Politically Correct? Sometimes, but read this little bit.

Gail and I were shopping in a mall yesterday. I stopped by the table where the Ontario County ARC were doing gift wrapping. I asked this very nice lady what "ARC" actually stood for, having often seen their busses. She replied something like, "Well, originally it was Association of Retarded Citizens but that is no longer politically correct, so it's simply ARC."

We enjoyed a little banter about political correctness and said "Merry Christmas" to one another, after all it's a free country. It made me think about all this and here are some of my thoughts.

I am a caucasian and when I see a negro I see differences.... but I also see that we share one God and have been created equal with unalienable rights.

I am able-bodied and when I see someone disabled I see differences... but I rejoice in their amazing adaptations, such as the blind man who walks with confidence using a stick or a guide dog. I am in awe of their special abilities.

I am a Christian and when I see a Jew I see differences... but I remember that we share the same God, the same roots, and I pray for them all knowing He will hear my prayer.

I am peace loving and when I see a terrorist I see differences... but I know in my heart that if they turn from their sin they, too, can have eternal life. If I can forgive them there is always the hope that they, too, will see the right path to eternal life.

I am a man and when I see a woman I see differences.... but I know that when a word such as "chairman" is used it is genderless, having worked under the chairmanship of many a fine woman.

I speak English and when I learn a little of a foreign language I hear differences.... but when I learn about the culture of another through their own language I find out things about them I would otherwise not know. There are words in other languages for which there is no English word. You try and translate the word "shalom." (See image above) Knowing these things enriches my life and allows me to seek that humility that is so hard to achieve.

In the end, taking offense at words used that are not nor never were intended to insult is just plain silly. To stop me from saying Merry Christmas in a country which espouses the principle of freedom of speech is so wrong that maybe it's time to fight this so-called liberal notion of remaining politically correct.

If you are insulted by my thoughts then forgive me. I do not intend to insult.

If fear of being called a racist prevents me from befriending a black man, an Arab, an occidental or anyone else who Christ commanded me to love, then that fear is itself a sin.

May your God protect you and keep you!

GoD and DoG by WJ Francisco

Friends, I just posted this link to Facebook, and wanted to pop it on here too.

I heartily recommend this song.

Wendy Francisco

Cheers

Geneseo Air Show Video

Greetings,

I realize I had not uploaded any video of this year's Geneseo Airshow, so here it is....

http://files.me.com/misterspock/tm6pg3.mov

Speedboat!

Currently listening to......

What'll I Do? by Linda Ronstadt & Nelson Riddle and His Orchestra
The Story of Love by Brigitte Zarie

Brigitte can be found on iTunes.iTunes location for Brigitte's Album or her website.

Conesus Sunrise

I have to thank Taylor Hayward, whose royalty free music I found via a Google Search.

Enjoy the movie.

Shocking? Maybe, but if you text while driving.... WATCH THIS!

NY Philharmonica

Fantasia on Greensleeves by Leonard Bernstein & New York Philharmonic

Been a while

Greetings, avid readers! It's been a while since I posted to the blog.

So what's new? Nothing much. We've suffered from one of the coldest Julys on record, second coldest since 1884. It's been damp, so much so that the varnish work on the speed boat has suffered. It's still not on the water. We're hoping today! Or maybe tomorrow at the latest. We'd like to buzz up to Vitale Park here on Conesus lake for the Sunday evening concert.

Here's the boat sitting rather forlorn and lonely in the car port. The varnish has ended up being a non-slip surface. Some of it turned to alligator skin due to the moisture. Oh well, this fall (autumn) we'll tackle it properly. A little history about the boat, it's a 1961 Cruisers Inc. It's been in Gail's family since new, and was restored by sister in law Jen and her husband Robert. 90 hp Mercury engine! Somewhat of a collector's item.

So I'll pop some photographs of the boat on the water this weekend.

Cheers

Just a thought on a way to support our troops.

When my nephew was serving overseas in Kuwait, we sent him a little parcel of things he probably couldn't find "over there." If I remember correctly it included the following:

• Powdered drink flavours (like Cool Aid) so as to make chlorinated water more palatable.
  
• Medicated foot powder.
  
• Bath soap, unscented ... guys don't use perfume!
  
• Photographs from home.
  
• Wet wipes.
  
