Do you need a pet sitter

in the northwest Columbus, Upper Arlington or Grandview area (Henderson Road to Goodale)? Actually, this gal will run with your big ol' dog! She's very athletic. I saw her notice on a bulletin board at church and called. Turns out we know her, which makes me glad, because now I can recommend her to you, since she has worked for us (in another capacity--we don't have a dog). She's a member of Central Ohio Professional Pet Sitters and the Pet Sitters International. She'll watch your pet when you're on vacation, or if you need someone to come in while you're at work. Call 614-378-6706 for more information or to negotiate a time and place for her to meet your little sweety. She can water (or talk to) your plants and take in your mail too. As much as I enjoy having a pet, what to do when we're out of town is always a problem, so we depend on family and friends. But maybe that doesn't work for you. Check her out! A great gal.

4569

Pay day loans--more guilt from the rich

“The American dream is founded on the belief that people who work hard and play by the rules will be able to earn a good living, raise a family in comfort and retire with dignity.”

How many times have you seen a version of this? The latest was January 24, and the authors were Bill Clinton (a very rich man demanding thousands for his personal appearances who struggled to the top from nothing) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (also extremely rich who came to this country from Austria, also with nothing, and who married a Kennedy).

President Clinton's dream: play hard, hardly work, don’t follow rules for a good life--or any rules, don’t support my idea of what constitutes a family, live way above the level I would define as comfortable, and refuse to retire with dignity, running around trying for a 3rd term, embarrassing the country and his wife. President Clinton lives a different dream, and tries to pass it off as ours; but it's certainly our nightmare.

Now Clinton and the Governor of California think short term loans are THE problem for the poor. Lack of access to some things we middle class take for granted may be a problem for some--but the poor also don't use the interstates, suburban libraries, private jets or farm subsidies. That's not why they are poor (women who don't marry the father of their children are a major cause of poverty in the USA) and these quick-serve loans serve many outside Clinton's target. There is no shortage of BMWs, Mercedes and Cadillacs in front of pawn shops and loan stores. Some people do not use bank services for very pragmatic, personal reasons--hiding assets, living on the edge, gambling debts and bad money management, to name just a few. There is also no shortage of private and government agencies already set up to assist the poor who want to break out of this bind (see CFED, for example, which has a 25 year record).

A socialist/progressive’s version of the American dream includes the above, but inserts a phrase about the gap between groups and leveling differences. We have a marriage gap, not an income gap. Male heads of household have net assets of $82,400 compared to a woman head of household's $48,500. Hello! He's married; she isn't. If liberals really care about poor children, they would encourage marriage.

No article on poverty these days talks about housing, food or automobiles because the American poor have those--it’s only about inequality, the gap between classes. We import poor to use our services. They are called illegal immigrants. Then the Conservatives say the American dream has died because government regulations, taxes and labor unions have destroyed initiative, steal from the people who work hard, and ship jobs overseas.

The term “American dream,“ first appeared in a book written (according to Wikipedia) by James Truslow Adams entitled The Epic of America (1931).

"If, as I have said, the things already listed were all we had to contribute, America would have made no distinctive and unique gift to mankind. But there has been also the American dream, that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement." [p. 404]

Martin Luther King, Jr. said the substance of the American dream could be found in the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by God, Creator, with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." Today's liberals think that Happiness is the right. That "no gap" is the right. MLK said “The American dream reminds us that every man is an heir of the legacy of dignity and worth.” It’s a long way from Adam’s and King’s dream to a poor man’s store front payday loans and an even longer road from that to a foundation being set up to shelter a rich man's money.

Clinton’s article says poor working people are paying $40 to payday lenders and pawn shops to cash their checks. He wants to put a stop to this by opening up more banking opportunities (with money from his foundation). Wasn't it about 3 years ago that all the social, economic and political wisdom colluded to encourage poor people, including immigrants with false documents, to buy homes without investing anything, because owning real estate was supposed to be part of "the American dream?" We now call that dream the subprime nightmare. Now Clinton thinks the money not spent on payday loans will be invested in the stock market. Wow. That’s a huge stretch even for Bill--but doesn't it have a nice capitalistic ring to offset his socialist wife taking over healthcare? Then after we get them paying checking account fees, let’s issue them credit cards, "another day older and deeper in debt."

WalMart probably charges under $5 for the same service. But Democrats don’t like WalMart because it is successful, the real American dream. Some city councils and zoning boards work very hard to keep them from building in their jurisdiction especially if they provide jobs and services for low income people--like inexpensive clothing and appliances and banking services. Some states have passed special laws to keep WalMart out of the banking business.

I'm sure glad I'm not rich. I don't think I could carry around all that load of guilt--and BS.

2.7 million receive incorrect SSA-1099 form

Alert seniors were catching the problem before it came out in the press, Arizona, Texas, Florida, and Wisconsin. I first heard about it from a high school friend who usually sends out jokes and local news. He said his 1099 overstated what he'd received. He and a lot of others.

"Corrected forms will be sent to all affected Social Security recipients and to the IRS by the end of the month, Lassiter said. Because corrected information is on the way, he said the Social Security Administration decided not to tell the public about the mistake until asked about it by a reporter.

