Monday, March 12, 2012

My Review of Expoimaging Rogue FlashBender Large Positionable Reflector


Handy Speedlite Accessory

By allen from Groton, Ct on 3/12/2012

 

5out of 5

Pros: Lightweight, Durable, Easy To Use, Consistent Output, Versatile

Best Uses: Portraits, Photojournalism, Fill Flash

Describe Yourself: Semi-pro Photographer

Was this a gift?: No

I first used this during a on location lighting workshop and I was immediated sold on the value of this product. It provides consistant color temperature and softens the light from my speedlites very nicely.

(legalese)

My Review of Lexar 8GB Professional 400x CompactFlash Card, 2-Pack


Reliable and Trustworthy

By Allen from Groton, Ct on 3/12/2012

 

5out of 5

Pros: Reliable, Value, Quality

Best Uses: Enhance Experience

Describe Yourself: Value Oriented

Primary use: Business

Over the years of extensive world travel and documenting the peoples as well as places that I have encountered, I have learned to completely trust Lexar CF cards. They are reliable and always meet all my expectations.

(legalese)

My Review of Flashpoint Heavy Duty Pro 9' Air Cushioned Black Lightstand, 5/8" Top Stud with 1/4-20" Screw Thread

Originally submitted at Adorama

Flashpoint Heavy Duty Pro 9' Air Cushioned Chrome Lightstand, 5/8" Top Stud with 1/4-20" Screw Thread


Great Value

By Allen from Groton, CT on 3/12/2012

 

5out of 5

Pros: Durable, Easy To Use

Best Uses: Night Photography, Portraits, General Use, Fill Flash

Describe Yourself: Semi-pro Photographer

Was this a gift?: No

A sturdy and well made lightstand. I bought 2 for my speedlites but I ended up substituting them for the stands that came with my studio light kit. These were much more rugged and better fit for purpose. They support the lights as well as a 90 x 120 cm soft box without any problem.

(legalese)

Friday, February 24, 2012

Getting Caught Up - "Bent At The Waist"

I have not been blogging much lately which is not to say that I have not been busy.

I have finally gotten around to making available to the public a book that I developed for a photography exhibit.


Wednesday, February 1, 2012

The Tyranny of the Minority

Today marks the one year anniversary of Duang's immigration to America and my return to my home to care for my parents.

After being back in the USA after spending 9-1/2 of the past 11 years abroad, it has been very interesting to observe life here up close and personal once again.  It is even more interesting to observe Duang experiencing life here.

Change is a constant force in the Universe.  However, we are often oblivious to the change around us in that it frequently evolves slowly and we become acclimatized to the changes without recognizing the changes.

Duang has been amazed at the television commercials for pet food let alone "gourmet" flavored foods for dogs and cats.  Back in Isaan, villagers have dogs but the dogs fend for themselves and eat table scraps.  I am convinced that the dogs in America that are served pet food, not necessarily the "gourmet" variety end up with a more nutritious diet and more balanced diet than the Lao Loum farmers of Isaan.  She was astounded seeing television commercials for pet medicines.

I have been amazed at the number of television commercials offering legal services for "victims" of God knows what medicine they may have taken in the past.  Of course advertisements for Viagra and Cialis always bring a smile to our face since such advertisement is not on Thai or Lao television.  I am still trying to figure out how and why the man and woman end up in separate bathtubs after he supposedly takes Cialis for ED.

A development of our current society that has astonished me has been what I will describe as the tyranny of the minority in the United States.  Having lived in several countries, I have had experience of being a minority many times in my life.  I have commented many times that living in a foreign country gives you a great appreciation for tolerance.  I have lived in two Muslim countries, a Roman Catholic country twice, an atheist country, a Buddhist country, and a secular country.  I felt no obligation to try to change their beliefs or culture.

In all the countries I found people worshipping or not worshipping as they chose.  In Algeria you could go to a Christian service,  In Thailand, you can worship at a Mosque and be a practicing Muslim.  In Vietnam, I attended services at a Buddhist temple and knew of Christian services being held.  I am not advocating any religion over the other, but I only wish to point out that in the countries where I lived, the minority was free to practice and live as their faith or lack of faith dictated.  The majority respected the needs of the minority.  The minorities in those countries did not advocate or agitate for the dilution of the majority.  Tolerance was a thread that kept the fabric of society intact.

