Good News, for a Change

Like a lot of people today, I woke up this morning to learn that Osama bin Laden is no longer with us.  He was taken out of commission by the Navy Seals, in a mission that was greenlighted by the White House.  Although I am no fan in any way of the current White House occupant, I will give him kudos on this one and I hope that it's an indication that he will approve similar missions in the future as the need arises.

Kudos also go to the Navy Seals for a job well done.  I haven't had much of a chance to digest all of the information that's out there, and I'm sure that more information will emerge, but I am really grateful that we have these kind of people on our side.

I am going to say this:  we, as a nation, need to be prepared to fight terrorism as long as we are a nation.  We have two choices.  We either fight terrorism until the world comes to an end, or we surrender.  Surrender is not an option.  Also, relaxing the fight against terrorism is not an option either.  It was this way before yesterday so the killing of bin Laden doesn't really change anything as far as the war on terrorism goes.  We fight this war one day at a time.  We keep our guard up one day at a time.  We don't consider the war "won".  We instead resolve each and every day to never give up our fight for our freedom.

* * * * * * *

Some other good news to report.

I came in to work one week ago to learn that I was being assigned to a new business effort.  This will continue for several weeks, provided that this new effort is funded by upper management.  I am also challenged with keeping a new boss happy and the feedback I've gotten from him so far is very encouraging.

The project itself has its own unique set of challenges, but to be honest, I actually welcome these kinds of challenges.    I'm learning quite a bit and I've had to use some brain cells to figure out a new type of system, that is, new to me, and what really makes it tick.

I'm having fun.

I really am.

* * * * * * *

Spring has arrived in southern Arizona, and I'm seeing a lot of cacti in bloom.....that is, the cacti that are out in the desert.  The only cacti in my yard that has bloomed are the prickly pear in the back yard, which have reliably sprouted new pads each spring.  The prickly pear that's on the other side of my back wall not only sprouts new pads but also blesses us with the appearance of yellow flowers.  That prickly pear is much more mature.  I don't know how old a prickly pear has to be before it blooms with flowers, but I can tell you that a saguaro won't bloom until it's about fifty years of age.

* * * * * * *

I have finished reading what a lot of people call the "Second Foundation Trilogy".  That's the three novels written about the Foundation that Isaac Asimov first wrote about.  I didn't think very much of Foundation's Fear by Gregory Benford, but Foundation's Chaos and Foundation's Triumph by Greg Bear and David Brin, respectively, were both good reads.  Both fill in a lot of backstory with the latter doing an excellent job of tying in not only the Galactic Empire series of novels by Asimov, but also the "Caliban Trilogy" authored by Roger MacBride Allen.

One minor criticism of Foundation's Triumph:  it pre-supposes that you've already read the original Foundation trilogy as that premonitions of the events covered by them are introduced.  I'm not sure that the author should have done this, but with the original Foundation trilogy having been in print for nearly forty years it's not like there are a lot of readers who will read the second trilogy ahead of the first.

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That's going to be it for now.

Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat.

Where Are We Going, And Why Are We in This Handbasket?

One of the more pressing challenges these days to is be reading the news headlines on a daily basis and to not feel depressed.  As I write this, the Drudge Report is saying that oil went up 2% today.  A check of the precious metals markets shows gold at a record high and silver is over $40 an ounce for the first time since 1980.  Higher energy prices translates to higher food costs, and in an economy where no one is getting a pay raise of any significance (if they get one at all) I can sense that a lot of people are feeling squeezed right now.

I have one close friend who is thinking about pulling funds out of his 401K and paying off his house.  He knows he'll be penalized for an early withdrawal but his thinking is that the money that's in his 401K right now will not be worth anything when he retires and so he may as well spend it while he can and not have to worry about a house payment.  I have to add that there seems to be some rationale to that thinking; if my house were paid off all I'd have to worry about is the property tax and medical.  However, that of course does not mitigate any concerns about inflation, and the question I wonder about the most as far as inflation goes is, are we headed for a Zimbabwe type of situation?