• A pair of sunglasses - somewhat indestructible, not your cheap gas station variety.
  
• Powdered pudding mixes, just add milk... butterscotch and chocolate were the most popular.
  
• Letter writing pad. (airmail weight). I gather this was not used for writing letters! They used the armed forces aerograms for letters, if any!
  
• A pair of wrist sweat bands.

If you can think of other suggestions leave a comment.

If you don't have a friend or relative overseas, I believe you can find how to forward such personal care parcels online. Here's two I've found.

For the United Kingdom...

SOS - Support Our Soldiers

For the United States...

AnySoldier.com

Please READ THE INSTRUCTIONS on these websites, otherwise you'll be making life difficult for the volunteers.

Totally Awesome Army Wife Blog

I have to thank one of my best friends, Jim Waltz, for forwarding a typical "support our military" email. In it, I clicked on a link to the web site below. Tammy, an army wife, writes a great blog about being an army wife. She is involved in all sorts of projects in which you, too, can participate.

Check out her blog, you'll be reading heartwarming and yet frightening stories for hours!

Army Household6

Cheers.

Classic classical music.

I recently bought a classic classical album. Here's some of the tracks.

Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis for Double String Orchestra by Leonard Bernstein & New York Philharmonic

Romance. Andante from Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K.525 by Leonard Bernstein & New York Philharmonic

Élégie from Serenade in C Major for String Orchestra, Op. 48 by Leonard Bernstein & New York Philharmonic

Enjoy!

BTW. I grew up watching the New York Philharmonic on the television with Leonard Bernstein. It was a program designed for children. This was simply wonderful. I do remember him having a microphone on and he hummed during the music! Awful! LOL

From Leonard Bernstein -- Timeline

1958 January 18, began first series of annual televised New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts on CBS TV, beginning with What Does Music Mean? YPCs continued until 1972, with 53 different programs led by LB.

Coldest July on Record, Where's this global warming we've been promised?

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
342 PM EDT THU JUL 23 2009

Climate....

TEMPERATURES THROUGH JULY 22ND CONTINUE TO MAKE THIS THE COOLEST JULY IN HISTORY SO FAR AT ROCHESTER...BUT BUFFALO HAS DROPPED TO THIRD PLACE IN THE LONG TERM RECORD (TO 1871 INCLUDING DOWNTOWN DATA) BUT STILL EASILY THE COOLEST IN THE 67 YEAR AIRPORT RECORD. HERE ARE THE UPDATED STATS...

FOR ROCHESTER...AVERAGE JULY TEMP 70.7.
COOLEST JULYS (BACK TO 1871)...
2009... 64.3 (THRU 7/22)
1884... 65.4
1992... 66.6
1891... 67.1
2000... 67.1

FOR BUFFALO...AVERAGE JULY TEMP 70.8.
COOLEST JULYS (AIRPORT DATA BACK TO 1943)...
2009... 65.4 (THRU 7/22)
1992... 66.8
1956... 67.6
2000... 67.6
1976... 67.8

COOLEST JULYS (INCLUDING DOWNTOWN DATA BACK TO 1871)...
1884... 65.2
1891... 65.3
2009... 65.4 (THRU 7/22)
1920... 66.1
1883... 66.8
1992... 66.8

This is a totally great album. If you've never heard Duruflé's Requiem, you should!

Durufle : Requiem - Messe (C*m Jubilo) - Plasson Anne Sofie von Otter, Marie-Claire Alain, Michel Plasson, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse & Thomas Hampson Release Date: Nov 28, 2005 Genre: Classical ℗ 1999 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by EMI Records Ltd.

iTunes for Mac and Windows

This message was sent to misterspock@mac.com. Please note that you have not been added to any email lists. Copyright © 2009 Apple Inc. All rights reserved

First Kite flown this year.

Here we are! First kite flight of the year while on the way to the new North Shore Grill here on Conesus Lake.

Check out their website, if you wish.

Current listening delights more smooth jazz

From his new album, Rock Steady, Richard's latest released album, Rock Steady, is up to his usual high standard.

Straight Up by Richard Elliot

Yaquala by Richard Elliot

And here's a British keyboardist, Oli Silk, who has been most influenced by Jeff Lorber

The Limit's the Sky by Oli Silk

Here's a track by the above mentioned Jeff

Come On Up by Jeff Lorber

Well, the deck's almost complete and what a difference it makes.

