Posts

Posted on

Quick Bite

Where do you go when you know it is lunch time and you need to get something to eat – but you aren’t really all that hungry?

I am sick of hamburgers and needed to get something quick, so I decided to drive through Taco Bell. I got a couple of tacos and a tall cold drink and didn’t spend much cash. It hit the spot – a couple of tacos were all I needed.

We are surrounded by fast food restaurants, but most of them start to taste bland and boring. Still, a couple of tacos are better than having to get up early in the morning to cook and pack a hot lunch.

Posted on

Soothing Music

Sometimes I want to have some soothing music playing while I work on my computer. If I am cleaning house I like the more peppy music – it keeps me motivated. So I went online and searched for calming and peaceful music and found a lot of “New Age” music by artists that play all kinds of instruments. I especially like the catalogue of albums published by the label called Windham Hill. I sampled several of their tunes and really like them.

Posted on

Quick Walk

Even though the weather is getting cold, I need to get some exercise and outdoors is my preferred location. So I decided to take a brisk walk around my own neighborhood today. Big mistake. I never realized until today how many of my neighbors have dogs – and most of them just run loose. The dogs don’t seem to like people walking by their house or yard, either. Now I know why a lot of people carry a big walking stick with them when they go for a brisk walk. Its not to help them walk – it is for protection from dogs.

Posted on

Frost on the Pumpkins

pumpkin carvings
Bought a pumpkin last night at the local church pumpkin patch. It was only $10 and I like to carve a pumpkin for Halloween even though there’s no kids in the house. I just think it is part of the fall celebration and its fun.

If my yard got more sun I could plant some pumpkin seeds myself and have a nice garden. But there’s no sun – too many trees. Then again, the shade from the trees is nice and helps keep my house cooler in the summer. So its a trade-off.

Posted on

House of Cards

Did you ever take a deck of playing cards and try to build houses or towers with the cards? We did that a few times when we were kids and stuck in the house on a rainy day. I liked to keep the houses low, just one or two stories, with a maze of different rooms and hallways. But my sister like to go for high towers. She would get them almost as tall as she was, and then one of our brothers would swoop into the room and knock it down. The little brats!

Posted on

Justice in Italy

My friend, Micah, called me yesterday afternoon so excited to share the news that the court in Italy had freed those two poor young Americans from jail. It has been a horrible tragic story for over four years about how a beautiful English college girl had been raped and murdered in her rented home in a little college town in Italy. The other girl who shared the house came home after an evening with her boyfriend and discovered the body. Then the police went nuts accusing her and her boyfriend of having an orgy gone wrong and threw three kids in jail with almost no evidence and no clear motive. It was horrible and my heart aches for everyone involved.

At least now the girl can come home to America and try to start her lie over again. I hope she gets a huge book and movie deal to make some money and help make up for the four years she had to spend in that awful Italian jail. The whole story makes me not want to ever visit Italy – some place Micah and I’ve always wanted to visit – until now I see how the police treat people.

Posted on

Definite Chill

There was a definite chill in the air this morning. Usually I can dash out to get the newspaper in the morning and I don’t need a jacket or anything – it is a short dash. But this morning I was down right cold by the time I reached the end of the driveway.

I ran back to the house pretty quick, just to get inside to the toasty warm of my own room. It was really nice to smell the aroma of brewing coffee, feel the soft carpet under my feet and jump back onto my king sized bed to snuggle with the dogs for a little while.

Posted on

Rabbits

This morning I woke up early and went outside to get the morning newspaper from the end of the driveway. When I opened the door to step outside, I startled several rabbits who had been eating clover from my front yard. There were several little babies in the group of rabbits that quickly hopped away. That was pretty cool to see first thing this morning.

Posted on

Eight Facts About the FBI

You’d be hard pressed to find an American who has not heard of the FBI. But, that certainly doesn’t mean that Americans know all they should about the bureau. In fact, over the years, there have been many misconceptions about the FBI, its role and its reputation. Here are eight facts about the FBI that you may not know.

  1. The FBI does not try cases – The Department of Justice receives investigative results from the FBI. They then make the decision on whether or not to try the case, and the US Attorney’s Office prosecutes.
  2. The FBI’s motto is Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity – Their motto carries the same initials as their agency name.
  3. The longest running director of the FBI was J. Edgar Hoover – Hoover was director from 1924-1972. Hoover was the original director of the agency, and remained its director until his death. Hoover was a very controversial figure, and often used illegal tactics to gain information. Hoover’s reputation is what led to subsequent FBI directors being limited to 10-year terms. The federal building that houses the FBI in Washington, DC is named after Hoover.
  4. The FBI was originally called the Bureau of Investigations – The name was changed to Federal Bureau of Investigations in 1935.
  5. The FBI was a leader in the field of Composite Sketch Art- The FBI was the first agency to develop a standard for composite sketching to be used by many different agencies. This technique, called standard methodology, allows both artists and non-artists to develop composite sketches.
  6. Every Special Agent of the FBI completes a 21 week training course at FBI Training Academy in Quantico, Virginia. This includes their firearms proficiency training and testing. Throughout their tenure with the FBI, agents must maintain firearm proficiency.
  7. FBI agents must be between the ages of 23 and 37 when the bureau initially hires them. However, some preference veterans may apply after the age of 37.
  8. Under the Freedom of Information Act, you have a right to obtain a copy of any file that the FBI has on you. In reality, however, the FBI has files on relatively few Americans. Unless you have been suspected of a federal crime or you have provided information in a federal investigation, there’s likely no FBI dossier for you. However, over the years, the FBI has had records on many famous people, including Elvis Presley, John Denver, Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson. It has been said that the FBI once sent a letter to Dr. Martin Luther King encouraging him to commit suicide.

The FBI remains an enigma in US culture. Few law enforcement agencies in the world have held the mystique of the FBI. Between the federal agents located in Washington, DC, the 56 field offices throughout the United States and the more than 50 international offices, the FBI has maintained a wide reaching presence, and a wide reaching reputation for being one of the most significant law enforcement agencies in the world.

Phyllis T. Zerkle particularly likes to write about issues surrounding homeland security and the various courses studied when earning a homeland security degree online.

Posted on

Leave it on?

There must be a lot of people who fall asleep each night with the TV left on. I think that is so wasteful of electricity and the noise must be disturbing to a good night’s sleep. I know that I want to have peace and quiet when I am ready for bed. I don’t want the distraction of all that noise in the background, plus that awful blue-ish light from the TV fills the room and spills out of the windows.

My girlfriend, Katelyn, was just talking about that same thing a couple of days ago. Ever since she mentioned it, I have noticed how many of my neighbors have that blue light shining from at least one room in their house as late as midnight. I know they cannot all be still up and awake at midnight. They must be falling asleep with the TV left one.