“What’s that smell Mommy?” Doris Day looking lady looks down at Little Billy and says, “why honey … that’s what we call fresh air …”
… A recent conversation brought a troubling development into focus. A man told me that he had bought a home with some measure of reluctance, fearing that the location of the house so near to a neighborhood playground would mean too much noise. As it turns out, he needn’t have worried at all. Very few children visit the playground at all.
The troubling development is that many children never play outside. They prefer to play computer games, surf the Internet, or update their Facebook pages. Their parents are increasingly afraid to let them play outside, scared by the constant barrage of news stories about crimes against children. These children and teenagers are accustomed to air conditioning, sophisticated entertainments, and lack of physical activity. They are aliens in the outside world.
Yesterday, Sunday morning… they youngin’s went and had church up on the high ropes course. I didn’t join them because of my pulled calf muscle. I really … honestly … truly … enjoy ropes courses. I did the high ropes the last time we were here at Ridgecrest. I had a blast. The zip line, sliding from 40,000 feet to 10 feet from tree to tree hanging from a wire was my absolute favorite.
While there was a lot of noise when it was my turn, I didn’t sound like Tarzan but I didn’t sound like a little girl either.
After waking up I had church at the coffee shop over a banana nut muffin.
… The Altamonte Springs Police Department has recently added 16 new Toyota Prius Hybrids to its fleet of automobiles. The city planners first started discussions on replacing some police vehicles back in 2003, and, with rising fuel and maintenance costs, this decision made good sense. Four more are on order.
The Prius Hybrids get about 45 mpg while the Impalas previously in use only saw 17 mpg. The fuel savings are not the only area where the city and its residents will save, however. Annual maintenance costs for the Prius’s are one half the cost that the old Impala’s required, said Robert Pelton, Altamonte Springs Public Information Officer. Therefore, even though the new cars initially cost about $1200 more up front, they pay for themselves in the first two months of operation.
That sounds good and all but for some reason the old movie Tron popped in my head. There’s a part of me that wants the Altamonte Springs police to be environmentally apathetic brutes who will run right over bad guys. At the same time, I am environmentally aware without the “Green” conspiracy business. It is nice that they are helping to not fund the Middle East as much. I hope to, and I hope everyone else will do the same in the near future.
Last week I woke up singing “Into The Ocean” by Blue October. I looked up the lyrics and the following verses stood out to me.
Where is the coastguard
I keep looking each direction
For a spotlight, give me something
I need something for protection
Maybe flotsam junk will do just fine
the jetsam sunk, I’m left behind
I’m treading for my life believe me
(How can I keep up this breathing)
Not knowing how to think
I scream aloud, begin to sink
My legs and arms are broken down
With envy for the solid ground
I’m reaching for the life within me
How can one man stop his ending
I thought of just your face
Relaxed, and floated into space
The really blurry one with the scary eyes has NO post processing at all. That is genuine light reflecting back from the bear’s eyes. Click on any of the pictures to see larger versions on Flickr.
American Psychological Association: No Consensus on Cause of Homosexuality
Family News in Focus
Group gives credence to the view that both nature and nurture are involved.
The American Psychological Association (APA) may be shifting from its view that homosexuality is inborn. The group now says both nature and nurture are involved, and clients have a right to self-determination.
In a new brochure, the APA concedes that there is no scientific consensus on what causes same-sex attraction.
“They are starting to have the integrity of reporting accurately about the condition of homosexuality,” said Randy Thomas, executive vice president of Exodus International. “We find this to be a very exciting move and hope that it indicates future movement toward recognizing that people can and do overcome homosexuality.”
Glenn Stanton, director of global family formation studies at Focus on the Family, said the brochure has an activist bent, but he sees a ray of hope.
“This doesn’t mean that we’ve completely succeeded in all the things that we’ve wanted to,” he said, “but it’s a move in the direction that we’ve wanted them to move in, and I think that’s very positive news.”
I submitted the above to PhotoFriday’s theme of “The Good Life” for this week. The above is in Naples Florida while on vacation in July 2007. I am *ready* for beach weather to return.
A facebook friend mentioned that she was hoping to move to Orando within the next few years. She asks …
I have a couple of quick questions that I’ve been meaning to ask you: How long have you lived in Orlando? Which part of Orlando do you live in, and what has your overall experience been there?
I have lived in Orlando for almost six years. Which part? The best of course :). I don’t share that info online :). Although, some suggestions of where to live are Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Maitland but there is a lot of places in Orlando proper as well.
My overall experience has been positive. The first year was rough. The humid weather is something to get used too. There was a little bit of culture shock for this Southern boy (the “South” ends at around Ocala.) Orlando is a true “melting pot” because it is a very young city. It is true that this is a city built by Disney. While I think it would do fine on its own now … Disney built “The City Beautiful.”
It’s a fast paced city and the population has outgrown its road system. Even so, it is no where near the commutes and jams of a really large city. I like Orlando in another sense that it seems like people here really know how to relax and have a good time. It takes longer to have a sense of community but once it comes… it’s a great community.
Plus, it is Florida, there is a lot of things to do. I love going to the beach and kayaking and going to the beach :). The theme parks are fun to go to about once a year.
The only downside is that crime has been on the upswing the past couple of years and the local government is a little nuts. Oh and the three Hurricane in 2004. Another upside is that development is going through the roof and housing prices are in your favor now through the next year or so.
On the way home today, Neil Boortz’s “Goverment Outrage of the Day” was the George H. W. Bush Federal Building located in downtown San Francisco. I googled my way to a news story confirming that the New York Times-praised building, while being entirely designed around the fundamentals of environementalism, is an absolute nightmare for workers trapped inside.
There’s no heat. There’s no air-conditioning. To relieve the stuffiness and never-quite-right temperature, workers must open windows high above the city. In related news, paperweight sales are going through the roof. Many cubicles are fortified with beach umbrellas against a sun that has free reign of the interior.
To help employees avoid the unhealthy side-effects of a sedentary job, the elevators only stop on every third floor. This means the majority of the workers will have to climb or descend at least one or two flights on the way to the office (disabled persons have access to an elevator providing service to all floors–which deliveries must borrow when the freight elevator is in use or out of service). Also to encourage excercise, the cafeteria is located outside the building across the street. Healthy choices are so easy when your other choices are taken away!
Oh, and they went millions overbudget in building the earth-friendly monstrosity.
As funny as this story is, it’s a grim foreshadowing of how our lives can be worsened the more people become swept away by the green idealism that led to the construction of this ridiculous people-eater. I guess if there’s one plus to this, it’s that there are likely many more government employees now embittered against the environmentalist movement.
… when I said that for some reason God has me sit near the most interesting people when I travel … I meant it. The guy in the photo above gave me permission to take his picture by the way. This was on the flight from LAX to Orlando. He has purposefully shut out sight and sound. He has a blanket and a neck pillow (because you can never have too many pillows.) He also has a set of head phones resting on his stomach so he can have the option of watching the movie or not. Dude packed a picnik basket of fruits and trail mix. He warned me to not turn on the air vent because that is what makes you sick with the recycled air.I didn’t ask him where he thought the fresh air was going to come from for the next five hours.
AND he timed the time it took for the plane to lift off after the engines fired up. For the curious…42 seconds.
There are a few pictures from today’s travels so click on either picture and it will take you to the rest of them. My favorites are of the fog but, I was mesmerized by the topography all the way from San Jose to LAX.
