Posts: 21

1. I've been giving this a lot of thought . . .

   18.Jul.08, 10:44 EDT
   
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   Taxes, illegal immigration, and our national policy on birth control.
   
   Might those three things be connected in some way? If so, what can those three things possibly have in common?
   
   I think they are connected, and the common element is - the US budget deficit.
   
   Think about it. In the USofA, we currently spend about 18% of our Gross National Product on the maintenance of the Federal Government. Under current forecasts, however, due to commitments already in place, by the year 2040 we will be spending about 18% of the national GNP on Social Security and Medicare ALONE.
   
   The elected officials in the US House and US Senate know this full well. There is no debate on the validity of those projections. The sad reality is, if something doesn't change, by 2040 the US Government will not be able to finance it's own operations on a day-to-day or year-by-year basis. There will be no money available for national security, the military, or even the salaries and benefits of the people elected to those offices.
   
   There are a number of ways that things can change to make it easier for the operation of the government to survive. Most of them would require some form of drastic reduction of entitlement program benefits, focusing clearly on the two programs that are the biggest problems. If you drastically reduce the benefits available through Medicare and Social Security (to about 15% of current levels) then you must by default extend the viability of the US Government. However, that won't happen while we have the Democrats in control (and probably won't happen even if the Republicans get control back). Why?
   
   Because elected officials LOVE entitlement programs. They can hold up a vote in favor of an entitlement program in front of their voters and say "See, I really care about YOU. I'm here to help YOU!" And people buy it because it looks good on the surface. Never mind that in the long run it makes our national bankruptcy so totally unavoidable that EVERYONE looses. After all, that was just the bad luck of the math related to the huge WW2 baby boom. Right?
   
   So, what does all that have to do with taxes, illegal immigration, and birth control policies?
   
   The main issue Washington cares about is maintaining a viable income. Taxes. Let's not even get into the argument (for the moment) that the reality is income taxes don't even come close to paying the bill of the interest on our accumulated national debt. That's a whole different argument. Washington at least wants to LOOK like it's being responsible with the money it takes from us. Deep in our hearts, we all know it isn't really living up to that image.
   
   If the real problem Washington sees is lack of taxes, then the question they need to answer is, "How do we increase the tax base?" Offer an amnesty to 12 million "undocumented workers" and hand them Social Security cards, and you get 12 million more TAXABLE citizens. Yes, it makes a difference - but it's only mathematically a .04 percent difference in our already 300+ million people national population.
   
   So, this is where birth control policies come into play. To be completely blunt, if Washington isn't willing to severely reduce the benefits available to Social Security and Medicare recipients, then we need another baby boom. If they start it RIGHT NOW, then those children will be entering the work force around 2028, and paying taxes on (hopefully) full-time job earnings from 2028 until 2040 (12 years). It might be enough by itself to push the 2040 deadline back to 2070 or farther, by which time none of the current elected officials will still be living and it will be someone else's problem.
   
   Well, I'm no expert on national policy, economics, or anything else. This is just what looks logical to me, based on the issues currently at play. I'm not agreeing with it or saying I like it. I don't like it. But, it does make sense if I'm trying to look at it from the view point of an elected official in Washington DC.

2. Paying the price . . .

   25.Jun.08, 13:58 EDT
   
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   Ouch! I wish I could doctor that up, to help get the severity across better. I'm really hurting.
   
   You see, even after visiting two chiropractors in the last week, I'm still having muscle spasms up and down my back and neck, and my left shoulder doesn't want to do anything without me forcing it to.
   
   I went to sleep last night around 7pm, mostly bored because I can't do much of anything. I can't even sit here at my computer for very long, because sitting up irritates the muscle spasms. The last thing I was told when I went to the last chiro was - stay off your feet and put ice on those muscles. Yeah, right.
   
   We're still trying to finish this move by the 1st of July. But without me doing any packing, we're limited to what my wife can do at night - after she gets home from a long day at work. Not the best time for her to be doing a lot more hard work. We had planned from the beginning that I was going to do most of this.
   
