This afternoon I sent a text message stating, "Let's rewire the world because it has gone dark. Darkness looms but there might be light at the end of a tunnel underground." I was in my "pensive" mode. The recipient called wondering "what did I mean?" It was really very simple.
Reception can sometimes be a problem with Time Warner cable. Normally, things work fine. Then there are those days that I can't get a favorite channel on my cable box. I can't switch to Dish or Direct TV or I would lose the one channel I watch more than any other in the lineup.
Therefore, when I had a reception problem this week, I called for repair. The actual problem was an intermittent signal on one station, my second favorite channel.
Today, I learned the difference between a 'repairman' and the 'smart repairman'. Back in April of this year, I had a similar reception problem and the repairman gave me a new digital cable box, and changed the splitter after he said they do go bad. A lot is based on weather conditions when water/moisture gets into the connector lines outside. He also changed the outside connector line where there was moisture from the rains.
The good times lasted almost three months. We've had rain and wires can conduct moisture I learned. Analyzing the situation myself, I learned that two of my three televisions were able to pickup my channel in question. So it had to be the cable box or the wire connected to it. I was correct in that part.
The smart repairman checked the splitter first to check the wiring with his meter. The next thing I saw were cutters and two lines were snipped, and the TV went dark. I was in the 'dark' for almost three hours. He said the inline wires were more than 20 years old and not used any longer, due to the switch to digital formatting, and my wiring setup was a nightmare. I said Time Warner did it a long time ago.
I no longer have a wire going into my attic, coming down into a closet and split into three TV receptions. I no longer have wires strung in my rear gutter or hanging off the house. Two wires inside the house were newer and useable, so with the mainline being new, and the other two being consolidated into a new splitter-type unit under the house, all systems are 'go' again. I also have a cover over the outside connector line to prevent rain damage.
I also learned today that HD cables are free and available from Time Warner. I have an HD television, but was never able to utilize its capabilities. My repairman hooked up those cables to my digital box and reset the TV to make it work. After a couple questions, I now know how to use my remote for more options also. I didn't have an instruction booklet, but I have one now. The smart-repairman was able to make reception better and me very happy with his knowledge, professionalism, and attention to detail (after 12 years on the job).
A friend sent me the following article and after I read it, I just had to share it with others. It is very profound, relating to our current Congressional stalemate and Teabagger ideology. Please share with others so we can make a difference in the next election cycle.
Introduction:
"Charley Reese's final column for the Orlando Sentinel. He has been a journalist for 49 years. He is retiring and this is HIS LAST COLUMN.
This is about as clear and easy to understand as it can be. The article below is completely neutral, neither pro or anti-republican or democrat. Charlie Reese has hit the nail directly on the head, defining clearly who it is that must assume responsibility for the judgments made that impact each one of us every day. Worth remembering!"
545 VS. 300,000,000 PEOPLE
~By Charlie Reese
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The President does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House?John Boehner. He is the leader of the majority party. He and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.
If the Army and Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it's because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan ...
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.
Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
Mr. Reese ended his column with this cute 'truthism':
Tax his land, Tax his bed, Tax the table, At which he's fed.
Tax his tractor, Tax his mule, Teach him taxes Are the rule.
Tax his work, Tax his pay, He works for peanuts anyway!
Tax his cow, Tax his goat, Tax his pants, Tax his coat.
Tax his ties, Tax his shirt, Tax his work, Tax his dirt.
Tax his tobacco, Tax his drink, Tax him if he Tries to think.
Tax his cigars, Tax his beers, If he cries Tax his tears.
Tax his car, Tax his gas, Find other ways To tax his ass.
Tax all he has Then let him know That you won't be done Till he has no dough.
When he screams and hollers; Then tax him some more, Tax him till He's good and sore.
Then tax his coffin, Tax his grave, Tax the sod in Which he's laid...
Put these words Upon his tomb, 'Taxes drove me to my doom...'
