Temporary, Again Part II

When a word keeps bubbling through my thoughts and finally jells into another topic, it must be time to put it on paper. Once again, I have temporary on the brain. It seems that so much in life is temporary, that maybe that is what life actually is. It is a continuous set of temporary occurrences. Some sets may be significantly longer or shorter than others, but none the less temporary.

What drives me to the brink of temporary insanity on this occasion is where I am currently. I have traveled to a sister facility that will be closed down shortly. This is nothing new in America as plants close down daily as things become more efficient or processes non-competitive. I have been through two plant closings in my short existence and neither was a highlight of my life. Both ended as sad occasions where relationships ended and goodbyes were said. They also opened up new doors that led to happy times. The Muppet Christmas Carol says it best. Scrooge’s girlfriend is breaking off the relationship and says to him, “Life is full of meetings and partings.” I think that sums it up better than I could.

Temporary could also be cyclical in nature. Although the cycles are never the same, there are always some similarities. I guess that is the reason I am visiting a sister plant today. The American automobile industry is in the process of self destructing. GM and Ford are in a fight for their lives because they chose to negotiate heavy legacy costs into their labor contracts. It was a case of the greed of the unions and the large profits of days gone by clashing to create situations where it was easier to cave to union demands than face a possible strike. In the end, it benefited those who were there for the event. In the long run, it damaged the automobile industry and has led to what could end up being a blood bath for the entire US automobile industry. Both assembly plants and their suppliers are going to feel the full fist in the face as the industry struggles to regain profitability. All of this pain will come about because of the temporary days of wine and roses. It is easy to give in when you are 50% of the domestic market. But once the Japanese came in and ate our lunch and we let them, the party was over. That was the time to rein in the contracts and concentrate on making cars. Now they have an uphill battle against both the foreign hoards and their employees. The competition will continue to push to take over the domestic US market and if the labor unions don’t open their eyes to the reality of automobile assembly in the 21st century, we could have the extinction of domestic automobile production.

All for the price, of tea and a slice, the old man died. Go get um Pink.

Icool

Cobb

Refocus

I did something I haven't done in at least 8 years. I stayed up and watched ER. Everyone went to bed and I wanted a little mind numbing diversion from the daily storm and strife. What I got was anything but mind numbing and nothing like a diversion.

I didn't recognize any of the cast from when I watched before. Sara Gilbert (Darlene) from the Roseanne Show was one of the nurses in the emergency room and Ray Liotta was the patient in trouble. There was a cast of doctors and other nurses but the show was about the death of Ray Liotta's character, Charlie Metcalf. He was a miserable wretch of the dregs of humanity. He had been married with a young son and after his wife died unexpectedly he took to drinking and took the road to self destruction. After stabbing a guy in a bar, he went to jail. His son ceased communicating with him at a certain point in his jail term. The self abuse continued after jail ended and he ended up in the emergency room from somewhere on the streets.

So you Charlie in a hospital bed with GI bleeding, a failed liver, kidneys shut down, coughing and vomiting up blood and a myriad of other issues. The hospital staff is doing everything to keep him alive. He has no money, no future, little time left on earth even if they can save him, but they are doing everything to keep him alive. His story develops over the hour and after they stabilize him, they call his son who he hasn't talked to for years. He is now in college. After a brief conversation about his condition, the son hangs up. Charlie's face sinks and he asks to have all life support removed. Let me die.

You see this person being characterized as a human failure that has lost his last strand of connection to life finally give up. I could not imagine someone sinking to that level of self destruction and abuse but I know it happens. My sister works at Toledo Hospital and advises people on end of life situations. Some of her stories flashed through my mind.

In the end, Charlie dies, alone in a hospital bed. He has been abandon by everyone. What a sad picture. But it made me look at Charlie as someone I would have avoided at any cost. Not the kind of person I thought I was. Scuffy and unwashed, I would have walked around him to avoid having to touch or deal with him. Too busy to take the time and too frightened that he might bring me to his level.

I have so much to work on in this life. So wrapped up in what I'm doing and where I'm going that those that need just a touch of attention become objects of scorn. It was a great performance by Ray Liotta who I have always seen as a tough guy. A most thought provoking role.

Lord help me to be your hands and remove the blinders so that I am see what I would otherwise choose to ignore.

Heavy

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Cobb

General Tso’s Chicken

Every time I eat Chinese, I order General Tso’s Chicken and an egg roll. This tasty treat is so good that I cannot help but overindulge and make myself miserable every time I eat it. I liked it so much that I decided to cook it at home. I love the internet because you can find anything and low and behold, the recipe is there in several variations.

