Socialized Medicine

Terry Gross interviewed T. R. Reid last week about his new book on "socialized medicine" or "universal health care" or whatever you want to call it. It was a great interview (as always), and it got me to thinking about the whole health care reform argument. A lot of folks are up in arms about not wanting socialized medicine; a lot of people are up in arms about wanting socialized medicine. I don't really know whether the bill up for debate is actually socialized medicine; I haven't taken the time to really research it. (yes, I'm a bad citizen)

But I did have a thought about "SOCIALIZED MEDICINE." Just a thought-

Next time you find yourself thinking about the whole situation, apply the arguments for or against socialized medicine to the other socialized systems we have here in America...

for instance...

Socialized roads: yes, they have potholes, but they usually get you where you are going...?

Socialized schools: sure, some children get left behind, but we produce a lot of smarties too...?

Socialized police: yeah, they beat up a few Rodney Kings, but we're mostly safe...?

Socialized fire departments: O.K., they don't get every California fire put out quickly, but they still stand out in front of WallyWorld asking for money for disabled children...?

Like I said, it was just a thought... Judge it as you want.

Hurtsboro to Tuskegee to Auburn

From home to Hurtsboro to Tuskegee to Auburn and back is about 110 miles. Patrick and Thomas and I had a great ride. The really curvy road we saw on the map (Boromville Rd.) turned out to be a dirt road, but the Tuskegee highway between Hurtsboro and Tuskegee made up for it with lots of nice curves and hills of its own. We stopped in Tuskegee and some guy stopped and gave us an impromptu rundown of the financial matters of the city of Tuskegee. Then we made our way through Notasulga, then Lochapoka, and on to Auburn. We stopped at Chappy's Deli and had lunch (always a great Reuben). Then came home on Moore's Mill Road, which would be a great ride if it weren't for all the stop signs.
Overall, it was a great ride, a great morning, and a great time with friends.


Beautiful scenery, nice clouds and an open road... What more do we need?


Accidental photo that turned out pretty good


The Tuskegee Methodist Church, built in 1861- with a tree growing out of the bell tower

Deer In My Yard

After I finished the previous post and checking some email, I stood up to leave the office, and looked out the window. Out in my front yard was a little prong-horned buck. So I grabbed the camera and snapped a picture. Just as I did that, an eight-pointer comes walking out of the woods after him! That was pretty cool. They stuck around for about a minute, made their way across the yard and on into the woods on the other side.


From the office window





Evidence!

Back from Kentucky... Again!

We spent the weekend in Kentucky again. Crosspoint Tabernacle decided to put on a concert in the town square, and I went to help out a little. It was also a great excuse just to hang out with my family. I don't get to do that very often, and twice in one month is extremely rare. It was a great weekend.


Shuckin' corn in Clif's back yard with the kids "helping"


Cleaning up the corn husks... You can see who's doing all the work


Ernie and Emily hanging out before the concert- It's always good to see them!


Caleb doing a little 'Singing in the Rain' action with Jo-Jo


Me and Mark messing around after we got the sound equipment set up- 'Sound Check'


Rockin' out!


J, C, and N- and a lot of other people enjoying the music

Strange Visitor

I happened to look out the window this afternoon and saw a turtle walking across our driveway. He/she apparently came out of the woods and was headed back into the woods in a northerly direction. It's shell was probably 10 inches front to back. I'm not sure what kind of turtle it is, but I'm sure someone out there does.

Bluesbreaker (?)

I had this great little Peavey powered mixer that I ran through a 2x12 speaker cabinet. It was great to play guitar through because I could run my acoustic through one channel and my electric with effects through another channel, and not have to unplug every time I switched guitars. I could also run a mic through it, or whatever. It sounded OK, bit it wasn't as portable as I would have liked; being two separate pieces.
Then I got the idea to build a new cabinet for it that combined the two into one. I've wanted a Tech-21 Power Engine 60 for a couple of years, but it only has one channel. If I could combine my stuff into a combo amp, it would be just like a PE60, but with multiple channels!
So I spent yesterday and today doing just that. I tried to model it after the Marshall Bluesbreaker. I think it looks pretty good. The cabinet is closed in the back, so it sounds even better than the open-back 2x12 I was running. It gives it a tighter bass response, and it sounds cleaner, I think. The only thing left to do is get some decent grill cloth and put it on.


Anybody got a spare nameplate I could have?


Portability, verstility, great sound, and good looks all in one package

Update 7/24/09:
Got the grill cloth in today. Built a frame for it and installed it. Here are the pics. I am very pleased with my handiwork. It could almost pass for a real amp.




Looking good, but it still needs a logo...

Back from Kentucky

We got back last night from a wonderful week in Kentucky visiting with family. We had a lot of fun and hope we can visit them again real soon. Here is a small selection of the 175 pictures we took over the course of the week.


Making 'redneck' look sophisticated!


Mommy, since you won't have a baby sister for me, can we buy a Julie Anne?


Rockin' out the Cracker Barrel


Look Ma, no teeth... Either of us


Say 'uncle'... no really, they're your uncles


All hail the lollipop king!


Literally...


Out in the woods


Evenings at the 'Cafe Jeana'


Mark's butt


My cousins' kids... or somethin'; it's starting to get confusing how they're all related


Please, just shoot me!


Hooray for the Red, White and Blue