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Thursday, June 28, 2007
June 28, an important day in history
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I find it very interesting that World War I officially ended on the same day that it unofficially started. Likewise that Queen Victoria was crowned queen on this day. One would assume that this would be some sort of a holiday.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Watch out for those Home made goodies!
On the Opinion page of the Manhattan Mercury, Tuesday June 26, 2007, an article appeared written by Dale McFeatters of Scripts-Howard News Service entitled "Some homemade brownies seem well worth soldier's risk."
At the Bangor International Airport in Bangor Maine a group of volunteers called "The Maine Troop Greeters" have been greeting troops going to and from Iraq and Afghanistan all sorts of homemade goodies. This has been going on since 2003 and during that time over 500,000 soldiers shared in the good will of the community. At first the airport even allocated a room where the treats could be found. But no more.
Airport authorities became concerned about the potential for a lawsuit because they had no control over the conditions in which these goodies were prepared. The local concessionaires claim they never complained, but what concessionaire in his right mind or even his left would go on record as complaining about goodies going to the troops. End result: no more goodies for the troops.
McFeatters suggests that the goodies be allowed again with a sign up over the door warning the troops of the risk that they run eating this undocumented food. Oh yes, the article mentions that there is no record of any soldier coming down sick as a result of the goodies, but we all know it could happen anytime.
My spin on this story is simple. It is a great example of our bureaucracy out of control. You can't just do good deeds without making sure you followed all the rules for doing good deeds. Since 1934 our bureaucracy has grown at an astronomical rate. These agencies are a power unto themselves and little or nothing can be done about their decisions.
A good friend of mine worked in a mine/mill operation in the state of Utah. He said that OSHA would come in and make a list of changes that had to be made for the safety of the workers. So the mine/mill would make the changes. About the time the changes were made the EPA would show up and they would have a list of changes that needed to be made. Some of the changes contradicted the ones OSHA had made. Finally the Bureau of Mines would show up and we would have the same game played. New changes that reversed what the previous two agencies had put in force.
So what is the answer. Well, we need an agency to oversee the agencies. Maybe several new agencies whose role is to oversee the agencies. In time we could then establish more agencies to oversee the agencies that are overseeing the agencies. Job security at least.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Blogging from Microsoft Word 2007
This is just a test to see how it works to have a blog sent from my Word Processor.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
My Gas Bill
It's summer. It is also a time when your gas bill should be very low. We cook outdoors on the grill or on an electric range in the kitchen. Oh yes, we also have a microwave oven that gets plenty of use. So for what do we use natural gas? Our water heater.
I opened the latest bill from Kansas Gas Service and noticed that the bill was for $40.68. That seemed like a lot of hot water. Basically there is just my wife and me at home. The three dogs and cats avoid baths like the plague and prefer cold water. So why the high price of gas in June?
The bill details the expense. The actual cost of the gas was $18.68. That seems a lot more reasonable than $40.68. Added to the actual cost was a service charge for $12.25. Service charge? What in the world is the service charge? I never called the gas company to do anything. They didn't check out my system. The closest I had to having a gas company employee was the guy who came by and read the meter. Am I being charged $12.25 to read the meter? If so, I could learn to read the meter myself. Or, if not, I would hope that the meter reader gets the entire amount. Forget about a Christmas present for this guy. He gets one every month.
Then there was a delivery charge of $5.00. Now I know I missed something. I thought this gas was coming through a pipeline laid underground. But now I learn it is being delivered. I need to find out when this happens and keep the zoo inside. I would not want to get cross wise with the gas company because the delivery boy was attacked by my two vicious attack cats. Fortunately the dogs are too mellow to attack anything. Only one of them is dumb enough to take on the attack cats.
Then there is a fee for Weather Normalization. It is only 40 cents. Our weather has been anything but normal around here this year. Now I know why. We are paying enough for Weather Normalization. When did the gas company get in the weather business?
Then there is a fee of $2.03 for a Gas Hedge. My wife will be glad to know we are getting another hedge. She has converted our little piece of corner property into a jungle. Now I find out the gas company is providing a hedge. We are not sure where it is, but according to the bill it is there.
Finally we have all the taxes and the Franchise fee.
Total for the bill for the gas that originally cost $18.68 is now $40.68, of which $22.00 are all these extras.
