Do you like fly fishing?

On Fridays I like to browse the real estate ads in the Wall Street Journal. I get my jollies wondering about people who sell $25 million dollar homes in the desert. But today I saw a cottage on the AuSable River in Michigan for $179,900. The photo looked pretty sweet--a log cabin built in 1930 with 700 ft. frontage and a private trout pond and boat house. Nice little porch--looked to be a smallish 2-3 bedroom, one bath summer place. Probably not the best kitchen or bath, but you can't beat the price and location (if you like to fish, and I don't). So I looked it up on the internet and found it after two or three clicks, despite not having a URL. Really cute. Go in with another two families and have yourself a nice fishing retreat.


AuSable River Cottage

Call Chad at 231-499-8292. Full info here.

983 For Grieving John Kerry Fans

Recently we heard that a woman in our former neighborhood sunk into a deep depression after the election, is getting a divorce, moving and selling the house. I thought some of those stories of post-election depression were a bit overblown, but I guess it really happened. In Boogie Jack's lastest Newsletter 124, he refers to a site called CDBaby; a little CD store with the best new independent music. This site includes album art, which I always enjoy browsing, and in it I found Independents 4 Kerry. You can sample all the songs, and if you are still depressed, I recommend "One of those days" by Doug Segree which is a foot tapping and happy song. The CD includes 2 hours and 20 minutes of executable video and streaming media, so depending on your state of mind, view at your own risk.

Now if you were pleased with the results of the election, the site also has a CD of comedy routines that includes hip-hop, disco and R & B called Kerry Waffles by Burt and Kurt.

It's really a very interesting site, and if you are a struggling but talented musician, it could be the place to sell your art. Thanks for the tip, Boogie Jack.

982 Not Catholic

James Lileks says it best, although I've seen this thought on a number of Protestant blogs:

"I have no stake in the matter of who’s the Pope – or do I? Choose a cardinal who issues a homily titled “On the Need to Gas Grandpa When He Starts Crapping Himself” – I’m sure it would sound better in Latin – and this might have an impact on the society where I hope to find myself in 30 years. The selection of Ratzinger was initially heartening, simply because he made the right people apoplectic. I’m still astonished that some can see a conservative elevated to the papacy and think: a man of tradition? As Pope? How could this be? As if there this was some golden moment that would usher in the age of married priests who shuttle between blessing third-trimester abortions and giving last rites to someone who’s about to have the chemical pillow put over his face. At the risk of sounding sacreligious: it’s the Catholic Church, for Christ’s sake! You’re not going to get someone who wants to strip off all the Baroque ornamentation of St. Peter’s and replace them with IKEA wine racks, okay?" Read it here.

Homocon has a few choice words for liberal Catholics, like Andrew Sullivan, who claim to be political conservatives:

"Cruising by Andy's website of late has become akin to slowing down the car and craning for a better look at the bloody wreck by the side of the road -- it's messy, it's ugly and thank God it's not me.

From his petulant, foot-stomping dislike of the current President (and Karl Rove), his outright campaigning for John Kerry (who represents the worst sort of excesses of the Democratic Party), his Eeyore-ic mutterings regarding the necessary political and cultural revamp of the Middle East (starting with Iraq), and now his flailing, spittle-flecked tantrums over the Catholic Church's selection of a Pope who embodies the moral, social and political philosophies of, well, the Catholic Church, I think we can all safely assume that little Andy's "I'm a Gay Conservative . . . really!" charade is long past over."

981 Majoring in minors

Roger Simon wonders about whether the Committee has grasped the major concepts of UN dysfunctional family in this Bolton discussion: "I have no personal knowledge of John Bolton or of the degree to which the administration's nominee for UN ambassador is a hothead who mistreats subordinates, but color me suspicious he is much worse than the clowns who sit in judgment of him on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee." Read the rest here.

980 First they drank my soda pop

Now they are watching my movies! Those average Americans are at it again. This dentist says there are enough carbonated soft drinks consumed in this country each year for each American to drink 53 gallons, so since I drink two or three max, someone is drinking my pop! (There is enough sugar in one can of pop to get the maximum for one day, and even the diet pop has enough acid to eat the enamel on your teeth, so you can have mine.) Now USAToday says that in 2000 Americans spent 57 hours a year watching videos and DVDs, and now it is up to 83, and projected to be 98 for 2007. So far in 2005, I've watched one Blondie DVD, or about 80 minutes, and last year I think I had a few videos on Spanish verbs and one on train travel from the library.

979 What does he say about authors he dislikes?

About five years ago, Harold Bloom, defender of the Western Canon, offended millions of fans by calling Harry Potter a total waste of time and energy. “And yet I feel a discomfort with the Harry Potter mania, and I hope that my discontent is not merely a highbrow snobbery, or a nostalgia for a more literate fantasy to beguile (shall we say) intelligent children of all ages. Can more than 35 million book buyers, and their offspring, be wrong? yes, they have been, and will continue to be for as long as they persevere with Potter.” (Wall Street Journal 7-11-2000). Here.

In today’s Wall Street Journal he writes that “J.K. Rowling and Stephen King are equally bad writers. . .” and advises one to reread Hans Christian Andersen, Dickens, Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear for the real thing rather than Rowling and King. And although he admires Andersen’s stories (I think) and recommends him for “children of all ages,” he certainly doesn’t think much of the man. He calls him a narcissistic pagan, prophet of annihilation, blithely insouciant, sadistic, endlessly wandering to Byzantium, a theorist of seduction, monument of narcissism, self-obsessed monomaniac, of solipsistic vision, sexually frustrated homoerotic, a pagan in his art, driven by fame and honor and animistic.

The article is a messy stroll through the Western Canon, and either Bloom is not a particularly fluid writer himself, or some WSJ editor had to hatchet his way through it to reduce its size. In a marathon of name dropping he mentions: Nietzsche, Whitman, Kierkegaard, (Rowling, King, Dickens, Carroll, Lear), Heine, Hugo, Lamartine, Vigny, Mendelsohn, Schumann, the Brownings, Hoffmann, Gogol, Kleist, Lawrence, Kafka, Shakespeare, Blake, Tolstoy, Freud, Byron, Hemingway and Schopenhauer. That’s a lot to pack into an article about a guy who is famous for kids’ fairy tales.

And to think that the very first book I was given as a child was “The Ugly Duckling.”

978 Pope Benedict XVI

Eamonn Fitzgerald summarizes and collects comments on the new pope here.

977 Democrats don’t want young workers to benefit?

The calculator being used at 16 Democrat websites to figure the Bush overhaul of Social Security is inaccurate, according to Fact Check.org.

“Democrats have been using a web-based "calculator" to generate individualized answers to the question, "How much will you lose under Bush privatization plan?" For young, low-wage workers it projects cuts of up to 50% in benefits. And a $1-million TV advertising campaign is amplifying the claim, saying, "Look below the surface (of Bush's plan) and you'll find benefit checks cut almost in half."

In fact, the calculator is rigged. We find it is based on a number of false assumptions and deceptive comparisons. For one thing, it assumes that stocks will yield average returns of only 3 percent per year above inflation. The historical average is close to 7 percent.

The calculator's authors claim that they use the same assumption used by the Congressional Budget Office. Actually, CBO projects a 6.8 percent gain.”

Everyone agrees that as the boomers age and there are fewer and fewer workers to support them, someone’s going to have to water down the soup to make it go around. That’s how my grandmother managed when poor neighbors showed up at the door close to dinner time during the Depression. Add a little water to the gravy.

It won’t matter to me--I’m not eligible for SS, but who will be there for my children, now middle-aged? Democrats really don’t want any Bush administration plan to work, but especially not this one. It takes some of the control away from the government and hands it back to the worker--especially that choice and inheritability thing. Ohhh! That’s so scary. A constituency that doesn’t need the party for favors is one that might vote libertarian or Republican. It cuts into their base.

And Republican congress people are really lackluster in their support, too. In yesterday’s WSJ Ed Crane of Cato Institute commented that inheritability and personal control, which he considers the best features, are rarely even mentioned, even by Republicans. And Democrats NEVER do--but that’s no surprise at all, now is it? Choice is OK to kill a baby (although not for your breast implants), but not OK for your money.

Cell phone follies

My husband has a cell phone which I rarely use. It's hardly ever turned on, so consequently the messages build up. But we don't know how to access them. In 2001 we loaned the phone to our son, so the message is his voice and 4 years old with all the wrong information. During our trip to Illinois it began beeping whenever we had it on, so we turned it off, which meant anyone who tried to call us, got the 4 year old message. When you've been married 45 years, it's the little things that start to bug you--like why don't you just go to the local office and have them show you what to do?

Today I left the house with the cell phone in my purse and was determined to find out how to listen to a message. They were nice at the cell phone office, but since he hadn't listed me as an owner on the account, they wouldn't give me the password which is needed to get the messages. They did offer me a nice deal on new service with 2 phones, however. Each person who looked at our cell phone said something along the order of, "my, this is so old I've never even seen one like it." Reminded me of the time I took my camera that still had film in it from 1957 to a shop in 1975 and the camera was older than the clerk.