There are some cold harsh realities to contend with.  The entire global economy, when you stop to think about it, is nothing but a big giant numbers game.  That's all it is.  I don't know of anyone who is being paid in gold and silver, which at one time functioned as money.  For several years of our nation's existence the dollar was pegged to gold and the rate was $20.67 per ounce.  FDR changed that in the 1930s with a devaluation that resulted in $35 per ounce, and private citizens were no longer allowed to own gold.  I realize that there are some who will make the argument that this was a necessary step in a series of steps to save the economy, but I'm not sure that this really did anything but to help get us in the mess we are in today.  The instant creation of more dollars can give the illusion of a stronger economy, but if the dollars aren't worth as much as they used to be then all you've done is change the numbers.

Still not convinced it's a numbers game?  Then ponder this.

In 1972 the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke the 1000 barrier for the first time in history.  I remember that day; I was in junior high school and I remember it being the lead news story for that day.  My recollection is that the economists and politicians were happy about that.....I mean that barrier had been broken, and that meant that things were good, right?

Well what do you think the sense would be right now if the Dow was at 1000?  It's at 12380 as I write this.  The economists aren't going to like it if it's below 10000, which is ten times the amount of the 1972 barrier.  We have this number and we want it to go up.  It makes us all feel good and rich and we think we'll be on Easy Street when we retire.  We cheer when the 10000 barrier is broken going up, and get upset when it is breached going down.  Hello?  That wealth was on paper all the time in the first place.  It's an illusion.

The problem with the illusion is, is that once it's recognized for what it was, panic and chaos can set in.  The dollar is accepted as payment because it is legal tender and the most convenient medium of exchange in a transaction.  It is worth something as long as the buyer and seller think it's worth something, and how much commodity it can purchase is again driven by the perception of how much that commodity is worth.  With record deficits and the debt ceiling about to be hit again, and a government that's promised everything to everybody without having figured out how to pay for it, the perception on the world financial markets is that the dollar is deteriorating into Monopoly Money, when it's been Monopoly Money since it was decoupled from gold.

How much longer can the illusion go unrecognized?

I don't know.  The collapse of the economy has been predicted by the doom-and-gloomers for decades now.    I'm sure that when President Nixon severed the link between the dollar and gold, that set off a lot of Chicken Littles and created some survivalists.

One thing I have observed.

If there's a sense of optimism, then the economy picks up, people go back to work, and life goes on.  I don't sense a whole lot of optimism out there and that has me concerned about the future.  My own job situation is not resolved and I'm now talking to hiring managers in Colorado where I'm told there is some work in my field.  You're not going to see me running out to a car dealer anytime soon to buy a new truck.

Even if we do regain optimism, some other harsh realities have to be dealt with.  We can't keep printing money like we have been.  The government has to stop its drunken spending spree.  We can't provide state of the art health care to everyone who wants it.  We can't have 12 million illegal aliens here straining the fiscal infrastructure.  We can't be fighting three wars at once.

The entitlement mentality that many of our politicians have foisted upon us can not be sustained for very much longer.

"Comin' Right Down on Top of Me"

This was not intentional, but for the second consecutive time a title of an April Wine song seems to be the most fitting way to describe what's going on.

The job situation remains unresolved, and I don't see it getting any better.  I interviewed for a position where my boss and employer would be based back east, but I would be resident in Tucson and doing one of the things I love to do most:  I'd be back into doing what I call "circuit card engineering".  I got to do some of that on two occasions in my career, and the interviewer kept remarking about how he wish he'd known about me last January.

I don't know if I'm going to be hired or not.  As a person of faith, I have repeatedly prayed that I would get this position.  It would solve a multitude of problems, and would allow me to continue living in Tucson.

