Random Thoughts For Early April

My EMT class continues to keep me very busy. I'm doing quite well in the academic portion of the class, but I do need some work on patient assessments in the skills area. I did 4 shifts at our local hospital's Emergency Department. Let me tell you, there is a heck of a lot to learn on the "other side of the waiting room." I can understand why it takes so long to be seen and sometimes treated. They really do go on a "sickest goes first" system. I have a new appreciation for the staff working emergency medicine.

I have done 1 out of the 4 shifts with an EMS service, which is also required for my class. In a 14 hour shift, we only went on 3 calls. That's pretty slow for them as I understand it. The ride-along was also very, very interesting.

I found an old friend I knew in the Army whom I last communicated with over 20 years ago. It was great to catch up and see what he's been up to. This is one of those guys I knew who "fell off the face of the Earth" never to be heard from again. Google is a great tool for finding people.

I got a few new CDs in the past couple of weeks. My wife got me the latest (and potentially last) release from Bob Seger. There are some good tunes on it, though they are not what I would call "typical Seger." I also got "Anthology" by The J. Geils Band. They did a great job grouping tunes together so the first CD is all studio stuff and the second CD is mostly live. The J. Geils Band is one of those who did their best stuff live, though they did a lot of great studio work as well.

There are some classic rock acts which sound better live, some which sound better in the studio and some which have great work in both realms. Here is a list of my opinions, you can take them or leave them:

• Ted Nugent: Definitely better live. I might be a bit biased since I saw him live 4 times when I was younger. He is a great entertainer and I think "Double Live Gonzo" is some of his best work - even if he didn't record "Motor City Madhouse" in Detroit.
• Rush: These guys did some fantastic tunes; "The Spirit of Radio," "Free Will," "Tom Sawyer," "Time Stands Still" are among my favorite songs of all time. However, I cannot stand their live stuff. I know a lot of people will disagree with my opinion here (my wife certainly does) but I prefer Rush in the studio rather than live.
• Bob Seger: Here's one who stands equally well both live and in the studio. "Live Bullet" has some of his best work, but there are a few "clinkers" on there too. There are some timeless Seger tunes which were done in the studio.
• The J. Geils Band: They have 3 songs which I think are some of the best live recordings of all time: "First I Look At The Purse," "Whammer Jammer/Hard Drivin' Man" and "Land of 1000 Dances." If you've never heard J. Geils' cover of "Land of 1000 Dances" you've never heard "Land of 1000 Dances." They also did some great studio stuff, though some of the "Disco"-sounding tunes I can take or leave.
• Journey: Definitely better in the studio.
• REO Speedwagon: Great in the studio. However, the studio version of "Riding the Storm Out" isn't even the same song as the live version. I would hate that song if it weren't for the live version.
• Lynyrd Skynyrd: Great in the studio, but their live version of "Free Bird" is my favorite of their work.
• The Who: I think better in the studio than live. Their live version of "Summertime Blues" is a classic in my opinion.
• Led Zeppelin: I don't like the live stuff I've heard from them. Definitely better in the studio. I will throw out there, though, Heart's live cover of "Rock and Roll" is excellent.

Enough of that for now. I need to study for a test I have tomorrow.

Detroit - Rock City

I love it here in Texas, but sometimes I get a little homesick for all the favorites I had as a kid. Anyone out there who grew up in the Detroit Area in the late '70s and '80s remember:

• "WRIF, The home of rock and roll, BABY!"
• The "Live at Hart Plaza" local music concert series
• JJ and the Morning Crew
• "It's me, Arthur P" Penhollow "The Grand Poobah of Rock and Roll"
• The Dick the Bruiser Band
• D.R.E.A.D - Detroit Rockers Engaged in the Abolition of Disco
• WABX and the Steve Dahl show
• WWWW - W4 changing from Album-Oriented Rock to Country and Western with no warning on a Monday morning
• Marshall Crenshaw
• Muggsy
  
• The Romantics before they made it big
• Bob Seger selling out 5 shows at Cobo in one day
• The Numerous Ted Nugent Tours - except the one at the Acoustically Imperfect Pontiac Silverdome where The Cars were the opening band and they both sounded terrible in the nose-bleed seats
• Ted Nugent's campaign to make "Wang Dang Sweet Poontang" the Michigan state song? (I still have a letter from Gov. William Milliken's office outline why that would not be an appropriate song)
• I could go on for a while on this list ...
  

