Back in the Saddle Again

Having finally found my blog and blogger voice again after a long absence, I have decided to get back to the work of putting my thoughts and opinions back out in the public eye. So much has happened since my last blog on Nov 14, 2006 .

First thing you need to know is that that date was the last birthday my father celebrated in this lifetime as he passed away on October 17th 2007. He was back then, and still is one of my heroic figures and a great guiding influence in my life. I miss greatly hearing his voice and talking with him about everything (sports, religion, my work, politics).

The GREAT news is that i know that i will see him again in an earth made new at the second coming of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

Work continues to be awesome ... i truly do love what i do as a technical document writer/editor and senior trainer at my company (Volcano Corporation). We make a wide variety of diagnostic devices to assist in inverventional cardiology.

i am blessed with a great many friends both in my home church, my town and county and all over the world as well. I recently started to get back in touch with alot of them via Faceboook (if you don't have it .... GET IT!!!!!).

As i look back when i started this blog i will again be putting down special thanks to different groups of the Armed Forces but i have also decided to add to that law enforcement and public safety agencies who i also believe deserve our constant and unsverving thanks for doing what needs to be done but tht no one else is willing or able to do....

As in that first blog i will be selfish and send my first thanks to the Law Enforcement/Public Safety Agency and their personnel to my local area and give a round of honor and thanks to the men and women of the El Dorado Sheriff's Department (with particular thanks to the Dispatch Center folks (yes indeed there you go Jonsey and crew). THANKS A MILLLION.

So ....with all duu respect and admiration for Sir Elton John let me just re-word one of his songs for a brief monent and say .... "the geek is back!"

At long last .... a new edition of The Geek Files

Greetings to all and a hearty thank you for not giving up on "The Geek". Things have been very hectic and extremely busy these last six months or so since my last filing; and while nothing has changed i am taking this opportunity to re-acquaint myself to my faithful readers and audience. New things are coming to "The Geek Files" some of you will be pleasantly surprised and happy and others of you will be greatly disappointed and perhaps will take your readership to other, newer, or better blogs .... oy vey as is said by the ancestral homeland or as the French would observe c'est la vie.

To wit .... from henceforth the focus of this blog will be changing and while it will still be a random collection of thoughts those thoughts will be focused more on certain subjects near and dear to "The Geek's" heart and less random than previously published.

For after all what good is a "bully pulpit" if one does not use it????

So as a much admired colleague of sorts would say ...... "Stand by .... for News".

While the political arean will still get its fair share of input and remarks and anything having to do with the wonderful men and women of our ARMED FORCES and their well-being and appreciation of their selflessness and bravery will still be a MAJOR focus of this epic yet understated tome, there will be much more of a focus on at part of my life that while understated so far has always been a major factor in what and why i do what i do including write this blog.

I believe that one can either be bold and unafraid to speak their views or one can hide in the shadows and never let it be known what their thoughts are; one can put forth their point of view and invite conversation or one can be silent .... however if one chooses to be silent then they must be aware that their action or lack thereof carries consequences and risks of never becoming passionate or having their view heard or voiced and they may also never know to what extent their views are shared by others.

It was for this reason that i began "The Geek Files" and it is still to that end that i must now shift some of my focus to a new arena ... a new adventure so to speak in the development of my life, my passion, my calling and my responsibility to myself as it relates to my own feelings and defined measurement of self-worth and self-actualization as well as to the betterment of my community and my world.

If i am (stealing well-known phraseology with pride) to "Be all i can be" i must indeed "stand for something" or conversely fall for anything ...

thus it is that i search for morality, creativity, respect both of others, and from others ....

and so as Yul Brenner so eloquently stated so long ago in the epic C B DeMille extravaganza ....

"SO LET IT BE WRITTEN ... SO LET IT BE DONE!"

Welcome one and all to the new beginnings of "THE GEEK FILES"

Funner Than The Funnest Fun

So if you go here and read the words you will have just a glimpse of how my week at summer camp really was .... http://www.foxhome.com/ferngully2/html/sing/sing_lyrics2.html

A special thanks to all the wonderful staff and campers at Leoni Meadows for the opportunity to hang out and have fun with a purpose ....

If you love to work with kids -- a week of volunteering at summer camp is just about the best way to relax i can think of.

On a more personal family note for those who do not know yet ... on Saturday July 22, 2006 i became an Aunt for the fourth time to go along with being an Uncle three times ....

So ... please give a rousing GEEK FILES welcome to the newest member of the Hicks family ... Jasmine, born to Jeff and Roshan at 11:34 am (vitals for those into statistics are 8 pounds 11 ounces, 20 1/2 inches long) both parents and baby are doing well ..... (pictures still as of yet unavailable).

