Daylite Sun Archives

Better Movie Plots

Commentary for Sunday 12/24/2006 Movie Storytelling

Movie Storytelling: In an earlier column I complained about the shallowness of the plots in todays movies. You would think that with todays movie making tools, that in addition to the whiz-bang graphics we get, that the storyline would be that much better. Just the opposite is true. Whenever those eyepopping graphics proliferate a movie, somehow the story gets lost in all of that eye candy.

Which leads me to the main topic of today. Last night I watched an animated movie. I found myself enthralled with the story, yes, so Hollywood hasn't forgotten the art of telling a good story! It seems that whenever film makers don't have to worry about staging all of that gore, or managing all those explosions, they can tell a story. That probably accounts for the animated stories doing so well at the box office.

The movie I'm talking about is "All Dogs go to Heaven". A delightful tale of the trials and tribulations of a dog making good with his second chance life. It is a 'feel good' movie, and done well, as the storyline is unambiguous. Since it is an older movie, you may have already seen it, if not, do yourself and your kids a favor and rent it along with it's sequel. You won't be sorry.

Comment Here    About Hollywood Movie Plots, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Creating Ratings

Commentary for Friday 12/22/2006 Rosie and Donald Fued

Ratings Creator: The flap between Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump would just be a footnote in the life of the rich and famous if not for it's broader implications. Because of all of the press coverage of the verbal donnybrook, the television show 'The View' will be the ratings star today, picking up the curious as they wait to see the next round of this sideshow.

'The View' must have been desperate for ratings to have picked this fight with Trump. It would be really interesting to know if the show's producers were involved in the decision to take on Trump in order to bolster poor viewership. Or, for that matter, did anyone at 'The View' think that Donald Trump would react so aggressively to Rosie's incindiery remarks? Was the whole thing planned to get the press coverage that followed?

I give Donald Trump the benefit of the doubt. I believe his reaction to Rosies comments were honest, as the comments were too far over the line to ignore. Rosies comments were basically in opposition to Trump's giving the Miss USA winner a second chance, but she couldn't leave it at that and had to verbally abuse Trump personally. Although I may agree in part with a lot of what Rosie said about giving Miss USA a second chance, she couldn't quit while she was ahead. She had to go on to chastise Trump about his comb-over, affairs that resulted in children, and alleged bankruptcies. None of which had anything to do with his giving Miss USA a second chance.

When 'The View' airs today, we will get the next round with a lot bigger audience. Will Rosie crawl back into the hole she has dug, or will she come out swinging? Potentially this could cost Rosie if Trump carries through with his threat of a law suit. The air is crisp with anticipation. I will be watching 'The Price is Right' during the event. There is no point in missing a really good show because I know that the press will give us the low-down on what happened on every newscast for the next 24 hours.

Comment Here    About the Rosie/Trump squabble, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Target: "George W. Bush"

Commentary for Thursday 12/21/2006 The Press Targets Bush

The Press: "Get Bush" You see it in their 'skewed' reporting. You see it in their lack of concern for this nation. You see it in the 'gotcha' questions they ask the President. It is a strange phenomenon we witness daily. Where does the hostility come from? These reporters find fault with everything this president does, so how do the reporters benefit? Good question, these crusading liberal wordsmiths don't seem to have any goal other than opposing our President. They don't crave power; they are more like a bunch of groupies trying to be around powerful people. Akin to the insects that ply their living around the muzzle of a lion, or a remora attached to a shark. There is no forward thinking on their part, just criticism.

Killing the support for this president has meant the President couldn't act from a position of national purpose. Killing the support for President Bush guarantees the failure of the initiative in Iraq. It is like the old saying, "If I can make you look bad then I'll look like a hero." The liberals got a big advantage on the cheap. They didn't need to enter the fray with alternate ideas; they don't need to come up with any solutions. They just keep throwing rocks at the only person trying to help this nation. Dividing the American public over Iraq, the press, on behalf of the Democrat Party, won decisively in November.

Make no mistake about Iraq. Winning there means that radical Islam doesn't take over the region, along with its oil fields. No matter what the half-baked press or the environmentalist whackos put out for public consumption, this country's economy is based on oil. It takes oil to run our machinery, automobiles, farm tractors and factories. One to two-hundred-dollar/barrel oil would bring us to our knees. Is that the goal of the liberal press? Where are their ideas other than leave Iraq and surrender our way of life to militant Islam?

When you really need the press, they are a no show. They are too busy playing their political games to come to the aid of their country. Their pettiness, and lack of forward thinking is only going to produce more human destruction. Eventually, they will change, but the cost in human tragedy will be astronomical when they do wake up.

Comment Here    About Targeting Bush, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Leadership Woes

Commentary for Wednesday 12/20/2006 The Absence of Leadership

Have we forgotten how to elect Leaders? I for one am fed up with electing these middle-of-the-road, afraid to offend anybody, and cow-towing politicians. The political parties keep coughing up candidates that are so beholding to the 'party' that they are neutered.

This point was driven home with the just concluded November elections. The Democrats ran a slate of candidates in those districts regarded as conservative, as conservatives. That alone, isn't so bad, what matters to me about such tactics is conviction. These candidates were party financed from a very liberal party. Does anyone expect them to vote conservatively? What about their convictions in the world politic? If a candidate allows his political race to be financed by a group that doesn't share his political views, wouldn't it be fair to assume that he will not disappoint those who financed him? Even if these conservative candidates had conservative views, they sold out any rights to them by taking campaign help from the Democrat Party.

