Solar design

Been working slowly on solar designs for the house since moving in. Because of finances, the designs have pretty much remained on paper or just in my head.

On the upside, that has given me more time to develop the plans more effectively. At this point I think I have some highly efficient designs worked out. While the most effective designs are for solar heating, I am also working on other ideas. 

One of the most promising, if radical, is a hybrid solar chimney with evaporative cooling, with water circulated from the well, which is quite cool. The idea is that, with enough heat to the solar chimney, that would cause hot air to rise, which would create a vacuum. If powerful enough, no electric fan would be needed. Just releasing the heated air would help greatly to reduce the need for cooling. Of course, this would be most effective during daylight hours and an electric fan would be required at night or on cloudy days. 

One idea has eluded me until recently. How to circulate the water with the least power. Only the seed of the idea is present now but involves using two water reservoirs. An upper and lower. The upper tank would release water gradually through filters. Of course, bottom would catch it. However, the water would only be circulated back upward when the upper reservoir was nearly empty. 

Still an idea in progress.

I have figured out how to make a thermosiphon system double as a solar chimney. Simply include sliding doors which would direct heated airflow to the outside in hot weather, inside in cold weather. Make it taller than the average system and include screens to keep insects out.

The fact is, I find most solar heating designs to be very inefficient and limited in application. I think much of that is because the marketers of the systems use old designs (solar chimneys date back as far as ancient Rome). They also market separate systems for different uses, rather than combining them. 

In my case, in the long term, I am considering whether routing water through a thermosiphon would preheat water effectively enough before using a solar heater, only dumping into a standard water heater as a last stage before delivery. At least double to insulation on the final water heater. If nothing else, it would nearly eliminate the need to use gas to heat water from near freezing in winter. 

That system would increase thermal mass for the thermosiphon, possibly making it effective even after dark for a while for cooling in summer. 

All just thoughts for now. 

Swimming pool

Set up the swimming pool in the back yard this afternoon. Surprisingly, the dogs haven't been menacing toward it. Was wondering if I was going to have to extend the electrified fencing to encompass the pool.

Daughter stayed in the pool for quite some time. In this case, I wasn't worried because it's placed where it gets lots of shade. I'm considering shading more by adding to the trellis. Looks like nothing is going to climb in the requisite spot this year. Just don't want kiddo getting sunburned too much. We both got sunburned at the outdoor public pool last weekend. She was happy having the pool up and stayed in it until dark.

The radiator spring a leak at the seam, so I had to pull it and take it for exchange yesterday. Has to come from Texas, so no truck this weekend. Had to have the ex drop daughter off. The radiator won't be in until Tue.

We went for a walk by the river earlier in the day. She gave the mother dog a bath after lunch, which I appreciated. 

I'm going to have to thin some of the flowers in the garden. They're crowding crops where they're placed. Been letting them grow until now to draw in pollinators. 

I'm still finding random wild tomato plants. Moved a few in the last couple of days to different spots for various reasons. Current tomato plant count is 32. About half of those are growing fruit so far, so quite a crop coming up! Nice! Most are beefsteak and some are getting to be a really good size. Still nowhere near the 200 plants I had planned on but not going to complain. Even the coordinator of the grower's market was impressed with the 30. 

The battle of the squash bugs is now in swing. I cleared the garden a few days ago. Then nothing for several days. This morning, found a number of adults and lots of eggs. So they're migrating in from somewhere else. Having only a few plants so far, I'm winning the battle at this point. At least six pumpkins growing so far and at least one of those has the potential to be a giant. Have enough pollinators in the garden that I haven't had to manually pollinate a single pumpkin yet! Nice! (That would increase my odds of a giant, since I have multiple varieties growing but not going to nitpick for now.) Just have to keep an eye out and control the squash bugs for now to keep the existing plants healthy. 

Lots of other crops coming up all over. Still small but gaining. Think in another month things should be in full swing. 

Immigration reform alternatives

I keep reading how many people or groups object to certain provisions of the immigration reform currently being proposed. 

