When time doesn’t matter.

Today's Tids Issue 3,766

For Meaningful Vacuums:

At the end of the Tids yesterday I left you with the word Kairos. Maybe some of you googled it. Kairos is one of two types of time. Many are inflicted with Chronos or sequential time, meaning that people can be shackled by binding times, always looking at their watch, or now, phones. But, with Kairos time doesn’t matter because the event is so much more important than the measurement. Time stands still. The bride doesn’t look at her watch because there are no restrictions on her moment (Even as people in pews look at their watches when the bride is late.). We don’t measure in minutes how long we feel the missing of a loved one. Kairos in Greek mythology refers to opportunity, an undefined period in which there is recognized a window for an advantage to be taken. Honestly, Kairos can be redefined to support many aspects of life that are not simply chronological. One good one is, Stopping to smell the roses.

A woman writing to a local newspaper makes a compelling case for extending Christmas day to three days. Consider that even before the day of peace was over, hoards were thronging to malls, pushing and shoving for deals and to return gifts given with love; whiles others were there just to beat the crap out of each other. Somehow the message of Christmas is being buried in all consuming commercialism and social media antics. Take a breath. Enjoy the love.

Next year I’m going to try to do more than read emails and texts. Maybe I’ll get into books again, you know those artifacts with paper pages.

My guess is that the newest rage will be people trying to outdo each other in smartening up their homes! The race will be cutthroat as one family tries to get its thermostats under voice control before those down the block. America will be hysterical trying to outdo each other getting stuff they don’t need. Count me out, but don’t tell Siri, Alexa or Al. I may need them some day to start my walker.

The Question:

Presidents doing things: What President started the “March of Dimes” and what President signed the documents that made Alaska a state? Bonus: What number state was Alaska?

The Headlines:

--Dems, Repubs Ready To Do Battle In Congress; Dems Plan To Stretch Out Approval Process From Days To Months For 8 Of Trump’s Cabinet Picks.

--String Of Severe Storms Sweeping Across South Leave At least Five Dead.

--Bombing In Baghdad Kills 29 Innocents.

--56 Killed In Brazil Prison Riot Over Drug Turf.

--Bitcoin Breaks Through $1000 Barrier.

--Amazon’s “Alexa” Leading Way Spurring Development Of New Smart Products For Homes; Apple’s Home Kit with Siri and Google’s Echo with “Al” Coming On Strong For Spot In Smart Home Domination.

--Four Children Die In Texas From Fumes After Water Activates Pesticide.

--Lenova Surprises With New Gaming Laptops; Galaxy Updates Now Imminent.

--Assange Says Russia Not Source of Email Info.

I see that the Geico Gecko has orange hands from you-know-what! Cheetos are big, it now seems, in many parts of society, and you had the opportunity to be on board first here in the daily morning mess – from cheesy snacks to cheesy politics and everything cheesy in-between.

Hi tech gizmo packaging designers must also practice Origami! I am truly amazed at the design and coolness of packages coming from the software wizards of contemporary monopolies.

Many of the people who as young idealists protested the dominance in society of ugly big corporations like auto, steel and energy, have now gone on to developing and owning even bigger corporations where it seems to me their main objective is to control peoples time, society and minds.

Interestingly, the heads of the new corporate world are as wealthy as the old corporate prodigies and are mostly Democrats. And, oddly, none of these companies are plagued by the increasing Union demands that brought old the manufacturing superstructure to its knees. Weird, huh?

There’s only three hundred and fifty-six more shopping days to Christmas.

Rhode Island needs to do whatever is possible to attract good businesses with well-paying jobs for the future of its bright young kids. The first news out of the legislative box this year was that RI should be happy knowing that “Shark Fin sales are Prohibited” as are the “use of bull hooks on Elephants.” You can’t make this stuff up.

False rumors will abound as the Congress delves into the background of selective Trump cabinet picks, and it won’t arise from Internet mavens making it up. It will be the product of political operatives, well trained in dirty politics.

BTW, the Washington Post is up in arms against Internet fake news, claiming that it steps on their turf. Who supports made-up news better than real journalists, like those touting a video as the cause of deaths in Benghazi, or that Repubs hate all immigrant; or “Hands up don’t shoot” or promoting Duke Lacrosse players as guilty before innocent. The beat goes on in the higher echelons of media cliques, where ideological altered news is the new standard, not just the purview of kids in mother’s basements.

One of the reasons Unions have no made inroads into information technology companies is because employees there don’t want “guaranteed job protection”, but more flexibility to leave for more money.“ They don’t want to be paid on seniority but on effort.