In the United States today there is a great sensitivity towards the need of the minority.  There are a plethora of lawyers and organizations all too willing to point out and "defend" the rights, sensitivities and needs of any given minority.  However upon my return here I have observed that the minority do not always reciprocate with sensitivity, consideration, and acceptance of the wishes and needs of the majority.  It seems more and more common that the majority is held hostage to peculiarities of the minority even if it be a single person.

As a child I was brought up to respect the will of the majority.  When I felt that I was suffering from the outrageous slings and arrows of childhood, I would complain perhaps even whine to my mother.  She always would admonish me to get along with others and ask "Who do you think that are?  Someone special?"  She did not want me to fore go my beliefs, opinions, or rights but in grained in me the principle that the rights of the minority need to be protected but that the minority had an obligation to get along with the majority.  Fighting to have things the way that I preferred, wanted, or was more "comfortable" was not a behavior that she supported.  It was an America of majority rule.

Today it seems to me that the arrogance of "I", the individual, has taken over our society, our dysfunctional society.  The arrogance of "I", prevents our politicians from compromising and doing what is best for our country and future generations of our citizens.  There is much less tolerance today in our America ... from the minority for the majority.  The result is an inability to govern effectively, if at all.

An example involves a court decision in Rhode Island related to prayer in a public high school. In  Cranston High School West there is a mural that has been in the school for almost fifty years as a gift from a graduating class in 1963.  The mural is a prayer that was written by a student.  A current student, who is an Atheist, petitioned the Court to have the banner removed because as an Atheist she "felt excluded and ostracized".  A Judge has ordered the prayer to be removed.  The city has covered the mural with a tarp while it considers a possible appeal.

The Judge's ruling has created a great deal of controversy in the city, Rhode Island, and on the Internet.  I wrote a comment on Facebook related to the case and briefly described my feelings on the situation.  The gist of my belief is "Hey people, tolerance is a two way street"  I indicated that I would be writing a blog regarding the situation and some one commented along the line of "Great, a crusade".  No, I am not on a religious crusade.  I am more on a quest for tolerance.

In regards to the Atheist:  No one is accused of forcing her to look at it.  No one is accused of making her read or recite the prayer.  No one is accused of forcing or even trying to force her to belief the prayer.  No one is accused of attempting to convince her to like the mural.  She as an individual felt "excluded and ostracized".  I am sorry but to me that sounds more like a personal problem than an issue for the high school, city, or Court to solve.  To me this is once again an example of the arrogance of "I" the lack of tolerance by the minority for the needs, sensitivities, and wishes of the majority.  This is a demonstration of a lack of respect by a minority for the majority.

It is the lack of tolerance in so many aspects of our daily life today in America that creates a lack of respect and prevents people from moving on and creating compromises.  It is the subjugation of the common good for the sensitivities of the few.  It is the suppression of majority rule.

This case has not been resolved and it will go on for much longer.  Most recent developments are the student has now received almost $40,000 in donations for her college expenses, the ACLU has requested $173,000 in legal fees from the City related to the case, and the mural has been covered up.

I repeat my statement "Tolerance is a two way street".

I see that America has changed, in my opinion a change that has not been for the good.

My wish is that abuse by the majority and tyranny of the minority will be eliminated from our society.

I suspect that they will be shortly after there is peace in the Middle East, and world hunger is eliminated.

If I have offended anyone with this blog, please do not be mean to me because I suspect that I will then feel "excluded and ostracized".  If that were to occur, I will provide my address so that I can receive donations for my heroic stand from those who share my sentiments.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Getting By With Less and the Value of Fit For Purpose

A Monk Donates Excess Sticky Rice to Young Boy
Luang Prabang, Lao People's Democratic Republic
As we approach the last few days and the crescendo of this year's Christmas shopping season, I have been reflecting upon recent events and past experiences that, for me, puts the whole commercialization of this season into a different perspective.

One year ago, my wife and I made a return visit to Laos, more specifically the former royal capital of Luang Prabang.  We had gone there to document the celebration of Hmong New Years in early December.  I have previously written about the journey but there were some scenes which I photographed which made a strong impression upon me.  The photograph above is one of them.

