Category: LifeStyle

Time

Some measure time by the ticking of a clock, others by the days of the week and still others by the years that pass.

One of my favorite songs has a line in it about “being in the autumn of my life.” That sounds almost forlorn in retrospect.

The truth (you know how I like truth) of the matter is that most of us measure time by the weekends. We relish the hour when Friday afternoon rolls around and we can take some “time” to go out, sleep in, golf or what have you.

I used to watch people walking into the office on Monday morning and then watch them leave as the evening skies turn a pale shade of azure with crimson overtones flashing across the skies, dancing across the few clouds that sailed by.

In the morning people are full of life. There is just about a glow to most of them. Around twilight, the glow has turned to hollow, shadowed facial structures. The enthusiasm that they greeted the day with has long since departed, leaving them bereft of cheerfulness. They are in fact vapid, of that essence of “life!”

Looking upwards towards the kaleidoscope display of nature’s own brand of art, is not even a passing thought. We have lost our way in the maze of time clocks, political correctness, rules and social mores. We have forgotten how to be “us.”

Making our way with the throngs of other drones either by bus train or car we head to that last bastion of relief, our homes. Summoning the last bit of energy in reserve, they “we” plod through our charted course until we finally can collapse into our beds, maybe even inviting death’s “sting” as we contemplate the day today, and start thinking about tomorrow. Would that “sting” really be so bad?

The weekends are fraught with their own unique brand of dull drum, as we now must take care of the things that did not get taken care of during the week. This thing called life happens on those days of the week that end in “Y,” and many of us may wonder “why” we chose the path that we did.

Time can be measured in heart beats. I truly believe that time is relative in that manner as the creatures with the fastest heart beat seem to live the shortest amounts of time, conversely those with the slowest, seem to live much longer.

We sell our selves every day, one heart beat at a time. Every heart beat that you spend, is one less heart beat that you have left. Since we do seem to measure time with our hearts may I humbly suggest that you fill your life with love and laughter? Life is too short to be angry.

I overheard a man today complaining about his employer at great lengths, regarding their intelligence, their breeding and so forth; and I could not help but notice that he was working for them. His brand of “living” was to sew seeds of his discontent to fellow workers and stew in his lot in life. We could talk about negative and positive energy but that is a topic for another day. Do you know that when you are upset or angry, cortisol is released; the stress hormone. Does it really pay to be “angry,” Only if you want to shorten your life, and the lives of those people around you!

Time is what we make of it, and we are all the stewards of that time. Tomorrow will take care of itself, live for right now, in the moment. Enjoy what you do even at your work for there are no do-over’s, this is it!

You can do that with what I call PMA, the diametric opposite of PMS, to borrow that awkward condition in some women’s lives, as an example.

Positive Mental Attitude

It takes practice but after 45 days of doing it, you will be a different person. I have been practicing it for years and I do not look like those that I described earlier. As the matter of fact I appear quite young for my age. I guess I will have to write about that one day soon. In short, don’t get caught in others negative attitudes and don’t ever project one. Life is too short to hate, to be angry, to live in a constant state of turmoil.

Allow me to share one brief story of how I discovered PMA.

I had a job that involved going out to customers’ locations, carrying a 40 pound box of tools, parts and so forth to repair what needed to be repaired. While I really liked what I did, and I enjoyed dealing with people, I really loathed the fact that parking was a hassle; it was in the south so high humidity and pop-up rain showers were normal on top of being in a large city.

One day I parked blocks from where I needed to go, as it was raining so all of the “close up” parking was taken. The rain in this case was caused by a tropical storm sitting on top of the city, in short rain was moving horizontally as well as vertically. Wearing dress clothes(very wet ones), carrying that tool bag, slogging through running water, I finally made it into the building. Another older gentleman was behind me, so I held the door for him. As we climbed into the elevator I began grumbling about the weather, the day etc. As I was trying to engage this man in conversation as “I do that” his demeanor was very much different from mine. He seemed content if not jovial. He took off his hat and allowed the water to run onto the floor and patiently listened to me while I droned on about the rain.

Before he left he passed this on to me and I have never forgotten it. “Son, anytime you wake up sucking air, it is a good day!” We were at a hospital for cancer treatment, and I can only assume that he was a patient. I had discovered PMA!

Those words rattled around my head for that day, the next and so on. Every time I am having a tough time, those words re-play themselves they in fact, resonate with my soul; I usually strike a grin and silently thank that man for sharing that one bit of advice. Rarely do I have “bad days” any longer. It put things into perspective for me and it is my prayer that this may help someone else who is having a “bad day.”

Take a moment to smell the roses, watch the clouds, and my personal favorite is to watch the ocean. I can sit there for hours just watching the waves and listening to the seagulls and other birds going about their day. That is time well spent..

-Best to you and those that you care about!

