We must buy the water we drink;
our wood can be had only at a price.
– Lamentations 5:4
Jun 30 2008
Remind anyone of what people do in America today?
Jun 18 2008
Technology, picture update, and politics
Two days of spring left. Temperature has dropped back down into the balmy 60’s (as opposed to the scorching 90’s, the steamy 80’s, and the somewhat satisfying 70’s). The house is being reclaimed by the people and animals, pushing the remnants of the pre-garden and some of the larger, hardier house plants outside. Baxter has nearly caught 175 ice cream pail lids (Frisbees) and has jumped almost to eye level–somewhere around six feet in the air. He has the legs of a frog. :) Matthew’s plucker is complete (pictures later) and is collecting parts for a garden cart and some other chicken and gardening equipment. The garden is coming up nicely. Most things are doing well around here; the exception being the tomato plants, which look more like small trees but have yet to start producing any tomatos.
As I write this, I’m listening to Chopin’s piano concerto #2 in F minor. (ED. it’s now after supper, and I’m listening to Beethovens No. 1 and No 3, Eroica) Classical music can be quite relaxing after a hard day. If you want proof, just Google ‘the effects of music’. Another good Google seach is for web radio, and the first entry has some good clasical stations. One of these days, I’ll have to try to get some classical back on the blog. Of course, the bluegrass would still be there. I’ve finally (I think) figured out how to change the content of a page by the information after the ? in the url–so you could choose which music you want–but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Technology
If you are not technologically inclined and have trouble comprehending terms such as web browser, then feel free to skip this section. Otherwise, here we go! :)
I discovered a cool new website that has some nice color combos, and I’ve tried one of my favorite on pottervilla.net. I’d love to hear what you think. Pretty soon, I’ll be re-designing this blog away from the standard (three of the people in our blog roll use the same one) to something in close correlation to pottervilla.net. Also on the agenda is moving the sidebar to the other side, so we can see the entire music player. :)
On the Tuesday of the blackout, I received a new hard drive I’d ordered (it was a day late, but I didn’t complain since I had no power to run it with :) Since then, I’ve been trying to swap that out with my current boot drive (the hard drive that runs your operating system, or in my case two operating systems), but have been having currently insurmountable difficulties with my copied dual booting setup. Now, I’m giving up and am going to use that drive as my secondary data drive. I also have an old third hard drive that I’m going to try to install Linux on. Apparently, Linux needs three partitions, and each hard drive can only support four. You can support more if you use logical partitions instead of primary partitions, but that requires having a dynamic hard drive, which apparently can only boot one operating system. It doesn’t make sense to me ether, but that’s what the computer is saying. The new hard drive should make backups a lot faster, as well, since I would only have to backup to a drive in the computer rather than to a drive all the way across the network.
Firefox 3 is finally out! It’s a worthy upgrade, especially if you already use Firefox. If you use Internet explorer, it’s still a worthy upgrade. If you use any other browser; or especially–terror of all terror–a browser provided by your internet service provider, it’s definitely an excellent upgrade. I’ve just finished outfitting mine with the quintessential Google Toolbar, ad-block plus, FlashBlock, Foxmarks (keeps your bookmarks on a server so that you can synchronize them to any computer), IE Tab (which will let you open the few pages that don’t render well in Firefox with the Internet Explorer rendering software, but you still don’t need to leave Firefox), Fire Ftp (which is a file transfer utility for your Firefox browser, better than the add supported one that I currently use), and Fox Forecast (which gives an Accuweather.com forecast for the next four or five days, day and night, as well as a radar and sever weather warning alert). McAffe SiteAdvisor is also an installed must.
Pictures
A Recient Sunset
Breakfast :)
A Sunrise
Baxter playing with Dad (the shadow)
Baxter Playing with the chicken plucker
We have a bunch more pictures of the plucker, but I’ll let Matthew post them.
We have a bunch more pictures of the plucker, but I’ll let Matthew post them.
A tree growing in a tree – not good
The sky and fields looking south
The flag against the sky
A Picture with interesting power lines :)
Two bushes in the new landscaping
Jimmy – one of the roosters that’s going to survive butchering time.
Politics
First off, let me say that I abhor politics. Politics is just a bunch of men (and now women) in fancy suits slinging verbal mud at each other; politics is fueled by the dirt of hard working taxpayers, and powerful corporations supply water. You and I buy the suits–not by choice, mind you–and still submit to every kind of abuse. The suit-wearers place unrealistic controls on us; they bombard us with propaganda through their servants the media; they even limit the control we have by submitting to an international “consensus” which delegates power to a committee of so-called ‘experts.’
