WALLY'S WHATCHAMABLOG

IS OBAMA A GOOD PRESIDENT?

2011-11-14T07:20:00.003-05:00

I get a bit peeved when I hear some of the Republican presidential candidates say that Obama is the worst president we have ever had, without saying why. That leads me to think they are just spouting rhetoric to appeal to the hard line Republicans.

I'm not a Democrat - I'm registered as an independent. Though I usually vote for the conservative ticket, I don't agree with all things that Republican Presidents have done either. I didn't like W's economics. I didn't like the short term results of Regan's deregulating the telephone industry. (Those incessant phone calls to switch companies.)

I think Obama has done some good things, like the recent reduction in government freebies - pens, etc. Maybe it was a small thing, but very significant in meaning. He has tried to establish good relationships with other countries, though differently from what other presidents have done. He has tried to deal with the need for health insurance for all Americans.

I have Democrat friends who say George W. Bush was our worst president. But I tend to believe that they say that mainly because they are Democrats, not because they have done an in-depth analysis of each president's accomplishments and failures.

Should Obama be re-elected as our president? If we go on his popularity among those who voted for him last time, and consider some of his successes, perhaps so.

However, there is one big problem. He has sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States, in which it is stated that a president must have been born in the United States to citizen parents. While he has attempted to show that he was born in Hawaii, and not in Kenya as the Kenyans claim, he still does not qualify because one of his parents was not a U.S. citizen.

Unfortunately, there seems to be no legal mechanism for removing a president who does not constitutionally qualify for the office.

More on the candidates and debate.

2011-09-25T19:36:00.005-04:00

Last Thursday's debate on Fox News was interesting. I don't think that Texas governor Rick Perry did very well. He kept being attacked about his state's "in state" tuition for children of wetbacks. He should have not only stated what he did about the Texas legislature passing the issue almost unanimously, but he should have repeated what he said the first time about it being for CHILDREN of the wetbacks, and that they had to be actively working on citizenship.

Herman Cain came across well. Rick Santorum was strong too. Newt Gingrich was wise and to the point. He seems to know the answer to any question.

Michele Bachmann made some revealing comments about Perry afterwards in the interview room. She said that Perry made a lot of government appointments to big contributors. (But, don't they all?)

That's all for now.

Looking at the 2012 Presidential Hopefuls

2011-09-15T10:25:00.003-04:00

I've watched a couple of the "debates" in which the 8 Republican presidential hopefuls have been allowed to talk about their views of general interest to Americans. Here's my take on some of them as of today.

Michele Bachmann - Did well in last debate at attacking Perry. Seems to have some good ideas about things. Touts her experience as a tax lawyer. Claims to be a Christian. A very good speaking voice (much better than Sarah Palin) Nice hair and makeup. Has a great introductory video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYmRCXok8Dc&feature=player_embedded

Herman Cain - Wants to bring some humor to the White House. Said America is too "uptight". Seems to have a good knowledge and experience base of running a successful organization. Seems to have common sense about issues.

Newt Gingrich - Has a lot of political experience. But I'm not sure if his wife would be an asset to his being in the White House. Maybe his political experience and ideas could best be used in advising others.

Jon Huntsman - Former governor of Utah. Seems to be smart and has some good ideas. He is an evolutionist, which makes me think he's not really all that smart.

Ron Paul - Presently a Representative from Texas in the U.S. Congress. Has been very stable about his ideas. Not swayed by public opinion or media comments. Knows what he believes and sticks to it. Willing to be booed by others on his comments about the reasons Al Quaida attacked us. A very strict constitutionist. Does not seem to be a Christian, but appreciates the social work that churches do.

