my first post & first self-portrait

so, here's what i did. i've been watching my old man post blog entries for my entire life (or so it seems). i figure anyone could do that, even me, who's still 0. so last nite, after they went to bed, i found the camera, put it on 'extreme close up setting', held it out w/ my chubby lil arm, snapped a few, and voila. crawled (err... actually 'creeped') up to the computer, downloaded em, picked the best one (had to crop it, natch), hit the favorite menu to pull open this blog edit window, and posted this self-portrait... imagine his surprise when he finds it. oh, sure, he'll assume mama did it (or maybe even hunter)... so what the hell, i could even swear on this... what's he gonna do? ground me? cut me off from watching 'cops' for a month? ya, right.

oh, well, should jet from here. have to update my 'babyspace' page, too, before i roll back to my 'crib'. add some more 'babes' to my friends list (and by babes, i mean babies, of course) before they notice i'm up and googling around...

[edited by papa: just be glad i didn't type the above in 'baby-speak' full of goo-goos and gaaa-gaaas, or the cringe factor would be even higher... if that's possible.]

battlin' bastards of bataan: uncle jim

http://www.brainerddispatch.com/history/stories/030504/bat_1002030028.shtml

my uncle jim... mythical. tough. heroic. ordinary. extraordinary. patriotic. unlucky. lucky. gone before i was around to be able to remember him, talk to him, hear his stories first hand (not that he ever really discussed them much). the torch holder (flag bearer?), poster child of the greatest generation. dad's oldest brother. his dad (my grandpa) worked on the railroad in brainerd. jim signed up for the 109th armor battalion, along w/ 42 other young brainerd boys immediately after pearl harbor happened. younger than connor or joel. barely ever been out of minnesota, let alone brainerd, before shipping out to basic training in alabama. and then thrown against the surging, unstoppable japanese. read the link above that details the entire story... i won't repeat it here.

Battling Bastards of Bataan website: http://home.pacbell.net/fbaldie/requiem.html

but i heard some supplemental info on jim from an NPR story a few years ago from one of those from brainerd guys that ended up in the philippines. the brainerd battalion surrendered at luzon, and was forced on the bataan death march, along w/ thousands of other captured soldiers. this guy described how jim had dysentery after a few days on the march, and his brainerd friends were basically carrying him for miles and miles. during the march, jim basically told them "stop carrying me. i'm dead... don't kill yourselves by trying to help a dead guy" but they kept helping him along. when their strength was gone, they finally had no choice but to drop jim and keep marching, assuming he'd be killed by the japanese (the japanese were crushing the prisoners' skulls w/ their rifle butts if they fell behind or stumbled. they didn't want to waste the bullets). so, this guy described the pain of leaving jim behind, thinking they just helped kill their best friend from brainerd. it was either let jim die or let jim and all of them die (no food for days. barely any water. walking 20 hrs a day).

well, finally, jim crawled or was dropped into a ditch by the side of the road, and the japanese guards didn't notice him. he laid there for a few days, recovering from dysentery or whatever, and when another group of prisoners walked by him a few days later, he joined that group. why he didn't avoid the japanese and escape back to american lines is unknown by me. maybe the japanese had conquered the entire area, and there was absolutely no hope of getting off the island or whatever. i'm a typical american... where's the phillipines? next to nebraska? actually part of japan? i think it also goes by the name "mexico"? ok, my geography's not that bad, but close.

so, he survived the death march of bataan (but took him two shifts), and ended up at the prison camp, where he found his brainerd friends who left him for dead. so, on the NPR interview, this guy (jim's friend) who was describing his feelings of finding jim alive and his incredible relief and surprise caused him to break up in the interview. wuss.

the camp was brutal. random killings and torture. dysentery. some in solitary confinement. escape impossible. slave labor. only protein were from grubs in the watery 'soup'. jim survived that, too. then, when the US forces were closing in, the japanese loaded the prisoners into 'hell boats' and brought all surviving american prisoners to mainland japan. called 'hell boats' because they were packed like sardines into the holds of cargo ships, in the dark. no food, no water. and they didn't mark the boats as "POWs" or anything, so the allies bombed or torpedoed most (or all?) of the boats, thinking they were supply ships for the japanese. jim's boat had a guy who had a burst appendix. they found a small nail and some shirt thread and did an appendectomy right there in the boat cargo bay, w/out anesthesia. that guy survived. some folks on that boat trip went crazy w/ the heat, the hunger, the thirst, the fear, and they were knocked out or killed when they absolutely went out of their mind. the hell boat jim was in (w/ 800 other prisoners crammed in, no room to lay or sit... just shoulder to shoulder) was torpedoed, and sank. only 80 of the 800 prisoners survived. jim was one of them. he floated/swam back to the philippines and joined guerrilla philipino fighters until the war was over.

