tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112108892024-03-18T22:32:42.020-05:00TRVTHDaily observations of TRVTH in the real world.Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.comBlogger4247125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-19691535046668236612024-03-18T22:32:00.000-05:002024-03-18T22:32:00.955-05:00Ultracrepidarian<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Talking_Heads_-_Stop_Making_Sense_12%22_advertising_sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="486" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBv79dXom1Qoj2wdU7R5IzFAHrAkD_XEvDvY0kjsLAIZHKyWQgdJD9kehFprGPfoKdHeOxvdaXrVAlNdoZ49Sk_5-5iRv2D0qVD0gtZbGk1A2uHZTuHfeUQyLLzkAWdLXaNYaB5clPZnTdxnQlad64lwEIE9gKuRoZoghyphenhyphenrNROxAFJ21E1CyAH/w200-h198/Talking_Heads_-_Stop_Making_Sense_12__advertising_sign.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>ultracrepidarian<br />ul·tra·crep·i·dar·i·an<br />/ˌəltrəkrepəˈderēən/</div><p>adjective</p><p>expressing opinions on matters outside the scope of one's knowledge or expertise.</p><p>noun</p><p>a person who expresses opinions on matters outside the scope of their knowledge or expertise.</p><p>-- Definition from Oxford Languages via Google.com</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-61505949726735866912024-03-15T22:56:00.003-05:002024-03-15T22:56:29.774-05:00Opposed Ideas<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michelangelo_-_Goldsmith%27s_Designs,_including_Two_Ideas_for_an_Oil_Lamp,_1521,_1932.152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="474" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5AH0ZCDEzzEeGkJ2-0a2koRsMUtCv3im8Tao_SEtgVknqkRLQLrdvadG9HICmfqgS8wLdN8WTufv64ABFUDSZc5PcVUfpnpY9ls8IyrLMj9IQP0NyQCVsR-4sQI-Meq9qekw0_3LaSpVLssAZ_ELWVifw2ThHyH21FtIeo6SR89QxPTv1WSYx/w198-h200/Michelangelo_-_Goldsmith's_Designs,_including_Two_Ideas_for_an_Oil_Lamp,_1521,_1932.152.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.<p></p><p>-- F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896 - 1940), Irish-American novelist and short story writer, "The Crack-Up" in Esquire (1 February 1936)</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-27165145842698325312024-03-14T22:58:00.006-05:002024-03-14T23:00:38.768-05:00A Big Lift<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/ukraine-russia-war/1710154694-trump-won-t-give-a-penny-to-ukraine-if-elected-hungary-s-orban" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1000" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6NuYuoGOxzy1q641nvTvrNAslEehkWIC6qh6NRBoJ7LIYQbKkZXBY9Hqk_MTW-3mZQRVsX-zqrOGaFTrrPIR2U4KE7prOBRKUTIIn2z6HCZn1mkZRRUn6WD9K9ftmBF6FnlyyzgBMth0CqF3_mwePv6ri3K29ZPcFSGbTHgAXQczacmIw1nRP/w200-h133/trumpOrban.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>When I was growing up and being taught the American system of government, we would always be taught that the U.S. government has checks and balances in its design, so you can't take it over with a sentiment of the moment. But I think what we've learned is that the institutions that protect us are fragile. History suggests that all democracies are fragile. So we have to be on the alert for political movements that want to undermine democratic institutions, because the purpose of democratic institutions is not to put the best people in power, it's to maintain democracy even when the worst people are in power. That's a big lift.<p></p><p>-- Mike Godwin, who in 1990 coined "Godwin's Law", in an interview with Politico, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/12/19/godwins-law-trump-hitler-00132427" target="_blank">"‘Trump Knows What He's Doing': The Creator of Godwin's Law Says the Hitler Comparison Is Apt"</a> (19 December 2023)</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-63768085401751654952024-03-13T23:25:00.001-05:002024-03-13T23:25:14.050-05:00One Thing<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SAKIKO_-_One_more_thing!