Rick Perry - Current governor of Texas. Said he probably made a mistake by signing an executive order mandating that young girls be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus. Took a lot of heat for that in the last debate. Is a declared Christian and seems to want to allow his faith and the Bible influence his life and his job. Has allowed children brought into the country by Wetbacks (my terminology) and who are working on citizenship, be allowed to receive "in state" tuition rates in college. Great video clip at: http://www.rickperry.org/news/video-cnntea-party-express-debate-highlights/

Mitt Romney - Former governor of Massachusetts. Trying again for the nomination. A lot of good ideas. Probably would do OK, but doesn't excite me about anything.

Rick Santorum - Probably would do OK as a president. Good family values man. A grandson of immigrants, he understands the needs of immigrants.

TAX THE STATES, NOT THE PEOPLE

2010-11-17T12:22:00.002-05:00

Here's an idea. The federal government should GET OUT of the business of taxing individuals - whether people or companies. It should get most of its revenue from the states. Each state would be required to pay 10% of all its revenue to the federal government - off the top - before any expenses are calculated.

Wouldn't it be easier for our federal government to keep track of 50 contributors as opposed to 100 million or more?

Your opinions, please.

TOWER OF BABEL DISCOVERED?

2010-10-04T09:36:00.004-04:00

Listening to WRMB, my favorite Christian radio station, this morning, mention was made of an archeological find in Turkey which consisted of large stone carvings and which are estimated to be older than the pyramids of Egypt. Its name is Göbekli Tepe, which means "pot belly hill", and is suspected to be some sort of religious temple.

Some people have speculated that it is linked to the Garden of Eden. However, I find the pictures of Göbekli Tepe more in line with the sketchy descriptions in the Bible of the Tower of Babel. (Genesis 11)

I have seen some artists' drawings ( http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&biw=960&bih=600&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=tower+of+babel&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai= ) of what the tower "may" have looked like, and remarkably the drawings are not too far off from what the pictures of Göbekli Tepe suggest. I am specifically referring to the picture of the large piece of stone (sitting upon a pillar) with an angle at the top - indicating a possible curved ramp, circling upward. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1157784

Could the location of the dig be in line with the Biblical description: "in the plain of Shinar"? Some of the pictures show a large plain just below the hill on which the temple (or tower) was constructed.

However, there is one description in the Genesis 11 account that would contradict my theory: Verse 3 says they baked bricks and used tar as mortar to build the city and (presumably) the tower. It specifically says "instead of stone". Göbekli Tepe uses stone.

Perhaps more digging will uncover more truth about this.

MAKING IT HARD TO READ

2010-07-23T09:25:00.002-04:00

I first noticed it with my Piano Technicians Journal in mid 2000. Previously, the print on all articles had been black against a white page - quite easy to read. Then, I suppose, someone thought it would be "cool" to start using varying shades of gray print to add visual interest. The result was that all the articles became more difficult to read. It didn't help that I was getting older and needed to use my reading glasses more often. But, why make things harder for older members? I have written the editors a couple of times, but they have ignored my pleas.

I know it CAN be done. I received a newsletter from my dentist a few months ago which really impressed me. Even though there was light shading behind some of the paragraphs, the print was a dark black and very easy to read. I have also examined various professional journals in my local library. ALL of them use black print, not shades of gray. They were all very readable.

I am at this moment using my wife's computer with an LCD screen. It is too bright, even though I have adjusted it as dark as possible. To add to the visual problem, many web page creators are using varying shades of color print which are too light, thus making them very hard to read.

Let me encourage you to try to help your readers if you type things for others to read. Use a DARK print against a light background. If you will notice, I use BOLD on my web pages (when possible).

THANKS FOR YOUR COOPERATION!

P.S. Even though I have used the "bold" command for this post, it still came out in a gray shade, rather than black. I am sorry, but I tried. Blogger.com needs to see this post too!

SAVE THE POST OFFICE

2009-08-09T03:56:00.003-04:00

It's funny how we don't care about things much until they "hit home". Such was the case recently when I heard that the Post Office is planning to shut down some local branches to save money. I thought it was probably a good idea until, as I listened to the locations of ones to get the hatchet in my local area, I suddenly heard the one mentioned where I have MY box.

