Understanding the Ban on the Confederate Flag.

 I lived in the south for 25 years, more than any other place, in fact, and I've lived in Colorado, Kansas, California and even rural Missouri for the last 5 years.  In all that time living in the South, I saw a lot of Confederate Flags.  For a long time, I marked it up to "Southern Pride" and let people do what people do.  In fact, I wrote a rather tone-deaf blog post about it.

Recently, I read a fantastic article which educated me on the subject, and I feel I have to enter it here, verbatim.  So, if you have a penchant for Confederate Flags, and feel they represent 'heritage,' please read on.  

From someone who teaches AP US History:

“If you are confused as to why so many Americans are defending the confederate flag, monuments, and statues right now, I put together a quick Q&A, with questions from a hypothetical person with misconceptions and answers from my perspective as an AP U.S. History Teacher:

Q: What did the Confederacy stand for?

A: Rather than interpreting, let's go directly to the words of the Confederacy's Vice President, Alexander Stephens. In his "Cornerstone Speech" on March 21, 1861, he stated "The Constitution... rested upon the equality of races. This was an error. Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth."

Q: But people keep saying heritage, not hate! They think the purpose of the flags and monuments are to honor confederate soldiers, right?

A: The vast majority of confederate flags flying over government buildings in the south were first put up in the 1960's during the Civil Rights Movement. So for the first hundred years after the Civil War ended, while relatives of those who fought in it were still alive, the confederate flag wasn't much of a symbol at all. But when Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis were marching on Washington to get the Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965) passed, leaders in the south felt compelled to fly confederate flags and put up monuments to honor people who had no living family members and had fought in a war that ended a century ago. Their purpose in doing this was to exhibit their displeasure with black people fighting for basic human rights that were guaranteed to them in the 14th and 15th Amendments but being withheld by racist policies and practices.

Q: But if we take down confederate statues and monuments, how will we teach about and remember the past?

A: Monuments and statues pose little educational relevance, whereas museums, the rightful place for Confederate paraphernalia, can provide more educational opportunities for citizens to learn about our country's history. The Civil War is important to learn about, and will always loom large in social studies curriculum. Removing monuments from public places and putting them in museums also allows us to avoid celebrating and honoring people who believed that tens of millions of black Americans should be legal property.

Q: But what if the Confederate flag symbol means something different to me?

A: Individuals aren't able to change the meaning of symbols that have been defined by history. When I hang a Bucs flag outside my house, to me, the Bucs might represent the best team in the NFL, but to the outside world, they represent an awful NFL team, since they haven't won a playoff game in 18 years. I can't change that meaning for everyone who drives by my house because it has been established for the whole world to see. If a Confederate flag stands for generic rebellion or southern pride to you, your personal interpretation forfeits any meaning once you display it publicly, as its meaning takes on the meaning it earned when a failed regime killed hundreds of thousands of Americans in an attempt to destroy America and keep black people enslaved forever.

Q: But my uncle posted a meme that said the Civil War/Confederacy was about state's rights and not slavery?

A: "A state's right to what?" - John Green

Q: Everyone is offended about everything these days. Should we take everything down that offends anyone?

A: The Confederacy literally existed to go against the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the idea that black people are human beings that deserve to live freely. If that doesn't upset or offend you, you are un-American.

Q: Taking these down goes against the First Amendment and freedom of speech, right?

A: No. Anyone can do whatever they want on their private property, on their social media, etc. Taking these down in public, or having private corporations like NASCAR ban them on their properties, has literally nothing to do with the Bill of Rights.

Q: How can people claim to be patriotic while supporting a flag that stood for a group of insurgent failures who tried to permanently destroy America and killed 300,000 Americans in the process?

A: No clue.

Q: So if I made a confederate flag my profile picture, or put a confederate bumper sticker on my car, what am I declaring to my friends, family, and the world?

A: That you support the Confederacy. To recap, the Confederacy stands for: slavery, white supremacy, treason, failure, and a desire to permanently destroy Selective history as it supports white supremacy.

