I see so many people run the stop sign near my house in my neighborhood.
It's on an internal street in the neighborhood. So it's not like they're pulling out onto a busy road or highway.
But it is a stop sign.
The teenagers next door, other teenagers in the neighborhood, and even my own child don't even slow down for the stop sign. They slow down to make the turn but they don't even slow down otherwise. They have been taught by the people in my neighborhood that even though the law says a stop sign means stop, not Steptoe on pedal, they watched others run it and learned that that law doesn't apply all of the time.
My neighborhood used to be pretty clean. I've started finding drink cans and bottles on the road and in yards or more. The other day I found a tray from a fast food restaurant with the rappers and the dirty papers and containers from the chili hot dog and fries with ketchup and mustard and some dessert sitting on the street on the in the middle of the street on the driver side of where the stop sign is leaving our neighborhood.
As I drive through my town I see more and more people running stoplights. I also see people pulling into the turn lanes and then ducking back into the main traffic lane in order to get around somebody that's going slow.
I'm hearing more and more about teenagers getting pregnant because they're having sex at home. And I see the broken families all around me suffering as they try to work their way through things without the help of a consistent partner.
Lawlessness is increasing in our society. Trust is decreasing in our society.
The simple things like stopping at stop signs teach your children a lot. Please stop.
Thursday, April 29, 2021
Sunday, April 25, 2021
I used to be angry ~
I used to be angry all the time. One of my favorite songs in my teens and 20s and 30s was by Styx called "Fooling yourself" (https://youtu.be/AtzIWPeun7c). It talks about the young man and his anger in that it encourages him to get up get back on his feet. Good song, great hook, one of my favorites.
In my anger I would hide myself and go into things angry. I would go into things looking for the opportunity to ask the question that made someone else mad. I would watch for chances to express my anger. Or I would sit and simmer and people would know from the dark cloud over me that I was like a volcano ready to blow.
I've grown since then. I've learned to tamp that down and not express it. I've learned to redirect and to slow down and express myself in positive ways so that I don't feed fuel into the fire that burns inside me most of the time.
As I watch the amplified view of angry people burning and looting because they are being allowed to I feel bad for them. Many of the people burning and looting are paid to do it. They were trained on how to do it. They were mobilized and brought into specific areas to do it. They were funded by people outside of our country to do it.
And so the message about a man who was kneeled on by a police officer is lost. The ugliness that we're seeing seems more the ugliness of an enemy and not necessarily of an outraged populace. We would be wise to remember that.
In my anger I would hide myself and go into things angry. I would go into things looking for the opportunity to ask the question that made someone else mad. I would watch for chances to express my anger. Or I would sit and simmer and people would know from the dark cloud over me that I was like a volcano ready to blow.
I've grown since then. I've learned to tamp that down and not express it. I've learned to redirect and to slow down and express myself in positive ways so that I don't feed fuel into the fire that burns inside me most of the time.
As I watch the amplified view of angry people burning and looting because they are being allowed to I feel bad for them. Many of the people burning and looting are paid to do it. They were trained on how to do it. They were mobilized and brought into specific areas to do it. They were funded by people outside of our country to do it.
And so the message about a man who was kneeled on by a police officer is lost. The ugliness that we're seeing seems more the ugliness of an enemy and not necessarily of an outraged populace. We would be wise to remember that.
Wednesday, April 21, 2021
I use ear buds instead ~
I love music! I grew up playing it loud. Rock, pop, classical, not a lot of country, no opera.
I try to have something playing nearby at all times. It soothes and distracts, covers some of the noises, and helps my day go better.
I used to love to wear headphones. My Walkman was on full most of the time. I shaped the world around me with music.
As I have gotten older my wife and children and others around me became more of a priority. I would walk around with one side of the headphones in.
Then came Bluetooth ear pieces. I bought some of early ear pieces and looked like a goof walking around with this thing stuck in my ear. But I felt like Spock from the original series of Star Trek. Since I had the look going on I kept watching and waiting for an app that would make my phone talk to me in my ear.
And it came! Text to speech (TTS) started out big and bulky then got streamlined on my Android phones. An app called Tasker (https://tasker.joaoapps.com/) came out that allowed me to automate things on my phone, so I started using Tasker to download things and tap in to text files and make my phone talk to me when my earpiece was in and connected to the phone.
