The Way I See It

Random News n Thots

2012-02-09T21:29:00.000-06:00

Random News

I have been working long hours this week.
Hours so long, that I have had no time for exercising or walking.
I have done my best to make time to walk Sally the Lint Pile as many evenings as possible.
Last night I squeezed a walk in between dinner and church.
Tonight we walked after doing the dinner dishes.

She waited patiently at the back door twice to be let out to do her biological business in the back yard.
A
She earned a D in her play biting.
Honestly she is doing better with her biting, but she still has a problem when she gets excited when she is in the house with me.
She likes to jump up on me and/or hang her incisor teeth in my jeans, or shirt sleeves, or arms/hands.

I get weary patiently telling her no every five seconds for thirty minutes.
Finally I just snap and grab her by the neck and pull her to the floor.
Sometimes I swat her snout but I do not like to do that because I do not want her to become hand shy.
But constant jumping and biting is maddening.

She also has developed a habit of jumping up on the kitchen counters to see/sniff what is going on up there.
Again I try to calmly tell her 800 times in a row to get down, calmly push her away/down from the counter, and tend to the business at hand on the counter (fixing her dinner, my dinner, washing the dishes, etc.)
If she was older and less excited, I might tolerate a bit more of such behavior, but now she is too jumping and undisciplined.

To balance this bothersome behavior is her more calm moments.
She lets me pet/rub her neck, shoulders, chest, tummy, and hips without biting me.
It is clear to me that she is trying to respond to my petting without biting me.
She just does not quite know how yet.
When I eat at the table, she often sits quietly at my feet or next to me waiting for me to toss her a crumb.
Sometimes she lays on the floor at my feet.
Occasionally she will nudge me with her nose to be sure I know that she is here.
I do not mind this subtle action and find it endearing.

Sally was especially well behaved this evening on her walk.
She did very little tugging on the leash, responded to my most subtle tugs on her leash, waited at each curb on command (“wait”) before crossing (“okay”) each street (except when I forgot to give the command...) and generally acted rather mature.

A NEW DEVELOPMENT

I was sweeping the kitchen floor this past week and discovered something new.
There among the bits of dog food and leaves from the back yard were some long, wispy fibers of white hair.
They were not mine.

So, Sally's coat has begun to mature from her puppy fur to her dual layer winter mountain coat.
Soon it will be time to comb/brush her.
I may try this weekend, though the weather persons are talking of cold temperatures and snow flurries.
Sally will love it.

It seems that I will have to run Saturday morning in 20+ degree coldness.
Where is July when you need her.
.

Of Sally and Not Running

2012-02-04T20:17:00.000-06:00

OWNER HEART FAILURE

While walking Sally the Dog Friday evening after work, the event happened that I have dreaded since I started walking her – I dropped the leash.
I was in the process of moving the leash from one hand to the other when she made a quick little lunge to some item of nasal interest on the grass of a neighbor's yard.
Her move jerked the leash out of my hands and I feared I had lost her.

In fact, she only trotted about 10 feet away from me, whereupon I picked up the leash loop again and my heart rate slowly receded to its normal rate.
She may not have even realized that she was not restrained, she was busy sniffing.

I have observed that many dogs do not stray far from their human companions, even when off a leash, IF the dog is used to walking with said person.
My sister's dog never went farther than a few dozen yards from us when allowed to run free in a school yard.
As I have stated, my greatest fear is that Sally will charge into the street in front of a car because she has no fear/understanding of them.
Anyway, the rest of the walk went generality well.

THE DOG HOUSE

Today it was rainy off and on all day.
Sally and I did manage to get in a good 45 minute walk in-between drizzles.
But we had to spend most of the day indoors.
I am sure that it is gratifying to architects and contractors when the structures they have created are finished and provide space and service to people, as intended.
So it was today when I looked out my back door and saw Sally the Dog laying in her dog house while it rained.
In fact, she went into and out of her house several times today.
Sometimes she played in it and other times she slept in it.
I felt gratified.
And I am certain that her days under the utility building are numbered.

THE SATURDAY RUN

… was cancelled because I am sick.
I have a mild cold that is just strong enough to sap my strength a bit and stuff up my nose (mostly in the morning).
I have a very slight fever and a very slight sore throat.
All of this has not taken me down to a bed-ridden state, just a bit lazy and grumpy.
So... I may run tomorrow morning (Sunday).
I will see how I feel.
My extended work schedule has forced me to cancel my morning workouts and walks so I am slightly weaker than I normally would be.
That may affect my running, also.
I have run and worked out when sick before and most of the time, other than being weaker, I have suffered no ill effects.
I will see how I feel tomorrow morning at 5 AM.

SALLY AND THE BACK DOOR

Sally is, in people years, nearly in her “terrible twos” - 13 weeks = 91 human weeks = almost two years.
And she is acting like it.
In some ways she is doing better – like house training (sometimes) and play-biting (sometimes).
But she is developing new bad habits – like jumping up on my lap, table and kitchen counters to see/sniff what is going on up there.
And she takes samples of whatever she can reach if I do not dissuade her quickly enough.
I tell her to get down and she generally responds, but the compliance is usually short-lived.
And up she comes again; often in a different spot.

Today she was particularly obnoxious.
Wanting to play with me and nipping at my pants, feet and hands.
I could not get her to stop so I sent her outside.
Upon closing the back door I resumed my dishwashing chores.
About a minute later I hear a faint noise in the back room and then Sally the Dog trots into my kitchen.
I am both astounded and scared.
Astounded because she got into the house by herself.
Scared because I was afraid she had broken the window in my back door.

The good news was she did not break the glass – the door was standing open.
The bad news was she got back in.
At the time, my only conclusion about how she did it was that I had not fully latched the door and she just pushed it open.

This evening, she was mis-behaving again (wanting to play and bite) and I, again, sent her outside after she had eaten her dinner.
This time I was in my bedroom (here) at my desk when I heard a faint sound from the back room and a moment later, Sally appears in my room.
She seemed pleased with herself and hopeful that I was pleased to see her.

That was not the case.
And I was concerned about my back door.
Upon inspection I figured out how she was getting in.

My back door is a “French door”.
As such it does not have a common round door knob, but, rather, a lever.
Inside and outside.
Apparently, Sally has learned the raise up on her hind legs and pull the outside lever down enough with her front paws to unlatch the door and nose her way into the house.
In both cases today, I had failed to engage the dead bolt.
Doing so solves the problem.
Sometimes I do not like having a smart dog.

This and That

2012-01-30T20:47:00.003-06:00

On my way home from church Sunday afternoon, I passed a car going my direction that had a Great Pyrenees dog in it.
The car was a Honda Civic, about the same year as mine, but a 4-door version.
The dog was standing in/on the back seat and he took up the whole car.
His shoulders nearly touched the roof.
His tail dusted the right side window and his big black nose bumped against the left side window.
The lady driver had installed some wire bars behind the front seats so a big snoot could not intrude and distract the driver.
That dog was really big.

I do not believe that Sally will get that big, but I have already been pondering how to transport her when she becomes full-grown.

Sally

Sunday was a bad day for Sally the Dog.
While she was generally well behaved regarding biting and jumping around, she failed her potty training - TWICE.

Each time, she was let out of the house not to be allowed in until the next meal.
I do not know what got into her to fail so badly, but she did.

As a result, I go through mental cycles of loving my dog and wanting to get rid of her.
It is tiring to try to train her ALL THE TIME.
I want to love her and spoil her in some ways and have her lying around to just observe me (like she did when I was working on her dog house) like Woof did when he was alive and we lived together.
But Sally is still too much a puppy.
Needing to chew something almost constantly and wanting to play biting games.
It is clear that she still is testing me to see who is the alpha/leader.
I have news for her - I control the food.
Everything else is secondary.

I have basically given her the yard to guard.
Right now it is the back yard, mainly.
But I have wondered if, after she matures in a year or two, to allow her to spend time with me in the front yard off her leash.
Technically that is illegal in the city, but once she gets settled down and trained on what/where is her territory (which I think she understands already), she will likely not roam too far from me.
I base this on how she behaves in the dog park.
While she runs around and chases the other dogs, she rarely goes farther than about 50 feet from me.

I noticed my sister's dog do a similar thing when she let her loose in a fenced school yard.
The dog ran about 100 feet away from us, stopped and looked at us and then charged back to where we were.
From then on she circled around us never farther than about 30 feet or so.

Sally takes spells of being bratty from one moment to the next.
While walking in the neighborhood on the leash, she will ignore my gentle tugs on the lease to move on from sniffing some disgusting morsel she has discovered.
But I can whisper her name and she will respond, with no tugging on the tether required.

My concern is that Sally has no fear of cars yet.
She occasionally tries to chase them, but I restrain her from this.
I am also trying to teach her to wait before crossing any street.
She sort of gets this, but is not consistently good at it yet.
And sometimes her trainer forgets to enforce the "wait" ritual before giving the "okay".
Come back in a year to see how we are doing.

Dinner tonight was steamed chicken breast and pork and beans, of which Sally the Dog received small portions and some of the flavored juices mingled with her kibble dog food.
She seemed pleased.
.

A BUSY SATURDAY

2012-01-28T16:30:00.013-06:00

The Run

It has been a busy week at work and I was looking forward to a good detox session Saturday morning.
Rain or shine or snow or whatever, I was going to run.
My outside meter said that it was 37 degrees this morning at about 5:30 so the weatherperson got it about right.
I set out with two layers on legs and top, wool mittens and my trusty fleece ear cover.
From the first step, my right foot/ankle served notice that things would go its way or not at all.
A pain somewhere on the top of my right foot just in front of where my leg attachments connect was loud and insistent.
After a few steps, I found that if I came down on my heel a bit more and allowed my leg to rotate forward a bit more, foot pain went away.
Not sure why the problem was there but it was a my-way-or no-highway kind of deal.
So I went along with the requirement.
And after a quarter of a mile or so, we made our peace for the rest of the journey.

It was a good session.
Although I felt just a bit weak, I encountered no need to stop.
I spent most of the time daydreaming – a good sign.
Other than the lady runner I saw just before I parked my car, and a guy coming down Bankhead Parkway with his dog as I was going up, I had the road to myself.

That is, until I started down Bankhead during that last part.
As many as 50 cars came up Bankhead in groups of three or six.
At first I was perplexed at the unusual amount of traffic at this time of day, then I remembered: today must be the day of the Mountain Mist 50 mile trail race.
That pretty much kept me from running on the road for the rest of the party.
But all in all, it was a great run.

On the drive home, Jesus lit up the deck of clouds above the city and painted the eastern half of them in various shades of red and purple and everything in between.
I arrived home at 6:45.

The Dog Frolic

[Some background – we had a two-day rain here that soaked everything (duh) including Sally the Dog.
Since she still thinks she can slither under my utility shed, she was pretty well white and brown Thursday evening when I arrived home from work.
So I gave her her second bath.
This session included her new tub mat so there was no slipping and sliding around like the first time.
She did better this time, though she did try to escape the tub once.
But she was happy to be finished, I could tell, as I dried her off with her towels.
End of background.]

As I came in from my run, I decided to take Sally to the dog park after I went shopping.
And thus, it was so.
Sally, in just her fourth or fifth car trip, sat up in the shotgun seat and watched the excitement with me.
There was very little gnawing and bothersomeness while we drove.

When we arrived at the dog park, the recent rains and turned much of it into a mud pit.
But there were a few brave humans and their furry friends romping around and so I turned Sally loose for the festivities.

We went to the Big Dog section first and there soon arrived a couple of older dominant dogs that literally ran over Sally multiple times.
And while she tried to run and play with them, the older dogs ruled the area.
And in the process, Sally lost her just-bathed look.
So after 15 or 20 minutes of the rough and dirty stuff, I took Sally to the Small Dog area, that was mostly grass.

There was just one young dog in the Small Dog area and they made quick introductions and then proceeded to play.
Finally, Sally found someone she could play bite with.
And they went at it for, perhaps, 15 minutes while I chatted with the nice folks who owned the other dog.
While we chatted, other dogs and people arrived, but they all went to the Big Dog area.
There will be a lot of dog baths today.
Sally and Cathy – the other puppy – ran and rolled and jumped with wild abandon, all within about 20 feet of we people.

Finally, I could tell Sally was pooped, though she would not admit it.
I leashed her, bid farewell to the nice people and we headed to our car.
But Sally, in her intense playing, had neglected some biological imperitives.
So she was reluctant to enter the car (which she would normally do, now, without hesitation).
We walked and sniffed (well, she sniffed...) for a minute or two until a suitable spot was located.

Finally, with all the biology tended to, we got in the car and drove home.
My estimation of Sally's energy level proved accurate.
She could not even sit up on the car seat.
Instead, she lay on the floor with her nose between the front of the seat and the center console.
One dog pancake, coming right up.

When we got home, I let her loose in the back yard while I prepared the bathroom for another doggy bath.
I let her in and put her in the tub and we did it all again.
Sally did well and allowed me to wash her legs and chest.
Finally, I lifted her out of the wetness and we dried off.
Interestingly, Sally does not shake herself right away, as some dogs do.
She lets me dry her with a towel for a minute or two before she gives herself a finishing fluff.

Her fur is very thick and dense and holds a LOT of water.
(It takes a gallon or two of water just to get her completely wet to the skin)
So, I can dry her with two large towels, getting them rather wet, and Sally will still be damp.
So her final drying will be an air dry where I rub and fluff her fur.
Of course, then she is ready to play.
But today, she was trashed.
She was ready to lay down and sleep.

Dog House 1.1

An Engineering Change Order had been issued for Sally Manor.
It seems that the tall door-way allowed too much blowing rain to enter the cozy interior of the dog box, so changes were planned.
This being winter, opportunities for outside dog house modifications are rare.
But today was/is a beautiful day for this area, for this time of year (last year at this time it had already snowed 5 times.).
It is clear (the morning clouds have drifted off) with a 10 MPH breeze and about 53 degrees.

The Design change involves adding 10-inch vertical extensions to each side of her door-way, and a new 12 inch roof addition over the door.
The expectation is that the vertical extensions will disrupt the air flow around the door-way to limit the intrusion of blowing rain into the house from the sides, and the roof addition will stop falling rain from entering the house through the 32-inch tall door-way.

Hopefully, these changes will help keep the interior dryer for the pooch.
This has become more important because her days of fitting under the utility building are numbered.
In another month she may not fit under there at all.
Thus, the dog house will really become her only place of protection from the rain/wind.

All in all, it has become a rather successful day.

SALLY THE BRILLIANT WONDERFUL INTELLIGENT DOG

2012-01-21T17:58:00.001-06:00

The space aliens must have performed a brain transplant on my pitifully incontinent dog over night.
Today is Saturday.
Normally I run before dawn on Saturdays but today a lovely thunderstorm arrived exactly at the time that I would be out doing my run.
Since lightening is sometimes fatal, I stayed snuggled in the Royal Bed until 6:30.
I will run tomorrow morning.
The temperature will be half of what it was today but there will be no chance for any electric zaps.

Two big events took place that past week since my last post.
1 While throwing away a can in my recycle bin, which I keep outside next to my back porch, Sally escaped through the slightly open door and hopped out onto the drive way, as if ready for her morning walk.
I was nowhere near ready for a walk (no leash, nothing).
I have lived in dread of Sally getting out and running off, ignoring my calls and ultimately getting smushed under a big car.
Terrified, I watched as she jumped from the porch to the driveway.
But instead of heading off down the driveway to the street, she stopped, turned around and looked at me.
I invited her back into the house, and to my great relief and surprise, she jumped up on the porch and came the house again.
I almost passed out.

2 Then one evening as Sally and I were eating/cleaning up, Sally went into the back room.
Lately, she goes in there for two reasons – 1, to play with her toys in there, or, 2, to tend to biological needs.
I have no problem with her playing with her toys back there, it is the other activity that bothers me.
So, being suspicious when I heard no playing-with-toys noise, I went to investigate.
Lo and behold I caught Sally starting to poop in the house.
I hollered “no” and opened the near-by door for her to go out in the back yard.
She did and after a minute or so, I let her back into the house.
We had an uneventful rest of the morning after that.

Which brings us to today.....

After my morning ablutions, I let Sally the Dog in from the still-drizzling back yard.
She was damp but not soaked.
Thus, our usual rubby-snuzzly greeting ritual was augmented by a large towel to remove most of the wetness from her heavy coat.
This she sees as a game and – what else? - tries to bite the towel.

Anyway, we get greeted and I set about making our special Saturday morning breakfast.
Since we are out of oatmeal, I planned to make her an egg to go with her kibble food.
And since I was planning on having a cheese omelet, I planned to give Sally 1/3 of my cooked treat.
Thus it was when I gave Sally her bowl of kibbled corn powder to get her started before I added the egg (still cooking), she ate a little then disappeared into the back room.
After a moment of silence, I suspected that some sort of potty need might be brewing (if she goes out there to play with her many toys, there is usually noise)
So I go out there to see what is happening and low and behold Sally is STANDING at the back door waiting to be let out.

I open the door, Sally goes out (in the light rain!), does her little squat in the grass and comes back to the door.
Naturally I praise her to the maximum degree for her brilliance, self-control and all-around fuzzy sweetness.
Then I continue fixing breakfast.
She continues nibbling at her kibble breakfast while taking side trips to the stove because she smells other good things in process.

After about five minutes, she disappears again into the back room.
And after a few seconds of silence, I go in to investigate.
Sally is again STANDING at the back door, waiting to be let out.
I open the door, Fur Flump goes out into the drizzly back yard, sniffs around a bit and does a fresh fertilization of the grass.
As she trots back to the back door, I can hardly get the praise out for being overwhelmed by the shear sudden brilliance of my pet dog.
I let her in and we sit down to eat our respective eggs/breakfasts.
She remains on the floor under the table, her nose nano meters from my knee, to let me know she is nearby and available.
She did not put any paws on my leg or sniff my food (like she did yesterday....)

While I am doing the dishes, Sally quietly played with her toys.
Then she disappears into the back room again.
And again, silence for a few seconds.
I go to the door way to investigate.
And lo and behold, Sally is once again STANDING at the back door waiting for me to let her out.

I let her out and she, again, goes out onto the soggy grass and makes another deposit.
I am nearly speechless, but praise her again, hoping she will somehow remain humble in spite of all the effusive adulation I have heaped upon her in the last 20 minutes or so.

We played gloved hands for about 10 minutes and then it was time for me to leave for my usual Saturday morning shopping trip.
I let her outside and drove to my planned rounds.

Frankly, I am astounded at the sudden change in my wonderful, big (17 inches), fuzzy dog.
We have done NO training as to where she is to stand to announce her need to exit for biological necessities.
But somehow she has connected some dots.

I wish she would bark at such times, to ensure that I do not miss a silent cue.
Maybe we can work on that part later.
For now, Sally is (suddenly) doing great on her potty training.
I know we are not completely finished with “accidents” but this is a really big step in the right direction.
.

WHAT HAPPENED TO SALLY?

2012-01-15T14:15:00.001-06:00

Evidently space aliens came and stole my dog overnight and replaced her with another animal.
She looks the same (except maybe just a tad bigger than the dog I had yesterday), but she acts very differently.

When I let Sally (I shall call this new dog the same name as my previous dog for the sake of simplicity) in this morning for our breakfast, she was appropriately excited and we did our ritual fur-rub-nose-snuggle greeting.
At one point she flopped down on her side as we rubbed and snuzzled, allowing my to rub her chest and tummy.
Then we went into the kitchen where she watched me fix her breakfast, as is our usual routine.
Except instead of her biting my slippers and pants legs in her anticipatory excitement, she either sat and watched or played with several of her chew toys that I allow to remain in the kitchen for this purpose, while I fixed her oatmeal and milk and dog food.

When the food was ready, I set her bowl in the usual place and she began eating.
Not gulping.
Meanwhile, I began preparing my breakfast of oatmeal and eggs.
As my other dog, Sally, used to do, this new dog stopped eating her food and came over to see what I was doing.
But unlike what Sally did yesterday, this new dog did not jump on my legs, bite my pants legs or shoes.
This new dog just sat and watched me.

When I had my food fixed and took it to my dining room (such as it is...) table, this new dog, went back to her bowl of food and continued to eat, as I ate my food.
As I ate, this new dog came over and sat under the table and put her chin/nose very gently against my knee – no doubt to let me know that she was there and available for crumbs from the masters table.
Not once did she put her paws on my leg.
Not once.
She did not even come close to doing it.

After the meal I let her lick my plate and bowl, as usual, then I set about washing the dishes.
While I washed, this new dog, alternated between finishing her food and playing with her toys.
Again, she did not try to bite my pants cuffs or slippers.

AND, when I sensed that she needed to go out for something (ahem...) this new dog, went outside with me, walked a few steps off and tended to her business.
Then we were ready to go back in for more quiet fellowship.

The next time I let her out a few minutes later, when asked if she wanted to come back in, she just stood and looked at me.
The Great Pyrenees indicator of “no”.
So she is outside in the cold now.
Except that “cold” is not a bad thing to a GP.

I am seeing a trend with Sally the Dog.
A bad day of misbehavior is often followed by a good day.
Seemingly all lessons taught (and failed) on one day, are learned overnight and performed appropriately the next day.

I like this new dog....
.

SALLY THE BRAT

2012-01-13T08:11:00.000-06:00

First the good news -

The afternoon walk yesterday (between rain and snow storms) went pretty good.
I give Sally the Dog a B.
We went to the neighborhood church our usual way, but came back a new route.
All things went reasonably well, with some give and take of how far one of us can wander from the other, and how long one of us can linger at any certain item of interest.
We went about a mile or so.

Now, the Bad News....

Last night was another trying session with the new Resident Fur-Ball.
I let her in from the back yard just as I was to begin preparing my dinner.
I do this because I like to spice up her kibble food with some real food flavoring – leftover soup, or meat grease.
I know that it is not good to give too much of this stuff to dogs, but this amounts to a spoonful or so to her meal.

She was happy to see me and we did our usual tail wag - body rub greeting.
I fixed her food and set the bowl on the floor then finished fixing mine.
She began eating while keeping an eye on my doings.
Things went okay until I went into the living room with my food to watch the local evening news.
Then the contest began.

She began to put her paws up on my leg, as if to look at my food.
I kindly, but firmly, pushed her back down, saying, “no, down”.
After about six or eight times of this in 30 seconds, I stood up and walked back into the kitchen.
Sally followed and went straight to her food bowl and resumed eating.
Seeing this, I went back to my couch to continue my eating.
She followed.

Then we resumed the climb-up-push-down game.
At some level she understood my desire because she became frustrated – laying on the floor growling, wagging her tail, standing and biting the cushions on my couch, my pants legs, my hands, or my shoes.
We both understand that her biting is the only way she knows how to play at this point in life.
She never snaps out of anger.
It is clear to me that she is trying to bite “gently” with her hypodermic teeth.
No changes there.
And she does not try to bite when she is up on my leg, she just seems to be sniffing and looking.
But I cannot let her develop this habit.
In a year or two, she will not need my leg to see/smell my food.

I got up, and went back into the kitchen to let her out, thinking she might be trying to tell me she needed to go potty.
When I opened the back door, she just sat down and looked at me.
After a few seconds, I closed the door and went back to eating my food.
And Sally came back to me and started the jumping up/push down game again.
When I stood up and went into the kitchen, she would, again, go to her bowl and resume eating her food.

On the third cycle of this routine, I figured out that she was just playing an I-want-attention/domination game with me.
For whatever reason, she did not like me watching TV in the living room while she was eating in the kitchen.

On the fourth cycle of me PATIENTLY but firmly telling her “no” and pushing her back off of my leg for eight or ten times, I lost all patience with her.
I walked to the back door, invited her out and closed the door.
Once again Sally was banished to her back yard.
And once again, I was frustrated, angry, and upset.
Again, I am disillusioned with this whole experience.

I have found, from doing some reading, that her baby teeth will begin to fall out in March – two months from now. That is also the time I can have her tubes tied. I look forward to some changes.

In addition to all of this, I am having stress issues with my job.
They are pushing us to do things that I am not comfortable with.
These are no illegal things, just tasks that I know I do not do well – like calling people I do not know to invite them to come and do business with the company I work for.
Basically, selling.
I HATE selling.

….....

This morning, Sally was nearly a model dog.
And she seems to have grown 2 inches taller over night.....
She sat and waited while I fixed her food with barely a whimper.
She did not jump on me a single time. (although I was seated at the dining room table, not in the living room while eating)
When I took her outside after the eating, she did her business (both kinds) with little delay.
We played for about 20 minutes with my gloved hands, which is always relaxed, flop around play.
She seems to really enjoy this type of play.
When I put her out back for the day, she seemed to accept it easily (thought it was clear she would have preferred to stay inside (it is 25 degrees with a breeze and cloudy this morning).
.

TOTALLY DISCOURAGED

2012-01-10T20:15:00.000-06:00

Today was a horrible day for Sally the Dog and her care-giver.
What started off nice and quiet for StD turned into a major transgression of the Tradition of the Elders.
She has learned that raising up and pushing with her front paws on the two-foot plywood barrier between the kitchen and the living room will knock it down so she can jump over it into the living room.
I was busy washing dishes and could not get to her fast enough to stop the project.
When she refused to go back into the kitchen, I picked her up and carried her to the back door and set her down outside and closed the door.
Banished.

We did go for a 25 minute walk a few minutes later, on which she behaved reasonably well.
Then I went to work and ended up working and hour and a half later than I had planned.
So when I got home at 6 PM, Sally the Dog was hungry and agitated.

I fixed her a special dinner of dry dog food and some chopped up stew beef.
She put all that away in short order and began hunting for more.
And in the last week or so, she has developed a habit of whining during and after her eating.
And she trots around restlessly as if looking for something.

I have learned that what she is hunting is a place to piddle or poop.
So when I hear her begin to whine, I take her to the back door.
If I stay in the house, she will not go out.
If I go out and invite her out, she will come out and go do her business on the grass.
But she seldom does both jobs in the same trip.
SO, tonight I took her out the piddle – which she did - and we went back into the house.

A few minutes later (very few) she began whining again.
I postponed taking her out because I was not sure she needed to do another potty break so soon.
BIG mistake.

She went in to the back room for a few seconds and by the time I got in there Sally the Dog had relieved herself on the carpet.
The Tootsie Roll kind.
I was so mad.
Mostly at myself.
I told her she was a bad dog, but she was already on her way to the back door waiting for me to let her out.
Which I did.

Smart dog – sort of.
She gets about half of the program on potty training.
And – mostly due to my diligent efforts to let her out often - we have had a good several days in this area of education.
Today restarted the clock.

And she persists in putting her front paws up on my lap while I am eating.
We had another confrontation this evening about this (before the potty event).
I am not sure if she just wants to see my food or to eat it.
I suspect the latter. (she is a dog, after all....)
But she does not seem eager to get her nose near my dishes – just like she is curious.
But I cannot allow this, so I am trying to teach her to not do it.
Just what I need – more classes for dog and man.

I am very discouraged about the dog again.
She is no fun to be with.
Every encounter is a test of wills that ultimately results in me sending her out into the back yard to be ignored.

As I may have said here, I do not want or need an animal in my back yard.
I have squirrels for that.
For free.
If I cannot have a peaceful relationship with this animal, I need to send her to someone who has the interest, need or time to deal with her.
She needs a big farm with some animals where she can stay outside and guard/herd them.
.

The Evolution of Sally

2012-01-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

It seems that in addition to learning how to bark, Sally the Dog has learned how to jump.
While she still jumps straight up in the air and spins around when she is excited, now she has begun to jump up on things – like the coffee table, the couch, my leg, when sitting.
Mind you, I do not mean that she puts all four large paws on these things, just her front two paws.

Suddenly, this weekend, she has discovered that if she puts her front paws up on me, she can better smell my food – and see it. (!)
Thus, a new command has entered our vocabulary, “down”.
We are working on this new dimension to our education.
Of course, I know the day will come when Sally the Dog will not need to put her paws up on anything but the floor to see/smell my food on table or TV tray.

During the rainy drizzly weather of the last three days, STD has spent some time under the utility building in the back yard – much to my distress.
It is dirty under there – if dry.
But it is increasingly clear to me that her days under there are numbered.
She is getting so big that she barely can scrunch herself under there.
In another month, she may not fit under there at all.
So, she is spending more time in her palatial dog house when the weather is not ideal.
(my preference since I built it for her – and it is clean and dry)

I find myself getting weary of this relationship at times.
The more there is for her to learn means the more there is for me to teach.
And she, in all fairness, does not speak or understand English.
So I must choose my phrases carefully and repeat them endlessly and firmly and consistently apply my desired behavior on her time after time after time.

The only good news is all of this is that Sally is not human.
She is not rebellious or knowingly disobedient.
She does not hold a grudge and seek revenge – even if it seems like it sometimes.
And she is smart.
Sometimes too smart.
And while some of her behavior can be attributed to her puppyness, I am not sure what she will “grow out of” and what will remain a part of her personality that will require yet further training and discipline.

It is time to feed the bouncing, spinning, excited, not-so-little puppy.
.

SOME SMALL MILESTONES

2012-01-07T13:57:00.000-06:00

The predawn run today was delightful.
I daydreamed most of the way, a sure sign of blissful relaxation.

The weather person had predicted rain for this morning, but with unusually mild temperatures.
So when I woke up, I was interested in two things – 1) how hard was it raining,, 2) what was the temperature?
Both would affect how I should dress for the party.

I also took a peek at the weather radar picture on my computer, and saw spotty green blobs on the map – scattered showers.
My thermometer on my back porch read 58 degrees – warm enough for bare legs and a light single layer long-sleeved top – even if it rained.
There was a light breeze and it was not raining, but the slightly damp streets indicated that it had rained recently (as the radar also indicated.

So I brought some rain stuff with me – cap and jacket, JIC.
And off to the mountain course I drove.
It was cloudy (and dark) but not raining at my usual parking spot, so I left the rain gear in the car.
I was mid-way into mile one when the rain started.
I could hear the whisper of the light rain on the trees all around me as it moved over me.
I thought to myself, this could be an interesting morning.
Just as I was adjusting myself to be soaked to the skin for the next 30 minutes or so, the rain decreased its flow gradually to zero.
End of rain.

So I can say I ran in the rain this morning.
Never mind that it only lasted about two minutes.
As I said, I paid little attention to things around me today.
Nothing was hurting or felt wrong – except the tingly numbness that intermittently tickles my left foot.
With no personal issues and no environmental issues, my mind wandered.
I noted that Tollgate Road is a gentle up hill climb from Mountainwood to Dill, my new turn-off.
For me, daydreaming while running is the next thing to falling asleep while running.
For you non-runners that may sound impossible, and prior to such a thing happening to me, I would have agreed with you.
But on more than one occasion I have had such a relaxing, pleasant time running that I have closed my eyes and could have drifted off to fairy land.
That is one advantage of running on nice, smooth paved roads.

I owned the roads this morning.
I was the only runner out at 6 AM.
While doing my distance check in my car afterward, I did spy a very capable female runner on Tollgate and later on Owens Drive.

Sally the Dog

Sally and I continue to adapt to each other.
There were no Transgressions of the Tradition of the Elders after her sleeping indoors ended.
Now, when I see her acting kind of restless and sniffing around the house, I take this as a signal that things need to be taken care of.
I invite her to come outside, she comes out.
I say “go pee” and she usually takes a few steps away and does her business.
End of the drama.
I tell her what a good girl she is and she acts like it was her idea.

We are doing pretty good on the leash.
She is doing better at staying with me as we walk, but I have mixed feelings about this issue.
As I have said, I am not sure if walking like a robot next to me, like the dogs that Cesar Milan trains, would be any fun for my dog.
The walk is not for me, it is for her.
If she wants to stop and sniff a mailbox post, no problem.
I will stop and let her sniff.

If I decide that I want her accompany me on my morning exercise walk, that is a different deal.
Then I need her to say with me within a leash length.
We may work up to that.
Being completely selfish about it, I would like for her to walk like a robot Cesar Milan dog.
But being realistic about it, Sally is a dog.
Her walks are for her, not me.
If she wants to sniff, I'll let her sniff.

