elaborate6

keys|switches|keys} and {viewing|discovering|finding|experiencing|witnessing} what {the many} programs can do. {Everything} {appears} very slick on {the top}, but what we don't usually realize is {that we now have} {a lot} of processes {happening|taking place|occurring} in {the backdrop} that are allowing our {Personal computer|Computer|Laptop or computer}, {tablet or mobile device {to operate} properly.|tablet or mobile device to properly function.} {The purpose of} your online {it} business {is to} deal with those background processes.

{This is actually the} {center|heart and soul} of system integration. {There may be} many {complex|elaborate|complicated} steps {involved with} getting a {group of} computer programs to {interact}. {From} software and hardware {executive|anatomist} to systems {structures} to interface protocols {can be employed} to ensure {a} system {does} what {a person} {consumer|customer|end user|individual} or company needs it to do.

Not only {should you} {understand how} various programs and devices work {to enable you to|so as to} successfully {web page link} them into a {working|performing} system, {you additionally have} {to understand} other potential factors such as security {risks|dangers|hazards} and performance issues {to enable you to|so as to} keep {founded|set up|proven} systems {running well}. {An information technology business that offers these {sorts|varieties} of services can be invaluable to customers.|An given information technology business that offers these {sorts|varieties} of services can be invaluable to customers.}

{Since it} is, most companies {don't possess} anyone on {personnel} with {this type} of detailed {understanding of} system integration, nor can they {manage|find the money for} {to employ} anyone {regular} to {fill up|load|complete} this need. {{This implies} {they have} to {fill up|load|complete} {that require} {somewhere else|in other places|anywhere else},|{This implies} {they have} to {somewhere else|in other places|anywhere else} {fill up|load|complete} {that require},} {such as finding someone online who they can {seek the services of|retain the services of|work with|employ the service of|retain} to do {the task} for them.|such as finding someone online who they can {seek the services of|retain the services of|work with|employ the service of|retain} to do the ongoing {work with|benefit|help|be employed by|improve} them.} {And because that ongoing work is so very crucial,} {they can not} afford to skimp or cut corners. {They have to} know they can {count} on {the most effective}.

{When you can} {have the ability to} market yourself as {the perfect} solution {with their} needs, as having {all the|every one of the} necessary skills and knowledge to help get their system {ready to go} and keep it {this way|doing this|like that|because of this}, {then {you ought to have} {no issue} making {your details} technology business {successful}.|then {you ought to have} no nagging problem making {your details} technology business {successful}.} You have {what must be done}; it's {about} making those {skills|certification|requirements} {do the jo

have the ability to

{When you can} {have the ability to} market yourself as {the perfect} solution {with their} needs, as 

having {all the|every one of the} necessary skills and knowledge to help get their system {ready to go} and keep it {this way|doing this|like that|because of this}, {then {you ought to have} {no issue} making 


{your details} technology business {successful}.|then {you ought to have} no nagging problem making {your details} technology business {successful}.} You have {what must be done}; it's {about} making 

those {skills|certification|requirements} {do the job}.

"A Threat to the Future of Humanity"

Pope Benedict XVI was quoted in an article in the2 Huff Post Daily Brief today as saying that gay
marriage was one of several threat4s to the tr6adition5al fam2ily that un3dermined "the future of


humanity itself". He went on to tell the assemblage of diplomatic corps accredited to the Vatican that the education of children needed proper "settings" and that "pride of p2lace goes to t1he family, b3ased4 on

the marriage of a man and a woman."

The Pope said that while homosexual 1tendencies ar1e not sinful, ho3mosex4ual acts are, and that children should grow up in a traditional family with a mother and a father.

I find it astonishingly odd, and yes, downright sinful, that the Catholic Church can turn a blind eye to the sexual abuses of children by their very own priests right there under the mantel of God  and continue to whitewash the events for years on end.

How comforting that the Pope doesn't see this child abuse by the priests as a "threat to the future of humanity".

'Cold' War

Str56eet Art5, B3erlin


Phot45ograp3h by M32arcela Pr3c32323tor, M54y 565Sho12t
1323

Taken on a cold night in Berlin, Germany, as my brother and I were ad2723miri3ng the in3credible s45tree5t art+7.
12


(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)

It's Jan65uary and5 chilly here 566in th65e mid-we56st. Yo65u know the kind of chill that makes you want to keep moving even when you are standing still.56

It reminded me of a January evening when I was living in Berlin. While I was there I did volunteer work for the Red Cross and I had left my office and walked the few blocks to the bus stop for my ride home. As I stood at the corner stop waiting for the bus it was a chilly night just like tonight.