It is a matter of conviction. The republicans that are so afraid of their positions that they will not vote their convictions, are in the same situation as their democratic colleagues that ran under the conservative banner. What I would like to see are politicians that are able to negotiate, but all the while upholding their convictions. I like people that stand for something. When a politician doesn't live up to my expectations, I want to vote against his next candidacy without the guilt that if I do, the country is doomed. This year, the Republican Party left republicans with the choice of supporting a disappointing, poorly led congress (re-electing the incumbents) or loosing the war in Iraq. That's no way to win an election! Republicans couldn't find any conviction with the possible exception of Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. He won my respect just because he ran on his convictions, which is rare in politics today.

Leadership doesn't mean to curry favor with those who hold opposite views to yours. The old saying, "If your not slow, or not fast, your only half-fast." Is just as true in the world of politics. Insist that the leaders you elect have convictions that they passionately espouse. You'll be happier with those who don't sell out. Make your vote really count by voting against the deal makers and those who are wishy-washy in their convictions.

Comment Here    About Choosing Leaders, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Breathe Easier

Commentary for Tuesday 12/19/2006 Air Cleaners do a Good Job

The Miracle of Air Cleaners As advertised, the air in our house was dramatically improved when I bought one of these marvels. That's saying something from a person who has fought allergy attacks every year. It has been four years since I have fought with allergies, and that just happens to coincide with when I purchased my first air cleaner.

Not the fancy expensive model: The type I purchased was a fan driven HEPA filter model. It has a charcoal pre-filter to catch the bigger stuff, and then the HEPA filter which catches the smaller refined particles. The air-cleaner runs continuously in my house and we replace the filters when the indicator says that it needs changing. They last between 8 and 12 months.

Other Benefits: That fine layer of dust particles that used to accumulate on the shelves and what-knots is noticeably reduced, and you don't see that stuff in a shaft of sunlight that sometimes threads its way through a window.

I have absolutely no experience with the electronic air cleaners, just the HEPA filter models. I decided on the HEPA model after considering price and a definite volume of air that is being filtered. This is not to put down the electronic units, but between the units I have, the total cost after four years, including filters, does not come to the total of the cost of just one of the advertised electronic units on television.

Send your feedback on your experience with Air Cleaners!

Comment Here    About Cleaning Indoor Air, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

My Pussy Cat Ozzie

Commentary for Monday 12/18/2006 Learning from My Cat

The wonder of pussy cats: For the last 10 years, I have been keeping an eye on our big Calico cat, Ozzie. We didn't choose this cat; it just wandered onto the property and decided to stay. It isn't clear to me why she decided to hang around, because we hadn't started feeding her yet. None-the-less, we did start feeding her, and that sealed the deal as far as the cat was concerned. This cat was an outdoors cat, but she was friendly and at feeding time would allow a little neck scruffing.

A stand offish cat: Ozzie wasn't accustomed to being handled by humans, so we never pushed the matter other than a little neck and head scruffing. Living in the country provides a variety of small animals and birds for the cat to catch and dine on. Regularly, Ozzie would bring one of her catches to the front door as if to share her catch with us. That's when I began to take notice of the sense of fair play that she exhibited.

I learned that the neighborhood cats had this 'pact' about food sharing. Whenever Ozzie had a 'friend' at the house, she would politely eat about half her food and share it with the 'friend'. A little more diligence and I also found out that these cats know where the entire neighborhood feed bowls are located and freely share in the bounty.

The cat society is also tough. We get awakened at night sometimes with loud cat fighting. These cats play for keeps with the females, and ferocious fights break out between them. When there is a female cat around that is 'in season', the normal truce that is exists is broken until the dominate cat is elected. Female cats that are not receptive to the overtures of a male are also trouble. They will fight as if their life depends on it to fend off the unwanted attention

People with live-in cats get only part of the cat story. I know that watching Ozzie has been something special, and I have seen a glimpse of cat society I would otherwise never have seen.

Send your feedback with your thoughts about cats!

Comment Here    About your experiences with cats, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Microsoft the Aggravator

Commentary for Saturday 12/16/2006 Pet Peeves with Microsoft Windows

My Anger with Microsoft: Microsoft has become the 'Bull in the China Shop' to me. No matter which muscle they twitch, they leave destruction behind. There was a time that I liked Microsoft. But that was when they sold an operating system, and left adornments to developers. An operating system used to be the code that linked a programmer with the hardware and didn't try to take over a computer.

I made a list of my pet peeves with Windows XP. Hopefully, some of these are adressed with the new Vista due out in January 2007.

I. THE REGISTRY

The registry gets larger and larger with no end in sight for a lack of system policing. Registry clean up programs are scarey to use. How can you know if what is recommended for deletion is the right thing to do? This is especially true for those links that may reside on a CD. It may also be said that a lot of the information isn't really necessary for running most programs, just more of the complications of an operating system out of comtrol.

II. COOKIES

Cookies are nothing more than commercial spying. A business could easily maintain their customer data without spying on what you do. It is time to do away with this low-grade spy network. No matter how this is couched as a benefit, cookies have evolved into being unwanted, snooping intrusions.

III. LIBRARY FILES (.dll)

Abused Chaos: That's the way I classify .dll files. DLL (Dynamic Link Library) files are basically code that can be loaded at the time of need instead of taking up computer RAM space. Since I have over 2000 .dll files on my computer, that calculates to approximately 150 .dll files for each and every application that I have installed. I would also guess that a large portion of these .dll files are no longer valid. Vendors use the .dll system to be able to patch and amend software, and not for the intended purpose of the .dll concept. Microsoft has let a good idea run amok. Failure to police .dll files just pollutes a system. This was a good ram saving concept, but software developers should be given guidance to help control their abuse. Continuosly shuttling .dll files around also contributes to hard drive abuse.

