Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy New Years - Lets Get Hammered

Just kidding, I don't get hammered on New Years. I barely celebrate it at all. This year I will spend it at home with a couple of friends. We will probably listen to music and joke around.

Next year is going to be worse than this year for most people. Unemployment checks running out and houses in foreclosure. More business failures to be sure. Still, there is always opportunity.

For me next year is a year of promise. I don't know exactly what will happen but I do believe I will be in a better place. After I move into my new apartment I will have less to deal with, fewer bills and more peace and quiet. Less travel time which gives me four extra hours a day to do things that I want to do. With more free time I intend to begin dating again. Wish me luck with that.

In some ways I feel as if I will be on my own for the first time in my life. Let me put that another way. I won't be responsible for everyone around me, my time will be my own. I can barely comprehend it. I will have time for leisure and ease. I won't have any money but that never really mattered, I could use some peace.

Another interruption. Had to step away for a moment, lost my choo choo.

To all of my readers I wish a Happy New Year. I also ask all of you to refrain from drinking and driving. Use a taxi, walk, have a designated driver or stay where you party, don't drink and drive. I would hate to have fewer readers because they killed themselves by drinking and driving, I would rather you stop reading because I am boring.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Moving soon

I saw the apartment that I am going to be renting today. It sort of makes it more real. My old life is ending and with this move a new life will begin again. A unilateral action by my ex has resulted in everyone's life changing.

For most of the past decade I have lived in a five bedroom, 2,700 square foot home. I will be moving into an 800 square foot apartment. I sort of like that, something I can furnish as I wish and not as others wish.

I have all sorts of people that want to come to visit me when I move in and even more that want to have dinner with me when I move. Since age 24 I have raised children and been with the same woman. When we separated I rented an apartment a few blocks away, it was different. This time there is no coming back and I will be living in a very urban environment.

Change of subject. I just read an article from newsmax.com, I am not familiar with the publication. It states that Apple has pulled an app from their I-Phones that has certain Christian teachings known as the "Manhattan Declaration". They wont allow the app on their phones because it says that homosexuality is a sin.

I wonder if they have also removed Koran or the old testament as they both say homosexuality is a sin? I don't care how you feel about homosexuality, bigger issue at stake here kids. The issue is one of free speech. This year more electronic books were sold than were books made of paper. What happens when publishers stop making paper books and all books are electronic if the manufacturer of the electronic books refuses to allow the technology to be used to read the bible?

A little history, while we can still know history. When the Kindle came out it deleted two books from every Kindle in the world. It deleted George Orwell's "1984" and "The Animal Farm". Both books were about totalitarianism. You know, what we are increasingly living in.

About two weeks ago a man was arrested that wrote a book about the way to have sex with children without harming them. A lot of people thought that was a great thing, I did not and I wont even date someone in their 30s.

Please read through everything I write before forming an opinion or having a position. The man that wrote the book had been a pedophile and claimed he no longer engaged in such things and they have not arrested him for such a thing nor did they arrest him for having child pornography. There are few things lower than pedophiles but they do exist.

The man, it is said (Didn't read his book nor do I intend to) wrote the book so that people who were pedophiles would understand how to do it with the least amount of harm to the child. I know and agree that any harm is too much and they should not have sex with children. But there are pedophiles and they do pray on children. IF he wrote it for his stated reason and the children were harmed less because of his book, should he be allowed to write it without going to jail?

Lets continue to look at this rather than jump to emotions. The man that was arrested for writing the book will win in court and will be released. Heck, you can write books about building bombs and that is okay. Yet, the teachings of Christianity regarding homosexuality can be deleted.

We have to see down the road to understand how we lose our rights. Today people publish hard copies of books and pamphlets, tomorrow they will not. At least not many. Hold on to your bibles because they are at risk. You might even try reading them.

Ray Bradbury wrote a book called "Fahrenheit 451". It is about a totalitarian government that burns all books. Paper burns at 451. Across the United States libraries are closing. What happens when all books are electronic, the government doesn't need to censor, the tech companies can simply refuse to distribute.

What we are being presented with is a false choice. We can allow everything to be printed or restrict things based on personal criteria. We have laws against molesting children and posting naked pictures of them anywhere. Pedophilia is a crime, thinking homosexuality is wrong is not a crime. We don't have to agree with everything. There was a time when homosexuality was a crime, I don't believe it should have been illegal. They are adults and are quite aware of what they are doing.

You are being played by the media and the government. A lot of it has to do with the openness of the internet. The solution will be that people have to say who they really are when on the net in order to protect children and that sites will be age specific. They are already working on this. The news stories are so that you will accept the solution.

I was taken away from my room and lost my train of thought. Sorry. Be well.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

This Page Left Blank Intentionally

I hate reading documents that say that.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Now we have a problem

Someone has asked if science or literature is more important. The scum. Literature is more important, it heals and helps living beings, science is just an explanation for things that do not feel.

I hope people get this was a joke.

Builders and Politicians

Somebody is going to get in trouble.

Direct Democracy - Told you so

Please read this linked article on Britain allowing the citizens to petition directly regarding new laws. Hmmmm. I think I have written about this more than once. It sounds so good and the impact is that nothing can be changed.

UFOs, God, Carl Jung, Cosplay

The title is meaningless, I just wanted to put random things together and see if anyone did a google search for the connections. There are none that I am aware of.

I couldn't go to bed earlier because I had no sheets, my dryer is broken and it takes hours to dry anything on just air. Thought I would post for today and try and sleep on what I do have dry. Ain't much.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Probably nothing to post

Sorry all. It has been cold where I live and I had the heater on. Problem is that I have a very small sinus passage and suffer from allergies. As a consequence, on occasion my sinuses block up and drain into my stomach. The result is that I end up expelling all of the goo out of my stomach. It happened in my sleep last night and I have been drained all day.

These little episodes can leave me drained and this one did. My solution was to rest and drink two large bottles of Perrier with lime. My achievement for the day was to wash all of my blankets and sheets. Success.

Some days are harder than others and the best we can achieve may be the smallest activity. That is okay. I do try to take the days as they come. One day at a time can be achievement sometimes. One minute at at time is even more important.

Pain is a fascinating thing. When I was a child I used to suffer from Cluster Headaches. Often they lasted for days or a week, the worst part was that I got them monthly and lived knowing they would return. I would just wait for the pain to come and try to manage it as best I could. At the time there were no pain killers that worked with these types of headaches.

We are told that pain is our bodies way of knowing that we are doing something detrimental to it. That is fine as far as it goes; but, what about pain that is not caused by anything we are intentionally doing?

In my case the headaches helped me to overcome certain challenges. I learned to be productive while still in pain. The headaches usually ended with me getting sick from the nausea. People who see me get nauseous are sometimes surprised by how I take it. I throw up, rest for a second and go back to what I was doing usually.

Another nice thing about growing up with cluster headaches is that you know they are unavoidable. Doesn't matter what you do, these suckers are coming and you will be in extreme pain. By the way they ended when I was about 30 and have not returned. Growing up knowing that you are going to be in pain gives you a certain perspective to problems. You cant run away from them so you try to deal with them as best you can.

I much prefer nausea over cluster headaches. When a cluster headache would finally make me sick to my stomach I saw it as a good sign, it meant the headache was going to end soon. The gripping pain would begin to relax after I got sick to my stomach and then the euphoria would begin. The absence of pain is the greatest feeling in the world.

I read something today by an atheist. He said that there cannot be a God because there is pain in the world. Another one of those who believe God means no growth and just comfort. To me, life seems more about overcoming difficulties and becoming ourselves.

One of my daughters asked me today if I had any aspirin. I had to remind her that I had not had any in two years. If I have a headache it won't be as bad as the clusters were and I wont take anything for it. I don't take any pills anymore, not even for allergies.

Well see if any of this had any value and be well.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

This Year is Almost Over

I could talk about the 7 plus earthquake in Vanatu but I have nothing to add to the story. Lots of big quakes the last couple of years. I know I spelled Vanatu wrong.

The last few years have been complete insanity for me. The next one looks to be a lot simpler. Yet, we shall see. At a minimum it will be different. I wish for everyone that 2011 will be a better year; but, I am afraid that for most it will not be.

