Good lord. Around seven hours today spent putting screws into planks and I'm still not done.

The wife decided our daughter should have a jungle-gym/swing-set. Now, I never had one of those things growing up, and I did just fine thank you very much, but no...the other kids in play group have them, and our daughter, our little baby...why should she be deprived and yada yada yada, blah blah blah, OK already we'll get one.

So, off to the wholesale club where they have a decent setup (all the hardware included as well as the wood, pre-cut) at a cheap (relatively) price.

Today being a beautiful day in these parts it was construction day. First, follow the instructions - sort all the wood pieces into numerical order. They weren't marked, like pieces in a plastic model or you-assemble furniture are, so I had to measure each piece and match it with the shape and size indicated in the instruction book - a time-sonsuming proposition, but I hoped it would be time-saving in the long-run.

One thing I noticed immediately was that wood they give in these budget kits is complete crap, with loads of knots, splits, rough areas, etc...but what else do you expect when you try to do things on the cheap and easy? The instructions actually tell you not to worry, warped wood is perfectly normal...

So anyway, long story short, one run-down power-drill battery later, I'm about three-quarters of the way done, and my daughter will have something cool I never had growing up - not that I was deprived in any way, my parents just weren't into that kind of thing. There's a little hut with a tarp over it on top, with plenty of space left between the slats to dad can see in and make sure there no experimentin' going on a few years down the road (if the structure yet stands).

So, as one may expect, other than a few headline entries, political pointers and commentary have taken a back seat today. In brief, I see the Palestinian Authority is making pantomime about going after the terror groups and doing things they should have done years ago, like cementing in the smuggling tunnels. Hamas and other groups, finding that their leadership is back on the chopping block and recfalling that martyrdom is for the deluded fools who follow them, are now asking for another cease-fire, this time to formally include Israel. They need how many chances to rest and re-arm. Here's a hint to Israel, if you stop now, and the PA doesn't actually keep on where you left off, then it really will just be a "cycle" of violence. If they won't, you have to. Faster please.

On the domestic front, the Democrats are blaming Bush for the fact that this country doesn't have an energy policy - as if any President or Congress since Carter has been willing to touch that with a ten foot pole. Any President appearing on TV wearing a sweater may as well have doused themselves in water and laid acorss the third rail on the local subway. But hey, there's no time like the present, and maybe the black out and the War on Terror are just what we need to get something going.

I see an Evil child-molesting Priest ran low on hit points and died in prison today. I heard some of the families are upset. They wanted to put him through the ringer and epose his crimes to the world once again in further legal battles.

I see North Korea is still a bother...and Mars is getting bigger.

My wrist hurts, and so do my toes (need new sneakers!), but tomorrow, tomorrow I shall climb the wood ladder to the canvas citadel - triumphant!

Update: Oh, and the Red Sox won in extra innings! What a day.