IV. MULIPLE LOCATIONS FOR THE SAME INFORMATION

Common area for Data: No! Microsoft thinks it is necessary to put duplicate information in a variety of places. This is probably the result of different processes taking action on data, but because there is no designed place for storage of the data, it gets duplicated in several places. Properly coded, all of these processes could share a location for the data. A 'Common Area' would at least give the user a single place to delete unwanted data. If that is not possible, how about a directory to show all the places where the data is located.

V. PROPRIETARY FILE FORMATS

I use Microsoft Word, and other office products. The problem here is that not all of the people I write have access to 'Word'. What I do then is use the 'Text' option. The text option comes at a price. Page format is lost, along with special characters, and other niceities like drawing or math functions. Adobe solved this problem with a freely distributed 'Reader' so that their documents could be read by anybody. C'mon, Microsoft, put a reader in your package for those who receive .doc documents, and other office generated files.

VI. ALLOWING THE LOCKING OF RANDOMLY PLACED DATA ON HARDRIVES

Applications that need to lock information should be assigned an area, and not scatter these locked sectors throughout the hard drive. The owner of the locked sectors, or the system, should be required to remove the locks on any locked sectors if the program is uninstalled.

VII. ALLOWING 3RD PARTIES TO PLACE UNERASEABLE FILES ON A COMPUTER

Ever uninstall a program and find remnant files left in the folder that didn't get 'uninstalled'? So you manually try to delete the file and get the 'Access Denied' beep. What gives with allowing a vendor to put files on your computer that are unerasible? If you are lucky, you can change the property of the files, but sometimes, that doesn't work either. Microsoft has allowed these bums to essentially trump your control over your own machine. Anytime, the owner or operator of a computer has the rights to uninstall a package, nothing about that package should be sacrosanct. Fix it Microsoft!

VIII. THE MUSIC LICENSING SYSTEM

What a Mess: There is absolutely no excuse for the licensing debacle that is currently at play. When I purchase a tune, it should be available to me on whatever I choose to play it on. Distribute it? No! Give it to my friends? No! But use it freely for my personal enjoyment? Yes! Microsoft could easily solve the issue by using a technique such as 'steganaography'. A steganographic ID could be placed on every downloaded song that would identify the owner of that song. The encoding would be done on the local computer that downloads the tune. Then, if a song gets distributed illegally, the identification of the culprit would be known. A computer whose passport name was different from the encoded name could refuse to play the song. Under this scheme, everybody's devices would be tied to their owners. There may even be better solutions out there, but something needs to be done.

IX. UNWANTED UPDATES

Speaks for itself: I just have a few issues with this one. Recently Microsoft updated my Media Player from WMP10 to WMP11. I had already used WMP11 in Beta and was dissatisfied with it, so I reinstalled WMP10. The upgrade did not change the registry, as it is still reported as WMP10, I lost the subscription service to radio plus, and WMP11 is too commercial for my taste. I am still trying to solve the Radio Plus issue, but there is no phone number to call, and the email help is dreadful, same for their chat service. I say to Microsoft, "Being number one means doing things right. Please quit being half-assed."

In Conclusion: Suffice it to say, that we, as consumers of software have had this monster foisted on us. MS Windows is the most over-complex, over bloated, error-prone, and aggravating software operating system that we could have imagined. I don't blame Microsoft for all of it, but it is what we are stuck with. Only because it is the most utilized system in the world, that we put up with it. Because of the market share that Microsoft enjoys, it is the target of the lions share of software developers. After all if you want to sell software, you want to target the largest possible source of customers, and that happens to be Windows users.

Windows also drives hardware development. Because of the software bloat of Windows, and the many processes that have to be engaged to run Windows, faster and faster hardware is needed just to run the piles and piles of code, even if you are not running multiple applications. In fact, hardware development has lagged Windows ever gluttoness appetite for their rescources.

Comment Here    with your opinion about Windows, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Rumsfeld Exits

Commentary for Friday 12/15/2006 Donald Rumsfeld's Resignation

Rumsfeld bows out: A letter of resignation soon after the Nov. election, a trip to Iraq to say goodbye to the troops stationed there, a barrage of news-conferences, and the Secretary of Defense exits stage left. This column wouldn't even bat an eye over the passing of the baton from Rumsfeld to Gates, but for interview I saw with Rumsfeld, hosted by Brit Hume.

Rumsfeld and Bush both use the Generals for cover when explaining troop levels: I absolutely believe that the generals haven't asked for more troops, but for a different reason than that posted by the press. Troop levels start with the mission that is assigned to them. It is really Bush's policy of training Iraqi forces that have dictated the troop level requirements. The generals were not told to secure the country, protect the Iraqi borders, or pacify Baghdad. Their mission has been to support and train the Iraqi forces. That mission clearly does not need more troops.

My objection to all of the political squirming is the way that Bush and Rumsfeld have used the generals as political cover for a failing policy. The generals do not set policy. Someday we won't have to hear, "The generals haven't seen the necessity for more troops." It is my firm belief that this war could have been over with some time ago if the military would have been given the task of securing Iraq.

Comment Here    About Donald Rumsfeld, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Gone for Two Days

No Commentary Today-- Wednesday 12/13/2006 Absent for Two Days

Gone for Rest: Will be out of town today and part of tomorrow. :(

Shallow Tales

Commentary for Tuesday 12/12/2006 Lamenting Bad Story Telling by Hollywood

Been to a good movie lately? For the last several years, fewer and fewer good movies have been made. Today movies are all special effects that seems to have lost the story somewhere on a desk. Some of the movies I've seen were not much more than a demonstration of how gory and graphic that murder or mayhem can be exhibited. The special effects are the focus of movies today instead of being just a part that helps the narration of a plot.

