I had thought about making a YouTube video or a Periscope to give my response to actor Mandy Patinkin concerning his comments on ISIS and Ted Cruz, but this is probably my better forum. Public speaking has never been my strongest area, so I know I could never hope to speak as eloquently as Mr. Patinkin did in his video clip, nor would my goatee match up to the awesome beard he is expertly sporting, so keeping myself off-camera is probably a good move. For those of you who may not have seen the clip to which I am referring, I will link to it here: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/mandy-patinkin-suggests-a-princess-bride-quote-for-ted-cruz/ and I will also retweet the link on my Twitter page (follow me @nBoEnforcer).
I am a fan of Mr. Patinkin's, especially his role as Inigo Montoya in "The Princess Bride", and I would be lying if I said I was shocked at his comments (Hollywood is well-known for its left-leaning liberal bias). But I will say that the video was well done. None of it was inflammatory by any means. In fact, it was very respectful. But the views it contains are seen through rose-colored glasses, a vision we unfortunately can't afford at this time.
No one (not even those of us on the evil conservative right) wants an unnecessary war despite what the left and the news media would have you believe. The problem is that war has been declared on us by ISIS, Al Qaeda, and other organizations that fall under the umbrella of radical Islam. We didn't ask for it, yet it is here. As much as we would like to believe it hasn't reached our shores, we know from intelligence that our country is already infiltrated with operatives ready to strike when the time is right. Those who have been recruited by these organizations and have not grown up knowing the greatness that is America will not be won over by extending a hand of friendship. They've been raised to believe that we are infidels, that we are Satan and that we must be converted or destroyed. Hundreds of years of aggression towards anyone who does not follow this brand of Islam has been ingrained in these people to levels that are impossible to reverse by having a conversation. It's been tried and it has failed. I wish there was another way, but, as I've said before in other blogs, we are at a point of "us or them". My family and friends are too important to me to risk being on the losing side of this issue. I'm sure, Mr. Patinkin, you have friends and family that you would stop at nothing to protect in much the same way.
For those who have joined ISIS that were once American citizens, it becomes an even sadder case. As Mr. Patinkin mentioned, I wish it was as simple as providing these people with a better opportunity or showing them another way, but I don't think that can help these individuals. We've become immersed in a culture of entitlement where everyone feels that they're owed something. To simply GIVE these people a better education, a better job, and a better life would not be doing them any service. America has always been about the success stories that happen through hard work. Entitlements ruin that sense of accomplishment and self-worth which accompany the success. The old adage about teaching a man to fish most definitely applies in this situation. Those who join ISIS thinking they are accomplishing something or are getting back at someone because life isn't fair just don't understand how this country is supposed to work. They obviously didn't have anyone along the way to guide them, to show them that there is no such thing as a free ride, and to stress the importance in a job well done by your own two hands. If these deserters cannot see the error of their ways, they will unfortunately fall into the same category as the other radical Islamists. We simply cannot let our guard down to the point where we get the rug pulled out from underneath us.
Unfortunately for us, we've been experiencing years of a president who cannot make the tough decisions. Instead of acknowledging the enemy and doing what it takes to ensure we survive, we have been made more vulnerable and have been demonized in the process. There are plenty of presidential candidates who understand what is at stake and what must be done to give us a victory in this unfortunate war, but one of the most outspoken and determined of those is Ted Cruz. He has been unafraid to mention radical Islamists as foes that must be eliminated and what he would do to make that happen, which is what we need if we are to make it out of this mess alive. We do not need someone that constantly apologizes to the world for what makes us a great country. Instead, we need a president that points out our strengths and how the rest of the world can follow our lead towards prosperity. I'm not saying Ted Cruz is necessarily THE person, but he's at least closer than what we have in office now.
A quote from "The Princess Bride" was mentioned at the end of the Mandy Patinkin clip which he uses to point out to Ted Cruz that maybe it's best if we step back from the war business and find another way to deal with ISIS. I would have chosen a different quote to be highlighted. To consider dealing with radicalized Islam in any way other than from a position of strength or without a desire to survive is "INCONCEIVABLE!" And yes, Inigo, it does mean what I think it means.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Us or Them
I know that I'm going to get a lot of grief for this post, but at this point I don't care. When I write a blog post, I write from my heart and I trust my brain to translate it to words that make sense. Everything that I write has some sort of significance to me or else I wouldn't take the time to discuss it. This post is being written because I feel I have a responsibility to myself, my family and friends, and my country to speak up in hopes that others feel the same way.
What happened in Paris a few days ago is something that I think we all saw coming eventually, but we just didn't know where or how soon. It saddens me that any group exists on this Earth whose sole purpose for existence is to exterminate all who are not like them and to bring about the end of the world. This kind of thinking is archaic. Living now in the 21st century, we should all have figured out a place to exist where we don't have to interfere in anyone else's lives, yet groups like this continue to survive. Fighting in the Middle East has been going on ever since the beginning of recorded history, so it's nothing that surprises us. Most people here in the West will tell you that it's upsetting that violence continues, but as long as it doesn't affect them and stays "over there", they don't feel they have to get involved. Well, I'm pretty sure the time for that way of thinking is over. These barbarians have seen fit to move to other countries to spread their chaos and we can no longer turn a blind eye to what is going on.
ISIS is our generation's version of the Nazis. Let that sink in for a minute. Since World War II, we have not seen a group on this planet that has committed as many atrocities. The reports I've seen about the mass graves, the beheadings, the crucifixions, the other countless gruesome killings...this is not a group that should be taken lightly. Now they're on the move and starting to bomb in highly populated areas, bringing that destruction to areas outside of the Middle East. It's only a matter of time before we see it again here on our soil. We must act.
Now, I'm not saying that immediately overnight we need to take every troop in every branch of the military, ship them over to ISIS-controlled areas, and just mow everything down, but we do need to set some plans in motion that will ultimately end their reign of terror. The United States has long been the world leader in just about every military operation, but the last seven years has seen that role diminished. Budget cuts, setting time tables that become known to the public, and ridicule/scorn against soldiers from within the current administration are just some of the obstacles our military has gone through in recent years. We still have the world's most powerful military, but we're a bit battered and bruised. An effort against ISIS will take coordination with other powerful militaries, but we must be sure that our country's leaders will not undermine that effort with their apologetic kowtowing and the need to be transparent about operations when nothing else about them is transparent except their own personal agendas and motives. France has already started without us by bombing some strongholds. We need to join them and show the world that ISIS will not be allowed to continue.
Another thing that needs to be done is something that France has already done in the wake of the bombings. It was announced that they have closed their borders until everything can be sorted and security can be more assured. After all that we've seen and experienced ourselves, why is it so difficult for our country to do the same? Instead our borders to the north and south remain open to anyone with a will to find an opening to slip through. In some cases, they don't even need to work that hard. All that has to be done is join a group of refugees from Syria and you'll be welcomed in to a sanctuary city with open arms. Many stories are starting to emerge (like this one: http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/15/europe/paris-attacks-passports/ ) that prove these waves of people are not being properly vetted. We cannot allow this to happen on our soil. "Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses" can still apply to the US, but not without proper processes to ensure who we're letting in. Back when those words were written there wasn't a threat of radicalized Muslims strapping C4 to their bodies and walking into a crowded square to become a human firework.
