Christmas, 2010

Well, had a GREAT Christmas Day !!

Everyone got more than they wanted and the dinner was Great !

Wishing Everyone a Happy New Year, and get home safe and sound.

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press

From Someone Else, and I agree

wrote a letter to my local papers The Times Daily and Courier Journal, which I rarely do about the current political issues. Here is the letter. If any other papers across the nation want to print it, feel free too.
November 23, 2010
Why Vote Republican?  
Dear Editor:
I’ve always felt that Democrats were the party of charity, while Republicans are the party of greed. Many people consider themselves to be Republican up until they lose their jobs. You don’t see many who turn down unemployment checks or social security.
I’ve heard Republican pundits say that they are the party of morality. What’s moral about letting people starve to death because they lose their job? What’s moral about letting someone die because the hospital won’t treat them without insurance? What’s moral about cutting funding for our policemen, firefighters, and teachers, so you can give a tax cut to a billionaire?
I’ve always said that I’m not rich enough to be Republican. Unless you earn over $250,000 a year, Republicans are not doing anything for you. Trickle “ down economics has never worked. These companies that get the tax cuts and then make record profits, don’t hire more people or create any more jobs than they would have without them. What they do is give their executives raises and bonuses. They make the rich richer, and they don’t contribute anything to society.
What truly surprises me is that the southeast U.S., which is generally not as educated, votes Republican. Why? The Republicans depend on the uneducated to buy into their empty rhetoric. If these people actually looked into what Republicans really care about, rather than believing everything Fox News tells them, they would be ashamed of themselves. And if they weren’t, I guess they weren’t so moral to begin with.
What is wrong with being progressive? What happened to moving our country forward, and staying in front of the rest of the world? People who want our country to go back to the idyllic 50’s era America are delusional. It’s never going to happen. Why not try to be at the forefront of the future? As a country we have been falling behind for years. We no longer make the best products, the best cars, or provide the best education.
What happened to us?
Cynthia R. Yildirim
Florence, Alabama 
From http://cynthiayildirim.posterous.com/my-letter-to-editor-why-vote-republican-or-th
(c) copyright by her in 2010.

Black Friday

That's what the merchants call today.. because with all the sales, they hope to make enough sales by this part of the year that it will push their profit/loss ratio from the red into the black [ profit ] category.

It's now looking like Europe and the IMF have bailed out Ireland to about 85+ Billion Euros, and coming next is Portugal, then probably Spain, and England is cutting back on everything, and France looks like it could become unsustainable over the next 2 years.  Germany will survive, but will have to finally cut the purse strings and will have to make the drowning man's choice...
Try to continue to save everyone else, or cut them loose and save yourself.

It's a tough, tough choice.  Your heart sinks, as it is a very difficult choice on so many plains, views, avenues, .... Should I save my neighbor, and go down in poverty, or save myself, but watch them go down?

And how will that then effect the USA?  And what about China when we [ probably ] default on our payments when the Tea Party puts the brakes on the spend and print money machine? 

OK, so what's the solution?  Everyone [ that means EVERYONE ] must tighten their belts... Europe, USA, Asia, Africa, Greenland, Antarctica ... everyone.

Good Luck, Earth... it's been good to know you.

For the kids?
Keep your money close. Keep your expenses low.
Prepare to move to anyplace more stable.

G-G Peterka got out of Austria in the 1880's,
G-G Mathieson got out of Norway in the 1880's.
The Irish kids are moving to LA and Australia.
Looks like its all starting over again.
- Depressingly Yours,
  Chuck

HAPPY THANKSGIVING !

Well, we all have so much to be Thankful for.... still employed, still in our house, still have adequate police protection, .... OK.. a bit depressing, but WTF.

We're off to see the Munchkins for a couple of hours of Turkey, Dressing, Mashed Potatoes ( can't write that word without thinking of George Bush [ The First]'s insurance policy... Dan Quale "If I die.. the kid gets the country "!!
Sadly, his son didn't learn the lesson, and had a Dick in charge of his branch of the government.  

Well, anyway... enough sad stuff and let's turn HAPPY !!

Remember, it get's darkest just before the Stars come out !
and as Tony Curtis says in one of my favorite movies "Operation Petticoat",
"In Chaos is profit !!"   or something like that during the air raids by the Japanese.

Enjoy the Chaos... it is what makes life exciting !!!

- Chuck

November 7th, 2010 Thoughts

Well, it's been 5 days since the election, and my depression has mellowed, and my worry for the future has stayed the same.
What is it about old farts?  Did politicians behave better in the days of Eisenhower, etc.. or did it just seem that way.

I guess I'm just waiting for the bottom to fall out with something dumb done by the Tea Party-ers, or their masters, the Republicans.
It promises to be a wild ride.

My kind of religion ??

Great Oration on a Great Subject.
http://tinyurl.com/32dwyy5

A load of junk...

So I deleted the info.
I leave you with this thought instead.
Did you know that you can sky dive Without a parachute?
But you can only do that once.