The shallowness of movie plots are a strong piece of anecdotal evidence of a cultural failure. They act as proof of our willingness to be titillated rather than entertained. Hollywood would say that there is no difference between entertainment and titillation. That may be a matter of opinion but to me, watching a man saw off his foot with a hacksaw isn't entertainment. There are no limits to what flies under the radar disguised as entertainment. Acceptance of these socially destructive displays speaks volumes of how decadent we as a society have become.

One of the finest books I've ever read was the trilogy of "The Lord of the Rings". The books tells a wonderful story. The character names, a marvel because they fit the plot characters so well. How about 'Sauron' for an evildoer, or 'Mordor' for an evil place? Then there are the good guys, 'Frodo Baggins' and 'Ellendil'-all names fitting their rolls in the story. The story itself was spellbinding. It was so riveting that I couldn't wait to read all of the installments. When the movie started making its appearance, nobody anticipated seeing it more than I did.

Disappointment doesn't describe my feelings after seeing the first episode. The special effects were impressive, the acting was superb, but the story was lost. Had I not read the books, I wouldn't have known what was happening. The movie exploited titillation of our senses rather than telling the story. All three movies were the same. The main focus of these movies was on the spectacular displays instead of weaving the story so masterfully written by Mr. Tolkien. I realize that all of this is subjective, but personally I think that Hollywood can do better. I would say to them, "Quit filling the minds of our young people with drivel, try a little substance for a change." Or, it may be that Hollywood has lost it's ability to maintain audience interest without the use of spectacular nothings.

Comment Here    About Hollywood's Performance, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Spam, Spam, and more Spam

Commentary for Monday 12/11/2006 Too Much Spam

Getting Plenty of Email? This time of year, the spammers are at it with a vengeance. Spam filters help; with mine off I get about 70-80 unsolicited emails. When it's turned on the number reduces down to 25-30 unsolicited emails. Those emails that get through use a variety of tricks to penetrate the spam filter.

My spam filter: The anti spam filter I currently use, looks for a variety of words such as; Viagra, enlargement, loan, opportunity, and etcetera. It also compares the senders name with the names in my address book so that the people I correspond with don't get dumped. OK, you get the idea, the word list is long and the ones caught, go into a holding folder that I can peruse at my leisure. (Just in case that something legitimate has been dumped.)

There is another group that I have a hard time with though, the malicious Pfishers. These guys masquerade as legitimate outfits like PayPal and try to get you to surrender your personal information. I usually deal with these personally, since I haven't found a good way yet (that I like) to automate the process. Not saying that there isn't something out there that will do the job, it's that I haven't found any that I want to purchase. MS Outlook has a nice feature that I use to deal with Pfishers. A right click on the item in questions brings up a drop down menu with one of the menu items being 'Options'. Clicking on 'Options' will bring up another window giving information about the suspect email. As you read about the email you will find if the sender of the email is authorized as a sender for that email. Not 100%, but it does help when dealing with Pfishers.

Spamming tricks also include dividing up the key words to fool the anti-spam tool such as; 'Via@gra' or 'PHAr-macy'. These tricks are designed to fool the anti-spam programs. Spammers have also learned to use such tactics as; using different sender names and taking advantage of our natural curiosity by using clever subject lines. The message here is to be vigilant, especially now during the shopping season. The spammers are out in force, and will separate you from your money if you don't exercise due diligence on the email you receive.

Comment Here    About Spam, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Pills for All Occasions

Commentary for Sunday 12/10/2006 Too Many Pills

A Society Awash in Pills: Other than the drugs we take for life's health concerns; the antibiotics, blood pressure, cholesterol control, and pain pills, there is a whole other group of pills that are manufactured just so we can feel good and assuage our vanity.

Some of the more popular pills we indulge:

1.) The blood engorgement group includes all of the 'penis enlargement' or 'male enhancement' supplements.

2.) Breast augmentation pills.

3.) Breast reduction pills.

4.) Erectile dysfunction pills.

5.) Over-Active bladder pills.

6.) Weight Loss pills.

7.) Pills that grow hair.

8.) Last but not least, Vitamins of every description with claims of helping every ailment known to man.

This is only a partial list: Left out are all of the mood altering drugs, i.e. uppers and downers, anti-depressants, and a long list of pain medications for 'other-than-pain' use. We have clearly become a "pill" society. It is all about quick fixes and feel-good. Our obsession with pills speaks volumes about where our priorities are. This is definitely a nation without a care in the world. We worry about the important things like baldness, penis size, breast size, sexual performance, and feel-good.

Never in human history has there ever been a more carefree human existence. This Christmas everyone should genuinely reflect on just how good our life is in this country. This is truly the greatest nation that has ever been and we are living the experience.

Send your feedback with your thoughts on How Good we Americas Have it!

Comment Here    About the flood of Pills in our life, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Aging and Game Playing

Commentary for Saturday 12/09/2006 Loosing Those Reflexes

When the quick reflexes leave: The photo of the Super Mario Brothers screenshot is no accident. It has been that long since I considered myself to be a 'player'. The way they build the new games, assures me that I cannot compete, although I would like to 'be in the game', so-to-speak.

I'm all about looking up cheat codes now: Take a nice game like Zuma from PopCap, without finding out how to control the speed of the marbles, there wasn't any way I was going to finish that game. It is quite frustrating to try and try to get through a level that you just cannot complete. Were it not for the 'cheats' more than half of that game would have been unused. I used to feel embarrassed about using cheats and cheat codes, but recently, I have a different take on the whole idea.

Game developers should put playing aids into their software. Remember "Doom"? You could choose the level you wanted to play. Id. Software always did use that format, at least for the games I own from them. You could even use the 'God' mode (a well publicized cheat) just to get through a level and to learn where all the baddies were hiding.

