Best wishes to missellieg's mom
The above lady had surgery yesterday for Parkinsons, was doing well as of yesterday PM. Prayers and good wishes requested in the direction of the patient, Miss Ellie, and family.
The R debate
I returned home from a choir performance last night, settled down with pizza and beer, cut on the debates. I attended the session only briefly. Jon Huntsman was finishing his apparently reasonable remarks, followed by Michelle Bachmann. I forget what the moderator asked her, but she ignored the question entirely, launching into a campaign tirade about President Obama and the need for a strong leader.
Next, Newt Gringrich, who promptly picked an argument with the moderator over the moderator's alleged trying to foment argument among the contestants. Wait, Newtie, isn't a debate sort of a staged argument? I gave up on the debate, turned on a DVR recording of History Channel's "Modern Marvels" show, an episode entitled "Molds and Fungi," which seemed somewhat appropriate.
Word watch
In the 2008 campaign, the buzz word was "Change." For 2012, the word is, understandably, "Jobs." Jobs are indeed the most important issue, IMO, or more precisely, rebuilding the jobs base, as OT put it a couple of days ago. But, of late the word appears to have been misappropriated from time to time.
NPR reported this AM that candidates Perry and Romney sparred last night over who as governor had been more successful at creating jobs.
I sit to be educated and corrected, but am I incorrect in seeing only a tenuous relationship between governors and job creation. Input appreciated.
The insufficiency of hope
I listened to an interview this morning of a Libyan writer who commented on hope. Hope is overrated, he said (my words, I can't remember his exact phrasing). Far better than living in a state of hope is living in a state of certainty.
Stab...good am. I would also like to wish missellieg's Mom a quick recovery. I also hope that missellieg is holding up well.
ReplyDeleteGood AM to you, WW!
ReplyDeleteI will let Miss Ellie know.
Word watch. Hope is over rated as it conveys a constant state of waiting. Americans are not a people built for waiting. "Jobs" is the new watch word...but jobs are the result of confidence. Governors and Presidents can't create jobs, but they can inspire a level of confidence that will unleash our "animal spirits".
ReplyDeleteStab...good am and thanks.
ReplyDeleteHi guys,
ReplyDeleteI too wish MissEllieG and her mom well. Thanks for the update, Staballoy.
Staballoy, great point on "jobs".
The notion that a president can make a real "jobs plan" that will create an economic recovery is, hmmmm, not a realistic notion.
That being said, economic recovery will in part rely on consumer confidence. Confidence is psychological (explaining in part why economics is a social science...), and I can see how a presidential "jobs plan" is like a pep rally.
Fortunately President O repeatedly reminds us that real job growth will be in tomorrow's technologies, not yesterday's. This is important but most people don't even know what that really implies (or they don't want to know).
Hi Bob!
ReplyDeleteI read the article. There is no "natural law" against gay marriage. Citing intimate gay activity as "unnatural" is no more logical that citing birth control as natural.
Oops, the above post should have been in the LTE section.
ReplyDeleteHi Sharon!
I agree that tomorrow's tech is the source of future jobs, but jobs now means jobs based on existing technology. That lends some justification to more stimulus, properly applied, and with safeguards to prevent the reward of "President O's" benefactors and patrons.
Best wishes to Miss Ellie's mom and to Miss Ellie for a speedy recovery.
ReplyDeleteMy son call me the ultimate pessimist. My glass is always half empty. However, hope is what gets us up to face the sunrise in the yearning that the day might not be as bad as anticipated.
Most dreams no matter how unrealistic are built on hope. The excitement and anticipation of what might happen propels us forward. "It's a natural law". Hope springs eternal.
Wordly
Thank you, Wordly, for that thoughtful comment.
ReplyDeleteMy gas tank is half empty. I attribute that outlook to my being left-brained (different from left-wing).
Best wishes indeed to missellieg's mom. I've read about a brain surgery that attacks the source of Parkinson's and has had very good results.
ReplyDeleteA President or governor can certainly propose a public works program that could create jobs, but both are at the mercy of a legislative branch in order to have it enacted. A big problem is trying to create jobs for the long-term unemployed who are no longer employable in the current environment due to eroded or unmarketable skills.
Interesting thoughts on hope. If you think about it, hope is quite passive. There are many out there who are hoping to get a job that may or may not exist, whereas there are also those who are re-educating/training themselves in order to put themselves in a position to land a job that's in demand.