My friend Ron, who still lives near where we grew up, sent me a link which caused me to remember those days. Motor City Rock 1980-1990 is a site dedicated to "Preserving Detroit's Local Music Scene." They've done a great job of cataloging information about the bands of the Detroit area of that era with pictures, discographies, club dates and even some MP3s. There are a lot of cities which claim to have the "greatest live music scene" but I doubt any city can compare to Detroit back in those days and this site gives a lot of proof to how vibrant the Detroit music scene was.

It seems to me that every club had live music at least once a week, and there were plenty of concert venues both large and small. The site boasts it has 860 bands cataloged, and I would not doubt that in the least. I am even a former member of a few long-haired rock and roll garage bands - which unfortunately never got past the garage stage of development.

Another site sent to me by an old Army friend who grew up in the Detroit Area is Detroit Memories. This site is a collection of lists of things Detroit from the '50s through the '70s. There is even a link to an on-line store where you can order goodies only available from Detroit (Faygo Rock and Rye, anyone?). I have to admit, I have to have a Vernor's fix everyone once in a while, so I hop down to my local HEB and get a 6-pack from time to time. HEB is the only store I know in Central Texas which sells Vernor's, a long-time Detroit favorite still only available on a limited basis outside Michigan.

More RFID Security News

Nixed: Black Hat talk on RFID access badge risks

ACLU, Outrage Fill in the Silence at Black Hat RFID Session

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who has grave concerns about the security of using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology being used as a form of official ID. During a recent conference, IOActive, a small security firm, was to give a talk on the inherent lack of security in an RFID badge system used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). IOActive has its officed in the same building as FEMA and was curious about how good their security using RFID was.

The people at IOActive were quite successful in showing how vulnerable the RFID badges used are. So successful were they, that the company which developed the system used by FEMA, HID Global, threatened legal action against IOActive if they proceeded with their talk under the guise of protecting their intellectual property. IOActive, being a relatively small company which doesn't have access to legions of attorneys, were forced to skip the portion of their talk which directly illustrated the inherent weaknesses in the badge system HID Global markets, and which is used to access the FEMA offices in the building shared with IOActive.

Even the ACLU took note of this incident. They did their own experiments with RFID technology and found that the RFID standards currently planned to fulfill requirements of the Real ID Act are inherently flawed and will cause more problems than it will solve. As I have pointed out before here and here, it would be remarkably easy for someone to build an RFID reader, walk through a crowd of people carrying RFID enabled devices and gather a large amount of personal information which has the potential of enabling the "bad guys" to steal the identities of the people in that crowd.

I highly encourage everyone to educate themselves on RFID; how it works, how it's used now and how it might be mandated for use later. I believe everyone can understand enough about how it works to be as concerned as I am that it is not a good idea to use a means of personal identification.

Going Back To School

For some time, now, I've wanted to go to school to earn certification as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). There are a number of reasons why I want to do this, chief among them is my membership in my "real" employer's Emergency Response Team. (Yes, I have a day job - sitting around and "opinionating" about stuff only pays off for the lucky few).

I haven't been to a real college-level class for quite some time. My computer geek duties send me to technical classes, seminars and conferences a few times a year, but those are normally only a week long and there are no exams. This class runs twice a week for 4 hours and 8 hours on the semiweekly Saturday. There are real tests to study for and homework! This is the real deal, let me tell you.