Arcade games are the worst offenders. Every arcade type game should have a way to accommodate players who have lost that fast 'hand-eye' coordination. It is certainly not a satisfying experience to get through just a few levels and find the rest of the game may as well be missing. I am sure that there is a middle ground that can be reached with the purist who thrives on intense competition. A screen message can label a 'slowed down' mode so that the person in 'slow-mode' isn't fooling anybody.

Comment Here    About game play as you age, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Supporting the President

Commentary for Thursday 12/07/2006 A President who is Hard to Support

Supporting George W. Bush is Tough Sledding This has got to be the hardest President to support in history. He is an equal opportunity President to dislike. I can't think of what gripes me more, his wishy-washy middle of the road social stands, or his failure in Iraq.

One thing at a Time: Immigration Reform; It is hard to tell exactly what the President wants. What sort of plan does he expect from the congress? Amnesty for those living here now? Maybe, but he says he's against amnesty. How about the guest worker program? Workers admitted because of need? Maybe, but he has been talking about a four year permit. Four years!! That doesn't sound like a temporary guest worker program to me. Four years is enough to marry, have kids and settle down for the long haul - at least until the next amnesty is proposed.

We not only get double speak about the border because there is Iraq. It was a noble cause in the beginning, but he only made half enough commitment to make it a reality. I really think he thought that we would go riding in on a white horse and be received as heroes and everybody would be singing kum-by-ya together. The reality was altogether different. We never had enough forces to take control of that country, not even in the early stages. Remember when all of the lawlessness was going on and we had our first oops moment. There was no police to enforce the peace. Then there was the Fallujah fiasco, and not to forget Muqtada al Sadr and his militia.

Bush gets off the hook with Katrina: This was mostly a State gaff with Bush as the fall guy. But his acceptance of the blame was another of those lame attempts at being a politician. For some reason he wanted to give the impression that everything that happens was under his control. I wanted to throw up just watching as threw his FEMA director under the bus, as if that would solve the partisan attacks against him.

Yes it is hard to support Mr. Bush Why is it so hard for him to take a stand? He has been a political disaster, he led his party to defeat, and now he continues to ply his mushiness by patronizing the left. Please Mr. Bush, no more! Please stand for something.

Comment Here    with your thoughts on supporting Bush, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

The War on Christians

Commentary for Monday 12/04/2006 Christians under Attack

The offensive Christian paraphernalia: It will take someone to explain to me what it is about Christian paraphernalia; the cross, the bible, or the display of the Ten-Commandments that reaches out and offends those objectors of these things. Calling the Christmas Holidays 'Christmas' is especially vexing to some. These same individuals are not repulsed by symbols from other religions such as; the Menorah, Kerub, Star and Crescent, and countless other symbols which are representative of different religions.

It is enough to make on think that rather than being a statement from atheist, it is an anti-Christian movement. Atheists wouldn't target a particular religion, they just philosopically don't believe in God. Atheist who would proselytize in support of the idea of a world absent a Deity, in fact, would be trying to institute this belief system upon others. In other words, atheism would become a belief system. If you don't believe in God, then you don't believe in God. But when you start trying to convince others that your way is the way, and destroy the religion of those who don't share your belief, you are trying to institute your belief system. I.e. proselytizing for a religion of atheism.

Atheism is not behind what is going on: Christianity is a target because it is the bindings of this society. There are those with other interest who want to tear this country down. Anti-Christianity is only a tool in the arsenal of these people. Their attacks include separating the American citizens from their traditional reinforcements of their faith; i.e. changing Christmas from its tradition of honoring Christ's birthday to one of just 'Holiday'. Also, stripping the crucifixion of Christ as the inspiration for Easter is high on their agenda. They have also been busy in preventing the display of the foundation of our laws, namely the display of the Ten Commandments from our courthouses. Anything that can separate Americans from their faith is a tactic to defeat the United States.

Logically, I don't see the benefits of the success of this effort. I will however, continue to record its resulting impact on our society. It is evident, that the A.C.L.U. spearheads this movement. But the persons, nation, or religion behind the movement, and the movement's ultimate goal remains shrouded.

Comment Here    About the attacks on Christianity, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Reconsidering a Free Press

Commentary for Sunday 12/03/2006 Have the Press Abused Their Privileges

Democracy, and the 'free press': An idea whose time has come to be reconsidered. What a wonderful concept; that people, free and independent choose their leaders. But this is only image. Oh, to be sure, the voting public is voting for the people they want. The question is: How can a voter be assured that the image he voted for is real, or just hype? Candidates can say anything to get a vote, whether they mean it or not.

An open and free press should be the winnower producing factual information about the different candidates. Editorially, a newspaper or TV station can back any candidate of their choosing, but news items and campaign coverage should be neutral. Ideally, campaigns should be a contest over ideas, not a contest to see who is willing to strip the most from national treasury to win voters.

An ideologically monolithic press hurts everyone: The nature of political enthusiasm is such that the press has to be especially vigilant to not let the fervor of politics intrude on factual reporting. The use of phony documents to bolster a story on CBS comes to mind. Bear in mind that I completely exclude the opinion pages. That is where opinion belongs. When the news is slanted to favor a particular candidate, everyone loses. Bad images can be cast on anyone, and that skews the voter's decision when casting his vote.

And that reminds me of an old example of 'news skewing': The Republican and Democrats had a race, the Republicans won. The liberal Democrat paper headline read, "Democrats take second place, the Republicans came in next to last!" Truthful, but misleading. The point is, that our main sources of information need accuracy without the skewing of information. Leave the skewing and political fervor to the punditry, and opinion pages.