One of the reasons cited as to why the Post Office has been losing so much money is the increased use of electronic communications. I know personally that e-mails are cheaper to send than letters, especially if I send a lot of them. For instance, if I send out 50 e-mails in a month and pay $10 for an internet connection, that's only 20 cents per mailing, which is less than half the first class postage rate.

Many of us send out many times more than 50 per month, especially if we start to count text messages on our cell phones, or tweets on Twitter, or short postings on Facebook, etc.

How about if we all pitch in to help the Post Office survive. After all, it's nice to know that we can still send real letters, birthday cards, and documents when needed, right? Here's what we can do:

Get our Congress to levy a 1 cent tax on each text message and the like, and a 2 cents tax on each e-mail. The tax would be for each one that is sent from within the USA and would apply to each recipient in the "To" list. So, if I sent out a bulk e-mail to 100 of my friends, I would be charged $2. Compare that to my sending out 100 letters in the mail; that would cost me $440 in just postage, not to mention the paper, envelopes, printing, etc.

The tax would go directly to subsidize the Post Office. Cell phone carriers and internet e-mail providers could take out 2% for their effort in collecting and submitting this tax to the government.

So, how about it, folks. We CAN afford it. Let's contact our Congressional representatives and ask them to pass this tax in order to save our Post Office!

MICHAEL "E" jACKSON

2009-07-15T07:11:00.003-04:00

Did you ever wonder why Michael Jackson's voice never changed when he became an adolescent? Have you wondered why his children were all white?

In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 19, verse 12, Jesus mentions three reasons there are eunuchs:
1. They are born that way - in other words, a birth defect or deformity.
2. They were made that way by men.
3. They become that way of their own choice so they can better serve God.

Considering MJ, I don't think he was born that way; and surely I don't see any evidence of a deep dedication to God after he became a man.

So that leaves the middle choice. Evidently his father saw the potential and marketability of a high voice, so chose to have his son castrated.

In the 18th century, castration was a somewhat accepted way of prolonging the high voice of a good male singer. Unfortunately it also produced psychological problems in the "victim". Do an internet search on the term "castrati" and you will discover what I mean. One example is: http://www.essortment.com/all/castratihistory_rzna.htm I think it would be good if MJ's family came out publicly and admitted that MJ was a modern day Castrato or Eunuch.

MICHAEL "E" JACKSON

2009-07-15T06:42:00.001-04:00

LOWER SALES TAX RATE TO 2%

2007-05-31T10:31:00.000-04:00

Question: How can the Florida Department of Revenue increase income by lowering sales tax to 2%?

Answer: Tax goods AND services.

You, no doubt, have had work done on your car, or maybe to your home, in which the price of the labor was higher than the price of the parts used in the repair. Yet you had to pay sales tax on both goods AND services.

In my business I sometimes have not even charged the customer for a $2.00 part used in a $100.00 repair job in order to not have to charge the sales tax. Perhaps I am breaking the law.

But the decision would be much easier if all services were taxed at the same rate as goods - a low 2% rate.

To make it work, the taxing would have to be applied to ALL services, whether repairs, or consulting, or educational, or health care. I believe that by doing this the state revenues would actually INCREASE at this lower rate. I understand that each special interest group would want to be exempted, but the state must be firm.

It would be necessary to hire more Dept. of Revenue employees to handle the increased work load. Also, it would be necessary to launch a public awareness campaign for both business owners and customers.

The business owners would have to make sure they are duly registered with the Dept. of Revenue as a legitimate businesses. No more "under the table" businesses.

Customers would have to insist on receiving a proper receipt from businesses on which the Florida Tax Number is shown. They would actually be part of the policing effort to make sure all businesses are legitimate.

I'm sure it would "ruffle some feathers" in the beginning, but considering the fairness of application to all and the low rate, it should become a workable plan.

