The Ordinary Person

Cuba

2012-01-29T09:31:00.004-06:00

I am not a foreign policy expert. I just wanted to say that up front. I do have an opinion about the US governments policy concerning Cuba.

In the recent Republican debates in Florida, a question was asked about improving the relationship between the United States and Cuba. It is apparently the Republican policy to maintain the status quo with Cuba that was initiated with the communist revolution in the 1959. Since then, we have maintained an embargo and nearly went to war during the Cuban Missile Crisis. While the trade and travel restrictions have eased somewhat, Cuba is not on the American vacation list. Normalization with Cuba would benefit the suffering economy of the island nation.

Normalization does not mean that the US sanctions communism. The US is demonstrating a flip flop on the issue with communism. China, still a communist country, provides the US with a vast amount of goods. (A great deal of the cheap crap we buy at Wal-Mart comes from China.) The US talks freely about the dictatorial government of Venezuela, yet we buy oil from them. Why then do we maintain such a distant relationship with one of our closest neighbors?

A downside? I am sure there is a possible downside to the normalization of relations with Cuba. There might be an influx of illegal immigration. There has been that in southern Florida for decades with the exception that the illegal immigrants were called refugees and given sanctuary. We don't do Mexicans that way. There is sympathy with refugees from a 'evil' government, but no sympathy for those who simply look for a better life. Normalization would change the status of those who leave Cuba to come to the United States.

I see that normalization Cuba would be beneficial for both the American people and the Cuban people.

"Lean Forward" Bull

2011-08-13T08:56:00.003-05:00

I saw a commercial on MSNBC featuring someone I didn't know. He was talking about stacks and stacks of empty connexes (shipping containers). These shipping containers brought goods to America and now pile up because we have nothing to fill them with then send overseas. His final comment was "We're better than this." He was talking about jobs.

I looked at those connexes and saw dozens of frames for homes. Thousands of American soldiers live in those after they have been converted to housing units. I also see tons and tons of steel that can be recycled into construction materials, automotive parts and forks. Instead of letting those containers sit and rust, we need to use them of less than obvious purposes. I bet they would make a great frame for a reef. I bet recycling those containers would great jobs too.

Yeah, America we are better! Let's use our American ingenuity to do what's right.

The World left behind

2011-07-19T10:21:00.002-05:00

I have been out of pocket for 10 days. I mean REALLY out. I have had very little news from the outside. Actually it hasn't been that bad. No news of people doing stupid shit! No news of the bickering politicians in Washington. Of course, I do miss my family.

Four days and a wakeup, Sweets!

So, you have a degree.

2011-07-01T17:29:00.002-05:00

I am a late blooming college graduate. Well, actually, I don't graduate until August. So I have almost a late blooming college graduate. I'm just waiting for my diploma. Question: What does a 48 year old do with a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice? Obviously, I get a job. Looking at today's job market, getting a job is difficult enough. The competition is crazy. Hopefully, my chosen degree will help move me forward in that.

Realistically though I have to look at the age difference. Who is more marketable, a 22 year old graduate with no experience or 48 year old graduate with 'experience?' The answer might seem easy to work out. I'm not sure. In 17 years or so, I'll be at the mandatory retirement age. Depending on the company, I'm out the door. The 22 year old has 43 years before he reaches mandatory retirement, depending on the company. That 22 year old will be asking the same questions that I am now.

I've starting looking. Mostly, I've applied in the public sector. I have tossed my hat at a few private sector jobs. Time will tell. I hope it starts talking soon cuz, I need a job!

Do we really care about our vets?

2011-06-30T10:25:00.003-05:00

This has been on my mind a lot lately. We talk about how we should take care of our veterans. We still talk about how we treat our veterans. Why? Why do we still have to talk about it? If America cares so much about her veterans there should not be one doubt in anyone's mind that there is a problem. No veteran should be without a home. No veteran should go hungry. No veteran should be sick, whether service related or not.

We provide millions of dollars a year to people who are welfare professionals. Not those who provide welfare, but those who are able to work, can work but don't. Our social system has provided a class of people who live off the welfare system just because they can. If you live in public housing because you meet the financial standards, why do you have a new $20,000 car in your drive way? We never promised a single individual a free ride in this country. Many take it for granted that the will be taken care of by the government. It is not my responsibility to make sure you have food on your table and health care for you and your kids. If you can't work, I get it! Stuff happens, I get it. But, if you can work, then you do not need social services.

We do promise to our veterans we will, as a nation, take care of them. Those young 17 and 18 year old kids are told that the nation will take care of them in exchange for their service. It is apparent that we don't. It can take weeks to get a VA doctors appointment. They have to drive 50+ miles to see a VA doctor when the get an appointment. When they call the VA, they have to push buttons to navigate a menu. Often, they are told to call back because they, VA, are too busy to take the call. WHY?

A veteran should never have to complain about not having.

So, you want to be a 'Christian' nation?

2011-06-29T10:39:00.003-05:00

There is no group or individual that prevents the United States from being a 'Christian' nation. What prevents American from being that so long loved name, is the Christians that live here. Being a 'Christian' nation would be a lot easier if the Christians started living like, well, Christians. It is that simple. And, yes, I would have to include myself in that, as well. I actually am guilty of the same thing.

Let's look at only a few things...

When we drive past someone at an intersection asking for a hand out, what do we do? More times that not, we drive by without giving this person a second thought. When we do the thoughts are more like "why don't they just get a job" or "lazy bum." That isn't what we are supposed to do. We are supposed to roll down the window and give the person a few dollars.

For a 'Christian' nation, we sure have a habit of keeping people down. We did manage to end slavery. Finally! However, we seem to have problems with people being different. Whether it be racially, religiously or ethnically, we have that tendency to be fearful. We don't go to certain malls like we used to, or we drive around with the needle on empty to avoid stopping at that store. Why? A Christian should not be fearful and we certainly don't need to look down on anyone for being different. We are all different!

I know that most of you remember the "WWJD? bracelets. That fad didn't last more than a couple of years. Actually, that needs to be on the mind of every Christian, including me. Christ gave so much and we shirk when we are asked to give a little. So, if you want to be a 'Christian' nation, you better starting acting like it.

HALO Anniversary

2011-06-25T04:32:00.004-05:00

Ten years ago, gamers were introduced to a future world with mankind was at war with a confederation of aliens that were vicious and relentless. We were introduced to the toughest, most bad ass character every created in the gaming world. Plus, there is the hottest computer program in the universe. Yes, the game is HALO and Master Chief John-117 is the kick ass hero. The blue, hot sexy computer momma is Cortana. The villains, of course, is the Covenant. HALO started the ball rolling followed by HALO 2 and HALO 3. We then jump back in time for HALO Wars and HALO Reach.All of these games hit the mark in 2001.

I said the game is HALO because after 10 years, you can still find the games on the shelf. HALO and HALO 2 in PC format are still out haunting the shelves at BestBuy and other stores.After HALO 2, the games went strictly XBox to much horror to PC gamers. An anniversary edition of the original is coming out soon but, much to my chagrin, it's for XBox only and PC gamers are left out into the cold. (HEY Microsoft! There is more money to be made in the PC ported version of the game!)

Be that as it may, I have played first three games and they are excellent. HALO 2 was kind of a let down, multiplier wise, but the campaign kicks. I have read the books and loved the DVD "HALO Legends." All we like now is a Saturday morning cartoon or a movie!

MOVIE? Yeah, there is still talk about a HALO movie. Apparently, no one wants to step up to the challenge. Of course, there was the Peter Jackson drama that was a 'on, off again' thing. Fail! I have not heard of anyone else stepping up.

Anyway, the games are still out for PC gaming. I suggest you try them. They are great fun with live HALO servers out to be played on. You don't need a new Intel i7 PC to play them on either. Join the anniversary and PLAY!

A New Washington

2011-06-17T07:40:00.003-05:00

Okay, its time for those in Washington to get out of office. Those we 'elect' to represent us in our Nation's Capital do nothing but argue about 'he said, she said' and do very little actual representing our interests. Are no better things to do in Washington?

Weiner. Okay, so the guy got caught. Big deal! Sure, he should have been faithful to his wife. This is a personal matter that should be kept that way. He did not steal any money. He did not lie to Congress. It had nothing to do with his job. Every body wanted his head on a plate, so he resigned. Whose the next victim? The next victim is the people of the United States. I am more worried about corruption involving our money than I am a congressman and his pecker. I am more worried about how Congress is going to save us billions of dollars.

If those in Washington can't get their stuff together, it's time for a new Washington. No, I do not speak of an overthrow. I am talking about getting ride of the bullshit that is going on. We need to do the right thing by electing the right people. Yeah, Obama may not have been the best option (Don't get me started). The Republicans may not have been much better and we will never know how that would have played out. Get ride of those who won't work and get some people that will.

Why Mars and not the Moon?

2011-06-09T09:39:00.002-05:00

It has been 30 years since Man was last, physically, on the Moon. We still have the technology and have no plans to go there.The Moon is close and would obviously make a good stepping stone for planetary exploration, especially to Mars. The Moon is postulated to have water and minerals that would be beneficial to traveler that is outward bound from Earth. So, why not go to the Moon first and then to Mars?

