3... 2... 1... Contacts

I have had to do many things as a single father. Especially in regards to the education I have undergone when it comes to my daughter. Now being male, I tend to think I understand my son a lot better than I understand my daughter. I know that this thought is just an illusion, but I like to think I do anyway.

So the school did a routine check of my daughter's eyes and sent home a note that she needs to have her eyes checked. Well it could have been worse, it could have said she needs to have her head examined. Of course, I think I need my head examined now after just a few months at the helm of this single dad family. But back to the point.

I took my daughter to the place America goes for everything from motor oil to tooth picks and shotgun shells, Walmart. We were directed to an outside door I had never noticed before even though it was on the front of the building. I guess, since it was not one of the two main entrances, I just never noticed it. But here we were in a room in Walmart I never knew existed.

So the optometrist began to check her eyes. And she had to go further and further up the chart. Yep, it was amazing she could focus on the board at school at all. She definitely needed glasses. But she was insistent that she get contacts. That may be a problem.

My daughter has her mom's vision, but she has my eyes. Squinty. Neither of us can open our eyes very far and I know what is involved in contacts. So I suggested extended wear lenses so the amount of frustration would be kept to a minimum.

So we get her contacts and a starter pack of solution and drops. And we dutifuly go back into Walmart to the vision center for a free instruction on how to put the contacts in. This is where life takes a turn for the really frustrating.

Two hours. It took two hours for my teenage daughter to get these contacts in her eyes. She would try to hold her eyes open and as the contact came close, she would nearly spasm and blink until they would not go in. Over and over we tried. Again and again. Ad nauseum.

So finally we got the contacts in after I was finally frustrated and she had resorted to frustration and tears. It was either a growing experience for us both, or a shared bit of pain. Either fits :-)

So now she has contacts and she can see. It was worth if if my little girl can see. But oh the pain. And that does not even account for the cost. Oh the things we must do for our kids. She is worth it. But the next time she has to change those contacts, she will be on her own :-)


Copyright 2005, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

Things You Never Expect...

Or you ever want to see!

Well, I flew to NC over a week ago to see my dear future wife, Amy. It was awesome. We spent 48 hours together and it was not nearly enough time to be with her. We drove around the area. I met her parents. We had an easy, relaxing, and wonderful weekend together.

On Saturday we drove to a little town in SC. We stopped at a tack and feed store just to look around. That is the kind of shopping a horse addict does :-) And I think its wonderful and cannot wait to be married to this beautiful, loving, understanding, and crazy woman. She is crazy because she said "yes" to me,

While at this store, I bought a small bottle of Coke. One of the glass kind. The kind that needs a bottle opener. Now where I am from, we call those openers "church keys". I don't why, but that is just what they were called. So I asked the girl at the register if she had a "church key". She said "a what?" So I said "something to open this bottle with". She said "oh. I don't think so, let me ask".

She then turned to another teenage girl clerk behind her and asked "do you have something to open this bottle with?" The girl looked at us and said "prepare to be amazed."

Now when someone says "prepare to be amazed", you tend to think it is just bravado and they are just being silly. Oh, but now we come to the title of this post. This young girl was about to amaze us. She could not have been much more than 16. But she was about to prove her worth.

She takes the bottle from me and holds it up to her mouth. Then using nothing but her teeth she begins to remove the bottle cap. To counter the force and continue the removal, she then used her tongue to press against the bottle cap as she lifted it with her teeth.

Yes, we were amazed. Shocked actually. Slightly disgusted. But amazed none the less.

The first girl, who was thoroughly grossed out, said "they are not going to want to drink it now that you rolled your tongue on it." So this impressive bottle opener wipes down the open end of the bottle with the underside of her sleeve. Yes, basically her arm pit. I am not making this up.

So what do you do when things you never expect happen?

I did the most gallant thing a man could do. I said "Well I am amazed and impressed. I want to shake your hand." And I did shake her hand. The first clerk said "you're not going to drink that are you?" I responded in my manliest means possible, so as to not be shown up by a little girl, "if she is going to open it like that, then yes I am going to drink it."