RUN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN

2007-05-31T01:48:00.000-04:00

I urge our president to make the following announcement:

"Even though today the United States must be considered a secular nation, it is a country whose Christian heritage has affected many of its policies. One of those policies is to place a high value on human life, especially that of women and children. Our enemies have frequently taken advantage of this by using women and children as human shields while they meet and plot ways to destroy us, or even while they are engaged in active combat operations.

As of today, we have a new policy. America will no longer allow our enemies to be safe by hiding behind their women and children. We will now place a higher value on our own lives than the lives of the women and children who are used, even though unwillingly, to protect those whose evil plans seek to destroy us.

Women and children in Afghanistan and Iraq, and any other country where Americans may be engaged in active missions to help you gain your freedom, be advised of this: Whenever you see your men meeting to plot evil against us, RUN. Get as far away from those men as possible. Because if we find out they are meeting to make plans against us, we will destroy them.

Yes, we know that they will threaten to kill or hurt you if you leave them. But please realize that the future safety and freedom of women and children in your country is more important than the temporary safety you may feel by listening to their threats.

Make this announcement known widely throughout your land. Tell it in the marketplaces and in the schools and in the mosques. Yes, we would like to protect women and children. We have nothing against you personally. But your men will use and abuse you for their evil ends. We must protect our own people first. In that way we will be able to more quickly free your land of the evil men who would hold you in bondage and fear. Remember - when you see them meeting to make evil plans, RUN!"

FREE PUBLICITY FOR TERRORISTS

2007-01-19T14:27:00.000-05:00

As I looked at the big color picture on the front page of my local newspaper of some destroyed vehicles and a few people milling around after another car bomb in Baghdad, I started thinking about what the purpose of front page coverage of these terrorist acts accomplishes. It certainly captures the reader's attention, which could lead to increased sales of the newspaper in stores. But is that what is really important here?

We have been seeing front page coverage of dramatic successes by the terrorists for several years. (Maybe a reader survey is in order to find out how many of us really want to see that type of coverage continued.)

I think it's time for another strategy. What would happen if, no matter how hard they tried, and how hideous their despicable acts, the terrorists could never win front page coverage in any newspaper, and never receive "lead story" status on TV news programs? If their evil deeds were bad enough, they might win "honorable mention" on one of the back pages.

If I were a terrorist and could no longer count on continual, free, publicity to promote my causes, I might start re-thinking my strategy.

However, our brave servicemen would get no end of front page praise for their valiant deeds in trying to free Iraq and Afghanistan from the terrorists.

COMMON MYTHS ABOUT PIANOS

2006-12-22T22:49:00.000-05:00

Through the years, I have heard my customers make certain comments about pianos that are not necessarily true. In an effort to quell fears, answer questions, and prevent mistakes, I have put together a brochure called "COMMON MYTHS ABOUT PIANOS" Here is the first of eight myths. You can read the rest at the webpage:
www.angelfire.com/biz6/afinetune/myths.html

1. PIANOS SHOULD BE TUNED EVERY SIX MONTHS.

Not all pianos are the same. Generally, new pianos need more frequent tunings - 3 or 4 times a year for the first couple of years. But some brands do better than others. Older pianos in good condition are often more stable and need less frequent tunings - maybe once every year or two. I have seen some brands hold their tuning for several years, while others go extremely out of tune in just 3 or 4 months.

Your piano technician can judge which is best for your piano based on a knowledge of how much the piano is used, the environmental conditions, and how much the pitch varies between tunings. If you are not comfortable with his assessment, you can always solicit the opinions of other piano technicians.

Read more on the web page: www.angelfire.com/biz6/afinetune/myths.html

STATE DEPARTMENT VISA SCAM?

2006-07-07T08:25:00.000-04:00

Earlier this year two family members of mine in Venezuela, my son's grandmother and uncle, went to the US Embassy to apply for a tourist visa. They have been wanting to visit me here in the USA for a long time, and I have been planning to show them around. After about a year of trying they were finally able to get their Venezuelan Passport and so were able to apply for an American tourist visa.

