1866 Checking out what Technorati says about me

Recently I added the Technorati search window over at the left. I wasn’t really sure what it would do, but I’ve found it more useful than the blogger search. Wondering what I’d written about economic issues, I tried several topics, poverty (4), income (13), quintile (3), social security (13), economy OR economic (20), finance OR financial (20). Some of these are false hits because if the word appears in the title, it turns up in the “recent posts” feature and fogs up the search a bit. I was pleased to find out I could use a Boolean operator if I capitalized it--I didn’t see any instructions but I know it is recognized that way in some databases. I’m not sure how many operators you can string together. I tried two.

It was interesting to go back and reread some of the entries. For instance, our high tariffs and quotas were in the news shortly after the tsunami--then seemed to disappear.

The USA and Europe, in order to protect their own workers, have punishingly high tariffs and quotas for some of these countries affected by the tsunami. After we clean up the ravages of the earthquake driven storm, we'll need to look at what our own policies are doing. I'm sure the message won't be lost on Muslim terrorists. Jan. 11, 2005

And this item about why Democrats were fighting private investment accounts to save Social Security:

It is possible that if George W. Bush is successful in creating a larger investor class, a group that goes across all the demographics of female, Hispanic, Black, middle-class, etc., the Democrats will lose their base. The investor class is self-identified as 46% of the total vote in 2004, and their world view tends to be conservative, middle-class, modest, and saving for the kids' college. And if they are Democrats, many of them voted for Bush. March 15, 2005

And remember last week when that op-ed appeared in the WSJ about how the media just couldn’t print any good news? I commented on that last January:

At the bottom of the page were tiny charts--eating out, up; federal debt, up; employment, up; satisfaction, up; foreclosures, down; delinquent loans, down.It sure is hard to report on bad news these days. Need to call in John Kerry and Ted Kennedy who managed to put a negative spin on the first free Iraqi election in history for help in composing those make-believe economy stories. John ("let's not over-hype this") Kerry's stock could have soared if he'd just complimented the Iraqis. But he was his usual pompous, my-way-or-the-highway, doomsayer self. January 31, 2005

Technorati reports my rank is 1,828 with 4612 links from 467 sites. It records 22.6 million blogs.

1865 The Mega-Church

Here's a description of a mega church in Minnesota from one of my husband's architectural publications. I suppose it is intended for architects who need to be prepared that it's not your father's church.

A typical megachurch features:

- No pews. Instead, there are comfortable movie-theater-style cushioned seats. Stadium seating ensures good views of the stage.

- No Bibles or hymnals. Parishioners sing hymns by following the words on a large screen.

- Non-churchy architecture, without steeples. They look like high schools, malls, or convention centers.

- Few symbols of religion. Stained-glass windows and even crosses are far less prominent.

- A dizzying array of specialized services, with specialists in geriatrics, teens, addiction, and early childhood.

- No asking for money during a service - a turnoff for newcomers. There never is "passing the plate."

- High-energy music, with an in-house rock-style band on a stage ablaze with theatrical lighting.

- No pulpits. The pastor speaks informally from a simple stand on the stage.

- A fundamentalist and charismatic worship style, with a politically conservative viewpoint. Archi-tech

I suppose our church doesn't qualify because we have 3 campuses and 10 services, and our buildings have stained glass and traditional religious symbols. Although one sort of looks like a theater (unfinished) until you see the altar and window. And we pass the plate and the peace, and have no political viewpoint at all. No issue sermons, ever. Lots of rock-the-house music, though. It drives me out of the building because it hurts my ears and sets my atrial fibrillation in motion. That music does appeal to the young people though, who are mostly deaf or on their way. More at my other, other blog.

Technorati tags: megachurch, church architecture

1864 The politically correct diet

The other night a group from church got together for dessert after a funeral. I brought my sugar free apple pie and warned everyone it had a peanut oil crust, just in case someone was allergic. Of course, no one our age is, so we talked about that. No one remembered food allergies among our peers when we were children. And most of us knew very few overweight children. None of our children or their friends had allergies to peanuts, and everyone seemed to live on peanut butter sandwiches, although some had had allergies to eggs or milk.

Are we being too careful about our food? I grew up drinking whole milk, but very few whole grains, solid margarine and occasionally butter, pie crusts made with lard, bacon and eggs, beef, chicken and pork, but almost no fish, home canned fruits and vegetables from the garden plus factory canned, but not a lot of off season fresh items and no frozen foods, lots of potatoes and pasta, real sugar, real peanut butter and real cheese (well, except for Velvetta). We might have had ice cream once a month, and soda pop twice a year, but lots of Kool-aid. I can’t think of anything I ate other than bananas that was imported, unless it was the occasional shredded coconut on a cake.

We didn’t have vitamin supplements but when we were little we did get cod liver oil drops. I suppose most of my peers were consuming about the same diet, some with less meat and less milk (I would notice when I ate dinner at a friend‘s house that some had much less variety). Our mothers were the first generation to benefit from time saving “convenience” foods like Spam, Jell-o and store bought white bread--which weren‘t exactly powerhouses of nutrition.

By the time I was in high school I think 2% milk was in the dairy case, Crisco had replaced lard, and “oleo” was colored to look like butter. The only beverage machine in our high school had USDA surplus milk. Going out with friends brought me in contact with more soda, but really I never developed a taste for it or for alcohol. Hot dogs, hamburgers and French fries were available at drive-ins, but were only as “fast” as slow food is today.

I recently came across a web page about Canola oil and its history. I haven’t researched it, but its track record probably follows what has happened to our diet which now contains more olive oil, soy bean oil, corn oil, peanut oil and canola oil and far less animal fat, but we sure aren’t any healthier for it, are we? In fact, low fat diets are dangerous for growing children. And we’re certainly not thinner!

There is no Canola plant. Canola oil is rape seed oil. Well, that’s a toughy to market, and it was produced primarily in Canada by Cargill as Low Erucic Acid Rapeseed, or LEAR oil. Canada Oil was renamed Canola which sounded a bit like "can do" and "payola," both positive phrases in marketing lingo. However, the new name did not come into widespread use until the early 1990s. Read The Great Con-ola which points out there are many ridiculous stories circulating about the dangers of canola. But it does show how cleverly new foods are marketed to the health conscious consumer--who will just about swallow anything in the name of “healthy.”

Technorati tags: food allergies, canola oil

1863 Sleepless nights

Librarians Against Bush (that's most of them) have many sleepness nights worrying about the Patriot Act. The average ordinary American doesn't walk into a library, but I guess someone thinks the terrorists will and then the Bush folks will come snooping and looking at their records. Well, those librarians ought to go pull the Journal of Biomedical Information (2004;37:179-92) off the shelf and read the article by Malin and Sweeny. There is no anonymity or confidentiality or secure records. It's too late to close the barn door.

The article concerns your own health information--something most of us guard a little more carefully than our library record. In this study on database security, the authors took publicly available and de-identified hospital-discharge data from Illinois (from 1990-1997) and combined them with Census data and voter-registration data to identify patients with rare genetic diseases. They showed that 33% of patients with cystic fibrosis could be re-identified, as could 50% of patients with Huntington's disease, 70% of patients with Fanconi's anemia, and 100% of patients with Refsum's disease (very rare).

Although they focused on rare diseases, the avilability of increasing amounts of health information makes everyone rare in some ways, says the New England Journal of Medicine. Earlier they had obtained the health records of a former governor with the use of the most common of data--hospital information about state employees, who were identified only by ZIP Code, sex, and date of birth published by the state's insurance commission. Using a voter-registration list ($20), the author identified 3 persons with the same date of birth and sex as the governor, only one who had the same ZIP.

Think of the mischief that could be created by identifying people with mental illnesses, drug problems, and sexually transmitted diseases. Now throw into the mix DNA genetic sequence data which you might be asked to agree to share for a research study, and you've just added in your entire family, extended family and others who might not be happy that you've shared.

NEJM offers some suggestions for policy makers and legislators. I wish them luck.

Technorati tags: medical records, confidentiality, biomedical information

1862 Blogs are still a mystery to many

In the last 5 days I've explained to 5 or 6 people what a blog is, and given them my URL, but I can see the "Huh?" look in their eyes. My sister says that Diane Reams on NPR interviewed a blogger yesterday; today's Wall Street Journal has an article about tech bloggers, who are much less political than the red/blue, pro/anti-life, young/old splits you see on my links. Here's a link to the article.

"The reality is that while there are now as many tech blogs as stars in the sky, only a tiny fraction of them matter."