So I don't know where we will land on this issue.
My biggest concern is that she stay near me for safety reasons.

And this week (ta da) Sally learned that she could bark.
She did it twice yesterday and four times this morning.
Her barks at this point are from frustration waiting for me to fix her morning food.
Up until yesterday, the would growl and bounce around in excitement anticipating the food she could already smell.
Yesterday morning she added a bark or two to express her excitement.
This morning was the same.

Even though this breed has a reputation for barking, especially at night, I have heard nothing out of her while outside.
That may change now.....

SALLY IN FROM THE COLD

2012-01-03T09:07:00.000-06:00

The promised temperature for last night was around 20 degrees above zero.
There was also a wind promised to go with it, yielding wind chills in the low teens.
Although Sally the Dog is equipped with a substantial fur coat, I am not sure if she is properly equipped at her still-tender age of 9 weeks or so to be comfortable in that degree of cold.
She has a dog house to allow her to get out of the wind, and she uses it from time to time.
But her doting Alpha worries about her betimes.

So, I allowed her to spend the night in the house with me (she is barking in her sleep as I write this).
I knew that keeping her inside entailed some potty still-in-training risks.
But (sorry) I have become less stressed about her transgressions.
(Beep) happens, as the saying goes, and I have resigned myself to deal with the residue of her semi-incontinence.

She and I are making progress in this area.
I try to let her out at least once per hour.
And I tell her “go pee”, to which she almost immediately walks off a few steps and squats.
I tell her what a good dog she is and we go back into the house.
In the past week we have had only two Transgressions of the Tradition of the Elders and both of those incidents took place in the same evening when I was just a bit too casual with my invitations to go outside.
In both cases, I missed taking her out in time by just a few seconds.

Monday evening also brought a capitulation on my part, of a sort.
This involved Sally's incessant biting of my hands (and nearly everything in reach) while playing.
I put on a pair of leather gloves and played with her for a while.
This was not rough play.
I generally allow her to determine the level of aggression in our playing.
On my part, the play involved just petting and rubbing her fur on her back, sides, head, ears, neck, chest and tummy.
And with the gloves on, I did not have to say “no” nearly as much.

At the risk of “teaching” her that biting hands is “okay”, I was able to let her chew on my hands with no injury. (my hope is she will simply grow out of the biting phase in a few months)
Interestingly, even though she could gnaw on me with near-impunity, I could feel that she still was biting me with restrained pressure.
And we played this game much longer than would have been possible if my hands had been unprotected. (nearly an hour...?)
And her play was mostly non-aggressive.
Most of the time, while I was sitting on the floor, she was play-biting and flopping around, rolling onto her back, climbing over my legs only to flop over on her back again.
Very submissive play.

A little after 4 AM, I heard Sally stir from under my bed (where she slept most of the night), and I got up to allow her to go outside.
She went out - while I stayed inside and watched her through the window – and did her business, then I invited her back inside.

I had about another hour of sleep before it was time to get up and begin the day's activities, so I went back to bed and dozed.
She, too, laid down again and slept.

But somehow she slipped out of the bedroom and tended to her biological needs as best she could.
When I got up “officially” at five, I discovered the evidence of her activities.
There on the kitchen floor was the biggest pile of poo I have ever seen produced by Sally the Dog.
No doubt an indicator of things to come.
There was a second gift out in the storage room of less impressive proportions.
I picked them each up with a blue bag and cleaned the affected areas.

In the interest of science, I weighed the two blue-bagged piles.
Her normal droppings weigh about 34 grams.
The Yetti pile in the kitchen weighed 128 grams.
That is almost four times as large. (3.75 actually)

I let Sally out, then I went for my usual Tuesday morning pre-sunrise walk.
I dressed appropriately for the cold, windy environment and my choices proved sufficient for the task.
The only area that got cold was my nose/eyebrows, which were unprotected from the wind.

I have to work today so my time with Sally the Dog will be limited.
But the weather is much less accommodating than it was yesterday.
We will have to adapt to the new imperitives.
.

SALLY - THE BORN-AGAIN DOG

2011-12-31T11:52:00.000-06:00

Evidently the angels came and visited my dog last night while I slept.
She apparently repented of her past transgressions and was born again.

I say this because she was a nearly model puppy this morning at breakfast and on her walk.
Virtually no biting, no romping around the house, she ate her food, played with her toys in the back room, did her biological business in the yard every time I took her out, rode in the car with little distress, walked near me in the park (mostly) for half an hour.

This is in contrast to yesterday when she was a complete mess.
Although she did not transgress the Tradition of the Elders in the house, she did nearly everything else on the "disapproved" list.
Which includes - just so you will have an idea of what-all she does - chewing on the wooden rungs of my dining room chairs,
chewing on the leather cushions of my couch,
chewing on my oak coffee table,
chewing on the legs of my wooden TV tray,
chewing on the shoes on my feet,
chewing on my pants cuffs,
chewing on the loop-pile carpet,
and, chewing on my hands.

It seems that every other word out of my mouth with her is "no".
And, as I have noted before, she understands to some extent that she is not supposed to chew on this stuff.
She cannot help herself.
When I scold her, she gets frustrated and lays her chin on the floor and bites the air.

That was yesterday.
Today I had a new dog.
She was happy to see me this morning, as usual.
And she did some of her little jumping, spinning, happy dance that she usually does.
(thankfully, Sally does not jump up on me, she jumps straight up in the air)
Her nibbles on my hands were very gentle and she did a lot of sitting and watching me today during breakfast prep time.
When I sat down to eat my breakfast of oatmeal and eggs and milk (three of her favorite foods, it appears) she came over to my chair and nudged my leg with her nose one time to let me know she was there.
That was it.
Then she sat or laid down to wait for me to finish.
She knows what usually happens when I finish.
I let her lick my dishes.

I sent her to the back yard while I went grocery shopping.
In addition to the vittles that I wanted/needed, I picked out a few items for Sally the Dog.
These included some new rubber chew toys, some corn chips for treats (she loves them), and some stew meat.
She does not know it, she is going to be one of the best-fed pups on the planet.

Then, I took Sally to a small park about two miles from my house.
It has lots of grass and a paved walking/running path, but no trees.
The path is a loop that may be about 3/4 of a mile long.
It was a bright sunny morning, with a light breeze and about 50 degrees.
Perfect doggy walking weather, methinks.

Sally was a near-perfect angel on the 30 minute jaunt.
I let her stop and sniff when she wanted to, but she did a good job of staying with me for much of the walk.
There were a couple of other walkers/runners about, and Sally gave each of them a long look/sniff from a distance.
She tried to chase one runner who passed by us.
I had to discourage that with difficulty.
But that gave me the wonder if she might actually enjoy running with me someday.
We will investigate that in a year or so.

Sally is well coated.
So much so that 50 degrees in the sunshine had her panting just from walking with me at basically her pace.
So she was ready to go home when I suggested it.
I had to help her into the car because she is still not completely comfortable in the car yet.
And not sure how to get in or out.
On the way to the park I put her on the shotgun side floor, where she put herself on a previous ride, but she ended up on the seat by the time we got there.
On the way home, I again but her on the floor, and this time she laid down and seemed a bit more composed all the way home.
She will work out her issues with the hummy, bouncy, leany, stop-n-go car with time.
I intend to take her places when she gets older and stops her puppy/jumpy ways.

We shall see how long Sally's new manners last.

Sally - Week Four

2011-12-29T09:47:00.000-06:00

Sally the dog is learning her way around her new life.
I am not sure I can call any of this “progress” by my human measure.

First, it has become clear that Sally has ADD.
When she gets wound up, which seems to happen three times a day – early morning around seven to eight, late morning around 10-12, and mid afternoon around two to four, she scampers from one toy to another in frantic succession.
She seldom spends more than about 10 seconds on any single item.
Lately, our morning walk takes place about seven AM so that takes the place of the early session.
After her walk she takes a nap.
In spite of her morning walks that I am giving her to burn off some of her excess energy, she still goes nuts several times a day.

Yesterday, I observed her chewing on my rubber garden hose that hangs on the side of the house.
That did not last long since she moved on to something else after about 20 seconds.
In the house she has taken to chewing on one of my small rugs by the back door.
I have discouraged her from this practice but she has done it two days in a row.

Some might say that she needs more toys.
To this, I respond, she has many toys.
Some of them she has procured herself, so there is no doubt about whether they are appropriate for her.
And she plays with all of them at various times.
Yesterday I found that she had chewed the large rawhide bone I bought for her in half and undid the knot on one end.
She has an official chew shoe both in the house and in the yard (total=2).
She has large plastic lids inside and out.
She has smaller milk jug lids – which she loves to chew on – inside and out.
She has a plastic milk jug – inside and outside. (which she likes to play a game similar to soccer and rugby with).
She has some cloth bedding both inside and outside.
Various sticks – which she loves to gnaw on – inside and outside.
A ball inside and outside
Several small tree branches, which she keeps in a pile near her favorite spot in the yard next to the utility building.
So she is not without appliances to chew on/play with.

Which brings me to the next issue – biting.
Sally Brown the Dog LOVES to play bite.
She is not a licking dog, she loves to bite.
Mind you, she is not nipping in anger or fear, but trying to bite in play.
When she bites my hands, I can feel her trying to restrain her jaw pressure.
It is clear that she is not trying to hurt me.

But her teeth are like hypodermic needles.
And when she bites while jumping around, a quick nip turns into a raking cut.
I have plenty of bleeding cuts to validate this.

I have tried everything to dissuade her from this practice but nothing works.
When I give her a toy in place of my hand, she ignores the toy and goes for the hand that is holding the toy.
She is not dumb.
She knows what animates the toy.

She even gets what I am trying to get her to do (or not do).
When I tell her no, she stops momentarily but gets so frustrated she lays her chin on the floor and growls and whines. (she still does not bark)
Basically she is telling me that she does not know how to play without biting.
It this point I usually send her outside (if we are not already outside) and let her gnaw on one of her toys.
Otherwise, I leave her alone.
She also tries to bite my shoes and pants cuffs.
This has the feel of canine domination, which I will not tolerate.

Another option is to buy some leather gloves and allow her to play with my hands.
The reasoning for this is that the play biting is typical of puppies and will disappear over time on its own.
However, allowing her to bite/chew my protected hands does not teach her to not bite/chew the hands of visitors (mainly my grandchildren).
And there is the outside possibility that she will interpret my allowance of her biting/chewing play as acceptable forever, which will require me to un-train from the habit later.

We are still working on this problem.

Her leash walks have changed from a fearful event (her first reaction to being on a leash the first couple of weeks here), to a happy event.
When Sally gets excited, she jumps – not on me – straight up.
And this mornings walk preparations were typical.
She got excited when she saw/smelled her leash.
So much so that she would not stand still while I hooked her leash onto her collar.

Once attached, we were ready to rock – or walk.
My plan today was to walk a mile.
We almost made it.
Near the point of my planned turn-around, a yard dog came out of nowhere and scared the (beep) out of Sally the Dog.
Barking loudly and menacingly, the little dog was not much larger than Sally, and only about 12 inches from Sally, restrained by a chain-link fence.
Sally did not know what to make of the dog for a few seconds.
She just stood there and looked and sniffed at the wild defender of his plot of dirt.
Then she wanted to run away.

I tried to calm Sally by talking calmly to her, I pet her a bit and encouraged her to walk away with me.
She went with me for a few feet then stopped and turned to look/sniff the still-barking maniac.
She repeated this go-stop-look/sniff routine two more times.
Then another fenced-in dog joined in from a greater distance.

At this point Sally began hunting a place to crawl under and hide.
I encouraged her to stay with me and to retreat further away from the noise.
But she was clearly upset and so we ended the walk at that point.
We turned around and crossed the street to put some more distance between Sally and the yammering nabob on the west side of the street.
I encouraged Sally to stay next to me and keep moving – which she did quite well, considering the distress she was experiencing.

And then she wanted to run.
So we ran most of the way home.
When we got to our yard, I let her sniff around and when she was ready, she walked to the gate and into the back yard we went.
Safe and sound.

And finally, the house training.
A total failure so far.
This morning was a draw.
I let her out twice and she wet both times.
But while I was doing the dishes, she disappeared for a few seconds and when I went to investigate, there she was squatting on the carpet in the back room.
I told her no, and she immediately walked to the back door and waited for me to let her out.
Which I did.

From this, I see that she associates the transgression with going outside.
She just has them backwards.
We will keep working on this.
.

New Milestone for Sally the Dog

2011-12-26T09:40:00.000-06:00

This morning after breakfast, I took Sally on a walk, as has been my custom these days.
I intended to make this a longer walk than previous excursions and it was so.
We traveled almost a mile.
1/2 mile out and a 1/2 mile back.
We walked to the church in our neighborhood which is right at 1/2 mile from my house.

I could tell she was getting weary in last tenth of a mile or so.
She doing a lot of tugging toward the end, nearly running ahead of me.
What she does not know is that I am a runner (still, in spite of my advancing age...), so I ran with her for a few hundred feet.
When we got back to our yard, she plowed her nose into the leaf piles I have staged, ready for bagging (the last of the season).
Then it was into the back yard, and HOME.
She hit the water bowl first thing.

I am about to challenge Cesar Milan on another dog training principle he espouses.
He, and his disciples, say that petting a dog when it is scared or disturbed by something - a car, another animal, the house heater fan, whatever - is interpreted by the animal as validating the fear they feel.
But my experience has been just the opposite.
If my dog is scared by something and I pick her up and hold her, she calms down.
If I touch/pet my dog when she is distressed by something, she usually relaxes.
Yes, Cesar has the "energy" concept correct, I believe.
Thus, one could interpret the calming effect of my actions as the dog "reading" my calming "energy" and relaxing.
That may be so, but that contradicts the first concept of petting while distressed encouraging the fear.

Sally did pretty good today.
There was a lot of stopping and sniffing that I would prefer not take place, but we were covering some new territory and I want her to get used to it and to feel comfortable in the environment.
We will work out the sniffing issues as we go along, I hope.

I was doing some calculations this morning regarding dog aging verses human aging.
The general rule of thumb is every year of dog age is equal to seven years of human age.
Thus, one year for a dog equals seven people years.
One month for a dog equals seven months of people age.
One week for a dog equals seven weeks of people time (almost two months)
And, one day for a dog equals a week of people time.
This is helping me keep Sally's learning and development in context.

As I write this, she is sleeping on the floor next to my chair.

Christmas Day - Sally

2011-12-25T09:23:00.000-06:00

To conform with something I read about training a dog, Sally and I went for a walk early this morning (about 7).
What I read was that since dogs are wanderers, it is more fitting to their natural instincts to take them for a walk before you feed them.
This simulates a "hunt" for the dog, according to this trainer.
It made sense to me, so I thought I would give it a try.

So, off we went.
Sally patiently allowed me to attach the leash to her collar and was ready to go through the gate to the outer realms.
While eager, she was generally restrained and did not pull too hard on her tether.
We are still working out who leads who on these walks but she did pretty good today.
Today's session lasted about 10-15 minutes.

Unfortunately, Sally's newly developing appetite causes her to be VERY hungry when feeding time comes around.
This morning was no exception.
Thus, every little discarded food wrapper (I had no idea there were so many laying around...) became an item of intense interest.
She even stopped to chew on a cigarette butt, which would have made for a great picture, had I been appropriately equipped.

I am not sure if Sally will ever be a dog that I can take on my three-mile personal exercise walks.
Great Pyrenees dogs are not long-distance runners.
Three miles may be too much even for an adult GP.
Thus, I am still trying to figure out the "proper" way to do a walk of my dog.

The purpose is to exercise the dog, tire her out a little, and burn off her natural energy so that she will be more relaxed at home.
I do not entirely buy into Cesar Millan's dog pack theory.
I understand and accept his underlying concept that the social structure of wild dogs it that of a pack (group).

But my dog is not in the wild.
She knows that I am not a dog, and understands that our social arrangement is not that of a pack of wild dogs.
(Since she left her litter-mates, she has not been around a "pack".)
There is a lot of structure in our living together now.
There are physical restraints, like fences, around her now, too.
She eats when I feed her.
Period.
There are no hunts to find food when the notion strikes her.
So I am not sure how much of the "pack mentality" is working in a domesticated dog.

So, is the goal of a walk for me and Sally to have her walk like a robot, like Cesar's dogs, or is it to allow her to have a good time, to sniff around and explore the neighborhood, more or less on her terms?
If her time outside the back yard was completely on her terms then we would not bother with a leash at all.
But that will not happen.
For one reason, it is against the law.
Another reason is she could run off and I would lose her.
So, there is some restraint in her walks, and will likely always be.
She has adapted remarkably well to the limits of the leash in just over a week.
The day may come when she and I can fiddle around in the front yard without any physical restraint on her.
We shall see about that in a year or two.

In the meantime, Sally will learn to live with a leash.
And, frankly, I am surprised how well she has accepted my little yard as her ranch/farm/home.
We shall see if that lasts.

Life with Sally

2011-12-24T19:22:00.001-06:00

My family had a pre-Christmas gathering Friday evening.
In addition to seven adults/parents there were eleven children, of which seven were genetic grand-babies.
That is a lot of people in my widdle house.
In addition, Sally's sister and brother came along for a visit.
There was much friendly biting and rolling and tumbling.
And the dogs did some, too.

Friday was Sally's big socialization day, what with meeting a couple of the neighbor ladies, and sniffing several neighborhood dogs from a distance, plus all the residual sniffage in the leaves and yards, while on her morning leash walk.
And then a whole houseful of people that evening, and the kin-folks.
Sally had a day of it.

So today (Saturday) was sort of a day off.
We did not walk in the morning, as has been our practice.
We walked in the evening after I got home from my all day 400+ mile trip. (a WHOLE nother story...)

But Sally behaved herself nearly perfectly on the leash for our 10-15 minute walk.
She did have a blue bag event, which I was equipped to adjust (as best I could).
Then we had dinner.

Sally, in the last week has developed a ravenous appetite.
My previous 3/4 of a cup of food pellets are gone before I turn around and I am given a look that says, "Is that all?"
In response, I have increased her ration to a full cup each morning and evening meal.
This takes her a little longer to consume, but I still get that confused, deprived, questioning, look afterward.

I don't want to over-feed her and make her fat, but she is a growing dog.
And the 10-30 minute leash sessions leave her tired.
She comes home from them and, after she settles down, she sleeps for two or three hours.
And she is growing into a LARGE dog, who will have a big-dog appetite.
So I am working my way through this, another challenge.

On the house training front, more failures.
I cannot catch her at the correct moment.
Even though I took her out once each hour, this evening, she STILL managed to wet on a previously anointed spot.
Fortunately, this was on a plastic carpet runner rather than the carpet.
But I am frustrated.
Taking her out and having her squat out there does not teach her that doing the same thing in the house is unacceptable.
And she is sneaky.
If I do not follow her around the house as she sniffs and wanders, she will surprise me.
And sending her out after she has transgressed, may end up teaching her that the best way to make me open the door to let her out is to piddle on the floor.
That is exactly backwards.
So who is training who?
And to do what?

Brief Update on Sally the Dog

2011-12-21T16:35:00.001-06:00

Sally, the newly brilliant Dog has had only one transgression of the Tradition of the Elders since her epiphany last Monday.
It was a small wet spot in the storage room and, had I been just a bit quicker on the jump, I could have caught her in the act and, thus, provided her with stronger reinforcement of the no-piddle-or-pooping policy.
As it was, when I saw the spot, I picked her up, took her to the scene of the crime and let her smell the evidence, then took her out of the house and closed the door.
There was no yelling or shouting or any of that.
Only terminology like "no" and "bad girl" were expressed in emphatic tones.

Today, Sally spent most of the morning in the house because it was raining and the yard was soggy.
I made her piddle before she came in and took her out after a couple of hours to give her a chance to unload (which she did!).
For the most part she was a good girl.

She LOVES to chew and it is a task to keep her chewing on authorized things (branches, toys, a glove, etc) and not on unauthorized things (my hands, my blankets, the carpet, the furniture, my shoes, etc).
For the most part she is coming along.

We had another leash session in the neighborhood today.
It was difficult to get her out the door, but once out, it was sniff and go.
We prolly did 20 minutes up and down the street and we are working out how far she can go.

In a week I may try to actually go for a walk with her.
Right now I am just getting her used to the give and take of being on a leash.
For now, she is leading me about half the time, but that will have to change soon.
I will not tolerate a 90 pound dog dragging me around the neighborhood at her pace.
For now I am content to let her lead me some of the time so she can get used to the smells and cars she will encounter out there.
She did a pretty good job of complying with my tugs as we moved around.

BIG DAY FOR SALLY

2011-12-20T09:35:00.000-06:00

On the day before her third week anniversary at this little place, Sally and her resident poop plucker had an eventful morning.
In a good way, this time.

First, there were no unplanned “events” in the house while breakfast was being prepared and eaten (yes, I allowed her to eat some of her food in the house.)
THEN, while pondering further training for the pooch, an aggressive plan was hatched.

Thus, Tall Biped armed himself with leash, doggy snacks and blue bags.
He attached the leash to smaller Furry Resident and carried her to the car, which had a seat prepared with towels to accommodate said Resident.
We drove about a half mile to the grounds of a local church that has a huge front yard (several acres)
There was some silent distress on the part of Furry Person, but she handled the trip generally well.
Once at the Large Yard, Tall Biped picked Smaller Furry Person from the seat and set her on the ground of New Large Yard.
It took about 30 seconds for Smaller Furry Person to warm to the new environment.
From then on is was a tight leash kind of morning.

With her nose suddenly on Maximum Reception, Sally had a wonderful time sniffing the many remembrances left by previous visitors.
I should have timed the party but I did not, so I can only guess that we spent about 20 minutes or so wandering around on the Large Grass.

Not surprisingly, a blue bag was needed.
Not surprisingly, there were two other dogs in the area enjoying a walk.
Sally was close enough to sniff their presence, and see them, but not close enough for any direct contact (about 50 feet).
Since this was her first time out of her yard, and her first car trip since her arrival, and her first time in this place, and her first close encounter with other dogs (other than the yappers behind the fence next door) in the open, I did not want to load her with too much stress/excitement in one trip.

I was ready to be finished before she was.
It was a test of wills to try to get her back to the car.
I was patient but persistent.
At several points, my gentle tugs to change the direction of the exploration were met with resistance.
Sometimes she would face me and pull away.
Sometime she would just sit down and look at me.
And she tried a new one – turn around and face away from me and pull away from me, as if she was pulling a wagon.
All ultimately failed.
But I was patient with her.
I gave her time to come around to seeing things my way.
Sometimes she did, sometimes not.

This was her first BIG outing and she was doing generally fine.
I let her pull me around for the most part.
I wanted her to get used to the interaction of dog, leash, and human.
A tethered walk is supposed to be fun for everyone.
In fact, sometimes she went where I wanted her to go without any tugging, and sometimes I let her go where she wanted – up to a limit.
It was a negotiated event.

I am assuming that as she gets used to traveling with me on a leash, she will mellow out a bit and we can come to some sort of truce of direction of travel.
While I am impressed with the calm boredom of the Cesar Milan's dogs while they walk with their owners, they really do not seem to be enjoying themselves.
They look like robots.
As if the body snatchers have implanted their evil seed into them and the revised dogs just calmly tolerate the human activities.
I expect Sally to be more engaged in the transit.
We shall see.

Finally, I had to pick up Sally the Dog and deposit (sorry) her onto her designated seat in the car (shot gun) for the drive home.
This short trip seemed less distressing to her than the trip over.

When we got home, I lifted her from her seat and set her on the ground to see what she would do on more familiar ground.
She was ready for more.
So, for the next ten minutes, we explored my front yard, the edge of the neighbor's front yard, the edge of the yard across the street my gutter and back again.
Ultimately, she did not want to go back into her nice little fenced yard.
I had to pick her up and PLACE her in her yard.
When I removed the leash from her collar, she headed straight for her water bucket.
I was not surprised.

For the morning I give her a B+.

THE MIRACLE DOG

2011-12-19T11:10:00.003-06:00

It has been an eventful (and unexpected) weekend.
I was in the Dismal Dowdy Doldrums over my lack of progress in potty training Sally the Dog on Saturday.
I had the Blue Bag Blues and was struggling with adopters remorse. (and the leftovers of a mild case of the flu)

I went to bed that evening wondering if I was going to have to giver her away.
I do not want a yard dog.
If our lives together are going to evolve into me in the house and her in the yard, then I do not want her.
I don't need a yard dog.
I need (or rather, want) a friend, companion, and good listener.
I don't need a yard trophy.
I already have a stuffed dog.
And it does not eat. (or poop)

Sunday, I let Sally in for a few minutes in the evening while I prepared her dinner, just to demonstrate that I hold no grudge for past transgressions.
Being ever watchful and suspicious of her every move and sniff, I soon caught her sniffing around the back door, so I opened the door and let her exit.
Lo and behold, she went out onto the grass and did her little squat with little fanfare.
I was pleased, to say the least.
So pleased, that I immediately opened the door and invited her into the house again with multiple praises.
This was a mistake – mostly in timing.
I returned to food prep while Fuzzy Nose scampered about and squeaked in anticipation of impending satiation.
But in just a minute or so, Sally had disappeared again.
It took me a few seconds to realize that she was gone and when I went to investigate, I found that she was at the back door again.
I let her out again and in another lo and behold, she sniffed around in the grass and then did her other business.
I was thrilled and chastened for my impetuousness.
When she was finished, I allowed her back inside for a few minutes while I finished her meal prep and while I ate mine.
Then I let her out for the evening – which she seems to like.

Which leads us to this morning.
I saw Sally soon after she emerged from her den under the utility building, still too groggy doggy to do much but sit and sniff.
It was about 7 AM.
Having finished my Monday morning workout, I was ready to eat and I was certain she was, too.
When I went outside to get her dish – which stays in her mostly unused dog house - she came over to me.
I told her to go pee.
She looked at me for a moment (her usual manner) then trotted off a few paces and squatted.
I was pleased, astounded, amazed and other such things at the over-night brilliance of my dog.
With that, I let her in the house.
While I began her food prep I kept an eye on her as she sniffed around the house to check if anything was new (I guess...).
After a few minutes she was at the back door, so I let her out.
She went into the grass and squatted again.

I refrained from opening the door again and watched as Sally the (now BRILLIANT) Dog sniffed around in another area of the grass and soon did her other business.
I could hear the trumpets playing a fanfare.
I opened the back door and invited my miraculously rehabilitated dog back into the house with many praises (most of which are likely unintelligible to her yet).

In summation, we had an “uneventful” morning visit before I let her out to play, while I cleaned up the house.
This relationship may work out after all....
.

Fail

2011-12-18T08:20:00.000-06:00

Sally the dog got an "F" on her house training lesson this morning.
She barely lasted 60 seconds.

As is my habit with her, I invited her into the house while I prepared her morning meal.
After some initial petting and scratching and rubbing of fur which elicited appropriate tail wagging and nuzzling, I began to prepare her food.
This is a simple process of pouring in some industrial processed grain pellets, which I add some milk (which she likes), I was adding some left over tuna when I noticed she had disappeared from the kitchen.
Being suspicious of her from past experience, I went to the door of the dining room and there she was - producing a pile of Tootsie Rolls on my carpet in the storage room.
How long did that take?
A minute?
Two minutes?
Not long, for sure.

She was told "NO", picked up, given a half-hearted swat on the behind, and deposited outside, with a complimentary salutation of "Bad girl".

more later....

A NEW CHAPTER IN LIFE

2011-12-16T09:47:00.001-06:00

This past Wednesday was the one week anniversary of Sally the dog at my humble estate.
It seems like she has been here for a month.

For those of you not familiar of the beginnings of this tale (sorry) I shall recap.
My number one son and family announced a few months ago that they wanted to get a dog or two for their planned “farm”.
Soon after that they announced the breed of pooch they wanted – Great Pyrenees.
This peaked my interest and I began some online study of the breed (as well as others) just to see what might be greeting me when I come over for my occasional visits.

I read about the breed, and training, and training THIS breed, that the challenges that his breed presents verses other breeds.
I read about different methods of training and swung from one philosophy to another as I read the different practices for training dogs.

I am a dog lover.
I have had several throughout my lifetime.
Because of this, I was looking forward to my descendants getting their furry friends.
Having said that, I have refrained from having a dog at this house and time in my life because I did not feel that I was willing to devote the amount of time and effort to training and caring for an animal.
I have a rather small yard and that is constraining to an animal.
So not only was my reason for not having a pet because of my personal constraints, but also because it was not fair to the animal.

But, during a conversation with my son about the planned acquisition of said pooches, he indicated that I should also acquire a dog.
I explained my reasons for not wanting one, as outlined above.
He was not dissuaded but did not pursue the topic.

A week or so later the topic came up again and I again responded in the negative.
A few days later he again suggested that I should have a dog and I again declined the suggestion.

Then I had a dream.
In this dream, I had received a new GP pup and we grew together as friends and lived fuzzily ever after.
After the dream I began to waver on my negative opinion on having a dog.
I knew there would be issues with house-training and leash training and feeding and setting aside time for play and/or walks.
Somewhere in all of that I came to the point that I could/would modify my pattern of living to accommodate these changes.
The next time my son brought up the issue, I told him of my dream and that I was coming around to acceptance.
We made plans to go to the same farm where his puppies were to be procured, to pick up mine (since he had just brought his pair home the week before).

And so, on the evening of December 7, I received my new furry friend.
Per some of the reading that I had done over the past several weeks I left her mostly alone while she adjusted to her new place.
By the third day, Sally the dog was more ready to engage with her new associate.
I use the term “associate” because I am not sure she sees me as her “master” in the sense that old school training manuals used to present.

I tried to feed her and help her not potty and pee just anywhere.
I was more successful in the former than the latter.
On her fourth day, during a potty trip, Sally indicated that she wanted to stay in the back yard. When I invited her back inside, she just sat down in the grass and looked at me.
Okay.
I knew from my reading that GP's were outside dogs (as well as inside), so I let her stay.
I expected this at some point in her life, just not this soon.

Sunday morning I woke up worrying about my dog, outside all alone by herself in the dark cold world, with barking dogs all around her.
It was a waste of worry.
She was fine.
Without me, or my frettings.

I looked at all the spots on my carpet and the places where I had placed newspaper over previous points of deposit in the few days that Sally had been in my house.
The four rooms she had access to in my house were a mess.
As a house trainer, I was a total failure.
For every time I had carried her out of the house to do her biological business, she had beaten me to the puddle/plop by twice.
I was doing my best to instruct her in the ways of people houses – knowing that dogs respond to actions rather than words, because they do not speak English.
And the evidence was everywhere that I was a total failure.

She was the fastest eliminator I have ever seen.
If I was not immediately up and after her when she began to sniff around, she would beat me to the puddle/plop.
And she did not seem to care where she did her business.
Two feet away from where she was playing was fine with her.
I have never seen a dog with such indiscriminate practices.
Maybe she would see it as efficient.

And our leash training sessions were not going well, either.
She barely tolerated the nice, new blue collar I bought for her.
But the nice, red leash?
Not at all.
As soon as I attached it to her collar she went into reverse.
Strong reverse.
Life and death reverse.
Fighting and struggling from side to side, working every angle she could to break free.
Even though I offered her bits of dog biscuit, she let me know she would rather starve than be on a tether.

Sunday morning I was depressed.
I was ready to give her back.
After three days, I was beaten.
The amount of effort this was taking was consuming virtually all of my time and energy.
And I was making no progress.

So instead of having a nice furry friend flopped around the house to listen to me mutter to myself as I did my chores, I had a walking sewer outlet.
I fed – she pooped.
Or peed.
Instead of a nice symbiotic relationship, I was doomed to a life of following this animal around with a blue bag in my hand (and more in my pocket).

