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Wishing for the Light
There has been very little light lately. Short days with gray filtered sunshine. Since we humans are creatures of light just like every other living thing, it gets a little rough on the spirit. I can understand why some mammals choose to hibernate. I wish I could do the same sometimes. Winter has always affected me this way. After Christmas and New Years are over and done, I'm ready for spring and longer days. I'm ready for green grass that smells as sweet as honey. I'm ready for some different birds than the little sparrows who camp out in the bush next to my house. I like them too, and the cardinals. But spring brings so many different species to the bird feeder.
I know I shouldn't wish away time. There is precious little of it accorded to us as residents of the Earth. We should use it all wisely, no matter the season. As we go into New Year's Eve tomorrow night, I know there will be a lot of "resolutions" being made. The only one I'm going to make is to resolve to seek the light, no matter where it may be, no matter if it be physical or spiritual. Seek the light, and I believe that only good can result.
Some things will never change, yet change is inevitable.
A paradox?
Perhaps not.
Time will keep on passing. Tomorrow night is proof of that as we see another new year ushered in with celebrations, parties, and merriment. That change, the one which the passage of time causes, is inevitable.
Yet still human beings continue to hate other human beings for a myriad of reasons. Wars are continually being fought, and innocent people continue to die.
The self righteous continue to congratulate themselves on always being right, and bristle with anger if challenged on their opinions.
Those things never change, and never will as long as humanity inhabits the earth.
A new year comes. It will be here soon, and there will be many, many changes before we see the earth circle the sun again.
In the meantime, let us at least try and mitigate and minimize those bad things which are going to stay the same. Those things which hurt and dehumanize all of us.
2014, YES IT IS…OR WILL BE
I was thinking the other day about the New Year, and wrote a little piece about it. I started trying to recall the first New Year's celebration that is logged away somewhere on the hard drive of my brain. I can't really remember a specific one. Isn't that strange?
I remember early Christmases. Oh how well I remember that Red Wagon that Santa brought me back in 1954 when I was only 4 years old. We lived in a little old Mill house up on Sixth Street in the proverbial "Mill" town of Trion, Georgia. It was the last Christmas in that house before we moved to a new house that my Dad was having built in another part of town. I guess things were not too bad that year. If we could afford that wagon, and the set of Hopalong Cassidy guns and the outfit that I also got AND move later on to a new house then things were going pretty good. We lived in that new house for eight years until Dad could no longer afford the payments, and we had to move out, back to "Hot Town" just two streets over from where we were celebrating in 1954.
There were a lot of good Christmas memories at the "new" house. My brother was born while we were there. There were "cut down" cedar trees every year in front of the big "picture" window that my Mom was so fond of. There was the year of the Lionel train; there was a year in which I got a telescope to view the Universe and its vastness. I never appreciated the years there as I should have. There was the one wonderful Christmas back in 1962 I believe it was, when it snowed. One of the VERY few times that "heat miser" let it snow in Southland! How beautiful it was to come out and look through that big window that morning and see the snow falling in huge feathery flakes, and the snow already piled up high in wind drifts against the trees. Santa that was the year you were supposed to bring a sled, but we had to make do with cardboard boxes cut up into home made flexible flyers! And oh we did. We slid down the hill at the cemetery across the road from my house until the dead people there must have thought Jesus was coming back, what with all the commotion. I don't even have a clue what I got that year for Christmas. I got a WHITE Christmas. That was enough. That was sufficient in itself to provide memories to last the rest of my life. Surely any toy would never have been impressive enough to do the same.
Oh yes, Christmas memories are not hard to come by. But New Years? That's another thing altogether. My folks never made such a big deal about it. Some of the time we were at my Grandparent's house and went to bed with the chickens even on New Year's Eve. Even when we were at our own house, I can't remember any New Year's parties, or any celebrations that were held in anticipation of a New Year. It just came. The years just stacked up, and you greeted them with the same anticipation that you did any other day.
After my wife and I married in 1969, we started marking the New Year.
I think that every year now since we have been married, my wife and I have done something to mark the New Year. We let the kids sit up and watch Dick Clark blather on, and watch the big ball drop at Time's Square and the "Peach" drop in Atlanta. I can't remember if there were any years that we were not together, or not many really that the whole family hasn't been around. Just the last few years, I think we have gone our separate ways to some extent. Most of the time now, we go to my daughter's house and play board games and then do the count down. Backwards from ten to zero and ZOOM, in comes another year.
It's all pretty humbling when you step back and think about it though. This year we are marking as 2014 A.D. (At least those of us who use the Julian calendar. The Chinese and the Muslims both have a different "New Year" then we do. This year the Chinese New Year starting on January 14 and will be the year of the Horse, very appropriate. The Muslims use the Hijah Calendar which was created by Mohammed) Most people make the mistake of thinking that A.D. stands for "After Death" when it's Anno Domini or "In the Year of our Lord" It was "invented" if you will in/about the year 525 by Dionysius Exiguus to figure out when Easter was. But, I digress. Think of 2000 and 14 of those babies! Just think of all the monumental things that have happened in those 2014 years. Break out your history books sometime and thumb through them. There are some Earth Shaking years wrapped up in there. Some years that changed human history forever. Some of them are ones that are a no brainer. 1945, the year that the first Atomic bomb was used. That one changed the world forever didn't it? There are some that are more obscure, but nonetheless just as important. How about when Martin Luther posted his 95 Thesis on the door of Wittenberg Church on October 31, 1517? Although Luther didn't know it at the time, that year broke the hold of the Catholic Church on Christianity. Just think how much that change our world.
How about September 11, 2001 as a recent year that changed history? It definitely has, and will continue to, as we move through all of the ramifications and repercussions of moving through this Brave New World we are now entering into.
Think about all the new technology that has developed since World War II. For some reason, that particular War more than any other has seemed to be a catalyst for the development of Science in leaps and bounds. It's amazing what has taken place, but it's scary at the same time. I just heard a man talking on the Radio not more than a week ago saying how one day soon all humans would have special chips inserted into their hands so that they would not have to have cards, or even any other forms of identification in order to buy things, or go places. No more credit cards, or passports just that little non-removable chip to tell the world who you are. I am glad I am about past the point where I might be around when they institute THAT little bit of Science one of these New Years. I am afraid that they would just have to skip me on that one.
