With that said I am very proud of our team win or lose.  It has been a long road getting a team and though it was not necessarily  the prettiest means of getting one we can be thankful for our gift.  The people of Seattle were the unfortunate victims of an ugly game that wound up giving us our team.  For that I can sympathise with them because I am well aware that we could find ourselves in that same situation some day.  I truly hope that Seattle gets another team soon.

Most people did not have very high expectations for this team this year in terms of performance.  Our city is so happy to have them that we are thankful despite the poor performance.  Most do believe they will improve from this year.  Our team is very youn as the average age is something like 22 years old.  Even though it is looking like they are losing ground and maybe even lose this game, I still have hopes for a promising future. 

I am very proud of our team despite their record.  It is great to be able to say we have a team with our city’s name on the jersey.    I believe they will get better with time and this town will grow to love them even more.  It is an exciting day to see a new team arrive and have incredible attendance despite all the doom and gloom heard daily on the news.  Most people here are not buying all the doom as the economy has never been better.  Having the Thunder in town has only helped make things better.  It is an exciting time to live here and I am glad I get to live it myself.

Anyone that has driven I-40 downtown has probably noticed the increase in their automobile suspension repair bills.  This bridge that spans close to three miles has been falling apart piece by piece.  This stretch of freeway is being rebuilt six blocks to the south and will mostly be underground.  This photos was just meant as a joke to illustrate how bad I-40 is.  This stretch of six lane road was designed to carry less than half of the current daily traffic more than three decades ago.  There is hope as this relocated I-40 will be ten lanes and will be wisely at ground level or below.  When the current stretch was designed it was clearly done while the engineering staff was under the influence of drugs.  There is no shoulder to pull over and it is all above groud making it susceptable to icing during the winter.  It seems like at least once  a month we are hearing how some poor soul was driving under it and found a large chunk of concrete landing on their car.

The new I-40 will be built along the Oklahoma River (Canadian River renamed) andwill be better suited for limiting noise and will be more scenic as it goes through a new tourist area being formed.  This area is being called Core to Shore, in reverence to the city’s core (downtown) to the shore of the river.  This area is currently rundown abandoned homes and businesses.  The city is currently acquiring all this land and rezoning it so that it will be a more tourist friendly area along the river.  From what I hear it will be very nice when it is finished.  The current I-40 will be taken down and a new main street will be built in its place.  The new I-40 will begin at the Dallas Junction (I-40, I-35, and I-235 Interchange) and will rejoin at the Villa street bridge.  I can already see the bridges going in over the new locations.  The city has already cleared the area where all the old abandoned homes were and the new freeway is being built.    Those that have driven on the current I-40 can actually sympathize with the comparison of the egg carton photo above though it is clearly an exageration.

Despite all the negative you hear on the national news things are going well hear in Oklahoma City.  The 54 storey, 925 foot Devon tower is still being planned and construction should start this year.  The arrival of our new NBA team, the Oklahoma City Thunder has made Bricktown all the more desirable.  With high end homes being built downtown like these in Maywood Park things are looking very good.

In addition to some of the things mentioned above there are new homes being built all over town so things are not necessarily as bad as the news would have you believe.  The old General Motors assembly plant in Southeast OKC has been taken over by Tinker AFB and will be used to repair jet engines.  It will now be called Tinker Aearospace Complex (TAC) and was purchased by the city by a $55 million bond issue.  The city then leased it out to Tinker AFB for 100 years.  There are many other projects going on around the metro so things look very promising.  The current state of Interstate 40 will soon be increased by four lanes and be a much smoother drive.  Things are sure to improve as time goes on and I can hardly wait to keep you up to date on  the new developments.

