3 Weeks. Could It Be?

Two days ago, I sent an email to the property management agent for our rental house, officially setting the date for what I hope will be our last day of occupancy. We have finally broken through a few major bottlenecks, and once again Chase Manor 2.0 is a beehive of activity.

Cabinet frames have been installed, countertops and sinks too. Flooring started yesterday and will continue through next week. The electrician has been on site, and appliances are on order. HVAC and plumbers are at the ready. A race is underway to schedule and pass an inspection by the second week of April. Our goal is not completion, in the sense that we have a closing on the house and the construction loan. Rather, we are shooting for a certificate of occupancy that will allow us to get out of the rental and into the new house, while outside work (landscaping and retaining walls) continues. Insurance support for the rental has dried up, so the sooner we get into the house, the better.

Here's a shot of our new Corian countertops, an upgrade over the original Formica:

Deck construction is also underway. This is one feature that I am very much excited to see, and I pray that it is done well. The original house had a screened deck under roof, with a small landing for a long set of stairs that went down to ground level. With the loss of our towering oaks, however, I wanted an extension that could take advantage of the view. The result is a creation of our own design, handed off to the builder. And now it is finally coming together:

It is hard to describe how I feel, knowing now that this time next month, perhaps, I'll be sitting inside a recreation of my home. It is not a feeling of pure joy, or even relief, though I'll allow there is some of both. We've been so consumed by this chapter in our lives, that the prospect of it coming to an end is strangely unnerving. I'm not sure that makes sense, to have even a little trepidation of this next transition. Maybe I'll better understand it all once it comes to pass.

One thing I know for sure: We'll be home soon.

Killing the Mood

I know I'm not supposed to judge a book by its cover. I know that our perceptions and attitudes are often shaped by our environment and our upbringing, those cultural peculiarities that are impressed upon us from a very early age. I know that I should never ever judge a thing by the color of its "skin."

But the man in me just cannot wrap my mind around this. I found that I couldn't even bring myself to approach what ultimately may be a fine product, because I was instinctively repulsed by the blinding glare that filled my vision.

And at Sears, of all places. Right next to the stellar, sleek lines of Craftsman grey, black and red.

Forgive my prejudice. But I just can't. If this were in my garage, it would totally kill the mood. It's just .... wrong.

Stop the Presses: The Senate Drafts a Budget!

After 4 years of blowing off one of their primary Constitutional responsibilities, the Democrat-controlled Senate finally came up with a draft budget. I guess we should chalk this up to "progress." At issue is the direction this so-called progress would take us (emphasis mine):

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats unveiled a largely stand-pat budget on Wednesday that calls for $1 trillion in new tax revenues over the coming decade and increases spending while protecting the party’s domestic policy priorities and adding $4 trillion more to the national debt than a slashing alternative from House Republicans.

The plan by Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray of Washington blends about $1 trillion in modest cuts to health care providers, the Pentagon, domestic agencies, and interest payments on the debt with an equal amount in new revenue claimed by closing tax breaks.

But because Democrats want to restore $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts over the same period — cuts imposed by Washington’s failure to strike a broader budget pact — Murray’s blueprint increases spending slightly when compared with current policies.

I guess adding another $4 trillion to the national debt, already over $16 trillion now, is no big deal. After all, the president has told us that there is no debt crisis.

Here's what an Alabama senator had to say (emphasis mine):

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala), the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, summarized the contents of that budget effort: “The Senate Democrat plan offers $7.3 trillion in new debt in the first 10 years, with interest payments climbing to $791 billion in the tenth year and total debt rising to $24.4 trillion. Debt remains permanently elevated above the danger zone of 90 percent of GDP, resulting in slower growth and lost wages. Excluding war spending gimmicks, net deficit reduction is only $279 billion. In the Senate Democrat plan, the deficit in 2023 is $566 billion; the House Republican plan, in contrast, produces a surplus in the tenth year.”

Obviously, I'm in no position to assess the veracity of these descriptions, as the spin cycle is already in full force. In fact, a later version of the AP article removes the sentence about adding $4 trillion to the national debt.

In 2008, the national debt stood at about $10 trillion, and we thought it was bad then. If the Senate's budget were ever enacted (which it will not as long as the Republicans hold the House), by 2023 - a timeframe of a mere 15 years - we will have fully doubled the national debt.

So you'll have to forgive my snarky attitude and my pessimism about the fiscal direction of this nation. It is just plain stupid. Not a nice thing to say, I know, but it is true.

Brennan's Symbolic Gesture: Oops

Public figures of all sorts will from time to time make grand, symbolic gestures designed not so much for their intent, but rather for the PR they receive in making them.

Such was the case when the White House related the nature of the oath taken by new CIA Director John Brennan:

Hours after CIA Director John Brennan took the oath of office—behind closed doors, far away from the press, perhaps befitting his status as America's top spy—the White House took pains to emphasize the symbolism of the ceremony.

“There's one piece of this that I wanted to note for you,” spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at their daily briefing. “Director Brennan was sworn in with his hand on an original draft of the Constitution that had George Washington's personal handwriting and annotations on it, dating from 1787.”

That's nice, taking an oath on an authentic copy of the Constitution you are swearing to uphold and defend. But wait, there's more:

The Constitution itself went into effect in 1789. But troublemaking blogger Marcy Wheeler points out that what was missing from the Constitution in 1787 is also quite symbolic: The Bill of Rights, which did not officially go into effect until December 1791 after ratification by states. ...

That means: No freedom of speech and of the press, no right to bear arms, no Fourth Amendment ban on “unreasonable searches and seizures,” and no right to a jury trial.

Oh, the irony.

Word of advice to all who would try to make a grand gesture and then crow about it: make sure you do your homework and know your history, else risk sending an entirely different message than the one you intend.

Awesome Image of Coronal Activity

I came across the image below following a link to dallasnews.com. At first, it looked a little too fantastical, and I was sure it was simply the fine work of a graphic artist.

Au contraire. I poked around on NASA's website and found the posted image. The image was indeed captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. While the image has been "enhanced" to make additional wavelengths visible, it is altogether real.

And very awesome.

This image provided by NASA shows an image captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory of a blast of plasma streaming from the sun in August 2012. (NASA)

Outcomes-Based Governing

Is there a right way to govern? I ask this question, because as easy as it is to pound my fist at the cynical abuse of rules and processes committed by both parties when in the majority, I cannot help but to wonder that if there is a "right way," would this or any forthcoming generation of politicians even recognize it, much less employ it.

This phenomenon of "outcomes-based" governing, while it may not be entirely new, is a troubling trend that can only undermine further the already fractious relationship between the voters and those who purport to represent them. By outcomes-based governing, I simply mean the trend that "anything goes" in the quest to get desired legislation into force. Outcomes will not engender trust nearly as much as the transparency of the process used to achieve those outcomes.