I have also heard where more and more people are now using biotechnology which identifies human embryos outside of the human body for things such as disease, genetic malformations, and most prevalently for the sex of the baby. Pretty soon it's going to get down to the parents being able to say: "I want a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes, who has an I.Q. of at least 150, and we are going to want him to be a pianist" The new Eugenics, and yes it will probably get to that point one day if whoever decides on this type of thing (and who will that be?) decides to let it get that far. If it's our Federal Government, then God help us, it will certainly be a mess. It could already be in use as far as we know in some countries out there. Think about it. There are a lot of countries who don't even have the constraints of Ethics which we have in the U.S. (And that's saying something right there, buddy!)
Now there is also word of a new Computer program being developed which can store everything which is on a human beings brain on the hard drive of the computer. It can't store the emotion, or the spirit of the person. Just what they knew or know. Think about the uses for that, when a program can be bought which you can store Grandma or Grandpa's knowledge on. Maybe they will fix it up where you can put a 3-D likeness of the person on there, and actually program it where it can seem like you are communicating with them. "Hey Grandma, do you remember back when I was 13, and fell down your steps and broke my arm?" "Of course I do Honey" it answers back. "That was really a bad day"
They say what the mind of man can conceive can be turned into reality. And to think I have been reading Stephen King for years. Oh boy.
That's all pessimism though, and maybe things will actually turn out for the good in some of the upcoming New Years. They are coming up with treatments and cures for more diseases every day, and doing things to relieve the suffering of humanity. Yes, believe it or not there ARE still some humans out there who work on things to benefit others without the thoughts of greed or manipulation guiding them. (Not enough of them though!)
I heard where there are Cancer treatments being developed through genetic research, where people's own cells (I believe stem cells if I am not mistaken) can be used to attach a killer "trigger" to, which only affects cancer cells, so that when the cells are introduced into the body they kill ONLY the Cancer and leave everything else healthy. What a good year it will be when they can use that one.
That type of genetic research, where genes are modified to take care of human problems and suffering can be a good outcome. What if they could eliminate suffering of all kinds? Some people would think that a world without suffering would be wonderful. But I wonder. I wonder if ALL suffering should be eliminated. Seems like that would take away a little bit of what it means to be human, but that's just my opinion.
Then there are those that will tell you that all of this must be leading up to the "end of time" Yes, that's right, the end of all the "New Years." In Christian beliefs Christ himself is going to return again in one of these New Years for those who are his children. According to many Christians, the signs are out there for all to see. The diverse Earthquakes and disasters (remember the tsunami several years ago on the day after Christmas?) the continuing problems in the Middle East, especially between Jews and Arabs. The widespread and very dangerous spread of new antibiotic resistant disease. The famine which affects more of the world every day. The lack of Love in people for other people. Matthew chapter 24 chronicles what Jesus had to say about it. Read it and decide for yourself. A lot of people already have.
I am not sure of everything that is happening, I will tell you that for certain. At my age, a lot of the new technology is fascinating, but it's like a double edged sword. My religious indoctrination says the signs are out there, but the scientist in me is in conflict with the theologian. The reader of the written word in me, the seeker of knowledge, wants to keep abreast of everything that's going on in the world, but sometimes over analyzes or doesn't understand the significance of what is being input and processed by my teeny brain. The realist in me knows that things can't stay the same, but the dreamer wants things to stay like they are, or go back to the way they were!
Remembering New Years? Do you see know why it's hard to do. When you get stuff like this in your head, then it sometimes just starts to run together like syrup across pancakes.
I am glad it's almost 2014, and I am super glad I have made it this far and if nothing happens I will be watching the ball drop in times square at midnight December 31, and I will be hoping that this year may just be THE year when everything starts to come together for the good of everyone in the world. Happy New Year to everyone in The Year of Our Lord 2014.
When I was a kid, back in those "dark" ages, I remember walking to the old Trion movie "show" with a quarter, and being able to not only buy admission but also popcorn and a coke.
The movies were mostly Westerns and an occasional Sci-Fi film, but many a wonderful summer afternoon was enjoyed at that big white monstrosity of a building. The multi color play bills advertising upcoming movies hung up on the walls all over the place. Famous stars like Jimmy Stewart or John Wayne would be staring down "at ya Pilgrim"
I went to see "The Hobbit" with Ted and Paula this afternoon, and continue to wonder if all this high tech is really worthwhile. The ticket lady said: "That will be 10.50 per ticket because it's in 3-D" "Do you have just regular old Technicolor?" I asked. "No" she replied.
So we got our tickets, went in and waited until two minutes before the film started before they let us in. They were having problems cleaning up they said. I wondered if the previous crowd had rioted over the prices.
Anyway the movie started, and I put the big clumsy 3D glasses over the top of my regular glasses.
Now, the movie was kind of good. It was all pretty much non Tolkien, because most of the stuff they wrote into the screen play ain't in the book. But great entertainment. The 3D thing just bugs me though. I used to get excited over black and white movies, and well directed and written movies of any kind please me very much. I just think 3D is the latest ploy, and latest toy they use to fleece people. Kind of like if you can't blind them with brilliance, baffle them with bull s**t. Peter Jackson has it in him to do better. I cried after the first "Lord of the Rings" movie, sitting there listening to Enya sing "May it Be" That was a great movie! This one…good entertainment.
I really hope they get over this phase, cause next time I go to the movies and they tell me its 3D I'll probably just go home and watch "Diners, Drive Ins and Dives"
The best thing by far was being with Paula and Teddy. That pretty much makes up for everything else….and the movie was exciting…I'll have to give it that. I did not fall asleep…not one single time. "The Duke" woulda been proud of me.
Sinatra and Me
I was just listening to Frank Sinatra the other night. That man could really sing.
I never really listened to Sinatra a lot before September of 1968. Before that time, I was an Elvis fan first. I like some other rockers too. Jerry Lee Lewis was another. I liked a lot of the other crooners besides Sinatra earlier on in my life too. Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Perry Como and Andy Williams. I sang "White Christmas" every year at school from 1964 through 1967. I could do "Everybody Loves Somebody" and sound just like Dean Martin, I'll guarantee it. Paula and I went on our one and only cruise back in 2011, and I went to nightly Karaoke on the ship and sang that song. The rest of the cruise, I had people coming up to me in the dining room and saying…."There's ol' Dino" Yep, I do a pretty good imitation of him.
But Sinatra? I could never imitate him very well. I didn't do it in High School because I had never listened to one of his albums before. Oh, I had heard him on the radio of course. "Strangers in the Night" was a hit song during 1966. It hit number 1 on the pop charts that year. His daughter also had a hit with "These Boots Were Made for Walking" in 1966. It seems that that was a good year for the Sinatra family. But, Sinatra's album "Watertown" which came out in 1970, only sold 30,000 copies. He just sort of retired from recording new stuff after that. He got dissatisfied with the way his voice sounded and although he performed in Vegas, things were never the same.
I only discovered how much I loved his earlier music in that early fall of 1968. That's the month I started to college at West Georgia College in Carrollton. West Georgia still had a real "small college" feel back in 1968, and I'm glad I went there. Another reason I'm glad I went was because that's where I met my future wife. But…back to Sinatra.
