Dave's Blog

Osama Bin Laden is dead.

2011-05-01T19:55:00.000-08:00

My wife just announced that Bin Laden is dead. I'm trying to identily the emotion I feel. But distracted from that, I'm caught up thinking of my children's reaction. My 10 year old shouts "Hurray!" and my 4 year old says "oh, that's not good." Of course I understand where they are at. My oldest is still young enough to see the enemy and be glad he's dead. The world is good and bad to him and Osama was definitely bad, so we should be happy. My younger son doesn't even recognize the name. He shows a Christ-like love for all people (inadvertantly, I'll admit), but I admire that.

So I'm stuck, do I celebrate the death of a bad man that was clearly an enemy? Or do I feel sorry for a man that just entered some form of existence that is worse than I care to imagine? I said nothing as I tried to decide what would be the best thing to say. Do I teach the younger child about enemies, or teach the older one that we're supposed to love our enemies?

Upon reflection I think the best description is contentment. Osama Bin Laden is seeing justice today. I don't want to rejoice in his death, it's sad that a successful, charismatic man chose to cause so much harm and sorrow in the world. But I'm just not one to dance on a coffin.

Movie Reviews

2010-11-17T10:53:00.002-09:00

So I tried a weekly column blog this spring that didn't go. I have always enjoyed movie crictiques and I thought I'd try my hand at it. I'm not going to create a new blog, just adapt the old one:

www.davesweeklycolumn.blogspot.com

I hope you enjoy.

Ground Zero Mosque

2010-08-25T12:30:00.004-08:00

So I've been following this story for a good week now, but I've never commented because I kept thinking this couldn't actually be real! How is it that our freedom loving country could be protesting the building of a church? I keep making parallels in my mind to the guilt-by-association internment camps for the Japanese citizens during WWII. I keep hoping that our enlightened country can't possibly be so blatantly disregarding one of the most basic and important principles to our constitution, Freedom of Religion.

I want to point out to protesters that the equivalent to a Muslim terrorist is a Nazi skin-head, or a KKK member. They are not just your average Arab!

And that this church is not a terrorist training ground, stop listening to FOX News and think about it. They don't train suicide bombers in the US, it's too nice here. They do it in poor countries where young men have no hope.

So why is it that we are suddenly afraid of this church? I have an answer: Fear of those that are different. So they believe a different religion, they dress differently, and therefore we can't trust them? I certainly don't fall into this group, maybe because I'm part Scottish and the Scottish dress differently and are very hard to understand.

Honestly I think anyone who has protested this church should be ashamed. And I can see this lash out of hate ending the tea party movement and killing the republican momentum that has been growing. Not a great time, just before the mid-term election, to splash a lot of hate around.

Honestly I hope this does become a big issue for candidates because it is so telling.

Why Alaska?

2010-08-13T18:22:00.005-08:00

So I was discussing with some friends on where the best place to live would be. My wife has a series of 4 posts answering this same question: http://www.brightonwoman.blogspot.com/ I think I can illustrate my reasons as follows.
Not sure if I need to say anything else. Winters are cold, but not terribly so. Winters are dark, but not oppressively (winter solstice still has 7 hours of daylight) and it doesn't last all that long. Anyway, winter is when you tend to be inside more. And summer is light all day and night!

People still feel new here. We are intruding in the wilderness rather than trying to preserve a bit of it.

I fit in with the other odd-balls that live here.

Food is more expensive in the grocery store, but so easy to come by in nature (not to mention how much better for you, and nature, it is to eat) that I don't think our budget is any more here.

Our kids get PFD's just like we do (yeah, that around $7000 for our family each year).

Do I need any more reasons?

Saving Money

2010-07-22T15:14:00.002-08:00

I think most people can remember the dread of buying college text books at the beginning of each semester. Well, I'm going back to school and I just bought 8 textbooks on Amazon. So as I was looking I discovered one book on sale for $80, then I noticed (and remembered my miserly old tactic of saving money) the last edition of the book with the used price of $4!!! That's like 5 steak dinners difference! So of course I bought the 4th edition instead of the 5th, it's always worked just fine before.

I looked in the syllabus and saw that I needed to read chapters 7, 10, and, 11 for today's class. I dutifully did my reading and then went to answer the questions. They questions just didn't seem right so I went back to the syllabus where he had included chapter titles as well as numbers.

Turns out I needed to read chapter 8, 12, and 14! Great! Then like five times during class he asked us to turn to a certain page and none of mine matched, of course. So I need to run and read three different chapters and answer these stupid questions... Textbooks are not as exciting as I had remembered them being :(

I think I need a steak dinner!

Doing something real.

2010-07-04T18:51:00.002-08:00

Yesterday I caught 3 sockeye salmon, filleted them and rubbed my own recipe of brine on them and laid them out in the fridge. Today I went and cut down an alder tree and sawed it into small chunks and then split those chunks into chips. I lit some charcoal and put it into the smoker, threw some alder chips on top, and then set the fish on the rack. Then I continued to saw and split the rest of the tree and now I have a decent size bag of alder chips waiting for the next fish.

I feel a bit Thoreauish right now because I did something myself, something that will feed myself and my family, and I didn't need any help. I could have run to the store and bought a bag of chipped alder, or used an electric smoker. I could have bought salmon, or even bought smoked salmon, but there is a pleasure and satisfaction that comes in doing something one's self. I told my wife that the next step is to learn to make charcoal myself.

There is something about knowing how to find food from nature and provide for your family that way. Not that fishing is anything new to me, but I have started dip-netting (which is legal here in Alaska). That is standing chest dip in the river with a 4 ft. diameter net and basically scooping fish out of the water. It's not quite that simple or that easy, but that is the gist of it. Dip-netting is a much more reliable way to get fish because you do it at the peak of the salmon run and there are hundreds of thousands of fish that swim up the river each season. Thus far I have caught fifteen. I am allowed 50 more and though I don't plan on getting that many I really like the idea of having that much food safely stored away for winter. Not to mention that this is wild Alaska salmon, high is those great oils, fresh preserved with no chemicals. You can't get healthier food than this!

I'm reminded of a personal hero of mine, Dick Proenneke (author of One Man's Wilderness) who said, "Too many folks just work on parts of things, doing something to completion. That suits me."

We should all try to do more things to completion. I love learning something new that I can do to provide for my family. Growing the garden is nothing new, and we are anxious to buy land where we can put in a large garden and greenhouse to grow much of the produce that we use. This fall I am going to work hard to go out and find a legal moose to pack in the freezer. I can just imagine the feeling of having a few hundred pounds of meat in the freezer waiting to be eaten this winter.

Our next goal is to learn to raise chickens. This will probably also have to wait until we have our own land, but we want to be able to have the eggs and meat on hand. Eventually, this home will include sheep. Then my dear wife can post a blog about the satisfaction of sheering, dying, spinning, and knitting a sweater.

At least for Jenni and I life seems to be much happier when we are doing things, rather than buying or having things. The next project I have is building my own smokehouse. I've been using a friend's but I have gotten a hold of four oven racks and I think I can build a good smokehouse so it's always on hand.

Come Together

2010-04-18T21:04:00.002-08:00

You know I have spent several hours over the last month researching figures and debating polls of this new healthcare law. I want to be done. As a friend said "... we'll just have to wait and see who is right." I'm sure that is true. I dislike how both sides can support their ideas and prove each other wrong and the media does very little to provide hard evidence.
I suppose I am tired of politics, at least for now. I hope wish that this country could be nicer when it comes to differences, and that we could sit down and discuss things more than we do. Both sides just seem to be on the attack all the time and that is not good for anyone. One big reason I am not a member of any party. I guess I just want to ask the question (seriously!): Can't we all just get along?

I'm starting a new blog

2010-03-21T19:29:00.002-08:00

I know I hardly blog here! Why the heck am I doing a second?!?! Well, this new one is going to be a weekly column. It will focus on humor. You're all invited to come read it:

http://davesweeklycolumn.blogspot.com/

2010-03-20T18:25:00.003-08:00

I just watched a documentary that really left me feeling like the best days of our country have come and gone. I think we are the modern day Rome. Sure we don't have vomitoriums, just all you can eat buffets morbid obesity and childhood type 2 diabetes. We don't watch gladiators kill each other, we watch the fake movie version larger than life (not to mention the really sick stuff that comes from Hollywood).

We spend more than we earn (on average) as people and so does our government. We import more than we export. And no one is talking about how to change this!

The cost of social security is going to grow to an unsustainable amount unless we can do something about it, soon!

This is the website of a man Crusading for change. I haven't read that much from him yet and I may come back and change my mind about his specifics on how to change, but change must happen.

http://www.pgpf.org/about/leadership/dmw/

Parenting

2010-02-04T17:21:00.002-09:00

Brandi asked a good question about when parents should/do let their children start to make their own decisions (a long time ago, sorry Brandi for waiting so long). Well, I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask about parenting, but my parents were great so maybe i do know a few things...

