Tag Archives: experience

A State of Confusion

Posted in Christian values, Communism, experience by

It reminds me of the old saying that my older brother used to love to repeat, “Ladies and gentlemen, I stand before you to stand behind you to speak on something of which I know nothing about.” Okay. You can look it up on the internet, though my brother did not quote it right. It really is worth reading the whole thing if you have a minute or two. However, it’s not my point at this time. It is simply a way to introduce that which confuses me.

A number of decades ago, there was a nation, a horrible nation called Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). As I read the Bible, which I have read completely at least 7 times cover to cover, I did from time to time come across verses that confused me. They never caused me to doubt but they did cause me confusion.

Perhaps some of those passages is in Ezekiel. Well, at one one time, I was pretty sure of my understanding, you know the part about Gog and Magog. Between my own reading and some commentaries, I figured that it was referencing the USSR. The problem with that is that, now, the USSR no longer exists.

Ronald Reagan said that the nation would fall. In my mind, I said, “Right. Like that is going to happen. Communist nations never fall. Once the commies have their hold on any country, they won’t ever let go,” but they did. It seemed in a matter of weeks but it was more like months, the huge powerhouse crumbled before my eyes.

So. So much for my belief that the USSR is Gog and Magog. The thing is, Ezekiel is clear about it. Gog and Magog will come down from the north and attack Israel. It is also very clear that it will be a very powerful nation.

While Russia is still powerful, it is not what it used to be. However, to be sure, Russia is not much better than the USSR. More than that, Putin has voiced his desire to put the former empire back together. Worse, the dems don’t seem to want to get in his way. By driving the price of oil up to a hundred dollars a barrel, they have helped in the financing of it.

So, is Gog and Magog going to be the the reconstituted Soviet Union?

As I said in my opening statement, I don’t know. It sounds logical. Regardless. No matter what nation is being referred to, I would not want to be there when God decides to punish them. I won’t tell you what will happen to them. Just read it for yourself in Ezekiel 23.

I might be confused as to who Gog and Magog are. However, I have a pretty good idea of the punishment that awaits them and the reason.

Finally, for those who doubt the existence of God, study the history of Israel. A) The prophecies concerning the nation are coming true. B) Notice what happens to those nations that have treated Israel badly. Egypt, Babylonia, Rome and Germany. They aren’t but shells of what they were. I suspect it will not be long before Russia will receive their punishment as well regardless of if they are Gog and Magog or not.

For those who have a brain, take note. God can reduce the US to rubble. He just might decide to do it if we, too treat Israel badly. We have been forewarned. Even more, we have the examples.

Setting Records

Posted in Impeachment by

If Trump wins the election and the dems take the House, we are going to be setting records that will never be broken. I would expect the dems will be impeaching Trump every month. We will go from hardly any impeachments to 48 in one term. It will cease to be news.

After the third or forth, the press will become known as the ho-hum press.

Maybe it won’t be that bad. However, I’d just as soon not find out. Let’s make sure we build a good republican margin just to make sure. We don’t need to take up all of the congressional time impeaching.

Well, maybe I do have that part wrong. If the dems do get the majority, I’d just as soon they spend all their time spinning their wheels in impeaching. They won’t be able to mess up the other stuff up.

The Secret to Hitting the Target

Posted in Christian values, Fast Food by

When I was seven or eight, I got a gift of a bow and arrows. They were safe. They had the little suction cups on them. I don’t know why I got the gift. I never showed any interest in them. Nonetheless, I did mess with them from time-to-time and got pretty good with them, as long as I was less than about 20 yards from the targets that were furnished with it.

It was not long that I figured out the secret to hitting the target every time. I had to aim high. I guess at 20 yards or so, I had to aim about 4 or 5 feet above the target.

Though I had no idea of it at the time, there is a reason for this. An arrow dropped from 5 feet above the ground falls at the same speed as an arrow shot level from a bow. Many have actually done experiments to prove this with very complex and accurate equipment.

Moreover, no matter how far the arrow is drawn, it is the same. That is to say, the arrow falls at the same speed regardless of the forward speed of the arrow. It just is that a fast arrow has less time to drop before reaching the target.

Therefore, even the most experienced archer will aim high, or above the target. Just how high the archer needs to aim depends on the forward speed of the arrow and the distance of the target. The speed only figures in because the faster the arrow goes, the less time the arrow has to drop.