Now this is supposedly an American dish. It did not come over from China but was invented in a New York restaurant when the Chinese craze started in the 1970’s. It was a combination of both of the big Chinese cooking styles, Szechuan and Hunan, and pretty cheap to make. The recipe calls for the meat from legs and thighs which are not high on most people’s foods to eat. I add some red food coloring to the sauce to give it more of the red color you get in restaurants. But when you put it all together, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. And as we all know, “parts is parts.”

The recipe I use is listed below.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger root
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup cooking wine
1 1/2 cup hot chicken broth
1 teaspoon monosodium glutamate (optional)
Meat:

3 pounds deboned dark chicken meat, cut into large chunks
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 egg
1 cup cornstarch
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
2 cups sliced green onions
16 small dried hot peppers

Directions:
Mix 1/2 cup cornstarch with water. Add garlic, ginger, sugar, 1/2 cup soy sauce, vinegar, wine, chicken broth and MSG (if desired). Stir until sugar dissolves. Refrigerate until needed. In separate bowl, mix chicken, 1/4 cup soy sauce and white pepper. Stir in egg. Add 1 cup cornstarch and mix until chicken pieces are coated evenly. Add cup of vegetable oil to help separate chicken pieces. Divide chicken into small quantities and deep-fry at 350 degrees until crispy. Drain on paper towels. Place a small amount of oil in wok and heat until wok is hot. Add onions and peppers and stir-fry briefly. Stir sauce and add to wok. Place chicken in sauce and cook until sauce thickens.

You can alter the recipe to taste. Use white meat instead of dark, skip the hot peppers, use brown rice, or any other alteration to suit your own taste. But enjoy, its finger lickin good.

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Cobb

Andromeda

I was looking through the Yahoo news science section when a picture caught my eye. I have always been a big fan of pictures from space. The Horse Head nebula or the Crab nebula, the rings of Saturn or the pictures of the outer planets moons fascinate me. I always read each article seeing what is new in the area of astronomy. The picture is of the Andromeda galaxy.



Now Andromeda has been in contemporary times in novels and television. Michael Crichton published The Andromeda Strain in 1970. It was a book about a deadly virus that is dropped to Earth on a satellite. Then there is the television series Andromeda with former Hercules star Kevin Sorbo as captain of the Andromeda space ship. He and his crew gallivant around the galaxy on adventures in a Star Trek kind of way.

Now Andromeda is actually part of Greek mythology.

She was the daughter of Cassiopeia and King Cepheus. She was about to be sacrificed to a sea monster for something her mother said when Perseus saved her. That scene was made famous in the 1981 movie Clash of the Titans. Harry Hamlin as Perseus, after killing Medusa, saves Andromeda and wins the day. Not exactly the best of movies but worth a late night viewing if nothing else is on.


I have never wanted to look through a telescope and look at the stars. That should be left to the experts. But I do enjoy seeing and reading what the experts present. All of the wonders out in the universe that are yet to be discovered and plenty of pictures to enjoy. That’s the ticket.


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Cobb

Traveling Man

I am currently on the road with work. It is something that I used to love to do but have developed a dislike for as I got older. I used to travel all the time for work. I would leave Sunday night and get back late Friday evening or early Saturday morning if I missed my flight. There is no substitute for being there.

The telephone was the only link to loved ones and that was more of a surrogate. I missed my oldest daughter's first halloween. I think I even missed her 2nd one. Pictures were great but nothing like being there. I have been fortunate not to have missed the big events like birthdays or holidays but being away for week after week wears you down. I don't know how some people do it. Maybe they want to be away. I was carefree once I guess.

My lovely wife has been doing some traveling lately and really enjoying it. She is getting to see all of those places that I have seen and more. Eating out every night and staying is hotels. It once held quite the allure and for her it is still fun. She finally gets to be away and not responsible for all of the details of running the house. Unfortunately, when she comes home, it is usually not to her specifications but at least we are all still alive and breathing.

I have been blessed to be able to go places and see things thanks to the companies I have worked for. I have flown or driven all over the country on business and been able to enjoy some of the sites along the way. It has allowed me to scope things out for potential vacations and the best part is I haven't had to do it much lately.

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Cobb

Is There Anybody Out There?

Being a product of the 70’s, I am heavily influenced by the music of the period. The psychedelic music of Pink Floyd has had great staying power on the rock radio stations and remains my second favorite group of that era. Queen and their operatic harmonies is number one.

Now Pink Floyd had a string of great albums (yes albums if you’re from that time) that culminated in the release of The Wall. The album took aspects from all of their previous albums and combined it into one packed punch. The agonizing guitar work, the sound effects and the depressing overall tone of the whole album made for the dream sound for teenage angst. If you weren’t depressed before you had to change back from album 2 side 2 to album 1 side 1, you would just crank it up again and search for the doom and gloom that was the essence of the music.