"The easiest way to follow this world is via a useful blog-tracking service called tech.memeorandum.com. The site runs off software written by Gabe Rivera, a former Intel compiler programmer. It sifts through hundreds of technology-oriented blogs to find the hour's hot topics and who is saying what about them. The results are presented concisely in a single place, updated every few minutes. Another site, blogniscient.com, offers a similar service."

"The major difference between politics blogs and tech blogs is that many of the former still depend on the mainstream media to provide the grist for their mills. The tech blogs, though, have become a world onto themselves, and require no such crutch."

1861 FASTER ways to kill babies

Lots of bloggers noted the study last month in the New England Journal of Medicine about first trimester tests for Down's Syndrome (Vol. 353, no. 19, November 10, 2005, pp. 2001-2011). I didn't get a chance to read the article until today, after I'd checked out the issue to read an article on the dangers of sleep apnea. Anyway, the early test is so parents (are they called parents if the blob of tissue isn't a baby?) can look at strategies to "help guide the choice." The word choice appears in the very last sentence of the article--up to that point, nothing is said about what will be done with the information from the tests.

This article has the most bone-chilling, sanitized medicaleze I've ever read, beginning with the name of the Consortium that performed the study: FASTER stands for First- and Second-Trimester Evaluation of Risk. In short, you can find out earlier (faster) if your baby has Down's. However, there is a greater margin of error--more "false positives" if you rely just on the first trimester test instead of doing it again in the second trimester and comparing results. It is less stressful, I suppose, to kill off a baby before you feel those little ticklish butterfly kisses in your abdomen, but how do you turn off the brain that knows what you are really doing?

Figure 1 in the study charts the women who participated in this study. A total of "42,367 patients were approached for enrollment." Not pregnant women who might be willing to have an abortion given test results faster, but "patients." Not solicited, but "approached." Not scammed, but "enrolled." Well, 4,178 jumped ship right away--they were either ineligible or they refused. Then another 156 had some other, non-Down's problems, so they were dropped. So, 38,033 got this first trimester screening, with 92 revealing Down's Syndrome, which drops to 87 with the second trimester screening. There's other playing with numbers in the table, and I'm not sure what all went on, but having the two tests "is superior for detecting Down's Syndrome." We're not told if the women chose abortion or life for a less than perfect baby, only that this screening is a powerful tool.

[You could all just save yourselves a lot of grief, sorrow and death of babies (remember all those false positives) if you'd have your babies before age 35. In the study, 29,834 of the women were younger than 35, and they had 28 fetuses (i.e. babies) with Down's Syndrome; 8,199 of the women were 35 or older and they had 64. Put the career track on hold instead of the mommy-track.]

And in the small print: Jacob A. Canick, PhD, and Nicholas J. Wald, FRCP, who participated in the study hold U.S. patents for unconjugated estriol as a marker in prenatal screening for Down's syndrome. Mr. Wald holds patents for the screening test using the first and second trimester markers as a single test, and is a director of a company that makes software used to calculate Down's syndrome risk, and is a director of the company which licenses the screening test. Some of the doctors in the study receive lecture fees from various equipment companies used in the study.

1860 Adoption Hollywood style

Gone are the good old days of Hollywood adoptions, when the movie stars married, adopted a cute little baby, then divorced and discarded the kid to boarding school and occasional visits and he grew up to write about his life (Michael Reagan son of Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman); or the movie star had a baby out of wedlock then adopted her (Judy Lewis, daughter of Loretta Young and Clark Gable). Then there was Joan Crawford, who kept adopting children AFTER each divorce. I don't know if the subsequent husbands adopted her adopted-while-single children.

Now Brad Pitt wants to adopt Angelina Jolie's two adopted-internationally children, but he doesn't love them enough to marry their adoptive Mom, and I suppose we could assume he doesn't love her enough to get married. So he has to go through the expense and hassle of a non-relative, single parent adoption, instead of a step-parent adoption.

I don't think it's a good idea for a single woman, or men for that matter, to adopt--all studies show children do best with both a mother and a father--and having her boyfriend then adopt the adoptees is really a bad idea. Wasn't it Woody Allen who started that trend, he raised girlfriend Mia Farrow's adopted children and then married one of his non-adopted, Korean step-daughters adopted by Andre Previn? Of course, he didn't actually adopt them all, so I suppose he's in the clear.

Technorati tags: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, adoption,

1859 Women and heart attacks

Since it is now well known that heart attacks, not breast cancer, is the big killer of women (deaths from cardiovascular diseases in women exceed the total number of deaths caused by the next 16 causes), I was very surprised to come across Dr. Helen's story of her misdiagnosed heart attack. I learned about the risk of young women and heart attacks way back in my car pooling days, when one of the mothers of my kindergarten group who was then in her mid-30s, had a heart attack and needed to rely on the rest of us to fulfill her driving duties. Since my son is now 37, that has been awhile.

Dr. Helen tells of being an athletic 37 year old in excellent health, and then developing terrifying shortness of breath episodes. In the ER she was given a shot for an allergic reaction while a man with the same symptoms was whisked off for heart tests. After several trips to the ER and being put off as an anxious woman with panic attacks, she finally begged her own internist for tests, and then it was determined that she had suffered from a heart attack and also had a ventricular aneurysm as a result of not resting her heart after the heart attack. Because she'd been told that she had panic disorder, she thought that exercise would be good.

Hers is a scary story, and you should read it yourself.

1858 Eggcorn--another fun language site

Earlier today I mentioned Language Log and the discussion of snowclones. That led me to the site called the Eggcorn Database, which “collects unusual spellings of a particular kind, which have come to be called eggcorns. Typical examples include free reign (instead of free rein) or hone in on (instead of home in on), and many more or less common reshapings of words and expressions.” It takes its name from a misuse of the word acorn--calling it an egg corn.

I’m not sure this would qualify for the Eggcorn Database, but yesterday here in central Ohio there was a hunter’s death (apparently self-inflicted) and several times the reporter in the field said the authorities were going to get to the bottom-line of this.

And then there is "butt-crack of dawn" which is apparently seen and discussed in Iowa and other places with a straight face. Isn't English just the most amazing language?

1857 Is this the artist or the object?

When I see art like this I think I need to get back to my other interest, art. A sack of flour with cat hair? An aging addict who's become his drug of choice? An artist's who's been dismembered and can't produce? I just don't know. But I think the art world needs me.

1856 Tasty Snowclones

Language Log has the most fascinating list of “snowclones” and a history of the word’s evolution. A snowclone is an expression which uses a certain formula (sort of like a cliché, but not exactly) for a shortcut to familiarity. An example of a snowclone, and from which it gets its name, is “If Eskimos have 20 words for snow, then the Illini must have at least that many for losing.” Actually, there is no such thing as an Eskimo language, and in the languages of that part of the world, there are no more words for snow than in English. But it is a phrase that is used anyway, particularly by journalists. Calling it a “snowclone” is relatively recent--maybe 2 or 3 years. Other examples of snowclones are:

The right X for the right Y: (The right tool for the right job)

Have X, will travel:

Every schoolboy knows ----------

Once an X, always an X.

Language Log not only provides the list, but develops the story of the earliest known use, such as Thoreau or Dickens or even the Bible. It makes very interesting reading.

Snowclones are easy to track using Google hits, or "ghits." For instance, enter "every schoolboy knows * " and you get 17,300 ghits. (The asterisk is a truncation symbol and substitutes for the word or phrase you’re looking for.)

“Nowadays every schoolboy knows that the essential and permanent conflict in life is a conflict between the past and the future, between the accomplished past and the forward effort.” H. G. Wells

“I knew that the virus was incredibly infectious, and, as every schoolboy knows, epidemics are unpredictable.” Emma Tennant

". . . as every schoolboy knows, the Arabs have at various times inhabited parts of Europe, lived along the Mediterranean, been contiguous to European nations and been assimilated culturally and otherwise by them." Arab World Project

Try this “snowclone” in Google and you will be amazed by what “every schoolboy knows.” It will restore your faith in the public school system.

Update: I tried "Once a * librarian, always " and found some rather dull examples showing not much fexibility within the career field:

“Once a * librarian, always a *”

Once a music librarian, always a music librarian.
Once a serials librarian, always a serials librarian.
Once a teacher-librarian, always a teacher-librarian. . .
Once a children’s librarian, always a children’s librarian. . .
Once a Public Librarian, Always a Public Librarian . . .
Sorry, once a reference librarian, always a reference librarian. It is a curse. ... [Air America]
Once a retired librarian, always a retired librarian I always say.