My husband didn't know his password, so finally we called the 800 number which instructed us in the 337 numbers we had to enter to change the password. Finally I got it figured out. There were about 5 messages from a female Indian or Pakistani doctor who had been paged, supposedly from our number. There were a couple of hang-ups and one with people just talking in the background. Then 3 from my brother-in-law telling us about a detour, and then from Duke inviting us to stay for lunch on Saturday.

I'm still thinking about the offer of new service and phone. Sounded like a good deal. And no one would laugh at our poor little phone.

975 What I heard about you

If you've ever lived in a small town, you know exactly what this poem is about, and if you haven't, you just wouldn't understand. And speaking of small towns, this trip we did manage to see Brownsburg, Indiana and Plainfield, Indiana, both under 20,000. Until Saturday, Brownsburg was a place to buy gas. Plainfield has a new library that looks really terrific; easy access to Indianapolis if any librarians are looking for a good spot for a dual income family. I checked to see if a photo was on the web, but didn't see one. The closest I could come is the history site.

What I heard about you
by Norma Bruce

I heard you’d gone to Canada;
I heard you’d crossed at night.
I heard you loved the open space,
and spoke their English right.

I heard you’d moved to Oregon;
I heard you’d gone for good.
I heard you took your saxophone,
and a wore a woolen hood.

I heard you’d flown to Arkansas;
I heard you’d sold your horse.
I heard you sang the old sad songs,
and found your twang, of course.

I heard you’d camped in Alabam;
I heard you’d snared a crook.
I heard you set a clever trap,
and then you wrote a book.

I heard you’d traveled Iowa
I heard you’d hired a boat.
I heard you bought a soybean farm,
and that was all you wrote.

I heard you’d biked to O-hi-o;
I heard you’d tried to call.
I heard you lost your BlackBerry,
while browsing Tuttle Mall.

I heard you’d entered Mexico;
I heard you’d seen the Rio Grande.
I heard you searched for ancient tribes,
and all you found was sand.

So nowadays I don’t pretend
the tales I hear are strange;
if anyone your name brings up--
my plans don’t rearrange.

Home again speaking 85% General American English

We left town on April 8 and got back last night around 6:30. The cat looked at us suspiciously--she enjoyed being spoiled at our daughter's home.

At Jen's site this morning I noticed a link to a quiz for the type of American English. Perhaps it was just the trip to Illinois and Indiana, but I came out 85% general American English, and midwestern with a smattering of southern. That's probably because we had lunch with Duke and Kinga yesterday and they lived a spell in Kentucky before moving back to the Indy area. The quiz didn't ask how I pronounce Warshington D.C. or dish warsher.

Your Linguistic Profile:

85% General American English

10% Midwestern

5% Dixie

0% Upper Midwestern

0% Yankee

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

972 Spring Break

Taking a break to write some poetry, paint watercolor and clean up the art room, take a brief trip, and work on a pile of books. If I blog at all I will try to catch up on my hobby at In The Beginning.


Spring Break

April is National Poetry Month
By Norma Bruce 2003

April is National Poetry Month
So gather your poems today!
Take out your favorite paper and pen
And let words on the pages play.

Stop VCR, TV and DVDs,
Store heavy coats and woolen clothes,
Write a happy or serious poem
Put away winter’s weather woes.

Any meter, form or period,
Free style, irregular or rhyming,
Sit in the sun or watch the birds,
April’s best for the poet’s timing.

Lavender lilacs, yellow daffodils,
Buzzard to Hinckley, dove or wren,
Housecleaning, grass seed or garden,
All lovely topics--’cause it’s Spring again.

From the archives

If there's anything worse than cleaning out the garage, it is cleaning out computer files--drafts, quotes, used-up, moved-on, out-of-date, etc. While on my blogging break, I'm browsing files to see what can be thrown out or recycled. Very tedious. I can't find that I ever posted this one about the product called Octavo. I was alternately impressed and depressed as I read about this wonderful opportunity. According to the file date, I wrote this in January 2004:

Digital editions of famous, beautifully illustrated, ancient and old texts are available from Octavo. For instance, Josiah Dwight Whitney’s Yosemite Book is a spectacular record of a 19th century survey with 28 photographs--a book that helped convince the Congress to preserve Yosemite is available for only $25, a digital Wycliffe New Testament in Middle English could be mine for $40, the Gutenberg Bible in Latin for $80, and a Latin Mercator Atlas for $65. Even for personal use, these digital editions are affordable.

However, my concern would be the next generation or three of computer technology. I now own three, built in 1994, 2001 and 2003--less than a decade. Octavo has already issued three versions corresponding to the abilities of Adobe Acrobat. None would work in my oldest computer, and maybe someday, a version wouldn’t work in my 2003. To work back and forth is a headache if it were even possible.

What I buy digitized today, will it work in 3 or 5 or 10 years, or sit in the back of the cabinet with the old “floppies,” fat cables for printers, switching boxes, early USB cables, photo imaging software? When I look at my book shelves, I can pull off books owned by my grandparents and great-grandparents and immediately access.

From the archives #2

While I'm noting changes in computer software (see previous post), might as well include this one about your homemade CDs and DVDs I wrote last June.

Although I think librarians have known about this guide for some time, the Wall Street Journal in June 2004 featured a story about Dr. Disc, mild mannered Fred Byers of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He’s promoting a seal of approval for a disc’s longevity.

Home made CDs and DVDs are coated with dye, and the laser burns a pattern. But the dye can fade, particularly in the sunlight.

The guide http://www.itl.nist.gov/div895/carefordisc/ is dated October 2003 and is 50 pages, or try thenice one page summary, http://www.itl.nist.gov/div895/carefordisc/disccare.html

971 Power

Who was the only one with no power in this story? Terri Schiavo. The president had it. The congress had it. The governor had it. The courts had it. Michael had it. Even her parents with lawyers and friends and supporters, had it. Even we the people had the power to speak out. Only Terri was powerless. [paraphrased, March 30 broadcast] Glenn Beck.

970 Judicial Oligarchy

That's what Glenn Beck was calling it this morning when it was announced that Terri Schiavo "died." Government by the few. Government by one branch of the three. We elected the Congress. We elected the President. Judge Greer and all the judges who refused to take another look overrode our system of government. The judges didn't find it odd that Michael only recalled her wish to die after the trial and the money award. Greer ruled that the evidence showed she wished to die, and all the other judges fell lock step in line. (Goose step might be a better phrase.) "What will we do now?" Beck asked. I'm hoping there will be some changes made; that we don't continue to have the courts make law and run the country.

When parents of the handicapped are polled on the value and importance of life, the figures are very different than when you poll the general public, Beck said. Do you suppose they know something we don't? He told of a family living a few blocks from Terri's hospice facility with an adult daughter in the same condition since 1991. Her husband gave her back to the custody of her parents and moved on with his life in another city. Her parents, in their 70s, consider it a privilege to have her. Her former husband visits her several times a year with their son. "Who loses in this arrangement?" Beck asked.

Glenn Beck started talking about Terri five years ago and brought her case to the attention of the public. I first heard about her through his program three years ago (Dr. Laura was pulled from this market and replaced by Beck after 9-11, probably because of pressure from gays). He is the one who got the ball rolling to save her life. And Terri has brought to our attention a multitude of issues through her final struggle, not the least of which is we've become a culture of death.

969 Ideas have consequences

One of the things that has disturbed me about the Terri news coverage is that the outrage about the starvation and thirst (even the callous Europeans are horrified), might actually work in favor of the pro-death crowd. Denyse O'Leary writes: "Starting slowly in the early 20th century, but now picking up speed, naturalism has begun to make deep inroads into our culture, including the school systems. And we are seeing the results.

At one time, only unborn children slated for abortion were treated with complete indifference to their possible suffering. Now it could be you. And if you complain that Terri is being treated cruelly, you will be told that a lethal injection would be more humane. In other words, going the whole way of treating all humans as animals would be more humane.

So, even if you are not religious or not socially concerned, but merely selfish, wake up and care."

The whole essay is well worth reading.

Cross-posted at Church of the Acronym

968 The explosion didn’t change who I am. .

Thirty six year old Maj. Tammy Duckworth of the Illinois National Guard was interviewed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC on C-SPAN today. Her amazing courage, positive attitude, sense of humor and devotion to her country are inspiring. Her husband of 12 years, Capt. Bryan Bowlsby, was with her and he is also in the National Guard. She has lost her right leg above the knee and left leg below the knee. Much of her right arm was torn away or crushed and it has been rebuilt with skin flaps and muscle from her stomach and chest. She hopes to return to active duty as an aviator, and that is her goal and why she is working so hard in therapy. She demonstrated her C-leg--a computer leg which should enable her to walk without a limp. “The explosion didn’t change who I am, and I am honored to serve. . .it is a privilege.” Friends in Illinois are rebuilding their home. Her civilian job is with the Rotary. The day before the interview, her father had been buried at Arlington Cemetery. The program was called “Conversations with U.S. Soldiers Wounded in Iraq.”

NPR also interviewed her.

