28 February 08 - 11:16Close enough for government work

You Work for the Government When:

* The process becomes more important than the product

* You don't see anything wrong with attending a meeting on a subject you know nothing about

* You feel you contributed to the meeting just by being there

* You stop raising issues because you know you will be the one solving them.

* You fly first class across the country to attend a conference with 100+ people to determine why your current project doesn't have enough money

* Your biggest loss from a system crash is that you loose your best jokes.

* You work for an acronym, on an acronym, and your job title is an acronym

* You understand the rationalization of an acronym composed of acronyms

* You know that the location of a meeting is directly related to its importance.
  (1) A meeting at Fort Hood requires a subordinate or a contractor
  (2) The same meeting at Lake Tahoe requires your personal attention

* You've sat at the same desk for 4 years, done the same thing, but have had 4 different business cards and worked for three different agencies.

* You can name the project leader of more than 10 projects including your own, but still can't explain in the simplest terms what they do.

* You realize that a paperless office is impossible. Actually, you believe it is possible, just not in your agency.

* You keep documents/manuals on projects that have been long since canceled.

* Your supervisor doesn't have the ability to do your job.

* You think lunch is just a meeting to which you drive.

* Fun is when issues are assigned to someone else.

* Dilbert cartoons hang outside every cube.

* Your relatives and family describe your job as "works with computers."

* You only have makeup for fluorescent lighting.

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27 February 08 - 22:19Microsoft never impressed me, really!

As those of you know that have read my blog, I have a level of disdain for Microsoft regarding its "abuse of power" with regard to competition. This revolves around my growth through the various stages of personal computers. Again, here is what I see. Let's compare Linux, Windows, and Apple OS from a very top level view. I do not support unfair practices.

Learn a word. The word is API which is actually an acronym. It stands for Application Programming Interface. It seems that this is where Windows (e.g. Microsoft) screws up.

The UNIX folks provide adequate APIs (they used to provide source code, but have changed that policy), next, the Linux folks go one step further and provide not only APIs, but source code (the actual computer program that comprises the operating system), Apple provides APIs and is moving toward Linux as it's undferlying operating system. Apple APIs are apparently extensive and adequate and the part of the operating system that is familiar to programmers may actually lay on top of Unix. No matter how you cut this technically, the company that lags in the API department is Microsoft.

Someone always has to be the worst. The fact is not that Microsoft is the worst in providing programmers with adequate APIs, it is the reason. The long suspected reason for providing inadequate programming interface information is to give Microsoft a leg up in functionality of their software. This is generally considered the behavior of a monopoly. both here and in Europe.

Today Microsoft is being fined a huge 1 billion four hundred thousand dollar fine in Europe. The fine stems from a 2004 ruling that requires Microsoft to disclose "complete and accurate" technical information (APIs) that would allow rivals to develop products that would work with Windows. Apparently they still cannot bring themselves to do that.

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27 February 08 - 11:55A couple of old guys

Two old guys, one 80 and one 87, were sitting on their usual park bench one morning.

The 87 year old had just finished his morning jog and wasn't even short of breath. The 80 year old was amazed at his friend's stamina and asked him what he did to have so much energy.

"Well, I eat rye bread every day," the 87 year old said. "It keeps your energy level high, but best of all you'll have great stamina with the ladies.

"The 80 year old was quite interested, especially in the part about "stamina with the ladies," so on the way home he stops at the bakery. As he was looking around the store a lady asked if he needed any help.

He said, "Do you have any rye bread?"

She said, "Yes, there's a whole shelf of it. Would you like some?"

On the theory that if a little is good, a lot is better, he replied, "I want 5 loaves."

She retorted in surprise, "My goodness, 5 loaves... by the time you get to the 5th loaf, it'll be hard."

Shaking his head, the old guy replied, "I can't believe it, everybody in the world seems to know about this rye bread stuff but me."

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26 February 08 - 20:30Moving On

Its time to move on.  Although one of the things my Dad taught me was to be a good worker and make sure you work without the need to be constantly directed, it isn't always enough.  Sometimes, in this day and age it seems that your accomplishements are not as important as the way you delivered them.

Anyway, it was time to go on to the next assignment, I just don't know what that will be just yet.  I have a lot of interests and the ability to assimilate new things very quickly.  That helps to get things going.

I have worked at a wonderful variety of projects over the years and with a wonderful assortment of people.  Let me fill you in.

