Beautiful lakefront church service today

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receive.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father through Jesus the Son,
And give him the glory, great things he has done!

Sung at the service by the lakefront, August 23, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-15v9iworAU

And now for the choral music (we didn’t sound this good).

Photo by Beth Sibbring

Lakeside cottages--late 20th early 21st century vernacular, pt. 2

21st Century
Early 21st century cottages at Lakeside Chautauqua, Ohio, a summer community on Lake Erie on the Marblehead peninsula. The first four are designed by Robert Bruce, Architect.

The Foley House (2002) is a “healthy house” for which light gauge metal was used for the floors, walls, and roof framing instead of chemically treated wood.  The design, although modern, is reminiscent of stick-built Victorian styles of 100 years before.  The wrap around porch has multiple skylights with clerestory windows along the great room for maximum natural light.

This 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, story and a half for Wes and Sue Kunze (2004) is my favorite Lakeside cottage—it’s small, fits the lot and neighborhood perfectly, has a pleasant open floor plan, and a delightful porch. This is a summer home.

This style roof is called a clipped gable, and the owners, the Blossers, specifically requested that in the design.  This story and a half home on Fifth St. E. and Elm Ave. has  1763 sq. ft., with four bedrooms plus a loft—it accommodates many people and has a lovely wrap around porch partially screened. Originally the owners used it as a rental, and only in the summer.
 
This 2007 photo of the Gurney house on 7th and Walnut faces a park and was designed for a steep lot and has a full basement with 2,063 sq. ft. living space and an open porch.  It is a year around residence.  After 5 years the owners were allowed to add a garage to the east (this is a coverage rule) , so the very large tree was removed. There are now 4  trees shading the house, and mature flowering shrubs so it would be difficult to see this much of the house  today.  

Facing Perry Park on 2nd St. with a wonderful view of Lake Erie, this home was new in 2015, and replaced a smaller brick traditional style home. Part of the large porch is screened, and part open, plus an open porch/deck on the second floor.  For many years a 3rd story was discouraged by the Lakeside Design Review Board, but so many of the newest homes have them, that  is apparently not the case today.  It almost dwarfs the beautiful stick Victorian next to it.

One of the first of the big ones going up with a 3rd story, this home facing Elm is reminiscent of Victorian styles. I think it was built around 2003.

This bungalow style was popular in the early 20th century, so this has followed that design of a gable roof with shed dormer with windows in threes and large pillars on the porch. The owners were adding a garage (5 year coverage rule) when I walked by in the summer of 2015, which probably means this was built around 2010. It’s a summer home.

This neat ranch style with a porch facing Oak Avenue instead of the side gives the perfect impression of many of the 1920s and 1930s summer homes, but with all the modern conveniences like indoor plumbing and central air and heat. Was built about five years ago.

This three story lake front “cottage” replaced a very handsome Dutch Colonial which had a large tree fall on it during a storm (see next photo) I’m not fond of this look, but it is the direction the newer cottages are going. Up. Big. Wide.
.
The early 20th century Dutch Colonial which was on the lot of the above cottage.

This one replaced a large 4 unit cottage we stayed in around 1976.  It has a similar style (see photo below) and size of the hip roof cottage it replaced and I believe it went up around 2013 probably first used in 2014.  Now a single family. Good view of the lake and the “most beautiful mile in Ohio.”

We rented this, north west unit above, as it appears covered for the winter weather. Right on the lakefront, so that can get very severe.  Site of Phil’s first fish catch.

This cottage on 2nd St. was new within the last 10 years, but has an interesting history.  It replaced an A-frame with a large deck overlooking Perry Park, a style not typical in this  area, however, that cottage had replaced a garage converted to a cottage about 100 years ago, which burned in a fire set by “rum runners” on the lake leaving 3 lots open.  I chatted with one of the owners (of a family) who lives in Arizona.

This home on South Oak above 7th was built during the past year, and I just noticed it on my walks this summer.  It has a low gable roof, with very clean lines and very little trim.  It reminds me more of a Florida home, but fits nicely in the newer neighborhood which has been created since 1999.

The owner of this cottage on the last lot on Oak told me it was built in 1999, so I’m grouping it with 21st century.  Although the story and a half style is a fooler, it has 5 bedrooms.  The current owners added a connecting area to the garage which they use for laundry and storage.

I think I noticed this cottage on Oak about a year ago, and actually don’t know if it is a complete makeover of an older building, or if it is completely new. It has gables to the front and side, with a shed dormer and open porch.  However, there is nothing left if the older structure is in there somewhere. I’ve never seen anyone there I could ask, but if I find out differently, I’ll revise this entry to correct it. Update: Aug. 3, 2016.  I finally saw someone on the porch, so I stopped and asked.  There had been a house on this lot and they did incorporate a few walls so that it was easier to get it approved.  It is one floor; no stairs to what looks like a second floor with a shed dormer.

This is typical of many of the 21st and late 20th new build vernacular cottages.  Lots of gables, double deck porch, shingle trim, with a nod to Victorian, but still with all modern conveniences.

