I'm not sure, but I think I had fun this weekend. I went to a picnic sponsored by a semi-local church. My understanding is that this little 305 person town normally swells to over 10,000 people. This year, they broke the 20,000 mark, though how they know this, I have no clue. The picnic itself is nice. There are things to eat and a few things to do but mostly people just seem to sit around and chew the proverbial fat. The big (and I do mean BIG) draw is the fire works show. I happen to have the privilege of knowing the son of the fellow who donates the fireworks and puts on the show. It is quite impressive.

Here are just a few shots from said gala:

In a Galaxy far, far away...

Really big dandelion

BOOM!!


Still pictures will never be able to capture the moment, but they can evoke an interesting sense of remembrance or for those not there, a sense of imagination as to what it was like.

Appropriate quote

"I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my telephone. My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone."
-Bjarne Stroustrup, computer science professor, designer of C++ programming language (1950- )

Ah, reality checks are always good. Thank you all for being who you are. At your best, you have given me gifts of love and friendship which I hope to treasure always; and at your worst, you have drawn from me strength which I never knew I had.

Peace to you.

I took some photos yesterday and I'm going to try to place a link to them here. If this works out, great. If not, no great loss. Please also note that they are rather large and may take a while to download.

The first item in our list is of a delightful flower cluster I found near a construction site. The construction site is very near my place of employment or I probably wouldn't have noticed.

Said flower

I also discovered that seat belts really are a good idea no matter what type of vehicle one is driving. This is a cab shot of a backhoe at the aforementioned construction site. -- This looks like a head imprint to me. :-)

Too Fast?

On my way home, I saw these "whales" swimming through the sky. Looking back on this photo, I continue to be convinced that not only does a higher power exist but that It cares for us and gives us the beauty in our lives that we need. That or I'm finally realizing my dream of becoming psychotic. :-p

Wow. It's almost a week since I've posted here. That class is really taking up my time.

The week went quickly with a trip to an outlying office on Monday to replace a failed UPS and then taking some of Wednesday off to make another trip south of here. I had plans of posting some information about Sears and their price-matching problems, but it only seems to be the Sears in the Wausau Mall that is having the issue, so I won't slander the whole company. *grin*

This was the last week of the session for Taekwondo so I have next week off from that, though I don't think that's necessarily a "good" thing. I think I'd rather have the impetus to exercise and the moderately civil human contact provided. At the same time, it'll be nice to have a little more time to work on my assignments or, heaven forbid, sleep.

Life is. Dreams are. Mesh them and find happiness.

Repairs

I did something today which I have never done before; I repaired a bathtub. I know, I know, big excitement. *rolls eyes* Still, it was something I'd not done before, at least in this life-time. The epoxy-fiberglass compound (by Syon) used is nasty as far as fumes, but it sets up in 20 minutes and it's done. Hopefully it will hold for a while but only time will tell that story.

Yesterday, well, make that Thursday, now, was filled with fun and prophet. Class was good...I made it on time, thankfully, unlike Tuesday morning when I awoke at 7:55 AM. Class starts at 7:45 AM. GWAR! Oh well. Fortunately, the professor was understanding. I think I'm really getting a fair amount out of it. I even tried some of the new "business" techniques he recommends in a recent email to some of my fellow staff members. The only down side is, they're all used to my old style of writing in which I sneak up on the subject and imply my request rather than actually state it. I'm concerned that they'll think I'm hopping mad when in fact I'm simply attempting to be efficient. Oh well. Time will tell on that one, too.

I now own a million dollar car...well, okay, so I don't own a real one but I managed to win enough races on Test Drive 6 to acquire this highly sought-after vehicle. As far as I can tell, it's great on pavement, but put it on sand or ice and you might as well walk. I was better off with my class 1 car (a souped up Ford Mustang) than this beast. Oh well. Maybe I just need practice. ;-)

There is nothing like a question to get the mind moving. Corollary: There is nothing like an answer to get the mind to stop, unless you're an obsessive compulsive, in which case you just go on thinking about the problem until either you find the most efficient/best answer or a new question of more relevance presents itself.