_(28241075557).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="320" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaYLjuuKXwp4NJmZGKs_rCZkm6UvAw0bIMPvFNHs611Dux60h7ORH5lhhKeF9HefUX0wLIP0dPjewy5q4D0hdws0vLYwSSpcV2gicuyDI5iLI1IDS3Rek37K1mYV3ExFAbNm7NPiK1UBx3zLV3gy981QJutbWo60VJWU9G6gzgUgaTXo5a_Zvo/w133-h200/SAKIKO_-_One_more_thing!_(28241075557).jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Remember one thing about democracy. We can have anything we want and at the same time, we always end up with exactly what we deserve.<p></p><p>-- Edward Albee (12 March 1928 - 16 September 2016), American playwright, known for works including Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, as quoted in Unleashing Intellectual Capital (2000) by Charles Ehin, p. 99</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-6949833176989994712024-03-12T23:56:00.003-05:002024-03-13T10:14:21.919-05:00Golden Anniversary<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/sxsw-2018-a-look-back-at-the-1960s-plato-computing-system" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="2400" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhaBiwmFFF-S4UATrnVbQIGmjGL_OGs5UWRqv5JG7Ia_fVqz9waHtI_GB_vlAdpj9pAwiSDuE-MEbf20lTgUGVCGTwYuxXiAuDxJN5ewtJB9YHEuOlKYfXWBj4QIv7ulBKE5GE9jYenPan0aM6srqFSd1_Gr3E2ByXOkGf7IzzE0Q5GinmwE9/w200-h150/a-student-using-the-touch-panel-during-a-genetics-lesson.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>On this date 50 years ago today, 12 March 1974, my first PLATO signon "donald appleman / cerl" was created for me by Bill Golden. <p></p><p>I was a 9th-grade student in Urbana at the time, and my Chemistry teacher had an "in" with Don Bitzer, and was able to arrange this for me. That act on her part launched my lifelong career.</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-85284971258014975522024-03-11T23:08:00.002-05:002024-03-11T23:09:52.540-05:00Sweden Joins NATO<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.government.se/speeches/2024/03/speech-by-prime-minister-ulf-kristersson-at-ceremony-in-brussels-to-mark-sweden-joining-nato/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="712" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpvzsocWPleUyD16hDtoCHepadD35C8aJcEZydGrBlCarvBQUyHYKKH3iuRmwZxnd-HmYf4iZaUrkjM_zHnM9pDNaX8Of0u48616NKcaa3_yixfUHow9k9c4A3_ADgRRuJ3XqqQHvruKymP7k1rhvV0uYS4nusIOF8kPTg33aL7iHVimT7JSr/w200-h133/sweden.nato.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Since Thursday last week Sweden is a proud member of NATO. The most successful organisation for peace and security that has ever existed. We are now an ally amongst allies. After more than 200 years of military non-alignment, this is a historic step. <p></p><p>But also, a very natural step. We have been preparing for decades. And in details the last two years. With this membership, Sweden has come home. </p><p>Home to the security cooperation of democracies. Home to the security cooperation of our good neighbours. </p><p>Today, I'd like to say thank you to all of our Allies. We have chosen you, and you have chosen us. All for one, one for all. ...</p><p>Sweden will be a safer country in NATO, and NATO will be a stronger alliance with Sweden in it.</p><p>By joining NATO, Sweden -- like Finland just before us -- has exercised our right to freely choose our own security arrangements. </p><p>That invaluable right is at the core of the European security order -- so bravely being defended in Ukrainian battlefields, as we meet here in Brussels. ...</p><p>Sweden joining NATO is not the end of something -- it's a beginning. I look forward to help making the world a safer and freer place together with all of our Allies.