I have had a cell phone for so long that I still have many friends whose cell phone numbers are designated “Car”. You know, Joe car, Sam Car, Cath car, etc. Works for me.

Trump says he may swoop into Chicago neighborhoods with Federal authorities to stop the killing. I don’t like the idea of anything Federal swooping into any neighborhoods.

The new Dem Governor of NC says his state is not a democracy after so many GOP wins over the years. I guess he never heard of the USSRI, the most one party state in the union!  Hey, wait a minute, you’re a Democrat and you’re elected! Politicians are inane.

I believe that Trump is going to have a lot of problems moving forward with his isolationist business policies. Too many companies just have too much of their future invested in overseas markets and production. American consumption isn’t big enough for US companies to meet Wall Street growth objectives. And competitive production will only work here if automation replaces people.

The Answer:

Not surprisingly, the president bound to a wheel chair because of Polio – FDR -- led the fight to Implement the March of Dimes”, a charity designed to raise money to fight polio. Ike signed the papers that made Alaska our 49^th state.

I don’t set time limits for the end of The Tids. I just stop when my mind stops.

There is intelligence on Planet Tids.

Today's Tids Issue 3,765

For Looking out:

Good morning 2017

What a year it will be, won’t it? First, we have to get through January which could bring snow and ice and maybe thaws. Maybe a chance to sneak onto a course to hit a ball into snow rimmed greens; or another day to whiz down a mountainside on slippery skies. January is the start. It’s the month that has snowbirds thinking that moving south is a pretty good idea. This year we will have a new man standing tall on the capitol steps proclaiming an innovative and vigorous America. Will the media report this Citizen’s quest, or those marching loud in Protest? January, if anything significant, is all about beginnings. -- New TV seasons begin, new years  begin for those with Birthdays, new admins begin, NFL playoffs begin. Jan sometimes gives promise of a warm winter soon dashed by Feb. So here we are regardless. Hope your loves thrill, your bank accounts swell, and your life’s good things is all you can remember a year from now.

A reader with a curious brain reminds me that last year at this time I wrote: “The New Year lies before you like a perfect expanse of snow. Be careful how you tread on it for every mark will show.” That doesn’t sound like the “me” I remember! How about, “Absorb the pure beauty of freshly fallen snow, masking the scars of the earth we know; then dive into it, make angels and forts, and smiling men of snow!” Or is that snow women!

The current misuse of “Diversity” is obscuring the diversity that makes nations great. The diversity that defines all people as individuals, and in America the freedoms that has allowed all of those individuals to be who they are – Unique in their opinions, their ideas, their caring; free to innovate and produce. The recent meaning of diversity segregates people. Individuals are diverse within races, genders, et’al, not similar at all. I am me.

Keep an eye on Wise Cheese Doodles. Their new formula may put them in the race for high cheese snack honors.

Would the overdone diversity extravaganza idea of the last 8 years mean we have to add deplorables to TV programs, government posts, and businesses? Nah, even within the ranks of all the misguided deplorables, they are individuals who would rather earn it.

The Question:

What were the names of Ozzie and Harriet’s sons? Bonus: What is Gerald Ford’s real birth name? Super Bonus: Name the first 13 states in the order they ratified the US Constitution.

The Headlines:

--New Year Begins With New Highs For Euro Stock markets.

--ISIS Claims Ownership Of Istanbul Attack That Killed At Least 36 And Injured Over 70; American’s Life Saved When Bullet Hits Cell Phone3 Dead In Bombing At Somalia Airport.
--Repubs Ready To Pivot From “Do-Nothing” Congress Mode During O-Years.

--Political-Industrial Scandals Grow In South Korea.

--Giants Consumer Electronics Feast Set To Open In Las Vegas.

--Samsung To Roll Out 3 New Galaxy Phones, Beginning In Russia; New Phones Expected To Fill Gap Created By Ill-fated Galaxy 7 Note; Apple takes 44% of Holiday Phone Activations Versus 22% for Samsung.

What a great country. Everybody wants to give me a present, just like that! Every morning my email pops up and it’s either H-P, Omaha Steaks, Best Buy, LL Bean, Dell, Samsung, Not your Average Joes, Ancestry and more, saying “We have a gift for you!” I don’t know where to start.

I’m thinking that the next big national argument will be 2^nd amendment rights to fly drones without registration.

Whatever happened to “doin’ nothing” and loving the day you did it.