The song Is There Anybody Out There? is the lonely teen’s cry for help. It has the synthesized squeal that was first heard in the song Echoes on their 1971 album Meddle. Another great album. It then asks the questions that every awkward young man yearns to know. Am I alone in this life? Will I ever find my way in the world? Where do I go from here? Where is here? It is all stated in that one question and the lonely melody that follows.

Sadly, they do not answer the question in any manner that can be used by the average teen. It is left for the listener to seek their own answers. But that is probably for the best. The main character of the album tries to kill himself and is pumped with drugs in order to perform a concert. Not an ending that any sane person would envision but good for Hollywood. It did provide the question that kept me thinking. I asked myself if there was indeed someone or something out there for me. I spent the next several years searching for that answer in all of the wrong places. I spent three years at Ft Sill Oklahoma creating someone who I finally started liking. It took a total of 8 years to find “the someone” out there that I wanted to be with and a few more years before I realized that I was never, ever alone. I had a Father who watched over me and his Son who was there for me whenever I needed Him. Amen.

Now I realize that it is not a matter of Is There Anybody Out There? It is a matter of finally coming to love yourself. When you can love yourself, you develop the ability to love others. That in turn allows you to develop relationships that are more than just casual gatherings of people, to finally get to know people and develop true friendships. That allows you to answer all of those questions that stem from Is There Anybody Out There? Yes, I am.

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Cobb

It’s Late

Life can be so great one minute and a pale glimmer the next. What parent has not felt the disappointment when a child makes their first big mistake? Well, we have finally been elevated to that status of parenthood. I must say I am numb. I feel both betrayed and at fault. Where did I go wrong? What could I have done to stop it from happening? Am I reacting too harshly or not harshly enough? It is a fine line with children and as a parent we want them to make the right decisions.

Now the one thing we learn as we get older is that the past is always there and weighs heavily on our decisions. We decide what to do by the results of previous decisions or by the results of those close to us. We also learn that through our past mistakes that time eventually removes the pain and people tend to forget the bad things. Looking backwards at all of the bad things that have happened to us only blinds us to what is out there to see. We cannot wallow in the guilt and despair of events that are already done. We need to look at what we are going to do and make sure that we do not attempt a command repeat performance. That is how we get pigeon holed into being viewed as something we aren’t then create a self fulfilling prophesy.

I know that what happened at my house could have been stopped and it has been upsetting to at least three members of my family. I also realize that we are all going to make mistakes and that we must atone for those mistakes. A thief, when caught, will go to jail (at least when the liberal courts don’t find some excuse to let them go) and that jail is the punishment for the crime. The objective is to get past the punishment and learn from the event. Make sure that we have set ourselves up to maneuver around that situation in the future so we do not get the same results. The best approach is to address the behavior. Give all of the love we have and make sure that the behavior is changed. It is after all the behavior that we do not like.


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Cobb

A Septagon?

When I was going research on the Julian and Gregorian calendars, I came across some interesting information on the month of September. September used to be the 7th month of the year instead of the 9th month. The prefix sept stands for 7. January and February as we know them did not exist because as an agricultural society, there was no need to denote months when planting, growing and harvesting were not occurring.

Well, I came across a bit of geometry that says a 7 sided polygon is called a heptagon. The definition also refers to it as a septagon but seems to indicate that the preferred name is heptagon.



Now we dredge up some old memory at a previous place of employment. We were discussing geometric figures, trying to name each as they came up. I think it had started with a discussion of the child’s book The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster. There is a character that has multiple faces and had a geometrical name so I quizzed my team on geometric figures. We got clear to what a nine sided figure was and had to by-pass it because no one knew what it was.

Well, it just so happens that a nine sided figure is a nonagon. I would have never guessed that. By the same logic, Caesar would have called November Nonaember which not only looks poorly spelled, sounds a like a packaged way to put a fire out.


So, let’s hear it for geometric figures. We have the circle, triangle, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon, septagon (heptagon), octagon, nonagon, and the decagon. It seems we can count to 10 in geometry but not by two’s.

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Cobb

Parents Just Don’t Understand

My e-mail had a rather unpleasant surprise for me this morning. I have my Verizon bill e-mailed to me so I can see the damages before the paper bill arrives. I was amazed that my usual $120 per month bill had ballooned to twice that amount. Now we had an issue in July where my daughter was using the cell phone to call her friends and we had a $500 bill. She lost her privileges for a month on that one but apparently that lesson did not make a big enough impression.

