I had a piano and was given piano lessons starting in first grade. I would spend hours at the piano. The other major item in my house was a TV which I watched for hours. I had books that I would read and my grandI had obtained a subscription to Sports Illustrated. I also read the newspaper.
My typical day was to wake up and watch educational TV, then go to school early so I could play football, basketball. Then go through the day and participate in sports during recess (Recess is a child’s favorite subject.)
In my younger days, I had a baby sitter.I was fortunate that there were children next door and across the street which I played with.
My game playing was not done at home, since there weren’t any toys at my mom’s house but I had friends. At Dave’s house we would have races of golf balls. We would line them up and run them down the hill and keep track of which one came in first. Titleist balls consistently won. Ring toss was also a good game. Another game I played with Dave and my friend Mike was we would wrinkle a sheet or blanket and then distribute marbles. One would push the marble toward another marble having to negotiate the undulations of the blanket. Typically, if a marble missed, it was easily hit by the next shot of the opponent. Dave and I spent a lot of time playing football. We were known to team up to move the ball down the street in decreasing amounts of time to “beat the clock.” My friend David whose family was from China, had a lot of games. He taught me how to play Go, Checkers, and Risk. We didn’t play much Chess because I could beat him in Chess and he did not like to lose. When my mother came home, I would have dinner. My mother would cook steaks that my grandfather would drop off before or during the week. Many times I would make my own dinners. My specialties were heating up frozen poor boy sandwiches in the oven (no microwave), mixing chili with Chinese Egg noodles (our Elementary School had taken a field trip to Seattle’s China town and I had acquired a taste for them.)
I would also forage for food, going the fridge to sample slices of beef, cottage cheese or slices of cheese. I used to also eat a lot of ice cream. (In High School, I would have a half gallon a day for desert after dinner.) And then I would read, watch TV or agonize over homework. (I used to agonize a lot since it was all up to me and there was no supervision or checking of my homework. I was motivated since I would get $5 if I got good grades.
Since I didn’t have “toys” I had some hobbies. I used to collect coins. I would go to the local coin shop and look at coins and I started to check my coins. Tony, the owner of a grocery store across the street (he was Italian) would give me a sack of coins to go through so that I go through them to try to find valuable coins. (somehow I have managed to hang onto some of these) I also collected stamps and still have a few of them. I also collected comic books but I gave them away before really knowing how valuable and worthwhile a hobby I had. I also collected base ball, football cards, etc. I also added mid elementary school a violin. I was in the orchestra. At one period of time, my grandfather was taking me to baseball games, there was boxing award banquet and I had a concert all on the same night. I was wondering how I would make a decision, but I didn’t’ have to worry, the music teacher said that I would go to the concert or I would flunk.
I received an allowance of $.25 a week. This allowed me to save up and buy a $1 model every four weeks. I put together a lot of airplanes, ships, and tanks. I remember the Arizona battleship since it was so historic.
