Sincere belief

It happened again. I'm on the email list of some of my old high school friends, one of whom is fond of sending along inspirational poems, pictures, whatever. As I have mentioned on this blog before, I consider such stuff little more than spam. At least it lets me know that this particular classmate still has my email address.

What burns me though, is when she sends "inspirational" claptrap. In this case it was the one about the ACLU supposedly trying to prevent soldiers from praying on government property or government time. Besides being totally false, it is a gratuitous dig against the ACLU - an organization that in its own way is just as important to American freedoms as the US military. While the military guards against external threats, the ACLU guards against internal threats that are often more insidious. And I don't know whether I'm more upset at the people who put together such messages as I received or the thoughtless propogation of that message by people who don't take the time to think about it.

I recently stumbled across a quote from that great justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. who once said, “Certitude is not the test of certainty. We have been cocksure of many things that were not so.” Do we fall into the trap of assuming that certitude, or sincere belief, is the best evidence of the truth? Whether it's political positions, civil rights, or religion, what do you use to evaluate the truth.

If you read my review of “Reality Check” you have heard that there are over 10,000 organized religions in the world and over 270 of them have more than 500,000 adherents. 270 religions with more than half a million believers! We’re not talking about small sects here. And they’re all positive, sincerely positive, that they have the most truth. For all of these religions, the only proof of the truth of the religion is the sincerity of belief of their members. There are no objective measurements, no testable facts that can rationally “prove” the truth. Even attempting to use the maxim “by their fruits shall ye know them” gets us into trouble because of the human frailties of the believers. There is no church with perfect believers.

Does this mean that we should abandon all hope of reaching the truth? Or does it mean that we should be more careful about claiming that we have the full truth or even the most truth? Maybe, like the parable of the blind men investigating an elephant, some truths are different for each of us. My truth will never be your truth in this area. And no amount of sincere belief or certitude on my part will make it true for you.

Don't Get Too Comfortable - a book review

"George W. Bush made me want to be an American." That's the first sentence of the book "Don't Get Too Comfortable" by David Rakoff. In spite of the warning not to judge a book by it's cover, I often do that in making my selections at the local library. The cover tells me something about the tone or style of the book, the call number on the spine tells me whether it is fiction or non-, and the subtitle usually gives a very good synopsis of the book. The subtitle for Rakoff's book is "The indignities of coach class, the torments of low thread count, the never-ending quest for artisanal olive oil, and other first world problems." Not a bad summary.

But for this book it was the first sentence of the first chapter that riveted me. Bush made him want to be an American!?!?

Turns out that is a backhanded compliment for Bush's vision of America which has resulted in imprisonment without trial and deportation without cause simply because the government has deemed a person an "enemy combatant". The war on terror has no easily identified enemy so everyone is suspect and anyone is liable to be caught in the net of "enemy". Rakoff has lived most of his life in America as a Canadian citizen, a legal resident alien. He had been happy with the ambiguities of his life until he realized that Bush wasn't. From this decision he goes on to experience and then describe our pitiful naturalization system.

This is a collection of short magazine-length articles, many of which have already appeared in magazines such as GQ, This American Life, and Harper's Bazaar. They're fun, funny, and mostly light-hearted with some serious undertones. Topics include shopping, Martha Steward, genital origami, Log Cabin Republicans, cosmetic surgery, and the quest for eternal life through cryogenics. Highly enjoyable book.

We're off to see the Wizard...

The Davis Musical Theater Company presented "The Wizard of Oz" last night. We thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to take our Sacramento grandchildren to see this "professional" production especially since Tim's dance school will be using The Wizard of Oz as their theme for this Spring's showcase performance. Tim has been assigned the role of Mayor of Munchkinland.

The movie,of course, is a classic but it is also fun to see a live stage production to see how one makes the same effects with no so much money. It was also a great opportunity for the DMTC to showcase a lot of the kids in the community. The kids did great as Munchkins but I think they REALLY enjoyed being flying monkeys.

