My son and I were talking about it Sunday evening. About how much technology has changed. In my life time, I’m 63, and in the era of music storage we have gone from 78 rpm to 45 rpm to 33 1/3 long play records. Then came reel to reel, eight trac and cassette tapes. From there we went to CD and currently mp3 storage. My sister-in-law’s husband, who has worked in the laser development field, believes that the width of the transmission band on recording devices will be one atom wide (vs. the ¾ inch wide video transmission of several years ago). Where will it go from there? Who knows?
It seems that not only is technology changing but the rate of change is changing. It seems to be growing in an exponential rate. We can see it in our own lifetimes as we must purchase the latest and greatest piece of audio (or video) transmission electronics. High definition TV is only one of the latest; other formats will follow in rapid succession. It makes life interesting, complicated, fast paced and expensive.
K.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
"What time is it?" "Hey see that sun dial over there."
Did you feel it? It was hardly noticeable. It happened on Saturday, December. 22, 2007, at 1:08 A.M. Eastern Standard Time. It was the Winter solstice when we have the shortest day and the longest night (in the northern hemisphere). Depending upon the calendar shift, it can occur between December 20 and 23. The reverse happens between June 20 to 23 when the days start getting shorter.
To me, the winter solstice signals the beginning of a longer daylight cycle, the time more sunshine appears on my portion of the earth and starts to warm me up. It doesn't mean that we will instantly get warmer weather because there is something called a delay factor. February and March can still give us some nasty, cold, snowy days. But it's the beginning.
The part that interests me is how did the ancients know this? Remember Stonehenge, it was some sort of solar calculator that a primative group of people fingered out. How they determined that, I'll never know. Was it just pure dumb luck? Were they influenced by extra-terrestials? The Devel? Who knows. The point is they knew and I never could have figured that out. Maybe these are the guys that started Cambridge University.
K.
To me, the winter solstice signals the beginning of a longer daylight cycle, the time more sunshine appears on my portion of the earth and starts to warm me up. It doesn't mean that we will instantly get warmer weather because there is something called a delay factor. February and March can still give us some nasty, cold, snowy days. But it's the beginning.
The part that interests me is how did the ancients know this? Remember Stonehenge, it was some sort of solar calculator that a primative group of people fingered out. How they determined that, I'll never know. Was it just pure dumb luck? Were they influenced by extra-terrestials? The Devel? Who knows. The point is they knew and I never could have figured that out. Maybe these are the guys that started Cambridge University.
K.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me...
Well, the packages were all brought to the Christmas tree, carefully wrapped and loving placed there. They were selected for their relevance to their intended recipient, whether it was Mom or Dad, Uncle Dan or Aunt Sue. Each was meticulously chosen as if we were trying to make the best impression on that person for our very first meeting. The bows and ribbons are straight, the paper creaseless, and the anticipation overwhelming. And then the magic moment arrives. We eagerly wait for the gush of emotion as our intended profusely thanks us for our kindness and thoughtfulness.
But it never happens. If our gift opener is a very young child, the moment of expression lasts only as long until the next gift is presented and is torn open. The packaging: boxes, bows and paper lie scatter about as if a refuse heap. All our labor in wrapping and the selection process proves futile. It's the wrong color, size, type, "I have one just like it," etc. Perhaps teachers and people who specialize in social graces could instruct us how to lie with conviction. "Oh my God, how did you know it's just what I was looking for?" "This is just what I wanted, it's perfect." This last saying must be used very carefully if you're getting more than one gift at a family gathering, "This is the best gift I've even received."
We must realize that as the gift giver, the intended receiver has the ability to make or break this occasion. The giver in turn, has the ability to encourage its reception with the words "I spent all afternoon looking for this, especially for you, I do hope you like it." The guilt trip. Ah, the Christmas season, no wonder it comes only once a year.
K.
But it never happens. If our gift opener is a very young child, the moment of expression lasts only as long until the next gift is presented and is torn open. The packaging: boxes, bows and paper lie scatter about as if a refuse heap. All our labor in wrapping and the selection process proves futile. It's the wrong color, size, type, "I have one just like it," etc. Perhaps teachers and people who specialize in social graces could instruct us how to lie with conviction. "Oh my God, how did you know it's just what I was looking for?" "This is just what I wanted, it's perfect." This last saying must be used very carefully if you're getting more than one gift at a family gathering, "This is the best gift I've even received."
We must realize that as the gift giver, the intended receiver has the ability to make or break this occasion. The giver in turn, has the ability to encourage its reception with the words "I spent all afternoon looking for this, especially for you, I do hope you like it." The guilt trip. Ah, the Christmas season, no wonder it comes only once a year.
K.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Ho Ho HO little girl (or boy) What do you want for Christmas?