Later, about 6th grade, I got a weight set even including a bench which I used to stay in shape. Regularly, my mother would take us to the “avenue”. This was University Way in the University (University of Washington, my alma mater) District. We would go to Lung Ting, a Chinese restaurant where the greeter would always say, “how are you young man?” and we would go to Pizza Haven,
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2001/10/22/story5.html
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2001/10/22/story5.html?page=2
They had great pizza but they were bought out by Pietro’s till they went bankrupt.I think that my grandfather would have passed muster for toys. When I would visit my grandparents most every weekend, vacations, and summer vacations, I went to a house that had many toys. In my room, there was a nightstand that had drawers filled with books that had stories about Babar the elephant, Christmas stories like the night before Christmas. There were shelves with many books some of which I came in possession of after my grandparents passed away. There were plastic bowling pins which I spent hours knocking over with a softball. I had a train set that even would blow smoke. (I liked the red caboose) I had my own TV which I watched for hours and hours. At my grandparent’s house we could receive Canadian stations. It was educational and I acquired a love for the game of hockey. I Seattle we used to play floor hockey. It is hockey without skates, we run around in athletic shoes. I had a mechanical helicopter, it was a facsimile of the CH-47 Chinook which is known as the egg beater because it has two rotor blades. I had a basketball and there was a hoop outside in the car port. It was low (but late in life it was fun to stuff the basketball) but my cousin and other friends and I had some good games. I also had football, so I could practice throwing and kicking. My grandfather had about an acre in the back yard. So there was room for throwing, kicking, and tree climbing and running. The football came in handy because when I was 10, my grandfather took me to the competition of the Ford, Pass, Punt, and Kick Contest which I won and won a jacket. One of my best moments was I had a car that one could move by pedaling. I had outgrown the pedaling, but my cousin and I took turns riding it high speed down a backyard path until it disintegrated by the vibrations. When I would climb trees, I would get some cherries. We also like to pick raspberries and salmon berries. My grandfather put some sawdust down and a couple pools and put a cross bar up and I would practice high jumping (came in handy, in 7th grade, I had the highest jump, 4 foot, 6 inches) At my grandparent’s house, there was a grand piano. The key action was a bit slow, but it had fine tone. I used to play for hours and my grandmother loved to sit and listen to me play. It was a bonding experience for the two of us. I also had a set up in my mother’s apartment in my room. I ran a rubber band chain between two points and I would high jump over it onto my bed. Every Saturday, My grandfather would take me to the Washington Athletic Club. This was a great place. There was gym class where we would do various activities such as dodge ball, gymnastics, etc. I learned how to swim there. I was captain of a bowling team. I won many boxing matches and even got an award for a draw since it was considered the best fight. During football season, my grandfather and I left from the club to football game, the University of Washington. These were great days. On Sundays, from a young age, my grandfather would take me bowling on Sundays. I usually would bowl eight games. Of course, my grandfather bought me my own bowling ball and shoes. Occasionally, we would also go ice skating. I had a sled, so when it snowed I could go sledding. I first started making forts by covering chairs with blankets. Another activity was to dig holes that I would cover with shingles thereby creating a fort. I also had a bike. I used to ride circles in the driveway until I was old enough to ride on the street. I have a cousin who is only 3 months older than I and I was taken to his house. My cousin had a lot of friends who liked to play football, so we had a lot of. My cousin had a tree house we also used to hang out in. The park was close by and we used to go the playground there. We also used to get in some pretty good baseball games. I used to beat my cousin good games. We played and also touch when we were small and young enough to survive the contact in virtually any game we would play. It could be checkers, football, baseball whatever, but there was one game that he could beat me virtually every time. The Hockey game
http://www.tablehockeyheaven.com/photos/games/eagle/national_hockey_league_mid_1960s/national_hockey_league_mid_1960s_001.jpg
My cousin had even had more toys than I had. Unfortunately, his father had a best friend who had two children who were very destructive and they would break many of his toys. (I confess that I broke a few of the toys, I was pretty rough.)His initial instrument was the accordion but later he had a drum set and we used to play music together, me on the guitar and he on the drums. Summers were pleasant because my grandmother would take me to the zoo where she would let me run around and see the animals. My grandparents took me to the park and playgrounds often and I would “free play” by running around. My grandparents did buy me games such as checkers and chess. I grandmother would play checkers with me, but she wasn’t much completion. I had an interest in chess from a very young age. Every Sunday, I would look up the chess column in the newspaper and I would replay the games on my chess set. Later I got a book that taught chess. The most powerful book I got was Modern Chess Openings. I remember reading a sample first 10 moves in the book which a recreated in a High School chess match to win the game in 10 moves. Starting in elementary school, the ground became a major “toy”. I challenged myself to run non-stop from my friend’s house a mile away. In eighth grade, I was on the track team. I remember coming in last in a half mile race. I was so angry that I began a life-long fitness program. That Saturday, I ran 6 miles (there were a couple stops of course the first time.) I had a lot of success in High School, I lettered all three years in Cross Country and Track. I won many races and became the Seattle Southern Division Champion in Cross Country and twice the 2 mile champion. I came in 6th in Metropolitan Championships for Cross Country and came in 6th and 2nd respectively in the 2 mile. I was the Washington state champion in the Track and field federation High School 2 mile. I also competed in the State Cross Country meet. I was voted the most inspirational runner for the Cross Country team and the Track team.
