Feedback contains information on updates and some background information that might be of interest to some readers. It also has comments from web site readers that might have wider interest than just to me. To that end, and to possibly prevent having to respond to the same questions and comments again and again, this page provides responses that answer some of your questions, even some you've not yet asked. Be forewarned that I write for enjoyment as well as for enlightenment, and hope that you'll appreciate my humor. If not, then send me a comment and maybe I'll post it here. Or maybe not.

As with other areas where I post items of interest, I'll include dates and have the newest first so you don't have to go scrolling through a lot of "old news" (is that an oxymoron?). To speed up page loading, entries have been divided by year, with larger years' entries split.

Jack Terwiel     

2002	2003	2004	2005: Jan-Jun  Jul-Dec
2006: Jan-Jun  Jul-Dec	2007: Jan-Jun  Jul-Dec	2008: Jan-Jun  Jul-Dec	2009: Jan-Jun  Jul-Dec
2010: Jan-Jun   Jul-Dec	2011: Jan-Jun  Jul-Dec	2012: Jan-Jun

November 11, 2011 – New Korean Visa Category F-6 Explained
In case you missed it, the Korea Times ran this article on 10/26/2011. Below is the article in its entirety:

A new visa reserved for foreigners living in the country after marrying South Koreans will be introduced as part of efforts to guarantee their stable stay and better deal with their growing numbers, the Justice Ministry said Tuesday.

Under the legal revisions to the immigration control law, the so-called "marriage immigrants" will be given an exclusive F-6 visa, which allows them to legally stay in the country even if their marital life ends due to unexpected events such as their Korean spouses' death or disappearance.

The marriage immigrants currently receive F-2 residency permits, which are also issued to other long-term foreigners. This often causes trouble for the government in effectively handling the steady inflow of those immigrants, according to the ministry.

"The introduction of the new visa is expected to allow the government to devise proper measures that would help the marriage immigrants better adapt themselves to Korean society," Kim Se-jin from the ministry said.

The number of foreigners in the country married to a South Korean stood at 141,654 in 2010, up 13.2 percent from the previous year and 25 percent from 2006, according to government data.

The new revisions also include a provision that allows more foreign investors to earn the F-2 residency visa, a move aimed at encouraging inbound investment by foreigners to strengthen national competitiveness, the ministry said.

The revised law stipulates that the F-2 residency visa be given to foreigners who have invested more than US$500,000 in South Korea while staying here for over three years, and those who have made over $300,000 in investments while hiring more than two Koreans. Currently, the residency permit is available only for those from corporations that invest more than $500,000 in the country.

The new immigration law will take effect as early as the end of this year, according to the ministry. (Yonhap) (Source: http://www.fvisasearchkorea.com/2011/10/f-visa-explained/)

Jack's Comment: This is a change for the good. I had to deal with a retiree last year whose wife died. He was not allowed to renew his F-2 visa because he no longer had a 'sponsor' and was devastated by the need to move at his advanced age. This article refers only to the F-2 visa being replaced, so I don't know if retirees who have the F-1 visa (married to a Korea-born U.S. citizen who has the F-4 Overseas Korean visa) would also qualify for the F-6 visa.

October 5, 2011 – Update on E-Mail Newsletter; Death of a Photo Contributor
October Newsletter: The October newsletter was sent to all subscribers by October 4. There were some problems that indicated a server source (on the web site), but I don't know if the new version might have been causing that problem. The only way I could get the mailing program to work was to use an earlier version of the subscriber data base that was not up-to-date. However, I had saved the most current version of the data base in a text-formatted file. What that meant was that I had to add the 102 recent subscribers one-by-one, a tedious process. I haven't heard any undesirable feedback from subscribers so far.

Death of a Photo Contributor: I received word in September from Monte Shriver that Dave Loxtercamp had died. Dave had provided a number of photos of early life at Osan AB and other areas. Here are Dave's Then and Now photos. You can also review the photos that Dave provided in Dave's Doings.

