Apologies and updates

    First off, I need to apologize for yesterday's post.  I was cut off in the middle of writing it as I was sent to the other office.  After re reading it, I realized just how bad a light it put on my wife and I apologize.  My wife is a very supportive and caring woman.  The post was meant to be a humorous inward look at how money can affect the questions we ask verses what is actually meant and it failed at that.  There may have been a small amount of truth to some of it, but I did not need to air it out here.  If I say I can fix something, my wife is very supportive.  The same is true if something is broke and I say I can't fix it.  As for the "it's fine portion," that is only partially true.  I exaggerated it quite a bit.  The truth is, that as long as it isn't dangerous and performs its function for the most part, she does insist it is fine, and it usually is, otherwise she does allow me to get something new when we can afford it.  Being a man, I just want it to work perfectly or I "need" something new.  This doesn't give me the right to make fun of my wife.  I truly love her and I was wrong to have hurt her so.
      Now that that is out of the way, I can get to the meat of my comments.  My Brother in law, Joe arrived yesterday (we knew he was coming and he was invited, so sit down.)  This makes for some interesting conversations.  My wife will yell for Joe, and she gets two guys wondering what they did wrong.  Just kidding, when she yells Joe, I know she mean me and I can usually figure out what I did.  It's the softer "what do you want to do, Joe?" that gets us.  We decided to go camping tonight.  It should be interesting as we will be camping at the campsite near us.  At least we have some clue of what we are doing and can avoid the whole what do you want to do conversation.  It really is great having him out here.  We have good conversations and connect on so many things.  Unfortunately, I have duty on Sunday which means I won't be able to see him off.  This also means you probably won't get a Manic Monday post again next week, but may get a Sunday post instead.  Well, I have stuff to do, so I will sign off for today.  Have a wonderful weekend, and enjoy your time with family.  And yes dear, I am sorry for yesterday and I do love you.

It works fine.

        This whole week has been weird and I am not sure why.  First off, I didn't get to post Monday as I explained Tuesday, then Yesterday, I got sent to the other office and was unable to get on a computer to do my Happy Hump Day post.  I really don't know what is going on and the sad thing is it is not a new feeling.
         We have all had times in our lives where we were sent to do something and had no clue what we are doing.  Most of my life has been like that.  It wasn't until I was married that I realized exactly what that feeling meant.  I just thought that when I was going in circles I was figuring it out.  Turns out that I had no clue.  Now, for some inexplicable reason, my wife expects me to know what is going on all the time.  Take my recent trip to Italy for example.  As we went through the various airports, my wife relied on me to guide us through safely.  Never mind that I had been to them just as much as she had.  Never mind that we both can read rather well.  Never mind that she is the one carrying the info (she insisted).  I was the one responsible when we went in circles.  I was the one that got asked, "are you sure we're going the right way?"  Not really, but this is the best guess I got.  I'm just winging it most of the time.
        I really love the question, "Are you sure you know what you are doing?"  It just adds so much confidence to me.  It makes me want to reply with a simple, "sure, why not?"  The problem is, half the time the answer is no.  It really doesn't help that when I actually break down and say I'm not sure what I am doing that my wife suddenly gets super supportive and has huge amounts of confidence in me.  Usually the level of confidence she has in me just happens to coincide with how much it's going to cost us to have someone else fix it.  Free to fix/replace means she is going to inevitably ask, "are you sure?"  Where a hundred dollars gets me, "I know you can do it." 
        There is the other side though.  You know, when something is working, but it is making funny noises or is not working up to its max potential.  This is where my wife's confidence in me is tested.  If it doesn't matter, her confidence in me is high.  If there is the slightest chance that I could screw it up, I end up hearing, "are you sure you need to mess with it, it's working fine?"  Never mind that you can't hold a conversation next to it when it's running.  Never mind that it smokes slightly.  Never mind that you have to shake it and hit it just right.  "It works fine."  There are buttons missing.  It has a remote, it works fine.  It is stuck on one setting.  How many do you need, it works fine.  It scares the children.  Don't operate it when they're around, it works fine.  Apparently, fine is all that is necessary and right is just a bonus.  It drives me nuts.  Anyway, I'll see you all tomorrow.  I have to go to the other office now.  Have a great day.

Financial Odities.