Again I ask: Do you feel comfortable in your democracy knowing that you are being manipulated by those entrusted with constitutional protection? How can the instituion of the 'free press' be strengthened so that you are not having to endure partizan politics in the news that you get? Is it even possible to prevent those in the press from spewing out venomous political rot that is masquerading as news?

Comment Here    About the press, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Liberals and Democracy

Commentary for Friday 12/01/2006 Only Democratic When They Win

Demonstrating the anti-democratic Left: Democracies everywhere are in mortal danger from the socialist left. Even after an election, Leftist leaders promote upheaval and distrust in the democratic system. (Not so when they win)

This point was driven home to me in the wake of the 2000 presidential election. It was demonstrated that the left would go to any length to win. The official vote count was tossed aside by the left, as they pursued a vote count with the Democrat party faithful holding up ballots to the light and trying to "divine" the intention of the voter. These votes were not counted because of their vagueness, not because of any intention to defraud democrats.

The Supreme Court intervened: Even a not so conservative Supreme Court stopped the charade. They didn't stop the "divination" of voter's intention because they wanted to install G.W. Bush as president. Rather, their decision was to preserve the idea of democratic rule. Rule by the majority is the cornerstone of this nation.

Now comes the Mexican Election Debacle: Leftist again demonstrate that they are not willing to abide by a close election. They are not just sore losers; their promotion of non-conformity after losing a close election threatens the foundation of Democracy. Indeed, one could ask: Why even have elections if a party can win power using mob rule? Is this what the left wants? What's happening in Mexico should send cold chills down the spine of every peace-loving person who believes that the citizens have the right to choose their leaders.

Comment Here    About the sore losing Left, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Ice in Space

Commentary for Wednesday 11/29/2006 The Mystery of Ice in Space

This Commentary Explores Ice in Space: There is an enormous amount of ice both in our solar system and all the way out into the Oort Cloud. The Oort cloud is evidently beyond the sun's ability to make it part of the flattened disk that is found within the area where the sun has more influence. It consists of billions of icy comets that are arranged in a more or less spherical arrangement. Closer in to the sun, there is the Kuiper Belt which largely conforms to the flattened disk pattern like the rest of the planets.

The distinction is important! The reason is that both regions are primarily made up of water ice. Why is that so important? Well, water is formed by the ignition of hydrogen and oxygen. That means that there was once a large conflagration between these two elements. Since it takes a fusion reaction to create the large amount of oxygen that would have been necessary to create all of that water ice, oxygen couldn't have been formed by the sun during it's ignition. The oxygen would have already been formed. Two, the oxygen and hydrogen would have to have been dense enough to ignite.

There is a puzzle here and I'm not pretending to know the answers. Lets just make sure we are phrasing the question right: We know that there was a huge quantity of dense, fusion created oxygen along with copious quantities of hydrogen. Ignition took place, and vast quantities of water were created. I will not speculate that the sun's ignition created the water, because it doesn't explain the oxygen, at least not in the quantities that would create the amount ice in space. So my question to you is; where did all of that oxygen come from?

Comment Here    About Space Ice, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Charlie Rangel and the Draft

Commentary for Tuesday 11/28/2006 The Draft and Charlie Rangel

Bring Back the Draft: Charlie Rangel keeps seeding the idea of bringing back the draft. He may be on to something, but not for the usual punditry reasons.

The Black Youths of this country are definitely troubled. Too many of them go to prison, too many seek refuge in gangs, involve themselves in drugs, and produce far too many children out of wedlock.

It would not surprise me to learn that Charlie also sees the problems with these young people and would like to see the draft reinstated so that a positive structure could be instilled into these young people. Forcing these youths into a structured venue would undoubtedly help a lot of these kids both black and white.

Don't look for the draft anytime soon though. The politics of a draft are against it at this time. But the idea may be gaining ground for other reasons than stated above. Personally I support the idea of a mandatory draft. The cost may be worth the benefits in terms of saving our young people from the chaos that reigns now throughout our culture.

Comment Here    About the Draft, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

My Phone Is Too Small

Commentary for Monday 11/27/2006 Gadgets too Small

Large Hands and Little Buttons Commentary: They work great if you could only get your fingers to cooperate and be able to finesse exactly which buttons you want to push.

I have a mini-DV camera, but with my hammy hands, I have a hard time functioning the controls. I know that these marvels of technology are super, but what good is it if your hands are too big to operate them? (At least in a timely fashion) I have to bring my camera down to eye level in order to observe which buttons I am pushing.

Complicated has nothing to do with it. The controls on these new super-whiz-bang gadgets are just getting to be aggravating to use. What an opportunity for one of these bright engineers to come up with a better way to control their micro-gadgets. It seems pointless to keep on miniaturizing these products if you have to get a magnifying glass and a needle to make them work.

Comment Here    About our shrinking Gadgets, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

What Makes Venus Hot

Commentary for Monday 11/20/2006 The Heat on Venus

Venus Greenhouse?: There is probably a better explanation for the high temperature of Venus than the prevalent one of a "run away greenhouse effect". Just looking at Venus it is immediatly apparent that it is shrouded in clouds. Clouds bring up two obvious points: Point 1, that there has to be a condensation of gases as they reach the cooler layers of atmosphere, and point 2, The shroud is reflective enough to reduce solar heating.

Condensation of gases: The process of condensation in the atmosphere surrenders heat and condenses the gases into vapor. A lot of heat is given up in this process.

Planet Shrouded with Clouds: This should be pretty self evident on its own. The cloud layers are thick and reflective to the sun, with minimal heat absorbtion from solar sources.