I'm sure by writing all of this, I'll be considered a racist, a warmonger, an "Islamophobe", but I assure you none of this is the case. I wish that none of this was necessary. The fact is that ISIS is not an organization that will listen to reason. They want nothing else except for us to either convert to Islam or die. In most cases, I think option #1 is even off the table for them. How can you reason with a group like that? I wish we could. I wish there was another way so that no one had to die. I truly wish that if there are actually such people as "moderate Muslims", that they would do everything in their power to denounce these acts and move far, far away from the people committing them, but I know if they do exist that some of them won't survive. I hate to be in an "us or them" scenario as it pertains to us or ISIS, but I really don't think we have a choice and I know which side I'm pulling for to win. I've got too much at stake in my life and in this country for us to not put everything behind surviving.
What happened in Paris a few days ago is something that I think we all saw coming eventually, but we just didn't know where or how soon. It saddens me that any group exists on this Earth whose sole purpose for existence is to exterminate all who are not like them and to bring about the end of the world. This kind of thinking is archaic. Living now in the 21st century, we should all have figured out a place to exist where we don't have to interfere in anyone else's lives, yet groups like this continue to survive. Fighting in the Middle East has been going on ever since the beginning of recorded history, so it's nothing that surprises us. Most people here in the West will tell you that it's upsetting that violence continues, but as long as it doesn't affect them and stays "over there", they don't feel they have to get involved. Well, I'm pretty sure the time for that way of thinking is over. These barbarians have seen fit to move to other countries to spread their chaos and we can no longer turn a blind eye to what is going on.
ISIS is our generation's version of the Nazis. Let that sink in for a minute. Since World War II, we have not seen a group on this planet that has committed as many atrocities. The reports I've seen about the mass graves, the beheadings, the crucifixions, the other countless gruesome killings...this is not a group that should be taken lightly. Now they're on the move and starting to bomb in highly populated areas, bringing that destruction to areas outside of the Middle East. It's only a matter of time before we see it again here on our soil. We must act.
Now, I'm not saying that immediately overnight we need to take every troop in every branch of the military, ship them over to ISIS-controlled areas, and just mow everything down, but we do need to set some plans in motion that will ultimately end their reign of terror. The United States has long been the world leader in just about every military operation, but the last seven years has seen that role diminished. Budget cuts, setting time tables that become known to the public, and ridicule/scorn against soldiers from within the current administration are just some of the obstacles our military has gone through in recent years. We still have the world's most powerful military, but we're a bit battered and bruised. An effort against ISIS will take coordination with other powerful militaries, but we must be sure that our country's leaders will not undermine that effort with their apologetic kowtowing and the need to be transparent about operations when nothing else about them is transparent except their own personal agendas and motives. France has already started without us by bombing some strongholds. We need to join them and show the world that ISIS will not be allowed to continue.
Another thing that needs to be done is something that France has already done in the wake of the bombings. It was announced that they have closed their borders until everything can be sorted and security can be more assured. After all that we've seen and experienced ourselves, why is it so difficult for our country to do the same? Instead our borders to the north and south remain open to anyone with a will to find an opening to slip through. In some cases, they don't even need to work that hard. All that has to be done is join a group of refugees from Syria and you'll be welcomed in to a sanctuary city with open arms. Many stories are starting to emerge (like this one: http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/15/europe/paris-attacks-passports/ ) that prove these waves of people are not being properly vetted. We cannot allow this to happen on our soil. "Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses" can still apply to the US, but not without proper processes to ensure who we're letting in. Back when those words were written there wasn't a threat of radicalized Muslims strapping C4 to their bodies and walking into a crowded square to become a human firework.
I'm sure by writing all of this, I'll be considered a racist, a warmonger, an "Islamophobe", but I assure you none of this is the case. I wish that none of this was necessary. The fact is that ISIS is not an organization that will listen to reason. They want nothing else except for us to either convert to Islam or die. In most cases, I think option #1 is even off the table for them. How can you reason with a group like that? I wish we could. I wish there was another way so that no one had to die. I truly wish that if there are actually such people as "moderate Muslims", that they would do everything in their power to denounce these acts and move far, far away from the people committing them, but I know if they do exist that some of them won't survive. I hate to be in an "us or them" scenario as it pertains to us or ISIS, but I really don't think we have a choice and I know which side I'm pulling for to win. I've got too much at stake in my life and in this country for us to not put everything behind surviving.
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Go Forth for Goforth
As I sat on the stationary bike at the gym this afternoon, breaking news came across the channel I was watching. Rarely ever an indication of a GOOD news story, I listened more intently and discovered it was even worse than I thought it would be. I watched the entire press conference as the Harris Co., TX sheriff and district attorney informed us all of the senseless assassination of one of their deputies outside a gas station last night. Deputy Darren Goforth was killed in cold blood, seemingly just because he was wearing his uniform. There appears, at this time, to be no other motive.
Stories like this affect me more than they might affect others and they are, unfortunately, happening all too often. Those of you who know me are probably aware that my father was a Carlisle, PA police officer and my grandmother was a Cumberland Co., PA deputy sheriff. Although they are both retired now, I can still remember when both were active in those professions. Thank God we didn't seem to have these types of news stories happening back then or I would have been terrified. I could easily have been in the position that Deputy Goforth's five-year-old & twelve-year-old children woke up to find themselves in this morning. I'm glad to hear that the non-profit 100 Club will be providing those children and Deputy Goforth's widow with all the assistance they need, but nothing will replace that missing part of their family.
If there is anything positive that I could find about the news conference, it's in something that the district attorney said and the sheriff reiterated. "It's time for the silent majority in this country to support law enforcement," Devon Anderson, the Harris County DA, emotionally pleaded. I couldn't agree more. I completely understand outrage when a few crooked rogue cops unjustly break the laws they are sworn to uphold, but those are few and far between. By all accounts I've seen, this deputy was not one of those people. He was a veteran police officer, loved by family and friends and a credit to the force. He did not deserve to be executed like this.
Our media and our own speech are protected by the First Amendment and I am a HUGE proponent of it, as well as the rest of our rights, but there is a line of decency that must be drawn. News shows seemingly thrive on sensationalizing the stories of bad officers, so much so that the good officers in our country are tarnished and become targets of individuals out for vigilante justice and blood. I'm not saying that the media should be censored, but there needs to be judgment calls of decorum made at some level to say "We will report this as a news item, but we will not augment with opinion, nor will we continue to ram it down the throats of the American public". Taking this very simple stance across the board, whether it be TV, newspapers, magazines, or online, would go a LONG way to ensure that other officers like Deputy Goforth don't lose their lives.
The shooter is still at-large in the Houston area and as such, I can't comment further on the individual's motive or state of mind, but this does lead me to another issue. If we do, in fact, find that this person is mentally ill or has a history of mental illness, it would be just another in the growing list of cases that suggest we are WAY overdue for a real dialogue on combating mental illness in this country. We can legislate all day and pledge to ban as many weapons as exist, but a mentally ill person intent on doing harm to another person will find a way to do it, no matter what you try to ban. Eliminating all objects from their grasp, they would still probably try to choke someone with their bare hands or stomp them to death with their feet. Again, I don't know if this shooter was mentally ill, but I would suggest that anyone who commits a violent act like this IS mentally ill to some extent, regardless if they have a history of it or not. Fighting mental illness may not be able to rehabilitate this person, but it can prevent others from BECOMING this person.
