Misinformation Lives On

I was listening to the national news on NPR today. They were reporting on the President’s trip to the Midwest, and especially to a small Missouri town with its new ethanol plant. Seems as if about 100 folks had gathered there the day before the event to protest the current administration’s policies. A man from Columbia, MO said he had driven there because (this is a paraphrase, but close): “Obama’s trampling on the Constitution.”

I can only assume that this same person saw no problems with the last administration’s actions on any front. If he believes in our Constitution, I think there were lots of times in W’s eight years where even Constitutional scholars could argue some really bad stuff occurred.

And the other day, I got a copy of an email (forwarded from a friend who got it by mistake) from a conservative group asking people to logon for a survey (which was in the classical form of “When did you stop beating your wife?” regarding the Democrats and the President). If they did, they would be rewarded by an “Impeach Obama” bumper sticker. What’s happening here?

Please someone tell me what impeachable offense has been committed. Again, I can only assume that this same group saw zero impeachable offenses in the last administration. And where does the Constitution say that if you disagree with a leader that you should impeach him/her? I must have missed that in my civics class.

I am no knee-jerk political citizen. Sure, I’m a bit left of center. But I read and evaluate positions on all sides and agree with some conservatives at times. I worry about folks who believe the party line (whatever party) is sacrosanct and almost God-given. There’s no discussion possible with these people. They own the truth, as they see it.

I worry about good people being driven out of politics because they’re not extreme enough. If we end up with our two main political parties dominated even more by their extreme elements, there’s no middle ground. It’s all about bashing the other side, following ideologues.

And I’m really getting fed up with blatant lies (e.g., “death panels”) and the level of viciousness we now see displayed. Where are the citizens in the middle (right or left) and why aren’t they decrying the lies, misinformation, and extremism?

You think what Arizona has done with their immigration law is rotten? Imagine the extension of all these lines of thinking, especially on the right, and it will scare the &%$# out of you.

POD to the Nth Degree

Have you heard about the Espresso Book Machine? If not, click here and watch the video. While print of demand (POD) has been around for a while, this takes things to a whole new level.

You can create library quality paperbound books almost instantly. You want one or more copies of a family history, no big deal. You just send the file to where a machine is. You can even have the vendor (e.g., Harvard Book Store, University of Missouri) design a cover for you.

What this means could encompass the following:

·      Professors can create course-specific texts using material either they’ve written or have copyright permission to use and produce books that are cheaper than texts from traditional publishers. This also will mean that the traditional publishers might amend their business model to sell selected chapters from one or more books to be combined on site at the university for a targeted text.

·      Bookstores would not have to carry heavy inventory. This could help the independents. With a regional machine or even one bought by the bookstore, a buyer could come in or buy something online and have it produced instantly. As the market for this expands, almost all books could be downloaded locally to be printed with payment for each printing to the publisher.

·      This means there will be no such thing as an out-of-print book. As long as one copy of a book exists, it can be scanned and reproduced. Harvard is already seeing this from their vast publishing endeavors over the years.

·      People who want to self publish can have much more direct control over their product.

It’s possible that this idea and the machines that come along afterward will be what saves books in print.

Archie and Veronica

The following poem of mine was published on riehlife.com:

Sparta, Illinois
1963

Like half the town
I work at “The Comic Book,”
where white men adjust
printing presses and bindery machines
that spew white heroes
Superman,
Archie,
Casper the Friendly Ghost,
while blacks wield brooms, load freight cars.

Six months pregnant
with our first child,
Marian walks to the plant,
our tiny black poodle,
Voodoo, on a leash.
As we stroll home for lunch,
she tells me the dog bit her hard.
We chat about baby names.

Later, I go to Rotary.
The minister sitting next to me says:
You’re the first Jew I’ve ever talked to.

I prefaced the poem on the site with the following:

We lived and worked in Sparta from 1962-1964. It was a tipping point in the transition of this town/area from segregation toward integration in jobs and where you could live. While the printing plant put out magazines and comic books for urban center consumption, the town was southern-Illinois rural.

In an “art imitates life imitates art” moment, the movie In the Heat of the Night was filmed there in 1966 and had a real impact on the community. Originally set in Mississippi, the IMDB database states: “Mississippi was eventually ruled out as a location due to the existing political conditions. Sparta, Illinois, was selected as the location, and the town's name in the story was changed to Sparta so that local signs would not need to be changed.”

This led to African-American mid-level managers. One of their sons became the first African-American physician in town (and was taken as a partner by a while physician). It was not until 1971 for there to be an African-American hero in a comic book.

Today, our son sent me this link about Archie and Veronica. So it took from the dawn of comic books until 1971 to have an African-American hero and, I guess, until 2010 to have a gay regular character.

Class Action Settlement - Lawn Mowers

I got a postcard today asking if I had purchased a lawn mower with a gas engine up to 30 horsepower sometime between 1994 and 2010. If I had, I “could receive benefits from class action settlements.” I am given until the end of August to file my claim.

I looked online at the claim form. Before being able to enter any data, there is the following:

“Please be sure you have the following information for each lawnmower you wish to claim:
1. Lawnmower Brand
2. Lawnmower Id Number
3. Lawnmower Engine Brand
4. Lawnmower Engine Model Number”

Well, who among us has NOT purchased one or more lawn mowers over the last SIXTEEN years? Using me as a possible model consumer, I can think of at least four I have purchased, three of which have made it to land fills or junk yards. So, at best, I can enter information for one lawn mower.

The question I want to ask: Is it worth my while to trek out to the barn and try to accumulate the required information? What are my potential benefits for getting on my knees and wiping away three years’ worth of grease, grime, and petrified grass from my mower? I am told I can receive the following:

1. Cash payment of “up to $35 for a walk-behind mower,”
2. “an agreement by certain Defendants to extend warranty benefits, and/or”
3. “to use a new ‘Certified Power Rating’ standard.”

In addition, I am told “If claims exceed the amount available for cash payments, payments will be reduced.”

Bring tears to your eyes, doesn’t it. Let’s see. I can get “up to” thirty-five whole dollars. I can possibly get a warranty extension and/or a new “Certified Power Rating” (whatever that is) on a three-or-four-year-old mower that, so far, runs just fine and does a good job doing what it’s supposed to.

Really, I would like to be in court at the hearing on June 22, 2010 where they “consider whether to approve the Settlements and a request for attorneys’ fees.” Bet those dudes get more than “up to $35.”

The Vet(s)

I have two dogs and four (well, five) horses. Let’s stick with two and four for now. My dogs are aging (13 and 11). The small animal vet says they are at an age where they are older than me. So, the vet wants to do a checkup twice a year instead of only once. This means blood work and analysis twice year besides the annual shots. I think they get the same tests I do (liver, thyroid, cholesterol, etc.) Oh, and then there’s the annual teeth cleaning to avoid gum disease, diabetes, and who knows what else. Teeth cleaning involves anesthesia since the dogs would squirm too much if awake. Then there are the flea protection and heart worm medicines you can only buy from the vet. (The makers of these products don’t stand behind them if you buy them on the Internet or any place except a vet.) Finally and obviously, with dogs, I take them to the vet.

With the horses, there is an annual blood test to rule out a particular equine disease and annual shots. Teeth need to be looked at perhaps once every three or four years and filed (called floating the teeth). It’s done with the horse quite awake and just standing there. Worming medicine can be purchased online or at any feed store. And the vet comes to you.

In all this, we’re talking about wellness medicine. No injuries and illnesses are included in the above. With all of this, I spend over twice as much a year on the two dogs combined as compared to four horses combined.

When I grow up, I want to be a small animal vet.