Actors

There are many people who have “danced on the silver screen” in my lifetime. There are many that I would watch the movie simply because they were in it. This held true for the “silver screen” and of course the purchase of same via “laser disc, (yes I go back that far) video tape, DVD and of course Blue Ray.

It was not until I found the Hollywood elite; espousing their opinions on political issues did I take notice of the perfection to which their craft was honed. One guy, who I really like; on his twitter profile says that he is a: professional pretender. Yet he elucidates his opinion as if it were fact; which many take as such, as he plays a news anchor on the tube. One would not let Alec Baldwin fly the jet as he plays a pilot, neither should you take their opinion as the gospel.

There are others that I admired as well until they open their mouths, unscripted, and now I find them an ignorant, bigoted, waste of skin! To be so talented at your craft to fool the country is akin to being a politician! While I congratulate you on your skill, thanks for the look behind the curtain.

I will no longer enjoy the programs with you in them, as I don’t like the “real” person who you are or, that you have become.

We all have talents and of course opinions. If you happen to be a thespian and you choose to proffer some factoid on being such, good for you. To speak with authority on that which you clearly know nothing about, is bad form, and misleading to those that listen to you.

While we clearly give you that power, remember dear friend, it can be stripped away as easily when you remove the cloak, and give us a peek at the monster behind the mask.

I also take issue with those in Washington, holding in high esteem as role models those who sully the name of entertainer, by their vulgar behaviors, their lewd clothing and or dance, and their rather offensive words in their “music.”

What legacy are we as a people leaving behind?

Thanks for reading my blogs, and as always, –Best to you and those that you care about!

Why do I think that UFO’s are not visiting us?

Why would they?

The only reason’s that “aliens” would come to this planet would be to exterminate us, and take the planet for themselves, or to simply take its resources or, manage us, much like we manage the deer population. They might very well find sport in hunting us; and they might have a taste for human flesh.

Then of course we have the ET or Alf varieties, who just want to make friends and possibly eat our cats.

As a race of people, we are a violent race. While some countries are “more mature” than others, there are elements or factions in this world who are malevolent in nature, and in fact still “live by the sword!”

There are other factions that enslave us with their corrupt, power hungry, narcissistic, maniacal, psychotic view of life, bent on gaining even more power or money, damn the cost! I would ask them, how much money is enough? Writing laws by the thousands, in order to enrich their lives by taking from the peasants. No race or group is sacrosanct, they just manipulate us into believing that we are.

There is a list on the internet of the wealthiest men. Bloomberg is worth Billions; is it any wonder that he now acts like a god; telling you what you can eat or drink or smoke. Take your billions and go retire somewhere, buy an island and don’t take any guns or soft drinks.

There are factions on this earth who have been at war with one another most probably since they were in caves; learning to master fire. There is in fact nothing that we have to offer a space traveler other than entertainment, much like the Romans throwing Christians to the Lions for being unpatriotic and not worshiping their gods Jupiter, Mars, Juno and Vesta. Then they might want to do like the writers of Star Trek suggest in one episode, (original version), pitting one human against another in some sort of competitive sport where they fight to the death, with the aliens betting on which one would be victorious. Whatever a quatloo is worth in our money, maybe we should print some, just in case. Actually thinking about it that was kind of a theme, I still remember the Gorn, do you?

My personal feelings are that if we were visited by a friendly race, we would be chastised for how noisy we were as a planet, and warned not to bring our war mongering ways outside of our planet. I would in fact welcome such a visit as then, just maybe the super powers and the war mongering idiots of this world would see that there are bigger things out there other than themselves and their petty bickering. Personally, I think they are all so wrapped up in their own agendas, that they truly can’t see the forest for the trees!

They all in fact need a “time out!”

Technology has truly outpaced our humanity. We have “scientist” sending signals into space, looking for a response as well as SETI, much like the Short Wave Listeners of years ago, just listening to see what they hear.

We have more and better ways to kill one another. We have created WMD’s that will kill off the inhabitants, while leaving the infrastructure in tact. We have such a low value for human life that we call it a women’s choice vs. what it truly is “murder,” and then we make it a political lever or football in order to paint one side in a negative light. We kill innocent people, in order to make a point of how “bad ass we are” and than threaten that you had better capitulate to our god, or more will die.

As far as a race coming here to take our resources, I have serious doubts that we would be worth the trouble. There are far too many worlds out there that most likely have no life at all or possibly simple microbial life, at the beginning of its evolutionary cycle. One has to wonder if Aliens did visit us, would they consider us at the beginning of our evolutionary cycle.

Carl Sagan was a man that I admired, and while I loved his shows, his brilliant forward thinking mind, I can not help but wonder if sending a map, to where we are; out into interstellar space was a good idea. Hopefully by the time it is discovered, we will have evolved as well. If when found and we are visited what will they find? A functioning world with intelligent beings, or a world wrapped in nuclear winter?