* * * * * * *

I am not an expert in Christianity to the extent to where I would qualify for the lay ministry.  What I have learned is that there are varying beliefs about some doctrinal matters.  An example is whether or not there is a rapture, or how one is converted.  Does one decide on his own, or has that decision been made by God?

What I do know is that if you are in the faith, you are not exempt from life's trials and tribulations.  Christ Himself told us that.  I don't have the location memorized, but there is a Bible verse where He said, "in this life you will have troubles".  Folks, I've been having them for the past few months, going all the way back to last summer where the position in life that I was so grateful for started crumbling.  I lost Lynette, lost two assignments at work, am in one now that I am just squeaking by on, and rumors of layoffs are simply too big to ignore.  I look back and see that a blessed life has gotten away from me.  If I get out a balance sheet of what has happened, I'd be in the red.  Lynette, the wreck, the job.

* * * * * * *

I remember listening to a sermon on shortwave radio back in 1980.  I was trying to tune in some Pacific island, where Adventist World Radio had a shortwave station and I wanted to be able to claim that I had heard a new country.  If memory is serving me correctly, it was their station in the Seychelles Islands.  That meant being up at 2:00 AM, or maybe at 5:00 AM....I can't remember which.  The hobbies I choose have a way of making me do things that no normal person would do, and there were several occasions when I got up early so that I could bag some station in Malaysia or Indonesia or some such similar location.

Anyway, AWR had this pastor preaching the need for repentance.  Fine, I can agree with that teaching.  But he said some other things.  That if you came to Jesus, you would be healed of infirmities.  Your life would be blessed.  You wouldn't be sick, you'd be well off economically, and that God would reward you.

In those days, I had my belief in God, but I wasn't walking with the Lord.  I was bound and determined to work out my problems on my own.  So that's what I did.  In 1980 no one was looking out for me except for me.  I enjoyed that arrangement, but as the fall approached, there were cracks in that big giant wall of resolve that I had that were starting to form.

But to get back to what that preacher said, I didn't believe then, nor do I believe now, that coming to repentance is going to solve all of your financial problems or your medical problems.  If that were the case, wouldn't people be going to church instead of standing in the welfare line or trying to make it on their own?

* * * * * * *

My coming to repentance happened one evening in January 1981.  I probably ought to tell that story sometime but now is not going to be the time.  Suffice it say that my method wasn't working out for me.  Sure, I was trying to better myself, and I was reaching for some mighty high dreams.  I wanted badly to be an electrical engineer.  I wanted that degree.  The odds of getting it were not in my favor, but in that month there were some other things going on.

My search for the answers was not found in the Philosophy class that I took in the fall of 1980.  I took that class to fulfill a requirement, but more importantly, I was looking for some answers and that class, I figured, was a way of killing two birds with one stone.  I would fulfill a graduation requirement in some sort of other studies and I would get some answers.

I didn't get the answers I was looking for.  What I got instead was a different answer.  All of sudden, the definition of "justice" was no longer relevant.  It didn't mean squat....at least not to me.  I found something more important, and I realized that I needed to stop fighting God and to instead submit.

* * * * * * *

Looking back, my friends Mark and Hal were also on some sort of quest.  Mark wasn't public about his but I know that he was pursuing some answers due to some changes that he had made as far as his church attendance went.  He made his changes one year later.

Hal was also looking for answers.  I remember trying to convince him that I had found the answer.  I told him that he needed to repent and to turn to God, to have faith in God.

Hal believed in God, although he had started out as an agnostic.  He had come to reason that the Universe was constructed by a God, and that it was a God who had cared.  This God displayed a great amount of handiwork in the construction of the Universe, and so it reasoned that God would have wanted to communicate with humanity somehow to let us know that He was there and that He cared for us.

A lot of people will believe in that.  Ask the Freemasons.  They will tell you that there is a God, and they refer to Him as "the Great Architect of the Universe".

Some other people will tell you there is a God.  Ask any Muslim.  Ask a practicing Jew.  Ask any Mormon or any Jehovah's Witness.