Unfortunately, politics is necessary. Not the kind of politics that I just described above; that is the kind we have now. Some statesmen (basically truthful politicians), such as Ron Paul (who sadly dropped his bid for republican nominee), Chuck Baldwin and Bob Barr still have a vision for a good government. Not all people follow the first and second commandments: love The Lord your God with all your heart, etc., and love your neighbor as yourself. Early after Israel settled in the promised land, they did not have government by man; they had judges and priests who kept things in order–some of the time at least.
Now, we have no such system. We have republicans and democrats. The republicans are hypocrites and the democrats are lairs. The truth of the matter is that a truthful democrat is ether a fool or ignorant. Republicans who do what they say are really constitutionalists.
The first issue at hand is the move to electing officials by ‘popular vote’, essentially changing America from a representative republic into a rough hewn democracy. The powers that be plan to do this without the necessary constitutional amendment. Beware the easy road; Take care when politicians make no big deal of something!
Next is an issue on which I don’t really have an opinion: whether we are better off with Barrack or Hilary. Obviously, since she dropped out, it isn’t something worth considering any longer, bar a government class paper. :)
Is the economy really in a slump now? According to bea.gov, (I realize the government can’t always be trusted, but how political are statisticians?) the ‘Real Gross Domestic Product’ has been positive since 1991, and has only been negative seven times since 1950. That’s in inflation adjusted numbers. For a good report on current inflation head over the the turtle mountain hillbilly. Inflation certainly has an effect on the economy. I know that my faimily (and probably most people reading this) are spending less these days than they have previously. In inflation adjusted dollars, dad’s making a lot less now than he did five years ago. I guess that constitutes economic problems. But then, we live in michigan where our wonderful democratic governer managed to pull the state into economic crisis well before anyone else felt anything, then (in my opinion) pulled the rest of the country with us. :)
Concluding thoughts:
“The more you read and observe about this Politics thing you got to admit that each party is worse than the other.” – Will Rogers
“A politician is a statesman who approaches every question with an open mouth.” – Adlai Stevenson
“You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to man’s age-old dream — the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order — or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism.” – Ronald Regan
“The great masses of the people will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one.” – Adolf Hitler
“This is what the king who will reign over you will do:…He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants…He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.” – selections from Samuel 8.
Wow, 10%… we need a king!
“But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh.” – Genesis 47:24
20%…We need a pharaoh!
Now To him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!
In his name,
Jonathan
Jun 3 2008
Life here on Tuesday
Well, we’re already in the sixth month of the year, and it’s getting hot for the summer. Since I’m allergic to pollen, etc., and therefore can’t have my bedroom windows open, and since it is on both the east and south sides of the house, making it quite hot up there when it’s sunny, dad–the room is on the second floor, and the window is pretty cranky, requiring engineering expertise–installed our air conditioner. We have opened our pool, but it’s still pretty cold for us spoiled swimmers; it’s only about 65 F. Summer school is going well, only two trig lessons left.
I’ve done some more composing/arraigning work recently. While sitting at the piano, I just let my fingers have free reign, and they came up with something pretty interesting for a change (as opposed to the nice but normal stuff) so moved to the computer and punched it into Finale Print Music (my music notation software). It came out pretty good, but not as good as it was at first on the piano. If I get a chance, I’ll upload a mp3. I rearranged a voice solo part with piano accompaniment into a piano solo for one of mom’s piano students–her favorite student–who was graduating and would be discontinuing lessons. Now, I’m working on rearranging Our God Is In Control by Don Wyrtzen from a four part choir piece with piano into a ladies trio with piano accompaniment. The guy who is teaching our Sunday school class in Ecclesiastes thought that this would go well with the book, and requested that we rearrange it. The only problem was that he didn’t have anybody to sing it, so I didn’t know what to arrange it for. We finally decided to just arrange it for the trio, knowing that we have some talented voices in that area, and hope they will sing it. :)
Our DSL is having some more problems this morning, but apparently it is city wide, so it’s messing up everyone in Charlotte who is teaching Koreans English, not just mom. :) I was on the phone with the service providers for about an hour this morning, and spent another half hour trying to contact them. The internet problem also affects the phone lines.
Mom went up to Flint (about two hours away), taking Matthew and me with her, and bought a spinning wheel. For those who know about these things, it is an used Ashford Elizabeth 2. It retails new for about $755 (finished) but she got this one for $405 using a PayPal 10% off coupon. If I wasn’t feeling so lazy (and hungry) I would take a picture of it. Maybe next time.
A quote: (I stumbled across this, and thought it was good, if wordy)
“If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a small chance of survival. There may even be a worse case: you may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.” – Winston Churchill
And a verse:
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things–and the things that are not–to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God–that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” – 1 Corinthians 1:26-31
And just for good measure, another:“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:13-16
To go with the last verse, listen to song #5 on the side bar: City on a Hill (if you like bluegrass :)
In His name,
Jonathan
P.S. If you noticed that half of this post is some one else’s words, read the end of the fourth paragraph again.
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