Text of the Bill of Rights

Preamble
Congress of the United States begun and held at the City of New-York, on Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine
THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent starts of its institution.
RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.
ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.[6]
Amendments

First Amendment – Establishment Clause, Free Exercise Clause; freedom of speech, of the press, and of assembly; right to petition
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Second Amendment – Militia (United States), Sovereign state, Right to keep and bear arms.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. [7]

Third Amendment – Protection from quartering of troops.
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Fourth Amendment – Protection from unreasonable search and seizure.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Fifth Amendment – due process, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, eminent domain.
No person shall be held to answer for any capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Sixth Amendment – Trial by jury and rights of the accused; Confrontation Clause, speedy trial, public trial, right to counsel
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

Seventh Amendment – Civil trial by jury.
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Eighth Amendment – Prohibition of excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Ninth Amendment – Protection of rights not specifically enumerated in the Constitution.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Tenth Amendment – Powers of States and people.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Halloween, '08

For Halloween, I dressed up as someone else. However, it wasn't that elaborate of a costume... I didn't go trick-or-treating, either. I went to the church building to say hi to some people (there was a harvest party going on), and then went to hang out at Brian and Marcia's house for a while.
In, the picture, you can't properly see the wonderful little name tag I made, but it has a picture of who I was supposed to be, along with his name, and of course, the SUBWAY logo... Anyway, at the church and over at B&M's, my costume seemed to be a big hit.
Then people wanted to see if 2 women could fit inside that pair of pants, and the answer is yes.

hmmm

I tried blogging 3 things last night and today (from my cell phone, which I've done many times before), but they were not going through. I don't yet know if it's something caused by T-Mobile or Blogger/blogspot... - To be continued

Trees and eats

I went up into one of my big trees today, and sawed off a big limb that had been dangling for a couple of years. I roped myself to the tree, and was very safe. I was probably only 20 or so feet off the ground. --- I am about to make some "no-bake" (chocolatey-peanut-buttery-goodness). Some of us are having a little potluck tomorrow, since it's the last day for one of the girls there.

Helmet? Check.

I hit 46mph on my bicycle today. Luckily, I wasn't pulled over - because that was definately over the speed limit (the limit was probably 35).

Tin Man

1st place, baby...

Rainiers game tonight

I'm going to the Rainiers game tonight as part of a customer appreciation event from one of our vendors. There will be free food and beverages on the party deck in left field. I guess they appreciate me... or maybe they just had extra tickets... :)

I have a blog???

So, I forgot I have a blog. j/k.
I guess you all want to hear about my 3-week trip to the Caribbean... But that will have to wait until I actually go there - which is not currently in the works.
Our softball team has 8 wins, and 1 loss. We have a game tomorrow, a game on Thursday, and another game on Sunday, which will be the final game of the regular season. Then there's a tournament that takes place on 4 different days. We are, of course, hoping to win the tournament, like we did in 2003 and 2006 (we didn't field a team in '04 & '05, and came in 2nd in '07).
I haven't gone sailing since that time I took 4 single ladies out into the open sea (some of you know what I'm talking about).
My neck/back have been really tight today (all day) - Grrrrr.
I BBQ'd a couple of burgers today - mmmm. Nice and moist. I'm not a fan of dry burgers.
The person I was hired on to replace (at my new job) - Linn - only has 3 more days until she retires. I'm just about ready. There's been a ton of things to absorb into m' brain.
Has anyone seen Felix? I don't know what happened to him...
I am just kidding, of course. He is safe and sound. He might even have an exploit or two soon.
Last week I cleaned out my gutters - woohoo! - how exciting! :/
I mowed the lawn today.
Also, in this recent era of non-blog-posting, I HAVE actually added a little content to a couple of postings that I had started, and I hope to release those sometime in the next week or so. I haven't spent that much time online lately.
It's past my bedtime! The goal-time is 10pm, but I rarely hit that... which is my own fault. I'll take full responsibility for it.
For those that weren't aware, my maternal grandpa (in Port Angeles) had a health scare recently. It turned out to be "shingles", and he is doing fairly well, despite the accompanying random pain that resurfaces at times. We are hoping that he will be able to attend Jeremy and Amy's wedding on August 2nd in Tacoma.
My high school reunion is happening the weekend of August 8th-9th. Yikes! 10 years...
As I've said to multiple people at multiple times: It's hard to believe 10 years has passed already, and yet it also seems like forever ago - almost like it wasn't even part of the life that I am living now. It will probably seem a little strange to see so many of those people again.
As I'm typing, my laptop is playing music saved on the hard drive. The current song is "Smile at Life Again" by the Elms. I really like this song, as well as several of their songs from the album that this is on (Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll). Ooh - and now Misty Edwards - nice.
Okay, I think I've crammed enough random, catch-up thoughts into one posting...

