Big Owl Blog

Evolution of Communication

5/26/2012 8:52:00 PM

Imagine if you can that you live in the southern state of Georgia shortly after the revolutionary war. Your parents live in Virginia and you want to send a letter to your father. Well there is a new United States postal system so you write your letter and your father gets it in three to four weeks. The early US Postal Service was concentrated in the major cities so if you lived in the rural areas service tended to be on a weekly schedule. A postal rider would ride a route once a week picking up and delivering mail. Travel was by riverboat, horse, horse carriage, sailing ship, or foot. To travel from Savannah, Ga. To New York, NY; by sailing ship took one to two weeks, by horse or horse carriage took two to four weeks. These lengthy travel and transportation times lead to a slower more agrarian lifestyle centered on the cities.

Next in the 1820s came the railroad expansion. The railroads created easier travel between the towns along their routes. You could now send a letter from Georgia to Virginia in about a week. Then Samuel Morse in 1838 developed his telegraph system and the Morse Code. Now communication from Georgia to Virginia took minutes to an hour depending on the speed of the telegrapher and amount of message traffic. The postal system was still widely used due to privacy issues with the telegraph. General news traveled fast and now newspapers were able to be timelier with news from other areas of the country.

The next major communication advance was the invention of the telephone in the late 1870 generally credited to Alexander Graham Bell. It allowed for almost instant voice communication limited only to the availability of the wires and telephone equipment. Now you could have a conversation to someone anywhere in the United States limited only by the phone lines. The telephone companies grew quickly and by the early 1900s telephones were becoming common. Technologies lead to better equipment. The fax machine, early computers, and finally the internet all improved communications. A person can now talk to someone across the globe while being able to see them. As our technology advances so does the speed and ease of communication; making for an exciting future. Who knows maybe soon we will be able to beam to the other side of the planet like in Star Trek. See you in the Future; “Beam me up.”

Do Not Try This At Home

5/25/2012 6:27:00 PM

I like to learn new things. I read about many subjects, but also like to watch informational television shows. One of my favorites is Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel. The two main hosts Jamie and Adam have over 30 years in special effects related fields. Their opening line is “We are what they call experts; do not try this at home.” The premise of the show is testing to see if certain “urban myths” are true. The also test scenes in the movies to see if they are realistic. Viewers are encouraged to send them ideas or stories to be tested.

Surprisingly the Mythbusters are very scientific in their methods and attempt to replicate the conditions of the supposed event as exact as they can. They then label the myth as confirmed, plausible, or busted. Now it does not always end there; they often attempt to replicate the supposed results by going big.

For example in one episode they were testing scenes of TV’s MacGyver show. One myth was that MacGyver was able to blow a hole in a concrete block wall by using a once of Sodium in a gel capsule dropped into bottle of water. The resulting explosion did not kill MacGyver but blew a big enough hole for him to escape. The Mythbusters first replicated the scenario exactly as on TV. It was busted because the resulting explosion was not big enough to do any damage to the wall. They then stepped up the test until they were able to replicate the results using a block of C4. So not only did they show what actually happened as done by MacGyver but what had to be done for him to escape.

The Mythbusters really take their audiences communications seriously; and sometimes revisit myths when the audience suggests it. They are very safety conscious and have an unwilling volunteer named Buster to drive, fall, be shot, or blown up as needed. Of course Buster is a test dummy or he would be dead hundreds of times over. There are lots of car crashes, explosions, gunfire, and other exciting things always happening on Mythbusters; but there are also very scientific tests performed. I highly recommend the show. Who knows maybe you will learn how to skip a car across a 100 ft. lake. Just do not try it at home unless you are an expert.

We Apologize

5/25/2012 6:21:00 PM

We were unable to provide a blog-post yesterday Thursday 24 may, 2012 due to technical difficulties. We strive to provide entertaining and interesting blog-posts for our friends and customers. We welcome all comments and suggestions.

Mother Nature Can Be Tough

5/23/2012 5:01:00 PM

On the news yesterday they had reports on the one year anniversary of the tragic tornado that hit Joplin, Mo. The tornado was a strong F5 and killed over a hundred people and injured hundreds more. The town was almost totally destroyed. They interviewed some of the survivors that are working to rebuild. They all talked about how terrible it was, but how they have been helped by volunteers from all over the country. Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity, are just two of the organizations that are there working to help the people from Joplin rebuild their lives. All estimates are that it may take several years to get things back to normal. When asked why they stayed after such a terrible event they all talked about Joplin being their homes; where their friends and families lived. Seeing the toughness and determination of the Joplin people I believe that even without outside help they would have rebuilt their community; it just would have taken much longer.

