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.
Sunday, November 15, 2015
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!
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Hall of Fame Thoughts
Once again we have an announcement from the great city of Cleveland that a new class will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for 2015. Accompanied with that are my feelings of complete satisfaction with some of the choices and bewilderment at others. I won't dissect each inductee, but I will touch briefly on them.
--Kudos to the Hall for finally recognizing Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble as worthy. While definitely deeply rooted in blues, the rock element can't be denied.
--I'm not a huge fan of Lou Reed or Joan Jett, but many acts that followed them claimed them as major influences. For that reason, I'm not going to dispute their induction.
--Though I'm not sure why the Hall started allowing R&B acts to be eligible, I'm glad to see the accomplishments of Bill Withers acknowledged. I'm not familiar with the 5 Royales, but many of the early R&B acts that were the foundation of rock & roll before it was a phrase deserve a nod.
--I don't know who the Paul Butterfield Blues Band is. I have heard of them but can honestly say I don't know anything by them. This calls for a YouTube search.
--Ringo Starr gets the Award for Musical Excellence. If I had to rank my favorite Beatles, Ringo would be a distant fourth. Not sure what else he did to deserve this award, but I won't fight it. Besides, I'd be lying if I said I haven't rocked out to "It Don't Come Easy".
-- My "What the hell??" moment goes to Green Day. I'm only 34 and these guys were big when I was in high school. How is it possible that they're eligible? Shouldn't there be a longer time requirement? I'm sure this will be the one that I get the most hate mail about, but I'm entitled to my opinion. I just don't see their contribution to be as influential as Nirvana, who were inducted last year. But wait... they were also big when I was in school. Am I really getting old??
Overall, this class doesn't interest me as much as last year's did. I was thrilled that Hall and Oates made it in 2014 after all these years and though I'm not a huge fan, it was great to see KISS become HoF'ers. Something still sticks in my mind every year, though, that won't fully allow me to assign the HOF the legitimacy it should have. No matter what grudge Jann Wenner has, the founder of Rolling Stone Magazine and influential higher-up of the HOF should agree with millions across the world and allow the Monkees to be inducted. THEY ARE WORTHY.
Who would you like to see inducted in the next class? Give me some of your choices. As always, I look forward to your opinions. \m/
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Quantum Physics for Dummies
Most of the time when my mind wanders, it finds its way to dead ends. The random problems that my brain thinks up work themselves out when I realize that the answer was either so obvious or I decide that the problems weren't worth the time to solve. But then there are the rarities where I ask myself a question that I can't answer and it just leads to more questions. That's when, if I'm feeling ambitious enough, I start scouring the Net for the answers.
About a week ago, I started thinking about parallel universes. I know, that's not really a light subject to just conjure up out of thin air. I'm not sure how it came up, but I'm sure it was because of a TV show or something I had been watching. Being a sci-fi geek, this happens quite often. So here was the multi-tiered question that occured to me: Has a parallel universe, if it exists, always existed or is it created because of some event? If created by an event, does all history prior to that creation cease to exist for the parallel world, does it use the history of the universe from which it was spawned, or does a completely new history get assumed by the people living in it and recorded as if it had actually happened?
Right now you're probably thinking one of a couple of possible responses. "Huh?" "Are you on drugs?" "This is completely stupid." "That just blew my mind." There probably are a few more I didn't account for, but to answer those: no, I'm not on drugs and yes, it may be completely stupid, but then again, it may be mind-blowing, In preparation for writing this, I did a Google search for "Albert Einstein parallel universe" and clicked on the first link I found that looked like it would have some interesting information. http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/parallel-universe.htm was very short in length, but rich in information about theories concerning parallel universes. My questions still haven't been answered, but at least it's a start. Basically, Albert Einstein believed that alternate universes are altogether possible, but was never able to prove it. Other scientists in the years following his death, like Hugh Everett III & Dr. Michio Kaku have picked up the torch to prove he wasn't off his rocker and some have gotten closer, but still no concrete proof. Their individual theories like "Many-Worlds", "Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle", and "String Theory" sound impressive and that's because they are, but no one can confirm them. That's why they're still theories. But with every day that passes, we're getting closer to some confirmation.
From what I'm reading, some theories, like the Many-Worlds or Heisenberg Uncertaintly Principle, hinge on some sort of event that actually creates the parallel universe, such as a scientist simply observing the state of a quantum object (whether in wave or particle form, wave vibration, etc...) or even by making the decision to not make a determination at all. Such an event can cause the split of the universe to accomodate for all possible outcomes of the observation. What a powerful thing to consider: that even the THOUGHT of multiple outcomes could create those multiple outcomes somewhere. If we'd ever find this to be true, the human mind should be considered the greatest object ever created. Sort of makes you reconsider trying to discuss Schroedinger's cat (Google it). Using this information to my question, my question still remains unanswered; we could still share history, there could be no history prior to the event for the alternate world, or they could create a history from shared thought-pooling once it is established. If we follow the theory of Dr. Kaku, which is called String Theory, it's much easier to believe that the universes have their own histories different from each other. His theory states that all objects in the universe, even on down to the smallest particles known currently as quarks, are made up of tinier building blocks that resemble rubber bands and what matter they create depends on these bands and how they vibrate. This creation happens across eleven separate dimensions. Because of how it's created, our universe is therefore separated by itself inside of a "bubble", which exists along side of the other parallel universes in their own "bubbles". It's theorized that they can interact with each other by sharing gravity, but that would create an explosion similar to what some scientists believe happened at the Big Bang. Probably not a good idea for this to happen. BUT, this string theory would then, as I said, give credence to the idea that any alternate worlds would have a unique history, some being just slightly out-of-phase from each other, but definitely unique to that "bubble".
