Independence Day in America

Once again, our Independence Day is upon us - the Fourth of July. Let this post be a reminder of what brought this Country of ours into being. Read the words carefully. Never forget what brought us here, for those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. There are many who have forgotten, or were never taught how we came to be as a country. Some are among us, and some are in our government in various positions. They do not know the strife, tyranny and oppression our forefathers were dealing with. They do not know what it took to eradicate it from their lives. They do not know the cost of maintaining that which our forefathers won for us with their blood.

From The Declaration of Independence:
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

The Preamble to The Constitution of The United States of America:
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

(The Preamble clearly pertains to the citizens of The United States. Non-citizens are not covered. Yes, they have human rights and some civil rights, but they do not have Constitutional Rights by default.)

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Commentary on the Pledge of Allegiance
by Red Skelton

(As a schoolboy, one of Red Skelton's teachers explained the words and meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance to his class. Skelton later wrote down, and eventually recorded, his recollection of this lecture. It is followed by an observation of his own.)

I - - Me; an individual; a committee of one.

Pledge - - Dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self-pity.

Allegiance - - My love and my devotion.

To the Flag - - Our standard; Old Glory ; a symbol of Freedom; wherever she waves there is respect, because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts, Freedom is everybody's job.

United - - That means that we have all come together.

States - - Individual communities that have united into forty-eight great states. Forty-eight individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose. All divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose, and that is love for country.

And to the Republic - - Republic--a state in which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people; and it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people.

For which it stands

One Nation - - One Nation--meaning, so blessed by God.

Indivisible - - Incapable of being divided.

With Liberty - - Which is Freedom; the right of power to live one's own life, without threats, fear, or some sort of retaliation.

And Justice - - The principle, or qualities, of dealing fairly with others.

For All - - For All--which means, boys and girls, it's as much your country as it is mine.

And now, boys and girls, let me hear you recite the Pledge of Allegiance:

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands; one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country, and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance: Under God. Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer, and that would be eliminated from schools, too?

- Red Skelton

Hear it HERE.

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Press "1" For English

It's a Conspiracy, I Tell Ya!

(Caveat: This post is kind of a mild rant, at least a strong pet peeve.)

Photography. It's been around a long time, until recent years there was something for everybody. Things have changed over recent years, and in some ways it is good. There are down sides to everything, and this is no exception. What am I talking about? The film/digital "feud", if you will.

As time marches on, digital communication and data is taking over. (Yes, photography is a form of communication.) It has its good points, but there are some not-so-good points as well.

I shoot film - 35mm. It's what I like to shoot. Yes, I'm a kind of computer geek and love tech toys. I still see the value of keeping "old" technology alive. Let me point out some pros and cons. No matter what form of communication or data "processing" is spoken of, these things equally apply.

Digital is convenient. Digital photography is easy. It does everything for you if you like. You don't have to buy film or deal with the bulky packages. Digital devices are much smaller than their analog counterparts. They consume less power.

However....

Digital data is extremely delicate. The slightest hiccup or bit of noise in any piece of data will render that data useless or otherwise bring its validity into question - if it changes any bit or byte of that data. Yes, most systems/servers have copies of copies of copies. That doesn't make it immune to failure. When you think about it, what is data? It is only electrical charges or magnetic fields.

You cannot prove that any given digital data belongs to you or is rightfully yours. It is impossible. The only way would be to keep only one copy of it in existence - in your possession. Then again, any digital data can be faked. I recently got some information from a major business. It came in the form of a printout that could easily be created off the top of the head, something any word processor could easily duplicate - or create. No letterhead, no original signature or anything. This being passed off as an "official" or legally-binding document is ludicrous. Instead of having a single document that could be used in court, I had to make and keep print-outs of the entire chain of events relating to this document: the certified mail receipt from the PO, the return receipt when it was sent back to me, copies of FAX transmissions and transmission logs (even though they wouldn't hold up in court anyhow), etc. This is crazy!