And my visions of us taking nice controlled walks around the neighborhood to burn off her doggy energy while I exercised were not to be.
I had the canine equivalent of a rodeo bull.
She is a 10 pound puppy now.
Imagine what that will be like when she weights 90 pounds?

To compound my depression, when I came home from church Sunday night, Sally had pooped in three different places and peed in at least two.
That comes out (sorry) to almost once per hour. (NOT the two-hour interval the training article stated)
I knew that there would be some cleaning up to be done but I was not prepared for this.
I opened the door and took her outside to let her unload any more processed dog food.
Which she did.
I spent the next 30 minutes cleaning my storage room carpet.

On Monday morning, when she acted like she wanted to stay outside, I gladly let her go.
She has not been inside the house for any length of time since.
And she seems to like it this way.
I go out and play with her in HER yard.
I cannot trust her inside the house any longer.

But that cures the symptom but not the disease.
This keeps her from soiling my house, but does not teach her not to potty in the house.
I do not know how to go about this now.

My work starts in January.
That means that I will have even less time each day to train this dog.
Leash training is vital to me being able to walk off her energy each morning or evening.
If I cannot she will become a problem and I will not have the time to resume training until mid April.
That is four months from now.
By then Sally will be much bigger and more difficult to handle.
.

A Longer Run

2011-11-26T11:20:00.000-06:00

The idea of doing a longer run on Saturday mornings has been simmering in my head since I stopped running six miles a few months ago.
As hard as it was on me to admit that I am no longer strong enough to run six miles without stopping at least once to walk for a minute or two, I submitted to the realities of life.
But the fallback distance of 3+ miles – even with a significant 3/4+ mile hill consistently left me wanting more.
So the question that wanted an answer was, if six miles is too much, what is the baby bear distance (“just right”)?
Five miles?
Four miles?

These questions never got answered before I had to stop running altogether for three months while I expended my energy six days each week fixing up my flip house.
That effort ended two weeks ago and I went promptly back to my weight lifting walking running program.
But because last weekend had a special church function going on Saturday morning, I shifted my Saturday morning run to Sunday morning before church.
I had intended to add some extra distance to my hilly course to test my abilities that weekend, but thought better of it because I did not know how much time it would add to my running session.
I did not want to scramble my get-ready-for-church activities and end up late for the pre-Sunday school responsibilities that I must attend.
So I passed on the extra distance experiment last week.
Which takes us to this morning.

The night-time temperature remained surprisingly mild – mid 50's with a light breeze.
But I had had a busy night in the bed, with many foggy confrontations that partially woke me up several times.
So when the alarm spoke quietly to me a 4:58, I was not really ready to respond with a leap out from between the memory foam and the flannel sheet/comforter.
So I pressed the off button and rolled over in the warm cocoon.
But I was playing my margin.
I knew that it takes only about 15 minutes to shave and get dressed (the shower is saved until after the run....), and about 10 minutes to drive to the running course.
This would theoretically, allow me 30 extra minutes of snoozing, should I choose to indulge.

I dozed for a few minutes longer than the ten minutes that I intended.
So when I popped one eye open to check the time, I knew I needed to get at it.
It was 5:15.
Getting out of the snuggly warmness is the hardest part.
I turn my heat down to 65 at night in the fall/winter so the first sensation if feel when I get out of the warm bed is COLDNESS.
A few button pushes on the electronic heating machine controller begins the process of warming the air temperature to a more comfortable.

For some reason, I overdressed this morning.
50 degrees and above is warm enough to allow bare legs when running.
But today I pulled on my wind pants for just a bit more protection.
I also wore my light, long-sleeved zip top – my usual covering for this temperature.
In addition I worn my light knit gloves and my ear warmer.
All of this is one of the reasons I despise winter.
Trying to keep my body temperature comfortable when running.

My circulation is very uneven, and running seems to only amplify some of these discrepancies.
I can be sweating at my armpits and have cold ears, hands and feet.
And this temperature variation can be moderated by a surprisingly lightweight layer on these parts.

When I started out on the course, my left hip, knee and ankle all took turns complaining about their lot in life.
None of this was strong enough to seriously consider canceling the party, but it put me on notice that the potential was there.
I do not do any warm up exercises, so my first quarter mile of running is very tentative and cautious.
I felt other nudges of distress from my upper and lower back, probably from my weight workout yesterday.
Gradually, everything gets with the program and I am fine for the duration.
It was so today.

Going up the big hill was a bit of a challenge today.
By the time I got to the top, where I turn south, I was into level three breathing.
That is not my preferred rate, but I knew that I was finished with the most difficult portion of my course, so I did not fret too much about this.
Ego would have preferred that I not be breathing faster at all.
Silly boy.

The more level plane of Tollgate Road got the breathing rate back into preferred cadance and the walk down Mountainwood was uneventful.
It was at this point that the zipper on my long-sleeved top was taken all the way down.
I was warm.
Then came the change.
Instead of turning left at the bottom of Mountainwood and going to the 1/10th mile out and back on Owens Drive, I turned right on Owens and started down the gentle grade.
I ran sightly more than a half mile, looped around and started back.
I felt good at this point.
The question at this point was, is this too much?

It on the return trip that I wished I had left the wind pants in the car.
I was just a bit warmer than I wanted to be.
But I was quickly lost is the nostalgia of running my favorite course again, in the direction that I prefer.
From this turn-around point, I would be following almost two full miles of the six-mile course.
I plodded along, daydreaming – the sure sign for me that I am as comfortable and free as I can possibility be.

The last quarter mile was not as easy as it has been in times past.
Nothing was wrong, I just knew that I had expended some extra effort.
When I got to my car I was ready to stop.
I could have run further, if necessary.
But it was not necessary.
I had completed my planned distance.
I felt properly challenged.
After a short cool-down walk, I slid into my car drove home.
Certain that I will do this distance again next week.
I love running.

Running Date of Up

2011-11-12T16:12:00.000-06:00

Since the first week in August, yers troolee has been busy fixing up a house to resell or rent (wee will let the market decide which it is to be...).
Given that this house project required a lot (LOT!) of bending, standing, stooping, wiping, scrubbing, kneeling, etc, six days a week, I decided to forgo all weight workouts, morning walks and weekend runs until the project was finished.
I knew that my elderly body was only capable of doing so much effort in a given time period and I needed to get the house fixed up ASAP.
That is one reason why there have been so few posts on this here blog.

As of this past weekend, virtually all tasks at the Flip House have been completed.
The few that remain are of the optional nature and will not affect the value of the house in any meaningful way.
Thus, this past Monday I started my previously usual morning weight workouts, walks, and - TA DA - my Saturday morning runs.

It is not a welcome sign when the local weather person predicts that the morning temperature will be 37 degrees. (I HATE winter)
But that is what he promised for this morning.
So when the gentle radio alarm came on at 4:58 this morning, I knew what I was in for.
Based on previous adventures of this sort, I dressed in two layers on legs and top, mittens and ear cover band.

The day was dawning clear with an ever-so-gentle breeze of 1 or 2 mph.
Having been out of training (of this sort) for three months, I was prepared for a bad run.
"Bad" meaning having to stop and walk and/or some muscle/tendon/ligament/joint breaking, etc.

I started out on my hill course with a "let's see what we can do" attitude.
To my surprise, I warmed up quickly.
So quickly in fact, that I was pulling neck zippers down at the end of the first half mile.
As I putted along I felt nearly every body part from my hips on down announce its displeasure with the festivities.
Hamstrings were complaining - mildly - about how hard life was, and left hip chimed in.
My chest and triceps were chirping as well, from my first chest workout in three months yesterday morning.
None of this was even close to painful and the unanimous response to all of this from Runner, Coach, and Running Central was "get over it".
Which they all did, more of less.

As I started up the steeper incline in mile one, I wondered if I would be able to go the distance.
Assuming that I would have a difficult time of it today, I did not push my pace.
I just wanted to finish without any unplanned stops. (there was a planned walk down and then back up The Hill at mid-point)
I was pleasantly surprised.
I was able to run all the way up the 3/4 mile hill without a stop.
In fact, my breathing or effort never came close to the point where I wondered if I should stop.
The Bankhead hill is a substantial challenge on a good day.
That is one reason why I run it.

Frankly, I was surprised how "easy" this session turned out to be, considering my past runlessness.
I knew I was taking a chance by not, first, running a level course of the same distance to build up to this level of effort.
But I was feeling frisky after a week of my usual exercise routine and no serious negative reactions.

When I got to the end of my planned circuit (my car) I did not want to stop (a VERY good sign).
I ran a half a block past my car for the shear joy of it.
Could I have done 6 miles today?
No.
Could I have done four?
Prolly.
But I would have produced many lingering physical memories by doing so.
We will see who/where reminds me of the cost of my excess faux youthfulness tomorrow.
In the meantime, I look forward to next weekend.

Movie Review - There Will Be Blood

2011-11-07T08:21:00.000-06:00

While the rest of the state of Alabama was watching a football game, I spent part of the evening watching a movie that was regarded by the movie making community as an excellent film.
I did not get to see the first 30 minutes or so of the film, but that seemed not to matter.
I was only mildly impressed in a positive way.

It reminded me of a remake of the oil-tycoon-related movie "Giant", which my natural father worked on.
The "Blood" movie was stereotypically Hollywood, to wit:
There was a "fundamentalist" preacher who was proved to be a hypocrite.
There was an oil tycoon who was a drunkard and ruthless and hateful and mean and nasty.
These two major themes were so hackneyed that I almost changed the channel.
The ending was awkward and unfulfilling.
This is not because the bad guy did not get his due, it just seemed that a more conclusive ending could have been created.

And Hollywood got to drop its collective pants at us conservatives again and present two of its favorite topics - evil rich businessmen and the Christian religion, of the more conservative persuasion.
Never mind that many of them are "rich".
THEY are Arteests and earn their millions playing people that are not.
Or at least, they want us to think they are not like the people portrayed in their productions.
But my perception of the moral behavior of most Hollywood types leads me to the conclusion that many of them are virtually identical to some of their evil characters, just with a different costume.

So, some questions arise....
1 Does EVERY wealthy businessperson have to be evil?
2 Does EVERY Christian minister HAVE to be so fundamentally flawed that we can have no faith in what they say or do?
The easy answer is, no.
But the exceptions to the more common Hollywood characterizations are all too rare to suit me.
Which is why I so rarely watch their so-predictable presentations.

TAXES AND THE "RICH"

2011-09-29T19:47:00.000-05:00

It is interesting to me that the First Idiot is trotting around whining that the "rich" need to pay their "fair share" of taxes, when they already pay 50-75+ percent of all income taxes (depending on where one draws the line for "rich").
Per the IRS, the top 1 percent of income earners pay 39 percent of all income taxes.
The top 10 percent of income earners pay 70 percent.

In his latest tax increase proposal, he wants the income tax rate on "rich" folks to go from 35 percent to 39 percent.
So, these wealthy, unpatriotic slackers are a full four percent away from paying their "fair share".
Four percent?
But this four more percent represents a tax increase of over 10 percent.

What does not penetrate the cranial processing organ of this, and most other liberal policy lemmings is that increasing tax rates ALWAYS results in LESS tax revenue.
When GWB convinced the Congress to reduce the highest tax rate from 39 to 35 percent in 2001, actual tax revenues went UP.
This happens every time tax rates are cut.

Why?
Because "the government" has no money of its own.
It can only take money from individual productive citizens.
What about the "big corporations", you say?
Where do you think a company - any company, large or small - gets its money?
If you owned a company - any kind of company - where would you get the money to pay your taxes?
You would get it from your customers.
It would be hidden in the prices you charge your customers.
SO - a tax on a business is ultimately paid by individual citizens who do business with that company.
Thus, ALL taxes levied by the government are ultimately paid by individual citizens.

What most people do not understand that that "the government" is not a stand-alone entity with a source of income separate from the general economy at large.
The money pie of any nation is only so large at any given time.
The more of this pie "the government" takes, the less that is left for all the rest of us.
And when "the government" takes your money, IT gets to make the decisions about where and how much is spent.
You don't.
You might agree with some of the spending decisions by "the government" but you likely will not agree with all of them.
Tough noogees.

THE NEW TOOL QUEST

2011-09-28T15:57:00.000-05:00

One manifestation of my multiple personality defects is that I like tools.
I have totally bought into the adage from old mechanics (older than me...) that says, more or less, “To do the job right, you need the right tools.”
That said, I have wanted a more complete set of sockets for decades.

For you girls out there, allow me to describe the basic attributes of socket sets.
Socket tools were invented to install and remove nuts and bolts.
They are especially useful for this where working space is limited.
There are two parts to a socket set – the sockets, that fit on the nut or bolt, and the ratchet, that turns the socket/bolt/nut.

Sockets come in various sizes to match the different bolt/nut sizes.
These sizes can be “standard” (or “fractional”) or metric.
Sockets also come in “standard” length (or, depth) or “deep-well” (longer length/depth).

For sockets to work to their full potential you need a ratchet.
A ratchet is basically a handle with a rotary gear on the end.
This allows you to rotate the socket (and thus the nut/bolt) in various steps up to and including 360 degrees, if space allows.
Ratchets and sockets come in various drive sizes – 1/4 inch, 3/8 inch, 1/2 inch, and 3/4 inch. (and there may be a 1 inch drive for REALLY BIG jobs.)
Thus, certain size sockets work with certain size ratchets, others do not.
When you buy a socket set, all the sockets are matched to the ratchet(s) that is (usually) included. (you can buy the sockets and ratchets separately.)

40 years ago or so, I purchased a socket set from K-Mart.
It included a 3/8 inch ratchet and several standard depth sockets.
It also included several 1/4 inch sockets and an adapter that allowed the 3/8 inch ratchet to fit the 1/4 inch sockets.
The set has been adequate for 90 percent of my jobs.
But the lack of deep-well sockets was a problem.
And this was made more apparent because, as part of the tools supplied by my last employer, was a socket set which included deep-well sockets. (which came in handy many times in my work.)

A task in my Flip House has required a deep-well sock.
Thus, I find myself lusting after a new socket set which includes deep-well sockets.
So, I set out to find a “good” quality set of sockets (with ratchet(s)) that had the following attributes:

3/8 inch drive ratchet
1/4 inch drive ratchet
Standard (fractional) sockets only (no metric) in standard depth AND deep-well depth for BOTH 3/8 AND 1/4 inch drives.
And I want all of this in a nice single plastic or metal case/box.
And I do not want them made in China. (I prefer the USA but Taiwan is okay)
And, while price is not my first consideration (I do not need the cheapest set available) I am not willing to pay $500.00 for these tools (yes, there are sets out there that cost this much and more)
Simple, right?
Not.

I went shopping on the internet.
Guess what – almost nobody sells a set like this any more.
I can find sets with standard-depth and deep-well 3/8 inch drive sockets but without any 1/4 inch sockets.
I can find sets with standard-depth and deep-well 1/4 inch drive sockets but without any 3/8 inch sockets.
I can find sets with standard depth 3/8 inch drive and 1/4 inch drive sockets but without any deep-well sockets.
I can find sets with 3/8 inch deep-well sockets but they include metric sockets (which I do not need or want).
I can find sets with standard depth and deep-well 3/8 inch sockets and standard depth 1/4 inch sockets, but no deep-well 1/4 inch sockets.
I can find sets that include everything I want, but are made in China.
I found a set that includes everything I want but cost $150.00.
I found a set that includes everything I want but cost $500.00.
I found one set that included everything I wanted that cost over $2000.00.

In the end, I found what I wanted in two sets at Granger, a 3/8 inch drive set and a 1/4 inch drive set, both with deep-well sockets, no metric stuff included, made in Taiwan.
Now I am happy.

Just Thinkin....

2011-09-13T08:20:00.000-05:00

Economics 202 - Stock Market Price Changes

2011-08-13T19:35:00.000-05:00

Economics is a murky topic for many people, but it is really a very simple subject.
Nearly every economic situation can be distilled down to one simple concept – supply and demand.
Or, offer and bid
Or, perceived value verses actual value.

Related to this general template are the price movements of our stock market.
Or any stock market.

You may have heard the the goal in making investments is to buy low and sell high.
Another simple maxim of economics.
But to many (most?) the rise and fall of stock prices is without logic.
Even to many who have some understanding of economics.
I am here to help.

Rather than think of the entire stock market and the millions of transactions that take place every minute or hour of each business day, imagine the behavior of just one share of stock of just one company.

A company has issued this one share of stock in the hope that someone will buy it.
When someone buys this share of stock they, in essence, loan to the company the price of that share of stock for some period of time.
The period of time is determined by the buyer.
It may be a short time – sometimes as short as a few hours, or a long time – years, or decades.
The company, for its part, will use the money received by the sale of this share of stock to invest in the operation of the company.
The hope is that, when invested wisely, this money will help the company grow and become more profitable.
When the company becomes more profitable the value of that share of stock will increase.
When the value of that share of stock increases, the owner may be enticed to sell his share of stock and make a profit from the sale (vs the amount he paid for it).
If the owner of this share of stock DOES sell it, the company can sell it again to someone else.
But since this share of stock is now worth more, the next person who buys it will pay a higher price than the first person who bought it.
Thus, the person who buys this share of stock, will, in effect, be loaning more money to the company than the previous purchaser.

Now, back away from this simple example and take a larger view of the stock market.
Think of it just like a supermarket.
A supermarket sells many kinds of food, fruit, vegetables, soup, meat, milk, etc.
In the same way, the stock market sells stock of many kinds of companies.

The shoppers in the stock market are called investors.
There are two types of investors – long-term and short-term.
Long-term investors buy stocks and hold them for months or years.
Short-term investors buy stocks and only hold them for a few hours or days or weeks.

So why does the average price of stocks go up or down?
Two reasons – investors believe that the price of stocks will go up in the future (near or far term), or they will go down (near or far term)
Remember buy low sell high.

Lets assume you have some money and you want to invest it somewhere where it will grow at a faster rate than a regular savings account in a bank.
You look at the general market situation and decide that stocks will likely increase in value in the next year.
You do not know how much but you think they will go up.
So you buy as many stocks as you can afford.

But you are not the only person who views the general economy this way and you are not the only person buying stock for this reason.
As you and others buy up shares of stock, fewer shares of stock remain for purchase.
The fewer shares left to buy the more valuable they become.
So the price for each share goes up.
Supply vs demand.

Lets say you want one share of stock of company A.
And lets say a guy next to you wants that same share of stock of company A.
You offer one dollar to the agent selling the share of stock.
You offer this much because you believe that this share of stock will be worth more than this in a year or so (your investment time window).
The guy next to you offers a dollar and ten cents for this share of stock.
Now you have to decide if you believe that that share of stock will be worth more than a dollar and ten cents in a year or so, or not.
If you believe that it will, then you offer a dollar and twenty cents for the share of stock.
If you do not believe that the value of this share of stock will be worth more than a dollar and twenty cents in a year or so, then you let the other guy have the share of stock.
This is how the price of shares of stock go up.
They are bid up by buyers (investors) competing with each other in the market.

The reverse is also true.
Lets say you already own a share of stock of company A.
But you believe that the future market conditions are such that company A will not be able to sell as many of its products next year as it did last year.
This will cause the value of your share of stock in company A to go down.
Rather than hang on to your share of stock in company A until the market improves, you decide to sell it.

But there are other people who hold a share of stock from company A and they want to sell their shares also.
They are standing in line behind you.
You offer to sell your share of stock in company A to the agent in the stock market for a dollar.
But the agent has already bought back other shares of stock in company A and finds that he cannot re-sell them for a dollar.
So he offers to buy your share of stock in company A for 90 cents.
The offer is good for only one minute.

You see the value of your share of stock in company A dropping as you stand there thinking about his offer.
You decide it is better to sell now at this price than to wait longer and have to sell your share in company A for even less.
You make the sale and as you are walking away you overhear the agent offer 80 cents to the guy who was in line behind you.

There are two reasons why you would want to buy or sell stocks at any given time – you believe the price will go up or it will go down in the future, or other buyers and sellers believe so.
There are two reasons why the price of a stock will go up or down.
Either market conditions are such that the business of a company will do better or worse, or, OTHER STOCK BUYERS believe that the value of a share of stock will go up or down.
Even if YOU do not believe that the value of the stock shares of a particular company will go up or down, if other buyers and sellers think so, the price of shares of stock will move according to what they do.
So if other buyers bid up the price of a share of stock, your share of that same stock will increase in value, too.
If they sell their shares of stock, bidding the price of the stock down, your shares of that stock will go down with them.
Thus, sometimes you buy simply because others are buying and sell only because others are selling.

Many short-term investors like to buy and sell shares of stock “on the margin”.
Basically, they study the price movements of the shares of stock of certain companies or industries.
They know from experience that certain shares increase or decrease in value by a certain percentage then they stop moving that direction and reverse.
So, for example, the price of a share of stock in company X tends to go up 15 percent over three months, then it stops and starts to go down.
So you buy a share of stock in company X when it is low and hold it until it gains about 14 percent, then you sell it and take your profit.
I does not matter if the stock goes up a couple more percentage points after that, you have made your “safe” money on this cycle.
You may invest your money in another stock that is in an increasing cycle while you wait for the value of the stock of company X to drop back to its expected low point.
When the value of the stock of company X hits its expected low point you buy some more shares and ride its value back up to its expected high point again.
Then you sell it again.
And so on.

Remember – supply and demand.
Price always follows demand.
When there is less demand than supply, the price drops.
When there is more demand than supply, the price rises.

SOME QUESTIONS FOR THE BRITISH RIOTERS

2011-08-11T10:33:00.000-05:00

In the last few days there have been riots, looting and serious property destruction in several cities in Great Britan.
A radio reporter interviewed two female participants and asked them why they were involved in the destruction.
The girls said, “To show the rich people that we can do what we want.”

This answer seems to have no relationship with the reality of the situation, and it prompted some questions in my mind.
To wit:

1 Who are the “rich people”?
2 Have rich people restricted the activities of the young people?
3 In what way have rich people restricted the activities of the young people?
4 How does destruction of cars and buildings demonstrate freedom from rich people?
5 Will the freedom of the young people be improved by destroying local stores and property?
6 Do the young people believe that the local store owners are “rich people”?
7 If the local store owners are considered “rich people”, is it the goal of the young rioters to cause them to abandon their stores that have been damaged?
8 If the local store owners abandon their damaged stores, will that have a positive or negative effect on the neighborhood?
9 If the rioters cause the “rich” local store owners to leave the area, where will the young rioters shop for the things they need/want?
10 How wealthy does a person have to be to be considered “rich”?
11 Is being “rich” a bad thing?
12 What elements of life are the rioters missing in their current situation?
13 How will this expression of anger improve the lives of the rioters?
14 Do the young rioters believe that the “rich people” are paying attention to them and will take note that they can do what they want?

New Car Update

2011-08-09T13:23:00.000-05:00

No, I haven't bought one.
Just still lusting.
And have eliminated a few models.

I love this little car.
It is at the top of my list.
The Ford Focus is second. (I can't believe I just wrote that...)

The Room of Old Men

2011-06-27T19:14:00.001-05:00

The chairs that ringed the big room were half filled with old men.
Some had canes, some had roller-walkers, a couple were in wheelchairs.
A couple of them carried an oxygen bottle with clear plastic tubes running from the bottle to around their head and under their nose.
Most of them just walked with a limp.
A few were like me, walking normally (if I do anything normally).
Many of them had the deep, rasping cough of a life-long smoker.

As I sat and observed those around me, I thought, these guys took the bullets and the shrapnel for me.
These are the ones who came back.
Some paid in the jungle or the desert.
Others, like these, came back, but they still paid.
On the installment plan.
Some of them would say that the ones who came back in a box are the ones who got off easy.
And I would agree with them.

I have skated through life because of the lifetime of discomfort and pain they paid for me.
I owe them.
Big time.
I owe each one of them.
There is no way that I can repay or compensate them for the life of suffering (some of them more than others) they have endured so that I could raise my children free from fear and harm, go where I want, when I want, say what I want.
All of this is written on those pieces of paper we call our Constitution.
But the words on the paper aren't worth anything unless some of us defend them against those who want things another way.

I went to the doctor today for my annual checkup.
Because of my short service in the US Army, I am entitled to free medical care from the US Veterans Administration. (thanks to all of you who pay your taxes.)
He said my prostate was down from 2X to 1X. (don't ask me how the doctor was able to make this determination.....)
This is good news.
We are not sure why the change has taken place.
I am taking Saw Palmetto pills but they are not supposed to affect organ size.
But something did.
Not complaining, just sayin.

My blood pressure was good.
They took some of my blood to do a workup including HIV (just to settle the possible question).
Just like last year (except for the HIV test).

I am disgustingly healthy.
Even though I grunt and moan about my little aches and pains, in reality, they are so minor that I do not need to take any chemical substances to diminish their intensity.
The day may (will!) come when this will no longer be true, but for now it is so.
I am blessed.
I can still run three-plus miles each week, and walk three miles twice a week.
Many of those men in the big room can barely walk to their cars.

And while I am most grateful to Yahweh for his illogical kindness and love to me, I also feel a strong sense of gratitude to the old men sitting around the big room today.

Life As Plan B

2011-06-20T21:37:00.000-05:00

As planned, I ran my 3.5 mile hilly course this past Saturday morning.
It was "planned" because my preferred plan has seemingly become un-achievable.
Running six miles without stopping.
Never mind that the preferred six-mile course is one of the most challenging in the area.

After acknowledging my diminishing strength to complete the 6 mile course without stopping, I have dropped back to my next most challenging path.
Bankhead Parkway is a relatively steep road that gains about 200 feet in less than a mile.
I ran up the hill, bopped along the relatively flat Tollgate Road for a quarter mile then down the heart poundingly steep Mountainwood drive (walking).
Mountainwood drops (or gains, depending which way you are going) about 90 feet in about 1300 feet.
It is so steep that one can easily slip and fall if it is wet. (BTDT)
Anyway, did the whole circuit without a mishap.
The party was physically challenging and I can still feel a few pokes of pain around hips and hammys.

But the psychological sense that this is but a sad substitute for the distance my heart desires to run is buried somewhere near the surface of my conscious mind.
It is time to stop whining and suck up whatever endorphin-induced ego expansion I derived from going the longer distance.
Those days are over.
It is time to stop whimpering and learn to love what is left of life.

But the sad fact is, this is not the end of seeing physical and mental abilities diminish.
This is just another brick falling out of the wall of my life.
More are sure to come.
In fact, hardly a week goes by without some additional reminder injecting itself into my perception that I cannot do some small task as well/long as I used to.
I honestly get tired of seeing this.

From this, I can see why old people become depressed.
And it gives me a better insight into the value of visiting rest homes.
But I have never been good at relating to people.
Especially old people.
And increasingly, that is me.
.

End of an Era

2011-06-12T16:25:00.000-05:00

Sigh....
The Saturday morning plod along the Cotton Row course did not go very well.
Again.
My breathing was more-or-less okay (better than last go-round... but that is not saying much), and my strength was somewhat better.
But I had to stop and walk in both mile five and six.
Not good.
And not according to plan.
At least, not per Plan A.

As if to punctuate the situation, my left knee developed a nice jabbing pain in the ligament just below the kneecap early in mile five.
This was just after my second walk.
It was not the sharp ice pick kind of pain, it was more like someone whacking me with a tire iron just below the kneecap.
It got my attention.
And it forced Runner, Coach and Running Central to have a meeting to decide what to do and when.

The decision was quickly arrived at as left knee continued to squeak loudly – keep going and see if the problem fixes itself.
So I did.
And it did.
But it took a while.

I tried modifying my gait this way and that to take some of the pressure off the complaining ligament, but nothing seemed to help.
But as I kept going, I noticed that the pain seemed to diminish.
After a couple of minutes or three, the pain was down to a nuisance level and I knew I was going to be able to finish.
Or, at least, my left knee was not going to be the reason that I did not finish.
My overall strength was another matter, as I was forced to stop and walk again near Courthouse Square.
But I knew what this meant.

After my poor performance last week I made a promise to myself that if this session did not go well, I would stop running the six-mile distance.
“Well” means, run the whole distance without stopping.
As much as I love it, I have to face reality (I hate that....).
I cannot run this distance any more.
So, life is what it is.

Thus, next week I will return to my 3.5 mile course on the back side of the CR course.
Sigh.....
.

Economics 201

2011-06-10T09:09:00.000-05:00

Lets get something straight – governments have no money.
I do not mean that they are broke – insolvent – I mean they have no internal means to finance themselves.
You and me, we can go to work for someone who is willing to pay us for our labors and we earn money, with which we buy food to feed ourselves and pay our bills, etc.
The government – be it on the local level, the county level, the state level, or the federal level – must take money from someone else in order to finance its operations.

The government is basically a service organization, invented to handle tasks that we as individuals cannot, or choose not, to do.
Services such as provide protection from criminals, or put out fires at our homes while we are away working, of control traffic on the roads so everything runs in a safe and orderly manner.

To do all these things for us, government collects money from the people it serves by collecting taxes.
Since some taxes are more burdensome on some people than other people, there are many different kinds of taxes.
All of these taxes are of two basic types – taxes on income received, or taxes on things purchased or owned.

The government is not us and they.
The government IS US.
WE ARE the government.
This is true even of totalitarian governments.
This may not seem true but think about this for a moment.

“Government” was the creation of people to supply a needed service – protection.
You may have heard the phrase “might makes right” and to some extent it is true.
It is often the case that the stronger of two people will prevail in a conflict.
It is also true that the stronger of two groups will prevail in a conflict.
Thus, if one group is threatened by another group, it will seek to become as strong as possible to defend itself against the group that is challenging it.

Think about the organization of a basic group of people.
Start with a primitive community – just three or four families living near each other.
Each family might be mostly self-sufficient and go days or weeks or months without contact with the other members of the community.
But at some point, for some tasks, someone will seek or need help from one or more of the other families.

It could be that the men decide to go hunting for a big animal for food, and one of them knows where some are or have been.
The others may not know this information.
So the others will follow his lead in the hunt.
Another man may be better at making arrowheads or stone knives than the others, so soon, the others either learn from him how to make better tools, or they just trade for new tools from him.

Over time, a single person or family will rise to become the “leader” of the group/clan/tribe.
Other members will look to the Leader to organize them in a way that will best protect them from outside threats - whether from wild animals or other groups of people.
They did not know it, but they just invented “government”.

As time passes, the leader would require some form of commitment from the subjects/followers to allow him/her to perform the leadership functions without having to spend as much of his/her time doing the everyday things that the other families do.
This may be a commitment of time for service – tending the leader's crops a few hours each week, for example, or each family bringing some of their crops/meat to the family of the leader to compensate for the fact that he/she does not have time to tend to such tasks – or both.
They did not know it, but they just invented taxes.

As the community grows protection of the group will become important.
Any community – even primitive ones – need real estate – territory – to hunt animals for food and/or grow crops.

Even in totalitarian governments, both elements need each other.
It may be that the common people are not treated fairly and suffer hardship under the policies of the government, but they need some of the services the government provides.
And the government needs the people.
It needs some of them to staff the army and police – the very organizations that may be mistreating the people.
It needs the food the people produce.
It needs the products the people build in the factories.
If the practices of the government become so harsh that the people begin to die or revolt, then the government will have to adjust its policies or be overthrown.
It has happened before, it will happen again.

It this point you may be asking, “what is the point of this?”.
Fair question.
The point is (ta da) government has no money of its own.
It must fund its operations from money it collects from the working people.
But consider this – there is only so much money in a country at any given time.
It ALL belongs to the people – not the government.
So the more money the government takes from the people, the less money there is left over for the people to spend on the things they want.

Yes, new wealth CAN be created, but it takes time.
So the total pie can and does get larger, but at any given moment, that pie is only so large.
Government does not create new wealth.
Government does not make the pie grow larger.
Only private companies make the pie grow larger.
The more money the government takes from that pie, the less there is left in that pie for everyone else to spend.
Government can only take money from one person and give it to someone else.
Government only moves money around in the current-sized pie, it does not and cannot make the pie larger.
Why?
Because government does not invest the money it takes into enterprises that will grow and create new jobs or new wealth.