Now, while I support immigration reform and providing a path to citizenship, it needs to be done in a sane manner. That includes increasing border security, providing a path to citizenship with particular requirements for those already in the country. I also feel there should be a deadline for declaring yourself. No more than 60 days after legislation is passed. There should be employment requirements. No public assistance provided until after being granted citizenship. And English fluency. 

Not all of those are being proposed. However, a more secure border and English fluency are being proposed. 

Both of those are being protested by certain groups. This is foolish. What benefit is there to a country to grant citizenship to someone who has no urge to integrate and contribute to the society?

The thing that illegal immigrants and those who support them need to realize is this- Immigration reform in itself is expensive and a form of public support. 

There are an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in this country. The cost of paperwork in processing their applications is staggering. 

Some people attempt to use the term "undocumented", rather than illegal. However, all civilized countries require proof of citizenship. Without documentation, you are there against the law and are therefore a criminal.

So, what would be an alternative to reform? Try this- Instead of spending money for years on paperwork, spend the money on buses headed south. A long line of buses headed out of this country would create a lot of jobs. The buses stop no further south than Mexico city. If you came from further south, you made it much further without American help. You can make it the rest of the way home yourself or ask the Mexican government for assistance. (Good luck with that.) 

Simultaneously, secure the border to an extreme. Use lethal force in all cases. That would create more jobs.

You don't want to speak English for your job or education? Find a job where it is not required and stop trying to force companies to support your choice. If you need a translator, it is on your dime, not ours. The government and businesses not having to replicate goods and services in multiple languages will save billions of wasted dollars each year. That money can be invested in much more productive and beneficial ways. We all pay for it through higher taxes and prices. Even more so when companies have to fend off lawsuits.

Out of 11 million illegal immigrants, let us guess an arbitrary 6 million are employed. What would happen if we suddenly had 6 million more jobs available for US citizens, with fewer applicants vying for those jobs? Answer- Unemployment would drop to near nothing. Fewer Americans would require public assistance, which would decrease the tax burden. More taxes would be collected from legal citizens. 

This move would improve much stress on the education system, opening spots in schools and decreasing the money spent on education in multiple languages. Meaning teachers could earn more pay, focus on the actual lessons for students already equipped to learn, improve graduation rates and teacher satisfaction, leading to more motivated teachers with fewer distractions. 

Like it or not, some level of crime would eventually decrease. No small number of illegal immigrants are true criminals from other countries. They did not come here and suddenly change their ways. This is not a reflection on the average immigrant but there is some truth to it. In addition, some illegal immigrants adopt a criminal lifestyle due to lack of opportunity and low income. With lower crime, cost of law enforcement and insurance would have the chance of decreasing. (Wouldn't hold my breath on that one.)

So, am I proposing this as a viable alternative to immigration reform? No. What I am stating is that it could well be put forward as an alternative, with solid numbers to back it up. With the proposed immigration reform being highly realistic and reasonable, it should be reconsidered before protesting against it. The proposed reforms include provisions to decrease illegal entry to this country. It provides for skills necessary to succeed and contribute as productive members of American society. It allows immigrants the chance for being equal members of society, rather than being segregated and being second class citizens in practice. It in no way detracts from a person having the right to observe their own cultural practices and preferences in their personal life. 

Immigration reform does not make anyone here a victim. Stop acting like it does.

Frustrated

Been calling offices to schedule reviews this morning. Seems not a single one of them has received the faxes they were supposed to receive, so I haven't been able to schedule a single review. I was hoping to get most of them done next week. Not gonna happen.

The problem is in the IT department. I wrote to my supervisor to suggest they implement an automated email to notify reviewers when a fax has been sent. Or a notification on the scheduling page. Maybe a function to request a fax be resent. Click a button and the fax is resent. While that would not stop problems on the receiving end, most of the problems are not at the receiving end. I have to keep making phone calls to the same offices over and over. Then I have to send emails to my supervisor, who has to look up the fax and send it manually. It makes no sense.