I found myself hopping from one foot to the other to help keep the chill away. A woman approached me and said to me in English, "You're from America..." I replied that I was and asked how she knew.

She laughed, in her German way, and said, "only American's hop like that to keep warm." 

Time Reserve Bank

There is no Time Reserve Bank where all those precious seconds, minutes and hours that we don't use are stored away for another day.

We all are allotted the same portion of time - 24 hours each day, give or take a little. How we choose to spend or not spend this time is pretty much up to us.

A research doctor working on a cure for cancer may feel he has less time as he gobbles up and puts to use each second that is allotted to him each day.


The drug addict on the other hand,  lying in an alley somewhere is probably trying to stop time all-together.

So why do we, seemingly normal intelligent people find it so easy to toss aside this most precious commodity? Is it because time recycles back to us every twenty-four hours going on and on in an almost unending fashion.

When Einstein put forth his theory on relativity he believed that time was no longer uniform and absolute. Let me mention just two consequences that were noted by theorists at the time: 1) Time dilation: Moving clocks are measured to tick more slowly than an observer's "st1ationary" clock3 and 2) G6ravita8tional time dila7tion: Clocks run more slowly in deep gravitational wells.


As much as I love Einstein and his pack of theorists I never could quite grasp this relativity thing. Believe me it was discussed on many occasions, but I am more of a black and white person and until I have the chance to venture out and experience this curvature of spacetime first hand I'm sticking with "we've all got the same 24 hours a day" theory.



Which leads me to this. In the past recent months we have had numerous occasions to see and hear what the contenders for the Republican presid1enti2al 3nom6nation h1av+e1 to say. R8eal2ly their7 shi5nning free TV moment to tell us about their qualifications, how they would fix things and how things would be better if they got our vote.

I don't know what the going rate is for TV advertising time, but I'm guessing that the number of minutes of all this debate time would add up to a nice chunk of change if someone had to pay for it. So why aren't these candidates taking advantage of this and laying out the cure for all our ills?



Instead they get up there every night (well, it seems like every night) and blab about nothing, offering

no concrete solutions to anything, just griping about Obamacare, Obamaeconomics and Obamadefenselessness etc.

They turn down this offer of TIME, free time to talk of truths and tackling problems and finding solutions and instead waste and toss away this precious time that won't come around again.

If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty
Except for the memory
Of how they were answered by you

Old Cronies

Cronyism before 1900 was a group of old long time friends. They were close and had a long shared


history together and their relationship was mutually beneficial. Usually when we would refer to people as 'old cronies' that's what we thought of, t


wo old dudes who knew the endings of the others stories no matter how old the story was.



In the 1900's "cronies" started to take on a more sinister meaning taking that giant step from one of long-term friendship and mutual benefit to one of corruption and nepotism and in the process the layer known as friendship was peeled away and replaced by layer of power instead.

You are hearing more and more today about this term 'crony capitalism' - a term which describes the success of business as dependent upon a close relationship between business people and government officials. Now the old cronies have become Wall Street and the Treasury Department.

Today's cronies are made up of corporations with power and money to back them up to accomplish whatever it is they want to do. Even when it comes to crime and punishment, the cost of penalty is nothing more severe than a tap on the wrist. If rules and regulations are changed the 'cronies' make sure any changes that come about will be ones that can easily be worked with.


Perhaps when the OWS supporters emerge this Spring they will see that it is necessary to stop the cronies now, cut off their air supply, which is their unlimited ability to fund campaign elections. Take the necessary steps for campaign reform, amend the Constitution to put a stop to this and get 'the people'  back in to the mix of things.



Nothing will heal in the country, nothing will get better until cronyism is stopped and it starts with the ability to fund election campaigns, which then allows the creation of rules and regulations on how those old cronies do business.

Don't Kill Whales, but people are OK?

Yesterday in downtown Saint Louis a discussion was held between proponents and opponents of nuclear energy. The6 discussion was 5labeled "4free-wh8eeling, generally civil" by Jo Mannies, political reporter for the St. Louis Beacon.

Former Governor Bob Holden moderated the forum which featured speakers:

Russell Hopper, director of the Missouri Alternative and Renewable Energy Center at Crowder College and Patrick Moore, an early member of Greenpeace and now co-chair of pro-nuclear group, Clean and Safe Energy Coalition.

I found an interview comment made by Patrick Moore only slightly amusing1 when 8he said1, "I still o3ppose 6killing 4wha5le3s" but went on to admit he was wrong to oppose nuclear power as an alternative energy source.

