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Thursday, June 26, 2008

Angus Barry Madden

My dad passed away this morning. He took a turn for the worse last night, and at 11:25, breathed his last. I am sure he is now where he has wanted to be for the last 13 years, with my mother who he missed terribly.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Outlaws game

At the invitation of a friend, I took the boys to an Ogden Outlaws game at St. Joseph High School. They played the secondary Real Salt Lake squad. It was pretty fun, and for $5 we were right on the field. Ok, there is only one small spectator stand.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Dad Update

April talked to the doctor in charge of my Dad this morning. He has authorized medication to keep my dad sedated as needed. It’s not a good thing as it slows down the antibiotics as well, but my opinion is that they won’t work at all if my dad keeps removing the IV. The doctor is pessimistic about much of a recovery, but after April filled in some history, he was a little less so.

Can’t find my sister to update her.

Bill Gates retires from Microsoft


Wow, the end of an era. Bill Gates will officially retire from Microsoft at the end of June. I’m sure he maintains a shareholder interest, and he has been out of the day to day running of the company, but now it’s really official.

Monday, June 23, 2008

George Carlin Dies

I used to listen to his comedy as a teenager. He was Rufus in Bill and Ted, and I recognized his voice in numerous animated shows (last one was the wizard in ‘Happily Never After’).

Dad in the hospital

The day before I left for Camp Keisel, the assisted living place called telling me he had fallen getting out of bed, and would I authorize them to get medical help for him. I gave them the obvious answer. My sister called that night to yell at me because he had been taken to the ER and why hadn’t I called her. I explained that I didn’t know that’s what they did. When I returned on Saturday, April told me he was in bad shape, and had been moved to the ICU. He can’t swallow, and his lungs are clogged phlegm. The hospital stabilized him, and Sunday he was transfer out of the ICU. I spent the day with him. He is afraid that if he stays in there, he will die. So he spends the day trying to pull out IVs and oxygen tubes, or getting out of bed. I asked if he could have something to calm him down, but the doctor didn’t authorize anything.

Today I found out the nurses had to move him to a room across from the nurses station because he kept trying to get up. I don’t want to say I told you so, but I did.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Scout Camp

Patrick and I went to Camp Keisel Friday for an overnight camp. It was pretty much the same as a day camp there: canoeing, BB guns, archery, etc. The main difference was that in previous years we were assigned a guide who led the scouts around. This time we were given a list of activities, and told to chose (except for BB guns and archer, where we were assigned times). I think this was because we were Webelos, and each den had its own needs for achievements. After the regular camp was over, we had dinner. This consisted of each scout grabbing a frozen hot dog and putting it on coals that where not nearly hot enough. The camp counselor did say the cooking counts as one of their achievements. After dinner was the Colter relay race (the theme this year is mountain men. Last year was cowboy, and the year before was pirates). That was fun to watch. It started with a boy shooting an arrow to pop a balloon. Our team choice did it with his third and last arrow, which put the team in fourth place. Patrick was assigned to run from the archery range to the front gate. He passed one of the other runners to put them in third place. The front gate had the three man carry. The boys there passed another team to move into second. The next leg was knot tying (this is scouts after all). I was a little concerned with it, because the boy assigned to do it was not really focused. However, he did it in apparently two seconds, before I even had the chance to run down there. This puts us in first. The last task is to light a cotton ball on fire with flint and steel. It took a couple of minutes, but we still finished first. The second place team was another minute behind us.

We sent up the tents after that. When the list of equipment was sent out, it included a tent. All we had at that time was a two room tent which April and I thought would be too big. So she bought a $25 two man bright orange pup tent at Walmart. It was a popular choice. Two others were in our group, and I counted two more in the camp at large. We all bedded down for the night. Aside from the hard ground, I thought it was pretty good. Everyone else was too cold.

Breakfast was good, pancakes and sausage. The next event was a hike. The den chose Oregon Rock, which is a 25 minute climb up about 200 feet. I was happy that I made it without too much strain. We didn’t stay long as there were teenage girls coming up to rappel down the face of the rock. We then headed home.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Downtown Salt Lake City in 4 years

Looking at all those people, I'd better loose some weight.

Animation of 2011 downtown salt lake (City Creek Center Project)

Monday, June 16, 2008

Father's Day Dinner

Stardate 61061.6
My sister Susan invited us over for dinner on Father's day. She brought my Dad over as well. It was a little wierd because he talked about me in the third person at times, and other times seemed to recognize me. He told me that his son Tim had a daughter that looked a lot like my daughter, and he has two sons. He told me he talked to his second son ealier that day, but couldn't remember his name. It's a good thing he does not live on his own anymore. At least there were no complaints about the assisted living place.

End of Entry

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Happy Fathers Day 2008


Rachel can be so creative. She came up with the idea to say Happy Father's Day spelled out in red cups on the lawn. It was a nice surprise. They also gave my a card where Rachel and Patrick recorded a Father's day greeting (Thomas wasn't there).

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Team Update

Well, Patrick’s baseball team lost last night. It was kind of sad, the other team only had players, which gives them an automatic out at first bat, and another on the fourth batter. Some mistakes in the field let them score five runs. Still, I will admit it was fun. Patrick wants to go again next year, and so it looks like I will be coaching again.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

coaching update

The baseball team is doing well. We made through the regular season with 5 wins and 3 losses. The first game of a double elimination tournament was a loss, and we won the second because the other team forfeited because they only had six players and you need a minimum of seven. We still played them just for the fun of it. They did well, and it's a pity they lost like that.

Soccer is over for the moment. Patrick's team has left OFC to become independent. The reason is money; the coaches felt the club was too much for what we were getting. We shall see. They ended the season with one loss which was a forfeit because we wanted to reschedule the game on Memorial Day. The other team agreed, but showed up anyway.

I've also been relieved from coaching Thomas's team, although I don't think the two are related. The last month his team was playing with 4 to 6 players (you need 7 on the field). Both myself and the other coach asked for help, but nothing happened. I think some of the parents complained, and to stop a mass exodus from the club, the head coach stepped in. I don't mind if it means Thomas can be on a successful team.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Going Green

For the past week I've been taking FrontRunner into Ogden, and then a bus to work. With gas approaching $4 a gallon, combined with Flying J providing an Eco-pass, it saves quite a bit in gas. My car is still three quarters full a week and a half after filling up. It does take an hour to get into work as opposed to twenty minutes driving. Paying $65 to fill the tank makes the longer time worth it.