[ Taste And See ]
Smiles & Victory at Every Turn!The Tiger's Wisker (Korean Folklore)
2007-07-24
ONCE UPON A TIME a young wife named Yun Ok was at her wit's end. Her husband had always been a tender and loving soulmate before he had left for the wars, but ever since he returned home he was cross, angry, and unpredictable. She was almost afraid to live with her own husband. Only in glancing moments did she catch a shadow of the husband she used to know and love.
When one ailment or another bothered people in her village, they would often rush for a cure to a hermit who lived deep in the mountains. Not Yun Ok. She always prided herself that she could heal her own troubles. But this time was different. She was desperate.
As Yun Ok approached the hermit's hut, she saw the door was open. The old man said without turning around, "I hear you. What's your problem?"
She explained the situation. His back still to her, he said, "Ah yes, it's often that way when soldiers return from the war. What do you expect me to do about it?"
"Make me a potion!" cried the young wife. "Or an amulet, a drink, whatever it takes to get my husband back the way he used to be."
The old man turned around. "Young woman, your request doesn't exactly fall into the same category as a broken bone or ear infection."
"I know," said she.
"It will take three days before I can even look into it. Come back then."
Three days later, Yun Ok returned to the hermit's hut. "Yun Ok," he greeted her with a smile, "I have good news. There is a potion that will restore your husband to the way he used to be, but you should know that it requires an unusual ingredient. You must bring me a whisker from a live tiger."
"What?" she gasped. "Such a thing is impossible!"
"I cannot make the potion without it!" he shouted, startling her. He turned his back. "There is nothing more to say. As you can see, I'm very busy."
That night Yun Ok tossed and turned. How could she get a whisker from a live tiger?
The next day before dawn, she crept out of the house with a bowl of rice covered with meat sauce. She went to a cave on the mountainside where a tiger was known to live. She clicked her tongue very softly as she crept up, her heart pounding, and carefully set the bowl on the grass. Then, trying to make as little noise as she could, she backed away.
The next day before dawn, she took another bowl of rice covered with meat sauce to the cave. She approached the same spot, clicking softly with her tongue. She saw that the bowl was empty, replaced the empty one with a fresh one, and again left, clicking softly and trying not to break twigs or rustle leaves, or do anything else to startle and unsettle the wild beast.
So it went, day after day, for several months. She never saw the tiger (thank goodness for that! she thought) though she knew from footprints on the ground that the tiger - and not a smaller mountain creature - had been eating her food. Then one day as she approached, she noticed the tiger's head poking out of its cave. Glancing downward, she stepped very carefully to the same spot and with as little noise as she could, set down the fresh bowl and, her heart pounding, picked up the one that was empty.
After a few weeks, she noticed the tiger would come out of its cave as it heard her footsteps, though it stayed a distance away (again, thank goodness! she thought, though she knew that someday, in order to get the whisker, she'd have to come closer to it).
Another month went by. Then the tiger would wait by the empty food bowl as it heard her approaching. As she picked up the old bowl and replaced it with a fresh one, she could smell its scent, as it could surely smell hers.
"Actually," she thought, remembering its almost kittenish look as she set down a fresh bowl, "it is a rather friendly creature, when you get to know it." The next time she visited, she glanced up at the tiger briefly and noticed what a lovely downturn of reddish fur it had from over one of its eyebrows to the next. Not a week later, the tiger allowed her to gently rub its head, and it purred and stretched like a house cat.
Then she knew the time had come. The next morning, very early, she brought with her a small knife. After she set down the fresh bowl and the tiger allowed her to pet its head she said in a low voice, "Oh, my tiger, may I please have just one of your whiskers?" While petting the tiger with one hand, she held one whisker at its base, and with the other hand, in one quick stroke, she carved the whisker off. She stood up, speaking softly her thanks, and left, for the last time.
The next morning seemed endless. At last her husband left for the rice fields. She ran to the hermit's hut, clutching the precious whisker in her fist. Bursting in, she cried to the hermit, "I have it! I have the tiger's whisker!"