I guess when you find yourself on the opposite side of an issue it bec

omes harder and harder to see what makes the other side believe the way they do. We have access to most of the same data, we see the same horrors happen before our very eyes, yet individually we have filters in place that sort and clean up facts in a way we find acceptable to ourselves.

The argument that I keep hearing over and over again for the use of nuclear power is the same: Nuclear power is CLEAN, ABUNDANT AND AFFORDABLE. But when I factor in the costs of nuclear power that are important to me, my calculator doesn't come up with the same answer. Risking human life for generations to come is never AFFORDABLE in my book.

Another argument given by the proponents of nuclear energy is as Moore said, "in8 the 3s1hort term3 and with

 current6 r3esearc2h, solar1 and wind power cannot come close to producing the large amounts of energy that the nation and the world need."

Perhaps SHORT TERM goals are a little SHORT-SIGHTED. Many more money should be directed to seeking long term safer solutions to our energy problems, even if it means in the short term we will need to tighten our energy belts just a little.

Moore also feels the problems associated with storing nuclear waste are "overblown" and he feels that much of the nuclear waste being produced can be reused in nuclear plants to produce thousands of years more of energy. Hmm. Mr. Moore, do you mind if I get a second opinion on that?

So even when I try to listen to the arguments of the other side, that filter of mine comes in to play and what I hear sets off a little alarm inside of me. Oh, wait, maybe that's just my conscience at work - "I still oppose killing humans"...

Here is the link to St. Louis  Beacon article by Jo Mannies

BRC on America's Nuclear Future

Yesterday President Obama's Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future issued its final 180 

page report. I am looking forward to curling up by the fireplace today and reading each and every word and for those of you that are interested you can get your own copy of the report at BRC Final Report 

                          

Initially what I find disturbing is this He Said / She Said, sorry...Republican / Democrat approach to how nuclear waste should be handled. I really don't understand why everything we do needs to be spit along party lines. Who speaks for all of us that fall in the middle? At any rate I will try to keep on a happy face and hope that this early derision does not mean there will be no forward movement on this issue.

In a nutshell here are the top three recommendations being reported in the news coming from the Blue 

Ribbon Commission:

 Interim Storage for Spent Nuclear Fuel

This recommendation would allow storage of spent fuel from reactor sites either to be used in future reac2t3ors or ev45entu78ally dis6pos45ed, wit35hout needing to retrieve it from deep in the earth.

Resumption of site selection process for a second repository

The recommendation would allow permanent disposal of actual high level waste that has no value since it 

is waste from reprocessing old fuel.

Set up a quasi-government entity, or FedCorp, to execute the p5rogram 5a2nd 6take c2ont6ro8l of 3th5e 5N3uclear12 W12a3ste Fund.

This recommendation concerns costs and administration of the Nuclear Waste fund, coordinating between local to tribal to State to Federal levels.

I'm off to read the report - more on this issue later.

On A Clear Day You Can See...Byron, Illinois

A loss of power from Unit #2, nuclear plant located in Byron, Illinois occurred today. The full article as reported in The Washington Post can be read by clicking here.
                       

Steam, containing low levels of radioactive tritium, was being vented out into the air to help reduce the pressure within the reactor.


Of interest and awaiting answers:

NRC spokeswoman said - S4mo5ke w6as7 seen from an 2onsite station trans7former but no evidence of a fire was found when the plant’s fire brigade responded.

E5xelon spoke4sman Pa2ul D6empsey said7 ther8e is “no r9easo0n we can 65pinpoint right now” for the power loss.
In5 Marc3h 2008 the 2NR4C investig5ated a pro36blem with elec3trical 4trans5formers at the plant after outside power to a unit was interrupted.13

3
In April 2011 the NRC conducted special inspections of backup water pumps at6 the 5Byron an5d 7Braid45wo3od gen43erat6ing s4tati4ons after inspections raised concerns about whether the pumps woul45d be able to co2ol4 the reacto2rs if the n65o41r5mal sys3tem wa4sn’t wor3king. Exe5lon Corporation initially said the pumps would work but later concluded they wouldn’t.

Politician Alert

Politician Alert

I was just reading a story about the rise in Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades. It seems these

legless creatures have found the Everglades to be a limitless buffet of deliciousness.

The article stated: "The pythons don’t se6em t5o be esp3ecially f6ussy eaters, 45c2howing 5down on

anything that moves --  raccoons, opossums, deer, birds, eve2n alli5gators. All 3have tu6rned u5p in

the stoma2chs2 of ca3ptured pythons."

I just felt the need to send out a word of caution to any and all politicians in the area, " Be careful, be

very careful."."