The case du jour: A few weeks ago, Alabama Republican legislators crafted a bill designed to provide a method for local school systems to opt out of a state-mandated school calendar. The background, in brief, is that in late spring 2012, just weeks before the end of the school year, the state passed legislation mandating the start and end times of the school year. School cannot start before the 3rd week of August, and must end within days of Memorial Day. The result of the 2012 legislation forced school systems to scramble to adjust their 2012-2013 calendars, and was generally received negatively by all except the Alabama Tourism Department. This new bill was designed to give local systems the chance for a waiver to opt out of the mandate, and thereby the ability set their own calendars. This bill actually had some bipartisan support, the endorsement of the state superintendent of schools, and was on track for quick passage. The state Senate passed it, then the state House passed it. From there it went to committee, where all hell broke loose.

What happened in committee is still a little murky, but the 9-page bill for school flexibility came out as a 27-page bill establishing what amounts to a school voucher program. There was no substantive debate allowed on the revised bill, and both the state House and Senate passed it. The governor was supposed to sign the bill on Tuesday, but a judge issued a restraining order, and now we're at an impasse. The Republicans are appealing to the state Supreme Court, completely Republican, but the outcome is far from certain. Just for the record, this type of back-room behavior is standard operating procedure for Alabama, no matter which party is in power.

My beef is this. I'm supportive of the school flexibility bill, and in principle, I'm supportive of school choice solutions. But the manner in which the state Republicans handled this matter disgusts me. If you want a school voucher program, craft a bill, debate it and vote on it. Make a public case for it. You may win, you may lose, but at least you did it the right way. Instead, the perception is now fully entrenched that somebody hijacked a simple bill to push through something entirely different. And that perception may be the truth. While I personally think the judge is out of line in preventing a passed bill from going to the governor's desk, the Republicans only brought this upon themselves.

In the end, good legislation may not see the light of day, because somebody got greedy and tried to ram something else through the process. Outcomes-based governing is a live-by-the-sword, die-by-the-sword proposition. It fully undercuts and erodes virtue and principle. And it is clearly the wave of the future.

But it is a terrible way to govern.

Testing the New Headphones

The company for which I work recently completed a major relocation. We left our original facility, home to us for 8 years, for "new" digs a mile or two away. The new arrangement has us temporarily sharing offices, while some additional renovations at our new facility are completed over the next several months.

Although I have had my own office for the last decade, I'm no stranger to office-sharing, so it is really no big deal. However, I can no longer just close the door and put on background music while I work, or watch that must see news video telling me how screwed up Washington is. So I invested in an inexpensive set of Bluetooth headphones by Kinivo.

But I needed a test run. So what better sound test of frequency range and depth (not to mention assurance that I'm not disturbing my office mate) than to pump up these guys. If you have 26 minutes and 3 seconds to spare, put this on in the background and enjoy. I love this. Oh, and the headphones work great!

One Year

A year ago today, I came home mid-morning to this:

In the year since a high-end EF-2 tornado turned our lives upside-down, I can only marvel at how fresh the memory remains. Reminders of our struggle are everywhere, but so are the reminders of grace, of blessing. It is this light we hang on to, knowing that in time all things can be restored, after a fashion. Not the same, but we press ever onward.

Today, we're still waiting for this long year to end. It won't end until we can finally move back in to this:

Projected homecoming: April.

April, please hurry.

Sequester's Eve

At the stroke of midnight tonight, the much ballyhooed sequester goes into effect. The sequester - that series of across-the-board, mandatory budget cuts being forced upon the witting and unwitting alike - will either feel like a slap on the wrist or a sucker punch to the gut. As for me, I think one side is seriously overstating the impact, while the other side may in fact be understating it. I'm not inclined to follow Henny Penny and his band of friendly fowl, but neither am I naïve enough to think there's not a fox waiting to take advantage of the moment. Even though the cuts amount to a paltry 2% of the annual "budget" (ha), these cuts WILL have an impact as the map below indicates. How much of an impact is really a matter of degree.


The above map from the Tax Foundation leaves much to be desired, as it does not explicitly illustrate the origin and nature of the federal funding that the states receive. But it does show that every single state of the Union depends in part on federal funds to supplement revenue at the state level. Now as I understand it, the sequester is essentially an across-the-board reduction (and practically, it only reduces the projected increase in spending, but that's another matter). What that means is that a state like Mississippi, which relies on federal outlay to fulfill almost half (!) its revenue requirements for services, could potentially have a harder time absorbing the cuts than a state like North Dakota, which only relies on federal outlay for 26% of its revenue needs. The sequester will not in itself evenly and equally reduce federal outlays to the states by 2%, but every state WILL feel its impact, some more than others.

By no means am I suggesting that states should strive to be 0%. There's nothing inherently wrong with federal money flowing to the states. It is another argument for another time whether it is fiscally responsible for states to be grossly dependent on federal funding. What I am suggesting is that as long as states do depend on federal funds to balance their budgets, any cuts that come out of Washington ARE going to have an impact. Services and benefits WILL be reduced, or other revenue will have to be found (state and local tax increases) to perpetuate those services. Defense cuts will impact local economies, the degree of which will depend on the level of dependency a given local economy has on such funding.

I find it likely that at some level, everyone is going to be touched in some way by spending cuts. At the individual level, for some, it could be devastating - loss of job, benefits, etc. Others might only experience more hassle and delays in dealing with government driven programs and services. But at the 50,000 ft level, for the overall good of our Nation's fiscal health, the pain can be a good and necessary pain. Do I like the WAY it's being handled? Absolutely not, as I again state that this poorly planned, across-the-board approach is a blind, reckless approach to reducing spending. But if it works, it might in the long run be worth the pain. Because I'll tell you this: suffering the effects of a 2% cut is far preferable to a full economic collapse that will undoubtedly result from continued runaway spending and debt.

Now, it would be nice if Washington was smart enough to realize that spending cuts would actually be much easier to handle if it wasn't suffocating the economy with over-regulation and over-manipulation of the market.

See you on the other side. Because come March 27th, we'll be doing this again. Except then, we'll be talking shutdown.

Accio Hogwarts!

I'm almost 42 years old, yet I am not ashamed to say:

I want one!


Check out the gallery too.

A Feel-Good Story for Today

Finding a good news story buried among the doom and gloom headlines can be a tough business. When you do run across them, they often end up being isolated local stories that are nice to read, but are likely forgotten as soon as you click the next link.

I saw one today however that may stick with me a bit longer, if only because it gives hope that our generation - and the next generation - might yet turn out all right. Worst case, there's a candle shining in the darkness.

An unemployed teenager who embarked on a 10-mile walk through the snow for a job interview saw his dedication pay off after another restaurant owner, impressed with his work ethic, offered him a job at his business.

…

“I said, well how come you’re not on the bus?” Mr Bouvier said. “He said, 'I can’t afford the bus until I get a job.’

“I’m thinking to myself, here’s a kid walking almost 10 miles in the ice and slush and snow for the hope of a job at minimum wage. That’s the kind of story your parents used to tell, my parents used to tell.”

Read the whole thing. I'm glad this young man found a job, and I'm glad the restaurant owner was able to provide an opportunity for him. I know minimum wage may not seem like much, and the higher it goes, the less likely there will be jobs for teens and young adults. But it is nice to know that sometimes things work out. Character, perseverance and work ethic really do matter. Here's hoping this arrangement works out for both. It sounds like it just might. And if it does, the re-telling of this tale will undoubtedly grow and resonate over time. (Ten miles in the snow? That's just too easy.)

