Comcast Cable

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate Comcast? Doesn't matter if it's in Michigan or Tennessee, I simply despise the people at Comcast. From the lowliest to the highest, the people that work there are semi-literate, completely lack common sense and can't bumble their way through the simplest situation without making complete fools out of themselves and the multi-million dollar corporation they work for.

For Shirley....

Who has brought a smile to my face on more than one occasion - and a reminder to all of you, and to me, to treasure what we have and take care of ourselves. Cancer can be so devestating but is so curable with early detection.

Heavenly Father, please give Herb your healing light and strength, your munificent assistance and the capacity to hope and hold strong throughout this challenge. Comfort his family and give them the strength to be all that Herb needs throughout this time. Please give special strength and undarkening hope to Herb, his sons and his mother, that they may find a path through this and to the other side of a loving survival. Help them never to forget to love, laugh, and cherish all that has been given them and show them a path that they can follow wrapped in each other's love and hope.

Amen

Shooters' Alliance for Firearms Rights Reaching out to Others

There are many ways to support our troups - and I think that prayers, good thoughts, and the support of family and friends at home is vital, but there are other ways to support our troups and their families at home.

Here's a great example. The Shooters' Alliance for Firearms Rights' SAFR Jackson Chapter has done a wonderful fundraiser and is donating the funds to the Michigan National Guard Family Program, which provides assistance to military members as needed. This can be during times of deployments or when the soldier/airman is unable to provide necessary information to the family.

Other ways to support our men and women working for our freedom throughout the world:

Donate a calling card to help keep service members in touch with their families at Operation Uplink at http://www.operationuplink.org/

Send a greeting via e-mail through Operation Dear Abby at:
http://anyservicemember.navy.mil/ or http://www.OperationDearAbby.net/

Sign a virtual thank you card at the Defend America: Web site at
http://www.defendamerica.mil/nmam.html

Make a donation to one of the military relief societies:

Army Emergency Relief at http://www.aerhq.org/

Navy/Marine Relief Society at http://www.nmcrs.org/

Air Force Aid Society at http://www.afas.org/

Coast Guard Mutual Assistance at http://www.cgmahq.org/

The Michigan National Guard The Michigan National Guard Family Fund

Donate to "Operation USO Care Package" at http://www.usometrodc.org/care.html

Support the American Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services at http://www.redcross.org/services/afes

Volunteer at a VA Hospital: to honor veterans who bore the lamp of freedom in past conflicts. http://www.va.gov/vetsday/

Reach out to military families in your community, especially those with a loved one overseas. Kudoes to SAFR and all of those involved for their continued support of those who give so much for us at home. Working together, people who care can accomplish anything!

Castle Doctrine Passed Senate

Passed by the Michigan House back in April, the Senate has now signed on to support Castle Doctrine.

• HB 5142 - PASSED; GIVEN IMMEDIATE EFFECT ROLL CALL # 463 YEAS 27 NAYS 10
• HB 5548 - PASSED; GIVEN IMMEDIATE EFFECT ROLL CALL # 467 YEAS 28 NAYS 10
• HB 5153 - PASSED; GIVEN IMMEDIATE EFFECT ROLL CALL # 464 YEAS 28 NAYS 10
• HB 5143 PASSED; GIVEN IMMEDIATE EFFECT ROLL CALL # 461 YEAS 28 NAYS 10

However - in what I see as a pretty odd thing to do, they have tie-barred the already successfully passed Bills to two new basically duplicate Bills.

One of them is a fairly obvious ploy by a formerly Conservative Senator to try to appear as though he is responsible for Castle Doctrine becoming law in Michigan. Fortunately for us, this Senator is losing the respect of the voters, the business community and no doubt, his colleagues. Unfortunately for us, his floundering about has slowed down the right of Michigan citizens to legally protect ourselves in dangerous situations.

Shame on him.

Lessons from the past....

A woman posted a sort of sweet “forward” type thing on an email list I belong to today. I've thought of my dad a couple of times today – talking about lessons he’d taught me as I was growing up and her sending this kind of added to my thinking about him.

Old Geezers remember the Depression, World War II, Dieppe, Vimy Ridge, the White Cliffs of Dover and Hitler. They remember the Atomic Age, the Korean War 1950-53-55, The Cold War, the many Peacekeeping Missions from 1945 to 2005, the Jet Age and the Moon Landing.

Born in 1904, the child of French immigrants, he was a proud, hard-working man. My father was an “old geezer” from the day I was born. At forty-nine, when I was born, he was already old for the care and feeding of a little girl. I was the second to last of his children and he spoiled me rotten, perhaps because his last child died very young, perhaps because he could, after having managed to feed and clothe a large number (by today’s standards) of my siblings before me. By the time I was a teenager, all of the others were gone from home but he still earned very good money and I never wanted for anything.

