Recent Articles
“Gas money”
Jul 13, 2010 My thoughts on... Leave a comment
If you’re ever around a shopping center on the weekends you have no doubt seen dozens of teenagers and young adults “cruising” through the parking lot and out on the “main drag”. Lap after lap and mile after mile, they just seem to drive around in circles with no particular destination in mind. My, what fun…
Having grown up in an era when only the rich kids owned cars and could afford the gas to power them, it boggles my mind to see a bunch of teens cruising around in expensive cars and SUV’s, burning up Lord knows how much $3 a gallon gasoline in the process. Watching it all unfold, I can’t help but wonder just how many of them have to pay for their own gas? My guess is not many.
I think it’s great that today’s parents can afford to provide more luxuries for their kids than in previous generations, but I also wonder if they might be getting “too much of a good thing”. I suppose time will tell.
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The brevity of summer
Jul 12, 2010 My thoughts on... 1 Comment
Summers seemed to last forever when I was a youngster. Most of those long, hot days were spent toiling away in the tobacco patch, exploring the woods near our southwestern Virginia home or playing baseball with my Little League team (or with friends in some pasture field). Back then it seemed like there were about 50 hours between sun-up and sun-down, and we kids made full use of each and every one of them.
But something happened to a bunch of those hours as I grew into adolescence and adulthood. All of a sudden those seemingly endless summer days began going by a lot faster, and nowadays there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do all things I need to get accomplished. Of course it’s that way for everyone who has the commitments of adulthood to deal with, but I must admit that sometimes it seems like it’s just me.
Childhood is a special time in one’s life. It’s a time for doing chores and learning to handle responsibilty, but even more importantly it’s a time for playing with friends and just enjoying the act of being a child. Our children and grandchildren will only be able to experience one childhood, and that experience will pass by all too quickly. Let’s allow them to enjoy those long summer days as best they can because their Autumn is lurking just around the corner.
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Fast food: Less value for more money
Jul 12, 2010 Pet Peeves Leave a comment
Have you noticed that the sizes of the sandwiches sold in fast food joints have gotten smaller recently? For example, although the size of the bun on Burger King’s “Whopper” hamburger still lives up to its name, the beef patty has shrunk until it’s little more than a caricature of what it once was. And Wendys is even worse. They have not only shrunk the size of their chicken patties, but the buns as well.
Of course smaller portions aren’t neccessarily bad given the way the typical American wasteline has gotten larger in recent years (mine included), but one would think that smaller meals would command lower prices. Such is not the case however.
Even as the sizes of fast food meals were being reduced, their prices were growing much faster than the rate of inflation. What this means of course is that we consumers are getting less product for more money, and in a period of extremely low inflation that simply makes no sense. But in today’s world few things do.
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WordPress for Android
Jul 10, 2010 Technology Leave a comment
A few days ago I purchased a Samsung Moment smart phone to use to post to my WordPress blogs while away from my PC, and I love it. But early on I discovered that the WordPress “Add Post” screen was a nightmare to use on a small screen. Just when I had become almost frustrated enough to return the phone, I discovered a wonderful app called “WordPress for Android”. And let me tell you, it’s absolutely amazing!
In a nutshell, WordPress for Android reformats the WordPress “Add Post” page for display on mobile phone screens, and it does it to perfection. The fields for the title and post text are sized perfectly for the small screen, and several of the most useful posting and formating options are readily available as well.
I simply can’t recommend WordPress for Android strongly enough. If you use an Android based smart phone to post to a WordPress blog, visit the “Market” on your phone’s home screen and search for this wonderful app. Trust me, it’ll be one of the best moves you’ll ever make.
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Those wonderfully refreshing summer rains
Jul 9, 2010 Things I like 1 Comment
We often complain about rainy days, but if you stop to think about it they are actually gifts from Heaven. After all, it’s rainwater that allows our crops to grow, and on hot summer days the falling rain cools things off to give us much needed respites from the oppressive heat.
The good Lord blessed us with a wonderfully refreshing shower this afternoon, and the result is a current temperature of 76 degrees instead of the 90′s that had made it so uncomfortable earlier in the day. What a great way to end the day!