Okay, I need to go out and work on the truck. Hope it's nothing too time consuming. 

First two reviews

Got my first two reviews done today. They went well. Rather easy by comparison to the HEDIS reviews I was doing a few weeks ago. So, those two mean at least $120 earned. For the first three review sites, I have to print and mail 3 charts from each location. After that, I don't have to do that, so reviews will go faster. Averaging two hours per review now. Because of transit time and office schedules, it means I can only do two reviews a day. When I don't have to do that, it will knock at least 30 minutes off each review, maybe more. Meaning I can complete 3-4 reviews per day. With the two systems that have centralized locations, I may be able to do as many as six reviews in one day. 

Really hot today. Hit 105 degrees. The all-time record for Abq is 107. I was riding the scooter with a helmet and a tie on. Got just a little hot. Thank heavens the helmet has air vents. Got hottest when sitting at stoplights. 

Radiator sprung a leak somewhere. Can't seem to trace where it's at, so going to have to crawl under the truck and maybe in the engine compartment tomorrow. Hope it's nothing big. 

I have jalapenos growing and saw the first baby watermelon of the year today! 

Think we're up to about six pumpkins so far and not even all the currently existing vines have pumpkins yet. Most are pie pumpkins, so won't get very large. I know two plants so far have the potential for larger pumpkins. 

Lots more flowers. I'm actually going to have to thin them back in some spots a bit, once some others begin blooming. They're crowding and blocking the tomato and pepper plants. Very pretty and attracting pollinators for now. 

 

Too slow

Spent a lot of the day playing phone tag with different offices where I'm supposed to do chart reviews. Several of them hadn't gotten the faxes needed for the reviews. Had to email the company and get them to send the faxes. One was supposed to be tomorrow morning and canceled. Have to reschedule. 

Went to the bank to pay on the mortgage. The bike had gotten a little hot, so while ignition was off, I turned on the power so the fan would run. When I went to start the bike, battery was too low. Walked the bike across the street to OReilly's for a jump or charge. They couldn't do a jump. Had them charge the battery, which took them two attempts because one of the employees turned off the charger. Then they told me the battery was no good and wouldn't take any charge at all. I asked if they could loan me cables and a battery for a minute to get the bike started and get it home. They had just loaned out their loaner cables to a woman and did not get an ID. She drove off with the cables. Then they acted lost, like they couldn't figure out what to do, with piles of cables on the shelves. I took the battery back and installed it in the bike. Turned the key and it started instantly. Obviously, the idiots couldn't figure out how to tell if a battery was good, also. 

Finally installed a new light fixture for the back yard. Not much light yet, since all I have are CFC bulbs. Need to buy flood lamps for it. Still better than nothing. 

Many of the last tomato plants I transplanted out are dead. Many of the seedlings are dying off. Too hot for them. Planted a few in the garden this evening, both tomato and peppers. 

While I was at it, planted more bush green beans, watermelon and pumpkin seeds. A few of those things planted previously are coming up but no a lot. Figure it wouldn't hurt to have too many and thin them out. 

More toads

Daughter found out there is not one but three toads in our garden that we know of. Not bad for the desert! She's thrilled!

End of first carrot crop today. Daughter and I harvested all of them this evening. Most were rather small. Clay, weeds and dogs scattering weeds into trenches from the top of the mounds. 

We went swimming again today at the outdoor pool down the street. Though we applied lots of sunscreen, we both got pretty good superficial sunburns. I think they should be mostly gone by morning. 

Have to drop her off at her mother's in the morning. Then have to make a ton of phone calls in the afternoon. This will be a busy week. No complaints on my part about that.

Gladiolus

Lots more flowers opened up this morning. Including red Gladiolus. Only one stalk has bloomed so far but daughter and I agree they are beautiful. Still have a couple dozen yet to bloom, red and purple. I was right that she was happy seeing the flowers.

