Milt Reynolds: Thinking Out Loud

The Start of a New Website, Part 1 I revel in the start of a new website. I only get to do this once, maybe twice a year. Starting a new website from scratch is a long project, at least for me. But it has a New Year kind of feel to it. Doing it so infrequently requires me to brush up on my HTML and CSS standards. What DTD should I use? What has been deprecated? What version of HTML is most current? How do I link to a stylesheet? Writing code for a new website requires some basic research, but it also has a liberating, fresh feel to it. I feel like I'll be able to right some wrongs I committed the last time I wrote. Sometimes a stubborn coding problem causes me to crudely smash tags and routines together in a desperate, clumsy way, not caring about standards, not regarding accessability, not wanting to make it clean and elegant...I just want to get it to work. And it bothers me, giving me an uneasy feeling of incompleteness and mediocrity. So, the chance to write a com

Domestic Violence Domestic violence: A social crisis that is out of control , growing exponentially, but largely unreported because of fear, embarrassment, lack of trust and lack of support. A recent article in the Hermiston Herald highlights the devastation and trauma of violence and sexual abuse within families and relationships. The article is interesting and informative, but disturbing. Here is a summary of the article: The Hermiston Domestic Violence Services Center hosted a discussion panel last Friday, including members of law enforcement, victims of domestic violence and students from the alternative high school, the Hermiston Pathfinders. The attempt to leave a violent or abusive relationship carries the highest risk of death for most victims of domestic violence. A safe and confidential place of shelter is essential for the victim's protection . In Oregon, the crime of sexual assault is considered to be cruel and unusual punishment , but the penalty does

During an Emergency I'm an armchair Boy Scout (although I advanced only to the level of a Cub Scout.) I'm never without a pocketknife, and I'm famous at work for hanging way too much equipment on my utility belt. I know several ways of starting a fire without matches, and I can tie a bowline knot blindfolded . However, I've neglected one of the most important aspects of being always prepared: The Emergency Kit . Here's a typical kit based on recommendations from an article posted by the Oregon Emergency Management Preparedness And Disaster Blog . It seems so practical and easy to assemble that I just may put together several...one for the house, one for the car, and a simple one for work. Emergency Kit During an emergency, you may not be able to get food or water for days or weeks, and your electricity may not be working. The following items should be part of your emergency kit and kept in a container that can be easily carried if you need to leave h

The Test I took a test today. Math and Physics. Basic math and basic physics. Actually, just the math portion was on the test. Next month will be the physics test. Only a few of you will shrug your shoulders and look at me quizically, not really understanding the big deal . Most of you will easily sympathize with me... you know exactly what a big deal that was . The most recent math test I've taken was about three years ago. The hiring process for my job required a basic chemistry test, which involved basic math. I passed, after a month of diligent home study. Before that, the last math test I took was probably during college, in the late 1970's. Basic math. Math for teachers. Math for teachers of first-graders . In high school I was part of the moderately popular group. I found most of my academic success in the literary arts. I was a mediocre, trumpet-playing band member. I was president of our student body assembly for one year and I lettered in tennis

Badger Mountain I hiked to the top of Badger Mountain last week. Latitude: 46.233468 Longitude: -119.318352 Only about 10 minutes from West Richland, Washington, the hill rises to an altitude of about 1,565 feet above sea level and provides a wonderful vista of all the Tri-City region . The Columbia River winds a sweeping ribbon north, past Handford. Vineyards give a frilly edge to the west side, just starting to turn a light green with the coming of our spring weather. About halfway up the hill an engraved granite rock perches on the edge of the trail. It marks the highest level reached by prehistoric floods, creating an ancient, long-gone lake, now called Lake Lewis . The lake slowly ebbed away, the melting chunks of ice leaving behind huge boulders knows as "erratics". These erratic boulders can be seen on mountain slopes in the area. Cheerful yellow flowers brighten the slopes with a few surprises. I've never seen blooming sagebrush befo