Category Archives: Random Musings

Ideas, comments, blurbings, etc that don’t go any where else.

Random Musings

The Depression of Barack Obama

A depressed man sitting on a bench
A depressed man sitting on a bench (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Barack Obama’s poor performance at the debate in Denver has been attributed to many things. Some blamed John Kerry for not preparing Barack well enough. Some pointed to the lack of a teleprompter to help convey his message. Others blamed Jim Lehrer and the debate format, usually ignoring that Barack received 4 extra minutes overall. Al Gore claimed it was the altitude and lack of adjustment to the lower oxygen levels. All of these are wrong.

Obama is depressed.

The year 2008 held so much promise. The real powers behind the throne chose Barack Obama to run for president, meeting with both him and Hilary Clinton to discuss the matter. The media, eager to defeat the Social Democrats, created a persona for Barack that didn’t exist. Could America get past its slavery roots and vote for a black man? Had change finally come?

Barack was easily able to hid his Marxist and anti-Colonial thoughts from the easily swayed. Many such as Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity cried out that this man was not what he seemed. It didn’t matter. Barack was a blank slate and anyone could paint their own version of the man and they did. It didn’t matter that all one had to do was listen. It didn’t matter about his pastor Jeremiah Wright. It didn’t matter he couldn’t prove his citizenship. All that mattered was defeating the Social Democrats in the Republican party. After all, John McCain had his own problems. After all, John McCain was born in Panama. After all, voting against Barack was racist.

Obama was swept into power with unemployment on the rise and gas prices falling. He had both houses of Congress. He had the Supreme Court. He had total control. It was time to do what he came for. It was time to “fundamentally transform America” into the Marxist state of which he had dreamed for so long. He appointed Tsars to oversee aspects of the transfer. He didn’t consult with Congress. He didn’t get a budget passed. He just spent money.

Glenn Beck showed time after time what Barack was doing. He showed how Barack was building a second system and would work to collapse the current one into it. The dollar fell in value. Other world currencies started to have problems. Greece started to catch fire. There was talk of removing the dollar as the World Currency. It was all going to plan. Then it paused.

The 2010 elections saw the Marxists lose too much power in Congress. Barack started to use Executive Orders when he didn’t get his way. Harry Reid held up bills in the Senate that would help to improve the economy. Surely they could still make it collapse. After all, Europe was ok and China was growing. Gas prices were climbing and so was unemployment. After all, Obama was spending more than a trillion dollars in debt each  year. Surely it would collapse. Alas….

Europe started to really catch fire. Riots in Greece spilled over into Spain, Italy, France, the Netherlands and England. China’s growth, fake as it was, paused. Bernanke tried a QE 2 and eventually created QE infinity. Dollars are being printed at record pace. Japan and China keep outdoing each other in buying US bonds. The US government is in so much debt it can never repay. Surely it will all collapse! Surely Germany cannot save the world!

Obama’s approval ratings during all this fell to all time lows. The media tried desperately to recreate the myth. People had to know that disliking Obama was racist. He killed the Somali pirates. He killed Osama bin Laden. Obama is a hero, people!

By mid 2012, Obama realized his dream was not going to happen. More and more truth about him surfaced. The crowds of cheering fans are gone. Wisconsin went Republican for a governor, despite an out-of-state campaign to get him recalled. The Social Democrats were coming back to power. They don’t want a Marxist state, just a country they can control. Sarah Palin continued to grow in popularity. The Conservatives won a few here and there. Even the Libertarians feel good. All is not well is Barry’s world.

Obama has been showing signs of depression for several months now. His delivery is listless and he acts as though the doesn’t want to be President. He doesn’t. By now, the system was supposed to have collapsed. By now, he was supposed to have total authority. His minions try. The TSA becomes more brutal every day. The borders are wide open and the citizens are treated like cattle. Fast and Furious didn’t lead to mass call for oppressive gun control. The Social Democrats don’t have the backbone to jail Eric Holder. Obama’s dream is in limbo and the tide is starting to turn.