We went swimming today. First pool we went to was an indoor pool. Waited an hour to get in. We were there for about 30 minutes when they mad everyone leave the pool because someone defecated or vomited in the pool. So, we went to another pool. An outdoor pool. It was Customer Appreciation Day, so entrance was free and they gave away watermelon and snow cones. 

Watched "Oz The Great and Powerful" on DVD. Turned out she had just watched it with her mother the night before. She still enjoyed it, especially the blooper reel. I loved it. While I loved Mila Kunis in her part, I note it was an error to cast someone her height for that role, when the same character in the original was considerably taller. 

Little additional information to what I wrote about the Forbes report yesterday. Not long ago, it was reported that New Mexico was the only US state to have decreased in population in the last two years. Every other state increased population or remained (dynamically) static. 

I also saw where the same group who delivered a petition to a grocery chain protesting the use of English as the primary language at work (with exceptions for customer who speak Spanish), also are protesting something else. They are protesting against legislators who accept donations from business lobbyists (apparently a total of around $1000) and against businesses that lobby for legal changes favorable to business. They posted an article patting themselves on the back for "..keeping companies out (of New Mexico)." I understand and often agree with election reform. I do not agree with driving employers out and discouraging new employers from coming in. Nor do I agree with trying to draw companies in that have a successful business model in other states, then forcing them to change that model once they begin business here. 

Few more flowers

Few more flowers of various colors in the garden. Some of the bulbs planted earlier this spring are blooming and beautiful! Expecting to have more opened up tomorrow. Daughter should be really happy! 

The dozens of tomatoes appear to be turning into hundreds of tomatoes. All still green. Not gonna complain. They're developing nicely. 

Battle of the squash bugs 2013 started yesterday. Since I only have a few pumpkin plants so far, it was easy to look over every leaf. Killed several adults and destroyed lots of eggs. Didn't see any more this morning but going to keep watch. They had almost killed off one large vine but I got to it in time and the vine seemed recovered this morning. There are about 5 pumpkins growing already. Not bad for June! Hope at least one is a giant.

Had some more setbacks on the new job. Nobody is getting the faxes yet because the company only sends them out 2-3 days before the scheduled review. Since I entered an arbitrary date of next Friday, no faxes sent yet. Most of the offices don't want to schedule reviews until they get the info. So, I changed the dates to Wed instead. Hopefully, they'll have the faxes by Monday afternoon, so I can start setting up schedules. 

I finally got the bike registered yesterday. Unbelievable it took that much time and effort. Just glad I have it done. No more fears of getting pulled over. Really don't need a ticket. Even if it was dropped, too much hassle. 

Saw an article today. Forbes magazine places New Mexico at the top of the list of "Death Spiral States". Mostly because for every 1 person working in the private sector, there are 1.53 people dependent in some way on the government. That would be either by a government job or some form of assistance. It's not going to change except for getting worse. It's in the culture. The attitudes are unrealistic. Archaic management methods that were bad techniques even 30 years ago. People talk about social norms which existed 400 years ago which they wish to maintain in 2013 and beyond. Poor work ethic. Lack of professionalism. Lack of concern for education. People who get an education depart the state right after graduating. And that's the short list.

As to the prediction I made yesterday, I tend to think it's going to go three directions. One is civil unrest spurred by racism. The second is major economic distress. The third is the worst, which is some form of disaster which takes down a huge portion of the power grid. This is going to happen soon. Within the next two years. Of course, that will affect water, communications, transportation, food supply and more. Think I'm going to start collecting canned food and batteries. Get a gun. Make the house more easily secured. Set up some form of water filtration system. I can modify the well to a manual system if and when I need to in one day. 

Strange feeling

I have a very strange feeling that something big is about to occur. Big enough to make serious changes in millions of lives, nationally or globally. (Anything which affects America nationally will have global implications to some level.)

What and when I am not sure of. I cannot even say outright positive or negative. What some consider positive some can consider negative.