   So, when I woke up at 1:30 this morning, I took a look around and said basically, "To hell with it. I'm going to get this done, even if I have to spend a month in a wheel chair after we're done." And dove in.
   
   I actually did get enough stuff packed (mostly all our electronics except for this computer) to fill our Blazer, and made one trip over to the new house to unload it. But by the time I was back here and done, I was REALLY done. I can hardly move right now. Even fixing lunch was a mind-numbing painful episode. I would love to be like Reed Richards (of the Fantastic Four) right now - just one big stretch and everything would go back to where it's supposed to be. End of problem. Yeah, I wish!

3. Legends . . .

   24.Jun.08, 01:47 EDT
   
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   You know, we've all heard legends. Sometimes it's the really famous ones, and sometimes it's the story of your great-great grand-uncle who rode with Jesse James to rob a train once.
   
   My family has one such legend, and I finally got tired enough of it that I decided to check it out.
   
   The family legend is that we're direct descendants of a Cherokee Indian princess (and by extension, wouldn't that mean also a chief?). Supposedly, someone in the family - way back when - should have been able to get an Indian ID card but chose not to do it. But, as family legends are wont to do, nobody even knew for sure which family member it was, or why the choice was made not to take the ID.
   
   Well, Saturday I was looking at the MySpace page of a new friend, mostly looking over past blogs he'd written. One in particular caught my attention - the official newsletter for the Cherokee Nation. Reading that newsletter reminded me of the family legend, and I got a burr in my saddle (so to speak) and wrote to this new friend to tell him the story. He wrote back that, if we could document which family member it was, and the entire un-broken family lineage from that person to me, it might be possible to apply (the form is available at the Official Cherokee Nation website) for citizenship. Of course, there are some very specific qualifications (the primary one is that at least one direct ancestor MUST be listed by name on the Dawes Roll) - but hey, it might be possible.
   
   So, I called my dad on the phone and told him what I'd learned. He said he'd have to get out his records (it was late Sunday night at the time) and see what he had, but if he could give me anything that would help to decide if this was even worth chasing down then he would.
   
   Monday afternoon he called me back with at least birth names, birth years, and death years going back 4 generations before me (not including me), and the name of #4's father.
   
   So, I went to a web page that had the full roster of the Dawes Roll on it. Now, for your information, the Dawes Roll is the census taken by the US Government of all Native American and Freedmen who were residents of the Indian Territories (mainly a narrow strip of land across the northern part of Oklahoma) during the time the census was conducted - 1898 to 1906.
   
   I typed in a name, selected the tribe and gender, and hit "search". In two seconds - pow! There it was - my great-great grandmother's maiden name, with an official CDIB number! Jackpot! Then, just as a whim, I typed in her father's name, tribe, and gender, then hit "search" again. Yes, you can guess it - he's there too, with his own unique CDIB number. I don't know for sure what CDIB means (I tried to find out) - but that is the most important number in support of a claim.
   
   The legends were true, at least in so far as documenting that we ARE carriers of Cherokee blood. It only took me 2 minutes (and some good internet search skills) to verify the information when my dad passed it on to me. Oh, and you should have heard the joy in his voice when I called him back to share the good news! Now he's going to call his mom (who's only 83) and ask her for more complete information on everyone, so we can start gathering together the official birth/death certificates we'll need to provide to support the application. Yes, we are going forward with it - and I hope we'll be able to complete it in time to share it with my grandmother while she is still able to share it! Of course, her mom (my great-grandmother) only passed away about 10 years ago.
   
   What's really amazing is - I'm about 1/32nd Cherokee, and 1/4 Irish - so how is it that I actually can hold my liquor? (ducks behind couch) LOL!

4. Grrr . . . some people!

   22.Jun.08, 10:58 EDT
   
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   I'm feeling rather annoyed right now, over trouble with my neck and left shoulder. I have at least 3 vertebra in my neck severely out of place, and the pinched nerve is causing usage control problems with my left shoulder. Also a lot of pain. I've been putting cold-packs on it, and using Icy-Hot and Tylenol, but getting any help is having to wait.
   
   There are 3 chiropractors in this area who we're willing to go to. The main one is almost an hour away in Joplin - she's by far the best, but also the hardest to get to for an emergency.
   