The contractors almost finished the deck, just stairs and railings to finish.

Makes the house look so different.

Room for table and chairs, deck is 14 feet deep by just over 24 feet wide.

Details, awaiting delivery of hardware such as eye bolts and turnbuckles for the wires.

Today's Playlist.

If You Went Away by Jane Monheit

This next one is probably the best interpretation of "Lullaby of the Leaves" I've ever heard...

Lullaby of the Leaves by The Jeff Hamilton Trio

Check out Yvonne's blog

Hi, all,

I recently got an email from a friend who pointed me to her blog.

It's quite fun and interesting.

Click Here

Who let the dog's out?

Who Let the Dogs Out by Baha Men

Today's playlist

Photograph courtesy of http://www.sonsofdamien.co.uk/spitfire%201.htm

Spitfire: Prelude by London Symphony Orchestra & Richard Kaufman Spitfire: Fugue by London Symphony Orchestra & Richard Kaufman

Smooth Jazz, anyone?

One of my facebook friends, Louis, runs smooth jazz radio station. Quite how he pays the bills I just don't know. He's on his sailboat, the Najee.

Read all about it at Smooth Jazz Beach Radio

Cheers.

Facebook, is it a good thing or not?

From a good friend on Facebook:
"M Gary Guiste This facebook thing is getting too big to handle...Most likely will go back to blogspot soon...doing like 80 deletes per day now...sorry all...will keep it online for awhile, but then....hasta..."

Is he right? Well I have to admit that the amount of so called notifications is high. However you can hide those who do too many of those quizzes etc. I wish I could simply set it to notify me of status changes only. People tend to post short one line status comments, and those, to me, are how I keep in touch.

I am beginning to dislike the applications greatly. I get pestered to go back and play games that I don't like. I then tell the system to ignore them. I get invites from friends wanting me to play, but never find them on the game! My email junk burden has increased. All these factors make me agree with Gary somewhat.

But, I find that because my family and extended friends live all over the world and I DO wish to keep in touch.

I guess I'll continue to adjust my settings to reflect my wish for two things - remembering my loved ones and a peaceful life.

"Make new friends,
But keep the old;
One is silver,
The other gold.

Cheers

Let me tell you about Keiko Matsui

Hi, I'm currently listening to the track below. I am constantly impressed by this lady's music. Grab a track!

Hope by Keiko Matsui

Here's a playlist for you. Enjoy!

Using blogo, I can now pop a link from my iTunes straight into the blog! So I'll flip through some of my recent purchases. Enjoy the music!

Father's Eyes by Amy Grant

God's Been Good to Me by Crystal Lewis

Autumn Nocturne by The Jeff Hamilton Trio

Still In Love by Najee

The Sum of All Parts by Dave Holland Sextet

The Wave (Live) by Bobby Lyle

Feeling Good by Michael Bublé
Notice the é in Michael's name.

When I Dream by Barbra Streisand

Last Night At Danceland by Joe Sample & Randy Crawford

The next two are from the movie, The Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Spitfire: Prelude by London Symphony Orchestra & Richard Kaufman
Spitfire: Fugue by London Symphony Orchestra & Richard Kaufman

Who Let the Dogs Out by Baha Men

Interesting comparison between Richard Elliott's version of I'm Not in Love with the original.
I'm Not In Love by Richard Elliott
I'm Not In Love by 10cc

Family of Love by Take 6

Un-Break My Heart by Toni Braxton

And finally, something funny!
Always Look On the Bright Side of Life by Monty Python

Cheers.

Communal living, a pet hate!

Don't you just hate it when folks leave stuff for you to clean up! This was a week's worth of dirty dishes at work.

Come on, people! Clean up after yourselves! PLEASE!

I Ain't Gonna Let You Break My Heart by Jane Monheit

After Gary's recommendation

Here's the value of Facebook™, Friend Gary said in his status he was listening to the station below. So I checked it, and how very nice it is!

1480 KPHX---The Lounge Sound for Phoenix and the Valley

Speaking English! Health tips for the unwary.

I love this Doctor ! (Stolen from an unsigned email!)

Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?

A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... Don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?

A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q:Should I reduce my alcohol intake?

A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?