These theories are just the most prominent; we've barely scratched the surface. Plenty of other scientists have their own ideas on if any of this is possible. The truth could be a combination of a couple or all of them, it could be one singular idea, or another possibility is that none of these can actually occur. Possibly by considering these in this blog, we've created some alternate realities of our own. Maybe some day we'll know...or in another reality, we already know. One thing I do know: I'm not anywhere even CLOSE to answering my own questions. But I think it's fun to keep trying!
If I haven't driven you nuts by this discussion, I invite you to join in. Any of your own theories? Questions that you think I or someone else that reads this may be able to answer? Post them here!
From what I'm reading, some theories, like the Many-Worlds or Heisenberg Uncertaintly Principle, hinge on some sort of event that actually creates the parallel universe, such as a scientist simply observing the state of a quantum object (whether in wave or particle form, wave vibration, etc...) or even by making the decision to not make a determination at all. Such an event can cause the split of the universe to accomodate for all possible outcomes of the observation. What a powerful thing to consider: that even the THOUGHT of multiple outcomes could create those multiple outcomes somewhere. If we'd ever find this to be true, the human mind should be considered the greatest object ever created. Sort of makes you reconsider trying to discuss Schroedinger's cat (Google it). Using this information to my question, my question still remains unanswered; we could still share history, there could be no history prior to the event for the alternate world, or they could create a history from shared thought-pooling once it is established. If we follow the theory of Dr. Kaku, which is called String Theory, it's much easier to believe that the universes have their own histories different from each other. His theory states that all objects in the universe, even on down to the smallest particles known currently as quarks, are made up of tinier building blocks that resemble rubber bands and what matter they create depends on these bands and how they vibrate. This creation happens across eleven separate dimensions. Because of how it's created, our universe is therefore separated by itself inside of a "bubble", which exists along side of the other parallel universes in their own "bubbles". It's theorized that they can interact with each other by sharing gravity, but that would create an explosion similar to what some scientists believe happened at the Big Bang. Probably not a good idea for this to happen. BUT, this string theory would then, as I said, give credence to the idea that any alternate worlds would have a unique history, some being just slightly out-of-phase from each other, but definitely unique to that "bubble".
These theories are just the most prominent; we've barely scratched the surface. Plenty of other scientists have their own ideas on if any of this is possible. The truth could be a combination of a couple or all of them, it could be one singular idea, or another possibility is that none of these can actually occur. Possibly by considering these in this blog, we've created some alternate realities of our own. Maybe some day we'll know...or in another reality, we already know. One thing I do know: I'm not anywhere even CLOSE to answering my own questions. But I think it's fun to keep trying!
If I haven't driven you nuts by this discussion, I invite you to join in. Any of your own theories? Questions that you think I or someone else that reads this may be able to answer? Post them here!
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged
I'd like to think that the group of friends that I have in real life and in social media is a diverse one. We come from all different backgrounds with different likes and dislikes, varied viewpoints and beliefs. In my opinion, that's the only way to stay true to yourself. If you don't reevaluate your positions based on new information from trusted sources (like friends and family), you really have no room to speak your mind because you're going off of history only instead of current fact. This makes things that much more frustrating when a person I normally agree with refuses to hear my point of view if mine varies from theirs, which actually happened to me today.
A contact of mine on Facebook posted an opinion in their status, along with a link to an article. The opinion was stated as absolute with no exceptions, but I saw another viewpoint that I considered to be well thought out and valid. Instead of welcoming a new vantage point to enter into the discussion, my comment was immediately dismissed as incorrect. This is from a person who shares my same conservative values, so normally we agree. But the more I thought, the more I could recall times where I found her viewpoints to be closed-minded and abrasive. They were based in truth, yet did not come across in a way that invited me to hear more.
Unfortunately, this is why I feel the conservative message falls on so many deaf ears. Often times the only conservative voices people hear to base an opinion on are the ones who are yelling the loudest. They don't hear the soft-spoken, level-headed thinkers who prefer to discuss in smaller groups or on a blog that only a few will read. I'm not saying that some topics don't require a raised voice with a passionate delivery, but for the most part I believe people would rather enter into discussion rather than being scolded. The old saying about catching more flies with honey than vinegar definitely applies.