This eclectic style on South Oak Avenue is reminiscent of some 20s-30s bungalow cottages that had gable roofs with shed dormers on the side or front; it has a nice enclosed porch but with part of it open.  80 years ago, that meant it was remodeled to accommodate some of our fierce storms, but today they are designed to have some protected and some open areas.

Strickland wants to stop executives from earning more—“It must stop now.”

I got a FB message from Ted Strickland (running for governor of Ohio): “CEOs and executives get higher bonuses and stock options, while middle class wages haven't budged. It makes no sense, and it must stop now.”

Well, Ted, let’s look at the government sector, since that’s your area. The federal government pays its employees substantially more than they would earn in the private sector. The current federal pay system:

• Pays hourly wages 22 percent above that of comparable private sector workers;
• Provides more generous health care and pension plans;
• Provides total compensation on the order of 30 percent to 40 percent above similarly skilled private sector workers; and
• Offers near-total job security and insulates federal employees from recessions.

The excuse for this is government workers are better qualified by education and skills, so perhaps that applies in the private sector, too? And CEOs have no job security--if the stock takes a dip, or she can’t compete, it’s out the door. Sort of like Democrat governors. (Strickland lost his reelection to Kasich).

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/07/comparing-pay-in-the-federal-government-and-the-private-sector

Sheriff Clarke on victimhood

Cultivating victims for voters must cause the party some burn out, because they've moved on to the less than 1% who are transgendered, less than 2% who are gay, while elevating the 15% who are Hispanic [made up word that is meaningless], ignoring the 38% of aborted babies who are minorities, and frolicking at parties with the upper 1% of entertainment celebrities who contribute to their campaigns.

Where is the United States in Biblical prophecy?

I've never been a dispensationalist or one to look for prophecy in Scripture. I know Jesus is coming back someday, and I know in whom I have believed. However, I've always wondered why the U.S. doesn't seem to be in any of the prophecies. Then I saw the 7th Planned Parenthood video, and I think I understand. A country/people/culture that supports this kind of evil or calls it by a benign name like "health" probably cannot make it to end times. It will implode all on its own.

Now take a look at this.  The fetal tissue for research battle has been going on since 1973, when the Supremes managed to find abortion in the Constitution. Reagan and Bush years eliminated federal funding, but that was reverse during the Clinton years.

West J Med. 1993 Sep; 159(3): 400–407.

Read the rest of the story  here. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1011357/?page=1

Kathie Lee on Frank

Happy Birthday, Stan Corbett

Happy birthday to my dear, sweet brother, Stanley. Nicest guy in the world, made so sweet by his 3 older sisters. He's not on Facebook, but I think he reads my blog. So if you know him,or if you run into him in northern Illinois, give him a shout out. Oh, the stories we can tell about this adorable kid. I used to feel sorry for my friends who had to put up with nasty brothers, because mine was such a dear. And he still is. Photo from 1944, Alameda, California and 2013 at the White Pines.

Human vivisection and Planned Parenthood

Video 7 is even worse.  Are you still contributing to this evil organization?  Are you still voting for your Congressman who refuses to defund it? Somehow, 50% of Americans don’t yet know about these videos.  Have they been living in a cave?

“‘Want to see something kind of cool,’” O’Donnell says her supervisor asked her. “And she just taps the heart, and it starts beating. And I’m sitting here and I’m looking at this fetus, and its heart is beating, and I don’t know what to think.” Referring to the beating heart of the aborted fetus, O’Donnell remarks, “I don’t know if that constitutes it’s technically dead, or it’s alive." The StemExpress supervisor then "instructed her to cut through the face of the fetus in order to get the brain."

http://www.lifenews.com/2015/08/19/7th-shocking-video-catches-planned-parenthood-harvesting-brain-of-aborted-baby-who-was-still-alive/

In the course of history, Antietam out weighs Gettysburg

We really had an amazing speaker for Lakeside’s Civil War week Tuesday and Wednesday, Dennis Frye,  the chief historian at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and the author of seven books and scores of articles on a variety of Civil War topics.  He did a  presentation on John Brown on Tuesday that was excellent and then today talked about the Battle of Antietam and why it was more important than Gettysburg.  He said President Lincoln was seen as a complete failure in September 1862 when everyone hated him and the Union was losing on five fronts, the 5th front being in Minnesota against the Indians who had decided to fight the U.S. troops. Even the abolitionists had turned against Lincoln because they believed he should move quickly to free the slaves.

People today complain about the treatment of Obama, but he read excerpts from the press of that day, and really, it was hateful and I don’t think today any newspaper would be allowed to say those things about a president.  The election (House) was coming up in October 1862 and if the Democrats won they would have cut off appropriations for the war and it would have been over—and no “United” States.  There was no election for Senate because in those days the states appointed senators. 

(Background on Harpers Ferry) But the Union troops won the battle of Antietam (24,000 casualties in one day) and that stopped Lee’s march into Pennsylvania, so public opinion of the failed presidency turned around and the Republicans held on to Congress in the election.  It also stopped England and France from stepping in.  Then on Sept. 22 Lincoln took political advantage of this win and issued the Executive Order for the Emancipation Proclamation.