So why is there so much heat at the surface? Googling 'Venus' brings no explanation other than 'greenhouse' system out of control. It could be said that a lot of heat never leaves Venus because it becomes trapped between the surface and the thick cloud layer. But wait a minute! Just the fact that the cloud layers exist, suggest a lot of heat transfer. Further, the shroud acts as a shield from a lot of the solar radiation. The slow rotation period of Venus may be more of a contributor than is credited.

It takes approximately 243 earth days for Venus to rotate once: The Venus day is actually longer than its solar year. This fact alone sets the stage for mischief. Venus is essentially baking on one side and cooling on the other. Most of the cloud formation is accomplished on the cool side, creating a layered wind pattern according to the amount of condensation at the various levels. The created clouds are carried around the planet, yielding the shroud that we see through our telescopes. The wind pump (a coined phrase) operates through a system of expanding gases on the sunward side and shrinking gases on the side opposite the sun.

Surface temperatures that you read about are always quoted either from the actual measurement from a Russian spacecraft which landed on Venus, or from IR measurements of the atmosphere from various spacecraft. There is virtually no information about the activities on the dark side of Venus. We've not landed a spacecraft there, and radar can only map the surface of Venus. The one thing we do know is that a lot of condensation, acid rain and evaporation are occurring. Without those processes, it would be impossibe to have the clouds that we observe. I hope that the new 'Venus Express' will provide data which includes a better picture of the planet we call Venus.

Comment Here    About Venus, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Let's Excercise

Commentary for Sunday 11/19/2006 Excercise Grows on You

Excercising: It is usually not the strain and pain of the workout that keeps us from excercising, but rather the sheer bordom of the affair. It happens more often than not. We know we need to excercise, we know the benefits of excercise, but having to face that stair climber, treadmill, or whatever the machine du jour happens to be on a daily or an every other day regimen, turns into a contest of wills.

Remember when you bought that fantastic excercise equipment and all of those vows of determination to get yourself into shape? It didn't take long before you started making excuses why you couldn't excercise a particular day, and now the excuses outnumber the excercising days. Another scenario goes like this; you get onto your new equipment and find out that you cannot even do 5 minutes of a workout that is supposed to be 20 minutes because you are in such poor shape. Maintaining a physical fitness program is a daunting task indeed.

Take heart though all of you wrestling with these problems. Excercising does have a breakover point. Keeping up with your regimen regularly will lead you to the point that you actually psycologically need the excercise. The first months are trying times that tests your resolve. You will know when you are at peace with your excercise regimen when you realize for the first time that when you miss a session, you really do miss it. As hard to believe as it sounds, but you reach a point that you really want to do your workout. So keep at it, the rewards for your tenacity are great and the cost is small.

Comment Here    About exercising, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

All Alone

Commentary for Saturday 11/18/2006 Bush is Alone

All Alone Commentary: It is abolutely astounding that the United States can have their President in foreign lands, trying to not only bolster our security but also striving to maintain an absolutly stunning economy. Yet, Congress and the press turns a blind eye. Just look at what the President is trying to accomplish:

1.) Help with containment for North Korea's possible export of nuclear weapons.

2.) The bucking up of our trade relations with these Asian economies.

3.) To give encouragement to and collaborate with these governments who are also fighting the Islamic Extremist.

You would think that a mission this important to us all would be encouraged by everyone. Instead we are treated to the petty skirmishes of Congress, and the approaching wedding of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Where are our national priorities? Our President is out there trying to preserve what freedoms we have and the press as well as the Government dwell on the piddling. The Presidents hand would be greatly strengthend, and a favorable outcome more likley if we as the people gave a crap about this nation.

Not about politics: This presidential trip is everything to do with trade and security. Isn't anybody home? The press would rather degrade this president than have this nation succeed. How sad that any group would rather see us as a nation fail than to support a valiant effort by someone who is trying to see that we have peace and security.

Comment Here    About the President being all alone, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Cell Evolution

Commentary for Friday 11/17/2006 Test the Spontaneous Life Theory

Life's Evolution: Listening to evolutionist is like listening to a four year old describe the workings of an atomic chain reaction. Evolutionist have reduced life to chemical reactions which formed naturally over time. Given enough time, these groups of chemicals, using nothing but their afinity for one another, formed together into structures which are self sustaining. Thats the short explanation, but representative of the 'Theory of Evolution'. It is my contention that chemical bonds do form naturally, and some of them are quite complex, but this is not life.

My challenge to any supporters of the spontaneous life scientist is to take a living cell, stop its inner workings and restart it again. Using an already formed cell, you don't have to wait for millions of years of natural atomic bonding. All of the components are there. Just do the simple act of stopping these inner workings (kill the cell) and restart them. If you can successfully make the cell restart, I will be happy to change my mind about this theory.

Comment Here    concerning evolution, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

The New Democrat Leaders

Commentary for Thursday 11/16/2006 The New Democrat Leaders

Democrats Choose Leaders Commentary: Today the Democrats chose their leaders. Nancy Pelosi (D)California won a unanimous vote for the House speaker position, but suffered a political setback when her choice for second in command was defeated.

The split in the House Democrats represents what is sure to be a continual thorn in the backside of Pelosi. The campaign to win control of the house necessitated running conservative democrats in those districts which would never have elected a left wing liberal. The end result was a strengthening of the moderate Democrat wing.

The coming House term is going to be really interesting. The conservative leaning Democrats will surely be courted by the Republicans to vote with them. Since the Democrat majority is thin, any defections from the liberal line could possibly swing the voting to favor the republicans. It'll be fun!!

Comment Here    About Democrat Leaders, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Watching Television on a 2" Screen

Commentary for Tuesday 11/14/06 Progress that is Going Backwards

Technology and 2 inch Screens: Technology is taking us down a dubious road with the advent of the video/phone/MP3 players.

