The Sangamon County Building Springfield Illinois

Sangamon County Court House Springfield, Illinois

Every great city should have a great building or two. Buildings go a long way to setting the stage upon which the local citizens play out their affairs. Springfield, Illinois isn't a great city. It's a rather small, and rather mundane town that has potential to become much better than it is.


Sangamon County Jail Springfield, Illinois

I guess if I had to make a list of important buildings in the city the Sangamon County Courthouse and Jail would need to be included. Some might object that such a building would be included on the same list as Abraham Lincoln's Historic Home, but I'm really looking at this from a local perspective. Therefore I do include the Sangamon County Building on the list of important buildings in Springfield.

The building isn't really much to look at. It's not ugly, but perhaps that's the best thing that can be said of it. If a gentleman said that of a woman it would be considered an insult, yet that's not how I intend my comment to be taken. Let me just say this, as far as jail houses, and courthouses are concerned it could have been far worse.


Sangamon County Building Springfield, Illinois

Still every time I look at the Sangamon County Building I wonder just exactly what kind of statement was being made by those who decided upon the style of the building for it reminds me entirely too much of some of the barn like churches on Springfield's west side - godly as they may be - still as ugly as sin.

Yet, I've already stated that I don't feel that the Sangamon County Building is ugly. The open spire which has been designed to reflect the sky does make a statement. I'm guessing it has something to do with redemption? The people locked up within this building may be prisoners, but it is God's will - could that be what the shiny spire symbolizes?

I'm an old fashioned kind of guy, and I would have found it inspiring to have some huge granite columns at the sides, and entrances of the building. A classical approach certainly would convey the power, the permanency, and the dignity which a courthouse, police barracks, and a jail house could use to their advantage. I'm guessing that the cost of a building employing classical design would have been prohibitively expensive. Thus we end up with a building that says nothing at all. The Sangamon County building isn't ugly, and it isn't beautiful. It doesn't speak to the community, but it functions - and I guess in a town like Springfield, Illinois we should be grateful enough for that.

Todd Rundgren - I Saw The Light

Todd Rundgren - I Saw The Light

I listened to this classic early 1970s rock tune by Todd Rundgren tonight while picking up some ice cream at Schnucks. Yup, that's how I'm going to start this little post About Todd Rundgren.

I recall having the song I Saw The Light stuck in my head many times as a youngster. It is an infectious tune. It comes from a time when guys were wearing long hair, wild clothing, and when mellowing out with friends meant passing the peace pipe while listening to albums with their best friends.

The aspect of I Saw The Light which I like the most is that the song focuses on just that one moment, that one incredible moment when two people become a couple. It's like magic, that moment, and to nicely capture it in a song is something song writers have taken to task for as long as there have been love songs. The moment takes place lyrically in just a glance, a sparkle of light, in a fraction of a second was all it took - and that is what is being shared in this song. Human beings are incredible at communicating their feelings when they want to, and sometimes even when they don't, but the heightened senses present when one walks hand in hand with a date put those communication skills into orbit.


Baby Boomer Rock Dedicated To Love

In the Seventies despite the complex, and strained relationship young Baby Boomers were having with their Greatest Generation parents (i.e., there was a very real generation gap) the one common feature that was evident in the music of both generations was the topic of love, and romance.

Baby Boomer's parent's songs were very romantic indeed, but the expectation for that generation was that holding hands, kissing, and hugging led to marriage first, then to the hanky panky. Baby Boomer rock songs were likewise romantic, and focused upon love, but the necessity of making it to the altar was vanishing , and this change was reflected within the lyrics of rock love songs.

The truth is that Baby Boomer's parents were having premarital sex too, but the Greatest Generation was so stilted by censorship that heavy levels of metaphor, and allegory had to be used to convey anything more than kissing, hugging, and holding hands.

Despite the cultural changes of the Sixties, and Seventies, and the slow demise of the prohibition on references to premarital love making within love songs love itself remained a vital ingredient in rock love songs. Just because couples could admit to premarital conjugation, and songs were written in a more open, and honest way didn't mean that love itself was suddenly obsolete.

One criticism leveled at Baby Boomers by their parents were that their songs were just loud noise with people screaming, another was that Baby Boomers were more interested in letting it all hang out, having sex that is, without taking the necessary step of professing love, and respect for those they were jumping into bed with. Yet, one only need to briefly review the themes of the most popular songs of the Baby Boomers to know that love reigned supreme.

Baby Boomer rock groups even managed to express complex forms of love in songs - philosophical love, love of one's brothers, love of the human race, which had never been expressed in popular Greatest Generation love songs. Many groups during the height of the alternative hippie culture performed songs which could be interpreted as conventional love songs, and also as spiritual love one another songs - just listen to Moody Blues, or the Beatles for examples.


Will Hip Hop Be Totally Forgotten - Probably.

Today (2008) many of the more popular "lyrics", in the more popular "songs" essentially dismiss love all together. There's mention of couplings, but more like that as seen on Animal Planet than anything else. Get down on your Knees B(#TCH! Is the attitude of the day, and romance is hard to find in the most pop of the most popular songs among today's youth. Love is seen as old fashioned, and weak. A lack of compassion, and tendency towards violence has replaced love as an underlying theme.

I don't quite know what will become of the current generation of pop music fans under twenty. Just what they'll be looking back at in those tender moments as middle aged couples is the question. Without catchy lyrics, melded with emotive melodies to help them hold onto such songs what exactly will make their beat driven rap memory worthy?

The pop music industry 0f the last fifteen years has been run by rich white men who have exploited black gang culture to harm black families, promote hatred of women, and mock any values which promote life, peace, and love. Teenagers desperate to prove to themselves that they are unique, and thus different from their parents have been fed a diet of trash, and don't always know enough to reject it for what it is.

This isn't an indictment of every hip hop song ever written. I've listened to many groups, and performers who were heavily influenced by hip hop, and the infusion of heavy beat within lyrics can be enthralling. Hip hop isn't new to the twentieth century, and it will be around for as long as people are, but replacement of lyrics with prose, and replacement of melody with percussion will never happen - not in the long run. Melody, and lyrics together form an emotive bond that helps the process of memory. Mixed with love and strong emotions song will beat rap a million times over again - that's why when you find yourself in a store wandering down the isles in the middle of the night you won't be listening to rap, or ever will - it's truly forgettable.


Love Beats Warner Brothers & Sony Corp Every Time

In the meantime at least I have an occasional chance to learn a bit about an artist from the past by checking out YouTube, and Google. One thing I've learned about Todd Rundgren is that he is on tour. The man has never stopped working in all the years since producing a string of hits in the Seventies. He's been working since the late Sixties. Rundgren appears to have quite a following. He deliberately changed styles, and refused to be trapped into playing just his hits over the years - staying committed to his progressive roots.


Todd Rondgren's I Saw The Light

It was late last night
I was feeling something wasn't right
There was not another soul in sight
Only you, only you
So we walked along
Though I knew there was something wrong
And the feeling got me oh so strong about you
Then you gazed up at me, and the answer was plain to see
Because I saw the light in your eyes

Though we had our fling
I just never would suspect a thing
Until that little bell began to ring in my head
In my head

But I tried to run
Though I knew it wouldn't help me none
Because I couldn't ever love no one, or so I said
But my feelings for you
We're just something I never knew
Until I saw the light in your eyes

But I love you best
It's not something that I say in jest
Because you're different, girl, from all the rest

In my eyes

And I ran out before, but I won't do it anymore
Can't you see the light in my eyes


Todd Rundgren - Sept 2007
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Todd Rundgren coming to Chicagoland!

Park West
01/31/2008
8:00PM

Tickets are currently available for this show. Price: $52.50

Treatments for Alzheimer's Not Far Off?

Treatments for Alzheimer's Not Far Off

Are safe, effective, and inexpensive treatments for Alzheimer's Disease just over the horizon? Several major pharmaceutical companies are developing treatments to combat the ill effects of amyloid beta on nerve cells within the brain.

Amyloid beta is suspected of playing a key role in AD. Amyloid deposits attach to nerve cells inhibiting the development of nerve connections responsible for normal neurological activity, including access to memory, and cognitive functioning.

As with any drug intended to treat brain related disorders getting a drug to pass the blood brain barrier is one of the first considerations. Only very small molecules can pass into the brain which makes the task of developing such drugs more difficult.

One approach which seems to hold great potential is employing drugs made with molecules too large to pass into the brain, but which bind to Amyloid beta within the blood. By introducing drugs which bind to, and inactivate Amyloid beta in the general blood stream the level of Amyloid beta within the brain can be reduced. This approach may reduce, or avoid possible adverse side effects within the brain itself.

