James Stabile Monthly Blog

Discussion of The Month 

April 2007. Another month comes and goes in 2007. Happy Easter and Happy Passover. April showers may come your way, but remember, they bring the flowers that bloom in May. April is a rainy month in much of the U.S., a soggy spring month, but a necessary month for the beauty of May to be possible. Life may not easy, everything has a purpose, but many times we don't remember the simple fundamental rules of life. This is a problem in our contemporary society. Today more than ever, we want everything right now and we want it to our own specifications with no regards to the wishes or feelings of other people. This problem escalates when each of us has a different and unique concept of how things should be, with little or no respect for differing viewpoints. Yes, we live in a "me, my way or no way" mentality in society today. I think we all should step back, take a breath and look at things through the eyes of other people before we dare to cast stones on others and their viewpoints. Each person has the right to have their needs met, but the meeting of these needs must be achieved in a fair, equitable and respectful manner. Our society must be mindful that no one person or group of persons is more important or less important than any other person or group of persons in our society. This is way easier to say than to practice. But we must practice it. Spring gives each of us another opportunity to have our own rebirth and blossom into a beautiful person much like those beautify flowers of May.

Entertainment

300 Not the best movie that I ever saw, but the special affects and visuals were quite clever and enjoyable. The plot had to do with the ancient Battle of Thermopylae and King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans. They fought with valor in the name of freedom, democracy against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. The entire movie was narrated by the only survivor, who was sent back to Sparta by King Leonidas to inform the Council and the people of the valiant effort of the Spartans in their predictable defeat by the Persians. Nice historic touch, but not a very interesting movie to me. The action was great – plenty of violence, beheadings and gruesome battle scenes, but that was about it.

Premonition Sandra Bullock did an outstanding job in this mind twisting drama. To tell you the truth, I still don’t understand the movie entirely, but I enjoyed my confusion while viewing it. It was a movie about love, relationships and mind boggling mind games, I guess. Sandra Bullock kept waking up on different days - past, present or future and reliving or experiencing first hand the events of the day. I think the movie really was written to not make perfect sense in the real world, to be a little unrealistic and fantasy driven in order to make a point. The point being – priority, love and faith are all relevant, possible and extremely important in ones life and happiness. In the end, Sandra Bullock’s character and the characters of her two children were happy, albeit happy because they accepted the fate of their lives. If anyone has a different slant on the movie or if anyone figured out the plot, let me know. Just link on “Contact the Webmaster” above and clue me in.

Zodiac Well, OK I didn’t hate it. The characters were many and pretty predictable – newspaper and police people. Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. both performed well, but certainly not their best work and definitely not Oscar worthy performances. The movie was much too long – over 2.5 hours. Come on now, that is way too much time to give to a homicidal idiot. The movie was weak, even though it was based on true facts about a serial killer who taunted the police and journalists with letters involving codes and ciphers, the movie seemed dull and sometimes boring. It was interesting and it did have its moments, mostly in the last 15 minutes of the movie. All in all, I kind of liked the movie, yea, what the heck, I did enjoyed the movie, at least the part about leaving the cinema when it was over. The ending was different, too. They never “caught” the serial murder. Jake Gyllenhaal, a newspaper cartoonist, never gave up in his search for the killer. He researched codes and ciphers at the library and through thoughtful, deliberate and painstaking study and investigation he did reveal the real killer. He had a heck of a time getting the ex-police detective to even listen to his claims. But in the end Gyllenhaal’s fortitude did persuade the detective to explore his evidence and the serial killer was confirmed, but never arrested, prosecuted or sentenced. The killer suffered a fatal heart attack and thus the case was closed.

Health, Fitness and Lifestyle

New research suggests that simple chest compressions without mouth-to-mouth ventilation saves twice as many heart attack victims as traditional CPR. More heart attack victims survive their attack if they are given the chest compression component of the regular CPR procedure. Research suggests that the victim receives more oxygen by gasping for air during the chest compressions instead of the traditional mouth-to-mouth process. It is hoped that more people will engage in CPR (chest compression) for heart attack victims because of the decrease likeliness of contracting a transmittable contagious infectious disease by the mouth-to-mouth contact. One caution, this applies to cardiac emergencies. People suffering from respiratory arrest, including victims of drowning and drug overdoses, still require conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In other words, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. In any case, I think that any bystanders to any medical emergencies should always assist those victims involved. However, the involvement should not put the bystander’s life or health in danger. Although any person who assists another in any medical emergency or any emergency is a hero in my book. He or she is even a bigger hero if it was done for humanitarian reasons with no regard for his or her own personal gain or status. 

