Do you get many emails? It seemed to me that I was getting a bunch so I decided to not open any for a day and count them up. So since this time yesterday I have received 40 emails. I am a bit disappointed with who they have been from. The best one was from my buddy Mike. He is up from Florida and was telling what he had planned for his visit to "Northlandia". There must be something wrong in Africa other than the current ebola outbreak. It has been several weeks since I have won any lottery money in Nigeria. No prince has been writing me asking for my banking information so that the millions of dollars I have won can be deposited directly into my bank account. No notice from a priest advising me of my monetary winnings. No chance a prince or priest would lie to me. I have been getting plenty of emails about money but it has been people asking for money. More specifically Democratic people asking for money. Since yesterday afternoon: Cheri Bustos (2), Progressives 2014, Emily's list, Ann Callis, Elizabeth Warren (2), Democratic Rapid Response Team, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Harry Reid, Dan Pfeiffer (White House Senior Advisor), and Democrats United 2014. Cheri Bustos apologized for sending multiple emails but she really needs my support. Every day each group tells me how vital support is today. The next few HOURS are HUGE. The President is being sued by the House of Representatives. The Koch brothers are spending millions to have their lackeys elected. All donations are triple matched till midnight. We can turn the south blue and retain control of the senate.
Somewhere someone has the mistaken idea that I give a fuck about any of this. Cheri, Elizabeth, Emily, Ann, Dan, Harry and everyone else asking, pleading, begging for my money. Please FUCK OFF. I have never given a dime to any political campaign. Never have! NEVER WILL! I sit back and watch a Congress that does nothing and accomplishes nothing and they want money to elect more people who will also accomplish nothing. No thanks. I will do my best to assist the poor you have chosen to ignore. Talk about the billions and trillions you have wasted and vote to continue to waste on a defense program that is out of control. Watch while you debate bills that promise to bring back American jobs while reading independent analysis that says they will accomplish nothing of the sort and are presented as a political ploy. So stop filling my inbox with requests for campaign donations and explain to me what you are doing today to close corporate tax loopholes. What you are doing to take better care of our veterans. What you are doing to address the immigration problems on our southern boarder. What you are doing to see that the children arriving here from Central America are given fair hearings about their refugee status. Stop wasting your time begging for campaign money and start dealing with this country's many complex problems.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Things to Think About
All of us are involved in relationships of one sort or another with many different people. We rarely think about how we could make those relationships better for them or for ourselves. Here are a few things to consider.
Get away from negative people. Relationships should be beneficial. Choose friends that you are proud to know. People who love and respect you for who you are and who you are trying to become. Life is too short to spend it with people who suck. You know those people who somehow manage to suck the life and happiness out of you.
Let go of people who have gone. We all have people who come into our lives and stay as long as it benefits them. When we no longer have anything they need, they leave. Let them go. Your true friends will always be with you even when you are separated by time and distance.
Give strangers a chance. Everyone has a story and has a history. Given a chance everyone has the potential to offer something amazing. Trust your judgment and open your life to new possibilities.
Everyone should be treated with kindness and respect. People who are rude to you should be treated with kindness and respect not because they are nice but because you are. People will notice your kindness. It is not a sign of weakness to be kind it is a sign of true strength.
Encourage others. Be happy for those who have good things happen in their lives. Be thankful for their blessings.
Forgive people. Don't live with hate in your heart. You end up hurting yourself more than those you hate. Forgiveness is not saying what they did was okay, it is saying that what they did is not going \to impede your happiness in the long term. You can put your effort into hating those who hurt you or loving those who love you. Which seems to be the better choice?
Do something every day for someone else. Perform some random act of kindness. It doesn't need to be anything huge just something to remind us every day that we are all connected and all worthy of kindness.
Be loyal. True love and real friendship are about loyalty, about being true to each other.
Stay in touch with the people who matter to you. Relationships are measured in attention not in distance. Stay in touch with people you care about because they are worth the effort.
Keep your promises and tell the truth. If you say you will do something, do it. If you say you will be somewhere then be there. Don't tell half truths because they are also half lies. Be honest because the truth will always come out.
Give what you would hope to receive. Don't expect to get what you are not willing to give.
Talk less and listen more. People need less advice and most often just a listening ear and some positive feedback while they search for the answers that are already within them.
Good luck with your journey through life. The key is all things is kindness.
Get away from negative people. Relationships should be beneficial. Choose friends that you are proud to know. People who love and respect you for who you are and who you are trying to become. Life is too short to spend it with people who suck. You know those people who somehow manage to suck the life and happiness out of you.
Let go of people who have gone. We all have people who come into our lives and stay as long as it benefits them. When we no longer have anything they need, they leave. Let them go. Your true friends will always be with you even when you are separated by time and distance.
Give strangers a chance. Everyone has a story and has a history. Given a chance everyone has the potential to offer something amazing. Trust your judgment and open your life to new possibilities.
Everyone should be treated with kindness and respect. People who are rude to you should be treated with kindness and respect not because they are nice but because you are. People will notice your kindness. It is not a sign of weakness to be kind it is a sign of true strength.
Encourage others. Be happy for those who have good things happen in their lives. Be thankful for their blessings.
Forgive people. Don't live with hate in your heart. You end up hurting yourself more than those you hate. Forgiveness is not saying what they did was okay, it is saying that what they did is not going \to impede your happiness in the long term. You can put your effort into hating those who hurt you or loving those who love you. Which seems to be the better choice?
Do something every day for someone else. Perform some random act of kindness. It doesn't need to be anything huge just something to remind us every day that we are all connected and all worthy of kindness.
Be loyal. True love and real friendship are about loyalty, about being true to each other.
Stay in touch with the people who matter to you. Relationships are measured in attention not in distance. Stay in touch with people you care about because they are worth the effort.
Keep your promises and tell the truth. If you say you will do something, do it. If you say you will be somewhere then be there. Don't tell half truths because they are also half lies. Be honest because the truth will always come out.
Give what you would hope to receive. Don't expect to get what you are not willing to give.
Talk less and listen more. People need less advice and most often just a listening ear and some positive feedback while they search for the answers that are already within them.
Good luck with your journey through life. The key is all things is kindness.
Too Much Stuff
We live in a world with millions living in abject poverty. They struggle day to day with things we take for granted. They want wholesome food to eat. Clean water to drink. What is the problem in America. We have too much stuff. Our houses are full of stuff. We rent storage lockers so we have somewhere to put our excess stuff. The stuff that won't fit in out houses. But one man's trash is another man's treasure. George Carlin perhaps put it best when he said: "How come your shit is stuff and their stuff is shit?"
Carol likes watching Hoarders on TV. I personally don't. I understand that those people are mentally ill. There can be no other explanation for their conduct. Surround by piles of stuff. They can't let go of anything even when their homes have essentially become unfit for human habitation. I should be thankful that Carol likes that show. It motivates her to keep our house clear of too much clutter. Unfortunately for her I have often referred to her attempts to rid the house of clutter as opportunities to get rid of stuff that belongs to Jeff. Cleaning seems to be an excuse to get rid of my stuff. Of course using George's logic in her sight it would be getting rid of Jeff's shit. In the interest of helping my dear readers I offer the following tips on ridding your home and life of clutter.
1. Stop bringing new stuff in. While our economy may suffer a bit if we all do this, BUY LESS.
2. Get rid of one unused or unneeded item a day. We don't deal with the clutter because the task looks so huge. If you get rid of one item per day at the end of the year 365 less things are in your house.
3. Start with easy stuff. Do I really still need that Nehru jacket from high school. Yes, I still have one in the front hall closet. Vintage clothing, anyone interested? It is unlikely I will ever weigh 150 pounds so it is never going to fit me again. Why is it there? I don't really know.
4. Figure out before you start how you are going to dispose of items. Thrift store, ebay, trash can, recycling?
5. Don't keep things out of guilt or obligation. You should only keep things you are going to use. Don't keep it because it was given to you by someone. They gave it to you so now it is yours to do with as you wish. Don't let other people decide what you keep in your house.
6. Don't keep things you think you might use someday. This is one I personally struggle with at times. It seems like as soon as I throw something away or get rid of it in some manner karma determines to throw something my way that could use that item. I'm sure that because that has happened like twice in my life that whenever I get rid of something I will need it a day or two later. It is nonsense but a difficult hurdle for me.
7. Gifts do not have to be material items. You can encourage others to give you nonmaterial gifts by giving those kinds of gifts to them. Perhaps a day spent doing something together or a meal out on the town rather than a material thing.
8. Don't have too much equipment. You don't need enough linens to stock a hotel. My weakness is kitchen gadgets. I have a four burner stove. How many pans do I really need. I know we have an electric skillet that we have owned for about 20 years. I doubt it has been used 20 times.
9. Don't get rid of things that are not yours. You don't get to decide what kind of stuff your spouse of children should throw out. They can't learn how to deal with their clutter if you don't let them learn how by dealing with it themselves.