The following excerpt was taken from the National Institute of Health's website, and reviews just one of many studies being conducted toward a treatment of Alzheimer's Disease:

Previous studies have shown that a protein called amyloid beta is toxic to neurons. Amyloid beta accumulates in the brains of people with AD, forming deposits called amyloid plaques that are a hallmark of the disease. Many investigators are looking for ways to reduce the buildup of amyloid in the brain, with the hope that such a treatment would slow or halt AD.

In the new study, investigators report a way to remove amyloid beta from the brain by introducing another protein that binds to amyloid beta and pulls it from the bloodstream. The amyloid is then removed by the kidneys, liver, and spleen. The investigators, led by Berislav Zlokovic, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, compare the treatment to a sink because it essentially drains the toxic protein away. The work was funded in part by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). It is reported in the September 2007 issue of Nature Medicine.

Dr. Zlokovic and his colleagues studied a protein called soluble low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein (sLRP). They discovered that sLRP normally binds to and inactivates 70 to 90 percent of the amyloid beta found in the body. However, levels of sLRP were approximately 30 percent lower in blood from people with AD than in healthy people. Much of the remaining sLRP in people with AD was damaged by a process called oxidation. The damaged sLRP was much less effective at removing amyloid beta from the bloodstream than the normal protein. "The binding capability is almost all lost," Dr. Zlokovic says.

The researchers developed a super-potent version of sLRP, called LRP-IV, and injected it into mice to see whether it could mimic the effects of normal sLRP. The treatment bound to amyloid beta and prevented it from entering the brain. It also reduced the toxic amyloid that was already in the brain.

“There is a balance between amyloid beta in the brain and in the rest of the body,” Dr. Zlokovic explains. “If we lower the level of amyloid beta circulating in the blood, the levels in the brain go down, too.” The effect is similar to the way statin drugs remove cholesterol from the bloodstream and help to prevent heart disease, he adds.

Dr. Zlokovic's research should be thought of as a "proof of concept" study in that it doesn't introduce any additional theory to how Alzheimer's Disease works, or how can be treated, but it does confirm that by lowering amyloid beta levels in the blood a drop of amyloid beta in the brain results.

Read below for additional information about the relevance of this study:

The study is the first to show that people with AD have reduced levels of sLRP and that sLRP helps remove amyloid beta from the blood, Dr. Zlokovic says. It is still unclear why sLRP levels are lower than normal in people with the disease, he adds. The researchers tested 40 people with AD for mutations in the sLRP gene and did not find any abnormalities. However, previous studies have shown that AD causes oxidative damage to many proteins. The oxidative damage to sLRP may trigger its breakdown, as well as inactivating it.

The findings suggest that LRP-IV might eventually be useful as a therapy to prevent or stop AD in people. However, the investigators first need to develop a form of the protein that could be tested in humans. They also need to conduct many additional studies to evaluate the drug’s safety and to learn more about how it works.

Taken into context against the backdrop of additional studies it seems reasonable to suggest that successful preventatives, and treatments for AD will be available within ten years.

Blog Posting While Using Voice Recognition

HAL 9000 - 2001 A Space Odyssey

This is my very first Post using voice recognition.

I am not so much disappointed with voice recognition as I am with my microphone.
Still I see significant improvement.
Now if only I could have a robot that would listen to me when I told it to do things.

This has taken a tremendous effort and time just to get this finished.

What's So Bad About Tom Cruise?

TOM CRUISE - church of scientology 09:36
Uploaded by conortalbot

Forbidden Video

Tom Cruise & The Forbidden Video

A Scientology Video has surfaced, and segments have been aired on news channels. As usual there's the sly innuendos that Tom Cruise is as mad as a hatter weaved within the stories, but after watching the video I was struck with how sane Tom is. I'd much rather Tom Cruise live next door than the average Hollywood star. And with Mr. Cruise's enthusiastic commitment to helping humanity I'd rather he be a neighbor or a friend than the average Joe. Still others may not give Tom a chance - the chance he deserves to be perceived without a veil of bigotry and intolerance being shoved between us, and him, and that's why I wrote this post. I hope that people listen to what the man has to say. You may not agree with Scientology, but listen carefully, and you'll hear the passion of a man who cares very much about the fate of the world, and who very much wants to help humankind. There's a highly creative, and charged mind at work here, and that enthusiasm has been used to label him as off the edge by others used to destroying celebrities that speak their mind.

Let's look at what Tom Cruise is saying. Is he saying anything else that any other highly religious person doesn't believe true of their religion?

If he were talking about a mainstream religion, he might be criticized in the same way as Mel Gibson has been for being highly religious in a Christian way, but would people be claiming he's insane? Well, people claim Mel Gibson is insane, but he also has millions of Christians who share his beliefs, and would never criticize him for believing in such a way.

So it seems to me that it's really a matter of size. Which religion is bigger than the other, and which one can beat up on the little guy.

I've taken a few quotes out of his video, and I've inserted the word Christianity next to it. Everything he claims for Scientologist have been, and are being claimed in the name of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc.


Photo: Tom Cruise

Yet people are trying to suggest that this video proves Tom Cruise in less than sane. That's a form of religious intolerance, and bigotry. I realize that Scientologist don't claim that Scientology is a religion, but it functions the same way, and we need to take time to make a comparison, and ask ourselves why Scientologist are such a focus of criticism.

Tom Cruise on Scientology Compared to Christians on Christianity

Tom Cruise said, I think it's a privilege to call yourself a Scientologist, and I think it's something you have to earn. But don't Christians say they think calling themselves Christians is a priviledge, and I that there are obligations to calling themselves Christians?

Why is what Tom Cruise said so different, or odd?


Tom Cruise said, a Scientologist has the ability to create new and better realities, and better conditions. Don't Christians believe that they have the ability to create new and better realities, and better conditions. Don't Muslims, and Jews believe the same thing too?

How is that crazy?


Photo: Tom Cruise in Tuxedo


Tom Cruise said, Being a Scientologist you look at someone, and you know absolutely that you can help them. But don't Christians feel that being a Christian you look at someone, and you know absolutely that you can help them? Don't Jews, and Muslims feel the same way?

Where's the harm in that?


Tom said, Being a Scientologist isn't like being anybody else, you know when you drive past someone at an accident you can't just drive by like everyone else, you know you have to stop, and do something, because you can help them.

But don't Christians expect more from their members, don't they say that being a Christian isn't like being anybody else, that they know when they drive past someone at an accident that they can't just drive by like everyone else? Isn't what Tom said similar to what Christians, Jews, and people of the Islamic faith say? Isn't what Tom Cruise said pure "Good Samaritan" in nature, one of the fundamental lessons of Judeo-Christianity?

What's so crazy about that?


Tom said, That's what drives me, to know we have an opportunity, to really help.
But don't committed Christians say, that's what drives Christians, to know they have an opportunity, to really help? Of course they do, just like Jews, and Islamic people who get a thrill out of the belief that they can help people.

Where's the irrationality in that?


Tom said, We can bring peace, and can unite cultures.
But haven't Christians claimed that they can bring peace, and unite cultures?
Of course they have, and so have the Jews, and people of Islam.

Who can take fault in that?

In Defense of Tom Cruise

Maybe it's not what Tom says, maybe it's how he says it, and he's received a great deal of criticism for laughing too loud, for breaking all the talk show rules, for being too enthusiastic. But aren't creative people expected to step outside the boundaries of the ordinary, of the little petty rules that we construct?

So what if Mr. Cruise seems a little manic, would we be happier if he were a drug addict, or worse - like so many other big time actors?


Photo: Tom Cruise

What we really should be asking is what his goals are. He repeatedly mentions helping other people as his central goal. He repeatedly mentions helping humanity.

That sure beats strapping on a suicide belt, and killing children in the name of God doesn't it? Yet the act of killing innocent women and children in the name of Allah is seen a heroic in the eyes of millions, maybe hundreds of millions of Islamic faithful.

Is Tom Cruise highly enthusiastic? It appears so, but any more so than most men are about football, sex, cars, and beer? Or when women start talking about their children?

Tom Cruise believes he knows the answers to some of the biggest problems that have plagued human beings for a very long time, and he's excited about being able to share his beliefs. Doesn't Tom Cruise's enthusiam beat the sense of depression, and hopelessness felt by a large percentage of the population? Is being very happy, and enthusiastic now considered a form of insanity? If so, then what type of society is this?

