Trying to catch up

It's been three months since I've posted here. I guess I've been either too busy or too tired or just without anything to say.

Football season is winding down. High school playoffs started last night with some exciting games around the state. Of the three teams I had personal interest in, Lockney, Petersburg and Rule, only Lockney didn't make the playoffs. Rule lost last night 46-0 to Newcastle so their playoff run is over. Petersburg plays Meadow tonight for the second time this year. The scoreboard show will have it's final 2010 show tonight with 56 games to track down. Texas Tech football has had it's ups and downs this year. I guess it's "getting to know you" kind of year. With three games to go, it would be nice to pull out two wins and that's quite likely. Recruiting for 2011 is looking good but we will see how it comes out in February. I won't even talk about Dallas Cowboy football because there is nothing to talk about. My fantasy team is in the middle of the pack but maybe it can still make the playoffs. I just wished I had a running back to go with Aaron Rodgers.

It sure was fun to watch the Texas Rangers make a run to the World Series. I wished they could have pulled it all out but just making it there made everyone in Texas excited about baseball for a short time.

I've been sitting in a hospital in Lubbock waiting for a myriad of doctors to decide what is wrong with my wife. It appears that it is her gall bladder so maybe today they'll decide when to take it out and life can get back to normal for everyone. I'm kind of glad I'm not going to be outside today as it is raining and cold. I hope anyone going to a playoff game will dress appropriately tonight. Amarillo, which is 120 miles north, has received an inch of snow so far today.

My closing thought for the day: Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them–every day begin the task anew. -Saint Francis de Sales

“For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,”-- Colossians 1:9 (NASB)

August is here and that means ...

August is here and that means that school is about to start again and FOOTBALL is about to start again, High School, College and Professional!!! If it's football, then I'm all for watching it. I really enjoy high school and college most of all. On Friday nights, I will go watch the first half of Lockney's home games but this year I will probably go to Petersburg occasionally to watch some 6-man football (and of course, SEE the Grand daughters!!!) but come 9 PM, I'll be online tracking down football scores from all corners of West Texas. I track down the scores for the TPSN High School Scoreboard Show where my good friends, Nick Long and Adam Cox, host the best scoreboard show in West Texas.

The Scoreboard runs from 10 PM to midnight every Friday night from week zero (Aug. 27) to the first week of the playoffs (Nov.12). The show is produced and broadcast from the flagship station, KGNC-AM 710 in Amarillo and broadcast throughout West Texas on network stations including: KGNC FM - Amarillo; KEYE FM - Perryton; KKYN FM - Plainview; KCTX FM - Childress; KLSR FM - Memphis; KJDL FM - Lubbock; KJDL AM - Lubbock; and KBST FM - Big Spring. The Internet stream can be found at www.kgncam.com.

Texas Tech Football starts Sunday, Sept. 5 at 2:30 PM when the Red Raiders, under new coach Tommy Tuberville, hosts the SMU Mustangs. I'm ready to see what the new coaching staff brings to the table, I know what the returning players can do, but now it's time to see how everything comes together! The big question is who will win the starting QB job: Steven Sheffield or Taylor Potts? It is nice having this problem and I believe it will just make the team better. WRECK 'EM TECH!!!!!

My closing thought for the day: "Life is not about countless days, it's about countless blessings. We are truly blessed!" Written in 2010 by Dimple Singh --- India

The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. -- 1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)

Okay, I'm not very consistent

So my daily postings haven't even been weekly postings lately but let's see if I can revive this at least for a couple of weeks until vacation. This week has been one of those weeks. We woke up Monday morning to a flooded sun porch. After going to school and making sure all the servers came back up because of a power outage Sunday night during the electrical storm and 4.25" of rain, I spent 2.5 hours vacuuming up water and barely made a dent in the wetness of the carpet. After working for a few hours, I came back and continued the process. Tuesday I got to work where a clogged drain line on the rooftop A/C was causing it to leak into my office/server room. The A/C company worked on it and it appeared to be solved BUT Wednesday morning I walked in and several ceiling tiles had fell in due to the drain not being completely cleaned out!! What a mess! I really hope it's not leaking Thursday morning.

The most exciting news from the last couple of weeks is that my youngest daughter has been offered and accepted a job with Rule ISD as the Family and Consumer Science teacher and Technology Coordinator. She's excited and ready to get going. We're going to look for a rental housing on Monday and she plans to move down after the first of August.

Twelve days till our Ruidoso vacation with the whole family. My son, who lives in the DFW area figured out it was better to fly into Roswell on a 'puddle jumper' plane than drive for over 10 hours. I hope the weather is good so we can enjoy just sitting around outside. At least, it should be cooler than West Texas.