10. Time. The stuff you have in your house has taken some of your time. Time to shop for it, time to use, clean, maintain and repair it, time to earn the money to buy it. Determine what items are really worth your time. When you shop weigh time in the decision making process. Give less of your time to stuff and you will have more time in your life for people.
So, anyone want to waste some of their time and effort on a vintage 70's Nehru jacket, size large? How about an FFA jacket from 1972? Comes with my name and vintage pins on it? Might be a valuable collectors item someday.
Carol likes watching Hoarders on TV. I personally don't. I understand that those people are mentally ill. There can be no other explanation for their conduct. Surround by piles of stuff. They can't let go of anything even when their homes have essentially become unfit for human habitation. I should be thankful that Carol likes that show. It motivates her to keep our house clear of too much clutter. Unfortunately for her I have often referred to her attempts to rid the house of clutter as opportunities to get rid of stuff that belongs to Jeff. Cleaning seems to be an excuse to get rid of my stuff. Of course using George's logic in her sight it would be getting rid of Jeff's shit. In the interest of helping my dear readers I offer the following tips on ridding your home and life of clutter.
1. Stop bringing new stuff in. While our economy may suffer a bit if we all do this, BUY LESS.
2. Get rid of one unused or unneeded item a day. We don't deal with the clutter because the task looks so huge. If you get rid of one item per day at the end of the year 365 less things are in your house.
3. Start with easy stuff. Do I really still need that Nehru jacket from high school. Yes, I still have one in the front hall closet. Vintage clothing, anyone interested? It is unlikely I will ever weigh 150 pounds so it is never going to fit me again. Why is it there? I don't really know.
4. Figure out before you start how you are going to dispose of items. Thrift store, ebay, trash can, recycling?
5. Don't keep things out of guilt or obligation. You should only keep things you are going to use. Don't keep it because it was given to you by someone. They gave it to you so now it is yours to do with as you wish. Don't let other people decide what you keep in your house.
6. Don't keep things you think you might use someday. This is one I personally struggle with at times. It seems like as soon as I throw something away or get rid of it in some manner karma determines to throw something my way that could use that item. I'm sure that because that has happened like twice in my life that whenever I get rid of something I will need it a day or two later. It is nonsense but a difficult hurdle for me.
7. Gifts do not have to be material items. You can encourage others to give you nonmaterial gifts by giving those kinds of gifts to them. Perhaps a day spent doing something together or a meal out on the town rather than a material thing.
8. Don't have too much equipment. You don't need enough linens to stock a hotel. My weakness is kitchen gadgets. I have a four burner stove. How many pans do I really need. I know we have an electric skillet that we have owned for about 20 years. I doubt it has been used 20 times.
9. Don't get rid of things that are not yours. You don't get to decide what kind of stuff your spouse of children should throw out. They can't learn how to deal with their clutter if you don't let them learn how by dealing with it themselves.
10. Time. The stuff you have in your house has taken some of your time. Time to shop for it, time to use, clean, maintain and repair it, time to earn the money to buy it. Determine what items are really worth your time. When you shop weigh time in the decision making process. Give less of your time to stuff and you will have more time in your life for people.
So, anyone want to waste some of their time and effort on a vintage 70's Nehru jacket, size large? How about an FFA jacket from 1972? Comes with my name and vintage pins on it? Might be a valuable collectors item someday.
Death and Taxes
The last couple of days have been spent cleaning up the remains of my once massive firewood pile. It is likely that I gave away over the past two years about 90 pickup truck loads of firewood. The past two days about 10 pickup loads went in the burn pile. I would haul it over in the tractor loader bucket and add it to the fire. Every hour or so I would have to take a break to allow the fire to burn down a bit before adding more. All that remains now is a large pile of ash. What does all that have to do with death and taxes? Nothing really.
It was during one of those breaks that I came in to get a drink of water and relax while the wood burned down. I checked Facebook and saw a post that one of the guys I worked with had passed away. I had seen him and his wife recently at Big Lots and had done the usual. You know that "Hi, how ya doin'", Enjoying retirement kinda thing. He was enjoying it and looked good. Well as good as any guy can look when he is going into Big Lots with his wife. Tim was a great officer but more importantly a great person. He was one of those guys at work you could count on. He would do the right thing. Handle a problem reasonably and fairly. He wouldn't create a situation where someone would get hurt but if he came on that situation he would do what had to be done. Tim retired after I did and was only 59 when he passed away yesterday. It was one of those things we all know is coming for us eventually. Death and taxes. So, who knew that a chance encounter at Big Lots was going to be a missed opportunity. A chance to do more that say hello. We get so busy with our lives we don't take the opportunity to talk to people when we see them. Oh, there will be a chance again later. This just goes to show, maybe not. My time that day couldn't have been that important. As proof I offer the fact that I was at Big Lots. So, when you see that guy you haven't seen for a while take a few minutes to talk. Let them know that you are interested in how they are and what they are doing. Don't miss an opportunity.
It was during one of those breaks that I came in to get a drink of water and relax while the wood burned down. I checked Facebook and saw a post that one of the guys I worked with had passed away. I had seen him and his wife recently at Big Lots and had done the usual. You know that "Hi, how ya doin'", Enjoying retirement kinda thing. He was enjoying it and looked good. Well as good as any guy can look when he is going into Big Lots with his wife. Tim was a great officer but more importantly a great person. He was one of those guys at work you could count on. He would do the right thing. Handle a problem reasonably and fairly. He wouldn't create a situation where someone would get hurt but if he came on that situation he would do what had to be done. Tim retired after I did and was only 59 when he passed away yesterday. It was one of those things we all know is coming for us eventually. Death and taxes. So, who knew that a chance encounter at Big Lots was going to be a missed opportunity. A chance to do more that say hello. We get so busy with our lives we don't take the opportunity to talk to people when we see them. Oh, there will be a chance again later. This just goes to show, maybe not. My time that day couldn't have been that important. As proof I offer the fact that I was at Big Lots. So, when you see that guy you haven't seen for a while take a few minutes to talk. Let them know that you are interested in how they are and what they are doing. Don't miss an opportunity.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Success
Last night was our first attempt at live trapping the raccoons who have been hanging around our bedroom door at 3 am. They were early last night as we were awakened at 2:30 am by Lily whining and the live trap rattling. I ended up having to take the trap off the deck and putting it in the yard west of the garage where the dogs wouldn't be able to see if from their enclosure in the morning.
So here is the little guy in the live trap before his relocation ride. He is a juvenile probably born early this spring. He is intensely unhappy with his current condition. The good news is that there is no death sentence in this case.
Lily is a coon dog but she has never been trained to hunt. Her reaction this morning surprised us. As I noted earlier we had placed the raccoon on the west side of the garage in the yard about 75 feet from the front door. It was around the corner and behind some bushes so there was no way she could see it or know where it was. Carol had Lily on the leash this morning to take her for a walk. Lily got out of the front door, her nose went up in the air and she started barking. This was not Lily's normal bark. This was the tracking bark of a coon hound. She was ready to go. She jumped off the porch steps and headed around the corner toward where the raccoon was being detained. If she could have gotten enough traction she would have pulled Carol off the porch. As it was I had to give Carol the lead with Teddi attached and take Lily. She continued to try to go that way and was vocalizing her desire to chase that raccoon through the woods.
The raccoon has been successfully relocated to a cornfield west of interstate 74 and south of Henderson. It is doubtful he will return to our house but who knows. Tonight the trap will go back out and we will see if we can be successful again.
Lily is a coon dog but she has never been trained to hunt. Her reaction this morning surprised us. As I noted earlier we had placed the raccoon on the west side of the garage in the yard about 75 feet from the front door. It was around the corner and behind some bushes so there was no way she could see it or know where it was. Carol had Lily on the leash this morning to take her for a walk. Lily got out of the front door, her nose went up in the air and she started barking. This was not Lily's normal bark. This was the tracking bark of a coon hound. She was ready to go. She jumped off the porch steps and headed around the corner toward where the raccoon was being detained. If she could have gotten enough traction she would have pulled Carol off the porch. As it was I had to give Carol the lead with Teddi attached and take Lily. She continued to try to go that way and was vocalizing her desire to chase that raccoon through the woods.
The raccoon has been successfully relocated to a cornfield west of interstate 74 and south of Henderson. It is doubtful he will return to our house but who knows. Tonight the trap will go back out and we will see if we can be successful again.
Monday, July 28, 2014
Small Fish- Infinite Pond
Post two for today.
I go out at night and walk the dogs. Whenever I do it is another opportunity to look up at the sky and ponder the nature of the universe. Knowing in my head and my heart that some of the light I am seeing was sent from a distant star millions and perhaps billions of years ago. It makes me wonder about people like Ken Ham. If you don't know who Ken Ham is count yourself lucky. He is the guy who recently debated Bill Nye the Science Guy over the origins of the universe. Ken is a creationist. He believes the universe was created 6,000 years ago and any statement to the contrary is wrong and a lie from the pit of hell.
