Ted’s Remarks About Stuff
July thru December, 2006


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Dec. 31, 2006

All next year, I will keep a 2007 calendar taped up on the wall nearby for quick and easy reference for future and past dates.  It’s not a calendar that I use to write on to remind me of things I need to do; I use my data bank watch for that.

I’ve made the calendar for a few friends, and most of them like using it the way I do.  I also like to keep track of the monthly phases of the moon.  Plus the back of the calendar has a list of holidays and observances for 2007.

If you would like one for yourself, click on each image below, click on the “Open” button, and print out the two pages on either side of one piece of paper.  Just change my name at the top of the calendar page to your name before you print it.  (The thin gray lines will not show up when you print the pages).

 

Dec. 28, 2006

I have studied Bible prophecy for decades.  One major prophecy, located in the ancient book of Daniel, concerns a span of seven years in the future, commonly known as the “70th Week.”  Some feel that the details of this prophecy already have occurred; however, I am convinced that this period of time has yet to take place—possibly in the very near future.

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) was established and funded in October, 2006.  It will go into effect, officially, in just a few days, on Januay 1, 2007.  It seems to contain (on the surface, at least) all the major components of the prophesied covenant or agreement, which will commence the 70th Week—the final seven years of this age, prior to the return of the Messiah back to earth.

Numerous prophecy sites all over the web are leaping on this, claiming that it probably is the prophesied agreement.  I am not ready, quite yet, to jump on that “bandwagon,” although admittedly they very well may be right.  In any case, I have taken the time to go do some clicking around at the main ENP website (http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/index_en.htm).  I will continue researching the matter.  To read some of the information I have acquired, go here:

European Neighbourhood Policy
and Daniel 9:27

Incidentally, those who believe that the “Pre-Tribulation” Rapture must take place before the 70th Week can begin have allowed themselves to embrace a common fallacy.  See The Rapture for details.


Dec. 25, 2006

I’ve always wondered about the word “star” included four times in this Bible passage:

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” ... Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ... After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. (Matthew 2:2,7,9,10)

It never made any sense to me that a star (or other cosmic body, such as a comet or a meteor) would have been the object that the Magi (“wise men”) followed, or that it could have stopped over the stable where Jesus was.  How could a star, trillions of miles out in space, be observed by someone on earth to be hovering directly over a specific building?  Or how could a comet, meteor, or other swiftly-moving bright object in the sky suddenly stop in mid-air?

In the Bible, there are many passages in which “star” clearly is another name for angel:

  • Acts 7:43
  • Amos 5:26
  • Daniel 8:10
  • Isaiah 14:12,13
  • Job 38:7
  • Judges 5:20
  • Numbers 24:17
  • Revelation 1:20, 9:1, 12:4, 22:16
Therefore, I believe there is a high likelihood that the “star” of Bethlehem actually was a bright and shining angel, leading the Magi to the location of the Messiah (Christ).

Dec. 21, 2006

I enjoy the Christmas season, although I do not believe Jesus was born in December.  Rather, I am convinced that He was born on the first day of the Jewish festival of the Feast of Tabernacles (= Sukkot).  In fact, after Jesus returns, I believe people from the nations of the world will go to Jerusalem to worship Him, year after year, on His birthday—the Feast of Tabernacles (Zechariah 14:16).

Mainly, I disapprove of the utter stress, frustration, craziness, and overspending madness of this holiday season.  As such, this is an e-card I sent out today:

A Screaming Banshee Holiday

Nov. 30, 2006

As I have said before, San Diego, California, is my favorite city in the world.  I never get tired of being here.

I took a few photos of flags at Balboa Park.  They are the United States flag, the California flag, the San Diego flag, and the Balboa Park flag.  The wind was whipping the flags around, so it was difficult to get shots where everything on each flag could be read.

     
10-second slideshow

Nov. 6, 2006

I have flown out of and into San Diego, CA, many times.  Sometimes I get some shots from the plane, like today when I flew out on my way to Alabama.  The plane initially heads straight out over the ocean, then turns all the way around to fly inland.