I got to play and learn about the iPad a couple of weeks ago. I wouldn't mind having one but with Cisco introducing the Cius and HP/Microsoft collaborating on a pad device, I may wait for the second generation and the price to come down.

My closing thought for the day: " We are all unique in God's eyes... Don't let anyone change who you are." -- Unknown.

The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name. — Zechariah 14:9 (NIV)

What a week!!!

Ok, I know it's been a week since I posted but what a week it was. After getting home from San Angelo last Sunday, my wife and I did laundry and began packing for our trip to College Station and 4-H State Roundup. The trip to CS was uneventful except for a back road or two that the GPS took us on. That did make the trip a little more exciting. Of course, the best part of the trip down was lunch at Underwood's in Brownwood! Barbeque steak, orange potato salad and cobbler, it doesn't get any better!!

Wednesday morning we were awaken to the sound of thunder and pouring rain. Our luncheon was scheduled for 11:30 but we had to stop at Roundup Headquarters before going to the conference center at the George Bush Library. It was still pouring rain and by the end of the day, College Station had received close to 7" of rain. At the luncheon, state council members announced the awards that were presented by staff and faculty of the extension service. We were the fourth ones to receive our award and to our total surprise, our son Rusty, walked up on stage to announce our award. He had taken the initiative to go get permission to present our award. He had served on state council when he was on 4-H so he was able to persuade the ones in charge to allow him to surprise us. After our luncheon, we took Rusty to lunch then went to change clothes and go to an award announcement for some of the share the fun acts. Our county had three members participating in two different categories. One of our young ladies won the vocal category. After this, we went back to the hotel to change, then Donna's boss took us to supper at Ninfa's then we went to the general assembly where we were to be announced on stage. Thursday morning, I went to an educational presentation competition where another one of our 4-H'ers was competing. She placed first in her category and of course was very excited. I went back to the hotel, picked up Donna and headed home. As we pulled into Lockney, a thunderstorm was occurring and at that moment, the lights went out all over town. I had to stumble in the house, find a flashlight, find a candle and a lighter so we could see. The power outage lasted about an hour and a half so when the lights came on, I had to go to school to restart all the servers especially since I was leaving Friday morning to take my mom to the Putman family reunion.

Friday morning my mom and I took her dog to Plainview to board, then we headed to Petersburg to pay my daughter and son-in-law's rent deposit and look at the house they rented. We then took the keys to Donna in Floydada and finally hit the road to Mineral Wells. After taking one of her cousins to supper, I went back to the hotel to rest while they went to visit. Saturday morning we got our drinks and veggie trays and headed out to Cool, TX to gather with more of the Putman descendants. About 60 Putman kinfolks showed up for lunch and visiting. We headed home about 2 PM and got back to Lockney about 6:30 PM. From Saturday to Saturday, I traveled nearly 2200 miles and spent four nights in hotels. I'm glad I'll be home for a while, at least until we head to Ruidoso in July!

During all of the traveling, I've been trying to keep up with the crazy happenings in college football. What looked like it was going to be a fruit basket turnover, turned into a very mild rearrangement including Nebraska to the Big 10, Colorado to the PAC 10 and Boise State to the Mountain West. The Big 12 will remain minus NU and CU but rumors have it that they'll invite BYU and Air Force and that the PAC 10 will invite Utah. If those three move, the MWC will go from looking like it's going to get the automatic qualification to a BCS bowl with the addition of Boise State to not amounting to much of a conference. Boise State may end up getting the worst end of the shuffle of 2010.

My closing thought for the day: "A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." -- Unknown

Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. -- Philippians 3:20 (NIV)

Summer weather made itself known this weekend!!

The weekend in San Angelo went well but man it was HOT!!! At the lake late Saturday afternoon my car thermometer read 109!!! Everyone enjoyed sitting in the shade waiting for the shrimp boil. I did put away my share of shrimp. I didn't count them but it was at least 70. It was nice to go back to the hotel instead of staying in the campers because the campers' a/c was having a hard time keeping them cool. We took the grand daughters to our hotel room so my oldest daughter could get some rest. She had foot surgery on Friday but insisted on going to the shrimp boil.

It was nice to get home Sunday but now we are packing to go to College Station in the morning. My wife and I are receiving an award for leadership at State 4-H Roundup. It's a very nice honor for our roles as leaders the past 13 years.

