Some More Random Thoughts

I thought it was kind of ironic that on Christmas Eve, while Fox News was running a two hour Christmas special with readings from the Bible and Christmas music . . CNN was at the same time running a special of their own honoring their Messiah: Barack Obama.

Am I the only one who is getting tired of all the global warming hype? Yes, I do believe that by and large it is all hype. On the one hand we have a warming period that is milder than previous warming periods experienced (the last being about 500 years ago). The warming period we are experiencing now comes after a relatively mild ice age period. So this is nothing new. Secondly, the global warming experienced 500 years ago predates any impact man would have had with burning fossil fuels. In other words, the more serious version of global warming that occurred 500 years ago came at a time when our world wide population was a fraction of what it is today, and it came when there were no cars or planes. So who, or what, was responsible for global warming back then? Is it not possible that the same who, or what, could also be responsible now? For a great overview of some of the science (or lack of science) behind all the hype, please read this now.

It's hard not to get sucked into all the financial doom and gloom we're hearing about today. It can be pretty depressing. Not sure what all it means for you personally, but this is a good time to realize where our real security and worth lies. In the scope of things, what really matters are our relationships: with God, with family, and with friends. The financials will work themselves out in time. I can certainly remember a couple periods in my lifetime when companies were making layoffs or going out of business, the economy was hurting, and so were people. And yet in time it would all slowly come back around. Through those up and down times the one constant who was, and is, always there is God. Much better to build our house on the rock than on sand.

More Old Family Photos

Here are a few more images from my dad's negative collection. I have scanned over 3000 images so far. These here are my mom, one of my dad with his painting, and the boys.

Photoshop

In scanning my dad's old black and white negatives, a bunch of them have scratches and dust marks. The great thing with digital is being able to go in and clean out those blemishes. It can be time consuming, and sometimes the results are not all that great (this photo being somewhat an example); but still, it is better than having all the blemishes. If you click on the images, you can enlarge them and see the before and after. I've been having fun seeing a bunch of photos that I have never seen before. I'll post some more soon.

Little Nemo

This video is one of the most watched on YouTube. As someone who has done the Little Nemo skit a few times in the past, this really is fun to watch.

Just A Matter Of Time

It seems that every few weeks we hear that another high ranking terrorist has been killed, either in Iraq or in Pakistan. It shows that our troops are actively engaged in hunting down these people. Some people believe that Osama bin Laden is already dead, but if he isn't, it is just a matter of time before he is found and killed. My guess is that the timing of this will be at some point during Obama's presidency . . and he will get all the credit.

Our economy stinks right now. Even though our economy always goes through cycles of good and bad, everyone believes what we are going through now is unusually bad. It appears to be even worse overseas, which is little comfort; but when it comes to blame it is hard for me to pin it on any one thing or any one person, including President Bush. Our economy though will bounce back . . it always does. My guess is that the timing will be at some point during Obama's presidency . . and he will get all the credit.

Things are going fairly well in Iraq right now, certainly better than they were just a year or so ago. Everyone wants our troops to come home from Iraq . . the real question is whether to bring them home without any conditions, or to bring them home as we become more confident that Iraq can stand on its own. The timing seems to indicate that that can happen sometime over the next few years, in other words, at some point during Obama's presidency . . and he will get all the credit.

Just wait and see.

How Obama Got Elected

I'm sure there are uninformed citizens on the right just as there are on the left, but after watching the following video you have to wonder if it is a disservice to encourage anyone who is this uninformed to vote. It's also interesting how people's impressions are formed, and the power of the media to sway thoughts and opinions. Probably my own biggest objection about Obama is how he has been given god-like status among his followers, and yet how little they seem to know about him. There are very, very, very few (if any) people who deserve that kind of status, and that is especially true when you are speaking of a politician. Let's all say this together: Barack Obama is a politician. Nothing more.

