Howdy;
Some sorry 24 year old utterly contemptible subhuman decided to drive on the wrong side of the road in Ohio, last night. He had three times the legal level of alcohol in his blood.
This person took the lives of a mother and four children, and severely injured several others. Such monumental irresponsibility is almost unbelievable, but it will undoubtedly be repeated a few times tonight, across the nation.
The english language does not have the words to describe the utter, total, contempt I hold for this little s__t. There simply is not any excuse for this. To end the lives of so many, and to so totally screw up the lives of all the survivors.
Maybe some of you will read this and not over-do the booze, tonight. I hope so. Please.
Happy New Year! to those of you who survive the night....
-Pop
Monday, December 31, 2007
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Holiday Blues
Howdy, Everybody;
Christmas was OK this year, I guess, but somehow it's not the same as when the kids were, well, kids. It seems that it's been so fragmented anymore. Son J is in from New York, for a couple of weeks, and has spent a couple of days with us in that time. We spent the Saturday before Christmas helping Son R assemble a very nice swing set / fort combo for Granddaughter T, which was fun. Especially with the wind gusts to 40 mph.
In the days preceding this, Grandma (my wife) made about 47 batches of 17 different kinds of fudge (I'm exaggerating, but not all that much). After all that stirring I bet she could break a brick with her right hand as long as she hit it in a stirring motion. Wax on, wax off....
When I said Christmas was fragmented, I mean that for every family sub-group, there's a separate opening of presents. This year, apparently the other Grandparents had theirs before ours. Unfortunately, when it was our turn, several of the toys we had purchased for Granddaughter T had already been given to her. Next year we need to coordinate a little better. You live and learn.
Us grandparents have passed the Christmas torch to the kids, so we celebrated Christmas day in the afternoon at R's house. It was pretty nice, but this was the first time we haven't had it at our house since we got married. Nothing wrong with that, that's the way it should be. It's just a transition for us. The times, they are a - changing. Now that I think about it, we did the same thing at Thanksgiving, also for the first time.
We didn't even put up a tree this year, although we did decorate outside.
I spent several days of my vacation / holiday days writing a computer program for use at work, to make it faster to quote pump systems. I love doing this stuff, but still; it would have been better to spend the time with family. But they were pretty much all either working or visiting other people during this couple of days. And the weather was crappy, so I didn't want to be outdoors.
Last night, I had an excellent look at Mars, bare eyes. Probably the clearest I've ever seen it. It was too cold to stay out long, though.
So now we're in the dead zone between Christmas and New Years. There's a campfire going on tonight at the deer lease, which we'll be going to, and that will be nice. Both of our boys will be there, as well as other close friends, and we're looking forward to that. And then Monday we take J to the airport to go back to NY. That's pretty much an all day event, the airport being around 150 miles away.
So, that's how it is at Pop's place at the moment.
Happy New Year!
-Pop
Christmas was OK this year, I guess, but somehow it's not the same as when the kids were, well, kids. It seems that it's been so fragmented anymore. Son J is in from New York, for a couple of weeks, and has spent a couple of days with us in that time. We spent the Saturday before Christmas helping Son R assemble a very nice swing set / fort combo for Granddaughter T, which was fun. Especially with the wind gusts to 40 mph.
In the days preceding this, Grandma (my wife) made about 47 batches of 17 different kinds of fudge (I'm exaggerating, but not all that much). After all that stirring I bet she could break a brick with her right hand as long as she hit it in a stirring motion. Wax on, wax off....
When I said Christmas was fragmented, I mean that for every family sub-group, there's a separate opening of presents. This year, apparently the other Grandparents had theirs before ours. Unfortunately, when it was our turn, several of the toys we had purchased for Granddaughter T had already been given to her. Next year we need to coordinate a little better. You live and learn.
Us grandparents have passed the Christmas torch to the kids, so we celebrated Christmas day in the afternoon at R's house. It was pretty nice, but this was the first time we haven't had it at our house since we got married. Nothing wrong with that, that's the way it should be. It's just a transition for us. The times, they are a - changing. Now that I think about it, we did the same thing at Thanksgiving, also for the first time.
We didn't even put up a tree this year, although we did decorate outside.
I spent several days of my vacation / holiday days writing a computer program for use at work, to make it faster to quote pump systems. I love doing this stuff, but still; it would have been better to spend the time with family. But they were pretty much all either working or visiting other people during this couple of days. And the weather was crappy, so I didn't want to be outdoors.
Last night, I had an excellent look at Mars, bare eyes. Probably the clearest I've ever seen it. It was too cold to stay out long, though.
So now we're in the dead zone between Christmas and New Years. There's a campfire going on tonight at the deer lease, which we'll be going to, and that will be nice. Both of our boys will be there, as well as other close friends, and we're looking forward to that. And then Monday we take J to the airport to go back to NY. That's pretty much an all day event, the airport being around 150 miles away.
So, that's how it is at Pop's place at the moment.
Happy New Year!
-Pop
Friday, December 14, 2007
Why I Will Never Buy Another Microsoft Product
unless I just have to have it for my business.
I have a fun computer rig. I have a Macbook Pro - enough said. I'm running Parallels Desktop on it with Windows Vista Business installed in a virtual machine, for when I just have to do those Windows things.
I upgrade Parallels Desktop whenever an update becomes available. I did this about a month ago, and again last night. Apparently it changed the virtual machine enough that it activated Vista's copy protection, and I got a little warning window that showed up for about three seconds that said if I didn't activate my copy of Vista it would quit working in three days.
So after I finished what I was doing, I cranked up the Windows Validation tool. Of course, it refused to validate automatically, because I had already validated it when I installed it originally. So I had to call the 1-800 number for validation, where I got to read (to a computer over the phone) nine sets of numbers. Of course, this also failed, so it then kicked me over to a Real Live Person. From the accent, probably somewhere in India or China.
This person then had me read several of the same number groups to her over the phone; then she asked me some questions, such as had I activated it before? And, how many computers am I running this copy of Vista on? The answer, by the way, is ONE - I bought this copy of Vista for the purpose of running it in this virtual machine. Whereupon, the lady gave me nine number sequences that I had to enter into the Vista dialog box. And I was activated - again.
It pisses me off that I have to go through all that just to run an OS that I paid $300 for the privilege of using. It is a major freaking hassle to have to go through to reassure Microsoft that no, I am NOT a thief. Blast you, Microsoft!!! I resent the implication. I've paid for every bit of software on any of my computers.
And what if my system updates again, and your validation crap is not available for whatever reason? I get shut down, even though I am totally legal and paid for the product.
I'll probably have to do this again, the next time Parallels Desktop gets updated. It's not their fault - It's Microsoft that doesn't trust their customers, and builds bear traps into their software.
I will NEVER buy another Microsoft product, unless I simply have no other choice.
Macintosh, on the other hand, has OS X - $129 - no hassle, works on the first try, works really well, and they don't threaten to cut me off if, in their opinion, my computer gets changed too much. And you can get spreadsheet and word processing software that is just fine - for $79, not the $400 or so that Microsoft charges.
I have Delphi as a programming environment installed in Vista in a virtual machine on my Mac. The two most expensive programs on my computer - Vista $300 and Delphi (upgrade) $400. Over on the Mac side, X-code for programming on the Mac is (wait for it...) IN THE BOX with OS X. How cool is that?
NEVER, Microsoft, NEVER - it's too late for you - you've already burned your bridges with me. Get the picture???
-Pop
I have a fun computer rig. I have a Macbook Pro - enough said. I'm running Parallels Desktop on it with Windows Vista Business installed in a virtual machine, for when I just have to do those Windows things.
I upgrade Parallels Desktop whenever an update becomes available. I did this about a month ago, and again last night. Apparently it changed the virtual machine enough that it activated Vista's copy protection, and I got a little warning window that showed up for about three seconds that said if I didn't activate my copy of Vista it would quit working in three days.
So after I finished what I was doing, I cranked up the Windows Validation tool. Of course, it refused to validate automatically, because I had already validated it when I installed it originally. So I had to call the 1-800 number for validation, where I got to read (to a computer over the phone) nine sets of numbers. Of course, this also failed, so it then kicked me over to a Real Live Person. From the accent, probably somewhere in India or China.
This person then had me read several of the same number groups to her over the phone; then she asked me some questions, such as had I activated it before? And, how many computers am I running this copy of Vista on? The answer, by the way, is ONE - I bought this copy of Vista for the purpose of running it in this virtual machine. Whereupon, the lady gave me nine number sequences that I had to enter into the Vista dialog box. And I was activated - again.
It pisses me off that I have to go through all that just to run an OS that I paid $300 for the privilege of using. It is a major freaking hassle to have to go through to reassure Microsoft that no, I am NOT a thief. Blast you, Microsoft!!! I resent the implication. I've paid for every bit of software on any of my computers.
And what if my system updates again, and your validation crap is not available for whatever reason? I get shut down, even though I am totally legal and paid for the product.
I'll probably have to do this again, the next time Parallels Desktop gets updated. It's not their fault - It's Microsoft that doesn't trust their customers, and builds bear traps into their software.
I will NEVER buy another Microsoft product, unless I simply have no other choice.
Macintosh, on the other hand, has OS X - $129 - no hassle, works on the first try, works really well, and they don't threaten to cut me off if, in their opinion, my computer gets changed too much. And you can get spreadsheet and word processing software that is just fine - for $79, not the $400 or so that Microsoft charges.
I have Delphi as a programming environment installed in Vista in a virtual machine on my Mac. The two most expensive programs on my computer - Vista $300 and Delphi (upgrade) $400. Over on the Mac side, X-code for programming on the Mac is (wait for it...) IN THE BOX with OS X. How cool is that?
NEVER, Microsoft, NEVER - it's too late for you - you've already burned your bridges with me. Get the picture???
-Pop
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
And a NON Gun Free Zone Shooting
Howdy, Everybody;
About the church shootings in Colorado:
The media seems to want to emphasize that the lady who stopped the murderer was a 'security guard', the unstated implication being that this was someone like you would see working for a security firm, maybe in uniform, with a gun on the belt. In fact she was a volunteer security guard for her church; in reality, a private citizen with a concealed carry permit; something the media hasn't exactly made clear. Liberal (anti-gun) bias in the media, again.
Good Job, Jeanne Assam!!! You are a hero!
Also please note that the killer was stopped at a location that was NOT a gun free zone. If this had been in a gun free zone, and Jeanne Assam was obeying the law by not carrying, how many more would have died at the hands of the murderer before the police (who can be armed in a gun free zone) arrived? The murderer was carrying two handguns, a rifle, and over 1000 rounds of ammo.
This is the reason for concealed carry. To save lives.
This is the reason that gun free zones are worse than useless. Because the sign on the door won't stop a murderer - it will only stop law-abiding victims from being able to protect themselves efficiently.
-Pop
About the church shootings in Colorado:
The media seems to want to emphasize that the lady who stopped the murderer was a 'security guard', the unstated implication being that this was someone like you would see working for a security firm, maybe in uniform, with a gun on the belt. In fact she was a volunteer security guard for her church; in reality, a private citizen with a concealed carry permit; something the media hasn't exactly made clear. Liberal (anti-gun) bias in the media, again.
Good Job, Jeanne Assam!!! You are a hero!
Also please note that the killer was stopped at a location that was NOT a gun free zone. If this had been in a gun free zone, and Jeanne Assam was obeying the law by not carrying, how many more would have died at the hands of the murderer before the police (who can be armed in a gun free zone) arrived? The murderer was carrying two handguns, a rifle, and over 1000 rounds of ammo.
This is the reason for concealed carry. To save lives.
This is the reason that gun free zones are worse than useless. Because the sign on the door won't stop a murderer - it will only stop law-abiding victims from being able to protect themselves efficiently.
-Pop
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Yet Another Gun Free Zone Shooting
Foxnews.com has an excellent article about the shooting at the Westroads Mall in Omaha. Yet another mass shooting in a gun-free zone. When will they learn that only the good guys obey the law? Gun free zones = killing fields for lunatics.
It's hard for me to understand why the owners of a Mall (or any other place) think putting up a sign will keep anybody safe. Doesn't work. Maybe the bad guys can't read?
-Pop
It's hard for me to understand why the owners of a Mall (or any other place) think putting up a sign will keep anybody safe. Doesn't work. Maybe the bad guys can't read?
-Pop
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Death
Howdy, everybody;
There comes a time in every person's life when you know for sure that you will die. I don't think young people can really conceive of this. It comes as a realization one day that you really aren't getting out of this life, alive.
I am a Christian; and it is appointed to every man (person) to die once. This is an intellectual understanding. I have an idea about what comes after, and yes, I believe I will be going to Heaven to be with Jesus. So I'm not really afraid of death. But I'm not in any particular hurry to get there, either. That's for later. My time is not yet. It's just that I now realize that someday it really will happen, to me.
There is a curious freedom in the realization that there will be an ending of this earthly life. Even a sense of relief. Some day, each of us will be called back into the Presence. And those of us who love Jesus will get to stay there. No more pain; much joy. Completion, in the full meaning of the word.
It seems to me that a healthy person will do what they can to prolong life, without being a fanatic about it. There's no point in worrying too much about it - you know for sure that you're going anyway, at some point. Relax, and think about good things in your life. Cherish them, for they have a limit.
I have thought sometimes, over the years, that funerals demonstrate something confused in the belief systems held by most Christians. You go to a funeral and those with an emotional attachment to the deceased will all be crying and feeling bad. And yet, for a Christian, dying is like winning the lottery! We should be congratulating the deceased for graduating, rather than selfishly bemoaning their loss. Curious.
I hope that when I pass on, the survivors have a family get-together and enjoy a good time together, knowing that we will meet again in the fullness of time, Lord willing.
In any case, life has its good moments, and they should be enjoyed to the fullest. It is never a waste of time to sit on the front porch and enjoy the occasional nice day. Make the most of it.
There are two kinds of people - who, being thrown out of an airplane at 30,000 feet without a parachute: one kind will scream all the way down; the other will enjoy the view. I think I am one of the latter group.
I'm 54 years old, and enjoying the view!
-Pop
There comes a time in every person's life when you know for sure that you will die. I don't think young people can really conceive of this. It comes as a realization one day that you really aren't getting out of this life, alive.
I am a Christian; and it is appointed to every man (person) to die once. This is an intellectual understanding. I have an idea about what comes after, and yes, I believe I will be going to Heaven to be with Jesus. So I'm not really afraid of death. But I'm not in any particular hurry to get there, either. That's for later. My time is not yet. It's just that I now realize that someday it really will happen, to me.
There is a curious freedom in the realization that there will be an ending of this earthly life. Even a sense of relief. Some day, each of us will be called back into the Presence. And those of us who love Jesus will get to stay there. No more pain; much joy. Completion, in the full meaning of the word.
It seems to me that a healthy person will do what they can to prolong life, without being a fanatic about it. There's no point in worrying too much about it - you know for sure that you're going anyway, at some point. Relax, and think about good things in your life. Cherish them, for they have a limit.
I have thought sometimes, over the years, that funerals demonstrate something confused in the belief systems held by most Christians. You go to a funeral and those with an emotional attachment to the deceased will all be crying and feeling bad. And yet, for a Christian, dying is like winning the lottery! We should be congratulating the deceased for graduating, rather than selfishly bemoaning their loss. Curious.
I hope that when I pass on, the survivors have a family get-together and enjoy a good time together, knowing that we will meet again in the fullness of time, Lord willing.
In any case, life has its good moments, and they should be enjoyed to the fullest. It is never a waste of time to sit on the front porch and enjoy the occasional nice day. Make the most of it.
There are two kinds of people - who, being thrown out of an airplane at 30,000 feet without a parachute: one kind will scream all the way down; the other will enjoy the view. I think I am one of the latter group.
I'm 54 years old, and enjoying the view!
-Pop
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving!
Howdy, everybody;
For us, this is a unique Thanksgiving; for the first time since we had kids, we (Pop and Grandma) are spending Thanksgiving alone. So it's a new thing for us. I guess it's a bit of a transition, but it will be OK.
On the other hand, yesterday we got to take Granddaughter to the zoo, and that was a treat!
Thanksgiving: Thanks to God (the Christian one, in case you were wondering) for every blessing in our lives.
First, for His undiluted love, from which all other true love flows;
Second, for His amazing gift of His Son, and thereby our salvation.
Third, for the love of each member of our family for each other, which derives ultimately from His love.
Fourth, for the love of our friends and their families.
Fifth, for the general health, safety and well-being of each of us in our family and our friend's families.
Sixth, for the general prosperity we enjoy - not rich by any means, but sufficient to our real needs.
All of these things are gifts of God; and except for His love and our salvation, none of them are guaranteed in this life. We are blessed indeed. Thank You, Lord, and all praise to You!
Enough said!
-Pop
For us, this is a unique Thanksgiving; for the first time since we had kids, we (Pop and Grandma) are spending Thanksgiving alone. So it's a new thing for us. I guess it's a bit of a transition, but it will be OK.