Allowing children to make their own decisions is something that, I believe, should grow over time as their responsibilities grow. As newborns they are entirely dependant upon their parents and they happen to be cute enough to get away with that. We love those squishy little things so much we'll do anything for them! As they grow we start making them go potty and eventually wipe their own bums. We give them chores and let them play outside alone eventually. As they grow they can play at friends houses and... I think you get the idea.

Well making their own decision on things grows in the same manner. it starts with simple things like what they want to wear. My 9 year old dresses himself and has done so for a long time. Now, we still have that veto power, so when he comes out wearing shorts in the darkness of January in Alaska, we send him back to try again. But we let him make the decision.

It starts simply and grows from there. As they mature we let them decide more things. We always advise them and sometimes let them learn my not correcting them. My son lost his pocket knife because he didn't think dad was right that it would fall out of the pocket he put it in. We all need those learning moments.

Eventually kids grow up to the point where you can't stop them from making their own decisions, and this is a good thing. We want our kids to eventually become adults. The trick is to accept it when it happens, and of course, we struggle when they make bad decisions. Hopefully parents and children have maintained a healthy enough relationship through the tumultuous teen years so the young adult children feel safe and comfortable enough to come to their parents with difficult decisions. Which can be hard for parents as well. We need to be careful not to alienate them.

Anyways, I think that is more than enough elaboration on the subject.

FirstSpam!!

2009-11-09T19:48:00.001-09:00

So I got my first spam to the blog!! It was an ad trying to sell viagra to women... I don't know why this should excite me, but it does.

Should Parents be Notified?!??!!??!!!????????

2009-10-12T20:28:00.002-08:00

Soapbox Post - WARNING-

Why is it that a girl needs permission to have her ears pierced at the mall but she can't check herself out of school and get an abortion without her parents ever even knowing?

How can anyone stand behind that? How did that get written into law in the first place? How can a doctor perform ANY surgery on a minor without parental consent? This is so blatantly wrong I am shocked I'm even writing about it!

I am actually at a loss for words right now. If you are pro-choice that is a conversation for another day. But this is simple, they are our kids and we must know what is happening with them. It just defies logic and common sense!

I can't talk about it. I am gathering signatures for a petition to overturn this unbelievable law. If you are registered to vote in Alaska and agree with me come find me soon, or go to: www.alaskafamilycouncil.org/petition

I don't know a lot about this organization but I am working with them on this issue.

My Response to a common Comment

2009-09-30T17:10:00.002-08:00

Last year I posted about single payer health care, or universal health care, or government health care, or my favorite "Socialized Medicine" as if Social is somehow bad. I always thought that being social was a positive trait. But I won't be glib any longer, this is a serious question that deserves a serious answer.

I failed to cut and paste... Just when I thought I was tech savvy, I have been humbled, so I will rephrase (or you could go back to Oct. '08 and read it). Basically the anonymous person said that no one should be forced to be charitable and that forcing a good choice was 'Satan's Plan' referring to my and (I assume) the commenter's religious belief that before this world was created Lucifer offered an alternate plan for this life that would force us to be good. God punished him, he became the devil and now I will stick to the issue.

I agree completely that we shouldn't force people to do things. We should encourage people to do the right things. If we all chose to give, we might not have poor people or sick people that can't afford a doctor's visit, but clearly that is not the case. Also, I don't believe that we can always share enough to meet people's needs. What about the family that has a Downs Syndrome child who needs heart surgery that will cost about a half million dollars? They cannot hope to set out collection jugs at gas stations and raise that kind of money. We really must have help sometimes.

But we could argue what is already out there and who really deserves what all day and make no real progress so let me get to the real problem I have with the comment. I disagree with your reasoning. That's right I think that the government is not forcing anything. We are so proud of democratic society, in which WE make decisions. We all make a decision, even if some of us do not agree with it we have made that choice as a group. That is part of living with a group. You can't love democracy and suggest that you are being forced to live it.

I do not belief that I am forcing anyone to do anything by creating a new law. I believe that we come together and create law, or more accurately, we elect representatives who come together to create laws for us. I encourage you all to contact your legislators so that they can better represent you, and I try to do the same with mine often. But to suggest that I or anyone is taking away your freedom by governing is not accurate. Government is designed to provide for the well being of it's citizens. I think this is a basic issue and we would all be better off with a good, well run, government plan that provides for all.

Home in Homer

2009-08-17T22:13:00.002-08:00

So, it has been a busy, crazy summer, but I have a new job and a new place to live. I maintain that I could have lived in Pelican happily for many years to come, but family comes first and I really think that I need to offer my children more oppertunities. So I resigned in the spring and took a job teaching English and Business in Homer, Alaska. Yes, NPR fans I now live at the end of the road! I am getting out those Tom Bodett books and rereading them.

This area is incredibly beautiful. Even more stunning views out my window than Pelican (which is a real feat to accomplish)! I, however, have not gotten great pictures yet. I seem to be too busy on the sunny days to take any. Soon I will get some up here though. And the people that gave up on this blog almost a year ago can wander back and see.

I am hoping to be more faithful in my blogging this year.

My Future Home

2009-01-08T16:54:00.004-09:00

So my wife and I have talked a lot about the home that we one day some day want to build. Well her friend is building a new home in Alaska and it got us talking. We really like the idea of an underground home (well partially underground anyway). Many people have asked us exactly what that would look like. Of course there is the inevitable comparison to Tolkien and hobbit holes (which was part of the inspiration), but there really are many reasons to do it. For those that are still trying to picture how this could work I found (ok a friend found it and showed me -- thanks Line) a really cool website of a guy in Wales that built a neat house. Mine won't be quite the same but this will give everyone a great visual: http://www.simondale.net/house/index.htm

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T23:48:00.003-09:00

I just wanted to wish everyone a great 2009. I hope you all have made some good resolutions. This year I am finally taking my weight seriously. It has been bothering me for a few years now. I am going to make a change. I am going to eat less and excersise more. I have started keeping a food log to help me. My goal is to weigh 199 lbs. by May 1.

I wanted to put it up here to make it more real.

I am Done!

2008-12-15T10:07:00.002-09:00

This fall I did something I knew I was not going to enjoy. I signed up to take classes full time through the University of Alaska. That is on top of my job teaching nine kids in six different grades seven different classes. This is why I haven't been posting here much... I was overly stressed, overly worked, and overly tired for longer than I realized. This morning I woke up after a good night's sleep (about eight hours) and still felt exhausted. As was the case yesterday morning. Of course Friday was the last day to turn in assignments and I was here at the school finishing things until about 7:00pm.

It has been a great weekend of rest and rest, oh yeah and relaxation. Pelican has been unusually sunny and the world looks great! It is Christmas time, my family is happy and healthy. Everything seems wonderful! Of course I am WAY behind on my grading, but I'll get that caught up this week.

Now I need to be encouraged. I am five classes away from finishing my Masters in Math Education (which I REALLY want to have posted on my resume before next fall!) I am enjoying the afternoons now. I am tempted to not take classes... My desire to take on the extra work has tanked. I think I will be more ready to take on work by January. Please encourage me. I know that I need at least two classes but doubt I will muster enough desire to take three. I can do that over the summer.

For at least the Holiday season I should be posting more regularly. Unless I really get lazy...

How well do you know your country?

2008-11-24T15:12:00.004-09:00

So I got this from my friend Bryan Terry. It's fun, in the academic sense that is... Hey, I'm a Teacher! But anyway give this quiz a shot to see how much you REALLY know about American Civics. I got a 91%, I really think teaching all the subjects I do here in Pelican has made me a lot smarter! Anyway, give it a shot, but no fair looking up the answers!!

http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/resources/quiz.aspx

Kinda fun thing...

2008-11-23T12:36:00.004-09:00

So my wife put this thing up and I thought I'd do it too. You'll probably learn more about me...

Here’s the Deal. Bold the ones you’ve done. Simple right?

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said "I love you" and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable laughing fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and didn't care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theatre
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted/Canoed the Snake River
82. Been on a television news program as an "expert"
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for 30 hours in a 48 hour period
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

The 100 Things Thing

2008-11-13T10:18:00.003-09:00

I saw a great article in Time Magazine the other day. I'll link it (if I can...) at the end here. I got thinking about it yesterday when my wife mentioned that Pixar Animation Studio is releasing a DVD of all their shorts (you know, all those silly little 8 minute movies before the real movie) on one DVD. I pointed out that the people who buy this DVD probably already own most of those shorts on different DVD's, but that wouldn't stop them from buying it because I really do think more and more that people today are addicted to shopping. People will buy this simply to have it. whether they use it or not is totally irrelevant, they see, they want, they buy!

Doesn't the average American have like 6 credit cards? And don't those average Americans carry a balance on most of them? I think our culture is totally obsessed with stuff. We keep moving into bigger and bigger houses to fit our stuff. OK, now I sound like Madame Blueberry (it's a VeggieTale on the same topic).

