Alabama National Cemetery

    The Alabama National Cemetery is located on Highway 119 in Montevallo, next to American Village.  There are over 9,000 burial spaces, 999 in-ground cremation sites, and 2,700 columbarium niches.  The 45 acre site includes an administration and public information center complex with an electronic gravesite locator.  There are public restrooms, a cemetery entrance area, a flag assembly area, a memorial walkway and two committal shelters for funeral services.  Visitation hours are sunrise to sunset.

     We decided to visit on Memorial Day.  It is about a ten minute drive from the Alabaster's I-65 exit.  The landscaping is very nice and the grounds clean.

     I was reminded of Psalm 23.
   The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Memorial Day Thoughts

     Tomorrow is May 30, 2011, Memorial Day.  History says it started in Charleston, South Carolina in 1865.  There, a large crowd of former slaves declared a "Decoration Day" at a graveyard of 257 Union soldiers.  The event was publicized and the organization for the Northern Civil War Veterans called for events to be held nationwide.  May 30th was chosen because it was not the anniversary of any battle.
Northern states adoped the practice quickly while southern states had their own decoration days on various dates.  The term "Memorial Day" was first used in 1882.  Supposedly, it became the preferred name only after World War II.  In 1968, Congress passed a law moving the holiday to the last Monday in May, thereby creating a three-day weekend.  This year, the holiday falls on the original date.
    
     It is a specific day for remembering those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in dying for their country.  I join with others in remembering them and appreciating the liberties we've enjoyed because of their deaths!  It is also a sad rememberance as well, for those who died unnecessarily. in frivolous military operations!  The war in Vietnam comes quickly to mind.  Our leaders have not always had the lives of military men and women in the forefront of their concerns.  Many were considered expendable for political and commercial endeavours. which were not threats to our national livelihood.
   
     Indeed today, we are at threat more from within than without.  The Patriot Act and other legislation have removed many of the freedoms we enjoy.  The Constitution we all hold dear has been twisted and misused against us!  The Presidency is slowly becoming a dictatorship.  The American public is like a frog in a pan of boiling water, we didn't jump because the heat came up slowly.  We've been cooked alive!

     I often wonder what the founding fathers could have done differently to save us, here in 2011.  Term limits has always been the answer I arrive at first.  Congressmen like the money and power their office brings.  If their terms in office were limited, their temptations to sell out the citizens would also be limited. 

     But I believe the greatest help would have been acknowledging God and establishing religious freedom more explicitly, with protections.  We have allowed atheist to change the rules one by one, till God has been pushed out of government!  Our Founding Fathers never intended that!  Patrick Henry, who most only remember for "give me liberty or give me death" had a lot more to say, even in that quote.  Let me expand it a little for you,   "It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings. ... Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things, which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it. Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. ... Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"  

     Patrick Henry also opposed approving the U.S. constitution for fear the  centralized federal government would take too much power.  He advocated states rights, a position I would join in with him today!  Our government is slowly taking over every aspect of our lives.  Neither major political party will reign it in.  They support the beast and the power it gives them!

     I'll end with another quote from Mr. Henry,   "Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is impossible that a nation of infidels or idolaters should be a nation of freemen. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, is incompatible with freedom. No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles."
     

Simple Faith

     "The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."  Matthew 7:27

     On our tenth Christmas together, my wife presented me with a book by Charles Swindoll, Simple Faith.  It was a major turning point in my life with Christ and my beliefs about church denominations.  Looking back, twenty years later, it was like putting on glasses for the first time.  I saw my spiritual life from the standpoint of simple faith in Christ and not obeying all the church rules!  It took an additional ten years before I left the "wilderness" to obtain a "rest" in my own "promised land".
     My "wilderness wanderings" was as a member of the Church of Christ in Gadsden, Alabama.  I'll not go into all the lurid details here, but suffice it to say, it never felt right!  Even as a staunch advocate for New Testament Christianity & Bible baptism, I knew something was wrong.  One step out of line, like a missed church service, and you were in trouble with the hierarchy.
     In Dr. Swindoll's introduction to the book, he asked a few questions that obviously I couldn't answer correctly.
"Do you have a childlike trust in God?
Are you comfortable with your prayer life?
In a sentence or two, could you explain what it means to be a Christian?
Does the word "satisfied" describe your feelings about your walk with Christ?"

