June 2004 Archives

Tomorrow I will be heading to Florida for vacation. I look forward to spending some time with mom, working on the genealogy project, resting and relaxing at the beach, eating good seafood, and enjoying my favorite breakfast spot--The Coffee Cup, on Cervantes Street near downtown. I would give you the url, but this is an old family business that's been in town for generations. They don't believe in that new fangled web stuff. Eating breakfast at The Coffee Cup made number 18 on the 101 things you have to do in Pensacola.

I probably will not have access to my blog, so stay tuned. I'll be back soon.

So today, this man in Atlanta got to hear a man in Washington D.C. play a Tuscan Medici Stradivarius viola manufactured in 1690.  Not only did he, me, get to hear it, but everyone who tuned in to NPR just before 9:00 A.M. got to hear it too!  NPR is the greatest!  This important media outlet does not just focus on death and destruction and every horrible act humankind can unleash on this world.  They bring beauty to the human experience and shine the bright light of day on goodness as well!  Thank god for NPR.

Errol Morris, brilliant documentarian, produced this piece, The Fog of War, basically an in-depth interview with Robert McNamara with footage of the time about which Mr. McNamara is speaking interspersed throughout.

I found the film to be excellent. I was a teenager at the time trying to make sense of what seemed absurd to me then. Hmmm, I'd have to say, after watching Mr. McNamara's comments from an insider's perspective, it seems even more absurd to me now.

Mr. McNamara's comments on how systems "think" and "make decisions" were enlightening and frightening. I am more horrified now than I was at the time with the man, the president, Lyndon B. Johnson. Mr. McNamara's comments in the movie, while reflecting upon the times of his service to our nation, are more apropos today than our current political structures seem to wish to acknowledge. Would that our leadership would be more responsible and responsive to the peoples of our nation and the world! But, that's just my opinion.

Robert S. McNamara's Ten Lessons:

1. The human race will not eliminate war in this century, but we can reduce the brutality of war - the level of killing - by adhering to the principles of a "Just War," in particular to the principle of "proportionality."
2. The indefinite combination of human fallibility and nuclear weapons will lead to the destruction of nations.
3. We are the most powerful nation in the world - economically, politically and militarily - and we are likely to remain so for decades ahead. But we are not omniscient. If we can not persuade other nations with similar interests and similar values of the merits of our proposed use of that power, we should not proceed unilaterally except in the unlikely requirement to defend directly the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii.
4. Moral principles are often ambiguous guides to foreign policy and defense policy, but surely we can agree that we should establish as a major goal of U.S. foreign policy and, indeed, of foreign policies across the globe: the avoidance in this century of the carnage - 160 million dead - caused by conflict in the 20th century.
5. We, the richest nation in the world, have failed in our responsibility to our own poor and to the disadvantaged across the wolrd to help them advance their welfare in the most fundamental terms of nutrition, literacy, health, and employment.
6. Corporate executives must recognize there is no contradiction between a soft heart and a hard head. Of course, they have responsibilities to stockholders, but they also have responsibilities to their employees, their customers and to society as a whole.
7. President Kennedy believed a primary responsibility of a president - indeed "the" primary responsibility of a president, is to keep the nation out of war, if at all possible.
8. War is a blunt instrument by which to settle disputes between or within nations, and economic sanctions are rarely effective. therefore, we should build a system of jurisprudence based on the International Court - that the U.S. has refused to support - which would hold individuals responsible for crimes against humanity.
9. If we are to deal effectively with terrorists across the globe, we must develop a sense of empathy - I don't mean "sympathy," but rather "understanding" - to counter their attacks on us and the Western World.
10. One of the greatest dangers we face today is the risk that terrorists will obtain access to weapons of mass destruction as a result of the breakdown of the Non-Proliferation Regime. We in the U.S. are contributing to that breakdown.

Yes, I beat it to the store this afternoon.  Actually, I was in search of more Diet Air, but they were out.  Thought I would suffocate! However, they had Diet Ice, “ruby tangelo.”  It too is wonderful and also only has 2 grams of sugar per 8 ounce serving.  Way to go Elements.  Hopefully Diet Water is in the works...

