About last night

Before I begin, a correction: In my last blog entry, I mentioned visiting Tom Doll's house last Saturday. Actually, it was the previous Saturday, 27 February. I apologize for the error.
Moving forward, I am at home now awaiting word on a possible temp assignment I was first given word on Tuesday night. I do want to get outside today, as it's nice and sunny.
Late yesterday afternoon, I met up with some fellow supporters in downtown St. Louis in advance of President Barack Obama's visit to a fund-raising dinner. We gathered on the sidewalks near the hotel hosting the dinner, holding signs and chanting our support for health care reform. There was a good amount of Obama supporters on hand, along with some opponents on the opposite corner. We were there for about 2 hours and I felt good about standing up for what's right.
I'm looking forward to a happy hour tomorrow night, and some soccer refereeing this weekend. Take care.
Later.

Roaring in like a lion...

Last week, I finished editing on a couple of articles for a new magazine coming out. I was asked to go back to the original articles, as the editor said they had more room for these articles than was first thought. I did so, though incorporating the facts checked on the previous edit. Hope to hear feedback on that job soon.
Saturday afternoon, I went to the Lake St. Louis home of Tom Doll, aviation historian and author. It was my first time to his place, which is like a mini-archive of aviation history (especially US Naval Aviation). He hosted a meeting of a group of aviation history enthusiasts, several of whom I know from my IPMS activities. This was my first time at the meeting, but it won't be the last. The group is starting to gel and we hope for bigger things ahead.
Had a busy stretch of soccer refereeing last weekend: four games within 18 hours. I had two under 18 boys' league matches Sat. night, including a rather busy middle in one game. I sent a player off for striking an opponent, and issued several other cautions. Both teams were a handful to keep in line, but the game ended well. The next morning, I ran lines on two Development Academy matches (under 16 boys, then under 18 boys). There was that added pressure of the competition level, but we got though them fine. At least I could chill out at home and watch the Academy Awards. I didn't have a dog in that show, but was fascinated by who would win Oscars. I did add to my home DVD collection with two I bought at a store yesterday (The Blues Brothers, from 1980, and 1992's Malcolm X), using a gift card Rick and Melissa sent me for my birthday last month.
Back to last weekend, I borrowed Mom's car for getting to and from my games, because my Saturn was in the shop. After being unable to get my emissions inspection situation fixed at the Firestone place, I took it to a Chevy dealer that was a Saturn authorized repair center. They had to replace some engine sensors that had gone bad, and the repair came out to around $500. (Ouch!) However, the car did pass inspection, so I got my Saturn back home and renewed the registration online, all on Monday.
I almost forgot: Last week I got my federal and state income taxes done. My Dad helped out using the computer program TurboTax. I got the tax returns filed electronically, and can look to a bit of a refund in the coming weeks.
Later.

Trying to Stay Warm & Optimistic

It's rather cold here in St. Louis today. As I write this, it's about 27 degrees F. Should warm up to the 40s this weekend.
Early this week, I put in the final editing touches on my first two articles on my parttime job. They needed to be cut down in size (word count) to fit in the magazine, so I did so. The firm I'm working for on this is very pleased so far with my work. They sent me another article to edit early this week. It needed to be cut down considerably, as well as fact checked. I should have this one done later today.
Been following the Winter Olympics in Vancouver on TV and online. It's always neat for me to watch the Olympics, since I find something to like in just about any sport.
Last Saturday afternoon, I joined with several others from IPMS Gateway in a Meet & Greet at HobbyTown USA in Arnold, Missouri. The good weather cut down on visitors considerably (first decent day in a few days), but otherwise our event was a success. I got started on another kit, and the store was very happy to have us.
Tomorrow night, I'm at the Eastern Missouri Soccer Referee Association's Trivia Night in Oakville, Missouri. Should be a fun time, and I'll let you know about that in my next blog entry.
Later.