      Sorry I missed Manic Monday, but I had other things to do.  Congratulations to my friend Darryl on his retirement.  In case you were wondering, that is what I was doing yesterday.  I felt it important enough to skip the post.  Now on to today's post.  I thought about doing yesterday's post today, but decided it just wasn't worth it.  I really don't need to upset myself with it.  So this weekend, we were planning on going camping.  Since there were a few items we needed, we decided to total up the checkbook.  We discovered that we had spent a little more than we thought and were down to the point where spending extra would be irresponsible.  So we ended up working on the yard and house.  Yesterday, we did a little shopping for necessities and decided we needed to transfer a bit out of savings to our checking account to get us through.  I decided to compare what the bank said we had and what we said we had.  After checking the math twice, I discovered that the bank said we had around twelve hundred dollars more than we said we had.  I have had a day to think about this now and have realized why this is.  We constantly round up our monthly bills to even dollar figures.  With about 15 monthly bills that we round up by about one to two dollars apiece, it adds up over the years.  Add in the fact that I am overestimating the amount we set aside for the house and you end up with a significant amount set aside.  It's nice to know that even when the checkbook says we are in the red, we are still safe (we only allowed ourselves to take $200 of the error back), not that we let the checkbook go into the red.  At some point we will have to go into the bank and have them go through our records, just to make sure that we are truly up to date.  I have to thank my wife for being so pragmatic at times that we can have this extra bit.  Now if I can only talk her into the Star Wars special edition Xbox.   Have a wonderful day.

Aha Moments.

     This has been a weird morning.  I am now coming to terms with just how old I am.  What made me realize this, you ask?  I have had several aha moments in just the last hour.  It is amazing just how much stuff I forgot and how quickly I forgot it.  Then you get those moments where you see or read something and it sparks your memory.  For instance, we need creamer for our coffee for camping.  I had completely forgotten about it (by the way, we were at the store just last night) and this morning on the way in, I was enjoying my usual cup of coffee (see my Happy Hump Day post for this week) and I said to myself, "this coffee is awesome, I wonder if it is the creamer?"  Ding! Aha moment.  Then I was reading a funny story on the Internet about someone trying to figure out which ink cartridge to get for their printer and: Ding! Aha moment.  Turns out we've been out of black ink in our printer for about a month (amazingly enough the color side prints it out, but the darn printer refuses to acknowledge that it is out of black ink).
     You would think this wouldn't surprise me.  I have aha moments more often than I would like to admit.  The unfortunate side is that I seldom have paper and pen to write it down.  Ding! Aha moment.  I need to remember to pack paper for our camping trip.  This isn't helping.  Maybe it isn't age, but genetics.  I seem to remember growing up and watching my dad have the same problems.  I remember the look on his face as he seemingly wandered the aisles at the hardware store.  I thought he just wasn't sure where something was, now that I think about it, I realize he was actually trying to remember exactly what it was he needed.  I also remember that as I got older he wrote down more information before going to the store and spent less time wandering the aisles.  I just never put two and two together until now.  Ding! Aha moment.  Take a hint from dad and carry a note pad and pen to write down things I think of.  Now that I think of it, that isn't an original thought.  I have a lot of aha moments and I think to myself, "I should write this down somewhere."  Then I promptly forget to write it down.  I probably won't remember this five minutes after I post this.  Ding! aha moment.  Email it now.  Be right back.......

Nothing important

    Today, my sons are having friends over for their first sleep over.  This should be interesting.  A bunch of 8 year olds sleeping away from home for the first time.  Anyone else expecting a bit of anxiety?  At least they all live close enough that it won't take long for them to get home.  I remember when I grew up sleep overs were a bit more complicated.  My closest friend was a mile away and thus sleep overs were not something you could back out of.  We'll see how it goes.
     There really isn't anything pressing on my mind today, so I have no idea where this is taking me.  Want to come along for the ride?  The wife and I are still looking for a realtor to aid us in selling our house.  We haven't really gotten anything solid yet and are still wondering which direction to go.  I really hope we find one soon.  I am up in the air about where we will go when I retire.  To be honest, I have had reservations about returning to Iowa and am unsure of where I need to be.  I still have a while to figure it out, but it is something that is eating at me.  First things first though, and that is getting the house sold.  We'll figure it out.  We usually do.  Not much else to say today.  Seems that I said enough the past couple of days.  Have a great day.  And have fun.

