The nonviolent terrorist

Now it seems one of the London bombers is "not a violent person" and "only wanted to terrorize" and didn't want to kill. I don't know about you but nonviolence is not going to terrorize me very much. Perhaps he should have simply boycotted the public transportations system, carried a sign denouncing public transportation and advising that this was a terrorist act (carrying a sign) so please be terrorized and run screaming, Thank you.

Not much of a terror impact. Non-functional explosives simply cause delays and annoyances. Kind of like a gawkers block on the freeway caused by terrorists putting nude females out at random. Just angry commuters, not terrorized commuters.

If Islam wants to rule the world for Allah, terror is not the way. Nor is nonviolent terror. It would seem to me best to present a benevolent (not violent), kind, forgiving, teaching, and so on god if you want people to believe in and follow the precepts of the god you are putting forth for consideration. The jealous, "gonna getcha if you don't watch out," punishing god (such as Jehovah is represented in the bible and Allah is represented in the Koran), such an angry god simply will wind up with rebelious followers who will destroy the god and move on to another, less angry god. Come on Islam, show us a loving, kind, forgiving god that treats men and women equally. Bet you can't do it.

Killer Whales and sex offenders

They do it to Orca, why not to sex offenders. Tag them and trace their location the same as wildlife scientists do with wolves, orca, for God's sake, even rattlesnakes. What's the problem here? We can spend untold amounts of money on protecting pup fish in some desert area where they are going extinct naturally but we can't spend a similar amount on protecting these sex offenders from themselves, to say nothing of the prey these predators devour.

If the Catholic Church wants to grovel and show sincere remorse for similar sins, fund a program to get sex offenders traced (start at home, daddy pope) on a permanent basis. I'm sure other concerned churches would want to support and donate to such a desirable project. Sure, you bet.

Hate to be cynical but doing good seems to be a "divine" right and is more of a one-way, do good to my church, feed my god, serve my servants, and so on. Doing good does not mean to impoverish the church for the good of people. Oh no, doing good means to impoverish the people for the good of the church. Bah, humbug.

Get these sex offenders permanently located and it will not only protect our children but the offenders themselves. What's the delay?

Using Linux

The system crashed and the hard drive became totally unstable. After getting some (s-o-m-e) of the data off it, the hard drive erased itself and reformatted. Now, it became an empty computer. A computer that would no longer accept windows operating systems. However, it would work with a Knoppix CD system and the hard drive cooperated. With that as a start, I began to load in Linux operating system, starting with the Knoppix and then moving to the Debian Sarge release that just happened to coincide with the need.

Debian loaded the hard drive and began to function. Not very well at first because using Linux is a learning and growth effort. At first, there was a screen and a bunch of strange names and usages that needed the simple level of doing and then doing some more. So, I messed up the system and then reloaded and messed up the reload and reloaded and messed up the system and reloaded and really, really screwed up the reload and started over and then got a system that lasted longer but had no sound and no internet (among a lot of other no's). Pretty soon, I found the "Synaptic Package Manager" and messed up the system all over again. More reloads, more progress and more screwing up. Meanwhile, seaching the internet from an old '98 computer with all of it's nine lives well used up and lots of Linux help, most of it too "geeky" for use. Don't those guys remember their first attempts??? They write like a professor I had at Chapel Hill who taught "THE" calculus and would write these gawd-awful formulae on the board and simply take shortcuts the students couldn't have any precognition or other awareness of and we would all be totally lost in the fog of "THE" calculus. (Thanks a lot, Newton). Oh, yeah, incase any one remembers, the professor was M.A.Hill and I knew I was in trouble the first day when half the class walked out to "drop/add" when he walked in. Oh well.

Anyway, a few more times of screwing up the system and reloading - - - Oh, did I tell you that the Debian Sarge comes in 14 cd'd and takes about 2 hours to do the basic load??? It does. A few more times of loading and experimenting and searching the internet and the whole Linux thing is beginning to come together. Now, to put in an older external modem. After all, now-a-days a computer is virtually worthless without an internet connection. An Actiontec 56k external and wvdial and "BINGO" it's connected. Whoopie!

