tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86821620650933930522024-03-13T21:49:33.548-07:00Independent Broad Minded CentristChuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.comBlogger106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-52815756843992505042018-12-05T13:53:00.000-08:002018-12-26T09:32:15.785-08:00George H. W. Bush, Republicans, Democrats and Me and More<P>I am starting to write this posting on the day lots of us watched the memorial service for George H. W. Bush at Washington National Cathedral. This service was a truly moving service for a fine man who contributed so much to our world. People who spoke -- especially his son George W. Bush -- told us about what a good man he was who made so many fine contributions to our world. I still have memories about the demise of the Soviet Union during his term in office as President of the United States. Russia is still not some sort of paradise, but it is better than it was 30 years ago.
<P>By 1988 I had become an independently thinking culturally open minded person involved in things like the exploration and development of space and the arts, especially photography. I had also become more than a bit of a writer. I was also a leader in visionary groups favoring space exploration and development. I still have a piece of visionary space exploration art I received as an award for public relations in 1987 from what had become the <a href="https://space.nss.org/" target="_blank">National Space Society</a>.
<P>By the time of George H. W. Bush's election as President I had become a moderate, open minded Republican who was friendly with Democrats and thought they had much to contribute to society. Part of that was because I was living in New Jersey who had in 1988 the fine Republican Governor Thomas Kean who was a much better governor than his predecessor Brendan Byrne who was a good man but a poor governor. I also lived in Hamilton Township just outside Trenton, New Jersey where the local government was also being led by fine, open minded, caring Republicans.
<P>In the 1980s I had become as a young man a supporter of Ronald Reagan as President because I -- like so many others -- thought he was much better than Jimmy Carter who was President before him. Jimmy Carter was a good man of considerable intelligence who turned out to be a poor president. Some people think might have been because of his work as an engineer. Too many engineers lack the people skills necessary to be a leader of humans. There was one other engineer who had become President. Who was it? Herbert Hoover. Yes, the President who led the country during the beginning of the Great Depression.
<P>My artistic side kept me involved with artists who were socially and culturally liberal as I could be in important ways. I was very much supportive of people who worked to make our society better for humans in so many ways. People need time to care for family and friends and community. A workplace that demands far too much time from the people who work there might have some success in the short term but not in the long term. They can even do their own work significant harm by trying to work too hard. Think of, for example, the Challenger disaster. People who decided to launch that space craft were so sleep deprived that they "thought" it OK to launch that vehicle not only when the temperature was too low by standards of the day but there were even icicles hanging from the shuttle. But the staff wanted to get the shuttle into space so that President Reagan could mention the Teacher in Space during his State of the Union address. He did mention the crew -- but not in his State of the Union speech. He mentioned them when he addressed the country about the Challenger disaster. To begin learning more about the consequences of sleep deprivation read the article "Zombie Nation" in the the <a href="http://independentbroadmindedcentrist.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-february-2014-mensa-bulletin.html" target=_blank>February 2014 Mensa Bulletin</a>.
<P>When did I become a Democrat? When I moved to Maryland in 1990. I had already been told by a few people that the Democrats in Maryland were good, open minded people who worked to make our society better. I found out when I moved to Maryland that Maryland Republicans were almost a bad joke. The elections that mattered most were the Democratic primaries. That year was the governor's election. The Republican was a bad joke. On the other hand, the Democrat who had already served one term was William Donald Schaefer who was not only a good Democrat but a good man and a good leader. With that evidence I became a good, open minded, caring Democrat. Oh -- because of my interest in space exploration and development I had become aware of what a good person Senator Barbara Mikulski was. She had been a strong, thoughtful supporter of space exploration and development for some years. I think I started becoming aware of that in the 1970s when she did some things to support the dreams of some space visionaries. I became aware of that work as a member of the visionary group the L5 Society and the more professional American Astronautical Society. It was by answering an ad in the American Astronautical Society magazine that I was recruited into a position in the supercomputer center at Goddard Space Flight Center.
<P>The beginnings of my career at Goddard had some very good points. The group I joined was happy to have a man who was not only a good computer geek but was also a published writer. They told me before I formally joined their group one of my tasks would be to write the minutes of the Computer User Committee. I was happy to have that task. Then the bad point came. The meetings of this group were normally held on the first Monday of the month. Everyone in my group was banned from the meeting in April 1990 so that the scientists could discuss the problems of the group. In May I got an example of the group's problems. Before I arrived a company secretary was writing the minutes and people from my group were going over her notes to correct obvious problems After seeing her draft in May I told people to not send her again. I would do the first draft. After doing this I started getting phone calls from as far away as NASA Headquarters congratulating on the good work I was doing. People started complementing me on my work as well.
<P>My photography side also contributed to my work. People were impressed with my visual talents. This was at a time when scientists and engineers were increasingly using computer software that helped people visualize their work. People started treating me as the go to person for computer graphics.
<P>There were a couple of other good points. Goddard had a running club that did races in April and October. One was a two mile fun run. The next week they had a 10K race for serious runners. I found out I was one of the fastest runners at Goddard. That discovery eventually led to me doing the Marine Corps Marathon in 1996. Another good point was finding out that Goddard had a Music and Drama Club that put on good productions a few times a year. I approached them with my photographs and became their chief photographer.
<P>In general my first years at Goddard were good. People genuinely appreciated not only my technical work but also my writing and even my photography in groups outside the supercomputer center. People came to me to help fix their problems during those first years at Goddard. I thought I had settled into a career that would carry me through to a good retirement.
<P>Then the good manager who led our group (with my help) burned out. He was replaced by an abusive woman control freak. The first man she abused was Joe. Joe was 40 years old. He had been working there 12 years. Then Joe made "a bad mistake." What did he do? He got married and started spending time with his wife. Most people consider that good. It is even good for your work. Spending too much time at work is actually bad for your work. Tired people do not do good work. Think Challenger Disaster. Our manager -- whom I shall now call Crazy Susan -- told Joe to forget about the marriage and concentrate on work. Joe was appalled. He was able to get a transfer out of the group.
<P>I also remember the first time Crazy Susan went over the top in abusing me In 1995 the delightful Evyan started our affair with my enthusiastic participation. When she told me I needed a wife, I thought it would be her. Then in September 1996 she ended our affair. I was disappointed but could handle it. In October I did the Marine Corps Marathon. Doing that impressed quite a few people. Then in November Crazy Susan ordered me into a conference with the words "Do you know these computers are for government work only?" I wondered what this was about. We walked into said conference room where an older man that I did not know was sitting. Crazy Susan sat down on one side of the conference table. I sat down on the other side. Crazy Susan slapped down in front of me a piece of paper. On the piece of paper was a spam e-mail from a pornographer. I got all kinds of spam e-mail. That was because my job required me to have a high public profile so that the people who used out supercomputer center could get to know me better and reach out directly to me for help on problems. What did I do? I simply said "This is spam." The older man whom I did not know simply rolled his eyes. That ended that confrontation in my favor. I wondered though what had really caused that confrontation. I don't look at pornography at home when I am alone. OK, when I was young and in college I did look at Playboy occasionally out of a curiosity that clearly had some sexual curiosity. Since then I have even seen some art with clearly sexual (think sometimes nude models) dimensions. Still though this is hardly something that is I would do at work. My primary thoughts about sex it is my desire to be married to a wonderful woman and to love her with all my heart and soul.
<P>I had more conflicts with Crazy Susan. So did other people in our group. Think men who were happily married as one significant group. Then in 1999 Crazy Susan drove me out. I heard from other people that she said about me "He's brilliant. Why doesn't he get it?" My thoughts about her is that this crazy control freak was the one who was not getting it.
<P>I was not unemployed for even a day. I was invited to join a new small firm by really good people. My first weekend with this new company I went up to New Jersey for a high school reunion. That reunion started off well with Lucille Romano being the first person to see my medal for doing a marathon. She was very impressed and made me wear that medal for the rest of the evening. Then Lucille told me about Diane. Learning about her suicide really saddened me. To learn more about that read <a href="https://independentbroadmindedcentrist.blogspot.com/2017/04/fiftieth-anniversaries.html" target=_blank>Fiftieth Anniversaries</a>.
<P>The next few years went reasonably well for me. Unfortunately the company I joined started going out of business in 2002. I started looking for more work. It took a few months, but I found it. The new company was decent but not as good as the one I joined when I was forced out of Goddard.
<P>In February 2003 the space shuttle Columbia was lost in another disaster. Since Central Jersey Mensa has a Regional Gathering in March, I contacted friends in Central Jersey Mensa and offered to give a talk on the problems with NASA. They accepted immediately. My talk was described as riveting. In 2004 I came back to deliver another talk -- this time with the backing of a government investigation. Not only did people respect my talk at the end of it a man I did not know stood up and began talking. He told us he was a NASA employee. He then praised what I said. That weekend he told me NASA needed people like me.
<P>Then came May 2004. I was let go from my job. I was unhappy with this. But my financial condition was still OK. At a Rutgers Club meeting one young man stated that people volunteered for political campaigns to get to build relations with political leaders. I thought about that and started volunteering for political campaigns including that of Senator Barbara Mikulski and Congressman Steny Hoyer. I did begin attracting attention with my volunteering.
<P>The next few years I got more involved in politics. I spent my saved money to live on. I also ran up credit card debt. I eventually started collecting Social Security. My original plan back in the 1990s was to work until I was at least 70 and not collect Social Security until then. If I had been able to do that I would have gotten substantially more from Social Security.
<P>People started paying attention to what I was doing. In 2006 I walked into a meeting of the Governor's Workforce Investment Board on the topic of Aerospace Initiatives. I wound up leading a committee to create a Maryland Aerospace Association. Quite a few people liked what I did. They even saw me as the paid executive director of such organization. Industry however chose not to fund such an organization. I have saved on my blog some things from my work with said organization. The short public policy piece is <a href="https://independentbroadmindedcentrist.blogspot.com/2008/02/aerospace-workforce-issues.html" target=_blank>Aerospace Workforce Issues</a>. The much more detailed description of what the group that I led did is also on my blog as <a href="https://independentbroadmindedcentrist.blogspot.com/2010/03/aerospace-initiative-home-page.html" target=_blank>Aerospace Initiative Home Page</a>. Yes, these pieces are long even by my standards.
<P>In 2008 there was the Presidential election. Barack Obama became the Democratic Party candidate, possibly surprising many Hilary Clinton supporters. After all she was much better known at the beginning of the campaigns to become President. Obama made a favorable impression on me. John McCain, the Republican candidate, while seeming a good man did not seem nearly as good as Obama. Obama won the election by a significant margin. I thought this was good for the country.
<P>In December 2008 I walked into Steny Hoyer's annual Holiday Party. It was, as usual, a good event attended by good people. That morning on page 2 of the Washington Post was an article about problems with the transition at NASA. I brought this up when I was talking to Steny Hoyer when I arrived. I offered to help. Congressman Hoyer turned to one of his staffer and asked her if they had contact information for me. She said they did. That was the last I heard on that topic. What happened behind my back I do not know. I will say that I thought these people had a quite favorable impression of me. Perhaps I could be wrong.
<P>After that I was dismissed from positions in more than one organization. Did I ever get any help? When I was in the process of losing my home, Congressman Hoyer and the government in general helped me get into a program to keep veterans from becoming homeless. That allowed me to get some money from the government which helped me move into an apartment in Washington DC with the government paying part of the rent. That made my life significantly better than it could have been. Still, though, I am living alone in a small apartment without even a car to get around the local area. I think I should still be working at NASA, being paid quite well for my work, married to a good woman and perhaps even having some children with this woman whom we are bringing up to be good citizens in this country and world.
<P>President Obama when he ran for reelection won but by a significantly smaller majority than he won by in 2008. This suggests that his support in the larger community was declining. His administration has now been described as "closed" and run by "control freaks" in the New York Times. I wonder if this had something to do with his decline in voter support.
