Ex Librus

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The book. A set of pages, with printing on them, bound together. A container of information or imagination. Its basic design, appearance, and purpose have remained unchanged for a thousand years. Simple to make and easy to care for. Durable. But bulky and expensive to print.

Modern media has a great many advantages. Fantastic amounts of information can be stored in very small spaces. Vast amounts of information can be filed, sorted, manipulated, sent, received and recalled in very little time. The price per word or picture stored is negligible compared to the printed page. And it does audio!
But books have one distinct advantage over newer media. Books do not require an interface. Most other methods of information storage and communication necessitate a computer, DVD or cd player, TV, telephone, radio, or mp3 player to retrieve the information inside.

A book requires a reader.

The necessity of an interface device would not be so worrisome if not for the fact the complicated devices are always changing. Rapidly. As soon all the data is transferred to the "new media" it is time to adapt to the new "new media".Libraries are increasingly repositories of the new media and a hub for Internet access. And they are increasingly being pushed out of government budgets. But libraries have an advantage over the competition, they contain books. As more and more books are being digitized having a repository of printed matter is essential. Keeping our libraries vital will help keep a vast realm of knowledge safe.

OWL

Nov. 4, 2009

Yeah, I got a license

Ah summertime. Fresh fruit, warm evenings, tourist and fishermen. Lining the shores of our lakes and rivers are men and women, armed with rod and reel, angling for that trophy trout. And each proudly displays, hanging from their hat or dangling from a strap around the neck, a valid fishing license issued by the California Department of Fish and Game. That’s the law! This is good. Fishing without a license can be hazardous. Somebody could get a hook in the little finger. Or if you mixed up your bait box with your lunch bag you might end up eating a worm. So before I put a little wire hook on a piece of monofilament and toss it into the water I better be sure I have the appropriate document pinned to my chest. The game warden can tell at a glance if I am legally qualified to engage in such a dangerous activity.

But I can get into a two-ton hunk of steel and glass and charge down the road at sixty-five miles per hour straight toward some other idiot in a two-ton hunk of steel and glass without offering anyone any proof of anything. Oh, the car has to show valid registration, which just proves you paid your $138 at the DMV. It doesn’t even indicate the car has passed a safety test and has brakes. The CHP is not allowed to stop a driver until there is an obvious infraction.

When is the last time you heard of a dangerous felon, wanted for armed robbery and assault with a fly rod, being apprehended after a routine stop for fishing without a license?

Hodge-podge

During this election season much has been written and said about same-sex marriage. There has been no discussion of a more serious issue. One which threatens to destroy our two party system. Mixed marriage. When republicans marry democrats. It is a disturbing trend that has fueled our growing divorce rate. The real tragedy is the children. With no clear political identity the offspring of these unnatural unions grow up confused and misguided. Some of the statements uttered by these people show how truly muddled their thinking is. "Nixon was a crook with a great foreign policy." "I am deeply religious but I don't believe disgruntled employees should have easy access to assault weapons."These young people grow up exposed to various points of view and are rendered totally incapable of seeing the world in black and white. They go through life in a gray fog. Unlike normal people they are unable to judge a candidate based solely on a single letter after his name. ie, J. Smith (D). They are forced to consider facts when deciding how to vote. No wonder so many do not register. Many suffer a worse fate, they become the "undecideds". Blasted on all sides by pundits, spin doctors, and attack ads. Their fragile psyches fractured by so-called facts, innuendos, misinformation and down right lies. By election day they are mere quivering masses of flesh barely able to muster the strength to use a touch-screen voting machine.I must confess, I to am the result of a mixed marriage. Mom was from Oklahoma, dad was Californian. Sometimes, late at night, when no one is watching I put sushi on my cornbread.

OWL

Oct. 30, 2009

I know what they think.