     I believe he cracked my "Humpty Dumpty church egg" and it couldn't be put back together again. My family and I began a search for the correct church and that was wrong in itself.  There is NO perfect church!  We do however, have a perfect Saviour in Jesus, the Christ!  The relationship has to be with Him and not your church.
     Church denominations are all different, even churches within the same denomination.  We ended up with the "Southern Baptists", but I am at the point in my spiritual life that I can worship with any Christian organization.  It's like the sign on the old church, "Christians Meet Here"!  I found the Southern Baptists to be closer to my own Bible beliefs and certainly not the monsters preached about from Church of Christ pulpits!  I've never seen such organized mission efforts to reach the lost for Christ!  They are usually the first"boots on the ground" in disaster areas.  Furthermore, their help with the needy is outstanding!  Southern Baptists are Christians that don't claim to have everything right nor to be the only ones going to heaven! 
     I've also visited Presbyterian,  Methodist, and Pentecostal churches.  There are Christians in all of them!  Regardless of denomination, we should all work toward the simplicity of faith in Christ and the tearing down of denomination walls!  Jesus said, "If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand."  Church doctrine can be sandy and unstable at times...  Jesus is the rock we all need to build upon!

Christians, Pour Out Your Pepsi!

     It just seems corporations are telling Christians to "shut-up and sit-down" these days!  Pepsico is the latest to determine they don't care what we think!  I am joining other Christians in boycotting Pepsi products. 
     Pepsi is funding research and paying a company named Senomyx to produce flavor enhancers for their beverages.  Senomyx uses HEK-293 which is human embryonic kidney cells from aborted fetal cells!  I know.... you're saying, "they are not doing that"!  Yes, they are.  The link is here!
     I have always preferred Pepsi over Coke but obviously that changed as of today!  I also am a fan of Campbell Soups, and I read in the article that they responded in a positive manner by severing their own relationship with Senomyx.  I will continue to support Campbell Soup for doing the right thing!
     Abortion is a plague on our society and one which we should have taken arms over long ago!  We have compromised our Biblical values by allowing this murderous practice to continue!  Abortion is an act of violence against an innocent human being! 
     In 2008, approximately 1.21 million abortions took place in the United States!  From 1973 through 2005, more than 45 million legal abortions have occurred in the U.S.  Nearly half of pregnancies among American women are unintended;  about 4 in 10 of these are terminated by Abortion.  Twenty-two percent of all U.S. pregnancies end in abortion.  Those numbers are difficult to digest.  Putting it in smaller terms, one baby is aborted every 26 seconds, 137 babies are aborted every hour, and 3,304 babies are aborted every day! Alabama reports over 11,000 abortions every year and according to Sav-a-Life, 7 out of every 10 women seeking an abortion identify themselves as Christians!
     One life is lost in an abortion, but another is severly damaged.  According to the Elliot Institute, there is a long list of disasterous effects on the mother.  The Psychological effects linger forever and will harm everyone in the family! 
     If you are thinking about an abortion, I urge you to stop and think about the life you would be ending!  Pray about it, talk to people you trust, visit a Sav-a-Life center, etc...  If you would like more information online, visit the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform website here! 

     For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:13-16).

Buried Treasure Hunt

     Arrrrr matey, it was a yard sale weekend.  It's pretty rare for me to hit the yard sales but while recuperating from several straight days at work, I took the plunge.  It started on Friday afternoon.  While returning home from a ride in the country, looking at houses, we passed a "Yard Sale" sign near Old Weatherly.  I asked Judy, "Wanna go?"  A quick "yes" and we were turning around to seek unfound treasure.
     It ended up being a good stop for me.  The home belonged to a couple who competed in Bassmasters fishing competition.  The lady had just returned from winning a tournament in Florida.  She was very interesting to talk to.  When she told us what she did for a living, I said it seemed a little unfair to those of us who had to work everyday.  She said it was harder for them, because if they didn't win, they didn't eat.  I looked around at the house and stuff for sale, and thought, "yeah, right".
     They had a box of pflueger reels for $20.00 each.  I asked did they use a new one each time they went, her husband answered, "pretty much".  It's obviously a hard life, this competition fishing.  I bought a pflueger 10 bearing spinning reel & an Allstar Titanium rod to go with it for $30.00!  I also picked up a AKAI am-fm receiver for $5.  Looking around, I also found a brand new Kelloggs fishing team hat for $1.  Not a bad haul!
     After going home and discussing our finds with Anna our daughter, she told us the Ballantrae community yard sale was the next morning.   We all determined to get up early and go.  But when the time for actually getting up came around, Stephen bailed out on us.
      The Ballantrae sale ended up being good for Judy.  She found five good cookbooks for .50 cents each, seven workout video's for .25 cents each, and two weights to use for .50 cents.  Thrilled with the plunder, we decided to go visit an estate sale in nearby Pelham.  It was a nice home in the Cedar Cove area.  An estate sale service had priced everything and did a pretty good job in having everything organized.  The previous owners had obviously been an elderly couple who probably didn't get out much.  There were very few "new" items and a trememdous amount of prepared items for Y2K.  It reminded me of the disaster which had been predicted by "Harold Camping" for that same day.  Judy picked up an antique mirror and old floral print picture.
     After that visit, we called off the treasure hunt and were back home by mid morning.  I decided to connect up the new AKAI radio to the home ceiling speakers we had never used.  Worked great!  As I'm typing this, I'm listening to WDJC over my $5.00 find!  Our treasure hunt was a lot of fun, I may even go again in a couple of years!




