Root Canal Update

Cowards die a thousand deaths, and I had imagined all manner of unpleasantness during and after my scheduled root canal, but it was painless! What a surprise!

I had based my expectations on past experiences and was reluctant to believe the assurances of my brother that it would be a walk in the park.

My Doubting Thomas attitude prevailed even as I sat in the dental chair reading a paper describing the pitfalls and failures of root canal procedures, then signing my name giving the dentist permission to proceed.

At home afterward, I was anxious as the hours passed thinking the discomfort would begin at any time. I had to rely on 'frozen medicine' (aka vanilla ice cream), to alleviate tension, but the hours passed and so did the next several days without a single hint of pain!

What a nice ending to one of life’s most miserable conditions, toothache.

American Dream

What exactly is the 'American Dream'?

The phrase has been bandied about in recent years, but it seems to mean different things to different people. When I was a child, it meant that I was a citizen of the United States of America, a country that was governed by a Constitution which promised life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to its inhabitants.

I think it was taken for granted that we were living the 'American Dream' even when the country endured difficult times like the first world war, the great depression, and WWII. We retained that belief, and counted ourselves lucky to live in the USA.

During the dust bowl and depression the country experienced such extreme poverty that welfare of the populace became paramount. Social programs were instituted to alleviate the suffering and growing dissension. Social Security, (referred to as an entitlement program), thought of as a helping hand when first inaugurated, has become a life line for millions today and is regarded as a main ingredient of the 'American Dream'.

Although new 'entitlement' programs added ingredients to the dream, the idea of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness no longer seems to be enough. Being a citizen doesn't seem to be enough either. The current meaning of the American Dream seems to be the goal of achieving wealth and gain of personal privilege, even at the expense of others. We seem to have lost something in the national psyche.

Statue of Liberty

Root Canal

I'm scheduled to have a root canal. I'm not looking forward to it.

At this time in my life, I've already exceeded my misery quotient and I need another bout of misery like a hole in the head... or a drilled hole in a tooth.

This all came about when I experienced a mild tooth ache while eating supper several weeks ago. The discomfort seemed to come and go, but persisted over several days so I made an appointment to see the dentist. I was told that the toothache was the type that would come and go but that I actually needed a root canal.

As I left the dentist's office, I was undecided on my next move, but in the back of my mind I knew I'd end up having the root canal. Of course I tried to put it off for as long as possible. The big decision was when to have it, before or after, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I like eating holiday meals and I didn't want to start the new year sitting in the dentist's chair, so the only logical decision was to go ahead and bite the bullet, so I made the appointment. Thank heavens I'll have time to summon up the courage, and if all goes well, I'll enjoy Thanksgiving dinner.

Dental Tools

Mega Hurricanes

The latest hurricane Typhoon Haiyan has caused such catastrophic destruction in the Philippines, one can hardly grasp the enormity of the event. The death toll and the suffering of survivors is beyond measure.

Since the declaration of national calamity issued by the Philippine government, aid from around the world is beginning to arrive, but the scope of destruction is so vast its difficult to deliver it where needed.

If we are due to experience catastrophic events caused by climate change, we won't have to worry about nuclear proliferation and the threat of nuclear weapons. Mother nature will have solved that problem.

2013 Some of the Natural Disasters of the Year

• 2013 extreme weather events
• 2012–13 North American drought
• Chelyabinsk meteor
• January 2013 Northwest Pacific bomb cyclone
• February 2013 nor'easter (Winter Storm Nemo)
• Late March 2013 North American winter storm
• 2013 Madagascar locust infestation
• St Jude storm
• October 2013 North American storm complex
• Typhoon Haiyan

Rice Paddy Art

The news recently showcased a photo of rice paddy art and I thought it was incredible. Farmers using different types of rice make fantastic images in their fields.

The trend was started in 1993 in Japan with complex designs pre-planned on computers. 700 people work to plant the different types of rice needed for each design.  Larger designs can span multiple fields and the farmers work together to make the designed rice quilt images.



Rice Field Art

Rice Field Art

Rice Field Art

Rice Field Art

Theater: Janis Joplin Musical by Richard

Recently, Frances and I enjoyed an outstanding, entertaining musical play: One Night With Janis Joplin, at the San Jose Repertory Theatre. This is the life story of Janis Joplin and how she became a rock star.

