College Update

I figured I'd better post something on this. For the past month, I've been falling behind on the college class I was taking at the University of Maryland. There were two reasons for this: work and the class itself. I've been putting a lot of hours in work wise and the last thing I felt like doing when I'd get home was work on either the reading or writing assignments. The second problem was the class itself. The professor really poured it on assignment wise with at one point, three consecutive 300 page plus weekly reading assignments. I wonder if she realized that some of us had to work. Because of these two items, I fell behind in the class and it was going to get harder and harder to catch up. Finally, I decided to withdraw from the class. I hated doing that as it meant throwing the $1,348 tuition down the drain but I just didn't see any point in continuing with it. So, I went into the base education office and withdrew. I'll have to take the class again this fall and hopefully, I'll be able to keep up then. We'll see.

Just a Reminder

I just wanted to remind any readers I have in Maryland that the Maryland Renaissance Festival will be kicking off in a month. It opens August 26th and runs till October 22nd. For those of you who haven't been to the festival, it is an outstanding festival and a lot of fun. Why do I say that? I say that for a number of reasons. First, the festival has an outstanding site. All buildings are permanent and well maintained. It is a pleasure to shop in the shops or watch various acts in the various open-air theaters they have. Second, the entertainment has been consistently excellent. I look forward to seeing Fight School, Hack and Slash, and the Squire on the Wire again. The festival also plans to have some acts that haven't been there before including Mediaeval Baebes, an all female British group that sings classical music and plays classical instruments. From their website, they look seriously hot. Third, they offer some really good food. The place got me seriously hooked on smoked turkey legs. I can't wait to go back and munch down on one. Lastly, it is very affordable. It only costs $17 for adults, $15 for Seniors, and $8 for kids (anyone under 15). If you sign up for their mailing list, you can receive a brochure through the mail with a discount coupon that will save you between $1 and $3 apiece for admission until September 11th.

So, mark your calendars, start getting your medieval or renaissance costume ready, and begin preparing for a fun day at the festival. See you there!

Sidekicks

Yesterday, I found out about a neat list Entertainment Weekly came out with. The list presents the top 50 greatest sidekicks. The list also states why the sidekicks were so valuable. One example was Ed McMahon with Johnny Carson. McMahon had the ability to help some of Johnny's stinker jokes come across better. He also had a superb sense of timing. While some thought McMahon was Carson's lackey, McMahon was in fact invaluable to Carson making him look a lot better than he would've without him.

Because I'm such a big Lord of the Rings fan, I was delighted to see Samwise Gamgee be number seven on the list. Sam was critical to the success of the destruction of the ring though he would likely never admit it. Repeatedly, Sam stays by Frodo through thick and thin even when Frodo treats him like crap as he does when he chooses to believe the treacherous Gollum before he enters Shelob's lair. Sam also shows extraordinary valor. It is he that saves Frodo from the orcs and fends off Gollum's attacks outside Mount Doom. He is an extraordinary noble character who deserves a place as one of the great characters of the trilogy.

If you're interested, the list can be found at: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,1213384_12336181_0_,00.html. I hope you enjoy the list as much as I did.

Seat Belts

I felt I had to touch on this subject after some recent training at the Post Office's Calvert Training Academy. One of the subjects they hit on was how important it was to wear your seat belt. I'd heard this before and felt like yawning. What got my attention was some of the videos they play. The first video they played showed test crash dummies and what happened to them during a crash. The instructor pointed pointed that it isn't the impact of the opposing car that kills. It is the impact of the passengers with parts of their own car. In the case of the front seat passengers, they consistently smashed into the windshield with horrific results. I could see them hit the windshield with such force that if they'd real persons, they'd either broken their necks or ended up paralyzed. Equally horrific was what happened to children who weren't buckled up in the back seat. In one case, the child became a missile that smashed into the buckled in adult in the front seat. I shudder to think what would've happened to real kids. Parents should definitely make sure their kids are securely buckled in when travelling.