For several years, NASA has had rovers crawling over Mars looking for life. So far, life has not been found. Possibly, NASA sent the rovers to an area the believed to be barren. This would through the public off by issuing statements that they have not found any life. It is a possibility.

If you have seen the photos of Mars, you might have seen the Pyramid. A photo taken by NASA that shows an actual structure on the Red Planet. Proof of the existence of life on Mars. Not so. NASA has re-photographed the area with the Mars Global Surveyor. The new photos show that the Pyramid is just a geologic formation that looks like a pyramid when seen from a certain angle.

Other photos that have been circulating around the internet, some obviously hoaxes, show other features. There is an alleged base on Mars visible on NASA photos. Again, these are obviously hoaxes. Not enough photos exist in the public domain to say one way or another.

However, there is another possibility...NASA has recognized that there are structures on Mars. This could be what prompted the sudden interest in Mars. This could be reason enough to skip the Moon and go to Mars to find out what is really there.

Computer decides who to hire and who not to.

2011-06-08T20:41:00.001-05:00

I recently applied for a job with a major cellphone company. I went through the process and answered almost 200 questions. After about 30 minutes I got an email saying that I did not meet the requirements. This was done by a computer.

Human resources let the initial hiring decision to a computer based on how I answered questions. It doesn't matter how much potential of a employee I could have a been. The choice was left up to a comprise without an interview. And, that was that. I got a 'Thank you' email, computer generated I'm sure.

Collecting cash on the roadside

2011-06-08T20:31:00.001-05:00

If you are a minority and traveling thru Tennessee you better get your cash turned into a debt card. Tennessee is a major conduit for drugs and the cops are trying to stem the flow. However, there is a problem with racial profiling. Minorities are being stopped and cash confiscated.

The line is a hard one to walk. The cops must work to keep the drugs off the street. However, the cost is too high when we toss the Constitution out the window.

First Post of the Year

2011-06-07T15:57:00.001-05:00

I just realized that the previous post about the weather was the first post for 2011. Yep, there is not enough going on to keep me busy.

Summer Time

2011-06-07T15:41:00.003-05:00

For those of you who don't know, summer is here. I know, the 90 degrees temperature was the first clue. We usually have a few days in the 80s with a gradual warming into the 90's. On a 'normal' summer it takes mid to late June to get into the upper 90s. It's already been 97.

Then, there is the lack of rain. It's been three weeks since it's rained here. That again is 'normal' but not until late June into July. We've already been watering the tomato plants and flowers to keep them going. It shouldn't be too long until the 'normal' pattern starts.

It's 1:20 am

2010-12-03T01:20:00.002-06:00

It's 1:20 am and I need to be in the bed. I have been taking over the counter sleeping pills for the last 2 1/2 months about 5-6 times a week. The seem to have lost some of their effectiveness. This is most disturbing because I need to sleep at night and I really need to be up more during the day. I can't sleep, lose weight, concentrate on my school work and I think I am starting to lose my patience with some of the family. What's worse is that I don't enjoy my hobby much any more. It has become more work than fun.

What do to. WHAT TO DO!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T08:31:00.003-06:00

I think that the best thing about Thanksgiving is that every one can participate. This particular day can be shared no matter what your religious beliefs are. No matter how you look at it, every human has reasons to be thankful.

Still here

2010-11-22T23:32:00.002-06:00

I'm still here. There have been tons of things going on. I have kinda forgotten that this place is here. Let me see (I'll list but not in order.)...

1. Started a new class
2. Registered to attend a new school in January
3. Taken a mid-term
4. My oldest son whacked his foot with an axe and got a bunch of stitches
5. Our main sewer line is plugged up
6. Had to reformat my PC.

Maybe things will calm down a bit.

Let the leaves fall

2010-11-13T13:57:00.002-06:00

Yep! It's that time of year again. The leaves have started falling from the trees and are piling up on the ground. For some, it takes little effort to get their leaves picked up. They pay others to do it for them. On the other hand, I have to rack my leaves or share the job with my kids. It would be nice if all the leaves fell at once. Then, you would do it once and be done with it. Mother Nature has a different play for us. A few there. A few there. This can make it last through Thanksgiving.

The season runs thus...October...leaves fall... Thanksgiving then Christmas. All in between, we are racking up.

Amazon pulls pedifile book

2010-11-12T11:19:00.003-06:00

I can't believe that this would actually get published. I've not seen the book so I can only speculate. I don't think this book is protected under the First Amendment. My grounds for this would fall under something similar to hate speech. I look at Cox vs Louisiana. This book could cause harm to our most precious segment of society.

But, I am sure that the fear that this book might have an impact. Is the publisher still selling this book? Many are boycotting Amazon because of this book. If you are going to boycott anyone, it should be the publisher.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/10/amazon-pedophilia-book_n_781727.html

We need more roofers.

2010-11-09T23:17:00.003-06:00

I am not gonna sit here and tell you that the economy is not bad. There are people out of work all over the nation. My county has an unemployment rate of about 17%. But, not everyone is in such a dire strait. I have been trying to get a roofer for about two weeks. I call and talk to someone and they respond that someone will call be back to schedule an appointment. Hmmm. I have spoken to four roofing companies in the the last two weeks and NONE have alled my back. NONE! Is business so good that they don't need more work? Have people forgot their manners?

I think that some of the businesses have lost their customer support mindset. In small towns, businesses are make or break over work of mouth. You do one person wrong and your business maybe have to fight to stay afloat. It's all about treating customers, even potential customers with respect. Respect!

GO VOTE!

2010-11-02T12:08:00.000-05:00

As I said, and I'll say it again..."GO VOTE!"

Get enough candy?

2010-10-31T21:23:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone enjoyed their Halloween. Our little backwards town decided to have it's trick or treating on Saturday night instead of on Sunday. They were afraid it might take away from church attendance. This funny because the big First Baptist Church work their services around the Super Bowl. Talk about being hypocritical!

My kids are too old for Halloween. This year the youngest gave out the candy. He enjoyed it I guess. He didn't have to work very hard though as we only had a handful of little ghosts. We didn't get papered or egged. That's always good.

I have enjoyed all the good movies that have been showing on TV. I mean the old black n white movies along with a few Hammer films thrown in for good measure. Vincent Price is one of my favorite actors. I guess my favorite old horror movie is the House on Haunted Hill. The new horror movies are too full of blood. Overkill is a better word. The stories and actors lack so they use blood to make up for it.

Well, sleep well....

Always chosen

2010-10-27T12:54:00.002-05:00

Who ever pulls the strings in the universe sure does have my number. Have you ever been the person who gets to be the randomly selected person for something or other? It seems that I have that honor. Of course, it would be great if someone was giving out money, a vacation or some mediocre honor. No! It always requires some extra effort and it generally works out to where you have no choice. Yep, the universe is full of surprises. Unfortunately, they not always good surprises.

A little more than rain

2010-10-26T17:30:00.004-05:00

We got a little more than we wanted today when we asked for some more rain. There a tornado outbreak in northern Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, up through Illinois, Indiana and other Mid-West states. West Tennessee only suffered minor damage this morning and stronger storms built up as they moved into Middle Tennessee this afternoon. I am not sure how the other states fared except Kentucky had some trees blown down and power outages.

I live in an area that has been commonly referred to as "Dixie Alley." While Tornado Alley run from roughly from Nebraska down through Texas, Dixie Alley runs from Kentucky to Louisiana and across Arkansas eastward through Georgia. Unlike the spring storms of Tornado Alley, Dixie Alley can have tornadoes forming at any time during the year. Some of our more dangerous occur between October through March. Then, we join with Tornado Alley to have more storms from April through June. Suffice to say, we can have a tornado at any time of the year.

The most recent tornado outbreak in West Tennessee that was really dangerous was in February 2008. Included is a video of the damage that occurred in Memphis, and Jackson Tennessee that centered on Union University. This tornado was estimated to be an F5. In May 2003, Jackson was hit with two tornadoes, an F4 and an F3. Damage was widespread.

When the sirens go off, Tennessee listens.

Rain at last

2010-10-25T11:20:00.002-05:00

I was fussing in my last post about the different ways you could look at the percentage of rain chances as put out by the National Weather Service. Well, it turns out that our 30% chance of rain was really 100% chance. We got a good soaking last nigh in West Tennessee. I rained off and on during the night.

Don't get me wrong. We did need the rain. We are expected to get a few more showers over today and tomorrow. That is a good thing. All the crops are in and we need the rain for next year's plantings. It will take a lot of rain however to refill the ponds and lakes. We have all winter for that.

Chance of rain

2010-10-24T11:41:00.002-05:00

West Tennessee has been way short of its rain quota for this year. It has been several years since we have done without so much rain. We have a 30% chance of rain today and 40% change tonight. What that really means is that today there is a 70% chance that we will not get any rain. I know, that might make me a pessimist. In actuality that makes me more of a realist.

Juan Williams

2010-10-22T16:34:00.002-05:00

I think that Juan Williams is getting an unfair shake from NPR. There are a lot of Americans who feel the way he does about people who wear different cloths. It is something we are generally not used to, especially if you live in a more rural area that does not have a large diverse population. It is quite normal to stare and distrust someone who dresses or acts differently. That is human nature. NPR fired a man for having the same reactions as most, 'normal' people in America.