It's official, my oldest daughter and son-in-law are taking jobs in Petersburg, just 25 miles from us. That means the grand daughters are close to us now!! My daughter will be teaching fourth grade which is out of her comfort zone since she has been teaching second grade for three years but she'll do fine.

Later this week we should all know what's going to happen in college football as far as how the conference alignments will be. Does the Big 12 stay together? Does half the Big 12 join the Pac-10 and the other half join the Mountain West? Do Nebraska and Missouri get invited to join the Big 10? There are lots of "experts" talking and writing about it, but who knows what is actually going to happen. I guess we will all wait and see!!

My closing thoughts for the night: Take care of your pennies and your dollars will take care of themselves. Scottish Proverb 

My mouth is filled with Your praise And with Your glory all day long. -- Psalms 71:8 (NASB)

Big 16? Big West 16?

If the rumors come true about Texas Tech, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Colorado joining the PAC-10, what will they call it? What will this do to the rest of the football world? Things may get interesting if schools start jumping from one conference to another. I do believe that there will be changes coming in the next couple of years because the TV money will be too enticing for the power conferences. I would really like to see the Big 12 remain intact and add 4 schools such as Boise State, Utah for the north and TCU, Houston for the south. Or how about OU & OSU go north (the old Big 8) and the south add Houston, Rice, TCU and UTEP.

And then there was one, only Betty White remains from the Golden Girls cast. Rue McClanahan passed away today. GG was a funny show to every age group. I've heard the BW is devastated over the death of her friend. I pray she can find some comfort during this time of sorrow.

The weekend is upon us and it's suppose to get HOT around here. Some forecasters are calling for temperatures around 106 degrees on Saturday and Sunday. I don't think there will be any place that will be very cool. If you're outside remember to keep hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids such as water and sports drinks. Stay cool this weekend!

My closing thought for the night: "To be brave you must see the danger and feel the fear; only then will you know what must be done to be brave."

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. -- I Chronicles 29:11 (NIV)

Quiet night at home...

I took the grand daughters to Lubbock to reunite with their mom and dad after four days with Doakie and Gramps. The house is sure quiet tonight and I'm not going to have to battle anyone to get them to go to sleep. I am looking forward to the weekend when we'll meet up with them in San Angelo at my father-in-law's shrimp boil. The three-year-old grand daughter likes shrimp nearly as much as my daughter and myself.

I'm not much of a major league baseball fan but baseball really made some news tonight. First, the first base umpire in the Detroit/Cleveland totally blew the call on what should have been the THIRD PERFECT GAME of the year. Give the ump credit for admitting his mistake after the game but that was too late for Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga. Bud Selig needs to make it right and overturn the call!! The second big thing was the announcement of the retirement of Ken Griffey, Jr after 22 years, 630 home runs and numerous outstanding catches in center field. Junior was one of the class acts in MLB even in a time when others were "cheating" with steroids and human growth hormones.

BP still can't get the oil well plugged down in the Gulf. Maybe it's time they admit that they are incapable of solving this major problem and ask for help for any and everyone that's willing to help. Can you believe that Obama is trying to distance himself from this mess?

My closing thought for the night: "You might not be able to solve the World's Problem but when you help even one person, you become part of the Solution."

Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. -- Hebrews 9:28 (NIV)

I missed a couple of nights!!

Keeping up with the two grand daughters and stormy weather has prevented me from posting the last couple of nights. I'll be taking them to meet their parents tomorrow in Lubbock. Doakie and Gramps have enjoyed having them the last several nights and days. They do keep you busy, especially the 16 month old!!!

Besides the grand daughters, we've had their Schnauzer. He's a very good dog but I found out last night that he's afraid of thunderstorms! REALLY!!  I was rocking the baby during the storm last night when I heard this loud panting and noticed my chair shaking. I discovered that Hanz was squeezed between my chair and the end table and he was shaking like he had just come out of a cold bath as well as nearly hyperventilating. When I could get him in my lap and started petting him, he calmed down. He started the same thing tonight when it started storming. I really feel sorry for the poor dog.

I'm looking forward to the weekend. We're going to San Angelo for my father-in-law's annual shrimp boil with his traveling club. We "have to" go help!! If you've never had shrimp boil, you are missing out. Shrimp, sausage, potatoes, corn all boiled together in huge pots! The shrimp is my main focus. I can easily eat 75 to 100 shrimp at one of these shrimp boils. Red Lobster hates to see me coming when they do their all-you-can-eat shrimpfest in September or October but I really look forward to it about as much as I enjoy the shrimp boil.

