Currently at 9:19 PM CLOUDY Winds NE at 8 mph. Temp: 35° F Tonight Cloudy; windy and cold with on and off snow Low 20° F. Tomorrow A bit of snow or flurries in the morning, otherwise mostly cloudy; windy and cold High 25° F

Wow, is it going to get as cold as what they say?

Not a lot to talk about today. Just went to work, made a lot calls, got some appointments. A rather productive day all in all. But nothing spectacular. Sorry I don't have more to say. Maybe I'll be more talkative tomorrow.

I'm sitting here watching American Idol. They are showing the auditions. The bad ones as well as the good ones. I just don't understand how some of these horrible singers can go in there and think that they can sing. Can't they hear themselves?

Currently at 7:48 PM CLOUDY Winds NNE at 6 mph. Temp: 35° F Tonight A touch of snow, ice and rain in the evening; clearing and cold Low 25° F Tomorrow Cold with sun and some clouds High 34° F

Yes, I'm back.

Been a while since I've written anything. I got sick the very next day on the 14th. Woke up with the stomach virus thing. I don't think I have ever been that sick. I threw up from 5:30am to after midnight that night. About 7 times I think. Then I was nauseous and had stomach cramps for the next 5 days. I could barely work.

I only stayed out of work for one day but could have stayed out the rest of the week I felt so bad. In fact, this past Sunday was the first day I didn't have cramps or nausea.

It did snow last Thursday night. We got about 2 or 3 inches. No real snow on the roads however. It was mostly gone by Friday afternoon. But there is still some around today.

This past Saturday was the Winston Cup Preview at the Winston Salem Coliseum. I had to be there at 7am to help hand out our WTQR NASCAR pocket schedules. When I got up it was 13 degrees. I froze to death all morning. It took me until about 4pm to warm back up.

One advantage of being sick last week was that I could only eat soup for the whole week. I discovered some of the best chicken soup I have ever had. Linda and I went to El Ranchito, a small Mexican restaurant in High Point for lunch on Friday. They have the best chicken soup around I think. It has rice, fresh diced tomato's and avacado's and a half a lime on the side. You squeeze that lime into it and it is fabulous. Linda said it is like a warm Margarita with that lime in it. Just great. Can't wait to go back and get some more.

Daniel was sick again today. He woke up throwing up this morning. Linda has felt nauseous today also. Tonight, Rebecca is running a fever. I'll be glad when all of this has finally run it's course. Just hope I don't get a relapse.

One of my appointments today was at the High Point Enterprise. Doug Clark, the Associate Editor saw me and came out to speak with me. He asked me why I haven't written any letters to the editor lately. I told him, that now that I was in sales, I was hesitant to do something like that for fear of pissing someone off who might want to spend money with me.

That is one of the things about not being on the air that I really miss. Telling people what I think about current events. It is so frustrating to have to keep it to myself. Especially with so much going on right now that would be so much fun to comment on. But, what can you do. We had a good conversation though about John Edwards and a few other subjects. It was fun to talk about things with someone who really understands politics and current events. Even if he is a conservative.

Currently at 7:19 PM PARTLY CLOUDY Winds WSW at 4 mph. Temp: 39° F. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy and cold Low 24° F. Tomorrow Chilly with times of clouds and sun High 44° F

I am tired tonight. Going to hit the bed early.

Dan was sick all day today. Had the stomach virus thing. Throwing up and.....well you know.

The IT guys finally got my computer and phone hooked up in my new cubicle. It is nice having access to a computer all the time and not have to go to the bank of sales computers and use one of them.

Looks like we are in for a cold week and weekend coming up. The new forcast is calling for snow flurries on Friday but that is about it.

I think that is about all for right now. Maybe I'll be a bit more wordy and articulate tomorrow.

Currently at 6:46 PM MOSTLY CLOUDY Calm. Temp: 35° F. Tonight Patchy clouds and cold Low 22° F. Tomorrow Times of clouds and sun High 49° F

Take a look at this forecast for the end of the week. Let's see just how good the forecast turns out to be.

