Measuring the microwave

My daughter stopped by the other evening and asked for a tape measure to check the distance of my microwave oven from the stove top. She has plans to buy one for under a wall cabinet to free up space on her kitchen counter. She has some gift cards from Christmas designated for this and is anticipating additional gift cards from her staff (they haven't had their Christmas party yet) to pay for it.

It struck me that anticipating something additional to help pay for it is the way some Christians (Roman Catholics, anabaptists, Methodists, pentecostals, etc.) think of grace. Yes, "Jesus died on the cross for my sins," and yes I'm acceptable in God's eyes, and yes it is a gift, but I just need to add a little bit here and there (with the help of the Holy Spirit, or more Bible Study, or more prayer, or a second blessing, or more visiting the sick or aiding the poor, or more helping migrants) and then I'll be truly righteous and acceptable. I can't rest with "just" this gift, hand me a tape measure so I can see how I'm doing. In other words, the hardest thing for a Christian--particularly Americans--to do is abandon self-mastery or seeking or thinking or doing, and just let Jesus Christ stand in the gap and be our righteousness before God.

From an eternal perspective (or even my own perspective) we Christians look pretty silly. We're holding a perfect gift in one hand and a tape measure in the other, and missing the point that it is complete, all the while looking beyond the wonderful gift we already have for another gift, another renewal, another revival, another-something to make us more worthy in God's eyes. More worthy than Jesus?

Article 4 of the Augsburg Confession:

Our churches also teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works but are freely justified for Christ's sake through faith when they believe that they are received into favor and that their sins are forgiven on account of Christ, who by his death made satisfaction for our sins. This faith God imputes for righteousness in his sight (Romans 3:4).

Friday, January 18, 2008

Are you a Democrat, a Republican, or a . . .

Hurry on over to Doyle's blog and read this. It's a good laugh. I'm surprised Murray hasn't sent it to his group.

The intolerant left

Arthur C. Brooks has an article in the WSJ today titled, "The intolerance of the left." For absolute hatred, scorn and intolerance of leaders, candidates and beliefs, the left is way over the edge.

Comparing the hysteria of right wing pundits in 1998 for President Clinton, on a temperature scale where zero was freezing, Gore and Clinton got the lowest score from 28% of the right wingers for an average temperature of 45. Bush-Chaney got an average temperature of 15 and 60% of the left have them a zero. More lefties would support Saddam Hussein than Bush, and routinely compare him to Hitler.

This week I heard a Christian woman say she was really torn by the Biblical command to pray for our leaders because she hoped Bush would be assassinated in his latest mideast trip. Need I suggest which political party she belongs to?

I said I didn't support Hillary Clinton for President, but if that was the nation's choice, I would certainly be on my knees every night (and not in a Monica way) in prayer for her and the nation! So when you hear liberal pols or preachers bemoaning how intolerant and hostile our politicians or public square have become, nod your head. It's true, especially of the liberal you're probably listening to.

Who was Sylvester Caleb Robinson?

In 1909 my great grandfather David GEORGE (1828-1912), living near Franklin Grove/Ashton, Illinois, had a book reprinted, "The economy of human life" and dedicated it to Sylvester Caleb ROBINSON. Is this name familiar to anyone? The book was given to various people in the Lee Co. area, so it could turn up in a home library. The book claims to be ancient eastern literature, but it was written by Robert Dodsley of England.

I posted this request in 1999 at a county web site but didn't hear anything. One thing I do know is that Grandfather was on his way to California to find gold around 1849-50, when he stopped in Illinois. I also know that there was a Sylvester Robinson who died in California seeking gold who had some ties to Winnebago County (Illinois) because that's where I saw the note about his death (in the county history, I think). I also know that Grandfather worked in Winnebago Co. as a carpenter when he first came to Illinois. He saved his money then bought acreage in Lee County. No one in my family knew why he'd settled in Illinois until a 90 year old niece living in Iowa told my mother in the 1970s the story about him and a friend traveling to California to look for gold.

Grandfather owned two copies of this book, one published in 1845 and one 1848. The oldest one came with him from Pennsylvania. The book was so popular it wasn't out of print for 100 years and was published in many languages. Then when he was very old, he had it reprinted as a gift for friends. It's entirely possible that the book's dedication is just part of the reprint plates and has nothing to do with my great grandfather, who paid to have the little book reprinted and then distributed it.

Or maybe he added the dedication--he was a farmer who loved to read and had only a common school education. He had no way of knowing the book was published first in 1750 by an Englishman (and neither did most scholars), and was not written by an "ancient Brahmin" and then translated from Chinese:

"This reprint of a Sacred Book that is undefiled by companionship of neither a Jacob, a Solomon, nor a David,--is dedicated to Sylvester Caleb Robinson (possessor of its original), the purity of whose life so strikingly illustrates the efficacy of its inculcations."

The arrogance of power

Today at my coffee blog. And it isn't even about politicians!

Why haven't the media scrutinized Obama?

Charles Krauthammer in a Washington Post article writes that the New Hampshire win by Clinton was a good thing. Obama up to now gets to smile and charm, and no one asks any tough questions:

The freest of all passes to Obama is the general neglect of the obvious central contradiction of his candidacy: The bipartisan uniter who would bring us together by transcending ideology is at every turn on every policy an unwavering, down-the-line, unreconstructed, uninteresting, liberal Democrat. . .

Special interests? Obama is a champion of the Davis-Bacon Act, an egregious gift to Big Labor that makes every federal public-works project more costly. He not only vows to defend it but proposes extending it to artificially raise wages for any guest worker program.

On Iraq, of course he denigrates the surge. That's required of Democratic candidates. But he further claims that the Sunnis turned against al-Qaeda and joined us -- get this -- because of the Democratic victory in the 2006 midterm elections. . .

Even if you believe that a Clinton restoration would be a disaster, you should still be grateful for New Hampshire. National swoons, like national hysterias, obliterate thought. The New Hampshire surprise has at least temporarily broken the spell. Maybe now someone will lift the curtain and subject our newest man from hope to the scrutiny that every candidate deserves."

Predatory Borrowers

Tyler Cowen at NYT writes: "IT’S NOT JUST THE LENDERS There has been plenty of talk about “predatory lending,” but “predatory borrowing” may have been the bigger problem. As much as 70 percent of recent early payment defaults had fraudulent misrepresentations on their original loan applications, according to one recent study. The research was done by BasePoint Analytics, which helps banks and lenders identify fraudulent transactions; the study looked at more than three million loans from 1997 to 2006, with a majority from 2005 to 2006. Applications with misrepresentations were also five times as likely to go into default."

So keep that in mind as Washington Democrats (and some Republicans) want you to bail out people who fell for creative financing and then made it worse with fraud.

Kip at Stitch in Haste calls them consenting adults. "What is so "cruel" about being unsympathetic to those who deserve no sympathy? Competent consenting adults, hoping to game the system, got burned -- not by any "predatory lender" but by their own miscalculation (dare one say "their own greed"?). They could have stayed out of the housing market. They could have waited until their finances and credit improved. They could have done their homework before they signed the forms. They could have been, forgive the repetition, competent consenting adults."

Bill Fleckenstein says we've run out of bubbles--capitalism has boom and bust cycles: "We have experienced a wild, drunken binge, and we are going to have a hangover. But the best policy for the country would be to accept the hangover, head to the gym, start working out, and get stronger and healthier for the next go-round."

Shifting my loyalties

At least for awhile. I just couldn't shake the image of Jimmy Carter every time I listened to Mike Huckabee. I like Mike for believing God hung the moon and the stars, and for not wanting to kill the unborn, but he really does sound like a 1970s Democrat much of the time. Let's see what Mitt can do.

Obama won this round!

Choke. Gag. "What's your greatest weakness?"

John Edwards: My greatest weakness is that I care too much, Tim. For 54 years, I’ve been fighting. I emerged from the womb with my dukes up, ready to do battle with every fiber of my day-old being.

Hillary Clinton: My greatest weakness is that I get impatient — impatient with people who don’t care as much about children as I do.

Barack Obama: My greatest weakness? Sometimes I misplace stuff. I’m a little disorganized. It’s probably a good thing I’m not in charge of my own schedule.

Seen at Sister ToldJah. And one commenter asked, How can you care so much about children and support aborting them?

