George Grant “Robbie” Robertson III, 63, of Wichita Falls, died Wednesday Aug. 30, 2006, in Wichita Falls, Texas.  

            Memorial services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 2^nd, 2006 at Lunn’s Funeral Home Chapel with Dr. Isaac Butterworth officiating. A private family ash release will be held at a future date.

            Robbie was born on October 27, 1942 in Cohasset, Massachusetts and lived in Newport, Rhode Island. He was a lifelong boy scout. He was a Vietnam veteran and retired after 20 years of Air Force duty with the rank of Master Sergeant. Robbie Robertson distinguished himself by meritorious service as an Illustrator for the Manned Orbiting Laboratory Program office at the Pentagon from January 10, 1968 to August 15, 1969 receiving an Air Force commendation medal. His work was also reflected in the Skylab program as well. He was in intelligence at the Pentagon with specialties in the areas of Graphics Technician, Precision Measuring Equip Supt, and Space Systems Equip Supt. After retirement he worked as a Traffic Engineer for the City of Wichita Falls. He then volunteered at Sheppard Air Force Base Commissary. He was a proud member of VFW 2147, DAV, and the Eagles.

            Survivors include his wife, Linda Ripper Robertson; his children George Grant Robertson IV and wife Laura, from Crowley, Texas; Thomas Michael Robertson and wife Lisa of Wichita Falls, Texas; Dr. Melinda Burnett and husband Greg of Rochester, Minnesota; Brian Alden Bass of Carrollton, Texas, and brothers Stephen Robertson of Providence, Rhode Island; Phillip L Robertson of Newport, Rhode Island and grandchildren Chastan Robertson of Wichita Falls; Mckenna Robertson of Wichita Falls; Dillon Grant Robertson of  Crowley, Texas; Halli Cyrell Robertson of Crowley, Texas; Emma Eligh Robertson of Crowley, Texas; Thomas Alden Burnett of Rochester, Min; and Allie Belle Burnett of Rochester, Min.

            Memorials may be made to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2147, Sheppard Access Road, Wichita Falls, Texas, 76309.

My stepfather passed last night at 12:25. I was there and saw him take his last breathe. I'll post the obit later. His funeral will be Sat at 10am at Lunn's funeral home in Wichita Falls, TX. I will be playing Amazing Grace on guitar.

And now for a quick weekend update. Friday I took Holly to "The Mercury
Room". It was an upscale restaurant that was pretty good. I ordered the
"steak for 2" which was a 32 oz steak split in half that tasted pretty
good. Naturally I put the rest of it in a doggie bag but forgot it in my
car. Farewell, steak. Saturday I went to Holly's house and I had brisket
and hung out with Holly. Sunday I went back to Wichita to see Robbie. My
brother was there with his family as well. Robbie was actually looking
better and they had him off the IVs to see if his kidneys would work.
Well, this morning I get a call from a distraught mom and his kidneys
have failed and in 2 days they are moving him to hospice. Prayer is
definitely needed.

Thought of the Day
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't
matter and those who matter don't mind.
- Dr. Seuss

Did you hear the news that Pluto is no longer a planet. Most people are
like," How dare they!" but then right afterwards they are like," well I
guess its ok." cause really if you look at it Pluto doesn't look like
the other planets. They are calling it a "dwarf planet". I guess that
means that the kids will have to learn a new paradigm. I can picture 50
years from now I will talk about Pluto and the kids will be like,"
What's Pluto?" I can deal. Although when I was 4 years old we had a dog
named Pluto. Sometime later I enquired as to what happened and the story
was "he is living on a farm now". I guess we can just think of the
planet Pluto as living on farm now. Farewell Pluto. In other new, Robbie
is the same. Gotta go.

Thought of the Day
Woof Woof

Another quick post as I am mired in work. My stepdad Robbie was doing
worse yesterday with more fluid buildup. They also gave him some blood
and had like 7 IVs in him. Mom just said last night he had 50 pounds of
fluid in him but he was able to get rid of 20 pounds of it so that was
good. Today I think they are going to stick him with a needle and
relieve some more pressure. The doctor's are optimistic so keep praying.