Another big toy I had was a car starting my junior year of high school. This was the biggest toy I played with until I flew helicopters in the Army – my first flight was July 27, 1980.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
A B C's of Legal Ethics
Lawyers like to talk about ethics. The non-lawyer can have a difficult task trying to quantify where an attorney fits in on the ethical scale. Here is my rating system to try to help you along.
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/arch/solzhenitsyn/harvard1978.html"
I have spent all my life under a communist regime and I will tell you that a society without any objective legal scale is a terrible one indeed. But a society with no other scale but the legal one is not quite worthy of man either. A society which is based on the letter of the law and never reaches any higher is taking very scarce advantage of the high level of human possibilities.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Grade A - An A can not be achieved in the present legal system because of its flaws- that is why I have the Solzhenitsyn quote. Ironically, primitive people had the right idea when they would arbitrate disputes with extended family and attempted to work out liveable solutions. For an A - truth and mercy have to be combined to make justice. Participants have to spill their guts and all facts must be laid bare. Americans should be arbitrated family disputes such as custody and visitation since the parties must live with the results for decades.
Grade B - This is given to those attorneys who follow the ABA Rules of Professional Responsibility. http://www.abanet.org/cpr/mrpc/mrpc_toc.html Inherent in ethical practice is the right of privilege-an attorney does not have to reveal the truth which was revealed by a client. Many injustices result thereby.
Grade C- This is known as the sharp practice. The attorney is really a jerk, follows the rules but is morally bankrupt. For instance, serving papers on someone at Friday close of business for a Friday hearing at 10 AM the next week. The party will be unable to try to get an attorney until Monday and must consult by Thursday or be unprepared.
Grade D - This is the unactionable zone for unethical behavior. A lawyer violates the Rules of Professional Responsibility. The standard to punish a lawyer is Clear, Congent, and Compelling (CCC) evidence. This is almost to the extent of "beyond reasonable doubt". A hard standard to prove.
Grade E - This is the actionable zone for unethical behavior. The conduct is so bad and blatent fulfilling the CCC standard that one is disbarred and disgraced. For instance, Mike Nifong, had made statements recorded by video and sound that the bar alleged were unethical...Hard to beat video evidence, in fact, Mr. Nifong stipulated to the facts of the videos before his hearing.
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/arch/solzhenitsyn/harvard1978.html"
I have spent all my life under a communist regime and I will tell you that a society without any objective legal scale is a terrible one indeed. But a society with no other scale but the legal one is not quite worthy of man either. A society which is based on the letter of the law and never reaches any higher is taking very scarce advantage of the high level of human possibilities.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Grade A - An A can not be achieved in the present legal system because of its flaws- that is why I have the Solzhenitsyn quote. Ironically, primitive people had the right idea when they would arbitrate disputes with extended family and attempted to work out liveable solutions. For an A - truth and mercy have to be combined to make justice. Participants have to spill their guts and all facts must be laid bare. Americans should be arbitrated family disputes such as custody and visitation since the parties must live with the results for decades.
Grade B - This is given to those attorneys who follow the ABA Rules of Professional Responsibility. http://www.abanet.org/cpr/mrpc/mrpc_toc.html Inherent in ethical practice is the right of privilege-an attorney does not have to reveal the truth which was revealed by a client. Many injustices result thereby.
Grade C- This is known as the sharp practice. The attorney is really a jerk, follows the rules but is morally bankrupt. For instance, serving papers on someone at Friday close of business for a Friday hearing at 10 AM the next week. The party will be unable to try to get an attorney until Monday and must consult by Thursday or be unprepared.