When he's gone, Do not relax, Its time to apply The inheritance tax.
•Accounts Receivable Tax •Building Permit Tax •CDL license Tax •Cigarette Tax •Corporate Income Tax •Dog License Tax •Excise Taxes •Federal Income Tax •Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) •Fishing License Tax •Food License Tax •Fuel Permit Tax •Gasoline Tax •Gross Receipts Tax •Hunting License Tax •Inheritance Tax •Inventory Tax •IRS Interest Charges •IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax) •Liquor Tax •Luxury Taxes •Marriage License Tax •Medicare Tax •Personal Property Tax •Property Tax •Real Estate Tax •Service Charge Tax •Social Security Tax •Road Usage Tax •Recreational Vehicle Tax •Sales Tax •School Tax •State Income Tax •State Unemployment Tax (SUTA) •Telephone Federal Excise Tax •Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax •Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes •Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax •Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax •Telephone State and Local Tax •Telephone Usage Charge Tax •Utility Taxes •Vehicle License Registration Tax •Vehicle Sales Tax •Watercraft Registration Tax •Well Permit Tax •Workers Compensation Tax •Etc, etc,
etc....
STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.
What in the heck happened? Can you spell 'politicians?'
Did you know this:
Salary of the US President – $400,000.
Salary of retired US Presidents – $180,000.
Salary of House/Senate – $174,000.
Salary of Speaker of House – $223,500.
Salary of Majority/Minority Leaders – $193,400.
Average US Salary – $33,000 to $77,000.
Average US Military Salary - $19,000 to $22,000.
It's not too difficult to find where the cuts should be made!
Start with the Speaker since he won't do his job.
Bring all the troops home and cut the defense (war) budget.
Cut all subsidies for oil and gas companies, farm subsidies, and bank bailouts.
Seal all loopholes for corporations evading taxes, jet owners, tax all corporations moving jobs overseas, and raise taxes on millionaires and billionaires.
Then and only then will we get this economy moving again.
Think about it: if the poor and middle class don't have jobs, or unemployment, they don't have money to spend. If people don't buy groceries, or general products, the stores don't order more product. If no product is ordered, manufacturing slows down. If manufacturing slows down, people are laid off. Then the catch22 circle starts again. It's not trickle DOWN, it's trickle UP that makes things work.
Two nuns were shopping at a convenience store. As they passed by the beer cooler, one nun said to the other, "wouldn't a nice cool beer or two taste wonderful on a hot summer evening?"
The second nun answered, "indeed it would Sister, but I would not feel comfortable buying beer, since I am certain it would cause a scene at the checkout stand."
"I can handle that without a problem" the other nun replied, and she picked up a six-pack and headed for the check-out.
The cashier had a surprised look on his face when the two nuns arrived with a six-pack of beer. "We use beer for washing our hair" the nun said, "back at our nunnery, we call it Catholic Shampoo."
Without blinking an eye, the cashier reached under the counter, pulled out a package of pretzel sticks, and placed them in the bag with the beer.
He looked the nun straight in the eye, smiled, and said, "the curlers are on the house."
I must admit, I was looking forward to this year's county fair. I received a fair pass for my birthday (from John, of course). But the fair didn't start out too well for me.
For 12 years, I took pictures of the demolition derby and winners of each heat. Then I would submit those photos to the newspaper for printing.
Last year, the company that took over running the derbys (his name is Don) decided that they didn't want to share fairground booth space with me. They knew I would give my photos to the winners, because I was just that way. I did it for the guys, for many years, and they all liked it. The company would rather tape and sell their videos than share.
So this year, I was out there for pleasure and observation only. What did I observe? Not too many cars entered the derby. One heat, over and done. Don's friends came, but very few local guys, or in the two neighboring counties, bothered to enter this year. They already know what a joke it is...the way Don runs things. Suffice to say, not good.
