Not a typical post for me

I do a lot of "surfing" related to computer technology and applications for my work as a Middle School teacher. One of the sites I visited this morning posted the results of the "2006 Scrappy Awards," a scrapbooking competition sponsored by Adobe Photoshop.

I'm impressed by the intense emotion and creativity each of these evokes. Just thought I'd share.
Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

A logical question...

It's rather hard for my 4 year old grandson (Jackson) to wrap his arms around the fact that I used to be in the military. Never having seen me in uniform, (I'm retired for more years than he's been alive) or never even seeing much to do with that type of thing, the "soldier" concept is rather vague. Furthermore, the concept of time is not yet fully developed. You will probably see what I mean.

Here's the way one conversation went. "Grandpa, were you a Soldier?"

"Yes." I replied.

"Did you carry a gun?"

Again, I replied "Yes, sometimes I did."

"Did you ever shoot any dinosaurs?"

What could I say?

Epiphany

I heard an interesting comment from a fellow (thanks, Andy!) at our Wed Morning Bible Study. We're currently studying Romans, which, throughout the entire letter, references what is to come. Andy brought up a concept that's common in the military, having to do with "short-timers."

It goes like this - ask someone on a remote tour, or, what's common now, deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, when they are due to "rotate" back to real life. They are likely to tell you "...XX days (or months) and a Wake up!" Of course this means that they are counting the days until they leave. The "wake up" refers to the day they actually get to leave whatever duty they are enduring to return to their families. For many, their service is an interruption to their "real" vocation in life.

The epiphany is THIS! We are enduring a life that's full of temptations, trials, hurts, losses, etc, that seems to go on forever. What we see in the short term is not how God views it. Being here IS NOT our calling! We're here on earth to serve Him through various ministries, using whatever talents and resources He's loaned to us for our limited time here. Face it ~ even if we live to be 100, it's still puny when compared with ETERNITY! We are called to praise God, and He wants us to do it in his presence - FOREVER!

OK, we're here for XX years and a Wake up! We'll wake up in the presence of God. Does that change anything you might do or think or say? "O Grave, where is thy victory? O Death, where is thy Sting?"

How's that for making your day!

"Loose lips sink ships..."

ARGHHHH!

Yes, That's frustration showing its ugly head. I've been listening to the news reports concerning the release of classified information associated with tracking financial records. And if I hear one more person, who is being interviewed as an "authority" on anything, say that "the public has the RIGHT to know..." I'll probably choke! I heard one person from the media saying something to the effect of (loosely quoted here.. ) "...it's up to the media to police and report on everything the government is doing..."

The title is chosen from a slogan used during our World Wars to emphasize that each of us has a responsibility to protect the information any enemy could use against us. We were united in this. Apparently, we aren't any more.

I'm speaking as one who has held high-level security clearances for most of my adult life. The public DOESN'T have the right to know everything! There are just some things that shouldn't be out there! Sometimes they just can't handle it. An incident comes immediately to mind from the first Persian Gulf war. On one operation, there were Navy Seals and other service special forces coming ashore for an operation, only to be met by the media with lights and cameras there to capture and report on how it was going! Absolutely ABSURD! Don't they understand the concept of special ops??? Or of keeping something quiet to allow it to work??? I guess not.

Just knowing something doesn't make it right to say it. Let the government handle things as they see best from the overall scheme of things. They have a lot more information than you or I do.

To comment on the "leakers" would be an entire different 'blog', so I'll not get deep into that. But it's clear that we have at least two elements at work in the country ~ the elected government who does things by established laws, and the people working for them who, on their own, seem to "know better" and take it upon themselves to put things into the public sector for their own purposes.

OK - I've said my piece - thanks for bearing with me.

The Colonel.....

Opting out...

Does it seem that sometimes, things are just sdrawkcab? (OK - that's ...backwards...) I happened to pick up an insert that came with my latest credit card bill, and actually read part of it! (I know what you're thinking, but, yes, I DO have a life...) I was reading the part about opting out.

