Tracfone Android

From the days of old, way back in the earliest times of using Tracfone. My desire to record notes of text on my personal device has driven me to search out the most suitable device offered by Tracfone Wireless. I have tried many, and while a couple of these trials have proven fair note taking experiences, it was finally the Android Smart phone which has stood the test and proven itself to be a craftsman's companion. When combined with Evernote, the smartphone becomes a vital tool in producing well organized works which are easily shared by email or on microblogging sites, personal blogs, and webpages. At the moment I use the ZTE Valet and although not the best that Tracfone offers it has proven mostly reliable and an excellent backup to the Samsung Galaxy S3 mini which is my full time phone. It appears that I'm headed for Windows as I recently purchased a Lumia 640 Dual Sim phone for work and personal combined, will be moving into it by year's end. Just rambling...

The Right of Passage

Know Your Rights

     Where do your rights begin and end? Easy, birth and death. From the very beginning of human history we find the right of passage given to man, that is, the opportunity to pass through this age of flesh and bone at least once. 

     The systemic flow of knowledge coupled with technological advancements has complicated the journey and forced many to end their travels sooner than necessary. To this I say, live simple and walk with your creator in so much as you take on in life be sure of your ability to handle the stress of any given situation and if after undertaking a task it seems to much for you to bear then back away and seek refuge in the arms of the Holy Spirit as comfort awaits you there. Man may dictate to you how to live within his society, but only God has the knowledge to prosper you as part of his creation, a functioning figure in the midst of His plan. 

Sultana

  

  Perhaps a lesser known tragedy of the American Civil War is the explosion aboard the Sultana, a steam powered paddle wheeler riverboat, while an estimated 2200+ POW Union Army soldiers were being transported upstate via the Mississippi river after being released from Confederate capture at the end of the war. It is estimated some 1800+ souls perished the night of April 27, 1865. Follow the link to view a full episode of PBS History Detectives which details and solves the mystery surrounding the fatal explosions aboard this overloaded riverboat.
PBS History Detectives Sultana
   
     An article here on the History website provides a deeper look into the Sultana on History

   

     Included here is a short video from a local news broadcast in Arkansas near the location where the remains of the Sultana lay buried beneath a bean field and a portion remaining submerged in an area of the river. I first learned of this event while reading Walter A. McDougall’s “Throes of Democracy”.

The Twenty Year Construction of Bradna Rose

     A Schooner For East Texas

     After twenty years of building, John Vardiman completed his boat and saw it delivered to the Gulf Coast and planted in the water for the first time. Dr Vardiman was fifty-five years old when he started cutting oak trees to process into beams, timbers, and plained lumber for to construct his 41' 6" 37,000lb sailing vessel. The Bradna Rose was built  using G. Alden's Malabar II design as a guide. The full write-up is available in Wooden Boat Magazine from June 2014, www.woodenboat.com and here is a video story by Bob Phillips of Texas Country Reporter fame 

El Niño

Behold! An excellent article which explains the El Niño phenomenon and the effects it produces on a global scale. It appears to be in full swing this season...

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/11/-sp-el-nino-weather-2014

Shepherd's Chapel

     I have long studied with the Murray men from Shepherd's Chapel Church in Gravette, Arkansas, some seven years at least. Recently I turned on my old c-band satellite receiver to find no signal from Shepherd's Chapel. A visit to their website solved the situation, it seems the c-band feed ended back in August. Every type of feed is available though on the internet from their site:  http://www.shepherdschapel.com/index.htm
on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwX0AEx-qIhQ9kgtlNhyIXw

America, The Land of Dispair

     You may not see it from your point of view, but the "land that I love" is not the same land you grew up in, or is it? Change has come alright and long before President Obama came onto the scene. Each time a new president is elected he brings with him a wave of change, good or bad is left to you to decide. However, the progression of our 'modern society' speaks loudly and with clear definition. It's all about "ME" and my special interests, just how much sympathy can I draw from the poor saps across the land looking for a "worthy" cause to give their hard earned dollars too? Perhaps a bit more specificity is due as all "worthy" causes are not unworthy nor do they support striking against your neighbor and family in pursuit of "justice" for their livestock/pets and kids. 911 has virtually destroyed the American society, allowing for the ease of tattling and snitching on anyone who seems to be minding their own business while tending their own affairs without need of their neighbors help. Reports recently highlighted the undue amount of calls received by 911 operators on every type of situation imaginable, overloaded switchboards due to repeated reports from cellphone callers on the same incident as they simply keep calling until they see some response at the scene. There could be no easier way for the 'police state' to maintain control over the citizenry than to pit them against each other with the 'emergency' system of 911. Is it any wonder why the "terrorists" struck the twin Trade Towers in NYC on 9/11/2001? A complete mockery was made of the "emergency" call system that very day yet the citizens continue to allow it to operate as though it's the only way to get real help in an actual emergency. What has become of the land "of the people, by the people, and for the people" as it was established?