160211 New Blog

Today, I started a new blog for political posts. This blog will return to just oils, family, and maybe some Bible. The new blog is located at livingandenergetic.blogspot.com

Thank-you!

160103 Gambling

While I was with my in-laws, I learned a new card game that used a special deck and puns. Off hand, I can't tell you what the name is nor what it is like. I don't even remember all the rules! If I can, I'll post a picture of it. Right this instant, that game seems to be a symbol for my life. From childhood, I have played card games. A deck of cards is inexpensive entertainment and can teach a child many of the rules of math and arithmetic. I am sure that my math skills are related to all that early practice. My father lead many of the games, because when he was a young adult, he had earned extra money from cards and pool. My mother also had an aptitude for cards. They started playing cards with my siblings and I as soon as we could hold the cards in our hands without dropping them. I could not imagine a household without several decks of cards until I was married. My ex did not play cards, but it seems that our younger daughter inherited my skill with them.

My sister-in-law and her adult daughter were excited about this game and my daughter and I wanted to play. I asked for clarification of the rules. Suddenly the way to win was clear, so I planned my coup and easily won. No one wants to play me in cards anymore. No one wants to play me in backgammon, either. During one backgammon game, my opponent told me that with my skills, I should go to Vegas. Once in a bar, I did meet a gambler who enticed me into a game. After I won, he told me that he had never seen anyone throw the dice like I did, and then admonished me for not betting more. I really didn't like risking MY money like that. The gambler owed me money he didn't have and failed to pay. The act of gambling left a bad taste in my mouth, and the creepy, slimy company didn't help. My dad doesn't say much about his gambling days, but I know that he now has a very low opinion of the profession.

Why do I consider this card game to be a symbol for my life? I am very good at some things. I am not average. I can be phenomenal, but sometimes the associated costs become too high. I am an excellent worker, but I'm not good with people. I won't lie, even about the little things. I show exceptional talent for pissing off customers, especially when I'm trying to be nice. Today, the only jobs available seem to be service related, because all my technical skills are out of date. I rejected more schooling, because I don't have the money and don't qualify for grants and scholarships. (I checked all I could find.) My age and physical limitations narrow the already narrow field. I didn't reject even retail. Employers rejected me. Did I get an unacceptable score on their repetitive personality tests that take an hour to complete? Was I the wrong ethnicity? Did I wear mismatched clothing? It's a good thing that I own my own dwelling and that my needs are few, because I refuse to apply for government assistance.

Sometimes, I really wish that life were as easy as a mathematical equation -- or a card game.

150706 All's Well

The party went well. My brain is tired and unwilling to post. Talk to ya later.

150119 Still Alive and Watching X-Files

I haven't been writing much lately. I even quit posting on the Atkins site. No time, or no thoughts, or a combination of both.

On my Amazon Prime account, I noticed that I could watch the X-Files for free, so started doing that. I'm glad I don't believe that stuff. My sister was really into it, and is a first class conspiracy theorist. Sometimes, it is hard to talk to her when she latches onto a theory. I have only one: Satan. It's all his fault. ;) God, however, is stronger. Without God, I'd be in hot water.

Right now, I am out of hot water. Cold water is missing, too. Something under the house broke, and I'm waiting on a plumber. Thankfully, I have two five-gallon jugs with which to get water from the neighbors. It's not a problem; it's an adventure.

If this drags on, it could become a problem.

150101 Happy New Year!

It is simply the change in the calender, but many people apply significance to it. I, however, prefer to start my new year in the fall. Today, I weighed in at 234, which is up from my previous weigh-in two weeks ago. I shall use this conveniently placed calendar change to add more exercise and better food choices to my routine.

Job 3:25
"For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me."

Fear is believing. If you don't believe in it, how can you fear it? Actively disbelieve those bad things, at least as they apply to you, and be proactive in expecting good things. With God, all things are possible. His promises are in His Word.

 — celebrating New Year's Day.

Last night, I did something different. I went to what could be best described as a 'prayer meeting'. I have gone to a handful of those in my life, and they were all a little different. Last night, many people had some weakness they wanted addressed. I prayed for everyone.

I went home expecting to find Agent Em waiting eagerly with The Hobbit in hand, but no one was home. Moon got off work and took her to some debauchery involving her friends and another band. What a wonderful end to a nice, Christian evening. :O Therefore, I rang in the new year with Diet Coke, X-Files, and intermittent snoring.

Many proclaim great hopes for the new year, but didn't they do that last year? I believe that I will continue my journey with God and apply more of His promises to my life. I also expect this year to have its own Day of Infamy. Let's drink to me being wrong.

140220 Time for Thoughts; Time for Life

I haven't done much writing lately. My thoughts about a year ago were to make this a platform for selling oils. Many of my friends and acquaintances were making an income from selling Young Living Oils, so I thought it was the answer to supporting my children.

Not so much.