I was faced with a challenge just over a year ago. I was moving to this tiny town in nowhere Alaska and I really wasn't sure if I'd like it there. So I packed exactly what I would need for one year: 3 pairs of pants, 5 shirts, 2 bottles of shampoo, five bars of soap, etc.

It turns out I love this little town. Life here is so relaxed. I have a 2 minute commute. I really know my students well, the air is clean, the view is beyond incredible. Sure getting groceries and mail involves a ferry or seaplane, but I'm ok with all that.

So this past summer my wife and I drove back to Utah with the idea of purging our collection of stuff! We had a huge garage sale and it got a bit painful at times. But it feels so good. We still have too much. We packed as much as we could in the van and the rest into my parents garage (sorry Mom & dad).

The article has re-inspired me to cut out more unneeded stuff. My wife recently agreed to converting all photo alblums into a digital format. Now we back things up more than before! I feel better though. I feel unencumbered. I don't know that 100 things is realistic, the original guy has a few clarifications like it doesn't include anything shared like pots and pans.

The challenge is to take a look at yourself and shed some of the junk. If you really get into it then maybe it will lead to buying less. Which was another good article from Time a few years back, that some people went one year not buying anything (save for food and toothpaste and stuff).

I think the deeper moral is that happiness in life isn't about the stuff you have. We have a limited amount of time and all the stuff only helps waste more time, get rid of most of it and spend your precious time on the best stuff, or better yet the people that you love.

Here's that link: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1812048,00.html

Procrastination!

2008-11-12T06:44:00.002-09:00

I woke up at 4:17am this morning. This is probably do to stress because I am falling behind in 12 graduate credits at the University of Alaska, the mid-term grades are due this week, my wife is struggling with seasonal mood whatever it's called (the sun rises at 8:30 and sets at 3:00 here, and it's gonna get worse...) and I'm trying to help out a bit more at home and help her. I had gotten 5 hours of sleep and really wanted to get back to sleep so:

I went the the bathroom, got a drink crawled back in bed and cuddled with my Bear (two year old son). When my watch beeped 5:00am I realized I was not getting back to sleep. So I went to try and play Spore, which stalls regularly on our (new) computer because the game requires an insane amount of processing speed. It is really fun though! But I couldn't get it to let me evolve... So I got dressed and headed to work with the idea of getting caught up.

I started my daily routine with checking e-mail, which of course was a mistake because that took me to a friend's blog (though she has some great music embedded which I am enjoying now). At which point I realize I ahven't done anything here since election stuff and I just want to write on here more often because I want to be a writer but my main problem is that I just don't write very often... So as this is loading I did the unthinkable, yes, I checked Facebook! Another half-hour of my life just evaporated.

now I am here writing this because I don't have anything good to write about. I am starting to understand why my mom gave me the book The Disciplined Life, which was really good if I could just do what it said. What is it though? I don't think I am the only one that does this. I understand that I am doing what I WANT to do rather than what I NEED to do.

What I want to know is how it got like this? Is it that me and the other procrastinators never grew up? I hate to admit that it is a self control problem, and the more I write the less I like the idea of actually publishing this. Hey! I jus thought of another good post!

Haha, no I do want to do this one still (I did think of another but I'm not doing that one until I am caught up in my classes) it seems like a real problem in our society. We have all heard the tricks like creating rewards for yourself, setting up a schedule, limiting distractions, planning the order of things to do, and even making the classic list. I do these sometimes, yet I still end up with mornings like this more often than I care to admit. What do you do gentle reader? How do you keep yourself to task? Or are you as bad as I am?

I am tempted to keep writing but I think it's all been said and it is 7:30 now so I have one hour to do some work. Wish me luck!

Watch this video!

2008-10-31T21:37:00.005-08:00

Sorry I'm having trouble getting these embedded for some reason, so the links are here too.

This one is about 12 minutes long but it is well worth it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ-R4vKLKfU

OK, one more and this one is shorter (7 minutes) all about civic Freedom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TxA_WOySlM&feature=channel

Vouchers

2008-10-22T10:20:00.001-08:00

My wife asked me to weigh in on the trend toward vouchers. For anyone that isn't familiar a voucher it is money that people want the government to give to a private school as a portion of a student's tuition because they are sending their child(ren) to that school instead of a public school. Now on the surface that makes a certain amount of sense right? Sure they aren't using the school system why should they have to pay for it?

Here is your answer. You pay tax, the government uses that money to make the United States a better place. That's it, it's not your money anymore. Now, I think everyone would agree that public education is for the public good. Whether your kids are there or not having an educated public makes the country a better place. No one has ever argued that point with me. If you accept that point you have just conceded your argument. It doesn't matter where your kids go society is better off because your kids peers are learning as well. Now if we all agree that public school is for the public good (and I think we do) than we must pay for it. Public education is already underfunded. As a teacher I have a good idea of how true this is. Two years ago I was teaching in a classroom with fake walls, teaching 40 kids per class (some of whom were sitting at tables because we couldn't fit that many desks in the room) and the kids were using 20+ year old books that were falling apart.
So why is it people believe that the government should subsidize private education when public schools are so strapped for cash. Yes, competition is good they say, but should the government boost the competition? Should the Post Office subsidize Fed Ex, DHL, and, UPS? No, of course not. If you have to help your competition is that really competing? If they cannot why should the government help them. The public schools need to spend every dime they get to provide the best education possible to the general public.

Now there is another major problem with vouchers. That is that citizens can't choose where their tax money goes. It just won't work. This is why we have a government. To run things for us, and we vote for the people that will run things the way we like. I happen to not drive a car for 10 months of the year, but I don't expect that I can request that my road money tax be spent on the libraries. No my money goes to fix roads as yours does. We don't choose how the tax money is spent, it can't work if we try that.

For anyone still not convinced that vouchers are unreasonable think about this. There are millions of Americans without children paying for public schools. They cannot opt out of that or direct their tax to another program. If they have to pay into the system why is it some parents should have the right to redirect their tax. They shouldn't.

Just a couple other points. First of all private school usually cost about $10000 a year or more, and the voucher that people are talking about are $1500 or less. This is not an amount of money that will allow lots of people to send their kids to private school. If you can afford $8500 annually you can probably scrape together that other $1500. This is a way for the upper-middle class and the rich to save money.

Lastly, I have done some research on this subject and I have never seen evidence that private schools perform above the level of the local public schools. I'm sure there are exceptions but they tend to be the schools that Robin Williams makes movies about, not your average private school. No most of them perform about 2-8% better which, just so happens to be about the rate that the severally handicapped and learning disabled effects the public school data. Until there is clear evidence that private schools are doing better why should we put money into them? It just doesn't make sense.

Single Payer Health Care

2008-10-19T23:16:00.003-08:00

Yes, I am talking about Universal Health care or Socialized medicine. I love the difference between the two terms. Universal Health care, it's about taking care of each other. It makes me think...

Yeah that's about right isn't it? And then there is the big bad Socialized Medicine

(can't you just hear the Dun Dun DUN!!) We are afraid of this one!!

Yes, people run for your lives!! If we don't fight this the sky will fall!

I have to stop and ask how true is that really? What are the evils of socialism? Now, I was raised to be a good Capitalist just like you all were, I know that government shouldn't have it's had in the cookie jar. So I got to thinking... What is socialism? What is it really? Well, it's the government having control over some economic aspects of society. But what does that mean? Hmmmm... When has our government done this? Let's see, well during the industrial revolution the government made labor laws to end the exploitation of workers. They passed anti-trust laws because the free market had failed to regulate itself properly. Hey WAIT!! That just happened again a couple weeks ago! The government spent $700,000,000,000 to fix the economy. Well, the capitalists on TV all said we had to do that.

Maybe this idea of socialism isn't as scary as people told us that it is. After all it's not as if by choosing to do something that benefits our people is being "taken over by the Reds!!!" I'm not convinced this socialism thing is so bad.

So what about health care? Does it need to be fixed? I've heard a lot of people saying that it does. There are about 50 million Americans without any insurance, that seems kinda bad. I know that when they need emergency care we pay for it already. The World Health Organization ranks the US health care system as 37th in the world. We think of ourselves and having the best technology and the brightest minds and yet 36 other countries are doing better than we are.

Now I know that many of you guys are saying, "yeah but that's the system the have in Canada and they come here for operations." Well that might be true, but I noticed that W.H.O. ranked Canada as 30th in the world. So they are not doing great but it looks like maybe they are better than us... Another one I heard was Ireland and how bad it was there, but they are 19th! I would like to point out that #1 France has government provided health care, so maybe these problems people point out could be fixed here in the heartland.

The big issue as I see it is taking care of people. Now I feel strongly about taking care of myself. I work hard, I pay my bills, and I have a great insurance plan (in fact single provider health care wouldn't benefit me at all). I am not looking for a free handout. I am saying that maybe free handouts are so bad. Don't most of us share when we have a lot of something.