Thus, any dollar that the government spends or gives to someone, came from someone else.
So the unemployment payment the government gave to John Jones this week, came from all of Mr. Jones' neighbors who are still earning a living by working.
The salary that the government pays to Suzi Smith who works in the unemployment office, which pays Mr. Jones his weekly check, came from Ms. Smith's neighbors who are still earning a living by working

Every dollar that the government takes from its working citizens is a dollar that those citizens cannot spend themselves.
Those dollars taken by the government are not as useful – or “valuable” - as dollars paid to people who earn them by working.
Why?
Because the persons who earn the dollars do not get to make the decisions on how or where (or whether) to spend their dollars.
Which is more useful to you, you spending your money on things you want/need, or your neighbor spend his money on things he wants/needs?
It is the same with the government.

The government MAY spend that dollar in a way that is acceptable and useful to the person that the tax dollar was taken from, or the government may spend that dollar on a study of the mating habits of fruit flies.
(by the way, someone ASKED the government to pay for that study of mating habits of fruit flies)
If we, as citizens, do not pay attention to what our elected representatives do with our money, and call them to task on spending that we disagree with, we will have out of control spending by our government.
Oh, wait.....
.

Confession Time

2011-06-09T21:58:00.000-05:00

Okay, it's time to fess up.
My six-mile run this past Saturday was a disaster.
Well maybe not a disaster.
It just did not go as planned.
Given that I had such a good run the week before, I was expecting an equally good session this time, as well.
Not.

The goal is simple – to run the six mile course without stopping.
Never mind that my time to accomplish this task is longer than in my younger days.
I can live with that.
I just want to run the course without stopping and with nothing broken.
In that respect, this last session achieved half of my goal.

As I have said in past blogs, because of the hilly terrain of the first three miles of the course, I can tell in the first half mile how I am going to do in any particular attempt.
And it was so this past Saturday as well.
I did not feel “strong” early on.
I did not feel weak exactly, just not at my best.
So that set me to wondering if I would have to cut the session short or what.

In times past I have found myself with diminished breathing capacity that reduced my running ability, but that has not happened in several weeks – and may be fixed for good.
This past session, I just felt less strong, and to my surprise, my breathing was never a problem.

But by the time I got to the first serious little hill early in mile three, I knew I was in for a difficult journey.
I pondered whether to turn around and limit the party to four miles, but ego got the best of me.
I wanted to go the whole way, thinking that early in mile four the course is virtually all down hill.
So I kept going.
But I stopped and walked that first hill.
When things leveled out a bit, I started running again.
Then I walked The Hill at the end of mile three, as planned.
But I had to walk a few hundred feet in mile four, and another few hundred feet in mile five, and a hill in mile six, just over a half mile from the finish line.

I finished discouraged and perplexed (and running).
Why was I so “weak”?
I could think of no reason.
I had gotten a nominal amount of sleep the day/night before.
I had done a normal chest workout Friday morning with no signs of weakness.
I did not “feel” tired or sick.
So, why did I bomb so badly on my favorite course?
Surely, I am not too old to run this distance any more.
Or am I?
I am 66.
Is it time to face the reality of my age?

In the last six or eight weeks I have run this course only twice without stopping to walk at least once.
Some of the walking can be attributed to building up my running strength to handle the course distance from the three-and-a half mile distance I was running previously.
But which is the exception and which is the rule, running the six miles without stopping, or running the six miles with a walk or two mixed in?
Part of me does not want to know the answer.

We will try it again next week and see how we do.
I fear I may have to kiss my favorite running course goodbye.

I can remember my great grandmother, her long white hair pulled back in a neat bun, sitting in her old wooden rocking chair in her big, nearly empty living room, looking out the tall front windows of her old house (which was long ago demolished in downtown Sacramento).
Just sitting silently and looking out, watching the cars and occasional pedestrian go by.

It did not register at that time how lonely and empty her life must have been then.
I was just a kid about 8, maybe, self-centered and focused on playing with things, too shy to want to interact with people I did not know very well.
I remember us talking - she asking me questions, me answering, me asking questions, she answering.
I fear I was a bit terse in my comments.
But I did not know what to say to her.
I remember feeling very disconnected with my great-grandmother.
I did not know much about her, her childhood, where she was born, where she had lived, if she worked, where she had worked, etc.
And, frankly, I did not care then.
I was too young to appreciate the value of wisdom and perspective of older people then.

Some days I feel very close to that scene.
But the person in the rocking chair is me.

Ticked Off By Judicial Stupidity - Again

2011-06-03T08:34:00.001-05:00

Re the following tidbit....

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/06/02/prayer-prohibited-at-graduation-ceremony/?test=latestnews

To which I respond-

Welcome to Canada.
Or China.
Chief U.S. District Judge Fred Biery in Texas has ordered Medina Valley Independent School District to not do or say certain things during its graduation ceremony.

One of the things prohibited is prayer.
Imagine that.
Some of the words that are prohibited are, “in [diety]'s name”, “bow their heads”, “amen”, and “prayer”.
So much for free speech.

As you can guess, this suit was brought against the school district by a single atheist family, with the help of the ACLU.
So, just as in the Ten Commandments case in Alabama a few years ago, a single person or family can stand the entire nation or community on its head with the help of a sympathetic federal judge.

So, what would be some possible reactions to this judicial absurdity?
Here are a few:
1 Comply with the order.
Pretend God does not exist and that the entire community has no interest in acknowledging Him in any way in public/civic events.

2 Kill the judge.
This is the Taliban method of handling local civic disagreements. It works but there are some risks and consequences.

3 Kill the atheist family.
The Taliban method again. Since they are the cause of the problem; eliminate the problem and go back to praying at graduation ceremonies. Again, there are some risks and consequences to this response.

4 Hold prayer meetings in the street in front of the homes of the judge and/or the atheist family. Say the prohibited words just loud enough to be heard by the target individuals.

5 Have the Valedictorian READ the judges order at the graduation ceremony, thus, saying all the words the judge has prohibited to be said at the ceremony.

6 Pray, and/or say all the words the judge has prohibited.
Pretend this order was never made. Just do what you planned on doing. This response will likely result in jail time for those involved, including the school administrators. I say, tough noogees. Send them to jail. Send everybody to jail.
Let the judge and the judicial system deal with a massive civil disobedience movement.

7 Have the crowd chant the prohibited words during the graduation ceremony.
Of course this would just be a spontaneous gesture of protest/free expression, which is "protected" free speech.

8 Boycott the graduation ceremony.
Just don't go there. Find someone who has a large enough field or pasture and hold the graduation ceremony on private property. Charge a one penny admission as a token to make it a private event.
.

Good News - Bad News Run

2011-05-16T07:22:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning was cool and wanting to rain.
I wore my rain cap for the first half mile of the six-mile ho-down but it proved to be too hot.
And it was not raining.
But the clouds looked like they wanted to. (in fact, it did rain in other parts of town)

Usually, by the first half mile I can tell how I am going to do on these longer runs, and it was true this day.
I did not feel as weak as I have in the past, but I did not feel "strong" (a very relative term for me).
So I prepared myself mentally to have to walk sometime in the last half of the party.
And it was so.

Early into mile six, I felt I needed to stop for a minute or two and walk.
There was not a lot of argument between Coach, Runner and Running Central.
Runner did not want to, but mostly for self-esteem reasons.
Coach knew how hard Runner was working.
Running Central was monitoring the situation silently.
This was a close call.
If this had been a race, I would not have stopped.
But it wasn't, so I did.

The walk worked as planned.
I finished the last mile or so with nothing out of the ordinary.
But I was glad to be finished with this one.
That is the bad news. (not so bad, really.)

There were a lot of runners out that morning.
I thought it might be because of some organized practice for the Cotton Row race coming in two weeks.
Not.
At least, not entirely.
It turns out there was a race that morning.
The I Love Music race, or some such.
That is a new one here.
And as I finished my six-mile jaunt, I saw a hundred runners passing one block away.

The good news?
Nothing broke.
Again.
No hip, knee, ankle joint issues.
No connective tissue issues - tendons, ligaments, muscles, etc.
There was some vague whinings around mile four from left knee and right hip support tissues about how hard life is, but these mumblings were drowned out by the chirping of the birds and my accelerated breathing.
Amazing.

Life is good.
Very good.
.

Another Nice Run

2011-05-07T11:41:00.002-05:00

Ho hum.
Another Saturday - another nice six-mile run.
Not really.
Running six miles is a pretty big deal for me in my advancing age.

I am now 66 years old.
This is hard to believe sometimes.
If anyone had told me in high school that at age 66 I would be running 6 miles even once a week (as currently is the case), I would have told them that they were nuts.
But here I am, doing it.

I have retired from running about three times.
Each time thinking that I was too old to keep running.
And each time I have started a walking program, considered more "appropriate" for old geezers such as I by "health professionals", I have found that it feels like a waste of time.
I do not feel challenged physically, and I finish each session feeling like I could do more.
This latest resurrection of the activity began innocently enough, trying to find a more challenging walking course, soon progressed to running up the one mile hill, and finally, about a month ago, just getting crazy and going for the whole enchalada of the six-mile Cotton Row race course (which, for some reason, I dearly love).
(see the full story in my blog of May 8, 2010)

So, today, after an amazing session last week (six miles - no stops), I did not feel quite as strong as last week, so my breathing was more labored than I would have preferred.
But I did not have to stop to walk, even though Runner and Running Central were having a discussion in mile 5 about just a short walk to allow my breathing to settle down a bit.
But by then, I was almost finished (within 20 minutes or less), and it was mostly down-hill.
So no stops were sanctioned.

And .... no body parts broke.
No ankle attachments or connections were unhappy.
Same for knees.
My hips like to whine a bit beginning about mile three, but this is usually such low-level mumbling that I cannot even discern what exactly is the problem.

I am wonderfully blessed.
For all my ratty, less-than-ideal genetic construction (I plan to talk to God about this in heaven), I have managed to run virtually uninjured for the last six years.
The same cannot be said for many runners who are much stronger than I.
So, I am again happy and enjoying another endorphin high.
.

THE 2011 TORNADO DIARIES

2011-05-04T08:32:00.000-05:00

DAY 1
Thursday April 28, 2011
7:12 PM

The power to Huntsville was taken down at about 4:30 PM yesterday afternoon as a giant (what we know now) F5 tornado ran north of town.
It missed my son's house by about a half mile.
It was a slab-scraper.

A state of emergency is boring.
Those of us who have been spared the tragedy that hit many others have little to do.
There are plus points as well as minus points to my plight.
Pluses
1 I am alive
2 all of my worldly goods are intact (if inoperable)
3 all of my family are alive and free of any damage
4 I have running water – hot and cold
5 I have gas to cook and to warm water
6 the weather after the storms is warm, so I am not cold.
7 I have food to last a week or so.
Minuses
1 I have no electricity – so no toys, music, etc
2 I am alone, lonely, bored.

Things could be worse – way worse.

So we/you learn to live like they did in the wild west - do what you can in the daylight, stay still and sleep when it is dark.
Seven days – that is how long “they” are saying it will be before we have electricity again.
If that is so-this year will end up with 51 weeks in it instead of 52.
There is not much to do without electricity.
I cannot work kuz I work on a computer.
No electricity – no computers
No computers – no work
No work – no business for me = boring

It could be worse – much worse – just sayin....

DAY 2
Friday April 29, 2011
12:43

Emptying out the refrigerator.
Throwing away food – this feels strange.
Drank the last of my milk.
I have about a quart more, but I do not trust its safety.
I started to read “History of the Christian Church”
8 volumes, first printed in 1858.

DAY 3
Saturday, April 30, 2011

Woo Hoo.
Today is running day.
Even though there are no stoplights and a dusk to dawn curfew – I ran.
6 miles.
No walking (except the lower half of Mountainwood Drive, as planned)
No signals.
No lights.
All the drivers were behaving themselves – stopping at every intersection with a dark stoplight , then proceeding.
I love it when we all play by the rools.

I cleaned my refrigerator today.
Cleaned all the little smudges and small accumulations of crumbs.
My refrigerator looks strange with its doors standing open, shelves empty.

Today would be food shopping day, but....
About half the food I would buy would go into my refrigerator – which is not working because we have no electricity – yet.
So, there is no point in going food shopping.
I still have some food to survive a few more days.
I ate my last two eggs this morning, so I will begin my new oatmeal and water diet for a few days.
“They” now estimate that the power will be back on Monday afternoon.

DAY 4
Sunday May 1, 2011

Breakfast = hot oatmeal + water + honey + cinnamon.
It was yummy.
It is cloudy today.
There is a chance of rain.

Driving to church today I saw many trees blown over (20+?)
Limited damage to buildings on the route that I took (I know it is MUCH worse in other areas just a mile or so from where I was)
I saw a few signs bent over, etc.

“Church” was strange today.
There was no preaching (there was no electricity at the church buildings), just testimonies.
Brother John read only one scripture – Ecclesiastes 3:1-9.
One family in the congregation lost their house in the storms.
They gave a good testimony.

After church, we had a “cook out” -type lunch (hamburgers, hot dogs, etc) for the community.
Two couples came (that I know of).
The rest of us ate well (as usual).
There was no evening service because of the county-wide dusk-to-dawn curfew.

At 11:08 PM the power came on at my house.

DAY 5
Monday, May 2, 2011

Osama Bin Laden is dead.
Good.
I am not comfortable feeling good that someone is dead, but I am very comfortable knowing that justice has been administered to someone with such evil intentions.

A half mile from my house, they still do not have power.
Some traffic signals work, some are still dark.
I went to a Walmart today which had power.
All of their refrigerated cases were empty (ALL + EMPTY).
ALL of the food had been sold or thrown away.
I bought milk (just being loaded into the bare refrigerated case as I arrived) and bread.
There were no eggs. :(

I am blessed.

The Ideal World Obama and his Friends want for you

2011-04-25T11:39:00.000-05:00

While this view of our society has not been presented to the public in this detail, it has been presented in portions here and there by those who support Mr. Obama's socialist view. Some readers may object to some items in this list as undocumented, but rest assured, they have been published in proposed legislation or articles written by his supporters or current cabinet members.

In the society that Mr. Obama and his friends want you to live in, many choices you are free to exercise today, would not be available to you.

Easily half of your income would go to the federal, state, county, or city governments.
Taxes will be everywhere.
There will be a tax on your income,
a tax on your savings accounts,
a tax on things you buy,
a tax on things you sell,
a tax on every financial transaction you make,
a tax on things you own,
a tax on your electricity,
a tax on your house gas,
a tax on your internet,
a tax on your TV cable,
a tax on your phone line or cellphone,
a tax on your sewer line,
a tax on how much water your use,
a tax on the gasoline you use in your car,
a tax on the oil you use in your car,
a tax on the tires you buy for your car,
and tax on the size and kind of car you drive.
(You may notice that you already pay many of these taxes.)

In return, you would receive many requirements from various levels of government that would control many activities you participate in now.

You could receive medical care from government offices.
This medical care would be rationed by the government based on your age, the cost of the particular procedure requested, and limited facilities available to provide the requested procedure.
You might request a particular surgical operation but the government may only allow you to receive a drug to “control” the problem.
You would have no choice in how much you pay for you medical care – the cost would be controlled by a board of bureaucrats in washington DC.
You would not have a choice about whether to pay your medical care tax or not.
If you do not pay it, you will be fined.

For those who can afford it, dozens of free-enterprise-based medical communities will have developed along the southern border of the United States in Mexico.
This reactive free-enterprise zone will populated by thousands of American doctors and staff, who offer virtually any procedure or treatment needed by their mostly-American clientele.
This phenomenon will be matched by other similar medical communities in other nearby Latin-american and Caribbean countries for the same purpose.

You could build a new house, but where and how would be closely controlled.
Federal regulations would dictate the type of toilets, the size and placement of windows and doors, the type and size of heating and air conditioning equipment, the amount and type of insulation you could install, the type of materials and paint you could install.
Federal regulations may limit the colors you may choose to paint the outside of your house.

Most people will live in government-controlled apartments or houses.
Most landlords will be put out of business by government-mandated requirements for “fair housing” or “energy efficiency”.

Your utilities will be controlled by the government.
If your house, on a hot or cold day, uses more electricity than the government deems proper, it can turn off your electricity for whatever period of time it dictates.
If you use more water than the government has determined is appropriate for your size house or family, it can turn off your water for the rest of the day.
The government will tell you when you may operate your clothes dryer, washer and other appliances.
If you own an older house, the government will specify the type of windows, insulation, heating/AC, and appliances it must have before you will be allowed to sell it.
The owner will be required to bear the cost of these required improvements.
Wood-burning stoves would be illegal – even in mountain cabins in remote locations.

Most of your electricity will come from wind-driven power-generating machines or solar conversion farms.
On windless or cloudy days, electricity will be rationed.
The cost of this “green” electricity will be three to four times what it is today.
Coal-fired power plants will be shut down or used only as back-up when the “green” machines cannot meet power demand.
No new coal-fired power-generating plants will be built.
(But the United States will export coal to other nations of the world who seek it.)
No new nuclear-based power generating plants will be built in the United States.
(But Canada and Mexico will build both coal-fired and nuclear-based power-generating plants near our borders, and sell the power to the U.S.)

Domestic oil production will be reduced to a trickle because of restricted drilling license requirement.
Most gasoline will be imported from the middle east or other countries.
Gasoline will cost $10 to $20 a gallon.
Most people will not own cars or trucks.
Busses or trains will move most people in larger cities.
The number of car companies will be reduced by half as will the number of models each company markets.
Cars will be reduced in size and power to meet increasingly stringent fuel economy requirements.
Cross-country travel by personal vehicle will be reduced to half of what it is today or less.

Air travel will be limited to only the most wealthy.
Many airports will be shut down, or reduced to cargo-only terminals.

Because of the heavy tax burden, unemployment will be a massive 25-30 percent.
Because of the large proportion of people unemployed and living in government-controlled housing, crime will be rampant.
Drug distribution and ethnic gangs will control certain areas of cities and towns.
Since personal gun ownership will have been made illegal, only criminals will possess guns.
Jails and prisons will be overflowing with criminals.
Assaults, rapes and murders will be a daily occurrence in many cities and towns.
Gated communities with armed guards will be a common feature of many cities and towns.

Government schools will be reduced to unionized baby-sitting facilities.
Learning will be relegated to a second priority after safety for the few remaining students.
Drug use, sexual promiscuity, open homosexuality, gangs and bullying will overwhelm public school systems.
With little disposable income, most parents will have no choice but to subject their children to the diminished instructional value and personal insecurity of the public school systems.
Private schools will be taxed and required to teach government-mandated curriculum, devised by the teachers unions.
These same public teachers unions will have prevailed upon federal and state legislative bodies to outlaw home school organizations and/or require the inclusion of government-mandated curriculum, to include state-controlled testing to ensure that the state-mandated subject matter was presented.

But this scenario will not last for long.
The shear magnitude of the cost of the government-run programs and the ever-shrinking economy will combine to produce a massive collapse of the American economy by 2020.
.

AN EMOTIONAL INVESTMENT

2011-04-17T23:12:00.001-05:00

This phrase came to me soon after I heard the news that someone I was close to had died.
The news was a shock.
She was only 45 years old.

I am not sure how we came to meet her or know her situation.
It was 1984 or so.
She was 15 at the time and having family problems, personal problems, and, not surprisingly, spiritual problems.
There were problems with drugs and sex and alcohol – serious issues for a fifteen year old.
Things that I was not sure I knew how to help with.
I also was sure God could help her, but it would take her cooperation.
That was not a sure thing at the outset.

With the permission of her mother, and the girl's consent, we agreed to take her in.
I do not know how we came to this decision.
She lived with us for about two years.
Soon after she moved in she received salvation and began living the strict way we followed.
About the same time, God gave me a father's love for the girl.
This was misunderstood by nearly everyone around us – including my wife.
But it did not matter to me.
I knew what God had given me, and I knew how it shaped my relationship with the girl.
There was never anything inappropriate in me toward her.
Never.
I loved her as my daughter.
I did my best to build a relationship with her.
I wanted her to have a father that she could trust and respect.

We went through several emotional and spiritual episodes with her in those two years or so.
She ran away once.
Only to be found by that evening.
The question to her then was, “do you want to go home to live with your mother, or do you want to continue to stay with us?”
She elected to stay, even with the understanding that the relationship would now be different.
She stayed and blossomed again.

At one point we even considered adopting her.
This was discussed with her mother.
I do not remember why we did not follow through with the idea, but it was never pursued to completion.

Time passed.
Circumstances in her family changed and finally, the girl felt that she needed to return to her mother.
We understood.
It was hard to see her go.
It would be a spiritual challenge for her, as well.
Minutes after she had driven off with her mother, I remember sitting on her bed with my oldest son, who was about eight years old at the time, crying.
He wanted to know why she had to go.
I had no answer that could ease his tears or mine.
That was around 1985 or 1986.

It was not long before she stopped coming to church.
For part of the time she was with us I went through a clinical depression that lasted about two years, I gradually recovered.
To this day, I do not understand exactly why this happened to me.
It was one of the most bizarre times in my life.

About thirteen or fourteen years later, because of some (more) personal problems, she moved in with us for a couple of weeks.
She had a daughter then, who was about 12 or so.
This meeting was different for several reasons.
She was less pliable spiritually and less inclined to conform to the same strict standards we still followed.
She was an adult now.
She was not the confused, scared girl we had known before.
My wife and I, were having our own problems.
We were both interested in helping her, but the help we could provide would be different than our last encounter with her.
When she left us this time, it was the last time I would see her alive.

Then came the news this week – she was dead.
Suddenly.
Seemingly without a cause.
It had been years since I had seen her. (12?)
And I had gone months or years at a time without thinking of her.
But as soon as the sad news came to me, my mind flooded with memories of her and her time with our family.
I was surprised at the strength of my mental and emotional reaction to it.

That is when I realized the concept of Emotional Investment.
I had given her my heart – in a fatherly way, and she, in turn, had loved me and respected me as a father.
My wife had done the same, I am sure.
My wife and I had stood up to her when she had disobeyed, showing her the unconditional love she had failed to receive from her natural father.
She had submitted to the rules of the family.
Our children had loved and adopted her also.
The Emotional Investment was shared among us.

It had come from time spent with one another.
Sharing, opening up, giving, receiving, growing – individually and together.
And even though you separate and even forget about the person, you never really get away from the Emotional Investment you have made.
It is true of parents and children.
It is true of husbands and wives.
It is something that can sleep as if dormant, but just the mention of her name, and the depth and magnitude of the Emotional Investment comes alive again.
And you feel the love and commitment you gave and shared.

I felt it as I looked at the body of the woman in the casket today.
I never thought I would be in this situation.
But I was.
Looking at a woman that I had given my heart to as a father, so many years ago. (25)
Part of me did not want to look.
It was too painful.
I did not want to see her like this.

Another part of me wanted to see her again.
To rip the scab off my heart and feel the blood flowing and the pain again.
And tell her that her “other” daddy still loves her.

Her life did not turn out to be the one I had prayed for.
She never found happiness with a man, that I know of.
She continued to have problems with alcohol and drugs off and on, I heard.
And she never returned to the spiritual peace she once had, that I know of.

While some of this can be attributed to the traumatic events of her early teen years, much of it is the result of decisions she made.
She chose this life.
She chose a life that would end this way.
In spite of what the preacher said today, I do not believe she was saved.
I wish I could say otherwise.
And I hope I am wrong.
God knows for sure.
But just going on what I know about her life in recent years, I see an unhappy, unfulfilled life.
I wanted something better than this for her.
And that is part of what I did not want to see today.
An Emotional Investment is costly.

American Negrocentrism

2011-04-01T07:03:00.000-05:00

Lately I was impressed with how many laws, social customs, legal and financial elements in contemporary American society have been affected by the minority Negro population here. To be more precise, many practices and processes of American society have been altered from a normal color-blind pattern of operation, based on the merits of each individual transaction, to an unbalanced distorted process imposed either by government or certain groups in society to avoid possible discrimination against those members of society with dark skin. This has caused an opposite effect where many operations and processes are openly tilted to favor the negro minority in this country.

Let me say up front that it is true that in times past, the negro population of this country has been treated poorly by some elements of the white population. Sadly, this was true even into the 1970's. Most of the black people who came to the United States in the first 100 years or so of our history did not come here by choice. Or at least, did not arrive here with the same freedom to choose their destiny that most of the caucasian population did.

Most of them were shipped here as slaves – as property – to be bought and sold by their owners, as they would a mule or shovel. Some slave owners were horribly cruel to their slaves, others were more kind, most were somewhere in between. There are plenty of stories of all types to document these statements.

But let's put some things in perspective. Slavery is not unique to the United States in the 1700 to mid-1800's. Slavery is nearly as old as mankind. It is a fact of history that the stronger of two families/clans/tribes/societies/nations will sometimes subjugate the weaker. It was happening before the United States came into existence. It is happening now around the world in various places. And Negros are not the only race being subjugated, then or now. In many cases, it has been African groups who enslaved other Africans.

Thus, the negro slavery experience in the United States was no better or worse than that of many other people in other places or times. This is not meant to diminish the inhumanity of it, but to provide some balance to a subject that has been distorted and perpetuated beyond its reality.

None of this is stated to diminish the repugnant circumstances that slavery entails. It is repulsive to me now and has been since I learned of it as a child. This was generally true in early America as well. Most Americans were not comfortable with the institution of slavery in their territory and many worked diligently to end it. Elections were won or lost because of the issue, laws were passed in new territories and states to prohibit its spread outside of the southern states. But it took a war to force an end to the social and economic system that had developed in the south. And in one sense, the social and economic wounds of the period of slavery in the United States have never healed. We are living with them to this day. Hence, this paper.

Basically, many customs of society and policies of governments in the United States revolve around the negro minority in this nation. The lingering white guilt over our past regional experiment with slavery has caused policies and customs of our entire nation to revolve around our relatively small negro population. In a real sense, this residual guilt and constant remembrance has stood American society on it head.

Consider this: when one buys a house, part of the transaction is a government-mandated certification by the lender that it did not discriminate in its selection process because the skin color of the applicant. This is done to force banks to provide loans to some people who cannot afford to pay them back or, if governed strictly by rules of prudent risk evaluation, would not be given a loan in the amount requested. But banks were forced to do this under threat that their charters would not be renewed by federal regulators if they did not engage in such risky transactions.

Companies must certify to the government under pain of large fines and/or lawsuits that they hire a certain percentage of black applicants. The code term was “affirmative action”. In reality it is simply compulsory hiring of unqualified people with dark skin. In a similar way, companies must go through rigorous and extensive steps to fire a black employee because of these same laws.

I personally know of one black-skinned person who was kept on the payroll of a large corporation for years because she threatened to sue the company for racial discrimination if they tried to dismiss her. She was incompetent, surly, uncooperative, and lazy. She did what she was asked if she felt like it and did nothing when that suited her. I personally saw her engaged in both types of activities at various times.

Colleges have developed reverse discrimination “affirmative action” programs to ensure that they have a certain percentage of black students attending their institution, even though many of these students are not academically qualified. They are there BECAUSE they have black skin, not because of their scholastic abilities. This is a monumental insult to negro students who DO have sufficient academic abilities to attend such institutions. The dropout rate of these AA trophy students is 85 percent. A testimony to the complete failure of these type of programs to produce anything other than theatrics for the media. These are the same people who have tried to stand the laws of economics and society on their head to enforce outcome-based programs in other areas.

Virtually all federal welfare programs are aimed at the poor portion of our negro minority. We have spent trillions of dollars funding housing, food, rental assistance, recreational facilities/programs, and job training programs for them. While it is true that some white families benefit from these programs, the majority of the recipients are black. Their proportion of participation in taxpayer-financed welfare programs is far out of proportion to their percentage of the overall population.

In addition to taxpayer-financed welfare programs, the negro population receives a large proportion of taxpayer-financed services in the criminal justice system. A greater percentage of black-skinned people are criminals than all other races in this country, as measured as a percentage of each racial group. Fully, twenty percent of all black men have a criminal record. This is double the average for other racial groups in the U.S.

Crime in many negro neighborhoods is rampant (and is spread outside them, as well). Some areas are so dangerous, that the police do not go in them during certain times. To this problem, billions of taxpayer dollars are spent on combating negro crime, out of proportion to that spent on crime by other individual racial groups.

There are special programs in government contracting to ensure that “minority-owned” companies are given PREFERENCE in the bidding for government contracts. Thus, a company that is not qualified to bid on a government contract because it does not have the capacity or expertize can be granted the contract simply because it is owned by a person with black skin. Again, “reverse discrimination” has stood normal economic processes on their head.

Fear of negro advocacy groups has abrogated some of our constitutional rights. For instance, when a local Housing Authority seeks to buy a property in a neighborhood (it is understood that the authority is going to place a negro family there because that is what they usually do), the citizens of that neighborhood cannot reverse the decision for fear that a lawsuit be filed by the federal Housing and Urban Development agency or the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Thus, the very fundamental operation of democracy is halted, for fear of Negro-centric legal action.

These social, economic and political distortions are primarily aimed at the American negro population. The Asian-american people do not need such social/economic crutches from the government to be successful in our society. Immigrants from India do not need such special hand-outs to be successful in our society. Most Latino immigrants to this nation, legal AND illegal, do not need any special social or economic provisions to become successful in American society. In fact, the fact that so many Latino immigrants choose to sneak into this country illegally is proof that American society is basically color/race-blind and will assimilate anyone willing to work to pay their own way. These non-black people settle into poor neighborhoods and begin work or school and gradually work their way up and out of the poorer areas and into middle class neighborhoods, with little or no government assistance.

The wording in many programs may say “racial” but most people see that its application is skewed toward “negro”. And, yes, other racial groups benefit from these programs to some degree, so the politicians and the networks can say, they were not just thinking of their most vocal and self-conscious minority constituency.

While I do not consider myself a “racist”, there are many people – both white and black – who will disagree. Most of these people are not objective on the matter. They have a vested interest in perpetuating a negro race-sensitive awareness in society. For it is with this negro hyper-sensitivity that they achieve and maintain power over both black and white portions of the American society. They are the new slave masters of America.

Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton and their white apologists need a perceived poor, suffering black population on which to stand to build their power. They need to constantly remind as much of the the black population as possible that they are still poor slaves because of the racist, rich white people who control the economy and seek to keep them poor. This is exactly what “reverend” Jeremiah Wright preaches. And these people need to constantly perpetuate the guilt of the white population by reminding them of the misdeeds of their ancestors. Through this dual deception, these leaders perpetuate the slave mentality in the black minority and the guilt-generated financing by the white population.

Any comments perceived as undermining their distortion of the racial situation in this nation is immediately, and loudly, labeled as “racist”. This epithet is enthusiastically disbursed by the news media because it will increase viewer interest for a day or two or three, and thus, prop up advertising rates. Thus, perpetuating the “racist” myth, is good for business. And no politician wants to receive such a label, no matter how absurdly applied. And it is almost universally applied to Republicans by the media and those whose power base is the downtrodden negro masses, who still believe it is their lot in life to be poor.

It is the reason that Rush Limbaugh was fired from an ESPN sports program because he stated that the reason player Donavan McNabb did not receive more criticism for his poor performance was because he was black. The statement, while just an opinion, was probably true, but virtually no one accepted the statement on its merits. All that could be seen or heard was the blind screeching of the New Slave Masters on the news networks of, “racist”.

It should be stated for further clarity and balance, that many Americans with black skin are not part of these distortions. This group could be as much as half the black population in the United States. Many have risen from poor beginnings to become productive members of our society. They do not see themselves as once-removed slaves and doomed to be wards of the state. Many grew up in middle class homes and have a value system dissimilar from those who live in the urban projects on the public dole. Children of these families are more focused on academics and career. And the young men know how to dress so that their pants stay above their buttocks.