A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q:What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?

A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is : No Pain...Good!

Q:Aren't fried foods bad for you?

A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!! ...... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?

A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?

A: Are you crazy? HELLOOOO… Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-go od food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?

A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?

A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets. And remember: 'Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arri ving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO! What a Ride!!! '

AND.... For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

• 1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
• 2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
• 3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
• 4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
• 5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION:Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you!

Soon be time for this sort of activity again.

Rudi This was taken a couple of years ago.

Maybe we'll soon have warmer weather so I can put Rudi back on a surfboard. Of course this year we'll be getting the ski-boat onto the water. I'll promise to keep blogging the progress of the ski-boat's renovation.

Cheers.

The little blue bug!

This is Gail's little blue bug. It's just like the real car she once had, without all the flower-power stickers. A little fun!

Facebook, should it be blocked by our employers?

I have read blogs about facebook. It's blocked at my place of work with the explaination that we should be doing work not playing around doing social networking.

Is social networking part of work? Well, sometimes! I can see the point of view of our employers, and know that facebook has been guilty of some serious spam via the applications that have been added. After all, millions of people were told they were related to Barack Obama.

So overall I guess it's justified for us not to use it at work. But it saddens me that we can't be trusted to get on with our jobs while simply keeping in touch with others.

Oh well, I'll use it at home.

I'm a pedant when it comes to grammar.

I received this in an email today, and being so pedantic about grammar (thanks to my mother!) I laughed out loud at this one....



Here's a good story.

Proper grammar

On my birthday, I got a gift certificate from my wife..

The certificate paid for a visit to a witch doctor living on a nearby reservation who was rumored to have a wonderful cure for erectile dysfunction. After being persuaded, I drove to the reservation, handed my ticket to the witch doctor, and wondered what I was in for.

The old man slowly, methodically produced a potion, handed it to me, and with a grip on my shoulder, warned, 'Mmmm, This powerful medicine and must be respected. You take one teaspoonful and say '1-2-3 'When you do that, you become more manly than you ever been in many moons and you perform as long as want.'

I was encouraged. As he walked away, I turned and asked, 'How do I stop the medicine from working? '

'Your partner say '1-2-3-4,' he responded. 'But when she do that, medicine not work again until next full moon.'

I was eager to see if it worked. I went home, showered, shaved, took a spoonful of the medicine, and then invited my wife to join me in the bedroom. When she came in, I took off my clothes and said, '1-2-3!'

Immediately, I was the manliest of men. My wife was excited and began throwing off her clothes. And then she asked, 'What was the 1-2-3 for?'

And that, boys and girls, is why we should never end our sentence with a preposition.

We're in business now.

Greetings, loyal reader(s)

Gail and I have taken steps to protect ourselves during these difficult economic times. We've found a business opportunity, working from home, that is probably the best we've ever found. Not only do we totally believe in the product, but feel it's such a breakthrough that soon the whole world will know about it.

The product is called MAX GXL. It is a wellness and health product that we've been taking for nearly two months now. Frankly both of us have never felt better, a testimonial so often repeated there has to be value to this MAX GXL.

If you, like us, feel it's important to take control of your life and look after your financial future, go to the web page below, check it out, and get in touch with us.

Gail's Website

Crash of Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 at Amsterdam - the media

I really hate the media fueled frenzy over accidents in the aviation business. I read on one blog that fuel starvation was the reason, which is clearly not true. I read that Turkish Airlines were accused of poor maintenance, why? Because the day before the crash they fixed a faulty master caution light.

I have read that the auto-throttles had gone into retard mode, and that the captain's radar altimeter had suddenly under-read. That could be part of the cause. However, it's all just speculation.

Wouldn't it be nice to expect accident investigation authorities to produce an authoritative report, free of political pressures, free of fears of litigation, and accurate. However the sceptic in me knows that the reports are slow to arrive, are often driven by political agendas of many kinds, and so rarely do anything to prevent similar accidents in the future.

It's so easy to simply say, "pilot error" and be done with it.

It's so easy to blame everyone and anyone.

It's so sad that in the end - all aircraft accidents are preventable. All it would take would be one break in the usual chain of events that lead to the mishap to prevent it. If the above speculation is true, the pressing of one button and flying the aircraft by hand would have prevented this particular tragedy. Too much reliance on technology, autopilots, auto-throttles, GPS or inertial navigation systems.. etc., have caused accidents and will continue to do so. Is it laziness? Is it a lack of attention?

