Small town America is seen at it's best in times of trouble. This past week the townspeople of Inverness have mourned and held onto each other after losing one of their own in Iraq. Chief Warrant Officer Aaron A. Weaver lost his life in the attack and subsequent crash of a Blackhawk helocopter on Jan. 8th and the town is still reeling.
One of the characteristicts of a small town is that folk are very closely connected as in this situation. His wife and dad are employees of the local newspaper and known by much of the town. As expected, the Chronicle's coverage is both sensitive and full.
Not only is the town connected, but this family is deeply military. Both of Aaron's brothers, Steven and Ryan, are serving in the Army and Ryan is currently deployed to Baghdad International Airport in Iraq. He had seen his brother Aaron two days before the crash. They know and understand the risk, that doesn't make the loss of Aaron any easier.
To add to the matter, Aaron did not have to go. He was in recovery from testicular cancer but he sought and recieved a special waiver to go with his unit.
As the family gathered to mourn, our governor, Jeb Bush, asked to attend the private funeral and expressed his remorse for their loss. The whole community will come together to mourn and show their support to the family in a public service afterward. These things hit a community hard. Even people who don't know the family or deceased personally feel the hurt and loss and have a need to express their support.
We hear of the loss of live in Iraq in the news almost on a daily basis, yet it is still hard to grasp. When a community looses one of their own, it is no longer abstract. The war, the loss of life take on new meaning.
Saturday, January 17, 2004
Friday, January 16, 2004
Our local paper had an article on some of the "popular" scams folk are falling for these days. This time of year is a peak time for scammers it seems. No matter how much it is written and reported on, no matter how many warnings go out, people continue to fall for some of the most obvious scams out there. Ever heard of the Nigerian scam? It's been around for years. Long before e-mail and I'll just bet you've received more than a few spam mails asking you to open your bank account to park some of the millions of dollars for a use fee.
Still, smart, honest, intelligent folk fall for this one and others. Then there are the repair guys. Coat your driveway, repair your roof, windows, siding, you name it. Then the classic pigeon drop. "Hey dude, I found this money and you can have part of it but my boss says we both should put up $5,000 in good faith money first. It'll be safe in his escrow account then..." And folk fall for it.
We had a prominent local man fall for the Nigerian scam, lost $30,000. He's not the only one, around the country hundreds if not thousand of people have lost an untold amount of their savings and bread money trying to cash in.
Then there are the people who have lost thousands to scams dreamed up by or perpetuated by their "friends." Investments, business, savings, found money, high yield/low risk. Look out!
Don't fall for it. The old adage still holds true in this high tech, high speed, online and e-mail world today, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't."
"Hey buddy, there's this great deal I found to make lots of money and you can be a part of it, all you have to do is...."
Still, smart, honest, intelligent folk fall for this one and others. Then there are the repair guys. Coat your driveway, repair your roof, windows, siding, you name it. Then the classic pigeon drop. "Hey dude, I found this money and you can have part of it but my boss says we both should put up $5,000 in good faith money first. It'll be safe in his escrow account then..." And folk fall for it.
We had a prominent local man fall for the Nigerian scam, lost $30,000. He's not the only one, around the country hundreds if not thousand of people have lost an untold amount of their savings and bread money trying to cash in.
Then there are the people who have lost thousands to scams dreamed up by or perpetuated by their "friends." Investments, business, savings, found money, high yield/low risk. Look out!
Don't fall for it. The old adage still holds true in this high tech, high speed, online and e-mail world today, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't."
"Hey buddy, there's this great deal I found to make lots of money and you can be a part of it, all you have to do is...."
Thursday, January 15, 2004
After an early start (up at 0015 and at work by 0100) the day after work was spent again at my sis-in-law's setting up her computer. Worked out the DSL thing and set up her kid's identities, but then IE wouldn't work on the kid's accounts when set as a "limited" user.
The administrator user worked fine. Poked around for a while before discovering that was the problem so after 6 hours there headed home.