"You don't say?" he said, turning around. "From a live tiger?"
"Yes!" she said.
"Tell me," said the hermit, interested. "How did you do it?"
Yun Ok told the hermit how, for the last six months, she had earned the trust of the creature and it had finally permitted her to cut off one of its whiskers. With pride she handed him the whisker. The hermit examined it, satisfied himself that it was indeed a whisker from a live tiger, then flicked it into the fire where it sizzled and burned in an instant.
"What have you done?" Yun Ok cried, horrified.
"Yun Ok," the hermit said softly, "you no longer need the whisker. Tell me, is a man more vicious than a tiger? If a dangerous wild beast will respond to your gradual and patient care, do you think a man will respond any less willingly?"
Yun Ok stood speechless. Then she turned and stepped down the trail, turning over in her mind images of the tiger and of her husband, back and forth. She knew what she could do.
Army Corporal dies in Iraq
2007-07-23
What amazes me about this story is that the on going theme is his love for the mission. That he believed in what he was doing. And, that the Washington Post actually published this information!
God bless the family of this young man. Another story from those who are there. It's a shame that this information only comes with the shocking news of a loss of a good man.
We are making a difference.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/20/AR2007072002552.html
Email Hyperlinks in MS Access, and other things...
2007-06-02
This has absolutely nothing to do with the theme of my blog but I get so involved in database design (it's like a hobby for me.)
I'm currently updating an antiquated Access 97 database at work. It's a personal desire to do this contractually for a living, I'm really not that good at it but this opportunity at work is a great way to prove my current skill level.
Emails from your database...
One thing people would like to be able to do with their contact database is send emails directly from the contact information page/form. I'm not a professional at this but I really wanted to tackle this one. I did some internet searching looking for a solution. I came accross some articles on how to send an email directly from the database. That wasn't exactly what I was looking for. What I wanted was a hyperlink to direct email. You know, you point your mouse to the email and it turns into a hand and you click and it opens your default email programs new message with the person's email right there. Now, in Access, you can have a hyperlink field and use it for such but here are some of the problems with that solution:
Access formats your address (whatever you type in for that field) as a web address. For instance, you type "www.mywebpage.com" and Access formats your page as an actual hyperlink "http://www.mywebpage.com" That's great, for web pages. I want to send emails. If you type, "bro_chris@myemail.com" Access formats your email address as a web page "http://bro_chris@myemail.com" (it doesn't know better) and when you hover over it you get the fancy hand pointer mouse, but when you click Access opens your web browser (not your email program) and attempts to view your email address as a web page. Obviously, this doesn't work. Well, you can make Access go to email manually by typing "mailto: bro_chris@myemail.com" and it works fine except A) you hyperlink always reads "mailto: bro_chris@myemail.com" which users don't aways understand and B) how many average users know that they need to type "mailto:" every time. Most applications do that thinking for them.
So what did I do to solve this? I read an article in a book about how I could programatically change the address after it's keyed. This works but... It still reads "mailto: bro_chris@myemail.com" and I didn't like it. The solution came to me. I'll make a button do this. I tried command buttons but I couldn't figure out how to run the same action that takes place with the mouse over hyperlink does, that was the effect I wanted. I came up with another solution. I made a text box and had it reflect the email address formated as an email address. How so? I added a field in the query that the form was based on. That field was called "email" and it was formatted as such: =IIF(IsNull([emailaddress]),"","mailto:" & [emailaddress]) So, when you hover over that text box, vuala! the imfamous hyperlink mouse over affect, but, you see this akward extra email box that shows that strange "mailto: bro_chris@myemail.com" Not very attractive... So what did I do? I did a couple cool things to resovle this. One, I changed the text color to match the background color so it was invisible. Second, I made the text box smaller and formatted it to look like a button. Now I have a button that does the same work. People were happy to see this new addition. A simple solution. I'm sure there are better and if you know of one, please share it. I always like a better solution.