They filled out all the papers as requested and paid the application fee, which in their case amounted to half their monthly income. The day for their interview finally arrived and they took the overnight bus trip to Caracas for their appointment.

After reviewing their documents and asking them a number of questions, they were finally told that the visa could not be given them because they posed a “flight risk”. It seems that the interviewing agent did not think their situation in Venezuela was stable enough to convince him that they would not try to violate the terms of their visa – that they would end up staying in the USA.

At first I thought it was ridiculous, almost funny, that they could be considered as candidates for violating their visa. Elena is a very strict woman when it comes to following the rules. It had not even crossed her mind that the tourist visa was anything more than that – a way to come and visit me for two or three weeks and to get to know first hand about this country she is always hearing about.

Then I became angry because they were never advised ahead of time that this would even be a consideration. In other words they were being accused and found guilty of a crime they had never committed, never intended to commit, and never even known about!

To make matters worse, they were out of all that money and time with nothing to show for it except bitterness in their hearts for having been thought of as some kind of criminals for simply wanting to legally visit me for a couple of weeks and to see some of my country as tourists.

Then I thought about how many other people end up in the same boat. They pay money that is hard to come by, do their best to meet all the requirements, then end up being graded on questions they weren't even told would be on the test.

A scam is an intentional act to deceive in which the perpetrator convinces the victim that he will receive some goods or services in exchange for money or some other thing of value, when in reality the perpetrator knows that the victim will not receive anything near what he expects. It is usually designed so that there is no recourse, or such recourse is very difficult. This may be due to some cleverly worded disclaimer or due to the power wielded by the perpetrator. It is especially bad when the perpetrator is a person or organization that the victim trusts. Once such trust is violated, though, it is very hard to win back.

It would be much harder to prove the existence of a scam if the fraudulent behavior only occurs occasionally. For instance, if the perpetrator only cheated one out of five victims, then he could say that other factors were present and that it was not a scam. But if, through experience, the perpetrator knew ahead of time that possibly that many victims would end up with much less than they were led to expect, it still could be considered a scam.

Casinos operate on that basis. They give just enough promise of high gains for the investment to make people want to invest more and more, even though they know that most people end up losing money. It could be considered a legal scam, because its operation is generally known and permitted by the law in some areas.

In other cases, the goods or services being offered are real and sure, but the price being paid is so outrageous in relationship to the real cost, that it could be considered a rip-off or price-gouging. But sometimes the consumers are willing to pay such a high price due to the great desirability of the goods. Consider the case of computer software. A simple vinyl disk in a cardboard box with some instructions would probably cost only a few dollars to produce, but customers will pay 20 to 50 times its production cost in order to have what they deem valuable to them. The alternative is to go without, or to buy a less suitable item.

In the case of the visa operation carried out by the United States Department of State, the officials know from experience that many applications for visas will be denied, so the disclaimer states that the fees being paid are for only the application, without any guarantee that a visa will be granted. However, they do not state that they are looking for information which is not requested in the application. In other words the applicant is being judged on things he is not aware of, and therefore has no way of preparing a suitable defense for such judgment. And since the application fee is so high in comparison to the services provided, it could well be considered a scam operation.

Perhaps the U.S. State Department could learn a lesson from all this in relationship to the current illegal immigrant situation. If a person of little means has to invest a month's income in order to merely make an application for a visa without any assurance that the visa will be granted, then he will probably look for an alternative. Theoretically he could invest a year's income making continuous applications, and still not be able to enter the US. But if the same amount of money given to a coyote would give him a 90 percent chance of entering the US, though illegally, he would most likely take that course of action.

I would encourage our State Department to not hide anything from its “customers”. If the customer will be judged on certain things, he should be informed ahead of time so that he can prepare his defense. It's only fair. The application fee should not be burdensome, especially if there is a high probability that the application will be rejected. If it is rejected, there should be given complete reasons and suggestions to correct them in future applications.