To me, this definitely applies to my conservative brothers and sisters who identify themseIves as Christians. I, myself, am far from perfect (as most who really know me will agree) and I don't really expect anyone else to be either. But it seems that there are some like my Facebook friend who find it easy to sit behind their golden keyboard and pass judgment, rather than hear something that could slightly alter their thinking. I'm not suggesting an abandonment of values or ignoring of Christian teachings. If you see the title of this blog entry, you'll know where I'm headed with this. My opinion: God did not put us here to be judges of one another. He gave us minds to think, voices to speak, hands to hold, and hearts to love. We should act as examples for others, but not place ourselves on a pedestal so high that others feel it is unattainable. When we try so hard to preach why we are right, we are doing something wrong by not listening. If we just took the time to hear someone out, we might just find something that will strengthen our own ideas, beliefs, and thoughts.
Conservatives, liberals, independents, and everything in between, take my advice under consideration. There are places we can find to agree, but the minute you start acting as if you know better than everyone else and shout your beliefs instead of inviting dialogue, you close the ears of those you're trying to reach. Try stepping down from behind the bench, Your Honor, and let the judging to someone more suited to slam the gavel.
Totally unrelated side note: Tomorrow is Father's Day. A happy one to my dad, stepdad, grandfather, + father-in-law, all of whom are trying every day to show me more about being a good father to my daughter.
Wednesday, March 05, 2014
Amateur Sociology in the Workplace
I've been out in the workforce now for basically sixteen years now. Compared to those older than me, unless they spent a considerable amount of time being unemployed, that's not a lot of time. But compared to those who spent time in college, I'm at least four to six years up on them in work experience. Sure they've got the degree, the higher salary, more vacation, a bigger house...wait, there was a positive for me somewhere...oh yeah, more time on the job. I guess that's a positive. But what I'm not getting in 0's at the end of my paycheck or in time spent traveling to an exotic location, I'm getting in the form of an education. I seriously should have taken up sociology because examining the different types of co-workers has been absolutely fascinating. Note: I'm not actually studying anything. This is more of a realization I've come to over time and just decided to blog about tonight. I've discovered a few typical types of co-worker that seem to be universal. Everyone who reads this will know someone or a few someones that fit into these categories. There may be more categories than this or people that fit into more than one category depending on the situation, but these are what I consider to be the main ones, at least in my experiences. (Please note: anyone who takes any of this seriously obviously has no idea who I am or what I'm about and should probably quit reading at this point. I am no more an expert in any of this than I am qualified to be a rocket scientist.)
Disclaimer: This wasn't really written to be of help to anyone but myself, just to air some frustrations I've had over the years over many jobs in a humorous way. Any resemblance to any former or current co-workers is strictly coincidental...or is it? :)
I hope you've enjoyed reading this. Did you come up with any other categories? Have any funny stories about co-workers that pertains to this? (Please omit names.) Feel free to comment away! Have a great day, everyone.
- The Moron - A category that's pretty much self-explanatory and the kind that is most prevalent. Some are born this way, some cause themselves to be this way due to chemical influence, and some actually choose to be this way to avoid responsibility and conflict. These are the co-workers that ask questions after months or years of service about things they should remember from the first week. Generally, you just wonder why these people are gainfully employed, let alone being in a position that requires them to know something more than alternating inhaling and exhaling. As long as you don't have to directly interact with them, they can be a great source of entertainment as they interact with others.
- The Constantly Apathetic Person - Plain and simple, this one just doesn't care. As long as they can earn a paycheck and get through the day, whatever happens just happens. This can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the situation. If you're needing people to stay out of your way so you can complete your job, this kind will be glad to oblige. But if part of your job is relying on them to complete theirs, this is where a problem can arise.
- The Partially Apathetic Person - Also known as the "situationally apathetic person", this is one of the more frustrating types. This is a person who generally cares about doing their job, but can all of a sudden decide that it's no use. At that point, they become useless until their own frustration passes and they return to caring again.
- The Complete A-hole - Hopefully you can avoid contact with this one, but usually it's unavoidable somewhere in the day. This one will sabotage a good mood for no apparent reason or will ruin work-related plans in some way, shape, or form just because they can. Again, you wonder why someone like this continues to be employed. My theory is that they were a Constantly Apathetic Person in a position so long that they've become bitter and bored, transitioning into the Complete A-hole.
- The Pleasant Placeholder - A ray of sunshine that brightens up the whole office! Generally an agreeable person who will be happy to help in any way. Unfortunately, if you don't know how to spot it, this could be a disguise for type 1, The Moron, and you can get horribly fooled. But a genuine Pleasant Placeholder is usually a good thing. They're happy where they are, they do their job, and they don't get in your way.
- Management - Simply put, everyone has to deal with this at some time, unless you're as high up the ladder as you can get. If so, you're in this category. You can be Management and be another of these categories, but the reason I broke them out separately is that there is nothing you can do about them. Management knows better than you do...about everything. There is no fighting them or trying to change their mind, especially if it's Ownership/Management. At this point, it's best to keep your mouth shut, nod your head, listen until they stop talking, and walk away. Even better than that, avoid them altogether.
