicker and jerked the staple out in heroic fashion. R noted two small red dots underneath his fingernail from the staple going all the way through his thumb. Being a growing boy, R recovered rapidly from his wounds and was last seen happily playing with a staple gun that W cluelessly bought after the incident.

40 Acres but no Mule

WNMR became farmers today. That is, they bought forty acres of land in Illinois. The land is leased out to a soybean farmer who is actively farming the land. Actually it is only twenty acres, but forty acres makes for a better headline. All are invited to visit the land anytime and watch the soybeans grow.

Nichole scores birdie!

WNMR played nine holes of golf today. N scored an impressive birdie on the 9th hole with a tee shot that landed about 6 feet from the hole. W hit one very high shot in which the ball embedded itself in the green, and generally played well, scoring five pars. M and R earned $1.25 each, as W, in the tradition of his father would pay his kids a quarter for each par. M also scored his own par, earning an extra quarter.

Ben and Sandra Wed

Mr. and Mrs. Stokes (click to enlarge)

Completing a whirlwind romance of a little over a year, cousin Ben wedded Sandra Desmond today at the Chenery House, in San Francisco. Right about the time W saw the elephant sculpture in the garden of this house, he knew that it was his kind of wedding. As if to confirm this good feeling, shortly thereafter an artificial tree spontaneously began to spew large columns of propane-fueled flame from its branches while simultaneously spraying water down into an artificial green pond from other branches. W instantly regretted that he hadn't thought of such a contraption for his own wedding. Not all the columns of propane had ignited. As the smell of unburnt propane began to permeate the immediate area, wedding guests inched somewhat nervously away from the tree, though not too far, because drinks were being served nearby. The threat of a huge explosion became imminent, and the tree was finally turned off without too much fuss.

In the background, music from the Wizard of Oz would occasionally issue forth from a statue, but not so often that it ruined the nice music being played by a jazz trio. With the atmosphere thus set, Ben appeared at the top of some steps, waiting nervously for his bride. As Sandra's nieces provided vocals, members of the wedding party came up the walkway, followed at last by Sandra with her parents. So far, things looked pretty conventional. Ben was wearing an elegant white tuxedo, and Sandra looked stunning in her wedding dress.

A vast cloud of smoke issued forth from a fog machine, making it look a little bit as if a bridesmaid had recently exploded. This seemed to break the ice, and at this point a large animated head appeared on a video screen behind the couple. Looking vaguely like a cross between the Wizard of Oz and Beavis or Butthead, it quickly became apparent that the Head was the minister. The Head was an excellent emcee and he led the couple through their short, sweet, and humorous nuptial ceremony. A special "built for two" wine glass was produced, and the newlyweds smashed it with a hammer after drinking the wine. The couple were pronounced man and wife, and they walked down the steps to much cheer.

The party proceeded inside the house, which had just as many interesting oddities as the outside. There was a life size painted reproduction of Rembrandt's "The Night Watch", which somebody noted was a copy that was made to fool the Nazis in WWII so that they didn't steal the real painting. Another portrait featured Prince Philip, but without a shirt, with a tree growing out of his finger and a fly on his shoulder. There was a little news article next to the painting, explaining that the portrait had been comissioned by Prince Philip. When Prince Philip was asked by the artist if he had captured the prince's likeness, the prince glowered at the painting and snapped: "I bloody well hope not!". Thus the painting became available on the market, allowing the owner of the Chenery house to buy it for a mere $47,000.

The same jazz trio continued playing numbers inside the house, but occasionally an ethereal sound would join the music. W thought it sounded like a theremin, so he went to explore and found that another man had joined the trio, making it a quartet, and he was expertly playing a saw with a violin bow. Vibrato was achieved by shaking his leg to adjust the tension, and pitch was controlled by further flexing of the saw with his free hand. The saw actually blended quite well with the music, and it was evident that the man was a quite skilled "sawist". W noticed later in one display case a saw with art on it. The artwork showed a man playing the saw and was signed by Leonard Bernstein. This clued W in the the "sawist" was actually the owner of the home, Bob Pritikin. He had built the house in the 80's buying up some property that aws in the center of a bunch of homes, and creating his own little center of opulence. A former ad agency director, he had delved into many interesting things, of which there was ample history of in the house.

M and R entertained(?) the guests with various practical jokes, including their all time favorite, fake dog poop. After Ben and Sandra cut the cake, the bouquet was thrown with a surprising result!

Tonia catches bouquet!

Ben declared that it was the best day of his life, which sums up this wedding pretty well.

Haircut sets new record

W took the plunge and got his shortest haircut in over 42 years, exchanging the "comb-over" look for a buzz cut, completing his transform to Mr. Midwestern. Actually, mid-westerners to do not sport full beards, if one can generalize about such things.

Boundary Waters

Photo taken at sunrise on last day of camping. The trip was extremely strenuous. N thought it much tougher than Half Dome. W thought the 200 rod portages were tough. If you like, see an interactive depiction of W's route.

W Assimilates!

W is finally feeling comfortable in Missouri, now that he has a shotgun and a beard to go with his patriotic shirt. However, he was only able to hit one clay pigeon in about ten tries. N, on the other hand hit 7 in a row.

Garrapata hike challenges half domers

Uncle William and Aunt Margaret put WNMR and Emily through a quite strenuous hike featuring an 1800 foot elevation gain. The views were fantastic, and everybody enjoyed a quick lunch of cheese and crackers near the top. W, as usual occupied himself with geocaching (Bohemian Rhapsody). Copious lizards underfoot and intense concentrations of wildflowers contributed to a generally heightened and impressionistic sense of reality. A quick descent followed, necessitated by a rendezvous deadline with cousin Stella at her junior lifeguard duties.

