04.30.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:25 pm by livefood
Way back on the 4th of January I wrote, “Still reading the Bible each day…4 days down…296 to go…that means 1984 passages left to read…and yes, I’m counting.”
Well…I’m still reading the Bible and now, at the end of 4 months. I just completing 100 reading assignments…200 to go…400 passages down, 800 to go…and yes, I’m still counting.
I have to admit that I’ve fallen behind a few times and had to double on the reading. That was particularly difficult through Romans…better now that I’m into First Corinthians. Every so often I’ll be reading along and up pops a familiar story. It’s been very interesting having the stories put into a larger context.
This past weekend our bell team had a potluck and most of us are undertaking the bible reading at the same time. We all have come up with ways to cope with the dry passages…some lump several days of reading together in one book to keep the passages “whole” others talk about the massive number of people that are being killed. It is rather interesting to hear different people’s take on the book and to hear what is jumping off the pages at them.
I’m using a “study Bible” so there are extra bits and pieces of information that helps to put some of the material into perspective. It also helps to explain what a certain phrase might mean.
Here i am only a third of the way through the project and I’m already thinking of doing it next year also. It’s not that the book is so fun, but now that I’m getting the lay of the land, I think I could go back and pick out those parts which I would like to learn more about…a couple of the Psalms for example…they seemed to pop out…First Cor. 13 another example. This time through I’m not highlighting anything, next time I will.
The other strange thing that is going on when I’m reading the book is that I then will either pick up a news feed or watch a bit on the television and get bombarded with horrific deeds of idiots…so I’m reading from “The Good Book” and watching some not so good book behavior. The Ying and Yang of life. Oh well.
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04.29.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:47 pm by livefood
By definition, “news” is the unusual stuff. I once heard a newsman (I believe it was Walter Cronkite) say that what defined the news was that it was not normal. That’s good news in itself.
If you think about it, that would mean that what we are bombarded with on the “news” channels is the odd and not the normal. That would mean that normal behavior is not killing, maiming, mutilating, robbing, stealing, swindling…did I miss anything? Well, I’m sure I did. But really, if you see all that bad behaviour as deviant (another way of saying “off” or odd or non-normal) you can perhaps look a bit beyond that and see that the bulk of the world…by far and far away…if not like what we are shown to be news at all.
So the fact that we don’t see the kid’s soccer wins on the news or the spelling bees or the nicely kept houses or folks sitting in a park watching their kids…it’s because it’s way too normal and won’t be “news” by definition. Most folks are good…the ones that aren’t are “news.”
Why then might we see some of this good stuff more frequently in the local papers? Well, perhaps the pool of bad behavior is small enough that the unusually good stuff can rise to the top. Then again, bad sells papers so if if were available, it would be there on the front page Im sure…but the folks at CNN have the whole World to peruse…so they are bound to find some really nasty things to share.
I’m certainly not suggesting that the bad is not happening…I talk about the bad all the time…but I am saying is that it’s not all bad and you don’t have to look very far to see the goodness…just don’t expect to see too much of it on the “news.”
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04.28.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 11:02 pm by livefood
The recent NFL draft wasa whole lot of whoopdee doo…now guys…DO SOMETHING WITH THE OPPORTUNITY. Don’t go Vick on us…don’t buy spinners for the hummer…you don’t need more bling. You need to be extremely thankful and display that in everyway possible.
The average (AVERAGE…not the dudes drafted on Saturday…they make way WAY more)…the average NFL player will make $3.5 million per year. That is a lot of money. I was talking to a friend on Sunday and she said, “but they have a limited career.” Oh shut up…I mean SHUT UP! If you’re average, it’s a lot of money…above average and it’s a whole lot of a whole lot.
The TOP of the pay scale for a teacher in our district is about $80K per year…and they will have two degrees to get that along with about 15 years of experience…but just for the sake of argument, lets just say that the teacher earns that $80K for their entire career…it would take them nearly 44 years to make $3.5M.
