Time to say Good-bye

Time progresses so rapidly that I am surprised that it has been two weeks since my last post. Thus for some this may be a surprise, but to others- not. What it is is the last three days of my employment with my current employer.
It is time for me to move on. The irony is that I had been employed in skilled nursing facility, a nursing home, and it was implied that I was perhaps making too much money and too old for my position. Now that is irony.
I realize that change is good and in the long run this change is a positive one. I am moving to a new job in marketing at a large pharmaceutical company close to my home. I will not have to be on call 24/7 nor will I have to work weekends, nights and holidays. These are all pluses. Meeting new people and learning new things is exciting and I look forward to this opportunity. I will miss the people I have worked with and the residents I have come to know over the years.
My bride has created a calendar that is hanging on our refrigerator with the number of days remaining. I have three left.....
A warning for readers- I am setting up my soap box so if you continue beyond this point you do so willingly.... As a society we are wasting a precious commodity, one that is not buried under ground and needs mining. It is a commodity that is untapped and ready to be used- it is just waiting for the opportunity. I am speaking of our elderly. The government has placed an arbitrary age of retirement and after that the expectation is that the old will just fade away. In fact we build facilities to place our elderly in so that families don't have to take care of them and they don't need to be seen.
I have been blessed in having the opportunity to have seen family members take in their elderly. Not only have I been blessed but the relationship that developed between my children and an elderly grandparent is priceless. Each summer over the past 20 some years my children have spent their summer months in the care of their mother's parents. In so doing they have developed a respect for those that are older than they. They also have learned different skills in the time that was spent there. All of them learned the theater art being able to perform on stage in front of hundreds of people. They also learned how to work and live with others of different backgrounds- religious, racial, age, and geographical. My children are better human beings because of the time that was spent with their grandparents- it is a blessing that is priceless.
To often family members are placed in nursing homes and than forgotten. As they are forgotten they fade away. What is in them sometimes dies before their body does. As a society we have lost priceless history in institutionalizing our elderly. As an old person dies so goes the memories and stories that are waiting to be told that are within them. It is a loss.... it is our loss.

I'm off my soapbox now...jsf

Pizza Wars

It finally had to happen. Back in the 70s and 80s at major intersections in cities across the country gas wars would occur as competition was hot and furious as Gas Vendors plied their trade in attracting customers to their front door. Prices would change daily and sometime hourly as each business owner would try to attract customers into their pumps. With gas at $4.00/gal. not much is heard about competition in gas vending these days.
My heart did do a pitter-patter as I drove through a major intersection in my home-town of Fishers today. Economics, supply and demand, and marketing were all playing at this intersection. As background- this particular corner has at least 6 different pizza vendors withing garlic distance of said corner- so much for background.
Over the past months the managers/owners of these franchises have sent out unfortunate employees with placards advertising their pizza wares. Using the phrase unfortunate may not be appropriate as the young people hoisting the placards seem to be enjoying themselves.
Those that I have observed normally have a music device (I will not name names) of some sort and they are performing some sort of dance. My concern is are they performing the appropriate Pizza Dance for their company? Who is observing them to make sure they make the right moves? Is it possible that one performer (can I call them performers?) is stealing a trademarked Pizza Step from one of the competition? Who would know?
As of today's date there has not seemed to be any aggression observed as I drive through this intersection. I believe it will be only a matter of time before placards will be thrown down and pizza cutters will be drawn at ten paces. Hopefully it will only be tomato sauce that is spilt....jsf

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Just as an FYI- Forbes.com had listed Hamilton County, Indiana as the number 1 county to live in here in the good old US of A. To browse through the article go here.

Integrity - a modern example

The question of integrity is one that comes up frequently these days. It is perhaps a trait that is sought by the American populace in their politicians. It is truly something that may stand out because as a country we have been accustomed in having our politicians determine their views and opinions by sticking a finger in body orifice and then holding it up to see which direction the wind is blowing.
The example that comes to mind is the Presidency of William Jefferson Clinton. If I recollect the 90s accurately it always seemed that the White House would be polling people constantly. Wither which way the populace swayed was the direction our leader followed. Using political polls and focus groups have their purposes but to use them as political GPS devices is wrong. If our Founding Fathers had wanted a democracy that is what they would have set up. Contrary to what many believe a democracy was not desired, in fact it was greatly feared. The Constitution was set up to protect this new country from the mob of majority. Numbers, or might, does not always infer right.
Born, with the blood of labor from our ancestors, was a Republic. Those we choose, those we give authority to, we expect to lead. We expect them to make difficult decisions and then validate why those choices were made to us- their employers. It is a discussion for another time on accountability.