Thought of the Day
"Who's gonna turn down a Junior Mint? It's chocolate, it's peppermint --
it's delicious!"
- Kramer, in "The Junior Mints"

Just a quick message today. Robbie is still doing the same. In other
news, I am looking at getting headquarters for my company so that when I
release my site I will have a calling service. It turns out it is pretty
easy to look like a big company for relatively small amount. I wonder
how many other companies are really just one guy sitting at a computer.
I bet we'd be surprised. Changing topics, the Dallas Cowboys had a good
preseason game yesterday. We are definitely going to super bowl this
year. I think I'll get some tickets to a season game. Anyone else want
some?

Thought of the Day
"Let's just jump out of the car."
"We're doing sixty miles per hour."
"So, we jump and roll. You won't get hurt."
"Who are you, Mannix?"
- George and Jerry, in "The Limo"

Ok, so here is this weekends post. Friday was good cause me and Holly went to the Cheesecake factory and then to Dave and Busters. I've been using the same card and have so far got over 3100 tickets. Just 200 more and I can get a football phone. I am sure it is worth the hundred dollars I have probably spent on tokens...I had fun anyways so it was worth it. In other news I got a full nights sleep with my machine and I have to say it was definitely worth it. I didn't feel tired at the whole day on Sunday.

And now for the family news. My step dad was admitted to the ER on Friday. He had liver failure the whole time they were on vacation and am ambulance had to take him as his legs and body was swollen with fluid. His liver failed due to cirrhosis. I found out on Friday and went to Wichita Falls on Saturday. He is stable and his condition is listed as severe. When he was brought in he had a 50/50 chance of surviving. His kidneys started to go but the doctor gave him some medicine and he went from 600ml fluid output a day to 2000ml which was better cause it showed that his kidneys could still work. He basically has to get rid of all of the fluid in his body before they discharge him and then he has to go to rehab. I can't help but think about things seeing him in the hospital. In all ways alcohol is responsible for his condition and the damage done to his liver is irreversible. He told the doctor he would no longer drink or smoke. It just might be too late. So keep him in your prayers.

So this whole thing has got me thinking and feeling things. Mostly about alcohol. Now alcohol is cool in the world so what I am about to say will probably be unpopular, but I do have a right to say it. I grew up with parents who drink. I lived with a step-dad who was an alcoholic. I know what it does. Even as a young child alcohol affected me in ways that were wrong and made me insecure and unsure of myself. Alcohol doesn't just affect the person consuming it. Alcohol affects everyone around them. Kids see parents acting strange and becoming different people and that confuses them and can even scar them. Alcohol makes people lose their inhibitions, which we have for a reason. I can't tell you how many swear words I have heard in my life and I wonder how many less there would be if alcohol wasn't involved; even I would swear when I was drunk back in the day. Even casual acquaintances can look at a drunk person and laugh at them for their condition. Most people who drink in moderation will always say,"Not me. I do it in moderation. Nothing wrong with it. Even a glass of wine a day is good for your health." OK then, give some to your children every day if it is so healthy. Drinking alcohol just doesn't make sense. I noticed this when I was a 7 year old child who took a swig of vodka and orange juice left in the refrigerator and threw it up in the sink. I thought to myself, that tastes terrible why would anyone drink it. Then later on as my step-dad poured beer on my head every day and it stunk I would get mad and knew I would never drink beer. I often wondered what life would've been like had my parents never drank. One of my friend's brother recently got into a drunk driving car accident and they are all in the hospital. They could've all died. So let's just look at this logically. 1. Alcohol initially tastes bad 2. Alcohol can kill you in car accidents 3. People's behaviour on alcohol can cause others to become dysfunctional 4.Alcohol is not healthy and can affect your whole body and can even kill you if you spend years drinking it. Keep all that in mind as I tell you that I do drink and have now decided to quit. I would drink usually once on every 3 weeks. I didn't even consider myself a drinker. 5 glasses a month is not even a light drinker. So what is the big deal? Why should I quit? The answer is because I cannot control anyone else but I can control myself. It is not just about alcohol. It is about not being stupid. The question always comes up to people who drink and smoke - "If you know it is bad for you why do you still do it." The answer is really "because I am stupid" but emotionally they are tied to it and their answer is "because I love it."

