Translations

When I lead Bible study, I encourage the use of different translations. It gives a different spin on some of the verses.

The Tuesday group has the NASB (New American Standard Bible) [ the one I use], NIV (New International Version), NRSV (New Revised Standard Version - one used in our worship services), Good News Bible, and maybe even a NKJV (New King's James Version).

I use my translation because it has the verses as I remember them from my youth plus it keeps some of the poetry.  For example: from Mark 1:19 from the NIV is "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" from NASB is "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." from NRSV is "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news." They of course are very similar but "is at hand" seems to me to more powerful.  

For future reference http://www.biblegateway.com/ is a great website to use when you are looking for a chapter or verses when you are online.  I got the NASB & NIV translations above there (they do not have the NRSV on their site but do have different language Bible translations).

The rationale for the newer translations is to bring the language closer to the language of the today.  I think something is lost when we dumb down the Word.  "Thy" is not a frightening word, but we change it to "your".

One of the people in the study said my Bible is a Baptist Bible.  I guess I am conservative in my Bible too!

translation (n) 1 the process of translating words or text from one language into another : Constantine's translation of Arabic texts into Latin. • a written or spoken rendering of the meaning of a word, speech, book, or other text, in another language : a German translation of Oscar Wilde's play | a term for which there is no adequate English translation. 2 the conversion of something from one form or medium into another : the translation of research findings into clinical practice.

GOP finally stands up

No GOP member of House of Representatives voted for the "Stimulus" Bill.  Many conservatives such as myself were very tired of the GOP going along with the Dems leading us to the poor house and to a more socialistic country.  One of the main reasons the GOP lost control of the House & Senate & the Presidency is that they started acting like Dems and not conservatives; they did not reduce waste or earmarks or taxes.

Finally they have stood up for us!  It is amazing all of the waste / pork in the "Stimulus" bill.  One of the major problems now is the lack of jobs; lots of people are losing their jobs NOW.  The Bill does almost nothing to lead to new sustainable jobs.

http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/HR1.pdf   is a PDF of the bill, just some provisions randomly chosen:

DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER BOX PROGRAM
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and in addition to amounts otherwise provided in any other Act, for costs associated with the Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Program, $650,000,000, to be available until September 30, 2009

For an additional amount for ‘‘Science’’, $400,000,000, of which not less than $250,000,000 shall be solely for accelerating the development of the tier 1 set of Earth science climate research missions recommended by the National Academies Decadal Survey

For an additional amount to be deposited in the Federal Buildings Fund, $7,700,000,000 for real property activities with priority given to activities that can commence promptly following enactment of this Act; of which up to $1,000,000,000 shall be used for construction, repair, and alteration of border facilities and land ports of entry; of which not less than $6,000,000,000 shall be used for construction, repair, and alteration of Federal buildings for projects that will create the greatest impact on energy efficiency and conservation; of which $108,000,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2012, and shall be used for rental of space costs associated with the construction, repair, and alteration of these projects;

For an additional amount for ‘‘Indian Health Facilities’’, $550,000,000, for priority health care facilities construction projects and deferred maintenance, and the purchase of equipment and related services, including but not limited to health information technology

POVERTY, (n) A file provided for the teeth of the rats of reform. The number of plans for its abolition equals that of the reformers who suffer from it, plus that of the philosophers who know nothing about it. Its victims are distinguished by possession of all the virtues and by their faith in leaders seeking to conduct them into a prosperity where they believe these to be unknown

Fouls

Sometimes life is just not fair!

In the NBA Basketball, they have a rule book which defines traveling & fouls.  However, if your name was Michael Jordan the rules did not apply, if Mike ripped off an opponents hand there was no foul but if Mike missed a shot & a defender was within 6 or 7 feet on him it was a foul.  If you are L. James or K. Bryant the same basic rules apply to you as Mike.  If you are a Rookie, you don't go to the foul line.

In college basketball, if a coach commits a technical foul such as foul language at a ref he gets a technical foul unless he is coach K.  Actually college B-Ball is close to fair with respect to fouls calls on players.