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Enough of the preamble now to the point. President George W. Bush's presidency is multi-faceted: many are upset with the course of the "War on Terror", others are upset with the rising cost of gas and the overall affect that it is having on the economy. Numerous other items may be suggested for another time and another blog. The specific of this muse is his stance on stem-cell research.
In a speech given to the country from his ranch in Crawford, Texas he outlined the process and his stand regarding this delicate subject. To place this into some perspective this was the first year of his presidency. As he describes in his speech their are many perspectives and all advocates of those perspectives were placing pressure on him to take a position on this research. People such as Michael J. Fox and Nancy Reagan were (and still are) strongly pushing for a more aggressive approach to stem cell research. George Bush took a stand and refused to budge- good for him.
Fast forward to 2008. Validation. Following is part of an article highlighting the latest in stem-cell research:

"Applause is due to several people. President Bush certainly deserves credit for holding the line on federal funding of destruction of human embryos. Without his adherence to the moral principle that human lives should not be destroyed for research purposes, it is possible that this discovery may never have happened or may have been delayed. Wisconsin Right to Life applauds state Senator Ted Kanavas' call to fund this new research. Credit also goes to Professor James Thomson for his recognition of the ethical and practical benefits of discovering a new way to generate pluripotent stem cells."http://wistechnology.com/articles/4352/

To read the full article follow this link here.

Thanks, President Bush, for standing up for those who are unable to do so themselves...jsf

Working Man, Again

My life of leisure is officially over as of tomorrow. Some reflections- First of all it is amazing the things that can be found on the internet. One of the items I found on the internet was a video of a man having his appendix removed through his stomach via his mouth. This was performed in Southern California at the University of San Diego Medical Center. To watch the procedure go here.
Unfortunately I have become addicted to a BBC show that comes on several times a day called Cash in the Attic. The concept is pretty easy. The amazing thing is that it seems as if all homes in England have some sort of hidden treasure that can go to auction in bring in quite a bit of cash. It is the type of reality show that I can get to like- if you are the least bit curious check it out here,
I have enjoyed my time off, but it is time to see my friends at work and give them the hugs that I have stored up for them over the past 12 weeks...jsf

CO2- Scrubber- New Prototype or Old Reliable- You Choose

We live in a time of great discovery. I am grateful to be an active participant in this stage of life and not a casual observer from somewhere on high. Life is fun- if you don't think so perhaps it is time for an attitude adjustment. I didn't say life would be easy- heavens no- but even through life's ups and downs it should be fun. At the end of the day are you laughing and smiling? or are you sad and crying? Just a thought.

Today's great discovery comes via the U.S. via the Telegraph out of England. It is a device called a CO2 Scrubber. To spare you the long read and the details this is it in a nut shell. For about 100,000 pounds scientists will create a CO2 scrubber that will scrub the atmosphere of CO2 at the rate of about a ton a day. It will take about two years to create the prototype in Arizona. The size is approximated to be about the size of a shipping container.

The estimate is that these devices would have to be produced in the millions to be affective. If you know where the line is for this high tech item please let me know. I would like to be the first in my neighborhood to have one. I am sure that my home owners association will allow it my backyard- I am saving the planet. Also, they are not sure what to do with the CO2 that is extracted from the atmosphere- perhaps Al Gore will buy them with all his carbon credits... just
a suggestion.

After much research I did find an alternative CO2 scrubber. It took some time but I am proud to give you this option. The nice thing with this scrubber is that it comes in various models with many different colors , size and shapes. The amazing thing is that there isn't a two year waiting period for the prototype to be built and we don't have to worry about the waste of the CO2. It is a self-contained unit without the need of filters. The truly amazing thing is that some of these units also have by-products
that can be useful. In fact there are numerous by-products that are produced from this CO2 scrubber. Perhaps it may be too early in it's production stage to name these products but I am going to go out on a limb here an try my best at culturing some possible names. I think my efforts will bear fruit so please don't say I'm nuts....so here goes: I think one name that will take off is Apple. I know that there are some in the business world that may have issues with this name. I am sure if my Granny were still alive she wouldn't object...so for my granny- apple is one of the by-product names that I believe would be successful. Some others: Pear, walnut, acorn, cherry to name a few. With some more trial and error I believe I can come up with additional names.

The last issue is what to name this other CO2 scrubber. I believe in it's marketability it should have a catch name that will be easily remembered. I have put some thought into the name and I believe I have one that will be suitable for all. My suggestion: The Retention Environmental Engine or TREE for short. I think it will catch on.

Are you laughing and smiling?...have a great day...jsf

World War II Vets..thank-you

Today is the 64th anniversary of D-day. Perhaps as a reminder or as a thought, I would like to express my thanks to those men who stormed the beaches of Normandy to free Europe from Adolf Hitler. There are not to many of them left as they are being called home on a daily basis.

Germany didn't attack us, it was Japan that did on December 7, 1941. Nor did Italy, the third member of the Axis powers back in the 30s and 40s. We recognized evil back then and called it for what it was.

Thank-you American GI, Sailor, Marine, Airman, and merchant marine. God Speed...jsf

Somebody please check his math!!!!

All the fun is now officially out of the primary season. Or is it? As this blog is called Lost and Found I thought I should do some finding and came up with a gem. My question- is this a math issue or is this a geography issue? Perhaps, time will tell. Have a great weekend and enjoy the video...jsf