It Happened On This Date (More or Less)

August 12

1812 – USS Constitution captures and destroys brig Adeona.

1918 – SECNAV approves acceptance of women as yeoman (F) in
U.S. Navy.

1942 – USS Cleveland (CL-55) demonstrates effectiveness of radio-proximity fuze (VT-fuze) against aircraft by successfullydestroying 3 drones with proximity bursts fired by her five inch guns.

1944 – LT Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., USNR, the older brother of
John F. Kennedy, was killed with his co-pilot in a mid-air
explosion after taking off from England in a PB4Y from
Special Attack Unit One (SAU-1). Following manual takeoff,
they were supposed to parachute out over the English Channel
while the radio-controlled explosive filled drone proceeded to
attack a German V-2 missile-launching site. Possible causes
include faulty wiring or FM signals from a nearby transmitter.

1957 – In first test of Automatic Carrier Landing System, LCDR Don
Walker is landed on USS Antietam.

1958 – USS Nautilus (SSN-571) arrives Portland, England completing
first submerged under ice cruise from Pacific to Atlantic
Oceans.

Old Age Can Creep Up On You

Frequently, when I look in the mirror, I wonder “Who is that old man and why is he staring at me so hard?”

That “old man,” of course, is me. When did I get old?

Was it at the age of 32 when, while packing to move to New York and kneeling down to retrieve a toy from one of my young sons’ bed that I felt my very first tinge of arthritis? Was it when I realized I had more gray in my beard than black? Was it when I found I could not dance without my ankles “freezing up” on me? Maybe it was all of these and more.

At any rate, I think I am now officially “old!” It seems a week does not go by that I don’t have an older relative or friend who dies. When your older relatives die frequently, you are getting “up there” too.

I remember when I was about 10 years old, wondering when I would be “old” and how would I know it. I decided, capriciously, I now realize, that I would be “old” when a current comedian I admired died. I figured he was older enough than me that when he died, I would be “up there” too. That comedian was Bob Hope.

Bob Hope died several years ago. I guess that is when I remembered my decision at age 10 and knew I was then “old.”

Yesterday, we went to the funeral of a dear friend’s mother. This friend is in his late 50s. He still had both his mom and dad living until earlier this week when death from cancer took his mother, Lula Mae. Standing at the funeral yesterday, I realized that one day, my children would be in the same place as Bill, mourning the passing of a parent. It’s just the nature of things.

When did Old Age creep up on me? It snuck in the back door at night when I was sleeping, dreaming of the future, oblivious of the present that was too quickly passing me by.

Purely Personal

We lost one of the great ones over the weekend. Randy Pausch, Carnegie Mellon University computer science professor and author of “The Last Lecture,” died at age 47 of pancreatic cancer. Randy lived every day to the fullest and accomplished many of his lifelong goals and dreams in a short period of time. You can see his “Last Lecture” at Randy’s homepage: http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/ . Randy was one-of-a-kind, although he would tell you he is not unique. Trust me, he was.

Never truer than today!

The philosopher and poet Cicero wrote the following more than 2,000 years ago, but in the current political climate, with the November election drawing near, never was it truer than in 2008.

“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot
survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable,
for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves
amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through
all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself.

“For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to
his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments. He appeals
to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul
of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine
the pillars of the city. He infects the body politic so that it can no
longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.” – Cicero (42 BC)

Quotes Worth Reading

I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity, is like
a man standing in a bucket, and trying to lift himself up by the
handle.” – Winston Churchill

“Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of
Congress but I repeat myself.” – Mark Twain.

“A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on
the support of Paul.” – George Bernard Shaw

“A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which
debt he proposes to pay off with your money.” – G Gordon Liddy

“Giving money and power to government, is like giving whiskey and
car keys to teen age boys.” – P. J. O’Rourke

Continue reading “Quotes Worth Reading” →

November Decision is Critical

The first part of this explains who Thomas Sowell is and why we should pay attention to his opinion. The second part is his opinion on the upcoming election and why our decision as a country is so important.

Thomas Sowell was born in North Carolina and grew up in Harlem . As with many others in his neighborhood, he left home early and did not finish high school. The next few years were difficult ones, but eventually he joined the Marine Corps and became a photographer in the Korean War. After leaving the service, Sowell entered Harvard University , worked a part-time job as a photographer and studied the science that would become his passion and profession: economics.

After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard University (1958), he went on to receive his master’s in economics from Columbia University (1959) and a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago (1968).

Continue reading “November Decision is Critical” →

Report: The End of the Internet Is Near

FOXNEWS.COM

From The Times of London

The end of the Internet is near — and in less than three years, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The reason? More than 85% of the available addresses have already been allocated and the OECD predicts we will have run out completely by early 2011.

Continue reading “Report: The End of the Internet Is Near” →

Supreme Court Strikes Down D.C. Gun Ban, Upholds Individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Associated Press
From: http://www.FoxNews.com

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting, the justices’ first major pronouncement on gun rights in U.S. history.

The court’s 5-4 ruling struck down the District of Columbia’s 32-year-old ban on handguns as incompatible with gun rights under the Second Amendment. The decision went further than even the Bush administration wanted, but probably leaves most firearms laws intact.

Continue reading “Supreme Court Strikes Down D.C. Gun Ban, Upholds Individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms” →