</p><p>-- <a href="https://www.government.se/speeches/2024/03/speech-by-prime-minister-ulf-kristersson-at-ceremony-in-brussels-to-mark-sweden-joining-nato/" target="_blank">Speech by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson</a> at a ceremony in Brussels to mark Sweden joining NATO, 11 March 2024</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-58730499091182470932024-03-08T22:41:00.009-06:002024-03-08T22:41:59.949-06:00In Season<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Takagi_Oriemon_Shigetoshi.tif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="357" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCWcgGzMpTtVNJhOkRfw_R7vZiMtXqMbIGkluDoDK5SKjIiklbkn1ZYbLHtX4aM0-0u7Hw5OV3KhBc8zoOtC5nFsp8vtmVDBuNGkzUFmZHzfib3xGtQYR1jVnWLYaej40uuvPmF5gVDVfakWPMhp0CFj-fwNO51ExpJc8_gWxOhRjoBe27JqZ/w149-h200/Takagi_Oriemon_Shigetoshi.tif.png" width="149" /></a></div>It is always in season for old men to learn.<p></p><p>-- Aeschylus (525 BC - 456 BC), playwright of ancient Greece, the earliest of the three greatest Greek tragedians, the others being Sophocles and Euripides, Age</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-81412147805915092402024-03-07T23:29:00.003-06:002024-03-08T15:36:01.804-06:00Times Like These<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Fire_London.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="640" height="117" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrMCxZdrs3HR-u94gmI23TtSgIZ-jPoP-yTM04EuoV8TibEJhR5qEx8UphTIaP5wCUH56AMG8rdjF2yA5RT9ZMdiZcEfVLJHWPAon-R85NB651IdBUdgSVaqyjmqtrfsFBNqwaYL7tj4Is7f36U33pZwZVV8xCyzmSA6KLCRNfblHqnGM1O2lh/w200-h117/Great_Fire_London.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>In times like these, it's helpful to remember that there have always been times like these.<p></p><p>-- Paul Harvey Aurandt (1918 - 2009), American radio broadcaster, famous for his idiosyncratic delivery of news stories with dramatic pauses, quirky intonations, and many of his standard lead-ins and sign offs, as quoted in Respectful Treatment : The Human Side of Medical Care (1977) by Martin R. Lipp</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-20094404706369633952024-03-06T23:00:00.000-06:002024-03-06T23:00:14.796-06:00Gumdo Class<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsP4frceK-sWo4s8YxcxtTrioiVhld546vvPLXRaKdPlLgom8aydGoMJeSiXKKEIAf97gISIKAmUahuluVFMYdISlytP5Hm29QxH5ueQ-iOUBTwqxsgiLDFW_9qlsS4awUaV5XCdKIPhS8OKRtBr7IzrxSYEOjeEODh-58mJT9Y9xbh-J1yWBU/s300/gumdofederation-logo-156x300-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="156" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsP4frceK-sWo4s8YxcxtTrioiVhld546vvPLXRaKdPlLgom8aydGoMJeSiXKKEIAf97gISIKAmUahuluVFMYdISlytP5Hm29QxH5ueQ-iOUBTwqxsgiLDFW_9qlsS4awUaV5XCdKIPhS8OKRtBr7IzrxSYEOjeEODh-58mJT9Y9xbh-J1yWBU/w104-h200/gumdofederation-logo-156x300-1.jpg" width="104" /></a></div>Tonight I was pleased to teach my first Haidong Gumdo (Korean swordsmanship) class. <p></p><p>Although we are not yet certified by the World Haidong Gumdo Federation, they encouraged us to take on a few hand-picked White-belt students. This will allow us to practice teaching the basics, which will help us as instructors to get our own practice on the basics. We're also taking our proposed curriculum on a much-needed shakedown cruise.</p><p>Tonight I had three students in class, and we went over the most basic of basics. Our master instructor Grandmaster Jeong-Woo Kim, Chief of Education for the World Haidong Gumdo Federation, will be back this summer to complete our training and, if all goes well, certify us as instructors. At that point, we'll open up the class to more students and start awarding rank in Gumdo.</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-69582783180306179882024-03-05T23:49:00.005-06:002024-03-05T23:49:48.818-06:00Original<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Medical_X-Ray_imaging_EJE04_nevit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="387" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_G60h-BMThzRjCrQK6lKq7Z44CK04Mk24VHxT6IXG-9WCNO29xO3sZEb4pg-9lPanYMqgg_5QZZs04LebSdHEiMeH9Od6uVMp6rnVaMaY9nQyugUNbApSRlvu0P7327W3YnFRRO7eEjSJcSEcSO2kjeJg4Oq0lFzxcnNAoXebNBxCr_TRgSf/w161-h200/Medical_X-Ray_imaging_EJE04_nevit.jpg" width="161" /></a></div>Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats.<p></p><p>-- Howard H. Aiken (1900 - 1973), pioneer in computing, being the primary engineer behind IBM's Harvard Mark I computer, as quoted in Portraits in Silicon (1987) by Robert Slater</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-9661001582660483842024-03-04T23:34:00.000-06:002024-03-04T23:34:08.111-06:00Prairie Play Pavers<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaYhbprjjCtdwxagbi-gLfGrBCgBKlGdyrifvSr3OEY7FOtMod6Yi9O4GbKMQBPVWqITQHckYRMnmfY9CqWXFPRI2TQaI09mdmrAs5qE3vuTJD6iSkLoxJgl5cVB35j37UkPvHV59xNzDFnsUlgFFXe2ezC5bDw0dAX5w7XnyxX4w6L2rTktLi/s1200/PrairiePlay-Meadowbrook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="797" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaYhbprjjCtdwxagbi-gLfGrBCgBKlGdyrifvSr3OEY7FOtMod6Yi9O4GbKMQBPVWqITQHckYRMnmfY9CqWXFPRI2TQaI09mdmrAs5qE3vuTJD6iSkLoxJgl5cVB35j37UkPvHV59xNzDFnsUlgFFXe2ezC5bDw0dAX5w7XnyxX4w6L2rTktLi/s320/PrairiePlay-Meadowbrook.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Back in 1995 the Prairie Play Playground at Meadowbrook Park in Urbana, IL, a large wooden structure that looks a bit like a castle, was constructed using volunteer labor including my own. It was also financed, at least partly, by the sale of over 1200 concrete pavers.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQwFEVHd9GzzjJClwPlN6srGgH4cFNnzKJCohBrT7MvIoFcaXGzkPPu8O41b-N6svb1gufOpypqrvsfkDcTIG1mxsx9vHywOoeE_5cvDRHJvBQbV4_L-uJlGogu-VUmhAmlbWsfFPJqsKC67w5nNZ8MncBevoeuTlGihyAgKuVnYNJL0gp2q40/s4032/paver.sheena.heather.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1908" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQwFEVHd9GzzjJClwPlN6srGgH4cFNnzKJCohBrT7MvIoFcaXGzkPPu8O41b-N6svb1gufOpypqrvsfkDcTIG1mxsx9vHywOoeE_5cvDRHJvBQbV4_L-uJlGogu-VUmhAmlbWsfFPJqsKC67w5nNZ8MncBevoeuTlGihyAgKuVnYNJL0gp2q40/s320/paver.sheena.heather.jpg" width="151" /></a></div>The pavers were 16x16x4 inch cement slabs that weighed about 80 pounds each. You could pay for a paver, and then write your name or whatever you liked in the wet cement. The pavers were then laid out around the outside of Prairie Play. At the time, my family ordered 2 pavers, and my 4 (at the time) daughters left handprints in the wet cement, along with their names, and the date 4-95 for April 1995.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEVnNW4-Tr88b2TmabKjGoOCDZaXTtPdZD3exE0tmzutwKOVPDC0AnWzD3riGfkHFCvBs5shAGkX0hT4SIwdWzYN_T6l3dmXH9xEXbrndC2vCJttzQxMRLHW-_D2yW7rmNKFy55bsvoDBOjqm97x1xWAcnsfuxtjviI8Gd5fMKnYfbZGhiQK98/s4032/paver.tia.brittany.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1908" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEVnNW4-Tr88b2TmabKjGoOCDZaXTtPdZD3exE0tmzutwKOVPDC0AnWzD3riGfkHFCvBs5shAGkX0hT4SIwdWzYN_T6l3dmXH9xEXbrndC2vCJttzQxMRLHW-_D2yW7rmNKFy55bsvoDBOjqm97x1xWAcnsfuxtjviI8Gd5fMKnYfbZGhiQK98/s320/paver.tia.brittany.jpg" width="151" /></a></div>The playground is set for tear-down early this month after nearly 30 years. The park district reached out to the community, making pavers available to their original owners. Saturday morning I drove out with my youngest daughter (not born yet in 1995) and we retrieved our 2 pavers. Those pavers now reside in the garden on either side of the porch in front of my house, and still show those 1995 handprints of my 4 oldest girls, who are now 38, 37, 34, and 30.<p></p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-73638860890610450052024-03-01T23:42:00.000-06:002024-03-01T23:42:32.210-06:00Without A Shadow Of A Doubt<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shadow_near_sea_foam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJNr9cdPArl1tpRdF0JbVI9cmT8V1CJO8Cc_y5uVl7z9O-gnSwemmKTfr-sU7vz1yCsx-gkx3iFJGAlWao7IB6Addz0CqLffqgSF9_e_BG0zgvqETvFbDWLLHSO0sXqUB_2K82liQXAPs_F8u8KJnziVviHOzlrbszBswn_YffT9ZdJ4C3PX5B/w200-h150/Shadow_near_sea_foam.