I've heard, and read a lot of hateful things being said about Tom Cruise, but in actuality isn't this criticism really just an attack on Scientology? And isn't the criticism of Tom Cruise's "odd behavior" just a way of getting around the general prohibition of attacking other people for their religious beliefs?



Photo: Tom Cruise with Family

Aren't the attacks on Tom Cruise just another way of a larger group of people attempting to stomp on a minority? Of a dominant ape trying to mount a smaller one? Of a gang attacking an individual? Isn't this vilification of Tom Cruise just a reflection of our desire to stamp out individuality, in the name of normalcy? If so, we need to look at ourselves, and why we are so frightened of allowing people the freedom to grow.

Could it be that we're frightened because we know that by being different, like Tom Cruise is different, that we'd subject ourselves to same criticism that Tom Cruise has been subjected too? And doesn't our submission to that fear, and our participation in that collective social attack on Tom Cruise make us quiet cowards, and not the "know betters" that we believe ourselves to be?

No one is asking anyone to join Scientology, or have faith in Mr. Cruise, but I say let's give Tom Cruise, and Scientology a break.

Springfield's Grand

She Was Once Grand


Then Fell Upon Hard Time


Men Abused Her And Used Her


And Then Neglected Her


But No More

Young Beautiful Blonde and Busted

Is Makeup Worth Going To Jail Over


Teen Age Girl: Oh my God, Kay's been arrested!

Old Man: Arrested?

Teen Age Girl: Yes, arrested!

Old Man: Why has Kay been arrested?

Teen Age Girl: Well, she called me up and said she couldn't find her car.

Old Man: Was her car stolen?

Teen Age Girl: No, they had it towed.



Ingredients Which Add Up To A Few Pennies Fetch Incredible Prices


Old Man: Who had it towed?

Teen Age Girl: I'm not sure.

Old Man: But how did she get arrested?

Teen Age Girl: Well, I don't want to say.

Old Man: Why not?

Teen Age Girl: Because I've done it too.

Old Man: Oh, God.

Teen Age Girl: It could have been me.

Old Man: What was it drugs?


Advertising Is The Single Highest "Ingredient" In Makeup


Teen Age Girl: No.

Old Man: Just say.

Teen Age Girl: Shoplifting, Kay got caught shoplifting.

Old Man: Shoplifting? My God what would she need to steal?

Teen Age Girl: Some eye liner.

Old Man: Some makeup? She stole makeup?

Teen Age Girl: Yes. I've done it too.

Old Man: But she has all kinds of money.

Teen Age Girl: This is it, I'm never going to do that again.

Old Man: It doesn't make any sense at all, you girls always get money.

Teen Age Girl: We do it for fun.

Old Man: You steal for fun?


Would You Ruin Your Career Path For A Few Dollars Of Paste Chalk and Pigment?


Teen Age Girl: Yes, we never take anything expensive.

Old Man: And now your best friend is sitting in a cage.

Teen Age Girl: Oh God, how are we going to help her?

Old Man: She needs to call her mother.

Teen Age Girl: No, she can't do that, she simply won't.

Old Man: Well, her father's dead so who else is there?

Teen Age Girl: Her boyfriend, but he's an asshole, and he'll beat her up.

Old Man: Beat her up?

Teen Age Girl: Yes, he beats her up.

Old Man: You mean to tell me Kay puts up with that?

Teen Age Girl: She loves him.

Old Man: But Kay is a beautiful girl that looks like a model, why would she let anyone hit her?

Teen Age Girl: I don't know, it's stupid. Can we bail her out?

Old Man: I have exactly three dollars until I get paid.

Teen Age Girl: Three dollars?

Old Man: That's all we have. Does she have a car towing card, or a credit card?

Teen Age Girl: Yes. I guess she can use that to get out.

Old Man: How much is bail set at?


Fa Fa Fa Fa Fashion

Teen Age Girl: $125.

Old Man: She has to go to court now, and will have to pay a fine.

Teen Age Girl: It's so stupid. And she doesn't know where her car is.

Old Man: Probably at a tow service. She'll have to buy her car out.

Teen Age Girl: My friend Jessie is coming over to pick her up at the County Building.

Old Man: All for stealing a a few dollars of over priced makeup from Kohl's.

Journeyman - A Love for a Lifetime - Review

Journeyman - San Francisco is the Setting for Most of the Journeyman Series

Journeyman - A Love for a Lifetime - Pilot Review

Journeyman (pilot) doesn't spend a great deal of time with character development, or setting the stage for the saga to come. Within minutes the central character Dan Vasser, played by Kevin McKidd, wormholes out of his domestic suburban San Francisco life in 2007 into the chaos of unexpected time travel.



Journeyman - Kevin McKidd as Dan Vass

In most time travel stories the time traveler pops into the past, and back into contemporary time instantaneously - that is not true in Journeyman. When Dan Vasser finds himself co opted into the role of savior of lost souls the time he spends in the past results in his disappearance in 2007.



Journeyman - Gretchen Egolf as Katie Vass

Dan's spouse Katie (Gretchen Egolf), friends, and brother Jack (Reed Diamond) take notice of Dan's disappearances, and come rapidly to the false conclusion that his ramblings about time travel are the result of a drug problem.



Journeyman - Reed Diamond as Jack Vass

The pace of the pilot is so quick that there's never much time to abandon one's sense of belief, which makes the pilot work. Of course with any pilot there are many questions which are left with the viewer about just where future episodes are headed, and what will become of the characters.



Journeyman - Monique Curnen as Nicole Gaines

The pilot has a throughly "modern" style (for this time). There are scenes in which the iPhone and bluetooth earset, 2007's cutting edge cellphone and trendy cell companion, are juxtaposed in the same act, and scenes with brick sized early model cell phoned. Cell phones which were considered cutting edge in their day, but which seem so laughable today. Perhaps as a reader from the future, you get a chuckle thinking of the iPhone as cutting edge? It's this effect that seems so interesting in the Journeyman. The creators of the series revel in their ability to step the viewer into the past. Who would have thought that 1997 would be considered ancient history?



Journeyman - Charles Henry Wyson as Zack Vass

Two thumbs up for this now apparently canceled series which can still be seen on the NBC.com website. With a writers strike in full force the series will likely remain available online, but for how long only a time traveler could say. If any NBC executives are reading this, please bring back Journeyman. The Journeyman was a class act from beginning to finish. The series had a luxurious feel to it. There was almost a movie like level of quality about it, and if it ends now, it is certain that science fiction fans will make reference to it for many years to come. Perhaps the series may be revived on the SciFi channel if NBC decides not to pick the show up again? In any case there's so much trash on television, just turn on MTV for example, that it's a sad thing to watch a good series like Journeyman suffer such an ignoble fate.


Journeyman - Christopher Warren as Neal Gaines

Journeyman Quote:

"Stories don't stress me out, deadlines - maybe".

Hillary or Obama? Barack or Clinton?

U.S. Presidential Candidate Senator Barack Obama

I haven't endorsed a 2008 presidential candidate yet, but I drive an SUV with an Obama bumper sticker on the back. Despite my implicit endorsement of Barack Obama, I plan to plaster a Hillary Clinton bumper sticker on the same bumper once it arrives in the mail.

It seems I'm undecided, kind of. And it's a bad place to be, for I usually have already chosen a candidate at this point in the Primaries.

This time it's different, but not for a lack of good candidates. I love the whole idea of throwing away my vote on Dennis Kucinich. That will show them that they can't railroad me into supporting another mainstream candidate! But wasted the vote would be. Even John Edwards, who I also very much agree with on most of the issues is beyond capturing the nomination. And that's what really matters in the end - viability.

Which candidate has a real chance at winning the party nomination, and which candidate has a real chance of winning in November are of utmost importance for me at this point in my life. That doesn't mean that I would ever vote for a candidate that I didn't agree with on most of the issues, but it does mean that I no longer want my vote to fail.

Every four years I hope I'm doing the right thing, and I vote for who I believe will help the majority of Americans, and the world. I make my choice based upon a variety of inputs including what I've read, and what I've seen in the media. I also listen to what other people have to say. Finally, I listen to my heart. I have to have a good feeling for a candidate before I can vote for them. I have to believe that the candidate is honest. I have to believe that the candidate cares about the issues, and about the people, and not just about themselves, and obtaining power.

The candidate I choose doesn't have to be able to accomplish all the things they say they want to achieve during their time in office. I'm too old and wise to believe that one man, even the President of the United States, can go it alone. The President must be a person willing to work with both sides of the Isle. They must compromise despite all their campaign pledges to do otherwise.