Our hard working water department

2010-10-20T10:33:00.002-05:00

Our cities water department works hard to keep our water running and our commodes flushing. The amount they charge in both maintenance and taxes seems to be worth the cost, especially since they are reasonable. There is one caveat I would like to through in there however...they don't call the people in the neighborhood where they are working. It is possible to get caught in mid-shower with no water.

AT&T Fails at Customer Service

2010-10-19T09:51:00.003-05:00

Let me describe what is in this photo. AT&T has a phone line that runs across my property and over my house. During the last wind storm, the line got blown under some of the shingles of my house. It should be a simple thing to call AT&T and tell them what the problem is and they come fix it. Well, it's ain't that easy!

I called AT&T about the phone line. Because of I do not have phone service with AT&T there was nothing they could do. WHAT! It's your property tearing up mine and you can't do anything? Their only help was for me to tell my neighbors and have them call it in. That would be nice if you could get a hold of your neighbors. I tried the Bat Tower in Nashville. I could not find one number for the HUGE AT&T building in Nashville. Now, I was getting mad.

My wife befriended AT&T on Facebook and posted about our problem. We got a message saying that if we sent our contact information they would contact us. Well, 24 hours later, we have not heard from AT&T. We ended up filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. We will have to wait and see what happens.

Nightwish - The Islander

2010-10-17T09:23:00.000-05:00

Another Nightwish.

An Outageous VA visit

2010-10-17T07:38:00.004-05:00

Saturday morning, October 16th, I had to make another visit to the VA hospital in Memphis. Much to my surprise, I guess it shouldn't have been, I discovered that you can find cleaner bathrooms along the interstate that the two I saw at the VA! It was clear that the bathrooms had not been cleaned for several hours.

The first bathroom was adjacent to the Emergency Department. There was urine on the seats and the floors were damp. When I reported it to someone, she started giving excuses about how Housekeeping doesn't get around as much as they should. This is a hospital!! The bathrooms are not supposed to be left unattended long enough for urine to dry on the seats! The second bathroom was in similar shape. The floor was wet with urine. Dried urine had yellowed the front of the commode. In addition, the sink had dark gray splotches of some kind of dirt.

This us utterly outrageous!! The first thing for me Monday morning is to call the VAs Inspector Generals office and complain. The VA system was supposed to get better! Is this how America treats it's veterans?

Nightwish - Bye Bye Beautiful

2010-10-15T09:36:00.001-05:00

I've talked about Nightwish. Here's a video.

The War takes another life

2010-10-15T08:00:00.002-05:00

I have found out that I may lose friend of mine. He was another casualty of the War in Iraq. He was in Iraq in 2004 when the war began. During his tour of duty, he lost his entire truck crew. Only he survived. On his return home, he fell into drugs and alcohol. Six years later, the death took another hero of the war. After an argument with his wife, he went into the yard and hanged himself. The last I heard he was on total life support.

My friend, the war hero, who took all of life that he could.

Deadly Cell Phones

2010-10-14T10:19:00.002-05:00

Pay-As-You-Go and used cell phones are a small part of the terrorists kit. Pay-As-You-Go phones, you've seen them at Wal-mart, can be bought and do not require little if any information to activate. Once activated, they can be 'charged' with minutes. Both the phones and minutes can be purchased using cash making them virtually untraceable. The July 2005 terrorist attacks in London were planned using such phones.

Used phones are also a good item to have in a terrorist kit. They are cheap and easy to get. Many are bought on eBay, sent overseas and used in other countries to plot and execute terrorist attacks. GSM phones, like those on AT&T's network, are particularly of interest because the majority of the world cell phone companies use the GSM technology. Verizon phones with SIMM cards can be used worldwide as well.

Cellphones are a vital tool for terrorists. The are essential for communications and a must have for IED (Improvised Explosive Devices). To help stop this, the government should pass regulation requiring cell phone companies to collect used cell phones when a customer upgrades, with the customer's consent. This would reduce the number of cell phones around the world, especially in the US.

Not much today

2010-10-14T10:11:00.002-05:00

I don't have much on my mind this morning. I finished my Facebook farming, watched a select few videos or YouTube and watched a little TV. It is a beautiful fall day in rural West Tennessee. I guess it's just up for the rest of the day to shape and see what happens.

VA still sucks

2010-10-13T14:32:00.002-05:00

I recently returned from Iraq. I needed to file a claim for compensation. I got a letter in the mail a few weeks ago informing me of an appointment at the VA hospital in Memphis for a doctor to look me over. So, this morning I drove three hours to get there and was seen in about 30 minutes. Not too bad. You wait that long going to just about any doctor. I go in and sit down and this doctor asks me about a scar that I had on my head that I had gotten 20 years ago. I showed it to them, they noted it and even took pictures.

I had some more serious conditions I needed them to look at but the doctor said that i wasn't scheduled for anything except that scar. I would be getting different appointments to discuss those. Yes, but I drive 3 hours to get here and this is all you are going to do? I'm sorry that is all. She was polite, concerned and knew that it was not the best answer to give me, but that is all she could tell me. I went to the travel office and cashed in my travel voucher.

For my three hour drive, I got $97 and a few pictures. I have to go back in three days for some x-rays and an ortho appointment AFTER another 3 hour drive. It is a good thing that I am relatively healthy. I can't imagine how some veterans get to their appointments just to run into a similar problem. VA may be better, but it still has a long way to go.

America's Religious Hatred

2010-10-11T09:37:00.002-05:00

There was quite a stir when the Delaware senatorial candidate Christine O'Donnell admitted to dabbling into witchcraft. No one would have cared if she wasn't running for office, obviously. Christian American's have such a fear of any one running for political office that isn't a Christian. They, American Christians, say that people of other faiths have no moral values. They say this after they are getting dressed from sleeping with a woman who isn't their wife or talk to a lawyer because they got caught stealing. Christians demand their 1st Amendment Rights but work to take them from others. Hypocrisy is alive and well in American's Christian churches.

There is a fine line between being a Christian and being an American. It's hard for some to separate themselves from one the other. If you are a Christian, then you cannot be a good American because you are too busy trying to deny others from their religious rights. If you are an American, you have to settle with the chance that a non-Christian will trample your rights. I am an American first and a Christian always. I know the fine line. You can be a good American and a good Christian. Some need to just work at being better Americans and better Christians.

A Dark Passion Play

2010-10-11T08:23:00.002-05:00

For most Americans, music is Europe is largely unknown. Often times we equate music in Europe as being decades behind. It is time that we looked again. I have discovered a band that has been touring Europe since 1997 and had produced some of the best rock music I have heard. I know that a most people who might run across this blog have never heard of the symphonic metal bang from Finland, Nightwish. If this is the first time you are seeing that name, then you need to get their definitive album "Dark Passion Play." Once you hear the combination of metal and orchestra, I think you will be hooked.

There is no band in America that comes close to the music produced by Nightwish. Metallica's "S&M" is the closest thing that the US has that could even come close to Nightwish's power.

Happy Columbus Day!

2010-10-11T05:34:00.003-05:00

Yeah, a guy begged for some money and took a trip. He found a few islands then went home. End of story. Actually, it was much more than that for Columbus. We know that he discovered something that was discovered at least twice before, the Asians around 10,000 BC and the Vikings around 1000 AD. But, Columbus had something they didn't...a PR campaign. Good PR makes all the difference in the world.

Enjoy your day off, government employees.

Not Forgotten Families

2010-10-10T22:02:00.003-05:00

I have been doing genealogy for 30 years. There have been ups and downs since I started. That is the way of things. It came to my attention yesterday, that I had not done any research on the step families. I was embarrassed. All of my step family have been truly wonderful and I cannot imagine life without them. Make sure you cherish ALL of your family, steps and in-laws included.

I never knew Hobart Melton. I only knew of Roy Green Ellis as my great-grandfather. I remember his patience and how he took care of my grandmother. Neither did I know, very well, Collis Scott, my grandfather. I only know of James Bouldin as my grandfather. He taught me all I needed to know about horses. Without these men, I would be a lesser person.

The Genealogist

2010-10-08T15:15:00.001-05:00

No one gets up one morning and decides, "Today, I am going to research my family." It usually starts by someone asking a question about a grandfather or aunt. From there it explodes in to a lifelong passion. I mean 'explodes.' It has developed into something more a kin to looking for the Lost Dutchman's Mine than just collecting pictures and a few census records. While genealogy isn't wandering through a desert with only a mule for company, you need to spend a few hours looking through pages of a microfiche reader or driving down country roads looking for a lost cemetery. But, I love it! You should see the stuff I have collected.

I got started looking up my family's history in 1979 when I had to do a paper for high school and needed a project. It was easy. I asked around and got dates of birth and, at that time, seemed an endless list of names. I knew most of the people on my list and heard stories about those that had already passed on. Suddenly, I wanted to know who I was and where I came from. As I said, it 'exploded.' From then on it was no turning back and so far I haven't. There have been times when I would spend months or years without giving it a thought. It never takes long before I am back at it bothering people with questions.