It’s no accident that:

You learned about Helen Keller instead of W.E.B, DuBois

You learned about the Watts and L.A. Riots, but not Tulsa or Wilmington.

You learned that George Washington’s dentures were made from wood, rather than the teeth from slaves.

You learned about black ghettos, but not about Black Wall Street.

You learned about the New Deal, but not “red lining.”

You learned about Tommie Smith’s fist in the air at the 1968 Olympics, but not that he was sent home the next day and stripped of his medals.

You learned about “black crime,” but white criminals were never lumped together and discussed in terms of their race.

You learned about “states rights” as the cause of the Civil War, but not that slavery was mentioned 80 times in the articles of secession.

Privilege is having history rewritten so that you don’t have to acknowledge uncomfortable facts.

Racism is perpetuated by people who refuse to learn or acknowledge this reality.

You have a choice.”

- Jim Golden

Creating a Password Convention for Hard to Guess Passwords.

Passwords.  The true bane of our existence now that the internet is part of our daily lives.  Creating a password that is easy to remember AND secure can cause you headaches and problems unforeseen.  You could use a password generator, but again, you want one that is easy to remember and one that you don't have to keep a sticky note next to your keyboard.  What most people do is create a text document somewhere on their computer with all their passwords in it.  Maybe it's even named "Passwords.txt."  Not good.  Worse is using a password using your kids' names, pets, street you grew up on, mother's maiden name, etc.  These are all vulnerable to being guessed and therefore, unsecured. 

Let's take a moment and look at a new way to create your own secure hard to guess passwords. Passwords that can be remembered in a moment.  What we will do is create an individual Password Convention which will allow you to remember numerous passwords that you use every day.  

CAVEAT:  You want to create separate and unique passwords for those places where you keep or track your finances.  Banks, stock accounts, even your local computer, should all be unique.  What we're dealing with here are the dozens of other websites that require a password*. 

STEP 1: Choose two unrelated words.  No, not Butch and Sundance. Not your kids names, your pets, your mother's maiden name, your middle name or any word which means something to you personally. Best way: open a dictionary at random and find two unrelated words 4-6 letters in length  (You can choose three if you want, it's your password.  

Example: For our example I'm going to choose "crutch" and "picket" - I chose these at random as I wrote this.  

Step 1A) Decide where to place the Capital letters.  Common sense says CrutchPicket, but you can easily select something different to keep it more secure.  Such as cRuthpIcket

STEP 2: Choose an offset amount from -5 to +5. This is for choosing a special character

Example:.  For our example, I'm going to choose +1.

STEP 3: Choose one of the following:  Words, Letters, Vowels, or Consonants.  

Example: Letters

STEP 4:  Location. Center, left or Right.  Most passwords now require a number. Location tells you where this number will be placed in your password.  

Example: Center 

Using the examples above, we're created a password crutch picket with an offset of +1, and Letters, with the number in the center.  Let's  see how this all works together.  

Website: Ebay.com. 

Ebay has a total of 4 letters in it's name (EBAY).  So using the example convention, we create the password as

cRutch4%pIcket

The two words crutch and picket, capitalized as we chose above, with the number 4 in the Center and a special character +1 from that number 4 (which is the Percent Symbol "%").   

Website: Yahoo.com

Yahoo has 5 letters so the password would be cRutch5^pIcket (The offset for the special character is +1 from the number 5, or the carat symbol "^")

A convention created in this manner is usable on any site, at any time, because it is secure, and random.  You need only memorize the convention to create or remember any password at any time.  (Again, the caveat, it's only as secure as you are about sharing or giving out your passwords.  The general rule here is: DON'T.)   Each of the components in this password convention is chosen by YOU at random, and there is no way anyone will know or guess any part of this without you sharing it with them. BUT, and this is the takeaway, there is no need to write down a password created with a convention such as this because you need only remember the convention and the password is there.   

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* A note about the convention:  When creating a convention, you can add your own level of security to the above, by having one convention for everyday sites, and another for banks, stocks etc.  You merely add a new level to your Convention.  Such as doubling the number, or adding a set of initials to it.  In this way you have a Standard Convention, and the Advanced Convention - both easy to remember once created.  