So I did, I took the first big swig. I then handed the bottle to Amy. Who looked at me as if to say "I cannot believe I am doing this" but what she said was "well, you got most of the germs off of it anyway" and she tipped it up and took a swig.

Now how could you beat that?

Well I didn't want to try to beat that. But we did finish the botlle of Coke together. I think Amy did take the last drink, getting all my backwash anyway. So there it is. Things you never expect, and never really wanted to see.

I hope this is just a small sample of the fun, adventures, and good spirits that Amy and I will share together. I can handle all things with her by my side. I love you Amy.


Copyright 2005, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

It is not good for the man to be alone...

Genesis 2:18-24

¹⁸ The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
¹⁹ Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. ²¹ So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs ^{[ i]} and closed up the place with flesh. ²² Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
    ²³ The man said,
       "This is now bone of my bones
       and flesh of my flesh;
       she shall be called 'woman, '
       for she was taken out of man."
²⁴ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

I think that is one of the most beautiful examples of God showing mercy and compassion for His children. God is the creator of everything and His ways are infinite. But He took the time to care for Adam and He individually crafted a helper for Him. And thus Adam had Eve.

Well if anyone has read my previous blog entries, you would realize that I am divorced with two teenagers at home full time. The more astute among you would also have picked up that it was not good for THIS man to be alone either. This past year has been difficult to say the least. But here we are surviving it. Yet we are not just surviving, we are in fact thriving.

God has taken compassion and shown mercy to this man. At a time when I was not looking for love, love found me all the same. And this love, was not found in worldly romance or traditional means. Instead, God used the Internet to bring us together. Yes, that vile object of hate and rejection, the Internet, can itself be used for God's purposes.

It was from posting on a Christian forum site in a thread on divorce that God gave a woman, herself hurting and raising kids alone, the gentle nudge to send me a simple email to say "thanks for your post". And God opened our hearts and our minds to each other. God allowed us to look past hurt, rejection, broken trust, and painful memories to allow ourselves to see love brought by God Himself. A precious gift to His children.

That is how I met Amy.

It is with shouts of praise to God and hallelujahs that I now have joy in telling you that what was once broken and undone, has by God been healed and made new.

After talking for quite a while, I flew to see Amy. I asked Amy to marry me. She said "yes" without hesitation. So I can happily say that we are officially engaged.

While I know the manner and timing of our wonderful news of our engagement will certainly cause some to pause and wonder, I ask that you look beyond what the world sees and says. Look with your hearts and take joy with us in this wonderful and awesome work of God in our lives.

It is to God's glory I want to sing hallelujah from the tops of mountains with all of my breath and all of my strength in adoration for God has been most merciful to me and my children.

Amy, I love you.


Copyright 2005, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

Super-Hero Usher Action

Yesterday I filled in for a missing usher at church. As I stood there handing out the service bulletins, greeting people as they came in the sanctuary, my daughter came in and sat down near where I was standing. She said "dad, you've got that super-hero usher action thing going". This cracked me up. I guess I never thought of an usher as an action figure.

But as I thought about this, I began to think about ushers in our church. It is not just handing out a bulletin and trying to point people to a row with enough available seats for their entourage. It is about serving God by serving people.

As a substitute assistant usher third class, all I had to do was hand out bulletins, take up the offering, smile a bit, and that is about it. No there is no title for usher other than just "usher". I just like to be funny.

I am reminded of the story of the 3 men laying bricks to build a new church. Someone asked the first brick layer "what are you making?". To which he replied "about $16 an hour, which is not too bad right now". Someone asked the second brick layer "what are you making?". To which he replied "I am making a living and keeping my family fed and in a house'. Then someone asked the third brick layer "what are you making?". To which he replied "I am making a cathedral! A house of worship for the only living and true God!".

So its not the job or the service that makes the difference. It is the attitude in doing it. And if our attitude is good and we do our best, then God is pleased.

man: What are you doing?
usher: I am ushing.
man: Oh.
usher: And in the process, I try to make your day better, greet you wiith a smile, provide you with assistance as needed, and I serve the only living and true God.

