Monday, December 21, 2009

Star Trek

We missed the new "Star Trek" movie when it came out, so I ordered the DVD along with the latest Harry Potter. We watched it recently.

I remember the first S.T. movie many years ago. It was just boring, a lot of time spent going around the Enterprise showing detail which was just strange; it was like we don't have much of a script so let's show a (model) ship.

One thing that made the old S.T. series was that it always had a moral & likable characters. Of course it was made while my wife & I were in college so many of the special effects were not very good compared to ones available now.

Back to the movie, I found it great fun. It is sort of a prequel to the TV series. It explains how Spock & Kirk & Scotty & Uhuru & Sulu & Checkov & Bones all got together. It is a good guy v. bad guy (tho we see the motivation of the bad guys); it has action & some humor; so it was a good reflection of the the original TV show that we first saw & liked!

"Random chance seems to have operated in our favor" -- Spock
"In plain, non-Vulcan English, we've been lucky" -- McCoy
"I believe I said that, Doctor" -- Spock (The Doomsday Machine)

"Is there anyone on this ship, who even remotely, looks like Satan?" -- Kirk

"I am not aware of anyone who fits that description, Captain" -- Spock
"No, Mr. Spock, I didn't think you would be" -- Kirk (The Apple)

"Does everyone know about this grain but me?" -- Kirk

"Not everyone, Kepten, it's a Russian inwention." -- Checkov (The Trouble With Tribbles)

"Emotional, isn't she?" -- Spock

"She has always been so." -- Sarek
"Indeed. Why did you marry her?" -- Spock
"It seemed the logical thing to do at the time." -- Sarek (Journey To Babel)

"I signed aboard this ship to practice medicine, not to have my atoms scattered back and forth across space by this gadget." -- McCoy


"Just before they went into warp, I beamed the whole kit and kaboodle into their engine room, where they'll be no tribble at all." -- Scotty, explaining how he got rid of the tribbles (The Trouble With Tribbles)


"Mr. Spock, the women on your planet are logical. That's the only planet in the galaxy that can make that claim." -- Kirk (Elaan of Troyius)


(Final) frontier (n) a line or border separating two countries. • the district near such a line. • the extreme limit of settled land beyond which lies wilderness • the extreme limit of understanding or achievement in a particular area

ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French frontiere, based on Latin frons, front- ‘front.’

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Spend more Save more

I was watching the TV & numerous Black Friday, Brown Saturday, Gray Sunday, Cyber Monday sales where on. The one which to me is the most ridiculous is the "Buy More Save More" ads. The best way to save more is to buy nothing!

P.O. & his allies believe since the first stimulus bill failed; we need another one! This is the Buy more save more in government. If spending money did not work then they believe spending more is the solution. Most people who are in their right minds don't truly believe continuing doing something that doesn't work more will work!

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Albert Einstein

“The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success.” Bruce Feirstein


“Perhaps a lunatic was simply a minority of one.” George Orwell


“Insanity is often the logic of an accurate mind overtaxed.” Oliver Wendell Holmes


insanity (n) the state of being seriously mentally ill; madness • extreme foolishness or irrationality

ORIGIN late 16th cent. : from Latin insanitas, from insanus (see insane )

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Kill Bill Kill Jobs

There was a movie a while back called "Kill Bill vol I" that I made the mistake of renting from the Library. It was about some woman who I think was trying to quit some sort of assassination group and they didn't want her to. There was a lot of senseless violence with a lot of blood & fighting of one vs. many many ninja types. The movie was a waste of time (my lovely wife was sensible enough to not watch it) and really was completely mindless.

Now we have politicians who do not understand how business works; business hires the people who pay taxes. There is a finite amount of money to buy bonds or invest in businesses. The government (which used have an AAA+ rating on its bonds) is borrowing all the money that could have gone to individuals or businesses that would be used to grow businesses which would lead to more jobs.

The Congress & P.O.'s highest priorities are Cap & Trade and Health Care "Reform." Both of these will Kill Jobs; especially the Cap & Trade Bill which raises taxes on all energy (coal, gas, oil,etc.). More money to government means less money for the small business people to create a products & jobs. HC "Reform" is basically for the first 4-5 years just a tax increase plus more regulation on insurance companies; which (you guessed it) leaves less money for the producers in society. Some actual reforms like containing lawsuit abuse or allowing insurance to sell across state lines (proposed by R) are not in the bill.

Kill Bill was mindless as are our politicians are in Kill Jobs mode.

Arizona faces unique healthcare challenges including uncompensated care for illegal immigrants, and the large number of Native Americans who live in remote and isolated areas of the state. Rick Renzi

Financial literacy is an issue that should command our attention because many Americans are not adequately organizing finances for their education, healthcare and retirement. Ron Lewis

Lawsuit abuse is a major contributor to the increased costs of healthcare, goods and services to consumers. Charles W. Pickering

MIND, n. A mysterious form of matter secreted by the brain. Its chief activity consists in the endeavor to ascertain its own nature, the futility of the attempt being due to the fact that it has nothing but itself to know itself with. From the Latin mens, a fact unknown to that honest shoe-seller, who, observing that his learned competitor over the way had displayed the motto "Mens conscia recti," emblazoned his own front with the words "Men's, women's and children's conscia recti." (DD)

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Three

I seem to use the number three a lot.

When I am climbing the hill near to our house on the way home; I count 3 rotation with my right foot leading and then 3 starting with the left. This helps me forget that I am climbing a hill (nothing like the mountains my son climbs in his bike) & that I am tired (since this is the last big hill before home) and want that hill to be over.

When I am nervous or bored, I brush my finger tips with my thumb 3 times starting oneway & then 3 the other; when I get to the thumb I use my index finger on the thumb and then back down again reversing the process.

We had 3 children (a daughter & 2 boys); my son has 3 people in his immediate family (his wife & 2 boys); my daughter has 3 boys (not counting the older husband).

In my religion, three is also very important also (Father, Son and Holy Ghost {or Spirit if you are more modern but I learned HG when I was young and have always liked that designation}).

I always have liked numbers since my uncle used to give me math problems to solve when I was very young.


Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. Buddha

It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them. Mark Twain

Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead.

Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.

All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.

There are three faithful friends - an old wife, an old dog, and ready money.

There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one's self. Benjamin Franklin

three (cardinal number) equivalent to the sum of one and two; one more than two; (Roman numeral: iii, III)
ORIGIN Old English thrīe (masculine), thrīo, thrēo (feminine), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch drie and German drei, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin tres and Greek treis.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

"I'm only thinking of him"

In the "Man Of La Mancha" Musical there is a song: "I'm only thinking of him" that goes : I'm only thinking of him, I'm only thinking of him, Whatever I may do or say; I'm only thinking of him! In my body; it's well known, There is not one selfish bone... I'm only thinking end worrying about him! .

It is a song sung by Don Quixote's niece; who is ashamed of him and his actions; who obviously is only really thinking of herself.

The reason I am against so many of P.O.'s policies is that he is bankrupting my kids & grandkids. The bill becomes due after my time. My wife & I can probably survive the P.O. policies but what of my grandkids; all parents want better for their kids & future generations but if he keeps spending there will be worthless money for them. So I guess I can say "I'm only thinking if them."

Don Quixote quotes (Cervantes):

All that glisters is not gold.

Never look for birds of this year in the nests of the last.

Tell me thy company and I will tell thee what thou art.

I drink when I have occasion, and sometimes when I have no occasion.

Inasmuch as ill-deeds spring up as a spontaneous crop, they are easy to learn.

Don Quixote the hero of a romance (1605–15) by Cervantes, a satirical account of chivalric beliefs and conduct. The character of Don Quixote is typified by a romantic vision and naive, unworldly idealism.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Gov Health

It is amazing to me that people really believe that the government can run health care.

A government that was responsible to get swine (H1N1) flu vaccine to the people. They promised 120,000,000 doses by October as which they delivered 20M. The same government that has basically run out of business the domestic vaccine business due to regulation & law suits. That has run the Post Office, Medicare, Social Security, Amtrak, etc. into bankruptcy.

