I've spent a lifeime learning how to do things myself — writing, organizing, figuring things out. So when people first told me AI would "change everything," I was skeptical. I didn't need a robot to live my life for me. Here's what I've learned since: AI doesn't live your life for you. It just takes some of the friction out of it. Take writing. I write every day — notes, letters, ideas for this book. I still do the thinking. But now when I get stuck on a sentence, or when my hands are tired and I don't want to retype a whole page, I ask for help. I dictate a rough thought and it cleans it up. I write a paragraph and ask, "does this make sense?" It's like having a patient editor who never gets tired and never makes you feel foolish. Planning is another one. Doctors' appointments, errands, projects around the house. I used to keep it all in my head, then on scraps of paper, then I'd forget the scraps. Now I just say what I need to do, and it helps me sort it into a list that makes sense. Nothing fancy. Just fewer things slipping through the cracks. Learning? At my age, you either keep learning or you rust. I get curious about something — a word in the news, a health question, how something works — and instead of letting it go, I ask. I get a plain explanation, right then. Sometimes I ask it to explain it again, simpler. It doesn't sigh. It doesn't rush me. And remembering. This is the bione nobody likes to talk about. I don't remember names like I used to. I don't remember where I read something. So I use AI as a second memory. I tell it things I want to hold onto — what I decided, why I decided it, what I want to ask the doctor next time. Later I ask, and it's there. That's really what this chapter is about. Not miracles. Not science fiction. Just day-to-day help with writing, planning, learning, and remembering — the four things that make an ordinary day go well. If you're wondering whether AI has anything to offer you, start there. Not with what it could do someday, but with what it can help you do this day. Chapter 2 Getting Started on Your Own Computer In the last chapter I talked about what AI can help with. Now comes the question I hear most: how do I start, and do I have to buy something new? Here is the good news. You start with the computer you already have. Windows, Mac, whatever you use. You do not need a fancy machine. If your computer can browse the internet, it can do this. What you are going to set up is what I call a control helper. It lives on your own computer and does the button-pushing for you. Let me explain that, because the words people use here are terrible. They say "harness" and "agent" like you are supposed to know what that means. I did not. Think of it this way instead. There is the driver, and there is the car. The car is strong and fast, but it does not go anywhere without a driver. Or think of a good helper with a toolbox. The toolbox holds all the tools. The helper is the one who picks the right tool and does the work. That is all these words mean. The "agent" is the helper. The "harness" is just the toolbox it carries — the setup that lets it type, click, read files, and talk to the internet for you. From here on, I will just say helper. Now, every helper needs a brain. That brain is what people call an LLM, a large language model. It is the part that understands what you say and figures out what to do next. Without a brain, the helper just sits there. With a brain, it can read your note, make a plan, and get to work. There are many brains to choose from, and they have names like Claude and GPT and Gemini. They each think a little differently, the way two good handymen might fix the same sink two different ways. You do not need to learn them all. You just need a way to borrow one. For the helper itself, I recommend Hermes. That is the helper I use. It runs on your own computer, it keeps your work local, and it is the one this book will walk through. There are other helpers out there. I am not against them. I just think Hermes is the simplest, steadiest place to begin, and I can show you each step because I have done it myself. To give your helper a brain, you will open one account. It is called OpenRouter. Think of it like a light switch panel. Instead of signing up with five different brain companies, you sign up once, and then you can switch from one brain to another with a flip. One bill, one key, many choices. Simple beats complicated every time, especially when you are starting out. Opening that account takes about ten minutes. Here is the plain version: First, go to the OpenRouter website and sign up with your email, the same way you would sign up for anything else. Second, they will give you what they call an API key. That is just a long password your helper uses to talk to the brain — you copy it once and paste it where your helper asks for it. Third, you add a few dollars of credit, like putting money on a prepaid phone card. It costs pennies per job, so a little goes a long way. Fourth, you pick a starting brain from the list. Do not agonize over this. Pick one, try it, and switch later if you want. That is the whole point of the switch panel. Be honest with yourself here. Write that key down somewhere safe. Do not share it. Treat it like a house key. Once the helper and the brain are connected, you