heat advisory until Wednesday. Now this sub-tropic storm has rolled up our way from the south over night. Another band is supposed to visit tomorrow making for a strange, and humid, series of events.

We are fortunate to have a very nice view of the SF Bay from our upstairs bedroom. Given this luxury, and since we were awake anyway, we opened the blinds around 5:30am before the sun had risen.  Shortly afterward my son wandered in and hung out for awhile to watch the show. We watched for quite some time.  I think I finally got up around 6:30am.

After having coffee and toast the rumbling started up again. No, not from my full tummy. Thought this time I’d see if I could catch some strikes on my phone’s camera, so, headed out to the backyard to make some short videos.

Was pretty happy with this one, especially the rumblings that rolled like stereo from one ear to the next as it pushed on through.

I missed a couple of others and caught some very briefly on the edges of the frame and caught more of just rumblings. Then, a short time after the strike above, I was pointed just a bit more to the west and I caught a rather close hit. This one can be seen stretching from the surface to the top of my frame. What you can’t see is that it then extended over my head into a more spider web, fractured set of threads that I nearly became intangled in. What you also will notice is that the sound and the lightning bolt occur at the same time. The other interesting thing is that the initial sound is more of an electrical crackle as opposed to the standard boom and roll of thunder from a more distant strike. Was a bit tingly too. Apologies if my words offend.

That ended today’s filming adventure as you can see I retreated to the safety of our house. Nature is a spectacular thing and warrants a bit more respect. Normally I would have shot these from the upstairs bedroom but didn’t want to wake up my wife, whom somehow was able to fall back asleep. Perhaps that still was the better call.

Later I checked a website that records lightning strikes, iWeather.net.  I looked at my video and it showed that I recorded it at 7:50am. The lightning map shows a strike right by me at 7:53am. I’m pretty certain these are one-in-the-same. Another strike did hit just a short time later but more to the east. I’m the little blue dot near the middle.

As I was pulling things together for this post I went through the video of the strike frame-by-frame and noticed some interesting things. First was that the frame before the one that catches the eye, one will see a bolt just off to the right. The next interesting thing was that the bolt hit twice. It hits with a final bright flash, dissipates and then hits again. All within the course of about a second.  The last thing that was interesting is that at the bottom center of the shot, right after the strike hits, you’ll see a covey of birds take off. Guess it wasn’t just me that was startled.

The post Quite the Lightning Storm first appeared on the Official Blog of Jeff Lambert.

As 2017 winds to a close, and 2018 gets ready to ramp up, I hope that everyone else feels fortunate in some respect, no matter what challenges you may be facing.  There are those I know who see their end, those who are doing great and enjoying life, those who are still finding their way and those who have had loses in 2017 and are working to bounce back.  I pray that 2018 brings clarity of purpose and direction, joy, love and support when you need it.

Today’s inspiration was catylized by the images of the surroundings I’m fortunate to live amongst.

The post How Lucky I Am first appeared on the Official Blog of Jeff Lambert.

Happily, today all four were hanging out in the backyard.  The mom wasn’t too happy that I was watching but then she settled down.  When I checked later she was nursing and cleaning her brood.  Awhile later they all had settled down for a nap.

Trying to catch them now as Animal Control won’t do this.  Hoping gathering them up will result in their getting taken care of rather than roaming on their own.  Hopefully they’ll all get spayed/neutered and find a loving home.

Quality of the next video is a little lower but it’s the above video cropped in a bit closer.

The post Stray Cat and Her Kittens Hang Out in the Backyard first appeared on the Official Blog of Jeff Lambert.

If God wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates.  ~Jay Leno~

The problem with political jokes is they get elected.  ~Henry Cate, VII~

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.  ~Aesop~

If we got one-tenth of what was promised to us in these State of the Union speeches, there wouldn’t be any inducement to go to heaven.  ~Will Rogers~

Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.  ~Nikita Khrushchev~

When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I’m beginning to believe it.  ~Clarence Darrow~

Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel.  ~John Quinton~

Why pay money to have your family tree traced; go into politics and your opponents will do it for you.  ~Author unknown~

Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other.  ~Oscar Ameringer~

I offer my opponents a bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth about them.  ~Adlai Stevenson, 1952~

A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country.  ~ Tex Guinan~

I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.  ~Charles de Gaulle~

Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks.  ~Doug Larson~

There ought to be one day — just one — when there is open season on Congressmen.  ~Will Rogers~

The post Some Great Political One-Liners first appeared on the Official Blog of Jeff Lambert.

The definition of Paraprosdokian is “A figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently used in a humorous situation.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraprosdokian

“Where there’s a will, I want to be in it,” is a type of paraprosdokian.

Ok, so now enjoy!

1. Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it’s still on my list.

3. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong.