Friday 1/17 Mostly cloudy and cold with a chance of snow, sleet, ice or rain High 33° F. Saturday 1/18 Rain and freezing rain; cloudy and cold High 37° F.

I haven't written anything since Thursday night, so here is an update on Friday through today.

Fiday 01/10/2003
Friday was busy day. My mother had her ankle surgery. Everything went just fine. She was worn out and in some pain when I went by to see her Friday afternoon. The doctors told her she would probably be in the hospital for several days. The soft cast they had on her leg was huge.

Friday night, we had the Clear Channel Greensboro station party at the Embassy Suites. Cristina did not bring the guy from Applebees. Instead she brought the girl that is going to be the new receptionist at the station. Friday was Cristinas last day because she goes back to UNCG on Monday.

The party was nice. We had prime rib and chicken. Linda and I had the prime rib. Cristina had the chicken. Our Employee of the year award is now named the Paul Franklin Memorial Award in memory of Big Paul who died in the motorcycle accident in May. His wife was there and gave a nice little talk.

Linda and I left as soon as the awards were over with.and came on home. I am not a party animal. Far from it.I took a lot of pictures though. We left Dan and Cait home with Rebecca and her friend Mel. We also left them a couple of frozen pizzas.

Saturday 01/11/2003
Saturday morning, Linda and I got up and went to see my mother in the hospital. We first stopped at Kohls so Linda could go in and get my mother some pajamas.
My mother was feeling a lot better than she did on Friday. We left when the physical therapist came in to work with her.

We kept trying to call Daniel and Caitlin at home to see if everything was OK with them. We had left them at home by themselves. Rebecca had gone to GTCC to get her hair cut at the Cosmotology school there. Our next door neighbor, Sunny is enrolled in the school and took both Rebecca and Mel with her. Anyway, we never could get in touch with them. They just wouldn't answer the phone. So instead of stopping to buy groceries before we got home, we just went straight back. When we got home, they had put Daniel's 6 man tent up in the living room and were playing in it with Bossom and Haiba. They said they never heard the phone ringing.

Caitlin decided to go with Linda to Super Wal-Mart and buy groceries. Daniel stayed here to play with his friends. I made them move the tent outside.

Saturday night, one of Daniels friends, Jonathan came over and spent the night with Daniel. They put the tent up in the den and slept in it overnight. Mel spent the night with Rebecca again.

Sunday 1/12/2003
Happy Birthday to Linda. Linda is now 41. The same age I was when the twins were born. Early in the morning, I guess around 9:30am, daddy called and told me that Momma was going home this morning. Now that was a surprise. They were going to put a hard cast on and let her go.

I went to Krispy Kreme and got some doughnuts for breakfast. Got Dan to take the tent back outside. I started working on the pictures from Friday night and posting them on the dot photo site. We put a pork roast in to cook. It wasn't long after breakfast before Dan started feeling bad. He lay down and went to sleep on the couch. He felt warm. By the end of the afternoon he felt really bad. He obviously has some sort of bug again. A stomach virus.

Cristina called and wished her mom and happy birthday. She then came over a little later. Linda's mom came over also and gave Linda a birthday card. My mother called and I talked to her for a bit. She is feeling very well. No pain. Hasn't taken a pain pill yet. I hope it stays that way.

Currently at 8:44 PM MOSTLY CLOUDY Winds SSW at 5 mph. Temp: 56° F. Tonight Partly cloudy and mild Low 42° F. Tomorrow Breezy and cool with some clouds then sunshine High 52° F

During the day, I think of so many things I want to write about. Then when I get home I can't think of them, or they don't seem to be important any more. Wonder why that is?

The kids stayed home again today, but they are going back to school tomorrow. Becca went out and did some baby sitting tonight. She says she wants to save up her money and buy a car. But believe me, that money doesn't stay in her pocket very long.

Cristina called tonight and said that the guy she works with at Applebees is going to the station party with her tomorrow night.

My mother goes into the hospital tomorrow for the operation on her ankle. They are going to put a piece of metal in her ankle to hold it straight. This all is because of the trouble she has had with the ankle since she broke it last year.