"That will embolden the terrorist." "It will give hope to the evil doers." From the President on down to “letters” we are told how something done by American politicians or uttered by a plain citizen in Des Monies is going to make the bad guys jump for joy. We were told that if the Democrats won the November election the leaders of Al Queda would declare victory and institute a national holiday. It didn't happen. Anyone who would strap seventeen pounds of dynamite to their chest, walk into a crowded market place and press the button is irrational. Or so it would seem. Trying to apply logic to their ideology is a fool’s errand.
From John Robinson's letter (April 18th Union Democrat), concerning the actions of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, "Their continued forays into foreign policy decision making serve only to fuel the Islamic Extremists." This may be true, I don't know. But where did he get this information? Like all the statements of the kind it is proffered without a hint of proof. There are writings by radical Islamic groups all over the net, spouting their rhetoric and inciting their followers to violence. I have not seen these sources quoted or referenced in any statement where someone pretends to know how these people think. My search of Islamic web sites found no reference to Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid
Americans must do what is best for Americans. That includes encouraging rational public discourse. It does not mean using terrorism as a boogey man to scare others into sharing your point of view based upon what you imagine would motivate a suicide bomber.

OWL

Oct. 30, 2009

EXTRA! EXTRA!

Someone is cutting down trees on their own property! Call a reporter! Make those nasty people stop! I live near the property where 50 oak trees are being cut down. (Union Democrat, Feb. 8). The clearing of this property has been going on for several months and I am glad it is being done. It sits in the middle of a densely populated area and is overgrown with oak, pine, willow, blackberry, poison oak, brush and dry grass. Some may describe it as "pristine". I prefer the term "fire hazard". There are some fine old oaks there but you have to look hard to see them from the road. So it does need cleaning up. Should I tell the owner how I want that done? If it is not done to my liking should I get the county involved? Should I make a new law so I can tell you what to do or not do with your trees? Maybe. Or maybe if I wanted to save these trees I could just buy the property in question. I live in a house where oak trees once stood. The property I manage was parkland years ago. The store where I buy my groceries stands on what was once a meadow. Etc. So if I really wanted to save the trees in Tuolumne County maybe I could just move somewhere else. Let a newcomer from Oxnard have my house, and office. I've enjoyed the foothills long enough, time to give some one else a chance. Or I can shut the gate at Jamestown and tell the rest of the world, "I got mine. Go away!"

OWL

Oct. 30, 2009

heart by-pass

Bypasses on the road of life

Driving down the bypass the other day it hit me. I’ve been here to long. Nothing looks familiar anymore. Who remembers when J. C. Penny’s was downtown next to the only stop light? Vic’s at the north end of Washington was one of half a dozen gas stations in town. Across from the Red Church the “ 76” station closed down and the lot became the locus of a bitter custody battle between the Southland Corp. and the Tuolumne County Hysterical Society. Southland prevailed and Seven/Eleven moved in. Now they too have moved on. Greenley and Sanguinetti Roads were once quaint shortcuts. Now they have stoplights of their own. The Plaza and Junction Shopping centers stand on plots where the grass was once green late into the summer. The old movie theater played its last feature, and even the new cinema has given way to the Signature Ten. A new hospital has replaced the old and in Tuolumne a casino looms large on the horizon.

And now this ugly scar, the result of the emergency East Sonora gastric-triple-by-pass surgery. An operation which promises to relieve severe congestion and prevent bloating of the county coffers for years to come. Straight and level it runs. Looking as if it were carved by a race of space aliens, with no feeling for earthly aesthetics, for landing their intergalactic transport vessels. Are they coming to take me away?

Seventy million dollars to transform the beauty of our county into this? Maybe if they hadn’t moved quite so much dirt the new HI-WAY would not have cost so much
and could have fit a little better into the landscape.

OWL

Oct. 30, 2009

wooden nickles

In the article headlined "Lowe's is a go", Union Democrat, Dec. 6, 2007, quoting city administrator Greg Applegate, "We are losing half a million dollars a year." The article goes on, sales tax alone is a $414,000 a year loss, he claims. Is this a new level of governmental incompetence? We are losing almost a half million dollars a year of sales tax that hasn't been collected on items that haven't been sold at a store that has not been built? And the amount we're losing is know so accurately?

I'm not really in favor or opposed to Lowe's. I'm opposed to public officials forgetting that they are not in business to make a profit, not putting the people first and mostly using language like "losing" to sway public opinion. Whatever their title, city administrator, tax collector, treasurer, chief petty parking enforcement dude or purveyor of the public trust, these people seem to think they have a right to our money. If there is a way to get more of it and they are not doing so, well then, "we are losing money". We are also losing money by not operating toll roads or taking a share from the gambling rooms and public houses on South Washington, which I understand were once quite numerous and a major contributor to the city coffers. I wish Greg would look into his crystal ball and tell me how much I am "losing" by not playing the lottery.