TRANSFORM YOUR PRAYER MEETING THROUGH CONVERSATIONAL PRAYER

2006-06-14T13:57:00.000-04:00
Back in the late 1960's I was just starting to study the Bible and understand the basics of the Christian life. The group I associated with, The Navigators, introduced me to a style of prayer called Conversational Prayer. I found it to be a very easy and effective way to pray in a group when all the group knew how to do it. Since then, I have attended prayer meetings in many places and some used this style of prayer, but most did not.

Many prayer meetings in churches today suffer from lack of enthusiasm and consequently a lack of attendance. Incorporating this method of prayer may be one way to revitalize this important ministry.

Please see the link on the sidebar to the right entitled "Transform Your Prayer Meeting" in order to read the full article on this subject I have written.

If you wish me to come and teach this method to your church or prayer group, please call me at 561-432-4121.

WHAT'S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT BAPTISM?

2006-05-15T13:02:00.000-04:00
I don't know about you, but I have visited a lot of churches through the years. And although many of them say they teach the Bible, it is strange that there are so many different views about things.

One of those things is Baptism. I was raised a Presbyterian, and my grandfather, a Presbyterian minister, baptised or "christened" me when I was a baby. As a young adult, after I had accepted Christ as my personal savior and understood more fully the Bible's teachings about salvation, I wanted to be baptised as a believer. So before I became engaged to my first wife, her father, a Baptist minister, baptised me by immersion.

Many years later I found myself in the situation where I had to baptise some people in the church where I was a pastor. I was uneasy about some of the teachings I had heard about the subject of baptism, so I decided to study the subject more fully.

So which church teaches the truth about baptism? Or is the truth somewhere in between the Baptist and Presbyterian teachings?

I invite you to click on the link about Baptism in the links section on the right side of my blog page.

NEW IMMIGRATION POLICY - An open letter to the U.S. Congress

2006-03-28T08:38:00.000-05:00
Dear Senators and Representatives,

I am writing to suggest an idea concerning immigration policy. Although I have been thinking about it for several weeks, only now am sitting down to put it into words in an organized fashion. It will obviously need to have all the details worked out. Nevertheless, here is the general idea:

As you know there are many thousands, some say millions, of people who are in this country illegally. I am not Hispanic or a son of Hispanics, but I know many of them through my association with a Hispanic church. Even though I love these people I cannot condone their breaking the law, because Christians are instructed in Romans chapter 17 to obey the governing authorities.

But here they are. They have found a way to sneak in to our country, and they have found jobs that support them and their families back home.
Here in South Florida, many men from Mexico and Central America work in lawn maintenance and other such jobs. Many women from these same countries work as house cleaners, etc. I'm not sure what they do in other parts of the country, but I think that they are contributing to the betterment of our society; yet it is against the law for them to be here.

Suppose there were a way for employers who want certain foreign workers to request that these people, listed by name, be given visas. Or maybe employers could simply request that a certain number of persons who want to do a certain job be given temporary visas in order to fill their employment needs.

Over a certain period of time illegals from various parts of our country, and I am referring mainly to those from “south of the border”, would return to the border, apply for a visa, and if their name and ID# appears on the list, one would be granted. If their name does not appear, but their occupation does, and it is requested by an employer in a geographical area that they prefer to work in, they could also be granted the visa.

Preference would be given to those who had already been here illegally and who had close ties to a certain area, such as through a job, or family, etc. In a sense this could be considered a form of amnesty, because those who were here illegally could be granted legal status without penalty. But it is not exactly the same as amnesty, because they would still have to leave the country and come in legally. Quotas would have to be waived to allow for this program.

After a certain period of time, say two or three years, this program would be over and the very strictest immigration laws which are now being discussed would be implemented. In the mean time, everything possible would be done to strengthen our borders and enforce our other policies.