She lived and grow up in Port Arthur, Texas where she began her love for singing. Janis spent limited time attending college in Beaumont and Austin Texas. A friend asked it she would like to go to California and said yes, and found her self in the notorious Height Asbury area.

She and her music grow, which covered Soul, Gospel, Country, Blues and Rock.She found her calling in Rock Music. With talent, ability and hard work she became star. Her voice was unique and with her body language you could see her express many emotional feelings.

The length of the play was two and half hours. The music and singing were wonderful and enjoyable to watch and listen. The music even had the entire audience up swinging and dancing. This is a great play for any one to see.

This play is leaving San Jose Ca. and going to New York for a Broadway run next month. I wish them all well and success in the big apple.

[Editor's note: This story was written by Richard]

One Night with Janis Joplin
SJ Rep Playbill

Debt Ceiling

While browsing Guardian news on my touchpad, the intriguing headline, 'Solution To The Debt Ceiling Crisis', caught my attention. The article explained a solution which would allow the government to pay all current and future debts ad infinitum.

If authentic, our crisis of government shut down, caused by tea party members in the house of representatives who refuse to pass a budget funding the government so it can pay its bills, would be solved, and it could, would and should be used.

By applying Curry's Triangle Paradox, which was discovered by Paul Curry in New York City in 1953, the following example by Mariano Tomatis shows how the solution works by demonstrating how to make chocolate from nothing.

Everyone knows that there is no coulda, woulda, shoulda.

[Editor's note: There may be ads included on the video segment.]

How to create chocolate out of nothing

The Demise of Libraries

Libraries are beginning to go digital. It won't be long before books, with colorfully designed protective covers and numbered pages to turn and bookmark, will be a thing of the past. Books, as we have known them, are being displaced by electronic books. Many libraries are now offering eBooks and electronic reading and visual devices for checkout by persons of every age. There are even devices with games and educational materials that parents can choose for babies of very young ages.

While sitting at my computer, I browse the eBooks in my local library and download them to my HP Touchpad. I like the convenience of scrolling the choices at any time of the day or night and I never have to worry about returning it to avoid an over due fine. But it is sad to know that the joy of browsing the stacks and leafing thru the pages of a title to decide you want to read that particular book will soon be a pleasure of the past.

Ever since I learned to read, libraries have been a second home. The town I lived in as a child had a Carnegie library my siblings and I passed on the way to and from school. It was in those days that my sister, Adeline and I developed a life long attachment to libraries, not withstanding the disaster of our being so heavily in debt to the library when we were 7 and 8 years old that it took all one summer to pay off our over due fines.

Libraries were a free source of entertainment for us during the great depression and remained so over the years, enriching our lives beyond description. I have fond memories of listening to Adeline's library records of famous Broadway musicals as the two of us worked a jig saw puzzle over morning coffee when our children were in school.

Knowing books are on their way out hasn't stopped me from buying them though. I often shop the sale table in my local library and I order them electronically from time to time.

Carnegie Libraries are still in use today.

In 1992, the New York Times reported that according to a survey conducted by Dr. George Bobinksi, dean of the School of Information and Library Studies at the State University at Buffalo 1,554 of the 1,681 original buildings in the United States still existed, with 911 still used as libraries. Two-hundred seventy six were unchanged, 286 had been expanded, and 175 had been remodeled. Two-hundred forty three had been demolished while others had been converted to other uses.^[13]

Wikipedia: Carnegie library

So How Does YOUR Garden Grow?

A. Nonymus

Salad Bar?

Recently when I was 2nd hand shopping, I saw a wonderful old hanging sign that read “Salad Bar Open”. I have taken to calling the garden the 'salad bar' ever since.

All the neighbors have been enjoying the garden too – some are foodies and chefs, so we are all following and enjoying the developments in the farm / salad bar... and especially the herbs.

I'm sure glad I enjoy the gardening – I call it my 'therapy'. One certainly doesn’t do it for saving money, but for the love of it... otherwise who would create potatoes and tomato's that cost $25 each!!

Home grown veggies do taste better, and of course you know exactly what is in them. I really enjoy the process. There is just something deeply satisfying about playing in the dirt, and creating life. The harvest is the ultimate 'pay off', but I enjoy gardening so much I'd do it for free.... oh wait... I AM doing it for free!! OMG – sometimes we actually get what we wish for!