967 Million dollar coupon

If you clip and save coupons, I've got a deal for you. In the WSJ today the O'Keefe Group at Russ Lyon Realty has a coupon for $1,000,000! It is only good on the Jensen Estate, priced at $9,950,000, near Scottsdale, AZ.

If you've ever wondered if a coupon was worth the paper on which it is printed, this should give you an idea. (Hint: It isn't.) Small print: one coupon to a customer please. Affirmative action marketer.

966 Writing your Memoirs

Deborah Santana, wife of Carlos Santana for 30 years, didn’t feel a sense of her own creativity, so she enrolled in a writing class in Oakland CA and wrote her memoirs, Space between the Stars, issued in hardcover and audio book this month. I listened to her interview on NPR, although I probably won’t read the book. Lives of entertainers are not on my to-do list.

I’m in a memoir writing class at our public library, but haven’t discovered anything--no skeletons in the closet, nothing longing to be set free, no drugs, sex and rock and roll. I’ve been married 45 years, grew up in two small towns in Illinois, lived almost 40 years in central Ohio and worked as a librarian in a variety of positions. Most of the really good stories can’t be told! What if I need to go back to work some day!

Some of the instructor’s prompts have been interesting, although I think I’ve scraped the bottom and sides of the memory barrel. My children have never shown any interest in family history, so I’m not sure for whom I’d been saving these. I have met some really interesting women in the class and have learned there are many ways to write down and preserve your past and that of your ancestors. One woman is using poetry, another family recipes and photographs, some are creating novels based on family stories, and some are combining straight genealogy with passed down stories. I enjoy listening during sharing time, and have helped others with editing. Last week Julian focused on grammar exercises and how to cut out wordiness [at this point in time, basically, in light of the fact, it is to be hoped, there is a desire on the part of. . .and so forth]. I was paired with a Korean woman who had taught English in Korea. She knew the rules much better than I who’d studied only the required freshman college English.

Deborah Santana has a lot more material to work with--she is bi-racial, bi-cultural, has dabbled in several religions, tried drugs, dated Sly Stone, and manages her famous husband’s business. The type of memoirs we focus on in my writing class are generally not for publication, except maybe using Kinkos or a print on demand publisher.

Maybe I’ll try that class on reliable but under-used perennials that starts next week.

965 Names for music groups

Coming up with an original name for your garage band must be tough. What if you really make it big? Does the name have to mean something? Should it reflect your roots? How about using a headline? Can you just put words in a hat and draw out 3 or 4, mix and twist, and that's the name? Here's some I found playing around the city this week.

Regonomics
Kola Koca Death Squad
Dogs Die in Hot Cars
Wigglepussy Indiana
Bloodlined Calligraphy
Poison Control Center
Code Blue Band
Principally Speaking
Moving to Boise

Lots of death, violence and mayhem in music these days. And then there's the ever popular,

No smoking
Open stage
Blues jam

What will librarians do with those names? Here's a list of rules for cataloging the names of performers. For example:

LCRI 24.4B: When establishing the heading for a performing group, apply the following:

If the name contains a word that specifically designates a performing group or a corporate body in general (e.g., band, consort, society) or contains a collective or plural noun (e.g., Ramblers, Boys, Hot Seven), do not add a designation to the name.

If the name is extremely vague, consisting primarily of single, common words (e.g., Circle, Who, Jets) or the name has the appearance of a personal name (e.g., Jethro Tull), add a designation to the name.

If the name falls between the above categories (e.g., Led Zeppelin, Jefferson Airplane, Road Apple, L.A. Contempo), add a designation to the name.

If there is doubt whether a designation should be added, add it.

Use the designation "(Musical group)" unless special circumstances (such as a conflict) require a more specific term.

I suspect that if the works of "Dogs Die in Hot Cars" ever get cataloged, the librarian will definitely need to add a designation.

964 Cruise Care

When we took an Alaskan Cruise in 2001, I was surprised to meet people who’d taken 15-20 cruises, and older people who appeared to be living on cruise ships, booking one cruise after another. Then in the February 2005 Harper’s Index, I noticed this comparison between living out your life on a luxury cruise ship or in an assisted living facility.

Average total cost for a U.S. eighty-year-old to live out the rest of his or her days on a luxury cruise ship: $230,497 [Lee Lindquist, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (Chicago)]

Average cost to live them out in an assisted-living facility: $228,075 [Lee Lindquist, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (Chicago)]

These figures are examined at Snopes Urban Legends, and found to not be too far off. Apparently there was an earlier version comparing nursing homes and living in the Holiday Inn. It also sites the Lindquist figures, although doesn’t say where they are published.

"Cruise ships offer such a range of amenities — such as three meals a day, often with escorts to meals if needed, room service, entertainment, accessible halls and cabins, housekeeping and laundry services and physicians on board — that they could actually be considered a floating assisted-living facility," says Lindquist. “

The author of the Snopes article says there are other, non-financial considerations, such as proximity to children and grandchildren, loss of friendships and volunteer activities. However, many retirees don’t live close to their children, and seeing them involves travel anyway. Many have already lost their best friends and burned out on volunteer activities. Perhaps the solution would be to have several travel together in lieu of relocating in an assisted-care facility.

963 Creativity

My friend Bev and I went to Capital University in Bexley today to see the 19th Biennial Exhibition of the Liturgical Art Guild, "Contemporary Works of Faith '05" which runs through April 8. It is in the Schumacher Gallery on the 4th floor of the library. We picked out a few pieces and gathered some information on the artists we'd like to pursue as possible exhibitors at our church's gallery. We had lunch at a little deli linked to the movie theater, and listened to two student jazz groups who had set up shop on Main Street. The weather was glorious and they drew a good crowd. One woman enjoyed the music so much she was dancing--probably in her 70s. Bev has a college age daughter in NY and knows various people in the music and arts community, so she kept running into people she knew from various life stages.

Bev is a creative person. Today I heard the most creative reason for not exercising, one I just must remember. She'd decided to begin a healthier life style--good nutrition and exercise. So she started the day with a bowl of steaming oatmeal. But the ceramic bowl was so hot she dropped it on her toe. Now she will have to postpone the exercise part, and I think the dog took care of the oatmeal. Way to go, Bev!

962 ABC headlines another “fake” memo

They didn’t say it was “Republican,” just "GOP." Duh! What were the listeners to think?
Story here, including reports on all the other rush to judgment media who ignored researching it first.

And
BlogHouston

also
PowerLine and PowerLine

and this
Michelle Malkin

and that
Rathergate

and In the Agora really went after it.

961 How to lose a wife with no questions asked

See? There are easier ways.

960 Maybe you're asking too much?

Lots of bloggers gripe about blogger.com as their hosting site. I don't--well, OK, sometimes I do. I think for something free and easy, it's pretty nifty. But I see a lot of sites that are asking way too much and just inviting failure. I left a note at The Crusader's comments. He's really unhappy about Blogger.com's performance. He's a Homespun blogger and I just stopped by to look at his site. There are Bible verses, books' adverts with photos, flags and symbols, all sorts of logos for things he cares about.

As you can see from the load of links I have, I should perhaps not be talking. But I do go through and remove those I think are causing problems. I'd love to have Sal Towse here, but every time I add her link, kaboom, the whole thing goes whacky, so I go to Paula or PJ or Hip Liz and link from them. I also try to not load too many photos and quizes, because I think they slow things down (and seem to add pop-ups and cookies). My note:

"Just an opinion, Mr. Crusader. You have an awful lot loaded on your page--even in your comments--which means more ways to fail. It's like buying the dishwasher or washing machine with all the gizmos, bells and whistles. Sometimes less is more in writing as blog as well as architecture.

I've noticed on mine, that certain links, even to individual bloggers, will cause mine to malfunction or load slowly, and I've had to remove them.

Also, if I've really worked hard on a post I either do it in wp first, or I block and copy before I hit draft. Then I check it, and publish. Occasionally even "draft" malfunctions, but if I've copied it I have it. I've noticed that "publish" in compose causes more problems than "publish" in html."

959 Tinker Tinker little Stat

There was an AP Story reported in today's Wall Street Journal that will have the economists and feminists rewriting the stats.

"A white woman with a bachelor's degree typically earned nearly $37,800 in 2003, compared with nearly $43,700 for a college-educated Asian woman and $41,100 for a college-educated black woman, according to data being released Monday by the Census Bureau. Hispanic women took home slightly less at $37,600 a year.

The bureau did not say why the differences exist. Economists and sociologists suggest possible factors: the tendency of minority women, especially blacks, to more often hold more than one job or work more than 40 hours a week, and the tendency of black professional women who take time off to have a child to return to the work force sooner than others."

They've even suggested that hiring incentives may have something to do with it.

I expect no protests on the campus by the women's studies department.

958 Don't know, don't care

That's a bit cavalier for a librarian to say about why children are hanging out at the library. At least these days. I'm guessing she'll bring that entry down soon. Librarians are already under fire for their snippy attitudes on filters to protect children and the Patriot Act. If you've ever been at a public library after 3 p.m. or on a school holiday, you'll see unattended children. Some are well behaved and quietly doing homework; others doing mischief and playing on the computers. Sort of free daycare by careless parents. I also see creepy adults I wouldn't want to sit next to. Some libraries in NJ, according to Conservator, consider unattended children under 6 as abandoned.