I always had one big cheerleader in my photography of the demolition derbys - Betty. She was my biggest fan, mainly because her son and grandson used to enter cars in the derbys for many years. She would always ask me, after it was over, "did you get any pictures of them for me?" I would always give her the photos of the action with them in it, or the winning photo. She loved that, and I loved doing it for her. Betty left us earlier this year, and I miss her at the fair and around town. I know Betty is looking down, knowing this year I didn't get any photos of her family, because they were not there.
Back to my big start to the fair. After the tractors and combines, I needed to walk up to the restroom before the main event. Needless to say, I never saw the main event. As I was walking across the track area, I saw John and took his arm for a minute and said I was dizzy. The area just seemed to be spinning around.
I took a deep breath and walked on, up to the restroom building. Once inside, it was warmer than outside, which was already HOT. For some reason, the room started spinning again, I was trying to breathe, and I put out my hand toward the floor because I thought I was going to end up there. Somehow, I made it over to the bench inside the room, put my head back and reached for my phone. I sent a text to John, "911 passig out rrm" and passed out on the bench. I know I didn't spell it right, but I was lucky to get that much done.
I heard a woman's voice calling my name, and the breeze of a fan on my face. I opened one eye and saw my old friend Alice Craig standing there fanning me to cool me off. My body temperature had gone sky high.
I finally got up off the bench with a struggle, and John was at the door looking for me. He got me back to the first aid station and my old friend Jeff took over. I found myself lying on the cot, given water, and he was asking me questions to make sure I was alert. He also took my blood pressure, which was "way" down, a good indication of passing out. But then I knew I had.
So I spent my time cooling off on a cot, instead of watching the poor derby event, which was over very quickly. After I recovered, another friend walked me to my truck and I left for home to lie down.
It was hot out there; I only had one sandwich all day, the one I got when I got to the fairgrounds, and all I did was sit in the back of my truck - but that was enough to make my body temperature rise to the fainting point. I guess I will have to go better prepared on my next visit. And drink more water. I learned my lesson. As Susan said, (Jeff's EMT partner tonight) people get more susceptible to the heat as they get older. Thanks for reminding me Susan. I know now. Thanks for your help John and Jeff. I appreciate you both.
Sunday will give me a perfect excuse (not that I need one) to have a big DQ Banana Split. Ice cream is my favorite food and I celebrate July every year.
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream Day. He recognized ice cream as a fun and nutritious food that is enjoyed by a full 90% of the nation's population. In the proclamation, President Reagan called for all people of the United States to observe these events with "appropriate ceremonies and activities."
The International Ice Cream Association (IICA) encourages retailers and consumers to celebrate July as National Ice Cream Month. In 2011, National Ice Cream Day will be Sunday, July 17.
The U.S. ice cream industry generates more than $21 billion in annual sales and provides jobs for thousands of citizens. About 9% of all the milk produced by U.S. dairy farmers is used to produce ice cream, contributing significantly to the economic well-being of the nation's dairy industry.
Celebrate - eat more ice cream!
After hearing that one of the patients in a mental hospital had saved another from a suicide attempt by pulling him out of a bathtub, the director reviewed the rescuer's file and called him into his office.
"Mr. James, your records and your heroic behavior indicate that you're ready to go home. I'm only sorry that the man you saved later killed himself with a rope around the neck."
"Oh he didn't kill himself," Mr. James replied. "I hung him up to dry."
A recent situation brought this song to mind, because there's a person this song fits so perfectly. Even though he's so young, he has perfected his lies so well, to the point of not knowing the difference. Unfortunately, I don't believe age or education will ever change him.
One evening a husband, thinking he was being funny, said to his wife, "Perhaps we should start washing your clothes in 'Slim Fast'. Maybe it would take a few inches off of your butt!"
His wife was not amused, and decided that she simply couldn't let such a comment go unrewarded.
The next morning the husband took a pair of underwear out of his drawer. "What the heck is this?" he said to himself as a little 'dust' cloud appeared when he shook them out.