I put some of the things of my work in the picture. Six sigma is the most prominent.  Lower case sigma is the Greek letter used for a standard deviation from the mean in statistics.  Huh??  Sigma is a number that is adjusted so that it always will allow the range between six of them to include no more than 3 defects in 1,000,000 products.  The exact number is 3 point something, but if you get to 4 you have missed it.  This is a pretty high level of quality, but not impossible or expensive to achieve if done correctly.

I also included a set of rollforming tools.  Rollformers are wonderfull ways to create simple metal shapes like gutters and stuff.  I have been involved with rollformers which make parts of grills and registers for air distribution systems.

You can also see a couple of steel coils and an ethanol molecule.  Add some fiber optics, and that is what I have been doing.  Which will I be doing next?  I don't know, but I do know I hate not doing anything!!

Later....

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25 February 08 - 08:08Major change within my lifetime

I have been doing a bit of reflection today and asked myself the question, "What has changed the most in your lifetime?" My answer might surprise you, except for the fact that you can look at the picture and pretty much figure out where I am going with this.  The answer is, "The public perception of cigarettes."When I was a kid and until I was in my twenties, cigarettes were considered a socially acceptable thing to do.  It was not only an accepted behavior to smoke, it was the behavior of those "in the know," Cigarettes were considered a social asset in many situations. In fact, you simply were a wimp if you did not smoke.  
Thinking back, my Dad quit smoking in the 1950's.  I quit (for the last time) in the 1990's.  When I quit all of the evidence said "don't smoke."  When my Dad quit, he had to figure it out for himself.  It made him cough, it made his chest hurt, he was short of breath when he smoked.....  He had to decide on his own that, "this smoking is not good for me!!"

Some unscientific comparisons and pseudostatistics on the topic...

• In the 1960's you were almost in the majority if you smoked, now you are definately in the minority.
• It was a man's world in 1966, the peak year for cigarette smoking, as 52% of men smoked, but only 34% of women.
• In that same year (1966) in the 21 to 50 years age group over half of all people, male or female, smoked.
• In those days you could smoke practically anywhere, you might ask first in some locations, but usually nobody turned you down.
• You could smoke in restaurants, bars, and outdoor sports such as baseball and football games, airports, airplanes, bathrooms, your workstation in the office or factory, in fact, almost anywhere.
• All movie stars smoked in the movies or at least held a cigarette to look sophisticated.
• Doctors, athletes, and other important and impressive people endorsed smoking in advertisements.
• When my Dad was in the service during WWII cigarettes were almost considered medicinal!!
• You were considered more viral if you smoked in the days prior to 1975, probably the opposite now, eh?

Now let me relate some of the more obvious changes in smoking limits in the past 40 years or so.

• In the 1970's smoking in college classrooms was starting to be limited.  
• Smoking areas were introduced on campuses about the same time.
• Although bars were still smoking havens, restaurants started to set up smoking and non-smoking areas.
• By the 1980s special smoking areas were set up in airports and smoking on domestic flights were banned.
• In about the same timeframe, non-smoker life insurance rates started popping up.  They are standard now.
• By the end of the last century smoking all areas were eliminated in almost all airports.
• In the 1990s no smoking zones started popping up all over the place and smoking in the workplace has been eliminated.
• Most indoor public areas are now "smoke free."
• Now there are areas where you cannot smoke in your own car under various circumstances and cigarette lighter holders in cars are becoming electrical outlets.
• Today about 1 in 5 or 20% of all adults smoke, roughly half the percentage of the 1960s.

The price of cigarettes is enormous in this day and age, cigarettes are now 10 times their cost compared to the 1960s.  Even gas prices have not gone up so much, although in the last year or two it is comparable.  Cigarette costs are mostly due to taxes, however.

Changes in transportation would be next major change that surrounds my lifetime, but not really within my lifetime.  Lately I have been pondering the advance of railroad transportation starting in the mid 1800's followed by the rise of the automobile in the mid 1900s.  What will happen in the middle of this century?  Retrenchment? Advance?  Hard telling, but it is fun to think about it.

The rugged guy in the Marlboro ad?  He was always called the Marlboro man, was played by a variety of rugged types, and was often a cowboy, rodeo star, or athelete.  At least two of the men who modeled for the part died of lung cancer including Wayne McLaren and David McLean. Mclaren, the Marlboro man of the 1970s was a rodeo star.  He died young.  He contracted cancer at the age of 49 and died less than two years later in July of 1992.