A Note on the Sequester

As much as I loathe the idea of dipping my toe into the cesspool of national politics on this frigid three-day weekend, allow me a quick thought on the looming budget cuts known as the "sequester." As you may recall, the sequester is a series of forced spending cuts written into the Budget Control Act of 2011. Basically, the sequester provision was written in as a failsafe in the event that Congress failed to reach a budget agreement that satisfactorily reduced the deficit by $1.2 trillion over 10 years. Despite the protestations you may hear in the news, it doesn't matter where the idea for the sequester provision originated. In the end, the Republican-led House and the Democrat-led Senate passed the bill, and the president signed it into law. All bear responsibility for the idea.

If there's any blame to be had, you'd be better served focusing on the fiscal irresponsibility of the Democrats for failing to even attempt to pass a budget in over 4 years, which by the way is their Constitutional responsibility. The House continues to write and pass budgets that get ignored by the Senate. We can beat this dead horse all day, but the fact is, the press doesn't care, and the American people enable this behavior by continuing to vote the way they do.

As to the sequester itself, despite the risk it may represent to my own livelihood, I really can't say I'm opposed to it. Our government cannot continue indefinitely spending money it doesn't have. And while I think it disproportionately puts our national interest at risk, given the drastic impact it will have on our defense and military readiness, maybe forcing down some ill-tasting medicine will bring back a measure of seriousness to the critical near and long term fiscal issues facing this nation.

Of course, there are some who will never take it seriously. Consider the comments of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, speaking in the context of the sequester's impact to congressional pay (emphasis mine):

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that she opposes a cut in congressional pay because it would diminish the dignity of lawmakers' jobs.

"I don't think we should do it; I think we should respect the work we do," Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol. "I think it's necessary for us to have the dignity of the job that we have rewarded."

Wow. We shouldn't cut congressional pay because it would undermine their dignity. Talk about a sense of entitlement. In my career, I've been very blessed. Yet I have also experienced pay cuts and a layoff. While I certainly remember learning to check my ego through those experiences, I'd like to think I didn't lose my dignity in the process.

Dignity is not found in the title or the position, but rather in the man or woman who fills it. This truth applies no matter what "station" one has, if you choose to consider such.

We have to stop kicking the can down the road. We have to break the cycle. If the sequester is painful, it is only because we chose to ignore our fiscal imbalance for far too long. But we'll get through it. Whether we learn anything from it, however, remains to be seen.

A Title Goes Here

Sorry, folks. I've been absolutely buried by a corporate relocation, a flurry of decision making on the house, and a final review on a proposal. As a result, I now have the mental acuity of a bowl of oatmeal. No room to process sequestration, North Korea nukes, or an asteroid fly-by.

So here's a pretty picture instead. TTFN.

News From the Groundhog

And the groundhog came up from his hole, turned his eyes toward the skies, capturing in view the early glare of the sun against shingled slope and brick façade, to the pile of broken cinder, wherein he turned and declared to all who would hear, "I have risen and I have seen, and therefore I proclaim: Six more weeks of rental." To which the builder replied, "Well, maybe seven or eight." And the clouds came, and the sleet and snow began to fall.

It occurs to me that it has been a couple of months since I last provided an update on Chase Manor 2.0. A great deal of progress has been made, to include the completion of the bricking, hanging drywall, stairways and rails, and trim work. There's a new garage floor (with a significant defect that'll need to be repaired), garage doors and openers, and built-in bookcases in the bonus room upstairs. The Hardieplank siding is finally up at the front door and on the backside where the deck will be, ready to be painted when it is warm enough to do so.

Interior painting is about to begin (hopefully), to be followed by flooring, cabinets, countertops, deck construction, low voltage finishing, bath fixtures and landscaping. We had hoped to be in by the one year anniversary, but that is no longer in the cards. If things go well the next few weeks, we may be able to get a certificate of occupancy by mid-March or so.

The garage exterior. The keystones are new - we didn't have those the first time.

We changed the column design in the great room / foyer / dining room from a cylindrical design to what you see here. Not entirely sure about it, but maybe it'll grow on me. One change not pictured, is that the trim at the top of the column was reduced in size, so that it is not quite as obnoxious as you see here.

The new fireplace mantle design. Lower than the first by about 6 inches or so.

And now to the bookcases. In the original house, the built-in bookcases spanned the length of the bonus room wall. Each set of shelves was painstakingly sanded and painted (by me), with the backpanel painted the wall color and the shelf faces painted the trim. This produced a wonderful effect that I really enjoyed. However, the new roof truss construction forced a change to a narrower cavity design to fit between the trusses. Given this constraint, we opted for fewer shelves across the wall, giving us the corners back and a little more wall space. Fewer books, to be sure, but we will now have a long basement wall for standalone bookshelves if we so desire. And yes, much to the painter's relief, these new shelves will be trim color, including the back panels. The additional wall space eliminates the need to paint the backpanels separately.

Below is a picture of the original bookcase wall design.

Yes, I was hung up on the bookcases. But I'm over it now. Really. (You believe that, right?)

Not much else to say at this point, other than we are very ready to have this finished. The sleet and snow mix have stopped now, leaving just the lightest of dustings on the ground and ice on the roads. Here's hoping the next two months fly by.

Time and Potatoes

When I was around 12 or 13 years old, I had a potato clock. It was a sturdy little thing, with a stand made of smoky-clear plastic featuring two holders just the right size to hold a pair of soda cans. It had a decent gauge wire firmly joined to zinc and copper electrodes, with a small digital LCD that could be fixed to the stand. I had that clock for quite a few years, and to this day I remain fascinated by natural electrochemical processes. I mean, a clock powered by a spud? How cool is that?

It so happens that a potato clock from Hobby Lobby found its way into the pile of Christmas presents this year. It was meant for the boys as an educational project, but who are we kidding here? It was really just a toy for me. But like so many toys these days, the quality of the product leaves MUCH to be desired.

First, let me show you the holders, these fine receptacles intended to hold our electrolytic spuds:

Nice, huh? And they might even work, if you used baby potatoes. But they are not, shall we say, ideal for your normal sized spud:

And then there's the wire. The product came packaged with the most brittle, flimsiest gauge wire they could find. The instructions tell you to tie the wire to the zinc and copper strips and tape them. Tape? Ugh. The wires then run into a cheap plastic box holding the LCD display and control board. As luck would have it, the solder joints where the wires connect to the control board aren't sound. It took me half an hour to get the display working, and still, if you touch it just so, the clock resets to 12:00. I lost my lab-grade soldering iron in the tornado, otherwise I would have ripped that thing open and rebuilt it with a better grade wire and better joints at all the tap points. I may yet do it (sounds like good justification to replace a tool to me). I've suddenly got the itch to tinker again. Which reminds me, I've got a old, busted up lamp made out of a slice of tree to fix too.

Anyway, quality aside, the clock works (more or less). The moral of the story? Always have red solo cups handy, and never lose the joy of taking things apart - because these days, you may very well have to take things apart to make the blasted stuff work. Most fun I've had in months!