Many of my faithful readers have asked why i do not talk at great length of my personal views on many of the world events happening. The biggest reason is that i do not want this BLOG to become a vitriolic (which always seems to happen) sounding board for the many and varied views that i and all of you my readers have. I do, and will continue to speak out on those subjects for which i have a BURNING PASSION; however if i do not feel the overwhelming desire to discuss a subject i will not even mention it in passing.

There will also be topics that i DO have a BURNING PASSION for that will also NOT be discussed in this BLOG. I do not mind sharing my views (just ask my good friend Pete or any of the millions of other people who have been subjected to more than an hour's conversation with me like ... yes you Mister Brownlie with your hand up in the back of the room ....); however my fear with broaching either topics for which there may be massive disagreement or where i am extremely impassioned is that the argument becomes the focus rather than the issue and so, despite possessing the familial genes (as well as the Faded Glory's) of the love of the argument i will more often than not choose not to give voice to the arguments via this GEEK FILES forum.

Hopefully that answers the queries i have recently received regarding opinionated issues.

Also belated shout outs for a Happy birthday to my favorite cousin ..... you know who you are (Sheryl) 7/22 and still OLDER THAN ME ....

please to all my other cousins do NOT write in and complain i can only pick one ....

and also my niece MARCI ....

To close this edition i believe a quote from the movie BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE offered up at this time will be of benefit not just to each of us as individuals but as collective entities throughout human society .....

"Be excellent to each other."

Thanks for listening and as always remember that THE GEEK FILES is brought to you by the letters K and W and the number 7.

Its sum ... sum .... summer time !!!!!!!!

and we all know what that means .... YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS ice cream, baseball, water balloon fights and SUMMER CAMP!!!!

and so for the second year in a row i shall be traveling this next week to the GREATEST JOB you DONT GET PAID FOR .... at the GREATEST SUMMER CAMP ....

thats right ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, cats and rats and elephants .... truly the 9th wonder of the modern world ..... LMC....

A week at summer camp is more fun than any (and especially this) human should ever be allowed to have .... and NOT just because of the GREAT FOOD .... the atmosphere ... the clean air and trees .... and most importantly for one of my advancing and mature years .... the daily quiet time nap at 1:00 pm.

Its not all fun and games though i do have to talk every day (yea there's a horrible thing huh!!! Imagine having to talk for 5-7 minutes twice a day) ... oh the indescribible pain and anguish of it all.

I know that all of my faithful and loyal readers will shower me with letters of condolence and amazing gifts upon my return and so i thank you all in advance. MONEY is alsays an acceptable form of recoupment after one has had such an adventure as mine.

I have been packed and ready since April just so you know. As always all the gripping details will be made available right here on THE GEEK FILES just as soon as i return.

Oh Padawan Learner ... since you have started your summer festivities at LMC already (and might have missed these) here are a few headlines from around the world ... just for you!!!!

As noted on page 12 of the Sao Paulo Herald ....

É realmente uma coisa sad para relatar que a flor de Orlando está casada ainda muito feliz.

From the Inside fold on Page 2 Section B of Pravda ....

Реально будет унылой вещью для того чтобы сообщить что цветене orlando все еще очень счастливо поженено.

Found on page 17 of Kumhuryet ....

Είναι πραγματικά ένα λυπημένο πράγμα για να αναφέρει ότι η άνθιση του Ορλάντο είναι ακόμα πολύ ευτυχώς παντρεμένη.

and finally from the Amsterdam Daily News ...

Het werkelijk is een droevig ding om te rapporteren dat de Bloei van Orlando nog zeer gelukkig gehuwd is.

I hope you have enjoyed this short trip around the world discovering all the news they care to print.

well its been a fun little bit of silliness tonight .... at least it has been for me!



THE GEEK FILES is brought to you today by the letters M and Q and the number 11.

Good night everybody .... thanks for listening and caring ....

remember while only you can prevent forrest fires ...... only Listerine can prevent the gum disease gingivitis.

"When in the course of human events ....

it becomes necessary for one people to separate themselves, to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

Yesterday, July 4th, 2006 was the 230th anniversary of the afore-quoted document, and to quote the Honorable A. Lincoln, "It is altogether fitting and proper" that we should take a moment out of our busy hectic and stress-filled hours to reflect upon them and our rights and more importantly our RESPONSIBILITIES to them.

Freedom as many have said is not free but paid for by the blood of patriots, citizens, heroes and ordinary men and women who in times of need do extra-ordinary things and accomplish extra-ordinary deeds.