Happy hump day. Coffee and Me

    Happy Hump Day.  I can't think of a better way to say good morning than that.  Especially since good morning is an oxymoron.  If ever there were two words that didn't belong together it is those two.  It's like trying to put a KKK member on a blind date with a black woman, the two will just never get along.  What is it about waking up that angers people so much.  You would think that waking up would make people a little more happy since it means you survived the night.  I could understand anger at waking up if it was to a stabbing pain in your chest due to say...a stabbing.  Then again, I am one of those angry morning people.  At least until I get my coffee.
     Speaking of coffee, why is it that it can remove my anger so completely after just one cup.  It is awesome.  There are times I am tempted to find out if this wonderful magic elixir works on my three year old.  That little bugger is so angry when he wakes up and it takes hours for him to be happy.  Some people would claim it is just because it wakes you up, but I believe there is something more.  Otherwise, how do you explain the fact that there are so many coffee shops here in the wonderful state of Washington?  I mean I pass a good dozen drive through espresso stands on my way to work every morning.  You can't tell me that people here are that much more tired than everywhere else.  It has to be a happy maker.  I used to call coffee go-go juice as it helped me go-go, but I think it should be renamed to happy juice.  I am only half way through my first cup of the morning and the day is already getting better.  Even my wife is happier after a cup and that takes work sometimes.  I'm no scientist, but I think this requires more study.  I volunteer to be one of the test subjects, I could use the free coffee.  Knowing my luck though, I would probably end up being part of the control group and thus denied my coffee.  On second thought, just tell me the results and leave my coffee alone.
        What is it about coffee that even people who don't drink coffee (why wouldn't you like coffee?  I don't get it.) like the smell?  It amazes me just how powerful just the smell of coffee is.  I'll buy a bag of special grind at the store and the aroma permeates the car.  The whole way home I'll smile and enjoy the aroma.  We take it camping with us and the aroma that wafts out of the camper as we set it up, just makes the day that much better.
         There is only one downside to coffee that I have found.  It makes going to sleep at night a bit difficult.  I hate that I have to stop drinking it 4 hours before I want to go to sleep.  Have you ever had a staring contest with a coffee maker?  It looks at you with that gleaming half full pot.  It points out the creamer in the fridge and wafts that wonderful aroma across the house at you.  It tells you that one more cup won't matter and then turns itself on to warm the remains for you.  It is just so hard to ignore.
         OK, I need help.  By reading what I just wrote, I realize I have an addiction.  Granted, it isn't one I really want to give up, I'm just pointing out the obvious before you do.  Aside from the addiction, it seems that I have inanimate objects talking to me.  I find that to be a bit disconcerting.  Well, my coffee cup is empty and I really need to refill it.  So, until next time, Have fun, enjoy yourself, and don't take life to seriously.  Now, where's that coffee stand?

Washington Weather: A Layman's View

      Oh the insanity.  I just had to set one of my friends from Iowa straight.  She said that she wanted Iowa to be more like Washington state.  I nearly cried.  Let me explain the weather in Washington.  This may take a a while.  You see there are actually three weather systems in Washington.  You have the coast, the sound, and the east side. 
      The coast is just that, a strip of land along the Pacific ocean up to the Olympic Mountains.  It has Pacific Northwest weather.  This means it is cold, it rains, and it gets windy.  There is a lot of sea spray and the beaches.  The sun comes out and there are quite a few sunny days. 
      Then you move inland to the sound.  This is where I live.  The sound is the area between the Olympic Mountains and the Cascade Mountains.  This are is just wide enough that it traps cloud cover.  What I mean is that it is wide enough for clouds to form between the mountains, but the mountains are high enough to block any chance of a jet stream or higher winds from moving said clouds.  So the weather here is weird as all get out.  Forecasting the weather here requires a psychic, a priest, and a lot of luck.  I took me 4 years of living here to put my finger on exactly why it sucked.  It is so obvious that I did a self facepalm afterwards.  It doesn't rain here all the time, but when it stops raining the clouds don't leave.  Thus the sun doesn't shine between rainstorms and rainstorms could be weeks apart.  The other thing the weather here does is hover.  Temperatures around here hover at steps for months at a time then suddenly jump up or down for a day.  In winter the temps hover in the high 20's to low 30's with random jumps up as much as 20 degrees and drops that are non existent.  Thus, when it snows, it only lasts a day or two.  This is the only place I have ever seen that it can snow and rain at the same time.  There is nothing more disconcerting than seeing a raindrop obliterate a snowflake in mid air.  To make things even more interesting, the temps will rise to the mid 50's around march and hover there until mid may.  Through out this period, the temps will jump up to the mid 60's to high 70's for a couple of hours every once in a while, just to trick you into thinking that spring is here.  Finally, around June, you get into the 70's about once a week and slowly build.  Around August and into September, you finally get sun on a regular basis (if you can call once a week or so regular).  Then in October the temperature plummet back down to the 40's and work their way lower for the next 2 months.  Maybe around thanksgiving we will get a snowstorm, but usually it is just rain so cold that it sucks the heat out of everything.  Oh, and there is no such thing as a serious rainstorm here.  A big storm is usually 3 inches of rain over a 12 hour period with high winds (and I do mean high winds).  The usual means the weather uses to deliver 5 inches of rain is a steady drizzle for a week.  Like I said, the weather here hovers.  It looks like it is going to rain everyday and rains once a week.  Yeah, sound weather is depressing.
       Then you get eastern Washington.  This is the area between the Cascades and the Rockies.  It is a high mountain plateau.   Thus it is dry, sunny, and hot.  This is the agricultural area and is sparsely populated.  It is also the major portion of the state.  I never really go there as I have to cross mountains to get there and that takes to long.
       This being said, I have to wonder what makes people want to move to Seattle.  It is right in the middle of the sound weather system.  Yet, people move there all the time.  If you want consistent weather and beautiful areas, you go to Hawaii.  Now that I have explained my thoughts on this weather, maybe you can enlighten me with yours.  Oh, and if you can ever figure out why someone would like this weather, don't tell me, I don't like being depressed.

