Help! What is this tree?

It is deciduous. I don't think it has flowers; strictly for shade. I don't know if it has fruits or nuts. As you can see, it grows very tall/big. Its canopy seems pretty airy. Photos were taken today; the leaves are new growth. A few weeks back there were no leaves. From a distance, the bark seems smooth; close-up you can see that it's just a finer texture but not smooth. Help!!! What is this tree?

update: I think it's a Chinese Elm (otherwise called a Lacebark Elm?) or some variation thereof.

rainbow

on the blink

My internet connection has been on the blink. I can't figure out whether the problem is with my modem or filter or if it's on the service provider's side.

gracious

Every child would benefit from learning how to be gracious. Gracious in winning. Gracious in losing. Gracious in accepting compliments. Gracious in receiving criticism. Gracious in giving compliments. Gracious in giving criticism.

We're all humans. We'll all fail some time. We need to be gracious to ourselves when we fail; gracious to others when they fail.

changed world

Every day, we live in a changed world. Someone, somewhere, dies and is gone from this world every day. Someone is born. Something is destroyed. Something is created. Something is consumed. Something is generated. No two days are ever the same. We are never the same, one day to another so long as we can make new memories. Because we are all "different" each day, the world is "different" each day.

not enough hours?

We've all heard the expression: There's not enough hours in a day!

Hmm. God made day and night. I'd say there is enough hours in a day. We're just trying to put too much into our days. We won't be able to fit everything, no. We'll have to sift and sort and figure out how to fit what IS essential and important into the hours we have. Then let the rest go; none of us have any control over the passage of time.

Shuttle launch tonight

NASA's space shuttle is scheduled to launch tonight at 7:43:44 pm EDT. 

Count down clock here.

NASA TV options for watching the launch here. (There is a "Other View Options" tab on the right.)

The space shuttle is scheduled to be retired in 2010.  This mission delivers the last "big" piece to the International Space Station.

update: launch successful !!!

faces

multi-tool

I purchased an SOG S66 for a friend.  I had originally eyed the S63 but the S66's feature of having the knives available without having to open the tool sounded good.  I played with it some upon its arrival and indeed, the V-cutter rivet heads do rub against the neighboring tool, requiring a little manipulation to pull either one of those out by itself.  This thing is too big for what they call EDC (every day carry) in my opinion, but for my friend who may not have ready access to tools, this should be useful.  The grip on the knife isn't very comfortable, due to the top of the second blade biting into my grip.  But hopefully it won't be too much of a problem (wear gloves?).

For myself, I think I want a Leatherman E33B. Yup, just a decent knife with a nice screwdriver functionality.  Actually, I wouldn't mind it being even a shorter blade.  It looks great but I don't know how well it performs ... can't tell until you get it in your hands and work with it.  Some other reviews of the Leatherman bit holder design indicated that the bits tend to fall off (not good!).  I don't know if that is still true for this model.

tool love

I would like to own one of these babies (a Peter Atwood G3 Prybably XL) but they're not being sold any more.  Aside from that, they are just a hair beyond my budget.

However, I can still get the Pocket Wrench II. It's affordable. 

Other nifty stuff discussed here

Praise be to God!

Praise be to God!  I have knocked off $10K from my student loan balance.  I still owe more than the cost of an average new car, though.  I pay more on the student loan monthly than I pay on the mortgage.  The student loan balance currently is higher than the mortgage balance, but hopefully that won't be true by the end of the year.  It's a long, slow march, but progress is being made.