I watched a video today on the internet of the felony stop in Tennesse of that family from NC. I'll paste the entire story below. But in my opinion, the video tape clearly shows the officer was NOT justified in shooting that dog. That officer should not be allowed to have a gun while a police officer any longer. The dog was clearly wagging its tail and was not attacking the officer. It is so scary to think that this could happen to anyone whether you have committed a crime or not.Some police officers are just too arrogant and pumped up with testosterone.

That is about all for me tonight. I'll just paste the story and go to bed in a little bit.

Video shows police killing dog
Family considering legal action against police, highway patrol
Thursday, January 9, 2003 Posted: 8:03 AM EST (1303 GMT)

COOKEVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) -- Police video released Wednesday showed a North Carolina family kneeling and handcuffed, who shrieked as officers killed their dog -- which appeared to be playfully wagging its tail -- with a shotgun during a traffic stop.

The Smoak family was pulled over the evening of January 1 on Interstate 40 in eastern Tennessee by officers who mistakenly suspected them of a carjacking. An investigation showed James Smoak had simply left his wallet on the roof of his car at a gas station, and motorists who saw his money fly off the car as he drove away called police.

The family was driving through eastern Tennessee on their way home from a New Year trip to Nashville. They told CNN they are in the process of retaining a lawyer and considering legal action against the Cookeville, Tennessee, Police Department and the Tennessee Highway Patrol for what happened to them and their dog.

In the video, released by the highway patrol, officers are heard ordering the family, one by one, to get out of their car with their hands up. James Smoak and his wife, Pamela, and 17-year-old son Brandon are ordered onto their knees and handcuffed.

"What did I do?" James Smoak asks the officers.

"Sir, inside information is that you was involved in some type of robbery in Davidson County," the unidentified officer says.

Smoak and his wife protest incredulously, telling the officers that they are from South Carolina and that their mother and father-in-law are traveling in another car near them.

The Smoaks told CNN that as they knelt, handcuffed, they pleaded with officers to close the doors of their car so their two dogs would not escape, but the officers did not heed them.

Pamela Smoak is seen on the tape looking up at an officer, telling him slowly, "That dog is not mean. He won't hurt you."

Her husband says, "I got a dog in the car. I don't want him to jump out."

The tape then shows the Smoaks' medium-size brown dog romping on the shoulder of the Interstate, its tail wagging. As the family yells, the dog, named Patton, first heads away from the road, then quickly circles back toward the family.

An officer in a blue uniform aims his shotgun at the dog and fires at its head, killing it immediately.

For several moments, all that is audible are shrieks as the family reacts to the shooting. James Smoak even stands up, but officers pull him back down.

"Y'all shot my dog! Y'all shot my dog!" James Smoak cries. "Oh my God! God Almighty!"

"You shot my dog!" screams his wife, distraught and still handcuffed. "Why'd you kill our dog?"

"Jesus, tell me, why did y'all shoot my dog?" James Smoak says.

The officers bring him to the patrol car, and the family calms down, but still they ask the officers for an explanation. One of them says Patton was "going after" the officer.

"No he wasn't, man," James Smoak says. "Y'all didn't have to kill the dog like that."

Brandon told CNN that Patton, was playful and gentle -- "like Scooby-Doo" -- and may have simply gone after the beam of the flashlight as he often did at home, when Brandon and the dog would play.

The Tennessee Department of Safety, which oversees the Highway Patrol, has said an investigation is underway.

'Could have been avoided'
Cookeville Police Chief Robert Terry released a statement on the department's Web site Wednesday night describing the department's regret over the incident. The Cookeville Police Department site was not responding Thursday morning.

"I know the officer wishes that circumstances could have been different so he could have prevented shooting the dog," Terry wrote. "It is never gratifying to have to put an animal down, especially a family pet, and the officer assures me that he never displayed any satisfaction in doing so."

Terry said he and the vice-mayor of Cookeville met with the family before they left "to convey our deepest sympathies" for the loss of their dog.

"No one wants to experience this kind of thing, and it's very unfortunate that it occurred," he wrote. "If we had the benefit of hindsight, I'm sure some -- if not all of this -- could have been avoided. I believe the Tennessee Highway Patrol feels the same way."