1855 He doesn't like my crow's feet?

Today I've received a reminder in the mail from my ophthalmologist. (Just a reminder: this is one of the few words in English that have a phth combination of consonants and is frequently misspelled). He says I'm due for an annual appointment. I don't think I've ever gone to him annually, only by referral for bigger problems. And he included in the letter a little surprise. To go along with my entries on aging beauties Donna Mills and Bo Derek, I now add that my ophthalmologist is offering Botox cosmetic injections so I can dramatically reduce the frown lines between my brows. Just a few small injections can relax (paralyze) my facial muscles for up to 4 months. What? There's not enough money in correcting vision?

1854 Bo Derek says

the 80s are back, so bring out those flared jeans, low hip huggers, belts and jackets. Gosh, I thought that was late 60s, early 70s. At least it was at my sewing blog when I dug out some old patterns. And I read that the turned up collar is back. When I posted this at Coffee Spills I didn't know that--had probably not adjusted the collar after I took off my scarf. Imagine that today a teen-ager might be asking grandma for her hip huggers.

Bo Derek testifying in Illinois about horse slaughter in 2004.

1853 Finally Donna Mills is catching up with me

Donna Mills and I were at the University of Illinois at the same time. I think she was a freshman when I was a sophomore. Of course, she went on to fame and fortune in TV and a few movies (Misty). I think I first saw her in 1967 on a soap "Love is a Splendored Something" and she played the wimpy, delicate sister Laura. Her sister Iris was the fiesty one.

Years later when she was famous for being the 70s version of a controling gorgeous woman on Knots Landing, I picked up a tabloid to find out she was about 10 years younger than me. Imagine my shock! Last week I saw an item in USAToday that the "desperate housewives" of 1979--Michele Lee, Joan Van Ark and Donna Mills, "now in their 60s. . ." So our age gap is dwindling. My guess is she is 65. I googled her bio and it gave her birthdate as 1942. Maybe she was a brilliant student who entered college 3 years early.

1852 Why is this news?

"The U.S. military command in Baghdad acknowledged for the first time yesterday that it has paid Iraqi newspapers to carry positive news about U.S. efforts in Iraq, but officials characterized the payments as part of a legitimate campaign to counter insurgents' misinformation." WaPo

How else would positive news "leak" to the press--maybe they should have paid U.S. newspapers to carry positive news about Iraq. Is paid good news [i.e. propaganda] worse than killing people?

To this I have three little words, in a string, of government agencies which openly manipulate information for good public relations, [you can go to their web sites and look for jobs in communications] and our very own news media which either distort or enhance the news to satisfy their owners or readers or advertisers.

Radio Free Europe RFE
Voice of America VOA
Agency for International Development AID (United States)
Information and Communications Technologies (Canada)

New York Times
The Washington Post
BBC
ABC
NBC
CBS
CNN
Fox Broadcasting Company

And then there's Eason Jordan of CNN who distorted the [bad] news from Iraq, making it less horrible, published it in the U.S. so that he could keep his agency doors open which would continue to distort the news for the U.S. readership.

Disclosure: I was paid for 3.5 years as a librarian on a grant from the USAID.

Technorati tags: propaganda, Iraq War

1851 Booking through Thursday on Friday

Forgot to check the questions yesterday (Dec. 1). The questions and answers are:

Have you ever read a book in a language other than your native language?
Do attempts count--or easy learner's books? Russian and Spanish.

If so, how would you describe your experience?
Pretty awful, but I learned to appreciate dictionaries.

Have you ever read a book translated from another language into your native language?
Yes, often the ones I was supposed to be reading in Russian, like Crime and Punishment and the Cherry Orchard.

Why or why not?
They were assigned. Who would read Crime and Punishment and struggle with all those hard Russian patronymics if you didn't have to?

If so, how would you describe your experience?
Useful. I graduated and got a great job. . . years later.

1850 Liar, liar, panties on fire

Andrew Sullivan should know the power of the bloggers to track down lies, and he's got some whoppers. Sullivan is a gay, Catholic conservative (or was) and when I started blogging in October 2003 and adding favorite links, his blog was one of my first. I dropped him after about a year because he turned against President Bush and the war, both of which he at first supported. What happened? Gay marriage, and his President for whom he'd endured ridicule and scorn (by other gays, I guess) didn't support it. James Taranto at Opinion Journal links to some of Sullivan's pro-war blogs which he is now denying he ever supported. Sullivan is learning "globbing" from John Kerry. Gripe, lie, obfuscate, backpeddle.

Technorati tags: Globs, Andrew Sullivan

1849 You may not like it

but you can't say there is no plan.

“National Strategy for Victory in Iraq,” November 2005, 38 pages

"The following document articulates the broad strategy the President set forth in 2003 and provides an update on our progress as well as the challenges remaining."

"Does America have a good plan for doing this, a strategy for victory in Iraq? Yes we do. And it is important to make it clear to the American people that the plan has not remained stubbornly still but has changed over the years. Mistakes, some of them big, were made after Saddam was removed, and no one who supports the war should hesitate to admit that; but we have learned from those mistakes and, in characteristic American fashion, from what has worked and not worked on the ground. The administration's recent use of the banner "clear, hold and build" accurately describes the strategy as I saw it being implemented last week." Senator Joe Lieberman, A Democrat who gets it.

Technorati tags: Victory in Iraq, Iraq Strategy

1848 Like this isn’t funny, but like, can’t these kids, like speak?

From the Ohio News Now story of a clerk escaping abduction:

“Earlier in the day, police say he [Steven Corbin] tried to abduct a 16-year-old grocery bagger from a Kroger store.

"He told me he needed help carrying out his groceries and he had a lot of stuff. And like I was helping him carry you and like he kept on saying like all this weird stuff to me. Like I don't know he was like, 'hey baby come on, let's get it on,'" she says.

"He's like, kept trying to get me to come to his house. And I'm like no, I can't, like I said I want to get away and he like grabbed my arm like pulling me that way," she says.”

Like. . .

1847 If I move to Canada, will I lose weight?

Canadians apparently aren't as fat as Americans, and their plumpness is much more evenly spread among income groups. Rich Canadians are closer to rich Americans when stepping on the scale, but the rich aren't as fat as the poor in either country. At least I think that's what this chart shows. I'm trying to find the story that goes with it, but keep getting "forbidden" when I chop back the URL.
Chart source here.

I've been in four quintiles--there is great income mobility in the United States. You usually start at the bottom, minimum wage or entry level or part time, work your way up, then when you retire, as we have, you drop back down again. These charts are based on income, not wealth. Most people in the "poor" statistics move on up very quickly, and I think only about 10% are poor for 10 years or more. Although I'm not sure it would make any difference, because poverty, like racism, is on a sliding scale in the U.S. If the poor or the "racists" were to disappear tomorrow, we'd immediately have a huge unemployment problem in government programs and foundations, (so I suppose that would create a new group of poor). Whoever is on the bottom, even if they own a house, car, stock, etc., will be "poor." You can't compare the "poor" from the 1970s with those of 2005--they aren't the same people, aren't even children of those poor. The 2nd quintile in 2005 may have been in the fifth quintile in the 1970s.

But fat--I think that is forever.

Correcting a drunk driver story

A month ago, I wrote about Frankie Coleman's drunk driving charge. I referred to it as a DUI, "driving under the influence." Since January 1, 2004 this has been called an OVI, "Operating a vehicle under the influence." The same bill also made these changes: Restricted license plates can be issued for OVI offenders. Vehicles can’t be seized, immobilized, or forfeited unless registered in the driver’s name, which repeals the “innocent owner” defense; a new “physical control” offense was created to cover being intoxicated in the driver’s position with the vehicle’s ignition key, but not driving; provides consistency between OVI laws for watercraft and motor vehicles; clarifies no driving privileges allowed if offender has three or more OVI convictions in six years (SB 123, explained at Ohio's Drunk Driving Laws)

So I suppose "driving" was changed to operating, because watercraft is now included, and sitting in the driver's position with the key in the ignition makes you an operator, though not a driver.

DUI or OVI, Mayor Michael Coleman (D) has dropped out of the race for Governor. I'm sure his wife has made many sacrifices over the years for his career, and I admire him for standing by his woman and realizing her recovery is going to take a lot of effort from both of them.

"But life is more than polls and more than any one campaign. My family and my city are more important than either, and after spending Thanksgiving considering all of the factors, I have made a very difficult decision. Today, I announced that I am no longer a candidate for Governor of the State of Ohio.

I have traveled long miles since this began, and I've learned so much about this great state and its needs, but I love my family above all other things, and right now that is where I am needed most - as a husband and father." Coleman website

1845 Useful source

when you want to analyze the opposition after President Bush's speeches, check this site, The Who Said it Game--Iraq Style. It says it is "A repository of quotes from prominent Democrats regarding pre-war intelligence on weapons of mass destruction in Saddam Hussein's Iraq."

But no one, absolutely no one, can back peddle as fast as John Kerry.