Manic Monday: Islam Vs Christianity

     So many issues, so little time.  Today on Manic Monday, I think I will discuss a few things that caught my eye in the news.  Two stories on the KOMO news web site caught my eye and they are related in a way.  The first is about a Muslim man who felt he was being discriminated against by the border patrol and the second is covering a quote from a potential presidential candidate who says that communities have a right to ban mosques.  The thing that really caught my eye was the parallels in the comments.  This post will dwell primarily on those parallels vice the subject matter of the articles since the discussions from each forum tend to cover most arguments (thought they tend to denigrate to Christian/religion bashing).
      The first thing that caught my eye were the repeated references to terrorism and the following replies that Christianity had done the same.  The fact is that, while their were the crusades and the inquisition, in context of the times, all religions (or peoples for that matter) were pretty much at war and it was the accepted means of resolving disputes (and the side that had the church backing them was considered more right, unfortunately).  I am not saying that it made it right, I am merely putting it in perspective.  This is further complicated by the arguments of the core of religions. 
        At some point, any discussion of Muslims eventually leads to someone pointing out that the Quaran (spelling?) directs killing of unbelievers.  This inevitably leads to someone pointing out that the bible does as well.  The fact is that the Christian bible doesn't.  The quote used recently to point out that it does was Leviticus 24:15 & 16.  This line of reasoning is flawed.  Firstly, Islam directs you to hunt out non-believers and kill them whereas these particular verses are directed towards blasphemers.  This means that unless you directly blaspheme God (Def.: To speak of, or address, with impious irreverence; to revile impiously (anything sacred) or in clearer terms: to attribute to God that which is contrary to his nature, and does not belong to him, and to deny what does or it is a false reflection uttered with a malicious, design of reviling god).  In other words, if you don't mock God with evil intent you are safe from the Jewish community, whereas Islam, just not believing and following Islam is death.  The reason I stated Jewish instead of Christian is this, the New testament is the driving force for Christians.  The Old Testament is the basis and background for the New Testament and is the Christian copy of the Torah (Hebrew bible).  The primary set of rules is for Christians is in the New Testament as it is the teachings of Christ (you know, the guy we are named for).  The difference is that as Christian, we are taught (or should be) that your sin is between you and God and it is not our place to punish you for it.  We can call you out on it and show you where you went wrong, but it is between you and God.  Don't get me wrong, there are also directions in there for dealing with repeat offenders, but if you read closely, you find that the most severe punishment in the New Testament that Christians are to impose is kicking the sinner out of the Church and then only after many attempts to keep them in (at least that's how I read it).  I may have missed something as I am not a Theologist by any stretch of the imagination, so I welcome any further additions you have.  I can hear some of you already, what about the laws in our society?  They serve a purpose which is to prevent society from being overran by the lawless and, while some may be based on biblical principles, they are generally man made. 
          I can't blame a lot of people for their stance on religion.  There are a lot of hypocrites out there after all.  I turned away from religion for many years myself for that reason.  Luckily, I found a place that taught and followed the bible and has allowed me to follow what I believe.  For those of you who have been disenfranchised by hypocritical churches and Christians, and I am sorry.  You shouldn't have had to deal with that.  I can't help but think that those of us who try our hardest to live as Christians should are hurt the most but those who claim to be Christians and yet don't act it.  That's my two cents for the day.  Whether you agree or not.  I enjoy hearing from you.  Thank you.

Rendom whatevers.

    This weekend we are going camping again.  Should be fun.  We have enough firewood and we are going to a new campground (new to us anyway).  I will also have my fishing license for the first time here in WA.  Should be interesting.  The downside?  The forecast calls for rain Saturday.  We'll see how it works out.  might be interesting.
      I figure that since it is the weekend and this is my last post until Monday it should be a bit more upbeat than some of my non hump day posts.  I mean really, who likes starting their weekend on a down beat.  Yes, I am sure there are some out there, I just hope that they are getting the help they need.  The up beat that I wish to convey will be in the form of a philosophical, for lack of a better word, rant.
       The only time we should ever allow ourselves to be depressed to the point of uselessness is when...OK, I can't think of a time.  There is always something we can do to make our situations better, or something we can find that makes life a little easier to live.  Anytime I find myself a little down or in a situation I don't like, I look back and look to others lives for inspiration.  I find that, as Americans we really don't have a lot that we can honestly call a true hardship.  Take today for example.  I just found out that I have swings overtime this weekend.  Thus we will only be able to camp one night if at all.  The upside is that I will have next weekend off, maybe.  But I have a job, a family, and the ability to go camping.  Plus, I get to go home now.  So you all have a wonderful day and enjoy the weekend.