Once the shooter is found...and trust me, the shooter will be found...I hope that the justice system processes the individual swiftly and fairly. When that person is found guilty, I hope that he (video points to it being a "he") receives the maximum penalty allowed by law, which should be the death penalty in Texas, and that the sentence not be dragged out for months or years. It amazes me that the same people in our society who wish to abolish the death penalty as a maximum sentence for the most heinous of crimes don't hold the same sanctity for life for unborn children. Obviously you can infer from that comment that I am pro-life, but some of you probably feel I'm hypocritical for being pro-capital punishment. You may think that if you wish, but I have a simple explanation. Unborn children haven't had the opportunity to let us know who they are or who they will become. They are born into this world with the same choices everyone else has of being who they want to be. Unfortunately, some like this shooter have made the choice to be a criminal, and not just any criminal, but one who has committed cold-blooded murder. If there is any shadow of a doubt that this was a premeditated act and not the result of his complete loss of mental faculties, this shooter deserves to be put to death. This will assure that the person will no longer be able to commit any further acts like this and will also not be stuck for the rest of his life in a cell with no possibility of rehabilitation while being a drain on the penal system paid for by a public that does not feel he is worthy of any sympathy whatsoever.
Not only do I continue to pray that the shooter is found without further incident and that Deputy Goforth's family and friends find a way through this heartache to heal and move on, but I also pray for this country. An incident like this needs to be a wake-up call that we are headed down the wrong path. Even if you are not someone who is religious, you see an overwhelming amount of evidence every day that we are losing not only common sense, but a sense of right and wrong. You don't have to pray to any God to know that going up to an unsuspecting deputy sheriff at a gas pump and unloading multiple shots into him to end his life is wrong under ANY circumstance. Whether we are witnessing a devolution of humanity or we're just seeing the decline of the Roman empire in its last days repeated here in America, those of us with pulses, brains, and hearts who can see the writing on the wall need to band together and try to reverse it. It starts with us.
Sometime after you read this, hug your wife, your husband, your children, your grandchildren, a pet, or someone you love and do it memory of Deputy Darren Goforth, who is no longer here on Earth to do so with his loved ones. Send up a prayer or a positive thought for his family and friends, for police officers in Harris Co., TX and around the world, then give one for the rest of us. We can use as many as we can get.
Stories like this affect me more than they might affect others and they are, unfortunately, happening all too often. Those of you who know me are probably aware that my father was a Carlisle, PA police officer and my grandmother was a Cumberland Co., PA deputy sheriff. Although they are both retired now, I can still remember when both were active in those professions. Thank God we didn't seem to have these types of news stories happening back then or I would have been terrified. I could easily have been in the position that Deputy Goforth's five-year-old & twelve-year-old children woke up to find themselves in this morning. I'm glad to hear that the non-profit 100 Club will be providing those children and Deputy Goforth's widow with all the assistance they need, but nothing will replace that missing part of their family.
If there is anything positive that I could find about the news conference, it's in something that the district attorney said and the sheriff reiterated. "It's time for the silent majority in this country to support law enforcement," Devon Anderson, the Harris County DA, emotionally pleaded. I couldn't agree more. I completely understand outrage when a few crooked rogue cops unjustly break the laws they are sworn to uphold, but those are few and far between. By all accounts I've seen, this deputy was not one of those people. He was a veteran police officer, loved by family and friends and a credit to the force. He did not deserve to be executed like this.
Our media and our own speech are protected by the First Amendment and I am a HUGE proponent of it, as well as the rest of our rights, but there is a line of decency that must be drawn. News shows seemingly thrive on sensationalizing the stories of bad officers, so much so that the good officers in our country are tarnished and become targets of individuals out for vigilante justice and blood. I'm not saying that the media should be censored, but there needs to be judgment calls of decorum made at some level to say "We will report this as a news item, but we will not augment with opinion, nor will we continue to ram it down the throats of the American public". Taking this very simple stance across the board, whether it be TV, newspapers, magazines, or online, would go a LONG way to ensure that other officers like Deputy Goforth don't lose their lives.
The shooter is still at-large in the Houston area and as such, I can't comment further on the individual's motive or state of mind, but this does lead me to another issue. If we do, in fact, find that this person is mentally ill or has a history of mental illness, it would be just another in the growing list of cases that suggest we are WAY overdue for a real dialogue on combating mental illness in this country. We can legislate all day and pledge to ban as many weapons as exist, but a mentally ill person intent on doing harm to another person will find a way to do it, no matter what you try to ban. Eliminating all objects from their grasp, they would still probably try to choke someone with their bare hands or stomp them to death with their feet. Again, I don't know if this shooter was mentally ill, but I would suggest that anyone who commits a violent act like this IS mentally ill to some extent, regardless if they have a history of it or not. Fighting mental illness may not be able to rehabilitate this person, but it can prevent others from BECOMING this person.
Once the shooter is found...and trust me, the shooter will be found...I hope that the justice system processes the individual swiftly and fairly. When that person is found guilty, I hope that he (video points to it being a "he") receives the maximum penalty allowed by law, which should be the death penalty in Texas, and that the sentence not be dragged out for months or years. It amazes me that the same people in our society who wish to abolish the death penalty as a maximum sentence for the most heinous of crimes don't hold the same sanctity for life for unborn children. Obviously you can infer from that comment that I am pro-life, but some of you probably feel I'm hypocritical for being pro-capital punishment. You may think that if you wish, but I have a simple explanation. Unborn children haven't had the opportunity to let us know who they are or who they will become. They are born into this world with the same choices everyone else has of being who they want to be. Unfortunately, some like this shooter have made the choice to be a criminal, and not just any criminal, but one who has committed cold-blooded murder. If there is any shadow of a doubt that this was a premeditated act and not the result of his complete loss of mental faculties, this shooter deserves to be put to death. This will assure that the person will no longer be able to commit any further acts like this and will also not be stuck for the rest of his life in a cell with no possibility of rehabilitation while being a drain on the penal system paid for by a public that does not feel he is worthy of any sympathy whatsoever.
Not only do I continue to pray that the shooter is found without further incident and that Deputy Goforth's family and friends find a way through this heartache to heal and move on, but I also pray for this country. An incident like this needs to be a wake-up call that we are headed down the wrong path. Even if you are not someone who is religious, you see an overwhelming amount of evidence every day that we are losing not only common sense, but a sense of right and wrong. You don't have to pray to any God to know that going up to an unsuspecting deputy sheriff at a gas pump and unloading multiple shots into him to end his life is wrong under ANY circumstance. Whether we are witnessing a devolution of humanity or we're just seeing the decline of the Roman empire in its last days repeated here in America, those of us with pulses, brains, and hearts who can see the writing on the wall need to band together and try to reverse it. It starts with us.
Sometime after you read this, hug your wife, your husband, your children, your grandchildren, a pet, or someone you love and do it memory of Deputy Darren Goforth, who is no longer here on Earth to do so with his loved ones. Send up a prayer or a positive thought for his family and friends, for police officers in Harris Co., TX and around the world, then give one for the rest of us. We can use as many as we can get.
