Is anyone else fortunate enough to have a volunteer radio station in your town? I don't mean a NPR affiliate that carries highly charged leftist views, but a station that is listener supported and focuses on music programming. My favorite drive time radio station has become WEVL, a totally volunteer station. Everyone who works there has day jobs or is retired and either have shows as DJ's, produces programs, maintains the transmitter or helps out in other ways. It's available on the internet at the station WEVL.org.
I've helped out on various occasions, and really think that this kind of radio is a great alternative to obnoxious FM DJ's and talk radio, that quite frankly gets on my nerves after awhile.
Living in Memphis, we are blessed with some great local musicians and they often appear on shows on WEVL. Personally I've never seen another station like this. It is not associated with NPR, or a university, and only runs 2 short pledge drives a year and always gets enough money to keep the station running....sometimes just barely, but this is non-profit, and people who host shows or other tasks do it for love of the job. They get no government funding, no union donations and no K Street lobby money.
If you get a chance, check it out.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Success from a land of fail: Part 2
Last time I wrote about this subject, my young friend Ron had just moved from his hometown in the Philippines to take a job in Singapore. Although it was an improvement in living conditions and pay, he is way underpaid compared to his Singaporean counterparts. He got involved in a bad contract that had small print, and I mean really small, that is both blurred and unreadable, and in the US would not be enforceable. The contract basically made him an indentured servant so long as his employer wanted his employment, even though the large print read that it was a one year contract.
There is some good news as of late. Ron found a way to buy his way out of the contract and can leave in June. He will have a job waiting for him that pays much more, and has good benefits. Although he misses his family very much, he has adjusted to Singapore and does not live poorly. His long term goal is to get a job in Australia, Canada or the US, and it looks like it will be doable in a few years, with a resume that has a few overseas jobs under his belt.
I was elated when we talked tonight and heard the good news. This is a very positive development for a young man who had very little going for him as a young teenager. I do admire Ron's fortitude and determination to succeed when the odds were always against him.
We who are blessed to live in developed world really need to count our blessings despite how bad our economy is right now, and cheer those people who have worked hard to liberate themselves from poverty and become successful themselves.
There is a lot to learn from young people like Ron to the food stamp generation and those who feel entitled and government dependent in our own rich country.
There is some good news as of late. Ron found a way to buy his way out of the contract and can leave in June. He will have a job waiting for him that pays much more, and has good benefits. Although he misses his family very much, he has adjusted to Singapore and does not live poorly. His long term goal is to get a job in Australia, Canada or the US, and it looks like it will be doable in a few years, with a resume that has a few overseas jobs under his belt.
I was elated when we talked tonight and heard the good news. This is a very positive development for a young man who had very little going for him as a young teenager. I do admire Ron's fortitude and determination to succeed when the odds were always against him.
We who are blessed to live in developed world really need to count our blessings despite how bad our economy is right now, and cheer those people who have worked hard to liberate themselves from poverty and become successful themselves.
There is a lot to learn from young people like Ron to the food stamp generation and those who feel entitled and government dependent in our own rich country.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Republicans: Change the way you do primary debates
Why does the GOP let the Democrats set the primary agenda? For decades now, Republican presidential primary debates have been mostly moderated by liberal mainstream media Democrats. (When was the last time anyone called George Stephanopoulos anything but that?). We've had umpteen debates almost all moderated by agenda driven liberal media types who's goal is to get Barack Obama reelected in November. They pick out their Republican media darling who they think they can beat and boost up his/her credentials until the convention, the lower the boom. They loved John McCain last time around, and now they all love Mitt Romney.
I know it is way too late to fix the GOP debates during this election cycle, so lets look to the future. Why on earth should we have debates during our primaries moderated by people and networks who want to bring down our agenda? That's madness. Up until recently we were reliant on using the networks to broadcast our message, but this is changing rapidly. The older generation who relies on the Big Three networks, are just a small portion of who is looking at the candidates or the news these days. At 55 I'm no youngster, but I do not rely on, nor have for some time, on the mainstream media to tell me what is going on in my world in 18 minutes. We now have a multimedia environment on the internet that can communicate our ideas without burdening ourselves to the Tiffany Network. Without getting into details or endorsing any particular media format, I'm making a modest proposal. During the next primary cycle, lets skip the traditional media of the past, and as Republicans, have debates that are on subjects that are of interest to us. I don't want to watch a debate where Rick Santorum gets brow beaten about his pro-life message or Mitt Romney on his "magic underpants" at a time when we as a country have very serious issues to deal with. Foremost domestically is the economy, and abroad is the possible nuclearization of Iran in the near future. Whoever is the president in 2013 is going to have to deal with both. These need to be discussed, not Romney's Mormonism, or Santorum's conservative pro-life Catholic values.
