Accumulating Stuff

We cleaned out the basement last week, tossing out articles we'd been saving needlessly, or things which had lost their usefulness over time. Things like old magazines, broken toys, household items, and objects that were once the property of deceased relatives or pets. It was sort of a Spring cleaning in the Fall.

Over time, I'd gotten used to weaving my way around piles of bags and turning sideways so I could slip past stacks of cardboard boxes. Meanwhile, others wondered out loud, "How can you live like this?" The years had provided a certain comfort knowing that I didn't need to make a decision about what would go and what would remain, as long as everything was under one roof and could stay dry. Lots of my "stuff" had sentimental value, while other portions, although broken, retained a kind of usability. Just the other day, I removed a magnet from an obsolete church key (bottle opener) and my son used it to retrieve an unreachable bolt that had dropped inside the car engine he was working on. See? Some things are worth saving.

I'm a sentimentalist. It's not easy for me to see my past tossed out. Items which are broken or seem no longer useful still have value to me on some level. Old toys our children played with when they still lived at home, the collar our dog wore as I took her to the vet to have her put to sleep, old black and white photographs of people who died before I was born, all have meaning to me. And so, I saved much that could have been thrown out.

The temptation now is to think that with all this room, we can store more stuff, but I've taken an oath to resist such activity. After all, I don't live alone. But someday, when I'm gone, others will go through what I've left behind, and perhaps, before tossing it all out, they will sense just a slight bit of what I felt by keeping it for all those years, and they'll see that it was because I was thinking of them.

Over And Outsourced

First, understand that I call myself a Liberal, with a capital "L," and I'm proud of it.

Employees where my wife works were required to go online and take Diversity Training, and it had to be completed by a certain date. About the same time, the company announced that the computer "Help Center," the department that office workers call with computer issues, was being outsourced.

My wife speculated that the two events were related, and of course, she was correct. The first time she called, she was unable to understand the person on the other end, and they said they'd have someone call her back in ten minutes, which never happened. Others in her department have reported having the same kind of experience.

I imagined the location would be somewhere in India, or perhaps the Philippines, but it's turned out to be Mexico, and company people who worked on the contract are already apologizing to employees.

It reminds me of a legislator in our state who thought that a mandatory seatbelt law was such a good idea in cars that it should also apply to motorcycles. Yet, even if you've never been on a motorcycle, it doesn't take much imagination to understand that if it goes down, the first thing you want to do is get off, rather than have it drag you... and keep you... in the flaming wreckage.

At some point, Corporate America has to realize that outsourcing is not always a good idea. And that some money-saving measures can be costly in the long run.

The Web-Bot Project

The Web-Bot Project is old news, but most of the people I talk with have never heard of it.

Originally, designed to search the web and then make predictions about the stock market, users claim they soon noticed the program making accurate predictions concerning things such as natural disasters and even the 9/11 tragedy.

The History Channel aired a program on the issue, tying in things like the Mayan Calender and the Chinese I Ching (book of changes) which like the Web-Bot Project, predict the end of the world in 2012.

You can watch a promotional video by clicking the link.

Bragging

Occasionally, because of that wonderful miracle called the internet, we get emails and pictures sent from friends and family, near and far, bragging about this or that accomplishment, or saying something about a son, daughter, or grandchild. Mostly it's mediocre stuff, or something so insignificant it's not worth mentioning -- like, "So-in-so just graduated, and now they're going off to college to become rich and famous."

I never really understood all the fuss and fawning over someone for doing what they should be doing anyway. I don't send out emails every time the flowers bloom outside, or when the cat does you-know-what in the sand box. That's what they're supposed to do and announcements aren't necessary.

I think the people sending out these "bragging emails" are really bragging about themselves, and not the person they're talking about, or the one in her prom gown in the picture. It's more of someone saying, "Look what I've done, my child got through school without ever being arrested... " or "Look what I made, she's so pretty, and she looks just like me."

There is good natured bragging, and then there's the bad kind that seems only to attempt to make others feel bad. "Look at us, we're better than you... look what we've accomplished and you didn't... look what we have and you don't."

Once I overheard two young women talking and one was telling the other... "My boyfriend and I have a very romantic relationship." Translation -- "We do, and you and the rest of the world don't. Don't you wish you were me?"

Good natured bragging is the kind that doesn't put others down, or make them feel bad by comparison. But, most bragging is best left alone. It's better to just present the evidence, in text or photo, without editorializing or offering direct commentary. Bragging is usually the kind of thing you have to let others say about you. If your relationship really is romantic, if your daughter really is pretty, or if you've done a good job, people will notice without you telling them... and will probably say so.

Spying On the Home Front

One of my favorite TV programs is FRONTLINE from PBS.

The show that aired on May 15, 2007, Spying On the Home Front, was both informative and a cause for concern. By clicking any of the links above you can watch it (and many other Frontline programs) online, for free.