The pay for “stars” in our society is out of wack with reality. We (the society as a whole) has every right to demand more from these “stars” than we’re getting…and I’m not talking about on the field…hey that’s a job playing a game. When we pay average stars 44 times what a top teacher gets, we should be getting a lot in return.
So guys, I’m happy for your opportunity…I really am. Make us proud of you…as people doing the right thing. What’s the right thing? You figure it out…but you might start with education (outside of the gym or ballfield).
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04.27.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:33 pm by livefood
…to be able to accept others…well at least some times.
Why can I say that…well I believe (and it is my BLOG…so there!) that is take a good deal of effort to learn outside of one’s box. If you live in an isolated location, it take time to learn about others outside your little World…and time is money. If you are living a scratch life, you might not have the the time or the resources to learn about others…and not knowing about others really puts you in a place where it is easy to be uneasy.
I think that as a group becomes okay with feeding, clothing and sheltering themselves, they can invest in some luxury…like reading…like watching too much CNN/Fox etc…by reading the newspapers and magazines…when you get that little luxury of time you can expand your thinking…WITHOUT the luxury of time it becomes more difficult to read and look and listen and on and on.
Recently, I read on a BLOG about a Sikh, a Jew and a Presbyterian…they sat down in adjacent booths at a local and somewhat rural cafe. What would people think of three groups of people with obvious (it’s a visual thing) and different sets of religious view points being found together(ish) in a somewhat isolated area of the world. Or is the isolation becoming less frequent? Well perhaps.
In the particular cafe, in the particular town, in that particular area of the country…times have been pretty stable. Folks are doing better than other areas and they have been able to participate in the growth that the economy was experiencing. Traditionally the region has been considered socially conservative. I would think that the ability to look up from the work world and see the other World has helped the area get a grasp on and a new perspective on folks outside their previous thought pattern.
I’m hoping that with the economic slowdown, folks don’t know stick their heads in the sand and go back to that place where everybody is out to get them…everybody is a commie…everybody that isn’t like them is not quite right…and on and one.
There are still large sections of the world who are isolated or isolate themselves and refuse or can not, find the time and energy to grow to a place where they can accept others. If one is still battling to eat, clothe and shelter oneself and family, it’s not likely that one is going to be able to think about much else. If you live in a society which is sheltering you from a World view, you may not hae the luxury to learn about others.
Let’s face it, biologically we’re all pretty much the same. It’s the headtrip we do to ourselves and to others that creates the messes.
So if I’m correct on the notion that one has to be a bit more prosperous to be able to accept others (by knowing them), we could help the problem by helping people rise above the food, clothes and shelter level of living and get them to a place they can see that we’re all the same really. It’s sort of sad that social acceptance could be attributed to an economy.
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04.25.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:19 am by livefood
Well, at least the Judge has tossed the injunction out…but the claim in the suit according to the article is: ” Nichols contends his diet consists of “unhealthy dead and refined foods” and is causing him physical problems.”
Poor Baby…
The Story
Perhaps you can remember that Mr. Nichols (as in Terry Nichols) was a conspirator with Tim McVey when they bombed TO DEATH all the folks (including all those children) in Oaklahoma City.
The fact that his colon is not functioning just breaks my heart…switch his menu. That works for me. Peanut Butter sammies on WHITE BREAD.
His problem is trumped by the suffering that he caused and continues to go on from his actions.
I’m hoping that some judge out in Colorado has something bigger than a ping pong ball and makes a decision that tells Terry-Bob to shut up and dry up and go away. Here in CA he’s liable to be getting his latte delivered by the warden. Someone…someplace…needs to step up and just say no to idiots who commit crimes.
