One of those looks

I realized as I was about to post this article that I just started my third year of blogging; before that it was simply called writing. I read about fellow bloggers getting burned out or getting their priorities out of whack and closing down to regroup. “Balance, Daniel san, balance in all things” as Mr. Miagee would say in the Karate Kid movie. I hope to keep my balance and entertain myself for a long time; if anyone else happens to enjoy it, well that’s even better.

I finished watching the movie Parenthood a while ago, one of those shows that gets better the more times you watch. It’s an interesting mix of brutally honest and delightfully funny that’s hard to appreciate without having experienced parenthood firsthand.

Lucy was about to have one of our children, I think it was Jennifer, almost positive on that. I walked with her past the maternity waiting room and noticed a fellow, WWII generation or there about as he had the same number of deep furrows in his forehead as my own father. I could tell that he was looking me over, kind of checking the oil of the next generation as I walked with Lucy and smiled; our own pending addition getting closer by the moment. There was the briefest of eye contact between us and he nodded approvingly; I could imagine him saying, “Now there’s a young man doing the right thing, carefully taking care of his pregnant wife, raising up a family here in these United States of America.” I have a pretty good imagination; but he might have been thinking something else, just my opinion the way he nodded and smiled.

Lucy was led away to a room where they kept track of vitals and the nurse told me that it might be a while so I returned to the maternity waiting room where I was met by my partner’s wife. Sharon was about 8 months pregnant as she gave me a friendly hug and I noticed the change in that other fellow’s countenance, definitely soured as I returned the hug carefully. I could hear his thoughts clear across the room, “One’s not enough, you had to knock up another one; you rotten no good philanderer.”

We sat and talked on the other side of the room for a while before Lucy’s sister showed up to lend support; Barbara was about 8 months pregnant too. We all hugged and Barbara was happy to meet Sharon as they compared pregnancy notes. I glanced over at the older fellow; pure disgust had consumed him as he walked out of the room shaking his head and muttering to himself. “The whole damn country’s gone to hell in a hand basket…” or something.

I have a warped sense of humor and if I’d had a Book of Mormon I’d have walked over and asked if he’d ever read the book; probably just as well I didn’t. I just grinned back at him as he hurriedly exited the room.

You talkin’ ta me?

I put off writing this particular article for nearly a week, having been advised of some changes in the way the State of Texas has decided to further destroy individual freedoms as they relate to the locksmith industry. In case you missed it, my attitude adjustment knob has been yanked around, again. I’ll print this rant on T. F. Stern & Co. letterhead and place it in my service truck; that should accomplish some of the new requirements.

I wrote about my feelings regarding the licensing of my industry a while back, “Business licenses - Jump for joy” ( linked via title bar ) and then again when more Lilliputian hoops and hurdles were imposed via mandatory hours in classes intended to upgrade our professional skills, “Mandatory Continuing Education in Texas” (linked below in tiny print)

http://tfsternsrantings.blogspot.com/2006/05/mandatory-continuing-education-in.html

I received my monthly newsletter from the Greater Houston Locksmith Association last week and it had an official looking page explaining the newest information from the State of Texas, section 35.36, Consumer Information and Vehicle Signage.

(a) A licensee shall, either orally or in writing, notify all consumers or recipients of services of the license number and the name, address, and telephone numbers of the Private Security Bureau on each written contract for service for the purpose of directing complaints.
(b) If a licensee chooses to provide the notice required by subsection (a) in written form, the notification shall contain their license number, the name, mailing address and telephone number of the Bureau, in a type-face of the same size as that which appears in the document as a whole, but in no case less than 10 point type. ( that phone number is: 512-424-7710 )
(c) (b) A licensed company must display prominently conspicuously in the principle place of business and any branch office, a sign containing the name, mailing address, and telephone number of the Bureau, and a statement informing consumers or recipients of services that complaints against licensees can be directed to the Bureau.
(d) The company license number must be in letters and numbers at least one inch high and permanently affixed or magnetically attached to each side of the vehicle in a color contrasting with the background color.
(e) Vehicles operated by private investigators or personal protection officers are exempt and vehicles operated for administrative purposes are exempt.
These changes were intended to enhance the requirements related to the provision of consumer complaint information and to facilitate such complaint, as required by statute.

I’m sure they mean well, after all they want to protect the poor ignorant public from dangerous locksmiths, a public that the State of Texas must have assumed couldn’t find their anus with a funnel, pardon the crude comparison. Way back when common sense and humor were still permitted; I know, that’s too far fetched to believe possible; where was I, back when I was a police officer in a Department that had yet to start down the road to a mandated division called Internal Affairs.

I can remember an unhappy citizen walking into the office to complain about some officer saying something crude to him while handing him a traffic ticket. The Sergeant smiled and nodded while listening and reached into his desk where he retrieved a roll of toilet paper. He handed that roll of toilet paper to the hostile citizen, “Fill this form out and leave it on my desk when you leave”. Now you and I know that handling of complaints in such a way as to provoke additional anger was the wrong way to “satisfy” citizen complaints; a tally on the card for why Internal Affairs was established later on down the road. Somewhere between, “Who gives a hoot and don’t let the door hit you on the way out” and bending over backwards to accommodate the whiners, common sense and the right answer might lie.

In our organization of licensed locksmiths (GHLA) we talked in depth about following the established guidelines, to include displaying our license number on service vehicles. The law provided that any stationary which advanced or advertised the business, such as company letterhead, work orders, business cards and side panels on service trucks would fall into the category which mandated display of the company’s license number. I suppose I will have to generate a magnetic sign to place on each side of my truck to let my customers know that I’m a licensed locksmith parked in their driveway making a key to their car; not a plumber or electrician, house painter or some other vendor making a key without proper license information. Have you seen that attitude adjustment knob; I think it may have fallen on the floor and rolled under the sofa?

On rare occasion when my work isn’t done to perfection, I guess I could explain to an unhappy customer that they could call me back and request that I make it right; that would be novel. If that didn’t solve the problem I could tell them to call a different locksmith and send me the bill if that other locksmith could verify that my work had been done improperly. The customer could take me to small claims court and let a judge or jury determine the outcome; but those kinds of solutions only happen in a country where freedom exists, kind of like the way America used to be. No, now we have to notify our comrades in Austin, the watchdogs of our new social order. That phone number, in case you missed it, 512-424-7710.

Play it again Sam

Why would anyone in their right mind want to go to New Orleans much less live there? I know, I’m not saying it properly, the fashion being to slur it so badly as to sound casual and trendy, Nawlens. My mother, bless her southern upbringin’, was born there but had sense enough to get the heck out. I enjoy the way she pronounces that city’s name, a southern sweetness that takes the edges off; New with the “ew” tricklin’ off to a taper followed by a soft “Or” with an almost invisible “L” ending with “yens”. Mom cringes when she hears some damn Yankee butcher it OR-LEANs, a harsh insult to the ear; but that’s not why I have no use for that city.

New Orleans forgot that it’s part of the United States of America, a place where citizens have the right to protect themselves while in their homes. Their mayor, Ray Nagin, tried to disarm law abiding individuals by confiscating handguns right there in their homes following Hurricane Katrina. Now good ole’ Ray Nagin wants to set up check points to stop murderers from murdering; wow, why didn’t we think of that before? (link via title bar)

“"We're sending a signal that the system that used to allow you to commit a murder and there were no consequences is over. It has been easier to commit a murder than another crime in New Orleans," Nagin said.”

Does Ray Nagin realize what he said? He sent a signal alright, “the system that used to…”, it used to be a free country where citizens used to be under the delusion of having a Constitution to protect basic rights; after all, it “used to”. Ray must not want to get hung up with all that founding father nonsense; after all, confiscating guns from ignorant homeowners was for their own protection and locking down their ability to move freely is for their own protection as well.