I look at the universe at night and wonder who is on some other planet looking back and wondering if there is life other than that on their planet. We may be separated by the vastness of time and space but I'm sure we share the same wonder about what else is out there. Ken Ham and I live much closer together but he doesn't wonder about those things. He is calling for NASA to stop searching for alien life because in his mind they probably don't exist and if they do they are going to hell anyway. His blog recently stated, "You see, the Bible makes it clear that Adam's sin affected the whole universe. This means that any aliens would also be affected by Adam's sin, but because they are not Adam's descendants, they can't have salvation." It seems to me that Ken wants to be a big fish in an infinite pond. The universe is infinite and it was created solely for human beings. No one else matters. No one else will go to heaven. Everyone else in this giant, beautiful, magical, infinite universe will spend eternity in hell. I look at the sky at night and feel tiny and insignificant. Thankful that time and chance gave me the opportunity to live and look up at its wonders. Ken looks up and thinks we are alone and if we aren't whoever is up there really doesn't matter because they aren't a son of Adam and don't believe in his god. Ken, if you are going to be in heaven and it is filled with folks who think and act like you I will gladly, happily and thankfully accept my place in eternal torment rather than have to listen to the stupid shit that comes out of your mouth.
I go out at night and walk the dogs. Whenever I do it is another opportunity to look up at the sky and ponder the nature of the universe. Knowing in my head and my heart that some of the light I am seeing was sent from a distant star millions and perhaps billions of years ago. It makes me wonder about people like Ken Ham. If you don't know who Ken Ham is count yourself lucky. He is the guy who recently debated Bill Nye the Science Guy over the origins of the universe. Ken is a creationist. He believes the universe was created 6,000 years ago and any statement to the contrary is wrong and a lie from the pit of hell.
I look at the universe at night and wonder who is on some other planet looking back and wondering if there is life other than that on their planet. We may be separated by the vastness of time and space but I'm sure we share the same wonder about what else is out there. Ken Ham and I live much closer together but he doesn't wonder about those things. He is calling for NASA to stop searching for alien life because in his mind they probably don't exist and if they do they are going to hell anyway. His blog recently stated, "You see, the Bible makes it clear that Adam's sin affected the whole universe. This means that any aliens would also be affected by Adam's sin, but because they are not Adam's descendants, they can't have salvation." It seems to me that Ken wants to be a big fish in an infinite pond. The universe is infinite and it was created solely for human beings. No one else matters. No one else will go to heaven. Everyone else in this giant, beautiful, magical, infinite universe will spend eternity in hell. I look at the sky at night and feel tiny and insignificant. Thankful that time and chance gave me the opportunity to live and look up at its wonders. Ken looks up and thinks we are alone and if we aren't whoever is up there really doesn't matter because they aren't a son of Adam and don't believe in his god. Ken, if you are going to be in heaven and it is filled with folks who think and act like you I will gladly, happily and thankfully accept my place in eternal torment rather than have to listen to the stupid shit that comes out of your mouth.
What's Going On Here?
Well, once again my efforts to blog daily have been derailed by work here and a case of writer's block. There will be more than one post today if I can get my brain to tell my fingers what to type.
Carol and I came to Illinois to work on some projects around the property here. The biggest thing on the to do list was staining the house. We are pleased that as of Thursday the house and garage are both completely stained. Our biggest project is finished. I had at time considered doing a blog post on the process but the only thing more boring than staining a house is looking at pictures of someone staining a house. Where do we go from here?
We still have mulching and flower beds to work on and a huge wood pile to clean up and most likely burn. Then there are things that happen that you don't expect. Saturday night, well actually about 3 am on Sunday morning we heard some scratching outside our bedroom door on the deck. Lily was whining and upset so I got up to take her out for a bit of nighttime potty duty. When we got back in the house all was quiet so she went back in her kennel and I got back in bed. About 20 minutes later and nearly asleep again the scratching started again. I turned on the outside light and looked out the door. There were three raccoons looking in the door at me. Lily, being a coon dog, went crazy barking. Teddi thought it was a good idea and joined in. The raccoons ran away and I went back to bed. The dogs settled down and my thought was that the problem was solved. Raccoons are curious animals and they had discovered we had dogs and they wouldn't be back. Last night about 3 am again the scratching starts again at our bedroom door. I turn the light on and the dogs start barking. This time there are 4 raccoons on the deck. Apparently the party is at our house but so far they haven't figured out how to get in. I am a bit torn on how to address the problem. Normally we will live trap and I will relocate them on the far side on I-74. My thinking being to get back here they have to cross 2 busy highways and a set of railroad tracks. Maybe traffic will do what I normally don't want to do- kill them. Since we are dealing with a group I am wondering if a more violent approach is required and the shotgun needs to come out of the closet. It appeared from my observation last night that we are dealing with a mother and three young. The kids are almost as big as her and should be able to handle life on their own. For those who are curious the live trap bait of choice for raccoons is marshmallows. Why they find them irresistible is beyond my line of thinking. I tried cat food one time and managed to catch a feral cat. What was I thinking? Well, tonight it will be live trap or shotgun. Still haven't decided but leaning toward live trap. They are after all just doing what raccoons do. Wandering around looking for food and shelter. That shouldn't result in a death sentence should it?
I will keep you all appraised of the final decision and results of our efforts.
Carol and I came to Illinois to work on some projects around the property here. The biggest thing on the to do list was staining the house. We are pleased that as of Thursday the house and garage are both completely stained. Our biggest project is finished. I had at time considered doing a blog post on the process but the only thing more boring than staining a house is looking at pictures of someone staining a house. Where do we go from here?
We still have mulching and flower beds to work on and a huge wood pile to clean up and most likely burn. Then there are things that happen that you don't expect. Saturday night, well actually about 3 am on Sunday morning we heard some scratching outside our bedroom door on the deck. Lily was whining and upset so I got up to take her out for a bit of nighttime potty duty. When we got back in the house all was quiet so she went back in her kennel and I got back in bed. About 20 minutes later and nearly asleep again the scratching started again. I turned on the outside light and looked out the door. There were three raccoons looking in the door at me. Lily, being a coon dog, went crazy barking. Teddi thought it was a good idea and joined in. The raccoons ran away and I went back to bed. The dogs settled down and my thought was that the problem was solved. Raccoons are curious animals and they had discovered we had dogs and they wouldn't be back. Last night about 3 am again the scratching starts again at our bedroom door. I turn the light on and the dogs start barking. This time there are 4 raccoons on the deck. Apparently the party is at our house but so far they haven't figured out how to get in. I am a bit torn on how to address the problem. Normally we will live trap and I will relocate them on the far side on I-74. My thinking being to get back here they have to cross 2 busy highways and a set of railroad tracks. Maybe traffic will do what I normally don't want to do- kill them. Since we are dealing with a group I am wondering if a more violent approach is required and the shotgun needs to come out of the closet. It appeared from my observation last night that we are dealing with a mother and three young. The kids are almost as big as her and should be able to handle life on their own. For those who are curious the live trap bait of choice for raccoons is marshmallows. Why they find them irresistible is beyond my line of thinking. I tried cat food one time and managed to catch a feral cat. What was I thinking? Well, tonight it will be live trap or shotgun. Still haven't decided but leaning toward live trap. They are after all just doing what raccoons do. Wandering around looking for food and shelter. That shouldn't result in a death sentence should it?
I will keep you all appraised of the final decision and results of our efforts.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Choices
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     LENA DUNHAM ASKS WHY PEOPLE USE BIRTH CONTROL, WORLD LEARNS CRITICAL LESSON |
Thursday, July 24, 2014
This is What Jesus Would Do
I have been critical of the conduct of some of the folks who are protesting the arrival of immigrant children on our southern boarder. It seems to be the conduct that makes the evening news. There are other folks down in that area doing good work. Work that should be recognized. So today, here, it will be.
A group of volunteers at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen, Texas are providing relief to immigrant families crossing the boarder which is five miles away from them. The program originated when locals noticed the Boarder Patrol dropping immigrant families off at the McAllen bus station in the downtown area. These are undocumented immigrant families who are apprehended at the boarder, processed by the Boarder Patrol, processed and given a bus ticket to reunite with a family member before returning for a court hearing to determine their status. Local folks began offering immigrants at the bus station food and water. They were arriving there hungry and dehydrated with basically the clothes on their backs. The bus station staff complained that they couldn't house a relief effort on their grounds so Sister Norma Pimentel the Executive Director or Catholic Charities for the Rio Grand Valley got involved. She asked the priest at Sacred Heart Church down the street if she could use their facilities to help. They group created a relief center in the parish hall. The first night they assisted 200 people. What Sister Pimentel said is revealing. "They are our brothers and sisters that are in need. They come to our country, and they find themselves in a terrible state. They need to take a shower and they need time to eat. The children are very dehydrated. You cannot help but help them. They need care, and they need love."