He lived through two depressions and raised children through them as well. He hated it, and often went without eating himself to ensure that his young ones had what they needed. He did every job one could think of and never once collected a single bit of "dole" as he called it. He got home at 5:50 every weeknight that I remember as I grew up. He didn't finish fifth grade, but I learned to read over his shoulder in "Daddy's Chair" as he read the newspaper nightly, waiting for dinner to be set on the table at 6:00 PM. Meat, potatoes, two slices of bread and coffee.

He was a predictable man. Not much chatter out of him, but plenty of lessons. Work hard and don’t expect anyone to take care of you. Do your job the way you'd expect someone else to do it. Clean up after yourself. Protect folks who need protecting. Never let your children go hungry. Pay your bills. Don't expect anything free. Say please and thank you and never call your elders by their first names (it's disrespectful).

He taught me to cook and after my mom was gone, I took over the task of having that dinner on the table for him at 6:00, and I eventually learned to make liver and onions that he'd have two servings of and take for lunch the next day - unheard of with anything else we ever had for dinner and in the days before microwaves.

Monday nights we went for dinner at Kay's Kitchen on Gratiot. He often had spaghetti – something we did not cook at home as I was growing up. I almost always had steak – something else we did not cook at home as I was growing up. I learned how to make a terrific spaghetti sauce (before spaghetti became pasta) and he loved coming over for dinner and having a big plate before I eventually moved out of state.

He loved apple pie with ice cream – I learned to make that as well. So much of what I learned to do as I was growing up was because I wanted my dad to think well of me. That feeling of wanting my dad to think well of me has never really gone away.

He always made clear that he felt I could do anything that I decided I wanted to do. He thought I was the smartest little girl on the planet. He was proud of me - always, even when I was "just a mom," staying home, raising my babies. The only time I ever felt that he was ashamed of me was when I got pregnant at fifteen years old. Later, he told me that he wasn’t ashamed of me as much as he was afraid that I would give up and not make something out of my life.

He loved my kids, but never got the chance to know my youngest. He thought my daughter was “the picture of her Momma” and told me she was likely to grow up as stubborn as I. My oldest has my father’s blue eyes and his crooked baby fingers and sometimes, when he stands just right, I can see my father’s posture and attitude in him. My youngest is named for him and I know my father would be proud of him as well.

My father’s work ethic was pretty amazing – I like to think he passed that down to me as well. The first college degree I earned I thought of him a thousand times the day I collected my diploma. He wasn’t there; he’d passed away from lung cancer a few months before. Receiving my Bachelor’s degree from U of M, I prayed to him and knew he was watching. When I was awarded my Master’s Degree, I kept wishing he could have known – and then remembered that of course he does.

I teach for a living. Some folks look down on that and a few even manage to imply that my teaching where I teach is something that I should somehow be ashamed of. An old fellow with a lot of bitterness going on in his life, in a moment of pique, said, “Neva can't seem to get hired outside of the ghetto...” as though I am somehow lacking because I choose to work in the inner city and devote my life to working with the children who need good teachers the most.

I’m guessing somehow his father didn’t teach him the same kind of lessons my father taught me.

Memorial Day 2006

I'm still hurting - I still miss Doc so much. I didn't really think it would still be this painful. It has been especially painful of late because suddenly, it has become clear to me that some he really thought cared for him did not.

I wish them ill. I would never do anything actively, but I wish them ill. No good can ever come of not fulfilling someone's wishes when they are gone from this earth. There is no financial gain large enough to justify not honoring those who have left us. Shame on those who do so.

I will visit Doc again a week from now. I expect to find his grave just as I left it, sadly enough. I will clean it up, plant some flowers, talk to him, listen to the wind, wish I could hear his voice again.

A reminder to those who would forget why May 30th should be important to all of us.

HEADQUARTERS GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLICGeneral Orders No.11, WASHINGTON, D.C., May 5, 1868

The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet church-yard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.

We are organized, comrades, as our regulations tell us, for the purpose among other things, "of preserving and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings which have bound together the soldiers, sailors, and marines who united to suppress the late rebellion." What can aid more to assure this result than cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade between our country and its foes? Their soldier lives were the reveille of freedom to a race in chains, and their deaths the tattoo of rebellious tyranny in arms. We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance.

All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.

If other eyes grow dull, other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain to us.

Let us, then, at the time appointed gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of spring-time; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from his honor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us a sacred charge upon a nation's gratitude, the soldier's and sailor's widow and orphan.

It is the purpose of the Commander-in-Chief to inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will be kept up from year to year, while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed comrades. He earnestly desires the public press to lend its friendly aid in bringing to the notice of comrades in all parts of the country in time for simultaneous compliance therewith.

Department commanders will use efforts to make this order effective.

By order of
JOHN A. LOGAN,Commander-in-Chief
N.P. CHIPMAN,Adjutant General
Official:WM. T. COLLINS, A.A.G.

Life's moments....

Someone sent me this link today - it being Mother's Day and all. Watching it, I thought back over raising my boys.

I raised two - they're 25 and 37 now.