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him.<p></p><p>-- Leo Tolstoy (1828 - 1910), Russian writer, philosopher, and social critic, whose novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina are internationally praised classics of world literature, The Kingdom of God is Within You (1894) Chapter III, Christianity Misunderstood by Believers</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-47576569614883323722024-02-29T23:34:00.001-06:002024-02-29T23:34:15.911-06:00Leap Day<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leap_Day_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="299" data-original-width="400" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmybNAB3r-sEpNBZojjW_-1f-UNlEP7h9ZE2ql8Z0zEbs2TY0JGsvxFQft2psZMtmnH6LL3GIf6L1vxGNzQvXG4ErmqHaiBwfLl7tRe3bsQJ6rtRb7AIT_JRntYHi3vv6bmsBvGLoNKDCMTdadnypvb8M3DT8VK6Ss1Ujgbq25iY8jeC1oP1_J/w200-h149/Leap_Day_2.png" width="200" /></a></div>Thirty days hath September,<br />April, June, and November;<br />February eight-and-twenty all alone,<br />And all the rest have thirty-one:<br />Unless that leap-year doth combine,<br />And give to February twenty-nine.</div><p>-- Return from Parnassus (London, 1606)</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-23276571641182137732024-02-28T23:36:00.000-06:002024-02-28T23:36:21.343-06:00Undefeated<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Father_Time_1903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="308" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Hr0H9Kp-MyuZdv2KQVR_kmaTWAy7xzUfqC_qSdv5RtIY1S1ZhyCSF5Ce59Gm7p7IjemZYj9tcBV2YiFSRi9T39RL8T-GG8ncGvgmpAb5Dj1nGHQbucdRIfJEDCIolQtjeTTkWkAL9pV-llEV9STX7qb_lQD_gOnVkvs_7npCHT_HJ_OEqn6W/w128-h200/Father_Time_1903.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>But Father Time remains undefeated. I am no longer the young man sitting in the back, hoping colleagues would remember my name. It is time for the next generation of leadership.<p></p><p>So time rolls on. There will be a new custodian of this great institution. There will be other times to reminisce. I'm immensely proud of the accomplishments I have played some role in obtaining for the American people.</p><p>Today is not the day to discuss all of that because, as I said earlier, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I still have enough gas in the tank to thoroughly disappoint my critics and I intend to do so with all the enthusiasm which they have become accustomed.</p><p>To my colleagues, thank you for entrusting me with our success. It has been an honor to work with each of you. There will be plenty of time to express my gratitude in greater detail as I sprint towards the finish line, which is now in sight.</p><p>-- Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), <a href="https://www.republicanleader.senate.gov/newsroom/remarks/mcconnell-remarks-on-last-term-as-republican-leader" target="_blank">announcing on the Senate floor</a> that this will be his last term as Republican Leader (28 February 2024)</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-57529195098046860432024-02-27T23:17:00.003-06:002024-02-27T23:17:58.876-06:00Necessity<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Euro_coins_and_banknotes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAxL66x6XP1mJp4lScXD3UvQdzbwf4tpPSZ_YD6_PyANaW7dJTMcnWlYVIL3B8opW-w12gUHeq43eUcC-tc0yT5wrzUSp58TIbDlMr_g0aoY0dtwhcwUSAyQddtZeoY4rKbDfRT8Ti5gl9bTSqu4A6K_LmgNHiWDqs-V5xMlAgFMC4Jw2_4ylk/w200-h150/Euro_coins_and_banknotes.