Many people have criticized President Bill Clinton for having endorsed many programs which cut back on entitlements, as well as his lying to Congress about having an affair. I never thought that President Clinton owed anyone, except Hillary an explanation about his affair, and many of the changes in the entitlement programs protected those programs from cuts during the Bush years. Despite what people say about Bill Clinton his time in office was marked by growing prosperity, and peace. He left the nation with budget surpluses, and a world filled with people who respected the United States. Mr. Clinton was capable of compromise. He was a "middle of the roader", and he was attacked from both ends of the political spectrum for choosing the middle as his starting point.

Nowadays when asked why he felt he had failed to succeed in capturing enough votes to pass his administration's national health care plan Mr. Clinton wisely admits that he had asked for too much too soon from a Democratically led Congress. He admits this was his administration's biggest failure, and that if he had only asked for various smaller elements of the same package he could have achieved his goal. That's a big lesson for any President, and at the center of this learning process was Hillary Clinton. Despite her idealism she has certainly learned that compromise, and taking small cumulative steps is the way toward progress in the long run. This is not the Great Depression, and changing the national health care system despite the ongoing, and ever worsening crisis in health care won't come in one piece of legislation. Hillary certainly knows this better than anyone.

Now I have to ask, what would happen if Hillary Clinton were president? Would she be like Bill? Would she be able to accomplish what so many U.S. presidents have failed to do in the past - transition the nation to a single payer health care system? And what about all of the other programs which could help the middle class which have largely been turned upside down by the Bush Cronies? Would Hillary be able to make the difference so many people want?

My guess is that it all depends upon who is in Congress. If the Democrats take additional seats in the House, and Senate then Hillary could work toward creating a government that responds to the needs of the majority of people in this nation - instead of just to the rich.

But if Democrats fail to land additional seats then no matter how hard Hillary tries much of the legislation she hopes see passed might languish.


U.S. Presidential Candidate Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

And what of Barack Obama?

My heart tells me he is the more exciting candidate. He is a good looking young man, with a beautiful young wife. They are both well educated professionals. The Obama family are in fact this decade's Kennedy family. There's a lot of romance there, a lot of excitement, and people feel that. This is not to say that Mr. Obama isn't idealistic, or honest for he appears to be both. Nor is it possible to claim that Senator Obama isn't highly intelligent, and eloquent for he is impressive on both scales. It's just that he does shine very brightly indeed over the quiet, even awkward Hillary Clinton when placed on the same stage.

And perhaps that's why younger voters are so attracted to Obama, but it doesn't explain why I feel drawn to supporting his candidacy. For the record I am proud to say that I voted for Mr. Obama in his Senatorial campaign. He was the best candidate, and we Illinoisans were fortunate indeed to end up with a Senator so able as he. Yet what do I see in Obama, or what do I want to see in Obama that makes me want to support his candidacy for the nation's highest office?

And that's where I find myself trapped. Do I vote for an individual because of his potential, and his sincerity, or do I vote for a woman because of her years of experience, and her practical willingness to compromise?

It really all depends upon Congress. If the Democrats gain additional seats in the House, and Senate, and take the Executive Office as well, then it won't matter whether it's Mr. Obama or Ms. Clinton that sits in the oval office, but if the legislative branch is as nearly divided as it is today the nation will need a cold blooded realist, and a president willing to compromise - one with experience on the Hill. Senator Clinton comes with that experience, while Mr. Obama does not.

So despite all of the excitement, including my own, about supporting Barack Obama I'm quietly convinced that Hillary Clinton would make the better president.

Having said that, I'm not sure if she'd make the better candidate, or if she can win the presidency. I feel Barack Obama has a better chance of winning in the general election. Which brings me full circle, for I don't want to vote for someone if I think that person has no chance of winning.

So I'm watching, and waiting for a sign that Hillary Clinton could win in November, and I'm waiting for a sign that Barack Obama is a very fast learner, and despite his hope to be a president for change that he'll also be able to play the Washington game so well that at least some of what he promises will come to fruition.

The coming weeks will tell the story. We are living in an interesting historic moment. Who will fight for the middle class this coming November? Who will take the government back from the evil regime that grabbed control seven years ago? Hopefully it will be either Senator Clinton, or Senator Obama, and that much I can endorse.


Democrat Donkey: I Endorse The Democratic Party 2008 Presidential Candidate

Meet Oreo - The Magic Pygmy Hamster

Oreo: The Magic Pygmy Hamster

Meet Oreo, our hamster. Well, actually she's not mine, so much as she's my daughter's pet. Still she's a member of the family. Shhhhhhhh! Just don't tell any of our four cats that she's in the house.

Oh, why do we call her our magic hamster?

Because she's still alive in a house with four cats.

My Photograph Will Be Published!

I've rewritten this post a bit which you can do on a blog.

All day yesterday morning I was in a funk. I recall my supervisor asking me if I wanted to draft up a letter for her, and I agreed - but I didn't understand a word she said. Why?

Because I was thinking about how I had missed my opportunity to have a photograph which I took published in a "Lincoln Book". I admitted to my supervisor that I was distracted, and explained why, and she told me it was totally understandable, and recommended I "work through it". Neat advice.

Well I eventually got my focus, but I was still hoping beyond hope that I managed to respond in time to the author's initial inquiry. I told myself that book publication deadlines are often missed, and guess what I was right, for the author responded last night saying that he had delayed publication, and that the photograph which I captured of the Abraham Lincoln Volk Bust would be included in his soon to be released book.

I know the title, and the author's name, and will release this information soon - within a few weeks - as the book will be published very soon.

For now I can say that I'm happy. I know happiness is fleeting, but I feel that way right now, and wanted to gloat? No, I wanted to share this news with my fellow bloggers, and with the world. While I have had my photographs regularly published in the Illinois Times I will admit that I am a loyal fan of Abraham Lincoln. I've spent many an afternoon watching Lincoln related seminars on CSPAN, or reading Lincoln related books. Growing up in the heart of the Land of Lincoln has had its affect.

And with the upcoming Bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth to know that my name, and photograph will appear in a book on Abraham Lincoln is a rather incredible privilege for me.

Blu Ray Is Like Ancient History

Meet The Optware Holographic Versitile Disc (HVD).

The Sony Blu Ray High Definition DVD stores a whopping 25 Gig per layer. A dual layer Blu Ray disk will therefore hold up to an amazing 50 Gigabytes!

Really incredible.

However, the capacity of the cutting edge Blu Ray is dwarfed by the Optware HVD.

The Optware HVD has a current capacity of 3.9 Terra Bytes (expected to increase).

One Optware HVD holds the equivalent of:

Six thousand CDs.
or
Eight Hundred and Thirty DVDs.

It makes the Sony Blu Ray format look puny.

Using standard video compression (e.g., MP4) one Optware HVD disc can store up to a year of continuous video recording. The same Optware HVD disc could store several decades of audio recording using standard audio compression (e.g., MP3).


Optware HVD versus DVD

The Optware HVD is the same size as a DVD, and operates with the same type of drive equipment - meaning no enormous cost are involved in manufacturing, or distribution.

Obviously there are differences in lasers (there are two, one red, the other green), servo controls, firmware, and software, but the major breakthroughs have already been accomplished, and the HVD format is now being funded, and moved into launch stage by a consortium of major Japanese electronics firms.

The Optware HVD - Coming soon to a Best Buy near you!

Winter Sun Day - January 6th 2008

Photo: JeromeProphet - Winter Sunset - Jerome, Illinois - January 6th 2008

Today's temperature rose into the sixties. That's right the cold spell which took temperatures down to single digits last week broke, and now we have Spring weather in January.

Tomorrow will bring even warmer weather, perhaps thunderstorms - yes, that's thunderstorms, not snowstorms in January (we're living in Florida now).

I used my time wisely, and washed my SUV, being careful not to spray myself with the freezing cold water coming out of the hose. I also swept out the garage. I probably could have mowed the lawn, but decided that would have to wait another four to five months.

The sun set spectacularly, and I captured some pretty photos. The photograph was taken at sunset Sunday evening, January 6th, 2008. It certainly seems that the temperature extremes that once were so rare have become rather the norm in this age of global warming.


Photo: Winter Sunset - First Week January 2008 - Jerome, Illinois

So might suggest that if we simply average out the temperatures that everything is perfectly normal, but that's all to simple, and deceitful way of portraying what is happening of late with our weather.

My guess is that there is simply more energy trapped within the atmosphere, and that this is causing the huge temperature swings which we are seeing more frequently. I know I should feel happy that the frigid cold temperatures which have haunted the Midwest for weeks have finally been driven off, but the fact that it is in the sixties in the first week of January in the Midwest is disturbing.