In the NBA or NHL, fouls in the game's last few minutes are not in general called.  In the NFL, holding & defensive interference are very subjective.  It has been said that holding could be called on almost every play but only seems to be called against the weak teams.

In the NBA, fouls out on the floor are touch fouls, but under the hoop battery occurs without a call.

You may wonder what bought this up, was one of my teams screwed?  No, just something I was thinking about on my dog walk!

foul (n) 1 (in sports) an unfair or invalid stroke or piece of play, esp. one involving interference with an opponent. • a collision or entanglement in riding, rowing, or running. • short for foul ball . 2 informal dated a disease in the feet of cattle.

Conservation

I conserve for 2 reasons.  #1, I am cheap, by reducing the amount of gas or electricity that I buy / use I save money.  #2, I think it is better to reduce pollutants to keep our planet in better shape.

In the summer, spring & fall, we bicycle most places, to stores, to church, to library, etc.  In the winter we try to combine our trips; like going first to the YMCA then Bible Study then to stores.  I am always turning off lights in the house, we have electric baseboard heat so we lower the heat in rooms that we don't use much & turn down the heat when we leave the house or go to bed.

Al Gore talks a good (but boring) game but uses his private jet to go to Global Warming Conferences.  One conference used the equivalent of the energy of a small city to just get there.  President Obama before being elected talked about reducing pollution but drove personal SUV's (I am not against SUVs but am against hypocrisy now that he is President he needs the security of the Presidential limos). Many hollywood celebrities preach to us little people about saving the planet but use more energy in a day then we little people use in our lifetimes.  Sacrifice of others is much easier to bear!

There are many easy / painless ways to reduce energy use; turn off lights, plan auto trips to maximize the outing, etc.  But talking about it saves little (except for the hot air generated).

conservation (n)  the action of conserving something, in particular • preservation, protection, or restoration of the natural environment, natural ecosystems, vegetation, and wildlife.
• preservation, repair, and prevention of deterioration of archaeological, historical, and cultural sites and artifacts. • prevention of excessive or wasteful use of a resource. • Physics the principle by which the total value of a physical quantity (such as energy, mass, or linear or angular momentum) remains constant in a system.

First Days in office

President Obama has chosen some interesting items for his first days in office.

President Barack Obama will sign an executive order later Friday ending the ban on federal funds for international groups that promote or perform abortion, officials said. Many people don't want their money to go for international abortions or any abortions.

He also decided to close the detention facility on Gitmo & stop the trials & future trials (military tribunals) at Gitmo. He may have trouble finding anyone to accept the terrorists especially the rich liberals who support him; not in their neighborhood.

So he has not made the US safer for all of us or especially for babies. I worry that he is going to push a very liberal agenda which most middle class Americans do not support.

His $1,000,000,000,000 stimulus bill does not seem to make sense for starting the economy but rather a reward for the various lobby groups that gave him the half a billion dollars to buy the election.

PRESIDENCY, (n) The greased pig in the field game of American politics

Hobgoblin

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. Ralph Waldo Emerson

I like to do things in a certain way.  I like to sit in the same location at church & in choir.  I put my things in a particular place, i.e., my wallet & watch go in the same place when I get home. I like to go to the Ymca at a certain time, I like to use a particular locker (there is a locker island in the middle, I try to use one of the 4 corner lockers).  I like to use a particular shower (second one in on the left side as you enter the shower [it has a good spray & I know the temperature control for it]).

When I lead the Bible Study, I sit at the head & remove one of the 2 chairs.  When we drive anywhere I like to drive (I used to get car sick when I wasn't driving).

My wife recites an A. A. Milne poem The King's Breakfast
"Nobody,"
He whimpered,
"Could call me
A fussy man;
I only want
A little bit
Of butter for
My bread!"

I wonder if she thinks about me when she does!

consistency (n)  1 conformity in the application of something, typically that which is necessary for the sake of logic, accuracy, or fairness : the grading system is to be streamlined to ensure greater consistency. • the achievement of a level of performance that does not vary greatly in quality over time : his principal problem in tennis has been consistency.