Duck Tape and Expiration Dates

Duck Tape is a wonderful thing. Everyone knows DUCK TAPE, its uses, it's history.  (If you don't know its history, click the link.) So anyway, the other day I was out doing what I do in my makeshift workshop (read: patio) when I needed my duck tape for ...well...something.  And thus began the search.  

When ever I need a tool or, in this case, my handy roll of Duck Tape, it usually takes me a while. I'll admit, I'm not one for putting the tool (or in this case, the Duck tape) back in its exact position every time. Oh sometimes I do it right and when I need it next, there it is, but most times I just set it aside and when I need it later, the search begins. This was one of those times.

So, there I was, working at finding the Silver Savior for a while, when my wife came out and pointed to a roll that sat in the corner of the workbench.  It was red...see above.  Now I am a true believer in Duck Tape (though I am known to buy the off brands from time to time) and by that I mean Duck Tape Should be Silver.  Not ...ugh...Red.  But one day I ended up with this roll of Red Stuff and kept it because....well, it's Duck Tape and it works miracles. 

So I grabbed the Red Roll because for this one instance, color didn't mean much.  I grabbed on one corner and - nothing.  I worked at it a while, thinking I could save it, but you can see, the tape wouldn't unroll.  That's when I learned two things.

Thing One; Duck Tape has an expiration date. If not used, the glue becomes sort of permanent and you'll not get it to come apart easily.  See above.  I now keep a close watch on the rolls of Duck Tape I keep around so as to keep that from happening again. For those of you keeping notes, this is from 3M's website: 3M Performance Plus Duct Tapes 8979 and 8979N can be used up to 12 months after the date of manufacture when stored under normal conditions of 60° to 80°F (16° to 27°C) and 40 to 60% R.H. in the original carton. The month and year of manufacture is stamped inside the core of each roll. Handy info, that. 

Thing Two:  I use the regular Silver Duck Tape faster than it expires.

I think that's a good thing. Yes, a very good thing.

The Feline Miracle

The Miracle Kennels - 36" x 28 x 23

During a recent cross country move (Ok, so maybe 8 hours isn't cross country, but we moved with 4 cats and a caravan of two trucks and three cars and were driving after a full day of loading said cars and trucks so there!) but anyway we experienced a sort of modern day miracle that must be noted herein concerning our cats.  Let me preface this with a bit of history on said Felines.  

Gabby

We have four cats, all living indoors.  Each of the cats is a rescue with a story of their own.  The two oldest, Gabby and Callie are siblings we rescued along with their mother (who, sadly, is no longer with us.)  They are each 16 years old.  Add to that Boo Boo Ninja Kitty, who came to us as a kitten one Halloween and never left.  He is big, nearly 18 pounds, and absolutely fearless (except for dogs, of course.)  And lastly is Ozzy Pawsbourne, Kitten of Darkness.  Only slightly younger than Boo, he is scared of everything including his own shadow.

Big Bad Boo Boo Ninja Kitty

Here is (was) our problem.  Boo and Ozzy get along well.  They rough house as only boys can.  Gabby and Callie basically tolerate each other but absolutely hate the two big boys.  Gabby runs from them which made them think of her only as prey and they chased her relentlessly. So much, in fact, that we finally had to give Gabby her own bedroom and she only came out in the evening when she could cuddle in safety with my wife on the couch.  (Anytime the boys got too near, she would high tail it back to the bedroom, however.) 

Ozzy Pawsbourne - Kitten of Darkness! 

We tried everything to get them closer.  Feeding times were a study in frustration as Gabby even had to be fed in her bedroom or risk the boys chasing her.  Callie rarely ate with them either, but she did better than her sister.  

Callie

Now, comes the move - and the miracle.  

Just before the big move, Ozzy was experiencing a lot of stress. An influx of people seeing the house we were selling while Mom and Dad were not there led to physical problems resulting in surgery and an overnight stay in the hospital.  When we picked up Ozzy, the doctor gave us some 'Happy Cat*' to help him get over the pain of surgery. When we told him of the move, he suggested using a 'half-dose' of the 'Happy Cat*' on all the cats to keep them from getting too upset during the long 8 hour drive to our new home. Considering the stress of the move and the possible in-fighting during the drive, this seemed like a fair idea. The Vet checked each of their backgrounds and gave us the meds.