I have to rave.  I'm trying to watch my sugar intake, but I'm so over diet colas and carbonated drinks in general.  This weekend I discovered that the Arizona Beverage Company has diet products as well as their usual line of teas and such, that I love.  Next to them on the shelf was Diet Air, a product manufactured by Elements Beverage Company.  Just the name intrigued me.  Anyone with a marketing department that clever deserves to be tasted-well, you know what I mean.  Heavens!  This stuff is divine.  The 20 ounce, beautifully shaped bottle of perfectly clear liquid advertises the drink as "prickly peach."  It tastes just like your eating a peach and only has 2 grams of sugar per 8 ounce serving!  If you like peaches, you will love this.  I highly recommend it.  The drink contains: water, white grape juice from concentrate, citric acid, natural peach flavor with other natural flavors, potassium citrate, aspartame, extracts of ginseng, guarana, ginko biloba, and peach juice from concentrate.  According to their website, "Ginseng is said to revitalize the body. The herb may support adrenal function to assist with increased energy, improved concentration and better reaction to stress.  Guarana is a fast-growing perennial shrub native to Brazil and other wooded areas in the Amazon. The Guarana seed is a natural source of caffeine and of natural compounds believed to possess energy-boosting properties. It is also thought to boost energy levels back to normal after exercise."  Their website also mentions Diet Ice.  I'm just too curious...

by: solala towler

I found this attractive little coffee table book several months ago and picked it up on a whim. I read it this weekend and found it to be utterly delightful, along with Diet Coke with Lime! The author, a self-described musician, poet, and teacher, is the editor of The Empty Vessel, A Journal of Contemporary Toaism.

I love conversations, writings, and experiences that cause us to reflect on our life experiences from new and untried perspectives. Some, I have come to understand, become fearful of such experiences. I, however, have long been fascinated by eastern thought, which seems to me to more emphasize how things are alike than western thought which tends to dissect, categorize, compartmentalize, and define reality based on how things differ. I also grow increasingly distressed over our nation's materialistic culture which seems to value things, possessions, more than people, who are increasingly becoming a means to more things.

I have been pondering lately that even our long-standing denominations of conservative faith and values are so deeply rooted in the protection of materialism in very holy ways. For example: those who have not do not deserve, because they...[blah, blah, blah...fill in the blank with a morally defensible reason] But I digress. [Note to self: explore this in a later entry]

The author starts his little book by asking this simple question: What is the true nature of happiness? Quotations from the text follow... But just in case you don't read the entry that follows, you must think this beautiful thought that ends the book, By going slowly, watching the timing, and remembering that all life is change, that each unfolding moment is a gift and an opportunity for transformation, we can live a life of richness, completeness, and happiness. Enjoy...

I'm just sick over it, literally.  Last Sunday my cousin, Susan, unexpectedly called and wanted to come over from Birmingham to visit.  I was delighted.  I haven't seen her in a of couple years.  She was going to be in town on business and thought we could visit.  I'm not so sure this was a good idea really.  We always got in trouble when we got together as kids–big trouble.  We were just wild as hell together, like the time I talked everyone in to using the exterior back wall of their freshly painted house as a canvas for our larger-than-life crayon creations.  They were gorgeous.  No, really.  [EG]  We had been quite prolific before our artistry was “discovered.”  At any rate, when Susan called Sunday I was surprised to learn that I hardly had a voice.  I thought was having an “allergy incident” with the molds and the pouring rain.  Well, turns out I had just started to get a terrible sore throat/head cold.  I had to call and cancel our Tuesday evening plans.  I was so disappointed!  We had planned to scan old family pictures and update some of the family tree project.  God knows what trouble Atlanta would have found itself in!  Rats!  I'm still a little stuffed up, but the cold is going as fast as it came.  Susan, let's get together soon.  I was looking forward to your visit!  [Note to self: tell Susan I have a weblog...or DON'T!  :o) ]