I really didn't understand what they meant by "losing" till I looked up "lose" in the dictionary: to fail take advantage of.

OWL

Oct. 30, 2009

Revoked

The Merits of A Drinking License

We have been attacking the problems of Drunk Driving from the wrong
perspective. Since a Motor Vehicle License becomes a de facto " drinking
license" at the age of twenty-one (eighteen in some states) this needs to
be clarified and strengthened by the institution of a " revocation of
drinking license" sentence. When a drinking person is convicted of
driving while under the influence, especially if they have an otherwise
clean driving record, it makes no sense to revoke or suspend their
driving license, driving isn't their problem. Their problem is alcohol
related and taking away the privilege of buying and consuming alcohol
would be a more logical solution. Simply stamp or imprint "May not
purchase alcohol" on their driving license.

Since not everyone is affected in a negative manner by the
consumption of alcohol, prohibition on a grand scale does not work.
However, the revocation of their "drinking license" would keep those
unable to control their use of this drug from becoming a threat to
society. This punishment would be in addition to fines, jail, probation,
and/or suspension of driving privileges.

This law would require the checking of ID for ALL sales of alcohol,
no matter the age or appearance of the consumer. Anyone allowing an
unlicensed person to buy or consume alcohol could be held legally and
financially responsible for the person's subsequent behavior. This
should not be construed as relieving the alcohol consumer of their
responsibility for their own behavior. By admitting that we are selling
a dangerous and potentially deadly substance and requiring a checking of
each "drinking license" we could attack the cause of the drunk driving
without destroying the person's ability to support himself and his
family.

Thank you for your consideration of this matter, I am certain that
the technology is available to make this a more workable solution than the
present "non-solution."

OWL

Oct. 30 2009

STP

I have heard many people here in the foothills express a desire to save our old growth forest, protect the environment, prevent the damming of free flowing rivers and tear down existing dams. Although these goals may be difficult they can be achieved if we reduce the demand for water and electricity in California. Here are ten simple steps you may take to help. 1. Don’t buy fresh fruits and vegetables. Most of the fresh produce sold in California is grown on land irrigated with water that was once stored behind dams. 2. Don’t drink wine. It takes thousands of gallons of water to make one gallon of wine. 3. Don’t flush! Go out into the forest that you love so much and bring a shovel. But don’t let the environmentalist see you. 4. Don’t do or say anything to get your name in the newspaper. Paper is made from trees. 5. Don’t ask the government to study anything. Government studies require tons of paper. 6. Stop communicating. Phones and computers use electricity. 7. Give up your car. Take public transportation, walk or ride a bike. This may not save water but no one is going to believe that you are serious about conservation when they see you idling at a stoplight, alone. 8. Get out of California. Less people, less demand for limited resources. 9. Leave the country. Move to a poor village in South America where there is no electricity or running water. Tell them how terrible it is to dam the rivers. 10. And the most helpful thing you can do to save the environment. Stop emitting hot air!

OWL

Oct. 30, 2009

just a little ring

I have a telephone answering machine. This is a handy little device that allows friends, family and clients to leave messages for me when I am unable to come to the phone. Unfortunately it has only a limited memory and can take only a finite amount of messages. Now just imagine what is going to happen if every political party, self interest group and dime bag politician running for office leaves a message on my machine. It will become useless for its intended purpose and I will be forced disconnect it and throw it away. Recently two messages have been left on my machine in support of the current governor of Kalifornia which makes me want to wrap it up, drive down to Sacramento and put it some place warm and dark. Sideways. However this plan is not practical because Arnold is much larger than I am. And he has bodyguards. I digress. The practice of using peoples answering machines for advertising purposes, political or otherwise, must be discouraged. The fact that nether of the actual organizations involved, the California Republican Party or the California Chamber of Commerce, left a phone number, physical or email address to reply to was insulting. They invade our space with television and radio advertising, campaign signs and endless piles of junk mail. Then the message they leave on your phone seems to imply “Don’t call us, we’ll call you”.

OWL

Oct. 30, 2009

xmass

wood, branches, oak, maple, pine. etc.
plastic, polypro, styrene, etc.
metal, aluminum, brass, iron, silver.
glass worked or cut.
ceramic, clay, plaster, stone.
string, rope, wire, chain.
rubber, balloon, innertube.