There are fears and worries that go along with the research. My greatest fear is that in the future, all of my research will be tossed or allow to decay due to lack of interest. How does one get their kids involved enough with your life's work to carry it on? How does one show how important it is to keep the records? What does one do with the past in the future? Memories are precious. They are tangible and irreplaceable. I have found that the greatest loss is not being interested enough in our elders to sit down and talk to them about, well, themselves. I know from experience that I have let opportunities pass by that will truly never come again.

Truly, it isn't about me. This isn't my hobby. I do what I do for everyone that has come and gone. I do it for those who will come after me. I wanted to know where I came from. Tomorrow, someone will ask the same question.

Like all good topics, this one has an ending befitting an Oscar win. I want to thank everyone, living and dead, for all the effort given to helping me accomplish my life's work. It would be futile to try and list everyone. You know who you are. Oh, did I say 'accomplish'? I am in no way finished.

Sometimes, it is embarrassing to be a Christian.

2010-10-07T08:51:00.002-05:00

I have been a Christian my entire adult life. I grew up in a conservative Baptist church in rural Tennessee. As I have gotten older, I have become slightly more moderate in my beliefs but still hold to my Baptist upbringing. The same basic Christian values are still firmly entrenched. However,...

As I have gotten older, I have noticed that some Christians tend to be backward, ignorant and hypocritical. A recent blog by Dr Albert Mohler of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has reminded me of this fact. He teaches at the largest Baptist seminary in the world, turning out Southern Baptist ministers. For a seemingly educated man, he is fairly ignorant.

I had never head of this man until today when I was directed to his blog about "The Subtle Body — Should Christians Practice Yoga?" In his article he says, generally, I'm not quoting, that Christians should not do yoga because it requires one to become part of a spiritual movement that is contradictory. He says in his blog,

"they must either deny the reality of what yoga represents or fail to see the contradictions between their Christian commitments and their embrace of yoga."

There is no direct connection between yoga that has the elements of Hinduism and what people do for exercise. I think he is afraid of the word 'meditate.'

"these positions are teaching postures with a spiritual purpose. Consider this — if you have to meditate intensely in order to achieve or to maintain a physical posture, it is no longer merely a physical posture."

Meditation is not an evil word. Meditation is the same thing when you pray and wait, sitting quietly waiting for God to reveal an answer. Medication is another way of listening to what your body is saying or concentrating on what you are doing. I meditate all the time when I am doing things like blogging or to remember the answer to a test question. Have you ever seen some one take a death breath before doing something critical? That's meditating.

There are yoga classes that teach the fundamentals of yoga using the teachings of the 'religious' form. The yoga classes I have attended are purely physical. Yes, you have to listen to your body. I wonder what Dr Mohler thinks about martial arts? They are full of motions and exercising that have their roots in religion.

It is disheartening that Mohler talks about such things. It's embarrassing. What he needs to be talking about is how Christians need to be less hypocritical. Teach what Christ taught. Don't be adding stuff to inflate your status. That is, all he is doing.

Why Klingons are always so angry.

2010-10-07T07:39:00.002-05:00

It just occurred to me why Klingons are always so angry. The love to fight and drink to excess. They must be what we can expect from Windows in the future.

On the other hand, the Federation is peaceful. The Federation must run on Linux.

We love our monsters

2010-10-06T20:58:00.002-05:00

I have noticed lately that Americans, possibly the entire world, are enthralled with monsters. Not the usual bevy of dragons, vampires, werewolves and elves. I have seen at least 6 shows dedicated to the search of monsters such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, giant squids and the chupachabra. The History Channel has MonsterQuest, the SyFy channel has Destination Truth and Beast Legends. The Animal Planet is getting into the act with Lost Tapes. Not to mention, ghosts, while not 'monsters' are quite the hit as well. Oh, don't forget the aliens and their flying saucers. I can't count the number of different series and specials on ghosts.

Why do we have such a fascination with such. You would think that in the 21st Century, Man would have out grown the need such creatures. It must go deeper, buried in our psyche, to need to believe in things that are not part of our 'normal' experience. Not all of this need are not just crazies who see large, hairy men walking in the woods, but very intellectual, college educated people. They see something that is completely contrary to their education.

I have no real opinion on this. Some stories are more compelling than others. So compelling in fact that they seem hard not to except. I firmly believe that anything is possible. I stay open minded and hope to see my little piece of these monsters.

Governments failure to it Vets and such...

2010-10-06T10:38:00.006-05:00

Surprised?

The government told me that I would have everything I needed to help me be a successful in meeting my educational goals. This maybe true but it is very misleading. They provide the funding that is true. But, you have to jump through hoops to get the funding. They change programs in mid-stream and when you need the funding they don't tell you until after you start a program THEN you are told about the changes. You have to start over. While you miss deadlines and either have to postpone your plans or pay out of pocket.

Wait! I'm serving in the National Guard. You would think that the National Guard would take care of its service members too. They do not help that situation either. An example, I have been taking classes in college since 2006. Yesterday, I found out that they have to approve an degree plan before I can get any more money for college. Guess what, they have been required an approved degree plan for EIGHT years. I had never heard of it until I needed money for college. Give me a break!

The VA fails to meet, in a timely fashion, the needs of some of its beneficiaries. Not only has VA failed veterans in their health care, they are also failing to meet the educational requirements of it's veterans. All the while, the VA and the Senate, House and White House pay lip service to those, same veterans they promise to help. It is a never ending cycle of failure. When is it going to stop?

Gulf Oil vs Gas Price

2010-08-04T14:31:00.002-05:00

Did anyone notice the price of gas in relation to the amount of oil that was being lost in the Gulf? I thought it was very funny that as long as the oil was leaking in the Gulf of Mexico that the price of gas went down. Now that BP has shut the leak (?), the price of gas has been going back up.

I don't mean BP gas, I mean gas at almost all of the stations! It would make more sense if the price when up when that valuable oil was leaking. Instead, it was the opposite.

I wish I knew about the oil industry to understand this mess. It is a mess.

Turn down the heat!

2010-08-04T14:22:00.003-05:00

I know that historically, the summer temperatures in Tennessee have reached above 100. Right now, it's 99 degrees. This has nothing to do with global warming, it is just a normal climatic trend. Yeah, I know, it is unusual for the temp to get over 100 but it's nothing to panic about.

You do need to keep a check on the elderly and family members that do not have air conditioners. Keep you pets inside as much as possible and make sure they have plenty of water. And, as they say in the Army, 'Drink water! Drink water! Drink water!'

Mrs Sherrod...Racist?

2010-07-21T08:11:00.002-05:00

It leaves something to ponder. In the infamous video of Mrs Sherrod at an NAACP gathering, she did make some racist comments. There is no other way of looking at it. Now, the press is putting a vicious spin on this. Both CNN and FoxNews are working to get Mrs Sherrod's job returned to her. It needs to be considered that Mrs Sherrod is, if nothing else, two faced. She talks one way in front of the public and another in front of her fellow members of the NAACP.

The NAACP is not clean on this either. The NAACP was quick to throw Mrs Sherrod under the bus when the video broke. There is an issue of the NAACP holding together. Is the organization falling apart? Only time will tell.

The Blame Game

2010-07-04T09:25:00.002-05:00

We have a new blame game being played in Washington, DC. The Democrats have decided that all the world's troubles can be blamed on George Bush and his administration. What a narrow and stupid point of view. The problems we have in this country are caused by greed. Greed from bankers wanting to make money at whatever inflated price they could sucker someone to pay. Greed from average citizen living beyond his means and wanting something they know they cannot support.

Nancy Pelosi, if you want to blame anyone, you need to look toward your constituents who bough houses they can't afford and your districts bankers who sold houses to people they knew could not pay the mortgage. I saw you on CSPAN blaming the Republicans for everything from the bad breathe to the oil spill in the Gulf. You need to wake up, stop the blame game and get on to solving the problems.

Happy Birthday America

2010-07-04T09:23:00.001-05:00

There is little else to say. Remember our soldiers afield as they work through extraordinary difficulties. Pray for them and our wounded at home.

Wounded Warriors

2010-07-02T15:10:00.002-05:00

There are hundreds of US soldiers coming home every day with injuries. Some are to the degree requiring surgery to fix knees and shoulders. Some, however, are catastrophic in nature. Pray for these soldiers that return for months or even years of rehabilitation accompanied by painful surgery. Never forget those who fight for our freedoms.

Shit happens...better pay attention to what you are doing.

2010-07-02T15:06:00.004-05:00

Watch the video. Think before you drive!

I certify that the above link does not contain adult material. However, it is graphic.

Sky way robbery

2010-06-29T12:55:00.002-05:00

If you have traveled much by air, then you know that hold overs and delays are part of the experience. While you are waiting, especially if it is an extended wait, you are going to get hungry.

I am stuck at the Memphis International Airport. I just paid $8 for an order of chicken tenders, a biscuit and a coke. If I went to a restaurant I could have gotten the same thing for $5. They have bumped up the price for every thing that is served at eateries at airports. With modern security like it is, you are held virtually captive and at the mercy of the butchery that goes on.

