Yesterday I spotted a newspaper column by a John Tierney (The New York Times) where Mr. Tierney spoke of the frustration we often experience when dealing with “smart” machines.  He even went so far as to follow a design engineer though an electronics store.  The engineer was perplexed to find that several of his original designs had been altered before market making them confusing and often not user friendly.  Yes, Christmas is a solemn time, but you can’t deny that a great many of these gadgets are going to be under trees Tuesday morning.  It’s my guess that in many families nothing says “I love you!” like a new home computing system. 
The Washington Post has a man assigned to assist you.  A link to his efforts is included.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/19/AR2007121902478.html?nav=most_emailed_emailafriend
The easiest system I ever worked with was an old Mac 8.6.  It’s still in working order and surprisingly agile for its advanced age.  I’m giving it to a niece.  The old Mac was replaced by a Dell 1501, which was going to be much more compatible with my job.  Much like the people who just want the engine to turn-over when they start the car and know little of how it works I couldn’t have gotten the Dell up and running without the assistance of our morning news anchor.  It should be noted she has performed miracles for all the computer illiterates in the building, which means just about all of us. 
If the Post column doesn’t help perhaps she has a new career after Christmas in home computing consulting.
It isn’t as if technology confusion is a new issue.  When my dad and Uncle Louie were little boys during the Great Depression they received scant gifts at Christmas but when they got new toys they were elated.  One year they both found cast iron miniature fire engines beneath the tree.  The engines could hold a thimble or so of water and eject it through a hose.  Early reality toys were still very simple contractions and yet for little boys in isolated Lewis Run, Pennsylvania it was the equivalent of the Millennium Falcon. 
Have you ever heard of the great Lewis Run fire?  The old timers still share the stories about the valiant efforts at containment.  It was started by two little boys testing toy fire engines.
Yes, it’s good to have some instruction when it comes to new gadgets.
 

This was in my email when I arrived at work this Thursday…

Dear Bill,

         I have left Sean H. for you every week day from 3 to 7 - and I don’t regret it. There are others here in Cape May County who have done the same.

         As a Christmas present I am sending along a poem I have written, inspired by the homicide rate of my hometown Philadelphia. Enjoy it and feel free to read it aloud should you so chose.

                                      Prof. Helen McCaffrey

                                                         

                       CHRISTMAS EVE IN THE HOOD
                                        By Prof. Helen McCaffrey

              ‘Twas the night before Christmas
              and all through the hood
              the gangstas on corners
              were up to no good.

              Crisp green Benjamins,stuffed
              their pockets and pants, while
              assaulting the air with
              their faux tough guy rants.

              Behind their barred windows
              The children slept tight
              And prayed that a bullet
              Wouldn’t pierce through the night.

              Their Mom in the kitchen
              Had just put them to bed
              Then sat with two aspirin
              Just holding her head.

              The Dad was out working
              An overtime shift
              To make a nice Christmas
              And give each a gift.

              He called home at supper
              To say he would be
              At home a bit later,
            ’cause he’s buying a tree.

  His wife looked out the window
A chill up her spine,
            As she watched the gang members
            Do crime after crime.

            Her attention was shifted—
            A noise in the next room -
            She turned quickly toward it,
            Now armed with a broom.

            Imagine her shock!
            Her amazement! Surprise!
            She couldn’t believe it!
          And kept rubbing her eyes.

          Yet THERE he stood -
          Red, round, shiny and bright
          A big bag in his fist
          He now swung to the right.

        He looked for the tree
        But none was yet there
        Then he spied all the stockings
        Hung on the rail stair.

        He gingerly filled them
        Then turned as to go
        But noticed the woman
        And turned around slow.

        He instantly read her
        Her heart and her head
        ‘The wonder of seeing him,
        the fear and the dread that
        her husband was late,
        coming home Christmas eve.’

        Reaching into his sack
        He pulled out one more gift.
        He gave it to her
        Then turned with a swift move
        To the exit.

        Though no words were spoken,
        She seemed to surmise
        “You’ll know just what to do
          should occasion arise.”

        And then in an instant
        The jolly, round elf
        Was gone through the ally
        And she was all by herself.

        She restarted her vigil
        And time passed the night
        She glanced out the window
        Her man was in sight!

        Carrying presents and dragging a tree
        His vision obstructed
        So he couldn’t see the thugs who were lurking,
        Intentions all bad
      To rob him and beat him
      And take all he had.

      “Oh no! Not this Christmas!”
    His wife thought in a flash
    And reached for the gift she had
    Recently stashed in the closet-
  Not knowing she’d need it so fast.

  She dashed out the door
  Headed straight for the gang
Who now fled in terror
  When her ‘present’ said bang.

The gifts all recovered
The tree brought inside
Love for each other not easy to hide

“How did you save me,
all by your small self?”
“I didn’t”, she smiled “I
had help from an elf,”

“who gave me a Glock
to use for the good,
so for one night at least,
there’d be peace in the hood.”

        Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year

          From Helen McCaffrey

 ”THE PRICE OF FREEDOM IS ETERNAL VIGILANCE.” -
                                        GEORGE WASHINGTON

NAME THE CHRISTMAS CAROL/SONG!

From the definitions below - what is the Christmas carol or song?

 1. Bleached Yule
 2. Castaneous-colored Seed Vesicated in a Conflagration
 3. Singular Yearning for the Twin Anterior Incisors
 4. Righteous Darkness
 5. Arrival Time2400 hrs – Weather Cloudless
 6. Loyal Followers Advance
 7. Far Off in a Feeder
 8. Array the Corridor
 9. Bantam Male Percussionist
 10. Monarchial Triad
 11. Nocturnal Noiselessness
 12. Jehovah Deactivate Blithe Chevaliers
 13. Red Man En Route to Borough
 14. Frozen Precipitation Commence
 15. Proceed and Enlighten on the Pinnacle
 16. The Quadruped with the Vermillion Probiscis
 17. Query Regarding Identity of Descendant
 18. Delight for this Planet
 19. Give Attention to the Melodious Celestial Beings
 20. The Dozen Festive 24 Hour Intervals
 

You’ll find the answers here

Pictures surfaced recently showing Penn State students wearing Virginia Tech shirts covered in bullet holes and fake blood. If THEIR family members were victims of a tragedy like that, I wonder if they would be doing the same thing. That’s just sick. I’m surprised more hasn’t been done about this.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,316229,00.html

Also how would you feel as a parent if your son or daughter was among the victims, and they came out with these pictures? I would imagine the relatives of the victims who know about this are pretty incensed!

Today, I post a “listener contribution”:

Dear Dan,

Sunshine and temperatures in the middle sixties is my kind of weather but I still have some longings for snow in December.  You must understand there is nothing I can find pleasant about shoveling heavy and wet snow.  Old friends in upstate New York have been making the rounds of sidewalks and driveways for several weeks and they also aren’t making any endorsements.  December snow certainly isn’t unusual “up there” although it hasn’t been very common in recent years past.  January is a far different story and what falls can come in feet and not inches and continue well past April first.  Snow in December is quaint but after the turn of the year it’s a major cause for depression in a part of the world even gray throughout much of the summer months.  Blame that on the large humidors named Lakes Ontario and Erie. 

No, I don’t miss this dreary onslaught yet last week there were those moments of appreciation for the darker months.  One year ago today I started working in a postal sorting center.  For several weeks we worked every day and often for 12 hours a shift and sometimes even more.   I didn’t see much sun.  Then January came and when I would get home at sunrise there was snow to shovel and then a long day’s sleep.  All of that is past and I’m happy with my current lot in life but still enjoy searching for Currier and Ives views of the season.  Like the one I saw driving to Georgetown last Thursday.  Along Route 5 the snow from 36 hours earlier still glazed the trees and under a bright sky offered a crystalline view of some very handsome forest lands.  As I said in a previous column there are places on this peninsula looking remarkably like the Adirondacks.  The roads here are straighter and there aren’t hills but when surrounded by trees you don’t notice the lack for them.  Last Thursday morning offered some moments where one considered stopping the car and taking several moments to stare at the artistry of snow encrusted trees.  Something I didn’t do because I’m so well socialized I don’t want other drivers to believe I’ve pulled off the road to commune with nature in other ways. 

It was still a sight to behold clipping by at 45 miles per hour.  The next day carried some similar reactions at a different venue.  Friday morning I made a breakfast appointment in Lewes and when I was driving home near the Baywood subdivision I looked into a sky not yet clouded by an advancing front.  It was streaked with those clouds resembling the slashing of a brush stroke.  There were birds skating across this picture and it’s at these moments I’m overwhelmed by creation. 

Christmas, in my memory, was always snow covered and the house was warm and filled with the scent of a roasting bird.  The one, I suppose, lacking skating skills.  Maybe I won’t see my old memories this year but how wonderful these new visions are in what they tell me about the glory of God.
 

I can’t imagine what it’s like for a family to get the word that a loved one was killed in an accident - worse yet, during the holiday season.  But I’ve had the displeasure recently of being tailgated - the morning that it snowed - because I wasn’t going fast enough for not one - but 2 yahoos, who at 4:30am felt they could go 50 mph along an only partially cleared Route 24.  I can only guess they made it to their destinations as I didn’t pass them in a ditch or lake along the side of the road. 

Today I received this letter in the WGMD email - asking that we include it in our letters to the editor.  Of course, we aren’t a newspaper and I was about to delete it, but thought I can post it where it can be read - here.

An Open Letter to Aggressive Drivers

This letter is for those who drive fast on Rt. 1 and think it is good sport to tailgate and dart from lane to lane.