I’d stop there except “Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat, called on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to share more information on trailer residents with police, especially in New Orleans.” The good Senata’ wants to see into private files, see who’s messin’ ‘round based on privileged information. Maybe I’m reading more into this than there is; has New Orleans turned into a police state? I envision pictures of crossing gates on roads leading into town, boarder crossing guards standing next to their gate houses going through the trunk of your car looking for god only knows what as they check the list of known hooligans and round up the usual suspects. Fog shrouds the airport as Ingrid Bergman escapes leaving Bogart talking with…

If ever I was thinking about visiting that cesspool they call a city just to see the lowlife on Bourbon Street and get fleeced in the French Quarter I’d have to say no; or is that naw to Nawlins. I suppose a statement like that might hurt my chances of running for office on the national scene; maybe not, I don’t think those folks can read anyway, look who they put in office.

If there is no law there is no sin

I’ve been keeping up with Mover Mike’s dialogue, at least the two he’s published with the start of this new year. The first article entitled, New Year’s Party Conversation, came down to explaining the difference between a Democracy and Socialism. The following from Mike’s post said it best:

http://www.movermike.com/posts/1167680194.shtml

“In 1944 Friedrich A. Hayek wrote the book The Road to Serfdom. A classic warning against the dangers to freedom inherent in social planning. I have always loved this paragraph:

"Democracy extends the sphere of individual freedom," he (De Tocqueville) said in 1848; "socialism restricts it. Democracy attaches all possible values to each man; socialism makes each man a mere agent, a mere number. Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word: equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude."”

The second article of Mike’s that fit nicely with the first, “The Elites Stand Naked Before Us!”, where he explained how convenient it is for those in power to decide what truth is by redefining everything on a regular basis.

http://www.movermike.com/posts/1167851039.shtml

“A Sophist was a person who could argue eloquently – and could prove a position whether that position was correct or incorrect. In other words, what mattered was persuasion and not truth. The Sophists were also relativists. They believed that there was no such thing as a universal or absolute truth, valid at all times. According to Protagoras (c.485-c.411 B.C.), "Man is the measure of all things." Everything is relative and there are no values because man, individual man, is the measure of all things. Nothing is good or bad since everything depends on the individual.”

I looked up an article from my files obtained from Meridian Magazine written by Robert Bork, “The State of American Culture and What can be Done about It”, in which he explained how it was possible for the Supreme Court to destroy the meaning of the Constitution through manipulation and interpretation on an ever changing definition of once constant terminology.

http://www.ldsmag.com/ideas/051027americanprint.html


“The Supreme Court is particularly potent because when it speaks in the name of the Constitution, whether it speaks truly or not, as to that issue the democratic process is at an end. That is why so many interest groups that cannot get their cultural agenda through any legislature, appeal to the justices to make up new and previously unimagined rights. And the justices do just that.

The intellectual seeks in various ways... to endow his life with pervasive meaning, and thus to find unity with himself, with his fellow men, and with the cosmos.... As a consequence, there is a growing demand that the world and the total pattern of life be subject to an order that is significant and meaningful.

The only transcendental alternative after the decline of religion was socialism. Conservatism cannot compete on those terms. If the dream of socialism was equality in all aspects of life, conservatism had no alternative dream, no transcendent principle that can make life significant and meaningful to secular intellectuals. It seeks to see the wisdom and benefits of existing practices and institutions and to think carefully before adopting suggested improvement.”

I would turn to the Scriptures, specifically those found in the Book of Mormon, to simplify the building blocks that at one time were the accepted foundation upon which this country was established; bearing in mind the varied Christian organizations and churches which hold the Book of Mormon in ridicule or contempt, does not alter the information found within as truthful and useful.

In the Book of 2 Nephi, chapter 2 starting in verse 5: http://scriptures.lds.org/en/2_ne/2

“And men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil. And the law is given unto men. And by the law no flesh is justified; or, by the law men are cut off. Yea, by the temporal law they were cut off; and also, by the spiritual law they perish from that which is good, and become miserable forever.”

While this verse is intended to explain a relationship with God on eternal platitudes it works well in establishing smaller truths, such as the idea that men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil or right from wrong, that they should understand the concept of rewards based on properly following such laws or the opposite, penalties for violating those same laws. Read a little further down in verse 13 of that same chapter and an interesting line of thought is brought to bear:

“And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away.”

I recommend reading the entire chapter, for that matter the entire Book of Mormon to consider the information, weather it is for the good of any man who might endeavor to know those truths which our Father in Heaven has prepared for us from the beginning, or if the information is of no value and should be abandoned as useless.

The Book of Alma, chapter 42 covers the same basic pattern and explains further about the basic concept of eternal principals which govern all mankind. I hesitate to include religious doctrine in what might easily be considered a secular train of thought except that it is my contention that all things which are relevant to the secular can also be explained spiritually, the two being inseparable in the overall scheme of things.

“And also, if there was no law given against sin men would not be afraid to sin. And if there was no law given, if men sinned what could justice do, or mercy either, for they would have no claim upon the creature?”

Once again the verses supplied are part of a wonderful explanation on what has been called the Great Plan of Salvation, that plan in which mankind is supplied with a Savior in order to meet the demands of justice in order to return to the presence of God. Read the entire chapter; I challenge anyone with a knowledge of Christian beliefs as found in the Bible not to agree with each and every idea provided. http://scriptures.lds.org/en/alma/42

I make no apologies for including Latter Day Saint scripture as a foundation for establishing one specific fact; that fact being that in our present day Socialism has become the religion which supplants and removes the original foundation upon which our nation was established, those principles, once generally understood and accepted, have been deemed archaic, too ridiculous to be considered worthy of inclusion in any rational discussion on most any subject, let alone a discussion involving the operation of our country, its political systems or justice as found in the courts.

Robert Bork wrote:

“I will necessarily refer to the Supreme Court because it is both a cause and a symptom of movements in our culture. As John Derbyshire recently put it, "We Americans are heading into a 'crisis of foundations'..... Our judicial elites, with politicians and pundits close behind, are already at work deconstructing our most fundamental institutions -- marriage, the family, religion, equality under the law."

I found the following, also written by Robert Bork, to be illuminating and relevant to our current cultural situation:

“First, that radical individualism is, in moral matters, coming close to nihilism. If each individual defines meaning for himself, there can be no allowable community judgment as to moral truth. This is postmodernism, which has been defined as an uneasy alliance between nihilism and left-wing politics. The public is not allowed the final say on moral truth, but the Olympians are. The result is that the Court-enforced "moral truth" is always to the left of the American center.

Second, the sense of the sacred is becoming a mocked and withered virtue. It is worth recalling what John Stuart Mill wrote.

"In all political societies which have had a durable existence, there has been some fixed point; something which men agreed in holding sacred..... But when the questioning of these fundamental principles is (not an occasional disease but) the habitual condition of the body politic; the state is virtually in a position of civil war; and can never long remain free from it in act or fact.” (emphasis added)

Is it any wonder, with sound statements such as I have provided from his basic character and beliefs, that the liberal left wanted nothing close to a Robert Bork sitting on the Supreme Court? The character assassination of Robert Bork was nothing short of a crucifixion in terms of their desire to totally annihilate his reputation in such a way as to assure his being tossed from consideration to the Supreme Court, much less be listened to in any serious venue on a national issue.

Character assassination is the tool used by secularists to manipulate the course of nearly any discussion by eliminating those who do not bow to their secular god, the god of intellectually superior pundits reared by the book of limited responsibility. Since there are no eternal laws it follows that there is no such thing as eternal consequences, no hope of rewards that cannot exist except in the minds of deluded individuals brainwashed by religious fanatics. They have declared religion a crutch for the weak minded, for surely there is no God, nothing so inexplicable as the Eternities; why even consider information obtained or offered by those who are so gullible.

Lastly, and I promise to end with a quote from Lemuel Calhoon, who wrote an article entitled, “Cultural Suicide”, posted on his site, Hillbilly White Trash.