<P>The 2016 election was disappointing to many. Hillary Clinton got more popular votes than Donald Trump but he got more electoral votes. Some liberals especially have called for reforms on this issue. A few people have noticed though that Clinton did not even get 50% of the vote. Third parties -- especially the Libertarian and Green Parties -- saw a significant rise in the number of popular votes that they got. I wonder if this was due in part to many people being disgusted with the major party nominees. I know I have some clearly libertarian views as do a number of better educated, thoughtful caring views. I also have some sympathy with the Greens. I might have stronger disagreements about how to accomplish their goals, but that does not mean I think they are not making significant contributions to our country and world. One of the things that got me really interested in space exploration and development was the prospect of solar power satellites powering the Earth cleanly and cheaply. Those space colony dreams have not come true yet, but I think those ideas are worthy of support. I think our society would truly benefit if we spent a large portion of our money that we now spend on the failed drug war and spent it instead on space exploration and development.
Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-45481422949319641352018-12-05T13:08:00.000-08:002018-12-05T13:08:29.225-08:00More Thoughts About Fiftieth Anniversaries<P>Last year I wrote about three fiftieth anniversaries. I titled that piece <a href="http://independentbroadmindedcentrist.blogspot.com/2017/04/fiftieth-anniversaries.html">Fiftieth Anniversaries</a>. One was about graduating from Rutgers. The other was about getting drafted into the Army. The third was about high school classmate Diane Van Doren.
<P>In 1968 I finally got to go to California to begin my assignment as a physicist working with an Army group called the United States Army Corps of Engineers Nuclear Cratering Group. I was very happy to be working on a project that was close to a civilian group called Project Plowshare that was working to develop nuclear explosive technologies for peaceful civilian uses. I wish I could have gotten there sooner but at least I did eventually get there.
<P>I was at first welcomed into the group. They were glad to have a bright young physicist to help them with their work. I still remember one of the first assignments I was given. I was told to research what would happen to radioactive materials after an underground nuclear explosion. They gave me three months to do the research. Since I had not taken any geology courses in college, I went to the Lawrence Livermore library and starting checking out and reading books on the topic. The more I read, the more difficult this assignment looked. I worked as hard as I could. Then two months into this work I went to a talk on a part of my topic given by a couple of Project Plowshare people. I thought I would learn more. At that talk I found out that the much larger Project Plowshare people had twenty people working on this topic for two years. They were making a progress report. After their good talk I walked up to them and introduced myself. I described my assignment and what I was going. I also asked for help. The look on their faces was quite sympathetic. They did mention that at least I was in California and not being shot at in Vietnam. I went back to my Army group and said rather angrily "Does anyone here know what they are doing?" I then brought up what I had learned from the Project Plowshare people. I simply stated that I had been given a task I could not do. I also added that perhaps no one could do. This started off conflicts between me and my superiors.
<P>The conflicts escalated over the next few months. Then the people from basic training managed to get back at me. They told the Army that I was a security risk. This was, shall we say, not true. I might have been rebellious in some ways during basic training. I clearly did not want to be a soldier. I wanted to go back to civilian life and physics research as a young adult. But do something to help our country's enemies? Please. I might be an opponent of the Vietnam War and might have wanted better solutions to our conflicts with the damned Communists but I was hardly on their side.
<P>These conflicts escalated to the point where I was kicked out of this group in the summer of 1968. My next assignment was the Presidio in San Francisco. I became a programmer there. Early in my assignment there I met just outside the gate a woman from a group known as the War Resisters League. This was a pacifist group that was part of the opposition to the Vietnam War. Oh -- they were also opponents of the Soviet Union. They even protested in Moscow when the Soviet Union reinvaded Czechoslovakia. It was a small protest and they were kicked out of the Soviet Union but it allowed them to show their opposition to the dreadful Soviet Union. The woman I met from this group seemed favorably impressed with me She gave me the address of their San Francisco office. That is where I finally began connecting up with Vietnam War protesters. Those protesters were also strongly in favor of free, democratic societies. These connections also led to conflicts with the leadership at the Presidio.
<P>Enough for now. More on this topic next year.Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-20297400010426992332018-11-05T09:09:00.000-08:002018-11-05T09:49:25.253-08:00Mom<P>Today would have been my wonderful mother's 103rd birthday. The last time I could celebrate a birthday with her was in 2008. She passed away on February 27, 2009. I miss her so much. Perhaps it is because in recent years I have learned that mothers range from the kind of wonderful person Mom was to really horrible people who did real damage to their children.
<P>One thing that comes to mind about Mom is food and cooking. When I was a child growing up I remember the good meals we had at home with Mom doing the cooking. One of the few criticisms I can make of Dad is that he was a lousy cook. That could be why when I was in the Boy Scouts Mom said one night at dinner that all men should know how to cook. She then proposed that I get the cooking merit badge in the Boy Scouts. I reacted really positively to that. I enjoyed learning how to cook.
<P>Over the years my life took several interesting turns. One thing was doing graduate work in physics at Vassar College. Because of that -- and some photography I did being photography editor of the Vassar yearbook that year -- I met Dominique, a young French woman. She got me interested in, among other things, French culture. I developed a taste for French food as a result. After that when I wanted to impress a date, I would take her to a French restaurant. For Mom's 90th birthday I took her to a French restaurant. Mom enjoyed that dinner. Much before this -- when Mom was still living independently in New Jersey -- one weekend when I was visiting her I took notice of the shelf of cook books that Mom had. I said to her "Mom you are not using those French cook books. Can I have them?" Mom gladly gave them to me. I started learning how to cook French dishes. Oh -- I am still learning. If I had a wife and family I might be doing French cooking more often and trying more dishes.
<P>Mom was clearly going downhill at Christmas in 2008. I told the assisted living place where Mom was then living I wanted to take Mom to church on Christmas Day. Could they help Mom be ready for that special day? I don't know what they did, but from the time I picked up Mom that Christmas morning to go to church and then spend time together throughout the day Mom was fine. She enjoyed church and then lunch. I took her for a drive that afternoon. She enjoyed that. When we got back to my place I cooked a lovely dinner of roast chicken. Mom enjoyed that dinner very much. After dinner I took Mom back to the assisted living place. That Christmas Day was so enjoyable. I did not know it would be the last one I would spend with Mom.
<P>The next day I got Mom out of the assisted living place again. I brought her to my place. One of the ingredients in the French dish chicken with mornay sauce is cold cooked chicken which you reheat in a fry pan. Yes, I cooked that for Mom. She really enjoyed that dinner! That made me so happy!
<P>The next time I went to the assisted living place to take Mom out again was only a couple of days later. The staff could not wake her up. They told me that if I wanted to visit Mom to come there at lunch time. That is what I did for the next few months. Then on Friday evening February 27, 2009 I got a phone call from the assisted living place that Mom had passed away. I still remember that last lunch with Mom.
<P>I remember so many other things as well. One thing I remember is Mom and Dad taking me to see My Fair Lady on a Broadway stage. That was such a positive day I still remember it. Then there was the last football game of Rutgers 1961 season. Rutgers entered that game with 8 wins and 0 losses. Their last opponent was Columbia. Columbia roared off to a good start and had a significant lead in the third quarter. Then Rutgers pulled off a comeback! With not just Mom and Dad and me but everyone on the Rutgers side of the field cheering on the Rutgers football team they pulled off a victory! Oh – my father and grandfather both went to Rutgers. That is why I have such a strong connection to that school.
<P>What are some other memories of Mom? Mom taking me on trips to Philadelphia with a woman Mom became friends with at work well before I was born. Mom encouraging my photography when I was in the Boy Scouts. Oh – when I was old enough to be a Cub Scout Mom became Den Mother of the Cub Scout Pack that met in our home weekly. Mom and Dad taking me to St. James on normal Sundays when I was growing up. And not normal Sundays? There were trips to Trinity Cathedral in Trenton. Mom and Dad both encouraging my interest in science fiction when I was growing up. Then there was learning to read. I grew up in a home filled with books. Mom and Dad did much reading. Mom told me when I was a mature adult that I had become a real pest as a boy growing up in home filled with books with parents that did much reading. So they started teaching me how to read when I was only 3. Mom probably did more of the teaching. She was a stay at home Mom until I began high school. I remember complaining when Mom went back to work. Mom and Dad told me that Mom was doing it for me. By working for pay, Mom would be able to help me pay for college. I was also told that I was now grown up enough that I could be on my own for the hour or so when I was at home after a day at high school before Mom got home. I realized quickly that my parents were right.
<P>Then there were the trips to Canada. Dad's mother had been Canadian. She sadly died before I was born. I still remember going to Canada as a boy growing up. Those trips broadened my life in so many ways. Mom and Dad both exposed me to so many things that helped me develop my mind in so many ways. By being warm, caring people from warm caring families they also helped me develop a caring personality. By teaching me so much they also helped me to develop intellectually as an independent caring person.
<P>Enough for now. More later.Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-30618420748011452332018-08-30T09:33:00.000-07:002018-09-08T07:11:42.314-07:00Thoughts About Changing NASA in Particular and Science and Tech Fields in General<P>All, I have written a good bit about the needs for various kinds of reforms in science and technology fields.
<P>On Sunday, August 26, 2018 the Washington Post had two pieces in the Business section that might get more people to thinking about things like this. One was an article by Christian Davenport titled <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/the-change-agents-bringing-tradition-bound-nasa-into-the-future/2018/08/24/626e6f02-a646-11e8-a656-943eefab5daf_story.html?utm_term=.73c593cf090a">The change agents pulling tradition-bound NASA into the future</a>. It is a very interesting article about the kinds of changes NASA needs to go far beyond their current accomplishments. One company trying to lead the space industry toward more accomplishments is SpaceX led by Elon Musk. There is a piece by Jena McGregor titled <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/08/22/elon-musk-is-poster-boy-culture-that-celebrates-obsessive-overwork/?utm_term=.30b406e257de">Elon Musk is the ‘poster boy’ of a culture that celebrates ‘obsessive overwork’</a>. This article appeared first in the August 26 edition of the Post.
<P>The more one learns about people like Elon Musk, the more doubtful one can become of their ability to actually produce the kinds of changes that they talk about. Exhausted people do not perform that well. They make bad mistakes. Think, for example, the Challenger disaster.Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-79937195309183823972018-03-21T08:36:00.000-07:002018-03-21T08:36:19.803-07:00Great Britain, the United States and Canada<P>Great Britain, the United States and Canada mean a great deal to me and, I hope, others as well.
<P>Mom's parents moved here from England in 1909. They were English working class and fine people. I count myself so lucky to have gotten to know such fine people as a boy growing up in New Jersey.
<P>Dad's side of the family was, putting it mildly, somewhat different. Dad's father (Charles Divine) was my only grandparent born in the United States. He married a woman from Canada. All my interactions with my Canadian relatives have been wonderful. They are bright, thoughtful, warm, caring people.
<P>My paternal grandfather came from an unusual family. His father Michael Divine was born in Ireland in 1828. By the time my grandfather was born in 1869, he was a lawyer in the United States. Michael Divine married a woman from England with the name Angelina Elizabeth Donne which is how I am related to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Donne">John Donne</a>.
<P>Why do I bring these things up? Partly to let people know what is going on in my mind while I am writing this.
<P>400 years ago King James was an opponent of Magna Carta. My ancestor John Donne, along with lots of other people, were strong supporters of Magna Carta. Magna Carta was an important advance to the kind of free democratic societies many of us value today.
<P>King James died of natural causes in 1625. His successor was one King Charles I. He has been described as an absolute dictator. My ancestor John Donne died of natural causes (think stomach cancer possibly) in 1631. King Charles I? His absolute dictatorship led to the <a href=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Civil_War">English Civil War</a>. As a result of that war, King Charles I was executed. Great Britain moved in the direction of being more free and democratic. Still, though, it was not as free and democratic as the UK is today.
