More El-Nachef photos

Here we are having lunch Sunday afternoon. Chicken kabobs and hummus.

Will hanging with his Madre. Aren't they cute?

Doesn't it seem like these people are always holding huge knives that are disproportionately larger than the task at hand? Just asking.

Three days in Riverside

I have a confession to make. I haven't been completely honest with you, readers. I've been keeping a secret. I haven't done a very good job of keeping this secret, but it has been something of a secret nonetheless.

Based on the advice of a close friend, who shall remain nameless (his nickname rhymes with Puke Fog, or Poop Log), I decided to take the California Bar Exam last week. Some of you may know the California Bar Exam is the most difficult bar exam in America. How difficult is it you ask? Check out this story from The Wall Street Journal.

"Kathleen Sullivan is a noted constitutional scholar who has argued cases before the Supreme Court. Until recently, she was dean of Stanford Law School. In legal circles, she has been talked about as a potential Democratic nominee for the Supreme Court. But Ms. Sullivan recently became the latest prominent victim of California's notoriously difficult bar exam. Last month, the state sent out the results of its July test to 8,343 aspiring and already-practicing lawyers. More than half failed -- including Ms. Sullivan.

"Although she is licensed to practice law in New York and Massachusetts, Ms. Sullivan was taking the California exam for the first time after joining a Los Angeles-based firm as an appellate specialist.

"The California bar exam has created misery for thousands of aspiring and practicing lawyers. Former California Gov. Jerry Brown passed on his second try, while former Gov. Pete Wilson needed four attempts. The recently elected mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio R. Villaraigosa, never did pass the bar after failing four times."

Editor's note: All but one of these people are Democrats. At any rate, in 2004, just 44% of those who took the test passed.

I didn't want to put a lot of pressure on myself to pass, so I tried to keep it a secret. I'm not sure how good of a job I did, but I tried. I also didn't want to let you all down, since I really didn't study very much at all... for the hardest bar exam in America. How I did on the three-day test remains to be seen. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures of the week that was.



You are entering the secure area!

The Ontario Convention Center. 1,500 people took the bar along with me, and that is just one of several locations throughout the state.

Here's the pad where we stayed all week, owned by my generous inlaws. Their second house just so happened to be vacant, and about 14 miles away from the test site. It was incredibly convenient. Attentive readers will remember that last year, when Luke and I took the Michigan Bar, my brother Jeff had just purchased a house adjacent to that testing location and had yet to move in. We have been very blessed with empty houses owned by relatives in close proximity to the bar exams we take.

This was our dining establishment of choice all week long.
James took good care of us.
Let's see: is burglery a specific intent crime or a general intent crime? I better have another shot of the nectar of the gods to clear my head.

Luke Dawg's a multistate bandit. These pictures, by the way, were taken about an hour before the beginning of day two. And we're studying. Does that give you an idea of our level of preparation?
Breakfast of Champions. We got up each morning at 5:30 to guarantee we would make it in time. You simply cannot be late. And there was tons of traffic every morning. Amazing.

You're now leaving the secure zone. Thanks for taking this trip with us. Now I get to relax and concentrate on wasting time without feeling guilty.

Many of you know that I'm still in California on vacation until August 13. Naj is meeting me in San Francisco on Thursday (hold your breath, close your eyes and punch it). We're going to spend about 10 days driving up the Pacific Ocean coast to Seattle and back down through the Sierra Nevada mountains. To say I'm excited would be an extreme underestimation. I'll try to blog along the way when we get near a wireless hotspot.

"Bachelor" party

I went to a bachelor party for this guy the other night.

This wasn't a bachelor party like the kind you might imagine. These are Thomas Aquinas College people, after all. But there were a lot of bachelors there. Being happily married to The Cheat, this was of no concern to The Lyrical Gangster. But let's put it this way. If you were looking to mingle with the ladies, this was not the place to be. On the other hand, what can you expect from a bachelor party.

Aside from general male rambunctiousness and gratuitous Texas Hold Em poker, I'm pretty sure B-16 would have approved of nearly all of the activity that was engaged in. As you can see, he was especially excited about that whole one man, one woman in marital union thing scheduled for the next day.

