Lets GO ASTROS!!!!

Send The Reds Home!!!

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Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday that is observed on the last Monday of May (observed this year on 2007-05-28). It was formerly known as Decoration Day. This holiday commemorates U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their country. It began first to honor Union soldiers who died during the American Civil War. After World War I, it expanded to include those who died in any war or military action. One of the longest standing traditions is the running of the Indianapolis 500, which has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911.

To read more visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day

Don't just remember them--thank them.

~Renaissance Man

The flower girl

Isn't she precious?!?!?!

she was so difficult to take a picture of (I think she was playing "hard to get")

But it doesn't matter, the picture came out great!

By the way, I had to hand individually select each and every peddle to sustain its color...I think my finger may fall off due to all that clicking LOL LOUDLY

Off to Dallas for the weekend!

See you all later! The Oakley Family is off to Dallas to play witness in a wedding of a very good friend.

I’ll post pictures of the wedding and what not if you’re interested in keeping in touch while we’re away.

See you next week,

~Rob

Well, as we can all tell, this is just really cute or an accident waiting to happen.
Of course, I’d like everyone to be the judge but let’s just use our imagination for a moment. First the cat, Tago, might just claw Russell’s eyes out; then (just for the hey of it) pounce onto Dante causing him to leap and yelp for help leaving two very upset children. Then again, we all like to have stories end happily so to finish on a good note…that’s rather cliché wouldn’t you agree? Finish on a good note. How about this: so to conclude on a point rather relieving in a wholesome joyous way, none of this really happened…yet.

S.A.T.U.R.D.A.Y

HEY!!! It’s Saturday, and HCYA graduation!!!
Congratulations from me to you Hip, groovy cats…Ok I am no good at this. Well it’s another large step for a large generation; I pray that each and every one of you go far in this world to change the way it is viewed forever!

Financial tip: START SAVING NOW!!!

And PAY YOURSELF FIRST

Food

Shelter

Cloths

Transportation

And

Utilities

And remember, it’s ok to stick around home till your 45...that is… if you’re parents don’t kill you ;) I’m just kidding.


One more thing…CREDIT CARDS WRECK…Havoc!!!

Have an emergency fund of $1000 then build on 3 to 6 months of annual income.

You think credit cards are convenient 50% of 40k is 20k that actually belongs to you, and there’s no late fee! Think you could be debt free by thirty or younger? Avoid high student loans and only have a home mortgage of fifteen years or less and it can be done!!!

WOW!!!

I got all these tips from Dave Ramsey: listen to him at 950 KPRC.com from noon till two.

Also check out his book “Total Money Make Over”

It will change your life!

Change you family tree and leave a legacy that will last for centuries!!!

Don’t be normal…Be weird!!!

Super Madi!!!...I Mean Mysterious Mistress We Do Not Speak Of

By Robert W. Oakley

One particular evening when the sun blazed across the mid day, a horrible heat stroke fell upon the feeble tribe of Oakontonotropolis, whose skin was quite frail. Feeling destined and doomed to melt beneath the Hot, hot sun the tribe felt their fate would meet them soon. Another brutal hour slowly passed by, and the tribe’s stamina running on fumes: could this be the end? No! What’s this? Is it a butterfly, a fairy princess, a beautiful Lady bug? No, it’s Madilyn! . . . I mean … the Mysterious Mistress we do not speak of!

Surely she would devise a plan to save us all; in fact, she new of our distinct troubles before she arrived. “Hurray!” The Tribe of Oakontonotropolis cried
“We are saved!”

“I am Super Madi,” The Mysterious Mistress we do not speak of exclaimed “we should all go swimming” she suggested.

GASP! The Tribe of Oakontonotropolis would never consider swimming for their frail and precious feet might get wet!

“We mustn’t go swimming,” Robbopolis shrieked
“There are sharks in the pool!”

The Mysterious Mistress crossed her arms and smirked, “I’ll take care of THIS!”

“SHE IS SO BRAVE” the Tribe of Oakontonotropolis screeeeamed

She disappeared in a flash then surprisingly returned in a huff, “There are no more sharks; let’s go swimming!”

“But there might be snakes in the grassy plains that surround the pool. Go and make sure,” Ryansurpopolis requested.

SIGH! “Fine! I will go,” the Mysterious Mistress said beneath her breath.

“SHE IS SO BRAVE” the Tribe of Oakontonotropolis screeeeamed!!!!!