“Manga Manga – Abondanza!!”

Update on America's Cup 34th competition

We WON!!! We WON!!! We WON!!!

Oracle Team Wins Americas Cup 2013

SCORE
Oracle	team USA	9
Emirates	team New Zealand	8

AC72's

What's are AC72? They're wing-sail catamarans,72 feet long by 46 feet wide, weighing 13,000 lbs with a wing-sail 131 feet tall, covering 2,798 sq feet in area, sailing @ 40 mph (35 knots). They hydrofoil at or above 18 knots which boosts speed 35 -40%.

How do I know all this?

I watched the televised competition of America's Cup on the bay at San Francisco.

I was always intrigued with the design of a catamaran but, since I”m not into sailing, I never became interested in them, consequently never dreaming of a cat sailing ABOVE water.

Designers of naval architecture have utilized space age materials of glass and carbon to create light weight structures attached to hulls. Sails have given way to wings and when the AC72's foil, they are like magic carpets flying above water.

Horses are the sport of kings, but racing AC72's is the sport of only a handful of mega-billionaires. Being prohibitive, the number of entrants in the race has dropped.

They are also dangerous to manipulate with one known fatality to date.

In all probability though, further experiment in design will continue since hydro foiling saves fuel and sailing at such astounding speeds will certainly be ours in the future.



AC72 Oracle Catamaran

Vandalism and the 300

During Labor Day weekend 2013, 300 teenagers broke into and trashed the home belonging to Brian Holloway in Stephentown, N.Y. The teenagers took photos of themselves and each other as the $20,000 damage was occurring and posted them on Twitter, along with running in-progress dialog.

Holloway, an ex NFL player, invited the teenagers to come help clean and repair the damage, urging the them to take responsibility for their actions and for the community to come together to help them learn to make better decisions and re-direct their lives as they are on the cusp of serious implications for their own futures: drugs, alcohol and more serious criminal activities.

Holloway re-posted the photos and dialog from Twitter on a web site http://www.helpmesave300.com/ where he asks the public to help him save the 300 teens by teaching and guiding them to a more responsible path.

The teenagers' parents voiced criticism of Holloway's re-posting the photos on his website. Some threatening lawsuits and other retaliations for reposting the original photos and tweets. One of the student's tweeted during the event: "So glad my parents don't give a f### what I do".

Vandalism isn't just about property damage. It damages the lives of those directly impacted both the victims and perpetrators. It's a long lasting and life changing event.

In the era of social media and the desire to be "first post!", this is a window into the real views of the teens which is unhindered and not self-censored, with no parental interference. The images and tweets are global and cannot be retracted. They are what they are. They will be there forever because that is the nature of the internet. Nothing is ever removed permanently. There's always a backup somewhere with the images and tweets.

Parents need to be concerned about the effects however, pretending that their children didn't do anything wrong or denying their actions doesn't set a very positive example. Getting "caught" isn't the punishment. The teens are already "caught". It's about why did they think that it was "OK" to start with? Some of the vandals were not children or teens, they are adults over 18 and became negative role models to the others. Why did any of the 300 think it was OK to trash the house of friend, neighbor, schoolmate, teammate, resident? Why do the parents think it is OK to deny the implications of the actions in and for their own family, friends, school and community?

As of 9/22/2013, 4 of the 300 have helped restore the damage done; the community did come together and helped repair the house. 4 maybe not seem to be a large number, but that's 4 teens and their families who understood the importance what happened and the need for change. There are 296 more lives that need to be turned around.

The parents of the 296 need to "give a f###" about their children and show that they do care. That they care for themselves, their children, their lives and the community.

http://www.helpmesave300.com/

Cream Puffs

I just ate a cream puff. I know.... it's heart attack food and a highway to heartburn, but I ate it anyway.

It has been years since I last ate one. In fact, I didn't know bakeries still made them considering they are such artery clogging food.

The first recipe my high school Home Economics class learned to made was cream puffs. When I got home from school in the afternoon, I practiced making the recipes I learned in class and cream puffs became a favorite after school snack for my brothers and sisters.