Thursday, August 06, 2015
Debate Thoughts
We had two separate debates for the Republican nominee for President today, but this post will be primarily be about the debate that happened at 9pm tonight with the top 10 in the polls. I did get to see about 1/2 hour to 40 minutes of the first debate at 5pm, but not enough to make a full analysis. Carly Fiorina was doing a great job, but some of the other candidates had great answers as well. I do think, however, that the later debate was the better one. Here's my brief overview.
Donald Trump: Some great reactions, a few great answers, but mostly intriguing for his shoot-from-the-hip non-politician attitude.
Ted Cruz, Rand Paul & Marco Rubio: These three were equal in my eyes. Overall great opinions and presented very well with a forceful, biting tone, but feeling more like Vice Presidential material. Gun-to-head, if I had to pick one of these three, I'd take Cruz.
Jeb Bush: You can tell he's been prepped well for his answers and I agreed with some of what he said, but he's less conservative than what he portrays himself to be.
Chris Christie: See my above response for Jeb, but his answers weren't as well-prepped and he's even LESS of a conservative. I don't look for him to be around long.
Dr. Ben Carson: Possibly the most intelligent man on the stage. I loved a lot of his answers, but you could tell he was really thinking through them before he spoke. I think that will end up hurting him. But maybe he'd be great as Surgeon General??
Scott Walker: I think he will end up being the disappointment of the debates. Everyone was expecting him to do well and carry on the mantle of Ronald Reagan, but I just don't think he was as polished as he could have been. He will stick around for the next round, but he needs to come out guns a-blazing if he wants to hang in with Cruz, Paul, or Rubio, which is where I see him fitting in.
John Kasich: A lot of great reaction from the home state crowd, but name recognition is what will be his downfall. Good points, just not well known enough to be memorable.
Mike Huckabee: To me, he is the surprise of the debate. Since he's been in debates before, he has the posture, the delivery, the knowledge, and he answers every question directly, not avoiding the issue or going to a previous one. I wouldn't be shocked to see his poll numbers rise. If he keeps this up, he could be a really serious contender. The establishment would be more inclined to give him the nod than Trump, in my opinion.
So there you have it. Did you watch any of the debates? Do you care? If you don't, why not? I'm looking for any comments, opinions, questions, etc... that you might have. Feel free to reach me here or on Twitter (@nBoEnforcer).
Donald Trump: Some great reactions, a few great answers, but mostly intriguing for his shoot-from-the-hip non-politician attitude.
Ted Cruz, Rand Paul & Marco Rubio: These three were equal in my eyes. Overall great opinions and presented very well with a forceful, biting tone, but feeling more like Vice Presidential material. Gun-to-head, if I had to pick one of these three, I'd take Cruz.
Jeb Bush: You can tell he's been prepped well for his answers and I agreed with some of what he said, but he's less conservative than what he portrays himself to be.
Chris Christie: See my above response for Jeb, but his answers weren't as well-prepped and he's even LESS of a conservative. I don't look for him to be around long.
Dr. Ben Carson: Possibly the most intelligent man on the stage. I loved a lot of his answers, but you could tell he was really thinking through them before he spoke. I think that will end up hurting him. But maybe he'd be great as Surgeon General??
Scott Walker: I think he will end up being the disappointment of the debates. Everyone was expecting him to do well and carry on the mantle of Ronald Reagan, but I just don't think he was as polished as he could have been. He will stick around for the next round, but he needs to come out guns a-blazing if he wants to hang in with Cruz, Paul, or Rubio, which is where I see him fitting in.
John Kasich: A lot of great reaction from the home state crowd, but name recognition is what will be his downfall. Good points, just not well known enough to be memorable.
Mike Huckabee: To me, he is the surprise of the debate. Since he's been in debates before, he has the posture, the delivery, the knowledge, and he answers every question directly, not avoiding the issue or going to a previous one. I wouldn't be shocked to see his poll numbers rise. If he keeps this up, he could be a really serious contender. The establishment would be more inclined to give him the nod than Trump, in my opinion.
So there you have it. Did you watch any of the debates? Do you care? If you don't, why not? I'm looking for any comments, opinions, questions, etc... that you might have. Feel free to reach me here or on Twitter (@nBoEnforcer).
Saturday, August 01, 2015
A Day in the Life
This journey that we're all taking is so many different adjectives all at once. Just pick one and it fits. We are all headed towards an ending, just all on a different timeline, and we all don't agree on how it will end, why it ends, or even if it is the actual "end". What makes the trip worthwhile are the stops we make along the way, the side streets we take to see where they lead, and the errands we run when the opportunities present themselves. Sometimes those events are so much of a juxtaposition that they can't possibly make sense together, but if we just look at the big picture like stepping away from a Magic Eye poster, we eventually see that everything does find a way of falling into place. Today was one of those days for me.
--An unusually benign workday
--A traditional visit to a festival
--Thinking of two friends that buried grandparents today
--Losing a childhood pop culture hero
--Being thankful for the continued health of my friends' child
--Finding out I'm gaining a wonderful niece "in-law"
These are just some of the items that ended up on my itinerary today, some of which I expected and others I didn't. Somehow they all worked together for one big roller coaster ride, allowing me to experience highs and lows. Tomorrow I may not as easily be able to process the same kinds of emotional information, but tonight I've been able to handle it. I feel I should share this because tonight, even if just for tonight, I feel as if life makes sense. It's not all good, it's not all bad. "It is what it is", he asserts, knowing the over-used cliché is like nails on a chalkboard to many but feeling it's the only proper phrase. Not sure if this what you call a "normal" life, but at least tonight it sort of seems like it.
As always, feel free to comment, question, or criticize as you deem necessary or appropriate.
--An unusually benign workday
--A traditional visit to a festival
--Thinking of two friends that buried grandparents today
--Losing a childhood pop culture hero
--Being thankful for the continued health of my friends' child
--Finding out I'm gaining a wonderful niece "in-law"
These are just some of the items that ended up on my itinerary today, some of which I expected and others I didn't. Somehow they all worked together for one big roller coaster ride, allowing me to experience highs and lows. Tomorrow I may not as easily be able to process the same kinds of emotional information, but tonight I've been able to handle it. I feel I should share this because tonight, even if just for tonight, I feel as if life makes sense. It's not all good, it's not all bad. "It is what it is", he asserts, knowing the over-used cliché is like nails on a chalkboard to many but feeling it's the only proper phrase. Not sure if this what you call a "normal" life, but at least tonight it sort of seems like it.
As always, feel free to comment, question, or criticize as you deem necessary or appropriate.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Don't Lose Sight of What's Important
When I first started writing this post this morning, I had planned on making it about the whole argument surrounding the perceived racism of the Confederate flag. I personally have no ties to that flag, other than enjoying the country music and southern rock that have used it quite often, plus looking pretty sharp on the General Lee when I used to watch the Dukes of Hazzard. Whether or not states or buildings choose to fly that flag really has no effect on me because I know anyone with racist thoughts or actions will continue on doing so regardless of what perceived racist symbols get banned. It's the loving actions of good, kind people that are the key to ridding racism from this planet, not ridding Walmart of white linens because the KKK uses them for uniforms, which I'm sure will be someone's next big brainstorm.