Thanks to all you ushers out there. Next month, I will be a "regular" usher and not a substitute usher third class. I will work on perfecting that "separate the bulletins extending hand with the proper number of bulletins and smile and say good morning" super-hero action.


Copyright 2005, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

Started The Ball Rolling

Ok, in my previous entry, I described the ridiculous book that my daughter checked out from her middle school library. If you are unaware, check my previous post. Anyway, I have now started the ball rolling to get something done about it.

After we had "meet the teacher" night in the middle school, O decided that it was a good time to approach the subject of that book with my daughter's teacher. So yesterday I wrote the teacher a very nice email that basically said I don't blame her (the teacher) for anything, I just wanted to make her aware of the situation. Furthermore I would like help in guiding my daughter in making better choices for reading assignments. I also wrote that I was going to pursue having that particular book removed from the library.

So now I am in the wait and see mode. We shall see what comes of this. I still presume that she did not know about the specific material or she had forgotten about it. I am not trying to find someone to point a finger at. I just want help in guiding my daughter to better reading material.

We shall see.

Copyright 2005, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

Oh My Word

My daughter brought home a library book today from public school. She went to the library and she has to always have an "accelerated reading" book checked out for her reading class. These books must be a certain level for their advanced reading.

The book my daughter brought home is called Stardust by Neil Gaiman. My daughter showed me some pages in this book that I could not believe. In fact this book contains sexually explicit material and was recommended to my 8th grade daughter by her reading teacher. She showed her teacher the book and her teacher's response was "This really is a good book.".

The book is set in the English countryside in the 20th century (I think). There is a thread in this book that involves a young man who cheats on his girlfriend and has sex with a witch's slave. Yes that is what I said, sex with a witch's slave. This was recommended reading for my 8th grade daughter. It is not just an allusion to sex. It describes it.

I have to forewarn you that this material is explicit but I am including a small part of it here. I have put the text in reverse video color. To view it,highlight the following block. The following is a direct quote from the book:

There was a moment of hesitation, and then her mouth opened against his, and her tongue slid into his mouth, and he was irrevocably, lost. 

He had kissed before, with the girls of the village, but he had gone no further. 

His hand felt her small breasts through the silk of her dress, touched the hard nubs of her nipples. She clung to him, hard, as if she was drowning, fumbling with his shirt, with his britches. 

She was so small; he was scared he would hurt her and break her. He did not. She wriggled and writhed beneath him, grasping and kicking, and guiding him with her hand. 

She placed a hundred burning kisses on his face and chest, and then she was above him, straddling him, grasping and laughing, sweating and slippery as a minnow, and he was arching ad pushing and exulting, his head full of her and only her, and had he known her name he would have called it out aloud. 

At the end, he would have pulled out, but she held him inside her, wrapped her legs around him, pushed against him so hard that he felt that the two of them occupied the same place in the universe.

This is erotic stuff even for an adult. Can you believe that is considered appropriate reading for a 13 year old girl? I can't. I have not decided what I am going to do. I have talked to my daughter and she has a good head on her shoulders. We shall be watching this situation as the year unfolds.


Copyright 2005, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

Second Week Coming To A Close

As we come to the close of a second week of public school, I can now see things start to normalize. Also I remember my school days and I have to say things are much better in some ways, worse in others, and a lot of it was the same as I remembered it. One area of improvement for sure is in paying for lunch. Back in the old days, we had to exchange clam shells... Well not quite. But we bought individual lunch chips. Now my kids have PIN codes and the account is kept filled by credit card. I like that. Also an improvement is that high school here has A and B days with longer class times. The class times in my day were so short you could not get anything done really. I liket this new way. And when I was in junior high (we did not have middle school), we had rotating periods each week. I hated that.

As for those things that are worse, I will catalog them in this blog as I encounter them. For now the worst things are basically the academics. I don't like "teaching for the test", and I don't like that the level of academics taught is lower than what my kids were used to.

The other thing I have noticed is that the kids had it soft in home school. When they get pushed in PE to do more now, or they feel a little under the weather, they want to have a day off. That will NOT work. So in a good way, public school is forcing them to be less "soft", to have more fortitude. Definitely a good thing.

