This Memorial Day weekend, I celebrate two of my children’s birthdays, I plan to spend 30-40 hours on a client’s project, dig through a decade’s worth of statements and receipts, and I will remember our fallen solders.

As for Monday, I need a pick me up. Must have spent all my happiness this weekend.

[Source, piday.org, One Million Digits of Pi]

Photo by JackAZ Photography. Video by United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

The project has been captured in timelapse videos posted on Qik and Flickr (front only).

What is left to do? This weekend is all about installing the flooring. Right now the western red cedar is drying from a sanding sealer. The quantity of debate which went into deciding on the flooring material was insane. We finally settled on 240 linear feet of western red cedar.

Cedar-Western Red Cedar: Another wood porch flooring material is cedar. It is noted for it’s beauty and durability. Colors range from mellow ambers, to reddish and sienna browns. Red cedar is naturally resistant to decay and insects due to inherent oils.

You need not treat red cedar unless it is in contact with the ground. It has less than half the swelling characteristics of other softwoods and tends to lie flat and stay straight. If maintained properly red cedar can last for many years and is ideal for porches in all exposures.

Cedar comes in four different varieties for flooring: Architect Clear for the discriminating porch floor enthusiast to Custom Knotty which is less expensive.

[Source, Front Porch Ideas and More, Wood Porch Flooring]

Next we will size and tongue and groove the planks. Then a vapor barrier will be installed followed by nailing the wood to the sub-floor. Some quarter inch molding will be installed to cover the expansion gap. The front door will be resized to accommodate the height of the flooring. The front door will be installed. The three vent windows will be built and installed. And finally the trim work will be touched up.

This has the best decade of my life beyond any shadow of a doubt!

"Americans maximize their… [happiness] by working, and Europeans maximize their [happiness] through leisure," he found.

[Source, CNN, Why is America the 'no-vacation nation'?]

That’s right, if you are not aware, today is a holiday for imbibers of marijuana. You can Google to figure out the various reasons people attribute special meaning to "420". Obviously this means the roads will be riddled with crazed drivers disregarding all rules of the road, maniacs disregarding the rules of society, and wild-eyed reefer madden thugs looking to beat and murder innocent people as well as engage in sexual acts without protection!

I believe in a short time you will see marijuana legalized all over the United States. Even Tennessee has proposed legislation to legalized medical marijuana but Governor Bill Haslam is opposed. There’s even a Facebook page. See also Volunteer TV’s discussion.

A bill that gained approval in three legislative committees last year has been reintroduced in the Tennessee legislature. Sen. Beverly Marrero has introduced “The Safe Access to Medical Cannabis Act.” The bill, SB 251, would allow patients with certain serious illnesses – HIV/AIDS, cancer, and multiple sclerosis, to name a few – whose doctors recommend marijuana to legally purchase it from state-licensed distributors.

[Source, Marijuana Policy Project, Round 2: Sen. Marrero reintroduces "Safe Access to Medical Cannabis Act"]

Tennessee Leger which covers legislative issues in the 107th general assembly lists the proposed medical conditions which would qualify a person for medical marijuana in TN. Tennessee Leger also has a poll which at the time had 60 voters all claiming they’d vote Aye on the bill.

I was the president of Students for a Smoke-free Campus while an undergrad at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. I like smoke-free buildings and despise walking through cigarette smoke to get into a building. That said, I believe we are at the beginning of seeing marijuana legalized all over the United States. I think we are living in times not dissimilar to when Prohibition (for alcohol) was breaking down. Even former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders supports legalizing marijuana.

See more of Garfunkel and Oates.

Extensive discussion can be made regarding the for profit nature of the US penitentiary system and the cost of enforcing marijuana laws both monetarily and socially. Instead, let’s look at a couple of maps. First, cannabis laws around the world:

[Source, wikimedia]

And now, marijuana laws by state in the United States:

[Source, NORML]

If you feel your tax dollars are wasted on marijuana laws and enforcement, write your representative.

What I said, "Watch out for your head!"
What I heard: *bonk!*

That’ll be one more trip to Godiva today.

For the 2nd movie, wait through the dull beginning to see children painting.

We are now officially done with step 16 of 27. Count Amy’s wardrobe changes.

And a brief night time attempt that failed to accomplish anything.