blogsNH - Comments

Two of my children sat in that chair!

Terri Oberg — Sun, 7 Mar 2010 08:29:59 -0500

And the irony of a high chair next to the cigarette dispenser. Thankfully, when I showed my 13 year old the picture he had no idea the machine's purpose.

Becoming a Mason

JValley — Thu, 4 Mar 2010 21:19:37 -0500

In order for you to become a mason, you must ask.

Prerequisites for joining- You must be a Man, and you must hold a belief in a supreme being.

All lodges in the state of NH will be holding an open house on 3/27/10. A chance to learn more, a chance to see your local lodge, a chance to ask questions. You can also meet other masons, and fill out a petition, if you are interested in joinging the fraternity.

Freemasonry-

JValley — Thu, 4 Mar 2010 20:38:04 -0500

In its current form started over 400 years ago. Masonry of today is known to us as Spectulative Masonry. Masonry in the medieval ages was known as operative masonry.

Operative masons were the builders of the old churches, castles, etc. They were so important to the building of these structures, they were considered "Free Masons" in that, they did not require the permission of the King to travel from country to country to work.

Anciently, there were three classes of masons. The masters who oversaw the work, the Fellows of the Craft who fit the stones for the builders use, and the Apprentices who cut the stones from the hills and mountains. They were much like unions of today, but rather than carrying dues cards, they had certain modes of recognition amongst the classes. To prove themselves as craftsmen, and as skilled workers.

As the building of the ancient temples started to wane, they began accepting the aristocrat types as an additional means of supporting the craft. they became known as "accepted" masons. over time, these stone builders were replaced by the non-builders, and our fraternity was born. Known known as Free and Accepted Masons.

Greetings

Infidel — Thu, 4 Mar 2010 14:45:04 -0500

It is my understanding that the Masons were formed from the old guilds (unions?) of medieval Europe. They developed into the first group of freethinkers opposed to religious dogma.

Could you give a brief history of their genesis.

Thanks,
Infidel

I hope you aren't the only one reading this

Terri Oberg — Thu, 4 Mar 2010 14:15:29 -0500

I see it all the time, even in very public places. My post grew out of overhearing a conversation in Walmart. It turns my stomache as much as knowing when a woman is being battered. I come from this background and, like you, have a hard time understanding why any man dealing with this kind of abuse from a mean-spirited woman allows it to continue and/or stays. Like people who ask battered women "why do you put up with it?", I feel an intense desire to ask verbally abused men the same thing, especially when I see it in public like I did the other day. Don't you sometimes just want to turn around and ask a total stranger, "are you really going to let her talk to you that way?" The difference is I know full well what the answers will be, so I can only hope someday they will decide "enough is enough".

This looks like a great

lainer — Tue, 2 Mar 2010 12:45:31 -0500

This looks like a great recipe but couscous is not gluten-free. Couscous is made from wheat and wheat (as well as barley and rye) contains the protein gluten. I have successfully substituted quinoa or brown rice in recipes in place of couscous or barley. Unfortunately being gluten-free means having to be vigilant about reading labels and researching ingredients.

I am interested in becoming

Scott Ives — Mon, 1 Mar 2010 20:06:24 -0500

I am interested in becoming a Mason and would like to know how to inquire?

Road bed is thicker than anticipated

Sam Bonacci — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:59:37 -0500

During my time as a reporter in New Hampshire, I was privy to a number of Planning Board meetings. In more than one the topic of roads came up. It is fairly remarkable the amount that goes under roadways to try to keep them in shape.

I think the issue comes more from the maintenance than the basic structure. We expect the roads to run for years with no major overhaul. In our area that just isn't a possibility.

On roads like the Autobahn in Germany they put a huge amount of effort into stripping down the roads and resurfacing them. It is a huge ordeal but necessary to ensure safety at high speeds.

Being the tight wad New Englanders we are we put off the maintenance and especially the wholesale overhaul of the roads. As the previous commenter pointed out, the frost heaves are often seen as natures way to tell everyone to slow down. I don't happen to agree with that but I also don't agree with more taxes to get rid of them.

So for now I will just do my best to avoid the worst of it and look like a drunk driver while doing so. If you don't like it, fix the roads.

I am a recovering battered man

Ken Braiterman — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:34:34 -0500

Your column was a great community service, Teri. Take it from a battered man in recovery.

The amazing thing about my emotionally abusive ex was that she herself was a battered woman, and a pioneeer in the battered woman's movement. Yet she never saw any parallel between the abuse she got from her husband, and the way she treated me.

She only abused me because I "provoked" her. I could never be good enough for her. I did 99% of the grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning up, and she'd scream at me constantly for any speck on any pot I washed. She'd accuse me of trying to kill her, and give me a lecture about bacteria.

She threw a fit when I went to a business or networking lunch with a female colleague, at a time when practically all my professional colleagues were women. She read my e-mail. She would have thrown a fit if I had read hers.