Let's get back to basics, pilots, and for heaven's sake fly the aircraft!

See also Buffalo's accident! They didn't fly the aircraft!

Cheers

Fireproof My Marriage

We just watched this movie last night. An amazing film, which ran through us like a knife. It is an emotional roller coaster worth viewing.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Exposure to things we’d rather not think about.

Did you ever notice how passing motorists get “swivel necks” whenever they pass an accident scene. Everybody slows down, causing delays, just to gawk at the scene. I suppose it’s because we’re glad it didn’t happen to us.

Well, in the job I’m in I have to face the harsh realities of our own mortality. Another crash victim, another life lost, another family in grief. So another little silent prayer, another wish for hope, for comfort for people I don’t know.

Seeing so many faces of fire, police, and medical people at the conclusion of the latest event I just know there’s an awful lot of people out there who care.

But to an outsider, hearing humor in troubled times can and does cause hurt. To those who witness the black humor of emergency workers of any kind, just try to remember it’s a defense mechanism. I’ll never forget the quote from another war, another place; “My leg, I’ve lost my leg!” “No you haven’t, mate, it’s over here.”

So hugs all round as appropriate.

Just when you think you have everything.....

You know, sometimes not being able to have something makes you want it even more. After 40 years away from the United States, there's a list of things my siblings and I might have missed all that time. The list includes:

1. Pumpernickel bread
2. Ivory soap,
3. Contemporary Christian Music,
4. French's mustard,
5. Freedom

Now, of course, there's a list of things we would all rather we didn't have:

1. Sexual Offenders Lists
2. Tax returns,
3. Snow (unless you ski!)
4. Taxes
5. Dog doo
6. Ill health.

I could go on, but you get the idea. What made me think of all this? I got a nice email today from James Waltz, long time family friend over in New Jersey....

I quote from "When your hut's on fire." 

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited 

island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the
horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to
build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and
to store his few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived
home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He
felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with
disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, 'God! How could you do this to me?'
Early the next day, he w as awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the
island! It had come to rescue him! 'How did you know I was here?' asked the weary
man of his rescuers. 'We saw your smoke signal,' they replied.

The Moral of This Story:


It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't
lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain
and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning
to the ground, it just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.

Who’s life have you touched today?

You know, something somebody said to me last Friday hit home. Full of praise for some safety issue I was dealing with at work he encouraged me never to give up. Is it false humility that made me feel as though nobody was listening? Was it frustration at what seemed like chronic apathy that made me so frustrated that others could not see the point I was trying to make? Well, I never knew until he told me that folks were talking about the issue, were thinking about safety, and indeed were, in many cases, grateful that I had taken on the fight for this particular issue.

The issue, or topic, was the use of satellite tracking in flight. I feel so passionate about survival, knowing that one of the greatest tragedies could be to survive some crash landing only to succumb to the cold or to injuries sustained in that crash only because people could not find you.

The four principles of survival… etched in my thoughts about all this are:

1. Protection
   
2. Location
   
3. Water
   
4. Food
   

So many get confused about survival priorities, worrying unnecessarily about food when you can survive many days without, but will die within minutes if you are not protected against, say, the cold. Item two, LOCATION, is simply the fact that the best way to survive is to get out of the survival situation quickly. In the EMS world we’re “blessed” with the concept of the so called Golden Hour. Yet talking to my EMS aviation colleagues they seem to forget that golden hour applies to them, too, if faced with a survival situation.

So what’s that all got to do with the title, “Who’s life have you touched today?” Until mentioned in a gracious way on Friday, I had felt that nobody listens, nobody cares. Well, friends, lest you forget, people sometimes listen, but rarely say “thank you.”

Well, a big thank you right back at the gentleman who stated he was probably one of the few people who read my blog. Keep reading, my friend… I will never forget our conversation last Friday.

Ah, I don't live in the past, but I used to!

TC and the neighbor's daughter whose name I can't remember, circa 1976 or '77

Singapore Skyline circa 1972

A preposition being a bad word to end a sentence with, here's the latest photograph from a huge batch scanned at Walmart from my collection of transparencies.