Email Trash and McD’s Reputation

I don’t get a lot of junk mail and I like it that way. I do, however, receive forwarded mail from friends which I have to read (they are from friends don’t ya know).

A couple days ago I got one about McDonalds and the source of their beef. I was going to pass it along to you here so… I checked it out. Guess what… It was bogus. In fact, it’s been in circulation now for eight years and was a lie right from the start. It looked real, had upsetting info in it (made me mad at McD’s), was so believable and even included the authors name and contact information (the only part that was accurate except that he didn’t author the thing).

So now what? I thought…

Maybe I’ll just drop it and chock it up to experience. Nope. In fact, I copied the article (one of many exposing the fraud) and sent it to the friend who sent me the original mail. I felt the need to correct the bad info, for McD’s benefit at least not to mention my friends future gullibility. Along with it I felt the need to apologize for correcting the error and to assure that friend that I wasn’t being judgmental. Was that really necessary? Unfortunately I think it was. We’re all so defensive that our feelings are hurt when we, among so many things, have to admit we’ve been duped.

Now there’s a new question on my mind. Will I ever get another forwarded message from my friend? I hope so because that will tell me that I’ve handled the situation properly and my friend took no offence. We all fall prey to false information and I hope this instance serves to help us all to communicate in a helpful way after all, the McD’s beef article was forwarded by someone with my best interest at heart. Right?

Relationship Re-building with Cuba

There is a positive move toward relationship re-building with Cuba. Here’s a letter to sign and a site to see.

I believe it’s past time to repair our history with our neighbors and (see the signatures for yourself) I am not alone.

Here’s the plea from: http://www.cubaresearch.info/cubaletter

As citizens, artists, scholars, educators and cultural workers from all artistic practices, academic disciplines, advocacy and service organizations in the arts, we hope you will read and consider the words of Alicia Alonso as we call upon your Administration to:

1. Open a respectful dialogue with the government and people of Cuba in accord with established protocols supported by the community of nations;

2. End the travel ban that prevents U.S. citizens from visiting Cuba and allow for Cuban artists and scholars to visit the United States, thus eliminating the censorship of art and ideas, and

3. Initiate, by working with appropriate members of Congress, a process that can result in the development of normal bilateral relations between our countries.

Michiganders Can Lick The Frozen Flagpole

From the endless stream of email “wisdom” came this insightful, clear definition of cold.

(Thanks Again Sunshine ^♥)

 

+70°F (21°C) Texans turn on the heat and unpack the thermal underwear. People in Michigan go swimming in the Lakes.

+60°F (16°C)South Carolinians try to turn on the heat. People in Michigan plant gardens.

+50°F (10°C) Californians shiver uncontrollably. People in Michigan sunbathe.

+40°F (4°C) Italian & English cars won’t start. People in Michigan, drive with the windows down.

+32°F (0°C) Distilled water freezes. Lake Superior’s water gets thicker.

+20°F (-7°C) Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves and woolly hats. People in Michigan throw on a flannel shirt.

 +10° F (-12°C) Philadelphia landlords finally turn up the heat. People in Michigan have the last ribs and wieners cookout before it gets cold.

0°F (-18°C) People in Miami all die. Michiganders lick the flagpole and our tongues don’t stick.

-20°F (-29°C) Californians fly away to Mexico. People in Michigan get out their winter coats.

-40°F (-40°C) Hollywood disintegrates. The Girl Scouts in Michigan are selling cookies door to door.

-60°F (-51°C) Polar bears begin to evacuate the Arctic. Michigan Boy Scouts postpone “Winter Survival” classes until it gets cold enough.

-80°F (-62°C) Mt. St. Helen’s freezes. People in Michigan rent some videos.

 -100°F (-73°C) Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. Michiganders get frustrated because they can’t thaw the keg.

-297°F (-183°C) Microbial life no longer survives on dairy products. Cows in Michigan complain about farmers with cold hands.

-460°F (-273°C) All atomic motion stops (absolute zero in the Kelvin scale). People in Michigan start saying, “Cold ’nuff for ya?”

-500°F (-296°C) Hell freezes over. The Lions win the Super Bowl.

Nobel Peace Prize for Pete Seeger

 

Pete Seeger has been an ambassador for Peace and Social Justice over the course of his lifetime. He will be 90 years old this year. As a prominent musician his songs, messages and performance style have worked to engage other people, particularly the youth, in causes to end the Vietnam war, ban nuclear weapons, work for international solidarity, and ecological responsibility. It is time that a cultural worker receives the recognition that this work has great influence and global reach, that it is not only a medium of entertainment but of education, compassion and action.

If you are unfamiliar with Pete watch this video and you will see his heart and compassion.