She'd yell at me sometimes for hours. If I argued back, she only escalated. When she was finished yelling about what she was angry about, she started yelling about everything she had ever been angry about. She had no control over what she said in these tantrums. She called me all kinds of names, including ethnic slurs and shots at members of my family.

She always said I was lucky to have her because no other woman would.

Then, it would pass like a violent thunderstorm. She'd be fine, but I'd be shaken up for a day or more. When I tried to discuss it with her, in the past tense, as a teaching moment, she refused, and accused me of dwelling on the past. But I was also dwelling on what I knew would be the future.

It was OK if she did not feel like having sex, but when I didn't feel like it, it was terrible. My lack of interest in sex grew to be like a $25,000 balance on a credit card. Nothing you do can make a dent in the principle. She called me a homosexual.

I left three times and came back twice in 9 years. I knew several battered women who kept going back to their perpretrators, and I could never understand or sympathize with them. I still don't understand, but now I sympathize.

If she happens to read this, I'm sure she will still say I provoked her, and she was completely justified.

Thank you Teri, for validating my experience, and calling attention to the phenomenon. I was not the only man who had this problem.

Time Out Chair

Infidel — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:21:22 -0500

The question on the minds of many Palestinians is why they must suffer because of what the Christian Europeans did to the Jews. The holocaust,or shoah, as many Jews call it, was the culmination of 16 centuries of Christian persecution of Jews rooted in the New Testament.

The Israelis do not have a right to murder, torture, humilliate, and starve the people of Palestina because of what Christians did to them.

Israel needs to sit in the time out chair and reflect upon what they have done. The USA needs to stop funding atrocities and state terrorism.

"And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly and to love mercy." - Micah 6:8

Shalom,
Infidel

You are a bad influence

NH294 — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:47:20 -0500

I just wanted you to know that after reading this last week, we got a good amount of wet snow and I felt the need to drive home "Sam Bonacci Style" It was really fun and I got some more practice on the snow - oh, don't worry...nobody else was crazy enough to be on the roads and I didn't get too wild anyway. Thanks for reminding me how much fun that can be!

Shared Hatred

Scott Ives — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:58:36 -0500

Ken...for different reasons, I was pleased as heck at the Colt's demise. I think Peyton is an amazing quarterback, but I just can't stand the Colt's. Irrational, yes, but true non-the-less! I never could understand letting the perfect season slip away...and in light of their loss it seems even less sensible.

Just my two cents...I hate the Colt's!

Israel Exists...

Scott Ives — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 11:59:34 -0500

After surviving a genocide of monumental proportions and fighting to own a piece of ground on which this type of systematic murder can never happen to their people again...Israel exists.

Israel does not stand on a stated national policy that all Islam must be wiped from the face of the earth. Like the United State, Israel is imperfect, but as a nation Israel strives to offer her citizens a government of the people.

Israel does not make veiled references of using her nuclear arsenal to promote religious hegemony. How many middle eastern leaders have proclaimed that nuclear weapons would aid them of ridding the world of the Jews?

Achmedinajad has made pronouncements that lead anyone listening that he believes in creating his own Armageddon, that would result in the elimination of Israel and all those who are not believers in Islam.

While the president of Iran is an unstable tyrant, the people of this country are not all Jihadists. Talking with the current government does nothing but provide a stage for these lunatics. The U.S. must publicly support the opponents of madness in Iran. Support the opposition with money and political cover in the rational belief that Iran's people will choose a more sane group of leaders given the chance.

It is just so hard to find

Sam Bonacci — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:37:55 -0500

It is just so hard to find those spaces. The closest you can usually reasonably come is an abandoned parking lot. It's hard to find any private space with enough room.

I have a future garage all planned out and am now working on a future driveway where I can mess around. I got the idea from this guy: http://googlesightseeing.com/2010/01/11/racetrack-driveway/

It would also give you a good excuse to buy a big truck with a plow.

Yo Scott, ol buddy, do not

Infidel — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:38:54 -0500

Yo Scott, ol buddy, do not fret over Obama's credibility. He lost that his third day in office when he sent drones into Pakistan to murder innocent people.

Iran has as much right to nuclear power as anyone else, and if they resign from the nuclear non proliferation treaty, they have a right to aquire nuclear weapons within three months.

The real "enemies of civilization" are Israel (with over 200 nukes) and the good old USA. Israel murdered 1400 people in Gaza one year ago, and Imperial USA is on a rampage.

Why did the time for talking end on 9/11? Iran had nothing to do with that, and neither did Iraq, and neither did the Taliban. 9/11 was an inside job, just like the Kennedy assasination.

And Ahmadinejad is not the ruler of Iran. The I ah tolyah so, Kahmeini, is the supreme ruler. But the most dangerous religious nuts are living in Tel Aviv and Washington D.C.

That's all folks,
Infidel