Internet (and more!)

For a little over a week, I was able to enjoy having a wi-fi internet connection in my living room, but the past few days it has disappeared. Also, a couple of my frequent spots have turned out to no longer be of use. So, does anyone know how to get free wi-fi internet service wherever you are? Does Juno or anyone else offer something like that? I suppose I could check (and I'll plan on doing so), but if someone knows right off the bat, that could save time.
Side note: (can you tell that I like side notes?) My cousin Eric came over on Sunday for a little bit. We talked and also played a little bit on my old old old computer. We played Classic Concentration and Wheel of Fortune. Eric and I used to play those way back when ('89-'95ish). I then went to my parents' house and played "dummy rummy" and had a fantastic meal.
My friend Kelli will be coming back from Germany in about a week. Her husband is stationed in Iraq. It will be nice to have her back in the area (for about 5 months).
I went to REI today, and bought 2 pairs of pants and 2 shirts.
Also tonight, I started doing some Biblical research for a future blog, but ended up getting into too many other scriptural passages, and had to resign myself to focus on that particular topic at a future time (again). So, stand by for THAT... (don't hold your breath)...
Okay, I'm calling it a night ('cause that's what it is).

Better

Still coughing occasionally, but definitely feeling better. I did go to work today.
I have an actual basketball game tonight (part of a double-elimination tournament that some of us guys are going to be in), so that's exciting. Apparently they've played in this tournament the last 3 years and haven't won a game... so we'll see how it goes tonight. I'll have to bring my "A" game.

I sold the old computer desk last night :)

The next thing to get relegated from my garage will be the foosball table. I'm giving it to my friend Rob.

Then there's the 1968 Mustang... (200 cu. in. engine)(straight six cylinders) ... Think of how many lottery tickets I could buy if I sold it! haha. We'll see. Okay, bye.

Oh yeah, Felix might be out and about this weekend...

Sick...

I stayed home from work yesterday and today (due to cough/throat/fever/headache).

After waking around 8am yesterday, I ended up going back to sleep until just after 1pm! It had been awhile since I'd done that. I watched a few episodes of Merry Melodies cartoons (Bugs Bunny, etc), and then watched the 1959 production of Ben-Hur, starring the recently deceased Charlton Heston. I stayed on the couch until 8pm or so, when I got up to prepare some potatoes au gratin, and grill some top sirloin. Then it was back to the couch.

Today, after initially waking around 7:30am, I ended up going back to sleep until around 11:45am. I've been resting on the couch, watching TV, and going through mail. I’m still coughing occasionally, but no headache, and no fever... so that's nice. I will return to work tomorrow.

Phil Keaggy

There is going to be a Phil Keaggy concert on May 10, at Church for all Nations in Tacoma (111 112th St. East). I intend to be there. I've seen him in concert several times, but it has been a couple of years, and I really enjoy him. He is such a genuine Christian man, and an amazing musical artist. If you'd like to come, just talk to me, or you can call the church @ 253-435-5775.

Yup, that's mine.

Ode to Caren

Some say I don't blog enough.
They'd really like to read more stuff.
There's one far away-
Someone told me today-
Who's getting into quite a huff.

Of course, I am just jokin'.
At her, for fun, I'm pokin',
I should increase my sharin',
for dear, sweet Caren,
and aim to be outspoken.