We were concerned about whether Carolyn would make it since she spent Friday and most of Saturday in the Southland visiting the family there. But her flight was actually a little ahead of time so she was waiting for us with her luggage already as we pulled into the airport. She got to attend Lisa's shower/luncheon and still see the musical with the northern contingent of the family.

As season ticket holders of the DMTC we were given coffee mugs last night commemorating DMTC's new performance center. If we remember to bring them back, they'll entitle us to lifetime free coffee for all the DMTC productions.

The garbageman cometh...too soon

The other day as I opened the garage door and began driving my car out to go to work, I noticed the garbage truck at the entrance to our street. Oh no, I thought, I completely forgot. Now sometimes we can get away with not taking our garbage out because they pick up trash every week and often we have so little trash that it doesn't matter. The green waste or the recycling bin is another matter as these are taken on alternate weeks and if we miss one it means four weeks between emptying. This week was the recycling bin and I knew it was full.

Leaving the car halfway out of the garage, I bolted into the backyard and ran out to the front of our driveway pushing the recycling bin ahead of me. I got there just as the green truck did. The driver glanced quickly at the bin I had just sat down and drove on past. It was then I realized I had brought the wrong bin. Usually, the green waste or recycling trucks get here first but this time the trash truck had arrived first and I had brought out the recycling bin.

Quickly I rushed back to roll out the trash bin hoping that maybe the truck would stop on his way out of our little private roadway. By the time I got the bin out he was already on the other side of the oak tree. I thought it was a lost cause. I gave my best "please, please" begging look. He took pity and drove back forty feet to make the collection. Sometimes I'm grateful for the smallest things.

Medicine 6 - from head to foot

I think my wife might actually be proud of me today, although she'll probably be very surprised as well. I actually made an appointment to see the doctor without being on my deathbed. Well, actually I made the appointment late last night on Kaiser's wonderful web site that allows you to make appointments in the middle of the night. And the appointment was for today. That's about as responsive as you can hope for.

I arrived exactly on time and waited less than 10 minutes before the nurse invited me in, checked my weight and blood pressure (the latter being 136/80 which is wonderful for me) and began entering my complaints into the computer that Kaiser has in every examining room. And I marveled at how wonderful it is that they have the last 20 years of my medical history available to the doctor and nurses. After I had ticked off a list of 8 or 9 reasons why I was coming to see the doctor, the nurse chuckled. "Lots of men are like that," she said.

I kind of went from head to toe by first complaining about a persistent "head cold and cough" that I have had for several weeks now. I rarely get a cold so I'm not even sure this is a cold or the dreaded Sacramento allergy season we've heard so much about. But, in any case I described my cough, my runny nose, my hearing loss (so there, Tiffany!), the spots I seem to be growing more of all over my body, and the especially intriguing spot on my left foot.

When the doctor came in he wanted the same run down of reasons for my visit even though they were on the screen right there in front of him. Maybe he was checking my memory. If so, he got a false impression because I read him the same list I read to the nurse - from my PDA. I considered just handing him the device but thought I might be able to make myself sound more miserable by reading the list.

I've found that there are two kinds of doctors - those that have an answer for everything and those that have a prescription for everything. My doctor is usually the latter. So of course I got a prescription for Amoxicillin for the persistent cough/runny nose in case it is caused by germs and a prescription for Flonase in case it is caused by allergies. In either case my symptoms should be gone within three weeks or I need to come back and he'll start adjusting my other medications.

He also made a referral for me to Kaiser's audiology clinic after checking to see that I didn't have a physical blockage in my ears.


Finally, my foot. The good doctor took one quick look at it before diagnosing Schamberg's Disease.

According to The Skin Site --

I. Definition: Schamberg's disease, or progressive pigmented purpuric dermatitis, is a chronic discoloration of the skin which usually affects the legs and often spreads slowly. This disease is more common in males and may occur at any age from childhood onward.