Late Happy Hump Day: May Cause Drowsiness

   I love these weird weeks.  They give me all kinds of chances to apologize for missing posts.  I was off of work yesterday because I was transitioning between shifts.  For that reason, I will be making my Happy Hump Day post today.
     I tend to go back to my youth for so many stories, that I find it hard to believe I grew up to be this old.  turns out, I had a few adventures after I joined the military as well.  They tend to highlight just how stupid guys can be in large groups and they usually don't translate well between military and civilian.  While a military guy might fall off his chair laughing, I have found that most civilians give me the "What does that mean" look along with a comment along the lines of, "that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard."  It usually takes me a few minutes to realize that the story I just told flopped before I start explaining.  It the takes almost the entire explanation for me to realize my audience really doesn't care.  At that point my mind shrugs its shoulders and figures, "you went this far, may as well finish."  Thus I have a reputation for being long winded and full of useless information.  Kind of like this paragraph.
     The story I want to tell goes back to boot camp.  About halfway through I got sick.  I don't remember what it was I contracted, but whatever it was was pretty nasty.  I was given medication and put SIQ (sick in quarters) for a week.  This meant that I wasn't allowed to leave my bunk for a week with the exception of meals and to use the restroom.  That was also the first time I had really had any medication that was stronger than penicillin (at least as far as I can remember).  Once again I don't remember the name of the drug, I just remember that it had some warnings that were gross understatements.
      The first was, take with water.  Duh, was the first thing that came to mind when I read it.  Then I opened the bottle.  Those pills were the size of Vienna sausages.  They were huge.  You had to use water to wash them down and then they soaked up every ounce of liquid in your body.  I was essentially drinking from the tap as much as I could.  The second understatement kept that from happening though.
      The second understatement was, "May cause drowsiness."  It really should have said, "will knock you unconscious, cancel all plans."  I discovered this the first time I took it.  I went to lunch with my division and was eating my meal.  I took my medication just before I started eating.  For those of you unfamiliar with boot camp meal procedures, as soon as you sat down, a sailor would come to the table and give the following spiel and mean every word, "Shipmates, you have 15 minutes and 15 minutes only to enjoy your fine, fine Navy chow.  There is no talking or lolly gagging at my table.  When you are done with you meal, police your area and take you plates and garbage to the appropriate areas.  You have 15 minutes and 15 minutes only to enjoy your fine, fine Navy chow.  Enjoy."  Please note that they said 15 minutes and you weren't allowed to start eating until they finished their spiel.  After 15 minutes you had to get up, scrape you plates and leave.  I had no problem with this normally as my dad had taught us kids to eat quickly.  If we wanted seconds, we had to.  I told you this so you would fully understand just how quickly these pills kicked in.  Before the time was up, my plate started looking fuzzy and I was having trouble keeping my head upright.  The guys I was with noticed and were immediately alarmed.  Two of them had finished already and directed me to the garbage and kitchen to take care of my tray.  We then formed up outside and headed back to the barracks.  As we stumbled along, I had to concentrate on the heels of the man in front of me just to walk a semi straight line.  I had no clue what was happening.  I was told later that halfway to the barracks a Company Commander (drill instructor for you non Navy people) stopped us and asked what was wrong with me.  I was told that I simply smiled at the CC and showed him my pill bottle.  I was also told that when the drill instructor asked if I had taken one, I replied, "Yup, you want one, they make the world weave."  Needless to say he quickly escorted us to our barracks.  I woke up several hours later to my CC looking at me as I lay on the floor.
     Her first question was, "what are you doing sleeping on my floor?"  By question, I mean she yelled it and it was more of an order to stand up.  I tried and failed miserably.  At this point I showed her my SIQ chit and medications.  She gave a humph and asked me why I chose the floor over the bed.  My response?  "I don't even know how I got back to the barracks, ma'am."
     From that point on, I made sure that if I ever got a pill that said may cause drowsiness, I waited until I wasn't planning on going anywhere for a while before I took it.  Just in case. 

Whatever

   It is official, I am back on days.  Now I can deal with all the crap I need to after work instead of trying to fit it in before I go.  Makes it good, kinda.  Now I have to figure out how to make the rest of this week work.  We'll see.  As of right now, I am supposed to go in tomorrow.  However, I am currently at work and may end up working the entire shift as one of the civilians got odd shifted.  We'll see what happens. 
    Now that I got that taken care of, I will try to think of something else worth talking about.  We are trying to plan this weekend and I think we are going to try to go to Belfair State park.  It is a new park for us so we'll see how it works.  Anyway, the boys are excited and we are going to figure it out.  Not much else to say today, so I will let it go.  Have a wonderful day, and try to keep smiling.