DESIRED OUTCOME…

The nomination of The American Friends Service Committee for Pete Seeger as their candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.

WHO WE NEED TO INFLUENCE…

The Nobel Prize Committee of the Norwegian Parliament

HOW LONG WILL WE CAMPAIGN?

As Long As It Takes.

Please log on and sign this petition.

Thank You

What’s Up With This?

Yep…. A real product … Well, at least there’s a patent.

Toilet Snorkel
US Patent Issued In 1982

This guy is using the new breath easy, Toilet Snorkel, intended to provide a fresh air (???) source during fires in high rise buildings.

Evidently an inventor designed a way to snake a snorkel through your toilet. Now you can breath sewer air instead of smoke! Just Great? Ummm — No?

Besides the fact that sewer gas can be flammable,  jeeze…. it’s methane,  have you ever had a lung full of it? Choke me with a….

Now I’ll give anybody a break here as far as coming up with this idea but to go the distance of design not to mention the patent search and filling it? Maybe he has no friends or family members to tell him how insane the whole idea is… Besides, Can’t I just use a piece of garden hose to fill my lungs with methane and turn myself into a potential fire ball? Jeeze

My New SkyDrive

Ok, This could be boring so I’ll try to keep it short.

For a couple years I’ve tried to distribute audio files of sermons and bible studies to anyone who wanted them. This service, I believe, was helpful when our church members were on vacation, lucky them, or missed for any reason. I thought I had an answer, files are too big for email, when I found a web site which provided free storage and downloads. All was good I thought. Truth is, most people had trouble navigating the drive so I created a menu… More success (hits) followed but I think still too clunky and a bit scary to users with fears of virus attacks. BTW the site is clean and reliable.

Now to my next answer and the reason for this babble. SkyDrive!!!

When you join Windows Live you automatically get 25 gigabytes of free storage both public or private (you decide). That’s 4 times what I had with my previous service and it’s all point and click. The interface is no different than the file storage system on your PC or Mac. Folders, Files (photos, documents, etc). Click… Drag… Drop!!! Eureka!

If you don’t “join” Windows Live (free too by the way) you can still access a SkyDrive. All you need is the posted link (here’s mine), which can be sent by email, and you’re in. The sermon and bible study files are in the Life Talk folder.

BTW… There are a lot more bennefits to “Live” but I’ve borred you enough… for this moment. Ha!

Web Publishing

Now this is a great thing.

Last night I found Blurb. Quite by accident too. I was browsing Digg and read an article about book sites in which one site mentioned self-publishing your own books. Eureka!

My dad has written a few books and, long ago, submitted one to a few traditional publishers. All of them turned him down. One of them even told him why. His book didn’t promote the sale of more books. In fact, his book answered too many questions and the publisher was afraid the reader would never buy another Christian book. Duh?

Well last night I fixed that. Ha!

The site lets you download, for free, their very “easy to use” software which lets you choose from “stock” sizes and qualities to suit your needs. Whether you want to make a wedding book, travelogue, coffee table book, or a simple 5″x8″ paperback.

So… This is what I did… I downloaded the software, loaded a Word document of my dads, corrected some format errors, put a picture on the front, and submitted it for publishing. This morning it was already part of their catalog, complete with a preview, so I ordered two copies, one paperback and one hardcover. It’s a miracle.

You’ll find a link for it on the right under “Dads Books”…. “Christianity Is Not What You Think”. Now maybe I’ll write one but with fewer words, lots of pictures, and illustrations. lol

My Rifle, My Pony, and Me

I like a good rock and roll song as much as anybody I suppose. Sometimes… I need to relax.

This clip from the movie Rio Bravo has in it my favorite cowboy song. It’s got it all… John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson and Walter Brennan. The room is right, the furniture, clothes, well… It’s all perfect. Oh, and the song? Written by a Russian Jew, Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (I had to look it up of course), is brilliant!

Like I said… Sometimes ya just got to relax. Enjoy!

Some “Easy” Charity

Here’s a new easy way to raise money for your favorite charity. Just start using Yahoo! powered GoodSearch as your search engine and they’ll donate a penny to the charity of your choice every time you do a search! It doesn’t cost you a cent.

In addition, you can do all of your shopping through their online shopping mall, GoodShop, where you can shop at more than 900 top online retailers and a percentage of your purchases will go to the charity or school of your choice.
You pay the same price as you normally would, but a donation goes to your cause!

How cool is that!

My Friend… Rest In Peace

This is my friend, in the red cap, Jim Lawson. I lost his presence here today.

I have not lost him. Just my ability to make more great memories and learn new things from him. The gifts Jim gave will always stay with me. His love and respect were well known by anyone who knew him.

To his family… I wish for you what he would want for all of us. Remember his outstanding good nature and unconditional love.