II. Cause: People who develop Schamberg's disease have leaky blood vessel walls which allow red blood cells to slip through into the skin. The red cells in the skin then fall apart and release their iron which has a rust color. This accounts for the orange tint of the rash.

III. Treatment: There is no permanent cure for Schamberg's disease; however, the itching can be controlled by a cortisone cream.

So I can stop worrying about cancer of the foot and look forward to ever more spots. I can be the Spotty Man!

Breaking the Spell - a book review

Ever since the poet John Keats expressed dismay at Newton's "unweaving the rainbow", people have been worried that the scientific examination of natural phenomena might somehow "ruin" that phenomena, that somehow the rainbow isn't as bright or beautiful if we know it is caused of millions of raindrops acting as prisms. Better to believe that it is a special God-created miracle, a symbol of God's covenant with Noah.

"Breaking the Spell" by Daniel C. Dennett is a deliberate attempt at subjecting religion to scientific evaluation. We all know that our own religion is, if not the only true religion, at least the best that God has revealed. It is the other guy's religion that needs fixing - or preferably replacing with our own. So Dennett, while admitting that such intense scrutiny may, in fact, "break the spell" we can no longer afford to let that possibility stop us from investigating.

Dennett's concern is that we are no longer a world of separate tribes and small nations where the most harm a religion can do is cause a congregation in Guyana to commit collective suicide or provide the rationale for a power-hungry dictator to commit genocide on a neighboring nation. We have always had religious fanatics willing to go to their death "defending the faith" and usually taking along a few of the faithless as well. No, we are now an interconnected world where those hoping for the "end days" have means at their disposal to hasten those days. And those of us who don't believe their interpretation of the Apocolypse just won't have a say in the matter any more.

Dennett's position is that any organized religion is a social organization that markets itself like any other business and that it should be analyzed as such - costs and benefits. Sure, there are those who may insist they have the "revealed truth" and don't care about such analyses but the rest of us do because what is a benefit to you may be a cost to me.

Typically, when such suggestions have been made, Dennett argues, religious people raise the cry that the only alternative to the black/white "we're right/you're wrong" dichotomy is moral relativism. Accepting moral relativism, which states that there is no absolute right and wrong, would allow everyone to have their own moral system and would be the end of civilization as we know it according to religionists.

Dennett refuses to accept such ideology, preferring instead to have a continuing dialogue on the merits (costs & benefits) of the differing beliefs rather than their inherent (revealed or assumed) truth. If we assume at the beginning that our moral values are RIGHT we get nowhere but if we assume that together we can FIND OUT what the best moral values are then we have a basis for discussion.

It takes a lot of stepping back from your own "things you JUST KNOW are SO" to be able to read "Breaking the Spell" but I challenge anyone to really claim it isn't a valuable exercise. If your religion is so weak that it can't stand some inspection and evaluation, it isn't much of a religion. And if your god can't field a few sincere questions, then you might as well join the Danish-flag-burning Muslims. Dennett wants you to know that questions will be asked and religions will be expected to defend themselves in the court of scientific evaluation.

Phone conversations

(Alert: the following is a potentially offensive narrative!! Please don’t take it personal. It wasn’t meant that way.)

It could be a guy thing or a generation thing but I’m just not big on telephone conversations. Heck it might even be an “ear” thing with my hearing beginning to show signs of age.

I think it has its roots in my childhood when a telephone call was a seldom and special thing, especially long-distance calls. One wouldn’t think of hogging the phone for local calls because the other parties on our line might need to use the phone. And it was so embarrassing if they cut into your conversation with “How long will you be on the phone?”

When we did have a long distance call and it was one that the kids were invited to speak on, we made sure that we said our piece and then passed the phone to someone else in the family. With 5 kids none of us could have a lot of time.