OWL

Sept. 29, 2009

Posted by OWL at 7:25 AM


0 comments:
Post

Ex Librus

The book. A set of pages, with printing on them, bound together. A container of information or imagination. Its basic design, appearance, and purpose have remained unchanged for a thousand years. Simple to make and easy to care for. Durable. But bulky and expensive to print.

Modern media has a great many advantages. Fantastic amounts of information can be stored in very small spaces. Vast amounts of information can be filed, sorted, manipulated, sent, received and recalled in very little time. The price per word or picture stored is negligible compared to the printed page. And it does audio!

But books have one distinct advantage over newer media. Books do not require an interface. Most other methods of information storage and communication neccessitate a computer, dvd or cd player, tv, telephone, radio, or mp3 player to retrieve the information inside.

A book requires a reader.

The necessity of an interface device would not be so worrisome if not for the fact the complicated devices are always changing. Rapidly. As soon all the data is transferred to the "new media" it is time to adapt to the new "new media".

Libraries are increasingly repositories of the new media and a hub for Internet access. And they are increasingly being pushed out of government budgets. But libraries have an advantage over the competition, they contain books. As more and more books are being digitized having a repository of printed matter is essential. Keeping our libraries vital will help keep a vast realm of knowledge safe.

OWL

Sept. 23 2009

dpsuicide

The death squads are coming, run for your lives.

Death Squads? Who said anything about "Death Squads"? Everyone is screaming about Death Panels. Groups of bureaucrats sitting around a conference table deciding who lives and who dies. And why. And if you have a death panel you've got to have a death squad to make sure the chosen ones die on time and in the correct manner. So what are you going to do? DPs and DSs go together like computers and blue screens.

What's the screaming about? Death panels are all around us already.

Insurance companies that deny claims out right and refuse to cover anyone who might die. Agencies like Veteran's Administration that delay the awarding claims for months, just long enough for the claimant to die of hepatitis. (This happened to a friend of mine.) Medical boards that decide who gets a new organ and who slowly dies of liver failure. Over zealous police, big business, former presidents who have bombed villages killing thousands of innocents.

The list goes on.

Doctors. People get upset when you mention doctor assisted suicide, but it goes on all around us. They just don't call it doctor assisted suicide. It has several names. Missed diagnosis, adverse reaction, unforeseen consequence, or negative outcome.

Then there is suicide by cop, too chicken to put a bullet in your own head you get the police to do it for you. Suicide by fast food, fast cars, faster women, or terminal stupidity.

People will die. We all will. Until then it would nice to have good health care. For everyone. Or the right to an early checkout.

OWL

August 27, 2009

may be

Awhile back I got this email. Though much of it is factual, some of it is spun from the imagination of a person with limited knowledge of the bible, or just spinning tails.


"A lot of Americans have become so insulated from reality that they imagine that America can suffer defeat without any inconvenience to themselves. Pause a moment, reflect back. These events are actual events from history. They really happened!!! Do you remember?

1. 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by a Muslim male extremist.

2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by Muslim male extremists.

3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by Muslim male extremists.

4. During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by Muslim male extremists.

5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by Muslim male extremists.

6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by Muslim male extremists.

7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens , and a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by Muslim male extremists. (remember the pilot of this flight was from Richmond , MO).

8.. In 1988 , Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by Muslim male extremists.

9. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by Muslim male extremists.

10. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by Muslim male extremists.

11. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take down the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the passengers. Thousands of people were killed by Muslim male extremists.

12. In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against Muslim male extremists.

13. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by-- you guessed it-- Muslim male extremists.

No, I really don't see a pattern here to justify profiling, do you? So, to ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly fanatics intent on killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be allowed to profile certain people... Absolutely No Profiling! They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members of the President's security detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winner and former Governor Joe Foss, but leave Muslim Males alone lest they be guilty of profiling.

According to The Book of Revelations, The Anti-Christ will be a man, in his 40's, of MUSLIM descent, who will deceive the nations with persuasive language, and have a MASSIVE Christ-like appeal....the prophecy says that people will flock to him and he will promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in power, he will destroy everything. And Now: For the award winning Act of Stupidity Of All Times the People of America want to elect, to the most Powerful position on the face of the Planet -- The Presidency of the United states of America .. A Male of Muslim descent who is the most extremely liberal Senator in Congress (in other words an extremist) and in his 40's. Have the American People completely lost their Minds, or just their. Power of Reason ??? I'm sorry but I refuse to take a chance on the 'unknown' candidate Obama... Let's send this to as many people as we can so that the Gloria Aldreds and other stupid attorneys along with Federal Justices that want to thwart common sense, feel ashamed of themselves -- if they have any such sense. As the writer of the award winning story ' Forest Gump' so aptly put it, "'Stupid Is As Stupid Does" Each opportunity that you have to send it to a friend or media outlet...do it! or again. . just delete if you disagree."