Now that Christmas is rapidly approaching, you have your Wish List all ready to go—to give to anyone who is willing to listen. If we could just eavesdrop upon ourselves we would hear "I want that and that and one of those, and may I have that please…" The real problem is that we are unappeasable, like an unquenchable fire. We must have more and more. "If I only had that new widget, I'd be happy." Then we get the widget, are we happy and satisfied? No! We want some thing else—today's latest and greatest, not yesterdays. Case in point: do you even remember what you received last Christmas?
I don't know if it's human nature or Western Culture that drives us this way. At any rate, if we were to hear ourselves, perhaps make a recording and listen to it a year or even ten years from now, we would sound like spoiled brats. The very item we want so badly will be tomorrow's junk and discard. Remember seeing parents standing hours in line to give their children a Cabbage Patch doll? Remember seeing people fight to get into that line? More recently we have seen people fight for an Ipod or Xbox 360? We really do need an attitude adjustment.
I remember going to a large school sponsored rummage sale; carefully packed away was a vintage reel-to-reel tape recorder. Nobody wanted it. It was just clutter. The real shame is that in its day this equipment was a very desirable piece, top-of-the-line. Today it's junk.
Please don't forget the real reason for this season, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior and King.
K.
I don't know if it's human nature or Western Culture that drives us this way. At any rate, if we were to hear ourselves, perhaps make a recording and listen to it a year or even ten years from now, we would sound like spoiled brats. The very item we want so badly will be tomorrow's junk and discard. Remember seeing parents standing hours in line to give their children a Cabbage Patch doll? Remember seeing people fight to get into that line? More recently we have seen people fight for an Ipod or Xbox 360? We really do need an attitude adjustment.
I remember going to a large school sponsored rummage sale; carefully packed away was a vintage reel-to-reel tape recorder. Nobody wanted it. It was just clutter. The real shame is that in its day this equipment was a very desirable piece, top-of-the-line. Today it's junk.
Please don't forget the real reason for this season, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior and King.
K.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
There is a time for all seasons, and one is a time to be happy.
My office had its annual Christmas party recently. It's a four-hour event that I look forward to each year and having been there 36 years, I have been to quite a number of them. It's a good time to interact with all of your colleagues, to learn of their goals and ambitions and discover their likes and dislikes. It is also an opportunity to see them in a totally different context, to view them in a non-working environment. Usually we play some type of icebreaker game that livens the party and you see the natural leaders and take charge type personalities come forth.
Do we really need liquor to have a good time? For some the answer is an unequivocal "Yes!" The great majority says, "It makes no difference to me, I'll go with the crowd." An infinitesimally smaller minority feels that it spoils this discovery, interaction process. While we're offered two free drinks, for some reason two is never enough and that seems to color the whole scene or make it tenuous at best. Indeed you do see others in a way that would normally not be familiar. You can be assured: what is spoken during these times is not hindered by constraint or inhibitions. This is raw feeling without boundaries. The kid gloves are off.
Of course for the latter group to even hint at this suggestion would be tantamount to being called a "spoil sport," "wet blanket" or "party pooper." It just won't fly. As the planners analyze the success of this event and begin to plan for the next, let us remember the real reason for this celebration. This time of the year is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.
K.
Do we really need liquor to have a good time? For some the answer is an unequivocal "Yes!" The great majority says, "It makes no difference to me, I'll go with the crowd." An infinitesimally smaller minority feels that it spoils this discovery, interaction process. While we're offered two free drinks, for some reason two is never enough and that seems to color the whole scene or make it tenuous at best. Indeed you do see others in a way that would normally not be familiar. You can be assured: what is spoken during these times is not hindered by constraint or inhibitions. This is raw feeling without boundaries. The kid gloves are off.
Of course for the latter group to even hint at this suggestion would be tantamount to being called a "spoil sport," "wet blanket" or "party pooper." It just won't fly. As the planners analyze the success of this event and begin to plan for the next, let us remember the real reason for this celebration. This time of the year is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.
K.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
The Status Quo: The Body Count Increases & We Don’t Give a Damn
What is the difference between a law-abiding citizen who has the constitutional right, according to the National Rifle Association and their interpretation of the second amendment, to bear arms and a crazed individual? This person could have failed Anger Management 101, be chemically deranged, or mentally incompetent There is not much difference, the similarity exists the moment anyone takes a gun, aims it at another human being and pulls the trigger. There really isn't much to distinguish them. They are impossible to tell apart and this is what causes legislatures and the judicial system to vacillate back and forth.
All Americans have a constitutional right—the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and that is not going to happen if they're shot to death. From data reported by the National Center of Injury Prevention and Control, during the years 1981 to and including 2004, 797,057 people died from gunshots, the same number of people living in Jacksonville, FL. Toss in the data from nonfatal gunshots from 2000 to 2004 and extrapolate it to that same period and you get 1,573,253 wounded people. That's greater than the population of Phoenix, AZ. We don't blink an eye about this; we have become numb to these statistics. It is something we have come to except. It's the American way of life.