So you want to merge your record (the current one or a batch of letters) try this: http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal/wordmerge/page2.html
This man, Albert Kallal, made a total solution for anyone's Access database. All you do is import the modules and a couple forms. You add a command button to your form (any form that contains the the data you want to merge.) and add to the onclick event one line of code: MergeSingleWord. That's it. Open your form and click on the button and watch the magic happen before your eyes. This was another solution the people I work for wanted. The glory of this revelation is this: "You don't have to be a super programmer to build dynamic applications. The key is knowing how to find solutions and import them in to your application." Many thanks to Albert Kallal, your solution is working great.
Anyone else interested in Access databases and VBA? Please drop me a line.
An Observant Policeman
2007-06-02
An honest man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard.Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him.
He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.
The tailgating woman hit the roof, and the horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup.
As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer.
The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed, and placed in a holding cell.
After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.
He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cursing a blue streak at him.
"I noticed the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian Fish emblem on the trunk.
Naturally... I assumed you had stolen the car."
. . . priceless.
What Is Intelligence, Anyway?
2007-06-01
What is intelligence, anyway? When I was in the army, I received the kind of aptitude test that all soldiers took and, against a normal of 100, scored 160. No one at the base had ever seen a figure like that, and for two hours they made a big fuss over me. (It didn't mean anything. The next day I was still a buck private with KP - kitchen police - as my highest duty.)
All my life I've been registering scores like that, so that I have the complacent feeling that I'm highly intelligent, and I expect other people to think so too. Actually, though, don't such scores simply mean that I am very good at answering the type of academic questions that are considered worthy of answers by people who make up the intelligence tests - people with intellectual bents similar to mine?
For instance, I had an auto-repair man once, who, on these intelligence tests, could not possibly have scored more than 80, by my estimate. I always took it for granted that I was far more intelligent than he was. Yet, when anything went wrong with my car I hastened to him with it, watched him anxiously as he explored its vitals, and listened to his pronouncements as though they were divine oracles - and he always fixed my car.
Well, then, suppose my auto-repair man devised questions for an intelligence test. Or suppose a carpenter did, or a farmer, or, indeed, almost anyone but an academician. By every one of those tests, I'd prove myself a moron, and I'd be a moron, too. In a world where I could not use my academic training and my verbal talents but had to do something intricate or hard, working with my hands, I would do poorly. My intelligence, then, is not absolute but is a function of the society I live in and of the fact that a small subsection of that society has managed to foist itself on the rest as an arbiter of such matters.
Consider my auto-repair man, again. He had a habit of telling me jokes whenever he saw me. One time he raised his head from under the automobile hood to say: "Doc, a deaf-and-mute guy went into a hardware store to ask for some nails. He put two fingers together on the counter and made hammering motions with the other hand. The clerk brought him a hammer. He shook his head and pointed to the two fingers he was hammering. The clerk brought him nails. He picked out the sizes he wanted, and left. Well, doc, the next guy who came in was a blind man. He wanted scissors. How do you suppose he asked for them?"
Indulgently, I lifted by right hand and made scissoring motions with my first two fingers. Whereupon my auto-repair man laughed raucously and said, "Why, you dumb jerk, He used his voice and asked for them." Then he said smugly, "I've been trying that on all my customers today." "Did you catch many?" I asked. "Quite a few," he said, "but I knew for sure I'd catch you." "Why is that?" I asked. "Because you're so *censored* educated, doc, I knew you couldn't be very smart."
And I have an uneasy feeling he had something there.
Isaac Asimov
You're Worth Something to God
2007-05-20
"Do you like dollies?" the little girl asked her houseguest.
"yes, very much," the man responded.
"Then I'll show you mine," was the reply. Thereupon she presented one by one a whole family of dolls.
"And now tell me," the visitor asked, "which is your favorite doll?"
The child hesitated for a moment and said, "You're quite sure you like dollies, and will you please promise not to smile if I show you my favorite?"
The man solemnly promised, and the girl hurried from the room. In a moment she returned with a tattered and dilapidated old doll. Its hair had come off; its nose was broken; its sheeks were scratched; and arm and leg were missing. "Well, well," said the visitor, "and why do you like this one best?"