are set up. You do not need to understand everything yet. You just need it working. In the next chapter, we will put it to use — your first small jobs, nice and easy, one at a time. Chapter 3 Setting Up Your Desk Buddy In the last chapter I talked about the two parts. The helper and the brain. Now we put them together. When they work together, I call it my desk buddy. That is the name I will use from here on. Not an assistant. Not a robot. Just a desk buddy. It sits on my computer, it is ready when I am, and it helps me get things done. Like a good neighbor who happens to be good with paperwork. You only have to set this up once. Take it slow. One step at a time. If you can use a web browser, you can do this. Everything here is point and click in your browser. There is nothing to type that looks like code, and no black box with strange text. If you get lost, just stop, close the page, and start that step over. Here is what you need. The computer you already have. An internet connection. An email address. That is it. Start here. Open your web browser and go to https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs . That page is the official home for Hermes setup instructions. Read it once, then come back here and we'll walk through it together in plain language. - Windows install, point by point. Stay in your browser. On the docs page, look for the Windows download. Click the big Download button. A file will download, the same way any program downloads. When it finishes, open that file. It will walk you through it. Click Yes or Continue a couple of times, the way you install anything. When it is done, you will see the Hermes icon. Open it once so you know it works, then close it. We will come back to it. You may hear people mention a helper file at https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh . You do not need to touch it. Your download button already takes care of that part behind the scenes. - Linux Mint install, recommended, point by point. This is the one I use, and it is very steady. Stay in your browser. On the docs page, look for the Linux section. Click the Download button for Linux. A file will download like anything else. Open your Downloads folder and double-click that file. Your Software Manager will open and offer to install it. Click Install, type your computer password when it asks, and wait for the green check mark. When it is done, look in your start menu for Hermes. Open it once so you know it works, then close it. That helper address https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh is just what the download uses behind the curtain. You do not need to open it or type anything from it. - Apple Mac install, point by point. Stay in your browser. On the docs page, look for the Mac download. Click Download. A file will download. When it finishes, open it. You will see a little window with the Hermes picture. Drag that picture into your Applications folder, the way you install anything on a Mac. Then open your Applications folder, find Hermes, and open it once. If your Mac asks, "Are you sure?", click Open. Then close it. We will come back to it. Think of this like bringing home a new coffee maker. You take it out of the box. You plug it in. You do not need to understand how it heats the water. You just need it on the counter. Step two. Get the brain. This is the OpenRouter part I described last time, so here it is again in short form. Go to the OpenRouter website in your browser. Sign up with your email. They will show you a page with a button that makes your key. That key is a long string of letters. It is the password your desk buddy uses to talk to the brain. Copy it. Write it down somewhere safe, on paper if you like. Treat it like a house key. Then add a few dollars of credit. Look for the button that says Credits or Billing. It works like a prepaid phone card. You put in five or ten dollars. Each job costs pennies. A little lasts a long time. That is OpenRouter. One account. One key. One small payment. Many brains to choose from. Step three. Connect the two on the setup page. Hermes has a simple setup page on the web. It is just a page with a few boxes. Nothing fancy. Open it in your browser. It will ask you to sign in. Use the same email you always use. You will see a box labeled for your OpenRouter key. Paste your key in there. Below that, you will see a list of brains. Pick one. Do not worry about picking wrong. You can change it later with one click. That is the beauty of it. Then click Save. The page will test the connection for you. If it says connected, you are done. Close the page. Your desk buddy is built. Now the fun part. Say hello. Open Hermes. You will see a box where you can type, like sending an email. Type something simple. "Hello. Can you hear me?" Then press Enter. It will answer. Plain words. Right there on the screen. Try one more. Ask it something small and real. "What day is Thanksgiving this year?" Or, "Help me write a short thank-you note to my neighbor." Watch what comes back. If you do not like the answer, say so. "Make it shorter." It will try again. It does not get offended. That back and forth is the whole secret. You say it plain. It answers plain. You correct it. It adjusts. No buttons to memorize. No manual to read. Your desk buddy is on your desk and working.