On the other hand, yesterday we got to take Granddaughter to the zoo, and that was a treat!
Thanksgiving: Thanks to God (the Christian one, in case you were wondering) for every blessing in our lives.
First, for His undiluted love, from which all other true love flows;
Second, for His amazing gift of His Son, and thereby our salvation.
Third, for the love of each member of our family for each other, which derives ultimately from His love.
Fourth, for the love of our friends and their families.
Fifth, for the general health, safety and well-being of each of us in our family and our friend's families.
Sixth, for the general prosperity we enjoy - not rich by any means, but sufficient to our real needs.
All of these things are gifts of God; and except for His love and our salvation, none of them are guaranteed in this life. We are blessed indeed. Thank You, Lord, and all praise to You!
Enough said!
-Pop
Friday, November 16, 2007
My Discworld Character!
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Which Discworld Character are you like (with pics) created with QuizFarm.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| You scored as Cohen The Barbarian You are Cohen the Barbarian! The greatest hero that ever lived! That is, you were! But you are still alive and kicking! And slashing, and biting, and hitting. You have a lot of experience at not dieing, and are extremely difficult to kill (you've survived this long). So you're old, but still loot and pillage. And you have very nice diamond dentures!
|
Friday, November 2, 2007
Macintosh Leopard Goodness
Howdy;
I've been using the new version of OS/X, version 10.5 (Leopard) all week since it was released October 26. With very minor exceptions, the upgrade was flawless. Of course, after such an upgrade, you spend some time playing with the new features and figuring out what is useful and what isn't. My favorite new features are:
Time Machine: I plugged in my 512 GB USB drive into the laptop and enabled Time Machine. After the initial full backup, which took a while, it is thereafter seamless. So far, no downside to this. Now just the act of plugging in and turning on the drive gets me effortless backups; and the best part is it is so very easy to restore anything that needs it. Very cool.
Spaces: This is virtual window technology. I have experimented with it in the world of Windows, but was never satisfied. After a few days of using it on Leopard, I'm hooked. Right now I have four screens in use - the first is my default, with Email and Finder; the second is web browsing in Safari; the third is a spreadsheet I'm working on; and fourth is currently my blogging software. Switching between the windows is effortless, just a hot-key. Very well implemented, very fast, no downside so far. Saves a lot of time shuffling around to get the window you need to the top. Nice.
Mail: Now has notes, and a nifty feature that recognizes addresses and similar information, offering to add it to your contacts. This is something that should have been invented a long time ago - no more retyping, or cutting and pasting something I can see on the screen to get it into my address book.
Cover Flow: In Finder (and other places) this allows you to 'flip' through documents and files, glancing at the first page of each. This is so much like how you would leaf through a pile of loose papers looking for whatever that it is very natural and intuitive. Fast, too. Well done.
Lots of nifty other things, those are just my favorites so far.
One other new software item that didn't come in Leopard. I found a program named Undercover, by Orbicule. This program, once installed, sits in the background running continuously, and invisibly. If somebody steals my laptop, I contact Orbicule and enter the code for the copy of the software I bought. The next time somebody connects to the internet with my stolen laptop, the computer automatically and silently sends the IP address and other information to Orbicule, who inform the nearest police. Furthermore, it actually uses the built-in camera to take pictures of the thief, emailing them to Orbicule every six minutes. Now that's cool. The elegance of this approach really appeals to me. I hope I don't have to find out how well it works, but I'm about as prepared as I can get for anything to happen to my laptop.
The World of Apple and the Macintosh just keeps getting better and better. I'll never go back to Windows unless something big changes.
-Pop
I've been using the new version of OS/X, version 10.5 (Leopard) all week since it was released October 26. With very minor exceptions, the upgrade was flawless. Of course, after such an upgrade, you spend some time playing with the new features and figuring out what is useful and what isn't. My favorite new features are:
Time Machine: I plugged in my 512 GB USB drive into the laptop and enabled Time Machine. After the initial full backup, which took a while, it is thereafter seamless. So far, no downside to this. Now just the act of plugging in and turning on the drive gets me effortless backups; and the best part is it is so very easy to restore anything that needs it. Very cool.
Spaces: This is virtual window technology. I have experimented with it in the world of Windows, but was never satisfied. After a few days of using it on Leopard, I'm hooked. Right now I have four screens in use - the first is my default, with Email and Finder; the second is web browsing in Safari; the third is a spreadsheet I'm working on; and fourth is currently my blogging software. Switching between the windows is effortless, just a hot-key. Very well implemented, very fast, no downside so far. Saves a lot of time shuffling around to get the window you need to the top. Nice.
Mail: Now has notes, and a nifty feature that recognizes addresses and similar information, offering to add it to your contacts. This is something that should have been invented a long time ago - no more retyping, or cutting and pasting something I can see on the screen to get it into my address book.
Cover Flow: In Finder (and other places) this allows you to 'flip' through documents and files, glancing at the first page of each. This is so much like how you would leaf through a pile of loose papers looking for whatever that it is very natural and intuitive. Fast, too. Well done.
Lots of nifty other things, those are just my favorites so far.
One other new software item that didn't come in Leopard. I found a program named Undercover, by Orbicule. This program, once installed, sits in the background running continuously, and invisibly. If somebody steals my laptop, I contact Orbicule and enter the code for the copy of the software I bought. The next time somebody connects to the internet with my stolen laptop, the computer automatically and silently sends the IP address and other information to Orbicule, who inform the nearest police. Furthermore, it actually uses the built-in camera to take pictures of the thief, emailing them to Orbicule every six minutes. Now that's cool. The elegance of this approach really appeals to me. I hope I don't have to find out how well it works, but I'm about as prepared as I can get for anything to happen to my laptop.
The World of Apple and the Macintosh just keeps getting better and better. I'll never go back to Windows unless something big changes.
-Pop
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Tolerance - Today's Buzz Word
Howdy, everybody;
There's this idea going around the US nowadays that it is wrong to be 'against' most anything. They call it lack of tolerance. The 'politically correct' idea is that being 'intolerant' is a bad thing.
Let's examine that idea.
Tolerance is the idea that if somebody believes or acts differently than you do, you put up with it rather than outright rejecting it. For instance, someone I know smokes. In public, I tolerate it, but I stand upwind.
However, I draw the line if that person were to come to my home and want to smoke indoors. I do not want my house to smell like cigarette smoke; I won't 'tolerate' it. So I ask that person to please not smoke indoors. If they persist, I ask them to leave. If they don't want to leave, I will kick them out.
If your tolerance was unlimited, you would have no say whatever in anything that happens, even in your home. Your dog pees in the floor - what, where's your tolerance?
So, obviously, 'tolerance' has limits. And everybody has a line somewhere in their head that has 'tolerance' on one side of it and 'intolerance' on the other side - and that is true of every conceivable point of contention. This is a life-style choice, and we all make them.
So we're all intolerant about some things. All of us. Get over it.
Is such lack of 'tolerance' wrong? I don't think so.
I think 'intolerance' is evil only if it turns into hate. At that point, it has become prejudice or bigotry.
This idea (that intolerance of any sort is bad) is promoted mainly by liberals. The intent is to paint conservatives in a bad light, because conservatives have standards of acceptable conduct that make it easy to call them intolerant. They ignore the fact that each of us should be allowed to decide what we will and won't tolerate. If we can't do that, then this is no longer a free country. If we can't think what we want, then we are not free.
Next time a liberal complains to me about my lack of tolerance, I'm going to ask him where his tolerance is of me and my belief system. It seems to me the liberals want 'tolerance' only as long as it's everybody else being tolerant of them and their agenda. They have no 'tolerance' at all in the other direction. The really funny thing is that they apparently don't see the built-in contradiction in their thinking.
As for me, I'll be tolerant or intolerant as I see fit. If you don't like it - you are an intolerant hypocrite!
- Pop
There's this idea going around the US nowadays that it is wrong to be 'against' most anything. They call it lack of tolerance. The 'politically correct' idea is that being 'intolerant' is a bad thing.
Let's examine that idea.
Tolerance is the idea that if somebody believes or acts differently than you do, you put up with it rather than outright rejecting it. For instance, someone I know smokes. In public, I tolerate it, but I stand upwind.
However, I draw the line if that person were to come to my home and want to smoke indoors. I do not want my house to smell like cigarette smoke; I won't 'tolerate' it. So I ask that person to please not smoke indoors. If they persist, I ask them to leave. If they don't want to leave, I will kick them out.
If your tolerance was unlimited, you would have no say whatever in anything that happens, even in your home. Your dog pees in the floor - what, where's your tolerance?
So, obviously, 'tolerance' has limits. And everybody has a line somewhere in their head that has 'tolerance' on one side of it and 'intolerance' on the other side - and that is true of every conceivable point of contention. This is a life-style choice, and we all make them.
So we're all intolerant about some things. All of us. Get over it.
Is such lack of 'tolerance' wrong? I don't think so.
I think 'intolerance' is evil only if it turns into hate. At that point, it has become prejudice or bigotry.
This idea (that intolerance of any sort is bad) is promoted mainly by liberals. The intent is to paint conservatives in a bad light, because conservatives have standards of acceptable conduct that make it easy to call them intolerant. They ignore the fact that each of us should be allowed to decide what we will and won't tolerate. If we can't do that, then this is no longer a free country. If we can't think what we want, then we are not free.
Next time a liberal complains to me about my lack of tolerance, I'm going to ask him where his tolerance is of me and my belief system. It seems to me the liberals want 'tolerance' only as long as it's everybody else being tolerant of them and their agenda. They have no 'tolerance' at all in the other direction. The really funny thing is that they apparently don't see the built-in contradiction in their thinking.
As for me, I'll be tolerant or intolerant as I see fit. If you don't like it - you are an intolerant hypocrite!
- Pop
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Brinks Home Alarm Advertisement
Have y'all seen that Brinks ad for their home security system? It's designed, of course, to sell alarm systems. I find a few things in it that should make you think:
1. When the bad guy kicks in the front door, the alarm sounds, and the bad guy immediately runs away. I don't think it's likely that would happen in my neighborhood - maybe if you lived next door to the police station. Where I live, 20 minutes out of town, your response time is usually 20 minutes on up.
2. The alarm company calls the home before any response happens. From experience at my job, I know they will call going down a list until somebody answers. If you tell them you need help, then they will call the cops. If you are on the floor, being raped, you are not going to be able to answer the phone. If no one answers, the alarm company will go down the list to the next person to call. This process adds to the response time.
3. Because of the above, the bad guy is not in any particular hurry to run away. If he is intent on violence, you are dead meat.
4. Notice that after all that, the police show up. They take a statement. They leave. They did not protect anybody. They would if they could, but they weren't there when the bad guy was. This isn't the fault of the police - it's just the facts of the situation.
Don't get me wrong - an alarm system is a great idea. Just don't expect it to protect you from anything. It's mostly useful to wake you up if you're asleep, so you can get your gun; or to let the cops know your house has been broken into when you're gone. But it can't protect you from anything.
If you want protection from the bad guys, buy a gun and learn to use it. Protect yourself - because when you need it, you're likely going to be the only help you've got.
Even that doesn't guarantee that you will come out all right - but at least you'll have a chance.
-Pop
1. When the bad guy kicks in the front door, the alarm sounds, and the bad guy immediately runs away. I don't think it's likely that would happen in my neighborhood - maybe if you lived next door to the police station. Where I live, 20 minutes out of town, your response time is usually 20 minutes on up.
2. The alarm company calls the home before any response happens. From experience at my job, I know they will call going down a list until somebody answers. If you tell them you need help, then they will call the cops. If you are on the floor, being raped, you are not going to be able to answer the phone. If no one answers, the alarm company will go down the list to the next person to call. This process adds to the response time.
3. Because of the above, the bad guy is not in any particular hurry to run away. If he is intent on violence, you are dead meat.
4. Notice that after all that, the police show up. They take a statement. They leave. They did not protect anybody. They would if they could, but they weren't there when the bad guy was. This isn't the fault of the police - it's just the facts of the situation.
Don't get me wrong - an alarm system is a great idea. Just don't expect it to protect you from anything. It's mostly useful to wake you up if you're asleep, so you can get your gun; or to let the cops know your house has been broken into when you're gone. But it can't protect you from anything.
If you want protection from the bad guys, buy a gun and learn to use it. Protect yourself - because when you need it, you're likely going to be the only help you've got.
Even that doesn't guarantee that you will come out all right - but at least you'll have a chance.
-Pop
Violent Crime in Gun Filled Zones
Isn't it interesting how you never seem to hear about any sort of violent crime, murders, rapes or things like that - at shooting ranges?
If you believed the anti-gun crowd, it looks like there would be murders and shoot-outs left and right in those places - after all, nearly everybody there is armed!
Instead, you get a bunch of polite, friendly people who mutually respect each other and everybody has a good time pursuing their sport. People you've never met before are friendly and polite. This is awesome.
More guns = less crime. Statistically proven again and again. Check out http://www.gunfacts.info/
-Pop
If you believed the anti-gun crowd, it looks like there would be murders and shoot-outs left and right in those places - after all, nearly everybody there is armed!
Instead, you get a bunch of polite, friendly people who mutually respect each other and everybody has a good time pursuing their sport. People you've never met before are friendly and polite. This is awesome.
More guns = less crime. Statistically proven again and again. Check out http://www.gunfacts.info/
-Pop
Quote for the Day #2
"Never try to teach a pig to sing - it wastes your time and annoys the pig." - Lazarus Long, in Time Enough for Love by R.A. Heinlein
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Quote for the Day
"You know there's no advantage to be gained by murdering idiots - it doesn't teach the idiot anything and it might give onlookers the idea that you take them seriously..." - from Halting State by Charles Stross.
Good book, so far.
-Pop
Good book, so far.
-Pop
Monday, October 22, 2007
Macintosh Revisited
Howdy, friends;
After about 11 months, I still love the Mac, and OS X. I can't think of the last time I've had to fool around with it to get something to work the way it's supposed to. Unlike Windows. And this Friday, the next version of OS X will be here. This ought to be fun! And, it's $129. Check out the price of Windows sometime...
On the interesting software side of things, check out "The Brain". This is a very capable personal information manager with a truly innovative user interface. The interface highlights the relationships between things. For instance, I have a 'brain' that has pumps, related to orders and also related to job sites. You can easily find an order, or the pumps that were on that order, or the field locations where they are actually located. This program has versions that run on Windows or the Mac. Incredible. Check it out here.
Excellent stuff.
-Pop
After about 11 months, I still love the Mac, and OS X. I can't think of the last time I've had to fool around with it to get something to work the way it's supposed to. Unlike Windows. And this Friday, the next version of OS X will be here. This ought to be fun! And, it's $129. Check out the price of Windows sometime...
On the interesting software side of things, check out "The Brain". This is a very capable personal information manager with a truly innovative user interface. The interface highlights the relationships between things. For instance, I have a 'brain' that has pumps, related to orders and also related to job sites. You can easily find an order, or the pumps that were on that order, or the field locations where they are actually located. This program has versions that run on Windows or the Mac. Incredible. Check it out here.
Excellent stuff.
-Pop
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Cataracts...
Howdy, everybody.
Found out yesterday that I have early stage cataracts. That means that, sometime in the next few years I will need to get lens replacements. That's expensive. On the other hand, they now have multi-focus lenses to implant, that should pretty much correct my vision 100%. At least, there is a good probability of that outcome, and that would be really nice - I've been wearing glasses since the sixth grade.
Getting old sucks. Getting bionic eyes - maybe not so much. If and when, I'll let you know how it turns out.
-Pop
Found out yesterday that I have early stage cataracts. That means that, sometime in the next few years I will need to get lens replacements. That's expensive. On the other hand, they now have multi-focus lenses to implant, that should pretty much correct my vision 100%. At least, there is a good probability of that outcome, and that would be really nice - I've been wearing glasses since the sixth grade.
Getting old sucks. Getting bionic eyes - maybe not so much. If and when, I'll let you know how it turns out.
-Pop
Friday, October 12, 2007
Symptoms of a Church in Trouble
Some Symptoms of a Sick Church - in no particular order:
Just some things to watch out for... See my earlier post.
- Pop
- The preacher becomes an automatic member of every committee and uses his influence to exert control.
- Committees tend to abdicate their power in favor of the preacher, taking his word for gospel.
- The preacher tries to place people, associates or family, who are in favor of his plans or actions, into key positions within the church.
- The preacher feels he has to be involved in every important decision.
- The preacher's recruitment priority for new church members has wealth as a criteria.
- Lots of money gets spent on the pastor's pet projects.
- There is talk that the preacher is not always totally honest, and tends to blame others for his mistakes or shortcomings.
- Corners get cut in long-standing church business procedures.
- Members begin to leave as they realize some of these things are going on.
- There is friction between the preacher and those staff or members who are in a position to know about some of the questionable decisions and events.