And finally, something from my class which I found most enlightening: As literate individuals, most English writers have been taught not to end sentences with prepositions. We have been taught this "rule" and those who taught us were taught this rule and those who taught those who taught us were taught this rule, etc. But from whence did the rule arise? According to my sources, one John Dryden created this rule in the late 17th century. Why did he create this rule? He created this rule because he noted that the word "preposition" was derived from two LATIN words which meant, "to put before". He also noted that those who wrote in LATIN always put prepositions before nouns and pronouns. Dryden then jumped to the conclusion that English writers should do likewise. (Paraphrased from Resources for Business Writers, 2002 Edition, authors available upon request.) So, because of some schmuck in the 17th century, hundreds upon thousands of school children have received poor grades on their essays for writing in a natural speech method. Gee, Dryden, it's English, NOT Latin we're writing and speaking in. Jeez! It's not like English is even based on Latin. Yes, we borrowed a heck of a lot of words from that dead language, but English is primarily Germanic. Oh, and if after posing a question which ends in a preposition, someone has the audacity to say to you something to the effect that you shouldn't end sentences with prepositions, simply re-ask the question but at the end, add a comma and the correct term for a female dog. ;-)

Well, I think my laundry's done. Hopefully more soon.

Gads! It's already the 9th of July. I've been kept pretty busy with this class I'm taking. What time I'm not spending on class I'm probably spending on a recent game acquisition...Test Drive 6. *shrug* It's nice in a way and completely unrealistic in others. At the very least, it seems to give me my "speed" fix, though fortunately I don't get quite so adrenalized. Well, off to bed for a few hours sleep.

The 4th of July, continued.

Yesterday was the 4th of July, a day celebrated in the United States of America utilizing exploding objects probably made overseas to commemorate our division from Great Britain, specifically England. On said day (in theory) our nation was born, a birthing process consisting of much bloodshed, much loss of life and many, many tears. In theory, the child was a new nation, "…one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Horse-hockey. If you prefer, Bull! (Which word didn't you understand?) The above quote is from (as if you didn't know) The Pledge of Allegiance. "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and Justice for all."

In my humble opinion, not much of that "pledge" applies anymore, if it ever did. "One nation" According to Webster, a "nation" is (among other things) a territorial division containing a body of people of one or more nationalities and usually characterized by relatively large size and independent status. Well, I won't dispute the body of people, the multiple nationalities or the large size. Independent, on the other hand is yet to be seen. Again, according to Webster, "independent" means (among other things) not dependent: as a (1) : not subject to control by others. It also means, "not requiring or relying on something else". I rather doubt that we, as a people, are not dependent on the rest of the world. What do we NOT import from other countries? The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is grain. Almost everything else is, at least in part, imported. I'm not saying this is "bad" or that this should change. I'm just saying that it is so.

"Under God" That's a tough one. If you read the short history behind the link above, you'll note that this portion was added somewhat after the original release and against the wishes of the original author. In order say if we are or are not "under God", I would have to define "God". I am neither capable nor qualified to do so. Nor, I might add, is any other "human" on this planet. I'll leave that one for later…much, much later. See me in a couple of hundred million years and I might be able to give you a rough outline, assuming I'm between lives.

"Indivisible." I am somewhat surprised that the original author put this word in the pledge. Obviously the nation is divisible. It has been divided before (See circa 1861 through 1865. Warning: Some of the photos on here are pretty nasty.) and remains divided in many ways. There is still a North and a South and more often than not, the two have significantly differing opinions. There are also the classes, lower, middle and upper, also usually with significantly differing opinions. There are the "haves" and the "have nots". There are a significant number of people who believe that our current president was elected in a fair and lawful manner. (It just goes to show that some people will believe anything. ;-)) There is even a goodly share of people in this "nation" who think that the war on Iraq was both justifiable and necessary. (I am not one of those, by the way.) My point is that no matter how you slice it, we as a "nation" and as a people are divided.

"With Liberty and Justice for all" If you think that there is liberty and/or justice for all, just open your favorite search page and type in the words "Mike Hawash" or "Jose Padilla". I've provided some interesting links in case you care.

Jose Padilla:
http://www.chargepadilla.org/
http://www.warblogging.com/archives/000605.php

Mike Hawash:
http://www.freemikehawash.org/
http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,58326,00.html

Etc.
http://civilliberty.about.com/library/weekly/aa101501a.htm

So, am I being unpatriotic for pointing these things out? Probably, depending on whose book you want to look in. Do I wish these things would change? You bet. Am I saying that the USA is a horrible place to live? No, I'm not. I know that we as Americans (United Statesians?) share a tremendous amount of freedom in comparison to other countries around the world. That doesn't mean that it couldn't be better and that doesn't mean it has to get worse.