They will tell you that there is a God.

The disagreements, I think, begin where we try to answer the question of how God reveals Himself to us, and just who exactly Jesus Christ is/was.

* * * * * * *

I was not able to convince Hal that I had the answers.  (I know, I seem to be writing a lot about Hal lately, but to be honest I don't tend to think of him until I start reminiscing about those times back in San Jose).  Hal felt that he could make his decision after he died, about whether or not he was going to accept God's choice of going to heaven, or going to hell.

Within four months Hal died due to accidental causes.  That was my first "trial" as a Christian.  I had lost a good friend, but I would have taken that much much harder if I had not told Hal that I found the answer.

Hal rejected my answer, and if he had somehow came to accept it in his final weekend on earth, I have no way of knowing.  

I am at peace with having made the effort to tell Hal what I had found.

I cringe when I think of how I would have felt if I hadn't.

* * * * * * *

I have had other trials since then.  There were some adverse conditions on the job front in the 1994 timeframe.  I struggled with depression.  No, not with the clinical kind or anything like that, but when you see 50% of the workforce laid off gradually over a five year period and you're still left, you're pretty demoralized.

It's hard going to work.  You don't care anymore.  And the quality of work suffers.

* * * * * * *

OK, there's a trial going on right now.

I have interviewed for a job that I'm an obvious match for.  There is no one who they ever interviewed for that job that is better qualified.  They did hire someone in January, and that person is still coming to speed.

For me, there wouldn't be much of a learning curve.  I would have to go back east to get trained on how to operate an automated test station.  I've already been to that factory where that testing is going on.  In that capacity, I was specifying what needed to be tested on four circuit cards that we were buying from them.   I learned about the limitations of their test equipment, and I also learned how to write test requirements that were not as open to ambiguity as they otherwise would have been.

If I get this job, I jump over to their side of the fence, keep my residence in Tucson, and then work with the people here on this side of the fence to help smooth out things.

* * * * * * *

I have not heard anything.  I may not get the job.  I may instead be walked out the door in a matter of days, and thus the nature of this blog post, a mentioning of the trial that's going on right now.

This would present me with the prospect of being unemployed for several months.  The economy is down right now, and while we have turmoil in Japan and Libya our President is instead partying in Rio and more interested in college basketball picks than he is in providing leadership.  What that pastor said on the radio back in 1980 is not going to come true, that if I come to repentance, that things will start working out.  That's fine, I didn't believe him then, and I don't believe him now.

Repentance does not guarantee you an exemption of trials and hard times.  It does not.

I do believe though that God will give you strength if you ask Him to.

I've been asking for plenty of strength lately.

I'm growing weary of having to ask for that strength.

I keep wanting to ask "why?"

I may never be wise enough to know the answer.  I may not care about the answer once the good times return.

All I know is that when it rains, all of us will get wet regardless of what we believe.  And when the sun shines, it shines for all of us.

Perhaps we're meant to find the joy in both rain and sunshine.

I don't think it's meant to be easy, but that's likely how we grow.

* * * * * * *

Yes, it's coming right down on top of me.  Just like in the song.  It's not the first time it's come down on top of me, and I don't think it will be the last.

The song itself does not attempt to answer the question why.  It instead is a statement of fact, and the singer pleads "won't someone set me free?"

It's not a depressing song, but I think that it is one that everyone gets to identify with at various times in life.

* * * * * * *

I have stated on a previous occasion that this blog was not meant to be a dialog on my personal problems.  I really don't like making entries of this nature.

But what this blog is, is a means for me to vent on those occasions where I need to vent, and I'm doing some of that right now.

If you are someone who prays, please remember me in your prayers.

And if you are not that type of person, I don't honestly know what to say.  I guess all I can tell you is that I did not come to repentance to be blessed with a smooth life here on earth.

I guess instead, all I can tell you is that it is a source of strength for me.