The citizens of America are starting to wake up. The rank and file Republicans are more jazzed for this election than in many years gone by. Mitt Romney, despite his “going through the motion” attitude is pulling way ahead and he is emerging as wanting to be President. The tide is turning.

Yet Barry still stands, though he wants to sit. There are talks of his inability to debate. The excuse machine is running full tilt. Hilary will not step in as she wants 2016. Joe Biden will not step in as he is without clue. Poor Barack. So tired. So wanting total control. So wanting to destroy America and make it pay for the sins it has inflicted on the World. Time is running out. Ben cannot spend fake money quickly enough. The Banks know the tide is turning. Wall Street money is leaving him.

If only. If only some Americans didn’t love Liberty. If only the understood the evil America is. Perhaps then, they would let Barry be in full control. He doesn’t want to be President. He wants to be Dictator. And it is the fault of Americans that he will not. Barack Obama is depressed.

 

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Random Musings

An Ode to Old Friends

There have been many dogs in my life. Each brought a different kind of joy to us. Some

Maggie Dog
Maggie Dog (Photo credit: BrainMuffin)

were great companions who loved to go on adventures. Others played with us. Others did tricks. And others stayed by our side to the end.

Jenny was a black poodle. She came to us not long before my dad was sent to Germany by the US Army. We left for Karlsruhe in 1972 and Jenny went to live with my mother’s parents. I don’t remember Jenny at that time. I do remember her when she returned in 1975 with our move to Knoxville, Tennessee.

While in Germany, the last year we had a dog named Whiskers. He was brought up by two GI’s  and his real name was Damnit. He was good fun, though he hated Germans. Quite odd given where he lived. When we moved back to the States, we gave him to another family staying in country.

Back in Tennessee, Jenny was a great dog for 7 year old. She loved to play ball and was the outfield. She would catch the ball and return it to the pitcher. Good luck getting a hit. In 1978 though, she started to go blind and had to eventually be put down.

Buffy though, overlapped with Jenny about a year. A stray that followed my brother home, he became a dog who would protect us from other dogs. When we bred Jenny, he cared for the puppies as if they were his. He did have a wild spirit and we went to live with our grandfather in Ohio in 1979 when we moved to Fort Belvoir. About six months later, he ran off and never returned.

One of our best dogs was Adam. In the summer of 1982 while visiting friends at Fort Belvoir, my mom and I met Adam. They were keeping him for a friend of theirs and were looking for a good home. He was an Irish Setter/Golden Retriever mix and mild of temper. That day, he made the trip back to Fort Ritchie with us and lived with us until he was very old and quite ill. He went with us to Stuttgart, Germany and then to Johnson Bible College. He loved to chase and loved people. At 15, it came his time to leave us and he is buried in the woods on top of the hill at Johnson.

Woofie (sometimes Wolfie) was the first dog my wife and I had. We rescued her from the pound in 1992 at Knoxville. She was a great apartment dog and very smart. We made a donation to the shelter and received free beginner level obedience lessons. She learned to take items from either of us and give to the other. She would bring her water bowl when it was empty and could go off the leash quite well. We rented a house from my parents in 1995 and in 1996 she and Jake got out of the fenced in backyard. He made it back, she did not. We found her on the side of the road and buried her in the side. After all these years, I still miss her.

About a year before we moved out of the apartment, some people we knew at the University of Tennessee had a stray that wanted to find a home for. Jake was a mutt with a purple tongue. We kept him for a few days and eventually gave him to my brother. Jake was a bit of a wild dog, being part chow, and when younger didn’t like to be hemmed in. When my brother took a job in Canton, Ohio and lived in an apartment that allowed no pets, Jake stayed with us in the house. He liked to dig and get out. For a long time, only he got out, but eventually Woofie joined him. I was too slow getting the fence repaired with rebar and Woofie got killed. In late 1997, we moved to Marion, Ohio and Jake went to live with the in-laws in Richmound, Virginia. There he dug big holes, went through the glass panel on a storm door and got into neighbors’ trash. The last few years of his life he was more tame and his best friend was the cat who lived up the street. Poppop buried him in the holes he dug out back.