"April", he hollered into the bathroom, "Why did you put talcum powder in my underwear?"
She replied with a snicker, "It's not talcum powder; it's 'Miracle Grow"!
You guys just never learn, do not piss off a woman!!
Did you ever wonder why there are no dead penguins on the ice in Antarctica? Where do they go?
Wonder no more!!!
It is a known fact that the penguin is a very ritualistic bird which lives an extremely ordered and complex life.
The penguin is very committed to its family and will mate for life, as well as maintaining a form of compassionate contact with its offspring throughout its life.
If a penguin is found dead on the ice surface, other members of the family and social circle have been known to dig holes in the ice, using their vestigial wings and beaks, until the hole is deep enough for the dead bird to be rolled into and buried.
The male penguins then gather in a circle around the fresh grave and sing:
"Freeze a jolly good fellow,"
"Freeze a jolly good fellow."
Then they kick him in the ice hole.
You really didn’t believe that I knew anything about penguins, did you?
It's so easy to fool people.
I am sorry, the devil made me do it!!!
Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to out-patients at the clinic.
One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man. "Why, he's hardly taller than my 8-year-old," I thought as I stared at the stooped, shriveled body. But the appalling thing was his face, lopsided from swelling, red and raw.
Yet his voice was pleasant as he said, "Good evening. I've come to see if you've a room for just one night. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there's no bus 'til morning." He told me he'd been hunting for a room since noon but with no success, no one seemed to have a room. "I guess it's my face. I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments..."
For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me: "I could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning.
I told him we would find him a bed, but to rest on the porch. I went inside and finished getting supper. When we were ready, I asked the old man if he would join us. "No, thank you. I have plenty." And he held up a brown paper bag.
When I had finished the dishes, I went out on the porch to talk with him a few minutes. It didn't take a long time to see that this old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body. He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, her 5 children, and her husband, who was hopelessly crippled from a back injury.
He didn't tell it by way of complaint; in fact, every other sentence was preface with a thanks to God for a blessing. He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease, which was apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going.
At bedtime, we put a camp cot in the children's room for him. When I got up in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded and the little man was out on the porch.
He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus, haltingly, as if asking a great favor, he said, "Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a treatment? I won't put you out a bit. I can sleep fine in a chair." He paused a moment and then added, "Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don't seem to mind."
I told him he was welcome to come again. And, on his next trip, he arrived a little after 7 in the morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and a quart of the largest oysters I had ever seen! He said he had shucked them that morning before he left so that they'd be nice and fresh. I knew his bus left at 4:00 a.m. And I wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for us.
In the years he came to stay overnight with us, there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden.
Other times we received packages in the mail, always by special delivery; fish and oysters packed in a box of fresh young spinach or kale, every leaf carefully washed. Knowing that he must walk 3 miles to mail these, and knowing how little money he had made the gifts doubly precious.
When I received these little remembrances, I often thought of a comment our next door neighbor made after he left that first morning. "Did you keep that awful looking man last night? I turned him away! You can lose roomers by putting up such people!"
Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice. But, oh!, if only they could have known him, perhaps their illnesses would have been easier to bear.
I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude to God.
Recently I was visiting a friend, who has a greenhouse, as she showed me her flowers, we came to the most beautiful one of all, a golden
chrysanthemum, bursting with blooms. But to my great surprise, it was growing in an old dented, rusty bucket. I thought to myself, "If this were my plant, I'd put it in the loveliest container I had!"
My friend changed my mind. "I ran short of pots," she explained, "and knowing how beautiful this one would be, I thought it wouldn't mind starting out in this old pail. It's just for a little while, till I can put it out in the garden."
She must have wondered why I laughed so delightedly, but I was imagining just such a scene in heaven.
"Here's an especially beautiful one," God might have said when he came to the soul of the sweet old fisherman. "He won't mind starting in this small body."