* * * * * * *

If you wish to listen to the song, click on the link below, where it says "LINK".  You'll have to hit the back button if you want to come back to this blog.

LINK

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Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat.  My cats, I think, have been good for my mental health.

"The Whole World's Goin' Crazy"

Today's blog post title is also the title of a song and an album that April Wine released in 1976.  That album, I think, is one of their best, and the song itself is a whimsical light hearted commentary.  "The whole world's goin' crazy........hey baby would you like to go crazy with me?"

As I write this posting this evening, it seems as if things are going crazy both at the personal level and on the world stage.

* * * * * * *

I don't want to get into what's going on at work.  All I will say is that the future is very uncertain.  Changing job conditions may or may not be forcing me into a relocation somewhere down the road.  I don't know what's going to happen.  It's too early to tell.  But I've had to devote a lot of mental energy lately to wondering about some changes that could (or could not) be happening for me.

* * * * * * *

Over in Egypt we recently saw mass demonstrations force longtime president Hosni Mubarak from power.  Over in Libya, we see Moammar Khadafy (or however that's spelled) on the brink of being forced from office.  There is unrest in Bahrain and in Yemen, and over in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the royal family is very concerned about things right now.

I'm no fan, of course of Khadafy.  There is concern though about his eventual successor.  My best guess is that once Moammar is gone, there will be a lot of celebrating in Tripoli, but I think we'll also see a lot of turmoil as those near the top fight for "King of the Mountain".  The new guy may not be the improvement that we hope he is.

This could have serious repercussions on the economy.  For good or bad, oil is the lifeblood of the world economy, and rising oil prices are being seen here at the gas pumps and also where you are.  The cost of energy gets folded into the prices of all commodities as that petroleum is used to get that food to your supermarket.  And in an economy where anyone who is not a CEO gets a 2% pay raise (if they get one at all), it seems as if the vise that's squeezing you is going to be squeezing you a bit more this year.

At the White House, I'm reading where the President is partying up a storm about celebrating Motown, while Detroit is closing half of its public schools.  The White House is also issuing pronouncements that they are not going to defend or uphold legislation that they don't like.

Seems as if the whole world is going crazy.

* * * * * * * 

In Wisconsin we have an interesting legislative battle going on.  The new governor and the new legislature, all controlled by Republicans, is trying to get some budget legislation that will be taking aim at the public sector unions.  It has led to several of their Democrat senators fleeing the state.  Democrat legislators have also fled Indiana, and I expect that we'll see a similar occurrence in Ohio.

In a sick way, this is amusing.  The Democrats for the past few years have enjoyed labelling the Republicans as the party of "No".   As these Democrats flee their job duties, I can't help but ask, who's the party of "No" now?

Don't get me wrong.  I favor the currrent filibuster rules in the U.S. Senate.  And if a bunch of Democrat state legislators want to flee their state (and the people they represent), let them.  Really.....I'm all for it.

I will never stand in the way of legislators or a party that wishes to make themselves look stupid.  The more they do that, the greater the chances of them being remembered at the ballot box.

And if you don't mind, I'm going to remind you that I'm a registered independent and I have issues with both Republicans and Democrats.  My own view is that the established leaders of both parties need to be run out of town on a rail, so that some average Joes from the real world can rise up and take over, and start making some fixes.

* * * * * * *

If in the event you happen to be someone who prays, I'm going to ask that you remember the following people in your prayers:

1.  Robin W of Tennessee, who has some medical issues that I can't disclose, nor could I since I don't know what they are.  She's been an angel of mercy to a great many people, incluing me.  It's time for those of us she's prayed for to return the favor.

2.  Karin F of Colorado, another angel of mercy, who has been a big help in encouraging me thru the latest series of setbacks that I've had lately.  She's been trying to find some gainful employment in her field for over a year now, and her good spirits never cease to amaze me.  Please pray for her.