The NRA loves it when a security guard evened things up with a killer as happened at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, CO this past Sunday. Jeanne Assam, the guard told reporters, "…I came out of cover and identified myself and engaged and took him down (killed him)." I applaud Assam; she did her job. She is a hero. My comment is WHY do we need to have an armed guard in a church, in the first place. What has happened to the fabric of the American character? Have we degraded to this state of affairs? Have we no shame? I don't believe in a gun in every house, and an ammo loading bench press in every garage. NRA, get off your soapbox, fight for gun regulation instead! Guns for professional security, period!
K.
All Americans have a constitutional right—the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and that is not going to happen if they're shot to death. From data reported by the National Center of Injury Prevention and Control, during the years 1981 to and including 2004, 797,057 people died from gunshots, the same number of people living in Jacksonville, FL. Toss in the data from nonfatal gunshots from 2000 to 2004 and extrapolate it to that same period and you get 1,573,253 wounded people. That's greater than the population of Phoenix, AZ. We don't blink an eye about this; we have become numb to these statistics. It is something we have come to except. It's the American way of life.
The NRA loves it when a security guard evened things up with a killer as happened at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, CO this past Sunday. Jeanne Assam, the guard told reporters, "…I came out of cover and identified myself and engaged and took him down (killed him)." I applaud Assam; she did her job. She is a hero. My comment is WHY do we need to have an armed guard in a church, in the first place. What has happened to the fabric of the American character? Have we degraded to this state of affairs? Have we no shame? I don't believe in a gun in every house, and an ammo loading bench press in every garage. NRA, get off your soapbox, fight for gun regulation instead! Guns for professional security, period!
K.
Christmas Past
We decorated our Christmas tree this evening. What makes this year so different? Well, there are no kids to help or do it for us, this year; our youngest son and his wife have their own traditions to establish. And I don't blame them. Christmas tree decoration is for families and now they have their own. It's also one of the first years in a long time that my wife and I didn't argue; we both must have realized the importance and significance of working together as a unit.
We had very few commercial ornaments; the tree was covered with handmade ones from bits of felt, macaroni, lace trim, string, and glue. There was the metal juice can bottom that had been punched out like a sieve to represent an angel. There was a cookie cutter stamped out star with one point missing, my third son's picture glued in the center reminding us as to who made it and from the clothes letting us guess which year. A yellowed, slightly crushed angel made from a paper plate with cutout wings adorned the topmost branch; there was no name to indicate its builder. There was a miniature sled made from popcycle sticks, carefully glued together with the words "1980 Merry Christmas, Paul, Shore Haven" (the Lutheran Church we attend). A commercially made "Twenty five years together, 1990," ornament reminded us of our first holiday as newlyweds.
There were handmade ornaments from one of the four grandmothers, dotingly switched together. My wife told me they had been fished out of the trash when that grandma had given up her house and moved into the smaller quarters of assisted living. The ornament had come around—full circle; from lovingly crafted, hanging on a tree decades ago to worthless maudlin refuse back again to cherished heirloom reminding us of grandparents living during a Depression era Christmas. The simple stuff had much more meaning for us then the "Kodak Moment" material shown in the national slick magazines.
After the waves of nostalgia had come and gone, we realized we weren't really alone, we had the memories of Christmas Past to accompanying us. We remembered happy times and pleasant thoughts. We knew we had loved and been loved in return and we look forward to seeing our grandchildren's faces when they saw our tree.
K
We had very few commercial ornaments; the tree was covered with handmade ones from bits of felt, macaroni, lace trim, string, and glue. There was the metal juice can bottom that had been punched out like a sieve to represent an angel. There was a cookie cutter stamped out star with one point missing, my third son's picture glued in the center reminding us as to who made it and from the clothes letting us guess which year. A yellowed, slightly crushed angel made from a paper plate with cutout wings adorned the topmost branch; there was no name to indicate its builder. There was a miniature sled made from popcycle sticks, carefully glued together with the words "1980 Merry Christmas, Paul, Shore Haven" (the Lutheran Church we attend). A commercially made "Twenty five years together, 1990," ornament reminded us of our first holiday as newlyweds.
There were handmade ornaments from one of the four grandmothers, dotingly switched together. My wife told me they had been fished out of the trash when that grandma had given up her house and moved into the smaller quarters of assisted living. The ornament had come around—full circle; from lovingly crafted, hanging on a tree decades ago to worthless maudlin refuse back again to cherished heirloom reminding us of grandparents living during a Depression era Christmas. The simple stuff had much more meaning for us then the "Kodak Moment" material shown in the national slick magazines.
After the waves of nostalgia had come and gone, we realized we weren't really alone, we had the memories of Christmas Past to accompanying us. We remembered happy times and pleasant thoughts. We knew we had loved and been loved in return and we look forward to seeing our grandchildren's faces when they saw our tree.
K
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