The last video they showed was interesting in that it proved conclusively that seat belts can save lives. To be absolutely certain that seat belts save lives, an unknown German ministry recreated certain car accidents with real people in the cars. One example was a driver going full speed head on into a tree. The taped footage shows the car totally smashed up but the driver incredibly enough exits the car alive and unhurt. After watching the video, you can't have any doubt that seat belts save lives. If you don't use them, please start. If you have kids, please make sure they're properly buckled in. Every year over 50,000 people in the U.S. die in car accidents. I suspect if those people used their seat belts, most of them would still be alive. Don't become one of those statistics. Use your seat belt and stay alive.

FrequentFlier.Com

FrequentFlier.Com is a site that has excellent information on airmile bonuses that airlines are offering as well as bonuses that hotels and rental car companies are offering. They have a weekly/monthly? (not sure) email you can sign up for which will tell you of the latest deals and any deal expiration dates coming up. The email can be very useful as can the site. The particular reason I'm mentioning them today is an article they posted on their site. The article superbly explains the different options available to the consumer. They compare the airline credit card, American Express/Diners Card, and bank cards that are out there. Using the information the article provides, the consumer can decide which card would be best for them. For example, if you travel a lot on ONE airline, you'll want to get that particular airline charge card. If you travel on a lot of different airlines, you might want to get the Diners Card or an American Express card. If you're more of a shopper than a traveler, you might want to go with on of the bank cards. The choice is yours but the article will make your decision easier. Check it out at: http://frequentflier.com/card-intro.htm

Music Review - Ottmar Liebert

I first listened to Ottmar Liebert thanks to Windham Hill Music. I think they had him play one of his pieces of music on a sampler of theirs. I very impressed with his ability to play the guitar. Later, I bought some of his CDs and found I had one problem with him, his music is very hispanic which means I can't understand some of the songs he plays. An example would be on his The Best of Ottmar Liebert. Liebert plays a nice sounding version of Mercy Mercy (Robert Plant made this a big hit I believe) but it's in Spanish. Because of that, I couldn't enjoy the song as much. His Best of also has a nice version of The Girl from Ipanema. Other selections on the CD are decent.

Overall, I wasn't wiped out with this CD. It has some decent stuff on it but it isn't one I'm going to listen to a lot. I wouldn't heartily recommend this CD. However, if you're music tastes are more hispanic, you might enjoy it more than I did.

Postal Training Continued

When I arrived at the P&DC today for my second day of training, I can't say I was terribly excited. We were going to cover safety. Safety is important but it can be a very boring subject. Surprisingly, the training today wasn't. One thing I learned about was the danger of dogs. I've always liked dogs and rarely had any problems with them. That could change with my new job as a postman. Dogs are a major problem for mailmen/women. The lady that lectured us on safety was a mail carrier for 18 years and was bit twice by dogs that ambushed her. She told us that the Post Office does arm us with pepper spray but the best defense against a dog was watching out for them before you got attacked. She also said that we should make owner's restrain their dog before giving the owners their mail. The dog may sit quietly by the owner initially but could easily jump up and bite the carrier when the carrier tries to hand the owner their mail. Dogs could mistake what the carrier was trying to do for an attack. Another thing that the service does is have its carriers put a card in their tray which tells where a dog is located on the route. This reminds the regular carrier where a dog is located. It also gives a substitute carrier a warning which can be really handy since he's not familiar with the route.

Dogs however turned out not to be the biggest problem right now. The biggest problems carriers have to deal with is the heat. It is summer time in Maryland and it's HOT and HUMID. Mail carriers have to deliver all their mail in the outdoors so they get the full effects. To make matters worse, the delivery trucks are not air conditioned and tend to get quite warm. The safety lady reminded the new mail carriers to make sure they drank plenty of fluids so they didn't get dehydrated. They might also want to wear lighter clothing. As a Rural Carrier Associate I found out I'll be able to wear shorts and short-sleeve t-shirts. I may not look very postal but I'll be considerably cooler. The only potential problem is this will leave more areas vulnerable as far as dogs are concerned. I'll just have to see how it goes.

That's all for my second day of training. Tomorrow, I get to do a half day. I have no idea what I'll get to learn. Sadly, our group will break up after tomorrow. Those that have to do vehicle training will go to the vehicle training center in Hyattsville Thursday. Those that don't such as clerks will either start at their new jobs, or receive additional training in their specialty. I'll be sorry to see the group break up. It's been neat getting to meet some of them. I hope the people I get to work with at the Laurel Post Office will be equally nice. We'll see.