Mother Nature can be tough with her storms. Some major disasters become faded memories after a while such as Hurricane Andrew and the Galveston Hurricane just to name two. Some like Hurricane Katrina cause such total chaos and trauma that their after effect lingers for years and years. Looking at the people of Joplin and how determined they are I believe that within a short time the tornado will fade to a sad memory. Spring is the season for thunderstorms, tornadoes, flooding, hurricanes, and Mother Nature's other acts. We at Bigowl's Auto Rescue hope that all of you stay safe and have a pleasant spring.

Our country is great because of our people. We are a nation of diversity but unity. We are a nation of communities united into one big community. When disaster does strike our neighbors rally to help us. I would like to remind everyone that the organizations such as the Red Cross, Habitats for Humanity, and others need our help to be able to provide aid in times of need. Bigowl's Thank You Campaign is our way of doing our part to help two organizations that provide help to our community on a daily basis. Everyone wants to help when there is a disaster but if everyone waits then the organizations will not be there when needed. Charities are grateful for big donations but are just as happy to get small donations and/or volunteers. If we all just give a little it becomes a lot. I have volunteered at a food program before and was able to help deliver meals to home-bound people that without the delivered meal would possibly starve. The people I met were really nice and I enjoyed being able to help. I urge you all to get involved; who knows what we could accomplish together.

Oh the Joys of Spring

5/22/2012 5:59:00 PM

The weather has been warming up and flowers are blooming. I love spring and the shaking off of the winter blahs. It has not gotten to the blistering temperatures that just seem to drain your energy until life outside of air conditioning is impossible. It is warm during the day and cool at night. It is the time to sit and grill out after work. It is time to spend the evenings just sitting and relaxing with friends and family.

It is also the time when the Honeydoo list gets brushed off and updated by your wife. Time for all the yard-work, cutting grass, home repairs and all the other little chores; that need to be done around the house. When you start seeing lots of yard-sales it is a sure sign that some poor guy got roped into spring cleaning. I have noticed that the spring cleaning yard-sales tend to consist of outgrown clothes and the guy's stuff that he has been convinced it is better to let be sold; than sleep in the dog house. Go by a yard-sale and the guy will most likely look like he is losing his best friends while the wife is all excited about the new clothes and accessories she is gonna be able to buy. My chainsaw just got turned into a new outfit for my daughter including a matching purse.

Now my wife used the argument that I had not used it in almost two years as a reason to sell it. I was trapped. I either volunteered that I was going to use it to cut the brush and clear out the trees in the back, or I slept in the doghouse for an undetermined length of time. Now I was always taught not to volunteer so with a heavy heart I donated my chainsaw to the yard-sale. Well unfortunately that did not get me out of the work. Thanks to tool rental stores my telling my wife that I could not clear the back yard area did not fly. My wife happily went online and reserved me a heavy duty chainsaw. If I had known that I would have volunteered and held on to my chainsaw. I am getting worried about some of my other stuff because my wife saw these shoes that were just adorable. I think the next thing to go is my portable basketball goal and my NBA basketball. It has not been used in almost two years because my buddies and I enjoy drinking beer and watching sports more than playing.

I am wondering if cavemen had this same problem. Their wives trading their extra spear because they had not used it for a while and that bearskin matched her eyes. They say that the more things change the more they stay the same. If this keeps up I may trade for that spear to protect my stuff. If you see some poor guy hanging out in his backyard by the doghouse; then my wife went after my drill or circular saw. A man has to draw a line somewhere.

Tools or Toys

5/21/2012 5:39:00 PM

I have been watching the TV show "Flipped Off". The show is about survivor's most villianous contestant Russell Hantz and his brother Shawn flipping houses in Houston, TX. His personality aside the show is interesting to me in several ways.

First it shows how they go into a house that is neglected and totally trashed and basically remake it into a nice home. They do all this and make a nice profit too. I have always been interested in different methods of investing and read a lot about it on my down time while being a over the road truck driver.

I have read and studied real estate, stock market, and Forex extensively. I am not offering any legal or otherwise binding advise. I suggest that you consult your legal and tax advisers before making any investing decision. I am presenting this discussion as thought provoking and informational only.

