I was given an old newspaper clipping a few years ago that was of the obituary of my great-great grandfather Rudolph Vogelsang.  I included the text from this obituary below, which might be of interest to any genealogy researchers out there.  I also have a scanned image of the original.

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Rudolph Vogelsang was born on September 25, 1832, in the village of Vogelsang in Canton Argau, Switzerland.  He grew up in that place and was confirmed when he was 12 years old  At the age of 21, about the year 1853, he came to America and spent 6 years working in different places in Indiana and Illinois.  He then returned to Switzerland but after 6 months he again crossed the ocean to make the United States his permanent home.  On May 16, 1860, he arrived at Bryan, Ohio, and was married there the following year, on August 19, 1861 to Miss Anna Meier.  They lived 14 years in Bryan, Ohio, where he made his living at the cooper trade.  In 1874, he moved to Mark Township, Defiance County, Ohio, where he lived until his death, which occured after a two months illness, on September 3, 1920, having reached the age of 87 years, 11 months, and 8 days. 

Two sons and one daugter have preceded him in death.  He is survived by his aged wife, with whom he lived happily for about 60 years.  Two sons, Mr. Wm. Vogelsang of The Bend, and Mr. Henry Vogelsang of Mark Township, and one daughter, Mrs. Mary Rothhar of Sherwood, and also 12 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren, and many relatives and friends.
Through the death of Mr. Vogelsang, the community has sustained the loss of one of the pioneers who have done so much to convert the early woods and swamps into fruitful farms.  The Zion's Reformed Church has also lost a member who has connected with the congregation for many years, having served as Sunday school superintendent when services were held in the Collin's schoolhouse just north of town.

During his last sickness the many Christian truths which he had learned in the days of his childhood proved a rod and staff of comfort unto him.  May this same comfort sustain his bereaved wife and family.
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CARD OF THANKS.

We desire to thank our friends and neighbors for their kindness and help and all who in any way assisted us during the sickness and death of our dear husband and father.
 Mrs. Rudolph Vogelsang and Children.

I am starting to feel like I am getting into a routine with the work outs.  After losing 50 lbs since June, I am now concentrating on getting fit and feeling good.  It hasn't always been fun, but it is starting to feel good when I can get through all of the situps and pushups easier than I could before.  I am starting to add more reps, and have started using a 50lb kettlebell to do some kettlebell swings. 

One of the best things is that I seem more focused mentally then I have for a long time.

Hopefully, I make it through the winter and beyond.  I did enjoy some good food, and a few drinks New Year's Eve, but back at it today. 

I have seen some inspiring posts from some of my friends on FB, who are doing great with their own fitness.  It helps give me that extra push to keep it up.  Thanks for the inspiration.

One radio commercial that has bothered me for the last few weeks is the anti-Ohio Issue 2 commercial that plays out a situation where a couple has an intruder in their home.
 
Let me first make a point.  I am not taking a stand in this post regarding Issue 2.  If you are for Ohio Issue 2, or you are against Issue 2, I think this commercial is bad.  Let me tell you why I think so.

The couple calls 911, and you can hear one of them say that the intruder is coming up the stairs.  Let's face it, if someone has broken into your home, and they are coming up the stairs, you are in some trouble if you are relying on help from 911.  Unless there is an officer assigned to your bedroom, your safety depends on the actions of the intruder as well as your own.

Considering that a normal response time might be 5-30 minutes, and it only takes someone a matter of seconds to reach the second floor, there is no way I can fault the passage or failure of an issue like Issue 2 with the outcome of this scenario.  I suppose you could argue that with more officers on patrol, the intruder might not be in your neighborhood to start with.  That is a different scenario.  The failure to see that distinction could be fatal.

Now, it is everyone's right to take responsibility for their personal protection, or leave it only in the hands of others.  Some people will never be comfortable owning a firearm, and should not have one if this is the case.

Another piece of advice I learned from listening to Massad Ayoob, is that when you have a situation where someone has entered your home, and you do call 911, you should inform the dispatcher that you have a "home invasion in progress".  Do not simply report this as a break in, or a robbery.  it is important to let the dispatcher know that this is a current event.  This could speed up the response time.  Also, if you do call 911, do not go wandering through the home with a gun, especially when the police arrive.  They are coming to your home to stop an intruder.  If the police see you with a weapon, how do they know if you are the bad guy or not?  If you have secured your family in one location, it is best to stay there.

Take some time to think about likely scenarios.  It is not something you have to spend your whole life thinking about.  I am not suggesting that you assume a "bunker mentality".  A little awareness, and forethought go a long way.
This radio commercial leaves me shaking my head.  Whether you are pro-Issue 2, or anti-Issue 2, I hope you give this one some thought.

It amazes me to see some of the comments criticizing the actions of the officers in the  shooting of the 50 + wild animals that were unfortunately let out of the cages and placed in a potentially lethal situation for the human inhabitants of the area.