Out of the Box

Last night I ran the IPMS Gateway meeting. We had a lower than normal turnout, most likely due to the cold, snowy weather. We did have a nice turnout of models for the first Modeler of the Year points contest of 2010. This contest featured the Out of the Box special category, as usual for our first contest of the year. In Out of the Box, you can't make any modifications to the model from the existing kit. I entered my just completed 1:72 scale Bf 109E-3 aircraft model, built straight from the Hobby Boss kit, but with Eagle Strike decals. (This is allowed under our Out of the Box rules, as long as you bring documentation for those decals with your entry, which I did.) It didn't win any placings, but at least I got two points (one for entering in the contest overall, and one for the special category entry). We also had a build night, so several of us brought kits to work on at the meeting.
Not much else happening of late. Monday, I did get back one of the articles I edited last week, with a few questions and suggestions from the supervisor. I addressed them and sent that article back the same day. I may get another article to edit in the next day or two.
I'm also following the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. I sure enjoy the Olympics, especially for the smorgasbord of sports I normally don't see on TV very often.
That's it for now. Later.

Into mid-February (birthday included)

One week ago, I turned 46 years old. Not a big celebration, for sure. My parents took me out to dinner after church, at the Pasta House Company Italian restaurant. Enjoyed a nice meal there, then came home for cake. I also got some new photos of yours truly taken.
This past week, I started a part time article editing and fact checking job. The paperwork finally came in from a consulting firm out of town. I'll leave the details out of this blog, at least for now. However, I can tell you that after signing and returning an agreement, I received in my e-mail two articles for editing. I got those done, with facts and names checked. The supervisor was greatly appreciated by my work on the first article, and was to have given me feedback on the second one once things settled down at her office. Looks like this will be a good part time job for now.
I refereed boys outdoor soccer yesterday afternoon and evening, and girls futsal earlier today. Games went fine. Nearing end of winter seasons for both. Be good to get out and do more games outdoors, as the weather should pick up. Got some snow late last night and this morning. It will be rather chilly for awhile.
No real sweetheart for Valentine's Day today, but I did send notes to several gals I know.
By the way, since I got my computer back from repairs, it's been running real well.
Take care.

Back from computer limbo

It's been nearly a month since I last wrote here. My computer was out of commission for much of that time. First, I took it to the service facility at the retailer I bought it from for a diagnostic. There, they told me they had problems with the motherboard and suggested I contact the manufacturer. I did, and they suggested I send it to one of their service centers, which I did. They said they could not find a problem with the motherboard, but did check the battery and replace it. I got it back from the manufacturer last Thursday afternoon, then took it to a local computer repair shop. They checked it out and said it was fine. Back home, I got the computer hooked back up and reinstalled software or updated software already on the computer. It's running good now, although there is a update that isn't installing. I may take it over to that local facility to have them look into this.
With that out of the way, it's time for a catch up. On Mon., 18 Jan., I met animal husbandry scientist and autism activist Temple Grandin at the Fenton Barnes & Noble store. She was there to plug her latest book, "Animals Make Us Human." There were quite a few people with autism spectrum disorders there (like myself, with Asperger's syndrome), so this was a great thrill for me. (Photos I took of Dr. Grandin at that event are posted.)
The next night, 19 Jan., I ran the IPMS Gateway meeting -- my first as club president. It went real well, as we had our annual swap & sell and kit auction, the latter to benefit our club. After Fred Amos started off as auctioneer for a few minutes, I took over for the rest of the auction. One week later, I hosted the monthly club business meeting here.
Sat., 23 Jan., I refereed a boys under-15 match at the Soccer Park in Fenton, then stayed to help officiate some mini-games that were tryouts for AC St. Louis, the new men's pro soccer team (North American Soccer League). I worked some futsal the next day, 24 Jan.
I had a job interview the last week of January for a temporary proofreading position at a consumer products firm in the metro area. Unfortunately, I did not get the position. I worked futsal on Sat., 30 Jan., but weather cancelled outdoor games I had been assigned to work. On 29 Jan., my refereeing colleague and friend Bill Tatlock died after a long illness, and I attended the visitation on Mon., 1 Feb.
I ran the IPMS St. Louis meeting on Tue., 2 Feb. Not much to discuss, but did show off a few newly built models and a couple of new kits.
With my computer back in commission, I should be back to a more frequent blog posting pattern soon. Tomorrow, I enjoy my birthday. (Yea!) Take care.

TCM's 31 Days of Oscar Moodboard