Grade D - This is the unactionable zone for unethical behavior. A lawyer violates the Rules of Professional Responsibility. The standard to punish a lawyer is Clear, Congent, and Compelling (CCC) evidence. This is almost to the extent of "beyond reasonable doubt". A hard standard to prove.
Grade E - This is the actionable zone for unethical behavior. The conduct is so bad and blatent fulfilling the CCC standard that one is disbarred and disgraced. For instance, Mike Nifong, had made statements recorded by video and sound that the bar alleged were unethical...Hard to beat video evidence, in fact, Mr. Nifong stipulated to the facts of the videos before his hearing.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
2400 years ago there was an intelligent representation of the strategic issues.Today, we get 30 minutes worth of sound bites
If you take the issue out of moral grounds, humane treatment of prisoners is a combat multiplier.
"This is at once best for the future, and most terrible to your enemies at the present moment; inasmuch as good policy against an adversary is superior to the blind attacks of brute force.’"
Thycidides
In the First Gulf War, I saw video and heard stories of mass surrenders.One helicopter moved about 150 people to captivity.The very worst outcome is to have people fight to the death.
"but we are not in a court of justice, but in a political assembly; and the question is not justice, but how to make the Mitylenians useful to Athens. ......We must not, therefore, commit ourselves to a false policy through a belief in the efficacy of the punishment of death, or exclude rebels from the hope of repentance and an early atonement of their error. [2] Consider a moment! At present, if a city that has already revolted perceive that it cannot succeed, it will come to terms while it is still able to refund expenses, and pay tribute afterwards. In the other case, what city think you would not prepare better than is now done, and hold out to the last against its besiegers, if it is all one whether it surrender late or soon?"
In 400 BC Thycidides wrote about this discussion in His Pellopenesian War available on the internet
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0200&query=section%3D%231227&word=surrender
I have attached excerpts of the lengthy discussion which startles me on how relevant it is. I attach these few quotes for those unaccustomed to anything longer than a sound bite.
PRO DEATH
"I have often before now been convinced that a democracy is incapable of empire" "and never reflect that the mistakes into which you may be led by listening to their appeals, or by giving way to your own compassion" "forgetting that your empire is a despotism and your subjects disaffected conspirators, whose obedience is insured not by your suicidal concessions, but by the superiority given you by your own strength and not their loyalty." "The most alarming feature in the case is the constant change of measures with which we appear to be threatened, and our seeming ignorance of the fact that bad laws which are never changed are better for a city than good ones that have no authority; that unlearned loyalty is more serviceable than quick-witted insubordination; and that ordinary men usually manage public affairs better than their more gifted fellows. [4] The latter are always wanting to appear wiser than the laws, and to overrule every proposition brought forward, thinking that they cannot show their wit in more important matters, and by such behavior too often ruin their country; while those who mistrust their own cleverness are content to be less learned than the laws, and less able to pick holes in the speech of a good speaker; and being fair judges rather than rival athletes, generally conduct affairs successfully. [5] These we ought to imitate, instead of being led on by cleverness and intellectual rivalry to advise your people against our real opinions. ", this is not revolt--revolt implies oppression; it is deliberate and wanton aggression; an attempt to ruin us by siding with our bitterest enemies; a worse offence than a war undertaken on their own account in the acquisition of power. [3] The fate of those of their neighbors who had already rebelled and had been subdued, was no lesson to them; their own prosperity could not dissuade them from affronting danger; but blindly confident in the future, and full of hopes beyond their power though not beyond their ambition, they declared war and made their decision to prefer might to right, their attack being determined not by provocation but by the moment which seemed propitious.