It is hard to find anything more pleasing than a nice morning sunrise when you do not have to go to work.  The beauty of my situation this morning is that it is the end of the year and I have some use or lose vacation time that I have to burn so I took this beautiful Friday off.  Although it is a crisp 32 degrees at this early hour it still is a pretty morning.  This time last year we were sitting in the dark for a week.  You may remember the horrible ice storm that knocked out the electricity to more than 250,000 in Oklahoma City while more than a million state wide.  You can look at the photos I took here.  The weather forecast is showing another ice storm coming in next week though most believe it will not compare to the monster we had last year. Most people sleep in on their day off but not me.  I love mornings and I always have.  I went out to breakfast at the Waffle House at 5:30 this morning as she was going to work.  She could not take the day off because in her Wing they were having a General come to their office.  She had to be involved in the protocol activities so I had to do without my beautiful wife this morning.  As a second choice I thought I would spend my morning watching the sun rise over Oklahoma City.  I took this photo among others around 7:00 AM.

Below is another photo of downtown.  As you can see the Sandridge Energy and the Chase Bank both have crosses on the buildings representing the incredible sacrifice Jesus made for us as we celebrate his birth on Christmas.  Now I sit here listening to 40 meters on ham radio while typing a blog post.  I wanted to get some pictures of the full moon but there were some clouds in the western sky.  I only have two more classes before I can graduate the University of Oklahoma.  I will start those on January 20, 2009 and I am very happy to have this journey almost complete.

This morning I found San Francisco 49′ers football star Jerry Rice and the Phoenix Suns star Shaquille O’Neal on Twitter.  That was pretty cool as well.  Now that we have the Oklahoma City Thunder I will have to temper my love for the Phoenix Suns.  As many of you know we use to live in Phoenix, Arizona while I was stationed at Luke AFB.  I also lived in Tucson, Arizona while stationed at Davis-Monthan AFB.  Those were some wonderful times of my life that I will never forget.  I lived in Phoenix during the great run of the Suns in 1993.  That is when I really became a fan of the NBA.

I had a very nice visit with my dad last night.  Many of you ham radio people may know him as W5QO, the trustee for the Del City Amateur Radio Club (DCARC).  It is hard to believe that experiment has lasted for six years.  It is hard to believe that in 2002 I was trying to kill time while my wife was spending time in the hospital visiting her mother has turned out to be a full blown ham radio club with an FCC license (W5DEL).  Though I had an amateur radio license since 1983 I was not very active because I could not afford the gear until my dad gave me a dual band mobile radio.  Now it is a whole different world where I have my own ham shack, President of the DCARC and a 70 foot tower in the back yard and all this since 2002. 

This year just does not feel much like Christmas with my 16 year old son gone.  He ran away on 26 Sep 08.  He is safe and staying with friends.  I spoke to him briefly on Yahoo Instant Messenger the other day.  We have decided to let him go and put faith in God that he will overcome and have a successful future.  Many have told me to file charges against the people that he is staying with but I think that would just make things worse.  My goal is to retain a relationship with him for the future and hope that he remains well.  Thank you for those that have offered their prayers of support.  We have decided to keep faith in God and enjoy life.  My other son got his driver’s license a couple days ago and we added him to our insurance.  Once I came too and realized that we really could afford the extra $100 per month premiums I was fine. I am happy for him as he just got a job at a local restaurant a couple weeks ago.  Despite everything I am very proud of both of my kids.  Once I graduate, I will have more time to do some hobbies that I have neglected for the last couple years.  I love taking pictures and talking on the radio.  Of course let’s not forget my big hobby of playing on the computer.  Thankfully today with amateur radio and photography joining with computers I can do all of them at the same time.

Again, it is a beautiful morning and I am off work too.  With no homework this weekend I am sure to have a nice weekend.  I only wish my wife could have taken off work.  That would have made it perfect.

The new Oklahoma City Thunder NBA team video.  The original is on http://www.nba.com/thunder but it would not load on here as easy.  I read the team is not only auditioning a new dance team but also a drum line.  That should be interesting to see how a drum line can make a thunder sound.  It will be interesting to see how it all turns out in the end.  I am still very excited about them being here.

