Please write yourself a living will...

Anyone who listens to TV or radio has to be familiar with the Terri Schiavo case. Usually very conservative in my own thinking, I would have such an inner battle over unplugging my own wife, if she were in this horrible state.

And yet, I would want someone to unplug me, if I were the "vegetable". Don't take the chance of ever putting a loved one in the position of making that decision. Make the decision yourself, and spare others. Write it down--spell it out. Get yourself a living will!

Grown ups?

It seems that the only way our kids will learn to be adults, is if we let them--no, make that if we make them. Yes, they may be "of age". But that means exactly nothing. How can they be responsible people, when they are never responsible for their actions.?

They think that being an "adult" means they can choose to do as they wish. The really rude awakening will come when they realize choices have consequences. Up until this point, all their decisions and actions have had consequences, but mostly for the parents. If they chose poorly, we were there to bail them out.

The hardest thing I'll ever do as a father, is to let them untangle their own messes. I truly do think it will prove to hurt me more than it does them--and I thought that was such a load of bull, when I heard my father say it.

Ask This Old Spouse

As you probably know, there is a very popular program on public television called Ask This Old House. In case you're not familiar with it, various experts in home repair and renovation receive emails and letters asking for their help and advice. When an interesting enough problem comes to their attention, they pack up their utility trailer with the appropriate tools and materials, and pay the lucky homeowners a visit. During the visit, they quickly and handily solve the homeowners' problems.

That started me thinking about the various problems that married couples encounter, along their way to marital bliss. I thought "why not start a program called Ask This Old Spouse?". In this case, I could be the "old spouse" with all the answers. I would be beseiged with emails and letters, asking for my vast store of wisdom on how to be a good spouse. I'd hop in my little vehicle and head over to solve their problems. Of couse, since I've been married 32 years, I would have all the answers.

Then, my wife called down the stairs to me. Oh well, the title was "catchy" anyway.

What really matters...

Friday, my daughter was involved in a wreck. She called home, almost hysterical. Seems it was her fault--she "rear-ended" someone at a red light. The other driver was in a Toyota Rav4--you know, the kind of little RV with a spare tire mounted on the outside of the rear door. Luckily, she wasn't traveling very fast, but unfortunately, she was accelerating. Damage to his vehicle is in the neighborhood of $5000.

She didn't seem to think her car was very damaged at all, but when my wife and I went to see it, that wasn't the case. My daughter saw the dent on the front bumper, but failed to notice the buckled hood. I feel quite certain the damage to her car will exceed $3000.

About a year ago, she was issued a speeding ticket. Since it was her first offense, she was allowed to plea nolo contend re and not issued any points against her record. But the caveat was that she had to stay "clean" for the next five years, or she got not only any new points she "earned" but also the "forgiven" points from the first offense. Guess she'll have a tidy sum, now.

Long story short, she will have caused our insurance to be, in all likelihood, canceled. Add to that the fact we'll have to fork out the high deductibles when we don't really have them, and it is an all around crummy situation. We don't really need that right now.

Then again, we do have what we really need--our daughter's health. She (and the others involved) were uninjured. When you cut through all the inconvenience and hassle, life is still good to me. Thanks, Lord, for helping me remember what really matters.

Give up Taser guns?

Today, I read yet another article on deaths attributed to Taser guns. Most of the media seems to be in favor of banning their use. This is one time I might agree.

People who fight officers are doing so for a reason. If they can't be controlled, they continue to present a very real danger to the officers, and possibly to innocent bystanders as well. That doesn't earn these resisters much sympathy in my book.

I say the officers simply ought to revert to their Smith and Wessons.

Well Said!

Yesterday, while listening to the Neal Bortz radio show, I heard a listener sum up my own thoughts on religion so concisely it that I was momentarily "stunned". He simply said that so many "people tried to make religion their God, instead of making God their religion". With those few words, he described my feelings exactly.

Earlier in this blog, I described a neighbor's attempt to save the world. But, in those several paragraphs, I failed to put it as succinctly as that listener did in several words. My problem with organized religion has always been the ceremonies and trappings. Why not put all that energy and resource into worshipping God, instead of "building" a church? I may be wrong, but that's the way I see it.

"Libido Meter" May Be First True Sexual-Arousal Gauge

All kidding aside--this test should be given to all couples contemplating a lifetime together. If they are found to be far apart on the libido scale, then they should consider going their separate ways. No matter what anyone tries to tell me, I believe that sex should be a frequent and lasting part of any happy marriage. "Libido Meter" May Be First True Sexual-Arousal Gauge

Will Clones have Rights?

As an inquisitive and logical fan of scientific advancement, I applaud this progress. As a human being, I'm not certain how I feel about where we're going.

One side of me knows that the perfection of cloning techniques can and will help with so many human sufferings (disorders and diseases). The other side of me knows that perfecting these techniques can and will lead to misuse and abuse.

But this misuse and abuse could have such unintended and unimaginable consequences, that my mind tells me we're going to get into trouble. Maybe I'm too much of a sci-fi fan, and my mind is simply running away with me, but I don't know.....BBC NEWS | Health | Dolly expert is to clone embryos

Living History

We all live history everyday. After all, today is history tomorrow. But I just read an article that really brought home the fact that "being history" gives one a unique perspective. I was there. In 1970, fresh out of high school and looking for a future, I began classes in computer programming. The main frame we worked on had no keyboard, so we had to give it instructions via keypunch cards. Those are the cards mentioned in the article. BBC NEWS | Programmes | Click Online | Big computer storage gets smaller

The computer itself had a huge 16K memory. For those of you who can't comprehend that--it is about the amount of memory it now takes to store part of a photograph (say the head, in a "full body" picture). That was the entire memory for our computer. With that tiny "speck" of memory, we had to not only give the computer it's instructions on what to do, but then use the tiny leftover bytes to manipulate the data into our desired outcome. And yet, we were amazed at such a technical marvel. That machine filled a 20 ft by 20 ft room, which required an elaborate air conditioning system to keep the room temperatures in the 60 degree (F) range. I was fascinated that man could ever achieve such a miracle of technology.

Around that same time, there was an episode of My Favorite Martian (another tip that I'm not exactly a youngster anymore) in which Uncle Martin was going to stow away on a rocket we were sending to Mars. There were elaborate goodbyes, as it seemed that Uncle Martin was finally going home. But in the end, he couldn't fit in the space capsule, because it was too full of computer equipment. When Tim asked him hadn't he known that before hand, Martin explained that he'd read that all the capsule had on board was a few computers--and that those would fit on the head of a pin on his world. When I saw this espisode, I remeber thinking that I could actually live to see that here on Earth. Well, I guess I have.

While I like the fact I'm still here, I'm not certain I relish the fact I was there. Talk about feeling like a techno-fossil!

BBC NEWS | Programmes | Click Online | Big computer storage gets smaller

blah, blah, blog

Since I'm relatively new to the blogosphere, I am really still learning what blogging is all about. I guess for me, it began simply as a desire to get out some of the thoughts and feelings I've always kept inside. For others, it has obviously become a mission.

The more I'm exposed to the world of the bloggers, the more emotion I have for them (respect, love, hate--depending on the blogger). One thing is for certain, however. No matter what I like or dislike about bloggers and blogging--they are not to be taken lightly. While there is sheer idiocy in some, there is real power in others.

Whatever you think of them, you can't really say they don't matter. And while I'd certainly not label many bloggers as journalists, I guess in some cases it will be the courts who finally make the distinction. Are bloggers journalists? Do they deserve press protections? | csmonitor.com