The operation has grown due to media coverage of the crisis. The county has pitched in to help with tents so temporary shelter can be offered. Donations of supplies have been received from outside groups. Other religious groups are sending volunteers to help. The work is simple hospitality. The families served are offered a hot meal, a sponsor searches through piles of clothes and shoes to find things that will fit them. More than 3,500 have been helped in the past month. So there are folks down in Texas doing what Jesus would have done. Feeding the hungry, clothing those who have a need, showing love and compassion for their fellow man. It is the story that should be told, not the one of flag waving idiots who curse at and spit on immigrant children. All I can say to Sister Pimentel and her volunteers is well done. Very well done.
A group of volunteers at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen, Texas are providing relief to immigrant families crossing the boarder which is five miles away from them. The program originated when locals noticed the Boarder Patrol dropping immigrant families off at the McAllen bus station in the downtown area. These are undocumented immigrant families who are apprehended at the boarder, processed by the Boarder Patrol, processed and given a bus ticket to reunite with a family member before returning for a court hearing to determine their status. Local folks began offering immigrants at the bus station food and water. They were arriving there hungry and dehydrated with basically the clothes on their backs. The bus station staff complained that they couldn't house a relief effort on their grounds so Sister Norma Pimentel the Executive Director or Catholic Charities for the Rio Grand Valley got involved. She asked the priest at Sacred Heart Church down the street if she could use their facilities to help. They group created a relief center in the parish hall. The first night they assisted 200 people. What Sister Pimentel said is revealing. "They are our brothers and sisters that are in need. They come to our country, and they find themselves in a terrible state. They need to take a shower and they need time to eat. The children are very dehydrated. You cannot help but help them. They need care, and they need love."
The operation has grown due to media coverage of the crisis. The county has pitched in to help with tents so temporary shelter can be offered. Donations of supplies have been received from outside groups. Other religious groups are sending volunteers to help. The work is simple hospitality. The families served are offered a hot meal, a sponsor searches through piles of clothes and shoes to find things that will fit them. More than 3,500 have been helped in the past month. So there are folks down in Texas doing what Jesus would have done. Feeding the hungry, clothing those who have a need, showing love and compassion for their fellow man. It is the story that should be told, not the one of flag waving idiots who curse at and spit on immigrant children. All I can say to Sister Pimentel and her volunteers is well done. Very well done.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
WWJD
This is my second post today trying to get caught up again. It is a followup to a post about the immigration issue on our southern boarder. It is brief and I have nothing to add to this picture.
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Moth
I went out to work the other morning. It was time to start getting ready to stain the house. On the deck near one of the windows was this moth.
I hadn't seen one before and initially thought it was a butterfly. Google once again came to the rescue. It is actually a Luna Moth. They are a member of the Saturniidae family and are known as Giant Silkworm Moths. They have a wingspan of about 4.5 inches, with a white body, pinkish legs and pale green wings. They usually fly only at night and that is why it was unusual for me to see one during the day.
Luna moths have an interesting life cycle. Once eggs are laid they take about 19 days to hatch. The caterpillars eat leaves from different trees and shrubs including hickories and white oaks which we have near our house. The caterpillars grow molting their skins about 5 times over a period of 3 to 4 weeks. When the caterpillars are fully grown they are about 2.5 inches long. It spins silk from near its mouth and wraps itself in a leaf. It will stay in this cocoon for two or three weeks. When the adult moth leaves the cocoon it is not ready to fly. It needs to rest and allow its wings to fill with blood. Once the wings are inflated the moth will wait for night to fly off and find a mate. Adult Luna moths do not eat and do not have a mouth. The live for about a week and their only purpose is to mate. They were once very common but now are considered endangered in many areas.
After posing for these pictures this moth flew off. I assume to find a mate.
Luna moths have an interesting life cycle. Once eggs are laid they take about 19 days to hatch. The caterpillars eat leaves from different trees and shrubs including hickories and white oaks which we have near our house. The caterpillars grow molting their skins about 5 times over a period of 3 to 4 weeks. When the caterpillars are fully grown they are about 2.5 inches long. It spins silk from near its mouth and wraps itself in a leaf. It will stay in this cocoon for two or three weeks. When the adult moth leaves the cocoon it is not ready to fly. It needs to rest and allow its wings to fill with blood. Once the wings are inflated the moth will wait for night to fly off and find a mate. Adult Luna moths do not eat and do not have a mouth. The live for about a week and their only purpose is to mate. They were once very common but now are considered endangered in many areas.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Maybe Change is Good
In my effort to get back on schedule this is today's third post.
I was reading the other day and learned some disturbing news. Marvel Comics had decided to take Thor the Norse god of thunder and lightning and change him from a male character to a female character. Why is this disturbing? I born in the 1950's and learned to read in the 1960's. It was back in the days when a farm boy could get on his bike and ride three miles to Wataga or three miles to Henderson. Along the way he could find enough discarded pop bottles at 2 cents deposit each to have a bottle of pop at the store, or a candy bar. If things went really well and maybe even buy a comic book. One of my personal favorites was Thor. He was the SON of Odin and Gaea. He carried one of the most awesome weapons ever created, the enchanted hammer Mjolnir. He was muscular, smart, compassionate, self assured and would always fight to the end for a worthwhile cause. He was everything this gangly farm boy wasn't.
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Look at the comic book and movie configurations of Thor. Who wouldn't want to grow up to be this guy? Giant hammer, ability to control thunder and lightning. What could be wrong with being able to do that. Now they want to take the SON of Odin and Gaea and turn him into a girl. How do you rewrite mythology? Is Thor going to go under the knife and become some sort of transsexual god of thunder and lightning? It tore at my traditional upbringing and view of the comics of my youth. Why not invent a new character? Didn't the Norse have some cool female god. They must have had some since Thor was the SON of Odin and Gaea. Why not dedicate a new comic to Eir the Norse goddess of healing. Perhaps Eostre the goddess of spring. Maybe Freyja the goddess of love fertility and battle would be a good choice. If you want to make something more adult oriented perhaps Lofn goddess of forbidden loves. There are plenty of choices rather than a sex change for Thor. In my haste to judge I failed to look at what Marvel had in mind for the female Thor.
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I must admit this picture did little to convince me that this change was a good idea. When you google and look for images sometimes you find things that change your mind.
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The teenage boy that liked comic books thinks maybe this Thor has some comic book possibilities. Maybe change is good.
I was reading the other day and learned some disturbing news. Marvel Comics had decided to take Thor the Norse god of thunder and lightning and change him from a male character to a female character. Why is this disturbing? I born in the 1950's and learned to read in the 1960's. It was back in the days when a farm boy could get on his bike and ride three miles to Wataga or three miles to Henderson. Along the way he could find enough discarded pop bottles at 2 cents deposit each to have a bottle of pop at the store, or a candy bar. If things went really well and maybe even buy a comic book. One of my personal favorites was Thor. He was the SON of Odin and Gaea. He carried one of the most awesome weapons ever created, the enchanted hammer Mjolnir. He was muscular, smart, compassionate, self assured and would always fight to the end for a worthwhile cause. He was everything this gangly farm boy wasn't.
It's a Flying (?) Turd
This is today's second post so if you haven't seen the first step back one space and take a look.
The United States military is buying a couple thousand F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. The purchase is for 2,400 planes at an estimated cost of one trillion dollars. The fighter is designed by Lockheed Martin to evade enemy radar, bomb ground targets and shoot down rival fighters. Sounds like a pretty great fighter jet up to this point. The jet is designed in three configurations. The Air Force's F-35A, the Marine's vertical-takeoff F-35B and the Navy's F-35C. The Navy's version needs a larger wing for carrier landings at sea. The problem is that the jet is attempting to be all things to each service and as such manages to be good at none of them. It seems the basic problem has to do with the 50 inch diameter vertical lift fan required for the Marine version. Since all three jets use the same airframe the body of the plane has to be wider. Why is width a problem? It affects speed. The jet is wider so it is slower. The jet is intended to be stealthy so to avoid detection by radar the weapons must be carried internally. The lift fan also reduces fuel efficiency, acceleration, and flying range. The fan also results in the jet having one engine instead of the two carried by most fighters. The placement of the fan behind the cockpit also limits the pilot's ability to see attacks from the rear. The stealth nature of the jet loses its advantage as soon as it begins firing its weapons. Finally the vertical takeoff and landing requirement forced weight reduction which makes the jet more maneuverable but also less durable and less safe to fly. The overall analysis is a jet that has inferior acceleration, inferior climb rate, inferior turning capability, with a lower top speed. A jet that can't turn, can't climb, can't run.
What has our competition been doing? At least twice since 2007 Chinese computer hackers have stolen data on the F-35's from developers' poorly guarded computer servers. This included detailed design specifications. The latest Chinese jet fighter prototype the J-31 strongly resembles the F-35 but lacks the vertical takeoff fan. The Chinese fighter is built for speed, maneuverability, acceleration and flying range. It also has a second engine. If both countries proceed with current designs the Chinese fighter has significant advantages over the F-35.