Frye works for the Park Service and lives in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.  He’s quite dramatic and speaks without notes--I suspect he’s given these presentations many times. He’s easy to find on YouTube.  Early in the Antietam talk he noted that the farm land on which the battle happened was owned by Dunkers, but didn’t really explain the term.  Of course, I knew what that was--German Baptist Brethren, or today’s Church of the Brethren.  However, at the end of his talk he was dramatizing finding some bodies in an archeological dig when that battle field was still in private hands in 1987 (now a national park) with picking up bullets from the chest cavity of a long dead soldier., With a dramatic pause he said it was ironic that the worst battle in American history, a battle that changed the course of history, was fought on land owned by Dunkers who were pacifists.  Then he said, “I am a Dunker, my ancestors were all Dunkers.”  Quite an ending to a powerful talk.

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/antietam/antietam-2015/

Planned Parenthood and Democrats

He’s got the moves—maybe too many

I saw a great video on TV of a football player (actually was a professional dancer) performing in uniform with the cheerleaders. Great moves. Until he started with the crotch grab move. What's that about? It's been going on for years, with hip hop and rap and I see a lot of women like Miley Cyrus doing the "grab" too. Sometimes it's just a quick hand movement to draw attention to the area; sometimes with a thrust and a threat. Do they have the crabs (std)?

First time home buyers

I heard on the news today that the median age for a first time home buyer is 33. I was 22 when we bought our first home (a duplex in Champaign-Urbana so the renters could pay the mortgage for us). I think I know the problem. Today young people sell their lives to various tech companies for their phones, cable,Netflix , Facebook and Instagram and they drive nice cars. Fifty years ago we didn’t have any of that. TV, no cost but the set; phone, no cost but rent from the phone company and monthly charge; movies were something you went to in a theater, not that came to us; an automobile--we didn’t have one in 1962, but had a bike. Today’s young families spend so much on their tech contracts they can’t afford a mortgage. Oh, and at 22 we had no college loans to pay back. No one did. We bought an older home in a racially mixed neighborhood with mixed zoning. Today people would rather rent for 10 years with amenities, then start big.

The typical first-timer now rents for six years before buying a home, up from 2.6 years in the early 1970s, according to a new analysis by the real estate data firm Zillow. The median first-time buyer is age 33 — in the upper range of the millennial generation, which roughly spans ages 18 to 34. A generation ago, the median first-timer was about three years younger.

The delay reflects a trend that cuts to the heart of the financial challenges facing millennials: Renters are struggling to save for down payments. Increasingly, too, they're facing delays in some key landmarks of adulthood, from marriage and children to a stable career, according to industry and government reports.

 http://www.newsmax.com/Finance/StreetTalk/Older-First-Time-Homebuyers-houses/2015/08/17/id/670406/

Who is middle class?

There is no definition of middle class by the U.S. government.  There are approximately 117 million households in America, 36% of households fall in the poverty range (Under $15 – $35K annual income), 43% of households are between $35K to $100K. 16% are between $100K and $200K and nearly 4% are above $200K annual income levels as of 2009. After 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau confirms that the upper open-ended interval for which to assist in calculating the median income is $250,000, being that is the considered upper class income. So Middle Class could safely be considered above $35K and below $100K annual income levels, which is 43% of American Households.  The Black alone households total 14.7 million. Of that, approximately 38.4% are in the middle class, with earnings between $35K – $100K annually.  Their household income has gone down under Obama.  Because the Census looks at Households, the middle class, if shrinking, is doing so because of single women raising families with no husband. I’m no math whiz, but two incomes equal more than one income in most cases. Marriage of their parents who have finished high school, and have a job, any job, almost guarantees that children will not grow up in poverty. Not growing up in poverty, is probably the single best way to achieve Middle Class status, better than any socialist or government transfer program, which tends to keep people down and “in their place.”

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009, Current Population Reports, Consumer Income

Grace Lee Boggs, American radical, communist and author

We get Detroit PBS here at the lake, and I watched a fascinating documentary of Grace Lee Boggs, a Chinese American, and no matter what other descriptions you give her--feminist, radical or activist--she is an American old time Communist, always disappointed, but always hopeful. She married a black man and spent her life in various causes for African Americans and particularly Detroit. While she was marching, writing, and agitating for poor blacks, women and Asians in the U.S. soared ahead, and she seemed quite elderly before she noticed that Asian Americans are by far the most successful demographic in our varied population. In my opinion, that was capitalism, not communism, and it passed her by. She ignored her own heritage. She's 100 this year. I'd recommend the film, especially if you are from Detroit or enjoy 20th c. history.

Should we be rewarded for our good works?

I read the Columbus Catholic Times, a hand off from a family friend. I'm learning a lot. Just this week I noticed a difference in how Catholics and Protestants use the concept of giving. Catholics suggest "works of mercy" or "works of charity," and Protestants say, we will change poverty, schooling, politics, the environment, etc. if we just chip in $10 for the food pantry, or a backpack for a Highland Elementary school child, or cleaning up a town in Kansas after a flood or tornado. There's a huge difference. We are to give because Jesus gave first, not because we will end poverty (we won't) or make up for the terrible home of a child (we can't). According to Matthew 25, we will meet Jesus in those acts of kindness and service, so we do them without expecting the reward of change. Meeting Jesus is the reward.