Saw some old friends (even those whose cell phones have broken) and met some new ones. That's Jeff, brother of the groom, between Luke Dawg and V2. Good folks.
I even spotted some celebrities. Regular readers might recognize Senior B from O.C. on the right, hanging with the the bass guitarist from ZZ Topp.

Here I am demonstrating my musical abilities. ("Something in the way, yeah, umm hmm") . If I look tired and stressed and a little like I've let myself go for a few days it's because, well, I am and I have.

Strangest thing happened, by the way. I'm walking outside and these two guys are walking up the path. On the right is Matt Newhall and on the right is Mike Mathie. Both of Ave Maria School of Law, both of Ann Arbor, Michigan. They were both in town for the wedding. Matt graduated in May and has since moved home to Washington. It was a nice surprise to see them there.

A hike with Danny

Danny and I took about a 10-mile, four hour hike on Saturday in Orange County's Aliso and Wood Canyons Park. It's a huge (4,000 acres) park right in the middle of a heavily developed suburban area. It was beautiful and just what we needed to clear our minds after a stressful week.
Here we are demonstrating our skills in hairstyling and photography at the same time.

Here's Danny at about the point where we turned around to head back. You can see those hills in the background and the canyon we walked through is to the left.

This is the first rattlesnake I have ever seen. There were signs everywhere warning that they were present, but those types of warnings are pretty common out west. Sure enough, though, we were walking along this road when I looked up and saw this guy very slowly crossing the road ahead of us. He's headed from left to right. If you look very closely at the end of his tail you will notice it is kinked because of his rattle.

He didn't rattle at us or appear even the slightest bit interested that we were there. In fact he didn't speed up to get away from us or slow down to check us out. Just kept slowly moving along. Sorry I didn't get a better picture but this is about as close as I cared to get. If you want a close up picture of a rattlesnake you'll have to get it yourself.

The Lyrical Gangster on the move West Coast edition

I've arrived in California on a secret mission. (My reluctant model is being used to illustrate my location. She made me take the picture from far away. She says "Hi").

Yesterday was quite a rough day. Cheeseburger picked me up to go to the airport at about 9 a.m. and I arrived in Oakland at about 5 p.m. Michigan time. Unfortunately a problem with my rental car necessitated taking public transportation (two buses and a train) on a tour of the lovely Bay Area, which lasted about 3-4 hours.

I picked my car up at the Oakland Airport and began the 400-mile drive down to Orange County, where I'll be hanging out for the next week. I arrived at about 12:45 a.m., which is 3:45 a.m. in Michigan. By the time I got to bed here, I had been on the move for almost 20 straight hours. Obviously I'm a little sleepy.

Reader e-mail

Recieved this from a very informed reader/brew mentor.

"Very entertaining website. I was wondering why you call Najwa "The Cheat"? Must be a good story behind that one."

Well you see Dr. Mike, The Cheat is a character from Homestarrunner.com, a character that reminds me an awful lot of the woman I married so many years ago. You can check out her "bio" here. Don't you guys see the resemblence?

Naj's accomplishments

Lots of good things have been happening for The Cheat lately. She's becoming quite the expert on all things poop related. Actually, as most of you know, she's been a poop expert for some time, it's just that now she's finally getting the educational expertise to go along with her "real world" knowledge.

You can imagine our excitement upon reciept of the following e-mail confirming the acceptance of her FIRST ACADEMIC PUBLICATION!!!!!

"Dear Dr. Elnachef:

We are pleased to inform you that the Educational Affairs Committee of the American College of Gastroenterology has selected your abstract for a poster presentation at the College's 71st Annual Scientific Meeting to be held on October 20-25, 2006 at The Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada. Your abstract will be listed in ACG meeting publications exactly as shown below so please review this information carefully:

Treatment of Diarrhea in Common Variable Immunodeficiency: A Novel Use for Budesonide
Najwa Elnachef, MD, Marc McMorris, MD, and William D. Chey, MD. Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Allergy and Immunology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI and Gastroenterology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI."

Now the Gangster is no poop expert, but I do know a thing or two about pop culture. And I can tell you that with a title like that, I'm pretty sure this one will be flying off the shelves. "Treatment of Diarrhea in Common Variable Immunodeficiency: A Novel Use for Budesonide." It doesn't get any more exciting than that, folks. I mean it's enough that we're treating diarrhea (I always wondered how to spell that), and I don't have to tell you how much of a pain in the butt (wink) Common Variable Immunodeficiency can be. But using Budesonide?! Novelly?! Wow. Wow.