USAToday gets on the Christmas word bandwagon

The "Holiday Gift Guide" in today's USAToday just went crazy using "Christmas." The message is out. Don't kill your advertisers' joy with "diversity days" and "multicultural merriment." On page 5D: Christmas tree; Christmas stocking; Christmas excitement; Christmas gift; and Christmas. In the article about shopping at CVS there were two Christmas words. On 6D, Christmas. On 9D, Christmas past. In the Kitsch article there was Christmas Story leg lamp and Charlie Brown's pathetic Christmas tree.

At this rate, someone may even report why we Christians celebrate Christmas, although that may be too much to hope for.

And by the way, forget that recommendation for the 5" b & W TV in the CVS article. I bought one for $19 earlier this year for the kitchen because it included an am/fm radio and wouldn't take up much counter space. Lots of static. Can hardly see the controls. We left it on the same channel most of the time because it was too complicated to move the dials made for tiny little stunted fingers. Then that channel seemed to wear out, so we've located another channel. Today, I swapped it with the guest room TV.

1843 Wash before and after eating

fruits and vegetables. Have you ever tried to prepare a salad following the new guidelines for contaminated food? It appears that fecal matter is traveling with them to the stores, restaurants, and our kitchens. I just washed some mixed salad greens. First I washed my hands for 20 seconds; then I dumped the greens in some sudsy water, rinsed, and put them in a drainer, and ran water over them. By this time, I'd contaminated everything in sight, so I washed my hands again, and wiped down the sink and counter top. Then I laid out some paper towels and dried off the greens, which by this time were looking a bit poorly. Then when I tossed out the paper towels and the plastic bag they came in, I decided I was probably contaminated again, so I washed my hands again. I repacked the greens in 2 bags, and wiped down the counter tops and sink again. No, I don't have OC disorder, but if you don't follow some complicated sanitation guidelines, your first unwashed salad could be your last, or at least send you to the hospital with bad diarrhea.

Apparently the same with oral-anal and oral-genital sex, according to a recent issue of JAMA which summarizes a CDC report. First timers can pick up all sorts of nasty pathogens--Shigella flexneri serotype 3 is making a big comeback, or you could pick from a varied menu of Hepatitis A, Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, Campylobacter, or Samonella. Instead of suggesting that men stop having sex with men (called MSM in the medical literature), the authors recommend a routine not unlike fixing a vegetable or fruit salad--wash your hands and anal-genital regions with soap and water before and after sex; use a condom, a dental dam and gloves. Be especially careful if you or your partners have recently had diarrhea or any breaks in the skin. I'm sure they'll be honest while you do your scrub routine.

Yes, that should just about take care of the safe sex check list and the salad prep routine--and cool your appetites.

1842 WalMart, Target and the left

Why do you suppose liberals hate WalMart so much, but seem to like Target? Target is much more upscale, so is it just snobbery? But now WalMart is moving into that area too, and I don't think liberals will love them just because they carry a better line of clothes or make wider aisles, gussy-up the stores, or put their mega-stores in cities instead of small towns.

Target and WalMart both got their start around 1962 in non-metropolitan areas, but Target should have had a huge head start, being part of the Dayton-Hudson group and WalMart was just a family who'd run a successful Ben Franklin store in Arkansas. They both have "global" suppliers; both oppose unions; both have super stores; both put surrounding smaller retail firms out of business because they can't compete. Both pay about the same entry level wages and offer the same kind of benefits. But WalMart's done everything better, faster, and with more innovations and tighter margins.

WalMart has also served the poor and low income consumer better. And I suspect that's what is at the heart of the liberals' ennui and dislike for the world's largest retailer. WalMart succeeded by marketing to the low-end customer, someone just about all other retailers except the little local guy forgot about. At WalMart needs are met, desires satisfied, and the consumer who wouldn't walk into a regular department store or boutique because of their high prices, can be quite happy in a WalMart.

Liberals don't want the poor to be happy; they want them to be angry and feeling victimized--dependent on the government and Democrats for special programs. Not programs that lift them out of the bottom quintile, mind you, but programs that keep them right there where they belong--as their power base. The left is getting very aggressive with law suits against WalMart--and it's not just their deep pockets they're lusting for, they truly want WalMart to fail. Gimme back my po' folk!.

Think about it. Is it snobbery or just old fashioned power politics?

Update: I hadn't seen this WaPo op ed when I wrote this, but here's someone with the details. "Wal-Mart's "every day low prices" make the biggest difference to the poor, since they spend a higher proportion of income on food and other basics. As a force for poverty relief, Wal-Mart's $200 billion-plus assistance to consumers may rival many federal programs. Those programs are better targeted at the needy, but they are dramatically smaller. Food stamps were worth $33 billion in 2005, and the earned-income tax credit was worth $40 billion." Some interesting facts for all you WalMart haters.

Technorati tags: WalMart, Target

1841 Don't open your mail from the "FBI"--it's a virus

My provider cleaned it off, but I went in to the FBI page to see if they posted a warning. They did.

"We're sorry to report yet another wave of virus-laden e-mails sent out with false FBI addresses. This particular e-mail claims the FBI has been monitoring your Internet use...says you've accessed so-called illegal websites...and demands you answer questions—all you have to do is open an attachment, maliciously laced with a variant of the w32/sober virus.

Don't do it! In fact, don't EVER respond to unsolicited poison pills like these. The FBI does not conduct business this way.

Who are the e-mails from? To date, they're being sent out with email addresses of mail@fbi.gov, post@fbi.gov and admin@fbi.gov.

What does the message say? Something like:

So be very cautious about opening attachments.

1840 A Thanksgiving story

One of my regular readers e-mailed me that I didn't have a Thanksgiving story. Well, I posted the menu, but I guess that was on Wednesday. So here it is, Bev.

Thursday evening after everyone had gone home (all three of them) and all the dishes were done and we'd had a few left-overs for supper, one of the upper cabinet doors in the kitchen swung open as far as it could, and wouldn't close no matter what. We don't know if it is the ghost of turkeys past, or if the building suddenly settled after 30 years, but that sucker is open as far as it will go.

After studying the situation, I tied a piece of dental floss around the cabinet knob and then tied that to the coffee caraffe handle. Then I moved the caraffe back under the cabinet to secure the door in the closed position with its weight. I have to keep the counter top clear, because if we forget and whip that cabinet door open, we have a caraffe flying through the air knocking everything in its path to the floor.

1839 Great Balls of Fire

It's 70 degrees in Columbus today, which is lucky for all those folks without power. A fire in a transformer of American Electric Power on the city's north side left about 40,000 people in the dark and cold and a number of schools and businesses closed. Our son is handwriting the customer orders today since he works in that area of the city.

My husband could have used a little of this unseasonable warmth Saturday. He and our son-in-law went up to Lake Erie to rake leaves at our summer cottage--covered by about 4" of snow and ice. Today was the last leaf pick-up. He took a tumble on some slippery landscaping stones, but didn't break anything. Good thing I didn't know he was up on a ladder chipping ice and leaves out of the gutters.

1838 Christmas word in the Journal

The Wall Street Journal has apparently picked up on the backlash about the non-use of the C-word, Christmas. In section B (Market) today I noticed the use of four Christmas words and one Hanukkah, and five holiday words uses plus one cute play on words.

Christmas selling season
Chilly Christmas sales
Last Christmas
Christmas morning
Hanukkah

Holiday sales
Holiday discounts
holiday season
holidays
holiday gift-giving
jingle sells

I was reading Snopes.com and understand that the proposed boycott of WalMart for a rude customer service rep's e-mail insulting a "valued customer" has been called off because WalMart has apologized and the employee fired. And I think they are going to use the Christmas word.

I hope all the Christians who've been complaining about this keep in mind this event isn't about making sales.

1837 The Not Used Blog Entry

Occasionally you'll see my numbering system is messed up. That's because I drafted something, let it percolate for awhile, then decided to discard it. Meanwhile I continued on another subject. This one (1837) was about hiring the older worker. I didn't like it when I finished, and didn't really have any stats to back up my opinions, so it got moved to the permanent draft file with the title "This Blog was not Used."

1836 A Favorite Cookbook?

The week-end cooking thread at Daily Pundit is "What is your favorite cookbook?" I thought that was a good topic for this blog and too long for his comment section, so here goes.

When I got married in 1960, my mother was busy assembling not only the pieces-parts of the wedding (I was living in another state), but also a cookbook. At the store each week (maybe the A & P) she’d buy a chapter of Mary Margaret McBride's Encyclopedia of Cooking (Homemakers Research Institute, Evanston, IL: 1959, 1960). Really, you'd never need another cookbook in print, unless you needed to know something old, like how to pluck a slaughtered chicken (I use Granddaughter's Inglenook for that) or how to cook something in a crockpot or microwave (I use the manufacturer's instructions or the internet because they hadn't been invented yet). My most favorite, favorite give-to-every-new-bride recipe comes from this source: sweet sour meatloaf.