Fort Lauderdale’s 30th Pridefest was held at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale last month. This Pridefest is a celebration of diversity of South Florida’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. It most of the United states it is usually held in June, around the time of the birth of gay rights. In June 1969 the Stonewall Riots took place in New York. In June 1969 NY police raided a gay bar, The Stonewall Inn. Such raids happened often in an attempt to discourage Gays from meeting in such places, but the Stonewall Riots were different – the “queers” and I use this term endearingly, fought back. A mêlée broke out, the exact cause or impetus is not clear, and the “queers” defended their right to exist. And thus the birth of Gay Rights.

What about this right to exist? And boy have things changed from 1969 or have they? Gay people, (from this point on “Gay” will refer to all related groups - gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender), do have a right to exist. They are children of God and your brothers and sisters. They are part of the community of humankind. They deserve all and I mean all of the rights of all members of the community of humankind. Anything less, would be a direct and conscious affront to all humankind. It doesn’t matter what religious leaders, governmental leaders or world leaders have to say on the matter. There is no supreme or ultimate ruling on this matter. It is a personal decision, a matter of conscience, so to speak, but until we meet God and He declares His ruling on each of us in a personal way, all humankind must accept, grant the same human rights and love (not just tolerate) all of God’s children, including Gays.

The family that prays together stays together, but it is also true that the family that shapes up together ends up living longer together. Whether you are part of a traditional nuclear family, extended family, 21^st century family or alone (as in a family of one), you should tackle fitness together as a unit. The family or the people living together or you yourself, should make fitness a priority in your most basic unit of society. Fitness including diet, health and exercise should be the concern of all members of that unit.

Here are some ways to encourage your family or housemates to engage in fitness as a group goal.

•        Exercise together. Strength in numbers. Not a bad cliché. Make a game out of exercise. Encourage others to do more walking and to use more “elbow grease” in the execution of ordinary household chores.

•         Be carb-conscious. Choose good (complex) carbs for your family. Complex carbs are richer in fiber, digested more slowly and keep people satisfied longer than refined carbs. For snacks, try low-fat yogurt with granola or bananas with peanut butter. In general, eat healthier foods. Also, eat low fat and natural foods. Read labels and get informed. Set the example and follow through.

•         Make sleep a priority. Get more sleep. It has been shown that people who are sleep deprived tend to eat more food and less healthy foods.

•         Turn off the TV. TV is the basis for a lot of inappropriate lifestyle choices; food and food choices are among those lifestyle choices.

•         Use smaller plates. Simple enough. Have you ever heard the saying, “My eyes were bigger than my stomach”. Smaller servings of food tend to satisfy your hunger, you don’t need those “man-sized” servings, even for a big strapping man, and ladies like it too.

•         Indulge (a little). Once in awhile eat that forbidden fruit, so to speak, but eat a small portion and you be in control of that eating. In other words, don’t let it be a result of impulse eating. Plan your every bite; leave no bite unplanned. If you are hungry for something and you feel that you must have it, then have it. But eat controlled portions. Eat slowly and taste every bite. Stop after each bite, put the fork down and think about the food. Sometimes smelling the food helps me. After I smell the food, imagine what it will taste like and think about it for a minute, that momentary impulse passes - sometimes, and sometimes not. In the case of the latter, eat a smaller portion of the desired food and cut back on something else.

•         Relax. When you are stressed you tend to eat more and put on more pounds. Relax, that is the name of the game - the game of surviving life and life’s obstacles.

In short, be informed, take control and be a role model for the other people in your family or group. Don’t just talk the talk, but walk the walk.

Politics and the World

Governor Crist opens the 2007 Florida State legislative session with optimism and goodwill. The new governor of Florida is starting his tenure as governor with high marks and praise for his nonpartisan approach to solving Florida’s most critical issues. Governor Crist’s priorities for the 2007 session are Property Tax Relief, Classroom Construction, Energy and Voting Machines. The governor as well as the Republican controlled state legislature is promising relief from the enormous growth in property tax in the state. Doubling the homestead exemption, making Save Our Homes tax breaks portable for residents who move and granting more tax breaks for business and rental properties are key items in the governor's objectives. The details must be worked out with the Republican and Democratic legislative members, but real, substantive property tax relief is a definite possibility for the 2007 legislative session.