Maggie. What can be said about Maggie. She was a large, white dog and very gentle. She came to us about a year about Woofie died. When we had children, she let them play with her, climb on her and pull her tail. Many times it seemed she treated them like they were her puppies. Though she looked like a white retriever, she never chased anything not edible. She did not chase sticks, balls, toys, etc. She was very kind to most people, especially women, and loved by many. She lived with us in Knoxville and Marion and our moved to Cincinnati. In mid 2011, her health started to fail. Eventually, she started to eat less, then nothing. The last week of her life was the most painful. Neighbors and friends alike cried when we had to put her down.

Snuggles is yet another stray dog (notice a theme???) who came up to us when we were out doing yard work in October 1995. She was with us when Woofie got killed. She and Jake were around before Maggie and she also went to live with the in-laws in 1997. In Christmas 2003, she came back to us as our son’s dog. She was a bit aggressive for a smaller dog and really loved to chase everything. Fast and nimble, she would chase frisbies, balls, sticks, everything. She would bark when Jake and Woofie would get out. She also loved to snuggle, hence her name. After Maggie was gone, she started to become listless and have less excitement. She obviously missed her friend. In the early spring of 2012, Toby came into our life and Snuggles perked up. Nearing 17, her back became a problem and one night something happened. We are not sure, but the next day she could barely walk and I had to carry her to take her outside. She stopped eating everything, including treats, and shook a great deal. As painful as it was to say goodbye to another friend so shortly after Maggie, it was her time as well.

These friends completed us. They contributed to the value of our lives. As long as we remember them, they live on.

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Random Musings

What is a Brainmuffin?

The word Brainmuffin creates in each person a different reaction. For some, it is a giggle.

Frank Zappa
Cover of Frank Zappa

Others smile and roll their eyes. Some pause and recoil. All are valid responses. But what is a Brainmuffin? Why is it sometimes spelled BrainMuffin?

There are many imitators on the Internet. There is only one Brainmuffin and that is me. The name was given to me by Ann Langley in 1995. I lived in Knoxville, Tennessee and worked in the Systems department of the Hodges Library. It is the big Q-bert looking building on the campus of The University of Tennessee.

Ann was a graduate student in the Library school. One day while sitting at the SGI that was our web server, she turned around and called me Brainmuffin. The name stuck. When I asked for an explanation, this is what she gave:

People in the south say your name Bryon like it is spelled Brian. They also say Brain in a similar fashion. One of my favorite artists is Frank Zappa and one of his favorite words is Muffin. So, I put the two together.

There you have it. The whole story behind the real Brainmuffin. Don’t be fooled by the imitators. Follow the original.

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Random Musings

Defeating the Fear

Fear. It is an emotion. It can push one to move, to action. Or it can paralyze. Until it

Scared child
Scared child (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

manifests, it is neither good nor bad. Fear that moves you out of the way of danger is good. Fear that freezes you in place in the same situation and that is bad. What is fear doing to you?

Fear can keep us from reaching our potential. Keep us from moving in a new direction. Fear can freeze us to the ground. How to overcome? How to defeat fear?

First, take an honest assessment of yourself and the fear. Is it rational? Is it real? Does failure mean dismemberment or death? No, then the fear is mostly to be overcome. It may be rational, but it doesn’t matter.

Second, go over all the positive in taking the action, taking the first step, seeking a different path. See yourself in those results. Explore all the positive emotions and make them deeply yours. Find items that remind you of those emotions. Make a board and place what you find on it. Look at it. Study it. When the fear comes, go to the board and remember.

Defeating the fear requires a change on perspective. Do not concentrate on the negative, on failure. Put in the front of your mind the positive results. See the results. Make the results happen. Use the power of the positive and take that first step. Do not look back.

Defeating the fear requires a letting go. Let go everything holding you back. Let go of the pain and the familiarity of your current state. Replace it the longing for the new results. Let the longing consume you. It will consume and defeat the fear.