My "assigned" roommate in Strozier hall at West Georgia College, who's name was also Larry, was a real record collector. He brought his record collection, and his record player to college with him. I didn't have squat besides the clothes in my closet, so I asked Larry if I could listen to his record player while he was gone to class. He told me it was ok, but "You might not like my taste in music" At first, I had to agree.
There were no rock and roll records in his collection. No Elvis, no Beatles, no Rolling Stones. There was Sinatra, Nancy Wilson and Deon Warwick. There was about 6 Sinatra records, and his record player held five albums at a time, so I took Sinatra. It was a good choice.
The albums were all from the fifties and early sixties…up to that 1966 album from which "Strangers in the Night" came. There was Cole Porter songs like "I've Got You Under my Skin" and there were songs from movies like "Three Coins in the Fountain" There were the greats: "Come Fly with Me", "The Days of Wine and Roses", "Fly Me to the Moon", "The Lady is a Tramp", "That's Life", and my favorite of all of his songs "It Was a Very Good Year". My next to favorite was the oft recorded Paul Anka song "My Way" I think he is best remembered for that song, but I liked "very good year" the best.
It hit me the first time I heard it, and it still does the same to me after all of these years. He had a great hit song in the seventies with "New York, New York," too. That was in 1979, and Sinatra is remembered best for that song, even though it came from a Liza Minelli movie.
All of those records that my roommate brought with him to college changed my tastes in music. I went on to listen to just about every album he had brought. I got to like Patti Page and Doris Day. I listened to Rosemary Clooney and Eartha Kitt. I took the measure of Billy Vaughn and Burt Bacharach. If not for those albums, I'd have never have loved music as completely as I do, and would have missed a lot of good moments in the history of music.
Larry and I were roommates for that entire year, and after that year I married my permanent roommate!
I do still love Sinatra though, and I'm glad for YouTube so I can dial up the old hits from time to time. I grew to even like Nancy Wilson too. Larry said I would…..
I try to watch sunrises and sunsets as much as possible. I frequently make photographs of them, as any of you who are my friends well know. I love the days that I live on this big blue marble. I certainly enjoy everyone of them, and will try and continue to do so.
But, I am fortunate. So much more so than the vast majority of other human beings on the face of the earth.
All around us there is hunger, and homelessness. Even in our fortunate country there is plenty of it out there. If I could end it all with a snap of my fingers I would do it. If I had the money to end it all…..would I do it? Or, would I say: "I earned this money, and it's mine" even if I didn't need a fraction of it?
If I was living in luxury, would I have the same attitude as I do now, as this person who lives paycheck to paycheck, and always has?
It's an interesting question to ask yourself. If you could do magic, like the finger snapping thing, and end all poverty, hunger, sickness, homelessness and disease in the world it'd be easy to make that choice, wouldn't it? But, if we were billionaires with lots of real money, would we try and do the same things?
I think that the answer to that question is pretty much self evident.
Maybe I'll venture out and buy a lottery ticket for tonight and tomorrow. If I won, I could put myself to the test.
The New Year is creeping every closer. Just a few more days until Sunday and it will be 2012. When I was a kid in the 1950's, I often thought about the year 2000 and beyond. I thought it would be a magical time where most problems of health and poverty would be solved and I thought that surely by then the world would find a way to be at peace. I thought people would travel around in "sky cars" sort of like the Jetsons and that there would be devices to take care of human needs. I think maybe if we, i.e. the human race, had spent as much money on the problems of health and poverty, and on finding ways of helping our fellow man instead of on wars, weapons of wars and ways to destroy each other we might have seen that idealistic world I dreamed off as a child. Where did we go wrong? Surely I thought, after two huge wars that killed so many people in the middle of the century we would LEARN something……I want to go back sometimes to those days in the past and see if it was something I did, or didn't do, that might have helped. Yes…the new year is creeping every closer this week and there is still a chance for all of those good things to happen. Wonder if there's a chance they will?
Chapter One-from 2015
2015 and all that "Stuff", Can I Change?
I wonder if there is anyone else out there who thinks that an entire economy built around consumerism is not such a good thing?
This Christmas has got me to thinking about it. One of my granddaughters gave to charity in her family's name instead of buying them "stuff" My son and his wife also did the same one year. I think that this is an admirable idea. I really wonder how much "stuff" we really need. I ponder it every time I open my clothes closet and can't find room to hang up another shirt. (Mind you…it's a rather small closet) I also wonder why I rent a 10 x 20 building by the month to hold "stuff" I haven't looked at in months. Is there anything there I really need? Apparently not….
When I was a child, I would watch my Grandfather work in his "shop" and use his tools. "How long have you had that hammer?" I asked. "It was my Father's" he answered. Tools passed down from generation to generation. I sometimes checked out Grandpa's closet. Three or four pair over overalls, three or four shirts, a couple of Sunday outfits and a couple of jackets. He owned one of those metal "shoe last" things on which he would repair shoes when they would start to wear out. Put on new leather soles, and sew the uppers. Those folks knew how to make things last.
I am sure there may have been a few storage buildings back in the days when I was young. They were probably spare buildings which had been abandoned for their original purpose, and in which a manufacturer was storing things. People had attics at their homes to store the few things they needed only sporadically. We had one, and it contained our Christmas stuff, Mom's canning supplies, and a few other sundry things which Dad knew would be needed at some time or another. There were no acres and acres of storage buildings neatly built on just about every empty lot in every town. There were no "storage wars" guys, who would go buy out the stuff from the storage buildings when people didn't pay their rent. There were no huge flea markets in every town for people to take their spare stuff and sell it to other people. There were not dozens of "yard sales" every weekend during the warm months where people would sell of that stuff they got for Christmas which they "really" didn't need.
The beginning of this out of control consumerism post World War II….basically from the 70's on forward, has blossomed into the "make it or break it" cycle for the businesses where many people are employed. Sears and Roebuck has changed from a company whose catalog used to be full of needs, to one which is chocked full of wants. The only people who seem to be benefiting from this type of economy are the super rich people who own the factories who make "the stuff" This wasn't such a bad thing during most of the years when I was growing up because most of the "stuff" factories were in the U.S.A. Now they are not. The rich people figured out they could make more money if they started making the stuff in other countries which paid people a lot less. Yet even after that, we continued to buy.
In addition to all this stuff people were buying, there was a lot of waste being created by the making, packaging, and marketing of the stuff. No longer did milk come in reusable bottles.
