Charles is in town and after having lunch at his beloved Pulido's with
Kirstin, Bethie, and Bryson, then dropping his car off at Discount
Tires for a couple of new tires, we headed to Foley's to look for a
jacket, as it gets cold in Lubbock.

Didn't find a heavy enough jacket, but to my horror, did see this:

Yes, that's someone sticking a Christmas tree atop a jewelry
fixture.  It's not even Halloween, for crying out loud! 
Can't we at least get the black and orange candy out of the way before
decking the blinking halls?  

Wonder how soon a radio station will go to an all-Christmas format?

Here, Katherine....this one's for you:

It's astonishing how things change!  Last week in the 90°s, this
morning it's 38°.  A strong cold front blew through yesterday
morning, dropping temperatures like a rock, so it finally
felt like fall.  Bought a couple of bananas and plan on baking
banana nut bread this morning. And put up the bat flags!  Somehow
I can't work up much enthusiasm for hauling out the autumn decorations
when it feels like July or August, y'know?

But the time has come. 

By golly, it happened at last . . . the back-up names for tropical
storms have had to to utilized, as Tropical Storm Alpha formed in the
Caribbean.  Fortunately it looks to be shooting off harmlessly to
the east (well, "harmless" so far's the US is concerned). 

And about those games this afternoon?  TCU won . . . . YAY!!! 

But Charles' fond dreams were dashed as the Longhorns decisively
trounced the Red Raiders of Texas Tech.  Since he and friends
started driving at 2 o'clock in the morning, it does seem hard on
him.  He'd been really confidant the Raiders would surprise
everyone and beat Texas.  Oh well!  At least Hal (Elaine's
hubby, and a UT-Austin grad) is surely pleased.  Though as Elaine
is a Tech graduate herself, she is doubtless not as pleased with the
outcome.  They were also in Austin for the game, BTW.

What'll be interesting is to see how Tech handles this loss.  Such
a loss basically lets all the air out of some teams' tires so they
never recover, while others take out their frustration on the next team
they play.  We'll have to wait and see if the Raiders get their
guns up. 

What a joy it was seeing Alex, Beth and Hannah this afternoon! 

First Mom showed up:

As you can see, Hannah was captivated by her G'mom.  ;^)

Next came Jessica, Jason and Brianna, then Kirstin with Bethie and Bryson:

It's always fun when Uncle Alex comes to visit. 

Dad was here too, and he and Hannah got along great.  High fives!

Eventually being the center of attention took its toll, and a nap was
in order.  Hannah woke up refreshed, just in time to greet her
Uncle Jonathan:

Hannah loves walking with a little help from her friends. 

Hannah, Granddaddy, and Zeus, who regrettably wasn't as enthusiastic about the high traffic count as we were.

It was a lovely, though brief, visit.  Fortunately they'll be back in December. 

Amazing how the LORD arranges things!  This morning before school,
Dmitry sighed and observed it's been a long time since he saw Hannah,
and he would like to see her.  
Alex just called . . . they're homesick and on their way into town for the weekend.  Here comes Hannah!  

Speaking of Russian drama kings: Russian MP Calls Bird Flu "American Provocation"

A deputy of the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic faction of the
Russian State Duma, Aleksei Mitrofanov, has said in a parliamentary
speech that bird flu was invented by Americans who wanted to dominate
the world’s poultry markets.



“There is no such thing as bird
flu, just as there is no AIDS, tulip or mad cow disease,” Mitrofanov
was quoted as saying by the Rosbalt news agency.



“It is a
provocation by Americans. They want to eliminate all chickens in Europe
so that we have to import ’Bush’s legs’,” he said. “Bush’s legs” is a
Russian saying for deep frozen chicken thighs massively imported from
the U.S. under President George Bush Sr.

Dang!  He's onto us. 

Yesterday evening I was at a meeting of Gladney parents who have
adopted older children, and I brought up FAE (Fetal Alcohol Effects),
as Don and I  -  and Dmitry himself  -  have been
suspecting this might be the underlying reason for his difficulty
learning....he must be retaught something over and over again. 
Anyway, some of the other parents recognized the problems Dmitry's had
as being similar to those their own children are having/have had, and
later on it occurred to me....