September 21, 2011 – Update on E-Mail Newsletter; RAO Update; Songtan Sunrise
Update on E-Mail Newsletter: The reading that I did helped me to understand more about how the newsletter mailing software works. So I installed the latest version of the original software on my testbed system (new software was not to my liking) and, with some effort and some luck, I got it working on the testbed. I then installed it on the main computer and uploaded it to the web site. After a little tinkering to modify the settings to the web site host environment, it sort of started working. I opened the program, but the screen was blank. I did a quick search on the Internet and discovered that one of the control files had changed some settings. That may have been the cause of my problem in the first place. Anyway, I modified the control file and finally got the program to work properly. I sent the September newsletter with no problem. I then considered sending out the July and August newsletters, but decided not to do that. Good decision, because only one person contacted me and asked me to send those two newsletters to him.

RAO Osan Update: The government laptop sits on my desk unused as the team that came to set it up for me discovered that the port it's plugged into is dead. That means a different team must be sent by Comm to fix that problem. I use a personal laptop to do the administrative work. When I need access to the network for e-mail, etc, I use the still-functional computer in the downtown office.

Couple of Photos: Walking down Hill 180 one morning, I noticed a tree in front of an officers dorm had been 'reconfigured'. I didn't pay much attention to it at first, but then a few days later I had my camera and recorded the cause. It appears that a vehicle coming down Hill 180 lost control and went through these trees, leaving these tire tracks between the trees and ending up in this ditch. It was fortunate that the ditch stopped the vehicle, because otherwise it would have been stopped by the building.

August 7, 2011 – Update on E-Mail Newsletter; RAO Update; Songtan Sunrise
Update on E-Mail Newsletter: Last week was spent reading about the mySQL data base, something I was totally unfamiliar with other than using it to keep the newsletter mailing list. The new mailing service would not support conversion of the data base to the new software, so I had to do it. The reading paid off because I was able to convert (and reduce) the signup screen to e-mail address, first and last name, and format of the newsletter (HTML or Text). The last item caused a problem because a subscriber should not be allowed to subscribe to both versions, at least not at the same time. I know how to make the software select one but not both. However, the program would not let me do it. So, off went an e-mail with the code I created to fix it.

RAO Osan Update: The Air Force Audit Agency provided a spare laptop to me and we got it hooked up on Friday. I was able to log on to the Osan network; however, before I can use it, a decision must be made on whether it needs to totally erased and rebuilt to avoid me stumbling into data I don't need. I expect the problem will be resolved this week.

Songtan Sunrise: I was out before the sun came up and got this very nice pre-typhoon shot of the brightening sky.

July 29, 2011 – Update on E-Mail Newsletter; RAO Osan Update
Update on E-Mail Newsletter: I made no progress on fixing the problem with the newsletter mailing software that stopped working. My next step was to test then buy another mailing program that has the same capabilities, i.e., able to concurrently mail HTML and Text newsletters at the same time. I started to install the program my hosting service and realized I need a lot more experience in downloading the mailing list that's maintained in a mySQL data base. The new mailing list program requires that I export the data base to a format (CSV) that can then be read into the new program's mySQL data base. I need to learn more about exporting and importing before I 'tamper with' the data base. For now, I'll continue to post the newsletter on the web site and continue studying.

RAO Osan Update: The on-base Retiree Activities Office is functioning, but still lacks a network-connected computer. Last week I took the training that qualified me to log on to the Osan AB network. This week I had my Common Access Card (CAC) updated to allow me to log onto the Osan AB network. Now I just need a military computer that will be connected to the Osan AB network. The Air Force Audit Agency with whom I'm co-located has promised to provide one of the their old laptops when the three new ones arrive.