It should be illegal for businesses to over charge for their products based on the fact that it's customers are stranded. But, it's at the airport. Businesses that serve airports jack up their prices too. A one day car rental from Enterprise normally is $150, more or less. If you call Enterprise in Memphis and tell that you need a car, you can pay up to $700!!

What is going on? They want us to travel, but they charge out the butt for stuff.

The Droid that got blown away by the Storm

2010-06-28T08:02:00.002-05:00

I just didn't like my Droid. There were a couple of things that I didn't like. One was the lack of Outlook support. The other was the lack of a VZW tethering option. My next phone of choice was the Blackberry Storm2. I can do all the things I need to do with it.

I travel a lot and on occasion, I need to hook up my notebook to the internet. Without tethering, this is impossible. Oh, there are a few work arounds but they can void your warranty or void your contract. That is why the Droid was not a good match for me.

I use Outlook a lot. The Droid does not support Outlook without Microsoft Exchange. Android, or better Google, does not want you to use another application for contacts or calender than theirs. They allow Exchange use to get into the business market. This leaves the consumer OUT! BAD Google.

I have found that the Blackberry allows more customizations. You can add different ring tones for a contacts different phones and different email addresses. You can't do that with a Droid.

Oh well, I'm sure that VZW and Google will make enough money without me having a Droid. Well, for sure VZW will, cuz I still have service with VZW. I guess that it will be Google who will be a dollar short.

Motorola Droid

2010-06-13T15:17:00.003-05:00

I picked up a phone from VZW yesterday. After much tinkering, I decided on a Droid by Motorola. On the outside, it's the best thing since the RAZR. It's sturdy and well built. The camera is good to boot.

But, like all things it has a negative. Actually, there are a few. Primarily, I hate the fact that you cannot connect to your computer to your Outlook. The quickest way is to pay $35 for an app. The second way is to upload your Outlook files up to your Gmail account contacts, then down to your phone. OH, you HAVE to have a Gmail account. I am not really comfortable with uploading all of my contacts on to a server somewhere to be hacked in to.

The second thing is the apps. You remember the iPhone commercials, "There's an app for that." Android is the same. There are lots of apps out there and hundreds (or more) are free. Some are poorly made and just don't work. Others have a free app, but you have to pay for the PC version to make it work properly.

Overall it is a great phone. I would be cautious about loading your information into a huge conglomerate like Google. I am reconsidering my purchase.

New Orleans, your turn,

2010-05-27T23:05:00.002-05:00

Recently, Tennessee has suffered its greatest natural disaster. The spring rains brought massive, widespread flooding to most of the State. Dozens died and there is billions of dollars in damage. But, Tennesseans are taking it somewhat in stride and cleaning up. There have been very few displacements and no deafening cries for federal help.

After Katrina hit New Orleans, thousands scrambled to get out of the city and were relocated to various sites in Tennessee. Those that were displaced to Tennessee, caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to their temporary shelters. That had to be repaired at the expense of the Tennessee taxpayers who were kind enough to put them up in the first place.

Tennesseans don't ask for repayment of our generosity, in fact, we refuse it. But, it sure would be nice if New Orleans lent a helping hand to those in Tennessee who have lost everything they have in the recent flooding. But, don't worry New Orleans, we are not gonna hold our breath! Just don't ask for help next time you have a hurricane coming.

Has it been that long?

2010-05-27T23:02:00.002-05:00

I just realized that it would have been a year since I posted last. I have been kinda busy and this has been the last thing on my mind. I'm currently in the deserts of Iraq. Why someone would fight over this place I have no idea. I certainly don't want it.

No promises, but I'll try to put more...I was gonna say more ink to paper but, it doesn't work that way anymore.

Thought of the Day

2010-05-27T23:01:00.002-05:00

Why are some of the dumbest people you know smarter than some of the smartest people you know?

Your thought for the day:

2009-08-21T10:31:00.002-05:00

Your thought for the day:

This is how it works...Politicians start the wars, officers plan the wars, leaving up to the soldiers to fight them. In the end, the citizens are left to rebuild.

Customer Service and Sales

2009-08-20T22:07:00.001-05:00

I was always taught that good customer service meant good sales. I believe that is true. As some of you know, we have been looking for a boat. We have been to 5 dealers and made inquires about their boats and why we should but from them. I guess I should really say 6 dealers. The sixth one did not do so well in customer service, in fact, they let me roam around the showroom for 10-15 minutes and no one spoke. How does Performance Marine of Nashville expect to sell any boats? One guy never moved from his desk. Three guys were polishing boats. And, another never moved from behind his counter. I got perturbed and left.

Being the way I am, after I left the store, I called Performance Marine and told them what had happened. The manager apologized. I told him to have a good day and hung up. Thirty minutes later, I got a call from Performance Marine inviting me back to their dealership to look at their boats. I told them that I was pressed for time, I actually was, and that I would come back if I had the time. I was asked back whenever I could. Poor Performance Marine. We found the perfect boat for us and it wasn't at Performance Marine.

The way the economy is, sales people need to go that extra mile when it comes to selling their merchandise. I hope Performance Marine learns this.

PS,

Will we go back and look at Ebbtide boats? I can't say...yet.

Politics sucks

2009-08-20T21:51:00.000-05:00

I guess I've not posted recently might be attributed to the total amount of bullshit flying around Washington. I'll have to some up with something else.

Dems bow down to Limbaugh

2009-03-04T07:15:00.000-06:00

OMG! IT IS true. The Democrats have apologized to Limbaugh over a web page that made fun of him. What is politics coming to in this country? I'm to flabbergasted to say more.

Michael Steele. What a wimp!

2009-03-03T06:20:00.003-06:00

So, Michael Steele wants to be the leader of the Republican National Committee! What a wimp! Mr Steele I cannot believe that you were elected as chairman of the RNC. Why did you back down from loud mouth Rush Limbaugh? How can you defend the Republican parties mission if you cannot stand up to your own membership?

The RNC needs to sit down and rethink it's purpose from the top down. As long as Rush Limbaugh is allowed to control the air waves with is inflammatory message, the Republican party will be stuck in the shadow of the the Democratic party. The Republican needs to look at itself and get rid of the flotsam and work to return to it's conservative base without Rush Limbaugh.

Being a Republican sucks!!

2009-03-02T16:05:00.002-06:00

I have discovered that being a Republican sucks. Do you want to know why? Of course, you want to know why. Two words...Rush Limbaugh. What a fat, overpaid, loud mouthed jerk! Rush Limbaugh does not represent my Republican party. He is not the leader, I say that loosely, that the party needs. I had rather pick back up with George Bush than have to settle for any possible leadership headed by Limbaugh.

Help me...

2009-02-26T15:06:00.003-06:00

I was watching the news yesterday and a 'guest' was complaining about not being able to pay their mortgage. I empathize with them and their difficulty. There are tens of thousands of Americans who are in the same boat. Fortunately, and so far, my family is not in that boat. We bought a home by being smart about borrowing the money. It is not that I am so savvy. We got lucky.

I am talking about this one 'guest' who was having a hard time making the payments on her 2 homes and that her and her husband had lost their jobs. She was wanting help to pay for her two mortgages. I'm sorry. It sounds like you were a little irresponsible in your money spending. Irresponsible people do not need bailed out. What they need is taken down a notch to learn fiscal responsibility.

If we are going to help people, then we need to help those who really need it.

What'd he say?

2009-02-25T06:38:00.001-06:00

I went through another year without listening to a presidential address. They really have nothing new to day. They say we have problems. They say we need to come together to make it better. Then, they say what they are going to do to make it better. Sounds good! Sounds promising! It never works.

Mr Obama made promises during his campaign that now he realzes that he cannot keep. The stimulus package is a joke. I am looking forward to my $65 a month tax reduction. What int he world am I gonna do with $16.25 a week? Am I supposed to take my family and treat them to McDonald's? I have a family of four.

Let's get politicans who don't make plans knowing that they won't work. Of course, it is not all Mr Obama's fault. Oh no! Mr McCain has gone back on his work when he vowed to help Mr Obama fix the economy. We have seen how far that lasted. Politics is politics and there is no way around it. It is a no win situation when both sides of Congress refuse to work together.

So, tell me honestly...did I really miss anything.

"A Nation of Cowards"

2009-02-20T08:30:00.000-06:00

What does the new US Attorney General want us to do? I certainly hope the Holder was not directing that comment at 'White Americans.' That would show that he too is a coward. How can the US Attorney General do his job when makes comments that could be considered racist on his part? His job is to protect the country terrorists and to uphold the laws of the land. He cannot do that if he has issues.

We have a black man for a president. That's cool and I can live with that. We have a black man for the US Attorney General. That's cool and I can live with that. What I can't abide is a person using his/her position as a platform to stir up racial problems. IF Holder was using making a racist comment, then that is unacceptable and he should be removed from office as soon as possible.

Not a new Window(s)

2009-01-26T05:15:00.002-06:00

Can you believe it? Vista is working on being 2 years old and Microsoft is already replacing it! Microsoft Vista has been labeled a world-class bomb. Microsoft is working to pump more money from consumers. Windows 7 is not an upgrade to repair many of Vista's issues. It is another operating system! If you want it, you have to pay for it!