When the youngest was about ten, the two of them were wrestling around in the family room and the elder knocked the other's (already loose) tooth out - the younger promptly swallowed it, choking half to death as it apparently got stuck on his uvula or something part way down and then, ticked off because his big brother was laughing at him, just as promptly kicked his brother in the face, giving him a bloody nose.

I came around the corner to find them both covered in blood and my older son, in his early twenties, on the floor cradling his bloody face, with my younger son standing over him, blood pouring down his chin and shirt, screaming, "I want my f***ing tooth back."

The tableau froze.

I was.... well, let's just say, less than amused at the time, but even now it makes me laugh.....

Proverbs Chapter 31

My mother has been gone a long time - perhaps always - but I know this about a good woman - her price is far above rubies - and I wish all good women a Happy Mother's Day.

31:10 Who can find a worthy woman? For her price is far above rubies.
31:11 The heart of her husband trusts in her. He shall have no lack of gain.
31:12 She does him good, and not harm, All the days of her life.
31:13 She seeks wool and flax, And works eagerly with her hands.
31:14 She is like the merchant ships. She brings her bread from afar.
31:15 She rises also while it is yet night, Gives food to her household, And portions for her servant girls.
31:16 She considers a field, and buys it. With the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard.
31:17 She girds her loins with strength, And makes her arms strong.
31:18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp doesn't go out by night.
31:19 She lays her hands to the distaff, And her hands hold the spindle.
31:20 She opens her arms to the poor; Yes, she extends her hands to the needy.
31:21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household; For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
31:22 She makes for herself carpets of tapestry. Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
31:23 Her husband is respected in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.
31:24 She makes linen garments and sells them, And delivers sashes to the merchant.
31:25 Strength and dignity are her clothing. She laughs at the time to come.
31:26 She opens her mouth with wisdom. Faithful instruction is on her tongue.
31:27 She looks well to the ways of her household, And doesn't eat the bread of idleness.
31:28 Her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also praises her:
31:29 "Many women do noble things, But you excel them all."
31:30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain; But a woman who fears Yahweh, she shall be praised.
31:31 Give her of the fruit of her hands! Let her works praise her in the gates!

Spider-Man? I have vertigo, for heaven's sake!

Your results:
You are Spider-Man - You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility.

Superhero Personality Test

Geocaching

I decided that I need to do something new - seeing as I am an Earth Science geek as well as a computer geek, this seemed like it might be an amusing idea.

Amusing isn't the half of it. First, I sort of vaguely snuck out because heaven forbid I should announce I was going off to try this and come back empty-handed, not having been able to find my way to the corner, let alone someone's artfully hidden cache.

For thos of you who don't have a clue what geocaching (geo-cashing, like cashing a check) is, it's definitely a sport and it can be done alone, with a friend, or in a group. I suspect I will do much of mine on my own as I tend to have a fairly random schedule.

What is it and where'd it come from?

Prior to May 2, 2000, Global Positioning Systems had a built-in error known as selective availability which intentionally degraded the GPS signal that private citizens were able to receive. On that day, however, the White House changed policy. Twenty-four satellites around the globe processed their new orders, and instantly the accuracy of GPS technology improved tenfold. Tens of thousands of GPS receivers around the world suddenly saw an upgraded, and very precise signal change.

By the following day, of course, a computer geek named Dave Ulmer apparently thought, "Whoo-hoo - now I can really use this multi-billion dollar satellite system for something worthwhile!"

He decided to test the accuracy of GPS by hiding a small container, a little black bucket in fact, out in the woods and noting the coordinates with a GPS unit. He called the idea the "Great American GPS Stash Hunt" and posted it in an internet GPS users' group. The idea was, someone else would then have to locate the container with only the use of his or her GPS receiver. The rules for the finder were simple: "Take some stuff, leave some stuff."

On May 3rd he placed his own container, a black bucket, in the woods near Beaver Creek, Oregon, close to Portland. Along with a logbook and pencil, he left various items including videos, books, software, and a slingshot. He the posted the waypoint of his "stash" with the online community on sci.geo.satellite-nav:

N 45 17.460 W 122 24.800

The stash took three days to find, and the "winner" was Mike Teague. From there, geocaching took off and now there are well over a quarter million caches world-wide.

The rules are very simple:

1. Take something from the cache (not strictly required).

2. Leave something in the cache (not strictly required).

3. Write about it in the logbook - and very often, online as well (pretty much required).

I took a sheet of Tigger stickers - whoo-hoo! I left two campaign buttons from Michigan's 2004 election cycle and an oyster shell I found on the beach on Ocracoke Island in North Carolina. I then proceeded to write the wrong darned date in the logbook! But I had a great time and felt decidedly victorious.

When I decided to give this a shot, I simply went to Google and googled up geocaching + Michigan and went from there. You should, too. Good day, out in the fresh air and sun - and what a rush when I actually found the cache! Life is an adventure - if you wish it to be.