after the war, he came back to brainerd. became sheriff. but was always claustrophobic (from the hell ship experience). could never be in the middle of the pew, but would sit down on end at last minute. was the only 'visible' scar he carried. married, had a kid, got on w/ living.

my dad enlisted as soon as he could (at 17?) it was his spring semester of senior year of high school. the agreement was that if you enlisted, but hadn't graduated yet, they would mail your high school diploma to your parents. so he signed up, went to basic training, missed his senior year, the 'fun' spring semester of senior year of high school. he didn't see front-line action. he guarded food supplies in guam (AFTER the fighting there had stopped). now and then, they capture or kill a lone japanese or a few hold out soldiers who would come down from the jungle and try to steal food or surrender to them. dad would tell stories of playing cards, guarding the ice cream, when someone would be coming down from the jungle, waving a white flag. they would finish the hand, the loser having to process the prisoner, de louse them, do the paperwork, etc. after the war, he ended up back in brainerd, too, and worked as a policeman under his big brother.

he (dad) was such a law and order kind of guy, he once pulled over his mom (grandma lizzy) and gave her a ticket. well, he was still living with her at the time. he said he had to make his own supper for a few weeks, until lizzy forgave her son for giving her a ticket.

anyway, was thinking about uncle jim and dad and bataan as i was 'ego-searching' my lil new ditty in the strib. found a 'This Was Brainerd" article about some mccomi when googled 'mccomas' in google news. here's the blurbs i found on brainerd dispatch's 'this was brainerd' stuff:

legend for below: my dad is "don" (aka "casanova"!!!). his brothers are jim, bill, mack (walt). parents are walt and lizzy

60 years ago (1941)
A number of parties were given during the past week in compliment to James McComas and Kenneth Porwoll, who are leaving with the National Guard for Fort Lewis, Washington.

60 years ago (1944)
Don McComas, Brainerd, Welterweight King, may be called upon to do the "Ironman" trick Friday evening when 24 bottlers square off in the 1944 spring fight card in the Brainerd Armory.

60 years ago (1944)
Four Brainerd boxers will participate in the American Legion boxing card Friday in Duluth. Fighting on the card will be Dick Collet, Don McComas, Dick Cook, and Cecil Miller.

60 years ago (1944)Nicknames in Washington High School: Bob "Dude" Lindell, Bob "Porky" Berg, Chuck "Smoothy" Cossette, Don "Casanova" McComas.

60 years ago (1944)S/Sgt. James McComas related the experiences of the 194th Tank Battalion from when the group left Brainerd until the capture at Bataan this noon at the regular meeting of the Brainerd Rotarians.

60 years ago (1944)
Battling Don McComas and Dynamic Dick Cook, both welterweights, hammered out three-round decisions over opponents at the Duluth American Legion card.

60 years ago (1944)
1944 Golden Glove Champions: Jerry Sullivan, Brainerd, Cecil Miller, Brainerd, Dick Collette, Brainerd, Art Lind, Nisswa, Don McComas, Brainerd, Jack Duncan, Staples, John Corey, Jenkins
60 years ago (1946)Election of permanent officers in the Brainerd War Memorial Inc. took place last night. Joseph Cibuzar was elected president; Walter McComas, vice president; C.W. Boteler, treasurer and Clyde Gorham, secretary.

60 years ago (1947)Jim McComas, former staff sergeant with Brainerd Company "A" 194th Tank Battalion called for order in the Legion club room, and suggested forming a "Last Men's Club" and meeting once a year.

40 years ago (1960)
James McComas, a member of the Brainerd Police here for 10 years, has been appointed Sergeant at the Brainerd Police here

30 years ago (1971)
Captain Jim McComas of the Brainerd Police Department announced his retirement to the city council last night.

30 years ago (1972)
The Mary Tornstrom Memorial Scholarship Fund at Brainerd State Junior College has been increased by $400 as an indirect result of the infamous "Bataan Death March." A gift to the fund has been made by Mrs. Jim McComas and Mrs. Lee MacDonald, widows of Brainerd veterans who took part in the Battle of Bataan more than 30 years ago.

20 years ago (1982)
Bill McComas won the Brainerd Warrior fan of the year award at the Warrior Football banquet

20 years ago (1983)
The new Golden K Kiwanis Club of Brainerd was officially organized March 9. Arnie Jensen of 601 E Street N.E. was named president of the club. Other officers include Bill McComas and Bill Mikkola.