The day of the move, we planned very carefully.  We had purchased two medium cage-style kennels (see them at the top of the page) and set them sideways in our car with two cats in each kennel, Ozzy and Boo in one, and Gabby and Callie in the other. They just fit exactly in our little crossover SUV.  Each kennel would also have a small litter box with some litter from their own boxes to give them a scent to connect with. The cats were dosed with the meds and placed in the kennels and the drive began.  

Our worry was that the cats would hiss and fight with each other through the sides of the kennels as the kennels were not solid on the sides. These kennels were chosen due to it being a hot time of year and we wanted air conditioning to be able to get to all the cats. We had also planned that a cardboard barrier might be needed between the kennels if the fighting got too bad and had one ready - just in case.  We had planned for any eventuality.  

The drive went very well. Callie gave us a scare when she exhibited breathing problems (most likely due to a reaction to the meds) but we kept a close eye on her during the trip and she came through like a champ.  In all, there was no fighting and no need even for the barrier.  

We moved into the basement of our daughter's home while we put most of our stuff into storage and looked for a new house.  The cats would have full roam our small 4 room area.  There is a bedroom, a living area with a large sectional couch, a bathroom and a large storage room filled with all manner of toys, Christmas decorations and boxes of stuff.  Our main fear was that Gabby would hide out in this storage room and we'd never see her.  

We left the cats in their kennels while we moved in suitcases, boxes and other stuff and then let them out.  Now, comes the miracle.  The cats have stopped fighting.  It's as if they've been friends all along.  Oh there has been the occasional hissing and such, but nothing like we'd seen in the past.  They are all fed in the same room and for the most part there is no problems. Gabby walks around as if she is queen of the space and the boys pay her no mind. 

In moving, especially when moving with cats, there is a lot to worry about, as cats need that feeling of belonging to feel safe or to feel at home.  Our family of 4 came through with such a change, that it's truly a miracle. In fact, as I write this, my wife is in the basement taking a morning nap with all four cats asleep on the bed with her. 

Hopefully they will make the move to the new house just as easily.
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* Happy Cat is not a name of a medicine, but a nickname which the Vet's office used. Rest assured that it is a good medicine, and was prescribed by our Vet and given in small doses after very careful consideration. We are careful and thoughtful cat guardians and love our fur babies.   

Duck Tape First Aid

So, let's get the background.  I repaired a window recently.  The glass was broken when the thing was installed and it was a PVC type window and I had no real interest or knowledge in fixing it.  It was the inner pane and there was no real problem, so I left it.  I had bigger fish fix in my abode.  But it finally came to be fixed, not once, but twice.  But this is not the story of the repair, but the story of Duck Tape.  

Fast forward about a week or two after the repair and I'm walking with a pain in the side of my foot.  A simple examination discovers that it is a sliver of glass that got into my foot more than 2 weeks ago and has now worked its way into a nerve.  My wife is unable to get the dang thing out due to my screaming and jumping around while she tries to get at it with a pair of tweezers, so we turn to 'other methods.'  "Duck tape Medicine!" she says.  And I concur.  

The Internet is rife with stories of medical use of Duck Tape. (Regular readers will know this is the Duck Tape, the Silver Savior and is not Duct Tape.) There is more than enough evidence for us to try using Duck Tape to get this sliver out.  So, my wife prepares a hot tub of water and I soak my foot in it for...a while.  At least until the water is lukewarm. A long time. Then I dry the foot entirely and reach for the roll of duck tape. 

It's important to note here that we are moving and the house is a shambles of boxes and things needing to be in boxes. The fact that, while my wife heated the water, I walked into my erstwhile work area and right to the unsealed box and found the duck tape is a modern miracle by any definition.  

So, I then carefully wrapped the edge of my foot being careful to encase the puncture and the glass shard. Then, I went to bed. 