If you are familiar with Oklahoma summers you may have heard the peculiar loud clicking sounds coming from the trees.  This cicada is the culprit and when you hear them you know that it is not just summer but the hottest part of the summer.   For some reason, the locals call them locust but they are really cicadas.  These bugs are so loud you can hear them more than the length of a football field and when you get hundreds of them going at once, it is pretty loud.  I snapped this picture this cool day on the side of the power pole in my backyard.  Since the arrival of the remnants hurricane Gustav last week we had an amazing cool down drooping temperatures to the 60′s for highs.  This is virtually unheard of for this early in the year.

As I said before, the arrival of these cicadas is indicative of the hottest part of the summer.  I think this cool spell has really taken this guy for a shock.  I literally got the lens three inches from it and it did not even move.  I say it but who knows whether it is male or female.  The point being is that not only was it not making his noise but he seemed paralyzed from the cool temperatures.  It is currently about 80 degrees but that is very cool for these bugs.  We find these empty shells around on trees but it is not that common to catch one that will let you get this close.  I just love the cooler weather as it is so pleasant to just sit in a lawn chair on the porch.  These cicadas do not know how to take this summer.  In the hottest time of the year we usually get very little rain during July and August but we had more than nine and a half inches of rain in August making it the wettest August in recorded history for Oklahoma City.

Speaking of Oklahoma City, this has been a huge week for us with the unveiling of the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA name, colors and logo.  I have been waiting for this day for more than two years since we were able to experience the displaced New Orleans Hornets after hurricane Katrina did so much damaged.  Locals really grew to love that team and the NBA as a whole.  I lived in Phoenix where the rabid Suns fans were so exciting you could hardly help yourself getting into the atmosphere.  After a long fight between the NBA team and the city of Seattle to get a new arena they were released from their lease on July 3, 2008.  It was September 3, 2008 when the unnamed team became the Oklahoma City Thunder.  I read many local message boards in the area and I was so embarrassed by the behavior of many of our Oklahoma City citizens and their complaining about the new logo while failing to be thankful for having an NBA team.  Many cities are waiting in line for the chance to have a major league (Big four) sports team because of the impact they have on the local economies.  I read somewhere that our city made more than $56 million in the two years the Hornets were here.  I had to work and then went to visit my dad on September 3rd so I did not get to go and take pictures at the announcement.

This afternoon we had a Wing function, or Sports day where the Wing personnel get together and have hamburgers, steaks, and other foods.  We get to know each other in a non work related environment.  I got out early so that is why I am home early.  I have been associated with the Air Force in some capacity for 21 years and have been very proud of the environment we have.  The Air Force has always promoted a family environment they like to refer to it as esprit de corps. Do not get me wrong…I have had some bad times in the Air Force but they do promote an environment to look out for each other.  The Air Force core values are Integrity First, Service before self, and Excellence in all we do.  You will see these signs all over any Air Force base posted all over the place.  It seems that active duty takes this more to heart than the civilians but it is still a part of life.  To this day it gives me a good feeling when walking across the base at the end of the day and the national anthem begins to play.  Everyone stops, even cars, and faces the flag while the military salutes the flag.  When you go to the movie theater on base, they always stand at the beginning while the national anthem is played.  It is hard to describe if you have never been around the environment but it sure does give you a sense of pride for our country.

Well I suppose I have rambled long enough but this was a rare opportunity to catch a cicada coming out of its shell.  I hope you have as nice a day as I am having.  The temperature is absolutely perfect.

Today was the first day of school for my kids and that made this cool foggy morning seem even more like fall. It is supposed to be cooler all week only reaching 90 degrees twice. I think this rain really helped us out and I will take it. Looks like football season is about to start with OU playing their first game in only 18 days. Soon after that we will get to see our new NBA basketball team begin to play and I really cannot wait for that. I am getting pretty excited about that.
Thanks for stopping by and checking out the new look for the blog. It took me nearly three days to get it back up again but now it is back up fully operational.