This is not only true with arrows but with all projectiles. I can’t remember what it was, but it seemed to me that when I fired my M-14, the bullet dropped about 4 to 5 inches on the way to that target 500 meters away. So, if I was to hit the bullseye, I had to aim high.

It was, more-or-less, done for me. I had a little wheel I turned to adjust the sights up and down. I didn’t have to do the math. If I was hitting low, I adjusted the wheel one way. If I was hitting high, I adjusted the other way. Hence I was able to put the bullet through the bullseye regularly from 500 meters. Those that don’t know, that is about 550 yards.

It’s no wonder that rifle knew how to kick.

As I think back over it, I kind of get the idea that it is where we got the expression, “Aim high.” I think it is a good thing to do, both on and off the range. I guess way back when, it was sort of the common thing to teach. Not so much anymore.

I said all that to say this, I noticed that McDonald’s fell short of their Q2 estimates (AKA target sales). It doesn’t surprise me. I am sure I am not the only one that figured it was going to happen. You see, almost all customers have the option of going somewhere else… somewhere where the service is faster and the food is better, AKA hot instead of lukewarm.

A few years ago, my water heater went out. I called a plumber to replace it. In the past, they treated me good and had reasonable prices. The woman at the other end of the phone started trying to talk me into a service plan. I went back and forth a few times. I explained why I don’t buy service plans. I was very patient with her, really. Finally, plainly, I said, one more word about service plans and I hang up.

Someone else got my business. I don’t know who that woman was on the other side of the phone but she forgot one important fact of business. The customer can always hang up, and I did.

The real problem with these businesses is simple. They decided that they do not need to aim high.

We went to Burger King this afternoon. I felt like having a fish sandwich and they have very good fish sandwiches; or at least I think so. I ordered two fish sandwiches, one medium fry, a large onion ring, (don’t care too much for their fries) and two large Diet Cokes. I also told her that one of the sandwiches needs to be mustard and ketchup only. My wife does not like tarter sauce. Don’t have a clue why. That stuff is good.

You would not have a clue how many times I had to go through all that. First, she tried to sell me the meals. I told her, I don’t care how you write it up. Then I went back through the whole thing. She was apparently having a difficult time getting the register to accept that. I haven’t an idea why.

At any rate, having it my way is a nice saying, but in this case, maybe not so much. She read the order back and it was wrong, believe it or not. Why does this restaurant say I can have it my way and have so much difficulty figuring out a simple order. I can’t imagine what might happen if I ordered a dozen Whoppers, each to be made in a different way.

I am a patient man. Really I am. Moreover, I did want that fish sandwich. Still, if she got the order wrong one more time, I think I would have turned around and walked out. Actually, the girl was trying. It was her training. Somehow, when they came up with their neat little saying, they forgot to tell her. They have this “meal thing” on their minds and they don’t like it when a person comes in and asks to have it their way.

To their credit, they did get the order right. It was ready in about 3 minutes, great in my book. and the food was burn your mouth hot, especially the onion rings. It makes me, all the more, wish I could get them to get over this meal thing. Just maybe they can aim a little higher and actually practice their saying.

Before I left, I thanked them for a hot meal and told them that they had permission to have a nice day. After all. They did serve me good food promptly. More than I can expect from McDonald’s.

By the way, if you want a good fish sandwich, Burger King is a good place. If all you want is a whopper, those are good too.

As the Youth Die

Posted in Abuse of Power, Biden, Border wall, Bribes, Build the Wall!, Christian values, City of Memphis, Communism, Crime, Deceit, Drug Abuse, Drug Culture, FOC, Immigration, Kamala Harris, Lawyers and Representation, Liberals, News Anchors, News media, Our Legal Systems, Politally Correct, Politcal Opinion, Uncategorized by

When I wrote my book, “Mitch” I tried to put passages in it that would drive the youth away from drugs. As you can see, that didn’t work. Not many read the book. If they read it, they haven’t paid any attention. I would say my words fall on deaf ears, but they fact is my words don’t reach their ears.

In one of the passages, the main character, Mitch, is explaining to Margo one of his worst fears as policeman in drug enforcement is to one day look down the barrel of a gun held by a twelve year-old. In the book, he doesn’t explain it further. The reason for his fear is obvious. Does he kill the youth in self-defense or because of his age, does he allow the youth to pull the trigger on him?

As I wrote the words, and more over the years, I do wonder if there are similar situations that police officers are put in from time to time. I suspect it does happens. Sometimes the officer allows the youth to pull the trigger. In some cases, the officer pulls the trigger, knowing that he will live with the regret… knowing that those who appointed him to protect and serve will accuse him forever and a day. For sure, many times the officer goes to prison.

