2007 Lucas, Brandon and Josh

On my way back from the Mill Run Church yesterday I was stopped at an intersection for a light and read for the first time what I thought was just a large Christmas greeting. There were three white Christmas trees with gold halos, and a large banner with photos of Lucas, Brandon and Josh, apparently killed by a drunk driver on Christmas Day, 2004. So I looked it up when I got home.

"Joshua Worthington, 19; Lucas Carmean, 19 and Brandon Kent, 21, all died instantly when the Jeep Wrangler they were traveling in was struck head-on by a man who was driving the wrong way on Interstate 71 in Columbus near the 17th Avenue exit.

According to Columbus Police reports, the accident occurred at approximately 3 a.m. Christmas day when a vehicle driven by 28-year-old Donald Lee Richardson of 2205 Dresden Street, Columbus, was southbound in the northbound lanes of I-71 between Hudson Avenue and 17th Avenue and struck the Jeep carrying the three Grove City men. All three were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident."

Richardson had already been convicted on two drunken driving charges and had been arrested for a third for a hearing in May. I followed up the story but lost track of it after June 2005 when he was out of the hospital and sitting in jail awaiting trial. Ohio has crappy drunk driving penalties.

2006 Where there's fire there's Morels

I'd never heard of Morels, a prized, spungy mushroom until 1993 when my cousin Mel Johnson of Byron, IL contributed a recipe for steak and mushrooms to a family cookbook I was compiling. He explained in it how and where to find Morels: "Morels can be found near decaying elms, south of Byron, Illinois in mid-April." That's a pretty big territory, so I suspect Morel hunters don't give up their secrets easily. Almost the entire state is south of Byron.

In the most recent (summer 2005) issue of Agroborealis (School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences, Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks) it was reported that Alaskans were expecting a bumper crop of Morels because one to three years after a fire, they are abundant, and 2004 was the scene of many forest fires. This article, in pdf, has some very clear line drawings of Morels and the poisonous "false Morels." In addition to the scientific information, the article includes some recipes.

I'm just in love with agriculture magazines, and this one is always a delight. Not every article is on-line, but enough are that it's an interesting read.

Seven deadly sins in the workplace

This advice comes from an article on library managers, but I think they are universal--some even apply to volunteer positions or church committees. When I listen to complaints about the workplace whether it is a hospital, a ranch or a sales environment, I hear these same complaints. A list of sins and strategies are at FreePint Newsletter, a really neat newsletter just filled with bits of information on many topics, all focused on information providers.

Micromanagement

Lack of communication

Fostering divisiveness

Abusiveness

Failure to listen

Avoiding conflict

Taking credit for others' work

"FreePint is an online network of information searchers. Members
receive this free newsletter twice a month: it is packed with tips
on finding quality and reliable business information on the Internet.

Joining is free at <http://www.freepint.com/> and provides access to a
substantial archive of articles, reviews and events, with answers to
research questions and networking at the FreePint Bar."

HT Peter Scott.

2004 Bird feeder tid-bits

If you have a bird feeder in your yard and enjoy watching them from the window, here's a list of eight things you should do to keep it safe, including telling your neighbors what they should do. Good luck, especially with the one about keeping rodents away. Rodents love bird feeders. Excuse the pun, but I don't think it will fly.

It would be so much easier and safer if people just wouldn't feed the birds and ducks. Then the birds could return to eating natural food sources, helping the environment by controling insects and weeds, and you wouldn't be contributing to spreading Salmonellosis (a bacterial disease), Trichomoniasis (a parasitic disease), Aspergillosis (a fungus causing pneumonia and bronchitis), and Avian Pox (a virus causing warts).

Here's a neat, inexpensive contraption to keep birds away from a food supply, and I suppose it would work with a garden area too. It was designed by Janet Schmitz of Union Grove, WI and submitted to the National Hog Farmer for its Aug. 15, 1988 issue on Inventions. She says, "We were having problems with barn swallows and various other birds in our finishing barns and around feed bins. We were concerned about the potential for spreading disease. I took some aluminum baking tins and nailed and/or glued some wood lathe to the backs for support." These reflectors move in the air current and in the sunlight they are very irritating to the birds. But a side benefit writes farmer Schmitz is that it entertains the pigs. In 1988 this cost about $1.40. Probably $3.00 now. I like the little piggies she apparently painted on her invention. A very creative lady.