Now, the sound. The computer has a Sound Blaster 24 bit sound card. Possibly the worst choice for Linux there could be. It also had a "winmodem" that works only on windows and that's why the external was needed. So, now the sound card won't work. I gave it up. Then, a few days later I thought, "Hey, the motherboard has a built in sound device." Sure enough, a Via 83xx and Linux loves it. Now to make it work. Now, there's no way to get it to a device and satisfy the desire for tunes. Alsa? Oh yeah. Not simple by any means.

There's a technique that can be used but it can be hazardous to the system and there may be a reload in the near future. The technique is called the "shotgun" and involves loading in all the sound "stuff" you can find in the long, long list of "applications" to use a Linuxism. Interestingly enough, the first effort at shotgunning the sound (the Via 83xx) brought in the sound. Now, there's a Linux system with internet connection, tunes, more software than I can believe, and a whole new problem.

FLAVORS (another Linuxism). It turns out Linux is kind of like a box of mixed chocolates. You can't just take one and think you've gotten the best one in the box. You have to go back and get more (Brach's knows this trick quite well and boxes chocolates in just this way). There are many, many different types of Linux (flavors). Now, I've gotten Slackware samples, Knoppix (mentioned earlier), Mandriva (seems to be the heir to Mandrake), Ubuntu, dynebolic, and several more. Even more are on the way, and likely will not be the end of "sampling" the chocolate box of Linux.

So, now I need a computer dedicated to just testing Linux "flavors" and possibly several more, all with known modem and sound card characteristics. You don't need a lot of hard drive to do this, a 20 gig drive is plenty for testing but for your permanent (well, as permanent as the "flavors" will allow) drive you'll want a lot of space. At least 120 gigs and more if you can. As I said, there's a lot of software and more coming every day.

Well, I'm testing a blog entry "app" that I fell across during the shotgunning for the sound. It has actually found my blog and says it will post this without messing about on the blog. If it's a mess, you'll know why. If it works like the rest of my Linux experience, it will be just great after I work out the learning process and get me to work along with the great software.

Losing Domain

In a split decision of 5 to 4, the Supreme Court of the United States of America or rather the Police States of America, took away nearly all your home owner rights. Here's a quote from the news article:

WASHINGTON - Cities may bulldoze people's homes to make way for shopping
malls or other private development, a divided Supreme Court ruled
Thursday, giving local governments broad power to seize private property
to generate tax revenue.

"power to seize private property to generate tax revenue"

If There were ever an "Oh my God" sentence written about the American society, this one has to be it. Local government now has the power to take away your home simply to generate tax revenue. Think of the many ways any local government can generate tax revenue by taking your home. Use it as a rental? Certainly. Yes, I know, there will be "checks and balances" and a "close watch" on such condemnations for increased tax revenue. Or for more jobs. And, the definition relys on "local government" and we're back to "community standards" where everything the local government does is ok so long as it's someone else.

New London, Connecticut shall suffer for this day as will the rest of us. This invasion of personal property and right to the pursuit of happiness must be stopped. The reasonable sanctity of your home simply must be respected. As of today, it (respect for your home) no longer exists. Between "code" and this new right to take away your home simply to increase tax revenue, provide jobs, and whatever the local government wants, you no longer have any rights to or in your home.

If you've read this far, your mind is already filled with the many ramifications of the legal ability for the commonly corrupt local government to take away homes simply for tax revenue. Tax revenue that pays the fat salaries of the local government functionaries who make the decision to increase tax revenue so they can increase their already bloated salaries, benefits, and retirements.