Let's take a minute to talk money. In June 2012 the cost of the F-35 program for 2,457 F-35 jets was estimated to be 395.7 billion dollars. The 2007 estimate was 233 billion dollars a cost growth of 162.7 billion dollars. The numbers are not quite as accurate as the government would like you to believe. The original cost of 233 billion was for 2,866 jets. When you crunch the numbers the cost of the program has almost doubled. If you go back to 2001 when the program actually began the estimated cost was 117.2 billion dollars. Those are procurement costs. The estimate for operating the jets over their 30 year expected lifespan is 1.1 trillion dollars.
What could we have done with that money? If you look at the F-35 as a 400 billion dollar program that is at least 7 years behind schedule and plagued with cost overruns we could have provided every homeless person in the United States with a $600,000 home. The program could fund the National School Lunch Program which feeds 31 million students annually for the next 24 years. We spent 19 times more money on defense and international security assistance in 2013 than we did on education. We spend more on defense than China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and India combined.
What we get for that money is a flying turd that will get its ass kicked in a fight with countries who are spending much less money on defense. Is it time to rethink our national priorities?
The United States military is buying a couple thousand F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. The purchase is for 2,400 planes at an estimated cost of one trillion dollars. The fighter is designed by Lockheed Martin to evade enemy radar, bomb ground targets and shoot down rival fighters. Sounds like a pretty great fighter jet up to this point. The jet is designed in three configurations. The Air Force's F-35A, the Marine's vertical-takeoff F-35B and the Navy's F-35C. The Navy's version needs a larger wing for carrier landings at sea. The problem is that the jet is attempting to be all things to each service and as such manages to be good at none of them. It seems the basic problem has to do with the 50 inch diameter vertical lift fan required for the Marine version. Since all three jets use the same airframe the body of the plane has to be wider. Why is width a problem? It affects speed. The jet is wider so it is slower. The jet is intended to be stealthy so to avoid detection by radar the weapons must be carried internally. The lift fan also reduces fuel efficiency, acceleration, and flying range. The fan also results in the jet having one engine instead of the two carried by most fighters. The placement of the fan behind the cockpit also limits the pilot's ability to see attacks from the rear. The stealth nature of the jet loses its advantage as soon as it begins firing its weapons. Finally the vertical takeoff and landing requirement forced weight reduction which makes the jet more maneuverable but also less durable and less safe to fly. The overall analysis is a jet that has inferior acceleration, inferior climb rate, inferior turning capability, with a lower top speed. A jet that can't turn, can't climb, can't run.
What has our competition been doing? At least twice since 2007 Chinese computer hackers have stolen data on the F-35's from developers' poorly guarded computer servers. This included detailed design specifications. The latest Chinese jet fighter prototype the J-31 strongly resembles the F-35 but lacks the vertical takeoff fan. The Chinese fighter is built for speed, maneuverability, acceleration and flying range. It also has a second engine. If both countries proceed with current designs the Chinese fighter has significant advantages over the F-35.
Let's take a minute to talk money. In June 2012 the cost of the F-35 program for 2,457 F-35 jets was estimated to be 395.7 billion dollars. The 2007 estimate was 233 billion dollars a cost growth of 162.7 billion dollars. The numbers are not quite as accurate as the government would like you to believe. The original cost of 233 billion was for 2,866 jets. When you crunch the numbers the cost of the program has almost doubled. If you go back to 2001 when the program actually began the estimated cost was 117.2 billion dollars. Those are procurement costs. The estimate for operating the jets over their 30 year expected lifespan is 1.1 trillion dollars.
What could we have done with that money? If you look at the F-35 as a 400 billion dollar program that is at least 7 years behind schedule and plagued with cost overruns we could have provided every homeless person in the United States with a $600,000 home. The program could fund the National School Lunch Program which feeds 31 million students annually for the next 24 years. We spent 19 times more money on defense and international security assistance in 2013 than we did on education. We spend more on defense than China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and India combined.
What we get for that money is a flying turd that will get its ass kicked in a fight with countries who are spending much less money on defense. Is it time to rethink our national priorities?
Night Moves
The title comes from a song that I remember from my youth. "Night moves. Trying to make some front page drive in news." Well this post doesn't have anything to do with that.
First some housekeeping news. The plan is to work on getting caught up a bit with posts. I have been absent a few days. Please stop by later for more. Staining the house has taken up my time and when I get done I feel pretty funky. The stain is about the consistency of diesel fuel so it gets all over you. It smells pretty bad since it is oil based and is impossible to get out of your clothes and the smell sticks on your skin. Today the high is expected to be about 93 so me and my helper Carl are taking the day off. High tomorrow expected to be 78 so why sweat today?
I have had the opportunity recently to take some nighttime pictures and the results are somewhat less than stunning. I spent a little time today attempting to work with a photo editing program to fix them up a bit. It seemed to make them worse so you get the original unedited versions. The first attempt was for the recent so called "super moon". Were you as disappointed as I was? It seemed no more stunning to me than the full moon at harvest time. You know the one that rises like a huge orange ball.
Not so impressive. May be time to upgrade cameras.
A few nights ago Carol pointed out there was an owl on the fence back where Lily and Teddi like to dig. He was sitting on a fence post. Owls are extremely shy and any time my camera is out an near a door or window Teddi and Lily start barking. We knew this would scare the owl off and no pictures would be taken. I managed to sneak the camera into our bedroom and shut the door without the dogs realizing what was happening. I managed to snap a couple of quick pictures before the owl took off in search of an evening meal or a mate. The results make the moon pictures look pretty darn good.
No tripod and no way to hold the camera steady enough to capture a clear picture. It didn't help that the photographer was very nervous and excited to have an opportunity to take a picture of this beautiful bird. Yes, life is like that out here in BFE. You get excited over birds or other critters that wander through your area.
It looks like some evening and late night photography practice is in order.
First some housekeeping news. The plan is to work on getting caught up a bit with posts. I have been absent a few days. Please stop by later for more. Staining the house has taken up my time and when I get done I feel pretty funky. The stain is about the consistency of diesel fuel so it gets all over you. It smells pretty bad since it is oil based and is impossible to get out of your clothes and the smell sticks on your skin. Today the high is expected to be about 93 so me and my helper Carl are taking the day off. High tomorrow expected to be 78 so why sweat today?
I have had the opportunity recently to take some nighttime pictures and the results are somewhat less than stunning. I spent a little time today attempting to work with a photo editing program to fix them up a bit. It seemed to make them worse so you get the original unedited versions. The first attempt was for the recent so called "super moon". Were you as disappointed as I was? It seemed no more stunning to me than the full moon at harvest time. You know the one that rises like a huge orange ball.
A few nights ago Carol pointed out there was an owl on the fence back where Lily and Teddi like to dig. He was sitting on a fence post. Owls are extremely shy and any time my camera is out an near a door or window Teddi and Lily start barking. We knew this would scare the owl off and no pictures would be taken. I managed to sneak the camera into our bedroom and shut the door without the dogs realizing what was happening. I managed to snap a couple of quick pictures before the owl took off in search of an evening meal or a mate. The results make the moon pictures look pretty darn good.
It looks like some evening and late night photography practice is in order.
Friday, July 18, 2014
Boneless, Really?
Who knew these even existed?
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I guess the good news is that they are USDA inspected. I prefer my rectums unboned. I must admit the inverted part bothers me a bit. Talk about your bad job. What do you do? USDA pork rectum inspector- specialty boneless.
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Good news- fish assholes can be a side dish or a main dish.
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Hope you save room for desert. Extra fancy lower Alabama Poontang. Don't be so full of rectum and asshole you can't have some poontang.
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Just Throw a Fucking Dart
The 24 hour news cycle is making me crazy. Today Malaysian Air lost a passenger jet flying over Ukraine. Now honestly at this point what we know for a fact is that the plane carrying 295 souls has crashed and everyone on board is presumed dead. Why did the airplane crash? It seems like all the news (?) programs have lots of theories.
Russian surface to air missile fired by Russian separatists in Ukraine.
Russian surface to air missile fired by Ukraine.
Russian surface to air missile fired by Russian military
Terrorists with new undetectable bomb materials
Terrorists attacking Malaysian Air after successful attack 3 months ago where airplane wasn't recovered.
Mechanical malfunction.
They feel obligated to talk continuously even when there isn't anything left to say. So they wander from theory to theory getting various "experts" to come on the air and puke out their best guess. Really at this point that is all there is, guesses. If they stayed with what they knew to be facts the "special report" would last about 5 minutes instead of 4 hours. We could go back to the really important things that are normally on television. You know, that big blowhard Dr. Phil talking to some parents who have no parenting skills about how fucked up their kid is because they are idiots. Don't worry, he will fix 15 years of poor parenting in an hour, if you include commercials. Maybe we could watch some celebrity fix a special meal on the Chew. Katie Couric could throw out some of the crap she seems to come up with every day. We could watch the ladies on the View argue about issues that they seem to have no real understanding or information about.