Those in the previous paragraph notwithstanding, because of all of the above-mentioned distortions, it is sadly ironic that many Negros have become economic slaves to the white tax-paying population. The very outcome they have been (over)promised, and which then seek to avoid has been built around them by their leaders and “protectors”. A significant proportion of black Americans see themselves as unable - or are unwilling - to join with the productive majority of society, and are content to live off of the provisions given to them by guilt-responsive white politicians funded by the taxes paid by the majority of the white population.

So, in a sense, nothing has changed since 1860, except that negro slavery is no longer limited to 15 southern states.

Scriptural Unity vs COG "Unity"

2011-03-16T08:50:00.000-05:00

When I ponder various issues, I sometimes write my thoughts as single statements or questions. This method/format often helps me organize my thoughts and clarify details or confused thinking. The following is such an exercise....

1 The acceptance of “the truth” has been used as a method to create division, for fear of allowing “false doctrine” into the “true” church.
2 As the Church of God, we should never compromise our understanding of the truths of the Bible revealed to us, for any reason.
3 We should open our fellowship and interactions with other churches to include those who are saved there, even if they do not “believe like us”.
4 We should acknowledge our different understandings of the scriptures, discuss them, search the scriptures together that relate to them, but maintain active fellowship between individuals in the other groups (churches).
5 “Correct” doctrine should not be the test of fellowship between professed believers.
6 Said another way, the use of “false doctrine” as a reason for division is not always scriptural.
7 Question: Which doctrines are important enough to divide over, and which doctrines are not.
8 Is unity between believers more important than agreement on doctrines?
9 While false doctrine (beliefs, commandments, practices, theological and spiritual constructs not based on correct interpretation of the bible) can (and has) destroyed the spiritual life of many people, this is not necessarily so for every “false” doctrine.
10 Which is more damaging to the body of believers, division, or failure to understand all Biblical content exactly alike?
11 Some doctrines allow believers to continue to commit sin and still believe they are saved (from sin) and going to heaven.
12 This is intolerable to other believers who see salvation from sin as not allowing any more sin in their lives.
13 Holiness, or sinlessness, is a Biblically defensible requirement for all believers, and is generally acknowledged by both sides.
14 But even those who subscribe to holiness doctrine acknowledge that young believers might/will commit sinful acts ignorantly until they grow in scriptural knowledge about such transgressions.
15 So, what is the difference? Some believers commit sins innocently and are still saved, others commit sins because of doctrinal (mis)understanding, and may still be saved.
16 Conformity to an erroneous doctrine may be viewed by God as the same as innocent ignorance to scriptural commands.
17 Who really knows how God judges doctrinal/biblical misunderstanding in people?

………………….

Personal Spiritual Priorities:

1 Obey God (read: God’s spirit and word (the Bible)). Ecclesiastes 12:13
2 Accept all other professed believers (assuming no sinful/offensive behavior).
3 Comply with the local church congregation practices (assuming no conflicts with the above).
4 “Live at peace with all people as much as you are able”. (Hebrews 12:14, Romans 12:18)
5 Do good to all people especially to those of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:10)
6 Do good works (this requires personal time).
7 Keep the unity of the spirit as we all come to the unity of the faith. (Ephesians 4:3-13)
8 Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 19:19)

NEW CAR FEVER

2011-01-29T10:31:00.001-06:00

This is to confess that I have developed a case of new car fever.
This is strictly an emotional malady because there is no logical reason for me to NEED a new(er) car.
I lay the blame for my illness on the designers at Hyundai and Kia – sister companies, based in Korea.

I never thought I would be lusting after any Korean car brand, but I am.
It started with the 2010 Hyundai Sonata.
The previous version of this car looked okay.
I liked it.
It was conservative but had no bothersome traits.
I liked it enough to think positively about it without wanting one.

But when I saw the first pictures of the 2010 Sonata, I was stunned.
I loved it.
It looked sleek and swoopy and daring.
MUCH better-looking than the Honda Accord or the Toyota Camry.
And since then, I have seen several driving around and they look even better in person.
They did an excellent job on this piece.

Then came the 2010 Hyundai Tucson.
They swooped it up, too, and I liked it also.
Then came the 2011 Hyundai Elantra.
They turned this rather bland vehicle into a junior version of the Sonata.
And I liked it also.

Then Kia released the 2011 Optima -their version of the Sonata.
It looks like a big BMW – only sleeker, and cleaner.
Wow.

Then I saw the 2011 Kia Forte line.
They generally match the Honda Civic in size and performance, but look WAY better.
AND... they make a 5-door hatchback model.
I very like hatchbacks.
I have had two and have been very happy with them.
(Honda no longer makes Civics in a hatchback configuration.)
Although Honda makes good (read: durable) cars, no hatchback Civic models and dorky looks have them at the bottom of my wish list.
(the Honda Fit is a hatchback, but is too small, gets only average gas mileage, and looks like the Pope-mobile.)

THEN (ta-da) I saw the 2011 Kia Sportage compact SUV (or cross-over or whatever they want to call it).
To my eye it looks even better than the Hyundai Tucson (its corporate cousin).
And the more I saw of it, the more I wanted one.
It looks WAY better than the Honda C-RV and gets WAY better gas mileage.
That pretty much did me in.
I wanted a new car.
One of THESE new cars.

So here I am, stewing in new sheet metal envy.
There is just one problem....
I don't need a new car.
The one I have is doing just fine.
I even still like the way it looks – sort of.
But it is eleven years old.
It has 104,000 miles on it.
It might break some day.
(my last Honda was 13 years old and had 250,000+ miles on it when I sold it. Still ran like a top.)
I still like it - sort of, but I am tired of it.
Actually, I was not tired of my present car (a 2000 Honda Civic hatchback, BTW) until I saw the new Hyundai's and Kia's.
And I like the 2012 Ford Focus hatchback, too. (never thought I would like a Ford...)

Then there is the financial issue.
I could afford a new car payment – but I don't want one.
I will not be able to pay cash for a new car like I did my present vehicle.
My investment decisions have not been blessed with the increase that they were in 1999.
So I will have to encumber myself with a car loan and its associated monthly payments.
Most likely, this is doable, but I do not like the idea of having another large debt.
And Dave Ramsey would frown on this transaction.
But I want a new car.
Certainly it will be my last.
I may not live to see the final payment. (sorry, kids....)

So, what to do?
I am still arguing with myself and playing with EPA numbers and annual costs to try to logically justify such an illogical, un-necessary purchase.

The Lexingtons

2011-01-20T08:11:00.000-06:00

[the following is a chapter from my still-in-progress autobiography.]

The Lexingtons

For about three years I was a member of a small musical group. Given my shyness at that time in my life, this is still amazing to me. First, some background:

In 1958, a new musical group called the Kingston Trio had the number one-selling song in the nation, “Tom Dooley”. This song was not a rock and roll tune as was typical for the times. There were no electric instruments in it. In fact, there was a banjo in it. It was the beginning of a wave of popularity for a simple style of music called “Folk Music”. It was played with acoustic instruments and simple vocal harmonies and much of the material was old songs written in the 1700’s, 1800’s or early 1900's. The person most responsible for the popularity of “folk” music was Harry Belafonte who had several popular songs in the late 1950’s. They were a mixture of folk and calypso styles of music. Calypso is a style of music common in the Caribbean islands. End of background.

I first learned of the Kingston Trio while visiting my natural father, Frank. He had their first album. We played it and I liked it. A few weeks later I bought a copy for myself. From then on, every four to six months a new Kingston Trio album came out and I bought a copy as soon as I could. Interestingly, I had heard “Tom Dooley” on the radio but never liked the song. It was often requested by our listeners, and we sang it for them, but I did not like doing it.

The evening that changed my life came when me and several friends (male and female) went to see the Kingston Trio and the Dave Brubeck Quartet at the Hollywood Bowl in 1962. I came away from that evening with a desire to learn to sing and play that kind of music on the guitar. A neighbor kid, Terry Parker had received a cheap Stella guitar a year or so before for Christmas and seldom played it. I offered to buy it for ten dollars. He agreed, and I had a guitar. It only had four strings on it, so before I could learn to play, I had to buy a new set of strings. I did and the journey began.

I practiced almost every afternoon or evening, learning to place my fingers on the strings in just the right places to make the chords. Pressing on the strings was a bit difficult and after an hour or two the ends of the fingers on my left hand were purple from the abuse. But I kept at it. And after a few months I could play along with many of the songs on the Kingston Trio records I owned.

(the following is based on a history of our group I wrote around 1965)

In the spring of 1963 a folk singing club was formed a Canoga Park high school, in response to popular demand. Shortly afterward, a small group of volunteers was requested to sing at an upcoming Friday night “Sports Night” (a school social event of games, music and dancing)

A group of seven from the club performed. It was a sloppy performance in my opinion. The material was well-known generally to accommodate the limited rehearsal time for the performers, rather than to please the audience. I was embarrassed by the poor quality of the performance.

Among these seven was the son of Mrs. Shank, the teacher/sponsor of the folk singing club, Erik Shank. Though he had graduated the year before, he was included in the group because he could play the banjo. (an almost “required” instrument for playing folk music at the time.)

In spite of the sloppy performance, the group was well received and was asked to sing again a couple of weeks later at another Sports Night. For various reasons, the group diminished to four members, all of whom had participated in the previous performance. Me, Jim Sinclair and John Gretzinger played guitar, while Erik played the banjo. We sang four songs.

Whereas the first group of seven had been a hastily formed association with divergent musical interests and motives, the latter group of four had more in common. John and I went to the same church. All of us had similar tastes in folk music.

(the reader should understand that the folk music audience in those days had two factions – the “purists” and the “commercial” patrons. The purists, the smaller of the two factions, insisted that old folk songs be performed exactly as they have been since they were written, with the most simple chord structure and harmony. They disliked the more commercial form of “folk” music, and openly criticized those who performed it. The common features of most “authentic” folk music was bad singing, boring arrangements, and long songs that told a story. The commercial fans cared less about “purity” of performance or arrangement and just wanted to hear good acoustic music, even if the “folk” song they were listening to had been written a few months earlier by a commercial writer and only sounded like it was an old song.)

We in the group were all of the commercial persuasion. And we all liked the Kingston Trio – the leaders of the commercial folk music fad.

I may have been the first one of us to seriously suggest that we form a permanent group. This was done after the group of seven had performed but before the foursome had played. This is a strange desire from someone so shy as myself at that time, but I enjoyed singing and playing this kind of music. (I must have really enjoyed it to overpower my shyness!)

It was agreed that the group would be only a hobby. We never expected to earn any money and no one was going to quite his job to become a “star”. The goal was to become as good, musically, as possible and perform in the local area. The group started out as a foursome but Jim soon dropped out because of his busy schedule. This left the trio of Erik, John and me. We briefly discussed finding a replacement for Jim. But we reasoned if the Kingston Trio was successful as a trio (duh) then we could be successful as a trio.

If you were going to be a group in this field, you needed a name. Finding a name for the group at this time was difficult. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of wannabe folk groups in the area, as well as professional groups springing up all over the country to capitalize on the folk music tidal wave.

For one of our early engagements in November 1963, we called ourselves The Chanteymen. The name was my idea, taken from a type of folk music called a “sea chantey” – songs sung by sailors as they worked. None of us was too taken by the name. It was in January 1964 that we settled on the name, The Lexingtons. I was the one who came up with the name, I think. Again, we were not completely happy with the name but it was the best we could find in the blizzard of folk groups at the time.

If I was going to play in a folk group in front of people, I needed a better sounding guitar than my plywood Stella. I saved up my money and soon bought a Martin D-18. It was not the model I really wanted (I really wanted a Martin D-28 but they were very expensive) but it was a Martin – the same brand that the Kingston Trio played.

It may be difficult for you to imagine what it was like back then. Imagine going into a music store to buy an acoustic guitar only to find just five or ten acoustic guitars in the whole store. Most of them were cheap “learners” like my Stella. Some stores we went into had none! Zero. (The waiting time for some models of Martin guitars was over six months. For certain Gibson and Epiphone guitars it was three months.) The fad-driven demand for guitars was so strong that Martin had to build a new factory in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. There was a world-wide shortage of rosewood – used in making some guitars.

Unfortunately, I soon found that my D-18 sounded too loud and bright with weak bass. I wanted a more mellow sound. I tried all sorts of things to modify the sound of my Martin – different picks, different strings, stuffing the sound box with foam or cloth - but nothing worked.

We worked all summer of 1963 putting together a one hour program of songs. Most of the material was from the Kingston Trio but there were a few songs from other similar groups. Our first engagement was at a Hootenanny (the term for a gathering where folk music was performed) at the Lutheran church that John and I attended on September 1, 1963. We did nineteen songs, twelve were from the Kingston Trio. [I should point out that we did not use sheet music or notes to help us remember the words of our songs during our performances. We sang all of our material from memory.]

This endeavor was so important and satisfying to me that I started a scrapbook – something I have never done before or since - and recorded most of the events and songs that we sang. I even saved the little three by five cards that I taped to my guitar to remember the program. Somehow this scrapbook has survived forty-four years of storage and moving. Somewhere late in this process, I wrote a narrative about our little folk group, from which this article is based.

On September 15, just two weeks later, we performed again at a church function. This time it was the Annual Ice Cream Social. We sang three songs as well as three “sing along” songs requested by some adults to better engage the audience. The following month, on October 30, 1963, we played at the Annual Father and Daughter Funfest at the Lutheran church where we played four songs.

A few days later, on November 3, 1963, we played at a special Hootenanny for the youth group at Saint Luke’s Lutheran church. We called ourselves the Chantymen and did seventeen songs for the mostly female audience. I was beginning to like this idea of mine even more than I thought I would.

The following month we played at the Canoga Park High School French Club dinner, doing thirteen songs for the mostly female audience. About this same time we played at a Jewish Temple social event, a dance and dinner, if I recall correctly. We played five songs. The dates of these two events are not recorded. They were to be our last gigs with John.

John was forced to drop out because his parents thought there was too much difference in our ages. John was still in high school while Erik and myself were now in college. None of us were happy with this situation and we parted on good terms.

It was during this time of hunting for a new member that an important relationship was formed. A young man from the Lutheran church I attended expressed his interest in playing in a folk group. He about my age and his name was Dave Griffey. During some casual playing we found that he was a good guitar player (better than me) and a good singer (also better than me). We would find that he had a sense of stage presence that added more energy and sparkle to the more laid-back nature of Erik and myself.

He and another guy, Mike Lanphier, joined Erik and I to practice for a performance at the 1964 Cleveland High school Talent Show on January 3,1964. This was the first time we billed ourselves as “The Lexingtons”. Being a new group, we were nervous and because there were four of us, the technical people decided to give us two microphones. This spread us out on the stage and made us look like two groups. We sang two songs. Afterwards, word from friends in the audience ranged from they “could not hear” us, to “we sounded bad”. After the performance we found that only one of the mikes was turned on. We were not happy with this performance.

On February 3, 1964, the four of us played in a small club called The Pump Room. I do not know how we found out about this venue. It may have come through Mike. I have only vague recollections of this place (somewhere on Ventura Boulevard with blue lights shining on the building and a water fountain/pool outside?). We sang three songs. After this Mike left the group. He had a new girlfriend and between school and other activities, he did not have time to practice with us.

I should point out here that we were very serious about practicing. We tried to practice two or three times a month, and several times during the week just before a date. Each rehearsal session would last from two to four hours. And we sang most of that time. We worked at it. We had fun and laughed a lot, but we were serious about our sound. We wanted to sound as good as the professionals. We worked on our harmonies. We also spent a lot of time on beginnings and endings – starting and stopping together. These were exercises in timing – critical to a polished sound.

At the same time, we did not want to sound exactly like our mentors, The Kingston Trio. We wanted to develop our own style and sound. Basically, we used the material we borrowed from the professional groups as a base on which to build our own sound. This rather rigorous schedule put off our less motivated members who had other things going on in their life. I add this to dispel the possible impression that the guys that left our group were less talented or capable than those of us who stayed. Not necessarily so. Erik and I just worked them too hard.

On May 22, 1964, The Lexingtons – as a trio – performed at the Lutheran church Pot-luck Dinner. For reasons now forgotten (job?), Dave could not join Erik and I for this engagement, and John Gretzinger filled in. Blast from the past. We sang three songs.

On June 14, 1964, Dave rejoined Erik and myself at the annual Lutheran church Bar-B-Q dinner. We sang five songs that evening. Then Dave, busy with a summer job and other personal business (perhaps there was a girl in there somewhere) left the group. But this was not the last we would see of Dave.

The search for a new member began with a newspaper ad and several three by five cards posted on bulletin boards in area music stores and colleges. One ad for a new member paid off. A young man named Tom Drosman called me one evening. The interview was brief and we made an appointment to audition him in my back patio. We found that Tom knew some of the songs we sang, could sing okay, play guitar passably and he liked the Kingston Trio style of folk music. He was “hired” and we started to practice to get him up to speed on our arrangements.

Our first engagement with Tom was at the annual Ice Cream Social at the Lutheran church in September 1964. We sang four songs. Soon afterward, Tom introduced Erik and myself to a friend of his, Bill Botticher (pronounced “bettiger”), an acoustic bass player. After a rehearsal wherein Bill joined us to see if we could work together, he became the sometime fourth member of the group. Bill was an excellent bass player, had a good sense of humor, and had a good ear for music that provided valuable input to our arrangements as we worked on new material.

The new group of Erik, Steve, Tom and Bill played at the Canoga High School French Club Christmas dinner, on December 21, 1964, doing 12 songs and two encores (!).

My quest for the “perfect” sounding guitar culminated in my buying an Epiphone guitar from a music store called Zepp’s. This was done by violating the golden rule of guitar buying - never buy a guitar without hearing and playing it first. I did this because he had the best price I could find for this instrument model in a seller’s market. With no guitars in his store, the store owner took my money and ordered it from the Epiphone factory. The delivery date was from sixty to ninety days. After a couple of months, I called Zepp’s every Saturday morning to inquire if my guitar had come in. Finally, one Saturday the answer was, yes. Erik and I drove over to the store and picked it up. Finally, I had a guitar that I liked. I sold my Martin to Tom. He was thrilled and I was too.

On January 15.1965, we played at a Canoga Park High School Sports Night, doing nine songs, and again, two encores.

After this last event, Tom became increasingly preoccupied with a new female companion and it was difficult to schedule our long practice sessions. Finally, we told Tom we had to have someone we could count on. Unable to promise this, Tom left the group. The breakup was amicable but disappointing. Erik and I began – again - look for another, more dependable - and available - member. Bill agreed to stay with us, much to the delight of Erik and I.

The replacement for Tom was a familiar person – Dave Griffey. His schedule was different now and he wanted to get back with us. After a couple of practice sessions, this new/old group (including Bill on bass) played another Canoga Park High School Sports Night on March 19, 1965, singing seven songs plus an encore.

On April 11, 1965, Erik, Dave, Bill, and myself played at a little folk club in Hollywood called The Garret. The program was open (only) to amateurs on Friday or Saturday night, and each person or group was limited to a maximum of three songs. Most of the acts were solo kids singing dreary Bob Dylan antiwar dirges, or their own whiney compositions of similar ilk. Knowing that this crowd was composed of many “purists”, we wondered if The Lexingtons would be booed off the stage.

After putting our name on the program list, we went out in the back parking lot to tune up and practice one last time. Big mistake. The weather that evening was unusually cold for southern California – about 40 degrees. Our breath turned to fog as we sang. After bringing our instruments in from the cold to the warm little club we waited for our turn to play.

When our name was called and we crowded onto the little six by six stage and hit our first chord we realized we were badly out of tune and spent the next minute or so in front of the restless crowd re-tuning our instruments. (steel guitar strings are very sensitive to temperature. Tuning our instruments in the cold and then going into a warm club caused the strings to warm up and stretch out of tune. It was a lesson we never forgot.)

We did three songs (two of them Kingston Trio covers) and, to our surprise and delight, we brought down the house. The crowd called us back for two encores. The owner/manager of the club was not happy. She evidently felt that we were professionals that had crashed her little amateur program. We knew better and left the club elated. It was the greatest of compliments to be accused of being a professional group.

On May 22, 1965 we played at the UNICO National Dinner at the invitation from, of all people, Tom Drosman. (UNICO is an organization that celebrates the heritage of Italian Americans) We played four songs to a huge crowd of several hundred. I was terrified at the ocean of people sitting at the dozens of tables in the big auditorium. We were largely ignored but received several compliments from a handful of attendees after our performance.

Our next gig came on September 14, 1965 when we played at the UCLA Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity rush party. We did three sets of six songs each. In between sets we visited with some of the college guys and several of our girl friends who came along. Back stage, we sang along with some of the rock and roll songs that were played as background music for the party.

We sang two or three songs at a talent show at Canoga Park high school. I did not record when this event took place, but it seems that it was late in our short career. The highlight of the event was when we were singing “Hard Ain’t It Hard”. I was supposed to sing the second verse as a solo, as usual on this song. It was a fast song and the group was getting into it, I was pumped and ready to do my part, but when I stepped up to the microphone, my mind went totally blank. I could not remember any of the words I was supposed to sing. I had been listening and singing this song for four or five years. I knew all of the verses by memory, yet, at this moment I stood there looking at the packed auditorium, helplessly strumming my guitar along with the rest of the group, wishing I could disappear under the stage. At the end of my blown verse, Erik looked at me with a murderous expression as he joined the group in the chorus. I had no problem remembering the chorus as I sang along. In fact, as soon as I stepped away from the mic, I remembered my verse – too late. It was the only time in all of our performances that something like that happened to me.

Our last engagement as a group was on October 1, 1965 where we again played a Canoga Park High School Sports Night. We sang five songs and did one encore.

The Vietnam war was raging and my student deferment had been changed to 1-A – prime meat for going to war. At the suggestion of my dad, I paid a visit to the local Army recruiter and enlisted in the United States Army. I was scheduled to go in on February 14, 1966. The Lexingtons were finished.

During the three years that the group had been together, popular folk music had changed. It had evolved from re-done mountain tunes and pseudo folk compositions played on acoustic instruments, to a blend of contemporary/political songs performed with electric instruments and drums. This shift in “folk” music is widely credited to Bob Dylan, and he surely had some influence on the evolution of the genre. But he was not the first to employ an electric instrument to folk material. The first to do it was a southern California club singer named Trini Lopez, who released a version of “If I Had A Hammer” on his album “Live At PJ’s in Hollywood”. We heard the song many times and disdained the sound of electric instruments and drums on “our” songs. That was rock and roll. We liked rock and roll, but we did not like the blending of folk and rock and roll instrumentation. Unfortunately for us, most everyone else did.

The effect of this release, and others, was to sweep the base of popularity for acoustic folk music out from under the style of music The Lexingtons played, leaving them (and hundreds of groups like them) with no one to play for.

And so, through the rising din of electric music, Steve, Erik, Dave, and Bill played their last engagement together in the same building where the group had started. Their last notes, and the group, drifted away and were quickly forgotten by all but a handful of people, scattered by the winds of time and circumstance, never to be resurrected again.

(Pretty poetic, huh?)

New Picture for my blog

2011-01-16T13:46:00.001-06:00

Since I was able to visit my sister in Portland over the Christmas holiday, and we were able to go to the coast one day during my visit, and we were blessed with a beautiful (if cold) day at a famously picturesque spot, and the weather was excellent for picture-taking, and we were blessed with a beautiful sunset, and I was able to take over 150 pictures of the area in various shades of bright sunlight, and I was able to take several pleasing pictures of the sunset, I thought I would replace my previous heading picture of the Oregon coast with a new picture of the Oregon coast.

So I did.
Hope you like it.

This is also my new desktop image.
The location is Cannon Beach.
And, yes, I did tweak the colors a bit, but not as much as I did on the picture that was here previously.

By Request - Some Thots on Romans 5

2011-01-13T09:19:00.002-06:00

The following is a response to a request by Chad and Jamie.
...............................

WARNING! Some of what you are about to read is considered heresy by many Christian theologians. Consider carefully what you are reading before you accept any idea presented herein.
..............................

The following is a portion of a larger Bible study on why all people are sinners. In the course of this study, using only the Bible as my source material, I came to a conclusion that I was told later was heresy. This paper is currently under review by a minister and will be published on the internet later. Your comments and questions are welcome.
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Let us examine one of the most extensive passages of scripture on the subject of sin.

Romans 5.12-21

12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.
13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.
16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.
17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,
21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

From these verses we see that:

1 Sin (disobedience to the known commands/law/will of God) entered the world through Adam. (v 12)
2 (Spiritual) death entered the world through this act of disobedience. (v 12)
3 Death has spread to all people because all people have sinned. (v 12)
4 God does not charge people with sin where there is no law (standard of behavior). (v 13)
5 Spiritual death exercised an oppressive influence over people from the time of Adam to the time of Moses. (v 14)
6 It did not matter if people committed sins different from that of Adam, death still was the result. (v 14)
7 Adam is a pattern of Christ. (v 14)
8 The gift (of salvation from sinning) is different (the opposite) from the first offense (sin). (v15, 16)
9 The first offense caused many to die. (v 15)
10 The gift and the undeserved favor of God covered many. (v 15)
11 The one offense of Adam caused condemnation. (v 16)
12 The free gift (of salvation from sinning) brought justification (judicial innocence, acquittal) to many people. (v 16)
13 The actions of Adam caused death to exercise a dominant influence over many others. (v 17)
14 The actions of Christ caused an abundance of undeserved favor to be available to those who choose to receive it. (v 17)
15 The actions of Christ caused the gift of righteousness to be given to those who choose to receive it. (v 17)
16 The actions of Christ will allow those who choose to receive it to reign in this life. (v 17)
17 Because of Adam's offense, condemnation (judicial guilt) came upon all people. (v 18)
18 The righteous act of Christ caused the free gift (of salvation from sinning) to be available to all people. (v 18)
19 The righteous act of Christ caused those who receive it to be judged innocent before God. (v 18)
20 Adam's disobedience caused many to become sinners. (v 19)
21 The actions of Christ caused many to be judged innocent. (v 19)
22 The purpose of the Old Testament law is to expose, define and measure disobedience. (v 20)
23 The undeserved favor of God more than offsets the effects of sin. (v 20)
24 Sin exercised a dominant influence through/with death. (v 21)
25 The undeserved favor of God has reigned in righteousness resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ. (v 21)

Note that, according to this passage, sin did not spread to all men, death did (v 12). It says, sin entered the world (v 12). Obviously, the term “world” does not mean the dirt and plants and water of the planet, it means the people living in the world. Logic tells us that "sin" was not simply floating around in the air. The concept or principle of sin entered the world for Adam and Eve when they decided to commit a single act of knowing disobedience to the command of God.

Here is a point to consider: when did “sin enter the world”? Was it when Adam and Eve committed their first act of disobedience, or when Adam and Eve were created and given the ability to make moral/spiritual choices? Was “sin in the world” only after the incident at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or was “sin in the world” prior to that event in the form of potential? Are not all children potential sinners from the day they are born? The answer is yes. But this is not the same thing as an inheritance of a “sinful nature” as many espouse. It is simply the result of bad moral/spiritual choices that will inevitably be made.

And verse 12 says that all people have sinned. From this we understand that other people committed acts of disobedience after Adam and Eve did. And because all people have disobeyed God, spiritual death has spread to all of us. Sin and death are linked, but not as some have presented it. The concept described here is the reverse of what many Christian ministers teach. We must be careful to read what these verses say (and do not say). It is easy to interpret these verses as saying what we think they should say to support a preconceived concept.

What this passage does not describe is a cause of why or how all people after Adam sinned. Nowhere does this passage say that anything sinful was inherited or passed on genetically or spiritually. That all people are or were sinners is not at issue. The key question is WHY. And why all people are sinners is not described here.

Verse 15 is of special interest. It says that many died because of Adam's sin. Does this not teach that the spiritual/moral choice of Adam and Eve affected all people? Be careful. Paul is presenting a logical moral comparison. Read the rest of the verse. It says that “...the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.“

Does this mean that just because Jesus died as the complete sacrifice for all sins of all people that all people are automatically saved? No. We know from other scriptures that each person must engage with God/Christ/the Spirit in an act of repentance and conversion for the benefits of Christ's sacrificial death to be effective in our individual case. In the same way, just because Adam and Eve were the first sinners, they did not affect you and me directly. It is only when we participate in the same sort of activity that they did (disobedience) that we receive the same consequences that they did. So, in copying Adam's transgression we all die, just as he did.

The Greek word translated "reigned" in verse 14 is "basiluo". It means, to rule, to exercise authority, to influence, to force compliance.
The term "sin" is translated from the Greek word "harmateeah", and means, an offense, sin, to miss an intended mark, to err, to miss a prize or reward.

SOME RANDOM THOTS ON ORIGINAL SIN AND HUMAN DEPRAVITY

2010-12-16T09:20:00.002-06:00

WARNING – Some of what you are about to read is considered heresy by many Christian theologians. (I don't care)

Those who study the Bible with the motive to codify its facts, themes, principles, and doctrines – theologians – have generally settled on a few basic teachings about God and people.
One of these has been named “Original Sin” after the first act of disobedience of Adam and Eve, the first people on the planet.

Related to this is the popular notion among said theologians of the spiritual/moral Total Depravity of humans. Meaning, that all people are totally and helplessly sinful, rebellious and morally bankrupt. They are incapable of thinking or doing anything good (as defined by God) and, thus, are hopelessly doomed to go to hell when they die. That is, unless God himself, intervenes in some way, with some mechanism/process/person to provide an escape. This concept includes the requirement that people are so completely unspiritual and devoid of moral will, that God must give them the impulse to recognize the workings of God, the will to repent and the faith to believe that God even exists and will do what he has promised.

These two basic concepts are supported by various and numerous scripture passages, some providing more lucid validation than others. The link between Original Sin and Total Depravity for many students of doctrine is basically that the sin of Adam and Eve changed them spiritually and, thus, their offspring and descendants, including you and me. So, stated another way, you and I are Totally Depraved because Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden of Eden 10,000 or so years ago.

This is like you being held liable for a car wreck because someone stole your grandfather's car and hit another car. Even though you were not in the car, you were related to the owner of the car and, thus, you are responsible. So, Adam and Eve messed up way back then and now you and I are Totally Depraved. Too bad. This is believed by many Christian theologians in spite of the absence of a single scripture verse that specifically supports this association.

To be clear, there are many scriptures that support and/or describe the Original Sin. And there are many scriptures that support and/or describe the Total Depravity of people. But there are no scriptures that link the two concepts. Despite this, the invisible link is commonly believed.

But I began to ponder this link of Original Sin and Total Depravity. There is no doubt that the first – or Original – sin took place. Genesis 3 describes it in detail. It even describes some of the ramifications of the act, both implied and actual. Other scriptures refer to it or are phrased as if it happened. But the Bible does not specifically state that all the descendants of Adam and Eve will be Totally Depraved – or even partially depraved. In fact, it states nothing about this. Nothing. Anywhere.

In fact, Genesis 3 clearly states that the “first” sin was not committed by Adam or Eve. It was committed by the snake, almost universally understood to be the devil. He told a lie to Eve to entice her to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. All the theologians seem to ignore this detail. If they did not, they would be referring to the sin of Adam and Eve as the Second Sin. But I digress.

How or why does the Original Sin result in my Total Depravity? It would be so if God said it was so, but he does not. This is not to say that I was (prior to my repentance and conversion) not a sinner. Or that I was not Totally Depraved. Or Partially Depraved. Or 37.925 percent Depraved. The key question is, why was I Totally Depraved? Was it because of Adam and Eve or because of something that I had done?

The Bible provides some help here. It is rich with scriptures that portray people as being sinners, sinful, rebellious, “stiff-necked”, undone, as wandering away, etc. But there are a few verses that indicate that people are not completely sinful or guilty of sin in all circumstances.

Romans 2:14-15

14 for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves,
15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)

Romans 5:13

13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. )

Even though both of these references are fragments of sentences, a full reading of the context of each will prove that I am interpreting them accurately.

