Wednesday, May 24, 2006
2504 Google jockeying
I saw this term at ACRLog and immediately recognized the behavior. "What is that? A Google jockey is a participant in a presentation or class who surfs the Internet for terms, ideas, Web sites, or resources mentioned by the presenter or related to the topic. The jockey’s searches are displayed simultaneously with the presentation, helping to clarify the main topic and extend learning opportunities." Now, I don't do it in a class, but I do it all the time when I'm reading medical or political or economic material and don't understand the context or terms, or want to know more about what the author has published. Sometimes I fall off the horse, forgetting that I need to get down to the wire.2503 Dan Quayle was right
Lloyd Bentsen was a good man, and served his country well. He was a brave WWII pilot, and served in many capacities. The media is not serving him well, however, by quipping at the end of every 20 second obit his comment about Dan Quayle not being Jack Kennedy. I think I heard 3 or 4 announcements of his death, and it was like a template--do these news guys all use rip and read script?Dan Quayle may well have been a much better man than Jack Kennedy--we'll never know. Jack might have become his brother Ted. One is remembered for being assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald and the other by the media. But it wasn't too long after Bush and Quayle left office, that Atlantic Monthly printed the article, "Dan Quayle was Right" by Barbara Dafoe Whitehead. In that article she reminds us again of the terrible toll divorce and single motherhood has taken on America's children. Quayle, you'll remember, was unmercifully ridiculed and demonized for taking on the fictional Murphy Brown, whose writers turned her into American's poster mom, who with friends and boyfriends, attempts to raise her child.
"On the night Murphy Brown became an unwed mother, 34 million Americans tuned in, and CBS posted a 35 percent share of the audience. The show did not stir significant protest at the grass roots and lost none of its advertisers. The actress Candice Bergen subsequently appeared on the cover of nearly every women´s and news magazine in the country and received an honorary degree at the University of Pennsylvania as well as an Emmy award. The show´s creator, Diane English, popped up in Hanes stocking ads. Judged by conventional measures of approval, Murphy Brown´s motherhood was a hit at the box office."
Ten years later in 2002 he was interviewed on CNN and asked if he'd say anything differently, and he said no, and he was pleased to see so many fatherhood initiatives.
Do you know that immigrant children are healthier than our native-born children? As our immigrants assimilate and take on our casual family relationships (i.e., shacking up instead of marrying), their children become less healthy. They have poverty, crowded conditions at home, uneducated parents, no health insurance, and probably a lot of stress in the home, yet they are healthier because they are more likely (in that first generation) to have parents married to each other and living together.
Dan Quayle was right. The left has continued to pillory him, panning his 1996 book, "The American Family; discovering the values that make us strong." Their only plan to fight poverty is more government programs, but Uncle Sam makes a terrible step-father.
Dan Quayle
Lloyd Bentsen
fatherhood
2502 The lamestream media
American Daughter is using that term; Rush Limbaugh calls them the driveby media. Many people still refer to our usual news outlets on TV, radio and newspapers--CBS, NBC, ABC, Time, Newsweek, CNN, etc. as mainstream media, or MSM. As I've mentioned before, "MSM" also means "men having sex with men" and is commonly used in the medical literature. So sometimes I get confused. Especially if the MSM are talking about the MSM.2501 Family stories
The prompt for writing group this week is about unusual family stories--either those we've been told or just knew about--did we know the people involved, is it funny, tragic or weird, is the story true and what can be learned from it. I poured through my notes, jogged my memory, and exercised discretion, but decided my family was incredibly boring or else they were gossips who didn't keep secrets for me to uncover. So last night I turned off the computer, went into the living room and said to my husband, "My family is not weird; can I use yours?" He was busy nodding off during a 1950s Dorothy Dandridge movie on TV, and was either startled into consciousness or insulted. "My family might have been on the cutting edge of societal change, but they weren’t weird."Tuesday, May 23, 2006
2499 Library notice
The public library sent me an e-mail that a book I requested some weeks ago is now available (I think it was in cataloging). It's called The Jasons; The Secret History of Science's Postwar Elite. I have no recollection of this book, but I must have read a review of it and decided I wanted to look at it. But what surprised me when I checked Amazon.com just now was, it told me that "Customers who searched for "the jasons" also expressed interest in: Men's underwear, low sling, no line (had a photo), Geeks of War, and Learning to eat soup with a knife." The last two seem to be books, but I was a bit surprised that Amazon is hawking skimpy underwear for men or that people looking for books on history of science are buying underwear at the same time! Now that I've read the PW and LJ reviews at Amazon, I'm wondering "What were you thinking?"2498 A pricey, but beautiful spring day
The furnace man just left. They wear little blue booties when they come in the house--isn't that thoughtful? His voice and mannerisms were exactly the same as one of my high school classmates--a jolly, talkative guy who I think is a closet introvert. It was sort of eery. It wasn't a repair, just a tune up, cleaning the heat pump and a new filter for the furnace. $166. I asked for a price on having the air ducts all swooshed out with that huge vacuum cleaning system furnace companies use. I remember we had that done once in the 34 years we lived in our house, and it is just amazing the gunk and dirt that is cleaned out. So it's based on the number of cold and hot vents. Walking through the rooms I counted 24, which will bring that to about $650. All the main rooms have a cold air return, but there isn't one in the kitchen or any of the baths and halls or laundry room.