Why Al Gore can't control the climate

and should get his big footprint off our economic necks. A) He's not God. B) He's not a scientist, he just plays one on TV.

10 episodes of global warming and cooling that cannot have been caused by atmospheric CO2
1. 15,000 years ago, sudden climatic warming caused dramatic melting of large Ice Age ice sheets.

2. A few centuries later, temperatures plummeted.

3. 14,000 years ago, global temperatures increased.

4. 13,400 years ago, global temperatures plunged.

5. 13,200 years ago, global temperatures rose rapidly.

6. 12,700 years ago global temperatures plunged sharply

7. 11,500 years ago, global temperatures rose sharply

8. 8,200 years ago, a sudden global cooling lasted a few centuries.

9. 1000 AD global temperatures rose several degrees to begin the Medieval Warm Period, which lasted a few centuries, then around 1230 AD dropped 4 degrees C in 20 years.

10. 1600 AD global temperatures cooled several degrees at the beginning of the Little Ice Age.

See this page by Don J. Easterbrook, list of publications here. His was just one of 100 scientists that I could have listed.

The B Word

"How often do we hear and use the B word? We're really busy. Can you think of the last time you asked a friend how she was doing and she said, 'Great. Things are really moving slowly. . .' " p. 20

Yes, if you had asked me, that might not have been my exact phrase, but yesterday when I told a woman sitting next to me in Bible Study, who whispered she'd been too busy to complete the lesson, that I'm never busy, you would have thought I'd said, "I have leprosy." It truly is almost a sin on the level of adultery a large carbon footprint to admit you don't like to feel "busy" or rushed or frantic so you plan accordingly. Living that way--frantic and busy--is the adrenalin rush, the home-grown, safe and legal drug for millions of Americans. But not me.

Usually, I wouldn't choose to read the book I'm reviewing, "One month to live; 30 days to a no-regrets life," but someone noticed my blog and made me an offer I couldn't refuse--a book to write about. I wasn't busy, so after some negotiation, I said Yes. More to come.

When is a course description a lecture in disguise?

When it's "gender studies." This is University of Illinois, Fall 2007 course listing. The seething anger in this course description is palpable. Don't be fooled. There are set-asides for women and minorities in all government building projects, and like affirmative action, they hurt women and minorities in the long run because their credentials are then always in question. If I were a female architectural student, I sure wouldn't waste my precious hours (it's a difficult curriculum) on going to this class--I'd just read the description and turn in a paper using all the victim jargon I could think of.

Architecture 424/Gender and Women’s Studies 424: GENDER AND RACE IN CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE (Anthony) TR 11:30-12:50 210 A Architecture

Out of all licensed architects in the American Institute of Architects (AIA), why are only 11% women, 3% Latino/a, 2% Asian, and less than 1% African American? In 2006, what accounts for such staggeringly low figures? Why has architecture lagged so far behind its counterparts of law and medicine, where sizeable advances already have been made? When so-called “minorities” are rapidly becoming majorities in so many American cities, what are the consequences when the diversity of the population is not reflected in the diversity of the architectural profession? And how can this be changed? How can the new generation of architects better respond to diversity and begin to change the culture of the profession? How can you, personally, make a difference? The purpose of this course is to introduce students to an aspect of architecture that has all too often been overlooked: the role of women and people of color (i.e., African Americans, Latino/Latina Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and others). As in many other fields, the work of white males has historically dominated architecture. Furthermore, due to the persistence of the "star system," valuable contributions of women architects and architects of color, for the most part, have not been recognized. To a certain extent, this pattern can also be seen in the related environmental design professions of landscape architecture and urban design. This course calls attention to the work of both women architects and architects of color as consumers, critics, and creators of the environment--as clients and users, writers and researchers, design practitioners, educators, and students. Prerequisite: Junior standing or consent of instructor.

Subtext: White Men: watch your backs!

Evangelical Visitor, vol.1, no.1, 1887

Technically, I can't put this in my collection of premiere issues because it is scanned and on the internet in the collection of Messiah College for The Brethren in Christ Church (River Brethren). One of my great- great- somethings was a founder of this denomination [see correction below], so I thought I'd take a look. Reading through it, nothing seems any different than the German Baptist Brethren/Church of the Brethren of the 1880s. There was an annual conference, "love feast" (communion) with foot washing, modest clothing for both men and women. It was a mix of Mennonite, Brethren and Methodist, with emphasis on piety, just like the other Brethren. I'm not sure why these groups had to split up--it's usually the leadership--nor do I know why they didn't all vote to get back together in 2008 (300th anniversary) since the 6 or 7 groups are tiny by themselves. Together they probably don't reach 100,000 in membership in the U.S. Ah well, they didn't ask me, and I haven't been a member for over 35 years.

Having said that, I found this item by "C.S." from Louisville, Ohio sounding just like the "emergent church" controversy of today:

It has been, and is yet the aim of some professors of religion [i.e. people who profess to be religious] to get religion into such a position, that there is no cross connected with it. Men have been trying to dress up religion so that the offense of the cross should cease. . . they make daily compromise with the world.

Another fun item was reminiscences of the "old days" in various Ohio counties--like the 1850s--that people sent in. One obituary observed that the "brother" was not a believer, although he was married to one. The cost was $1.00 a year for 12 issues, and if you wanted to write something for the paper, you submitted it in ink and used only one side of the paper. The Elkhart, Indiana church had had a June Love Feast at the Brethren Meeting house, 16 mi. south of town with wonderful testimonies, Bible studies, exhortations, and a supper, with people returning home the next day rejoicing.

Based just on the numbering (vol. 121, no.1, Winter 2007), I'm guessing that the (new title) journal for BIC "In Part" is the granddaughter of Evangelical Visitor. She's handsome, fashionable, and topical, but not as spiritually satisfying.

Update: I checked my genealogy database and my notes say that my ancestor, John Wenger, split from the River Brethren in Montgomery Co. Ohio over issues of closed communion and meeting houses. His group (Pentecostal Brethren in Christ) were known as the Wengerites. All this is in Daniel Wenger's book on the Wengers. His son Christian Wenger was the father of my great-grandmother, Nancy. This may be more than you wanted to know about a tiny Ohio sect, but "The name Brethren in Christ became more common and about 1861 three groups in OH called themselves Brethren in Christ; the original River Brethren, the Wengerites and the Swankites. The River Brethren officially adopted the name Brethren in Christ in 1863 at the outbreak of the civil war in order for drafted conscientious objectors to obtain legal recognition as members of an established religious organization opposed to war. By 1924 the last of the Pentecostal Brethren in Christ had joined the Pilgrim Holiness Church (which merged with the Wesleyan Methodist Church to form the Wesleyan Church)."

Change as a campaign theme

USAToday (Jan. 15) reports "demand for change," "change directions," "new course," "major shake-up," and "call for change"--whimpers from the electorate it anecdotally interviewed. Why? How old are these people? Ten? It's got to be the silliest one word mantra I've heard. We've had either a Bush or a Clinton in the White House since 1988, and Hillary is preaching change!

Barry Obama's cute and a good orator. So what is change-worthy about that? A politician's song and dance. What's new? Just because George W. Bush wasn't fluent, doesn't mean you fall all over yourself for mellifluous tones and call and response rhythm.

And why would we elect a trial lawyer who's Johnny-one-note on universal health care when trial lawyers are one of the reasons our medical cost are so high and people are leaving the medical profession. "Change" he says, so everyone can have Medicaid level health care instead of just the poor.

And why would we elect a man whose idea of "change" is to trade in wife #1 for a trophy wife--someone younger, richer and more svelte or blond than the first (or second, in Rudy's case).

Why should we elect from a group of senators who now claim "change" for the social security system they haven't looked at seriously in 8 years, who have failed to stop the AMT, a very punitive tax originally set up to catch 155 rich folk and now affects millions, and haven't stopped the earmarks going to their colleagues in their "scratch my back" but don't change now schemes.

Why would we expect change from senators or governors who don't think it is important to secure our borders, or to have an ID to vote, and who see no reason not to continue luring Mexican citizens here with promises of social benefits like education, health care, housing, etc.

None of these candidates, Republican or Democrat, fit my definition of "change," so I haven't even considered that as a requirement.

