"The Lion" will be landing. And at New York's JFK Airport, an elite American task force waits as the notorious Libyan terrorist prepares to defect to the West. Then, aboard Flight 175, something goes eerily, horribly wrong - a mere prelude to the terror that is to come. Ex-NYPD cop, now Task Force contract agent John Corey - together with his formidable and beautiful new partner, Kate Mayfield - will follow a trail of smoke and blood across the country. His quarry: a foe with the cunning of a lion and all the bloodlust of a man. To win a desperate game with no rules at all, Corey must invent a strategy that leaves room for no luck at all.

The above summary is from the web site.  This is my fourth Nelson DeMille novel and it will not be my last.  He has a couple of ongoing characters in some of his books that are sarcastic and funny.  But the storys are not funny, they are gripping, tense, and have never failed to surprise me at the end.

I actually finished this book a couple of months ago and just forgot to share my review.

On our last afternoon in France, Janie, Holly, Lorene and I took a train to Chantilly which is about 20 miles north of Paris.  Mike and Lorene lived in Chantilly during the time they resided in France.  A short stroll from their apartment was the beautiful horse track and a notable chateau.

The Chateau de Chantilly has been built up by its owners since the Middle Ages.  It has one of the finest museums of historical paintings in France after the Louvre.  It has a library stocked with rare and precious books and manuscripts.  You can check out the link above for some interesting history on the chateau.

Three films familiar to most Americans were shot at Chantilly, The Longest Day (1962), the James Bond picture A View to a Kill (1984), and Jefferson in Paris (1994).  Here is a photo of the car wash where Patrick McNee's character meets his demise in A View to a Kill.

Last winter I started to teach Sara how to knit but the year got busy and we never got any further than lessons on casting on and the garter stitch.  A couple of weekends ago, Sara spent some time with me and we dug back in to the knitting lessons.  This time she learned how to purl and became very adept at the "stockinette" stitch.  Today I taught her how to decrease and she finished up her hat.  We thought it just needed a little enhancement so I crocheted a flower and we attached it to the top.  I think she looks pretty spiffy in her new hat!!!

Great job Sara!!

Will, Kelly, Shayne, and some friends met at Buffalo Wild Wings for drinks and wings and the Timberwolves last night.  Samantha couldn't make it because she was at Twins Fest.  Kelly reports that they all had a good time.

From left: Mary Laverdiere, Billing Manager; Terry Moen, Reimbursement Specialist; Myrna Wells-Ulland, Director of Clinical Operations; and me, Telecom Analyst.  When I met these women Mary was the Billing Manager, Terry worked in Accounts Receivable, and Myrna came to my deparment as the Admitting Manager.  Myrna retired yesterday and will leave on Tuesday for three weeks in Hawaii.

I started working at St. Luke's as an Admitting Clerk on February 22, 1982.  In 1984 Myrna became my boss.  Myrna is one of the most intelligent people I know; a boss who certainly kept me on my toes.  I used to be baffled by the amount of information she had in her brain for immediate use!  She was also very honest, fair, and most important of all ethical. 

She eventually chose me to be a Supervisor of Outpatient Admitting in 1987.  Then she became the Director of Business Services and I became the Admitting Supervisor.  A couple of years later Telecommunications was added to my area of responsibility.  At that time, Myrna decided to return to college.  When she returned to full time work she was very instrumental in the development and growth of St. Luke's Clinic Services.

As St. Luke's grew the responsibilities of both Admitting and Telecommunications had grown so much that I decided to go to Administration and ask if I could be relieved of my Admitting responsibilities.  It was 1997 and I had seen that the Telecommunications industry was changing and moving closer to the data industry so I also requested that our department become part of the Information Technology Department.

I loved working with computers from the first moment I put my hands on one.  I had the opportunity to select and install a Call Center Management system that eventually was used to begin a Physicians Answering Service.  As St. Luke's began growing I was aquiring another telephone system with every clinic.  Eventually the job of managing people and systems again had grown so much that I went to Administration again and requested that I be relieved of my Call Center management responsibilities and in 2000 I became a Telecom Analyst.  In 1989 I was responsible for one telephone switch with the capacity for 600 telephones.  In 2005 I am responsible for a telecommunications network that covers ten locations with 3400 active extensions and the capacity to provide services for half of the city.

I would never have been able to have accomplished my career moves without the confidence that Myrna Wells-Ulland instilled in me back in 1984. 

Blowing out the candles on January 28, 1955

From left in back:  Larry Kontio, Willard Ojanen, Linda Enzman, me, and Wanda Ojanen Maki.  Front Row:  Keith Ojanen, Peggy Enzmann Pearson, Donna Ojanen Hickok (the birthday girl) and Ellen Ojanen Nordlinder.

I called Donna to apologize that I didn't get a photo scanned before I left for work today.  I will be posting one as soon as I get home!.

On Sunday March 28th, 2004 we left our hotel in groups going in different directions.  Elaine, Katie and I went on a "Beatles Walk".  We met a guide on a corner near our hotel and walked around London stopping at various sites that were significant as far as The Beatles were concerned.  We visited Paul McCartney's corporate offices, we saw a public toilet where John Lennon filmed a scene for a movie, Carnaby Street (the former center of London fashion) and we went to the London Palladium where they peformed frequently (and where the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is currently playing).  The tour was pretty boring, there was nothing that was too exciting so we split from the tour, found a coffee shop and had a great big cup of Cafe American.

Jane, Annie, Holly, Mike and Lorene had gone to see the changing of the guard.  They only change every other day during the winter so it was really the only day we could fit that in. 