3.  Marge M and Karen M of Tucson.  Marge is the mother of Karen, and Marge's son who is in another state is undergoing some difficulties that I won't make public here.  This has to be a strain on both of them, and I ask that you remember them.

* * * * * * *

Yep, I think it's really easy to say these days, that the whole world is going crazy.

But someone else also said, centuries ago, that "there is nothing new under the sun".

Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat.

Son of a [Female Canine]! It's Cold!

Tucson and the rest of southern Arizona right now is in the midst of record cold temperatures.  We hit a low of 18F, and we were below freezing until about 2:30 PM.  We are in for more of the same.  My citrus trees do not look like they will be living for too much longer and I likely have lost some other plants as well.

There was no running water this morning.  Online comments in the web page of the local viewspaper indicated widespread water and gas outages.  The City of Tucson, which owns the water company, reported that 1000 customers were without water but the plumber that I talked to said the figure is more like 4000.

Down in the Rita Ranch subdivision, they are without gas and will be until Tuesday.  I've already passed along an offer of help to Birdman and his wife to come over here if they need a hot shower as that my water is now back on.  I did have a plumber out here to confirm that I didn't have any leaks and to give me tips on proper preparation.  I got off lucky but one house on this street did not.....they have a broken water main.

I've seen two service trucks arrive to service heaters.  My next door neighbor had someone out and so did the house across the street.  I've had heat, gas and electricity.  I don't think there are any electrical outages in Tucson as that I haven't seen any reports.  It's mainly the gas and water that we've had problems with.

It ain't over yet.  We're in for a low of 20F tonight and the next night after.  Nature is dealing us an even more cruel blow than she did four years ago when I lost an evergreen and a lemon tree.  I'm thinking right now I might have to have my replacement lemon tree dug out, as well as my tangerine and grapefruit trees.  As for the fruits themselves, their only use right now is for target practice, or to take them out to some canyon somewhere and splatter them against the rocks.

Workwise, I took today off as that I did not have my morning shower, and didn't want to be bringing attention to myself with any malodorous conditions that I might be suffering from.  My truck is in the shop right now for another problem which may be aggravated by the cold; it had been acting up upon starting for two or three weeks and if anything I was finally able to demonstrate the problem to my trusted mechanic.

I guess if Todd wants to go out rabbit hunting, only the healthy ones are alive right now, but I'm not sure that there's that many of them.  I've seen more coyote sightings these past two weeks than usual, and someone I know spotted some javelina a few days ago, so the critters just might be coming into the neighborhoods as that we're at a slightly lower elevation than to the east and north of us.

We could use some relief from this, and my suggested remedy is that we get the Inventor of the Internet into southern Arizona to spout off about global warming.  If he keeps his mouth open enough, it might warm things up here by ten degrees.

Some More Odds and Ends

From the Department of Corrections:  in a previous posting, I made the suggestion that Arizona does not lock up people who are mentally unstable.  I was in error on that one.  I happened to catch the O'Reilly Factor on Fox News about a sesquiweek ago, and learned that Arizona does have an involuntary psychiatric confinement statute on the books.

My conclusion was based on an anecdote from two years ago, when I was dating Kathleen.  Her then son-in-law was on the receiving end of a marital breakup (for good reason I might add) when he called up Kathleen's daughter.  He begged to be taken back, and started threatening suicide.  He told Kathleen's daughter that he was going to slash his wrists.  Kathleen's daughter then hung up and called 911.

The Pinal County Sheriff's deputies quickly arrived, but son-in-law Mike told the deputies that he didn't really mean it, that he was saying that to try to get taken back.  He was not hauled off by them for a 72 hour hold like he might have been in some other jurisdictions.

As for Jared Loughner, he was told that he needed a mental evaluation, and it's obvious that there were plenty of warning signs and contact with law enforcement.  For some reason that threshold, wherever that was, was not crossed.

Although I agree that the legal definition of the threshold of when you're hauled off to the psych facilities should be revisited, I'm not sure that simply being told "you need help" is sufficient justification for that kind of action.