As the years passed, the recipe for making cream puffs got filed away and 'lost in the stacks'. Those delicious, creamy, light as a feather. vanilla fragrant cream puffs were only a distant memory. That is, until my two sisters, Adeline and Esther, and I visited our brother Jerry and his wife Barbara, a few years ago.

During this week long visit, we spent a lot of time reminiscing childhood memories and as a surprise, Jerry made cream puffs for us. The three of us were able to visit Jerry and Barbara again the following year and we demanded Jerry make cream puffs for us. Jerry's cream puffs became legend in our family stories.

Eating one brought back wonderful memories of sharing those happy days.

Cream Puff

Phalaenopsis Orchids

I received six beautiful Phalaenopsis orchids from my son who saw them on sale. The store was selling them for $2 apiece and he couldn't resist buying them. Now I am the proud owner of these beautiful plants.

I had always assumed they were touchy plants requiring sensitive care and particular temperature, but apparently care and maintenance is surprisingly easy according to the information I read on the internet.

At various times in my life I've met people who raised orchids in small private greenhouses and was always impressed with their choice of a hobby. On occasion I've admired one displayed on a coffee table at an acquaintance’s house, but I was really taken aback when I visited a friend in a hospice some years ago. Each room of the hospice had an exquisite Phalaenopsis in full bloom for the pleasure of the patients. I have often wondered if a nurse had suggested them.

The blossoms, at the end of long canes, are exotically elegant and remind me of colorful butterflies. The plants I have are pink, red, yellow and lavender. There are so many species, each with its own characteristic and combination of colors they are a joy to learn about.

Phalaenopsis orchids

Phalaenopsis orchids

Phalaenopsis orchids



To Bomb Syria: Yes or No?

The air waves are full of discussion about bombing Syria, pro and con. I'm surprised we are even discussing it. The general public rarely gets an opportunity to voice an opinion one way or the other. I think we Americans love military operations since we have had so many of them. I was curious about the number of U S wars and 'Police Actions' so I went to duckduckgo.com to find out.

I was flabbergasted at the number of web sites listing them and even more astonished when I perused some of them. Many web sites have comprehensive lists of military involvement starting with the American War of Independence, September 1, 1774. The American War Library lists: Year, Location, Killed, Wounded, Cost.

Of my family, my husband, one sister and four of five brothers and are buried in U S National Cemeteries.

How do you think I will vote?

List of wars involving the United States

American War Library

American Military History

New and Recent Conflicts of the World

American History Timeline

Ice Road Truckers

In a 7th season episode of History's television program, Ice Road Truckers, drivers had to cross a frozen lake on thin ice. One of the truckers removed half the cargo his rig was carrying before he attempted crossing.

During winter, truck drivers maneuver huge rigs over frozen lakes and rivers in the Arctic Territories of Canada and Alaska. Only when freezing temperatures allow the creation of roads over frozen grass swamps, lakes and rivers, are the truckers able to deliver supplies and construction materials to the mining and commercial establishments.

The roads are treacherous, but experienced drivers manipulate semi trailers around hazardous curves with snow banks and ditches at every turn.

Drivers who accept the challenges, earn high wages for each run. The appearance of straight stretches of highway can be deceiving with unseen hazards under the ice and snow. Semi trucks weighing as much as 60 tons, can at a moments notice, slide into a ditch or thru a crack in the ice. Drivers make delivery runs 24/7, taking advantage of the frozen roads before Spring melts the lake and river ice.

Watching Ice Road Truckers is a nail biting, holding ones breath, adrenalin rush! The men and women who drive those roads are a special breed!

Mackenzie River Ice Road

It's a scary world by A. Nonymus

It's a scary world out there. For ordinary folks to criminals wanting to create mischief, the revelations that everything we do is being reported, tracked, scanned, digitally tracked via CCTV, and stored, is eye opening, but do we really have to be careful of the microwave, the dishwasher, refrigerator, and coffee maker?

An article in Yahoo Finance on 9 Household Items That Can Track You by Adam Levin details how ordinary items in your home can be used to track and record data about you. Not only can they track you but "bad guys" can even affect medical implants like pace makers and insulin pumps which are all run by micro chips and can be hi-jacked using the same techniques used by the NSA.