Welcome Mastodon People! This blog is posted time to time or year to year. Please feel free to comment.

Thank you for your visit here today. Please view it in a historical perspective of posts over time. We here at Earl's abode have been in lockdown for the last 2 years and also today. Our family has very low immunity so thus the extra caution. There has been alot of contraversy regarding the present Covid pandemic on taking precautions or not. I do ask you consider all your options through the filter of the Golden Rule. Thank you and God Bless. Earl Wallace January 24, 2022

Unity in Relationships in a Polarized World.

Yikes! I just noticed I have not blogged in almost 10 years. A lot has happened in that time so I will share I have retired since that time and leave out the rest unless it refers to another item in a post. Sadness is an emotion I feel when I see the country being divided into hostile polarized segments in the population. Becoming involved in any political discussion with friends or family can lead to permanent bad feelings. I suggest using the old southern recommendation of never discussing politics or religion. It works and I have kept good relationships with all my friends. Try it and see how much better your relationships become.

Lets Get Rid Of Them All!

Well Hello Folks Of Rutherford County!

Just think! Ain't it Grand! Rutherford County will soon have 18 % unemployment!

Hey folks I dont know if more than 4 people in the county read this blog but one year ago I wrote an article about the powers that be that were responsible for this county's unemployment.

Well todays problems are yesterday's greed. Many of our citizens know the people behind the corruption over the past years regarding keeping out new industry because the then mill owners would have to pay us citizens more money. Now I understand that the present state of the economy is not totally centered from this county's business mens' past actions.

Lets just ponder for a moment though.....if the support companies for BMW and the other industries that wanted to settle here but instead were run off had beeen allowed to come here what would life be like now here in Rutherford County? Okay Dorothy lets click them heels!

It would be a WHOLE lot better than now!

You crooks who left this county in economic shambles will be judged accordingly in the court of God Himself! Sorry guys no pity here cause I do not know if you crooks have heard this scripture: "It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God!".

My fellow citizens, you know who these scoundrels are and vote them out of any public office that they may inhabit for if we the citizens do not take responsibility with our Constitutional rights to vote then the problems we have today will continue on tommorow.

-The Rutherford Rodent

Local Elections

Thank you for all your emails supporting this forum of expression and opinion. The election for the county commissioner is coming up very soon. The Ruthorford Blogger pleads with you to research all the candidates. We see the economic condition of this country failing in a very fast manner. Do not let the presidential race overshadow the local elections. This is the time to vote into office those whose track record shows they walk like they talk and are willing to take this county out of the dark ages and into the light of actually doing the will of its citizens. The saying, "follow the money" is so true in this county. If our citizens let this important opportunity of voting out the thugs pass them by then any chance of this county's recovery will fade into darkness. And so it goes........

The Rutherford Blogger

The Rutherford Blogger

Hello Readers!

Rogue Elephant hit and run on Pea Ridge Road

Sad news today for local Republican party mascot, Rutho the elephant. Deputies happened upon the elephant's carcass approximately 3:00 am Saturday morning. Since there were not any witnesses 5 wreckers were summoned to the scene to try to remove the elephant from the roadway. Upon lifting the elephant deputies found a flattened moped with a flattened chimpanzee attached. Local SPCA lawyers deny any alcohol use nor did the chimp have any previous DWI's.

If anyone knows any information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator is asked to call Lazy 'EYE's Animal Ranch or myself here at the Rutherford Blogger. No democrats have yet to be brought in For Questioning.

FBI Releases all Files Kept on Martin Luther King.