Here’s something to thing about…we cage up animals who did nothing wrong and stare at them for entertainment…why do we think that the Terry-Bobs of the world should be treated better than the animals who did nothing wrong…what’s interesting is that idiots like Mr. Nichols think they deserve better treatment. He should be thankful that he wasn’t stoned…oh, that’s right, he pulled the religion card, I can’t. Besides, I don’t like the death penalty…for the same reasons I’ve written before.
If you want to bend a bit and feel sorry for the guy…send him pictures of the fresh fruit and some granola…and then send some prayers MONEY to help feed some hungry children someplace…like maybe in Oklahoma City.
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04.24.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:28 pm by livefood
You would think that a City which had a policy that failed it’s citizen would have jumped at the opportunity to correct the policy AND would have gone ot the legislators to ask them to correct the situation…why do people shrink from responsibility when they don’t incur a liability…it’s easy to do the right thing sometimes…it should have been in this one.
An old man with Alzheimer’s…the city essentially cut off his electricity…he froze to death alone. While technicall the City just installed a limiter on the power supply, if the gentleman couldn’t remember what to do or how to do it, the power was off permanently when the limiter turn it off. ANYONE with ANY experience with a moderately effected relative with Alzheimer’s could have told you the outcome.
The Story
I can understand that the City would be blameless (legally), but don’t you think that the policy makers in the City would have been looking to correct the problem ON THEIR OWN going forward? Do you think that perhaps the guys and gals working on the limiter would have thought, this is not right and then made a decision to do right?
This is one of those cases where perhaps an entire City should do some soul searching.
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04.22.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:23 pm by livefood
I was talking with a physician today about the health care plans that the government is yakking about. Lucky for him we thought alike. I hate it when I need to beat them up in order that they can “see the light” or perhaps it would better to say, “see my light.”
He had an interesting take on the whole government deal. When times were a bit more flush and people were moving along thinking that stuff was for the most part…oKay and acceptable, there was not a lot of pressure on the government to make healthcare a top priority…when things got a little lean, the election mantra beat healthcare for everybody. By the time folks are able to swallow the pill that tells them they will be standing in line for everything and waiting 5-6 months to get even a cataract surgery, the economy will have been straightened out and the pressure to force us into a social medicine program may have been taken off the government…and those folks in Washington may loose the will to make health care go in new directions.
Unfortunately, he’s probably right. Healtcare is expensive and will always be expensive. How it gets paid is the issue…tax the heck out of everybody…tax those with for those without…tax businesses more…the money needs to be coming from someone…and that someone will squeak a bit I’m sure.
But the folks in the public trough in Washington (and other places they take Junkets too) will bend in the direction that the wind blows them. I have faith in that.
When the Doctor and I talked about my specific healthcare costs, he was a little taken back at the actual cost of my care. It’s expensive and I’m not doing surgery of any kind. He does about 10-12 cataract surgeries a week…at $4200 per copy…my daily health care is about $25…unless I get wild and crazy and need to visit a specialist…then it goes up…surgery…up more. But my average is about $25 per day. Yikes. The government is looking at Kaiser as a model…guess where my plan is sited? I’m a Kaiser patient. So my costs will be your costs is the government takes that road.
The Doctor I was talking with thought that perhaps the government would take Medicare and push the boundary a bit…lowering the age of eligibility over time to include everyone. Love that socialized medicine. But the Doc wasn’t too keen on socializing anything. He doesn’t think the American people will want to lower the expectation of healthcare that is being delivered.
We do have it pretty good…it’s really a matter of making our “pretty good” available to more folks rather than making not-very-good available to all.
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04.21.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:12 pm by livefood
Don’t get me wrong…I think networking is great. The work that I do requires a great deal of connectivity as well as connections. So networking works for me. I just don’t get twittering.
What on earth would someone want to hear about me doing whatever it is I’m doing at the moment. Right now, I typing…a few minutes ago I was typing…an hour ago…well, I was typing. So perhaps you’d want to hear that the dog is napping…or sitting with her head on my leg (her way of asking for a walk)…oKay…I’ll open my mail for you…then type. Or read…ooooooohhhhhaahhhhhh…interesting…reading. I want to share with you all of those resumes I read…or the book I’m tackling right now (the Bible). I think I’m going to pull some weeds this evening…maybe not (it’s hot). I just don’t see where folks might want to hear about that sort of stuff.
