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Our Daily Thread 9-5-12

Good morning!

This is the daily open thread. Talk about whatever you like.

Quote of the Day

“Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that he is in error.”

Andrew Jackson

87 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 9-5-12”

  1. I like the quote of the day. I try to apologize immediately if I have done something wrong…sometimes in right in the middle of whatever it is I am doing I will stop and apologize.
    Along those lines I also think if you go through life and don’t irritate someone, you haven’t stood up for anythng.

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  4. Morning all

    Kbells — the thing is Jackson did not think the trail was an error. For him it was part of manifest destiny. Different era, different values.

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  6. The new job is exhausting–mentally that is. While I have a background in database management it has been a few years and the technology has leaped ahead. I have one program where I can look and see how many people are currently on the website and what state or country they are in. Three people from Canada were looking at Gulf Front condos yesterday. I will eventually have 3 computer monitors in front of me. One for the customer management database, one for the dialing system and marketing, and another for online chat. That is the core of the job but I will then add a telephone and headset and somewhere in the middle of all that I will be calling and qualifying people before I hand them over to an agent to actually list or buy property. I will take them all the way through loan pre-approval.
    In addition to that I will be networking for the team and going to other offices to get referral business and to train. I will also be training the agents in house on how to do certain things. These agents act as buyer’s agents but none of them really use the buyer agency agreement or documentation. That is something else I have in my back ground and it comes easy to me. The first agent went through the spiel with me yesterday, but she developed a migraine and went home before I could go back through it with her and show her how to “do it naturally”.
    About 4 o’clock Cal looked at me and said, “You look beat. Why don’t you go home and we will start again in the morning.” Today will be the scariest day. I will be the first time in about 10 years I have “dialed for dollars”. Yes. Today I will pick up the phone and talk to real live human beings–perhaps a few in Canada.

    As I have always heard the best sales managers aren’t always the best sales people and those who can do and those who can’t teach. I am “managing and teaching”.

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  8. KBells

    That is true and the Cherokee cases are the bases for modern Federal Indian law — the Supremes were in a distinct minority at the time.

    Kim

    yes 1/2 Athabaskan (Native Alaskan — not Eskimo). With the new job, after a few weeks you’ll have picked up what you need and be a bit less beat at the end of the day. Hang in there!

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  11. Thanks. I know I am good at laying down some BS but then comes the time when you have to back it up. I got the job now I have to prove I deserve it! I have laughed in the past that no one meets me and takes an immediate dislike to me –it takes about 4 or 5 times of being around me not to like me. 😉

    The reason I asked about your background was you attitude about it. Refreshing to see that those who have discrimination in their background can understand how it happened. Those were different times indeed. Now if more people could have your attitude….

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  14. KBells, I don’t like Andy either, but if it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t be you.
    Think about it.
    Hang in there Kim.
    😦 I have to attend two funerals today. One, the wife of a guy I worked with in 1959.

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  17. Eskimo is an Athabaskan word. It means raw fish eater and is not the most pc term for Inuits, Inupiaks or Aluets.

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  18. Kbells & CB – in Canada ‘Eskimo’ is definitely considered ‘offensive’. Inuit are the native people of northern Canada (along with others, but they were the ones called Eskimo in the past).

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  19. I prayed for Kim and Pauline about their new work situations. I always found when I started a new job when I did not know anyone or how to do the work that it took a tremendous toll at first so that I was exhausted. After having an early meal I would have to go straight to bed to recouperate. That didn’t last for long, and then I would be in the swing. Everybody needs a clone when they a new on the job!

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  22. Pauline posted this on FB, for those of you who didn’t see it:
    First day on the new job today – sort of. Today and tomorrow are orientation for new employees (all two of us in this session). Lots of information, we get a tour of the campuses and meet lots of people. As well as the usual filling out paperwork, choosing insurance, and all that stuff. Lots of nice people, Black Hawk College seems like a great place to work. Haven’t even had a chance to lot onto my computer yet or find out my work phone number. But I have a new coffee mug, a mouse pad, two flash drives, a name tag (magnetic so there is no pin), a key to my office… and lots of stuff to read.