Moments went by and the Tribe waited patiently. The Mysterious Mistress returned with snakes across her arms and around her legs. The Tribe was horrified!!!! What was super Madi going to do? When hope was to a minimum, The Mistress spun and used her super powers to rid herself of the horrid snakes. “Hurray!” The Tribe of Oakontonotropolis cried “she is saved!!!”

“Now Let’s GO SWIMMING!!!” The Mysterious Mistress we do not speak of now demanded.

“But what if the water is too cold?” Reeceopopo asked.

“It won’t be TOO COLD!” the Mysterious very objectively stated.

“LET’S GO SWIMMING!” Russelleezious shouted out but then hid himself out of embarrassment.

“Fine, we shall go swimming,” Robbopolis ordered with a booming voice.

“BUT ARE FEET WILL GET WET,” the Tribe of Oakontonotropolis screeeeamed!!!!!

“Are feet may be moist but are tongue will remain dry”, Robbopolis exclaimed

The tribe of Oakontonotropolis looked very confused; however, very convinced.
“WE ARE ALL SAVED!!!”
The Tribe of Oakontonotropolis screeeeamed!!!!!

“Thank you Mysterious Mistress we do not speak of”

THE END

Waffels anyone?

Ever since Mother acquired a Kurds waffle Iron for Mothers day, I’ve been making waffles like crazy. I’m not complaining: I’m just expressing on how wonderful a device such as the waffle iron truly is (especially when you use Bisquick!) Now, I am no simpleton; however, if the easy way still tastes good, so be it. It is as non difficult as one, two, three: mix the batter—1 1/3 cups milk, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, and 2 cups of Bisquick; of course, you might want to try the modified recipe for an ever extreme taste: just add about ½ cup more Bisquick, cinnamon spread over the top, 1 ½ tablespoons of vanilla, and, POW! Quick, easy, non sticky cinnamon waffles!—spread ¼ cups worth of mix over each preheated, vegetable-oiled waffles iron slot, wait about four minutes, and, BAM! Waffles for everyone!!!
It’s weird; I was researching for the word Dory, the fish from “Finding Nemo”, uses when trying to pronounce Wallaby on the back of that Diving mask. Well I found out that back when the Radio was every bodies favorite thing to do, there was a group of Wallas that would make this sound to imitate the murmur of a large crowd; check it out--->


Walla

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about sound effect.

In American radio, film, and television, walla is a sound effect imitating the murmur of a crowd in the background. A group of actors brought together in the post-production stage of film production to create this murmur is known as a walla group. According to one story, walla received its name during the early days of radio, when it was discovered that having several people repeat the sound walla in the background was sufficient to mimic the indistinct chatter of a crowd. Nowadays, walla actors make use of real words and conversations, often improvised, tailored to the languages, speech patterns, and accents that might be expected of the crowd to be mimicked. Walla is called rhubarb in the UK and rhabarber in Germany, perhaps in part reflecting the varying textures of crowd noise in the different countries. Another similar phrase is "carrots and peas."

Maybe this Sunday we could make a walla group?

LOL

Have a nice day

WALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLA
WALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLA
WALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLA
WALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLAWALLA

...

...

...

UM...

...

I don't think it is working...

I'm done...

Good MORNING!!!

Yet another wonderful day in a wonderful world!

Well I always like to learn something new and exiting: I hope most of you never heard of this, but then again most likely you have.

Enjoy!

~Rob

Thursday

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The god Thor, after whom Thursday is named, by Mårten Eskil Winge, 1872


Thursday is either the fourth or fifth day of the week, falling between Wednesday and Friday. In countries that adopt the Sunday-first convention, it is considered the fifth day of the week. However, in ISO 8601 it is the fourth day of the week. In Slavic languages and in Chinese, this day's name is "fourth" (Polish czwartek, Russian четверг, pronounced CHET-vierg). Portuguese, too, uses a number for this day: quinta-feira, "fifth day", (see Days of the week for more on the different conventions).

The contemporary name comes from the Old English Þunresdæg (with loss of -n-, first in northern dialects, from influence of Old Norse Þorsdagr), meaning "Day of Thunor", this being a rough Germanic equivalent to the Latin Iovis Dies, "Jupiter's Day". Most Germanic and Latin speaking countries use their languages' equivalents: German Donnerstag, torsdag in Scandinavia, Italian giovedì, Spanish jueves, French jeudi, and Romanian joi.