   So, there is a local chiropractor we've both been to who does good work, but who's training only covers skeletal adjustments. Because we have both gotten good results with him, he's our back-up. However, he's not always available.
   
   When he isn't available, there is a third guy I've been to a few times. He's older, and very opinionated. As a bone-cracker he was alright - my dad and step-mom swear by him - but in the last couple of years he's started to go off the deep end. Since he runs his clinic out of his home, he's always been willing to open the door for an emergency, so he was the "absolutely can't wait" back-up.
   
   Was being the operative word. I'm not going back to him ever again.
   
   Saturday morning I could hardly even get out of bed, due to the pain in my neck/shoulder. On the other hand, I couldn't sleep either. Yesterday was a very miserable day. I started calling chiropractors as soon as they would have been open (if they were going to be in their offices on a Saturday) - and had to leave 3 voice-mail messages. Only one called me back - but not before about 1pm - contestant #3.
   
   I immediately accepted a visit with him, and we drove over. After giving him the change of address, he took me back to the exam/adjustment room. He figured out in no time at all that my real big problem was the vertebra that were out of place in my neck. But, that was when it went off the deep end.
   
   He had this gadget that was plugged into a wall outlet. It looked kind of like a soldering iron with a plastic bubble over the heating end. He held it up against my neck, pulled the trigger, and I got hit with a very rapid series of bumps. He claimed it was like getting 12 adjustments per second.
   
   It didn't help. Oh, the massage quality was some relief, but I didn't feel anything move, and told him so. He told me to go home and put ice on it. It cost me $35 to get a quick mechanical massage and be told to use ice. I'm going to try Monday to see if the local primary chiropractor can get me in for a visit. In the mean time, I can hardly move. Tylenol isn't even really dealing with the pain. I could go with stronger stuff (I have it) but that stuff is hard on my stomach. Decisions, decisions.

5. Missed it by that much . . .

   20.Jun.08, 05:56 EDT
   
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   No, this is not a review for the "Get Smart" movie. I will NOT be watching that one.
   
   This is about the new Firefox 3 web browser. Remember all the problems I was having with version 2? Well, I decided to give version 3 a try, to see if the problems had been fixed.
   
   Problem 1: can't view images/links in LJ when using Firefox 2.
   Version 3: mostly fixed - still looks strange compared to how I'm used to seeing LJ in my IE browser, but it's working.
   
   
   Problem 2: same as problem 1 - but in MySpace.
   Version 3: No change, except that member's status icons now show animation.
   
   Problem 3: Yahoo news graphics images won't show up.
   Version 3: No change - looks like a color-by-numbers page. Boxes where the graphics should be contain crowded partial descriptions (like what a blind person would get using image-translator plug-ins) of the image I should be seeing.
   
   In other words, Firefox 3 really isn't much better for my needs than version 2 was. I may hate Microsoft and IE, but it displays the websites I go to fully, completely, and quickly. Until Firefox can do that, it's going to be a part-time browser at the most, for me.

6. Pushing it a bit . . .

   18.Jun.08, 10:30 EDT
   
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   Oh, I'm tired.
   
   It started with more storms over the weekend. Sunday night to Monday morning I managed no sleep at all, and I got only a few hours of sleep Monday afternoon.
   
   After my wife got off work Monday, we went out to Yummy Buffet to eat, and when we got home I checked my email. There was a freecycle note that someone not far away was giving away a pump for an above-ground swimming pool. Our new neighbor is planning to put one in her back yard, so I went next door to tell her mom and ask her if she wanted the contact info. She did, and had a favor to ask
   
   Remember the "friends" that my neighbor's mom didn't like? Well, one was my neighbor's boyfriend, and Monday she decided to break up with him - again. The last time she tried to break up with him, he did over $1000 of damage to an apartment they both had their names on the lease of. Rather than try to fix it, he told my neighbor's mom that if she didn't fix it, then he'd just wait for the landlord to press charges and put both him and my neighbor in jail over it.
   
