Curiosity of the Mundane & Mystical

You'll love the ending please get there naturally!

There's simply not enough time I thought while pumping gas and noticing the octane discrepancies. By rote my current car and all priors have received the safe bet 89 while I frowned on the 87 surmising it 'cheap' and scoffed at the 93 as a waste of money. Amazed that I hadn't really considered the differences and could possibly have saved lots of money over the years I continued on that thought stream estimating it would take about >20 hours of real research in order to get a reliable answer. Not gonna happen. No, I won't take Chevron's word for it, or virtually any other opinionholder on the matter. Pressing on, who the hell wants to spend their time studying whether Techron Ultra is any better than regular unleaded?

Meanwhile, back at the homestead, there's a stack of books on the nightstand delving into the Rig Veda, nymphs, extra-dimensional existences, di-methyl triptamine, and a host of other interesting topics deemed unfit for respected scientific inquiry. Likely there will be never be a satisfactory answer no matter how much scientifically obscene information is digested on these topics but they're certainly fascinating to learn about. I guess it's a matter of priorities but sometimes I wish there was the time and resources to satiate all the things I'm curious about instead of continually having to eat off the intellectual buffet.

The Bigger Picture

There is yet a person on the planet I have met who does not have an agenda, big or small. That means me, and especially you! Some people are boisterous about it, proselytizing, others somewhat passively aggressive, and still others set in their ways of formed opinion though never revealing it. The end result is that their way of thinking is the light at the end of the tunnel, if only you'd open your eyes wide enough to see it. With this in cynical mind the only reliable conclusions I can come to when there's time enough and adequate interest are those whose lineage are studied--past the wikipedia definition or one author's take on it. In comparison with the guy next to you, it has been said that if you read three books on any singular topic you are, in essence, an expert in that field. Seems reliable enough when I speak with a stranger about anything in my arsenal within those parameters.

Dinosaurs Roamed 65 Million Years Ago

Here's where the trouble begins. I have accepted as pure fact the time line asserted by years of incremental scientific building that Tyrannosaurus Rex was busy pooting and contributing to global warming an astonishing 65 million years ago. Why, if I can contrast a straw hut to a modern skyscraper clearly the evidence of application is plainly viewable. But what about the things we can't see? What of those we cannot fully understand?
The support of Carbon-based anything that is dated is based on, you guessed it, carbon dating! (God knows it beats online dating, but that's another story) So as to avoid a science lesson here which I'm ill-equipped to administer what I learned/remember is that a runaway Carbon Isotope, C-14, has specific properties of decay (entropy) with a half-life of 5500+ years. This means that after 5500 hundred years half the Carbon atom will remain and after another 5500 years yet another half will remain. The base is it's molecular weight which seems unchanged, and unchangeable lest it become something that isn't C-14. Scientist measure the degree of decay, taking into account terrain, weather, etc. and come up with a reasonable range for time of formation. Simple study of this will reveal that there's a finite (measurable) amount of C-14 such that it's usefulness as a terrestrial timepiece expires after 10 half lives, or roughly 60,000 years. As anyone who has learned basic mathematics will tell you the difference between 60,000 and 65,000,000 is considerable. What then is the basis for ascertaining something older than 60,000 years? I simply don't know. Furthermore I'm not sure how high in the aforementioned priorities list this might fall.

My point here is that without direct study I cannot personally ascribe a high degree of certainty or accuracy, much less immutable truth to Carbon dating. Nor can we discredit the idea out of hand, as I did only about a week ago, of the earth actually being 6,000 years old as reverse-timed by that Archbishop whose name escapes me. Understandably there's a degree of faith in the information we come across that we must heed, such as "well, it shows Bangladesh on the map, therefore it's there." I feel pretty comfortable in stating that yes, Bangladesh is a territory between India and Pakistan though I have no real evidence of its existence. It's the constant re-examining and unearthing of new information that needs to continually be verified that makes me, uh, crazy. It feels as though whatever idea or truism one holds is only a fleeting vision on the road to the 'true truth' soon to be overturned and overwhelmed. Maybe this is why I mostly delve into subjects whose truth is likely indiscoverable...where at best it only lends a probability in reality after investigating all the many informational tentacles required to reach some conclusion. Serenity now!

