News from Tualatin
News from Tualatin
Morgan and Aaron took us to Fry's last night. For those of you who don't have a Fry's franchise nearby, it is a nerd's super-store. Nerdvana, kinda. I loved it.
Fry's is a big-box store filled to the gills with electronics and related things. By related, I mean salty and sugary snax, magazines featuring computers, cars, or scantily-clad (!) women, and high-fructose, high-caffeine beverages - everything one might need to get through an all-nighter trying to code that last bit of a program, ascend to the next level of the dungeon, or learn everything for that final that you were supposed to be learning all semester.
Now, I hate to "profile," but I'm thinking this is a "guy" kinda place. I know this, because after we were there only half an hour, Morgan and Karen got that glazed-over look that I usually get when we are browsing through the shoe department at Mervins.
How they could react like that, I don't know. There were acres of bare motherboards, memory Sipps, DVD +RW -RW drives, bluetooth earbuds, and on and on. I mean, I was swooning. Games for every platform! Legacy accessories! Manuals! Knives! (well, that one seemed a little weird.) How could they not be entranced - almost everything there had to be plugged in or took batteries!
Or was a plug or a battery itself! Whoo-hah!
The ladies dragged us out after some indeterminate length of time (my memory is kinda hazy here), and the fresh air restored us to our more normal selves. But not until we had each spent ... uh ... some money. On stuff we really needed, though!
Who can understand women?
Real, True, Actual Headlines
... and the comments that try to be amusing!
NYTimes.com
Age-old cures, like the maggot, get U.S. hearing
1) Once the maggot gets hearing, I wonder what kind of music they will prefer?
2) Okay, but if they mean old-age cures, count me out!
Connecticut investigates hedge fund for solvency
They're trying to dissolve things in bushes?
A doll that can recognize voices, identify objects, and show emotion.
Bernadette Peters?
MSNBC.com
Iraq cleric: "Stop fighting"
Sheesh, why didn't we think of that?!?
Oil prices hit new record high
New record high?
Hawaii sets caps on wholesale gas prices
Jaunty little tams.
BBC.co.uk
US people getting fatter, fast
Well, as long as we can outrun 'em ...
Europe aims lone rover for Mars
Tiny dog whimpers on radio after blast-off.
RTAH Tuesday
Real, True, Actual Headlines
... and comments alez vou.
MSNBC.com
Stem cell hybrids reveal new path to therapies
Stem cells using half gasoline and half electricity find their own way to the hospital.
BBC.co.uk
Army storms West Bank settlements
Army storms? Now, that's lousy weather!
China textile bottleneck tightens
... and leakes like crazy.
Floods sweep across Switzerland
Wow! France, Italy, Holland, and most of Germany must be totally drowned!
Afghan heroin hang-glider downed
Completely misunderstood the concept of "getting high."
Targeted guinea pig farm closes
Little critters with concentric circles in their fur sold off as pets.
Pitt and Aniston divorce approved
Yeah, it's okay by me, so long as it stops future articles on this subject!
African fish industry 'in crisis'
Swimming in debt?
South African left forms new body
... and take the lead in stem-cell research.
Prison murders plunge in US jails
Plumbers' helpers to be witheld from prisoners in the future.
Japan markets hit four-year high
Act now to purchase your own trendy Japanese High School!
Women join Australia combat units
... using, super-glue, staples, and whip-stitching.
Dutch to shield poultry from flu
Their ducks, especially, get depressed by winter health reports.
Chimpanzee culture confirmed
Fuzzy substance in neglected petri dish grows into primates if left alone long enough.
NYTimes.com
Vioxx verdict raises profile of Texas lawyer
He had a little nose and chin work done with his fee.
News from Tualatin
News from Tualatin
One of the many beautiful attractions in the Portland area is "The Grotto."
The Grotto is the home of the Servite Monastery (Friars of the Order of the Servants of Mary), as well as an actual grotto carved into the solid volcanic rock and dedicated, of course, to the Virgin Mary. The 60+ acre site is a densely-wooded island of tranquility surrounded by the hub and bub of busy Portland streets. The site is also close to the Columbia River and to the Portland airport. But because of the density of the growth on the site, there is little indication of the busy-ness of the surrounding city, and a visit there is a quiet retreat.
The actual grotto serves as an outdoor church; there is park bench seating for several hundred facing a basalt cliff face over a hundred feet tall, with a native-stone altar. The grotto is maybe thirty feet in height, recessed about twenty to thirty feet deep into the cliff face. Like everything in the Portland area, the rocks are overgrown with vines, and the setting is surrounded by a forest of trees. The cliff-face is also covered by beautiful mosses. Nearby is a handsome chapel for indoor worship, built of stone quarried on site.
Around the corner from the grotto is an elevator for visitors to ascend to the summit of the cliffs. Besides the monsatery itself on the top of the cliff, there is an extensive garden with a self-guided path, and a gorgeous, very modern chapel which hangs out over the cliff face and overlooks the Columbia River valley.
The entire site is dotted with religious-themed statuary and a few memorials to individuals or groups who have contributed to the maintenance of the monastery.
The gift shop near the parking lot has a lot of the Catholic paraphrenalia I grew up with when I was attending Catholic school as a kid: medals, holy cards, rosaries, votive candles, statuary. Especially available here are tokens for the intercession of St. Peregrine, who is the patron of Cancer patients, and others seriously ill.
If you're ever in the Portland area, I would recommend a visit to the Grotto, whether or not you're especially religious. It's a beautiful spot, and I think, undervisited.
Sunday, we had dinner with Morgan and Aaron at their house. They reported to us about Todd and Julia's wedding and the reception. Morgan noted that she had about reached her limit on her feet by the time it was all done, but they said they had a great time, and all went well - Todd and Julia are well and truly married.
Sunday was another hot day here, but today is cool and overcast; in fact, last night was actually chilly ... a blanket night at last!
After my bout of pneumonia, I'm slowly getting back into exercising a little bit, with the help of the ample oxygen available here. Karen swims for exercise, and we walk around quite a bit. Outside.
Well, that's all for today ... love to all from Oregon!
Mike and Karen
RTAH Sunday
Real, True, Actual Headlines
... and the comments that commence.
MSNBC.com
Militias fill Iraq vacuum
... by making a "clean sweep" of the country.
Northwest mechanics strile, airline keeps flying
"We don't need no stinkin' mechanics!"
BBC.co.uk
Fianl prayers at Gaza settlements
Palestinians promise "not to pray."
Col Gaddafi invites Bush to Libya
Oh, yes, please go!
Madonna vows return to the saddle
Much more than we want to know.
Women 'take back seat' in science
They will not be allowed to graduate until they return the seat in good condition.