Each morning, the Monks go out early from their Wats and walk along prescribed routes.  They are carrying their their alms bowl in which people will place donations of food for the Monks.  The morning walks are called "Bin Tha Bat" and the the act of making offerings of food to the Monks is called "Tak Bat".

Luang Prabang is a tourist destination and the street where our hotel, actually more like a B&B, was located is used by many of the high priced resorts that are located outside of the central district.  Early in the morning you can hear and see vehicles of all types discharging tourists on the south side of the street where they set up on woven reed mats, sahts, awaiting the arrival of the Monks.  Even though there can be as many as 30 to 40 Monks passing by, the Monks are far surpassed in numbers by the tourists as well as local people wishing to make merit by making offerings of food to the Monks.

The alms bowls are rather large and the Monks are allowed to eat only one or two meals a day by noon.  The number of meals is set forth by the order to which the Monk belongs.  No matter the case, a filled alms bowl is too much food for two meals let alone one meal and I am referrring to a Westerner's capacity to eat.  Monks are not allowed to store food or to cook so there is an excess food problem.

A Monk does not cover his bowl when he deems that he has just enough food for his meal(s) for to do so would be to deny some people the opportunity to earn merit by offering food.  When the bowl is filled, the Monk covers the bowl.  In Thailand, the excess food is made available to the people after the Monks have eaten.  Typically in the smaller villages, the people who brought  food to the Wat for the Monks, will sit down and eat the surplus food as the Monks eat.  It has a festive air and a nice social gathering for all involved.  In the larger towns and cities, poor people will go to the Wats to be fed after the Monks have taken their food to eat.  Any food remaining is fed to the Wat dogs and cats.

In Luang Prabang, as the photo shows, the Monks periodically as they walk along their route, will stop and give some of their excess food to young children who are either waiting along the route or tagging along with the Monks.  This act is good for all parties involved; the Monks have the food that they need, the people are able to make merit, and poor people obtain food for their families.

The photo above is not a new photo and has been posted on this blogsite before.  But as people often say in Thailand:  "It is same same but different".  "Same same" in that it is the photograph that I had used before.  Different?  It is different in the way that I post processed the original file.  The original photograph had a dark and very distinct shadow around the boy as well as around the clump of sticky rice that is on its way into the boy's plastic basket.  When I first posted the photograph, I had used Photoshop Elements 7.0 to eliminate the harsh shadows that I believe were a distraction from the tone of the photograph that I wanted to convey.  For this revision of the photograph I used different techniques that I learned over the Internet to eliminate the distractions in the photograph to, in my opinion, better convey the spirit of that moment.

Since that time, I have received notification of a new version of Photoshop Elements - Photoshop Elements 10.0.  Oh my gosh three versions more advanced than what I have and I am using!  I was also considering getting a full version of Photoshop.  A full version of Photoshop would cost me around $700 - OUCH!!  However IF I were a student or even a teacher, I could buy the program for around $179.   ????  Don't ask me why but that is how Adobe has decided to market their software - great if you are a student or a teacher; terrible if you are not.  In my research as to how I might obtain a copy of the latest version of Photoshop for a great deal less than $700, I came under the impression that if  I knew what I was doing in Photoshop Elements 7.0, I could do the things that I NEEDED to do and could do with the full current version of the $700 program - just not as easily or quickly.  The big thing was the ability to use a mask on the photograph.  A mask greatly facilitates the manipulation of a great variety of effects and adjustments to an original photograph.

Three weeks ago, I found a free plugin on the Internet that provided for the easy as well as effective creation and use of a mask in PSE7.  Someone with the knowledge and skill had created a program that made the creation of a mask quite easy.  More importantly that person had the generosity to share with others their work.  I now have an essential tool for free to edit some of my photographs.  For more traditional portrait type work and glamour photography masks are essential tools for producing a finished product.  My documentary style of photography will remain unchanged but for my development of traditional portrait and glamour styles, I will be utilizing the mask.

I no longer am considering the need to purchase either the full Adobe Photoshop product or the latest version of Photoshop Elements.  My old program and the training to use it that I have found on the Internet is all that I really NEED.  It is sort of like a car ... a faster, sleeker, and more technically advanced vehicle would be nice.  There is no denying that.  It would make an impression on family and neighbors but it would not serve my needs of grocery shopping, taking my parents on their errands, or picking up my wife at the airport any better and definitely not any cheaper than the 7 year old car that I have now.