“Western society, what used to be called Christendom, may be the first great culture in the history of the world to fall not because of invasion, plague, geological or climatic disaster but because of willfully embraced delusion.”

http://hillbillywhitetrash.blogspot.com/2007/01/cultural-suicide.html#links

Tokyo Rose ( from a Navy guy )

I received this from my good friend Richard Sutton and I’m just passing this along for thought :

She had the best music on her station and most people just laughed. The ship I was on was sunk no less than five times but each time Davey Jones threw her back up.

Tokyo Rose During World War II -- the Japanese developed a way to demoralize the American forces. Psychological warfare experts developed a message they felt would work. They gave the script to their famous broadcaster "Tokyo Rose" and every day she would broadcast this same message packaged in different ways, hoping it would have a negative impact on American GI's morale.

What was that demoralizing message?

It had three main points:

1. Your President is lying to you.

2. This war is illegal.

3. You cannot win the war.

Does this sound familiar?

Is it because Tokyo Hillary, Tokyo Harry, Tokyo John, Tokyo Teddy, Tokyo Nancy, etc. have picked up the same message and are broadcasting it on Tokyo CNN, Tokyo ABC, Tokyo CBS, Tokyo NBC, etc., to our troops?

Tokyo Kennedy this very day called Iraq, “Bush’s Vietnam”. (linked via title bar )

The only difference is that they claim to support our troops before they demoralize them, and every other American within ear shot. Come to think of it, Tokyo Rose told the troops she was on their side, too!

No Threat, None, Nada and Zip

I read Peggy O’Hare’s Houston Chronicle story this morning of an unfortunate incident regarding the shooting death of a citizen by a Houston Police Officer. The title, “HPD facing criticism in mentally ill man's death” followed by a secondary line, “Family says the 21-year-old shot by police posed no threat”. (linked via title bar)

I have several questions, some of which should only be asked after the investigation has been completed and presented to the public in a proper forum; however, I feel it important to ask, “If the family claims, as the story has been reported, that he “posed no threat”, then why did they feel it necessary to exit the house to get away from him, why did they call for police to intervene rather than call their family doctor?” Is it possible that “some” threat existed rather than no threat?

Did the family expect the police officers to simply walk away and tell them, “Hey, it’s your son, your hammer; you take it away from him. We see no threat of any kind here either.”, and then get back into their blue and white police cars so they could go to the local donut shop for a snack break?

I find it convenient for local activists, those who have no authority or responsibility to the public, to offer inflammatory remarks which defame an entire police department without having any established facts. “The local activist criticizing the handling of the incident said that families should never call Houston police to help deal with a mentally ill loved one. "If they can't solve something from a distance with their toys, the guns come out," said Arlene Kelly, co-founder of Civilians Down, an activist group for families and friends of people killed by police.”

I have been accused in the past of being in “lockstep” with what ever the police department comes out with to defend their actions. Those who have read my articles over the past couple of years here on my blog site or any of the internal letters, those directed through the chain of command while I was an active member of the Houston Police Department need to wipe away that grin.

I’m a member of the post WWII generation, those infuriating individuals who ask “why” at the drop of a hat; a character trait which did not endear me to my “superior officers”, or more properly stated, those who out ranked my position within the Department, and used up several yellow legal pads worth of paper to explain what appeared to be an insubordinate attitude. In each instance I was called to justify my “opinion”, something which is fine as long as you are in a command position; an opinion which required my justification for articulating any dissatisfaction with the Department on standard operating procedures which appeared either out dated, inefficient or improper. The fact that I survived twenty years with that Department and reached retirement speaks volumes.

For the record, I was suspended only once for insubordination; but that was a lulu, costing me forty days pay. I won’t go into details; suffice to say that they won and I lost, or did they? My supervisors had tried to get me fired for questioning their integrity, “indefinite suspension” was the official term, and that didn’t float in spite of my helping them when I asked several of my supervisors to clime up my …; they wouldn’t all fit so it only cost me forty days. The rest of my folder must have been interesting to read as well, a collection of official documents regarding my confrontations with supervisors and the public in general; it having been handed around on more than one occasion for the amusement of my immediate supervisors, in direct violation of Departmental Rules and Regulations.

I thought it was a bit over the top to show a picture of the victim wearing a tuxedo as if he were headed out to pick up his prom date. I wasn’t there, maybe that’s what he was wearing while holding the hammer, sitting peacefully on the sofa in the middle of the living room while the “Gestapo”, my apologies, the insurgents dressed to look like police officers, armed with machine guns, cannons and atomic weapons stormed the walls; as he posed no threat to anyone and called his prom date to explain the delay.

My questions regarding the presentation in Peggy O’Hare’s article would include the racial identification of the police officers involved in this particular incident; or more importantly, the lack of such reporting. Nothing much was said about any of the police officer’s ethnic backgrounds. The public should be told that the police department maintains more than an even mix of Asian, Black, Hispanic and even Anglo ethnically oriented individuals who are aware of the need to be sensitive to the law and to properly discharge their duties, especially the use of deadly force.

I worked with some officers, brothers in the truest sense, named Chaison before I retired, likely relatives of Rodney D. Chaison Jr., named as the officer who shot the suspect. The Chaison family has supplied Houston with some exemplary Black police officers, officers who showed Christian values and a healthy respect for human rights, to include the right to life itself. I’m quite certain that the Chaison family and those who know them really appreciated Arlene Kelly’s comments, “If they can't solve something from a distance with their toys, the guns come out”.

I wrote about a similar article last week ( link provided below ) when an activist attempting to rally anti SWAT team sentiment published photographs and above each photograph had pasted his opinion, “Someone will die tonight”, because the SWAT team had been called into use. I resented the implication then and I resent it now; the police department, contrary to some malcontents with a microphone and a camera to widen their platform, the police department represents it citizenry, its desire to obey the laws conceived to protect everyone without inference of racial, social or otherwise impartial means. I expect the highest standards of those who wear the “Blue”, and continue to respect the individuals who face dangers, dangers that we normal citizens avoid and rely on those police officers to face on a daily basis. I consider Arlene Kelly’s remarks slanderous and to print them as if she were some kind of expert equally malicious.

The public has every right to question each and every incident that involves their police department, those individuals who represent the public’s desire to maintain the peace and dignity of their particular corner of the world. That does not include distorting facts by slanting an article in such a way as to pour gasoline on an already inflamed situation; but of course, this article poses no threat to our perfect social order here in Houston, where everyone trusts and appreciates the finest level of law enforcement available, no threat at all, none, nada and zip.

http://tfsternsrantings.blogspot.com/2007/01/kick-in-that-door.html

Odds and Ends

Saturday my son in law’s younger brother got married and my grandson JJ got to be the ring bearer. He was very serious about getting the job done properly as he stood motionless until asked for the rings. He held the heart shaped pillow up and knew right away that his part was over; looking over his shoulder at me with a huge smile and then popping a thumb’s up sign as he winked. I never notice stuff like that, never.

Somehow I was involved in a conversation about magic shows and performers. I happen to mention that I’d seen plenty of good magicians; but one of the most memorable was a kid trying to show off a fairly simple trick. Just a guess on his age, put him somewhere between 8 – 11 years old as he stood by himself in front of the audience with perfect confidence.

“I’m going to make this ketchup bottle disappear right before your eyes.”, holding the familiar shaped bottle for all to see. He then took an everyday brown lunch sack and carefully introduced the ketchup bottle into the inverted bag.

We wanted the boy to enjoy his “magic”, holding a straight face, all the while observing the shape of the ketchup bottle cloaked within the brown paper bag. Everyone started clapping and the young magician smiled and bowed, carefully maintaining a grip on the sack. He crushed the empty sack into a ball providing the real end of his performance; the ketchup bottle wasn’t in the sack and we never figured out how he fooled us, great close up magic.