I just checked our county database for sex offenders in the library's zip code.

957 The Dream

If I can remember a dream, it is usually so fractured it is not worth repeating. The dream that woke me up this morning was a doozy, worth recording in my diary.

I was walking in a park in the dark when I saw what looked like an old 19th century bottle on a ledge, so I stepped off the path to retrieve it. When I picked it up I realized I couldn't get back up to the path, very wet and slippery, and besides the bottle half full of water looked like a fake. After some struggling and wiggling in the mud, I got back on the path and went into a restaurant which became a Bob Evans. I realized sitting in Bob Evans that I was in the wrong restaurant to meet my friend Adrienne. I left and got in my car and drove south on Olentangy (should've gone north). Realizing my mistake, I got on Lane Avenue heading west but ended up in a grassy field with no road. I looked at the houses lining Lane, and they didn't look at all familiar.

I saw what looked like a construction site, so I got out of the car. I walked around some large equipment and buildings and encountered some men talking about photographing the president. There were 2 doors in the main building and I saw a woman in a nice brown tweed pantsuit go upstairs through the one door. I figured she might be the secretary and wondered why she was so nicely dressed to work in such a shabby building. I went in the other door to ask for directions and a phone. A man, white-haired, about 50, was talking to someone, so I went outside to look for my car, but it was gone, and I also realized I didn't have my purse with the keys. I went back into the office and the man was leaning on the window taking photos with the most elaborate camera I'd ever seen. He was photographing the bubbles made by the rain on the window.

Finally, I get to tell him I'm lost. He explains that I'm not lost, I'm in the wrong century. That the president they were talking about is in the 22nd century (he called it the third century) and that people make this mistake all the time. They will either send me back to the 21st century, or they can bring my husband forward in time to join me.

The woman staffer (in brown tweed) then comes in the room with a small spiral bound book of photos of food (I was apparently to select something for dinner). I saw cole slaw and ham salad and remarked that things hadn't changed much in the third century and then I woke up. (I've never cared for science fiction.) I was on the couch; it was 5:20 a.m.

C-SPAN was broadcasting a meeting of photographers of the president. A noisy rain was hitting the windows. Beside me was a book about a 19th century ship that goes down in a hurricane and the recovery process of the ship and all the passengers' personal items. I'd had clam chowder and crackers for supper last night with various spreads including ham salad, and a very spicy creamcheese mix with salsa. It was Monday and I was supposed to meet Adrienne at the coffee shop (not Bob Evans) in an hour.

956 A quiet Easter

We had no one to spend the day with today, our daughter and son-in-law drove to Cleveland to spend time with his terminally ill mother and they ate at the nursing home, and our son had other plans. After church we enjoyed a much too big breakfast at First Watch.

But we had a wonderful Sunrise service at our church (and the sun was actually shining when we drove there) and were blessed to be the communion servers. I was a little nervous when we first volunteered for this, but now that I've done it a few times I can't think of anything I've done in recent years at church about which I've felt better. Having grown up in the Church of the Brethren where communion was a twice a year solemn service with a meal, foot washing and wearing a prayer covering, I had a bit of a struggle shifting my focus from something we the believers do to something God does. I remember when we took instruction in 1976 our pastor told us we could argue about anything we wanted (how well he knew me!), but Lutheran baptism and communion were not up for discussion and if I had doubts, I shouldn't join.

Then this afternoon we went to see "Finding Neverland" the movie about James Barrie the author of Peter Pan. Johnny Depp plays Barrie and we thought he did an outstanding job--actually all the cast did. If you haven't seen the movie yet, do go. It will restore your faith in the film industry. I hadn't read the reviews before we went, but checked them when I got home, and they were all A or A+.

955 Colorado Blogging

Twylah, who blogged at Lutheran in a Tipi, is folding her tent and moving on to other activities, but she has promised to stop by from time to time and make comments. I have another Colorado blogger Babs, Girl in Right, who actually uses the same blogger template that Twylah used. She's a former NCAA champion and a new adoptive mother of a Russian toddler. Recently she's been wondering where the feminists are in the Terri Schiavo death by starvation case. She's done a search and found silence.

I seem to recall a case 20 years back when the battle was between the parents of a brain injured Lesbian and her partner. The parents were next of kin and the partner had no rights. I believe we heard quite a bit from feminists in that case--and the partner won the right to bring her home. If Terri were a Lesbian, an African-American, or an endangered Sanibel Island rice rat this case might have ended differently.

954 Young and eager to take on the world

This morning (I'm going to Sunrise Service) I came across Patrick's blog about Colby College in Maine. I think he has graduated and moved on but still keeps in touch with the campus and Maine issues. I think I attended Colby. I'd check my transcript to be sure, except I know absolutely that Maine is such a fabulous place for a college co-ed to spend the summer, that I didn't have my credits transferred (didn't want to mess up my grade point). I had such a great time, that I'm not even sure it was Colby! I need to check a Maine website and see what other small colleges are in that area.

See? Librarians know how to have fun--at least before library school.

953 Blogging problems

This has jumped ahead a bit since I see I've repeated a few numbers in the 940s. I can correct them, but then that messes up the entry title, which has already been picked up for the internet aggregators.

Plus, blogging has been a bear lately. I think people are really jumping in and blogger.com can't keep up, nor can the "ping" sites, which have been malfunctioning.
I just tried to revise my template and got a huge error message about an entry on March 21. Well, duh. Why tell me now? So I'll try sending this one through and hope that cleans it up the template problem. Sometimes that works.

In addition, if I want the window where I type to come up faster, I can't see the numbering, which is why I often make mistakes (and I'm number-challenged).

951 Those of us who volunteer. . .

We see many people like this in nursing homes. Loved, cared for, manicured, shampooed, read to, responding, smiling, happy people. These people are Terri.



Photo from Bayly Blog

950 The Exercise Outfits Drawer Spring Cleaning

This week I washed all the sweaters I've only worn occasionally this past winter (which isn't giving up yet here in Central Ohio). I used to have sweaters dry cleaned, but the last two dry cleaners left such an awful odor in the fabric, I had to let the clothes air out in the garage. I'm not taking any chances with that gunk next to my skin! Besides, if they are ruined or faded by the soap and water, for some it will be no great loss.

As I was looking for a place to put them until I decide if I want to keep or donate (places that take donations don't want winter clothes in March), I opened two drawers in my closet that have reminders that I haven't been in an exercise class for 2 years. Then I decided those shirts and shorts and pants needed to be sorted for keep-or-throw-away too, but needed to be washed first.

The t-shirts are some of my favorites; 1) a pink and black shirt with a smug cat saying, "I don't do mousework;" 2) Readmore's "So many books so little time;" 3) Shedd Museum in Chicago logo for its beautiful colors; and 4) Many "Walk with Majors" (book distributor) from Medical Library Association conferences in various cities like San Antonio, Boston and Seattle. It's hard to give up some of those memories, so I refolded them and made a special drawer just for exercise clothes. (I've written about this problem at our cottage too.)

Then I created a memory pile on the floor, items to be given away like the white jeans, size 8. Those days of the mid-90s will never come around again. A lavender stipe shirt that always looked ugly on me (wrong color for pale skin) and is about 20 years old; a stretchy fabric capri pants with orange, red and pink flowers that makes my husband scream when I put it on (also too tight); a sleeveless t-shirt I bought in Florida in 1987 (rarely worn).

Next I piled up the "think about it" outfits I specifically bought for aerobics class in 2001. These are snappy little numbers in black with stripe down the leg or the shirt. Shows you mean business. I suppose it is possible I might return to class. . . which is why I'll reserve judgement.

I must have thought that clothes make the exerciser.

949 On being silent

Florida Cracker has noted the famous poem “The Hangman” at her site, which was used as the text in a 1963, 12 minute film about the Holocaust. It appears in many Social Studies curricula for school children, to point out the dangers of cooperating with evil, because when the Hangman comes for you, all your friends and neighbors who could have saved you are gone. As a blogger for Terri, she is pointing out that this issue is bigger than one handicapped woman.

At another site, a lay pastor has used "The Hangman” as the form for his poem “The Deceiver.” In this poem, Satan dressed up in the name of Jesus visits a small gospel, Bible-centered church where even the little ones know right from wrong. One by one the Deceiver takes out the believers.

He takes out a deacon by blessing him the "gift" of laughter and barking; he pulls the “Purpose” sign out of the yard; reads to the congregation from a paraphrased Bible; brings in a rock band to replace the hymns and so forth. Finally, when there is only one man left to finally speak up and protest, the Deceiver says:

Then a twinkle grew in the eye of lead.
"Lied to you? Tricked you? Of course I did.
But I answered once and I told you true,
My best disciple is none but you.

"For who has served me more faithfully
Than you with your silence?" gloated he,
"And where are the doctrines that once stood
To help you to know and choose the good?"

"Changed," I whispered, and hatefully,
"Corrupted," Deceiver corrected me:
"Bible, salvation, Spirit too...
I did no more than you let me do."