Why is college freshman orientation two weeks?

This baffles me.  I’m sure I had freshman orientation when I was dropped off by my sister at Manchester College in the fall of 1957.  Was it a day, half a day, to learn the names of the campus buildings and admire the upper classmen and learn how to get our weekly quota of clean sheets in Oakwood Hall and learn the meal routine in the dining room (where I gained 20 lbs.)?  But that’s just not good enough for our delicate millennials.  They have to be brain washed—even if their families are liberals, it won’t be good enough.  The strings to normalcy must be cut and cauterized.  And for conservatives?  Wow.  Let’s hope their parents warned them.  This is from an excerpt on Facebook written by a dad attending parts of his son’s orientation.  He thought it couldn’t get worse, but it did . . .

They had a ceremony with speakers, singing by the glee club, etc. The kids received an inspirational coin, etc. I looked on the program. "Oh good. An invocation." Being the apparently naive person that I am, I was not prepared for what I heard. A "moment for prayer and meditation" turned into a cross between a confession and admonition about how selfish we are, how we've taken more from the earth than we give, and how we hope to heal the planet. it ended with "in your many names we pray." I opened my eyes, looked at my wife and rolled my eyes.

Afterward I reminded my son that he's in the midst of severe liberals. He smiled and agreed. It will be interesting to follow this over the next several years.

In politics, the truth can hurt you

When the left abused Romney for saying 47% of Americans don't pay federal income tax when explaining to donors why tax issues don't matter much, he was absolutely right.  It was a sound bite and he didn't give them a dissertation on why that is true. It's not a criticism, it's a fact, and it has to do with tax law, age of our population, the recession, etc. Here's some good information on how both parties have worked to make that possible. And it's still true today--revising tax laws still don't matter to many voters, but Bernie the Socialist will claim it does. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2012/09/18/who-doesnt-pay-taxes-in-charts/

Walk with a Doc

Do you sometimes think one person can’t make a difference?  Dr. David Sabgir, a cardiologist at Mt. Carmel hospital in Columbus, Ohio created the program “Walk with a Doc” to encourage his patients to get more exercise. The walks are an  hour long, with the physician leader giving a short, health-related talk. Dr. Sabgir started this in 2005.  Now, just 10 years later  the program has grown to 150 walks in 36 states and five countries.
http://walkwithadoc.org.

Celebrating 70 year anniversary of VJ Day

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII (we used to call it VJ Day) The Lakeside symphony orchestra performed a fabulous program last night that included a Marine honor guard, representatives of all the branches of the military during Hymn to the Fallen, the full orchestra, a chorus that included Lakesiders, the Terra Choral Society and local church choirs, two conductors, Robert Conquist and Michael Shirts who wrote some of the selections,  Shirley Stary as narrator, guest artist Joan Ellison of Cleveland who performed popular WWII era songs made popular by Vera Lynn (now 97), and a slide show to accompany the music. The scenes of the cemeteries for those who didn’t return were just stunning in magnitude. Tear and cheers, standing ovation. I can’t even fathom the amount of work and coordination to took to get all this accomplished with so many people, groups and jurisdictions participating.

Stand up for good health

If you are sedentary, just exercising after work won’t help much.

“The fight against sedentary behavior cannot be won based only on the promotion of regular exercise," he wrote. "A person walking while at work for 2 hours, standing for another 4 hours, and performing some daily chores at home for another hour will burn more calories than jogging or running for 60 minutes."

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/ExerciseFitness/52877

“Researchers attached a monitor to nearly 700 participants over 7 days and found that each additional 2 hours per day spent sitting was significantly associated with higher body mass index (risk ratio 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.05; P<0.001), waist circumference (Beta=2.12, 95% CI 0.83-3.41, or around 2 centimeters; P<0.001), fasting plasma glucose (about 1%), total/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ratio (5%), triglycerides (12%), 2-hour plasma glucose (4%), and with lower HDL cholesterol (0.07 mmol/L).”

Lakeside Farmer’s Market

Back from the Farmer's Market. I've already steamed and eaten the beet tops. I'm always surprised that so many people don't know how delicious they are and throw them away. Remove long stems, rinse carefully, put in a pan with lid, turn on the heat for about 2-3 minutes (I've never boiled them), put in a bowl with butter and salt, enjoy all those vitamins and minerals. http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2353/

Also got zucchini, home made strawberry jam, peach pie, corn (one ear), pint of blueberries in addition to the bunch of beets. Still have lettuce, tomatoes and onion from Tuesday.

Leg crossing and body alignment

Although I do a lot of walking in the summer (5-6 miles a day in short segments) I also do a lot of sitting in lectures and programs. Sometimes it takes several blocks to get the kinks out when I start for home. So I finally decided I'll need to break a very bad habit--sitting with my right leg crossed over my left knee. Yes, as always, I researched it, and was horrified to read all the back, neck and leg problems that causes. That's why your hairdresser always (at least mine) tells you to uncross your legs when you're getting a hair cut. Really throws everything out of alignment. But breaking a habit of 60+ years is very hard. Now, I'm only 12 hours in to this new life style change--hope it helps. My FB friend Debbie says that she gave it up after years of pain, and it was like a miracle!