Don’t get me wrong. The officer is not always right to pull the trigger. I would never make a good cop. I would be among those that might pull the trigger when the kid has a B-B gun. Then I would have to suffer the rest of my life knowing that I made a mistake, though it isn’t really a mistake. B-B guns frequently do look like real guns, especially in the heat of the moment.

When I was a kid, that sort of thing didn’t happen. Why is it so commonplace today? There might be many reasons. However, I know of two. When I was a kid, kids were not involved in crime. Today, it is more and more common for younger and younger kids to have real guns and pull the trigger with little or no reason. Without police, the eleven and twelve-year-olds would be shooting each other as, to some degree, they do today.

The second reason is a little more difficult to see, but it’s there. The proliferation of the drug culture. At first, it was just the adults that were the only ones shooting at each other over the drugs and money. I guess, in the future we can look forward to 10 or even 9-year-olds shooting at each other.

As the youth die, the dems don’t care. They do nothing to curtail drug use. In fact, they seem to do things to encourage it and the accompanying violence, you know, like letting the cartel import the poison over the border.

You never, ever see the dems shedding a tear at the loss of the lives of children, actually over anyone. It facilitates the goals of ridding the country of law enforcement by decreasing their funding, which only adds to the problem, which, of course is by design.

To Paraphrase a Former Great President

Posted in Uncategorized by

There they go again. (Regan during one of the debates)

They keep trying to convince us that Old Joe made his decision to step aside voluntarily for the good of party and nation. The fact is that the decision was forced on him. There is no way that it was voluntary. If it had been back a couple of hundred years ago, he would have been handed a pistol and told, “You know what to do with this.”

And of course, all this was done while Kamala just sat there and watched as it all unfolded. Then, once he stepped aside, Kamala stepped in. Then she said, “Thank you very much,” figuratively, of course.

I am sure that the leadership of the dems agreed, no jail time for Old Joe or his family. I’m sure their was a dollar or two thrown in to make it easier for him to take his meds.

Got to hand it to them. They keep trying to get us to believe the lie. Then too, many are just gullible enough to swallow that pill.

Computers

Posted in Computers, Entertainment, experience by

The small business owner was asked over and over why he didn’t computerize his business. He kept replying that he already made mistakes fast enough. He didn’t need the help of a computer to only make them faster.

There is some truth to story, even though someone likely made it up. Computers are fast. If you don’t do things right when you set up a computer, most likely, you will make the man’s words come true. And, I have seen it happen a number of times.

At one time, computers were big and expensive. Worse, they were slow. Well, they were fast but not nearly as fast as the computers today. So, even the big businesses had one computer and it was put in the hands of a few people.

The hitch is that the owners of the companies knew a lot about business, but little or nothing about computers. The salesman came along telling the owner of the business that the computer will solve all his problems, even some he doesn’t know about. Of course, no one mentioned that the computer salesman knew only slightly more than the owner of the business owner.

Worse yet, the salesman didn’t actually know what the owner of the business could use the computer for. With those three things being true, it amazed me that anyone got anything right. What I write, I have seen firsthand. However, more than that, I have read many articles in computer magazines that have said the same thing. Therefore, I think I can say with a reasonable amount of proof that I was not the only one to notice it.

So it is, that many computers were purchased to do things the computer was not intended for and those who knew how to use the computers couldn’t.

Then, in come the programmers, those who know how to make computers do what they do. Naturally, they got busy writing programs that served little or no purpose. Let’s face it, they have no idea what the users need the computer for so they make programs that they think will be useful.

Then the owners of the companies discovered something about computers that they liked. They served the purpose of “big brother.” They permitted the boss to look over the shoulders of those on the line doing the real job. Granted, it did help the company run a little more efficiently, but it would have run 3 times better if the computer would be used for their proper purpose.

I saw it all happen and it really rubbed me the wrong way. When I was in the Marines, they had computers keeping track of all I did. I also worked for two civilian companies that did the same. In the Marines I spent almost as much time looking up codes as I did doing the work.

Ask the doctors. They spend 10 minutes with a patient and he pays a secretary for 20 minutes work to make sure it gets documented right. Then, if it not documented right, Medicare or the insurance company kicks it back and the doc doesn’t get paid until it is documented right. And you wonder why it is that medical costs keep sky rocketing.