Classroom construction, which would relieve the shortage of classrooms, which is a direct consequence of the Class Size Amendment in Florida, is also a real possibility this year. It is hard to believe that a Republican governor of the state of Florida has accepted and embraced the result of the “people’s” vote for lower class size and is becoming instrumental in the process of achieving the amendment’s results. This is truly amazing and a tribute to Governor Crist. Along with class size, the governor has pledged to take a closer look at the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), the state assessment and evaluative instrument for students’ as well as schools’ measure of success and progress in the state of Florida. What a breath of fresh air.

The governor is prioritizing the search for the development of alternative energy sources including biodiesel and ethanol for the energy situation in the state of Florida. Energy costs and availability are under attack in the state. The population explosion and consumption are adding to the problem of securing a reliable and economical supply of energy for the state. Energy reform is paramount in the governor’s list of priorities in the current legislative session.

Voting Machines, ensuring a reliable and accurate record of the vote of Floridians in political elections rounds out the list of priorities of the governor. The governor recognizes and appreciates the need for not only the right of each Floridian to vote in elections in the state of Florida, but that each vote is recorded and secured by a collectable and auditable hard copy of that vote. Another “hail to the chief”, kind of statement.

Governor Crist is off to a great start as governor of this great state. His first act as governor was to create the Office of Open Government to train state officials and employees about open government and public records laws and to ensure compliance. Florida’s Sunshine laws are often violated, the governor has taken a very important step in ensuring that Florida State officials operate in the “sunshine”. Hopefully this will filter down to all governments in the state – county as well as municipal. Next the governor presided over a January 2007 special legislative session to tackle the property insurance issue. It was done and property insurance has been tackled successfully. I will admit that it is early for the governor; his term is barely 3 months old, but the index of predictive success for this governor is high, in my humble opinion. Congratulations and good luck Governor Crist. Just remember that you are the leader of this great state, the leader of all it’s people – Republicans, Democrats and Independents and we the people expect you to lead in a fair, equitable and just manner. Above all, we the people will be watching and evaluating your performance during your four year tenure. At the end of your current term, you will determine if you will run for a second term and we the people will determine if we rehire you for the job.

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth announced to the world in March that Elizabeth has incurable, but treatable breast cancer. The next announcement may have stunned many people, but the candidate said that he would continue to pursue his party’s nomination for president with Elizabeth at his side. Let me make one point abundantly clear, this is the business of the Edwards; it is no one else’s business, period. They have decided to remain in the race for the Democratic nomination for president in 2008. Some people may ask, why? That’s not an easy answer. It is their decision, but many people wonder how they could have made such a decision. I think there is so much talk about the decision – pro and con, because it is a human, family and personal decision. We all would dread the news that any of us would have incurable cancer, but it could happen. That possibility is the reason that people are so concerned about the Edwards’ decision. It could happen to “me”, they might say and if it did, how would I react – today, tomorrow and in the future?

A few years ago Elizabeth first had breast cancer and the doctors thought that they had cured it, but it came back. This time it came back in her bones, namely her ribs. Once this happens in any cancer, it is no longer curable, but many time it is treatable, as in Elizabeth’s case. The truth is – she will die of breast cancer, but until she does, the cancer will be treated in a variety of ways. The methods of treatment all differ in their affects on the patient's level of comfort and activity. In other words, some treatments will permit her to resume her daily routine; others will keep her down for a while and she will gradual resume her daily routine. In any case, I think and I think it is universally accepted by professionals in the field that normalcy and routine in the cancer patient’s life is beneficial in living with the disease. What choice would one have in such a situation? It would be imprudent and unproductive to withdraw from ones routine and normal life and retreat to obscurity to live out one’s days in gloom, negativism and defeat. The standard recommended practice would be to live your life the way you would if you were healthy and not suffering from a terminal illness. The degree that one can do this is directly proportionate to the level of disclosure and public exposure one is comfortably and normally able to withstand. Privacy must be maintained for the individual, to the extent of the degree that the individual wants to keep his or her status private. It remains a personal decision.