More specific to photography, you cannot prove your digital photos are really yours. Reference item 2, above. If you take a very good photo and try to get a print made of it, you can easily be refused. If they think it could likely have been taken by a professional photographer, you're out of luck. The ironic part of this, is that digital cameras are supposed to have everybody shooting professional-looking photos! Isn't that what they advertise to get you to buy them? By shooting film, I can prove my shots are mine. I have something real to prove it - my negatives. Yes, they can be copied, too. How likely is that? Not. You can't find many people to even admit to having a functioning film camera or shooting film any more. They wouldn't have a clue about copying negatives!

Megapixel this, and megapixel that. *sigh* Yes, the more megapixels, the merrier. I delight in telling people that my film cameras have infinite megapixels. By increasing megapixel ratings in digital cameras, they are striving to reach the point of duplicating the analog film norm. Zoom in on any digital photo, and you'll see little blocks or "pixelation" like a mosaic patchwork. Put a real photograph, printed via the ancient photo processing/enlargement process under a microscope, and all you'll see is smooth, flowing transitions throughout. There are no little blocks of mosaic "tiles". This is what the ever-increasing megapixel race is all about - trying to get to the perfection of film. Why drive up and down stairsteps or washboards when you can drive on a smooth-paved road?

[Note: Yes, I do own a pocket digital camera. Technology has worked to improve them to be pretty much "full-function" in a small size. Film cameras have been left relatively large, too much so to be appropriate to carry around casually. Technology could have improved to the same point with film cameras if they chose to.]

They have been shoving digital this and digital that down our throats for a long time. It's supposed to be "better", more "efficient". In some ways, maybe. In others, not so much. Computers crash for unknown reasons. Files get "lost" or more precisely "corrupted" to where they can't be read - sometimes they disappear. Cell towers go down easily, and dead spots abound. Calls get dropped. (This rarely happened with analog phones.) Now in a couple years, all TV signals will be digital. You have to buy a new TV or a digital box to watch any TV. Your TV antenna will be useless. Might as well use it for a wind chime. Your TV will only get white noise if you live in a remote area and have no satellite or cable service. Sorry 'bout your luck.

We rely on digital technology too much. It's been mis-applied for years. Instead of "helping" us do our jobs and live our lives, it is taking them over. How many businesses could do basic sales without their computers?

The root of this post? I cannot find any place that can (or more accurately, "will") scan my film into digital format (yes, I know) at a high-resolution, as a loss-free original scan. All of the places that develop my film claim that their processing/scanning machines only create JPG files. These are "lossy" images. The digital data is compressed. That is, much of the information on the images is thrown out in order to make the files smaller. (Why try to make them smaller on 650mb CD's for Pete's sake?! Will 24 images of file sizes up around 10 megs not fit?) If I ask for loss-free TIFF files, they charge me extra to have some digital piece of software magically have the bit fairy put them back. HUH??? That's like pouring 5 gallons of water into a 6 gallon bucket and filling it up! It's not real data, but interpolated crap they throw in to make the file big again. Isn't that sweet? NOT! Not to mention that they have unauthorized copies of your images (digital when you get prints made, or film during processing) in their systems - maybe corporate-wide. They don't, you say? How do you know? You don't.

Here's the kicker. When anything is scanned, it starts out loss-free. Every bit of data is captured to the ability of the given scanner. The machine goes the extra step to convert that pure scan into a crappy one. All I want is for them to NOT go the extra step. Should be easy and more efficient to not take the extra steps, right? Well, they claim they can't change it. They spend $15,000 or more on a digital machine that "can't" be customized and configured by software? Yeah, right. If that's the case, they wasted their money. It's a lie. Those machines have every capability to do what is needed. Hey, it's a digital machine. I thought digital is the way to go, and could do everything.

Is it a conspiracy that they are doing their best to make film look crappy by taking extra steps to do so? Is it an attempt to force us to "go digital" at every turn? Who knows? I don't like it whatever the reason.