This bias against lengthy phone conversations was emphasized when I was on my mission and could only phone home twice a year (Mother’s Day and Christmas). A call from Germany was still expensive enough that I felt bad once the conversation lasted more than 5 or 10 minutes.

In fact the only lengthy conversations I can think of during my younger years was when I called a girl to ask her on a date. I didn’t want to speak for a long time then either, but sometimes it took me several minutes to get up the nerve to pop the question.

Until a couple of years ago, it wasn’t a problem because Carolyn and I would get on different extensions when talking long distance. She would generally carry the conversation and I would listen in. When I got tired, I hung up and usually no one was the wiser. But now that doesn’t work because we use evening and weekend “free minutes” on one of our cell phones. We can’t both participate in the conversation at the same time. Usually, I’m perfectly content to listen to Carolyn’s side of the conversation and if I’m the one who answers a call meant for either of us, I usually pass it off to Carolyn within the first few minutes.

But the other day I heard Carolyn say, “Would you like to talk with your father?” and I felt sort of like Jake or Nathan must feel, “Would you like to talk to Grandpa?” I couldn’t refuse, of course, any more than the person talking with Carolyn could. “No, I don’t want to talk with that grumpy old man!” But we really didn’t need to talk (for long at least).

And how does one politely say that the conversation has gone on too long? “My ear hurts”? “I’d better let you go”? “I have a cramp in my elbow”? “I’ve finished this crossword puzzle and need both hands to find another one”? “I have to say bye now. I need both hands to zip up”?

I really do enjoy talking with my kids, grandkids, brothers, sister, friends, etc. but a five minute conversation is usually about it. Just enough to tell me what’s happening in your life right now and enough to let me hear the joy, sorrow, excitement, boredom, in your voice.

Rules of the game

Recently my youngest daughter Natalie asked me what it takes to get a picture of my grandchildren on the Blog. That got me to thinking that I haven’t been completely fair – nor do I ever expect to be. For one thing, a blog is a blog, not a family photo album. And usually the topics I pick for the blog come first. If a particular picture happens to illustrate the particular topic, and if that picture happens to have a grandchild (or two) in it, then I’ll post that picture. Now, of course that explanation simply begs the question “Why don’t you write about your grandchildren more?” And the answer is, I’d love to if they were more involved with my life. I’m sure two of the biggest attractions in Dooce’s blog is her 2-year old daughter Leta and beautiful dog, Former Congressman Chuck. I’m not anxious to have either in my house but it does provide material for a blog.

That being said, I thought I’d go out on a limb and give a few rules for your son or daughter to get their picture on my blog:

1. Be cute around Grandpa (when he has a camera handy)
2. Be adorable around Grandpa (you might have to remind him the child is being adorable)
3. Be clever around Grandpa
4. Be brave around Grandpa
5. Have your parents email pictures to Grandpa and drop big hints that you are cute, adorable, clever, etc.

6. Threaten to spend more time with Grandpa if he doesn’t put your picture on his blog

Excitement at the office

While much of the rest of the country were trying to figure out how to deal with or avoid the May Day demonstrations regarding immigration and immigrant rights, we had our own little crisis which had bumper-to-bumper traffic blocking our parking lot entrance/exit while news helicopters circled overhead signalling something important. Rumors and/or news flashes about a crazed man with dynamite strapped to his chest circulated around the office causing us all to rush to the windows to see what we could see. Having recently had some disgruntled and disturbed clients throw a rock or two through our windows, we weren't sure if this was something related.

Finally, we got some solid news from the local Channel 10 news:

Man Surrenders After Standoff with Deputies

(Written for the web by Elizabeth Bishop, Internet News Producer)

A man claiming to have two sticks of dynamite surrendered this afternoon after taking over a mental health facility at Cody Way and Watt Avenue in Sacramento County today. The man had no hostages but said he wanted to kill himself, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.

Portions off Watt Avenue were shut down between Butano Drive and Cottage Way. A number of businesses in the area were evacuated as well.

The man surrendered peacefully at about noon after holding off authorities for several hours.

