Earlier today on the main site, I mentioned going to the Billy Graham Crusade... Thursday night was something like number three on my personal preference list for the musical entertainment: Sunday's line-up didn't do much for me, but either Saturday with D.C. Talk and Kirk Franklin or tonight with The Charlie Daniel's Band would have worked out okay...

Nope, neither of those meshed with our calendar. So, Thursday it was. ...and with Crystal Lewis in the line-up, things looked okay. ...and then there were these other guys scheduled to play, The Katinas; I hadn't heard much of them, other than that one fairly mellow song on the radio. Man did I guess wrong...

Things opened with the choir and a speaker and a singer from the Crusade; then Crystal Lewis came on and did her "When God's People Pray" tribute to the events of September 11. She finished her set and we heard from another speaker and the choir. Then The Katinas came on...

They opened with that slow song I mentioned; and after that, the guitarist started playing around a bit. I didn't quite catch on at first, but you know how your brain will grab the melody out of whatever is going on once you figure out the beat? Well, he was doing the old Hendrix "Star Spangled Banner" wail! ...only he was playing "O God, Our Help in Ages Past". ...and where Hendrix segued into "Purple Haze", he blended into "Open the Eyes of My Heart". Man, I thought Sonic Flood had a lock on the high energy version of that song, but not after that set. Forty thousand people on their feet clapping double time to an already pounding song. Wow.

...and a few moments later, total complete silence in the stadium as Dr. Graham began to speak. Total. I mean, you could hear the microphone hum in the background it was so quiet.

Quiet enough ...

Some paybacks are just too sweet...

Now even in the corporate world: Smuckers is adding Jif to its product line!

...with Crisco coming along to make sure the deal slides through the regulatory process.

One way to tame your system tray (Patti's link below) is with a tool called Startup Manager. This gem is available as freeware from Brad Stowers at the Delphi Free Stuff site (upper left corner, under Freeware; under Startup Manager). The direct link is here if you have navigation problems...

Start-up Manager allows you to disable programs that install themselves to start upon bootup. Do be careful about killing things that will prevent your computer from ever booting successfully...

Found in Dave's book...

For the "E-mail of the year" prize...

No, really; you have to read this one.

You may be able to help!

Coupla' thoughts up over on the main site...

So... I did manage to get up early enough to head out to the store for some essentials. ...and I ran into the Yard Sailors!

Man, I'd forgotten about them: Land yachts and cargo vessels clogging safe transit corridors... Sea lanes blocked interminably while they maneuver their wallowing beasts through ponderous u-turns.

...and, darting in and out around the slower vessels, personal pleasure craft and speed boats.

Some of whom were evidently acting as pilot fish, cell phones to their ears, trolling and reporting in....

...to the admirals, apparently coordinating fleet movements across hundreds of square miles of fishing grounds.

I'll tell you how bad it is: last Saturday, as my sister was headed over to Mom's to feed the dog before she headed out to the hospital, she found herself docked at a yard sale...

It seems her cargo vessel's fish finder is directly connected to the autopilot...

Even Hal's in on it: The Food Network, continued...