In the silence, Deceiver said with a yawn,
"My work is done here. I'll move on."
And he left me scornfully in the lurch,
And no prayers rose from the empty church.
By Mike Fischer

And so, many churches who could have spoken out, have kept silent. They are empty of believers.

948 Another woman officer down

In Toledo, a pregnant petite prisoner overpowered her female officer escort on a visit to the obstetric office, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Aurelia Dyer, the prisoner, punched Lisa Osbourne in the nose and choked her unconscious with the belly chain. Then she got out of her handcuffs and leg irons and fled. She was only doing 90 days on forgery. That’s one tough Mama!

Update: The Toledo Blade reports her “capture” and shows a photo of the belly chain (loop is large enough to get over someone’s head.) Like the Atlanta case, she was talked into surrendering, although no book was used. This time a family friend who was on parole was the good Samaritan. He called the police when he realized she had escaped. He had given her clothes and fed her breakfast when she came back a second time.

947 Tax Time

Upon reviewing our tax forms yesterday before returning them to our accountant, I found a $1400 error. It wasn't hers--my husband thought he'd turned it in, but it was medical insurance drawn directly from our checking account and he'd forgotten to write it down with the figures he turned in. (Forgetting to include automatic withdrawals is a common error, according to our accountant.) Be that as it may, the mess our government has made of our tax code is absolutely incomprehensible. (I'm trying to be more careful about always overusing adverbs, but I truly need adverbs for this post.) ;-) If line 2H on p.1 is 20% higher than the total you can't find on p.5 line 17-Q, then go to line 9-b on p. 2 and multiply the difference by the size of your thigh after subtracting your shoe size. I mean, who in the world thinks these things up? Is there a special school to teach legislative staff to design tax code this way?

948 Creepy database search

The TV is reporting another child abduction by a possible sex offender, this time in Iowa. So just out of curiosity I went into our county's sex offender database, which can be searched by zip code. It supplies the photo, current address, and crime details, including the sex of the victim. In my ZIP there were 4; in my son's about 12; and in my daughter's 57! I called her right away--thought she should know.

947 It's not about you, Jill

Remember that 1973 song, "You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you, don't you. . ." In that case, the song really was about the unnamed "you." But Baldilocks tells Jill Porter that Ashley Smith's story isn't about Jill.

"My dad says that some who are blind to miracles are willfully so. To give credit to Jesus Christ for a miracle like that of a nearly a week ago would nearly kill them. So it is that a person like this Jill Porter only looks at this story in terms of herself and her own beliefs. Porter must find any excuse to diminish the fact that Ashley Smith seems to have exorcised whatever demons possessed Brian Nichols using words like “I was his sister and he was my brother in Christ.” Couldn’t have been the work of God. Anything but that."

946 See Dick and Jane Go to Jail

Bloggerben reports on how far we've come. Photo and comment.

945 Sandwiched between feeding tubes

Both her mother and daughter are on feeding tubes, so she knows what she is talking about when it comes to the value of human life. Doctors have stopped predicting her daughter’s death because they are always wrong.

"If I turned our cat loose on the streets and refused her daily Little Sheba rations, I'd be charged with misdemeanors galore and sentenced to community service at the pound. And our cat has no cognitive skills, save for the ability to sniff bumpers. Scott Peterson will enjoy hearings and representation over the next decade as he sits on death row, where he will die a natural death. Where is Terri Schiavo's lawyer? Who does indeed speak for her? When our Claire turned 18, my husband and I had to petition to become her guardians. We were investigated, went to court, and paid for a lawyer for Claire so that the state of Arizona could be assured that Claire was in the right home with decent folk. There was no clamoring at the court house for custody of Claire, and the hearing was mercifully short. Three months and $972 later, not including copying costs, we were appointed guardians of our own child. How do Florida courts get away with less, not for just guardianship, but for the life of the ward herself? If Congress can dictate disability benefits, medical privacy, and any number of long-term care issues, it should make public policy on euthanasia for the disabled who have no living will."
Marianne Jennings

944 They seem to have fallen half in love with death

Peggy Noonan writes:

"I do not understand the emotionalism of the pull-the-tube people. What is driving their engagement? Is it because they are compassionate, and their hearts bleed at the thought that Mrs. Schiavo suffers? But throughout this case no one has testified that she is in persistent pain, as those with terminal cancer are.

If they care so much about her pain, why are they unconcerned at the suffering caused her by the denial of food and water? And why do those who argue for Mrs. Schiavo's death employ language and imagery that is so violent and aggressive? The chairman of the Democratic National Committee calls Republicans "brain dead." Michael Schiavo, the husband, calls House Majority Leader Tom DeLay "a slithering snake."

Everyone who has written in defense of Mrs. Schiavo's right to live has received e-mail blasts full of attacks that appear to have been dictated by the unstable and typed by the unhinged. On Democratic Underground they crowed about having "kicked the sh-- out of the fascists." On Tuesday James Carville's face was swept with a sneer so convulsive you could see his gums as he damned the Republicans trying to help Mrs. Schiavo. It would have seemed demonic if he weren't a buffoon.

Why are they so committed to this woman's death?

They seem to have fallen half in love with death." Full essay.

Why stop with half? They've gone 'round the bend, cackling, sneering, cavorting, whooping with each judge who knocks down the hopes of the Schindlers. I saw more genuine caring and grief from the anti-life crowd over Islamic terrorists in women's panties than I see over a woman dying of thirst in a desert blooming with bizarre court findings.

As Screwtape said to Wormwood: "Hatred is best combined with Fear. Cowardice, alone of all the vices, is purely painful--horrible to anticipate, horrible to feel, horrible to remember; Hatred has its pleasures." [C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters]

943 ABC has thanked me for my input

Here's a copy of the note I dashed off to ABCNews about the survey they conducted.

"I've read the questions of your Schiavo poll and frankly, have seen few
polls as biased as yours.

Food and water are not "life support." You probably don't grow and
harvest your own--or even it cook it. We all need help with that. She
could be fed by mouth if her "husband/guardian" permitted it.

She has not received the therapy the award was to pay for, so how would
anyone know if the damage is irreversible. You set up a "straw-woman"
a disabled one at that, in order to stay true to your anti-life
convictions.

Give us some real, honest questions, and you might get honest, reliable
answers.

Click, click. The sound you hear of the remote changing channels."

942 Jesus died for Michael Schiavo

It is Maundy Thursday and I’ll be serving communion at the 6:30 p.m. service. I’m preparing for this. Some time today I’ll probably read through one of the Gospels to put the last week of Christ’s life in perspective (the major focus of the four Gospels is the final week). I’ll do the practical things--like making sure I don’t have hangnails or chipped nail polish, runs in my stockings or stray hairs. I won’t put on perfume today. I’ll make sure I have on low heel shoes or sandals and pick out the right size white robe from the rack in the choir room. I’m rehearsing my lines. As I tear off a piece of bread to give to the members kneeling at the rail, I’ll say, “The body of Christ given for you,” and in my mind I’ll say, “and for Michael Schiavo.”

Sometimes it is hard to put a name and face to the forgiven. Some people claim to have a problem forgiving themselves. Maybe, but let’s look at. It is possible that deep down, by denying that Jesus died for someone else or something really hateful, we are subconsciously denying that Jesus death on the cross was really sufficient. He either died for all, and I‘m in that all and Michael is in that all, or he didn‘t. I can‘t start chipping away at who I‘m going to include in “all.” Whether Michael is in a condition to enjoy the gift of salvation is beyond my knowledge.

“Jesus was put to death for Michael Schiavo’s offences and raised for Michael Schiavo’s justification.” (Rom. 4:25) Maybe you think he is doing the right thing. And that’s OK. You haven’t had the same experiences with the severely disabled that I’ve had and haven’t seen the soul and spirit in the brain injured. You hold your beliefs. For this experiment you don‘t need a Michael; you can substitute someone else’s name--someone who cheated you, deserted you, stole from you, fired you, gossiped about you, favored your siblings, killed your mother, abused your sister, committed adultery, etc. "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins." (1 Cor. 15:17) Think about Christ being raised for them, because if you can’t, maybe you're doubting he was raised for you.

941 Books in the Kitchen

My husband took a look at the newest pile of books on the kitchen floor and sighed, "Why do we have a National Water Summary 1985--hydrologic events and surface-water resouces? " So I had to tell him about the freebie table outside the Agriculture Library (no longer its name, but you get the idea). I'd picked up three government publications from 1985 to see if anything had changed in twenty years. The water summary had really nice maps of all the states, and I'll probably pull out Ohio's. I compared it to the 1999 which was also on the table, but it was only boring computer printouts--no maps on slick paper.

Then there was the 1985 Environmental Education: Progress Toward a Sustainable Future Conference in Washington DC. You should see the mission statement--a full page. Couldn't help but notice that the editors said the papers were "copywrited" instead of "copyrighted," and the articles look completely reuseable if you need them for a 2005 conference. Not much has changed even though we are now in "the future" about which they were writing.

