Category: Dear Dad

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Academic Bias in Psychology Today

Psychology Today... gateway to Politically orrect thinknig

 

 

In a recent issue of Psychology Today, an article entitled “the Ideological Animal” presents research that… well… that is the worst academic tripe imaginable. The article references the Blocks of U.C. Berkeley ( where else?) studying the phenomenon of how conservatives and liberals develope, basically ask the question: are they ‘born that way?’  Liberals are descibed in glowing terms and conservatives as… hum … I think you can take it from here.

One can only speculate how this sort of stuff could be used….

DOCTOR — ” I am very sorry, there is NO cure…
it’s conservatism at it’s worst…
but fortunately, abortion is an option.”

However, one of the researchers in reviewing the field of Social Psychology was quoted in the same Psychology Today article:

“There is a bias among social scientists,” admits Glaser.
“They look for the variables that are unflattering. There
probably are other nice personality traits associated
with conservatism…”

At the Pew Research center, Republicans are ‘happier’ than democrats.  This really shouldn’t be all that surprising really… conservatives by their lifestyle tend to have more stable marriages, they are happier and their children tend to fair better in the world. And the best time to get married — if you find the right person — is earlier than you think.

Personally, I am saddened when I see the sort of research come out by the left… not because I dislike the results, per se… but because it smacks of the same sort of  nonsense that the Nazi’s produced. When research is set out dishonestly… the results and intentions are always suspect.

Roger Freberg

 

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Be My Valentine… forever?

still huggin' after all these years!

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a couple in an embrace between 5,000 – 6,000 years ago. The reactions were surprising:

“I must say that when we discovered it, we all became very excited. I’ve been doing this job for 25 years. I’ve done digs at Pompeii, all the famous sites,” she told Reuters.

“But I’ve never been so moved because this is the discovery of something special.”

Reuters reported the discovery: “A pair of human skeletons lie in an eternal embrace at an Neolithic archaeological dig site near Mantova, Italy, in this photo released February 6, 2007. (Enrico Pajello/Handout/Reuters)”

Then was then and today is today…. what have you bought the Valentine’s in your life? Well, with three daughters and a wife… I have had to find something unique… and fun… and hopefully… it would be something that they would actually enjoy having. Fortunately, my girls all seem to like the same sorts of things… nice, expensive things. However, if you work quick… you can find some things that can fit your budget. Here’s a few sites that will give you some ideas…. and a few hints.

Bergdorf Goodman (check out the Parfume)
Ethel M Chocolate (the best)
Estee Lauder ( always something special)

Need more ideas?

Good Luck, boys!

Roger Freberg

 

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Life after Athletics…. thanks Jenny Craig!

Thanks Jenny CraigParticipation in athletics is like a drug. It is a ‘good feeling’ but an addiction none the less. I get a little preachy with athletes when I remind them that they must plan for a life after they ‘retire’ from athletics… be it at 22 or 40.

Part of retiring successfully is having options. Some of those options can be best addressed by asking questions like:

 

1) What will I do to earn a living after my athletic life is over?

2) Will I need to lose weight for health or cosmetic reasons?

3) What will I do to fill me time without the hours of training?

As a recently officially ‘retired’ former Southern California Trojan All-American Athlete, my daughter Karen has blogged on this topic extensively… with some great advice:

Out with the Old and In with the NEW Karen!
Excelling in Athletics and Academics
Why there is life after being an athlete!
Jenny Craig and me!
New Year’s Resolutions
Getting Started

As for Karen. she — as we say — ‘has gone where no Karen has gone before’. I can’t remember when Karen was this light… maybe 8th grade? She still has some distance before she gets to her ‘goal’ weight… but with ‘Jenny Craig’ helping… no one will recognize her when she helps out at the track meets. She’s gettin’ thin.

Congratulations, Karen…. and Kristie Alley.
Jenny Craig spokeswoman Kristie Alley muching on Karla's favorite popcycles!

Roger Freberg

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Discovering WHO we are

Help me... and I will give you money

 

Most of us have been sent emails saying that if we help them save millions of dollars from this or that we can keep a percentage for ourselves. Tempting?

I can only wonder what kind of person actually falls for this sort of thing? Is it little ol’ desperate grandma thinking about turning a good deed into cash? Or perhaps, it is a greedy sophisticated business man or woman…who thinks they are smarter than the crooks they are dealing with and… eventually get robbed or wacked?

The answer , I read, is a little bit of both.

Thommeny said police had identified victims who have been targeted in NSW, South Australia, Victoria, Cyprus, Malaysia, Japan, Norway, Greece, Indonesia, Hong Kong and England. In many cases victims were conned into handing over hundreds of thousands of dollars

So you can imagine how I felt when too burly men walked into my office and said that my Grandfather had passed away and I was set for an inheritance. What ‘grandfather?’

As they say, so began an adventure. My ‘evil’ grandmother divorced when my father was an infant and began calling him by a completely different name utilizing her maiden name; in the days before Social Security this was an easy matter. So my father grew up little knowing his father and eventually through my grandmother’s machinations lost track of him completely. We always wanted to look him up… but couldn’t find him as it appeared that he retired into a corner of the United States in which the population was 32…. Rulo, Nebraska.

As it turned out, the small inheritance rightfully went to our mother… but discovering a bit about my grandfather, seeing where he lived, visiting some of the places he belonged helped answer a few questions. We did discover that my father also had one living relative from that side… a cousin, and I have been conversing with one of his children… who was kind enough to provide a picture taken in 1974.

extended family in 1974

My grandfather is seated on the far left and aside from the fact that the clothes are … well… ’70’s rural… it is a glympse of a family I never thought existed. Heredity is not the total equation in determining who we become… but it is important.

So, treasures surely do exist… not necessarily in gold and silver, but in discovering a bit about ourselves. The real treasure is finding our roots and a little bit of who we are.

Roger Freberg

PS. My father went by the same name as I have legally, but his real name was the same as his father’s… Harold Hjersted. I had thought many times of changing to the patrilinial name… but we are who we are regardless… so I left it alone.

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Pearl Harbor Attack in Pictures!

Attack on Pearl Harbor

 

Sometime back, I really don’t know when, a footlocker was opened and some film was found from an old Browning Camera… remember those?

When the film was finally developed — after a very long time — some quite remarkable pictures popped up.

I like to think I am a student of history … but these pictures were rather remarkable. The devastation was far greater than I could have imagined.

In any event, I put together a group of these pictures that are merely thumbnails of larger version that you can further explore if your desires take you in that direction.

The vastly reduced pictures I have placed on this page… a Japanese Zero, and explosion and sinking American ships are just some of the photos recaptured from that old Browning camera. 

There are lessons still to be learned here… be prepared, take the battle to the enemy and never feel that you are truely safe… because as Thomas Jefferson said … the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.

Roger Freberg