Any alien passing by, on their way to who knows where, most certainly would listen to our broadcast, and if they could make sense out of them they would know that they would most likely be met with hostile threats or actions from some nation on this planet, probably multiple nations as the proliferation of nukes make there way into the hands of people who are not of sound mind and body, or have such twisted ideas of man and morality that most “normal” people, would not recognize them as sane. They may in fact pass us by because of the hostility that exists on this world deeming us simply not worth dealing with; just to get a few cats.

-Best to you and those that you care about!

The Truth is out There

Yep, stacks of money! Hyperinflation from printing too much money.

Those are for a loaf of bread.

Thousands of Marks being tossed in the streets as it was worthless. Look up hyperinflation.

I was and still am to some degree a fan of the X-Files. Does that mean that I believe that UFO’s are visiting us? Nope, I appreciate Science fiction and as a matter of fact have written some.

Area 51 gets more publicity than it disserves as it is nothing more than a place where “we” develop prototype airplanes, and I would suspect that it could be used as a landing field. The government allows the rumors of ufo’s to persist as it makes great cover for what they are really doing. Why do I say that? A quick look at Google earth, type in area 51 and there a few miles from Las Vegas sits air strips that are much longer than most. That is most likely to accommodate great speed and time to slow down.

When Jack Nicholson (who is one of my favorite actors) said “you can’t handle the truth” may have been on to something. I would guess that we as a people don’t have a clue what is really happening in the world political arena just like we don’t really know why the government is purchasing billions of bullets for the TSA.

The story one reads on the internet is that the Social Security folks have ordered 174,000 rounds of hollow point .357. A reasonable conclusion would be that when the tap runs dry, as it will, the folks who are currently on government assisted living will become unruly. They most likely are preparing for civil unrest like we have seen in Greece and other countries of late. We are so far down that road, I don’t see any way of it not happening.

At some point when you print enough money, the US dollar will be worth nothing. The folks living off of the government will not be the only ones affected.

Is that fear mongering? No, it is simply stating the facts and anyone who has ever read history can testify as to the legitimacy of what I am writing.

When the local dollar store turns into the two dollar or five dollar store, some of the eighty percent might wake up, just a little.

The “truth” is that a large percentage of people don’t give a damn about the goings on in Washington and simply vote a party that they relate to. It is in fact those people who are responsible for the mess that we are in.

A third party growing up out of this “situation is not inconceivable. If I were a political strategist I would seek to get votes from the underpinnings of both groups. The key will be to get people to “see” something besides football, baseball, basketball and hockey, not to mention the mind numbing sitcoms that grace the airwaves.

Yesterday when Jason Collins came out as gay, so what, who cares; can he still play ball? Gay is the new normal right. It just about seems to be fashionable to be gay! This is the perception coming out of Hollywood. One thing that I have never heard uttered from the president before is the support for a gay athlete. Are you kidding me? The world is on fire, our economy is one domino short of failure, some 29 year old xenophobic psychopath has his fingers on the buttons of a nuke who threatens this country often, and you actually have time to comment on Jason Collins? This is not the first time that this president has done some pretty “un-presidential things” but when Clinton also made a similar comment, what the hell! Truth be told; this president is still in campaign mode. It would have been much better if Jason was from Mexico; then he could have killed two birds with one stone.

Don’t read into this that which is not there, I have no issues with gay folks. Love is great wherever you can find it. I do have issues with my president pandering to different groups to aid the democratic push for 2016. Somewhere he has a strategist telling him to say what he says, and of course never let an opportunity go to waste, aka Jason Collins. That also explains Bill Clinton’s remarks.

Politics by definition is to sway, (manipulate) the masses to think that your group is a better, friendlier, kinder and of course smarter group than the other evil people. That is exactly how Hitler came into power. Don’t believe me, look it up.

More people should be looking things up; instead of passing around these stupid eCards demonizing the other party. Eighty percent of the population will simply vote their gut, without a scrap of information. Some of those will vote because they get free stuff, and don’t give a damn who pays for it. Truth be told; your great grandchildren will be paying for it, if by some miracle we manage to avoid a “reset” of the economy.

So, can you handle the truth? The truth is out there, you simply have to open your eyes and ears and listen to talking heads from both sides of the isle, as well as from different countries where they have not picked some side.

-Best to you and those that you care about!

Simpson’s Tapped Out

I was asked, “Don’t I ever write about something whimsical?”

I don’t understand why pinworms are not whimsical but, In light of that comment here is my attempt at whimsical.

In April of 1987 the Simpsons were introduced as a cartoon short on the Tracey Ullman show. After which she went out to the audience and bellowed her now famous ending to her show.. ”GO HOME…GO HOME!”

I was watching that night and thought that the creator of the Simpsons might have something. Twenty Six (26) years later the show is still on during prime time and there seems to be, like me a “faithful audience”.

Without the DVR, I must confess that I would probably not watch it, but that can be said of just about all TV. I know too many folks that live their lives around the lineup on different channels. I would prefer to live my life and fit in television entertainment when I have nothing else going on.

