disoriented

Tsunami Relief

The recent earthquake and tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean are beyond the dis-oriented author's comprehension. The fact that U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland used this tragedy to criticize the United States for our lack of humanitarian giving is beneath the  dis-oriented author's reprehension.

As the death toll mounts from the Tsunami and the potential for epidemic increases in the stricken areas — please join the dis-oriented author in making a contribution to Tsunami aid through the American Red Cross.

In response to this disaster the United States alone has committed to date some $350 million. In addition, the United States has diverted the Nimitz class carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and her battle group to the Strait of Malacca. When you care enough to send the very best — the United States Marine Corps. The Third Marine Expeditionary force is in the process of deploying for an aid mission to SE Asia.

The government of the United States including the US Military, the corporate community and ordinary (even dis-oriented) Americans have all responded and continue to respond the the disaster.

The Golden Ratio : The Story of PHI, the World's Most Astonishing Number, Mario Livio

The Golden Ratio : The Story of PHI, the World's Most Astonishing Number by Mario Livio is a book about a number. the number phi (Φ). Φ is an irrational number like pi (π). Φ is equal to 1.618033988749895...  The number Φ is intimately related to the Fibonacci series [0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34...] and it pops up in a surprising number of places. in fact a bit of a numerological cult has developed around it.

The Livio book is all about Φ and its history. Livio points out where Φ is found in nature and geometry and art. Livio also plays myth-buster and debunks those claims by golden ratio mystics who find Φ where it is not.

This book is a tough read for a layman but armchair mathematicians will find it fascinating.

I first encountered Φ as a young child. My father, a university professor with no formal mathematics training, bought me the Time-Life book of Mathematics by David Bergamini. The Bergamini book, published in 1963 is a survey of mathematics for laymen. My father read it to me before I could read a word and when i learned to read, I read it over and over. This book introduced me to Φ and π and Fibonacci.

Φ appears in many enough places that there is no need to find it where it is not. The golden ratio is found in the regular pentagon and its inscribed star. The shell of the Chambered Nautlius grows according to its ratio. The leaves of many plants are arranged in a pattern that follows the golden ratio.

The site http://goldennumber.net/ suggests that Noah's Ark, the Ark of the Covenant, the colors of the tabernacle and even the number 666 are related to the golden ratio. The site even finds the golden ratio in the stock market.

I eventually went on to win a scholarship and major in mathematics. This book is an excellent non-mystical introduction to the golden ratio.

The Golden Ratio gets 3 of 5 dis-oriented smileys

Purchase The Golden Ratio from Amazon.com.

Disoriented Travel Tips

Between the grounding of Comair (One of Delta's airlines regional carrier partners) and the US Air baggage fiasco this holiday weekend was one of the worst ever for air travel. I had a daughter come home for Christmas and her luggage has been lost for almost ten days. One of her friends came to visit and his luggage was also lost. Fortunately his luggage has since been found and delivered to our house.

Travel woes have been exacerbated by our friends at the TSA. With the arbitrary enforcement of their ever-changing policies, the traveling public never knows what to expect.

As a service to the community— the dis-oriented author presents 10 air travel tips for a post 9-11 world.

The dis-oriented author averages 75,000 air miles and 100 hotel nights a year . Here are his top ten travel tips:

1.	Don't try to figure it out — just take off your shoes.
	The TSA has gone through so many revisions of this policy that I can no longer keep track. First x-ray all shoes. Next only xray those shoes that set off the metal detector. Then it's optional to x-ray your shoes but if you don't you will be forced to go through secondary screening including a pat-down and bag search. Recently they have been xraying my sandals. I have even had my bare feet wanded! I give up — now I just take them off and put them on the belt. I think Richard Reed (the Shoe Bomber) should be executed. My suggestion is to dangle him by his heels over the security line at DIA and let the passengers do the rest.
2.	Make sure the number for your airline is in your cellphone speed dialer.
	If you ever have to wait in line to fix a flight or get information at an airport about a delayed flight, you'll thank me for this one. If your flight gets delayed everyone will be trying to get to the agent. Of course the agent will be busy so while everyone else is queuing up trying to get things fixed — you can call directly to central registration. Even better if you are an elite member of the airlines frequent flyer program. I have found that they often have me already taken care of and if I call they can tell me which gate to go to or even if it is not worth my time and I should look for a rental car or hotel.
3.	Know the airline schedule.
	I carry a schedule for my favorite airline and a few others on my computer and PDA. If there is ever a problem, I try very hard to have a suggestion. I can call and say,  "If you can't get me on the 4:05, Airline X has a 6:00 flight through Newark." This has gotten me home a few times when I might otherwise have spent the night in an airport.
4.	Avoid checking bags whenever possible.
	As I mentioned, my daughter just lost a bag and her friend had one delayed. Whenever possible, I try to carry everything on. Recently though, I have started traveling with a camera and tripod. So I now carry a computer bag and a camera bag in the cabin and I check a rolling bag wit ht he tripod. The only problem is that I now have to check my rolling bag.
5.	Get on the plane first.
	The worst thing that can happen on a flight is to have to check a bag you intended to carry on.  If you are the last one on the plane you can count on the overhead bins being full. I had this happen on a flight to Boston via Detroit once. The stewardess took my bag and gave me a claim ticket that said Detroit. I complained that my final destination was Boston and she said that she would tell the pilot and he would radio the ground crew. Sure do I look like I was born yesterday? The stewardess came back and assured me that my bag was taken care of. Unfortunately she lied. My bag only made it to Detroit. I made it to Boston and since there was a snowstorm, it took me three days to get my luggage. The moral of the story is get your bags in the overhead and to increase your chances that means get on the plane first. If you are in first class no problem but if not you have two choices, either request an exit row or sit in the back. At least on the airline I fly, exit row passengers are allowed to board first. Then the plane boards from the rear. If I am not in first class, I  the last row. The last row has one more benefit. If you sit in the last row aisle you are  in the most likely place in the plane to not have someone in the seat next to you. Most frequent fliers sit in the front but if I am not in first class, I typically sit in the very back.
6.	Mark your bags.
	Bags get lost. Checked, carry-on or others can all get lost. If your bag gets lost it will never be found unless  the airline can identify it. Luggage tags can get lost, handles break off. Mark your bag inside and out. I make it a point to place a business card in every pocket inside or out of every bag I own. Have you ever noticed that all bags look the same? I have a couple of TravelPro rollaboards. Just like everyone else. The way I identify them is that I replaced the wheels with inline skate wheels one bag has green and the other red. I am about due for a new bag and when I get it I will give it one yellow and one blue wheel.
7.	Carry essentials onboard
	I always make sure I have the essentials on board. On my outbound trips, I have everything I need for the next day's business. On my way home, I carry everything I would need if I got stuck overnight in a hotel.
8.	Take a backup bag.
	I always carry a backup bag. I keep a small folding duffel bag in my suitcase so if I buy anything or my checked bags are overweight, I have something to put stuff in.
9.	Use your pockets — be creative.
	If you have too much stuff to carry. Be creative. I buy souvenir coffee mugs on my trips and sometimes I don't have enough room for them in my bag. I've discovered that you can put them in a coat pocket and carry them through security that way. Likwise, if  you  find that your computer bag is too large for the overhead on a regional jet or turboprop, you can remove the inner computer pouch if any or wrap your computer in a coat and put it in the overhead separately. Be creative and plan ahead.
10.	Use the Internet.
	Use the Internet to check in for flights, get status and updates on delays and to plan your trip. I always check the flight status and weather before leaving for the airport. It has saved my trip more than once.

You will make your life easier in the air if you plan ahead.

Good News

It may not have happened on this day — in fact it probably did not.  But Luke writes in chapter 2 of his gospel:

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Merry Christmas

Keep Christ out of Christmas

The dis-oriented author is a Christian. More specifically a born-again evangelical/fudamentalist Christian. Having left the Catholic Church I am a Protestant in the truest sense of the word.

Therefore this year I see a trend that I find to be alarming. I read about it everyday in the newspaper. I hear about it on all the talkshows. It comes up in the national news and the bloggers are all abuzz. It is the topic of conversation in churches and schools and cities all across the country. We even discuss it in my family.

What is this trend that concerns me so? All over this country people are trying to put Christ into Christmas.

Let me start by saying that in some Christian traditions, Christmas is a holy day. For example in Catholocism, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (US) has recognized Christmas as a Holy Day of Obligation. That is a holy day where attendance at Mass is mandatory. So Jesus clearly belongs in Catholic (big C) Christmas. So my Catholic friends are excused from the following admonishments.

But for those of us who do not have the Majesterum to guide us and believe that the doctrines and practices of the Christian faith are directly and individually interpreted from scripture — shame on us. Where in Scripture are we taught that we should celebrate Christmas?

In the late 6th and early 7th centuries CE  [Just kidding: I mean A.D. — Anno Domini — In the year of our Lord] Pope Gregory I allowed missionaries to adopt and adapt many of the traditions that we today associate wth Christmas.  When Christian missionaries went into Norther Europe they were confronted with the deism and polytheism of the native people. Rather than completely repace their traditions and festivals they were co-opted and given a Chritian makeover. The Winter Solstice became Christmas in the same way that the Spring Equinox became Easter after Ishtar or Ashterah.