The bad forms over-reported the amount of benefits received by some Social Security beneficiaries who purchase Medicare Advantage or prescription drug plans under Social Security parts C and D, Lassiter said. The incorrect information is in Box 3 of the form, "Benefits Paid."

In some cases, Social Security computers preparing the 1099s included premiums for those plans paid in 2006 as part of benefits received in 2007, leading to the error, Lassiter said.

In Wisconsin, 61,511 bad forms were sent out. Florida had the most, 196,742, followed by Texas at 188,361, California, 157,288, and Illinois, 124,707. In all, the Social Security Administration sent out about 57 million 1099-SSAs."

I didn't see anything about Ohio. Our SS numbers have been stolen so many times by inept state and OSU employees, maybe the error-angels just by-passed us this time. They say it will cost $1 million to fix it. That's impossible, unless they think because they don't use stamps on the envelopes, it doesn't cost anything. I guess the additional forms and labor is just funny money. And of course, no one will figure the cost the citizens will pay their accountants to refile. You don't ever want to have mismatched numbers and give them cause to audit--that's really a big expense.

Why we eat "healthy" and just get fatter

There's an interesting article in the NYT Magazine called "Unhappy meals" about how we eat, focusing on nutrients instead of real food. In our house, we eat real food as much as possible (fruits and vegetables that haven't been canned or pickled or plasticized or dehydrated), but still rely on frozen for variety, and canned for sauces, beans, and those rarely consumed items. We eat bakery bread that is firmer and tastes better than either of my grandmothers could make. We eat small portions of meat, but do eat meat every day. I wouldn't dream of purchasing something labeled a "healthy snack." Read the label! It's like a chemistry text book. We aren't fat.

But what is the problem? Nutritionism may be the culprit, says the author. There are more government regulations, more nutritional studies, more diets (low fat, low carb, etc.), and there's a huge industry of journalists and authors (including the one who wrote the above article) who do nothing but write articles or publish books about what to eat and how to eat it. One nutrition/exercise/health web site I read recently said we are spending more on obesity per day than on the war in Iraq. I haven't crunched the numbers, but that's scary! Read the article (recommended by Janeen who combats food allergies daily in her family) and see what you think.

On the Women's Health Initiative: "But perhaps the biggest flaw in this study, and other studies like it, is that we have no idea what these women were really eating because, like most people when asked about their diet, they lied about it. How do we know this? Deduction. Consider: When the study began, the average participant weighed in at 170 pounds and claimed to be eating 1,800 calories a day. It would take an unusual metabolism to maintain that weight on so little food. And it would take an even freakier metabolism to drop only one or two pounds after getting down to a diet of 1,400 to 1,500 calories a day — as the women on the “low-fat” regimen claimed to have done. Sorry, ladies, but I just don’t buy it.

In fact, nobody buys it. Even the scientists who conduct this sort of research conduct it in the knowledge that people lie about their food intake all the time. They even have scientific figures for the magnitude of the lie. Dietary trials like the Women’s Health Initiative rely on “food-frequency questionnaires,” and studies suggest that people on average eat between a fifth and a third more than they claim to on the questionnaires. How do the researchers know that? By comparing what people report on questionnaires with interviews about their dietary intake over the previous 24 hours, thought to be somewhat more reliable. In fact, the magnitude of the lie could be much greater, judging by the huge disparity between the total number of food calories produced every day for each American (3,900 calories) and the average number of those calories Americans own up to chomping: 2,000. (Waste accounts for some of the disparity, but nowhere near all of it.) All we really know about how much people actually eat is that the real number lies somewhere between those two figures."

There are good ideas and points in this article--many we've heard before, but cherry pick. We are bombarded by anti-western this and that, and eco-friendly tidbits by the same journalists who wrote us into obesity! You need to be selective. In the 1970s women were literally pushed out of the home and kitchen; we've been getting fatter since. Now we're being reeled back. Barefoot and pregnant probably won't fly these days. But do try to eat real food.

If you can find it.

Theistic Evolution

Hank Hanegraaff, the Bible Answer Man, says the banner of theistic evolution that many Christians wave (God used evolution as His method for creation) makes as much sense biblically as the phrase flaming snowflakes.

You've probably heard of Lyme Disease--nasty stuff. Starts out as a rash, then fatigue, chills, fever, headache, and muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes, moving right along to painful neck, dizziness, heart palpatations, arthritis in the knees, sleep disturbances and fatigue (according to the CDC site). You get that from a tick bite--but what you really get is an infection from a bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi. You see, the tick doesn't just grow a bacteria--first it bites an animal like a deer or mouse that has it. Ticks don't fly, they can't jump on the deer, and they rarely move more than a yard from where they are hatched. So they have to wait for the "host" animal to brush up against the weed where it has spent its little smarmy life just waiting. Ever wonder how it (or other bacteria, viruses, microbes, etc.) developed over millions of years if the deer or mice or weeds weren't also evolving with the same plan in mind? Sort of like those little methane microbes under the ocean I mentioned yesterday, without which our global temperature would be 50 degrees higher.