The loss of life in Charleston, SC was a complete tragedy. I pray for the families and friends of those who were lost and I feel anger every time I see a picture of that shooter, knowing he committed such a heinous crime against innocent people. But what continues to bother me additionally is that the situation was morphed into a discussion about a flag, which deflects from the real important topics. I had to stop writing this morning because I had to go to work, but the time in between then and now gave me opportunity to think even more about something else I had seen just before I left the house this morning. While the entire country debates about a flag, mass genocide is occuring on the other side of the world. I looked at the photographs and was shocked by what I saw. I'm glad I didn't see the extremely graphic ones, but the descriptions of what happened were enough. It was enough to keep me somewhat rattled all day.
We are so wrapped up about subjects that would seem frivolous to those living in ISIS-controlled areas of the Middle East. While we debate gay marriage and Bruce Jenner's transformation into Caitlyn, there would be no debate with ISIS; homosexuals and transgenders would be thrown off rooftops as I've seen in pictures. Children in this country have to worry about Common Core, an obesity problem, and eventually what college they will attend; in the Middle East, Christian children are being crucified and some, if they're female, are being used as sex slaves. Today I saw that men were drowned in cages, blown up in cars by grenade launchers, and forced to wear explosive decapitating necklaces under the oppressive, evil grip of ISIS, but the top story in this country was the Confederate flag.
The shooting that occured shows that we are not without our own type of terrorism here domestically. Racism is a cancer in our country that we have definitely made progress in eliminating, especially in the last 50 years, but it still exists. I mentioned earlier that I thought good, kind, loving people are the key to continuing that eradication, but there could be another impetus for that change. If we would actually give attention to those ISIS stories instead of burying them somewhere in the newspaper or attributing them to a political party trying to employ fear tactics by trumping up the violence, maybe we would realize that survival is just as important as love. It's only a matter of time before the operatives ISIS has in this country rear their ugly heads to bring their level of terror to our cities and towns unless we realize we're all in this together and fight back. White, black, male, female, old, young, gay, straight, Christian, atheist...we are all infidels to ISIS & we are all in danger unless we unite.
These were some heavy topics here and I hope that I've articulated my points well enough for you, the reader, to know how passionate I am about this. Years ago, I heard Glenn Beck say that we as people need to find the areas where we agree and build on those instead of dwelling on the points where we can't agree. That idea has resonated with me ever since and I believe strongly that we can make it happen. I believe it's more imperative now than ever.
The loss of life in Charleston, SC was a complete tragedy. I pray for the families and friends of those who were lost and I feel anger every time I see a picture of that shooter, knowing he committed such a heinous crime against innocent people. But what continues to bother me additionally is that the situation was morphed into a discussion about a flag, which deflects from the real important topics. I had to stop writing this morning because I had to go to work, but the time in between then and now gave me opportunity to think even more about something else I had seen just before I left the house this morning. While the entire country debates about a flag, mass genocide is occuring on the other side of the world. I looked at the photographs and was shocked by what I saw. I'm glad I didn't see the extremely graphic ones, but the descriptions of what happened were enough. It was enough to keep me somewhat rattled all day.
We are so wrapped up about subjects that would seem frivolous to those living in ISIS-controlled areas of the Middle East. While we debate gay marriage and Bruce Jenner's transformation into Caitlyn, there would be no debate with ISIS; homosexuals and transgenders would be thrown off rooftops as I've seen in pictures. Children in this country have to worry about Common Core, an obesity problem, and eventually what college they will attend; in the Middle East, Christian children are being crucified and some, if they're female, are being used as sex slaves. Today I saw that men were drowned in cages, blown up in cars by grenade launchers, and forced to wear explosive decapitating necklaces under the oppressive, evil grip of ISIS, but the top story in this country was the Confederate flag.
The shooting that occured shows that we are not without our own type of terrorism here domestically. Racism is a cancer in our country that we have definitely made progress in eliminating, especially in the last 50 years, but it still exists. I mentioned earlier that I thought good, kind, loving people are the key to continuing that eradication, but there could be another impetus for that change. If we would actually give attention to those ISIS stories instead of burying them somewhere in the newspaper or attributing them to a political party trying to employ fear tactics by trumping up the violence, maybe we would realize that survival is just as important as love. It's only a matter of time before the operatives ISIS has in this country rear their ugly heads to bring their level of terror to our cities and towns unless we realize we're all in this together and fight back. White, black, male, female, old, young, gay, straight, Christian, atheist...we are all infidels to ISIS & we are all in danger unless we unite.
These were some heavy topics here and I hope that I've articulated my points well enough for you, the reader, to know how passionate I am about this. Years ago, I heard Glenn Beck say that we as people need to find the areas where we agree and build on those instead of dwelling on the points where we can't agree. That idea has resonated with me ever since and I believe strongly that we can make it happen. I believe it's more imperative now than ever.
Tuesday, June 09, 2015
Effect then Cause?
Before you read any of what I'm about to write, you first need to visit this link and read the article to know where I'm coming from. Don't worry...I'll wait for you.
If your head hurts after reading that, I completely understand. Apparently it has that effect on some people. For others, like me, all it did was create more questions.
So, basically, in a nutshell, what scientists discovered was that when observing a helium atom passing through a slit, the atom could behave like a particle or a wave as it then passed through one grate towards a wall. But as it became possible to randomly drop a second grate behind the first one, the atom would behave like a wave every time the second grate was dropped. The mind-blowing part about all of this is that the atom didn't change as the second grate was dropped...it changed seemingly in anticipation of the dropping of that second grate. More simplified: it's as if the atom KNEW that the second grate would be there, so the atom changed immediately into a wave upon its release. Quantum physicists believe this is an example of a future event affecting the past, but they're not sure how or why it happens.
After reading this, I began to formulate my own questions. The article brought up the experiments done in the large particle accelerators, like the Hadron super collider, and I wondered if this new information could be applied to this situation. When particles are sent around the super collider, energy is given off in different forms by the traveling particles. I'm wondering if the same can be said for atoms traveling in wave form. In wave form under conditions of a vacuum, would two atoms in wave form be fluid enough to pass through each other or would they collide in the same way particles do? If they do, indeed, slip by as two people passing on the street, is there any friction inside that vacuum which would cause the waves to slow? If they didn't slow by any type of friction force and if they gave off energy as they traveled the accelerator, would that energy be able to be harnessed for usage? Saying all that is possible, we could be looking at a sustainable form of energy yet to be explored. Obviously, we'd have to weigh the cost factor involved with building accelerators, as well as investigating possible health risks, but it would be worth a try.
The article also brought up Schroedinger's cat, one of my favorite quantum quandaries. As some of you may know, the theory of Schroedinger's cat states that in a box exists a cat that is possibly alive or dead. Until we actually open the box to see which statement is true, both statements coexist and are true. I'm sure others have already thought of this, but I suggest that there are more than just those two possibilities. If the box is never opened, how are we sure that what's inside is actually a cat? Could it be some other sort of animal or inanimate object? Could there be NOTHING in the box? Being that this is a quantum physics issue, could a tiny black hole have opened in the box, causing all matter inside to be sucked in, thus leaving nothing there? Perhaps my favorite one of all, though, is this one. What if we opened the box and immediately we found ourselves inside the box looking out? Is there a possibility we are already in the box, waiting for it to be opened, or would the act of opening the box cause us to switch inside? Maybe when the box is opened and we're inside, we'll see Schroedinger's cat on the outside observing us.