- The Caring - Someone who knows what they have to do, attacks it like it is their own business and gets frustrated easily when it can't be accomplished. And the usual reasons why it can't be accomplished? See numbers 1-4 & 6. Simply put: if you're a 1-4 or a 6, get out of this person's way and let them do the job. If it's screwed up, then you can blame them. At that point, though, at least you can say that someone tried, which is more than most of the other types would ever dream of attempting. Give them a chance. This, as you might be able to guess, is the rarest of all of the categories. This is the one I try to be.
Disclaimer: This wasn't really written to be of help to anyone but myself, just to air some frustrations I've had over the years over many jobs in a humorous way. Any resemblance to any former or current co-workers is strictly coincidental...or is it? :)
I hope you've enjoyed reading this. Did you come up with any other categories? Have any funny stories about co-workers that pertains to this? (Please omit names.) Feel free to comment away! Have a great day, everyone.
Thursday, October 03, 2013
You Can't Go Home Again (But With Memories You Don't Need To)
My grandmother sent an e-mail out today, the subject line of which was an address: 54 Fairfield Street. That was my address in Carlisle, PA where I grew up, where we lived until October 1990 when we moved to another part of Carlisle. Curious as to what it was about, I read further & found that the house is, once again, up for sale. More intriguing, pictures of the house are included on the realtor's website. She encouraged us to take a look, noting that my uncle had looked & had seen nothing about the house that even remotely looked like when we had lived there.
With more curiousity than dread, I decided to check out the site after I finished paying some bills. I typed the address into the search on the realtor's website & immediately the house came up. Immediately I recognized the house & knew everything was loading properly, having been by the house dozens of times since we moved out & I knew what changes had been made to the exterior. When we lived there, the house was white aluminum siding, but since had been replaced with a greyish vinyl siding. They had also covered the nearby garage with it, enclosing the breezeway where we used to sit in the summertime. No matter what time of day, it always seemed there was an actual breeze & actually felt cool. Now, I'm sure, it's a bit more temperature controlled for year-round usage. I moved on to the remainder of the pictures, recognizing some of the rooms, but with a different look. Even though my grandfather spent countless hours painting before we moved out, fresh coats covered each wall in different colors than I remember. The kitchen had modern appliances & different trim. The rooms that had wooden floors looked to shine with a newness, far from the worn wooden floors we walked on. The most recent owners had even built in a wall to separate the living room & the back room, something that just really stood out to me, but looked really good. Shots of the backyard showed plenty of green grass & trees, but still seemed like an updated, newer version of what we had. I let the slideshow play through until the end & just thought for a few minutes aftewards about everything. It's when I realized that it wasn't about what they pictures showed, it's about what they DIDN'T show.
Just like my aforementioned memories of the breezeway, it seemed a lot I remembered about the old house had been covered up by new, modern advances, but if I looked close enough, I could see them in my mind's eye. The front door was hardly ever used as that, only when unknowing mailman substitutes came to drop off bills or in the summertime when we'd leave the door open to let air in (as well as the busy sounds of Rte 81). I saw nothing of the narrow hallway that led to my grandparents' bedroom, the bathroom, the door to the 2nd floor, & a small closet where an index card hung on the inside of the door with my birth date, time, height & weight (for what reason, I don't know). One of the upstairs bedrooms, the one where my uncle stayed, looked different without an Air Force poster on the door. I didn't even recognize the basement at first because it seemed to have more light in it, possibly because it wasn't full, as our basement had always been. There were no Sir Walter Raleigh tobacco cans filled with nuts & bolts sitting on shelves or on the window sills. I wondered if you still had to duck to walk down the steps to get into the basement because of the big wooden beam or if they had someone corrected that also. The garage was much the same as the basement: a lot of light & seemed far too empty. Absolutely no cardboard boxes sat on the floor, filled with old, brittle records that we used to play as Pap & I tinkered around at his work bench. No engine for an old Ford truck on a hoist, waiting to be dismantled & scrapped because it needed to go & we needed something to do. The above-ground pool that we used every summer, listening to the Drifters or the Dirty Dancing soundtrack as we splashed around, was no longer there, apparently for more yard space. I didn't even want to see what happened to the old shed in the backyard, It was rickety when we used it, but we still used it. The upper loft was a bit dangerous to explore, but I always liked walking around on the ground floor. Every now & then I'd run across an old football card laying partially covered in dirt & chewed by mice at the corners. If that had been a 13-14 year old me, I'd have been dismayed at finding them. But to a 5 year old, it was like finding treasure, no matter what condition they were in. I doubt the most recent owners were gardeners, but they had some great land for it behind the shed. My Pap loved to raise all sorts of vegetables there & we ate pretty well because of it. I'd sometimes watch him work there while I swung on the nearby tire swing.