Berry Tramel is trying to convince those that watch that if you go to message boards, you are contributing to the problem. He says that message boards have the redeeming quality of a porn site among other things. It is interesting how the media works. This is one of the reasons that I have such a terrible view of the media as a whole. They proclaim their elitist selves to be the sole source for educating America. They are the only ones that are qualified to tell the story because other sources are just misinformation. They are use to having a monopoly on information and the control of it. They are the gatekeepers of all knowledge in their eyes. The truth is they fear message boards and blogs though they use them also. Mr. Berry Tramel has his own blog right here. Maybe I am being unfair to claim that all journalists are that way similarly it is unfair to say that all that frequent message boards are bad.

There is no difference between a message board and a blog other than the format and he uses a blog in the same way as a message board where he can post his opinions and others can post comments about them. The good thing about a blog is that it gives ordinary citizens their own voice to speak out about things they find important.. Mr. Tramel shows his arrogance by saying that merely going to a message board and not even participating is part of the problem. He says if you are on a message board to get off because you are part of the problem. Berry lives in world where you silence those you disagree with. He has a problem with ordinary citizens having a voice that he cannot control. If there are concerns about truth and lies on message boards, then people can do research on the Internet to prove it wrong.

Part of being free is that you can learn the truth and refute these false claims. Though I find this video disappointing, it is not a surprise. The mainstream media cannot stand to have an alternative outlet for people to get their information. The mainstream media such as NBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN spend hours bashing FoxNews yet they continue to be number one. They label FoxNews as a conservative tool for right wing Republicans. If you have ever listened to Fox, they are not conservative by any means. They are less liberal than the other news outlets but still liberal. If your political view is left of center, then you will see them as conservative. If your views are right of center, you will see them as less liberal while viewing NBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN as off the charts left wing. Discussing politics is not the point of this post. The purpose is to show how the media does not like it when the viewers have alternatives that are not under their control. That is the beauty of message boards and blogs. You can hear either side and believe them or not. If not, you can post opposing views for everyone to read.

Berry Tramel has shown himself to be a typical journalist in that he wants to be the gatekeeper of knowledge and keep people from being able to get their information from other sources. He will blame it on renegade posters using this as a disguise for his real motives of eliminating free speech. He thinks that free speech cannot regulate itself, and that ordinary people cannot refute misinformation. My characterization of Berry Tramel may be a little off and unfair but so is his characterization of message boards as a whole. It is my opinion that message boards and blogs are one of the greatest inventions and Mr. Tramel feels threatened by their ability for ordinary people to get the word out.
Technorati Tags: Berry Tramel,The Oklahoman,media,mainstream media,freedom of speech

To say that we are a college town and will never like professional sports is similar to saying that someone that has only driven a Volkswagen will not ever like an SUV. If a person has never had the opportunity to experience something, then it is not fair to make a suggestion that they would not like something else. I listened to Al Eschbach, Craig Humphries, and Jim Traber going on forever about this and it was really getting on my nerves. I cannot understand why they would have such a narrow mind and such a low opinion of the citizens of this city.

I heard Jim Traber telling of his extensive experiences in Phoenix and that the citizens of Phoenix are not as connected to the Suns the way Oklahoma Sooners fans are. He claims that college football is so much a part of our couture and Phoenix that they would never be as attached to an NBA team. I must have lived in a different Phoenix than Mr. Traber. I remember vividly the rabid Suns fans in Phoenix. They were incredibly excited about their team. I even remember the Dial Soap corporation building having the office lights turned on where it spelled the word Suns. When I was stationed at Luke AFB, they would bring televisions to work to watch the Suns on television.

My point is this, the NBA is incredibly addicting if you ever experience it first hand. Oklahoma City will love their team despite the idiocy of the Sports Animal’s crew. Their whole argument is contrary to common sense. The idea that someone is a college town and would not like the NBA when they have never tried it is ridiculous. If I remember the Oklahoma City area incredibly supported the New Orleans Hornets for two years when that team had another city’s name. Imagine when they have our city’s name on the jerseys. I think the Sports Animal crew have been smoking a little too much crack.
Technorati Tags: NBA,Oklahoma City,Phoenix Suns,college,WWLS,The Sports Animal