Those folks at the U of M G.I. department are something. They'll sell you the whole seat, but you'll only use the edge.

Starbucks trivia

What is the nickname of the State of New Mexico?

Answer

The price of gas in Canada

Free Press columnist Matt Helms just returned from Canada and has an alarming report on the price Canadians are paying for gas.

"At some places it was $1.21. That doesn't sound so awful until you do the math. That price is per liter, and one of our gallons equates to about 3.785 liters. That means we paid the equivalent of almost $4.58 a gallon."

I experienced this phenomenon on a road trip to Ottawa last Labor Day. I was shocked at how much it cost to fill up my Saturn, which is hardly a gas guzzler. While I was there it occurred to me that going to Canada these days is an easy way to experiment with a question I had pondered for some time: namely, how would people's behavior change if (and likely when) gas cost $5 a gallon. I was shocked that the answer is nothing much changes. People still drive a lot. People still drive SUV's. People still drive fast. And nary a Smart Car was seen.

Bus Tax Update

I've been discussing (whining?) about the proposed property tax increase to fund the bus system here for a while now, so I thought I would provide an update of sorts that will help explain why it can be so frustrating to live in a high tax city like Ann Arbor.

According to this story in the Ann Arbor News, the director of the transity authority has spent $145,000 on travel in the last five years. That's just one guy. When you count all employees of the bus system, they have apent more than $308,000 on travel in that same period. Let me repeat that. The employees of the BUS SYSTEM have spent $308,000 on TRAVEL in the past FIVE YEARS. Why?

And they are going to ask me to increase the amount of money I pay each month in property taxes to keep the buses running.

According to the News, the bus system's annual budget is $22.7 million. There are "almost" 4.9 million passenger boardings each year. If my math is right, it costs about $4.63 for each and every ride on the city bus.

This is insane. And it's just one of the eight independent government or quasi-government agencies whose name appears on the itemized property tax bill I just paid for my modest home. The total, by the way, was $4,100, and it's for just part of the year.

We Love Michigan

More data from the Free Press' ongoing coverage of its poll of all things Michigan. It turns out that 88% of those polled said they love living here.

"No matter our employment status, income level, sex, race, educational background, politics or age -- doggone it -- Michiganders overwhelmingly agreed we pretty much love the state.
And the older we get, the fonder our hearts grow. Even the majority of those under 35, while a bit more pessimistic, are generally smitten with the mitten."

That positive attitude, however, is "tempered by the times."

"Nearly 1 in 3 Michiganders generally agrees that Michigan is 'a dying state.' And four in 10 said they recently thought about fleeing Michigan, mostly for job reasons. More ominous, a solid majority of younger residents -- Michigan's future -- have 'seriously considered' a move: roughly 40% of adults under 35. And one-third of Michigan parents with children under 18 expect their children to move to another state once they've finished their schooling."

Still, 88% love it here? I have to admit I'm a little surprised.

Michigan is changing

This Free Press poll is fascinating. The lead discusses at length whether Michigan residents think a possible merger (sorry, "alliance") of GM with Renault and Nissan would be good for the state. But the real story is buried further down.

"The major split between union and nonunion households came when Michiganders were asked whether the unions would have to accept wage and benefit cuts in order for manufacturing jobs to survive in Michigan against global competition.

Overall, 67% agreed the unions would have to sacrifice, 27% disagreed and 6% were unsure. However, when results were sorted by union and nonunion households, about three-quarters of nonunion households agreed that cuts should be accepted. Only about half of union members agreed."

Couple points. First, it is remarkable that such a significant majority of those polled think unions will have to sacrifice pay and benefits for Michigan to remain competitive. Whether that is true or not, it really points to a sea change in the way Michigan residents think about work, jobs and union power. Such a stat would have been unthinkable just a few decades ago.

There are lots of reasons for this change. First, even half of union households seem to recognize that in this global economy, union style benefits and wages are making companies like the American automakers much less competitive than companies like Wal-Mart that offer significantly lower wages and benefits. Not saying this is good or bad, but it is an increasingly inescapable fact.