"I love her most," said the little girl, "because if I didn't love her, no one else would."
Treading The Death Track
2007-05-19
It was told that years ago, when the upper peninsula of Michigan was an almost unbroken wilderness, two men set out to reach a new mining camp. From the straits of Mackinaw they hastened on in a westward direction, hoping to reach their destination before the heavy snow of winter set in. One bright November morning they started on what they hoped was the last stage of their journey. A flurry of snow during the preceding night has almost obliterated the faint track made by former travelers, but they confidently went forward believing themselves quite capable of keeping the right direction. As the day wore on, the woods through which they journeyed grew more dense until they could not see the sun which hitherto had been their guide. Still they pressed on in what they believed to be a westward course, choosing the places where the underbrush was crushed as evidence that others had passed that way before.
What was their astonishment later on to find that they were apparently not alone on their journey, for there were before them fresh tracks in the snow of at least two other travelers. Reassured by this, they hurried on, hoping to overtake them and were amazed, still later, to find others had joined the travelers. This they looked upon as a sure token that they were on the right way, and that the camp was near. But when they were about to start again, they were surprised by the appearance of an Indian who proved to be the mail carrier of the district, standing by the side of a huge tree only a few feet away from them. Involuntarily their hands went to their fire-arms, but without moving from his position, the Indian grunted out in broken English: “WHITE MAN LOST!” This they were ready to indignantly deny, but the Indian, pointing to the tracks replied: “White man lost; he go ‘round and ‘round.” They were treading what has been termed “the death track,” and that explained the added footprints – they were their own, for they had been walking in a circle!
It is not difficult to perceive the danger these men were in—an unknown country, a trackless wild, without a guide, and treading the hopeless round of the “death track.” But how many are like them! Being desirous of going to Heaven, but not taking their directions from the one infallible guide-book, the Bible, they are also going, each one, their own way. But what saith the Scriptures? “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs 16:25). They are treading, alas, the death track! Unsaved one, plodding away in a round of religious duty or carnal thinking, as the Indian told the travelers: “You are lost; you are going ‘round and ‘round!” To go on as you are is to perish. No amount of zeal will alter the solemn condition; you are helplessly lost! But there is One who stands ready not only to save, but to guide the lost wanderer safely home. None perish that trust in Him. To save you He had to die; but He is now risen, and thus, as a living Saviour for dead sinners, He proclaims to you, “I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE: no man cometh unto the Father but by ME.” (John 14:6). Will you take Him Who is the WAY and be saved from following the death track?
What do Women Want Most?
2007-05-13
As ancient English folklore goes we have all heard of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
One day it was found by the king that one of his knights had committed an unhonorable act by making a pass at the Lady Gwenevere. This knight was Sir Lancelot and quite out of his character but, yes, he had committed the act.
The king commanded him to appear and at his appearance the king made an ultimatum. "Oh, Sir Lancelot, one of my beloved knights and most loyal, you have greatly disgraced me but because you are one of my best and most loved knights I will grant you one chance at freedom." The king went on, "I will pose a riddle to you, and, if you can solve this great question I will let you go free, but, if not, you will be sentenced to death by quartering."
The knight was greatly distressed, but he answered the king, "Oh great king, pose the riddle to your most loyal knight."
"The riddle is this, 'What do women want most?"
The court was silent. Who, in any wisdom, could answer this great question. The knight replied, "Oh king, thank you for this great opportunity. How, I beg you, long do I have to answer the riddle?"
The king said, "One week. I know you are loyal and a man of your word, you are free to search the land for the answer."
The knight was on his way to find the answer. He sought high and low. On the first day, he sought wisdom from the ancients who answered him that it is not possible to know such a thing. The second day he went to the priest who answered that it was only God who could answer such a question. And so it continued day by day that no one could answer this great question.
Finally, time was short, and the knight was becoming desperate. He found the powerful and very ugly witch of the southern lands. He besought her for her divination. She examining him answered him thus, "I will and am fully able to answer this question but you too must promise me one thing and I will answer thee."