I jumped on the Vista bandwagon when it came out. I will not be jumping the tracks any time soon for Windows 7. As intriguing as it looks, and it does look good, I am extremely afraid that Windows 7 is another of Microsoft's over bloated, bug ridden operating system.

My advice, stay away! If you are using Windows XP, there is no need to change. You have the best Windows version since Win98. If you are using Vista, hold off until they get the bugs worked out. At the rate Microsoft is going wait three years and get the Windows 8.

Do you like Chrome?

2009-01-20T21:12:00.002-06:00

I just downloaded Google's new browser, Chrome. So far it is better than IE and faster than Firefox. I am not plugging Google for Google, but I know how some people like to try out new things. Chrome is new. It imported my bookmarks from Firefox without any difficulty. It might do the same for IE. It is fast, even when loading the usually slow, for me, Beliefnet pages.

Try Chrome. You might like it.

Self-identification

2009-01-20T08:01:00.001-06:00

Years ago, I stopped being white and became a Native American. Parts of my family were standing on the Virginia shores when the first sail appeared in the James River. Now, I have dropped the 'Native' part and I identify myself as an American. There are too many roots in my family tree to start trying to identify with one cultureal background.

I was born in this country. I am who I am. I am an individual, just like Barack Obama, and I can choose my own self-identity. We are who we want to be and not what others label us as being.

What would we say if Obama self-identified as white? Funny that.

Put that cracker down!

2009-01-20T07:44:00.002-06:00

Let's look at this...

There are about 305 million people in the US. 470 people have been sick from eating tainted peanut butter. Six people have died from eating said peanut butter. Why such a fuss? Do people not realize that so far only 0.000001% of the population have died from salmonella poisoning from peanut butter? So far, only 0.000154% had been made ill!!

Now, look at this...

On average, the CDC reports on average of 14 million cases of reported Salmonella poinsoning every year. Of those 14 million, the average number of deaths is 600.

The media is making a Mt Everest out of a little bittie 'piss' ant hill. Be cautious, but not scared!!

No freedom from Speech

2009-01-18T11:00:00.002-06:00

I am working on what is hopefully my last year before I get my Bachelor's degree. I have to take speech. Ugh! I'm sorry, Communications 1010. It is the most over-analyzed, over-emphasized subject I have seen. If you have taken a similar course, you know what I am talking about. This class is required and that is the only reason I am taking it.

Leave GAZA

2009-01-11T20:55:00.002-06:00

Israel, you need to leave Gaza. You will never have peace until you stop being the bully on the block.

So far from home...

2009-01-09T07:14:00.001-06:00

The image with this post is a picture of our home as taken from the Cassini probe orbiting Saturn. Doesn't it look small and insignificant? Taken in 2006 (I just stumbled on it), shows the Earth through the gaps in Saturn's rings. If you can't see it, it's in the upper right center of the picture. Yes, the little blue dot!. All the known intelligence in the universe (as far as we know) is on that little blue dot. How precious we are. How precious we ALL are!

SAVE THE PORN!

2009-01-08T08:11:00.000-06:00

I was tickled this morning when I found out that Larry Flint was going to apply for bailout money from Congress. Why not? As Flint said, 'everyone is asking for money.' I agree. If Congress is going to bail out business that made their own beds, why not bail out businesses that are made in the bed.

No, I am not treating this lightly. Setting aside moral issues, if the porn industry truly is in need of financial help, then it should be treated equally as banks and auto makers. Fling and the producer of "Girls Gone Wild" are asking for $5billion citing the failing economy is seriously damaging their business. the porn film industry is a legitmate business in the United States with American's spening $8 billion annually. THAT is a lot of skin.

I would suggest Congress tred carefully. If they dismiss Flint due to religious preferences, then I see a Supreme Court case coming. Congress cannot, and rightfully so, refuse to help the porn industy based on morals. That can be argued as a First Amendment violation. I am sure, however, there are reasons why Congress can deny help based on other grounds.

Let's see what happens.

ET is out THERE

2009-01-07T09:24:00.002-06:00

We all know that tens of thousands of people yearly see things in the sky they cannot explain. Thousands develop the idea that our planet is being visited by beings from other planets. Unfortunately, thousands more have theories that the world governments know about these visitors and are either keeping it a secret to protect the Earth's population or by conspiring with these visitors to take over the world.Well, as long as those conspiracy theorists leave me alone, I'm cool with their...uh...quirkiness.

Surprisingly, there is a growing number of scientists who believe that live exists elsewhere in our universe. I also would fall into this group that believe there are intelligent civilizations out there. However, I do not believe that we are being visited by alien beings. All the UFOs that are seen buzzing around are not aliens but misidentified natural occurring objects or man-made objects. The real measurable evidence is missing. Until that evidence can be supplied there is no proof, only supposition and, admittedly, we are left with a mystery.

Photographs? I have seen enough out of focus, fuzzy photographs of nocturnal lights to be an expert. These images supply such low quality that true identification of an object impossible. There is nothing to gauge distance, size or movement. Sadly, the best photos that I am seen of alien spacecraft have either been Photoshop'd or animated. (YouTube is great!)

Abductions? There has not been one eye witness to an alien abduction. No abductee has ever brought back a piece of evidence. (Those so called 'implants' are not evidentuary enough to be conclusive proof.) There are more valid explanations of the abduciton experience than the fantastic alien version.

Show me the smoking gun that proves aliens are visiting Earth. I believe in aliens, but I don't believe they are grey.

"UFO Hunters" Critical investigation?

2009-01-04T10:35:00.001-06:00

I have found myself watching "UFO Hunters" on the History Channel or on the SciFi Channel. This is no big deal because I am always watching something about UFOs whenever it is on the television. I have grown to dislike "UFO Hunters." They set up to investigate UFO sightings with great scientific care to explain what is really going on. Unfortunately, they fall short of REAL scientific examination. They continually select what evidence they want to prove that a sighting was an alien visitation.

This bring about an interesting question. Is "UFO Hunters" really interested in the scientific pursuit of extraterrestial visitations or are they just feeding the conspiracy? There can be no real scientific investigation as long as evidence is sifted to support a desired outcome. Science is about truth. If you collect all the available evidence and come up with the incorrect solution, then you are not using the scientific method. Using the scientific method, you collect the ALL the evidence and report on what you find, not what you want to find by discounting conflicting that disproves the desired outcome. "UFO Hunters" does this week after week.

There is no critical investigation in what "UFO Hunters" does. It only serves to feed the UFO/Alien conspiracy subculture. There is money to be made by the television networks and "UFO Hunters" is a vehicle of that.

ADD and Video Games

2008-12-30T13:52:00.003-06:00

Did you know that from 1999 to the present, the number of kids being treated for ADD has increased more than 100%! American's spend $30 billion on the diagnosis and treatment of ADD. What is causing the increase in attention deficit disorder? One possible cause of ADD in young Americans is the video game industry. I said possible. But, think about it!

Someone sits down to play a video game. The games completely stimulates the brain. After a while, the brain becomes accustomed to the activity that is has difficulty slowing down. When the game is over, the brain is unable to settle down to a relaxed state, thus causing emotional disturbances. Medical stimulation is required to keep the brain functioning without the video environment. The brain gets addicted!

The rest of the world is boring compared to a video game. Ever try and get a video gamer to sit down to play a board game? Nothing is as engaging like a video game. It is hard to do. I am not pinpointing the problem with this one activity, but it is something to be studied.

Remember the story

2008-12-24T09:02:00.000-06:00

Luke 2:1-20...And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

A Christmas Gift

2008-12-24T08:53:00.000-06:00

"And, it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus...," Luke 2:1.

We all know the story. When I was growing up, I heard the story at least twice during the season: once at the church service before Christmas and on Christmas Eve. Then, I never questioned the story and after many years, I find little reason to question it now. It was a miracle! You cannot question miracles. So, I learned to ignore all the critics who argue about the time of year being wrong, how a woman can't get pregnant without having sex, or even, Jesus was just a man.

"'Tis the Season," as we languish in line at the retail stores. It is the season to over stress ourselves because we can't find the toy that our spoiled brat wants. We stress over the fear that their gift they got thier officer manager is not as good enough compared to the person in the next cubical. Then, there is my favorite "you shouldn't have" when you forgot to get someone a present who just handed you one. This aren't examples of how we are to conduct ourselves at Christmas. This is how we have been programmed to be at Christmas. This stress is too great for some. Christmas sees the highest rate of suicide than any other season.

Our command is to be unafraid of the day and to be of full of joy (Luke2:10). How many people do you know who are more glad Christmas is over than for it to arrive? How many of us take a year or more to pay off the gifts we give because we put them on credit? How many toys do we see laying around after 5 minutes of play? Think about it. How much joy do you see during Christmas. We say it! Do we really feel it?

I know, questions. However, I feel they are really important questions. We must connect with the way Christmas should be remembered. We are going in the wrong direction. With this in mind, I made a vow last year, that I would not put one gift on credit. It is Christmas Eve and I have kept that vow. There is no gift precious enough or needed enough to pay more than it is worth in interest.

I cannot give a gift comparable to the one given me over 2,000 years ago in a small, desert village. I will share my gift with anyone who wishes it because I cannot give it away. It is a miracle given to all men, women and children. Christmas is about the greatest miracle Man has ever been given.