Recently during the Christmas Holiday, during a visit with family; I discovered “Tapped Out.”

I have played every day since then, sometimes several times a day. What is my draw to this game, and more importantly why do so many folks play this game! I am not a gamer and do not generally play games.

The recreation of the Simpsons characters that I have watched for so many years and Quimbie’s evil laugh, are probably two of the largest reasons.

Pros: I think that the game introduces children to some Time Management skills in that in order to succeed in a short amount of time one must know what each and every toon is doing and more importantly, when they will come off task. This is so they can be “re-assigned a task.” Giving them task which correspond with the times that you will be able to “play” once again are key towards efficiency.

The currency in this game is interesting as there is cash and then depending upon the event there are special things like hearts from Valentines Day which earn one special gifts. Coins from Christmas or the “winter holiday” earn special things that are only made available during the event, and like now there are eggs from the snakes from the whacking day event. By whacking larger and larger number of snakes one can get more prizes.

In order to succeed at these events you need to have friends that will help. It is imperative that your friends visit your town and give you what you need and in return, you visit their town and reciprocate. So in a way this is teaching team work.

There are remedial financial lessons to be learned as you have to do something with time being the common denominator to earn cash with which to purchase land or houses or what have you.

The Cons: Donuts and cash..

There is another currency which is of all things donuts. You can earn donuts but with such infrequency it is almost not worth mentioning. People purchase them for real money. A dozen for $1.99 and the price goes up from there. Now if they are using this money to pay the programmers I am ok with that except “kids” are playing this game and some young enough that they may not correlate that money that they are spending with the actual value of what they are buying.

Scratch off’s. I am sorry but, this part of the game with the $1 option to play for donuts is tantamount to gambling. I am not certain how this has skirted around the laws but, here you could have children gambling, thinking that they are going to win “mega donuts” for a dollar and only get a few. This is germane in that there are certain items only available for purchase with donuts (cash).

There are several flaws with the graphics that constantly plague this game. The characters often end up doing a “moon dance” backward and through buildings and houses and what have you as well fragmented buildings or dumpsters or houses often clutter the screen causing one to shut down the game and start again.

All too often we get to see Bart with a network cable in his hand telling us that it cannot reach the servers, please retry.

I would like for FAT TONY and some of the other mute characters to have a voice as well.

One positive about this game as it evolves in parallel to the show. Something is added or changed with each new show and that keeps it lively.

If you like this and you happen to play this game, I am staylor823 using the Origin account and I need eggs! LOL (Was that whimsical enough?)

Good playing or fishing or whatever makes you happy!

-Best to you and those that you care about!

Design, Nature or Luck?

Today I want to visit with you regarding a subject that will not interest about 80% of you. So for you 20% who find interests in subjects that are not widely talked about or even known about, let’s go!

The Pinworm is fascinating. There are three known species of these creatures scientist proclaim. There are two that we can talk about as we have evidence of their existence and how they live.

One breed lives inside the chimpanzee and one breed lives inside us… It should be no secret that the human host parasites but, the pinworm is a creature that with some effort can be removed from you and your family’s bodies, if you happen to have them.

The pinworm infects the host either by inhaling the eggs, or by ingesting them.

This is probably the best argument for keeping pets out of your bed as the pinworm eggs can live on an animal’s hair, migrate into your bed sheets or other linen, and make their way into your system.

From the womb to adulthood most people sleep with a hand near their face. I would argue that this is a leftover behavior from sucking the thumb from inside the womb but, I digress. The simple fact is that we do.

The pinworm is ingested either by being airborne from possibly making the bed, or your child’s bed, or by petting your pet causing the eggs to become airborne. They are also ingested by placing your unwashed hand either in, or by your nose or mouth.

Once ingested, the worm (egg) stays in your duodenum (opening to the small intestine), until hatched. From there, it makes it way through the small intestine and takes up residence in the ileum. It is in this area that the pinworms set up house. They live by extracting nutrition from colonic contents. They mate here and shortly after mating the male worms die, and are expelled with the fecal material.

The female worm or (gravid), becomes almost completely filled with eggs. When the time is right the worm makes her way to the anus and actually comes out to

A: get air for her eggs

B: lay her eggs in the folds of the tissue of the anus.

By her wriggling around during this process this action can cause an itching sensation to occur. Part of the reason that this condition affects children, more than adults is children will scratch what itches, and will not in most cases wash their hands afterwards. The eggs get trapped under the fingernails and are now ready to be disseminated either from what the child touches, toys, each other etc, but also to re-infect the host by the child eating something that he or she touches or by simply putting that thumb into their mouths.

Adults are not immune as we also have pets that may get into our bed and we also hug and cuddle the little host known, as children. How many times have you seen an adult or, possibly you have done this; allow the child to put their hand into your mouth.

