I have more on my plate than usual right now. The fact that I blogged about the library yesterday may be proof that the multitude of little things are distracting me from the big things temporarily until I consciously take a step back to note that things are indeed very good. I am very blessed. Little can be attributed to my own abilities.
I only get so much time to work on my graduate studies at home. Most of the time I have been able to work on them before school or during other periods like lunch to get it all done, but now I am taking comps and feel like I have to do more than usual so as not to have to retake them. There have been a few assignments that I have had to redo, but I was allowed to redo them without any penalties. Once you submit comps, you either pass wih 80% or better or fail and have to retake them (paying another $2000 and waiting another 3 months). This pressure may be letting little things like the library bother me more than they normally would.
However, if I take time to reflect, I am still putting God and family before all these other things and those relationships remain strong. Friday night, I went out with my family to McDonald's. Then I drove the two older girls to gymnastics. Then I took them to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. On Saturday, I got up early with the baby. Then I took the two older girls to Saturday daily mass. Then I mowed the lawn. Then I took a nap. Then the family went to Saturday evening mass and my in-laws for dinner. I could have gotten a lot of reading done during that time.
When I have the time, graduate school is the next biggest thing on my plate, but it is so difficult to get a handle on that sometimes that my mind wanders to something else and I fall behind the schedule I set for myself. The reason may be it's nice to be able to check something little off a list rather than work on a 10-15 page paper that may take 2-3 weeks to complete. Whatever the reason, identifying the problem and asking God's help and your prayers may be what I need since I struggle when I try to do it all on my own.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Libraries
I wouldn't say I have a love/hate relationship with my local library, but love/annoyed might be appropriate. I love the library and know that their state funding is being cut just like our local school districts while other areas closer to the Governor are seeing increases. Since we use the library so much, I thought I would make a donation when they asked for one. I gave $100 last week.
Today, my wife got a call that a book we returned three weeks ago had mold on it, so we'll have to pay $18.99. I don't believe it had mold on it when we returned it, so I don't think we should pay. Furthermore, the $18.99 represents $13.99 for the replacement and $5.00 for a shelving fee. The same book is $3.99 new and $0.99 used online. I can't imagine S & H is $10.00. I know times are tough, but I don't think they should take advantage of users that way.
Today, my wife got a call that a book we returned three weeks ago had mold on it, so we'll have to pay $18.99. I don't believe it had mold on it when we returned it, so I don't think we should pay. Furthermore, the $18.99 represents $13.99 for the replacement and $5.00 for a shelving fee. The same book is $3.99 new and $0.99 used online. I can't imagine S & H is $10.00. I know times are tough, but I don't think they should take advantage of users that way.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Committee Man
The Comittee Man and Woman's job is to make sure everything on the ballot is taken care of for thier local area. That way one can be sure that someone is running for every office. Of course, one of the positions not taken locally is the committee man and woman position. I have thought about volunteering for the Committee Man in the past, but I didn't want to register to be on the ballot because I didn't want to upset the person that had the job. So since no one has the job here and no one was appointed from the last time there was an election, I wrote myself in today. I wonder if a person can win with a single vote if no one else gets a vote or if there's a minimum number of votes required to make it official. I guess a committee man should know those kinds of things.
Vote!
Vote!
Monday, April 23, 2012
Wrong Number
First of all, Pennsylvania's primary elections are tomorrow and my wife told me she has already gotten eight recorded political calls today. So when the phone rang and another number we didn't recognize came up on the called ID, we let our four-year-old Sarah answer. This wasn't a pre-recorded call and she told us it sounded like Pap-Pap. I got on and there was some guy on the other line saying "Hello? Hello?"
I said "Hello," but got nothing but more of the same back, so I hung up. Seconds later the phone rang again. It was the same number, of course.
I picked it up and the guy asked, "Who's this?"
So I asked, "Who's this?"
Then he asked me, "Why'd you hang up on me?"
I answered, "I'm going to do it again."
Seconds later the phone rang again. This time my wife let voice mail get it. He left a message. He was still mumbling, asking who this was and there was even a little kid babbling in the background. It guess he was a harmless drunk, but it was still sad that some kid somewhere was trying to her father's attention and he was aimlessly dialing random numbers.
It didn't give me any more faith in the average voter. I try to vote for the person that I think is best overall. I can appreciate how important voting is because of how many teachers in Pennsylvania lost their jobs when $860 million was cut last year and how many more may lost theirs next year when an additional $100 million is being cut this upcoming year by the new Governor, over 100 in Pittsburgh alone. Our union researched the candidates that are pro-education to help. They are mostly Democrats.
