Rob Lifford

About an hour ago, I saw a possum in my yard the size of a bear cub. Last week there was a grasshopper on our window the size of a baseball bat. And every night for the last few months, a spider the size of a 1972 Chevy Nova has come out to sit on its web over the Lantanas in the flowerbed next to our patio.

No, really.

I’ve turned on Blogger’s automated syndication features for this account, just for the hell of it. The feed is at:

https://lifford.org/feed/atom.xml

If you use a newsreader app or service, subscribe! I promise to write more (and maybe even better) stuff than I have for the last few months…

Bunker needled me a little on the phone earlier for never writing anything here anymore… I just can’t believe how fast the days are flying by since I started my new job and, of course, since we learned of the pregnancy. Life is certainly hectic but happy in the extreme. Someday soon I’ll sit down and write a nice long post about Cheris’ pregnancy so far, but for now, just some random tidbits:

• Last weekend, my old college buddy Phil stopped by for a night on his way from San Antonio back to Oklahoma City. It was really fantastic to see him; it’s amazing how with some friends you can go for years with minimal contact and then just hang out together like in the old days.
• I’m really loving Bloglines… I never really got into the idea of using a newsreader app, but an online service that lets me see what’s new on my favorite sites seems to be an ideal fit.
• Finally getting a chance to read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I’m bound to go to bed way too late for a few more nights until it’s finished.
• Still loving the Netflix subscription. Thoroughly Enjoyed Hitchcock’s Spellbound earlier this week and El Espinazo del Diablo (The Devil’s Backbone) tonight.

OK, I’m at a loss… I’m sure there were other things I meant to mention, but Hogwart’s is calling.

No posts for a while. Work very busy. Life very busy.

And about to get busier.

After writing recently about my difficult-to-suppress desire to overthrow rogue governments from within, my Kiwi buddy and former co-worker Julian pointed out this article: Reagan’s Osama Connection – How he turned a jihadist into a terrorist kingpin. After a quick review of the situation—the Reagan administration funneled billions to Afghanistan’s Islamic resistance to the Soviets—the author concludes:

Reagan can’t be blamed for ignoring the threat of Osama Bin Laden… However, Reagan—and those around him—can be blamed for ignoring the rise of Islamic militancy in Afghanistan and for failing to see Gorbachev’s offer to withdraw as an opportunity to clamp the danger.

Of course, Clinton and his whole administration probably deserve a heaping share of the blame for not “clamping the danger,” too. (Makes you just want to slap a tourniquet on the entire Middle East, huh?) Still, overall, the article serves as useful historical background for folks like me, who were just getting into high school around the end of the Reagan administration (and then asleep in history classes in later years).

The Onion’s Helpful Guide to Celebrity Weblogs. Oh, please let them make this a regular feature. Hilarious.