One really weird thing. Wanted to reinstall IE6 and when attempting to do so got an WindowsXP warning that the program trying to install was not a Window Logo certified program. Hmm. Microsoft doesn't recognize itself? I've heard of some strange things going on in MS operating systems (OS's) but never this. Maybe the XP team and the Explorer team are at odds with each other.
We'll we got it working ok for now. Will probably get to "play" with it again later.
Thinking of yesterday's entry, I am sooooo glad I don't live in Maine, New Hampshire or any of those New England states. Fourty-five below! That's gotta be rough! That's not for me!!
The administrator user worked fine. Poked around for a while before discovering that was the problem so after 6 hours there headed home.
One really weird thing. Wanted to reinstall IE6 and when attempting to do so got an WindowsXP warning that the program trying to install was not a Window Logo certified program. Hmm. Microsoft doesn't recognize itself? I've heard of some strange things going on in MS operating systems (OS's) but never this. Maybe the XP team and the Explorer team are at odds with each other.
We'll we got it working ok for now. Will probably get to "play" with it again later.
Thinking of yesterday's entry, I am sooooo glad I don't live in Maine, New Hampshire or any of those New England states. Fourty-five below! That's gotta be rough! That's not for me!!
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
I was out of pocket Tues. helping my sis-in-law set-up her DSL. Ran into a bit of a wierd thing, it will connect to the net when the phone is being used, otherwise it can't. Having the POTS tech check it out tomorrow, customer service said it happens.
After looking at the last two entries, I'll try to get away from the politics for a bit. I could rant on endlessly, both major parties have faults not to mention the lesser groups. So this won't be the end of political commentary, I'm sure there's too much good stuff coming up this year, but I look for other stuff the next couple days.
Speaking of which...there's lots of folk anxious to move to Florida for a variety of reasons. One of those is the weather, both here and where ever they're moving from.
In some ways I kinda miss the cold and snow here in Florida. Last Sunday night I saw 28 on the thermometer going to work after scraping ice off the windshield. A white Christmas would be nice to experience again. But from working outside in construction, I don't miss the cold icy water dripping off the roof and going down my neck. I don't miss the struggle of clearing the drive and walks of the wet, heavy snow. But I do miss coming out of the cold, nose, fingers and toes numb and sitting up close to the fireplace with a hot mug of coffee or hot chocolate to thaw out. I miss the beauty of God's artistry covering the trees and shrubs. The wires and scarred, broken earth blanketed by the snow. And yes, the intricate designs left by the frost as it glazes the windows.
We oft forget the cold and snow others are having while living here in Florida. When I remember, it is usually to think of the pleasures, the beauty of God's nature, not the struggle of living in cold country.
After looking at the last two entries, I'll try to get away from the politics for a bit. I could rant on endlessly, both major parties have faults not to mention the lesser groups. So this won't be the end of political commentary, I'm sure there's too much good stuff coming up this year, but I look for other stuff the next couple days.
Speaking of which...there's lots of folk anxious to move to Florida for a variety of reasons. One of those is the weather, both here and where ever they're moving from.
In some ways I kinda miss the cold and snow here in Florida. Last Sunday night I saw 28 on the thermometer going to work after scraping ice off the windshield. A white Christmas would be nice to experience again. But from working outside in construction, I don't miss the cold icy water dripping off the roof and going down my neck. I don't miss the struggle of clearing the drive and walks of the wet, heavy snow. But I do miss coming out of the cold, nose, fingers and toes numb and sitting up close to the fireplace with a hot mug of coffee or hot chocolate to thaw out. I miss the beauty of God's artistry covering the trees and shrubs. The wires and scarred, broken earth blanketed by the snow. And yes, the intricate designs left by the frost as it glazes the windows.
We oft forget the cold and snow others are having while living here in Florida. When I remember, it is usually to think of the pleasures, the beauty of God's nature, not the struggle of living in cold country.
