Pueblog USa
Friday, April 30, 2010
Gladiolias
Something for the Tech Support folks at HP.
Enjoy….
Sunday, November 15, 2009
PCC Buffet — 091108
A Sunday feast
Last Sunday, there was a luncheon buffet at the Pueblo Community College Student Center.
Held in the ballroom, it was a veritable feast ranging from soups and salads through toothsome entrees to mouth-watering desserts. Not to forget a cash bar that actually knew what a ‘kir’ was. Indeed. They offered a ‘kir royal’.
And it was all done by the students going through the Culinary program at PCC.
Here are some shots of the event.
This NEXT Sunday, 22 November, they’re going to put the students through what is called The Grand Buffet. If you don’t think you’re going to get enough turkey over the coming holiday, THIS is going to be the place to be. However, I do understand they’ll be offering beef and pork as well.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Library of Congress (Part 2)....
...again, in your hip pocket.
I’m reminded, today—as I download another wonderful app—that there’s more than just music, games and literature available on the iPod Touch/iPhone.
I’m in the process of downloading an app to help identify wild flowers. And speaking of ‘wild things’ there are apps for identifying birds as well. The latter, titled iBird Explorer Pro, includes their calls and various ways to search on something you saw.
The one for wild flowers is titled Audobon Wildflowers — A Field Guide to North American Wildflowers. They talk such things at their website where they talk about a LOT of things. But there, they don’t mention….YET….their iPod Touch/iPhone guide. But they ARE advertising their Audobon Birds for iPod Touch and iPhone.
I think I’ll get that one too….
Monday, November 09, 2009
The Library of Congress….
....in your hip pocket
Well. Not exactly. But it gets pretty darn close to it. Save for those items that are still under copyright laws that the owners will not relinquish.
How does one do it? Get an Apple iPod Touch.
I’ve had an iPod (classic) for quite some time. I found it mildly entertaining while waiting for another ‘round’ at debate tournaments. I’d listen to my favorite music. But battery life was somewhat limited. And, recording was not as effective or lengthy as I would wish. So, when I figured I’d need some more recording capability, I finally dropped on a second-generation iPod Touch. And I have to admit that it has become the most used electronic device in the household. And not just for the pleasant music I’ve collected over the decades. Nor for the games that are available at Apple’s iTunes Store. But I will admit that playing Monopoly and Scrabble with other people using iPods IS a pleasant way to play such games. And then there are the internet based contest games too.
Rather, what prompted this missive is the discovery of an app titled Eucalyptus. This is a ‘reader’ program that has been developed as an ‘open source’ project to make as many books that are out of copyright or their copyright owners have agreed available to be read on the iPod and iPhone products from Apple.
At last Saturday’s debate tournament, I decided I’d like to have something good to read, but my selection was limited on the iPod. Yesterday, I went searching the iTunes store for good books to read and discovered Eucalyptus. They claim 20,000 titles so I dropped on the application for $10 and discovered what, for all the world, to me seemed the ancient library of Alexandria. Since then I’ve been merrily downloading things ranging from novels about Allan Quartermain to the histories of Herodotus, Xenophon, Josephus, Tacitus, Julius Caesar, Cicero and others to the works of Shakespeare, Cornell Wilde, Lewis Carroll, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Edgar Allen Poe, Jane Austin, Rudyard Kipling, the philosophies of Thomas Paine, John Locke, Marcus Aurelius, Thoreau…. The names and lists seem to be endless.
Kudos to Apple for coming out with a device that can be SO useful and entertaining at the same time. And special thanks to the people at Project Gutenberg, the creators of Eucalyptus.
Why the ‘Y’ Isn’t Serving Pueblo
Or, the chickens ARE coming home to ‘roost’.
Another item in Saturday’s Chieftain. This one about the perception that the YMCA isn’t REALLY serving all of Pueblo as it claimed it would during the run up to the decision by the City Council to subsidize their project.
I have a simple question for the Y….
Where they say….