<P>Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-22082756462381674192017-04-25T16:54:00.000-07:002018-12-29T17:59:57.793-08:00Fiftieth Anniversaries<P>2017 has three fiftieth anniversaries that are significant for me.
<P>The first is the fiftieth anniversary of my graduating from Rutgers with a degree in physics. I was very glad to have accomplished this. My years at Rutgers were considerably more good than bad, but I and others (especially physics majors) saw problems at our wonderful school. This was early in the years since Rutgers had become The State University. In recent years I learned that Rutgers tripled the number of students since the 1950s. At a Rutgers Club of DC meeting a few years ago there were people who had graduated from Rutgers in the 1950s. One man had graduated in 1951, another in 1958. The man from the class of 1951 told us that 400 students had started Rutgers with him and 400 had graduated 4 years later. The man from the class of 1958 told us that 500 had started in his class and 500 had graduated. During my time at Rutgers 1700 started and only 1100 had graduated in 1967. I do remember that sometimes we physics majors expressed the thought that there were too many physics majors for the faculty to handle. Still, though, I did get a good education as a young man in physics and more.
<P>What are some other memories I have of my time at Rutgers?
<P>There was one extracurricular activity that has shaped my life in important ways.
<P>In high school I went out for the track team to get an athletic credit for college. The people in high school made me team manager. I liked doing that and learned something about running and runners by doing so. I liked that volunteer activity so much that when I got to Rutgers I volunteered to help again as team manager. They welcomed me to that post. I have great memories of Coach Wallack and the track team. Yes, I learned even more about running and runners by doing so. But I did not become a runner.
<P>On Friday, November 22, 1963 (first semester of my freshman year) I was sitting in the library doing some reading for my courses. A young man I did not know walked in and said to me “Did you hear? The President has been shot.” I thought “What?” Later that afternoon I walked into my last Friday freshman physics class and saw that Professor Barshay had written on the blackboard “President Assassinated. Class canceled.” I walked back to my dormitory and phoned my father. He picked me up on his way home. That Saturday evening at home Mom, Dad and me watched TV where we saw a Rutgers choral group singing a tribute to the now late President Kennedy. That tribute was very moving.
<P>Attending classical music concerts was another good thing about attending Rutgers back then. Then there was the Episcopalian students group that I enjoyed attending. Then there were the Rutgers basketball team games. Basketball improved greatly when I was there.
<P>What else do I remember? Having lunch with Dad at the Alumni Faculty Club. One special occasion was in January 1964. The previous night there had been a game at a fraternity at which the upperclassmen tried to get the freshman as drunk as possible as fast as possible. I was the first loser. Friends helped me back to the dormitory. The next day Dad and I had a serious talk about alcohol at lunch. A few weeks later I was in New York City with some friends. Back then it was legal for 18 year olds to drink in New York City. My friends all ordered beer. I remember Dad was a moderate scotch drinker. I ordered a scotch and liked it. I became a moderate scotch drinker. In California I became a moderate wine drinker. The next time I drank beer was during my first trip to England in 1987 for a world science fiction convention. My cousins Harry and Anita Lawton picked me at the airport. On the way up to their place in Nottingham we stopped at a British pub. Harry asked me if I would like to try one of their beers. I, thinking that these were not just relatives but friends of mine, said yes. Harry ordered best bitter all around. I enjoyed that drink. Back in the States I wound up trying a bottle of Sam Adams at a Mensa party. I liked that. I became a moderate drinker of really good beer. During my next trip to England (in 1989) I told this story to Harry as we were sitting in a pub drinking some good British beer. Harry cracked up laughing.
<P>Before I graduated in 1967 I was offered a job by IBM working in one of the laboratories as a young physicist. IBM seemed impressed with both Rutgers and me. I was glad to get this good job. The laboratory specialized in reliability of computer electronics. I was very glad to be offered the position and accepted it. On graduation day I was looking forward to starting this wonderful work. On graduation day my parents, remembering how much fun I had had getting the photography merit badge in the Boy Scouts gave me a very nice 35 mm camera outfit. If you could take a time machine back to that day and tell people five years from now this young man will be the photography editor of the Vassar College yearbook and ten years from now the Princeton Ballet will be paying him for his ballet photography, you would have been telling us the absolute truth and surprised us all. Then if you told us what was going to happen to me and my family in that decade, you would have shocked us.
<P>The second fiftieth anniversary is far more shocking. In August I was drafted into the Army. Young physicists were normally given critical skills exemptions from the draft. I was the only man drafted out of my IBM laboratory. People at IBM told me to enter the Army. They said I would be given a position in a laboratory in the United States and would not go to Vietnam. That turned out to be true. But my time in the Army began a life of conflict with over the top authority figures. Authority with the limits of free, democratic societies I can accept, possibly easily.
<P>I have already written about my time in basic training. On my blog I titled the entry <a href="http://independentbroadmindedcentrist.blogspot.com/2009/12/few-basic-training-stories.html" target=_blank>A Few Basic Training Stories</a> Lots of people – whatever their current political leanings – like that post. Oh – the second story shows the beginning of my sense of humor. Yes, I got hundreds of people to laugh out loud at an arrogant 2nd lieutenant.
<P>Remember what I said about helping the track team at Rutgers as team manager? Basic training also started turning me into a runner – a very serious runner eventually. Yes I have written about that as well. Read <a href="http://independentbroadmindedcentrist.blogspot.com/2012/05/my-running-career.html" target=_blank>My Running Career</a> to learn more about that side of me. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if my high school track coach – Coach Marchand -- had noticed that I had some talent for running.
<P>After being in basic training a month, we were given our post basic training assignments. Assignments were like “You are going to infantry training. You are going to cooking school.” And more along the lines of normal military assignments. My assignment was not. I not only had a physics degree, I also had the highest IQ of anybody at Fort Dix. That, apparently, got the attention of some people very high up the hierarchy. What was my assignment? I was going to be sent to the United States Army Corps of Engineers Nuclear Cratering Group at Lawrence Laboratory in Livermore, California. I was going to be given $300 to buy civilian clothes because people in my group were not allowed to wear military uniforms. I was also going to be given some money to live in an apartment with some other people in Livermore, California. This freaked out the leadership at Fort Dix. It got me another month and a half of “basic training.”
<P>Oh – the Army group I was assigned to was stationed at Lawrence Livermore because there was a much larger civilian group called Project Plowshare that was trying to come up with technologies that would use things like nuclear weapons for civilian purposes. Think doing things like digging a canal using “nuclear explosives” instead of sending out thousands of people with earth moving equipment to do such things.
<P>Yes, I was very happy to be given that assignment. I was not going to be shot at . I might even make some sort of valuable contribution to our country and world by doing this kind of work.
<P>I finally got out of basic training with the help of a corporal who would be discharged in a few days. He passed me on my hand grenade tossing test. Anyway in December I was now released from basic training. I went back to my parents' home for a Christmas vacation before flying out to California. I, of course, enjoyed spending time with Mom, Dad and family and friends in general.
<P>Here is my third fiftieth anniversary.
<P>One afternoon I was visiting our local car mechanic to discuss with this good man things I should pay attention to regarding my car out there in California. That discussion was going well as I expected it would.
<P>Then Diane Van Doren burst in. We had gone to high school together. The Diane I knew was a sweet, warm, caring, bright, energetic, wonderful human being. She had a smile on her face even bigger and more impressive than the one I remembered from high school. She had let her beautiful blonde hair grow out much longer. I thought she was even more beautiful. Then she turned her head to the right and saw me. She quickly realized I had been drafted. That smile changed to an expression of genuine worry for me.
<P>I told this terrific young woman that I had been given an assignment in California. I would not be shot at by Communists in Vietnam. That got her to relax a bit. Still, though, I could see how worried about me she had been.
<P>My career and life took me many places. By the time I was working at Goddard Space Flight Center I had thought I would be spending the rest of my career there doing good things for my fellow humans. In 1999 I was driven out by truly awful management. My last day at Goddard was Monday, July 12, 1999. I started my new job with much better people the next day. The next weekend I went up to New Jersey for a high school reunion. When I walked in carrying the medal I got for finishing the Marine Corps Marathon in 1996 and showed it to Lucille Romano, she broke out with a great smile and said “You've done a marathon?” She made me wear that medal for the rest of the evening.
<P>Later that evening news about Diane circulated around. Lucille also told me that Diane had committed suicide. That news shocked us all.
<P>I started remembering Diane's and I last encounter. I began wondering what would have happened had I said to her “Diane, I don't have to go to California for some days. Would you like to go out on a date?” If she had said yes and we had hit it off well and began a long distance dating relationship until I got out of the Army and then starting dating even more seriously. I could imagine us getting married and starting a wonderful family. I would have had the wonderful wife and family I needed. Diane would have been much happier, putting it mildly. Don't you just love British understatement?
<P>That memory of Diane is the last of my fiftieth anniversaries.
<P>I hope people appreciate these memories of mine.Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-1406649309241074662017-01-03T17:05:00.000-08:002017-01-03T17:05:51.712-08:00Education in the Community I Grew Up In<P>I was born in 1945 -- lots of people are surprised to hear that -- and grew up in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, just outside of Trenton, New Jersey.
<P>I remember going to Farmingdale and Greenwood Elementary Schools. I have good memories of the teachers I met there. They were very caring about their students. They encouraged my growing interests in things like space exploration, astronomy and science in general. My family was even more encouraging. I remember Mom and Dad buying me a telescope to look out into the heavens before I was a teenager. I think this was part of my getting the astronomy merit badge in the Boy Scouts.
<P>I still have some interesting memories of that time in school.
<P>One day in a high school history class I got into an informal debate with our teacher about what was more important -- the United States exploration of space or the various political changes that were happening in the Middle East (think United Arab Republic) at the same time. Oh -- I was on my high school's debate team. I obviously took the position that space exploration was most important. Our teacher claimed that the United Arab Republic was more important by far. He eventually kicked me out of class sending me to the principal's office. While I was waiting there, the vice principal came in and saw me sitting there. With a look of concern on his face he asked me what I was doing there. I told him. He relaxed and told me not to worry that he would take care of the problem.
<P>One day also in high school when I was walking through our local bookstore I saw a book by a physicist named Eddington titled Mathematical Theory of Relativity. Since it was only $2.95 -- well within my allowance. I bought it. Soon I starting seeing mathematics that I had never seen before. I took the book into school and showed it to our math teacher -- a fine man named Mr. Rosen. I asked for his help. He with a friendly smile said "Why don't you wait until you are in college?" That's how I found out that my interests had gone far beyond what even a good high school back then could provide.
<P>I also have a high school memory of my first grade teacher. How? One evening near the end of our class's senior year all of the teachers who had taught us as we were growing up were invited to a graduation oriented event. I ran into said first grade teacher there. She, with a big smile on her face, congratulated me on graduating from high school. She then asked quite friendlily what I would be doing after high school. I told her with a seventeen year old's enthusiasm that I would be going to Rutgers and majoring in physics. The expression on her face switched to something along the lines "You were bored in first grade!"
<P>Lots of other people besides my family and my schools nurtured my growing interest in science. My parents were quite active in St. James Episcopal Church. They were part of the more well educated people there. All those people encouraged my interests. The Scopes Monkey Trial down in Tennessee decades earlier did get some attention -- particularly after the film Inherit the Wind came out. What did people at St. James think? They thought that kind of thinking was that of quite ignorant people who did not know what they were talking about. Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-81546620566911631152016-05-14T12:32:00.000-07:002018-08-30T09:31:34.845-07:00Jeff Bezos and Space<P>Jeff Bezos has been getting attention in recent years for doing things like creating Amazon and buying the Washington Post. His interest in space exploration and development hasn't attracted as much general attention. Perhaps that will change with the Transformers meeting on Wednesday, May 18 at the Washington Post.