2011 is the year when the pensions, 401ks and social security will all be exposed for the true depth of the problems. Our currency will likely be greatly devalued and there is the very real possibility that the federal reserve will be fundamentally undermined. On the housing front, expect houses to lose even more value.

I expect little help for the unemployed, I expect a structural change in unemployment benefits. Europe will see more protests and riots. Expect large protests at the royal weddings.

Next month I a moving. At a minimum I will not be in this house. Life does indeed throw curves. I have four years left before I retire. Sometimes I forget how old I am.

We used to live in caves and our best tools were stones. Today most people are afraid of losing their internet connection and being unable to play online games. Historically people wanted to know more and be better, to advance as people. Today people want to rest as much as possible and find growth and learning an annoyance. Something is wrong.

I have noticed some trends that you might find interesting. Do a search on the words "spiritual awakening". If you did it in quotes you will get 15,000,000 hits on Yahoo. That is a fair amount. Then I want you to watch some of the videos or read the articles. Why are so many people convinced that we are going to have a consciousness expanding awakening and what do they believe we (the average person) will come to "understand".

I am not proposing that any such "awakening" will occur. I am asking why so many people think it is coming and what they think it will be and mean. Too often we look at things from the lens of whether or not we believe it instead of asking why anyone believes it.

Consider the popularity of the book that Oprah pushed called "The Secret". The secret was that you can have anything you want by using the "law of attraction". Basically witchcraft. You ask the universe for what you want, focus all of your attention on the object and prepare yourself to accept the result.

I want to talk about the occult "sciences" for a moment. All occult sciences eventually come down to the same thing. If you perform certain acts in the proper manner than you can control others. The Kabuki dance if you will. Occult does not mean that the people believe in Satan and many don't. Why do so many people believe in these types of practices? Look at the explosion in the number of wiccans, why is this occurring and why is it occurring now.

What had traditionally been seen as occult has crept into everyday life and is barely noticed. "Visualization" is now taught as a business practice. Try and find a newspaper that does not have a horoscope section. Consider the rise of Yoga and Transcendental Meditation. Every town I pass through has "Psychics". It didn't use to be so common.

So what is going on? What do these people believe they are getting or avoiding? Why is superstition increasing in an increasingly technical world. My belief is that as the world gets more complex, people seek occultism in the belief that it gives them some sense of control over their lives. If I am correct than occultism will increase even more in the coming years.

Look at television, the movies and books. The hottest trends are with witches, werewolves and of course vampires. I don't even watch television or movies except very rarely and I know that it is a trend. I hear people talking about it all the time.

In Haiti voodoo practitioners are being killed by a population that believes they are to blame for all the troubles that have befallen that country. I don't really care if people believe they can do magic. Not my issue. People who believe they have magical powers don't bother learning how to change things using reality. Superstitious populations are more easily controlled.

Here is an article from "Natural News" that attempts to prove that science has proven astrology to be true. Now I want to return to discuss the "awakening".

What do these people think we will be awakened to? Some say that we will become aware of aliens in the universe, some believe there will be a tremendous spiritual awakening where we discover we are all one and the same. Many attribute this change to the year 2012.

Whatever you believe, how do we get people to focus on making things better by acting better? There are millions of people who focus more on their virtual lives than they do on the very real world around them. People create avatars to represent themselves and live as elves, warlocks, witches, ninjas and such. They then spend most of their days casting spells and doing magic. If you are not familiar with "World of Warcraft" or "Final Fantasy".

If we are going to fix our industries we need to focus on learning our jobs and skills that will help. No amount of voodoo, hoodoo or magic is going to do it for us. Well, I hope you can see what is going on around you. Be well.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas

To anyone who reads this blog I wish you a very merry Christmas. Personally I have so many things to be thankful for that I cannot count them. I may be losing my house but I am not on the streets tonight and it is unlikely I will ever be because of the wonderful friends and family that I have.

I am truly blessed with family and friends who are unwavering even when I screw up. I love them all very deeply. I don't need any toys or trinkets, just loved ones and I have the best around me. I pray they know how they have blessed me. Be well.

Friday, December 24, 2010

My Christmas Music

What I am listening to tonight.

The Doors - Five to One

The Doors - The River Knows

The Doors - LA Woman

Elton John - Love lies bleeding, Funeral for a Friend

The Beatles - Julia

The Turtles - Happy Together

The Monkees - You Told Me

Monkees - What am I Doing Hangin Round

The Monkees - Love is Only Sleeping

The Monkees - Daily Nightly

The Monkees - Papa Gene's Blues (This is a great song)

Chris Rea - Fool if you Think It's Over

Jefferson Starship - Miracles

Helen Reddy - Peaceful

Helen Reddy - Don't Know How to Love Him

Beach Boys - Wouldn't it be Nice

Merry Christmas

Santa and the New World Order

Come on, I come up with some good titles. LOL.

It is Christmas Eve and I am enjoying a lovely pork chop in my bedroom while listening to some music. I wish all of my readers a Merry Christmas and if they do not celebrate such a thing I wish them a great day.

This will be a short post; but, I hope you like the question. In the Book of Revelations it talks about a one world government being in the last days. Here is my question, how could they even conceive of such a thing? I hope you understand that 2000 years ago the Romans were still fighting with tribes in Africa and Europe. The person that wrote Revelations didn't even have any idea of how big the world was or how to communicate with people in other places that had yet to be discovered.

Maybe I have not explained myself well enough. I have had people attempt to tell me that Revelations was talking about Nero as the anti-christ. I have to point out that they are imbeciles because everyone did not have a mark and the writer would have known that.

Revelations was written at a time when each year people learned of new peoples. Revelations also speaks about every nation knowing about Jesus at a time when the writer knew that he did not even know how many nations there were as more were being discovered. Am I the only person who finds this odd?

It would be like me telling you that someday we will have a one universe government, we haven't even met any aliens yet. Having said that, here we are with a United Nations and International Maritime Law. Hey, that guy was a good guesser.

Now I will show another possibility. Revelations says that everyone will need a mark to buy and sell. It did not say we would have only one currency. Hmmmmmm. There is a lot of talk about having a one world reserve currency in the news; but, it says that all who buy and sell will need to receive a mark, it didn't say have one currency or any currency at all.

For any faithful readers, I wrote a story in bits and pieces at the ends of posts. I was a Christmas story. It ended with me on a plane. LMAO. Merry Christmas.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Norway loves strange lights

Remember the Norway Spiral. Those darn Norwegians, they are up to it again. This time they are playing with light beams. An article with links to the pictures.

Turn off your darn lights you frickin Norweigeian fakes. LOL. It's a good trick but how come they won't tell us how they do it. Trying to say that it is from ice cannons or Northern lights is just funny. They are straight beams, you look at them. Hugs and kisses.

Christmas at Area 51

Just a passing thought. How does Area 51 prepare for Christmas. I mean it is protected air space. Will they attempt to shoot him down, the fools. He flies past Mach 10.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Lack of Education

There is a test called the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery or ASVAB. The test is given to see what jobs someone can hold in the military. When I was in high school every man had to take it in his senior year. I don't know if it is mandatory anymore as there is no draft.

The ASVAB is a pretty simple test and I am guessing many of my American readers have taken the test. I wish to be fair in what I am about to say. When I took the test I scored in the top 1 percent. That is not why I think the test is easy nor related to my coming comments.

This year one in four high school graduates failed to get a score high enough to join the military. This is pitiful. This is worse than pitiful. We are indeed failing to teach anything in school. I do not compare others to myself, I am looking at the passing rates from the past.

Why can't high school graduates pass a basic test? Simple answer, they don't know the basics and get passed not knowing much. Prior to the Vietnam war kids were taught the basics in school and more. A high school graduate could write a paragraph and a report. You cannot twitter a report.

While in college I was a teaching assistant for a class in political science. The class was designed for business majors. I graded their exams and was appalled by what I saw. In my opinion one quarter of the students should have been failed. Some of the exams I read indicated illiteracy.

Over the last 40 years I have witnessed a continual degradation of students abilities. There are still smart kids, problem is the others are allowed to not learn. Over the same period we have seen numerous attempts to teach kids better and all have worked less well.