I can also appreciate how important it is to vote pro-life when President George W. Bush was able to ban partial-birth abortion. Our church researched candidates that are 100% pro-life to help. They are mostly Republicans.
It's frustrating that more people don't see education and pro-life values go hand-in-hand. Saving lives is more important than saving jobs. On the other hand, lives don't appear to be on the line. This Congress isn't going to reverse Roe v. Wade. However, jobs will come back if funding returns to previous levels.
Since tomorrow is the primaries and I'm only allowed to vote for Republicans, I'm going to vote for candidates not endorsed by our Republican governor where possible. That way there will be two people running that do not agree with the Governor. Hopefully that will mean changes no matter what happens in the November elections.
I said "Hello," but got nothing but more of the same back, so I hung up. Seconds later the phone rang again. It was the same number, of course.
I picked it up and the guy asked, "Who's this?"
So I asked, "Who's this?"
Then he asked me, "Why'd you hang up on me?"
I answered, "I'm going to do it again."
Seconds later the phone rang again. This time my wife let voice mail get it. He left a message. He was still mumbling, asking who this was and there was even a little kid babbling in the background. It guess he was a harmless drunk, but it was still sad that some kid somewhere was trying to her father's attention and he was aimlessly dialing random numbers.
It didn't give me any more faith in the average voter. I try to vote for the person that I think is best overall. I can appreciate how important voting is because of how many teachers in Pennsylvania lost their jobs when $860 million was cut last year and how many more may lost theirs next year when an additional $100 million is being cut this upcoming year by the new Governor, over 100 in Pittsburgh alone. Our union researched the candidates that are pro-education to help. They are mostly Democrats.
I can also appreciate how important it is to vote pro-life when President George W. Bush was able to ban partial-birth abortion. Our church researched candidates that are 100% pro-life to help. They are mostly Republicans.
It's frustrating that more people don't see education and pro-life values go hand-in-hand. Saving lives is more important than saving jobs. On the other hand, lives don't appear to be on the line. This Congress isn't going to reverse Roe v. Wade. However, jobs will come back if funding returns to previous levels.
Since tomorrow is the primaries and I'm only allowed to vote for Republicans, I'm going to vote for candidates not endorsed by our Republican governor where possible. That way there will be two people running that do not agree with the Governor. Hopefully that will mean changes no matter what happens in the November elections.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Repetition can be a good thing
What have I learned recently? Even though I know some things, it's nice to hear it from someone else occasionally. So even though someone else may already know something, it may be worth saying it again occasionally. The best example is saying, "I love you." It's not only good to hear it, but it's also good to say it. Ironically, most people hear it after they say it. So if you want to hear it more, try saying it more.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Education Funding
Next week, my school board is voting to either raise taxes or furlough teachers. We had a $3,000,000 deficit. The board agreed to take $1,000,000 from our $6,000,000 savings to cut it to $2,000,000. Our Superintendent proposed raising $1,000,000 by charging $50/student for extra-curricular activities and raising taxes 1 mill (which is $37/yr. for $100,000 homes). Then he proposed cutting some extra-curricular activities like 9th grade basketball (but keeping Varsity and Junior Varsity sports). One thing that's frustrating is that the board was unable to pass that and wanted to see what $2,000,000 in cuts could be made to the education programs like elementary art and furloughing other teachers to raise class sizes further above 30 students/class. We are in this situation because the Governor also refuses to raise taxes $50/person to keep education funding the same and not give up the raises he has given to his staff over the previous administration. It all made me think of this report.
Report shows education funding equals investment in economy June 2004
A report released on July 8 indicates that investment in quality education programs is an investment in the economy, as well. The report, Smart Money: Education and Economic Development, demonstrates how increased investment in preschool, primary and secondary education, and colleges provides “concrete returns to economic development through increases in productivity, learned skills, technology and workers’ average earnings.” The report was compiled by William Schweke, research director for the Corporation for Enterprise Development, a nonprofit organization.
“If our goal is an economic climate that provides good jobs, decent living standards, entrepreneurial workers and a competitive edge over other countries, then investing in education is the single most important thing we can do,” said Schweke. “Education should be thought of in terms of productivity, innovation and the growing of wealth.”