It will come as no surprise to any good ol' southerner what happened next.  

In the morning, I carefully pulled the tape off, and there, stuck to the Silver Savior, was a tiny, thin piece of glass. There are a million stories in the Duck Tape City. This has been one of them. 

Extra Internet Points for knowing the origin of the paraphrased quote above.  

I gotta go find a band aid to cover my foot.  

Southern Homeselling and the Low Ball Offer.

So, you already know we're selling our home.  It's been on the market a while and we've had a couple of offers.  The offer we just received bears note.  It was ludicrous. It was fully 10% less than our asking price. That may seem like a trifle to someone who's home is priced in the high 6 figures, but to us, it was a freaking insult.  

But it gets worse. The reason they couldn't offer more was because they only could qualify for the amount they offered. Ok, so fair enough, but why?  Why on earth would you go out looking at houses you CAN'T afford knowing you would have to offer any one of them less NOT because you feel the house is worth less, but because you can't qualify for that higher amount?  Why aren't you just looking at homes that are priced more in your budget?  What kind of real estate agent says "Oh I know you can't possibly afford this home, but we can always offer them less...."  

Perhaps we're affected by all those shows on HGTV.  He's a part time window dresser and she sharpens pencils at home and their budget is 1.2 MILLION?? (And the first house they go out to look at is priced at 1.5 Million?) So why can't someone qualify for our little homestead? What is wrong with their background that keeps them from that 10% more?  And it goes in circles.  If you can't qualify, why offer less and if you can't qualify why are you looking and... Ok,perhaps I'm being a bit exacting here, but it's all still insulting.  

The sign is still in the yard, and the people are still trouping in.  More later...

Selling the House and Notes to Buyers

Much like elsewhere in the US, houses for sale in the south mean several things.  1) Strange people coming through your house while you are not there; 2) that silly sign in the front lawn;  and 3) having to keep your home 'show ready' all the time.  

But it's not #2 or #3 above that drive me the most crazy. Yeah, it's the people that come through the house while I'm not home.  Here is a quick reference list of things NOT to do when you visit some one's home while considering whether or not to buy it.  

1. Lock the damn door when you're leaving!  I can't tell you how many times we've come home after a showing to discover the front door unlocked (or open!)  
2. If the house is owned by an asthmatic, don't wear heavy perfumes, cologne or drench yourself in some smelly eu de toilette before you enter said home.  The owner will come home and breathe that in and spend a nice afternoon in the ER thanks to you wanting to smell like a french whore. 
3. Cigarettes. Same as above, and don't be tossing your lit butt into the yard either.  
4. Kids. No.  Don't bring your kids.  They will chase the cats, get into things, open drawers and make messes in other people's nicely kept (read: show ready) homes and the owners will curse your progeny and your lineage when they get home. (And dang it, put the stuff back that they get out!)
5. Don't touch.  And should the horrible happen, you or your kids has touched and yeah, DAMAGED some valuable item (valuable in our eyes, perhaps, but value it has!) then at least be honest enough to own up to it and pay for it!  
6. Cats.  Ok, we have cats.  It's posted in the notes for real estate agents so that they won't bring anyone allergic into a home with cats.  So, when you review the home, and you've been inside that home, the reason you didn't buy it cannot be TOO MANY CATS. (Hey, we only have 4!) And besides that, they don't come with the house! They don't pee on the carpet and they don't attack your children so long as you keep the kids from chasing them down! 
7. The Neighborhood.  We live in a very nice neighborhood. You (or your real estate agent) should know which areas of town are and which are not good neighborhoods.  They won't bring you into a neighborhood that you don't like.  Driving up into some one's driveway and not getting out of the car because 'you don't like the neighborhood' is tantamount to sending back a well done steak because it's well done!  
8. The Open House.  Don't show up at an open house unless you're in the market to buy.  I know people from the neighborhood always go to these just to see how a house looks on the inside, but don't be showing up looking for a job, asking people if they need this fixed or that fixed. 

I'm sure I'm going have more rants before this is over, so you might want to prepare yourself for that sometime along the way.  

Next, the adventure of the new roof!