I also know that other behaviours that I have, such as eating unhealthily is detrimental to my health and I must reverse my behaviour before it is too late. I have no one to blame for me being big but myself. Pick your addiction. I can picture me 25 years from now in a hospital bed as a 400 pound guy who just had a heart attack wondering how it all happened. Now, don't get me wrong. I am not judging people who drink. I cannot because even biblically drinking is allowed. What I am doing is not becoming an enabler. Even light and moderate drinkers enable alcoholics. My step-dad is going to face an oftly hard time quitting because he is a bartender and all of their friends go to the VFW bar. People get real defensive about alcohol. If they ever get the label of alcoholic then they will think something is wrong so they will defend moderate and light drinking till they end up in a hospital bed hooked up to 4 IVs, a catheter, with yellow eyes, moaning in pain. As for me, I quit.

Thought of the Day
1 out of every 10 Americans is an alcoholic.
7 out of 10 adult alcoholics began drinking as a teen.
Alcohol meets every scientific measurement of a drug.
3.3 million teenagers drink regularly and heavily.
60% of the people killed in drunk driving accidents are teenagers.
Teens who drink heavily can become alcoholic in as little as 3 to 6 months

Just got my CPAP machine. That is a machine that helps you sleep called
"Continuous Positive Airway Pressure". Basically you put this mask on
and it is as if something is blowing air into your lung continuously. It
is bit weird. I think they have my settings too high as I was congested
when I did the study. My CPAP number is 14 out of 20. Apparently I
stopped breathing 387 times in that one night sleep study and my oxygen
level was at 79%. I guess those numbers mean it is "severe". The mask is
a mouth and nose mask that kind of reminds me of a scuba mask. I think
maybe I might like it just because I like scuba diving. For now I am
Darth Vader. Cough cough. I must use the force. I should practice my
lines. "Your powers are weak old man." "Luke, I am your father." "I find
your lack of faith disturbing." We shall see what happens.

Thought of the Day
"Maybe it'll be fun having a pet?"
"It's not a pet. It's a wild invalid. And it knows that I tried to kill
it. As soon as it gets better, it's gonna gnaw my brain out in my
sleep."
- George, about the squirrel he has to care for, in "The Merv Griffin
Show"

Well yesterday was interesting. I went to an MSD Job Fair at the Lincoln
Center Hotel. It was my job to interview people for a couple of our C#
Guru positions. I was known as the guy who could make people cry.
Reality, people just plain didn't know the answers to the questions I
was asking. To be a guru one must know everything about the language and
how things work internally. But, it is good to have a reputation as a
guru thereby granting some job security. I was there from 8 in the
morning to 7 in the evening. Talk about a long day. I remember in 1998 I
interviewed at the same convention center with Sprint. They flew me in
from Texas Tech, gave me a room and the next day some 200 college
students did massive interviewing with them. It was really for the Y2K
bug that they wanted so many people. I was given an offer from them but
luckily AT&T had given me a better one. I think back now to those days
and surely have come a long way. Whereas I once was the guy being
interviewed I am now the interviewer. I am a little hard on the people
who I interview because I look back at the ones that challenged me and
realized I used those questions to get better. Eventually I knew the
answers to all of the interview questions. It is kind of like Goldeneye
for the N64. I beat up on all my friends so that eventually they got
better than me. Boy they sure were mad at the beginning...

Thought of the Day
"Oh, I was unstoppable! Perfect combination of Mountain Dew and
mozzarella, with just the right amount of grease on the joystick."
- George, on his gaming skills, in "The Frogger"

Well as usual I am super busy and probably will be so in the next couple
of months. I have a big project due at work by the end of September. My
server was down yesterday and I felt helpless cause it was at home and I
was at work. I then purchased a nifty device that will allow me to turn
off and restart my computer using my cell phone. That should help out a
little. I saw Talladega Nights this weekend. It was the funniest movie I
have seen in a long time. Everything is going well with me. I have yet
to receive my sleep apnea machine, but I know it was really
uncomfortable when I tested them out on Saturday night. There lots of
masks to order over the Internet so I guess I might go mask shopping if
it is uncomfortable. Anyways, besides that, all is well. What are ya'll
up to?