Most of the members of the class are much younger than I. Many of them are either working towards being a paramedic or firefighter and a few who are looking to hire on with an EMS service to help pay their way through nursing school. That makes for interesting discussions coming from many different points of view.

This class is really keeping me busy, too. There is a lot to learn, as I expected there would be. But I was unprepared for the sheer volume of information. I knew a little about medical stuff and first aid from my time in the Army, but this class goes way beyond anything I learned in the past.

I welcome the challenge, though. I passed the first exam with an 89 and I look to pass the next exam as well. Homework and study!

I'll update later.

"It Takes A Thief" and "The Apprentice"

My wife and I have been watching The Discovery Channel's "It Takes A Thief" for a few months now. It's an interesting show where two ex-burglars case out a home, convince the residents to let them rob the place, show them where their security is lax and then outfit them with tools to help them keep their homes safe. It's astounding how many people don't even lock their doors. When I consider that most of the episodes I've seen are done in the New York City area, I am even more astounded. (I'm not knocking New York City - crime tends to be higher in any large, urban center and locking doors should be a given anywhere one might live). What really gets me going, though, is how many people keep large amounts of cash in their homes. I'm talking about amounts above $1000.

I might be naive about such things, but isn't it safer to put money in the bank? Even if a thief took your bank statements or ATM cards, you would still have a chance to stop them by reporting the theft to your bank and having them freeze your account. Once the cash is gone, it's gone. It doesn't make sense to me. I can understand keeping a couple hundred dollars around the house for emergencies, but any more than that I don't understand. I'm not trying to be critical of those who keep such amounts of cash in their homes, I'm trying to understand the purpose behind it. It seems very counter-intuitive to me.

Another show I enjoy is "The Apprentice." "The Donald" is a very interesting character to me. Whatever you might think about him, you have to admit he is successful at what he does. It's fascinating to watch how he selects the people to be fired.

In this season of the show, the team which loses the given task not only has to go to the boardroom where "... somebody will be fired," but they also must live in the back yard of the mansion where the teams are housed. They're provided tents, cots, chairs, showers, grills and other necessities for life.

What amazes me the most is the way some of the the would-be apprentices whine about having to live outside. Here, they are given the opportunity of a lifetime to possibly work for the Trump Organization and instead of concentrating on that, a couple of them just go on and on about having to live in a tent. One person actually quit because she couldn't handle it.

I like living indoors with all the conveniences living in the US offers. But, I have spent a lot of time living in tents, sleeping on cots, dealing with the weather, etc. What was I doing at the time? I was out there training to defend our Nation so we could all enjoy the freedoms we have. There are men and women out there right now doing the same thing (and in addition taking fire, no less) so these folks could have the opportunity they have to better their lives and possibly make a lot of money doing it.

I say: Take advantage of the opportunity you have and don't complain so much about having to live in a tent. Staying inside the mansion is the prize you get for winning. Take responsibility, focus, work harder and win the next task. Then, you can move into the mansion and the other team can sleep under the stars.

Trip To Fredericksburg, Texas

My wife and I completed our Third Annual Honeymoon yesterday, which was a trip to Fredericksburg, Texas. Fredericksburg is a nice, touristy-type town in the Texas Hill Country, a little south-west of Austin and a little north-west of San Antonio.

During our visit we stayed at the Main Street Bed and Breakfast. This was the first B&B experience for both us, and it was quite nice. The rooms for this particular B&B are situated on the second floor of an older building, upstairs from shops and a B&B reservation service. The room was a little on the small side, but very nice and clean. A very nice breakfast was delivered to us every morning between 8:30 and 9:00 am. A lot of attention paid to the decor of the room, with pictures on the walls, antique furniture and a 4-poster bed. My favorite part of the room was a giant spa tub in the bath. It was large enough to fit the two of us quite comfortably and was equipped with lots of jets. Since the water heater was situated in the closet of the bathroom, there was more than enough hot water to fill the thing. Very relaxing - I loved it.