Copyright 2006 News10/KXTV. All Rights Reserved.

The facility mentioned is about three blocks away from us so we weren't ever in any imminent danger. That's about as exciting as it gets around here and that is just fine with me.

Too beautiful to stay inside

With the temperature in the low 80's and a slight breeze blowing to cool you down in the shade, it is just so inviting to be outside. Carolyn took advantage of the good weather to work on some of her flower beds around the yard. Here she was working on re-placing the yellow rose bush over the arbor when she got a chance to talk with our neighbor behind our yard. We don't ofter see her, so it was a nice opportunity. Carolyn is just so happy to be able to work outside for hours. Only 4 months ago she didn't have the strength or breath to do that.

We also took advantage of the weather to begin work on a new sprinkler line in the back. We have "decommissioned" the sprinklers that were spraying toward the house and possibly caused some of the dry rot damage that we repaired a couple of months ago. We're now in the process of replacing them with a string that will spray towards the back fence. Unfortunately, the ground for the new sprinklers is 50% pebbles that are about an inch in diameter and very difficult to dig through. Once again, we found the people who had installed the sprinkler system hadn't used glue on the sprinkler side of the system. Minor detail.


Here are some examples of the flowers in our garden. We have a deep purple iris that is almost black when it begins to flower.


And a pretty pink flower that somebody gave us as bulbs. It seems to grow well here but we have no idea what it is. Can anybody give us a hint?

Upside down tomatoes

This is what I call "thinking outside the box" - the planter box in this case. One of the items we picked up at the Home and Garden show we attended a couple of months ago was a pair of baskets designed to grown plants upside down. Instead of planting these tomatoes in the raised planting beds you see in the background, we have inserted them upside down in the bottom of this planter. There is a split foam disk which holds the tomato plant tight enough not to fall out but not so tight as to harm it in any way.


Following the directions that came with the kit, we filled the bag about one-third with planter mix and two-thirds with peat moss. There are a couple of foam baffles at the 1/3 and 2/3 level to help the water diffuse through the soil rather than going straight out the bottom. There are drains around the edge of the bottom as well as the slit where the tomato plant comes through.


And finally, we installed a sturdy hook in the roofing support at the corner of the house to try to catch the sun from at least two directions. Carolyn is watering this basket and trying to get the water to stay in better by plugging up the drain holes. That's silly, of course, as it will just drain out as soon as she removes her fingers. Supposedly this is the ideal way to grow tomatoes as you don't need to build cages to support the heavy fruit. It just hangs down naturally.

We'll keep you posted about how well this works.

Quick trip to San Diego

Up at the crack of dawn to board Southwest Airlines Flight 2755 non-stop to San Diego. It's been so long since I flew that I wasn't even sure I knew how to go through security. No need to worry. They tell you everything you need to know. Jackets and shoes still have to come off although I distinctly remember seeing somewhere that that rule had been relaxed. The new parking structure at the Sacramento Airport makes parking really convenient - at least on a non-busy day like today. But the plane is full. No empty seats.

Although I'm flying with a friend and colleague, we mostly read or nap on the way. We're both more the quiet type anyway. He hasn't made any arangements for ground transportation in San Diego so I agree to let him ride with me.

Landing at San Diego's Lindberg Field is just as exciting as I'd heard. I've never landed here before that I recall. Whenever we had meetings in San Diego, I always preferred the one and a half to two hour drive from Long Beach. The plane literally dives between the downtown skyscrapers to hit the runway. Almost close enough to look into the windows of the upper floors.

I have the Dollar.Express reservation so we're shuttled to the head of the line at Dollar Rent-A-Car and on our way before others who had ridden on the same airport shuttle are even handed their paperwork. Nice that I have traveled some before. I also have my route plotted on my PDA so the 15 minute drive to the San Diego Regional Center is a snap.