Postal Training

I got to attend my first day of postal training at the Southwest Maryland Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC). I found it interesting. I found out that the U.S. Postal Service delivers 60% of the total mail mailed in the world. It deliver 65 million packages and letters a day! Because of this, it is one of the largest employers in the United States (no surprise there when you think how labor intensive the business is even with automation). The service continues to automate as much as possible to cut costs but it is still very labor intensive. You'll still need people to deliver the mail, attach zip codes when the sender forgets them, figure out a person's address when the writing isn't terribly legible (like that written by a doctor), sort large or unusual shaped packages like tubes, or re-package something when the package breaks during automated handling.

The first part of the training was where we found out where we fit in the picture. After that, we learned how the Postal Service is structured i.e. Headquarters, district office, branch office, and finally associate office (your local Post Office). Then, we learned about permanent and non-permanent positions. In the class, we had both types of employees. We also learned about some the services the service offers its employees as well as promotional opportunities. I was surprised to find out a starting line supervisor at the Post Office could make $70,000! Hm, I might want to think about becoming a supervisor there in time if I decide to stay there. We also got to do a tour of the two facilites they have at the center. The center is one of only two centers in the U.S. which does regular mail operations and bulk mail (i.e. what is commonly known as junk mail) operations. Both operations are huge. The bulk mail operation center alone occupied the space of FIVE football fields. I remembering looking down at a corridor there and thinking that it reminded of the cavernous warehouse in the first Indian Jones movie where they store the ark of the covenant at the end of the movie. It was HUGE.

Overall, I found the training interesting and look forward to more. Tomorrow, I'll get to learn about safety. The day after that, I'll finish my training at the center and prepare to go to their vehicles center where I'll get to learn how to drive a postal delivery truck. I found out I'll have to take a test on driving one of those. Hopefully, they're not that hard to drive. Lastly, I'll spend three days learning the rural carrier job. Rural Carrier Associates are something of mini-Post Offices. We're expected to sort and deliver mail, sell stamps, and pick-up packages.

I still don't know if this is what God wants me to do with my life but for now, it looks like the direction he's pointing in. We'll see. If nothing else, it will be interesting working for the Post Office as a substitute mailman.

Rotten Tomatoes Website

When you hear the name Rotten Tomatoes, you would first think such a site would be no good but the name is deceptive. Rotten Tomatoes is a website that actually brings you the latest news on upcoming movies. You can find out where the future movie is in development, watch any trailers that have been released, and read reviews once the movie has been released. It's actually a very useful site. Ex. a couple days ago Anna Popplewell who played Susan in the Chronicles of Narnia movie revealed that the producers looking for shooting locations right now for the next Chronicles of Narnia movie. According to her, they expect to begin shooting the beginning of next year. Another nice aspect of the site as I previously noted are the movie trailers. The site has the upcoming Spiderman 3 and Casino Royale trailers. I watched both and was particularly impressed with the Royale trailer. Daniel Craig looks like a very gritty 007. Casino Royale will be released in the U.S. November 17th. Based on the trailer, it should be good.

Overall, if you like movies or if you want to know the latest on an upcoming movie, the site is one you'll want to check out. It can be found at: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/

Crowne Plaza American Express Offer

I booked my Crowne Plaza hotel reservations today. I thought I'd point out a rather interesting deal Crowne Plaza is offering. Through the end of August, you can book a room at Crowne Plaza hotels with your American Express card and receive a $25 American Express gift card. That sounds like a good deal right? There is a catch. You have to book at their flexible rate. In the case of the hotel I'm going to stay at in Richmond, the flexible rate costs $34 more a night than the advanced purchase rate. That means it would cost me $68 to earn a $25 American Express card. The offer doesn't sound so hot after all. I will concede there are a couple good points with the flexible rate vice the advanced purchase rate. First, you can cancel or modify your reservation with the flexible rate. You can't with the advance purchase rate. Also, you must pay at least 7 days in advance with the advance purchase rate. You don't have to with the flexible rate. Still, I think the savings make the advance purchase rate the way to go.