The media responds with a blathering mess of finger pointing. I don't buy any of it. We search for solutions and cant seem to find any. Here is a solution, teach kids the way we used to. Teach the basics first instead of focusing on opinions. Make them write a short paper every week and go over their mistakes. Yes, mistakes.

In the last 20 years there has been a push to focus on what kids have done well. In school every kid would get an award so that their egos would not be deflated. We have become a Narcissistic culture that is unwilling to be corrected. In that situation fewer and fewer learn. We learn from mistakes; but, only if they are pointed out and we are willing to see that we can still improve.

The beginning point in all learning is language. I cannot teach someone math or science or anything else if they do not have the vocabulary to learn it. Learning to use words with precision allows for deeper thought in every field. The next step is learning to put words together in a understandable manner. I am amazed at how many college graduates cannot write a simple document.

We were the richest nation in history and undermined ourselves by not teaching children to read and write well. I don't blame the teachers or the parents as much as I blame the methods the teachers were taught to use. Those methods failed.

We have raised a nation that wants leisure and comfort. Both need to be earned. When I talk to people who are under 30, most cannot tell me when World War I was or when the middle ages were. They have no world perspective and no understanding of the history of other nations. As G. Gordon Liddy told one person, "In the battle of wits you are unarmed."

One of the biggest mistakes that occurred was to grade on the curve. The normalization and comparison to the others that are uneducated. Another mistake is to have children do group projects. They need to know the basics before being graded as a group. Grading on group projects allows those who have not learned the basics to be hidden and holds back the best.

Schools are often paid in a way that prevents them from spending the time needed to teach students who don't get it off the bat. Schools often are paid based on how many students pass. The teachers therefore and the school system itself is rewarded for passing students rather than teaching them.

I know people who graduated high school and could not read. I mean they were functionally illiterate. Why is this acceptable? The current system teaches children who don't get it right off the bat to hide behind those who do. Worse yet, it teaches kids that do get it off the bat to look at those who don't as stupid. As the years progress the gap gets larger because those on the bottom never learned the basics so they cant learn the intermediate or advanced. Everyone can learn the basics if we spend the time to teach them.

The bar exam is given in every state. California and New York have traditionally had the lowest passage rates. As a consequence their attorneys tend to be better. Some states have over a 90% passage rate. Those states don't have enough attorneys so they pass just about everyone who graduates. This is pitiful.

An application has been developed that allows people to put their phone over foreign languages and it is shown in English (or whatever language you choose). The tower of Babel has risen again and we now can communicate without learning the languages of others. If you cannot read you own language an application will translate what is written into verbal communication. Sounds great but it has consequences. Why bother learning another language if you don't have to. Yet the writing doesn't give the context, learning a language requires that you learn about a culture.

As we rely more and more on technology to think for us, we become less able to think. In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king. What happens when the technology fails? Then we enter a new dark age.

How many stories have you read about people who were using GPS and drove off the road because the GPS was wrong. They relied on the technology and ignored what their eyes told them. There are now people seriously talking about melding technology with humans, the Transhumanists. I have written about this before.

We don't live in the Matrix yet; but, we are creating it. We are willingly relying on technology to make our decisions. With the advent of cloud computing this will only increase and the conformity of thought will be oppressive. We need to move away from simplicity and comfort and seek the strenuous life. We grow more from strenuous learning than we do from varied experience.

Ringo Starr - It Don't Come Easy

UPDATE:

After writing this post I came across a video saying what has happened to the educational system. I don't agree with all of what he says; but, the video brings up some good points. I still have not decided what I think about the fluoride debate so I will not comment on what he says about that at present.

This second video is in direct contradiction to what I have written. This famous educator wants us to go even further down the road that we have travelled. If you watch the video you will find that he declares that 98% of all children are geniuses who are dumbed down by schools. Nope, it might feel nice to believe that every child is a genius but they are not.

If we teach people that are below average that they are geniuses who are being held back then they don't bother trying to be the best they can be. The educator proposes that copying and reading the answers rather than learning them is a better way. This is also societal poison. It is teaching people that they cannot learn and should follow those who did. It is teaching to not think for yourself.

We are all born with a set level of ability; but, what we do with that ability determines how far we can go. The educators answer is to teach people by grouping them not according to age; but, according to where they are in their learning. Put the dumb with the dumb and the smart with the smart. That leads to little if any learning on the lower end and conformity in thought.

Ayn Rand feared a world where the best and the brightest were held back to prevent anyone from excelling. I fear a world where the average and below are kept apart from those who do know better. We want people to try harder not to try less.

The educator wants to teach that there are no answers only unlimited possibilities, this is garbage and is what we see in the educational system now. People are not taught to seek the truth and all answers are considered equally valid. All are not equally valid. By refusing to ask the questions properly all answers cease to be valid at all.

The educator attempts in the beginning of the video to downgrade the value of a traditional education. He does this by saying that in the past we were taught that if we learned in school, worked hard and got a college degree then we would get a job. He says this is wrong because there is no guarantee of getting a good job. This is garbage that has been spread for the last two decades.

The reason we should study hard is so that we can LEARN. If we learn then we are less easily led and are more likely to come to a greater understanding. Education is not primarily about getting a job, it is so that we can understand our life and our experiences in a better context.

The teaching of relativism is what has completed the destruction of learning. All knowledge has value including geography, history (with dates but not the focus) and the aberrant and amazing. We do live in an amazing world and we don't teach that. We are capable of so much more than we do. We are capable of greatness, individual success, the achievement of what we can get out of ourselves.

We are trained that the goal in life is to retire and take things easy. We are trained to use the least amount of effort to get the most amount of reward. This is wrong, the goal should not be the reward the goal should be to push ourselves as far as we can and then to share what we have learned with others.

How can we excel as a nation if we fail as individuals? How can we understand the complexities of the world if we don't bother to learn the basics. We should learn not because it is easy but because it is hard. We should learn because otherwise we allow ourselves to be marginalized. We should attempt to understand our world because we can then understand our place in it.

We are taught that there is no God, we live and we die and we don't matter to the universe. After telling kids that enough the logical conclusion they come to is that they should seek out all the experience that they can. This is a simple and foolish belief set. Experience is a distraction from growth. Growth is the goal.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The Truth?

How do you determine what you believe and will act upon and what you don't believe? I ask this question in order for you to understand propaganda. You cannot understand one without understanding yourself.

I will let you think on that while I explain what propaganda is. Propaganda can be true or false, not all propaganda is lies. Propaganda is a technique of getting people to believe something. It is getting the masses to believe the same thing, not everyone, the masses.

Let me give an example. Fluoride. I don't know if you believe fluoride in the water is a conspiracy or not. I don't have an opinion myself. It doesn't matter for this example. Do you believe fluoride in the water is safe and protects your teeth. That is what we have been told. Why do you believe it is safe, if you believe such a thing?

The vast majority of Americans believe fluoride is safe and good for our teeth. How did we come to believe this? I know why I believed it, the government spent millions on commercials and reports and news articles. I watched them growing up as they began fluoridation of the water systems. My government told me they had checked it out and that it was safe and good for me. Because of this I didn't drink bottled water, I wanted the fluoride.

I was a kid. I don't trust what anyone tells me anymore unless I have investigated it. That started pretty young because I discovered the teachers didn't know things I knew. Most kids are trusting of what they are told, they don't care if it is the truth, they just want to fit in. That is why repetition is the primary process of propaganda. We want to swim with the crowd.

The crowd is not what you think, it is the crowd you choose to be with. The next thing that causes people to believe garbage is that it is in agreement with what they do. We like to be told that what we are doing is good and right even when it is not.

You cannot cheat an honest man. If you are honest with yourself then you will know when you hear propaganda. You will know it is false because the truth is inside you. You know when you are doing things for the wrong reasons, you can hide from it, justify it and even tell yourself how decent in doing so. Somewhere deep down inside you, you will know you are lying to yourself.

While I was writing this a young man was asking me questions about business and I somewhat lost my train of thought. I apologize. Have a great day, the rains have begun in earnest here.

It Is Raining In Los Angeles

I live in the desert, the Northeast part of Los Angeles County. It is freezing and it is raining. It has rained very hard and people have been evacuated from some of the mountain areas. There is a lot of rain and even more coming.