Stay tuned citizens. There are more updates in the coming months. But I think for now, I have said enough about this adventure.

Copyright 2005, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

First Week of Public School Post Mortem

So far the venture into the public school system has been less than stellar. I can't say this has been easy or rewarding. It has been nothing but a hassle and disappointing. Let me start with a recap of the road traveled thus far. 

• Made the decision very late in the spring to go public school 
• Started the process by calling the school, found out that there is paperwork required - no surprise there 
• Found out that my son can start taking 11th grade classes, but must take tests to get credits for 9th and 10th grade - 10 in all 
• Found out that my daughter coult not just go straight to 9th grade as her birthday fell after the Sep 1 cutoff date 
• Found out she could take tests (of course) to go for a year's advancement 
• Signed up both kids for school 
• Made several expeditions to get all shots and immunization in order - it cost me $65 
• Finally secured all the medical stuff 
• Kids took the tests 
• Daughter did not pass 
• Son passed some, needs to retake some others 
• Neither took this seriously 
• Signed up daughter for middle school the week before classes start 
• First day of school, daughter's bus was late, she shows up at school, they have no record of her 
• First day of school, son forgets which bus was his, has to call for help to get a ride home 
• Bus continues to run late for daughter for 3 days - did not even show up on 3rd day
• Spent around 25 minutes on the phone with the man from the bus route supervisor's office that day 

And finally they made it through their first week.

So there you have it, a 3 month long ordeal that I underestimated completely. This has been a rough summer. This has been a rough start to a school year. And while the kids do seem to like public school, they are already under-impressed with the academic instruction. So from their perspectives and my own, here is our take on the Texas public school system in our independent school district: 

• The system is typified by chaos 
• There are literally dozens of papers to be signed by the parents in the first week for redundant reasons 
• The work is easy, almost to being ridiculous - my daughter colored a cow in 8th grade English class one day, then cut cows out the next 
• School lunches are better than they anticipated 
• The focus of classes has been stated to being centered on doing well on the standardized state tests 
• Discipline is not totally broken down, but there is little respect for authority

The system is nearly broken

Those are the perspectives from me and both kids each of which have had 4 years of home school following private school. Are we being unfair? Maybe, so far they have had a much different kind of education. And I will add that the depth and level of private and home school curriculum and education far exceeds the public school system as demonstrated by this first week. We shall keep an open mind and see what unfolds in the following weeks.


Copyright 2005, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

Finally, The Bus Arrives on Time

It was the fourth day of public school for the kids. And this morning, my daughter's bus finally came on time AND they did not have to stay exceptionally late before coming home. Can you believe it? Let's hope this is a normal thing and not a flash in the pan.
So far, they seem to like school. Things are going pretty well. As the days and weeks unfold, I will give more accounts as to the teenage life in public school that I glean from my kids. But for now I have learned the following:

• Apparently 98% of the kids use foul language 
• Most kids talk too much in class 
• School lunches are not too bad 
• The day doesn't drag as long as home school days.

Well that is all I have for now. Stay tuned for more updates on our adventures in Texas public schools.

Copyright 2005, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

Public School Day 3

My daughter's first day of school was rough, as I posted already. My son's was pretty good. Their second day was better, and their third day was getting more routine. So all in all, it is going pretty well. Except for... the bus.

There is no doubt about. My daughter has the one bus that cannot be on time at all. The first day it was about 15 minutes late which meant she was late for her first day of school. The second day, it was about 15 minutes late again. But this morning. This morning was ridiculous. It was over 20 minutes late and she missed most of her first period class. And apparently they had to send a different bus to get her and the other kids in the end. Where was the bus driver? Apparently he did not show. After school had already started, two buses show up at the same time to get them. Apparently they were dispatched in a hurry. And on the way to school, they still missed some kids.

So this disgruntled father gets on the phone to the bus route supervisor. I was angry, frustrated, and not ready to listen to excuses. I did listen, but I did not like being patronized. I was persistent and I did finally get some information. Apparently they had planned their bus routes using a set of assumptions about traffic flow that did not pan out.