Plastic became the standard packaging. Things which previously came in "biodegradable" packaging, was suddenly packaged in non-biodegradable plastic. Cloth diapers evolved into plastic "throw away" diapers. 1.8% of all garbage in landfills are disposable diapers. From the 1920's until the mid-1970's garbage was thrown away in largely uncontrolled "garbage dumps" Basically big holes in the ground. Anything and everything was thrown into them. Chemicals of all kinds, which now are still leeching into the ground and affecting our water and other aspects of our environment. Almost 8,000 huge garbage dumps were in the U.S. until 1976 when Congress passed the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. This act solved a lot of the problems in our country and reduced the number of dumps, but has created a transportation issues for garbage, as it now has to travel from state to state to huge facilities. What do other countries such as China, Russia, Japan, and India do with their garbage? Most of it goes into the ocean. Google the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" It's scary as hell. So from consumerism comes a threat to our environment. (All those little plastic army men…….)
In 2007, a lot of factors came together to create an economic crisis. Banks and bankers were lending people money, and giving people credit who they knew couldn't pay it back. It didn't matter your credit "score" you could get credit if you needed it. Housing prices went sky high. Stock markets were riding a wave. The financial crisis was caused by…and I quote from Wikipedia:
the crisis was the result of "high risk, complex financial products; undisclosed conflicts of interest; the failure of regulators, the credit rating agencies, and the market itself to rein in the excesses of Wall Street."
In other words, they gave people too much unguaranteed "imaginary" money in the form of credit and then couldn't support it because some of them got too greedy and wanted to get rich instead perpetuating the "ghost" economy. There was a lot of financial "hanky panky" going on. The Government bailed them out. None of them have gone to jail. But, how short is our memory?
In the recent budget, which was passed by Congress and signed by the President there was a reversal of an important provision of the Dodd Frank Financial Reform Act, which will allow banks to do "loan swaps" which allows larger banks to spread around the money to numerous smaller banks which are insured by the FDIC. This allows the money they are gambling with (which is the money of the depositors…such as anyone who has stocks, bonds, IRA's, etc.) to be covered by "government insurance" so that if an investment fails it will be the government (read…our tax money) who pays the bill for the failed investment. So, we go right back to giving Wall Street the power to do what they will as they had before the financial collapse in 2007.
This huge "house of cards" financial system of rampant consumerism is starting to be built again. It looks really big and flashy on the outside, but it's empty on the inside and really, really easy to know over.
The stock market has climbed above 18,000 since the new budget was signed into law. This encourages people to contribute more money to Wall Street, or to leave their money there. In my opinion this is a giant lure. We are like fish in the water, and they throw out the lure and pull us in with the glitz and glitter of new "toys" new "stuff" We've been told that oil is in "short demand" since the 70's, but suddenly they are pumping it like there's no tomorrow. The Saudi's apparently have a huge stockpile, and surprisingly the United States is right behind them due to new drilling areas being opened or reopened in the past several years. This makes it easier and more alluring to fill up the old car and drive down to the local mall and buy more stuff to store in storage buildings.
I hope that during this coming year, 2015, I can change my "consumerist" ways. I need to be more aware of the way waste is killing our environment. I certainly need to clean out my clothes closet and get rid of the stuff in my storage building. Recycling plastics is extremely important. Making do with things which I need and not things which I want, is going to have to be a must. I don't know whether I can keep this "New Year's Resolution" but I am going to try. Maybe next year at Christmas, give money to charity except for the kids…who still deserve a little stuff.
New Years 2017 Thesis
The New Year is creeping every closer. Just a few more days until Sunday and it will be 2017.
When I was a kid in the 1950's, I often thought about the year 2000 and beyond. I thought it would be a magical time where most problems of health and poverty would be solved and I thought that surely by then the world would find a way to be at peace. I thought people would travel around in "sky cars" sort of like the Jetsons and that there would be devices to take care of human needs. I thought human beings would be living together like the people in the Coke commercials. Singing together in "perfect harmony".
I think maybe if we, the human race, had spent as much money and effort on the problems of health and poverty, and on finding ways of helping our fellow man instead of on wars, weapons of wars and ways to destroy each other we might have seen that idealistic world I dreamed off as a child. Instead, the rich have become richer and the poor have gotten poorer, and our divisions have deepened.
Where did we go wrong? Surely I thought, after two huge wars that killed so many people in the middle of the century we would LEARN something……I want to go back sometimes to those days in the past and see if it was something I did, or didn't do, that might have helped. Surely I could have done more. Certainly we could have all done more.
Instead we have become slaves to technology, instead of beneficiaries of it. People use it to spread hatred and discord. People spend hours and days lost in cyber space instead of talking face to face with each other.
Instead of moving forward for the good of all mankind, and in the spirit of love, it appears we have gone backwards. In this past year especially, hatred has become more widespread. The population of our country seems always to be split right down the middle on important social and cultural issues. The holiday season this year has given us a tiny break in which to catch our breath, before we apparently embark on a new national journey….a tact we have never before taken. We are sailing in uncharted waters. Bad or good? Depends on which half of the population you belong to.
I have to have hope that we will learn from what lies ahead. I have to have faith that somehow humanity will turn over a new leaf, and that my children and grandchildren will have a world in which to live.
Yes…the new year is creeping every closer this week. There is still a chance for all of those good things that I have pondered on in the past to happen.
I wonder if there's a chance they will?
I wonder if we can solve the the number one problem in this world? The problem of people hating other people just because they are different from them. Just because they look different. Just because they think differently.
I used to fantasize as a child about aliens coming to visit Earth, and bringing us the secrets to peace and prosperity. Now I realize that in order for any culture or beings to reach out into the Universe to spread harmony and knowledge, they must first learn how to have it themselves.
If they are anything like us, it doesn't appear that's a possibility! We earthlings can barely cooperate long enough to decide what's for dinner…much less think about reaching out to the stars.
When the ball drops, and it becomes 2017, think about what you can do to make this a better world. Let's try a little selflessness instead of selfishness. Is it too late, or not??
Book Beginnings
Winter evenings in the South are gray, bleak events. The sky is the color of the cotton that used to fly out of the sides of the bales that the train would haul into the cotton docks. The cotton that used to lay around for several weeks and get rained on, and run over by cars. That's the kind of color the sky was today. But it was not silent. Hundreds of thousands of blackbirds kept coming overhead in huge flocks which covered the entire horizon. Hollering and cackling and screaming in their blackbird language heading west to east. Looking for some farmer's field laying fallow and ripe for ravaging.
I have lived in the South, and have watched this cycle of life for 68 years now. I have seen times so awesome and exciting that they are beyond belief. I've experienced lows so low that crawling five miles out the dirt road where my Grandpa lived his entire life would seem like a walk in the park.


