To Blog Or Not To Blog

Prior to early August this year, I had never written or posted a blog (web log). With the assistance of my two smart adult children I learned how to set up a blog site and off I went.

I enjoy writing about my opinions of the day for cathartic reasons and for the safety of those closest to me. More specifically I felt if my head ever exploded too close to my wife, there could be unintended consequences. I used to joke about wrapping my head in duct tape. Blogging has saved me hundreds of dollars by not buying tape in which to wrap my head to keep it from exploding.

The site I use allows me to determine how many “hits” my site gets each day along with other analytic data about where those folks live (in general), etc. But the analysis I have seen since I have been posting my thoughts is telling me I do not have a very large loyal following. My guess is the folks that are going to my site on a regular basis are only close friends and immediate family, and even then not every day even though I have established a routine of writing just about every day to attract daily followers.

People can get to my site in one of the following three ways. After the first visit, they can bookmark and return to my site as a Favorite. They use the more modern way using an RSS Feeder (see following link). http://www.techafina.com/rss-explained/. The third way is if someone sends my site's URL to a family member or friend and that person opens the link.

Where is this going? When I alerted somewhere between 20 to 30 friends and family by e-mail I had started posting I received a lot of hits. But later I explained that was sort of cheating. If someone really likes following a favorite blogger they will continue to return to that site often, without prompting. So I explained to my friends and family I would stop providing a heads up but would continue to write. I wanted a way to determine just how many visitors I would receive every day to my blog site because folks really wanted to check it out and see what my thoughts were that day.

From hitting some high notes, reaching as many as 25 readers on certain days after providing a heads up my average readership has dropped dramatically.

Some bloggers write because they get paid to write for newspapers, magazines or web sites and are considered professionals in the new age of writing for others. I write for myself but based upon the drop in readership without prompting feel I may be getting followed by too few folks to continue to “post in the open”. I may as well keep a private diary, stop writing completely or perhaps send e-mails to those who respond to this posting and ask that I do so. I need some help in deciding what to do. While I don’t fancy myself a professional writer if there are not enough people who want me to continue posting, I should stop. Therefore I am going to do the following, immediately.

This is my last posting for several days, at least through the weekend and as long as a week. I am going “dark”. I have written 31 blogs to date (not including this one) with my average daily readership going from the high teens to as low as 1 but has settled between 5 or 6 per day. When you read this blog if you want me to continue to share my thoughts please put a note into comments section at the bottom of this posting or write me directly if you have my e-mail address and do not want your comment to be read publicly.

I will decide whether to continue to blog after I hear from those that respond. Several days is a long time to not write, at least for me, but it is long enough for anyone who has read any of my previous postings to come back to my site, read this and tell me if they want me to continue posting and why.

That’s it for today. I do not need to know if you agree with what I write but if I should continue. Simple enough. I look forward to hearing from enough followers to justify my time in posting my thoughts going forward.

Two Political Conventions, Two Completely Different Themes

I know most of America did not watch the Presidential conventions, regardless of party affiliation, age, gender, or whatever. As unlikely as it is many Americans watched one convention it is even less likely they watched or paid much attention to both. That having been said, I did record both events each evening and the following day pushed through the commentary on fast forward to see and hear the key note speakers at both conventions. Well, that is history and this week officially marks the start of the “Sprint to the finish”. In less than 60 days America will elect a new President.

From my observations in watching both conventions, glaring differences came through as if the volume was turned to high and the resolution to extreme. One convention seemed focused on its party’s platform, ideology, its goals and mission as well as its chosen leaders and how they planned to make improvements going forward following their “taking charge” of the county in January, 2009.

The other convention seemed completely focused on one party leader and that person’s selection as running mate. There was little specific focus on what is really wrong in America today and how this party’s chosen nominees are going to lead the American people forward after “taking charge” of the country in January, 2009.

After stripping away all the rhetoric, tuning out all the pageantry, music, streamers, confetti and balloons, there seemed to be two America’s being represented at these very different conventions. One was a high energy convention with what I interpreted was a genuine hope for something different in the next four years from the past eight. The other convention reminded me of something I have heard for the past eight years and every year this party has been in office or wanted to get there. Same message, different people saying the same thing as in the past despite their break from the current administration in office.