Fear that holds us back is of the unknown. You hate where you are and fear moving in a different direction. Let go of the familiar. Reach for the change. See your new state. Become consumed by what you really want and the fear will be defeated.

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Random Musings

Shooting The Night Sky

The night sky. It is a subject that has eluded me to photograph, not from the lack of trying.

Deana - 1991 - B&W
Deana – 1991 – B&W (Photo credit: BrainMuffin)

The problem is from the lack of knowledge of technique and equipment.

My journey down the load of photographing at night start not long after my father taught me to use his Pentax Spotmatic. He should me what the f/stop did, what depth of field meant and how to adjust the shutter speed. He covered ASA ratings of film and which to use when. He talked about knowing what you want to photograph and how to think about the adjustments you wanted to make.

I did black and white still-life’s. I did color photos. I took pictures of everything. I photographed roads and leaves, covered bridges and dogs. Nothing was out of the question. I went through lots of film.

One night, I had an idea. I remembered my father had cables releases and they looked. I did some experiments with multiple minute exposures out my brother’s bedroom window to the snow covered streets outside. It was night and the street lights were on. They turned out not bad for a 14 year old. My interest starts.

As time went on, I eventually obtained a Nikon D80 and a good tripod. Several times I tried to take pics in my backyard. Not too many stars are visible thanks to the high levels of light pollution around Cincinnati. I tried a telephoto lens. I aimed at the moon. I did 10 second exposures. I did 20 seconds. I did bulb with a remote, closing the shutter when I wanted.

Results were mixed. Stars where blurry, so was the moon. Did the tripod slowly move? I use the same one for landscape photography and don’t see movement. Could it be the Earth that is moving?

On the evening of the 17th of July, 2012, I was in Moab, Utah. North of Moab is Arches National Park. It is open at night. Surely there are many stars visible there. My wife and I visited.

Having flown to Utah, a tripod was not available. The car roof and my camera strap is all I had. I took 20 and 30 second exposures. I move the ISO up and down. Sometimes, a car drove my and light up the rocks. The results were not bad.

When it comes to photography, I know what I know and I know what I know not. Night and star photography I don’t really know. Here are some of my results and I need some help. Feel free to leave comments and suggestions. Others can be seen in my Flickr photostream.

Arches National Park at Night #1
Arches National Park at Night #1 (Photo credit: BrainMuffin)
Arches National Park at Night #2
Arches National Park at Night #2 (Photo credit: BrainMuffin)
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Random Musings

Coming To A Close

It was months in making and planning. A combination celebration of our 20th wedding anniversary and our summer vacation. Sending the kids out by plane was too much, so having to drive to the in-laws was in. To save more money, we left from Newport-News instead of Richmond. We drove many miles and took a mid-night flight out of Salt Lake City. Today, is the last day.

Bogue Inlet Pier-Emerald Isle, NC
Bogue Inlet Pier-Emerald Isle, NC (Photo credit: Michael D. Dunn)

Time. It comes and goes, always at the same rate, though it is perceived differently. For this year’s vacation, time has nearly run out. It is bittersweet.

We have traveled from Cincinnati, Ohio to Mechanicsville, Virginia by car. From Newport News, Virginia to Salt Lake City, Utah via Denver Colorado by plane. We have driven all over central and southern Utah. Then from Salt Lake to Jacksonville, North Carolina by air. Oh the miles. The miles flown. The miles driven. The miles walked.

Our adventures including hiking and geocaching in the rain on Antelope Island, getting bitten by bugs in the mountains above Park City and dealing with the sun and heat in Zion National Park and really getting burned in the Canyonlands and Arches National Park. Along the way, we eat buffalo cheeseburgers and did some star gazing. I have tried many different beers from Uinta, Wasatch, Moab and Epic.

It has been a very good, though tiring, trip. It was one we planned, not a travel agent. It was one we enjoyed. It was good.

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Random Musings

Packing Without Maggie

Suitcase
Suitcase (Photo credit: Perosha)

We are less than two days away from out first family vacation since we had to put Maggie dog down. She was quite old and stopped eating. She was wasting away before our eyes and it was time to say goodbye. We still miss her.