The department is conducting an investigation to determine what, if anything, could have been done differently, he said. Police also plan to be in contact with the Smoak family, Terry said.

The Smoaks buried their pet at home. A white cross marks the grave.

Accuweather - Currently at 8:33 PM CLOUDY Winds SW at 12 mph. Temp: 53° F. Tonight Mainly clear; breezy and mild Low 42° F. Tomorrow Breezy and warm with intervals of clouds and sunshine. High 62° F

Caitlin was sick this morning, so all three of them stayed home today.

Had a pretty good day at work today. Managed to make some very good appointments for the next couple of weeks.

Kelly, one of our sales people and someone who started at the same time I did, came back to work today. And got fired. She had been on vacation in Portland Oregon. I won't go into the details here, but it made for an interesting day. She might be going to a group of 5 Clear Channel stations in Portland though. I wish her luck.

I did some work tonight on my dennisradio.com web site. Still have a few more days work to do on it though.

Accuweather - Currently at 8:15 PM PARTLY CLOUDY Winds SSW at 9 mph. Temp: 39° F. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy Low 31° F. Tomorrow Breezy with sunshine and a few clouds, turning mild in the afternoon High 57° F

Well, lets see, what has happened today?

Rebecca hurt her leg. How? We don't know. It was swollen some this morning and she said she didn't want to go to school. We let her stay home. She misses way too much school, but as long as she is on the A-B Honor Roll, we will cut her some slack. But if her grades drop....watch out.

When I got to work this morning I noticed that Cristina wasn't there. She has been working for us as a receptionist since she has been on break from UNCG. I had to call her. She said that she overslept. Not good. But I don't think she got into trouble. Her last day is Friday anyway. She goes back to school on Monday of next week.

She has been invited to go to our annual station holiday party this Friday night.

I know, it is after Christmas, but we always hold it in January because there is so much going on in December.

It will remain to be seen if she goes. I think she will feel wierd being there with her parents. Since Jeff has moved back to Richmond and is in school and looking for a job, I'm wondering if she will continue her relationship with him. She might bring a guy she works with at Applebees, but she says that he will just be a friend and that she will still consider herself to be Jeff's girl. I'm sure the guy will be thinking differently though. But he won't let her know. I'm basing that on my being a guy and what I would do and feel if I was that age again and in the same situation. I don't think guys are very different from when I was in my early 20's.

Jeremy called today. He wanted to know how to register a domain name and sign up for some web hosting. He is going to put up a web site for his art work. A friend of his who designs web sites is going to build the site for him. But Jeremy wanted to go ahead and get the domain name set up and have everything ready to build on. I told him to use Yahoo since that is what I use and I have enjoyed their service so far. When I got back to work, I e-mailed him the link to use to get everything done. When he gets his site up I'll mention it here and put a link up on the ElliottFamily.com web site.

Linda got an e-mail today from her sister Joy in Brazil. They are planning on coming back on Thursday of next week. I think that is the 16th. She said she was really sunburned and that it was really hot down there.

When I got home tonight I found my laptop had been damaged really bad. We think one of the cats did it. They like to sit on it because the hard-drive keeps it warm and you know how cats like to sit on something warm. I have been shutting it down and closing it up every night. But in the daytime, I like to keep it running because I have one of the web-cams hooked up to it posting shots of our front yard onto our web site. I keep the bedroom door closed and the cats out of the room. But the kids must have opened the door when they got home from school and let the cats in.

Anyway, when I got home, one of the cats was sitting on the keyboard. I got her off and a few moments later noticed that 5 of the keys were missing. I found them close by with some parts scattered close to them. But then I saw that the screen, which is of course on hinges so that it can close up was broken at the lift hinge. It won't close all the way now. I can't imagine what the cat might have done to it, but it is going to have to go into the shop for repair. I'm using it right now because I use an external keyboard and mouse when I use it at home. But I am going to miss it. I really enjoy coming into the bedroom where it is quiet to use the computer. And the kids are using the two computers in the living room to play their sims game on. They will probably keep it for about 2 or 3 weeks because Best Buy will have to send it off. I'm pretty sure everything will bew covered under warranty though.