Yes, I use computers for post-processing when needed. Yes, I have a digital camera that I occasionally use. As I mention in one of my photo galleries, there are things that each can do that the other cannot. I appreciate those differences. Do not force me to do everything digitally. To do that, we/you lose that which analog excels at - particularly with photography.

Another Page

Today, the ashes of one of my best friends were laid to rest. A short service at the cemetery, and get-together for those who attended.....and another page of our lives was turned. My friend passed away and was cremated in mid-March, and was finally laid to rest today - along with his mother's ashes. She was also my friend, and passed away two weeks to the day after he did. This is a large part of the closure we were needing.

May you rest in peace, my friends.

Hillary Clinton

To the tune of "Eleanor Rigby" by The Beatles.

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From The Past

Many years ago, my Dad was in a barbershop quartet up in Iowa. I didn't know it, and don't know who they all were, but here's the proof. My Dad is the one on the far left. Today, he's in a nursing home with Alzheimer's.

I Need A Fix

It's been a busy few weeks. We've been doing a lot of fixin' up around the house - painting, etc. This weekend, I had a job to do for a lady on the west side of town. It's the first real electrical job I've had in about a year and a half. (My job is more with heating systems now, than electrical.)

We also took the time to do some much needed work in the yard today. She potted some flowers she's been wanting to plant, and I mowed the lawn (again) and cut out some dead and annoying branches out of some trees along the driveway with my pole pruner.

We've got new neighbors on both sides of us now. We've only met one family. They are a young couple with a 3 y.o. - almost. He's a little cutie. They seem to be all right. He even came over to help unload a dryer off our truck - while he was unloading a trailer of his own, moving in. Haven't met the others yet, but I've only seen a youngish mother and a couple of kids so far.

What's this about a "fix"? Well, we haven't done any serious [photography] shooting. Today, I shot almost half a roll of film on one Mississippi Kite, sitting on one branch in a tree in front of our house, doing absolutely nothing. I can't show you yet, 'cause the roll isn't gone yet. I could have used my digital for some of them, but I really do prefer film.

Been kinda busy lately, and the place is looking great. One of these days we'll be out in the world again, shooting to our heart's content. :)

Memorial Day 2007

Today is the day set aside for us to remember the fallen. We must never forget that our soldiers, sailors, and airmen have made our country what it is by their selfless service - in spite of our politicians. Past, present, and future, the cost of our Freedom and Security has been (and will continue to be) some of our servicemen's lives. Let us not forget the sacrifice they have made (and will continue to make), so that we may enjoy the life we have. Let us not dishonor them or their sacrifice, by trivializing or politicizing them or their service.

In Remembrance Of Our Fallen Comrades.
May their souls rest in peace.

--ooOOoo--

Over recent weeks and months, many changes have been experienced by me and my adopted family. Four people in my life have passed on to their new Home. Three were members of my adopted family. One of them was one of my rescuing angels three years ago. The fourth was my brother's granddaughter, shown below. My great niece Kaylee Jo struggled for only 9 days before going to her Maker. One of her two memorials were held at my brother's home yesterday. Another will follow at my nephew's home in North Dakota.

--ooOOoo--

Some of these changes demanded a "new home" for the sake of moving on. We worked at giving our home a new "homey" look. In doing so, we moved a lot of stuff out, did some major painting, added some new furniture, etc. - in two rooms. It worked. It does feel like a new home. After a break today, we'll attack another room.

--ooOOoo--

This year so far, we have been blessed with twice the normal rainfall. It is sorely needed. Last year's drought has caused our lakes to fall far below their "normal" levels. Even though we have received twice our normal rainfall so far this year, it hasn't made much of a difference in those low levels. It would take almost a "40 days and 40 nights" rain to fill them back up. I have yet to hear anybody complain about rain here. It is a valuable and sometimes rare commodity here. Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain!

--ooOOoo--

In a couple of weeks, I will celebrate the third anniversary of my arrival in the Texas panhandle, where I started a new life in my new home. Thank you, my rescuing Angels.

--ooOOoo--

May you all find safety and security in the coming days/weeks/years. Never forget who made it possible.