Terry Lockwood, president and CEO of the Y, notes that the organization provides scholarships for kids who cannot afford Y membership. No requests for scholarships have been rejected, he said, and requests for them have risen by 20 percent since the new complex opened.
....I’d like to know how many such scholarships have been issued, compared to requests and to number of under-privileged children in Pueblo that would benefit from such.
Also, I seem to recall comments that the Y would be providing bus service to facilitate children on the East side getting to their new campus. I’d like to know the status on THAT service, too.
You Get What You Pay For
Or so the old adage goes.
So, when I read this item about Pueblo West considering getting a ‘computer specialist’ in Saturday’s Pueblo Chieftain....
Resident Phil Weber, who has an extensive computer background, said the district will have to pay more for someone who knows what they are doing. “For $40,000, you’re going to get a jerk,” he said. “Think $70,000.”
But Weber, a retiree, said he would do it for nothing.
....I had to ask myself, so what would Pueblo West get for paying ‘nothing’?
Not that I know Mr. Weber. And I do admire his willingness to volunteer to do for free what he thinks people should get $70K. BUT, the logic of his statement just stood out to me.
On the other hand, I’m surprised that Pueblo West doesn’t ALREADY have such a person on their payroll. But if they don’t, I highly recommend they hire someone who is familiar with Macintosh as well as Windows platforms and works to facilitate BOTH operating systems in the metro-district plans.
As for compensation….
....someone who gets NOTHING for their efforts can turn around and walk away without a second thought. Just having a ‘bad day’ with the ‘boss’ could trigger it. Whereas someone who is getting good pay and other important benefits….think the new health care legislation and the requirement, as stated last week, of having to pay $15K per year for an individual policy or face jail time….would likely think at least twice about walking away.
As for Mr. Weber?
I highly recommend the city consider him as a consultant with a decent compensation for his expertise in this important area. And put him on the committee to select the full-timer, too.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
As If….
....I hadn’t been expecting THIS!
Our good Congressperson voted FOR this Obama-PelosiCare.
NOW….maybe just….now….
....they’ll let us READ the legislation. Considering that Pelosi broke her ‘promise’ {snicker} to let US see it 72 hours before the vote and our Congressperson’s staffers were saying we’d see the verbiage….but apparently not BEFORE the vote….
...let’s see what our Congressperson voted for. I’ll provide the text once I can find it.
UPDATE: An interesting observation on what it means.
UPDATE: And THIS probably explains why they did it at night….
....men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.—John 3:19
Friday, November 06, 2009
My Congressperson’s Staff ‘At Work’
A less than satisfactory encounter with MY elected official.
It’s kind of ‘odd’ being hung up on when trying to explain to my Congressperson’s staff that they’re behaving in a manner that they acuse Fox News of behaving. To wit….
....S——- stated that Fox News was not the most reliable source of information when I mentioned Fox News had an article claiming that the Democrats were NOT going to release details of changes they were making to their proposed health care reform bill—for all of US to read—BEFORE the vote.
S——- kept telling me the information would be released. And I kept asking “When? Before or after the vote?” Or words to that effect. At which point, when we got to the third iteration of that cycle, she hung up.
This is NOT the way to run a public relations/interface-with-your-constituents, in my personal opinion.
To tell the truth….I’m getting rather tired of hearing that my Congressperson hasn’t made a decision with regards to a bill. Especially when it’s this LATE in the ‘game’.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
And the Decision IS…..
....NO MAYOR!!!
People in Pueblo are slow to accept change. Cautious is probably a better word for it.
And whereas the people who advocated for a ‘strong mayor’ think that it was their being out-spent by the opposition camp, I have my doubts. Rather, I think the people of Pueblo were thinking along the lines of that old proverb….
Happier with the ‘devil’ they know than with the one they don’t know.
And, as is always said, “The ‘devil’ is in the details.” And the people of Pueblo were totally unfamiliar with the details of how either a ‘strong mayor’ or a ‘weak mayor’ would work out. In the first place. The ‘strong mayor’ camp didn’t really provide evidence enough to convince the people their plan was a good one. Nor did they do a good job of countering the arguments of the ‘no mayor’ camp.