The same buses are used to shuttle kids to high school first thing in the morning. Then they head back out to get the elementary school kids. And finally they make their way back out for the middle school kids. Apparently the traffic problems leaving the high school in the morning is causing an accumulated delay.

At least that was the explanatiion by the very patient but yet really wanting to not have to talk to me man was saying.

Now the plot thickens for the return home today. School was let out and the kids assembled where the bus would pick them up. Only there is no bus for them. It did not come at all. Finally, after about 45 minutes, another bus that had completed its route comes around for my daughter and the rest of the distraught kids to take them home. My daughter arrives home over an hour after school lets out. We live less than 2 miles from the school.

Let us pray that the bus arrives on time in the morning. And I will be there. Oh yes, I will be waiting. And I want to see that bus come on time. I will be watching them. And I will have my cell phone ready. And that little man at the bus route supervisor's office might be even more flustered if it is late again.




Copyright 2005, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

First Day of School

Well today was the first day of school here in our district. And my kids had their first day of public school - ever. That is right. Up to this point they have been private schooled and home schooled. But now, due to changes in our family (i.e. their home school teacher is no longer around), they now go to public school. I don't know who was more nervous, them or me.

So I get up extra early so I could get my son up to get ready and catch the 6:30 bus to high school. He barely got there because it came early.

Now my daughter did not have to get up until later to catch the 8:30 bus to middle school. She had plenty of time because it was late.

And then all the fun began.

Well things went pretty well for my son. Except he forgot his PIN in a classroom and couldn't eat lunch. But the rest of his day went pretty smooth. That is until it was time to come home. He had neglected to notice the bus number he rode to school. Therefore he did not know which one to take back home. Therefore he took none. And that was why I got a call from our friend Rita to tell me she had been contacted by my son and she was picking him up from school.

Now for my daughter, things just stacked up against her. First her bus was late. Then, for some unknown reason, they lost her registration. So she had to spend first period waiting in the library with 25 other kids to get registered - again. And now, she could not get the classes she was signed up for. She got to eat lunch but she did not like it. The only bright spot for her was she got to see her friend during PE class. That helped her a lot I think. Well she came home with a headache and a lot to say. But she will be going back tomorrow.

Just another day in paradise in our family. Nothing much out of the ordinary.

We are still waiting for famine, plague, and that asteroid to hit.


Copyright 2005, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

Empty Post

I am running on empty right now. So many things I want to say. So many things I can't say. So much to do. So much I can't get done. So it goes, I am running on empty.




Copyright 2005, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

Teenage Estrogen Reloaded

The modern American Mall, an untamed dominion of humans in one of their natural environments. I spent the day observing the behavior of the herds of young male humans and the flocks of young female humans.Today I rejoined a flock of young females I have spent much time with in the past. The following are some excerpts of my field notes from today's outing.

11:30 - Having spent some time previously with this particular flock of young females, I have found it best to offer them food before they venture into the mall. This not only gains their trust, but provides unrestricted observation of their eating habits. Note: find someplace less expensive next time, where do they put it all?

12:20 - Arrived at mall. Made unfortunate entry into mall near area marked "dollar store". The abundance of prey caused their well organized hunting formations to degrade into a feeding frenzy. Was worried momentarily about discussion of their obtaining torches. They decided not to be burdened by carrying 5 foot long torches in the wilds of the mall. That was a close one.

Approx 13:00 - Lurked outside of an area marked "Icing". There was discussion of how to obtain tribal ear piercing of a member of the flock. Quest was abandoned when it was learned the "parent" (that is what they call their mothers and fathers) must be present.

Note the jungle heat and crowded water hole caused me to lose track of time. How these flocks can flourish in this hostile environment is beyond me.

Arrived at Candiopolis. Was forced by the flock to purchase Icees and candy for each. I feared for my safety at the time and thought it prudent to do as they demanded. This was the only time the danger that lurks just below the surface of this amazing adventure was made evident.

Was dragged unwillingly into Earth Bound and suffered difficulty breathing and a headache. How much incense can one store have anyway? Flock move slowly and deliberately through this store.

Found massage chair. Took time out from observations to soothe headache. Note: on next outing, plan route to pass this location at least twice.

