Idealists are the seed corn of the crop that becomes the cynic.

Sick

It was bronchitis.  Of all things.  I was kept abed from Wednesday night until Friday evening, when I was finally feeling enough strength to leave my room.  The doctor I finally got to see on Sunday concluded that I had acute bronchitis masquerading as the flu.  I was in such agony, I thought saw the Angel of Death hiding between my washer and dryer.  The steroid shot seemed to have improved my outlook quite a bit.  I feel very worn, tired, and dizzy.  But better. Much better.

Lent, 2013

Good grief, I have not blogged on this for a LONG TIME.  However, as I have given up Facebook and beer for Lent (gasp!), I will attempt to update this instead. Instead of writing a post, I will just do some bullet points in the method of "stream of consciousness".

• I don't miss FB as much as I thought.
• I have only heard from 2 FB "friends" in "real life" since I went dark...this excludes fambly.
• I miss using FB as a political soapbox
• I miss being informed of get-togethers and such
• I miss creeping on people.
• I have more time for navel-gazing
• I took an eight-mile walk where I just THOUGHT THINGS OUT.
• I am having mixed feelings about __________ but it is incredible.
• My online class is a bore and I am not sure what I am observing during classroom observations.
• I miss beer.  But I need a hiatus.  This certainly is a sacrifice of sorts.
• Growing up in the Evangelical tradition, the idea of Lent is poo-pooed, but every-time I think about my paltry sacrifice, it does remind me to think on Jesus' 40 Days in the Wilderness (40DW)

More to follow. Please comment, even if it is just to say that this blog has an audience of more than one.  My ego requires it.

Ten Things Every Man Should Own - #9

I was a reluctant latecomer to both mobile phones and other such devices. However, I jumped on the e-reader bandwagon in 2011, and have not had a moment's regret! I was skeptical about the idea of reading a book off an electronic device (a book IS made of paper, is it not?) At the risk of being a sell-out, I bought a Kindle Keyboard 3rd gen ($99), with wireless (not the 3G).

Here are the top 10 reasons YOU need a Kindle!

1. Good for old eyes . Unlike a paper book, you can adjust text size and spacing. I find Kindle’s E Ink technology easier to read than a paper book.
2. Save space. I have many, many books....and they are heavy. I had so many I donated a good portion of them to the library. Now I have 400 books on my Kindle, and it takes up very little space.
3. Save money. Books are expensive, but Kindle titles tend to be cheaper than paper books. There are countless thousands of books one can get for FREE, either from Amazon or elsewhere...get books in the public domain, or borrow from a friend.
4. Improve your vocabulary. Highlight a word while reading, and access two built in dictionaries! Never find yourself guessing at the meaning of a word.
5. Sample Kindle books for free. Before buying a book, you can have a sample chapter sent to your Kindle free of charge. You can also have a friend loan you a Kindle book for a 14 day period.
6. Great for multitasking. With the Kindle’s trim design, you can read during activities that would otherwise be wasted. I love to use my Kindle when I’m on the treadmill, stationary bicycle or other such exercise drudgery, The Kindle can also be read one-handed.
7. Some Kindles can read to you. The Kindle can play audio books, but you can also make it read many of your standard Kindle books. The robotic voice takes a bit of getting used to.
8. You can play games. I don't play games, but they do have chess, Scrabble and things like that.
9. The battery charge lasts ages! Most electronic devices need to be constantly recharged...I often only charge my Kindle once a month, even though I use it every day!
10. Amazon has great customer service. Nuff said.

Ten Things Every Man Should Own - #10

The Casio G-Shock has been a standard for men who need dependable, hard-use goods, since their debut in the mid-1980s. These durable and rugged watches have adorned the hands of a wide range of people, from Olympic athletes, to the Special Forces soldiers of "Black Hawk Down". These watches also have a large collector's following.

I like the watches because they are affordable, simple enough to use (although feature-heavy), and durable. The watch face is pretty hard to scratch, and I wear my watch ALL the time, and tend to stick my hands in dark dirty places where more fragile watches dare not go. My only criticism of the G-Shock is that it boasts a proprietary sized band...your average off the shelf band will not fit without a special adapter. The G-Shock is sold with a fairly decent silicon rubber band. I am hard on my watch bands, but this one is in great shape after having it a year, and I cannot see any cracks as would appear with other "rubber" watch bands. On a side note, the only watch band brand I trust are those made by Maratac Zulu.