Common Thought

I heard numerous times on the radio & TV that most people did not think that a Afro-American could ever become president.

I always thought that an Afro-American could become president in my lifetime.  I was hoping for someone with a little bit of executive experience however, not who we have.

It seems that popular thought is not something that I am good with (remember never end a sentence with a preposition).

EXECUTIVE, (n) An officer of the Government, whose duty it is to enforce the wishes of the legislative power until such time as the judicial department shall be pleased to pronounce them invalid and of no effect. Following is an extract from an old book entitled, The Lunarian Astonished -- Pfeiffer & Co., Boston, 1803:
LUNARIAN: Then when your Congress has passed a law it goes directly to the Supreme Court in order that it may at once be known whether it is constitutional?
TERRESTRIAN: O no; it does not require the approval of the Supreme Court until having perhaps been enforced for many years somebody objects to its operation against himself -- I
mean his client. The President, if he approves it, begins to execute it at once.
LUNARIAN: Ah, the executive power is a part of the legislative. Do your policemen also have to approve the local ordinances that they enforce?
TERRESTRIAN: Not yet -- at least not in their character of constables. Generally speaking, though, all laws require the approval of those whom they are intended to restrain.
LUNARIAN: I see. The death warrant is not valid until signed by the murderer.
TERRESTRIAN: My friend, you put it too strongly; we are not so consistent.
LUNARIAN: But this system of maintaining an expensive judicial machinery to pass upon the validity of laws only after they have long been executed, and then only when brought before the
court by some private person -- does it not cause great confusion?
TERRESTRIAN: It does.
LUNARIAN: Why then should not your laws, previously to being executed, be validated, not by the signature of your President, but by that of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?
TERRESTRIAN: There is no precedent for any such course.
LUNARIAN: Precedent. What is that?
TERRESTRIAN: It has been defined by five hundred lawyers in three volumes each. So how can any one know? (Devil's Dictionary)

President Obama

I disagree politically with President Obama,  but wish him luck.  There are a lot of problems that he will have to face.  If he succeeds the country succeeds!

It's great that the inauguration will be the day after Martin Luther Day.

The country has survived many average or bad presidents; we need a good one right now!

PRESIDENT, (n) The leading figure in a small group of men of whom -- and of whom only -- it is positively known that immense numbers of their countrymen did not want any of them for President.
If that's an honor surely 'tis a greater
To have been a simple and undamned spectator.
Behold in me a man of mark and note
Whom no elector e'er denied a vote! --
An undiscredited, unhooted gent
Who might, for all we know, be President
By acclimation. Cheer, ye varlets, cheer --
I'm passing with a wide and open ear!
Jonathan Fomry

Dumbest of the Lot

I am not a particularly stupid person but in my immediate family I'm the dumbest.

My son was valedictorian in high school as was his wife (obviously different schools).  My daughter was a National Merit Scholar finalist.  My wife & all of her family are brilliant.

My mother skipped a grade when she was in school.

“I'm not dumb. I just have a command of thoroughly useless information.” Bill Watterson

“You see a lot of smart guys with dumb women, but you hardly ever see a smart woman with a dumb guy.”  Erica Jong

“When I think over what I have said, I envy dumb people.”  Seneca

“Nowadays it is about as big a crime to be dumb as it is to be dishonest.”  Will Rogers

“I'm not offended by dumb blonde jokes because I know that I'm not dumb. I also know I'm not blonde.”  Dolly Parton

“Girls have an unfair advantage over men: if they can't get what they want by being smart, they can get it by being dumb.” Yul Brynner

dumb (adj) informal : stupid, unintelligent, ignorant, dense, brainless, mindless, foolish, slow, dull, simple, empty-headed,stunned, vacuous, vapid, idiotic, half-baked, imbecilic, bovine; informal thick, dim, moronic, dopey, dozy, thickheaded, fat-headed, birdbrained, pea-brained; daft

Consideration

There are numerous little irritants at the YMCA.  Like people who go to the swimming pool without a towel.  The locker room is arranged as you come with the lockers, then the showers, then the pool.  To get from the pool to the lockers, you go through the showers.