The evergreen tree has long been a pagan symbol of rebirth and it became the Christmas tree. Mistletoe, holly and  gift-giving are all pagan traditions. Christmas is a secular holiday. It is a great time to get together with family and friends, give presents, give to the needy, etc. It is also the peak of the retail season and makes or breaks a merchant's year.

It is pretty sneaky of my Christian brethren to sneak Jesus into Christmas and co-opt the holiday. But Jesus is bigger than this or any other holiday. By giving Him this day we fell like we can ignore Him the rest of the year.  So just as I celebrate Veterans Day and Thanksgiving, I am also looking forward to celebrating Christmas with my family.

Merry Christmas.

 

Political Capital

On November 4th, in his first press conference after the election, President Bush looked fit and rested. He joked with the press corps and made an in your face statement:

Let me put it to you this way: I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it. It is my style.

Yesterday President Bush explained how he planned to spend some of that capital. According to CNN, President Bush plans on re-nominating several of the District Court and Court of Appeals nominees that were blocked by Democrats in the previous Senate session.

Of course the usual liberal suspects have already begun to complain about Bush being a divider not a uniter. And how he is just continuing the same agenda even though he failed to get a mandate in the election. Regardless of your definition of mandate, I think it is refreshing.

It's great to see the President sticking to his guns. [Note: the dis-oriented author is an NRA member so he may use phrases like sticking to his guns]

It is almost like having a real conservative in the White House!

I have my disagreements with the President on policies but I still supported George W. Bush in the elections for three reasons:

1.	George W. Bush was the most conservative candidate in the race.
	While President Bush may not be my image of the ideal conservative (the phrase compassionate conservative makes me sick) he was by far the most conservative candidate in the race. As a Republican he belongs to the party that has the most conservative members (in both number and degree) in the US House and Senate. While he supports some ideas that I oppose, like No Child Left Behind, loosening immigration rules  and the 9/11 reforms, he also supports many that are near and dear to my heart. He  is pro-life, he believes traditional marriage, instituted tax cuts, and he is willing to tackle Social Security reform. Over all we agree more often than we disagree.
2.	The W does not stand for Waffle.
	President Bush has been decisive and consistent in his presidency. Those things that he supported in the campaign, he did as president. He pushed a tax cut through and he crossed the aisle to work with Ted Kennedy on No Child Left Behind. One I loved and the other I hated. But during the campaign you knew he would do both — and he did
3.	It's the Judiciary stupid!
	Like it or not, the Judiciary at all levels has been on a power grab ever since Marbury v. Madison in 1800. Judges in this country have taken upon themselves the responsibility of acting when Congress does not or worse countermanding Congress when they disagree. In this Presidential term there are numerous openings to fill on the federal bench. From both sides of the political spectrum, Norman Lear's People for the American Way and James Dobson's Family Research Council predict that President Bush will have the opportunity to make critical appointments to the Supreme Court.

These District and Appeals Court fights will be a precursor to the Main Event — the eventual Bush Supreme Court Nominees. This time around Senate Leader Bill Frist has said that he would change the filibuster rules if necessary to get the Bush nominees through the Senate.

It is on this battle that the war will be won.

1421 — The Year China Discovered America, Gavin Menzies

I picked up 1421 on the recommendation of my good friend Craig.  The book's subtitle makes the astounding proposition that China discovered America some seven decades before Columbus. 

The book's author, Gavin Menzies, is a retired Royal Navy submarine captain. who was born in China. After retirement he uses his love of history, knowledge of China and experience as a blue  water sailor to develop his theory. Menzies is an amateur who understandably has raised the ire of many professional historians. 

Menzies begins with the voyages of China's great 15th century admiral, Zheng He. What is known for certain is that Zheng He assembled the largest fleet the world had ever known and that they set out on an epic voyage of discovery. The other certainty is that following Zheng's voyages a new regime took over. China turned in on itself and all records of the voyages were destroyed.

The dis-oriented author is pleased to note that Menzies points out that when women in the west were practically living in caves — Chines (oriental) women were wearing jade, pearls and silk underwear.

Menzies looks at several areas to make his case. Among them, pre-Columbian maps, propagation of endemic plant species, prevailing winds and currents, linguistic clues, archeology and DNA.

Menzies points out that several pre-Columbian maps accurately depict the coast of  North and South America. Other maps appear to show Australia, Greenland and islands in the Caribbean, all before Columbus.