Whenever the topic comes up I remember Christ's words "feed my sheep" the second commandment he told the Pharisees was "love thy neighbor...". Now I was in church the other day where someone pointed out that he is asking people to do that, not government. Which is true. I do donate to charities, I volunteer, I want to make the world a better place. But I look around and see that we are not doing enough. We are not taking care of each other. Sure we are doing something, but I want to see more. Also if we leave it to individuals than we will inevitably miss some in need. If we make this a part of the government that everyone will get the medical attention they need.

I have often been asked what about the people that would take advantage of the system? I say let them. There will always be a small portion of a group that will let the others work hard so they can coast along. Aren't they already on Medicaid now? Maybe I'm too nice but I just feel like it's better to let someone take advantage of you than to stand idly by when they are in need. Worse things have happened in the world.

I think we all agree that we need to fix the system we have. Why don't you think about a system that works in many other countries around the world? Let's create a system where doctors never turn anyone away.

2008-10-15T07:09:00.002-08:00

OK, folks I have the beard in and my hair is long enough, though I think it might take glue to hold it in place... The claws are the tricky part! Please oh please someone post here and help me figure this out.

Abortion

2008-10-14T11:39:00.002-08:00

As I have said the Born Alive Bill is not about abortion. It's about what comes next. Now takea look at this quote from Barak Obama: "I think it’s important to understand that this issue ultimately is about abortion and not live births.” (http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/obama_and_infanticide.html) Is he serious? Is he STUPID? This issue is all about after an abortion! Hence the name Born Alive... What he's trying to do is dehumanize the unwanted children that are dying. This is just another example of how warped the sense of reality gets when people decide that abortion is acceptable.

Science has definitively proven that upon the moment of conception a new life is formed (i.e. an organism with a unique genetic code). We call it a zygote and then a fetus, because that doesn't sound like a human. Of course it is human, what else could it be?!?! We know that prenatal death can be prosecuted against (such as a person being convicted of manslaughter for causing a miscarriage or being charged with two deaths when killing a pregnant woman). We know that they are people, yet some of us conviently forget this when they find themselves with an unwanted pregnancy.

Which is at the crux of the issue. Selfishness. Sorry, I'm not trying to offend, but it comes down to this. Some women rather terminate a pregnancy (and the life of their own child) than make the changes that are required with having children. They also refuse to be inconvienced by having to carry the child they created. They rationalize and tryt o turn a blind eye to what they are really doing. Setting their lifestyle above that of a life they created. They don't want to take responsiblity for their actions. First of all if you're not married you shouldn't be having sex! If you are married and not in a place where you think having children would be a good idea, use protection! If that doesn't work, then take a good hard look at life and see if you can't take care of this child. If the answer to no then you should look into adoption. There are a lot of people out there that haven't been able to have children and would love yours. Ending the life that you began is just trying to avoid responsiblity, and if you don't think it leads to remorse you're wrong. Just google 'abortion regret' and you'll see how wrong you are.

The Born Alive Act

2008-10-10T10:11:00.002-08:00

This post has been stewing for a week or two. Let me give those that are unfamiliar with this bill some background. It all started with a nurse. She was assisting a late term abortion, the process was to induce labor and deliver a fetus who would not survive the process. Well the hitch in this plan was that the fetus was breathing after delivery. The nurse was told to put the baby down, she refused and held the new-born for 45 minutes until this human died. She later did some research into the legality of the situation and brought it to the attention of Patrick O'Malley, who was on the governing board of the hospital. When he learned of this he resigned from the board and began working on legislation against the practice.

-http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1188936/posts

I want to stress this bill is not trying to limit or restrict abortion in any way. It simply states that if there is a living person after the abortion is complete then the hospital staff is obligated to give that person medical attention. Many Pro-Choice advocates support this bill. It has nothing to do with a woman's right to choose. In fact, I'd like to point out that for the bill to have any relevance to anything abortion has to take place! This is not trying to move in on women's rights.
I honestly don't understand how anyone could oppose this! There is a living breathing human child there, don't we all have the instinct that screams Save him/her!!!???? What kind of people work in these places? How do you sleep at night with that haunting you? I am really at a loss here.

The big debate on abortion (which again is not the issue here, but anyway) is when does human life begin, or when is a person able to survive on their own? Many people argue at conception. This is when the zygote is formed, which is a distinct new life that has it's own unique genetic code and cannot be called anything but a human (even if you call them a zygote or a fetus, it's a human zygote, human fetus). Or when is it that a human can survive on their own? I have heard as early as about 25 weeks gestation. I'm not an expert on that. Some people even hold that the mother should have the right to terminate a pregnancy at any time before delivery. Well, ok even if we give up any argument on all this. We are talking about people that DO survive the delivery. These are live human beings that are no longer in vitro. How can anyone suggest that these people don't have a right to life? How can a Doctor, sworn to do his/her utmost to preserve life, turn their back on these little people?!?!

Someone suggested to me earlier today that prolonging the life of these children (whom he assumed were doomed to death) was "a fate worse than death". These are people that we're talking about! Do you think ER doctors make make that call? "Man this guy is really hurting we should just let him die..." No!!!!!!!!!! Of course not! And yet we sit here and idly make excuses or look away at atrocities happening in here in the Land of the Free.

Wake up! Look at who the majority of America wants to be their commander-in-Chief. He is not only condoning the death of children, he is ensuring that thoughtless people can do it for generations to come! Ask yourself: Can you sleep at night knowing that you voted for this person?

I feel sick right now. I am glad that I have moved to a little fishing village in the middle of nowhere. Thinking about this makes me want to shun a society that could condone this practice. We are talking about babies! I have to stop.

What this blog needs!!

2008-10-09T11:53:00.003-08:00

So I have been looking at friends blogs today, and I must say your guys blogs look better than mine. I need more cool pictures!!! So this is a great pic:

This is a neat place in Northern Arizona commonly called "the Mittens" I drove here a few years ago and the neat thing was it rained. Doesn't do that very often but when it did it was amazing! Millions of little plants suddenly became bright green and for 20 minutes the desert floor looked like a grassland, so glad I saw that!

Halloween - Scary Movies

2008-10-09T11:09:00.003-08:00

Someone (thank you Katie for bring this to my attention) pointed out that it my be confusing as to who cheated on me. That was definitly my x-wife! My wife would never do that.

So Halloween is coming closer and I am trying to figure out how to make cool Wolverine claws... Yes, please respond with any ideas on how to make a cool set of claws! I love Halloween, it wasn't always so, as a kid I enjoyed the running around the neighborhood at night almost as much as the getting of candy. But I grew out of it. Halloween became the night where kids kept interrupting me until way past their bedtimes! I embraced Halloween in 2001 with reckless abandon. I started buying wigs and piecing together really cool costumes. At first I didn't know what got me to dive into Halloween so suddenly. Upon reflection I remember that one year previous was the day that I found out my wife was cheating on me. Rather than hating the day I embraced the holiday to forget anything else that may have happened in the past.

I do so love taking the boys around town trick-or-treating. Halloween becomes part of the whole season. I get thinking about leaves falling and Edgar Allen Poe and Hawthorne. Spooky stories and all the fun of telling stories and everything that comes with it. Which leads me to every year pick out one or two scary movies that I haven't seen before. This year I think it might be The Grudge. I haven't seen it yet, and have gotten mixed reviews. If I lived anywhere near a movie theatre it would probably be Quarantine, but I have chosen a live out where I do...

Last year it was Zombies. I had never seen a Zombie movie before and decided it was time. So I watched one and then two and suddenly it was five or ten. Zombie movies are great. Which lead me to thinking which is the worst of all bad guys? Not psycho killers, they are still just human. And certainly not ghosts, they can't touch you!! Sure scary at first but it would wear off quickly and then just become silly. I'm thinking not werewolves either because they are so predictable. Once a month lock yourself up and you're safe. Vampires, now they are scary with all their supernatural powers and stuff, but even they (contrary to Josh Whedon and Stephanie Meyers) can only be out at night... If worst comes to worst just keep traveling west and the sun will never set! Bam you're safe from the Vamps! But not Zombies. They are slow and weak and stupid, but where are you gonna go? What are you gonna do? They are everywhere and they won't stop until they eat your brain!! There's nothing you can do to escape Zombies!! Although I'm thinking here in Alaska we've got a better chance than the rest of you...