--ooOOoo--

God Will Get Another Angel

From my brother, just a little bit ago.

We are now at home. This is very difficult. I tried to make some phone calls, but just couldn't do it. Mark and Heather spoke with the doctor this afternoon and scheduled a re-testing of Kaylee's brain functions to be done at 5:30 PM. By this time, they have verified her brain waves are the same and they have removed the majority of the life support, drugs, feeding, etc. The hospital photographer is currently taking photos of them with Kaylee. Once this is finished, all remaining life support will be removed. There will be an autopsy tonight or tomorrow and they plan on cremation. Services have not yet been scheduled . Once things are completed at the hospital, Mark and Heather will be coming to our house for a few days. There is a good possibility they will be here over the weekend.

Both Mark and Heather are doing as well as can be expected. Before we left Mpls this afternoon, Heather told me that Mark was taking very good care of her. How are we doing? I don't know. We're numb.

Kaylee Jo went Home at approximately 8:45 pm CDT this day, May 20, 2007.
She is now one of God's littlest angels.

Newborn Problems

One of my nephews had his first baby on my son's birthday - May 11. She is in ICU with heart/lung problems - mostly heart. There is a hole between the chambers that had to be repaired, and the aorta was under-developed to the point where they had to reconstruct part of it. They are only giving her a 20% chance of survival.

If any of you feel the urge, please keep Kaylee in your prayers, and visit this site that my nephew is posting on - called CaringBridge.

All prayers and comments at that site will be appreciated.

Thank you.

***** Edit: Saturday, 5/19/07, 6:20pm CDT *****

Kaylee has just undergone an EEG, like an EKG but for the brain. In a few hours, they should have the tests back. She is still critical, her heart is working on its own, but still on a respirator to breathe for her.


***** Edit: Saturday, 5/19/07, 8:30pm CDT *****

From Kaylee Jo's Daddy:

hi everyone.. it is about 830 and i have some results to share with you.. the results that came back from the 1st set of tests are as follows:: kaylee's liver and kidneys are not functioning properly so she isn't getting the clotting that she should, her lungs and heart have remained the same.. she is still on her heart and lung machine to help her breath and pump blood.. as far as her brain scan, her brain waves are irregular.. they would work fine and then they would stop and this just repeats itself.. there should be more testing in the near future.. either tomorrow or monday.. i will update everyone at that time..


From her Grandpa (my brother):

I'm not sure what to write or how to phrase things . . . stress is high. In
addition to previous difficulties and test results, tonight's tests showed
liver and kidneys not functioning well at all. Brain function tests showed
sporadic, inconsistant brain waves including flat lines. Mark and Heather
are going to talk to the doctor tomorrow and schedule the same brain
function tests for Monday so they will know for sure whether or not today's
results valid. Kaylee remains on life support. Prognosis is bleak. I
don't know how else to say it.

Garage Sale Season

It's garage sale season again. :) Today I hit the first ones of the year - for me. (Yes, I do that!) Among the treasures we found today were some ceiling fans we've been wanting. At one place, they had 3 fans for sale with light kits attached - 5 blades and 4 lights per fan. One was marked $7.50, but had some screws missing. When I asked if they worked and if there were any screws for them, he just told me to take them - no charge, and that he'd make it right with his wife. After I made sure he was serious, I thanked him profusely and loaded it up in the truck. We left that sale to get something to eat, and decided to return to see about buying two others. Those were marked $15 each, but I only had $20 with me. Got back there and asked how much he'd take for two more of them. He said $25 at first, but then I told him I only had twenty. That was good enough, 'cause he told me to pay the lady and take the two I wanted. Can't beat that! I got 3 good, clean ceiling fans with lights for only $20.00! When we got home, I promptly started the installation process, but had to go buy a hanger bar (and some replacement blade screws) for it first, since this was a "remodel" situation. A little bit later, and we had a functioning fan making the house much more comfortable. :)

Worst thing I could do was to score like that. Now I'll have to keep garage sale-ing.