I guess Al Gore is suffering from his own "climate change" at home since he and Tipper have announced their separation after 40 years. I am not a democrat but I do feel sorry for people that have had a lengthy marriage and it fails. (Actually I feel sorry for anyone whose marriage breaks up, unless it's because of an abusive spouse.) God said marriage is forever and it takes a team effort to make it succeed. I've had some good examples in my life, my parents were married nearly 62 years and my in-laws nearly 49 years when death separated them. If you are having marriage issues you need to do two things: 1) get in touch with God and 2) get in touch with your spouse!!

My closing thought for the day: "To be one's self, and unafraid whether right or wrong, is more admirable than the easy cowardice of surrender to conformity." -- Irving Wallace

The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.-- Proverbs 16:9 (NASB)

It's Saturday night ...

The grand daughters are in hand for the next four days!! Spent a wonderful evening at the park in Plainview celebrating the great niece's 2nd birthday. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, cake and ice cream, just couldn't get any better. Watched all the little ones (there are 6 from 3 years 10 months to 16 months) run around and play all over the park. Some of the adults played horseshoes and bocce ball. The youngest grand daughter fell asleep on the way home and stayed asleep while the oldest has had her bath and is in bed watching Shrek 2. It's going to be a fun but tiring next few days.

Well it looks like British Petroleum has failed to stop the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico with the "top kill" procedure. I'm all for finding and producing our own oil so that we don't have to rely on foreign oil, but this disaster is really a setback for off-shore drilling. I hope someone somewhere comes up with a workable solution real soon!

My wife may get tired of what's on TV this weekend, a marathon of Deadliest Catch!! I've seen many of the episodes, but they're still fun to watch. I guess I missed that Captain Phil Harris had passed away in February of this year. I sure his family will miss him deeply, you could tell he had lots of love for his sons. DC will be a little different in the coming years with him not at the helm of the Cornelia Marie.

My closing thought for the day: Every individual has a place to fill in the world, and is important in some respect, whether he chooses to be so or not. -Nathaniel Hawthorne

From everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness. -- Psalms 103:17-18 (NIV)

A long weekend!!

It's the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend. Let's remember those that gave all to defend the greatest nation in the world!! Without their ultimate sacrifice, we would not be able to do the things we do today including expressing our own opinions on our own blogs!!

Grand daughter alert!!! We are going to be fortunate enough to keep our two beautiful grand daughters (age 3 & 1) for 4 nights!! Their dad is driving a busload of choir kids to San Marcos and mom is going along for the ride so gramps and doakie get babysitting duties. That's just fine with me even though I'll have to take a day off that I wasn't planning but summer is a little more relaxed so an extra day off is no big deal.

Two entertainment icons passed away this week. Both made us smile and laugh, one lived a full life including a marriage of 75 years, the other had some issues during his adult live but he was trying to get things right. Art Linkletter was a early TV icon. I can remember watching House Party when I was growing up. I remember enjoying the segments with the kids (even though I was a kid) because, as Mr. Linkletter said, "Kids say the darndest things!" Gary Coleman, "What'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis?", was a wonderful child actor but he had lots of trouble when he got to adulthood. They both made their marks on the world and provided us with lots of entertainment over the years.

My closing thought for the day: Remember those that gave all, starting during the Revolutionary War until the conflict today in Iraq and Afghanistan. The price they paid is so we can enjoy the freedoms we have. God Bless Them and their families.

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. -- Romans 12:15 (NIV)

Another school year is in the books!

Today ended another school year at Lockney ISD. Tomorrow night, the class of 2010 graduates and then beginning Tuesday, the summer routines begin. This summer should be different because construction will start on the high school building to replace the one that was burned in January 2009. If everything goes according to schedule, we should be getting ready to occupy the new building around this time next year.

I'm not one to voice my opinion on politics very often but I have to agree with veteran Colorado journalist Chuck Green in that it's time the Obama administration started taking responsibility for their failures (and successes) and stop blaming the previous Bush administration. (You can read Green's column at this link -- http://www.aurorasentinel.com/articles/2010/02/07/opinion/columnists/doc4b6af63781c92027520167.txt)

Now don't misunderstand me, I respect the OFFICE of President of the United States but I don't always respect the holder of the office. Mr. Obama and his cronies in Congress have done nothing but drive this country further into debt and guided this country away from what the founding fathers envisioned. His lack of a quick and effective response regarding the oil spill in the Gulf is as bad as what happened with the previous administration and their issues following the hurricanes that hit Louisiana.