Our Sunday School instructor was getting us off and running as we begin a course of study in the New Testament this year. He went over the basic outline and showed us a King James Bible on CD ( link via title bar ) that’s available through the LDS distribution center for about 6 dollars. He said that most of what’s on the disc is available via the internet; then went on to say that for the serious scholars they could read the Bible in Hebrew, Greek or Spanish with the English version on one side of the screen along side the language of choice. It might be fun looking at such a display side by side; of course I’d be lost as a goose since I speak neither Spanish, Greek and for sure not Hebrew. I enjoy the ease of looking up Scripture on the Church website; all the same it might be worth sending $ 6 just to say I had the fancy one next time anyone asked what I was studying this year at Sunday School; that and an hour a day spent studying the New Testament might impress the instructor.

Extra points if you identify the challenge and correctly record it in the comment section.

Hey take a look at this

I’ve explained to my kids not to open attachments that come to them via email or to visit internet sites which cater to carnal interests because of the increased possibility of exposing my computer to hostile virus packages. This past week I sat down and noticed that my desktop icons looked different, something that happens quite often when my grandson JJ moves them around; except this time I didn’t recognize several of the icons. Immediately I suspected something was wrong and ran my antivirus program to verify my suspicions.

A friend of my son wanted him to look at some interesting video clips, or at least that’s what I was told. I shook my head and bit my lip, at least for a few moments prior to explaining that this is my business computer, that I expect those who are permitted to use it for pleasure to follow my rules without any variance to those rules. That’s hard for my son to accept, maybe it’s a generational thing that I’m unable to understand; things like being responsible for your actions, following rules and all that. I hope he enjoys going to the public library to use the computer from now on.

Fortunately all my data is backed up regularly; my business data is backed up anytime an entry is made and my personal folders are backed up at least monthly depending on how much has been added. My iTunes and all my movies are on a removable hard drive so I won’t lose anything other than the time it takes to reload all my programs, that and the down time for repairs.

I now will have the pleasure of taking my computer in for service, under warranty hopefully since it is so new, to have the hard drive reformatted or what ever it is they have to do. I will have them reinstall Office and everything that gave me headaches when I first loaded those programs; some kind of issue between Outlook and Norton made for a wonderful time ( linked via title bar ). I have to wonder why I have Norton and pay for a program that let the virus get past anyway. The screen saver thing has never worked the way it should, some kind of driver that can’t be found turns off my internet connection when I should see fish swimming after a few minutes and I have to reboot to establish a connection.

I feel like the space shuttle astronauts having to go around the far side of the moon and being out of contact with mission control for however many minutes they are in radio silence mode. Keep those fingers crossed for my computer and I’ll be back with more rants as soon as I am able.

Trippin'

I walked in on a movie that was playing this afternoon, a chic flick from what I could gather in the short few minutes, a bunch of girls going on and on about a pair of magical blue jeans. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was the movie, I had to look it up to be sure of the title.

I was ready to leave when, as the movie progressed, one of the young women went to visit a friend in the hospital. There in the hospital bed was a young girl, her ashen complexion was very convincing; but that’s not what got to me. I looked at her eyes, little lumps of black coal set against the darkened shadowed sockets with only the faintest reflection from the light in the room on her pupils.

“She’s dying, isn’t she?” I asked my wife since she had been paying attention to the story line of the movie whereas I had barely noticed.

“Leukemia.”, she said. I’d have to give an award to the make up artist involved in that particular scene. I felt my emotions overflow with memories of Tim Andersen, a dear friend of mine who died of leukemia several years ago.

I visited Tim a couple of days before he died at the hospital. I’d known him for years; a vibrant young man, full of life and a spirit worth knowing. It hurt, deep inside, as I looked into his eyes and noticed the fires going out even as I stood there. That was the first time I’d ever watched death working in an active way, at least on someone I cared about. That may sound strange, my being a police officer all those years and dealing with the dead or the dying on numerous occasions; but that was part of the job, I never really knew any of those people.

I once was at the scene of a domestic violence shooting; a husband had beaten his wife to a fair thee well. The only thing that saved her was a small pistol that she used to shoot him several times in the chest; that was her story and she had the black eyes, the bruises and the look of a life wasted living in fear as proof. It took a few moments for us to determine what had gone on, making the scene safe and only then noticing the man sitting in the chair had been mortally wounded, a couple of gasps and he was gone; not that we didn’t call for an ambulance, just that it didn’t take a doctor to see that he wasn’t going to beat up on his wife ever again.

That kind of death didn’t get to me; Tim’s living inside that empty shell looking out at me through those lumps of coal, that bothered me and seeing such a similar image on the television set me “trippin”. I made a “crispy critter”, on the Pierce Elevated one time; a fatality accident where the car caught on fire and . . .; you get the idea, no need to go into details. I couldn’t eat barbeque for a long time after that; but even that was abstract compared to those darkened eyes looking at me from the edge of the veil when I knew the person, the remains of that person leaving this mortality.

I was ten years old when my grandfather died of cancer. I wasn’t old enough and hospital rules made it so I couldn’t visit him. I never saw the worn out old body; all I remember is the healthy version, the man who took a shine to me, an awkward kid. Maybe the hospital rules were a blessing in disguise, keeping me from seeing death at work left me with an innocence, a lack of reality that keep my childhood in place a bit longer.

I know, “trippin”, that’s a 60’s term. We keep a box of Kleenex on the end table to manage emotional disturbances while watching movies; Lucy tends to cry, just about anything will set her off. Somehow the box was empty and I had to fetch a new box from stock. I wiped away some tears, an allergy reaction or something ‘cause movies never get to me; must be time to get the sofa cleaned. I may watch a movie tonight, The Dirty Dozen or maybe Aliens; no chic flicks, please.

Kick in that door

I was reading Adam Selene’s post on the use of SWAT teams over at The Liberty Papers ( linked via title bar ). I’ll resist jumping on as a critic, either the manner in which a police operation was handled or, having picked up the familiar odor of a police bashing, becoming defensive. I wasn’t there and those who had responsibility for that job have to justify their actions in each and every incident at all levels of the justice system. Police officers are human beings, even SWAT officers, who have eternal souls and will forever be searching that soul hoping they did the right thing as they approach God’s bar of justice.

Instead I’ll relate a police war story from my night shift experience, something that I have first hand knowledge of. My partner ( so long ago that I couldn’t tell you which rookie I was training that night ) and I were dispatched to an apartment on a “disturbance with a weapon”. Upon arrival, that’s technical police talk for “When we got there”, we were met by a man claiming that his son was in the bathroom, messed up on drugs, armed with a pistol and possibly suicidal.

We carefully positioned ourselves on either side of the door and attempted to talk to the young man. This went on for several minutes without any coherent remarks from the other side of the door, a door which had been locked from the inside.

“Can’t you kick the door in?” The father’s suggestion was within reason and, after all, it was his idea rather than ours, it was the same as if he’d instructed us to destroy the door to save his son and get that pistol away from him. We didn’t count out loud like you see in the movies, “A one and a two”, no; that sounds more like the old Lawrence Welk Show anyway. My partner and I thrust our feet forward simultaneously and the door simply exploded into the small bathroom as fragments of the flimsy simulated wood product disintegrated.

The young man sitting on the toilet reacted by covering his head to protect his face from the pieces of door that crashed in on him as he; how to put it, was attempting to “let nature take its course”. He had no weapon of any kind and his mind had been clouded by some unknown substance which is why he never responded through the door.

I won’t pretend that we solved any problems that may have existed prior to arrival, to include the course of nature being hastened after our scaring the bejebers out of the young man sitting on the toilet ( substitute the more common phrase if you like ). We cleared the call as “unfounded”, yet another police term for situations that don’t match up with the nature of the original call and in no way should be considered part of the justice system; the digestive system possibly, not the justice system.

At no time did the thought occur to me, “Hey, this would be a great training opportunity for the rookie. Let’s kick in a door for practice so that some day down the road he can put on his training resume, “I kicked in a door”. Now, to set the record straight, I did watch an ER doctor perform an “emergency” tracheotomy on a fellow who had already been declared dead while being instructed on technique by the senior doctor. I figure I’d rather have him learn the first time when a mistake wouldn’t be such a big deal; after all, the next time it might be me he was working on. So, kicking in the door ended up being a great training exercise and would add to the ability of the rookie police officer’s bag of tools.