It's been awesome! I still usually only have one ear filled with an earpiece because I want to be able to hear and understand when people walk up and start talking to me. But I have a good collection of different sized and shaped ear pieces that keep me connected and entertained.
Fun!
I try to have something playing nearby at all times. It soothes and distracts, covers some of the noises, and helps my day go better.
I used to love to wear headphones. My Walkman was on full most of the time. I shaped the world around me with music.
As I have gotten older my wife and children and others around me became more of a priority. I would walk around with one side of the headphones in.
Then came Bluetooth ear pieces. I bought some of early ear pieces and looked like a goof walking around with this thing stuck in my ear. But I felt like Spock from the original series of Star Trek. Since I had the look going on I kept watching and waiting for an app that would make my phone talk to me in my ear.
And it came! Text to speech (TTS) started out big and bulky then got streamlined on my Android phones. An app called Tasker (https://tasker.joaoapps.com/) came out that allowed me to automate things on my phone, so I started using Tasker to download things and tap in to text files and make my phone talk to me when my earpiece was in and connected to the phone.
It's been awesome! I still usually only have one ear filled with an earpiece because I want to be able to hear and understand when people walk up and start talking to me. But I have a good collection of different sized and shaped ear pieces that keep me connected and entertained.
Fun!
Saturday, April 17, 2021
Simple Thing To Do ~
While you are out and about pick up a piece of trash and throw it away. So many people just walk by garbage on the ground. Then they shake their head and talk about how terrible their neighborhood is becoming or how dirty this area of the city is. If they do nothing about it.
I remember growing up seeing that commercial with the Indian in the single tear running down his cheek as they talk about all the pollution and garbage thrown out of car windows and such. I guess I took at the heart because I learned that when garbage is really out there and it's really not bad. If everybody picked up a piece of garbage today and put it in the trash receptacle our society would be much cleaner.
Instead we have people that rolled her car out of the car and then leave the car right beside their car and drive away. Even though there's a cart corral 10 steps away they leave it right there because they don't want to be inconvenienced. Very sad! That says a lot about what people think and who they are focused on.
One of my overriding goals in life has been to make things a little bit better around me. I've been somewhat successful at that, I'm not always very good at it, but I have made the effort. It's such a small thing and people look down on anybody who picks up garbage. But we all do it in one way or another.
I remember when I joined the church. The pastor said that we like people to serve in our church because it helps keep them engaged in the plugged into what's going on. And he asked what I would like to do and what area I would like to serve in. When I said that I wanted to serve in the bathroom cleaning area between services he was shot. And even asked are you sure? But I really want I saw that as somewhere I can serve felt like that's what I need do. People that go to church that don't normally go to church tend to rush off to the bathroom instead of engage with people. If they go in the bathroom and they see paper towels on the floor around the base of the garbage can or they see soapy water splashed all over the counters were people were sloppy and didn't clean up after themselves they might get turned off because the church doesn't even care to keep the bathrooms clean and presentable. And so I felt like that's where I needed to be where I needed to do things. And I did!
I guess what I'm trying to say is one of the easiest ways that you can help improve our society is to pick up a piece of garbage today. Good luck!
I remember growing up seeing that commercial with the Indian in the single tear running down his cheek as they talk about all the pollution and garbage thrown out of car windows and such. I guess I took at the heart because I learned that when garbage is really out there and it's really not bad. If everybody picked up a piece of garbage today and put it in the trash receptacle our society would be much cleaner.
Instead we have people that rolled her car out of the car and then leave the car right beside their car and drive away. Even though there's a cart corral 10 steps away they leave it right there because they don't want to be inconvenienced. Very sad! That says a lot about what people think and who they are focused on.
One of my overriding goals in life has been to make things a little bit better around me. I've been somewhat successful at that, I'm not always very good at it, but I have made the effort. It's such a small thing and people look down on anybody who picks up garbage. But we all do it in one way or another.