If you are homeless, Los Angeles isn't a bad place to be as it goes. I lived in Boston and that is bad place to be homeless. I used to watch the homeless put cardboard boxes above the vents for the subway. That is how they stayed warm. Or at least as warm as they stayed. I got frostbite in Massachusetts. I didn't much care for it.

I like the heat. I don't mind it over a 100 although I find anything over 115 to be too hot. I hate the cold and I hate being cold. I would really hate being homeless in Boston. I don't like the snow either.

I spent about a week on the streets a long time ago. I was not alone; but, we had no place to stay. It sucked. It is hard to understand what it means to not have a place to stay if you never been there. It can lead to anxiety and desperation. Worse than that is that after awhile people just accept that they are going to be homeless and they stop trying and focus on surviving.

I work downtown and am not infrequently asked for money. Sometimes I give it. I have had people tell me that the person getting the money will only use it for alcohol or drugs. I neither know nor care how they use it. Homeless people frequently ask me for a cigarette, I often give them two.

There are times when I will not give anything. I will not give to people begging by the freeway entrance as it endangers people. I will not give to anyone who stops me while I am in my car unless it is parked. I will not give to anyone who interrupts me while I am speaking to someone else.

I think at this time of year (and I don't mean Christmas), the winter, it is good time to give a buck or two. It is cold out there and wet. If the money is used to buy some alcohol, at least they will feel the cold a little less.

Monday, December 20, 2010

The Odd Stuff

I attempt to read as much alternate news as possible. I begin my days reading newspapers and the Drudge Report. After having read traditional news sources I like to read alternative news sources. I don't agree with much of what I read but I like to know what is on people's minds. As a consequence I cannot recommend any of the news sources I am listing. The vast majority of them are news aggregates rather than the actual publishers.

Fortean Times I like this news source, they collect strange articles and hit a wide variety of things while never taking any position.

The Anomalist. This one tends to focus on ufo's, cryptozoology and ghosts. Updated daily.

David Icke. I don't know what to say about this one. The guy believes that reptillian aliens have interbred with humans and that their offspring run the world. He also has a fear of a Zionist world conspiracy. What he does do is follow the news and that he does well.

Alex Jones. If you don't know who this guy is I strongly recommend you watch him at least once. He has a big presence on the internet and many followers. Personally I find him a alarmist and a promoter of violence. I disagree with both. His website does track many news stories and catches patterns. He is friends with David Icke apparently now.

Rense. I find this one real hard to post. The guy makes a lot of stuff about jews and zionists. The useful part of his site is that he is updating during the day about international news.

Wired Magazine. Great technology stories. I highly recommend this one.

The Daily Beast. Well put together with little apparent agenda.

The Daily Grail. Low production value, good news catches.

Rapture Ready News. Good news catches.

Above Top Secret. Love this one. All over the place with good commentary.

I still read more than just these and the newspapers listed on the side of my blog; but, a listing you might find amusing. It is important to read beyond the norm. The internet allows us the opportunity to share beliefs with people we would never associate with or even want to be around. It allows us to hear why people believe things that appear crazy to us.

I try and read as many things a day as I can. I have found overtime that the same article will be in half or better of the things I read. It is therefore a lot less reading than one would imagine. I used to read the foreign papers more often but pretty much just the London Times and the Sydney Morning Herald at present. I am being lazy.

It has been my experience that the alternate news sources are often all over the place and everything in their mind can be a conspiracy. Yet, paranoia is your friend and these news sources watch things that the others do not report. I go to the original sources to check them. Sometimes they are very correct.

I will give an example because it came up today. I was viewing Above Top Secret and it had a video by an engineer showing that thermite could be used to take out steel beams. This may not make sense to you immediately. Thermite is a powder that burns very hot, some have claimed it was used to take down the twin towers. Now, I don't care if you believe 9/11 was an inside job or not, it is not the issue right now. Mythbusters and NIST both claimed that Thermite could not cut through steel. This engineer proved it could and with very little.

Why is the story important. Because the NIST and Mythbusters lied. Fewer people read Above Top Secret than watch Mythbusters. NIST is the "official government story" and both lied. This engineer proved that thermite could cut through steel. He didn't prove that was what happened at the twin towers; but, he did prove that their explanation was faulty. Nobody other than the alternates are even checking.

NEVER believe experts or the official story. Check them first. Look for other perspectives and check them. The government and the people in power own the media. This is just a fact. Average people don't own or control television stations. They have an agenda, everyone does.

And now for a musical interlude.

Peter Wolf - Lights Out

Flash & The Pan - Hey St. Peter

Alice Cooper - Hey Stoopid


My boy Bach - Fugue and toccata in D minor

Saint Saens - Danse Macabre


Donald Fagen - New Frontier

Linda Ronstadt - Down So Low

Sabrina Parker

I don't often post about human interest stories. Having said that, I read this story and feel a need to share it. There was a lovely young lady named Sabrina Parker and a young man named Matt Scozzari. They went to school together and fell in love. He asked her out at the same time that she learned she was dying.

The most horrific love story I personally know involved one of my cousins. His father died on his wedding day and for a lot of reasons the wedding could not be delayed. My cousin and his wife have done well and are strong people. Still that is a tough wedding day.

I am not going to explain what happened to Miss Parker, I would prefer that you read the story. I found the story heart wrenching but not sad. I do not think the young lady would like us to feel sad, she didn't live that way. I see the story about the courage of a young lady and the strength of her boyfriend. I see the story showing what we are capable of if we try.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Stuff We Should Know About

There are things in this world that most people don't know about. It is not hidden, just rarely discussed. I want to throw a few links to you.

Coral Castle

Oak Island

Pyramids in China

Just some fun stuff for you to watch.

Slow news day

I couldn't really find anything worth writing about. It is cold and raining very hard. Hope you had a good weekend. Be well.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Something my father taught me

In one of my previous iterations of this blog I spoke about this. It came upon my mind again. My father was in the Korean War and was decorated. He save lots of lives. He should have died in that war but he didn't. He attended some ceremonies in honor of him and his co-patriots. Everyone said what their experience in war was. He taught me a truth. There is no war, everyone's war is an individual experience. Life is the same way. Be well.

What a great day

Having too much fun today. Good friends and a good time. A birthday party for a ten year old boy and we get to participate. It is nice to see children smile. Making someone smile or laugh is the best blessing in the world. Be well.

Friday, December 17, 2010

My Therapist and I

Well, we cleaned the house and then I saw my therapist. When I returned I met a realtor who took pictures of my house for the mortgage company.

My therapist mentioned that he had read the blog and liked how it brought up a different perspective. I always enjoy seeing my therapist. He provided me a safe place to be confused and someone to talk to. It is important to say things out loud and it is important to write them so that others can read it. Things sound different when we say them out loud. They sound different to us.

I have written a few posts that I never posted. After writing them they did not sound the way they had in my head. Still, it is important to think about what we say. One of the problems with the internet and blogging is that many people, because of anonymity, will say horrible things. They say things they would not in public. I say the same things in public that I post on this blog and anyone who knows me knows this to be the truth.

I do not consider what I do to be journalism, it is merely amateur writing. I do not seek to be a news source. Real journalists spend months investigating things. Bloggers would never have uncovered Watergate. There is still a place for big media. I don't like the fact that the media is now owned by about six giant companies; but, I don't want it to go away. When freedom ends it will be because there is nobody left to talk to all of us. The last nail in the coffin will be the elimination of big media.

We should fear monopolies. We should also fear that no industry can get the attention of government. Totalitarianism in the west will not be because of complete control by business, it will because no organization is big enough to contradict the government. In my opinion even government will be destroyed in exchange for direct democracy and individuals voting with their cell phones.

In order to have an empowered citizenry, there must be a process that forces compromise. Two parties forces compromise, thousands of parties mean endless bickering and no ability to change the status quo as consensus cannot arrived at. That is where I think we are headed and that is where Europe is.

Just for fun

I saw this video, it has the world's oldest photographs and I thought my readers might enjoy seeing them. The link.

Things are moving quickly

I had planned to go to work today but it just wasn't to be. I see my therapist today and now I have a realtor coming by to take pictures for the mortgage company. So, we are cleaning the house before he gets here. I took a quick peak at the news and had my coffee and thought I might do a quick post of something that has been on my mind for 40 years.