Many of these comments have portrayed the officers as tobacco chewing rednecks who probably cheered as they tried to see who could shoot the most animals with high powered rifles.  The perception that some people have is disturbing, but it the result of a lack of critical thinking, common sense, and a warped view of reality.
It is easy for someone to look at photos of these poor lifeless animals strewn out over the ground and be sickened by it, and to be angry.  Most normal people would be.  Plenty of people have made the assumption that since there are tranquilizer guns in the world, and veterinarians in the world, everything was available to prevent the slaughter of these creatures.  This is where the critical thinking falls off for these people. 
If you don't know what critical thinking is, you can Google it.  It is a form of thinking that questions assumptions, and is a means of deciding whether a claim is true or false.
Why would the officers shoot to kill, rather than tranquilize?  For some, law officers are nothing more than mindless thugs who naturally want to shoot whenever they have the opportunity.  After all, it costs so much money to travel to Africa for a safari hunt.   It would be an easy way to bag a trophy.  For those who are still confused, I have added some sarcasm.  You can Google that also.
I have seen people claim that there were more than enough vets available to deal with the number of animals.  Really?  Show me how this is true.  Can't do it?  After all, why get bogged down with finding the truth?
How many people really think the sheriff's dept. carries tranquilizer guns in every vehicle, and has enough lighting available to deal with this many animals?  How many people think the sheriff was willing to wait until someone's child was torn apart?

A lot of factors went into what happened, and for me, the explanations given by Jack Hanna and the sheriff is good enough for me.  I don't see anyone happy about the outcome of this.  I don't think the officers enjoyed having to use handguns at close range when they did not have enough rifles available.  In my opinion, they took a risk doing that.  They had to go home, and explain to their children what they had to do.  Jack Hanna certainly was not happy about the outcome of this.   If you were to believe what has been written by those who lack the ability to think in a critical fashion, it was just a fun excuse to shoot, and the animals were "murdered".
I would be wasting my time telling people to read some articles about what is involved in tranquilizing a wild animal of this size at night, or explaining what I have learned about the behavior of wild animals compared to domesticated animals.  I am no expert, but I did read up on the subject in my own personal quest for an explanation.  These people would no more listen to me than to Jack Hanna, who is one of the more knowledgeable people on this subject.
It is not possible to have a debate with people who are not even aware they lack basic skills of critical thinking.  I fear that these people have been to used to not being able to get beyond an emotion, and work through anything that resembles a thought process.  It is unfortunate that there is such a large number of people that fall into this category.
I jumped into the fray on the L.A. Times blog page, and Jungle Jack Hanna's Facebook page, and made some comments there after I read uninformed comment after uninformed comment.  I think Jack, and the officers involved could use some support, not criticism.

 I can hear the cries from the uninformed who just read that last sentence.  They just saw me claim that we should not ever criticize the police, or criticize authority.  It is ok.  The deficiency they have in the area of putting thoughts together causes that reaction. 

I could go on about the cases of incidents where police have behaved badly in other situations, but then I would only be sharing more about how it is possible to take a situation, learn about it, and then make an informed decision.  Too much for some to handle.

I believe it was the Roman poet Horace, who first coined the phrase "sapere aude", which has been used as a common motto for some universities as well as other organizations.  The closest translation from Latin is "dare to know".  I prefer the later interpretations of utilizing the concept of "dare to know" as a way of life.  I challenge everyone to consider this.

Working a little late tonight, but should be heading home by 8:30 PM.  Ready to start the weekend!  Need a bit of a recovery.  Been a rough week with working nights, and wondering if the closing is ever going to take place on the old house.  We were to close tomorrow, but it looks like early next week.  I just need to get through this and then let out a giant sigh of relief when it is over.  Looking forward to that extra week of vacation next year.  Wish it started this year!

I am preparing to work the night shift next week by staying up late on the weekend.  I see the clock now reads 12:17 AM.  It is September 11, 2011.  Ten years.

Like a lot of others, I remember where I was, and what I was doing when I heard the news.  I was working out in the shop at the company where I worked at the time, teaching points  on some Sankyo robots.  These were for a system we were supplying to Nissan in Tennessee.  It was a special day.  I was wondering how Alyssa was doing at her first day of pre-school.  She would no longer be home with Dona all day.  It was now time for her to begin her education.  She was taking that first step down the trail.  I was going to miss it all.  I had a lot of work to get done before these robot systems shipped, and I expected a long day.  Alyssa only had to go to school for half the day in the morning, and I would hear all about how her first day went when Dona called me at lunch time.

I wondered how Emily was handling it.  She was just two.  When we went to the orientation at the preschool, she fell in love with some of the toys in the class room, and I remember she did not want to leave them.    I can’t blame her for wanting to be where all the cool toys were.  It was good that she was getting some one on one time with Dona in the morning.

Dona was pregnant with Julia at the time.  We did not know if our third child would be a boy or girl, but the following February we would be blessed with yet another wonderful daughter.

My realization that things were bad was when one of the electricians walked up to me while he was listening to his headset radio.  He told me that a second plane had hit the other tower.  It was like an alarm went off in me like never before.  When he told me about the first plane, I pictured a small Cessna going off course.  It had to be an accident.  Maybe a small fire, but it would probably be out soon, and they would have to repair the building.  The pilot must have had a heart attack or something.  I knew that we were in for something bad after the second plane.  This had to be intentional.  Were we at war?  With who?  What next?