"Weather,' you gotta love it.

2008-12-22T07:15:00.002-06:00

Every one talks about the weather. In most places around the country it's either cold and snowy or warm and dry (relatively speaking, of course). In West Tennessee it is not that way. You gotta love West Tennessee weather. I think we are going to change the spelling from 'weather' to 'whether' because we don't know 'whether' it is going to be hot or cold, rainy or icy.

Let me give you an example of our 'whether.' Monday last week, we have ice and the schools were closed. Friday, the mercury popped 70 in some places. Last night, the temperature dropped to 12 degrees. BURR! (For us!). Tonight and tomorrow morning, we are supposed to get a 'wintry mix.' Friday? We are expected to have thunderstorms. You gotta love it!!

On average, we have as many tornadoes during the winter months as we do in the Spring. But, this isn't something new. It's been that way for the last 20 years or so. In 1980, they had a tornado in a nearby town that changed the route of the...wait for it...Christmas parade! It blew the roof off the bank. It's freaky. But, we love it. Do you know how boring it would be here without such freaky weather?

Mastering the Season

2008-12-21T07:00:00.002-06:00

I think I finally have it figured out. It has been a struggle for many families across the country trying to figure out how to plan the holiday visitation rounds. For the last 10 years, it has been a stressful time for my family when it comes to Christmas dinners and gift swaps. It has been really difficult since my parents are divorced and having in-laws.

When I was growing up, I knew where I was going every Christmas. When my parents got divorced it all went down hill. It got decidely worse when I got married. Two families went to four and then it went to six plus families to make visits to every year. Just when it got bad, my in-laws moved to another state. It was terrible. "Hold on! Cancel Christmas!"One year, I stayed at home and didn't go anywhere.

Finally, I think we have it all figured out. For now...

Merry Christmas! To those that do and condolences to those who don't! It'll pass soon!

Majel Barrett dies

2008-12-19T07:14:00.002-06:00

On December 18, 2008, Magel Barrett Roddenberry passed away in Southern California. For those who don't know, she was the actress that played three pivotal parts in the Star Trek franchaise: Nurse Christine Chapel on the orginal Star Trek, Lwxana Troi in the Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, and the ships computer in almost every series. She worked to keep her late husband's, Gene Roddenberry, dramatic visions alive. Not only was she famous for her roles in Star Trek, Majel produced and appeared in the series, Earth: Final Conflict, which was another story written by Gene Roddenberry. Her final appearence will be in the upcoming Star Trek movie set to release in 2009.

Others of Star Trek fame have already left us for the final frontier, DeForrest Kelley (1999), James Doohan (2005). Gene Roddenberry passed away in 1991.

Best Buy Keychain Fraud, Part II

2008-12-18T22:53:00.000-06:00

Oh, let me tell you what happened. I took the receipt and key chain and talked to the returns cashier. Now, get this. They did charge us for the key chain, but they deducted the amount, $1.29, from a DVD that we bought. So, the key chain was free, IN A ROUND ABOUT WAY!

I have almost had all I can stand of Best Buy.

Fire up the stove

2008-12-15T09:28:00.002-06:00

There is a great chance of an ice storm brewing in the West Tennessee area. If you need kerosene, you better get it. There are times when it seems necessary to buy a generator for the house. I will have to look into this. We have central heat. If the power goes out, it will get very cold in the house. I better check on my kerosene stock too.

Another fish tale

2008-12-15T07:18:00.001-06:00

Yes, it is a pain in the butt to keep fish. You have to do water changes. You have to clean the gravel. The filters get all nasty and need to be changed. There is a lot of work. Technology and science have changed the way we keep fish. We had fish when I was growing up. My mom would clean out the 10 gallon tank every time it got cloudy, which was once a week. There was no one around to tell us about the nitrogen cycle. There were no remedies. Today, it is much easier. You just have to resist the impulse to pour all the water out and start all over.

But, there are great benefits to keepign an aquarium. There is a peaceful feeling about fish and their environment. It is really amazing how by just sitting and watching them, you stress seems to fade away. The water coming out of the filter has a great calming effect. I would not be able to sleep without the tank in the living room humming away. Air stones work to ease tension as well. I imagine that each bubble is a care of the day, floating off to the surface and dissipating. There is even something natal about sticking a few fingers in to the warm water.

It is easy to lose yourself with aquariums. If you decide to get one, they are a great source of release. But, a warning...they are hard work to start up. The benefits, you will find, are greater than the effort.

( I was going to post a pick of one of my tanks, but they need cleaning. )

Christianity in the US

2008-12-15T07:06:00.001-06:00

Much to the chagrin of our Christian naysayers, Christianity is alive and well in the United States. As much as atheists would like to admit, they are not moving very far forward in reducing religion in America. When I was shopping, the racks were full of shirts and hoodies with 'Jesus' and 'God' written on them. Even Books-a-Million had Christian tshirts for sale and selling them like hotcakes. Mainstream America is still very much Christian and it shows no signs of changing.

I'm not saying give up on your ideals atheists, but you need to come up with a new plan. Instead of openly and loudly challenging Christianity, you should try a more subtle way. You know, like the snake in the Garden of Eden. I'm sorry if that is too 'religous' for you, but it is hard to come up with metaphors that are common enough for every one to understand.

Fish are people too

2008-12-13T08:39:00.005-06:00

Well, honestly, not exactly. I have found over the years that fish are more that just hidden creatures in the water. I have kept fish for almost 10 years and have found they are pretty much on par with pet lizards, birds, cats and, at times, dogs. Naturally, the biggest draw back is that you can't take the out on the town, except for bettas. More about betta later.

If the truth be known, fish have different personalities, modes and are quit trainable. You can train goldfish to move a ball from one end of an aquarium to another. Oscars can be trained to bat a ball around or swim through hoops. You can pratically spend as much time with your fish as you can a cat. then, there are other cirtters too. I have kept crayfish, crawdads to some of you, and they are a real hoot. Yep, there is more to fish other than just floating around.

But, I was horrorified when I learned that people in Japan eat live fish. No, I am not talking about college kids swallowing goldfish. I am talking about taking a fish, scaling it, gutting it and frying it ALIVE! If you are interested, search YouTube for 'eating live fish.' You may not want to watch, but there it is.

Oh, about the bettas. As some of you know, bettas are air breathing fish and usually live in vases and cups. They are quit comfortable in this as they don't do a lot of swimming around even in the wild. Any way, I travelled from Colorado to Tennessee with a betta setting in my car's cupholder. He just continued on like everything was normal.

Later, I tell of the health benefit associated with keeping fish.

Disban Unions

2008-12-12T07:11:00.000-06:00

A hundred years or so, the factory worker was overworked and underpaid. A fantastic new thing called a union, helped the workers with better salary and benefits. It would be argued that unions helped shape the economy of the countty. Now, it's time for the unions to shape up and ship out. It was apparent when the unions agreed to cut worker salaries that unions have out lived their usefulness. Now, don't get me wrong, unions have done good for the nation and it's working class.

The United Auto Workers have killed the American auto industry. Our cars are overpriced and the quality of American cars, bluntly, suck. Now, the American Big Three are in trouble and the UAW is doing very little to help sustain their existence. When the Big Three asked for help from the government, the UAW refused to compromise on reducing worker salaries. You have to give to get UAW. Now, more or your union workers will be out of work because of layoffs. Wouldn't it be more logical to reduce salaries to help the economy AND your union workers? Oh, I'm sorry, does that get in the way of your greed?

Thanks to the US Senate, the Big Three will not be getting extra money to stay afloat. It's not the government that let you down, it is your union workes. The UAW needs to step out of the way to save the economy.

2008-12-11T17:31:00.003-06:00

I got my new cell phone today. It took me about a week to decide what phone I was going to get. I settled on a LG Dare through Verizon (since I have had good luck for 7 years with VZW). I don't really want to say 'I settled' because it was a long, exhaustive research project to figure out what phone to get. I had a Motorola V9m. It was an excellant phone and it still is. I plan on keeping it for a back up. All of the phones, most of anyway, didn't seem to be much of an upgrade. My V9 maybe two years old, but some of the other phones are less than what I already have. The Dare is new, touch screen and part of the newer generation of phones. Every thing was just another cell phone, rehashed into something 'new.'

I would recommend a Dare for anyone looking for a new phone. The touch screen gets some getting used to, but it is a good phone.

What's My Line?

2008-12-10T07:36:00.002-06:00

Recently, I have been watching a lot of old tv shows on YouTube. My favorite has been "What's My Line?" I began to miss a lot of the grand personalities that that have left us over the last 20 years. The actors and comedians truly made up the Golden Age of Hollywood. There is no single actor that I can think of who could mirror Cary Grant in style and grace. Where are the glamour girls such as Jayne Mansfield and Janet Leigh? Their like, I am afraid, shall not soon pass our way again.

Then, I started thinking about a 'modern' "What's My Line?" I started thinking about which movie stars would appear as a myster guest. Would Tom Cruise appear? What about Kate Blanchett? I am sure there are those that would like to appear. But, there are none equal to Jimmy Stewart! Where have they all gone?