So they come into the locker room from the pool completely wet, dripping water everywhere & especially at their locker.  So if you are next to the inconsiderate lout, your feet & anything that is put on the floor gets soaked plus the locker room has a very slippery floor if wet; I'm seen mainly older patrons who have almost fallen down.  Ditto for the people who go to the shower without their towels.

Another is the person who when we had benches (now we have individual stools), puts his Y bag (usually the size of a large trunk), and his clothes & 100's of other items on the bench.  I need to sit down to put on my shoes which is impossible!

A requirement of the Y, is to take a nude soapy shower before going into the pool; however, many people don't.

Another is people who sit on the weight machines to talk to others or just watch the TV or the people who do approx. 7500 repetitions on the machine I need to complete my workout.

I think these people do not understand basic consideration.  I was raised to be considerate of others; why didn't other people learn these rules?

consideration (n)  1 thought, deliberation, reflection, contemplation, rumination, meditation; examination, inspection, scrutiny, analysis, discussion; attention, regard; formal cogitation.
2 factor, issue, matter, concern, detail, aspect, feature. 3 attentiveness, concern, care, thoughtfulness, solicitude; kindness, understanding, respect, sensitivity, tact, discretion; compassion, charity, benevolence

Recession

I read a science fiction short story that talks about a man who decided to not buy a refrigerator & that caused a recession.  It worked like this (approx.) the store manager had to lay off a person due to lack of sales who did not buy a new house so a builder did not buy something else, etc.

The government (like that would happen now!) figured out that this incident caused the recession & had the man buy the refrig & everything returned to normal!

I wonder if my not buying the HDTV has caused this recession!

recession (n) The act of withdrawing or going back. An extended decline in general business activity, typically two consecutive quarters of falling real gross national product. The withdrawal in a line or file of participants in a ceremony, especially clerics and choir members after a church service.

"A recession is when your neighbor loses his job; a depression is when you lose yours." (Ronald Reagan) He added:  “And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his.”

Memory

I have learned numerous computer languages. The first was Fortran (basically a calculation language), then I learned SNOBOL (a string manipulation) & ALGOL (calculation). Next was BASIC (a very basic language). Then came PASCAL (was Macintosh's preferred language) & ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE (for work). C (an elegant language), C++ (object language based on C), Obective-C (Mac's new language). Add JAVA & Javascript to round out the languages.

Notice the past tense; I have to relearn these every time I use them. Now mainly C,C++, SmallTalk (Obj C). My memory can not keep the knowledge in there. One problem is that I use them so seldom that my brain cells are filled with other things (food, choir anthems, Bible studies, sleep,etc.) & there is a limited number of neurons.

I find my memory is not as good as my wife's, daughter's, son's, etc.. I remember things that no one else does (say figment) or remember things incorrectly. One memory trick I use is ask my wife to remind me, this seems to help me remember.

.........

Winter is here also. My daughter has been writing about her weather for a few posts. We reached -18 degrees F last night & this morning when I took out Frisbit.

.........

Another hero, electric utility repairmen who go out in the horrid weather to keep the electricity flowing!

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."

Government's Role

I thought the US Constitution was there to limit the power of the federal government  Roe v Wade was not so much about banning abortion as about the State's right to make their own laws regarding it.  Many Southern states would probably limit it (having a basically fundamental Christian basis) but liberal states (with a relativistic moral compass - can't judge right from wrong, it depends on the situation) like NY & CA would allow it.  Amendment X : The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

It seems that most politicians believe they are there to protect us from ourselves.  No smoking bans (I hate smoking & try to avoid places where smoking occurs), banning WalMart because they dare to not have unions, bailing out everybody & thing, supplying converter boxes & then delaying the implementation; in my opinion are not valid government pursuits.  Free choice has been given us by God why can't government follow suit?  Free to succeed & free to fail!