The liberal media has one goal and one goal only, to get Obama reelected and maybe take back the House. They have been using the Republican primary debates as a tool to get their people elected and at the very least set the agenda for decades, and it is past time for this to stop. We now have the New Media capable of getting to voters without using the fossil networks to tell us where we need to focus.
I know it is way too late to fix the GOP debates during this election cycle, so lets look to the future. Why on earth should we have debates during our primaries moderated by people and networks who want to bring down our agenda? That's madness. Up until recently we were reliant on using the networks to broadcast our message, but this is changing rapidly. The older generation who relies on the Big Three networks, are just a small portion of who is looking at the candidates or the news these days. At 55 I'm no youngster, but I do not rely on, nor have for some time, on the mainstream media to tell me what is going on in my world in 18 minutes. We now have a multimedia environment on the internet that can communicate our ideas without burdening ourselves to the Tiffany Network. Without getting into details or endorsing any particular media format, I'm making a modest proposal. During the next primary cycle, lets skip the traditional media of the past, and as Republicans, have debates that are on subjects that are of interest to us. I don't want to watch a debate where Rick Santorum gets brow beaten about his pro-life message or Mitt Romney on his "magic underpants" at a time when we as a country have very serious issues to deal with. Foremost domestically is the economy, and abroad is the possible nuclearization of Iran in the near future. Whoever is the president in 2013 is going to have to deal with both. These need to be discussed, not Romney's Mormonism, or Santorum's conservative pro-life Catholic values.
The liberal media has one goal and one goal only, to get Obama reelected and maybe take back the House. They have been using the Republican primary debates as a tool to get their people elected and at the very least set the agenda for decades, and it is past time for this to stop. We now have the New Media capable of getting to voters without using the fossil networks to tell us where we need to focus.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
The End of the Memphis Tea Party?
Yesterday Mark Skoda, the president of the Memphis Tea Party and has an outstanding radio show on local radio here in western Tennessee, announced that we were all endorsing Mitt Romney as Republican candidate for President. I found out about this from a twitter message from Larry O'Connor of Breitbart TV. Larry mentioned that Mark would be on his show last night explaining why there was an endorsement for a very non-tea party guy like Romney, especially after only 2 primaries and one caucus in 3 very small states. There was never a vote taken by members of the Memphis Tea Party regarding endorsing one candidate over the other, and I'm really not happy with this heavy handed endorsement without the rank and file participation.
Well, Larry was quick to half jokingly call Mark a RINO, and he did not take it well. When asked by a caller why there was never at least a chance for members to participate in an open vote, Mr. Skoda responded with, and I'm paraphrasing here since I don't remember the exact quote, "I made an executive decision". Excuse me Mark, but the Tea Party is not about top down decisions like this. You are forgetting that we are a grass roots movement. If I wanted to belong to an organization that has heavy handed top down political management, I'd work with the RNC. Your early endorsement of Romney has alienated many Tea Party conservatives, and I have to consider about how much I will support this organization in the future.
I'm not endorsing anyone at this point, and certainly not happy with the lot that the GOP has put up this year. I'll hold my nose and vote for Romney if he is the candidate, but only because we need to get rid of Obama for the sake of the country. But endorsing a New England liberal as the Tea Party candidate in the premise of it being an executive decision stinks of top down politics ala Meet John Doe.
You speak for yourself Mr. Skoda. Don't send an endorsement for one of the largest Tea Party organizations in our name, just because you are on Mitt's bandwagon.
Well, Larry was quick to half jokingly call Mark a RINO, and he did not take it well. When asked by a caller why there was never at least a chance for members to participate in an open vote, Mr. Skoda responded with, and I'm paraphrasing here since I don't remember the exact quote, "I made an executive decision". Excuse me Mark, but the Tea Party is not about top down decisions like this. You are forgetting that we are a grass roots movement. If I wanted to belong to an organization that has heavy handed top down political management, I'd work with the RNC. Your early endorsement of Romney has alienated many Tea Party conservatives, and I have to consider about how much I will support this organization in the future.