<P>Bezos has an interesting personal history. He was born in 1964. His biological parents marriage lasted less than a year. His mother remarried to one Miguel Bezos by the time Jeff was four. Miguel came to the United States from Cuba after the Communist takeover as part of Operation Pedro Pan (see <a href="http://www.pedropan.org/category/history">Pedro Pan</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Peter_Pan")>Wikipedia on Peter Pan</a>. Miguel (known generally as Mike) became an engineer in the United States
<P>The Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union attracted much attention in the 1960s. It really got a good bit of attention after the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite in 1957 and the first human into space, Yuri Gagarin, in 1961. The United States eventually won that race when Apollo 11 landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969. Jeff Bezos was five then. That was old enough to remember such a significant event. I suspect his engineer stepfather Miguel paid a good bit of attention to this race, especially since he escaped Communist Cuba as a teenager.
<P>Space faded from general interest after Apollo 11 – but not for some engineers, scientists and imaginative visionaries. One man who was a member of all these groups was one <a href="http://ssi.org/the-life-of-gerard-k-oneill/">Gerard K. O'Neill</a>) who was a physics professor at Princeton University. O'Neill got a good bit of attention in the larger world with his book The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space that came out in 1976 which made an interesting case that the human race was on the brink of developing large space colonies that would house thousands and then millions of people doing things to benefit humans on Earth. Think, for example, building large satellites that would capture solar energy and beam it to Earth to power Earth cleanly and cheaply.
<P>Jeff Bezos was a boy growing into a young man during the 1970s. He graduated from Miami Palmetto High in 1982 as class valedictorian. What was his valedictorian address about? Space colonies. The Miami Herald has an interesting <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article1953866.html">article</a> about this.
<P>What was his next step in his education? He went to Princeton University, starting out as a physics major. I suspect Gerard K. O'Neill and his advocacy of space colonies had something to do with this decision. Bezos soon switched to his first loves of electrical engineering and computer software though. Jeff also became president of the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space while at Princeton. People can find an interesting account of Bezos' work doing that on <a href="http://gaiome.com/intro.html">Gaiome</a>.
<P>After graduating from Princeton, Bezos first found work on Wall Street before starting Amazon in the 1990s. More recently he has started <a href="https://www.blueorigin.com">Blue Origin</a>. Let me say Jeff Bezos is still quite interested in space exploration and development.
<P>The event Transformers, while it does have some interesting people in fields outside of space who are working to make interesting changes in their fields, does have some interesting people who are working to change space as well. At least that is what I get from reading the Post's description of this upcoming event at <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-live/wp/2016/04/07/may-18-in-washington-a-live-event-by-the-washington-post-about-advances-in-science-and-tech/">the Washington Post website</a>.
<P>The big question in my mind is the timing of this event. Why is it on the Wednesday that is the start of ISDC and the middle day of Humans to Mars?
Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-70356887588583242842016-02-13T10:36:00.000-08:002016-02-13T10:36:13.500-08:00Black People and the Divine Family<P>If you could take a time machine back to the 1950s and spend some time with my family in the community in which we lived (Hamilton Township, New Jersey, right outside of Trenton) you would learn some important things about my family. My family took family quite seriously, as they did church and the larger community. We also paid closer attention to Rutgers than most people because my father and grandfather had gone there. Dad made Eagle Scout so we respected the Boy Scouts highly. We were also Episcopalians and took church quite seriously but very positively. We did respect people of other religions, though. Because Dad's Mom was Canadian, we also spent more time than most Americans visiting that wonderful country.
<P>My first black friend was a boy named Arnie. We met when we were both 5 years old and started kindergarten. My parents encouraged that friendship as they did my friendships with other children I met in school and elsewhere. When Arnie and I turned 8 we were old enough to join the Cub Scouts. Mom and Dad started a Cub Scout den which met in our home every week. Arnie was one of the boys that I – with encouragement from Mom and Dad – recruited into our den.
<P>Most of our family's vacations were oriented to trips to Canada because of Dad's family connections.
In 1957 we took our first trip south. Why? 1957 was the 350th anniversary of the founding of the first successful British colony of Jamestown in what is now Virginia. That trip is where I first saw racial prejudice in action. At age 11 I knew that there were differences between men and women that caused there to be different restrooms for men and women. It was in Virginia that I saw separate restrooms for black and white and different water fountains for black and white. Partly as a result of that trip, I began to understand in greater depth what black people – especially in the South – were struggling to change, helped by white people such as my family.
<P>The first famous black man who started changes in my life was Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. He inspired many of us with his leadership for civil rights and his commitment to nonviolence. His and others commitment to civil rights made a big impression on this son of Eisenhower Republican parents as did his commitment to nonviolence, especially when considering the behavior of groups like the KKK.
<P>Something happened in October 1962 that caused me to take my first independent political position. That was the month of the Cuban Missile Crisis. I already had a better idea of what nuclear war would do to our country and world because of my growing knowledge of physics and aerospace technology. Influenced by the example of King, I became a Eisenhower Republican pacifist.
<P>In more recent years I have continued to make black friends. One who has been significantly important to me is one Paul Roberts Abernathy. He was, until he retired a year ago, rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill.
<P>When I moved to this area, I count myself fortunate to have met many fine people through the Capital View Library, Episcopal Church of the Atonement and Peacetimers Toastmasters. I look forward to growing relationships with the fine people I have met here.Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-21186726253957864582015-12-02T12:28:00.001-08:002015-12-02T12:28:31.007-08:00The Goddard Recreational Tunneling Club<P>I am writing this blog entry because of a recommendation at the Beltway Bob Happy Hour on Friday, November 27, 2015. I mentioned I had given a talk to IFC Toastmasters on how I started the Goddard Recreational Tunneling Club and helped it grow.
<P>In August 1991 I had been employed at Goddard Space Flight Center's Supercomputer Center for a year and a half. While there I made a quite a few friends at the supercomputer center and elsewhere -- think the Goddard Running Club and the Goddard Music and Drama Club. The latter group puts on various theatrical productions every year.
<P>People also got to know I had many friends who were, in some ways, different from the average American. Most people enjoyed hearing about them.
<P>Late one Friday afternoon in August 1991 I got to talking to Don and Charlie about the few people I knew who had the rather unusual hobby of recreational tunneling. Don, Charlie and I were all runners who worked at the supercomputer center. I would also describe them as bright guys with good senses of humor. Don's wife Wendy was busy that evening with daughter. Don, Charlie and I went out to a local restaurant and had a friendly dinner. During that dinner we formed the Goddard Recreational Tunneling Club. No, we never did any tunneling. But when someone said "It's time for a tunneling club meeting!" our bunch would head out for drinks and a dinner. All of us really enjoyed those dinners.
<P>Our first single woman member was Lynn. She also worked at the supercomputer center. She was also a bit of a runner. We welcomed her -- as we did anyone -- into our group. Then came Friday, May 1, 1992. Lynn told us she would not be coming to our dinner that evening because she had a date with a guy. Now imagine a group of geeky guys sitting around a table talking about life in general and Lynn and her skipping our dinner. It is May First -- known to some people as May Day. Choosing some woman to be Queen of the May has been going on for some time. Think centuries. That evening we elected Lynn Queen of the May. Monday morning Don, Charlie and I showed up at the door of her office. I was carrying a tiara made out of tin foil. We told Lynn the news about us electing her Queen of the May. I gave her the tiara. What was her reaction? She simply said -- possibly somewhat irritated -- "You did what?!"
<P>After that the rest of us stopped paying attention to our electing Lynn Queen of the May. We continued our dinners and our friendly interactions at work.
<P>The following March Lynn brought up the topic again with the somewhat irritated statement "I'm tired of being Queen of the May!" We looked around the table and saw Matt wasn't there. So we elected Matt Queen of the May.
<P>Queen of the May elections became a tradition. Another single woman who joined our group was Andrea. She was a bright, beautiful blonde runner we worked with at the Goddard supercomputer center. She actually began campaigning to become Queen of the May. Yes, we eventually elected her Queen of the May. Oh -- she was the only person who ever campaigned for the position. That year we also elected Dennis, another computer geek at the Goddard supercomputer center, Co Queen of the May. Andrea was a bit irritated at that decision. She was a good person, though, as were all of the people in our group.
<P>Don's wife Wendy helped grow the group. She was a geek working in downtown DC. We started inviting her. She started inviting her friends from work. We welcomed them as well. That's how we went from being the Goddard Recreational Tunneling Club to the Greater Metropolitan Washington Nude Recreational Tunneling Club. Nude? Well, I suspect some of our married couples did see each other nude at times.
<P>One evening Lynn brought some poetry she had written. We were not narrow people. That evening we also became The Occasional Sentence Diagramming Society.
<P>Then one evening as we were leaving Charlie stacked some plates, saucers, cups, glasses, etc., on top of each other. That's how we became the Oblate in Abstentia Chapter of the World Society for Putting Things on Top of Other Things.
<P>Now you know how I became the Revered Founder and President of the Greater Metropolitan Washington Nude Recreational Tunneling Club and Occasional Sentence Diagramming Society, The Oblate in Abstentia Chapter of the World Society for Putting Things on Top of Other Things.
<P>Good things came about because of our group.
<P>Don, Charlie and I became the corps of the Goddard Supercomputer Center running team which competed in the races organized by the Goddard Running Club. We also got into running in races far from Goddard. I seem to remember one race in Rockville, Maryland as well as others. I even got Don to run a few times with the Hash House Harriers.
<P>Friendships grew and lasted. I even participated in group activities after I was forced out of Goddard by really awful management. People also came to parties at my house -- think Metropolitan Washington Mensa, Washington Science Fiction Association and more. We also partied at other people's houses. I remember especially hanging out with Don and Wendy at their place.
<P>Enough for now. Feel free to bring this up anywhere we meet.Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-82733559119610956452015-11-11T17:47:00.002-08:002015-11-11T18:12:07.360-08:00Veterans' Day 2015<P>It is Veterans' Day 2015. I am thinking about this day in part because last Thursday would have been Mom's 100th Birthday. Mom was born during World War I. Dad was born a few years earlier. Neither of them had any real personal memories of that human tragedy.
<P>World War I ended on November 11, 2018. Many, many people thought that would be the end of horrible wars such as that one. Few anticipated a much worse war would happen in only a few decades.
<P>At the beginning of World War II Mom was a young adult of 23 with two younger brothers, Uncle Clarence and Uncle John. Her wonderful parents – Joseph and Laura (maiden name Lawton) Lowe – were both alive. They had, I think, a good family with children beginning to make contributions to the larger society.
<P>Uncle John was the first to be noticeably affected by the war. For some reason he literally cracked up in the Army. I don't know why. Our family did not discuss that much. I can say that our government did take good care of Uncle John. One thing I remember about Uncle John was his heavy smoking – four packs a day I understand. I also remember his affection for carrier pigeons. That was a big hobby of his. When I knew him growing up, he was a postal carrier for the U.S. Post Office. He did die of a heart attack at age 65. I think that the smoking contributed greatly to that. I wonder what his life would have been like if there had not been a World War II.
<P>Uncle Clarence was also affected greatly by the war. He was a member of the infantry who was wounded twice badly during fighting in Europe. When he got home, people said to him “Guess you will be getting married and settling down now.” His reply was sad. He said “No. I want a quiet life.” Today people say that such things are the result of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I don't know if that is what happened to Uncle Clarence, although it seems quite likely. I can say this wonderful man was, in many ways, like a second father to me. Among other things he did in the 1950s was to build the Lowe family's first high fidelity music system. He also built a telescope to look at the heavens. Oh – he dropped out of high school in the 1930s. Times were very different back then.