I can see why atheists want to believe in evolution. But Christians? It really isn't even rational that an omnipotent God would bumble through billions and billions of years of mistakes and trial and error just so a deer could brush up against a piece of grass waving in the wind with a tick who never left home. To say nothing of the fact there was no disease until Adam sinned. So what were the little buggers passing along?

Dinner Menu

This was last night's, but was so yummy, I thought I'd post it in case I'm standing in front of the refrigerator some day at 4:30 wondering what to fix, and need to check my blog.

Oven baked, wild-caught salmon
Fresh greens, tossed salad
Freshly sliced cantaloupe
Peanut butter chocolate pie

The salmon was frozen from Trader Joe's (yes, of course, fresh would be better, but we live in Ohio, not Seattle). After it thawed (a bit--don't let it go all mushy on you), I set the oven for 375, sprayed a glass 8 x 8 dish, arranged the salmon in it, and put a light coating of mayonnaise on the salmon pieces, which I then sprinkled with some dried onion flakes, garlic salt, dill and parsley. Why not fresh herbs, you ask, but I never have those on hand.

While the salmon was baking (about 20 minutes) we had a small glass of wine and watched the evening (local) news. I don't like white wine, so we had Charles Shaw (3 buck chuck) Merlot, in my pretty 4 oz. stemmed glasses, which is just a perfect size for me. I get light-headed with 5 oz. I never drank wine before my heart surgery in 2002, but think it's probably much healthier than the chemicals in drugs. At least it's natural. In California this is called "two buck chuck;" in Ohio we pay import fees so it's $1.35 more per bottle. I can always tell the expensive stuff--doesn't taste nearly as good.

For the salad I used chopped red leaf lettuce for the base. Lettuce doesn't have much nutrition, so the darker the better--then grape tomatoes, shredded carrots, chopped organic mushrooms, fresh broccoli (and I use that term loosely, since I think it's been in the frig 2 weeks and God only knows when it was harvested and shipped) and sliced olives. The cantaloupe was cut just before I served it, but January isn't the best season for this fruit, so it wasn't like getting an Indiana cantaloupe in the summer.

Sounds really healthy. But ah, the dessert.

I used a purchased 8", chocolate crumb crust (Keebler), ready to use. The filling was made with 8 oz. low fat cream cheese, mixed with 1 cup of natural peanut butter (I use Krema), 1 cup of Splenda, 1 tsp. of vanilla, and about 4 oz. of sugar-free Cool Whip. It's stiff, so don't give up until thoroughly mixed. Put it carefully in the crust. Return to frig. When it set up a bit, I warmed up some sugar-free fudge topping, and made a design on the top of the filling. I serve that (very small pieces because it is terribly rich) with a dollup of the Cool Whip.

We both told me it was a great dinner. My husband always does, but I'm a bit pickier.

Hillary Clinton's legs

There's a good article in today's Wall Street Journal by Christina Binkley about "Women in Power"--their fashion tastes. Hillary is shown in that bright yellow blazer with black slacks we've seen on TV. Most of the other powerful women are shown in more feminine attire. Of the outfits shown, Condi's was way out in front with a very attractive skirted suit that showed off her lovely features, but looked smart. Nancy Pelosi's suit was a tad short and bunchy, and looking at her person you can't help but see she is a Californian with various enhancements and injections a part of her regimen. The PepsiCo CEO also looked lovely in an outfit that spoke to her heritage. Would it be racist to suggest that minority women in the US have a flare that the rest of us lack?

Yes, Hillary looks like I loaned her my legs, even though she's a pro-abortion, feminist, socialist who might go to the White House, not on the coat tails of her husband, but his fly. (There's some pretty good theory out there that she might not be where she is today if it hadn't been for Bill's indiscretions, particularly 10 years ago with Monica.)

But here's something to consider. She's probably healthier than the other candidates, both Republican and Democrat. Those of us with pear-shaped bodies (which almost always means heavier legs) are much healthier than those of us with apple-shaped bodies (usually they have great legs). If you don't believe me, google it. But I think she should get out of those omnipresent, omni-coverage slacks, and flaunt her healthy, solid, sturdy legs. Just lengthen the skirts a little, because wide thighs are just murder when you sit down on stage in front of an audience--even for skinny candidates.

Thursday Thirteen--13 steps along the American Way

I saw these points in Bret Stephens article about 2 weeks ago after the Iowa caucus. Whatever your party, religion or profession, I think you've seen or heard at least some, if not all, of these.

In the American way. . .

1) CEOs must perform on a quarterly basis.

2) Presidents and Congresses must reinvent politics in 100 days.

3) Generals should wipe out opponents in 100 hours without significant casualties.

4) Doctors should save life and limb every time.

5) Search engines should yield a million results.

6) What's bad will be made good, and what's good will be made great.

7) If it isn't great, it's down right awful.

8) There is a solution to every problem.

9) Trial is possible without error.

10) Risks must always be zero.

11) Every set back is a disaster.

12) Every mishap is the basis for a law suit.

13) Chronic impatience and complaining are just part of our culture.

The Band

What would your album cover look like? Try this. I found it at Ingrid's site. Her album is awesome.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random: The first article title on the page is the name of your band.