20 years ago (1985)It's encouraging to hear progress is being made on the dream to have a veteran's memorial built in the area near the Crow Wing County Courthouse. Stan Smith of Baxter and Bill McComas have been pushing the idea.

brother, can you spare a 15 minute article?

not to compete w/ the LD (stev... lake detective... see the 29 news links below), but i just had to get a few quotes to the star tribune business/money section columnist. what's more exciting? tossin' barley in lakes (sounds like a dirty euphemism) or passive, index-following investing strategies? this is from friday, june-15 edition...

http://www.startribune.com/karamcguire/story/1246529.html

i guess i don't sound like a total moron (ya moran!) in it... guess that's a success... and whaaaa? no pix? c'mon!
===
Kara McGuire: The ABCs of ETFs (exchange-traded funds)

An exchanged-traded fund is a basket of stocks that tracks an index instead of being picked by an adviser. The funds have gained a lot of followers -- from big-bucks advisers to small-fry investors and a growing number of 401(k) plans.
By Kara McGuire, Star Tribune
Last update: June 14, 2007 – 10:33 PM


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More from Kara McGuire
Kara McGuire: The ABCs of ETFs (exchange-traded funds)
There's a fast-growing type of investment that's gaining a lot of money and fans. I've yet to write about these ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, because they aren't a great fit for people who invest a little bit of money over a long period of time -- which pretty much sums up most of my readers.
Who has a lump sum to invest? But after the 100th person hit me over the head with a rolled-up list of the virtues of ETFs, I realized it was time for a primer.
Here's how they work. An ETF basically is a basket of stocks that tracks an index instead of being picked by an adviser. But unlike traditional index funds, which are priced at the end of the day, ETFs are traded throughout the day on an exchange, the same as stocks.
Since they were introduced in 1993, ETFs have gained a lot of followers -- from big-bucks advisers to small-fry investors and a growing number of 401(k) plans -- because they are relatively cheap and tax-efficient and give investors an affordable way to diversify around the globe.
And the numbers are growing to meet the demand. There are now about 500 ETFs, plenty to confuse the average investor, but certainly nowhere near the thousands of mutual fund choices.
Jeff McComas of Woodbury is a "huge fan" of ETFs, using them in his IRAs, his taxable accounts -- anywhere he can. He's an indexing devotee and wisely believes that "costs matter."
Take one of his holdings, the Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock ETF (VWO). It has an expense ratio of 0.3 percent, whereas you can pay well over 1 percent for a mutual fund investing in developing countries. No wonder investors are rushing into ETFs.
However, like stocks, every time you buy and sell an ETF, whether through your personal broker or online through a brokerage account, you'll pay a fee ranging from a few dollars to more than $20, which can add up. For this reason, most advisers recommend ETFs for investors with a few thousand to invest. McComas waits until he has $1,000 or more to lock away.
Those with less to invest would be better off from a cost perspective with a low-priced index fund that doesn't charge a purchase fee, although McComas rightly points out that some funds require large minimum investments and ETFs don't.
So who should use ETFs? Here's an example from Tim Gunderson, an adviser with Tradition Wealth Management in Edina: "Let's take a 35-year-old couple who just inherited $100,000" with no short-term plans for the money. For them, ETFs "are a great choice."
Anyone with a lump sum to invest from a 401(k) plan, a bonus or the proceeds from a screenplay also may find ETFs appealing.
Gunderson also likes ETFs for clients with taxable accounts because the capital gains hit typically is smaller than from mutual funds.
Say ETFs are right for you. But which? Some track the S&P 500 and other broad, mainstream indexes. Others invest in a sliver of the market: Euro ETF, anyone? How about one that invests solely in Russia or buys water-related companies?
Narrowly slicing and dicing the market by sectors and countries can be fun. But it's risky -- although at least you're more diversified than when you buy a single obscure stock.
Scott Oeth, a principal with Midwest Investment Advisors, said some of those ETFs are "really interesting," but he advises people to keep the ones with limited scope for their "satellite portfolio, where you give yourself a budget of money" for fun. Think no more than 10 percent of your portfolio, if that.
McComas, 37, sticks with the broader ETFs. "There are too many niche ETFs available now," he complained in an e-mail. His advice: "Keep investing simple, avoid single-country investing risk and stop trying to time the market."
How do you use ETFs? Tell Kara McGuire at 612-673-7293 or kara@startribune.com.

hate it + hate it = love it!