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  30. Much to my astonishment, I now find myself the “pastor” of an atheist “church.” (Not correct terminology; not sure what words to use.) Tomorrow, we are having our third meeting. Whenever I call one, I expect no one to show up, but people do.

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  32. I wish that the local “atheist group” leader was as reasonable to argue with as you are my friend…

    Why do you not expect people to show? Just curious…

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  33. Thank you for calling me “reasonable.” I am often told I am otherwise.

    What is there for a group of atheists to talk about? Let’s see: “There is no God.” “Yup.” “Some day we will be dead.” “Yup.”

    Actually half of them were raised in fundamentalist/evangelical/other zealot sects/families. Half (like me) never believed. So the conversation runs:

    “My family doesn’t speak to me any more.” “Good riddance — you’ve got an atheist family now.” “Yup. I don’t want to force my children to be atheists like my parents tried to force me to be a believer.” “Yup. Just encourage them to think for themselves. Then they will see the darkness.” “Yup.”

    Well, I am having too much fun. I am off to help a group of Christians cut down trees, chain saw wood, and split the wood to donate to the poor. So I’ve got to go. Yup.

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  35. One of the nice things, to me, about the look of this blog is that those without avatars have different little “quilt squares”, they’re not all just the same generic symbol.

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  36. Good morning all. I love that this thread is free of political speech so the “non-angry” side of folks can be seen.

    I’m going through a devotional from Open Doors Ministry which is keying on the Book of Job this month. It helps to keep me in prayer for the suffering church and at the same time makes me very thankful for the cakewalk that we have in America.

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  37. Good morning all. I got out of my 6:30 a.m. weekly “early” shift today since I have an afternoon assignment that I’ll have to file a story on right away.

    I needed the 9 hours of sleep I just got. I think the whirlwind weekend of reorganizing and deep (behind-every-cabinet) cleaning I did finally just hit me last night. I even missed Tess’ class (she wisely decided not to go without me), I felt almost punchy I was so tired.

    So, I’m back at it today, but feeling much, much peppier.

    Linda, I saw Pauline’s note on FB last night, too, I was going to pass on the message here but I was just too tired. 🙂 Told ya I was beat.

    Chas, sounds like today will be a tough one for you. Prayers. 😦

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  38. Random most of the people I deal with at work (and in what’s left of my family, come to think of it!) are either agnostic or atheists. We all get along OK. 🙂

    I went through an agnostic period myself (during most of my 20s) and well remember the mindset, which entirely made perfect sense to me. Who can know, I used to reason.

    Of course, functionally that made me pretty much an atheist. But I never went so far as to proclaim that kind of assurance on the other end of the spiritual spectrum. 😉

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  40. Photoguy,

    I thought it would be best to sperate the 2 for much the same reason. Not that anyone’s “angry” or anything, but just to give that a place of it’s own. I always noticed on World that it often “interupted” for lack of a better word, the meaningful personal stuff. Folks are still free to post that stuff here, but I thought a dedicated daily thread to it was a better option. I’m glad you like it.

    Allen

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  41. Karen O, I like the quilt squares, too, except mine seems so big and bright, especially next to a short post! I read the book Color Me Beautiful this summer, and determined that I am an “autumn”, which means bright pink is NOT one of my colors! So I guess when you “see” me here, I’m not really me. 🙂

    Or something like that.

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  43. So, inbutnotof, the Clint Eastwood looking macho dude is preferred over the pink quilt? Oh, I guess that is lavender and not pink! Where did you find that original avatar? Is it unavailable now?

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  44. I respect Andrew Jackson in many ways. However, since he has received some fire from the left, let me fire at him from the right. As the last living Whig, I believe the US began to go downhill with Jacksonian democracy- when the vote was given to men who were not property owners.

    KBells, you have (probably for the first time) been accused of firing from the left. However, I must compliment you for how Alabama upheld Southern honor last Saturday.