Fredericksburg seems to be known chiefly for 4 things: the German heritage of it's founders and residents, shopping, wine and the National Museum of the Pacific War.

The German theme is noted all along the main street (US Highway 290 and is appropriately named "Hauptstasse"). There are a number of German-style restaurants and many of the shops sell German-themed goods.

We ate at two very good restaurants during our stay. The Brewery combined Tex-Mex, German and American food with a microbrewery making for a great dining experience. The food came in generous portions and the beer was excellent. We waddled out of there more than a little full. The onion rings were particularly tasty. "Der Lindenbaum" is a small restaurant set up very much like an authentic German Gasthaus. Here, the food was excellent and tasted very authentic. I'd rather have had spaetzle with my Jaegerschnitzel instead of mash potatoes, but I think making spaetzle is an art not too common in America. They had the Franziskaner Dunkelweitzen beer on tap - very unusual outside of Germany. That was a great capper to a great meal.

There are a number of very good specialty shops along Main Street. One of the more interesting was Rustin' Bob's Texas Gourmet Foods. This store features a very large variety of Texas-produced goodies, home made fudge, and the largest collection of hot sauces for sale I've ever seen. My wife picked up a jar of jalapeño peanut butter, which she said was quite tasty (I think it's an abomination - but that's a story for another time). We picked up a 1/2 pound of fudge, but I think my wife ate it while I wasn't looking. I did get enough of a taste of the free samples to know that fudge is among the best I've ever had and would run a close race to Mackinac Island Fudge. There was also a unique bath shop which I forgot the name of. They had the funniest rubber duckies, including a Mr. T one. (I've had enough of your jibber-jabber. You stink! Get in the tub, fool!).

There are a number of wine shops in Fredericksburg. We visited two: Texas Vineyards & Beyond and the Fredericksburg Winery. Texas Vineyards & Beyond features wines from all over the world, and especially from Texas. I knew there were some wineries in Texas, but I had no idea there were over 100 as wells as a number of excellent vineyards. The people there were very helpful, and of course, assisted with some samples. The Fredericksburg Winery makes their own wine for sale. Some of it was excellent and bought a couple, three bottles. The owner is also a big supporter of our troops overseas, which is a big plus in my eyes.

I think the highlight of our trip was our visit to The National Museum of the Pacific War (originally called the "Nimitz Museum" because Chester Nimitz was born in Fredericksburg, and the museum was once housed in a hotel owned by his family). The museum holds a vast collection of artifacts, displayed in chronological order from the opening of Japan to the West to the signing of the surrender in Tokyo Bay. It was almost too much to take in. We spent almost 3 hours walking through and reading all the displays. There is even a Japanese mini-sub which was part of the attack on Pearl Harbor, but missed its target and ran aground elsewhere on Hawaii. A few blocks from the main museum is a tour of displays depicting an airfield, a PT Boat base and a typical beach head as it would have been defended by the Japanese in those days. This tour took about an hour and was well worth it.

All in all it was a great trip. I highly recommend a visit to Fredericksburg.

Note: I was not compensated in any way for any of the opinions given here. They are my own and I am not paid to endorse any product or company.

Pizza Patron Pesos Controversy - Why Should You Care?

Texas-Based Pizza Chain Accepts Pesos

In my opinion, you really shouldn't care. This is a tempest in a tea cup if I ever saw one. I completely understand the national debate over illegal immigration. However, I doubt if anyone is going to sneak across the border and go all the way up to Dallas just to get a pie from Pizza Patron. There are doubtless a number of pizza places in border towns up and down the US-Mexico border which take pesos and don't require a 12-hour drive to pick up an order.

Death threats? Get real people. Unless you have a Pizza Patron restaurant nearby and have some pesos sitting around, there really isn't a reason to get mixed up in all this. Besides, there are far better ways to express your displeasure over the practices of a business besides making death threats. Organize a boycott, picket outside the restaurants, email the company, write letters to the editor, etc.