I'm not endorsing anyone at this point, and certainly not happy with the lot that the GOP has put up this year. I'll hold my nose and vote for Romney if he is the candidate, but only because we need to get rid of Obama for the sake of the country. But endorsing a New England liberal as the Tea Party candidate in the premise of it being an executive decision stinks of top down politics ala Meet John Doe.
You speak for yourself Mr. Skoda. Don't send an endorsement for one of the largest Tea Party organizations in our name, just because you are on Mitt's bandwagon.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Translations of Common Euphemisms
A friend sent this to me today. It'll help you when listening to the mainstream media or listening to your Liberal and Democrat friends:
Translations of Common Euphemisms
| DEMOCRAT | REPUBLICAN |
| Arsenal of Weapons | Gun Collection |
| Delicate Wetlands | Swamp |
| Undocumented Worker | Illegal Alien |
| Cruelty-Free Materials | Synthetic Fiber |
| Assault and Battery | Attitude Adjustment |
| Heavily Armed | Well-protected |
| Narrow-minded | Righteous |
| Taxes or Your Fair Share | Coerced Theft |
| Common Sense Gun Control | Gun Confiscation Plot |
| Illegal Hazardous Explosives | Fireworks for Stump Removal |
| Non-viable Tissue Mass | Unborn Baby |
| Equal Access to Opportunity | Socialism |
| Multicultural Community | High Crime Area |
| Fairness or Social Progress | Marxism |
| Upper Class or "The Rich " | Self-Employed |
| Progressive, Change | Big Government Scheme |
| Homeless or Disadvantaged | Bums or Welfare Leeches |
| Sniper Rifle | Scoped Deer Rifle |
| Investment for the Future | Higher Taxes |
| Healthcare Reform | Socialized Medicine |
| Extremist, Judgmental, or Hater | Conservative |
| Truants | Home Schoolers |
| Victim or Oppressed | Criminal or Lazy Good-For-Nothing |
| High Capacity Magazine | Standard Capacity Magazine |
| Religious Zealot | Church-going |
| Reintroduced Wolves | Sheep and Elk Killers |
| Fair Trade Coffee | Overpriced Yuppie Coffee |
| Exploiters or "The Rich " | Any Employed or Land Owner |
| The Gun Lobby | NRA Members |
| Assault Weapon | Semi-Auto (Grandpa's M1 Carbine) |
| Fiscal Stimulus | New Taxes and Higher Taxes |
| Same Sex Marriage | Legalized Perversion |
| Mandated Eco-Friendly Lighting | Chinese Mercury-Laden Light Bulbs |
| Accepted Facts | Horse Shit!! |
Thursday, January 19, 2012
How safe is the Airbus A380?
The A380 has been in service for only about 4 years and has already had engines exploding, and now cracks in the wings, something that is usually only found in older aircraft.
The first publicized problems came about when a Qantas A380 had an uncontained engine failure of one of the 4 Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines. Rolls-Royce advised the operators of A380 aircraft who had this engine to change them every 90 cycles, something unprecedented and extremely costly in aviation.
Recently it has come to light that airplanes less than 4 years old are already developing cracks on the wings. Airbus assures us all that this is nothing to worry about. Phewww, I feel much better now, time to move on, nothing to see here.
The Qantas incident was a much bigger deal than reported at the time, as extensive damage was done to the wing, and the plane could not land immediately as fuel needed to be burned off and dumped to safely land back in Singapore. The flight crew did a good job containing the damage and getting the plane safely back on the ground. Qantas and other carriers grounded the fleet for several months until a work around could be developed. But they are back in the air, on very long routes where the nearest usable airport could easily be 3 or more hours away.
Not every airline purchased the Trent engines, and many others have the more reliable GE models, and they do not have the design flaws of the Trent.
While Airbus is downplaying the wing cracks, I consider this to be yet another serious design flaw on an airframe that has only been in service for 4 years. Hopefully the FAA and other foreign governmental aviation regulatory agencies will hold Airbus' feet to the fire and demand fixes. There is a lot of pressure on these agencies to keep these planes in the air, for purely economical reasons. But one has to ask oneself if they are feeling lucky when flying on a flight from LAX to Sydney or Singapore.
I do get stuck on Airbus planes quite often, especially the A320 family, but never feel too comfortable, understanding all the issues with their "fly-by-computer" flight and engine controls, but most of the bugs have been worked out of these planes.....after 20 years.