Last time I recall having this feeling was early 2001. In April of that year, I wrote a series of predictions. All have come true since that time, though some took longer than others. At that time, I predicted international war, the economic collapse, Palestine increasing in importance and terrorist attacks or attempted attacks. (Note that I am certain we have not heard of all the attempts made. Some have failed and others prevented.) 

This time my feeling is not as specific. Though I cannot recall if the predictions in 2001 began with only a feeling which later clarified. Going to try meditating later and see if anything becomes more clear.

Heat transfer

Been trying to figure out ways to regulate the temperature in the house since moving in. One thing is certain, the main section of the house needs insulation in the ceiling. Can't afford it at the moment but soon as I can.

The other day, I noted something which I hadn't noted before. While there are vents on the roof edge of the west side of the house but none on the east side. Considering most of the wind in summer comes from the west, moving east, heated air enters the vents but has no place to go. Add to that the fact that the sun hits that side of the house in the afternoon. causing the west side to heat up and hot air to migrate eastward in the ceiling space. 

Been thinking of getting a roof turbine for the past year. This observation makes it more definite and also illustrates the best placement for the first one. 

Maybe I'll go by Habitat for Humanity ReStore and see if I happen across a roof turbine. Strangely, they don't seem to be too common here. (While roof mounted swamp coolers are very common. Probably because of high theft rates.)

Speaking of which, I have done previous testing where I shaded the swamp cooler to see if it helped cool the house more. It did. A lot. Now I need to build a permanent shade structure for it. 

For tonight, the temperature outside dropped early. I turned the swamp cooler plus the AC. Getting the house nice and cool now!

Little more success

Had a better day of success getting through to doctors offices today. Maybe Tue is just a bad day to call. Only two actually scheduled so far but got the necessary information to call back and just schedule with not much else involved. 

Got the invoice needed to register the bike. I've thought I had everything several times and been wrong. So, try again tomorrow and hope for the best. 

More flowers coming up each day! Pictures below are flowers, tomatoes, green beans, corn and pumpkin plants.

Going to get more painting done in daughter's room tomorrow. Going to be a night scene of the moon, beach, ocean and mountains. 

 

Blah

Not feeling so great today. Wasn't sure why until a little while ago. Knew my stomach didn't feel good. Then wound up with some problems while trimming weeds. Explained my lack of energy and foggy head.

Got off to a slow start on the new job today. Partly because of how I felt. Partly because I had to call a lot of doctor's offices and talk to the office managers. In some cases, I got no answer. In other cases, the office managers weren't there. In all cases, they had not yet received the information they needed to complete the reviews. I'll have to call back when they get the info they need. 

Got the back yard grass and weeds trimmed. Didn't make it to the front yard.

Happy to say there are more flowers blooming! Red, white, yellow, pink and kind of fluorescent peach. Not many yet, like one of most colors. Yellow is most prominent, mostly because of sunflowers. Unfortunately. I accidentally cut down a few flower stalks while trimming weeds. The weeds and grass were so high and thick I couldn't see some of the flower stalks before they were cut. 

Got a haircut. I was looking a bit shaggy. Feel much better in that respect.

Want to get to bed relatively early.

Fried hard drive

This past Sat afternoon, we had a power surge which fried my boot drive. That was the SSD drive. Not going to complain too much because most of the irreplaceable stuff, like pictures, was stored on the secondary drive, which is okay and what I'm using now.

However, it has taken the last two days to reinstall and reconfigure the computer so it works properly. I still have lots of software to download and/or install. 

That aside, daughter and I had a good weekend. Went to a feed store where they also sell live poultry and various farm animals. We got two chicks. Daughter was enthralled. On Sunday, I spotted and she caught a toad in the garden. I let her keep it all day but we let it go in the evening because I was afraid it wouldn't survive in captivity. 

We went to two Open Spaces this weekend. At one, we took our bows and arrows and shot them at some dead tree stumps. That was her idea, which I was happy for. She hasn't wanted to use them and now showing interest again. We played hide and seek at the other open space. 

So, we had a good weekend. 

 

Cake

Been wanting cake lately. Made a gluten free cake from scratch a little while ago. White cake. Caramel frosting from scratch is cooling right now. 