I hate roaches!  No, I take that back.  I LOATH roaches.  I never had roaches in my house until a few years ago.  You see, I never keep food in my house, so what would they eat?  I digress.  Several years ago now, that would be 3 neighbors ago, the guy living next door allowed a homeless man to come live in his car under his carport, which is just next to my car port.  I had no idea what was going on as the homeless man told me he was my neighbor's father.  How was I to know any different? I didn't find out the truth until my neighbor was moving out after being fired for accidentally airing a porn movie on a local station.  I digress.  At any rate, the homeless man had a large number of boxes stacked up under my neighbor's carport, roach-infested boxes it seems.  I had to start buying large amounts of Raid.  Now, years later, I rarely see one of these beasts in or even near my house.  Yesterday, I saw one.  They literally make my skin crawl and give me shivers!  He was crawling down inside an Arby's bag I had left on the kitchen counter.  I waited until he was deep inside the bag, so as not to have him come crawling out and get on me, and then I grabbed the top of the bag and wrinkled it tightly closed so that the creature could not get out and head for my jugular veins.  Now, how to kill it in the bag?  You see, I didn't know where in the bag exactly it was.  So, in a moment of delirium, I put the bag into the microwave and decided to nuke the beast to hell and back.  As I turned my back on the science experiment gone bad, the bag made this incredible noise.  This is a 1,000 watt microwave.  I had forgotten that the sandwich wrapper in the bad with the roach had a thin layer of foil on it.  I turned back to the microwave, and to my horror saw the bag burst into flames with exploding sparks flying everywhere in the microwave.  I immediately rushed over, opened the door, and tried to blow the flames out.  It was too late.  The bag was really on fire by this time.  I found a small part of the bag not yet engulfed in the flames of hell, grabbed it, and rushed it over to the sink, ashes and sparks going everywhere.  After throwing it into the sink, I reached to detach the faucet head from the sink.  Of all times for the tubing to get caught on something under the sink! [Yes I know that's a fragment.  It must exist.]    Somehow I managed to direct enough of the water onto the inferno to put it out.  Thank god the roach died in the catastrophe.  If it had crawled out of the flaming bag and on to me as I rushed it over to the sink, I would have fled the scene and let the house burn to the ground.  Note to self:  Purchase more Raid!

I was discussing this last week with a colleague from work:  I have observed in my many walks in the Emory Forest, that the  college-aged students I encounter as they jog or walk through the forest are generally friendly and outgoing, frequently saying “Hi,” or “Good morning.”  As I reflect back to other life experiences, people in the university setting seem to be more “open,” if you will.  Why do people tend to get married and begin to close themselves off, become less of the “open” soul they were when they were just a few years younger, become more self-centered?  My colleague at work suggested that people get beat down over time and feel forced more into a survival mode, lose the joy of living and the openness to the wonder of life.  How sad.

I just learned today that what I have been calling The Emory Forest is in fact officially named The Emory Forest and is supported by an organization called Friends of Emory Forest.  The website has several really good learning links that focus on environmental issues, many of them local.

As I took an early evening walk in the Emory forest, to reflect on the week, I saw my first lightbugs of this season. Seeing them took me back to my youth, when my family would go to visit Aunt Easter and Uncle Frank. They were actually my great aunt and uncle and lived out in, what was at that time, the woods...the deep woods. Lightbugs abounded. Even though they were childless, I recall my Aunt Easter always being the center of a large family energy and all of our family traditions.

I remember her, extremely gregarious and verbal, always laughing and having the time of her life, and eager to include everyone in all of that fun, with great love and affection. Rarely did we ever just "visit" her and Uncle Frank. Even when living way out in the deep woods, her home was always full of other aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and "neighbors" visiting too. She was just utterly loving, generous and magnetic--and a fabulous cook in true southern style.

The women would sit in the living room which would be full of simultaneous conversations and screams of laughter, while the men sat shoulder to shoulder in aluminum-framed, nylon-banded folding chairs out on the very small front porch. The men often sat in darkness, lit only by the frequent red glow of the end of a cigarette and the light trickling out from the frosted glass blinds of the front door. You know the type of door I'm talking about--4 inch wide glass panels like horizontal blinds that would crank open or closed to provide ventilation.