"! if you subject to the same punishment the ally who is forced to rebel by the enemy, and him who does so by his own free choice, which of them, think you, is there that will not rebel upon the slightest pretext; when the reward of success is freedom, and the penalty of failure nothing so very terrible? " "Compassion is due to those who can reciprocate the feeling, not to those who will never pity us in return, but are our natural and necessary foes: " "For if they were right in rebelling, you must be wrong in ruling"
PRO LIFE
"As for the argument that speech ought not to be the exponent of action, the man who uses it must be either senseless or interested: senseless if he believes it possible to treat of the uncertain future through any other medium; interested if wishing to carry a disgraceful measure and doubting his ability to speak well in a bad cause, he thinks to frighten opponents and hearers by well-aimed calumny" "The good citizen ought to triumph not by frightening his opponents but by beating them fairly in argument; and a wise city without over-distinguishing its best advisers, will nevertheless not deprive them of their due, and far from punishing an unlucky counsellor will not even regard him as disgraced. [6] In this way successful orators would be least tempted to sacrifice their convictions for popularity, in the hope of still higher honors, and unsuccessful speakers to resort to the same popular arts in order to win over the multitude. " "the moment that a man is suspected of giving advice, however good, from corrupt motives, we feel such a grudge against him for the gain which after all we are not certain he will receive, that we deprive the city of its certain benefit. [2] Plain good advice has thus come to be no less suspected than bad; and the advocate of the most monstrous measures is not more obliged to use deceit to gain the people, than the best counsellor is to lie in order to be believed. [3] The city and the city only, owing to these refinements, can never be served openly and without disguise; he who does serve it openly being always suspected of serving himself in some secret way in return." "However, I have not come forward either to oppose or to accuse in the matter of Mitylene; indeed, the question before us as sensible men is not their guilt, but our interests. [2] Though I prove them ever so guilty, I shall not, therefore, advise their death, unless it be expedient; nor though they should have claims to indulgence, shall I recommend it, unless it be clearly for the good of the country. " "but we are not in a court of justice, but in a political assembly; and the question is not justice, but how to make the Mitylenians useful to Athens. " ". Now of course communities have enacted the penalty of death for many offences far lighter than this: still hope leads men to venture; and no one ever yet put himself in peril without the inward conviction that he would succeed in his design. [2] Again, was there ever city rebelling that did not believe that it possessed either in itself or in its alliances resources adequate to the enterprise" ". We must not, therefore, commit ourselves to a false policy through a belief in the efficacy of the punishment of death, or exclude rebels from the hope of repentance and an early atonement of their error. [2] Consider a moment! At present, if a city that has already revolted perceive that it cannot succeed, it will come to terms while it is still able to refund expenses, and pay tribute afterwards. In the other case, what city think you would not prepare better than is now done, and hold out to the last against its besiegers, if it is all one whether it surrender late or soon?" "And how can it be otherwise than hurtful to us to be put to the expense of a siege, because surrender is out of the question; and if we take the city, to receive a ruined town from which we can no longer draw the revenue which forms our real strength against the enemy? [4] " "although the right course with freemen is not to chastise them rigorously when they do rise, but rigorously to watch them before they rise, and to prevent their ever entertaining the idea, and, the insurrection suppressed, to make as few responsible for it as possible. " "Only consider what a blunder you would commit in doing as Cleon recommends. [2] As things are at present, in all the cities the people is your friend, and either does not revolt with the oligarchy, or, if forced to do so, becomes at once the enemy of the insurgents; so that in the war with the hostile city you have the masses on your side. [3] But if you butcher the people of Mitylene, who had nothing to do with the revolt, and who, as soon as they got arms, of their own motion surrendered the town, first you will commit the crime of killing your benefactors; and next you will play directly into the hands of the higher classes, who when they induce their cities to rise, will immediately have the people on their side, through your having announced in advance the same punishment for those who are guilty and for those who are not. [4] On the contrary, even if they were guilty, you ought to seem not to notice it, in order to avoid alienating the only class still friendly to us. [5] In short, I consider it far more useful for the preservation of our empire voluntarily to put up with injustice, than to put to death, however justly, those whom it is our interest to keep alive. As for Cleon's idea that in punishment the claims of justice and expediency can both be satisfied, facts do not confirm the possibility of such a combination. "
"This is at once best for the future, and most terrible to your enemies at the present moment; inasmuch as good policy against an adversary is superior to the blind attacks of brute force.’"