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Money is the necessity that frees us from necessity. <p></p><p>-- Wystan Hugh (W. H.) Auden (1907 - 1973), Anglo-American poet known for his vast poetic work in many forms on many themes, "A Poet of the Actual", p. 266</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-84381325417269443132024-02-26T22:43:00.004-06:002024-02-26T22:43:29.381-06:00Standing Up<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alexey_Navalny_(cropped)_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA0nzaM0YuYWIZNtqDwAUV8yqJNHaSfnChyphenhyphenllntMc8943LqDlxE4XnMTfPEkmWGf1xrsbo13yexl5lj0hoFESLwsQKAVjuiFU5PeSpy6piuD7N0XMn5UeHLCx7B1juEsWtvCC6-O50pel8dnGvZT-rehSAhcG9w7uv1ByjrIxMT05QqhZddbgh/w200-h200/Alexey_Navalny_(cropped)_1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>[F]orgive me if this sounds pompous, but it's better to die standing up than live on your knees.<p></p><p>-- Alexei Anatolievich Navalny (4 June 1976 - 16 February 2024), Russian opposition leader, dissident, lawyer, and anti-corruption activist, as quoted in "Net Impact: One man's cyber-crusade against Russian corruption" (4 April 2011), by Julia Ioffe, The New Yorker</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-67310137753933623582024-02-23T22:30:00.005-06:002024-02-23T22:30:55.277-06:00Of Many Persuasions<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Two_spritz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="360" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQf21U6MjpiCI1RSnfY2KQA6-mzYjZQTKWMKPatljBOAiMM2LT4Nx4Ir1Y8vK7Jj8mpPw2Zz-m-G3Xx98GnQZVP5ht3HhZJuNwcFPKDPrNgoji6TWdBtzACFtJyOKDqNypCG0OESWsyE4T-HPyfe4pMj0TSr5ZjTMx-xnL33C2PPkbthfZmu6/w150-h200/Two_spritz.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>But we must not forget that in our country are evangelists and zealots of many different political, economic, and religious persuasions whose fanatical conviction is that all thought is divinely classified into two kinds -- that which is their own and that which is false and dangerous.<p></p><p>-- Robert H. Jackson (1892 - 1954), United States Solicitor General (1938-1940), United States Attorney General (1940–1941) and an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (1941–1954), American Communications Association v. Douds, 339 U.S. 382, 438 (1950)</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-79074771622386338632024-02-22T22:33:00.000-06:002024-02-22T22:33:22.971-06:00Odysseus<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.intuitivemachines.com/im-1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="3026" data-original-width="4034" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXvE-MEgxjeWxWXSBrNihjdDC3-IVz0Bp6QK9Jydjo15TbQWYryemyp8MJR2FmihlOlZFRe7j2Zdz8Kfub-l4djAue_Rq8RJYO1PXJA6RV9znVvyAloV2SDdywQ5oR_lDtlzyCin63rgYm9H0Di_JQvP780yA3_j1zD8mXsHB3V1mf_h5oEI_X/w200-h150/odysseus.png" width="200" /></a></div>What we can confirm, without a doubt, is our equipment is on the surface of the moon and we are transmitting. So congratulations. Houston, Odysseus has found its new home.<p></p><p>-- Intuitive Machines Chief Technology Officer Tim Crain, on the success of their lunar lander Odysseus, which today became the first US vehicle on the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/22/science/intuitive-machines-lander-history.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a>, 22 February 2024</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-32224980418176099712024-02-21T23:31:00.002-06:002024-02-21T23:31:21.245-06:00Beyond My Power<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rostock_Power_Station,_SW_view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2xpbS2koXeO_kby-nAlFhriO5zTBpS8oBvV8VBOaR5DDyskovU3vqSrcsolABgeW_zeT_bAvNTdXu642dx1BDJo4FhoJth2WLwZn9vA-Dx9dfOii4kwv13Yf8uN1cCNrNS5fOX3D0ijvbNL5PTJxSwAabh41PTrrKUvxRKAlvxLtvaMo48w-V/w200-h134/Rostock_Power_Station,_SW_view.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Of all the things that are beyond my power, I value nothing more highly than to be allowed the honor of entering into bonds of friendship with people who sincerely love truth. For, of things beyond our power, I believe there is nothing in the world which we can love with tranquility except such men.