I was sitting in a window seat on the left side of the plane, so I was able to get these photos (click on the pics:

       

       
25-second slideshow

Nov. 1, 2006

Halloween doesn’t really mean anything to me.  Although I loved to trick-or-treat as a kid, Halloween is like any other day for me now.  I must admit I do like the candy leftovers, although it takes me a long time (like months) to finish them each year.

However, the main reason I like Halloween is because of the pumpkins.  I REALLY like pumpkin seeds and baked pumpkin slices; they both are FULL of nutrition.  (The bowl of seeds was a lot fuller initially; I ate almost half of them before I took the picture.)

 

Isn’t it cool all the amazing little things God has made?  I think, usually, that we bardly even notice.  I told him thanks for the pumpkin (a good friend gave it to me), and also that I think pumpkins are a neat creation.

Of course, so is chocolate.    In case you might have have any interest (not that you would), here is the order in which I would put the 12 kinds of candy in that bowl, with my most favorite at the upper left, then going across and down, row by row:


10-second slideshow

Oct. 22, 2006

I really like a photograph someone emailed me.  Click on the small pic here to see the large one:

If you haven’t seen this photo before (or have but didn’t figure it out), do you know what those dark things are in the picture?

The dark things shaped like camels are not camels.  They are shadows of camels.  The sun is low in the sky and casting shadows of the actual camels onto the ground.  The camels are the thin white objects walking on the ground.  The picture is an aerial view from directly above the camels.  I think that is a very cool perspective.

OK now, here is a question for you.  Assume, in that photo, that it is late in the day (as opposed to being early in the morning) and that the sun is setting.  If so, then the camels are walking mostly in which direction?  a) North  b) South  c) East  b) West


Oct. 6, 2006

The moon is full tonight.  It’s the “Harvest Moon”—the full moon nearest the Autumnal Equinox.  It’s a little cloudy, so the shot isn’t real clear.


Oct. 1, 2006

I’m different from most people, in that I don’t really care all that much about having the variety of the changing seasons throughout the year.   Spring is my favorite season, and I’d just as soon that it would be that way all year round.

However, there is something to be said for Autumn; some of the changing colors are quite remarkable.  So I decided to take a drive into the mountains and get some photographs of as many yellows, oranges, and reds (mixed with greens) as I could.

I actually waited a week or two too long for the best, brightest foliage; but still it turned out to be a fun venture.  In a way, it was sort of like driving through a bowl of Fruit Loops.

       

       

       

       
50-second slideshow

Sep. 17, 2006

Why do people even make faucets like those on the left, when clearly the one on the right is more practical and makes more sense?

 
5-second slideshow

With two faucets (left), one pouring out hot water and other one cold, you have to keep testing the mixture of water in the basin below, adjusting the hot and cold faucets accordingly until you get the temperature you want.  With only one faucet (right), you can adjust the cold and hot water mixture very quickly, as the water is coming out, and then no more adjustments need to be made.

To me, the setup on the left is an example of incompetence, not preparing for the future, and inability to complete a job; whereas, the setup on the right represents efficiency, effectiveness, and thoroughness.


Sep. 11, 2006

It would not be wise for Americans to forget these towers, and what their destruction 5 years ago has meant—that nothing, here or anywhere else in the world, will ever be the same:

The ones who caused these to go away, along with many others like them, will not be content unless all of us are gone.  And the idea their rage will be appeased if we “stop offending them” is naïve and stupid.  Religious hatred is the most intense of all types of hatred.  They hated us long before 9/11/01, and they will continue to hate us as long as we do not convert to Islam.  Period.


Sep. 10, 2006

The idea that all children can be “reasoned with” when they get “out of line,” and that no child should ever be spanked, is ludicrous to me.  I am a perfect example.  I did not get into much trouble growing up, but that primarily was because I was very sneaky and rarely ever got caught doing things that I should not have done.

However, whenever my dad did catch me at something I should not have been doing (which, if done again, could have gotten me into trouble with the law or even endangered my life), he initially lectured me about why my action was wrong and why I absolutely should not ever do it again.  Then he took me into another room, removed his belt, and whacked my butt several times—HARD!  I hated it, but to this day I do not consider those “spankings” abusive.  Maybe some kids do not need that type of discipline, but I certainly did.  For me, it was the only way such that the next time I wanted to do that bad thing again, I would remember the pain it caused, then remember the words of my dad’s lecture, then decide in most cases that I did not want to take the chance of having to endure that again.  Nothing else would have been enough of a deterent for me.

