nobody asked…

On multiple fronts, the passing year 2005 fell far short of hopes and expectations for many Americans.

Bush’s war on the world drags on with Iraq being the killing field. Almost 2,200 innocent young Americans have been sacrificed. Over 200 more casualties from the UK and other coalition countries. Plus over 30,000 Iraquis, civilian and security forces. Why? We still do not understand the purpose, despite the tired lies and rhetoric continuing to spew forth from the White House.

The economy, while seemingly robust in some sectors, has been damaged, perhaps beyond repair, by the movement of American jobs to foreign soil. How many hundreds of thousands of us must be displaced before someone wakes up and realizes that the US job market is in shambles as a result. The economy will not be far behind as it morphs into clearly demarcated haves (the few who own it all) and havenots (the masses of millions who are out of work and cannot find jobs. There is, for practical purposes, an almost infinite supply of job-seekers, while the service-based industries have a finite number of jobs available.

Our entire Administrative branch of government has become a mockery, here and abroad, for the lying, deceit, and shirking of responsibilites. Some heads have rolled and doubtless others will fall before it is done. It may be too little, too late, as we have already lost our position as the respected leader of the free world.

Natural disasters devastated parts of our country and our planet. The American people rose up to give many millions from their own pockets, their time, and their abilities to help in the rebuilding process. Washington showed nothing but irritation that the Federal Government was expected to respond.

The virtual merger of church and state has gone without a serious challenge. Where is the outrage that the US Congress should have? Where is the organized outrage that should be coming from the States? Where is the Supreme Court?

Bush has openly mocked the Constitution, telling people around him not to wave it in his face because it is “just a piece of paper.” Who the hell does he think he is?

Congress decided this year to spend an inordinate amount of time and energy focusing on use of steroids in sports and other sports related issues while our country goes to hell in a hand-basket due to far more serious issues.

Fortunately, on the personal level there were a few good events and feel-good moments this year.

My business has sustained itself for another year (16 now), unlike so many others that have blown away with the wind. Lost a few customers, gained a few others. Overall a good year. Not a great year, but a good year.

Winston Rand started a weblog. The fact that this is close to if not the top of my own personal positives for the year speaks volumes about the rest of my life.

The friends and relationships I have developed while blogging these past few months have become quite special. A comment or email from one of my online buds is everybit as welcome as a contact from family, friends, and business associates. Thanks to all of you from the bottom of my heart! You have made this a most gratifying experience for me!

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Ran into this over at Frank Paynter’s Sandhill Trek, where it turns out Frank is Watership Down. Hmmm…I never noticed Frank’s cute little bunny ears before. The quickie quiz seemed harmless enough, so I ventured in and … WOAH, the test says that if I was a book, I would be Jurassic Park…While you go find out what book you might be, pardon me while I sharpen my teeth…

You’re Jurassic Park!
by Michael Crichton
You combine all the elements of a mad scientist, a brash philosopher,
a humble researcher, and a money-hungry attracter of tourists. With all these features,
you could build something monumental or get chased around by your own demons. Probably
both, in fact. A movie based on your life would make millions, and spawn at least two
sequels thatwouldn’t be very good. Be very careful around islands.

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

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While doing research for one of those weird words that jumps off the page and grabs me from time-to-time, I stumbled across another one that smacked me upside the head with a big etymological stick. The original word, which I exposed here recently, was disambiguation. Our new mot du jour is tergiversate, which is a verb meaning:

1: be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information (syn: beat around the Bush (capitalization and emphasis added), equivocate, prevaricate, palter) 2: abandon one’s beliefs or allegiances (syn: apostatize, apostatise)

In the original disambiguation post I made a weak joke by saying that I thought the word “must have something to do with disarming the White House of WMDs.” Little did I realize how close I was to the truth. Look at the definition of tergiversate again… “be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information.” Sounds like the Bush Whitehouse to me. If that is not enough, the second definition reads… “abandon one’s beliefs or allegiances.” Has there ever been anyone in high public office who so transparently abandoned their expressed beliefs, avowed allegiances, and proclaimed principles as the One and Only Court Appointed High Emperor and Batboy of the Upper, Middle, and Lower Kingdoms Forever and Ever Amen, George Wishywashy Bush?

Whether Herr Bushkie and comrades are being ambiguous, tergiversating, or are just too stupid to remember what lie they told last time, we need some serious disambiguating, or perhaps exorcism of dem damn daemons, performed on the miserable assemblage that passes itself off as the Administrative Branch of the government of these great United States of America.