Thycidides
In the First Gulf War, I saw video and heard stories of mass surrenders.One helicopter moved about 150 people to captivity.The very worst outcome is to have people fight to the death.
"but we are not in a court of justice, but in a political assembly; and the question is not justice, but how to make the Mitylenians useful to Athens. ......We must not, therefore, commit ourselves to a false policy through a belief in the efficacy of the punishment of death, or exclude rebels from the hope of repentance and an early atonement of their error. [2] Consider a moment! At present, if a city that has already revolted perceive that it cannot succeed, it will come to terms while it is still able to refund expenses, and pay tribute afterwards. In the other case, what city think you would not prepare better than is now done, and hold out to the last against its besiegers, if it is all one whether it surrender late or soon?"
In 400 BC Thycidides wrote about this discussion in His Pellopenesian War available on the internet
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0200&query=section%3D%231227&word=surrender
I have attached excerpts of the lengthy discussion which startles me on how relevant it is. I attach these few quotes for those unaccustomed to anything longer than a sound bite.
PRO DEATH
"I have often before now been convinced that a democracy is incapable of empire" "and never reflect that the mistakes into which you may be led by listening to their appeals, or by giving way to your own compassion" "forgetting that your empire is a despotism and your subjects disaffected conspirators, whose obedience is insured not by your suicidal concessions, but by the superiority given you by your own strength and not their loyalty." "The most alarming feature in the case is the constant change of measures with which we appear to be threatened, and our seeming ignorance of the fact that bad laws which are never changed are better for a city than good ones that have no authority; that unlearned loyalty is more serviceable than quick-witted insubordination; and that ordinary men usually manage public affairs better than their more gifted fellows. [4] The latter are always wanting to appear wiser than the laws, and to overrule every proposition brought forward, thinking that they cannot show their wit in more important matters, and by such behavior too often ruin their country; while those who mistrust their own cleverness are content to be less learned than the laws, and less able to pick holes in the speech of a good speaker; and being fair judges rather than rival athletes, generally conduct affairs successfully. [5] These we ought to imitate, instead of being led on by cleverness and intellectual rivalry to advise your people against our real opinions. ", this is not revolt--revolt implies oppression; it is deliberate and wanton aggression; an attempt to ruin us by siding with our bitterest enemies; a worse offence than a war undertaken on their own account in the acquisition of power. [3] The fate of those of their neighbors who had already rebelled and had been subdued, was no lesson to them; their own prosperity could not dissuade them from affronting danger; but blindly confident in the future, and full of hopes beyond their power though not beyond their ambition, they declared war and made their decision to prefer might to right, their attack being determined not by provocation but by the moment which seemed propitious.
"! if you subject to the same punishment the ally who is forced to rebel by the enemy, and him who does so by his own free choice, which of them, think you, is there that will not rebel upon the slightest pretext; when the reward of success is freedom, and the penalty of failure nothing so very terrible? " "Compassion is due to those who can reciprocate the feeling, not to those who will never pity us in return, but are our natural and necessary foes: " "For if they were right in rebelling, you must be wrong in ruling"
PRO LIFE
"As for the argument that speech ought not to be the exponent of action, the man who uses it must be either senseless or interested: senseless if he believes it possible to treat of the uncertain future through any other medium; interested if wishing to carry a disgraceful measure and doubting his ability to speak well in a bad cause, he thinks to frighten opponents and hearers by well-aimed calumny" "The good citizen ought to triumph not by frightening his opponents but by beating them fairly in argument; and a wise city without over-distinguishing its best advisers, will nevertheless not deprive them of their due, and far from punishing an unlucky counsellor will not even regard him as disgraced. [6] In this way successful orators would be least tempted to sacrifice their convictions for popularity, in the hope of still higher honors, and unsuccessful speakers to resort to the same popular arts in order to win over the multitude. " "the moment that a man is suspected of giving advice, however good, from corrupt motives, we feel such a grudge against him for the gain which after all we are not certain he will receive, that we deprive the city of its certain benefit. [2] Plain good advice has thus come to be no less suspected than bad; and the advocate of the most monstrous measures is not more obliged to use deceit to gain the people, than the best counsellor is to lie in order to be believed. [3] The city and the city only, owing to these