   

Back to the Future

     My wife and I were sitting in the living room the other night and she asked me if I was ready for my birthday.  I thought a minute and said, "yes, I'm tired of being 53.  I've got my mindset right and I'm ready for 54!"  She grinned and said, "you're going to be 53".  I said, "again?"  So, I can relate to those of you who have been the same age for a long time.  It feels like I've been 53 for over a year now.  I don't know when my calculations went off.  I suppose it shows how unimportant birthdays become later in life.  I think the focus changes from yearly notable days to each sunrise being a happy occasion!

     Today, I believe the focus should be on our youngest, Stephen!  He graduates from high school tonight and we are very proud of his accomplishment!  On top of that, my wife is retiring as a homeschool mom!  Congratulations to both!  Our homeschool efforts began in 1994 with our oldest, Matt and our daughter,  Anna.  Stephen was only two at the time.  Our homeschool journey has been exciting and educating!  The decision in 94' was a good one and we have no regrets.

      I'll close with Stephen's favorite Bible verse, Psalm 27:1

"The Lord is my light and my salvation.  Whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life... Of whom shall I be afraid?"

Sitting on the Bench!

     Hi, I'm an employee of AT&T and the following is my opinion...

     I thought I'd give a little update on telephone restoration from the tornadoes that hit on April 27th, 2011.  Our workgroup seems to be sitting in the dugout watching other technicians and contractors play the game.  It's really sad.  Our work center is twenty minutes away from troubles in Cahaba Heights and nobody needs us!  We feel kind of like the magtag repairman...  We are back on a eight to five schedule and I even received a "no jobs available" at 9:30am after closing my first dispatch.  It took them a while to find me something to do.  Tomorrow, a couple of us are going to work on a defective section, doing some needed clean-up work, since troubles are slow.
  
     It was relayed from a construction technician today that contractors were placing and splicing new cables in Cahaba Heights.  I believe that can only be done when an emergency is declared, so I suppose the company has done so.  As a facilities technician with splicing ability/tools, I'm confused over how serious this emergency is to the company.  Our group can be on regular hours, even routine work, while twenty minutes away, contractors have to be brought in from out of state to work!  
   
     I was in the Communication Workers of America Union for 25 years.  I resigned from that organization eight years ago, after being fed up with their decisions to support abortion rights candidates!  I was angry that they felt social issues ranked more important that labor ones.  I only rejoined when AT&T took over BellSouth, wielding whips and chains with MSOC!  Obviously, labor issues are still down on the to-do-list for the union.  I'll have to rethink that membership!  The union sent me a email recently wanting to know about safety issues since AT&T has been a little weak in that area.  I emailed them my Vincent pictures and never got a response...  exactly what I expected!

      Speaking of stuff on the-to-do-list, we've had one cut cable in our area, which has been waiting to be repaired since the middle of last Summer!  It is on Deseret Dr. in Shelby, AL.  Shelby is a small community with a long history.  I'll have to write about it sometime.

      There are two homes at the end of the road and a small trailer park in the middle which is sparsely occupied.   Last summer, a service sechnician had to place temporary lines from Highway 47, about 1000' to bypass the cable damage.  It had been cut by a contractor placing a water line.

      Management was advised, and it was stated, "that is a First Mile problem"!  First Mile is a group which was formed, supposedly to repair cables where customers had trouble with their  Uverse.  I don't think maintenance was their designed purpose.  However, with that said, I will note that since the tornadoes they have been working troubles and some service orders, even in our area!

      Things just seem to be very confused these days on who is supposed to do what.  The PLS group, which is supposed to prepare outside plant for Uverse is helping maintenance.  First Mile is working maintenance.  Maintenance is working service orders and Service Technicians are doing cable troubles.  It's a mixed up world!
      I'm in the dark about the rest of the 22 state world of AT&T.  If you're a Facility Technician elsewhere, I'd like to know the setup in your area.  Drop me an email and let me know if this is the norm or are we the exception. 