"What is it that you desire witch?" The knight interjected a little annoyed, knowing the deviousness of the witch.
"You must promise to marry me, Oh knight." She answered
The knight was shocked. But know the time was short, he thought for a brief moment and said, "I am short of life, I value my life greatly and because of this I will promise to marry you if you answer the riddle properly."
"Knowing you are a knight and a man of your word I will answer you." The witch began with a slight smirk on her wickedly ugly face, "What do women want most?" She paused for a slight affect, "Women want most to have their own way."
The knight and those of his train understood immediately that this was the right and proper answer. But to be sure the knight said, "I will give the king the answer and if it is so, I will return to marry you." and off he went.
Riding hard to meet the king at the appointed hard the knight arrived.
With but a few moments remaining the knight stood before the king. The king spoke, "Have you the answer to my riddle oh knight?"
And the knight bowed he answered and a firm voice, "I do oh king!" The court became quite hushed with anticipation.
"Answer then oh most loyal knight that you may be exonerated from your punishment!" the king commanded.
"Women want most to have their own way, Oh king."
The king smiled, "you are most wise knight, go on your way, you are free."
The knight exited the court with relief but as soon as he walked out there was the witch waiting for him.
"You remember your promise you most honorable knight, do you not?" She cackled.
"Yes, I am a man of my word, this night I will marry you."
"Very well, knight, and because you are a man of your word and honorable I will grant YOU a wish of your desire. I can be beautiful for you, BUT, I can either be beautiful for you in the late evenings that you may enjoy me as a wife OR I can be beautiful for you in the day that you may have honor among your men." she humbly paused "which will it be knight?"
The knight being wise paused to think and while thinking he remembered the riddle that saved his life. "What do women want most?" The knight replied, "Witch, you choose which one you would have to be."
The witch gravely said to him, "You are also very wise knight for you learn from your mistakes. For this I will be beautiful for you at all times." She cast her spell and instantly she became a very fair maiden.
And the land was at peace again and there was a great celebration. For the moral of this story my friend is quite simple and that is, "Let the woman have her way or else things are going to get really ugly."
The Judge With a Sentence of Humor
2007-05-13
A lady, who was a teacher, had committed a minor traffic violation went to court.
The judge looked at the record and said, "I see you were pulled over for neglecting to stop at a stop sign. May I ask what you do for a living?"
"I'm a teacher your honor."
The judge said, "I've been waiting for this for a long time. Come up to this desk."
She came forward and he said to her, "I want you to sit here and write 500 times 'I will obey the law by stopping at stop signs.'"
We're Positive Here!
2007-05-12
This is a positive blog! You will find a positive message from a positive God. God is light and in Him is no darkness AT ALL. There is not one bit of negativity, poo pooing, sad stories etcetera!
I'm here to tell you that Jesus is good! If you don't know Him, now, right now, is the time to get to know him! He's absolute ready to bless YOU! My God shall supply all your needs acording to HIS riches and glory. God's got a store house that no one can beat! Eye hath not seen nor ear heard what God has in store for those that believe in Him. No one has seen it or heard it. It's beyond what this ole body can relate to. He is able to do exceeding, abundantly, above and beyond all that we ask or think. Try this! Google define these words! Exceeding: far beyond what is usual in magnitude or degree, Abudnant: present in great quantity, Available in large supply. Above: in or to a place that is higher, Upward, higher, Beyond: in addition. Add that up! You can't.
How about God's giving? "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." it shall be given unto you: No if's, and's, or but's, God WILL give it to you, Good Measure: He's not going to jip you, short you, it will be a good and proper measure, Pressed Down: Once He's filled it, He's going to push down and put some more in, we used to pack our back packs in the Army, you would cram as much as you could in there, Shaken Together: If that's not enough, He's going to shake it to get all the air pockets out so He can put more in. Running Over!: AND THEN JUST FORGET THE CONTAINER! LET IT JUST POUR OUT ALL OVER THE PLACE!
That's My God!
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