Of course rain showers and thunderstorms can bring a sudden halt to backyard cookouts, ball games and other outdoor activities, but the good they bring certainly outweighs the bad. May we always strive to count our blessings when it rains instead of griping about such a wonderful gift.
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A great tip for staying cool
Jul 8, 2010 Rick's Tips 1 Comment
With the east coast slogging through a heat wave that has daytime temps approaching 100 degrees, trying to stay cool outside has become a daily struggle. Well, after a little experimentation I have discovered a trick that works pretty well…
Take along a large container of ice cubes that are small enough to fit in your mouth comfortably, then keep one or two of them in your mouth at all times. As they melt, the ice cold water will help cool your body’s core. Give it a try. It really works.
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My new Samsung Moment smart phone
Jul 7, 2010 Technology Leave a comment
When it came time to replace my aging LG Rumor I decided to move up to a “smart phone” with a larger screen which would allow me to post to my WordPress blog while away from my PC. After doing a bit of shopping around I decided to give the Samsung Moment a try.
The Moment comes with a large 3″, high contrast LCD display, a very nice slide-out keyboard and support for both Sprint 3G and WI-FI Internet connections. A 2GB micro-SD flash memory card came pre-installed as well.
The Moment’s Google Android operating system took a bit of getting used to, but by and large the learning curve was short and painless thanks to the great series of icons and menus it offers. In no time at all I was surfing the web, texting and talking to my heart’s content.
The one problem I did run into was a big one however. Since my primary reason for buying the Moment was for posting on my WordPress blogs, I was quite disappointed to discover that the post creation page was almost impossible to use efficiently on even the larger 3″ screen due to the layout of the page. But a quick Google search led me to a wonderful free app entitled WordPress for Android. I downloaded and installed it, and let me tell you it is fantastic (I’ll be posting about the app later).
So far I’m delighted with my shiny new Samsung Moment, and after I’ve used it for a while I’ll post a follow-up review.
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Why feminists hate Sarah Palin
Jun 29, 2010 My thoughts on... 1 Comment
One would think that the mainstream feminists in America would absolutely adore Sarah Palin and hold her up as a role model for young girls all across America, but they do not. The fact of the matter is, they detest her. And it really isn’t all that hard to figure out why.
Sarah Palin is a woman who crashed right through virtually every barrier ever erected to keep women from being all they can be. Never one to shy away from controversy, she ascended to the governorship of our largest state and eagerly took on the “good ole boy” establishment that had ruled the state’s government since Alaska first became a state way back in 1959. And she prevailed.
She also became a star on the national political scene that outshines any other female politician, and through it all she even managed to bag an elk or two. Yet after all of her accomplishments, the mainstream feminists who should be celebrating her amazing success at breaking down barriers for women and girls instead disparage her at every turn.
In reality, the mainstream feminists aren’t really feminists at all. They are simply extreme leftwing stooges for the progressive wing of the Democratic party. They have shown their true colors by choosing to diminish the one woman who actually has the power and influence to finally help bring to fruition everything the real feminists have been dreaming about for decades. Why? Because while she believes in total equality between the sexes, she also recognizes and celebrates the inherent God-given differences between males and females. For proof, one needs only to look at the way she dresses and applies her make-up. You’ll find nothing mascusline or ambigous there.
Of course Palin also believes in God and the right of the unborn to live, which just adds fuel to the fire of hatred that lives within the hearts of Gloria Steinem and her ilk.
This might come as quite a shock to regular readers of this blog, but I myself am a feminist – but in the same way that Sarah Palin is a feminist. I want my granddaughters to be free to grow up to be anything they want to be, whether it be an astronaut, President of the United States, or a housewife who never leaves the house to take a public job. The sky should be the limit in regards to their goals in life, and their own unique abilities and limitations should be the only things that assist or hinder their climb towards their goals. And so it should be with ALL girls and women in these great United States of America. But most women who wear the “feminist” label seem to disagree – hence their hatred for Sarah Palin.
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