Okay, enough on politics! I thought this would be one of my slower summers in several years but the education region that my school district is a part of is starting a wide-area, licensed radio frequency network and there is going to be lots of planning and preparing for the installation to begin. Also, TEA (Texas Education Agency) is beginning a new project that every teacher and administrator will be a part of will include online professional development and collaboration which means the IT directors around the state are responsible for uploading the district's personnel to the service. I'm also attending a workshop or two including one on the iPad. Now my district is a 100% Windows but I'm curious about the iPad although since ATT Wireless doesn't provide 3G service (or any service) in our area, my getting one or even considering implementing them into the school has basically a zero percent chance. I'm also awaiting change approvals from the E-Rate people in order to start an update to our network infrastructure. Overall, I guess it'll be a fairly active summer. I do plan to get a couple of weeks of vacation in this year since last year I barely got one week in due to issues after the high school fire and deploying 70+ new computers throughout the district. Who knows what other projects I'll get involved in this summer.

My closing thought for the day: "When the solution is simple, God is answering." -- Albert Einstein

I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given to me -- the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace. -- Acts 20:24 (NIV)

Three in a row!!!

Never on any of the other blogs that I've tried have I posted this many times in a row. Maybe it's because I have no specific direction at this time with this blog, as the title says -- Some Thoughts from West Texas!

Just found out a little while ago that my oldest daughter, her husband and the two beautiful grand daughters will be moving to a neighboring town (just 25 miles away instead of 100) to teach and coach!! I know they are excited because where they have been is undergoing some major changes. I really hope it's a good, solid move for them. Now if my youngest daughter can find her first teaching job!

American Idol is over for another year. Lee Dewyze is the winner and again, the American Idol public voted for a conservative, clean-cut image contestant. Do you think America is trying to tell us something? Washington better listen up!!

I really enjoy this time of year, school is nearly out and even though I work 12 months at my school, the summer is a lot more relaxing; and I really enjoy the spring time weather. I'm a computer storm chaser because I have a full time job and it cost less to follow the storms on the computer than traveling around in the car (plus I don't have to worry about storm damage to the car!!). Occasionally if the storms are near my town, I'll go out and chase for a few miles.

My closing thought for the day: "What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens." -- Thaddeus Golas

God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. -- John 3: 17 (NIV)

The last Tuesday of the school year ...

Another school year is coming to a close. Another class of young people have completed their public education and will be heading out into the world. My hope is that they will reach the goals they desire, will find a way to make a difference and they will not forget those that help them to succeed ... their parents and teachers.

As an educator for the past 20+ years, I realize that our education system is not perfect. There are things that I don't like but I feel that we do our best to provide a quality education for EVERY child! I hope every educator has a restful summer and be ready to face the challenges of another year in August.

Dancing with the Stars ended tonight with Derek and Nicole winning. I thought the top 3 was correct and that any of the 3 could have been the winner. Definitely one of their best seasons since the show started.

American Idol concludes tomorrow night and personally I hope Lee wins. I think I will miss having Simon judging next year. I wonder, can they find someone as brutally honest as Simon?

I'm looking forward to watching Howie Mandel on America's Got Talent. It's also fun to watch some of the more interesting acts that show up on this show.

My closing thought for the day: "The difficulty in life is not on how we struggle to survive the next day; it's on how we live today."

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. -- James 1:19 (NIV)

It's a beginning thought ...

Greetings from West Texas where the land is flat, cotton is king and football rules the weekends.

Why am I doing this blog? I'm not really sure but sometimes I have thoughts that I want to share and then, sometimes it's thoughts that no one wants to hear. You may not agree with anything I have to say but it's my opinion and my blog.

It's only 95 days until high school football starts and only 103 days until Texas Tech football starts. I enjoy my sports but I look forward to high school and college football more than anything! This year Tech football will be different for a couple of reasons: 1) my youngest daughter will no longer be marching in the Goin' Band from Raiderland, she'll be setting with the rest of the family as a new graduate of Texas Tech (and hopefully she'll be teaching!!); and 2) a new era in coaching with Tommy Tuberville and his staff.

I was as upset as anyone else when Mike Leach was dismissed but after awhile, I realized that I cheer for Texas Tech not a specific coach. I've been cheering for Tech football since the days of Coach J. T. King with Donny Anderson and Tom Wilson leading the team and will still be a fan for a longtime, no matter who is coaching. WRECK 'EM TECH!!!!

Well, that's a start for my blog. If you found me, I hope you will return to see what I'm rambling about tomorrow.

My closing thought for today: I would rather be Biblically correct than politically correct.

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. -- Romans 12:10 (NIV)