Hello and how is everyone in this fair county today. One of the most famous laws passed in the latter third of the last century was the Freedom of Information Act. Any citizen could petition the government for a copy of any documents not listed as classified. This law's intent was to keep the Government honest. Too bad our "honest" government takes months to years to hand over requested documents as of recent. Today the Feds released all notes and documents that were kept on King during his public life. You may download all or part of these documents from the link below. They are in a zip archive format. Just click on any file and it will download automatically.

Click on this Link For Access to the Documents.

This is my first blog post here on the Ketchup Kronicle. First I would like to thank Earl Wallace for the privilege to share my thoughts and experiences living here in Rutherford County. Perhaps you have seen me in Wal Mart or hanging out at that drug store downtown.

My family settled here in 1385 A.D. and we are the descendants of Leif Erickson the Norwegian seafaring explorer who landed on the north shores of the Canadian Atlantic Ocean. I can fully understand if my readers flatly refuse to believe my family origins. I will try to expand on these statements in further blogposts.

One of the public services I would like to provide is to publish any rumors about possible new industry locating to Rutherford county. Please use the email contact form below to email us your information for publishing in this blog.

Gimme de Gas

Gimme de Gas!

Here we are out driving around looking for gas while burning gas to try to find gas! What is with that? Kind of reminds me of an end of the world science fiction novel. Someone pointed out today that its cheaper to smoke than to buy gas. Who wants to go green and freeze their knuckles off riding a stupid bicycle. Well are we going to see a economic downturn in meth labs and an increase in gas thefts? Even if this is temporary why are people taking this whole mess lying down? Buy less gas or boycott the stuff? Thats an asinine idea for sure.

Church Signs

Be Fishers of Men.... You catch 'em, He'll Clean 'em.

~~~~~~~

A family altar can alter a family.

~~~~~~~

A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.

~~~~~~~

Don't put a question mark where God put a full stop.

~~~~~~~

Don't wait for 6 strong men to take you to church.

~~~~~~~

Exercise daily. Walk with the Lord!

~~~~~~~

Forbidden fruits create many jams.

~~~~~~~

Give God what's right, not what's left!

~~~~~~~

Give Satan an inch and he'll be a ruler.

~~~~~~~

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

~~~~~~~

God grades on the cross, not the curve.

~~~~~~~

God loves everyone, but probably prefers "fruits of the spirit" over

"religious nuts"!

~~~~~~~

God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.

~~~~~~~

Having truth decay? Brush up on your Bible!

~~~~~~~

He who angers you, controls you!

~~~~~~~

He who is good at making excuses is seldom good for anything else..

~~~~~~~

He who kneels before God can stand before anyone!

~~~~~~~

Kindness is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back.

~~~~~~~

Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory capacity.

~~~~~~~

Never give the devil a ride! He will always want to drive!

~~~~~~~

Nothing ruins the truth like stretching it.

~~~~~~~

Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.

~~~~~~~

"Pray" is a four letter word that you can say anywhere.

~~~~~~~

Prayer - Don't give God instructions - just report for duty!

~~~~~~~

The Will of God will never take you to where the Grace of God will not

protect you.

~~~~~~~

This Church is "Prayer Conditioned"!

~~~~~~~

To be almost saved is to be totally lost.

~~~~~~~

WARNING: Exposure to the Son may prevent burning!

~~~~~~~

Watch your step carefully! Everyone else does

~~~~~~~

We don't change the message, the message changes us.

~~~~~~~

We set the sail; God makes the wind.

~~~~~~~

We're too blessed to be depressed.