So while all of these thoughts came back to me & I felt slightly annoyed that things had changed, I sighed & remembered that time marches on. I couldn't expect the people who bought the house from us to leave things unchanged, just as those owners can't think whoever buys it next will not want to improve it. But no matter how much paint or building materials they'd use or how much cleaning they'd do, they can't cover up the memories I had built in 10 years there. I can see things there just as clearly now as I did actually living in it back then. Time will probably make those memories fuzzier as I get older, but they'll still be in there, stored somewhere in the folds of grey matter. As cool as it would be to own that place, knowing it's where I grew up, it's not necessary as long as I still own those memories & can revisit them from time to time.
Hope you guys (and gals) didn't mind my stroll down memory lane. Do any of you have strong memories of the first house you lived in? Feel free to share any of them in the comments below. I look forward to reading them.
With more curiousity than dread, I decided to check out the site after I finished paying some bills. I typed the address into the search on the realtor's website & immediately the house came up. Immediately I recognized the house & knew everything was loading properly, having been by the house dozens of times since we moved out & I knew what changes had been made to the exterior. When we lived there, the house was white aluminum siding, but since had been replaced with a greyish vinyl siding. They had also covered the nearby garage with it, enclosing the breezeway where we used to sit in the summertime. No matter what time of day, it always seemed there was an actual breeze & actually felt cool. Now, I'm sure, it's a bit more temperature controlled for year-round usage. I moved on to the remainder of the pictures, recognizing some of the rooms, but with a different look. Even though my grandfather spent countless hours painting before we moved out, fresh coats covered each wall in different colors than I remember. The kitchen had modern appliances & different trim. The rooms that had wooden floors looked to shine with a newness, far from the worn wooden floors we walked on. The most recent owners had even built in a wall to separate the living room & the back room, something that just really stood out to me, but looked really good. Shots of the backyard showed plenty of green grass & trees, but still seemed like an updated, newer version of what we had. I let the slideshow play through until the end & just thought for a few minutes aftewards about everything. It's when I realized that it wasn't about what they pictures showed, it's about what they DIDN'T show.
Just like my aforementioned memories of the breezeway, it seemed a lot I remembered about the old house had been covered up by new, modern advances, but if I looked close enough, I could see them in my mind's eye. The front door was hardly ever used as that, only when unknowing mailman substitutes came to drop off bills or in the summertime when we'd leave the door open to let air in (as well as the busy sounds of Rte 81). I saw nothing of the narrow hallway that led to my grandparents' bedroom, the bathroom, the door to the 2nd floor, & a small closet where an index card hung on the inside of the door with my birth date, time, height & weight (for what reason, I don't know). One of the upstairs bedrooms, the one where my uncle stayed, looked different without an Air Force poster on the door. I didn't even recognize the basement at first because it seemed to have more light in it, possibly because it wasn't full, as our basement had always been. There were no Sir Walter Raleigh tobacco cans filled with nuts & bolts sitting on shelves or on the window sills. I wondered if you still had to duck to walk down the steps to get into the basement because of the big wooden beam or if they had someone corrected that also. The garage was much the same as the basement: a lot of light & seemed far too empty. Absolutely no cardboard boxes sat on the floor, filled with old, brittle records that we used to play as Pap & I tinkered around at his work bench. No engine for an old Ford truck on a hoist, waiting to be dismantled & scrapped because it needed to go & we needed something to do. The above-ground pool that we used every summer, listening to the Drifters or the Dirty Dancing soundtrack as we splashed around, was no longer there, apparently for more yard space. I didn't even want to see what happened to the old shed in the backyard, It was rickety when we used it, but we still used it. The upper loft was a bit dangerous to explore, but I always liked walking around on the ground floor. Every now & then I'd run across an old football card laying partially covered in dirt & chewed by mice at the corners. If that had been a 13-14 year old me, I'd have been dismayed at finding them. But to a 5 year old, it was like finding treasure, no matter what condition they were in. I doubt the most recent owners were gardeners, but they had some great land for it behind the shed. My Pap loved to raise all sorts of vegetables there & we ate pretty well because of it. I'd sometimes watch him work there while I swung on the nearby tire swing.
So while all of these thoughts came back to me & I felt slightly annoyed that things had changed, I sighed & remembered that time marches on. I couldn't expect the people who bought the house from us to leave things unchanged, just as those owners can't think whoever buys it next will not want to improve it. But no matter how much paint or building materials they'd use or how much cleaning they'd do, they can't cover up the memories I had built in 10 years there. I can see things there just as clearly now as I did actually living in it back then. Time will probably make those memories fuzzier as I get older, but they'll still be in there, stored somewhere in the folds of grey matter. As cool as it would be to own that place, knowing it's where I grew up, it's not necessary as long as I still own those memories & can revisit them from time to time.
Hope you guys (and gals) didn't mind my stroll down memory lane. Do any of you have strong memories of the first house you lived in? Feel free to share any of them in the comments below. I look forward to reading them.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Keeping You In the Loop
Anytime I friend someone on Facebook or follow them on Twitter it's usually because we share some sort of connection, like we've known each other somewhere along the way & I want to stay in touch. Because of this, I like to keep you updated if there's something going on that I would want to tell a friend or family member. I appreciate each & every one of you.