This Just Makes Me So Upset

Photo: Unbearded Lincoln

Unbearded Lincoln is based upon cast made by Leonard Volk, ca. 1900. Leonard W. Volk was granted a Design patent for this bust on June 12, 1860. The bust was on loan from the National Park Service/Lincoln Home National Historic Site.



I'm cleaning out my email inbox which has become super cluttered with junk mail and this is what I found:

Dear Mr. Prophet,

I saw your August 27, 2005 blog's photograph of the
Leonard Volk bust of Abraham Lincoln. It's a beauty!
I had read the story of Volk making his head cast, but
had never seen the resulting bust.

I am writing (and publishing) a book about Lincoln and
would like to include your photo (converted from color
to gray-scale). I'll give you credit, of course, and
I'll send you a copy of the book, too, which I expect
will be out this calendar year. Want me to include
your URL in the photo credit? It is your photo,
right? :-)

Thank you, and regards,

I've kept the author's name a secret for now.

Just great. I wrote the author back, but I guess he's probably published his book already.

My fifteen minutes passed me by, and I didn't even know it.

In the meantime I'm unsubscribing from like fifteen different newsletters - this has got to stop.

UPDATE: I am just so depressed about this now. I won't say why. O.K. I will say why. The book was published. And it wasn't a small unrecognized Lincoln book. I even read an article about it on CNN, and then at the SJ-R. And then I blogged about it!

Yes, I blogged about a story about a book which my photograph could have been part of without even knowing it.

I'm out of here - time to go open up some beers.

UPDATE FROM SEVERAL DAYS LATER: I didn't actually blog about the upcoming book. I was thinking of another book, or actually it was probably just a paper, or study. AND the photograph above will be included in the soon to be published book. Yea!

The Mysterious Fog of Springfield, Illinois

Photo: JeromeProphet - The Mysterious Fog - Iles & Veterans Parkway - Springfield, Illinois

How many of those who lived in ancient times were lost to, and never returned from the mysterious fog I do not know. How many trains, planes, ships at sea, and automobiles have been lost to a similar fate I could not say, but I do know this - fog is a killer.

The mysterious fog compresses space into a finite zone as it fills every little space. Yet it is also true that the mysterious fog expands space in a most uncanny way, for what can not be seen becomes an idea - and ideas are infinite.



Photo: JeromeProphet - Automobiles In The Dark Mysterious Fog Of Springfield, Illinois

The mysterious fog creates beauty, by destroying the mundane. Light is transformed into beams of light, and halos. Within the mysterious fog light becomes spectacle, and darkness becomes enveloping.

The mysterious fog asserts itself into reality, yet it also evades our attempts to define it, for the mysterious fog possesses both substance and yet remains ethereal. The mysterious fog is magical.

The mysterious fog is alive, for it lifts, and descends upon us, it both surrounds us, and then disappears. We grasp at it, and find nothing. It is everywhere, yet nowhere.

The mysterious fog creates possibilities. Some too horrible to ponder, for there might just be monsters lurking within - waiting - for you.



Photo: JeromeProphet - Sonic in the Fog - Iles Ave - Springfield, Illinois

You say it's not so, that such things are impossible, but how can you be sure of anything - for you too are within the mysterious - fog.

End Of The Tunnel

Photo: JeromeProphet - Tunnel

One can't help but think what a long dark time it has been under the current regime. The people of the United States fall into three camps. Those that cheer on the destruction of the democratic republic, those that dread the end of their freedoms and rights, and those that couldn't care less.

I'd say most people living in the U.S. are so busy just trying to survive that they hardly have time to care much about greater issues. That's what those in power rely upon to stay in power, and to get away with the abuse, and neglect they call leadership.

It is precisely due to the fact that such an important decision as electing a President is left up to so many who feel that they could care less, yet vote, that we ended up with the buffoonery of George W. Bush, and Dick Cheney.

The nation went from a time of balanced budgets under President Clinton, peace, and growing prosperity to one of constant war, and deficit spending. A huge tax cut was made permanent for the ultra rich at the expense of social betterment for the rest of the populace.

Under the new regime the old GOP constituency, the military industrial complex, could be paid off again as defense spending went haywire - while our infrastructure was allowed to crumble.

Many thinking people lost hope.

Why not occupy Iraq using trumped up charges, and use deficit dollars to do so? The pork barrel would be filled for those connected to the traditional GOP lobby - in the name of the never ending "War of Terror" of course.

How could a people, as if frightened children, run to and endorse such a petty despot? How could a people sell themselves so short?

The right wing religious zealots who control the Republican party will no doubt pull off the nomination of their chosen candidate. The Democratic party will eventually select a candidate that is barely electable. We've seen it before - image over substance. People will look for the sound bite, and sound bites are what the people will get. The next President of the United States will be elected on image, just as the last one was.

And in November the people will once again take a stab at choosing the best candidate, and many will vote for what they feel is the lessor of two evils.

The nation's infrastructure will continue to fall apart, the health care crisis will not be dealt with, the raging trade deficit will not be reduced, the budget deficit restarted by G. W. Bush will not be ended, the war in Iraq will not be stopped, and on, and on, and on.

But the rule of the white Christian male will be continued, and that is what is so important to those who vote based upon image. They want the assurance of the great white father. They want to run to their great white daddy to take care of them in a time of never ending uncertainty - even if that great white daddy will betray them in the end.

The fact is, that no matter who wins this election the nation will be better off than the current regime. Given a choice most Republicans would have chosen another candidate than George Bush had they known what he was going to do.

I see light at the end of the tunnel, and it gives me hope, but when we reach it I'm not so sure if it won't lead us back down into yet another dark place.

We Were In That Crowd

Obama Campaign Advertisement

I'll never forget the incredible freezing cold of that morning. When I watch this Obama advertisement I know I was in that crowd, one of those freezing people huddled with thousands of others - hoping to see in the man something we could latch onto. Something that would give us hope that our nation wasn't beyond repair.

Nearly one year ago Barack Obama announced his run for the Presidency on the grounds of the old state capitol in downtown Springfield, Illinois. Now today the people of Iowa will vote for who they believe will make the best President. Let's hope they make the right choice.

The Three Kings - Minus One - Part Two

Photo: The Three Stooges

Disclaimer: All similarities between the characters in this sketch, and anyone living, ever have lived, or other fictional characters is purely coincidental.

Scene Two:

Knight: In the name of the Three Kings I command you to open this door!

Silence

Knight: Boy, go to the door.

Squire: Yes Sire.

Knight: See if it opens.

Squire: Might I try knocking first?

Knight: If you must.

Squire: (Knocking) Is anyone home? Is anyone here?

Silence

Knight: Just try opening the door.

Squire: Yes Sire. Sire, it appears to be locked.

Knight: Locked? Now that's odd.

Squire: Open this door! Open this door!

Knight: We know that you're in there. I command you to open the door!

Door creaks open slowly revealing just an eye.

Mary: Who is it?

Knight: I am the brave Knight RayShoop or west Springfield.

Mary: Who?

Knight: It doesn't matter who I am. The Three Kings demand your audience immediately.

Mary: The Three Kings? Last I heard we had but one King.

King of Canoe: We have traveled far good lady, and wish to speak with Mary, and Joseph.

Mary: Are you a King?

King of Satellite: Good lady, indeed he is, as am I.

Mary: (speaking to the Knight) And you would be the third king?

King of Canoe: Actually he's our guard. The third king was unfortunately indisposed.

King of Satellite: Good lady please tell us where Mary, and Joseph live.

Mary: Well it all depends upon why you need to speak to them.

King of Canoe: We mean them no harm. We wish only to pay homage to the baby Jesus.

Mary: The baby Jesus?

King of Satellite: Yes, do you know of him? We have traveled a very great distance!

Mary: I know of no baby Jesus, but I do know of Mary, and Joseph.

King of Canoe: Now we're getting somewhere. Just point us in the right direction then.

Mary: You need travel no further, for I am the Mary you seek.

King of Satellite: Splendid! And the baby Jesus?

Mary: Our daughter Jesus is no longer a baby. She was born twelve years ago.

King of Satellite: A twelve year old daughter, how very special indeed!

King of Canoe: Don't forget why we are here King Satellite!

King of Satellite: I meant nothing by it King Canoe.

King Canoe: I know you all too well King Satellite, but let the good lady continue.

Mary: I'm afraid you have reached us at a particularly bad time.

King of Canoe: Bad time?

Mary: Pardon me King Canoe, but your face seems familiar.