It contains standard American recipes--that's primarily what I use, but also "the world’s best recipes of all nations" including Scandinavia, Ireland, Italy, Great Britain, France, the Balkans, Eastern and central Europe, Belgium and Holland, Spain and Portugal, Germany, Latin America the near East and the Far East. It even includes Canada! And it also includes American regional cooking, most of which I haven’t tried--rabbit casserole, Maine togus loaf, royal Poinciana pompano, smierkase, etc.

There's lots of helps, how-to's and many photographs--oh, not fancy colors like today’s cookbooks, but more than any one person could ever use. Some take me back a few years--like Pineapple Baked Beans which is two no. 2 cans of baked beans and one no. 2 can of pineapple chunks. Bake at 350 for 20 or 30 minutes and serve 6. Any bride could master that one! There’s a tiny chapter on weight control (eat less, exercise more) and a very large chapter on wines, a nice meal planning section, high altitude cooking, freezing, game, preserving, and to please my librarian’s soul, a good glossary and index.

I'm not a great cook, but if I had wanted to be one, here's where I’d turn.

Technorati tags: cookbooks, American cooking, memoirs.

1835 Unpacking and washing the memories

At my other blog, I'm matching up sewing patterns with photographs, and yesterday unpacked the storage bins with my children's clothes finding all sorts of things I'd forgotten. These items had been stored for many years, and then were repacked and sent to my daughter's home when we were trying to make our storage-impaired home of 34 years (no attic or basement) look larger. It's a trick every home seller does--clean out the closets, buy bigger wattage light bulbs, bake a batch of cookies, etc.

Before repacking, I decided I needed to launder everything. Some of these things have been packed for over 30 years, some for 40, and things were musty and there was some evidence of tiny bug carcasses. It was quite an event because some items have become fragile. I have no idea why I'm saving these, but who among you could throw away such precious, delicate pretties that a tiny daughter was able to wear only once or twice before outgrowing them?



And then there is the ironing. . .

1834 Are your Christmas cards ready?

We've usually received at least one or two Christmas letters by this time (week-end after Thanksgiving). Card/letters from my cousin Gayle and friend from high school Lynne usually are first. Then there is a cousin in Iowa and a niece in Florida who send theirs out some time in the Spring. Cousin Mel's wife found her New Year's letter and sent it in October. Ours are ready, but I haven't run the labels yet, or composed the Christmas letter. You would think with all the writing I do, I'd have that ready to go in an instant, but it is often done the final week and my husband will be asking everyday, so they are sent out in batches, with only a few getting the letter. If you're on our list, this is what you'll see this year:

We couldn't get the lighting just right and it is too large to scan, so finally he took it to the camera shop, they used a digital camera 10x better than mine, and had the cards ready the same day. Actually, I thought my photo was better for color accuracy. This shot must have been after several tries, because I see samples of the prints sitting under this. The problem isn't my camera, but the home printer has a problem picking up all the colors. [The painting is my husband's.]

Now you can have web based companies prepare and mail paper cards--it will even create a font of your handwriting. As a potential recipient, I'm really not comfortable with all those personal addresses floating around on hackable web sites--mine included--and I'd sure be cautious about letting someone copy my signature. So if you're doing that--just take me off your list.

My husband put up the Christmas tree and got out the decorations on Wednesday. That's a bit earlier than I would choose, but since he does all the work of dragging it out of the garage attic, putting it together, digging the boxes out of the basement, buying the new lights, etc., I won't complain.

1833 Don Paterson's Aphorisms

I took the October issue of Poetry to the coffee shop this morning, and thoroughly enjoyed Don Paterson's Aphorisms beginning on p. 37. Then I found it here on the internet. Although it reads better with coffee and a fire place and the neighbors strolling by, it's still good here too. Here's a sample.

"It is possible for a woman to say, honestly, that she has thought of her lover all day long — but she will neglect to mention the twenty other things she has kept in her head at the same time. A man ignorant of this ability will be terrified by her declaration, since were it to be his . . . it would be a straightforward admission of his own derangement."

"Google, that new-minted, bright-eyed demon, that constant reminder that our little history now is no history at all, and that we must live with every insult we have delivered or received until we are ash and dust. Eventually it will guarantee the sensible government of our tongues in a way nothing else has yet been able to manage; but first things will get much worse."

"Only the mad are safe from doubt. I never fail to be mystified by those who regard the revision of a former opinion as a sign of weakness; it strikes me as a perfect guarantee of the commentator's sanity."

Go ahead, you'll enjoy it, and it's not long. In addition to being a poet, he is also a guitarist and has some interesting things to say about that, too.

1832 Harry and David Win the Christmas Award

Leafing through the most recent Harry and David catalog, I see they've used the "Christmas" word eight times (3 times on one page)! See? How hard was that? They also use "holiday," [has anyone noticed that is holy day?] and "celebration" and "all-occasion" in this luscious catalog of chocolates, pears, cheese, nuts, apples, crackers and shortbreads. It's not to late to order a Christmas Deluxe Tower or a Chardonnay smoked turkey. Harryanddavid.com or 800-547-3033. This year our list is getting a book, but normally we would use Harry and David for the distance relatives.

1831 The mysterious X on Cheney's face

When Vice President Cheney was giving his speech (Monday?), people watching it on CNN saw a strange full size X come across his face with an unreadable scrolling message. I saw a clip of it later on Fox, where I had listened to the speech. It was sort of scary, even for the MSM. CNN issued an apology, said it was a technical glitch, and that was it, but some bloggers kept checking.

Bill Quick at Daily Pundit gives a run down of this, which is interesting because there was more to it, but also it shows how news stories are followed by bloggers and how the fact checking is done, and how it is passed up the line to the main bloggers who get thousands of hits a day (ahem--I'm not on the list--I get between 130-150), and how updates are posted frequently so readers can make their own conclusions or start their own research. It also shows CNN should make their phone numbers a bit more transparent and save everyone some work.

1830 Sin cargo anual

We received a credit card solicitation in Spanish today. There may be Spanish speaking residents in our zip code, but I'm guessing it would be less than .001%. Not a very close hit for targeting Hispanics--especially since we are already this company's customer, for oh, maybe 25 years if you count the company they bought. This firm sent a solicitation recently (not here), signed by the same guy to "Dear Palestinian Bomber." I googled him. He's given testimony before the Senate--says they have 94 million customers with outstanding credit histories. Really?

Reminds me of the time I got a letter addressed to Ms. Ohio State Libraries.

1829 Fathers are optional, just another choice?

Read this silly star-hype article. I don't know if she actually said this, but this is how it was written:

"Jessica Alba used to believe she would never find someone to share her beliefs when it comes to raising children, so she was convinced she'd end up a [sic] being a single mom."

I have no idea who Jessica Alba is--I accidentally ran into her on the internet. But I sincerely hope she's smarter than this reporter.

So, she's got firm beliefs on child raising, but they don't include a father? There are unfortunate events that might leave a child fatherless and a woman alone to raise a family, but choosing it? How silly. And disrespectful of men.

1828 No words to describe it

Angle of Repose has been blogging about his time in Hurricane Katrina territory here. He's been to Dallas, Houston, Vicksburg National Military Park, Jackson, Ocean Springs-Biloxi-Gulfport-Long Beach-Pass Christian, Mobile, and New Orleans. He left California on September 26 and is now headed home, and back to his regular routine.

"I lack the words to describe the devastation I've seen on the Mississippi coast. The pictures I took can't capture what I saw," he writes.

His photographs tell some of the devastation.

He notes another problem that FEMA has caused: butt sitting syndrome.

"Help is in short supply in the lower paying jobs. Small stores and restaurants have fliers offering jobs and even sign-on bonuses. I thought the lack of employees stemmed from people moving out of the area because their homes were destroyed. I asked a waitress if this was the case. She said there are plenty of people around here to take jobs. The problem is FEMA, which gives money to people who say they they're so stressed out from the hurricane damage that they can't go to work. These people take the FEMA money and then sit on their butts. The thing is, when their FEMA money runs out, they may find getting a job difficult. The waitress said her restaurant wasn't bringing back any of the people who took this FEMA-funded stress leave. She had nothing but contempt in her voice for these people and for FEMA. And why not? The absence of her former co-workers has put an added burden on her and the others who chose to continue working."