I also discovered something interesting with Crowne Plaza and the Intercontinental Hotel chain. You have to be savvy when you use your hotel points with them. Their website showed me that I could get both my nights free with them if I used 50,000 of my points with them. You would think that is a good deal. Actually, it isn't. The chain sells those points for $10 per 1,000 points. So if I used 50,000 points, I'd be using $500 worth of points for a room that would cost me $210 at the advance purchase rate. You can see this would be a major losing proposition. Make sure you watch it when your frequent hotel club tells you you can stay for free using your points. You could be getting a losing deal.

The American Way

Bill Reilly has a really nice article about the new Superman movie and the culture war in the U.S. http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BillOReilly/2006/07/08/superman_and_the_culture_war

The article points out that the American way is under attack both from without and within like never before. The newest Superman movie is a sign of this. Superman no longer stands for the American way. The movie's producers wanted to make him more international. They were also afraid that making him a patriotic American would turn off foreign viewers. They didn't want to lose that important source of revenue. What those producers seem to ignore is the enormous good that America does for the world. There is nothing to be ashamed of when you stand for the American way though a number of apologists in this country would differ. Incredibly, people like U.S. House of Representatives member John Murtha have said the U.S. is the greatest danger to world peace. They see it as more of a danger to the world than Iran. I can't help wondering what planet these folks are on. It is the U.S. that is helping make this world a safer place. For the last 5 or 6 six years, the vaunted Europeans have sought to negotiate with the Iranians to get them to give up their nuclear program. They haven't gotten any where with them and Iran is closer to having a nuclear weapon then ever before. This is the same Iran that wants to wipe Israel right off the map. So much for the great Europeans. I suspect it is the U.S. that will end up actually doing something about the lunatics in Iran just like it was the U.S. that has helped solve so many previous problems. I remember hearing about a book written by Tom Brokaw about what he called "The Greatest Generation." This generation was the one that came through the Great Depression and fought in World War II. They were common people who did extraordinary things. Brokaw reportedly lamented their passing. I agree with him that it is sad that these people are dying off. These people believed in the American way. They realized what a great system the American way is. No other system offers more opportunity or freedom. If you've got the drive, ambition, and will, you can become a success in this country. You don't need your family's connections and you definitely don't need a handout from the government. Sadly, later generations are foolishly beginning to hate the great American way and hope to replace it with something that will destroy the very opportunities our great system offers. God help us if they succeed.

In short, there is nothing to be ashamed of about the American way. America remains the greatest country in the world with the most opportunities. No other country offers greater opportunities or greater freedom. All those illegal Mexican immigrants that are coming to this country aren't coming here for no reason. It is because of what America offers. We should be proud to be Americans. We have nothing to apologize for. We most definitely should continue to follow the American way and unashamedly support it. It is still the greatest system in the world today.

Book Review - The Well of Loneliness

I got to read Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness for my college class last week. I thought the book was ahead of its time in that it was written in 1926 (I believe) and was openly sympathetic to lesbians. During that time, lesbianism was very taboo and women who did it were considered mentally disturbed. Hall's characters are actually decent people though the heroine does have some quirks. The heroine Stephen Gordon (her father Sir Philip decided he liked the name Stephen so much that he gave her name irregardless of the fact that Stephen was a female) thinks she's a man in a woman's body and actually dresses like a man. This would hardly cause a stir now a days but back in the 1920's it was shocking stuff. Hall also shows lesbianism in a very sympathetic light and actually argues for their plight. Hall argues that since lesbians were made the way they are, that it is unfair to persecute them. She also argues that they should have the right to find happiness in a lesbian relationship.

Based on what I've read, I believe it's been proven that women choose to be lesbians vice being born lesbians. This blows Hall's appeal to God right out of the water. One thing that surprised me was that Hall repeatedly appeals to God concerning the unjust way lesbians are treated. I couldn't help but wonder who taught her her theology or did she just ignore what the bible says about lesbianism.

