Why Dump Facebook?

I'm catching some blowback about my decision to leave Facebook behind. I've been asked to explain. My reasons are numerous so I decided to post it to my blog.

Facebook makes changes to user settings without notice. Privacy settings need constant monitoring. Simply posting something doesn't always appear to the people intended. Facebook has become a marketing tool rather than a place to socialize with friends. It has become a distribution channel for misinformation.

I enjoy communicating with friends. I try to post thoughts and jokes to amuse and encourage people to think. I avoid political rants and disagreements because I've learned that it's the easiest way to lose friends. I also avoid religious posts because everyone seems to believe or disbelieve differently. Approximately 20% of the posts that appear in my newsfeed don't mention those two subjects. Some of my friends only post about those subjects which makes it difficult to talk about anything else with them. I'm guilty of doing it too.

Seeing the every day lives and challenges of friends has been very cool. Sharing their pictures and ideas makes me happy. Facebook has been a wonderful tool to reunite with friends that weren't forgotten. It has definitely brought joy to me and hopefully most of my friends. I don't want to totally abandon my friends so I'm not closing my Facebook account. While I won't be seeing all posts, I'll check in once in awhile to see how everyone is doing. Best wishes to you and your families, it's been my pleasure to reacquaint myself with some of the best people I've known!

I Blame Myself!

I worked on Rob's lake house because I wanted it to be very nice. I'm a good craftsman and wanted to do the best job I could. I did a great job on the tile and tried my best to make his stone patio and walls outstanding.

After completion, I went and partied with Rob and his wife Tina. I got drunk all day and went to sleep on the upper floor of their lake house. During the night, I got up and fell from the second floor of their home, I presume to go to the bathroom, but I fell. I was drunk and don't recall. My fault...not theirs! They didn't force me to drink, or make me walk off the second floor. I did it, it's my fault.

Rob Johnson has been my best friend since I was twelve. He got me medical attention immediately and genuinely cares for me! He wouldn't want anything bad to happen to me. I appreciate Rob and Tina and I'm lucky to be their friend. I'm sorry to cause them grief. I didn't mean to do that.

Exhalation!

It's the middle of October of 2013. This year sucks!

It all started in January when my Dad died. I spent a few months afterward installing stone at my best friend Rob's lake house. It was a huge job for one person and it seemed to take forever. Upon completion, Mom, Becky and I decided to buy a trailer park in Illinois. We went up there to make some improvements, fix broken pipes and make it a nicer place to live. When that was complete, I returned to Texas to be at another high school reunion. I saw some very good friends and spent some time seeing my cousin Donna. At that point, it was close to mid July. My 49th birthday was July 14th.

Mid July, uggghhhh! I started getting past due property tax notices. Taxes suddenly jumped six times from previous amounts! I got past due medical bills about Dad...past due maintenance fees from the HOA. Without a job, I'm getting hammered with debt. Meanwhile, the bills for just living are still racking up monthly.

August rolls around and Rob invited me to spend a weekend with him and his wife at their lake house. I got drunk and wandered off the second story and fell to the first floor. I broke my femur, elbow and wrist. I was unresponsive for nearly a week, when I woke up..I had no idea what had happened. Classmates from my reunion showed up in support while I was hospitalized.

Recovery is not going well. Doctors informed me that it may take up to a year to be functional again. My hip seems to be improving but my wrist is in tons of pain. My arm will not extend straight from the pins they placed in my elbow. I still have no feeling in my left quadricep and around my left elbow. I started Rehabilitation in September. It's painful but tolerable, I can do this!

During September, I started getting medical bills from my accident. My money is tapped out now. I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to keep getting by. My Dad left a few things that I can liquidate. A boat, some guns and a few tools that can keep us afloat for a short time. I'm unable to work like normal and now getting very depressed. Most of the skills I've acquired require physical labor and my body just can't do it right now. My electronic skills are not certified and my only experience is from the Navy. Many things that need done around the house are not being done because I can't physically do them. No income, I'm screwed!

A New Challenge

It's been a month since I broke my wrist, hip and elbow in a fall. As with most people, my bills didn't stop, in fact they increased. Now I'm struggling to figure out how to make income since I'm no longer able to physically do the work I've done most of my life. (Stone, tile and general contracting) Now, I find myself in a predicament.

The doctor told me that my recovery could take up to a year. I'll strive to prove him wrong, but in the meantime...I need to do SOMETHING! Praying about it and relying on other people seems like wishful thinking to me.

I heard a few options mentioned today that sound promising. LinkedIn referrals, Craig's List "Gigs" may also turn up some computer work. Hopefully, I'll get noticed for my knowledge in computer networking or troubleshooting rather than flooring. Luckily, I'm well rounded and should be able to find suitable work.