As I reviewed the bill, my wife had a minimum of costs but the majority of the calls. She uses the cell phone for her business and that is why we have them. My phone had more cost but less calls. I hate cell phones and would rather watch Barbara Streisand movies (and I would rather be blinded than watch anything with her in it) than talk on the cell phone. It was bad enough having to carry a pager. At least with a pager you could ignore the vibration. With a cell phone, it an albatross that must be carried everywhere. People depend on their ability to get in touch with you. Let alone the number of people that will chatter on and on while driving their cars. Look out the window and count sometime. I was astounded.

My daughter has been using her cell phone in the afternoons which is a no-no at our house (unless it is a Verizon to Verizon call.) She can call anyone she wants after 9:00 PM (her bed time is 10:00) or on weekends when the minutes are free. But $120 worth of phone calls by a teenage girl is too much, especially after she had the $325 bill in July.

The big question is what to do with the phone? I know that it will no longer be in her possession after I get home today. Should I strip her of using all together unless I hand it to her? Should she have her evening and weekend privileges with it? This is a tough one because she has just started doing that teenage thing where any comment about her lack of effort around the house is immediately responded with you are always yelling at me. She then claims homework and disappears to her room where the music starts and the floor begins it vibrating routine.

I guess the fair thing is to ask her what she thinks her punishment should be. After all, she should get some input into her future will be. The best part is I can take it or leave it. I don’t have to be her friend. It is good to know that we can be friends but right now I have to be a parent. And parents just don’t understand.

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Cobb

Vermouth

I have always wondered what Vermouth was. I know it is an ingredient in a martini but knew of no other uses for it. So what is Vermouth?

Vermouth is wine that has been modified by adding herbs, spices, sugar and carmel. It is called an aromatized wine which means that it has additives as opposed to a fortified wine which has other spirits added to increase the alcohol content. Its alcohol content is between 15% to 19% depending on the style.

Vermouth was invented by Antonio Benedetto Carpano from Turin Italy in 1786. He was “inspired” by a German wine that was fortified with wormwood. Wormwood has been used for centuries as a moth repellant, general pesticide and as a tea/spray to repel slugs and snails. Before its' toxicity was known it was used as the name implies: a worming medicine for people and animals. Not exactly the kind of inspiration I am looking for when trying to make bad wine drinkable.




Vermouth comes in red and white varieties. The red variety is also called sweet vermouth or Italian vermouth. The white variety is dry or French vermouth. Dry vermouth was invented by Joseph Nolly in France in the early 19th century.



Both types of vermouth are used as an aperitif: an alcoholic drink taken before meals as an appetizer. Red is used in mixed drinks while the dry white is used along with vodka and gin in the classic martini.

Either way, the origins of vermouth are not appealing and since I am not a martini drinker, this is one wine I will stay away from.

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Cobb

What Is A Scion?

There is this new class of boxy vehicles on the road recently. It started with Honda and the introduction of their dryer box on wheels, the Element. They are (at least in my humble opinion) like when American Motors introduced the Pacer, the Matador, and the Gremlin. All of their designs were futuristic but Ugly! I have always wanted to take an old Pacer, put a sun roof on it, have the doors and interior sealed, and use it as a fish tank. It would have to be a big house but with all of that glass, what a view it would be.

Back to boxy. The Honda Element takes a box and multi colored exterior and tries to be the design of the future. Unfortunately, Toyota has followed suit with their Scion line of vehicles. Yes, Toyota has launched a car line for the common man. They have their Lexus for luxury, Toyota for the mature driver and now Scion for the cool, hip, younger generation. The Scion I am talking about is the bbX, which resembles the Honda Element except smaller and boxier.


Now, I will admit that I have never been a fan of Asian made vehicles. I have that prejudice from the late 70’s and 80’s when Toyota and Honda were shipping in cars from Japan and creating havoc in our domestic market. I still have not bought a foreign vehicle but lately, the big three have been a disappointment on both style and price. Chrysler has done some upgrading but then again, they have always been gutsier that Ford and GM when it comes to change. I actually like some of the current Japanese vehicles and am considering at least looking at them when I make my next trip to the dealership. But the Scion bbX will not be on my list of possibilities.

So what is a Scion? Merriam-Webster has two definitions, one of which is about plant grafting. The other is: descendant, child. The American Heritage dictionary also references plants and grafting but says: descendant or heir. The Cambridge dictionary defines scion as: a young member of a rich and famous family. Now when I look at the word scion, I think scorpion. It is just a few letters too many but the meaning intended by Toyota is not far from the mark. This is Toyota’s entry into the small, inexpensive vehicle market. They are luring first time American buyers with a trendy vehicle. If you can get them in a Toyota when they are young, you can develop brand loyalty. The Scion is an attempt to sting the American companies and increase market share while GM and Ford dance around in pain. It is tough to respond when you can’t focus on the problem.

So let’s welcome the proud heir from Toyota. Hopefully, they’ll use something besides a box on their next redesign.

