Courtney's Graduation

Whew!  It's over.  One party after another interrupted by a graduation ceremony.  We had a great time with friends and family.  Here is the slide show.

Baccalaureat

Today was Courtney's Baccalaureat. I am reminded of this story:

A brilliant young student leaves home for college and writes home for the first time--

Dear Dad, the Univer$ity i$ really great. I am making lot$ of friend$ and $tudying really hard. With all my $tuff, I $imply can't think of a thing that I need, $o if you like, you can ju$t $end me a card, a$ I would love to hear from you.

The father wrote back:

Dear Courtney:

I kNOw that astroNOmy, ecoNOmics, and oceaNOgraphy are eNOough to keep even an hoNOr student busy. Do NOt forget that the pursuit of kNOwledge is a NOble task, and you can never study eNOough. Love, Dad.

An Ideker Is Going to UGA!

Courtney leaves home and starts UGA on August 18th. The question is, will she be able to come back home? I think that answer largely rests on the outcome of the UT-UGA football game in October. That being said, there are some good things to say about UGA:

1) The football players don't stand out from the rest of the student body in terms of looking stupid.

2) Jokes like this:

A student from Tennessee and a student from Georgia are out walking together one day. They come across a lantern and a Genie pops out of it. "I will give you three wishes total," says the Genie. The Tennessee student says, "I am a farmer, my dad was a farmer, and my son will also farm. I want the land to be forever fertile in Tennessee." With a blink of the Genie's eye, "FOOM," the land in Tennessee was forever made fertile for farming. The Georgia student was amazed, so he said, "I want a wall around the University of Georgia, so that nobody from out of state can come into our precious school." Again, with the blink of the Genie's eye,"POOF," there was a huge wall around Athens. The Tennessee student says, "I'm very curious. Please tell me more about this wall." The Genie explains, "Well, it is about 150 feet high, 50 feet thick and completely surrounds Athens. Nothing can get in or out." The Tennessee student says, "Fill it with water."

3) The fact that you don't have to take driver's ed and sex ed on the same day. After all, the mule needs some rest...

Ouch!

Tough weekend for the Idekers.  It started out when Chris was in Las Vegas and the cab he was riding in rear-ended another car.  He was trying to get money out of his wallet, so he did not have his seatbelt on and crashed against the cage.  This has created a series of headaches and more loopy behavior than normal.

On Saturday, Karen went to Chattanooga and had a flat tire.  She called AAA, but 2 hispanic good samaritans had it fixed before they arrived.  

Today (Mother's day) we were rushing to attend a brunch when we noted that both of our cars appeared much more messy than normal.  First, we blamed Christopher, but then quickly noticed that things were missing.  As it turns out, Karen had left the garage door open last night and some thieves took advantage of the opportunity.  They stole two GPS units and our brand new camera and lenses.  We figure the loss was about $2,500.

The only good thing was that I beat my buddy Scott Blackard in golf yesterday.  Scott is a 9 handicapper and I had only beaten him twice in 7 years.  He had an awful day and I had a good one.  88 for Chris and 90 for Scott.  We all know I'm not the type to rub it in, but here is a picture of Scott at the scene of the crime!

I Married Frodo

Karen is a ring salesperson with Balfour. She used to be a nurse. She used to get criticized for doing everything backwards. She was supposed to give a guy 2 milligrams of morphine every 10 hours, she gave him 10 every two hours. She was supposed to give a guy one enema every 24 hours, she gave him 24 in a day. That's not the worst of it, though. Let me tell you about the time she was asked to prick a man's boil...

Chris Ideker- Walking Economy

My hairline is in recession and my waistline has inflation.  Together, they are putting me into depression!

Barack v Hillary (and Rev. Wright)

I suppose that, as a McCain supporter (going back to 2000), I should revel in the Hatfield-McCoy drama that is the 2008 Democratic party's quadrennial flea circus.  The problem is, I want the best candidate from both parties to run in November.  The Democrats seem hopelessly incapable of accomplishing the simple task of winning an election that is handed to them.