Both the Democrats and Republicans had energetic speakers to fire up their base and both took some shots at their opponents. But the similarities between the two ended there.

I took the time to see and hear the leaders of both parties speak and present their party’s and their own personal views about how they saw the past, the present and the future. One party seemed to “get it”, the other seemed too focused on trying to be so different from being main stream they neglected to address any specific agenda items they had in mind for our future except to criticize the other party’s perspective. One tone seemed positive, one totally obscured and vague.

It is no wonder most Americans have come to hate politics so much. Even a political junkie like me can become cynical about the process we still follow to select our national leaders. Worse, some still don’t seem to “get it” when it comes to communicating with us on a level we can and want to understand. But, if they did they would not be politicians would they.

I am hoping the three debates will be watched by a great majority of Americans. And I hope during those debates we get some real understanding of the differences between the candidates running for President and Vice President. I will be watching and hoping some serious issues get addressed in a serious way by everyone involved. Late breaking news has it that finally, sometime this week, we will see an interview by one of the major network anchors, Charles Gibson of ABC, with the only candidate that thus far has eluded a one-on-one interview with anyone. Sarah Palin has been completely sheltered from interviews to this point. I can only hope there were no pre-conditions such as having questions submitted in advance for ABC to garner this first exclusive interview.

One might say Palin will have to learn on the job in the event of a catastrophic event but learn how to interview with the national media before elected? That’s scary…how much time did she need to learn how to read a globe, the names of the countries where the bad guys live and learn party lines about how to make the other guy the focus of any hard questions she could not answer? Come-on now…

In November, after the debates are over and the ads have come off the air, we (the great majority of registered voters) will either vote, or not. If the majority of registered voters do go to the polls, I believe the majority already know for whom they will vote. It is said some are “undecided”. I challenge that notion. I have a theory the term “undecided” was concocted by pollsters who could not get straight answers from folks they polled, people who did not want to go on the record and tell the truth as to how they really felt when asked.

Churchill said once, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. I disagree. I fear the fact we, as a nation, are made up of some of the least informed people in any country in the world when one of the most important national elections in history is on the line. I fear for the future of our country as we have no idea what will be going on in the minds of those who actually do show up to vote this November. We will know the results afterward, but, we may never find out the “why”.

I Could Have Been Asked To Be John McCain’s VP

Remember when I said I could have been Obama’s running mate? Well, dog-gone, as it turns out, since I wasn’t asked, I checked and I could have been McCain’s running mate as well.

McCain selected someone younger than he is. That wasn’t too hard. Less than 10% of Americans today are his age or older and I am younger than he is.

McCain’s running mate is not living in the same state in which she was born. Me neither.

The GOP VP nominee can handle a rifle. When I was in the Air National Guard (I showed up at for all the required training and have the paperwork to prove it) I won a Marksman ribbon using an M-16. Now granted, I never shot at Bambi, but I’ll bet you if a moose got in my face and it was me or him, I could shoot it.

This same nominee showed leadership skills at an early age, being in the PTA, Mayor of a small town and now a Governor of a not too densely populated state. She wanted to be in front of a camera on the news and thought she would do well in journalism. As it turns out she did not do all that well in school though. Well, I was in a lot of youth organizations, becoming President of one. I was in the Jaycees and was elected as a Chapter President. I have been interviewed on TV (when I was a lot younger), thought of journalism as a college major (I like to write or I would not be writing this, would I), and I did not do too well in school, neither. As for being the head of some state, I find myself in the state of confusion much of the time so she may have me there.

McCain picked someone to be VP that apparently does not know where a lot of other countries are, the names of their leaders and has not traveled much outside the United States. She also apparently does not like to be interviewed about all this. Same here, across the board. I haven’t got a clue how to spell the names of some world leaders and just got my own passport within the past couple of years. Two birds of a feather.

Sarah Palin said she can be really sarcastic, cynical and difficult to deal with. Just ask my family about that.