First a few more facts from history, note some of these events I make no claim of fact, they were written a long time ago and their authorship is questionable, but they are widely believed by many people. Other facts are well known so I just give approximate dates. If you wish to know more about these events please email me with any questions you might have. Or Google it..

More history..

Circa 1451 BC, Moses gave the ten commandments to to the Israelites,including "thou shalt not kill."

Circa 1451 BC, Joshua, under orders from God, leads the Israelites to attack the city of Jericho, with the stipulation that every man, woman, and child shall be killed, along with all the animals, but thier goods could be carried off.

Circa 70 BC. Rome conquers Israel.

Circa 1508 Pope Julius II commands his own army.

C. 1478 The Spanish Inquisition was established by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. Thousand of Jews and heretics were tortured and killed in the most horrid ways.

C. 1855, John Brown an abolitionist led his own private army in an attack on a US Army depot in an attempt to capture weapons for his war on slavery. He as captured and hung.

C. 1860 Civil war in the us killed more American soldiers than any other war in which the US was involved. For the US to suppress the succession was rather ironic.

C. 1930, Germany a largely Catholic and Lutheran country attacked Poland and then began working on the "Final Solution".

C. 1960, England invades Northern Ireland.

C. 1963, John F. Kennedy was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, a supporter of communism and the USSR.

C. 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. a winner of the noble piece prize, was shot and killed by James Earl Ray a white racist.

C. 1987 A commercial flight crashed in California. All 43 people on board the aircraft died, including the man who caused the crash, a disgruntled former employee of the airline.

C. 1995, Isaac Rabin, also a winner of the Nobel Piece Prize and Prime minister of Israel was shot and killed by a "hard line" Israeli, because he was working to make peace in the Mideast.

I could go but I'll finish with,

C. 1995, Two former US soldiers set off an explosion in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma killing 168 people.

Leave Muslims males alone? The federal government has a "no fly list" or "terrorist watch list" containing over 1 million names. Many of them Muslim males. But with any list of one million names some of them match the names of "innocent by standers." Including immigrants from Muslim countries who came here to escape the violence in the "homeland". Did I mention it was administered by the federal government.

If you really wish to understand why we are afraid of Muslims study world history from the crusades to the creation of the State of Israel. We have invaded their territory, supported ruthless dictators in exchange for cheap oil, and rearranged their national borders to suit our needs. In the past the Muslims were out gunned and out manned. Now that they have trillions in oil money the west is screaming "peace" and trying to impose our peace on their lives.

"According to :The Book of Revelations... etc.

A thorough search of The Revelation to John in the, Standard Revised Edition, Smiths Dictionary of the bible, and the internet revealed no indication of the age or heritage of the antagonist, the term Anti-Christ, nor any "Book of Revelations"

Please site the version, chapters and verses that state this information.

There are a lot of different titles to the book in different Bibles. My favorite, "The Revelation of St. John the Divine" found in "Holy Bible from ancient eastern manuscripts", by George M. Lamda, pub A. J. Holman Company, Philadelphia, 1957 .
Muslims did not exist at the the time "the Revelation of St. John the Divine", was written between AD 90 and AD 200 by St. John on the island of Patmos circa 95 AD. Although they are many doubts about the actual authorship. The prophet Muhammad created the Islamic religion sometime in the seventh century AD. Unlike race a person can change religion. If a person has one ancestor who was Muslim they are of Muslim descent. Figuring four generations a century two parents, four grandparents etc.. Each person has a possible 2^(14*4), 72057594027936 or 10^14 ancestors. (72 trillion.) What is the probability that John F. Kennedy was of Muslim decent? Quick, no cheating with a calculator. What is the probability that you are of Muslim decent?
*Book of Revelation, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Modern views.

Do you feel that Barakpain O'bama has massive Christ like appeal? I do not.