I guess what it all comes down to is, just where do you draw the line?  There's no obvious demarcation here, as that there's this gray zone around where that line is.  Try to define the exact time of when "daylight" ends and "nighttime" begins.  Sunset/sunrise?  That's a start, but does the sun have to be completely below the horizon, or does it have to be fifty per cent below the horizon?  What if it's just touching the horizon?

Where do you draw that line?

* * * * * * *

Todd came down Friday night, and we were out hunting rabbits in Pinal County yesterday.  We were off state highway 79, north of Oracle Junction by a few miles at first, and then gave the area near the county line a try too.  We didn't see any rabbits but we saw evidence of them being there, as well as signs of javelina and deer.  Our late start didn't help matters any.

It wasn't a wasted trip.  I brought along a Beretta Bobcat .22 pistol that I acquired some time ago, and undertook some target practice.  Todd got in some target practice as well with his rifle.

* * * * * * *

Workwise, I'm in a temporary job as a "property manager" on a project that's winding down.  My job itself is already winding down, as that I'll be doing that part time very soon.

I anticipate being assigned to helping to develop contract proposals, until an offer emerges from that group that wants to develop some new technology.  If that one comes thru, I'll be glomming onto that one something fierce.  An opportunity like that doesn't come around every day.

* * * * * * *

A few weeks ago I got the wild hare to purchase a box of pennies from the bank.  

That's right, a box.

A box of pennies containing 2500 of them, all of them neatly machine-wrapped in paper rolls.  Fifty of them too.

That idea had been festering in my mind for some time.  As you know, I'm a coin collector, and I like searching thru my change to see what kind of neat little goodies are in my pocket.  Some days I get treated to a "wheat" cent, and on a rare day I might score a silver quarter (that's happened twice in the last few years).

I'm not all the way thru the box yet, but a few wheats have shown up.  The oldest so far are two 1944 pennies; one minted in Philadelphia and the other in Denver.  There are a total of eight wheat cents out of the 2000 that have been searched so far, and only one Canadian cent, dated 1964, has shown up.

I've searched rolls before, especially on those occasions when I've been back east.  For some reason the eastern rolls are more generous in giving up wheaties.  I scored a 1929 cent when I was there last, and when a friend of mine from Pennsylvania was out here last year he brought me some rolls, and there was another 1929 as well as a couple from the 30s.

For those that aren't wheats, well already some of them have been rolled up and taken back to the bank.  Well, a different branch of the same bank.  It's bad form to get a box, go thru them, and then take them back to the bank where you bought them from, so what you do is what I did:  talk to the branch where you want to take some coins back to see if they'll take them.

Mine does if the coins are rolled, and they were even kind enough to give me empty paper roll wrappers to put them in.

I'm like a kid in a candy shop as I'm going thru these pennies.  I think I might attempt a box of nickels next.

Meanwhile, I'm still working on those half dollars that I bought some four months ago.  I bought $80 worth of them in a quest for silver halves.  No silver turned up, so I've been spending half dollars in my everyday transactions, and I'm about halfway done.

Some cashiers I think are saving them for their grandkids while others are sending them back to the bank in the hopes that they'll be melted down into cannonballs or something.

I've also been asking for two dollar bills at the bank, and using them in my purchasing as well.  Some cashiers are delighted to get them while others are probably wishing I'd go somewhere else with them.

* * * * * * *

That's going to do it for right now.

Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat.

The Events in Tucson

Unless you've been vacationing on Mars for the past few weeks or something like that, you have no doubt heard of the tragedy that we had in Tucson eight days ago, which is, as I write this, still reverberating around the news channels and especially in the local and state media.  When the story first broke last Saturday, there were lots of unknowns.  We would get one piece of information, only to learn a few hours later that it was incorrect because it was overcome by another piece of information.  There's still going to be plenty of Monday morning quarterbacking and analysis by self-appointed experts in the media, many of whom have never even so much as set foot in Tucson, yet feel qualified to lecture those of us here on how we ought to be doing things.