King of Canoe: I'm not quite sure what you're getting at.

Mary: Yes, now I remember, you're from these parts - just a few miles west of here!

King of Canoe: I assure you my lady we have traveled a great distance.

King of Satellite: Yes, a very great distance, and all this talk is tiring. Now where is Jesus?

Mary: I'm afraid I can't let you in. Jesus isn't feeling well.

King of Canoe: We won't stay long, we just want to bestow some gifts upon the child.

King of Satellite: Yes, upon the child.

Mary: Gifts?

King of Canoe: Yes, I have a jar of Sarcasm Balm mixed with oils of Witty Remarks to offer.

King of Satellite: And I have a box filled with Smug Superiority incense for the Christ child.

Mary: What kind of gifts are those? Please now, leave!

King of Canoe: You must let us speak to Jesus! Where is the man of the house?

Mary: Joseph?

King of Satellite: Yes, where is Joseph. He's bound to have more sense than you.

Mary: As I have said now is not a good time.

King of Canoe: Please explain. I am not used to being denied what I want.

Mary: He's gone mad! He's been drinking like a fish, and well, he's lost his mind.

- Mary Breaks Down In Tears -

King of Satellite: Joseph, or Jesus?

Mary: Jesus is our daughter. Joseph, my husband has run off threatening to do himself in.

King of Canoe: Do himself in?

Mary: Yes, and sweet Jesus is very concerned. She has threatened to do herself in too.

King of Satellite: But we have traveled very far, and have our sacred gifts to bestow.

King of Canoe: Maybe perhaps we could speak to the child?

King of Satellite: Yes, perhaps you could show me to her bedroom.

King of Canoe: Now that is simply enough. First my daughter, now Jesus?

King of Satellite: I meant no harm! I only seek a youthful bride.

Mary: Her arm has a slash mark from the wound she put upon herself. I think you should go.

King of Canoe: This has been one big waste of time. Let us go now.

King of Satellite: And I traveled so far. Perhaps then one of your daughters King Canoe?

King of Canoe: Just shut up.

End Scene Two

The Three Kings - Minus One

The Three Stooges

The Three Kings - Minus One
By JeromeProphet

Disclaimer: All similarities between the characters in this sketch, and anyone living, ever have lived, or other fictional characters is purely coincidental.


Scene One

Knight: Out of the way! Out of the way you!

Squire: Move out of the way! The three kings approach!

Peasant Woman: The three kings?

Squire: Yes, the three kings, and they've traveled far indeed.

Peasant Man: But I only see two.

Squire: Two? Oh yes, one failed to make the trip.

Knight: My good man can you tell us where to find Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus?

Peasant Man: Baby Jesus?

Knight: Yes, yes now do tell us where to find the Christ child.

Peasant Woman: Well, there is a Mary and Joseph living on the hillside to the west of town, but they haven't a baby at least not that I know of anyway. They do have a son named Jesus, but he's about twelve I reckon.

Knight: Twelve? You must be mistaken. My lordship this fool claims he knows of no baby Jesus.

King One: Just point us in the right direction will you?

Peasant Woman: Off to the west, you'll see them on the large hill to the west, but you won't find any baby Jesus.

Knight: Off we go then.

End Scene One

Close Down The San Francisco Zoo

(Photo: Matt Knoth) Tatiana - Victim Of San Francisco Zoo

I can not understand how anyone who even has a cat could not be flabbergasted at the pure negligence of those in charge of the San Francisco Zoo.

I was particularly amazed at the statements made to the press by the Director of the San Francisco Zoo which was the Zoo involved in the horrible mauling of two young men, and the death of a third on Christmas day (2007).

Here's a quote portion of a CNN article:

San Francisco Zoo Director Manuel A. Mollinedo acknowledged that the wall around the animal's pen was just 12 1/2 feet high, after previously saying it was 18 feet. According to the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, the walls around a tiger exhibit should be at least 16.4 feet high.

Mollinedo said it was becoming increasingly clear the tiger leaped or climbed out, perhaps by grabbing onto a ledge. Investigators have ruled out the theory the tiger escaped through a door behind the exhibit at the zoo, which remained closed Friday "She had to have jumped," he said. "How she was able to jump that high is amazing to me."

Amazing yes, but not to have been anticipated - no!

Our cats have no trouble at all making incredible leaps from a sitting position. For example they regularly jump from a sitting position on the floor to the top of the CRT computer monitor which is sitting upon the computer desk I am using right now. They look up, appear to be making some kind of calculation, position themselves again, reevaluate, and then leap. In less than a second they are up on top of the monitor several times their height. This is normal cat behavior, and ability.

When motivated, that is chasing after a rapidly moving light reflection emitted from a laser pointer, I've seen our cats nearly reach the ceiling - that's right - nearly climb a straight horizontal wall coming within inches of the ceiling - twelve feet high! They do this on a mad dash after a rapidly moving laser reflection. They do it without even thinking - no thoughts, or inhibitions - and perhaps that's why they are able to do it at all, as cats are usually rather cautious creatures, until they are playing at hunting, or actually hunting. Then things change.

I've had the freaky and scary experience of being in a small closet with a frightened cat which was bouncing - that's right, not jumping, but bouncing off her feet to the height of my face at least five feet high.

I've seen one of our cats jump right out of my arms clear off of a porch, and land at least twelve feet away in a dead run towards a rabbit.

And I've seen one of our cats make an incredible dash up a tree while being chased by a dog covering twelve feet vertical in less than time than the blink of an eye.

Cats possess abilities that far surpass humans in the ability to jump, and dash at prey, or away from predators. Some people believe that cats are wimps because they are very cautious and shy by nature, but that is in their programming, and has kept them out of trouble for a very long time. It would be a very frightening world indeed to wake up to a world in which cats were not cautious and shy. Imagine living with an aggressive feral cat - quite scary indeed.

We may live with the smaller cats, but they haven 't lost their abilities, and we may cage up the larger cats and foolishly put them on display, but they're still the remarkable creatures they are in the wild.

Even with a twenty feet wide moat, which the San Francisco Zoo has in place around the fence separating it's tigers from visitors, it is quite obvious that a twelve and a half feet high wall was no match for a Siberian Tiger. I'm guessing that the teenage boys, which were victims of the mauling, taunted the tigers, and finally the dominant tiger decided to put an end to the abuse.

Putting any creature on display for hundreds, even thousands of gawkers each day must be quite stressful on those held in captivity, and I know that cats tire quickly, and need fourteen hours of sleep each day to stay in a positive mood.

I find it hard to fathom how those in charge of the San Francisco Zoo could have been so unprofessional as to have allowed such a dangerous set of circumstances to have taken place. It seems as if they neither understand the ability or psychology of their captives, or those who come to gawk - and sometimes abuse.

The San Francisco Zoo must be a very poorly managed institution to have ignored such a safety oversight. One expects more from a civic institution staffed by well paid "professionals". The San Francisco Zoo should be closed down until it can prove that the animals held captive there are not being abused, and neglected, and should not reopen until it is safe for humans to gawk at the captive animals again.

My Sparse Blogging Of Late

My blogging has been rather sparse lately, but I have been busy with Christmas, and now with Overtime at work.

I bought my daughter a new PC, and I spent several evenings last week installing software, and hardware too. I wanted it to be just right for Christmas morning. Little did I know her MP3 player needed to be authorized, and that the firewall would interfere with her music listening pleasures.

I had to head off file sharing by beating it to the punch - is that a mixed metaphor - by getting our Rhapsody software installed on the new PC.

I could go down the list of software I installed, and configured so that on Christmas morning she'd have a great experience instead of what usually happens when one installs a new computer.

I'll be putting in some OT all the way up to New Years so expect sparse blogging until the new year arrives.

In the meantime I had a really nice Christmas - now if I could just take a small nap please.

Local Blogger Gifts Fellow Blogger

It's not often that I am taken by surprise so it was my pleasure to experience a sense of fond surprise when I received a Christmas gift from a fellow blogger.

While I can't tell you who gifted me, as I've been asked not to, I did want to say thank you for the wonderful collection of teas, and the infusers. I haven't made any tea yet, but I have indulged my olfactory curiosity and openned a few of the tins - wow! Talk about flavor!

Also, the little booklets about tea are really neat.

I've never infused whole tea, and so I'm really looking forward to it. So too is my spouse.

I wish I could respond by gifting you, but I'm totally financially unable to, but maybe one day. Plus I'd have to start scanning over your older blog post to see what you're fascinations are.

In the mean time, once again, I wanted to say thanks. I hope you had a merry Christmas, and I wish you a wonderful new year!