We met at Trafalgar square which is pictured here.  From left: Jane, Holly, Lorene, Annie, Elaine, and Katie.  In the background on the left is the National Gallery with some of the most famous works of art in the world.  The Building in the middle with the columns is St. Martin in the Fields. 

From here Mike took Janie and the girls to the Tower of London.  Elaine and Lorene went to the National Gallery and after I showed Katie how to take the tube back to our hotel, I strolled back, window shopping, stopping to people watch, and finally stopped at an internet cafe to check my email and have a cup of coffee.

Terry, Jane, Glen and a few Bemidji-ites spent last weekend on Lake of the Woods where they had lousy luck fishing but pretty good luck partying!

Lori Nei and Janie

Terry and Glen in the Fish House

Denise making Glen blush

Denise telling Glen a thing or two

Glen just having a good time!

Last night I was responsible for the installation of a new telephone system at the Lake View Memorial Hospital in Two Harbors.  Lake View Memorial and St. Luke's are partners and I manage the telephone system for them. 

The majority of my work occurs before the actual "cut".  I arranged for the installation of some new trunks, and had the old ones converted to lines that can be used in emergency situations around their campus.  I designed and built a "call center" front end for their main incoming telephone number.  This involves writing script that is followed every time the number is called.  The script looks at the time of day, day of week, holiday schedule, and then looks to see if anyone is logged in and ready to take calls.  If not, it sends the calls to the back up off-hours cover point.

Just after midnight, a technician started the process by making some changes at the St. Luke's end while another technician did the same at Lake View Memorial.  When completed, the first tech joined the second and they began to take out the old hardware, put in the new, then move the cable for each phone in the building from the old telephone switch to a patch panel on the new one.  It looked a bit like spaghetti when they were done.  To move the incoming/outgoing lines from the old switch to the new switch involves a simple move of unplugging a cable from the jack and plugging it in on the other.

Once this process begins, I don't have to do much, in fact, I often just sit back and wait for them to call me and tell me everything is done.  An engineer dials in from Denver, Colorado and makes sure that everything is working properly. 

I actually went to bed about 12:30 a.m.  Unforutnately they called me at 2:00 a.m. to tell me that the main phone lines went out and never came back up.  I had to call Citizen's Telephone to report the trouble and of course, during the night they only have one person taking calls.  I waited in queue for 15 minutes!  After I reported the trouble I monitored the trunks until they came back up at 3:30 a.m.  Then I took a quick nap until 5:00 a.m. when I got up to prepare for the day and leave for Two Harbors.

The drive was awful because it was snowing and melting in some places.  I didn't know what was water and what was black ice at that time of morning.  But I got there safe and sound and only had some minor easy to resolve issues.  I helped the women in the business office learn how to use the call center features and left to return to St. Luke's at around 9:30 a.m.

We are going to be doing two more of these upgrades over the next month.  When complete we will have done upgrades on all ten telephone switches over the course of the past year, just less than one a month.  It will be nice to have them done; it makes it much easier for me to manage the system.  In total, I will have about 4000 live extensions to monitor; my switch is capable of providing service for half of the city of Duluth.  I love my job and the new technology that I am fortunate to work with.

The Current

Minnesota Public Radio has a new station that is pretty interesting listening.  The good news is that it fills a gap when it comes to boring Minnesota radio.  The bad news is that you either need to live in The Cities or have high speed internet access to listen to it.

From their web site:

Why did you choose to create 89.3 The Current?
We decided to create the new 89.3 by listening to audiences in our community. Listeners have told us repeatedly that they wish there were wider music choices available in the Twin Cities, comparable to some respected public radio stations around the U.S. We wanted to make a public radio station for them, and that is what we hope 89.3 The Current will be.

How does 89.3 The Current fit in with public radio?
Listeners to 89.3 The Current are curious, informed, educated and involved in their communities. Those are the traits shared by listeners to our classical music service and news and information service. There's something for everyone in all three services.

89.3 is a strong fit for public radio because it's capturing new music that defines our era - and its musical roots and influences. This music doesn't have a local outlet. Public radio reflects the communities it serves, and The Current will be doing just that by playing a consistent amount of local music and having musicians performing in our studios.

In addition, the concept for 89.3's programming reflects our mission of enriching the mind and nourishing the spirit, and assisting our audiences in strengthening their communities.

Why did you name the station "The Current"?
"The Current" reflects not only what is current or new, but also the flow of water or electricity. It reminds us of where we live and what we're doing. A current can also connect one person to another, which is what a broadcaster does. The Current reminds us of the Mississippi River and also the many lakes and rivers in our region - strong images that draw on this place.

Finally, the name reflects how our newsroom will use 89.3 to keep music listeners current on the day's events, on current affairs.

How would you describe the station's format?
89.3 The Current is a music station with a deep and wide playlist. The Current plays the best, authentic new music alongside music that explores roots and influences. The Current has a special emphasis on local musicians and groups, and will play local music in every hour. The Current will establish deep ties to the local music community and will serve as a positive force in building the creative economy of Minnesota.

There will be no commercials on 89.3. And since the station draws from the largest newsroom in the region, you'll also hear about things that are important to you.

We'll also play music our listeners request. People can call our request line at (651) 989-4893 or e-mail our studios at 893dj@mpr.org. Or they can connect to us through the Web - www.mpr.org - to make requests, voice their opinions, check out the latest updates and interact with our hosts.

One of my workmates, Jen Hoglund and her husband Brett, went snow shoeing this weekend and she pulled their son Bronson behind on a sled.  Jen says "We tried really hard to make the trail wide, but it was only a deer trail and hard to widen and walk at the same time.  Bronson ended up in the snow often.  He was a great trooper and kept yelling 'ready...Go!'"  Bronson is 20 months old.