The meeting is both exciting and frustrating. Exciting because we're seeing some new software development that could make things much nicer for regional centers. Frustrating because whether we get to use this software is going to depend on a political decision about other software without this software even being considered. We're not even making a recommendation on this software we are seeing today. Just a recommendation about whether this would be a reasonable fall back position if the other system is scuttled. Most, but certainly not all, think it would be a great fall back position and some of us think it should be the first choice.

Meeting over, the drive back to drop off the rental and shuttle to the airport is uneventful. What should be a comfortable two hour wait for the return flight, is stretched to almost 3 hours when our Texas originating plane runs into bad weather. Still, I'm on the ground in Sacramento almost exactly 12 hours after arriving at the airport this morning. Long day. Good travel. Good meeting. Nice to see friends and colleagues, some that I've known for upwards of 20 years. But even nicer to be back home with my sweetheart.

A blast from the past

Remember when?

... “The Beaver” was not just a large aquatic rodent
that gnawed on trees?

... Fizzies were on the same shelf as Beeman’s gum,
High Noon, Powerhouse and Wax Mustaches?

... Fizzies set your tongue a-tingling in the fashionable colors of a carefree adolescence?

... your parents said if you swallowed Fizzies Drink Tablets whole, then drank water, your stomach would explode?

Relive the memories ... Fizzies are back!

I can hardly wait. I guess I'm getting a little nostalgic in my old age. The good old days weren't all good but some of them were and some of the things we enjoyed back then were great. That's why I now have Stadium Checkers and a Poosh-Em-Up-Big-5 pinball game in my closet. And just the other day we were wondering "whatever happened to Fizzies?"

My own personal favorite memory of Fizzies was eating at a nice restaurant in Germany. My folks had sent me a few packets of Fizzies. I had ordered ice water with my meal and when the waitress returned with the food, she was surprised and puzzled that I had some sort of "root beer" looking soda. She kept looking at her order pad until I explained what I had done and showed her with another glass of water how easy it was to make "root beer".

According to the Old Time Candy Company

Once upon a time in the '50s -'60s there was a popular drink tablet that fizzed when placed in water. FIZZIES® were invented by the Emerson Drug Company. The idea derived from scientists working with chemical formulas similar to "Bromo Seltzer" and wondering if a fun, fruit flavored drink could be developed the same way.

"Wouldn't it be grand if we could drop a tablet in a glass of water and have an instant soda pop?" After long hard work, they finally figured out how to combine the right combinations of fruit flavoring, sweetener, citric acid and sodium bicarbonate (a substance that is much like baking soda) into a magical tablet that when dropped into water, turned water into an instant sparkling, effervescent fruit drink!

Fizzies were made in grape, cherry, orange, punch, berry, lemon-lime, and root beer flavors and 8 tablets cost 19 cents. Unfortunately Fizzies contained the sugar substitute cyclamate. In 1968 the FDA banned the use of cyclamates citing research showing that cyclamates caused cancer in laboratory animals and the company went out of business.

They returned in the mid-1990s containing NutriSweet, a substitute 200 times sweeter than sugar. A new company purchased the formula and reintroduced them to the market in 1995. It was short lived because the company went out of business and all of the inventory was gone by late 2001.

Well, according to the folks at Fizzies.Com, the delightful "instant soft drink" of the 50's will soon be back again. Marketing is set for mid- to late May of this year. We'll all be able to enjoy the magic again. But probably not for 19 cents per pack of 8 tablets. More likely $2.99 per pack.

Google, Googler, Googlest

Google is a search engine, right? With it, you can find something on virtually every topic known to man if it is mentioned on some web site somewhere. But were you aware that Google does much, much more than that? Do you know, for instance, that you can search for weather, travel information, or stock quotes? You can find reviews and showtimes for movies showing in your area. You can ask to see a snapshot of websites as they were last captured by Google, even websites that no longer exist on the Net. Looking up a definition is as easy as typing "define dipsomania" in the search box (without quotes).