Bill Flynn just told me today that he has a house at the beach. A beautiful place in Corrolla on the Outer Banks. I saw some pics today on the internet. Maybe I can rent it out sometime. Been a long time since we've spent some time at the beach.

Caitlin says she feels sick tonight. I guess we will find out tomorrow morning if we have another sick one on our hands.

I talked to Wes Jones yesterday. We talked about how this Friday is Larry Cravens last day at WMFR. I feel so bad for that station. I really loved that station and put so much of my life into it. But Dracula couldn't have done a better job of sucking the life out of that station than Tom Hamilton and the WSJS group have done. It is such a shame. According to an article in the HP Enterprise a couple of weeks ago, Tom said that they might not even replace Larry. Max will be there until they carry him off on a stretcher. He's been there since 1949. That is hard to believe.

Accuweather - Cloudy Winds WNW at 8 mph. Temp: 42° F. Becoming clear and windy, becoming cold late Low 25°. Tomorrow Sunshine and a few clouds with a cold wind High 46° F.

I am not making this up.

My horoscope for today said, and I quote, "The moon is in conjuction with Uranus."

Now I don't know about you, but whenever the moon gets anywhere near my anus, I get a little worried.

Rather ho-hum day. Went to work, had meetings, worked inside some, worked outside some. Came home for lunch. Made some more calls outside. Went back to the station, made some more calls inside. Sent some faxes. Came home, ate dinner. Get ready to go to bed.

Maybe tomorrow will be more exciting.

We actually saw some snowflakes tonight on my way home. Linda and the kids saw them here at the house also. There was maybe only one cloud in the entire sky. The moon was out. You could see stars. Rather strange.

Can't wait to see what my horoscope says tomorrow. Just hope it has nothing to do with my anus this time.

Accuweather - Clear, Calm. Temp: 43° F. Tonight Partly cloudy Low 35° F. Tomorrow, Clouds limiting sunshine, becoming windy in the afternoon High 47° F.

I haven't done very well in writing this weekend. I just seemed to find other things to do.

We had a realatively quiet weekend. Linda took Caitlin to Barnes and Noble and Caitlin just had a wonderful time. They just sit at their tables and read. Don't have to buy anything, just sit and read. Caitlin loves to read. In fact, she says she wants to be writer. I hope she persues her dream. Daniel just enjoyed playing with the neighborhood kids this weekend.

I did work a bit this weekend on my dennisradio web site. I am changing it to reflect my new position at work selling event marketing. I hope to finish it up later this week and send out an e-mail to all of my clients.

Wow, are the Republicans and conservatives scared of John Edwards? I didn't think his announcement of his run for President in 2004 would garner a lot of interest, but the right wing web sites like Free Republic have had numerous threads about him. And the RNC has devoted an entire section on their web site about him. All bashing him of course. Why have they called out their big guns so soon? Maybe he has a better chance than I thought.

Linda has gone to Barnes and Noble again to take Caitlin. She wanted to read something again. I have a pot of spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove. Linda will call when they leave and I'll put the noodles on to boil.

Lauren is here with Rebecca and they are upstairs in her room at the computer. Daniel is watching TV. The dogs are just lying on the floor sleeping. Just thought you would want to know.

Accuweather - Today Cloudy most of the time with a cool breeze. High 50° F. Tonight Breezy and cold; mostly cloudy in the evening followed by clearing later. Low 28° F . Raining this morning and 44 degrees now.

Just a short entry this morning. I need to get ready to go to work.

Thank God it's Friday.

The right wing web sites like Free Republic are really attacking John Edwards. Calling him an ambulance chaser, an empty suit, a Clinton Clone. Yeah, that last one is supposed to be an insult. I hope he is like Clinton. Without the problem of keeping it in his pants of course. More tonight maybe.

49 degrees now. Cloudy, foggy, drizzly.

Sales is a numbers game. Sales is a numbers game. Must keep telling myself that. The more calls you make the more sales you make. Babe Ruth was the home run leader, but he was also a leader in strike-outs.