July 16, 2011 – Update on E-Mail Newsletter; Weather Update
Update on E-Mail Newsletter: Since the last update, I've spent a considerable amount of time trying to get the e-mail newsletter program working again, but, as is obvious, with no success. I finally gave up and found another mailing program that looks promising. I did some playing around with the Light (free) version and exchanged e-mails with the developer. It looks like it might be the solution to my problem. So today I decided to sign up. I logged on to the main site and started the process to pay for the program (it's a one-time payment). I started with PayPal, but that attempt was rejected. I then used my credit card directly and that also was rejected. So, time for another e-mail to the developer. I'm waiting for the response now. Assuming the payment problem is fixed, there will be a learning curve before I can send the first newsletter, but this developer offers assistance unlike the free one I'm dropping. I'm hoping to be able to send out the July newsletter as a test of the program, and then follow it closely with the August newsletter. Also, I'll be on vacation from Jul 23 to Aug 1 (doctor's appt at Aju Hospital on Aug 1), so that should give me more time to devote to learning the program.

Weather Update: My wife tells me that today is the last day of the monsoon season in this area, so I'm hoping to get out with the camera tomorrow and get some update photos out onto the web site. We've had almost continuous rainfall since the monsoon front moved in this year and I've heard many people complain about the unusually long, unbroken chain of days with rain, frequently heavy. There hasn't, however been much damage in this area although the southern area has some serious flooding with deaths due to swollen rivers and mudslides, and crops lost. The monsoon boundary is moving north now, so we can look forward to the onset of the hot, steamy days of August.

July 2, 2011 – Apology; Independence Day
Apology: It's been almost two months since the last entry here and I thought I should explain. The biggest impact taking my time has been the move of the Retiree Activities Office. Preparing for the move, moving and the adjustment to changes made in the new location have taken most of my time. It's not done yet because I still need to get a military computer connected to the network, but that is beyond my control. I'm hoping that I can get the camera back out and take some time to update you on what's happening at Osan AB.

Independence Day: It's the July 4^th weekend and I thought it would be a good time to remember what Independence is all about. I found what I was looking for in the VFW Magazine and thought I'd share it with you. The June/July 2011 issue of VFW Magazine has a section at pages 18-19 on Patriotism, What It Means to Be an American. It's definitely worth checking out at http://digitaledition.qwinc.com/publication/?i=69510. The section I like the most is "Values That Define Being an American". The list was created by Stanford University social psychologist Alex Inkles. Here is the list as printed in a Los Angeles time article by Robert C. Toth.

1. National Pride in America's Virtue and Uniqueness. This pride, almost our national religion, has "persisted remarkably intact over the 150 years" since French political thinker Alex de Tocqueville
   published Democracy in America (1835 and 1840).
   "Nowhere else was there the extraordinary unanimity displayed by the Americans in singling out their political and governmental institutions as special objects of pride," Inkeles said.
   
2. Self-reliance. Benjamin Franklin extolled this kind of homely virtue (including autonomy, independence, persistence and initiative) in pre-Revolutionary days, and de Tocqueville cited individualism and self-reliance as distinctive American traits in 1830.
   Two-thirds to three-fourths of American blue-collar workers at the time of the study affirmed the same principle: "What happens to me is my own doing."
   
3. Volunteerism. Americans are joiners. They feel obligated to take part in community action.
   
4. Trust. Many others reported on the openness and friendliness of Americans, their casualness and spontaneity in chance encounters.
   Inkeles said the evidence showing that "a high degree of interpersonal trust to be an outstanding characteristic of the contemporary American is quite extensive and notably consistent."
   
5. "Can-Do" Attitude. A sense of being effective, of being able to improve the physical and social world prevails.
   
6. Optimism. Americans have confidence that striving toward a goal leads to success.
   
7. Innovativeness. Openness to new experiences and ideas is a hallmark of the American character.
   
8. Adapability. The notion of welcoming and pursuing change is commonplace.
   
9. Anti-Authoritarianism. This is an almost innate birthright, carrying no psychic need to submit to higher political authority.
   
10. Equality. A sense that one's intrinsic worth is the same as any one else's is a basic American trait.

Inkeles also noted other American attributes, including restless energy, pragmatism, a
tendency toward brashness and boastfulness, a preference for the concrete and a certain
discomfort with aesthetic and emotional expression.

Jack's comment: I like the thought that many of us still retain these virtues that gave this nation the freedom and Independence that we enjoy today. But are they gradually slipping away from us as a nation?

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