So anyway…

I’m sure the service was very mooving…

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I was going to get Zoë from preschool today and I was suddenly struck by a wave of really noticing where I was. Mind you, I was just driving down a suburban street, nothing fancy. But the Dandenong mountains were visible to my left, there are eucalyptus trees of all varieties all over the place, it’s a pleasant day, and I was just hit with, “Hey! I’m in Australia!”
Sounds kinda weird to many people, I’ll bet, but the fact is, I fell in love with Melbourne specifically and Australia in general years ago, and I’m still in love. Lots of times I don’t think about it much, of course, but every now and then, just like with a person you love and see every day, I noticed my surroundings and that whoosh of infatuation and love hit me all over again.
I do consider myself fortunate to be able to live in “The World’s Most Livable City.” As far as I’m concerned, the old nickname, “Marvellous Melbourne,” is still absolutely applicable.

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Saw this as a tagline and found it amusing:

“Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me the hell alone.”

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The CIA had an opening for an assassin. After all the background check, interviews, and testing were done, there were three finalists- two men and a woman.

For the final test, the CIA agents took one of the men to a large Metal door and handed him a gun “We must know that you will follow your instructions, no matter what the circumstances. Inside this room, you will find your wife sitting in a chair. Kill Her.”

The man said. “You can’t be serious. I could never shoot my wife.”

The agent said. “Then you’re not the right man for this job. Take Your wife and go home.”

The second man was given the same instructions. He took the gun and went into the room. All was quiet for about five minutes. Then the man came out with tears in his eyes. “I tried, but I can’t kill my wife.”

The agent said, “You don’t have what it takes. Take your wife and go home.”

Finally, it was the woman’s turn. She was given the same instructions, to kill her husband. She took the gun and went into the room. Shots were heard, one shot after another. They heard screaming, crashing, banging on the walls. After a few minutes, all was quiet.

The door opened slowly and there stood the woman. She wiped the sweat from her brow. “This gun is loaded with blanks,” she said. “I had to beat him to death with the chair.”

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Might as well be comfortable, eh?

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I found out tonight that the Air Force has closed Griffiss Air Force Base (in Rome, New York). I’m really surprised by this, actually. I mean, I know the military has been closing bases right, left, and center for more than a decade, but I really wouldn’t have expected Griffiss to be one of the ones that got the axe. Sheesh.
Now, apparently, it’s Griffiss Business and Technology Park. Uhm, okay…
I wonder what they’ve done with the chapel. I got married there once, a long, long time ago (I’d show you the pictures, but they’re too embarassing. Let’s just say “powder blue” and “polyester” and leave it at that.)

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This was posted at the board at Cyber Crew:

If you know someone that might be interested in joining The Crew please spread the word and invite them to join.

So, hey, check it out and if you like what you see, join up! I’ve been a member since 1999 or so, and it’s been extremely helpful over the years. Great group.

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I’ve previously written about the haunted building I lived in when we were stationed in Germany. Well, I didn’t write about it here, but it’s on several other sites (here’s a link to the story at a ghost stories site).

Anyway, I was curious and so did a search on Google and I managed to turn up some photographs of the housing area where we lived! It’s been turned over to the German government now, as many of the American military facilities in the area have been closed or very seriously downsized.

It was really kind of weird seeing the pictures. I haven’t seen any photographs of the place in many years (we left Germany in 1977), but I recognized it immediately, despite some changes.

The main site I found the pictures on is about the military downsizing and the refurbishment of the housing areas (several of them) and military bases. There’s a very good picture of the actual building I lived in (link opens in a new window), as well.

In the photograph, the darker tan areas are where the stairwells are, and the one on the right is the stairwell I lived in. On the second floor, just to the left of the stairwell, is the window that was my bedroom. On the far right on the basement level is where the laundry room was; the ghost was in the room to the “rear” of the building, directly across from the laundry room (not visible in the picture, obviously, since it’s on the other side). The ghost was tied to that other room, but would often stand in the laundry room doorway and stare at me (and others, but you’ll have to read the story if you want the details).

The whole site actually has a lot of pictures of places I recognize. It’s an interesting thing to see these after so many years. It’s kind of bittersweet, as I have very mixed emotions and memories of those years (well, anyone who’s at all familiar with my family will know that I have mixed emotions and memories of pretty much my entire childhood), and some extremely disturbing and also positive things happened while I lived in what was then West Germany…

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This George W. Bush press conference, conducted at a New Mexico restaurant, really made my jaw drop. I would honestly have thought it was a joke, but apparently, it’s real…

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President Bush and Democratic front-runner John Kerry are engaged in a high-tech political showdown that combines the targeting power of direct mail with the glossy appearance of a television commercial.
 
The format is a Web video message e-mailed to millions of the Democratic and Republican rank-and-file.
 

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