The cost of Pelosicare is $1.2 trillion where the taxes raised include: on medical devices, on "Gold plated" medical insurance plans, $500 billion reductions in medicare, etc. More regulations on insurance companies, NO torte reform, as the Wall Street Journal has called "the worst bill ever" with 1900 pages of bill.

If you have a reasonable Senator or Rep (maybe my son's "good friend") call them & tell them that this is ridiculous bill should be voted against. I don't have any that would be affected by me.

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint. Mark Twain

According to a new study, women in satisfying marriages are less likely to develop cardiovascular diseases than unmarried women. So don't worry lonely women, you'll be dead soon. Tina Fey


I don't jog. If I die I want to be sick. Abe Lemons


healthcare (n) the maintenance and improvement of physical and mental health, esp. through the provision of medical services

Scientific Method

Science has been a great deal of my education & work(degrees in Chemistry, nuclear training in Navy, performing Nuke training, & operator licensing).

I've always thought that Scientists are the most open minded people. But there are 2 subjects that they seem to have extremely closed minds.

The first is Global Warming. Since Al Gore (the inventor of the internet) declared that there is no more doubt, Global Warming is a fact; many in the scientific community refuse to accept that there are different views on the subject. There are 1000's of Scientists that believe that weather is a cycle that the earth heats up & then cools down. The GW people want to ignore the actual cooling down, that the ice pack has grown, that polar bears are not drowning; since the science is complete.

The other subject is Intelligent Design; many scientists believe that evolution & the big bang explain how life began. Any scientist that believes that there is a before (the big bang theory does not explain what happened before the bang) has been ostracized.

Science is simply common sense at its best that is, rigidly accurate in observation, and merciless to fallacy in logic. Thomas Henry Huxley

Science is facts; just as houses are made of stone, so is science made of facts; but a pile of stones is not a house, and a collection of facts is not necessarily science. Jules Henri Poincaré

In essence, science is a perpetual search for an intelligent and integrated comprehension of the world we live in. Cornelius Bernardus Van Neil

Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering observable, empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning. A scientific method consists of the collection of data through observation and experimentation, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses.

Weather

My daughter a while back complained (whined, exclaimed, etc.) in her blog about having 2" of snow on the ground.

We have been thru a long period of rain (not much rain in inches but lots of dreary dark days with light rain). It is my hypothesis that snow is better than rain. Snow covers the ground with a pretty white layer; whereas, rain just makes it ugly & muddy, Snow has to be shoveled but you can play in the snow much better than mud field!

“The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“A poet is someone who stands outside in the rain hoping to be struck by lightning.” James Dickey


“Sunshine cannot bleach the snow, Nor time unmake what poets know” Ralph Waldo Emerson


snow (n) 1 atmospheric water vapor frozen into ice crystals and falling in light white flakes or lying on the ground as a white layer 2 something that resembles snow in color or texture, in particular

ORIGIN Old English snāw, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch sneeuw and German Schnee, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin nix, niv- and Greek nipha.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Silver

It seems like my teams are always finishing second.

The RedWings were in the Stanley Cup Finals only to lose in the final game, i.e., second place (Silver Medal).

My university (Michigan State University) made it to the NCAA Basketball Final game only to lose to NC, i.e., second place.

My baseball team (Detroit Tigers) was leading the central division of AL by 3 games with 4 to go, only to lose the lead and the playoff game to the MN twins, i.e., second place!

Fortunately I won in the marriage game (I won the Gold with my lovely wife), so I guess I have won all the important "games"!

I was nearly sick. But that's how you have to ride - as if you never want to breathe again [on winning a silver medal at Beijing] Emma Pooley

Jonathan Edwards - he has his faith, his health, his wife and his children, but more importantly, he has his Olympic gold medal. Brian Alexander

If I win the gold I might say nothing and just wander past him, hopefully with some kind of medal - a gold one preferably. I think I might dangle it in front of his face or something. [on how he'd react to a French rival who got him disqualified from a race!] Ben Ainslie

Gold medals aren't made precious by the metal, they are made precious by all the hard work, sweat and tears that the athlete puts in to winning that medal. Dan Gable

LOSS, (n) Privation of that which we had, or had not. Thus, in the latter sense, it is said of a defeated candidate that he "lost his election"; and of that eminent man, the poet Gilder, that he has "lost his mind." It is in the former and more legitimate sense, that the word is used in the famous epitaph:
Here Huntington's ashes long have lain
Whose loss is our eternal gain,
For while he exercised all his powers
Whatever he gained, the loss was ours. (DD)

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

HDTV

We actually bought a HDTV, it is a Panasonic Plasma TV. After much moaning and groaning, thinking and rethinking, contemplating and looking at various TV's; we bought it; we also got a "free" Blu-Ray player with it.

This purchase was really pretty frivolous. Our old 27" CRT TV worked OK & we don't really watch that much TV anyhow. But we "deserve" (in the same sense that the people that lawyers get money for their pain or injuries do) to pamper ourselves a little; as my kids would tell you, I am cheap & did not spend more than we made for all the years they were with us. We did give them money for most of college but there were few frills when they were growing up.

“All things are cheap to the saving, dear to the wasteful” Benjamin Franklin

“Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.” Lord Byron {Maybe someone should tell P.O.}

“I buy expensive suits. They just look cheap on me.” Warren Buffett

“I can't stand cheap people. It makes me real mad when someone says something like, "Hey, when are you going to pay me that $100 you owe me?" or "Do you have that $50 you borrowed?" Man, quit being so cheap!” Jack Handy

HDTV (abbreviation) high-definition television, using more lines per frame to give a sharper image than a conventional television

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Arrogance

In their speeches to the IOC (International Olympic Committee), the Obama couple used "I" or "me" a total of 57 times. M.O. 34 & P.O. 23 times.

Reports have said that the arrogance (vanity) turned off many of the Olympic voters. I suspect that Rio would have gotten the Olympics anyhow (there has never been one in South America); but being the first country voted out was an embarrassment.

It takes some arrogance to be successful as a politician; but I long for the class of Bush II. It is alright to be vain if you are good or have accomplished something, but not if your only accomplishment is being elected to political office against an unpopular opponent & a disliked President.

“Men know everything - all of them- all the time - no matter how stupid or inexperienced or arrogant or ignorant they are” Andrea Dworkin

“You can have a certain arrogance, and I think that's fine, but what you should never lose is the respect for the others.” Steffi Graf

When men are most sure and arrogant they are commonly most mistaken, giving views to passion without that proper deliberation which alone can secure them from the grossest absurdities. DAVID HUME

He was like a cock who thought the sun had risen to hear him crow. GEORGE ELIOT

arrogant (adj) having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities : he's arrogant and opinionated
ORIGIN late Middle English : via Old French from Latin arrogant- ‘claiming for oneself,’ from the verb arrogare (see arrogate ).

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

A-Team

There was a TV program called the A-Team where they are ex-military vietnam veterans who were unjustly convicted of a crime & then escaped to become Soldiers of Fortune in L.A.. They usually help people who are being harassed by badies. Almost every episode they are captured by the badies who put them in a garage or other facility that has all sorts of welding equipment, & odds and ends that can be made into weapons. They then turn the tables on the badies & save their good guy clients.

This show is an example of the badies who always seem to put off killing the good guys when they have the drop on them. You would think that they would learn & just kill the good guys; but no they wait & the good guys win. Goldfinger has it right when 007 is strapped to a table with a laser cutting toward the private parts of 007; when 007 asks "Do you expect me to talk?" Goldfinger replies ,"No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!" Of course, he doesn't kill 007 but at least he had the right idea!

We have a channel "MeTV" which shows old time shows like the A-Team. They are enjoyable without the sex that seems to be required in modern shows. So if you need a good guy winning fix; turn on the A-Team & rest your rational mind!

I did not crash this plane! I simply landed it without the customary accompaniment of forward thrust or lift. Murdock


Use your imagination! Or you can borrow mine. Murdock


Aw, Hannibal, is this one of your plans supposed to go down 1, 2, 3? You always forget 4, 5, and 6. BA


Shut up, fool! BA


Don't ya love it! No matter how smart they think they are, they always screw up somehow! Hannibal


I love it when a plan comes together! Hannibal


I lie, I cheat, I steal and I just don't get any respect. Face


The Jazz is kinda like nature's way of sticking your finger in a light socket. Our problem is, Hannibal likes it. Face


adventure (n) an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity • daring and exciting activity calling for enterprise and enthusiasm
ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French aventure (noun), aventurer (verb), based on Latin adventurus ‘about to happen,’ from advenire ‘arrive.’