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24 February 08 - 02:11Understanding the Lisbon Roller Mill

I have had a great interest in the history of Lisbon, North Dakota. This was the city of my youth, and it is a great little town. One of the more interesting parts of the city's history it that of the flour mill which was situated just down river from the dam, and is, in fact, the reason the dam was built. It's possible for me to pinpoint a few dates from various pictures and information that I have gathered over the past year. In fact, I have included a map from the Fargo Southwestern Branch of the Northern Pacific Railroad which shows the mill as it was at it's Zenith.

The mill was built on the bank of the Sheyenne River by James Allen in 1882 shortly after Lisbon became a city. Although the dam did not have the drop (energy) he originally wished; it was possible to run the mill 8 out of 12 months of the year with supplemental steam power required for the remaining four months. Eventually the mill would be equipped with dual mill wheels capable of providing 100 horsepower. The mill wheels were of the turbine variety which means they were enclosed in a tube in which the water flowed through rather than the classic overshot wheel we think of when it comes to flour mills.

The mill was also a roller mill. Mill can be used as a general term for a device which breaks down coffee, wheat, corn, plastics, or whatever from large into small. In the case of a flour mill it is usually wheat into a while powder called flour. Typically a mill in the late 1800's would use a series of mechanical steps to grind and seperate the parts of the wheat kernel to make flour. The process was called the "new process" at the time and it was this process that allowed softer spring wheats from the Dakotas and Minnesota to be economically milled. Although there are many incremental steps and the process is quite complex, the milling process was truely automatic and millers of the day would be attending and adjusting machines rather than controlling or operating them.

Over the years the Lisbon Roller Mill would change names and owners several times. In 1890 the mill was run my M. O. Olsen under his name, although it may have been held by others. In 1898 the name was changed to Enterprise Milling Company. Somewhere in this time frame a warehouse was added on the south side (number 2). The view from the hill makes this addition appear to be at least 2 full stories tall, probably in the 20 to 25 foot range.

Although the mill was changing hands, the first big leap in operation of the mill occured when the mill was purchased by P. H. Sorenson in 1903. The mill was taken out of service and the 28 X 36 (number 3) elevator portion of the mill was added which apparently allowed for bulk handling of grain from wagons and additional storage of 20,000 bushels. This is the section of the mill which can be seen in the "across the river" view with the signature covered and angled exit ramp. The offset portion of the building (number 4) was also added (seen to the right in the same photo and visible in my computer generated model) in this general time frame. I think this is an additional grain bin which I think is simply for additional bulk grain storage capacity. Based on it's size of approximately 16 X 38 X 40 feet it should hold about 20,000 bushels.

It would appear the Sorensons also added additional warehouse capacity. I think this is the section I numbered six and I base the timing on written evidence entered by H. Sorenson at hearings in front of the ICC regarding shoddy railroad service. As part of his written description of the issues endured by the mill, and in fact all Ransom county residents, due to rail car shortages, a new warehouse is described. The last three major changes to the building will be to move the boiler location to the opposite side of the building, a final warehouse (1911?), and a tank style grain bin at the west end of the mill. These are likely improvements made by the Bemmel brothers after their purchase of the mill in 1908, although with the exception of the warehouse this is conjecture on my part at this time. One thing is for certain, the flour sold by the mill up until this time had to be transported across town to the railroad facilities to be shipped, an issue that was soon to be rectified by the new owners.

A real improvement apparently started as a request by the Bemmels in 1908 for a railroad spur which was eventually completed in 1911, although it appears some work was done in 1910. An excerpt of a railroad blueprint is included which shows the possibility of moving the 20,000 bushel bin on the west side of the building. I have studied papers from the Northern Pacific archives and there was much knashing of teeth between engineers and the Bemmels over this project. One misunderstanding was on the part of a railroad engineer who thought that the Bemmels would be willing to relocate the round bin. This would have been a major undertaking as there is machinery and conveyors under it and over it as well as a fairly substantial granite foundation involved. I don't know if the bin was moved or not. The final proposal is shown by dotted lines on the railroad blueprint.

The signs of the trestle across the Sheyenne can be seen in the mill picture which includes a small piece of the western approach to the trestle on the far left side of the photo. The Bemmels sold out in 1921, ten years after the rail spur was put in. The Dakota Milling Company never got off the ground as the mill burned in 1922, never to be rebuilt. In 1870 there were 22,000 mills similar to the Lisbon Mill all over the country, most small, most powered by water. The reason for not rebuilding can be reasoned out in looking at the way the mill had changed over the years and the realization that the transportation system was changing rapidly.