One of the biggest advantages of the PC is that it brought control of the computers to the folks who can really use them and they know what to use them for.

Well, that’s not totally true. If the owner turns his back for a minute, his employees get busy surfing the web or playing games. I heard of one company that had to send out a message for every one to stop watching the Super Bowl on the computers as it was slowing down internet response.

I only heard of the one instance, but I am sure it still happens a lot. Only now they use their phone instead of the businesses internet. Well, at least they can get their work done in between touchdowns.

It’s All Replaceable

Posted in Christian values by

At 76, almost 77, if anything gets better with age, I would think that I would know it. However, everything I know of eventually gets replaced with something new. My original thought, though maybe a little romantic, was people. However, even we humans grow old, and eventually we will be replaced.

God has said that ultimately, He will replace these old bodies with bodies that will last forever. The older I get, the more I look forward to that day. To be sure, this old body does not get better with age.

Daily writing prompt
What do you think gets better with age?
View all responses

I’m Surprised. It’s Kind of Slick

Posted in A Little About me, Computer Upgrades, Growing Old, Passwords by

When I bought my Brother laser printer, I originally connected it direct via USB to my laptop. I knew it could be connected to my Wi-Fi, but didn’t consider it worth the bother. Then I bought my new computer, which I now use in the living room so I am with my wife more. That put it out of reach of the printer.

However, until just a day or so ago, I have still been organizing things on the new system. So, this morning, I decided to connect the printer via the Wi-Fi. It was easy, really easy. I was surprised at how easy it was. However, it was also time consuming. I had about 30 characters to feed into the printer for the password…using three buttons. Yep, it took a while. Yep, I would suggest that everyone use maybe 20 or 15 characters instead of what I used. By the way, no editing keys other than to clear the last character in the string. It did take me a while.

Okay. I got the password in and, behold, it worked the first time. I started my computer, and in a few seconds, I printed out the first document. I have never seen things work that slick before first time.

Just for grins, I went over to my little computer pad and brought up my outlook screen. I told it to print the selected e-mail and it did. That is amazing. I didn’t even set it up. It already knew how to do it.

Then I took a picture with my phone of my cat on the top of a step ladder. That’s right. I tried to print it. Guess what. It did it…first time. This thing is trying to spoil me.

Now. Just one more problem. I need to have something to take photos of. Hint. I do not make a good subject. Well, there was the photo I printed from the pad. It was a sunset that turned out well. I really like it a lot. Anyone want some photos of sunsets?

Consider the Result

Posted in Christian values, Religion by

I am a man. The result of a conversation of the US to Islam would certainly have undesirable results for me, especially considering I am Christian.

On the other hand all women would suffer badly under Islam. It does make me wonder just why any woman would want such a conversation. The truth is, the words are weak, but I simply don’t know how to express it more strongly or clearly.

Today, women are demonstrating, working hard for the advancement of Islam in this world. Do they not understand what most assuredly will happen to them the instant Sharia law becomes the law of the land.

Forget equality for women, especially those that are educated. In Afghanistan, most of the women who went to school were killed. Under Islam there is no equality for women. Frequently, it is death for them if the step outside the law even a little.

I guess, somehow, these women demonstrators think they will be immune. Maybe they think they will gain respect by helping. I don’t know. I’m not the expert. On the other hand, it would be a horrible thing if a few thousand, maybe millions were to learn firsthand.

Before making any decision of such magnitude, it is wise to consider the results.

While I am on the subject, consider Christianity, instead. No religion respects women more than real Christianity.

What Every Republican Should Have Learned

Posted in Abuse of Power, Biden, Border wall, Build the Wall!, Christian values, Communism, Deceit, experience, FOC, law enforcement, Social Media by

President Reagan made the mistake of making the agreement that, if the dems would make laws to stop the inflow of illegal aliens then he would permit up to 20 million amnesty.

He did, they didn’t. It was, as far as I know, the one big mistake he admitted to. Every Republican should have learned the lesson, but sadly few have. We need to broadcast to one and all, “We have learned the lesson.”

It is the simple concept, payment must be made in advance. We need to repeat the phrase until all are tired of hearing it.

Right now, the dems have demonstrated they want an open border. There is no since seeking any agreement until they first close the border. We must insist on the payment in advance or learn the same lesson Reagan did. Those insisting on dealing with the likes of Biden must also insist in him closing the the border before we hold ANY discussions.

We can never win if we keep letting them win every compromise.