That being said, it's time for a health update. As most of you know, I've been dealing with something unknown for over a year. It hasn't given me any symptoms, other than I've had some swelled lymph nodes. In order to figure out once & for all what's going on, I had one removed from the left side of my neck & biopsied. Last week, the information was handed down from the surgeon & confirmed this week by the oncologist I've been seeing for this year plus process: I have Nodular Lymphocyte Predominant Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
NOW, before any of you freak out & go crazy...yes, it is cancer BUT I'm assured by my oncologist that no matter what stage I'm in with this particular strain, it is curable. Everything that I've been seeing is in the 90's percentage-wise for success rate. This is a huge load off of my mind just knowing what we're dealing with & that it can be treated/cured. Right now the toughest parts that I'm dealing with are all of the appointments leading up to the treatment. I just had my bone marrow biopsy today (NOT FUN...this should be a Guantanamo torture tactic), then a PET scan tomorrow. Next week is a pulmonary test & an EKG just to make sure I'll be able to handle treatments. Once all of this info is in & I get a second opinion from either Johns Hopkins or Hershey Medical Center, then we can start treatment. I'll be on chemo for probably about 6 months (once every two weeks for 12 treatments). I may lose some of my hair & I may be tired some days, but it's what I have to do. I'm a worrier, as most of you know, but with this, I'm not worried. I realize that I worry about things I can control (money, jobs, elections...wait, I can't control those...), but this is something that I can't. This is out of my hands. I believe in God & I firmly believe that He is in control of this situation. Just knowing that lifts the burden off of my shoulders & allows me to function where others may be flipping their lids.
The sentence that most comes out of peoples' mouths when I've been telling them what's going on is "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." Honestly, this is one of the toughest questions to answer, yet it's also easy. I'm a person who doesn't like to rely on others for anything. I'd rather be the one to help if there's any needed. So really I can't think of anything anyone can do at this time except to give me all of the prayers & positive thoughts you feel it in your heart to give. I know the doctors are very positive, but if there's one thing I've learned over time, it's that there is no such thing as too much prayer...unless you're an atheist, then substitute "prayer" with "positive thoughts". Both of those are extremely welcome & I'm very touched at those who have reached out & already given these for me. On the days in the future when I will sometimes look at humanity with a stink-eye, I'll remember that there still are good people out there who come through in times of need.
So, with all of this being said, do I have any questions? I'm happy to answer anything that you have & if I don't know, I will certainly find out for you. From time to time I plan on making my blogs about what's going on with me through this process, but I won't make it all about the process. To do that would be to give too much spotlight to it & frankly, I can't handle being serious all that often. One thing I won't allow this to take away from me is my sense of humor, so don't expect that to go away any time soon :) So keep checking here or check in with me on my other various forms of social media. If you've made it this far in this blog, I'm hoping you will. Thanks for reading & thanks for caring. Love to all!
That being said, it's time for a health update. As most of you know, I've been dealing with something unknown for over a year. It hasn't given me any symptoms, other than I've had some swelled lymph nodes. In order to figure out once & for all what's going on, I had one removed from the left side of my neck & biopsied. Last week, the information was handed down from the surgeon & confirmed this week by the oncologist I've been seeing for this year plus process: I have Nodular Lymphocyte Predominant Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
NOW, before any of you freak out & go crazy...yes, it is cancer BUT I'm assured by my oncologist that no matter what stage I'm in with this particular strain, it is curable. Everything that I've been seeing is in the 90's percentage-wise for success rate. This is a huge load off of my mind just knowing what we're dealing with & that it can be treated/cured. Right now the toughest parts that I'm dealing with are all of the appointments leading up to the treatment. I just had my bone marrow biopsy today (NOT FUN...this should be a Guantanamo torture tactic), then a PET scan tomorrow. Next week is a pulmonary test & an EKG just to make sure I'll be able to handle treatments. Once all of this info is in & I get a second opinion from either Johns Hopkins or Hershey Medical Center, then we can start treatment. I'll be on chemo for probably about 6 months (once every two weeks for 12 treatments). I may lose some of my hair & I may be tired some days, but it's what I have to do. I'm a worrier, as most of you know, but with this, I'm not worried. I realize that I worry about things I can control (money, jobs, elections...wait, I can't control those...), but this is something that I can't. This is out of my hands. I believe in God & I firmly believe that He is in control of this situation. Just knowing that lifts the burden off of my shoulders & allows me to function where others may be flipping their lids.
The sentence that most comes out of peoples' mouths when I've been telling them what's going on is "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." Honestly, this is one of the toughest questions to answer, yet it's also easy. I'm a person who doesn't like to rely on others for anything. I'd rather be the one to help if there's any needed. So really I can't think of anything anyone can do at this time except to give me all of the prayers & positive thoughts you feel it in your heart to give. I know the doctors are very positive, but if there's one thing I've learned over time, it's that there is no such thing as too much prayer...unless you're an atheist, then substitute "prayer" with "positive thoughts". Both of those are extremely welcome & I'm very touched at those who have reached out & already given these for me. On the days in the future when I will sometimes look at humanity with a stink-eye, I'll remember that there still are good people out there who come through in times of need.