   My neighbor's mom was worried he might do it again, to this house they have been putting so much work into fixing up. Another local neighbor has also had run-in's with him, including broken windows and broken windshields on vehicles. So, she wanted to know if I could keep an eye on the house. I offered to go one better - I spent the night over there, with my cell phone and a loaded .45 pistol.
   
   I considered it "sentry duty". I was more interested in trying to catch him if he came by, because he is on probation. Getting caught in the act and arrested by my friends on the local police department would have amounted to a parole violation, and he'd be given a one-way ticket back to jail.
   
   I left there when someone else showed to relieve me, after an uneventful night (other than me reading 2010: Space Odyssey 2 by Arthur C. Clarke). It was nearly 10:30 am Tuesday. Then I checked my email, and around 11:30am I went to sleep.
   
   My wife got home at 5:30 pm, and got upset that I hadn't gotten any packing done for our move. We ate supper after I'd told her that I hadn't had anything to eat since 3am, we spent some time talking, and she went to bed while I waited for a phone call from a friend to help me with a minor computer problem. I quit waiting for the call at 2am, and went to sleep.
   
   At 6am today our cat Merlin woke me up by jumping on my bladder, and I got her up to start getting ready for work. We ate breakfast, and as she was leaving she asked what I was going to do today. I told her I was going to finish reading my email and try working on the computer problem by myself some more. The last thing I heard as she closed the door was "That's it?"
   
   Keep in mind that she's coming back home at noon, to eat lunch and get ready to go to Joplin for a chiropractor appointment this afternoon, which I have to drive for because she doesn't like to drive on highways. So, I have 4 hours, not 8, to do anything, and I'm working on 8 hours sleep in the last 72. I'm more tempted than anything to just go back to sleep and forget it all.
   
   I know she wants us to get started on this move, and I do to. I'm pretty sure that's what she was thinking about, since that was the main topic we talked about last night. But I don't want to be packing breakable dishes without being able to think clearly. I don't think it's unreasonable to wait one more day, when we have until the 1st of July to be fully moved into the new house. I really need a good night's sleep tonight!

7. Revealing a not-so-secret . . .

   16.Jun.08, 06:14 EDT
   
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   My wife and I started trying something out a few months ago, but I have been keeping quiet about it because I wanted to have a real opinion of it before I said anything. You know, not just giving a first impression.
   
   Actually there are three websites I'm going to tell you about - but they all have one central theme:
   
   passing on things you are done with to someone who wants them, and getting things you want in return.
   
   Some work better than others, but that is to be expected. My favorite site of the three just earned the top spot this past week, after getting off to a very slow start.
   
   But first, the one some people might find most helpful - book swapping!
   
   http://www.bookmooch.com/
   
   Book Mooch is just that - you build a list of things you have that you no longer want or need, and a list of things that you want. Then Book Mooch's computers allow other people to look at your lists, and if they have something you want, and also want something you have, they can propose a trade. Also, the computer will tell you (with a handy click-able button) on your wish list when it sees a possible trade to make. Click on the button, and it will tell you what the trade is. It works - we've given away over a dozen books this way, but just because something is on your wish list is no guarantee that you will get it.
   
   Second is something that is better than Book Mooch simply because it is more flexible. If you have a variety of other media, this might be a good fit for you.
   
   http://www.swaptree.com/
   
   My biggest caution is to be careful about what you post verses what you list as a wish. This site allows trades of music cd's, books, electronic (console/PC) games, and DVD's. So, if you list a lot of $30 DVD's that you want to get rid of, you might find yourself trading them for paperback books worth 50 cents. Also, this site's only functional search mechanism seems to be using ISBN/UPC codes, so building your wish list involves copious visits to someplace like Amazon.com (a site I'd prefer not to have to deal with at all).
   
   Now we come to the grand champion of the three. When I found this site, I carefully pulled all my DVD's off of the swaptree list. It turns out to have been a great decision.
   
   http://www.swapadvd.com/
   
   Swapadvd focuses only on DVD's. However, they allow trades of original format DVD's, Blu-Ray, and HD DVD's - which has been a huge gift to us already. My best trade so far? Well, they aren't direct trades. You build your offer list (called My DVD Tower) - and when someone wants it you ship it to them (at your expense, usually around $2) and when they get it you get a single credit per disc. Then you can spend those credits to get DVD's off of your wish list. Not only that, your allowed to rank your wish list in any order you wish, and the higher you rank something, the harder the computers work to get you a copy (relative to how high other users may have ranked the same movie).
   