2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3: The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/: The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4. Use your graphics program of choice to throw them together, and post the result as a comment in this post. Also, pass it along in your own journal because it’s more amusing that way

Will you see your pet in heaven?

This is a great concern to many people, particularly the elderly who have been cared for and comforted by the companionship of a cat or dog or bird or other animal. Often it is the act of caring for and protecting the animal that helps the human. Our kitty brings us a lot of enjoyment, but she also brings out the best of our caring instincts and behaviors. Sometimes we just chuckle watching her sleep--the picture of absolute relaxation and not a care in the world. This is one of the better answers I've seen for this question.

The photo of the 3-legged shepherd mix and the mutt cat was found at Dog Friendly.com Somebody loves them a lot and I'm betting the animals return the favor.

Methane release in reverse

Interesting article at the Alchemist newsletter. Sounds like Archaea are a lot more important than polar bears. Isn't God amazing.

"Two microbes, known as Archaea, consume 90% of the greenhouse gas methane that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere from melting methane hydrates. However, these anaerobic microbes, which live in the ocean sediments, do so using a sulfur compound, methyl sulfide, rather than simply reversing the biochemistry of methane-making microbes. According to Christopher House and colleagues at Pennsylvania State University: "The Archaea take in the methane and produce a methyl sulfide, and then the sulfur-reducing bacteria eat the methyl sulfide and reduced it to sulfide," explains House. Understanding how these symbiotic organisms remove methane from the oceans is important because without them the average global atmospheric temperature would likely be warmer by about 10 degrees Celsius." (To convert Celsius (Centigrade) to Fahrenheit, multiply by 1.8 and add 32.)

Red jeans

Who knew? I thought colored jeans (except blue denim, gray, black or ugly) were out of style except for wearing around the house to clean, or to dash to the coffee shop in the wee hours of the morning. This photo is from the Ditto site; those aren't my legs, or fold marks (shouldn't they be ironed before the photo session?). Also, mine aren't flares or low rise. These cost $158. That's outrageous. It makes me flush to think about it. Mine are Ralph Lauren and I think I paid $3 for them at the Discovery Shop. Beautiful fabric and fit. Smug attack.

Speaking of colors, I mended some cotton gloves today. I'd been trying to think of something that work like a skinny darning egg, and finally came up with a fat colored marker. It's about the size of my index finger, which is where I always poke through. I don't like heavy gloves, but the thin ones don't last long.

Speaking of thread, I used a close match from a wooden spool from my mother's sewing cabinet. When's the last time you saw one of those? These spools belonged to my husband's grandmother, Neno, so I'm guessing they are maybe 60-70 years old because I've had them almost 50.

You know who you are

Someone I love is trying to quit smoking. I suggested he take one day at a time, and he assured me an hour might be a bit much. Then I saw this quote at Dancing Boys Mom. Is this great, or what?

I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once--Ashleigh Brilliant

I smoked a few cigs in college--had gained some weight. My roommate, daughter of a doctor, thought it might work. Stupid 60s. Fortunately, they tasted so bad, stung my nose, burned my eyes and made my breath stink, so I didn't continue. Can't imagine the attraction for those just starting. That's a lot of hurdles to try to look cool.

If only it were this easy

Si. No. Per piacere. Grazie. Prego. Parla inglese? Che? Vorrei vedere il cartellino dei colori.



Looking ahead to our trip.

What's a blog bar?

It's a way for the consumer to get involved--immediately. Computer terminals at the location (store, show, museum, library) allow real time input. I saw this at Trend Central via Library Marketing (her link didn't work; use mine).

"The Metropolitan Museum of Art is currently (i.e. Dec. 24, 2007, the date I saw this) hosting a blog bar, with eight computer terminals, at their current blog.mode: addressing fashion exhibition. The public can post their reactions to the show and ask questions which curators will respond to; in short, the blog bar is meant to “provoke commentary.” Excerpts of the blog will be included in the post-show book in order to document the impact of the exhibit and attendees’ participation."

I haven't seen a blog bar, but Sunday we did attend the final day of the Monet's Garden exhibit at the Columbus Museum of Art. It was very crowded. We weren't the only ones who waited for the last day. But I understand Saturday was even worse, with lines circling around the entry to the exhibit twice. We went right after first service at church, then stayed for lunch in the lovely restaurant/buffet designed by my husband many years ago. If CMA had had a blog bar, I might have commented how much more I enjoyed the American impressionists, because I liked seeing figures in the paintings. Blobs of color don't excite me too much. I probably wouldn't have "provoked commentary," except from my husband who doesn't do computers and would have been ready to move on to another exhibit, so it would have been a short message.

3WW--Three Word Wednesday

Today, January 23, the words are

Breath
Scattered
Tomorrow

For Mother, who died on January 24

Tomorrow she will be gone;
her breath scattered,
her words silenced.

Only her deeds will remain.

Bone posts 3 words on Tuesday night or Wednesday. The challenge is for you to write an essay, poem, thought, etc. using the three words, post that at your own site, then comment at the 3WW site, and the others who are participating. See you there. Or here. OK?

4554

His father's heart

The excerpt from Steve McKee's book, "My father's heart" in today's Wall St. Journal was riveting. I thought I'd forgotten most of that phase of Dad's life. How different it could have been for our family if he hadn't quit when he started to cough up blood.

On Sept. 30, 1969, 16-year-old Steve McKee watched his father die of a heart attack on the couch in their TV room. A lifelong smoker, John McKee had already been stricken by a heart attack six years earlier. But, unable to quit his three-pack-a-day habit, he made no lifestyle changes that might have prolonged his life. Deeply disappointed by his father's seeming surrender to cardiovascular disease, Mr. McKee -- now an editor at The Wall Street Journal -- set out to find the man who died before his son could know him. With this memoir, he sought to find a measure of understanding for his father, and anyone affected by smoking and heart disease. . . .

My father and my father-in-law both stopped smoking cold turkey as they began to move beyond the line of two packs a day. Dad was probably 36 or 37 when he began to cough blood; my husband's father was older, maybe in his 50s when one night out with his friends he started to open that third pack, he put it down and quit. My dad lived to 89; my husband's dad to 91; my husband's step-father, also a very heavy smoker who didn't quit, to 75; my husband's step-mother, also a smoker, died at 71 of lung cancer. All began smoking in their teens and really enjoyed it.

"My sister Kathy and I woke up every morning to the sounds of the same alarm clock: Dad's cough, his cigarette hack. Breath in. Pause. HACK. (Catch) Cough. They came in stanzas--three, four, five at a time, the second-to-last always the biggest crescendo." writes McKee

Oh, I remember that cough. We children had never known anything else but Dad's coughing. And the blue haze everywhere in the house if he was home. In those days, I didn't find the smell unpleasant like I do now. It was always a mix of after shave, hair cream, cigarettes and fuel oil. But what must my mother have thought? Neither of her parents smoked. Her mother was a health-nut--wouldn't even eat red meat, and she was always airing out the house.

Dad told me 40 years later that he wanted a cigarette for 20 years. When I was younger, I didn't think about that too much. But now I'm in awe of his focus, drive and determination. He was not always a pleasant person to be around when I was growing up. I wonder now if he just wanted a cigarette, if his head hurt, his eyes burned and his skin crawled for nicotine. My parents weren't social like McKee's parents. Dad dealt with people all day, 12 hours a day and a houseful of noisy children at night. And all the while, craving a cigarette, knowing that would take the edge off.

I won't be reading the book, but I'll remember it could have been me.

Link to the review is here.

Better safe than snowy

When I left the coffee shop this morning, there was about 1/2" of snow on all my windows, the mirrors, the head lights, hood, roof, etc. I only live 1/2 mile away. But I took out the brush and cleaned it all off. Most accidents happen close to home. I didn't any want loose snow to be picked up from the hood and plastered against my windshield or from my roof on to the next guy. Not everyone was as careful, so I had to watch them too.

Here's what's happening a bit north of us as of 2 p.m. today--looks like Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.

"GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - A foot of snow blanketed parts of Michigan and Wisconsin during the night, closing schools Tuesday and causing numerous traffic accidents. At least three traffic deaths were blamed on the weather in Michigan. Winter weather also was blamed for deaths in Oklahoma and Kentucky.

Snow started falling Monday and continued early Tuesday, piling up about a foot deep in western Michigan and up to 13 inches deep in some areas of southeastern Wisconsin. The snowfall started diminishing Tuesday in western Michigan, where the National Weather Service canceled a winter storm warning.

Nearly every school was closed in the Grand Rapids region."

Did you see that Baghdad had snow last week for the first time in about 100 years? That must have been exciting for the kids.

Omaha and Chickadee

The spell-check in my Outlook e-mail program wants to change Huckabee to Chickadee and Obama to Omaha.

Cat behavior

Rebellion. Yesterday I had my hands in the meat ball mix and the cat jumped up on the kitchen table and sat there looking at me. "Oh no. That's not allowed," I said. She looked at me and thought, "Oh yeah, and what are you going to do about it?"

Today my husband says he saw her on the dining room table. He told her to get down. She just looked at him defiantly.

Earlier today she was sitting in my lap while I was blogging. I started to absent mindedly pet her--maybe a little rough--while I was thinking. She raised her head and wrapped her jaws around my thumb, pressing gently. "Oh no. We don't bite the mommy," I said quietly. Our eyes locked. Hers narrowed. She let go.

I am alpha-cat.

Cleaner air

I'd forgotten about this until I came across it in my blog.

The black-out last summer (August 2003) that affected northern Ohio, Michigan and many eastern states, caused cleaner air. It sharply reduced the concentrations of ozone and sulfur dioxide. Maybe we could just shut everything down for a week every August and forget all the rules and regulations, if it is that easy.

Nah. The Democrats want to shut it all down, all the time, except for their private jets and big estates.

4549

DNA = Darn Nuisance Again

It's in our genes. Something in our DNA gurgles forth when we find a problem on the web. Talking with other librarians at the retirees lunch last Friday I realize I'm not the only one who gets sidetracked in the middle of researching something to offer the webmaster or IT staff some suggestions about broken links, links that misdirect, or bad printing advice. It just happened again, although not at a library or church site (where I usually suggest they at least mention the name of the town or city when giving the street address). This was a very lovely letter from Campus Crusade for "Rapid Deployment Kits" providing spiritual resources for our troops. Because my husband doesn't use the computer (and sleeps in longer than I do and I would forget this by the time we see each other), I wanted to print it. We usually consult with each other before straying from our list of parachurch donations.

To print a webpage I first do a print preview, because I hate getting that 3rd or 4th page with one line of advertising on it. But some web pages get around this by printing the pretty stuff (don't know the technical term) on page 1 after you've adjusted your printer to print only one page based on a "print preview." So after it spits it out, you have the colorful heading and no letter. For some reason, my printer (HP Photosmart, 3 in one, don't ever buy one), will then grab 5 or 6 pages if you try to turn that sheet over and print the "real" information, jamming as it goes, requiring a 5 minute hassle when all you wanted to do was donate $10 so a soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan will have a New Testament.

After the paper is unjammed and you have the letter (if you have librarian DNA), you then stop to send the company webmaster/IT staff an e-mail explaining how they could be more helpful to the ordinary reader who isn't 21 years old and gaming in their off time. It takes awhile to do this because the comment window is well hidden behind the FAQ which they want you to read first. Since they rarely acknowledge that their own stuff might be unhelpful, printing instructions are rarely included in an FAQ (also printers differ). The easiest thing is to have a "print only this page" or similar option, but that might leave out the advertising, so not all sites offer this. My prontomail e-mail is a mess to print. I have to copy and drop it in a word processing document or it tries all sorts of funny things. No matter what I comment on, they tell me to clear my cache.

I tried to order 2 books for my husband and his friend from Amazon. I had checked it out of the library for him (he also never goes to a library) and he loved it. Amazon offered me an additional 30% off if I'd get their charge card. I don't really want another charge card, but I thought it might be useful for ordering books. "Just a few seconds" ran into many minutes and gazillions of pages of tiny print I'm sure no one but a librarian would read, so I backed out of that and went back to my one credit card. Five times I tried. Five times it told me I didn't enter select the name of the card (but I did). So I backed out again, and decided I would just go up the street to Barnes and Noble and talk to a human being and tell them I wanted to order 2 copies of one title for 2 retired architects who want to own the wonderful book on architectural drawings that's available at UAPL.

But my DNA kicked in and I stopped to search for the comment window (not easy to do) and tell them about the problem. After 3 days, I finally got a response, apologizing for nothing, and telling me I hadn't selected the right card name (I only have one card so I think I know which company I use), or my number didn't match their database (why is my number in their database?) or other snarky suggestions. I wrote back that I'd done it all correctly and I was going to a bookstore, but their response was automated and said I couldn't reply to their reply! I will waste no more valuable librarian DNA on Amazon. They can just keep their old books.

When I shared with the retirees group my opinion on the lack of flexibility and awkwardness of "digital repository" software (many libraries use the same program which looks like no librarian ever sat on the selection committee) one retiree told me I should volunteer for the committee at OSU that handles that. A committee? No way! If I wanted to spend my life on a committee I wouldn't have retired.

Rant over. I feel better.

4548

"It's OK"

That was my husband's response when I asked if he liked my new dessert. He usually goes over the edge with compliments--truly one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. "Not fabulous? Terrific? Just OK?" I asked. "It's OK," he repeated. I must have been inspired after writing my Monday Memories about Mother's kitchens. It started out as a way to use up a little dab of fresh pineapple that was getting old, with some apples going soft, some coconut getting dried out, and some dried bananas of undetermined age, with what was left of the golden raisins and dried apricots, simmered in a little orange juice. I divided it into 6 pudding cups, cooled it, topped with sugar free Cool Whip and refrigerated.

He was watching me from the kitchen table make my sweet sour meat balls--one can each of sauerkraut, whole cranberry sauce and jar of chili sauce, mixed and set aside; then pour over lightly browned meat balls, which are made with whatever bread crumbs you have on hand, 2 eggs, 2-3 lbs or so of ground beef, and a package of Lipton onion soup. Bake for an hour at 375. Leftover sauce and meatballs freeze nicely.

Now, I'm convinced it's the Lipton's that really makes this, not the sauce--although it is very good. And I was out of Lipton's. Don't make this recipe if you don't have it. So I lightly grilled some fresh onions and mushrooms in about a 1/2 cup of bouillon and chopped them up fine. I suspect it will be "OK," but won't be fabulous.

After I finished the meatballs I had one of the fruit compotes. It was OK. Next time, I'll leave out the dried bananas.

All this culinary effort has made me sleepy. I'm down for a nap. Love retirement.

