TO THE DAILY JOURNAL 2003
TO THE DAILY NEWS PAGE
September 5th, 2004
Happy Labor Day to all. Recent updates to the website include a link to Zell Miller's Keynote speech at the Republican National Convention, a link to a great article by Jack Kinsella regarding John Kerry's platform, and another Kinsella article regarding the US Economy and the National Debt. All three articles are good reads - do yourself a favor and take the time to look through them.
I'm still working on transcribing the Alaska 2004 fishing journal. Guess I wrote a few more pages than I thought I did. On the advice of a friend, I ended up purchasing "Dragon Speak" software - it is a voice recognition software that takes dictation and transcribes what you say into a word file. At this point I'd give it 3 out of 4 stars for effectiveness. It has helped save me a few thousand keystrokes so far during the journal transcription, however, the word recognition accuracy is spotty at times, and my "sockeyer-dialect" gives the software quite a work out. But in the long run I think this is going to be a great investment and very good for my aching hands.
Oh yeah - Wayne and Marie are going to have a baby!! Congratulations.
August 20th, 2004
Back from another great Alaska trek. We all had a great time as usual. I'll be updating the sight over the next few days/weeks as I get a chance. Have a photo page already completed ...Photo Gallery 1....and will be working on transcribing my journal and trip notes as well. Have made a few new entries into the Sockeyer Dictionary page, as well.
While I was gone we've had some other noteworthy events take place. Rene and Ryan had their first child - a son - Tyler Everett King- in July, and Chas and Ikuyo had their baby-boy (Joseph Daiichi Cannon) in August. Oh, yeah, happy 40th birthday Chas - you're old!!
July 2nd, 2004
Well, today is the day! After waiting for a long long year, Alaska vacation 2004 begins today. Will probably wet a line sometime tomorrow. And in the middle of next week I'll be down on the Kenai tracking those pesky second run sockeye. It's a very strange sensation - the day finally arriving - after all the preparations and daydreaming of the prior months. But I'm really looking forward to being "home" on the Kenai again. Anyhow - that's all I've got to say for now - I'll be updating things once I return. God bless.
June 27th, 2004
Returned Tuesday from our long weekend up in Portland. Had a great trip all the way around. Friday started by Glory and I riding stand-by on AA into PDX. Because we were slated for the later flight we chose the stand-by route. The drawback was that we didn't make the same flight. Friday evening we had a nice dinner at Charlie and Ikuyo's new house. Eli and his family joined us, as did Stacey and Marcel. Had a good meal, nice visit, and shot a few baskets in the backyard.
Saturday we slept in and then headed out to the Oregon Coast. We hit Seaside for a few hours and then drove down 101 to Lincoln City. We overnighted with the folks. Sunday morning we had a great walk on the beach at lowtide. Made it all the way down to the exposed tide pools, all the while hunting for rocks and throwing the ball to Skully. It was a great morning at the coast - cool, fresh air, a little foggy, but no wind. We also saw the new resident eagle flying about. Sunday we headed back to town and had a father's day family dinner at Ken and Nanay's house (Milwaukie house). It's always nice to see the old homestead. Glory and I really miss that place, we're so glad that it's still in the family though.
Monday we were back in PDX. I dropped Glory off at work and then went up to Harriet Lake for a day of trout fishing with Tim and Rodney. We arrived at about 10am to a clear sunny day, hot sun, and a lake devoid of any other boats. Other than the scorching sun the day was perfect. I hooked the first fish, Rod caught the biggest fish, and Tim caught the most fish. Our success came on a combination of powerbait and rooster tail techniques. It was something to come back home and go fishing - I was joking with the guys how I had to fly up to Oregon for a guided fishing trip - in order to get my line wet.
Tuesday we headed home, although prior to going to the airport I was able to get in two more visits with friends. In the morning I stopped by and visited Dana (Klaus Von Spiegelbol) and Evil Shauna-bo and for lunch I met John Millen and Cliff at the Shari's near the airport. In all, our trip was a great success. We saw all the family, saw all the kids, met all the friends, got to the coast, caught fish at the lake, and in general had a great weekend. We even brought Judy back to Dallas with us!