I left work at lunch time to help Dona pickup Alyssa from pre-school.  It was the most unusual trip to school that I can remember.  I wanted to collect the family, keep them safe, but at the same time, I wanted to show calm around my kids.  They would never understand this, and I did not want to frighten them.  It was Aly’s first day of school, and it was supposed to be a happy day for her.  I was happy for her, and at the same time, I was wondering about what was going to happen next.

Most of the parents that came to pick up their children were subdued.  There was not a lot of talking, a few nervous smiles, but I could see the weight of the morning was heavy on us all.

I made it back to work in the afternoon, once everyone was home.  I felt like I had to keep doing my job.  I kept in touch with Dona, and played through how we would evacuate the area if something bad happened near our home.  It has always been like me to play out scenarios in my mind, and wonder how I would react.  It was a very uncertain time.

I look back on the last ten years, and I remember so much from that day.  I know it changed me.  It motivated me to go back and get my amateur radio license.  I had let it expire years ago.  I thought that maybe I would be able to utilize this in an emergency, and be able to assist with communications.  I joined the local SkyWarn weather spotting group.   It is setup to report severe weather to the National Weather Service via amateur radio.  These might seem like small things, but I was searching for some way to help.

I remember those brave young high school seniors who were signing up for the military.  They were answering a call that they felt in their hearts, and I respect that.  I think if I had been 20 years younger,  I would have been there with them.  I had a different path ahead of me.   It was ok. 

Now that my children are older, they are beginning to understand the meaning of 9/11.  There is a lot of coverage that talks about the attacks, but I like to dwell more on the service and patriotism that came out of that day.  The courage of those first responders, and the unity that everyone felt.

I can be thankful that life has been pretty good over the last ten years.  I have been able to stay employed, except for a short layoff in 2003.  I have battled the same issues that a lot of others do, but I can’t say that life has been bad.  Alyssa is now in the 8^th grade, Emily is in 7^th grade, and Julia is in the 4^th grade.  Dona and I will soon celebrate our 16^th anniversary.   

I look forward to the next ten years.  I don’t look forward to more gray hair, and not being as fast or strong, but I look forward to watching my children grow, and seeing their futures unfold.

It is pretty quiet now.  Everyone else is asleep.  The dog is snoring, and the cat is off exploring some other part of the house.  I can hear distant traffic above the choir of insects in the backyard.

It is now 1:20 AM.  It is September 11, 2011.

This has been a strange week.  One of my co-workers died Tuesday morning while in Phoenix on a project.  I did not know Ed real well, since he just started working for the company a few weeks ago.  He was a nice guy to work with, and his skills will be missed.  We were just joking around in the office last week, and sharing stories.  It is not easy when you lose someone you work with and sit next to in the office.  I have had a hard time with this, but none of us know the time or the place that we will be called back.  I just need to live it out the right way.

I had a bad experience with a plumbing contractor used by American Home Shield.  The company is "A Water Solution, Inc." from Canal Winchester, Ohio.  The technician came to the door and first asked me how I would pay.  Then he said "I need the check now sir".  He demanded the payment, then said he was calling AHS to confirm the warranty coverage.  He came back from his truck, and told me the service was not covered and left with my check.  In my request to AHS, I specified the pipe was outside of the house.  It ended up to be an item not covered by the warranty.  AHS should not have had the technician sent, but no one from "A Water Solutions" ever called to verify anything before they arrived.  In my opinion, he knew it was not covered before he arrived, and was only concerned about collecting his money.  I have spoken with AHS, who has assured me that AHS will reimburse our $60.00 fee that A Water Solution refused to return.  I will not permit anyone from A Water Solution, Inc. to come to my home in the future, so before I renew my warranty, I will need to be sure that this is possible.  This could have been resolved with a phone call before the service technician arrived.  The attitude from A Water Solution, Inc. was that this was a fast $60.00 to collect.  They have been selected to do warranty work by AHS in the Cincinnati area, and I have already warned AHS that I will not permit anyone from A Water Solution, Inc. to come to my home again.  The day has started out as a frustrating one, but I feel it is my duty to report this to the BBB.

If you have never heard of this program, I would like to get the word out.  I had never heard of Power of the Pen until one of my daughter's teachers recommended her for this Ohio program for young writers.  If this had not happened, I would still never have heard of it.  Why there aren't 49 other programs like this, I don't know.  There were kids from every part of Ohio represented at the finals, and I was impressed with the level of talent in the 7th and 8th grades.  If you don't have this program available yet at your school, you might want to check it out.  It could open some doors for some future great writers.

http://www.powerofthepen.org/

I made another trip back to this nature preserve, which is within a mile of where we live.  There are some nice loop trails cut through the thick vegetation here.  I walked up on a coupl eof deer and surprised them when I came around a corner.  You might spot them in a couple of the photos I took.  i got my Butler County Metroparks sticker for the car, so I am good to go for parking at all of the parks here in Butler County for the rest of the year.