Patented Rick Sutcliffe Pick-Off Move Now a Balk

Man, I wish I could find a video clip of the world famous Rick Sutcliffe trick pick-off move. Alas, I cannot, although if one appears online in the next several days, I'll update this post. In case you haven't yet heard the news, MLB has made a rules change:

NEW YORK (AP) -- One of the oldest trick plays in baseball is now a balk.

Under a rule change imposed by Major League Baseball, pitchers will no longer be allowed to fake a pickoff to third base and throw to first as a way to dupe a runner on first base into breaking for second. Next season, that move would be a balk. Pitchers can still step off the rubber and fake to third.

Back when Rick Sutcliffe pitched for the Cubs, every now and then he'd try to execute this fake to third, throw to first pick-off move. It was the most painful and silly thing to watch, and all Cubdom would collectively groan every time he tried it. I honestly don't think it EVER worked for Sut, but whenever he'd get runners on the corners, you knew it was coming.

It may be a silly rule change, but it is a sillier move. Calling it a balk now once and for all brings an end to such tomfoolery. Just play the game, boys.

Here's a little more on the story.

Benghazi Bluster

It has been a busy week, so I did not follow the Senate hearings on the Benghazi fiasco featuring Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Probably just as well, as watching it would have undoubtedly brought my blood to a boil once again at the systemic failures up and down the chain that led unnecessarily to the deaths of 4 Americans, including a U.S. Ambassador.

But I did read a little, and one thing that seems to be clear based on some of the reporting and commentary I've seen is that a major whitewash is underway. When the story is more about how a feisty Clinton braved a hearing in front of grandstanding politicians after suffering from serious health issues, than a detailed inquiry into the events and decisions leading up to that fateful night on September 11, 2012, you know we've gone off the rails of any meaningful discovery of the truth. After Clinton testifies before the House committee, I suspect Benghazi may well disappear from the headlines for good.

What a strange phenomenon this is, to realize that when a figure in the public eye proclaims to the camera "I take responsibility," they are in fact doing just the opposite. Somehow, we have allowed the utterance of culpability to become an absolution of accountability. It takes far less courage to say "I am responsible" than it does to do the hard and painful work that makes it true.

Accountability, insofar as it can be considered a virtue, is in danger of becoming an anachronism in the public consciousness.

As citizens, more and more we are allowing this to go on, and therefore illustrate our own culpability in this erosion of virtue. Whose responsibility is it, really? Who among us genuinely takes ownership?

In Search of A Disciplined Mind

In years past, even on these pages, I have often foolishly proclaimed myself a thinker. Or, if not a thinker, one who tends to think he thinks. Lately, I have come to realize that such a boast was and is likely without merit. I marvel at those who can create deep and authoritative works, essays that while academic, reach beyond logic and philosophy to touch (or if not touch, reach toward) the truth of a thing.

In reality, I am having to come to terms with the undisciplined nature of my mind. Sure, as an engineer, I can focus on the task at hand and work to define, describe and implement a solution. But what joy may have been present in such has since become muted. I have long struggled with the dichotomy of my engineer's training and my need for creative expression through the written word. Others might not see the dichotomy, but as they represent two very different parts of me, I experience the tension nonetheless. Like the pursuit of a gift that can never be truly yours, I long for an excellence that cannot be achieved with second-rate skills. Once, it seems, I was able to compose my thoughts, make an argument, express a revelation in a manner that was fresh and relevant. These days, I can't seem to find that handle.

In part, it may be due to overindulgence in two-dimensional stimuli. By this, I mean the virtual world, rather than the three-dimensional interaction and engagement with real people in real deliberation and discussion. The internet is a bountiful resource of information, and I'm always reading, jumping from site to site, page to page, taking in much but pondering very little. I thirst for knowledge and comprehension, but seeking such sustenance only from what comes through this electronic wonder is a little like taking in salt water.

When I detach from such stimuli, I often find my mind to be a disordered mess. It takes discipline to sit and think, requiring more mental energy than I'm often willing to commit. Sometimes, I just sit without thinking. Only when I've been detached for a while does the equilibrium reset itself, setting the conditions for a more productive reflection. Yet even then, my hand might reach for the TV remote of its own volition.

Is it a thirst for knowledge and comprehension, or a thirst for stimulation? A universe of information may be at our fingertips, but knowing that a possible by-product is the erosion of mental discipline, maybe we would do well to view with caution the method of transference.

Or perhaps, I'm simply making excuses for my own mental laziness. In fact, that is my fear. Because in re-reading the paragraphs above, I have given witness to the undisciplined nature of my thoughts, which bear the fruit of an unproductive reflection.

In the end, I know little, and comprehend even less. That is no fault but my own, a failure to more often exercise the discipline required to sit and create the conditions for productive, reflective and creative thought.

What a mess, eh?

Eclipse

As I sit here in my makeshift "home office" (otherwise known as my kitchen table), my mind is wandering a bit as a typically peculiar North Alabama snow falls outside the window. Peculiar, because with any southern snow, it may dust or dump depending on which side of the street you find yourself. After seven straight days of rain, and now snow, there is a promise of sun tomorrow. It's been a long time since we've seen the sun. We can be forgiven here, for wondering if we'll ever see the sun again.

The sun again. Just like that, three little words call to mind a song that does not seem to fit the moment, and yet it does.


'Serenity’s a long time comin’ to me ….'

I really need to get back to work.

Shutout at the Baseball HOF

A few days ago, that journalistic society known as the Baseball Writers Association of America cast their ballots for the 2013 class of Baseball's Hall of Fame. As you may well know by now, not a single candidate secured the necessary 75% approval to gain entry to that illustrious institution.

This year's ballot includes some notable (and notorious) names, players who if not for the ill-fated decision to experiment with performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), or players who fell under suspicion of doing so, would have likely taken their place in that hallowed Hall. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens highlight this list, of course. Sammy Sosa, unlikely to make the Hall on his first ballot even if clean, barely registered 12%. I used to think Sosa was a sure thing, especially after that magical 1998 battle with Mark McGwire. But after seeing pictures of shrunken Sammy after testing went into full force, I'm convinced that his success was largely artificial. I still remember his years with the Cubs fondly, aside from his acrimonious exit. As a fan, I was never fond of Bonds or Clemens, but it could easily be argued that they were great without PEDs, yet chose to tarnish their reputations and the record books with their discretions.

Next year should be better, of course, with Greg Maddux, Auburn and White Sox great Frank Thomas, and Tom Glavine likely to make it on their first ballot (it might take Thomas two, but he won't have a long wait).

The great debate, of course, is what to do with the PED class of players. The purist position is that cheaters should never get in. The other side of the argument points out the varied and subjective standards being applied to different players across different eras, by voters who write articles for a living. No one can measure a direct, predictable causal relationship between PEDs and stats, yet there appears nevertheless to be some level of correlation. What is clear, for now at least, that those who used, or are strongly suspected of using, are marked with a scarlet letter and are likely to be blackballed indefinitely. The result is that a generation of players (a generation measuring a decade or two in this case), players that energized the sport to so many of us, will forever be left out in the cold. Yes, there are many baseball heroes who do not grace the Hall. But to be kept out because they weren't quite good enough, versus being kept out because of a deliberate attempt to gain an unfair advantage, makes the story more complicated. And it makes me wonder, what is really best for baseball?