Lately, I have been able to see my wife and my Thai grandson on the webcam over the Internet.  Part of the ritual involves my grandson, Peelawat, showing me either his toys or his clothes.  He is just as pleased with all of them.  Peelawat is an ethnic Lao Loum child.  He does not have all that many toys.  In fact at one time he was playing with peanut shells as a substitution for toy cars.  He is now going to school with the assistance of Duang and I.  We pay for his school and there is no limit to the joy we have in seeing or hearing of his enthusiasm each morning as he heads off to school.  My wife had to leave school after four years to work in the rice fields for the family.  Her children were fed each morning at the Wat in the city.  We can make a difference in Peelawat's life; not in the number or type of toys or clothes that he has but in ensuring that he has food as well as the opportunity to obtain a good education.  We hope that he has the opportunity to be all that he can be or that he chooses to be.

Today, through Facebook, I received a kind note from a former teacher of mine.  She has read some of my blogs and remarked that I have seen more of the world than most of my teachers.  She shared the link to my blog and I was impressed that she is still teaching others after all these years.  Since I have returned to America, I have spoken with three of my former teachers.  I am pleased that I can "pay forward" the tools and passion that they instilled in me years ago by writing and photographing some of the places and people that I encounter.  In sharing my experiences and observations with other, I see myself as commencing to pay back some of my debt to them as well as all the other past and present teachers in my life.  Although some of us do not have the certificates or collect a paycheck for teaching, we are all teachers in some way.  We through our words and deeds instruct those about us and around us.  We decide the subject matter as well as the perspective that our teachings will have. It is a power that is often misunderstood and sometimes abused.

Ok.  This blog has now dealt with Christmas shopping, Monks, Photoshop Elements, grandchildren, and teachers.  What is it all about?  What does it all mean?  No, I have not started drinking Christmas cheer too much or even already.  These things have a common thread of "getting by (not buy) with less and the value of fit for purpose"

Many people will work themselves into a frenzy or go more into debt looking for the "perfect" gift this week.  Perfect most likely being defined as expensive and impressive either in quality or quantity.  Materialism and commercialism dictate so much of our behavior here in Western world and it is never so more apparent than during the Christmas Season.

The truth of the matter is that these gifts are more likely than not will be excessive and not fit for purpose.  What is the purpose of a gift?  Is it to impress,  iintimidate, or humble the recipitant?  Or is a gift merely an expression of love, appreciation, or respect.  Is a whispered "I love you" any less valuable, sincere or meaningful than "I love you" flashed across a stadium scoreboard?

Today's expensive gift will soon become blasse and perhaps forgotten while the gift that we all want remains cherished and valuable for all of time.

The gift that we all want and cherish is to have others share of themselves with us.  Be it sharing resources, caring for the physical or emotional needs, or teaching through instruction or by example the gift is always fit for purpose.  The purpose is to let others know that they matter, we care for them, we respect them, and that they can make a difference in this world.  It truly is the gift that keeps on giving.

I have learned this from all my teachers past and present.

Merry Christmas.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

A Revolutionary Thanksgiving - Celebration of Independence

Freshly Prepared Thanksgiving Food At Jabez Smith House, Groton

I am spending my first Thanksgiving holiday in many years in the USA.  I am spending my first Thanksgiving of many many more years with my parents in their home.

Whether I was in Algeria, Malaysia, Thailand, Canada, Brasil, or Vietnam, I always managed to celebrate this special holiday.  There is something about celebrating that has a universal appeal and relevance no matter where in the world that you find yourself.  It is a holiday that transcends national sensitivities.


Ham, Chickens, and Corn on the Cob Over An Open Wood Fire

Recently I attended a local event here in Groton.  The event was a "Revolutionary Thanksgiving" and was held at the Jabez Smith House.  Participants reenacted a traditional late 18th century holiday celebration complete with traditional foods and methods of cooking.  The participants are ordinary people who have a passion for American Colonial history.  They dress and re-enact daily early American life at special events throughout the year.  I had first encountered some of them at the event which recognized the 230th anniversary of the Fort Griswold Massacre also known as the Battle of Groton Heights.  Besides dressing, and demonstrating skills from the past, the people are a source of information regarding daily colonial life.  It is always nice to see young children at these living history events.  It is an opportunity for them to see some of what they read about in schools.  In this area besides these events there is Mystic Seaport and Old Sturbridge Village where history comes alive.