Manic Monday: Contextual Quotes

     This week end we took the boys camping for the first time this season.  As we were setting up, I discovered that I had no power in the camper.  The same problem I had that led me to drop $200 to have a new battery installed.  I was devastated.  My camper didn't work and I had just dropped a lot of money to get it fixed.  Because I now knew that the battery was good (yes, I checked, they did give me a new one), I decided to do some trouble shooting.  As I started tracing the wires from the battery I found something interesting.  The two red wires coming from the battery (yes, two red wires) were connected to each other.  I also discovered that the two black wires coming from the camper (yes, two black wires) were also connected to each other.  After some simple deduction, I disconnected the black and red wires ate their connectors and connected one red to the black with the appropriate connector and repeated with the remaining wires.  Low and behold, I had power. 
         Luckily, my wife was very nice about it and simply said, "are you done setting it up yet?" 
         Of course I was, but I wasn't about let the sheer idiocy I was feeling ruin the weekend so I just replied, "yes, dear" as any good husband does.  The rest of the weekend went well.  The boys enjoyed themselves and my wife and I are worn out.  So all in all, a typical camping weekend.

         Now for the part you've either been waiting for, or dreading, Manic Monday.  Today I am going to be talking context.  The society we live in today loves using things that sound the way they want it to sound.  It is nothing new, it has been done for millennia  One political or religious figure, will use one particular phrase from some source and as it is written it will sound just like he wants it to sound.  When someone quotes something to you, get the source and read the entire passage.  Sometimes, if you read the entire passage, you find that the original quote means the opposite of what it sounded like.  We have all seen this happen in some circumstances.  The problem comes when we perpetuate it.  We may not do it intentionally, but we have done it.  I have as well.  You know what I am talking about, you hear a seemingly controversial quote and you pass it on.  Either because you agree with it, or because you want to hear others agree with you that it is wrong.  But did you hear the entire quote?  Was the quote you read meant to be a stand alone quote, or was it part of an entire passage?  Think on it.  The next time you are planning on passing on a quote you heard, look it up.  Read the entire passage.  You may be surprised.
           Why am I writing this?  Over the past few months my  Sunday school class has been going over the book of Ephesians in the new testament.  The last couple of weeks we have been looking at just such a verse.  By itself and out of context, it has been used incorrectly for centuries and has pushed many away from the church and religion.  The verse is Ephesians 5:22.  I challenge you to read it and look at the context.  Compare the words in the original Greek with how they were translated.  Look at the entire chapter.  Find similar areas and expand on it.  Look at the area and era for which it was written.  Time and area play a huge part in context.  Abraham Lincoln himself used the word negro many times.  The difference is that in his time, it wasn't an insult, it was how the African American community was categorized.  Where we say black or colored, in the 1800's they used that word.  Thus time and area play a huge role in context.  I think sometimes we forget this.  Just something to think about. 

Random Act of Philosophy

   We are all looking for different things.  Sometimes those things are similar, sometimes they are not even close.  What we look for can say a lot about who we are and what we place importance in.  I am not talking about lost car keys or a new outfit, I am talking day to day aspirations.  What it is that we have as our long term goals.  Those little things we keep looking for that keep us going day to day.  Whether it be retirement, a place of our own, a family, or even just getting to the weekend for some down time.  Do your goals distract you from what you are doing, or do they focus you?  Do you look at each decision through the filter of how it affects your goal, or do you thrive on the hope that it will all be OK?  Sometimes it isn't the goals that define the person, it is how they are attained.  While a goal of a comfortable retirement with family is admirable, robbing banks to achieve that goal is not.  Do you step on others to attain your goal, or do you work with others and have them help lift you up to them?  Do you ride the wave of public opinion in the hopes that it is going your way, or are you willing to swim against the current to reach the shore?  Just as Lewis and Clark had to sometimes go against the stream and sometimes just ride the current, there is no one answer.  Sometimes you can catch the wave of prosperity and leap forward towards your goal and other times you are thrown against the rocks by an unexpected event.  Such is life.  If you bemoan what life gave you, you haven't found what it was you were meant to do with it yet.  In each set of circumstances, we find we can learn something from it if we look hard enough.  Pain is a great teacher though no one likes the lessons and it is through the hottest fires that the strongest steel is made.  Take heart in all you do and in every circumstance, because it is true that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  Now that I have used nearly every cliche in the book, have a great weekend and don't take things to serious.  God bless.