So to for John Edwards and Elizabeth. It is their decision. Remember, cancer or any illness should not be regarded as a punishment or a mark of evil, it should be discussed openly at the discretion of the person who has the disease.

Religion and Spiritualism

Divorce and the Catholic Church, why is it such a stumbling block for Catholics and the Church? First of all, many religions have differing views of divorce and church law. Most Christian religions recognize legal divorce and consider the involved parties free and clear to enter into other marriages and divorces if necessary. Divorce and remarriage just doesn’t seem to matter with most Christian religions even though while on earth, Jesus said something to the effect that man shall not put asunder what God has put together when referring to marriage. The Roman Catholic Church seems to hold Jesus at His words, so to speak. The Catholic Church says that a husband and wife can get a divorce if there is a need for one, but they then are not permitted to marry any other people. In the eyes of the Catholic Church a legalized divorce does not negate the marriage of the two people. In spite of the divorce by the state, the couple is still married in the eyes of God and the Catholic Church. The divorced man and woman are permitted to call themselves Catholic and participate in the offering of the Mass and the reception of Holy Communion and the other sacraments in spite of their divorce state. The problem with the Church develops when a divorced man or woman remarries another person. When this happens the man or woman is not permitted to receive the sacraments. They are allowed to attend Mass, but are not permitted to receive the sacraments.

Divorced Catholics are able to receive the sacraments if the Vatican grants them an annulment. An annulment of a marriage is like a cancellation of that marriage. An annulment says that the marriage never really was a marriage in the eyes of the Church. There are conditions for an annulment and a procedure. There are many misconceptions about the process of getting an annulment. I, myself was under the impression that an annulment took many years and was very expensive. If one had enough money, one would get an annulment was my thought on the subject, but I was wrong. Probably many people have and continue to have to misinformation. An annulment does take time and a procedure must be followed, but money is not at the core of determining if the annulment is granted. The monetary fee is waived if the parties cannot afford the fee. Money is not the issue. The primary condition for the granting of an annulment has to do with the nature and the factors involved in the marriage that the man and woman entered. In short, was the marriage entered into freely, completely and at the understanding of both parties? If it was, then it was a true marriage. If not, then it was not a true marriage. In the case of the latter, the union was not a marriage and the marriage contract would be considered null and void.

I’m not an expert on marriage, divorce or annulment, but I am an educated Roman Catholic. The previous discussion is my interpretation of Roman Catholic practices concerning divorce and the like; however, I could be wrong. As I’ve stated, this is strictly my interpretation. And now for another of my educated interpretations concerning marriage and divorce and the Catholic Church, what’s the big deal? Marriage is marriage. Divorce is divorce. Isn’t it up to the man and woman involved as whether their union was a true marriage? I don’t think we need the annulment process in this determination. The Church has interfered in the lives of people for too long. Annulment is just another example of the control that the Catholic hierarchy seeks to exert over its people. The Church is the people; these people should have the freedom and the right to determine such things as love, marriage and commitment for themselves. The Church should establish doctrine, teaching and procedures for the operation of the social entity of the Church, but as far as our relationship to God, that should be left to the people involved. If divorce is designed, executed and enacted by the State, shouldn’t that be good enough for the Catholic Church?

Technology and Business

Stressed out? Try to relax more, even napping on-the-job. If you try napping on the job, good luck. If you get caught, you just may be looking for a new job. Sleeping on-the-job may be out, but there are many things one can do to prevent stress and eventual burnout. First, re-examine you’re off the job practices. When you leave your job, leave it, really leave it. One’s job is very important, so do the things off the job that will help you on the job. Try not to bring work home with you. I would prefer to stay 15 extra minutes after work or come in early before work and get those couple of necessary duties done, rather than taking a pile of work home. When you get home, relax and enjoy your family, home and the person who you truly are, yourself. Try to forget about work. Become involved with home activities. Rest, relax and become engaged with those things that you enjoy doing. Remember, work is one aspect of you. It should not define you. The real you should be evolving at home during “your” time, whatever you choose to do on your time. Laugh, have fun and spend quality time with family and friends. As I have said before in this blog, work colleagues need not be your friends. Or at least not your home, off time friends. They truly are your work colleagues and should be communicated with and engaged with at work, not home. Take your sick or vacation days. Of course, accumulating sick or vacation days is wise when the days are able to be saved and accumulated for an unforeseen emergency or illness, but take all of your time off, if that time off is not allowed to be carried over to the next year or accumulated. In any case, periodic vacations should be scheduled and enjoyed on a regular basis. Your job is your job, it is not your life.