4:00 - Began to regain ability to look at watch. Made a peace offering of Wetzel Pretzels to the flock. I was given temporary inclusion into the inner world of the flock. Note: there are some questions that should not be asked, there are some things a parent doesn't really need to hear.

4:30 - Planned circuitous route back to safari vehicle.

5:15 - Somehow made it to vehicle. Note: on next outing, avoid passing Victoria's Secret, enough said.

By the end of the journey, I had collected enough observations on this particular flock to know that they are cunning hunters yet have poor sense of direction. I noted that we had traveled in circles several times. I have also decided that I must go to the ATM first the next time out. I am considering seeking government funding of these field studies as they can run into some expense.




Copyright 2005, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

Pirates of the Chickamauga

Today was a lazy day. And late this afternoon, I fixed some pasta for the kids. We were going to settle down, eat pasta, and watch Pirates of the Caribbean on DVD. That was when we discovered that the DVD player was dead. It had died sometime in the night, with a quiet passing. We know that our old DVD player was not the best, it had its quirks, but it had been a faithful family friend for years. And now it has gone on to its not so final resting ground, the dumpster.

Actually come to think of it, that DVD player sucked. It was very picky at times. It would get confused about whether it was loading or unloading and sometimes would just do random things. And what was most irritating was that the only way the remote worked reliably was if you pointed it directly at the receiver with a 2 degree inclination at a distance of no more than 17 millimeters. So, good riddance to old junk.

A quick check on the walmart.com site showed me what I was looking for. They have a progressive scan DVD player for less than $40. Now I know, you get what you pay for, but if this only lasts a year, it was worth it. So off to Walmart to get a new DVD player. Of course once in Walmart, they have a neural limiter that makes it easier for you to purchase other things. You start to think "well I need this and I need that ... and oh cool, I want one of those". Walmart is a dangerous place to be.

Now on the way to Walmart, we got the mail. And something my daughter was looking for finally arrived: the DVD made while they were at church camp. A few entries ago I posted about about my kids coming home from church camp. This was something I was also eager to see. So the first thing played on our new low-end progressive scan DVD player bought from Walmart was this DVD.

There were a few shots of both of my kids including my daughter singing a song that she wrote herself. Wow. I heard about this, but I never imagined her getting up in front of people to sing. It was cool to get a short glimpse of it.

Now to address the title of this post. The camp coordinators had a pirate theme this year and the DVD was chock full of goofy pirate antics. They were the self-proclaimed Pirates of the Chickamauga, which I now know is a lake in Georgia. These guys seemed to do their best to make the camp fun for all the teens there. I thank them.

So now, it is evening and we are preparing to watch another DVD. And what better one to watch than Pirates of the Caribbean. So avast thar ye land lubber and stow the rigging. Our DVD player is set sail for pirate adventure.

Arrrrrrrrr!

Yeah, I know that last bit is stupid. But hey, I would rather be watching pirates than doing pilates.




Copyright 2005, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

The Volvo

I have all my life driven simple vehicles. I have had a Volkswagon Bug, a Pontiac J2000, an Isuzu I-Mark, a Chevy S10 pickup truck, and I got the Dodge Grand Caravan out of the divorce. But the minivan died. It had a "seizure" and does not run. So for the past month I had been driving a borrowed vehicle from a friend. It is a Ford F-150 pickup truck. But I really needed to get my van fixed or get a vehicle.

Enter the Volvo.

My ex sent me an email about a 1990 Volvo 760 Turbo for sale from her office. I called the guy (an attorney) and arranged to see it. The price was so right, only $1100, so I bought it. It has high mileage and does show its 15 years age. However, it runs, which is more than I can say for my van. So tonight, I took possession of a Volvo.

I have to say, I never before liked Volvo cars. I always thought they were a bit boxy and ... well ... not "cool" looking. However, they are solid cars with an excellent reputation. And I needed a car. But never did I expect to be driving a Volvo. I think I always assumed some kind of stigma about them

Buffy, I just had the Volvo cleaned, must you allow your little dog Muffin to sit in the seat?
Why Bink, wittle Muffin wikes your great big car.
Oh very well poopsie, just keep a towel ready in case Muffin has to tinkle. Ha ha, ha ha ha.

