This will be my house if I don't stop arguing with Sharon on facebook.

How many times has this day dream crossed your minds??

Today is a busy day for birthdays of some of my favorite stars. David Crosby of the rock group "Crosby, Stills & Nash" turns 69 years old today. It's quite amazing that he is still alive and kicking because he has led a rough life including a liver transplant, at least three arrests for drugs and guns, and battling obesity and diabetes.

One of my favorite comedians, Steve Martin, turns 65 years old. He is shown here in the movie "Ping Panther 2." I especially love to watch him play the banjo.

And Halle Berry who turns 41 years old. Ms. Berry is shown here in here performance in the James Bond movie, "Die Another Day."

Now there's a superhero I could really get behind!!

Tuesday I arrived at work after being off a week and up in Washington State on my road trip to find a subpoena for court. My first since I started working at El Monte P.D. The subpoena was for a felony prelim, which meant there was a pretty good chance I would testify. Add to that, the case was on a residential burglary where I made a palm print match from the only piece of evidence discovered at the scene.

So I went and talked to the handling detective to find out if he thought I would be needed only to find out he wouldn't be there because his wife was having surgery that day.

Now I have never enjoyed testifying in court, so I was a little stressed thru the work week. I read up on a bunch of stuff on comparing fingerprints and making identifications that I had looked up when I first went back to work, and went over and over my resume for dates of classes etc.

So I arrived at the station early and walked over to court with Tim Siedentopp who showed me around and introduced me to the head D.A. I arrived in court and checked in with the bailiff who told me I could sit in the jury box and wait for the D.A. to arrive. So far, nothing new.

Turns out I had a new D.A. handling my case with an assist from a D.A. who was a filing D.A. at Citrus Court when I was at WCPD. First thing he wanted me to do was to print the defendant and compare the palm print taken from the crime scene to the defendant's prints. I had to run back to El Monte and get print cards and magnifiers and pointers to complete his request. I got the palm print and made the match. The DA told me the public defender wanted to look at the print match.

When the public defender walked in, I recognized him from my days at Citrus Court. We spoke briefly and he looked at the print and left.

When it came time for my testimony, I walked in and received the usual, "do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth... so help you god." I hesitated for just a second and kinda smiled to myself and then said yes I do. I didn't think it was the time to discuss being an atheist!!!

I was pretty nervous when I started, but once I got into my testimony, it went pretty smooth. I have to admit, the public defender filled in a couple of gaps for the D.A. with his questions. The defendant was held to answer for burglary. As I left the witness stand, the public defender asked if I would wait for a moment so that he could talk with me. I said of course.

The public defender came in and complimented me on my testimony and cited his last occasion where he cross examined a print examiner and how the other examiner refused to address the number of points needed for an identification issue and how easily I went thru it and moved on.

So what was an incredibly stressful concern to begin with, turned out very well. As a side note, there was a female attorney who made an appearance for another attorney on a case dressed in a pair of low cut tuxedo pants, a plain black shirt and a little black coat. When she sat down next to me outside the court room, I could see her butt crack and the tattoo on the small of her back. I was quite surprised at her casual dress for a court appearance. I guess I'm an old fuddy duddy!!! Other than that, court hasn't changed much.

I understand there is a stay until next week before marriage licenses can be issued to gay couples in California. On you mark, get set, ....

I've had a chance to do a little research into the U.S. District Court's ruling that struck down California's Proposition 8, which outlawed same-sex marriage in California. Activists on both sides of the law seem to think this case will go to the U.S. Supreme Court for a final ruling.

In his ruling, Judge Vaughn Walker wrote, "the evidence shows conclusively that moral and religious views form the only basis for a belief that same-sex couples are different from opposite-sex couples. These interests do not provide a rational basis for supporting Prop 8.

Supporters for Prop 8 are describing this as an outright attack on religion that is protected under the first amendment. Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony released a statement on Wednesday that said, "those of us who supported Prop 8 and worked for its passage did so for one reason: We believe that marriage was instituted by God for the specific purpose of carrying out God's plan for the world and society. Period." I think that statement sums up the judge's thoughts on "moral and religious views."

Howard Friedman, a law professor at Ohio University said, "Judge Walker is not attacking religion per se; he is just not giving religious expression any special consideration." He went on to say, "Judge Walker is basically saying that a private moral view isn't a rational basis for legislation."