Thought of the Day
"If we wanted wussy kids, we would have named them 'Dr. Quinn' and
'Medicine Woman.'"
-Talladega Nights

Well my last days of the vacation was good. Matter of fact the whole
vacation was good. I didn't want to come home. On Saturday we dove the
coolest dives. One was on the edge of "the wall" where the bottom drops
off into nothingness. I went my deepest at 89 feet. The maximum a diver
on oxygen can go is 132 feet. We also got to go through a cave. That was
pretty cool. Another dive was near a shipwreck. Unfortunately we didn't
get to go in cause my dive buddy had some ear problems. So we grabbed
hold of this nasty rusty chain and waited for the other divers to come
out, the current was pretty strong. While we were doing so a whole
school of two foot long silver fish swam around us. That was cool. Then
when they got out of the wreck we were ahead of the other divers so I
took the lead a little and got to swim out into the ocean near the coral
with nothing in front of me but a bunch of fish and coral. It was pretty
cool. I felt like an explorer. That Saturday night we went a nightclub
called Senior Frog's and danced. Every 5 minutes they would blow on
these whistles and come around a pour alcohol down everyone's throats.
We declined of course. I do drink, but I just don't want to do it around
her as I think alcohol is a major factor in breakups and causes other
problems. So I avoid it. Anyway we had a good time dancing. Then on
Sunday we went around town and looked at the shops and I took those
pictures. We had lunch with another couple and then were sad to be
leaving the island. The flight was good for me, I had no ear problems,
but there was this kid behind me who kept on kicking the chair, the
whole way. I was truly surprised at how much energy this kid had. He was
like four and kicked the back of my seat continuously and his parents
said nothing. I had my PSP and watched Young Guns on the way back. We
were in Dallas in no time. And so ends my vacation. I am now a scuba
diver. I will probably schedule another trip soon, just so I can go back
and dive. Now I have to concentrate on work. These next 2 months are
going to be a trail, but after scuba diving I'm ready for anything.

Dive Log Number: 5
Time: 27 min
Water Temp: 86
Average Depth: 54 ft
Max Depth: 89 feet

Dive Log Number: 6
Time: 37 min
Water Temp: 85
Average Depth: 42 ft
Max Depth: 62 feet

Thought of the Day
"You know I am not prejudiced at all, but I think the Mexicans on this
island are all short and stubby because of their Mayan ancestry" - some
guy in our group

Click Here to See All of My Cozumel 2006 Photos

The second day saw massive diving. One thing I realized though, the
early people rule the world. Even on vacation they had us wake up to get
to the dock by 8:30am. I then knew that they had even taken over
vacations. See the "early people" love to wake up before 7AM and get the
"day overwith" early. They are happy and jubilent in the morning after
they have a cup of coffee. Reality is they are really deluding and
drugging themselves to love the mornings. The "night owls" which is what
I am, would rather miss the morning entirely. Take today for instance, I
went to bed at 3am(too late) and woke up at 9:15. I got to work at 10am
and refused to talk to anyone until 11am. I can't stand mornings.
Anyways, back to the trip. I am happy to say I didn't get one sunburn on
the whole trip. Holly had some SPF 60 and spray on 30 for a total 90SPF
protection. On Friday we went on 3 dives. One in the morning, one in the
afternoon, and one in the evening. All of them were really fun. I had
lost my snorkel so I dove without it and heard that they had found it at
the end. We would socialize a little with the people in our group on the
boat and had lunch and dinner with them. The night dive was cool. We
went on a little boat with some guys who had already many drinks. One
guy was falling all over the place. We then went underwater with
flashlights and were able to see tons of lobster in caves at the bottom
and crabs and other kinds of fish. It was cool because it really was
like you were on an away team on another planet. At the end of the
evening I took a dip in the pool cause it was really exhausting doing
all of those dives. Good times, Good times.