My instinct is to take the purist position, in which only those players who excelled in the game (by evidence of stats), played by the rules (no cheating), and otherwise earned a significant consensus of acclaim deserve to be in the Hall.

Yet I cannot help but wonder if this approach is really good for the game, and the Hall. There is something almost McCarthyite about the way some in sports media are acting about this. Is this really about "protecting" the Hall from the scourge of PED users, or it is about applying some moral or character standard to those who would aspire to enshrined greatness?

The Hall ostensibly celebrates the game, and the men who played it well. But baseball is a game that attracts the gentleman and the cad alike, both competitors seeking to master a game like no other. Yes, I think the Hall is rarified air, and should be reserved for only the best of the best. But adding a sort of morality clause to the game's list of unwritten rules to use as a bar for Hall induction takes away an important facet of the game and its history. The game is played by men, men with faults. Their crimes aren't as much against baseball, as against its fans. You can't hurt "baseball." You may tarnish the league and its reputation in the eyes of its fans, but those who love the game will love the game nonetheless. Work stoppages and players strikes do far more damage to "the game" than a few players who colored outside the lines of fairness in an effort to inflate their stats and contracts. (And for the likes of Pete Rose? You cannot tell me that on the basis of his playing career, he's not a Hall of Famer. He is, and he should be. True, if he ever gets in, it will be likely be posthumously. But I digress.) Maybe the Hall should just celebrate the game, and not try to gloss over its warts by selectively omitting a certain, selective group of its sinners. And yet, voters should nevertheless make sure a career - even a tainted one, is worthy of inclusion. How hard it must be to be subjectively objective!

So, what do you do with the PED class? Asterisks? Exclusion? Scarlet Letter? I don't know. Greats are greats, be they cad or gentleman. Maybe the game, and the Hall, should have room for both. Somehow.

New Year, New Course?

I'm getting off to a slow start again this year. Heading into my fourth full year of blogging (Lord willing), I find myself doing more than my usual amount of self-indulgent navel-gazing. It is a new year, and I'm still laboring under the presumption that this chronicle should be unto something.

A question has been haunting me these last few days, an unspoken query that I finally put into words just yesterday:

How can a man write when most of what he sees and knows in life is through what others have written?

Too many of my posts are born of someone else's idea, something else's effort. I read something online, feel compelled to comment, and there it is. What I contribute in those instances is nothing new and arguably meaningless - a chasing after the wind. What fruit will it bear to write about the same things you can read for yourself or watch on the news? It becomes a crutch, and stiffles what creativity there may be. For while it is not in me to write the songs that make the whole world sing (or the songs of love and special things), I still want my writing to amount to something.

In any case, I'll continue to write, because I must. But allow me to apologize in advance for whatever may come of it. I may have to engage in somewhat more lateral thinking in order to break free of this non-creative rut that has marked my writing of late.

A mentor of mine once suggested that it is possible to act yourself into a new way of thinking, and to think yourself into a new way of acting. Perhaps. I wonder if it might work with writing.

We'll find out, or we won't.

It's Still a Wonderful Life

I confess, there's a part of me that would prefer not to indulge in a review of 2012. It certainly would be easy to pass over, wish everyone a happy new year, and move on into 2013. But to do so would cost me an opportunity to once again reflect on the remarkable blessings and experiences brought forth by the events of this year.

When 2012 began, I had assumed that the most traumatic thing I would experience was a 4-day, 3-night adventure to Dauphin Island with 69 7th graders. It turned out to be a great trip, although exhausting. My kids, one 13 and the other 9, consume a significant part of my life, and they bring me great joy. Much of that interaction has come through Scouts, baseball and school activities. I have no idea if I'm doing well as a dad, but I couldn't be prouder of the way they have handled the crisis that befell us in March.

March 2nd has seared itself deeply upon our souls, as our house succumbed to the destructive winds of a high-end EF-2 tornado. Emotional and material recovery has colored every moment of every day this year, and will continue to mark us into 2013 as we continue rebuilding. The burden is at times overwhelming, even now, but you press on because you must. Yet even that horrible day, and the difficult days that followed, are accompanied by a tremendous outpouring of grace and blessing. A few days after the storm I wrote:

In April 2011, we did what we could to reach out to neighbors, family and strangers to support relief efforts. In March 2012, I was the recipient of the generosity of my many families: immediate, church, and work. Yesterday, 60-some people descended on our property and helped us with the first phase of salvage. Boy Scouts, members of a high school football team, two church groups, FEMA, Red Cross, and numerous volunteers from a local college tackled the mess. We have been flooded with all kinds of support, kindness and care. Last year, I considered it a tremendous blessing to serve. This weekend, I consider it a tremendous blessing to allow others to share their gifts of service for me. I am overwhelmed.

With respect to my house, the lights cannot come back on. But in the eyes and hearts of those around us these past couple of days, the light is shining. We are in good spirits, all things considered. The Lord is our rock, and our refuge, in this most certain time of trouble. I will praise Him in good times, and bad, and despite our loss, we have been given much.

As I hold my family close, I cannot help but think: I have been, and remain, very, very blessed.

I read those words now, and through the tears I can testify that they still hold true. We have been embraced by grace all year, reflected through people we know and people we're getting to know. As I wrote in my anniversary piece on the April 27, 2011 outbreak, "Are we changed? Yes. But we are together, and that means everything." And it does. Perhaps in a few months, Lord willing, we'll move back into that place we're calling (tongue-in-cheek) Chase Manor 2.0. Already, our once and future home has taken shape, familiar yet different. This, I'm sure, will bring on a whole new set of feelings to work through. But we anticipate a new beginning, and the day cannot come soon enough. What a celebration that will be!

The other night, a few days after Christmas, we sat down as a family to watch It's A Wonderful Life. The older I get, the more emotionally sensitive I become, and I allowed the tears to flow in the final scenes of this timeless classic. I've written about this movie in the past, and while I don't need to rehash it here, the truth it shares is apropos: When we give of ourselves to others, we are blessed. When we allow others to give of themselves to us, we are blessed.

So yes, 2012, while fraught with peril and difficulty, was a year of tremendous blessing. We enjoyed family breaks at Hilton Head and Disney World, and time together wherever we could make it. Yes, it is still a wonderful life. Thanks be to God!

Nuggets

Just a couple of nuggets today, while I ruminate over a year end post of some kind:

- I know it is a little thing in the grand scheme of things, but I was greatly relieved this week to finally find 5 stray DVDs of James Cagney movies. This means that every Cagney film I have captured to DVD is safely in my collection. I own 52 of 67 Cagney films, plus a few documentary pieces and one TV appearance (A Link in the Chain). I had about 9 more than were only on VHS - these did not survive. I've been collecting his movies for almost 20 years. He's got a number of TV appearances that I keep hoping will show up on some internet archive someday.

- I ordered a first edition hardback copy of Cagney's autobiography as a Christmas present to myself. It'll be here next week. (No, I decided not to spring for the $500 signed copy, although for a moment, it was tempting). Have I mentioned that I'm a Cagney fan?