When seated with your feet flat on the floor and both buttocks in contact with the chair, the force of the position is applied naturally and equally to the lower body.

However, when sitting with the legs crossed, all the downward force is applied to only one side of the lower body, concentrated on one half of the buttocks, the sacroiliac joint and the hip socket. http://www.sciatica-pain.org/sciatica-from-crossing-legs.html

http://www.mckinley.illinois.edu/Handouts/patellofemoral_pain/patellofemoral_pain.html

Cross-legged sitting resulted in a relative elongation of the piriformis muscle by 11%, compared to normal sitting and by 21% compared to the length of the piriformis when standing. It should be noted that the leg that was crossed over top of the other was resulted in the greatest elongation. The leg crossed over the top is in a position of
relative hip flexion, hip adduction, and hip external rotation. http://www.damienhowellpt.com/pdf/crossed%20legs.pdf

Wednesday night picnic at Lakeside

Not exactly a tradition for us, but we do go frequently.  Hot dogs with assorted relishes, macaroni salad, baked beans, potato chips, watermelon, and sandwich cookies.  It’s sponsored by the children’s ministry, and they have a great group of volunteers who cheerfully, set up, prepare, serve and clean up for huge crowds. This photo was taken last Wednesday with Jim and Marion, our friends from Toledo who’ve recently decided to sell their adorable cottage.

Then during Civil War week a few years ago (2011) we attended the picnic with Rod and Lynn from our church in Columbus.

Our friends Joel and Angela (2010)

Everyone gets plenty of food.

And Asian Americans?

I was just reading yet another demand for racial equality--actually, I didn't even read it, just passed it over because it’s more black/white hustlers and academics making the demands.The FBI and DoJ statistics are ignored; the marriage rate is ignored.  Why not look at another demographic that does better than whites in all areas?  Asian Americans excel in almost all areas that are tracked by our census and academics--household income, education, health, marriage, lack of poverty, BMI, low crime, etc. I just can't remember a demand by whites or blacks or Hispanics that they should have what Chinese or Japanese or Korean Americans have. Have I just missed those articles?

• Only 10.8% of Asians in America are considered obese, compared with the 33% of whites, 42% of Hispanics and 48% of blacks with a BMI of 30 or higher.

• Asian Americans are a smaller percentage of the population, so perhaps they get left out of the studies, but transgendered are less than .01% and they certainly make the news in health, wealth, celebrity, etc.

And immigrants?  A higher proportion of foreign-born (55%) than native (48%) households were maintained by a married couple (US. census). Among the regions of birth, householders born in Asia (63%) and Oceania (62%) were the most likely to be in a married-couple household. Within Latin America, households with a householder born in Mexico were the most likely to be maintained by a married couple (58%).Marriage is the strongest predictor of childhood poverty and adult crime; it's a much better safety net than anything the gov't provides.

Lakeside cottages—late 20th early 21st vernacular, pt. 1

Our first summer at Lakeside was 1974.  Things were pretty primitive by today’s standards, or even standards of the 70s, but there was an upswing.  There were a few cottages being remodeled, as Americans began to look for vacations spots closer to home to compensate for higher fuel costs.  Still, for many years we brought a fan with us, and a small vacuum cleaner—two items most cottage rentals didn’t have. In 1973 51% of new houses in the U.S. didn’t have air conditioning--by 2014 it was 9%. 19% of  1973 new builds had 2.5 baths, but by 2014 it was 30% with  an additional 30% having 3 bathrooms (not even on the radar in 1973). 64% had 3 bedrooms  and 23% 4 bedrooms 40 years ago, compared to 44% and 46% today.  So you can see we’re getting cooler, cleaner, and more separated even as families get smaller.  Mean square footage of a newly constructed home in America is almost 2,600 square feet. And so it also goes in Lakeside.  The new builds are BIG, granite counter tops in kitchens, multiple bathrooms, and AC.
https://www.census.gov/construction/chars/completed.html

20th century

This is on Oak, near 7th.  Not sure of the age, sign on the house says established 1988, and now for sale, nice side yard.

Not sure of the date, but this was a popular modular home of the 20th century. Also on Oak Avenue. Most of Oak south on the last street was developed from 1999 on.

Clipped low gable with lots of porch and screened areas.

Gable roof with dormers, nice porch. Steep hilly construction site.

A three dormer gable, modular home on Oak. Parsonage for the United Methodist Church.

Another modular home, probably year around.

