Another hectic weekend. Friday was dinner and a short game of Settlers at our Pastor's house and then off to bed. I had hoped to wake up early Saturday so I could plow the church before praise team practice, but that didn't work out too well. So I had praise team practice, then plowing most of the parking lot while working around cars. Debbie met me in the parking lot and I dropped the plow off the truck (gotta love the Fisher Minute Mount II) and we went to Traverse City for lunch and running around for food and building supplies. I finished plowing the church and we went home. I dumped Debbie off at the house and started plowing our road while she made dinner. Nestina came home (perfect timing) just as dinner was ready. That was pretty much the day.

Sunday was the normal routine other than we had Pastor and Kim over for left-overs from the leaders meeting on Thursday. As usual, we made way too much food, so we figured a family with three kids should make a good size dent in the pile. They did. Nestina invited a friend over making a total of nine for dinner. It was pretty fun. I hadn't realized that the Pastor and his family had not seen our house since we had moved in, so they got the deluxe tour (includes free appetizers). They left around 3pm so their youngest could get a nap before evening service. I had hoped for the same, but it wasn't to be. Nestina had driven into town to drop her friend off at work. She called us on her cell phone to inform us that her car was smoking, the power steering had gone out, and the alternator light was on. I jumped into work cloths and flew into town. A tow truck had pulled her car into a parking lot. I figured it could stay there as well as anywhere else, so I dropped off her friend at work and we headed back home just in time for me to change cloths again and drive back into church. I never got my nap at home, so I took one in the evening service. After church, we just crashed until bedtime.

Monday, I drove Nestina into school, dropped the keys off at the garage, and headed for work. The garage called around 2pm to tell me the alternator was toast. It had overheated bad enough to melt things, then seized up. I feel like I'm building a new car one piece at a time. I sure hope we have run out of parts that can die for at least a little while. But at least Nestina will have wheels again tomorrow. Anyway, all three of us were running in separate directions and didn't all land at home until almost 9pm. I decided to make a late night of it and try to find the top of my desk. I haven't seen it in nearly two months. I will likely approach it like an archeological dig, going layer by layer.

Some food for thought:

I have always argued that affirmative action was a bad deal for anyone who played along. It increases failure rates by putting unqualified people into circumstances that they cannot handle. The failures reinforce the stereotypes. It also lowers everyone else's assumptions as to a person's ability when they are a member of one of the recipient groups (blacks, latinos, women). Everyone has labeled someone as an "affirmative action hire." Depending on the circumstances, that exact phrase cannot be uttered out loud, but everyone thinks it. Well, after 20 years or so, someone important agrees:

"Blacks are the victims of law school programs of affirmative action, not the beneficiaries." According to Stuart Taylor, Jr.'s summary of Sander's research, preferences do such a thorough job of placing black students in law schools where they are unlikely to succeed, that abolishing affirmative action in admissions would decrease the number of blacks admitted to law schools—but increase the number who graduate and pass the bar exam.

Nothing like stating the obvious.

This stands alone, without any comment from me needed.

And another example from the Mother Country that the demise of a culture does not have to come to pass through outside aggression. England seems to be doing a swimming job of destroying themselves. I'm sure we will repeat history and do likewise in due time. This is just stupidity on stilts, but one must not say that in polite company. Good thing this blog contains nothing of the kind.

Anyway, I have real work to get done, as much as I would like to keep messing around here.