Spoke with Wayne yesterday about the upcoming Gulkana trip. We're both positive that the Kings are gonna be in our hole when we get there next weekend. I definitely getting excited. Only 5 days to go and I'm there. Thought this week would never come.
June 17th, 2004
Received a letter today from Marvin and Chim Marquardt. They are currently up in Alaska at their Anchor Point home. It's great to hear from them as usual. They have become good friends over the last few years and Glory and I always look forward to spending some time with them while we are up in Alaska. Also, it looks like Marvin's brother-in-law Roger will be up fishing again this year. I met Roger for the first time two years ago - when he came up for his first AK trip. It will be nice to see them all again!
Last night Glory and I attended a conference at Hillcrest Church - the featured speaker was Malcolm Hedding from the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, Israel. He spoke at length for about an hour regarding Israel's place in "Biblical Zionism" versus how other's look at it via "Political Zionism". Confusing? Not really. His lecture was very well organized and thought out. I am in the process of transcribing my notes from the lecture, and I will post them as soon as I can. What it boils down to though, is that we as Christians need to be "on the way" of God's path for Israel and not "in the way". Thus, we need to understand the land/violence crisis that Israel is currently undergoing by looking through biblical principles and seeing how God currently views Israel. While I'm not doing justice to his lecture here, hopefully my notes outline will be more clear. Suffice it to say that both Glory and I were very grateful that we attended his lecture.
June 14th, 2004
Getting closer and closer to vacation everyday!! Another 18 days to go. Have been talking with Wayne regarding our first adventure for the 4th of July weekend - looks like we're going to head to the Gulkana to fish for King Salmon. It's possible that Wayne may be able to borrow a friend's raft and turn our first adventure into a King Salmon float-trip, as well. We're still discussing the details, probably won't decide whether to make it a float trip for another week or so. Regardless, the historical run timing for both Gulkana Kings and Reds looks promising for the area of the river we plan to cover - mix in a bunch of grayling and some trout - and we ought to be able to catch at least one meal over the weekend.
Still going to rehab for my right hand. Though things are improving, I still have some swelling around the tendons that I can't get rid of. I have an appointment to get a cortisone injection in the hand later this week. Hopefully, that should be enough to put me over the edge and on the way to recovery - ready enough for a long fishing vacation.
We're heading up to PDX at the end of the week for a visit of the relatives and for Glory to get some days in at the PDX office. I guess she needs to "inspect her troops" up there. The bonus of this trip is that we're going to get an overnight at the Coast. Both of us are looking forward to seeing the ocean again and breathing in some Pacific NW fresh-air. Also, I have planned a fishing trip with the guys for Monday. I'm hoping I can get them to take me up to Harriet Lake for a day of trout fishing. Would sure be nice to get out on the water for a day prior to my vacation. That reminds me, I better call them tomorrow and make sure that the plans are set. With any luck, I'll actually have a fishing report and some fish pics to post when I get back.
That's about it for now. God bless America. If you don't know Jesus yet - make tonight the night!
June 2nd, 2004
Greetings folks. Well we had a pretty good holiday weekend. No barbecues, but we did get plenty of naps in. Had a heck of a storm last night. Got home from our country drive thru Oklahoma in the evening and could tell that we were due for an electrical storm - and boy did we get one. From about 8pm-11pm we had constant lightning (and I mean constant - like a strobe light), thunder, and rain. For most of the evening we were under a tornado watch, too. Now, both of us are okay with the whole thunderstorm thing, but when they tell us a tornado may be on the way - well that's when things get a bit scary. Apparently one did touch down briefly in Arlington - which is about 25 miles away. Luckily all we got hit with was the 80mph wind gusts. We were missed by the baseball sized hail as well, so I guess we were quite lucky overall. I did get a few minutes of video of the lightning storm - it was most impressive. There's still a lot of Dallas without power today, lots of treefall and wind-damage, too. And from what they are saying on the news today, we are supposed to go through another similar incident again tonight. Fun fun!