Desperate and dateless in Michigan

Let's see. A failing economy. High unemployment. Tax increases. And a female leader at the wheel. That's the formula Republicans should be pointing out in Michigan, but they won't. They're giving the same happy talk you hear from Democrats! Jennifer Granholm, Michigan’s Democratic governor, just keeps doing more of the same. A real 1960s-1970s sort of gal (although I have no idea how old she is.) Tax her way out of the highest unemployment rate in the country; chase away the population that still earns money; cater to the unions. Is this the "change" the Dems keep talking about for the national level.

They always win in Michigan:

1992 Clinton
1996 Clinton
2000 Gore
2004 Kerry

Why bother? They just don't get it up north.

Crazed war vets?

Or maybe crazed journalist looking for a scrap of a story. The New York Times ran a lengthy story about the violent crime wave among returning Gulf War vets, but Power Line crunched a few numbers, and based on the numbers of men and women who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq (700,000+ in 6 years), the violent crime rate for veterans is much, much lower than the general population of that 18-24 age group. The liberal media will stop at nothing to malign our men and women in the armed forces.

And another thing: "Here's another idea: the Times' story on veterans' crimes repeatedly focused on the role of alcoholism, which the paper associated with the stresses of military service. How about a survey that compares alcoholism rates among reporters and soldiers? Just on a hunch, I'll wager a dollar that the alcoholism rate for reporters is higher."

4524

Maybe not the top 10

but certainly better than a lot I've heard. Scientists for better PCR sing about it here. I saw it at the JMLA blog that saw it elsewhere. PCR is polymerase chain reaction which enables researchers to produce millions of copies of a specific DNA sequence in approximately two hours. The music video reveals its history. Kinda catchy . . ."PCR when you need to find out who the daddy is. . . PCR when you need to solve a crime. . . " Great looking performers too.

The job hunt

Matthew, the Well-dressed Librarian has landed a job, and posted some great advice on December 11. He's gay, fashionable, bright and witty, but because I worked a temp job in the employment field in the 80s, and interviewed more librarian candidates than I can remember in my last job, I can testify that he is absolutely on target. Good manners and good taste will help in all fields, so it won't matter if you're looking in another area.

Monday Memories--Bible Studies I have known

Over at Daniel's site (Alaskan Librarian) I saw a note about John Cotton's Milk for Babes, a catechism published in 1646 and in print for 200 years, intended for children and new Christians. It has been digitized by the University of Nebraska. What makes it interesting (for me) is that it includes in this version, information on how it was digitized, including corrections of typographic errors. Sample:

Quest. What is Prayer ?
£nsw. It is a calling upon (a ) God
in the Name of Christ, by the helpe of
the Holy Ghost, according to the will
of God.

I think this is a great definition for prayer, because I've had a bit of a struggle seeing it as "conversation," and "a relationship," which is what we hear these days. I see nothing wrong with the word prayer. Christ's disciples didn't say, "Lord, teach us conversation techniques."

That aside, it did get me to thinking about all the Bible studies I've attended over the years, including last night's led by me, on Matthew's account of Jesus teaching his people how to pray.

My very earliest memories of Bible study are from Faith Lutheran in Forreston, Illinois, and Mrs. T.B. Hirsh using the flannel graph. She (the pastor's wife) was very dramatic and no child ever watched TV more closely than I watched those brightly painted disciples and shepherds move quickly around a flannel field of green and gold, blue and gray. Her nimble fingers would press a cloud in the sky, or a grove of trees on the horizon, or a staff into a hand, all the while I was waiting for the climax of the story from her deep, booming voice. Oh, it was wonderful. I'm sure I had Bible stories at my home church in Mt. Morris before we moved to Forreston, because I remember the little handouts and glossy Sunday School papers with full color pictures, but in my memory bank they've been relegated to the bleacher seats by the more entertaining Mrs. T.B.

My brown thumb

This could make me wish it weren't so. Almost. I could almost walk to this one. Almost. It's cheap, too. Here's another one in Columbus that looks good, although the website never mentions the city (I just happen to know the Historical Society is in Columbus).

All these tips from Jim McCormac

Answer the quiz

and it will pick your candidate. Just yesterday I was thinking (after watching Huckabee on TV) that maybe it was time to switch to Romney, and then I took this quiz. But I didn't think he'd score as low (based on my views) as Rudy!

88% Mitt Romney
76% Fred Thompson
70% John McCain
68% Tom Tancredo
68% Ron Paul
61% Mike Huckabee
61% Rudy Giuliani
31% Bill Richardson
29% Barack Obama
29% Hillary Clinton
28% Chris Dodd
26% John Edwards
25% Dennis Kucinich
25% Mike Gravel
21% Joe Biden

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

Sunday Search the Archives

This one from Feb. 15, 2006 at Church of the Acronym is worth a repeat--we'll be heading to church in a few hours.

334 Must the church always be a follower?
It won't be next year, or maybe not even 2016, but eventually church musicians and pastors will wake up about the noise and volume of their CCM rock, hip-hop and heavy metal music and the damage the blasting loud speakers cause to hearing just as they realized the dangers of smoking and second hand smoke 20 years ago. Too bad they can't be leaders instead of followers in this important health issue.

When we joined UALC in 1976, every meeting room and event was filled with the blue haze of cigarette smoke (with the exception of the sanctuary). I'd grown up in the Church of the Brethren, so smoking was just a plain old generic sin--below adultery and theft maybe, but certainly right up there with swearing and drunkeness. But Lutheran smokers 30 years ago believed in "freedom in Christ," and you were considered a Pharisee if you mentioned it made your clothes stink or burned your eyes. I'm not sure what turned the tide, but gradually smokers went to one room to breathe each others poisoned fumes, and then outside, and now I never see anyone smoking on the property.

What I remember most about this very serious health issue is that the church was not the leader. It was the follower.

How many of our babies and children and teens will need to lose their hearing in the low and high ranges incrementally, to be tested and fitted for hearing aids by age 40? Noise in the church is the latest blue haze that Christians think they can't do without. "Give me Jesus, but don't make me change anything," could be our motto.

I actually shudder when I see young parents taking small children into our X-Alt services because the parents identify with the music and our leadership knows this is a way to fill the seats. People who will floss for dental health, do pilates and kick boxing for exercise, and watch their cholesterol and calories seem oblivious to protecting their ears.

For a mellow evening out

Enjoy the music of Tony Marinucci --blues, pop and jazz--at Ruth's Chris Steak House, one of Columbus' best known restaurants, on Thursday and Friday evenings. You can make reservations on-line.

Have you got some audio production needs? Tony does that too, as well as wedding photography and commercials. Here's a photo of my son's band, Drive, from Tony's site. You can click to listen--the singer is my son (far left) in his living room.



This is not a commercial--I just think Tony did a great job on their audio mixing and mastering.

Which presidential candidate

is going to step up to the mike during a debate and tell China to turn out its lights, drive fewer or hybrid cars, and shutter its factories? The projected US demand for crude is actually going down. China's is going up. It's not the Arabs, it's supply and demand. This from Petroleum News, Jan. 11.

Current world crude output averages less than 72.5 million bpd, down about 2 million bpd from 27 months ago, while world oil demand, about 88 million bpd, continues to grow unchecked.

With global demand projected to grow to 115 million bpd by 2020, Simmons said numerous dangers would accompany a significant depletion of world oil supplies, including social chaos brought on by widespread hoarding as well as geopolitical conflicts that could lead to war.

“Oil shortages worry me,” he said. “China is extremely conscious of how flimsy oil supply is and is doing everything they can to lock up supply.”

Stress on Grandparents

I wrote this about 4 years ago--just came across it today. Maybe I'll have to go online and double check:

. . . it was reported in WSJ that Harvard University researchers found a 55% greater risk of heart disease among grandmothers who care for their grandchildren than those who don’t. 36.3% of U.S. grandparents provide intermediate or extensive care for their grandchildren. One theory about the stress is that there are other events in the lives of their adult children, such as divorce or substance abuse, that causes the parents to have to help out, thus causing a lot of stress. And those of us with no grandchildren have a 47.95% greater risk of a broken heart. (I made that up.)

This site has all sorts of links on grandparenting. The original research was published in Am J Public Health. 2003 November; 93(11): 1939–1944. "Caregiving to Children and Grandchildren and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Women," by Sunmin Lee, ScD, and others.