i'm not an opera guy (duh). not an american idol guy (duh)... but... combine the two, and now you're talkin'... it's simple math. two negatives gets back to positive. check out the cell phone salesman...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/paul%2Bpotts/video/x28kc4_britains-got-talent-paul-sings-oper

yawn... yet another 15 secs of watery goodness

http://www.startribune.com/106/story/1238853.html
another story in the strib... the lake detective...
==================
Simple remedy cleans lake; now it's open to swimmers

Round Lake in Eden Prairie reopened this week to swimmers thanks in large part to barley straw -- an inexpensive and eco-friendly remedy for algae-clogged water.
By Sarah Lemagie and Jenna Ross, Star Tribune
Last update: June 12, 2007 – 11:29 AM

Three years ago, Round Lake had an algae problem, and Eden Prairie was considering ways to fix it.
The city liked the idea of capturing and treating all water entering the lake, said Stuart Fox, parks and natural resources manager. But city officials were less excited about the project's $1 million price tag.
Then they heard about barley straw.
Once in a pond, the straw's high level of carbon attracts microbes that eat phosphorus that would otherwise feed algae. And less algae means better, clearer water.
It's a low-tech, cheap, eco-friendly solution that's been around for thousands of years, but that a few Minnesota cities are discovering anew. And it's one big reason why this week, Eden Prairie was able to open Round Lake to swimmers for the first time in three years.
The brains behind the project is Steve McComas, an aquatic scientist whose St. Paul company, Blue Water Science, helps clients restore and manage lakes. The company has tracked the straw's success at clearing up ponds clogged with algae since 1999, and it hopes to publish its research, McComas said.
McComas' work with Round Lake focuses on the storm-water ponds that lead to it. He guesses about a dozen ponds are part of the lake's watershed. But two or three are "really key," he said, "the lake's last lines of defense."
Workers put the barley, which costs just a dollar a pound, in mesh bags they then spread around the key ponds. The barley sinks after a week or so and decomposes fully within a year. The amount of barley depends on phosphorus and algae levels, but ranges from 200 to 300 pounds of barley per acre of water.
In cities like Lakeville, residents put the barley into their own neighborhood ponds as part of an adopt-a-pond program. Eden Prairie does not recommend that homeowners try this themselves, however, said Leslie Stovring, environmental coordinator.
But soon, the process could easily be do-it-yourself, McComas said. No clear, accurate guide for putting barley into your nearby pond exists, but McComas hopes to publish a how-to soon.
For now, he offers a key tip: Don't buy bales. They're too dense. "You want the fluffy stuff," he said. McComas gets his barley from a farmer in Cambridge.
In his research, McComas is still answering some questions. He's not sure yet if barley straw might combat duckweed. And corn might work in place in barley, but that requires more study.
In Round Lake, the effort has reduced the levels of phosphorus by about 40 percent, McComas said. The cost: $30,660 for work in 2005 and 2006.
"That's huge," he said. "A lot of times it can cost more than $100,000 just to get a 10 or 15 percent reduction."
Algae makes water murky and clings to swimmers' feet -- reasons why the number of swimmers at Round Lake declined in 2002-03, Fox said.
The other reason was geese, whose feces contaminated water to levels that exceeded state limits and required more frequent beach closings.
"The closings gave people the sense that this water is unfit to swim," Fox said.
McComas considers the city's efforts to reduce the goose population part of a strategy similar to barley that focuses on "biological manipulation" rather than chemicals. This fall, the city plans to use some combination of sprinklers, dogs and grape seeds to discourage geese from congregating on the beach.
And in a way, swimmers are in that "biological manipulation" category too, he said. In three years without people, milfoil and other weeds thrived on Round Lake's beach.
"We need the swimmers back in there to clear it out," McComas said. "They, too, have a role."

pests

walking around our circle last nite... stopped so the boy could run around in his 'jurassic park' tree area (looking for dino-poop and t-rex footprints). we're just standing there, when we saw some movement in a big oak tree... then 2 critters, cooing... baby raccoons. then, the wife started cooing back, and pretty soon, there were 4 lil things walking down the tree towards us. (and thankfully no sign of the mama). i walked back, got the camera for some pix... so, there you have it. left some water and peanuts, in case the mama has been trapped or ran over.

another (watered down) 15 seconds

it's not personal... it's business

http://www.startribune.com/south/story/1222783.html



or, it's not business.. it's family. or... it's the family business... or, it's personal - it's the family. or... i think i have to watch the sopranos some more. midway thru season 6 part 1. johny sack's daughter's wedding's show's on. i gotta go, before i end up talkin' to the fishes...