The book suggests that several Chinese colonies were left in the new world. Menzies does not provide irrefutable proof but he does have some strong circumstantial evidence. Menzies has a writing style that is easy to read.

My only complaint is that the books should have more plates, maps and illustrations. There are several places where I read about a map or an artifact and was disappointed because it was not pictured on the next page. I am looking forward to seeing the PBS series, perhaps it will fill in the visual gaps.

This book challenged many of the assumptions I've held all my life — it really made me think

1421 gets 4 of 5 dis-oriented smileys

Purchase 1421 from Amazon.com.

Keep the Government out of my Homeschool

When George W. Bush was campaigning in Iowa he appeared (if it is indeed possible to appear on a radio show) on a local radio show in Des Moines called Mickelson in the Morning. The host Jan Mickelson is a libertarian-leaning conservative. Mickelson had asked then candidate Bush two questions:

The first as I recall was about Court nominees. Bush answered that he would appoint only strict constructionists to the Bench. So far so good. For his second question , Mickelson asked about how Bush would like to be remembered should he become president. President Bush answered that he would like to be known as the Education President.

As Mickelson said, the two answers were incompatible. How can one support a strict constructionist view of the Constitution and believe in increasing the federal role in education?

Today my good friend Scott has a link to a blog  refuting the points made on the National Education Association's (NEA)  site against school vouchers. Scott is a conservative and a deep-thinker so it is with some trepidation that I find myself opposite Scott and siding, albeit for different reasons, with the NEA.

As a parent with children currently in homeschool, public school and private (Christian) school — I strongly oppose school vouchers.

The idea behind vouchers is to give parents a choice in how their children are educated. Combined with real concerns about the quality and content of public education vouchers are also seen as a way to bring competition into the public schools. The thinking goes like this, if parents are empowered to choose the schools their children attend they will choose the best schools. If the best schools are private schools, they and their money, in the form of vouchers, will go to private schools. Therefore in order to prevent the drain of students and money, public schools will have incentive to  provide a quality education.

Here are the issues I have with vouchers:

 

1.	Parents already have choices.
	This is still a free country. Parents may send their children to any private or parochial school they wish. (Unfortunately most open enrollment rules do not allow the same choice in public schools.) Many would argue that since private schools are expensive poor parents don't really have a choice. Therefore the government should provide them with the means to make the choice. The choice to send your children to parochial, private or homeschool is not to be undertaken lightly. These are intensely personal choices and unless one is independently wealthy they are expensive choices. But so many choices in a free society do require sacrifice. I have a right to live anywhere I want to. But having the right and the freedom doesn't mean I can just pick out a mansion overlooking the ocean and move in. It takes work and sacrifice but I can aspire to  live in that mansion someday and that's the American dream. To reach and to aspire knowing that it is possible. I do not need the government to give me what I ought to earn.
2.	Vouchers are a form of money laundering.
	There is no such thing as government money — the government gives nothing that it has not first taken away. Vouchers are a way of taking money away from the states, sending it to Washington and then returning a portion of it back. Vouchers are just a means of giving you permission to spend your own money — if my friends and I had come up with the idea, we would be prosecuted under the RICO statutes. The real problem is that so much of our money goes to Washington in the first place. If Washington didn't tale so much, we would not be begging them to give it back.
3.	Vouchers increase the role of the federal government in education.
	There was a time when conservatives wanted to reduce the size of the federal government. Vouchers are simply a way of using our own money to enslave us. The more dependent we become on the federal government for education, the more local control we give up. In the long run vouchers will give parents less control over education in their communities. President Bush wants to be the Education President, as a Bush supporter I wish he would be the president who returned education to the states.
4.	Schools belong to the community.
	As a parochial school and homeschool parent the argument I hear most often is that parents (like myself) are paying twice for the schools. Once through our taxes (property taxes in my state) for schools we do not participate in. And then once again through tuition and homeschool expenses. While this is true on the surface, parents do not pay for the public schools. Let me repeat that, parents do not pay for the public schools. The public schools are funded by the community (at least where I live). Whether you are a business owner with a large family, a retired person with no school-age children or  a single mother living in an apartment. You pay for the schools. The schools are not directly paid for by parents. By this reasoning anyone in the community who does not have a child in the public schools should be able to opt out of  their school taxes. But the fact is that we as a community have decided to fund public education. For better or worse, we have built this system and there is no immediate exit strategy.  Unless we come up with an alternative to the public schools, vouchers are counter-productive. We have had public schools for so long it would not be possible to abolish them today. We have the system we have, we need to support it as best we can.
5.	Vouchers will ruin non-government schools.
	Finally, I oppose vouchers because as a parent, I am deeply concerned about my private school and homeschool. I have chosen parochial school and home school because they provided opportunities for my children (at a specific time) that they would not get in the public school. One of the things that make private school and homeschool special is that they are largely free of the tentacles of government control. Where government money goes, government control follows. It is inevitable, that government strings follow. By accepting money from the government, schools will likely subject them self to government restrictions. The government will control whom a school may hire, what a school may teach, what materials may be used in class and even whether religion can be a part of the curriculum. One of the things that makes private school, parochial school and homeschool attractive is the fact that they are not under control of the government. I ran for my local school board because I support and believe in public education. All of my kids have been in public school for part of their education. All of my kids have also been home-schooled and several have been in private school.