We haven't seen health problems among our friends and relatives who care for their grandchildren, but we do see some social problems. They are definitely less available to go out of an evening--either pooped, or doing something with the grandkids--and when we visit my sister-in-law, conversation is somewhat limited if she is watching two or three great-grandchildren, so their grandmothers (her daughters) can catch a break from babysitting!

This research hit a nerve

I read about the cell phone drivers slowing everyone down during commutes last week in the WSJ, but when I googled the story today, that story seemed to be in every paper. It's the kind of thing everyone suspects is true, and then when someone really does the research, it's an Ah-ha moment. Here's the abstract from the research paper done at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Department of Psychology at the University of Utah and prepared for the Transportation Research Board:

ABSTRACT
This research examined the effect of naturalistic, hands-free, cell phone conversation on driver’s lane-changing behavior. Thirty-six undergraduate psychology students drove six 9.2-mile scenarios, in a simulated highway environment, with three levels of traffic density. Participants were instructed only to obey the speed limit and to signal when making a lane change. These simple driving instructions allowed participants to freely vary driving behaviors such as following distance, speed, and lane-changing maneuvers. Results indicated that, when drivers conversed on the cell phone, they made fewer lane changes, had a lower overall mean speed, and a significant increase in travel time in the medium and high density driving conditions. Drivers on the cell phone were also much more likely to remain behind a slower moving lead vehicle than drivers in single-task condition. No effect of cell phone conversation on following distance was observed. Possible implications on traffic flow characteristics are discussed. "Drivers’ Lane Changing Behavior While Conversing On a Cell Phone in a Variable Density Simulated Highway Environment" pdf here

Maybe slowing people down isn't all that bad and will reduce problems later. However, I know that accidents are caused by people distracted by their phones, although conversation with passengers doesn't seem to have the same affect. What bothers me is when I see the little faces of the children and babies, strapped in and bored, with mommy chatting away ignoring the opportunity to interact with them. Dumped even before the day-care door.

Where that strange environmental data come from

Thirteen hundred gallons of water to produce a quarter-pounder? That's based on an ag extension report given to a high school class 30 years ago, according to this interesting article in the Wall St. Journal Friday. Pardon the pun but it depends on whose ox you want to gore. Carl Bailik provides a number of alternative figures. He says at his blog:

A respected nonprofit focused on water education repeated the number in pamphlets and other material. A scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey saw the pamphlet and used the stat for a USGS water-facts Web site. And once the estimate became a USGS stat, it was amplified and repeated — on other government sites, on PBS.org, on a bottled-water trade group site, in university newspapers and in other publications. It even showed up in the office elevator of Numbers Guy reader Joe Penrose, who saw the stat on the Captivate Network screen as a “fun fact” and emailed me to suggest I look into it.

But whoever you believe, we can live without oil, but we can't live without water, and using up our water to grow crops to burn in our automobiles to satisfy environmentalists who go crazy at the thought of the internal combustion engine and melting glaciers is just silly.

Where's the winning team?

The United States has been wimping out and backing off since 1945. And we'll do it again, apparently, if we elect a Democrat, because they sure don't want to talk about the Iraq War. Fred Thompson (R) said (paraphrase) that you can tell we're winning because the New York Times has stopped writing about it. And the candidates have stopped talking about it. But if we elect Hillary or Obama or Edwards, what will they do with the recent successes in Iraq? Turn it over to the Iranians? Al-Qaeda? Hussein wanna-be's? Will they allow all the folks who are trying to build a democracy to be plowed under?

Bret Stephens (WSJ 1-8-08) commented that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid with nothing to overcome other than Republican opposition really haven't done as well as the democratically elected Prime Ministers of Iraq who have been beseiged by al-Qaeda and Iranian backed militia. The reviewer of The Coldest War wrote:

"Korea was a war waged by a centrist Democratic administration and undermined at home by the Republican right.

Two decades later another war effort, in Vietnam, was undermined by the radical left.

And today that scenario is being repeated as the Democratic left, virtually every Democratic candidate, is demanding that the U.S. abandon Iraq."

Deja Vu all over again

"How good is government medical care?" asks Osler L. Peterson. Has a familiar ring, doesn't it? You really think you're reading today's arguments about healthcare--the fact that European countries already have it and their citizens are doing fine, that many elderly are suffering under high costs, and that there are already programs for the poor. But it was published in The Atlantic Monthly in September 1960 (the month I got married). This wakes you up.

"The Health Insurance Institute estimates that “getting sick and getting well” will cost the average American $105 in 1960. This sum will be distributed about as follows: $34 for the hospital, $26 for the doctor, $28 for medicines, $11.50 for the dentist, and $5.50 for other costs. The average United States family in 1957-1958 spent a little over $300 for medical care. These averages are influenced by many factors. Those with hospital insurance received more care than those without, and families with higher incomes spent more than those with smaller ones."

Using Measuring Worth (which only goes through 2006) we can look at several ways to see $105, the CPI probably being the most familiar.

In 2006, $105.00 from 1960 is worth:

$714.65 using the Consumer Price Index
$581.70 using the GDP deflator
using the value of consumer bundle *
$849.03 using the unskilled wage
$1,586.70 using the nominal GDP per capita
$2,631.92 using the relative share of GDP

I don't know if there is an accurate figure on health care costs--it depends on what think tank and which lobbyist are beholden to which party. I know ours is terribly high and we have "government health care," i.e. Medicare. This site says it is over $6,000 per person a year--not the best, just the most expensive.

What's probably changed since 1960 is indigent care. The son of a friend recently had an appendectomy--was hospitalized four or five days. He is unemployed and uninsured. It cost him nothing at the hospital down the road where it is $5,000+ a day to have a room in which to recover, and that doesn't cover the doctor and lab costs. If he'd been insured, he would have had a deductible and a co-pay, and the hospital might have had strict insurance guidelines on how long he could stay, or his employer might have lost its coverage. Under managed care, doctors and hospitals are no longer allowed to do what's best for the patient, only what's best for the bottom line. Imagine how much worse it will be with a committee of bureaucrats. The Katrina Care Plan, I like to call it.

But another thing that has changed since 1960 is heroic measures for people with a very limited life expectancy. An 85 year old dear man we know has several systems failing at once. Any one of them could kill him, but he had surgery this week for the most serious--he was given only 2 months to live if this wasn't repaired. I truly don't know what I would do if it were me, or my parent or husband, and none of us do until it happens to us. My mother had surgery for colon cancer in her 80s and had another wonderful five years with her family and husband, celebrating 65 years of marriage, dying of something totally unrelated. My father had a heart by-pass when he was 70 and lived another 19 years, needing to replace a few pacemakers and outliving some of his doctors.

Do you have the answers to how much is too much? Because you know well, without private supplemental policies, none of the above examples would be covered under Katrina Care.

How Hillary met Hillary

Was she named (with a double L) for Sir Edmund Hillary or not? Snopes reviews all the evidence. Sometimes the stories your parents tell you are just that. My mother told me my dad chose my name for a popular movie star of the 1930s, and No it wasn't Norma Jean, since she was just an unknown then. Norma Talmadge, of silent films, was already a star when my dad was born, so I suspect it must have been Norma Shearer, if you can believe the stories mothers tell little girls when they're passing the time doing the dishes. But if any film buffs have another suggestion, I'll take a look, because I don't remember.

4510

Eating Out, Cheap and Trim

In yesterday's WSJ Suzanne Barlyn rated five restaurants for their calorie and fat accuracy so you might have an idea how to reduce a 2,000-3,000 calorie meal in a restaurant to a more reasonable 600-700 calorie one. Here's the article on-line, but Barlyn has also written some excellent stuff about budgeting and eating healthy which you can find here.

We have had a "Friday night date" for about 40 years, and when our children were young we used to go out to eat with them about twice a month, usually for breakfast after church either at Paul's Pantry or Friendly's in Grandview, or a week-night at Tommy's Pizza on Lane Ave. (We'd call ahead even for table service because our little guy was pretty active). Social engagements or business appointments might send us to restaurants another 2-3 times a month. I think we're below the six times a week eating out that I heard on the radio the other day. One thing the women's movement of the 1970s did was create the modern family's dependency on the restaurant culture--and our growing obesity problem.