I am not a salesman. I miss opportunities. It is hard enough for me to speak to people in general, much less to convince them that they must spend money on something, even if it helps them. The United States of America has too rich a history of snake oil salesmen, charlatans, and cheaters so that and everyone here thinks that everything is bad. Classic wisdom says it best:

Luke 6:41  
"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"

Americans seem to think that contention shows wisdom. Every time one person says something is good, three more compete in finding the worst clause or word or appearance that shows that 'good' is 'evil'. For example, some enterprising young man found a way to seal devastating battlefield wounds in seconds. It worked far better than anything currently used and had widespread applications for car accidents and other disasters where people bled profusely. The very first comment on the article I read condemned the practice because it 'might' cause an allergic reaction in a minority of people. Let's crush ALL innovation, because someone might be hurt! Let the majority die; it's so better than discomfort!

I, more than most, recognize that some people have life-threatening allergies. I have my own, but when the choice is dying or dealing with the allergic reaction, I'll take my chances! A 50-50 chance of living through an allergic reaction is far better than 20% or 0% from bleeding out! Oh, wait! That's math! No one does math anymore! That's how Obamacare got passed. The emotional desire for universal health care beat out the reality of the number crunching that so few did. Now, all the predictions of the mathletes are coming to pass, and those who relied on emotion are even more emotional.

Organizing my time can be an emotional decision as well, but rational thinking is required. I have resisted taking a full time job, because Agent needs school, my health has been questionable, and I have no plans to buy any kind of health insurance. Like my educational choices, my medical choices are sanctioned by neither the American Medical Association, nor the government. By removing myself from their standards, however, my health has improved to the point that I can now pursue employment. This means, that I shall have no more time for online activities. My Internet contract ends March 20th. Support for XP ends April 8th. I have yet to find a new service, but did start experimenting with Windows 7.

This is fair warning. My writing can hardly suffer more than it has. If I don't get that full time job, of course I'll find a way to get online! I love my friends. If I disappear, however, work will be why.

130406 Intelligent Thinking

Not everyone is the same. This is good. It takes diverse talent to achieve ‘most anything, and no one person can know everything. Sometimes, I get so used to ‘dumbing down’ my speech so that others can understand me, than people think I’m dumb. When my thoughts move so quickly that my words trip over themselves, the same thing happens. Now that my children have reached a reasonable age, it gives me great pleasure to talk at length on certain topics that make other people’s heads spin. The elder and I discuss politics, while the younger and I discuss physics. It is glorious.

I have a cousin who ‘knows everything’ and lives in Liberal La-la Land. He fails to acknowledge that I might know a thing or two that he doesn’t. He and I studied quite different subjects in college. My majors centered in science and math, while he had a liberal arts education. “Liberal” used to mean generous, but in the US today, it means following a certain code that bypasses thinking and depends on feel-good assumptions. Facts and figures get thrown out the window when they don’t fit the litany. I know, because I have old BOOKS and don’t depend on the Internet for my information. I want to be the epitome of the former, but consider myself to be the opposite of the later definition.

My failure is that I expect people to think logically. It seems to be a lost art. I have altered my opinions and given ground when someone can show me why something is true, because I use my brain. One example is minimum wage. I used to like minimum wage, because it gave me a standard. Then, I took Economics 101 and saw how supply and demand affected the cost of goods and services. Minimum wage leads to unemployment. Which is better? Low wages, or NO wages? My younger daughter would get a job, but no one will hire her unskilled self at $7.25 per hour. Also, a superfluity of laws dictate what young people can and can’t do.

My cousin simply says that minimum wage has to be raised, because no one can live off of it. That may be true, but who takes those low paying, unskilled jobs? Not the heads of households, (except in extremely rare, but much publicized sob stories.) People used to find roommates to share expenses, but there are restrictive laws about this, too. In 1976, my very first job paid minimum wage. A year later, my second job paid twice minimum wage, because by then, I had gained skills. A mere four years later, my income exceeded the national average. That doesn’t seem possible today. Who will take a chance on a nobody? Bosses can’t even fire people anymore.

Today, I’m not working because I don’t want to work. Well, I don’t want to work if it means unrelenting pain from standing or stooping all day. Those are the most abundant jobs available, and I could work tomorrow at one of them. Instead, I signed up with Manpower, a great organization for people with certain skills, but they have no current assignments for me. In a sense, I am practicing some of those skills here today by typing. I like this kind of work, and it usually pays slightly above minimum wage. Employers, however, have become a little more skeptical about hiring unknowns. God can do anything. Now that I’ve made a decision, He will act. :)

121113-2 Gray Day

For South Texas, 40F(4C) is kind of cool. This should go up to 60F(15C) this afternoon. Add to that thick clouds and humidity, and I had to start the heater. The snake, who had been roaming freely, is back in his cage. We haven't seen any mice for months, so he did his job. I figured that the population was depleted and bought him two pet store mice. As soon as he saw them, they were gone. That confirmed his hunger. I'll get more next week, if I don't find the trap I want. The trap needs to preserve them alive. Like the Cat in Red Dwarf, he likes his food to MOOVE!