It will be interesting to see how this whole thing works out.

Made it home in one piece Saturday evening. I spent Friday night in Carson City, Nevada. I went to one of the casinos and had a cheap meal and then gave them $40 thru their video poker machines.

This photo is the sunset over Klamath Falls lake. I was stopped on hwy 395 along side the lake for about 20 minutes at a night time road construction site.


One of the things I wanted to see on this trip was the Stonehedge type monument along the Columbia River in Washington State. I got there around 3:00 pm and spent about 30 minutes wondering around the thing. It was built to memorialize the lose of 17 men from the area in WWI.

As you can see if you look thru the pillars, the memorial overlooks the Columbia River.

I think that's the sacrificial table in the middle for those darn pagans!!! It was pretty cool. I'm glad I stopped by and had a look.

I have to applaud the Ninth District Court for overturning California's Prop 8. We still have a ways to go, but perhaps this will be the road to equal rights to EVERYONE. I posted a similar comment on my facebook.com page this morning. That should get a rise out of some of my more religious friends.

I was surprised to open up my blog and see I last posted on Monday. It's been a busy week, and in a little bit I'll be heading south/east from Seattle on my way home. I'm sitting in Mcee Dees using their wifi and eating, you guessed it, pancakes and sausages. I left my camera in the car, so my photos will have to wait until the next post.

I've gotten to spend some quality time with my dad. He has lost a lot of weight and has a hard time remembering a particular word he wants to use, but he still seems pretty sharp. Tuesday I brought him four dark chocolate Hershey bars and some aftershave, you know the basics of life. I spent dinner time with him and met a couple of his friends. One woman, Dorothy, seems to be quite attentive of him.

I've also gotten to spend a good deal of time with my sisters. I was able to meet Kathy's new girlfriend, Katie, as we broke bread together at the local Applebees. She seems very nice.

I left Bellingham Wednesday morning and met Mike Harden for lunch in Everett. He is doing very well up here. He has been a dog handler for the Lake Forest Park Police Department for the last five years. He and Amy have three children, two boys and one girl. We had a great time catching up at the local Olive Garden.

Wednesday evening I attended a Seattle Mariners baseball game. It took me a little searching to find parking as the stadium is situated in down town and doesn't have parking of it's own like we are used to with Angel or Dodger stadiums. The Mariners lost the game 11-6, that's to be expected I suppose when the first place team (Texas) plays the last place team. (Seattle)

So I'm off today to see the Stonehedge monument and then start south. I'm thinking I'll follow the coast south for something different to look at. More later.

Saturday morning my niece Courtney made me a wonderful breakfast of a Lego waffle and three pieces of microwave bacon. Yum yum!!!

We loaded up Deb and the three girls and headed out to the ranch where they have their horse boarded. Shannon, shown below facing the camera, and her sister Courtney shown leading the horse, have saved up their money from doing odd jobs, a garage sale, and several bake sales to amass $1,000 to buy a second horse. That purchase was to take place on Sunday.

So Deb along with Courtney and Shannon spent Saturday cleaning out the stall for the new horse. This ranch where they board their horses is an old thoroughbred ranch owned by some rich winery owner. Deb gets a break on price by doing some of the work around the place.

After a long day of pulling weeds and cleans up the new stall, Deb and the girls brought home pizza for dinner. We sat and ate pizza and crazy bread while watching the TV show Survivor man. He was eating termites out of some old tree!! Yum yum!!!

I was up and out the door of Debbie and Steve's house by 7:15 am and off to the nearby Mcee Dees for pancakes and sausages. A quick fill up of the cruiser and I was off. I hate getting gas in Oregon because there is a law that makes it illegal for you to pump your own gas.

Cottage Grove is famous for it's many covered bridges, so I snapped this quick photo of the covered bridge right off of the main street. The main street is also famous for being the street where the big parade in the movie "Animal House" was shot.

So I made good time and was in Seattle, and bumper to bumper traffic, in no time. You can see the skyline of Seattle in the background. I'm convinced like never before that not all the asshole drivers are in California!!

This photo is the baseball stadium in Seattle that I hope to see a baseball game in on Wednesday evening. I checked into my Motel 6 and then met my sisters for dinner. We had a thousand laughs. Monday I did some exploring and saw my dad. More to come.