As for the ‘weak mayor’. Nobody gave that camp much opportunity to express their arguments. Especially the Pueblo Chieftain which did not include them in the debate at PCC.
There are many more reasons to why this came down the way it did. And I invite the advocates of the ‘strong mayor’ camp to express their opinions about that in the comments section of this thread. Click on the word “Comments” in the box, below.
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Looking Into the Future
Albeit indirectly…..
Ya gotta LOVE it….
THE YEAR was 1787. The Constitutional Convention had just wrapped up in Philadelphia. Benjamin Franklin, one of the delegates, was leaving the hall when he was asked, famously, “Sir, what kind of government have you given us?” To which the wizened Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”—Editorial in Pueblo Chieftain
Republics of the representative form are the very best we’ve experienced in all of history. All the others, including the democracies, tend to fail for one reason or another.
The article goes on to say….
Mr. Franklin knew that the few true republics in history had their day, then sank from inattention to their core values. He was telling his interlocutor it was imperative that the citizenry be responsible to keep the new republic.—Editorial in Pueblo Chieftain
Of late….actually over the last one hundred years, we’ve been rather ‘inattentive’.
Examples of this being the 17th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States which mandated the popular election of Senators to the US Congress. Therein a huge break in the voices and powers of the states was broken.
More recently, the Supreme Court rulings of Baker v. Carr (1962) and Reynolds v. Simms (1964) destroyed the balance of legislative and judicial power at the state level that we enjoy at the federal level. How so? By making the state senate nothing more than an overpaid version of the state house of representatives.
As a result of these actions, the people of the rural regions have much less authority in political activities as they had before those decisions.
The challenge for those of US who live outside of the Denver metropolitan area, which holds 17 of the 35 seats in the Colorado State Senate, is how to reverse this slide towards ‘true democracy’.
Why is that important? Well, if you study history, as many military officers do, you can see this trend. And if you read the writings of the Founding Fathers, you understand the truth of THIS statement….
Democracy… while it lasts is more bloody than either aristocracy or monarchy. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide.—John Adams
I think the editorial in today’s Pueblo Chieftain speaks more than they realized.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Mail-In Voter Fraud, Anyone?
They’re anticipating it in New Jersey tomorrow.
Let US hope it’s not as bad here as we suspect it will be there.
Chieftain, My Chieftain XI
Getting the ‘Funnies’.
For quite some time, I’ve been TRYING to get the Pueblo Chieftain to include a daily political comic strip of the conservative persuasion. Sort of a Doonesberry for the 21st Century, but from the opposite end of the political spectrum.
However, time after time, they’ve refused. And I don’t understand why. Well…maybe in truth….I DO understand.
Here’s the offering from the other day….
Sunday, November 01, 2009
What To Do about Pueblo
Thoughts on the problems of our City.
Up front, I’m not voting for the ‘Strong Mayor’ in this Tuesday’s referendum.
I don’t think having a strong mayor will solve the current problems we experience in Pueblo.
And I commented as much in reply to a one-over-the-world e-mail from one of the advocates of such a change in our city government.
We got into a discussion in a back-and-forth exchange via e-mails. But I thought this discussion should be brought out into the open, the better to educate others on what is going wrong in our city and allow them more information with which to reach the best possible decision.
I realize that many people have made up their minds already, lacking more information, and have sent in their ‘mail-in’ ballots. But nevertheless, here is the discussion….
Thoughts on Public Discussion
A Less Than Satisfactory Experience on the Web
As promised to someone in the media, here is an item on the bane of censorship on civil discourse in the media.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Cauliflower-Cheese Soup
Another inspiration from the GPA cafe at Pueblo Community College
Had another great lunch at the GPA yesterday. Four courses around an entre of fillet mignon. The dessert being a pumpkin torte. At any rate, the soup was this cauliflower-cheese. And it was delicious. So I had to try to ‘hack’ it. Here’s what I came up with….