And there's a guy on his knees on our sidewalk repairing the mortar between the flagstones which disintegrate with the freezing and thawing and the salt. That will be about $270 as I recall. And my husband called from the Lake and has an eye irritation, so I've made an appointment for him to roll into town at 4:45 and see the doctor. Money talks--it says good-bye.
2497 Happy Birthday NYPL
Answers.com today had this item, and since it concerns a library, I'm noting it: "Ninety-five years ago today The New York Public Library, at the time the largest marble structure ever built in the United States, was dedicated by President Taft in New York City. Designed by J. M. Carrère and Thomas Hastings, it took 16 years to build. Edward Clark Potter sculpted the two lions which guard the entrance. The building's main reading room is 78 ft (23.8 m) wide by 297 ft (90.5 m) long, with ceilings 52 ft (15.8 m) high. The library has nearly 2 million cardholders, and its collection grows by some 10,000 items a week."Usually when I'm visiting a city, I make a point of visiting the major library, however, the last time I was in New York was in the early 1960s, and wasn't yet a librarian. This summer we'll be in Helsinki and St. Petersburg, and I'm hoping to see some biblioteki (that's not a transliteration of anything in particular--just thought it sounded good).
My father's name was Howard William, and most of my life I thought he'd been named for his maternal grandfather, William, but late in life Dad told me he'd been named for William Howard Taft, who was president until 1913, and who dedicated the NYPL. Taft would have just recently left office when Dad was born (inauguration was March 4 in 1913 and Dad was born later in March), but maybe my grandparents didn't like Woodrow Wilson. The doctor forgot to register Dad's birth name at the county courthouse, so when he went to file for Social Security Dad discovered his birth certificate said, "Baby Boy" instead of Howard William. But both of his parents were still living, so the county accepted their affidavit that he was what he'd been called his whole life.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Call your Senators right now!
Don't wait! I have just phoned the Columbus offices of Senators DeWine and Voinovich and told them I do not want to have our country overwhelmed by millions of immigrants as S.2611 will do.Read American Daughter.
"The Senate is poised to pass S. 2611 this week, the giant amnesty bill that would change the demographics of our country and start us on the slide into rampant crime, drug culture, and third world poverty. Every thinking American is needed at this moment to phone, fax, or visit their United States Senators and oppose this legislation."
She links to the phone numbers.
Numbers USA provides these 10 years estimates:
20 million — Frist's bill (S. 2454)
25 million — McCain/Kennedy bill (S. 1033)
31 million — Senate Judiciary bill (no #)
32 million — S. 2611 (now on Senate floor, based on the Hagel/Martinez bill)
Remember the CIRA (S.2611) is conservatively 103 million immigrants in 20 years, according to Heritage Foundation research. Only about 20% of those will be "guest workers" the rest are their relatives and children. And they are stealing our Social Security with the blessings of the Congress!
Monday Memories of summer camp
Have I ever told you about summer camp?
Americans have had a long love affair with the camping experience, both the organized and informal types. My mother told stories of camping as a little girl with her parents in the 1920s. They packed their cooking utensils and tents and strapped the dog's carrier to the running board and headed for Nebraska where they owned property. The family also attended a summer camp in northern Indiana, Winona Lake.
