That'll leave a mark!

Another case where the front wheel came off.
What's he going to look like tomorrow? And why didn't the event organizers require helmets? Not that it would have done a lot of good in this case.

There are days I wonder how long an old man can do this job, and 9 hours of house painting makes for one of those days. I was up and down an 18' ladder too many times for these old bones and my back is hollering, "Ibuprofen!" The weather today was sunny, mid-80's, a 15 mph wind and relative humidity in the single digits. I don't think it's possible to drink enough in that situation, but I tried. And I only had two Diet Cokes, so I tried to be good.
I didn't get quite all of it done and there are some spots that need touch-up, but I'll do that next week when I go back to take out the cheesy faux wrought iron and install a wooden pillar.

This was a night for slanky food - pizza, or soft tacos or BK chased by a chocolate milk shake. Alas, the menu called for leftover baked skinless chicken and peas.

For all the noise being made about Tibet and the embarrassment it's causing the Chinese govt., the west is not going push this very hard at all. China plays too big a part in the global economy for the U.S. or any other western nation to really lean on them. They buy too big a portion of our export of goods and services, manufacture too much of what we import, and with their new-found wealth have invested too heavily in our economy. (A not-insignificant portion of our national debt is held by the Chinese.) And don't kid yourself; they know they're holding the trump card.

I feel sorry for the thousands of people who have been stranded by canceled flights the last few days. But I heard an FAA spokesperson today pointing out that as inconvenient as it is to lose hours, or even a day while a plane goes through an inspection and/or repair, that's a day they have, And another one after that, and then another one. As opposed to flying on a plane that has a mechanical failure and doesn't make it to its destination.
As with so many things in life, it's about perspective.