Until now, finding work has been fairly easy, see something wrong and go talk to the homeowner about fixing it. Works like a charm when you are able to do it, not so much from a wheelchair. I need to start keeping an eye open for the same type of problems...except on websites. If you see something that needs attention, keep me in mind or mention it to me..maybe I can get some freelance work. Thanks!

Jerry's Website Hosting from Home

Example setup:

1. Cable modem - gets everything from cable provider, supplies an outside IP address to one device, should be plugged into the WAN side of a router.
2. Router - gets an outside IP address from modem plugged into the WAN port. Serves up DHCP to other computers or devices via Cat 5 cable or wirelessly. LAN ports should be connected to wired devices.
3. Main Computer - connected to LAN port of router. This computer should have access to anything on the internet and local intranet too.
4. Server - spare computer serving up website (via WAMP) on port 80. Also connected to LAN port of router, it should be accessible from local intranet until router is configured to port forward.

Networking:

1.  Cable modem should require no configuration. Sample IP (176.215.64.115) passes this IP to the Router WAN.
2. Server example IP address (192.168.1.101)
3. Router requires "port forwarding" to pass traffic to the Server. Forward WAN (176.215.64.115) port 80 to LAN (192.168.1.101) port 80. Save configuration and reboot.
4. At this time, Main Computer (192.168.1.100) should be able to access the website by typing 192.168.1.101 into a browser. Additionally, it should be accessible by typing 176.215.64.115:80 in a browser as well as long as the router is forwarding the port. If all goes well, the user can share the outside IP address and it should work from anywhere on the internet. ***

***You can also use No-ip.com or Dyndns.com to use/make an address they offer such as mywebsite.ignorelist.com This isn't a necessary step, but it does make it easier to share with friends.

Remembering Tom

This weekend marks the anniversary of my Dad's favorite weekend each year. We always attended "The Kirkland Family Reunion" and my father would call everyone to remind them to be there. He thought he could urge most people to be there...and it worked!

This evening as I'm watching the evening news about local robberies, school stabbings and seeing the national news covering calls for war in Syria. I'm disgusted. I can still hear Dad asking, "What the hell is wrong with people now?" Dad was an optimist and he thought all people had good in them.

These things have me thinking of the old man. When he would call relatives to remind them about the reunion he would also include the phrase, "You know this might be my last year to be there!" But I always thought he would be here for  it. His health usually improved right before the reunion, probably from his excitement to see everyone. 2012 turned out to be his last.

Dad's smirk, smile and laughter are some of the things I miss most about him. His attitude is impossible to replace, it was contagious. He had the gift of spreading smiles to those around him. He earned my respect and admiration, I wish I were more like him.

I hope others remember him fondly too. This weekend will keep him in my mind. I wish I still had him to hug and tell him how much I loved and appreciated him.

BANG!

In a few more days, it's been a month (Aug 11th) since I fell 14 feet off a second story onto the bottom floor of a house. I broke my left hip, left elbow, left wrist and cracked my skull open pretty good as well. No longer sporting a neck-brace, I'm literally disabled right now, unable to do some things for myself.

Rather than sniveling about it, I'm able to get some things done, just nothing physical. It's going to be alright! I've got to figure out ways to make income using my useable skills, not my back.

I've got a few ideas for applications but I need more thought about them to create a winning combo. If you have an idea, submit it and I'll consider making it happen. I'll probably utilize basic4android but I'm considering others as well. My motto...simplify!!

What's next on the agenda?

After having the NSA domestic spying exposed, it's being downplayed by the current regime. Now that it's exposed, they need to justify having it. In order to justify using Xkeyscore and their other tools, they need a large scale terroristic threat. It doesn't even have to be real. It only needs to seem that they took drastic measures because of a "serious" threat. Nothing will happen, hype it in the media and hail the NSA's tools as "saving American lives!"


In order to sell the American public that their spying isn't as extensive as we were told by Snowden, they will have to fail at stopping a threat. Lives will be lost or sacrificed because they just won't be able to gather enough information to stop every threat. Keep your eyes open for another suicide bombing, quite probably by another domestic terrorist that they could not foresee even with the tools at their disposal. Once that happens and Americans are sold that we need the NSA spying on us, we're screwed.

Shortly afterward, there will be lists of domestic American threats. Groups that they can deem as evil. Their harshest critics will be on these lists. Watch for influential people to be caught in scandals. They'll be framed for all sorts of charges, child porn, sabotage, gun charges, etc. Once some of the powerful voices against them are locked up, they will have even more control and fear of retalliation.