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  45. Janice G –

    I have it in my files. I can’t seem to register for an account successfully, so I guess I’m stuck with the quilt for now…

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  48. Tomorrow, I will visit my cults. The jeep dealer will pray over the cruise control, and then it will heal itself. Or not. then I will the meet the religionist who wrote the earthquake book (which is a work of fiction, but might come true, perhaps tomorrow). Then I will visit the library cult where I will prosetylize for one of the earthquake books, (one fiction, one non-fiction). Will an earthquake tsunami (like Boxing Day/Sumatra quake in Indonesia/Phuket, Thailand (sounds like an f-bomb but what do the Thais know)/Sri Lanka hit our island? 230,000 people died on Indian ocean. The evidence is like reading entrails/diving under the earth and under the ocean. Well in the long run . . . we are all either dead, or in Heaven, or in Hell, or enjoying our next life if Hindu or Buddhist. I am using a library computer and it just notified me, You have ten minutes left. Please start saving . . . Was the library computer message a warning from God, telling me to start praying (as well as saving my files), so I will save my soul? If you don’t hear from me after the next ten minutes, I am somewhere else.

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  50. Karen, No reasoning, just facts. Presidents elected by property owners: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Little Adams. Presidents elected after Jackson by a broader electorate: Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Fillmore, etc. You get the picture. KBells, You raised a good question. In the early 1800s, I’m not sure folks used “left” and “right”. However, I’m sure CB will confirm that the “conservatives” were for the settlers and the “liberals” were for the Indians.

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  51. Random, what will you do when you have to preach a funeral?

    Thanks for the prayers Donna. It was a tiring day. And I had to cut grass when I got home because this is the first time this week the grass was dry. And we had a shower downtown, but fortunately it didn’t rain here.

    Both funerals were of devoted Christians. One the wife of a retired pastor. The other had been a leader in this church for sixty years.

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  52. Ricky – There must have been some reason behind it initially. Maybe that property owners may have had more education or more of a stake in their communities?

    These days, a lot of good folks would be left out in the cold, as there are many who cannot afford their own home. We lived in an apartment for the first 14 years of our marriage. Our tenants/friends upstairs have never owned their own home, & they both have college degrees & have been married over 30 years.

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  54. Re: “Eskimo”-
    This reminds me of all the native tribes whose names have changed because the people decided to call themselves what they used to before “white man” came along and gave them names. In Southern Arizona is a tribe called the “Pima”. That word means something along the lines of “I don’t know what you are saying.” The Spaniards called them Pima because when they asked what they were the Toto O’onan (or something like that) said “Pima?”

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  55. Karen, I think you are right about the rationale for a restricted electorate. I believe there was also a belief that only taxpayers should vote. A modern approach that would retain the spirit of the old laws might be to limit the electorate in federal elections to those who pay income taxes.

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  56. After a long day I came home to face an almost 15 year old who is pouting because she cannot have her “dream” birthday. My house has ONE bathroom and she wants to have 3 girls spend the night!!!!!!
    Calson take me away…

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  57. Kim, tell BG I have three sisters, and our family of seven all shared one bathroom for 22 years until I moved out. Not that that will help or anything…just giving a little perspective. 😉

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  58. Random, what kind of a Jeep do you have?

    I am completely exhausted after a nearly 3-hour “behind-the-scenes” below deck tour of the USS Iowa. It was a media thing so we all dutifully showed up, a couple TV folks (who bailed early, sissies), some LA Korean media & the local political office bunch.

    I’ve never climbed or descended so many tiny, narrow metal ladders — most with only chains (if that) for “hand rails”) in my life. By tonight, I should be able to count the shin bruises as I kept banging my shins on those climb-through hatches. At least I was short enough I wasn’t banging my head on the running steel conveyor pole overhead.

    We saw the laundry room, a mess hall or two, the brig, the barber shop, the dental office (ooh, now there’s a thought, 1940s dentistry at sea), engine rooms, gun and missile rooms, generators, the welding room, the hospital … I’m probably missing a few things.