In a better mood

Well, it's now heading into Autumn, hurricanes cruising up the Atlantic seaboard, and waiting for the eventual snow.
Debbie says, "Great Fog Yesterday."
Corine's Rule: 90 Days later, a good storm.
That put's it out as December 24th, 2010.
Will have to sit back and wait.

Road Trip Views

Back from a Road Trip.
Saw the Ozark Castle, St. Louis Arch, Tall Ships in Chicago, and talked with old Friends and ate GREAT Pizza.
Met people I didn't even know existed, saw a small bit of the potential of the Earth and it's future and at times felt enthusiastic and at times saw the future of the human race as going the way of the Dinosaurs.  New book title: The Rise and Fall of the Human Race ?
We're wasting so many resources in so many ways.
OK, I'll cheer up.... later.
Pax Vobiscum.

Politics and Automobiles

Voting is like driving a car.
You pull the lever to "D" to go Forward.
You pull the lever to "R" to go Backwards.

 

Carry Me, Carry You.

I came across a photo in Magee's blog, showing him lifting up a youngster at an orphanage.  Magee's over 6'3", and the kid was about 3 years old.  

It was like a giant holding one of the hobbits.  And they were both holding each other, and they both needed to be held.  Great Photo.
  http://tinyurl.com/27k4qgv

Remember The Umbrella !!

A contractor for a large tech company was sent out near Seattle to evaluate and improve a process at the Boeing plant in Everett, Washington.

With the weather usually rainy, he packed his umbrella, and sure enough, when he drove out there from the airport, it was raining.

He parked the car in the visitor area, and walked into the factory with the umbrella, and stashed it into a corner to dry out. Around noon he came back to go get some lunch and found that the umbrella had been run over by a forklift or some other machine at the plant. He put his coat over his head, ducked out to his car, got lunch and also picked up a new $10.00 umbrella at the local discount store.

He was a bit more cautious where he put it the rest of the week, and when he got back to his office on the next Monday he filled out his expense report. He put down, “One Umbrella, $10.00, receipt attached” .

Well, on Wednesday, payroll approved everything but the $10.00 for the umbrella. He called them and asked, “Why Not? It was at the Boeing Plant outside of Seattle. It rained every day. My original umbrella got ran over by a forklift. I wasn’t about to charge THEM for the umbrella. They would think I was being petty and may even cancel our contract worth hundredsthousands of dollars. It wasn’t my fault. I put it where I thought it was safe. It was consumed on the job, and it’s only $10.00. “

But they said, “It’s a personal item. You can’t get reimbursed for personal items.”

So, the next time he was sent out to the plant a few weeks later, he filled out the expense report, and at the bottom he put in bold letters.
“FIND THE DAMN UMBRELLA!”

Someplace in that expense report was an extra $10.00. He got them to pay for it one way or the other.

When you’re working extra for the company where you’re at, and can’t get compensated for it in any normal way, just
‘Remember The Damn Umbrella!”. Get your ‘payback’ somehow, in extra pay or somehow else, or extra time off for free, or somehow. Just
‘Remember the Damn Umbrella!’.

Dawn Post

Well, still here.
Old Joke Time...
What's the difference between a Friend and a Good Friend?
A(1): A Friend will bail you out of Jail. A GOOD Friend will be in the cell next to you going... "Dude, was that awesome, or what ??!!"
A(2): A Friend will help you move. A GOOD Friend will help you move a body.


Another guy at the WAWA Coffee counter said...
'A good friend will say, " I'll pay for the lawyer."

Later.... gotta go watch Mythbusters blow something up.

Sunset Post

What to say?
Love ya'll, Lots.
My vote is that you should punch out of this place, the USofA is going the way of The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, but at a higher rate of speed.

Denmark feels like it might be OK. But you decide.

Oh, and one of my favorite artists and songs.
http://tinyurl.com/2bymh6n
See you all at dawn, and lets have pizza !!
Love,
Chuck

Mathematics Rules !!!

Good By, Gulf of Mexico - Day 76

So, it's Hotter-n-ell up here last night, so we're watching the fireworks in Boston, Washington and Philly in the air conditioned comfort of home on the local TV Networks, ( CBS, ABC, PBS ) and they look GREAT !

Each one had a synchronized part off the show to "America, the Beautiful", and we're singing along with the crowds,
"From the Mountains,
To the Valleys,
To The Oceans, White With Foam!
God Bless America, My Home, Sweet, and Home!"

and when I got to the Oceans White with Foam, .. My mind wandered to Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, George Bush's Texas and the Gulf of Mexico...
I was Depressed!!
No longer White with Foam down there, it's Red, Iridescent Blue, Iridescent Green, etc with oil !!

The rest of this post was deleted from my head because they don't want me to say nasty words on the internet.


Stay Cool, Everyone...

Nice Mathematics Quote

Had never heard this one before...

Egrafov, M.
If you ask mathematicians what they do, you always get the same answer. They think. They think about difficult and unusual problems. They do not think about ordinary problems: they just write down the answers.