I don’t believe that SWAT teams are called out to exercise their particular abilities unless the list of “unknowns” justifies their being on location; to promote that line of thought might be considered paranoid, like saying, “The guy was only going to kill himself, why did SWAT have to help him?” There are many suicidal folks who lack the internal ability to finish the “job” themselves and have learned that, if you scare a cop at just the right moment, the cop will do the job for you; it’s call “police assisted suicide”. Who’s to say that no danger really existed, we didn’t need SWAT? When a person claims to have a weapon, visible or not, has shown mental instability, is acting in such a manner as to convince a rational person to consider there is eminent danger action must be taken. The danger is real, not only that individual; but to those in close proximity. The police officer is not permitted the luxury of inaction and I sure wouldn’t want any armchair soda sucking nincompoop to make the call based on paranoia and libertarian distrust of governmental agencies.

There is a tendency to use hind sight, “If we only knew …”, “. . .he really wasn’t a danger to anyone else”, or, “we could have talked him out of suicide if only we had given him an extra half hour to think about it…”; that kind of revisionist mentality attempts to cast doubt on previous rational conclusions in favor of a fairy tale existence which never was nor could be. Police officers make split second decisions based on a smattering of details with the hope that all the training and experience they have gained up to that point will guide them to a proper, legal and safe conclusion on each call.

I take back what I said in the opening paragraph, I’ve been retired from the police department since 1992; but I felt the defensive hair stand up on the back of my neck and I will criticize the police bashing remarks linked to in Adam Selene’s article, the ones that come right out and say, “Someone will die tonight”, implying that the police SWAT team was called so automatically there will have to be blood supplied for them to feel as if they did the job properly. Statements like that will not get you invited over for New Years dinner at my home.

Predictions for 2007

I couldn’t help but notice the flood of conjurers, wizards and soothsayer’s predictions forecasting doom, destruction and mayhem that will befall everyone in 2007. Wow, some of them are downright mystical; hold on while I put my other brown shoe on.

I predict that football enthusiasts will be glued to the television for hours on end consuming mass quantities of less than wholesome foods followed by serious gas attacks which will further erode the fragile environment.

I predict Spring will continue to follow Winter, that the Sun will come out tomorrow and that day will follow night as yet another crop of elected representatives will place their hands on the Bible; or in one case, the Koran, hold the other hand to the square and for one sparkling moment they will promise to obey the Constitution, serve those who elected them and make the world safe for democracy. Following that sparkling moment these self serving elitists will work in concert to destroy individual rights, the free market system, and the American way of life. No, I’m not a cynic, but that sure looks like the way things are done now; please, somebody prove me wrong.

I predict that Roger Clemens will retire from baseball someday and that he will be elected into the Hall of Fame. I’m going out on a limb on this one.

I predict that my freezer will have one entire shelf dedicated to half gallon selections of Blue Bell Ice Cream. Natural Vanilla Bean and Moo-lenium might be among the favorites. I further predict that regardless of how important having an entire shelf dedicated to Blue Bell Ice Cream might be to insure the well being of my family; Lucy will override with a line item veto, finding Birds Eye Broccoli, frozen pepperoni slices and other non-essential items invading that sacred shelf.

I predict that Ted Kennedy will never be permitted to take Hillary for a drive in any car, over any bridge at any time. On the other hand, Hillary might arrange for Bill to be in that situation; nothing like a grieving widow to pull in votes. Cindy Sheehan might be the driver and the two of them could accidentally drive off a huge cliff; yea, just like that movie Thelma and Louise.

I predict that the border crossing bridge will be replaced with a freeway overpass to facilitate guest workers ability to enter the United States. There will be an off ramp that leads directly to an amnesty court house built especially to accommodate registering all the new voter registration cards. Texas will change its name to Tejas and Spanish will be the predominant language, English becoming the one in parenthesis.

Okay, here are my predictions on the football scores: 21 – 14, 12 – 9, 54 - 3 and in the other game, 35 -34. Hand me the corn chips and Salsa; that was a tough one.

Goodbye 2006 Hello 2007

Celebrating the end of one year while ushering in yet another gives us all a chance to take inventory, a chance to redirect our efforts to achieve goals, to repair damages and get on with life. Our hymnbook has a somber selection that we close the year with; although instructed to be sung “fervently”, perhaps “funereal” would better describe the mood.

I’d like to take a moment to wish all my friends a Happy New Year, one that will enlighten their minds, touch their souls and lead them toward an improved version of their eternal spirit. Find the time to express your love to those around you in such a way as to imprint their heart with lasting moments, enough to help take them past any challenges that are placed before them.

Learn to appreciate the tender mercies that are furnished by the Lord, as Elder Bednar so beautifully explained, “. . . as you and I face challenges and tests in our lives, the gift of faith and an appropriate sense of personal confidence that reaches beyond our own capacity are two examples of the tender mercies of the Lord. Repentance and forgiveness of sins and peace of conscience are examples of the tender mercies of the Lord. And the persistence and the fortitude that enable us to press forward with cheerfulness through physical limitations and spiritual difficulties are examples of the tender mercies of the Lord”.

Ring Out, Wild Bells ( Hymnbook version linked via title bar )
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

Special thanks to Esther Anna Lombardi for having posted this poem and making it more accessible on the internet. I found this quote from James Baldwin on Esther’s page, ”You write in order to change the world, knowing perfectly well that you probably can't, but also knowing that literature is indispensable to the world...” Perhaps that explains why most of us blog when we could be sitting down watching television. I look forward to reading, to learning and to improving as 2007 presents new challenges. Have a safe and a Happy New Year!

It’s the End of the World! Again / Still

In the morning news I was reading Rob Gillies’ AP article, “Ancient ice shelf breaks loose” (linked via title bar). “A giant ice shelf has snapped free from an island south of the North Pole, scientists said Thursday, citing climate change as a "major" reason for the event.”

I glanced over the satellite image supplied and came up with multiple possibilities; other than, “A satellite image of the Ayles Ice Shelf in 2005 shows the collapse in the center. Scientists believe climate changes caused the shelf to break and form a new ice island in the Canadian Arctic”. The article failed to mention that NASA was on a tax payer funded mission to discover Santa’s toy factory to prove the “fat man” was in violation of child labor laws through repeated use of sweat shops filled with underage slave labor.

The easy way out would be to accept that the photo actually is a picture of some godforsaken wasteland that could have been used to film Star Wars. That lent itself to the next option; instead of it being a satellite image taken from space, it’s actually a picture of an Empire Storm Troopers helmet left out in the snow years after the filming of Star Wars. Lastly, and consistent with the Star Wars theme; it’s the charred remains of Darth Vader’s head piece. “Luke, you …already… h.. .a. . .v . . . . .e.”; gasping for a last breath before his eyes rolled up in what remained of his head.

Who do they think they’re fooling? Come on guys, next you’ll be telling us that Al Gore’s making another movie, “Unhappy Feet”; all about a bunch of penguins who got their funny looking feet covered with spilled crude oil that destroyed the environment when the pipe line sprung a leak, washed up on their beaches, after all the ice melted, while they were ordering Pina Coladas with those funny looking paper umbrellas hanging over the edge of the glass. May the farce be with you.

If you aint Texan you aint sheet

Big White Hat posted an article “Above and Beyond” (linked via title bar) where he mentioned the fact that Texans tend to show their pride abundantly, more so than most. I have friend who has fun with the language, transforming simple words like “sheet” into challenges that can only be completed by stepin’ out back; if you get my drift.

My daughter had the bathroom in her apartment saturated with Texas; the floor mat, the shower curtain and even the little hooks that hold the shower curtain on the rod. It was awesome; made me remember ‘bout the feller moved to Texas from Oklahoma. “Okay, so I wern’t born in Texas; but I got here quick as I could.” You don’t hear folks up in New Jersey sayin’ things like that; heck, most folks in New Jersey are lookin’ fer a way to get out of there; no disrespect intended, just facts.