Parents already have choices, any parent can send their child to private school or choose to homeschool. Parents do not need the government to tell them how to spend their money.  Parents should have control over the education of their students, not the government. The community needs to support strong public schools and not hinder vibrant private schools and homeschool options. Private and home schools need to be kept free of the tentacles of federal government control.  I feel so strongly about school choice that I want to preserve the schooling choices available to students and their parents.

Keep the government out of my private school, keep the government out of my Christan school and keep the government out of my homeschool.

The Eagle has Landed

I remember it like it was yesterday, July 20, 1969.

    Houston, Tranquility Base, the Eagle has landed.

For the first time in history humans had landed on the moon. Later I read the excellent Jack Higgins book, the Eagle has Landed from Amazon.com. The book is about a plot in the waning days of the Third Reich to kidnap Winston Churchill. The imagery is powerful from the very beginning. I can still see the rooks from Leningrad.

The movie version with Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall, Treat Williams and Larry Hagman is also excellent. A great adaptation of a great book.

This is one of my favorite times of year — the Eagles have returned to my hometown.

The Bald Eagle is of course the national symbol of the United States. Though in the beginning there was controversy over the choice of the Bald Eagle. Ben Franklin suggested that the turkey would be a better choice. I am glad that old Ben lost that particular debate.

One of the benefits of living in the upper Midwest (and a side effect of the cold winters) is that bald eagles winter here. Bald eagles eat a diet composed mainly of fish. During the winter months when rivers and lakes up north freeze over, they migrate south along the Mississippi River Valley in search of open water. Where I live in Iowa there is open water year round below some of the local dams.

Each winter on a 4 mile stretch of road you can drive by and see dozens of bald eagles. I have seen as many as ten in the same tree on a cold winter's day. They are majestic birds with wingspans up to eight feet. As you scan the riverbanks you can see their distinctive profile silhouetted against the bare trees,

I love to sit with my children and watch them skim along the icy water looking for fish. As the Bush second term begins, there are judicial fights to come, President Bush is going to tackle Social Security reform, Rumsfeld is in trouble, the so-called War in Iraq goes poorly and the Federal government continues to grow. There are plenty of things for a conservative to be upset about.

But for now the eagles have returned and everything is right with the world.

9/11 Reforms

During the last week of the congressional session there was a flurry of activity on the Hill. Most of that activity was centered around passage of the 9/11 reforms  or National Intelligence Reform Act. The act creates a new cabinet level Intelligence Czar. This new position would consolidate leadership of some 15 current intelligence agencies.

The legislation, signed by President Bush last week,  faced two important hurdles on its way out of Congress. House Armed Services Committee Chairman, Duncan Hunter of California opposed the bill. Hunter, a former Army Ranger, felt that taking some of the defense intelligence function out of the Department of Defense would make it more difficult for commanders in the field to get tactical intelligence in a timely manner,

The other opposition came from House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin. Sensenbrenner wanted to see immigration laws strengthened as part of the bill. He even went so far as to try and prevent states from issuing drivrs' licenses to illegal aliens.

Hunter's objections were largely answered but Sensenbrenner's were not.

Besides the obvious need to secure our borders I still have problems with the bill.  The biggest issue that I have is that the reforms simply create another layer of bureaucracy on top of the existing agencies. Rather than replacing fifteen agency heads with one cabinet secretary we will end up with fifteen agency heads and a new cabinet secretary. If history is a guide, the system will become more complex and it will be more — not less — difficult to get critical intelligence data from the field to those who need it in a timely fashion.

Here is a listing of the fifteen agencies:

• Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
• Department of Homeland Security
• Department of the Treasury
• Coast Guard (USCG)
• Department of State
• Department of Energy (DOE)
• National Security Agency (NSA)
• National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA)
• National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)
• Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
• Army Intelligence
• Air Force Intelligence
• Navy Intelligence
• Marine Corps Intelligence

The lasting legacy of Osama bin Ladin may just be that he grew the size of the federal government.