POLITICIAN, (n)  An eel in the fundamental mud upon which the superstructure of organized society is reared. When we wriggles [sic] he mistakes the agitation of his tail for the trembling of the edifice. As compared with the statesman, he suffers the disadvantage of being alive.

GDAD's Playlist

I am amazed at all of the modules that exist for the Google Blogs.  I have added a Playlist.  My list is mainly 1960-70's music, but there are numerous later songs there.  To add it you first go to playlist editor  & add some songs then add it to your blog.

Of course, eventually I might have 100's of neat features & no blog content!

amazed (adj) astonished, thunderstruck, speechless, at a loss for words, dumbstruck; aghast, taken aback; informal bowled over, flabbergasted, blown away

Great TV Debate of '09

I was debating with a formidable opponent on the buying of a HDTV! I was on both sides! I want a HDTV but don't need a HDTV.

Pro HDTV guy looked at numerous reviews & saw a great price for a LG Electronics 37" 1080p HDTV. He talked to his lovely wife who said he could buy it if he really wanted it. He even went to the extent of putting it in the cart.

Then Con HDTV guy got into the act. He pointed out that they had a perfectly good CRT 27" TV & that they have a digital to analog converter box which presented them with close to HDTV pictures on the channels they watch the most.

Pro guy pointed out that the TV was numerous years old and though it worked perfectly now it was only a matter of time until it failed & if they had a Blu-Ray DVD player; think of the great pictures they would get plus most of the DVD movies they buy are widescreen and think of the wasted space on the old TV. Plus they could hook up their computer to it & view a big picture!

Back came Con saying we don't have a Blu-Ray DVD player & they are expensive! Plus you watch too much TV as it is! Plus why would they need to hook up their laptop to the HDTV monitor anyway!

Pro guy took it out of the cart even though the price had decreased & went to bed dreaming of beautiful TV shows & movies!

Pro guy when he woke up decided to sneak in & buy the TV. However, the HDTV had been sold out at the store that had the great price; woe was him!

Con guy laughed knowing he had won!

DECIDE (v.i.) To succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another set.

    A leaf was riven from a tree,
    "I mean to fall to earth," said he.
    
    The west wind, rising, made him veer.
    "Eastward," said he, "I now shall steer."
    
    The east wind rose with greater force.
    Said he:  "'Twere wise to change my course."
    
    With equal power they contend.
    He said:  "My judgment I suspend."
    
    Down died the winds; the leaf, elate,
    Cried:  "I've decided to fall straight."
    
    "First thoughts are best?"  That's not the moral;
    Just choose your own and we'll not quarrel.
    
    Howe'er your choice may chance to fall,
    You'll have no hand in it at all.
                                                                  G.J.

Weather

We live in the Midwest where winter occurs!

Every local broadcast is leading with a "Winter Weather Advisory". It's amazing that winter weather occurs in the winter. Every year it is a great surprise to many people that it gets cold & it snows. This morning we were going down a fairly good (with respect to snow / ice) road & there were 4 cars in the ditch in a 1 mile stretch with 2 police cars with their lights flashing. I was going less than the posted speed limit so I did not have any trouble.

As people get older they appear to complain more about the cold; hence the exodus of people to the south. My particular complaint is about too hot & muggy weather, I figure that you can always put on another layer but there is a limit to how much you can take off.

There was a poll on a TV in the YMCA (where I work out a couple of times a week) that 45% of the people polled would move because of the weather. People have very short memories, to forget that winter occurs almost every year at this time.

memory (n) 1 a person's power to remember things; the power of the mind to remember things : the brain regions responsible for memory.; the capacity of a substance to return to a previous state or condition after having been altered or deformed. 2 something remembered from the past; a recollection; the length of time over which people continue to remember a person or event : the worst slump in recent memory

World is Ending?

On 2/17/09, the world will end for many people unless the "benevolent" government acts!

As you know one of life's NEEDS is TV.  What would life be like without it?  You might have to talk to people or read books (if you are geeky enough using a Kindle).  Literacy could increase & people might actually figure out what is happening in the world!