Three Word Wednesday for Monday Memories

Bone posts "three words every Wednesday (perhaps Tuesday night even, oh wishful thinker that I am). Your mission is to write something"--a poem, story, sentence, anything–using all three words. Then you leave a comment at the 3WW site letting people know they should visit your blog. For January 16 the 3WW cue was

Awkward
Kitchen
Obsessed

<--------------------------------->
My mother wasn't obsessed with remodeling the awkward kitchen in the homes my father bought, but her eyes widened and her fingers seemed to twitch when she first saw them. Every house my father found seemed to have an outdated kitchen--and sometimes Mother hadn't seen the house before he purchased it. The earliest home I remember at 203 East Hitt Street in Mt. Morris was not old enough to be horribly outdated--being perhaps 30 years old--but it probably received fresh paint and new curtains for the southern exposure kitchen window. The wall cabinets had heavy pull-out drawers. I remember dragging them out like stair steps for climbing to reach something. And then falling.

The first home in Forreston was a disaster--an old 19th century farm house with a cold water hand pump in the kitchen and an outdoor toilet. Mother rose to the challenge, remodeling the kitchen and installing a bathroom using one of the smaller bedrooms. When it was livable, dad bought a very nice brick home a few blocks away. It was well designed with beautiful woodwork and amazing closets (each closet had a closet), but the kitchen sink with a sloping drain board hung on the wall. Even a skirt to disguise it didn't help and the ice box (no refrigerator) was on the back porch. Mother went to work and built a standard sized sink cabinet and bought a refrigerator, and then built an eating nook with a wrap around bench which was all the rage then. But the bold colors of the late 1940s were her undoing. I think she clipped too many articles from Better Homes and Gardens, because she painted the linoleum deep maroon, and speckled it (sort of like the 90s craze for faux painting) by dipping a crumpled newspaper in white paint and patting it on the maroon floor. It looked like a frisky puppy ran through spilled paint and dashed through the kitchen.

In 1951 Dad bought several different houses in Mt. Morris, the first two being too small for a family of six, so he traded the second for our wonderful home at 4 South Hannah in March, again with an awkward, dated kitchen. I've used this photo before, but it's all I have to show the features--the old turn of the century wall cabinets to the ceiling with work space about 12" deep, radiator for heat over which Mother had built a shelf, a very tall window, and a wood table heavy with paint. What you don't see is the sink behind me hanging on the wall next to a bathroom door. The bathroom had been installed in what was probably the "carriage porch," and had four doors and a washer and dryer--a door to the backyard and the kitchen plus two other doors to the basement and the music room/dad's office. In front of me in this photo was a door and a window to an enclosed back porch which had cabinets for storage. Mother remodeled this kitchen in late 1955 and again we had a table with a built in bench (they really aren't very convenient, but were very popular then). She only enjoyed it three years.


Their final house in Mt. Morris at 315 East Lincoln Street was probably less than ten years old when they bought it in 1958, and although not dated, the kitchen was awkward and tiny. Out came Mother's box of magazine clippings and down came some walls. She hired a carpenter who built her dream design--a wonderful plan that lasted her over thirty years, and cost at least half the value of the house (which is probably why dad didn't sell it).

In the 1960s she began remodeling her parents' home place as a retreat center, a huge house between Franklin Grove and Ashton. She had tongue and groove cabinetry installed to match some of the original from 1908, and removed the cook stove to install a washer and dryer enclosed behind doors. It was a wonderful, bright and airy gathering spot.

Mom had one last kitchen to tackle before her final reveal. When she and dad moved into their retirement home in Pinecrest Apartments in 1997 their unit was quite new, but not convenient for a short, 80-something woman with a few opinions about kitchens. She hired a carpenter to build in sliding and roll out shelves in all the kitchen cabinets for easy access. She didn't do much cooking during her final years, but she was quite proud of her efforts and when her daughters and grand daughters visited, we appreciated again her knack for handling bad kitchens.

Pinky and the Sauerkraut Queen

About two years ago in one of my Monday Memories posts I wrote about how horse crazy I was as a child. In that story, I told about Pinky, a fat white pony who was blind. I've now heard from two other women, a bit younger than me, who knew Pinky. Luann found the blog because she was the last Sauerkraut Queen of Forreston, Illinois in 1960 (which I had blogged about), and Carol, because her family owned him. Carol writes:

Pinky was not an albino, he had brown spots. You probably don't remember but he had a spot on his back about the size of a saddle. He lived to be about 30 years old. He was the BEST. I'm glad you are making him famous, he deserves it. Many children learned how to ride on him. My folks got him when I was a year old and use to turn him loose in the house yard with me on his back. He was my babysitter.

Luann, the last Sauerkraut Queen, also learned to ride on Pinky. A great horse with a big heart. I'm hoping someone has a photo.

Update: Here's a photo of Pinky babysitting Carol.



Here's Pinky with a load of kids.

Eco-Shaker Architecture

Reading through this competition notice ($20,000 prize for gullible students with a valid .edu address), I thought: "But what if this is just part of the "normal" historical warming and cooling cycle? Like what put Ohio under a glacier a few thousand years ago. Like what made Lake Erie rise and fall, shrink and grow? What if you are killing off the very technology that will save us all from a very natural phenomenon?