<P>Mom came through the war in good shape. She even married Dad during the war. These two people had a great marriage. They were loving, caring, bright and, in important ways, curious and open minded. I remember doing things with them as a boy like decorating our home for Christmas. I really loved the electric trains we had. So did Dad. Watching Dickens' “A Christmas Carol” on TV became a tradition. Mom and Dad even took to me to Broadway to see things like Julie Andrews in “My Fair Lady.” Then there were the many trips to Canada to visit Dad's cousins.
<P>Mom's parents came through the war in good shape. I remember playing in the wonderful home my grandfather (who was a bricklayer by profession) built with some friends of his. I could not have wanted better grandparents. My grandfather passed away in the early 1950s from natural causes. My grandmother made it into the early 1960s.
<P>At the beginning of the war, my father's parents were still alive, as were his two brothers Uncle Don and Uncle Dick.
<P>My father's father – Charles – was the first to die. He died in 1942, apparently of natural causes. He had been born in 1869 and was 72. My father was the first of his children, born in 1913. I grew up in the same home Dad did. It was also a nice place to be. That grandfather had graduated from Rutgers in 1890. Dad's side of the family was, shall we say, well educated for the time. My father was Rutgers class of 1935.
<P>The next death was much more tragic. In 1944 my Grandmother Agnes was listening to the radio upstairs when a story came on about how the war could be over soon. Mom and Dad were downstairs. My Grandmother Agnes ran for the stairs and downstairs to tell Mom and Dad the news. She tripped on the stairs. She was badly injured. She did die from her injuries, just not immediately. She was only 64. I wonder what it would have been like to grow up for at least a bit with a Canadian grandmother. Dad's love of Canada has been passed on to me.
<P>The war in Europe was winding down with an Allied victory in 1945. Our side won in May. Unfortunately for my family, Uncle Dick was killed in the closing days of the war. Dad's first reaction was “Thank God Mom went first. This would have killed her.” Dad missed Uncle Dick until he died in 1974. Uncle Dick was viewed as the smartest of the three brothers. Dad and Uncle Don were exceptionally intelligent themselves. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like to grow up with a brilliant mathematician uncle.
<P>Uncle Don became an officer in the Navy. I gather he served in the Pacific. I don't remember him talking much about his military service. Perhaps my cousins Barbara, Don and Cindy could say more. They were fortunate enough to live with Uncle Don and Aunt Kay through their years of growing up in New Jersey. My strongest memories were of a wonderful couple who gave me – and the rest of the world – fine cousins.
<P>My father's war experiences were, shall we say, unusual. This story begins with my father getting hit by a streetcar when he was in junior high back in the 1920s. His lower left leg bones were shattered. Doctors managed to save his leg by cleaning out the bone fragments and replacing them with a hunk of platinum. That leg bothered Dad for the rest of his life, some days more than others.
<P>Because of that injury, when Dad went to Rutgers, he majored in economics and, upon graduating, became a fine accountant. He was a good, bright man who kept up on the developments in his field including such things as the then new cost accounting. By the time the United States was attacked, Dad had become a mature, but still young man. During the war he worked in the accounting office of a local war contractor. In good part because of his abilities and character the war contractor made Dad the manager of said office. That injured leg might have had something to do with it as well.
<P>When Dad received his first draft notice, he, of course, reported. The doctors examined his leg and declared him 4F – not able to serve because of his injury. No one was surprised at that. What got to be surprising was the fact that Dad starting getting draft notices every few months. The doctors started saying things like “What? You again?” before once again proclaiming him 4F.
<P>In a way it was I who finally figured out what had gone on.
<P>I was drafted into the Army in 1967 within a few months of graduating from Rutgers with a degree in physics. I was already working as a physicist at IBM. Everyone was surprised at my being drafted. While, like all young men, I was subject to the draft, I – and most others – thought that because of my critical skills (physicists were in very short supply) I would be given a critical skills exemption. I was the only young man drafted out of the IBM laboratory where I worked.
<P>How did this happen?
<P>I grew up in the same home that Dad did. I was subject to the same draft board that Dad was.
<P>In 1969 the draft resistance forces opposed to the war in Vietnam managed to force Selective Service to report who sat on many draft boards because Selective Service had improperly assigned people to various draft boards. Dad recognized the name of one man on my draft board. He had been one of the people my father managed during World War II. I now think this man – sometimes I think this criminal – was responsible for me being drafted in 1967.
<P>Oh – did they get a normal 21 year old college graduate? Hardly. They got a very, very bright physicist with an extremely democratic personality. My story
<a href="http://independentbroadmindedcentrist.blogspot.com/2009/12/few-basic-training-stories.html">A Few Basic Training Stories</a>
will, hopefully, help people understand that part of me better.
<P>We Americans – and others living in free, democratic countries – should show our thanks to those fine men and women who have served in our militaries to protect us from the likes of Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin and their supporters. I also think all of us should work on better ways of leading humanity to better futures than those monsters did. Better to have the Hitlers and Stalins doing something that would not hurt the human race the way that they did than making truly horrible wars on all of us
<P>Enough for now. I actually want to post this on Veterans' Day in 2015. Of course I will have more to say on this important topic. Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-60369345955399506802015-07-15T18:30:00.003-07:002015-07-15T18:30:50.103-07:00The Vulcan Ambassador Chuck E-Mails -- A CopyA while back I received an e-mail from somebody in Africa named Umogbai Favour.<br /><br />Spammers and frauds do irritate me. Anyway, I had a few minutes to kill so I decided to reply. But not as Chuck Divine. No, that wouldn't be fun. So I assumed the persona of<br /><br />Chuck<br />Vulcan Senator<br />Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Earth<br />Federation of Sentient Planets<br /><br />Anyway, here is my first reply to the delightful umogbai:<br /><br />umogbai favour wrote:<br /><br />>Dear Charles Divine<br />>LETTER OF APPOINTMENT<br />><br />>It's with an unbound joy that I introduce EAGLES<br />>FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL.<br />>Eagles Foundation is a network and great of Achievers<br />>from different part of the globe, <br />><br />Globe?<br /><br />I'm afraid you've contacted the Vulcan Ambassador to Earth. We've been <br />keeping our presence here a secret. We try to keep a low profile until <br />a prospective member world has been invited to join The Federation of <br />Sentient Worlds.<br /><br />>with the purpose of<br />>providing for the unprivileged child: EDUCATION,<br />>PROTECTION AND SECURITY, We also help in medical&<br />>Technological research and leadership training,<br />>especially we are dedicated to the unprivileged child.<br />><br />Good. Although the few humans we've actually had conversations with <br />usually speak of the "underprivileged" child. Might I suggest you work <br />on your English? Or speak in your native tongue. We do have <br />translators. Perhaps you've seen some of our efforts at familiarization <br />of humanity with Galactic Culture? You know -- "Star Trek." Granted, <br />there are inaccuracies. Trust me, Vulcans make love more than once <br />every seven years. More like every 7 hours -- every hour for the more <br />obsessed.<br /><br />><br />><br />>After our just concluded EAGLES SUBMITTE, WITH A<br />>THEME: The place of the unprivileged child in our<br />>society.<br />>We came to a few conclusion, one of which was that,<br />>every day, our different orphanage homes gets an<br />>increase of 10%, mostly babies and that the future of<br />>the orphanage homes are faced with uncertainty and<br />>poverty. <br />><br /><br />That's tragic.<br /><br />><br />>Our final conclusion is that the rich and the highly<br />>placed run a deadly risk in their callus neglect of<br />>the poor and unprivileged child.<br />><br />>Dear friend, you may have once lived and survived by<br />>the mercy of people, on your way to the top, <br />><br />Actually, Vulcan is a very democratic and free society. We learned <br />millenia ago that tyranny is not only illogical but counterproductive. <br /> So we really don't have a "top" the way you humans do. You do seem to <br />be learning though. The delusion known as communism is dying. And the <br />delusion known as naziism really is dead.<br /><br />>let's<br />>return such kindness to the society without a prize.<br />>In our search for those who have established their<br />>reputation and standard as the highest <br />> their different career.<br />>We have found you of good reputation in high standard<br />>in your chosen carrier.<br />><br />Thank you! But how did you hear of the Vulcan Embassy? We've been <br />trying to keep it under wraps -- don't want to frighten humanity. We <br />think you have real potential.<br /><br />><br />><br />>In view of the above, we have decided to appoint you<br />>as one of our associate member, by this appointment<br />>you will be committed to serve humanity with your<br />>skill. Your prayer contribution to the growth of<br />>EAGLES FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL will be highly<br />>required.<br />><br />Hmm. Have you heard of our Prime Directive? We're not supposed to <br />interfere with cultures that haven't achieved warp capability. Even <br />this e-mail comes perilously close to the edge of interference.<br /><br />><br />><br />>Note also that countless of prayers are being made<br />>every hour that passed by for your success by our<br />>prayer partners, this is because of your importance to<br />>this vision.<br />><br />>Always remember that your friendship is too precious<br />>for us lose, as we await your mail of acceptance.<br />><br /><br />Thank you for your friendship. When you finally achieve warp <br />capability, we look forward to assisting your entire species. From what <br />we can tell, Reid Malenfant and Bootstrap Corporation are making <br />excellent progress. Please support them with all your resources.<br /><br />><br />><br />>Thanks for your anticipated co-operation as we<br />>resuming a purpose and eventful relationship.<br />><br />><br />>To your success, <br />>FAVOUR <br />><br />And to yours!<br /><br />Remember to contact us when you achieve warp capability. We eagerly <br />anticipate the commencement of cooperative, profitable endeavours.<br /><br />Chuck<br />Vulcan Senator<br />Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Earth<br />The Federation of Sentient Worlds<br /><br />Umogbai replied! I was stunned. Anyway, I managed to get off the following answer:<br /><br />umogbai favour wrote:<br /><br />> Mr charles<br />><br />The name's Chuck. We Vulcans don't go in for nicknames. Haven't you <br />seen any of our efforts to familiarize your species with Galactic <br />Culture? You know "Star Trek", "Star Trek: The Next Generation", "Star <br />Trek: Deep Space Nine", "Star Trek: Voyager" and now "Enterprise"? The <br />characters from Vulcan are named Sarek, Spock, Saavik, Tuvok et alii -- <br />getting the picture?<br /><br />My surname is entirely too difficult to translate into any human language.<br /><br />><br />> Thanks for your maill<br />><br />Americans and Brits would spell the word as "mail."<br /><br />> sir, it was a splended<br />><br />splendid?<br /><br />> one also<br />>for your corrections,<br />><br />We try to help.<br /><br />> kindly tell me more about your<br />>self<br />><br />Well, in your years I was born in 2342 and am now 273 years old -- don't <br />worry, our species lives to at least 1500 of your years. My parents are <br />respectively 2417 and 1693 -- and in excellent health, by the way. They <br />both finished Vulcan's premier megamarathon (2910.003 of your <br />kilometres) only last October. I'm really proud of them!<br /><br />Myself -- well, I'm a polymath. I love new challenges -- and new <br />lovers. I hope to eventually beat my older brother Karnak's record of <br />43 lovers in a single Vulcan day (OK, our days are longer than yours) <br />and my older sister Dharmak's megamarathon time of 372:43:16:27:68.92. <br /><br />My art is not only prized on Vulcan, but Centauri dealers have started <br />selling it around the galaxy.<br /><br />Of course I'm really delighted with my recent election to the Vulcan <br />Academy of Science.