Come Fly With Me

What kind of grandparent would I be if I didn’t post pictures? JJ was a perfect gentleman as he made sure to thank everyone who gave him a gift, showing jubilation and excitement with each tear of the wrapping paper. The only pictures of JJ were blurred as he bolted back and forth in the middle of the action. Jocelyne was in awe of the proceedings, not sure what was going on; at least until dinner time. I shared my plate with her and we enjoyed turkey, ham, yams, green beans, dressing, olives, raspberry jelly with pineapple chunks and a roll.

Bonnie taught Jocelyne how to pretend fly, putting on a show for everyone. Lucy’s sister Pat, the “Grand P-Nanner”, called from Hawaii where they were wrapping up a vacation. Jocelyne asked the flight attendant if the new ruling permitting the use of cell phones had gone into effect and then had a brief conversation while in flight.

“Come fly with me, let’s fly let’s fly away. . .

Let’s float down to Peru…

Let’s take off in the blue…

We’ll just fly starry eyed…

Weather wise it’s such a lovely day…

Once I get you up there where the air is rarified…

You may hear Angles cheer ‘cause we’re together…

Let’s fly, pack up let’s fly away.”

Fill in the blanks, change the order and use Frank Sinatra’s voice.

Almost Christmas 2006

It’s almost Christmas, only a couple of hours to go. I spent the evening reviewing articles I’d posted previously and decided to link with them rather than write something new tonight. May the gifts you give be received well, may gratitude surpass greed as opportunities present themselves.

"For God so loved the world that he sent His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life". John 3:16 If this is the one gift you ever receive you have all you need. Merry Christmas!

The Broken Nutcracker Ornament
http://tfsternsrantings.blogspot.com/2005/11/broken-nutcracker-ornament.html

The Night Before Christmas, GOA
http://tfsternsrantings.blogspot.com/2005/12/night-before-christmas-goa.html

The Truth About Santa Claus
(author unknown)
http://tfsternsrantings.blogspot.com/2005/12/truth-about-santa-claus-author-unknown.html

Two Babes In A Manger
(Author Unknown)
http://tfsternsrantings.blogspot.com/2005/12/two-babes-in-manger-author-unknown.html

Zuzu’s Flower! Well, Merry Christmas!
http://tfsternsrantings.blogspot.com/2005/12/zuzus-flower-well-merry-christmas.html

Faux Fur Not Faux

Shoppers were shocked to find that Cuddles, “The Stinky Dog of China”, as it has been advertised, may not be the perfect Christmas gift after all as the rush for unusual gift items reaches its peak. US law leaves loopholes for importing many items made in China and other barbarian nations. Apparently some animals are protected while human beings, which are property of the State, are not. Imported clothing items claiming to be ornamented in faux fur are in fact made from raccoons or dogs that have the appearance of raccoons ( link via title bar ). Chinese clothing manufacturers have recently been exposed for the inhumane manner in which animals are destroyed to obtain their skins.

A watchdog agency tested Cuddles and found that the toy pet’s skin, which officials claimed to be made from the intestines of tortured political prisoners, was in fact made from the entrails of whimpering sniveling humanitarian watchdogs. There have been reports that watchdog members, those who complain about inhumane treatment to animals, disappear and are never heard from again; that is until now. Chinese government officials refused to comment and calls left at the local embassy were not returned.

The hairless mongrel has been sold successfully, primarily in cities where Pit Bulls have been outlawed. A survey of paroled convicted felons established that professional burglars avoided breaking into homes that smelled like they might have a Pit Bull and targeted other unsuspecting homes. Cuddles skin has a slimy feel accompanied by the odor of spoiled hamburger meat left out of the refrigerator too long. Those purchasing the product claim that Cuddles is the perfect pet because it never needs feeding, it’s hairless body never sheds and is easy to find in a cluttered apartment since, as advertisers claim, “Cuddles smells like a Mongolian clogged sewer system”.

The break came during testing when pieces of an ACLU membership card were found in the seams of one toy. Urine from the card was matched to an ACLU attorney’s urine sample left on the Constitution during a recent attempt to subpoena documents that had been shared with terrorist groups, documents that had been classified as Top Secret.

How to deal with telemarketers

A tip of the hat to my friend Andy Ricker for sharing this one.

Turn on your sound and laugh along. Now, click on this link:

http://howtoprankatelemarketer.ytmnd.com/

Hey, Look Up!

Ha, ha; made you look; and anyway, hay is for horses. I can remember pulling pranks like that as a kid. When I was working as a vendor at the Astrodome we would point to an imaginary object on the roof just to see how many folks would stop and fall for the gag.

“Hey, Look Up!” would never work were it not for the remote possibility that something might actually be worth looking at. You might hear the music of Peter and the Wolf playing in your mind; a cautionary reminder never to cry “Wolf” unless there really is one.

Mom used to get us ready for school early in the morning in order to facilitate her getting out the door and on the road to be at work on time. We would postpone and drag our feet while trying to make those last few minutes of comfort under the covers last. One morning in particular she was excited to the point of bursting over as she rustled and jostled us awake. It was even earlier than normal, the skies still dark outside as I reluctantly obeyed the voice jabbering away, something about meteors in the back yard.

It took a while to rub the sleep from my eyes; but I put on some jeans and shoes so I could go outside and “look up”. The sky was unusually clear for Houston and it became obvious why mom wanted to share the experience with us. Meteors were cascading, not dropping here and there, cascading from the sky, not one or two every hour; but so many at a time that it was hard to believe. I’d heard that a good meteor shower would make it appear as if they were falling off an invisible umbrella; that about covers what I was seeing.

I brought that memory forward, having been prompted by my daughter. I get interesting calls from Bonnie every once in a while; this was one of them. “Dad, what year did you see all those meteors; was it November of 1966?” I had to think for a few moments, 40 years having gone by. I’d shared my recollections of the event on more than one occasion, Bonnie having a keen interest in such things.

“That’s about right, why do you ask?” Bonnie went on to explain that she met a fellow who’d taken pictures of “The Great Leonid Meteor Shower of November 17, 1966”. He told her how extraordinary that meteor shower had been; recording 10-15 meteors per second on average and as many as 40 per second at its peak. That’s a phenomenal number when you consider how excited most folks get if they see a single shooting star streak across the night sky.

I took the time to Google ( link via title bar ) that date and read several articles which confirmed my memories as having been note worthy. One article mentioned the Tempel-Tuttle comet that had everyone looking up as it impacted on Jupiter. Telescopes around the world aimed and focused to capture the event, a spectacular splash of color as celestial objects collided for all to see. I suppose it’s not so foolish after all, looking up.

JJ Has a Credit Card

Justin, my son in law, bought a new wallet and gave the old wallet to JJ. The first thing JJ needed was a credit card so he set about obtaining one. I guess it must be a joint account for his computer game friends Mario and Luigi.

A few weeks ago I helped out by picking JJ up at school where he’s in kindergarten. I’d met his teachers on Grandparent’s Day and they had been told I was authorized. The children were not in their classroom; instead having been on the playground around back. I mentioned that I was there to pick up JJ and the teacher jumped in, “You mean Mario, Luigi or JJ?” as she smiled, knowing how much JJ was enjoying the computer game.

When I was JJ’s age a penny, maybe a nickel or a dime would have been fine. I can see that the world has changed just a bit; five year olds know about credit cards. I better not show him any folding money; he’s pretty good at drawing and the Fed has rules about things like that. I can see the arrest blotter, JJ, counterfeiting, AKA Mario, AKA Luigi. JJ knows his numbers and would be all smiles when they took his mug shot.

Saturday Movie Critic Corner

When I was supposed to be growing up, something I've avoided over all these years, my mom would have us help clean the house on Saturday. Depending on which multiple personality displayed for our benefit, we either listened to great music from the old masters or watched poorly done Sci-fi movies while dusting, putting things away and washing dishes. Mom was a big fan of Godzilla and all the funky characters that made up the whole mutated Japanese film genre, a constant reminder of how the world would never be the same after having unleashed the horrors of atomic weaponry. Somewhere between Grieg and Godzilla a movie begs to be made.