Manic Monday (on a Thursday?): The Casey Anthony Verdict

   So, yesterday I posted a note on my Face Book page about the Casey Anthony thing.  Turns out it is a hotter topic than I thought (and I thought it was extremely hot).  Today, on the KOMO news website, there was a story about the sentence Casey Anthony received for lying to investigators.  The story itself was a bunch of the usual filler and post trial reporting.  It was the comments afterward that really had me interested.  There were a lot of people who seemed to be after the jury and angry at the outcome.  Seems they wanted a conviction based on purely circumstantial evidence.  The problem is, circumstantial evidence doesn't meet the criteria for a capitol murder case.  It may for manslaughter or maybe even second degree murder but not murder one with capitol punishment in the mix.  The fact is that hard evidence is needed linking the murder to the killer with premeditation in the mix.  As I said on face book, the Prosecution failed on all these accounts.
     Here are the facts: 
1.  Caylee disappeared and 31 days later her mother reported it.  Yes, she lied and told tall tales, but this only points to bad parenting and irresponsibility, not murder.
2. Caylee's body was found with duct tape on her mouth.  Once again, could mean any number of things.
3.  An unsubstantiated report of the smell of "human decay" by a impound lot worker was reported, when the car was picked up (note that it was not reported to the police but the grandparents upon pick up).  Further the technique used to determine the odor came from a human body could not be reproduced with actual corpses, thus invalidating it.
4. The tape on Caylee's body was "consistent" with tape at the Anthony residence.  Note here that it consistent does not mean matches.  A chrome bumper is consistent with a Studebaker, but could also match a corvette.  Thus, the tape could have come from a neighbor, a stranger, or you.
5. No DNA/fingerprint evidence linked the tape on Caylee to Casey or Caylee to the car.  Now you have to stretch and assume that she was smart enough to clean her car of all evidence (hair, fibers etc.) of Caylee, yet still have left enough remains for their to be an odor.
6.  The cause of death was asphyxiation, but what asphyxiated her could not be determined.  It could have been drowning, the tape, a pillow, a hand, or even a dog sitting on her face.  There was nothing to point at what actually killed her.  Once again, how can it be murder if you can't even prove the victim was murdered?
     Given the above facts, all you are left with is the witness statements which only prove that Casey is an unfit mother.  Especially since the above facts fit both the prosecutions story of murder and the testimony of Casey that it was a cover up of an accidental drowning.  Since the jury is required to err on the side of the defense and there was no testimony or evidence providing a direct link to murder or otherwise, not guilty was the only possible verdict in this case.  Was Casey guilty of something related to her daughters death?  I believe so.  Does it meet the required evidential rules for capitol one murder?  Not even close.  Over and over I hear people shouting that cases have been won on circumstantial evidence.  The fact is that every capitol case that has been won on circumstantial evidence has been overturned on appeal.  Yes, some circumstantial evidence cases stand, but not when it comes to capitol cases.
       I have really disliked writing these things the last few days as they go against the grain and make seem as though I am standing up for this horrible mother (I can't think of any other way to put it).  I am not, I am standing up for the jury and our justice system.  I am glad the system worked, I just feel the prosecutor erred in going for capitol murder with such poor evidence.  We as a nation tout our justice system and the fact that we are innocent until proven guilty, yet we are happy to jump in head first into very shallow water based on what the media said.  We as a nation had her convicted long before it went to trial.  I am surprised they were able to seat a jury based on that alone.  How many of you could honestly say that you could have sat on that jury and provided unbiased opinions on just the evidence?  How many of you could have weighed equally the defense and the prosecution based on the evidence given?  The only reason I think I could have is because I didn't follow the story until the verdict was announced and my face book news feed blew up with anger at it.  Once my news feed blew up I researched the facts and found that I had no choice but to support the jury.  My heart goes out to them as they had a horrible job to do and now they are being threatened because of it.
        As for the prosecutor in this, I think he should be fired.  He allowed himself to overstep the evidence and let the media guide him to go for the big one when the only thing he had was the smaller one.  Thus he allowed Casey to walk with 4 years instead of life.  Some of you are saying that the defense muddied the water like in the OJ trial, the fact is the defense didn't have to because the prosecution never had a case for murder one in the first place.  As sad as it is that is the truth.
       I am sorry if this has ruined your day or you think this is a bad article.  I didn't mean to upset you, I just wanted to make you think about what I saw in all this.  I can't determine which is a greater crime, overstepping the evidence and letting someone like this walk free, or blaming the jury for doing what they had to in accordance with the law.  Thank you for reading this and bearing with my rant.  I just had to say it.  Have a great day (provided I haven't ruined it for you).  God bless.