If you want to take control of an area, country, state, city, town, street or home, all you need to do is to cut off the electricity, which cuts off the electronic toys and everyone is helpless. This information is used more by criminals or corporations with less than pure intent, but it can be used to apply pressure or threat of serious disruption to services from nearly any corner of the world.

What's happened to us?

And what is happening to all this data that is being gathered by governments and corporations?

Yottabyte: a descriptor of electronic storage capability.

I recently heard this word "yottabyte" and I looked it up. A yottabyte is a really big number equal to a bunch of "zettabytes" - basically it's a trillion terabytes!

The NSA super computer farms described by Robert Gelber in 2012 and more prominently in recent news, can hold multiple yottabytes of data. There are about a half dozen or more of these computer farms - all just happily mining everything! They also pick up all the information from your in-home devices since everything that travels electronically is swept up too. What time you make your coffee, times you use the microwave, when you wash the dishes, how often you do laundry - and what exact settings you use or prefer ... I mean ... where does it end?

One yottabyte can hold ALL the knowledge, books, communications, and all information and data ever created since the dawn of man.

'They' are serious about storing this information and I do mean ALL information.

Who thinks this stuff up?

I used to joke that we 'paranoids' can 'never be too sure', but I never conceived, even in my worst moments of paranoia, of anything on this scale! Even now I can barely grasp the concept, and it literally is breathtaking.

So, just give the microwave a knowing sly grin next time you nuke the java, or run the delicate cycle on your washing machine!


From Wikipedia Yottabyte:

"1 YB = 1000000000000000000000000bytes = 10008bytes = 1024bytes = 1000zettabytes = 1 trillion terabytes.;

"To store a yottabyte on terabyte sized hard drives would require a million city block size data-centers, as big as the states of Delaware and Rhode Island.[1] If 64 GB microSDXC cards (the most compact data storage medium available to public as of early 2013) were used instead, the total volume would be approximately 2500000 cubic meters, or the volume of the Great Pyramid of Giza."

[Editor's note: This story written by by A. Nonymus]

Television

What has happened to television?

Television lends itself admirably to the airing of debates on topics of public interest, but recently, courteous exchanges of view has degenerated into screaming matches between diametrically opposed factions. Hosts of live interview programs invite knowledgeable people to appear and express their views, pro and con, on subjects of social and political interest. I enjoy watching them even when I disagree with the opinions being expressed.

Traditionally, the discourse is carried on in a courteous and respectful tone as both sides of a subject is explored and opinions clarified, but recently many people appearing on these programs are so highly charged with emotion, the shows erupt into screaming matches with waving hands, pointing fingers and yelling over each others voice.

Not long ago, Wolf Blitzer on CNN had two women screaming at each other over the voting law in South Carolina. Hannity, on Fox, seems to enjoy having women scream angrily at each other because he never interrupts to ask them to speak one at a time.

This screaming fad seems to have infected many of the TV talk channels. Perhaps if the celebrity hosts of these programs instituted a little more control over the discussions, a listener would actually learn something about the topic being discussed.



Olive Branch

Baby Morality

An astonishing segment on 60 Minutes, a CBS TV program, showcased a study on whether babies are born knowing good from bad. The segment had aired once before, but I had missed it.

Researchers studying child cognition have conducted studies showing that 6 to 8 month-old babies display a strong preference for 'helpers' over 'hinderers'.

The babies, too young to talk and walk, but able to reach for items, are shown scenarios using plush toys like teddy bears.

One scenario shows a rabbit puppet having difficulty opening the lid of a box, and one of two teddy bears watching the rabbit, begins to help the rabbit raise the lid.

When the scenario is shown again with the rabbit trying to open the box, the teddy bear on the other side of the rabbit jumps on the lid preventing the box being opened. Later, when the 'helper' and the 'hinder' toys are held so the babies can take the toy they want, every baby tested reached for the good 'helper' toy.

Researchers also discovered that 3 month-old babies, who are too young to reach for an item, also chose 'helpers' over 'hinderers'. When they were shown the same scenarios the older babies had seen, then offered the toys, their eye movements showed that they looked at the 'hinder' toys for a few seconds, but rested their eyes on the 'helper' toys for almost a minute .

Fractal Flower

I saw this beautiful Fractal Flower by Sharon Apted. Enjoy.

Fractal Flower
Sharon Apted