Technorati tags: Hurricane Katrina, FEMA

1827 Human victims of animals

Today's Wall Street Journal featured a story of a battle raging in San Francisco between responsible dog owners, and the flagrant violators of the leash laws (guess you can tell whose side I'm on, huh?). If I were still working in the vet library I could give you the stats on how dog feces contaminate our water and soil, destroy our parks and ornamental trees and shrubs, and make our public areas living hell for the elderly and very young. Then I'd show you the web sites for plastic surgeons who have to repair the faces of babies and toddlers torn apart by "Oh, he won't bite" dogs who interpreted something wrong when friendly baby grabbed his ears, poked his eye, or just stood there.

It seems that dogs and children are about equal in SF, not only in numbers, but in value. Some dog owners want to let their "children" run free in the parks and have play groups. The stupidity of some pet owners just overwhelms me. 1) They place a higher value on Fido being able to catch a frisbee than on the life of a child. ALL DOGS BITE. ALL DOGS WILL BITE. ALL DOGS CAN BITE. 2) They think they should own a large dog, a huge dog even, but live in a small apartment or house. Therefore, that means it would be cruel to keep poor puppy on a leash. Either get a small dog, or running shoes, but keep the streets and parks safe for people.

And if you live around here, get a $18.95 Puppy Poop Carrier and make her carry her own dump to the dump while on a leash. Although usually the worst offenders of "What, my dog poop, where? I don't see it" are men, in our complex they are women, I guess because we are co-owners of the common space. There are two large dogs that are allowed to run while their owners stand by (100 yards away) and "control" them. "No, no precious, don't jump on that nice man." "Here, baby, let's not join that couple on the deck eating their dinner." "Ha, ha, she's just curious--won't hurt you."

So when I hear or read about legislation that would allow pet owners to take their animals to rescue shelters for people after a disaster, I'm wondering how all those irresponsible pet owners of snakes, birds, cats, dogs and horses are going to improve under panic conditions. Especially when that earthquake we all know is coming hits San Francisco. I can just see the dog owners pushing little children aside while getting evacuated.

Technorati tags: Leash Laws, Pet owners

1826 Katrina's animal victims

You've probably seen that Animal Planet is showing reunions of victims of the hurricanes--owners and animals. Friends of ours from church have had a taste of this. Their daughter and son-in-law lived in New Orleans and were flooded out, so they've relocated to her parents here in the Columbus area. But they rescued a cat before they left, and brought it with them. Our friends have a dog. These two are not getting along. The unhappy dog has started "marking" his territory if he suspects the cat is invading it. Plus, the young couple has recently gone to Florida to stay with his parents, and left the cat here. Poor little thing is so traumatized that his new owners too have abandoned him, that he is acting out by attacking the toilet tissue rolls and unwinding them all over the house.

Before Katrina, they were empty nesters with just a well-trained dog.

Technorati tags: Hurricane Katrina

1825 Why they’d vote for Bush again

Check it out at RightFaith.blogspot.com who is rallying for President Bush.

JR says:
He's pro-child (education, marriage, life, and family values). Bush is pro-victory in Iraq.Bush is pro-American military. He is pro-reform (tax systems and SS). Integrity--I don't question it.

Gary says:
He is changing the course of the world and making America safer. He has taken bold steps and major risks to bring about change. That shows an immense sense of mission and courage.

Cindy says:
He stands for the things that are most important to me--preserving our religious freedom, marriage, the family, the unborn, the strong defense of our nation. I also believe he is a born-again believer. I believe in his integrity and good character, and that's extremely important to me in a president. No, I don't agree with everything he does and says, but I do respect and admire him.

Pat in NC writes:
Our expectations for a president are tremendous--responsible for our safety, economy, health concerns, education of our children etc. GWB is doing well and although immigration is not at the top of his agenda, he has the rest of his priorities right.

Susan says:
The issues he supports - national security, rights of the unborn, protection of marriage, education, the economy, oil in our own country, etc - are those I prioritize as well. I'm thankful our nation has enjoyed the past few years with him and will miss his presence at the helm when he leaves.

Don’s with Dubya:
The defense of our country is critical. Homeland security depends on a President that will not allow adversity to sway his (or her) resolve. Our military needs (has) a steadfast commander and our country needs (has) a man (or woman) of moral integrity. Under liberal leadership America became weak, lazy and vulnerable. Today our military and economy are stronger. We are liberating and changing the world. Why would we put this heritage back in the hands of politicians whose platform promotes abortion, tax increases, military cutbacks, and the United Nations and the ACLU?

and there are others, but you get the idea. I haven't read all the instructions for signing on, but I probably will. I just wish he were a little more conservative with the spending and demand a few more reforms and changes before throwing money at problems. I like the fact that he has freed more women from oppression and slavery than the feminist movements of the last three centuries.

Technorati tags: George W. Bush, President

1824 Avian influenza

At Medscape.com it is reported that:

"Avian influenza was the top story at the time of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) 43rd Annual Meeting; October 6-9, 2005; San Francisco, California, both inside and outside the Moscone Center, where the conference took place.

Klaus Stohr, PhD, from the World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland, gave the opening address, which was devoted to this topic and the current state of preparedness.[1] He not only reviewed the substantial morbidity and mortality of "ordinary flu," but also emphasized the unique experience with pandemic influenza in 1918-1919. This pandemic resulted in 30-50 million deaths, and in retrospect it appears that organism was an avian strain similar to the H5N1 avian influenza strain that is now circulating throughout Asia and beyond. Much of the talk dealt with preparedness with respect to both vaccines and antivirals. The conclusion is that there is not enough of either vaccines and antivirals -- the world currently lacks production capacity to make enough of either and countries in Africa are most vulnerable because of a virtual absence of any production capacity.

This year's IDSA conference brought constant reminders of possible parallels between the avian influenza virus of 1918 and contemporary avian influenza, some of which are shown in Table 1 , which reflects the current status of H5N1." Read more here.

And at the same story, don't miss the opportunity to be the first in your crowd to be able to discuss Clostridium difficile and what to do about it.

1823 Are you old enough to remember

when Velveeta cheese came in a box? That's what crossed my mind when I waited at a stop light behind this.
We used to make toy cars and trucks out of the Velveeta boxes.

Technorati tag: Scion Xb

1822 A Prayer for our Time

Bishop J.C. Ryle, in the 19th century, offered a prayer for today:

From the liberality which says everybody is right,
From the charity which forbids us to say that anyone is wrong,
From the peace which is bought at the expense of truth,
May the good Lord deliver us.

And another time, while warming up for his sermon which was about freedom in Christ, he took a side road to political structures:

"The champions of freedom in every age have been rightly esteemed among the greatest benefactors of mankind. Such names as Moses and Gideon in Jewish history, such names as the Spartan Leonidas, the Roman Horatius, the German Martin Luther, the Swedish Gustavus Vasa, the Swiss William Tell, the Scotch Robert Bruce and John Knox, the English Alfred and Hampden and the Puritans, the American George Washington, are deservedly preserved in history, and will never be forgotten. To be the mother of many patriots is the highest praise of a nation.

The enemies of freedom in every age have been rightly regarded as the parasites and irritations of their times. Such names as Pharaoh in Egypt, Dionysius at Syracuse, Nero at Rome, Charles IX in France, bloody Mary in England, are names which will never be rescued from disgrace. The public opinion of mankind will never cease to condemn them, on the one ground that they would not let people be free.

But why should I dwell on these things? Time and space would fail me if I were to attempt to say ten percent of what might be said in praise of freedom. What are the chronicles of history but a long record of conflicts between the friends and foes of liberty? Where is the nation on the earth that has attained greatness, and left its mark on the world, without freedom? Which are the countries on the face of the globe at this very moment which are making the most progress in trade, in arts, in sciences, in civilization, in philosophy, in morals, in social happiness? Precisely those countries in which there is the greatest amount of true freedom.

Which are the countries today where there is the greatest amount of internal misery, where we hear continually of secret plots, and murmuring, and discontent, and attempts on life and property? Precisely those countries where freedom does not exist or exists only in name--where men and women are treated as slaves, and are not allowed to think and act for themselves. No wonder that a mighty Transatlantic Statesman declared on a great occasion to his assembled countrymen, “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I do not know what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” [Patrick Henry, an American Statesman of the 18th century]."

Freedom

1821 Too old for talking dolls?

Here's a talking picture frame, and this one includes the batteries!



If you prefer peace and quiet with your photos, here's 140 more frames from the same site, Christianbook.com.

1820 The segue to immigrants--our strength

If I'd asked Jane to play second banana, she couldn't have done better. She checked out my 2003 Thanksgiving post about looking for a cup of coffee:

"Many employers really do give Thanksgiving Day off. This morning I had quite a search to find an open coffee shop. Panera’s, Caribou, Starbucks, Bob Evans, Tim Horton’s, Wendy’s, McDonald’s. All were closed so employees could enjoy time with their families, or time to sleep in, or time to clean the garage.