So, yeah, I'm sure a lot of you will just pass this off as an over-active imagination trying to find something to do while performing repetitive tasks at work, but others of you might take my questions and try to answer them or maybe come up with questions of your own. To me, this is what science should be: people coming up with the whys and why-nots and discussing them. With this type of science, even the greatest minds still don't have the answers, so in a lot of ways they are in the same boat (or box) as us. That should give you a vote of confidence to use your brain on issues like this and not feel as if you need a degree in quantum physics to join the conversation.
As you come up with your own ideas, please feel free to comment here or on one of my various forms of social media. I look forward to see what you think...or is it backward? Seems we may have to revisit the order of how things happen from here on out.
Monday, June 08, 2015
Every Dark Cloud Has a Silver Lining
"There's two ways of lookin'
at them holes in your shoes.
You can dig the ventilation
or sing the blues."
-- "Rainbows Colored in Blue", Sanford Townsend Band
Everyone loves Mondays, don't they? Mondays for me aren't as bad as they can be for some people, but they still aren't my favorite day. I find it tough to get back in the swing of things after a weekend and everyone else seems to, as well. Because it was sunny outside and there was a nice breeze, I decided to take a walk at lunch, as I have been trying to do when the weather cooperates. Today, my walk was almost three miles round trip, with a stop at the Dollar Tree in the middle for some water. As I'm checking out, the cashier noticed the bracelets on my right wrist & said "That one with 'Hope' is pretty". I wear two bracelets, both related to cancer. The green one that says "Accelerate the Cure" was for my uncle Marlin, who passed away from multiple myeloma. I've worn it every since they gave it to me and I haven't taken it off. The second is a purple one that my mom was handing out when I was going through Hodgkin's Lymphoma and it says "Faith, Hope, & Love". I explained to the cashier what they were for and she held up her hand for a high-five, saying that she, too, had gone through Hodgkin's. Seven years she had been healthy, but still kept her hair short as a reminder. The customer behind me then told us that her father-in-law passed away from NON-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, to which I gave my sympathy for her loss. I paid for my items and went on my way, but I thought about that brief exchange the entire way back.
I struggle every day of every week to find a reason to want to get up and face my job. I know it's not what I want to do for the rest of my life, but it's what I have to do for now. That conversation made me realize that although my cancer was one of the most curable you can have, I was blessed to be standing there talking to that cashier, who shared in the same blessing. I could just have easily been the customer's father-in-law, who left behind a family that obviously still feels the pain of his loss.
The lyrics I quoted above eloquently but simply state that there are two sides to every situation and it's how you choose to look at it that makes the difference. Can we control every situation that is thrown at us? No. Other people have wills as strong as you and some of them seem to be set on making life tougher. What we can do is attempt to change how we look at the situation. Yes, Mondays can suck and so can our jobs, but nowhere near as much as going through a life-threatening disease or the loss of a loved one. When you can say you have a job, that you get an hour lunch break at that job, that you have enough money to buy some food and drink, and you can enjoy a walk in the sunshine without any difficulty or discomfort, that should be considered a good day.
So this is me verbalizing my attempt at changing myself for the better. I'm not saying that I won't still grumble, because it's human nature to do so and it's difficult to modify that. But what I am going to try to do is to consider my thoughts before they come words and actions so that hopefully I can become more positive and from that, only good things should come. If you agree, I encourage you to do the same. We'll support each other and try to keep each other on the right track. Feel free to send me a message, public or private, to let me know you're on board.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Superheroes, Time Travel, & All Things Nerdy
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge fan of television. I have been for years and probably always will be. This time of year is always one of the toughest as season and series finales happen. For those shows that aren't returning, you hopefully get closure that makes sense. But for those that are coming back in the fall, we should get a great cliffhanger. Tuesday night, we got a great season finale from The Flash. I'm late to the party when it comes to superheroes. Yeah, I've always known about them and have loved what I had seen, but I had never been a typical comic book nerd. I still don't buy comic books, but the influx of Marvel and DC information into popular culture has begun to feed the curiosity I've always had.
So, as I mentioned, this season finale was amazing. It had everything I had hoped for: an awesome superhero pitted against a fantastic super-villain, closure to a season-long story line, that aforementioned cliffhanger, and unexpected twists. But there was also time travel, another topic of which I've always had interest (see some of my previous blog posts). I always like to see how different authors, writers, etc... do interpretations of time travel. Because it's still all theoretical at this point (and some would say impossible), there is plenty of room for artistic license. Most of the time, I try to take the information and rationally prove or disprove it in my own mind. Tuesday night was no exception. In order to explain it, I'll have to give you a synopsis of this season.
Barry Allen is a forensic scientist for the Central City Police Department that was exposed to the effects of a particle collider malfunction at S.T.A.R. Labs. Dr. Harrison Wells, the scientist who founded the laboratory, nursed Barry back to health but discovered that the explosion gave him the power of super speed. During the season of catching other gifted "meta-humans" that turned to lives of crime, Barry moves fast enough to travel briefly back in time to not only see his mother's murder, which his father was blamed & jailed for supposedly doing, but finds that another speedster (which they dubbed the Reverse Flash) had been the actual murderer. **Please note that if you haven't watched the season and plan to, there will be spoilers in the rest of this synopsis.** Barry learns that Dr. Wells, his wheelchair-bound mentor, actually is Eobard Thawne, a criminal from the future that traveled back to the past to kill Barry's mother to demoralize him from becoming the Flash naturally. After killing Nora Allen, Thawne finds himself trapped in that time period with no way of getting home. He then arranges the death of the real Dr. Wells, assumes his full identity (complete with facial features), and sets up future events that result in the particle accelerator accident to help Barry become the Flash sooner than happened in his original timeline. Barry finally is able to capture Thawne, but is presented with a proposition. Another particle accelerator Thawne built is the key to Barry being able to return to the past once again. By running fast enough and colliding with the particle, it would open a wormhole that would allow a window of traveling to the past in order to prevent Nora Allen's murder. In exchange for this information, Thawne asks to be allowed to return to his own time. Barry finally agrees, creates the wormhole and returns to his childhood home. Instead of preventing the murder, though, and possibly changing his entire timeline, Barry uses the opportunity to say goodbye to his mom, then returns to present time to stop Thawne from returning home. A battle ensues with Thawne gaining the upper hand and is about to kill Barry, when an unexpected twist happens. One of Barry's friends and coworkers is Eddie Thawne, who also happens to be Eobard Thawne's ancestor. Just before Barry is about to be killed, Eddie shoots himself, causing Eobard to be erased from existence. As the show goes off the air, we see the Flash attempting to stop the wormhole from becoming a full-fledged singularity that destroys the entire Earth.
