Northern Wisconsin – October 2010
This looked like a working farm but I couldn’t figure out the white fence. Continue reading Northern Wisconsin – October 2010
Month: May 2011
Salsas….
I’m going to do a restaurant review here. No I am not Tony Bourdain but then again I didn’t need any reservations to get in. The restaurant is called Salsa in down town Asheville North Carolina. We ate there during our recent trip through West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and Tennessee. I know this is NC and not on the list. We didn’t actually know we were going to go there. It just kind of happened. Salsa is not just Mexican but instead a combination of Mexican/Caribbean. The food was excellent; I had a Cuban dish but can’t remember the exact name now. It was … Continue reading Salsas….
America's Number One Export? – Part 3
OK, here is another shot at trying to decide what we in the U.S. are true experts about and therefore export more of than any other country. I don’t claim to be a sage about this sort of thing but I think I am on to something with this one. Is there a commodity that the U.S. exports much more of than any other country? Could our number one export be our Consumerism? Maybe its our Marketing? Maybe it is both: Consumerism/Marketing. This it kind of like the chicken/egg type thing. I don’t know which spurred the other but the result is the … Continue reading America's Number One Export? – Part 3
America's Number One Export? – Part 2
This is a continuation of the search for the U.S. number one export. Is there a commodity that the U.S. exports much more of than any other country? Could our number one export be Bravado (some call it Machismo)? We certainly like to strut around and show the world how “manly” we are. I wished it didn’t but this even seems to apply to some who used to be referred to as the “fairer sex”. Here are some examples: Take a look at all the celebrations around the death of Bin Laden. We can’t seem to get enough of the … Continue reading America's Number One Export? – Part 2
North Carolina – April 2011
Here is one from North Carolina. We only skirted the State so it is the only barn we saw there. Continue reading North Carolina – April 2011
Can’t See the Forest for the Trees…
When it comes to the Bible some Christians seem to fall to the concept of “can’t see the forest for the trees”. That is they concentrate so much on the words they totally miss the underlying messages. Some, at the drop of a pin, can quote chapter and verse for many of the sayings in the bible. I am definitely not one of those people. Yes, I have read the New Testament many times and when prompted I can cite some of my favorite verses but I spend the majority of my time looking for and trying to follow the messages … Continue reading Can’t See the Forest for the Trees…
America's Number One Export?
This post will start a series on the search for the U.S. Number one export. It is widely known that the U.S. has a mammoth trade deficit. We import much more than we export. I can’t understand why this isn’t considered a factor in our current government deficit talks. Sending all those $billions to foreign makers seems just as, or maybe more detrimental, than the government borrowing money much of it from themselves via the S.S. trust fund and other somewhat devious, or at least contrived, methods. Is there a commodity that the U.S. exports much more of than any other country? Could our number … Continue reading America's Number One Export?
Norfolk VA – April 2011
The picture above is of the Battleship Wisconsin. Running around on the decks gave me an eerie feeling remembering all the massive shells fired from those huge guns. There was much collateral damage in those days. Continue reading Norfolk VA – April 2011
I Don't Fly Anymore….
When I was in the corporate world I flew to different parts of the country and Mexico on at least a monthly basis. When I started flying business more than forty years ago it was a somewhat luxurious thing. Often I would get a pretty good meal returning home from business trips. And when we happened to end a meeting a couple of hours early we could always get an earlier flight home. But that all ended in the 1980s when Reagan deregulated the airlines. After that flying became a burden to be suffered not enjoyed. I ended my corporate career dreading … Continue reading I Don't Fly Anymore….
Are Commitments to Social Contracts Dead??
I worked over forty years of my life. During that time I paid social security taxes on almost all my income. Of course I realized that much of those taxes were used to pay my father and grandfather’s social security income and medical expenses. That was fine; that was the way it was supposed to be. After all there is a social contract in our country that says we will take care of elderly who have helped give us our many years of prosperity. That was the way it was. But is that social contract about to be aborted? Are … Continue reading Are Commitments to Social Contracts Dead??
About These Professional Tax Dodgers….
Am I the only one who is annoyed by those guys that have commercials on TV about helping you get out of your tax troubles? They sit there so stern-faced and say if you owe thousands of dollars in back taxes come see us and we will help you only pay pennies on the dollar. They seem to assume that they are somehow contributing to the public good by providing this service. In reality they are probably taking a pretty good percentage of the money legally owed in taxes. All of us have a duty to pay our fair share … Continue reading About These Professional Tax Dodgers….