It's not as if people have a chance to get convertors; I mean 3 years is little compared to the age of the earth!  But THE ONE (the big O [not Oprah the other one]) might save us by increasing the amount of time to not get a convertor box!

.........

My daughter sometimes uses little dots to separate different thoughts on her blog; so I thought I might as well do it too.

..........

More heroes:

Mothers who raised us or our children; fathers who work & still find time for the kids.  These are probably the most important heroes since our society depends on kids becoming adults!

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

Heros

There are numerous unsung heroes. The snow plow driver, who has to drive to work in the lousy weather & then spend all that time clearing off the snow.

The postman who delivers the mail in all kinds of weather.

The policemen & firemen who keep us safe.

The pastor & ushers of our churches.

The military who keep us safe from foreign powers.

Thank you to all of them!

hero (n) a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities : a war hero; the chief male character in a book, play, or movie, who is typically identified with good qualities, and with whom the reader is expected to sympathize; (in mythology and folklore) a person of superhuman qualities and often semidivine origin, in particular one of those whose exploits and dealings with the gods were the subject of ancient Greek myths and legends

Little Irritants

Today we were on our way to church to help take down the Christmas Trees; when one of our windshield wipers decided it wanted to be free & flew away to the side of the road.  I went a little way further & started to turn into a side street when our car decided that it would be fun to twirl a bit toward the street.  We made the turn eventually and flipped up the wiper arm (which was scraping on the windshield).  We then went to the local Walgrens which was across from the wiper escape.  While I was waiting to cross the street to see how the wiper was; another car decided to twirl into a 90 degree angle perpendicular to the road.  After waiting for all the cars to pass, I went across the street to recover the escapee.  It was well mangled!

We then decided to go straight home.

After we got home we found out that our street had finally been plowed.  The problem with that is that our street is a dead end street East/West & the truck comes down our side first so we get more snow at our side of the road than our across-the-street neighbors.

I have just come in from the 3rd shoveling of our driveway & sidewalk, fortunately the plow truck had just come again (see above).  Last year, I had a lot of trouble with my back which went out after pushing a little snow from our porch.  This year I have figured out if I bend my back I don't have trouble with it.

irritation (n) 1  annoyance, exasperation, vexation, indignation, impatience, crossness, displeasure, chagrin, pique; anger, rage, fury, wrath, aggravation; literary ire. antonym delight. 2 irritant, annoyance, thorn in someone's side/flesh, bother, trial, torment, plague, inconvenience, nuisance, aggravation, pain (in the neck), headache, burr under someone's saddle. antonym pleasure

Snow II

It seems like we never get the amount of snow in the weather forecast. When it says 2-4" we get at most .25". The only exceptions are the first snow of the season when eventually we got 10-12" (but right after that it rained & the temperatures were in the 40's & the snow disappeared); and today when it looks like our 2-4" of snow is actually 4".

My wife likes to snowshoe & she was only able to get in 1 snowshoe trip the last snow before the snow disappeared. According to the forecast it is going to stay below freezing for at least the next week & there is supposed to be a little more snow in the next couple of days!

I look at the temperatures for where my kids live, my daughter is 17, my son is 40 & we are 28 degrees F; we are almost always in the winter in the middle of them.

Looks like Blago (our governor) has been impeached, so now more drama with the trial. In IL politics, the House Leader was anti-Blago & the Senate leader (both Dems) was pro, but the State Senator retired this past election; IL now appears to all anti-Blago!

WEATHER, (n) The climate of the hour. A permanent topic of conversation among persons whom it does not interest, but who have inherited the tendency to chatter about it from naked arboreal ancestors whom it keenly concerned. The setting up official weather bureaus and their maintenance in mendacity prove that even governments are accessible to suasion by the rude forefathers of the jungle.