So, with all of this being said, do I have any questions? I'm happy to answer anything that you have & if I don't know, I will certainly find out for you. From time to time I plan on making my blogs about what's going on with me through this process, but I won't make it all about the process. To do that would be to give too much spotlight to it & frankly, I can't handle being serious all that often. One thing I won't allow this to take away from me is my sense of humor, so don't expect that to go away any time soon :) So keep checking here or check in with me on my other various forms of social media. If you've made it this far in this blog, I'm hoping you will. Thanks for reading & thanks for caring. Love to all!
Wednesday, August 07, 2013
Woohoo! for New "Who"
This weekend, unless you're not involved in social media at all (in which case, how are you seeing this?) or don't watch much TV, it was announced that veteran Scottish actor Peter Capaldi will be taking over the role of the Doctor in the long-running British sci-fi TV show "Doctor Who". I join the numerous positive comments on this choice and congratulate Mr. Capaldi on landing the job. To be honest, I've only ever seen him in two other roles before this was announced. Funny enough, one of those was as the patriarch of a Pompeiian family in a previous season's episode of "Doctor Who" (before you consider that strange, check out Colin Baker, who played a Gallifreyan guard during the 5th Doctor's tenure, then went on to be the 6th Doctor). The other was in the "Doctor Who" spinoff, "Torchwood", during their "Children of Earth" series of episodes. His role was a very tortured, dark role, but well played. I look forward to exploring his other works that have been mentioned online since then (especially one called "Local Hero", which looks great).
Besides being a choice of a great actor, I applaud this decision on another level. When the original run of this show was televised starting in 1963 until the late 80's, it was all about the sci-fi entertainment. While there were other plots and elements woven in, the main points were most assuredly about the time and space traveling, the scary monsters, the strange worlds, etc... But with the kickoff of the new seasons in the 2000's, "Doctor Who" has inserted relevant issues of our day into the stories. Not only are they entertaining, but they make us think. The show does just about the best balance of this of any other show I've seen. Of course at the center of it all has always been the Doctor, the mad "spaceman" in a blue box called the TARDIS, that travels in time and space. Most assuredly he's the star of the show, but when someone else needs the spotlight, the Doctor just blends in for the sake of the story. When it was announced earlier this year that 11th Doctor Matt Smith would be leaving, a whirlwind of controversy was stirred up. Because the Doctor has the ability to regenerate and change his appearance instead of dying outright, many have left this open to interpretation about who could take over the prestigious acting role. Questions about possibly having a woman become the 12th Doctor arose. Quickly names like Emma Watson & Helen Mirren were thrown about for consideration. There was also a suggestion about someone of a different race taking over (all previous incarnations of the Doctor have been white males). I didn't disagree with anyone that was named as a possible replacement, including any of the women or guys of a different race, but in the end I think Peter Capaldi was just about the best choice of any...and here's why.
Like I said previously, the newer seasons of "Doctor Who" work so well because it has the ability to make points relevant to today's day and age (somewhat in the same way "Star Trek" did), with keeping a main character that could fade in and out for the sake of the story as needed. Now imagine pressure from various groups to suddenly change the Doctor into, for example, a black male or a female, just because it's possible and "because they can". Suddenly, with one of those changes, the Doctor becomes the focal point of every show. It becomes a change for the sake of change, not for relevancy of the story. Let's be honest: those who will actually stop watching "Doctor Who" because they picked another "white guy" probably weren't fans in the first place. Most, if not all, Whovians would want what's best for the show, what is most logical. What makes most sense is to put someone in the Doctor's shoes who blends in to the part as if he had always been there. To do anything else would interrupt what the new series has worked to build just to placate special interest groups that were only concerned about the publicity from a controversy. Ultimately, I think head writer Steven Moffat did what he felt was best. Ever since Russell T. Davies left has head writer at the end of the 10th Doctor David Tennant's tenure, Moffat has made decisions that have Whovians talking, blogging, tweeting, etc... and not always in a good way. It was his idea, though, to consider Capaldi for the role of the Doctor. In fact, according to the live announcement special, he had almost put him in as the 11th Doctor in place of Matt Smith, but decided against it, thinking the time was not exactly right. It's that type of person that I like to see in charge of such a decision. Moffat will not make a knee-jerk reaction just to ride the wind of political correctness or cave in to pressure of a select few. Again, to draw another "Star Trek" parallel, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one". The "many", in this case, are we Whovians who care deeply about this show.