Second, younger workers like myself have grown up knowing there was no future for us in the factories and, though the automakers have been very good to our families, we don't really identify ourselves with the auto industry and the unions. Ask yourself: how many people do you know who belong to a traditional industrial union? And how old are those people? For better or for worse, those days are rapidly coming to an end.

Thirdly, in part because auto industry jobs are scarce, Michigan's economy is (VERY) slowly diversifying. Michiganders today are probably as likely to be working in retail, government or I.T. than working for the auto industry. This pigybacks my previous point somewhat. These people, again, do not think of themselves as closely tied to the auto industry nor do they have the traditional union mentality of seeking higher wages and better benefits at all costs.

Lastly, the growth of places like Ann Arbor and West Michigan continues to change the state. These places have slightly better economic outlooks than the rest of the state and have virtually no ties to the auto industry.

At any rate, Michigan is changing pretty rapidly. As polls like this demonstrate, people are much less likely to dig in and fight The Man over wages and benefits and seem much less loyal to unions. Let's just hope we don't all end up working at Wal-Mart, and if we do, let's at least hope for tolerable pay, benefits and working conditions.

Public nudity, the Gay Games, Cheekies the dog and September 11

Details of a strange lawsuit from The Smoking Gun. I'm trying to think of something funny to say, but I think I'll let this one speak for itself.

"A New York man who says that he suffers from a debilitating skin condition and post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the September 11 attacks is suing for the right to have his rat terrier accompany him to a naked beach on Fire Island.

Mark DelCore, 39, contends that he needs to sunbathe sans clothes because of an 'acute skin condition that requires me to be in the sun as often as possible,' according to a federal lawsuit filed yesterday by the Queens man. DelCore's complaint, which does not further identify his ailment, notes that since 'my skin condition is all over my body I require exposure to the sun all over my body.'

The lawsuit... contends that while Fire Island National Seashore officials will allow seeing eye dogs to accompany beachgoers, service dogs are not allowed on the beach. DelCore states that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and that his dog Cheekies 'goes everywhere with me and provides me with emotional support and comfort.' He adds that the Fire Island National Seashore is 'the only place within range of my home that I am legally allowed to sunbathe without any clothes.'

In a TSG interview, DelCore said that he was in a lower Manhattan gym on the morning of the World Trade Center attack and, when the planes hit, was forced to leave the facility while still wet. Before the first tower even collapsed, DelCore said that he was covered with a 'light dusting' of an unknown substance (which attached to his wet skin) as he ran north from the towers. His resulting condition, which he said does not have a name, led to him going on disability from his job with a New York bank.

DelCore, a former bodybuilder who once competed at the Gay Games, acknowledged that his dog has not been certified as a service animal."

Funeral advice from the Freep

Today's Free Press has a somewhat whacky column by Susan Ager regarding, shall we say, alternative funeral arrangements. Her point, which is well taken, is that funeral expenses and formality have gotten way out of control. In fact, she says the Federal Trade Commission has concluded that funerals are one of the most expensive purchases most consumers ever make.

Ager is into a little less ceremony. Before announcing that she wants her husband to "load [her] body into his vehicle, drive to a crematory and watch as [her] body is put into the chamber, then come back two hours later for [her] ashes," which she hopes he will then spread over her garden, Ager interviews Beth Knox of Maryland, who describes her mother's funeral this way (emphasis mine):

"We kept her at home in New Jersey for three days afterwards. My sister and I bought dry ice to keep her cool. From a funeral home we bought a basic casket, with a base of plywood and a top of heavy cardboard, that fit together sort of like a butter dish. We decorated that with stickers and Magic Markers. Then we set it on her dining room table, and my brothers carried her downstairs and lay her in it, and we put flowers and other treasures in it. We had wrapped her in silk, in beautiful clothing, and then we carried the casket feet first out into my sister's van. We drove to the crematory, which has a very nice chapel. We all said good-bye and I sang her a song. And then we put her in."

Wouldn't it have been even cooler, and less formal, if while Grandma was sitting around for three days on the dining room table that they used stickers and magic markers on her rather than just saving them for the butter-dish casket? I mean, if we're going to do this thing, let's really do it right.

Starbucks trivia

What rap group did Tupac get his start with?

Answer here.