My suggestions, which were not included in Barlyn's article since she was evaluating specific menus at Applebee's and Friday's, are:

1) Choose friends or a group you enjoy so that the conversation and socializing are more important than the food.

2) Begin at noon/lunch. If you're going out for dinner, don't go out for lunch, but if you have to because of invitations or business, scale it way back.

3) Eat a small, crisp sliced apple or drink a glass of water before you leave the house, especially if you expect a wait.

4) Park further away from the restaurant than you need to--don't take the place right in front. The extra exercise will do you good, and someone else will love you for doing that.

5) Order your favorite--if you are dieting or even just maintaining/watching--don't use a restaurant menu to punish yourself. You'll soon fall off the wagon if you try to drastically change your diet.

6) Order a to-go or take-out box WHEN YOU ORDER your meal.

7) When the meal is served, put 1/2 or 1/3 in the box and set the box out of view. I've only seen one restaurant meal in my adult life that didn't include a full day's allowance for calories, fat and sodium, and that didn't include dessert or drinks.

8) If you've ordered a salad, always ask for dressing on the side, but DO NOT pour it on your salad.

9) Dip your fork in the dressing, then stab the lettuce. You'll never notice the difference, and you might just be pleased to taste the greens and veggies (at least if they aren't fresh you'll know it!).

10) Pass on the drinks if you're watching calories or pennies, whether a diet soda or wine. You'll not only cut the calories, but it will make a huge difference in the bill and tip. Diet soda, I'm convinced, has contributed to our obesity problem.

11) Slow down, think about what you're chewing and tasting. Pause to reflect, enjoy the company, your friends, spouse, etc. You can probably burn a few calories just by discussing the Buckeyes, or the election, or your latest surgery.

12) Skip the items labeled low-fat, or low-carb--especially cheese or ice cream. They often don't taste good and can just create a hunger for real sugar, or real fat. Eat less and enjoy real food. Want Death-by-Chocolate? Split the real thing with 2 other diners. The first ingredient in a low-fat dressing is water. If you can't resist gobs of dressing on your salad, order the real stuff and mix in some water.

13) I personally like the "senior" option (although my favorite restaurant doesn't have it). The portions are smaller, although I don't think it is as thrifty or as low-cal as halving the regular portion and your husband eating it for lunch the next day.

My all time favorite meal at a favorite restaurant, Schmidt's in German Village

Bahama Mama Sandwich $6.95
A grilled link of their original Bahama Mama (very hot sausage) on a toasted New England Split Top bun.

If you order with a side of chunky applesauce, you can justify not taking 1/2 of it home

Now if you have some suggestions, maybe we can bump this up to 20?

Pronounceable Acronyms

Acronyms have fascinated me since my early librarian days when we used primarily paper resources. I think Gale published a thick 3 volume set (also the reverse list) even back in the 80s. I'm always finding new ones that are completely understood in certain professions, but sound funny to outsiders.

TrOOP = true out-of-pocket, not to be confused with OOP, out-of-pocket: This is a government insurance acronym, and you can read a 30 page book on it here. While there, you'll notice all the unpronounceable ones like OIG, OAS, OEI, OI, OCIG, CoBC, PDE, MA-PD, MMA, ECRS, and CMS (whenever you see this last one it's a clue that it's about Medicare).

MOLDI = Mid-Ohio Library Digital Initiative. Wow. Leave it to librarians to find a pronouceable acronym that leaves a bad taste in your ears! Instead of reading a book, you can download it 24/7. Ever a baby step behind, it is not compatible with the Apple I-Pod right now.

DISCOVER = Disease Investigation Through Specialized Clinically-Oriented Ventures in Environmental Research. "The DISCOVER centers will help to define the role of environmental agents in the initiation and progression of human disease and develop new ways to both prevent and treat disease,"

Thursday Thirteen--13 Things to do when Microsoft updates in the middle of your blogging, and then reboots your extremely slow computer

1) Stare at the frozen screen in disbelief as your entry disappears.
2) Warm your coffee.
3) Unload the dishwasher.
4) Load the dishwasher.
5) Gather the magazines due at the public library for later.
6) Put away the remote and close the TV cabinet doors in the living room.
7) Write a card and address it for a friend who has been ill.
8) Find a stamp because there are none in your desk.
9) Check the laundry and dryer cycle.
10) Put away the straggler Christmas cards that arrived after you'd put everything away.
11) Throw out the trash that's been accumulating on your desk.
12) Use the restroom.
13) Brush teeth.

New Year's Resolutions

If I'd made a New Year's Resolution to update all eleven of my blogs, it would never have happened. But yesterday I noticed all but three had been updated in 2008, so I decided to go for it. I want you to know I'm doing my part to maintain the English language. A year ago, the Japanese language blogs slightly outnumbered the English language blogs. I'm not sure how social sites like MyFaceSpace are counted, but many young'ns like those self-absorbed thingies instead of blogs. Is it your patriotic duty to start another blog (regardless of your language or country)?

Hugging and Chalking--looked like a no brainer to me.

In the Beginning--usually I don't feature losers, but. . .

Coffee Spills--An embarrassing moment, now corrected

Church of the Acronym--Rahab's thread.

On my bookshelves--cross posted here with some revisions.

Memory Patterns--updated the statistics (final entry was over 2 years ago, but it keeps plugging along)

Growth Industry--5 tips for women

Class Reunion Blog--Lynne's letter to the Rockford paper

Exercising through the church year--group blog, but many have fallen away!

Illegals Today--new I-9 rules and new handbook

And my new computer still isn't unpacked! Do you think I'm avoiding something?

The Hillary Memories

Although I have a number of female friends who are Democrats, I don't know any who support Mrs. Clinton. I'm sure they'll be loyal Democrats and vote for her if she is the party's nominee, but there is zip, nada, zilch passion about her in the primaries. I think it's women's memories. They pre-date Hillary for a lot of us.

She reminds us of "the older woman" in the office or organization when we were 30-something--witchy, bitchy, menopausal, sneaky, know-it-all, humorless--you remember her don't you? Or if you're a lot younger than me, maybe you remember the boomer feminist who gave both of those terms a bad name. Always agitating, playing the victim. Or maybe your favorite was the gossip who stirred the pot every now and then.

Dear reader, I'm older than you, but my earliest memories of my three grandmothers begin when I was about four years old--they were 71, 68 and 49! And Hillary is 60. Now, we don't necessarily think "grandfather" when McCain or Kerry run, but as women, we just didn't hang out with a lot of adult men when we were growing up. Men were at work--doing big guy tough stuff. And the feminists made that even more lopsided by making sure women were put in positions of authority, so maybe you knew even fewer adult men than I did! Surely I'm not the only woman who sees this in Hillary. Now, all my grandmothers were terrific women--they ran their families just fine and they were powerful in their own right--but they just weren't presidential material.

Tomorrow we'll know after New Hampshire pulls the levers whether women have Hillary memories.

Jan. 9 update: So much for the accuracy of polls! "Obama Widens Lead Over Clinton in New Hampshire MANCHESTER, New Hampshire- Democrat Barack Obama expanded his lead over Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire to 13 points as voting began in the . . ." (Jan. 8 Zogby Poll)

I'd know those legs anywhere

When my husband was a teenager, he ran cross country and lettered (block T) at Arsenal Technical High School, a huge school in Indianapolis larger than the town where I grew up. Today we were looking for a classmate in the 1956 Cannon (no index) and I came across this photograph, with an incorrect caption. The book says it is the football eleven, but I noticed these guys weren't the football team and there sure were more than eleven. Then my eye fell on the guy in the foreground (#2), and I just knew it was my husband. You just never forget legs like that! Nowadays he's just a skinny guy who leads a bunch of ladies in an exercise class, but back then. . .