Much of the time the men sat in silence. On occasion, in 5 or 10 minutes, a world problem would be discussed in depth and then definitively solved. Except for the time when the men got all excited about the snake that innocently wandered up on the porch and promptly met its maker, the men tended to talk in a monotonous "unitone" without any real excitement beyond the frequent pepperings of "yeah," "um hum," and "that's right"s that permeated the amiable conversations-- few and short though they were.

I myself tended to prefer the exciting adventures of the lightbugs in the yard. When I tired of them, I would often visit the remains of the huge pine tree, in the backyard, that had been blown to bits by an errant streak of lightning. You can only dimly imagine Aunt Easter's excited, animated, and dramatic retellings of the story. She was an extraordinary story teller. In fact, she couldn't begin to sit still as she told of "this sudden streak of white sizzling lightning that just came out of no where. I could feel it. I could actually feel it. It made the little tiny hairs on my arms stand straight up!" She spoke with the widest eyes you have ever seen and enormous hand gestures full of rapidly wiggling fingers that completely captivated her audience in the horror of the telling.

I recall standing at the edge of the backyard, where the deep dark woods began, just beyond the beams from the flood light at the back of the house, wondering what dangerous beasts lurked just beyond in the darkness of the forest, peering back at me without my even knowing. I would stand there working myself up into a state of utter terror, until I could stand it no more and would then run back as fast as my little childhood legs would carry me to hear, "um hum, yeah, that's right."

If you read my posting on June 7th, about  Alan November, you saw a  comment from Janet;  otherwise, I just called your attention to it all.  :o)  You'll see that she did a little digging and found Martin Dougiamas' software called Moodle.  Hmmm, free, open source, and, at the least, very interesting.  I am always amazed when people are so generous and willing to share their creative and intellectual energy openly with the world.  These people are among those that recharge my sometimes depleted belief in the goodness of the human condition.  Martin, who lives in Perth, Australia, also seems to have written a really fine photo-album software package, PhotoFrame, which I'll explore after I've sunk my teeth into Moodle.  What is so ironic about all of this is that, in the last week, I have been actively researching online learning solutions for my students and a photo-album generator to create photo-journals for this site.  The planets must be properly aligned to send me the goodness of others, or, as my father would say, “Son, you must be living right.”.  Thanks, Martin, for sharing with us.  Your kindness and generousity  may touch the lives of thousands of my students!

I heard Alan November speak today.  Actually, this was the second time I've heard him in the last 4 months.  He is bright, humorous, articulate, and spoke on the challenges of substantive technology implementation in the classroom.  Bottom line: with globalization of high speed connectivity our desk jobs can be immediately transported to China or India at a fraction of the cost of keeping them in the United States.  In order to make our children economically viable and reduce the number of young people in the boomerang generation (those returning to live at home ages 18 - 29), we must rethink what skills are required to live in this digital world.  For an expert of my notes from his 3 hour presentation today, check out the “Continue Reading” section of this post.  You can also check out Alan's blog.

“What if the hokie pokie is what it's all about?!”  The LARGE PRINT giveth and the small print taketh away.  “Will you turn out to be the hero of your own life?”  When the terrified men on safari asked their guide what they should do about the hungry pack of wild animals encircling their tents, the guide responded, “Stop acting like prey!”  Have a keen mind and a gentle heart.  Chop your own wood and it will warm you twice.

I am deeply saddened to see that President Ronald Reagan died today at age 93, living longer than any other US president.  My liberal friends are always horrified to know of my personal admiration for President Reagan.  And my conservative friends find it hard to believe that liberal me met Reagan personally and even worked for the Reagan campaign back many years ago now. I make no apology for my affiliations with President Reagan.  Those were rich and rewarding days in my life and helped make me into the person I am today.  These are just some of the reasons I will always remember President Reagan with respect and fondness:  •He had unending charisma, coupled with a powerful and convincing communication style.  •He restored our nation's sense of pride and dignity in a time when we had been defeated by Vietnam, lied to by Nixon, victimized by rampant inflation and insane gasoline prices, and humiliated by the Iranian hostage crisis.  •He convinced our nation that the budget deficit was something that had to be eradicated (while, regrettably, at the same time spending more and raising the deficit higher than any president in history).  •With the outrageous budget deficit and lies about Soviet military might, he purchased the end of the Cold War and the defeat of communism as the world then knew it.  The Berlin Wall came down.  I know he fell asleep during cabinet meetings, that the country was being run by Nancy's astrologist, and that he was probably suffering from the beginnings of Alzheimer's disease while he was in office.  But all in all, I think he and his administration did more positive long-term things for our country than any president in my lifetime.