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Pay

The P.O. administration is going to limit the pay of various bank / financial employees. It is very obvious to me that they really don't understand what it means to be free. Free to make as much or as little as you want.

Why don't they look into the automatic pay raises for Congress? When many people are losing their jobs or at best losing pay; they feel that they "deserve" more pay. Federal employee also have built in pay raises; there are "steps" for most federal employees that take effect between 6 months (first steps) to 2 tears (for the higher steps).

Why do they (politicians) feel that we are working for them?

It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world. Thomas Jefferson

One way to make sure crime doesn't pay would be to let the government run it. Ronald Reagan


It's God's will for you to live in prosperity instead of poverty. It's God's will for you to pay your bills and not be in debt. Joel Osteen


MONEY, n. A blessing that is of no advantage to us excepting when we part with it. An evidence of culture and a passport to polite society. Supportable property. (DD)

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Sports 2009

Another year for my sport teams!

The Tigers are blowing a lead in the AL West; as of today (before the game) they are only 3 games ahead of Minnesota. The RedWings lost Hossa (to BlackHawks), Hudler (to Russians), Chelios (to old age), and a bunch of others; they haven't signed anyone of significance.

The Lions lost their 1st game by 30 some points (0-17 & counting). The Pistons lost R. Wallace & fortunately A. Iverson; they are getting older & signed my least favorite Bull Ben Gordon (a shoot first, shoot second, defense what's that player).

Well as the Cub fans say, "There's always next year!"

“Win as if you were used to it, lose as if you enjoyed it for a change.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“That's what learning is, after all; not whether we lose the game, but how we lose and how we've changed because of it and what we take away from it that we never had before, to apply to other games. Losing, in a curious way, is winning.” Richard Bach

“We lost because we told ourselves we lost” Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy

LOSS, n.
Privation of that which we had, or had not. Thus, in the latter sense, it is said of a defeated candidate that he "lost his election"; and of that eminent man, the poet Gilder, that he has "lost his mind." It is in the former and more legitimate sense, that the word is used in the famous epitaph:
Here Huntington's ashes long have lain
Whose loss is our eternal gain,
For while he exercised all his powers
Whatever he gained, the loss was ours. (DD)

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Take charge & Biking

I was complaining to my Lovely Wife (I do that a lot, the poor woman!) about the Bible Study that the pastor is now leading. It has us go into little groups (usually 2 people) to discuss things & I was saying that I liked the way I led the morning study better. She remarked that that was because I am a "Take charge" kind of guy. I never thought of myself as a "Take charge" type person. I do like to do things the way I like to do them though.

While I was biking home from the above mentioned Bible Study, I noticed that young people do not respond to my cheery "Good Morning" but either snarl at me or just look away. Whereas, older people tend to respond back.

Also I was approaching from behind a couple on the bike path today, I noticed that they were on the left side of the path so I said "Passing on the right," As soon as I was close to the woman (she was behind) she started to move over to the right & was startled to see me there. So I went into the grass on the right of the path to avoid her & in front the man was moving over to the right & remarked something like "I guess I mean the left" and passed him to the left.

It is interesting how people just do things the way it is normally done without listening.

“When placed in command take charge.” Norman Schwarzkopf

“We can let circumstances rule us, or we can take charge and rule our lives from within.” Earl Nightingale

“When you take charge of your life, there is no longer need to ask permission of other people or society at large. When you ask permission, you give someone veto power over your life.” Abert F. Geoffrey

take charge assume control or responsibility : the candidate must take charge of an actual flight.
ORIGIN Middle English (in the general senses [to load] and [a load] ): from Old French charger (verb), charge (noun), from late Latin carricare, carcare ‘to load,’ from Latin carrus ‘wheeled vehicle.’

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Mistake

I seem to be making more & more mistakes as I grow older. The latest was when my lovely wife decided to go to a Women of Faith thing in St.Paul, MN. Our son-in-law pointed out to our daughter who passed it on to the L.W. that it is cheap to fly between Milwaukee (our favorite airport in the region) to MSP (Minn-St.Paul) and they would be glad to pick her up.

So I promptly made reservations in the afternoon (since it was easiest for Scott to pick up my L.W. after work) for the flight there & evening for the flight back (so it was after the event). The flight was $108 with taxes & fees which was a reasonable price. I sent the reservation info to Tera, Scott & the L.W.. No one noticed that the flights were for the week before the event! Only when I was talking to the L.W. that there was plenty of time before something else she had to do & she said the thing we were talking about was the same weekend as the Women of Faith. I told her my interpretation of the date & she corrected me (we checked the web site for the WoF event but as usual the L.W. was right & needless to say I was wrong).

So then I tried to use the website of the airline where I had purchased the tickets to change the reservations for a week later but it told me I would have to call the airline 800 number. This should have warned me of dire consequences. I called the airline & was told the tickets were non-refundable/non-transferable/non-human. He told me that if I paid the small fee they would give me a credit for the tickets; this seemed like a reasonable idea since I had made the mistake. Turns out the small fee is $150 (remember above the price of the ticket : $108); so I could pay the $150 plus the $108 I was already out or a total of $258 or as I did today re-booked the flight as a new flight (with the L.W. checking to make sure I did it right this time) for another $108 for a total of $216.

So now we have a E-Ticket for 2 flights from MKE to MSP (one of which we can't even give to someone else to use) for one flight to St. Paul & back. It is best to not make mistakes!

Wise men profit more from fools than fools from wise men; for the wise men shun the mistakes of fools, but fools do not imitate the successes of the wise. Cato the Elder

Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else's can shorten it. Cullen Hightower

No one who cannot rejoice in the discovery of his own mistakes deserves to be called a scholar. Donald Foster

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. Napoleon Bonaparte

An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field. Niels Bohr

mistake (n) an action or judgment that is misguided or wrong • something, esp. a word, figure, or fact, that is not correct; an inaccuracy
ORIGIN late Middle English (as a verb): from Old Norse mistaka ‘take in error,’ probably influenced in sense by Old French mesprendre.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Kiss

As I was trying to awaken my sleeping beauty wife with a kiss; I was thinking about kissing. There is the Sleeping Beauty kiss; there is a "singing" group named "KISS"; there is the betrayal of our Savior with a kiss.

Watching "MeTV"; there are old time comedies like Dick Van Dyke, Bob Newhart, Cosby and Lucy. In them there, is little more than kissing or hugging for the sex angle. They were funny & wholesome; nowadays, we have actual or simulated sex. How is this an improvement?

Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves. ~Albert Einstein


Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves. ~Albert Einstein


A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous. ~Ingrid Bergman


Kissing is a means of getting two people so close together that they can't see anything wrong with each other. ~Rene Yasenek


I am in favor of preserving the French habit of kissing ladies' hands - after all, one must start somewhere. ~Sacha Guitry


KISS, (n) A word invented by the poets as a rhyme for "bliss." It is supposed to signify, in a general way, some kind of rite or ceremony appertaining to a good understanding; but the manner of its performance is unknown to this lexicographer. (DD)

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Fog

The weather has been strange recently. Toward the end of August the last week or so the temperatures were 70 or less for the highs. Since we like to bicycle, these temperatures were great (it seems that 63-66 are the best temps for us) unlike the normal 85-90 we normally have.

For the last week we have had fog every morning. It is fun to walk in the fog (when there are no cars around); however, bicycling (since we have to cross very busy streets wherever we go) has not been as much fun.

I'm glad that Al Gore's dire predictions haven't been fulfilled!

“Living without faith is like driving in a fog.” Proverb

“Derive happiness in oneself from a good day's work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us.” Henri Matisse

Fog and smog should not be confused and are easily separated by color. Chuck Jones

Truth is the torch that gleams through the fog without dispelling it. Claude Adrien Helvetius

fog (n) a thick cloud of tiny water droplets suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth's surface that obscures or restricts visibility (to a greater extent than mist; strictly, reducing visibility to below 1 km) • an opaque mass of something in the atmosphere ; figurative something that obscures and confuses a situation or someone's thought processes
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: perhaps a back-formation from foggy

Friday, September 11, 2009

You Lie!