Once inside the mouth, the process starts all over again or in the case of the adult begins.

Never fear, once detected there is a cure that usually involves the entire family and the frequent washing of pajamas and bed linen until the all clear sign is given by your health care provider. It is also a good idea to wash the Childs toys with some sort of disinfectant, especially if your child is in a day care facility.

On a side note, it would be interesting to know if there are protocols in place to keep this sort of germ / parasite transmission down in daycare facilities.

Why does this interest me you ask? My interest in this is the process that the animal lives and propagates. We see many symbiotic relationships not only in the animal kingdom, but with plants and insects, plants and animals and so on. Here is one more “relationship” where this animal depends on us, and our nature.

The mechanism for which this animal survives, by causing the itch around the tissue of the anus for the host to “scratch” that itch and the eggs are then either transported to other opportunities, or to re-infect the host. (Scratch what itches, and put our hands near our face or into our mouths.)

One other way that we stay infected (argue some scientist) is that the new born pinworm makes its way back through the anus and “goes against the current” so to speak, making its way to the ileum to become part of the process of reproducing. This process is highly debated and if indeed it can occur in this manner than the rate of reoccurrence by this method is low.

You ask, “How do you know if you or your child is infected.” Before the child’s morning bath, take some cellophane, “transparent” tape and apply it to the area of the anus. Remove the tape and seal it into a plastic bag and take it to your health care provider. He or she can examine it under a microscope and not only give you a positive or negative result but, if positive can identify your particular critter. There are drugs to kill them.

Are they harmful? The most common side effect is enterobiasis or (anal itching).

My apologies if I have “creeped you out.” So go wash your hands and insist that your family does the same.

Fun fact: did you know that “creeped” has recently crept into our language? Although spell check does not like it; the word is viable and in fact means: off-putting, or to weird out or possibly even frightening.

-Best to you and those that you care about.

Electric Cars, a Case for the Combustion Engine

I went into an office the other day and noticed a small car parked up front, rather stylish but the name caught my eye, “Volt.”

As an electronic gadget loving guy, not to mention one who designs circuits for one thing or another, I was rather intrigued. Walking around the other side of the car there was this device sticking out of the fender with a long thick cord attaching it to some sort of box with another cord extending from the box to the outlet outside the building.

I really don’t want to rain on the electric car parade but, I think that this technology is too immature for prime time.

When an electric car is fully charged you are going to get a maximum of 100 miles (maybe.) That most likely is predicated on perfect road condition, traffic etc. The radio, air conditioner, windshield wipers and stop and start traffic all play a role.

100 miles to empty in most peoples cars is like somewhere between a quarter and an eight of a tank of gas till empty. Put another way, the little gas light is either on, or about to come on.

Now think about this, you go to work 15 miles each way. You go to lunch maybe 5 miles to lunch and 5 miles back. So far this is good, only 25 miles used. Add to this the trip to the school or the store and then home again, you might make it happen. After work and back home now you have errands to run, but you can’t because the car has to re-charge.

Add to this that each and every night you have to get this cable out of the trunk, drag it across the driveway or what have you and plug everything in or guess what, the next day you will be calling a cab to get to work.

As these cars make more of an impact on society, office buildings and possibly stores will provide a place to hook up your car for a little boost while you are working or visiting the doctor or even shopping.

We are not there yet.

Propane powered cars never took off as there are few places to get propane. It was a natural for cities as they can house the filling station for their fleet. Propane now cost more that gasoline however; and most probably because it can be used for transportation instead of only heating and cooking. Those using propane that live in the country, know exactly how much that has changed in the last few years.

I would imagine that if and when someone makes an electric car that will go further than 100 miles, and they become more ensconced in our way of life, the price of electricity will skyrocket as well as there will be more demand it.

One other thing that the dealers don’t talk about regarding the electric car is the replacement cost of the batteries.

There is a huge difference between the batteries that goes into the Prius (Hybrid) vs. a pure electric car or EV. The Prius battery has been known to go 200000 miles. That is mainly because the Prius battery assist a gasoline engine and is charged every time the vehicle brakes.

Not only are the chemical differences something to be considered, but lets say you “kill” your batteries. That is known as a deep discharge and will in fact damage the battery over time.

Secondly let’s say your drive is only 50 miles a day. When you charge your car every night the batteries will in fact loose some of their ability to hold a charge and before long you may not be able to make it even the full 50 miles.

While GM and Nissan both offer a warrantee on them, they do consider that the batteries diminished capacity is not a warranted item.

You laptop battery uses the same technology. Does it last as long as it did on battery the day that you bought it?

The lithium ion battery which the EV uses, needs “lithium” which this country does not have in abundance. The interesting part if this equation is that Afghanistan is loaded with it. Chile also has large deposits as well as Bolivia. If this country as well as others start driving EV’s in any quantity guess what the cost of lithium will do, not to mention its availability.