~~~~~~~

Wisdom has two parts: 1) Having a lot to say. 2) Not saying it.

~~~~~~~

Worry is the darkroom in which "negatives" are developed.

Why Linux and Is it too Hard to Use?

Why Linux and Is it too Hard to Use?

Linux is a free operating system invented by a computer scientist named Linus Torvald. Linux is what is known as an "open source" operating system. The programming is done by many programmers who get together and share their work with each other. Their are over 400 different flavors of Linux based on the original design. As opposed to Windows Linux is free for anyone to download and install on as many computers as one wishes. One of the newest and easiest to learn is known as UBUNTU version 8.0.4. It can do anything that Windows XP can do as far as browsing sites like youtube.com, burning dvds, playing movies and internet radio.

One of the best reasons to use Linux is that their is no need for antivirus or antispyware software. The operating system is "bulletproof". Security software in Windows tends to use up alot of system memory and cpu time that could otherwise be used for programs.

More later on this subject.

-Earl Wallace

Product Review, Magicjack.com Telephone Service

Product Review, Magicjack.com Telephone Service

I have been trying out a new product called the "MagicJack" internet telephone device. It looks like a USB thumbrive 1"x2"x:3/8" with a usb plugin at one end and a regular telephone jack in the other end. It comes with built in software which executes when the Magic Jack is pluged into the computer. I have been following the inventor/entrepreneur for the last year keeping up with his business plan. He sells this device on his website www.magicjack.com.

I plunked down $46 dollars from my debit card and ordered it. Of the $46.00 twenty of it is for the Magicjack itself, $20.00 for a years unlimited calls both local and long distance. There are no "hidden" extras to purchase at anytime. Each following year its 19.00 , yes 19.00!

I am not making any money off of this article nor provided with any free product. I received the Magic Jack in just three days. I plugged it into my pc and the software came right up. After estabishing a simple signup I got my local phone number and was up and running in 15 minutes.

If you go to any other computer in any state where their is a a broadband connection you will have your home phone with you. The call clarity I have found to be excellent along with the voice mail and other services that are ordinarily offered by land line and cell companies. The only drawback one could say is that the computer would have to stay on all the time. No big thing, use the phone when the computer is on. I do not have a problem with that scenario, just get an old laptop or desktop and hook it to the internet! Magicjack even offers 911 service.

Dollar for dollar telephone service for 19 bucks a year. Not a crazy offer.

-Earl Wallace

The New Neighbor Corner

The New Neighbor Corner

Ain't it Grand! They live amongst us quietly and without fanfare so as to keep a low profile.

If you lived in a mud hut without running water and sewer facilities would you not flee to this area?

Well heck yeah! "These gullible Americans just give us everything; Food

stamps, education, welfare money, free car insurance etc."

Is it not strange that we allow our government to continue to let the vast majority of these

"dear illegals" into the country despite the public outcry?

We could even be led to think that our government does not care what the citizens want so we continue to look the other way.

It appears that this situation proves that we are allowing the government to continue taking away our freedom.

Yes, Yes, they work cheap and do the jobs others dont want to perform.

Lets see; they work for minimum wage and are "good workers". So when you add the food

stamps, free hospitalization and all the other handouts in a lot of cases they are making the

same or even more than the average citizen.

Are we citizens "cutting off our nose" to spite our face?

Can we not play the "Deportation Song"?

What do you think? Use the email form on this page to share your reaction. They will be

posted on the "Reader's Posts" page.

-Earl Wallace

An Open Letter to Our Ex-President George Bush

We on the staff Of the Ketchup Kronicle would like to state how proud we are of the condition you have left our country. So wonderful is the sound of ching, ching going into your oil business at the expense of this country's citizens, especially our young men who in their well meaning minds continue to insist on going over to shoot the ragheads. We feel so protected because your secret surveillance on us citizens makes us feel safe cause you know what we are doing and saying. If we are to destroy the terrorist threat why did you tell AT&T and Verizon and the other telecoms to please send all conversations thru the NSA first before going to the person we were calling. Do you really need to be able to track my grandmother's cell phone in case she proves to be a traitor.