Poor Russia!  Alcoholism is rife there, as most everyone
knows.  Drinking is common, and I'm not at all certain women make
any real attempt to stop drinking when pregnant, even if they are not
alcoholic.  Even moderate alcohol intake during pregnancy can
cause the child to suffer from FAE.  Think
of how many people over there must be functioning with them!  The
death rate in Russia is rising at a fierce rate, causing the population
forecast to be dismal....Russia is losing its citizens to death much
faster than normal.  The predominant factors are, of course,
drinking and smoking.  An article on Russia's depopulation that I
read earlier this week pointed out there doesn't seem to be much of an
awareness of this cause-and-effect among the people, and that when Mikhail Gorbachev, tried to ban alcohol because of how it's
ravaging Russia, the populace turned on him.

This behavior, not recognizing the ill consequences of one's actions,
or at least not enough to do something about it, is common among those
with FAE (not that it's restricted solely
to those with FAE, naturally!  I ought to go on a strict diet and
walk regularly but don't).  Doesn't it seem reasonable to assume a
nation filled with heavy-drinking citizens is going to be a nation with
a disproportionately high number of citizens with FAE?

Talk about a recipe for disaster.  If a large percentage of Russia's adult citizens are demonstrating these effects of FAE, think of the ramifications for that nation's future:

Poor logic and reasoning
Poor concept of time and time management
Inability to sort information and set priorities
Isolation
Alcohol involvement
Lack of concept of cause and effect
Unpredictable behavior
Difficulty with finances
Depression
Suicide

I wish I could think of some reason for optimism, but short of the
LORD's intervention by His Word and power sweeping through the country,
I don't see any.

Mercy Maud, and I thought Dmitry Davidov was a Drama King.

He could take lessons from the president of Venezuela:  Chavez warns U.S. against invasion

Come again?  We're going to invade Venezuela?  For what?

As a bet?  On a dare?

Oh.  To take over Venezuela's oil fields.  Silly me. 

"In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. radio aired
earlier Thursday, Chavez said he had evidence to prove the U.S.
government was planning an invasion.

"Chavez said he believed the reason Washington was plotting an invasion was to take control of Venezuela's oil fields."

Can you imagine the outcry if Bush were to send troops to Venezuela?

Headline writers obviously do not pay a lot of attention to what the
heck is actually happening, else they wouldn't write:  Wilma Weakens Slightly, but Roars Ahead

Wilma?  Roaring?  Not on its best day.  It's been
a fascinatingly dithering, indecisive hurricane.  Critter just
waffles around in the western Caribbean, apparently in no particular
rush to get wherever it is it's going.  And why everyone's
convinced it's making its laborious way to Florida, I don't know. 
Upper level winds, presumably. By the time Wilma finally clears the
Yucatan peninsula, however, the winds may have switched direction.

I dunno....maybe when it comes to Dmitry and video games, my attitude should be, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em": Attack of the Gaming Grannies

Barbara St. Hilaire spends about 50 hours a week wielding a machete,
dismembering demons and battling a slew of thugs, zombies, and other
nasties of the video-gaming world. Having recently nailed a 100% score
in Outlaw Golf 2, she's now focused on mastering the top levels in God
of War. It's a passion that has earned St. Hilaire, 69, the moniker
"Old Grandma Hardcore."



"If you saw her in a grocery store, you would see an old, Midwestern
diabetic with thick glasses leaning on a crutch or shopping cart," says
her grandson Timothy St. Hilaire, who launched a blog recounting her
gaming exploits -- and her colorful expletives. "She's a polite mother
of five and grandmother of 12but get her in front of a game, and she
becomes a monster."



St. Hilaire represents the new older face of gaming. Despite the common
perception that most gamers are busy coping with acne and adolescent
awkwardness, many are instead concerned with getting their Social Security checks on time.

Hmmmm.....I wonder.....?