When I’m fishing in Montana, I certainly don’t take the time to write about it until I’m in a chair hours post event…not until I’m off the water and have driven back the cabin will I even want to tweet into a phone or some sort. Honestly, there’s no reception where I go anyway…so no tweeting is taking places unless you have a satphone.
I’m afraid that most of us get too much information already…take me for example…I share lots of information on my BLOG…but does that make me “better” because I have more information? I don’t think so…I could twit all day and not grow as a person. It’s definitely important to have information at times, but it’s always better to know what to do with the information you have than just to collect more.
I used to have a friend named Budge. His real name was Marion…give you a clue why he went by “Budge?” Budge didn’t have a lot of “book knowledge”…he graduated from the 8th grade. So his book information was a bit scant. But he was a just a wizard at fixing stuff. We was an excellent hunter and a superb fisherman. Fun to go fishing with him…just natural and relaxing. No high tech razzle dazzle with Budge…just “get ‘er done.” What he did was apply the information he had in an excellent manner. He used his tools to the best advantage.
It’s one thing to have the most tools…it’s quite another to use a few tools extremely well.
I have a young friend who owns a “stud finder”…so when he goes to put a nail in a wall he can find the studd more easily. If he’s going need to put two nail in, he measures over 16 inches and puts in the next…or so he thinks. He assumes that the next stud is “16 on center”…but in a 2×6 wall it could be 24 inches…if a second stud is placed closer for some reason…the next would be over from that and perhaps not 16 (or even close)…too many variables to know for sure. But my young friend has a tool to tell him where one stud is…and if he doesn’t have the information about 2×6s and second studs…he’s lost (unless he stops with the assumptions). He’s one of those guys who has powertools for everything, but tools without information don’t always work so well.
So my questions are whether Twitter is a good tool…and if the information that comes from Twitter can be used well. If either answer is no…or even if the answer is maybe…what’s the point. More useless information or another tool to use improperly.
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04.15.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:25 pm by livefood
Hey does that 47 year old singer from the UK have pipes or what…and I hope Susan Boyle gets a shot. American Idol she’s not (hey, first of all there is an age limit), but UK talent show has had “sleepers” like her before. Really amazing.
In the midst of the buzz about Susan (the UK woman…and we’re all on a first name basis now, aren’t we)…we should remember that the Somali pirates are still doing their thing, folks in Afghanistan are still being persecuted (or more accurately…executed) for loving someone other than who their dad selected…eight year old girls are being married in Saudi Arabia (without their mothers even knowing)…and a little girl in Tracy, CA are spirited away and killed by a sick neighbor.
So while we can surely feel good about a woman with guts and pipes in England (and watching Simon’s face in awe)…we should be aware of the rest of the World. Let’s all hope that Susan Boyle finds some sense of justice…at least someone should be so lucky. (look her up on YouTube…lots of vids).
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04.14.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:40 pm by livefood
“(CNN) — Jeanne Thomas was sitting at her desk at work when she decided to check the security camera that she installed in her home. The Thomas home had been burglarized before, so she installed a monitoring device where she can watch a live video feed of the camera in her home.” What a Story
So in my cynasism I’m seeing the buglers getting off the hook because the homeowner violated the buglers right to privacy…am I getting weird with that? But didn’t the bunglers have the right to expect that no body was in the house and watching them?
If the idiot who tortured, raped and murdered the woman because she could only come up with $25 for ransom and not $100…if he thinks that he should be let go because staying the small cell in solitary confinement is cruel and unusual punishment…I think the same idiot lawyers can make a stupid case for the expectation of privacy from the bunglers point of view. It’s a weird world.
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