Here's a video of the Qantas plane that had the uncontained failure,
The first publicized problems came about when a Qantas A380 had an uncontained engine failure of one of the 4 Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines. Rolls-Royce advised the operators of A380 aircraft who had this engine to change them every 90 cycles, something unprecedented and extremely costly in aviation.
Recently it has come to light that airplanes less than 4 years old are already developing cracks on the wings. Airbus assures us all that this is nothing to worry about. Phewww, I feel much better now, time to move on, nothing to see here.
The Qantas incident was a much bigger deal than reported at the time, as extensive damage was done to the wing, and the plane could not land immediately as fuel needed to be burned off and dumped to safely land back in Singapore. The flight crew did a good job containing the damage and getting the plane safely back on the ground. Qantas and other carriers grounded the fleet for several months until a work around could be developed. But they are back in the air, on very long routes where the nearest usable airport could easily be 3 or more hours away.
Not every airline purchased the Trent engines, and many others have the more reliable GE models, and they do not have the design flaws of the Trent.
While Airbus is downplaying the wing cracks, I consider this to be yet another serious design flaw on an airframe that has only been in service for 4 years. Hopefully the FAA and other foreign governmental aviation regulatory agencies will hold Airbus' feet to the fire and demand fixes. There is a lot of pressure on these agencies to keep these planes in the air, for purely economical reasons. But one has to ask oneself if they are feeling lucky when flying on a flight from LAX to Sydney or Singapore.
I do get stuck on Airbus planes quite often, especially the A320 family, but never feel too comfortable, understanding all the issues with their "fly-by-computer" flight and engine controls, but most of the bugs have been worked out of these planes.....after 20 years.
Here's a video of the Qantas plane that had the uncontained failure,
So you have to ask yourself, how lucky do I feel flying on a plane with known engine problems, that only have a very expensive work around, and wings that are cracking at a very young age.
Departing from the safety issue, do you really want to fly on a plane that holds close to 600 people, takes 2 hours to board and an hour to disembark? And think of the customs lines when a couple of these monsters show up at the same time. It's not my cup of scotch to be sure.
I'm planning to go to Australia later this year, but I'll book flights on another aircraft type, and preferably a Boeing aircraft.
If it ain't Boeing, I ain't going.
UPDATE: Qantas has grounded the plane that Airbus told us not to worry about. As a bonus, Airbus says that these cracks are nothing to worry about because they are manufacturing defects and not stress cracks. I'm feeling so much better about this plane now. Flying on this lemon is like playing Russian roulette. It's an accident waiting to happen.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
What does not kill me makes me strong
Most of us who have lived as long as me, have had many great times, and some really tough and bad ones. I hear a lot of my younger relatives, co-workers, and friends bitch and moan whenever things don't go just their way, and act like it is the end of the world for them. Well, that's life. The only thing guaranteed in this life are death and taxes. Having a strong faith in God and my Christian beliefs have gotten me through the worst times. This faith is seriously lacking in our younger generation, who have been indoctrinated by liberal teachers, inattentive parents, and the crap that passes for entertainment on TV.
Recently several friends on a message board, that I check in on, have had very bad news. Deaths of loved ones, cancer diagnosis in loved ones, and Alzheimer's Disease have taken a toll on some of my dearest friends and family.
I was diagnosed with MS a couple years ago and it would be easy to say, "why me?", but this is a common disease that has only become evident in my 50's rather than 20's. I also am blessed to live an a first world country, where clean food, water, and decent health care is still available (although ObamaCare may end that). I'm not twisted and bitter, and I thank God for just how well I've had it all my life.
We, as Americans need to man up, quit complaining, and realize that as bad as things are here, we are still the 0.01% of the rest of the world.
God bless us all, everyone.
Recently several friends on a message board, that I check in on, have had very bad news. Deaths of loved ones, cancer diagnosis in loved ones, and Alzheimer's Disease have taken a toll on some of my dearest friends and family.
I was diagnosed with MS a couple years ago and it would be easy to say, "why me?", but this is a common disease that has only become evident in my 50's rather than 20's. I also am blessed to live an a first world country, where clean food, water, and decent health care is still available (although ObamaCare may end that). I'm not twisted and bitter, and I thank God for just how well I've had it all my life.
We, as Americans need to man up, quit complaining, and realize that as bad as things are here, we are still the 0.01% of the rest of the world.
God bless us all, everyone.
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