I've been feeling lazy and stiff. Holiday foods don't help, so this morning I had bacon and eggs, with cheese. All that protein will energize me. Not everyone should eat as much protein as I need, but my intestines simply cannot process grains and legumes. For lunch, I'll have tuna salad, or perhaps shrimp gumbo, since it's 'cold'.

My toes hurt when it's cold, and it's time to cook.

120723 Room Temperature

What is room temperature? I read things like “keep at room temperature” or “safe at room temperature” or “solid at room temperature”.

I have to ask myself, “Whose room are we discussing?”

When I lived in Alaska, room temperatures were somewhere between 60F and 70F. Some hardy folk let it drop into the 50s, simply because they lived on a boat or in an Eskimo lodge.

Now, I live in South Texas. What we call ‘a cool early morning breeze’ would be oppressively over-the-top summer temperatures for Alaskans. What we call ‘room temperature’ would be stifling. My jar of coconut oil says, “solid at room temperatures”.

Again I ask, “Whose room are we discussing?”

I took the jar out of the refrigerator and left it on the counter for a couple of hours. It is completely liquid. Whomever decided what ‘room temperature’ was, didn’t live in South Texas.

120209 Quick to Judge

Quick to Judge

People like to judge what other people do. On the surface of this video, one sees a child crying. Children cry when they are disappointed or challenged. It reminded me of the video of the child who had been to the dentist. Everyone has an opinion, and some of them become quite violent with their words. People condemn without knowing the facts. In this case, I don't know the facts, but I do know that when Moon was about 14 months old, she had a mysterious fever that stumped her doctor. It was winter in a place where it snowed. Because she had no other symptoms, he told me to try running her in the snow with only a diaper. Her fever broke; she became happy, and we never did find out why her body couldn't regulate itself at that time. The run in the cold helped. That didn't stop some busy-bodies from condemning me.

People who know Moon today tell me that she is exceptional. I did a lot of things that many people assured me would ruin her life. I didn't do some things whose lack people told me would ruin her life. People still try to tell me what to do with her and her younger sister. Certain people are convinced that my choices are all wrong. One or two have even tried to coerce others into stopping me from homeschooling and other things. One threatened me with CPS because I use alternative medicine. "The Village" can butt out of our lives! I love my children and raise them according to God's Word. In less than a week, Moon legally becomes an adult. She makes her own decisions, though this mom still tries to advise her about what to do. Agent Em has learned to be more skeptical and more critical of what others try to tell her to do as I am.

The people who want to control us say that 'discipline' is a bad word, yet it is the basis of the word 'disciple'. It takes a great deal of discipline to become a martial artist. To become a champion for God takes no less. The village thinks that the children should lead. When children lead, there is confusion and selfishness. They lack the experience, and the wisdom that can come from experience, to judge properly what their actions will produce. They need a guide. Civilization didn't just spring into being. We were taught civilized behaviors. What most people call civilization is merely the thin veneer of accepted reactions that most people use to hide their true feelings.

The veneer is cracking. History cycles. We shall see the wheel turn soon.

120125 The Cycle of Prosperity

The car has needed an oil change for awhile, but I was too busy using it to take care of that. Finally, I saw a window of opportunity, and Monday I set an appointment to get that done.

“It also needs a front end alignment, and can you find out why the left headlight works intermittently?” I innocently asked.

Tuesday at 7am, I handed over the keys to the Rio and drove my daughter to college in the ancient van. After school, we went to work and then home. So far so good, except for the sixty bucks I had to put into viejo’s gas tank.

Then, the mechanic called and told of problems. Maintenance problems. Mechanical problems. Electrical problems. The car would not be ready until Wednesday evening. Fine, we could use the van one more day.

At 7:15am Tuesday, I started the van and drove the twenty yards to the gate. At the gate, I heard a loud CLUNK! Then, the grinding started. The brake vibrated. It sounded like the tunnel cleaner in Labyrinth, only louder. I parked the van. Moon got her riding gear, even though it was cold and wet, it was better than missing school, right? The motorcycle battery had died. The charger was in the trunk of the car. The car was stuck at the shop.

We have three vehicles, and none of them worked! Suddenly, irrevocably, life changed. Yeah, I know that was dramatic, and this situation is minor. Dang! If you know anything about me, you know that we have seen a lot worse. It was simply that things had been going so well for so long, that I forgot what hardship was.

Our one neighbor had to stay home because plumbers had arrived to tear up her back yard. Moon ordered her books online, and they arrived after college started. (This saved $200.) She used the extra time to catch up on a week’s worth of reading. Today, our neighbor can get her to school. Another friend can transport her from school to work. By the time work ends, my Kia should be in my hands and operating properly.

What would we do without friends? Once again, they mobilized and helped us to overcome the circumstance. Thanks, guys!

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.