Since everyone else has a theory about the airplane crash today I will share mine. We have allowed gay marriage, abortion, birth control, and pornography. We have prevented prayer in school and denied Christian principles in our government. Our President is a Muslin, socialist, foreigner. We are being invaded by diseased children from Central America who are getting green cards, food stamps and cell phones while our precious veterans are being denied basic medical services while the IRS investigates conservative groups and takes control of our healthcare. As a result of our ongoing sinful ways and our failure to support god's chosen people Israel in Gaza it was Jesus who swatted the airplane out of the sky like a fly. You know god the father was vengeful, I read the old testament. He was always killing somebody. Ask the folks who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah.
Sorry about all that stuff but I threw my darts and they all landed on the crazy conspiracy part of the dart board. I threw lots of darts hoping for a different result but they kept landing in the area marked out for Fox News.
Russian surface to air missile fired by Russian separatists in Ukraine.
Russian surface to air missile fired by Ukraine.
Russian surface to air missile fired by Russian military
Terrorists with new undetectable bomb materials
Terrorists attacking Malaysian Air after successful attack 3 months ago where airplane wasn't recovered.
Mechanical malfunction.
They feel obligated to talk continuously even when there isn't anything left to say. So they wander from theory to theory getting various "experts" to come on the air and puke out their best guess. Really at this point that is all there is, guesses. If they stayed with what they knew to be facts the "special report" would last about 5 minutes instead of 4 hours. We could go back to the really important things that are normally on television. You know, that big blowhard Dr. Phil talking to some parents who have no parenting skills about how fucked up their kid is because they are idiots. Don't worry, he will fix 15 years of poor parenting in an hour, if you include commercials. Maybe we could watch some celebrity fix a special meal on the Chew. Katie Couric could throw out some of the crap she seems to come up with every day. We could watch the ladies on the View argue about issues that they seem to have no real understanding or information about.
Since everyone else has a theory about the airplane crash today I will share mine. We have allowed gay marriage, abortion, birth control, and pornography. We have prevented prayer in school and denied Christian principles in our government. Our President is a Muslin, socialist, foreigner. We are being invaded by diseased children from Central America who are getting green cards, food stamps and cell phones while our precious veterans are being denied basic medical services while the IRS investigates conservative groups and takes control of our healthcare. As a result of our ongoing sinful ways and our failure to support god's chosen people Israel in Gaza it was Jesus who swatted the airplane out of the sky like a fly. You know god the father was vengeful, I read the old testament. He was always killing somebody. Ask the folks who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah.
Sorry about all that stuff but I threw my darts and they all landed on the crazy conspiracy part of the dart board. I threw lots of darts hoping for a different result but they kept landing in the area marked out for Fox News.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Money, Money, Money
Sometimes you read things that make you rethink your position on issues. Generally religious things don't concern me much. They don't seem all that important unless those folks are trying to use their religion to abridge some of my freedoms. I recently posted about the Hobby Lobby decision by the Supreme Court. I think they got that wrong and will learn over the course of the next 20+ years the true impact of their decision. This blog isn't about that issue.
I was reading the other day and came across an article from March talking about a theft from Lakewood Church. Not being a religious person the name of the church meant nothing to me. The amount of the theft is what drew my attention. Personnel from the church reported on Monday, March 10, 2014 that donations from services on March 8th and 9th had been stolen from the church's safe. The amount of the theft was estimated to be $600,000. They could not be exact since the donations had not been counted yet. Televangelist Joel Osteen is the leader of the Lakewood Church and about 40,000 people attend services each week. If that was an average week and you did the math the annual income for the church would be $31,200,000. Seems like a lot of money. It does not accurately represent the actual income of the church. They released the following statement following the theft. "It is important to note this was not an electronic date breach, but was instead limited to donations made in the services on March 8 and 9, 2014. You were not affected if you put your offering in a drop box, you gave online or through other electronic means, or you made a bookstore purchase."
The statement made by the church would seem to indicate the church also has income from "other electronic means" and from individuals who donated "online". It also did not include funds put in "drop box". The funds stolen were about $200,000 in cash and $400,000 in checks or credit or debit card donations. Do I fault the church for taking in huge amounts of money? No, but it does concern me what they do with the money. They indicate that about $30,000,000 each year is spent on its television ministry. There is also, I am sure, huge expenses related to maintenance of their 16,800 seat church located in the former Compaq Center which was once the home of the Houston Rockets basketball team.
In case you were wondering this is Joel Osteen's house. It is valued at $10,500,000.
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I was reading the other day and came across an article from March talking about a theft from Lakewood Church. Not being a religious person the name of the church meant nothing to me. The amount of the theft is what drew my attention. Personnel from the church reported on Monday, March 10, 2014 that donations from services on March 8th and 9th had been stolen from the church's safe. The amount of the theft was estimated to be $600,000. They could not be exact since the donations had not been counted yet. Televangelist Joel Osteen is the leader of the Lakewood Church and about 40,000 people attend services each week. If that was an average week and you did the math the annual income for the church would be $31,200,000. Seems like a lot of money. It does not accurately represent the actual income of the church. They released the following statement following the theft. "It is important to note this was not an electronic date breach, but was instead limited to donations made in the services on March 8 and 9, 2014. You were not affected if you put your offering in a drop box, you gave online or through other electronic means, or you made a bookstore purchase."
The statement made by the church would seem to indicate the church also has income from "other electronic means" and from individuals who donated "online". It also did not include funds put in "drop box". The funds stolen were about $200,000 in cash and $400,000 in checks or credit or debit card donations. Do I fault the church for taking in huge amounts of money? No, but it does concern me what they do with the money. They indicate that about $30,000,000 each year is spent on its television ministry. There is also, I am sure, huge expenses related to maintenance of their 16,800 seat church located in the former Compaq Center which was once the home of the Houston Rockets basketball team.
In case you were wondering this is Joel Osteen's house. It is valued at $10,500,000.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Nice Shootin' Tex
Our military is at it again. Apparently when you have a budget of over 500 billion dollars you can splurge on things like howitzer ammo. The military currently uses the 155mm self propelled howitzer called the M109A6 Paladin. The M109 has been around since 1963 going through a variety of upgrades until we arrive at the current Paladin model. Don't worry too much about the M109A6 as it is in the process of being replaced by the M109A7. Here is what the Paladin looks like.
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You might have the same question I did. Why isn't this a tank? It sure looks like a tank. The difference is that a self propelled howitzer cannot fire on the move. It must stop to fire so it is not a tank. The Paladin carries a crew of four and has a digital firing system with GPS. It carries 39 projectiles and is supported by the M992 ammunition supply vehicle which can carry a maximum of 93 rounds. The Paladin can stop and fire its first round within 60 seconds. What does this have to do with money?
So glad you asked. A standard round for the Paladin 155mm howitzer is approximately $1,000. Raytheon Corporation has developed a new precision fire round called Excalibur which can hit a 2 meter target at a distance of 30 miles when fired from a Paladin howitzer. If you laid on the ground 30 miles away the Excalibur round would hit somewhere between your head and your feet. It several test firings it has hit consistently within one meter of the target at 30 miles. Now the money. An Excalibur round for the Paladin costs $70,000. It is 70 times more expensive than the "dumb" round. If you want to do the math the Army has 975 Paladins in their arsenals. They each hold 39 rounds. If you wanted to load them the cost is about $2,660,000,000. That is billions folks. The Excalibur round can also be fired from the American M198 and M777 howitzers. Army "experts" estimate that a Paladin with dumb rounds would take between 10 and 50 unguided rounds to hit a target the Excalibur can take out with one round. Of course the argument is that less ammo would have to be shipped so the savings in the supply chain would make up for the additional costs of the Excalibur rounds.
What do I think? We continue to ignore improvements to crumbling roads and bridges. We have cut programs designed to feed our poor and house them in a safe manner. If someone comes up with a new weapon that costs 70 times more than what we currently use, there seems to be plenty of money for that kind of thing. I find it as upsetting as Friday's action by the House of Representatives. They voted to make a temporary tax break for businesses permanent. The tax break allowed businesses to more quickly write off the costs of new equipment. The approval of this bill will cost the treasury an estimated 287 billion dollars over the next ten years. Why is this a problem? It has to do with being consistent. When Democrats want to extend jobless benefits or make infrastructure improvements the Republicans want every dollar offset. When the Republicans want to make a tax break permanent they don't have any problem with the budget. Money is not an issue. The Republicans argue that the tax break helps the economy. Their argument falls apart when you look at the economic benefits to the economy provided by food stamps. jobless benefits and education for example. If you want to look at the immigration problem the Republicans felt 3.4 billion dollars was too much but they just allowed the expenditure of 84 times that much in tax breaks with no problem. So tax breaks and weapon systems good, social safety net and infrastructure expenditures bad. Somehow our priorities are all wrong.