refinements, can never be served openly and without disguise; he who does serve it openly being always suspected of serving himself in some secret way in return." "However, I have not come forward either to oppose or to accuse in the matter of Mitylene; indeed, the question before us as sensible men is not their guilt, but our interests. [2] Though I prove them ever so guilty, I shall not, therefore, advise their death, unless it be expedient; nor though they should have claims to indulgence, shall I recommend it, unless it be clearly for the good of the country. " "but we are not in a court of justice, but in a political assembly; and the question is not justice, but how to make the Mitylenians useful to Athens. " ". Now of course communities have enacted the penalty of death for many offences far lighter than this: still hope leads men to venture; and no one ever yet put himself in peril without the inward conviction that he would succeed in his design. [2] Again, was there ever city rebelling that did not believe that it possessed either in itself or in its alliances resources adequate to the enterprise" ". We must not, therefore, commit ourselves to a false policy through a belief in the efficacy of the punishment of death, or exclude rebels from the hope of repentance and an early atonement of their error. [2] Consider a moment! At present, if a city that has already revolted perceive that it cannot succeed, it will come to terms while it is still able to refund expenses, and pay tribute afterwards. In the other case, what city think you would not prepare better than is now done, and hold out to the last against its besiegers, if it is all one whether it surrender late or soon?" "And how can it be otherwise than hurtful to us to be put to the expense of a siege, because surrender is out of the question; and if we take the city, to receive a ruined town from which we can no longer draw the revenue which forms our real strength against the enemy? [4] " "although the right course with freemen is not to chastise them rigorously when they do rise, but rigorously to watch them before they rise, and to prevent their ever entertaining the idea, and, the insurrection suppressed, to make as few responsible for it as possible. " "Only consider what a blunder you would commit in doing as Cleon recommends. [2] As things are at present, in all the cities the people is your friend, and either does not revolt with the oligarchy, or, if forced to do so, becomes at once the enemy of the insurgents; so that in the war with the hostile city you have the masses on your side. [3] But if you butcher the people of Mitylene, who had nothing to do with the revolt, and who, as soon as they got arms, of their own motion surrendered the town, first you will commit the crime of killing your benefactors; and next you will play directly into the hands of the higher classes, who when they induce their cities to rise, will immediately have the people on their side, through your having announced in advance the same punishment for those who are guilty and for those who are not. [4] On the contrary, even if they were guilty, you ought to seem not to notice it, in order to avoid alienating the only class still friendly to us. [5] In short, I consider it far more useful for the preservation of our empire voluntarily to put up with injustice, than to put to death, however justly, those whom it is our interest to keep alive. As for Cleon's idea that in punishment the claims of justice and expediency can both be satisfied, facts do not confirm the possibility of such a combination. "
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Flying in the Morning
One of my fondest memories was at Ft Hood, TX. We flew our helicopter to pick up passengers to "go out to the field." In other words, we go to the built up area of Ft Hood and then fly them out to the training area which is basically open fields with the occasional tree populated notably by cows and chiggers. The sun was coming up and on the radio was "I was Country, When Country Wasn't Cool." Great Song. I love George Jones chiming in. I had the opportunity to see George and Reba Rambo in Ozark, Alabama. That is a nice memory. A peaceful flight in a helicopter in the morning listening to country music.
In a Daze
When I was in flight school, there was a period of training wherein we learned to fly at night.
The first shock to the body was starting the workday at 10Pm and then ending it at 4 am. A lot of the time it was very peaceful and at night you can tune into a navigational aid the Non-Directional Beacon (NDB) and pick up radio stations. As you might know, even though we were flying in Alabam we could tune into 870 WLS Chicago and I remember hearing John Lennon sing, Woman. The whole period was really in a daze and then I would drive home in a daze. During this period, "Just to satisfy your fourteen carat mind" was a hit and I can remember driving my 1975 Chevy Vega home listening to that song. When you are half in a daze it permeates the consciousness deeper. Funny how the value system in the song is that one man's wife could not be satisfied with whatever material positions were offered. I enjoy some valuable things but what I treasure most is the love I share with my children, simple things like making music and singing, exercising, looking down from the mountain top to the valley below, sitting on the beach in the darkness and listening to the waves crash as they hit the beach.