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If you’re like me, you probably use Google every day. Occasionally I hear or read a tip on some new or semi-hidden feature that strengthens the case for this being my favorite search engine. Now The PC Guy, Peter Grad, writes in The Record an amazingly useful list of Google tips, several of which are new even to this Google veteran. Here are a few of my favorite new ones that seem most useful for what I do…

SIMILAR TERMS: Place the tilde character (~) in front of a search term and Google will show results matching your search term AND synonyms. No space between the tilde and the search term.

Example: Search on ~tv and the findings will include references to television and other synonyms.

EXCLUDE TERMS: To exclude results for a particular meaning of your search term, use the hyphen or minus character (-).

Example: You’re looking for information on the planet Mercury and don’t want to wade through thousands of hits on Mercury the car or Mercury the Roman god, etc. Search for mercury -car -god to help eliminate irrelevant results.

WILD CARDS: If your memory has holes like mine, it can be difficult to lookup a quote or phrase. Unless, of course, you know how to play the wild card in a Google search. If you cannot quite recall that obscure measure of time that Lincoln used, search on “Four * and seven years ago” (with the quotation marks). Magic, huh?

CALLER I.D. ON STEROIDS: Now this is “intelligent design!” Enter a phone number preceded by area code, no hyphens, spaces, or brackets. Try this one: 2024561111.

Useful? You betcha! But there’s more… visit Peter Grad’s PC Guy column for more explanation of these plus 6 more equally useful Google features that you may not know about.

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Even though Tamar knows that I am not fond of the meme gig, she tagged me anyway. Now most folks know me as a stubborn cuss, but I’ve also got this soft, maleable streak when a nice lady like Tamar asks for something. So this one time only, I will play along and try to prolong both the purpose and spirit of the 7 x 7 Meme. Never again will I participate…at least until the next pretty face asks me to…

Seven things to do before I die:

1. Laugh 2. Cry 3. Love 4. Feel 5. Care 6. Live 7. Feel no pain

Seven things I cannot do:

1. Lie 2. Cheat 3. Steal 4. Loathe (except for Bush and his abominable crewmen) 5. Understand Microsoft’s Exchange Server 6. Pass for teenage 7. Sing soprano (not with this contra-bass voice)

Seven things that attract me to (…)

… dark chocolate:

1. It is the best thing I ever ate 2. Beats the hell out of broccoli 3. I heard it is nutritious 4. Melts in your mouth 5. Beats the hell out of whatever is in second place 6. Readilly available at prices I can almost afford 7. Something about the erotic allure of Lady Godiva riding naked down Main Street on a white steed…

Seven things I say most often:

1. Bullshit! 2. What th’ hell? 3. Hello/Goodbye 4. What th’ hell is Bill Gates smoking out there in Redmond? 5. How’z my baby dog? (When arriving home and Chaeli the cocker spaniel excitedly greets and slobbers all over me.) 6. Brain-fart 7. Bullshit!

Seven books (or series) that I love:

1. ATLAS SHRUGGED – Ayn Rand 2. A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME – Stephen Hawking 3. IDEAS AND OPINIONS – Albert Einstein 4. FOUNDATION series and others by Issac Asimov 5. DUNE series by Frank Herbert (Not the movie - it sucked!) 6. Anything by Garrison Keillor 7. DEADLY SIN series by Lawrence Sanders (The only mystery/drama fiction I’ve ever liked.)

Seven movies I watch over and over again (or would if I had the time):

I have never seen a movie that I would want to watch over and over again. That is one addiction/affliction I never understood or developed. Seven all-time favorites that I have seen more than once, viewings usually separated by years, (in no particular order) are:

1. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD 2. NOTTING HILL 3. THE LAST SAMURAI 4. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA 5. THE DIRTY DOZEN 6. THE LION IN WINTER 7. All the STAR TREK movies

Seven people I want to join in too:

Since I don’t normally do this meme thing myself, I am not comfortable with tagging others to follow along. If one or more of my many thousands of readers wish to pick up the torch and run with it, they have my blessings and encouragement to do so.

Tamar, I hope my responses were intensely adequate enough and in no way embarrassed or inconvenienced you.

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Whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of year — Christian Christmas, secular Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, or just a few relaxing days off while everyone else celebrates — I wish for you peace, love, joy, health and happiness.

Thanks to all of you for stopping by, for reading, for offering your comments, and for your friendship.

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A man in Pittsburgh calls his son in Seattle two days before Christmas and says, “I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing. Forty-five years of misery is enough.”

“Pop, what are you talking about?” the son asks.

“We can’t stand the sight of each other any longer,” the father says. “We’re sick of each other, and I’m sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Los Angeles and tell her.”

Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone.