Please consider this or something similar. It is a win-win for all.

Sincerely,

Wallace T. Scherer

BORING SERMONS?

2006-03-12T10:21:00.001-05:00
Have you ever thought about what makes for an interesting sermon, or for a boring sermon? I have sat through hundreds of sermons in my 60 years of life. Some were quite interesting, challenging, and even entertaining. Others, while evident that the preacher had done some preparation, didn't seem to do anything for me, or for anyone else in the congregation either, even though they might have seemed to be interested and acted polite by not sleeping, or by trying to take notes.

When my first wife taught public speaking at a bible institute, one of the things she tried to teach her students was the importance of using a pertinent illustration to make the point interesting and memorable. I'll deal with this point later.

Of course there are many other factors which affect the quality of a sermon. One is the clarity of the speaker's voice - can he be heard and understood? I attended a church for several years where the pastor had interesting content in his sermons. They always seemed timely and definitely biblically based. I usually left feeling edified spiritually. He would get emotional sometimes and raised his voice volume when he made a point. He would also use interesting illustrations. However, he had sort of a slurred, mushy speech. I'm sure he sounded fine to people from his section of his country, but to others it must have been somewhat bothersome. At least it was to me.

Another pastor I know evidently spends much time preparing his sermons to have good content. What he does is prepare a lesson so long and detailed that, even though it would be great as a chapter in a book, it's not very good as a sermon. There are too many things to remember and not any real point to try to put into practice the following week. The sermon, since it so long and complicated, is mostly read and seldom has any interesting illustrations to make it come alive.

Another pastor I hear occasionally at a very large church has very interesting and memorable sermons. He flashes outline points on the screen and encourages us to jot down key points on our sermon notes page. Some other preachers I have seen use similar formats, but sometimes have the sermon so simplified that it is almost an insult to the listener's intelligence. He, of course, has to know his intended audience and prepare accordingly. I was just a visitor.

Well, back to my original point. A few years ago I came up with a chart which I called THE HIERARCHY OF ILLUSTRATIONS. It can be a helpful tool in preparing a sermon or talk of any kind. There is a link to it on the right side under the LINKS heading.

A GAME OF SILENT SOCCER

2005-12-24T21:16:00.000-05:00
I was recently called to a private school to tune a piano for their "Holiday" concert. The piano would be moved to the gym, where the program would be. The music teacher reassured me that the physical education classes would be meeting outside.

I arrived at the appointed time and, due to rainy conditions outside, found a very noisy 4th grade soccer game going on in the gym. Calling the teacher over, I explained my predicament - how I really needed a quiet environment to do a proper tuning. I asked her if there was any way she could get the kids to use hand signals instead of shouting. She said she would try.

She explained the situation to her class, and they resumed the game. After about ten minutes the noise level had gradually diminished to only squeaking sneakers, and very short tweets by the coach's whistle. It really was a silent soccer game. They pulled it off. I was amazed - and very thankful.

LET'S ELIMINATE PRISONS

2005-08-22T06:13:00.002-04:00
No doubt you have heard that more and more prisons are being built in America every year. While it may be true that evil is on the increase worldwide, it is also true that the modern penal system in America could use a good overhaul.

It is very common to hear about people who are put in prison for one crime, but come out knowing how to perpetrate other crimes, because they have learned new ways of wrongdoing from their fellow prisoners. In addition, who can deny that prisoners are often subjected to harsh treatment from their fellow prisoners - rapes, beatings, intimidation, even death. There has to be a better way!

I would propose a system whereby certain non-violent crimes are paid for by a combination of training, punishment, and restitution.

Training will involve learning usable skills plus the necessary mental and spiritual/moral training necessary to learn the importance of using those skills for the good of society.

Punishment may involve some type of physical suffering, whether it is a public flogging, whipping, or "caneing" as carried out in some countries, or even the amputation of a finger as a constant reminder to not use them for stealing. Some people, of course, will cry "That's cruel and unusual punishment". But I say that prisons are more cruel. And it's unusual so long as it is not being done frequently. That can be changed quickly.