Found Treasure

When my dad was in his early 20's and 30's he took a lot of black and white photos of my mom and us boys. He did his own developing and printed a number of those images, but I always wondered what happened to all his negatives. My dad passed away in 1989 and I'm pretty sure my mom said she thought all the negatives were thrown out at some point. Well, last week I found them, thousands of them, in a box in my mom's attic. I've already scanned about 1400 images, finding a bunch of images that we have never seen before. And there are thousands and thousands more. Over the past several years I have been compiling all of our family images, digitizing, keywording and indexing them, so that everyone in the family can have their own full digital album of all of these images. Right now that album contains over 30,000 images. Finding my dad's negatives could add another 10,000+ images to the collection. Yikes!

Is Obama Invincible?

It didn't take long for the American left to really turn on President Bush. They have called him names (Hitler, dumb, a terrorist, etc), mocked him, protested against him, and spread unrelenting hate toward the man. It doesn't speak well of the left, a group that says it wants tolerance and peace, but sure has a hard time living it out. I tend to believe that a sizable bunch of loud mouths on the far left made a point of pulling Bush down through trashing him and altering the public's view of him. As for me, I've always liked the guy. If Iraq is given the chance to succeed, and becomes a positive influence in that region, Bush should be given full credit and be seen as a liberator on the grandest of scales. He has implemented humanitarian aid to a degree that previous presidents never did. For most of his presidency the economy was cruising along at a great pace. It is unclear whether the crisis we are in today has anything to do with this administration's economic policies, or if it is the result of a global perfect storm of failing institutions. He of course is the president, so he will get the blame. President Bush has not been perfect. No one believes he has been. Nor has he been a failure, despite what the left wants us to believe.

So here is my question: what would it take for these same people to turn on Barack Obama? Is he invincible, immune to any criticism? Would the left ever criticize the guy? This is The One after all. It sure seems like they see him as being someone who can do no wrong. He is "cool", the breath of fresh air, the one who has come to save our country and our world. He is already being set up as the greatest president this country has ever seen. It is only a matter of time before we see an Obama movie, staring Will Smith, where Obama is larger than life . . can do no wrong . . has no flaws . . no sin. I just don't see anyone on the left turning on him. Any mistake will be seen as showing his humanity, and quickly forgiven. If he opts to prosecute terrorists a la Clinton, rather than taking the fight to them, he will be heralded as a Nobel Peace prize candidate, even if years later it proves to come back to bite us (a la Clinton). All of this is especially true of the press. Will they continue to suspend their journalistic integrity by blindly supporting this guy, or will they investigate, ask tough questions, and demand answers? That will be our first sign: if the press starts asking questions. I would like to think that it is only a matter of time. Not convinced about that though.

Political Science

When it comes to politics, I'm one of those who enjoys observing it like a science as opposed to actually getting in there and doing something. I'm the movie critic, not the actor. So I always appreciate it when I get to read something intriguing about the political process, or something that to me just makes sense. Jonah Goldberg writes today an article that questions the merits of getting more people to vote, particularly the youth vote, as well as putting so much emphasis on undecided voters. I find it hard to argue against what he is saying here. Take a moment and read it . . it's short.

Respect For Obama

Obama and his team ran an impressive campaign. Organization and control are probably the two words that I would use to best describe Obama at this moment. Those are two good qualities, although control can easily morph into oppression if not careful. At any rate we as a nation should allow Obama the opportunity to pull together his administration and their policies. This could be a good time for our country to honestly debate several issues that have festered along the surface for years: most notably health care, taxes and wealth distribution, and our role internationally. I do not believe that any of us should roll over and just let Obama have his way. Many beliefs are worth standing up and fighting for . . hopefully not only will people do that, but their rights and ability to have a say in this administration will not be oppressed.

On the humorous side, Ann Coulter wrote today something that made me smile: "For now, we have a new president-elect. In the spirit of reaching across the aisle, we owe it to the Democrats to show their president the exact same kind of respect and loyalty that they have shown our recent Republican president."