   I currently have about 28 movies open for people to request, and have been shipping out 2-3 per week. But, this past week, I scored BIG TIME! What did we get? How about an HD DVD copy of Stanley Kubrick's 2001 - A Space Odyssey! (Guess how likely it is that one will be offered again anytime soon?) LOL!

8. All hail the mighty hunters . . .

   13.Jun.08, 02:34 EDT
   
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   Our cats are a trip to watch. Particularly when they are playing. As far as cat toys are concerned, the best money I've spent on them was, on two different occasions I spent a quarter for those 1/2 inch diameter "super bounce" rubber balls you can get out of vending machines. The cats love them!
   
   However, I humbly have to admit that those rubber balls are only their second-favorite toys. The top spot goes to . . . .
   
   
   
   
   
   the common house fly.
   
   
   
   There are times I would swear that Morgaine is having epileptic convulsions as she jumps and twists, but all she is doing is trying to swat down a fly. She takes this very seriously, too. It's a lot more than just a game, to her. She will follow that fly from room to room, jumping onto the top of every piece of furniture she must as she attempts to get within striking range of that fly. Sometimes she even surprises herself - like yesterday when she successfully made the vertical leap from the kitchen floor to the counter top while in pursuit of that avian menace. (note to self: no more leaving food on the counter!)
   
   I don't mean to leave you with the impression that Merlin doesn't participate in these "fly hunts" - he certainly does. Morgaine is just much more dedicated to them. The focused energy she puts into tracking the fly is, by itself, amazing to behold. Can you tell I love these cats? LOL!

9. She did it . . . !

   09.Jun.08, 17:44 EDT
   
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   Let's face it - I have rotten teeth. About 12 years ago I had an emergency visit to a dentist, and he told me that if I ever after that needed any more major dental work done, it would be cheaper to yank everything and put in dentures.
   
   Not my wife. She has nearly perfect teeth. Seems she always has had. Today she went (ok, I drove) to see an orthodontist because her bite didn't feel quite right to her, and hasn't since her 3rd Molars were pulled in 1998. As a side note, she hasn't been to a dentist since 1998, either.
   
   So, the orthodontist did her exam. This gal is top-notch all the way. Graduated top of her class with special recognition, past president of the dental society in Kansas, former Grand Master of her sorority, etc. Her office was covered in plaques and special awards. Her honest professional evaluation? "There is nothing professionally I can do for you. Your teeth are nearly perfect in every way." She said that it was normal for teeth to shift position after the wisdom teeth (3rd molars) are pulled, and that would make the bite feel differently than it had before. After measuring all the angles and alignments, nothing was outside normal tolerances. Not even a cavity. In short - nearly perfect teeth.
   
   So, my wife has beat the odds - 10 years without a visit to a dentist, and she doesn't even have ONE cavity. I couldn't do that on a bet!

10. We Did It!

    07.Jun.08, 15:21 EDT
    
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    Ok, how many of us are not aware of what the current gasoline prices are in our own immediate area? I'd venture to guess that most of us know the price at the 5 closest gas stations to our home, and the 5 closest stations to our place of work, and work them competitively to get the best price each time we fill up. Am I right?
    
    Well, we've been feeling the pinch each time the price has gone up. When we first moved here, gasoline in this area was about $2.35/gallon for basic unleaded. Now we're paying around $3.86/gallon, and it's flirted with $4 a few times.
    
    So, we decided that one of the things we wanted to try to use the "economic stimulus" check for might be moving. Yes, we have been looking at buying a house for several months, but it seems like nothing in our price range is actually desirable.
    
    Well, last week we found a house for rent that is only about 2 blocks from where my wife works. An easy walk in any weather. The rent is $465/mo (we've been paying $425/mo) with the yard care included.
    