      The two 2-pair temporary lines have been replaced twice due to damage from normal customer activity, mowing grass, driving over, etc.   If that was your telephone line, I suppose it could be considered "at risk"!  The moment you really need it.... dead!  Then you have to call repair AGAIN!

      You can see the telephone cable sticking up out of the ground.  It came from the opposite side of the road to a pedestal, then went back to the other side again.  The cables sticking up were both to the pedestal.  The other matching ends are under ground about 2 1/2 feet deep near the pavement edge.  We actually requested a "locate" in February, but the load got heavy, so repair was put off again.  The paint for the water line is long gone.  It would even be difficult now to get the correct claim information for billing!




     I mentioned MSOC earlier, and it reminded me of a video sent to me by a friend.  The title is A Day in the Life of a Comcast Technician.  That title is misleading, they even talk about telecommunication in the video.  Anyway, those of you who are on MSOC will relate quickly.  If you aren't familiar with MSOC, you can read my earlier blog on the subject.  Watch at least a little, just so you'll know what we have to deal with!

    

Who did it & Why?

      I am an employee of AT&T and the following is my opinion(they make me say it...)

     I opened the annual funding notice for the AT&T pension plan this week.  Another shocker, there was a 20 billion dollar difference in the total amount from 1/1/2008 to 1/1/2009!  I immediately thought, someone had their hand in the cookie jar.  I'm sure with politicians and corporations, a missing 20 billion isn't much, but it is to me.  AT&T purchased BellSouth in 2006 and merged the BellSouth pension funds into company funds in 2008.  I can understand why in 2008 the total was $71,034,353,000.  What is odd, is that in 2009, the total was $51,495,258,000.  I know this is probably old news to the folks who follow accounting scandals, but I decided to do a little research on the subject.

     It seems to be merely an accounting change to reflect gains and losses in the same year they are incurred.  Most companies smooth large gains/losses over a period of years.  That seems to be the official story.  Don't you feel better?  I know I do!  So, you don't have to worry that all the pension money is gone, it's just a little accounting change.  I wonder if the accountants are in the magician's union.  There is a Wall Street Journal story on the topic here.  They explain it much better than I can.

     I'm certainly not a whisleblower!  The AT&T story is old news and we all know what happens to whistleblowers!  A good case in point is a story I found here about whistleblowers who went up against BP.  I have to admit that it is possible that all these people who were critical of British Petroleum would have been murdered, shot, imprisoned, run over, plane crashed, or just missing, anyway!  There is no proof that BP is involved in any way!  Period!

     Remember BP established a 20 billion dollar fund to help with the cleanup and compensate those whose income has been hurt by the oil disaster.  Again, 20 billion dollars is a lot of money!  According to CNN,  as of April 2011, they have only spent $3.8 billion in approved payouts.  It's just hard for corporations to give away their money!  Corporations have tremendous costs with all the managers, lawyers, and CEOs!   It's hard to pay for a CEO these days because it costs a lot of money!  Their salaries are astronomical, not to mention their golden parachutes afterward!  According to USAtoday, during all these hard times we've had lately, CEO pay has risen 27%!  Just how much is enough?  John D. Rockefeller answered that question with "just a little bit more".

     Reminds me of a Bible story...  I can imagine Satan taking all the CEOs up to the highest peak on earth.  He shows them all the earth's treasures that will be theirs if only they would fall down and worship him!  I believe they immediately bowed down and became his evil minions!  The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil.   Ephesians chapter 4 even sounds like the apostle Paul is refering to corporate entities... "They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.  Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed."

   

What's Really in the Briefcase?