A SC-R congressman couldn't hold it in any more & said "You Lie!" to P.O. the other night. The fact that P.O. was lying (e.g., health care as not adding to the deficit, etc.) has not been mentioned as much as the fact that someone who rude to the Prez. P.O. also talked about those lying others (R's) but that was not "relevant."

It is interesting about lies we don't let them bother us as much as we use to let them. We use to hold politicians accountable for their lies but now we say "well they are pols so how can we except them to be honest!"

Parents often lie to their kids "it won't hurt", "we have no money for X", "we never Y when we were kids". What do you answer to someone if they ask how they look when it looks like they were in a accident with a lot of food? (Fortunately I don't have to lie about my lovely wife, she always looks good to me!)

White lies, black lies, what is the difference?

“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you” Friedrich Nietzsche

“I love you, and because I love you, I would sooner have you hate me for telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies.” Pietro Aretino

“Sometimes I lie awake at night, and ask, 'Where have I gone wrong?' Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night.'” Charles M. Schulz

Tell your friend a lie. If he keeps it secret, then tell him the truth.” Proverb

LIAR, (n) A lawyer with a roving commission (DD)

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Czars

It is interesting to me that we call various people Czars. P.O. has at least 30 some Czars for everything from Autos to Green Jobs. There is some concern that these Czars are not vetted by Congress.

As long as they act as advisors to P.O. I don't see any problem, but if they have powers to regulate us individuals; I'm Agin them! It is surprising to me that people are surprised that P.O. is so liberal (socialist, communistic); his voting record in Congress was (when he bothered to vote) the most liberal record.

Hope & Change are not always good!

“With my team I am an absolute czar. My men know it. I order plays and they obey. If the don't, I fine them.” John McGraw

“When the Czar has a cold all Russia coughs” Russian Proverb

There is no justice among men. Czar Nicholas II

czar (n) 1 variant spelling of tsar 2 a person with great authority or power in a particular area : America's new drug czar.
ORIGIN from Russian tsar′, representing Latin Caesar.

Monday, August 17, 2009

"… of your dreams"

When I listen to the radio or watch TV, I often hear that something is "of your dreams". Yet it is almost never something that I dream about. The car of your dreams : I can't ever remember dreaming of a car; ditto for house or TV or vacation.

Most of my dreams are action dreams; usually I am a hero or a hero sidekick where we defeat the evil forces of evil. I remember dreaming about our youngest son after he died; often asking him wasn't he dead & he assuring me that he wasn't; a dream that often lasted shortly after I woke.

But I guess I am not the audience that the commercials are for.

“Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.” James Dean

“A goal is a dream with a deadline.” Napoleon Hill

“Love is an attempt to change a piece of a dream-world into reality.” Henry David Thoreau

Acts 2:17
AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says,
'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND;
AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY,
AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS,
AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS

dream (n) a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep • [in sing. ] a state of mind in which someone is or seems to be unaware of their immediate surroundings
• a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal
(v)1 experience dreams during sleep • indulge in daydreams or fantasies, typically about something greatly desired
2 [with negative ] contemplate the possibility of doing something or that something might be the case
ORIGIN Middle English : of Germanic origin, related to Dutch droom and German Traum, and probably also to Old English drēam [joy, music.]

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Onion

I subscribe to The Onion podcasts via ITunes. They had an interesting one a few days ago. It was talking about ways to reduce the national debt. One (linked above) a phony coupe and another using the gold reserves to go to a Money4Gold site.

The Onion (for those who don't know) is a satirical news organization. At least they have some ideas unlike a certain president I know of!

“People say satire is dead. It's not dead; it's alive and living in the White House.” Robin Williams

“You can't make up anything anymore. The world itself is a satire. All you're doing is recording it.” Art Buchwald

“Satire should, like a polished razor keen, Wound with a touch that's scarcely felt or seen”
Mary Worley Montagu

SATIRE, (n) An obsolete kind of literary composition in which the vices and follies of the author's enemies were expounded with imperfect tenderness. In this country satire never had more than a sickly and uncertain existence, for the soul of it is wit, wherein we are dolefully deficient, the humor that we mistake for it, like all humor, being tolerant and sympathetic. Moreover, although Americans are "endowed by their Creator" with abundant vice and folly, it is not generally known that these are reprehensible qualities, wherefore the satirist is popularly regarded as a soul-spirited knave, and his ever victim's outcry for codefendants evokes a national assent.
Hail Satire! be thy praises ever sung
In the dead language of a mummy's tongue,
For thou thyself art dead, and damned as well --
Thy spirit (usefully employed) in Hell.
Had it been such as consecrates the Bible
Thou hadst not perished by the law of libel.
Barney Stims (DD)

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

$3584.01

The budget (of course to me a budget is where the ins & outs equal; i.e., reducing spending to come out even when have less money than expenses or to plan for some savings) deficit is over $1,100,000,000,000 thru June this year. With 306,918,649 people (according to the population clock) this means that we are each (every adult & child in the US) $3584.01 in debt thru the first half of the year.

But the democrats have a plan to fix this: spend more money, tax energy, & take over health care. I wish Washington would get a clue!

“A man in debt is so far a slave.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Debts and lies are generally mixed together” Francois Rabelais

“Some debts are fun when you are acquiring them, but none are fun when you set about retiring them” Ogden Nash

budget (n) 1 an estimate of income and expenditure for a set period of time
• an annual or other regular estimate of national revenue and expenditure put forward by the government, often including details of changes in taxation.
• the amount of money needed or available for a purpose
2 archaic a quantity of material, typically that which is written or printed.
ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French bougette, diminutive of bouge ‘leather bag,’ from Latin bulga ‘leather bag, knapsack,’ of Gaulish origin. Compare with bulge . The word originally meant a pouch or wallet, and later its contents. In the mid 18th cent., the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the UK, in presenting his annual statement, was said “to open the budget.” In the late 19th cent. the use of the term was extended from governmental to private or commercial finances.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Argentina

A popular song from the musical "Evita" states "Don't cry for me Argentina."

I would like to tell president Obama "Don't apologize for me!" P.O. is going around apologizing for all of America's evils like protector of the free world, a financial generator, the country which people try to get into, etc. I find it amazing that a person elected to presidency hates his country so much. He really seems to believe that the reason we are "hated" is because we are evil; we are not; we are free & a free country allows people to succeed! So P.O. "Don't apologize for me!"

“Patriot: the person who can holler the loudest without knowing what he is hollering about.” Mark Twain



“It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind.”
Voltaire



“A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.” Edward Abbey

PATRIOT, (n) One to whom the interests of a part seem superior to those of the whole. The dupe of statesmen and the tool of conquerors (DD)

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Those silly ancients...

We look at the ancient people who believed that the sun rotated around the earth, etc. as so ridiculous. How could anyone be so ignorant?

OK, how does electricity get to the switch to light your lamp? How do you know the earth rotates around the sun? We have brilliant people who can predict the weather (well at least almost 50% of the time).

Ancient people knew their knowledge via the education from their scholars; how different are we? We know what we know because we were told it in school. Some of the knowledge that is prevalent today has contradicted my early education.

A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in students. - John Ciardi

An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field. - Niels Bohr

Education is a method whereby one acquires a higher grade of prejudices. - Laurence J. Peter

An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less. - Nicholas Murray Butler

Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance. - Will Durant

ACADEME, (n)An ancient school where morality and philosophy were taught.
ACADEMY, (n( [from ACADEME] A modern school where football is taught. (DD)

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

If at first...

P.O. is considering a second stimulus (Pork) bill. After all, the first one has failed so another is bound to work!

If at first you don't succeed (P.O. said he did not misread the situation he didn't have the appropriate info [why is it so hard for politicians to admit a mistake?]), try try again. After all my grandkids don't need any money when they grow up!

“If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no point in being a damn fool about it.” W. C. Fields

“The Internet "browser"... is the piece of software that puts a message on your computer screen informing you that the Internet is currently busy and you should try again later.” Dave Barry

FAITH, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel. (DD)

Monday, July 6, 2009

2 Team Town

Chicago is a 2 baseball team town. The AL team is the White Sox & NL is the Cubs.