When I was a child, my parents never camped or even took family vacations. However, our little town, Forreston, where we lived until I was in 6th grade, offered "summer recreation" about which I have extremely fond memories. Today it would be called a day camp. The school and grounds (there was only one building for both elementary and high school) were open for crafts, sports and games. We played volley ball and bat mitten in the gym, and soft ball and running games outside. We made those necklaces and bracelets from colorful plastic coated strings, wood burning projects, weaving, and pottery. There were team sports, but summers were pretty hot, so I remember also sitting in a circle under a shade tree for quiet games. I think I only walked 2 blocks to get there, and spent most of the day with my friends. It was all supervised by adults and I don't remember them being at all intrusive or controlling--they just organized things and walked around with clip boards (in my memory). For the 1940s, I think it was a pretty progressive way for the town to look after the children (and we all had mothers in the home since few women were employed, so that wasn't the purpose).
But the absolute best event was rolling our swim suits in a towel, boarding the school bus at the school and driving the 30 miles to Sterling (singing the whole way) which had an outdoor pool. I couldn't swim but I loved splashing around and screaming. Then on the way back, when we were all famished and reeking of chlorine, the driver would stop at a road side ice cream stand and all the wet, bedraggled children would stream out of the bus and get in line for a Sugar Daddy or an ice cream bar. Since I never got these treats at home, I probably thought this was the best part of summer camp!
But we children also went to summer church camp at Camp Emmaus east of Mt. Morris, IL. In 1950, when it had only been open a few years, the costs were about $11 a week and I blogged about it two years ago. My older sisters must have attended as soon as it was opened. We had campfire, singing, vespers, Bible study, crafts, and great food. Not only was I a camper there, but I was also later a junior counselor and a junior cook. The camp looks very much the same today, and is managed by Bill Hare, who was a camper when I was. My brother was the camp manager when he was in his mid-20s.
When I was in high school, maybe about 15 years old, I attended a School of Missions camp on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin with a few other girls from my community. It was interdenominational and more study oriented, although there were water sports. In the photo of our cabin I recognize me, my sister Carol (back row left), her friend Dottie (they were 2 years older), and my classmate Priscilla. We apparently brought dresses along to wear for church. That's me in the front with the hoop and white 2" heels (fun to wear on gravel streets). The other photo is Priscilla and me, dressed for typical camping activities.
My husband attended Boy Scout camp for several years when he was in elementary school. He doesn't remember its name (when he was little he thought his mother's name was "Mom" too), but knows it was near Indianapolis. His parents, always a bit ahead of the curve, bought a cabin in Brown County, Indiana, when he was about 14 years old, so from that point, the outdoor camping experience was to help with the Christmas trees and the family cabin.
This is getting a bit long, so I'll have to write about my childrens' camp experiences at another time.
Banner photography by Donald Kinney.
1. Ma2. Renee3. Lazy Daisy4. Lifecruiser
5. The Shrone6. Chelle7. Mrs. Cranky Pants8. Libragirl
9. YellowRose10. Ocean Lady11. novy
Camp Emmaus
summer camp
Forreston, Illinois
Mt. Morris, Illinois
2495 For peace and quiet
build your home next to a cemetery--an old cemetery--according to this Canadian story. New cemeteries aren't particularly pretty, and you might find some digging going on."Our" cemetery is having a 200th anniversary
When I was researching the Forreston part of my Monday Memories, I found this photo of a cemetery that was very close to our house where we children used to play. The girl scout troop was cleaning and weeding as a community service project.
2494 Senate Would Allow 100 Million New Legal Immigrants over the Next 20 Years
The Happy Carpenter doesn't think that's such a hot idea and has the following suggestions on immigration. I think they look pretty good after the first 2 which sound a bit impractical. If you stop by there be sure to scroll up and read the comment of his nephew.2493 Syphilis is on the increase
Is there any way they can blame President Bush? It has happened on his watch. From 2001-2004 the rate increased to 2.7 cases per 100,000 population, up from 2.1 in 2000. The CDC say this is a result of more gay sex, and the rate is increasing particularly among blacks. For whatever reason, the medical world calls this MSM--"men having sex with men." Since most people think MSM means Main Stream Media, I think they should find a new acronym, or just stick with gay sex. Syphilis is actually going down among women, and often they are getting the disease from bi-sexual men. Bi-sexuals are called "non-gay-identified-MSM who have female partners," or NGI MSM in this article. No pun, but that's a mouthful. Perhaps the rate is going down among women because more men are not pretending to be straight and thus not leaving women with their little gifts.