5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

6. War does not determine who is right – only who is left.

7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

8. Evening news is where they begin with ‘Good Evening,’ and then proceed to tell you why it isn’t.

9. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

10. A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station.

11. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks.

12. Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says, ‘In case of emergency, notify:’ I put ‘DOCTOR.’

13. I didn’t say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

14. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

15. Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.

16. A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.

17. I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way.  So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.

18. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

19. Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.

20. There’s a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can’t get away.

21. I used to be indecisive. Now I’m not so sure.

22. You’re never too old to learn something stupid.

23. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

24. Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.

25. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

26. Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

27. A diplomat is someone who tells you to go to hell in such a way that you look forward to the trip.

28. Hospitality is making your guests feel at home even when you wish they were.

29. I always take life with a grain of salt. Plus a slice of lemon, and a shot of tequila.

30. When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.

The post Paraprosdokian first appeared on the Official Blog of Jeff Lambert.

Dad

It is so very difficult to accept and say that you are gone, but it is easy to say that you will always be with us.  You not only will be with us in our hearts and memories, but you also will be with us in the fact that we are a reflection of you.

Whether you knew it or not your teachings and love have molded your sons and made us into the men we are today.  We all are self-sufficient.  We don’t enter any challenge unprepared or with doubt in our minds.  We can do anything because you involved us and taught us to do for ourselves.  You did not hold us back or limit our curiosities but fostered our enthusiasm to learn and take on challenges.  You taught us to not expect things to be handed to us but for us to be hard working and feel the satisfaction that comes from obtaining rewards through our minds and our hands.

Dad, not only did you teach us that we can do anything we put our minds to, but you taught us to share these skills to help others.  We saw in you a very giving person who was quick to jump in whenever a need presented itself, even if the endeavor was inconvenient or required great effort.  The people you touched with your kindness and giving nature is countless.  Paying it forward was always your way of living even before the term was coined.

Dad, you shaped us by sharing your love of the outdoors.  From taking us fishing in local lakes to fishing and camping in the high Sierras.  You got us involved in Scouting where your heavy involvement not only supported our exposure to much more experiences than we would have otherwise had, but left us with lasting memories like your cracked ribs from sliding down snow banks like a big kid to our trip to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico and the adventures along the way.

Your attention to detail and your conveyance of the importance of exacting standards was passed along by teaching us the fine art of placing tinsel on the Christmas tree, one painful strand at a time.  Is there really any other way?

Dad, your sense of humor also made it into our personalities.  Fortunately, your ability to put up with our practical jokes was without equal.  From having cigarettes explode in your face to your taking a big lick of what you thought was whip cream, only to shockingly learn it was the shaving cream we’d put in your hand while you were sleeping in an attempt to get you to wipe it on your face when we tickled your nose.

We will miss the little things too, like the memories of the occasional treat of going to get an ice cream, to your awesome skill at running a hand of Hearts.

Dad, we hope that we have done you justice by taking the good that we learned from you, folding it into our genetic structure and our actions, and passing this treasure on to our children and our grandchildren.  Your life is a legacy that will only grow and spread for it not only lives on in our wonderful memories of you, but in the others you have touched.  And the essence of you will continue to spread in the strong, hardworking generations to come.

We will love you always.

The post Happy Father’s Day Dad first appeared on the Official Blog of Jeff Lambert.

As you’ll see if you click the link, I resurrected the old theLamberts.org website.  May not be perfect, but then, it’s pretty ancient.

The post 15 Years and Going Strong! first appeared on the Official Blog of Jeff Lambert.

Then I decided to learn something from a remarkable 17 year old.  He is wise beyond his years and seems to have been this way for several years, if not longer.  Truly inspirational talk on his philosophy for a happy life.

I wrapped it up with a talk on determining your Life’s Purpose in 5 minutes.  It actually was quite a concept and one I will think about more in the coming days.

I try not to feel guilty when I get pulled into these talks as many of the ones I’ve watched have left me thinking about things that are sometimes profound and sometimes just make your mind wander and ponder.

I did stop after these but think I’ll try and find a 15-30 minute block of time in my day to watch one or two of these talks and see where they lead me. Perhaps they will result in my finding a new hobby, a new area of interest, a new way of  interacting with others or simply an ice breaker topic the next time I’m meeting someone for the first time.

I Googled to see if there was a good utility or site where others have reviewed and recommended talks but didn’t find much in the short time that I searched. This would be really helpful as these talks seem limitless. Here are three lists I found and will probably look through when I find a slow time in the coming days.

Bill Gates 13 Favorite Ted Talk Episodes

11 Must See TED Talks

12 Must Watch TED Talks for Entrepreneurs – though they didn’t seem to include this one.

If you know of a good TED Talk, please share it with me.

What does a giraffe and a skier have in common?

The post TEDx Talks first appeared on the Official Blog of Jeff Lambert.