    Today the "economic stimulus" check arrived, and we called the new landlord. They agreed to hold a check for a couple of days to let the IRS check clear our bank, so we're dropping the deposit off right away.
    
    I'll post more particulars about the new house later. Right now, we've got to get heading over to the new landlord's to deliver the check.

11. Last Night . . .

    04.Jun.08, 15:41 EDT
    
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    Last night was a big, and long, night for us. Or at least, for me.
    
    It all started when I started getting ready to leave the house. I was taking a shower just after 5pm when - POW - the shower head came off as I tried to adjust the direction it was pointed. It looks like the neck of the nozzle had rusted and just broke while I adjusted it. By the looks of things, it was bound to happen sooner or later.
    
    Anyhow, I had to figure out how to get all the soap off with what amounted to a fire hose-type jet of high pressure water. It was quite a trick, but I did it.
    
    Then we went to my graduation ceremony from the Citizen's Academy. It was much fun, with a surprise. Not only did I get a very nice looking certificate - but an engraved plaque with my name on it, too! Then, as if that wasn't enough - I also got another certificate for being one of the top two marksmen in the class from when we did the firing range module. Since we weren't using targets that included scoring rings, I was a little confused on how they reached that decision, but they did. Since the other guy who was rated a top shooter was a retired Kansas Prison guard, I felt pretty good!
    
    We left the graduation ceremony around 8pm and went over to my dad's home to show him all the cool certs & plaque - keeping in mind that we wanted to go to Home Depot before they closed to see about getting a replacement shower head. Yes, I know - since we rent we could have just made it the landlord's problem, but that might have meant waiting a day or two for it to be fixed and he's been really good about letting us write off repair bills on our rent, so I try to keep simple stuff off of his schedule when I can.
    
    We didn't get to Home Depot until about 15 minutes after they closed, though. So, I went back there this morning, only to find that they didn't have ANY shower heads available for sale by themselves - just all sorts of sets that ranged from $49 to $269 each! So, I had to call the landlord after all. He said he'd be by here later this afternoon to look at it.
    
    Anyhow, shortly after we got home from our visit to Home Depot's parking lot last night, my wife decided to go to sleep. I was still jazzed up from the graduation, so I stayed up working on the computer (actually got part of my proposed book written!) - and then around 10:55pm - tornado sirens started screaming! Since I was already on the computer, I very quickly went to weather.com and verified - yep, we were under a tornado warning. A large and very violent system to our west was heading right at us at 74 MPH! There was a very high risk of a tornado hitting this quiet town from then until 11:30. No sooner had I read the warning than I started to hear the first traces of the rain. I started shutting off all our electronics and unplugging them.
    
    Now, when it comes to tornadoes, I'm not a worry-wart. I fully respect them, but I don't turn into a puddle of melted wax at the first thought of one. Since my wife was sound asleep, I made sure I had a working flashlight in hand, and sat back in a comfy chair to read my current fiction book. With the lights on, I knew that if anything came close, I'd know it because we'd loose power.
    
    Oops - spoke too soon. About 10 minutes after 11pm, our power did indeed go out. So did the power of the rest of the neighborhood. So, I started using my ears, the ones that my wife says I inherited from a bat, and listened for indications of something worse than rain. All I heard was rain and normal high winds, so I focused on calming our poor cats, who were freaking out.
    
    The power was restored at around 3am, and shortly after that I went to sleep. I talked to my wife briefly before she went to work this morning, and she said she slept soundly through the whole thing. I'm glad she didn't have to get up.

12. 

    New neighbors . . . and updates

    30.May.08, 13:45 EDT
    
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    The Citizen's Academy course had the last classroom session last Tuesday evening. We're done, except for the graduation ceremonies.
    
    We had a really good group of students, and the teachers had their knowledge down cold. The only real glitches we had in all 10 weeks was - the overhead projectors kept malfunctioning. (sigh)
    
    I was really surprised when the instructor for the Domestic Violence module called on one of my classmates to share information - turns out my classmate was the creator/director for the Police Response Advocate (PRA) team in this town. The PRA's are citizens (not police) who respond along with the police to every Domestic Violence call, and they work with the victims to educate them on local resources available to help them break out of those situations (should they choose to do so).
    