- Changing the subject, here is a brief but clear illustration of how silly this end-of-year fiscal cliff, tax argument really is in the grand scheme of things. Taxes will go up for all or for some, but it won't do squat to address the true fiscal crisis this nation faces.

- I almost dedicated a full blog post yesterday to this article on teaching table manners to your kids. You have to read the whole thing to understand just how flabbergasted I was to the idea of outsourcing the teaching of basic manners (and the cost!). Etiquette "schools" have been around forever, but still. One person quoted in this article states: "When it comes to children, she said, long gone are the days when you could tell them that they have to behave a certain way 'just because.'” Wow. "Just because" may be an incomplete answer, but parents are delegated an authority for a time, and by golly they shouldn't be afraid to exercise it.

- House 2.0 update. We are bricked, drywalled, and primed. We're heading into the homestretch, with painting, trim, flooring, cabinets, appliances, fixtures, deck and landscaping. Will we be in by March? We'll see!

- Updated 4:18pm: From the great family Scrabble competition: You will NEVER convince me that "jo" and "oe" and "ai" and "qi" are valid Scrabble words. I don't care what the "official" Scrabble dictionary says. Use them in a sentence. Bah. Humbug!!

Merry Christmas!

From my family to yours, may you find peace and joy and comfort on this blessed Christmas Day! Make it one to remember!

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
-- Isaiah 9:6-7a

Mood Music - Bocelli

As is so often the case, music makes the season, cutting through the noise of life to bring me to that place where my soul can rest and contemplate, reminding me that there is a light that shines, a truth that saves, and a beauty in the simple exaltation of praise. I invite you to fill your ears and your heart with the sounds of this classic performed by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.


Shamelessly borrowed, with a tip of the hat, from Dave Carter at Ricochet.

Christmas Canon

Well, the world apparently didn't end today as adherents to the Mayan calendar allegedly predicted, but by and large, the work year for me will end today. (I always leave myself some leeway on these things). This week has been nuts, filled with last minute, end-of-contract deliverables. But now that is all done and it is time to think about Christmas. I also have to start my gift shopping. (Hey, for me, this is early).

I was looking through my notes that I keep for this blog, looking for something to write about today. I have a number of topics in the queue, but all of them are depressing: fiscal cliff, Russia, the weakening North American church, healthcare. Interesting stuff, but not exactly cheerful fodder with Christmas so close.

So I today I'll keep it light, turning instead to one of my standbys to get me in the mood for Christmas.

The video below is a children's performance of Trans-Siberian Orchestra's (TSO) Christmas Canon. Under normal circumstances, I'm not generally a fan of taking many liberties with Pachelbel's classic, but I make an exception for Christmas Canon. The lyrics and the counter-melodies move me, although that is not hard to do when it is right.


The above is a nice arrangement isn't it? Of course, I still have a soft spot for the original Christmas Canon Rock by TSO. It is edgier, but the vocals get me every time.

Key lyrics:

This night
We pray
Our lives
Will show
This dream
He had
Each child
Still knows

We are waiting
We have not forgotten

I pray that we never forget the power, the hope, and the joy of Christmas. This is the season of waiting for the Christ child to come. Lord help me not forget to wait.

An Act of Evil

By now, anyone who finds this post in this highly obscure corner of the web will have heard of the horrific events in Newtown, Connecticut. I see no value in linking to any article on the subject, so instead I will offer up a simple response.

Every time something like this happens, I wrestle with tears of anger and grief, coming almost always to a place of deep brokenness, marveling darkly and sorrowfully at the human heart's capacity for evil.

Because no matter what mental, medical, emotional, or relational breakdowns precipitated this event, the truth is the perpetrator succumbed to the darkness within and committed an act of unconscionable evil. Many will water this down and call it a tragedy, and indeed, the results are tragic. But we also need to recognize that this tragedy didn't just happen, it was premeditated. It was an evil act with devastating consequences, leaving a trail of victims in its wake.

I have no other words that are suitable to this situation. I continue to wrestle with my emotions and my thoughts. As a believer, better that I wrestle and pray, than to walk away indifferent. I'm so aware of my need for a Savior, for grace, for a light in the darkness.

I pray that the Light breaks through the darkness that has unfolded in Connecticut and indeed, everywhere. May our Father in Heaven bring comfort, mercy and grace for the afflicted, and may we all respond not with more darkness, but in the spirit of He whose life is the Light of men (John 1). It may not be easy, but it is essential.

Vilsack Says Rural America is "Less Relevant," is He Right?

Over the weekend, I read some comments from current Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (the former governor of Iowa) about the state of rural America that gave me pause. Sure, there is an inflammatory quality to the "less relevant" soundbite, and reactionary arguments abound that could refute such an indictment. Yet on the surface, the electoral map seems to support his point, where even a vast sea of red states cannot surpass the starbursts of blue urban population.

Having spent some formative growing-up years in the farming communities in eastern North Dakota, I remember well hearing my friends and their dads (farmers) bemoaning the state of farming, of being told not to grow wheat in the mid '80s. These were proud folks, running family farms, and the thought of having to take subsidies to not grow crops was anathema to them. Historically, we've had farm bills and subsidies since the Great Depression. Nowadays, there are tremendous economic pressures to end or at least drastically reduce those subsidies.

Mind you, I'm not a farmer, nor am I a fan of subsidies. But Vilsack may very well be right when he points out that despite the vital importance of rural America (the food supply, energy development, etc.), the fact is that the population of such areas continues to shrink. And with that shrinkage comes the loss of political influence. I'm not sure how they gain it back.

What happens when the subsidies give way to fiscal pressures? Can the family farms survive, or will they give over to the corporatism and conglomerates of the growing agribusiness sector? Would this further suppress rural population growth, or might it have the opposite effect of revitalizing the agricultural sector?

It strikes me that squeezing out the voices of those so vital to maintaining our food supply is a very bad idea. Is it possible to reverse the trend?

Christmas Waiting

I have not yet collected my thoughts for a series of Christmas posts, and to be honest, there may only be one or two. But in the meantime, check out this delightful commercial:


Very nice.

(h/t: Lance at Ricochet)

Update on House 2.0

The pages of the calendar have turned to December, and as expected, progress on the house seems to have slowed despite the fact that work hasn't stopped. In September, we watched as the house was framed at what seemed like lightning speeds, to be followed by the roof and the rough-ins for plumbing, electrical and HVAC in October.

Since then, much of the focus has been on insulation and waterproofing. We've also had crews working low voltage rough-ins for network and media (structured wiring). Waterproofing is of critical importance because of our daylight basement. The primary retaining wall was deemed structurally sound, but with evidence of water seepage. As a result, it was then necessary to go back and redo and improve the external waterproofing.

After excavation, crews thoroughly cleaned the exterior wall and footer. For the primary below-ground section, they then used a spray-on waterproofing membrane (the black stuff) and covered the lower portion with protection board up to the brick ledge. After that set, they came back and installed additional membrane up to the top of the cinder wall. Finally, they installed a drain, routing it to the back of the house along the perimeter and backfilled the dirt and gravel.