I have a tendency to eat rather high calorie foods a lot in the summer because I eat less volume. 

Now up to 33 tomato plants of varying size in the garden. Some still quite tiny but others getting really big. Have dozens of tomatoes forming! 

At least one pepper plant is flowering and I should have some peppers in the near future. Most peppers I have gotten in one season before this was 2. This year is looking much better. 

More flowers ready to bloom. Going to be quite a display soon!

Okay, cake is done. However, I ate so much caramel that I'll leave the cake itself for tomorrow. Came out really good for not using a recipe. Getting better at the gluten free baking, which is a lot more complex than regular baking. 

Getting to bed after a rerun of CSI.

Cutting back

So, I had to reduce irrigation in the main garden. The soil was becoming boggy. First year that has ever happened, which shows the soil is improving. Before this year, soil was too much clay to become boggy. Give it a few days on the new schedule and see how it fares.

Woke up late. Been having dreadful problems with insomnia. Nothing I have taken helps. 

Have to make a few phone calls this afternoon to schedule reviews for the company I work for at the moment. Schedule them for next week. 

I have an application in for pharmacy tech at the VA. Kind of hopeful for that one. 

Not much else going on today. Clean house, do laundry, tighten the water pump belt later in the day. 

I hate being unemployed. Really wish I had the money for more woodworking tools, so I could start a woodworking business. If and when I get another job, I will be investing money on that. Try to build it up while I have the chance. Rather hope to get it off the ground this year.

Rationale for English

While English usage is under attack in New Mexico, elsewhere English is rapidly becoming the global language in many areas.
If you want to pilot an airplane, you must learn English. All air traffic control globally uses English as the official language. If you cannot communicate with air traffic control, you cannot pilot any form of aircraft legally.
If you want to learn computer programming, it will be in English. Nearly all programming languages are composed in English.
For global trade, English is becoming the universal language. Millions of people in China are studying English. There are over 100,000 teachers of English in China.
Top languages to learn for international business (ranked by Bloomberg in 2011)are, in order- English, Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, French and Spanish
In Japan, one large company has made English only a policy for all meetings of upper management.
For medicine, English has become the unofficial but most used language internationally.
For science, same thing. Most physicists today speak English, no matter where they live.
One can assume that, by default, English is the most used language used in higher education.

In the US:
For workplace safety- While some universal symbols are used, in the US, electrical and chemical labels and MSDS sheets are not mandated to be in any language other than English.
For security- To be licensed, security guards must go through training. Most accredited training is only offered in English. Plus, the vast majority of employers will require English. To be a police officer, you must speak English. (And there is no guarantee that a police officer or security person who questions you will speak any other language.)
For employment- The vast majority of employers today require a high school diploma or GED as condition of employment above age 18. You cannot achieve a diploma or GED without English proficiency to a functional level.
For your children- Basic education is provided in English. Not all teachers speak English. Most textbooks are in English. How can a parent take active part in their child's education if the parent cannot understand the teachers or the books?
For self sufficiency- Considering English as a requirement for most employment, the opportunities for employment are drastically reduced for non-English speakers in the US (and, increasingly, globally). Chances for advancement basically do not exist in most cases.
For workplace morale- While diversity improves the workplace, multiple studies (and plain common sense) have proven that language barriers are a destructive force on workplace morale and customer relations. Language barriers also cause drastically increased business expenses and can decrease business opportunities.

Like it or not, this is an issue which spans many social and economic subjects. NOT included among those in any logical or intellectual form are race, prejudice, culture or Constitutionality. Those are completely separate subjects.

Language battle

Here in New Mexico, there is a constant battle regarding the use of the English language. Many people here consider it their right to speak Spanish to each other, including when they are around coworkers and customers who do not speak Spanish. This has caused a series of episodes recently, where high school athletes and employees have insisted on speaking Spanish, even when they were disciplined or penalized for doing so by supervisors or officials. In each case, the use of language was limited by rules already in place. 