Balance

It's big news if the Koran (Quran) is abused in any manner by any non-Muslim and back page news (now, since we've accepted this amazing situation) if a non-Muslim has their head cut off by a Muslim. It's big news if a few bad eggs in the U.N. peacekeeping troops rape or even have consential sex with the population and back page news of the genocide and rape of whole populations by Islamic groups, Sudan, for example. It's no news at all if Islamic states and countries have laws restricting Christian practice of religion but big news if a country (France for example) writes any law which restricts all religions and thereby restricts any public display of Islam. Such a list of out-of-balance situations could go on and on. Take a look at Africa and the, so-called, insurgents that are causing turmoil in, for example, Ivory Coast or Nigeria. These "rebels" or "insurgents" are Islamic, principally moving in from the north and taking over one country after another. Fifty years ago there were only about 5 African Islamic countries. Now there are nearly 20 all taken over by force and with Islamic, non-democratic (Sharia), law enforced. This has not even been news and where it has, the "insurgents" have rarely been identified as Islamic. What would the "balance" be if a Christian group moved into a predominately Islamic country and used the same techniques of violence and subjucation to first reduce the population to misery and despair and then to overthrow the government and set up a Christian Law country? Would that be supported by world news? Would that go "under the radar" as so much of the Islamic violence is right now? Would the world "wring its hands" in worry and do nothing much as in, for example, the Sudan? Give warnings about "trafficking in humans" as in, for example, Saudi Arabia and do nothing?

Now the real questions. Why is Islam on a collision course with the rest of the world? Why the continued confrontations rather than cooperation? Take a careful look at the laws of Saudi Arabia and do some thinking. What would the response of the Islamic world be if any western country wrote similar laws restricting all religions but Christian or if any African country wrote similar laws restricting all religions but animistic? Why is Islam spreading by violence? Why is Islam holding it's members hostage by violence? Why is Islam holding countries hostage by violence? Where is this going? What is the end result? Why is this allowed, even encouraged by the rest of the world? I don't understand. I can see the imbalance but the why escapes me (oh sure, World Domination. But that's so silly I can't accept it.). I don't understand why so few see the imbalance or if they do see the situation, decide to "not" see. What in the hell is going on?

accepting the unacceptable

acceptingtheunacceptable

Well, here we are, just about the summer season. No "twin towers" disaster to lead us into the holidays, no new war, no "homeland" disasters or even big threats (as of May 25, 2005, that is). However, reading the news each day, we have gradually begun to accept the horrors the same way we now accept highway mayhem. What's a few more bombings here and there so long as it's Not In My BackYard. You remember the NIMBY attitude? Do what you want, just NIMBY.

Well, the world is now a backyard to everyone. What happens in your backyard is happening in my backyard. It's one world afterall. The NIMBY attitude protested so strongly in the '60's is not supportable. Now, less than ever. Tribalism is nice so long as it accepts other tribes as having equal importance and deserving of equal respect.

We would not accept religious laws instituting a "State" religion yet turn a "blind eye" to countries that do so. I recall the (politically and morally correct) outcry against apartheid in South Africa. Where is the outcry about Saudi Arabia where there are so many laws restricting religions other than Islam? Religious Apartheid is morally correct??? Oh, yes, I know it's politically correct. We do want that oil. So, we accept the unacceptable.

Or the "rebels" in so many of the African countries that are the "blessings" of Islam moving south by force of arms. Killing and enslaving blacks worse than the South African apartheid ever did. Because it's Islam, that makes it acceptable? What if Christians acted in the same manner as Islam? Would that be acceptable? NIMBY!

Purple Salvia about 5 feet high. A good winter and spring plant here in Florida. The heat of the summer will turn it brown. 

Ala and Ken Shin the Hooded Rat. They were close pals until Ken Shin died of old age and now has an honored burial in the garden edge. 

A little more detail. All was from cast-off material. The "pond" itself is from a broken car-top carrier the hurricanes munched. The top still held water so..... the rest is from old sidewalks, broken tile, and so on. A bit of flower power and it looks great. 

The new fountain in the park designed by Ala and built by Dave. Cooperation pays off. 

The last of the black Mulberry. You must get there early or the birds get the black ones. Not so good to eat until they turn black. Red is SOUR! 

Ala with Cinnamon, the ferret. It's either play time or sleep time for ferrets.  

Shasta Daisy in Florida. A rare sight. 

time for fruit

time for fruit
It's mid-May. The purple plum tree is just about through and has been eaten. The peach trees are now ripening and the first tree is producing wonderful, fresh, tasty peaches about the size of a baseball. What a treat to get up, walk out into the soft Florida morning, pick a peach and revel in it's marvelous flavor. Yesterday we had strawberries, peaches, plums, and eggs from our little (almost an) acre of Florida. Today, the same. Later, there will be nectarines, apples (yes, even the apple tree has fruit this year for the first time), figs (little and green right now), guava (strawberry,tropical, and pineapple), muscadine grapes, pomegranates, and so much more. The black mulberry tree is now about 20 feet high and the birds get them if I don't get out early. The mulberries are about through until next year and only a few are left on the tree.