Documenting the event and listening to the reading of personal diaries from Colonists as well as French soldiers who had come to assist them in the War of Independence, I could not help but be impressed with the self sufficiency of the people.  During that age, men were more of "jacks of all trades" rather than the specialists that we have evolved into today.  A man was a hunter, fisherman, carpenter, farmer, tailor, as well as doctor to ensure his and his family's survival. Women were also fully engaged in multi-tasking with activities such as sewing, weaving, cooking, gardening, helping with the farming and caring for the animals, as well as educating the children. The women also were involved in doctoring and preparing medicinal herbs for the family's use. In Colonial times there was little time to be bored.



Today it is all too easy to rely upon others for our safety, welfare and comfort.  Yes we need to rely upon the knowledge and skills of others for many things.  However, it is often too convenient and the path of least resistance to place our blind trust and welfare in the hands of the others - often misguided.

The financial collapse of so many prominent investment firms in recent years as well as swindles like that perpetrated by Bernie Madoff should lead us to question just how smart these "experts" are or were.  I have always handle my own investments and done acceptable.  I have made spectacular returns but then again I have not been swindled or wiped out like MF Global.  The point is that today with the wealth of resources available to us on the Internet, we should never blindly accept and follow the advise of financial "experts".  If you don't understand it from your own research or understand from the advice of an "expert", you should not invest in it.

The same is true with Doctors.  When I was younger, all Doctors were held in unquestionable esteem - an air often cultivated by the Doctors themselves.  Having lived overseas, you learn to question and evaluate the advise that the doctors give you.  It is important to realize that WE are our own Primary Health Care Provider.  In our culture, doctors only fix what is wrong with us once something happens.  It is our responsibility to prevent that something from happening in the first place.  I know a woman who was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis by the best doctor at the best hospital in an upper class city in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Through a fortunate circumstance she ended up in a third world country where she contacted Amoebic Dysentery.  She was given standard medication for the dysentery and soon noticed that her colitis symptoms had disappeared.  Research into her travelling companion, "The Merck Manual" strongly suggested to her that she had "Antibiotic Induced Colitis".  Interesting enough the medicine for curing Amoebic Dysentery is the same for Antibiotic Induced Colitis.  The doctor in California was notified of the possible misdiagnosis but stood his ground and stated that the Ulcerative Colitis would return.  Fifteen years later she is still awaiting the return of the Ulcerative Colitis and she no longer takes a prophylactic antibiotic prior to dental work.  I am certain that had she remained under the care of the experts she would now be dealing with the ravishes caused by prescribed steroid treatment for Ulcerative Colitis.

The aforementioned can also be said with dealings with lawyers.  Do not just take their advice without first doing your own research and asking yourself as well testing their advice to determine if it makes sense - for YOU.  For you - yes because in the end you will have to live with the results and consequences of their work along with their advice that you take.  They will earn their fee and move on to more clients.  You will live with the results for the rest of your life.  back in Thailand a vast majority of issues between people are dealt with directly rather than acquiring the services of a lawyer.  Matters such as purchasing land, homes, automobile accidents, divorces, and name changes are handled by the involved parties with the appropriate government agencies merely recording and maintaining documents related the resolution as in the matter of real estate, divorces, and name changes.