    It’s a very big ship. Honestly, I don’t know how people kept from getting lost on those things, but I suppose with between 1,500 and 3,000 (in WWII) sailors on board, you could always ask for directions.

    And it’s very clear to me after all that climbing and crawling around that these things were build for 18-year-old sailors, let me tell you.

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  59. I’m not as tired out by the new job yet as Kim, probably because I haven’t really gotten into it yet. Today was supposed to be spent getting a tour of the other locations, but the person who was supposed to take us called in sick, and the person chosen to substitute for her fell and hurt her leg when trying to get into the campus vehicle to take us there, and was instead taken away in an ambulance.

    So instead I met some more people, heard more about the projects and problems we work on in our group, heard people’s opinions about other people we work with, found out two of my computer logins (there are at least two more I haven’t gotten yet), took one of the required web-based training modules (on preventing sexual harrassment), got a library card, and found out where the closest restrooms and drinking fountains are. (Not very close due to construction going on nearby.)

    Plus I hadn’t brought a lunch because the tour was supposed to include one, so I had to go get something at Subway (on campus). I love their turkey and avocado subs, but it wasn’t quite enough for me by the end of the day so I did feel tired but not from working hard. Tomorrow I need to take in some healthy snacks to keep in my office. And a tea mug and tea bags. The break room was a casualty of the construction, so there’s no refrigerator/freezer. There’s a microwave behind some stacks of office supplies – I’ll have to see if I can manage to at least get myself some hot water that way.

    I am starting to learn what it is I need to learn. I know all about bills of material and orders and invoices and stuff like that from manufacturing companies, but higher education has a whole different set of issues. One of our projects is a computer system to figure out what a student needs in order to graduate. Apparently that’s a pretty complicated matter, and only the dean in each different discipline knows the requirements for the majors in that area. I learned the combination to the registrar’s area, where the student records are kept – I was surprised, in this day of computer records, to see row after row of file folders.

    I also discovered that the help desk doesn’t make much use of remote control software, the way I’m used to, because privacy laws prevent them from accessing the computer a student is using. And I will have to learn what kind of information I can or can’t share about a student.

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  61. Have I mentioned I was an only child? I color my hair which means I have to use a good quality shampoo to make the color last. I can’t afford for a bunch of girls to shampoo their hair with my shampoo and use a palm full of shampoo and a palm full of conditioner because they all have long hair!!!!! (I know you all think I am selfish). 4 Teenage girls eat almost as much as 4 teenage boys these days. Cake, Ice cream, pizza, football game. $$$$$$$$ Besides all that I don’t get home these days until 6 pm! The ball game starts at 7!!!!! My ever so helpful ex-husband suggested that I ask my new boss if I can leave early on Friday—-this from the man who couldn’t get home until 6:30 because he had let his assistant off to take care of her nieces children —never mind that his WIFE had some place to be—like GRADUATE school!!!!!
    On her birthday wish list is a $40 curling iron (long hair, etc), a $30 bottle of body spray, and a $100 raincoat!!!!! Oh, and that helpful ex-husband? He can’t help me out this week. He only has a hundred dollars until next payday??????????

    The only person who has offered to help me out in any way is Mr. P who offered to take BG and me to one of BG’s favorite restaurants for lunch on Saturday before the Alabama football game. Does Princess want to do that???? NO!!!!! She wants to spend time with her FRIENDS and go bowling. Where am I supposed to get the money to take 4 girls bowling and FEED them???????

    I have tried to explain to her that she can have
    a. Friends spend the night Friday and go to the football game
    b. Have friends go bowling on Saturday
    c. Have friends over at her Nana’s house on Sunday (her actual birthday) for cake and ice cream.

    Only ONE is an option–chose. This ended up with her crying and her father calling to tell me how disappointed he was and that it broke his heart that as much as I wanted her, she and I have such a horrible relationship. He is really afraid that I am going to be too critical and push her away and she is going to end up pregnant!

    Well, thanks a whole lot for all THAT help!

    Sorry if I ranted and yelled, but I didn’t have anyone else to vent to and somehow pounding on this computer keyboard makes me feel better than ramming my fist through a wall and is less painful on my end.