The first shock to the body was starting the workday at 10Pm and then ending it at 4 am. A lot of the time it was very peaceful and at night you can tune into a navigational aid the Non-Directional Beacon (NDB) and pick up radio stations. As you might know, even though we were flying in Alabam we could tune into 870 WLS Chicago and I remember hearing John Lennon sing, Woman. The whole period was really in a daze and then I would drive home in a daze. During this period, "Just to satisfy your fourteen carat mind" was a hit and I can remember driving my 1975 Chevy Vega home listening to that song. When you are half in a daze it permeates the consciousness deeper. Funny how the value system in the song is that one man's wife could not be satisfied with whatever material positions were offered. I enjoy some valuable things but what I treasure most is the love I share with my children, simple things like making music and singing, exercising, looking down from the mountain top to the valley below, sitting on the beach in the darkness and listening to the waves crash as they hit the beach.
The day I dislocated my thumb
When I was in elementary school, we had 3 baskets lined up side by side. One day when I was playing, a ball from the adjacent court hit my left thumb in such a way that it was dislocated.
Sample http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimwhimpey/2694416340/
Not knowing, I thought it was broken. I was taken the principal's office, mom was called, and then taken to the doctor.- so I had my thumb sticking out for awhile. ( where I live now is a mile from an emergency room or urgent care) The doctor said that it would affect me the rest of my life in that it would not be flexible. Well, I worked on it everyday and I really haven't noticed any lack of range of motion or discomfort, so I recommend physical therapy to anyone injured.
Sample http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimwhimpey/2694416340/
Not knowing, I thought it was broken. I was taken the principal's office, mom was called, and then taken to the doctor.- so I had my thumb sticking out for awhile. ( where I live now is a mile from an emergency room or urgent care) The doctor said that it would affect me the rest of my life in that it would not be flexible. Well, I worked on it everyday and I really haven't noticed any lack of range of motion or discomfort, so I recommend physical therapy to anyone injured.
Surprise on the Highway
One evening I was traveling from Fort Irwin, CA to Las Vegas, NV with my wife about midnight. We made a stop in Baker, CA home of the world's tallest thermometer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World. I took the time to refresh myself and for safety consumed a bit of caffeine and sugar. This is counterproductive when you want to sleep later, but in this case, it may have saved my life. As I cruised along after scaling the Clark Mountain Range http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Mountain_Range in my semi-daze I noticed a slow moving car ahead. I noticed a rate of closure that indicated it was going very slow. All of the sudden, I realized that this was not a slow moving car. This was a van positioned sideways in the outside lane of the 2 and I had seen the side reflectors. I jerked the car left and it seemed like slow motion as I eased over past the stationary van. My wife woke up from the jerk and asked me in an irritated manner, had I checked to see if the other lane was clear. I had to tell her that if I had checked, we would have smashed into the van. She called 911 to notify the police, they weren't interested to talk to her because they had already received a call from another "near miss." (My son, Gabe pointed out it could better be described as a "near hit."
A note about coming into Primm, NV. If you ever studied political geograph, coming into Primm, NV from Baker, CA says it all. Here is the view of California, http://www.flickr.com/photos/manning999/2520488894/ It is a bleak desert. And then here is what pops out of the desert just because across an imagenary line, gambling is legal.
http://www.primmvalleyresorts.com/
A note about coming into Primm, NV. If you ever studied political geograph, coming into Primm, NV from Baker, CA says it all. Here is the view of California, http://www.flickr.com/photos/manning999/2520488894/ It is a bleak desert. And then here is what pops out of the desert just because across an imagenary line, gambling is legal.
http://www.primmvalleyresorts.com/
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