<br /><br />Finally, there's my new wife, Dink. What else can I say about her <br />except she's utterly brilliant and the most loving woman I've ever met.<br /><br />> and The Federation of Sentient Worlds, l am<br />>interested also in what you do<br />><br />Well, our general role is to promote peace and freedom throughout the <br />galaxy. We occasionally do have to fight off invaders from parallel <br />universes, though. Like the Vorlons and the Borg. Tell me, are you <br />familiar with the Copenhagen Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum <br />Mechanics? Too few humans are. You really should learn some modern <br />physics -- it's important if humanity is ever to fit into the Galactic <br />Community.<br /><br />>,where you are located.<br />><br />At night, go outside and look up at the constellation Sagitarius -- <br />Galactic Center is that way. At Galactic Center there is a massive <br />black hole that's torn a rip in the space-time continuum known as the <br />Esty. Our headquarters -- a microworld known as Babylon (didn't you <br />name one of your ancient cities that?) orbits the Esty.<br /><br />On this planet we have secret observation posts located at important <br />locations: Washington, New York, London, Paris, Moscow, Rome, Grover's <br />Mills, Hollywood, New Delhi, Hobart and others. In the United States <br />our observation post looks like a portajohn -- it's right across from <br />the White House. In London we use a police box. We try to keep our <br />presence inconspicuous.<br /><br />Oh, by the way, don't panic if you see some Black Helicopters and a few <br />guys dressed in Black. They're just part of our observation team.<br /><br />To Logic,<br /><br />Chuck<br />Vulcan Senator<br />Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Earth<br />Federation of Sentient Planets<br /><br />Believe it or not, that answer actually got a reply. At that point, though, I got bored and had better things to do.<br /><br />The next victim of my humor was one MOO ALEXENDER.<br /><br />I don't normally greet people with a "Moo!!!" I usually reserve that greeting for cows....<br /><br />Anyway, here is my response to MOO:<br /><br />Mr.MOO ALEXENDER wrote:<br /><br />>Mr.MOO ALEXENDER <br />><br />Moo!!!<br /><br />><br />><br />><br />> URGENT AND EXTREMELY CONFIDENTIAL <br />><br />>Director Friend,<br />><br />I'm not a director.<br /><br />I'm Chuck, Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Earth, Vulcan Senator, Vulcan <br />High Command, Diktor of the Security Council of the Federation of <br />Sentient Planets, you freaking idiot.<br /><br />><br />><br />><br />><br />><br />> It is with trust and confidentiality, that I make<br />><br />>this urgent and important business proposal to you.<br />><br /><br />Oh, you want to sell us your damned planet.<br /><br />You and every half wit in Africa.<br /><br />><br />><br />>It gives me so much enthusiasm to write this letter to you. It is all <br />><br />>in a view to soliciting for assistance to enable us execute a venture <br />><br />>of mutual benfit.My name is MOO<br />><br />Moo!<br /><br />> ALEXENDER A former Central Bank of <br />><br />>Zimbabwe Worker, during the last political disturbuce by the <br />><br />>government held by Robert Mugabe,<br />><br />Oh, you stole some money from that racist murderer, did you?<br /><br />>I and my other colleagues worked out <br />><br />>over US$20,000,000.00(Twenty million, United States Dollars Only) as <br />><br />>over invoiced and inflated payment.for election materials and the <br />><br />>funds is now flotting<br />><br />Flotting? Don't you mean "floating"?<br /><br />> in a surspence <br />><br />"Suspense"?<br /><br />>account ready to be transfered <br />><br />"Transferred?"<br /><br />><br />><br />>to the provided account.Now that we are not sure of the future of thi <br />><br />>scountry, due to the cry of sanction by world leader in and around <br />><br />>the world. for the brutal take over of white farm by the <br />><br />>Administration, and the lack of purpose in the Administration, me and <br />><br />>my friends have decided to invest this funds wisely. <br />><br />> The fund is currently in security company in Holland the <br />><br />>netherlands.I have put all the needfull together to ensure a <br />><br />>successful transfer of the funds to a desinated<br />><br />Good grief, can't you even spell, you worthless incompetent?<br /><br />> account. Acting in <br />><br />>concert with few trusted other officers, we need the assistance of a <br />><br />>foreign company/persons to push this money into their accounts. You <br />><br />>will do very well with what we have in mind. Your share of what ever <br />><br />>we succeed in putting into your account will be giving you the 20% of <br />><br />>the total sum, while 70%will be for us and 10% will be mapped out<br />><br />Hmm, send me 90% in gold pressed latinum and I'll think about it....<br /><br />> for <br />><br />>any expenses incurred by both parties in the process of the transfer, <br />><br />>we require nothing more from you,except your willingness to assist <br />><br />>us.I will refrain from giving out more operational details, until I <br />><br />>receive your reply. Since time is of the essence to us, <br />><br />Time is not of the essence to us, cretin. We have time travel.<br /><br />>reply this <br />><br />>letter quickly so as to know what next to do, even if this letter <br />><br />>does not meet your approval, please inform me. There is norisk <br />><br />>involved, as we have done our homework carefully.<br />><br />I can't stop laughing.<br /><br />Send me all your money -- no strings attached. If there's enough, I <br />might help out. Then again, maybe I'll just buy beer for the hash.<br /><br />On On<br /><br />Chuck<br />Vulcan Senator<br />Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Earth<br />Vulcan High Command<br /><br />><br />><br />><br />><br />> Looking forward to hearing from you. <br />><br />> <br />><br />>Thanks And God Bless.<br />><br />><br />>Mr.MOO<br />><br />Moo!!!<br /><br />> ALEXENDER <br /><br />I was obviously more irritated with Moo than Favour -- and more pressed for time. Moo never responded. Boo hoo..... Was I perhaps too insulting?<br /><br />It's now some years later than those exchanges. I had a frustrating week. When one evening's plans got screwed up, I sat at home and saw another one of these spam e-mails. Poor Joyce Zane got the Ambassador Chuck treatment as a result of all this. Here's what I wrote:<br /><br />On Thu, 2006-03-09 at 16:36, From Ms Joyce wrote:<br />> Dear,<br /><br />My....<br /><br />> <br />> Good a thing to write you. <br /><br />How did you discover this address? The Embassy does like to keep this<br />address a bit quiet. There is a real fear that humans are not quite<br />ready for contact with galactic civilization.<br /><br />Oh -- we do like to give a bit of instruction in proper English. The<br />correct way to write that sentence would, of course, be "It's a good<br />thing to write to you."<br /><br />> I have a proposal for you-this however is not mandatory nor will I in any manner compel you to honour against your will. <br /><br />Um -- you do know you can't compel species that have acheived warp<br />drive, don't you?<br /><br />> I am Joyce Zane ,26years old and the only daughter of my late parents Mr.and Mrs.Zane.<br /><br />Zane? Any relation to Zane Grey?<br /><br />> My father was a highly reputable business magnate-(a Grandnut<br /><br />What refreshing honesty. Most people just like to be thought of as just<br />plain nuts.<br /><br />> merchant)who operated in the capital City of Senegal during his days.It is sad to say that he passed away mysteriously in France during one of his business trips abroad year 12th.Feb.2003.<br /><br />On Abraham Lincoln's Birthday? What a tragedy...<br /><br />> Though his sudden death was linked or rather suspected to have been masterminded by an uncle<br /><br />Man From Uncle? Ilya Kurakin? Good friends of ours...<br /><br />> of his whotravelled<br /><br />Dr. Who? The Time Lord?<br /><br />> with him at that time. But God knows the truth!<br /><br />Actually, Cthuthu also knows the truth. But he won't tell unless you<br />give him a really big bribe...<br /><br />> <br />> My mother died when I was just 4 years old,and since then my father took me so special. <br /><br />Be careful with that kind of kinky stuff. The Embassy is located in the<br />United States. Maybe you know how they are.<br /><br />> Before his death on Febuary 12, 2003 he called the secretary who<br />> accompanied him to the hospital and told her that he had a sum of $4.5million US DOLLARS (Four Million Five Hundred Thousand USA DOLLARS)<br /><br />Oooooh. What's that in gold pressed latinum? You know -- galactic<br />currency.<br /><br />> kept in One trunks box as a vault deposit with a private security company in Europe. He also said that the security company does not know the content of the safe Box.He decleared<br /><br />decleared? or declared? <br /><br />> it as family treasure and used my name to Deposit<br /><br />It's not proper to capitalize a word in the middle of a sentence unless<br />it's a proper name.<br /><br />> the money as his first daugther<br /><br />Daughter?<br /><br />> for next of kin. He also explained to her that it was because of this wealth that he was poisoned by his business associates,<br /><br />Any relation to the Borgias?<br /><br />> that I should seek for a foreign partner in a country of my choice where I will transfer this money to and use it for investment purposes.<br /><br />Have you considered doing business on Frottage 3? Saucy Jack is quite<br />well known for his various services.<br /><br />> <br />> <br />> I want you to assist me in re-locating this deposit into your position overseas as a beneficiary,and also use it for our joint ivestment <br /><br />investment?<br /><br />> purpose on my behalf.I am just 26 years old<br /><br />Oh, so young. At that age my species is barely able to read and write. <br />Of course we do live to at least 3500 of your years.<br /><br />> and a university undergraduate<br /><br />Isn't that a bit slow for a human?<br /><br />> and really don't know what to do.<br /><br />That must be why you turned -- so wisely I might add -- to the Vulcan<br />Embassy on Earth.<br /><br />> This is because I have suffered a lot of set backs as a result of incessant political crisis here in Senegal.<br /><br />That's too bad...<br /><br />We Vulcans do wonder when your species is going to achieve greater<br />maturity. It's really keeping you from entering into galactic culture.<br /><br />> The death of my father actually brought sorrow to my life coupled with the hardship, I am passing through my only uncle<br /><br />What? Is he some kind of cannibal?<br /><br />> who wants me dead because he want to take-over all my late father's wealth.<br />> <br />> Dearest one,I am in a sincere desire of your humble assistance in this regards your suggestions and ideas will be highly regarded.<br /><br />Buy Amalgamated Aluminum Associates. Now.<br /><br />> <br />> Now permit me to ask these few questions:-<br />> <br />> 1. Can you honestly help me as your daughter?<br /><br />That would be a bit hard to do. My pointed ears, my greenish skin. You<br />know.<br /><br />> 2. Can I completely trust you?<br /><br />Mais oui, madamoiselle.<br /><br />> 3. What percentage of the total amount in question will be good for you after the deposit is retrived<br /><br />retrieved?<br /><br />> and re-located to your position.<br /><br />Why don't you just trust us with our matter duplicator to work that one<br />out?<br /><br />> <br />> Please,Consider this and get back to me as soon as possible.<br />> <br />> Thank you so much.<br />> <br />> My sincere regards,<br />> Ms Joyce Zane<br />> <br /><br />Logically,<br /><br />Chuck<br />Vulcan Senator<br />Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Earth<br /><br /><br />Joyce hasn't responded as yet. Was I too rough on heChuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-3872397997278449392015-05-30T17:55:00.000-07:002015-05-30T17:55:35.863-07:00Memorial Days<P>On May 23rd St. Mark's held a requiem eucharist for Bert Cooper. I photographed this eucharist. You can find my images of this event on Flickr at <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/27233112@N05/sets/72157651039716433" target=_blank>A Requiem Eucharist Celebration of Bert Cooper</a>. He was a fine man who made many good contributions to our world. Quite a few people shared that impression. When he passed away he was 80 years old.
<P>He had been born on December 2, 1934. When he was born my Uncle Dick was only 10 years old. My father was all of 21. I remember my father as a fine man I am proud to call Dad. Uncle Don was also a fine man I am glad I can count as a relative. What memories do I have of Uncle Dick? None -- unless you count comments by my parents. I have memories of relatives saying he was the smartest of the three brothers. My father and Uncle Don were, shall we say, exceptionally intelligent good men who I was glad to spend time with. I obviously spent much more time with Dad than Uncle Don, but I still remember how good both of them were.
<P>Why don't I have memories of Uncle Dick? Uncle Dick was killed in the last days of World War II in Europe. Bert Cooper was only 10 years old. Uncle Dick was only 21. My father was only 32. My mother was only 29.