I must have acquired my love of the woods from my many childhood romps with my father. We camped a great deal, probably the majority of the weekends of my childhood, and would go on long uncharted hikes through the woods in the north Florida panhandle. He loved being outdoors, and it was infectious. So, even to this very day, I walk the woods and trails near my home. One of my favorite places to walk is the Emory Forest, or so I call it. Located on the Emory University campus, and literally just around the corner from my home, the Emory Forrest is home to the university president's mansion, which was donated to the university by the Chandler family, of Coca Cola fame and fortune. Much of the area around the lake is wooded and beautiful. Students and faculty walk and jog through the trail and around the road to the mansion. This just in (6/13/04): the Emory Forest is actually officially named, The Emory Forest. The forest is supported by an organization called Friends of Emory Forest. In the corner of property, near Clairmont Road, is Southfork Peachtree Creek, which runs through the forrest. This very spot is where Sherman's troops mounted an attack on the city of Decatur. Sherman's troops had worked their way down, what is today, Clairmont Road--then called the Shallowford Trail, for the obvious reason. The men of Decatur were waiting for them at the creek, and one of the bloodiest battles of the siege of Atlanta ensued. After taking Decatur, Sherman turned right, on what is today North Decatur Road, and headed into Atlanta. Objective: destroy the rail lines that were supplying the ammunition to the soldiers of the south. The ammunition was being manufactured in Atlanta.

By the way, North Decatur Road is probably the oldest trail-turned-road that has remained in continuous use since the oldest recorded history of what was to become the state of Georgia. The oldest documented name for the trail was "Peachtree Trail." Everyone knows Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With the Wind. I'm told her father was a rather prominent historian who did a great deal of research on the "Peachtree" name, which is so pervasive in Atlanta. He documented that "Peachtree Trail" was so named because it ended at an actual peach tree in what is today the Battlecreek area, which is so named because of another Civil War battle, but then that's a whole different story. No one knew where the peach tree, a native plant of China, actually came from, but it's existence was documented all the way back to the indians living in the area before Georgia was even a state. At any rate, my walks in the woods are full of the fragrances of the south, the smells imprinted in my mind since childhood. At the beginning of the month of May the honeysuckle is in bloom and fragrant. Honeysuckle is my most favorite of all smells on the planet! Near the end of the month the magnolia trees bloom and share their sweet fragrance. I vividly remember from my early childhood the huge old magnolia tree that was "up on the hill"--which is how the old timers referred to my great grandmother Tyson's homestead. Neither the tree nor the old homestead stand today, but my memories of "the hill" will never fade. And, this morning, as I took my early morning walk, I was greeted by the third fragrance of the season. The mimosa trees were in full bloom. Not only do I love the smell of the blooms, but the flowers are among my favorite: so beautiful, colorful, and delicate. I also love the fern-like leaves which open and close to greet the sunlight. And the last "forrest smell" I will mention from today's little walk is the smell of the early morning dew as it begins to evaporate when the sun gently nudges it from its place. Seems to me it takes a bit of the pine scent into the air with it. Combined with the early morning coolness, about 63 degrees lately, the forrest smells enticing and refreshing, and it reminds me of my own "roots"--a great way to begin the day.