Two things are apparent when looking at the Lisbon Mill over the years. First, if you look at how the mill changed you can see that it originally purchased wheat in bags and delivered flour the same way. Even the Sorensons mentioned custom milling in their advertisements of the day and their willingness to barter flour for wheat. The mill was changing, however. It was becoming more efficient.

The milling process itself is automatic, but the addition of a captive grain elevator with storage facilities means bulk handling of grain, a major increase in efficiency. The addition of the railroad spur punctuates the second major problem the mill experienced. The mill was gradually becoming surrounded by the river on two sides and housing developement on the other two sides. The center of business activity for grain buying and sales was in elevators a mile away down the railroad tracks. For this reason additional expansion would have been difficult, in fact, the railroad tracks and mill were in such a tight spot that the railroad was unable to install the track using their usual minimums for curvature, clearance, and grade.

I would love to see more small industries like this exist in small town America today, but I cannot imagine the roadblocks the governemnt would have for the hapless individual who tried. The obvious two agencies would be the food and drug folks and, of course, the environmetal ladies and gentlemen. The original mill was built for $16,000. The legal costs for the paperwork involved in permitting by the two agencies mentioned would eat that up in no time; like the first week.

If you have any additional information on the mill or corrections to this article please send them to me at rlincolna@aol.com.

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22 February 08 - 08:08Under the wings of the Dallas legal system

I am not exactly sure how the "towing" business works in the Metroplex (Dallas Area), but it appears to be a business with low overhead.  I have now been involved with this fascinating enterprise twice, both times through my son.  The first incident involved his girlfriend's car being towed and the place they took her car in far south Dallas was worse than this one.

The place featured here is where my son's car was towed. Before you think this is something involving some sort of bad behavior or a penchant for parking in high risk locations, think again.  The son (he is in one of the pictures) was visiting friends who live in an apartment complex and his car was towed.  The towing is some sort of business arrangement between the apartment complex management and the towing companies under the auspices of city government.  One of the photos shows that your city probably allows this.

Josh didn't really take it too hard considering he doesn't make a lot of money and he was only visiting friends, not doing something really heinous like driving with an expired inspection sticker, or something dangerous like that. No, he was just giving friends a social visit and he figures he was probably parked in the wrong place.  If you're guilty, pay the fine.

What bugs me is the danger this type of thing puts ordinary citizens in just to extract their car from the "impound lot" or "storage facility" as this one is called.

Take a look at the neighborhood.  I have a shot looking across the street, of the front of the building, of Josh paying the invisible person behind one-way bulletproof glass, and the fee schedule. I probably was risking my life taking these shots because a woman's voice kept croaking from behind the mirrored glass that, "it's illegal to take pictures here, you aren't allowed to take pictures....."  Since I couldn't see her I figured I was imagining the scratchy voice and ignored it.  It could have been a delusion or hallucination brought on by the stress of being in this crappy neighborhood.

I certainly hope your car isn't towed the next time you visit friends.  This sort of thing is authorized all over the metroplex by most of the city governments and the place is NASTY with a capital "NASTY."

This might be a business opportunity here for someone without scruples or money.  This "lot" couldn't cost much, and judging from the look of things, this has got to be an insurance and bonding company's nightmare.  That's why I think the city is involved, but I don't really want to find out how.  This is not the armpit of Dallas or even the critch.  This type of place is the "butt-crack" of Dallas, and this activity is apparently sanctioned by the city.  Hey, this is Dallas, it can't be all that bad, right?  The big "D"?

Later.

Oh, yeah, this is a 24 hour facility.  I dare you go check this place out at midnight.  I double dog dare you!!!!

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20 February 08 - 20:36I was one of three brothers......

Interesting things you find out when you have sons, like ...

1.) A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.

2.) If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

3.) A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

4.) If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.

5.) You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

6.) The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

7) When you hear the toilet flush and the words 'uh oh', it's already too late.

8.) Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

9.) A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old Man says they can only do it in the movies.

10.) Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4- year old Boy.

11.) Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.

12.) Super glue is forever.

13.) No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.

14.) Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

15.) VCR's do not eject 'PB & J' sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.

16.) Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

17.) Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

18.) You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.

19.) Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.