Basically, both of these references state that guilt for sin is relative. Said another way, there are two types of sin – that which we are charged with by God (imputed), and that which we are not charged with by God. Technically, both actions are sin (the violation of a law or command or will of God). How can we sin and not be charged, you ask? Because God says so. It is when God knows that we are ignorant of a command (“law”) for that particular act/thought/emotion/motive. Morally or spiritually, innocence is simply ignorance. Here is another scripture on this concept:

James 4:17

17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

So, culpability for sin is related to knowledge of the will/commands/law of God. Still skeptical? Lets take the logical reverse of this statement and see how it reads:
“Therefore, to him who does not know to do good and does it, to him it is not sin.”

The concept holds up both ways.

How can this be? This is one way the grace – undeserved love and favor – of God overrides a spiritual/moral law of God. This makes sin relative. Not by our human measure, but in God's omnipotent view of justice mixed with love and grace. You doubt this?

Consider the following scenario: You are a saved person, doing your best to obey all the will/commands/law of God you know about. You know that you do not know all of God's commands, but are trying to obey all that you know of them. While in church service one Sunday morning, a point is mentioned during the sermon that speaks directly to you. You learn that the Bible says that a certain matter should be handled in a specific way. You know that you have not been handling this matter in this way. You realize that all this time you have been committing a sin by handling this matter in this way. You may or may not be condemned by the Spirit of God to repent, but you are urged to change the way you handle this matter from then on. This is a common scenario. It has happened to me several times. I know of many others who have had this same experience.

Some questions -
Was handling the matter in a way not prescribed by the Bible a sin?
Yes. The Spirit of God clearly pointed this out to you.
Was it a sin before the believer (you, in this case) found out about it in the church service? Yes.
Was it a sin after the believer (you, in this case) found out about it in the church service?
Yes.
Why were you not bothered by the way you handled the issue before you went to the church service?
Because you were ignorant of the Biblical command/law on the matter. You were innocent. Not willingly ignorant. You were not trying to avoid certain knowledge to ensure your ignorance/innocence. On the contrary, you were seeking to learn as much as you could about the will/commands/law of God because you loved him and wanted to please him as much as possible. Part of you welcomed this new information, even though you felt badly that you had been violating God's law/command in this area. Because of this, God did not charge you with sin in this specific area. However, from this point on, if you fail to obey this new knowledge, you will feel condemnation because God will charge you with transgression of a (now) known command. From now on, you will have to repent for violations of this command.

Some refer to this as “walking in the light” (1 John 1:7), or “progressive revelation”, or “sanctification”. It is the process of growing progressively more holy, or more like God. This comes, first by more knowledge of the law/commands of God and, through the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, the ability to obey this new knowledge. While it is more than just new knowledge, knowledge is part of walking in the light/sanctification.

Here is another way to look at this principle: God knows what every sin is. Let's say there is a total of 100 different sins any person could commit. That is all the sins any human can be guilty of. When someone comes to God to repent, they may be guilty of 50 of the 100 sins. God knows exactly what these 50 sins are, when they were committed, how often they were committed, etc. But because of the imperfect memory of this person, they can only repent of 10 of the 50. They either have forgotten that they committed some sins or they did not know that the things they did were sinful in the first place. One cannot repent of something they are not aware of. But when God forgives this person, he forgives them for all the 50 sins that he knows the person is guilty of. They now have a clean slate in the view of God. No sins. None. Zero.

But as this new Christian goes about living his/her new life, they unknowingly repeat some of the 40 sins they were forgiven of. These are not part of the 10 sins that they repented of, these are part of the 40 that they did not repent of because they did not know about or remember them. This is not because they are willingly disobedient, it is because they are ignorant of the law/commands of God in this area. Because they are ignorant/innocent of these sins, God forgives them through his grace. He does not condemn them or charge them (impute) with these other 40 sins. Yet.

Over time, as the new believer reads the Bible, goes to worship services, builds new relationships with other believers, God through the Spirit brings these other 40 sins to the attention of the new believer, one at a time, and instructs him/her to stop committing them. Not only does the Spirit of God instruct the new believer about these 40 sins, he gives them the spiritual strength to overcome them. Over time, the 40 unrepented sins will become 39 and then 38, and so on. Thus, God only charges a person with sin he/she has knowledge of, even though God knows all 100 possible sins, and the 50 sins he/she had committed, and the 40 sins he/she has not yet repented of.

It may be that a person may never repent or stop committing all the sins that God sees. Again, this is not because the person is rebellious or actively disobedient, it is just because they are ignorant of the law/commands of God in these areas. This is where the grace if God comes into play. This is why all of us need the undeserved love and favor (grace) of God, even after we are saved. The grace of God covers the sins we are not aware of.

Does this mean that people cannot live holy, as God commands?
No. But it does mean that the holiness of believers is relative, just as sin is. This issue is not whether holiness is commanded or achievable – it is clearly taught in the scriptures. The issue is, what is the nature of human holiness.
Can a human be as holy as God?
No.
Can a human live a holy life as commanded by God?
Yes. But that is not the same as being as holy as God is.

God is holy by nature, humans are not. Humans are holy by regeneration. We must be born again. But people are still subject to temptation; God is not. People are still subject to failure, temptation and sin. God is not. So, even though people can live in a holy way according to the commands of God, they are not holy by nature, as God is. Thus, holiness is relative just as sin is relative..

Professor Calvin and his students are both correct and overly protective of the concept of the moral depravity of people. Their fear, it seems, is that someone will (incorrectly) read in the scriptures and/or believe that some people can, by their own moral strength and will, do enough good, in either quantity or magnitude, to earn eternal salvation with God. Thus, the Calvinists exaggerate the magnitude of human moral depravity beyond what is pictured by the scriptures.

I understand their concerns and sympathize with them to some degree. But I will not tie my logic, and my theology, into unscriptural knots defending a principle that the scriptures do not support to the same degree.

To say that humans are capable of doing some good is not the same as saying that humans are capable of earning sufficient merit in the view of God for salvation from sin. There are numerous and clear scriptures that specifically disallow this. Given the strong scriptural antagonism for salvation by works, the fear of this concept should not be reason to distort the doctrine of human Depravity.

So, the sins of Adam and Eve did not cause the moral/spiritual depravity of all people, just their own. People caused their own depravity by their own acts of sin. And, conversely, even though people are capable doing some good, this in no way allows then sufficient merit to earn salvation from sin and entrance into God's heaven for eternity.

Class dismissed.

Thots on Lonely

2010-11-13T19:38:00.002-06:00

It is Saturday evening.

My life is good.
It mostly has been good.
Good meaning, few problems.
My health has, and is, good.
My wealth is sufficient for my modest needs and virtually all of my wants.
Not bragging here, just saying.
These blessings are because God has been good to me.

But tonight, for no reason that I can discern, I am feeling lonely.
Very alone.
Feeling no connection to anyone.
All the people I know and love seem so very far away.

It is a feeling that comes to visit me from time to time.
Maybe it is my hormone time or something.
No matter.
I am feeling it tonight.
Strongly.

I remember nights like this 11 years ago when I was still married.
She was at one end of the house (or gone) and I was at the other (or gone to visit some friends).
She was struggling to figure out how to live with a man she did not like and who did not like her.
I was wondering if anything was ever going to change between us, knowing she did not like me (she told me this plainly with her mouth very calmly one day).
I had no feelings of “love” for her any more.
Ultimately, I got tired of waiting for something to happen.
I suppose I should have given the relationship more than 30 years to work itself out.
But I did not know what else to do.
The answers to my prayers seemed to be delayed longer than I could wait for.

The key thought that moved me out of that situation was that I would/could not be more lonely if I lived by myself.
And it turned out to be true.
I suspected that there would be nights like this.
And it has proven true.
And tonight is one of them.

The words of a song come to mind.....

“This is for all the lonely people
thinking that life has passed them by
Don't give up
until you drink from the silver cup
And ride that highway in the sky”

I don't think of this song much.

I don't normally mope around.
This is a relatively rare event.
This is partly my fault.
I am not a social person.
Most of the time I like to be alone just living my little life.
But I don't hate people.

But I also know that I am not like most people.
I see things differently.
I believe differently.
I think differently.
Some of the things I see are things some other people do not see at all.
Some of these things are visual, physical things, but many other things I see are patterns of behavior or spiritual in nature.
I am not saying I am better than other people, I am just different.

I have felt this all of my life since I was in grade school.
In my teen years I was typical in that I tried to fit in the my pubescent peers.
But I found that it was easier to just be aloof.
I did not catch on to many of their fads and customs.
And, even then, I saw the emptiness of much of it.

I know that I could call someone now and connect with them.
But I also know that they will only be a voice on the other end of a phone line.
A disembodied electronic reproduction of the voice of the real person.
And they will be busy living their life which I will have interrupted to force them talk to me.
Interrupting the routine that kept them from connecting with me on their own.
And in the end, it will only magnify the distance between us.
It will only demonstrate how very far apart we really are.
So I won't.

I also know that tomorrow I will feel differently.
This mood will pass.
If only because I will be preoccupied with other things.
And all of this mopey dreary stuff will just be a faint memory.

Thots on Dirty Words....

2010-11-12T21:17:00.002-06:00

As I was raking my leaves today in my front yard, a high-decibel argument erupted several houses down the street. I stopped to listen to be sure that no physical violence was taking place.
Apparently, the incident involved strictly verbal weapons.
As one teenage person walked away from the residence he yelled the supreme expletive to announce his disapproval and disrespect for those left behind.

This provoked a brief thought process within me.
It is interesting, amusing, and bothersome that in our society, the most common term to express one's most supreme negative feelings regarding a person or situation is an obscene term for sexual intercourse.
Sexual intercourse is, contrariwise, generally regarded by this same society as one of the most pleasurable, if not THE most pleasurable experiences one can partake in (right up there with eating).
Is this not odd to you?
It is to me.

So how is it that many in this society take a word that, though crudely and monosyllabicly, describes one of the most pleasant activities a person can engage in, and turn it into the penultimate descriptor of the most unpleasant?
It is totally illogical.
And, no doubt, confusing to the space aliens among us.

Which leads one to ponder, what would be a more logical expletive or phrase to express one's disapproval of another person or situation?
What word does the Esperanto language use? (Esperanto was a language invented by L.L. Zamenhof, a diplomat, to allow precise grades of agreement or disagreement in diplomatic negotiations.)
I don't know; I do not speak Esperanto.

Most of my thoughts on negative opinions revolve around kinds of refuse or excretive bodily functions.
Which quickly takes us to another popular – and equally offensive term – common in our society.
While this word is generally more appropriate to the expression of negative feelings/opinion, it's all-to-common usage often overstates the degree of alignment with the actual situation.
Overuse of a term dilutes its effectiveness.
I am still working on this.

Perhaps the most logical and descriptive negative phrase was created by Coco, the gorilla who was taught sign language for scientific research.
When asked by her trainer (in sign language) what she thought of the male gorilla that had been sent in to (hopefully) mate with her, she described him as a “devil-toilet”.
Fortunately, the male did not know sign language, so, other than being physically rebuffed, his monkey ego remained largely intact because he did not know the degree of his projected mate's rejection.

I continue to ponder this....
.

What is the basis of morality?

2010-10-09T21:36:00.005-05:00

The United States is at a point in its history where it will continue to be a great nation or decline into a nation among nations and eventually be taken over by another nation.
But by then, there will not be much left to take.
This could happen in the next 10 years or within the next 50.

While this issue appears to be political, it is not.
The political manifestations we are seeing are only symptoms of its underlying source.
The true foundation of this struggle is moral and, ultimately, spiritual.

Some people will argue that we are, indeed, in a moral struggle, but see Christianity as a cause of the problem, rather than a solution.
To them, a “rational morality” (my term) needs to be the basis for all government policy, societal customs and economic policy.
They have been working to this end in this country for over 100 years.
And one of the prime tenets of this new morality is the suppression or removal of all things Christian.

Standing against this “rational morality” is the Christian community.
It is a community more in name than in organization or structure.
The one thing that nearly all groups and individuals which align themselves with this side of the debate have in common is division.
Very few of them have a working relationship with more than a few of the other members of the community.
The reasons for this rampant division can be summarized in two terms – doctrine or methods.

Some groups may “believe the right things” but put them into practice in ways that some other groups disapprove of.
Other groups do not believe the “right things” in the Bible, and thus, are not truly “Christian” to some degree or another, in the eyes of some other groups.
And those groups that emphasize “correct” doctrine, are accused of being “Bible thumpers”, closed minded, bigoted and divisive, by some of the other more liberal groups.
From this diverse expanse of views, some groups cannot even agree that there is a moral crisis.
Others are so distressed as to be almost to the point of despair of any remedy.

Those who support the “rational morality” have their own issues in that they have no single basis for their standard of “morality”.
They do not have – or need – a Bible.
This leads to a rather messy – and even conflicting - variety of standards on which to base their moral codes.
This is less of an issue for them than it is for the Christians, because the rationalists do not have to claim allegiance or conformity with a pre-established code.
They have the convenience of moral relativism to make some, if not many, of their pronouncements fit various untidy circumstances.
Christians, after all, have to adhere to some degree, to the person and/or teachings of Jesus Christ to claim the title.

But Christians, have a serious problem.
If we cannot comfortably accept the fact that God is the creator of the universe, in spite of constant “scientific” claims to the contrary, we have a problem.
It is a moral and spiritual problem.
If God is not the creator, as his book says he is, then, who is he?
And if God is not our creator, what else is he not?
And if the spiritual principles that were the foundation of the Old Testament law and the New Testament are no longer valid, what, then, is the basis of our moral conduct?
What do we use to guage right and wrong?
Are we individually responsible to God, or not?
(This question is, in fact, the basis for all rebellion, sin, and alternate moral codes.)

If some “Christians” cannot bring themselves to accept the Bible as the basis of their morality, they are destined to ride the same slippery slope of moral relativism as their opponents.
(And if a person cannot subscribe to all of the Bible, what is it that makes them “a Christian”?)

If we cannot depend on the Bible to be essentially the word of God, then we are wasting our time pondering Christianity.
We might as well sell all the church buildings and hit the links, the lakes or the couch in front of the big flat-screen.
By “essentially” I mean, its fundamental basis, logic, facts, principles, and concepts accurately present what God intended for people to know.
I know there are some minor errors in the texts here and there, like the two accounts in Acts, of Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus, and others.
There are some differences between some older texts and newer texts.
But these errors/differences do not materially alter the important facts or principles of the document as a whole.

And if moral relativism is not a valid basis for our morality, then moral absolutism must be.
There is no other choice.
And if moral absolutism is THE basis for our morality, then we need to make peace with the Bible.
We need to put to rest our doubts and concerns about some parts of it, and its inconvenient precepts that cramp our worldly, selfish living practices.

The natural state of people on this earth is chaos suppressed by totalitarian power.
People are naturally rebellious against restraint.
The entire history of the world can be summarized in a cyclical pattern of,
1 general social/economic chaos,
2 gradual local consolidation of political/military power (manifested as social/economic influence and voluntary or forced allegiance/conquest),
3 larger military conquests/subjection,
4 rebellion,
5 go back to number 1.

It is only the enforced rule of law that causes people to build stable societies.
Even then, enforced rule of law only restrains about 80-90 percent of the people.
Of this minority, about 10 percent commit occasional minor robbery, damage to the property of others, or assault on others.
The remaining 10 percent prey regularly, if not constantly, on the other law-abiding citizens, stealing anything they can, damaging property, and assaulting or killing anyone they can/need to.
These in this last group are essentially outcasts of the society at large and have little or no interest in conformity.
This group is either killed or isolated from the rest of society in confined living facilities.

The main group of our society chooses to conform, more or less, to our Christian-based moral code.
The two minority groups conform even less or not at all to the general moral standards of the society at large.

The founders of the United States recognized that a stable society required the willing cooperation of its citizens to survive.
For this to work, each citizen had to subscribe to a common fundamental philosophical perspective.
For the early nation this foundational perspective was Christianity.
There were several variations of belief throughout the colonies and early states.
But nearly all of them accepted the Bible as the basis for their moral code.
Some more strictly than others, but still, it was the basis for their society.
And the local, state, and national economies were based on this same foundation.

Why are the new moralists trying to change the United States?
Why do they not just move to some other country that already operates the way they think we should?
It surely would be easier for them.

I think it is because they are impressed with the massive wealth of the United States.
Some of them may not even realize this.
They think they can harness this gigantic wealth-producing machine and mold it in a way that it will finance the massive expense of their “moral” economy, government and society.
But that is the flaw in their thinking.

The incredible wealth-producing machine of the American economy works precisely because it is unencumbered by the innumerable constraints of other, more “moral” nations.
To impose the same constraints on the American economy that other nations put on their mechanisms of commerce would produce the same lumbering, near-stagnant economy here.
These new moralists do not understand this.

The new moralists also need a “moral” cause to fight for.
This is their substitute spirituality.
They have no moral tradition to defend.
They have no reason to exist.
They have no spiritual foundation.
For them, Vishnu is as valid as Buddah (but not Jesus Christ)

So they see the ills of society as being caused by Christianity, rightly or wrongly applied.
The economic ills of America are caused by the greed of businessmen.
Since the basis of the free enterprise system is the individualism promoted by Christianity, the free enterprise system must be brought under the control of the new morality also.

To put their plan in place will produce the same massive governmental economic/social dependencies that we see in England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Greece.
And when they find that such social/economic/governmental arrangements are unsustainable, we will experience the same financial crisis we are seeing in these other nations.

And yet, while we write of social, economic, and governmental policies, these are only the symptoms of the underlying moral foundation.
We must return to our common moral foundation – the Bible.
The basis for a national moral concensis is individual moral integrety.
Every one of us must behave ourself.
All the time.
The measure for our morality must be the Bible.
This may not work for Mexico.
Or Canada.
Or Greece.
Or Iraq.
But it must be for the United States of America.
If not, we are doomed for collaps.

So, where are you?
Is the Bible your sole basis for your moral standards?
Do you believe God is our creator, just as the book says?
Is your conduct in conformity with what is written in the Bible?
If not, how do you justify your conduct to God?
We are saved by grace, not by works, but that is not an excuse for sloppy, disobedient living.

In God we trust.
.

Thots on the Hurting

2010-09-26T21:28:00.002-05:00

It is Sunday evening.
Church is over.
I am home dealing with the after-church letdown.
For years, I have often felt a bit sad or pensive after church on Sunday evenings.
I am not sure why.
It could be because I have been in heavenly places, being challenged by the word and Spirit of God.
Mindful of fresh insights into the workings of God.
Encouraged to control myself more diligently so as to conform more fully to the will of God in the coming days.
And knowing that I must face the devil and his society tomorrow.
Maybe it is some of all of this.
No matter, here is that feeling again.

Tonight, I am aware that there are people hurting.
Right now.
All around me.
While we were in church doing our usual churchy thing there are thousands sitting home hurting.
Needing God but too ignorant or angry or afraid to seek him.
Dealing with problems, mostly because of the selfish actions of other people.
Or themselves.
Or with circumstances that seem overwhelming.
With children who are rebelling for reasons that are unclear.

There are women – wives, mothers – who are hurting because of selfish, unfaithful men.
Or they have their own demons or passions that they cannot contain.
And they are dealing with the repercussions.
And the guilt.

There is the military wife who has just lost her husband in battle.
She was dealing with the separation and looking forward to his coming home.
But not this way.
In a box.
She is angry and frustrated.
While she has seen some of her friends and neighbors suffer marriage problems and divorce, she and her husband were working through their problems.
She felt like they were doing well, and was looking forward to working on their relationship more when he got back.
Not now.
And she asks, why?
Why him?
Why now?
If that bullet had only been six inches farther to the left or right....
Why was it not so?
How could a loving God.....?

There are others, dealing with their problems by hiding in chemicals.
Some use alcohol.
Others use pills.
Still others use needles.
I cannot even relate to these people even though I have known some.
I do not know where to begin to help these people.

And here I sit, warm, cozy, comfortable, without any real problems.
And God has said, who will go?
And on one level I say, here am I.
But we both know I am scared and doubtful and hesitant.
So, while I am so aware of the needs around me tonight, I am also useless as an instrument for God to use.
All I can do I pray in intercession for these nameless people.
None of whom I really know (at least I don't think I know any of them).

And so I have prayed.
Prayed for the invisible hurting who are all around me.
They may be in the house next door, or across the street, or just two doors down.
Who knows?
I prayed that somehow God would minister to them.
That somehow he would arrest their thoughts.
That he would somehow comfort them.
That he would cause them to think of him or Jesus or some church.
Or to think of someone they know that could tell them about Jesus.
How he can heal the broken hearted.
How he can make a dreary life new.
How he can save them from sin, and sinning.

I know this is true but sometimes I doubt it myself.
There seems to be so few that have any interest in things spiritual these days.
I wonder if anyone even cares about heaven or hell anymore.
I do.
Some at church do.
But not even everyone at church seems to care sometimes.
Or at least, care as much as I think they ought to.
Only about half of the people who come on Sunday morning come Sunday night.
Why?
And I wonder what they see when they look at me.
Do I seem to care about spiritual things as much as they think I should?
And what does God think of me?
Is all he sees is a scared little old man?

In God we trust.
.

RANDOM THOTS

2010-09-25T13:45:00.005-05:00

I have had a few thoughts lately that I expected to become worthy of a blog post.
But, alas, that has not happened.
So, in the interest of keeping this blog alive, I will post these random thoughts just for the sake of public information.
Knowing that once I publish them, the world will take notice and will follow the trends that I create.

CARS

It may come as a surprise to some but I pay attention to the automobile business.
I follow who owns what companies, who builds what cars, what cars are selling the most (or not), etc.
I also form opinions about automobile styling.
So here are my latest pontifications on automobiles.....

Best looking cars - almost any built by Hyundai or Kia (really)
The 2011 Sonota is the best looking sedan I have seen in years.
The 2011 Kia Optima is a close second (basically the same car underneath).
I like the new Kia Sportage and its cousin the Hyundai Tucson.
I like the soon-to-come 2012 Ford Focus hatchback.
Can't wait to see one in person.
Regarding styling, Honda HAD some of the best looking cars around.
No more.
They have lost their way.
Toyota - the same.
Though, in Toyota's defense, they never have had any nice-looking cars after the early Celecas.
Instead, Toyota has one of the ugliest cars on the planet - the Scion xB (B as in BOX).
This is followed by everything made by Mazda in the last three years or so.
What were they thinking?

THE DEATH PENALTY

Easy segway, right?
It occurred to me the other day that there is no logic is sentencing a criminal to life in prison.
Basically, his/her punishment for committing his/her crime is a cozy heated and air conditioned room, three free meals each day, free health care, for the rest of his/her life.
That punishment costs the rest of us about $30,000 a year.
40 years @ $30,000 = $1,200,000.
That is a million dollars to babysit this bum.
Multiply that times several thousand prisoners and you have a few billion dollars tossed in the toilet.

Alternate suggestion - KILL THEM.
In fact, there should be no prisoners in the state or federal penal hotels with a sentence longer than 30 years.
All the rest of these long-term lifers need to be gently and quietly put out of our misery.

The logic is simple.
Look at our society as a large version of a small, local community; like a small rural town.
The citizens at some point decided that they needed to hire one of themselves to watch out for all the rest of them on a full-time basis.
If one or two of the local folks got out of line (meaning, violating the rules/customs of behavior accepted by the majority of the group), the local, full-time appointee would have the authority to arrest the violators and restrict their interactions with the community.
For most violations, a few days in the community interaction restriction facility (jail) would be enough to inspire the violators to modify their behavior to the satisfaction of the community at large.

But every once in a while, somebody does something really nasty/destructive/harmful such that a slap on the wrist is not considered sufficient punishment by the community.
In this case the violator deserves more severe/lengthy restrictions from future interactions with said community.
Thus, the community has the right to protect itself from all future interactions with such an individual by killing him/her.
As our nation has matured, it has drifted away from some of this basic logic of punishment for criminals.
We need to get some of it back.

We need to kill a few thousand criminals in this country who are of no value to themselves, to our society, and are living off of our dime.
It is time to cut the budget.

Un-Christian, you say?
You reap what you sow, Bubba.

And there is another class of criminal all too common in this country - repeat offenders.
I have a simple solution for these anti-social individuals, too.
Kill them.
My solution is simple - Three Strikes And You're Dead.

The third conviction for ANYTHING gets you a free ticket to your very own hole in the dirt.
If a person proves that they cannot conform to the values and customs of their neighbors then they need to be removed from society - permanently.

Rapists need to be eliminated.
Child molesters need to be eliminated.
Petty thieves need to be eliminated.
This will greatly reduce our crime rate and jail population.
And it is cheap.

In God We Trust.
.

Another Fun Run

2010-09-18T10:18:00.002-05:00

It appears that I just cannot stop running.
As I have stated many times - I love to run.
LOVE it.
If I could stand it, physically, I would run every day.
Note the "if" above.

I am fully aware that I am violating a rule of running promoted by nearly all running coaches.
Run every two or three days to maintain your cardiovascular fitness.
Running less often can cause injuries as well as sub-par performance.
I don't run often enough.
And I don't warm up (contrary to what the running magazines say...)
And I have never been injured from/while running.
But I know that I ignore the professional's advice at my risk, so I am careful.
Especially at the beginning of a run.

My running course of choice lately is mile three and half of mile four of the six mile Cotton Row course, which contains two of the steepest hills of the course.
Most of this territory is along the first, or bottom mile of Bankhead parkway.
It proved to be adequate again this morning.

I had been toying with running this route again for a couple of weeks.
Last week I wimped out for some reason now forgotten.
I usually leave my options open on Saturday morning when I wake up, just to keep from feeling like I have failed in some way, if I do not choose to run.

Today was different.
I woke up ready.
As I was getting ready, I noticed my right ankle was hurting as I put weight on it.
Not good.
This was the same foot that shut down my walk last Tuesday near the beginning of mile three.
So even though this pain was a one or two on a ten scale, I was wary.

Thus, mentally prepared for a physical catastrophe, I motored off to my course of choice in the early dawn darkness.
The temperature was a near-perfect 65 degrees and the sky was mostly clear with a few thin stratus clouds and no wind.

I parked the car, got out, and walked to Pratt Avenue (about 75 feet) and started trotting.
No foot/ankle pain. (grins...)
But this is no guarantee of a trouble-free party.
Remember the ankle problem during Tuesday morning's walk did not present itself until mile three.
With all of this parked safely in my brain, up the increasing incline of Pratt I went.

It was dark, and I took my time.
There are several street lights along this road (though there is about a half mile of near darkness), but they do not always reveal drop-offs, bumps or unevenness on the chosen path.
So, I ran carefully, picking up my feet a tad more to prevent stumbles.

I managed to keep my breathing in my comfort range all the way up Bankhead, which pleased me.
Even so, I was glad to make the right turn onto Tollgate which is essentially flat.
It was here that I encountered five male runners coming at me.
They seemed to be in their mid-late twenties and were talking and having a good time.
We exchanged monosyllabic greetings and kept going our respective directions.
After a quarter mile or so I came to Mountainwood - the dreaded hill.
At this point I stopped running and walked down this very steep road - all 600 feet of it.
As you regular readers may recall, the bottom half of this street is as steep as the roof of a house (about 15 degrees) and is paved with grooved concrete instead asphalt.
Anyway, I walked to the bottom, turned around and started back up the hill.
Still no foot/ankle problems.

I walked up the first half of The Hill, then began running again, as has been my habit for several years on this patch of American real estate, where the pavement changes from concrete to asphalt, and the pitch changes from 15 degrees to about 10.
Back up on Toll Gate I was looking forward to the flat/downhill jog.

It was during the journey down Bankhead that my mind drifted (a sure sign of a great run) and I began to ponder something, which now I cannot recall.
The last running-related thing I remember thinking about was the long, straight downhill sidewalk ahead of me, and the next running-related thing I remember was coming to the end of the long downhill straight and going around the long curve and wondering how I got here so fast.

Near the bottom of Bankhead Parkway is a painted marker indicating the end of mile four of the Cotton Row course.
The sky was lighter now and I was looking for it just for fun.
But as I glanced over to my left to locate the marker, I saw a lady runner.
She was trotting silently along the uphill lane of the road, her brown pony tail wagging behind her head.
Even though I was running downhill, she had caught up to me and was passing me.
As I divided my attention between the sidewalk in front of me and her, I noticed she had excellent running form.
No sissy-girl half-strides for this mama, her strides were eating up the real estate in big gulps.
I was impressed.
Any pain in my right foot/ankle was far from my mind.

At the bottom of the hill, Bankhead changes pitch and becomes Pratt Avenue.
The gentle decline (now) of Pratt is one of my favorite patches of pavement on the planet to run on.
Often I can pad along this quarter-mile route in full abandon almost as if I am floating.
This was not to be this morning.

As I moved from the sidewalk to the road, as is my habit here, I was about 20 feet behind Miss brown ponytail.
After a few seconds she pealed off to the right and turned onto a side street.
I don't know if that was her plan or if I made her nervous, but she left the party.
So I had Pratt to myself.
Not.

Then came the cars and trucks.
I don't know what was going on but a lot of people had to be up on Monte Sano early this morning.
So I had to spend about half of my time running in the gravel next to Pratt instead of running ON Pratt.
*$%^&*

Anyway, I turned off of Pratt and stopped reluctantly near my car and walked a few hundred feet to cool down.
I would have loved to go farther.
But that was not the plan and would have required some logistical/time problems.
This would have to be good enough.
I had a great run.
And no foot/ankle pain.

In God we trust.
.

Apple Update

2010-09-10T18:15:00.002-05:00

My new (to me) computer arrived in good condition.
I plugged in 6 cables, pressed the power button and "foof" the computer came slowly alive.
After a few set-up questions I was/am fully functional.

There are a few new things to get used to, but no major hiccups (yet).
More later....

END OF THE LINUX EXPERIMENT

2010-09-10T16:24:00.002-05:00

As I type this, on my trusty desktop loaded with SuseLinux, my new computer is riding around Huntsville in a big, brown truck.
It will be delivered today sometime after 5.
The new machine will mark the end of my Linux experiment.
It lasted three years and seven months.
But I am tired of bumping into software obstacles every few weeks.

I have mixed feelings about this move and the reasons for it.
I am happy to move to an established product that is almost universally recognized as well designed and of high quality and performance.
I am confident that it will perform all the tasks that I need (plus a few that I do not need but will enjoy).
That being said, the negative side of this move is its cost, variously estimated to be from 25% to 50% higher than other products of equal capability, features, etc.
Also, some techies have criticized this manufacturer for making products that are not as advanced or up to date, hardware-wise, as some others.
I am aware of both criticisms and have weighed them out carefully before arriving at my decision.
I have never been one to jump to the newest, latest, most technologically advanced toys.
Especially since I have seen the price vs age chart on technology product.
I struggled with the cost issue.
But in the end, I bit the monetary bullet because of the cost/hassle of the alternative.

That alternative is a security nightmare.
Loaded with lines of poorly written code and full of patches and software band-aids.
That operating system is made by a company that I distrust, dislike, and have no respect for.
I have used their products before, and could again, if forced to.
At this point I still have a choice.
So have exercised my choice in the direction that I have not taken before.

I liked several things about Linux.
I liked that it was free.
Who can argue with that?
But quite honestly, I would not have minded paying for it.
In fact, I did pay for at least two editions.

I liked its simplicity.
It did not have a lot of extra goo gaas in it.
But you could add a lot of nice little things to it, if you chose to.
It had everything that I needed. (with some exceptions, noted below)

It was rock solid and stable.
I do not recall ever having the system go nuts, give me the blue screen of death, or behave in other disagreeable manners.
That is not to say that all application software behaved similarly.
It is, in fact, the problems with application software that is at the core of my displeasure with Linux.
Almost every single application has, at one time or another, frozen, died, failed to respond, or otherwise misbehaved.
This even includes Firefox, my browser of choice.
Some applications are, at this present time, still non-functional in some small or large way.
I have worked through numerous problems that most of you would never even think about.