Confused? I hope not. Intrigued? I definitely hope so. Of all the events in that episode, the erasure from existence of Eobard Thawne was what piqued my curiosity. Follow me on this. If Eobard Thawne had never existed, the following items would have changed: Nora Allen would not have been murdered, Barry Allen might never have followed his guardian Joe West's footsteps in working with the police department, he possibly wouldn't have met Dr. Wells (the real one), a particle accelerator accident would never have occurred, Barry wouldn't have become the Flash until much later...the list goes on and on. But the only thing that seemingly changed was Eobard never existing. The rest of that current universe apparently continued on as if nothing had happened. My initial reaction was "this does not make sense". We should have seen immediate differences that would have reverted everything back to the way the timeline would have been had Eobard not existed. Then I started thinking about the situation with an emphasis on alternate universes. Eobard time traveling to kill Nora Allen set about a chain of events that changed major points along a timeline...or did they? Could the act of time travel have also been enough to jump to an alternate timeline, the points of which we saw played out this season? If so, did the blanking from existence of Eobard Thawne only affect him because he was from a different timeline? Only way I could see that happening was if somehow Eddie Thawne came from the same timeline as his descendant, Eobard, and his suicide would then have the effect we saw. In some time travel and alternate universe theories I've read, even the simple acts of making a decision (going left instead of right, eating a sandwich instead of soup, etc...) can be what causes alternate universes to be created. Theoretically, an infinite number of universes exist to cover every single possibility of events that could occur. So the act of killing Nora Allen could even have created this alternate timeline/universe.
Clearly I've put too much thought into all of this and have spent more time on it than I probably should have, but these are the things that play out in my mind while I am performing other daily menial tasks. I look forward to seeing how the writers handle this, if they even do. They could just gloss over it with an "it is what it is" view. For the sake of entertainment, I'm okay with that but Analytical Me is having issues with it. Did any of you watch The Flash at all this season? If so, did you have similar thoughts? Or are you now reading about this for the first time and are gathering opinions? I'd love to hear your opinions on The Flash, time travel, alternate universes, superheroes...whatever thoughts this blog has stirred up inside you. As an extra bonus question: if you could go back in time to prevent a completely awful event in your life, knowing full-well that changing that event could alter everything else that happened to you after that (including even really great events), would you do it? Feel free to comment here or you can hit me up by e-mail, text, Twitter, or Facebook. The ways to reach me are almost as numerous as the number of alternate universes that may or may not exist.
Until my next blog, I wish all of you Godspeed. (Get it? The Flash? Speed? Very punny...)
So, as I mentioned, this season finale was amazing. It had everything I had hoped for: an awesome superhero pitted against a fantastic super-villain, closure to a season-long story line, that aforementioned cliffhanger, and unexpected twists. But there was also time travel, another topic of which I've always had interest (see some of my previous blog posts). I always like to see how different authors, writers, etc... do interpretations of time travel. Because it's still all theoretical at this point (and some would say impossible), there is plenty of room for artistic license. Most of the time, I try to take the information and rationally prove or disprove it in my own mind. Tuesday night was no exception. In order to explain it, I'll have to give you a synopsis of this season.
Barry Allen is a forensic scientist for the Central City Police Department that was exposed to the effects of a particle collider malfunction at S.T.A.R. Labs. Dr. Harrison Wells, the scientist who founded the laboratory, nursed Barry back to health but discovered that the explosion gave him the power of super speed. During the season of catching other gifted "meta-humans" that turned to lives of crime, Barry moves fast enough to travel briefly back in time to not only see his mother's murder, which his father was blamed & jailed for supposedly doing, but finds that another speedster (which they dubbed the Reverse Flash) had been the actual murderer. **Please note that if you haven't watched the season and plan to, there will be spoilers in the rest of this synopsis.** Barry learns that Dr. Wells, his wheelchair-bound mentor, actually is Eobard Thawne, a criminal from the future that traveled back to the past to kill Barry's mother to demoralize him from becoming the Flash naturally. After killing Nora Allen, Thawne finds himself trapped in that time period with no way of getting home. He then arranges the death of the real Dr. Wells, assumes his full identity (complete with facial features), and sets up future events that result in the particle accelerator accident to help Barry become the Flash sooner than happened in his original timeline. Barry finally is able to capture Thawne, but is presented with a proposition. Another particle accelerator Thawne built is the key to Barry being able to return to the past once again. By running fast enough and colliding with the particle, it would open a wormhole that would allow a window of traveling to the past in order to prevent Nora Allen's murder. In exchange for this information, Thawne asks to be allowed to return to his own time. Barry finally agrees, creates the wormhole and returns to his childhood home. Instead of preventing the murder, though, and possibly changing his entire timeline, Barry uses the opportunity to say goodbye to his mom, then returns to present time to stop Thawne from returning home. A battle ensues with Thawne gaining the upper hand and is about to kill Barry, when an unexpected twist happens. One of Barry's friends and coworkers is Eddie Thawne, who also happens to be Eobard Thawne's ancestor. Just before Barry is about to be killed, Eddie shoots himself, causing Eobard to be erased from existence. As the show goes off the air, we see the Flash attempting to stop the wormhole from becoming a full-fledged singularity that destroys the entire Earth.
Confused? I hope not. Intrigued? I definitely hope so. Of all the events in that episode, the erasure from existence of Eobard Thawne was what piqued my curiosity. Follow me on this. If Eobard Thawne had never existed, the following items would have changed: Nora Allen would not have been murdered, Barry Allen might never have followed his guardian Joe West's footsteps in working with the police department, he possibly wouldn't have met Dr. Wells (the real one), a particle accelerator accident would never have occurred, Barry wouldn't have become the Flash until much later...the list goes on and on. But the only thing that seemingly changed was Eobard never existing. The rest of that current universe apparently continued on as if nothing had happened. My initial reaction was "this does not make sense". We should have seen immediate differences that would have reverted everything back to the way the timeline would have been had Eobard not existed. Then I started thinking about the situation with an emphasis on alternate universes. Eobard time traveling to kill Nora Allen set about a chain of events that changed major points along a timeline...or did they? Could the act of time travel have also been enough to jump to an alternate timeline, the points of which we saw played out this season? If so, did the blanking from existence of Eobard Thawne only affect him because he was from a different timeline? Only way I could see that happening was if somehow Eddie Thawne came from the same timeline as his descendant, Eobard, and his suicide would then have the effect we saw. In some time travel and alternate universe theories I've read, even the simple acts of making a decision (going left instead of right, eating a sandwich instead of soup, etc...) can be what causes alternate universes to be created. Theoretically, an infinite number of universes exist to cover every single possibility of events that could occur. So the act of killing Nora Allen could even have created this alternate timeline/universe.
Clearly I've put too much thought into all of this and have spent more time on it than I probably should have, but these are the things that play out in my mind while I am performing other daily menial tasks. I look forward to seeing how the writers handle this, if they even do. They could just gloss over it with an "it is what it is" view. For the sake of entertainment, I'm okay with that but Analytical Me is having issues with it. Did any of you watch The Flash at all this season? If so, did you have similar thoughts? Or are you now reading about this for the first time and are gathering opinions? I'd love to hear your opinions on The Flash, time travel, alternate universes, superheroes...whatever thoughts this blog has stirred up inside you. As an extra bonus question: if you could go back in time to prevent a completely awful event in your life, knowing full-well that changing that event could alter everything else that happened to you after that (including even really great events), would you do it? Feel free to comment here or you can hit me up by e-mail, text, Twitter, or Facebook. The ways to reach me are almost as numerous as the number of alternate universes that may or may not exist.