My favorite G-Shock is the solar powered model with atomic clock synchronization. In addition to G-Shock's near bullet-proof design, the solar/atomic model never needs batteries. It is also able to receive the radio signal that keeps it in tune with the world's most accurate clock. No more fumbling with buttons to switch to Daylight Savings.

The watch also has a few different lap timers and things like that which I don't fully understand. It will also light up in the dark, a la Indiglo (thanks Timex), and has an alarm clock.

Check Amazon for prices and options.

Credit : The Feudalism of Our Age by John Marc Seeley

As most citizens have already noted, our economy is in shambles. Our government owes 2 ½ trillion dollars, conservatively, to China alone. The average American is $8000 in debt to credit card companies, and 43% of us spend more than we make each year.
If every working person in the US was forced to make payments towards our national debt, we would all pay in excess of $600 per month in order to pay it off in 15 years.

Proverbs 22:7
“The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.”



Does being in debt make us slaves? Yes, both on an individual basis, and as a nation.
By implication, a nation state that is beholden to another in order to pay the bills must necessarily adapt a different foreign policy than one without debt. Additionally, the lender takes on a position of authority over the state which is borrowing. Because the lender has made an investment, they have a keen interest in the internal politics, policies, laws, and the monetary decisions of the borrowing nation. This is especially true when a powerful and militarized country is the lender.
An indebted state can never be truly free.


The Parasite :

A powerful nation that is owed money could easily invade the borrower, seize all assets equaling the amount owed, and in so doing satisfy the debt. However, this is not profitable.

Imagine a tapeworm. Does this tapeworm attempt to kill the host? No. It feeds off of them for a long period of time, stealing nutrients away at a slow pace. Why? Because if it siphoned off too many nutrients it would kill the host, and then would itself promptly die. It is better for the parasite to take small amounts over a long period of time, than to take large amounts of nutrients over a short period of time.
This is also true in regards to debt. The lender stands to gain more money over a protracted period of time, if it can keep you in long term debt. It is in their best interest.
Likewise, a lending nation is more profitable if it can keep the borrowing nation indebted, preferably over many generations. This guarantees an economically enslaved state that is not only indebted, but also malleable when threatened with not being allowed to borrow further.


The Drug Dealer:

A nation, once indebted, considers borrowed money as part of that nation’s budget. When this occurs, the populace will revolt if any austerity measures are taken in order to lessen the debt. Because of this, nations simply pile on more debt in order to appear strong, and to appease the citizenry.

Consider a drug dealer. They will often offer up their illicit substances for free a few times in order that a person become addicted. After addiction has occurred, the drug dealer will start charging, knowing that the buyer is now enslaved to the drug, and will do almost anything to be able to pay for it. The addicted person has now become guaranteed income for the dealer.
After addiction, the drug becomes part of that person’s body chemistry. The body needs it to function. If a person attempts to deprive the body of this drug, the body will revolt by entering into a phase of withdrawal. Not wishing to experience the pain and torture of the withdrawal, the addict will often return to using the drug.
This is just like cheap and abundant credit. This is why you see credit card advertisements for “ 0% APR” or “No Payments For 12 Months!”. They want you to become addicted, enjoy the life lived outside of your means, and for you to offer up payments for the rest of your life. This is all done to your detriment and to their betterment.
Credit is the drug, and borrowing the disease.

'TIS CHRISTMAS TIME by John Marc Seeley

'TIS CHRISTMAS TIME
Early this morning I had cause to observe the parking lot of a Target store near where I work, and I simply had to write about it :
There was a line as far as the eye could see of people standing and sitting in line to get into this store. Because it was cold, raining and a long wait until opening time, many of these people brought folding chairs, blankets, coats, and even umbrellas.
Over the several minutes I took in this sight, I could hear the dull roar of idle chatter, which was occassionaly pierced by loud, imbecilic laughter. Moments later, a sudden hush came over the assembled group. I could hear a muffled voice overcome the silence, which was then immediately followed by riotous applause, screams and whistling. Interesting.
I couldn't help but wonder what would possess a person to spend 14 hours in the cold rain in order to purchase discount Chinese electronics manufactured by corporate slaves in a Communist nation. Avarice. Decadence. A religion of worshipping baubles.
Quit being a consumer and start being a human. If you find yourself mindlessly applauding the opening of a store like some intoxicated primate, you need to realize you have a problem with consumerism and trinket-lust. Fix it.

What's new?

No longer playing in the band. So sad...I miss playing!
Still working my dead-end, mind-numbing job.
Looking at furthering mt studies (yuck)

I need to do some real blogging, and dedicate myself to it.