     I am an employee of AT&T and the following is my opinion...
     I almost fell out of my chair at the breakfast table today!  I opened the May 14th edition of the Birmingham News to the business section and saw the report on AT&T storm restoration titled "The Briefcase".  It stated, "AT&T Inc. says about 1,500 of it landline customers in Alabama are still without phone service, more than two weeks after tornadoes hit Alabama."  According to the AT&T spokesperson, "we have moved in extra forces to expedite this."  One more quote and I'll stop, "if customers are without phone service, they need to report the outage so repair crews will know where to go.  If they can find a working phone, call 1-877..."
     This is a real challenge on where to start.  You may have read in a previous blog that I was critical of the restoration efforts put forth so far.  Since that blog, I haven't been sent back to the storm areas... (can't blog about what I can't see, right)!  I still talk to other technicians and managers even talk, so news gets out.  Our crew was told all week that we would work overtime this weekend, but that was cancelled on Friday.  I can see why, with only 1500 people out of service.
     So, how did we get this low number.  Maybe, it's like a word scrambler, but with numbers.  It wouldn't be an anagram, but a numbergram!  As readers, you can rearrange the numbers just for fun to guess the correct one.  Or, maybe, the impression left was just incorrect.  It is 1500 in each of the areas listed, so it's a 1500xN=Y.  It could even be a misprint on the part of the Birmingham News, maybe digits were dropped, like cell phone calls made in Vincent, Alabama.  We may need to search for reputable news agences who have the fewest dropped digits!
     I'm pretty sure that a corporate telecommunications giant would never be ethically challenged in such a way as to mislead the public.  As employees we have to take ethics training every year and such is a condition of employment(a term heard often these days).  I guess it is possible the spokesperson was absent the day that training was given... 
     Actually, I have it from a good source that the number is very inaccurate!  Confidence in my source is extremely high.  Before I tell you the number that is probably more accurate, I'll make a guess as to how this happened.  Everything nowadays is on a spreadsheet somewhere.  Management wants to be able to look online at any time and direct forces based on the "load" or the items pending dispatch.  If cables are down, lines in that cable are grouped together and put on hold!  The "on hold" status, takes them out of the database list for pending dispatches.  In other words, everything looks good.  This isn't anything evil. You don't want repair techs repeatedly going to fix service lines where construction hasn't put the main cable back up yet.   It would be a wasted trip.  But what happens, is the spreadsheet for total troubles is misread!  Totals are incorrect if you don't include the "on hold's".
     The correct number is somewhere above the 5000 mark according to my source.  He hasn't led me astray yet.  I've talked to some construction guys and they say we'll be working on this for months!  If it was 1500, you could expect days!  Where I used to work in Birmingham, seventy dispatches per day was pretty average for our group, so one work center could knock out that few in a couple of weeks.  A lot of people are working on this!  If you are a customer, that is out of service, please call the repair # at 877-737-2478 and follow up on your previous report by checking the status.  I know the automated system is awful!  Everyone hates it, but it keeps the number of employees down to a minimum, so the company likes it.  Remember the employees who are working outside are your friends!  We'll get your phone back on soon and hopefully we won't see anything of this magnitude every again!

Cell Phone Safety

     I am an employee of AT&T and the following is my opinion...  
     Those of you who know me, knew this one was coming.  I have been cautious of cell phones since their inception.  Our first one was a bag phone that had to be plugged up to the cigarette ligher in the car.  It was large and heavy and I didn't trust it.   For me, logic determined it just wasn't healty.  Then, I read an article about a Florida man's lawsuit claiming cell phones caused his wife's brain cancer.   Now, I admit that the early phones used stronger signals than the ones we have today.  The question to be answered is, are they still dangerous or not? 
     If you knew beyond an absolute certainty that the cell phone you were using would kill you in 30 years or damage your DNA beyond repair, would you put it down?  Most people would ignore the warnings because they've become addicted to the instant communication value.  Everyone knows the dangers of smoking, from lung cancer and emphysema, but they still buy the product.   Cell phones aren't going away for the same reason cigarettes aren't going away - money!  Companies want all you've got regardless of the health risks associated with any of their products.  So, you'll just trust the government and the media to warn you when something is really dangerous...  not a good idea!  Guess what, politicians are interested in the green stuff too.  Corporations OWN the government and media outlets so don't expect them to act on your best interest!
     The highest danger is for those under the age of 20.  Study after study warns parents not to give their children cell phones but again they almost all do.  Countries overseas have done a much better job of warning people but local governments are slowly coming on board.  Trying to warn others brings out the ire of the telecommunications industry.  The Citiy of San Francisco, California passed an ordinance that required retailers to post cell phone radiation emissions.  The law quickly drew a lawsuit from the industry and the city backed down.  Let's face it, powerful people don't want you informed!
     If the dangers are real, and I believe they are, it's pretty short sighted on the government and industries part.  If all your consumers eventually end up dead or maimed from your product, who is going to buy it?
I'm going to start watching the news closer.  I want to know if the President and other high ranking officials get shown talking with cell phones...  Is it possible they know the truth?  But could you trust it to be "on" if you saw them with one?  Would they be that deceiving?  You can bet on it!
     I haven't had time to research living next to a cell tower!  How safe can that be?
   