Men and women of all races, colors, creeds ..... average AMERICANS .... Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, Coast Guardsmen, Firefighters, Law Enforcement professionals, Doctors, Nurses, Teachers, Storekeepers, Waste Management workers, Construction tradesmen, Secretaries .... vocations and avocations too numerous to list them all in a million pages let alone this one small blog ... WE THE PEOPLE .... proud, strong, caring, giving ... AMERICANS--doing what we do best .... dreaming of hope, liberty, equality of opportunity, the pursuit of personal happiness, searching for and providing freedom of speech, press, religion to do ... or not to do ....

This is our day .... a day of independence to be independent and yet to also be depended upon ... by our senior citizens; by our children and grandchildren to keep our world available for their use; by our friends and neighbors in countries around the globe to help in times of need and distress; to those who guard our way of life in the far reaches of the globe keeping watch upon the walls ....for support and grateful thanks for a thankless job WELL DONE.

A day and a time which we should remember and give thanks for EVERY DAY and EVERY HOUR of EVERY DAY .... a day to truly as Benjamin Franklin so eloquently put it "hang together" as one NATION, UNDER GOD (or not if you so believe), INDIVISIBLE ....

A day and a time to together and with each other, EVERY ONE, "pledge our lives, our fortunes and our SACRED HONOR." We as a race of humans, in our various nationalities, cultural heritages, dreams, aspirations and goals are independent in how we get there , where we are going and why we want to get where we are going .... but we are also dependent upon each other ... being part of the whole as the world moves forward.

I am proud to be free to write, and think and speak and worship as I wish; i am proud to have served in duty to my country as a member of its Armed Forces for over 10 years (10 years four months 2 days and 13 hours to be exact) ... i am proud to say that MY country despite all its many faults (and there ARE INDEED MANY) is still the best, brightest, greatest human endeavor ever attempted 230 years strong and still providing that "Shining city on the Hill" .... that place of refuge for tired, poor huddled masses -- with Liberty and Justice (imperfect as it may seem to be) for ALL.

Happy Birthday ... WE THE PEOPLE ..... for that is what makes AMERICA great .... its people!!! WE THE PEOPLE ..... are the freedom and liberty and justice and opportunity and compassion. WE THE PEOPLE ..... will continue to be so for as along as we remember that the SOURCE of all that is good is not the government or some program but WE OURSELVES ... THE PEOPLE ... guided by DIVINE PROVIDENCE .... and LOVE FOR ALL MANKIND.


MAY GOD GRANT HIS RICHEST BLESSINGS TO EACH AND EVERY ONE and CONTINUE TO BLESS OUR COUNTRY.

-- The Geek --

New Beginnings ...

with appologies to Bucks Fizz ..... especially since i enjoyed their music for many years.

It is however fitting since this past week has been replete with new things ..... old endings and new beginnings.

As most if not all of my regular readers know i do not have children of my own ... preferring to rent them by the hour. I have however, through 15 or so years as a volunteer in various organizations such as 4-H, Pathfinders, Orr's Martial Arts and various other youth activities, collected quite a few adoptee children for whom i feel just as proud of if they were indeed my own.

This past week saw endings and new beginnings for four of them through graduations from 8th Grade and High School (and next week my nephew Philip also graduates from 8th grade).

It is with much pride that i point out to my readers the accomplishments of these wonderful young men and women and say very publically that am very proud of their accomplishments, their excellent characters and their potential for continuing to accomplish GREAT THINGS. They have wonderful families, parents, grandparents, friends and others who have done a truly outstanding job of guiding and framing their lives to this point and they each have committed much time to the pursuit of excellence not only in school activities but community service and life skills as well.

Henry Barnes Tigri .... (Hankster)

you have always been a source of wonderment and laughter. You truly are one of a kind. Together we have shared many a carton of Phish Food, Crunch Berries and movies. Congratulations again on your success as Valedictorian of your class. May your future always be as happy and bright as you are.

Amy Theresa Tigri .... (Aim)

i have watched you grow from a cute little girl into a wonderful young lady. Despite what others might think you truly are kind and caring ... Never give up on your dreams; continue to think positively and you will conquer the world.

PS .... im really sorry that your dog likes me better but Sherman said to tell you that he is really happy to be yours and ever so grateful to be alive.

Christopher Charles Ruller ... (Grand Nagus)

You have come a long way since we first met. It has been my priveledge to watch you grow into a wonderful young gentleman (yes even tough football heros can be gentlemen) and you have succeeded at both -- tremendously well. Never forget that success is mostly a measure of the hard work you put into it and you will win at the most important game of all ... life.

Felicia Lubecki ... (Padawan Learner)

Sorry but i can never remember all your middle names so i left them off. You have a great gift my young jedi friend ... Continue to seek out the best of everything in life and never lose sight of that gift and you will reap GREAT rewards that will last throughout your lifetime. See you along with the cubbies ..... I'll bring the Jambas.