There will be demonstrations but they will be dismissed as kooks. There may even be a few attacks by extremists who see this as a takeover of America. That's when they will get serious about disarming citizens. They've already limited ammunition to the point that lots of the weapons will be unusable. It's all part of the plan. So keep doing your job, paying your bills, watching TV and being oblivious to the world around you. That's how the Nazis convinced their entire country to do their bidding, hyping themselves as the greatest country in the world.

Here's another story about more questionable surveillance. Read it all the way through to understand the scope of what's going on.

Twice Cooked Tater Cakes

These were an experiment today. We'll see if they're a hit tonight.

Twice cooked tater cakes

• 5 baking size potatoes
• 10 slices of deli sliced ham
• 1/2 large onion
• 1 stick of butter
• 3 tablespoons of ranch dressing
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup of seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 sleeve of Ritz crackers
• handful of Garden tomato and basil potato chips

Peel and cut potatoes into small pieces. Boil in slightly salted water until tender. Drain, put into mixing bowl, adding the butter, ranch and salt. Mash like you would normally make mashed potatoes.

While the potatoes are cooking, coat a skillet with a little olive oil, heating with medium high heat. Dice onions. Roll the ham slices up and slice small slices crosswise, separating them into tiny bits. Carmelize the onions and ham together in the hot skillet. Cook until the ham is browned. Add the ham and onion to your mashed potatoes mixing it all thoroughly. Add the shredded cheese and stir again just enough to have bits of cheese throughout. Place the bowl in the refrigerator.

In a zippered bag, place the crackers, bread crumbs and chips inside and seal it shut. Roll the ingredients with a rolling pin until you have a coarse meal. Unzip and pour onto a platter for your dredge.

Once the potatoes have cooled scoop out and make small patties. (wet your hands before making patties) Dredge the patties until they are coated with the meal and stack them on a platter until you've made all your patties. Place the platter into the freezer for 15 minutes.

Heat a skillet coated with a 1/4" of olive oil until it's nearly smoking hot. Brown off your patties on both sides. (approximately 1 minute each side) Sprinkle with salt right out of the pan. Serve!

Educate The Masses

Colleges and universities are archaic, unneeded, broken systems. It's time that we embraced technology and dumped our costly education system. We need a new approach.

What's the biggest hurdle in acquiring higher education? Funding! The price of a formal education has skyrocketed yet the courses are still the same. Why are students required to attend classes on campus? Tuition! It's all about draining every penny they can get from you. Why are books so expensive? Greed! Lots of professors require books to be purchased for their classes that they wrote!

So let's think about some solutions, shall we?

• Tuition: Online classes are the most cost effective way to teach. All professors are not up to speed with today's technology but they should adapt or be consumed. No building and maintenance costs would reduce the price of education significantly. Online classes do have some hurdles with student and professor communication lacking. It can certainly be improved.

• Books: This one is pretty simple. Rather than gouging students, even with used books, textbooks should be digitized. Anyone should be able to download their required reading material, for free, with their student credentials. Textbooks could be read on Android, iDevices, Kindle, Nook, etc. There is no reason for hard copies unless the students want to print them out.

• Funding: Student loans are ridiculously expensive. The amount of money that most are required to finance is unforgivable. If costs were reduced this problem would fix itself.

We should look at Khan Academy as a shining example of how we can improve our education process. We have better tools available and if we expect to be innovators and leaders, we must change. There is no room for greed if we are to have an educated population.

My Big Day

In 3 days it will be 6 months since my Dad passed away. Although I still think of him everyday, at least I don't start crying all the time anymore. The void that left with him will never be filled and I'm learning to deal with it, one day at a time.

I turned 49 years old today. That's old to some of you, young for others. Over the years I've found a lot of good friends and I've been lucky enough to reconnect with many of them using Facebook. Today I was bombarded with great birthday wishes and I tried to respond to each and every one personally. I genuinely care and appreciate the time others put into extending best wishes.

So...I've had a great day cutting up with some of my friends. I even caught a bunch of crap from some who try to drag you down. As weird as it sounds, I'm thankful for them too! They keep me motivated so that I don't let my appearance go to hell. I'm not as handsome as I was at 30, but who the hell is at 49? I'm very comfortable in my own skin.

I've had a great lazy day, just goofing around and not accomplishing any tasks. I even took a nap. Now I'm having a few adult beverages, preparing for the next year of my life. I hope that I can live up to the expectations of everyone who surrounds me. I cherish friendships as well as family. I'm thankful to have so many people who love me, know me...and tolerate me.

Thanks for being there for me. Even the people who barely remember me, you've all affected me in my life. I'm grateful for that! Peace and love, TJ

Remembrance

I haven't posted anything at all on my blog since Dad died. Grief can be overwhelming. It's been nearly two months (1-17-2013) and I'm not as tough as I thought. I still start crying when someone asks how he's doing, because they don't even know he's gone.