I can get a bit envious when I leaf through his yearbooks. I had fine teachers and a new high school building (the town no longer has a high school), but then I look at the opportunities Tech kids had (in addition to a wide range of sports): service clubs, Future Nurses Club, Chemistry Club, Music Club, Nature Study Club, Drama Club, Future Teachers of America Club, Radio Club, Square Dance Club, German Club, Art Club, Home Economics Club, XYZ Club (no idea what this was, but it was very large), ROTC, all sorts of musical groups which included a string quintet, concert band, dance band, brass ensemble, madrigal singers, boys octette, concert orchestra, woodwind ensemble and to top it all off, they even got to play Christmas music! Tech had 48 people on its cafeteria staff, a staffed bookstore, and 47 people on the custodial staff including 7 engineers! A display of "The American Way of Life" in October 1956 in one of Tech's main buildings drew 9,000 visitors. Would teenagers today even be allowed to host such a patriotic display? They had 140 different courses in Shop and a class in Stagecraft that built the downtown Christmas display on Monument Circle. Tech had classes in intelligent voting (although voting age then was 21), posture, recognizing marijuana and other drugs, and keeping their campus and property clean. I don't think I ever thought about that in high school.

One of my favorite things to read in my husband's yearbook is the full page note from his girlfriend. She too knew a good man, but she lost.

Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot

Liberated from the freebie box at the church library, Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot may be one of the best devotional titles I've ever read. I try to spend about 30 minutes in the morning reading either scripture, or a short meditative selection, or both. This title is a collection of her essays from her newsletter (The Elisabeth Elliot Newsletter, published 6 times a year, Ann Arbor, MI, 1982-2003). My paperback was published in 1995 by Vine Books, an imprint of Servant Publications. There are 104 selections, arranged by 5 topics, but including small excerpts from other authors (verses from poetry or hymns usually) there may be a total of 120-130.

The most amazing entry in my opinion is pp. 118-120, "Lost and found," which is about an answer to prayer. I've told this story to anyone who will listen, and photocopied it to give away. I love it. I've enjoyed this title so much, I'm rereading it. The newer editions of this book have a different cover.

Elizabeth Elliot, widowed twice, is 81 and has been married 30 years to Lars Gren. Her webpage is here. Lars and Elizabeth keep an update going called Ramblings from the Cove, and here's December 2007, quite lively and filled with humor. For those of you who fret over the health and risks of older relatives or friends, you'll enjoy:

There is no distinct age when operations—ailments—aches—replacements—3rd generation descendants creep into end of the year greetings but we may as well begin by saying that I did break a leg bone on my first day of trying down hill skiing—but I am fine since that occurred 60 plus years ago and nothing broken since.

Fashion models of distinguished merit

The things you learn by reading government gobble-de-gook for 2008.

"Established by the Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT 90), the H-1B nonimmigrant visa category allows U.S. employers to augment the existing labor force with highly skilled temporary workers. H-1B workers are admitted to the United States for an initial period of three years, which may be extended for an additional three years and, in some cases, beyond, if an a/s application is pending.

An H-1B nonimmigrant (with the exception of certain fashion models) must have a bachelor’s degree or higher (or equivalent) in the specific specialty. The H-1B visa program is used by some U.S. employers to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in a specialized field and a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. Typical H-1B occupations include architects, engineers, computer programmers, accountants, doctors and college professors. The H-1B visa program also includes certain fashion models of distinguished merit and ability and up to 100 persons who will performing services of an exceptional nature in connection with Department of Defense (DOD) research and development projects or coproduction projects. The current annual cap on the H-1B category is 65,000. Not all H-1B nonimmigrants are subject to this annual cap."

Monday Memories

Did I ever tell you about my retirement party?Somewhere, I'm sure I did. I think I had five of them. Librarians love to party--it's a well-known secret. I found my thank you to the committee in the OSU Knowledge Bank here on p. 5. My thank you works itself around some photos of people I don't know who were at the party. Tom Heck, the music librarian, and I had a joint party, so the cake had animals (for veterinary medicine) and musical instruments on it. I received a beautiful glass vase as a gift, and still use it regularly. I think I had the best job in the world, and I haven't missed it a minute.

I wish I could explain Knowledge Bank to you--it's called a "digital repository." There is no explanation on the website, and the arrangement looks like the game of 52 pick-up, even though it is a cooperative effort between the Libraries and the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Just type something into the search window--you'll be surprised. You might get an undergraduate honors thesis in biology from the 1970s, or an entire book published by the OSU Press, or even a blank screen. Or my retirement party.

Balmy breezes

Much of the midwest has a respite from the cold for a few days while storms blow out west. It's 65 degrees in Columbus today, and I think Cincinnati was expecting 70. I've actually had two walks today, so my little pedometer is clicking right along. Yesterday, my first day of aiming for 6000 steps I came close--5600, and I'll go well over today.

The biggest hypocrite

It's a tough one--who's the bigger hypocrite, John Edwards who claims to be looking out for the little guy, or Hillary Clinton who thinks 30 years "behind the throne" supporting Bill and supporting highly suspect candidates when she was a youngster qualifies as "experience" because she's been thoroughly vetted by the press. But, I choose John.

John Edwards, Democratic candidate for President 2008, and Vice Presidential candidate in 2004, has assets of nearly $30 million. Normally, I don’t begrudge anyone his wealth--if he’s earned it honestly. Before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1998, Edwards had a very successful career as a personal-injury lawyer in North Carolina. He ran for President in 2003 and was selected as Kerry's V.P. running mate, resigning from the Senate to do so. If you want to talk about experience, he probably falls behind Obama who at least was in the Illinois legislature. What I don’t like about him is his dishonesty. Readers in today’s WSJ (and I can’t find the article to which they are referring) suggest that the 25-33% contingency fee trial lawyers get in law suits is much more excessive than the greed of which he accuses corporations‘ officers. Since he wants to limit the income of CEOs (who actually are contributing something to the economy), a reader suggests that he help stop “legal abuse” and limit lawyers to $300/hour, with an income not to exceed $750,000 a year. This would help reduce the inequity he sees among the high income earners. Others suggest why stop at corporate CEOs? Why not limit entertainers, sports figures, writers, etc.? This, of course, is a straw man--people who suggest this don’t really believe in limiting anyone’s income, but they do it to point out his hypocrisy. But just tort reform would reduce our health care costs without jeopardizing our health (the way dumbing down with universal health care would). Step up to the plate, John Boy. Put on those blue jeans and come out for the little guy and the pensioner like me.

Irish immigration

When we were in Ireland in September we noticed 1) the booming economy, and 2) the booming immigration. We visited a Catholic church and the newsletter was in Polish and Portuguese. William over at Atlantic Blog is an American living in Ireland, and he comments that they are undercounted in the Census (although obviously, it's a lot harder to sneak into Ireland than Texas or Arizona).

The other night, my wife and I went out to dinner with another couple we know. Here is how the nationalities stacked up. We, an American born couple, got a French born babysitter for our Vietnamese born daughter to go out with a Polish born couple who left their two Polish born children with their Polish born au pair. We went to a Spanish restaurant, where the waitress was Polish and the only other group in the restaurant were English. We did not encounter one Irish born person that evening.

More anti-Evangelical than anti-Mormon votes in Iowa

Read what Michael Medved has to say about Huckabee and Romney in Iowahere.

Huckabee did very well among women, those under 30 and the poor. 75% of Iowa Republicans voted against Romney, not just Evangelicals.

"The preferences of Evangelicals mirrored those of Iowans in general. But the preferences of the "non Evangelical" group were distorted by their religious beliefs (or non-beliefs) and led them (as the same prejudices leads angry members of the conservative establishment) to blast, resent and dismiss the Huck."

Sort of "non-Christian identity politics."

4497

Quilt Show at Mill Run

Yesterday we hung a new quilt show at The Church at Mill Run (Upper Arlington Lutheran Church), which will run through Thursday, February 7 (comes down on Friday). These ladies work very hard and have great fellowship and workshops, too. The OSU Buckeyes play LSU this week, so here's to them:

Charisma

If there's a buzz word going around these days (since Iowa), it is charisma. I've been told I'm smart, tenacious, dogged, resilient, funny, flirtatious, critical, boring, opinionated, analytic, practical and prophetic, but not charismatic. It's one of those qualities which you know when you see or hear it--you can't learn it, buy it, or bottle it. These folks walk in a room and it just lights up. You either have it or you don't. You have charismatic people in your organization or work place, don't you? They are quite visible--sometimes because they have been promoted beyond their ability level. They pep-talk the people around them do the work, which they willingly do. Hey! Even the entry level is often beyond their ability level, but they've just got that something special that attracts people.