When I was a child we were told that oil came from decomposed dinosaurs. That is what we were taught, they even made a cartoon commercial with that explanation. Let me prove to you why it is a lie. In the ocean thousands of feet below the ocean floor is oil and lots of it. How did it get there?

Some will attempt to find any reason to explain it; but, they don't work. One person guessed that maybe it was from the ocean animals that died. Couple of problems with that, we don't find quantities of dead fish at the bottom of the sea. The other problem is that the oil can be found under bedrock in the ocean, how did the fish get under the bedrock?

So, we do know that oil was created from an organic material (or so we are told). What organic material could lay 1,000 below the ocean floor? If you doubt there is lots of oil there consider the gulf spill.

Let me ask the question again, "Where did the oil come from?" If the oil did not come from above then it came from below. I don't even like that answer. The other alternative is that it was placed there. That is a God answer and I don't know how I feel about it either.

Here is what I do believe, science has an answer and we have been told it. There are a lot of things that we (average people) don't get told the truth about. Wikileaks has pretty much proven that. We are kept ignorant, why?

Thirty-five years ago I was taught how to memorize anything in minutes, to speed read with no loss of comprehension (half a page at a time rather than a word at a time) and I watched seven year olds from Korea use their fingers like an abacus to do advanced math instantaneously. I have often wondered why these things are not taught in western schools.

Many years ago there was a class you could take from the Evelyn Wood speed reading school. I haven't seen a commercial for this in decades, why not? It works and I learned on my own, you could also. It is incredibly simple, you don't have to be smart to learn it and it worked the tens of thousands of people. Why don't we teach it in school?

Some will say that we don't need to know these things anymore because we have computers and calculators and smart phones. What a lousy answer that is. These things are simple to learn and allow us to think and do things without relying on technology or others.

Instead of teaching the Evelyn Wood method for speed reading, people are taught to skim and get the gist of what is written. The result is that they learn to avoid detail and believe that fully understanding a thing is too much work. The result is that they cry out for simplistic answers. Willingly uninformed.

Let me throw out a thought at you. Imagine you could read a whole page, every word and not lose any comprehension in the same time it takes to read a word. It is possible and it is proven. President Kennedy could do it. What if I could teach you to memorize exactly what you read in under ten minutes. Now imagine of a nation of people who were taught these things in school. Can you imagine how much they would learn?

If we taught kids the easy way they might actually enjoy learning. These kids could read 40 or 50 news sources a day and begin to see patterns. So why don't we do it? Why did they stop teaching these things in college in the early 90s, why didn't we teach it in elementary school? More kids would have gone to college.

If you doubt what I am saying, look up Evelyn Wood and go to their website. Ms Wood has passed on but her organization is still around. School is designed to make you miserable, it is designed to teach you the bare minimum and make you not want to learn more as you grow up. At a minimum, that is what it achieves.

Everybody thinks they understand the world but the truth is 99.9% of the world doesn't even understand how the world operates. Most people have no idea of what they are capable, they only know what they are not capable of and they are wrong about that.

I have been very blessed in many ways in my life. I was born smart (not bragging, I wasn't born retarded - credit goes to my parents and their genes), I was taught speed reading by an aunt where I was about 10, I was taught to memorize anything by an Uncle at 15 and I had access to books. I used to read two or three books a day at the same time. Anyone can learn these techniques. If you learn them all and read everything you will be surprised at how easy it is and what you are capable of.

Well, got to get back to getting the house ready for its inspection. Be well.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Early Night

Short post. I am really just sitting here thinking about moving. It's funny I have waited over a year to finally leave and yet. I think about the two decades I have spent in the Antelope Valley and all that has happened here. I think about raising my children here and the weather and how the area has changed.

The last few years have been hard and I am tired and very tired of spending four hours a day on the road. The move will be good for me but we should always say goodbye before starting a new life. Don't want to bring baggage.

Have a great day and be well.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

And Another Thing

I don't know what expectations people have of my blog. It is what it is and will continue to be so. I don't know what expectations people have of me, get over it. If we have not mutually exchanged promises, you have no right to expect anything of me.

Why would anyone have the right to expect more of me, what have you given me. Expect me to say what I believe or am wondering, that is all you can expect of me and I still have no responsibility to any of my readers. This is what it is, my thoughts.

We have entered a new age. I like Jane Fonda as an actress, I don't like her as a person. I will watch her movies. Today people have the ability to express themselves worldwide, just like this little blog does. People do not have to like me, understand me or even want to be around me. They are welcome to see what I think, I write it down as it occurs to me. All doors swing open and closed.

I wish to make something perfectly clear. I don't care if anyone talks to me, I will be me and if they choose to talk to me they will get me. Not the false face that everyone else needs to feel a need to put on or hide behind. You get me. I determined when I was a child that the number one priority in my life was to be all that I could be. The number two priority was to help others. I do them both.

Too many people have lofty beliefs and never act on them. I have very simple beliefs and act on them. How many of you have four homeless people living in your homes? I do. How many of you have helped gays? I have. How many of you have forgiven the one who hurt you the worst and then helped them, I have.

It is wonderful if people believe that others should do their best, it is not when they do not do the same. Beliefs are meaningless if they do not result in action. That is the new testament. I live what I talk and too many people who know this read this blog, let them tell me I am a liar. I post all comments that are not obscene (use cuss words or discuss things that children should not read about).

I am always amused when people tell me how they feel the homeless should be helped but have not taken any in. What they are saying is that others should help them. That is garbage. Trust me children, judge not less you be judged. Anyone reading my blogs expecting me to match up to some twisted profile that you have of Christians or others better check themselves first. I didn't mention every way in which people can get Aids, what slime I am. Instead I help people with it.

I will never match any one's expectations. I owe nothing and have never offered that up. To my readers I wish to make a point. I was thrown off of a website because I say what I think, that is part of how this blog started. I will respond to questions; but, I will respond with further clarification, never by hiding or apologizing for things I meant to say.

To have a real relationship we need to be truthful, not judgemental. We should have opinions and we should express them, wait the response. I am pacifist but I bite. I will respond and I will insist upon being me. It has never and will never be negotiable. I will not trade my truth for comfort or friends or help or any other goodies. I say this up front.

If you have never been beat by bamboo sticks understand that I have. If you have never lived on the streets, I have. If you have never lost everything to those who did you wrong, I have. You would never know it by meeting me.

To all appearances I am a well to do professional. I have doctorate and make six figures. I am a Christian and do not hide it nor promote it. People who don't know me have expectation based on that limited information. They do not know who I spend time with or much else. Still, they insist upon telling me who I am. Don't waste your time, it does not change who I choose to be. I will choose to be who I wish to be and wish the same for everyone. I choose to be myself and help others even people who think differently than me. If you do not do the same than you are still a child in my eyes.

I am the son of a cop and a housewife. My family are all blue collar, I just have a better education and certain bizarre abilities. People who assume that I am privileged because of what I attained, just don't understand who I am. Labels and comparisons will never explain me. My hot button is easy to find, try and get me to meet your requirements and expectations. I will fail, I will still be me and I won't react to prove I am the opposite, I will just keep being me. That is what I wish for everyone.

Using Outliers to Justify Positions

I remember during the early 70s the conversation surrounding abortion. The argument by pro-abortionists was about the victims of incestuous rape being forced to have babies. That was the argument that pro-abortionists used. It was garbage then and it is garbage now.

Based upon the argument, abortion was un-Constitutionally imposed by the Supreme Court. If one bothers to actually read Roe vs. Wade, the court case that legalized abortion, the justices used the logic that the babies could be aborted if they were not viable. In other words, abortion was not a crime because the babies would be unable to live if born before X number of months.

This type of logic, using extremes to justify all abortion is deceitful. What percentage of abortions are done by the victims of incestuous rape, it is very few. The millions of abortions done every year in America are usually the result of people who did not have the sense to use protection.

The deceit at the heart of the Supreme Court case was that they knew they were misusing logic. The proof is in what they did later. If they had stuck to the logic of viability of the baby then we would preventing more and more abortions because we can now remove babies from the womb at 4 months and they can be kept alive outside of the mother.