Guess there is a good chance Glory and I will be visiting PDX in a few weeks. I'm already trying to figure out how to get in a fishing trip on the Breitenbush.
Well, it's 30 days until sockeye season for me. Things are starting to get down to the wire. The first run of Russian River sockeye should be hitting the Kenai anytime now, so I'll be tracking that run with eager anticipation. Can't wait to get my line in the water. 30 days and counting - yahoo!!
May 18th, 2004
Well, I realize that the frequency of my postings has tailed off a bit over the last few months. It's probably a combination of apathy combined with the aggravation of my "carpal-tunnel" syndrome in both wrists. As a result of the condition I find myself spending less and less time around computers and therefore I'm not doing much with the website right now.
On the home front things are going well for the Cannon family. We've pretty much filled the house up now. All of our rooms are painted and occupied. We got our new couch and recliner last weekend. I got my first nap on Sunday in the recliner - it's going to work out just fine! Had our rotten tree in the front-yard removed today. The front of the house looks much better now. We've got a few major projects left to tackle - replacement of the backyard fence, acquisition of a backyard storage shed - to name a few. Other than that though, I think we're close to finished with those "one-time" move-in expenditures. Hopefully, we can get back to saving some money again soon (oops - I mean after the Alaska trip!)
Spoke with Rodney on Saturday - he's adamant that he is going to make it to Alaska this year. I am supposed to follow up with him this weekend and make sure that he's got his vacation days in order.
Well, trip time is 45 days and counting. Pretty amazing, huh? Only a few weeks ago I was at 100 days to go. But the day is fast approaching. Each day those sockeye get a little bit closer. Each day the Cannon family gets closer to its newest member. Each day Jesus gets nearer to his return - are you ready to meet him?
Take care all, send us some email and let us know what is going on out there.
May 4th, 2004
Just returned from a short trip to Anchorage, Alaska. Flew up last Thursday to visit Wayne and check on the condition of the motorhome. Apparently everything wintered okay-fine because the Minnie Winnie fired right up and all of the appliances still worked. Other than that, I battled Wayne at cribbage for a few days, and we even managed an over-night foray up the Parks Highway into Montana Creek. Got a few pictures from our day of "wetting our lines" fishing.
As the pictures show, we had great Alaska spring-time weather. Montana Creek still had some patches of snow along the banks, as did all of the other rivers we passed by. Definitely a great day to be out in the wilderness - trekking around along a river somewhere. Not much happening fish-wise, but that will be changing in a few week's time.
Also, I got a couple decent photos on the way out last night on the airplane. The first photo is a shot looking south from directly over downtown towards the Turnagain Arm. The photo after that is a northern look from above at part of the Copper River Delta. This is the spot where those first sockeye and kings are harvested each year and sent south to those trendy restaurants ready to pay top dollar for the "first catch of the year". The photos don't do either view justice, but I thought they turned out pretty cool.
April 17th, 2004
I've added a couple of interesting new links in the links page. The first link is the text of the infamous August 6th PDB that the 9/11 Commission is making such a big deal about. Ladies and gentlemen, please read the text of this document. See if from the text you could have discerned the 9/11 attacks. It is extremely clear to me that much like Ms. Rice claimed in her testimony - the PDB is basically a summary of historical information. It's sad that the Democrats are trying to turn this into a smoking gun that President Bush had foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks. Anyone that is making this claim either hasn't read the brief or is a liar.
The second link I posted is a story that was published back in December 2003. It concerns an interview that a young 25-year-old member of the European Union Parliament gave concerning the EU's involvement in the Palestinian situation. It is a fact that the EU gives hundreds of millions of dollars to the Palestinians. It's also a well known fact that the majority of the money never ends up with the Palestinian people - instead it is continually siphoned off by their leaders to fund their terrorist operations. The interview by EU MP Ilka Schroeder details her claims that the EU intentionally sends the money to the Palestinians in order to fund terrorism so that they can fight a proxy war against America. When you go to vote for John Kerry, just remember that he wants to make America subservient to France and Germany - the leaders of the EU. Folks, there is definitely something sinister brewing with the European Union - whether you want to believe it or not - the EU is the "revived Roman Empire" talked about in the books of Daniel and Revelation. They are preparing the way for the Anti-Christ to rule this planet. It's time to wake up and smell the proverbial coffee. This interview with Ms. Schroeder is just another clue as to what is going on.