Just some things to watch out for... See my earlier post.
- Pop
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Church Troubles are Over - for Me
I have decided to stay out of the issues that are going on at my church. God is going to have to find somebody else to handle this one. It is better to do no harm, than it is to possibly hurt people while trying to do good; at least in these specific circumstances. And I fear collateral damage to my family and friends.
But that church is sick, and I will not support it under the current pastor.
-Pop
But that church is sick, and I will not support it under the current pastor.
-Pop
Friday, October 5, 2007
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Democratic Maneuvering
The Democrats pushed through a bill for children's insurance that sounds good for the children but had problems with who would benefit and who would pay. The very people who need assistance the most would have born most of the burden of the cigarette tax. So President Bush vetoed it.
This situation was a win/win for the Democrats because, had it passed, it would be the first step in socialized medicine in the U.S. - something that isn't working well in other countries. But since the bill was vetoed, it gives the Democrats another chance to vilify President Bush, making him out as careless of the children. And yet, President Bush actually wanted to expand the original funding to the program - it is the Democrats who want to expand it radically in directions that penalized the poor via increased taxation on cigarettes.
This is yet another example of extreme spin by the far left. In actuality, the Democrats set up something that, at first glance, looks good - but would actually be damaging when you study the details. And so the president has to block it, and the Democrats get to blast him yet again.
This is an example of political use of the media - anyone who actually studies what the Democrats proposed could see it would hurt poor people financially out of proportion to the benefit - but this truth is not evident in the headlines. All you will see there is how Bush vetoed free insurance for millions of kids, but still wants funding for the war effort. Talk about spin!
-Pop
This situation was a win/win for the Democrats because, had it passed, it would be the first step in socialized medicine in the U.S. - something that isn't working well in other countries. But since the bill was vetoed, it gives the Democrats another chance to vilify President Bush, making him out as careless of the children. And yet, President Bush actually wanted to expand the original funding to the program - it is the Democrats who want to expand it radically in directions that penalized the poor via increased taxation on cigarettes.
This is yet another example of extreme spin by the far left. In actuality, the Democrats set up something that, at first glance, looks good - but would actually be damaging when you study the details. And so the president has to block it, and the Democrats get to blast him yet again.
This is an example of political use of the media - anyone who actually studies what the Democrats proposed could see it would hurt poor people financially out of proportion to the benefit - but this truth is not evident in the headlines. All you will see there is how Bush vetoed free insurance for millions of kids, but still wants funding for the war effort. Talk about spin!
-Pop
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Truth in the News
I just read an article on the CBS news website in which they RADICALLY distorted facts, presented outright lies, and showed misleading video. The subject was semi-automatic weapons, and the article represents a severe abuse of the trust one should have of news media, in order to promote a political agenda - in this case, anti-gun. It is here. If you watch this, be aware it is just plain bogus. Read the comments.
Many years ago, in the coverage of the Three Mile Island nuclear incident, I remember the news anchor using the expression "hydrogen explosion" several times. They were talking about a hydrogen GAS explosion, but the commentator was so happy to make it sound like a hydrogen BOMB explosion (thermonuclear) that the deception of the play on words disgusted me. The commentator was almost gleeful as he could just about see his ratings going up. Probably scared a lot of people that didn't really need to be scared.
Almost everywhere you look, deception and lies, usually slanted far left. The far left loses my vote right there, just because they use such techniques to spread their crap.
I am really, really tired of being lied to by news media that we should be able to trust.
The only news media I regularly watch any more is Fox News, and even with them I pay attention to make sure they don't start drifting off course. So far, they're still good. When they are talking opinion, it is clear that is what is going on. And facts are facts. This is no longer true of any other major news organization.
I wonder if it is legal to sue a news organization for intentionally publishing falsehood and lies? Why should they be immune from prosecution for this? I mean, after all, if you purchase a product that has been misrepresented, you can sue; so why not for the news? It should be illegal to publish a lie without labeling it 'fiction' or 'opinion'.
Yes, I know, free speech and all that. OK, let them publish their lies - just label it as such. They can say anything they want, as long as they let you know whether it is factual or not.
Well, I'm voting with my feet. I'm not watching CNN, or CBS, or any other news media I catch doing this kind of crap. Newspeople, you lie to me, you lose my attention because your credibility is destroyed. And I hope you go out of business. I'll do my part to make it happen.
-Pop
Many years ago, in the coverage of the Three Mile Island nuclear incident, I remember the news anchor using the expression "hydrogen explosion" several times. They were talking about a hydrogen GAS explosion, but the commentator was so happy to make it sound like a hydrogen BOMB explosion (thermonuclear) that the deception of the play on words disgusted me. The commentator was almost gleeful as he could just about see his ratings going up. Probably scared a lot of people that didn't really need to be scared.
Almost everywhere you look, deception and lies, usually slanted far left. The far left loses my vote right there, just because they use such techniques to spread their crap.
I am really, really tired of being lied to by news media that we should be able to trust.
The only news media I regularly watch any more is Fox News, and even with them I pay attention to make sure they don't start drifting off course. So far, they're still good. When they are talking opinion, it is clear that is what is going on. And facts are facts. This is no longer true of any other major news organization.
I wonder if it is legal to sue a news organization for intentionally publishing falsehood and lies? Why should they be immune from prosecution for this? I mean, after all, if you purchase a product that has been misrepresented, you can sue; so why not for the news? It should be illegal to publish a lie without labeling it 'fiction' or 'opinion'.
Yes, I know, free speech and all that. OK, let them publish their lies - just label it as such. They can say anything they want, as long as they let you know whether it is factual or not.
Well, I'm voting with my feet. I'm not watching CNN, or CBS, or any other news media I catch doing this kind of crap. Newspeople, you lie to me, you lose my attention because your credibility is destroyed. And I hope you go out of business. I'll do my part to make it happen.
-Pop
Friday, September 28, 2007
Far Left Inconsistency
How come the people on the far left spend so much effort promoting "Constitutional Separation of Church and State" which does not, in fact, exist in the Constitution of the United States; and yet they also spend great effort to deny "the Right to Bear Arms" of an individual, which IS in the Constitution?
There's an agenda, there. They negate the Constitution on at least two counts.
I'll tell you what. This isn't original with me, but - "I'll use my Second Amendment rights to defend your First Amendment Rights - if you'll use your First Amendment rights to defend my Second Amendment rights."
The Constitution is of a piece - you either accept the whole thing, or you don't. If you don't, feel free to leave.
-Pop
There's an agenda, there. They negate the Constitution on at least two counts.
I'll tell you what. This isn't original with me, but - "I'll use my Second Amendment rights to defend your First Amendment Rights - if you'll use your First Amendment rights to defend my Second Amendment rights."
The Constitution is of a piece - you either accept the whole thing, or you don't. If you don't, feel free to leave.
-Pop
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
New CHL Laws in Texas
I have a Texas CHL (Concealed Handgun License). Therefore, I try to keep up with the latest and greatest laws that pertain thereto. The following is in the current book (ls-16.pdf) published by the government for the purpose:
PC 9.34 PROTECTION OF LIFE OR HEALTH.
(a) ...
(b) A person is justified in using both force and deadly force against another when and to the degree he reasonably believes the force or deadly force is immediately necessary to preserve the other's life in an emergency.OK, so... I can kill somebody dead in order to save their life?
Okee - Dokee, now.
-Pop
PC 9.34 PROTECTION OF LIFE OR HEALTH.
(a) ...
(b) A person is justified in using both force and deadly force against another when and to the degree he reasonably believes the force or deadly force is immediately necessary to preserve the other's life in an emergency.OK, so... I can kill somebody dead in order to save their life?
Okee - Dokee, now.
-Pop
Engineering Companies
I am in the position of quoting projects to customers of all sorts. Most of the time, this is a fairly benign process - the customer tells you what he wants, you do design work if necessary, and figure out the cost and how long it will take to provide the product. In our case, the product is pumps, or pump systems mounted on a base. We take our cost, apply a percentage to it, and tell the customer how much and when. They buy the pumps, we fill the order, and everybody is happy (usually).
When dealing with an engineering company, you run up against a paper mill that is nothing short of incredible. We just got an order for three vertical turbine pumps. That's it - just three pumps. These are by no means huge pumps, but the order is for about a quarter of a million dollars. Our supplier can build these pumps easily in about 18 weeks. The order's ship date is some 11 months in the future, so delivery is no problem. Easy.
Except - the request for quotation came with specifications 1 1/2" thick - I just measured it. For three pumps. Now that we have the order, the specifications that came with the order measures about 1" thick - so the bidding process thinned it down a bit. There is a list of documentation required with 85 line items on it, 3 1/2 pages long. For three pumps!
That list has items like "Barge Load Plan", and "Past Experience", and "Preliminary Training Plans", and "Final Training Plans". For three pumps!
I have around 20 subdirectories on my hard drive with documents that went back and forth in the six months it's taken just to quote this job. 44 MB of data - before we even got the job!
The end user is paying an awful lot of money for a crew of engineers and MBA's and lawyers and clerks to generate all that paperwork, and then to require us to provide even more paperwork, for three pumps. The overhead cost to the customer on this must exceed the price of the pumps by a fair amount, in terms of salaries, organization, office space, etc. But it will be very, very well documented.
They could save an incredible amount of money if the facility engineer just called us up, gave us his design characteristics, let us select a pump, provide our warranty, fill the order, and be done with it. But instead, I'm going to have to hassle with these three pumps until this time next year! The pumps will outweigh the paperwork - but maybe not by much. And all of it will have to pass through my hands.
Oh well, it's a living.
-Pop
When dealing with an engineering company, you run up against a paper mill that is nothing short of incredible. We just got an order for three vertical turbine pumps. That's it - just three pumps. These are by no means huge pumps, but the order is for about a quarter of a million dollars. Our supplier can build these pumps easily in about 18 weeks. The order's ship date is some 11 months in the future, so delivery is no problem. Easy.
Except - the request for quotation came with specifications 1 1/2" thick - I just measured it. For three pumps. Now that we have the order, the specifications that came with the order measures about 1" thick - so the bidding process thinned it down a bit. There is a list of documentation required with 85 line items on it, 3 1/2 pages long. For three pumps!
That list has items like "Barge Load Plan", and "Past Experience", and "Preliminary Training Plans", and "Final Training Plans". For three pumps!
I have around 20 subdirectories on my hard drive with documents that went back and forth in the six months it's taken just to quote this job. 44 MB of data - before we even got the job!
The end user is paying an awful lot of money for a crew of engineers and MBA's and lawyers and clerks to generate all that paperwork, and then to require us to provide even more paperwork, for three pumps. The overhead cost to the customer on this must exceed the price of the pumps by a fair amount, in terms of salaries, organization, office space, etc. But it will be very, very well documented.
They could save an incredible amount of money if the facility engineer just called us up, gave us his design characteristics, let us select a pump, provide our warranty, fill the order, and be done with it. But instead, I'm going to have to hassle with these three pumps until this time next year! The pumps will outweigh the paperwork - but maybe not by much. And all of it will have to pass through my hands.
Oh well, it's a living.
-Pop
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Pacifism - Wrong!
Violence is something that exists in life, and sooner or later all of us will be confronted with it on some level. Many people are taught to submit when confronted with violence. These people tend to believe that in order to be 'peaceful' they must never be aggressive themselves. After all, Jesus said 'turn the other cheek'. These people are taught, falsely, that if they submit, the bad guys will not hurt them. But that puts the decision about your welfare in someone else's hands - and at best, that someone has already demonstrated zero respect of you and your rights.
In some cases, this may work as a survival strategy, but by definition it puts you at the mercy of the aggressor. Pacifism is not a survival strategy in the real world - it only works when EVERYBODY is a pacifist. One aggressive individual in a room full of pacifists is THE BOSS, and the pacifists have no rights.
It is appropriate and moral to be aggressive in response to an attack. The basis of this morality is in not being the initiator of the conflict.
A careful reading of the Bible shows that 'turning the other cheek' means to not respond to insults or other similar provocation with force. But when the provocation escalates to bodily harm to you or other innocents, or even hurting you in a financial way by stealing what is yours, then you have the moral right and obligation to defend yourself. A truly excellent treatment of this subject can be found at The Cornered Cat. Highly, highly recommended.
It is possible and right to be a non-pacifist, deal from a position of strength, and still be a moral person who loves God.
-Pop
In some cases, this may work as a survival strategy, but by definition it puts you at the mercy of the aggressor. Pacifism is not a survival strategy in the real world - it only works when EVERYBODY is a pacifist. One aggressive individual in a room full of pacifists is THE BOSS, and the pacifists have no rights.
It is appropriate and moral to be aggressive in response to an attack. The basis of this morality is in not being the initiator of the conflict.
A careful reading of the Bible shows that 'turning the other cheek' means to not respond to insults or other similar provocation with force. But when the provocation escalates to bodily harm to you or other innocents, or even hurting you in a financial way by stealing what is yours, then you have the moral right and obligation to defend yourself. A truly excellent treatment of this subject can be found at The Cornered Cat. Highly, highly recommended.
It is possible and right to be a non-pacifist, deal from a position of strength, and still be a moral person who loves God.
-Pop
Friday, September 14, 2007
Church Management - an Unflattering Look
I've been going to the same church since 1975. I've been there through half a dozen preachers. So I get a pretty good feel for what goes on.
Recently, two or three (very new) members of the church have aggressively promoted themselves to the (fairly new) preacher. You might say they've 'gotten in good' with him. For brevity, I will refer to this group as the 'cabal'. The cabal is pushing for a multi-media program for the church, in which (of course) they play a central part. The preacher has committed himself to this program in a big way.
First, the cabal promoted implementation of a projection system in the church sanctuary, to the tune of around $16,000. It was voted on and passed, and that was OK and reasonable. Many of us didn't see why we needed it, but there wasn't a really good reason not to do this, so it was voted on and passed. It's working now, too, but suffering a number of growing pains that are sometimes comical, such as lack of coordination with the music director. Final cost around $20,000 after associated expenses.
This system was purchased based on one quotation. This is absolutely awful business practice, not to imply anything else.
Funny how it worked out that, a month or so later, we suddenly had to have a new sound system to go with the projection system - around another $20,000. This wasn't mentioned or promoted until after the projection system was in place.
Another purchase based on one quotation - to the same company as before.
This next part involves some conjecture. I would lay very heavy odds that the cabal planned both of these at the same time, but broke it up into two portions in order to get them passed in the church business meetings - it's unlikely that the church would have gone for the combined price in one pass. If this is true (about which, to be fair, I have no proof), then I think it was dishonest of them to conceal the full cost of the program from the church at the very beginning. Because of the timing, I do think it was planned in advance. So, in my view, the cabal is manipulating the church to bring about changes that, taken together, probably would not have been approved by the church body.
If I am correct, the cabal is manipulating the church body, to achieve their own goals. If I am not correct, the sudden additional need for a sound system represents mismanagement, poor business practice (1 bid?), and poor planning at best. And it's really peculiar that we've now spent around $36,000 to $40,000 on a project introduced by people who haven't been members of our church but a few months. The total of these expenditures is about 1/3 of the church's total cash reserves, as listed in the last business report.
The next thing to happen is the cabal's expressed desire to take control of the church website, which was created at the request of the church a little over a year ago. The access codes were turned over to the cabal by the author without delay. Although a complete website was already in place, I was surprised to see that the very next day, the entire website is gone, replaced with a single placeholder page promising a whole new site in three months. Now, the site could have been left in place until they were ready to implement the new one, but instead they chose to destroy it.
The cabal may be able to do a better website than existed before. If so, good. But there wasn't anything wrong with the old one, and it represented many hours and days of work. Furthermore, they blew it away three months before they plan to have anything to replace it with. They were in a hurry to get rid of it. An old site is better than no site, in my mind.
There are at least a couple of other issues of which I am aware, but in one case I do not have permission of the involved persons to discuss it, and in another I do not have enough confirmed and verifiable information. My intent here is to convey only incidents for which I have both solid knowledge and when appropriate, permission of the sources.
So, in summary - a very small group of very new people, along with a fairly new preacher, are now in direct control of every form of communication and publishing our church has. There is some possibility of deliberate manipulation of the church body. And there is some question as to the wisdom of certain business practices.
Bending over backwards to be fair, I suppose that some of this could be subject to a different interpretation. But this account shows how it looks from where I'm sitting. This whole situation is, at best, a stewardship problem - and at worst, something much worse.
Not a very flattering view of the management at my church. This is a true account of recent events at our church, but I have named no names - not even the name of the church. This is to protect the innocent, as well as myself.
I haven't posted this out of spite, or anger; but if there's one place that you should be able to find openness and truth, it is your own church; and just at the moment, I feel a little sick about it, instead.
-Pop
Recently, two or three (very new) members of the church have aggressively promoted themselves to the (fairly new) preacher. You might say they've 'gotten in good' with him. For brevity, I will refer to this group as the 'cabal'. The cabal is pushing for a multi-media program for the church, in which (of course) they play a central part. The preacher has committed himself to this program in a big way.