The basis I have heard stated for this is that the Constitution of New Mexico allows them this right. The basis for that is the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty of 1848. This treaty allowed residents of certain territories to speak either English or Spanish. 

What is ignored in this issue is that 165 years ago, New Mexico was an isolated agricultural area with little contact with the outside world. There were few schools and little need of formal education. Most people who lived here spoke some level of both languages. Many others spoke Native American languages. 

On a side note, it should also be noted that New Mexico is the most racist place I have ever lived. Spanish descendants consider themselves superior to Mexican descendants. Mexican descendants consider themselves superior to Native American descendants. Members of one tribe consider themselves superior to other tribes. Some white people consider themselves superior to all the above. Jewish residents consider themselves superior to Christian people and vice versa. People of other races kind of float in between. This is in addition to the economic stratification. 

Education is largely held in low regard here. One can attain higher social status via tattoos than education, even more so if some of them are gang or prison tattoos. This is not uncommon in the US these days but quite prevalent here because it was set in place as part of the culture long ago. 

New Mexicans have a strong attitude of territorial views, coupled with a highly invasive behavior. It seems unthinkable to New Mexicans to have property and not have a fence surrounding every inch of every side of that property. Illustrations of this are rampant. My own property has two fences on each side of the back yard (except the side with the house). Most of these were here before I moved in. I tore down a decrepit wood fence in the back yard on one side at one point. There was still a low chain link fence there. In response, my neighbors built a wood fence on their side of the chain link fence. So, there is a chain link fence and a wood fence on every side of the yard. The wood fences all belong to neighbors. In front of the house, I tore down a falling down block fence. This apparently gave the neighbors permission to drive into my front yard and allow their dogs to shit in my yard. When driving along the Continental Divide in western NM, I noted something  odd. Each side of the road has a fence. Along the entire length of the US Continental Divide. 

All of this is reflected in the social mindset. Relationships, both personal and professional, are based on isolationism, possessiveness, stratification and invasive behavior. 

All of that is reflected in the use of language. Language, rather than being a form of communication, becomes a fence to form further separation. 

Of course, attitudes such as this are far beyond ration, reason and logic. You can outline, list and illustrate the benefits of using English to the individual, to their employer/workplace and to society. It will be to no avail. This form of thinking responds only to force in some form. If you even bring up the subject, it will instantly be met with false claims of racism, accusations of lack of reason (with nothing the least bit cogent to counter your rationale) and attempts to gain backing of numbers by likewise irrational minds. The worst part is that in recent disputes, the governor (who is Hispanic) has sided with the "right" of students and employees who did not challenge rules but simply disobeyed them. The end result is to encourage this behavior.

The only hope for change is if proposals currently being considered for immigration reform result in an amendment to the US Constitution, naming English as the official language of the USA. So, I have been doing a lot of writing to rally support as best I can for this proposal. A fairly recent poll showed that about 88% of Americans support this amendment. Hopefully, it will be passed soon. Any amendment to the US Constitution will trump the state constitution. 

New Blog

For years, I have been keeping my main personal blog on Myspace. Earlier this week, they eliminated blogs without warning. Not going to rage about that here. Just upset that years of writing are just gone.

This blog is mostly about myself and my daughter. No small part of what I write are just random thoughts and observation on a wide variety of subjects. 

I kept a journal for many years in spiral notebooks. Then that moved onto computer. Then it moved to blogs. I do have multiple blogs in different places, each with a different focus. This will be my main and most personal blog.

Maybe I'll keep this one a bit more organized than my old one which served the same purpose. Though sometimes I still just let my mind wander. Just how my mind works. I have adult ADD, a 137 IQ and a lot of different interests.

To make it worse, at the moment, I am functionally unemployed. I have multiple employers but work has been nearly nonexistent. I will be picking up some work with one employer soon. Not sure for how long. I am seeking new employment. Though I have been a nurse for over 18 years, I am now seeking to move into a different field, if possible. Kinda take what I can get right now.