Since this is earth week, are EV’s “green friendly?”

Pure Ev’s are charged from the grid. That means that the same power plant that burns coal to create electricity is now putting energy into your car. Since there are no tailpips to allow exhaust to get out and pollute the planet, remember that the “juice” in your batteries came at a carbon cost.

If I were really concerned about getting better mileage and not adding to the carbon foot print I would purchase a hybrid of some sort. No limits on miles, charges from the vehicle braking and can be charged from the grid.

If my mileage was incredibly predictable I might consider an EV at some point. The battery technology and the eventual disposal of them is still to new and since I don’t have thousands of dollars to piss away, I will stick with what I know.

If, and this is a big if, you could get an EV, charge it from your solar array or wind farm, you might have something. Alternate forms of energy producing things are way too expensive for the normal guy, not to mention take up lots of real estate.

It is a free country “still,” and your mileage may vary.

-Best to you and those that you care about.

To Lock or not to Lock

This is not the first time that I have written about air travel.

On a recent trip the bags went one way, and the passenger another. Now if you tried to do this deliberately, you could not orchestrate it but; trying to keep the bag and passenger on the same plane is proving more and more difficult.

The bag finally was returned a week later, and after many phone calls to several different airport personnel who did not have a clue or care. It was almost as if, “hey you are bothering me, I am just here to draw a check, not actually do something!” I was going to say I may be exaggerating a little but actually no; not at all. This was the attitude! When asked for her name she would not give it. Hmmmmm… And we wonder why the airlines have to cut services, charge more for the services that they still do have, and are still going broke. Get rid of the dead weight airline people! Grow a pair!

Usually; when my bag has been rifled through, looking for god knows what; there is a lovely piece of paper in it telling me that it was searched. “Like I need a piece of paper telling me that my once neatly folded clothes, now appearing as if some gorilla had worn them for a week was not clue enough.” Still, some notification of who did this would be nice. On a recent trip the bag was searched, the lock went missing and there was no piece of paper. Can we no longer afford the paper or did somebody else go through the bag?

These locks are not cheap and for my money not very secure either; as we have no idea who all has the magic “TSA Key”. I am guessing that there are more than a few baggage handlers who have them in their possession. So where are all of the missing locks? A quick look on eBay and I found several “lots of airline TSA approved locks all set to 0.”

I wonder if the seller either works for the TSA, or has family or friends that do, surely not, they surely would not be that stupid.

Here is another issue with this. I realize that this puts me out there with the conspiracy folks but what if someone wanted to use your luggage to smuggle something out of the country or state, or into the country? If the luggage (with the payload) makes it through, it then is simply intercepted at the other end. You file a missing bag claim and nothing happens as nobody gives a damn anyway. You chalk it up to the lousy airline, buy new stuff and write a blog about how crappy the airline is. But what if the TSA actually doing there job while trying on your clothes, finds the “payload.” Then they get all puffed up thinking they have found the “bust of the year, their name will be in all of the papers and they will be a hero to women and children alike! Wheaties will even want to put their picture on a box and they will get money for their likeness being used!” Well, maybe not, maybe then just a simple promotion for doing their job. Meanwhile; you get arrested and have to explain “the payload.” Like who would be stupid enough to put something illegal in their own bag. Well, some idiots do and thank goodness that they do or there would be nothing for the “locked up abroad” folks to write about. I digress. Think about it though. Because your luggage is now “unsecure” what if? Do you realize that in a lot of countries you are not presumed innocent, until proven otherwise?

While the TSA is doing an excellent job of feeling up old ladies and small children, and of course looking at everyone’s “rude bits,” I would be a whole lot happier if they would secure my luggage with cameras, people and of course honest TSA agents.

My advice for now, use a carry-on if you can. Consider shipping your luggage via USPS or UPS or even FED-EX as even that would be cheaper than trying to prove to someone in Bora-Bora, that the drugs or money or what have you in your bag, are not yours.

Failing that, save some money, Use a cable tie to lock your bag. It is too much trouble for the average baggage handler to cut off, and if the TSA wants in there, they can cut off a lock, they can certainly handle a zip tie. Put a few extra in your carry on, purse or wallet for the rest of the trip and leave nothing of value in your bag. Realizing that some Blue Jeans can sell for over $200 a pair (you know the ones with holes in them,) you may want to wear them. Besides, if they have enough holes, the TSA will have less to grope!

It seems a sad state of affairs when the people who are providing a service think that it is ok to steal from you. It is equally sad that Americans and for that matter anyone that travels by air; is forced to submit to this treatment. A major news outlet actually did something that was not politically motivated by taking part in apprehending two TSA agents who on two separate occasions absconded with two different iPads. You would think that in this day and age of cameras everywhere, that the airport folks could put some security in the areas where people’s bags are. Now that we know what is in everyone’s underwear, how about turning the cameras on the fox’s watching the hen house?

-Best to you and those that you care about!