This is not about abortion, it is an example. It is about intellectual integrity and the truth. Not to attack my commenter; but, lets consider Aids. I was told that I didn't understand the issues because non-homosexuals can get Aids. Let us consider how this argument came to be popular.

When Aids first appeared in the United States it was the result of a gay flight attendant who contracted it in Africa. The man in question knew he was sick and knew he was contagious, he kept sleeping around with other gays and did not tell them that he would make them sick. He didn't care.

He slept with a lot of people and they then passed it on to others. The other group that quickly spread it was Haitians who were intravenous drug users, needles were hard to get in Haiti and the sharing of needles was very common. There is a good book on the history and spread of Aids called, "And the Band Played On". The result, in the early years, was that Aids was almost exclusively a disease that was in the gay, Haitian and drug using community.

Many people who claimed to be Christians began saying that the disease was the result of God's wrath and that the gays deserved it. For me this exposed those claiming to be Christians as not really Christian. Aids is horrible disease and we should not wish ill of that type on anyone. I have lived through seeing too many people die from degenerative diseases, I could never wish such a thing on anyone.

Because there appeared to be little sympathy for gays and drug users, the gay community sought an example of an innocent. They chose Ryan White, a young boy who got Aids from a blood transfusion. They used an innocent little boy to achieve a goal. They used a sympathetic outlier to justify spending millions to find a cure. Their argument was insincere. I understand their reasoning; but, I think they should have hit the real issue and stuck to it before dealing with outliers.

The real issue behind legalizing abortion was whether or not anyone should be prevented from having an abortion. You can take any side you like; but, the real issue and the real consequence was to legalize it for everyone. The same is true with funding of Aids cures. The real issue is whether or not we should seek a cure for diseases that are primarily spread by consensual acts by groups that are not generally accepted. Because some people will say no others attempt to look at side issues, the infinite what ifs.

I personally believe that Marijuana should be legal for those over 18. I see the medicinal marijuana argument as another lie. Yes, marijuana has medicinal uses; however, the millions of people with medical cards for its use have no such diseases. Because the real purpose behind the law is to legalize marijuana, underage people can buy it. The lie lead to consequences.

Let us tell the truth about these things. The truth is that in the United States the greatest number of people with Aids are gay people who engaged in unprotected sex. Because of their actions it spread to people like Ryan White. The vast majority of people who have abortions have likewise had unprotected sex, this is just the truth. Finally, the vast majority of people with medical marijuana have no disease. They just want to smoke pot.

I wish to return to discussing Ryan White for the moment. I referred to him as innocent, that does not mean I consider the gays guilty. Let us not be simplistic or naive. As I said the man who brought Aids to the United States knew he was sick and he did not warn those he spread it to. He was complete jerk. The people he gave it to were also innocent; however, they engaged in unprotected sex knowing that they could get venereal diseases, they knew they were taking a risk. Ryan White did not have a choice, he needed blood transfusions.

Sorry, I don't time to finish this post. I have just been given my move out day. January 24th. Free at last.

I Am Chatty Today

I keep across articles that seem relevant to thing that I have posted on. Apparently one of the issues is homosexuality. I have discussed before how I don't care what others do in the bedroom, nor do I wish to know. I find the side issues much more intriguing.

I read two articles that showed how polarizing the issue of homosexuality is for many. The first article is on the Salvation Army. The author believes that the Salvation Army should not get donations because they will not provide benefits for same sex unmarried couples. It then chastises the Salvation Army for believing homosexuality is wrong.

Some will have a knee jerk reaction to the article and to the Salvation Army while missing the freedom issue. Firstly, the author fails to point out that Salvation Army will provide food and shelter to gays, they don't ask the people they feed if they are gay or not. Apparently this is insufficient. I am not a proponent of the Salvation Army or their beliefs, in fact, I think are very cult like. Having said that, I give them money on occasion because they feed people that the government does not.

If we take the position that we should not support religious organization charitable work because we disagree with some of what they believe then we must consider the opposite. I give money to groups that are not Christian if how they use the money is to do good works. Should Christians refuse to give to the United Way because it is not a Christian organization. This is dangerous ground.

Before taking a position against people we disagree with, we should consider the other side doing the same. Should we tell Christians to only give money to Christian organizations, it is the same thing; but, you better look and see how many are helped by Christian organizations and how many are helped by non-Christian organizations.

Millions and millions of dollars are given by Christians each year to help cure Aids. Asking them to stop giving because they may believe homosexuality is wrong is tyrannical. Requiring others to believe as you do is tyranny and oppression. Requiring it of a religious organization is even worse.

The author attacks the Salvation Army as being cruel for saying that they would shut down their soup kitchens if they were forced to exist in a manner that violates their beliefs. The Salvation Army said they would rather stop then be forced to live against their beliefs. The author assumes the highest purpose of the Salvation Army is to take up the slack that is left by society, it is not, they are primarily a religious organization. There is no requirement that they feed the needy, they choose to do it because they see the need.

I help others because I see needs. I allow people who would otherwise be homeless to live in my house and I buy them food and other items. It is not a requirement that I do so, one of them I did not even know except through a friend of my daughters. I ask very little of the people who live with me and I don't ask for money. I ask for respect of my privacy and to not create problems. Their beliefs vary greatly from mine, if they do not like my beliefs they can simply leave or choose to discuss them or choose not to. I don't push my beliefs on them, I don't require them to be Christians to live with me.

I could rightfully tell the people who live with me that if they do not accept Jesus then they cannot live in my home. That would be a shame and not be loving. It would be using undue pressure because of my position. I would rather not take people in my house at all then require them to believe like me and that is why I don't ask them to.

It is no different for the Salvation Army. To require them to change their beliefs or do things that they find offensive in order for them to help others is wrong. It is worse than wrong, it is a form of moral slavery. Freedom of association and freedom of speech is more important than agreement.

It is timely that I was taken to task for not understanding Aids or gays. It is timely because of the article about the Salvation Army and this one about Harvey Milk's old store. Mr. Milk was a gay politician in San Francisco. He was killed in San Francisco City Hall. A gay rights group is now renting Mr. Milk's old store and the complaints are not coming from Christians or conservatives, the complaints are coming from more radical gays. They argue that the group that is renting the space is not aggressive enough on gay issues. Rather than working together on the parts they agree on, they seek to separate on the areas where they do not.

Mans greatest urge is to make others to conform to their beliefs. One of my daughters has told me that she will not speak to me unless I live by her rules. Guess what, I don't work that way and it is criminal and despicable to ask me to.

This post is not about homosexuality, it is merely an example that was timely. This post is about allowing others to live the way they see fit. Unfortunately, sheep seek to force others to be like them. It is what makes them unfit as leaders. Good leaders do not seek conformity, they deal with variety.

I was taken to task for not understanding the issues surrounding Aids. I am often told that I don't understand issues. Usually by people who do not understand how "their" issues impact other equally important issues. Hyper-focus by others does not mean that I must do the same and limit myself to only looking at one issue. That is not going to happen.

To the person who posted the comment, my responses may appear to be responses, I seek more than to respond. I seek further conversation. I do not seek agreement, I clarify my position and attempt to give further room for discussion. Be well all.

Sheep as Lions

I read an interesting post from "Above Top Secret" which had an accompanying video. Here is the link. It talks about how most people are sheeple and should wake up and take action. I disagree.

Most people are like sheep, how is that for offensive. Jesus referred to us as sheep, he referred to himself as the good shepherd. Was he wrong? He told us to be good slaves, the book was not written for the people in charge, it was for the vast majority of us, the sheep.

What is the nature of sheep? They are herd animals, they are usually gentle and only concerned with comfort. It is their nature. Are sheep wrong for being sheep? Should sheep attempt to be lions? Would they be happy as lions? I doubt it very much. We are limited by our nature, what we do with it is the key. How far we can go given our confines.

The world is run by a very few number of individuals. It only takes one shepherd to manage a large flock of sheep. Some flocks get bad shepherds and the flock suffers because of it, that does not mean the sheep are capable of shepherding themselves. Everyone wants to believe that they should be the manager or owner, they are mistaken. Replacing one bad shepherd with another doesn't work any better. In order to lead well one must put in the effort. The best leaders don't want to be leaders.