Sockeye count: 76 days!
April 10th, 2004
Easter greetings to all. The Lord has risen!
Got word today from brother Charles that Ikuyo is going to have a boy in September. Guess it is time for them to start picking out names. Dad Cannon also sent me a few pictures of their new house. They just moved in last weekend.
Haven't been updating the website much lately. Due to development of carpal-tunnel syndrome in both hands I've been off the computer as much as possible. My doctors at Park Cities took me out of work for a week and then placed me on reduced time last week in order to get some rest for my aching hands. I've got a couple real good doctors at Park Cities. Dr. Hunter is doing a fine job with my bad hands and Dr. Luke is straightening out my back real well. I am very impressed with their knowledge and dedication to my well being. I can't recommend them highly enough.
Due to the expanding number of hyperlinks that I've embedded throughout the website, I've decided to create a separate "Links Page" on this site. The Links Page will continue to grow and accumulate my favorite links while the links on the home page will continue to change with the current times. Any input or ideas for links on the new page are greatly appreciated.
Sockeye countdown: 83 days
March 24th, 2004
We're all moved in to the new house, now. We had the movers out on Saturday to take care of the big bulky items that neither of us wanted to lift. Nothing got broke, either!! Spent the rest of the weekend and Monday on the unloading of boxes and arrangement of various rooms.
Had a major breakdown on the way to work yesterday - the water pump on the Dakota seized up and busted, which in turn threw the serpentine fanbelt, which in turn caused my power steering to fail and my engine to overheat. I had to abandon the rig within walking distance of work and deal with the tow truck and the mechanics for the rest of the day. Boo hoo.
On a happier note, today marks the 100 days to go until Alaska day! Gotta start to work on those last minute preparations now!
March 17th, 2004
This posting is for all of you unfortunate types still coping with the winter weather blues - Dallas hit 80+ degrees today. Not bad for the middle of March, eh?
March 15th, 2004
Well it has been a good long time since my last post, but that's how things go when you get busy. Let's see if I can offer up a quick recap to bring things up to date. I headed up to Portland at the beginning of the month for a week's work at MKA. Everything went well on the job. I got a free Saturday to go visit friends and relatives as well. Even got to attend a bible study again!! Thanks to all that took the time to visit with me and house me over-night.
Helped Dad setup his webpage while in town. We finally determined his existing internet provider was not going to be able to support his page - so got him hooked up with Yahoo. His new webpage is www.cannoncollections.com
Glory and I closed on our house last week (Friday the 5th, I believe). Since then it's been non-stop packing and moving. Nearly everything is out of the storage area and apartment now. Only the big bulky items that require a moving van (and some movers) is left. Over the weekend Glory and I began painting and house-fixer-upping. Originally, everything in the house was painted white....it felt like being in a hospital. Glory picked out some nice colors for the kitchen, small living room, and master bedroom and we went to town. I think that Home Depot now owns a third mortgage on our house. We've also had the handyman out doing a few higher level fixes, as well. So we have a new toilet, some new fence-gates, a new motion-sensor floodlight over the driveway, one less tree in the yard, a new mail-box post, a re-seated dishwasher, a fixed gutter...and a few other improvements all taken care of. Glory and I have concentrated on cleaning and painting the interior prior to the big move-in planned for Sat. 20th. We can't wait - no more commuting between home and apartment - finally we get to sleep in our new house!!!
The other big announcement came from Charles and Ikuyo.......Ikuyo is pregnant!!! Congratulations to the Cannon's. I believe the baby is due sometime in September. Very exciting for them and for my parents - who have been wanting to be grandparents for awhile now.
Well, that's about it for now. Oh yeah, almost forgot.....only 109 more days until Alaska!!