I remember when I joined the church. The pastor said that we like people to serve in our church because it helps keep them engaged in the plugged into what's going on. And he asked what I would like to do and what area I would like to serve in. When I said that I wanted to serve in the bathroom cleaning area between services he was shot. And even asked are you sure? But I really want I saw that as somewhere I can serve felt like that's what I need do. People that go to church that don't normally go to church tend to rush off to the bathroom instead of engage with people. If they go in the bathroom and they see paper towels on the floor around the base of the garbage can or they see soapy water splashed all over the counters were people were sloppy and didn't clean up after themselves they might get turned off because the church doesn't even care to keep the bathrooms clean and presentable. And so I felt like that's where I needed to be where I needed to do things. And I did!
I guess what I'm trying to say is one of the easiest ways that you can help improve our society is to pick up a piece of garbage today. Good luck!
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Safety ~
So many people think it's someone else's responsibility to keep them safe. But that's not the case.
Antivirus software is there to keep us from catching something on the Internet as we browse and click and select. It's supposed to protect us from the malicious software that goofball teenagers and adults let loose on the Internet. Or worse criminals that sit in a room all day and send things out that they're not supposed to send and hope that somebody clicks it so that their little software bought can invade my system and send them important data that will allow them to steal all my money or steal all my information.
Systems like LifeLock and Norton 360 that scan for illegal credit card use or identity theft or that sort of thing. Those are out there and we lean on them heavily to keep us safe. If we can afford to pay the price. Or choose to pay it.
So many people think that the police are there to protect. Which they are up to a point. But more often than not the police are there to come in after something happens and write up a report, give suggestions on cleaning up the mess, and then look for people that may have perpetrated a crime. Their prevention efforts are more at the show of force or show of presence efforts.
Gangs provide a level of supposed safety but at a higher cost. Pay them enough money and they'll use criminal efforts to chase off other criminals so they can protect their income stream. Or if you're part of the gain or family then you get protected but if you're not yet taken advantage of.
It even extends into the air over our heads. Aircraft are now being flown with automatic systems that when activated will fly the aircraft to the nearest airport and landed automatically because the aircraft senses that something is wrong or the buttons were pressed to trigger this system that is designed to supposedly keep the aircraft and passengers quote unquote safe is triggered.
Whatever happened to being responsible for yourself and your own safety?
I was taught that it's a dangerous world and you need to be careful. You need to make choices that will not result in you being taken advantage of or stolen from. Don't go to places where you might fall into a trap. If you have to go to places like that go armed or go with the group so that you're prepared for any danger that may present itself.
I always marvel at the stories of women that walked around in bikinis that get shocked when men grab them and take advantage of them stripping off their thin little piece of cotton and spandex to rate them when they went into a secluded area where there was no protection and no visibility to what was happening. I'm not saying it's the woman's fault when that happens, but I'm saying that they may not have made the best choices to be safe.
I remember reading a book set in the old West and the United States of America. There was a man making his way through different towns. When he would go into a new town and would ride up to the local saloon or gathering place he would always ride his horse up to the place where you tied them and then he would make a point of getting off of the horse on the side away from where the majority of people were. The author wrote that the character did this so that in case there was shooting the horse would be between him and the majority of people that were shooting at him.
I took that thinking to heart and I try to be careful in whatever I get involved in. Not always successful, but I have not had any major incidents in my life where I have been taken advantage of or had violence committed against me. I had a few times where it got close! I remember one time when I was walking with my girlfriend at the time now my wife on a public street away from most people. These two punks on a motorcycle road bias in the opposite direction and were laughing at us and pointing. So I raise my hand up flipping them off with my middle finger. They turn their motorcycle around and zoomed up on us, through the motorcycle to the ground and hop off of it as they did. Through their helmets on the ground and threatened to beat me up. While I was scared and concern for my girlfriends safety I looked at them and asked him how old they were. What does that have to do with anything? I told him that if we were gonna fight and they were under age they were both going to go to the hospital and I was gonna make sure that it was worth me going to jail and so I was gonna mess him up pretty bad. That shot them and they backed off and got on their motorcycle and left. I was so scared! But I kept myself and my girlfriend safe. And we went along with the our walk and I didn't flip anybody else off that day.
I just wish more people would stop trying to take advantage by bringing lawsuits and accusing and blaming others for the way they feel and take responsibility for themselves and their own safety. If you don't like something don't look. If you're offended by something get away from it. You don't have any right to make me change what I'm doing or what I'm saying. And if you don't feel safe you probably shouldn't be where you're at. If you suffer from anxiety attacks I feel bad for you.