So glad you asked. A standard round for the Paladin 155mm howitzer is approximately $1,000. Raytheon Corporation has developed a new precision fire round called Excalibur which can hit a 2 meter target at a distance of 30 miles when fired from a Paladin howitzer. If you laid on the ground 30 miles away the Excalibur round would hit somewhere between your head and your feet. It several test firings it has hit consistently within one meter of the target at 30 miles. Now the money. An Excalibur round for the Paladin costs $70,000. It is 70 times more expensive than the "dumb" round. If you want to do the math the Army has 975 Paladins in their arsenals. They each hold 39 rounds. If you wanted to load them the cost is about $2,660,000,000. That is billions folks. The Excalibur round can also be fired from the American M198 and M777 howitzers. Army "experts" estimate that a Paladin with dumb rounds would take between 10 and 50 unguided rounds to hit a target the Excalibur can take out with one round. Of course the argument is that less ammo would have to be shipped so the savings in the supply chain would make up for the additional costs of the Excalibur rounds.
What do I think? We continue to ignore improvements to crumbling roads and bridges. We have cut programs designed to feed our poor and house them in a safe manner. If someone comes up with a new weapon that costs 70 times more than what we currently use, there seems to be plenty of money for that kind of thing. I find it as upsetting as Friday's action by the House of Representatives. They voted to make a temporary tax break for businesses permanent. The tax break allowed businesses to more quickly write off the costs of new equipment. The approval of this bill will cost the treasury an estimated 287 billion dollars over the next ten years. Why is this a problem? It has to do with being consistent. When Democrats want to extend jobless benefits or make infrastructure improvements the Republicans want every dollar offset. When the Republicans want to make a tax break permanent they don't have any problem with the budget. Money is not an issue. The Republicans argue that the tax break helps the economy. Their argument falls apart when you look at the economic benefits to the economy provided by food stamps. jobless benefits and education for example. If you want to look at the immigration problem the Republicans felt 3.4 billion dollars was too much but they just allowed the expenditure of 84 times that much in tax breaks with no problem. So tax breaks and weapon systems good, social safety net and infrastructure expenditures bad. Somehow our priorities are all wrong.
Frustration
We came back to Illinois on June 14th with a list of things that had to be done. Somewhere near the top of the list was staining the house. I normally get on line and handle the ordering of stain myself. This time the dealer we had bought the log home package from called. He had a client who was interested in a ranch style log home and wondered if we would be willing to allow him to tour ours. While we were on the phone he indicated that he could get stain for me if I would like to order through him. The last time I had ordered the brand I use it didn't seem the same as the first two times I had used it. He explained to me that the woman who had developed the stain got upset with the company that was manufacturing it and she left. When she left she took the formula for the stain so they had to reformulate. He was ordering from her new company and it would be the formula I had originally used. Sounded good to me so I ordered 20 gallons knowing that I had about 2 gallons left from previous times. Mixing that in with the new would stretch things far enough. Stain was ordered and arrived last week. It went from the FedEx truck directly to the garage. After all I had other projects going on then. New flower gardens, weeding, mulching, and mowing. Today is the beginning of staining.
It begins with the usual stuff. Get the ladder out, put drop cloths on the concrete drive so it doesn't get stained. Stand ladder up against house. Time to open the box the stain is in and get it shook up and poured in a bucket. The weather this morning is great. It is 8:00 in the morning and the temperature is just reaching 60 degrees. High today predicted at 70 degrees. You just don't get days like this in Illinois in July. The weather is predicted to stay this way until Saturday. By then a large portion of the house and maybe the garage will be done. I've got a couple of young fellas lined up to help out so it should go quick. I open the box and start shaking the five gallon bucket to mix it back up. It doesn't look quite right to I check the label. I ordered honey gold and they sent me medium red brown. It is not like they are close in color. I talk to my supplier and he states he ordered honey gold. He contacts the manufacturer. They apologize and indicate they sent the wrong stuff. The right order will go out today. They hope it will be here tomorrow. The drop cloths get put away, the ladder taken down off the house. The weather is perfect and the painter is frustrated. Customer service takes another hit. How hard is it to get me the right stain? I don't want an apology. I want to stain when I am not basting in my own juices.
It begins with the usual stuff. Get the ladder out, put drop cloths on the concrete drive so it doesn't get stained. Stand ladder up against house. Time to open the box the stain is in and get it shook up and poured in a bucket. The weather this morning is great. It is 8:00 in the morning and the temperature is just reaching 60 degrees. High today predicted at 70 degrees. You just don't get days like this in Illinois in July. The weather is predicted to stay this way until Saturday. By then a large portion of the house and maybe the garage will be done. I've got a couple of young fellas lined up to help out so it should go quick. I open the box and start shaking the five gallon bucket to mix it back up. It doesn't look quite right to I check the label. I ordered honey gold and they sent me medium red brown. It is not like they are close in color. I talk to my supplier and he states he ordered honey gold. He contacts the manufacturer. They apologize and indicate they sent the wrong stuff. The right order will go out today. They hope it will be here tomorrow. The drop cloths get put away, the ladder taken down off the house. The weather is perfect and the painter is frustrated. Customer service takes another hit. How hard is it to get me the right stain? I don't want an apology. I want to stain when I am not basting in my own juices.
Monday, July 14, 2014
Photo Fun
Vannessa, Audrey and Johnnie were here this weekend. They used the photobooth in my iPad to take a bunch of pictures of themselves. Today you get to share in their fun.
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Sunday, July 13, 2014
Hate or Fear- Part Two
Records indicate that as of December 2013 the Obama administration had deported more than 1.9 million people since taking office. This is more than any previous administration. Yet Congress does not trust him to enforce immigration law. President Obama has had members of Congress call for his impeachment for failure to follow provisions of the Affordable Care Act and for the trade of prisoners of war for an American serviceman held by the Taliban. It strikes me as odd that now members of Congress including some Republicans feel Congress does not need to change the law and President Obama can address the issue on his own. The two faced nature of this suggestion by members of Congress is stunning.
We are a nation of immigrants. All of us except for Native Americans came here from somewhere else. We came in hopes of new opportunities, to escape persecution, for religious freedom, and for a host of other reasons. It was not unusual for new immigrant groups to be treated poorly by those other nationalities who had arrived earlier. The poor treatment of Irish and Chinese immigrants is well documented in our history. So the fact that there are groups in California and other locations protesting the arrival of illegal immigrants through our southern boarder is not entirely surprising. What I find disturbing is that this reaction is aimed at children. It is a youthful and vulnerable group arriving at our boarder after a difficult and dangerous journey. They should not face additional danger and mistreatment at the hands of American citizens. There are many who would characterize these actions as hateful. They are not. They are born of fear. We have become a fearful nation. What if some of those coming through are members of a terrorist group? Is another 9/11 plot going to be hatched by some of these people illegally entering the country? Jobs are scarce and difficult to obtain, especially those that pay a decent wage. Will these newcomers do work that should go to citizens or drive down wages because they lack the documents to obtain legal employment? No, the poor behavior of those protesting is not driven by hatred as many in the media would like us to believe. They are frightened. They are looking at a future they no longer see as theirs. A future where the majority is no longer white. A future that scares them. The thing that provides stability in our system is the law. We need to follow the rule of law and address the issues raised by these children in accordance with the law of the land. Those on the right or the left who attempt to frighten the American people need to understand that their conduct is making this issue worse and not better.
These are not words of hate, they are words of fear. The people protesting in the picture above are not hateful they are frightened.
Where does the path lead us? There is no way to know, but we should walk it with our heads held high knowing that if we work together we can address any challenge and hold true to our most basic principles.
We are a nation of immigrants. All of us except for Native Americans came here from somewhere else. We came in hopes of new opportunities, to escape persecution, for religious freedom, and for a host of other reasons. It was not unusual for new immigrant groups to be treated poorly by those other nationalities who had arrived earlier. The poor treatment of Irish and Chinese immigrants is well documented in our history. So the fact that there are groups in California and other locations protesting the arrival of illegal immigrants through our southern boarder is not entirely surprising. What I find disturbing is that this reaction is aimed at children. It is a youthful and vulnerable group arriving at our boarder after a difficult and dangerous journey. They should not face additional danger and mistreatment at the hands of American citizens. There are many who would characterize these actions as hateful. They are not. They are born of fear. We have become a fearful nation. What if some of those coming through are members of a terrorist group? Is another 9/11 plot going to be hatched by some of these people illegally entering the country? Jobs are scarce and difficult to obtain, especially those that pay a decent wage. Will these newcomers do work that should go to citizens or drive down wages because they lack the documents to obtain legal employment? No, the poor behavior of those protesting is not driven by hatred as many in the media would like us to believe. They are frightened. They are looking at a future they no longer see as theirs. A future where the majority is no longer white. A future that scares them. The thing that provides stability in our system is the law. We need to follow the rule of law and address the issues raised by these children in accordance with the law of the land. Those on the right or the left who attempt to frighten the American people need to understand that their conduct is making this issue worse and not better.