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Cobb

Forrest, Forrest Gump

It was once again movie night at my house and my son picked another favorite, Forrest Gump. This is one heart wrenching film that provides the whole spectrum of human emotions and shows that even a man of limited intelligence can do well. At least in Hollywood. The aspect I got from watching it this time (I have seen it about a half a dozen times) it the unconditional commitment Forrest makes to his friends. He is treated poorly by everyone because he was not too bright and as a child he was in leg braces. Growing up he had two friends, his Mama and Jenny. One provided him wisdom and opportunities and the other provided companionship.

With Jenny, whenever she would come into his life, it was always the happiest time he ever had. That is what I call a friend. No matter what she did, he always welcomed her back with a smile and a hug. Can we say that about the ones we love?

His Mama was always there for him. When he got the leg braces so he wouldn’t be a cripple, when it was time to go to school, join the Army and even show dignity in death. There were always words of wisdom that Forrest would apply to some other area of his life.

Forrest viewed the world in a very simplistic fashion. It was either black or white. When the University of Alabama was integrated, he saw student starting school. When the anti-war protesters staged their rally, he saw folks assembled to express themselves. When the he saw Jenny singing on stage, he saw an entertainer and not someone hiding their body behind a guitar. If we could all just refrain from judging people based on how they appear and look at how they behave. Address the behavior and not the person. It is always their behavior that makes us upset. Forrest seemed to understand that.

I know I am not done with this movie yet but that is enough for now.

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Cobb

The Big Date

It has been interesting watching my oldest daughter’s preparation for her 1st Homecoming dance. Her boyfriend goes to a local private school and plays football, so they do not see each other during the week. She has been slowly but surely putting the outfit she is going to wear together. We picked up the dress when we went to Cadillac Michigan a couple of weeks ago. There is a good chance that she will be the only girl wearing that dress. I think that is important to girls to not wear matching outfits to a formal occasion. Guys are not that aware of how each other are dressed.

We went shopping last weekend for the shoes. Now, that was quite the experience. When I need shoes, I go to the store and pick out something that looks good, is comfortable, and will not bite into the house payment. When my daughter looked for shoes, there was nothing she liked. We went to 4 or 5 stores and nothing worked. I can understand wanting things to match but walking until you can’t stand up is not my idea of a fun afternoon.

Now my philosophy on women shopping is that they will look at everything in several stores. Now unless they find something that they absolutely can’t live without, they will look at everything and try most of it on. Now they are shopping and they have to buy something. It is genetic. Must make purchase. They will go back and pick the item that they dislike the least in order to fulfill that command from their DNA. With men it is fit and function. With women it is part of the double helix that makes us who we are. That explains the difference between XX and XY.

Any way, we have the dress and shoes. The hair and makeup sessions have been scheduled with her mother. I believe arrangements have been made to get them out to dinner and to the dance. Tickets haven’t been purchased but that’s a minor detail. All is in readiness for her first big formal high school dance. It is another of those events in a parent’s life where they are as excited about it happening as the children but for different reasons. For us it means that they are growing up and learning to deal with the relational details of their lives. For them, it is their first steps into that brave new world they perceive as adulthood. Boy are they in for a shock.

To top everything off, that day is my anniversary. We had some plans with friends that will have to altered slightly to accommodate our other events. Ah, the flexibility of being a parent. Twister anyone.


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Cobb

Cecil B Demille, Where Are You?

It has been quite gut wrenching the number of disasters that have happened world wide in the last 12 months. We started out the year with tidal waves in Southeast Asia, next hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and now earthquakes in Pakistan. The number of fatalities has been catastrophic and the cost of the devastation unimaginable. All events have been covered in a fanfare of media and pictures of the devastation plastered everywhere for all to see. The outpouring of charity from around the world staggers the imagination. I would never have believed that the world would think twice about helping out the United States when New Orleans was flooded. I am so pleased to have been wrong.

All of these major events have happened and when the story stopped being broadcast, the attention stopped being focused. The human tragedy remained and continued. Once it was no longer a media spectacle, it was no longer a problem. Let’s move on to tackle the next big media challenge. But those people’s lives are still not whole. There is no way to replace human life, but the property, the infrastructure, the places of employment, and some modicum of human dignity can be replaced. It is a shame that we are more than happy to give when the visibility is there, but not to make sure that the work is completed. Without any more tragedy and suffering to create the media stir, the networks went elsewhere to sensationalize their point of view. The media does not like success or reporting a happy story.