In 2004, the Democrats nominated an elitist liberal from the most elitist liberal state in the country.  In the process, they handed the election to the most beatable imbecile the Republicans had ever put into office.  This year, with a gasping economy, surging fuel and oil prices, a vietnam-like war, a health care system in shambles and a plummeting US image abroad-- the Democrats continue to be the gift that keeps on giving.

I must admit that I feel this year is different, however.  Clearly the despicable Clintons are more than willing to twist it, but it is Reverend Wright who has given them the knife to mortally wound the Obama campaign.  Rev. Wright has heaped praise on the suspected-- maybe even admitted-- murderer of Malcom X ("Minister Farakan"), accused the US of attempted genocide of the US black community, and suggested that the US caused 9/11.  (Curiously reminiscent of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, who were appropriately lambasted by the press for similar comments.)

Rev. Wright has claimed that these comments were taken out of context.  Well, let's examine that.  It turns out that Rev. Wright is a vocal proponent of a "theology" named "black liberation theology."  In fact, the Trinity United Church of Christ (Obama's church) that he pastored incorporates elements of this theology in it's mission statement.  Black Liberation Theology was founded by James Cone who defined the theology as:

"theology that refuses to accept a god who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community.  If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him..."

Now I don't agree with everything that any pastor says.  In fact, I disagree with a lot of things that some pastors say.  I have to question, however, when someone stays in a church for 20 years with a mission statement built on a theology with inflammatory rhetoric such as this. Oprah recognized this and left this church in the early 90s.  Barack recognized this as well and rescinded his pastor's invitation to give the invocation the day he announced his candidacy. Yet Barack has chosen to stay in this church for 20 years.

I am not suggesting that I don't prefer Barack over Hillary.  I do.  This issue has made the choice more difficult, however.  Barack would do well to spend more time explaining the apparent inconsistency between his soaring rhetoric on the stump and the inflammatory language he tolerates in the pew.

 

Security Alert! More Idekers moving to Atlanta

15 years ago, I moved to the Atlanta area in a well reasoned, but determined attempt to distance me and my immediate family from the corrupting influence of the Ideker clan.  Slowly, but surely (much as the onset of global warming or any other man made plague), my plan has been compromised by more and more of these degenerates invading our fair city.  

The infestation is now complete, with the news that my brother, Ric, has accepted a position with the Alpharetta police department.  Ric, who will be in charge of compliance with doughnut purchase regulations, started on May 1.  Here is a video of Ric making an arrest on his birthday a few years ago.  His family will be joining him piecemeal over the next year.  All, except my niece Brittany, who now realizes that she can turn her life around without these harmful influences.

I, on the other hand, am looking to move.  I am thinking of a place that will afford opportunity, safe harbor and good golf.  Mexico, maybe?

The Prom

We are finally done.  Courtney's last prom.  I had just finished paying off her last prom!  Dresses, dinners, hair, shoes..  Ugh!

Courtney has naturally wavy hair.  For some reason, this natural state is entirely unacceptable.  We spend a ridiculous amount of money every year overcoming this "immutable characteristic."  Chemical straightening every six months is combined with a daily dose of a ceramic hair straightener that costs more than my car.  The GDP of some developing countries is spent in search of the perfectly straight strand.

That is, until the Prom.  On the day of the prom, Karen takes Courtney to the salon to get her hair curled.  This takes two hours and another king's ransom.  This may be, uhm, Hairisy but I don't believe Men are from Mars and women are from Venus.  That would be the same solar system!  

Here is a link to the slideshow 

My Son Christopher

What a great kid.  Funny, charming, warm and caring.  The opposite of his dad!  Christopher is doing well in school, despite not liking it much.  He is also really coming on in Golf.  His current low round is a 58 for 9 holes.  He will do much better when he learns to control his emotions on the course.

One of the things that these kids do that amaze me is X-box.  They play group games and talk to their friends as if they were in the same room.  Christopher plays with his cousin Ricky in Cincinnati often.  Quite a change from my favorite video game- Pong!