Mathematics Magazine, v. 65 no. 5, December 1992.

An Interesting Meeting

I met someone whom I did not remember meeting before, but I knew we'd meet again in the future.
Deja Vue.... in a reverse sort of way.

You never lose your past, ...

You never lose your past, because it's always popping up in the things you think and do and how you react to the current situation.
You can never avoid your future, but you can shift it a bit to the right, left, up, down, front, back a bit at a time... and then change it's direction.

Good Luck... and enjoy the adventure.

For Jack and Maggie on Jack's 20th Birthday

April 2nd, 2047
I just came back today to tell you kids that you should read several of Harlan Ellison's books. Pick a few... then try Isaac Asimov, too.

WOW !!

Great... Wow !

http://tinyurl.com/MarcStieglerTheGentleSeduction

Mark Twain - 1901 and To the Person Sitting in the Darkness

From a political website called Crooks and Liars.
I turned to this short article by Mark Twain, written in 1901, titled "To the Person Sitting in Darkness." http://www.historywiz.com/primarysources/sittingindarkness.htm
This was written late in his life, and his political views had turned against imperialist exercises such as the American occupation of the Philippines. It's worth a read, but this part at the end jumped out at me, where he satirically takes the position of the American government explaining why it was in the Philippines.

From Mark Twain [ aka Samuel Clemens ]
"Having now laid all the historical facts before the Person Sitting in Darkness, we should bring him to again, and explain them to him. We should say to him:
They look doubtful, but in reality they are not. There have been lies; yes, but they were told in a good cause. We have been treacherous; but that was only in order that real good might come out of apparent evil. True, we have crushed a deceived and confiding people; we have turned against the weak and the friendless who trusted us; we have stamped out a just and intelligent and well-ordered republic; we have stabbed an ally in the back and slapped the face of a guest; we have bought a Shadow from an enemy that hadn't it to sell; we have robbed a trusting friend of his land and his liberty; we have invited our clean young men to shoulder a discredited musket and do bandit's work under a flag which bandits have been accustomed to fear, not to follow; we have debauched America's honor and blackened her face before the world; but each detail was for the best. We know this. The Head of every State and Sovereignty in Christendom and ninety per cent. of every legislative body in Christendom, including our Congress and our fifty State Legislatures, are members not only of the church, but also of the Blessings-of-Civilization Trust. This world-girdling accumulation of trained morals, high principles, and justice, cannot do an unright thing, an unfair thing, an ungenerous thing, an unclean thing. It knows what it is about. Give yourself no uneasiness; it is all right.
Now then, that will convince the Person. You will see. It will restore the Business. Also, it will elect the Master of the Game to the vacant place in the Trinity of our national gods; and there on their high thrones the Three will sit, age after age, in the people's sight, each bearing the Emblem of his service: Washington, the Sword of the Liberator; Lincoln, the Slave's Broken Chains; the Master, the Chains Repaired.
It will give the Business a splendid new start. You will see."
- Mark Twain

1901 ... 2001. What will happen to America by 2101 ?

For Another Jack ( and Maggie, too )

Oh, and one of my Favorite Movies !!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090728/
Kurt Russell as Jack Burton

When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head up against the barroom wall, and he looks you crooked in the eye and he asks you if ya paid your dues,
You just stare that big sucker right back in the eye, and you remember what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like that:
"Have ya paid your dues, Jack?"
"Yes sir! The check is in the mail."

Second April 2nd, 2010

One of my favorite quotes in movies is in Hook, where Peter Pan says,
"Gotta Save Maggie! Gotta Save Jack! Hook is back!"

Hi Maggie! I love you, Too !!

April 2nd 2010

Happy Third Birthday, Jack !!
Off to your place tomorrow for the party!!
Birthday Advice?
Buy Low, Sell High, and don't be in a hurry to buy !!

Tea Party

Wow, the Tea Party is a bunch of scary folks. I sure hope Sarah Palin takes over the organization. She'll go nuts and really radicalize it. That should [ hopefully ] doom their organization.

Too many nuts spoil the soup.

February, 2009 Snow Storm

Well, we got clobbered by a nice snow storm on Feb 5th and 6th of 2010. Spent 2 hours out playing with the snowblower. Just did our driveway and sidewalk, Greg's next door and Mr Gerald Otten's down the block. Temps about 25 degrees F, so it was mostly fluffy and blew better than slushy stuff.

Today I'm making Dumplin' Soup and gonna clear off the car. It's got about a foot and a half of snow on top. Weather guys say we got about 21 inches, but around our house it looks more like 18 inches, official.

Lots of stuff was cancelled, only one church service on today, Sunday, at 11:00 AM. All other services cancelled. Roads are mostly a mess, but you can get around in a normal vehicle. The Snow Plow Crews are earning their overtime, and the landscapers will have a good Valentine's Day for their loved ones with the extra money they are earning.

Well, gotta go.
C U L8R.

Happy New 2010

Happy New Year !!

I sure hope it's better than 2009 !