Aerial view of Garrapata hike

Topo view of same hike (click on photo for larger view). Density of contour lines is intense!

A long way down

Renny relaxes on a rock overlooking a two to three thousand foot vertical drop. W, who does not suffer terribly from fear of heights, was nonetheless only able to look for very short moments at his son on this rock.

Waking up at 4:00 a.m., the family walked from Curry Village to the Happy Isles trailhead at 5:00 a.m. It was still relatively dark as WNMR began the ascent. In the hopes of motivating R and M to get up, W had bought doughnuts for breakfast. M wolfed down three doughnuts, which made him feel quite ill. The day hike to Half Dome is much hyped as a fantastic but strenuous hike featuring a 4000 foot elevation gain. The beginning of the hike features a steep three and a half mile climb to the top of two consecutive waterfalls, Vernal Falls, followed by Nevada Falls. As M struggled to climb towards Vernal Falls, it looked as if the hike might have to be abandoned. He complained of a headache and some nausea. However, he was still climbing faster than N and W. Near the top of Nevada Falls, M finally lost his breakfast. This helped him to feel much better, and he gradually recovered his strength. M and R passed one group of hikers, who described them as "bounding" up the rocks. Meanwhile, W and N trudged slowly but surely upwards. The first part of the hike lived up to its reputation. The waterfalls were tremendously powerful, disgorging a massive snowpack, and soaking WNMR thoroughly with mist. It was still relatively cool due to the early hour.

At the top of Nevada Falls the trail becomes flatter. R found a lizard, which was content to sit on his hat as he carried it ever higher for several miles. When the family turned a corner and Half Dome came into view, R and M were incredulous. They thought that W was surely joking to suggest they were actually going to climb it. But climb it they did. The trail became very steep, with only steps cut into the granite. In the end, there are cables to get to the very top. It was at this point that the lizard was jettisoned. WNMR donned gloves to hold onto the cables (one is not tied to the cables). First N and R went up, followed a few minutes later by M and W.

The cables prevent climbers from falling an extremely long distance. WNMR tried not to look down too much as they climbed it. Finally they were at the top at about 11:30 in the morning.

The family spent an hour napping and lunching on the top. N & R sat unwittingly on a large rock formation called the "Diving Board" because it overhangs a sheer drop off. The wind was extremely strong, gusting to perhaps 40 or 50 mph at times. But nobody blew off.

The descent was long. W felt his feet begin to ache, but after a rest soaking his feet in Nevada Falls, he felt recharged and headed down the Muir trail towards the valley below. NMR returned via the Mist trail. They all met with Grandma Harriet and Grandpa Mark, who had remained down below, for some pizza and beer to celebrate the hike.

Near the summit

Family poses in front of famous Half Dome cables that are used to access top.

On cables

Marcel rests shortly before the summit of Half Dome. Behind him are Nichole and Renny. Far far far below are other people.

Bingo glimpsed in Vienna

Bingo has turned up recently geocaching in Vienna

.

Actually, his special "flea hopper" travel bug has landed in Vienna, but Bingo's picture is now world (if you consider Europe "the world") famous, having traveled to Italy, Germany, and Austria in the past year.

Urticaria again!

Nichole has been struck again with a mysterious bout of hives (urticaria is what the doctor calls it, but we all know this just means "hives"). This bout left her so swollen she was unable to grip a steering wheel. Still mysterious is what might have caused it. Since everything causes it (stress, diet, cold, hot), it appears to make no sense to see a doctor, who will be unable to diagnose the cause, and simply charge Nichole to tell her what she already knows.

No more school until September

President sighting!

Marcel and Grandpa Mark waved back to an enthusiastically gesticulating President George Bush as he passed by them in a limousine this evening. There was only one other family nearby, so it nearly amounted to an exclusive audience, something that loyal Republicans had just been willing to shell out $2000 a plate for, as Bush had been busy serving his country at taxpayer expense by speaking at a fundraiser for Senator Jim Talent. N and R looked at the decoy limo and missed the President, but thanks to N, Marcel and Grandpa Mark were able to send their greetings. W missed the opportunity as he was out to dinner with Israeli's.

Renski Birthday Bash

Renski celebrated his 12th birthday a little early by attending the rather borderline PG-13 movie "The Last Yard" with friends Drew, Brogan, Tommy, and Alex. The thoroughly amped Bingenstein (dog) kept everybody up until 2:30 a.m, which somehow inspired Marcel to blame the dog for his idea to apply Ben-Gay to someone's sleeping face. The dog then kept W up until the time of this post.

Kounselor Kelli kares for starfish!

Kamp Kelli koming up!

As school winds to an end, preparations are being made for Kamp Kelli, which will be womanned by the koolest kounselor around, Kelli Montgomery. It is not really cnown what will be on the program, but it is expekted to be exkiting, with swimmink and video gamink amonk the aktivities.

Freeway Fans Nearly Nail Nichole

As Nichole was driving on the freeway today she noticed a truck in front of her with a large load of electric fans. Using her superb mother-vision, she began visualizing all the horrible things that might happen with the truck. Suddenly something actually did give way on the truck and all the fans came flying off in a flurry on the freeway, littering the lanes with obstacles. Nichole narrowly avoided an accident only thanks to her razor sharp reflexes and the thorough mental rehearsals she had made of various disaster scenarios.
The car immediately in front of her did hit a fan. N pulled over along with an off duty cop and watched and tried to help as the rest of the traffic tried to weave around all the fans. Fortunately nobody was hurt. Unflustered, N recovered to pick up an undamaged fan for the family, where it is now cooling off the Blume household.