    I rather got the impression that there are a lot of other police agencies around the country that are doing these types of classes, and some of them even license graduates to cary firearms and work as volunteer police (LA is one). So, if you would be interested in learning more about the depth and scope of the police department in your area, contact them! This was a great course. Oh, and I was invited to speak for a couple of minutes at our graduation ceremony.
    
    Now, closer to home - we have a new neighbor! Well, almost.
    
    When we moved in here (just over 3 years ago) the house just north of us was empty. Except for 1-2 months, it has remained empty the entire time we've lived here. About 4 months ago, I met a guy who was standing on the porch of that house. He was a property investor from Missouri, who had just bought 27 foreclosed homes around our town at an auction (why didn't I hear of it?) and was looking over his new holdings. He said some would become rentals, some he'd just flip for a quick buck, and some he'd fix up and try to make real profits on. That's kind of how the whole game is played.
    
    Anyhow, about a month ago a sign went up in the yard - again. So, he'd decided to sell it quick. It did, too. Last week I met a woman who was hauling bags (big, huge garbage bags) of trash out of the house. The bags sat on the porch for quite a while. Then a few days ago, I saw some teens hauling more stuff out - turns out one of them is fresh out of high school  (well, she's 19), and she's the one who will be living there. Her mom was the one I met a few days earlier.
    
    I get the impression that the teen has a job or something. She's not around as much as her mom. So far, I've met her, her little sister, her mom, and mom's sister & brother-in-law. By the way - they bought the house outright for $9,000. Yes, it needs some work - but who wouldn't like to own a house free-and-clear for under $30K?
    
    So, we have a cute, young, new neighbor - or will have when she has the house fixed up enough to move in. Her mom has already told me that she would love to give me her phone number so that if (daughter) has any loud parties, I can call her and she'll come close it down. I've also told her that her daughter can come to me if she needs help with anything - I can at least point her in the right direction for getting it handled. Mom was quite glad for that. I think this family will make good neighbors - kind of like the sense of community we had when I was growing up in Lebo - where everyone knew everyone and they all looked out for each other. I have rather missed that.
    
    One final update. A very dear friend of mine who's an acclaimed artist/writer recently moved from Texas to the New England area. She's having quite a lot of fun with her SO up there, and things are going great for them both. However, I was quite surprised by an email I got from her last week.
    
    She's had the opportunity to launch her own publishing house literally fall into her lap. She's decided to do it - and has invited me to be one of her first authors. Naturally, I accepted, and told her what I'd like to write my first book about. I haven't heard back yet (she only gets onto the internet once every week or two for now), so I don't want to go into very much about it - but it looks like I'm going to get my shot!

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14. Must-see TV . . .

    19.May.08, 23:57 EDT
    
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    PAPER CLIPS

    
    Tom Bosley

    
    Linda Hooper

    
    Sandra Roberts

    
    David Smith

    
    Peter Schroeder

    
    Dagmar Schroeder-Hildebrand

    
    
    Unlike most of the shows I have posted a review of, this is a documentary. Because it is a documentary, I'd rather let it tell the story it was made to tell. Instead, I'll tell you that it is one of the most emotionally powerful journeys I've ever taken via a DVD.
     
    

    
    

    
    If you don't watch another movie all year, before this week is over you need to find a copy of this DVD and watch it. I do not exagerate when I say that this can almost single-handedly restore your hope in the future of mankind!
     

    I give "Paper Clips" 10 stars out of 10!
    
    (sorry if this is sloppy - my first blog on Moli that includes any media)

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16. Thinking about religion . . .

    07.May.08, 01:09 EDT
    
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    Tonight at the Citizen's Academy, we listened to a lecture on Drug Enforcement and Endangered Child Protection. It was a very interesting lecture, and I learned a lot, but something else grabbed my attention.
    
    The guy who's usually been sitting next to me at the front table had a very interesting t-shirt on. The logo looked sort of like an ad for "Bass Pro Shops" - a chain of outdoors hunting/fishing/camping supplies stores.
    
