Monday, November 29, 2010

Marriage...and there are those still fighting to stop it.

A friend brought my attention to an interesting editorial article this morning, about the end of marriage. The direction this article takes is that the ones who need marriage are kids. The article is in rebuttal to Time magazine's statement that marriage is on the verge of extinction. The article is well-written and explores the issue of unwed mothers in depth. The article does not touch upon several points directly, but alludes to them.

Is welfare a cause of this epidemic?
Are minorities at a greater risk for being unwed parents?

What about those who are fighting to get married? The article speaks only to the traditional idea of marriage, of a man and a woman, not those that are fighting to be able to marry their same-sex partner. This issue for me comes close to home because of the activities of the predominant religion in this area and its financial support and condemnation of same sex-marriage and gays in the recent past. I have already posted a blog on that topic.

This is not just an issue in this country. If you are in Kenya, the Prime Minister thinks you should be arrested for same-sex attraction. His spokesperson was quick to say that his speech was at a rally and it was taken out of context. The spokesperson said that he was only referring to the nation's constitution that forbids same-sex marriage.

I think when we read between the lines of these articles, it would seem that the issue reverts back to marriage not being a state-sanctioned contract so much as a religious ideal. That once again there is a shift in the beliefs concerning organized religion worldwide.

And just a reminder, be careful what you post on facebook...some have a hard time determining what is personal and what is acceptable behavior. There should be contractual separation of work and private life.



Birds: It's that time! If you want to have babies ready to band on the first of the year, you need to have your pairs together now. As previously mentioned, if you haven't taken the time to prep your breeders with 4 in 1 or 5 in 1 solutions...wait and take the time. Your young birds will come out the better for it, and your fertility rates will be up. Also consider a teaspoon of iodine per gallon of water to increase fertility in your older birds. Calcium is a key factor in making your hens produce good eggs, so increase the amount of grit with oyster shell this month.

Honey: We had a delightful night of wine drinking the other night--a bottle of mead, a late harvest reisling and of course a dip into the private stock of Backyard Blonde. Even my oldest daughter enjoyed the homemade wine.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Water Settlement



We are back from Hawaii, and trying to catch up. Having caught this article, I had to at least make mention of it before getting back to work. Water rights in the west have led to more than one homicide, and a lot of bad blood. I will be keeping an eye on this one, since it may have far-reaching effects on those down-river.

Yesterday, Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. signed off on a water agreement that has been some time in making for the Navajo Nation. Shirley is confident in his negotiators and feels the best deal possible has been reached.  The agreement provides 31,000 acre-feet of water a year from the basin, any unclaimed flows from the Little Colorado River, and nearly unlimited access to two aquifers beneath the reservation.


Birds: The DeKlak birds that I donated to the Ogden Racing Pigeon Club brought $1,000 to the club, hopefully making it possible to attract new fliers with lower shipping costs for next year's races.





Honey: We tried a locally vinted mead while in Hawaii that was brewed with black tea. Although too dry for my taste, I am sure it would be a hit with my red-wine drinking friends.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Becoming concerned...

The other day, I had some concerns, because someone made a statement that they are not my "stalker," but they agreed with most of what my "stalker" wrote.  I added a tracking device gadget, just so I could see where these comments were coming from. Now I am becoming a bit concerned. I know my blog has become more and more popular without a real reason, the counter that comes with blogspot has me getting 50-60 hits daily...even when I don't add a new blog. I was warned that the tracker might hurt my self-esteem...well, it didn't...actually, it scared me...and at the same time, it seems to have proven my assertion of harassment at my last place of employment before being approved for a disability retirement. Now, I am concerned about the obvious obsession by someone there. Over a month after my last day, I am still having my blog tracked. 20 hits in one night from a suspicious IP Address and 3 hits the next day from the computer where I used to work...or at least the same IP Address as the office computer. I know that no one would have such bad professional ethics as to use office equipment for personal gain...shucks, you could get fired for that.


Okay, so I am a bit of a technophobe myself, and really got this information from someone that knows more than I do about computers and how to find out or verify where information is coming from. Techno sleuth...showed me how to verify an ISP (Internet Service Provider) and go a step beyond to verify an IP Address (Internet Protocol Address). While many people can use a single computer, most computers require that you log on and most businesses have IT people who can verify who signed on to what equipment and for how long.

So, my question at large is this, should I feel threatened by this abnormal behavior on the part of someone who appears to be obsessed with knowing what I am doing every minute??

Like the famous line says: "I'm not paranoid, they really are out to get me."

I really dislike that the tracking device has proven that there is someone so obsessed with vindicating themselves, that they are truly stalking me. On the other hand, it's nice to know that you can actually quantitate someone's dislike, bullying and abnormal behavior with a few simple clicks of a mouse.

I really am glad we are slipping off for a well-deserved vacation on a tropical island...and calling it our honeymoon. I'm also glad that my case has been proven by the perpetrator time and time again...and I have it logged...lol

When we get back, I think I will take this information and go get a restraining order...this type of behavior will not and cannot be tolerated.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Enough Politics!!

I'll never understand why the uneducated vote more than those with knowledge...that would have to be the case in this midterm election. It would seem that Fox has fooled the majority, sad when the media and Corporate America control the political direction of the country.

Enough, on to something that doesn't make my skin crawl.

Are you wanting to hear more of a song before you download it? Then you will be happy with iTunes new policy of extending previews. I know it will make a big difference around our house, we still have teens. Then there is the adopted daughter that lives for her music...she needs it for choreography.

And if you still live in a cave, you may not have noticed that Facebook is using smaller text on it's news feeds...maybe they are trying to tell us bi-focal and reading glass wearing oldsters we shouldn't be playing Farmerville or chatting with our FB friends around the world.

Speaking of Facebook, they are hosting a huge mobile event at 1:30 ET today...they won't tell us what it is all about, but there is lots of speculation. Look for changes when using a mobile device. They might even preview the new Android Platform.


Why the technology wave today? Last night, I was once again visited by an unpleasant stalker...maybe not the same one, but one that thinks a blog should be about controversy.  If that is what you are seeking here, you probably won't find what you are after. I don't want or need drama...I'm retired, I don't have to take BS from anyone.
 So my dear wife up loaded a tracking device to my blog site...wow, is that TMI? I don't like the "Big Brother" role. It is a protective device that will allow me to block specific IP address that become a problem. I write my blog for me, about what interests me. I don't do it for a profit, out of narcissism or to make myself known. If you enjoy things about Birds, Wine, Environmental issues and the occasional rant about stupid people (I'll try not to include you ;-P), then keep coming back and reading. If you aren't interested, there is so much more to do out there with your time, take a walk, play on Facebook or have a yard sale.










Birds: The Northern Utah Show and Auction will be held on the 13th of Novemeber, for more information contact me. I am donating four of my DeKlak breeders from CBS out of imports. This family has won several 300 mile races for me and other club members. They also have a winning record in Texas. They are not the best for futurity races, but the second and third year, they are terrors. They also have crossed well with speed birds, to produce fair-weather winners. When crossed on to Dennis Weinreich's (Chico, CA) long distance family they have produced 600 mile day birds.

Honey: One gallon of mead in the process, planned to use at a local friend's wine tasting in May. Plan ahead...with wine, you need 6 months notice and a year would be even better.