The other major effort has been the installation of open-cell spray foam insulation. As I may have mentioned previously, we lost nearly 20 trees off our lot, including four towering pin oaks that provided shade for the house in the spring and summer. Now that the house will be fully exposed to the eastern sun, we determined that making the house as energy efficient as possible was imperative. So instead of traditional blown fiber insulation and standard batting, we've opted for the spray foam solution. Open cell spray foam is applied to all exterior surfaces, from the attic roof to the exterior walls (and ceiling over the garage). It is similar to Great Stuff, if you've ever used that wonder in a can. While permeable to moisture (good so that we know if the roof leaks), it is impermeable to air, creating a controlled atmospheric environment in the attic space as well as the main floor. In theory, we should lose a lot less heat, but the result is that we have to have a somewhat more sophicated HVAC solution to move the air around.

We have gone with a more standard batting for the interior walls and the basement ceiling however, for use as a sound barrier. For if there is one thing we have learned in this rental house, it is the value of having interior walls insulated with a sound barrier. It is a unique state of affairs when you can stand in the kitchen and hear the toilet paper being pulled from the roll in the master bath on the other side of the house. It is an extra expense, but in my view it is worth it.

What else? Well, I have a new garage floor, which is nice.

But the bigger news is the arrival of brick and drywall on site. Rumor has it that bricking started yesterday, although I myself have not had a chance to see it. The weather is iffy today, so I'm not certain how much will be done. We have hopes that we will be bricked and drywalled before Christmas. If and when that happens, you'll be able to see and read about it here. Best guess right now on closing? End of February. It cannot come soon enough.

So I Was Watching "Hee-Haw" the Other Night ...

Consider that your warning: this post may meander just a bit.

But yes, we did indeed sit down and watch an old episode of Hee-Haw, hosted by Roy Clark and the late Buck Owens. Loretta Lynn was a guest star, and the episode contained all of the classic sketches and segments I somehow remember even after all of these years. At first, I could only shake my head at the simple, silly, and at times lame comedy. Before long, though, I was laughing.

Later, I got to thinking, somehow, about an old vinyl album we recovered from the storm:

This venerable Tom T. Hall album was given to me by my great-uncle Lew on a trip I took as a young child to the northwest. My memories of that trip are very sketchy: I have only fleeting images within my recall. Yet somehow I remember that "Faster Horses" for a time was my favorite song.

Over the years, I listened to this record over and over again, before it got put away somewhere. Today, I don't even have a turntable to play it on, so I had to resort to YouTube. After listening to a few songs off the playlist, I'm convinced I still know all the words to every song on the album. Tom T. Hall is a noted singer, songwriter and storyteller, and it is the stories he tells through his songs that seem to matter the most to him. From here, I got to thinking some more.

Stories. On the back of the "Faster Horses" album, there is a letter of sorts from the singer about a sabbatical he took in the winter of 1975. It isn't a letter so much as a collection of entries, observations and here and there a nugget of wisdom. I couldn't help but to think of my favorite future fantasy of owning a simple house on a lake, with a dock, boat and canoe. That really has nothing to do with the point I'm slowly working towards here, but it does serve as a backdrop for the gentle melancholy I feel at times in our present reality. The stories of previous generations seem different as each one passes through this age of "progress." This present era seems ever more confining, in the sense that more and more we relate to one another only through electronic mediums. We live in a cocoon defined by our favorite webpages, social media, and email lists. Living in such a bubble, what stories can we tell? What narratives and legacy can we pass on that can go beyond the confines of our technology? The age of progress has resulted in a tangible retreat into a false reality of being. The internet is not the real world, and too often it serves not as a bridge, but as a barrier between us and other very real people. What stories can we tell, that will enliven the imagination of our children? Technology may "connect" you to the world, but it also isolates you to the point that intimate, substantive relationships become hard to develop. It is the relationships that enrich us most, that provide us the fertile material for the story of our lives.

My advice? Don't let this virtual world suck all the life out of you. It can do that. Seek out experiences, passive and active, that add flavor to your existence. Your kids want to know who you are, what you did. Or if they don't now, they will someday. I think it matters.

Well now, isn't that just cheery? Hee-Haw to deep, guilt-ridden thoughts about life in the virtual age. How typical of me! So to cleanse your palette, or to drive you away from this blog at the speed of light, here's just a little Pickin' and Grinnin' !


Hi, I'm Jim from Huntsville, Alabama. Population: 182,956. "SAA-LUTE!!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

Every day brings incontrovertible evidence that what we have is not so much the product of our own making, or the privileges deserved from our misguided sense of entitlement. But rather it is the grace of God, and God alone, that extends to us blessings that we have not earned, but are given nonetheless. Knowing that our treasure is not found in the things of earth, but rather in communion with our Father, His Son and His Spirit, we give thanks today and every day.

What shall I render to the Lord
For all His benefits toward me?
I shall lift up the cup of salvation
And call upon the name of the Lord.

- Psalm 116:12-13

Give thanks today, with a grateful heart!

O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord,
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God
And a great King above all gods,
In whose hand are the depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
The sea is His, for it was He who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us worship and bow down,
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

- Psalm 95:1-7

Honor is Not an Anachronism

I took a break this weekend from world events and social media / internet discourse to accompany a den of Webelos on camping trip in extreme northeast Alabama. Although the nights were quite cold (low 30's), it was a beautiful couple of days in the outdoors. I couldn't escape thinking about the state of our culture, however, as I watched these young scouts interact with their older Boy Scout brethren. When the older scouts began to instruct their younger counterparts on the Scout Oath and Scout Law, I could not help but to consider the vital importance of the values they convey.

The Scout Oath

On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

I could expound on the whole of the above, but allow me to highlight that last line. Keeping physically strong means what it means - take care of your body. Keeping mentally awake (I love this one), means to learn all you can, be curious and ask questions. In other words, observe, learn and think. Finally, keeping morally straight means to live honestly, be clean in your speech and actions, and to be a person of strong character. In this day and age, how hard that is to do! But it can be done. Fulfilling the principles that undergird this oath requires a self-discipline that we often fail to exercise. But again, it can be done!

The Scout Law

A Scout is:
- Trustworthy,
- Loyal,
- Helpful,
- Friendly,
- Courteous,
- Kind,
- Obedient,
- Cheerful,
- Thrifty,
- Brave,
- Clean,
- and Reverent.

That's a tall order to ask of anyone, much less a modern teenager. But if we (and they) are able to model even a portion of the values and attitudes embodied above, how much brighter would our future be! For a life lived this way cannot help but to shape and mold us into people of integrity, honesty and honor.

Honor is not an anachronism. It continues to be imbued and imparted to a new generation of young men. Their numbers may be small as a sample of the population, and many may fall short at times (don't we all), but the principles and values remain essential and timely.

Our world and our nation needs honorable men and women. They are out there, not making headlines, but doing what they can, where they are, to the best of their ability. We just need more of them.

The great wonder of learning to live honorably is this: We can start at any age. Each of us. May we choose to do so, and set the example for the next generation.

Veterans Day 2012

On this Veterans Day, we honor those who have stood in the gap on the front lines of history to protect and defend this thing we call America. For its Constitution, for its lands, for its interests, for its people, our Veterans have stood on the ramparts and are due our honor and our gratitude. Accordingly, we further owe them our commitment to preserving that for which they stand. Not just for them, but for ourselves.