I guess in something like this, it's human nature to fix "blame" on something.  What do you "blame"?  Who do you "blame"?  I've seen and read all sorts of divergent viewpoints on this.  Some say that we need to repeal the Second Amendment.  Others want more restrictions on guns, but not an overturning of the Second Amendment. Some say that Congresswoman Giffords should have asked for some sheriff's deputies to accompany her (that was apparently not her style) and others say the sheriff's deputies should have known better in the first place to not provide security.  One person whose opinion I respect highly portends that the root cause of this is the breakdown of the family structure that we've had in the past forty years and a lack of moral baseline being instilled in our children, and I'm going to confess that I largely agree with that sentiment.

However, a situation like this is complex enough to defy any simple solution that we wish to apply to it.  Think of it as a symphony.  You go to a symphony, hear Beethoven's Fifth or Fanfare for the Common Man performed.  You enjoy the performance, but no single instrument executed the performance in and of itself to make it happen.  All things and circumstances worked together to bring it about, and from what I know of the shooter, he was mentally deranged and there were a collection of factors which contributed to it in some degree or another.

That said, I'm going to buck the trend here as far as assigning blame.  Well, if you know me well, you knew I would end up doing this, but if you don't, then sit down for a minute.

The single and sole person responsible for this is Jared Loughner.

It wasn't the Tea Party.

It wasn't Sarah Palin.

It wasn't the Second Amendment.

It was Jared Loughner.

From what we now know, he had had it in for the Congresswoman for three years running at least.  He had attended a previous meet, asked a question, didn't like the answer, and thus took the first step towards a series of steps that led to this.  Sure, we can look back right now and say that we should have seen this coming.  The Pima County Sheriff's Department had previous contacts with him.  They knew about him, they knew he was unstable, but did not act on that.  That likely is no fault of their own; state laws about what should be done to unstable people vary from state to state, and I can tell you that in ours that threatening suicide is not going to get you locked up for 72 hours like it would in California.  So blaming the sheriff isn't exactly accurate, even if you happen to think like I do that we have a cretinous ass for a Sheriff.

The Second Amendment?  The Supreme Court recently ruled that it's an individual right.  In so noting, they did not overturn existing restrictions on the mentally ill from possessing guns.  I am in no way ever going to opine that someone who is presently mentally ill should have a handgun, but the devil is in the details as they say, and again with fifty states we have fifty different legal definitions on mental illness.  I'm not going to suggest that we federalize a standard uniform definition, mainly because the higher up the chain you go for an answer, the further removed from reality that the person you're seeking the answer from is.

I will grant that the state of Arizona should re-evaluate what constitutes mental illness.  Arizona Revised Statutes make it clear that the menstally unstable are prohibited from possessing firearms (and rightly so) but there's a suggestion here that the threshold of what constitutes mental instability should be re-examined.

What about Sarah Palin?  There is nothing in Jared Loughner's profiles on the various websites that he frequented to suggest that he had read her books or watched her interviews on TV.  I personally think it's absurd for those who comment on the online forums here in Tucson to blame Sarah Palin for it.  I've also seen it suggested that Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh might have been a factor, but again, we have one of his high school friends state that Jared Loughner did not really follow politics or watch the news.  He was simply deranged, had a fixation for Gabrielle Giffords, and guess what?  He's a registered independent.  So am I.  So are a lot of us.

I will want to, at some point in the future, maybe the near future, come back and re-visit the Second Amendment, not in the context of this tragedy, but instead with a companion re-visiting of the First Amendment.  I could do that right now but I'm getting ready to slap a ribeye on the barbecue grill, and plus, there are other things I like to do too.

However, suffice it to say that from this resident of Tucson, there's only one person to blame for all of this.

His name is Jared Loughner.