February 14th, 2004:
Happy Valentine's Day. As promised we did get a bit of snow overnight. It was just enough to turn everything white and give a new look to the dull brown of Dallas. Took a couple pictures of bunny during our walk. Let no one say that we don't have winter in Texas..... pic1 pic2
February 13th, 2004:
Looks like we're going to have a house! Yay! It's about time. Glory took a couple pictures the other day while we were over there.....here's an exterior shot..... Coppell House Closing day is March 10th....and then we need to start moving things. We'll definitely be out of this apartment by the end of March. Good-bye to Ramon and Raul - 2 fools we'll never have to see again.
Wow, we've been having winter these last few days. It's gotten cold out and there's even a rumor that it may snow 1-2inches tonight. The reality of things is that winter here is extremely mild....late in arrival and early in departure. It's going to be spring in no time.
Just got through figuring our Fed Taxes for this year - another decent refund - at it will come at a good time, too, I can see some furniture buying money courtesy of George W. coming in soon. I told Glory we were going to get a refund....she asked me, "Are you sure you didn't cheat?".
February 6th, 2004:
Well for what its worth we've passed the option period on the latest house we offered on....looks like we're going to make it to "closing" on this deal. There were a few quirks to work out, but let's not get into those now. We're just praising God that we are finally about to enter into our promised land. Just for the record any of you who are needing a realtor in the Dallas area - give Paige Whiteside a call. She worked extremely hard on our behalf and we're very grateful that we were recommended to her.
I've closed the deal with MKA and I'm off to PDX at the end of February to help out there for a week. Hopefully, I'll be able to work in a day of friends and family visitations along the way
January 29th, 2004:
Well, we made an offer on another house and it got accepted. The house is out in Coppell, TX - a nice little suburb of Dallas. Home inspection is on Saturday - so we'll know after that whether it's a keeper or not.
Received some photos from Wayne Manor - one of the Minnie Winnie under 3 feet of snow, the other of Wayne is his dug out driveway.......
Minnie Winnie...... Wayne's driveway.....
Brings tears to my eyes to see the motorhome again. But soon - soon we will be reunited for yet another summer of fun and fishing.
Also, have been contacted by Stan at MKA/Panasonic about returning to work there for a week at the end of February to help them with their year-end closing. We're trying to work out the logistics over the next few days. Hopefully, Gentry Group and Robert Half will be okay with me taking the time off. But if it works out I'll be back home in PDX for a week of intensive work, hopefully I'll get a weekend day off to do some visiting. We'll see.
January 26th, 2004:
Well as things turned out the house we liked already had an offer on it and was under contract. We found that out about 30minutes before we were to go meet with our realtor to draw up our offer. That was kind of a bummer....but not to despair. Sunday, we went back out to Coppell and saw another home (albeit it slightly bigger and more expensive) that we also liked. There is a good chance we'll be making an offer on that one during the middle of this week. The only downside to this 2nd home is the kitchen is a bit dated. Bunny really doesn't like the old cabinet doors (I can't blame her) - some of them are cracked and they are just painted a bland white. The dishwasher is kinda old, too. But besides that, the house seems to have a nice layout and character to it. We really like the little neighborhood that it is in, too. So we'll see....
Neighbor update: Saturday night Ramon and Raul had some more party guests over at night. At 2am I wake up to the sounds of someone rustling through our bushes just outside our bedroom window. I open the blinds and see some young guy with a flashlight peering over into our patio/deck. My first thought was that I was going to get to club a prowler on the head. It turns out the idiot was from upstairs, and in their partying on the deck at 2am - had dropped his keys down into the bushes outside our window. So much for the clubbing. However, the story still gets better.....on Sunday at 8am as I open our door to go out to get a Sunday paper at the mail center...I freeze in my tracks....there is a giant puddle of puke splattered all over the cement entryway in front of our door. Ramon and Raul, or one of their buddies, puked up from over the stair-rail during the night. Apparently, they weren't concerned about cleaning it up - hey it's not in front of their door. Even the management couldn't ignore this latest episode. I've been assured that their days are numbered....but I'll believe it when they move out.