And Now:
Thank you for implying that I am participating in "the Award Winning Act of Stupidity Of All Times", simply because my political and religious beliefs do not match you own. Where in the bible does Jesus advocate insulting people who disagree with you? Or was the email a farce meant to sarcastically mock Americans who hold the opinions set forth in the original missive?

And I would like to know how "most liberal", a very subjective term, is defined, determined and where the information comes from.

"Each opportunity that you have to send it to a friend or media outlet...do it! or again. . just delete if you disagree."

In other worlds if I agree then I should send it to every one I know, if not I should delete rather than point out the inconsistencies I believe it contains.

Who is the author? The document came from a friend but other than the lack of the Re. in the subject line there is no indication of the ultimate source...

If anyone disagrees with my comments I advise them to show it to and discuss with it people who agree with you so that they might have a perspective of the opposite side, thus gaining ammunition to combat these view points. And show it to and discuss it those who do not agree with you so that both of you may possibly learn more or even change someone's views.

My understanding of Christian theology in not the best, but I thought Christians believe that the prophecies in the Bible "WILL" come about. Indeed they must happen in order for the "RAPTURE" and the Second Coming to transpire.

I, OWL, am responsible for this counterpoint!

4/28/2009

marraige advice from the experts

Owl,

May 27

To one and all.

I would like thank everyone who helped to make the 16th Annual Nude Body Sculpture contest such a great success. The event has been held each year at Los Bikini nude beach, on the banks of the Stanislaus River, near Strawberry. Because of scheduling conflicts and new Forest Service Regulations the competition was held on 4-1-2009 in stead of our usual date. This year we had more categories, more contestants, and more spectators. Categories included the traditional static sculpture for singles and group. The teckie category allowed the use of props, for singles and groups. One inspiring event made up on the spot was the "Grotesque", which encouraged those with less than "perfect" bodies to participate. So encouraged that dozens of spectators came down threw off their clothes, and proudly showed off their bodies flaws and all. This event was so popular that it instantly captured the record for the most participants (41) for a single contest. And the board voted to make it a permanent part of the event.

There were so many categories and prizes that I can not list them all here. Some of the highlights were the "The Lobotomites" who performed "Stamping out O's. " The collage of hard Knockers showed their best with "Gargantuan." The "Sandman" wowed the crowed with "sandy". The "pizza guy", did something I would not have believed was humanly possible, but was disqualified by the board for over the top obscenity. Shannon O'Shay took home the best of show trophy for "Still life with Moon".

All in all it was an entertaining and educational event. Thanks again to everyone who participated or just came to see the imaginative display of the human body and learn that nudity is nothing to be ashamed of if presented tastefully. And a heart felt thank you to the people who worked so hard to put together the best show ever, the coordinators, the promoters, the judges, the bus drivers, the clean up crew and those people or businesses that donated the prizes. We had enough prizes so that everyone who entered got a prize. We will be posting lots of pictures very soon.

Thank you all,

OWL,

National Hairman United States Nude Body Sculpture Association Spokesperson

The price of progress

As part of my employment I sometimes have to buy major appliances. One day it was a stove, the oven wasn't working. I called the two major appliance dealers in town. I picked the lowest price of the two and had then deliver and install it. Job done.

A few weeks later I got a call from a major nation-wide appliance company. "No I don't need anything now. Bought a stove a while back."

"What did I pay and what features did it have?"

By now I was getting annoyed for some vague reason.

"Wow I could have saved you a hundred bucks."

Yeah. Wow.

I could have saved money. So what money isn't everything.

I live in a nice quiet little town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I like it here, low crime rate, and beautiful scenery! People say hello to strangers, and they are not trying to sell you crack.

In order for me to live here there has to be jobs for people here. Which means we have to support the local, over priced, merchants. I may pay more but life here is worth more than money.

Then I thought about this salesman and where he lived, and the rest of the people who work for that company. Where do they live. Rush hour traffic, 24 hour noise, street corner drug vendors. Hustlers, hurry up, etc.

And what if there is a problem, I get to wait two weeks for a replacement. If I am still not happy who do I talk to.

If I am not happy with the service I get locally I drive over to the dealers, two miles, and ask to talk to who ever is in charge. I'll tell him why I am dissatisfied and it will be taken care of because companies like mine are important customers to them.

Spending the a little extra of the companies money? That money goes the the people who are our bread and butter.

And I instantly dislike a sales person who says, "I could have saved you $100."

OWL

April 6, 2009