The Number Twenty Three

Items Randomly Lined Up In The Bathroom - Twenty Three Is Everywhere, But Who Cares?

Tonight my daughter insisted that the family watch a movie together. She was quite convinced that it would be well worth our time, as she had seen it before, and was impressed.

It was The Number 23

As I watched the movie I found myself half interested in the plot, and almost fell asleep at several points. My daughter on the other hand continually looked over at me, excited by the various implications of the movie. The number twenty three is everywhere.

The fact that the number 23 is made up of two low numbers, numbers which are used in common everyday life, or can be easily obtained by simple counting, subtracting, dividing, or multiplying other common numbers didn't cross my daughter's mind.

She was after all under the spell of the number 23.

Just as the human brain is designed to find facial patterns, which makes us all vulnerable to seeing cloud creatures looking down upon us on a cloudy day, so too does the mind attempt to organize the world about us into other more easily understandable patterns. This is after all how human beings managed to survive in a world of faster, and more ably equipped predators. We organized the world outside ourselves to match the ever more organized mind within.

The number 235,742,100,300 for example will never have a movie based upon it, because it is simply too long of a number, and no human on this planet seemingly relates to the fact that this is the number of sentient, and quasi-sentient creatures in the Zebulon star system wiped out by Neader Colonial Invaders in a rather unremarkable spiral galaxy two billion years ago. Yes, I just made that up, but who knows - the Metaverse is an awfully big place.

It is therefore left to the shorter numbers, which the human mind can more easily grasp and manipulate, to act as harbingers, and portents - of betrayors of hidden connections, and worth. It is the human mind which insist on making the numbers 666, 7, 11, and even 23 important. It is the human imagination which assist such numbers in raising both goose bumps and hairs upon the back of the neck, and in giving them a meaning at all.

This is not to suggest that hidden order does not exist within a greater level of chaos, or that hidden meanings can not be devined from applying a simple filter upon reality. Conspiracies exist too, however, it is obvious that it is the mind's desire to create a simpler and more understabable world which is the underlying significance of the number 23.

Not only is it seemingly necessary to understand our world, but it also appears necessary to misunderstand it as well. It's an old story. Numerology is just one in a long list of recently abandoned methods upon which human beings have depended upon to make sense of it all.

However, in this modern age, an age of science one would hope that numerology would have seen its final day, but the human psyche is not willing to give up what the brain so willingly wants to project - connections where none exist.

My daughter added up some numbers tonight, and is convinced of the significance of the number twenty three. Despite my attempts to explain that the movie The number 23 is in fact fiction, she is convinced that there must be something special about the number.

I guess I shouldn't have pointed out to her immediately after watching the movie that the letters which make up the names of personal care products, pictured above, add up to twenty three. Nor was it a good thing that upon quick review that she discovered that the dates of birth of her father and mother are connected to the number 23, and that her date of birth is similarly so connected. It's going to be a long night as she is now finding it difficult falling asleep.

I would never tell her that I started writing this post at 2:03 A.M., nor would I try to explain that as I look up to write this concluding paragraph that it is 2:30 A.M., or that the number of letters in the file name of the photograph above is twenty three letters in length.

No, that would be too much.

A Daughter Skips Mother's Funeral

POST FUNERAL CALL

Sister: -crying- It's just that now that mother has died I don't want this to be the end of the family.

Brother: Well, I agree with you there. Mother wouldn't have wanted that.

Sister: I wanted to come to mother's funeral, but we just couldn't. I don't want you to hate me for that.

Brother: I don't hate you. In fact I added a telephone number to my Internet Phone with your long distance area code.

Sister: What?

Brother: I created a phone number so that you can call me anytime you want without long distance charges. It's unlimited too, so we can talk for hours if we want.

Sister: Oh, really?

Brother: Yes.

Sister: Hmmm.

Brother: So here's the number. I made sure to check, and it's a local call for you. Call me anytime, day or night.


ONE YEAR LATER

Not one incoming call placed to brother's Internet Phone line from sister.

Brother's Spouse: Honey, we're paying five dollars extra each month for that phone line, and your sister has never called even once, can't we get rid of it?

Brother: Yes dear, cancel it.

The Three Minute Post

That's how long I've given myself to write this post.
Last night my spouse spotted a mistake on our bank balance.
We quickly called the bank.
Turns out an online vendor I had purchased a Christmas present on had charged us twice.

Like the majority of Americans we live paycheck to paycheck.

So this is a big deal.

Up until two in the morning checking everything.
And calling the bank.
Calling the vendor.

Internet purchasing sure is convenient, but it also entails risk.

We'll see if they do what they said they'd do by this morning, and back out the duplicate purchase.

Meanwhile, all of our Christmas plans are on hold.

I took five minutes to post this.

Jerome Prophet Speaks - In Living Color

JeromeProphet Goes Hollywood

I've decided to take the next step. I'm not particularly photogenic, but I'm not going to let that stop me. So here goes, my very first YouTube rant.

This particular Video Blog post really doesn't have much of a point, but I felt I had to take the first step in making, and posting a video.

Springfield On The Rocks

Springfield, Illinois Under Ice - Leaves Under Ice

The ice storm which hit Springfield, Illinois and the Midwest in middle December 2007 hit many communities far worse than Springfield. Ice coated power lines, automobiles, homes, trees, sidewalks, roads, and lawns, all which makes for dangerous travel.


December Ice Storm Coats Springfield

Many communities out west lost power. Even Central Illinois communities, like Jacksonville, Illinois lost electricity which can be dangerous during the winter.


Natural Beauty of Springfield, Illinois - Tall Grass Under Ice

Despite the dangers and inconveniences of the ice the transparent layer of frozen water makes everything strangely beautiful - almost alien in appearance. Is this what life on an ice planet looks like?


Springfield, Illinois In The Winter - The Hilton

Downtown Springfield, Illinois can be a beautiful place. The nature photographs taken of all the ice covered trees and lawn were taken in downtown Springfield on December 10th, 2007


Springfield, Illinois - December 10th, 2007 - Ice, Twigs & Berries Flashed

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library is the building in the background. The brilliant colors reveal the high levels of anti oxidants present in the branches which is probably how trees and bushes survive the winter.


Downtown Springfield, Illinois In The Winter Time - Horace Mann Plaza

Ice seems to bring out the beauty in the mundane, but it also amplifies the beauty of what is already beautiful.

Springfield, Illinois Ice Storm Update 1:30 A.M.

WeatherUnderground.Com

After rummaging around for old flashlights, and batteries my wife and I went to the door to look outside. It is raining, but very lightly. One would think that's good, but the truth is I don't believe it's a good thing. If it was pouring down the ice would have to melt off the trees, and power lines, but with the slower precipitation it just freezes on the already ice coated surfaces.

We no sooner opened the door than we heard the crashing, and thud, of a tree limb hitting the ground, which is never a good sign.

C.W.L.P., the main provider of electricity in the Springfield, Illinois area doesn't take its responsibilities seriously enough. Recently a power turbine simply blew up, setting a power generating facility on fire. In Springfield, Illinois most people seem to believe that this is normal, and that no one is to blame when buildings blow up.

I mention this because I don't believe that C.W.L.P. takes the time to make certain that overhanging tree limbs are cut back away from their power lines. We have a neighbor who has a large tree, and a main power line for the whole block north of us runs under some of the upper branches of this massive tree. Why weren't these tree limbs cut back? Poor management most likely.

So hearing the sound of tree limbs crashing to the ground isn't a good sign at all. Meanwhile I heard on an A.M. radio station that many cities in Oklahoma are without power, and will be for over a week. This in the heart of winter.

Now the same storm system moves east, and everyone is just keeping their fingers crossed. So far most of the system has moved north east, more northward than east, following the jet stream's faster track up north. This has kept most of the nasty ice weather north of Springfield, Illinois.

I feel sorry for those folk living in a huge tract between Sangamon County's northern border all the way north past Chicago. Speaking of Chicago if the storm keep moving in the same direction poor Chicago appears right in its path.

Having said that the overall eastward movement of the entire system, if the system doesn't break up, or if temperatures don't change, could result in Sangamon County getting hit with freezing rain sometime soon - tomorrow perhaps?

Too Stupid & Poor To Be Prepared

An Actual Conversation

Husband: I see you have a flashlight there next to the bed, where's that rubber coated flashlight? Where's my favorite flashlight?

Wife: I haven't seen it in a long time.

Husband: No, that's my favorite flashlight, it has to be around here somewhere.

Wife: I'm not really sure.

Husband: But I've seen you use it, where did you put it the last time you used it?