Finally I saw an open White Castle and pulled in. I’d never been in one. No house newspaper or classical music, just big windows and small booths, but the coffee was excellent. Perhaps because it was a holiday with no baggage for them, there were two Hispanics, an Asian woman, a developmentally disabled man, and a Canadian supervisor (I don’t know that, but his haughty attitude and countenance reminded me of Peter Jennings, so I’m calling him a Canadian) working the pre-dawn hours. I’ll have to stop back tomorrow--they wouldn’t take a $20--and said I could pay next time."

Jane of Sisters of the Tender Heart writes a wonderful blog about being a librarian, a mother, a wife and a Catholic, commented:

"OK, I know you're going to sigh and move my blog to your lefty bloggers listing (as if you had one), but isn't it ironic on Thanksgiving only minority groups have to work: two Hispanics, an Asian woman, a developmentally disabled man, and a Canadian supervisor. . . a Native American would have made it perfect."

To which I replied:

"Yes, that would indeed be the liberal view. The conservative view is that this is the land where immigrants are still welcome, where even when their English is barely passable, they can work if they want to, that they were given the choice, and were probably paid double time for a holiday, even though to them it was just another day. And the happiest guy in the store was probably the developmentally disabled, because he really wants to make a contribution to society and White Castle is giving him that opportunity.

And the Asian lady probably has a daughter in college, and the Hispanic who now rides a bicycle to work in the dark is saving for a car, something he'd never be able to afford in the old country.

Is this a great country or what?"

Thanks for the set up Jane--today let's be thankful for our country's immigrants--current and past. My ancestor immigrants came in the 1600s and 1700s, looking for freedom of religion and a better life (religious discrimination in the old country prevented them from owning land, starting businesses, etc.). I would mention the Native Americans in this essay, but some are offended if you mention the Bering Straits immigration.

1819 Do you read biographies?

That's today's entry at Booking Through Thursday

1. Biographies and autobiographies—do you read them?


2. If so, whose life story has inspired you most and why?


3. If not, why not?

Although I read less than I used to, I'm primarily a non-fiction person. Keep it real, is my motto. Time and space exist only in this life; I'll read fiction in heaven. In the last year I've read Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow--a very BIG book and not easy in the sense that you are stunned to realize how different our country would be if that orphan had not immigrated--and how his own life was strengthened along the way by seemingly small opportunities (and disasters!) and assistance from others. I've already blogged about that book, and was the leader at our September book club for this title. I'm not sure "inspired" is the word I'd use for biographies affect on my life, but they do provide the "ah ha" moment for things I've wondered about as the author puts together all the pieces of the puzzle of their lives. Admiration too, for the incredible research. Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand is not exactly a biography, but it is certainly the best researched book of any genre I've ever read.

1818 Put the X back in Christmas

This is excerpted from a sermon on Christmas by Raymond L. Cox, in 1996, when it was Christians who were speaking out against celebrating Christmas instead of Christians complaining that department stores and community events were renaming it and removing Christ.

“Xmas is not of modern coinage. The Oxford English Dictionary documents the use of this abbreviation back to 1551. Undoubtedly it was employed before that. Now 1551 is fifty years before the first English colonists came to America and sixty years earlier than the completion of the King James Version of the Bible! Moreover, at the same time, Xian and Xianity were in frequent use as abbreviations of Christian and Christianity.

You see, the X in Xmas did not originate as our English alphabet's X but as the symbol X in the Greek alphabet, called Chi, with a hard ch. The Greek Chi or X is the first letter in the Greek word Christos. Eric G. Gration claims that as early as the first century the X was used as Christ's initial. Certainly through church history we can trace this usage. In many manuscripts of the New Testament, X abbreviates Christos (Xristos). In ancient Christian art X and XR (Chi Ro—the first two letters in Greek of Christos abbreviate his name. We find that this practice entered the Old English language as early as AD 100. Moreover, Wycliff and other devout believers used X as an abbreviation for Christ. Were they trying to take Christ away and substitute an unknown quantity? The idea is preposterous.

Some may use Xmas today as an unchristian shortcut for Christmas, but the ancient abbreviation by no means originated as such. The scribes who copied New Testament manuscripts had no intention of taking Christ out of the New Testament. They used the abbreviation simply to save time and space. We use abbreviations for the same purpose today, as witness FDR, HST, JFK, LBJ, and a host of others. Xmas is a legitimate abbreviation."

Technorati tags: Christmas

1817 Amazing Amanda

will probably hold a little girl's interest Christmas morning longer than the box it comes in! She talks, recognizes her "mommy's" voice, understands the world around her, speaks English ungrammatically, complains and is toilet trained. She has RFID sensors and knows she shouldn't eat cookies for breakfast, and has sensors in her scalp for brushing her hair. You can find her at WalMart for about $90.00 Although I think the technology is interesting, I was able to watch the video only a few seconds.


Well, my dollies had conversations too, only I supplied all the dialogue, the setting, the conflict and the resolution. My dollies never needed batteries and didn't talk back. My dollies were unique, and handmade with love. And I'm guessing Amanda won't look this good when she's 55 or 60 years old.



I noticed in Wired a grouping of tech gifts under $30. We always have a $10 gift exchange with my sister-in-law's family (now 4 generations). I see for $9.98 you can buy a finger nose hair trimmer. Really does look like a finger up your nose.

Technorati tags: Christmas gifts, dolls

Happy Thanksgiving

The President has pardoned two turkeys. Mine is still thawing in the refrigerator. My son-in-law was concerned there wouldn't be enough turkey for left overs. With 5 people and a 21 lb. bird, I'm sure they'll be something for him to take home.

Just about everything else is finished. Apple sour cream pie is baked; tossed salad is in a clear bowl to show off the lovely colors; fresh fruit is cut up and mixed in the fancy salad bowl; and I tried a new recipe called "Zesty corn stuffing balls." It looked a bit gooey for forming into balls, so I just put it into a casserole dish. I think it is just a variation on escalloped corn (which my daughter and I love and my husband hates), because it contains eggs, and most stuffings don't. The Hummingbird Cake will be postponed; I ran out of Splenda. My daughter is bringing green bean casserole and sugar-free pumpkin pie.

Some time today I'm going to head to Caribou and pick up a cup of coffee for tomorrow morning. I won't make the mistake I made in 2003.

Technorati tags: Thanksgiving, holiday menus

1815 Libraries are still amazing

And frustrating if you know as much as I do. Today I drove over to Ohio State's main library to look for a 1958 magazine. I think the last time I did this trip was May. All the neat tricks I'd learned about streets and parking between 1978 and 2000 are useless now. Roads are blocked off with chain link fences, and there are numerous traffic lights where we used to play dodge the students (ca. 50,000 on one campus). I usually don't bother God with small details I can handle myself, but realizing I probably wasn't dressed warmly enough for a hike from a campus parking garage, I prayed for a parking place! I have a hang tag that let's me park anywhere you can put a car, but it only works if no one else is parking there. Yes, I know God is busy right now with Katrina victims and your mother-in-law's cancer and your son's custody hearings, but there were three of them!



Inside what used to be a grand lobby but now is a computer room, I double checked the call number and groaned when I saw, AP2 is on Deck 11. My recollection of Deck 11 was dark, unsafe, and body fluids here and there. The elevators were the only thing I saw in Main Library that hadn't changed. The desk staff actually had coffee cups! Still two elevators, still too slow. But Deck 11 was a wonderful surprise. Light and airy, with pictures on the walls, display cases, and comfortable furniture.

I found Mademoiselle, AP2.M18 v. 46 and carried it to a comfortable chair. I looked everywhere for the picture I'd referred my mother to in April 1958, and it just wasn't there. But it was a blast looking through the volume, and just as I suspected and commented on in my sewing blog, the late fifties were harbingers of style and shape changes--blousy and bouffant that would become more popular after 1960. So I decided to look at some other titles to see what they showed about that era--I love researching by class number (reading the shelves rather than the catalog) because of the thrill of discovery. But when I went back into the stacks, I discovered that AP2.M is the class and cutter scheme for literary journals that start with "M." I looked all over the section and couldn't find another fashion magazine. Not exactly the thrill I had in mind.