So last night I was watching some talking heads--think it was Fox. They were all just gushing about Obama and his charisma. One fellow compared his to the appeal of Bill Clinton. Then he observed that when Bill was on stage with Hillary, while he was talking the room was just charged. And then she took over, and the room went flat. He said you could feel it. I believe.

Cool clips

Being a print person myself, I claim no fascination with podcasts of important events. Even less for unimportant. The NARA Presidential Libraries archivists are providing an opportunity for you to listen to "cool clips"-- podcasts of events, trivial and policy, in our Presidents' lives. Here's the description as it appeared in the Society of American Archivists October newsletter:

"Presidential Libraries Launch Podcast
Using technology to bring its unique holdings to the public, the Presidential Libraries of the National Archives and Records Administration announced August 2 its podcast series, “Presidential Archives Uncovered.” It features audio clips from the libraries' collection, ranging from serious policy discussions between the President and his advisors to conversations among Presidential family members. In one of the audio clips President and Mrs. Nixon discuss the pandas' arrival at the National Zoo in 1972, following the President's historic trip to the People's Republic of China earlier that year. A new clip will be added each month. Audio is free and available on the Presidential Libraries' podcast website and at iTunes: Presidential Library Podcasts."

I'm not sure why we need the panda discussion or the one where Lady Bird calls Lyndon on August 4, 1964 (Gulf of Tonkin crisis and discovery of the bodies of civil rights workers). And I could do without little synthesizer ta-da at the beginning. Also, voice overs by women need to be selected more carefully for tone, volume and diction. I had to increase the sound for her introduction, then set it back for the content. I didn't expect a Barbara Jordon (who spoke with the voice of God), but . . . she sounds as timid and tentative as the gal who let Sandy Berger steal documents from the NARA. New information on the Berger thefts here.

A few steps shy

Yesterday was the final day for my 5,000 steps a day on my pedometer. This would be duck soup for my friend Lynne, who is already up to 2 miles a day, outside in the snow, just 6 weeks after major abdominal surgery. She's amazing; I'm a wimp. Anyway, it's not really that tough, and with only an additional 1,000 steps a day, I would have made it to 150,000 (fell short by 32,807). The pedometer fell off so many times I finally started clipping it to my bra. That seems to work better.




So now I'm going to set it for 6,000 steps a day or 180,000 by Feb. 5.

Do you have clutter?

I was going to download this scale of clutter, but when I saw that it was 9 pages long and included newspapers stored in the oven, rodent dirt, snakes in the house, and rotting food, I decided it might be intended for someone with more than the usual daily build up of library books and print-offs from the internet. But interesting. I got to it from Tara Parker Pope's article in the NYT.

Too what?

Sister Told Jah always has an interesting take. Here she is on Obama's Iowa victory. Don't necessarily agree, but conservatives can disagree and stay friends.

As with everything else related to liberalism, it’s more about looking and feeling good about something or someone, rather than digging deeper to examine that person or issue’s complexities - or lack thereof. Obama’s lack of experience and possession of a solidly liberal record is going to get heavily scrutinized in the days, weeks, and months to come, especially if he makes it beyond the primaries. I think Rudy or Fred would be a good general election opponent against Obama because, considering how the media will/would be falling all over Obama like a lovesick puppy, a “new and improved” McCain or Romney would be too busy trying to paint himself as the Republican version of Obama rather than trying to distinguish themselves and emphasize their differences with Obama, tout their accomplishments, and discuss their ideas. I think Fred and Rudy, on the other hand, have shown, that they have no problems differentiating themselves from the pack.

Last night I had to explain to a young'n who was worried that she might have to choose between a Muslim and a Mormon, that Barack Obama is not a Muslim. He's a member of a UCC congregation in Chicago, the same branch of Christianity which baptized her. I met his pastor this summer at Lakeside--fine young man with just enough call and response and politicizing to keep things lively. There are lots of reasons not to vote for him--but being a Muslim isn't one of them. And as for Romney being a Mormon? You couldn't get a piece of dental floss between the theological beliefs of Bill Clinton and George Bush, but you can drive a truck between the borders of their ethics and values. I will see them both in heaven. Go with the politician who lines up with what you believe is best for the country--that may not be a Baptist or Methodist or UCCist.

The truth about mandatory health insurance

This excellent article by Betsy McCaughey appeared in the Wall Street Journal yesterday. She writes about how mandatory insurance shifts the costs to the young (who are very healthy) from the old (who use the system much more). "If people in their 20s paid attention to politics and voted, politicans wouldn't dare try [mandatory] health insurance." I'm guessing the Obama Iowa supporters did understand--he got the younger Democrats, and he was mum on health care mandates. The heaviest users of the ER aren't the uninsured--it's the elderly who are already covered by Medicare and those with mental illness.

Also, nearly 75% of the increase in uninsured people in the USA since 1990 consist of newcomers and their U.S. born children, according to the Center for Immigration Studies, Washington, DC. Most of this happens in five border states--Arizona, California, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas. But newly arrived immigrants are less likely to use ER than US citizens.

Of the 47 million uninsured, nearly 10 million have household incomes of at least $75,000--they could have it, but they don't, for whatever reason. Another 14 million of the uninsured are eligible for government programs that already are on the books, such as Medicaid or SCHIP and all they would need to do to be insured is SIGN UP!

So that leaves 23.7 million--many of them illegals. And for that our candidates are hand wringing and hyping the election--so we can insure people who are here illegally. Read it and weep. Americans are so gullible.

Her Bio: "Dr. McCaughey is founder and Chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths (RID) – http://www.hospitalinfection.org – a national campaign to support greater infection control in hospitals and other healthcare institutions. Her research on how to prevent infection deaths has been featured on ABC’s Good Morning America, the CBS Morning Show, 20/20, Dateline NBC, and many other national television and radio programs. McCaughey’s writings on health, education, and the law have appeared in many national publications, including Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, The New York Times, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, and The Wall Street Journal. Her 1994 analysis of the Clinton health plan won the H.L. Mencken Award and the National Magazine Award for the best article in the nation on public policy." Some think she defeated HillaryCare of the early 90s, but we all know it went down in flames because of her unelected power grab. Dr. McCaughey also has written two books on the history of the U.S. Constitution (neither of which are in my public library, no surprise there).

Our U.S. history from a British point of view

My ancestors came to the USA in the 1730s and before. Their reasons (if I understand history and genealogy) were religious freedom (Swiss Mennonites), land ownership (some religious groups in Europe were not allowed to own property) and to get away from the hated British (Scots-Irish). In another hundred years the reasons were 1) cheap sea passages, 2) food shortages and bad weather in Europe, 3) the huge tax burdens and internal customs and duties killing the little guy, and 4) cheap land.

You won't find a better explanation of what was happening than that written by British author Paul Johnson. I don't know what is being taught today in our schools, but supplementary reading assignments from Johnson couldn't hurt.

"The bad weather of 1816, and the appalling winters of 1825-6, 1826-7, and 1829-30, the last one of the coldest ever recorded, produced real hunger. . . Then there was the tax burden. . .all Europe groaned under oppressive taxation . . . on the backs of poor peasants and tradespeople. . . By comparison, America was a paradise. Its army was 1/50th the size of Prussia's. The expense of government per capita was 10% of that in Britain. There were no tithes because there was no state church. . . There were virtually no poor. Europeans could scarcely believe their ears when told of such figures. . . No conscription. No political police. No censorship. No legalized class distinctions. . . The President's annual addresses to Congress were reprinted in many Continental newspapers until the censors suppressed them. . . But the most powerful inducement was cheap land. . . During the first 11 years of the 19th century, nearly 3,400,000 acres were sold to individual farmers in what was then the Northwest, plus another 250,000 in Ohio. . . The tendency was for the land price to come down--in the 1820s it was often as low as $1.25 an acre (the price my great grandfather paid in the 1850s in Illinois). The system worked because it was simple and corresponded to market forces. A history of the American People, by Paul Johnson, (HarperCollins, 1997) p. 289-293

Cross posted from one of my other blogs.

Tired of resolutions? Try confessions

This is the best list you'll see for 2007. Check it out.

No grown-ups allowed

The public library in my community has some terrific resources--not for Christians, not for conservatives--but great for those fascinated by entertainment, popular culture, audio-video, business, computer technology, scrapbooking, gourmet recipes, painting, travel and fiction readers. However, this is beyond the pale.