Starbucks trivia 2

What famous U.S. institution is responsible for developing Napalm.

Answer here.

More Florida News

As part of our continuing coverage, we offer this gem from the Sunshine State.

"Two women in Marion County, Fla., were arrested after a 5-year-old boy was found living with 14 dogs, four cats, two ferrets and three large turtles in a home that had air pollution at 'lethal levels,' according to investigators. Deputies discovered the sick animals in the home because the stench was so bad neighbors had called to complain, said Marion County Sheriff's Deputy Paul Youmans said. Investigators said when they entered a home located on Southwest Second Court in the Turning Point Estates, it was difficult to distinguish dog feces from the cockroach and rodent droppings on the floor."

Beautiful

The good news and the bad news

The good news is huge. Google is planning on opening a large office in Ann Arbor and hiring 1,000 new employees here, according to this story in the Ann Arbor News. Those are high-paying, high-tech jobs that should give the local economy a nice boost. And the announcement adds to the idea that Ann Arbor is (or could be) a high-tech corridor. Which in turn might bring even more jobs in the future.

Now for the bad news: A dead robin found in Ann Arbor has tested positive for West Nile Virus.

So basically what I'm saying is we could all die, but at least we'll be buried in a place that at one point was poised to potentially become a high tech corridor.

Question

Does anyone else see anyting wrong with a person working 107 hours in a single week? Just checking.

"Be Cool. Be Out at School"

The Lyrical Gangster has recieved a "hot" tip regarding a Gay Pride march in San Francisco. Which Gay Pride march in San Francisco you ask? Our tipster explains. "I stopped by the Gay Pride Parade in SF on my way to watch a world cup game in North Beach." Sure you did. And I suppose it was by total accident that this just so happened to be a parade for gay high school students looking for love. Official Motto: "Gays are students too." And the World Cup is being played in Europe. And this happened in San Francisco. Mmm hmm.

At any rate, our tipster has pointed out that the boy in this image, if you zoom, does in fact have a strange and undeniable resemblence to one of the Cheat's male relatives, also shown below. Loyal readers: do you see the connection?

Am I wearing your pants?

So I've been doing laundry the last few days. Not the "I ran out of underwear" emergency just enough to get by load, but the all the way to the bottom of the stack "I forgot I had that" type. (You know what I'm talking about so stop pretending you don't). And I found this blue pair of Dockers I don't remember purchasing. But they were my size and I found them in my bedroom.

So I asked Naj if I had bought them and just forgotten. Believe it or not, this has happened before. She assured me that, yes, I had purchased these pants and, by the way, they were hot. Well that's a good thing, so I wore them to work this morning... and realized, I had never seen this pair of pants in my life.

So unless my wife is leading a much more secretive life than I realize, someone I know apparently has changed their pants in my house and is now missing a pair of size 38 dark blue Dockers. And I have them on. And by the way, they are hot. Don't you think?

Dropping the ball

OK you guys. I realize broad shoulders are made to carry heavy loads and I normally don't care much that I don't get as much help from the rest of you when it comes to Detroit sports as I should. But this is ridiculous. Let's review.

When I left town last Thursday night, the Detroit sports world was flying about as high as it could. The Pistons and Wings, in fact, had recently finished seasons where each team had dominated it's respective league, though both had fallen short in the playoffs. Even the TIGERS were dominating.

Then I leave town for FIVE DAYS and the whole thing pretty much collapses.

Apparently while I was in Florida, Red Wings Captain/Hall of Famer/Mr. America (from Canada) Steve Yzerman announced he was retiring. The Wings are now officially a shell of their former selves. Then, as if that wasn't enough, ON THE SAME DAY, Pistons superstar Ben Wallace announces he's leaving for more money in Chicago.

Bob Wojnowski in The Detroit News has the story here.

"Two faces. Two franchises. Two identities. Gone in a day. Whoa. And woe. Welcome to a strange new world, considerably less recognizable in the aftermath of the Dizziest Day in Detroit sports history."

Next you'll tell me GM is in talks to be purchased by a foriegn car company. Uh, Guys?

Shuttle launch video as promised

Just click play. Note, however, the noise you hear is not the shuttle's engines. Rather it is the wind wipping at us on top of the bridge. However, if you listen closely, at about 23 seconds in you can hear something almost as cool. It's my phone ringer. My Dad is calling me to tell me the shuttle was launched. Thanks Dad.

