Category: random

Someplace in the Bible it reads that a ‘father should not vex his son.’ Unfortunately I believe I’ve done jus’ that.

For the last couple of years I’ve done my level best to get Kyle out from under his mother’s control. When I say ‘control’ I in fact mean her insistence he go to church and surrender his paychecks because she says too.

While attending church is not a bad thing, it is wrong to force an adult to go when they don’t want to go. As for handing over his paychecks for her use — the money goes towards the household and I don’t think I need to expound on how this is unfair.

During one of my conversations about his being under his mother’s thumb, I told him how I acted out of ‘tough love’ and ‘disappeared’ from my families lives for over a year. I explained he could do the same.

The following day I knew he was to return to his mothers’ home and because I miss him when he’s gone and I was feeling selfish, asked if he could stay another night. The request went sideways on me.

“Call your mom and tell her you’re not coming home,” I stated, “instead tell her you’re going to spend another night with me.”

An obviously exasperated Kyle responded, “I’m sick of you trying to change my mind all the time!”

There was a long pause between us — before I finally broke the silence, “Well, I’m sick of you being a mama’s boy, with no say and no life of your own!”

I wish I had chosen my words a bit more wisely, but sometimes love mixed with frustration causes me to say things in the most hurtful way.

The ironic bit of this tale is that Kyle is practicing, ‘tough love,’ jus’ as I explained it to him. I didn’t expect him to use it on me.

Say what you will about Bush 43, but you gotta give him props on this one. Here’s part of what he said in a speech given on July 12th, 2007:

“I know some in Washington would like us to start leaving Iraq now. To begin withdrawing before our commanders tell us we are ready would be dangerous for Iraq, for the region, and for the United States. It would mean surrendering the future of Iraq to al Qaeda. It would mean that we’d be risking mass killings on a horrific scale. It would mean we’d allow the terrorists to establish a safe haven in Iraq to replace the one they lost in Afghanistan. It would mean increasing the probability that American troops would have to return at some later date to confront an enemy that is even more dangerous.”

President Barack Obama did withdraw troops before the commanders on the ground said they were ready to do so. In fact commanders recommended leaving 20,000 troops in Iraq — but Obama left none.

After our forces left, Al Qaeda’s successor, ISIS, the Islāmic State, came into power and has quickly grown in strength. Now – with ‘limited airpower’ and 495 U.S. advisors (but no ‘boots on the ground’) – we are returning to the same battlefields under our latest war-president, Barack Obama.

New DNA evidence in the 1976 murder of a University of Nevada, Reno student points to another and exonerates a woman serving life in prison without the possibility of parole. Cathy Woods is being granted a new trial, set for July 13th in the murder of Michelle Mitchell, and is being released from prison pending the outcome of a new trial.

The DNA matches Rodney Halbower according to the Washoe County Forensics Science Division. He’s already in prison on several convictions that include use of a deadly weapon, rape and escape.

The match was discovered this year after Halbower was transferred from Nevada to Oregon for crimes there. He’s also a person of interest in the 1976 Gypsy Hill murders because of a DNA match made by the San Mateo County Crime Lab.

Woods was found guilty twice, using only her recanted confession and circumstantial evidence, and not even the victim’s family believes she’s the one who slashed Mitchell’s throat, leaving her to die.  It seems the only reason a third trial’s been ordered, is so the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office can finally get it ‘right.’

It’s said that “justice is blind,” but does that doesn’t mean the DA’s office has to be dumb, wasting taxpayer’s money, when it can simply ask the court to vacate the verdict, setting Woods permanently free?

ABC News reports: “A respiratory illness sweeping through parts of the U.S. has landed in Colorado, sickening hundreds of children, according to local doctors. The disease hasn’t been officially identified but (they) suspect a rare respiratory virus called Human Enterovirus 68.”

While authorities plan to investigate where the illness originated from, I think they ought to start by looking at the 60-thousand-plus children that allowed in to the U.S. illegally. Too bad the Obama administration will not release this information to the public or confirm or deny the possibility.

And I know that jus’ by recommending such an action and because political correctness dictates — I’ll be called a racist.

It’s a ‘rookie mistake’ on my part, shopping for shoes with a woman that isn’t my wife. I should have known better, but I did it anyway.

My friend Kay claimed to need new walking-shoes before going on a cruise later this year. So I thought, “How hard can that be?”

If I had to rate it from one to ten, with ten being the hardest possible, I’d say it was a 21. We looked through several different stores for nearly five-hours. But I must admit that our last stop was a classic.

After finding a shoe she absolutely ‘loved,’ Kay took nearly half-an-hour to find the right size. She explained that she needed to make sure the pair she purchased fit in a specific way.

By specific, she meant not too tight, not too loose, not too much heel, no uncomfortable pinching, etc. I know that had she been able to see my face, she would have seen a blank stare in my eyes.

I know it isn’t nice to check out like that – but sometimes self-defense comes before friendship.

The sales woman, a pregnant young lady of 19, ran back and forth pulling shoes from their stock. She climbed up and down the ladder in the back room searching for each shoe-size Kay requested.

At the end, and with 10 shoe boxes open and shoes of every size between 6 and 8, Kay simply looked at the woman and stated as fact, “I don’t like them.”

I nearly walked out of the store so I could go hide.

That’s when Kay said, “I’ll come back Sunday.”

Triggered, I responded, finishing her statement, “…and make this nice woman run up and down a ladder and back and forth again.”

Hearing my smart-assed remark, the young woman looked at me, “Oh she can come back Sunday, but I won’t be here – I have the day-off for my baby shower.”

“You’re pregnant?” Kay exclaimed, adding, “I didn’t notice!”

Once outside and at the car, Kay looked at me and asked, “I should I go back and buy a pair.”

