In case you are not aware of what I am writing about, a criminal on parole was pulled over for a traffic infraction.  The criminal caught the police off guard and killed both officers.  Fleeing from the scene, police are let to an apartment, a shootout ensues and two more police officers are killed in the line of duty.  A fifth officer was wounded but is expected to recover.

Harry Harris, with the MercuryNews.com, wrote a good article about the Okaland Police Shooting.  He wrote, “…Mixon stepped out and began shooting with an semi-automatic handgun, hitting Dunakin and Hege…”

While Mr Harris did not write words that were overtly anti-gun, he did use language that implys the type of gun made matters worse.  What exactly is the different between a “semi-automatic handgun” and a “handgun”?

In an ABC report, Amy Hollyfield reported “[the salient]…used a handgun to shoot the motorcyle cops who pulled him over and an assault rifle at the apartment.”  Again, not overtly anti-gun, but “assault rifle” starts to introduce emotion in the reporting.

At some point in the not so distant future, someone will suggest outlawing semi-automatic handguns AND assault rifles is in the public’s best interest.  The suggestion will be that outlawing these guns would keep them off the streets.  The problem with such an argument is the criminal in question was already breaking the law by possessing guns.  He was on parole for assault with a deadly weapon.  What makes any sane person think a criminal will stop breaking the law by passing another law?

Disarming law abiding Americans only serve to embolden criminals to further impose their lawlessness on society.  The anti-gun groups are switching tactics and are now going after the ammunition.  The site slogan states, “Saving lives one bullet at a time”

Stay tuned, you can almost hear the anti-gun chant starting.

Ed

Ordinarily the rain in Oregon is a constant drizzle during the winter months, but this year we are getting large wind gusts mixed with rain drops the size of quarters.  I might be exaggerating on the rain drop size.  So far we have not had any problems with excessive rain where we live.  There is flooding in several locations around Portland, but Fairview, so far, is able to manage the rain.  I have not driven over to see the Sandy River, but so far it seems her banks are holding.

Yesterday I drove into Portland to meet with a new client to discuss a trade show display.  The Willamette River was very high, maybe 10′ above the usual water level, but the banks were holding.  The water was muddy the surface and choppy, like a big dirty kid was sloshing around in a gigantic tub.

On the way home from my meeting, I heard that parts of I5 were expected to flood in the Seattle area.  The report said one of the rivers was expecting waters 10 feet above flood stage.  Again the questions arise.  What exactly is flood stage:

Definition per someone from Wikipedia.

Flood stage means a man made feature is underwater. The term refers to the general condition in which a water level is high enough to cause flooding or water damage to man made elements near a body of water. It applies only to a highly localized point, and not to any standard reference point such as the height of a riverbank, and does not refer to the height above the normal level of a body of water.

The term often confuses the public because it is misunderstood and misused in number of ways. It is often confused with the term “flood gage” which measures the actual height of water above the normal non-flood high point of a body of water, which may not cause any damage or flooding to man made features.

I picture two news reporters standing on the banks of the river making bets on how deep there “flood” stick is now.  Of course there is probably electronic equipment that makes the calculation, but considering how often the news reporters are wrong my vision could be right.

I hope everyone is staying warm and dry!

Ed Bejarana
BusinessBlogging.net
a division of Zenith Exhibits, Inc.

I’ve always liked the rain; the air has a crispness that smells clean.  The street gets a washing, mother nature’s way of starting new I think.  The drops of water pound the asphalt, brick, shingle and grass, but never breaking through.  Water leaves foot prints in the dirt, finds the path of least resistance and heads down.  Business is a lot like the dirt: We leave tracks as we navigate the economy seeking the path of least resistance.

2009 for me has many hopes and ambitions; some left over from 2008, others new out of necessity or growth. Like dirt after being pitted from heavy rain drops, the winds of commerce smooth away the wrinkles.  Every start-up business has difficult challenges.  Mine is no different from the next.  I only hope I have the wisdom to learn from mistakes made in 2008.

After a beautiful white Christmas and a music filled year, I am looking forward to more:  more love, more joys, more business, more music, more service to God, more special times with my wife.  Success is meaningless without Kay, without family, without “together”.  Life is empty alone.  I choose to be positive in the face of challenging economic times.  I choose to be optimistic for our nation’s future.  Most importantly I choose to look forward to tomorrow.

Happy New Year to all.  May 2009 bring peace to your life and sanity with your decisions.  May 2009 be everything you hope for and more.  May 2009 be the positive winds of change that smooth over the pits caused by 2008.  And May 2009 bring all of us closer together.

Ed Bejarana
BusinessBlogging.net

Worse snow storm in the past 5 years.  Our fish pond was covered and partially frozen.  We built a snowman on the ice and used a carrot for a nose  Forgot Bari loves carrots!  He snatched that off the snowman right away!

We have two labs. Chocolate lab (Java) and yellow lab (Bari).  They are our children and we love them!

Pre-Snow (Easter Time Actually)

Day one had a slight dusting and a hard freeze.

Day 1

It rained on day two and the pond thawed.

Day 2

On day three we got more snow and a harder freeze

Day 3

Since I was getting cabin fever, I decided to build a snowman.  Having a nice sheet of ice on the pond gave me an idea.  Problem was the snow is VERY dry.  I have to add water to get the snow to stick.

Day 4

I worked on the front yard on day 5, so no picture of the back yard.  But here is a picture of a blur hering sitting on the fence, looking for a snack.

Blue Hering looking for food

Day 6

The morning of day six found my pond surface almost thawed and Mr. snowman leaning over.  Two hours later!  MORE SNOW!

Tonight is Christmas Eve service.  Our pastor (T.J.) really wants the service to go foorward.  Actually, so do I, I haven’t played a Christmas Eve service in 25 years!  Lets all pray for clear streets.

Stay warm.

Ed & Kay Bejarana

Merry Christmas