This morning I found a movie that mom would have watched while cleaning the house. I joked with Lucy that we might have found somebody’s Master Thesis, “How to make a really bad Sci-fi movie for under a thousand dollars”. The movie’s name, “Out There”, in case you have a friend who owes you money and you want to inflict some extra damage as a warning to other dead beats.

I started watching while eating a bowl of cereal, trying to figure out why the main character looked familiar. It was the same fellow who’d played the lead role in “The Rocketeer”, and so I dismissed the terrible beginning of the movie expecting a turn for the better; I was wrong, it only went down hill from there.

This is the fun part, having invested 15-20 minutes in a bad movie; do you quickly find another, remembering that Saturday programming is marginal at best, or do you stick it out ‘till the end? I hadn’t noticed any swearing, excessive violence or naked bodies that would offend my sensitivities and it would be terrible to wonder how the plot turned out; giving quite a bit of latitude to the definition of “plot”. We watched as big screen actor’s names appeared in odd cameo spots; Rod Steiger, Jill St. John and even June Lockhart, as if Lost in Space hadn’t damaged her enough.

I don’t want to spoil it for die hard Sci-fi movie fans, those who may want to endure 98 minutes of toss salad scripting and plot development; but you might want to have some polka music playing to help get you through this one. As a side note, there are 8 used copies for sale on Amazon.com ( link via title bar ), and the movie was rated with 4 ½ stars by the two folks who took the time to rate the movie. I was afraid to read the comments, lest I see my mom’s name attached, “Great movie to watch while doing the wash” or something close.

Christmas Meme

I saw this on the Tigersue’s Jungle ( link in title bar ) and I thought I would do it! Please enjoy it.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate, but I won't turn down eggnog either!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Wraps them absolutely!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored!

4. Do you hang mistletoe? If I ever find it, yes.

5. When do you put your decorations up? About the first or second week of December; but, when I was a kid we bought our tree on Christmas Eve and Santa decorated it after we all went to bed.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Turkey!

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Getting a brand new bicycle.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I can still hear my bell ring.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? With Old fashioned style glass ornaments mostly. Right now as many unbreakable at the bottom of the tree!

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I love to see the Snow, it happens about once every 10 years here in Houston.

12. Do you ice skate? No.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I wrote a special journal to give each of my grown children that took several months to compile and then have printed and bound.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Being with my family, and the MUSIC!

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Charlotte Rouse

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? We used to write our letters to Santa and place them on a plate with some cookies and milk. The next morning, after Santa had read our wish list, the paper was burnt by Santa’s magic gloves and curled in the middle of the plate.

17. What tops your tree? A star on the small tree and an angel on the big tree.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? I think I enjoy giving more now, watching in anticipation as the gifts are received.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Mary Did You Know ( Donnie Osmond )

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Yum, but I don't eat them much anymore.

Now I would love to see what others of you say! Let me know!

Terrorism Closer to Home

I got this video ( linked via title bar ) from my friend Bricks. I consider it a must see for all planning to fly during the holidays; things to be on the watch for at the airport.

Taste Rike Chicken

I read an AP article ( linked via title bar ) where scientists searching for a rare Yangtze River dolphin ended Wednesday without a single sighting have concluded, "We have to accept the fact, that the Baiji is functionally extinct. We lost the race," Pfluger said in a statement released by the expedition. "It is a tragedy, a loss not only for China, but for the entire world. We are all incredibly sad."

Interviews with villagers may shed light on the subject, living primarily on a diet of rice grown locally and seafood obtained from the Yangtze. Apparently the White Dolphin, called Baiji, and the Finless Porpoise have been a common meal for years. “They taste rike chicken”, one man responded tongue in cheek but declined to be photographed.

"The situation of the finless porpoise is just like that of the baiji 20 years ago," Wang, the Chinese scientist, said in the statement. "Their numbers are declining at an alarming rate. If we do not act soon they will become a second baiji."

Oh Rob!

It seems that fiction and reality mimic each other once again; taking note of a story about Prime Minister Blair’s wife having posed for a nude painting at one time. (link in title bar) The news is what they make of it, grin and bare it.

I remember an old Dick Van Dyke Show where Laura had posed for a picture. The artist took considerable liberties as I recall; painting her in the nude, as he’d imagined she might look were she to have posed in the buff. The painting ended up in a gallery around the corner from Rob’s office and there was no mistaking the face that went with the rest of the body. That episode was aired many years ago and the details of the comedy skit are shadows at best; all the same, it made for some interesting television at the time.

I wonder how Eve feels, glancing down from the other side of the veil, with all the renditions, some rather embarrassing, hanging in museums around the world covered only by a fig leaf or totally exposed in the artist’s imagination. Adam thinks for a few moments and tries to console her, “At least this one by Michelangelo’s up on a ceiling where nobody will ever look at it.”

Tough Being Peapaw

Here’s a glimpse of what I have to put up with as a grandparent.

Permanent Entitlement Status

Somebody smarter than I am must have the answer to why a Federal Judge has ordered FEMA to continue paying rent for some 11,000 Hurricane Katrina and Rita evacuees. Mike Snyder of The Houston Chronicle wrote:

“U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon in Washington denied FEMA's request for a stay of his Nov. 29 order. He instructed lawyers for FEMA and for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, which sued the federal agency, to answer a series of questions and attend a conference in his courtroom Wednesday to discuss compliance plans.”

The problem with imposing mandates such as Judge Leon’s is it creates permanent entitlement status, or at least an open window of opportunity to drain the account of FEMA until it can no longer provide assistance to anyone. It now has becomes possible for those requesting assistance or aid to elevate that request into demands from those offering the assistance.

Were this an individual begging on the street it could be compared to a vagrant standing on the corner holding a sign, “Wil Werk 4 Fod” becoming dissatisfied and walking over to the fellow who just handed him a dollar out of kindness or generosity and putting a knife to his throat, “Hand me your wallet”. Am I wrong or is my brief comparison on the money? (link provided in title bar)

Earn This

Saving Private Ryan was on cable this evening, running through surround sound so it sounded like WWII in the den. I don’t believe in coincidence; instead accepting that those things which I experience have been placed or arranged in order that I might better understand life and all that is associated and pertinent to my eternal progression.

David Fraser was buried this afternoon ( link via title bar ); did we earn the terrible price he paid, the grief his family is going through? Should we as a nation consider how we live our lives and strive to balance the price that has been paid with righteous efforts each day?

In the movie there is a letter read aloud by a compassionate general, the letter was originally written by Abraham Lincoln to console a family for the loss of a son. If you have a chance to listen, those words are as relevant today as they attempt to explain the cost of life and liberty. Private Ryan returned to his family while they grieved for the other brothers killed in combat. I could not help but wonder how the scales of liberty and justice must be weighed at such a heavy cost as David was laid to rest.

I avoided watching a good portion of Saving Private Ryan; the extreme end of realism that they were able to accomplish with modern movie making methods. That having been said; the movie presented those scenes with a purpose that justified having to endure the graphic trials of combat. I made sure to watch the last part where Private Ryan observed the mortally wounded Captain struggle to get his attention, leaning close to hear his dying words, “Earn this”.

The next scene is fifty years later as Ryan visits the grave yard and stands there in humility for the sacrifice of so many making his life possible. I’d written on this a while back; contemplating Ryan’s question, “Am I a good man?” and extending that to my own life.

http://tfsternsrantings.blogspot.com/2005/11/am-i-good-man.html ( I can't hide a link when it is to one of my own blog articles; go figure )

Christ was born on Christmas Day to take up the sins of the world, to become our mediator with the Father. As we celebrate His birth, His life and His death; may we have the conviction of character to understand all that has been done for us.