text:
Cameron: 'Indications' London attack terror
Two men attacked another man near a London military barracks on Wednesday. One man died and the two others believed to be have weapons were shot by police.
Speaking at a press conference in Paris with French President Francois Hollande, Cameron called the attack "the most appalling crime" and said there are "strong indications" that it is a terrorist incident.
Hollande says a British soldier was killed in the attack, but Cameron didn't immediately confirm that.
Cameron said he would be cutting his trip short to return to London.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The aim of the symposium is to bring together international researchers and practitioners in the field of software technology. Its focus is on formal methods and advanced software technologies, especially for engineering complex, large-scale artifacts like cyber-physical systems, networks of things, enterprise systems, or cloud-based services. Contributions relating to formal methods or integrating them with software engineering, as well as papers advancing scalability or widening the scope of rigorous methods to new design goals are especially welcome. SETTA 2017 is planning to organize a special thematic section, namely Dependability of Smart Cyber-Physical Systems.
Authors are invited to submit papers on original research, industrial applications, or position papers proposing challenges in fundamental research and technology. The latter two types of submissions are expected to contribute to the development of formal methods either by substantiating the advantages of integrating formal methods into the development cycle or through delineating need for research by demonstrating weaknesses of existing technologies, especially when addressing new application domains.
Submissions can take the form of either regular or short papers. Short papers can discuss ongoing research at an early stage, including PhD projects. Papers should be written in English. Regular Papers should not exceed 16 pages and Short Papers should not exceed 6 pages in LNCS format. The proceedings will be published as a volume in Springer's LNCS series, www.springer.com/lncs. The authors of a selected subset of accepted papers will be invited to submit extended versions of their papers to appear in special issues of the reputable journals.
. Ji Wang, NUDT, China.