Sadly, we do have some major differences. Well, not exactly sadly. I am a man and obviously McCain was looking for someone to offset the Hillary thing. Like a right wing conservative woman. I came that close.

But here’s the thing. There is talk about the fact Joe Biden won’t be able to go after Sarah Palin too hard because it would make him look like a guy beating up on a weaker person, Sarah being a woman and all. How about this. What if the Panther of Pant Suits Hillary Clinton was dispatched by the Democratic Party to go after the Pit Bull with lipstick? That would look like a fair fight, right? For about 10 minutes…..and for that I am grateful I am not McCain’s pick because I could not hold a candle to either Obama or Biden. They are smarter, better educated and know a lot more about the world than I do.

People like Sarah Palin because they say “she’s just like me”. I could be like that too. However I remember that George W. Bush was liked once by these same people that also believed they could sit down and have a beer with him. Well, not a beer, coffee perhaps.

But getting back to being Vice President, I think I would like someone smarter than me….a lot smarter than me. Maybe pretty soon we’ll get to see someone in the media actually interview Mrs. Palin and find out just what she believes in, besides trying to ban books from her town library she did not believe appropriate, allegedly firing a state employee in Alaska for not firing her ex-brother-in-law, believing that teaching abstinence will prevent unwanted pregnancy (whoops), thinking that drilling the hell out of Alaska won’t harm its environment and will somehow make an immediate difference in the price of gas, and that being a Harvard Graduate and President of the Harvard Law Review but skipping a high paying job with a large law firm in favor of working with the less fortunate in poor neighborhoods makes you an elitist.

Can you hear Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men, as Col. Nathan R. Jessep, barking at the media “You want answers? You want answers?”. The media, “We want the truth.” Jessep, “You can’t handle the truth!” Perhaps not. But we need to ask anyway.

You Have To Love The Enthusiasm But What Is True And What Is A Stretch?

If you have watched the Republican Convention you saw two year Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and other Republican party supporters issue some fairly strong attacks against Senators Obama and Biden. However, Palin and her supporters had plenty of praise regarding her credentials to be Vice President. To some degree this is to be expected at a political party convention but I had to ask myself if some of what was said stretched the truth, perhaps just a little. Here are some quotes, judge for yourself.

Sarah Palin: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending...and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere."

A Little Closer To The Truth: My understanding is, as mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million. In her two years as Governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "bridge to nowhere."

Sarah Palin: "There is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform - not even in the state senate."

A Little Closer To The Truth: Obama has worked with Republicans to pass legislation that expanded efforts to intercept illegal shipments of weapons of mass destruction and to help destroy conventional weapons stockpiles. The legislation became law last year. To demean that accomplishment would be to also demean the work of Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, a respected foreign policy voice in the Senate. In Illinois, Obama was the leader on two big, contentious measures in Illinois, the first studying racial profiling by police and the second requiring recordings of interrogations in potential death penalty cases. He also successfully co-sponsored major ethics reform legislation.

John McCain: In an interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson McCain said "She's been governor of our largest state, in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply...She's responsible for 20 percent of the nation's energy supply. I'm entertained by the comparison and I hope we can keep making that comparison that running a political campaign is somehow comparable to being the executive of the largest state in America."

A Little Closer To The Truth: John McCain's phrasing exaggerates both claims. Palin is governor of a state that ranks second nationally in crude oil production, but she's no more "responsible" for that resource than President Bush was when he was governor of Texas, another oil-producing state. In fact, her primary power is the ability to tax oil, which she did in concert with the Alaska Legislature. And where Alaska is the largest state in America, McCain could as easily have called it the 47th largest state - by population.

John McCain: McCain also stated on ABC, "She's the commander of the Alaska National Guard…She has been in charge, and she has had national security as one of her primary responsibilities."

A Little Closer To The Truth: While Governors are in charge of their state guard units, that authority ends whenever those units are called to actual military service. When guard units are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, for example, they assume those duties under "federal status," which means they report to the Defense Department, not their Governors. Alaska's national guard units have a total of about 4,200 personnel, among the smallest of state guard organizations in the country.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee: Palin "got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for President of the United States."