Restitution will involve some type of pay back for the crimes committed. It could be simply a monitoring of money paid back, possibly double, for money stolen. Or public service hours being worked to pay back the society for crimes committed against society at large, eg. vandalism.

For violent crimes, not involving the death or permanent injury of another person, the removal of the testosterone producing glands would be a great solution. Perhaps partial castration for the first offense, then if a second violent crime is committed, complete castration. Of course this has to be done in combination with the mental and spiritual/moral training mentioned above. (An internet search about "castration for criminals" will lead to studies showing very good results in this.)

I believe that if these and other similar measures were taken by our criminal justice system, our need for prisons would be reduced greatly, and possibly eliminated within a few years.

CHANGES NEEDED IN MEDICAL CARE SYSTEM

2005-08-22T05:48:00.000-04:00
I have been recently involved in some medical decisions about my uncle, and have seen some serious flaws in our country's medical care system. The only other country I can compare it too is Venezuela, where I lived for a total of 12 years during the 17 year span from 1979 to 1996.

In Venezuela, on nights and weekends, pharmacies participate in an "on duty" system whereby there is always one pharmacy available for medicines and other medical supplies. Each pharmacy posts the "on duty" list by its door. A customer never has to drive very far to find one available.

Perhaps a similar system could be used for other medically related services, such as physical therapists, speech therapists, etc., and even doctors. In the case of my uncle, he was recuperating from double bypass surgery at a hospital in Miami, 65 miles away from me. But because he also has a catheter for bladder function and uses a "Servox" buzzer for talking, there were other complications in his recovery.

Finally, after nearly three weeks, he was transferred to a Rehabilitation Center in West Palm Beach. But because of complications with the catheter, he went to a local hospital until that was stabalized, then off to a different Rehab Center.

He is not able to stand or walk on his own. He tried to get out of bed yesterday, but fell and bruised his head. He needs daily physical therapy and daily speech therapy, and possible other types of therapy. But because it was the "weekend", nobody in these specialties was "on duty". So his condition has deteriorated.

So my proposition is this: In these critical care areas, let there be "on duty" persons available for situations such as that of my uncle.

Terri Schiavo's Brain

2005-06-16T13:14:00.000-04:00
The autopsy released this week stated that Terri's brain was only about half the weight of a normal brain. She had suffered brain damage due to an accident fifteen years earlier. In the ensuing years very little progress was made in any kind of rehabilitation. Brains that lose their function also lose their need to maintain normal size.

However one other large factor must have had a tremendous part in the low weight - dehydration. Try this experiment. Take your brain out and weigh it on a meat scale. Then put it back in and go without any food or water for a week. Then weigh it again. I'll bet it will weigh considerably less the second time than it did the first time.

Best Protection for Grand Piano

2005-06-03T11:17:00.000-04:00
For several years now I have been recommending that owners of grand pianos purchase and install a string cover. This is a piece of (preferably wool) material that fits inside the top of the piano completely covering the string and tuning pin area. It keeps out dust, and many other damaging things that shorten the useful life of the piano.

More information at: http://www.angelfire.com/biz6/afinetune

Then click on the link about the Edwards String cover.

Strange Piano

2005-06-03T11:01:00.000-04:00
I was called in to check out a couple of pianos at a retirement home recently. One was a nice Yamaha GH1 with a player system. It was TERRIBLY out of tune.

The second one was a "Knight" console piano (I had never heard of that brand.). The piano was in great tune, but as I played I noticed something very STRANGE. I looked down and noticed that the pedals were installed UPSIDE DOWN! Never had I seen such a thing, or even imagined it. Later as I considered why this would be, I reasoned that possibly someone short was playing it and his feet would not reach the pedals. Upside down, they were about 6 inches higher.

Piano tuners often have strange tales to tell!