kg7u

Retirement Sitrep One

2007-01-02T02:52:00.000-08:00

After 30 years working nights, I still can't sleep (it's 3 a.m.) But, no longer working for a large organization makes reading "Dilbert" funnier -- and also much less poignant.

Retired

2006-12-29T16:17:00.000-08:00

I retired as a critical care nurse at 0730 today. As the saying goes, today is the first day of the rest of my life.

Habeas Corpus?

2006-11-08T03:33:00.000-08:00

Could we please work on getting Habeas Corpus back now?

Link to Infidel Blogger Alliance

2006-09-18T23:33:00.000-07:00

I couldn't say it better than the first paragraph:

http://ibloga.blogspot.com/2006/09/it-will-be-worse-in-week-than-todaywhy.html

Librarians - Guardians of Humanity's Knowledge

2006-07-18T03:53:00.000-07:00

My wife (I call her "The Woman With Whom I'm Currently Living" -- for over three dozen years) is a librarian, and a teacher. I couldn't be more proud of her. I bask in the glow of her service to humanity.

I wish I could have said it as well as the author of this encomium.

Unitary Executive -- in Port Angeles

2006-07-12T08:53:00.000-07:00

Letter to the Editor
Peninsula Daily News
Port Angeles, Washington

Regarding the story in today's (Wednesday, July 12) PDN about Her Honor, Karen Rogers, the mayor of Port Angeles holding "secret meetings": just because she won't tell the press (and therefore the people) when or where the meetings are, doesn't make them "secret." The meetings are properly described however she wants to describe them. As the personification of the Unitary Executive of the City of Port Angeles, she obviously has the total power to flout any laws or rules with which she does not agree (including the rules of logic.) This flows from her authority as the Commander in Chief of Port Angeles. To thwart her in this prerogative would mean that the terrorists have won.

Turkey in the European Union?

2006-06-17T23:44:00.000-07:00

Turkey earnestly wants to be in the EU. Turkish television has just banned Winnie the Pooh cartoons, because Piglet, (he's a pig) is offensive to Muslims.

Writing as an EU citizen (admittedly, non-resident), this is one small item that makes me doubtful about how good a fit Turkey would be.

Ethics Training

2006-06-01T09:17:00.000-07:00

The U. S. military in Iraq is going to have ethics training for the troops. This is an example of good news from Iraq. Topics will probably include not murdering defenseless civilians, especially women and children. I do remember hearing that in boot camp, long, long ago, but I suppose it's easy to forget.

Unitary Executive -- in Sequim

2006-05-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

Letter to the Editor
Peninsula Daily News
Port Angeles, Washington

Regarding the "rant" in today's (Sunday, May 21) PDN about the
mayor of Sequim throwing candy in the parade
despite knowing that the rules forbid
it: Mayor Walt Schubert, as the personification of
the Unitary Executive of the City of Sequim, obviously
has the total power to flout any laws or rules
with which he does not agree. This flows from his
authority as the Commander in Chief of Sequim.

To thwart him in this prerogative would mean
that the terrorists have won.

NOTE: the Daily News published this, but went out of their way to UNcorrect my grammar, changing to "...rules he does not agree with." Of course, this is the same paper that once said a motorist was killed when he hit a bridge because he "didn't break quickly enough."

Another NOTE: to his credit, a week later the mayor wrote a chastened letter to the editor saying he was sorry to have set a bad example, and he would now follow the rules.

Web page about President Bush

2006-04-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.serendipity.li/wot/conover01.htm

My Favorite Signals

2006-01-22T22:06:00.000-08:00

Two of my favorite signals:

First, an aviation radiotelegraph signal:

QUQ -- Please train your searchlight on a cloud, occulting if possible and, if my aircraft is seen or heard, deflect the beam up wind and on the water (or land) to facilitate my landing. (This is also international maritime flag signal AX.)

Second, another international maritime flag signal:

AJ -- I have had a serious nuclear accident and you should approach with caution.

I really like these signals. Have they ever been used in all of history?

I am not prolix.

2006-01-16T07:57:00.000-08:00

Well, I am not very prolix, am I? There are at least three reasons.

1. I am lazy, and a procrastinator.

2. I want to wait until I retire before I stick my neck TOO far out. (Current thinking is that that will be around December 2006.)

3. I have trouble with the idea that anyone cares what I think. But, if I have time to polish my prose, maybe I can be a good essayist some day -- i.e., when I retire!

Flag Burning

2005-06-23T01:14:00.000-07:00

Congress is about to go through the annual attempt to ban flag burning. They may succeed this year with the Senate as Republican as it is.

Conservatives are people who want to guard our cherished national values. That's why they want to alter the Bill of Rights for the first time ever in over 200 years, to ban the political expression of burning a symbol of those national values, thus protecting those values by clobbering them.

Yay.

That's why, by the same reasoning, to protect our freedoms, we have to let the FBI secretly check on our library records.

And on and on.

But I suppose you knew these things already.

Why KG7U?

2005-06-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

By the way, KG7U is my amateur radio callsign. The fact that it's a "two-by-one", i.e., two letters, one number, one letter, means something to those who care. (I'm a twenty-word-per minute, FCC tested, extra class ham. www.arrl.org would be one place to look for more information.

So -- who cares what I think?

2005-06-06T07:53:00.000-07:00

I do know that I have been told, over and over, that I should write a book. I have been in the emergency medical services field since 1973, and as Ernie Hudson, playing Winston Zeddmore in "Ghost Busters" said, I have seen s**t that would turn you WHITE!

I also have some political opinions; but, again to quote someone else, albeit a real person this time (Matt Miller, writing in the New York Times yesterday): is persuasion dead? And if so, does it matter?

Again: I dunno. But I will dabble for a while anyway.

OK -- now I have a blog

2005-06-05T04:59:00.000-07:00

Now what? I dunno -- but I HAD to get with the program!