I have found the simplest and in my opinion the best investment option for most people would be a D.R.I.P. stock plan. D.R.I.P. stands for Dividend Re-Investment Plan. They are generally low cost start up of $50-$100 dollars. The way it generally works is that you buy the initial stock minimum and whenever there is a dividend declared it buys you that amount of stock to include partial shares. For example you own 10 shares of XYZ Inc. and they declare a 10 cent dividend. If the stock is at $10 a share you would get 10x.10= $1 or 1/10 of a share so you would have 10 1/10 shares.

Next investment is easy to get in but takes more work to educate yourself. That is the Forex or Foreign Currency Exchange. It used to be only big money investment banks were able to invest in the Forex, but now you can open micro account for $100-$250 dollars depending on the brokerage house you use. Forex can offer huge profits but there is high risk also. A person can lower their risk by studying Forex and there are brokerage houses that offer real life practice accounts that are free and help you learn before you actually invest your money.

Lastly we will touch on real estate investing. A lot of the past bad economy has been blamed on the collapse of the real estate bubble. I want to clarify that a little. In my opinion the real estate bubble collapse was based on speculation and unscrupulous money lending practices. If you look at the nation as a whole real estate prices are all over the place. In some places like Atlanta, Ga. you can buy a nice 3bed 2bath brick home for 125-150k. In San Francisco, Ca. that would not get you a one bedroom apartment. In a lot of markets the price is based on supply and demand. Throw in speculation and the price rises faster than true value. Throw in money lenders giving out loans to unqualified and unknowing buyers and you have a recipe for disaster. There are many people that invested in real estate in a prudent buy-hold-rent plan that although they may have paper losses still retain their holdings and for most part income.

When it comes to investing it is often a choice of Tools versus Toys. When you spend your money on tools (stocks,bonds,Forex,real estate, etc.) it works for you and over time your money grows. When you spend your money on toys ( high-end TVs, electronic games, boats, etc.) you may get immediate gratification but the toy does not hold value and in time costs you money.

My advise is to read, go online and get educated on budgeting and investing. If this interesting to you let us know and we will expand and post more investment information.

Does The Nut Fall Far From The Tree

5/20/2012 12:37:00 AM

There is a saying that history forgotten is doomed to be repeated. I have been watching the TV show "Who do you think you are?" It follows a celebrity as they trace their lineage back through history. Some of the stories are very interesting. What I find most fascinating is that one of my family members traced our ancestors back up one branch to the Civil War. The person doing the tracing was always a little prejudiced and he and I had some pretty heated arguments. I have always felt that it was important to judge on merit and not skin color. The person that was doing the trace was so proud to find out that our great-great-great grandfather fought with the Georgia 1st Cavalry Regiment and was captured toward the end of the war and finished the war as a POW. He was strutting and beating his chest on our proud southern heritage. Well I dug a little deeper and found out something interesting. That individual had worked as an overseer at a small plantation until he was caught frolicking with one of the female slaves. She had become pregnant, so the plantation owner sold her to a plantation in North Carolina and fired my ancestor. The ancestor went to work overseeing the cotton dock slaves in Rome Georgia until the war. Having his own horse He joined the Cavalry. I tracked down where the slave had been sold and met an African American individual in Charlotte, NC. that when I talked to him found out he was descended from this slave lady. What was also interesting was that both sides of the family his and mine have a tradition when it comes to male names. The person doing the trace went ballistic and refused to accept the fact that we shared the same great-great-great grandfather with the gentleman in North Carolina. I have stayed in touch with my distant relative and have a better relationship with him than the close relative who is so full of Southern Pride. (HE IS FULL OF SOMETHING ALRIGHT).

Our country is great because of it's people. We are not perfect but together we are all better. There are shameful episodes in our history but we should use them as lessons to make us better. I served in the US Army with a man whose grandfather had served in the unit known as the Tuskegee Airmen. I was intrigued when the movie came out to see how it matched the stories his grandfather had told him. I am proud of both of my grandfathers serving in World War II, but am deeply touched by what some of the minorities endured in order to serve their country. They were treated unfairly and still rose to heroic endeavors. I mean African Americans and Japanese Americans both.

If you have a story of your ancestors send it to me at tonyljohnston@bigowlsautorescue.net let me know their story and I will share it.

Man's Best Friend

5/18/2012 7:13:00 PM

I love dogs. Growing up we always had dogs. In fact the only time I did not have a dog was a few years after I first joined the U.S. Army. One year after my wife and I got married I got her a full-blooded Chow named Muffy (slang for Muffin) that was European Kennel Club registered. She was with us for almost 12 years when she got sick and passed. She was a great dog and loved my wife and kids.

