Blessed by a sunrise
Taken today on my back deck.
Archive for August, 2008
Quotes for the times
Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There was never a democracy that did not commit suicide.
– John Adams (1735 - 1826)
Anything will give up its secrets if you love it enough. Not only have I found that when I talk to the little flower or to the little peanut they will give up their secrets, but I have found that when I silently commune with people they give up their secrets also - if you love them enough.
– George Washington Carver (1864 - 1943)
Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.
– George Washington (1732 - 1799)
Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
– Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)
Advertisements… contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper.
– Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)
When 900 years you reach, look as good, you will not.
– Yoda
Paying for Education
My kids just starting attending a private Christian school. Since my wife teaches there, we are able to put both of our girls in for free, which is nice. I’m really impressed with this school. My first impression is that parents are truly involved. The school has a program in which parents have to achieve a certain number of points each year choosing from a whole bunch of different activities in order to continue on the following year. Some of these activities include sitting in on your child’s class for an hour, maintaining a section of landscaping on the grounds (adopt a ground), teaching a class, attending parent-teacher meetings, helping with fall festival, etc. Yes, parents can get busy and forget about how important involvement in the school is and specifically the education of their child, but I think it goes deeper to something else.
These parents are paying some good money to get into the school. And in addition to those hefty tuition payments, the parents (whether property owners and renters) still have to pay for public schools through property taxes (renters pay through the lease payment). Though taxes are necessary, they become a hidden fee that you don’t see come directly out of your bank account each month. And that is my point.
When you have to put your money directly from your wallet into something you believe in, you darn sure are going to make every effort to ensure that it is put to good use. In the case of the school, parents show up. They spend time talking with teachers. They get on committees. They want success.
Unfortunately, when our monies are taken through backdoor channels like withholding taxes, electronic tithing (which I do), and property taxes, we can lose connection to that money and its purpose. If every American that now paid withholding actually had to pay it out of pocket like we do for gas in the car, there would be an uproar when it rises exponentially. The thing is, we just don’t see it. If we did, I think we’d each take a little more responsibility with how that money is being used. If public school parents were required to pay for their child directly and not through the property tax system, more public school parents would get involved (and not just in how good the football team is or who is the best chearleader). The effect would be more pressure on the school boards to do the right things and not the politically correct things. Teachers would see the trickle down effect of that. Kids that really want to be there would get a great education. Kids that don’t would save their parents the cost of the tuition and could pick strawberries for all I care. There appears to be enough of that work out there that we now need illegals to do.
So how involved are you?
Head on over to Ethos for Watercooler Wednesday. You’ll find some good folks there.
Delta to offer WiFi on domestic flights
So you are stuck with all of these Delta frequent flier miles. Baggage charges are starting to go through the roof. You’d rather be flying Southwest but they don’t fly into your town. Well, now you can feel better about sticking with Delta. Wireless internet will soon be available for domestic flights. Through a company called Aircell, Delta plans to install a program called Gogo which will enable Delta customers traveling with Wi-Fi enabled devices to access the Internet. Gogo will not be free, but then again this is Delta we’re talking about. Gogo will be available to customers for a flat fee of $9.95 on flights of three hours or less, and $12.95 on flights of more than three hours. I suppose if you are surfing the internet, you won’t be thinking about how many delays you’ve had or whether your luggage will make it to your destination.
The picture above: it’s Delta’s new way of getting extra luggage to your final destination. Not the best fit, but its more money.
Visit the Summer Games in Beijing via maps
Here is a great Google Maps app that combines maps and data about the 08 summer games in Beijing. View the medal winners by country, see the stadium locations where the different events will be held, and view a list of events, all from the convenience of your home or office. Check it out here. http://maps.google.com/help/maps/2008summergames/
Here is a little YouTube primer
Sandy from Walgreens
I stopped in at Walgreens in Donelson this morning to pick up supplies for our new office. The cosmetics register was opened and I struck up a conversation with Sandy, a former guidance counselor from Chicago. Sandy worked in the Chicago school system in the same high school for 47 years, retiring recently after the pace got a little too crazy, not to mention the students. We chatted for 15 minutes about kids in school and how so much has changed since she first began working with kids. The conversation turned to parents and how much of an impact they have during the formative years of child’s life. She remembered times when she would have to call home and tell a mom that she wasn’t supposed to smoke pot with her high schooler before school.
Then Sandy mentioned the antics of some children who visited the store this past weekend during the tax holiday. On Sunday she said these 
children were very rude, some asking that she leave the register (whose line was long) to find an item. Others got irate at the length of the lines. One child actually spit at a cashier when he didn’t get his way. Sadly, these weren’t children, but adults acting like children. Boy, some role models we are for kids. It reminded me of a visit to Kmart recently (it also was this past Sunday). Same situation. One lady got so angry that the line was long that she stormed out, dropping her items on the ground and stepping over them on the way out.
Where does this anger come from? This particular Kmart lady was in her 50’s from what I could tell. If she’d waited about two more minutes she would have been out the door with her stuff. When we as humans brush up against things or people we can’t control, especially when we are used to controlling everything else we can get our hands on (kids, husbands, wives, employees, cars, cable tv, etc.), something snaps. Coincidentally, this “control freakism” usually comes when you’ve intentionally decided to throw out the notion that someone greater controls things anyway, including your own perfect self. It sure is humbling (and frustrating) when you realize you can’t control everything. A data stream of garbage directed at a unsuspecting cashier usually makes it all better, just like a drink to help make the pain go away. You feel in control again for a time. It won’t last long, but there are always more cashiers, more drivers on the interstate, more spouses to get your fix.
Well, once again I’m sure glad I get to be a part of Watercooler Wednesday over at Ethos. People there will treat you nice.
Wordpress update
I recently updated my Wordpress software to 2.6. This last few months have seen a flurry of updates with the latest and greatest. The update process is pretty easy now. The biggest change that affected me on this one is the image add/edit area. I have to manually type in a float style because my template was written before some of the latest W3C standards were written. It only affects new image inserts. That’s about all though. I’m liking the interface. Template modification is a breeze too.
So if you are updating Wordpress, don’t forget to backup your mySQL database. And whatever you do, don’t overwrite your config.php file. I did once and trust me, it’s not a happy day when you do that.
TN Tax Holiday this weekend
I guess I forgot about this, but if you still have shopping to do for school, this would be the weekend to do it. Clothing, Computers, and School supplies qualify for tax free.
Sunny side up
This shot from my back deck reminds me of my brain most days. A random fog rolls in. After a time, the sun tends to break through the haze. Things are clearer. Thankfully this doesn’t happen every day.
Music is like this. Certain songs on first listen don’t get inside. A few more listens and it catches on. Reading certain texts like scripture or the Declaration of Independence has a similar effect. Upon a second or third reading, even years later in some cases, causes certain nuggets of truth to appear as if out of nowhere.
I suppose even relationships can take on this mystical quality. One day I realize something really special about my wife that wasn’t there before (from my vantage point). Little by little, the fog lifts.
I’ve realized I have to recognize it as the fog that it is, and the mostly temporary nature of it, before I can see the truth.