Make some popcorn, or open a bag of chips, and be sure to view all five parts. It's something like 50 minutes in total.

It's interesting on several levels. First, there's the troubling aspect of the invasion of privacy. Then, there's the mentioning of the various special computer equipment and software used to spy on us.

You hear a lot of people say things like, "I'm not doing anything wrong and so it doesn't bother me." What strikes me most is that we know how data, once gathered, never goes away. And, once law makers are moved to create loopholes in the laws to allow our own government to spy on us, you never see those laws reversed and taken back to what they once were... things only get worse from there.

Let's even give the current administration the benefit of doubt and say that they're all well meaning and that they have the best of intensions... that they're only looking out for our best interest. And then, consider that some totalitarian dictator elected in the future, or one who might take over the presidency in some way other than by an election, is placed in office. And that this person might not have the same concern for our well-being, but is more concerned that he or she has to maintain control over a population that doesn't want him or her in office.

And now that the flood gates have been open... now that they have the technical ability and the legal right to invade our privacy... and destroy individuals... like say, by erasing your bank account... how could you fight it? What if it was just a mistake, and an innocent person's name was similar to a bad guy's name. How do you recover? Who would care?

Something that comes up from time to time is the repeal of Article II of the Constitution that states, "No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States... shall be eligible to the office of President..." so that someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger can become president. Just imagine what that could lead to.

Pockets

I'm fond of pockets in my clothing. Being male, I don't carry a purse, and because I'm not a student or traveling hitch-hiker, I don't employ a backpack. But, there are items I need to have with me when I leave home, like my eyeglasses, car keys, and the ever present universal global communicator cell phone thing.

The problem is, they're not making clothing with pockets like they used to. I don't know, maybe it's because so much of our clothing is being manufactured in places where the constant presence of personal items, like say, a wallet, isn't really that important.

I like to wear pull-over jerseys with a collar, but I think there may be only one or two out of the dozen or so I own that have a breast pocket suitable for placing my eyeglasses, or for storing the occasional cash register receipt. Trust me, eyeglasses don't survive well in your pants pocket, assuming there are pockets in your pants to begin with.

At home, I like to dress casual and prefer to lounge about in sweats. However, sweat pants with pockets is a rare item, although I do own one or two pair. I like pants pockets because it's a good place to store change, cough drops, or the grocery list of errands I've made for myself.

Family members think I've become reclusive as I age, but it's just that I don't want to look like those people you see in the supermarket racing in with their car keys, cell phone, and a pack of cigarettes with butane lighter in hand. So, I stay home... 'cause I got no dang pockets.

Warnings

I’m not the brightest person around, and I have no experience or education in law enforcement. But, when situations such as the one at Virginia Tech arise and consume all of the TV airtime, and the front pages of our newspapers, I’m left wondering: Who is in charge, and what the hell were they thinking?

Shooter On the Loose:
After a double murder took place, and the shooter remained unaccounted for, wouldn’t any sensible person suggest that they should lock all the doors? Authorities would, and have, when an elementary, middle, or high school was in the vicinity. Are college students and faculty any less at risk?

Emails:
Does it make sense to issue a mass emailing as a warning when thousands may not check email for days, weeks, or even months? Was there no intercom system... were there no telephones, bullhorns, or disaster sirens available? Did anyone think to place an announcement on the closed circuit TV system, local cable television, or the student campus radio station, WUVT? Email is yesterday’s technology and not the first source for urgent information.

Bomb Threats:
After two separate bomb threats within two weeks, might it have occurred to anyone responsible for student safety that, rather than a mere prank, someone could have been testing how the campus security force, and local police, responded to a dangerous situation?

Lastly:
When will people in charge finally start admitting they made a mistake? I’m sure there are legal and liability concerns, and there’s a risk of angering the public. But, from the leaders of our Country on down to the administration of the University, they only make themselves look foolish when they keep denying responsibility over and over again.

The End Is Near

Here's one for you, if you haven't already heard about it.

On a Sunday afternoon, I watched an interesting program on C-Span with Neil deGrasse Tyson. You'd know him if you saw him. He hosts a scientific program on PBS, and he's the Director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City -- a really smart and entertaining individual.

Near the end of the program to promote his new book, there was a question and answer period and someone asked about "asteroids." After that, he went into a long explanation that included the following.

Apparently, in 2004, a new asteroid the size of a football stadium was discovered, and within a week, some rough calculations indicated that is was coming this way and would pass very close to the Earth in 2029. The same week of the discovery, there was a large tsunami that devastated Indonesia, and so the announcement was lost in the more pressing current news of the day.

The asteroid, called Apophis, is expected to pass over northern Europe so close that it will dip below the orbits of our communications satellites. However, there is a small window, called a keyhole, that if it passes through, will allow it to return and impact the Earth seven years later in April of 2036, striking a point in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Santa Monica, California. If that happens, monster waves will wipe out most of our west coast.