The report examines nearly 180 studies that show the relationship between education investment and quality and economic development. It shows that schools provide greater knowledge as well as an improvement of the lives of current and future workers.
Some of the books findings:
Individuals with less than a high school diploma saw their mean family income decline by 14 percent between 1979 and 1995, but college graduates’ mean income rose 14 percent.
The public saves $7.16 for every original dollar invested in high-quality child care.
A state’s economic performance correlates to past investments in such areas as education. Eight out of 11 states with the highest grades for local investment received an A or B in overall economic performance.
Community colleges help to increase salaries. People with an associate’s degree earn 18 to 24 percent more than high school graduates.
Investing $4,800 per child in preschool education can reduce teenage arrests by 40 percent.
Report shows education funding equals investment in economy June 2004
A report released on July 8 indicates that investment in quality education programs is an investment in the economy, as well. The report, Smart Money: Education and Economic Development, demonstrates how increased investment in preschool, primary and secondary education, and colleges provides “concrete returns to economic development through increases in productivity, learned skills, technology and workers’ average earnings.” The report was compiled by William Schweke, research director for the Corporation for Enterprise Development, a nonprofit organization.
“If our goal is an economic climate that provides good jobs, decent living standards, entrepreneurial workers and a competitive edge over other countries, then investing in education is the single most important thing we can do,” said Schweke. “Education should be thought of in terms of productivity, innovation and the growing of wealth.”
The report examines nearly 180 studies that show the relationship between education investment and quality and economic development. It shows that schools provide greater knowledge as well as an improvement of the lives of current and future workers.
Some of the books findings:
Individuals with less than a high school diploma saw their mean family income decline by 14 percent between 1979 and 1995, but college graduates’ mean income rose 14 percent.
The public saves $7.16 for every original dollar invested in high-quality child care.
A state’s economic performance correlates to past investments in such areas as education. Eight out of 11 states with the highest grades for local investment received an A or B in overall economic performance.
Community colleges help to increase salaries. People with an associate’s degree earn 18 to 24 percent more than high school graduates.
Investing $4,800 per child in preschool education can reduce teenage arrests by 40 percent.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Sheriff Joe
An email from a friend:
Do you know Sheriff Joe?
Maricopa County was spending approx. $18 million dollars a year on stray animals, like cats and dogs. Sheriff Joe offered to take the department over, and the County Supervisors said okay.
The animal shelters are now all staffed and operated by prisoners. They feed and care for the strays. Every animal in his care is taken out and walked twice daily. He now has prisoners who are experts in animal nutrition and behavior. They give great classes for anyone who'd like to adopt an animal. He has literally taken stray dogs off the street, given them to the care of prisoners, and had them place in dog shows.
The best part? His budget for the entire department is now under $3 million. Teresa and I adopted a Weimaraner from a Maricopa County shelter two years ago. He was neutered, and current on all shots, in great health, and even had a microchip inserted the day we got him. It cost us $78.
The prisoners get the benefit of about $0.28 an hour for working, but most would work for free, just to be out of their cells for the day. Most of his budget is for utilities, building maintenance, etc. He pays the prisoners out of the fees collected for adopted animals.
I have long wondered when the rest of the country would take a look at the way he runs the jail system, and copy some of his ideas. He has a huge farm, donated to the county years ago, where inmates can work, and they grow most of their own fresh vegetables and food, doing all the work and harvesting by hand.
He has a pretty good sized hog farm, which provides meat, and fertilizer. It fertilizes the Christmas tree nursery, where prisoners work, and you can buy a living Christmas tree for $6 - $8 for the Holidays, and plant it later. We have six trees in our yard from the Prison.
Yup, he was reelected last year with 83% of the vote.
Now he's in trouble with the ACLU again. He painted all his buses and vehicles with a mural, that has a special hotline phone number painted on it, where you can call and report suspected illegal aliens. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement wasn't doing enough in his eyes, so he had 40 deputies trained specifically for enforcing immigration laws, started up his hotline, and bought 4 new buses just for hauling folks back to the border. He's kind of a 'Git-R Dun' kind of Sheriff.
TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIO:
Sheriff Joe Arpaio (In Arizona ) who created the 'Tent City Jail':
He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them.
He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails, took away their weights, only allows 'G' movies.
He started chain gangs, so the inmates could do free work on county and city projects.
Then He Started Chain Gangs For Women So He Wouldn't Get
Sued For Discrimination. [Despite the savings mentioned earlier, he has also lost a lot of expensive lawsuits.]