Once, upon loading an new update, the computer could not see my mouse.
I had to chase around on the internet message boards for a week to find the solution to the problem.
Once done it worked perfectly.
On another occasion my mouse wheel did not work.
The solution required that same internet chase.

None of the media applications come with the necessary plug-ins or codecs to process audio or video files, like mp3 or YouTube.
These have to be found and loaded separately.
No big deal, you say?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

Sometimes the newly-loaded files have to be manually moved to a particular file and/or folder for the application to see it and use it.
This is not unusual in computer software, but in more sophisticated systems this is done for you and you never know anything about it.
In Linux, you better know about it.

Anyway, a little over a week ago, I bumped into another need for a codec in order to view a DVD video, something snapped in me.
This is a simple, common task in home computers in the twenty-first century.
But not necessarily so in Linux.

I tried to find the needed codec and was unsuccessful in the first try.
And I began to seriously consider leaving Linux for something more sophisticated and less stressful.
So I began to look and study and compare, and price.
And I made a decision.
I looked for a used version of the newest model of my computer of choice (this time), and after four tries, bought it on eBay.

My "new" Apple Mini has just arrived and I am going to finish this and plug it in and see what happens.

Historical Day

2010-09-04T20:18:00.002-05:00

I was just a few feet into mile three of my morning walk when my left ankle fell apart.
It went from feeling fine to crunching, grinding, ouching pain in a matter of seconds.
I tried to twist my foot this way and that to ease the pain but nothing worked.
I limped along for a couple of hundred feet hoping that things would fix themselves but this did not happen.
So I turned off my course and took a shortcut back to the homestead, cutting about a half mile off the planned route.
This is only the third or fourth time I have stopped an exercise session before the planned end.
Thus, the historic day.

I limped home, did my usual clean up, and by the time I got out of the shower, my ankle seemed fine.
Go figure.
I do not understand the frailties of the human body sometimes.(assuming I have a human body...)
I have had no problems with my left ankle all day.

My mood lately can be summed up in the following -

Vapor of vapors and futility of futilities, says the Preacher.
Vapor of vapors and futility of futilities.
All is vanity, emptiness, falsity, vainglory, frustration, striving after the wind, and pointless effort.

In God we trust.
.

Hobby Lobby

2010-07-27T08:40:00.002-05:00

After reading another blog from time to time, I am convinced that the management of Hobby Lobby is stupid.
They are stuck in the middle of the 20th century.
While most everyone else is using laser scanners, and computerized inventory methods to keep track of their inventory, Hobby Lobby is still doing manual counts and restock lists by hand.
Machine-based inventory tracking eliminates human typographical errors, column entry errors, and time-consuming physical movement and hand writing.
Bar code printers and readers have been around for 20 years or more.
It is time to catch up with the rest of the world.

The other thing they waste time and money on is restocking inventory.
As the blog notes, customers have a bad habit of moving stuff around the store.
It is the job of the clerks to put this stuff back where it belongs.
But someone at HL needs to do some more careful accounting.

If the company is paying its staff $10 per hour (which I think they do now) that equals 16 cents per minute (16.66666 to be exact).[after you add health insurance, overhead, other state and federal taxes, they are paying about 20 cents per minute or more.]
If a misplaced item costs less than 16 cents, it would be more cost effective to just throw the item away than to waste clerk wage dollars chasing around the store to put it back on its proper peg/shelf/slot.

Obviously, some inventory is worth more than 16 cents and it is worth the wage cost to put the stuff back where it belongs.
But that is definitely not true of much of the inventory in Hobby Lobby (or any craft store).
The middle ground on this issue is to collect all the misplaced stock and restock it when the clerk has free time.
But still, some stuff is not worth the cost of putting it back in its proper place.

"If I ran the zoo, said young Gerald McGroo
I'd make a few changes, that's what I'd do"

In God we trust.
.

ECONOMIC MALE BOVINE EXCRETION

2010-07-26T09:29:00.003-05:00

The following is some baloney I found on the net today.
It is so riddled with economic misinformation that I could not let it stand.
This is just another communist-style class envy rant against capitalism.
My comments are in bold.
.................................................

"The Middle Class in America Is Radically Shrinking. Here Are the Stats to Prove it
Posted Jul 15, 2010 02:25pm EDT by Michael Snyder in Recession
From The Business Insider
Editor's note: Michael Snyder is editor of theeconomiccollapseblog.com
The 22 statistics detailed here prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the middle class is being systematically wiped out of existence in America.
The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer at a staggering rate. Once upon a time, the United States had the largest and most prosperous middle class in the history of the world, but now that is changing at a blinding pace."
.........
Here are the statistics to prove it:
•    83 percent of all U.S. stocks are in the hands of 1 percent of the people.

Is this measured as dollar value of all stocks or number of shares?
This is less alarming if we are measuring total dollar value.
It has always been true that the most wealthy own the greatest percentage of stocks.
This is nothing new.
It is also true that more Americans own stocks than ever.

•    61 percent of Americans "always or usually" live paycheck to paycheck, which was up from 49 percent in 2008 and 43 percent in 2007.

Is this because more Americans are making less money or because more Americans are spending more than they can afford?

•    66 percent of the income growth between 2001 and 2007 went to the top 1% of all Americans.

Is this measured by percent of income growth or by total dollars?
If this is measured by percent of income growth, then this could be a bad trend.
If this is measured by total dollars, it is not alarming.
If you make $100 dollars a week and you get a 10% raise, you get $10 more per week.
If you make $200 dollars a week and you get a 10% raise, you get $20 more per week.
Whose income grew more?
Duh, the person who was making more.
But the rate of increase was the same.

•    36 percent of Americans say that they don't contribute anything to retirement savings.

Right.
And 36 percent of Americans are under 20 years old and don't give a (beep) about retirement.
Next!

•    A staggering 43 percent of Americans have less than $10,000 saved up for retirement.

Right.
And 43 percent of Americans are under 25 years old and don't give a (beep) about retirement.
Next!

•    24 percent of American workers say that they have postponed their planned retirement age in the past year.

Sometimes this is because of personal financial difficulties.
Sometimes this is because these old geezers like their job.
Lately, this could be because the federal government is raising taxes and workers are not sure if they can afford to retire.

•    Over 1.4 million Americans filed for personal bankruptcy in 2009, which represented a 32 percent increase over 2008.

Not an unusual statistic when we have 10 percent unemployment and many people living on the edge of their income.

•    Only the top 5 percent of U.S. households have earned enough additional income to match the rise in housing costs since 1975.

We have just been through a strong housing value increase and decrease cycle caused by unrealistic federal mortgage funding requirements placed on banks.
This is an almost meaningless statistic.

•    For the first time in U.S. history, banks own a greater share of residential housing net worth in the United States than all individual Americans put together.

This would be because the total value of new houses - those with outstanding mortgages - has become larger than the total value of older houses, which are mostly paid for, or have smaller unpaid balances.
Which is worth more, my 40 year old house with a $50,000 balance, or a 2 year old house with a $100,000 balance?
Duh.

•    In 1950, the ratio of the average executive's paycheck to the average worker's paycheck was about 30 to 1. Since the year 2000, that ratio has exploded to between 300 to 500 to one.

More communist class-envy bait.
Increased productivity has reduced the number of workers needed to build products.
Thus there are fewer line workers in relation to the number of executives.
This tilts the ratio in favor of the execs.

•    As of 2007, the bottom 80 percent of American households held about 7% of the liquid financial assets.

Depending on the definition of "liquid assets" meant here - usually cash and savings- this is not alarming in itself.
Generally, the poorer a family is, the more of their cash they must spend on everyday expenses, as opposed to a more wealthy family which can hold more of their cash as savings.

•    The bottom 50 percent of income earners in the United States now collectively own less than 1 percent of the nation’s wealth.

Many of the bottom 50 percent of "income earners" (not defined for us) are on government welfare, food stamps, live in government-subsidized housing, or are students flipping burgers on a part-time basis.
The federal Earned Income Tax Credit is classified as "income" and millions of low income people qualify for this benefit.
If you rent your home or apartment, you "own" less than someone who is paying the same amount as your rent on a mortgage.
Even thought they don't technically "own" their house.
For purposes of this statistic, they do.

•    Average Wall Street bonuses for 2009 were up 17 percent when compared with 2008.

Wow!
Could this be because the stock market was up 17 percent in 2009 over 2008????
More communist class-envy bait.

•    In the United States, the average federal worker now earns 60% MORE than the average worker in the private sector.

This is very likely because on the increase in federal labor union membership.
While this item is meant to make us feel sorry for the poor downtrodden masses of private sector workers, it makes me wonder why our tax dollars are being wasted on overpaid federal workers.
This tilt also comes from the fact that many private sector jobs are in the lower paying retail and service industries (store clerks, restaurants, etc.) staffed by younger workers who are still in school or just out of school.
This lowers the AVERAGE earnings of private sector workers.
The federal jobs are generally staffed by older, more educated workers who have been working longer and thus earn more money.

•    The top 1 percent of U.S. households own nearly twice as much of America's corporate wealth as they did just 15 years ago.

If this is measured in dollars then this is no shocking news.
The dollar value of everything is nearly twice as much (or more) as it was 15 years ago.
If this is measured in total value of stock owned, this is still no big deal.
More executives are "paid" with company stock and/or stock options.

•    In America today, the average time needed to find a job has risen to a record 35.2 weeks.

Duh.
We are in the middle of a recession.
The average time needed to find a job always increases in recessions.
Not a good thing, but not abnormal, either.

•    More than 40 percent of Americans who actually are employed are now working in service jobs, which are often very low paying.

Perhaps true.
But many of these workers are students working part time to pay for their education.
They will only work in these jobs until they graduate and are qualified for better-paying full-time jobs.
Many other workers in these jobs are spouses working to augment their household income a little.
This is not the main income for the family.

•    or the first time in U.S. history, more than 40 million Americans are on food stamps, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that number will go up to 43 million Americans in 2011.

Perhaps true.
However, as the total U.S. population increases, and the percentage of unemployed workers/poor people remains the same, the number of people on food stamps will increase.
It is also not astounding that during a recession, there are more people applying for food stamps while they are unemployed.

•    This is what American workers now must compete against: in China a garment worker makes approximately 86 cents an hour and in Cambodia a garment worker makes approximately 22 cents an hour.

Perhaps true.
But it also costs money to ship those Chinese-made and Cambodian-made products back here for sale.
BTW, there have been several strikes by Chinese auto workers demanding more money in recent months. (which they received)

•    Approximately 21 percent of all children in the United States are living below the poverty line in 2010 - the highest rate in 20 years.

Perhaps true.
But could this be because many of these children are born to poor black mothers who are promiscuous and believe that having more children will allow them to receive increased federal tax benefits, increased food stamp allowances, and increased rent subsidies?
It is also because many of these children have a mother who has been abandoned or divorced by her husband and must work a lower-paying job to support her family.
This is more of a moral issue than an economic issue.

•    Despite the financial crisis, the number of millionaires in the United States rose a whopping 16 percent to 7.8 million in 2009.

Most of the wealthy are not affected by recessions.
If you have 10 million dollars and you lose half of it in a recession, does that really affect how much you spend for food this week?

•    The top 10 percent of Americans now earn around 50 percent of our national income.

And they pay 96 percent of all personal income taxes.
Your point?

Sum Thots on Non-Insurance

2010-07-06T10:06:00.001-05:00

Think about this.

Let's say you buy a new car.
Let's say it cost $20,000.
You call your insurance person and tell them you bought such-and-such new car for $20,000.
The insurance person may ask a couple of questions about options or features or horsepower, and how far you drive to work, etc.
The usual insurance questions.
Then the insurance person says that your annual insurance bill will be, say, $500.
You accept this price with the assumption that if you are involved in a collision that the insurance company will pay to fix it, or if your car is damaged badly enough that it is more cost effective to replace the car rather than repair it ("total loss" or "totaled"), the insurance company will pay you enough money to replace it.
Right?
Wrong.
Stay with me.

For the sake of simplicity, lets say that the cost to replace your new car, should it be in a collision and is damaged badly enough that it is more cost effective to replace it rather than repair it, remains the same for the rest of the year - $20,000.
So your insurance rate should remain the same for that first year of ownership.
Still with me?

Think about this -
If, while still on the dealer's lot, you finish signing your papers, jump in your brand new car, start it up and it catches fire.
You jump out of your new car and watch helplessly as it burns to a rusted metal shell on the dealer's lot.
The insurance company will likely pay you $20,000 to replace the car.
Your annual insurance cost: $500.

Let's say you have signed your papers at the car dealer, and pull out of the dealer lot in your brand new car, and are broadsided by a truck 50 feet from the dealer's driveway.
The insurance company will probably pay you $20,000 to replace your new car.
Your annual insurance cost: $500.

One year after you bought your car, you are driving along the street in front of the car dealer where you bought your car and are broadsided by a truck 50 feet from the dealer's driveway. The insurance company will pay you enough to buy a one-year-old version of your wrecked car - about $14,000 (not a new one - $20,000).
Your annual insurance cost: $500.

Five years after you bought your car, you are driving along the street in front of the car dealer where you bought your car and are broadsided by a truck 50 feet from the dealer's driveway. The insurance company will pay you enough to buy a five-year-old version of your wrecked car - about $7,000 (not a new one - $20,000).
Your annual insurance cost: $500.
Huh?
Why is this?

There are two facts about car insurance that are in play here.
1 - Your car insurance only covers the CURRENT value of your car - not replacement value.
2 - Your insurance cost never goes down, even though the value of your car changes.

The replacement values used in the examples above were based on the following figures:
It is a verifiable fact that as soon as you drive a new car off the dealer's lot, it loses about 15-20% of its new value.
At the end of the first year of ownership your new car will have lost from 25% to 35% of its new value.
At the end of five years of ownership, your new car will have lost from 60% to 65% if its new value.

So, based on the above facts about depreciation, if the value of your car goes down every year, why doesn't your (collision) insurance cost go down by the same amount?
In theory, if your insurance cost doesn't go down every year, then your insurance should cover the cost of a NEW car, of equal value to your car when it was new, no matter when you "total" your car.

In fact, you should be able to buy an insurance policy to replace your car AT ANY TIME with a new version of that same car.
The cost of this type of policy would likely increase each year because the cost of a new replacement vehicle typically increases each new model year.
But you would still be able to replace your smashed car with a new one.
But you cannot buy such an insurance policy.
They do not exist.
Why can't you buy such a policy?

The reason, as explained by my insurance agent, is customer fraud.
If some people knew that they could get a new car to replace their current older car, simply by crashing it, they would do it.
So, to reduce the likelihood of customer fraud, the insurance companies do not sell full replacement value vehicle policies.

The same is true of house insurance.
You cannot buy an insurance policy that will fully replace the CURRENT value of your house and its contents.
The example given to me was similar to this:
Say, your current house is 20 years old and currently worth $75,000. The cost to build the identical house today is $100,000.
Some people would burn their current house down in order to cause the insurance company to build a new replacement house worth $100,000.
So the insurance companies will not sell full replacement homeowners policies.
Thus, if your 20 year old house burns down, the insurance company will only pay you $75,000 to "replace" your house.
Guess who gets to pick up the difference?

Enjoy your freedoms while you still can,
You will not have them much longer.

In God we trust....
.

Another Run

2010-07-03T10:32:00.003-05:00

I know both of you don't care about this very much.
If so, you can move on to more interesting stuff.

Ever since my walk last Saturday morning, I have been thinking about running up Bankhead Parkway again.
I made no conscious plans this past week, but had a open mind to the alternative to walking around my neighborhood.
I stayed up too late again last night - though not as late as some of the Nordstrom clan.....

So this morning, when I woke up before 5, I considered it an omen for a good chance to be with my old friend.
I have said this before, but I cannot say it enough - I love running.
I know it is irrational, but it is still a fact.
It surprises me how much I love to run.
Certainly my addiction to endorphins produced by the activity has to be part of it.

Anyway, after a face shave, I donned my running/walking costume and gathered up my after-run towels, water bottle, neck keys, hankie, and out the door I went.
As the plan always is these days, I would try to run the whole way.
If something broke, I would walk.
Either way it would be a good (= more taxing than my usual flat neighborhood course) workout.

I drove to Pratt Avenue and turned onto Grayson and parked the car.
I walked the few dozen feet back to Pratt wondering how long I would walk before I started to run.
I barely made it across the street before I started the engine.
Carefully, at first.
Small steps, not a lot of dig or thrust.
I wanted to let everything warm up a bit.
Though I was on an incline, it is more gradual on Pratt than Bankhead (for those who do not know, Pratt becomes Bankhead at the base of Monte Sano).
So, the reasoning was, just run the more gentle incline of Pratt and let that quarter mile or so be the warm-up.
And it was so.

The gradual left turn onto Bankhead Parkway included a not-so-subtle increase in grade, as well.
It was time to go to work.
I was already breathing heavily (but comfortably) and did not want to start the 3/4 mile or so hill at max VO2.
So I dialed back my pace a bit, even though the race horse in me was wanting to get on with it.

Having not run regularly in over a year (I stopped doing that after the 2009 Cotton Row Run), and run this same course over a month ago (maybe two or three), I knew I was out of shape for running to some degree.
But I knew that I could prolly do this without major problems because I had surprised myself at that last session.
So I took it easy and took the hill - about 200 feet in about a mile.

All joints and connections seemed to be pleased with the work at hand.
It was my breathing that was the concern.
A couple of times I flirted with the thought of stopping and walking but the runner in me and ego would have none of it.
So onward we ran.
I had to keep holding my pace down to keep my breathing at the level I wanted, though no one would fault me if I allowed my elevated respiration rate to kick in.
After all, I WAS running up a big hill.
But I wanted all things respiratory to remain nice and tidy.
And it was so.

When I got to Tollgate, I was looking forward to its relatively flat topography.
I felt good and the worst (well, most of it) was over.
By the time I reached Mountainwood Drive, I was a very happy old man.
I stopped and retied my right shoelace, which had suddenly begun to feel loose.
Then it was a walk down Mountainwood.
One of the steepest roads I have ever seen.

At the bottom, I noticed that Owens Drive had been repaved.
I wished that I was in shape to run the whole Cotton Row course again so that I could pad up the nice, new surface of Owens.
Oh well....

I turned around in the cul-de-sec and started up Mountainwood.
As has been my practice for several years of running this course, I walked up the steepest part of Mountainwood that is paved with concrete and began running when the grade leveled a little and the paving changed to asphalt.
It was a slog, but I took baby steps and just worked it a foot or so at a time.
This was not a race and I knew I was fragile (or assumed so).

It was on the return trip along Tollgate that I saw another runner.
She was almost a quarter mile away when I first noticed her.
Pale blue top, black shorts.
At that point I was not sure of the gender because of the powerful strides she was taking.
Then I saw the golden pony tail wagging side to side.
But that stride; I was impressed.
And envious.

She did not take the little short girly steps that many women do.
This lady lifted her knees almost even with her hips and took great chunks of territory with each step.
And yet, as we closed in on each other, she did not seem to be working hard (envy again - I was breathing like I was, well, running).
And it was early; only 6 or so.
And no iPod - good for her (one of the dumbest things a woman can do while running or walking).
This lady was a serious runner.
WAY out of my league.
I looked closely to see if I knew her from past races, but I could not be sure.
I waved, she said hi, then she was gone.
Do I need to say, I was impressed?
I was impressed.

I turned left onto Bankhead for the downhill jaunt.
This was the easy part, as far as breathing is concerned.
I was more concerned about joints and connective tissue at this point because of past history.
Many times in jaunts gone by, I have had foot, ankle, knee or hip issues on this very patch of road.
Part of it could attributed to the fact that I had already run three miles up hill.
But some of it had to do with the pitch of this stretch of the course.

And so it was today.
Not long after I landed on Bankhead, my left knee started whining with a sharp ouch just to the inside of my kneecap.
I wondered why; I had been trying to keep my left foot from flopping about, as it is wont to do.
I had not taken any awkward steps with my left foot, that I could recall.
So why the pain?
The question, briefly, was taken up by Running Central, is this the end of the run?
But before a vote could be taken, the pain went away.
Fffitt!
Gone.
As so many - if not all - of my running pains have done.

And on we jogged.
Happy as a dead pig in the sunshine. (as they say)
At the bottom of the hill, Bankhead became Pratt once again and I cruised onto the less steep decline, loving every moment.
This (other than every finish line) was my favorite part of this course.
The gentle decline seemed to help me to float along the road.
Breathing at this point was up into my accelerated zone, but I was less than a quarter mile from the end.
It was time to let it all out.

When I reached my car, I wanted to keep going, just as I had last time I did this.
But I stopped.
I walked to the next street to cool down, turned around and walked back to my car.
Sweaty, tired, jacked up on endorphins, I felt awesomely.

According to Map My Run, this course is 1.62 miles one way.
Close enough to three miles to suit me.

In God we trust...
.

THOTS ON A DIMINISHED FUTURE

2010-06-24T09:24:00.001-05:00

I have not posted much here lately.
Sorry.
I have not had much to say.

I am experiencing a lingering feeling of depression these last few months.
It is caused by three factors; 1, my diminishing physical strength and appearance, 2, the looming collapse of the American economy and our society as we have known it, and 3, the deteriorating spiritual landscape in general and that of my personal environment in particular.

I know.
Whine, whine, whine.

There is little I can do about number one.
I am getting old (as is everyone on the planet) and, in small but persistent ways, it is taking its toll on me.
I continue to do my best to fight this inevitable slide into a mass of Jello but it is discouraging sometimes.

Numbers two and three are related.
But Number two is bothersome because it seems that God has allowed or sent a strong delusion on many of the people of this nation.
The conversion of this nation into a socialist nanny state in taking place before our eyes and it seems that we are powerless to stop it.
And in the process it is bankrupting this nation.

The debt of the federal government is now about 12 trillion dollars.
An amount that challenges our ability to comprehend it.
If nothing is done to reverse our out of control government spending, we, as a nation, will be bankrupt.
And there seems to be little will among many people to reverse the runaway spending of our government.
In another five years we will be like Greece.
Bankrupt.
Inflation will explode.
The dollar will become worthless.
Food will become prohibitively expensive.
There will be no jobs because no companies will be able to hire anyone.

Number three is related to number two.
If God has sent a deceiving spirit on the land what does that bode for me and other Christians?

This takes me to a regression dialog to examine my priorities and beliefs.
This dialog takes the form of a series of questions.
Here they are:

1 Can I live as a Christian if the federal government outlaws prayer and religious expression in public places?
(for purposes of this discussion "live as a Christian" means the ability to read the Bible, pray to Yahweh/God, and obey the commandments of the Bible as I understand them.
Yes. This would not be much different that it is today.
2 Can I live as a Christian if the federal government places restrictions on my freedom of speech?
Yes. There are ways to circumvent such "restrictions" as has been done in Hitler's Germany, the Soviet Union and in China, today.
3 Can I live as a Christian if the federal government places monitors in our churches to limit the things the minister can say?
Yes. There are ways to circumvent such circumstances.
4 Can I live as a Christian if federal policies and society in general become more anti-Christian?
Yes. I may become more difficult to carry on day to day activities, but it has been done in other times and places. It can be done here.
5 Can I live as a Christian in prison?
Yes. If Paul did it, we can do it. I suspect this will be the ultimate fate of the Christian church in America if things continue as they are going.

Having said yes to all of these predicted circumstances does not mean that it will be easy or pleasant.
But God can keep us saved.

Even so Come Lord Jesus. (Revelation 22:20)
.

On This Day

2010-05-31T21:29:00.002-05:00

I present some well-known words written over 150 years ago by an extraordinary man, that are appropriate for this day in which we remember those who have died to preserve and protect the freedoms and way of life we enjoy.
.......................

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.
We are met on a great battle-field of that war.
We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.
It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground.
The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.
The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Josh the graduate

2010-05-15T11:43:00.003-05:00

My last son, Joshua, graduated from college with his shiny new Masters degree last night.
We of the family and friends watched the pompous circus from the peanut gallery.
After the event the Nordstrom's and the Smith's went to a local eatery to gorge and gab.
A pleasant time was had by all (it seemed).

"Enjoy your freedom and your income quickly, both will soon be gone."

One of my favorites...

2010-05-14T09:31:00.000-05:00

Titus 3:3-7
3 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.
4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Well, Well, Well

2010-05-08T09:48:00.003-05:00

Hello.
It has been a while.
Sorry for the lapse.
I have been preoccupied with personal matters and have not had much to say.
Not sure how much I will have to say from here on.
But for now, here I am.

In my new workout program of the last month or so, I have reduced my weight workouts to four per week (down from six) and added three days of walking (again).
This was because I finally became tired - and perhaps over-trained - from the previous plan.
Anyway, in the new setup, Saturday is a walking day.
And today, I was feeling sort of frisky, so I decided to walk up Bankhead parkway.
This route takes me up Bankhead about 3/4 of a mile, along Tollgate Road about 1/4 mile, and then down Mountainwood Drive (about 1/10 mile).
Then turn around and go UP Mountainwood, along Tollgate, and DOWN Bankhead.
Mountainwood is VERY steep.
The bottom half is as steep as a house roof (about 12 degrees).

All of this is part of the Cotton Row course.
It was almost a year ago (11 months and 23 days, to be exact) that I last ran this course.
Anyway, I decided to walk this loop to burn a few extra calories more than my flat course around my neighborhood.
That was the plan.

As soon as I got out on Pratt Avenue (the prelude to Bankhead) I felt like running.
The morning air at 6:11 was cool and there was a nice breeze teasing the fresh, green leaves on the trees.
Great walking weather and even better running weather.

I argued with myself about this.
"It has been a year since you have run," my cautious self said. "You might break something."
"Fine," my old race horse self replied. "If it doesn't feel right we can stop."
I had nothing to prove to anyone; including myself.

To add to my distress, there were several groups of people running the Cotton Row course, no doubt practicing for the big race in three weeks.
I contented myself to walk all the way up Bankhead, along Tollgate, and down Mountainwood.
The urge to break into a jog sat on my shoulder and hissed in my ear the whole way.
It was a good workout.
The trip down would have made it a good 50 minute session.
But as I turned around at the bottom of Mountainwood, I knew what I was about to do.

I walked up the first and steepest portion of Mountainwood, as I have done all the years I have run this course.
But where the pavement changes from concrete to asphalt, I started to run - as I have done all the years I have run this course.
I felt foolish, childish, and quite the daredevil.
I was surprised how easily I finished Mountainwood as I turned onto Tollgate.
It is a quarter mile of down and up of about 20 feet.
I always looked at it as a rest from the steep slog of Mountainwood.
And so it was today.

I was not pushing myself but I was surprised that nothing was complaining.
As I turned on to Bankhead for the long downhill jaunt, I could see some of the runners that had passed me when I was walking down Mountainwood a few minutes before.
And, in spite of my attempt to be cautious, the race horse in me whispered, "Catch them!"
I tried to suppress the urge, but I felt my legs add an additional 1/4 inch to each stride.
We were going see what is left in the old man....

Amazingly, to this point I had managed to keep my breathing in my comfort zone.
Fast, deep, but comfortable.
On the way down Bankhead, the attachment of some quad tendon just above my left knee started to protest it's circumstance.
The announcement was noted by Running Central, but no action was taken due to the minor nature of the signal.
Soon it was gone.
Only to be replaced by a more insistent call from my right ankle.
It wanted to make sure that I set my right foot down in a very precise, linear way.
No flopping or twisting allowed.
I got the message.
When I got the steps correct, right ankle was happy.

Bankhead is almost all downhill except for a couple of small flat or slightly uphill sections near the bottom.
Even so, I found myself pushing my pace, and breathing, to catch the other runners.
And by the time I reached the bottom of Bankhead (which then turns into Pratt) I had cut the distance between myself and the others by about half.

Pratt Avenue at this point is a magical 1/4 mile for me.
It is smooth and transitions from a slight downhill to virtually flat.
Running there has always felt like floating on air.
I have always enjoyed this part of the course, and today was no exception.
Frankly, I was amazed and delighted as how I was doing.
In spite of almost a year off, my breathing was still under control.

I was reminded - again - how much I love running.
Of course, by this time, I was jacked up on a dose of endorphins that I have not experienced in almost a year.
I would have felt great even if I had broken my leg.
I turned off of Pratt and with disappointment saw my car.

It was time to stop.
I did not want to.
The other runners were just a block away and I was reeling them in.
Assuming nothing in me broke, I was thinking I could catch them by the time we got to the Civic Center (their - and my old - starting point).
But caution prevailed.
I stopped running a few dozen yards from my car, walked past my car to the next intersection to cool down, turned around and walked back to my car.
I was a good start to the day.

I had my first physical exam in about 15 years this past week.
The interesting numbers for me was my blood pressure - 121/67.
Not bad for an old guy.

In God we trust.
(... all other ground is sinking sand...)
.

This Says it Well

2010-03-25T11:01:00.001-05:00

For a Friend

2010-03-24T08:14:00.003-05:00

Changes...

2010-03-22T07:57:00.001-05:00

This is the story of two people I know.
It is true.
Some details are omitted to protect their privacy.
.................................

They were an unlikely couple.
They met in 2008 at church.
It started with just polite conversation.
He was much older than she.
Almost twice her age
She was seeking someone her age, he was interested in finding someone closer to his.
So they simply spoke to each other from time to time with no intentions of going further.

But she was polite and friendly and funny.
And she found that he acted and thought much younger than his numerical age.
And the more they talked, the more they found that they were similar.
Seeing things the same way.
Thinking the same thing at the same time.
Finding the same things humorous.
They started trading emails, still not thinking that a relationship was under construction.
But is was.

Within two months they realized that "something" was happening.
Against all odds.
Against all logic.
In spite of their innocence and lack of intent.
In spite of their age difference.
They soon found themselves in love.
But they knew it could not progress beyond a certain point.

They were an unlikely couple and they knew it.
They saw the looks they got from others.
But they did not care.
They talked about it.
They laughed about it.
And enjoyed what they had, no matter how strange it looked to others.

It was sweet while it lasted.
Oh, it was so sweet.
So easy and comfortable.
They just fit.
They meshed with each other in so many ways.
On food, politics, music, religion, dieting, exercise, home decorating.
And on dozens of other little things.
They cooked together.
They prayed together.
They laughed together.
She could make him laugh.
They just fit.

He found out what it meant to have a soul mate.
He had read about such a thing.
And he believed it was possible.
But he had never experienced it.
Until now.
She was it.

And she said the same thing about him.
And it was so nice.
It amazed him because he was just being himself.
But somehow that delighted her.
Up until now, being himself had always caused a problem with the other person on some point or other.
Not this time.
He could do no wrong, it seemed.
It felt strange and, well, nice.

He learned how it felt to be loved.
(not that he had not been loved before. But somehow this was different.)
And she knew how to pet his ego.
She made him feel like a new man.
A younger man.
When he was with her, he forgot how old he was.
He felt like a kid with her.
It was like high school all over again.
Except this time he knew what was going on.

He loved her.
He loved her in every way he could.
He loved her every way he knew how.
Love was something he was never comfortable with.
He felt he was not good at it.
That he failed to express it well enough.
That he never seemed to get it right with his mate.
He was too self-centered.
But somehow, this time, he got it right.
She, somehow, brought it out of him.
And he loved her with everything he had.

And she loved him.
Even though he was much older than she.
She stopped seeing an older man and saw the kid that was still in him.
She appreciated things about him that no other woman had.
She called him her "sweet man".
No woman had ever called him that.

For his part, he could not understand how she could love him like this.
No one else ever had.
Not like this.
At first he was embarrassed and skeptical.
He wondered if he had somehow deceived her.
Or if she was just putting on an act.
No woman had ever loved him like this.
Could it really be genuine?
But as they spent more time together, he came to accept the authenticity of her feelings.
And he loved it.

In their few months together, they never argued.
They never had a disagreement.
It was not because they were on their best dating behavior and holding back.
They were way past that (if they ever did it).
It was because they were so similar in so many ways.
It was because they thought alike.
It was because they saw so many things the same way.
It was just the way they were.