Everyday Heroes

Of all the events in the news this past week, three really got me thinking: 1. The New York Subway Hero, 2. The two guys who caught the baby who fell off a fire escape from the 5th floor of a building, and 3. All the people who stopped to help those caught in the Colorado Avalanche.

These stories really got me thinking: "Why don't we hear about this kind of thing more often?" I could make a "knee-jerk" reaction and blame the media. But, are they totally to blame for the lack of good-news stories or is there just not enough good news going around?

My hope is these stories will galvanize regular folks to take time out of their lives to touch the lives of other people. I know people in the U.S. are the most generous in the world donating money to help those caught in natural disasters and the like. It would take us to the next level when people will start the make the larger step from anonymous donation to stepping in and helping people where they are face to face. I believe this kind of action will take us down a road to a place where we won't need to should shout, "Where is the government with my check" when something happens. People won't need "Big Daddy" government to help them because their neighbors will have already taken care of their needs.

President Ford, Rest In Peace

Gerald Ford was a bit of an enigma. He was elected as neither President nor Vice President, but served in both offices. Some of his policies were not great, but he served with dignity and honor.

He may very well be remembered as the caricature of a klutz as played by Chevy Chase on "Saturday Night Live." He was the president who "always fell down" or "beaned someone on the head with an arrant golf shot." In reality, he was quite the athlete in his day playing center for the University of Michigan which earned 2 National Championships. He was even courted by the Detroit Lions, though he turned down the offer to attend law school.

I believe President Ford will be remembered in history as the man who held the nation together during a time of extreme crisis. His tenure was born of two scandals which rocked the US, stepping in when others were forced to step aside. His mission was healing, and he carried that mission to its completion.

Potential RFID Privacy & Security Problems

A year ago this past May I blogged about some serious security and privacy concerns regarding Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). In the past year-and-a-half, I haven't seen any real public discussion of the concerns I have regarding the use of this technology.

A paper published by the University of Washington Department of Computer Science and Engineering entitled "Devices That Tell On You: The Nike+iPod Sport Kit", outlines a direct example of how an on-the-market RFID technology has the potential to be exploited for bad purposes. The paper is telling in the relatively simple way the RFID technology, used to make a very handy and convenient device, can be used can also be used by the "not so honest" out there with very little technical knowledge. It also demonstrates some possible ways the device could be changed in order to make it far more "privacy friendly."

I highly recommend folks read up on RFID and its potential problems. I hate to call for government action on a problem like this because then it'll just get messed up. I think it's better for everyone to educate themselves so they can make informed decisions about the technology they use, whether purchased or not.

"The Aviator"

Just to show you how far behind I am in today's pop culture, I just saw "The Aviator" for the first time yesterday evening. Among the biographical movies I've seen, this showing of the life of Howard Hughes is pretty good.

There were a few scenes which could have been cut to keep this film under 3 hours. I think, though, despite the length the movie did a fairly good job of capturing Hughes' genius and madness. I recommend this one, if for nothing else, to ponder the workings of a man who suffered greatly from mental illness yet was still able to carry on leading a huge business empire.

The Size of Money

Judge Orders Treasury Department to Make Paper Money Recognizable to Blind People

I can't understand why the US hasn't made this type of change to its currency before now. This makes a lot of sense, not only to the blind people who would benefit tremendously from changing the size of bills, but it would also be a nice convenience for everyone else.

European countries have had different sized paper currency for years, even before the adoption of the Euro. In Germany, for example, not only were the various denominations of currency different sizes, they were also different colors.

The Treasury Department just spent tons of money redesigning US currency. It seems to me that would have been a great time to redo the size, too. I completely disagree that having different sized bills would make it more difficult to prevent counterfeiting; I think it would make it easier to prevent because counterfeiters would have to take into account not only the design, paper, and other security features of the bill but also the exact size.