That is why, even though these devastations are still fresh in our minds, we have moved on to bigger and better things. If you look around just the United States at the number of daily disaster events (starvation, homelessness, child abuse), it is just as staggering as each of the world wide events. No media attention is focused other than a 60 Minutes segment of a blurb on the evening network news. What happens every day even in the United States and to a greater extent around the world is nothing short of a terratastrophy. We ignore the pain and suffering of the little events because we are not aware or do not care to be aware of them. No monumental loss of life or property, just the individual struggle of someone else, who with just a touch, may turn their lives around.

This is not something for the government. It was never the government’s job to provide people the ability to succeed. Government is there to provide a national defense, provide and enforce the minimum of laws to keep society from degenerating, and put up pretty buildings so we can all visit them and say oooh and aaah. Groups of people with common interests are the best source of help when it comes to assisting those that need a helping hand. Churches, Elks, Eagles, Moose, Masons, and a whole list of fraternal organizations are much better suited to create the environment of change than the government. Why does it continue to go on? That is a whole different topic.

Unfortunately, some time in the near future, we will be getting the “Lights, Camera, Action” of the next world wide tragedy. I am ready for my close up Mr. Demille.

Icool

Cobb

It’s Yellow and Paper

One reason I do not subscribe to the local paper is that I cannot stand the constant, extreme, one sided bias in the news I read. That is why I prefer to read my news from the internet. It may be lopsided in one article but it is not consistently lopsided. When the choice of words always slants towards a specific direction, I no longer wish to subject myself or my family to opinion rather than news. The term yellow journalism comes to mind.

Back before the networks took control of the flow of news into each household and began their visual and audio offensive, before radio there was only newspaper. The only way to get your news was to pick up the daily paper and read what the editors wanted you to read. It is the lack of ability to verify what the papers said that allowed 19th century newspaper magnates like Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst to sensationalize anything their minds could devise. It reminds me of the editor in the Spiderman movies, only with a greater circulation. When you are the only source of news, anything you print is the truth. And since Pulitzer and Hearst both owned vast publishing empires, spanning several cities, you could not get away from their versions of events. Fortunately, the media no longer has a strangle hold on information and ideas. We as a society have independent sources of information that can correct what main stream media had purposely skewed.

Now yellow journalism was not printed on yellow paper. That is reserved for the business section of the telephone book. Is there anything in common between the yellow pages and yellow journalism? The phrase “yellow journalism” was coined around 1898. Yellow pages were officially launched by Reuben H. Donnelly in 1886. At least they are the same century. Yellow pages try to get your attention so that you will call and buy the service or product advertised. Yellow journalism tried to get your attention by sensationalizing a topic to get you to buy newspapers. Both draw their revenue from advertising. I can’t think of any other major epiphanies on their similarities.

I can provide one difference between them. The term, yellow pages, was first used in 1883. It was used because the printer that was working on the phone directory ran out of white paper and substituted yellow instead. Yellow journalism was not a practice that was started by mistake. It was started to provide an avenue to change public opinion and change societal direction to which ever way the editor desired.

If I could only get the local paper to quit throwing their blue bag of advertisements in my yard I would be a happy man. Maybe I should use the yellow pages and give them a call.


Icool


Cobb

Projects: Another Paint Spot on the Wall

Being a homeowner is, we are told, the American dream. We are told to save and scrimp early to get our down payment so we can go into debt for 30 years. For some reason that just doesn’t sound like something you should dream about. But this is America where a man’s home is his castle. Everyone wants a castle fit for a king but most of us cannot afford the regal lifestyle, so we buy what we can afford and immediately begin to change it.

Most of the changes we do to a house are purely superficial. A little paint or wallpaper to spruce up the interior or a few shrubs and flowers to make the lawn aesthetically pleasing are usually the initial forays into home improvement. But as the family gets bigger or the needs change, so does your idea of what home you need. Some folks just go out and buy or build what they are looking for. Most of us modify what we need until we can fit it into our current situation.

I have been involved with remodeling my house since the beginning. My first house developed problems with the shower right after we moved in. So, I remodeled the bathroom. I have no mechanical or tooling inclination so it did not go smoothly or end up the way I envisioned. But, it was functional and taught me some life lessons about projects. My second big project was a kitchen remodeling which due to a greater understanding of what was necessary, went smoother and actually looked descent. I have also put on a deck and re-roofed a house. All of them were a lot of work but rewarding in the end.

The house I am in now has had two major projects so far. I have put in a brick patio and we are currently remodeling the kitchen. The patio has been done since June but I am still moving the balance of the dirt pile to another area of the yard. About 10 more wheel barrels and I will be done. Wahoo! It will be great to have that one complete. The kitchen is a wall paper, paint, and re-tile the floor project. My lovely wife is well into the decorating part of it and I started tearing up the tile floor last night. Ow, my aching back. We are on a deadline for this one though as we are having a Halloween party October 22 and it’s got to be done.