I trust in God for my safety. And also trust in the judgment that I have and that I've learned through reading, learning from others, and experience. I hope you take responsibility for your safety as seriously as I take responsibility for my safety.
Antivirus software is there to keep us from catching something on the Internet as we browse and click and select. It's supposed to protect us from the malicious software that goofball teenagers and adults let loose on the Internet. Or worse criminals that sit in a room all day and send things out that they're not supposed to send and hope that somebody clicks it so that their little software bought can invade my system and send them important data that will allow them to steal all my money or steal all my information.
Systems like LifeLock and Norton 360 that scan for illegal credit card use or identity theft or that sort of thing. Those are out there and we lean on them heavily to keep us safe. If we can afford to pay the price. Or choose to pay it.
So many people think that the police are there to protect. Which they are up to a point. But more often than not the police are there to come in after something happens and write up a report, give suggestions on cleaning up the mess, and then look for people that may have perpetrated a crime. Their prevention efforts are more at the show of force or show of presence efforts.
Gangs provide a level of supposed safety but at a higher cost. Pay them enough money and they'll use criminal efforts to chase off other criminals so they can protect their income stream. Or if you're part of the gain or family then you get protected but if you're not yet taken advantage of.
It even extends into the air over our heads. Aircraft are now being flown with automatic systems that when activated will fly the aircraft to the nearest airport and landed automatically because the aircraft senses that something is wrong or the buttons were pressed to trigger this system that is designed to supposedly keep the aircraft and passengers quote unquote safe is triggered.
Whatever happened to being responsible for yourself and your own safety?
I was taught that it's a dangerous world and you need to be careful. You need to make choices that will not result in you being taken advantage of or stolen from. Don't go to places where you might fall into a trap. If you have to go to places like that go armed or go with the group so that you're prepared for any danger that may present itself.
I always marvel at the stories of women that walked around in bikinis that get shocked when men grab them and take advantage of them stripping off their thin little piece of cotton and spandex to rate them when they went into a secluded area where there was no protection and no visibility to what was happening. I'm not saying it's the woman's fault when that happens, but I'm saying that they may not have made the best choices to be safe.
I remember reading a book set in the old West and the United States of America. There was a man making his way through different towns. When he would go into a new town and would ride up to the local saloon or gathering place he would always ride his horse up to the place where you tied them and then he would make a point of getting off of the horse on the side away from where the majority of people were. The author wrote that the character did this so that in case there was shooting the horse would be between him and the majority of people that were shooting at him.
I took that thinking to heart and I try to be careful in whatever I get involved in. Not always successful, but I have not had any major incidents in my life where I have been taken advantage of or had violence committed against me. I had a few times where it got close! I remember one time when I was walking with my girlfriend at the time now my wife on a public street away from most people. These two punks on a motorcycle road bias in the opposite direction and were laughing at us and pointing. So I raise my hand up flipping them off with my middle finger. They turn their motorcycle around and zoomed up on us, through the motorcycle to the ground and hop off of it as they did. Through their helmets on the ground and threatened to beat me up. While I was scared and concern for my girlfriends safety I looked at them and asked him how old they were. What does that have to do with anything? I told him that if we were gonna fight and they were under age they were both going to go to the hospital and I was gonna make sure that it was worth me going to jail and so I was gonna mess him up pretty bad. That shot them and they backed off and got on their motorcycle and left. I was so scared! But I kept myself and my girlfriend safe. And we went along with the our walk and I didn't flip anybody else off that day.
I just wish more people would stop trying to take advantage by bringing lawsuits and accusing and blaming others for the way they feel and take responsibility for themselves and their own safety. If you don't like something don't look. If you're offended by something get away from it. You don't have any right to make me change what I'm doing or what I'm saying. And if you don't feel safe you probably shouldn't be where you're at. If you suffer from anxiety attacks I feel bad for you.
I trust in God for my safety. And also trust in the judgment that I have and that I've learned through reading, learning from others, and experience. I hope you take responsibility for your safety as seriously as I take responsibility for my safety.
Friday, April 9, 2021
Movie - News of the World ~
I watched the movie "News of the World" the other day on Amazon prime. https://m.imdb.com/title/tt6878306/
It was a good movie! I enjoyed seeing a Western with a whole lot of silly modern things like nudity and sex and other titillating things that people seem to think make for good couple of hours of entertainment.