Hate or Fear? Part One
The nice thing about weeding and mulching is that it is mindless work. Pull a weed, spread some mulch, not much thought required to complete either job. It resulted in lots of thoughts about a current issue facing the United States. It is a big subject so this post may end up being divided into a couple of pieces. What has been the current vexing issue. Immigration. What do we do about all these children arriving on our southern boarder?
Let's start with current immigration law. The law in question here is the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008. The first question is this one. Who is William Wilberforce? Member of Congress? No. American citizen concerned with immigration? No. Mr. Wilberforce was born in England on August 24, 1759 at Kingston on Hull, Yorkshire and died July 23, 1833 in London. He was a member of the British Parliament from November 29, 1784 to February, 1825. What does this have to do with our current immigration problem? Mr. Wilberforce was a prime mover in the English abolitionists movement and for 26 years headed a parliamentary campaign to end the British slave trade which ended with the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807. This did not end slavery in Britian and Wilberforce continued to be involved in work to abolish slavery in Britain. It was finally abolished by the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 which abolished slavery in most of the British Empire. Mr. Wilberforce died three days after hearing the passage of the law was assured in Parliament.
What does the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 require? The law passed in 2008 by unanimous consent by both chambers of Congress and signed into law by President Bush dictates how children caught crossing the boarder without their parents must be treated. Children coming from contiguous countries (Canada & Mexico), a boarder patrol officer has the authority to determine if the child is eligible to stay in the United States. Because the child can be directly and safely handed over to officials from his or her home country the process can and does move very quickly. Children from every other country must be handled differently. Repatriation involves an airplane flight and more preparation. The law requires that after being caught the child must be turned over to the Department of Health and Human Services within 72 hours so they can be placed in safe housing and cared for. Health and Human Services is also urged to find them legal counsel and child advocates who can explain the process of applying for asylum. The law does not require they appear before an immigration judge but it is common practice given the amount of time they are in the United States waiting for a decision.
Why the legal representation and appearance before an immigration judge? The applications for asylum are complicated. "T Visas" are designed for victims of human trafficking. "U Visas" are for victims of certain crimes. Relatives of the children already in the United States can try to claim them. All of these are difficult for experienced immigration attorneys to work through and cannot be handled by children. Congress recognized these children were vulnerable and arrived at our boarders traumatized, hungry, frightened and confused, while also lacking knowledge of our immigration system.
Working with juveniles gives you a perspective on their unique status in the legal system. It also helps you understand that they often do not understand how the legal processes work or the full impact of their conduct. Congress clearly recognized this when this law was enacted and signed. The problem is that there is so much distrust between Congress and President Obama . Their is a feeling that President Obama wants to have the law amended to allow the Department of Homeland Security broader powers to place children with relatives in the United States. Why is this a problem? If any member of the family is protected in some way from deportation then the entire family is considered protected.
What about numbers? So far this year over 50,000 unaccompanied minors have been caught on the boarder. Most of the children are from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The Obama administration has requested about two billion to house these children, move immigration judges to the boarded to hear cases, provide U. S. attorneys and asylum advocates to counsel the minors.
That is basically how we have arrived at where we are today in the southwestern United States. How we have become overwhelmed by minors traveling to the United States in search of a better life and safety from the horrible conditions in some ways created by our war on drugs. The next post will explore the issues in another way.
Let's start with current immigration law. The law in question here is the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008. The first question is this one. Who is William Wilberforce? Member of Congress? No. American citizen concerned with immigration? No. Mr. Wilberforce was born in England on August 24, 1759 at Kingston on Hull, Yorkshire and died July 23, 1833 in London. He was a member of the British Parliament from November 29, 1784 to February, 1825. What does this have to do with our current immigration problem? Mr. Wilberforce was a prime mover in the English abolitionists movement and for 26 years headed a parliamentary campaign to end the British slave trade which ended with the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807. This did not end slavery in Britian and Wilberforce continued to be involved in work to abolish slavery in Britain. It was finally abolished by the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 which abolished slavery in most of the British Empire. Mr. Wilberforce died three days after hearing the passage of the law was assured in Parliament.
What does the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 require? The law passed in 2008 by unanimous consent by both chambers of Congress and signed into law by President Bush dictates how children caught crossing the boarder without their parents must be treated. Children coming from contiguous countries (Canada & Mexico), a boarder patrol officer has the authority to determine if the child is eligible to stay in the United States. Because the child can be directly and safely handed over to officials from his or her home country the process can and does move very quickly. Children from every other country must be handled differently. Repatriation involves an airplane flight and more preparation. The law requires that after being caught the child must be turned over to the Department of Health and Human Services within 72 hours so they can be placed in safe housing and cared for. Health and Human Services is also urged to find them legal counsel and child advocates who can explain the process of applying for asylum. The law does not require they appear before an immigration judge but it is common practice given the amount of time they are in the United States waiting for a decision.
Why the legal representation and appearance before an immigration judge? The applications for asylum are complicated. "T Visas" are designed for victims of human trafficking. "U Visas" are for victims of certain crimes. Relatives of the children already in the United States can try to claim them. All of these are difficult for experienced immigration attorneys to work through and cannot be handled by children. Congress recognized these children were vulnerable and arrived at our boarders traumatized, hungry, frightened and confused, while also lacking knowledge of our immigration system.
Working with juveniles gives you a perspective on their unique status in the legal system. It also helps you understand that they often do not understand how the legal processes work or the full impact of their conduct. Congress clearly recognized this when this law was enacted and signed. The problem is that there is so much distrust between Congress and President Obama . Their is a feeling that President Obama wants to have the law amended to allow the Department of Homeland Security broader powers to place children with relatives in the United States. Why is this a problem? If any member of the family is protected in some way from deportation then the entire family is considered protected.
What about numbers? So far this year over 50,000 unaccompanied minors have been caught on the boarder. Most of the children are from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The Obama administration has requested about two billion to house these children, move immigration judges to the boarded to hear cases, provide U. S. attorneys and asylum advocates to counsel the minors.
That is basically how we have arrived at where we are today in the southwestern United States. How we have become overwhelmed by minors traveling to the United States in search of a better life and safety from the horrible conditions in some ways created by our war on drugs. The next post will explore the issues in another way.
Friday, July 11, 2014
Insignificant
So do what I do. When I start to think that I'm important and that I have done something wonderful. When I think I'm not getting the recognition I deserve. I go out at night and look up at the sky. I realize how insignificant everything I ever did has been. How unimportant in the big scheme of things my accomplishments have been. Then I think about every kind thing that has ever been done for me. How others have helped me in the past. I realize that those actions mean nothing in the vastness of the universe but they mattered to me. They made a difference in my life. They changed who I was and how I thought. They changed how I see my fellow man and how I treat him or her.
So without all those folks who have touched my life. Who have helped me and treated me with kindness. I offer my humble thanks. My deeds are not my own but a reflection of the lives that have touched mine. The good I do is because of you. So the universe keeps me humble and your kindness motivates me to do what I can to benefit others.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Are We or Aren't We?
Less than half of those asked were able to name the first five books of the Bible.
Only half knew that John the Baptist was not one of the 12 apostles.
82% believed that "God helps those who help themselves" is a biblical verse.
60% can't name more than 5 of the 10 commandments.
12% of adults believed Joan of Arc was Noah's wife.
Almost 50% of high school seniors thought Sodom and Gomorrah were a married couple.
It would seem with the recent Hobby Lobby decision by the Supreme Court that corporations with closely held religious beliefs should have plenty of fun objecting to laws based on religious beliefs. Since lots of us apparently don't know or care what the Bible says we can pretty much justify anything as a closely held religious belief. Sodom and Gomorrah should be a very happy married couple.
Stephen, I'm sure somewhere in the scriptures there is a verse that tells the poor that they are on their own. If there isn't I'm sure one of these Bible thumping idiots will write it in.
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Nature
This morning I had to go to Galesburg to buy more mulch. It seems like a task we are doing about every two days. On the way home a coyote ran across the road in front of my car. He was moving quick and had no interest in anything but getting into the corn field north of me. It got me to thinking. Coyotes are canines, just like dogs. Not domesticated but nonetheless canines. I've never seen or heard of a coyote chasing a car like dogs often do. Why is that? It would seem natural since dogs chase cars that coyotes would feel the urge from time to time. Is it because domestic dogs are just so bored they need something to chase. Maybe a bit of 'what the hell have I got to lose' in the dog's mind? Just something to ponder when you are bored.
The weeding is going well. Here are some pictures of my current project.
This was before.
This one and the next one are after.
While I was working I kept hearing a little bird chirping at me. I knew there had to be a nest somewhere nearby but for a long time I just couldn't locate it in the bushes.
This is the little bird.
Can you pick out her nest in this picture?
Here is a closer shot with a view of her one egg. I've been taking breaks every few minutes so she can check on things and sit on the nest a bit.
The weeding is going well. Here are some pictures of my current project.
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