What a frustrating day. Made 8 calls today and got rejected 8 times. I think the difference is that in my new position I am presenting specific packages. The client can make a decision of yes or no much easier than if you just go in to talk about selling them some sort of advertising.

During a sales call before I would try to find out just what kind of advertising package they would be interested in and then tailor a package that they would be happy with. My calls today all consisted of a specific package, The NASCAR Pocket Calendar Schedule for WTQR. And the decision had to be made now or at the latest next week. Very easy to either say yes or no on.

The one client I had where I presented several different packages told me he was interested in one of them. I will talk to him again. This job is going to be different in how I approach the client and my expectations will need to be different. But I really like the focus I have on presenting specific packages as opposed to trying to figure out just what the hell the client will want to buy. We'll see though won't we?

Really was a dreary day driving around town. Foggy even during the middle of the day. Not too cold though.

When I got to work today my desk looked like I had been water bombed. Everything was dry, but pads and papers sitting on my desk had been soaked and then dried out. All fo the papers and even a book had that distinctive warped look when it gets wet. I had to throw away several papers and a couple of scratch pads. I couldn't figure out what happened. Did someone spill a huge amount of water on my desk while I was gone?

I was talking to Chip Flynt, my next door cubicle neighbor about it. He was baffled also. We investigated and Chip figured out that someone had watered a plant sitting on the very top shelf of my desk and it had leaked out of the pot down onto my desk. They had apparantly used a lot of water. No big deal though. I didn't lose anything.

I live in a big cube farm at work and I am moving tomorrow. In my new position I need a computer on my desk so I have to move to a cubicle which is wired for the network. I'm going to miss Chip and Kelly. We all went into sales at the same time and chose our cubicles to be near each other since we were the newest guys.

Engineering is supposed to have my computer hooked up and my phone moved tomorrow. Of course they said they were going to have done today also. Who the hell knows.

We had hot dogs for dinner tonight. I made some home made chili and slaw to go with them.

47 degrees now. Mostly cloudy today. Expected high, 57. Expected low tonight 42 with periods of rain.

Just a quick entry this morning. Linda has already left and taken the kids to school. Surprisingly how easy we got back into the routine this morning. I'm getting ready to hit the showers and get myself going. Remains to be seen if Becca will get ready on time this morning.

John Edwards announced he was going to run for president in 2004. He might run for his senate seat at the same time. It is legal for him to do so I'm told.

Maybe another entry tonight after work.

qCloudy, raining, thunderstorm. 59 degrees now. Expected high today 61. Low tonight 45. It was 61 degrees earlier so I think we have already seen the top temperature.

Happy New Year! It is officially 2003.

It started raining last night and we must have gotten quite a lot because there are puddles in the back and front yard. We even heard some thunder this morning.

We did have a calm night. Just me and Linda and Dan and Caitlin. Ate pizza and watched part of the 24 hours of Twilight Zone on the Sci Fi channel. I still can't get over how good those original Rod Searling episodes are. The fact that they are in black and white helps to lend to their effect.
I fell asleep before midnight, but the kids woke me up to tell me it was 2003.

We haven't heard from Rebecca yet, but she will be coming home from Laurens this afternoon.

Linda and Caitlin have gone to Super Wal-Mart to buy groceries. It is just Dan and myself here at the house. I hate going to buy groceries unless I'm going by myself. Linda just enjoys the shopping experience. I just want to get it done as quickly as possible.

I started writing the story of my first 50 years of"The Life of Dennis"yesterday. I hope I have the discipline to keep it up and finish it. I hope I can keep doing this blog on a regular basis.

I have e-mailed my mother to find out some key dates and events for the story. She told me she has been keeping a diary since 1983. Don't know if I will ever get to read it, but it will probably be interesting.

My last day off today. Start my new position with the stations tomorrow. At least we only have two days to work this week. That way, I can get back into the routine without a huge shock to the system.

What will 2003 bring for all of us? Will we go to war in Iraq? If we do, will it hurt the economy? I saw in the News and Record today that John Edwards, Senator from NC may announce today or tomorrow he is running for the Democratic nomination for President. To early to tell yet if he will have a chance or not.