First, the cabal promoted implementation of a projection system in the church sanctuary, to the tune of around $16,000. It was voted on and passed, and that was OK and reasonable. Many of us didn't see why we needed it, but there wasn't a really good reason not to do this, so it was voted on and passed. It's working now, too, but suffering a number of growing pains that are sometimes comical, such as lack of coordination with the music director. Final cost around $20,000 after associated expenses.
This system was purchased based on one quotation. This is absolutely awful business practice, not to imply anything else.
Funny how it worked out that, a month or so later, we suddenly had to have a new sound system to go with the projection system - around another $20,000. This wasn't mentioned or promoted until after the projection system was in place.
Another purchase based on one quotation - to the same company as before.
This next part involves some conjecture. I would lay very heavy odds that the cabal planned both of these at the same time, but broke it up into two portions in order to get them passed in the church business meetings - it's unlikely that the church would have gone for the combined price in one pass. If this is true (about which, to be fair, I have no proof), then I think it was dishonest of them to conceal the full cost of the program from the church at the very beginning. Because of the timing, I do think it was planned in advance. So, in my view, the cabal is manipulating the church to bring about changes that, taken together, probably would not have been approved by the church body.
If I am correct, the cabal is manipulating the church body, to achieve their own goals. If I am not correct, the sudden additional need for a sound system represents mismanagement, poor business practice (1 bid?), and poor planning at best. And it's really peculiar that we've now spent around $36,000 to $40,000 on a project introduced by people who haven't been members of our church but a few months. The total of these expenditures is about 1/3 of the church's total cash reserves, as listed in the last business report.
The next thing to happen is the cabal's expressed desire to take control of the church website, which was created at the request of the church a little over a year ago. The access codes were turned over to the cabal by the author without delay. Although a complete website was already in place, I was surprised to see that the very next day, the entire website is gone, replaced with a single placeholder page promising a whole new site in three months. Now, the site could have been left in place until they were ready to implement the new one, but instead they chose to destroy it.
The cabal may be able to do a better website than existed before. If so, good. But there wasn't anything wrong with the old one, and it represented many hours and days of work. Furthermore, they blew it away three months before they plan to have anything to replace it with. They were in a hurry to get rid of it. An old site is better than no site, in my mind.
There are at least a couple of other issues of which I am aware, but in one case I do not have permission of the involved persons to discuss it, and in another I do not have enough confirmed and verifiable information. My intent here is to convey only incidents for which I have both solid knowledge and when appropriate, permission of the sources.
So, in summary - a very small group of very new people, along with a fairly new preacher, are now in direct control of every form of communication and publishing our church has. There is some possibility of deliberate manipulation of the church body. And there is some question as to the wisdom of certain business practices.
Bending over backwards to be fair, I suppose that some of this could be subject to a different interpretation. But this account shows how it looks from where I'm sitting. This whole situation is, at best, a stewardship problem - and at worst, something much worse.
Not a very flattering view of the management at my church. This is a true account of recent events at our church, but I have named no names - not even the name of the church. This is to protect the innocent, as well as myself.
I haven't posted this out of spite, or anger; but if there's one place that you should be able to find openness and truth, it is your own church; and just at the moment, I feel a little sick about it, instead.
-Pop
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Violence!
I just read an article describing how many Utah schools are either not commemorating 9/11 or are downplaying it. The text of the article stated, regarding the children, "we don't want them to dwell on violence".
It occurs to me that, though we all want to protect our children from violence, hiding it from them may be a mistake of major proportions. After all, it is a violent world!
Now, I'm not saying we should support violence, or put a positive spin on it. But I am saying that our children will have to learn how to deal with it at some point in their lives. The ability to deal with violence, both emotionally and physically, needs to be part of the training and education of every person, so that when confronted with it, a reasoned response can be generated.
This might be anything from calming down someone who is about to go ballistic, all the way to taking the initiative to defend yourself when physically attacked instead of just giving up. Right now, so many people are being taught that, when attacked, give the aggressor what he wants and he will go away. Sometimes it does happen like that. But many times, it does not. As witness the Virginia Tech massacre. Some of the students and teachers were mentally prepared to defend themselves - and some were not. Particularly in an execution scenario, doing nothing is not a survival strategy that works.
I believe that educating people about violence would improve the ratio of those able to defend themselves, if done correctly. And I think we would become a healthier society because of this. Denying that violence exists will not make it go away - therefore it is absolutely necessary to learn how to deal with it.
God help us if we ever get a U.S. President that believes in going belly-up at the first sign of aggression.
-Pop
It occurs to me that, though we all want to protect our children from violence, hiding it from them may be a mistake of major proportions. After all, it is a violent world!
Now, I'm not saying we should support violence, or put a positive spin on it. But I am saying that our children will have to learn how to deal with it at some point in their lives. The ability to deal with violence, both emotionally and physically, needs to be part of the training and education of every person, so that when confronted with it, a reasoned response can be generated.
This might be anything from calming down someone who is about to go ballistic, all the way to taking the initiative to defend yourself when physically attacked instead of just giving up. Right now, so many people are being taught that, when attacked, give the aggressor what he wants and he will go away. Sometimes it does happen like that. But many times, it does not. As witness the Virginia Tech massacre. Some of the students and teachers were mentally prepared to defend themselves - and some were not. Particularly in an execution scenario, doing nothing is not a survival strategy that works.
I believe that educating people about violence would improve the ratio of those able to defend themselves, if done correctly. And I think we would become a healthier society because of this. Denying that violence exists will not make it go away - therefore it is absolutely necessary to learn how to deal with it.
God help us if we ever get a U.S. President that believes in going belly-up at the first sign of aggression.
-Pop
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Jump!
Howdy, Everybody;
Well, our customer said Frog again, and we Jumped again!
Got a call yesterday just before lunch that they wanted us on site to startup the pumps, again. So we called everybody to meet us there, same as last time, and left the office just before lunch. Three hours later, back on job site. At first glance, things looked pretty good. But it turned out that most of the emergency shutdown sensors weren't installed.
When the controls man showed up, about 3:30 pm, and then the pump manufacturer's crew showed up around 4:00 pm, things began to move. It turns out that, because of the shutdown sensors not being wired in, the only way to run the pumps for startup was manually via the variable frequency drive controls. So after checking rotation on the motor (which was marked backwards - whee!) the pump guy bolted up the shaft coupling, and we started running the pump manually. They had enough water in the tank for around an hour of run time.
The pump worked as advertised. But we were unable to get the PID control loop setup to control the pump motor RPM according to the flowmeter reading compared to a set point. While we were struggling with that, the pump guys found a problem with the second pump, that they started working on.
That's about where we were when we lost the light and had to quit. So we headed home, arriving around 11 pm.
When we were up there Saturday, it was clear and hot. On this trip, it drizzled all day long. Today it is even worse, and G is going back to the job site to complete the setup. I wasn't needed for this trip. I hope he has better luck than we've been having.
-Pop
Well, our customer said Frog again, and we Jumped again!
Got a call yesterday just before lunch that they wanted us on site to startup the pumps, again. So we called everybody to meet us there, same as last time, and left the office just before lunch. Three hours later, back on job site. At first glance, things looked pretty good. But it turned out that most of the emergency shutdown sensors weren't installed.
When the controls man showed up, about 3:30 pm, and then the pump manufacturer's crew showed up around 4:00 pm, things began to move. It turns out that, because of the shutdown sensors not being wired in, the only way to run the pumps for startup was manually via the variable frequency drive controls. So after checking rotation on the motor (which was marked backwards - whee!) the pump guy bolted up the shaft coupling, and we started running the pump manually. They had enough water in the tank for around an hour of run time.
The pump worked as advertised. But we were unable to get the PID control loop setup to control the pump motor RPM according to the flowmeter reading compared to a set point. While we were struggling with that, the pump guys found a problem with the second pump, that they started working on.
That's about where we were when we lost the light and had to quit. So we headed home, arriving around 11 pm.
When we were up there Saturday, it was clear and hot. On this trip, it drizzled all day long. Today it is even worse, and G is going back to the job site to complete the setup. I wasn't needed for this trip. I hope he has better luck than we've been having.
-Pop
Monday, September 3, 2007
Confusion on the Job
Howdy, Everybody;
It was supposed to be a three-day weekend (Labor Day), but one of our major customers wanted to do a start-up on a pump system located a couple hundred miles from here, on Saturday. It worked out that I needed to take my Jeep, so I got up at 5 AM, left as soon as I could get ready, taking my one cup of coffee with me.
Let me tell you about coffee - if I don't get that first cup of coffee, it is not safe for me to be on the road. Besides that, I get the standard caffeine headache if I don't get enough in the mornings. Usually I drink 3-4 cups, but on this day I only got one. Amazingly enough, I didn't get a headache that day.
In any case, my GPS took me directly to the job site about three hours later, arriving around 8:30 AM. My boss, G, was there about an hour ahead of me. He's way more energetic than I am. Also younger. When I caught up with him, he told me they weren't ready for us, by a long shot. See, to dial in the controls on these pumps, certain things have to be done. There was steady work being done by a herd of electricians, but they were still wiring in the controls, and the two 600 HP motors. The flow meters and level detectors weren't wired up. For that matter, the level detectors hadn't even been installed. And finally, the tanks need to have a lot of water in them so we'd have something to pump. There was maybe 2 - 3 feet of water in the tanks - nowhere near enough. At least a couple of days worth of work.
We had a controls programming guy flying in from somewhere - he was at the local airport. We also had two people there from the pump manufacturer, who drove about 500 miles to get there. There was me and G who each drove 200 miles one way to get there. And there was a level detector rep also supposed to be on his way, also from our area.
So, we all sat around for a couple of hours waiting for the customer's manager to show up. I took a whole lot of digital pictures, as we find them immensely useful at times, and then cooled my heels waiting. Had to move down the concrete curb we were sitting on every so often as the shadows moved. Watched this ant crawl around wondering how the heck he wound up in this rocky desert (they spread crushed rock all over the job site for a driving surface).
Eventually, the manager (J) showed up. I understand he's over several sites like this in the area. Anyhow, he and G walked around looking at stuff and in a few minutes he had agreed we weren't doing anything useful by being there today, and it would probably be Tuesday at the soonest and maybe later. So we were dismissed.
So we scattered, all going our separate directions. G went to meet his family in the Houston area for the holiday - I went back home, arriving around 3 PM. Had to stop and walk around several times on the way back when I was trying to nod off. Driving always puts me to sleep, especially in the afternoons and evenings.
All of this business is, of course, finance driven. Ultimately the customer knows that every day he is not pumping, he's losing money. So that justifies it, in their minds. And from my company's standpoint, willingness to jump when the customer says frog is part of our customer service. We get business that others don't get, because of it. Again, finance driven.
I don't mind doing what I need to do - as long as the effort isn't wasted. I am more than a little perturbed because our customer apparently thinks so little of our efforts that they don't care if they waste them.
Why did this false alarm happen? It is simply not possible that the people on site didn't realize they weren't ready. I'm not going to speculate on the actual reasons, but it surely demonstrates two things - amazing lack of coordination on our customer's part; and a likewise amazing indifference to the disruption of personal plans of the several people (and their families!) who's time was wasted and who's holiday weekends were wrecked, completely without reason.
As for me personally, I'm not really mad about it in this case. As it happened, the only plans of mine that were disrupted (this time) was a work day around the house. I'm certain that no malice was involved, and G was operating on the information given to him. It just frustrates me how wasteful the whole thing was. I place high value on my time off work - I work to live, I don't live to work. But if G requires me to be somewhere on a Saturday, that's where I'll be if I can. Besides being my boss, he is my friend - a unique relationship, in my experience.
But the next time this customer shouts 'frog', I may not be quite so quick to jump. What goes around comes around.
-Pop
It was supposed to be a three-day weekend (Labor Day), but one of our major customers wanted to do a start-up on a pump system located a couple hundred miles from here, on Saturday. It worked out that I needed to take my Jeep, so I got up at 5 AM, left as soon as I could get ready, taking my one cup of coffee with me.
Let me tell you about coffee - if I don't get that first cup of coffee, it is not safe for me to be on the road. Besides that, I get the standard caffeine headache if I don't get enough in the mornings. Usually I drink 3-4 cups, but on this day I only got one. Amazingly enough, I didn't get a headache that day.
In any case, my GPS took me directly to the job site about three hours later, arriving around 8:30 AM. My boss, G, was there about an hour ahead of me. He's way more energetic than I am. Also younger. When I caught up with him, he told me they weren't ready for us, by a long shot. See, to dial in the controls on these pumps, certain things have to be done. There was steady work being done by a herd of electricians, but they were still wiring in the controls, and the two 600 HP motors. The flow meters and level detectors weren't wired up. For that matter, the level detectors hadn't even been installed. And finally, the tanks need to have a lot of water in them so we'd have something to pump. There was maybe 2 - 3 feet of water in the tanks - nowhere near enough. At least a couple of days worth of work.
We had a controls programming guy flying in from somewhere - he was at the local airport. We also had two people there from the pump manufacturer, who drove about 500 miles to get there. There was me and G who each drove 200 miles one way to get there. And there was a level detector rep also supposed to be on his way, also from our area.
So, we all sat around for a couple of hours waiting for the customer's manager to show up. I took a whole lot of digital pictures, as we find them immensely useful at times, and then cooled my heels waiting. Had to move down the concrete curb we were sitting on every so often as the shadows moved. Watched this ant crawl around wondering how the heck he wound up in this rocky desert (they spread crushed rock all over the job site for a driving surface).
Eventually, the manager (J) showed up. I understand he's over several sites like this in the area. Anyhow, he and G walked around looking at stuff and in a few minutes he had agreed we weren't doing anything useful by being there today, and it would probably be Tuesday at the soonest and maybe later. So we were dismissed.
So we scattered, all going our separate directions. G went to meet his family in the Houston area for the holiday - I went back home, arriving around 3 PM. Had to stop and walk around several times on the way back when I was trying to nod off. Driving always puts me to sleep, especially in the afternoons and evenings.
All of this business is, of course, finance driven. Ultimately the customer knows that every day he is not pumping, he's losing money. So that justifies it, in their minds. And from my company's standpoint, willingness to jump when the customer says frog is part of our customer service. We get business that others don't get, because of it. Again, finance driven.
I don't mind doing what I need to do - as long as the effort isn't wasted. I am more than a little perturbed because our customer apparently thinks so little of our efforts that they don't care if they waste them.
Why did this false alarm happen? It is simply not possible that the people on site didn't realize they weren't ready. I'm not going to speculate on the actual reasons, but it surely demonstrates two things - amazing lack of coordination on our customer's part; and a likewise amazing indifference to the disruption of personal plans of the several people (and their families!) who's time was wasted and who's holiday weekends were wrecked, completely without reason.
As for me personally, I'm not really mad about it in this case. As it happened, the only plans of mine that were disrupted (this time) was a work day around the house. I'm certain that no malice was involved, and G was operating on the information given to him. It just frustrates me how wasteful the whole thing was. I place high value on my time off work - I work to live, I don't live to work. But if G requires me to be somewhere on a Saturday, that's where I'll be if I can. Besides being my boss, he is my friend - a unique relationship, in my experience.
But the next time this customer shouts 'frog', I may not be quite so quick to jump. What goes around comes around.
-Pop
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
I Love You, Pop!
Howdy, Everybody;
"I love you, Pop!" - my grand-daughter.
If there is a better reason for living, I don't know what it is.
- Pop
"I love you, Pop!" - my grand-daughter.
If there is a better reason for living, I don't know what it is.
- Pop
9 Guns for Every 10 Americans
Howdy, Friends;
There's an article on foxnews.com here that says that there are 9 guns for every 10 Americans. This means there's not enough guns out there (grin).
Seriously, though - one interesting factoid in this article is that it states "The figures dispel the idea that gun ownership and high levels of violence necessarily go hand in hand"... and "There's no clear relationship between more guns and higher levels of violence."
I already knew this from other sources, but it's nice how these studies keep rolling in. Now, if we could only get the anti-gunners to look at the actual facts! An excellent source of more confirmed information is Gun Facts.
The ability of the general public to effectively defend themselves, on the spot in real time, is the greatest deterrent to violent crime. Taking this ability away from the law-abiding public (by passing anti-gun laws which only affect law-abiding citizens) consistently results in a general rise in violent crime.
Addendum: I do not support the idea that everybody should have a gun. However, I do believe that they should be available to all mentally healthy, law abiding citizens for home self-defense or hunting - and it should be legal to carry open or concealed when suitably trained and licensed. I do think training similar to current CHL program should be required to carry in public, primarily so that the person involved has a good understanding of the law relating to lethal force.
-Pop
There's an article on foxnews.com here that says that there are 9 guns for every 10 Americans. This means there's not enough guns out there (grin).