Sarah Palin

2008-10-05T16:49:00.002-08:00

I have been asked by many friends about Sarah Palin in the last month. I'd like to 'go on the record' as it were. Sarah Palin is a good Governor. I do not agree with her on many topics, she is very conservative. However, she has done good things here in the last frontier.
She is fairly new big politics, having been a Governor for about two years. Jumping to the national scene must have been a huge challenge. Seriously, think about how hard that would be to suddenly become a household name. She has become overwhelmed. I do question if she is ready for such a large office. A few months ago she was not aware of what the Vice President does. She is very up to date on state politics, but seems to lack understanding or knowledge of national and international issues.
I was very surprised to see McCain pick her as a running mate. She seems to be well-liked by the republicans and the democrats see her as a liability. I can't tell what she is doing for McCain overall. I feeling is that she doesn't change much. The VP choices don't usually mean too much when people actually vote.
All that being said, don't underestimate her. She is very intelligent, and pretty quick on her feet. She is getting up to speed here, she isn't the air-head people have made her out to be.
I just thought I'd throw my two cents out there.

The Economic Crisis

2008-09-30T08:08:00.002-08:00

Ok, so there is a lot of confusion going around about what is happening to our economy. I'll give a crack at explaining it (and add my two cents of course). The problem has been a growing one for about five or six years now. The heart of the problem is that many Americans bought houses that they shouldn't have. They either bought more than they could afford or foolishly agreed to a ticking time-bomb of a mortgage loan (arm adjustments, balloon-something rathers, interest only payments, just to name a few). Now these people are to blame, lots of people are blaming the President and others blame Congress, it boils down to thousands of people that are not paying what they agreed to pay. I think it is also the fault of the lenders that either gave out too much money or tricked people into bad loans that ended up costing more than the lendees could afford.
Now what happens when you buy a house is the company that loaned you money sells your loan to another company (yes it's weird, but that is the way it works, and no they are not all banks, and not all of them are FDIC insured). So these mega-companies that buy hundreds of mortgages started running into trouble because a whole bunch of people stopped paying them back. A certain amount of that is expected and the company seizes the house and sells it. But when everyone in Real Estate is buying then the prices go up. As the foreclosures increase the value of houses starts to go down. Now these companies are trying to sell lots of houses that are worth less and less each day. Their money is caught up in the houses while the value of the houses is going down, in effect they are loosing money. What's worse is that there are so many foreclosures today that these huge companies are running out, or have already run out of money to stay afloat. When the really big companies go under then everyone runs for cover, and that hurts the stock exchange and the credit market. Stock is something I think most people have a handle on. The credit market is a devious monkey. The credit market is what you use when you buy something on credit. A suffering credit market will make it more difficult for us to buy houses, cars, and all those business loans that companies often rely on to carry out day to day business. This could really hurt us all.
Which is why the House was voting on a bill to step in and plug the hole before everyone's retirement income is drained away. Should we have to pay for this bail-out to the tune of $700 Billion? No, we the responsible citizens shouldn't be burdened by others mistakes. That is the idea of the free market economy. Do we need to spend that money to secure our financial future? Yes, we do. So tell your representative that they are failing you and get back to Washington to fix this thing.
I know that this country, great place that it is, was founded on the capitalist ideals of the free market. I was fine with that while it took care of my family, but isn't this another example that government intervention isn't so bad? Adam Smith had a great idea, but in the last 20 years things began to change. Smith said that the free market would work because companies would take good care of their employees (after all a companies workers are it's most valuable assets, right?). Except now our employers are canceling our pensions and hiring employees overseas where sweatshops are legal and a pair of jeans can be made for 37 cents! The free market has begun to fail us, why are we still so loyal to it? What is wrong with a government guaranteeing certain rights? If we had government regulations over mortgages would we be in a crisis? Why is it so bad to promise that everyone can see a doctor if they need to? I know how liberal I am sounding right now, but wouldn't the world be a better place? Some of you are thinking of Canada or Ireland or other countries that have public health care that is underfunded and doesn't work that well. I'd like to point out France, Sweden, and Norway that have some of the best Health Care systems in the world. We have the technology, and the brightest minds, why do we rank in the 30's in the world for taking care of our citizens. I want to see everyone get the medical attention they need. Will it be expensive, yes, it will cost a lot. Will you end up paying more? Well how much do you pay for now? I know families that pay well over a $1000 a month for insurance. It won't go up for them! Could we easily find the money in the budget? Definitely. Just take away 10 or 20% of defense spending.
The current budget sets aside over 60% of all revenue toward the military. I want a strong military, don't get me wrong. But do we really need to spend more than three times more on defense than any other country in the world?? Something tells me no. We need to take a hard look at what where the money is going in Washington and make sure we eliminate these bridges to nowhere! Let's pay for what we need and get rid of what we don't.

Wake Up Legslators!

2008-09-30T07:18:00.005-08:00

Last night I watched the news and quickly estimated the $400-500 of my retirement that just evaporated. My calculations were interrupted by a republican whining about Nancy Pelosi saying mean things about the free market and the republican response. Are these people really the grown-ups that we elected to make our laws? Now something has to be done. It needs to happen soon, and yet Congress is on a 2 day recess for Rosh Hashanah. Now, to all the Jewish legislators I say Happy New Year! To everyone else, how about you stay in Washington and start working on a more acceptable bill. How about some government oversight into these mega-corporations and their CEO's that have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to both Obama and McCain!! Goldman Sachs gave Obama over $580000 and McCain over $180000!! This is as they are going out of business! What is going on?!?!?!? They are investing in someone that can bail you out! They are trying to buy their out into a some kind of sweetheart deal. Can we please try to protect the responsible people first. If we have to bail companies out can we please start with the small innocent ones, and with this bail-out let's impose some new laws to make sure this is the last time we have to use taxes to fund the mistakes of unwise businesses.
It may be that socialism must step in to bail out capitalism, which I am ok with if it has to happen, but let's make sure that we avoid this. Unlike our S&L bail-out a few decades ago.

Funny Funny

2008-09-29T11:42:00.002-08:00

OK so I just spent about an hour at one of my new favorite websites. I'm sure some of you have seen this already but if you haven't go check it out. There is an option to see only G-rated material that some might want to click. http://failblog.org/ is a very funny site though!

Quick Correction!!!!

2008-09-24T07:13:00.002-08:00

I was wrong in an earlier post and I apologise to Mr. Nader! Ralph Nader is not running for the Green Party, but he is running. This is his website: http://www.votenader.org/index.html Go look at this guy.

"Better to vote for someone you believe in and loose than vote for someone you do not believe in and win because that someone will surely betray you." -Ralph Nader

I'm not saying vote for him just look at him and consider the idea of not voting Republcrat this year. Make a statement with your vote. Tell the country that you demand more of your candidate, that you won't vote for someone you don't like any longer. We can make this country great again!

Moral Conviction

2008-09-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

Before you read this I want to say that I may offend many people with my convictions. I want you to know that I respect everyone as a person and hope that they can respect an opinion that is different than their own. This great nation was created on the democratic notion that people should come together and talk about the issues, come to some kind of consensus and then act. I am voicing my feeling on this topic.

I was reading through my news feed in Facebook as I often do to see what all my old friends are up to these days and I saw a link that I feel strongly about. The topic was same-sex marriage and I felt like I should voice my opinion (I honestly thought that I was backing her up), but when I looked at the link I was surprised. The website was build by members of my faith supporting same-sex marriage. I don't have a problem with that, we should all be free to say what we believe. I respect the views of others, I invite dialog about issues. How else will we learn about other perspectives and to appreciate people different from ourselves? I am even happy to debate the more divisive topics as long as it is carried out in a respectful manner.
It bothers me to see how many people have lost the strength or even desire to stand up for what they believe in. I have known several people that when shown the various statements in the Bible they say they do not believe in that portion or even the entire Bible. Stand for what you believe in. Even if it makes others mad, or uncomfortable, stand for what is right. I am a Christian man, I believe unequivocally in the word of God. I do not question scripture. The Bible is very clear about homosexuality. It is not condoned. I almost said that it is a sin, I want to point out that I do not believe that homosexuality is a sin. The lifestyle that it leads to is where I take issue. The act of homosexuality is a sin the same as anyone committing fornication (sex before marriage). It is in fact the exact same thing. Which leads us to same-sex marriage. This has never existed. Some states have made laws about it, but I want to point out that the very idea was invented relatively recently. Marriage has always been defined as a man and woman, or husband and wife. One common way to end the marriage ceremony is by the officiator pronouncing the couple "man and wife". The new concept of same-sex marriage is trying to change the establishment. The are trying to change one of the oldest traditions on the planet that happens to cross into every culture.
I am tired of hearing people say that the government should not try to legislate morality. As if legalizing (and I should say legitimizing) same-sex marriage somehow isn't the government dictating morality to us. I am not against the government making calls on moral issues. It has always been done. Those in society that suggest otherwise are fooling themselves. All laws carry a moral component with them. Abortion is a very morally-charged issue, as are drugs, and many other laws especially when relating to children and families. I want people to recognize that moral legislation is not new and it is not a bad thing. It is a bummer when you are in the minority, but that is what comes with living in a society, we come to a public agreement about what is right and what is wrong. These value judgements become our cultural mores.
Homosexuality has become a hot topic in our society in the last 20/30 years. It has always existed, but historically it was a private matter. Now a very small and loud group has been fighting for recognition and acceptance. There has been an explosion of media about this lifestyle. It's important to remember this is a small group. I belief homosexuality is less than 8% of the population (don't quote me though I honestly don't know where that statistic comes from). Most of the country still believes that marriage should be the same as it always has been, between a man and woman. If you don't believe that look back at the past ballot issues that states have brought up. An overwhelming majority votes in favor of traditional marriage, or against same sex marriage (depending on the wording of the legislation). We are not usually loud about our belief because: A. we are not trying to dictate how one should live their life we are just voting based on how we feel about the issue, and B. because it today's crazy society it seems to be unacceptable to say anything that MIGHT offend ANYONE!! Yes, sometimes saying what you believe in is not politically correct. But don't we all abhor PCness just a little bit? Is it wrong to politely disagree?
Somehow this small group has managed to group themselves in with groups of race, gender, and ethnicity and claim that they have been discriminated against. I do not discriminate against homosexuals. I do not have a problem with what they do. Frankly, I still don't see how it is my business. They are mad because the life that they chose is different than normal. This is not society's fault, we are not to blame, we should not feel guilty. I am fine with adapting laws or forming new laws to provide for inheritance, medical issues, and other factors that arise with this issue. Two people of the same gender can set up legal documents to provide for all of the legal benefits that marriage provides (the gripe is that it is too expensive - don't get me started on lawyers!) We can make these forms less expensive or more easily obtainable.
The last aspect of this issue I want to talk about is in dealing with people. As I have stated I have gay friends. I do not get in their face about what I believe, they know, and we just agree to disagree. It is very sad to see how difficult homosexuality can be on a person, especially in their youth. It is tragic that many kids every year take their own life because they are gay. That should not happen. It aggravates me whenever I hear students use the word 'gay' as an insult. We need to be more tolerant. I have a friend that would explain "I suffer from Same-Sex Attraction." I do believe that people are born gay. I know that they can be happy not living that lifestyle. Would it be difficult? I imagine, yes, but we have have things that are difficult in life. It is important to overcome challenges, not to give in to them. We grow and become better people this way. I know I have offended many people by this statement, and I am sorry. I feel like this should be talked about though.