Even 18 years ago, farmers had an institutional memory, probably passed down from grandpa, that you don't want diseased birds around hogs (flu epidemic of 1918). But I don't think it's a good idea to have bird waste and rodent pests around your yard and patio either.

2003 I will not look in the free box

Reciting that mantra three times as I walked through the parking lot and into church yesterday didn't work. The service was fabulous--Pastor Jeff preached the best sermon on justification I've ever heard (this is my most favorite theme), so with donut hole in hand I headed for the library. Of course, I ate it first, since food isn't allowed. Just one peek in the box. How could it hurt?

And I came away with two fairly substantial books. Anne Graham Lotz' 2003 title, "My Heart's Cry," and "The art of reading scripture," an Eerdmans title, 2003. The Lotz book, in hard cover, I assume was withdrawn from the church library because several years ago the women's group used this and they may have bought multiple copies. She is Billy Graham's daughter and in my opinion, the best preacher in the whole family. The Eerdmans title is probably a donation, and the librarian didn't select it.

On the outside chance that someone donated it directly to the box and the librarian didn't see it, I'll take a look and suggest it if I think it is useful. I suspect they know their audience, and this isn't a book most will read. Looking inside at the acknowledgements I see it is a volume of essays of a "four year conversation," and one they DIDN'T include was on the visual arts (included a woodcut from the essay). So. . .

2002 Reinventing the image of God

Week-end edition of the Wall Street Journal has an interesting interview with Leon Kass, former chairman of the President's Council on Bioethics, by Bret Stephens. It begins with a discussion of Hwang Woo Suk, the South Korean researcher who has admitted to fabricating cloned stem cells. The media were complicit in the fraud, he believes.

"As far as Dr. Hwang is concerned, Dr. Kass is merciless, and he fires grapeshot: "Scientific fraud is always revolting, but it is fortunately rare and, in the end, truth will out. But in this case, American scientists and the American media have been complicit in the fraud, because of their zeal in the politics of stem-cell and cloning research and their hostility to the Bush funding policy. Concerted efforts have been made these past five years to hype therapeutic cloning, including irresponsible promises of cures around the corner and 'personalized repair kits' for every degenerative disease. The need to support these wild claims and the desire to embarrass cloning opponents led to the accelerated publication of Dr. Hwang's 'findings.' . . . We even made him Exhibit A for the false claim that our moral scruples are causing American science to fall behind."

The article also includes his concerns about performance enhancing drugs, psychotropic behavior modifying drugs, life-span increasing drugs, and living wills. Read the article here.

2001 Report of Commission to Strengthen Social Security

About four years ago, December 2001, The Report of the President’s Commission "Strenthening Social Security and Creating Personal Wealth for All Americans" was issued--it had 256 pages. Of course, we all know that it is now languishing, and not even President Bush seems too excited about it. However, that isn't what I wanted to tell you. Surprise.

I happened to find it in the CyberCemetery which is where old committees, commissions, departments and agencies are buried. CyberCemetery is part of the Federal Depository Library Program, created through a partnership of the University of North Texas Libraries and the USGPO to provide permanent public access to the Web sites and publications of defunct U.S. government agencies and commissions.

Let's say, for example, you wanted to know who the chair of the 9/11 commission was, but you didn't remember the right title. The search window will accept, "chair 9/11 attack." And it finds "The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States" and it finds 170 pages for you to look at, probably because the chair's name appears in the side bars so frequently.

Using quotation marks to define your search, such as "food pyramid" instead of food pyramid, will get you closer to the defunct committee or commission report you want. The second phrase will find the word food and the word pyramid anyplace in the document. It's a wonderful way to waste time. By keying in "agriculture" I learned that the first Iraqi aircraft used after the war was an Mi-2 helicopter from the former Saddam Hussein’s military, refitted to spray date palm trees. That came from a news release of The Coalition Provisional Authority, now defunct--I think. I tried to download its history, and my computer failed. Ghosts in the cemetery?