Seriously, though - one interesting factoid in this article is that it states "The figures dispel the idea that gun ownership and high levels of violence necessarily go hand in hand"... and "There's no clear relationship between more guns and higher levels of violence."
I already knew this from other sources, but it's nice how these studies keep rolling in. Now, if we could only get the anti-gunners to look at the actual facts! An excellent source of more confirmed information is Gun Facts.
The ability of the general public to effectively defend themselves, on the spot in real time, is the greatest deterrent to violent crime. Taking this ability away from the law-abiding public (by passing anti-gun laws which only affect law-abiding citizens) consistently results in a general rise in violent crime.
Addendum: I do not support the idea that everybody should have a gun. However, I do believe that they should be available to all mentally healthy, law abiding citizens for home self-defense or hunting - and it should be legal to carry open or concealed when suitably trained and licensed. I do think training similar to current CHL program should be required to carry in public, primarily so that the person involved has a good understanding of the law relating to lethal force.
-Pop
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
My Shortest Prayer
Howdy, Everybody;
My shortest prayer:
"Dear Jesus!"
This said between leaving the saddle of the motorcycle and hitting the ground. Walked away without a scratch. Sometime around 1971. I found this convincing, and got saved shortly thereafter.
-Pop
My shortest prayer:
"Dear Jesus!"
This said between leaving the saddle of the motorcycle and hitting the ground. Walked away without a scratch. Sometime around 1971. I found this convincing, and got saved shortly thereafter.
-Pop
My Daily Prayer
Howdy, Folks;
Every day, I pray this prayer, or some variation:
Dear Lord;
Thank you for this new day, Lord. It's beautiful.
Thank you for the love in my life, first for Your amazing love for me, and also for the love You have sent to me by way of my family.
Please forgive me for my sins, and help me to repent of them so that I may live a life more pleasing to you.
Please take care of my family, and bring them home safe at the end of the day. Most especially, R., D., T., J., J. and me. Please also take care of my extended family and friends. Protect them from accident and illness, harm and evil of any sort. Most especially, T.
Strengthen me against the day, and help me to do Thy will above my own, this day, and every day.
According to Thy will, so be it.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
'Nuff said.
-Pop
Every day, I pray this prayer, or some variation:
Dear Lord;
Thank you for this new day, Lord. It's beautiful.
Thank you for the love in my life, first for Your amazing love for me, and also for the love You have sent to me by way of my family.
Please forgive me for my sins, and help me to repent of them so that I may live a life more pleasing to you.
Please take care of my family, and bring them home safe at the end of the day. Most especially, R., D., T., J., J. and me. Please also take care of my extended family and friends. Protect them from accident and illness, harm and evil of any sort. Most especially, T.
Strengthen me against the day, and help me to do Thy will above my own, this day, and every day.
According to Thy will, so be it.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
'Nuff said.
-Pop
Friday, August 24, 2007
Pump Laws
(These will probably be revised frequently.)
Pump Laws
General
We only have one customer, and you're it! (Snort!)
Delivery
Pump Laws
General
We only have one customer, and you're it! (Snort!)
Delivery
- EVERYBODY lies about delivery. Except US. WE just pass on the lies told to us by our suppliers. I've been here more than five years and have seen exactly three pumps arrive on or before the date promised by the manufacturer. You know this - why are you acting surprised?
- Titanium pump parts are to be quoted with a delivery of ‘Someday- if you're lucky!’.
- Warranty does NOT cover operator screw-ups or damage caused by lack of maintenance.
- Warranty also does not cover electric motors that were submerged for three days in a flood.
- We do not ship certain types of pumps with oil in the bearing housing. The fact that your non-english-speaking field crew can't read the tags that tell you to put oil in the pump before startup is not our fault. Warranty does not cover damage caused by operating the pump without oil in the bearing housing.
- Turning the motor backwards is a BAD THING!
- Turning the plunger pump on with the discharge valved shut is a VERY BAD THING! (We have seen parts from the resulting explosion take most of a minute to hit the ground!)
- The fact that your mission-critical pump is down, and you have not purchased sufficient spare parts for it, is NOT OUR FAULT!
- And the fact that it will take 14 weeks to get the parts is also NOT OUR FAULT!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Mouse for the MacBook Pro
Howdy, Everybody;
If you hearken back to the pages on switching over to Macintosh, you will remember that the biggest single problem I had was this Logitech VX Revolution mouse. I went through some teething problems and a couple of different versions of the Logitech software. The entire time I've been using it (six months?) the biggest problem was that it goes to sleep, and takes as many as 20 to 30 seconds to wake back up.
I finally uninstalled the Logitech software entirely - and installed the $20 SteerMouse drivers instead.
Problem solved. Everything works, hesitation problem solved. I am a happy camper.
Logitech, take note - your hardware is good but your Mac support absolutely sucks!
-Pop
If you hearken back to the pages on switching over to Macintosh, you will remember that the biggest single problem I had was this Logitech VX Revolution mouse. I went through some teething problems and a couple of different versions of the Logitech software. The entire time I've been using it (six months?) the biggest problem was that it goes to sleep, and takes as many as 20 to 30 seconds to wake back up.
I finally uninstalled the Logitech software entirely - and installed the $20 SteerMouse drivers instead.
Problem solved. Everything works, hesitation problem solved. I am a happy camper.
Logitech, take note - your hardware is good but your Mac support absolutely sucks!
-Pop
Thursday, August 9, 2007
About Separation of Church and State
Howdy, Everybody;
I have read the Constitution of the United States and amendments, and it does not say anywhere that religion must be kept separate from government.
What it does say is that the government is not allowed to MANDATE a specific religion as the state religion.
The First Amendment says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."
If I choose to freely exercise my religion in a public school or a courtroom, the First Amendment declares that the laws of the U.S. may not prohibit me from doing so. That's what it says!
Get over it, all you left-wingers.
-Pop
I have read the Constitution of the United States and amendments, and it does not say anywhere that religion must be kept separate from government.
What it does say is that the government is not allowed to MANDATE a specific religion as the state religion.
The First Amendment says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."
If I choose to freely exercise my religion in a public school or a courtroom, the First Amendment declares that the laws of the U.S. may not prohibit me from doing so. That's what it says!
Get over it, all you left-wingers.
-Pop
About the Constitution of the United States
Hi, Everybody;
There seems to be a prevailing opinion in some quarters that the protections of personal rights codified in the Constitution of the United States and amendments applies to everybody, even terrorists who are not US citizens.
I disagree. The Constitution is the foundation of U.S. law and only applies to U.S. citizens.
If foreigners want the protection of the U.S. Constitution, they need to apply for citizenship.
-Pop
There seems to be a prevailing opinion in some quarters that the protections of personal rights codified in the Constitution of the United States and amendments applies to everybody, even terrorists who are not US citizens.
I disagree. The Constitution is the foundation of U.S. law and only applies to U.S. citizens.
If foreigners want the protection of the U.S. Constitution, they need to apply for citizenship.
-Pop
About Illegal Immigration
Howdy, Everybody;
A simple question or three about illegal immigration:
Did each individual illegal immigrant break a U.S. or state law? - Yes, by definition.
What is the law they broke? - They entered the U.S. illegally.
What is the penalty for breaking that law? - Deport them.
That seems simple enough...
Now, for those who wish to stay here:
Is there in place a method by which a person can immigrate to the U.S.? - yes.
Why don't the immigrants use it? - Just guessing here, but maybe because it takes too long? Or maybe, because if they were here legally they'd have to pay taxes (after all, right now they get free schooling, medical care, etc. that I have to pay for)?
Now, for the U.S. and state governments:
Why are we not enforcing our laws?
Just curious...
-Pop
A simple question or three about illegal immigration:
Did each individual illegal immigrant break a U.S. or state law? - Yes, by definition.
What is the law they broke? - They entered the U.S. illegally.
What is the penalty for breaking that law? - Deport them.
That seems simple enough...
Now, for those who wish to stay here:
Is there in place a method by which a person can immigrate to the U.S.? - yes.
Why don't the immigrants use it? - Just guessing here, but maybe because it takes too long? Or maybe, because if they were here legally they'd have to pay taxes (after all, right now they get free schooling, medical care, etc. that I have to pay for)?
Now, for the U.S. and state governments:
Why are we not enforcing our laws?
Just curious...
-Pop
Monday, August 6, 2007
I've Seen...
Howdy, everybody;
I am 53+ years old, born November 1953; and while that's not just REAL old, I've seen enough that the changes are pretty interesting. To me, anyway. The following list is some of the things I've seen, that I personally remember. They may not be in chronological order. I am not passing judgement on these things, bad and good things are both represented here. This is not a list I got off the internet, and it is not history I looked up in books that happened in the time I've been here - I actually remember these things, either having seen them directly or in the news at the time they happened:
I remember hearing about Sputnik, the very first man-made satellite of the Earth, announced on the radio while riding into town with my Dad in his pickup truck.
I remember seeing (live, I think, on black & white TV) the assassination of President Kennedy. I remember everyone being upset about it.
I remember before Lady Bird Johnson had clover planted in all the roadsides of Texas. And I remember when littering became recognized as a problem.
I watched on TV the launch of John Glenn in Friendship 7.
I remember before and after racial integration in the schools. I remember when our family doctor also treated black people - but they had a separate door into the clinic.
I remember when gifts were only given on birthdays and at Christmas, and it was unusual to get more than a few gifts. Christmas advertising started after Thanksgiving.
In America, you were (and are) free to worship whatever religion you want to. But back then we didn't mind having Christmas and prayer in schools, and it was Christian. Religious freedom was not a big deal, because everybody had it. I didn't go to your mosque, and you didn't come to my Baptist church, but either of us could if you wanted to. And you'd be welcome, at least around here. Everybody was happy with this, as far as I could see.
I remember my family getting air conditioning in a window unit in the living room of our house when I was around 12 years old. Winter heating was a gas stove at one end of the house - the end opposite my bedroom. In mid-winter, it got almost as cold inside as out in my bedroom. I was around 16 years old before I lived anywhere with central air conditioning and heat.
When I was 13 years old, we got our first color TV. Dad had shot the black & white one with his .22, but that's another story. We all looked forward to Bonanza, that being one of the few color shows at the time. We could only get four channels, and that was on a good day. Any three of them were pretty clear.
I remember when an old black man that was a good friend of my Dad passed away. Dad sat in his truck, crying - but he wouldn't go to the funeral. That generation is now gone, and people today don't think like that so much. I have seen progress against prejudice in my lifetime, but it does seem to be slow going, mainly because what a person is taught when young stays with them their whole lives, against all reason.
I remember being on a party line for the telephone. For those of you who have never had this experience, it means that (in our case) six families shared one line. Each family had a different ring. If you picked up the phone, you could hear the other people talking. Eavesdropping was commonplace. Some people would leave the phone off the hook so nobody (six families!) could use the phone until they were through with it. There was a lonely old elderly black lady who would talk for hours at a time. I think I was a teenager before we got a private line, which was one phone shared by our whole family. Nowadays I frequently see children with personal cell phones, as well as internet access.
I watched many other rocket launches on TV, of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. I remember specifically a Gemini launch that I got to see on TV at school - I think in the fourth grade.
I remember the first international phone call made via satellite. I don't remember who it was from or to, except I think it was our President on our end. But it was on TV, and I got to watch his end of the conversation.
I remember the first time I ever saw anybody with a full beard. It was my very first hippy, walking down Highway 80. This was in my early teens.
I watched Neal Armstrong's first steps on the moon. If I recall, it was about 2:30 AM where we were, and I watched it live with my Dad. I thought maybe someday I'd get to go. But I really wanted to go to Mars. Shucks, I'd go now if they were getting up a group.
Speaking of my Dad (and Mom) I remember when more people smoked than didn't. Thank God that seems to be changing. On the other hand, I didn't become aware of a drug problem until I got into high school, and even then I never saw any.
I remember getting my first .22 rifle (a very nice Browning) when I was 13 years old, and nobody thought anything about it. My dad mostly taught gun safety by example (how not to do things). I shot a hole in the floorboard of the VW the same day I got the gun. Educational!
My first car was a Volkswagon Beetle. It didn't have seat belts. It didn't have air conditioning, either. It did have a good AM radio, but that was about it. My second car (a '65 Mustang) did have a lap belt for the driver only, but it also had no air or FM radio. Nor any sort of tape player. I remember the advent of 8-track, then later cassettes, then much later, CD's and DVD's. I remember how neat it was the first time I rode in a car with cruise control. I remember gas was $0.26 per gallon and I could fill up my Mustang for $5, give or take.
I remember when you could watch TV all evening if you wanted to, without seeing anybody die or cuss. If somebody got shot, there was no blood. I remember when homosexuality did not happen on TV. I was probably in my mid teens before I learned that there was such a thing. I remember when it was rare to see a black person on TV. And back then, many movie actors really were fit to be role models. Today, not so much.
I remember the hostages in Iran. It should be noted that Iran's current President Ahmadinejad has been identified as one of the actual people holding the 66 diplomats hostage. I also remember Carter's screwed up rescue attempt.
I remember foosball, fondly. I wonder if I can still do it. I remember playing Pong on one of the original machines. It wasn't very impressive at the time. I dislocated my shoulder one time playing air-hockey. Other than Pong, the first time I ever played a video game was after I had kids of my own.
I remember medical insurance that wasn't a hassle, and that paid generously. It was before HMO's.
I remember sitting in my VW at school with some friends, listening to the broadcast draft lottery for the Vietnam War, in 1970. This was a draw based on your birthday. I was number 126 and didn't get called up, although it was close. One of my friends got number 6. His birthday was Christmas Day, as I recall.
I watched the very first Space Shuttle launch, and many succeeding flights. I have seen a Shuttle re-entry with my own eyes one night; watched it go by, went in the house and watched it land in Florida ten minutes later, on TV.
I was excited by the first pictures from the surface of Mars. And also all the pictures sent back from Jupiter and Saturn vicinity. And the "Pale Blue Dot" is an absolutely awesome picture, taken of Earth from 3.7 billion miles away. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Blue_Dot
I remember when the very best photograph of Saturn was a grainy blob on a page. And they actually thought there might possibly be dinosaurs on Venus, and intelligent life on Mars. Now, of course, we have photos taken locally at these places. I remember when there was no map of the far side of the moon, and how breathtaking the picture of earth-rise on the moon was (and still is). You can see it here.
I heard with my own ears, but did not see, the destruction of Space Shuttle Columbia. At the time, I didn't realize what it was I was hearing; I found out a few minutes later when the news bulletins came in.
I remember when there was only one phone company, and all phones had wires! I remember the advent of cell phones. I also remember when a cell phone wasn't anything but a phone. I remember when there were no personal computers. Or calculators. I trained for a year and went to state UIL competition for slide rules, which were obsolete one year later.
The only computer programming class I ever had, as a freshman in college, was on a computer that took input on punched cards. I owned at least three personal computers before there were graphical interfaces. I remember, and used, CP/M, DOS, OS/2, BeOS, Windows, Windows 95, NT, XP and now Vista and Mac OS X. My two CP/M based computers had Z-80A processors at 4.0 Mhz (not Gigahertz), 64K of ram (that's Kilobytes, not Gigabytes) and did not have hard drives. Floppies held 110 kilobytes. The operating system fit in 4 kilobytes.
I owned at least six computers before there was an internet. I remember CompuServe and a 300 bps modem on a Kaypro. I spent ten years of my career making drawings by hand, before there was CAD that could be used on a personal computer. I remember when somebody that knew what they were doing with computers was respected more than a plumber.
I remember before 911 - and how things have changed since then. And I remember exactly where I was when I heard about it.
That's enough for today. Have a nice day!
-Pop
I am 53+ years old, born November 1953; and while that's not just REAL old, I've seen enough that the changes are pretty interesting. To me, anyway. The following list is some of the things I've seen, that I personally remember. They may not be in chronological order. I am not passing judgement on these things, bad and good things are both represented here. This is not a list I got off the internet, and it is not history I looked up in books that happened in the time I've been here - I actually remember these things, either having seen them directly or in the news at the time they happened:
I remember hearing about Sputnik, the very first man-made satellite of the Earth, announced on the radio while riding into town with my Dad in his pickup truck.
I remember seeing (live, I think, on black & white TV) the assassination of President Kennedy. I remember everyone being upset about it.
I remember before Lady Bird Johnson had clover planted in all the roadsides of Texas. And I remember when littering became recognized as a problem.
I watched on TV the launch of John Glenn in Friendship 7.
I remember before and after racial integration in the schools. I remember when our family doctor also treated black people - but they had a separate door into the clinic.
I remember when gifts were only given on birthdays and at Christmas, and it was unusual to get more than a few gifts. Christmas advertising started after Thanksgiving.
In America, you were (and are) free to worship whatever religion you want to. But back then we didn't mind having Christmas and prayer in schools, and it was Christian. Religious freedom was not a big deal, because everybody had it. I didn't go to your mosque, and you didn't come to my Baptist church, but either of us could if you wanted to. And you'd be welcome, at least around here. Everybody was happy with this, as far as I could see.