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Solar AdTek Announces New Funding Partnership with Vivid Edge
Pictured outside NovaUCD, the Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs at University College Dublin are; Eoin O'Broin, CEO, Solar AdTek and Tracy O'Rourke, CEO, Vivid Edge. (Credit: Gina Oglesby).
Solar AdTek, the leading developer and supplier of innovative solar powered and LED lighting systems for outdoor advertising companies, recently announced the launch of a new funding model in partnership with Vivid Edge.
The partnership will support Solar AdTek's outdoor advertising customers, in Ireland and internationally, to realise energy savings and carbon reductions, by unlocking funding to facilitate green energy projects.
Vivid Edge, a climate action impact business headquartered at NovaUCD, supports large organisations to implement energy efficiency retrofit projects through a service model. Vivid Edge funds 100% of the fully installed project, including materials, labour and ancillary costs. Customers pay a monthly service fee once installed. This enables these organisations to implement more energy efficiency projects without using their capital budgets.
Revenues in the outdoor advertising sector have been greatly reduced as the advertising sites are primarily in normally high footfall areas, on street, public transport hubs and airports. These are now much quieter due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
However, the electricity bill still must be paid despite the drop in revenue. With rail, bus, and tram stations as well as airports all quiet currently, now is an ideal time to retrofit lighting in advertising displays as the physical and business disturbance would be minimised. This would result in immediate cost savings in energy and maintenance. Savings of up to 80% in energy costs can be made by changing lighting in existing advertising display sites.
Commenting on the initiative, Eoin O'Broin, CEO, Solar AdTek, said,
"We are delighted to be able to offer our customers this innovative service model from Vivid Edge. Our belief is that the combination of Solar AdTek's expertise in solar and lighting technologies combined with this approach can bring real savings to our clients as well as enhancing their advertising displays."
Tracy O'Rourke, CEO, Vivid Edge, said,
"This partnership is very exciting as it will provide clients with a way to accelerate their climate action plans with Solar AdTek, from planning to installation with no upfront payments. As service charges don't apply until energy savings are being made, projects can be self-funding from day one. This is a very smart way to be energy efficient without needing capital."
Both companies are clients of and supported by Enterprise Ireland, the Irish government organisation responsible for the development and growth of Irish enterprises in world markets.
Alan Hobbs, Manager, High Potential Start-Ups (HPSUs), Life Sciences and Industrial, Enterprise Ireland, added,
"Solar AdTek and Vivid Edge's partnership announcement and shared mission comes at a critical time when reducing global energy consumption and CO2 emissions has a strong global emphasis."
"Innovative collaborations like this one are essential in order for Irish companies to seize the array of global opportunities in the green economy. Enterprise Ireland wishes Solar AdTek and Vivid Edge all the best with their new partnership."
accelerate, action, advertising, airports, Alan Hobbs, ancillary, areas, array, bill, budgets, bus, Business, Capital, carbon, climate, clitients, CO2, combination, companies, consumption, cost, costs, COVID-19, critical, customers, developer, development, displays, disturbance, drop, economy, efficiency, electricity, emissions, energy, enhancing, Enterprise Ireland, enterprises, Eoin O'Broin, exciting, Expertise, footfall, funding, global, Government, green, growth, headquartered, High Potential Start-Ups (HPSUs), hubs, immediate, impact, innovative, installation, internationally, Ireland, Irish, labour, large, launch, leading, LED, Life Sciences and Industrial, lighting, maintenance, Manager, markets, materials, minimised, mission, model, monthly, NovaUCD, organisations, outdoor, paid, partnership, payments, physical, planning, plans, project, projects, public, quieter, rail, reducing, reductions, restrictions, retrofit, Revenue, revenues, savings, seize, self-funding, service, shared, sites, smart, Solar AdTek, solar powered, stations, street, supplier, supported, systems, technologies, time, Tracy O'Rourke, tram, transport, unlocking, upfront, Vivid Edge, world