I find that the Sox fans hate the Cubs, but the Cub fans tend to not care about the Sox. I listen to a lot of sports radio, 1 station is the Sox broadcaster, another the Cubs (more of a news station), & the third broadcasts none. I am from MI so my teams are the Detroit teams, so I root against the Sox & sort of for the Cubs.

The Sox won the World Series in 2005 & the Cubs last in 1807 or so. (My Tigers have won it twice in my lifetime & were in the WS once but lost.) So it is interesting how some of the Sox fans have a inferiority complex; the Cubs basically sell out every game & the Sox tend to play to 1/2 to 2/3 full houses. The Sox fans don't go to the games if their team is playing bad but the Cubbies fill their Wrigley Field no matter what.

The Sox fans tend to be extremely high or low depending on how the Sox played in the last game (IMO listening to the radio); whereas, the Cub fans tend to support their team & expect them to get better. This year the Cubs were a favorite to win their division but the Sox were expected to be in the running because of the weakness of their division.

It is an interesting sociological phenomenon to listen to the fans of each.

We picked the Red Sox because they lose. If you root for something that loses for 86 years, you're a pretty good fan. You don't have to win everything to be a fan of something.
Jimmy Fallon

“What good are fans? You can't eat applause for breakfast. You can't sleep with it.” Bob Dylan

“Chicago Cubs fans are ninety percent scar tissue.” George F. Will

fanatic (n) a person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal, See note at zealot .
• [often with adj. ] informal a person with an obsessive interest in and enthusiasm for something
ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (as an adjective): from French fanatique or Latin fanaticus ‘of a temple, inspired by a god,’ from fanum ‘temple.’ The adjective originally described behavior or speech that might result from possession by a god or demon, hence the earliest sense of the noun [a religious maniac] (mid 17th cent.).

Saturday, July 4, 2009

4th of July



Declaration of Independence

The first, largest, and most famous signature is that of John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress. The youngest signer was Edward Rutledge (age 26). Benjamin Franklin (age 70) was the oldest. Two future presidents signed: John Adams (second President) and Thomas Jefferson (third President).

Signers:

Delaware • George Read • Caesar Rodney • Thomas McKean

Pennsylvania • George Clymer • Benjamin Franklin • Robert Morris • John Morton • Benjamin Rush • George Ross • James Smith • James Wilson • George Taylor

Massachusetts • John Adams • Samuel Adams • John Hancock • Robert Treat Paine • Elbridge Gerry

New Hampshire • Josiah Bartlett • William Whipple • Matthew Thornton

Rhode Island • Stephen Hopkins • William Ellery

New York • Lewis Morris • Philip Livingston • Francis Lewis • William Floyd

Georgia • Button Gwinnett • Lyman Hall • George Walton

Virginia • Richard Henry Lee • Francis Lightfoot Lee • Carter Braxton • Benjamin Harrison • Thomas Jefferson • George Wythe • Thomas Nelson, Jr.

North Carolina • William Hooper • John Penn • Joseph Hewes

South Carolina • Edward Rutledge • Arthur Middleton • Thomas Lynch, Jr. • Thomas Heyward, Jr.

New Jersey • Abraham Clark • John Hart • Francis Hopkinson • Richard Stockton • John Witherspoon

Connecticut • Samuel Huntington • Roger Sherman • William Williams • Oliver Wolcott

Maryland • Charles Carroll • Samuel Chase • Thomas Stone • William Paca

No Taxes on Families Earning Under $250k

P.O. has said & pledged that families making under $250,000 per year will see no more taxes under his "plan" (how John Kerry of him).

I guess that is correct if they do not use gas or electricity or public transportation or buy products that are produced / transported with oil products! When you raise energy taxes; this taxes everyone even those making under $250,000.

One thing that I find interesting is that when P.O. does something he gives a speech denying / condemning it & how he isn't doing it.

A forked tongue is a tongue split into two distinct ends at the tip; this is a feature common to many species of reptiles. Reptiles smell using the tip of their tongue, and a forked tongue allows them to sense from which direction a smell is coming.


The image has given rise to the expression "to speak with a forked tongue", meaning to say one thing and mean another or, in more general terms, to act in a duplicitous manner.


Hummingbirds also have tongues that split at the tip. Galagos (bushbabies) have a secondary tongue, or sublingua, used for grooming, hidden under their first. WikiPedia

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Energy

To make any product requires energy. To transport any product requires energy. To buy any product requires energy.

P.O. has proposed to raise energy costs via a tax on Carbon. The Congress (House of Reps) has passed this monstrosity (with 8 republicans including an IL congressman Kirk who was our rep until a redistricting a couple of years back). The only thing standing between raising gas prices (50-75%), electric rates (50%-100%), food prices (use energy mainly oil fuels to raise / transport / buy), etc. is our extremely liberal Senate (which just got a filibuster proof Dem majority today [that joke Al Franken was declared the winner in MN]).

We can afford the rise in prices since our needs are not that great; it would mean cutting back on making some "fun / unnecessary" purchases; but there are many people on fixed incomes who will not be able to afford it. This bill will also cost jobs. When companies are faced with higher costs for electricity and other energy costs plus selling fewer widgets they will reduce their workforce especially with people reducing their purchases of other items.

It will be a disaster for our nation; but it will reduce our carbon footprint by 5-7% (or more as people can not afford to use energy). However, China & India will not reduce their use of energy and will take away more jobs!

My mother believes that P.O. is smart. To me this bill proves just the opposite!

“There is not the slightest indication that energy will ever be obtainable from the atom” Albert Einstein
Love is like energy. It can never be created nor destroyed...it is just always there. You just have to realize that fact and you have to learn that as soon as you stopped loving him in the way you did that love left to somewhere else. Now all you have to do is find out where that love went. That love went to whoever the next person in your life will be. That next person could be one of your friends or someone you might dislike, you just have to find that out. Ian Philpot

It's a waste of energy to be angry with a man who behaves badly, just as it is to be angry with a car that won't go Bertrand Russell

ELECTRICITY, (n) The power that causes all natural phenomena not known to be caused by something else. It is the same thing as lightning, and its famous attempt to strike Dr. Franklin is one of the most picturesque incidents in that great and good man's career. The memory of Dr. Franklin is justly held in great reverence, particularly in France, where a waxen effigy of him was recently on exhibition, bearing the following touching account of his life and services to science:
        "Monsieur Franqulin, inventor of electricity.  This
illustrious savant, after having made several voyages around the
world, died on the Sandwich Islands and was devoured by savages,
of whom not a single fragment was ever recovered."

Electricity seems destined to play a most important part in the arts and industries. The question of its economical application to some purposes is still unsettled, but experiment has already proved that it will propel a street car better than a gas jet and give more light than a horse. (DD)

Monday, June 29, 2009

Shorts

I like to wear shorts. Probably because they are comfortable & I have OK legs (probably my best physical quality).

I like shorts that are "short"; to me shorts that go to the ankles or lower than the knees are not shorts but longs! I wonder why people like longs since it is getting harder & harder to get shorts. Why not wear long pants & get it over with. Another problem is what I call the elephant legs; shorts that would fit around my waist at the bottom. I sometimes buy shorts on line & have ended up with semi-elephant leg shorts.

Of course being an old fogey, I think that pants that fall below the butt crack are ridiculous also but that is another story.

Success sometimes can really bite you in the shorts Donny Osmond


It's a dog-eat-dog world, and I'm wearing Milk Bone shorts. Kelly Allen


You only have to look around on a hot day to see ancient ladies in short shorts, and you'll realise that many women are extraordinarily - inexplicably - confident about their bodies. If anything we should hold back a little bit. Sian Phillips


shorts (n) short pants that reach only to the thighs or knees

Friday, June 26, 2009

Ms.

My daughter sent me a lovely Father's Day card. We (& I assume her) get a lot of address stickers; it seems that every Charity in the world send them out & since many Charities exchange mailing lists; we get more than enough address labels.

What stuck me was that my daughter's label was Ms. then her name. My wife does not particularly like the term "Ms." & I was wondering if my daughter noticed the name. If she is like me, I look & look for labels with just my name or both our names or some other combination (since we have so many each with different variations of our names) and can only find ones with my wife's name or other incorrect combination.