Let's see. I have to provide some essential information to get a credit card. If I don't give the information, I don't get their card. The company now has information like address, email, phone numbers, etc. on file. As I read this little flyer, it comes to mind that the company has now taken ownership of that information. They can publish, sell, give away, or do anything they seem to want to do, with it.

I can only gain back that control if I fill out a form that may or may not work, which may or may not reach the proper desk, or call them and work through some 10 levels of menu and then finally give up because there's no one to talk to anyway. I tell them I don't want them to include it on any lists that are sold, given away, or otherwise distributed. They are then obligated to not do that any more. (Oh yeah - if they happen to sell it before my message reaches them, 10/100/1000 other companies already have it, and I have to go through THEIR systems, too!) In fact, nowhere could I find that the company is under any obligation whatsoever to even tell you to whom your information was distributed! Now, I ask you, isn't that just crazy?

Why isn't the ACLU all over this? They seem to jump into all those areas where someone is taking away someone's rights! Of course, they're probably too busy fighting against important things, like including God in the pledge, or - heaven forbid - having the 10 commandments or a cross on federal property! This cause would at least give the ACLU something constructive, rather than destructive, to do! (sorry - didn't mean to start a rant...)

Why not instead have the choice to OPT IN instead of OPT OUT? You know, because it's MY information, and not theirs, they shouldn't be able to use it unless I say it's OK! Or, at the very least, require them to send the OWNER of personal information (e.g. ME) a detailed list of every place that information's been sent, along with a check for the use of that "trademark." There's a novel approach!

So - I've had my say. And, by the way, you have my permission to quote me!

Just take old Volt Road...

Why is it that we look at a "position" that someone holds and assume that person has knowledge and authority because of the position? Shouldn't we know better?

Case in point - we visited Wolf Point, Montana, to look over the homestead my grandparents worked in the early 1900s. I'd never been there, and the trip my parents made there had been quite a number of years ago. Hence, we asked the person behind the counter at the motel how to get there. We should have known better than to take her directions at face value because she initially seemed to have no clue about what we asked. Then, she suddenly was the authority on it and knew all about it. "Just take old Volt Road. It's out by 6th street, and it'll take you where you want to go."

So we followed that "sage" advice, and took 6th street, crossed the main road and started on a gravel road. It was fine for awhile, but the farther from town we got, the worse the ruts became. No one seemed to be home in the houses we stopped at to ask directions, so we drove on gravel for probably 15 - 20 miles back and forth until we came to a paved road. It seemed to be headed in the right direction, so we followed it. Almost ready to give up, Dad noticed a church and a farm that were familiar, and we realized this was what we wanted all the time. We found the school house, the homestead, the cemetary, and other landmarks we wanted to see.

We had a wonderful time, in spite of the bad directions we initially received. Time with family is always worth it.

So the next time you get "directions" from someone, think first whether they are a credible source. Are you following their lead because they know what they are talking about, or just because they are celebrities in their own right, which has nothing to do with the subject at hand? Think twice (at least) before you blindly follow someone's lead.

Old Volt Road was NOT the right way to go...

Let's just Re-boot

Anyone who has spent anytime around computers knows that, for the most part, any operating system can run for quite some time without problems. As it operates, it creates and replaces countless thousands of temporary files and constantly moves things from one place to another. We try out new programs, and keep or throw them away as we work. Even when we take the program off, there may be "legacy" bits that remain buried deep in the system.

But even the best operating system will develop little pieces of "stuff" that slows it down. Those "in the business" call these little pieces "artifacts" for lack of a better term. These bits probably had a purpose at one time, but that purpose has long since gone away ~ but that little piece is still there. Many times, even the basic purpose for those things is suspect ~ they served no real purpose except that someone thought it was a good idea. What do we do to clear them? Re-boot the computer. It may not take care of all of them, but some will be cleaned out. It gives the OS a fresh start.

Fast forward to our situation as a country. We started out with a decent (although not perfect) "operating system" based on the best "programming" our founding fathers could come up with. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution set the ground rules for our "computer" to operate. The operating system has gone through SP1, SP2, ... with such things as the Bill of Rights, constitutional amendments, etc.