Or, is it possible that "What's My Line?" was just that rare special television shows? It is considered one of the best television shows ever produced.

Just a thought! LOL!

The New Day

2008-12-06T21:16:00.002-06:00

I just love the evenings. No matter what the day brought you can think better of it because tomorrow is a new day. What ever you screwed up today, you have a chance to screw up something else. Better yet, what you screwed up today will come back to haunt you tomorrow. That's okay, because you get the chance to start over again on another new day with the chance to screw up something totally different. Fear not! You can always get something right. Then, the next new day, you get the chance to do something good again. You can mix it up any way you like. Screw something up one day and get something right on the next new day.

The upshot is that no matter what has happened in your life, the next day is what you make of it. No matter how bad it is, tomorrow can be better. Don't let people get you caught up with what you have done, because you can make it right or even better the next day.

4 hours later

2008-12-05T07:01:00.001-06:00

I had one of those days yesterday. No, the car didn't overheat nor was I late for work, but I did spend 4 hours in an emergency room bed. I started having chest pain, well for me chest pain. I had no idea what it was I had never had chest pain before. I tried to shrug it off. After an hour I had to go see a doctor. We chatted for about 15 minutes and an EKG later, after I played it down to anxiety,I left with a script for nitro. My instructions were to return to my doctor the next day for a stress test. If the pain got worse, go to the ER. From there I left and went to Wal-Mart to get the script filled. As I wandered around the store the pain got stronger. Ooppss, off to the ER.

That was the quickest trip to an ER bed I have had since I broke my leg. Heart monitor, O2 sensor, a hellatiously painful BP cuff and O2 were hooked and I thought, OMG! They took the blood for cardiac enzymes and my history. I laid there. Four hours later, they practically kicked me out the door. "You're not having a heart attack. Your blood work is fine. keep you appointment for tomorrow. Have a nice day."

Out the door I went. I have to admit that after the nitro patch they gave me my symptoms went away. But, as I walked down to the car, the pain started coming back. After I got home, I ate a bowl of cereal and after an hour, went to bed. I still had some discomfort in my chest.

Obviously, I made if through the night. I am soon off for my stress test. I would start to worry, but I'm afraid my chest will start hurting again with NONE cardiac symptoms. LOL!

UFO attacks the Pentagon

2008-12-03T13:14:00.002-06:00

I am in a discussion on YouTube about the dynamics of aircraft collisions and the damages caused at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Why do unanswerable questions lead to the most outrageous conclusions? I have not been able to wrap my mind around this. One theory (a term I use loosely) suggests that a UFO destroyed the section of the Pentagon that is normally attributed to Flight 77. There is even a photo of the saucer near the site. Is is easier to believe an alien spacecraft or our own government did the damage on Sept 11th than an attack my terrorists?

If not a UFO, then it was an A3 plane used by the Navy. Another theory is that a cruise missile did the damage to the Pentagon. Either of these theories are possible. How probable are they when all the other evidence is examined? How about this one...the government was storing classified evidence recovered from the Roswell UFO crash and needed to be destroyed to get rid of the evidence before it had DOD had to comply with a court order?

I have one question for the conspiracy theorists that I have not really seen an answer for. Where are the people that boarded Flight 77? If a 757 did not crash into the Pentagon, where are the people who boarded the plane at Dulles airport? There were 59 people, excluding the 5 terrorists who board the plane. They have to be some where! The speculation must be that they are all hiding in the Federal Witness Protection Program or imprisoned some where. The former would allow for one of the passengers to break cover and contact family. This would allow information to be leaked out. The latter would preclude any information leaking to the public.

I have sit and thought about this whenever someone brings it up. Is it me? I think I am a pretty ordinary guy with slightly higher than average intelligence yet I cannot see the things that people are accusing the government for. I know the government isn't perfect and intentionally done things in to past, but to kill over 3,000 people just to justify a war.

IJDK

Government Tracking Cellphones

2008-12-02T13:39:00.001-06:00

I usually don't copy and paste stuff, but I found that this was important.

FOIA docs show feds can lojack mobiles without telco help

By Julian Sanchez | Published: November 16, 2008 - 10:45PM CT

Courts in recent years have been raising the evidentiary bar law enforcement agents must meet in order to obtain historical cell phone records that reveal information about a target's location. But documents obtained by civil liberties groups under a Freedom of Information Act request suggest that "triggerfish" technology can be used to pinpoint cell phones without involving cell phone providers at all.
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Triggerfish, also known as cell-site simulators or digital analyzers, are nothing new: the technology was used in the 1990s to hunt down renowned hacker Kevin Mitnick. By posing as a cell tower, triggerfish trick nearby cell phones into transmitting their serial numbers, phone numbers, and other data to law enforcement. Most previous descriptions of the technology, however, suggested that because of range limitations, triggerfish were only useful for zeroing in on a phone's precise location once cooperative cell providers had given a general location.

This summer, however, the American Civil Liberties Union and Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the Justice Department, seeking documents related to the FBI's cell-phone tracking practices. Since August, they've received a stream of documents—the most recent batch on November 6—that were posted on the Internet last week. In a post on the progressive blog Daily Kos, ACLU spokesperson Rachel Myers drew attention to language in several of those documents implying that triggerfish have broader application than previously believed.

As one of the documents intended to provide guidance for DOJ employees explains, triggerfish can be deployed "without the user knowing about it, and without involving the cell phone provider." That may be significant because the legal rulings requiring law enforcement to meet a high "probable cause" standard before acquiring cell location records have, thus far, pertained to requests for information from providers, pursuant to statutes such as the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) and the Stored Communications Act.

The Justice Department's electronic surveillance manual explicitly suggests that triggerfish may be used to avoid restrictions in statutes like CALEA that bar the use of pen register or trap-and-trace devices—which allow tracking of incoming and outgoing calls from a phone subject to much less stringent evidentiary standards—to gather location data. "By its very terms," according to the manual, "this prohibition applies only to information collected by a provider and not to information collected directly by law enforcement authorities.Thus, CALEA does not bar the use of pen/trap orders to authorize the use of cell phone tracking devices used to locate targeted cell phones."

Perhaps surprisingly, it's only with the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act in 2001 that the government has needed any kind of court order to use triggerfish. While previously, the statutory language governing pen register or trap-and-trace orders did not appear to cover location tracking technology. Under the updated definition, these explicitly include any "device or process which records or decodes dialing, routing, addressing, and signaling information."

Triple the output

2008-12-02T03:17:00.001-06:00

In two days I have tripled the output of my blog when compared to last month! WOW! That is a new record for me. My wife says that I should post more often, but I have yet to figure out what I am suppose to talk about. We'll just have to move it a long and see what happens.

Best Buy Keychain Fraud

2008-12-01T12:06:00.002-06:00

If you purchased anything at Best Buy recently and took home a free Guitar Hero key chain, check your receipt. November 29th, we went into our Jackson, TN Best Buy and bought a few items. While at the cash register, we were asked if we wanted a free Guitar Hero key chain. I commented that as much money Best Buy makes they could afford to give away a lot of free stuff. We took out stuff home, including our free key chain and found that we were charged $1.29 for the key chain.

Now, you can laugh if you want to. But, IF this was done intentionally, think about how many key chains they sold for free on Black Friday and the following weekend. A single store could have made a $1,000 or more just on key chains. Make that nationwide and you have $100,000s of extra income. This is fraud.

I called Best Buy's customer relations. Michelle informed me that the key chains were indeed intended to be free but wasn't sure where the mistake came from. It was suggested that I take the key chain back for a refund and that I must do it within 30 days (within the normal return policy period).

Check your receipts and see if you were a victim! Complain is you were.

Oprah Heresy

2008-12-01T11:01:00.003-06:00

If you take a look around You Tube, there are some serious videos about Oprah Winfrey. I knew there was something weird about her but I could not put my finger on it. Now, I have found the confirmation about my feelings. Oprah is a New Age fanatic. Oh, I don't have issues with most New Age beliefs. Most New Agers are quiet folks who don't try to spread their message around to convert others. Oprah, on the other hand, it using her television presence to spread a new cult. The Cult of Oprah.

Here's a look...

In this clip, Oprah is pounced on by her audience. It's funny.

It's not about Christianity vs the World, but how a person with a 20 million person audience is trying to convert folks from one religion.

Remember, Don't Drink The Kool Aid.

Okay Barack!

2008-11-04T22:43:00.002-06:00

Since you have won the election, don't screw things up! I sincerely hope that all of your constituents voted for you for the right reasons. If you do screw things up, don't forget to keep your head down. Hell, just keep your head down anyway.

Sarah's got style

2008-10-20T09:21:00.002-05:00

It is a toss up whether SNL and Tina Fey's portrayal of Sarah Palin is hurting of helping the McCain campaign. I can tell you one thing, Sarah has style. She is a forty-something person (just like me); full of energy and wants to see change. I think that Sarah would be a great assist to the American political system.

You GO GIRL!!!

GO VOTE!!

2008-10-20T07:37:00.002-05:00

I did my civic duty this past Saturday. It doesn't really matter who you vote for. The important issue is that you go vote.

VOTE!!

VOTE!!

VOTE like your future depends on it. IT DOES!!