I opened the latest bill from Kansas Gas Service and noticed that the bill was for $40.68. That seemed like a lot of hot water. Basically there is just my wife and me at home. The three dogs and cats avoid baths like the plague and prefer cold water. So why the high price of gas in June?
The bill details the expense. The actual cost of the gas was $18.68. That seems a lot more reasonable than $40.68. Added to the actual cost was a service charge for $12.25. Service charge? What in the world is the service charge? I never called the gas company to do anything. They didn't check out my system. The closest I had to having a gas company employee was the guy who came by and read the meter. Am I being charged $12.25 to read the meter? If so, I could learn to read the meter myself. Or, if not, I would hope that the meter reader gets the entire amount. Forget about a Christmas present for this guy. He gets one every month.
Then there was a delivery charge of $5.00. Now I know I missed something. I thought this gas was coming through a pipeline laid underground. But now I learn it is being delivered. I need to find out when this happens and keep the zoo inside. I would not want to get cross wise with the gas company because the delivery boy was attacked by my two vicious attack cats. Fortunately the dogs are too mellow to attack anything. Only one of them is dumb enough to take on the attack cats.
Then there is a fee for Weather Normalization. It is only 40 cents. Our weather has been anything but normal around here this year. Now I know why. We are paying enough for Weather Normalization. When did the gas company get in the weather business?
Then there is a fee of $2.03 for a Gas Hedge. My wife will be glad to know we are getting another hedge. She has converted our little piece of corner property into a jungle. Now I find out the gas company is providing a hedge. We are not sure where it is, but according to the bill it is there.
Finally we have all the taxes and the Franchise fee.
Total for the bill for the gas that originally cost $18.68 is now $40.68, of which $22.00 are all these extras.
Monday, June 18, 2007
"Concert on the Prairie"
Due to the kindness of some members of the Zeandale Community Church we were privileged to attend the renowned "Concert on the Prairie," July 16. It is traditionally held somewhere in the Flinthills region of Kansas. If you want an idea of the level of scenery in this area check out a recent issue of National Geographic which contains a photo essay on the Flinthills.
To give you an idea of the notoriety of this concert, the day the 5000 tickets went on sale, they were snatched up in minutes by people who had pre-ordered them online months earlier. Our friends planned to go on line the next day and get their order in for the 2008 concert.
The concert is a massive project. It requires bringing an entire orchestra into the middle of nowhere. No power, no water, no shade, no road. Participants have to walk over a mile from the temporary parking lot to get to the actual site, so there is no motor traffic around the program. Instead the guides are on foot or on horseback. Many of the guides are professional hard working cowboys in their own right, none of the drug store variety. But the scenery is fabulous, lush and green with occasional prairie flowers.
The concert is an all day affair that impacts the entire community wherever it goes. This year the concert was in Wabaunsee County. The economy of this county is based on agriculture and most of that agriculture is ranching. Ranching is not a profitable business. it takes 5-7 acres of land just to feed one cow. So if you had 100 cows (or steers) you would need 500 to 700 acres of land. Very few people can make a living from 100 cows. It is safe to say that this area is economically depressed.
The town of Eskridge went all out for the concert. They took some of the empty storefronts in town and turned them into art galleries for people to see. They had all sorts of sidewalk vendors selling food to the visitors. The United Methodist Women hosted a lunch spot in the park and sold sandwiches and home-made ice cream for a very reasonable price. The food was great.
My wife and I are diabetics, so we opted to skip the homemade ice cream. But our host got some and sat in front of us and savored the entire dish while we had to look on. I got him back in church the next day by telling the congregation what he had done!
At the concert site several tents were set up for venues that operated throughout the day. A great deal of information was presented at the venues. Or you could just sit out and soak up the Kansas sun. The day was breezy which made the heat, around 90 degrees, quite bearable. A huge barbeque kitchen was open for those who wanted to eat. As the day progressed the line to the food venue grew increasingly longer. Some people brought their supper to the concert.
A military re-enactment group from Fr. Riley brought a color guard that dated from the 1800s. The men were in full uniform and were horseback.
The concert was moving. The selection of pieces was superb. The best part for me was Dvorak's New World Symphony.
About 9:00 pm the concert was over and the crowd began its trek back to the parking lot. It was obvious the ones who attended enjoyed what they had seen and heard. Traffic flowed smoothly out of the parking lot and down the several miles of gravel road until we reached the edge of Eskridge.
