Just some headlines on this day:

• US poverty rate rose to 12.7 percent in 2004
• Global weapons sales rise to highest level since 2000
• US consumer confidence rebounds in August
• US refining capacity bottleneck boosts oil prices
• US GDP increased at solid pace in second quarter
• Fed’s August meeting highlighted risk of inflation

I can’t tell whether it’s good news or bad news.

Last night, I took my son to a college meeting (tables for 35 colleges and many, many interested students).
The event was held in the
Governor Hotel
here in Portland, Oregon.
This is an old hotel in downtown Portland that was built and decorated before
all hotels became bottom-line oriented, international corporation assets.
This building has artwork built into the walls.
It is beautiful.

The place where I work has an enclosed courtyard in between two of the buildings.
Normally, once can have lunch out in the sun.
But, every now and then, the birds move in.
This is not like a Hitchcock movie. This is more like a nursery.

Each year there are ducks that move in to have some ducklings.
While this is going on, the courtyard is closed and we get to watch them through the windows.
Our latest birds are two barn owls.
They seem to be small ones that are learning to fly and who have decided that our
nice enclosed, landscaped area is perfect for getting their wings.

So, for the moment, we cannot lunch in the sun.

The
pictures
from the second day of the triathlon are up.
It was a perfect day for running — the sky was overcast and it stayed in the 60s to low seventies the whole event. The sun finally came out just as everyone was finished.

My wife’s
business
has a vendor’s booth at the
Blue Lake Triathlon and Duathlon
event this weekend.
Since it was close to home,
the family was signed up to setup and man the booth.
So, this weekend, I’ve been selling athletic products.
I have some
pictures
of us and the event.

This last weekend I went to my spouse’s reunion but that was just an excuse to go to LA and visit
Disneyland.
Many
pictures are available.