In Thailand, the color associated with Thursday is orange, see

Note

In Latin the Genitive or possessive case of Jupiter was Jovis and as such in most Romance languages with the exception of Portugese it became the word for Thursday: Latin Jovis Dies, Spanish Jueves, Italian Giovedi, and Rumanian Jiuvidi.

Astrological sign

The astrological sign of the planet Jupiter represents Thursday with similar names in Latin-derived languages, such as the French Jeudi. In English, this became "Thor's Day", since the Roman god Jupiter was identified with Thor in northern Europe.

Thursday in popular culture

In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy(which is an excellent film [if you like to poke fun at evolution]) by Douglas Adams, the character Arthur Dent says "This must be Thursday. I could never get the hang of Thursdays". A few minutes later the planet Earth is destroyed. Thor, for whom the day was named, also appears later in the Hitchhiker's series and in other Adams books.

Thursday is sometimes referred to as "Friday Eve" in anticipation for the end of the work week on Friday.

Named days

Black Thursday refers to October 24, 1929 when stock prices on the New York Stock Exchange fell sharply, with record volume of nearly 13 million shares. Five days later, the market crashed on volume of over 16 million shares – a level not to be surpassed for 39 years. In popular imagery, the crash has come to mark the beginning of the Great Depression.
____________________________________________________________________________________

Well, I hope everyone learned at least a little something admirable and superfluous

Have a good THOR'sday :)

Crazy Story

One Million, Five Hundred and Two Thousand, Six Hundred Seventy Seven

(It’s Probably True)

By Robert W. Oakley

Ever since I acquired a `94 Dodge Dakota from my Grandfather (which was an incredible blessing) and my official license to drive, I’ve been cruising all over the place, but why is it every time I need to go out and do something the thing won’t start? “Dead? Again!” I exclaimed (quite loudly) “why must you torment me so? I have dry cleaning to pick up!” Rrrrrrrr. . . Then a CLICK, CLICK, and CLICK, (say this a thousand times, ten times fast and you’ll know what I mean) this is the sound it continuously made. Now, I understand this happens a lot and to everyone, but when it happens to me, nothing will stop the raging passion for fixing something from achieving his goal (especially a dead battery).

I went to the garage to fetch the charger, hooked up the power, and switched it to start; 30 amps later . . . three seconds to the ignition . . . 3, 2, 1, and . . . NOTHING! That same CLIKING noise sounded off, and that same pain across my forehead appeared as I banged it across the steering wheel once more. I tried it again, and again, and again, but nothing. Depressed, I was in the depts. Of despair, I took the key out of the ignition, opened the door and headed inside to ask my father for advice. The battery wont charge: so what will I do? Fortunately, my dad still had that `97 Ford Mustang he’s been trying to sell; he told me that I could take the battery out of it until we could afford to buy a new one. Praise God! There is still a chance for success!

I rushed down the stairs, then back up (I forgot my tools), down the stairs again, and out the door. Quickly I examined both the truck and the Mustang; I thought this was going to be as easy as pie—pie. . . . Now there is a concept. Wouldn’t you agree that cake baking is easier then pie? All right then, easy as cake—this was no walk in the park. Of course, many a man struggles with repairing a vehicle and for that matter, everyone has issues, but why do these things happen precisely when you’d least expect it? Perhaps I’ll never know; then again, the trying of my faith worketh patience; thus, I do have something to gain. Time to get busy, and, if I fail to avoid, GREASY! Well, I guess one could easily say that if you’re hands aren’t dirty to many a respect then it wasn’t work.

After several minutes of twisting and turning (left loosey) I finally detached the batteries of their original places. No need for the truck battery, I’ll toss that aside; now to hook up the new one. Well everything fits, what’s that? The bolts don’t quite fit, well I’ll adjust that finely; I’ll just take my pliers and, SNAP! NOOOOOOO! Impossible! WHY! O, why must you torment me? The screw which tightened the bolt (which was quite rusty) snapped into two embarrassing pieces. I thought I’d might cry with depression or shout with frustration! Slow to wrath, be slow to wrath Robby. Okay, this is nothing to get upset about; maybe you could find a replacement screw and nut from the Mustang? No, nothing there, well, I’m bound to find something in the garage.