The worst advanced degrees on which to spend extra dough in terms of average future earnings and growth of the opportunities for them are #10 Architecture followed by, Theology, Elementary Education, Taxation. Art history, Journalism, Library Science, Construction Management, Sports management and Criminal Justice. As I look at that list I see areas where people have high personal interests for inherent satisfaction that goes beyond huge financial rewards. Of course, if you love computers or medical research, you can have both. It’s really a matter of being an individual…being at peace with self.

I’m humming to myself and feeling good right now because I’m listening to Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss. Just in case you are interested. Probably not.

Obama and associates were aghast, irate and hysterical that Russia would hack into the DNC and favor one candidate in the US elections! But, the Obama admin itself sent $350,000 of US taxpayer money through a sham organization “One Voice” to help thwart the campaign of Netanyahu!

While this hacking thing by Russia, and many other things like it, is an ugly sign of things to come in inter-country warfare, the Hysteria created over it was Public Relations 101 – create a diversion. The diversion was designed to move a sympathetic media away from the embarrassing info that was actually revealed in the DNC and Podesta emails. That‘s just the way it is done, folks.

Man, did Clemson crush The OSU! And Alabama rose up after a tough time with a good Washington defense. But my take-away from these first two playoff games was, One, that there were far too many commercials. And Two, why not spend more time showing the flavor of good ole’ college games, the bands marching and people milling around, anxious before the kickoff. Instead we get talking heads ranting and opining the same ole’, same ole’. They all sound the same, and within seconds my ears only hear grey. And yesterday, they began talking just as OSU’s band was going into their script “Ohio”, the only good thing the Columbus U did all day. But, then it’s all about money, and that’s why we had the Buckeyes in there in the first place.

Diversity is understanding that every individual is different from another regardless of popular politically correct subsectors.

A good friend confirmed what I’d been thing for a while – that Fox’s popular “The Five” is declining as it becomes more argumentative. The main culprit is the newly emboldened Trump supporter Eric Bolling who just plain doesn’t listen, often either not getting the points or not wanting to hear the truth. One of the attributes of the earlier “Five” was that they disagreed, but always found a way to lighten it up. Now it’s easy to turn off. The remaining hosts still adhere to the earlier times but more and more Bolling gets in the way. Dana Perino is smart and has always been the show’s voice of reason. And still is when she isn’t out selling her book on her dog. Juan Williams does a good job of representing Dems and left sided issues – and probably gets Bolling boiling more than anything. The ever lovable Kimberly Guilfoyle is just about as light as it gets, until she uses her legal background well to jump on an issue. She still keeps you smiling. And Greg Gutfeld who is always going for a laugh, often over the head of Bolling. Gutfeld is conservative but very adept at lining up facts to support opinions. By the way, Bolling should be able to be more creative than stealing the “White Board” idea from Tim Russert. Basically, I think their success has gone a little bit to their heads, but four of them appear salvageable.

San Fran and Cleveland are two NFL coaching openings that have been death pits. The Niners have had 3 coaches in three years, and The Browns have been operating a similar turnstile. My Michigan U friend thinks that Urban Meyer will feign another illness, and leave The OSU for politically correct San Fran, where he will really be sick…of the management. And he is worried his Coach Harbaugh will feel the siren’s call. Now Denver is open because of Kubiack’s health concerns. LA, Buffalo, Jacksonville and perhaps the Jets will emerge. Maybe more, who knows. One thing I know is that some of the smartest people in pro sports say that continuity is one of the more important ingredients of success. This is particularly true in the NFL where it takes time to build 53 players into a cohesive unit. Unfortunately, many owner’s egos are much bigger than, and in control of, the brains that got them their millions. So, in the next weeks bad picks will be made, some because of diversity, and some because they don’t know any better. That’s just way it is on any given Sunday.

The Answer:

Ricky and David were the sons of Ozzie and Harriet, one of my old favorite funniest shows. Ricky died in a plane crash on the way to entertain for a New Years day event. Bonus: Gerald Ford’s birth name was Leslie Lynch King, Jr. His mother divorced shortly after his birth and two years later she named her son after her new Husband. Super Bonus: The smallest states were the bookends -- Delaware was first to ratify and Rhode Island the 13^th. Just shows you how the US was designed to preserve equality regardless of size! #2 was Pennsylvania followed by New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina and RI. The most populous state at that time was Virginia with 821,000. Next at 475K was Mass followed by NC, Penn, NY, MD, SC, Conn, NJ, NH, Georgia , RI and Del. And that ends our history lesson for today.

Think Kairos!