Shudder! I don't even want to consider that again.So I now have a Volvo and I have to shed that stigma. I was told by some friends that this was my "Euro-trash" car. I think that is funny.

I went by to show it to my friends. On the way, I opened a couple of compartment doors. Well, that was less than pleasant. Somehow I got the glove compartment door stuck closed. When I pulled hard enough to open it, a piece of something went flying. And now the door appears to work normally. The center console lid needs fixing as well. Basically I told my friends "if it looks like a door, don't open it".

Well, there are many more problems than that. But as a whole, I like my Volvo. I can't believe I think that, but I do.

So I sit and think about it. I never pictured myself driving a Volvo. But here I am, driving a Volvo. You know if this was anyone else, there would be no reason to even write about it. But this is me we are talking about. You know, the Volvo guy.




Copyright 2005, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

Harry Potter, Book 6, Day 2, Chapters 22-30

Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, now that I have got that out of my system. I must gloat over two things, but I won't spill the beans, no spoilers.

Thing #1, I accurately predicted the identity of a death that features in this book.Thing #2, I accurately predicted the identity of the killer.

Now my suspicion is that killer's motives are not what they appear to be. I believe the killer has different reasons than the obvious ones.

And in continuing with my previous posts on this, I still believe that this is probably my favorite book of the series right now. Though the last chapter nearly changed that. I don't know how J.K.R. will be able to bring this to conclusion in one more book. Unless this is not the plan... Those who read the book may follow me on that one.

Read this book.




Copyright 2005, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

Harry Potter, Book 6, Day 2, Chapters 12-21

I wanted to start reading right away last night when I got home, right after I fixed dinner, and right after I did a few things, and right after I got settled in for the evening. So needless to day, I did not get started reading until quite late. So I did not stop reading until it was very late last night, or very early this morning depending on your perspective.

So far the book is proving to be exceptional. I am still quite engaged in the story and I did not want to put the book down. However, when you can't keep your eyes focused, or much less open, it is time to give it a rest. I think tonight I will have finished it and then I can talk to the kids and to my friend Rita about it. She has been "drumming her fingers" waiting patiently - or bursting at the seams, it's one of those two - and not talking about it so far.

There are so many bits I want to talk about in the book. I want to see what others thought about things. But still I want to wait until I am finished reading as I am building up my "solution" to this whodunit. Even pointing to some event as being significant could alter my thoughts and reduce my expectations.

This is a good book.



Copyright 2005, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

Harry Potter, Book 6, Day 1, Chapters 1-11

Well I was patient and my kids finished reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince the other day. So I started reading last night. And I stayed up too late. It was that engaging. So what follows is my reaction so far.

First off I want to say that this has so far proven to me to be J.K.R.'s finest writing. She was good from the start, but now she is nothing less than excellent. I started reading last night and in the first few pages I thought to myself "wow, she has really done it this time". Rats! I did not want to use the "wow" word like my friends Rita and Lynette. But it does fit.

And like Lynette experienced, when I realized I was one third of the way through the book, I was thinking to myself "I don't want this to end that quickly". But at the same time I was reading as though the next page might contain the cure for cancer or something. I just kept reading until my eyes finally wouldn't focus last night. I did not want to put it down. It is that good.

I expect to be completely through it by tomorrow night, or possibly tonight. It just depends on distractions. And with two teens at home, there are distractions. But both of them are also waiting for me to finish it so we can discuss it openly. I told them I did not want to hear any spoilers and so far they have been very nice about it. But they also make sly little hints to each other. I just do my best Gollum impersonation, clasp my hands over my ears and repeat "not listening! not listening!"

Updates of reading progress to follow. I can't wait to get home from work and start it again.




Copyright 2005, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

Church Camp and Crowbars

My two teens spent last week at church camp in Colorado. It was a quiet week at home, except for the sounds of explosions, gunfire, and total carnage. I spent most of the week's free time playing Mercenaries, a game of incredible violence in warfare. And incredibly fun. Yes, it's true, I played games and did nothing really productive.