Painstaking and partially blinded by the sweat on my brow, I searched for my salvation when there it was: the perfect specimen. Upon an old, green, rusted bike I found a screw which played a major role in supporting the bell that once rang but rings no more. “Perhaps I could size it down with wire cutters,” I said aloud then thought to myself what a folly that would be, but what else can I do? Squeeze, pull, and bend, SNAP! After maybe 10 minutes of strenuous squeezing the thing finally broke. Hurray! Now I need to find some nuts. Okay, I didn’t have the greatest luck of finding exactly what I had intended but in conclusion, it worked! And that is all that matters. The sum of small nut, a wing nut, and one modified screw equals one tightened down bolt and one happy trucker.

I suppose the lesson for today is: never give up, never, never, never! Although many of us will go through many divers temptations, to loose faith, to loose integrity, to give up, would be folly. Surly I say unto to you that the trying of you faith worketh patience. Now the truck works like a charm (it’s that gas that kills). For the longest time the radio failed to entertain simply because it wouldn’t turn on; now, it works every time and I can listen to the tunes without interruption. It’s exiting to find your way through, and although that light at the end of the tunnel is compelling, we still have to watch out for those trains; even when we get smashed, we still have to keep on trekking.

THE END

Thomas Edison

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Thomas Alva Edison

"Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration." - Thomas Alva

Edison, Harper's Monthly (September 1931)
Born: February 11, 1847(1847-02-11)
Milan, Ohio
Died: October 18, 1931 (aged 84)
West Orange, New Jersey
Occupation: Inventor, entrepreneur
Spouse: Mary Edison, Mina Edison

Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman who developed many devices which greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph and a long lasting light bulb. Dubbed "The Wizard of Menlo Park" by a newspaper reporter, he was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production to the process of invention, and therefore is often credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory.

Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors in history, holding 1,093 U.S. patents in his name, as well as many patents in the United Kingdom, France and Germany.

Media inventions

The key to Edison's fortunes was telegraphy. With knowledge gained from years of working as a telegraph operator, he learned the basics of electricity. This allowed him to make his early fortune with the stock ticker, the first electricity-based broadcast system. Edison patented the sound recording and reproducing phonograph (or gramophone in British English) in 1878. Edison was also granted a patent for the motion picture camera or "Kinetograph". He did the electromechanical design, while his employee W.K.L. Dickson, a photographer, worked on the photographic and optical development. Much of the credit for the invention belongs to Dickson. [21] In 1891, Thomas Edison built a Kinetoscope, or peep-hole viewer. This device was installed in penny arcades, where people could watch short, simple films. The kinetograph and kinetoscope were both first publicly exhibited May 20, 1891. [21]

On August 9, 1892, Edison received a patent for a two-way telegraph. In April 1896, Thomas Armat's Vitascope, manufactured by the Edison factory and marketed in Edison's name, was used to project motion pictures in public screenings in New York City. Later he exhibited motion pictures with voice soundtrack on cylinder recordings, mechanically synchronized with the film.

Officially the kinetoscope entered in Europe when the rich American Businessman Irving T. Bush (1869-1948) bought from the Continental Commerce Company of Franck Z. Maguire and Joseph D. Bachus a dozen machines. Bush placed from October 17, 1894 on the first kinetoscopes in London. At the same time the French company Kinétoscope Edison Michel et Alexis Werner bought these machines for the market in France. In the last three months of 1894 The Continental Commerce Company sold hundreds of kinetoscopes in Europe (i.e. the Netherlands and Italy). In Germany and in Austria-Hungary the kinetoscope was introduced by the Deutsche-österreichische-Edison-Kinetoscop Gesellschaft, founded by the Ludwig Stollwerck [22] of the Schokoladen-Süsswarenfabrik Stollwerck & Co of Cologne. The first kinetoscopes arrived in Belgium at the Fairs in early 1895. The Edison's Kinétoscope Français, a Belgian company, was founded in Brussels on January 15, 1895 with the rights to sell the kinetoscopes in Monaco, France and the French colonies. The main investors in this company were Belgian industrialists. On May 14, 1895 the Edison's Kinétoscope Belge was founded in Brussels. The businessman Ladislas-Victor Lewitzki, living in London but active in Belgium and France, took the initiative in starting this business. He had contacts with Leon Gaumont and the American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. In 1898 he also became shareholder of the Biograph and Mutoscope Company for France. [23]

In 1908, Edison started the Motion Picture Patents Company, which was a conglomerate of nine major film studios (commonly known as the Edison Trust). Thomas Edison was the first honorary fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, which was founded in 1929.