For us "Baby boomers", Ms. has a very women's lib meaning. If you are liberal & a feminist then Ms is a badge of honor; but not necessarily for happily married women like my daughter & wife.

“If Miss means respectably unmarried, and Mrs. respectably married, then Ms. means nudge, nudge, wink, wink.” Angela Carter

“Modern life is confusing - no "Ms take" about it.” Geraldine A. Ferraro

Ms. (n) a title used before the surname or full name of any woman regardless of her marital status (a neutral alternative to Mrs. or Miss)
• humorous used before an invented surname to imply that someone has a particular characteristic
ORIGIN 1950s: combination of Mrs. and miss

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

TANSTAAFL

Robert A. Heinlein was one of my favorite authors when I was younger. Some of later books were just strange & not fun like his earlier ones. He won 3 SciFi Hugo Awards (best SciFi novels).

His saying "TANSTAAFL" is very appropriate now a days. It basically means that "there is no free lunch" when the lunch is free the drinks are more expensive, etc. P.O. who promised no one making less than $250K will pay more in taxes; however, with Trade & Cap will raise energy prices for everyone; "free" medical care will cost between $1-4,000,000,000,000 over 10 years.

TANSTAAFL!

The phrase free lunch, in U. S. literature from about 1870 to 1920, refers to a tradition once common in saloons in many places in the United States. These establishments included a "free" lunch, varying from rudimentary to quite elaborate, with the purchase of at least one drink. These free lunches were typically worth far more than the price of a single drink.[1] The saloon-keeper relied on the expectation that most customers would buy more than one drink, and that the practice would build patronage for other times of day.
Sometimes, free food or drink is supplied today, often by gambling establishments.
The saying "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch", often abbeviated to TANSTAAFL, refers to this custom, meaning that things which appear to be free are always paid for in some way.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Congrats Pens!

I wanted to wait to give the PIT Pens congrats until after Sunday since my son said in his blog that he had to record the game.

The Pens did what you have to do to beat my Redwings : great goaltending & a max defensive effort. The RW's put a lot of pressure on the Pens in the last period but Fleury was up to the task.

The NBA finals also ended badly in my view. Maybe next year. Pens had a good young team whereas, the RW's are older; so it will be a upward struggle!

victory (n) an act of defeating an enemy or opponent in a battle, game, or other competition
ORIGIN Middle English : from Anglo-Norman French victorie, from Latin victoria.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Hockey

Since the Redwings lost the 2 games in PIT, I got to see them play on SAT & will get to see them again at least on TUES night.

I tried to listen to the game 3, but the Cubs game overcame the signal & I only heard part of the game, I think PIT was up 3-2 then. Thurs game 4, we had choir practice so when I got home I listened on the Computer. I tuned in & it was 2-2 and after about 5 minutes later it was 4-2 PIT, so I went to bed.

Game 5, we (Redwings) got back Draper & Datsyuk. After game 4. it looked like Crosby (PIT) finally got going & Zetterberg was getting tired. So I was afraid that maybe the Pens would break thru.

It was very similar to the Blackhawk game where the BH lost their composure; the Pens starting committing stupid penalties after they were down a few goals. In general, the Redwings can be scored on, but you can not commit stupid penalties against them.

It looked to me like Datsyuk was playing well. What is amazing to me is that the Redwings' best players are also their best defensive forwards. With Datsyuk back, the Redwings have 2 players that can play Crosby; so I hope they can keep the cup.

It is interesting to me that my son is an Anti-Redwings fan & my son-in-law is a Redwings fan. It may be because my son grew up mainly in IL & S-i-l in MI.

”Last season we couldn't win at home and we were losing on the road. My failure was that I couldn't think of any place else to play.” - Harry Neale

”My former wife made me a millionaire. I used to have three million dollars.”- Bobby Hull

”The three important elements of hockey are: forecheck, backcheck and paycheck.” - Gil Perreault

The Stanley Cup (link is an ad from my son's blog), notably the oldest trophy competed for by professional athletes in North America, was donated in 1892 by Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley, Lord Stanley of Preston and son of the Earl of Derby. He purchased the trophy for 10 Guineas ($50.00 at that time) to be presented to "the championship hockey club of the Dominion of Canada." The first team ever awarded the Stanley Cup was the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association in 1893.
Since 1910, when the National Hockey Association took possession of the Stanley Cup, the trophy has been symbolic of professional hockey supremacy. Beginning in 1926, only NHL teams have competed for this prized trophy.
There have been numerous alterations to the Cup structure. In its infancy, tiered rings were added periodically to the bottom of the bowl. This was followed by long narrow bands in 1927 which were later replaced by uneven bands in 1947. Because the Cup is the only professional sports trophy where the name of every member of the winning team is inscribed, bands are often retired to make room for new champions. Retired bands, along with the original Stanley Cup bowl, are proudly displayed in Lord Stanley's Vault in the Verizon Great Hall. Currently the Cup consists of a bowl, three tiered bands, a collar, and five barrel or uniform bands. The trophy stands at 35 ¼ inches and weighs 34 ½ pounds. (complete measurement and inscription breakdown)
Each year upon presentation of the trophy to the championship team, a summer of celebration begins, as each of the organization's players and staff enjoy 24 hours with the Cup - a tradition which has no rival in any sport. In its many years of existence, the Stanley Cup has traveled around the world, including stays in Russia, Japan, and Switzerland as well as atop mountain peaks through the Rockies and inside igloos in Canada's newest territory, Nunavut. (Stanley Cup Journals & Galleries)

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Abortion

While reading a Ann Coulter article, she quoted a ELCA web page talked about right of the unborn.  I looked thru the site and found it : Nor is it helpful to use the language of ‘rights’ in absolute ways that imply that no other significant moral claims intrude. A developing life in the womb does not have an absolute right to be born, nor does a pregnant woman have an absolute right to terminate a pregnancy. (Bold is the quote that Ann used).

Since I am a member of a church that is an ELCA congregation, I was upset.  My church seems to quite often take stances that I disagree with.  They seem to be very wishy-washy on certain subjects; usually on subjects that the secular society feels that they have the moral superiority; showing that the secular people are more open minded & accept what to me  is abhorrent behavior.

I could not believe that a church in the footsteps of Paul, Peter, & of course Jesus could not take moral stands that might upset some members.  Remember that Jesus often upset the establishment by preaching love of even the unwashed.

Back to Abortion: I find it interesting that Pro-Abortionists don't like to be called that, they prefer Pro-choice.  Is there a problem with abortion that they don't want to be associated with it?  Also, one of the Roman Catholic Church strongest stands is against abortion; but numerous Liberal Catholic politicians are pro-abortion.

In the white house, we have the most Pro-abortion politicians in the nation.  He wants to pass the Freedom of Choice Act; which would remove all restrictions on abortions.

How come a child can not get an aspirin in school without parental permission, but can get an abortion without notifying the parents?  How come it is a crime to picket abortion clinics?  Why do pro-abortionists get upset if pictures of 1-2 month fetuses (babies) are shown?

Rather than teaching & watching their children, they want to allow abortions for the mistakes. 

I've noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born. ~Ronald Reagan

Only half the patients who go into an abortion clinic come out alive.

If it isn't a baby, then you aren't pregnant, so what are you aborting?

abortion (n) 1 the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy.  • the expulsion of a fetus from the uterus by natural causes before it is able to survive independently.
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin abortio(n-), from aboriri ‘miscarry’ (see abort ).

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

GM

Along with my HDTV buying (looking, looking not buying), I think of buying a new car. GM had some reasonable cars with fairly good mileage. But I can't see buying a Government Motors car now. P.O. has said that he will not interfere with day to day operations (besides putting a 31 yr old law school drop out in charge of the government oversight with no automotive experience) except in important matters. He believes in small fuel efficient cars for others (remember his SUV's before the election); but in general people who have kids want something bigger. It is hard to make money on small cars but he will force GM to go there.

We have spent $50,000,000,000 in helping GM to avoid bankruptcy (well not really since they declared it). What about Ford, they did not take any government money are running fairly well now? If we buy a car, it would probably be a Ford to show that we are for the free capitalistic market.