A Little Closer To The Truth: I have to classify this as a major exaggeration and simply wrong. Palin received 616 votes in the 1996 mayor's election, and received 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of 1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses but still received 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the ballot during the 2008 presidential primaries.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney: "We need change, all right - change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington - throw out the big-government liberals, and elect John McCain and Sarah Palin."

A Little Closer To The Truth: This is an interesting perspective. George W. Bush, a conservative Republican, has been president for nearly eight years. And until last year, Republicans controlled Congress. Only since January 2007 have Democrats been in charge of the House and Senate. Under Bush the federal government has grown to be the largest in this country’s history.

Florida Delegates Get To Wear Turnpike Collector Shirts – Really!

All 114 Florida delegates to the Republican Convention received the Hawaiian-design shirts worn by tollbooth attendants on Florida toll roads. The shirts even say “Turnpike” on them. I can honestly say I have seen toll takers on the Florida Turnpike wearing these shirts!
So, the questions are:

Is wearing a toll collector’s shirt at a national Presidential convention just a teensy, weensy bit tacky?

Will they be able to wear them, legally, once back in Florida and stop folks on the streets where they live and collect tolls (ala scenes from the Mel Brooks movie Blazing Saddles)?

And, are they collecting any quarters, you know, to help offset the deficit?

What Does It Mean To Lose A Loved One?

I wrote just over three weeks ago about the importance of Hospice to families in need of support when experiencing the painful last steps of losing a loved one. The mother of my brother’s wife passed away over this past weekend, losing a battle to cancer.

There is not a lot I can say about the process one goes through when a parent or other close family member passes away. You may have experienced a close personal loss, perhaps not, yet. You may have read about the several steps of grief but it is a lonely journey even when you understand it intellectually and think you are ready. Nobody really is.

I hope we can find the money for research so we can continue to look for ways to find cures for deceases that take our loved ones from us. Regardless of age, regardless of how well one may have lived their life, regardless of financial or social circumstances, cancer knows no boundaries. It kills.

I also hope you can find a way to support your local Hospice, where ever you live. In the case of my brother’s mother-in-law, they did wonders and worked their magic to help the family as much as possible as they went through that journey to the end that had to come.

In memory of Ada and others who leave us when it is their time to do so…


There is a season, And a time for every purpose under heaven.

A time to be born, a time to die; A time to plant, a time to reap.

A time to kill, a time to heal, A time to laugh, a time to weep.

There is a season, And a time for every purpose under heaven.

How Do We Celebrate Labor Day And Why

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. The holiday originated in 1882 as the Central Labor Union (of New York City) sought to create "a day off for the working citizens". Congress made Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894. All fifty states have made Labor Day a state holiday. Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer.

But, while Labor Day is often regarded as a day of rest and is a National holiday folks who must work for a living rarely get the day off. While we celebrate certain religious holidays by closing just about everything, we take a holiday intended to recognize the working citizens within our country, and, we make them work.

What’s wrong with this picture?

If you read this in the morning but must then go to work, I want to thank you for being a working class citizen of this country. I will have the day off because I am self-employed, which another way of saying unemployed except when someone hires me to work. Honestly, if someone wanted me to work today, and promised to pay me, I would be right out there with you.

And if you read this after coming home from work, I want to thank you for being a working class citizen of this country. Because you went to work, our economy probably did a little better and I hope you made a decent wage today.

But if you are getting the day off and then go out to a movie, restaurant or going shopping, thank the folks that are working today to make your day off more enjoyable.

And last, if you are unemployed but would have preferred to work, I hope you could still enjoy your day, somehow, as I know the unemployment rates are up, wages are down and it seems to be getting harder and harder to find a reason to celebrate just about anything anymore.

Now then, let’s all get ready to go to work or look for a job tomorrow, except those of you have the luxury to stay home because you have retired. Who is left? Those folks who get paid for doing nothing, like most of the people we have elected into office….Happy Labor Day!