Concerning lesbians having the right to find happiness in a relationship, I personally agree there. If they can find happiness in a relationship, they should be allowed to do so. I have a different opinion when it comes to lesbian marriage. I just don't see the point in two women or two men marrying. Marriage is intended to provide an acceptable union in which to have children. Since lesbians or gays can't have children (unless they adopt or use artificial insemination in the case of the lesbians), what is the point.

I also disagree with Hall over what she calls persecution. At no point does anyone attack or imprison the heroine. Our heroine instead suffers what I would call social ostracism. Society simply refuses to have anything to do with her. To me, there is a big difference between the two. I don't see lesbians being persecuted in the story. Should society ostracize lesbians or homosexuals? I would say no. I also don't believe society should persecute them. Should society accept lesbians and homosexuals? I would say they should be tolerant of them i.e. they have no business telling them how supposedly awful they are when society ignores so many of its own faults. Doesn't Jesus say we shouldn't be concerned about the splinter in our brother's eye when we have a log in our own?

Back to the novel, overall I can't say I liked the novel. I don't feel the heroine was some tragic figure. I think if she was happy with her lady love Mary, she should've stayed with her instead of sacrificing their relationship so in theory Mary would be happy with the man that also loves her. I suspect if Hall had written the novel in present times, she would've. I think the novel becomes sappy at times when whining and crying about the lot of lesbians. Ok, life sucks, deal with it. Life isn't a bowl of cherries for heterosexual people either. The novel does tell an interesting story but it isn't one that I'm really interested in. If you like a story about a lesbian finding herself and her attempts to find a meaningful relationship with another woman, this novel may be for you. For me, I'll pass on it.

Airline Credit Cards

With the increasing difficulty of getting free seats using an airline's airmiles, travellers might want to look at whether or not it is worth having an airline's credit card. Some of the credit cards aren't cheap. Until today, I had the Citicard AA Advantage card. This credit card costs $85 a year and only gives you one airmile per dollar charged on it. To me, that is very steep. Unless you charge a lot of stuff on just that one card, you won't get a good ratio of airmiles to the dollar. In fact, you might get a ratio buying them from the airline. However, if you do buy them, remember they might not do you a lot of good considering the difficulty of using them. I've been a big fan of frequent flier programs but I confess my ardor is cooling. The airlines keep raising the number of airmiles you need for a free ticket and there are more ways to earn them which means there are more people trying to get the limited number of free seats. In my case, I plan to cancel a number of the airline credit cards I have. I just don't think their worth the yearly fees the credit card companies charge for them. You might want to think about doing the same.

BWI Amtrak Station

I visited Amtrak's BWI train station yesterday. I wanted to make my train reservations to visit my friend Harvey who lives in Richmond, Virginia. The station is very small. It has only three rows of 8 seats each. There are three ticket counters though only one was open when I visited. There is also a small news stand and a couple soda machines. Incredibly, the station has a double 7-tier parking lot. I suspect that's because the station is used for commuters into Baltimore and Washington D.C. I also believe the station is used by those who choose to take the train to Baltimore Washington International Airport. It's probably cheaper than an airport shuttle. The reason I use it is because it's easier to take trains from there vice using the Maryland State rail network. The Maryland network is run purely for commuters and as I've previously reported, it only runs in the mornings and evenings. After 9 a.m., there aren't anymore trains till 3:30 p.m. This means if you take it into Washington D.C. or Baltimore, you're stuck there all day, a major nuisance.

Price wise for the parking, its daily rates are comparable to the long term parking lots close to the airport. They charge $9 a day I believe. I plan to use one of their lots when I drive out there for my trip to Richmond.

I will give kudos to Amtrak for one particular thing I like about their service. You can upgrade your seat on their regional trains to business class for just $17 each way. To me, this is cheap! The seats are wider and I think more comfortable. Plus, I just like travelling Business Class if I can afford it. At $17 each way, I can afford it.

One downside I will slam Amtrak for is some of their so-called train stations. I discovered yesterday that the Virginia Beach train station is in fact a bus stop! It turns out that if you want to take the train on the Northeast Corridor line to Virginia Beach, you get to de-train at Newport News and take a 90 minute bus ride to Virginia Beach. I wasn't amused by that. I think it is a bit dishonest. The schedule implies they have TRAIN service there and they don't.