Anyone else would have said, "Oh, well," and gone home, even if she suspected all the other fashion journals had gone to the storage facility on Kenny Road. But I couldn't drop it. I went to the basement and had a pleasant reunion with Magda who is now Head of Cataloging. "You haven't changed a bit," she told me, but she couldn't answer my question and took me across the hall to serial cataloging. The two women I conferred with were not librarians, but had worked many years in the serials cataloging department. Together we looked into an in-house program of the classification and cataloging tables--this doesn't show to the public. After trying several possibilities we discovered at AP2 was (or still is) the class number not only for literary journals, but for foreign journals. Mademoiselle was started in the mid-30s in New York, I think, but whether it was actually foreign, or it was the foreign word as a title, it went into the AP2 class. I checked Cincinnati, Akron and another large university in Ohio and they also used AP2. Each issue did have some fiction (James Baldwin had a short story in April 1958), but I don't think that would put it into the literary class.

So I learned something new about something old at the library, but didn't find my picture. Still, not a total loss of two hours of research.

Update: When I checked the holdings of the Library of Congress I see AP2 was for "general periodicals" even Time Magazine. So this is a class number in which a shelf browse wouldn't be much help. Most fashion magazines went to "Technology" class number. I'm guessing many of the titles around Mademoiselle had gone to storage, leaving only the literary journals.

Interesting site here: Mademoiselle Covers

1814 Don't mess with Texas

Earlier I blogged about rootkits and Sony, and recommended you check out sites that understand this better than I do, like Charles or EFF. Now Texas has sued Sony for violating its anti-spyware law. A number of states have these laws, but I don't think Ohio is one of them.

"Texas has become the first U.S. state to sue Sony over its distribution of flawed copy protection software, while representatives for the EFF, a digital rights watchdog group based in San Francisco, said the organization will bring a class-action lawsuit against Sony in California.

The Texas lawsuit accuses Sony of violating the state's 2005 antispyware law by distributing the software on 52 of the company's music titles this year."

1813 What's wrong with this picture?

Lucy Liu is sitting in a librarian's lap. Did the ad people think there are no male librarians who might have enjoyed a movie star smooch in the stacks? Did they think all male librarians are gay? (Many are, and they are proud of it, but many are not.)


And there are other problems with this picture. Look at that styrofoam cup on a stack of books. And Lucy's using a pile of books, on the floor, for her foot stool. Shame! Shame! Lucy's had implants and the poor librarian is flat chested. Lucy's got a cool dress and probably Manolo Blahnik shoes, and our librarian figure has a gray sweater, brown jeans and huge clunky shoes that look like they're for dancing at the tulip festival in Michigan. The condition of the shelves is a mess, all jumbled and out of order, despite the "Please ask for assistance" sign. The tile floors are looking pretty bad--like they used a real library for this shot and shelving seems to be at right angles. Lucy's wearing make-up and the librarian, well, looks like a librarian.

1812 Don't trust the Media!

Not even in a humor quiz like "Which New York Times Op-Ed Columnist" are you. Must be totally rigged. Although the number of questions that would allow a hint of support of the Bush administration and the war are miniscule, I still came out as:


You are Paul Krugman! You're a brilliant economist
with a knack for both making sense of the
current economic situation and exposing the
Bush administration's lies about it. You
somehow came out as the best anti-war writer on
the Op-Ed staff. Other economists hate your
guts for selling out to the liberals. To hell
with 'em.


Which New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I've never read Paul Krugman, but of course, I'll accept the brilliant economist part, which I think came from selecting the quote "A fool and his money are soon parted." That's probably what got me rated as being anti-administration. They never saw a government program they didn't love and throw money at. When you check the other possible choices, you see indeed it is rigged. Only two conservatives, and they are both berated in the description. Why am I not surprised?

This has been around for 2 years, but I just came across it.

1811 Senior blogging on the increase

according to this article in the Rockford paper which Murray sent me. I'm glad to hear they're out there, because I haven't found very many, and I set the bar fairly low--age 50. I'm doing my part with seven, but I could use a little help.

"Bloggers say their hobby keeps them up on current events, lets them befriend strangers around the globe and gives them a voice in a society often deaf to the wisdom of the elderly." [Ain't that the truth!]

"Three percent of online U.S. seniors have created a blog and 17 percent have read someone else’s blog, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Compare that to online 18- to 29-year-olds: Thirteen percent have created blogs and 32 percent have read someone else’s blog, according to Pew." [A lot of those "created" blogs only have one or two entries.]

Most people I know still say "what's that," when I tell them I'm a blogger. Then when I explain they roll their eyes and tell me they simply don't have time to read blogs or write them, but they have time for golf or tennis or gardening or bridge or shopping or grandchildren. It has always been my theory that people make time for what they enjoy, and I enjoy writing. I don't enjoy publishing. The only senior bloggers I have met face to face are the ones I have taught myself.

Technorati tag: bloggers, seniors,

1810 You probably think I'm neglecting my blog

but in fact, I have blogged at my church blog about a Lutheran hymn site, where you can listen and read the lyrics. Some interesting stuff for a folk Christmas service. At our church people complain that they have to go to K-Mart to hear Christmas carols, because we sing Advent hymns. I wonder if they are allowed to say "Merry Christmas" at K-Mart.

Then I added two entries about wrap arounds at my sewing blog, one a jumper and one a skirt.

We had a funeral visitation today for a member of our small group from church (about 15 years). He had Alzheimer's, but really went rather quickly which is a blessing for him and his family, but still, his wife of 60 years feels bereft and abandoned. A very devoted couple. Fortunately, they had moved to their daughter's home in Colorado 3 months ago, so she won't have to go home to an empty house. He was a WWII veteran and taught in our local high school for 30 years.

1809 Merry Christmas WalMart, Kohl's, Target, etc.

It seems some consumers and conservative reporters are getting quite huffy that major department stores aren't using the word Christmas during their biggest profit period of the year. I'm not sure what to make of this. Wasn't it just a few years ago that we Christians were so concerned that we'd lost the true meaning of Christmas in all the advertising, glitter and shopping? Wasn't it just a century or two ago that many Christians absolutely refused to observe Christmas at all, especially in the United States because drunkenness, riotous behavior, and licentiousness had taken over the holiday?

I did a quick survey of my "Christmas" catalogs--just to see if we're being too hard on the larger retailers. What are the niche marketers doing?

Pottery Barn has lots of holiday items and words--sparkle, twinkle, greenery, glitter, mantels, motif, magic, stockings hung with care, garlands, wreaths, Santa, reindeer, lanterns and (whew!) Christmas monogrammable ornaments! Not once does it mention the actual occasion we're celebrating.

L.L. Bean is even more subtle--if it weren't for sprigs of evergreen and some red ribbons, I might miss it all together--but it does include mention of a non-specific holiday, and it does have "heirloom stockings" and "traditional wreaths" but there is not even a picture of a Christmas tree, let alone the word, Christmas.

Jerry's Artarama has a snowman on the cover and some pictures of poinsettias and holly on the inside, but other than that, it could be the summer catalog. Cheap Joe's has a man (Joe?) on the cover and p. 5 dragging a cut evergreen, the words "Holiday Greetings," and a Santa on p. 8 and that's it.

Norm Thompson has "holiday surprises" and "glitter balls" on the first two pages, and on the back an embroidered tree on a sweater, but otherwise, you'd have no clue this is a Christmas catalog only that it is for winter. Victoria's Secret sends 395,000,000 catalogues a year using up a lot of trees, but none of them come to my address, so I'm not sure what it has for holiday words.

So I looked in the paper. Blooms Direct is selling holiday plants; The Columbus Gay Men's Chorus is having a Holiday Concert; the Franklin Park Conservatory is having a Holiday Show; the Columbus Jazz Orchestra will perform "Home for the Holidays; the Easton Town Center will have a "Holiday Lighting"; and Christ United Methodist Church is having a "Holiday Bazaar!"

Thank goodness, Bill Gaither is coming to town with his "Homecoming Christmas Tour."

Technorati tag: Christmas,

1808 Impulse buying--sometimes you should

There's a really lovely used bookstore on Fifth Ave. in Grandview, Acorn Bookshop--wonderful staff, well maintained, good subject arrangement. About 10 years ago I was in browsing the animal books when I noticed an odd homemade book. Illustrations and articles had been removed from magazines and inserted into a heavy post-bound notebook, the kind merchants used to use for accounts. I pulled it off the shelf and was surprised to see beautiful illustrations of poultry--from Poultry Tribune, I think, a publication from Watt Publishing in my home town. The paper was good and the color hadn't faded. It wasn't anything I needed for the Vet Library, and I sure didn't need it, but it was so charming and interesting, I decided I'd think about it. I believe it was $7.00. It wasn't a real "book," so I'm sure the owners even debated about putting it out. Of course, it wasn't there when I came back. It was one of a kind, I'm sure. I think the illustrations may have been these, now available in calendar form and sets of prints.



Technorati tag: poultry, book stores