20.) The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.

21.) The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.

22.) It will, however, make cats dizzy.

23.) Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

24.) 80% of Women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.

25.) 80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

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18 February 08 - 09:09Biggest beef recall in History

Why does it not surprise me to find out that the Humane Society and a California location are involved in the biggest beef recall in history.

It would appear this is more of a debaucle than a recall. The meat has probably been eaten and it appears that the meat packers may have not treated the food in a cordial manner in certain instances.

Jeesh.

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18 February 08 - 07:07Snooty Slooty

I worked for a gentleman in the seventies who was a very interesting and intelligent man. Although he was not a college educated man, he was able to live a reasonable lifestyle and he employed me while I was in college.

Let's call him Don. Don had all sorts of sayings, stories, etc. One of the things he used to say was he didn't believe in "taking people on" although he never gave much ground whenever I watched him in action. He used to say that it was better to get even than to get in a fight. "Screw with me," he said, "and you had better watch your back. You'll never know where or when I will jump out of a dark shadow and hit you with a two by four."

Remember Jack Ruby? Lee Harvey Oswald killed President Kennedy. A few days later, Jack jumped Lee in an underground parking garage in Dallas and shot him dead. It was easy to be sure this second killing happened since it was carried on live national television. Why did Jack kill Lee? He thought he would be a hero. He said he wanted to do the right thing for Mrs. Kennedy and the kids.

Smug little wormlike men such as Lee Oswald and Joran Van der Sloot attract the Jack Rubys and the Dons of the world. Some day he will be walking down the street and find himself dead. Already I find there is enough interest in this clown to justify a blog http://joranvandersloot.blogspot.com/ to keep track of his warped doings.

Joran's daddy may be able to distort justice in the Netherlands and Aruba, but some day Joran will wake up dead or maimed and his daddy will not be able to do a thing about it. This is my prediction for 2008. Who will do it? Who knows. I just know that people like Joran rub the wrong kind of people the wrong way. Something bad is likely to happen to him, too. Just like something bad happened to Natalie.

Shall we start a pool? I say 12 months or less.

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16 February 08 - 21:45Its off to NOT work we go....

Here is an article that is one of many popping up lately regarding the mobile housing FEMA erected after hurrican Katrina, the "big one," hit New Orleans.

"MEDHEADLINES • Feb 15th, 2008 • High levels of formaldehyde found in FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) trailers have forced the agency to intensify its efforts to find alternative shelter for Gulf coast hurricane victims. . . . [blah blah blah] . . . The reason for the high levels of formaldehyde is still being investigated by the Centers for Disease Control."

To solve one issues our government has, the Centers for Disease Control simply needs to turn on any handy computer with internet access (cleverly invented by Al Gore for their use) and Google the words formaldehyde glue, hit the "I'm feeling Lucky" button and be taken to www.healthgoods.com.  This site explains in simple form that the glue is used in construction. I bought a trailer (oops) mobile (oops) manufactured home in the seventies and it had a formaldehyde odor for a year after I bought it and I have no idea how long it had been on the "Manufactured Home Lot."

The real question is not in the article, however.  The real question is why are these loafs still in the trailers in the first place.  If they are homeless people or welfare types, the housing, although toxic, is probably nicer than what they might have for an alternative.  The welfare folks need to go panhandle elsewhere, and the homeless should be bussed to a homeless haven like Austin or Tucson.

There, two problems solved.

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14 February 08 - 21:55Jerry sent this

My friend Jerry lives in Florida.  I lived there, as well as in Arizona for a few years. During the winter both of these state get an influx of people from northern climates.  We called the retired folks who lived in the southern state during the winter and northern state during the summer "snowbirds" since they were like the migrating birds, they often had snowy hair, and they were escaping snowy climates.

Then, there are the folks who merely vacation from the north during the winter.  Since we lived in the area all year round and there were so many temporary residents of both kinds, it became somewhat of a pastime to decide who was a year round resident and who was not.

One of the games apparently is called "Spot the Canadian."  Look at the picture above and see if you can do it.

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13 February 08 - 20:51Happy Birthday to Me

It's my birthday.  I just got home from eating with the lovely Marla.  I usually don't take my birthday off, but this year I wanted a day to relax.  Marla was happy as well.  Due to her goofy schedule she was happy that we had the same day off.