     There is a great deal yet to be learned about cell phone dangers.  One of the best articles I've read comes from GQ magazine and is here.  Please, please read it!  I'll include some other links if you would like further reading on the subject.  Oftentimes, developing countries share more info than companies wish.  Such is the case with a report form India, written by Prof. Girish Kumar.   You can read it here.  Obviously, we have much to learn on safety!

   
http://www.psrast.org/mobileng/mobilstarteng.htm
http://www.treehuggersofamerica.org/cellphones_health_hazards.php
http://survivalacres.com/wordpress/?p=1166
http://emf.mercola.com/sites/emf/archive/2099/12/31/do-cell-phones-cause-brain-cancer.aspx

Free Concert in Vincent

     I was sent to Vincent, Alabama this week this week to work and was greeted with a loud noise.   I got out of the truck and though it was a siren, then a storm warning...  that didn't seem right either.  The noise was everywhere, at least from the Vincent city limits north.  I started asking customers, "what's making that noise?"  One lady said, "I don't know, but I think they came out of the ground.  There were seed pods everywhere!"  I looked around and didn't see any "seed pods".  At the next house a guy told me, "don't you know?  They're locusts, brought in by the wind from Mississippi during that last storm.  Farming is over here!  It's over!"  Plus, they all said, "I've never heard anything like it"!

     Finally, I caught one and decided to make it a star!  His first modeling pics are here below.   I named him Steve.
     Steve is strutting here on top of a old Bellsouth pedestal.  He is wearing his stunning black attire trimed in brilliant orange.  The ensemble is complete with orange pads on his front legs!







Steve is one of 60 species/subspecies of the Cicada family(Cicadidae).  He is one of the 17 year periodical cicadas of eastern North America called magicicadas.   They don't sting or bite, they just sing, mate, eat, lay eggs & die!  Constantly, without a break.  They are also about half the size of our summer cicada's but their numbers are mind boggling.  There can be as many as 1.5 million of these per acre.  Naturally, they're singing to bring in the babes!  Drives the girls crazy.  Hey, 17 years is a long time!   You can listen to their song here.

     This is what's left of their humble beginning.  Again, very similar to ours but smaller and found everywhere!  They only live a few weeks, then reemerge to memory challenged people who have never heard them before!
     If you'd like to read more about this interesting insect created by our Lord, Wikipedia has a good article here. 

     These last four were taken by Travis Constance.  He found one just emerging.  Notice how quickly it's ready to fly!  Looks like it comes complete with shades!

                        

Wilsonville Landmark Burns

     You may not have seen this in the news, because it's from a small town and the fire didn't get started by a tornado.  An early morning fire completely destroyed Coosa Valley Milling  Thursday, May 5th.  The store is located on Alabama Highway 25 just past Shelby County Highway 61.  It was an important store for those who live in this rural area of Shelby County.  The Shelby County Reporter story is here.  The fire was yesterday morning and this picture was taken today about 10am and yes, the building is still smoking.  Workers are trying to salvage the leftovers.

 Wilsonville is a small Alabama city nestled between Columbiana and Harpersville with it's east bordering the Coosa river.  It's a nice town that would make most city dwellers unhappy.  There isn't a Starbucks but you can get coffee at either one of the two service stations.  For food, you're pretty much limited to a barbecue or a make your own meal from the small grocery store.  They do have a First Baptist Church and a nice pavilion for downtown activites.

     There is only one traffic light at the intersection of Hwy's 25 & 61.  Surprisingly, traffic backs up often as trains deliver coal to the E.G. Gaston Steam Plant.  That facility is probably the most well known landmark of all.  It's three towers can be seen from miles away.






  

 Here are some pictures of the steam plant "up close".
Sadly, it is ranked #14 on the list of most polluting power plants in terms of coal waste.  There is always construction going on at the plant, so hopefully that will improve.  It went into service in 1960 and is a 5-unit coal fired plant.  It has a combined output of 2,013 megawatts.

      Next door to the steam plant is the U.S. National Carbon Capture Center.  It's a big place that looks like something out of Gotham City.  It supposedly is a research facility to study carbon at a power plant setting. I don't have any pictures of it yet.  I'm waiting on the full tour!

      A bit of trivia about the towers is that Jets use them for target practice.  The planes come in low and fast but no shots are fired.  Those runs happen almost every day so if the plant ever has to be taken out, it shouldn't be a problem. 
       The other noteworthy item in Wilsonville...  I'll save for another time.  You'll like it!