Add to these the laws, regulations, commissions, panels, taxes, international obligations, and all those other things, and we've got a system that's grinding to a halt.

In addition to that, now we're getting some hackers (radical judges) who seem to be trying to break our system, or somehow use it for their own purposes rather than what is intended. The problem is that, instead of doing it behind someone's back from the outside, they have all the "code" so it's easy to hack! And they're doing it right in front of everybody! It seems that no one is willing to force them to stop.

We need to re-boot!

Lessons in Generosity

I come from a rich heritage, for the most part German Mennonites who immigrated to this country from the Ukraine in the late 1800s. These people had a strong faith, and an equally strong desire to help their fellowman. (If you look at the history of the German Mennonites, their exceptional skill at both farming and at MANAGING an agricultural business was noted by Catherine the Great of Russia. She enticed them to come to the Ukraine to farm that rich soil, and the Ukraine became the breadbasket of Russia for many years. They left when political conditions were not so favorable for them anymore.)

So much for the history lesson. Now for my recollections of childhood.

I remember vividly going to my grandparent's small farm often, but most memorable were the Sunday Afternoon drives to their house. They would keep a milk cow or two, worried over a small garden, sometimes had a horse, maybe a goat, dogs, chickens and assorted other animals from time to time. These were not well-to-do folks - just hard working, proud people. We'd play in the barn, spend hours on the seat of the tractor just dreaming we were driving who-knows where. We might have a meal, or at least a snack, around the old black, circular oak dining room table - a table that always had room for whomever came to visit. It could be just a bite of clabbered milk (like cottage cheese) with meat jell. These they kept on the back of the wood stove so they could get to them easily. I can still remember that wonderful taste and smell.

Of course, anyone who visited that small, humble farm went away with something. Maybe milk, or eggs, or a few vegetables from the garden. Maybe a roast or some of that unique German sausage that always tasted so good. She'd give each something that showed the visitors that they were appreciated and loved. Grandma would keep individual paper sacks by the door, each labeled with her children's names so that, when she thought of something they 'needed,' she'd be able to put it in their sack for them to take on their next visit. She'd clip coupons, find interesting news articles she thought they'd enjoy, and include them, also.

Oh, that I could learn to be as generous and caring as Grandma. She set a standard that's so high, it seems impossible to reach. But an admirable goal, none the less.

Thanks, Grandma.

The "Blinker" Generation

In recent times, the news media, editors, authors, and other "thinkers" have sought classifications for each group they encounter; they do this as a method of giving you some preconceived ideas about how they think, act, and respond to stimuli. We've gone through the Baby Boomers, the Digital generation, the X-Gen, etc.

I think of myself as part of the "Blinker" Generation. I use my blinkers. Small thing? Not really.

Using your blinkers shows that you care about other people. You use them to "signal" your intentions so that others have the information they need to make decisions ~ in fact, making those decisions sometimes in a crucial split second that means safety or danger. You allow them to think over a situation, take control of it, and act. Nothing lost to anyone - clearly a Win - Win situation.

Think for a moment of the other side of this issue. Think about those who don't use them. It's probably become so habitual to them that they no longer even think about it. They appear to be in their own little world, oblivious to others around them, uncaring whether others have a clue about what they intend to do. They think only about themselves. It's an unthinking, selfish behavior. Very rude. Kind of like "I've turned here every day for 20 years - surely everyone should know that by now." In a way, it's indicative of the control people want when they are behind the wheel. They control the situation by keeping others "out of the loop" until THEY are ready to act - unimpeded by someone who might have otherwise very safely turned or changed lanes or stopped. They did nothing to help out other drivers - instead, they attempt to control them.

How about you? Blinker or non-blinker?

starting from scratch

It might be obvious to the casual reader what my background is ~ military. 22 years and a day in the Air Force somewhat colors my view of life.

In my "second life" I'm a Middle School teacher at - you guessed it - a school district colocated with an Air Force Base.

Don't expect any amazing insights or world changing concepts to eminate from this blog. I have no real idea how things will develop.