<P>I sometimes think what contributions to not only my family but the larger world Uncle Dick would have made had the NAZIs surrendered on April 1, 1945 rather than May 8, 1945. He would have a been a very positive influence on my life. The year he spent at Rutgers he had been a mathematics major. It would have been wonderful to have someone with a mathematics degree to talk to when I was a boy growing up and getting interested in things like physics, astronomy, space exploration and more. He could have helped me actually understand the book by Eddington titled "Mathematical Theories of Relativity." That's just one thing he could have done.
<P>These days we are asked to remember the contributions in defending our country what the good people (usually men) who died defending us from people like the NAZIs. I am quite willing to do that. But I also think about what Uncle Dick could have contributed if he had lived to 80, 90 or more. His contributions would have been far greater than what he could contribute from his birth in 1924 until his tragic death in 1945.
Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-20437168371630090342015-05-20T14:05:00.000-07:002015-05-20T14:05:54.320-07:00Pro Life? Pro Choice? Or Something Else?<P>Over the years I have heard much discussion and debate about abortion in the United States. I have even heard some from other countries.
<P>Let me begin this posting with a few stories about my maternal grandparents. I remember both of them as good people with whom I enjoyed spending time.
<P>My grandfather came to this country to work. He was a fine bricklayer. I still remember the home he and his friends built for the family. After he had been in the United States for awhile, he went back to England. Mom said it was because he had not found a woman to love and marry in the United States. Early in the 20th Century it was possible for working class men to travel back and forth across the Atlantic for work.
<P>Back in England he got to know my grandmother. They fell in love and got married. At the party after their wedding, a friend of my grandfather's said to him "When are we going back to the States?" My grandmother then jumped into the conversation with the question to her now brand new husband "When are we going to the States?" The friend who started the conversation never returned to the States.
<P>When Grandmom and Grandpop had been here awhile, a baby boy came along. They loved that baby boy -- as they loved me, a grandson who came along many years later. When that baby was a few months old, a flu epidemic went through the part of the States where my grandparents lived. Their baby boy caught the flu and died from it. That death devastated my grandparents. Grandmom even returned to England for awhile to recover from this tragedy.
<P>Eventually Grandmom returned to the States and her loving husband. Another baby was born -- this time a girl. That baby died too -- after living 93 years and 4 months. Mom was a wonderful mother. She and Dad were two fine people who brought me to respect and like all kinds of people.
<P>I have another entry on my blog about <a href="http://independentbroadmindedcentrist.blogspot.com/2014/05/my-family.html" target=_blank>My Family</a>. Let's just say people on my father's side of the family also sought to make life better for all.
<P>I know some people who are strongly prolife. The ones I personally know are fine people. Kathryn Dietz Hichborn is the mother of five and the grandmother of still more. When I hear the term prolife, she is one person who comes immediately to mind because she is prolife in many ways. I enjoy our conversations, especially those in real life. Facebook and other social media have their place in our society, but they do have their limits in many ways.
<P>I also know some people who are prochoice. They can be fine people as well. Some of them are women who personally seen or have experienced bad marriages. Some have been sexually assaulted. There is more, but I am trying to start a discussion.
<P>Before Roe versus Wade abortion was illegal in the United States. That didn't mean it didn't happen. It just happened illegally. We've tried various prohibitions in this country. We made it illegal to sell alcoholic beverages for awhile. That was a disaster which did real damage to our country. Want to address problems with alcohol? Helping the people with the problems get better seems a like a better choice. The same things can be said regarding currently illegal drugs. Problems with gun violence? Gun control advocates bring up Sandy Hook, Aurora, Columbine and more. Courtesy of the Clinton administration we now have tough gun regulation on American military bases. In 2009 at Fort Hood a Muslim Army psychiatrist whom other Army psychiatrists had warned the Army about and who had been investigated by the FBI for ties to terrorists ran wild killing and wounding many before he was stopped by a civilian woman deputy sheriff who wounded him with her gun.
<P>So what do I think we should be doing? Let's begin by helping good people have good lives. We should be teaching children how to have good lives and why those kinds of lives are better for them and for society. We can promote both the arts and sciences to help make our world a better one. We can help people have good families like the ones I knew growing up in New Jersey. Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-24348476835265452032014-09-18T11:27:00.002-07:002014-09-18T11:27:29.409-07:00The February 2014 Mensa Bulletin<P>I am putting a link to the <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-hOsb4Bd254dGMzYkxsMVJ0UTA/">February Mensa Bulletin</a> onto my blog to see how easy it is for others to see my copy on the web. Zombie Nation describes the harm sleep deprivation is doing to the United States.Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-42311447692577200892014-09-11T14:05:00.001-07:002014-09-11T14:05:35.519-07:00Thinking About September 11th<P>Today is the 13th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center by Al-Qaeda terrorists. That same morning they flew a plane into The Pentagon. That last attack produced the scariest e-mail I remember seeing. I didn't learn about the attacks until I was walking into work. That day was a hot day. I began it with a six mile run before breakfast. I had breakfast before the attacks. While the attacks were occurring I was showering and getting ready for work. During my short drive to work, I didn't hear anything. When I walked into the small office building where Tidal Zone Associates was located, I ran into someone who worked in the Maryland State Comptroller's office on the first floor. She asked if I had heard that a plane had collided with the World Trade Center in NYC. I replied that I hadn't. I walked into my company's offices. People were already talking about the accident. I walked into my office and began checking my e-mail -- work related and personal. The personal e-mail had an e-mail from a Hash House Harrier who worked in the Pentagon. She began her e-mail with a story about the attacks in NYC. Then she closed her e-mail with the words "PENTAGON ON FIRE." That really scared me. I told other people I worked with. We were all shocked. The news kept piling up. No one got any work done that day.
<P>The one thing I remember from later that day was contacting Paul Ambos in New Jersey. I knew he worked down in that part of Manhattan -- but not at the World Trade Center. He told me he was alright -- but that getting out of Manhattan had been difficult.
<P>Months later I remember talking with a fellow Mensa member about her experience that day. She had been working in one of the two towers. She was going up in an elevator when the first plane hit the other tower. She got out. She was told to continue to work because her tower wasn't in danger. She ignored that command and took the next elevator down. She got out in time -- and quite safely. Others did not.
<P>That day scared lots of people -- not only Americans. We were horrified at what happened. Thousands of people were dead.
<P>Since then, our country and world has changed in many ways -- too often not for the good.
<P>After 9/11, the United States has gone on a security kick. We have even created a Department of Homeland Security. Didn't that task used to be the work of the Department of Defense -- formerly the Department of War? Too much of the "security" really doesn't work. Back on September 10, 2007, <a href="http://www.womeninaerospace.org/" target=_blank>Women In Aerospace</a> sponsored a forum on the state of aviation security. Before I even walked in, I knew that when the Transportation Security Administration -- known in some circles as Thousands Standing Around -- tested its own "security" by trying to smuggle guns through, over 90% of the time those guns got through. That day I learned that there was a college student out there who had smuggled high explosives onto airplanes just to show he could. People at that meeting were furious with this farce. I recommend people pay more attention to Bruce Schneier and his blog <a href="https://www.schneier.com/" target=_blank>Schneier on Security</a> to learn more about this topic.
<P>We have also launched a horrible war in the Middle East. Before the war was started, I had doubts about it. Then I discovered noted science fiction author Jerry Pournelle had started a blog he titled <a href="http://www.jerrypournelle.com/" target=_blank>Chaos Manor</a>. Jerry is fine writer -- with clearly libertarian sympathies. I still remember his protest of the upcoming war. I thought Jerry is not some sort of pacifist. If he was against the Iraq War, I felt quite comfortable also opposing it. That war has done great damage to our country and world. I do hate the Islamic terrorists -- but I want a better way of dealing with them than America's longest war.
<P>We have moved the United States in a direction that gives far too much power to authority. This has been done supposedly to solve "security" problems and to stop "crime." These people claim even education will be better if moved in a more authoritarian direction. They don't seem to pay attention to anything that opposes their ideas, no matter how strong the evidence supporting opposing views are.
<P>I've written enough for now. I wonder how much attention this blog posting will get -- and whether people will respond to it either in comments or directly.
Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-54024723848404500002014-08-05T08:40:00.000-07:002014-08-05T08:43:27.908-07:00Forty Years Ago<P>Today in the Washington Post there were reviews of books about Watergate. That tragic crime led to Nixon's resignation 40 years ago. The part of me that is liberal and the part of me that is conservative and the part that is hard to describe all are glad that Nixon was finished as President 40 years ago.
<P>There is something, though, that while it did not attract nearly as much attention, affected me far more deeply than Watergate.
<P>I am talking about the death of my wonderful father, Charles I. Divine, also 40 years ago. I miss that good man still. He passed away far too young. He was only 61. He died of complications of surgery. That tragedy turned me from an occasional runner and swimmer into someone who runs or swims 6 days a week. There is more about that on my blog post <a href=" http://independentbroadmindedcentrist.blogspot.com/2012/05/my-running-career.html">My Running Career</a>.
<P>I am sitting here now in front of a computer connected up to the Internet -- things my father could have understood, but did not live to see. What am thinking about? Dad. I wish he was here. He'd only be 101. And Mom too. She'd only be 98. If Dad had lived, I can imagine Mom living longer too.
<P>Dad was Rutgers Class of 1935. His father, Charles Divine, was Class of 1890. That's why I went to Rutgers.
<P>Dad was a cradle Episcopalian. So was Mom. That's why I am.
<P>I try to help the world be a better place -- like my parents.
<P>Is it possible for me to criticize Dad? He was a lousy cook. That's why Mom proclaimed when I was 12 that I should get the cooking merit badge in the Boy Scouts. She said "All men should know how to cook." Today people really like my cooking -- even my French cooking. I wonder if that would have happened otherwise.