Monday, January 12, 2004
In an interview last Friday on CNN John Dean was asked about his comments regarding the Iowa caucuses and the terrorist group Hamas. Though I haven't been able to find the text of the interview, his response was in essence, "I don't believe in gotcha politics. My campaign is about the future not the past."
Hmm. This from a man who is campaigning on what in his opinion are the past failings of his "Washington insider" Democratic opponents and the current Bush administration.
To his credit, Dean is putting forth his ideas and a picture of what his administration would do. I personally think this country would be destroyed by socialism, but at least Dean isn't afraid to put out the message.
Still, Dean was repeatedly quizzed about his comments and he refused to respond to them. Only to insist his campaign is not about history and to castigate his opponents for bringing up the issue.
When faced with the fact that it was not his opponents who dug out his comments but a journalist, Mr. Dean quickly changed the subject to his campaign platform.
So, how come it's ok for Mr. Dean to discuss and criticize his opponents past actions and comments, but it's not OK for his opponents and others to look at and judge Mr. Dean by is past.
Just as anyone's past tells a lot about who the person is, so Mr. Dean's historic comments and actions tell volumes about his character and the kind of leader he would be.
Hmm. This from a man who is campaigning on what in his opinion are the past failings of his "Washington insider" Democratic opponents and the current Bush administration.
To his credit, Dean is putting forth his ideas and a picture of what his administration would do. I personally think this country would be destroyed by socialism, but at least Dean isn't afraid to put out the message.
Still, Dean was repeatedly quizzed about his comments and he refused to respond to them. Only to insist his campaign is not about history and to castigate his opponents for bringing up the issue.
When faced with the fact that it was not his opponents who dug out his comments but a journalist, Mr. Dean quickly changed the subject to his campaign platform.
So, how come it's ok for Mr. Dean to discuss and criticize his opponents past actions and comments, but it's not OK for his opponents and others to look at and judge Mr. Dean by is past.
Just as anyone's past tells a lot about who the person is, so Mr. Dean's historic comments and actions tell volumes about his character and the kind of leader he would be.
In an interview last Friday on CNN John Dean was asked about his comments regarding the Iowa caucuses and the terrorist group Hamas. Though I haven't been able to find the text of the interview, his response was in essence, "I don't believe in gotcha politics. My campaign is about the future not the past."
Hmm. This from a man who is campaigning on what in his opinion are the past failings of his "Washington insider" Democratic opponents and the current Bush administration.
To his credit, Dean is putting forth his ideas and a picture of what his administration would do. I personally think this country would be destroyed by socialism, but at least Dean isn't afraid to put out the message.
Still, Dean was repeatedly quizzed about his comments and he refused to respond to them. Only to insist his campaign is not about history and to castigate his opponents for bringing up the issue.
When faced with the fact that it was not his opponents who dug out his comments but a journalist, Mr. Dean quickly changed the subject to his campaign platform.
So, how come it's ok for Mr. Dean to discuss and criticize his opponents past actions and comments, but it's not OK for his opponents and others to look at and judge Mr. Dean by is past.
Just as anyone's past tells a lot about who the person is, so Mr. Dean's historic comments and actions tell volumes about his character and the kind of leader he would be.
Hmm. This from a man who is campaigning on what in his opinion are the past failings of his "Washington insider" Democratic opponents and the current Bush administration.
To his credit, Dean is putting forth his ideas and a picture of what his administration would do. I personally think this country would be destroyed by socialism, but at least Dean isn't afraid to put out the message.
Still, Dean was repeatedly quizzed about his comments and he refused to respond to them. Only to insist his campaign is not about history and to castigate his opponents for bringing up the issue.
When faced with the fact that it was not his opponents who dug out his comments but a journalist, Mr. Dean quickly changed the subject to his campaign platform.
So, how come it's ok for Mr. Dean to discuss and criticize his opponents past actions and comments, but it's not OK for his opponents and others to look at and judge Mr. Dean by is past.
Just as anyone's past tells a lot about who the person is, so Mr. Dean's historic comments and actions tell volumes about his character and the kind of leader he would be.
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