One of the fascinating usages I just discovered was as a calculator. Unlike your pocket calculator, Google allows words and phrases such as "two fortnights" or "$25 in Euros". Just type your caculation question in the spot you'd normally type in the query. Google decides that you don't really want to look something up. You want an answer and it gives it to you.

Here's a link to a great Google Cheat Sheet that lists all Google Services and tools as well as background information on the company. Much of this information is available right on the Google main help page.

I'd be interested to hear what your experience has been with creative uses for Google or one of it's offspring.

Waiting for the call…

Is it time yet? No, not quite. There’s still time to read this morning's newspaper. Maybe one more trip to the bathroom so I can settle down comfortably in the recliner and wait. Oops, better make sure I have my glass of soda handy. This nasal congestion and cough can really act up if I don’t have something to drink. Now, let’s see… did I do anything today worth talking about?

What time is it? Oh, she’s probably going to wait until a few minutes after 8:00 to make sure that she’s using her free minutes.

Hmmm, better check the phone. Yup, I can get dial tone. Wonder what the delay is. Oh, there she is. Funny, the caller ID is saying unknown caller, not Carolyn’s Cell Phone.

Hello. Hello. No, I’m not inter… No, I’m …. WOULD YOU PLEASE SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME!!! Take…..us…..off….your….calling…list! Damned telemarketers! Only a survey he said. Lovely Indian accent, too.

At least I know the phone is working. Now, what can I say about my day. Wasn’t much to talk about. Board still hasn’t picked a new CEO. I guess it’s only been 3 months. I could talk about lunch. How’s that for an interesting day – lunch!

It’s so late I need to go to the bathroom again. What did people do before cordless phones?

Now I’m getting pissed. I don’t have all evening to sit and wait for her phone call. Wait a minute. Yes, I do. And it’s not like I have to sit here doing nothing while waiting. Cool it, Arnold. She’ll call.

What was I going to talk about? Oh, yeah – lunch. Oh, that must be her. Yup, right on the Caller ID.

Hello. Oh, hi. Fine. Not much. How about you? I hadn't noticed. No, I understand. No problem……
.
.
.

... Love you. Thanks for calling. G'night.

$3.25 per gallon!!

With the price of gas continuing to climb ever higher, the least we can do is try to find the best deal. Of course, the best deal is to run an oil company so you can retire with a $400 million retirement package like the CEO of Exxon did recently. But the best deal we can find will probably be more like the lowest price for gas in the neighborhood. A friend sent this MSN link to us recently. Unlike some gas price comparisons which compile individual user-reported prices, this service appears to use credit card processing data from major credit card companies throughout the nation. That tends to leave out some outlets such as Costco or Sam's Club but otherwise it appears to be a pretty good comparison.

Another location that is really interesting is GasBuddy.Com which gives comparative prices for various locations around the country they have this great map showing where in the country gas prices are the highest and lowest. It would be interesting to compare this map with the President's approval rating.

And while you're thinking about all this, you may wish to write to your legislator and/or president and thank him/her that we even have gas to buy. With the crazy things happening in the Middle East, it's probably only our Iraqi occupation forces that are keeping the pumps open over there.

Earth Day and beyond

Yesterday was Earth Day and I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that not only did I not celebrate it in any way (other than working in the yard to make my little corner of the earth a little more tidy) but I also really didn't even think about it. I was brought up short about it this morning when Carolyn and I attended the Sunday celebration of the Spiritual Life Center where a good friend of ours was preaching for the first time since she was ordained a minister in the Unity Church.

The service was lively and invigorating, a mixture of Hawaiian, Native American, and African traditions describing the beauty of the earth and the importance of giving back to the earth more than we take from it. From the beautiful stained-glass windows of the Pioneer Congregational Church to the brightly colored clothing of the singers and dancers to the poetic imagery of speakers and singers, we saw, heard, and felt the beauty of this world. Reverend Shannah McAleer's message repeated the word "stewardship" over and over again from several major religious traditions in the world reminding us that we all have a responsibility to keep and maintain the world.