Every day my wife and I travel between Milford and Lewes.  We drive as fast as others but during most of our trips we are ruthlessly tailgated.  Sometimes you are in a pick-up truck or work van – other times you drive an SUV or a Corolla with DE, NJ, NY or PA plates – but mostly Delaware. 

Sometimes you are courteous enough to extend a finger at us as you drive by, no doubt telling us we are “Number One” in your book.  After you swerve around us, you proceed to pay close attention to someone else.

Last evening you forced my wife into a jarring stop in a turn lane after hanging within inches of her bumper for over two miles.  (A month ago, another woman driving to Milford was edged off Rt. 1 into a ditch where her car rolled over – the offending driver drove a white SUV with the letter “L” displayed on the back window.)

What in the world is causing you to do this?  Don’t you realize that the people you are risking with death are mothers and grandmothers with children – just like your own?

If you simply nick their bumper with yours, it will send their vehicle into a cart wheeling mass of metal.

Do you understand that driving at 75 mph from Milford to Lewes will get you there less than 2 minutes sooner than if you drove at 65 – which is still 10 miles over the speed limit? 

Are those 120 seconds worth someone’s life?

Here’s an idea – walk into your bathroom.  Look in the mirror and ask yourself  - is this the face that I want an innocent person to see in their rearview mirror just before they die?

The irony is — you are not a bad person.  If someone came to your door asking for $5 to help a local family in need, you would probably give them $10 or $20. 

Yet at the same time, you would risk putting that same family into desperate straits because of your aggressive driving.

Think about it.

Mike Rawl, Milford, DE

 

Have a safe & happy holiday!

The weekend filled with church, football and concerts seemed long.  Funny that when I’ve little to do on some weekends the time does appear to fly but when my dance card is full I reach Monday and work is so far in the rear view mirror.
A number of thoughts these past few days between the various events passing the time and first let me address some recent links I’ve posted.
 
It amazes me the reaction to the link about the Iraqi war.  Someone replied with amazement one of the General’s would support pressing on to victory in Iraq.  Is the writer suggesting the Washington Post is lying?  How come other papers and the major networks haven’t called the bluff?  Where is the General issuing denial?  The anti-war crowd believes any military officer suggesting a change in strategy is somehow a fellow traveler.  Oh, the heartbreak!  Winning the war is something these people just can’t accept.  Victory would mean parades and pride and respect for the flag and all hopes for the Marxist revolt will be dashed.  When I was a kid there was a saying about the unwashed left and it always sounded a little too trite.  Now, with age and maturity, I see it more clearly.  “America, love it or leave it”, is a lovely tune.  There is nothing this country or its fighting men and women can do that will satisfy these people save for one thing.  The complete collapse of the western way of life would put a smile on the faces of the soap free left. 
 
Note to all of them, fifth columnist Nancy Pelosi and her evil minions have known about interrogation techniques for several years.  Nary had a peep until a whiff of political opportunity flowed beneath Ms. Pelosi’s nose.
 
A second link posted over the weekend offers some insight into the pernicious efforts at social engineering at college campuses.  Diversity is the buzzword with the only exception being political persuasion.  There is a concerted effort to erase all moderate to right-of-center political thought from campuses.  The far left insists its views are self-evident truth.  Hey, it did wonders for Eastern Europe and the old Soviet Union, right? 
 
Last summer I interviewed for a very important job with the Mississippi State Radio Network.  Public radio devoted to local news and controlled by the state university system.  Despite a resume filled with star-studded references all sharing that I’m among the most talented storytellers in the business the “search committee” blanched at hiring anyone not feeding at the granola trough.  It must have so upset them that I’ve received two rejection letters mailed more than one month apart.  It was my second rejection in just over a year from the socialist broadcasting side of the equation.  Last fall a radio station operated by a private university even told me I had some “interesting” ideas but that I wasn’t a good “fit”. 
 
My friends, I worked in radio and television as a news broadcaster for 17 years.  Then I launched a talk show.  Months later I encountered an old boss and he told me he didn’t realize I was a conservative.  Yeah, no kidding, news people aren’t supposed to wear politics on their sleeves, however.  Let me say it was always evident during those 17 years who were the newsroom liberals.  These people also held great sway over coverage decisions.  The conservatives, working for objectivity, for the most part were silent.  When they opened their mouths on rare moments to interject into a coverage debate they were ostracized. 
 
If public radio truly represents the public as a whole then public radio would strive for political diversity when staffing.  In the news business diversity usually means we have to fill an Asian slot, a Latino slot, an African-American slot…  You get the idea.  No one asks about the credentials of most of these candidates.  It isn’t much better in commercial broadcasting than in the “public” realm but commercial broadcasters aren’t picking your pockets for tax dollars for broadcast expenses.  If you’re looking for the root cause of the discrimination examine the ties public broadcasters share with the academic world. 
 
Orwell’s “groupthink” has arrived. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/07/AR2007120701618.html

Check the link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/07/AR2007120701772.html