This kind of change is long overdue. Treasury Department: get with the program and get to work.

Patriot Guard Riders - Taking Care of the Homefront

A while back I posted a piece about riding with the Patriot Guard Riders escorting the funeral procession of a soldier who fell in Iraq. That was a very moving event for me. As a veteran, I feel it's important we welcome home those returning from duty overseas - whether they gave the ultimate sacrifice or not.

One of the PGR's leaders forwarded a video of a TV news item. The item, I believe, captures the spirit of the PGR and those who ride for our military members. The video is from the "Post Cards from Home" segment on an Illinois TV Station.

Watching this reminded me of my own homecoming after Desert Storm.

I had the privilege to serve with a Warrant Officer who served in Vietnam as a young man. On one occasion, while we were sitting around in the middle of Saudi Arabia waiting for the "Storm" part of Desert Storm to kick off, we were discussing the outpouring of generosity and good will from those at home. We got cards, letters and packages from people we hadn't heard from in years as well as those we'd never met. As the discussion carried on, the Chief (as that's what we called senior Warrant Officers) warned us not to count on the public's support and largess to continue once the war kicked off. His fear was that the war could become very unpopular once the real shooting started.

His fear was well-founded according to his experience coming home from Vietnam after one of his tours there. He was a young man who chose the military as his career. Coming home, he proudly wore his uniform as he arrived at Fort Lewis, Washington. Once he got on the ground, he was "strongly advised" to change into civilian attire before leaving the post to get transportation home. He told us of protesters outside the gates of Ft. Lewis throwing stuff at the cars going in and out, carrying signs protesting the war and vilifying the troops. I could see telling us of his experience brought a lot of sadness to him. He wanted us to keep in mind that peoples' opinions change and he wanted us to prepare ourselves in case the same thing happened to us.

We can all remember how quickly everything was over once the "Storm" got underway. Our unit was in and out of Iraq within a few days of the cease-fire being declared and we were on a plane back to the US within a week or so.

We landed at Kennedy Airport in New York to fuel up for our last leg back to Ft. Bliss (which is in El Paso, Texas). There was a buffet line with pizza, coffee, soft drinks, and other goodies waiting for us. There were people behind the barricades holding signs, not of protest, but of support and welcoming. It was quite a treat.

When we finally arrived at Ft. Bliss, we could see a vast crowd waiting to welcome us home through the plane's windows. This was an even larger "welcome home" than what we experienced in New York. I happened to be right in front of the Chief as we started down the stairs off the plane. There was a line of Generals waiting to shake our hands as we disembarked and headed to the building where we were to turn in our weapons. At one point, Chief put his hand on my shoulder. I thought, perhaps he took a misstep and was steadying himself. He was trying to steady himself, but it wasn't from a misstep on the stairs, rather is was because he was overwhelmed with emotion. He looked me in the eye and said, "This makes up for last time. This makes up for last time." I even think I saw a tear in his eye, which was very out of character for him. I was happy he got some closure for his bad experience in the 70s.

I regale this story because I believe the men and women of our Armed Forces deserve the same kind of homecoming. Whether you agree with the war in Iraq or not, the Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, Sailors and Coast Guardsmen are putting it all on the line to help make our lives safer and to continue to enjoy the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution.

I hope you will take some time out of your life this week and do something to support our troops, both overseas and at home. I know the sacrifices of time and effort it takes to be a member of our Armed Forces, and those people deserve respect and support from everyone living under the blanket of freedom they help protect.

Boycott Christmas!

When I was in high school, the morning DJ of the album-oriented rock station (now called "classic rock") was a guy named Steve Dahl. He had a very funny show with his sidekick and straight-man Garry Meier, who was referred to as "a bargain basement version of George Fenneman." Among his other stunts, one which stands out to me is his "Boycott Christmas Until After Thanksgiving" campaign.