“No way they’re getting divorced!” she shouts. “I’ll take care of this.” She calls Pittsburgh immediately and says to her father, “You are NOT getting divorced. Don’t do a thing until I get there. I’m calling brother back, and we’ll both be there by tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing. DO YOU HEAR ME?” and slams the phone down.

The man hangs up and turns to his wife and smiles. “Okay,” he says, “they’re both coming home for Christmas. And they’re paying their own way.”

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Bush was riding in the rear of the limo and reading the newspaper.

The large headline about a mining accident blared:

8 Brazilian Workers Killed.

Bush shook his head at the sad news, then turned to his body guard and asked, “How many is a Brazilian?”

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DISAMBIGUATION – When I first ran across this word at Wikipedia I thought it must have something to do with disarming the White House of WMDs. But I followed the helpful link provided to find Wikipedia’s “more-than-you-ever-wanted-to-know” article about disambiguation, which starts:

Disambiguation in Wikipedia and Wikimedia is the process of resolving ambiguity — meaning the conflict that occurs when a term is closely associated with two or more different topics. (In many cases, this word or phrase is the “natural” title of more than one article.) In other words, disambiguations are types of turnpikes that lead to different topics which share the same term or a similar term.

Wikipedia thrives on the fact that making links is simple and automatic: as you’re typing in an edit window, put (double square) brackets around Mercury and you’ll have a link. But were you intending to link to Mercury the element, the planet, the automobile brand, the record label, the NASA manned-spaceflight project, or the Roman god?

Disambiguation should not be confused with the merging of duplicate articles (articles with different titles, but regarding the very same topic, for example “Gas Turbine” and “Gas turbine”, or “loo” and “restroom”).

The clearest and most concise definition was found at dictionary.com:

disambiguation
n : clarification that follows from the removal of ambiguity
Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University

Yeah, OK, that clears it up for me…

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Almost daily I see deer on my way to and from work, especially if I go over the hill rather than around the by-pass. This is within a mile of where I live, a couple of miles from my office, and all nestled smack in the middle of Williamson County, TN, one of the boomingest areas in the country. A big hat tip to the public officials who have either mandated or allowed the preservation of a tremendous amount of green space. Farms and forests, flora and fauna, surviving comfortably adjacent to malls, office parks, massive residential developments — this is the way to do it!

Nashville City Paper reported that “an albino deer was recently spotted — easily — among other flora and fauna in the tall grass of a Franklin farm. Wildlife experts estimate one in 100,000 is albino.” I have yet to spot an albino, but I’m looking…

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Nothing is always absolutely so.

That astoundingly simply notion from Theodore Sturgeon (1918-1985) became known as Sturgeon’s Law. A companion idea is known as Sturgeon’s Revelation:

Ninety percent of everything is crud.

Sometimes misquoted as Ninety percent of everything is crap, Ted developed at least two corollaries that spoke to the state of his profession as a writer of science fiction.

Corollary 1: The existence of immense quantities of trash in science fiction is admitted and is regrettable; but it is no more unnatural than the existence of trash anywhere.

Corollary 2: The best science fiction is as good as the best fiction in any field.

Sturgeon is probably best known for having written several Star Trek episodes including one that never aired which introduced the Federation’s Prime Directive. Wikipedia’s bio of Ted states that “he was listed as a primary influence of the much more famous Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.” Also “…at the height of his popularity in the 1950s he was the most anthologized author alive and much respected by critics.” Sturgeon used a technique called “rhythmic prose, in which his prose text would drop into a standard meter… (having) the effect of creating a subtle shift in mood, usually without alerting the reader to its cause.”

Always a good read for SF fans, others would also enjoy the poetic quality of Sturgeon’s work. At the end of the Wikipdeia write-up is a listing of his tomes and anthologies. Pick up one for some sheer pleasure reading…

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Experience is the name that everyone gives to their mistakes. — Oscar Wilde

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Back on November 30 there was a post here titled They Call the Wind Pariah, which provided a little play on words and ended with a challenge to name the artist that widely popularized “…Maria”. There were some good guesses, but no one came up with the Kingston Trio.

The words and tune of They Call the Wind Maria have continued to haunt me for the last couple of weeks. Perhaps writing about it one more time will get it out of my head so I can be driven to the brink of total insanity by Rudolph the Brown-Nosed Reindeer until well after the radio stations cease and desist, which I predict will be about December 26. Yes, I am also a seer of amazing accuracy!

THEY CALL THE WIND MARIA

Away out here they’ve got a name for rain and wind and fire.
The rain is Tess, the fire’s Jo. They call the wind Maria.
Maria blows the stars around and sets the clouds a-flyin’.
Maria makes the mountains sound like folks was out there diein’.

Maria. Maria.
They call the wind Maria.

Sooo … any guesses as to the name of rain?

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