RichK's blog

OK kids, we're about to finally see the end to the current cold snap.  If I'm not mistaken, it either tied or broke a few records for the JAX area.  Throughout, some have suffered & some have shrugged.  Coming from CHICAGO, my kind of town, I pretty much shrugged it off.  Regardless of the conditions, some people learn how to live with them.  You get the right attitude, change your behavior a bit & probably most important, you learn how to dress warmly.

But on the other hand, after some of minor tragedies, you get to hear the coments of people on how they managed the Big Chill.  Some comments were really funny.  This past Sunday, really put things in perspective for me.

With the Presidents promise to tighten airport security, one of the more contentious isssues will be that of the type screening to be used.  With new technologies always come the burdens of not liking it for some reason.  Currrently, the technology exists for full body screening that apparently leaves nothing much to the imagination of the person doing the screening.

That, in turn, has brought up the question of people disliking the screening process because of the reason of the right to privacy.  That, in turn, leads to the dilemma of looking at the problem as the right to individual privacy versus the collective right to be secure from deliberate harm by others while flying.  Needless to say, there will be much discussion, debate & argumentation on this one.

Every once in a while, we come across a story about home owners associations, usually showing them trying to exercise their muscles against common sense.  I came a cross another story that shows how deeply the problems go.  By example, here are some rules of one HOA shown in a story I read.

1.  Colors of the homes.  "In the interest of achieving a pleasing harmony & a clean apperance for the community," the rules state that the exteriors shall not be changed without permission & the only approved colors are:  riverbed clay grey, cow dung brown or farm field burnt umber.  (No, I'm not making up the colors-rk)

Just a few days before Christmas, & if any of you are like me, you will have noticed that the blogs tend to wind down a bit this time of year.  Then there is the last minute shopping, cleaning house, sprucing up the yard, maybe getting ready for parties, visiting relatives etc.  So I'm taking a minute to wish all my fellow bloggers a very Merry Christmas, Happy New, Year, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanza & whatever other observances in which you might partake.  

I hope all of you have a happy & safe, emphasis on safe, holiday season.  And may all of you have a happier & more prosperous year to come.  Just Another Tip From  Uncle Rich.

It struck me as interesting when I came across an OP piece today that blended elements of religion, in general, pantheism, in particular, nature & the movies.  If you care to check it out, here's the link.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/opinion/21douthat1.html

Enjoy.

Rich K

 I came across a story that has me baffled as to why it's even in the judicial system, let alone in the Supreme Ct.The case comes from Ontario, CA. & involves a police officer using a department issued police pager to send not only personal messages, but some were sexually explicit.  Somebody tell me where I'm wrong.You are at work & part of your job entails the use of a pager which the company provides for the purpose of you doing your job effectively.  Now whether you are on your own time, suc

If you've ever seen the movie, "The Karate Kid," you might remember Mr. Miogi telling Daniel that he must have balance in life.  Now that's not really earth shattering.  Whether it's called balance or moderation or anything else, the point is that if one continually seeks one thing only, or takes one approach only or any one of dozens of different analogies, eventually, one will find the downside of not having a balanced perspective.

On the front page of today's TU, imagine my shock, no, not really, when in spite of all the rhetoric that has bombarded us about government taking away our right to gun ownership, the actual facts are that there are 24 states, "LOOSENING," ownership restrictions.  Another quote says, "A nationwide review by the Associated Press found that over the past two years, 24 states, mostly in the South & West, have passed 47 new laws loosening gun restrictions."

.....the person would have just thought about it.  Overheard around the area in the past few weeks.

At a restaurant:

"Oh, & a hot cup of coffee please."

"I"ll have a tuna fish sandwich."

"Forget the gratuity, just leave a tip.  We have to be there in 20 minutes."

Giving directions:

"Just go down Blanding."

"Which way is North?" (From a long time resident.)

"How far?  It takes me about 30 minutes."

In a store:

"Just raise that up about another foot."

"Jeez, why is it so chilly here."  (In the frozen food section.)

I thought that might get the attention of some.  For more, check out the link below.

http://www.commondreams.org/print/50260

Rich K

THIS IS A TEST.  THIS IS ONLY A TEST.  But the test is important only to me.  The article is real as can be confirmed by any one.  Read & enjoy.

RK

How & Why We Vote

For those of us who exercise our right to vote, whether on local, state or national levels, we tend to group ourselves into distinct groups, be that Republicans, Democrats or independents.  Within these groups are different degrees.  We can call ourselves moderates, mainstream or middle of the road, solid, one way or another, or others can describe us as extreme in one case or the other.  Regardless of the description, we have one thing in common. The reasons why we vote the way we do.  And I have to wonder if there is a problem inherent in that way of thinking.