Although he most likely meant it as a gag, I really took this to heart. He complained about how stores and malls would start putting out Christmas stuff a week or so before Thanksgiving and encouraged his listeners to not buy Christmas stuff until the holiday season "officially" kicked off.

This really struck a chord with me. I, too, thought that stores started the Christmas buying season too early. To this day, I feel the same way - especially when the Christmas stuff starts coming out a couple weeks before Halloween.

My wife is embarrassed as we go through the local Wal-Mart and I yell out "Boycott Christmas 'til after Thanksgiving" or "Don't fall for the crass commercialism" or "Don't support the commercialists" or "No Christmas, no Christmas, no Christmas until after Thanksgiving." I'm not against Christmas, I'm against the commercialism that comes with it.

With the merchants promoting, the people buying, the ALCU suing, the real meaning of Christmas is getting lost through all the hubbub and activities of the season. Starting it earlier and earlier every year seems to just dilute the season more and more.

To be sure, the Christmas season is the time of year when people seem to be more generous. Charitable giving goes up and people are more sensitive to the plight of those less fortunate. If we could keep that going on longer and longer then the real spirit of Christmas would grow. I find every succeeding year Christmas is more about greed and avarice than it's about caring, sharing and helping.

I hope that you will find it in your heart to remember the greatest gift of all this year: the gift of generosity and giving which is what the first Christmas was really all about. Without that, we might as well call it "Winter Holiday" and be done with it.

Grammer Classes Make a Rebound

Clauses and commas make a comeback
SAT writing section helps return grammar lessons to classrooms

I'm not a perfect grammarian, but I do know grammar is an important communication skill for those who want to get ahead. I am forever grateful to the nuns who taught grammar to me so well, that by the time I went to high school I used a college-level text book in my composition class.

The ability to communicate effectively through writing has diminished quickly over the past 20 years or so. I've seen it amongst those who have worked for me, and I especially see it in the youth of today. My own children are plagued with horrible grammar. When I try to correct them they tell me, "that's not how we learned it in school." Lack of grammar instruction compounded with email and text-messaging shortcuts have left them in the cold. I'm glad to hear grammar is making a comeback.

College instructors will be glad to learn of grammar's comeback as well. I happened to overhear a discussion on high school instruction between some college professors this past summer. To a person, they all lamented how poorly today's youth are instructed in English. One professor served on the college's entrance committee and told me that at least 3/4 of the youth coming into their college require remedial instruction so they can cope with college-level English and math courses. Things have gone a long way downhill since I had a college-level English class as a high school sophomore.

Grammar instruction isn't the only thing lacking in our education system today. The way math and reading are taught should be considered a crime. I try to help my kids with their math homework and I only confuse them more by showing them how to quickly get the right answer rather than the convoluted "hoop-jumping" they're taught at school. My oldest missed out totally on phonics and has problems reading to this day. Thankfully my younger children were sent to a private school which taught phonics even to preschool-aged kids. They read very well and are way ahead of their public school contemporaries. I hope math, reading and spelling instruction will make a comeback like grammar is starting to make.

Another Great Wall of China?

Gorbachev: Border Fence is Like Berlin Wall

OK, if this isn't ridiculous I don't now what is. Comparing the proposed wall (or fence or whatever) along the border with Mexico meant to keep out illegal aliens with the Berlin Wall is totally outlandish, even for Ol' Stainhead.

If Mr. Gorbachev will remember his history, the Berlin Wall was built to keep freedom-loving people IN East Germany and out of West Berlin. It was not built to keep the West Germans or Americans out. In the days of the Cold War, people from behind the Iron Curtain had to literally escape to get out. Perhaps we should recall the hundreds of people who were shot trying to over, under or through the Berlin Wall by East German border guards.