The solution to global warming, according to Mazria, is two-fold. “Energy use is at the heart of global warming. There are two sides to energy use, supply and demand, so any viable solution must address both sides of this coin,” he says. On the supply side, Mazria advocates first for a U.S. and then a global moratorium on the construction of any new conventional coal plants and the gradual phasing out of existing coal plants by 2050. On the demand side, he advocates for adoption and implementation of The 2030 Challenge, a global initiative calling for all new buildings and renovations to reduce their fossil-fuel greenhouse-gas-emitting consumption by 50 percent by 2010, and that all new buildings be “carbon neutral” by 2030.

So you thought it was the automobile, or factories? No. Architects say 50% is caused by the building trades--and boy, are they going after the profits of rebuilding, renovating, refitting, recaulking, everything they can get their green fingers on! A global moratorium. I guess that means more power for the U.N. Sorry Africa. First no DDT to help with your health problems, now no energy for jobs. We've got ours. If you're black, get back.

Good for a cardio workout

even if you don't get out of your chair. My husband leads a group of ladies in an exercise class. He selects his own music, some of it pretty lively. I used to attend, but the church fellowship hall is carpet over concrete, and my hip joints didn't like that, so now I just walk outside. Anyway, back to the heading. Back in Skinny Jeans says this is a great cardio workout. I'll play it for my husband, but I'm betting we don't have the CD!

My heart rate went up just listening to it, which is why I don't go to the X-Alt services at church. Loud. Thump-de-dump. Noise. People think they are having a spiritual experience, but the noise is just changing their heart rate. But then, Bach can do that too. I'm listening to his concertos as I type. (Michael Murray, Bach, The organs at First Congregational Church, Los Angeles)

High pitched whine

The last few times I've used my wonderful Panasonic vacuum cleaner there has been a really ugly whine. Hurt-my-ears-whine. Call-for-service-whine. Cat-runs-out-of-the-room-whine. My husband mentioned that when he vacuumed his office yesterday that it seemed to be missing a lot. I looked for my replacement bag stash, and set out to change the dirt bag, because I had no idea when I'd last done that. I remember the "elderly" lady from whom we bought our summer cottage in 1988 (a little older than I am now) had a little note attached to the spare bags about when the last change occurred. Guess I need to do that. When I finally wrenched the front off that machine you should have seen the bag--it was about to pop and the attached opening was a solid mass of cat hair. I'll bet it weighed 5 lbs. With the new bag, there is no whine. Problem solved.

Now, another old bag whine.

I was the hostess today for a luncheon of 10 retirees from OSUL and I selected the golf course club house. As I came in I saw on the board that the special was "Shrimp panini with drink." Sounded good. So I ordered it. When we were served I got this very strange looking thing--looked like 2 pieces of toast. I opened it up and saw a few mushrooms. I called the waiter over and asked him if he saw any shrimp. So he whisked away the plate and took it to the kitchen. One of the guests had come in late, and when she already had her food and I had none, I could see that everyone else would be finished before I got my food. I flagged down the waiter again. He assured me it was being taken care of. Another 5 minutes. I waved him down again, and told him (I didn't really whine, but I was starting to flush), I would go to the buffet and he should cancel my order. Again, he assured me it would only be a few minutes. In my firmest voice I said, CANCEL THE ORDER. I'M GOING TO THE BUFFET TABLE. And I did. I got some veggies, a little fruit and some sort of odd sausage. When everyone else got a check I asked for mine and he apologized and said there would be no charge. He also told me that it was a misprint--it should have said "Shroom Panini" not Shrimp Panini, but it was written wrong, and he also said it wrong in announcing the specials.

So I have no idea what they were trying to fix in the kitchen while I waited 10 minutes. Funny thing is, he said three other people in the dining room had ordered the Shrimp Panini, and no one said anything!

Violence against children

Two articles yesterday about violence against children. Bullying and violence are going up in the pre-school age group--yes, little ones are smacking each other around, biting and bullying is on the increase among 3 and 4 year olds. The "experts" are baffled by the trend. Maybe it's because spanking has been outlawed? "Immediate consequences" may be best understood with a well-placed smack on the rear, but I'm sure that doesn't get approval today. Also, turning them loose to run around outside would probably do a lot and get them away from computer kiddie games.

But violence against the unborn is going down. Hurrah! Abortions are at their lowest level since 1976. The rate of women of child bearing age getting abortions fell about 9% between 2000 and 2005. They can't identify the reason for that either. Maybe it's the moral force of a pro-life president?

What really spooked the market?

This past year we've been discussing with our financial adviser about when to start drawing down the IRA, 401-k, etc. There is a formula, you know. You can't just start willy-nilly taking money out or you might have some serious tax problems. David said, "It depends on the election. The Democrats will raise taxes, and that will be bad for the market. But it will also determine if you start it in tax year 2008 or 2009." So why has the market dropped so rapidly--aside from all the media trying to talk the country in to a recession, that is? Business smells a Democrat president. The Democratic party is now the party of the rich, so I'm sure they'll take care of their own. It's all the rest of us, especially boomers moving into their retirement years with supplemental savings and pensions invested in the stock market who will suffer.

We already know the way to stimulate the economy is to cut taxes; it works every time, even for Democrats. But that doesn't penalize the successful, hard-working American, even if it does bring in more monopoly funny money for Congress.

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.