We have some GM stock which gave us a fairly good dividend for many years. But since P.O. believes the gov & UAW deserve the stock it is now worthless. Fortunately for us we do not completely depend on GM stock for our retirement; but there are many people who used GM stock as the backbone of their retirement. I feel sorry for them; once again screwing the people who tried to play by the rules. Others bought GM bonds and even though they are supposed to be senior debt; P.O. has screwed them in favor of the UAW.

I guess my point is where has the government ever run anything efficiently?

If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1000 MPG Bill Gates

The fact that GM opted to cut production a lot rather than raise incentives again suggest the jig is up. The kinds of levels we`re seeing will be there, but I don`t know we`ll get incrementally higher. David Bradley

I was encouraged to hear that GM has made great progress on the hydrogen car. Albert Wynn

car (n) a road vehicle, typically with four wheels, powered by an internal combustion engine and able to carry a small number of people
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the general sense [wheeled vehicle] ): from Old Northern French carre, based on Latin carrum, carrus, of Celtic origin.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Hockey v. Baseball

I was watching the 2nd playoff game between the Redwings (good guys) & Pens (young guys) & thinking about the differences between BB & Hockey.

In Hockey, a player has his appendix out & plays in three days (Ericsson who scored a goal) in baseball if they feel a tweak they are out 15 days.  In BB over a 3 hour game there is maybe 15 minutes of action (I don't consider the pitcher looking into the catcher or them playing catch as action); in Hockey there is action all the time.  If it is raining the BB games are delayed; Hockey players play on ice!

BB players especially the pitchers are fat & look out of shape; Hockey they are fit able to move on skates at speeds that BB players would consider dangerous.  Whenever, you listen to Hockey players they are articulate; BB players are cliche machines.

Hockey is a man's game; BB is a relaxing boring game!

All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity.  Gordie Howe

Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer.  Ted Williams

sport (n) 1 an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment 2 informal a person who behaves in a good or specified way in response to teasing, defeat, or a similarly trying situation
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense [pastime, entertainment] ): shortening of disport

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Relative

When I take out the dog in the morning, I first look outside to see the temperature. A few days ago it was 56 degrees F. When I got outside it seemed to be cold to me; however, in the winter that same temperature would be considered warm if not down right hot. Proving that temperature to me at least is relative.

Time seems relative also. When we are busy "time flies"; but waiting for the time to leave work when your work is done but the clock hasn't realized that it should be later "time drags". In the Navy, the last few days of any deployment seem to last forever. Waiting to get to sleep seems to last forever but morning quite often comes much too soon.

I always found that car trips to a place seem to take longer than the reverse. 50 miles to work each day seem to take a long time but 50 miles to visit a friend or relative are much easier to traverse.

Special relativity is a theory of the structure of spacetime. It was introduced in Albert Einstein's 1905 paper "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies". Special relativity is based on two postulates which are contradictory in classical mechanics:
The laws of physics are the same for all observers in uniform motion relative to one another (Galileo's principle of relativity),
The speed of light in a vacuum is the same for all observers, regardless of their relative motion or of the motion of the source of the light.
The resultant theory has many surprising consequences. Some of these are:
Relativity of simultaneity: Two events, simultaneous for some observer, may not be simultaneous for another observer if the observers are in relative motion.
Time dilation: Moving clocks are measured to tick more slowly than an observer's "stationary" clock.
Length contraction: Objects are measured to be shortened in the direction that they are moving with respect to the observer.
Mass-energy equivalence: E = mc2, energy and mass are equivalent and transmutable.
from : WikiPedia Special Relativity

Thursday, May 28, 2009

NO WHAT?

As I may have already mentioned we have No Cable TV, no Air Conditioner, 1 TV (not HDTV yet) & 1 car. In general these are not problems.

But as is obvious, I am a Redwings' fan. Since they were playing the Chi Blackhawks, I was able to listen to them on the local radio station. It might have been nice to watch their games, since the announcers were complaining about many missed calls against my team by the refs; I would have liked to see the game to "notice" any missed calls on the BHs! Now most of the finals will be on Cable, so I will miss the games unless I go online to listen to the Redwing broadcast.

A/C would be nice when it is very hot in the summer especially at night. Since we live in the Midwest, the weather isn't way too hot most of the times; but 2-4 times a year it would be nice.

1 car isn't so bad in general when only one of us goes somewhere the other is usually at home (usually me at home, my wife is much more social).

1 TV is not a problem since we watch the same programs most of the time; and I can watch the TV programs that I miss on the computer.

We don't live like hermits; we have DSL and computers; but we (mainly me) are cheap.

"Rather to go to bed supperless than rise in debt"- Benjamin Franklin

"Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship"- Benjamin Franklin

"He who does not economize will have to agonize"-Confusius

cheap (adj) low in price; worth more than its cost ; inexpensive because of inferior quality : cheap, shoddy goods. • informal miserly; stingy • of little worth because achieved in a discreditable way requiring little effort
PHRASES
dirt cheap |ˈˈdərt ˈtʃip| very cheap or cheaply
on the cheap informal at a low cost
ORIGIN late 15th cent.: from an obsolete phrase good cheap [a good bargain,] from Old English cēap [bargaining, trade,] based on Latin caupo ‘small trader, innkeeper.’

Monday, May 25, 2009

Blackhawks don't show up

I was worried about the RedWing / Blackhawk game on Sunday. The Wings top Defender (Lidstrom) , the top or second best Forward (Datsyuk {Zetterburg might be better}), and a gutty power play wing (Draper) were out; whereas, the BH's were only missing their goalkeeper (and the sub goalie beat the Wings the last regular seson game he played & shut Wings out after he came into game 3). I thought maybe my son had bloodied Draper (see comment on Hate Crimes).

Plus the BH's had out played or were even with the RW for much of the second game (which they lost) and most of the third game (which they won). The BH's were at home where they play very well.

But the BH did not seem to have the fire necessary to beat the experienced RW. A mistake early by BH led to a 2 on 1 short handed break-away & the Wings scored. I thought at least we (we fans like to think that we are part of the team) won't get shut out. Then they scored two more goals (one due to a strange {phantom} penalty on a BH) & I was feeling rather good. But then a power play goal by the BH young center Toews. Worry started, BH have come back from 3-0 goal deficits before in this playoff season. But 12 seconds later the Wings scored & it was over.

From that point on the BH's just lost it; committing more & more cheap shots. I was surprised since they are in general not a goon team but more skillful. Verstaag after coming out of the penalty box committed another penalty 6 seconds later. When Verstaag tried to get Kronwall to fight late in the game Kronwall just laughed at him.

I hope the Wings don't get over confident since the BH have a good young team and have a good coach. The game was hopefully an learning experience for the BH's.

”A fast body-contact game played by men with clubs in their hands and knives laced to their feet.” - Paul Gallico

”A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” –Wayne Gretzky

”Goaltending is a normal job, sure. How would you like it in your job if every time you made a small mistake, a red light went on over your desk and 15,000 people stood up and yelled at you.” - Jacques Plante

”Ice hockey is a form of disorderly conduct in which the score is kept.” - Doug Larson

ice hockey (n) a fast contact sport played on an ice rink between two teams of six skaters, who attempt to drive a small rubber disk (the puck) into the opposing goal with hooked or angled sticks. It developed in Canada in the 19th century.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Screw the Prudent

One of the reasons I am not a P.O. fan is his ability to screw with the prudent person at the expense of the deadbeats.

First the large banks had to be bailed out since they were ridiculously trading in bad mortgages. The good banks (in general the small local banks) have to pay with more restrictions on them since the bad guys can't work properly.

Next, the people who bought too much house way beyond their means (who could not afford even a 1/4 % increase in their ARM's) are bailed out by the prudent home owners who bought houses which they could afford even if they are not castles.

Now the credit card deadbeats who charge too much that they can not afford are being bailed out by the government. Since, credit card companies have to make money they will raise the fees for the prudent card holders who pay off their bills each month & who realize that eventually the credit card bill must be paid.

I always thought that being prudent paid off!