10 writing tips

Injuries from falls vary by race, ethnicity and gender

I've had 2 bad falls in the last 2 years--one on the basement stairs, and one on my bike. No broken bones, but huge bruises one which will be permanent. So I'm paying attention and have learned some odd things: whites are more likely than blacks or Hispanics to have fall injuries and death; the death rate for men is 40% higher than women; the death rate from falls has gone up sharply in the last decade; 75 is a lot more dangerous than 65; there are over 258,000 hip fractures and the rate for women is almost twice the rate for men; hip fractures are much more common in white women than black.

http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Falls/adultfalls.html

• Twenty to thirty percent of people who fall suffer moderate to severe injuries such as lacerations, hip fractures, and head traumas. These injuries can make it hard to get around or live independently, and increase the risk of early death.
• Falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBI).
• About one-half of fatal falls among older adults are due to TBI.
• Most fractures among older adults are caused by falls. The most common are fractures of the spine, hip, forearm, leg, ankle, pelvis, upper arm, and hand.
• Many people who fall, even if they are not injured, develop a fear of falling.  This fear may cause them to limit their activities, which leads to reduced mobility and loss of physical fitness, and in turn increases their actual risk of falling.

In 2013, the direct medical costs of older adult falls, adjusted for inflation, were $34 billion.

Grapes are “the berries”

• Stilbenes
  • resveratrol
  • piceatannol
  • pterostilbene
• Flavanols
  • catechins
  • epicatechins
  • procyanidins
  • proanthocyanidins
  • viniferones
• Flavonols
  • quercetin
  • kaempferol
  • myricetin
  • isorhamnetin
• Phenolic Acids
  • caffeic acid
  • coumaric acid
  • ferulic acid
  • gallic acid
• Carotenoids
  • beta-carotene
  • lutein
  • zeaxanthin

In addition to the above-listed nutrients, grapes have also been shown to contain the hormone and antioxidant melatonin as well as unique oligopeptides (small protein-like molecules) that have anti-bacterial and other properties.

From WHFoods Weekly which has more information on these delicious, healthy treats.  I love August and September when I can get California grapes.  I love to mix them in green salads with sliced onion.  Yum.

Obama’s Iran deal depends on our stupidity to trust our President

Income mobility in the U.S.

Today I was looking at a report on income within quintiles, and see that in the bottom, about 50% move up, quite a few to the top. But in the top, many move down. Their real income went down. Median incomes of all taxpayers increased by 24 percent after adjusting for inflation. There's still a lot of mobility in the USA. However, the report was for 2007, and I checked and can't find anything newer from Treasury. I think it's just too painful for the O-admin to see it. Better to whine about a gap than praise mobility.

http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/Documents/incomemobilitystudy03-08revise.pdf

The key findings of this study include:
• There was considerable income mobility of individuals in the U.S. economy during the 1996 through 2005 period as over half of taxpayers moved to a different income quintile over this period.
• Roughly half of taxpayers who began in the bottom income quintile in 1996 moved up to a higher income group by 2005.
• Among those with the very highest incomes in 1996 – the top 1/100 of 1 percent – only 25 percent remained in this group in 2005. Moreover, the median real income of these taxpayers declined over this period.
• The degree of mobility among income groups is unchanged from the prior decade (1987 through 1996).
• Economic growth resulted in rising incomes for most taxpayers over the period from 1996 to 2005. Median incomes of all taxpayers increased by 24 percent after adjusting for inflation. The real incomes of two-thirds of all taxpayers increased over this period. In addition, the median incomes of those initially in the lower income groups increased more than the median incomes of those initially in the higher income groups.

Google the Donald to see who he really is

Michael Smith nails it again. (From his FB page)

I think Trump is a "new deal" (lower case) Democrat pretending to be a Republican, and so many are falling for it. Love Michael’s Crusades example:

"Trump is actually executing a brilliant strategy of deception. He has the establishment GOP thinking he is all Tea Party and he has all the Tea Party thinking he is the establishment.

For being critical of him, I have been called a neocon AND a right wing extremist within an hour of each other.

Trump is running a variant of the Iranian "Death to America" scam. His followers are reacting just like Obama did to the Iranian mullahs by saying, "they say that but that's not what they mean." If I wanted to destroy the Republican Party once and for all, Trump would be the kind of interloper I would send in.

During the Crusades, Christians held an impenetrable castle in Syria, commanding the main route through the area. The Krac des Chevaliers was built by the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem and it was so impenetrable that even though the Muslim army outnumbered the Christian knights 20 to 1,the 12,000 Muslim soldiers equipped with state of the art siege engines could not breach it. It was only taken over in 1271 via an act of deception when the Muslim general, Sultan Baibars, captured it by way of a forged letter purportedly from the Hospitallers' Grand Master that caused the knights to surrender. Of course, he promised the knights safe passage and then beheaded them after they surrendered.

I guess they were chanting "Death to Hospitallers!" but the knights didn't think they meant it. Once this fortress was lost, the Christians were completely driven out of the Middle East.

Trump has brought the same kind of letter to Krac des GOP with his populist, anti-political correctness shtick but his credentials are just as fake as Sultan Baibars' forged letter.

For goodness sake, I know we want a strong presence - but go do a little googling on Donald's former positions. He's a Democrat when he needs to be and a Real Republican™ when it furthers his goals. One thing he has never been is a conservative. Trump has made billions by doing whatever is necessary to make a deal work. This man has no allegiance other than to "the deal" and his current deal is that he wants to be sitting in the Oval Office.