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  62. Justified rant, Kim! You are being reasonable. It is okay to have wants, but they can’t all turn into haves. You are teaching good life lessons by making BG understand that now. Sounds like her hormones are talking and crying.

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  64. Kim, you are not selfish. You are establishing limits and showing your love through them, though BG does not understand that yet. Someday I believe she will and will thank you for it. Don’t let ex-husband put his negativity about a future he does not know into your thinking. You are dealing with the present, and doing it well. The future is in the Lord’s hands, and we know we can place our full confidence in Him.

    Praying for you, Kim.

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  66. 6Arrows thank you, your post had not shown up when I started typing.
    I just got off the phone with Mr. P. He told me to wait 30 minutes and things would change. The offer of lunch still stands but he said no to taking any of her friends—reasonable.
    He asked what George was going to do to help me and was somewhat shocked when I told him nothing. Que sera sera. This is the way it has always been–even when George and I were married.

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  68. You’re welcome, Kim. I’m glad to hear how Mr. P is a reasonable, principled man, backing you up in your decisions as you raise your daughter. He sounds like a real blessing. I’m glad you and BG have him in your lives.

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  69. You know Kim, you could tell BG you are sending her to a dude ranch/spa in Idaho….I hear there is a wonderful family running the place….
    Do you have a hot tub out there Mumsee?
    Praying for you Kim…this too shall pass….really 🙂

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  70. Donna, I enjoyed your description of your “below deck tour of the USS Iowa”, probably more than you liked the actual experience of the shin-banging and the climb-through hatches and all that. 😉

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  71. Thanks 6 Arrows.

    I’m exhausted! By the time the tour was over I was covered in sweat, had growing bruises on my shins and on my right hip — don’t ask — and my hands were black with grease (which probably got all over my face, too, since I had to keep wiping the sweat away — no A/C in the bowels of a WWII warship, of course).

    I am pleased that I did NOT whack my head on the steel beams overhead, though. That could have been a lot worse. It’s one advantage of being sort of short.

    But I will be mighty stiff tomorrow, I’m quite sure. 😉 That ship is a whole lot better than one of those power step-master machines.

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  72. You might need another 9-hour sleep night after that, Donna! Glad you didn’t bump your head on those overhead steel beams, though. Ouch! I probably would have as I’m on the tall side and am accustomed to looking down so I don’t run into little kids. 😉

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  73. Oy! Turned on the tube for the 10:00 local news and got Bill Clinton instead. Turned over to the NBC affiliate and got football- and the Cowboys are beating the Giants! Horrors! I can take or leave the Giants but the Cowboys are my least favorite team. Come on, Giants!

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  78. Of course we have a hot tub….and a chore list…and schoolwork…and extra chores…

    On the other hand, my new fifteen year old received an Action Bible for his birthday yesterday. You know, the comic book style. He is devouring it. He has many reading difficulties and longed to read and understand the Bible but couldn’t. This is very appealing to him. I will have to take a look at it one of these days, it is just stories based on the Bible but he is really enjoying it and several others are standing in line to read it. A book is usually all I get people for their birthdays, but this time I actually made a chocolate cake for him.

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  79. 6 arrows- No, this blog doesn’t seem to have the “posting too quickly” warning. But since I cannot see the numbers next to the posts, I depend on the counter at the top of each thread.

    And this is #79. Anyone have a significance other than it is the year Mrs L (and the President) graduated from high school.

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  83. Well, Peter, 79 is significant for me because that’s when I didn’t graduate. I was supposed to, but got word two weeks before graduation that I had failed a required PE course. Nobody’s fault but mine.

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  85. Kevin, it’s a great place for film crews, that’s for sure. Very, very, um, authentic. Rustic. Real. Painful.

    (Kate Todd pre-dated my watching days, though I’ve seen reruns with her in it.)

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  86. Donna, I was thinking of one episode (I don’t remember the story line) that was the first time Kate was on a carrier. She dealt with a lot of the challenges you described (getting lost, bruised shins, etc.)

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