Who we are, in other words, still depends crucially on what we are prepared to stand up for - and on our willingness to stand up for it. Who we are today ... is unquestionably the product of what previous generations were prepared to stand up for even at the cost of their lives. Therefore, when we cease to honor such sacrifices, ... we cut ourselves off from our past and, in some essential sense, from our selves."

-- James Bowman

May we remember our heritage, our ideals, and our liberty. May we remember and honor those who have stood and continue to stand for this republic. May we have the courage to stand with them.

Relive the Moon Landing

Here is a neat little diversion. Well, it's neat if you're up to a little Apollo 11 geek-out. It is a website that allows you to relive the Apollo 11 moon landing from a unique, interactive perspective:

This project is an online interactive featuring the Eagle lunar landing. The presentation includes original Apollo 11 spaceflight video footage, communication audio, mission control room conversations, text transcripts, and telemetry data, all synchronized into an integrated audio-visual experience.

...

Visitors begin the experience by hearing the words of Buzz Aldrin while simultaneously viewing the moon through the lunar module window. Moments later, the audience hears capsule communicator Charlie Duke inform flight director Gene Kranz that the astronauts are on schedule to start the descent engine. Throughout the presentation, visitors are able to customize their experience by jumping to key moments in the timeline. The timeline guides visitors to the crucial moments in the mission, including: program alarms (computer alerts), famous Go No-Go polls in the control room, low level fuel milestones, and landing.

Total play time is around 20 minutes or so. Neat stuff!

The 2% Election Post-Mortem

The final tally may adjust the percentage slightly, but using available numbers early this morning, the president returns for a second term with a 2.3% victory in the popular vote and a comfortable margin in the Electoral College.

The American people went to the polls and made their choice. I believe they made the wrong choice. But it is what it is.

So what's ahead for the president's second term? I find it interesting that the only suggestions seem to be coming from the media and various politicos, and less so from the president himself. Normally, an incumbent would make that case during the campaign, but that did not happen - or if it did, it was lost in the negative assault.

Still, from reading around, here's what I see:

Obamacare is coming, and it will come with a vengeance. Despite all the promises, premium costs are going up. Higher premiums or fines, choose your poison.

Immigration reform. Not saying it’s a bad thing, just pointing out that if there is political hay to be made from it, you can expect it.

Global warming prevention. No, really. The EPA is already on the move with new regulations on energy companies. Which in turn means that we can expect energy prices to continue to rise, increasing the costs to businesses and individuals.

Tax Reform / Fiscal Cliff. This is a near term crisis that will immediately test the bi-directional promises to "reach across the aisle." Bottom line is this: unless Washington finds a compromise of sorts, taxes are going up. Way up. On businesses and individuals. Broad spending cuts will also go into play, across the board. Many predict that if we go off this cliff, the economy will fall back into recession early next year, and it won't get better for a while. But you can almost rest assured that whatever "fix" comes into play in the next couple of months, it will simply add more to the national debt.

The sad thing is, in looking at this list, is that the priority seems to be on anything but the economy and jobs. Sure, these agenda policies intersect with the economy, but for an election where the bulk of the voters stated the economy was the number one concern, it doesn't seem to really be on the agenda. The American economy is remarkably organic and dynamic, largely able to respond to changing conditions in the economic climate. But the weight of government regulation (particularly on energy and healthcare) is going to push companies to reduce the costs of doing business wherever they can. Which means, less jobs, less hours for the jobs that are there, and fewer benefits for those employed. I'm no expert, but from where I sit, I expect the economy of 2016 to look a lot like that of 2012, and possibly a little worse. We'll see. (To be fair, this would have been likely even if Romney had won).

Culturally, I have come to the conclusion that the balance has been tipped, and we are no longer a "center-right" country. Voters have put in office a party that supports policies (present in Obamacare) with mandates that businesses and taxpayers provide for free abortion and contraception coverage. No conscientious or religious objections allowed. There are other examples, but the bottom line is this: for now, the conservative argument has been rejected by the majority (not that Romney made a big case for it, by the way). With their vote, the majority has declared that they are willing to accept more government involvement in their lives. They'll get what they want, but it will be a while before they figure out what we all lose in the process.

Which brings me back to fiscal matters. The people want their entitlements, and they want others to pay for them. That came through loud and clear in this election. It doesn't matter that Social Security, Medicare, Obamacare, and so forth are not financially sustainable and are doomed to collapse without reform or crippling taxes that in turn will severely suppress the economy and jobs. The voters put a party back in power, in the White House and in the Senate, that has failed to produce a budget for 4 years. Four years. I can guarantee you, the House Republicans will pass a budget each and every year, and the Senate will shelve it. I will eat my hat if you see a legitimate budget come out of Congress to be signed by the president in the next 4 years.

It is fiscally irresponsible for Washington to fail to pass an operating budget. I can only conclude that most voters don't mind. Astonishing.

In re-reading the above, it is probably clear that I didn't allow enough time to pass in processing Tuesday's result. My mood is admittedly dour on the state of our nation. I will not invest in the petty, juvenile vitriol that seems to be all around, but I will also not stop calling things as I see them, pointing out issues and arguments and direction that concerns me.

Benghazi, anyone? Anyone? How about Iran? Afghanistan? Russia?

Last Mission for the USS Enterprise

Here's a fun story pointed out to me by my brother this morning. The U.S. naval aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, activated back in 1962 as the world's first nuclear powered carrier, is on its final deployment. After this, it will be deactivated, decommissioned, and finally reduced to scrap. The Enterprise has a long and storied history, as have other ships of that name, highlighted in this article from CNN:

In October of 1962, the ship had just finished its maiden deployment when the White House and the Kremlin sparred over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba.

"We'd only been back a couple of weeks and they said, 'get out to the ship.' Nobody knew what we were doing, so we flew our airplanes out to the carrier as we were headed south," McCain said.

The Enterprise was one of the first U.S. ships to establish a blockade around Cuba, according to Navy documents on the Enterprise's history.

"I was launched a couple of times just to fly around, but not towards Cuba," said McCain, now the senior senator from Arizona. "They made sure we headed away from Cuba so as not to spark anything."

After 13 days, the crisis eased and the Enterprise returned to its home port of Norfolk, Va.

The carrier played a large role during Vietnam, and its story includes a major accident that took the lives of 27 sailors and 15 planes. But despite this disaster, the Enterprise sped back to the combat zone following emergency repairs.

After dozens of deployments around the world over the next three decades, the Enterprise was leaving the Persian Gulf for home when the hijack attacks struck New York and Washington on September 11, 2001.

Without orders, the Enterprise turned around and steamed at maximum speed toward Pakistan. By October 7, warplanes on the Enterprise were among the first to launch retaliatory strikes against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

According to the article, the USS Enterprise will be deactivated on December 1st. Over the next three years, its nuclear reactors will be safely removed. Soon thereafter, it will be salvaged and sold for scrap.

So is the 8th USS Enterprise the last of the line? Anyone who knows their future history knows the answer to this. Plans are in the works that a future carrier, already on the books, will be christened Enterprise. (Assuming it isn't cut out of the Navy's budget, that is.)

It brings to mind the end of this classic: