kelseybacon.com

If the Chinese get so upset about the recent deal between the USA and Taiwan agreeing a $6.4 Billion arms sale to Taiwan, then should not China be more conciliatory towards the US when it tries to sanction North Korea and Iran for building Nuclear Weapons?

"China’s response, no matter how vehement, is justified. No country worthy of respect can sit idle while its national security is endangered and core interests damaged." -The official China Daily via Reuters.  ( http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6100CK20100201?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0 )

China needs to know they cannot have their cake and eat it too.  Once it is gobbled up, there is no pretty cake to show off.  If they keep trading their credentials at the UN in these other areas, then the US can ignore their national security as blatantly.  It shows they really do lack a view of the over-all picture when it is the US that will end up having to cleanup the Nuclear mess with North Korea and Iran either directly or not by facing head on what the US or its allies have to face.  China’s failures in curbing arms development is no different than selling them.  Either way, the bad guys get the goods. 

My respect for China is a little diminished on this.

So far this mean little beast has run everything I have thrown at it. I am at the limit too, where I don’t think there is anything more I intend to run on it.  I may find more things, but if what I have installed so far is any clue, then I am sure I will be okay.  I can do everything I could want to do while out and about, especially with regard to writing and almost everything I could want to do with my camera in hand.  There is one application that needs sorting out, but I don’t think the problem is the computer.  If that is the case, then I will have installed everything except photo editing software that my desktop is used for on a once a month or more basis.  That is frankly enough to leave me stunned. 

And to think, the next step may just be to upgrade the RAM, which it so far has not needed.  So that ought to be GREAT!  Just keep to BASIC functions, only a couple of apps at a time.

I spoke to grandma earlier today.  She was in Ogden, Utah, and about to go out the door to head down to southern Nevada.  She sounded very tired to me, and she has had a Hell of a week, so I cannot imagine they are going to make it back okay, especially as she can’t drive at night, and her husband does not drive anymore.  I hope they are okay.  I need to call them tomorrow to be sure.  That will give them time enough to get home and to rest.  Failing that, there is nothing else I can do.  :-( 

Speaking of driving, the boys and I saw the results of an accident today on Tolladine Road where a car had pulled out from Bradford’s onto Tolladine in front of another car.  The car on the road hit the car that had just entered in the rear end and sent it, a red compact or sub, into the wall on far side of the sidewalk.  It could not have been a good thing as there was engine oil all over the road, and there had also been a life flight helicopter.  If you know Worcester, the drive from Bradford’s to the Royal Hospital is not worth taking a helicopter for, unless the injury is pretty bad.  We never did see the cars there as they were towed away by the time we came back up the hill, but as we came up, the road was unblocked, so we could walk the scene, and it was pretty obvious what had happened.  I could not tell if the road driver had hit the brakes or not as the rain prevented any skid marks.  However I know it was due to the rain or the driver not hitting the brakes because there were no sideways marks from the car that got hit, spun and pitched into the wall.  And the fact the car was pitched into the wall in that position is evidence of the speed, as there was no large vehicle in the wreck, which we know from what we were able to see from our trip down the hill earlier.  It was an awful mess, and I do hope that everyone comes out of it okay.

It snowed for a bit today after 2 PM.  That was strange, as it never happens here like it did today!  Kiry and I were out in it.  I felt like I was living in Colorado again.  The weather was sunny just before we went out.  Next thing you know, it is a blizzard of light snow coming down! 

With any luck I will be adding more blog posts as I have now got a netbook and greater portability.  So far it has run everything I have thrown at it, which has not been Photoshop, admittedly, but other applications such as i-Tunes, Google Earth, Open Office, Avast, Audacity, Skype, and so on have been easy as pie on this machine!  I really look forward to making great use of this machine, especially WITH the camera tethered! 

So far the netbook has run everything I have thrown at it, from Google Earth to Audacity to Open Office.  In fact, it has also run a film from a file on the computer in Windows Media Player. 

Thrilling also it the battery life on this model..!!  It says on the box it is a nine hour battery, and I believe it so far..!!  Earlier I went some 4 hours and brought the power down to 53%, with no extra power conservation settings on.  I am impressed..!!

This is a moment in time that is worth noting, especially in the terms of blogging.  Today I got hold of my new Netbook at last, and can now blog from just about anywhere, so long as I can turn it on.  Of course, POSTING has to be done wherever there is online access!  But I am writing on it now…  And so far, I think it is pretty good.  I can type fairly fast on it, and have not had to adapt much at all for the primary keys.

I got a Toshiba NB 200, brown lid, 250 GB hard drive, 1.66 GHZ processor, and for the moment there is 1 GB RAM, though that may increase to the max 2 GB RAM in a couple of weeks, if I find I need it, or maybe even if I don’t.  So far, I cannot complain for a glorified PDA.  It certainly is much better than trying to write from a Palm Pilot.  I can run most everything I could ever want to, so I am pretty good here on that end.  It is a good travel companion with a 9 hour battery.  Happy me..!!  🙂

I am paraphrasing Jordan in this one because he said it a bit differently, but the logic was this:  “It is not my fault that I blame everybody else for everything.”  Nice one Jordan!  It is a great way to start off this post because it cuts to the core of where I am at right now.  I love my kids, more than they will ever know.  Their logic, and their work ethic, and such has put me to the point of madness though, and I have decided that the reason men are the bread earners in society is because of this.  You see, one day Zug was at home with his kids, Ugh, Oomph, and his lovely daughter, Uh-oh.  They carried on like mine do all day, and when his wife Huba Huba came home, he said, something to the effect of “That’s it!  I have had enough!  Working all day in a senseless grind for an unforgiving bastard who drives me into the ground with no remuneration worth bragging about has GOT to be better than THIS!”  And off went Zug to work… 

Okay, things could be worse, I know.  But it does really run a guy thin on his sanity sometimes.  I just thought I would share.  By the way, if you are new here, I have been home schooling for five years now, so this is not like something I am a total wimp at!  Any questions?  See my kids…

So now my wife and I are in charge of all the boys’ chores.  She has had enough of the arguing, and the blaming others for not doing, and the fact nothing ever gets done to a decent standard…  EVER.  To the point my 13 year old cannot wash the dishes and get ANY of them clean, even after five years of trying to and trying to get him to get it right.  The 11 year old can, but he is constantly leaving the job unfinished, and complaining about having to do it.  This is an argument that is past it’s sell by date.  So, we have taken over absolutely everything, and their pocket money too. 

Thankfully I have given up adding sugar to my cereals, eating syrupy French Toast every Monday, and having coffee, and sugar in my cups of tea.  It has stopped me having headaches and feeling constantly like I have been run over by a truck, so maybe now I can get back into better shape, and these extra chores can be a way of getting some more exercise!  That’s a good thing! 

I have been reading 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens with the boys again.  I don’t think they really get it at all.  But I have to try!  One of these days they will tell their therapist that I tried everything but still screwed their heads up.  It should be interesting!  Such is life…  But at least it won’t be their fault. 

2009 has had its ups and downs, but the biggest downer has been feeling like total crap so many days out of the year.  It really has been a bummer because it makes me to wonder what quality I am getting out of my life.  It makes me to want to do more to see if forcing myself to live will help me to live, and it makes me to want to do more just so that whichever way I feel, I am living more!  You won’t get to see it.

The thing is that I am going to follow Katrina’s cue and try to be sure I am doing something new each week.  That is only 52 new things to do.  It seems a good way to learn some things!  🙂

Some days I just feel like swearing as many times as I can at the top of my lungs!  Not for any particular reason.  I just feel like belting out a few thousand foul words.  Today is one of those days, of course, which is why I bring it up.  Is it the result of some natural repulsion to some part of my life?  Is it a primitive feeling that resonated from the days my ancestors crawled from the cave and into the light of civilization?  Is it a reaction to pressures that I have not acknowledged?  Is it the kids?

There is a lot going on right now in life.  We are paused for the moment with the VISA applications in order to get through Christmas and get back on the ball with the money end of it all.  The economy is tough on us at the moment, and frankly I cannot figure out just why.  The money is vanishing, and I can’t tell you where to!  But we are budgeting to figure it all out and push out of here so hopefully we can situate ourselves for a better lifestyle in America. 

Our dear friend Pat has left Worcester once and for all.  She is due to fly out of England on the 13th, and won’t be back except for visits.  I am sure going to miss the sanity Pat has provided us for so long.  But more than that, I am going to miss her insanity. 

Katrina’s grandmother passed away on the 27th.  She is going to be sorely missed too.  My moms fiancé passed away on the 13th of November as well.  Wow, what a tragic month…  It was all started with someone I had a massive crush on in high school losing her dear mom.  Of course, when your contemporaries start losing their parents, it starts putting things into perspective for you.  Well, it has for me!  I was sad for her loss, then along came mom’s, and now my dear wife’s…  Well, Thanksgiving was good anyway.  We ate chicken because frankly we could not justify the cost of a turkey when the bills needed paying and the rest of our money so tight. 

But none of this is why I want to swear today. 

The need to swear is more innate.  It is like the drive for sex.  It is coming up from some place in my mind that just tells me I must stand up and belt out a few of the dirtiest words my kids have never heard loud enough that my family in America could hear them.  Let’s hope I figure it out before my kids learn some superfluous language that won’t do them any good except when they feel like swearing, and don’t know why…

Kelsey

PS…  It is 2:00 PM, and it is sooo dark out that I can hardly see the keyboard in front of me right now.  Have we moved closer to the North Pole?  Can’t wait till winter has gone by. 

I sold the Tamron a couple of weeks ago, and now I am on the hunt for a new lens for the Nikon D300.  I have in mind the 17-55mm f/2.8, which has a rounded diaphragm, thus creating more natural bokeh, in the blurred out areas of the image, rich contrast, and a very sharp image and super fast, silent auto focus.  I have scoured eBay and can find reasonable used ones going for around £600.  Naturally I have less than that in the bank, and need to add more from my allowance in order to even pick up a used one.  Then there is the Jessop’s option of only £870 for a new one.  I could use an increase in photo sales…  ;-)  Oh well, I will keep scouring till pay day. 

I think the 17-55 is the route Nikon took to cover the range below the 24-70 FX lens, thus allowing a little overlap when you consider the 1.5 crop factor of the DX range cameras.  It would be a fair starting point to the high end lenses, and would suite many of my travel habits, though I think in the long run, I would be very happy to get my hands on a 24-70 or a 70-200mm lens in order to really boost my portrait capabilities.  But in all you are talking over  £3,000…  Too many other things needed still to complete the pro kit. 

I have thought more about this little door knocking episode from last night and have determined that I am not a street smart person.  Of course the neighbours are worried about me taking pictures of their windows with the young lads selling pot and who knows what else there!  I shouldn’t be so silly!  I MUST remember to respect their privacy!  I must not interfere with such a home based business..!!  After all, who does not need a supplemental income in this recession? 

Of course, I could be a little more tolerant if I felt I could let my kids out of the house, or if there weren’t people coming by every day and honking or yelling at the bedroom window next door and saying “I want to buy some weed!”  Maybe if they were not parking out in front of our house and waiting casually as though nobody notices them, or if they came over to get drunk and did NOT throw cans at our house and then when we have gone out and thrown the cans back and hit them with them, they did not stand there and deny having thrown it in the first place.  Or maybe if the lads would not go up into their bedroom and open up all the windows and turn the music up full volume playing some British Rap horseshit that sounds like a funk between Jamaican and LA Rap in an English accent.  (I’d love to see any of these guys turned loose on the streets of LA for ten minutes at night…  LOL) 

Of course these are small issues.  And of course I have too much time on my hands being here with three kids all day.  Maybe if I were the type who smoked the wacky-backy too, I would just leave this issue alone because I might hardly remember last night anyhow, apart from the food.  Silly me for wanting to have a safe neighbourhood for my kids. 

So, I am not street smart.  It is foolish of me to not realize till this late in the game that this is all about pot, and nothing more.  After all, the “Wayne” that would have been across the street reporting my moves to my neighbour has got to be the one two houses down from me, and he is a customer.