Here's my favorite. "Time Use Patterns and Satisfaction with Life of Single Parent Families; with special emphasis on the female, low income and/or minority family-head." The author was hopeful that her study could be a benchmark; that using her data agencies and institutions would do a better job of supporting and helping low-income, single mothers. But based on her "happiness scale," I think she may have worked herself out of that role. Maybe 51 families is too small a base, but I didn't see much unhappiness (dissatisfaction) here.

Feelings and perceptions were rated 1-5, negative to positive. In the happiness scale if you grouped the 3+ figures with the happy end, you get 80.3% felt good about their lives; if you grouped the threes with the unhappy, you'd get 61.7% were unhappy about their lives. Apparently it wouldn't do to have all those satisfied single moms, so they compared this study with a two-parent study done in 1979 using a different scale, and determined that single mothers had a more negative outlook on their lives than married mothers.

The biggest block of time for single moms (most weren't employed) in a 24 day, was of course, "rest," with slightly over 8 hours; the next largest block of time was "Leisure activities by yourself" at slightly over 5 hours (this was primarily TV). "Personal and family care" got 2.5 hours.

Anecdotal career advice I've seen seems to show that working women with high incomes and family responsibilities are unhappy about time with their children and lack of personal time. This study shows that low income single women are unhappy with their finances but very happy about time spent with family and their leisure time.

So that's what is piling up at my house. What's on your kitchen floor/table?

940 A grim joke

Sometimes macabre humor says it best. Florida Cracker comments today:

"I'm kind of embarrassed about that whole giving to the tsunami victims thing. If I had known how painless death by dehydration and starvation was, I could have used the dough to get my car detailed instead. It's definitely the best way to die. Except for maybe freezing to death- that might be better.

In any case, I don't know what I was thinking keeping Indonesian kids from peacefully going off to heaven."

939 Let Grant Bondoc stay

With all the illegal aliens we have pouring into this country, I’m baffled that we’re trying to kick one out who has been here for 20 years, since he was a 15 year old child and who knows no other culture.

“Grant Bondoc and his family were members of the Marcos entourage that was evacuated to Hawaii under the Reagan administration after Marcos was ousted in 1986. But after Marcos died in 1989 in Honolulu and his widow, Imelda, returned to the Philippines three years later and ran unsuccessfully for president, the U.S. government ordered the remaining members of the Marcos group to return home, saying there was no longer a reason for them to remain.” LA Times

"A lot of stories we hear on the news are about persons who came to the United States illegally," said Elif Keles, Bondoc's lawyer. "They either crossed the border or came in on a tourist visa and stayed. Grant's case is different. He entered as a minor. He entered with the permission of the U.S. State Department. He was promised political asylum."

Now maybe there is a lot more to this story than what appeared in the LA Times, but I saw him interviewed on the Philippine broadcast of the International Channel last night. He still lives with his parents and according to the article looks after them. He works as a medical office manager and is pursuing a master's degree. He says he doesn't even remember life in the Philippines. I’m guessing he’d have a tough time making it there. The U.S. promised the family asylum and I think we should stick with that if the family doesn't want to return.

What to paint? What to paint?

Elaine from painting class was looking for capri pants for her upcoming trip to Costa Rica and I was looking for any kind of a navy blue top to wear with a new jacket/skirt outfit I bought for Easter before I remembered I'm serving communion and will be covered up with a white robe. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find ANYTHING in navy these days? It's like the fashion police had decided to pull the plug on navy," I complained. As we stood at the racks ("My size 6 jeans are too big," she commented) she asked if I was going to painting class this Friday. "On Tuesday and Wednesday I always think I'm going to, but by Friday I can't think of anything to paint," I said.

What to paint is always a problem. It has to be small enough to schlep in my bag; can't be breakable; we need some sun for natural light which happens only 37% of the days in Ohio; and then it needs to be something that interests me. Two weeks ago I painted a man praying in a pew from a photo I saw in the Billy Graham magazine. Everyone thinks it is Fritz Hoffman (a local watercolorist), including Fritz.

What to paint? Some artists resort to painting pictures of paint brushes stuck in a jar, or their studio set up, or perhaps a bug that has strolled across the easle. Albrecht Dürer had this problem and here's how he solved it.

937 How to Escort a Prisoner

When I listened to the Atlanta police chief (not sure if that was his title) on TV last week explain why it was safe to have a small woman deputy in her 50s escort a strong, younger, male prisoner I was stunned. I'm sure his mouthing the PC-isms about gender and size were necessary at least until the law suits start hitting the fan and the lawyers for the families start hogging the spotlight. But in the meanwhile, Ann Coulter gets it right.

"I think I have an idea that would save money and lives: Have large men escort violent criminals. Admittedly, this approach would risk another wave of nausea and vomiting by female professors at Harvard. But there are also advantages to not pretending women are as strong as men, such as fewer dead people. Even a female math professor at Harvard should be able to run the numbers on this one." Coulter's article

936 Six dead cattle and the least of these

"In some cases, the food and water were just feet away." That was the opening line of the newspaper article in today's Columbus Dispatch. Writers are taught to put something compelling first, then the general story, then bury the details. This opening did catch my eye, and I thought about Terri. I thought about the outrageous behavior of a judge who decided to postpone his review of her case until 3 p.m. yesterday even though the President of the United States had returned to DC rather than go directly to AZ from his home in Texas. Think maybe the judiary is getting a bit arrogant? Do you suppose he thought she might just die if the judges wait around long enough? When the take abused and starving pets away from their owners do they not feed them while deciding whether to kill them or return them to the abusive owner?

In this case in Franklin County, six cattle starved or died of dehydration because the winter rains had made the pen so muddy, they couldn't get to the troughs. Whether or not the farmer will be charged remains to be seen. But imagine their struggle to get to the food. He apparently wasn't aware of their plight. And what's our excuse? Terri can feel hunger and pain. She's not aware in the same sense we are, but she knows what hunger is. Michael has tried unsuccessfully to kill her before.

Is there a person in the country who doesn't know food and water were close by, that she could actually be fed by mouth if her husband allowed it? That she was trapped in a room with no TV, no window, no stimulation? Sort of like those unfortunate cattle. Stuck and helpless. Matt. 25:42,45 (NIV) "For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink.. . .I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.""

935 The Right to Live vs. Deeply Held Prejudices

When she was admitted to the hospital for pneumonia last year, she found staff willing to "assist" her to death. Jane Campbell, a Disability Rights advocate, finds prejudice against the otherness of the severely disabled alarming. Cambell writes:

"When I was born, my mother was advised to take me home and enjoy me as I would die within a year. As can happen with the prognosis of terminal conditions the doctors got it wrong. Although I was often unwell, mostly with life-threatening chest infections, I thrived in a positive medical environment. Happily, some 40 years later, I remain very much alive.

So before we consider regulating the process of dying we need to deal with deeply held prejudices about the quality of life of people such as myself and those with a so-called terminal illness. When I was admitted to hospital with pneumonia I was viewed as someone near death, but I survived to carry on chairing the Social Care Institute for Excellence. “Terminal illness” is not easy to define. More than a quarter of doctors who authorise assisted deaths in Oregon said that they were not confident they could give an accurate six-month prognosis."

934 A Living Will Won't Settle It

There are two articles in the print Wall Street and one in the on-line version about Terri Schiavo today, all from a different view point. The editorial points out that this is a much larger issue than just Terri's right to live, supporters of Terri are stomping on another favorite cause:

"The "right to die" has become another liberal cause, part of the "privacy" canon that extends through Roe (abortion) and Lawrence (homosexuality) and the Ninth Circuit's views on assisted suicide that the Supreme Court is taking up this year. Of course, it gets a little messy when someone is actually being killed, and a husband with a conflict of interest is the one who claims she wanted to kill herself, but the left apparently believes these are mere details that shouldn't interfere with the broader cause. Thus the discovery of federalism."

Taranto at "Best of the Web" (on-line): "The grimmest irony in this tragic case is that those who want Terri Schiavo dead are resting their argument on the fiction that her marriage is still alive."

What isn't on-line is James O. Wilson's article. He points out the flaws in the hope that a DNR or "living will" will solve future cases. He says these are often ignored because situations or technology are unknownable. He recommends a durable power of attorney. He also has little faith in the courts.

"The moral imperative should be that medical care cannot be withheld from a person who is not brain dead and who is not at risk of dying from an untreatable disease in the near future."

The Netherlands model, he points out, has resulted in over 1,000 doctor-induced deaths among patients who had not requested assisted suicide.

So, regardless of what your opinion is of states' rights, these are issues that need to be out in the open. Also, if you are a Democrat, watch your back.

933 Almost 15,000

The site meter turned up this statistic from Technorati as it clicked into my site, "14,979 posts matching Schiavo sorted by most recent."

932 Florida Cracker warns Wasserman-Schultz

". . .one of the three Florida Reps who plan to oppose the bill [to help Terri], is my Representative, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. I didn't say anything when her supporters stood with their signs directly in front of the doors of the polling place when I was trying to get through, but if she goes up there and embarrasses us, I'll be out there on the corner of Arvida and Weston with a "No Food, No Water, No Votes" sign the next time that fool runs for anything." Florida Cracker

931 How CBS handled the Smith story

I've been reading the various links that Ted Olsen's blog supplied to the Ashley Smith hostage story--CNN, LA Times, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Christian Science Monitor, and CBS News. Interestingly, only CBS chose to make her past a focus of the story. When I first heard the story, before we knew anything about her faith or the book she'd been reading, my first thought was that if she were a Christian, the media would go after her past, not her present. And CBS came through for me.