When they came back on Saturday, I was eager to hear the stories they brought back with them. When I sent them on their way over a week ago, I gave them these three instructions:

1. Do nothing to get thrown out from camp, I can't come to get you.
2. Do nothing stupid to get yourself or anyone else hurt, I can't come to get you.
3. Push the limits and have fun, I would like to be there too.

So I was naturally interested if they had fun. And I also was a little worried that they may have taken my instructions a little too seriously, specifically #3, and had done something to get in trouble.

Well, I won't go into all the details here. I just want to leave a teaser. My daughter started a story with "we had to steal the crowbar from the boys' cabin". Well, that was quite an opener. Essentially they needed the crowbar to do a little .... stealthy acquisition of team flags and provide secure storage of said flags over the following days. Yeah, they stole the team flags :-)

And to cover tracks, they "stole" their own flag as well. Clever. Really it was just a harmless prank involving several of the girls. I thought it was hysterical. Especially hearing how one of the kids at camp had "developed a weird emotional attachment" (my daughter's words) to their team flag.

So I asked my son, "why did you guys take a crowbar with you?" He said "oh we didn't take one, bought one on the way." There is only one response to that. So I said "That makes sense. But next time you guys need one of those all-in-one tools with screwdrivers and a hammer as well. Some pliers may come in handy also."

I know that many of you would disagree with me and say that I am encouraging sinful behavior that could lead my kids to a life of sin and crime and they spend the rest of their lives in prison for stealing national treasures to sell on the Russian black market or end up as members of a terrorist organization. Yes, that is a ridiculous exaggeration. Life for teens does not have to be so serious, IMHO.

Life should be fun. My kids have had a lot of un-fun this year. This year, their mother walked out on us and now now we are divorced. Early on in the year, we didn't have much extra cash for doing fun things. They are going to start public school for the first time this fall. And in general, it has been a rough year. Yes I encouraged my kids to explore the rules and find how to poke holes in them a bit. Yes I encouraged my kids to have fun.

Yes there is satisfaction and fulfillment in being model citizens and model Christian children. But often, the standards set by many legalists offer no joy, no satisfaction, and no fun. They mostly offer only guilt. And they are typically unsupportable by scriptures and represent the mantra of the modern Pharisees.

Jesus laughed. Jesus smiled. And I believe that at times, Jesus had a bit of fun talking smack with the established religious leaders and the Pharisees. He is clever and witty. He is a model citizen of God's kingdom. He is merciful. He is not a legalist stick in the mud. Jesus is cool. So more than anything, I encourage my kids to be like Jesus.

I've Been Harry Potter'ed

The other night was the big event all the Harry Potter fans have been waiting for: the release of Half-Blood Prince. I was in a book store along with about 1200 other people counting down the hours until they started selling the books. I understood that there were about 600 people outside in line as well. I arrived around 8:30 and I was still well back in the queue. They assigned group letters and I was "G". I didn't get my books (yes plural, both kids both want to read it and this is far better than trying to work out sharing plans) until about 12:30.

They had a costume competition and a little Veela won. However, I was rooting for a very realistic Dobby complete with grubby pillow case, if you can imagine. And as we approached the last moments before midnight, there was an in-store unison countdown of the last 10 seconds with a quite loud roar of enthusiasm and applause at midnight. And then the lines started to move.

It was interesting, weird, at moments fun, but if nothing else, it was enlightening. I did a lot of people watching. Having two teens myself, I was especially curious to watch the teens moving around the stored. In general they were all just trying to have a bit of fun. And though many were dressed in wizarding robes, often with accessories (like wands), and sometimes other garments that I could only guess their meaning (some appeared to have the wrong book in mind), still these teens were trying to preserve their "cool". They were trying to balance between "look I am cool enough to act a bit silly and not worry about it" and the dreaded "look I am acting so silly I am no longer cool, but its fun."

Now I have to wait until at least one of my kids is done with their book so I can read it. Maybe if I cross a bit of Hogwarts with D&D, I could cast a hastening spell on them and get it quicker :-)