Aw come on Sir! Who are you kidding? Your administration has watered down our Constitutional rights where a murderer stands a better chance in the courts as far as doing time in prison than a tax evader. Are you having a good laugh at raising our gas prices so your oil business can prosper beyond the limits of evil human greed?

We elected you to the highest office in the land and you repay us with the worst political incompetence since the Three Stooges ran for Mayor of Mayberry..
-The Editors

OpenDNS

There is a free service called OpenDNS.com. This service substitutes their DNS server for the one your Internet provider gives to you. For a complete explanation what a DNS server is and does go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System.

Basically when one puts a URL in the browser address bar it's in the form of a name,i.e. www.google.com. The DNS server converts the name to a IP address such as 10.10.10.3 which it then brings the page to the browser. When using your ISP's DNS server sometimes the web page you are going to will "hang" or freeze. When one uses OpenDNS its huge servers dont haft to be concerned with your ISP's local traffic and can dedicate itself fulltime to your computer.

The benefits result in a noticible increase in speed. One can also block sites and other options all for free. Go to www.opendns.com

The Brothels

I was honored to have attended the first CD release party of "The Brothels" new cd "Its a Bird Game". The media event took place at the site of an old mill along the Broad river near Asheville, NC. They describe their music's genre as "hobo-junk-rawk" which really describes the exhilarating other worldly renditions of an original blend of many styles sewn into one driven explosion of energy. Each member plays a vast array of instruments including but not limited to acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, trumpet and drums. The band is preparing a tour that will go throughout the south playing many popular venues.

You can listen to some of their songs at :

http://www.myspace.com/thebrothels

I wish I had a sample of their music to offer here but their CD's are now on sale from:

thebrothelsband@hotmail.com

-Earl Wallace

Don't Steal My Brain!

There is something amiss..There are so many
bloggers writing about the same subject that one becomes mentally tired trying to find anything new in their common posts.

Many are trying to make money online and that is cool.....
what is NOT cool are the one who steal text and articles
from other bloggers or web sites without giving the source the credit!

I support the first amendment of free speech and because of the nature of the net these carrion
eaters can't be prosecuted BUT...........they can be boycotted!

How to do that would another post entirely.

-Earl Wallace

Memorial Day Jitters

Today was a great day to remember the sacrifices our citizen-soldiers made for our country in the past "declared wars" our country has been involved in. The undeclared wars that took our young men in defense of what corporation testing their wares of war. Agent Orange in Vietnam. The "Unknown malady our soldiers came home with after the 91 Gulf war. Now, today, we have 75% PTSD found in servicemen returning from the "War" in Iraq. The war whether it is declared or undeclared is not the point of this essay.

Why not change who orders our young men into battle.

ALL TROOP MOVEMENTS NOT SPECIFIED AS A DELARED WAR MUST BE VALIDATED BY THE VOTES OF ALL THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THRU BALLOTS CAST ON PAPER OR ON THE iNTERNET!

This method would show whether the American people were behind the action.

Please consider the above when you talk to your representitives in Washington!
-Earl Wallace

The Twisted Twittter

I tried out the website Twitter today. It took a while to get oriented to this mini blog for which purpose is to let all know what me has been up to.
How could anyone understand what my life could really be that valuable so that someone supposedly would be hanging in to see my next move?
I can see the purpose of keeping up with special interests or jotting a short note to someone ...hmmmmm... where is the anonymity?
After posting a few lines there seems a slight breeze of pale joy rising up in my lower conscious mind that these words will live past this moment.
Well I will try it..It looks like I will haft to pay someone to follow me..Oh the Ego.......

Where is The Fourth Amendment?


Sunday, March 3:

My wife and I were enjoying our Sunday morning coffee when a loud rapping at the front door brought me to the window. Outside was a local law enforcement officer, Now both my wife and I were not dressed to be able to answer the door I called out "just a moment officer I haft to get dressed". As I was trying to find some clothes to quickly put on the officer actually pounded ever so loudly for me to open the door! Quickly trying to think of any laws I had violated or coloring outside the lines I finally opened the door. He asked if I knew several people on his list that live in the neighborhood. I advised the officer I had no knowledge whatsoever of them He thanked me and I shut the door.