“He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.” Sun Tzu

“Nothing is more dangerous than a friend without discretion; even a prudent enemy is preferable.” Jean de La Fontaine

“The senses deceive from time to time, and it is prudent never to trust wholly those who have deceived us even once” Rene Descartes

prudent (adj) acting with or showing care and thought for the future
ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French, or from Latin prudent-, contraction of provident- ‘foreseeing, attending to’ (see provident ).

Friday, May 22, 2009

Traffic Signs

STOP sign use to mean stop look both ways then proceed; now it means slow down a little to ensure no cops are there if not gun it.

MERGE AHEAD sign use to mean move into the lane that is continuing as soon as possible; now zoom up to last point and zip in in front of those idiots who were considerate.

SPEED LIMIT 50 sign use to mean don't go over 50 + 5 mph; now means do not under any circumstances go below 55 preferably 60 or above.

NO PASSING stripe do not pass; now it means nothing.

TRAFFIC LIGHT green means go after checking both ways & yellow and red stop; now green gun it ASAP, yellow speed up; red if it just turned no use stopping.

“Outside of traffic, there is nothing that has held this country back as much as committees.”
Will Rogers

“The only way to solve the traffic problems of the country is to pass a law that only paid-for cars are allowed to use the highways. That would make traffic so scarce, we could use our boulevards for children's playgrounds.” Will Rogers

consideration (n) 1 careful thought, typically over a period of time • a fact or a motive taken into account in deciding or judging something • thoughtfulness and sensitivity toward others 
2 a payment or reward  3 archaic importance; consequence.
ORIGIN late Middle English : via Old French from Latin consideration-, from considerare ‘examine.’

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Hate Crimes

I don't understand the concept of hate crimes. I always thought that thought was protected. My son "hates" the RedWings (his brother-in-law & I are RedWing fans). The RedWings are a minority group with maybe 50 players & coaches so is he guilty of a hate crime?

P.O. is passing a very wide range "hate crime" bill which makes sexual types as a minority for the hate crime universe. It is my opinion that hating someone should not have any effect on the sentencing of crimes. How about adding 5 years to any crime that is committed with a gun? True gun control without hurting innocent members of society.

Kingston Trio "The Merry Minuet":
The French hate the Germans. The Germans hate the Poles. Italians hate Yugoslavs. South Africans hate the Dutch and I don't like anybody very much!


You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.
Anne Lamott

We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another. Jonathan Swift
HATRED, (n) A sentiment appropriate to the occasion of another's superiority. (DD)

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Mlother's Day

My father died when I was 5, so my mother was left to raise 3 kids 5, 3, & 2 by herself She got a job as a secretary & got an aunt to watch us and raised us. She is a remarkable woman.

Shortly after we had our oldest son, I joined the Navy (in part to avoid the draft but also I was tired of school ). I was in the sub service & I would go away for 3-4 months at a time. We had our daughter while I was in the Navy at a shipyard for a refit. So my wife had to raise the kids by herself when I was under the sea basically unavailable. My wife is a marvelous person & mother.

We should all respect & call our Mothers at least on Mother's Day. I actually called mine early so I wouldn't forget!

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~Tenneva Jordan

The phrase "working mother" is redundant. ~Jane Sellman

An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy. ~Spanish Proverb

Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible. ~Marion C. Garretty

The only mothers it is safe to forget on Mother's Day are the good ones. ~Mignon McLaughlin,

mother (n) 1 a woman in relation to a child or children to whom she has given birth. • a person who provides the care and affection normally associated with a female parent • a female animal in relation to its offspring
ORIGIN Old English mōdor, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch moeder and German Mutter, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin mater and Greek mētēr.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Shampoo Rinse Shampoo

According to the shampoo bottles the proper procedure is to Shampoo then Rinse then Shampoo again.  This works out well for the shampoo manufacturers since twice as much shampoo is used; however, according to a leading consumer product tester there is no benefit to do it that way.

Many ways the things that P.O. says have no benefit for the average non-union, non-abortionist, non-ACORN, etc. person.  He has threatened to use the force of the mainstream media to force various secured creditors of GM & Chrysler to agree to a deal which will give the union a much larger stake in the auto makers than the secured creditors.  One of the reasons that the big 3 auto makers are in such bad shape is the ridiculous work rules & pensions & health care that the automakers stupidly agreed to.  How can a car maker change the contracts with the union owning 40% & the super pro-union government 50%?

Of course, it doesn't have to make sense if :The One" says it.  Sorry Grandkids that we are leaving you all this debt & socialist policies because many of us (not me or Grandma) voted for "The One."

shampoo (n) a liquid preparation containing detergent or soap for washing the hair • a similar substance for cleaning a carpet, soft furnishings, or a car • an act of washing or cleaning something, esp. 
ORIGIN mid 18th cent. (in the sense [massage (as part of a Turkish bath process)] ): from Hindi cāṃpo! ‘press!,’ imperative of cāṃpnā.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Franking

The House wants to increase Members’ office budgets next fiscal year by almost 15 percent, partly because 2010 is an election year and lawmakers anticipate a surge in franked mail.

In a recently released budget request, the House Chief Administrative Officer asked appropriators to raise the Members’ Representational Allowances — which fund everything needed to run offices, including salaries, travel and supplies — by $90 million, citing increases “due to the election year cycle.”

“In an election year the expenditures increase and then decrease in a non-election year,” the request reads.

In my opinion, I believe that congressmen should be able to frank the postage.  However, I think they should have to actually sign the letter not a stamp via an employee.

It is another way that Congress does not share in the pain but keeps increasing their benefits while they spend my grandkids grandkids' money!

frank (v)  stamp an official mark on (a letter or parcel), esp. to indicate that postage has been paid or does not need to be paid. • historical sign (a letter or parcel) to ensure delivery free of charge. • archaic facilitate or pay the passage of (someone)
(n) an official mark or signature on a letter or parcel, esp. to indicate that postage has been paid or does not need to be paid. [ORIGIN: formerly as a superscribed signature of an eminent person entitled to send letters free of charge.]
ORIGIN early 18th cent.: from frank 1 , an early sense being [free of obligation.]

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Security

To me the main duty of the President of the US is to keep the country safe by providing a military & making good non-partisan decisions.

I was not happy with a lot that President Bush (the second) did economically, he spent way too much & compromised too much (in my opinion) with the democrats; but he did protect this country & in my opinion made it safer.

Now P.O. (for those of you who haven't figured it out is President Barrack Obama) makes the country safer by releasing the "torture memos" that were supplied by P.B.'s justice department.  P.O. releases these for what purpose ? Too tell our enemies the extent we will go to to get info from terrorist?  Or to embarrass the P.B. administration?

It seems to me by prosecuting the men who gave these opinions (I know he has said he wouldn't / would /wouldn't / would in typical P.O. form); you will not get valid opinions for intelligence findings.

Then he is (/ is not /is/ is not) releasing the terrorists from Gitmo to our country since no other country wants them; how is this helping the security of the US?

So far P.O. is failing (IMO) to perform his most important function.

security (n) 1 the state of being free from danger or threat • the safety of a state or organization against criminal activity such as terrorism, theft, or espionage • procedures followed or measures taken to ensure such safety • the state of feeling safe, stable, and free from fear or anxiety 
ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French securite or Latin securitas, from securus ‘free from care’ (see secure )

Thursday, April 30, 2009

More Rhymes

"Rain, rain go away, come back some other day!"

"April showers bring May flowers."

It seems like it has been raining or threatening to rain forever (or a week). We like to bicycle places, but do not like to bike in the rain (slippery brakes, getting wet, etc.). So we have not been able to do much biking the last few days. Biking helps us to use up the calories that we gulp down; whereas, not biking allows the yummy foods to build up in us (& not into muscle).

Also, my wife has been working in what we laughingly like to call our garden, but we can't do much when the ground is soaked.

Of course, since we have a well for our water, rain also gives us drinking water for much of the summer. Oh well, into each life a little rain must come!

“If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is "God is crying." And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is "Probably because of something you did."” Jack Handy

“The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“A poet is someone who stands outside in the rain hoping to be struck by lightning.” James Dickey

rain (n) moisture condensed from the atmosphere that falls visibly in separate drops • [in sing. ] a large or overwhelming quantity of things that fall or descend

ORIGIN Old English regn (noun), regnian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch regen and German Regen.