READ DOWN FINES
Tuesday, Janury 8 at 7 p.m.
Lane Road Branch Library

Got fines? Arrive at the Lane Road Library downstairs meeting room at 7 p.m. and read for one hour. You will receive a voucher for up to $8 off of existing fines for overdue materials. Be sure to arrive on time and with reading material in hand.

This is worse than last year's joke: a list of nine new "holiday/seasonal" titles none of which were about Christmas. "Up to $8?" Does that mean you might only get $6 off your fine if the librarian doesn't like your selection? What if your fines were for overdue DVDs? Can you watch a DVD for an hour if you don't read? What about one of those ear blasting, air guitar programs the library does for the kids? Can you bring a real guitar and work off your fine that way?

I don't know how many Upper Arlington library users have fines at a level that they are willing to work them off at minimum wage in the basement of a library on a cold January night, but I'm willing to bet, not many. And does the library get money by doing this? Of course not! It's just a way to insult and belittle people who owe you money. Why not, 1) write off the fine and take away their library privileges, or 2) send them a letter after dunning them with phone calls at dinner time, 3) Hire a collection agency if the fine is really large.

Upper Arlington has a median family income of $90,208, the average home is valued at $324,200, 98% of the residents are high school graduates and 68% are college graduates. A deadbeat is a deadbeat, no matter what the income. However, reading for minimum wage doesn't sound like it would have much appeal for this community.

Disclaimer: I do not owe any fines to UAPL. I do, however, owe OSUL $12, and have for about 15 years. They don't expect you to pay unless you owe $50. I did try to pay it before I retired, but there was no one in the business office that day who knew how to do it.

Friday Family Photo

This is for the cousins.


Our son-in-law was sick on Christmas Eve, so he didn't get in the photo. My son still hasn't found the woman I blogged about two years ago, although there was one who was pretty close (except she wasn't a Christian). Sigh.

Thursday Thirteen--13 highlights of 2007
in no particular order

1) I learned to really love vegetables. I was really packing on the pounds--I called it blogging weight because I got broad band and sat more. I started adding veggies in 2006 I rarely ate and didn't particularly like, grilling them in a little olive oil. Now in 2007 I have 5-6 a day for lunch, and love it! I'd never go back to sandwiches, chips, cookies and leftovers!

2) Short term construction mission to a Christian school in Ouanaminthe, Haiti. This was actually my husband's trip, but I benefited vicariously. He's still talking about it and will go again in February. He also found some new subjects for his paintings that aren't boats or barns.


3) Serving communion. We've served at the 8:30 traditional service for several years, and I enjoy it more than anything I've done at church, but this year I volunteered for more opportunities--especially during Advent. It really put the season in perspective. Although I loved singing in the choir, my voice remained squeaky and scratchy, so I dropped that.

4) We have a delightful calico cat, but volunteered to puppy-sit our daughter's Chihuahua while they vacationed in LasVegas. I think we had more fun than they did. Abbie was extremely well behaved and didn't act like a spoiled diva until the last day when she decided they weren't coming back.
5) Our fabulous September trip to Ireland with Alumni Holidays International with new friends from the University of Illinois and the University of Georgia. Except for catching a cold at the end of the trip, it was absolutely perfect.

6) Our two class reunions, Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis, and Mt. Morris High School in Mt. Morris, Illinois.

7) Get togethers with my extended family and friends in Illinois in July. Aunts, uncles, siblings, nieces, nephews, classmates, even a funeral for the mother of a childhood friend, and a visit to Forreston, Illinois to visit a war memorial.

8) Buying new clothes for the weight loss and pitching the old.

9) Redecorating the master bedroom to go with our new Amish made arts and crafts bed.

10) The visit of my husband's sister Deb and her husband John who live in Tustin, California. They were married in September 2006 and my husband walked her down the aisle with her other brother. Divorce separated them in childhood, but friendship brought them together as adults. It's never too late to be a big brother.



11) Fun times with special friends, some new, some long standing--Joyce and Bill, Wes and Sue, Sharon and Eric, Ron and Jane, Carol and Bob, and our SALT group and VAM group from church.

12) Watching my husband have so much fun sailing on Lake Erie. It's a late in life love, but a mistress I can tolerate and appreciate.

13) Learning some new technology tricks. My laptop as failed so often, I have learned to load the software myself. I've got an easier-to-use digital camera, and a few things still in the box that I will save for 2008 challenges for my brain.

Four million Canadians

are descendants of an estimated 100,000 orphaned and abandoned children sent by British care agencies to Canada between 1869 and 1939. Researching a "Home Child of Canada" is described in the Nov/Dec issue of Family Chronicle. At least 200,000 are descendants of Scottish orphans. Go to www.collectionscanada.ca to begin a search, if your grandparents or great grandparents were British child immigrants to Canada. From there go to immigration and citizenship, and eventually you'll get to home children (scroll down) which is divided into databases by years. Just reading the story in Family Chronicle brought tears to my eyes. It seems in every generation there is a social theory that comes to the forefront on what to do with unwanted or inconvenient children. Afterall, many of these children were street urchins before taken off the streets by various agencies and homes. Bonding them out as servants (some were adopted, however) seems cruel by today's standards, but not when compared to abortion of the unwanted or letting them wander the streets of industrial cities.

The article also includes websites for various British Home children's stories and accounts, such as Tweetybird, Marjorie Kohli, Perry Snow, Annie MacPerson, Maria Rye, Louisa Birt, Dr. Barnardo, Quarrier, Middlemore, Fegan, and Church of England and Roman Catholic. In many ways, if you are searching for a lost history, you are better off with this system because of ship records, medical records, and institutional records, than you are with the closed adoptions of the 1960s-1980s which deny adults any information not only about their own past, but their ancestors too.

If your library doesn't carry this journal, you can probably get a copy of the article on interlibrary loan. "Home children--British child immigrants to Canada," by Janice Nickerson, Family Chronicle, Vol. 12, no. 2, Nov/Dec, 2007, pp.16-19. The magazine's website said it does not sell back issues.

It's not because

We are not fat or
snug in our jeans because
we watch TV ads and
billboards pointing to drive-thrus.

If that were the case,
I would drink beer,
smoke cigarettes,
drive a Mercedes,
and take several kinds of laxatives.

If that were the case,
I would have shiny floors
sparkling sinks,
buy Titleist golf balls
and tickets for Broadway shows.

Say and blame what you will,
but I like the taste,
feel, and energy
on my lips and tongue.

For Totally Optional Prompt, "Letter to the editor" theme, January 3, 2008
Poetry button by Boogie Jack

Mother's Commonplace Book

Both my mother and grandmother clipped things from magazines and newspapers or copied them, pasting and saving them in notebooks. When I was a little girl I would sit in a quiet spot and read what she had saved--poems, articles, proverbs, sayings. Most reflected what she believed. The earliest clipping was 1946--a cartoon of Father Time holding the leftovers of WWII handing the bewildered Baby 1946 a broom with an apology--the latest 1999. My niece Julie copied her notebook and distributed it among family members. I just noticed tonight that the size notebook she used, about 6 x 8, is the size I use for my blogging notes.

This one she typed out, and titled it "The Watcher-Mother." I looked it up on the internet, and found it with the author's name and a different title. This poem doesn't reflect Mother's parenting style--but it's pretty accurate for her own mother.

Watching for Us [The Watcher-Mother]

She always leaned to watch for us,
Anxious if we were late,
In the winter by the window,
In summer by the gate;

And though we mocked her tenderly,
Who had such foolish care,
The long way home would seem more safe
Because she waited there.

Her thoughts were all so full of us--
She never could forget!
And so I think that where she is
She must be watching yet.

Waiting till we come home to her,
Anxious if we are late--
Watching from Heaven's window,
Leaning from Heaven's gate.

-Margaret Widdemer

Margaret Widdemer (1884-1978) graduated from Drexel Institute Library School in 1909. She wrote both protest poetry (some still used in women's literature classes) and sentimental verse. She also wrote novels and short stories. Looking through some things she wrote, I also see an interest in death and "the other side." The wife in her novel "Rose Garden Husband" is a librarian. In 1919 she shared the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry with Carl Sandburg.