About the Bible – Part 6 Closing Thoughts…
This series was about looking at the Bible as a human document. That is, it was written and assembled by humans with different life experiences, viewpoints, and passions. Much of their thoughts and words obviously came from inspiration from God. When I study the Bible I try to understand the reasons why some of the writers might have penned what they did. Of course, I am also a human who has had unique life experiences and passions, part of which surely shaped by what I have studied. What I have said in this series is of my own understanding. But, what I have studied … Continue reading About the Bible – Part 6 Closing Thoughts…
About The Bible — Part 5 Summary
This is the fifth post on this series about the Bible. If it is not obvious by now I want you to understand that I put my Christianity on Jesus Christ not on a book about him. I will try to keep this brief as it is really a wrap-up of the past posts. About the Literalists: Panic – In some cases I see almost total panic in people when I say not all the words in the bible are literally true. This belief is so ingrained in the foundations of their faith they cannot imagine it could not be true. Irrational – Some say … Continue reading About The Bible — Part 5 Summary
About the Bible — Part 4 .. Misguided Beliefs?
This, the fourth post on the Bible centers around where I see some others may have gone astray in regards to their beliefs surrounding the Bible. Some have replaced the Holy Spirit with the book called the Bible… They put so much power in the Bible and so little in the Holy Spirit. Compared to the others in Trinity studies there is very little in-depth theological study about the Holy Spirit. The main exception to that might be the Society of Friends otherwise known as Quakers. They treat the Holy Spirit as a very equal member of God’s team. Jesus … Continue reading About the Bible — Part 4 .. Misguided Beliefs?
Bin Laden mission was big risk for Obama – World news – Death of bin Laden – msnbc.com
Bin Laden mission was big risk for Obama – World news – Death of bin Laden – msnbc.com. This is a quick companion post to the one this morning. If you are not plagued with the “don’t bother me with the facts” syndrome you might want to read the article above. Yes, a soldier killed Bin Laden but it took the courage of a U.S. president to make that happen. But what do I know…. Continue reading Bin Laden mission was big risk for Obama – World news – Death of bin Laden – msnbc.com
Monticello VA – April 2011
Since I put the traditional pictures of Monticello on my InTheSlowLane blog I decided to use one from the kitchen area in the basement at the back of the house for this posting. Since all the cooking was done by Jefferson’s slaves it was not a fancy place like the rest of the house but it was very utilitarian. This was the third time I have been to Monticello. Of course, it hasn’t changed much since the first time I was there in 1965. One thing that has changed is they now put more emphasis on the slaves and their lives … Continue reading Monticello VA – April 2011
No Credit Given….
The above note has been making its rounds on Facebook. I have seen in on several of my conservative friends postings. As usual the radical right among us seems unwilling to give President Obama credit for ANYTHING. Bin Laden was in the compound where they discovered him for probably more than four years before Mr. Bush left office. If Bushie had been president when the attack took place there these same pundits would have been yelling “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED – PRESIDENT BUSH TOOK DOWN HIS MAN!!!” The part about the pay on this posting is another demonstration of “don’t confuse me with the … Continue reading No Credit Given….
About the Bible –Part 3.. Other Views
This time I am going to go over a short list of things that are somewhat widely accepted by some twenty-first century Christian denominations but of which I basically disagree. Most of these topic titles are from texts of discussions I have had with Christians on various topics. I put them in a special category here because they were so deeply felt by others. All the words in the Bible are the words of Jesus (ie. every word punctuation mark, and space comes from God). This title came from a person fairly high in the LCMS Lutheran denomination. He used this statement … Continue reading About the Bible –Part 3.. Other Views
The U.S. & Great Britain…
I got to wondering the other day as to why Great Britain seems to align itself more with U.S. policies than any other European nation. When it came to us invading Iraq the Brits were right there while the French and many others were screaming no. What conclusions have I reached about this observation. The answer is, at least in my twisted mind, super power mentality. Those of us who are history buffs know that before 1950 or so Great Britain was the dominant super power in the world. The Great British Empire was spread across much of the world. … Continue reading The U.S. & Great Britain…
Monticello VA – April 2011
I couldn’t leave Monticello without a picture of the life size bronze of Thomas Jefferson to go along with the one of Madison at Montpelier. I don’t know how those guys wore all those clothes during the hot Virginia summers ;) Continue reading Monticello VA – April 2011
Virginia – April 2011
One thing that might keep some of the old barns up is making them “dual purposed”. This one is in Virginia somewhere around Monticello. Continue reading Virginia – April 2011
RJ's Corner - Having My Say 