All this happened long ago - and now, in God's garden, how tall this lovely soul must stand.
The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7b)
Friends are very special. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear and they share a word of praise.
An elderly man in Kansas owned a large farm for several Years. He had a large pond in the back.
It was properly shaped for swimming, so he fixed it up nice with picnic tables, horseshoe courts, and some apple, and peach trees.
One evening the old farmer decided to go down to the pond, as he hadn't been there for a while, and look it over. He grabbed a five-gallon bucket to bring back some fruit.
As he neared the pond, he heard voices shouting and laughing with glee. As he came closer, he saw it was a bunch of young women skinny-dipping in his pond. He made the women aware of his presence and they all went to the deep end.
One of the women shouted to him, 'we're not coming out until you leave!'
The old man frowned, 'I didn't come down here to watch you ladies swim naked or make you get out of the pond naked.' Holding the bucket up he said, 'I'm here to feed the alligator!
Some old men can still think fast.
Happy 4th of July to all. There are many different places in Central Ohio where fireworks displays draw crowds of spectators. But I always enjoy the display at the fairgrounds right here at home. Our fire department collects donations to put on a bang up display - and I always donate. I know the pyrotechnics that do the work. It might take only 20 minutes to see the show, but days of preparation and hours of work go into getting it ready. If you missed our fireworks this year, you can see a bit of it right here. Enjoy!
The Accountant said his dog could do better, and said, “Slide Rule, do your stuff.” Slide Rule went out into the kitchen and returned with a dozen cookies. He divided them into 4 equal piles of 3 cookies each. Everyone agreed that was also good.
The Chemist said his dog could do better still, so he called his dog and said, “Measure, do your stuff.” Measure got up, walked over to the fridge, took out a quart of milk, got a 10 ounce glass from the cupboard and poured exactly 8 ounces without spilling a drop. Everyone agreed that was great.
The Government Worker called to his dog and said, “Coffee Break, do your stuff!” Coffee Break jumped to his feet, ate the cookies, drank the milk, dumped on the paper, sexually assaulted the other three dogs, claimed he injured his back while doing so, filed a grievance for unsafe working conditions, put in for Workers Compensation and went home on sick leave. Everyone was speechless.
Tonight I Google'd "wake" to see if my thinking was correct, and it was. I was using "wake" to mean a celebration. I'm not Catholic, but I know what a "wake" is when someone dies.
One of my Internet sources said "eulogies are given by family and friends at wakes. Often these stories are funny and there can be a great deal of laughter (along with some tears). Think of it as a time to celebrate the deceased's life."
Therefore, LET'S HOLD A WAKE! IT'S WAKE DAY! LET'S CELEBRATE THE GREATEST DAY! THE DAY WE HAVE LONG AWAITED! Have you got my drift yet? No? Then you don't know me well enough yet!
To use an old cliche: "Elvis has left the building." GLENN BECK IS FINALLY GONE GONE GONE OFF FOX NOISE. All together now: hip-hip hurray! hip-hip hurray!
After rants, lies, and conspiracy theories on his show lost sponsors (which is a loss of revenue for Fox Noise), his ratings took a dive like a bomb. The last day of June was his final farewell show - GOOD RIDDANCE TO YOU - finally.
Beck misled the public, filled his audiences with lies, used conspiracy theories to scare people. Beck spewed propaganda and used fear mongering to brainwash his audiences into giving him so much money that now he's a millionaire. Now he doesn't have to pay much in taxes since he has achieved great financial wealth. The poor get poorer and idiots get richer, based upon lies.
When show sponsors realized the truth (after Beck called the President of the United States a racist), they began boycotting his show; thus, lost revenue for the network. Then the ratings suffered. Someone at Fox Noise finally put two and two together and said - he's got to go. Thank the heavens above. Beck's show is gone. It lived - it died.
WE ARE ALL BETTER OFF FOR IT!
LET'S CELEBRATE! IT'S WAKE DAY!