“I thought you didn’t like them?” I responded.

“I don’t,” she answered, “but I feel bad for making her work so hard.”

Fortunately for the pregnant woman and my sanity, I was able to talk Kay out of returning to purchase a pair of shoes out of pity. But then on our way home Kay declared, “We need to find me a new purse.”

I nearly jumped from her car as we sped along northbound 395.

The year 1977 was full of activities throughout Del Norte County. In Smith River, new lily ideas shared Lily Field Day brought experts from colleges, scientists, jobbers, and others interested in the bulb industry together with the growers to spend a day exploring the future. Research and Development chairman Birger Dalstrom opened the meeting and introduced the main speakers. 

Sharon McKinney, Dr. Al Roberts of Oregon State University, a specialist in ornamental horticulture, had developed test fields to try new bulb strains. James Green, also of the State University talked about micro irrigation and fertilizer injections and Dr. Bob Lindstrum, a USDA inspector, talked about the need for less fertilizer as the plant can only absorb so much and overfeeding creates nothing but waste. 

A little further south, a state senate bill authorized an $8 million acquisition of the Lake Earl property. The dune area and Lake Tolowa would be managed by Parks and Recreation, and Lake Earl and surrounding wetlands would be managed by the Department of Fish and Game.

The purchase had been in the works since the recommendation of the California Coastal Commission. It was deemed as having a high degree of statewide significance and importance.

In a ‘Del Norte Triplicate,’ editorial, publisher Jim Yarbrough stated that $8 million was not nearly enough to compensate the private owners and that included the lakes themselves. Yarbrough warned that the deal would consume more than expected as had the Redwood National Park.

Yarbrough acknowledged that much of the property is not useful for agriculture and has had building permits tied up by the Coastal Commission. Saving dunes and wetlands was not a bad idea since it takes the burden from private owners who cannot use their land for anything except running a few cows or sheep.

At the opposite end of the county, the Klamath Salmon Festival celebrated its 11th annual parade and feast. The theme for the day was “Redwoods to Peanuts.”

It was a day for the 4,000 plus visitors to understand the pressure put on Del Norte County by the federal government’s acquisition of more land to enlarge Redwood National Park. The floats and entries were judged on how well they depicted the theme.

Teri Philips was crowned as Festival Queen and was also in the Fourth of July parade. Long time business leader Jack Morris was the Grand Marshal of the parade.

Besides the barbecued salmon dinners that were served all day, there was music, a logging show including Jack and Jill double bucking, art show, fashion show, and much more. It was a true celebration of the town of Klamath and its comeback from the floods into a growing community.

In Stateline, Nevada during the 1940’s there used to be a “Welcome to Nevada” sign that read “A Debt Free State Welcomes You, ” “No sales tax, ” and “No Income Tax.”

That was different century though. Today,  while Nevada’s has no income tax, the state’s debt is well over $26 million and  it’s sales tax rate is now 6.85% to 8.1% depending on local municipalities.

Tesla’s decision to build their factory in Northern Nevada came with some incentives. These include transferable tax credits of $12,500 for up to 6,000 permanent, full-time employees, no real or personal property taxes until 2024, and exemption from Nevada’s 1.17 percent modified business tax on wages for 10 years.

Great — but there are two problems as I see it.

The first is employment. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the politicians and executives are boasting 6,500 jobs at an average of $25 an hour.

However, many of those jobs will be filled from outside the area. This is because Nevada’s education system ranks traditionally at the bottom of most national polls; we don’t have the trained workers necessary to fill the positions.

The second are the dim-wits who are ‘negotiating’ to bring this company to Nevada. They’ve wasted tax-payer money, when all they need to do is cut the cost of doing business in the state by eliminating over-regulation and high taxes.

Several people were injured, including seven children, in an explosion at the Nevada Discovery Museum in Reno where docents were demonstrating how to make a smoke tornado.   

Authorities say that about a dozen children were seated six to 10 feet away from the routine experiment. They add, that the order in which the chemicals were applied got switched, causing a flash that lasted two to four seconds.

One child suffered second-degree burns and was kept overnight at Renown Regional Medical Center for observation. Officials with the hospital say six children and two adults were also treated, but released.

No serious damage was reported to the building. Reno Fire says it plans to recommend that the museum review its safety procedures.

The tornado effect is created when a cotton ball soaked with methyl alcohol is dusted with boric acid and then set on fire inside a large glass container. The jar is set on a Lazy Susan, then spun around to create a miniature green whirlwind.

Jesus said, “If anyone wants your shirt, hand over your coat as well and if someone wants you to walk a mile, walk two with them.”

I’m paraphrasing of course.

As a kid I believed that was only in the event I was being forced. But as an adult, I’m not so sure.

Yes, I can give you the shirt of my back and the coat too and I’d walk a couple miles with you, but in the end what good would it do you? If I handed you all the cash in my wallet, the keys to my truck or give you a room in my house in which to live, what have you gained?

Nothing! It all jus’ stuff.

It is far better to love you unconditionally, despite or perhaps in spite of our differences. Love leads to hope and is the one truly charitable item we possess that can be given away freely.

“The FBI and Apple said Monday they are investigating the apparent hacking of iCloud accounts that led to alleged nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence and other female stars being posted online,” reports NBC News

The FBI is also investigating former IRS head Lois Lerner about her actions involving the targeting of conservative groups. However neither the FBI nor the Department of Justice is looking into the IRS as a whole for its illegal activities.

But what can anyone expect when the NSA is sharing ill-gotten metadata with the FBI, the DOJ and another 21 agencies? Certainly not an investigation into what really matters to a U.S. citizen.

In the end, a Hollywood celebrity’s privacy is more important to the FBI than those of a regular American, including those not involved in the Tea Party.