As I pondered the Incident I experienced these feelings.


Putting on clothes is not a fast operation on a Sunday morning that can be accomplished in thirty seconds or less. The loud intimidating raps were far beyond any courteous knock I would expect from any government employee presenting them selves at my door.
If there was a search warrant presented then one could expect loud door poundings with barking loud orders for the homeowner to present themselves immediately.
I resent the demanding tone of the officer to open the door immediately without the slightest manners as to which the person inside might need to dress before answering the door.

I appreciate the functions of protocol that law officers must follow in many different situations and these may be well justified to protect them from harm.

It appears that sometimes this "protocol" does not adhere to the spirit of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.

'The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.'

I agree that the quoted passage does not relate "directly" to the before mentioned subject but surely supports the spirit of this report.


What do you think? You may reply with your thoughts by sending an email in the "Contact Us" page. Your replies may be posted on the "Readers Post " page.

I do appreciate the wonderful job that law enforcement does and the jeopardy they face on a daily basis.

I do not accept that "rudeness" is a part of their job.

This editorial is only the expressed opinion of the writer.
-Earl Wallace

Resolutions

As the New Year continues to unfold one wonders how many circumstances will continue to change our view of the world around us.

The Iphone continues to defraud its purchasers with its built in battery (The Iphone has to be sent back to replace it.)

With Obama clinching the Iowa caucases one wonders if his muslim upbringing will become an issue in the upcoming elections. One nation under Allah?

It appears that unemployment is continuing to increase along with the stock market decline increasing the reality of a major recession around the corner. The fear of losing one's job hovers over many, decreasing the faith in the capitlalistic system of our culture today. Our " Chinese imported crap" complaint was fostered by US Corporations not the Chinese.

The media will continue to provide free sex education through movies, tv and our school classrooms(whether parents like it or not). It appears to the media that our citizens do not know or even heard of this subject. What a great public service. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.


Disappointment comes to us in many ways.
Zero expectations equals Zero disappointment .

Trust your "gut" feelings about all incoming information. It's a great tool to decrease life choice's indecisions.

Gossip kills but oh the buzz it brings to ones ego. It really feels good to "help" the victim by analysing his/her character defects with another person. Some helpful guidelines in better gossiping are:
A. Is it true?
B. Will it help them?
C. Is it necessary ?
D. Would it be better to tell the victim directly?
E. Does one feel guilty afterwards?

Resolutions are worthless unless one uses a daily plan of attack. Will power is useless. Look back to other resolutions in the past.
Try this.
A. Use your Higher Power if you have one. Otherwise instruct your subconscience verbally to control whatever causes the subject of the resolution to surface today.
B. When you successfuly see a change during the day say "thank you" verbally to yourself or your Higher power.
C. Before retiring for the night consider today's progress. No grades are to be assigned; this is not pass/fail. If any guilt arises just forgive yourself. Success is only measured in progress not perfection.

- Earl Wallace

New Year Blues

This the New Year comes and goes let us remember that delusion blankets the natural wisdom of the mind .

There is no peace in believing that people, places and things can be controlled by one's own will.

This New Year will only see more tragic human misery and natural catastrophic events.

Life is not fair and it is difficult. Its has always been that way. How can it not?

Lets accept life on life's terms. Humanity is powerless over this phenomenon.

Look for power outside oneself. A Higher power of our own understanding.

The peace of the heart and mind will come to us if we inquire of This Higher Power for the Strength to accept our powerlessness.

One day at a Time. How this phrase seems so mundane.

Every new day opens as if a curtain of a great Opera one can conduct.

Listen to the gentle music playing by the still waters of the soul stopping in a moment in time to see the wonder of creation. -Earl Wallace