There is the dread of starting a project because you cannot see the outcome and you don’t know how long it is going to take. The end of the project is pudding or the proof. One of them.

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Cobb

Okapi

I was reading about how the Arab world was transitioning from its nomad heritage by switching from camel power to modern industrial transportation. Camels have been a part of Middle Eastern culture for centuries and are being relegated from the standard beasts of burden to racing stock or food source. Isn’t progress great?

I started reflecting on my zoo experiences. We were at the Lansing Zoo and my son got spat on by a llama. It was slimy and smelly and made a big impression on him that when we say back away from the animal, it is for a reason. Now the llama is a relative of the camel although they are from different continents. The highlight of my zoo experiences was at the Cincinnati Zoo. I finally got to see an animal that to me was as fabled as the unicorn; the okapi.


The okapi is the only living relative of the giraffe family. They were reported to the outside world around 1901 and were the last large mammal to be “discovered.” They are found in the Ituri Forest of the Republic of Congo.


It is the only mammal that can clean its ear with its tongue. Not exactly a trait I would be looking for but helpful if you have an ear wax craving. They are not currently endangered but because of their remote location, there is no accurate assessment of their population. I think they look a zebra and a miniature giraffe had a little tryst but they are simply a giraffe that is designed for jungle existence.


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Cobb

What Cha Gonna Do When the Well Runs Dry

I remember listening to my mother’s 45’s when I was a pre-teen and hearing Elvis sing those words. At the time I had no idea of the actual meaning it sounded cool. Well, now I understand the idea of the well running dry. I think most adults understand the idea of having nothing to fall back on and being empty. The modern equivalent would be a dead battery on you cell phone. What cha gonna do when you got no charge? Some of us look forward to a nice relaxing vacation either on the beach or just away from it all. Some people go hunting or fishing and commune with nature to get recharged. Some people prefer the rush of adrenaline to get the water flowing again. Not being a big fan of do it, done it, did it, I prefer a more serene method of regaining my balance.

But what do you do when the well runs dry and just seems to stay that way? We have been experiencing that in my house lately. My wife doesn’t seem to get her batteries charged enough to make it from day to day. The constant running and having to be somewhere or do something is a big part of that. It is also the constant barrage from the children who know just what buttons to push and when. Instead of choosing your battles, it becomes easier to avoid the fight all together. And the children seem to be attracted to the smell of blood in the water and the piranha feast begins. That just pushes the recovery that much further away.

What do you do when the tricks that used to provide a refilling of the well are no longer working? When temporary relief provides just the trickle necessary to make it until it is time to get up and face the drudgery of the sameness of today? That to me is the black vacuum of depression enveloping in a suspended animation midnight. No hope, no life. Just the sameness.

How do you help provide the spark that guides someone out of the valley and back into the light? Be there, provide cautious advice, have them visit a physician, and encourage them to get in touch with God. Some people have chemical imbalances that cause them to get depressed. People view depression as a mental thing but you wouldn’t complain if you were treating high cholesterol or hypo-active thyroid. Both of those are caused by chemical imbalances, what difference does it make if it is an organ, a gland or the brain? Both need to be made fully functional and if you are too depressed to deal with life, are you fully functional?

The other suggestion and the one most easily ignored is get in touch with God. It may not see like He is listening but He is there, always ready to hear anything we need to tell him. Does God always answer our prayers? Garth Brooks said it best when he sang, “God’s greatest gift, is unanswered prayers.” He knows what is best for us and an open and honest communication with Him is all He asks.

So what cha gonna do when the well runs dry, are you gonna run away and hide? Easy to be glib when you are looking in.


Icool

Cobb

GEM

Looking at the price of a barrel of oil leaves one with a sense of amazement. We have a natural resource that is pumped out of the ground and used to create an energy source for the industrialized world. It is unevenly distributed throughout the world so some countries have a bonanza of petroleum wealth, while others appear as barren as the sands above the oil reserves. It comes down to a matter of what are we willing to pay to power this land of prosperity we have developed and what alternative sources we can develop that will replace the oil.

North America seems to have come up on the short end of the petroleum stick but we have an abundance of coal. Not as usable as an energy source as petroleum but available all the same. Its drawbacks are that it is a major source of land and air pollution, it must be mined and shipped to a destination, and it is non-renewable. It also doesn’t work real well for our current automobile infrastructure. None of this is new or insurmountable.

There are all of the green power sources but we have not found a reasonable way to use them cost effectively. But that is about price and creating the next set of rules for powering a consumer economy. I believe that hydrogen will be the next power source for powering the world. It is plentiful, non-polluting, renewable and works with the existing infrastructure. The current problem is that the existing technology does not make it cost effective to utilize hydrogen as an adequate substitute for hydrocarbons. It’s about the cost baby.