Quilt Show Photos

I went back to the Mill Run Church this afternoon with my digital camera and took some pictures. I don't have a great camera and am sort of inexperienced at this, but I hope it will give you the idea. There are about 40 pieces, wall hangings, quilts, and pillows in a show described here.

This is a close-up of "Lyle's Letter to Santa." You can see the 7 year old's handwritten letter on the Ohio Star, bordered with fabric reminiscent of the early 20th century.

This is a close-up of the hand drawn squares done by children in Sri Lanka after the Tsunami which were pieced and quilted here by our quilt ministry to be returned to them after this show.

This is a family history quilt using photo transfers and it has matching pillows.

The texture of the cantaloupe is achieved by the different depth of the stitching. This is a small wall hanging.

The show is at The Church at Mill Run, 3500 Mill Run Drive, Hilliard, OH 43026, and it continues through February 24, 2006. The church web site is http://www.ualc.org

Quilting
Quilt shows

1999 A Japanese English Homemade Reality Show

This young lady accosts people in Japan and gives them an instant English lesson. It's called YouTube. She's actually pretty good. I don't know if she arranges with her "guest" ahead, or not, or who is holding the camera. I've looked a few others on YouTube, and this enthusiastic English teacher is definitely the best of the batch. I also link to Badaunt, a New Zealander who teaches English in Japan. Wonder if she watches this?

HT Biblioblog who finds this addictive.

1998 Happy Orthodox Christmas

Yesterday was Christmas for a huge number of Eastern Christians. So I was googling to see how it was celebrated. Things aren't so great for Kosovars, Serbs, and Romas, despite the well wishes of the season. I didn't understand this region's ethnic battles when we were at war there in the 90s, nor WWI or WWII. But this I do know: Ethnicity trumps religion every time, whether it is Ireland, the former Yugoslavia or Iran/Iraq. These items are from a Greek on-line newspaper, but I noticed some of them at other sites using a standardized news feed.

Serb president says no independence for Kosovo
BELGRADE (AP) - Serbian President Boris Tadic said in an interview published yesterday that he will never accept independence for Kosovo. “As far as I am concerned, I will never sign any decision granting independence to Kosovo,” Tadic told the Glas daily. He said the solution for Kosovo should result from a compromise. He added that the Belgrade delegation will seek to defend “Serbia’s national interests.” “We will use all political and diplomatic means to defend them,” Tadic was quoted as saying.

Roma
The UN mission in Kosovo urged a community of Gypsies to leave lead-contaminated camps in northern Kosovo and move to a former French military base. About 560 Gypsies, also known as Roma, have lived for more than six years in three makeshift camps in northern Kosovo near an industrial area polluted with high levels of lead. The contamination poses a serious health risk to the 125 families living there, the World Health Organization said. The UN and others have described their plight as one of the region’s worst humanitarian problems. (AP)

Visit
Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian prime minister handed out sweets and sipped the local firewater with Serbs yesterday in a rare visit to the dwindling Serb community on Orthodox Christmas Eve. “I came here to see how you’re doing, how you live, and to wish you a Happy New Year and Merry Christmas,” Bajram Kosumi said as aides carried in bags of sweets and chocolate for the children. (Reuters)

1997 Small Comfort

Don't you think the troops get awfully tired of the nonsensical phrase, "We support the troops, but not the war." How many gays would be happy to hear from parents and friends, "We support you, but hate your sexual identity and believe it is a sin," or how many artists want to hear, "We support your decision to be an artist, but my God, that thing's ugly; what does it mean!"

So although I'm sure the troops were happy to meet with the VP, think what some support from home would mean in bringing this thing to a close.

1996 Obedience

Our Women of the Word (WOW) study this winter at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church (UALC) is Priscilla Shirer's "He Speaks to Me." This is a Lifeway publication, so if you are familiar with their DVD/video + workbook format (Beth Moore), you know the drill. I had to leave after the DVD yesterday to hang the quilt show, but I think Priscilla is a dynamic speaker. She fully engages with her audience. So far, her examples don't speak to me (about small children), but at 66, I'm not the target audience. However, this morning in preparing day 1 of week 1, I noticed on p. 10 this phrase: "obedience requires sacrifice," followed by her examples of serving family before her own desires, time with the Lord, not overeating, controlling spending and honoring her husband's authority. I'm not sure I agree--that this list could be called "sacrificial." Well, only in upper middle class America.