It was nice to see a war hero driven to do the right thing for multiple reasons doing it. Individual ingenuity and combining of young and old, different cultures, and rugged individualism made for a really fun corridor twist on the normal Western movie themes.
I highly recommend it! You can get more info about it at https://m.imdb.com/title/tt6878306/
It was a good movie! I enjoyed seeing a Western with a whole lot of silly modern things like nudity and sex and other titillating things that people seem to think make for good couple of hours of entertainment.
It was nice to see a war hero driven to do the right thing for multiple reasons doing it. Individual ingenuity and combining of young and old, different cultures, and rugged individualism made for a really fun corridor twist on the normal Western movie themes.
I highly recommend it! You can get more info about it at https://m.imdb.com/title/tt6878306/
Monday, April 5, 2021
Major accomplishment ~
Major life accomplishment
When I started messing around with blogs I read a lot and listens to a lot. The biggest thing that I heard was to do it regularly so it became a habit and you could develop a pool of easily searched knowledge.
I tried to set aside time every week to capture my thoughts. I would use pen and paper. I was I would use keyboard and screen. But because of life and the life that I have, which included wife, children, job with shiftwork, activities, church, personal exercise and growth, I never did develop the habit of regularly sitting down for an hour to blog.
It was frustrating because all the successful people said that the only way to do it is to do it regularly. And I couldn't do it regularly.
So I came up with a different way to approach it. I ran across a couple of gurus online, Chris Brogan and Rob Hatch, who encourage the sharing of knowledge and information via email newsletters but also through videos and podcasts and every other electronic medium that you can lay your hands on. The biggest thing that they said was also to do it regularly but they also talked about using automation to do it. The automation they talked about when it ran from free to extremely expensive and so I pooh-poohed the whole idea and just kind of followed away.
But I didn't stop thinking about it. I kept thinking in looking and trying to figure out a way to make it so that I could do this and get the stuff that was in my head out into the cacophony of the Internet. And I did it!
I came up with a way to where I record my thoughts verbally, they get transcribed, I edit them, and then they get posted for me via some automation that I developed myself.
My major goal that I accomplished was posting 52 times in one year, which averages out to once a week. I did that in 2020! No, it was not every week at the same time and in a theme or subject line. But I did do it 52 times in one year.
Now my goal is to determine what I've created into a book. E-book and printed, hopefully via Kindle self-publishing, but that'll be something that I'll have to work at sitting in front of the screen.
But it's nice to accomplished on my goals. Now I just get to continue with my little system and see if I can do it again!
When I started messing around with blogs I read a lot and listens to a lot. The biggest thing that I heard was to do it regularly so it became a habit and you could develop a pool of easily searched knowledge.
I tried to set aside time every week to capture my thoughts. I would use pen and paper. I was I would use keyboard and screen. But because of life and the life that I have, which included wife, children, job with shiftwork, activities, church, personal exercise and growth, I never did develop the habit of regularly sitting down for an hour to blog.
It was frustrating because all the successful people said that the only way to do it is to do it regularly. And I couldn't do it regularly.
So I came up with a different way to approach it. I ran across a couple of gurus online, Chris Brogan and Rob Hatch, who encourage the sharing of knowledge and information via email newsletters but also through videos and podcasts and every other electronic medium that you can lay your hands on. The biggest thing that they said was also to do it regularly but they also talked about using automation to do it. The automation they talked about when it ran from free to extremely expensive and so I pooh-poohed the whole idea and just kind of followed away.
But I didn't stop thinking about it. I kept thinking in looking and trying to figure out a way to make it so that I could do this and get the stuff that was in my head out into the cacophony of the Internet. And I did it!
I came up with a way to where I record my thoughts verbally, they get transcribed, I edit them, and then they get posted for me via some automation that I developed myself.
My major goal that I accomplished was posting 52 times in one year, which averages out to once a week. I did that in 2020! No, it was not every week at the same time and in a theme or subject line. But I did do it 52 times in one year.
Now my goal is to determine what I've created into a book. E-book and printed, hopefully via Kindle self-publishing, but that'll be something that I'll have to work at sitting in front of the screen.
But it's nice to accomplished on my goals. Now I just get to continue with my little system and see if I can do it again!
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