I remember my family getting air conditioning in a window unit in the living room of our house when I was around 12 years old. Winter heating was a gas stove at one end of the house - the end opposite my bedroom. In mid-winter, it got almost as cold inside as out in my bedroom. I was around 16 years old before I lived anywhere with central air conditioning and heat.
When I was 13 years old, we got our first color TV. Dad had shot the black & white one with his .22, but that's another story. We all looked forward to Bonanza, that being one of the few color shows at the time. We could only get four channels, and that was on a good day. Any three of them were pretty clear.
I remember when an old black man that was a good friend of my Dad passed away. Dad sat in his truck, crying - but he wouldn't go to the funeral. That generation is now gone, and people today don't think like that so much. I have seen progress against prejudice in my lifetime, but it does seem to be slow going, mainly because what a person is taught when young stays with them their whole lives, against all reason.
I remember being on a party line for the telephone. For those of you who have never had this experience, it means that (in our case) six families shared one line. Each family had a different ring. If you picked up the phone, you could hear the other people talking. Eavesdropping was commonplace. Some people would leave the phone off the hook so nobody (six families!) could use the phone until they were through with it. There was a lonely old elderly black lady who would talk for hours at a time. I think I was a teenager before we got a private line, which was one phone shared by our whole family. Nowadays I frequently see children with personal cell phones, as well as internet access.
I watched many other rocket launches on TV, of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. I remember specifically a Gemini launch that I got to see on TV at school - I think in the fourth grade.
I remember the first international phone call made via satellite. I don't remember who it was from or to, except I think it was our President on our end. But it was on TV, and I got to watch his end of the conversation.
I remember the first time I ever saw anybody with a full beard. It was my very first hippy, walking down Highway 80. This was in my early teens.
I watched Neal Armstrong's first steps on the moon. If I recall, it was about 2:30 AM where we were, and I watched it live with my Dad. I thought maybe someday I'd get to go. But I really wanted to go to Mars. Shucks, I'd go now if they were getting up a group.
Speaking of my Dad (and Mom) I remember when more people smoked than didn't. Thank God that seems to be changing. On the other hand, I didn't become aware of a drug problem until I got into high school, and even then I never saw any.
I remember getting my first .22 rifle (a very nice Browning) when I was 13 years old, and nobody thought anything about it. My dad mostly taught gun safety by example (how not to do things). I shot a hole in the floorboard of the VW the same day I got the gun. Educational!
My first car was a Volkswagon Beetle. It didn't have seat belts. It didn't have air conditioning, either. It did have a good AM radio, but that was about it. My second car (a '65 Mustang) did have a lap belt for the driver only, but it also had no air or FM radio. Nor any sort of tape player. I remember the advent of 8-track, then later cassettes, then much later, CD's and DVD's. I remember how neat it was the first time I rode in a car with cruise control. I remember gas was $0.26 per gallon and I could fill up my Mustang for $5, give or take.
I remember when you could watch TV all evening if you wanted to, without seeing anybody die or cuss. If somebody got shot, there was no blood. I remember when homosexuality did not happen on TV. I was probably in my mid teens before I learned that there was such a thing. I remember when it was rare to see a black person on TV. And back then, many movie actors really were fit to be role models. Today, not so much.
I remember the hostages in Iran. It should be noted that Iran's current President Ahmadinejad has been identified as one of the actual people holding the 66 diplomats hostage. I also remember Carter's screwed up rescue attempt.
I remember foosball, fondly. I wonder if I can still do it. I remember playing Pong on one of the original machines. It wasn't very impressive at the time. I dislocated my shoulder one time playing air-hockey. Other than Pong, the first time I ever played a video game was after I had kids of my own.
I remember medical insurance that wasn't a hassle, and that paid generously. It was before HMO's.
I remember sitting in my VW at school with some friends, listening to the broadcast draft lottery for the Vietnam War, in 1970. This was a draw based on your birthday. I was number 126 and didn't get called up, although it was close. One of my friends got number 6. His birthday was Christmas Day, as I recall.
I watched the very first Space Shuttle launch, and many succeeding flights. I have seen a Shuttle re-entry with my own eyes one night; watched it go by, went in the house and watched it land in Florida ten minutes later, on TV.
I was excited by the first pictures from the surface of Mars. And also all the pictures sent back from Jupiter and Saturn vicinity. And the "Pale Blue Dot" is an absolutely awesome picture, taken of Earth from 3.7 billion miles away. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Blue_Dot
I remember when the very best photograph of Saturn was a grainy blob on a page. And they actually thought there might possibly be dinosaurs on Venus, and intelligent life on Mars. Now, of course, we have photos taken locally at these places. I remember when there was no map of the far side of the moon, and how breathtaking the picture of earth-rise on the moon was (and still is). You can see it here.
I heard with my own ears, but did not see, the destruction of Space Shuttle Columbia. At the time, I didn't realize what it was I was hearing; I found out a few minutes later when the news bulletins came in.
I remember when there was only one phone company, and all phones had wires! I remember the advent of cell phones. I also remember when a cell phone wasn't anything but a phone. I remember when there were no personal computers. Or calculators. I trained for a year and went to state UIL competition for slide rules, which were obsolete one year later.
The only computer programming class I ever had, as a freshman in college, was on a computer that took input on punched cards. I owned at least three personal computers before there were graphical interfaces. I remember, and used, CP/M, DOS, OS/2, BeOS, Windows, Windows 95, NT, XP and now Vista and Mac OS X. My two CP/M based computers had Z-80A processors at 4.0 Mhz (not Gigahertz), 64K of ram (that's Kilobytes, not Gigabytes) and did not have hard drives. Floppies held 110 kilobytes. The operating system fit in 4 kilobytes.
I owned at least six computers before there was an internet. I remember CompuServe and a 300 bps modem on a Kaypro. I spent ten years of my career making drawings by hand, before there was CAD that could be used on a personal computer. I remember when somebody that knew what they were doing with computers was respected more than a plumber.
I remember before 911 - and how things have changed since then. And I remember exactly where I was when I heard about it.
That's enough for today. Have a nice day!
-Pop
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Pet Peeve - Cell Phones on the Road
Howdy everybody;
Today, I went to the bank at lunch, it being payday and everything. This is normally something that pretty much uses up my lunch break.
In traffic I got behind this person whom I couldn't pass and who was going 20 mph under the limit. Talking on a cell phone. A few minutes later I followed an SUV around a corner, and this wacko split the lanes after he turned, so I couldn't get around him/her. Again, 15 or 20 mph under the limit. When this person finally picked a lane and I could get around them, I saw the driver talking on a cell phone.
Listen, people: slowing down while driving and talking on a cell phone is NOT enough to compensate for your lack of attention to your driving! If you're going to drive, drive; if you're not going to drive, get off the freaking road!
I don't understand how people can be so freaking stupid. First, it's rude. Second, it's annoying to everybody else. And Third, it's dangerous.
If you just MUST talk on the phone, pull over and let the rest of us by! No matter who you are talking to, tell them to hold up while you find a place to park. I know you super-geniuses out there think you can do both, but let me explain it to you - no, you can't. If you are driving a car, and not giving it your full attention, you don't need to be on the road.
If this message has offended you, then you are most likely one of those who would offend me if I encountered you on the road.
-Pop
Today, I went to the bank at lunch, it being payday and everything. This is normally something that pretty much uses up my lunch break.
In traffic I got behind this person whom I couldn't pass and who was going 20 mph under the limit. Talking on a cell phone. A few minutes later I followed an SUV around a corner, and this wacko split the lanes after he turned, so I couldn't get around him/her. Again, 15 or 20 mph under the limit. When this person finally picked a lane and I could get around them, I saw the driver talking on a cell phone.
Listen, people: slowing down while driving and talking on a cell phone is NOT enough to compensate for your lack of attention to your driving! If you're going to drive, drive; if you're not going to drive, get off the freaking road!
I don't understand how people can be so freaking stupid. First, it's rude. Second, it's annoying to everybody else. And Third, it's dangerous.
If you just MUST talk on the phone, pull over and let the rest of us by! No matter who you are talking to, tell them to hold up while you find a place to park. I know you super-geniuses out there think you can do both, but let me explain it to you - no, you can't. If you are driving a car, and not giving it your full attention, you don't need to be on the road.
If this message has offended you, then you are most likely one of those who would offend me if I encountered you on the road.
-Pop
Friday, July 20, 2007
A Texan in New York City - being a Tourist
Howdy, Everybody;
We visited many places in NYC; I'll hit some of the high points here.
The Statue of Liberty / Ellis Island -
Our son had acquired online ferry tickets and the other ticket you need for access to the inside of the base of the Statue of Liberty. The instructions said to get there a couple of hours early, so we did, and had only a short wait (in a tent with several hundred people) before getting on the ferry. I should mention that you go through airport-type security to get on the ferry. We quickly grabbed seats on the top of the boat, and the view was excellent - until the ferry finished loading and people started standing at the rail around the deck. At that point, we couldn't see much. The short ride delivered us to the island, where we debarked (I've always wanted to 'debark' somewhere! Now there's no bark on me anywhere!). OK, that was lame. Deal with it.
We ate breakfast at the little snack bar near the dock, then walked around the outside taking our time, taking pictures. The ticket for access into the statue has a time range when you have to show up, so we weren't in any hurry. Around on the other side we saw the line to enter the statue base, so we went ahead and got in line. I should mention that you go through airport type security AGAIN to visit the statue. After 30 or 45 minutes, we got to the front of the line - we thought. It turned out that we were just entering a big tent. It had the serpentine lines set up in it, with another several hundred people in it. We looked around a bit, and it exited - into another tent. When we looked in the door, we saw ANOTHER tent with serpentine lines. At that point, we abandoned trying to get in, not wanting to spend the next 2-3 hours standing in line.
We then boarded the ferry to Ellis Island, which is where the immigrants used to enter and be processed by the government. This is now a historical museum, with exhibits. If you're interested in that sort of thing this is a good place to go. Outside there is a circular wall that surrounds a courtyard, maybe 150 feet across, that has the names listed of the immigrants. I'm sure this is for a specific time span, but I don't know what that is. There were about three columns of my family listed, one or more of which was my direct ancestors, I am sure.
One group I did notice while out on the islands was Amish. There were actually several groups, but they all appeared to know each other. I noticed one lady in traditional dress, but wearing modern sneakers. No judgment here, just thought it was interesting - the Amish have virtually no presence in East Texas.
And then we ferried back to Manhattan Island and continued our visit.
Museum of Natural History -
We walked from Central Park over to the Museum of Natural History, and made our way inside. This was not like I expected - I always visualized a big museum to be more like a library with exhibits. This was more like an 8th grade cafeteria at lunchtime. We got in a line to buy tickets to the things we were interested in, and then proceeded to go find them. First we went to the planetarium and watched a show about planetary collisions. The show was good, but we should have gotten seats nearer the edge - I had trouble seeing some portions because of my bifocals and not being able to turn my head far enough.
Then, we headed to the dinosaurs, something I had always wanted to see. This was my first time ever to see full-size dinosaur skeletons, even though I am aware almost all of them are actually replicas. It gives you a sense of scale you'll never get from books or movies. Wow. Worth the visit.
After that we left, earlier than anticipated, due partly to the crowding which I find uncomfortable, and partly due to a mild medical issue of mine.
And that's all I'm covering this time. Have a nice day!
-Pop
We visited many places in NYC; I'll hit some of the high points here.
The Statue of Liberty / Ellis Island -
Our son had acquired online ferry tickets and the other ticket you need for access to the inside of the base of the Statue of Liberty. The instructions said to get there a couple of hours early, so we did, and had only a short wait (in a tent with several hundred people) before getting on the ferry. I should mention that you go through airport-type security to get on the ferry. We quickly grabbed seats on the top of the boat, and the view was excellent - until the ferry finished loading and people started standing at the rail around the deck. At that point, we couldn't see much. The short ride delivered us to the island, where we debarked (I've always wanted to 'debark' somewhere! Now there's no bark on me anywhere!). OK, that was lame. Deal with it.
We ate breakfast at the little snack bar near the dock, then walked around the outside taking our time, taking pictures. The ticket for access into the statue has a time range when you have to show up, so we weren't in any hurry. Around on the other side we saw the line to enter the statue base, so we went ahead and got in line. I should mention that you go through airport type security AGAIN to visit the statue. After 30 or 45 minutes, we got to the front of the line - we thought. It turned out that we were just entering a big tent. It had the serpentine lines set up in it, with another several hundred people in it. We looked around a bit, and it exited - into another tent. When we looked in the door, we saw ANOTHER tent with serpentine lines. At that point, we abandoned trying to get in, not wanting to spend the next 2-3 hours standing in line.
We then boarded the ferry to Ellis Island, which is where the immigrants used to enter and be processed by the government. This is now a historical museum, with exhibits. If you're interested in that sort of thing this is a good place to go. Outside there is a circular wall that surrounds a courtyard, maybe 150 feet across, that has the names listed of the immigrants. I'm sure this is for a specific time span, but I don't know what that is. There were about three columns of my family listed, one or more of which was my direct ancestors, I am sure.
One group I did notice while out on the islands was Amish. There were actually several groups, but they all appeared to know each other. I noticed one lady in traditional dress, but wearing modern sneakers. No judgment here, just thought it was interesting - the Amish have virtually no presence in East Texas.
And then we ferried back to Manhattan Island and continued our visit.
Museum of Natural History -
We walked from Central Park over to the Museum of Natural History, and made our way inside. This was not like I expected - I always visualized a big museum to be more like a library with exhibits. This was more like an 8th grade cafeteria at lunchtime. We got in a line to buy tickets to the things we were interested in, and then proceeded to go find them. First we went to the planetarium and watched a show about planetary collisions. The show was good, but we should have gotten seats nearer the edge - I had trouble seeing some portions because of my bifocals and not being able to turn my head far enough.
Then, we headed to the dinosaurs, something I had always wanted to see. This was my first time ever to see full-size dinosaur skeletons, even though I am aware almost all of them are actually replicas. It gives you a sense of scale you'll never get from books or movies. Wow. Worth the visit.
After that we left, earlier than anticipated, due partly to the crowding which I find uncomfortable, and partly due to a mild medical issue of mine.
And that's all I'm covering this time. Have a nice day!
-Pop
Thursday, July 19, 2007
A Texan in New York City - Explosions and Bomb Scares
Howdy, Everybody;
Funny how things just happen in New York City. First, on Tuesday 7/17/07 somebody leaves a container of used clothes at the Library, and it clears the library and several surrounding city blocks while the police bomb squad checks it out. Then, on Wednesday, 7/18/07, a steam line blows, taking a big chunk of road with it, killing or injuring several people, in an intersection two blocks over and one block down from the entrance to Grand Central Terminal. We walked those same streets last week.
I'm glad we missed both incidents. Our son saw the cloud, but he was far enough away that he didn't attach any significance to it until he saw the news. This is a Good Thing.
Where we live, one time a pickup truck caught on fire across the road at a (now defunct) gas station. Since several other people were coping with the fire and our help wasn't necessary, we got out the lawn chairs and watched the show. Well, not really- we didn't Actually get out the lawn chairs. But we thought about it. This was high excitement around here.
There was in fact a gas line blowout over near my niece's house a few years ago - major big flames going high in the air. So far as I can remember, nobody got hurt. And, also years ago, Texas Eastman suffered several explosions over several years. People died in some of those incidents. Rattled the glass at my house, some 16 miles away. So I guess there's always some risk of the infrastructure going wrong.
Sometimes, boredom is a good thing.
-Pop
Funny how things just happen in New York City. First, on Tuesday 7/17/07 somebody leaves a container of used clothes at the Library, and it clears the library and several surrounding city blocks while the police bomb squad checks it out. Then, on Wednesday, 7/18/07, a steam line blows, taking a big chunk of road with it, killing or injuring several people, in an intersection two blocks over and one block down from the entrance to Grand Central Terminal. We walked those same streets last week.
I'm glad we missed both incidents. Our son saw the cloud, but he was far enough away that he didn't attach any significance to it until he saw the news. This is a Good Thing.
Where we live, one time a pickup truck caught on fire across the road at a (now defunct) gas station. Since several other people were coping with the fire and our help wasn't necessary, we got out the lawn chairs and watched the show. Well, not really- we didn't Actually get out the lawn chairs. But we thought about it. This was high excitement around here.
There was in fact a gas line blowout over near my niece's house a few years ago - major big flames going high in the air. So far as I can remember, nobody got hurt. And, also years ago, Texas Eastman suffered several explosions over several years. People died in some of those incidents. Rattled the glass at my house, some 16 miles away. So I guess there's always some risk of the infrastructure going wrong.
Sometimes, boredom is a good thing.