To give you an idea of the notoriety of this concert, the day the 5000 tickets went on sale, they were snatched up in minutes by people who had pre-ordered them online months earlier. Our friends planned to go on line the next day and get their order in for the 2008 concert.
The concert is a massive project. It requires bringing an entire orchestra into the middle of nowhere. No power, no water, no shade, no road. Participants have to walk over a mile from the temporary parking lot to get to the actual site, so there is no motor traffic around the program. Instead the guides are on foot or on horseback. Many of the guides are professional hard working cowboys in their own right, none of the drug store variety. But the scenery is fabulous, lush and green with occasional prairie flowers.
The concert is an all day affair that impacts the entire community wherever it goes. This year the concert was in Wabaunsee County. The economy of this county is based on agriculture and most of that agriculture is ranching. Ranching is not a profitable business. it takes 5-7 acres of land just to feed one cow. So if you had 100 cows (or steers) you would need 500 to 700 acres of land. Very few people can make a living from 100 cows. It is safe to say that this area is economically depressed.
The town of Eskridge went all out for the concert. They took some of the empty storefronts in town and turned them into art galleries for people to see. They had all sorts of sidewalk vendors selling food to the visitors. The United Methodist Women hosted a lunch spot in the park and sold sandwiches and home-made ice cream for a very reasonable price. The food was great.
My wife and I are diabetics, so we opted to skip the homemade ice cream. But our host got some and sat in front of us and savored the entire dish while we had to look on. I got him back in church the next day by telling the congregation what he had done!
At the concert site several tents were set up for venues that operated throughout the day. A great deal of information was presented at the venues. Or you could just sit out and soak up the Kansas sun. The day was breezy which made the heat, around 90 degrees, quite bearable. A huge barbeque kitchen was open for those who wanted to eat. As the day progressed the line to the food venue grew increasingly longer. Some people brought their supper to the concert.
A military re-enactment group from Fr. Riley brought a color guard that dated from the 1800s. The men were in full uniform and were horseback.
The concert was moving. The selection of pieces was superb. The best part for me was Dvorak's New World Symphony.
About 9:00 pm the concert was over and the crowd began its trek back to the parking lot. It was obvious the ones who attended enjoyed what they had seen and heard. Traffic flowed smoothly out of the parking lot and down the several miles of gravel road until we reached the edge of Eskridge.
Friday, June 8, 2007
"The Privileged Planet" author loses privileges at ISU
Go to the following web link to read about this man who has produced an excellent scholarly rebuttal of the Darwinian evolutionary explanation for our universe. Because he did so he angered the academia who are so hung up on the worship of Darwinian evolution. The same academicians want everyone to be tolerant, to allow free speech, as long as the tolerance and free speech is in their direction. When a Christian speaks up then he/she can count on retribution, not rebuttal. I believe this demonstrates the fraility of the arguments of the Darwinian evolution crowd. In preaching class there was a saying, "Weak point here; shout louder."
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/733rlosv.asp
Last fall a colleague and I went to Kansas University to hear the world renowned atheist "evangelist" Richard Dawkins. He was a slick audience-manipulator that knew all the right buttons to push in Kansas, even though he comes from England. It was sickening to be in an audience of a thousand cheering atheists. In fact, it was downright uncomfortable. My friend and I were glad we got out without facing mayhem.
I am presently listening to Dawkin's book The God Delusion. It is being narrated by none else than Richard Dawkins. The venom and vitriol against Christianity flows like a river from this book. Religion, but more specifically Christianity, is responsible for all of the ills of the world. The church never did and never will do anything good.
So a university professor who stands up for the Designer/Design theory of creation gets the ax because he doesn't sound like Richard Dawkins.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/733rlosv.asp
Last fall a colleague and I went to Kansas University to hear the world renowned atheist "evangelist" Richard Dawkins. He was a slick audience-manipulator that knew all the right buttons to push in Kansas, even though he comes from England. It was sickening to be in an audience of a thousand cheering atheists. In fact, it was downright uncomfortable. My friend and I were glad we got out without facing mayhem.
I am presently listening to Dawkin's book The God Delusion. It is being narrated by none else than Richard Dawkins. The venom and vitriol against Christianity flows like a river from this book. Religion, but more specifically Christianity, is responsible for all of the ills of the world. The church never did and never will do anything good.
So a university professor who stands up for the Designer/Design theory of creation gets the ax because he doesn't sound like Richard Dawkins.
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