930 Learn English

You can learn English by watching British pop videos. Good luck. I didn't understand some of the words myself. But heard some really great songs.

929 Back when we were young and high-tech

We received a "portable" television set for a wedding gift from my in-laws. It weighed a ton, so only a hefty man could have lifted it, but it did have a handle. My father-in-law worked for RCA, so we were sort of up-to-date on sound and vision high tech doo-dads in 1960. It was also my first experience watching TV on a regular basis--my parents didn't own one, and I certainly didn't have any reason to go looking for one in college (there may have been one in the dorm lounge, but I don't remember). This is when I learned to sleep through football games on the couch with my head in my husband's lap. Even today, a pre-game interview will immediately cause me to look around for a place to nap.

What made our set unusual was that we had a remote control. Yes, in 1960. The wireless remote was invented in the 1950s, not too long after the 1939 launch of television. But sunlight made its photo cells malfunction.

"In 1956, a Zenith engineer named Robert Adler solved this problem by using ultra-sonic technology to create the Space Command 400 Remote Control. This remote, which Adler patented, used aluminum rods and tiny hammers to create the pitched sounds that the television set interpreted as “off” or “on” or “channel up” or “channel down.” The sounds emitted were inaudible to humans (although not to dogs, which were known to howl painfully as the Space Command went about its business) and the device itself required no batteries. The Space Command was the first reliable remote control device, convenient and well-designed, and Zenith had high hopes for its appeal to consumers. . . A slew of copycat devices soon followed, but the increased cost of fitting televisions to receive the remote’s signals kept the remote control from becoming immediately popular with consumers." New Atlantis article.

Our RCA probably had the copycat version, and as I recall, it worked just fine for channels and sound, although you had to either go forward or back. With only 3 major stations, plus a few locals, no one really needed a remote in 1960, which is probably why it didn't succeed the first time around. Today, 99% of TV sets have remotes, and according to the New Atlantis article before the era of cable, there really was no need for the remote. Choices, not need, created the modern remote.

Well, here's a shocker!

Why didn't I think of this research project when I needed something easy to add to the CV? Maybe because it was too obvious?

"A literature review suggests that there is, as might be imagined, an association between sexually transmitted diseases and alcohol consumption, according to Pennsylvania-based researchers."

Sex Transm Dis 2005;32:156-164. Summarized by Reuters Health at http://www.medscape.com.

927 Activities this week

My husband thinks he has too many shirts; this week that is good, because I'm behind in the laundry. Have you ever noticed that the more time you have, the less you get done around the house? In the bank of minutes and hours, I'm a millionaire. But I'm so far backed up on laundry, that today I'm doing a pile of blue hue shirts, a pile of green tones, and a bunch of brown/taupe/beige shade, and I've set the water level in the Maytag to "large" for each load. He's such a tidy person that he hangs up his shirts after wearing them, so that's how I get behind (ha ha, what an excuse--it's all his fault, right?).

So what else is going on around our fair city besides my laundry? Well, the activists are busy, busy. It's still cold despite Spring arriving tomorrow, and so they are congregating in meeting places planning events or listening to invited speakers. Here's the calendar for the week, as listed in Alive.

Democratic Socialists of Central Ohio discussing Irish Communist history
Progressive Libertarians
Ohio Medical Reform
Friends of Alum Creek Clean-up (FACT)
Interfaith Prayer Meeting observing the 2nd anniversary of the War in Iraq
Peace March (I think this is national and only for those who haven't heard the war is over and the Iraqis have installed their own government with a higher voting turn out than we had)
Central Ohioans for Peace--something about Israel and Palestine (one guess which side they are supporting)
Columbus Vegetarian Leafleting
Workshop for Social Activists
Stonewall Union
Green Party
Bicycle Advocacy Coalition
Progressive Alliance
Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE)
Earth Institute/Simple Living
IMPACT Safety programs (violence and abuse)
Jobs for Justice
NOW
Action Ohio (family violence)

Although I don't know if these groups ever accomplish their goals, they do provide friendship, camaraderie, a sense of purpose, snacks and protection from the weather for lots of people, and therefore are contributing to the betterment of the community. Sort of like churches who've lost their message.

926 Food phrases and foibles

Food writers have the best of both worlds--first they have to eat it, then write about it. In Alive, one of our local free papers that focuses on entertainment, the "Whine List" this week included restaurants in Clintonville, and most seem to be the small neighborhood, greasy spoon variety. Still, the phrases were creative even if the cuisine wasn't.

forgettable run-of-the-mill salads
stuffed with happiness
naughty sirens shimmering in the dessert case
petite primo pizza parlor
sex on the beach sorbet
Cowtown** champion
forks up champion chomp
you'll have the daily special or else
cooked-into-submission green beans
half pound burgers dressed in interesting fashions
down right evil wings
a touch of Youngstown**
small culinary bloom in a concrete garden

** Hometown people under 25 and non-natives of any age without children love to call Columbus a "cowtown"--even though you would never have enough time or money to attend all the art, music, theater and lecture events in the city. Now, you can actually see cattle in what is now the center of the the metropolitan area, because Ohio State has pasture land and barns for research on the west side of the campus (the city grew up around it). This slur is only neutralized by bringing Youngstown into the conversation, which then can qualifiy you as a local.

Last night we switched from "Old Bag of Nails" in the Tremont Shopping Center to "The Rusty Bucket" in the Lane Avenue Shopping Center for our Friday night date. Our suburb's recent non-smoking ordinance has moved all the smokers out of the Old Bag down to Grandview Heights, which means a lot of the alcohol sales are also gone. So in this one location, the owners have changed the menu and raised the prices, moving to more dinners. We like the "pub" atmosphere and seeing our friends and neighbors, so we decided to try Bucket, which opened about a year ago. The decor is just about the same with a little more of a sports bar feel (more TV screens than Old Bag), similar menu, and cheery young ladies to wait the tables. We thought the food was tasty, hot and well-prepared, and the noise level wasn't too painful. We'll probably go back--although we didn't see a soul we knew even though the two restaurants are within a mile of each other.

925 Peggy Noonan lays it down for Republicans

Ms. Noonan points out today that the Terri supporters are in the hundreds of thousands, and those who want to kill her number only one (or two if you count the judge). If her death is a mistake, it can't be undone, AND there will be a political price. To help Schiavo, she resorts to self interest.

"It is not at all in the political interests of senators and congressmen to earn the wrath of the pro-Schiavo group and the gratitude of the anti-Schiavo husband, by doing nothing.

So let me write a sentence I never thought I'd write: Politicians, please, think of yourselves! Move to help Terri Schiavo, and no one will be mad at you, and you'll keep a human being alive. Do nothing and you reap bitterness and help someone die.

This isn't hard, is it?"

The article.

Listening to radio talk shows on this subject all afternoon (Medved and Hewitt on News Talk 870 KRLA) I think many callers and the hosts are missing the point. Even in a diminished capacity, she has a right to live. Regardless if she will get better (and I don't believe she will), we don't kill people for being less than they were, or less than they could have been if the treatment had been better. We also shouldn't let a man decide AFTER his huge monetary award from a jury, that his wife wouldn't want to live this way, when "this way" is the reason he got the money.

Peter Jennings' coverage on ABC tonight was one of the worst, most biased I've seen. But then, I'm not surprised. If Bush is for it, it must be bad.

924 Mass transit, 35 years later

P.J. O'Rourke wrote about mass transit hysteria in the Wall Street 2 days ago, and as usual, was funny until he got ridiculous.

He reported some number crunching on Minneapolis' "Hiawatha" light rail: "The Heritage Foundation says, "There isn't a single light rail transit system in America in which fares paid by the passengers cover the cost of their own rides." Heritage cites the Minneapolis "Hiawatha" light rail line, soon to be completed with $107 million from the transportation bill. Heritage estimates that the total expense for each ride on the Hiawatha will be $19. Commuting to work will cost $8,550 a year. If the commuter is earning minimum wage, this leaves about $1,000 a year for food, shelter and clothing. Or, if the city picks up the tab, it could have leased a BMW X-5 SUV for the commuter at about the same price."

Then he goes on to say this would be unfair to the poor, who would then be contributing to environmental destruction by driving SUVs. A good point on cost, but stomping it to death.

Two of the earliest neighborhood meetings I attended in 1968 when I was a new homeowner and young mother were about 1) the need for mass transit (actually decent bus service with more lines) in Columbus, and 2) need for a teen center in our suburb (our daughter was 6 months old). We had focus groups, neighborhood meetings, ballots, time and again. Many, many years later and we have neither. People really didn't want them.