Dive Log Number: 2
Time: 37 min
Water Temp: 85
Average Depth: 42 ft
Max Depth: 62 feet

Dive Log Number: 3
Time: 36 min
Water Temp: 86
Average Depth: 40 ft
Max Depth: 54 feet

Dive Log Number: 4
Time: 41 min
Water Temp: 85
Average Depth: 34 ft
Max Depth: 47 feet

Thought of the Day
Clark W. Griswold: This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy!

As I am now back from my vacation I shall delight you, dear reader, with
tales from the sea. For those that are working my hope is that you
vicariously live through my experiences as well. The place: Cozumel, a
little island off of the coast of Mexico. It was destroyed last year
during hurricane Wilma, but has since recuperated to be a tourist hot
spot again. I took Wednesday through Sunday off of work and flew down
there with my girlfriend, Holly. We were with a group of 50 divers
gathered from Blue Dolphin Scuba in Frisco, TX. Technically we left on
Thursday but I spent Wednesday getting prepared, like packing, getting
my satellite TV fixed, and buying a PSP with games and movies for the
plane trip. I have no buyer's remorse, the PSP rocks. Anyway, the plane
trip was pretty easy, it took like 2 and half hours but I didn't notice
cause I was watching TRON, the ultimate in computer movies, on my PSP.
Then when we arrived we had to go through customs and stuff and we all
merged as one group of 50 people taking taxi's to the hotel. Right after
we settled in we were off to the first dive of the trip. This dive would
be a walk-in dive from the beach. The people at Papa Hog's Scuba Shop
helped us with our gear and made sure everything was right. Holly and I
were dive buddies the whole time of course. Our first dive was
mesmerizing. We saw tons of fish and the sunset went down and then we
both realized we had gone far out and no one was around. So we went back
to shore to find out we were the last ones to come in. They took our
gear for the night and we ate at the hotel restaurant. The hotel was a
good hotel. There was a group of kids in the lobby on laptops the whole
3 days we were there. Apparently the Blythe Education Group decided to
spend their summer vacation in the lobby at Cozumel surfing the
internet. We both thought that was odd. At the restaurant I had some
weird kind of hamburger made from taco meat. Then we went walking and
spent some time together. The first day was most excellent. I did take
some underwater pictures and will post those once I get them back. Stay
tuned for part 2 tomorrow.

Dive Log Number: 1
Time: 38 min
Water Temp: 85
Average Depth: 14 ft
Max Depth: 26 feet

Thought of the Day
"Jerry, look at my eyes."
"Hmmm... they're a little less beady today."
"Because I'm refreshed! I finally found a way to sleep in my office.
Under the desk! I lie on my back, I tuck in the chair. I'm invisible!"
"Sounds like a real cool fort."
- George and Jerry, in "The Nap"

Yes, it is nearing vacation time. Ah, the joys of vacation. There is the old song "working for the weekends" but really most people are working for vacation. Most of the time our vacations are for obligations like Thanksgiving or Christmas and then sometimes it doesn't really feel like a vacation. A lot of people around work go on many vacations. My cohort goes on a trip once every two months. One coworker is on a cruise to Russia right now for 2 and half weeks. I remember going to Guitar Camp in Austin 4 years ago. It was really fun; 5 straight days of playing guitar. I am always meaning to go to the one in Seattle. A trip to Mardi Gras was good as well. It was definitely an experience. Growing up we had the "van" trips in which we would spend 7 days in the "Van" and travel across country. Spring Break we were always headed west. Summer vacation we always went up to Hillville and hung out. That was fun too. It has been a while since I actually went anywhere just for fun for more than 2 days. I think the last one was two years ago, between jobs, when I went to the mountains of New Mexico.
Click here for a remembrance.

I don't think I will be able to blog this trip though, cause I believe Mexico doesn't have the Internet. I think they just use coconuts.

Thought of the Day

"Having the keys to Jerry's apartment - that kept me in a fantasy world. Every time I went over to his house it was like a vacation: better food, better view, better TV, cleaner, oh, *much* cleaner. That became my reality. I ignored the squalor in my own life because I'm looking at life, you see, through Jerry's eyes. I was living in the twilight, living in the shadows, living in the darkness... like you."
"Me?!"
"Oh, I can barely see you, George."
"Stop it Kramer, you're freakin' me out."
- Kramer and George, in "The Keys"