A couple of months ago I stopped at a Shell gas station near my home.  When I got out of my car I heard the most unusual thing.  Many stations play easy listening or light rock music at the pumps-but not this place.  I was hearing a classical symphony being played all out, full steam ahead, blasting from high above the pumps all around.  It was late.  I was tired.  This was surreal.  I went in to purchase a Diet Coke.  I asked the attendant, “What is this?” while gesturing above for the music very loudly encompassing the inside of the store as well.  In his thick Asian accent he said, all but indignant, “What do you mean, 'What is this?!'  This is ... [dramatic pause as he drank in a couple of the soaring melodic climaxes throwing his head about as if the music emanated from within his very soul] Sibelius!  You should know what is this.  The very idea, 'What is this?!”  As he handed me my change his haughtiness changed as he shot me a quick smile, “If I work here, always classical music.  Always!  French horn major.” as he smugly patted his chest.  I now frequent his station when I see his Accura MDX parked out front.  I enjoy the music.  We strike up a conversation when I visit.  He's a very nice fellow, mid 40's I'd guess.    Once I pulled up and heard jazz.  I was stunned, shocked, bewildered and confused.  When he saw me come in, he started shaking his hands and arms up over his head and pacing back and forth behind the counter, “No, no, no!” he repeatedly cried.  I reminded him he told me I would always hear ....  “No, no, no!  Man can not live by classical music alone.  Must have some Benny Goodman too!”  This guy is great fun: Diet Coke, gasoline, and a quick music history lesson in every visit!

The movie on the right, a morph from a picture of me in 1961 at age 4, to a picture of me in 2001 at age 44, was done with a simple free program called MorphX written by Martin Wennerberg.  Martin is so generous, he will even give his code away for you to include in your own programs if you like.  What a nice guy!  The program is simple to use and gets great results.  Thanks Martin!!  I've used your software many times.  MorphX is written for Mac OS X.

Have you wondered how some websites have their own custom logo next to the URL in the web address bar at the top of the browser?  I have.  I wanted to put my picture up next to my URL.  Did a little research.  The easiest solution that I found is a cool website that makes them for you for free.  Nice going guys!  I love generous spirits.  Too few of them are around these days!  You simply click a “Choose File” button on their web page, navigate to your picture file on your computer, then click the “Generate FavIcon.ico” button.  Poof!  It's done.  When it's completed, a  “Download FavIcon” button appears. Click.  They give you this line of code to include in-between your head tags: “link rel=”shortcut icon“ href=”favicon.ico“  ”  [Instead of the first and last “”, use the normal html markers, the less than and greater than signs.  I can't do it in this post or it becomes code instead of text.]  This simply couldn't be any easier.  Visit these guys at: FavIcon.  Everyone enjoy!  And thanks to the people at the html-kit for sharing!

Just came across a really nifty donationware program called Clutter.  To copy from the  Clutter website, “Clutter is a small Mac OS X application that lets you put music CDs on your desktop. You can drag them anywhere -- they're really windows. Line them up neatly or  put them in piles, it's your choice. Each one looks like the real CD's cover, and double-clicking it tells iTunes to play that CD.”  “Think of Clutter as an alternate user interface to your music collection. When deciding what to play next, instead  of searching through a huge alphabetical list, let your eye roam over the covers of your favorite CDs and those you've  been listening to recently.”  “There's a main window that shows the CD you're now playing -- the cover picture is looked up automatically from Amazon or from  iTunes 4, or you can paste in your own. (You can also export  pictures to iTunes 4.) To keep a CD around for easy access,  just drag the picture out of the window onto your desktop.  Then double-click it whenever you want to play it.”  It's cute, elegant, simple, and functional for finding that CD art rather than going to the trouble of scanning your covers. 

I decided that I am just a GUI kinda guy.  I am, after all, a Mac head for goodness sake!  So, I complained to my friend Evans about having to hard wire URLs into these posts using html hand coding (god forbid!), as well as trying to remember the html codes for underline, bold [“strong?”  I mean, let's get real!], and italic [Hey! I'm getting old!].  He suggested a couple of GUIs.  I checked them out and liked ecto.  No, it is not capitolized; I don't know why.  It has this clever little interface and is a good bit more user friendly than Moveable Type, not that I'm bashing MT.  So the entry process seems faster.  I can focus my attention on what I have to say.  I don't have to worry about code, get to preview my creation (even with the current CSS!), and can categorize an entry in multiple categories in one little ez window.  Now, if I could just find a Mac-type GUI that would let me build truly customized photo-journals! (Hint, Evans, hint!)  ecto even has this handy little button that drops the currently playing iTunes info right into your blog, like this: Gentle Rain from the album Love Scenes by Diana Krall.  Notice ecto even put a google search url link on her name.  Cool!