Prelude to 2012

I've got a heavy-D article stirring, grumbling from some unknown internal cavern in regards to our last year as nasty, ego-centric disconnected earthlings culminating on the winter solstice, 2012. Having the propensity to get carried away on a single, sometimes not so clearly related tangent, this should be the introduction---but it won't be. For the record, I'd be unable to resist giving him a right-proper squeeze. What would you do?

Song for my dawg

Scooter.

You'll never out-cute, the Scoot.
Not even Buffalo Bill with all his skill
or Superman, with any plan,
could ever out-cute the Scoot.

A daring pirate ship once up and robbered him
and what do you think the Scoot did?
He clobbered 'em.
With great finesse he more or less clobbered them

Given a fight to fight
a wrong to right
any time of the day or night
you'll never out-cute the Scoot!

Ron Paul, the man of reason.

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Witness nothing less than a landslide people. Attest to this political mauling. Shout it from the rooftops while the major American media volunteer a deaf ear. Even the creators of the poll, worldnetdaily, while honest enough to keep it there for the world to see had to make another 'suggestion' for who the real winner was according to 'accepted' opinion holders. Sneaky bastards. Read on and let's have an honest discussion before we forget what one looks like...

It has been so long since the American populace has been presented with a man of integrity and adherence to the law that I believe there's a bit of shell shock happening. Luckily folks seem to remember that there was a time in the country where the freakazoid politician was the exception, and not the rule such as it stands today.
The poll you see here was taken after the most recent presidential debate and published on 9/18/07. You may check www.wnd.com in their poll history to validate my veracity on the matter. This notwithstanding,the headliner was "Huckabee wins
Republican poll Garners 63% of delegates selected by leading activists." If that's the case, then not only is Worldnetdaily but also these 63% of 'leading activists' way out of touch with the pulse of the American Electorate. I have yet to understand why their opinion is more valuable than yours, assuming both you and the activists pay taxes, and that you both can read. Not going out on too far a limb here, I pray.

I have absolutely had it with media elections in our country telling us who our choices are to vote on and how these 'bottom tier' candidates do not have a chance. Screw you and the money that bought ya. When I'm done voting for the individual I believe will follow the Constitution and get the ever imposing, ever expanding Imperial Federal Government out of my life (and yours, btw) it's easy to look at myself in the mirror the next morning. How many times can we be shaken in our own hide and yet be proud of voting for the lesser of two evils? Even the lesser of two evils is still EVIL as evidenced by the continual moral and fiscal slide our country has been on. Lawlessness, as defined by breaking the very laws set out in the Constitution has run rampant in Washington as you, good reader, know all too well.

Back to the poll. This, in virtually every fair assessment is known as pummeling. Ron Paul has decimated the 'top tier' candidates you're told you'll have to vote for and will continue to do so. How long before we have the courage to effect REAL change in this country. Certainly there's not a dime's worth of difference in Democrats or Republicans and most people I speak with about this issue would agree to that. If you disagree, I welcome your comments below but please let's not have another Hyperbole hour with CNN as evidence for the contrast. Action by political parties and your assessment thereof is what we're looking for.
As I see it, it's just a matter of which party sinks the good ship America first. The graft-laden, corruption filled, and anything goes politicians have enjoyed their last days of abusing me, my fellow countrymen, the system and their positions. I vow to re-elect no-one. I don't care what color you are, how much you've 'accomplished' in your 30 years on the public dole, or what letter you assign yourself. And any freshman politician that thinks his new position is the start of a beautiful, profitable career will be bounced just as quickly. Gheesh, I feel like I've sprung into action. Perhaps it's true and if so it's because I can finally hear a politician on the world stage actually use the word freedom and know what it means. Ron Paul discusses Constitutional boundaries, and non-interventionalist foreign policy to ever present eye rolling of that free-speech hater McCain, or the pick-a-fight-for-publicity Guiliani. Heck, even the host at the Value Voters was following all the other interviewers who are, in my opinion, hostile to Ron Paul. Here's a clip from Fox News that is supposedly sympathetic to the conservative outlook:


In answer to the leading question on the Fox News Screen above asking "what do you think?" the answer is that I think the establishment is scared shitless of the man who seeks to restore liberty thus reducing federal control over all our lives and whose message resonates with every fair minded American who wants a better tomorrow.

Ties that Bind

When you consider your friendships could you not claim that there are some that make no sense at all while concurrently making perfect sense? For instance, what in the world does a 20 year old manchild and a 60+ year old woman have in common, much less to talk about? Whether outsiders understand or not, such are the situations in apparently more and more relationships that I speak to people about and so much the better, amen. Cross generational and cross-sectional bonds make for greater understanding, less conflict, and in general a more congealed society. My guess is that while reading this, a 'strange' friendship of your own has taken the foreground but alas, since this is my blog, you'll have to keep mum and see what similarities we may share with those strange persons that influence our lives.

I met H on a message board dedicated to our mutually shared disease. Naturally, people with rare conditions feel somewhat connected as only a fellow sufferer can actually *know* what you're going through. Don't be fooled though, there are a number of jackasses with this shared horror and some that I wish would be cured just so they'd go away! Miss H had a great pseudonym, and lively dialogue. I could recognize immediately her strong opinions with detailed support thereof so the imp in me just had to see how convicted she was. Tit for tat we bandied about subjects in view of the whole message board but were respectful of each other, particularly with disagreements. Some time later the one or two bad seeds had pissed Miss H off to the point where she no longer cared to be a part of the community. Ruh roh. Being one of the few posters whose themes and righteous indignations I came to rely on suddenly vanished. Luckily, I tracked her down in the private messages we're able to send and then finally to actual, personal email.

That was a hearty 3 years ago! I think barely a week has gone by where we have not talked about something, nothing, or everything in-between. I have only a vague idea of what she looks like and am positively clueless about body language and facial gestures. But ask me what makes her tick or how she's likely to react to world events and I can give a detailed, accurate account in most any scenario. Isn't part of being a friend knowing that person from the inside and enjoying what you see? Sometimes I lament the 1,000 miles between us although the relationship would, by necessity, change with proximity and I cherish this friendship exactly how it is. Plus, any time as a youngster I thought I could make the radio, or fish tank filter, or remote control car work better by disassembling it seldom worked out that way. After all, she could be chronic nose picker, have long black ear hair or any other number of issues too frightening to speculate on. Not surprisingly none of that would matter one iota. I respect her mind, am occasionally awed by her heart, and am fortunate beyond my worth to proudly call you "friend" Heather.


P.S. Even though she hates smiley faces I'm confident with this giant one here (an accumulation of the times throughout the years when I wanted to put one in correspondence but didn't) there's a 'get out of jail free' card just waiting for me!

Bumper Sticker

What? I'm not married? Oh yeah, that's right. But if I were, I'd surely love my wife who would be the apple of my eye. I'd leave little notes on the inside of the coffee maker and deliberately (naturally) sleep later that morning. Maybe put an image of a mutually agreed upon bad person on the underside of the toilet bowl seat like Debbie & I did with Bill Clinton in the 90's. Where is all this going?
There is a bumper sticker on several cars roaming around here in Atlanta that look almost identical to the image here. Seems they're from the
Promise Keepers which is a heavily religiously based organization with good intentions. Those are 'good intentions' in case you missed it the first time. As a normally quite opinionated fellow I simply can't seem to wrap my brain around what I think about someone putting this sticker on their car, and worse yet, how I feel about seeing such things in traffic.