He took away cable TV until he found out there was a federal court order that required cable TV for jails, so he hooked up the cable TV again, but only let in the Disney Channel and the Weather Channel.
When asked why the Weather Channel, he replied, "So They Will Know How Hot It's Gonna Be While They Are Working On My Chain Gangs."
He Cut Off Coffee Since It Has Zero Nutritional Value.
When the inmates complained, he told them, 'This Isn't The Ritz/Carlton. If You Don't Like It, Don't Come Back.'
More On The Arizona Sheriff:
With Temperatures Being Even Hotter Than Usual In Phoenix (116 Degrees Just Set A New Record), the Associated Press Reports:
About 2,000 Inmates Living In A Barbed-Wire-Surrounded Tent Encampment At The Maricopa County Jail Have Been Given Permission To Strip Down To Their Government-Issued Pink Boxer Shorts.
On Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing boxers were either curled up on their bunk beds or chatted in the tents, which reached
138 Degrees Inside The Week Before..
Many Were Also Swathed In Wet, Pink Towels As Sweat Collected On Their Chests And Dripped Down To Their PINK SOCKS.
'It Feels Like We Are In A Furnace,' Said James Zanzot, An Inmate Who Has Lived In The Tents for 1 year. 'It's Inhumane.'
Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city and long ago started making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic. He said Wednesday that he told all of the inmates: 'It's 120 Degrees In Iraq And Our Soldiers Are Living In Tents Too, And They Have To Wear Full Battle Gear, But They Didn't Commit Any Crimes, So Shut Your Mouths!'
Criminals should be punished for their crimes - not live on taxpayers money and enjoy things taxpayers can't afford to have for themselves. [It's this last part that I agree with most since I don't get cable for free, for example, so I don't get cable.]
Do you know Sheriff Joe?
Maricopa County was spending approx. $18 million dollars a year on stray animals, like cats and dogs. Sheriff Joe offered to take the department over, and the County Supervisors said okay.
The animal shelters are now all staffed and operated by prisoners. They feed and care for the strays. Every animal in his care is taken out and walked twice daily. He now has prisoners who are experts in animal nutrition and behavior. They give great classes for anyone who'd like to adopt an animal. He has literally taken stray dogs off the street, given them to the care of prisoners, and had them place in dog shows.
The best part? His budget for the entire department is now under $3 million. Teresa and I adopted a Weimaraner from a Maricopa County shelter two years ago. He was neutered, and current on all shots, in great health, and even had a microchip inserted the day we got him. It cost us $78.
The prisoners get the benefit of about $0.28 an hour for working, but most would work for free, just to be out of their cells for the day. Most of his budget is for utilities, building maintenance, etc. He pays the prisoners out of the fees collected for adopted animals.
I have long wondered when the rest of the country would take a look at the way he runs the jail system, and copy some of his ideas. He has a huge farm, donated to the county years ago, where inmates can work, and they grow most of their own fresh vegetables and food, doing all the work and harvesting by hand.
He has a pretty good sized hog farm, which provides meat, and fertilizer. It fertilizes the Christmas tree nursery, where prisoners work, and you can buy a living Christmas tree for $6 - $8 for the Holidays, and plant it later. We have six trees in our yard from the Prison.
Yup, he was reelected last year with 83% of the vote.
Now he's in trouble with the ACLU again. He painted all his buses and vehicles with a mural, that has a special hotline phone number painted on it, where you can call and report suspected illegal aliens. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement wasn't doing enough in his eyes, so he had 40 deputies trained specifically for enforcing immigration laws, started up his hotline, and bought 4 new buses just for hauling folks back to the border. He's kind of a 'Git-R Dun' kind of Sheriff.
TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIO:
Sheriff Joe Arpaio (In Arizona ) who created the 'Tent City Jail':
He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them.
He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails, took away their weights, only allows 'G' movies.
He started chain gangs, so the inmates could do free work on county and city projects.
Then He Started Chain Gangs For Women So He Wouldn't Get
Sued For Discrimination. [Despite the savings mentioned earlier, he has also lost a lot of expensive lawsuits.]
He took away cable TV until he found out there was a federal court order that required cable TV for jails, so he hooked up the cable TV again, but only let in the Disney Channel and the Weather Channel.
When asked why the Weather Channel, he replied, "So They Will Know How Hot It's Gonna Be While They Are Working On My Chain Gangs."