Leonardo da Vinci

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Self-portrait in red chalk, circa 1512 to 1515.[1]
Birth name Leonardo di Ser Piero
Born April 15, 1452

Flag of Italy Anchiano, Florence, Italy
Died May 2, 1519
Amboise, Indre-et-Loire, France
Nationality Italian
Field Many and diverse fields of arts and sciences
Movement High Renaissance
Famous works Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, The Vitruvian Man
The Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (pronounciation (help·info), April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian polymath: scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, musician, and writer.

He was born and raised near Vinci, Italy, the illegitimate son of a notary, Messer Piero, and a peasant woman, Caterina. He had no surname in the modern sense, "da Vinci" simply meaning "of Vinci". His full birth name was "Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci", meaning "Leonardo, son of (Mes)ser Piero from Vinci."

Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the "Renaissance man", a man whose seemingly infinite curiosity was equalled only by his powers of invention. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived.[2]

It is primarily as a painter that Leonardo was and is renowned. Two of his works, the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper occupy unique positions as the most famous, the most illustrated and most imitated portrait and religious painting of all time. Their fame is approached only by Michelangelo's Creation of Adam. Leonardo's drawing of the Vitruvian Man is also iconic.

As an engineer, Leonardo conceived ideas vastly ahead of his own time, conceptually inventing a helicopter, a tank, the use of concentrated solar power, a calculator, a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics, the double hull, and many others. Relatively few of his designs were constructed or were feasible during his lifetime.[3] Some of his smaller inventions such as an automated bobbin winder and a machine for testing the tensile strength of wire entered the world of manufacturing unheralded.

He greatly advanced the state of knowledge in the fields of anatomy, civil engineering, optics, and the study of water. Of his works, perhaps 15 paintings survive,[4] together with his notebooks, which contain drawings, scientific diagrams, and notes.

Thomas Jefferson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Thomas Jefferson
3rd President of the United States
In office
March 4, 1801 – March 4, 1809
Vice President(s) Aaron Burr (1801–1805),
George Clinton (1805–1809)
Preceded by John Adams
Succeeded by James Madison
2nd Vice President of the United States
In office
March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801
President John Adams
Preceded by John Adams
Succeeded by Aaron Burr
1st United States Secretary of State
In office
September 26, 1789 – December 31, 1793
President George Washington
Preceded by None
Succeeded by Edmund Randolph
Born April 13, 1743
Shadwell, Virginia
Died July 4, 1826 (aged 83)
Charlottesville, Virginia
Nationality American
Political party Democratic-Republican, Whig
Spouse Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson
Occupation Lawyer, Farmer (Planter)
Religion Deist
Signature Thomas Jefferson's signature

Thomas Jefferson (13 April 1743 N.S.–4 July 1826) was the third President of the United States (1801–09), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of Republicanism in the United States. Major events during his presidency include the Louisiana Purchase (1803) and the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806).

As a political philosopher, Jefferson was a man of the Enlightenment and knew many intellectual leaders in Britain and France. He idealized the independent yeoman farmer as exemplar of the republican virtue, distrusted cities and financiers, and favored states' rights and a strictly limited federal government. Jefferson supported the separation of church and state and was the author of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1779, 1786). He was the eponym of Jeffersonian democracy and the founder and leader of the Democratic-Republican Party, which dominated American politics for a quarter-century. Jefferson served as the wartime Governor of Virginia (1779–1781), first United States Secretary of State (1789–1793) and second Vice President (1797–1801).

A polymath, Jefferson achieved distinction as an horticulturist, architect, archaeologist, paleontologist, author, inventor, and the founder of the University of Virginia, among other roles. President John F. Kennedy welcomed forty-nine Nobel Prize winners to the White House in 1962, saying, "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent and of human knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the White House—with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."[1]

Renaissance man

Renaissance man
n.

A man who has broad intellectual interests and is accomplished in areas of both the arts and the sciences.

A modern scholar who is in a position to acquire more than superficial knowledge about many different interests.

~Leonardo De Vinci~

~Thomas Jefferson~

~Thomas Edison~

. . .

And maybe one day. . . .

~Robert W. Oakley~

Oak Tree Productions