Pros & Cons

Pro
On the positive side I like the idea of monogamy and support marriage, in whatever form two consenting adults agree to. I remember not too long ago being touched as I was driving past a local park at the requisite 25mph allowing for plenty of viewing time. There was an elderly couple, both portly, having to strain their necks just a bit over the middle in order to get a quick peck on the lips. It seemed as if they'd been together for years and likely used a pet phrase such as "gimme some sugar" or other queue that only the two of them know like "Jimmy's got a pet monkey". In any event, it restored a bit of my faith in the institution in that 10 seconds serving as a softening agent for my heretofore brittle outlook.
If you love your wife the world is your oyster and what harm is there in letting the world know in this small way? If not, you may find the very idea of a bumper sticker saying such as anathema to good taste and the hypocrisy too overwhelming.

Con
Just how whipped can one man be? Or is the home life such that the message isn't getting across as it should whereas a bumper sticker will allay all doubt? Part of the reasoning may be in just who decides to purchase the sticker and for what reason. C'mon gals, if your hubby purchased one on his own volition and put in on his car or truck, wouldn't that be sweet? Sweeter still if you told him he didn't need it there and please remove it, toot sweet my sweet!

The troublemaker in me dreams of a mass mailing to all houses in my zip code! Imagine the fun. Then I'll keep one eye on the cars and the other on divorce court which I believe is public record. I'm certain there will be a lawyer or two not beyond generating themselves a fresh crop utilizing such tactics eh? It's not the sticker itself that'll cause a rift but rather a potential argument over it and the ensuing issues that are sure to pop up. You know, the ones where the boat only tips if it's spoken about.

Help your host out with an intemperate thought or two as you may post anonymously, multiple times even. Your comments are the only rewards I get for this labor of love and sans Samantha you're all being put in time out!

Well this is sweet

Thankfully the picture is dark and rotten, sound has an annoying hummmm in the background and I could always deny that this was me by the looks of it. That beard though, it looks mighty burly. Maybe I could loan some testosterone to John Edwards, who could surely use it.

Yesterday was 'test music' day on the blog and today, clearly, it's video. Tomorrow, I'll attempt to upload my consciousness to live forever through the new Earth masters, the machines. Really it's only a matter of time and mankind can be viewed as Gods themselves, having created a new species, if you will. A sentient computer, or one that is self-aware we assume will have a desire for continued life and may assess threats to it's existence. That's bad news for us.

To Serve and Protect

To serve an ego and protect the county coffers.

The Scene: A business is moving from a commercial location with moving trucks in the parking lot and bunches of sweaty desk jockeys with that look of "I didn't sign up for this" in their eyes. There are 6 cars all parked facing the closed store with furniture and the like being hauled between the front door and the back of the moving van. Hold me back!

The Victim: Steve. Although arguably he has had a black cloud over his middle aged head with barely a trace of balding for oh, maybe a decade, this was completely out of line.

Background: The building is quite old and surprisingly the handicapped parking spot is the one the furthest from the front door. Perhaps years ago crutches were made better. Go figure. The sign has been weathered and the blue line is barely visible but still and all, it's a revered handicapped parking spot.

The Sadist: A four year old could have seen what was going on but that didn't stop Johnny Law this day. No sir. By God there's a car in a blue spot and I don't give a rat's ass what's going on in this private parking lot with store closed. When I see a violation (gasp) of this magnitude you better expect to be ticketed promptly, chattel.

The Damage: That'll be $120.00 dollars.

The Insult: "If you don't move this car now I'll write you another ticket." ..as Steve was heading back inside to get his keys. (Although we didn't hear him say "beeyotch" at the end we sure did feel it)

Summary: It's reasons such as this that police carp about the little respect they so richly deserve. Prick.