Some dictators on earth need to be “spanked” to get their attention, especially when they do not think that what they are doing is “bad.”  For instance, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad needs to get whacked.  He has expressed doubt that the Holocaust of World War II occurred, he backs the Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and elsewhere, and he is standing firm on Iran’s continuing to enrich uranium—which can and most likely will be used for nuclear bomb construction, no matter how much Mr. Ahmadinejad denies it.  Anyone who thinks this man is not extremely dangerous, and who does not understand what a major deterent he is to world peace today, is exceedingly naïve.

I do not particularly like the idea of going into Iran militarily, especially after how the Iraqi situation has turned out.  However, consider that Iran has defied United Nations demands that they cease uranium enrichment, both on July 12 and on August 31.  Consider also that Mr. Ahmadinejad has stated emphatically that Israel needs to be wiped off the face of the earth.  The minimum that needs to be done to Iran is for the nations of the world to enact strong economic sanctions against Iran, rather than sitting around for weeks threatening to do so.  “Negotiating” and “reasoning with” Iran is similar to trying to reason with a wild, unruly, juvenile deliquent child who does not think anything he is doing is wrong.  The thing is that the worst the kid might do is toss a firecracker at someone, whereas the worst the dictator of Iran very well may do is toss an atomic bomb onto another nation, such as Israel.  We just can’t afford to take the chance.


Sep. 7, 2006

You may have seen this before.  I have, but someone sent it to me again, and I think it’s pretty cool.  So I’ll include it here:

Olny srmat poelpe can raed tihs.  I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnotord waht I was rdanieg...the phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid.

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses, and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.

Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.  Amzanig, huh?  Yaeh, and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!  If you can raed tihs, psas it on!

Someone should write an entire book like that.

Sep. 2, 2006

I don’t like apple pie or vanilla ice cream, by themselves.  However, I do like hot apple pie with vanilla ice cream on top.  Likewise, I don’t particularly care for the colors green or yellow—unless they are in nature, including colors within the iris of the human eye.  I especially like those colors if they are under a cloudy sky, causing them to appear gray-green and gray-yellow.

It was cloudy all day long today, and there was an abundance of gray-green and gray-yellow (as well as various horses) to photograph.  I think that the human eye, in well-lighted conditions, is most sensitive to a wavelength of about 555 nanometers (a hue of bright green, leaning toward yellow):

This hue is present in some of the following pictures, though muted with gray.  It is fascinating to me how God could create such a vast number of hues in just the green and yellow portions of the spectrum, much more the entire spectrum combined.

       

       

       
38-second slideshow

Aug. 24, 2006

This is a continuation of the puppy saga from last time.  All 10 puppies are doing fine, although one of them is a runt.  Maybe there’s one of those in every litter.  He evidently gets pushed off of the nipples by the bigger pups.  We call him “Tiny.”

I have been putting warm milk in a syringe a few times a day and feeding Tiny in my lap.  Then I stroke him a lot, which he seems to enjoy.  He never cries or whines at all; I like him the best.  Now, a few times a day, we let him be alone (or with one or two others) for awhile at the feeding trough until he gets his fill and falls asleep.  Then the other hogs are added so they can get even fatter.

A little while ago, we heard some muffled whining.  I went over and counted only 9 puppies.  After looking around for a minute, I finally spotted the 10th pup buried head-first behind a cushion, in the corner (see sixth pic below).  Mommy dog could hear her but was unable to locate her and could not have gotten her out even if she had.  It is little, frequent mishaps like this that require almost constant attention to these dogs, not to mention that the mom gets very hungry a lot and must be fed (and let out, of course) 6-7 times a day.  I need a vacation from this vacation.

Here are descriptions of the pics below:

  1. Tiny is the one way over on the left.  You can see how little he is, compared to all the rest.
  2. Tiny is being hand-fed.
  3. Tiny has the buffet line all to himself.
  4. Puppy #6 (see the entry below for Aug. 21), who had a difficult birth and almost didn’t make it, likes to lie on his back in that position a lot.
  5. Puppy #6 is in the middle of the pack...on his back, with his mouth open, and with his front paws curled down, as usual.  Maybe he needs a name.
  6. One pup got trapped head-first down in the corner of the couch.  He had to be rescued, or he would have suffocated.  Now that corner has something stuffed into it so this won’t happen again.
  7. Watch the 15-second video of Tiny eating like a ravenous wolf.

         
15-second slideshow
Puppy Video #4
Aug. 21, 2006

A dog where I was visiting had a load of puppies, the first one at 11:15 p.m. last night and the last one at 3:45 p.m. this afternoon. That’s a 16½-hour time span.  The second one was dead on arrival (probably suffocated in its birth bag, because mom could not get it out in time). So now there are 10 live, healthy puppies, which is exactly how many nipples the mom has. 

The 6th one out, at 1:30 a.m., had a difficult birth.  We thought he was dead because his tongue was hanging out (just like the second one) and he didn’t seem to be breathing.  But finally, after minutes of hard licking by the mom, it started squealing.  In fact, it cried and whined for about 5 hours, almost without stopping (you can hear it in the background in Puppy Video #3).  Most of the time, its tongue was protruding from its mouth.  It never once tried to eat (like all the others) but stayed off by itself the whole time.

We figured #6 had experienced oxygen deprivation, was brain damaged, and didn’t know how to eat.  We tried repeatedly to get it to latch onto a nipple...no success.  We tried giving it water with an eye dropper...no success.  The mom lay on it and tried to suffocate it twice, but I pulled it out from under her and stroked it and prayed that God would heal it (with virtually no hope of that happening, considering its appearance and behavior).

Well, after many hours, that pup started mingling with the others and, amazingly, quieted down and started eating like the rest.  Now he doesn’t whine more than any of the others.  I believe this definitely was a miraculous act of God.  We think it’s possible that there still is at least one more pup inside...we’ll be watching!

I got a lot of good photos.  Some of them are below.

       

       
25-second slideshow
Puppy Video #1     Puppy Video #2     Puppy Video #3
Birth of #5 Birth of #6 Birth of #9

Aug. 19, 2006

I had a request to make a chocolate cherry cake (from scratch) in the form of a single-layer cake.  It was for a birthday.  I don’t really like to cook or bake, but most people seem to like the taste of the things I make.  Here’s the cake:

It’s really a pretty wacky cake, since there are no eggs in the recipe, although there is a little vinegar.  Go figure.  In any case, it did turn out to be very tasty.  I had 1½ pieces.  You can view the recipe, if you want: Wacky Chocolate Cherry Cake.


July 30, 2006

I like clouds a lot.  Today I saw some pretty awesome ones, so I photographed them.

       

       
25-second slideshow

I was hoping to catch a little lightning here and there, but it didn’t happen.


July 22, 2006

Besides being politically and socially conservative, I’ve always been practically conservative in my day-to-day living.  I believe this is the main reason that I was able to retire early and have been able to remain retired, with only a modest income, for 15½ years.

Basically, I spend money only when I have to.  I rarely ever eat out (too expensive and unhealthful), I don’t buy junk or other unnecessary food, I rarely ever go to or rent movies (maybe once a year), I’ve had the same car for almost 17 years (so my auto insurance is low), and my only debt is my credit card bill (which I pay at the end of the month, so I never pay outrageous interest).  There are many other things that I do to save money—too many to list here.

I even do very simple things like putting the last remnant of bath soap onto the new bar (making sure that both surfaces are wet first so that they stick together when they dry).  I even use a paper cup repeatedly until it starts leaking before I throw it away.  I have my name on it so that others will know not to use it and get my germs. 

 
5-second slideshow

July 12, 2006

Iran was told today to stop enriching anymore uranium—immediately, or else U.N. sanctions against Iran will be imminent (although I will believe that only when I see it).  Essentially, this was a little “slap on the wrist” to Iran.  Also today, militant Hezbollah ground troups from southern Lebanon crossed over into Israel.  They killed eight Israelis and kidnapped two Israeli solders.  Hezbollah is demanding the release of some of its solders from Israeli prisons, if Israel wants its two soldiers returned.  Israel has responsed by making numerous attacks in southern Lebanon.