Security Blanket

2008-09-22T11:47:00.000-08:00

So as an English Teacher I give students frequent writings assignments about little things. I have been grading some about security blankets or teddies or whatever.

I found myself thinking of Morris. My object was a stuffed Moose. I remember the night I got it. My dad had just come home from a business trip to Maine. It was past my bedtime (but only just) when he came in the house and I ran down to greet him. This was a longer trip than usual (he traveled regularly) so he had some presents. When he gave me the stuffed moose I remember thinking I was already to old for stuffed animals and had never really played with them. Yet, that night I fell asleep snuggled up to Morris.

I never did carry him around much, but he was always there in my bed ready for me if i needed him. "Raccy" the raccoon had been replaced. As I tried (and often failed for hours) to fall asleep Morris and I would play. Many nights we had to hide in the covers though, as Moose hunters had heard him and were looking for him. I would get scared and go out and talk to them and steer them off in the wrong direction. Then go under the covers and comfort poor Morris.

When I packed for college Morris couldn't be left behind, I was traveling 2000 miles. So when my friends asked I explained that he was a pillow... I got teased just a little. And, even now I feel bad for him stuffed in a box in Utah.
What is it about the security objects we grow attached to. My son has a blankey he runs and finds for nap time. My wife has a ratty old blanket that she keeps (sorry babe but that thing is dead!) So what do you guys hang on to?

Don't waste your vote!!!!!

2008-09-19T10:31:00.000-08:00

OK, I have some strong opinions on politics so be warned.

I would like to introduce an idea that seems to have gotten lost in modern politics. It is simple. You take some time (which is where I lose many people, I know) and research each candidate. Once you have a good feel for what each one stands for and how they would function as the leader of our country you make a decision. Now I need to point out quickly that when I say candidates, it's important you recognize there are more than two. It's true it can be difficult to find candidates from smaller parties. Bob Barr from the Libertarians is one example. Ralph Nader from the Green Party has run a few times, this year it is Cynthia McKinney. There is Chuck Baldwin from the Constitution Party. These are just a few I have looked up. There are more. Spend a bit of time and consider voting for someone you really like. Remember if you never vote for the kind of person you would really like to see in the White House your chances of ever having a person you actually like there will always be very slim.

I have heard a lot of people say "I voted for ______, not that I like him but he would be better than ______. Is that a win? Can you really feel good about supporting the lesser of two evils? You also have the option of writing someone in (there goes the rest of the readers). It is true that a vote for a third (or fourth or whatever) candidate has virtually no hope of winning. That is true for now, and it always will be if we as a group always vote for one of two parties. Some ask me why I 'throw away' my vote, meaning why vote for someone you know won't win. The answer is very easy: Because I think this person would make a better leader, Period. Isn't that the point of voting? We have gotten into this obsessive attitude of 'I won't vote for someone if I don't think they have a chance.' I suggest that a person's 'electability' be a smaller issue, and there potential for good leadership be a bigger thing to consider. If more of us embrace this attitude than we will eventually have a wider choice of candidates to choose from.

Look what happened in our country. Bush has one of the lowest approval ratings of any President ever. Many of you guys voted for him! I'm not saying that John Kerry would have been better. I am saying I have a clear conscience and sleep well at night knowing that I didn't vote for him (either one). Please take your civic voting duty seriously, look at who you vote for. I know it might mean missing Desperate Housewives once or twice, but isn't that a small price to ensure a brighter future for our country?!?! Please don't just click Party Line, in the last election I chatted with a friend that said that's how she always votes and she were appalled about the voting record of the one Representative that I mentioned. Take the time, learn who these people are. If you can't name your Federal and State Senators and Representatives in your head right now, shame on you. The founding fathers would not believe how little our modern public cares about government. Think how many people have fought for this country. Think how often you complain about the problems we have. Now do something about it. We have a chance in a few weeks to choose a President, a House of Representatives, and a third of the Senate! Let's do a better job than we did in '04!

Who is out there anyway?

2008-09-10T13:34:00.000-08:00

So I have this nifty little thing that tells me where people are when they log on here. Don't worry it's not anything personal. I just have a little map that has flags. It's exciting to see places like France and the Czech Republic pop up. Of course I know the friend czeching up on me. But still... I am wondering if I have any regulars here. I know someone in Sitka visited and I don't think I know anyone there... So if you'd be willing I'd love to have you guy(s) introduce yourselves, of course you don't have to. I'm just wondering who reads this thing.

I hereby declare my candidacy

2008-09-03T10:41:00.000-08:00

That's right folks you're hearing it here first. I am beginning my political career!! I am running for a seat on the Pelican City Council. I went to a meeting last night because they were discussing the possibility of closing the public library (it's not happening, by the way). I got involved in the discussion on several other topics as well. I was sitting there listening and thinking about Government (which I am teaching a course on this semester). I realized that for years now I have said that someday I would like to get involved in the future. I guess I was waiting because I needed to be more established before people would vote for me. In this small town I think everyone knows who I am pretty well, I think I have a good shot at winning. So this November, Vote Brighton for City Council!

Grilling versatility

2008-09-02T23:02:00.000-08:00

So I have gotten a few comments about the grill. I must say you can cook more over fire that most people think. Yes of course there are all the common meats. We all know the Burgers, Hot Dogs, Sausage, Brats, Steaks, Ribs, and Chicken. Fish goes well too, although you do have to be careful about loosing it. Shellfish is perfect. Most vegetables do rather well on the barbecue, although some need some soaking or even parboiling. That's not all that out there wither though, we all had shish kabob right? So here is a challenge to all those that love a good fiery flavor: Try pineapple. Just cut the husk off and leave the thing whole. Of course it's easiest to use a rotisserie if you have one (speaking of which when I do get one I am doing a rotisserie Thanksgiving Turkey!) or just keep rotating it, the grill strips are good anyway... It's done when the edges start to caramelize. Hot, sweet, and juicy it's fantastic (and also pretty popular in Brazil I think). The other thing you should really try is grilling fresh peaches. Yes, halve them, and soak them in Honey syrup (1/4 cup honey dissolved in a quart or so of water). You could blanch them first but you don't need to, I like the texture of the skins. After a good 20 minutes on lower heat put the peach skin side down and then flip it after two to three minutes. Give them another two or three and then carefully remove. For a fun treat fill the center with a small dollop of Vanilla Bean ice cream (not the fake weird flavor -- it's wrong for the delicate roasted peach). It's one of those things that is easy but really seems to impress. Go for it!! Enjoy summer while you have it, Alaska seems to be ready for autumn whether I like it or not.