This week I had the "experience" of dealing with technical support related to my computer VOIP service.  As people sometimes reply if they are involved in a relationship, "It's complicated".  A long time ago I had Internet service through SBC =, a spin off at the time of AT&T.  Like the theory of the Universe that it expanded at the time of the Big Bang and will eventually contract, SBC merged into AT&T once again.  AT&T developed a special working relationship with Yahoo which lead me to use Yahoo Messenger. Yahoo Messenger developed a premium service called Yahoo Voice - Phone Out which allowed me to call phone numbers from my computer at very good rates i.e. call cell phones in Thailand for $0.10 USD a minute rather than around $8.00 a minute using a traditional land line in the USA.  I have forgotten which came first, remember I wrote that it was complicated, but two things happened AT&T and Yahoo stopped their special working relationship and the servicing of Yahoo Voice - Phone Out was taken over by a company named Jajah.  Jajah was recently taken over by Telefonica something or other - just to show how complicated finding someone responsible has become in the tech world.  Any how, life was good using Yahoo Voice - Phone Out.  For the past six months I had been getting messages that I had an outdated version of Yahoo Messenger.  I ignored it until earlier this week when I succumbed to the fear that I might be missing out on something - foolish me or perhaps greedy me.  I downloaded the latest version of Yahoo Messenger and promptly lost access to my Voic-Phone Out Account.  I sought help through the programs and kept getting into FAQ that answered nothing close to my personal problem.  I tried AT&T and got referred to Yahoo.  I decided to call Yahoo support on the phone and after punching some numbers and waiting, found out that they do not do support over the phone.  I ended up contacting Jajah "Live Chat" support.  At first over texting they tried to pawn me off with my problem to AT&T.  I spent a great deal of time in a painful noxious texting ordeal going over my problem with a rep to the point that I thought that I was dealing with either a robot or a computer.  It was obvious that we were going through a standard troubleshooting routine oblivious to any statements that I had previous conveyed to the rep.  Some of her solutions recommended had absolutely nothing to do with my problem.  I thanked her for "help" and got away from her.  I did some more Internet research and found serious issues with Jajah support for the past three years.  Undeterred I contacted support via Live Chat once again - guess who?  Yep it was Zoe once again.  Luckily or rather more indicative of her consciousness she did not seem aware of my previous comment that "I am sure that you may be a nice person but you are absolutely of no help to me. I am signing off"  Well we started down the same road once again - after awhile I just hung up.  I tried a couple of things on my own to no avail.  I went back to tech support and got a man who was more on the ball.  I never suspected that he was either a robot or a computer.  He gave me a possible solution which in the process of implementing required me to shutdown and restart my computer thereby losing contact with him.  His solution did not work so I contacted tech support once again only to get a third "expert".  We went down the same path as the previous times and had no success.  After 7-1/2 hours dealing with Jajah tech support the last rep wrote that he could not solve the problem and that he would refer the problem to their "Software Engineers" and that I could expect an email from them within 24 hours (110 hours ago).  I have yet to get that email. I found a website that would solve my problem for $48.  It appeared to have been a Yahoo website but I am not sure - I was having trouble seeing through my rage at that point.  I was sure not going to pay Yahoo a penny let alone $48 to solve a problem with their software which I had upgraded to at their request.  I also did not like the fact that only after you wrote about your problem did you find out that it was a pay for solution site.  Flustered that I could no longer cheaply call my wife back in Thailand, I did what we should all do , I voted with my feet and pocket book - I went and set up an account with Skype.  In less than 30 minutes, I was on the phone with Duang and able to make unlimited calls around the world for the next three months - cost?  Around $39 for the three months. I was still left with the issue of almost $20 remaining in my Yahoo Voice- Phone Out account.  After cooling off for a couple of days I decided to try to solve the problem on my own.  From the Tech "Experts" it had been determined that I still had a valid account but for some reason my new version of Messenger did not connect or recognize the account.  I decided to go to the library and see what happened if I logged on to Yahoo Messenger from a different machine - Voila (There it is) I was able to access my Voice account from the library through an even older version of Messenger than when I started this fiasco.  I went home optimistic that I could solve the problem.  I uninstalled Yahoo Messenger like I had done at least 8 times previously as instructed by the "experts".  However this time I was not going to rely on the software to remove it for me.  I went into my hidden files and removed all folders associated with either Yahoo, AT&T, and Yahoo.  I then used Norton 360 Premium to clean up my registry file - sure enough it found 65 lines of code associated with Yahoo even though it had been uninstalled automatically.  Only then did I upload the latest version of Yahoo Messenger.  To my delight, it recognized and accessed my Yahoo Voice - Phone Out account.  My point being is that we have the ability to solve our own problems most of the time.  We need to trust in ourselves and not blindly follow those who are called "experts"  "Experts" are like any tool, they can be used by us to achieve a goal but on their own they can not resolve our issues.  We have to take the responsibility and live with the consequences to solve our problems.

So on this American Thanksgiving in 2011 let's reflect upon all that we have been blessed with and let's strive to be more self sufficient in our lives just as our ancestors were during the Revolutionary Thanksgivings.  Let's all be especially grateful for our ability to think for ourselves and to make our own decisions - truly blessings to be appreciated and used every day.