A good leader rarely gets rattled. They do not act from fear, that takes some time to learn. A good leader ignores how they are personally impacted by their decisions and instead does what is best for their organization or family. Few sheep can look beyond how things impact them. A good leader understands their industry and is constantly looking to know more. A good leader promotes those who are learning to be the same rather than family and friends. This is why I am not a proponent of direct democracy.

If you watch the video link about sheep it proposes that the sheep who can wake up should unite and leave the others behind. I have been asked to do that before. The concept is written about in a book by Ayn Rand called "Atlas Shrugged". I disagree, that only creates a new sheeple society and shows a distinct lack of concern for those who are still growing.

We are all in process. I do not allow four year olds to drive cars, they are not ready. It is not about taking back our freedoms, it is about growing enough to handle freedom and then being given it. It is about having the opportunity to learn, if we decline to take advantage of these opportunities then we should not have the freedoms.

I may seem to contradict some earlier writings but it is not a contradiction. I believe citizenship is a birth right; but, I don't believe citizenship means you should be able to fly a plane if you have not bothered learning how. Some rights have to be earned because they put other people at risk. With every earned right comes a responsibility, you cannot separate the two nor should you try to. My observation is that people want what they have not earned, they want to take the short cut, they only want the advantages of being in charge and not the responsibility, they want to blame those below them. That is backwards.

Why don't I want the sheep to lead? Here is a good example of how sheep lead. Sheep get frustrated because they don't know how to change things so they become violent.

On a separate note, there has been a rash of earthquakes in an area not known for them. The geologists are stumped. The article. Now I must return to talking to my mortgage processor. Have a great day.

Comment to the last post

One of my readers took offense to my last post. I posted their comment and responded. This post is not about the issue they raised although that will be the example used. The issue will be about the blog and about conversation in general.

This blog is not meant to be the final word on anything, it is not meant to be a learned treatise. It is my way of looking at issues that I see around me. Sometimes I am looking at one aspect of an issue. When that occurs it often because of a more personal perspective rather than attempting to see all aspects of an issue.

While it surprises me, there are people who read this blog that don't know me at all and others who are close friends and know quite a lot about me. It is hard to write to all audiences and be understood. Each reader will take from my posts what they will. In the end it is still just things I am thinking from my experience and my research. Thoughts not conclusions, works in progress.

Communication, be it through a blog or in person, is often difficult. I had a friend who used to say that communication is impossible. I disagree, it is a process and our words should continually be refined during that process so that we can have a clearer understanding of what we are attempting to convey to each other.

I intentionally request people to comment. It allows me to consider things that I might not have. The problem with blogging is that there is a long time delay between I write something and when people read it, it can be months later. Lost in that time can be context, lost in all my posts is the readers ability to see my context at the time I write it, what drives me to raise an issue, why it is on my mind and why.

I attempt to have a relationship with my readers. Like all relationships there is a give and take, there is imperfect communication. If a reader finds something I have written is insufficient then I welcome their comments and questions. If someone finds what I write to be offensive, I still welcome their comments. I have refused one comment because it used names. I refused another comment because I do not allow cuss words on my blog.

I do not know most of the readers and many have never left comments. I do not know who reads this blog in South Korea, I do not know who reads it in the Ukraine. I can only imagine that they must find some of what I write to be difficult to understand where I am coming from, I am still glad that they read it. They can take from it what they wish and they can question me on anything. I reserve the right to respond as I see fit.

Now I will return to the example of my last post. I used an example of people I knew, I have done that before. My point of reference is my life and my examples are often of people I know. In my last post I mentioned gays, I know gay men, heck, I know gay women; but, I don't know any gay women with Aids. They are out there, I just don't know any.

I have talked about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. I have talked out against what we are doing. I had family in those war zones while I wrote about them. While my discussions were on aspects of the war, it has a very personal meaning to me that I do not discuss. I would hope that my readers understand that this is not just words, this blog is an expression of my feelings and my experience and my life. It is personal.

I do not generally like to discuss what I have done for others. I certainly do not wish to hold anything I have done for others over them. For this reason it is difficult to defend who I am to people who are unaware of things I have done. In this instance I will mention something I did. The person I helped was a young gay man who reads this blog. He needed money to get in an apartment and I gave it to him, not loaned, gave. He moved into West Hollywood. If I mention that West Hollywood is a gay community I will not be completely correct, there are straight people that live there also; but, the majority are gay. Is that being stereotypical?

Some of the questions I ask or some things I write about may make people uncomfortable. Learning and thinking require some discomfort, it means we must consider things that we have not thought about before, we must move out of our comfort zone.

Let us consider a hypothetical. What if I hated homosexuals and chose to post about it. What would be the best way to get me to reconsider my position? I read a lot of blogs and news stories and the comments. I see way too much attacking rather than engaging in conversation. We take offense and attack rather than attempting to get people to consider alternatives.

We rush everything anymore. I rarely see people ask for clarification, instead I see conditioned responses as they attempt to respond. I have opinions and I have attitudes and I cannot possibly see things the same as all of my readers. If people wish to understand what I am saying please ask for clarification, I will do my best to respond in a clearer way. Please give me the courtesy of being wrong sometimes; but, still willing to take a second look.

To the person who commented that they thought I knew better, stick around, comment more, lets get to know each other better. Understand that I write as I am thinking, I plan out nothing on this blog. I write casually, it may appear otherwise because I write a lot, I do it at work much more formally. I will not question everything I write here because it is meant to be casual in format. I will attempt to provide some context to my last post.

Yesterday I finally got someone assigned to work with me on my foreclosure. My mind was focused on the million things I have to do to move out of my house. I had just finished talking to a cousin about moving all of my furniture and possessions to another state until I can find a place to keep them. I wanted to make my post for the night quickly so that I could return to thinking about what I need to do to move and where I would get the money from. I read the article about the stem cells being used to cure Aids. That was the linked article, I know stem cells are being used for other things such as Parkinsons; but, what immediately came to my mind was the people I know who are HIV positive and they are gay. I wondered what I would say to them if they asked me if they should take the stem cell cure. Rather than give my answer, which is no, I asked the questions.

To all of my readers I will give these comments. I will write about whatever is on my mind that I wish to and in any manner that I choose. This is not a public forum although the public may read it. I do not make one penny off of this blog and do not intend to. I do make an effort to find articles that not everyone may be aware of. Sometimes I do research before I post; but, that is rare and usually limited to things like the pension scandal. Articles that are not about opinions but are about events that require more investigation.

I do not have time to discuss every aspect of everything I write about. Often I am looking at one or two aspects of a thing. This is not an encyclopedia, it is where I discuss things that are on my mind. Please do not assume that my thoughts are limited to the issues I raise, I do know that there are other issues remaining and after I write I continue to think about them. This blog represents only a small part of my beliefs and thoughts, I exist beyond this blog and have thoughts beyond what I post. Be well.

I found this article that sort of discusses the issue raised above.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Soon My Pretties

I finally got someone assigned to my mortgage case. I had to give up the day to do it so I didn't have much time to read the news. I did find this one article interesting.

HIV cured by babies stem cells. I am not going to discuss the merits of homosexuality or stem cell use, I want to ask something else. The dilemma.

Lets say you are a gay man with AIDS who is a Christian, would you take the stem cells knowing that a baby was killed so that you could have them? Now, lets say you are a gay man with AIDS who is an atheist; but, you don't believe in abortion of killing anything, a total vegan. Would you take the stem cells?

We define ourselves by our choices.

Monday, December 13, 2010

He's Talking About God Again - Sort of

I read this post on "Above Top Secret" where someone asked why the Mormons had all of this intricate information, the most of anyone, on genealogies. Great question. I don't have any idea what the answer is. It does seem odd.

The Mormons have built a vault inside a mountain to protect the information. Why do they need a vault? Do they think God does not know everyone of us? I am pretty sure that he does. It says he wove us in our mother's wombs. God never really liked census' anyways. He commanded the Israelites to NOT count the priests when they did the census. The original census that he commanded was for the purpose of evenly dividing up all the land based on the number of people. The Levites were apportioned theirs differently.