I'm going to close this little rant with one of my favorite quotes: "People who are willing to give up freedom for the sake of short term security, deserve neither freedom nor security." -Benjamin Franklin, statesman, author, and inventor (1706-1790)


(This has been a work of fiction. All statements in this work are both ridiculous and blasphemous and should be ignored. Any similarity between reality and the statements made above is purely coincidental. All links above have been fabricated by the author of this work, especially the one from Wired. All of the definitions above have been chosen specifically for their ability to further the positively silly statements made by the author. Please do not write to the author to tell him the he is an idiot, prick, jerk, bastard, wanker, hair-brain, poopsidoodle, numb-nuts, dork or any other not-so-nice thing as he is already aware of this and doesn't need reminding. Thank you and have a nice day.)

Happy 4th of July?

I'll try to write some long diatribe later about the country and where it was when it was founded and where it's gone since then. I may even blaspheme some of our political leaders. That or I'll just skip it and let you draw your own conclusions.

(Think globally, act locally. *heh* Like we have a choice on the latter part.)

Spam

It's truly amazing how much email is spam these days. On one of my email accounts, I receive approximately 100 email messages a day of which, 99.9% are spam. (No, they have nothing to do with the delicious and nutritious canned product found here. (Actually, I have no idea if SPAM® is delicious. I have, to my knowledge, never willingly consumed the product.) So please don't sue me for Trademark infringement. Oh, never mind. They've stopped that now.)

Most of the spam-emails I receive are in regards sex, or, as a sub-category, to "augmentation" of certain body parts. If I had purchased even half of the products advertised and if they had worked even half as well as promised, I would now have a phallus the size of Manhattan and mammary glands that would smother the entire city of Toledo. Trust me, folks, I'm perfectly happy with the size of my "pecs". As to the other, I haven't had any complaints. ;-)

BUT, no matter how much I dislike receiving the deluge of electronic junk mail promising me larger everything, "sex tonight", "sex tomorrow night" or spectating capabilities while a virgin becomes otherwise (this is enjoyable????), I would rather deal with said email than have my email filtered for me. No matter how good a spam filter is, it will make mistakes. I have tried several provided by several different companies and in EVERY single case, email which I wanted to read, which was addressed directly to me pertaining to relevant matters, was marked as spam. (And no, I don't think any of them dealt with sex.) So, leave my email alone. I'll deal with what comes, be it spam, Spam or SPAM®.

All things with time and practice

It feels so good to be back practicing again. I was really out of it for a number of weeks. It feels even better to be a student again, at least for part of the class. Being the instructor definitely takes its toll. I'm learning how to execute moves I thought I would never be able to do. They're not overly practical in a "street" situation, unless one wishes to make an ass out of one's self and give your opponent something to laugh about and tell his kids. ("Yeah, son, you should've been there. Me and my buddies were just hanging around, minding our own business when this weirdo comes down our alley and tries to attack us. Well, he did some sissy yell and then jumped up in the air, twisted all around and fell on his ass. Me and my buddies laughed so hard that we couldn't even chase him after he got up and ran off.") In any case, they're nice to look at when done correctly.

I found some additional time this morning to practice staff and bare hands and then all 8 of the colored belt forms along with Koryeo. I was getting too hot and tired so I skipped the next three. I'll save those for another day. Interestingly enough, I had an audience for at least part of the "show". When I went out, this fellow was standing in his kitchen in his boxers, getting something out of his refrigerator. I start the staff form and when next I look in that direction, the light is off and I can just see him standing in the corner by the window, peering through the curtains. After I switched to the bare hands form, he slipped away. (No, I don't mean he died, though he could have from boredom and I never would have known it.)

The day was otherwise spent at work, hurrying from one project to the next. Only at lunch did I have any quantity of time seated. I also feel it relavant to say that anyone who uses a printer should try and discern what kind of paper is in said printer prior to calling tech support and complaining that the printer is printing two print jobs on one sheet. "Yes, ma'am, it does appear that way, but I think that would be because some has put used paper in your paper tray." *shrug* Oh well, if all the questions were hard, what would we aspire to solve that was even more difficult?

I seem to be about out of steam for this evening, which is fortunate considering the temperature in here is already higher than I'd like. I'm hoping it will cool off again like it did late last week. I guess we'll see. Of course... "Could be worse....[How?!]...Could be raining." (Source page is here.)