text:
package com.socks.jiandan.view;

import android.animation.Animator;
import android.animation.AnimatorSet;
import android.animation.ObjectAnimator;
import android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView;
import android.view.View;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

/**
 * Created by zhaokaiqiang on 15/4/24.
 */
public class MyItemAnimator extends RecyclerView.ItemAnimator {

	List<RecyclerView.ViewHolder> mAnimationAddViewHolders = new ArrayList<RecyclerView.ViewHolder>();
	List<RecyclerView.ViewHolder> mAnimationRemoveViewHolders = new ArrayList<RecyclerView.ViewHolder>();

	//需要执行动画时会系统会调用,用户无需手动调用
	@Override
	public void runPendingAnimations() {
		if (!mAnimationAddViewHolders.isEmpty()) {

			AnimatorSet animator;
			View target;
			for (final RecyclerView.ViewHolder viewHolder : mAnimationAddViewHolders) {
				target = viewHolder.itemView;
				animator = new AnimatorSet();

				animator.playTogether(
						ObjectAnimator.ofFloat(target, "translationX", -target.getMeasuredWidth(), 0.0f),
						ObjectAnimator.ofFloat(target, "alpha", target.getAlpha(), 1.0f)
				);

				animator.setTarget(target);
				animator.setDuration(100);
				animator.addListener(new Animator.AnimatorListener() {
					@Override
					public void onAnimationStart(Animator animation) {

					}

					@Override
					public void onAnimationEnd(Animator animation) {
						mAnimationAddViewHolders.remove(viewHolder);
						if (!isRunning()) {
							dispatchAnimationsFinished();
						}
					}

					@Override
					public void onAnimationCancel(Animator animation) {

					}

					@Override
					public void onAnimationRepeat(Animator animation) {

					}
				});
				animator.start();
			}
		} else if (!mAnimationRemoveViewHolders.isEmpty()) {
		}
	}

	//remove时系统会调用,返回值表示是否需要执行动画
	@Override
	public boolean animateRemove(RecyclerView.ViewHolder viewHolder) {
		return mAnimationRemoveViewHolders.add(viewHolder);
	}

	//viewholder添加时系统会调用
	@Override
	public boolean animateAdd(RecyclerView.ViewHolder viewHolder) {
		return mAnimationAddViewHolders.add(viewHolder);
	}

	@Override
	public boolean animateMove(RecyclerView.ViewHolder viewHolder, int i, int i2, int i3, int i4) {
		return false;
	}

	@Override
	public boolean animateChange(RecyclerView.ViewHolder oldHolder, RecyclerView.ViewHolder newHolder, int fromLeft, int fromTop, int toLeft, int toTop) {
		return false;
	}

	@Override
	public void endAnimation(RecyclerView.ViewHolder viewHolder) {
	}

	@Override
	public void endAnimations() {
	}

	@Override
	public boolean isRunning() {
		return !(mAnimationAddViewHolders.isEmpty() && mAnimationRemoveViewHolders.isEmpty());
	}

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Are you looking for unique design for your invitation?. I'd like to share the ladybug baby shower invitation on the web. i hope it cat help you to make your own invitation .
ladybug baby shower invitation is packed with 6creativity and imagination. So, we hope this ladybug baby shower invitation will inspire you to make your own invitation. Lets take a look on the pictures below!


text:
Sonoma Winery Pays $3M to Settle Teen DUI Case
SANTA ROSA, Calif. – A California winery will pay $3 million to settle a lawsuit brought after a teen driver was served beer at a wedding reception there and later crashed his car.
Sean Bradley was convicted of drunken driving and served time for the 2006 crash, which caused brain injury to friend Joshua Apodaca.
The victim's family sued Paradise Ridge Winery and the owners of a 7-Eleven, where the 19-year-olds reportedly later bought beer.
Apodaca also will get $500,000 from 7-Eleven and $105,000 from Bradley. The money covers attorney fees and Apodaca's care and will buy him a house equipped for the disabled.
Bradley says a bartender at the winery served him six to eight beers after he told them he left his identification in the car.