-Pop
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
A Texan in New York City - #2
Howdy, everybody;
It's really interesting to me how I keep thinking about this trip to New York City from which I just returned. I find myself wanting to go back, to explore things at more leisure. NYC has a curious sort of fascination to me, now that I've actually seen it.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'd ever want to live there. But it would be nice if I had the resources that would allow me to explore it a bit less hurriedly. I'd like to sit somewhere quiet and watch people go by for a couple of hours. I'd like to explore the museum a lot more.
They had a bomb scare at the New York Public Library yesterday, and it was interesting to see places I recognized on Fox News. (Turned out to be a sack of discarded clothing.)
All in all, a positive trip. I suspect we'll go again.
I plan to make a couple of more entries here about specific parts of our trip, such as our visit to the Statue of Liberty (some people actually do buy those foam hats), and Central Park, and the Museum of Natural History.
Have a nice day!
-Pop
It's really interesting to me how I keep thinking about this trip to New York City from which I just returned. I find myself wanting to go back, to explore things at more leisure. NYC has a curious sort of fascination to me, now that I've actually seen it.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'd ever want to live there. But it would be nice if I had the resources that would allow me to explore it a bit less hurriedly. I'd like to sit somewhere quiet and watch people go by for a couple of hours. I'd like to explore the museum a lot more.
They had a bomb scare at the New York Public Library yesterday, and it was interesting to see places I recognized on Fox News. (Turned out to be a sack of discarded clothing.)
All in all, a positive trip. I suspect we'll go again.
I plan to make a couple of more entries here about specific parts of our trip, such as our visit to the Statue of Liberty (some people actually do buy those foam hats), and Central Park, and the Museum of Natural History.
Have a nice day!
-Pop
Monday, July 16, 2007
A Texan in New York City - First Impressions
Howdy, Everybody;
My wife and I went on a visit to New York City in July 2007, to spend some time with our son. Talk about culture shock! From what passes for rural living in East Texas to probably the densest city in the United States. Educational.
Disclaimer: We only visited Astoria, and areas south of West 72nd Street. If anything I say here is not true elsewhere in NYC, please forgive me. We flew in on a Wednesday and flew out on the following Sunday, so exposure was not all-inclusive or complete by any means. Also affecting my perspective, is the fact that I am an introvert. What follows is a lot of random observations. Before you get mad, read the whole thing. Also, bear in mind that some of what sounds critical is actually just observation, and itself is part of the experience of going.
The people in New York City are an incredible mix of races, religions, nationalities, ages, physical types, languages, and you-name-it. Walking along most major avenues, or riding the subways, you will frequently hear several different languages. New Yorkers have a bit different perspective on personal space. When walking it is usually easy to find a way through the crowd, although you will do a lot of weaving. On subways you will frequently be standing very close to other people, as if you were in an elevator. And yet, in the subways and elsewhere, most of the time no one will meet your eyes or greet you. And any time a group goes through a constriction, such as a door or the stairs at the subway, you will be in contact with those around you. Nobody thinks twice about this. So far as I saw, people are pretty forgiving of bumps and shoves. But I carried my wallet in my front pants pocket.
I noticed that, walking down the street, you will see lots more New Yorkers smoking, than in East Texas. In the same block you might see evening dress on down to rags. I saw two or three people living in boxes on the sidewalk, and another time we saw a homeless person sleeping in the famous 'Love' sign. We stood in front of him to get our picture taken with the sign.
Most of the shops are old, small, many are multi-floor, and yet they do have quality goods generally. For instance, Thursday morning we had breakfast at a bagel shop on the corner - pick your stuff, pay for it, go upstairs to eat while watching the street. The guy who takes your money is polite until he gets it and makes change, but after that he has no more time for you. Next! Prices are generally high - I paid between $5 and $6 for each of three different milk shakes. Bottled water from the numerous street vendors sells for between $2 and $4 a bottle. Hotels and apartments are expensive.
The pavement is dirty unless it is new. Amazing used bubble gum patterns. In the morning, fetid, stinking steam rises from the sewer gratings. And taxi drivers are crazy - one of them told us so.
Subways actually surprised me at how effective they are at getting you from one place to another. You buy a metro card for the time you need, and ride the subways or busses. In the many places we went, guided by our son, most of the time you were within a block or two of a subway station at either end. Generally the wait is not excessive, and it is an effective way to get around. The subway cars are not excessively dirty, and bless them, they are air conditioned. Some are newer than others, and the noise level varies. About one in three people have an iPod stuck in their ear. Nobody meets your eyes. The major killer for me was the walking. I weigh about 260 pounds; after you ride 5 or 6 subways in a day, you've gone up and down numerous stairs, plus the walking at both ends - you're doing a lot of work. So I think the natives are probably generally in better shape than yours truly, who has a desk job.
Central Park is very well done. Everything is mowed, lots of rock formations with glacier scars, grassy areas, trees, paved paths, fountains, benches, very nice. Squirrels and birds are not afraid of people. Hint -you cannot feed just one bird. If you try, you get a flock. Like the city, a wild mix of people come by, if you sit for a while. One individual was either deranged or high, walked by, talking loudly to himself. Don't make eye contact with crazy people. (Maybe that's why nobody else makes eye contact! They think I'm crazy!)
There are some things in NYC that just aren't anywhere else. And some of the things that are elsewhere are done with more class in NYC. For instance, the Apple store under the glass cube is really, really cool.
In no particular order, I was very impressed with Central Park; the view from the observation deck of the Rockefeller Center; the Statue of Liberty; the Museum of Natural History; the Brooklyn Bridge; the St. Patrick Cathedral; and the city itself. The city seems to have taken care to have little parks and fountains, or cozy little places with benches, randomly located in each neighborhood so that it feels like a lived in place - not just all brick and mortar. Each of these things really needs it's own article, but that will have to wait.
Oh, yeah, we went to see the Blue Man Group. Absolutely awesome - highly recommended.
All in all, I am glad we went, and we'll probably go again. We had a good time. After this experience, I think everybody should go there at least once - it's a whole different world.
To be continued...
-Pop
My wife and I went on a visit to New York City in July 2007, to spend some time with our son. Talk about culture shock! From what passes for rural living in East Texas to probably the densest city in the United States. Educational.
Disclaimer: We only visited Astoria, and areas south of West 72nd Street. If anything I say here is not true elsewhere in NYC, please forgive me. We flew in on a Wednesday and flew out on the following Sunday, so exposure was not all-inclusive or complete by any means. Also affecting my perspective, is the fact that I am an introvert. What follows is a lot of random observations. Before you get mad, read the whole thing. Also, bear in mind that some of what sounds critical is actually just observation, and itself is part of the experience of going.
The people in New York City are an incredible mix of races, religions, nationalities, ages, physical types, languages, and you-name-it. Walking along most major avenues, or riding the subways, you will frequently hear several different languages. New Yorkers have a bit different perspective on personal space. When walking it is usually easy to find a way through the crowd, although you will do a lot of weaving. On subways you will frequently be standing very close to other people, as if you were in an elevator. And yet, in the subways and elsewhere, most of the time no one will meet your eyes or greet you. And any time a group goes through a constriction, such as a door or the stairs at the subway, you will be in contact with those around you. Nobody thinks twice about this. So far as I saw, people are pretty forgiving of bumps and shoves. But I carried my wallet in my front pants pocket.
I noticed that, walking down the street, you will see lots more New Yorkers smoking, than in East Texas. In the same block you might see evening dress on down to rags. I saw two or three people living in boxes on the sidewalk, and another time we saw a homeless person sleeping in the famous 'Love' sign. We stood in front of him to get our picture taken with the sign.
Most of the shops are old, small, many are multi-floor, and yet they do have quality goods generally. For instance, Thursday morning we had breakfast at a bagel shop on the corner - pick your stuff, pay for it, go upstairs to eat while watching the street. The guy who takes your money is polite until he gets it and makes change, but after that he has no more time for you. Next! Prices are generally high - I paid between $5 and $6 for each of three different milk shakes. Bottled water from the numerous street vendors sells for between $2 and $4 a bottle. Hotels and apartments are expensive.
The pavement is dirty unless it is new. Amazing used bubble gum patterns. In the morning, fetid, stinking steam rises from the sewer gratings. And taxi drivers are crazy - one of them told us so.
Subways actually surprised me at how effective they are at getting you from one place to another. You buy a metro card for the time you need, and ride the subways or busses. In the many places we went, guided by our son, most of the time you were within a block or two of a subway station at either end. Generally the wait is not excessive, and it is an effective way to get around. The subway cars are not excessively dirty, and bless them, they are air conditioned. Some are newer than others, and the noise level varies. About one in three people have an iPod stuck in their ear. Nobody meets your eyes. The major killer for me was the walking. I weigh about 260 pounds; after you ride 5 or 6 subways in a day, you've gone up and down numerous stairs, plus the walking at both ends - you're doing a lot of work. So I think the natives are probably generally in better shape than yours truly, who has a desk job.
Central Park is very well done. Everything is mowed, lots of rock formations with glacier scars, grassy areas, trees, paved paths, fountains, benches, very nice. Squirrels and birds are not afraid of people. Hint -you cannot feed just one bird. If you try, you get a flock. Like the city, a wild mix of people come by, if you sit for a while. One individual was either deranged or high, walked by, talking loudly to himself. Don't make eye contact with crazy people. (Maybe that's why nobody else makes eye contact! They think I'm crazy!)
There are some things in NYC that just aren't anywhere else. And some of the things that are elsewhere are done with more class in NYC. For instance, the Apple store under the glass cube is really, really cool.
In no particular order, I was very impressed with Central Park; the view from the observation deck of the Rockefeller Center; the Statue of Liberty; the Museum of Natural History; the Brooklyn Bridge; the St. Patrick Cathedral; and the city itself. The city seems to have taken care to have little parks and fountains, or cozy little places with benches, randomly located in each neighborhood so that it feels like a lived in place - not just all brick and mortar. Each of these things really needs it's own article, but that will have to wait.
Oh, yeah, we went to see the Blue Man Group. Absolutely awesome - highly recommended.
All in all, I am glad we went, and we'll probably go again. We had a good time. After this experience, I think everybody should go there at least once - it's a whole different world.
To be continued...
-Pop
Thursday, July 5, 2007
My Dad - the Back Fence
Howdy, Friends;
Once, when I was 14 or 15 years old, I was spending a summer day helping my Dad and a couple of other guys put a barbed-wire fence down the back side of the property. This fence was in a heavily wooded and grown up area, so the method involved walking down the fence line with a chain saw cutting everything in the way, to make a road big enough for the truck. We'd do this maybe 100 yards at a time, then go back for the truck. Once we got to the end, we'd string wire and use the truck to throw off posts, etc.
Anyhow, at one rest period I got sent back for the truck. It was a red GMC truck, probably at that time 5 or 6 years old, bought used. I was driving it to where everybody else was resting, and I went in between two little tree stumps left from our cutting. Unfortunately, they were about two inches too close together. I got out to see how bad the damage was, and saw that I had wrinkled the sheet metal down both sides of the truck. Dad was going to kill me, no doubt about it.
So, fearing for my life, I proceeded with the truck to where Dad was sitting at the foot of a tree, having a beer. I pulled up across from him and got out, walked over to him.
I said, "Dad, see the sheet metal on the side of your truck?". He said, in a grim voice, "Yep."
I said, "Well, the other side looks just like it."
He got to laughing so hard that he never punished me for it.
I told you that one, so I could tell you this one.
Much, much later, my son Richard was learning to drive. I think he was probably 14 or 15. He had reached the point of soloing in our big yard, in my Ford Ranger, and he was sort of circling the house and my mother's mobile home. I had gone inside for a minute, but happened to be looking out the back window as he came around the mobile home. He cut it a little close and clipped the tongue of the trailer with the side of the truck, putting a little dent behind the door. Shook the mobile home pretty well, too. Of course he stopped to check the damage.
I came out the back door, laughing, and he got mad (I think) because he thought I was laughing at him. But I was actually laughing because I had done the same dang thing, pretty much, twenty-some-odd years before, and I thought it was hilarious. Maybe it's genetic, thought I.
When young people are first learning to drive, you just have to expect this kind of thing. Getting mad about it doesn't help - it's part of the job description of a parent to be patient about this kind of thing. Neither he, nor I, set out to dent the various trucks - it just takes some practice to learn how to judge that sort of thing.
Be patient with your kids.
-Pop
Once, when I was 14 or 15 years old, I was spending a summer day helping my Dad and a couple of other guys put a barbed-wire fence down the back side of the property. This fence was in a heavily wooded and grown up area, so the method involved walking down the fence line with a chain saw cutting everything in the way, to make a road big enough for the truck. We'd do this maybe 100 yards at a time, then go back for the truck. Once we got to the end, we'd string wire and use the truck to throw off posts, etc.
Anyhow, at one rest period I got sent back for the truck. It was a red GMC truck, probably at that time 5 or 6 years old, bought used. I was driving it to where everybody else was resting, and I went in between two little tree stumps left from our cutting. Unfortunately, they were about two inches too close together. I got out to see how bad the damage was, and saw that I had wrinkled the sheet metal down both sides of the truck. Dad was going to kill me, no doubt about it.
So, fearing for my life, I proceeded with the truck to where Dad was sitting at the foot of a tree, having a beer. I pulled up across from him and got out, walked over to him.
I said, "Dad, see the sheet metal on the side of your truck?". He said, in a grim voice, "Yep."
I said, "Well, the other side looks just like it."
He got to laughing so hard that he never punished me for it.
I told you that one, so I could tell you this one.
Much, much later, my son Richard was learning to drive. I think he was probably 14 or 15. He had reached the point of soloing in our big yard, in my Ford Ranger, and he was sort of circling the house and my mother's mobile home. I had gone inside for a minute, but happened to be looking out the back window as he came around the mobile home. He cut it a little close and clipped the tongue of the trailer with the side of the truck, putting a little dent behind the door. Shook the mobile home pretty well, too. Of course he stopped to check the damage.
I came out the back door, laughing, and he got mad (I think) because he thought I was laughing at him. But I was actually laughing because I had done the same dang thing, pretty much, twenty-some-odd years before, and I thought it was hilarious. Maybe it's genetic, thought I.
When young people are first learning to drive, you just have to expect this kind of thing. Getting mad about it doesn't help - it's part of the job description of a parent to be patient about this kind of thing. Neither he, nor I, set out to dent the various trucks - it just takes some practice to learn how to judge that sort of thing.
Be patient with your kids.
-Pop
My Dad - the Gas Tank
Howdy Everybody;
My dad was a welder, and he definitely had his own way about him.
Once, when my oldest boy was somewhat less than two years old, I had reason to walk down to my dad's shop to talk to him about something or other. I was carrying Richard, because the ground and debris down there wouldn't be safe for a child.
I was standing there talking to dad while he was working on a truck for somebody. The body was off the truck, and it looked like maybe the frame of a pulp-wood truck, being a dually on the back and kind of a long frame on it.
Anyhow, he was trying to get the gas tank off the frame. It was on the inside of the frame, bolted through the frame with a big nut on the outside. He was working on it with a box-end wrench, and not having much luck. While we were talking, he throws down the wrench and reaches around and puts on his cutting goggles. Then he picks up his torch and ignites it.
I said, "Dad? Are you planning on cutting that bolt off that gas tank there?" and he said "Yes, why?".
I said "Wait a minute."
And I carried Richard out away from the shop, about 50 or 60 feet away in the driveway. I turned around, and shouted at him, "OK - Go ahead!".
He looked at me; and he looked at his torch; and he looked at this gas tank. Then he cut off the torch, took his goggles off, and went and got a cold chisel to cut the nut off.
It's amazing he lived long enough to have children, much less grand-children.
-Pop
My dad was a welder, and he definitely had his own way about him.
Once, when my oldest boy was somewhat less than two years old, I had reason to walk down to my dad's shop to talk to him about something or other. I was carrying Richard, because the ground and debris down there wouldn't be safe for a child.
I was standing there talking to dad while he was working on a truck for somebody. The body was off the truck, and it looked like maybe the frame of a pulp-wood truck, being a dually on the back and kind of a long frame on it.
Anyhow, he was trying to get the gas tank off the frame. It was on the inside of the frame, bolted through the frame with a big nut on the outside. He was working on it with a box-end wrench, and not having much luck. While we were talking, he throws down the wrench and reaches around and puts on his cutting goggles. Then he picks up his torch and ignites it.
I said, "Dad? Are you planning on cutting that bolt off that gas tank there?" and he said "Yes, why?".
I said "Wait a minute."
And I carried Richard out away from the shop, about 50 or 60 feet away in the driveway. I turned around, and shouted at him, "OK - Go ahead!".
He looked at me; and he looked at his torch; and he looked at this gas tank. Then he cut off the torch, took his goggles off, and went and got a cold chisel to cut the nut off.
It's amazing he lived long enough to have children, much less grand-children.
-Pop
Examine the Evidence!
Howdy, Friends!
It is important to make decisions and select belief systems based on as much factual information as you can get your brain around. The facts are your guide to understanding what is around you.