    However much the logo looked like that ad, it wasn't. It had a Christian/religious message. It made me think.
    
    The whole "I will make you fishers of men" message of Christianity was foremost in my mind, because of how that t-shirt played with it. The thought occurred to me that fishing is a predatory activity. The person fishing is using bait to trick a fish into a position where he/she can forcefully remove the fish from it's native habitat against it's will.
    
    Some interesting parallels can be drawn.
    
    Fisherman uses bait to compromise the fish. Christians use "bait" of forgiveness/redemption/eternal life to compromise non-Christians.
    
    A fisherman's goal is to get the fish out of it's native environment. A christian's goal is to get a non-christian to "convert". Isn't "conversion" just taking a non-christian out of his/her native environment?
    
    A fisherman seeks to enforce his/her will upon the fish. A christian seeks to enforce his/her will upon the non-christian.
    
    There is one huge difference, though, between the fisherman and the christian. Once a fish is out of the water, unless it is returned to the water, it's life is over. Not so for the non-christian! Once a non-christian has been removed from it's environment - he/she is "re-trained" to become a fully-functional christian - and begins actively trying to catch other fish! All fishermen know instinctively that if you run out of fish, the game is over. However, the end-game goal of the christian IS to run out of fish! Or, to put it more bluntly, they want to have a planet who's citizens are 100% christian.
    
    However, close observation of Christians for nearly the last half-century has led to other conclusions. You see, there are numerous divisions within Christianity, each of which considers it's version to be better than all alternatives. So, if they were to ever achieve the goal of converting all non-christians to Christianity, the infighting would become enormous. One thing you never see in nature is a carp trying to convince a bass that it should be a carp!
    
    Whether you believe in many gods/goddesses, or only one, or none, one thing is certain. For whatever reason, this planet has a great amount of diversity of life-forms. I would argue that this diversity is not only good, but necessary. The more diversity we have in the eco-sphere of this planet, the better the probability of survival of all species. We all know that global warming is a fact that is occurring now. It is debatable how much of it is caused by humans, but it is happening. As the planet warms, some cold-oriented species (penguins, polar bears, etc.) are experiencing stress as their native habitat and food sources change. If they fail to adapt fast enough, they risk extinction.
    
    A highly diversified ecosystem allows for that, and still allows for the survival of those species that do adapt. The less diversified the ecosystem is, the more at risk ALL species within that system are as it becomes threatened.
    
    Our planet has experienced the complete extinction of whole classes of life-forms before, and life has managed to survive. It survived because of it's diversity. And I would argue that humanity needs the same levels of diversity within our religious/philosophical/governmental systems if we're to survive with our free-will intact. As long as we are highly diverse, the rise of one tyrant (like an Adolf Hitler) in one area will not put the entire species at risk. However, as our nations move to consolidate (European Free-Trade Zone, NAFTA, SAFTA, ANZOFTA, etc.) we give the open door for one power-mad dictator to grab control over ever larger numbers of our brothers and sisters, and use his power to enforce (like the book 1984 by George Orwell) a homogeneous lifestyle on all within his area of power.
    
    If the neo-cons succeed in the development of a one-world "new world order" government, free thought itself will be at risk, as well as the future of all people. We need to stand up and loudly shout that it's alright for a bass to be a bass, and a tiger to be a tiger, and a muslim to be a muslim, a christian to be a christian, and a druid/wiccan to be what they are. It's even alright for an atheist to be an atheist. What is right for you is alright with me as long as you let me be what is right for me - by my own decision. None of us has the right or authority to tell another how to live their life. We can be available to help if asked, we can offer guidance, but ultimately it is the other person's life and none of us can live it for them.
    
    I'm not saying we can't have religious/philosophical discussions between us. On the contrary, I think that discussing the various views is healthy and to the advantage of the whole, if it is done amicably and peacefully. My point is to keep the whole diversified field available, because it is unavoidable that there will be children reared in one faith who will not be happy with it, but can find happiness in another faith. If we all adopt an "I'm OK, you're OK" view towards each others religious faiths, and let each individual search out their own preferred life-style without coercion, humanity will survive whatever is to come.

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