text:
The JGMFD was consolidated in 2016 by a formal agreement between the cities of Johnston and Grimes. The department proudly serves over 30 square miles including Grimes, Johnston, Camp Dodge, and unincorporated areas of both Dallas and Polk County.
The department responds to over 3,000 calls for service annually.
The fire department is currently staffed by one full-time Fire Chief, two full-time Deputy Chiefs, one full-time Fire Marshal, one full-time Deputy Fire Marshal, three full-time Captains, six full-time lieutenants, three part-time lieutenants, 25 full-time firefighters, and 25 part-time firefighters.
The fire department serves the communities with three fire stations. Station 37 is located at 200 South James Street in Grimes, Station 38 is located at 10225 NW 62nd Ave. in Johnston, and Station 39 is located at 6373 Merle Hay Road in Johnston. All three stations are staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
The mission of the Johnston-Grimes Metropolitan Fire Department (JGMFD) is to preserve life and property for our citizens through prompt and efficient services.
The vision of JGMFD is to become a model of organizational consolidation for our peers on how to effectively and efficiently provide outstanding fire and emergency medical services to our communities. In support of that vision, JGMFD will continue to expand services to meet the needs of our communities; move towards industry best practices; employ research-based training and operations; and utilize data-driven decision making.
Statement of Core Values
We, the members of the Johnston-Grimes Metropolitan Fire Department are committed to the following values in our interactions with coworkers and the community:
Unity: We will always work together to accomplish our mission
Integrity: We will hold ourselves to the highest moral and ethical standards
Compassion: We will show concern, respect, and empathy to all
Selflessness: We will put the needs of others above our own
Preparedness: We will maintain a high level of readiness through training, planning, and discipline
Fire Chief Jim Clark
Email Chief Clark
Office Hours: M-F 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Non-Emergency Dispatch: 515-278-2345
Email Fire Marshal
6373 Merle Hay Rd.
10225 NW 62nd Ave.
200 S. James St.
Grimes, IA 50111
Deputy Chief Brynne Burrough
Email Deputy Chief Burrough
Fire Marshal Craig Ver Huel
Email Fire Marshal Craig Ver Huel
Deputy Chief - Operations
Deputy Chief - Support Services
Join JGMFD


text:
Q: How to use nginx and docker to redirect all requests to new path? I'm using nginx and docker to host an application, the conf file is:
server {
  listen 80;
  client_max_body_size 10M;
  root /www/data;

  location /static {
    alias /var/www/static;
  }

  location /media {
    alias /var/www/media;
  }

  location ~* ^/(api|admin) {
    proxy_set_header Host $host;
    proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
    proxy_pass http://django:8000;
  }

  location /gateway {
    proxy_http_version  1.1;
    proxy_set_header Host $host;
    proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
    proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
    proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
    proxy_pass http://nodejs:3000;
  }

and then we want to all the calls redirect to the new path instead of subdomain.
Like before the domain is something like sub.example.com, but we need to make it like www.example.com/sub. I try to change the server_name,but it doesn't work.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Join us for a journey back to the future of the disco beat, uncensored love and a place where all sins remain under mirror balls, strobelights and glitter.
Intergalactic Gary is one of the finest living selectors who is renowned for his versatile sets and excellent mixing techniques. Part of the legendary Dutch West-Coast scene since the early 80's Gary earned respect internationally by developing true craftsmanship in his DJ sets. The best cuts from his 5000 piece strong record collection will guarantee to give that magic touch on Ankali's dance floor.
A key figure in Budapest's night life. His highly acclaimed record label Dalmata Daniel has been favourited by world-class DJs like Helena Hauff or Lena Willikens. Beside having his monthly radio show he also runs his own club night. A keen vinyl collector who will grace us with a set seasoned full of Italo, acid and everything in between.
With a particularly successful career in the West Coast during the 70s she released a number of singles until her addiction got the best of her. Donna's life remained a mystery until her lost recordings were rediscovered at a flea market in Prishtina. A private detective found her residing in a small apartment in the hills of Buda where she's now living as a man and producing as Imre Kiss.
Claudio was raised by an Italian second hand music store owner, which contributed to his love of italo beats, after he built a studio from scraps of drum machines and synthesisers in his adoptive father's shop. Touring the world at age 8 already, playing drum machine in the band 'The Love Lizards', he developed a strange love for the Czech cuisine speciality: 'Svíčková'. We were able to lure Claudio over with the promise of an all-you-can-eat 'Svíčková' dinner, so that he can grace Ankali for the first time after a 21 year hiatus.
The Backstage Boys can be remembered after their relentless string of hits from the early 90s, including 'Less than This', 'Backstage's Back', and countless others. After the duo broke up because of hair style copyright issues, they both went off to work on their solo careers. Justin went to finish medical school to continue his research on orthopaedics, on the side releasing a few hits such as 'Staring Like a Puck' or 'Gimme the Jack (oh please)'. OJ's career continued with the study of psychedelics in the remote forests of Indomalaya, releasing a few obscure records inspired mainly by wet dirt. He also developed a line of scented sticks for Prada, and started his own headband company. We will experience their joyous reunion after 15 years.


Get rid of your Rubbish in Paddington today!
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We know you are are looking for a responsible local company that can remove and clear up of your refuse material safely? Rubbish Clearance Ltd can help. The Perfect Skip Hire Alternative!.
Want a cheap price for garden waste removal or house clearance furniture? Whether you are in a retail unit or shop we can help all customers in Paddington. We are a responsible and accountable UK removal company based in Essex. We do all the clear the site so you don't have to. Whatever amount of rubbish you have, our two man teams can safely collect and dispose of it. Stuff that we dispose of include fridges, car tyres (can cost more as expensive to dispose of), White Goods and washing machines.
We dispose of all your beds, rolls of underlay, radiators, sheds or unwanted electricals reponsibly from anywhere in W2.
low-priced building waste disposal We load and clear your junk.
affordable mattress removal Recycling Experts.