The article also said physicians under report syphilis and even when it is reported there is a "challenge of locating sex partners about whom limited information is known." In the real world, we call that casual sex or extreme promiscuity. Also, according to the CDC, syphilis and AIDS are often linked and the internet is contributing to the problem. (JAMA, April 26, 2006, taken from MMWR 2006:55:269-273)"Over the past several years, increases in syphilis among MSM have been reported in various cities and areas, including Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Southern California, Miami, and New York City. In the recent outbreaks, high rates of HIV co-infection were documented, ranging from 20 percent to 70 percent. While the health problems caused by syphilis in adults are serious in their own right, it is now known that the genital sores caused by syphilis in adults also make it easier to transmit and acquire HIV infection sexually." Triad Health Project
syphilis
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
gay sex
CDC
Sunday, May 21, 2006
2492 Libraries probably aren't allowed to report this
A librarian is asked about finding the sexual offender site on the library computer. Here's what happened:"A young woman approached LHL to access the database. She was guided to a computer and into the database. LHL discreetly retired to the desk.
The young woman came back. "I can’t find him in this thing. He said he was in there!"
LHL said, "Well, let's check if he is in the general offender database."
"He'd better be," she said. "He SAID he was in the computer."
LHL found him and pulled up the entry. The young woman went berserk. She pulled her little boy over to see the screen, pointing at it and hollering, "Look, there he is on the computer! That's his name! See?" She was laughing and hugging her son, obviously happy to have found him.
Her next stop was to find an arson charge for the same man. This seemed to be even more exciting because it had a mug shot. More laughing and hugging.
LHL was stunned. I was stunned when she told me. It was as though her boyfriend was a celebrity because he was "in the computer".
See? This is why saying that parents need to decide what's good for their children in libraries (like my public library) is a can of worms. What do you do when the parents are totally irresponsible?
This odd case is reported at Feel-good librarian.
2491 What's Cindy Sheehan up to these days?
Making money off her dead son and dishonoring his memory, some think. Fighting against the war that took his life, others say. Read this website devoted to her and her personal appearances and see what you think.An interesting subtext to this website is the "aging left" archive. Meeting with Cindy must bring back the memories of another war protest when they were young and virile (and of the millions of Vietnamese we abandoned and left to die or be "reeducated.")
Cindy Sheehan
2490 New notebook time
My new notebook has pretty roses.
I blog a lot, but in going through the old one, I found 40+ topics I had noted, but either wrote about something else, or decided against it.1)Karen Schoemer's book, "Great Pretenders; my strange affair with 50's pop music." This article about how she meets and admires Pat Boone was in American History, March 2006.
4) Poetry in medical journals, Cancer prayer. "Hope is sometimes a puddle/of stale rainwater for a parched mouth. . ." Marc J. Straus, MD
9) Movies that got it wrong.
11) Rituals of our lives.
12) Childhood obesity--watching mothers pick up their children at pre-school.
13) 13 things to lie awake and worry about (for a Thursday Thirteen).
14) Automobile advertising--photo doesn't match the small print.
15) Textbooks in libraries.
16) What I remember from the 70s.
20) End of life laws in Britain.
22) $150 billion--Americans paid to tax preparers and accountants for help with taxes
23) "Sometime we get manuscripts from dead people. I don't mean the living dead, though we get those too." Poetry editorial, March 2006.
25) Letters to the editor; put downs and set ups. [This one's practically finished--I'll have to take another look on a slow day]
26) Did I ever tell you about my Mustang? [for a Monday Memories]
27) Social changes in our society with self-employment/at home employment.
28) Cigna ad "Benefits of caring."
29) Dumbing down curricula to raise performance of low-income and immigrant children.
30) Verizon's content guidelines--seem to be much stricter than churches, TV, libraries, etc.
31) The gene that protects against alcoholism
32) OSU Lantern ad--is this ethical?
36) Do adverbs matter? darkly striking, smiled sweetly, closely followed, probably true
38) Two men sharing a loaf of cinnamon bread [this was for Coffee Spills]
39) Bush's tax cuts--capital gains revenues have increased by 79.9% 2002-2004. Total income slice going to the richest 1%, 5% and 10% of Americans is lower than during the Clinton years.
