Summer of '06

I don't know if this will be a memorial summer, but I has been the hottest summer in some time. I am hoping that next year we will be taling about the heat from this year, rather than breaking this year's temperature records.

Here it is, early August, and I am anxious for the fall to be here. I will miss autumn in Illinois: the cooler air and small thunderstorms blowing by. I am hoping to make a couple of trips back before Thanksgiving, but it is not the same.

None-the-less, I press on here in beautiful San Diego, and wonder where my heart really lies. I am just a little linely and feeling sorry for myself this Monday morning. It will pass... I hope...

My Number

For what it is worth...

You Are 8: The Challenger

You're brave, impulsive, and gutsy - loving challenges.

You act first and think later. And you're not afraid to speak up.

You are confident, so much so that you can be a bit bossy at times.

Whether people like it or not, you always stand up for yourself.

What Number Are You?

Word of the Day:

I printed this and put it just outside my cube at work. After three weeks, I finally got a comment on it. Yes, it is my itellectual property.

MIUAWGA

(pronounced: Moo-e-ah-ga) An acronym from “making it up as we go along.” This behavior stems from a non-compliant culture that constantly allows forgiveness over permission and action over agreement.

Has Israel taken the wrong road?

With the current situation in the Middle East, there have been opinions from pundants and politicians and the media asking if Israel should be going into Lebanon and cleaning out the area of terrorists.

So far, the rest of the world has been taking a 'wait and see' attitude, especially the United States. To condone Israel at this point would be to admit that our methods have not, and probably will not, work in dealing with this type of enemy.

Israel has decided that to deal with a street fighting thug, one must become a street fighting thug with overwhelming force. If you kill my children and innocent civilians, then your children and civilians are also fair game. (Reference) If you change the rules of war and conflict, then we will start playing by your rules and ignore what the rest of the world says or believes.

So the rest of the world will sit back and wait to see if Israel looses its heart, its moral compass, and its compassion. We will also see if Lebanon, the only real democracy in the Arab world, can withstand the test of an stronger, invading force without collapsing in on itself.

As always, the issue is complex, but only because we insist on listening to so many voices. It could be that the days of hearing all sides is becoming numbered. Survival will require that we narrow the variables in world issues and get back to basics.

Israel has done George Bush a big favor. It will end up proving his point, that despots and totalitarian governments should be dealt with in the sternest measures.

Book Meme

I did this on my own volition becuase I do need to post on a regular basis. I was drawn to this meme, from Nancy, because it is about books:

Book Meme

1. One book that changed your life:
“Only a Trillion” by Issac Azmov. He is my hero and, when I write, I think of his style as my gold standard. His factual science books were my incentive to return to college and persue an engineering degree. I also enjoyed all of his fictional works. Remember, he is the man who gave humanity the “Three Laws of Robotics.”

2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
“A Wizard of Earthsea” by Ursula K. Le Guin. It is a wonderrful use of ‘magic as a science’ and give credence to the universe it creates. It is a personal tale, and with the subsequent two books, it is a good story of personal achievement and selflessness.

3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
“The Lord of the Rings” (all three in one book, as it was originally intended). There is so much texture in the story that it could be re-read several times and one could realize something new each time. Of course at my age, I would have forgotten the most of the book by the time I finished it, so I could re-read it over many times.

4. One book that made you laugh:
“Eleven on Top” by Janet Evanovitch. I have enjoyed all the Stephanie Plum books, but this one in particular made me laugh out loud when yet another automobile was destroyed.

5. One book that made you cry:
I cannot think of a book that made me cry. The most upset I have ever been reading a book was “The Shining” by Stephen King. It scared me so badly that I had to stay up all night reading it because I was too frightened to go to sleep. The most recent emotional issue I had was the latest Harry Potter book when Doubledore was killed. Came real close with that one.

6. One book that you wish had been written:
Lee Harvey Oswald’s autobiography.

7. One book that you wish had never been written:
Erich von Daniken and all his ‘quasi-theories’. He had a good presumption but distorted facts so badly, to prove his theory, that he broke the morality of science for the sake of selling a book.

8. The book you are currently reading:
An Anne Rule book that I borrowed from my late father’s library. It is a series of ‘true detective’ stories. I read her book “Green River Running Red” and nejoyed it. I thought this would be worth reading.

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
I have been trying to finish “Moby Dick”, but the middle of the book is like drudging throught the heat of a summer afternoon in the dessert. I started it on an airplane trip and now it sits in my read pile, haunting and teasing me to finish.