Transformation

Our way of life is transforming as the days and weeks pass.

Not so long ago traveling by air was not only easy, but enjoyable. It was actually a treat to arrive at the airport; people were there to make your trip pleasurable, from helping you at the gate to making sure that you were comfortable on the plane. The flight attendants, “stewardesses’” back then, treated you like they appreciated your business.

Once in the air, the beverage of choice was offered. You could even get a deck of playing cards to help you pass the time, no charge. Food was offered on most flights and it was of a quality that was palatable and in some cases “if you flew first class” compared with some fine restaurants.

On longer flights you were provided a small kit with a toothbrush, toothpaste, and some even included a small razor and mirror. There might also be one of those mask that you put over your eyes so you could block the light out and snooze through the flight. Traveling by air used to be pleasurable.

In stark contrast today one must arrive at the airport two hours earlier than the flight. Once there, you get the distinct impression that you are being looked at as a possible suspect for a crime that has not been committed yet. You are cautioned about making jokes to the TSA as they could arrest you or at the very least detain you simply because they wanted to. You are stripped of your shoes, belt, jacket and anything in your pockets and then subjected to a virtual strip search where anonymous people in some room examine your naked body, looking for anything that is suspicious. During this process these folks without a sense of humor order you around like you are indeed a prisoner in some sort of exercise yard, which happens to be a terminal.

Never mind the fact that you are being exposed to ionizing radiation, the government(s) have decided that the laws of physics have magically changed and now this radiation is safe, compared to how unsafe it was just a few years ago. They compare it to the radiation that one is exposed to at high altitude and how in comparison it is not that much. They are also talking apples and oranges as cosmic radiation is different from ionizing radiation but, they don’t offer that up as that does not fit their agenda. Keep in mind that the “truth has no agenda.” I would look for frequent flyers to have a higher rate of skin cancer in the future. If I were a frequent flyer, or flight attendant or pilot, I would make having a good dermatologist a priority, as well as keeping my yearly visits.

I am reminded of the board of directors from the different tobacco companies sitting before congress telling them that tobacco products and all of their additives were totally safe and did not cause cancer. People will say anything when it fits their agenda.

Your baggage and clothes are not safe either. When I travel, I take the clothes that I am going to wear to the cleaners and have them cleaned and folded so when I arrive at my destination, I have clothes that have some modicum of professionalism; in that they are not wrinkled beyond belief. On my last trip my bag was opened by the TSA and my folded laundry packaged in plastic see through bags (much like it would look straight from the store) was opened, disheveled and crammed back into my bag, like I have done when returning home, simply getting the soiled laundry back into the bag to once again make its way to the cleaners. I think that I will start just packing my soiled laundry, cramming it into the bag and once at my location, send it off to be cleaned.

Traveling by air is just one place where it resembles more of a police state than it should. Any form of public transportation is scrutinized by different means of security.

In most of my travels I can not help but notice cameras at every intersection. I may have read 1984 one too many times but, it certainly bears paying attention to the facts that these are probably not for traffic control. In major cities all around this country at least, and I suspect others, there are cameras watching everything. I would argue that your privacy is being invaded in ways that you don’t know about.

The local police have devices that can detect heat signatures (FLIR) in total darkness. I have been told that these can detect the presence of heat through a wall. I would suspect that the local police are not really interested if you are home or where you might be but, my guess would be that via flyover or random screening in the debt of night, they could be looking to see if you are growing things inside your home that you ought not to be. To my way of looking at this, it is an invasion of your privacy and should not be allowed without a warrant.

Technology is outpacing our humanity. Today we have a 29 year old, holding the keys to nukes in a xenophobic country; threatening the stability of an entire globe. We have companies like Raytheon and others manufacturing drones that have been used successfully in the war effort, now in the hands of a government that seeks to “fundamentally transform our country.” They now think that it should be legal to fly these drones over the US. These drones have the ability to peer in open windows miles away and see what is going on, to tracking your cell phone and who knows what else that it can do. I do know that it can tell what clothes you are wearing (or not wearing) while flying at 17,500 feet. By the way unless you happen to see it flying over head, it is silent enough that at altitude you will not know it is there. I know this because while floating in the pool, looking up, I saw one flying overhead. There was no sound.

Today most of us carry smart phones. I have no doubt that they can be controlled by third party entities, at their discretion, switching on microphones and or cameras at will. We have seen this in laptops sent home with school children, do you really think that you have any expectation to privacy in your home? With built in GPS, they know down to a few feet, exactly where that phone is.

One really has to wonder why we are giving so many free phones to people that cannot afford them. Is it really to “give them a shot” or is it a way to get inside Intel into their lives and activities.

While this sounds like 1984 and the work of science fiction, I would not be surprised to learn at all that this is not fiction at all.