He Cut Off Coffee Since It Has Zero Nutritional Value.
When the inmates complained, he told them, 'This Isn't The Ritz/Carlton. If You Don't Like It, Don't Come Back.'
More On The Arizona Sheriff:
With Temperatures Being Even Hotter Than Usual In Phoenix (116 Degrees Just Set A New Record), the Associated Press Reports:
About 2,000 Inmates Living In A Barbed-Wire-Surrounded Tent Encampment At The Maricopa County Jail Have Been Given Permission To Strip Down To Their Government-Issued Pink Boxer Shorts.
On Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing boxers were either curled up on their bunk beds or chatted in the tents, which reached
138 Degrees Inside The Week Before..
Many Were Also Swathed In Wet, Pink Towels As Sweat Collected On Their Chests And Dripped Down To Their PINK SOCKS.
'It Feels Like We Are In A Furnace,' Said James Zanzot, An Inmate Who Has Lived In The Tents for 1 year. 'It's Inhumane.'
Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city and long ago started making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic. He said Wednesday that he told all of the inmates: 'It's 120 Degrees In Iraq And Our Soldiers Are Living In Tents Too, And They Have To Wear Full Battle Gear, But They Didn't Commit Any Crimes, So Shut Your Mouths!'
Criminals should be punished for their crimes - not live on taxpayers money and enjoy things taxpayers can't afford to have for themselves. [It's this last part that I agree with most since I don't get cable for free, for example, so I don't get cable.]
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Make a Difference
This is a good story to share with others that have made a difference to you, so I'm sharing it with you. It's nice for me to know that somebody read this blog and shared it with somebody else. Hopefully, it's nice for you to know that somebody wanted to share it with you.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Mailmen
This is a good story to illustrate doing good deeds behind closed doors. Your reward in heaven will certainly be more than your reward in this present life, much more than the reward in this story:
There was a man who worked for the Post Office whose job was to process all the mail that had illegible addresses.
One day, a letter came addressed in a shaky handwriting to God with no actual address. He thought he should open it to see what it was about.
The letter read:
Dear God,
I am an 83 year old widow, living on a very small pension.
Yesterday someone stole my purse. It had $100 in it, which was all the money I had until my next pension payment.
Next Sunday is Christmas, and I had invited two of my friends over for dinner. Without that money, I have nothing to buy food with, have no family to turn to, and you are my only hope. Can you please help me?
Sincerely, Edna
The postal worker was touched. He showed the letter to all the other workers. Each one dug into his or her wallet and came up with a few dollars.
By the time he made the rounds, he had collected $96, which they put into an envelope and sent to the woman.
The rest of the day, all the workers felt a warm glow thinking of Edna and the dinner she would be able to share with her friends.
Christmas came and went.
A few days later, another letter came from the same old lady to God.
All the workers gathered around while the letter was opened.
It read:
Dear God,
How can I ever thank you enough for what you did for me?
Because of your gift of love, I was able to fix a glorious dinner for my friends. We had a very nice day and I told my friends of your wonderful gift.
By the way, there was $4 missing.
I think it might have been those bums at the post office.
Sincerely, Edna
There was a man who worked for the Post Office whose job was to process all the mail that had illegible addresses.
One day, a letter came addressed in a shaky handwriting to God with no actual address. He thought he should open it to see what it was about.
The letter read:
Dear God,
I am an 83 year old widow, living on a very small pension.
Yesterday someone stole my purse. It had $100 in it, which was all the money I had until my next pension payment.
Next Sunday is Christmas, and I had invited two of my friends over for dinner. Without that money, I have nothing to buy food with, have no family to turn to, and you are my only hope. Can you please help me?
Sincerely, Edna
The postal worker was touched. He showed the letter to all the other workers. Each one dug into his or her wallet and came up with a few dollars.
By the time he made the rounds, he had collected $96, which they put into an envelope and sent to the woman.
The rest of the day, all the workers felt a warm glow thinking of Edna and the dinner she would be able to share with her friends.
Christmas came and went.
A few days later, another letter came from the same old lady to God.
All the workers gathered around while the letter was opened.
It read:
Dear God,
How can I ever thank you enough for what you did for me?
Because of your gift of love, I was able to fix a glorious dinner for my friends. We had a very nice day and I told my friends of your wonderful gift.
By the way, there was $4 missing.
I think it might have been those bums at the post office.
Sincerely, Edna
Sunday, April 1, 2012
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