Chickamauga Lock project

I plan to start documenting the changes being made to the Chickamauga lock. I pass by the lock ever day on my way to and from work, and I have been surprised by some of the work they are doing. On of the biggest changes is that they are totally rerouting traffic through part of the North Chickamauga Creek Green Way. If you click on the drawing you can see in blue where the existing road is and in red were the new road will be.

On the way to work this morning I stopped to take a few pictures. The two pictures on the right show the section of the of the North Chickamauga Creek Green Way that is being turned into the new road.

Here is a link to some background info on the project. It is projected to cost tax payers somewhere around 309 million dollars by the time it is complete. I would be willing to wager that it will be half a billion by the time it is done. Though, from this article it looks like there is some concern about funding after Katrina. Here is the link for that info.

I've also gathered some useful links if anyone is interested in more detail.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Check out their photo gallery)
TVA
Office of Senator Bill Frist

Elliot's first tooth

Dang is he growing fast. Elliot got his first tooth about a week ago and I am just now getting around to documenting it. Boy does the kid like to smile. He got that and the blue eyes from his mother.

For some reason I was just reminded of the time when I was at Food Lion buying some groceries. I guess it was about eight months ago when John David had just turned two. I was at the checkout with John David on my shoulders and there was an old lady behind us in line. John David and the lady were giving each other the eyes and smiling back and forth to each other while I was trying to get my wallet out of my pocket. I guess the flirting went back and forth between the two for a minute or so while I was taking care of business. After I had finished paying she started to make small talk with me. She asked me what his name was and then she busts out with:
"Boy oh boy he sure does look like you, but don't worry he will grow out of it."

The old lady had a quick wit about her and all of us, including the checkout lady, started laughing.

A joke for you:

I normally head here every day or so just to get my ire up. It is amazing how everything on this planet ends up being Bush's fault. Well, yesterday I was reading this post, and someone cracked a joke in the comments. As much as it is a Bush bashing joke I busted out laughing. Very clever.

The joke:

Donald Rumsfeld is giving the president his daily briefing. He concludes by saying: "Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed."
"OH NO!" the President exclaims. "That's terrible!"
His staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the President sits, head in hands. Finally, the President looks up and asks, "How many is a brazillion?"

The Girl from Paris

The Girl from Paris was a good movie with a simple story and good character development. French with English subtitles it is about a woman name Sandrine who has had enough of her IT profession and decides to head back to school to get a degree in agriculture.

The majority of the movie takes place in the Rhône-Alps region of France where Sandrine buys a goat farm from a retiring farmer. The only stipulations Adrien (former owner) had was that he had to be able to live on the farm for 18 months and that the cherry tree and pear tree were his. Adrien is a grumpy old man who lost his wife of 35 years some 10 years earlier. The movie is about the friendship that develops between Adrien and Sandrine as she gets the business up and running.

The fact that there was no nudity and little or no bad language was a refreshing break from the typical foreign film. I have to say, even if the movie was bad it might be worth watching just for the scenery. I am definitely going to add the Rhône-Alps to the itinerary if and when we get to go back to Europe.

EU assertiveness

The EU puts its foot down as hard as a pansy can.

You can read the article but basically what they said is:

Can anyone say effeminate milquetoast?

Altoids on the move

This news is a bit old but it still affects my everyday life. The news is that Altoids are coming to ole Chattanooga. It looks like it will add 150 new jobs here. From what I have read it looks like they are closing the Welsh factory and moving production state side. You know our British friends have to be happy about that. I'm glad Chattanooga is getting the new job in spite of the fact that I don't think manufacturing jobs are the ones we should be trying to attract. Data is where it is at, but I know no one is asking. To be honest there is something I like about the fact that Altoids are made over sees. Every time I eat them it sends me on a tinny vacation, which helps to get me through the day.

I was thinking about how they might change the Altoids tin when production moves to ole Chattanooga. What do you think?

guest map

I just found this guest map on the Everday Fiancé. Seems very cool. Please take a moment to sign it. The neat thing about this guest map is that it is powered by google maps.

check out my guest map!

Hurricane refugees II

Not exactly refugees, but pretty close. My parents are on the way up to stay for two nights before heading up to just outside of Ashville where my brother's lives. They are planning to stay there for a month. My parents sell legal insurance and that kind of work has dried up for the time being, so they are headed this way to work with part of their organization in Ashville.

They wanted to head up this way two weeks ago but due to the repairs needed they had to stick around. They finally got electricity two days ago and were able to get all the repairs to their house and rental house complete. I don't expect them until really late tonight because they did not get off until after five. They spent the better part of the day trying to wrap up loose ends. I think on of the things they had to do was hang two new mail boxes. My sister Jeannie and her family will be moving into my parent's house while they are gone because she still does not have electricity, and from what I hear it could still be quite some time till she does.

google blog search

Looking for a more relevant search? Blog search by google. Check it out: http://blogsearch.google.com/
Thanks Jon

another one from Ben Stein

More from Ben Stein: the more I read the writing of Ben Stein the more I like him.
Click here to read it from its source. Also, here is a link to the last post I did on a Ben Stein piece monday night at morton's
Thanks for the link Jon.

Last Gulfshore Baptist Assembly post: (maybe)

I have been getting an awful lot of hits regarding the Gulfshore Baptist Assembly conference center. When I was a kid my parents taught the children at a CBMC conferences that was held there every year. I have a lot of fond memories of the place and am saddened to see the place in ruins.

At first I had not realize how badly damaged the place was until I saw this image. I got the image from here. I can hardly believe how badly damaged the place is. From the satellite images it just looked like the windows and curtains were blown out all over the lawn. It is hard to believe but the cinderblocks between the rooms on the first and second floors where completely blown out.

If you end up here looking for news on the Gulfshore Baptist Assembly center then please leave a comment and let me know you came.

Gulf Shore Baptist Assembly

I was able to track down some satellite maps of the before and after damage done on the Gulf Shore Baptist Assembly. Here is a link to a before shot if you want to snoop around.

Also, if you want to check out the entire Gulf Coast then here is the link to Naoo's satellite maps.
Entire Gulf Coast
Gulf Shore Baptist Assembly at Henderson Point
Gulf Shore Baptist Assembly web page... well kind of

new old blog

If you are looking for a new blog to follow then While You Were Away is back. He and his wife are teaching English in China. I followed their blog when they were in China the last time. They will be there for a year, and have just started their teaching stint. He does not allow commenting on his blog for obvious reasons. Check them out.

Grandma Mac is fine

Grandma Mac is fine. She is living the high life with power, water, and gas. How the heck did that happen!! I'm sure there is more to that story. We are thankful.

hurricane update and a few pictures

I have not blogged in a several days due to busyness. The last of our hurricane Katrina refugees are heading back to Louisiana today. We had a really good visit. I have some pictures of some of the damage to the North Shore posted here. Heather and Colt headed back on Friday or Saturday to be honest I can't remember. The days have all run together. Konrad and Roger headed back with them on a reconnaissance mission, so I had them bring my camera down to snap some pictures. They were trying to find out when the power would be turned back on and also to check on Karen's house. Her house seemed to fair better than my parents.

On to other news, Heather is headed today to Jefferson Parish with Leslie's godmother to check on Grandma Mac. We look forward to some good news.

Hurricane update and a little site seeing