This much power in the hands of any government is simply dangerous at best and could be disastrous. Please remember that absolute power corrupts absolutely! The new facility that the government is building 25 miles south of Salt Lake City may very well be the control center for these types of activities and not the data retention facility that it is touted to be. It may very well be a data retention center too, but my gut tells me that it is much more than that. It would take a facility that large to house the amount of people necessary to accomplish the surveillance of that many “people of interest.” Those people may very well include anyone that attends church, or works for a particular company, or possibly those who are on the government dole.

History is rife with abuses of this government, as well as others. J Edgar Hoover was notorious for abusing his power. We as a people have forgotten history or failed to learn from it. History is cyclical when you fail to learn from it. “We will repeat it.”

With the creation of the patriot act under George W., we Americans gave up rights that we may never get back. With this recent explosion in Boston, we may see new laws created, taking away even more of our rights to “protect us.” (Remember, “Never let a disaster go to waste”) The random acts of violence “terrorist activity” are one way to get people to not only submit to further oppressive measures by a government but, they may very well cause some to insist upon it.

With our borders unsecured, we have no control over whom and what comes into our country or for that matter what or who leaves our country. The government should be focusing on that rather than chipping away at our rights as Americans. We as a people should be demanding that our borders be secured instead of worrying about the feelings of potential voters. To politicize immigration is simply treasonous and all who do this should be fired. Protection of this country, its people and its constitution should be their primary goal, and anything else should not come before this.

Full disclosure; I am a writer of science fiction. I think outside the box; which is great if you are a writer. I would also offer that through history, most science fiction becomes science fact. I have no inside informants or sources of info other than what can be observed by looking, or researching topics of interest on the WWW…

-Best to you and those that you care about.

Civility

I am one of those people who will talk with just about anyone. When I go to the store I “chat up” the cashier, call them by name and make certain that I tell them to have a good day. The same is true for any restaurant, even if it is the drive-thru at some fast food place.

Once when I did this with a cashier who was sullen at best, the person with me was amazed by the visible transformation in the person to whom I was talking with. This person actually accused me of working “magic” on that person! It was not magic, it is simply recognizing that they are no different from me and disserve my complete attention and the best manners that I can muster.

Places that I frequent, when spotted, their demeanor changes immediately. Guess what, I get better service because of that “magic.” I would like to think that my “magic” makes their day a little better as well. Smiles are contagious!

The doctors office is another place that the demeanor of the people working behind those glass windows change as well. Everyone behind that glass greets me with a smile unless they are new and by the time that I leave, they know who I am as well. One lady who left years ago asked about me when calling one of her friends that works there still; and that fact was relayed to me on my next visit. Can you imagine how that made me feel, my magic made an impact on someone that has not seen me in over two years.

In some cultures it is impolite not to haggle with someone over the price of an item. The logic behind that is that the person who you are dealing with is not worth spending time with if you simply pay the advertised price. While in this country you are not going to “haggle” for a better price but, a little polite conversation, using their name and telling them to have a wonderful day is polite, and I think lacking somewhat from our culture.

On my last trip to Manhattan I started talking with people in the elevator, just small talk like the weather or something; when I actually spotted fear in this person’s face. What kind of a country is this when you can’t talk with someone in the elevator? I guess the norm for Manhattan is don’t talk with me, keep your distance, don’t look at me, and all will be cool. Really, is this the best that we can do?

I was saddened by her look and for that matter the look on the other occupants of the elevator. They all looked at me as if I were crazy or something for commenting on the weather; not complaining by the way. Later I was told that people who live there think that it is their god given right to complain! Is that true?

If you’re that damned miserable where you live, why are you still there? One of the reasons that there is not a “one size fits all” answer for any of the political issues of the day is we are not a “one size fits all country.”

Air travel has made the world a smaller place and I would argue that the internet has made it even smaller. Everyone who has access to the internet has access to the world. Other than a few communist countries where just about everything is blocked, we as a people have access to so many different peoples and cultures. One would think that we would all be the richer and better for it. The sad truth is that while people should be looking for commonalities (where we agree,) human nature is to look for what makes you or them different and take it out of proportion.

As an amateur radio operator for the last 30 plus years I have spoken with people from countries that no longer exist. One of the “government rules enforced by the FCC” is that when communicating with peoples in other countries that the conversation be limited to weather or that of a technical nature.” While that rule still stands today, I see it broken all of the time. With the internet I can talk with people about any subject that I so choose.

Once I had a conversation with a Russian lady who was a great photographer. She had captured something really strange in her photo and I simply asked her how she did it. When she said “I will let you in on a little secret” I just knew that people from our government and their government had read that exchange.

While I would proffer that the conversation whether it be spoken or typed would be about as private as the radio; I am not limited, and neither are you. We are actually in fact ambassadors representing our country, as are they. The bottom line here is to treat people “talk to people” the way that you yourself would like to be treated or spoken with. Don’t focus on the things that differentiate you from them, but things that you have in common.

-Best to you and those that you care about!