For a good part of the day Marla went shopping (without me).  This didn't bother me much since I was feeling achy and yucky.  Then when Marla came home, she took me to a sad movie, the kind women like called the "Bucket List."  (I liked it, but it was definately a sad movie in many ways.)

Then when I finally got home I felt even crappier than I had earlier.  My temperature read out 100.4.  I hate being sick.  Hopefully I will be better by tomorrow and make it to work.

Happy birthday to me.

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12 February 08 - 21:28Black History Month

I have been pondering Black History Month.  I am glad that the name has not been changed to African American Month or whatever as I get tired of the political correctness crap in our country.  I have heard all kinds of horrid nicknames for the black race, but they are only words.  Their horrid nature comes from the beliefs of the person speaking them.

My thoughts have lately turned to Barack Obama.  His immediate heritage includes a black father and a white mother.  With a middle name that is a bit unfortunate, Barack Hussein Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to a Kenyan father and an American mother. According to the U.S. Senate Historical Office, he is the fifth black (African American) Senator in U.S.

I think I might consider voting for this guy (Barack, not Martin).  The last time I voted for a Democrat president I went "full boat."  I joined the Democrat party and became a delagate to the state convention in North Dakota.  I helped nominate Jimmy Carter.  A nice man, but a bad president.

I don't need any large amount of change, but it would be a landmark victory for a black man to become president in my lifetime.  I would rather this happen than to have the first woman president to be Hillary Clinton within my lifetime.

On the other hand, I am always amazed at the presidential candidate selection process.  In our country it is truely more a selection process of the people than anywhere else I am aware of.  Things have come a long way in my lifetime.

No matter what else I see in my lifetime, the likes of Martin Luther King top my list.  I was brought up believing that all people may not be equal in all ways, but they should not be judged based on any quality that does not make a difference.  If I hire an accountant, the person should be competent in that area, etc.  If I want to hire a perky waitress, the person need not be a rocket scientists.  Any person should not be able to be all things, but any person should be able to be what they are without regard to an arbitrary characteristic, for example, blackness.

What an exciting year this is.  Almost as exciting as the years of my childhood, but sadly, nothing can top those years when John Kennedy was president.  Ronald Reagan came very close, but the time was not the same.  Today, I watch Obama.

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07 February 08 - 22:01American Shame

In the world I grew up in there are big boys and children. Those who cannot stomach what it takes to make our country free are children. Here is an example:

"The New York Times
By SCOTT SHANE
Published: February 8, 2008

WASHINGTON — Gen. Michael V. Hayden, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, told a Congressional committee on Thursday that waterboarding may be illegal under current law, despite assertions this week from the director of national intelligence and the White House that the harsh interrogation method may be used in the future."

I see Scott Shane as a child.  He does not understand the significance of his tacit support of anti-American positions with regard to the agencies who make us safe.  Thank God Scott is only a journalist.  It would be better if he were in a job where people could not see or hear him, but at least he is not a policymaker or a member of a government agency I count on to keep me safe.

Sorry if you do not agree.  I believe we need to be strong, not a bunch of weenies.

Oh, well.  Later.

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06 February 08 - 20:52Uncle Sam - Our Friend

One of the things that our government does that has always stuck in my craw is the tax on incorrectly estimated taxes. What do I mean? Here is what.

Our Internal Revenue Service (IRS) goes bonkers when we are unable to accurately predict our taxes with a great degree of accuracy. They have been doing this for years. It works this way; if you do not give the government more in taxes through payroll deductions than you actually will owe, they penalize you. I think the additional tax is a significant jab, but I don't know for sure how much they "charge."

That means if you make $50,000 in taxable income a year and your screw up on withholding to the low side, you can expect to pay additional taxes of $1,250 (they call it a penalty, but it is additional tax just the same), or so I think. If anyone wants to truely get my vote, fix this.

When I look at Uncle Sam with his finger pointed at me I seem to think of a prostate exam.

Assume the position!!

If I am wrong on this let me know. I hate to hate the IRS for no good reason.

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05 February 08 - 21:06I approve of Waterboarding

Here's a quote for you:

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) 2-5-2008 - The CIA used a widely condemned interrogation technique known as waterboarding on three suspects captured after the September 11 attacks, CIA Director Michael Hayden told Congress on Tuesday."

What idiots would condemn waterboarding? I really don't understand you if you don't support it. It is a reliable technique to make your and my enemies give up information they would not otherwise give up by other means. These other means include such means used by our enemies such as cutting off limbs, burning, beating, and threat of death followed up by death.