Maybe next time I'll get going on Dutch Ovens

Grilling Planks

2008-09-02T11:30:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it's not so new, but it's new to me. I am trying to become a true grill master through teaching myself. I have been doing some fun things like indirect-heat barbequeing. So the plank. Get some good armoatic wood (Apple, Cherry, Alder, Mesquite) and soak it for a few hours. Then put the meat on right on the plank (fish goes skin side down). Set the plank on the grill and leave it there for a long time. 20 minuets and a half hour for fish and more like 40 minutes for chicken. The plank gives the meat a nice smokey flavor and locks in more of the meat's juices. You can buy grilling planks in cooking stores, I'm sure they're online and I even saw them at Costco recently. Give it a try, and if you are doing salmon try to get Alaska Wild Salmon, don't do it, don't eat farmed Salmon!! They dye it orange so that it looks like the real thing. Anyway, Happy Grilling!

What a summer!!

2008-08-15T09:36:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of this summer we packed up our van drove onto the ferry and went for a 6 week 6000 mile vacation. We went up to Skagway and drove through the Yukon, B.C., and Alberta along the Alaska-Canada Highway. The drive was amazing. We saw lots of wildlife and scenery, and I know many of you are thinking long road trip with two young-uns!?!?!! My boys are great road trippers, really they are. Check it out.

Evening on the road brought out a lot of wildlife. We started making a list: Bear, Buffalo, Elk, Deer, Porcupine, Dall Sheep, Moose, and a bobcat. It was fun to see them and sometimes slow down and wait for them to get off the road.

We drove through Jasper and Banff National Parks. It was early in the year to be there, many of the lakes were still frozen over. We hiked through snow a couple times, and cuddled very close in the tent. The mountains and glacial lakes are so beautiful though I loved seeing this area again. If you haven't seen this area of the world, put it on the list!

Jasper NP

The Columbia Icefield

Glacial Melt Blue

Lake Louise

Moraine Lake

Avalanche Lake

My wife and son overlooking frozen Peyto Lake

So beautiful we rented a boat here

The Fam enjoying the boat ride, even the dog!

We saw a loon on the lake

I am really glad we did go so early in the year. We saw another world of beauty seeing the cold north shiver awake. These are just a few of the many flowers we saw blooming.

We drove down to Utah and then back north again. We drove and saw more fun things in the Yukon like Lake Labarge (for you Robert Service fans). We also spent a day in Skagway learning about the big gold rush, it's a great little town (but it's totally stuck in 1897!!) My older son and I even went panning for gold and managed to uncover 2 or 3 grams!!

We then boarded the ferry for home and the rest of the summer has been clamming, fishing, trying to get my boat to stop making that noise... and of course sleeping. Now I am back to work. So all who I teased in May can now point out how much summer you have left.

P.S. - I'm back to blogging, I know it's been a long time, but don't give up on me.

Discovery Channel: I Love the World

2008-05-01T19:19:00.001-08:00

OK, so I am learning the Blogger thing and replacing what I accidently deleted. I love this commercial. It's fun to see the different TV personalities singing a happy camp-fire song. But more than that I have been thinking about our world a lot recently so go back and read my last post if you haven't yet.

One World

2008-04-30T11:12:00.000-08:00

I am been doing a lot of thinking these last weeks about the problems in the world. Global Warming (yes I believe), Disease, War, and Poverty are just some of the big ones. I have recently had a new idea for the solutions for these societal woes. It is actually easier than anyone could guess and yet almost impossible. The simple solution is just to rearrange our point of view. I see myself as an Alaskan (newly so, but I intend on staying here), and an American (as in a citizen of the Untied States as well as a person living in North America). Also and most importantly: I am a citizen of the World. Now that's really obvious, we all are, and so often we group ourselves in order to see our differences. Let's try to group everyone to see our similarities. I don't know anyone that wants kids to go hungry or die from sickness. We just have higher priorities because the poor kids live so far away and we can't do much about it anyway... Well I suggest that we think of them as our brothers and sisters. Don't think of people as different but as the same and we will do more. Let's make the earth one big community instead of a collection of competing nations.
It's so easy to just change the way we think if we want to. The difficult thing is to convince everyone to actually do it. That is the real problem, to help others to lay down their guns and pick up a plow. We could end poverty and disease in a few short years if we stopped working against each other. One more thought because I know you're thinking what I am too, could we really convince the terrorists and "fundamentalists" to lay down their arms? "What we call violent fundamentalism should be seen for what it really is: poverty, hunger, water scarcity and despair." (Jeff Sachs, TIME) Think about the areas of the earth that threaten the US. Isn't it true that almost every one has a very poor population struggling to feed themselves? What would happen if we fed them well and helped them build better homes? Some might still hate us for a while but over time I think if we could put forth an olive branch then they would eventually accept our help.
So I say I am a citizen of the world, you are all my brothers and sisters, and I look to a day when we can come together and create and new and better world.

The Power to do Good

2008-04-03T09:26:00.001-08:00

So often many of us wonder what we can do that is good in the world. One easy thing is that we can end Malaria. World Malaria Day is April 25, I want to raise awareness for this disease. We have cured Malaria, we have a vaccine, and yet One Million people die every year from this curable disease. Simply because the people that get sick have no resources. It is also easily preventable. Malaria is spread by mosquitoes biting people in their sleep. Solution: a net over one's bed!
Our country spends so many billions of dollars on abstract ideas and better defense. Why can't we just spend a little bit more on helping people??? I know that going into political answers becomes a quagmire of poor excuses and eventually the bureaucracy will beat me down, so I turn to my fellow men. Let's take up the battle against something we can win. Instead of fighting with guns and bombs let's fight with medicine and prevention. Let peace be our battle cry and the olive branch be our standard. We can win this fight and all most of us have to do is write a check.
Now I know hitting you in your wallet is even worse than going for the heart. Which is why I say give what you are willing to. If you can't today, try tomorrow. Recognize that many donations are tax deductible! Give up one toy. For me... I will no buy any soda for the rest of the year. Maybe not a huge sacrifice, but it will be over $100 I will save and then give away. That can buy 20 nets. In the future I can give more. Please join with me. Donate to the charity of your choice. This is one I found that looks reputable: http://www.againstmalaria.com/default.aspx
If I still haven't pricked your heart enough to consider giving a little (first off why are you still reading?) it might help you to know that most of the victims of malaria are young children and pregnant women. If ever there was such a thing as chivalry then we should stand now and protect those in need. OK, I'm climbing off my high horse now.

Here's a fun one: Your island p.s. - readers this is only fun if you reply so get with it both of you!!

2008-03-27T11:57:00.000-08:00

OK, so I was touring Paris with this guy that asked what would you put on your island? Strange question ,yes, so I asked what the heck he was talking about. The basic idea is if you could take 3 and only 3 things out of the world (and onto a remote island where no one would ever see them again...) what three things would you get rid of?

His were pretty funny: #1 Someone singing at a restaurant. Just let the people eat! #2 Belgium, he gave no reason, just didn't like Belgium... #3 Swimming with Dolphins, JUST LEAVE THE POOR CREATURES ALONE!!! Honestly do you think they are happy stuck in a little pool with fat humans swimming over to them so they have to beg for food?!?!?!

Now for mine. #1 When people lie about something, get caught and try to explain it away, or lie themselves out of trouble. Just fess up, you're caught and everyone already knows it! #2 Numbers! No go with me on this one. The two examples I hate the most are money and grades. Just think if I were a teacher with no numbers then I would have to know each of my students well enough to say "Yes they did learn it" I wouldn't have a stack of silly assignments and tests to prove what I already know anyway. And money, well if we get rid of it then we go back to trade goods. That would be so cool!! I am the school teacher, the local fisherman would give me a certain amount of fish for the year. I could then eat it and trade it for other goods and services. Yeah that is about the way it works with money, except, people are generous with what they have. I'd give fish away before I watched it spoil... No one does that with money. Money does create greed in many cases. And without money there would be no debt! I know this is oversimplified, but hey it's my island anyway, so just but out! #3 The concept of celebrity, yeah, equality of the masses, plus we wouldn't have to hear about Lindsey going back to rehab or Britney's new whatever... It's annoying that you all know who I am talking about isn't it? OK, so I didn't realize quite where I was going with this, so just put on John Lenon's Imagine and enjoy as you realize what a hippie your friend Dave is.