Now the News for Wed. May 4th

Yes, I am an employee of AT&T and the following is my opinion... (legal stuff)

     Wow, there is a lot going on.  We've got the great story about the Navy's elite Seal Team 6, sneaking in ninja style, then engaging in a tremendous firefight with armed guards for Bin Laden.  One the guards holding Osama's wife as a shield while shooting with an AK-47.  Then Seal Team 6 killing them all, removing Osama Bin Laden's body for DNA testing.   No seal team member was injured in the fracas...   BECAUSE it seems now that none of the guards were armed!?!  Pakistani security forces entering the area reported there were no weapons!  What??  Our very own President Obama was watching on a super hi-def spy TV, and he can't get his story straight?  Yes, that is correct and the White House has changed their story accordingly.
     It seems now that Bin Laden was unarmed, his wife was shot in a different room - so no human shield.  The million dollar mansion turned out to be an un-airconditioned block house with a wall...  Seal Team 6 took out a housefull of unarmed people.  Wow, that took skill.   One of the super high-tech choppers wouldn't start when it was time to leave(no jumper cables?).  So Seal Team 6 blew it up.   We trusted our allies so much(Pakistan) that they blew up the helicopter?  Couldn't we have just asked for it back the next day?  Aren't we Allies??  Pictures are here.
     I'm not dismissing the accomplishments of the seal team.  I support them wholeheartedly!  I do not support the politicizing of wartime events.  Our military is top notch and could have taken everyone down weapons or not. 
     Now, with all the story changes, can your believe your own government?  Did we really get him this time?  Or, was the old-old  story true that he actually died in December of 2001 at Tora Bora.  There is a good article on that one here.
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     We haven't heard much from Japan lately.  Japantoday has a story about work beginning Sunday to install a new reactor cooling system.  They plan to judge early next year if evacuees can return home.  The Tokyo Electric Power President Masataka Shimizu toured the area and knelt down in front of about 150 evacuees, saying, "I apologize from deep in my heart.  We'll do our utmost so you can go back to your hometowns."  I like that humble attitude.  American corporate managers could possibly learn something from his example...  like in poor customer service - REPEATEDLY!!!

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     I somehow missed the annoucement that AT&T will cap internet usage on home DSL.  That happened in March of this year.  I came across the story on the company home page in a forum format.  It was funny that the moderator was having trouble defending the charge and that almost every employee who chimed in was against it.  Again, don't take it out on the employees, management doesn't listen to us either.  Supposedly, one of the theories is that the cap will slow the proliferation of companies like Netflix from competing with Uverse service.  
      The cap is set at 150-250 Gig/month and most of us won't have a problem with it... right now.  Later on, as high quality movies and all those plans to move everything to the "cloud" take place, watch out!  We signed up with Netflix recently and plan to eventually disconnect Direct-TV when the contract is up!  I built an antenna for the attic so we can recieve all but one of the Birmingham stations with a digital receiver.  Everything else we can stream with Netflix.  Our quality isn't great, but that is because my AT&T DSL limit is only 1.5M/sec.  Our neighborhood is served by an older(15yr?) fiber to the curb(ONU).  It is outdated and an expensive system to upgrade.  Had they just put old fashioned copper, we'd be okay!  Uverse will not work through it either.
     If you would like to read more about the cap in speed, there is a good article here.
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     I haven't been on storm restoration for the last two days.  I've been working mostly DSL installs in our own turf.  I still have a problem with that because it just doesn't make sense.  Service Technicians normally work installation orders with the small trucks that can get in and out of residental areas easier.  They are also rated much cheaper in the truck/tool/benefit costs.  I may be wrong, but I believe a Facilities Technician with bucket truck is priced somewhere in the range of $170/hr.  But THEY know best!
     Our group of repair technicians was told by management that we were not even supposed to be in the storm areas yet!  Those areas have to be "released" for us to start repairs. I started to ask if I should go by and disconnect the few I had opportunity to repair...   But THEY know best!

Storm Restoration

     Yes, I am an AT&T employee and the following is my opinion!

      I was loaned back to the Birmingham area again today.  My bucket truck and I managed to work four service orders(I know, it makes no sense) and one trouble in the Inverness area.  Then fixed three cut service lines in Greystone before going again to Cahaba Heights.  I managed to get two lines repaired to a service station before calling it a day.
      I know I've been pretty hard on my company's restoration effort, so I'm not going to talk about that today.  What has impressed me is the work accomplished by Alabama Power.  At the one location I worked at in the Heights today, you could see a power company truck in every direction. 

      According to Alabama Power's website they have restored power to more than 388,000 customers since Wednesday's tornadoes.  At 5pm on Monday, only 24,139 remained without power.  Seeing the damage pictures from Tuscaloosa to Madison, they have accomplished a great feat!  They reported that a force of more than 10,000 are on the ground working to restore power.  Crews from Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, Louisiana, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin, and the Carolinas are helping in the effort!