Perpetrator vs. Person

With time comes knowledge, with knowledge comes wisdom, with wisdom comes enlightenment and with enlightenment comes a higher electric bill. :p

Over the past month or so, I have occasionally received phone calls from an inmate at the Washington State Penitentiary. His name and the names of the other people involved were changed to protect them, though I daresay I'm not sure if they deserve said protection. On the other hand, I also don't want to deal with a liable suit if I can at all avoid it.

As I said, over the past month, my phone has rung probably half a dozen times with Mr. "Anderson" requesting that I accept the charges of his collect calls. I have refused at all points, as I was unwilling to pay the initial $5.00 surcharge not to mention the $1.00 per minute thereafter. I did, however, desire to get a message to Mr. Anderson to let him know that the number he was dialing no longer belonged to the person he was attempting to contact. (I'm quite sure of this, as I've never known a Mr. "Anderson".) I proceeded to call my local phone company. They indicated that they couldn't help me in the slightest and that I should call the company providing the collect call service. I then called AT&T (the aforementioned provider) and after getting lost in the loops and dead-ends of their phone system a number of times, I was finally able to talk with a live human being. This person indicated that the only thing I could do would be to block all incoming collect calls. This would prevent me from receiving any more calls from Mr. Anderson, but it would not achieve my goal of communication. I then decided to call the Washington State Penitentiary and see if I could convey information through those channels. I left a message requesting a call back and indicating that I wanted to get in touch with Mr. Anderson. A few days later, I did get a call back from Ms. "Steel". She left a message on my answering machine with her direct number. Eventually I called her back and proceeded to tell my story and indicate my desired outcome. Apparently she didn't hear what I said as she immediately offered to block my number from calls from said institution. I declined and reiterated my desire to simply let Mr. Anderson know that the person whom he was attempting to contact no longer lived at this phone number. Ms. Steel then informed me that what I was requesting was not possible. "She" could not relay the message. She did, however, forward my call to someone who could. I do not recall the name of the "gentleman" with whom I spoke. Actually, I'm not sure that he identified himself but that aside; his speech was clipped, bordering on rude. I proceeded to inform him of the situation and what I desired to do. He must have had the same hearing problem as Ms. Steel as the first words out of his mouth were, "We can block your number." I carefully explained that there was no need to block my number at this point in time and that all I really wanted to do was to inform Mr. Anderson that his calls were going to the wrong person. Eventually, my point seemed to sink in and the gentleman in question indicated that he would get that information to the "perpetrator".

According to http://www.m-w.com (aka Webster), Perpetrator: to bring about or carry out (as a crime or deception). When did it become a crime to dial the wrong number or not know that the number you are dialing no longer connects to the person with whom you wish to speak? When did it become a criminal act to attempt to communicate with someone? More importantly, when will we as a society, realize that the people in prison are just that, people. Now maybe Mr. Anderson is the most heinous of the heinous. Maybe he'd rather stab me than look at me. Maybe he is a rapist of thousands and a killer of millions. Maybe he has destroyed entire planets and his minions have infiltrated every world government and are, even now, scheming to overthrow humanity and sell us all as slaves to the marauding space pirates who eat only fresh virgins for breakfast. (Hey, I'm safe.) Maybe he is personally responsible for all evil in the universe. I rather doubt it, but it's possible. I would say that it's more likely that Mr. Anderson made a mistake; possibly it was a pretty bad mistake, but a mistake none-the-less. Maybe Mr. Anderson is trying to call his ex-girl friend and apologize for all the mistakes he made in their relationship, hoping that she'll at least send him a letter from time to time. Maybe Mr. Anderson has a daughter who he's been trying to call to apologize for missing her birthday again this year. Okay, so that's laying it on a little thick, but my point is, Mr. Anderson is a human being and should be treated as such. He is NOT a "perpetrator" or the implied "criminal" just because he's trying to make a phone call.

*steps off soap box*

In other news, my dog had kittens and my canary ate my cat. Oh wait; I don't have a dog. Uhm, actually not much. I started practicing staff again today. Most of the form was still there. Only the last two positions were a little fuzzy but I was able to get through them with minimal help from the form sheets. I think my neighbors think I'm nuts, waving a big yellow stick around and jumping about like some sort of madman. Oh well, they'd be correct, in this case.

I recently started using an application called "w.bloggar" to update this Blog. It's available at http://wbloggar.com/. It's free and fairly nice considering the price. The built in dictionary could use some additions, but as I said, the price is most certainly right.

More soon.