One of my favorite SF books is titled GEM. It is about Earth, much like we have it today. The world has broken up into blocks with one for energy, one for food and one for labor. The Middle East and Great Britain are the fuel block. North and South America and Australia are the food block and the rest of the world is labor. Fuel is a scarce resource but food is fast becoming the issue. As the resources become scarce, prices and tensions increase and the factions go to war. It’s the end of the world as we know it.

The book was written during the cold war so it expresses the mind set of that time. I would think that market factors and innovation will eliminate the need to fight over scarce resources. We have the hind sight of knowing what a world war would do and technological advances over the last 30 years have opened unlimited doors for those who can see the possibilities. It may cost a little more in the short term to drive your car but the future will bring a non-polluting vehicle that produces water as exhaust. Who knows, since Hydrogen is lighter than our atmosphere, maybe we can finally get cars that fly.

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Cobb

Put Another Log On the Fire

The amount of chatter on rising energy has caused the media to increase its coverage from a roar to a cacophonous din. Now, I had to think what the difference between a roar and a din was so, I went to the dictionary. A roar is defined as; to utter a loud, deep, prolonged sound, especially in distress, rage, or excitement. A din is defined as; a jumble of loud, usually discordant sounds. The difference would be that one is used for distress, rage or excitement and one is used to express the inability to tell the noises apart.

I hear my gas bill is going up 45% this winter. To go along with the 100% increase in gasoline over the last year, it is finally hitting me where it hurts, my free time. I can do several things to minimize the effects of higher gasoline prices. I have posted previously on car pooling and making each trip count, so there are things you can do to at least stay even with the price per gallon issues. The natural gas issue is going to stretch my time budget.

I have a fire place that works well to heat the house. My mother-in-law has a large stash of wood that she no longer uses. All I need to do is get a few loads of wood back to the house and Viola!, I have temporary relief from the plague of higher prices. I also have two base board space heaters that crank out the heat that I can use but that will just ratchet up on the electric bill. I will have to see which is the lesser of the two evils.

Long term, I have started researching solar panels to eliminate my utility needs altogether. A preliminary look tells me that it will cost between $30,000 and $50,000 to have a solar system installed at my house. It looks expensive until you look at the annual electric and natural gas bills combined. Since I will still have to keep natural gas for cooking, it will cost about $40 per month (being conservative). My Winter heat bills are about $1200 (2004 Winter) and electric is about $2400 per year, so I would be saving that. If I take the extremes for the installation, I get (without interest) an 8.3 year payoff or a 13.8 year payoff. After that, no more energy utility bills and free electricity. Wahoo!!!

Since I will have to research more on solar and find out if there are ways to get the price down or get a tax break, it will not happen this year. I will just have to pucker up and take what the utility companies are dishing. I will have the pleasure of sipping a cold one, surfing the net, and putting another log on the fire while I come to a decision.

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Cobb

Disappointment

One of the fall outs from our trip to Cadillac was that my middle daughter, Emily, had her first Junior High dance that week. She was all excited and had made plans with friends to go. She even had the boy that she has taken a shine to ask her to go with him. It nearly broke my heart to tell her that we were going on a family outing and that her first dance would have to wait.

She took it well. No tantrums or bouts of crying. She asked what she should tell the boy who asked her out. We (my wife and I) told her to thank him but you have another obligation with your family but make sure you tell him to ask you to the next dance.

Well, she took our advice and low and behold, he asked right there to the next dance, whenever it was. Sometimes, parents get it right.

She had a great weekend up in Cadillac with swimming and shopping and eating out so the weekend was a plus for her. Somehow, I am still a little disappointed that I had to take her away from her first real dance. I guess parents look forward to seeing their kids grow and grow up.

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Cobb

Saturday Night in Well Almost Toledo Ohio

What I can't believe is that I am watching Charlie's Angels, the movie. It was marginally amusing the first time I was it. I prefer the originals and have always preferred Jacklyn Smith over any if the others. We went to the video store to rent Robots but got there too late. The Longest Yard was also gone. Oh well, stuck with my children's picks tonight.

Worked on the kitchen all morning. Finally got all of the wallpaper off Thursday night and started painting again. I completed the ceiling this morning before my wife got up. The real decorating is up to her. She knows what goes where and how much. I am just the labor. It is coming along rather nicely and we treated ourselves to an outing of golf this afternoon.

Amanda went to the St. John's homecoming game with her beau, Max. Don't know the score but nothing could beat the Perrysburg-Maumee game last night. Perrysburg came to play and actually beat Maumee 42-14. We thought it would go the other way. Go figure.

I didn't start out to keep a chronicle of events in my life but I have peppered Cobbs Bin with glimpses of what is going on in my life and so it continues.

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Cobb