Stab....knowing the love and admiration you have for unions, have you seen the www.koinlocal6.com site in Longview, Washington? Seems a few hundred thugs stormed the security building, took personnel hostage and vandalized property. A trend is building in the country it seems.
ReplyDeleteSharon is correct about where the future is jobwise, certainly in the case of our local community.
ReplyDeleteThe future here is in the Piedmont Triad Research Park downtown. Of the 33 businesses functioning there right now, 25 are in high tech areas such as biotechnology and computer programming. The next to open early next year will be a pure medical research center employing about 320 people.
Some of the jobs there now and in the future will require advanced degrees, including MDs and PhDs, but many others will require only one or two year tech degrees. Forsyth Tech has been working closely with the PTRP and offers most of those 1-2 year programs right now.
Nice picture of Saturn from Cassini:
ReplyDeletehttp://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0901/newrings_cassini_big.jpg
OT, good info re PTRP, and it should be noted that Mayor Joines has been one of the driving forces behind this effort, which is far more important than the ballpark, for which he has been unfairly castigated, IMO.
ReplyDeleteAnd which Mrs. Stab and I enjoy.
Hey dotnet. Interesting halo effect on Saturn.
ReplyDeleteStab, indeed the Mayor has been a major force in all the good things that are happening downtown, with plenty of help from his friends at the Winston-Salem Alliance, Winston-Salem Business and the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership.
ReplyDeleteThe new ballpark, which I also enjoy frequently, is not an inconsequential part of that. Having an average of over 4,500 people downtown for 70 home dates, despite a summer long heat wave and 16 of those dates being affected adversely by rain, has a significant spillover effect on the entire community.
As to the castigators, they are a handful of angry old white men whose lives have not gone the way they wanted and are thus pretty much irrelevant. If they spent half as much time doing something for the community as they do whining, there wouldn't be much left to whine about.
Upcoming or recently in place good things:
1. A new eye center at the corner of Fourth and Poplar. You'll be able to get new glasses or contacts and enjoy lunch at one of a couple of dozen restaurants at the same time.
2. Lucky Blue, a new restaurant by the proprietors of Downtown Thai and the Pho Vietnamese restaurant.
3. King's Crab House and Oyster Bar opening soon under the same management as Willow's Bistro. Lunch, dinner and late night menus and 14 beers on tap.
4. The District Rooftop Bar & Grill coming soon behind Breakfast of Course on Trade Street.
5. Significant expansions of the wildly popular Bibs Downtown and Finnigan's Wake restaurants.
6. Xia's Asian Bistro will return soon to downtown at Liberty Plaza.
7. Ziggy's is hoppin'
8. Renovation works is well under way at the former Bahnson House on Spring Street next to the Central Library. No projected opening date yet, but the Spring House Restaurant, Kitchen & Bar will feature unique cuisine and bocce and croquet courts.
9. The Garage is jumpin'
10. Last but far from least, the Camino Bakery has opened in the Nissen Building. Great bread, pastries and coffee (Krankie's, of course), but the piece de resistance is the lemon ginger muffin, stuffed with lemon curd, which has already become a major addiction for downtown workers. Oh my!
More is stirring in the background, including three renovations of very historic buildings that will add more retail space and around 200 apartments to the mix.
Almost forgot, Daphne's!, across from Downtown Thai, has unusual gifts, jewelry, skin care products, wines by the glass or bottle, craft brewed beers...AND you can order fresh seafood for pickup at very reasonable prices.
Good news re Bibb's. We enjoy the food there. We went once to Finnigan's to enjoy one of JD's band's performances. I think I was the oldest guy in the place. No matter, I enjoyed myself.
ReplyDeleteI wish we had more time to enjoy downtown, but family needs come first.
Ha, ha! I often find myself in the same situation.
ReplyDelete"Hey, who's that old guy over there?" An hour later I am having a very interesting conversation with the person who said that and other "youngsters". Maybe it's having taught at a major university for some years. Or maybe it's just the attitude that you are as old as you let yourself be.
My cast of friends ranges from my across the hall neighbor, a brilliant 20 year old woman, to my down the hall neighbor, a brilliant 40 something woman, to others nearby, some of whom are in their 90s.
The downtown neighborhood has a wide demographic, mostly sans children. I love the energy of the young ones and the wisdom of the old ones, all of whom live within a block or two of me.