We have 16 other strong choices (well, probably 10), let's not be so blind to the deception. We have good, strong candidates with all the upsides of His Hairness and none of his downsides. Trump is nothing less than Sultan Baibars in a bespoke Savile Row suit.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak_des_Chevaliers

One fit widow

What has not killed me has made me stronger. I’m a mother, a business owner, athlete, and a widow. I lost my husband, and then I lost 80 pounds and found that living through loss can change you – dare I say for the better.

How to help the grieving. http://www.onefitwidow.com/how-to-help-the-grieving/

Alzheimer’s disease

This could be turned around a bit.

1. Agree instead of argue

2. Divert instead of reason

3. Distract instead of shame

4. Reassure instead of lecture

5. Reminisce instead of saying remember

6. Repeat/regroup instead of saying “I told you”

7. Do what they can instead of saying “you can’t

8. Ask/model instead of command/demand

9. Encourage instead of condescend

10. Reinforce instead of force.

Week 7 Lakeside 2015

The programs this past week were excellent--at least for me.  I’m sure some people didn’t want to hear a Methodist seminary president from Moscow, but I enjoyed it.  I’d been a little puzzled about Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church--he never struck me as a Christian, being former KGB.  But as Dr. Sergei Nikolaev explained it, Russia recognizes 4 religions, Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist. The Russian Orthodox cooperate with the government.  It’s a draw, I think, who is infiltrating whom. And it was that way under the Tsars, the USSR and the Russian Federation.  The Tsar that invited the Orthodox to Christianize the Slavs was Vladimir—and that’s also Putin’s name.  Methodists, Pentecostals, Adventists, etc. are considered cults.  Even atheists consider the Russian Orthodox their church.  The afternoon programming was on China, Pakistan, and Thomas Merton and Pope John XXIII and Vatican II. A little syncretic, but since I watch so much Catholic TV, I’m a bit more tolerant of that than I used to be. It’s such a big tent, something we Protestants don’t have.  Next week is on travel and art—two of the countries (Italy and Egypt) I’ve visited, so looking forward to that.

Evening shows were also very good.  Of course, this is symphony time.  Saturday was ballet, and one of the best I can remember here.  Thursday with the Good Lovelies (Canadian) was a fun evening.  Last Friday, although not technically week 7, was the team from Happy Days, Donny Most and Anson Williams who played Richie’s friends on the mid 70s TV show “Happy Days.” It was fun to hear them tell stories of the cast relationships, try outs, mentoring and softball team. Both are very good singers, and Most has a night club act. We occasionally get Happy Days on retro TV stations, and saw one the next day.

On Wednesday I attended the Herb group discussion on the Lakeside daisy at the Train Station.  Very interesting.  It’s not actually a daisy.

That’s me in the second row end.

The man who saved the world, documentary 2014

Last night on TVO (Ontario public TV) we watched a riveting and scary documentary, “The Man who saved the World.”  It was like a reality show with actors doing the flash backs to 1983. If you get a chance, it’s well worth your time.

From Wikipedia summary:  “For a few crucial moments on September 26, 1983, Stanislav Petrov held the fate of the world in his hands.

When an alarm suddenly went off at Soviet nuclear early warning center Serpukhov-15, Stanislav was responsible for reacting to a report that five American nuclear missiles were heading toward the Soviet Union. Rather than retaliate, Stanislav followed his gut feeling and went against protocol, convincing the armed forces that it was a false alarm. His decision saved the world from a potential devastating nuclear holocaust.

Three decades later, this forgotten hero went on a spectacular journey to the United States, where he was finally acknowledged for his historic deed and found the strength to reconcile with his past. On his journey, he was greeted by Walter Cronkite as "The Man Who Saved the World" and met Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, Matt Damon, and Ashton Kutcher.

Shot on location in the former Soviet Union and the United States, The Man Who Saved the World shines a light on nuclear disarmament. It shows how precarious our world has become in the nuclear age and how our own belief in humanity and each other is the hope that we must foster in order to survive and thrive.

Stanislav Petrov was born Sept. 9, 1939  in Odessa, Ukraine. With a skyrocketing military career bringing him to almost every corner of the former Soviet Union, Petrov ended up as lieutenant colonel of the Soviet Air Defense Forces at age 43. On Sept. 26, 1983, Petrov was the duty officer at the command center for the Oko nuclear early-warning system when the system reported five nuclear missiles being launched from the United States Petrov judged the report to be a false alarm, and his decision is credited with having prevented an erroneous retaliatory nuclear attack which could have wiped out millions of people, or even the planet.  Sort of scary to watch as we wait to see what will happen when Iran has the bomb in a few months. Will there be anyone with his courage and training and intelligence in Iran, the U.S. or Israel.

How is this progressive, or women’s health care?

We know slavery has existed since the beginning of time, and a slave was not a considered real person by the owner or society. Even the U.S. Supreme Court declared it so. We know infants and children were sacrificed in the name of good crops, the monarch, angry gods and the state. But until the release of the Planned Parenthood videos, especially the 5th one, I don't think I ever really saw the evil of the complicity of our cooperation with pure evil that combined elements of both. The utter disregard for personhood and the belief that babies could and should be killed for the greater good of society. And this is the "progressive" era?