<p></p><p>-- Benedictus de (Baruch) Spinoza (1632 - 1677), social and metaphysical philosopher known for the elaborate development of his monist philosophy, Spinoza, Correspondence, 146, Letter xix</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-11034907582266329262024-02-20T23:15:00.000-06:002024-02-20T23:15:04.168-06:00Liberty With Order<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Genius_of_Liberty_Dumont_July_Column.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="358" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4fgFzv1twylqbX0m9apn0X2LdAPRtVB3vpWoLje4LGXCPUF0DzPW0h3k-KW8ecHd1FPkE6kM_1C_hErNMoXFcCk5_ENw2m89B8seKtwjB4j01_WiFNS1-Vs7795JZ0r_w5FlYZAChieW5W3YNsJMyrqmpKZqzLYq4oMBtEMOG-jK_96auYNNl/w149-h200/Genius_of_Liberty_Dumont_July_Column.jpg" width="149" /></a></div>The choice is not between order and liberty. It is between liberty with order and anarchy without either. There is danger that, if the Court does not temper its doctrinaire logic with a little practical wisdom, it will convert the constitutional Bill of Rights into a suicide pact.<p></p><p>-- Robert H. Jackson (1892 - 1954), United States Solicitor General (1938-1940), United States Attorney General (1940–1941) and an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (1941–1954), dissenting in Terminiello v. City of Chicago, 337 U.S. 1 (1949)</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-81893339565133273932024-02-19T23:36:00.001-06:002024-02-19T23:42:53.403-06:00What Happens<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.vox.com/politics/2024/2/15/24074324/kansas-city-shooting-mayor-quinton-lucas" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="813" data-original-width="1220" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis8Y4tVivzOSvEIMB-pXSVlZyJTT0QnKSKQCbr1CmGCkaVmQuLGKn_11K4RX4oo_njaScy8c49NKbtVwFlHC5RxALpfzdfx7dkBBNFxZbmX7WvxeZBd8Ul1jTcpuYhVFCMZk-8MyP8M0AvIBAzMMdqQ6hvLrSnXhm-5npyRownQYTUzL4abU9U/w200-h133/2011357750.0.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>That's what happens with guns. Parades, rallies, schools, movies, it seems like almost nothing is safe. ... We had over 800 officers there, staffed, situated all around Union Station today. We had security in any number of places, eyes on top of buildings and beyond -- and there still is a risk to people.<p></p><p>-- Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, in comments after a shooting at the Chiefs Super Bowl parade that killed 1 and injured 21 others, including 11 children, Vox, "<a href="https://www.vox.com/politics/2024/2/15/24074324/kansas-city-shooting-mayor-quinton-lucas" target="_blank">How the Kansas City shooting proves the 'good guy with a gun' idea is a fallacy</a>" (15 February 2024)</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-36918374394770735792024-02-16T23:21:00.001-06:002024-02-16T23:21:09.522-06:00A Venial Sin<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alegor%C3%ADa_del_infierno_(s._XVIII)_atribuido_a_Miguel_Jer%C3%B3nimo_Zendejas_en_S%C3%ADmbolo_y_Reino_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="388" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOwvDRdbIUjTF6qrTCLKEk7YJssLqxRqZO3L4dHlQQXrWu2rsD-VtqGBsN64HbxeopvFIiPqFwNZIxOpE3H2-APIB-j6Ymuobw5bmTSXtE81SHuSJHS_i1HBdtbk_31y1OUcU31if-bVWipHrbwKUeyh2eyxBr9TeqG3wWSnjt697ib1e7_bp_/w162-h200/Alegor%C3%ADa_del_infierno_(s._XVIII)_atribuido_a_Miguel_Jer%C3%B3nimo_Zendejas_en_S%C3%ADmbolo_y_Reino_02.jpg" width="162" /></a></div>The English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744) first declared, "To err is human, to forgive is divine." Defendants apparently are of a different mind.<p></p><p>After some four years of investigation and litigation, the only error ("inadvertent," of course) that they acknowledge is the tripling of the size of the Trump Tower Penthouse, which cannot be gainsaid. Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological. They are accused only of inflating asset values to make more money. The documents prove this over and over again.