Getting back to that napping on-the-job concept – periodic time-outs at work will significantly improve your job performance, satisfaction and energy level. When at work, take all, and I mean all, of your breaks and escape from your work place. Take the breaks, move away from your desk or station and relax for the entire time of that break. Go to another location, maybe the company break room and engage in another activity not related to work. Idle chatting is often times restful or just sit and reflect on nothing. Go ahead and try it. It’s fun and rewarding. Or take a walk around the plant or work location. But for goodness sakes, don’t engage in any activity related to your job. If someone starts talking about the job, even your boss, simply change the subject or if that fails, simply get up and change your location. It’s your break and you are entitled to a work-free break, especially lunch time. When your break is over, go back to work promptly with the attitude that you are now ready for work. You will be invigorated, rested and motivated. Now on with the work, until of course the next break.

What does one do between breaks to ward off boredom or lethargy or the desire to be away from the job? Take little mental vacations regularly. While you are working take a moment and think of relaxing thoughts. Escape your job for a minute or two by imagining a restful and invigorating place or special feeling. Think of the time that your will in fact be off work for a couple of seconds. One note of caution, don’t engage in this activity too often, you may be looking for a new place to daydream. After all you are at work and you are expected to work for goodness sake. However, when such thoughts tend to occur too often and you find yourself trying to mentally escape your job more often then you actually work at your job, perhaps there is a bigger problem at hand. Perhaps your need to find a new job. Maybe you have exhausted the pleasure or the growth or the interest in you present job. If you don’t enjoy your job, to the point of it being an obstacle to your happiness and ability to cope, then maybe you in fact have outgrown your job and need to look for another. Before this happens, make sure that you have been realistically in-touch with your inner feelings. Think this out before you make any hasty decisions or actions. Try to work out any difficulties or problems in performing your job. Maybe even seek outside counseling. But if it’s time to move on, then move on.

Protect your identity while using your PC especially on a wireless network. It’s very important to maintain security and confidentiality with your computer while connected to the Internet. We have discussed in other monthly blogs the importance of maintaining firewalls, antivirus software and spyware protection. With the advent of wireless Internet connection and networking it is paramount to ensure this protection. 

There are a number of things one can do to protect and defend their identity when connected to the Internet, especially when wireless technology is at play.

•       Pick better passwords. Do not use words that are associated with your unique person. In other words, do not use pet’s names, children’s names, etc. Don’t use words or phrases even remotely connected with you or your family. I know it is sometimes hard to remember the passwords, but you must. You could use a variation of the same password for all of your accounts or logins, but make them non-related to you. OK if you must, keep a record of your account names and passwords, but keep the record in a secure location. Maybe in you safe deposit box or safe. Not on your desk or your calendar. Maybe on a CD or on a removable disk that you keep in a secure location. In that case use a encryption device.

•        Disable “remote management” on your computer, router or any other, especially wireless networking devices. Unless you use your computer for business or must access the network remotely, disable it.

•        In your wireless device, turn off Service Set Identifier. SSID is like your network’s street address. It represents a network’s signal to other wireless devices within the network. When it is broadcast, hackers may home in on it, too. If you turn this feature off, make sure other machines in your network know the SSID so they can connect.

•       Enable “Media Access Control Address Filtering”. MAC addresses are identity tags help be wireless devices. To allow only specific machines access to your network, plug in their MAC addresses in the router’s software during its configuration. To find the MAC addresses of a computer running Microsoft software, click Start and then press Run. Type in “cmd” and then press OK. Type “ipconfig/all” (no quotes, of course) and press Enter. The MAC address is listed as “Physical Address.”

•       Turn on encryption. Wireless routers offer some type of encryption; enable encryption on all devices in your network and the router as well as use a specific “shared key” or password for the encryption to work.
  

Security is confusing, a bit awkward and time consuming, but it must be learned and utilized for peace of mind and security, especially on a wireless network.