Ayesha Kreutz is a black civil rights/pro-life leader with a Facebook page.  By her own admission she’s had abortions, which she now regrets, but also knows she has been forgiven through the blood of Jesus.  Today she records a conversation on the 5th video. I think this is where the buyer and Dr. Savita Ginde are looking through a bag of aborted baby parts.

The following conversation between Ginde and the baby parts buyer

Ginde: So, also possibly a twin in there.

Ginde: This is part of the head.

Buyer: Oh wow. That – this is high quality.

Ginde: Yea. The nose?

Buyer: Yea, I see the mouth and everything

Ginde: Here’s the heart…My fingers will smoosh it if I try to pick it up. The heart is right there.

Ginde: A lot of times I‘ll get a full torso, spine, kidneys. You could send the whole thing or pick that apart.

Ginde: But sometimes with the residents, I tell them to poke around, and sometimes embryology will come full circle. Find all the parts you know…I think it’s pretty amazing.

Ginde: Do you want me to get rigid forceps or something so you can pull that out?

Buyer: Do you have like a little one?

Ginde: I don’t have a little one, but I have a big one. You can pull out a leg or something.

Buyer: Oh, and kinda just dangle it? Yea, why not?

Ginde: It’s a baby.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWQuZMvcFA8

A soldier’s farewell to the service (from his Facebook page)

Tomorrow morning will be the final day I lace up my boots and put on my Air Force uniform. I have now served my country in uniform for 14 years but it is time to go.

As I was out-processing today my wife (who will be leaving service next month) and I were asked numerous times "Why don't you just stay in one more enlistment for your retirement?"

It was somewhat difficult to answer with just on...e reason as to why I have decided to take off the uniform. Was it the pay and benefits? No not really (Even though I make less than $15 a hour which many people think the minimum wage should be!) Was it all the deployments? Ummmmm sorta of (I have been deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, and Bosnia just to name a few in addition to about 25 other countries)but I love my country and would always give my life defending this great nation for my family and friends.

So I just wanted to share a couple thoughts with all of you while I sit here thinking about my final day in uniform which will come at 0630 tomorrow morning. I currently am an AMMO troop. Our mission is to build bombs and process numerous other munitions to take the fight to the enemy. We pretty much put "Warheads on Foreheads!" But what I signed up for many years ago has changed dramatically. Even though our mission is to kill, we are more worried about upsetting someone’s feelings versus getting the mission done. We spend more time doing ancillary training then actually training. Even though I have a military drivers license I have to be signed off in another database to drive a vehicle and then have a competency card saying I know how to drive on top of that. That is just a few examples of why I have decided to call it quits.

And then we get to the bigger issue America. Can anyone tell me what the following names mean? Thomas Sullivan, Skip Wells, Carson Holmquist, David Wyatt, or Randall Smith? Or is this easier for you, Cecil the lion or Caitlyn Jenner? Yes we give more attention and respect to stars and animals then we do to those who continue to give their lives for this country.

I have met my greatest friends in the military. I have left home for months not knowing if I would return. I have written letters to my family just in case something happened to me while at war. I have looked war in the face and have taken the fight to the enemy. I have watched grown men cry and sat in the middle east wondering how big my kids were getting and how my beautiful wife was doing.

So would I do it again? Absolutely! But we as Americans need to realize what is going on and return to the greatest nation we used to be! If we as a society don't toughen up and grow thick skin then we will definitely loose the battle to those who wish ill will upon us. Perception is reality, and right now we are more scared of speaking our mind and hurting someone’s feelings versus doing the right thing.

In closing 99% of America knows Cecil the Lion and Caitlyn Jenner. Only 1% will know the other 5 names (4 Marines and 1 Sailor) who gave their lives in Chattanooga TN at the hands of an terrorist!

So tomorrow I will lace up the boots head into work shake a few hands and be on my way. Its been one hell of a ride. To all those I have met along the way I say "Thank You for your Service". To my brothers and sisters overseas right now "God Speed" and I will drink a beer for you all. Continue to put Warheads on Foreheads and you will continue to be in our prayers each and every night.

God bless America!

Women’s health?

Iran and Nazi Germany

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=u4FkNbtkgps

Fifth video of Planned Parenthood now released

“A fifth undercover video just released by the Center for Medical Progress shows Director of Research for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast Melissa Farrell discussing how abortionists "adjust" abortion procedures to keep entire baby bodies [cadavers] intact in order to best provide, and sell, wanted body parts. . . “

The judge that issued the restraining order had been a big donor to President Obama, who is a big supporter of Planned Parenthood, but apparently, it hasn’t restrained the truth about abortionists.

“Undercover investigators were given a tour of the abortion facility and show freshly procured baby parts that could be sold.

"We've had a really long day and they're all mixed up in a bag," an lab worker is seen saying while laughing out loud. “

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2015/08/04/breaking-fifth-planned-parenthood-video-shows-n2034355?

http://hotair.com/archives/2015/08/04/yesterday-democrats-voted-to-keep-making-you-fund-law-breaking-economy-distorting-baby-killers/