They had questions, too.
Why did God bring them together?
Why?
Knowing they could not marry (the logical/emotional conclusion of such a pleasant relationship.) because of his divorce years ago.
Why did he allow them to become so connected?
He could have stopped them at a hundred different points.
But he just let them grow together.
They knew that they would probably never know.

So they just accepted the strange circumstance and let the relationship grow as much as the Bible would allow.
And they stopped where it would not permit them to go further.
They never sinned.
They never violated their understanding of the Bible.
They never tried to push the boundaries.

He honored and respected her.
She honored and respected him.
And that just made them love each other more.

But they knew the ending was inevitable.
They knew they could not go on as they were going.
The Bible put limits on how far they could progress together.
And they choose to conform to those constraints.
That meant they could not be married.
At least not until another circumstance changed.
And that was not something they could control or felt free to ask for.
(if this makes no sense to you, I understand, but I don't want to go into the details as that would delve into the privacy of some other people)

She was the one who jumped first.
He was afraid that he would have to be the one to pull the plug.
But she spared him the unpleasant task.
There were reasons why it was just not realistic to prolong an incomplete relationship any longer.
He understood.
He did not argue.
He knew she was feeling the frustration.
So she decided she had had enough.
He knew it would have to end sometime for some reason and this was as good a time and reason as any.
He did not want to see her suffer any more.

He knew it would be painful - and it is.
Like open heart surgery with a ditch digger.
So here he is hurting.
And crying.
And wanting to call her and comfort her.
And wanting to go to her and hug her and tell her it will be all right.

But he is the problem.
So the more he is with her, the more problems she will have.
Thus, he must stay away.
And let her grieve alone.

He had seen her cry too much already.
It hurt him so much to see her cry.
He wanted to do something to help her stop crying.
But he could not.
It has to end this way.
And this way hurts.
(But there is no other way to end it that does not hurt)

So now it is ended. (or ending...)
He sits and cries.
Sometimes he cries hard.
So hard his body shakes.
And then, after a minute or two, it passes and he just sits.
And stares.
And hurts.
Empty.

Miles away, she cries.
Maybe in the same way.
(He really does not want to know)
For her it is a bit different.
Life will go on.
Life has to go on.

She is still young.
There is much of life to be lived for her.
She has a career to pursue.
And time.
Time to heal,
Time to grow,
Time to change.
Hobbies, talents, skills, ministry.
Maybe she will find someone else and they will be able to be happy together.
Happily ever after and all that.
Maybe.
He wants that for her.
He wants her to have what she could not have with him.

For him, life is just about over.
Not really.
He could live another thirty years.
But emotionally, he is finished.
There will never be another woman like her for him.

For him, the remaining years of his life will be empty and boring and pointless.
He really has no interest is living anymore.
Not that he wants to kill himself.
It is just that the rest of his life will be in the shadow of this beautiful few months he shared with this delightful woman.

Who is now gone.

SOME THOTS ON JOHN 15:1-13

2010-02-07T07:25:00.005-06:00

INTRODUCTION

In my spiritual experience I have heard the following scripture passage interpreted in several ways. Let us look at these verses and see what they actually say.

THE TEXT

I will use the New King James Version of the Bible rendering of this passage.

John 15:1-13

1“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
2Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
6If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
7If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
8By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
9“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
10If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
11“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

COMMENT

The term that is translated “prune” (NKJV) in verse two is the Greek term “kathairo”. It is translated “purge” in the KJV. It literally means, to cleanse or prune. The determining element stated in this passage is that each “branch” bears “fruit” (vs 2, 4, 5, 8). Without defining what this “fruit” is, if a branch produces SOME fruit, it is “purged” – cleansed or pruned – so that it will produce more fruit. If the branch does not produce ANY fruit, it is “taken away” – removed from the vine – Christ (vs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).

The Greek word translated "takes away" (v 2) is "aheero", which means, to lift, to take up, take away, remove.

It should be pointed out here that verse three of chapter 15 states that the disciples were “already cleansed by the word” spoken to them. The bearing of fruit is presented as a function of God working through each of them over time(vs 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) hence, the emphasis that each of them “abide” in the vine. Stated another way, they should stay put and God will work through them to produce more fruit (v 2).

A key concept in this scripture is the term "abide". The word "abide" is used eight times in this passage (vs 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10). Every time it is translated from the Greek word, "meno", which means, to stay, to continue, to dwell, to endure, to be present, to remain, to stand, or tarry. Thus, we are urged to "abide in me (Christ)" (v 4a, c, 5, 6, 7), "abide in the vine" (v 4b), And to have Christ's words abide in us (v 7). We are also encouraged to "abide in [Christ's] love" (v 8, 9, 10).

Failure to stay pure by virtue of our salvation from sin, and obey the commands of God and his word, to grow and produce fruit, leads to backsliding and removal from the vine.

Interestingly, Jesus turns a corner in verse 7. He ties staying in the vine ("abide in me") with obedience ("my words abide in you") and links them with answered prayer. Thus, one way to ensure that our prayers are answered as we desire is to build a long-term relationship with God/Christ.

Verse 8 takes these concepts a step further and relates our bearing of fruit to glorifying God. This verse also gives a definition of a "disciple" - one who bears much fruit and thereby glorifies God.

In verse 9, Jesus goes a step further. He associates love, obedience and abiding with him. God has expressed his love to Christ. Christ has expressed his love to his disciples in a way similar to the way God did to him. We are encouraged to remain in his love. From this we can see that it is assumed that part of love is a bond between two individuals. This bond creates an attraction between the two such that they want to be physically close to each other. This implies a desire to become more aligned spiritually and morally. And that implies a behavioral likeness, as well. Thus, we will become more like God/Christ.

In verse 10, Jesus restates these concepts and clearly presents the linkage between keeping his commandments and love. This definition stayed with John because he repeats a similar thought in 1 John 5:2-3. We demonstrate our love for God/Christ by obeying ("keeping") his commandments.

Verse 11 ties the concept of joy with abiding in the vine, and keeping the commandments of God. Jesus specifies that the joy goes two ways. We have a joy from Christ and we possess our own joy. From this we see that joy is both a gift and a human reaction.

The Greek word that is translated "joy" in both instances is "kharah". It means, cheerfulness, calm delight, gladness, joy. From this we get a picture, not of laughter or strong outward expressions of pleasure or amusement, but, rather, a more subdued pleased contentment. And something or a circumstance that provides a long-term environment of pleasure, will induce us to remain there and "abide".

So in these last three verses, he has linked stability, obedience, love, and joy.

Some teachers see a spiritual/moral cleansing in a "second work of grace" tied to the term "prune" or "purge" in this passage. For those who embrace the second work view, the term “purge” here means an instantaneous moral/spiritual cleansing after initial conversion. This takes place in the "soul" or "heart" of the person. What is removed is variously called a "carnal nature", "adamic nature", "fallen nature", or the "old man" which we inherited from Adam. A careful reading of these verses will reveal nothing to support any of these concepts.

While there are many references in the Bible to the utterly total, helpless moral depravity of all people (Romans 3:23), there are no scriptures that clearly link this situation to Adam. This passage alludes to this situation also (vs 4, 5). Certainly, many passages in the Old and New Testament do, indeed, present the concept of a moral/spiritual cleansing event. That event is conversion (1 John 1:9).

Rather than this scripture passage being a picture of a second spiritual/moral cleansing of a carnal/perverted nature inherited from Adam, this is more clearly a picture of obedience, stability and progressive growth in spiritual matters. The keys to our successful progress in the Christian life and the attainment of heaven in the end are contained in this passage, where we are urged to stay with Jesus/God, the vine (vs 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10), and produce the fruit of obedience (v 7), love (v 9) and joy (v 11).

THE MONSTER HAS ARRIVED

2010-01-21T11:24:00.009-06:00

No, I don't mean Scott Brown, the "unknown" Republican who was elected Senator in Massachusetts Tuesday. (THAT is a whole notha topic...)

The Monster is my new (used, actually) synthesizer.
I am in the process of selling my two other toys and combining the best features of both of them in one instrument.
I have been wanting to do this for a couple of years but did not have the opportunity.

I wanted a machine that had an 88 key, piano-weighted keyboard, and a sequencer (a type of digital recorder).
A couple of years ago, an instrument with both of these features cost over $2,000.00.
I was not going to spend that much.
It was cheaper to buy two instruments, each having the feature I wanted.
Which I did.
So I had a 88 key, piano-weighted keyboard with no sequencer, and a 61 key non-weighted keyboard with a sequencer.
By plugging them together, I had basically what I wanted.
But it was not an ideal set up and it took up a lot of room.
That was three or four years ago, or so.

Then things changed.
Yamaha came out with new models with more features and priced them higher ($3,000+).
In addition to the new models, they reconfigured a couple of older models (taking out a few features) and lowered their prices.
One of the reconfigured models was/is renamed the MO-8.
It is basically the same as the "old" Motif 8 (minus the ability to add sampled sounds - which I did/do not care about).
The old Motif 8 cost $3,200.00 back in 2002.

The "new" MO-8 has an "official" list price of about $2,000.00 but almost everyone sells it for $1,600.00 or so.
That is almost half the price of the original Motif 8.
Getting close...
That was still a bit steep for me, but I found a used one at a music store for less.
I took the chance and bought it.
The beast arrived yesterday.
It is huge!

After checking out the keyboard to see if all the keys work (they did) I played it a little before going to church.
SWEET!

I spent about three hours this morning going through all the 500+ sounds to see what it could do.
As I expected, there is a lot in it.
Hopefully this one will last me the rest of my life.

Now all I have to do is modify my cabinet to accommodate my new, simpler setup.

In God we trust.
.

Some Comments About Skin Color

2010-01-16T17:29:00.001-06:00

The following email exchange took place between myself and a friend regarding an article written by Ann Colter on the subject of Senator Harry Reid's comments about Barack Obama's race. The Senator's comments were intended to be positive and supportive. But some (many?) in the media and elsewhere have been critical of his comments. I, personally, do not find them reason for offence.

After reading the article I replied thus -

She is right, of course.
Personally, I am tired of white people having to tip toe around black-skinned Americans.
Many dark-skinned Americans need to grow up.
It is a fact that they look different than the majority of the American population.
They need to get over it.
They need to get used to others making jokes or comments about their color, just like we whities make comments about uncle Herman's big nose, etc.
Dark-skinned Americans need to deal with the fact that approximately one-fourth of them are criminals.
It is a large enough percentage of them that many other Americans do not trust/are not comfortable around many of them.
This is not Negrophobia.
This is common sense.

It is the dark-skinned Americans that invented Rap and its glorification of gangster behavior/mentality.
This genre of "music" also glorifies rape as a common activity.
It is the dark-skinned Americans that authored the baggy pants style/fad in clothing, that makes them look like former employees of Barnum and Bailey.
And they wonder why other citizens distrust them?

And many dark-skinned Americans need to learn how to speak English.
The word "for" has an "r" in it.
They need to learn how to say it.
It might help if they learned how to behave in school.
It also might help if they stayed in school and tried to learn something.

And many of them need to get over the idea that anyone of a different skin color that looks at them the least bit sideways is a "racist".
Some people may, indeed, be prejudiced against them simply because of their skin color.
That is their defect.
They will miss meeting many good people who happen to have dark-skin.
But it is also true that many dark-skinned Americans seem to work very hard at trying to portray themselves in an as offensive/isolated manner as possible.

My friend then responded -

The problem seems to be that rather than being PROUD of all these "accomplishments" some of folks seem ashamed of them and run the other way.
Yet, they don't stand up and say they have problem; just look for excuses.
Perhaps the funniest thing about this simply is that what Mr. Reid said is a simply statement of accurate political fact.
Perhaps some were offended at HIS using the word Negro (even though many Negroes wrote it in on the last census, so it is being included as an option this time around).
Other than that, what is the basis for any claim of offense?

To which I responded -

Current events of success among the race seem to work both ways for these people.
They brag/celebrate the success of their sports stars/singers/politicians but bemoan the disparity between their millionaire heroes and their own personal relative poverty.
Many (not all...) seem to not be able to draw inspiration from their heroes to apply effort to lift their personal accomplishments.

To which he replied -

It IS interesting that there exists a dichotomy and divergence of opinion on the meaning and interpretation of accomplishment.
If we are going to denigrate those who succeed, often referring to them as 'acting white" when such occurs, then that element of the black society will never succeed in anything other than complaining and failure.
I suppose that is not a racially-distinct problem, however. :-)

To which I replied -

On your point, yes, there seems to me an ingrained sense of victimhood in many (not all) dark-skinned Americans accompanied by an expectation of entitlement to some vague general distribution of wealth to them, based on, again, some vague reparation for the slavery experiment in the early period of United States history.

But the words of (some in) the black community give them away.
If getting good grades in school, etc. is "acting white", then "acting black" must mean the opposite.
From this I see this as absolutely a racially distinct problem.
But it is social/philosophical, not genetic.

And if their measure of racial allegiance is sub-average performance, then they seek (as you said) to maintain and enforce a status quo of poverty, ignorance, dependence and self-perception of victimization.
This dichotomy is interesting in that it requires the dependence of the "poor" black community on the "rich" white community, the very ones they disdain.
This way of thinking is self-perpetuating - as we have seen in the near-constant percentage of "poor" people in our population ever since the "war on poverty" in the mid-60's.

To be sure, many dark-skinned Americans have escaped the poverty mentality and cycle (not just Tiger and his sports chums).
To me this is the best result possible.
It rescues an individual, who likely marries another individual of similar philosophy, who, in turn, have children who are raised with a different mindset, in spite of pressure they may encounter at school, etc.
Also, others looking on have evidence that such a perception of life can reap rewards that they could also attain if they changed their attitude about "blackness" vs "whiteness".
Success is colorblind.

And they call us racists.....

The Plan for 2010

2010-01-11T06:55:00.002-06:00

The workout plan for 2010 (I know you both have been wondering about this...) will expand on the trend that started in 2009.

In 2009 I found that my body seemed to want more volume, the more I worked out.
Too much volume in a single workout caused fatigue after a few weeks, but spreading the same volume out over more days seemed to mitigate that reaction.

So in 2009 I went from three days a week, to four days a week, to six days per week.
And I did not become fatigued like I did around mid-year.

So.... for 2010 I am going to maintain the six-workout-per-week (Monday through Saturday) pattern.
I will work only one or two areas each workout, but, contrary to modern programs, I will work each body area twice each week.
I have been doing this for over four months now, and it seems to work for me.
So I will continue.

But NEW for 2010, I will increase my workout sets from three to four.
I tried this last week and it increased my week weight total to 205,196 pounds.
This will give me the option of increasing my load volume on certain exercises if I feel frisky some days.
Or not.

Well, time to hit the weights.
Today is Leg day - squats and heel raises.

In God we trust.
.

Statistics

2010-01-10T06:40:00.002-06:00

I know you both have been waiting with great anticipation for this.

Last year I began to gather some statistical data about my spending to see if there was any areas of imbalance or excess.
The goal/plan was to adjust "things" if such a problem presented itself.
Well, the results are in, and here they are.

In my total budget spending the categories break out like this:

24.87% House (mortgage)
17.47% Alimony
14.57% Visa
11.73% Food
6.88% My stuff - tools, wood, stain, CDs, DVDs, electronics, toys, etc.
5.91% Utilities
5.73% Phone/internet/cable
4.90% Insurance - car, house.
4.56% Church offerings
3.69% Donations - to church and individuals, Rescue Mission, veterans groups, etc.
2.54% Car Gas
2.12% Medical/dental
2.08% Travel - one trip to Oklahoma, and one trip to Ohio campmeeting.
2.07% Car repair
2.06% Eat out
1.77% Other
0.86% Clothes
0.76% House maintenance

It is possible that some items in My Stuff are duplicated in Visa because I buy much of my toys on the internet.
I am still working on a system to better isolate Visa payments from other categories so they are not entered twice.

I also did a detailed analysis of my food shopping in 2009.
This was also to see where the bulk of my food dollar went.
Here are the results:

6.43% Milk, gallon
5.25% Beef, steak
3.79% Bread
3.63% Turkey breast, sliced
3.54% Eggs
3.44% Nuts, cashews
3.14% Tuna
3.13% Protein bars
2.84% Chicken
2.67% Apples
2.38% Nuts, peanuts
2.05% Hamburger beef
2.01% Salad/slaw
2.01% Ice cream
1.91% Soup
1.90% Cheese
1.72% Glutamine
1.68% Peanut butter
1.32% Beef, pot roast
1.10% Bananas
1.09% Cottage cheese
1.03% Lettuce
0.93% Various other
0.90% Bell Pepper
0.90% Milk, half-gallon
0.89% Jam
0.89% Salad dressing
0.81% Relish
0.69% Canned fruit
0.63% Spices
0.63% Turkey breast, whole
0.56% Bacon
0.56% Cookies
0.53% Buns
0.42% Oatmeal
0.38% Crackers
0.38% Chili
0.37% Spaghetti, canned
0.29% Orange juice
0.26% Steak sauce
0.26% Celery
0.25% Mustard/mayonnaise
0.24% Chips
0.21% Root beer
0.20% Tamales, canned
0.18% Butter
0.15% Sweet potatoes
0.12% Sausage
0.12% Cooking oil
0.09% Cornbread stuffing
0.09% Onions
0.06% Carrots
0.06% Rice
0.04% Tomatoes
0.04% Pork & beans
0.04% Potatoes
0.03% Worcestershire sauce

It is interesting, but not surprising, that many of the top items on my grocery list are high protein foods.
You can also see that I am not a big vegetable eater.
Of course, even if one was, carrots are cheaper than meat.

The good news for you vegetarians is that as GLOBAL WARMING! gets worse and worse, the warmer temperatures will make the vegetables grow faster and bigger. ("greenhouse effect")
This will also make hay and pasture feed more abundant for the cows, so they will get bigger also.
But, this will be offset by the federal tax on cow farts, which will make meat more expensive.
I am watching these trends closely.

In God we trust.
.

CUTE

2009-12-30T18:13:00.002-06:00

I stumbled upon this video while looking for something else.
I thought it was a hoot.

You may have already seen it.
If so, sorry to bore you.
If not, enjoy....

Good News and Bad News

2009-12-29T12:25:00.003-06:00

The bad news -
It is Winter.
Winter is cold and windy and this Winter is setting up to be a particularly cold one.

There is lots of good news.
First, a savior was born, to save his people from their sins, and to take away the sin of the world.
We are celebrating that event (even if it does not coincide with the date of the actual event).
and
While it IS Winter, the days are getting longer.
This is a good thing.

In God we trust.
.

Yes, I am paying Attention

2009-12-14T07:12:00.002-06:00

I have not said much lately, but I am still paying attention to the political events taking place around me.
This morning I sent the following email to one of my local representatives:

Dear Senator Shelby,
I was extremely disappointed to see that you voted in favor of the recent spending bill. I realize that several programs of local interest were included, but you and your fellow senators have already spend us into a debt level that defies the imagination. You need to be working on how you can reduce federal spending, not increasing it. I don't want to hear from you about how much you have "done for Alabama" by increasing the spending of money we do not have. It is MY money and you did me no favors by approving more spending without offsetting cuts. By one estimate we are now $12,000,000,000,000 in debt.

So just to remind you (again), I urge you to vote AGAINST any "health care" proposal currently before the Senate. I urge you to vote AGAINST any "energy conservation" bills that may be submitted that include "cap and trade" plans (by this or any other name), federal aid for ethanol production, carbon taxes, utility taxes, etc.

You do not need to reply to this message.

............................................

I like the good ol boys in Washington to know that I am paying attention to their doings.

In God we trust.
.

Stuff For Sale

2009-12-05T17:34:00.001-06:00

Due to recent acquisitions and adjustments, the following items are for sale:

Solid/veneer oak entertainment center - 55 x 45 x 18. Asking $200.00 Or Best Offer.

17" Hyundai LCD monitor. Excellent condition. Asking $100.00 OBO

17" Optiquest CRT monitor. Good condition. Asking $50.00 OBO

Windows PC, 2gb ram, 80gb hdd, 40gb hdd, AMD K6 processor. Asking $100.00 OBO

28" Sanyo CRT television set. Great picture. Asking $100.00 OBO

Serta Perfect Sleeper mattress, twin size. Excellent condition. Asking $100.00 OBO

You can email me at steev45@gmail.com if you are interested in any of this stuff.

A New Bible Study

2009-12-02T13:34:00.002-06:00

I am posting this both here and on issuu.com.
While I have not written much on the subject of "religion" that will change in the next few months.
The longer/larger studies will be posted only on issuu.com, the shorter ones will be posted on both sites.
.......................................................

INTRODUCTION

Several days ago I heard a preacher on the radio quote 2 Corinthians 10:4 during his sermon. He quoted it, mentioned the small portion that related to his main point and went on. I, however, was flooded with thoughts about how much we can derive from this verse. I have heard this verse quoted and expounded upon many times. I am sure I have never heard anyone dissect these verses in the following way.

Wording quoted here is from the New King James version of the Bible.

THE UNDERSTANDING

2 Corinthians 10:4-6

4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,

1 The word "for" indicates that the following statements are the logical result of statements that immediately precede this verse. (see v.3)

2 "Weapons" indicates that we are engaged in a battle or struggle which we cannot win without assistance. This fight requires tools or implements to assist us in overcoming that which opposes us. And we have more than one weapon.

3 "Our warfare" indicates that this is not a single event. It is not a battle, it is a war. It is a process. It will take effort over a period of time. "Warfare" implies an ongoing struggle. It implies that this is not a simple task, it is an extended conflict involving many people. "Warfare" is translated from "strateias", (Greek), a campaign, expedition, or military service. It implies the gathering of many fighters for a common purpose; the movement of armies from one place to another; the engagement of many fighters against many other fighters; the goal of victory over or defeat of the enemy; and the threat of death or loss if they fail.

4 "Not carnal" indicates that this is not a conflict with an enemy that can be defeated with earthly weapons. The word "carnal" is translated from the word "karkeekos", (Greek), of the flesh, bodily, temporal, animal, unregenerate.

5 If our weapons are not "carnal" they are not physical weapons.

6 Our weapons do not have the same limitations that physical weapons have.

7 If our weapons are not carnal or earthly or physical, then our enemy must not be carnal, earthly or physical.

8 If our enemy is not of the physical earth, then it must be spiritual.

9 "But mighty" clarifies the strength and value of the weapons we have. They are "mighty", translated from the word, "doonatos", (Greek), able, powerful, capable or possible. This confirms the superiority of our weapons over physical weapons.

10 "In God" ("through God" - KJV) further explains the type and source of our weapons. A weapon in God implies a spiritual weapon, for a spiritual battle, against a spiritual enemy.

11 "For pulling down", further explains the purpose and use of our weapons. "Pulling down" implies that something is built up against us. Our weapons will help us undo what has been built up.

12 "Strongholds" describes the nature of the enemy we face. It is established. It has taken territory. It has constructed a stronghold - "ochuromaton," (Greek), a fortress, a strong place of safety, a castle. Our enemy has a place of protection from its enemies. It is prepared to defend itself. It expects to be attacked.

This next verse further clarifies the nature of our warfare and the use of the weapons we have been given by God.

5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

1 The war also involves "casting down", "kathairountes", (Greek), taking down, pulling down, destroying, debunking, discrediting, refuting, showing as false, the spiritual or intellectual strongholds we face.

2 The strongholds are thoughts and ideas, "Arguments" ("imaginations" - KJV), "logismous", (Greek), speculations, reasonings, ways of thinking, ideas. But these are not just any thoughts or ideas.

3 These ideas are "every high thing", "upsoma", (Greek), high thing, lofty, lifted up, highly thought of, revered, respected, exalted by other people.

4 But these "high things" are of a particular sort. They are ideas and concepts that exalt "epairomenon", (Greek), raised up, "against the knowledge of God". These are thoughts that oppose the evidence, logic, concepts, and principles that God has given us to live our lives as he wants us to.

5 One way we battle and overcome these thoughts and ideas is bring them into "captivity", to control, limit, subject, or restrain them, such that they conform to and submit to the "obedience" of the anointed one on God - Christ.

6 One way we do this is to ignore and not respond to thoughts and ideas that would cause us to think or act against the will of God we already know and understand.

7 Basically, this is how we are to deal with temptation. If we see temptations as a kind of warfare, we will take them more seriously and apply ourselves more earnestly to resist them.

Next, we get a glimpse of the duration of this warfare.

6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

1 We are "ready", on guard, prepared, equipped and inclined, to oppose, contradict, refute, and reject, any thought or idea that is unlike that which we have learned from God or his word.

2 We "punish", "ekdikesai", (Greek), to vindicate, avenge, punish, opposing thoughts and ideas by rejecting them, opposing them, and offering and supporting alternative thoughts that support and defend the knowledge of God we have been given.

3 We will continue to withstand and "punish" these opposing thoughts and ideas until we die, when our obedience to God will be "fulfilled", completed, filled up.

4 Ultimately, those spirits and people who oppose God will be sent to hell where they will be punished forever.

CONCLUSION

Wow. That is a lot to get out of three little verses, 54 words.

The end.

A Brief Tid Bit

2009-11-29T07:01:00.004-06:00

I have begun to post some of my Bible studies on Issuu.com.
This is the quickest and easiest way to allow others to read these studies.

Chris and Sonia in Newark, Ohio, brought this site to my attention.
My thanks to them. (hope to see you again next year!)

To access my studies, go to issuu.com
In the search field enter "OldScribe45"
It should respond with "No results found for "OldScribe45""
Don't panic.

From the blue menu bar, under the search field, select "People"
This will bring up my file.
Select "OldScribe45" or "More info".
That should present my written files. (there are just two now)

If you select one of the files, it will open in a format like a book.
In the upper left corner, next to the "fullscreen" option box is a smaller box with some white squares in it.
Selecting this icon will give you two more options for reading these files on your screen.

I have set up these files so that you can download them if you want.

Check them out.
I welcome your comments and suggestions.

In God we trust.
.

An open letter to the CEO of Sears.

2009-11-24T15:36:00.002-06:00

W. Bruce Johnson,
Interim Chief Executive Officer and President
Sears Holdings Corporation
3333 Beverly Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179

Dear Mr. Johnson,

I have an old Craftsman circular saw that is nearly 40 years old and still going strong, but it will only accept 7-inch blades.
The carbide-tipped blade I currently use has finally become dull and needs to be replaced.
7-inch blades are difficult to find these days, since in the intervening four decades, 7 1/4 has become the standard blade size for these type of tools.
This size blade will not fit in my old saw.
So, in order to use a new blade, I needed to buy a new saw.
Plus, I wanted a new saw.

I made a special trip to your store here in Huntsville, Alabama, to buy a new Craftsman circular saw.
When I arrived in the tool department, there were about ten customers and/or children milling around looking at the displayed inventory.
There were no sales people around.
There was no one at the cash registers/checkout area.
I walked around the tool department looking for someone to assist me.
I found no one.

After about 5 minutes, a young lady came out of the back to get something from her purse under the (still empty) checkout counter.
I assumed she was on her lunch break.
On her way back to where she had come from, she asked me if I needed any help.
I told her I did.
She looked around for a sales person, found him and told him that I needed some help.
He was apparently by himself and was assisting another customer.
The young lady disappeared into the bowels of the store and I waited five more minutes.
More people came into the tool department.
There were about 20 people milling around the department now.

While I waited to be helped, I examined the circular saws on display again and found to my distress that Craftsman circular saws are now made in China.

I wanted to buy a Craftsman saw because I thought they were made in the USA, and because I wanted to support the Sears company policy of holding jobs for its employees who are called to active duty in the military reserves.
Now I had only one philosophical reason to buy a Sears product.

Disappointed, I waited for the lone salesperson.
I began to rethink why I had come all the way to this store to buy a Chinese saw.
I could get a Chinese saw at the Peoples Republic of Walmart for less money.
But I still wanted to support a company that supported our troops.

Five more minutes passed.
The lone salesperson was now helping another customer.
Two more were waiting near him.
I waited a couple more minutes and decided to go a half mile up the street to Walmart and buy my saw.
Total time in your store - about 20-25 minutes.

This was not the first time I have been ignored in this department of this store.
A few years ago, I came to the tool department to buy something (I forget what, now) on a Saturday morning.
I was one of only three customers in the department, I think.

There were at least three young men dressed in white shirt and tie, standing around talking to each other.
Since they did not have Bibles in their hands, I assumed they were Sears employees, not visiting Mormon missionaries.
One of them acknowledged me as I walked past, but he, nor any of the others, broke off their conversations to ask if I need help.
A young man at the checkout counter finally asked if I could use assistance.
I came very close to calling the department manager that morning.

It took me about three minutes to walk from my car to the tool department in Walmart.
I looked at the brands and the prices, and picked up the box of the saw I wanted from the shelf.
It took about five minutes to pay for my purchase (there were two people in line ahead of me).
Total time in the store (which was very busy), about 15 minutes.

I am now the proud owner of a new Skil 7 1/4 circular saw, similar to one you sell in your store.
Made in China.

Do I need to tell you that I am extremely disappointed in your change in tool suppliers, and the customer service in your store here.

Best regards,

Steve Nordstrom
Huntsville, Alabama

One More Thing...

2009-11-15T05:59:00.002-06:00

... I forgot to mention in my latest date of up.
I bought a new mattress for the Royal Bed.

There was nothing really "wrong" with my old mattress.
It was nice and firm (too firm, maybe), but had no sagage or other problems.
But my sister had raved about her new (back then) "memory foam" mattress and it made me curious.

One thing I was sure of - I was NOT going to pay $1,200.00 for a mattress, like some "X-Pedic" Norwegian companies want me to.
Nuw uh.

But I did some shopping on line.
I came across a website for Overnight Mattress.
They were selling foam, twin-sized mattresses made in the USA, for $399.00, with a 15 year warranty.
After mulling over this temptation for several weeks I went for it.

So the Royal Bed is now made of foam. (on the same nice, sturdy wood frame)
And I have changed the Royal sheets to flannel for the coming winter.
And I have a nice, firm, 10 year old coil mattress for sale.
Cheep.

Oh, and how does the new foam bed sleep?
Wonderful.
Every time I sit on it, I want to lay down and go to sleep.

In God we trust.
.

No I am Not Dead

2009-11-14T18:39:00.002-06:00

Sorry to disappoint you. ;)

But I have been suffering from a bit of writers block (or bloggers block).
I have been doing plenty of writing, just not here.

So, what have I been doing?
Well, I have finished the wiring job in my house (just those two plugs).
I have been weight lifting four days each week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday).
I have been doing some Bible studies.
Taking the remaining tax courses for my job with H&R Block.

I finally finished my analysis of D.S. Warner's book Bible Proofs of a Second Work of Grace.
I started it in 2006.
It has turned out to be 175 pages long.
So I guess I write books.

That study gave me an idea for another Bible study on the relationship of holiness, walking in the light, and chastening.
That one turned out to be 17 pages.

Then I got another idea for a study on the attributes of the redeemed.
I wondered what the Bible actually says about who the saved are and what they are like (or not like).
I thought that might have 30 or 40 scriptures.
Wrong.
So far I have listed over 1300 attributes (some of them are duplicates).
Just the list of attributes and the Bible verse that states it has reached over 27 pages.
I am amazed.
Some verses list five or six items and I list each of them separately for better indexing.
And some verses list things that the saved do not do.
I list each of those separately also.

I would like to share/publish these studies but am not sure how/where to do it.
One place to put them is here, but I am not sure that is the best way.
I'm still working on that.

I have become more active on Facebook in the last week or two.
I can see why it is popular, but I cannot spend very much time there, I have more urgent things to do (like bible studies...).

I also installed the latest version (11.2) of openSUSE linux on my computer.
It is working fine.
The install took a couple of hours because it downloaded most of the applications from a website.
That amounted to about 2.5 gigabytes of code.
Everything is working except my media player and I am working on that with the support people.
I have a minor problem with my spreadsheet application in Open Office that I am working with the support folks on, also.

Monday I start more tax training.
That will cut into my free time.
More later.

In God we trust.
.