I have a strong suspicion that Iran’s response to being “slapped on the wrist” by the world community, concerning their nuclear program, was to “shove Israel against the wall” by (along with Syria) prompting Hezbollah to cause trouble in Israel and abduct two soldiers, knowing that Israel must make a strong reaction to that, which Israel is doing.  This very easily could create a distraction (especially for the USA, who tends to support Israel) away from Iran’s nuclear program, at least in the short term.

Of course, all of this merely adds to the escalating complications in the world, including North Korea’s firing of missiles on July 4 and extensive terrorist bombings in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India, on July 11.  Whether or not Iran and North Korea have any sinister ties, no doubt they both are observing each other intently, concerning how the Security Council of the U.N. will be responding to objectionable and unacceptable activities by each of these highly disruptive, antisocial nations.

I believe that, at some point, some “catalyst” will cause a severely explosive situation in the Middle East, which presently is extremely unstable and volatile.  This “spark” will lead to out-of-control hostilities and will escalate into unprecedented violence and destruction.  In the course of time, I believe that the 70th Week will begin.  The way things are looking right now, maybe it will be sooner rather than later.


July 4, 2006

I went to my dad and mom’s gravesite today.  I had my camera, but it wasn’t until I got there that I thought about putting a couple of flags in the picture.  So I had to return home, retrieve the two flags that I got at the parade on July 1, and go back and take the pictures I wanted.

Dad loved photography, and Mom loved to play the piano.  Both of them felt extremely blessed and fortunate to be Americans, as I do.

 
5-second slideshow

I could not get the big flag the way I wanted it in the first picture (it was windy and rainy), so I removed it and took a second shot.  I think I like the second one better.

After that, I watched the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery.  Although I’m not convinced that the space shuttle program, practically speaking, is worth all the money being poured into it, I always think it’s cool watching one go up—especially on our nation’s 230th birthday.  That may rival any other “fireworks display” I’ll see today.

Here are a few shots from a TV screen, so they are not very clear.  The interview with Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, was very interesting.

       
13-second slideshow

Of course, another significant event today was the deployment of seven missiles (“six scuds and a dud”) by North Korea.  At a minimum, that should be of great concern to all Americans, especially since North Korea possesses nuclear weapons.

It is interesting that Kim Jong Il timed these launches to occur on our Independence Day and also on the same day as our launch of Space Shuttle Discovery.  In fact, their first missile blasted off only about eight minutes before our space shuttle did (2:30 p.m. vs. 2:38 p.m., EDT).  I would think that this is the most number of rockets ever to blast off from the earth in one day.


July 2, 2006

I have a microwave pressure cooker that I have used for about 20 years, and it’s great.  It is called the Tender Cooker (by Nordicware).

Tonight I made Chicken Cacciatore, which should last me 3-4 more nights.  I spooned it onto a bed of squiggly vegetable pasta.  It turned out to be so good that I ended up eating too much of it.  Maybe I’ll eat less of it tomorrow night...or not.

 
5-second slideshow

July 1, 2006

I went to a 4th of July parade this morning, which was fun.  I actually hadn’t planned on doing it; but I heard the sirens a few blocks away and walked in that direction, and found a spot where I could watch the entire thing.

The people in the parade were throwing loads of candy and gum at all the kids, and I was near a group of kids.  So treats were scattered everywhere, and I felt like a kid getting some of it.  I even picked up a couple of flags.  It’s not a huge stash, but it should last me about a month.  I don’t eat that many sweets, because sugar is not a healthful substance (although I would have eaten a Butterfinger on the spot, but I never got one).  Here is my parade stash:

After the parade, I watched the coverage of Space Shuttle Discovery on TV.  They had scrubbed the mission due to clouds; yet, at that time, the sky was clear.  An interviewer asked a NASA spokesman why they couldn’t launch right then.  The answer was that they had only about a 10-minute “window” of time to launch to be able to dock easily with the space station orbiting the earth, and during that frame of time it was cloudy.

The next time they can launch is tomorrow, about 23 hours and 23 minutes after the time of the first scheduled launch.  Unfortunately, the weather most likely will be even worse tomorrow.  So if not then, maybe it’ll work the third time—on the 4th of July.

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