Isolation

2008-03-27T11:18:00.000-08:00

I am definitely not a city-dweller. I have good friends in New York, Boston, and other large cities. I love to visit them, I love the crowds and the stores everywhere and the parks that are more than a field and a playground. There is just so much to do when so many people live in close proximity! However, I am always glad to leave a city after a week. The noise and the pollution and the people start to drive me crazy.
This is one reason I find myself living in Pelican, Alaska (and let's face it, none of you would be able to find it without the Internet). I love that on my commute home from work I can stop to see the deer, or the bald eagle that are right there in the middle of town eating breakfast as if I was the one intruding. I love the clean crisp air that carries that salty freshness that I don't notice anymore. I love that at night I don't hear any traffic because there is none. I love that any kind of freaks (kidnappers, random psycho murders, terrorists, thieves) all have a hour plane ride or six hour boat ride to get in or out of here. It makes crime in Pelican a bit less appealing.
One thing I don't love about living beyond the edge of the map is that I am starting to feel disconnected from the world. This is perhaps ironic because I pay for both Satellite TV and Internet and am in many ways more connected than I have ever been! But I do not have radio anymore. And that just so happens to be the medium that I used to stay in touch with the world. I miss sitting in my car and listening to the BBC or NPR or even Dr. Laura (hey she was on when I drove home!) I have been suffering because to replace this I have started watching Fox News and CNN (in a strange attempt to balance the two...) Well I can tell you all the recent news of Obama and Clinton, but they report on nothing else!!
So today I feel good about myself because I bookmarked a few of my favorite radio show and I am planning on listening to them during my down time. I will soon feel connected again, even living where you order groceries for St. Patrick's Day and they still haven't come after Easter!! OK, so that's not so bad in '08 but is sounds awful doesn't it?

Daylight Savings Time

2008-03-09T11:28:00.000-08:00

So did I just get on DST or get off. I think it just ended. Twice a year I sit around for a half hour and try to figure out what time is what and when I should be somewhere and of course then the bigger confusion sets in. Why do we still have this time change thin?!?!?!?! We don't gain any time. We live in a "24 hours a day" society so it's not as if we really live by sunlight anymore anyway. If it's dark you turn your lights on, if it's light lets face it you still have your lights on... So come here commenting about how it saves money and energy, I don't buy it.
I propose that we end daylight savings time! If people don't like that they can just change their own personal schedules with the seasons, but the rest of us are just fine not making the obnoxious change. Don't get me wrong it is nice to have the later nights in the summer, but don't be fooled peeps! That nice late night is why you're waking up in the dark again!!

Sea Planes are so cool!! But not all that reliable...

2008-03-07T11:18:00.000-09:00

Now, don't get me wrong, a seaplane is very safe. In fact the locals have a convincing agruement that flying lower and slower is more safe than being in a jet. I'm not convinced eithe way yet; what I am convinced of is that I do not want ANY plane I am on to fall out of the sky.
But seriously the flying lower and slower has a major major benefit as well: sight-seeing! I'll never forget the first time I flew in one, I was in Juneau in early August moving to Pelican. It was a warm sunny day and it was just Koira (my dog) and I. We had just finished a burger and some gralic bread (yes interesting combo, but tasty! and not really to the point, so staying more focused) and walked back to the airport. They said the wind had died down enough to make it out so I got in the van that drove over to "the pond." We loaded my gear into the back of the plane (which by the way the interior of this plane is about the same size as my van, except skinnier). I climbed in and they lifted Koira up to me, because there is a ladder to climb up to get in. The pilot handed me a pair of the 'squish in your ear' type ear plugs and yelled that the life vests were above my head and the doors were easy to open "just in case." Then the engine blarred very loudly and we started moving forward. We started moving faster, but not like a jet, I mean we might have been doing 50 or 60 but nothing to throw you back into your seat. At this point I notice that the thortle is open we are slowly excelerating and rapidly running out of pond, maybe a club sandwhich would have been better than the burger... or better yet a salad With the dressing on the side.
Sure enough the pilot pulls back on the stick (which is just right there!!) and we gradually lift off. It is a good thing that the pond doesn't have any tall trees at that end. But at that point any kind of apprehension melts away as the amazing view hits me. SouthEast Alaska has a series of large islands with hundreds of smaller ones all interspersed between them. I could see the water and the trees and the hills and the muskeg, and the mountains, and the snow (wait snow in August?! those mountains aren't that big!) and it all came together in one incredible experience. The more I type the more I realize this is one of those must experience experiences. It was so cool though. I knew that I wanted to stay in Alaska by the time that plane landed.
Of course that was the best trip I have had. Since then I have been throw around quite a bit. IN fact in one plane ride we jerked hard enough for my head to hit the ceiling, not hard, but still that is a bit unnerving. The worst weather I was in we lost 100ft. of altitude in less than 3 seconds!! Which is down right terrifying when you realize that you went from 900ft. to 800ft. So flying high up in the air definitly has it's benefits as well.
I also flew in a plane where there was a co-pilot stick. Well I was in the co-pilot's chair and it was a bumpy ride. I was really afraid that my knee would fly up and smack "the stick" and put us into an uncontrolable dive.
Despite the spooky times I do feel very safe in the seaplanes. I just wish they could fly in all weather. This has been a bad winter for planes the locals say. We have not had regular reliable flights since November and it is tough to go without mail. Fortunatly we do get a monthly ferry that has brought anything that didn't make it by plane.
So if ever you find yourself in SouthEast Alaska and bawk at the price of a seaplane, rethink it. In my opinion the trip is well worth the experience.

A Blog about Blogging, it's time.

2008-03-06T11:52:00.000-09:00

So I hve been back to this thing five or six times since I posted. I am trying to figure out why, I don't have anything new to day really. It's not as if I can expect anything to be different. I am the Blog Man here, if I don't change it it's gonna look the same... Duh! Well this is the question I have then. Do I not have anything important to say? -or- Are blogs generally boring where people just saying nothing over and over again? -or- Am I just a boring person? I'm not sure what the answer is. Or answers, because, yes I realize I asked three questions, not just one. Seriously though I have nothing new to say or nothing that I want to say anyway. Myabve I'm just not cut out to be a blogger. Bloggy people did you all face this in your early stages of Blogophilea? I know my wife is nuts with the Blogs she has three or four and posts every day or two... Ooopp the lunch bell rang I'm outta here!

Moving to Pelican, AK

2008-02-29T09:32:00.000-09:00

So for the few people I haven't told yet... I was sitting in front of my computer one day in late July, it was hot! Around 108, and I was realizing that the white brick house that I bought did get hot in the summer and that some kind of air conditioning was really needed. I was also very tired because I had woken up at 4:00am to deliver 200 newspapers. I was not happy and there was nothing I was looking for online. So as I sometimes I ended up staring at the Google Page wondering what to type in. Sweat rolled down my face and I typed: Teaching Jobs in Alaska (in retrospect that was a strange thing to do, as great as google is there are much better job finder engines some of which I was currently signed up with). I clicked and some interesting sites popped up. There was one that peaked my curosity, it said: Secondary Generalist, Pelican. So being the unabashed person I am I dialed the number to find out what a Generalist is.
I knew that I had dialed beyond the edge of the map when the voice on the other line said "Please hold for the Superintendant", I was shocked, I didn't want to waste this person's time! I just wanted to ask some secetary an unimportant question. Forty-five minutes later I did a google search on Pelican and read everything I found. Within an hour I was talking with my wife (we have both thought about moving to Alaska more than once before...). The next day I called and spoke with Connie (the Superintendant) for another hour about the job and the town and what living is really like in Pelican. I said that I was interested in the job and set up a Tele-Conference interview.
As if things weren't crazy enough already (remember this was the end of July as in a few weeks before School starts!) I was leaving on a camping trip to Yosemite the next day. So I checked out a hotel room for a few hours (never did it occur to me what the manager must have been thinking when I asked about it...) I had the interview and asked them to leave a message at my house to let me know about the job offer. The interview went well and I drove quickly to the park and and called my wife. The school called about an hour after the interview, they wanted me. So I spent a long time talking on the phone with my wife about actually moving to Alaska. We decided to go for it and I called the school back from a pay phone in the Park.
Oh yeah, and I said that I would be able to be there in two weeks when the School year began. I left Yosemite a day early and got home and started packing. My packing was with one thought; how much do I have to have to survive for one year. Jenni and I had made the decision that we would give this crazy notion of rural Alaska a try for one year. So I gathered my things and started filling the garage with the rest of our things. Oh yeah, and by the way, my wife was also out of town while all this went on, she was at a family gathering. So when she got home we worked wildly to empty our house of our belongings.
Now most people that had heard thought we were crazy. One thing did comfort me immensly. I had prayed about the and felt like it really was the thingI should do for my family. That answer was confirmed quickly. You must be wondering now what I was going to do with my house. Well within two days we had not only found renters we could trust, but we had sold our car, which we would not need in Pelican.
So after a few days I drove to Seattle (in record time?) and boarded a plane to The Last Frontier. To the credit of my amazing wife, I left two kids and a huge amount of work in Utah to finish in a week. She gathered family and friends to help her got everything done and brought those two kids (7 and 7 months!) and 20 or so boxes over two thousand miles to this tiny little town that we were supposed to call home for at least the next 9 months!

So I'm finally going to make a blog... I think...

2008-02-29T08:12:00.000-09:00

Attempt #2 or is it 3... Yes, I am am attempting to start a blog and this time I intend to actually write in it, somewhat regularly, from time to time, I hope. So Welcome gentle reading to the sporactic ramblings of an aspiring wanna-be writer.