ok, this blog thing is a challenge. I had all these ideas of what I would write about, but the ideas have gone on vacation. I started this as an outlet for all the frustrations, irritations amd ramifications that come to me whenever I listen to network news, NPR, Rachel Maddow and the like. So I need to write these after working all day, followed by listening to one of the aforementioned programs. Writing in the middle of a very pleasant, lazy Saturday afternoon does not bring the same thought process. What strikes me is that the people I talk to as I make my way through the day are nothing like the crazies on TV. Most people try to be pleasant and helpful. Who are these people that shout mean-spirited racist slogans at public meetings?  And why do they get so much attention in the media? Turning your back to a child or dog misbehaving is the most devasting thing you can do as punishment. Giving the inappropriate behavior more attention by yelling and so on only guarantees that the behavior will continue. If all the liars and screamers just didn't get any air-time they would dwindle away of their own accord. It's no fun without an audience. We keep giving validity to garbage. All the garbage will continue as long as we participate by watching and allowing it to continue.

Well, that stream of thought certainly meandered away from lazy, pleasant Saturday afternoons. And can I just add that air conditioning is one of the true pleasures of life in 100 degree heat? After a week of  100 degree heat wave without AC, here's my big thank you to Willis Carrier, the inventor of the modern air conditioner. He actually came up with the idea while waiting for a train on a foggy night. He worked at a Brooklyn printing plant. Fluctuations in heat and humidity in his plant had caused the dimensions of the printing paper to keep altering slightly, enough to ensure a misalignment of the colored inks. The new air conditioning machine created a stable environment and aligned four-color printing became possible. And here I am - a trainor for software designed for the printing industry. wow. synchronicity. cool.

source for Willis Carrier info:http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa081797.htm