This is a list of joys, in my opinion. 1) She has a family to serve. So many don't. At my age, I know many widows. I visit nursing homes filled with people whose self-worth as Christians was built on serving others, and now are tasting the bitter fruit of no purpose to live. 2) She has a Bible to read and lives in a country where that is permitted and protected by law. So many don't. 3) She has enough food available that she can choose to overeat. So many don't, or may have only one or two staples to choose from. 4) She has a good income--a dual income in fact, which creates discretionary spending. So many don't. Their choices are all made for them--pay the minimum and hope the bill collectors don't call. 5) She has a husband who loves and protects her and enables her to have a Christian ministry. She is an African-American in a country where the marriage rate for blacks is 39%, down from 80% a hundred years ago.

Sacrifice? What do you think?

Cross posted at Church of the Acronym.

1995 Do it for the children

social security reform

1994 Bad guys and bad stuff

The Ohio State University is offering for the first time a course on Bioterrorism. The new course examines possible threats to public health, plants and animals. The undergraduate course, the first of its kind at Ohio State, was proposed by OSU's International Studies Program to help train students in the Intelligence and Security major.

To teach the wide-ranging course material, OSU Plant Pathologist, Charles Curtis brings together scholars from across the university including professors from Public Health, Plant Pathology, International Studies and the Food Animal Health Research Program. Guest lecturers include a former deputy assistant to the defense secretary for chemical and biological defense. Professor Curtis says that among the general population there's a lack of awareness about the potential biological threats that exis. Full story here at the WOSU site.

We had dinner with the Curtises about a month ago and I enjoyed learning about this course. I've known Chuck about 20 years and he is always on top of things and has a wonderful rapport with his students. I know this will be an important course for people intending to go into government careers.

Bioterrorism

A very long disengagement

is the title of an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, "Chronicle Review," Jan. 6, B7, by Mark Bauerlein. It seems I've heard this refrain before--even thought it myself about 20 years ago when my children were in high school--or maybe 30 years ago when they were just starting their formal education.

His article draws on a number of surveys which seem to all show that today's high school and college students are running on empty when it comes to history, civics, literature, arts, geography, and politics, all seemingly from a decrease in reading and an increase in blogging, chat rooms, surfing the net and e-mail. What they've gained in technology, they've lost in curiosity. They seem to be suffering from "acute peer consciousness."

Yet, my children didn't have technological distractions, these wireless apron strings to their friends, but even 20 or 30 years ago I was complaining that the school was emphasizing thinking skills, broad context, personal responsibility and a deeper understanding of life without expecting the children to have background and content put there by the school system. Memorize facts? Don't even think it, you old fashion Mama! They were expected to drop their buckets into empty pools and bring something up.

Yes, a very long disengagement--but I doubt that personal technology is the culprit.

1992 New Quilt show at UALC

Our church's Visual Arts Ministry, of which we are both members, hung a huge quilt show this morning. Well, maybe not huge by your standards, but there are about 40 quilts, and our arms get sort of tired. Ken said, "I think we're going to need to recruit some younger members" (we're all over 50). This show which will run between January 7 and February 24 at the Church at Mill Run, 3500 Mill Run Dr., Hilliard, OH 43026, includes rich, vibrant colors, traditional patterns like log cabin and pin wheel, family memory quilts with photo transfers, humorous hangings, contemporary and modern art, seasonal and historical pieces. These quilts are not for sale, and most represent many hours of love preparing a gift for family or friends.

One very interesting quilt designed and made by a member to memorialize her father is called “Lyle’s Letter to Santa.” In this design she focuses on a letter handwritten by her father to Santa Claus in 1915 when he was seven years old. So the center of the quilt is a star on which is his handwriting stitched with embroidery and a photo transfer. The star is called “Ohio Trail” and represents his ancestry; the ribbon, greens with candles and a bit of Victorian flair represents the era. Then at the bottom there is an embroidered sleigh, red on a white background, which represents the gifts he asked for in the letter, all in the sleigh. This is truly a magnificent tribute.