Until my next blog, I wish all of you Godspeed. (Get it? The Flash? Speed? Very punny...)
Saturday, January 03, 2015
What a Difference a Year Makes
One year ago today I was doing something I never thought I'd be doing: receiving the sixth out of six chemo treatments for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It was a situation that I am grateful that I went through, but I pray that I, nor anyone else reading this, have to go through it again.
Fast forward to today and again I did something I never thought I'd do: I joined a gym. Don't worry, I'll pause here to allow you to regain consciousness from passing out.
**pause**
Okay, yes, I joined a gym. The same guy who has stated many times that round is a shape. The person who you only see running when someone or something is chasing him. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I didn't actually see myself doing it. Physically exerting myself to the point of profuse sweating and/or exhaustion never seemed as good of a time as watching a favorite movie or TV show. But as I'm watching one of the many Planet Fitness commercials that aired between Christmas and New Year's Eve/Day, I thought to myself that the $1 down & $10/month deal sounded pretty good. Well, it sounded good if you're a person that enjoys that sort of thing. It seemed to me that anyone who said they enjoyed exercise was either deranged or was seriously trying to convince themselves of it in hopes that they might enjoy it eventually.
I can't say that I fall into either of those two categories yet. I'm still not convinced that I actually will like working out, but I'm at least willing to give it a shot. No one probably gave me a second look as I went from one piece of equipment to the other, getting an idea of what it does, but I felt slightly out of place. To paraphrase a quote I heard years and years ago, I felt like I was at a black tie party and I was the pair of brown shoes. Even those who didn't appear to be in the running for Mr. Universe still looked like they had an idea of what was going on. One good thing about the membership is that it gives you some time with a personal trainer to custom fit a workout for you based on what you hope to accomplish, as well as working around any physical issues or health problems. Hopefully I'm a quick study and will start looking as if I belong soon.
Perhaps it's just the feeling of needing to accomplish something great for a new year that's moved me to do this, but I just feel that if there's ever going to be a right time, this is it. Financially it may not be the best time, but even at $20 a month for the Black Card membership, that's relatively cheap for the benefits you receive. Plus, how am I going to enjoy eventually getting myself out of debt if I don't get myself healthy to be around for it? I've been stressed out for quite some time because of work, finances, the pressure of trying to be a good husband and father...oh yeah, HEALTH (see my first sentence in this blog)...and from what I've been reading, exercise is a great stress reliever. I'm hoping that this helps me not only physically, but mentally as well.
So, why am I telling you all of this? Well, there are actually several reasons. One, I thought it would make an interesting blog entry and I haven't written one since before Christmas. Two, I'm going to need your help somewhere along the way. Encouragement and accountability are a must when it comes to things like this, especially if you're not a person who can self-motivate. I don't expect any of you to follow me with pom-poms, cheering on every step, but a line telling me to keep it up would be extremely welcome. Some of you already do this for me and I appreciate every bit of it. I'm not saying I'm going to be the perfect fitness nut through all of this. Next door to the gym is a decent Chinese buffet, so I'm not going to always deny the teachings of one of my mentors, the late great John Pinette. Three, I want you to all know that I'm here for you to provide the same encouragement. It's always been easier for me to build up others because, as much as I like to grumble about people (hey, I'm allowed because I work with the public), I still like to see the best in everyone and be that crutch they need to stay standing. So if you're facing a challenge, no matter what kind, and you need some moral support, I'm here to help. I'm only a phone call, e-mail, text message, FB message, tweet, or blog comment away.
2015 will hopefully be full of great things for all of us and I hope this is one thing I'm doing to help it become of my best years in a while. I've been due for a good one. I think we all are due. Let me know if I can help you with that. I hope you all had a great Christmas, a great New Year's Eve and Day, and I wish you nothing but positives for the rest of the year!
Fast forward to today and again I did something I never thought I'd do: I joined a gym. Don't worry, I'll pause here to allow you to regain consciousness from passing out.
**pause**
Okay, yes, I joined a gym. The same guy who has stated many times that round is a shape. The person who you only see running when someone or something is chasing him. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I didn't actually see myself doing it. Physically exerting myself to the point of profuse sweating and/or exhaustion never seemed as good of a time as watching a favorite movie or TV show. But as I'm watching one of the many Planet Fitness commercials that aired between Christmas and New Year's Eve/Day, I thought to myself that the $1 down & $10/month deal sounded pretty good. Well, it sounded good if you're a person that enjoys that sort of thing. It seemed to me that anyone who said they enjoyed exercise was either deranged or was seriously trying to convince themselves of it in hopes that they might enjoy it eventually.
I can't say that I fall into either of those two categories yet. I'm still not convinced that I actually will like working out, but I'm at least willing to give it a shot. No one probably gave me a second look as I went from one piece of equipment to the other, getting an idea of what it does, but I felt slightly out of place. To paraphrase a quote I heard years and years ago, I felt like I was at a black tie party and I was the pair of brown shoes. Even those who didn't appear to be in the running for Mr. Universe still looked like they had an idea of what was going on. One good thing about the membership is that it gives you some time with a personal trainer to custom fit a workout for you based on what you hope to accomplish, as well as working around any physical issues or health problems. Hopefully I'm a quick study and will start looking as if I belong soon.
Perhaps it's just the feeling of needing to accomplish something great for a new year that's moved me to do this, but I just feel that if there's ever going to be a right time, this is it. Financially it may not be the best time, but even at $20 a month for the Black Card membership, that's relatively cheap for the benefits you receive. Plus, how am I going to enjoy eventually getting myself out of debt if I don't get myself healthy to be around for it? I've been stressed out for quite some time because of work, finances, the pressure of trying to be a good husband and father...oh yeah, HEALTH (see my first sentence in this blog)...and from what I've been reading, exercise is a great stress reliever. I'm hoping that this helps me not only physically, but mentally as well.
So, why am I telling you all of this? Well, there are actually several reasons. One, I thought it would make an interesting blog entry and I haven't written one since before Christmas. Two, I'm going to need your help somewhere along the way. Encouragement and accountability are a must when it comes to things like this, especially if you're not a person who can self-motivate. I don't expect any of you to follow me with pom-poms, cheering on every step, but a line telling me to keep it up would be extremely welcome. Some of you already do this for me and I appreciate every bit of it. I'm not saying I'm going to be the perfect fitness nut through all of this. Next door to the gym is a decent Chinese buffet, so I'm not going to always deny the teachings of one of my mentors, the late great John Pinette. Three, I want you to all know that I'm here for you to provide the same encouragement. It's always been easier for me to build up others because, as much as I like to grumble about people (hey, I'm allowed because I work with the public), I still like to see the best in everyone and be that crutch they need to stay standing. So if you're facing a challenge, no matter what kind, and you need some moral support, I'm here to help. I'm only a phone call, e-mail, text message, FB message, tweet, or blog comment away.
2015 will hopefully be full of great things for all of us and I hope this is one thing I'm doing to help it become of my best years in a while. I've been due for a good one. I think we all are due. Let me know if I can help you with that. I hope you all had a great Christmas, a great New Year's Eve and Day, and I wish you nothing but positives for the rest of the year!
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