Philip Wesley Horger ... (Pilip Davidovich)

You are an extremely talented young man with unlimited potential to make your world a better place to be. Learn from your Uncle's experience ... life takes discipline, hard work and a constant drive to succeed. As long as you keep God first in all things you can never go wrong.

This week has also marked the end of another year of Pathfinders and Adventurers and to all the staff, parents, young people, volunteers and church family as members of the Shingle Springs Soul Miners i say again thank you for the wonderful year ... each of you have taught me so much over the past four years. I could not ask for a better group to work for and with then YOU!!!

On a more personal note ...

this week also marked an end and new beginning for me as well as my faithful automotive form of transportation since 1997 finally expired after nearly 180,000 miles of use. The "larry-mobile" will be missed by many especially those for whom it meant a smile at the sight of the "I love my permanent make-up" bumper sticker (sorry Tamara ... the free advertizing has come to an end) and the perpetual unwashed state that provided many a budding artist with a pallette from which to create.

The new vehicular modus transportii is off to a great start however there is one small element missing ... a name. Since i so far have drawn a blank (except for calling him Guido after Father Sarducci) and because so many of my faithful readers have in person complained about calling him/her that i will open this new beginning with a naming contest.

and so here is a picture to get you started .... just picture a white exterior with black accents (and light beige-tan interior) instead of the silver shown here ....

LASTLY BUT MOST DEFINITELY NOT LEASTLY ....

as is fitting on this Memorial Day .... please join me in prayerful and solemn rememberance of those fallen in the Service of Our Country ... both those of my personal friends and compatriots ... Mark S. Makowski, Steven F. Parker, 2Lt Dewayne F Danielson; those of whom i know only through their exploits and their honored place in our nation's history; and those thousands upon hundreds of thousands whom are known only to their families and friends. May GOD in HIS MERCY grant each of us PEACE that passes all understanding ... LOVE that truly knows no boundaries ... GRACE to comfort every hurt ... and LIFE lived to the fullest in service to others as those of our fallen brothers and sisters have given ...

IN LOVING AND ETERNAL MEMORY AND GRATEFULNESS TO THEM ...

i remain .... "The Geek"

Mark this date and time on your calendars ..... it may never happen again

Yes my friends today, May 12th, in the year 2006 AD .... at approximately 1415 hours local Pacific Daylight Time, there occurred an event of not only momentous importance in the space-time continuum but also one of its absolute rarest events too (considering that until that specific moment it had NEVER EVER BEFORE HAPPENED in the entire HISTORY of THE WORLD Part 1 (and Parts 2-present inclusive).

To quote Sean Connery among many others ... "Never Say Never ..." for even the most wildly unimagined things do sometimes defy all laws of logic, physical science, faith and reality all at the same time.

By now of course many of you are screaming at your computer screens ... "Enough with the build-up get to the point;" and so i shall ....

Today for the first time ever the Sacramento Bee and I AGREE editorially ....

WHEW ... i thought we lost you there .... now that you have overcome your shock and are re-reading this having been administered smelling salts by whoever found you comatose and unresponsive, i state again yes it is TRUE .... i agree 100% with the Sacramento Bee in its editorial content and outlook regarding the position of LT GOVERNOR .... to wit i quote in part ...

"... California should abolish the office of lieutenant governor. As former Gov. Pete Wilson once said, the lieutenant governor's main job is "to get up every morning and inquire about the health of the governor." It is a pathetic misuse of taxpayers' dollars."

To read the editorial in its entirety click here .... (free registration required to view).

WE NOW RETURN YOU TO YOUR NORMALLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM .... BUT FIRST A WORD FROM OUR SPONSORS .....

This weekend is the annual Post Office Food Drive ... as someone who through the PATHFINDER youth mentoring program organizes a food drive every year, i STRONGLY URGE everyone who reads THE GEEK FILES to sort through your cupboards and pantries and give as large and meaningful donation of non perishable foodstuffs as you can to this worthy cause ... just follow the directions of the program noted below and GIVE A LITTLE ... to SAVE A LOT.

The drive, which collected 71.3 million pounds of food last year, is being held in 10,000 cities and towns in all states. The carriers are asking people to leave donations of items such as canned meat and soup, cereal, rice and pasta, in a bag near their mailbox prior to their mail delivery this Saturday, May 13th, 2006.

and as always thank you for your support ...

GOD BLESS EACH OF YOU, MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES (active, ex, retired, Guard and Reserve) and THEIR FAMILIES and may HE continue to BLESS AMERICA ....