I really wish we had decent bus service--convenient, timely and cost effective. I live about two miles from the agriculture campus of Ohio State, but I could walk (not jog) there faster than I could take the bus (which stops literally at my door), then transfer when I arrive downtown to another bus up High Street to the OSU campus, where I would transfer to a campus bus to ride to the west side. I'm guessing it would take about 1.5 to 2 hours. And that's the problem. In our spread out metropolitan areas, there is no convenient way to get from point A to B with light rail, bus or trolley for everyone who needs to get to work, school, shopping or church.

I'd much rather throw my support to train service between cities, so I didn't have to park in Toledo in order to catch a train to Chicago or New York.

923 The Auto Show, or Men in groups

We went to the Columbus Auto Show this morning. Unlike the malls, where the women reign supreme, we saw 10 men for every woman. Groups. Bands. Herds. Packs. Old men. Young men. Hispanic men. Black men. White men. Dads with sons. Grandpas with sons and grandsons. Dads pushing baby strollers. Teen boys sitting in convertibles. Peeking into SUVs and Hummers. Men in wheelchairs. Men with canes. Men limping on artificial knees. Ah, they love their wheels.

I showed my husband the Dodge Magnum, my favorite, because the Bentley, the Rolls and the Lambourgini all had "sold" signs so we walked on by after gasping at the prices.

Then we returned to the Scion, a Toyota made car about $13,000, 5 door hatchback, and very comfortable with good leg and head room. Not the boxy, ugly, awkward doored XB but the XA.

"Evidently you don't have to wear hip-hugger jeans or a backwards baseball cap to appreciate a $12,995 car that's fun, frugal, eminently practical, and bulletproof. Warranty: 3 years/36,000 miles total car; 5 years/60,000 miles powertrain. . . Scion market research showed that buyers wanted simplicity, so that's what you get. The xA's base price includes power-operated windows, locks and mirrors, A/C, antilock brakes, and a CD/MP3 player. The only functional options are an automatic transmission ($800), side airbags ($650), and keyless entry/alarm ($459)."

The one we saw was sort of a purplish-red. Hmmm. I'll really have to think about this.

922 And they're probably not bloggers

This week I've seen two women at Panera's in the morning wearing pajamas. And possibly one man. I'm sure if I questioned them, they'd tell me to MYOB, or it's the style, or I forgot to dress. Still, it was a bit disconcerting to see a young couple sitting in the lounge chairs by the fireplace, drinking their morning coffee, wearing wrinkled pj's and winter coats. She was in pink, yellow and white stripe with pink rick-rack along the pant leg hem line. She carried a large purse in similar colors. His pj's were sort of a grey and white check.

Novelty pajamas were noted as a fashion trend 3 years ago. It's probably taken awhile for it to get to the Columbus suburbs, and for me to notice.

921 What's going on in Pennsylvania?

The price index for real estate in today's WSJ showed that the average sales in zip code 19085 has changed 72.8% in one year. I suppose it only takes a few sales at the high end to change the figures. That's going to make all the web-sites about Villanova out of date.

920 The male's advantage,

Listen up Harvard. You don't need your President to suggest that maybe men and women have different brains. Just look at their feet!

I saw an ad in USAToday (3-18) for Zappos.com (sells shoes). It was a simple, classy black and white ad with a powerful message at several levels. The shoe on top was a man's dress, slip-on business shoe. I wiggled my toes. I breathed deep. Casual, but dressy. Youthful, but with the message, "I know a few things."

The second, lower shoe was an ankle-breaking, corn-festering, 4" sling-back for women. My feet hurt just looking at it. I frowned. Hers had a message too, "I'll look good no matter what, no matter the price."

The bold words screamed from the page, "You're going places." Yeah. But the men will get there faster and be more rested and comfortable.

The March issue of Nature has an article about the X chromosome factor in the brains of women and men. As they further investigate how the X factor affects social behavior, maybe they'll come up with a foot-fetish clue that causes male designers and women consumers to think alike.

House acts to save Terri

This website of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee contains the press release on H.R. 1332, the Protection of Incapacitated Persons Act of 2005.

"H.R. 1332 authorizes the removal of cases in State court to U.S. federal court to vindicate the federal rights of incapacitated persons under the U.S. Constitution or any federal law. Such proceedings would be authorized after an incapacitated person has exhausted available State remedies and the relevant papers must be filed in federal court within 30 days after the exhaustion of available State remedies.

“What’s going on in Florida regarding Terri Schiavo is nothing short of inhumane. She’s facing what amounts to a death sentence, ensuring she will slowly starve to death over a matter of weeks. Terri Schiavo - a woman who smiles and cries and who is not on a respirator or any other 24-hour-a-day medical equipment - has committed no crime and she has done nothing wrong. Yet the Florida courts seem bent on setting an extremely dangerous precedent by saying we must stop feeding someone who can’t feed herself. Who’s next - the disabled or those late in life? This legislation is the humane and right thing to not only protect Terri Schiavo, but also to reinforce the law’s commitment to justice and compassion for all, especially the most vulnerable."

918 A lovely Library in Dublin

I've already blogged about this day at 916, however, in checking a link to the Book of Kells that wasn't working right (probably too many hits today), I found this lovely web page for Trinity College Library of The University of Dublin, with a very friendly and attractive newsletter on site.

"Trinity College Library is the largest library in Ireland. Its collections of manuscripts and printed books have been built up since the end of the sixteenth century. In addition to the purchases and donations of almost four centuries, since 1801 the Library has had the right to claim all British and Irish publications under the terms of successive Copyright Acts. The bookstock is now over four million volumes and there are extensive collections of manuscripts, maps and music." [from library web page]

So as I clicked through some of the databases, I came across the "Early English Books Online," but of course, I needed a login and password to use it. EEBO, I learned, was: "Launched in 1999 as a joint effort between the University of Michigan, Oxford University and ProQuest Information and Learning, the partnership allows participating libraries to help shape this full-text archive. Partnership is open to libraries that purchase Early English Books Online (EEBO)."

Once I saw the word "ProQuest" I was pretty sure I could get into this by switching to the Ohio State University Libraries web page (which is not pretty or easy to use like Trinity), so I did. And if you have some connection to a major library, or even visit one, you'll be able to see this marvelous resource, including the facsimiles of both the most famous and most obscure works in pre-1700 English (including North America) language, literature and culture. I chose the author William Tyndale to search (77 entries).

From the EEBO webpage: "Early English Books Online (EEBO) contains digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700 - from the first book printed in English by William Caxton, through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare and the tumult of the English Civil War.

From the first book published in English through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare, this incomparable collection now contains about 100,000 of over 125,000 titles listed in Pollard & Redgrave's Short-Title Catalogue (1475-1640) and Wing's Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700) and their revised editions, as well as the Thomason Tracts (1640-1661) collection and the Early English Books Tract Supplement. Libraries possessing this collection find they are able to fulfill the most exhaustive research requirements of graduate scholars - from their desktop! - in many subject areas, including: English literature, history, philosophy, linguistics, theology, music, fine arts, education, mathematics, and science."

Although I'm a confirmed "book person," I am many times overwhelmed by the richness of resources on the internet that time, space and money would never allow me to see otherwise.

917 The economics of health

We had a low budget wedding and received modest, but useful gifts--many of which I’m still using after 45 years. Like the butcher knife I used on the corned beef slab to make it fit in the crock pot this morning; the turquoise color nesting Pyrex bowls I use everyday to either mix, serve or store food; and the white metal bathroom scales I haven’t stepped on in the last four weeks. I looked through Google’s images to see if I could post what this little treasure looks like with all its 1950s sleek, aerodynamic design, but couldn’t find one. I remember the couple who gave it to us, but not their names. Indianapolis. The husbands worked together as draftsmen for a coal company. She was a hair dresser. They were about 45-ish, so have probably gone to their rewards now. This metal scale has followed me through lots of dress sizes over the years, and depending on what that is, may accumulate dust for months at a time.

However, today in a WSJ article about new household appliances and gadgets I noticed the "HoMedic Total Body Fat Analyzer Scale." It sells for about $140 and will tell you where the fat is on your upper and lower body (currently I use a mirror for that), and what your optimum levels are (I've had this body for 65 years and I think I know that answer). It measures how much body water you have, skeletal muscle mass, and the calories you can have to maintain the weight you want.

In 2003, the most recent date I could find for comparison, $10.00 in 1960 would be $62.16 using the Consumer Price Index; $50.21 using the GDP deflator; $76.13 using the unskilled wage; $129.77 using the GDP per capita ; and $208.66 using the relative share of GDP Relative value. Relative value

In 2004 the adjusted dollar cost for a gallon of gasoline was the same as the 1960 price ($1.79), but it would take 20 new cars to equal the pollution of one 1960 car (which we didn’t have in 1960 so we were polluting even more). But I digress--the price of gasoline in 1960 really doesn't have a thing to do with this story. So I’m thinking I could probably buy the $140 scale, and go with the GDP per capita figure (adjusted a little for 2005), and completely justify it in my mind as the replacement for a 1960 scale. Still, the 1960 scale was a gift, costing us nothing (because the wedding was in Illinois, they didn't attend). Maybe I’ll just keep it and use the mirror and tape measure and start walking to the coffee shop.