The Quilters Ministry is about six years old and meets monthly for fellowship and instruction. This year they made 14 quilts for Project Linus which is based in Illinois and gathers homemade quilts for sick or traumatized children. They've also made quilts for orphanages in Guatemala and China from which members adopted children.

Each year that we've hung this show I've seen spectacular growth and talent. These ladies are a real pleasure to work with. And the reason Upper Arlington Lutheran Church (UALC) has a building with an address in Hilliard is that we have three campuses, one in Upper Arlington, one in Hilliard, and one on the west side of Columbus. If the church founders had picked a spiritual name 40 years ago like Resurrection or Trinity or Bethlehem, we wouldn't have this confusion.

Quilting
Lutheran churches

1991 Found at Thursday Thirteen

"Novelist in training" has some great cat photos. I found her at the Thursday Thirteen, and she also has a photo blog mostly of Utah where she lives in addition to this one. Great stuff. Don't know where she is in novel land or if she's published yet. I'll have to look further.

1990 But they have strict gun laws

Banks are robbed in the European Union at a rate of one every 90 minutes, and they are becoming increasingly violent with explosives and kidnapping employees. Seems they are also using knives and hypodermic needles.

There's a story in the BBC News, but I don't think it mentions the weapons, which I saw in another newspaper--Financial Times, I think. The BBC reporter seems to be concerned that greater security will cause the criminals to become even more violent. Must have been trained at the New York Times or WaPo school of terrorism reporting.

1989 Phoebe Philo Phalls Phrom Phashion

Phoebe Philo, 31, has resigned as creative director of Chloe, a women's wear brand and star performer last year in luxury goods.

She took a materinity leave a year ago and now wants to have time to raise her child, apparently. She's credited with having turned Chloe into a powerhouse, and joined the fashion company in 1997.

So I'm figuring in 1997 she was 22, right? Maybe she just needed a break from being an over-achiever and great success at such a young age.

1988 Secrets

These aren't really secrets--we all know them--at least intuitively. These are Investor's Business Daily "Ten secrets for success" which they developed after analyzing leaders.

Investor’s Business Daily’s Top 10 Secrets to Success

1. HOW YOU THINK, IS EVERYTHING:
Always be positive. Think success, not failure. Beware of a negative environment.

2. DECIDE UPON YOUR TRUE DREAMS AND GOALS:
Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them.

3. TAKE ACTION:
Goals are nothing without action. Don’t be afraid to get started now. Just do it.

4. NEVER STOP LEARNING:
Go back to school or read books. Get training and acquire skills.

5. BE PERSISTENT AND WORK HARD:
Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up.

6. LEARN TO ANALYZE DETAILS:
Get all the facts, all the input. Learn from your mistakes.

7. FOCUS YOUR TIME AND MONEY:
Don’t let other people or things distract you.

8. DON’T BE AFRAID TO INNOVATE; BE DIFFERENT:
Following the herd is a sure way to mediocrity.

9. DEAL AND COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE EFFECTIVELY:
No person is an island. Learn to understand and motivate others.

10. BE HONEST AND DEPENDABLE; TAKE RESPONSIBILITY:
Otherwise, Numbers 1-9 won’t matter.

I would have some problems with a few of these based on my experience and personality. First of all, I hate to set goals. I'm a problem solver. Don't give me pie-in-the-sky talk about 5 goals to accomplish before the next annual report. And don't we all know successful people who aren't particularly positive, are horrible communicators, and act before they have all the facts? They were certainly in my career field, and I even reported to a few. In general, I'd have to say I knew very few librarians or staff who were positive and upbeat about the future or their careers. There were always budget cuts and staff shortages to deal with. The sky was always falling. Negativism is pervasive in academe, except for the football coach when interviewed on TV.

And then too, I knew fabulous communicators with stunning personalities, super empathetic and warm, who couldn't work their way out of a paper bag. This was particularly true when I worked in the state government. But in general, the tenth one is essential in everything you do. Honesty is always its own reward. I'm also a big fan of #3 through #7. All in all, not a bad list--I saw it at the library today.