Hapy Hump Day: Hedge Happens

  It's Happy Hump Day.  Today we serve up yet another lesson in humility learned the hard way.  We all have days where things seem to go exactly the way we want them.  Those are the days most likely to end in a ball of flame.  Usually because we decide to push our good fortune just a little bit beyond what it can handle.  It is the lesson that goes like this.  Just because all the hard stuff went well, don't expect the easy stuff to end well.
   The day I learned this lesson was when I was a teen in Iowa.  I still didn't have my license and I had just gotten permission to hunt without adult supervision.  Thus it was that I headed out looking for some sport.  Namely, squirrels.  Early on, the day went well.  I found a spot and got my limit before lunch.  My dog had joined me and we started walking home.  Along the way, we took sometime out and did a little target practice and continued on.  It was a perfect day.  After we got home, I dressed the squirrels (skinned and cut them up for you non hunters) and put them in the freezer.  It was only about one in the afternoon, so I had the entire day ahead of me.
       I was all smiles until dad pointed to the wood pile and informed me that we needed wood split for the next few days.  I figured, that since the day was going so well, how bad could it be.  I only had about 10 logs to split.  For those of you who have never had to split wood, fell lucky.  It is hard work.  Even if you are dealing with a semi soft wood like fir, you still have to put a good amount of effort into it.  This means that when you get to hard woods like oak, you have your work cut out for you.  As I started splitting the wood, my spirits started to rise.  That was until I got to log number five.  It was only about a foot in diameter which meant I could quarter it and I would be done.  It wasn't until the ax bounced off of the log and nearly hit me in the face that I noticed what kind of wood it was.  Hedge.  I heard that groan from those of you who have dealt with it.  For those of you (once again, lucky people), who have never dealt with this particular wood, it is also called Iron Wood and for very good reason.  Most wood, you could split a couple of trees before you need to sharpen your axe.  Not Iron wood.  You don't use and axe on iron wood, you use wedges and a 12 pound sledge hammer.  Iron wood refuses to split except under extreme circumstances and you only use the chainsaw to cut it down to workable lengths if you want the chainsaw to last more than one season.  That's also when I realized that the remaining 5 logs were also iron wood.  I was doomed.  I drug out the sledge and wedges and got to work.  By supper time, I had the first log split and had two wedges buried in the second.  That's when dad informed me that he was thinking about getting a hydraulic log splitter.  I begged and he smiled.  We never got one and to this day I can't look at a hunk of hedge with out shuddering.  I have since split a lot of wood of all types, but nothing has ever been as tough as those 6 pieces of hedge.  It took me almost 4 days to get it done and I learned my lesson.  Just when you think things are going great and will always be easy, hedge happens.
     Have a wonderful day.

A quick update and not much more

  So I decided to skip manic Monday this week because Monday was the fourth and I really don't feel like ranting right now.  It may have something to do with the fact that I just spent an hour crawling around in a hot tank and am tired and sweaty because of it.  Or it may not be, I don't know.  Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July and still have the same number body parts you started with and haven't lost any use of them.  My family survived, mostly.  Turns out my second came down with Strep on the fourth.  I took him to the doctor this morning and got it confirmed and got him meds.  The poor boy didn't even get any of the ice cream I made.  Other than that, is was a great weekend.  I thin this will end today's notes as I am tired and really don't want to write any more.  Have a great day.

Our Independence Day, what patriotism means to me.

    Today's post will be a patriotic thing, you've been warned.

     There seems so much that this country has done for us that we take for granted.  In my years in the navy, I have been to several other countries.  From the affluent to the destitute, there is always something America has, that the other countries don't.  Yet, when we are asked to sacrifice for the country that has given us so much, we tend to answer with, "what's in it for me?"  We take for granted that we are given so much.  We all know that should we fall on hard times, the government will give us what we need to survive.  From welfare to food stamps, we expect our government to take care of us all along the way.  So much so, that we get angry when we are asked to give up a portion of our wages so that we can pay for these programs we rely on.
      We ask the government to protect us from enemies, both external and internal, yet we refuse to support our troops because they are following orders of people you don't agree with.  We ask the government to keep our food safe, yet we rail at the cost of watching it.  We ask the government to provide our retirement, yet refuse to live within our means.  How can we expect our nation to endure if only our government must give of itself?  How can we endure if only the other group is to pay for it all?  We must all give of ourselves to keep this country great.
       There is a famous Benjamin Franklin quote that is making the rounds.  You have probably heard it, it says, "Those who sacrifice freedom for security, deserve neither," Or something similar.  While this is true to a certain extent, I believe there is more to it.  We have all heard the saying, "Freedom isn't free."  This is true as well, but we tend to forget it.  I believe that the two sayings should go together as follows, "Those who aren't willing to pay for their freedom and security deserve neither."  I am not saying that you have to join the military and die for your country.  What I am saying is that we should be more willing to give of ourselves for our country.  Give of our time and serve.  Volunteer to help the police and fire departments at the next parade.  Take a meal or two down to the precinct or fire station every once in a while.  Pay your taxes.  Vote.  Call your senator and tell him what concerns you.  Recognize what is a real need in your life and recognize what you can give up.  Why is it that we as Americans can raise billions of dollars in just a few weeks when there is a disaster abroad, but we can't even raise a few million when it comes to the nation/state/city we live in?  Why is it we can give so greatly to others and live so well ourselves, yet we can't give any to our home?  How is it that we can yell cut spending in the same sentence we can yell give us our stuff?  I don't envy our leaders these days.  They cannot win.  In order to balance the budget, they have to cut programs, which means lost jobs, pay, or both and they have to raise taxes.  There is no way our government can meet the demands our nation has put on it and maintain a balanced budget.  It is impossible.  With that being said, on this Independence day, think on what it is you have given for your country and ask yourself, "can I give more?"  I know I can and should and I have served in the military for 18+ years.  How about you?

     Have a wonderful 4th of July.  God bless America.