     The last picture I'll show is from Alabama Power's twitpic website.

That's a "get er done" photo!  Well done Alabama Power!

Storm Damage in Cahaba Heights

      I'm an AT&T employee and the following is my opinion. 

     Today is Sunday, May 1st, 2011.  You'll remember in my previous blog that our strong storms came through last Wednesday morning and late that evening.  I remember that because it was my off day from work and the company elected not to request my presence.   I believe at that time, we were four days out on troubles.  That just means that if your phone was out of service(oos) and you called to repair service, they would have told you it would be repaired in four days!  Most are very unhappy with commitents like that and don't understand.  Well, it's like this... we're a little short handed.  Our employee staffing levels are down about 25% since the purchase of BellSouth.  Furthermore, the company focus has been on installation and repair of their Uverse television/internet service.  Repair commitments for that service are in the opposite direction at only about two hours, once a ticket is handed off to us.
     I said all that to help you understand that even two & three days after the storm, we were still repairing troubles called in before the storm.  I had one customer, who was so irate with the company commitment, their anger overflowed toward me.  I had to explain that I was only there to fix their problem and that I was sorry it had taken so long.  Their anger was with the company and not me.   Customers tend to have short fuses when their communication is out of service, expecially when a home business is at stake. 
      Today, our local group of technicians were forced to come in to work and it was declared that we had to work 12 hours, then it was changed to 10 hours.  We could come in a 7am and we must take a full hour lunch(wasted time) and then get off at 6pm.  We are from the Montgomery district and the district we're helping is Birmingham.  We found out from their technicians that today was voluntary work for them!  They were only forced 12 hours overtime total for the week. 
          Today, four days after a one-two storm punch with multiple tornado's, I finally was sent to work in Cahaba Heights.  It is technically now Vestavia, AL, but the neighborhood is still called the Heights.  I was literally shocked at all the telephone cables on the ground!  I only took one damage picture all day, but they all would look pretty much the same.

 In the picure above, you'll notice a large oak fell across the street breaking the pole and knocking all the lines down.  The power company has already set a new pole and their lines are back up.  The telephone cable and cable televison are still on the ground, damaged beyond repair.  Construction will have to replace at least two spans of 50 pair cable.  It takes one pair for dial tone, so that cable can serve 50 customers.  It you went back down the street and turned left, there was a 200 pair cable cut and down for four spans.  At the next street, if you turned left then right, there was a 1200 pair cable on the ground with four large Alabama Power trucks working on attaching to a new pole at that corner.  All this was within six blocks of the central office.  I was told the heavy damage was more toward Rocky Ridge and also up Overton Road.
     When I called dispatch to report the problems, there wasn't a cable failure ticket even made for that damage.  People, this is four days old!!! Now in the old days, back in the 1900's, before AT&T, storm restoration was different!  Management would send technicians out to sweep a neighborhood and there would be a master list of repair opportunities with the larger cables repaired first.  In other words, you would gather information, set priorities, plan your actions, and work your plan.  
      I was surveying this damage when a technician from my group called me.  He said a buddy in construction said to meet him at the Central Office and they would look at putting the cable back up, and both of us could splice it.  Wow, I thought that's awesome!  We might get this street back up by the afternoon.  But alas, it was not to be.  I drove over and didn't see any reels of cable.  I said, "you don't have any new cable"?  "Nope, it's on order"!  I thought to myself, "this is a sick joke"!  But no, he was right.  I knew it had been difficult for us to even get buried cable for repair when one was cut.  They rode out and looked at it and said they would have to come back when the new cable came in. 
     I'm just not sure about this "new" batch of telephone managers.  Maybe these new college kids just can't manage work in the real world!  Or maybe "cell phone managers" can't manage in the landline world.  It is possible, under these extraordinary circumstances, they should recall some real managers who've retired but still remember how to get things done.  Ask them to come back for just a little while till we get folks dial tone back. 
     I feel really sorry for the customers.  Please understand, all the hoopla about people only using cell phones has been exaggerated.  There are millions still paying for and using the good old fashioned landline.  Well, at least they could if we had some cable...
     One customer was taking it all in stride.  He said "fix it if you can, if you can't, I understand."  I was testing his line when he called and said, "when you finish that, come over here, I want to show you something".  I figured it was telephone related, but it wasn't.  He was proud of the bird nest under his carport.  He said he'd been running his generator at the back of the house so it would't disturb them.  That's pretty customer friendly and the four heads in the nest seemed to approve!