When I was young, I know that I was a pretty sorry excuse for a human being. I was a liar and a thief, I was on a fast track to incarceration. My Dad changed that in me. He taught me to pay my bills first, work hard, be reliable, and do as you say you will. As it turns out, he molded me into a decent guy. I'm thankful for his guidance and patience with me...because I was a handful. I can't even describe how much influence he had on me but this isn't about me.

Thomas Jenkins Tinner, Tom Tinner, Dad, Pops, One arm bandit, Tomjtexas were just some of the names he was known by...but they all mean the same thing to me, my father.

He worked his ass off his entire life to make things better for our family. When he was 8 years old, he built a cart to haul groceries for ladies from the grocery store in San Francisco so they wouldn't need to carry groceries home. He made more money doing that than his stepfather made in his job. Granny, (Dad's mother) told me that was a fact...he was the primary wage earner when he was 8, working for tips. That's the kind of work ethic he had.

He picked cotton and advanced to running machinery in a cotton gin as a child. When he was 15 he ran a huge loom, making fabric. They're family traveled around making money where they could. He ended up working in a DDT factory loading train cars with poison. That was the most influential job he ever had...he developed a lifelong cough while working there.

He joined the Navy in 1951, during the Korean conflict, stationed in Atsugi Japan riding the USS Essex (CV-9) where he re-enlisted in 1955. He wanted to make a career in the Navy but he had a car accident in 1958, while on leave, where he lost his left arm. He came very close to dying at that time. He nearly bled to death while in the hospital waiting to be transferred to a military hospital.

During his recovery from losing his arm, he got into a fight with a guy...and Dad hurt the other guy pretty bad. It got him into a lot of trouble because they nearly kicked him out of the Navy with a dishonorable discharge. He ended up getting a "General" discharge because of that incident. That incident may cause my mother to not be able to collect any of the benefits my father earned while being in the Navy. She's 73 with two knee replacements and really isn't qualified to work anymore either. Pretty stupid over an argument!

I'm not sure how it happened but the Navy doesn't recognize his years of serving from  '51-55. I have his immunization records from 1952 so I can prove that he served during the Korean conflict but she's denied any benefits because they say he didn't serve during wartime.

I'll have to post what he did after he lost his arm because that's just another amazing chapter in his life...

Exit Stage Left!

From 1997-2000, I was a member of fighter squadron one five four. (VF-154) We were called the Black Knights, stationed in Atsugi Japan. Our squadron was comprised of a bunch of F-14 Tomcats and a ton of personnel who kept them flying. Our birds were old but they were still the baddest birds in the air! Being old aircraft, they required tons of maintenance to keep them at peak performance in case we were needed. That meant lots of man hours and our squadron was by far the hardest working squadron on Atsugi base. While all the hornet squadrons were out partying, we were diligently working on jets.When the show went airborne, we were the cock of the walk! Every time we had airshows, most of the people came to see the Tomcats.

We worked longer hours than everyone else on base. So in September of 2000, my time in the navy was coming to a close. I had 43 days of leave saved up so I could return home earlier than my projected date of December 16th. I had to ask for permission to exit using my leave for an early extension. The Commander of the squadron denied my early exit. I was devastated because my Dad had been told that he was terminally ill. I wanted to get home as soon as possible because I was afraid that I wouldn't get to see Dad again. I put in another request...denied! So I called Dad and told him the news and he said, "We'll see about that! Put in another request son!" I put in one more request and was told that I had to see the Skipper.

To tell you the truth, I can't even remember which skipper was in charge at the time. We were close to a changing of command ceremony and I felt like I was getting the run around. Anyway, I get called in and the skipper asks me why should I deserve to run out on my "shipmates" and go home. I let the guy have it with both barrels...I said, "I've had a belly full of this shit, I work my ass off with no appreciation, my Dad is terminally ill and I've served my time. I deserve to go home!" He didn't say anything for about a minute...which seemed like an eternity, and I thought I was going to the brig. He said, "I got papers from your father's doctor that says you need to get home now!" I was on my way home from Atsugi in 5 days. It took another 10 days while checking out when I got back stateside. I was home on October 11th, my Mom's birthday. For the five days I was still in Atsugi, lots of the folks chuckled about me telling the skipper that "I've had a belly full of this shit...."

Dad was diagnosed as terminally ill with COPD back in 2000. I've been taking care of him since 2003 and he's lasted more than 9 years. I'm grateful that I got to spend this much time with him. He's a former sailor too and I wish him "fair winds and following seas!"