    Once I dipt into the future far as human eye could see,
    And I saw the Chief Forecaster, dead as any one can be --
    Dead and damned and shut in Hades as a liar from his birth,
    With a record of unreason seldom paralleled on earth.
    While I looked he reared him solemnly, that incadescent youth,
    From the coals that he'd preferred to the advantages of truth.
    He cast his eyes about him and above him; then he wrote
    On a slab of thin asbestos what I venture here to quote --
    For I read it in the rose-light of the everlasting glow:
    "Cloudy; variable winds, with local showers; cooler; snow."
                                                         Halcyon Jones
(Devil's Dictionary)

Security

What is the balance between being safe as a country & preserving our liberties?  How do we feel about an obviously guilty crook getting off so others can not be railroaded into jail?

Obama has appointed security people that are against many of the techniques that keep us safe for the past 7 years.  Will this lead to as much safety or less?

Most people will not even notice his appointments; is it only Grandparents, who have the time to notice, that care?

Obama appointed numerous good appointments for jobs like state, etc. but in my opinion has made a bad mistake in his CIA, Justice, & Security Advisors choices.  Many errors are self correcting but this error could bring about a huge cost, I hope I'm wrong & they will put country first over their political opinions ("Bush was always wrong" crowd).

Different subject: $1,000,000,000,000 is a lot of money!  This means that the national debt will increase by 10% a year!

security (n)  1 the security of the nation's citizens safety, freedom from danger, protection, invulnerability. antonym vulnerability, danger. 2 he could give her the security she needed peace of mind, feeling of safety, stability, certainty, happiness, confidence. antonym disquiet. 3 security at the court was tight safety measures, safeguards, surveillance, , protection

Great Thoughts

When I'm not near the computer, I have all these brilliant thoughts. Unfortunately when I'm here, the thoughts have left.

So what my ravings are is not the great thoughts that you (few though you are) deserve. The brilliance you are missing is world changing.

I was looking at my blog Adsense ads & there was one for governments grants, certainly seems to be in concert with my anti-tax / government rants!

sardonic (adj) his sardonic wit mocking, satirical, sarcastic, ironical, ironic; cynical, scornful, contemptuous, derisive, derisory, sneering, jeering; scathing, caustic, trenchant, cutting, sharp, acerbic

Tax Cuts

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." Ronald Reagan

If you make any money, the government shoves you in the creek once a year with it in your pockets, and all that don't get wet you can keep. ~Will Rogers

The taxpayer - that's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination. ~Ronald Reagan

America is a land of taxation that was founded to avoid taxation. ~Laurence J. Peter

Obama is giving tax cuts to non-taxpaying people.  I find it interesting that these are called tax cuts.  It is welfare.

I am worried that our children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren, etc. are going to have to pay for our "tax cuts".  At what point do we let the economy tank for a while & let the free market system self correct?

ECONOMY (n) Purchasing the barrel of whiskey that you do not need for the price of the cow that you cannot afford

IL Politics

For those of you who are lucky enough to not live in IL, Gov. Blago (as he is affectionately known) has appointed R. Burris for the open "Obama" senate seat.  Burris is a afro-american who has basically done nothing to anger people, sort of an nondescript safe politician.  Sort of a brilliant move by Blago; no one could say that he bought the senate seat & as a minority should have been OK.

But the democrats in the US Senate will not seat him (as of today).  He was appointed by the reigning governor for an open seat & appears to me to be the legal senator (he is much too liberal for me, but probably less liberal the the Big O).

It amazes me the way democrats ignore the law (remember I come from a conservative viewpoint).  They are the party of if I say it it must be true if I say it enough.  They demonized G. Bush for the Iraq war even though they saw the same intelligence & agreed at the time;  they run Republicans out of office but allow $10,000 in the freezer Jeffries to remain in the house (actually he lost his seat this year to a R).

I guess we get the government we deserve!

SENATE, (n) A body of elderly gentlemen charged with high duties and misdemeanors (Devil's Dictionary)

Law of Unintended Consequences

There is a talk show host who often talks about the Law of Unintended Consequences.

