Happy Birthday Iraq

Instapundit has excellent links to the historic events in the fertile crescent. It reminds one of the opening of the Wall in Berlin 1989. Thanks to our Soldiers who have been essential in making it happen. Let Freedom Ring. --James
Photo of Joy
www.flight-of-ideas.com

Pilot error?

The companion website @ www.flight-of-ideas.com is frozen in time right now. It exists only in the ether of the server. The files on my desktop that I up load to manage the website have disappeared. Therefore, I have no immediate way to change it without a whole saturday afternoon to burn. The question I ask myself is how did it happen. I was imagining all sorts of Trojan Horses, smart virus bombs, or spyware that had taken over.
But in keeping with the theme of F.O.I. I have to assume pilot error. It was well known 40 years ago that I was a screw-up. Shovels and similiar tools that had worked perfectly well for years would break in my hands. I think I must have deleted the whole file folder by mistake. Well, maybe I am supposed to change F.O.I. in someway. I will start anew. --James

Synapses were alive...with the sound of music

When did you imprint on music ? What was the first song that you really heard? That spoke to you with words, or moved you with it's backbeat ? Euphoric recall describes that mind state that can beam you back to another time where the senses were electrified. Words can’t fully describe- yet the feeling is imaged in the brain. It may also correspond to the time you came of age, stopped liking the last generation’s music, and found yours. For me it was listening over and over to You Keep Me hanging On, by Vanilla Fudge, or the first albums by Led Zeppelin or Crosby, Stills, and Nash. What did it for you?? Please tell. (Responses can be given anonymously)www.flight-of-ideas.com

Free advice # 263 and 264

263. Coun' cher blessings (does worry change a thing?)
264. Wear a smile (fair warning-may be infectious, and may alter what you have to look at all day)--James
www.flight-of-ideas.com

Universal precautions.

They’re out there. Laying in wait. An invisible enemy. Wait, the natives are friendly. (“normal flora”) Watch out for door knobs. May lead to fewer colds. 5 years ago most people didn’t carry pump sprays, hand gels and sterilizing tissues in a dispenser pack. Our OCD fears have demanded a new industry. Now, toddlers in toilet training have disinfectant foam and their own bottom wipes (in the Baby Aisle). Kleenex has been impregnated with anti-virus weapons. 99% kill rate.
What about good hand washing at a few strategic points during the day, with plain cheap soap and water. Also, don’t pick your nose at the mall. Our Mechanisms of Disease instructor had reassuring advice about germs, ”the whole world is covered by a thin layer of feces- it is just thicker in some places than others”. --James http://www.flight-of-ideas.com/

Batteries not included

O baffling brain. Why are you so elusive? About 3 pounds. grapefruit sized. What, 10 billion neurons, to the power of say, 100 synapses? In terms of chance 10 billion to the 100th power is said to be bigger than the number of atoms in the universe. As mysterious a frontier as outer space. So hard to study. No moving parts. The CAT scan of a dead person could be normal. You can’t biopsy a few post synaptic transporter proteins.
Oh no. Not another paid spokes model blowing smoke with the newly discovered link between neurotransmitter X and behavior Z. In fact, the every diagnosis in the red bible is as much metaphor as the Oedipal complex. In 2105, this period will be thought of as the dark ages. --James

The Tree

A friend’s Dad once told me, “Jimmy, I think I forget about as much as I did 20 years ago when I was 50. But, the older I get I notice that I start counting every instance more closely.” What does that mean? Am I going to start wearing my shirts backwards or start sitting on my sofa thinking I should go home now.
With each milepost of life it is harder to deny the tsunami-like march of time –only in slow motion. Sure I lost that receipt. Misplaced my keys, again. So what if I let the time expire to earn the rebate on that last gadget
......Over the Thanksgiving break my 20 year old daughter was anticipating the tedious ritual of assembling the 1986 vintage artificial Christmas tree, the one in the boxes held together with more packing tape than cardboard. Dad, you and Mom might want to get a new tree, one that opens up like an umbrella, that already has lights….for your elderly phase. --James

The Vandal

This isn't a war zone. We have little to complain about compared to victims of war and natural disaster. But, someone has it in for our neighborhood. They don't like our mailboxes. Mine was flattened about 4 years ago. Well, I bent it back almost straight. But the bigger nuisance is the truck tire treads which show up about every 2 weeks in some ones' lawn. Most of the houses on the main drag are set back, unable to stand guard. The worst was the sod ripping ride someone took right up the middle of the yard of a home for sale. Before that it was just veering off the street like he couldn't drive straight. The most recent was right in front of the Smith's house. And he's mad. All kinds of booby traps come to mind. Back up spikes. Trap doors. Probably illegal. Like the Fire chief who was caught setting fires- I wonder if it is the lawn maintenance guy? Originally posted 1-17-2005 06:00am

Tami-flu Turnaround

Flu Shots! Get yer Flu shots. I got mine because of working around fragile others. Peg (unfortunately) did not due to lack of access. Mistake. Sore throat like a drink of Drano. Burning-freezing-and fatigue-all like living on Jupiter. And that (#@X%7X*) parent sent her spawn to school when the child was not well. Well, now you know the rest of the story. Hoping for a Tami-flu Turnaround. ---------Originally posted 1-15-2005 7:30 pm

Update: Therapy was successful. The symptomatic episode was about 72 hours with the peak of misery at about 36. Not sure if it was just Tincture of Time or Tami-flu.

What's the catch?

This is a new start. Until CoffeeCup software integrates blog software with their Visual Site Developer soft ware I will use Blogger. I don't know why or how it is free. Perhaps bait and switch? Or, maybe the free part is a teaser -designed to hook you in for 30 days then can't live without it. I don't mind paying my way. Nothing is really for free, as the saying goes. To be able to blog efficiently it helps to be able to archive, request comments, etc.

--taking the plunge. "a ship in port is safe. But that is not what ships are for"

-James (not my quote, of course, but I like it)

Chicken or egg ?

My Website is a work in progress it is maintained with Visual Site Designer from Coffee Cup. A WYSIWYG web page creator. As easy as can be but I can't Blog. So to have the best of both I'll just have to link both directions. What comes first, the Blog or the personal webpage? I wish I could add a graphic link and not just hyper text. I hope this is all worth it. -James