For the life of me,I can't see anybody enjoying a movie on a 2 inch screen, and to make matters worse, entertainment companies want a high price for this degraded pleasure. This technology seems to be going the opposite way from enjoyment.

When television fist came to our house in 1952, it was watched on a 17 inch black and white set. We revelled with the snowy picture that brought the world into our house. The 21 inch sets brought a bigger black and white picture and we were in Nirvana with the technology.

It just kept getting better; color TV came next, we then moved up to a 27 inch color screen. It was like watching a drive-in movie right in the house. Todays marvelous High-Definition sets are so spectacular that viewing enjoyment is multiplied ten times over, and with surround sound, the realism is actually a little creepy. Now this latest technology seems to carry us backwards. The microscreens meant to view videos and movies is a technology for the mindless, and tasteless of this society. Should something be on television that I want to see, it seems relatively easy to be somewhere that I can watch it properly so that watching the show is a pleasurable experience. If not, TIVO can take care of it. I'm not sure about everybody else, but whenever I'm away from the house, I have business of some sort to take care of and any activity outside the house doen't include sticking my nose into a 2 inch screen.

What do you think of the new microscreens as a practical video/movie technology? One last thought, I do marvel at the technology of microscreen movies, its their practicallity that I question.

Comment Here    your thoughts about watching TV on 2" screens, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Unheralded Engineering

Commentary for Saturday 11/11/06 Engineering that Deserves Recognition

Unheralded Engineering Commentary: I am in awe of the engineering that goes into the everyday things that we use. I will list a few and you can add to the list, as you will. Remember there is always more than one way to do any chore, but the successful designs have to incorporate the abilities or lack of abilities of the proposed user of a device.
My list:

1.) String trimmer spools: Ever wonder just how they figured out how to make those spools so that the string could be replaced? Kudos is also in order for the designer of how the string is fed off the spool as the string wears.

2.) The carpet sweeper rotating brush assembly: -- This sounds simple but figuring out how stiff the bristles should be, how to keep hair from choking the moving mechanism, and the angle set of the bristles around the core, all constitute unheralded engineering that deserves some credit.

3.) Paper handling mechanisms: They seem to always get it right. You don't find many ATM's dispensing bills that are stuck together. -sigh! Included with this group is the paper handling abilities that allows sorting, collating and just feeding one sheet at a time to our copiers and printers. Hurrah, for these engineers.

Add to the list: Want to add to the list of unheralded engineering? Drop me a line and I will add your engineering praises to a future column in Daylite Sun.

Comment Here    with your list of underappreciated items, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Those Eventful Mid-Term Elections

Commentary for Friday 11/10/06 Analysis of Novembers Election

The Midterm Elections: The midterms have come and gone, thankfully. I've heard all the political ads that I care to - thank-you. Republicans got the heave-ho, and a new leadership has been crowned. My view doesn't allow this to be a democratic win so much as a throw the bums out victory with the spoils celebrated by the Democrats. The incompetent leadership in the effort to tame Iraq spearheaded the Republican defeat. Bush finally fired his Secretary of Defense, but it took rejection by the people of Bush's handling of the war in Iraq to accomplish it. Rejection is a humbling experience.

Congressional Failures: The feckless republican leadership of both houses of congress was also rejected. Corruption, the 'Gang of 14', failure to listen to the voters about closing the border, and reckless spending were also part of the equation. Being a conservative first, and not necessarily a republican, I see opportunities for conservatism with the rino's (liberal republicans) gone. That being said, there were two congressional members who should not have been thrown out, but sadly lost their race in the tidal wave of rejection: Rick Santorum, and Curt Weldon.

The Price for Failure: The cost of failure is expensive, and I think we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg. Many more changes are bound to be on the way. John Bolton will not be confirmed, some of the tax cuts will be rolled back, and the democrats are going to be sure that Iraq is thoroughly discredited unless they are given credit for making it a success.

Comment Here    About the Mid-Term Elections, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Kerry Makes an Apology?

Commentary for Tuesday 11/07/06 Gripes about Email

Pop3 Server Blues: My email isn't getting through today. I keep getting error messages about the Pop3 Server from my Hosting Co. I tell you that not being able to access my email is akin to withdrawals from some dastardly drug. Is it possible that this meager form of communication plays such an important role in our lives? Judging from my reaction to being mail-less, I can only surmise that at least I seem to 'think' it is. But like a bad meal, this too will pass. ---Sigh!!!

The Kerry Apology: Evidently, Mr. Kerry didn't have the backbone for facing the cameras and speaking his apology to the men and women in uniform. I just wonder how many of the insulted men and women of our armed forces got to appreciate an apology rendered silently on his website. He is a real piece of work; just think he was almost our President.

Comment Here    About the Kerry apology, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back

Kerry Trips Over His Mouth - Again

Commentary for Wednesday 11/01/06 Kerry and his Big Mouth

The Kerry Gaff: The flap over the John Kerry gaff about the education of our soldiers reminds me of the ad for Southwest Airlines; "Want to get away" commercial. I'm sure that Kerry would like to redo his statement, and just hopes the attention to it will just go away. It is a warm feeling just knowing that Kerry lost his bid for the Presidency in 04. He has a history of letting his big mouth overload his diminutive intelligence.

Rush Limbaugh: OK, I'll admit to being a ditto head. Rush has a way of bucking up my spirits when I see more clouds than sunshine. Even though his braggadocio and name-dropping are a bit boring, nobody is better at articulating the political landscape.

Comment Here    with you thoughts on this inaugural commentary, Thanks, Robert Gross   Back