There are many who would have us believe that because Jesus died for us that all we need to do is leave the loose ends up to Him, that by Grace we will be redeemed and return to our Father in Heaven. While it is true, that not one of us is without sin and that the Grace supplied will bridge the gap between us and God; there is no reason to believe that we should not keep that gap to a minimum. I’m of the opinion that if we listened, really listened, up close to our savior as he hung there bleeding, close enough where we could feel his breath on our ears, we might hear, “Earn this”.

The Antikythera Mechanism

The Antikythera Mechanism was in the news recently; the results of several years of study and conclusions based on those studies. I watched an hour long special several months ago which sparked my interest; photographs and x-rays that attempted to pinpoint the intended purpose for such an intricate mechanical device created over 2000 years ago and found at the bottom of the sea off the coast of Greece. I’ve included a link via the title bar.

There must be some ancient maritime code regarding ship wrecks; a standard operating procedure intended to put those ships near interestingly spelled locations. Have you ever heard of a ship wreck found near Fred’s Inlet or Bob’s Peninsula; never, they always go under near a place that only can be pronounced by some guy with a heavy European accent working for PBS network television. He stands in front of the camera holding a piece of barnacle encrusted rust wearing his Gloucester woolen sweater pondering and postulating for a few minutes, wondering what might have happened prior to the catastrophe.

“Captain, the main mast is shattered and it’s only a matter time before all is lost. What say we beach her over there on Smith’s Island?”

“No, that won’t do at all. I’ve checked the charts and with any luck we can be lost for time and all eternity near Antikythera.”

“Antikythera, isn’t that the same place those sailors picked up some plague?”

“I don’t think so, that was Diphtheria off the coast of Syphilis.”

Diptheria, Antikythera; what’s the difference, we’re all gonna’ drown? Maybe if we lighten the load a bit we can make it into port. How about that game boy box you’re playing with?”

“I waited in line for twelve hours to buy this at Homer’s Mart, nobody’s gonna’ Ptolemy to toss it overboard.”

“Aeschylus!”

“Bless you.”

“Suit yourself, you’re the Captain; second moon of Mars coming into view, good move! Now all you need is a Solar Eclipse and a planetary alignment to win.”

“Oenoe, in all this excitement I tore a hole in my trousers.”

“Euripides, where?

“Here, right here; Eumenides?”

What’s that line Arlo Guthrie used in his Thanksgiving Day classic, Alice's Restaurant Massacree; “I could sing it for another twenty five minutes. I'm not proud... or tired.” One thing’s for sure; in the slimmest of chances that I ever go on a cruise ship vacation, and that’s not high on my list of things I plan on doing, you can bet I will check all the ports of call for odd sounding names prior to boarding.

I Love To See The Temple

This time of year it’s fun to drive through the neighborhood and enjoy the efforts of those who have placed colored lights among the bushes and along the edges of their houses; a Christmas celebration in lights. The childlike state of mind that returns is hard to explain; not quite as spectacular perhaps as the star above a stable so many years ago when wise men came to see a babe born to Mary and Joseph and angels filled the heavens with song, worthy of comparison all the same.

Liberal Common Sense has a post today showing a favorite place she likes to visit, a special moment of reflection awaits each time a candle is lighted there. I noticed she had a link to something called “Grab the Scavenger Hunt Code”; a fun way to share a thread among bloggers. Today’s theme has to do with lights.

http://liberalcommonsense.blogspot.com/2006/12/photo-hunt-lights.html

Each Wednesday I have a chance to visit the Houston Temple as an ordinance worker. There’s an opportunity for me to appreciate the beauty, both inside and out as lights showcase the structure each night when I leave, having performed some small service for the Lord. Those who enter the House of the Lord learn how important it is to serve one another, to extend the blessings that we may receive, ordinances that improve our lives here and into the eternities and to provide those same ordinances vicariously to our kindred dead. Is it any wonder that we as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints place such a high priority to finding who our ancestors are, to appreciate the eternal links we have with them? May the light of Christ shine within each of us as the spirit of service to others becomes more important than our individual desires during this Christmas Season is my humble prayer, in the name of Jesus Chris, Amen.

I’ve included a link (via the title bar) to a Primary song, a simple thought set to music. I recommend listening to it by clicking the option of “words and music” as children teach basic truths of the Gospel.  

Signs of Getting Older

I’m always breaking unwritten rules of society, talking to strangers while in line at the grocery store and things like that. The other day I was picking up a check for work done at one of my regular car dealerships talking to the young lady in the office. I mentioned that if she ever wanted to get adopted into a family I knew just the one. Her eyes and the shape of her face reminded me of a fellow; old enough to be her father, who just happen to own a different car dealership up in Spring. We had a good laugh as I suggested that she could do a number on him by showing up and calling him Dad.

I happened by that other car dealership this afternoon and mentioned that he might have a daughter running around that he was unaware of; catching him off guard with such a off the wall comment. I explained where she worked and with the close knit family of the car business he knew who she was right off.

On a similar vein, I was shopping at a clothing store a few years back and noticed the young lady ringing up our purchases had a resemblance to a fellow at our church. “If you ever want to get adopted into a family I know just the one. You could easily fit in with the Murphy’s.”

“I am a Murphy!” She looked at me a little bewildered; turns out she was his oldest daughter home from college and working for the holidays. I’d never met her before so it made for an interesting introduction. Every now and again I get lucky.

Last week I was at Subway Sandwich shop for lunch as the young lady put my selection together; the roast beef followed by the Swiss Cheese on whole wheat. She then pointed to something and asked, “Do you want that toasted, Sir?”; but that’s not what my half deaf ears heard as I did a double take and started to laugh.

“Do I want a Soul Sister? What is this; a revisit to the 60’s?” I knew she had to have asked something else as I inquired; still laughing and noticing that the fellow down at the cash register couldn’t contain his laughter either.

The young lady pointed to the toaster oven and made it a point to speak clearly and enunciate each word, “ Do…you…want… your…sandwich…toasted…Sir?” Hearing aids can only do so much; makes for some interesting conversations that never happened.

Lucy and I were at Fry’s Electronics last Saturday and happened to see the movie, Grand Prix, on DVD. The movie came out in 1966 and instantly became one of my favorites. I had wanted to add it to my collection for quite some time; but for years had only been available in VHS format, so when I saw it on DVD on the way to the cash registers I couldn’t resist.

There should be some kind of warning affixed to the movie, “Caution, Do Not Operate Any Motor Vehicles Within Two Hours After Having Watched This Movie!” or some such advice. The 16 year old adolescent rises to the surface and automatically wants to emulate the adrenaline junkies shifting gears and hurling themselves into hairpin turns at breakneck speeds.

We put the movie on and thrilled to excessive noise as all the special effects exploded into our den; the advantage of having a large HD home entertainment center with surround sound stereo. Try as we might, we couldn’t stay awake through the end of the movie; nine o’clock and we were both up past our bedtime, geeze-a-louisa! No wonder my kids make fun of us getting old, hair thinning, can’t see without my Varilux lenses and I think I’ve already mentioned that I can’t hear; even with my hearing aids. The following day we made sure to watch it as a matinee; even taking advantage of the additional special extras included on the 2 disk set.

Last on my list of mind wanderings is a short story that will get this holiday season off properly. Thanks and a tip of the hat to Richard Sutton for sending this to me via email.

A man went to his dentist because he felt something wrong in his mouth. The dentist examines him and says, "That new upper plate I put in for you six months ago is eroding. What have you been eating?"

The man replies, "All I can think of is that about four months ago my wife made some asparagus and put some stuff on it that was delicious...Hollandaise sauce. I loved it so much I now put it on everything --- meat, toast, fish, vegetables, everything."

"Well," says the dentist, "that's probably the problem. Hollandaise sauce is made with lots of lemon juice, which is highly corrosive. It's eaten away your upper plate. I'll make you a new plate, and this time use chrome."

"Why chrome?" asks the patient.

To which the dentist replies, "It's simple. Everyone knows that there's no plate like chrome for the Hollandaise!"