Even President Bush, yesterday while visiting a West Sacramento company involved with hydrogen fuel cell technology, went on record as saying that "we're going to a day... where the United States of America will not be dependent on oil [and] will be good stewards of the environment..."

So even though I forgot, the world celebrated Earth Day with conferences, meetings, and church experiences like we witnessed this morning. Thank you, Reverend Shannah and the Spiritual Life Center.

The end of a vacation

It was with just a little bit of melancholy that we bid the kids and grandkids goodbye this morning. They need to get back to their "normal" life just as we do. We won't miss the controlled chaos that accompanies children of all ages but we will miss the squeals of delight and the signs of children developing their natural abilities.

We've enjoyed things as disparate as the labyrinth at the Pioneer Congregational Church in Sacramento to Fort Sutter, Black Chasm Cave, the Jelly-Belly factory, Grinding Rock State Park, the Sacramento Railroad Museum, Old Sacramento or just playing around Grandma and Grandpa's house.

I think it is interesting how some of the old classics such as Tinker Toys can interest the youngest
and the oldest and be as entertaining as field trips around the area.

Thanks to our family members for joining us for vacation.

Keeping up with the Joneses

I have used Google to search the Web for about as long as it's been around. And I'll admit it, a couple of years ago I began using Google to look up friends and acquaintances. It was kind of fun to see what people were doing or where they were or what was being said about them. Of course, the more unusual the name, the easier it is to Google a person because the "hits" will relate to the person you know rather than the 1,000,000 other John Smiths that you don't know.

I learned from Newsweek this week that a new web site has opened (it still describes itself as a "beta" site) that has become the overnight rage on the Internet. That site is www.zillow.com. By entering an address on this site, you are presented with the estimated value of the house and property located at that address. Using what must be one of the nation's largest real estate databases, Zillow also presents the values of homes surrounding the one you entered, the description and size of the home, recent recorded sales of the property, and comparable houses in the area which have sold recently. Basically, you get, instantly and for free, everything you used to have to ask a realtor to get for you. In addition, in some parts of the country you can get an aerial and/or satellite photo of the property although the photos seem to be several years old.

Now, you too can see how your property compares with your neighbors, your co-workers, or your relatives. What will be next?

Which is hardest - religion or science?

Nothing is harder than science. All the answers are there - they have to be because they're intrinsic to the process that raises them. But the answers aren't all known, and the questions keep changing.

Nothing is easier than religion. The questions are there, of course, glorious in their changelessness. But the Answer is known and is wonderful in its simplicity.

This quote from R. Joseph Hoffman, professor of religion at Wells College, illustrates one of the great divides between science and religion. Like most quotes, it contains a germ of truth but can we take it at face value?

I think one could make a good case for just the opposite - Science is easy, Religion is hard. After all, science is based on observable, repeatable, verifiable facts. If we fair to detect something today, tomorrow we might be able to build a better detector and find that fact that has been eluding us. Einstein's theories put forth in 1905 could not be verified or disproven until decades later when technology had developed sufficiently. Cold atomic fusion reported by University of Utah scientists in 1989 raised hopes about a cheap and safe energy source that seemed too good to be true. It was. Attempted verification by other scientists quickly threw a wet blanket on that enthusiasm. Verification or faslification in science is relatively easy.

Religion on the other hand is hard. We pray for a cure and receive more sickness, perhaps to increase our strength of character or patience. We plant seeds of hope, often to reap weeds of despair. People don't respond like elements. Something that worked for Johnny won't work for Jimmy. Of course, often god does work a miracle in our life or that of a loved one. But then we're that much more aware that it was a miracle and that the next time we might not be so fortunate. Promises of rewards in the life after this sometimes sound too good to be true. But technology will never advance far enough to verify or disprove that. Only dying will. Religion really is hard.