<P>God, I miss Dad. I always will. Even if I live to be a thousand. Or a million. You get the picture.Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-16657780855176430822014-06-09T12:02:00.000-07:002014-06-09T12:02:31.829-07:00Who Is Reading My Blog?I am becoming very curious about who is reading my blog. <br />
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Some posts draw very little attention. <br />
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One of my attempts at humor that people seem to like is <a href="http://independentbroadmindedcentrist.blogspot.com/2010/01/vulcan-ambassador-chuck-e-mails.html" target="_blank">The Vulcan Ambassador Chuck E-Mails</a>. I will admit I have publicized that piece lots of places. Over 800 views doesn't exactly surprise me. <br />
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Then there are things like <a href="http://independentbroadmindedcentrist.blogspot.com/2009/04/interesting-side-comment-by-michael_25.html" target="_blank">An Interesting Side Comment by Michael Griffin</a>. That has gotten 234 views -- without me publicizing it much. Other space related blog entries have gotten hundreds of views. Interestingly enough, though, I haven't received many comments directly -- just an occasional comment, sometimes on the critical side.<br />
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Tuesday I will go to a Washington Space Business Roundtable luncheon. While there I will try to bring this up as well as mentioning the showing of 2001: A Space Odyssey at Wolf Trap. I will report that I have put that event in the local Mensa calendar. I may also bring up a few other things. For instance, how different space is today from the visions of the 1960s -- with a reference to the Columbia disaster. I might also, if I get the chance, to bring up the February Mensa Bulletin article on sleep deprivation.<br />
<br />Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-5650678393142359262014-06-09T11:41:00.000-07:002014-06-09T11:41:23.217-07:00Episcopal Church MembershipOn Tuesday, September 29th, a new committee of St. Mark's Episcopal Church met to discuss strengthening membership. The church overall has been in decline for a number of years. In 1965 the church had 3.6 million baptized members and 2.2 million communicants. By 2001 there were 2.3 million members and 1.8 million communicants. This is with a growing national population.<br /><br />
Much has changed in both the United States and the Episcopal Church since 1965. Back in 1965 all priests were men -- and practically all of them married men still on their first and only wife. Families were more intact because divorce was much rarer. There were far more stay at home wives looking after children. People in neighborhoods knew each other much better. I do remember my own mother returning to work -- when I was in high school and could take care of myself after school. It can be easily argued that all of these things had major good points. <br /><br />
Perhaps because I saw my parents as equals who loved and respected each other and me, I have a more positive view of the world back then. When feminism started its gains in the 1960s, I had been fully prepared for a world in which women were viewed as the equal of men. After all, it had been that way in my home -- and, I think, in other homes that I had the opportunity to see. Just because Mom stayed at home when I was a child did not mean she was inferior to Pop. My parents viewed bringing up children as important as the work my father did as an accountant and business manager in the hospitals where he worked. Clearly there were people who did not see things that way. I have read that, in Hilary Clinton's childhood home, her father completely dominated things like political discussion. Her mother wasn't even allowed to mention Democratic Party positions. While my parents were both Republicans, they viewed Democrats as fine people with whom they had some disagreements. They even, from time to time, voted for a Democrat.<br /><br />
Women moving into the workplace has not been the only change since 1965. People who do work outside the home are spending more and more time at their paying work. Because both parents are, increasingly, working full time, childcare is left to others -- all too often people who are less able than the parents to bring up their children. Parents, after all, know their children better than almost any poorly paid professional caretaker. They can help them more.<br /><br />
People are more pressed for time because of the lengthening work week. There are other things of importance to normal human beings -- family, friends, community, etc. When those are shortchanged, people become less happy.<br /><br />
There has also been a rise in authoritarian cultures in political, social and economic arenas. It doesn't matter what the position is -- it seems that to disagree is wrong, even if the disagreement is intended to improve the situation people are addressing.<br />
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Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-21157735807256235552014-06-06T06:06:00.000-07:002014-06-06T06:06:49.095-07:00Thinking About D-DayToday is the 70th anniversary of D-Day. When D-Day happened, my Uncle Dick and Grandmother Agnes were still both alive. A year later both were dead. My paternal grandmother Agnes heard something on the radio that gave her the idea that the war would soon be over. She ran for the steps to go downstairs to tell Mom and Dad. She tripped on the steps and badly injured herself. She died from those injuries. Mom and Dad got the news of the death of Uncle Dick in May 1945. Dad commented "Thank God Mom went first. This would have killed her." Dad missed his brother until the end of his life. <br />
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Mom's side of the family took some hits as well. Uncle Clarence served in the Army over in Europe. He was wounded twice rather badly. When he got home, people said to him "Guess you will be getting married now." He replied "No. I want a quiet life." That good man became like a second father to me. I think the world is poorer because of his quite understandable decision. Uncle John literally cracked up in basic training. I don't know why. The Army and the VA did take care of him until the end of his life. I do remember him smoking four packs of cigarettes a day. I wonder if what happened to him in the 1940s had something to do with that. He did die of a heart attack at age 65. Uncle Clarence made it to 81, Mom to 93. <br />
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After the war, this country let in the Peenemunde rocket team. Yes, we got a Man on the Moon in 1969. But did bringing in these people shift aerospace culture in a fundamentally bad way? Make it far more authoritarian? Cause failures like Challenger and Columbia? There has been some discussion of this topic in several places. I don't know what to say. I can say that I am on the outside of an agency that clearly needs reform in major ways. Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-85822012468460373942014-05-06T13:57:00.000-07:002014-05-06T13:57:20.716-07:00Thoughts About Norm AugustineWednesday I will be attending a talk at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum by Norm Augustine. He's 10 years older than I am. He's also much richer and has led a much more well known career. I've started wondering what my life would have been like if I had been born in 1935. Would I have the conflicts with authority that I have had in my life? I'm not the only one who has noticed our society moving in a more authoritarian direction in the past four, perhaps more, decades.<br />
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Augustine's career ranged back and forth between the private sector and government. One must note, though, that the capstone of his "private career" was leading Lockheed-Martin through their merger. That company is heavily dependent upon government contracts. Indeed, it seems that all of American aerospace relies upon government help in some fashion. Boeing needs the Export-Import Bank to help finance sales outside of the United States. Then there is the United Launch Alliance -- a joint effort of Boeing and Lockheed-Martin. Their Atlas rocket is now dependent upon Russian engines. <br />
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I am going to try and bring up questions about this kind of thing Wednesday at the COMSTAC meeting during the day and then at the Augustine talk in the evening. I may also inject a bit of humor informally into these events because some people have described Augustine's Laws as being satirical, tongue in cheek, etc. Telling people about <a href="http://independentbroadmindedcentrist.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-penguins.html" target="_blank">The Penguins</a> might get me a few chuckles and, perhaps, more.Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-6311231038603587712014-05-02T12:59:00.000-07:002014-05-02T12:59:08.577-07:00Thoughts About MayI've mentioned on Facebook that I will not be attending the International Space Development Conference in California this year. I can't afford it. I have been doing volunteer work regarding space exploration and development for decades. I was paid decently doing IT work at NASA Goddard for nine years before I was driven out by awful management. Since then I have led a committee on aerospace industry collaboration for the Governor's Workforce Investment Board in Maryland. See <a href="http://independentbroadmindedcentrist.blogspot.com/2010/03/aerospace-initiative-home-page.html" target="_blank">Aerospace Initiative Home Page</a> to learn more about that phase of my life. <a href="http://independentbroadmindedcentrist.blogspot.com/2008/02/aerospace-workforce-issues.html" target="_blank">Aerospace Workforce Issues</a> is based in good part upon what I learned doing that work.<br />
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People want me to come to things space related as long as I pay my own way and don't make trouble for the powers that be. Hmm. They seem to want people with highly authoritarian personalities.<br />
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This evening I will attend a Rutgers Club of DC event. I wonder what kind of reaction I will get when I mentioned that the Atlas rockets which deliver military spy satellites into orbit are currently powered by Russian engines. I might bring it up over the weekend as well at places like St. Mark's Episcopal Church and Hash House Harrier events.<br />
<br />Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-58554839414465176732014-05-01T15:14:00.000-07:002014-05-01T15:14:15.554-07:00My FamilyI'm putting up this posting to let people know more about my family. I have learned over the years how different I am because of the kind of people from whom I am descended.<br />
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Mom's side of the family was English working class. My grandparents moved to the United States from England a little over a century ago. I got to know those grandparents as a child growing up in New Jersey. They were wonderful people. They had three children. Besides Mom, there was Uncle Clarence and Uncle John. Uncle Clarence built our first stereo in the 1950s. He also built a telescope and taught me a bit about astronomy. Oh -- he was, like Uncle John, a high school dropout. Things were different back in the 1930s. Mom -- the oldest of three who survived to adulthood -- was the first member of the family to attend and graduate from high school. My grandparents had had some elementary school education. I enjoyed all my visits to the Lowes. I could not have wished for better relatives. These days I really enjoy my visits to England and spending time with the Lawtons.<br />
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Dad's side of the family was, shall we say, different. There was a time when many people would have said Mom married up. All I remember were two wonderful people who taught me much about the world and people. My parents started teaching me to read at age 3 because I had become such a pest -- I wanted to do what Mommy and Daddy were doing -- reading. Our home at 214 Park Lane had lots of books. Mom and Dad also bought me books, ranging from The Hardy Boys to Tom Swift, Jr. to Catch-22. OK, the last was given to me when I was a teenager.<br />
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What can I say about Dad and his family? My degree from Rutgers is in physics. His degree from Rutgers was in economics. He earned that degree in 1935. He went on to become a fine accountant. His father earned a degree in chemistry from Rutgers in 1890. Yes, teen marriages do not run in the family. <br />
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That grandfather had a rather unusual family. His father, Michael Divine, was born in Ireland in 1828. By the time my grandfather was born in 1869, he was a lawyer in the United States. The Divines moved from Ireland to New Jersey in 1836 -- a year after Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America (volume 1) had been published. This could have been a mere coincidence, but I remember how caring and democratic my family was -- and still is. Who did Michael marry? A woman who born in England by the name of Angelina Elizabeth Donne. That's how I am related to John Donne. It is weird to read a book about a man who lived 400 years ago and see similarities between him and you. I am not in his league, but I do think and care in many ways like him. My grandfather -- the first Charles in the family -- was their third child. Twin boys had been born in 1867. They also went to Rutgers. Beginning in December 1867 and continuing through some months in 1868 Charles Dickens made his last tour of the United States. Did my great grandparents name their third son Charles to honor him? I do remember how much Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol was a part of our Christmases when I was growing up.<br />
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That's enough for now. Maybe I will expand on this later on. I might also start writing up my attempts to find paying work and helping lead our society in healthier, more democratic ways much more frequently.Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-53506144693204860692014-02-27T14:43:00.001-08:002014-02-27T14:45:17.549-08:00The Penguins<div style="text-align: left;">
I, <a href="http://independentbroadmindedcentrist.blogspot.com/2010/01/vulcan-ambassador-chuck-e-mails.html">Vulcan Ambassador Chuck</a>, am writing this posting to help my best human friend, Chuck Divine, teach his fellow humans about the most dangerous species on Planet Earth -- The Penguins.</div>
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The Penguins have most humans fooled. They think of The Penguins as a bunch of jolly birds living way down south -- think Antarctica. They are not!</div>
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First, let me tell you a bit of history. In the 1980s, Argentina tried taking the Falkland Islands away from the British. To their great surprise, Argentina lost the war!</div>
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A few weeks after the war was over, a large group of Penguins, led by a King Penguin and including a big group of Mutant, Zombie Penguins, traveled from their base in Antarctica to Buenos Aires. While they were marching down the street, they were attacked by an Argentine Army Company. All the Mutant, Zombie Penguins had to do was to deeply exhale. That knocked out the Argentine Army Company. When The Penguins got to government headquarters, they shocked and then delighted Argentina by negotiating an alliance with Argentina. While they were negotiating this treaty, though, they told Argentina they would have to keep the alliance secret until The Penguins told them they could tell the world. Argentina was glad to comply. They realized they now had as an ally the most powerful species on Earth.</div>
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What has happened in the past year? The former Roman Catholic Pope RETIRED. It has been a long time in human terms since this last happened. Then, who did the Roman Catholic College of Cardinals elect to succeed Pope Benedict? They elected Pope Francis -- a man from ARGENTINA!!!!</div>
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The Penguins have already attempted an attack! Fortunately for humanity and the larger galaxy, they picked Canberra, Australia on a very special day at a very special time. They attacked when the Canberra Hash House Harriers were doing their Red Dress Run! Yes, hash runners sometimes run through the streets of various cities wearing Red Dresses, drinking good beer and singing funny, sometimes dirty, songs. My human friend, Chuck Divine, has <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27233112@N05/sets/72157608009686727/">some photos of a Washington, DC Red Dress Run</a> up on his photo blog. When The Penguins saw the Canberra version of this event, they became confused. They started laughing, a bit nervously. This got the attention of the Hash House Harriers. They approached The Penguins -- with lots of beer in hand. The Penguins started drinking the beer and laughing at the songs. That stopped the attack! The Hashers then rounded up The Penguins and took them to a Secure Location. The Hashers -- with the help of the Australian government -- are keeping The Penguins inebriated and amused while they figure them out. Since Hashers are brighter and more open minded than most humans, they seem to be making progress. The Galactic Federation, while keeping a close eye on what is occurring, does not want to intervene as yet. Prime Directive and all that.<br />
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When is humanity going to wake up and take action? They need to get their police forces out of their military style uniforms and into Red Dresses! And supply them with Good Beer! And teach them a few funny songs! The Galaxy Wants To Know!Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682162065093393052.post-51714016278143752022014-01-14T12:49:00.003-08:002014-01-14T12:49:51.589-08:00Follow Up to What's NextAll,<br />
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I didn't even get an interview for the Plan B Executive Director spot. Oh. Well.Chuck Divinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06437997895336808634noreply@blogger.com0