Apply critical thought, and do the research required to understand the subject at hand. For instance, take the age of the earth. Many Christian fundamentalists think the earth is only a few thousands of years old. They base this on conclusions drawn by theologians without any science involved at all. This is, however, a belief, a wish, and is not supported by observed fact. To disagree with mainstream science about such a topic (which says that the earth is about 4.54 billion years old) is not reasonable. (Remember, the church was also absolutely convinced (wrongly) that the sun rotated around the earth, to the point of executing people who studied the subject and came to have a different view.)
If a person is going to have an informed opinion on the subject of the age of the earth, he should take the time to study where the 4.54 billion year figure came from. Study the methods of measurement used. Look at the consensus view among geologists who study this subject for a living. Get into it deeply enough that you understand the basis for that view. If you find dissenting views, study them to see if they have any scientific basis (in this case, I haven't seen any). Do all this before you commit to a decision. Then, if you really are convinced that all those scientists are, every one of them, wrong, you are prepared to argue your case. But it is far more likely that you will come to accept the general view of the age of the earth, if you pursue this honestly. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence to support this view.
Please note also that there is nothing in the Bible that contradicts the long age of the earth - it is possible without straining to reconcile everything in the Bible with observed scientific fact. Or at least, I have found it to be so.
Somebody, somewhere, is going to say, "What about miracles?". Now, Biblical miracles are, individually, one of two things - either they are exercises of unfamiliar phenomena that do not contradict the physical laws of the universe, or they are the real McCoy - God himself reaching into our universe and changing things. And, guess what? True science does not have an opinion about miracles. Because they are, lets admit it, pretty difficult to study.
So, science is incapable of ruling out miracles. Good thing, because I choose to believe in miracles. Some scientists will refuse to believe in them, and that's their call - but if they are honest as scientists, they will admit that they cannot prove or disprove the existence of miracles or God.
Science is like a flashlight in your hand, in a huge dark cavern. Whatever can be illuminated with the flashlight of science is well lit, and can be examined and learned about. Wherever the flashlight can't reach, or isn't pointed at, is unknown. Science is a good tool for learning about the universe, but it cannot ever rule out the existence of things outside it's reach. Such as the existence of God.
By the same token, any belief in God has to tolerate the findings of science, unless it can be shown, using scientific methods, that the prevailing scientific view is wrong.
This is because the methods employed by science do work effectively. Any hypothesis or theory put forth by science is subject to change or removal by the addition of new facts which alter the original view. Therefore, dissenting views can be expressed - if you can back them up with observation and fact. And, in God's universe, when all is said and done, science will illuminate God's creation with the light of truth.
Until next time -
Pop
It is important to make decisions and select belief systems based on as much factual information as you can get your brain around. The facts are your guide to understanding what is around you.
Apply critical thought, and do the research required to understand the subject at hand. For instance, take the age of the earth. Many Christian fundamentalists think the earth is only a few thousands of years old. They base this on conclusions drawn by theologians without any science involved at all. This is, however, a belief, a wish, and is not supported by observed fact. To disagree with mainstream science about such a topic (which says that the earth is about 4.54 billion years old) is not reasonable. (Remember, the church was also absolutely convinced (wrongly) that the sun rotated around the earth, to the point of executing people who studied the subject and came to have a different view.)
If a person is going to have an informed opinion on the subject of the age of the earth, he should take the time to study where the 4.54 billion year figure came from. Study the methods of measurement used. Look at the consensus view among geologists who study this subject for a living. Get into it deeply enough that you understand the basis for that view. If you find dissenting views, study them to see if they have any scientific basis (in this case, I haven't seen any). Do all this before you commit to a decision. Then, if you really are convinced that all those scientists are, every one of them, wrong, you are prepared to argue your case. But it is far more likely that you will come to accept the general view of the age of the earth, if you pursue this honestly. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence to support this view.
Please note also that there is nothing in the Bible that contradicts the long age of the earth - it is possible without straining to reconcile everything in the Bible with observed scientific fact. Or at least, I have found it to be so.
Somebody, somewhere, is going to say, "What about miracles?". Now, Biblical miracles are, individually, one of two things - either they are exercises of unfamiliar phenomena that do not contradict the physical laws of the universe, or they are the real McCoy - God himself reaching into our universe and changing things. And, guess what? True science does not have an opinion about miracles. Because they are, lets admit it, pretty difficult to study.
So, science is incapable of ruling out miracles. Good thing, because I choose to believe in miracles. Some scientists will refuse to believe in them, and that's their call - but if they are honest as scientists, they will admit that they cannot prove or disprove the existence of miracles or God.
Science is like a flashlight in your hand, in a huge dark cavern. Whatever can be illuminated with the flashlight of science is well lit, and can be examined and learned about. Wherever the flashlight can't reach, or isn't pointed at, is unknown. Science is a good tool for learning about the universe, but it cannot ever rule out the existence of things outside it's reach. Such as the existence of God.
By the same token, any belief in God has to tolerate the findings of science, unless it can be shown, using scientific methods, that the prevailing scientific view is wrong.
This is because the methods employed by science do work effectively. Any hypothesis or theory put forth by science is subject to change or removal by the addition of new facts which alter the original view. Therefore, dissenting views can be expressed - if you can back them up with observation and fact. And, in God's universe, when all is said and done, science will illuminate God's creation with the light of truth.
Until next time -
Pop
Friday, June 29, 2007
Changes in the Way the World Works
Hi, Everybody!
I've been thinking again. Watch out.
We are actually witnessing the beginning of a change in the way the world works. I haven't seen anyone else make this connection, but then it may be obvious to everybody but me.
Historically, there have been two major types of human organization on Earth. The first type is described by the concept of the nation. It has the following characteristics:
1. It is geographically fixed, with borders that normally do not move. You can find these borders on a map.
2. It is a group of people with a common goal to protect the nation in which they live, as an extension of self-defense. This is called nationalism, and in an individual is called patriotism.
3. Historically almost all wars were fought between these nations, up until about 20 years ago. These wars have generally been about either resources (including territory) or about ideology of government.
The second type of organization transcends national borders. They may have members in many countries. They have the following characteristics:
1. The organization has no fixed borders.
2. Members of these groups have an allegiance to the organization which sometimes exceeds the individual's allegiance to the country in which they live.
3. Most such organizations share some sort of belief system, or at least philosophy.
There are three major subspecies of this transnational type of organization. They are:
1. Terrorist organizations, such as Al Quaida
2. Regular religious organizations, such as the Catholic Church
3. Major international corporations, such as Exxon or Microsoft
Historically, transnational organizations have influenced national governments by political or financial leverage (such as is wielded by the Catholic Church or Microsoft).
However, we are now witnessing the manifestation of militant activist or terrorist transnational organizations which do and will continue to play a major part in the political life of the planet. These groups exert influence through force of arms, propaganda and outright control of certain conventional governments. They are extra-legal in the sense that, as an organization, they are not bound by the laws of any country; although their individual members are nominally bound by local law.
This 'paradigm shift' is radically changing the way politics works, as well as the way war is waged. As we have seen, conventional warfare works well against nations, but not so well when the enemy doesn't have borders. Different strategies will have to evolve. A nation fighting these borderless organizations is like a man swatting bees. You can swat a few, but it is very difficult to get them all. Note that these transnationals even have representation in our government (through their members who are in our government, or who vote), as well as directly controlling certain other governments, so even our internal political scene is affected. This is why unlimited (legal or illegal) immigration is such a bad idea.
It's similar to the mental shift that was a result of the American Revolution. Up until then, armies lined up in neat rows to shoot at each other. The colonists, on the other hand, shot from behind trees and rocks. The British thought this was not 'cricket', but they had to change the way they did things to accommodate this new tactic. Fortunately for us they didn't change their tactics until after the American Revolution was settled.
I don't know how this is going to play out, but the variety of different viewpoints present in our population, bolstered by legal and illegal immigration, and liberalism vs conservatism, is playing a part in it. It wasn't like this when I was a kid, but by the time I was in high school the near-universal disgust with the Vietnam War was causing the concept of patriotism to fall out of favor at that time. It became acceptable for a US citizen to criticize the US publicly. Up until that time, it was just 'understood' that the US was the best anywhere (still true) and almost nobody questioned it. The loss of consistency in a belief in the basic wholesomeness of our country leaves the door wide open for the growth of transnational terrorist organizations within our borders.
We're all in for a wild ride - you young people more than me. Good luck.
-Pop
I've been thinking again. Watch out.
We are actually witnessing the beginning of a change in the way the world works. I haven't seen anyone else make this connection, but then it may be obvious to everybody but me.
Historically, there have been two major types of human organization on Earth. The first type is described by the concept of the nation. It has the following characteristics:
1. It is geographically fixed, with borders that normally do not move. You can find these borders on a map.
2. It is a group of people with a common goal to protect the nation in which they live, as an extension of self-defense. This is called nationalism, and in an individual is called patriotism.
3. Historically almost all wars were fought between these nations, up until about 20 years ago. These wars have generally been about either resources (including territory) or about ideology of government.
The second type of organization transcends national borders. They may have members in many countries. They have the following characteristics:
1. The organization has no fixed borders.
2. Members of these groups have an allegiance to the organization which sometimes exceeds the individual's allegiance to the country in which they live.
3. Most such organizations share some sort of belief system, or at least philosophy.
There are three major subspecies of this transnational type of organization. They are:
1. Terrorist organizations, such as Al Quaida
2. Regular religious organizations, such as the Catholic Church
3. Major international corporations, such as Exxon or Microsoft
Historically, transnational organizations have influenced national governments by political or financial leverage (such as is wielded by the Catholic Church or Microsoft).
However, we are now witnessing the manifestation of militant activist or terrorist transnational organizations which do and will continue to play a major part in the political life of the planet. These groups exert influence through force of arms, propaganda and outright control of certain conventional governments. They are extra-legal in the sense that, as an organization, they are not bound by the laws of any country; although their individual members are nominally bound by local law.
This 'paradigm shift' is radically changing the way politics works, as well as the way war is waged. As we have seen, conventional warfare works well against nations, but not so well when the enemy doesn't have borders. Different strategies will have to evolve. A nation fighting these borderless organizations is like a man swatting bees. You can swat a few, but it is very difficult to get them all. Note that these transnationals even have representation in our government (through their members who are in our government, or who vote), as well as directly controlling certain other governments, so even our internal political scene is affected. This is why unlimited (legal or illegal) immigration is such a bad idea.
It's similar to the mental shift that was a result of the American Revolution. Up until then, armies lined up in neat rows to shoot at each other. The colonists, on the other hand, shot from behind trees and rocks. The British thought this was not 'cricket', but they had to change the way they did things to accommodate this new tactic. Fortunately for us they didn't change their tactics until after the American Revolution was settled.
I don't know how this is going to play out, but the variety of different viewpoints present in our population, bolstered by legal and illegal immigration, and liberalism vs conservatism, is playing a part in it. It wasn't like this when I was a kid, but by the time I was in high school the near-universal disgust with the Vietnam War was causing the concept of patriotism to fall out of favor at that time. It became acceptable for a US citizen to criticize the US publicly. Up until that time, it was just 'understood' that the US was the best anywhere (still true) and almost nobody questioned it. The loss of consistency in a belief in the basic wholesomeness of our country leaves the door wide open for the growth of transnational terrorist organizations within our borders.
We're all in for a wild ride - you young people more than me. Good luck.
-Pop
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Are All Politicians Corrupt?
Howdy, everybody;
Are all politicians corrupt? Probably not, but it does seem to be hard to find those that aren't. The Democrats, notably Pelosi and others, won the last mid-term election partly on the basis of Republican corruption. Their platform was 'end the war' and 'clean up corruption in congress'. Now it is obvious that the Democrats are just as bad or worse than the Republicans.
Pelosi wants special privileges regarding air travel for members of congress, to be paid by taxpayers. In some case military transport where none was required before, and in other cases adult children of members of congress - all paid by the taxpayer. Why are these people suddenly privileged? Don't these members of congress make enough money to buy their own tickets?
More important is the issue of earmarks in the process of creating bills in congress. The Democrats made a lot of noise about cleaning up earmarks, which are basically funding for pet projects of individual congress-critters that are tacked on to another more major piece of legislation, so that it gets passed along with the main bill in order to get anything done at all. This has been going on for a long time, and is a practice that should be outright abolished, as far as I am concerned. Instead of doing what they promised at mid-term, now the Democrats are making moves to not only protect earmarks, but to make it more difficult to prevent individual earmarks from being in the final bill. Basically they are trying to remove the right to debate individual earmarks before the bill goes to vote. Good grief! Besides that, Pelosi wants to rename earmarks to help hide them! How stupid does she think we are? It didn't take the Democrats long to get greedy.
Those are just two of many issues that I've come across in my reading. To be fair, I must state that I generally vote Republican even though I am not a member of that party. But I've about had it with the two-faced performance of the Democrats in the short time they've been in office. Besides being ineffectual - something like 108 days to pass a war funding bill because of playing politics - they say what they think you want to hear, then do whatever they want. And they think we're too stupid to notice!
I'm tired of the dishonesty in our government.
The nice thing about being an American is that we get to make up our own minds about this kind of thing. So far. But we do need to pay attention to what the congress-critters are doing, or that may not be true forever.
-Pop
Are all politicians corrupt? Probably not, but it does seem to be hard to find those that aren't. The Democrats, notably Pelosi and others, won the last mid-term election partly on the basis of Republican corruption. Their platform was 'end the war' and 'clean up corruption in congress'. Now it is obvious that the Democrats are just as bad or worse than the Republicans.
Pelosi wants special privileges regarding air travel for members of congress, to be paid by taxpayers. In some case military transport where none was required before, and in other cases adult children of members of congress - all paid by the taxpayer. Why are these people suddenly privileged? Don't these members of congress make enough money to buy their own tickets?
More important is the issue of earmarks in the process of creating bills in congress. The Democrats made a lot of noise about cleaning up earmarks, which are basically funding for pet projects of individual congress-critters that are tacked on to another more major piece of legislation, so that it gets passed along with the main bill in order to get anything done at all. This has been going on for a long time, and is a practice that should be outright abolished, as far as I am concerned. Instead of doing what they promised at mid-term, now the Democrats are making moves to not only protect earmarks, but to make it more difficult to prevent individual earmarks from being in the final bill. Basically they are trying to remove the right to debate individual earmarks before the bill goes to vote. Good grief! Besides that, Pelosi wants to rename earmarks to help hide them! How stupid does she think we are? It didn't take the Democrats long to get greedy.
Those are just two of many issues that I've come across in my reading. To be fair, I must state that I generally vote Republican even though I am not a member of that party. But I've about had it with the two-faced performance of the Democrats in the short time they've been in office. Besides being ineffectual - something like 108 days to pass a war funding bill because of playing politics - they say what they think you want to hear, then do whatever they want. And they think we're too stupid to notice!
I'm tired of the dishonesty in our government.
The nice thing about being an American is that we get to make up our own minds about this kind of thing. So far. But we do need to pay attention to what the congress-critters are doing, or that may not be true forever.
-Pop
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Rainbows and Rain
Howdy, Everybody;
Day before yesterday, my wife and I saw a double rainbow! We were in the local Walmart parking lot. The primary rainbow was a full rainbow, and the secondary was a really bright 1/8 of the arc on the right side, and for a moment or two very faint arc on the left side as well. The left side of the secondary faded quickly, but the right was bright for quite a while.
That's probably the second or maybe third double rainbow I've ever seen, so I thought it was notable. There are things in the universe worth marveling over, even if we do know how they are created.
Yesterday, we had weird rain. We were sitting on the front porch enjoying the evening, facing out towards the highway. It began a very light rain - on a patch of our yard to the left, maybe 50 feet across. No rain to the right, no rain to the far left - just this patch. The weird thing about it was that it was stable for maybe five minutes. I've never seen in do that before, although once when I was a kid, it was raining on one side of the house and not the other. But just to rain in one spot for five minutes or so - remarkable!
I wonder what's next?
-Pop
Day before yesterday, my wife and I saw a double rainbow! We were in the local Walmart parking lot. The primary rainbow was a full rainbow, and the secondary was a really bright 1/8 of the arc on the right side, and for a moment or two very faint arc on the left side as well. The left side of the secondary faded quickly, but the right was bright for quite a while.
That's probably the second or maybe third double rainbow I've ever seen, so I thought it was notable. There are things in the universe worth marveling over, even if we do know how they are created.
Yesterday, we had weird rain. We were sitting on the front porch enjoying the evening, facing out towards the highway. It began a very light rain - on a patch of our yard to the left, maybe 50 feet across. No rain to the right, no rain to the far left - just this patch. The weird thing about it was that it was stable for maybe five minutes. I've never seen in do that before, although once when I was a kid, it was raining on one side of the house and not the other. But just to rain in one spot for five minutes or so - remarkable!
I wonder what's next?
-Pop
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