Waterboarding is a technique which makes a person think they are going to drown. To be fair, let me include a portion of the Wikopedia description of the technique.

"Waterboarding is a form of torture that consists of immobilizing a person on his or her back, with the head inclined downward, and pouring water over the face and into the breathing passages. Through forced suffocation and inhalation of water, the subject experiences the process of drowning in a controlled environment and is made to believe that death is imminent. In contrast to merely submerging the head face-forward, waterboarding almost immediately elicits the gag reflex. Although waterboarding can be performed in ways that leave no lasting physical damage, it carries the risks of extreme pain, damage to the lungs, brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation, injuries (including broken bones) due to struggling against restraints, and even death. The psychological effects on victims of waterboarding can last for years after the procedure."

I have faith in our professional intelligence agencies to conduct interrogation in a safe and controlled manner. It would seem that many of the downsides of waterboarding could be mitigated by proper application of the technique. The fact that there are risks a good from a perspective of eliciting information that would otherwise not be forthcoming. If waterboarding were perfectly safe, it would reduce its effectiveness.

It would seem that the risks afforded a potential enemy of you and I are balanced by the potential for gaining information. It would also seem that there is not a rush to use this technique on the part of our agencies. If we only use namby pamby techniques we will show the world that we have become wimps. I prefer to not be a wimp and to be safer because I have a government that finances agencies with professionals who know how to administer waterboarding techniques to help ensure my safety.

Should I try the technique? Should you? No. There are many things that are safe in the hands of professionals that are not in the hands of hacks. To give up a technique like this as some sort of weak plea to ruthless individuals to not use this on us is insame.

Wake up America. The world can be a very unsafe place to be. Ask those who rode the twin towers to the ground on 9/11. For these reasons I do not widely disapprove of waterboarding.

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05 February 08 - 00:04More Old Lisbon - NPRR

Well, here it is, the route of the Northern Pacific Railroad in the year 1895. Actually, I have only printed the part that was what was always called "The Tri-State Area" when I was a kid. If you look, you can easily find Lisbon, ND which is my home town.

I was born in Grafton, ND and it can be seen on the NP line as well. Travel north from Lisbon to the end of the branch line and the Leeds name shows up. That was the location of my first real job out of college as a science and physics teacher. The tracks have been removed, I think, but back when I was teaching there were railroad cars parked there which became the subject of a photography class I taught for one of my years in Leeds.  Leeds was also a place I enjoyed.

The area shown is a part of the world which is very special for me. Until I was twenty years old, maybe more, this was my world. With the exception of a car trip to California and a couple of trips to Illinois, maybe a foreign country trip to Canada, this was my world.

In 1895 you could take a passenger train to any of the stations shown on this map without leaving the Northern Pacific line. If you wanted to change railroads you could go anywhere on the rails.

We have lost something. This was a national treasure, the railroads, that we let slip away.

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04 February 08 - 19:14Lisbon, ND Area in 1885

In the early 1880's the railroads were criss-crossing the country and by 1880 Lisbon was barely a town, the post office having just been established. The Northern Pacific mainline had a good start spanning North Dakota despite setbacks, and the Fargo and Southwestern NPRR branch line reached Lisbon in 1882, the same year the railroad bridged the Missouri River to the west on the mainline.

The following year things continued to boom in Lisbon and the city charter was obtained in 1883. The school district had already been formed two years before the time the city became legally recognized (in 1881) and community leader Charles W. Buttz had already completed the process of influencing Governor Ordway to designate Lisbon the county seat, thus beating out Bonnerville and Fort Ransom for that important distinction. It was also Buttz that had convinced the railroad to cross the river at the Lisbon site.  Both events were part of a deal made with Joseph Colton, indisputably the force behind the city's beginnings.

Here is a map of the Ransom County, North Dakota area in 1885 showing mail routes. The railroad has made it to LaMoure, and as crews continued the following year in 1886, Custer would be making his last stand at the Little Bighorn far to the west.

The mail routes are color coded. The color map printing process was relatively new at the time, and was used extensively. The railroads are the typical cross lined pattern (black), 6 times a week delivery is shown in black, three times a week in blue, twice a week in yellow, and once a week in red.

Today it is hard to find the remains of some of these mail stops, yet back then each was a new town with a bright future.

I have more Lisbon stuff for later. Its my kinda town.

Lincoln - default - Leave a Comment - § ¶