People from Mexico are more than welcome to emigrate to the United States. It just that the United States regulates how many people can come in at a time. There's nothing unusual about this practice, almost every country has limits on who and how many people can come in to their countries. In other countries illegal immigrants are deported to where they came from and this is considered quite normal. So why isn't it normal for the US to do it?

I agree with one statement Mr. Gorbachev said: we do need ideas on how to better control the flow of people through and from Mexico. A wall or fence is not going to solve the problem. What will solve the problem is better economic conditions in Mexico and points south so people will be better able to take care of themselves and their families and not feel that they must emigrate to get better opportunities than they could get at home.

Amish Community Extends Forgiveness

Wife of School Gunman Thanks Amish for Forgiveness

It would be tough to find another, better, public example of true Christian forgiveness than this. As I understand, the Roberts family were friends with some of the families Charles Roberts forever changed during his shooting spree. I read and saw news reports where the affected family members came to Marie Roberts and her children to bring consolation and forgiveness. They set up a fund to benefits the Roberts children and one family even invited Marie to the funeral for their daughter.

The effects of such a senseless and horrible act can last the rest of one's life. Nothing will bring the girls back to their families, nor bring Charles Roberts back and in his right mind. Maintaining a grudge just prolongs the suffering of the family members left behind. The example of this Amish community is a template to all of us how to graciously and positively make the best out of an unimagineable circumstance.

The world would be a much better place if everyone would learn to forgive like these people.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Check out the listing in IMDb

This is a really bad movie. I'm glad I got to watch it for free on the Encore channel. I expected a bit more out of a case which in included Bill Murray and Owen Wilson. Perhaps it was supposed to be a bit "artsy-fartsy" with sophisticated humor, but I found it to be dull, drawn out, and just plain awful.

Ma Bell Is Back

FCC puts off AT and T-BellSouth merger vote

I don't get it. Some years ago, the US Government forced AT and T to break up into some half-dozen or so smaller companies because it was a monopoly. Over the past couple of years, most of the telecommunication providers which resulted from the split have merged to become what is now, ironically enough, the new AT and T. With the purchase of BellSouth, AT&T will be almost as large as it was when it was forced to split up. If AT and T controlled too much of the telecommunications industry back then, isn't it perhaps going to be too big now?

I am very leery of all the merging, or "consolidating" as it is termed. Instead of being good for consumers, when companies merge together to control large blocks of a particular industry, competition goes away and prices go up.

To be sure, there are many reasons gas prices have skyrocketed in the past year or so, but is it just a coincidence that the oil companies have merged themselves into an oligarchy just before this happened? What about the cable TV industry? Has your cable bill gone down because of consolidation in that arena? Mine sure hasn't. I'd like to see an example where consolidation actually led to lower prices for consumers. (Don't show me a bunch of examples where a large company was created from mergers or acquisitions and moved all its manufacturing overseas - those don't count.)

I am normally against government intervention in business. However, one of the federal government's constitutional duties is to regulate interstate commerce. Perhaps this might be one of those areas where a little regulation is in order.

PS - the ampersand ("and" symbol) is not allowed in Blogger - for reasons I completely understand. Thus my spelling "AT and T" in this posting.

My Theory About the Detroit Lions

Marinelli: Lack of Discipline to Blame for Lions 0-5 Record

I have had a theory about the Lions for years, and I tell it to a few people here and there. Now is the time to go public: The Lions are perennially mediocre at best because the Ford family uses them as a tax deduction. They play just good enough to give the fans some hope, but bad enough that they don't pull in too much money so the operation comes in at a loss every year.

Think about it: since the '50s, have the Lions ever made it past the first round of the playoffs? How many times have they even made the playoffs? Do they ever have more than one big-name key player on the team at a time?

I know Detroit sports fans are fiercely loyal - I used to be one, so I know. But come on people, The Red Wings, Pistons and Tigers have won the top prize in their sports, why not the Lions? I think it's time to vote with your feet and your wallets and show you want to watch a winner.