A good example is the Ecological imperative that using less gas is good.  Oregon has proposed adding transponders to cars so that the cars which are hybrid (OR has the highest % of these in the US) can be taxed per mile when they fill up since they get more mpg.  Here a good thing buy less gas (less pollution less cash to overseas, etc.) has led to lower gas taxes so government "needs" more tax.

In other states, since gas use has decreased the price has decreased which leads to less tax revenue from sales tax or proportional gas tax.  So other states are looking at OR for inspiration!

Many states increased cigarette taxes to reduce the amount of smoking (let me state for the record I am against smoking!) so as people have stopped smoking, the tax revenue is going down.  Smoking brings in a lot of taxes (of course the "costs" of smoking in terms of health care, etc. are also high).

As people get healthier they live longer, so medicare costs increase, so taxes go up.

Makes you wonder, what can we do that won't increase taxes?

consequence (n) 1 a result or effect of an action or condition : many have been laid off from work as a consequence of the administration's policies. 2 [often with negative ] importance or relevance : the past is of no consequence | he didn't say anything of great consequence.
• dated social distinction : a woman of consequence

Average

My life is pretty good.  When people ask me how I'm doing I say, "Average."

This seems to really freak out some people; they expect the normal "Great", "Fine", or "Good."  There are numerous questions that are asked that people really don't want to think about the answer.

My life does not have a lot of very highs or lows; my average means that I am happy, healthy, & content.  It might be boring to others but in my life I have a lovely wife, good kids & grandkids; we have enough to live on & a house that is paid for.  As long as our taxes don't go out of sight, we will do fine!

av·er·age (n)  numerical result obtained by dividing the sum of two or more quantities by the number of quantities;  usual or normal kind, amount, quality, rate, etc. an intelligence above the average; a number or value of a set of values carefully defined to typify the set, as a median or mode

Grandkids

Four oldest Grandkids!

Youngest!

grand·child (n) : the child of one's son or daughter

0-16

Well they were able to do it! The Lions went Zero & Sixteen!

Before their record the following teams went 1-15 :
1) 1980 New Orleans Saints
2) 1989 Dallas Cowboys
3) 1990 New England Patriots
4) 1991 Indianapolis Colts
5) 1996 New York Jets
6) 2000 San Diego Chargers
7) 2001 Carolina Panther

The Lions actually played as well as they could with their talent. They were in numerous games; had a chance to beat Minnesota & lost on a questionable call 10-12 & pulled defeat out of the jaws of victory losing 23-27 to Chicago. Of course there were also lopsided games 7-34, 14-38, 10-47, & 7-42.

But for now they have a record that can not be beat only tied!

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 (Devil's Dictionary)

Have you noticed that...

Have you noticed that...

..if you order something online & want it immediately it takes its time, but if you order & then go away on a trip, it comes when you are away?

...if you visit someone in another state that you catch all the germs/diseases from the other state?

...that "cold" depends on where you are, in the winter in Florida 50 degrees F is cold but in the Midwest 32 is warm?

...that "cold" depends on age, a child is warm in tee shirt & shorts that requires coat, sweater, hat, gloves for an adult?

...that vegetables taste better as you age?

...that Church & God seem more important when you have kids?

notice (v) Inflected Form(s): no·ticed; no·tic·ing 1: to give notice of 2 a: to comment upon b: review 3 a: to treat with attention or civility b: to take notice of 4: to give a formal notice to

Visit the Kids

I have just come back from a visit with our adult kids and all 5 grandsons.  The grandkids range in age from 14 months to 8 years.

It was my best Christmas gift.  They tend to wear us out & I now realize that child rearing is best done in your 20's & 30's,  but their energy level is amazing.  The older 3 with the two dads went sledding & then still had the energy to run around my daughter's house all evening.

The younger ones were cute & huggable, all were fun to play with.

My kids are very good parents; it is good that they had my wife's example.  I think I worked too much when they were growing up (in the Navy for most of them); I'm afraid I missed an awful lot.

CHILDHOOD (n) The period of human life intermediate between the idiocy of infancy and the folly of youth -- two removes from the sin of manhood and three from the remorse of age (Devil's Dictionary)