Whenever we started to pack for a trip, she would get nervous. It didn’t matter if everyone or only a single person would be gone. She would pace and follow me around the house. For a time, we could take her to my parent’s house to stay and for a day or so she would hide in their closet. Eventually, we left her at our house and they would come walk her. It helped a bit, but not completely.

This time around, there is no pacing. Snuggles doesn’t mind us going on trips and Toby has yet to experience it. They too will be split as old Snuggles is going to my parent’s house and Toby is going to a local animal hotel. They both will be taken care of, though the experience will be new. We shall see how well, or not, they do.

Still, I miss the nervous Maggie roaming around the house. She was a stray we took in 15 years ago and she lived with us for 14.5. We do not know how old she actually was. She was mild mannered and great with the kids when they were little. We miss you Maggie and are glad you were a part of our lives for so long.

Thank you.

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Random Musings

Time for Vacation

Emerald Isle , NC
Emerald Isle , NC (Photo credit: g2 Duckworth)

It is that time of year again. The time where we pack up everything and take it all across country to the beach at Emerald Isle, North Carolina. This year, however, there is a twist. With our twentieth wedding anniversary being on the eleventh of July, there is a second trip.

We will drive to the in-laws in Richmond, Virginia and drop the kids there. The next day we will fly to Utah for some hiking and way too much driving. My wife wants to the the whole state and then get back to the beach for the last two days. Yeah, I will be very tired upon returning home.

The plans are to see things and to take some good pictures. It is doubtful a tripod will be a part of the equation, though I will pack up the Nikon D7000 and Mac. There is a new backpack to try. It will be fun…yeah, that’s the ticket.

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Random Musings

Declare Your Independence

English: Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth Presid...
English: Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States. Latviešu: Abrahams Linkolns, sešpadsmitais ASV prezidents. Српски / Srpski: Абрахам Линколн, шеснаести председник Сједињених Америчких Држава. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Thanksgiving is now known as “Turkey Day“. July 4th is more about sales, drinking, hot dogs and fireworks. Gone are the true meanings of these days. Gone is the remembering what was won in blood. Gone is the ideal of Individual Liberty.

Last week, the useful idiots cheered by Obamacare was declared legal. A declaration that is 100% against the Constitution and the ideals behind it. Obamacare cannot be tax. Tax bills are required to start in the House. This bill did not. Ergo, it is not legal.

In 1776, America declared its Independence from England. The Constitution did not become the binding document until 1787. America fought a second war of Independence during the years 1812 to 1814. George Washing, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln all fought against a central bank. Woodrow Wilson created the Fed. Liberty died that day.

America is now wholly owned by the central bank. She no longer controls her currency. She goes at the whim of the bankers.

Go ahead, light the fireworks. The celebration is meaningless. The Democrats and the Republicans both have sold America for Power and Tyranny. The Middle Class is in the sights. Once finally destroyed, the ruling class will finally have what they want: total control of the population. The useful idiots will not doubt cheer again.

See my passion. View the vlog.

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Random Musings

The End Of Toby’s 30 Hour Journey

Today started with such sadness. We felt terrible for taking Toby to the Pound. We felt like bad people, criminals. We felt like we had given up on him. Would he get a good home or would they put him down? Did we let our anger cloud our judgement?

So went the self-doubt and second guessing. The pain kept coming around. We talk. We hemmed. We hawed. Did you make the right choice? Was it for Toby or for our convenience? On and on it went.

Separately, my wife and I decided we had to call. We want the Cincinnati SPCA to know that if they could not get him adopted, we would take him back. We didn’t want him put down. The fact is, we wanted him. Our hearts rang out to an animal that didn’t know what was going on.

By 4 o’clock, it was settled. We called the Pound again. We were coming to get him. We had to pay the dog license fee. They then had to find him (seems he was misplaced). He was happily reunited with us. We thanked the workers at the shelter and took him home.

I shot a second video about Toby.

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