The other census in the bible that I recall resulted in Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem. In the Bible, other than when God had the people count the Israelites, that a census was done it tended to be for bad reasons. In fact the Bible says that the Israelites would be too big to be counted, so why are the Mormons trying to count them?

Why do we need a census today? Why does the government care who lives in which house? Why does Bill Gates want to register every child in the WORLD via cell phone. What is it with this counting thing? I ask this question to Christians and non-Christians. Why do people want a listing of everybody in the world. It is only good for one second and then there are more people being born and dying. It will never be an accurate count. So why count?

Let me show how silly this is. If you knew the exact number of people on earth today and tomorrow you were off by a million, what difference would it make? Do you have any idea of how much time and money and effort is wasted counting people? The Mormon church alone has 25,000 people tracing genealogies. Sure sounds like someone believes counting us is worthwhile and they want to be exact.

On a side note. I read this article where it talked about the fact that scientists can now bar code embryos. The explanation is that they want to make sure that test tube babies have the correct embryo. Sounds like a big lie to me. Sounds like more counting. I like math and have been asked to write a book on accounting (I am not an accountant) but I HATE algebra. I only like parts of mathematics. I am not into registering babies like they were products.

In law there are two types of property, real property and chattel. Real property stays in place, chattel moves. We are chattel. To own something you must be able to register it so that other people know you own it. The reason you count people is to show who owns who.

Let me ask a question. When have you ever benefited from being registered with the government? Don't misunderstand, I did not ask about being tested, I asked about being numbered. When has the government done that to help you rather than control you?

I heard a brilliant man once, he said "look at how you appear on a map, it determines what you get". More or less that is what he said. Why are you being counted? It determines what you get. Be well.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Prince Charles

Protesting students in London apparently attacked a Rolls Royce that was carrying Prince Charles and Camille, his wife. The protesters were shouting "Off with their heads". We know that was said in France about 200 years ago.

The look on the face of Prince Charles and Camille was not fear, it was shock. They could not comprehend seeing such a thing in England. I don't have any use for kings and queens as a rule. Having said that, I am absolutely opposed to this type of violence.

This little event must be a real wake up call for the royals. In fact, it is a wake up call for all people of power. Beyond the event is a bigger question, is that the face of anarchy and or direct democracy. The austerity measures going on in England are oppressive; but, how would those protesters manage government or anything else?

A veil has been pierced and people are aware of how they are being herded and controlled. There are calls for a return to freedom; but, we have never been free. People need leaders. Odd thing for me to say but it is true. How we choose our leaders determines the outcome.

The world has changed, it has become more global and that is okay as long as democracy and government remain local. Because the world has changed, people are agitated. Most people do not understand what the consequences of the world changes are. Even the leaders do not understand what is coming. World leadership is afraid, they are afraid of their own people not accepting the changes.

People have lost faith in their leaders who are corrupt and more concerned with their personal rewards than in improving conditions of the people they are supposed to lead. The leaders have lost faith in the people who are corrupt also. The problem is that we accept corruption anywhere.

We have now arrived at a place where things cannot improve unless we reject corruption in all it's sources. The problem is that nobody is presenting a plan for improving everyone's life. Our morals no longer exist, we have replaced morals with a belief that people should do as they wish (always with the caveat "as long as they don't hurt anyone else"). We do not ask if it is right, we ask if it is allowable.

Europe is a lost cause. Here is a good video on population rates and Europe's Islamization. I am not calling the Muslims corrupt, I am talking about European cultures demise.

The Europeans, the west, has been telling their people that they are overpopulating; but, then they turn around and let in millions and millions of people from other countries, primarily Muslims because they need a larger workforce. Think about that. The Europeans are being told to not have children and are replacing themselves with foreigners who want to change their laws to Islamic law.

Now I want you to ask yourself this question. If Europe had allowed their population size to decrease and had not let in millions of immigrants then their countries would not be overpopulating and they would not have the problems that the Muslims are causing them, so why did they let the immigrants in?

People are trained NOT to think but instead to have emotional reactions. I often find myself telling people about some news event and the first response people give is to say how they "feel" about the situation. They think about how they feel about the event rather than investigating the event and coming to an opinion AFTER they have investigated and have a deeper understanding.

A change occurred in our educational systems. 40 years ago we were taught to THINK, not to feel. We were taught to understand before coming to an opinion. The education system changed and teachers began asking children how they felt about history or current events. All opinions were considered equally valuable, they are not. There are no dumb questions but there are plenty of dumb answers.

We no longer believe anything, not even the truth because we do not seek it. People seek out answers that allow them to do what they want. We want simple answers and complain that the laws are too complicated. They are; but, the answer is found in learning more, not learning less.

When you heard about rioters attacking Prince Charles, what was your first response. Was it related to your opinion about there still being Kings and Queens looking down on the rest of us? As an alternate was your first thought about how these kids were out of control? In either case your opinion was based upon feelings rather than an investigation into the effect and the cause.

There is a lot of chatter about whether or not 9/11 was an inside job. It may or may not be an important question; but, what is a more important question is whether or not we should be at war. Juliane Assange has been arrested (the guy from Wikileaks) on some bogus charge of rape for not wearing a condom. Politicians world wide have called for his death and arrest because he released secret and confidential documents. We just released 5 known spies and England is releasing one it just caught. Why are we releasing spies and going after Assange? The spies gave the information to foreign governments, Assange gave the information to the people. Governments hide information from their own people not from other governments. They trust their own people less than they trust other governments, even enemies.

The United States government refused to admit in court that Area 51 existed, they were not hiding the fact from the Russians or Chinese, they have their own satellites and can see Area 51, the truth was being hid from Americans. Does this not seem strange to you?

What is all of this leading to, I have no idea. I have to get started on making meatballs for dinner tonight. Meatball sandwiches sounded good, I hope you enjoy your dinner. Be well.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Apology

I have not been writing much because I am working on my foreclosure. I promise to be better.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Google and Energy

I told you, Google is going to be big in clean energy. Read the article.

Overly Tired

Have to rest, long day and too little sleep. I hope to post something semi-intelligent this weekend.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

My doggy

I have my doggy back. It is good.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Distracted

Well, it is soon. Today I was assigned a person at the loan processing company to work with me to have a Deed in Lieu situation. Basically I sign the deed over to the loan company and walk away.

When I was younger I wanted to get married, have kids, pay off my house by the time I retired and spend my retirement traveling with my wife. Missed it by that much. LOL.

Now I don't want to own anything that I can't carry in my car. I have already raised a family. I feel no need to raise another.

I think the only thing I still want is to retire from this job. All of this sort of put me in an odd mood. I am not depressed or even unhappy, I think that more than anything else I am just pondering the light at the end of the tunnel. It is one of those what next moments. I thought I knew what I wanted to do; but, I am not sure.

It is probably good that I stopped dating for awhile. Dating was fun and the ladies were all a joy to get to know and spend time with; but, I have no idea what I want the rest of my life to be. I still haven't decided.

How does one decide what they want from life? It was easy when I was young. I am not that entranced by the toys of this world. I think the better question may be whether or not I know what type of relationship I want to be in if any. Just distracted. Be well.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Don't Worry Be Happy

I spoke to one of my readers and he was a little disturbed after seeing the video linked on my previous post. I understand that the world is a little stupid right now; but, it is nothing to worry over.

The world has faced many economic crisis over it's history. Things get worse and things get better. There are people saying people should buy gold and store up food or even buy guns. I choose no such actions.

We cannot avoid the hard times coming; but, they will be replaced by better times. That is how the world works. Sleep well and be well. Have faith in God and in your ability to survive. People are pretty good at surviving, we have a lot of history at surviving, even really bad times.

You Need to Watch This

While I am just some idiot reading the news, others who are financial experts have seen the same things as me. Specifically, I have discussed the dollar losing it's value. The Russians and Chinese are now no longer accepting dollars. This has a consequence and this video discusses it.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Back on Line

Time Warner was a bad puppy. I am going to watch a movie tonight. I am watching "Legion". It is about spooky things. I shall laugh a lot at spooky things. Then I shall write. Oops.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

internet broke

Can only use phone

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

NASA Again

NASA has announced that tomorrow at 2:00 they will be holding another press conference. The people attending are all astrobioligists which indicates that the announcement will involve life in other places. Enjoy.