With 3 kids we always had between 2-3 dogs generally 1 per kid. Although my wife was generally the one who took care of them; no matter how much the kids promised they would do it. All the dogs have been mixed breed rescue dogs since Muffy. We decided to do that instead of letting them be put down in a animal shelter. We have had some great dogs, some smart, some dumber than a box of rocks, but they all have been loving companions.

My children are now grown and moving out on their own and our married daughter has two children and two dogs. What is a mystery to me is that she also has two cats. I do not know how she got that particular habit; I am flabbergasted. With kids moving out you would think that the volume of dogs we have would decrease but we have four. Three of them are rescue mixed breeds, and one is the daughter's (that lives with us) full blooded Pomeranian. It is supposed to be a dog but I am unsure. Whenever we walk her the neighborhood cats sitting around talking about whooping her butt. I think Nina(the Pomeranian) would be outclassed in a fight with a squirrel or bunny; she may take a lab mouse if it was heavily sedated.

No matter they are part of the family and provide love and when their time comes sadness. I think that I will have a dog as long as I am able. Let me know what was your favorite pet? Strangest Pet? Funniest pet story? If you do not have a pet we suggest you check out the local Humane Society or animal shelter they have many animals needing homes and they will give you years of love.

Cheesy Beef Potato Casserole

5/18/2012 6:31:00 PM

This was a recipe my Mom used to make. It is easy tastes great.

1 pack shredded cheddar cheese of choice

1 can cut corn (not creamed)

1 small onion

1 pound of ground beef

1 large mixing bowl of mashed potatoes (suggest homemade, not instant)

spice and seasons of your choice

1 casserole dish

brown and season the ground beef. drain the ground beef and spread in casserole dish. drain corn and spread over beef. chop and dice onion and spread desired amount over corn. sprinkle about 1/3 of bag of cheese over corn. spread mashed potatoes over cheese to top of casserole dish. sprinkle remainder of cheese over potatoes

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until cheese browns.

Serve and enjoy. Casseroles are a easy and tasty meal. Let us know what your favorite recipe is. Our family has a tradition that on your birthday you get to pick what your birthday dinner will be. What is you favorite meal? Send recipes to tonyljohnston@bigowlsautorescue.net and I will put them on blog and in newsletter.

Allergy Tragedy

5/17/2012 8:57:00 PM

As a parent we all worry about our children's safety. We worry and do all we can to help them grow up to be adults. It saddens me when I see or read a story about a teenager somewhere in our nation that is killed in some incident. I have faith in people and believe given the opportunity the limit to what they can achieve is tremendous. Yes I even believe that about the young inner city gangs. When I hear of some young gang member being shot in a drive by I may be one of the few that thinks it is tragic. When a teenager dies in a incident that could be prevented it is even more of a tragedy.

I was talking to some of my family that live on the south part of Atlanta, Ga. and Saturday one such incident happened. After a soccer team played their game they were traveling home and decided to stop and eat. A fifteen year old boy with a peanut allergy ate a macadamia nut cookie and had a reaction. He has a seizure and his heart stopped. He had eaten the macadamia nut cookies at another restaurant in the same chain and had no reaction. He knew he had the allergy and even had an medical injection pen for it. The problem was that he had not had a reaction for years and had gotten out of the habit of carrying his injection pen with him. He was careful about what he ate but the tragic incident still happened and without the injection pen there was no chance for EMTs to save him. Who knows he may have been a pro soccer player, a supreme court judge, a scientist, or a doctor; we will never know. Now there is a family and their friends mourning the lost of a young man with so much potential.

Death is not the only tragic loss of our youth. I think our public education is shamefully failing our children today. There are some very good and caring teachers out there, but you also have teachers who once they achieve tenure coast until retirement. Recently I was watching the movie “Teachers” with Nick Nolte. There is one of the teachers that sits in his chair and the students come in pick up a sheet of paper with their assignment. The teacher is at his desk sleeping while the students are working. This happens day after day until one day the teacher sits has a heart attack and dies. The whole day the students come in sit and read their books until toward the end of the day when a janitor discovers the dead teacher. My wife then told me how she had a teacher like that who was an alcoholic and sat sleeping all day smelling like whiskey fumes. She had seniority so there was nothing that could be done to her.

I really believe we need to work to insure that today’s youth have the opportunity to achieve their full potential. I just read a report that the United States has dropped to 29th place in the world in mathematics. We used to lead the world in education and research. If we do not invest more time and effort into our youth; we are doomed to a future where the United States becomes a third world nation.