Wife: I think it's in the utility room, but it doesn't work anymore.

Husband: Doesn't work? What do you mean? I have a spare light bulb, and some batteries.

Wife: Here it is, but it doesn't work. It's broken.

Husband: Broken?

Wife: Yes, there's something wrong with the switch at the bottom.

Husband: How did this happen? It's a really rugged flashlight with a heavy rubber coating?

Wife: There must be other flashlights around the house. Why don't you go and look?

Husband: But I've had this one for years. It's totally rugged. It's my favorite.

Wife: Do you want to know the truth?

Husband: What are you talking about?

Wife: I'll tell you the truth.

Husband: What did you do?

Wife: I couldn't find a hammer, and I was trying to fix one of the oscillating fans..,

Husband: You what! You used my flashlight as a hammer?

Wife: What about that really big flashlight? The one that's really bright?

Husband: That's a spot light, not a flashlight. It would last for about a half hour!

Wife: Well then why'd your brother give it to you in the first place?

Husband: Don't think it's going to be that easy. You owe me a flashlight for Christmas.

Wife: O.K. fine. We'll put it on the list.

Husband: But we need a flashlight right now with this bad weather coming.

Wife: Sorry, you don't get paid until later this week.

Husband storms out of bedroom muttering swear words under his breath.

NOTE: Husband didn't even ask why his spouse would be using a "hammer" to fix and oscillating fan, but that's a conversation for another day I guess.

The Ice Man Cometh - Damn Him!

From my perspective there's little that I can do. I guess I could fill up the gas tank and start driving south. A few hours drive, and I'd be safely below the freeze line, and would be inconvenienced only by the cold winter rain.

But here I make my stand in the village of Jerome, Illinois a suburb of Springfield, Illinois. I've spent the last hour carefully studying a variety of colorful animated weather maps available at wunderground.com.

I first looked at the local radar map, and felt rather lucky. I didn't see anything to be alarmed about. I then zoomed out to the regional map, and felt my heart sink, but still I felt it wouldn't be that bad. I looked at the animation over, and over again looking for some hint of which direction the ice was really headed, and I timed how long it was taking for the evil ice clouds to pass an area the size of Sangamon County - the County I live in.

Looks like it will hit in two hours, but we'll only get maybe an hour's worth of ice, or so I initially estimated.

But then I had to zoom out further, and look at the national maps. I realized then that the coming ice storm was much larger than what I had guessed.

It looks like the majority of the nasty stuff is heading north of Sangamon County, but our County falls within the soon to be affected area. In fact I've seen enough ice storms dump their worst blows on their southern fringes to know that things could actually be worse for Springfield than for say Bloomington. Only time will tell.

It does look bad. The Santa Anna winds, or whatever they are called this time of year, seem to be bringing up streams of humidity from the Pacific by way of Mexico. All that vapor is moving with the jet stream directly for Central, and Northern Illinois, and other Midwestern states.

This storm has already wreaked havoc on states west of here, and now it is our time.

If this were summertime we'd be happy for the rain, but when it's freezing cold out, but not quite cold enough to produce snow, it makes for a dangerous ice storm.

Everyone would rather have snow than ice because ice is so darned dangerous. From the ever growing number of fools driving their SUVs at speeds way too fast directly into power poles, to tree limbs crashing down upon transformers and taking out power to whole subdivisions, we are looking at dangerous roads, and sidewalks, and hours in the cold and darkness.

Things I recall from the week I spent without power in March of 2006 in the aftermath of two F2 tornadoes which struck the Village of Jerome, and Springfield, Illinois:

• The freezing cold seeping into our home.
• The disconnection from the rest of the world - no land line phones, nor cable television, nor Internet.
• The joy of canned food.
  
• The mad scramble to find batteries, candles, extra blankets, battery powered alarm clocks, old battery powered AM radios with run down nine volt batteries.
• The mist from a warm shower rapidly forming droplets in the cold air illuminated by a single beam of a flashlight pointed upward toward the ceiling.
• The freezing cold air which greets you when you step outside the shower warmed bathroom into the cold dark house.
• Kids asking repeatedly if school has been canceled.
• Wanting to go to work to find a safe warm well lit place.
• Listening to hours and hours of AM radio news covering the weather disaster.
• The flickering of candles.
• The slowly fading light from flashlights with dying batteries.
• The thrill of buying a hot pizza, but having to find a way to pick it up.
• A sudden overwhelming appreciation for linemen, and journeymen.
• A feeling of joy when you find out the electricity it back on.
• Elation over the return of cable television, and most important of all broadband Internet.

NWS Springfield, Illinois Ice Storm Shuffle

Dave of The11thhour writes a regular feature pitting the National Weather Service's predictions against The Weather Channel's. I'm not really certain why there are differences, but there are.

This morning as rain continues to pour down upon the city of Springfield, Illinois, and Central Illinois in general I am very concerned about the potential for massive power outages, and treacherous road conditions during this freezing cold weather.

I too am a bit confused by some of the predictions coming from our weather experts. Here's an example from the State Journal-Register:

"Steadier freezing rain will begin around dawn (today), causing significant problems during the morning hours," said Dan Smith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Lincoln. He said the heaviest precipitation is expected from 5 to 7 a.m. in Springfield and the surrounding areas.

"It will turn into light rain by (this) afternoon as temperatures slowly hedge around the freezing mark, right around or just over."Counties including Sangamon, Cass, Christian, Logan, Menard, Morgan and Scott were placed under an ice storm warning Saturday that will continue until noon today. The warning indicates ice-covered roads are treacherous and power lines and tree branches may snap.

...

Smith said periods of freezing rain were to continue the rest of Saturday night, with temperatures expected to hold steady early today between 25 to 29 degrees.

Warmer air is expected to change the freezing rain to rain later in the afternoon. However, the National Weather Service warns the rain may result in more ice accumulation before causing it to melt.

"On the backside of the system, we might see some freezing drizzle but nothing significant," Smith said.

If people must travel this morning, the National Weather Services advises motorists to keep an extra flashlight, food and water in their vehicle in case of an emergency.

So, things are bad, and getting worse, but will get better? Wow! This is what we're paying for? That's quite a prediction from the NWS.

We have rain coming down over an area that's freezing cold. I'd say that's pretty significant. To suggest that rain may cause the ice to melt, but build up more ice before it does so - sounds very predictive, but doesn't say much really. In the past I'd say the NWS has had no idea of whether more or less ice will form at a particular point in an ice storm, but this prediction isn't really that tough to make because eventually the ice will melt - it's only a matter of time.

In the meantime, everyone be careful out there.

WGA Writer's Strike

WGA Writer's Strike - The Office Is Closed

What do you have when you combine a strike with highly creative entertainment oriented people?

In the age of Youtube you have a series of fascinating short films which allow those on the picket lines a chance to explain why they are on strike, and the consequences of being on strike.

Writers Guild of America members are striking due to their concerns that as their industry is moving increasingly into the digital age the residuals they would receive from their works viewed via the Internet will be limited to $250 per show per year. That's right, no matter how many times a movie or television episode is viewed over the Internet during the course of a year the residual would be limited to just $250.


Why We Fight - An Entertaining Explanation Of Why There's A Writer's Strike

Before we go any further let me explain that we're not talking about illegal copies posted to Youtube, or other video sharing services from which neither the studios or the writers receive compensation. No, the issue here are the made for theater, television, and increasingly made for the Internet movies, and shows. These are the programs which the entertainment industry itself are offering via the Internet, and selling advertisements for, and therefore earning a revenue with. Those revenues are expected to grow into the billions as the television industry moves onto the Internet. Despite this growth in revenue the studios see it as a means of destroying the writers union.

While there are some millionaire writers out in Hollywood, and New York, the vast majority of those responsible for writing all the shows we watch at the theater, and on television, struggle to make ends meet in their highly competitive industry. WGA members rightly argue that as the entertainment industry migrates to the Internet that some of those profits in the form of residuals, need to be shared with the writers.


Studio Heads Admit Huge Profits But Won't Share With Writers

The WGA members are in fact looking at the future of the entertainment industry, and argue that under the current compensation agreement that they will see less income for their creative works as more of that work appears exclusively on the Internet.

Their argument makes perfect sense, and in fact if it wasn't for the studios short sighted greed this would have been settled long ago. I've included some Youtube videos with this post as they are both informative, and entertaining.

As a blogger I appreciate the time, and effort it takes to create using the written word. Writing is work, and those who write professionally need to be compensated fairly.

Visit www.unitedhollywood.com to learn more, and to sign their online petition!