40) Lots of real estate ad stories, like the furnished 2 bdrm in Bayfield overlooking Madeline Island with fireplace, deck, kitchen, for $190,000.
42) Ilaria Montagnani and kick boxing.
43) Government growth under Bush. (sounds like a gardening story, doesn't it?) Biggest growth in gov't regs is in Security and Exchange Commission, FDA, IRS and ATF--we've got 66,000 more snoopers. Gov't regs are costing us about $8,000 per household.
44) Poetry editor of JAMA is Charlene Breedlove--she published a poem by Joannie Strangeland. Am I the only one who finds that funny? Pseudonyms?
And to think I have a box of these old notebooks--all with stories hoping to be written. Instead, they languish in blog hell.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
2489 America’s Diabesity Problem
There’s a word my spell check flags. DIABESITY. It's a combination of two words--one disease and one condition--diabetes and obesity. Dr. Val Jones at Medscape.com this week says:"America's diabesity problem is not about moral failure, laziness, or lack of effort. It's about the wrong philosophical underpinnings. We have fallen for the idea that there is a quick fix for everything -- especially weight loss. We look to fad diets, extreme athletics, diet pills, and surgical interventions as a miracle cure for all of our problems.
We must make a philosophical frame shift towards a rehabilitation model of weight control. Why rehab? Because rehabilitation involves a long-term commitment; an acknowledgment that the opportunity for weight regain will never go away; and that an individualized, multidisciplinary approach has the best chance of success.
Rehabilitation literally means "the restoration of lost capabilities." It is a hopeful word, because it presumes that individuals have the capacity to improve, to walk farther, feel better, maintain a healthy weight, and add life to years. Rehabilitation medicine physicians use an integrative, holistic approach to wellness. They coordinate teams of physical therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, psychologists, and nutritionists to help patients meet their goals. For this reason, I believe that rehab specialists are the best equipped to provide the kind of complex, long-term solution that is required to reverse the diabesity epidemic. Let's rehabilitate America!"
Why does this concept make me feel so uncomfortable? Is it the "We must. . ." phrase that makes me envision even more government fingers in our food and athletic socks? I don’t think rehab is a positive word for most people--not if you've ever suffered through restoring a shoulder after rotator cuff surgery, or arm mobility after a mastectomy. And yes, I'd say looking for a quick fix is a type of laziness, Ms. Jones.
I'm a bit heavier than I'd like to be--maybe 15 pounds, and to be honest, it isn't fast food, it is just f-o-o-d. Too much, too often. There. I've said it. I'm now walking 2-3 miles a day, but I also just made a peanut butter chocolate pie. I won't gobble it down in one sitting--I'll only have one small piece a day--my husband will eat half. And I'll eat it--gasp!--because it tastes good. It tastes a heck of a lot better than exercise feels. Move more + eat less works every time. No team, no therapist, no counseling. There. That's my philosophy, Ms. Jones.
obesity
diabesity
exercise
health
2488 Notice to Ohio Restaurants and Contractors
I am sick to death of hearing our local business people whine that they can't find American workers--no, not find them, what they say in Ohio is American workers won't work as hard or as long as the Mexicans. Well, fellas, just keep it up because the unions are salivating just waiting to get ahold of your fine Mexican roofers and rough carpenters, and you won't be paying them $8.00 an hour then. You may be saving money on the front end, but the rest of us are paying on the back end. And when you've given the country away? Then what? How about I stroll into a restaurant or show up at the job site wearing one of these?
If you're hiring illegals, you too are an illegal, the only difference is you know better and you are a citizen.
Illegal immigration
Friday, May 19, 2006
2487 Why can illegals get Social Security and I can't?
"The Senate voted yesterday to allow illegal aliens to collect Social Security benefits based on past illegal employment -- even if the job was obtained through forged or stolen documents." Story here.I wonder if I got Mexican citizenship and snuck back across the border, I'd be able to collect my own Social Security?
Because my pension is from state teachers (STRS Ohio), I can't collect either my SS or the spousal part of my husband's. I think the NEA really ought to look into this, although I know it would rip out their liberal souls to do it. And yes, I'm well aware this happened under Reagan; that doesn't make it right to give criminals with forged IDs and SS numbers benefits and deny them to me.
Would almost serve 'em right if it was my SS number they stole! They couldn't get a dime.
Illegal immigration
Social Security
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