January 24th, 2004:
We went house hunting again today out in Coppell. The first house we went to we both liked - a first on our house hunting trips here in Dallas. So, we're hoping to make an offer on it tomorrow. God willing - this will be the one!!
JANUARY 16th, 2004:
Talked with Chas the other day, apparently they are really close to finalizing the deal on their new house.
Glory and I are back on the house search starting tomorrow. We've pretty much given up on living in the middle of the city. In the city center, the houses are older, they cost more per square foot, and the neighborhoods are often suspect. So, we've decided to refocus our search on some of the suburbs: Coppell and Lewisville. The big drawback of course will be highway commute times in the morning and evenings, but I guess that's what it's all about in the big city. The plus side of moving outside of town is that we can get a relatively newer house for a lot less money. The thought of being able to pay-off our house in a shorter period of time definitely appeals to me. So, off we go on the search.....
Talked to Glory about expanding the website....that's right EXPANDING the website. Right now, we're on a 50mb storage plan. With all of our photos, wave-files, and other non-sense I've created, we're consuming about 49.5MB. Anytime I decide to make a change I have to take something else away. So, I think we're going to upgrade with an additional 500MB of storage - so be on the lookout for more photo pages, music titles and other self-generated non-sense!!
Saw on the ADN website today a very good article regarding the forecast for the 2004 red return into Cook Inlet. They estimate another bumper crop of reds this year - very comparable to last year's numbers. And we all remember that during last year's fishing there were so many reds that it was ridiculous at times. Normally, there is about 3 big days of over 50,000+ fish during the peak of the run. Last year we had like 7 or 8 days of way over 50,000 fish. In fact there was a day of over 100k, 2-days of 90k+, a couple of 70/80k days....it was sockeye heaven. Can't wait to get out there again! Only about another 175+ days to go!
Over the last few evenings I've been watching the PBS broadcast of "Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln: A House Divided". It is very similar in style to Ken Burn's "The Civil War" documentary. I really enjoyed the program. Watching the program really motivated me to look back at some of the documents that form the basis of the great country we live in. As a result, I went out on the web and found some transcripts of some of the documents that all Americans should take time to read and reflect upon. For your consumption I proudly present the following links:
- The Declaration Of Independence
- The Bill of Rights / The Constitution (show me the separation of church and state if you can)
- Great Quotes From America's Past
JANUARY 7th, 2004
Welcome to the New Year! Things started out pretty sweet here in Dallas over the first few days of 2004. We had a couple of days in the mid-70's where things were downright hot again. There's nothing like going out for a stroll in shorts and t-shirt in the middle of winter. That never happened in Portland, that's for sure.
Christmas was very good to us this year. Glory and I made the flight to PDX on Christmas eve. We stayed over at Eli's house and got to meet our new nephew (Christopher) and new niece (Elissa) for the first time. Thursday, we had Christmas with my family over in Lake Oswego. We visited our old house on Friday. I went over and saw Tim G. for awhile. Had a great "Halo" match with Klaus, Shaunabo, and Eli. There was a great dinner with the Millens at Tony Roma's, and a nice 3-hr visit with Berdina down in Kaiser. So, in all, quite a successful mini-vacation.
Yesterday, Glory headed off to PDX for a week of work at the old office. Only this time, she traveled to Portland in the middle of their huge snowstorm. Good thing we checked out the weather channel before she left and got her packed with long-johns and a stocking cap.
The house hunt has been a bit frustrating for us. We made an offer on a place we liked, but the home inspection turned up way to many problems that needed fixing - and the sellers didn't like the long repair list we handed them. So, we ended up terminating our offer on the last day of our option period. In retrospect, it was a good thing, because neither of us want to be saddled with a house that becomes a fixer-upper of a nightmare.
I always like crossing into the new year. Alaska-wise it marks the beginning of the period of when I look forward to the next adventure (and start counting the days) as opposed to reflecting back to current year's great memories. If my luck holds out and the wife is willing, then 2004 should be just as good as AK 2003.
Well, that's about it for now....gotta go....my halibut is about ready to eat!! (Still reaping the benefits of that long Alaska vacation!!)
TO THE
DAILY JOURNAL 2003