We had a bag of potatoes that sprouted quite enough so we hesitated to eat them. We planted them and they are growing like weeds. Yes, potatoes are cheap but it seemed silly to waste them when we could plant them, then seed radish and mustard over them. That way we get two crops. Oh, I forgot. We also planted watermelon with them so we really get three crops. Let you know how it turns out.

The early sunflower crop is over and the seed heads are turned up to dry. Some are already out at the feeders being nibbled on by the Cardinal family. We won't plant any more sunflower this summer but will have many volunteers, so many we'll need to weed some of them.

The Confederate Jasmine has been in full bloom for the past 3 weeks. It's like living in an incense shop. Now, the night-blooming Jasmine is full of blossoms and the night is so redolent with the perfume it nearly chokes you when it hits at full strength. During the day, the Tea Olive adds to the mix. I don't know about at night, the night-blooming Jasmine wins the odor battle, hands-down. The lovely little night-blooming Four-O-Clocks have a nice, delicate odor but they are totally submerged in the Jasmine odor.

We have just a small place in central Florida about 35 miles north of Orlando but you sure can get a lot of garden into it here in Florida. We can have citrus and apples at the same time. However, the northern fruit trees don't always do well because it doesn't get cold enough and the citrus sometimes does poorly because it gets too cold. We're right on the edge of both cycles. Makes for hectic and uncertain gardening.

More later (and there really is a lot more on the plants, alone).

casualnotesandrambles

casualnotesandrambles

Well, it's a new day and the "Pacific" (really not a very peaceful ocean, actually) hurricane has withered to a few rowdy showers in the Caribbean and is no longer a threat. Just a reminder of a summer that awaits.

Was picking up in the back yard area yesterday and found that I was picking up last years hurricane damage every now and then. Still more to go. I might get the previous year damage cleaned up in time for a new year of damage. As "trucker" noted in a comment, there isn't any way to estimate how much it costs in time, money, emotion, and so on to prep for a hurricane, go through a hurricane, and recover from a hurricane. The prep and going through part can be pretty quick but the recover part is long, long, indeed. Actually, the prep can seem very long. As we watched the progress of Ivan last year and felt the threat it represented (after three hurricanes, even a thunderstorm began to feel threatening), we went through long, anxious days until it attacked somewhere else. Then, our joy at being missed was tempered by the awareness of the pain others were suffereing. Are we glad California has earthquakes? No. Are we glad we don't have earthquakes? YES, YES. You get the idea.

starters

It's Florida and it's the start of summer. After the horror of the summer of hurricanes, a hurricane in the Pacific trying to cross into the Caribbean two weeks before the season even begins is ominous indeed. We cannot imagine going through anything like that again.

To be smart about getting ready for a hurricane, we have a list of things to do. It's fairly long and tedious. After the hurricane, the "setting things right" is also long and tedious. Here is a portion of that list:

Indoors.
Double bag all books, papers, and photos.
Double bag all clothing.
Bag computers (everything is double bagged)
Bag all electroic equipment
Bag audio speakers
Bag pillow, cushions, small stuffed toys
Bag all bedding (sheets, blankets)
Plastic sheet covers for bed and furniture.
Fill many, many containers with water.
The list goes on and on.

Outside.
Pick up and secure anything that can be picked up by a 200 lb man. If you don't the hurricane will.

Hurricane clip privacy (wooden) fence (we have about 700 feet)
Prop from both sides with 2x4 each section of privacy fence.
Tie down things you can't pick up.
Move vehicles to "safe" place (be sure one is in a "getaway" spot).
Tape windows (you'll hate this when it's time to take the tape off)
Get animals secured.
Tie down young fruit trees.
Check neighbor's yard for hazards!!!!
Look for trees or limbs that can reach the house.
The outside is never done well enough.

That's some idea of the effort it takes to prep for a hurricane.
Now, think about doing that 3 or 4 times in a few months.
And, think about putting it all back.


more later