</p><p>This is a venial sin, not a mortal sin. Defendants did not commit murder or arson. They did not rob a bank at gunpoint. Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways. Instead, they adopt a "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" posture that the evidence belies.</p><p>-- New York Judge Arthur Engoron ruling in <a href="https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/ef72526861902856/1e996397-full.pdf" target="_blank">People of the State of New York v Donald J. Trump and The Trump Organization</a>, fining defendants roughly $350,000,000, 16 February 2024</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-15584639613897629392024-02-15T22:31:00.001-06:002024-02-15T22:31:45.550-06:00Every Single One<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:P_317_FLP--Every_single_one_of_them.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="397" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhINTJ0nC45MMTmFAIRU4tXaO_5wdKskNmNiZAkP0HcjRkypYdVSzce4JSdjmidT1V4eRdtiB9oV7S7p3JP2isln5Q2WXHEnk3akA9toeCNxs5fMK8Xbd_Cne82JsWGUZpoxFCEZMqsFcQe8nibaWqjVczxr9LvxBUtu1YjHtDOtTG-RnZwemzO/w166-h200/P_317_FLP--Every_single_one_of_them.jpg" width="166" /></a></div>Every argument against this is wrong. Every single one of them. Most of the money's being spent here. Europeans have done as much, and, after the $55 billion from the EU, more than we have. Not a single American soldier has lost their lives in this fight -- we've got a bunch of people willing to kill Russians. I can't find any argument against this that makes any sense.<p></p><p>-- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/14/politics/mitch-mcconnell-foreign-aid/" target="_blank">in an interview on CNN</a> regarding a bi-partisan Senate bill providing more funding to Ukraine which is being blocked by Republicans in the House of Representatives (14 February 2024)</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-22760148050761516972024-02-14T23:44:00.000-06:002024-02-14T23:44:13.815-06:00The Greatest Of These<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Artgate_Fondazione_Cariplo_-_Gemito_Vincenzo,_Il_filosofo_(Masto_Ciccio)_o_San_Paolo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="590" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIgcXIB9VJjmHf0IrKJHAzM2ZoWTcXTjFJh8ER8OEv-8FA6b-rc0xXlJzlFIkfcmHCBTYhGHUX1DIA_y0S4UgeziKFJzgwZn9Dv7uE6Fq3MsIQQ41L795ihAzZGyuZVm662vxChHc5J21pzY6nCiPD18EmBADq3Ep46ARUJsjUIs2v92oJudX/w200-h163/Artgate_Fondazione_Cariplo_-_Gemito_Vincenzo,_Il_filosofo_(Masto_Ciccio)_o_San_Paolo.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.<p></p><p>-- Paul (born Saul of Tarsus; c. 5 - c. 67), commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, Christian apostle (although not one of the original Twelve Apostles) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world, I Corinthians Ch. 13 (KJV)</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210889.post-11362010975148547362024-02-13T22:36:00.001-06:002024-02-13T22:36:34.710-06:00Knowledge Of A Lifetime<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whistlers_Mother_high_res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="540" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOU2B4xPJWiRs_gtketSCRNcm0Xu48p05RlKx_rCY0q7h2SzNkkk02YN6FrSvNRS8B-GvG7u1hOxmXL8Ok1KRLbP4nqbeT1NLXh-XFkvSDQkP9wtCGxn5QgyLvbFL__wXRWIp03NMYydXh0wvcE-YfS-i8xFTiFgwk1OSS6frlTUmbuKppL3Q/w200-h178/Whistlers_Mother_high_res.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>John Ruskin: The labour of two days is that for which you ask two hundred guineas?<p></p><p>Whistler: No. I ask it for the knowledge I have gained in the work of a lifetime.</p><p>-- James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834 - 1903), American-born, British-based painter and etcher, Whistler v. Ruskin (1878)</p>Don Applemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606159671601587951noreply@blogger.com0