Shuttle launch

This is not a North Korean missile.

This is actually a picture of today's shuttle launch, taken from a bridge over the Indian River, or Intercoastal Waterway, that runs along much of the coast of east central Florida. The Atlantic Ocean is probably less than a mile east of here, or right of this picture. We are standing on the bridge in Vero Beach, facing Cape Canaveral, which is about 70 miles or so north of where I'm standing. (Can anyone other than Brent think of any Vero Beach trivia not related to the space shuttle? Put your answers in the comments section) This picture is pretty much how it looked to the naked eye, by the way.

Here is a closer picture, though I hesitate to call it a close-up. The solid piece seen near the tip is basically a ball of fire from the rocket boosters with the shuttle itself at the very tip.

Here is a slightly closer picture, courtesy of NASA

I took some video, but it didn't turn out too well. We'll see if Cousin Brent's came out any better. If so I'll post it soon.

Here's NASA's web page dedicated to the mission.

Here's a story from the AP about today's launch. Apparently up to six pieces of foam or some sort of debris again fell off the shuttle. Remember, pieces of foam falling off the fuel tank a few years ago damaged the shuttle's heat shield, causing the heat shield to basically fail upon re-entry. This caused the shuttle to disintegrate, killing the entire crew.

On today's flight, NASA is saying "it was too soon to know whether the debris struck Discovery and that the pieces came off later than would normally endanger the shuttle," according to the AP.

Is it just me, or does this foam thing seem like something of a new problem? I mean, hasn't the shuttle been flying since the early days of the Reagan administration? Does anyone else remember hearing about falling foam problems before the accident a couple years ago? The same AP story says "a small piece of foam fell off Discovery's fuel tank a day before the launch, but officials decided the shuttle could fly safely without repairing the gap."

I mean foam is falling off while the thing is sitting on the launchpad? That's pretty ghetto. By the way, and this is no joke, apparently there are so many VULTURES flying around the launch pad that NASA has had to install special radar to keep its eye on them during launches. It has also instituted a program to quickly get rid of roadkill near the Kennedy Space Center to keep the vultures from hanging around.

Ann Arbor News Letter to the Editor

It seems Gallup Park is infested with mean, aggressive geese. And they poop.

"Gallup Park is being fouled by fowl

After several recent visits to Gallup Park, I have to wonder - what would the city do if walking paths and picnic areas there were covered with thousands of dog droppings? I imagine we'd see a major crackdown/ban on dogs at the park, with threats of fines, etc. Point is, something would be done.

"Why, then, is nothing done about paths at Gallup Park that in some spots are so covered with goose droppings that they are unpassable? Most of the lawns and picnic areas are covered with goose droppings - who wants to lay a blanket and sit in that? Not to mention that geese are often mean and aggressive towards people who are not bothering them. There are several things that the city and the state Department of Natural Resources could do to thin the goose populations at Gallup without harming the geese, such as removing eggs early, etc. Action is long overdue. Gallup Park is a filthy, unsanitary mess and I am tired of paying tax dollars for it and having to watch every step.

Michael P. Hendel, Ann Arbor

Savannas Preserve State Park

Brent and I checked out the Savannas Preserve State Park for a hike Monday. It was quite beautiful.





There were plenty of warnings about dangerous Florida wildlife.


But the most dangerous animal we saw was this Wolverine.



Still, it was a great hike. Probably about 7 or 8 miles in the heat of the day, so we were beat by the time we finished. Here we are at the end of the hike. Tired, hot and slightly sunburned. But obviously still sexy.

A rainy day in Miami

Checked out Miami on a drizzly, humid day. Cool picture of the skyline.


Here is where they're keeping the Piston's trophy until next year. Hope they enjoy it.

The Lyrical Gangster on the move

The Lyrical Gangster is taking this dog and pony show on the road, visiting sunny south Florida this July 4th weekend.

So far I've been hanging out at the beach...

chilling with Cousin Brent...


samplying Florida's unique cultural and culinary traditions...

and meeting Brent's girlfriend, Ilona. Good people, folks. Good people.


Our West Coast readers may identify this particular piece of furniture as a blast from the past. Brent says thanks, by the way.