Unfortunately, we will have to wait for a new "Who" episode until November, which will be the 50th anniversary episode & Matt Smith's penultimate. The no-doubt emotional on-screen regeneration of Matt Smith's 11th Doctor into Peter Capaldi's 12th Doctor will come at Christmas, a time fans of the new series have come to look forward to because of the great special episodes released that day most every year since the Doctor reappeared on our televisions. If this Christmas is anything like last year's, I will hopefully receive more cool "Who" merchandise, too! (Hint, hint!) But first, I'll be patiently waiting for November to get here for the 50th. Yeah...patiently waiting... Does anyone have a spare TARDIS they're not using? There's someWHEN I have to be :)
(I hope you've enjoyed this blog, even if you're not a Whovian like me. Any questions, comments, criticism or suggestions? Post them here, hit me up on Facebook, or send me a tweet @nBoEnforcer)
Besides being a choice of a great actor, I applaud this decision on another level. When the original run of this show was televised starting in 1963 until the late 80's, it was all about the sci-fi entertainment. While there were other plots and elements woven in, the main points were most assuredly about the time and space traveling, the scary monsters, the strange worlds, etc... But with the kickoff of the new seasons in the 2000's, "Doctor Who" has inserted relevant issues of our day into the stories. Not only are they entertaining, but they make us think. The show does just about the best balance of this of any other show I've seen. Of course at the center of it all has always been the Doctor, the mad "spaceman" in a blue box called the TARDIS, that travels in time and space. Most assuredly he's the star of the show, but when someone else needs the spotlight, the Doctor just blends in for the sake of the story. When it was announced earlier this year that 11th Doctor Matt Smith would be leaving, a whirlwind of controversy was stirred up. Because the Doctor has the ability to regenerate and change his appearance instead of dying outright, many have left this open to interpretation about who could take over the prestigious acting role. Questions about possibly having a woman become the 12th Doctor arose. Quickly names like Emma Watson & Helen Mirren were thrown about for consideration. There was also a suggestion about someone of a different race taking over (all previous incarnations of the Doctor have been white males). I didn't disagree with anyone that was named as a possible replacement, including any of the women or guys of a different race, but in the end I think Peter Capaldi was just about the best choice of any...and here's why.
Like I said previously, the newer seasons of "Doctor Who" work so well because it has the ability to make points relevant to today's day and age (somewhat in the same way "Star Trek" did), with keeping a main character that could fade in and out for the sake of the story as needed. Now imagine pressure from various groups to suddenly change the Doctor into, for example, a black male or a female, just because it's possible and "because they can". Suddenly, with one of those changes, the Doctor becomes the focal point of every show. It becomes a change for the sake of change, not for relevancy of the story. Let's be honest: those who will actually stop watching "Doctor Who" because they picked another "white guy" probably weren't fans in the first place. Most, if not all, Whovians would want what's best for the show, what is most logical. What makes most sense is to put someone in the Doctor's shoes who blends in to the part as if he had always been there. To do anything else would interrupt what the new series has worked to build just to placate special interest groups that were only concerned about the publicity from a controversy. Ultimately, I think head writer Steven Moffat did what he felt was best. Ever since Russell T. Davies left has head writer at the end of the 10th Doctor David Tennant's tenure, Moffat has made decisions that have Whovians talking, blogging, tweeting, etc... and not always in a good way. It was his idea, though, to consider Capaldi for the role of the Doctor. In fact, according to the live announcement special, he had almost put him in as the 11th Doctor in place of Matt Smith, but decided against it, thinking the time was not exactly right. It's that type of person that I like to see in charge of such a decision. Moffat will not make a knee-jerk reaction just to ride the wind of political correctness or cave in to pressure of a select few. Again, to draw another "Star Trek" parallel, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one". The "many", in this case, are we Whovians who care deeply about this show.
Unfortunately, we will have to wait for a new "Who" episode until November, which will be the 50th anniversary episode & Matt Smith's penultimate. The no-doubt emotional on-screen regeneration of Matt Smith's 11th Doctor into Peter Capaldi's 12th Doctor will come at Christmas, a time fans of the new series have come to look forward to because of the great special episodes released that day most every year since the Doctor reappeared on our televisions. If this Christmas is anything like last year's, I will hopefully receive more cool "Who" merchandise, too! (Hint, hint!) But first, I'll be patiently waiting for November to get here for the 50th. Yeah...patiently waiting... Does anyone have a spare TARDIS they're not using? There's someWHEN I have to be :)
(I hope you've enjoyed this blog, even if you're not a Whovian like me. Any questions, comments, criticism or suggestions? Post them here, hit me up on Facebook, or send me a tweet @nBoEnforcer)
Saturday, August 03, 2013
Know Your Elvis Lyrics
Wow, it's been a long time since I've written anything here. Yeah, I know...I write that every time it's been a while, but it's actually been over a year. Just to keep you updated from what I wrote last time, currently I'm in a holding pattern (is that pilot lingo?) about whatever mystery illness is going on inside my body. I still feel awesome, but these lymph nodes keep growing. A few days ago, a surgeon removed the node from the left side of my neck & I'm waiting for the results of the biopsy. When I get some news, I'll be sure to pass it along. I'd like to say I'll blog about it here, but my track record hasn't been great with being timely. Hopefully that will change & I can keep everyone updated.
Since I felt a LOT better today (some neck stiffness, but no pain), we decided to go to the Shade Gap Festival tonight. This has become a ritual since Holly & I were married (at least I think it's been that long that we've been coming) & I only think we've missed 1 or 2 years. Friday night of the festival is usually a pretty packed night, but still fun. Of course, there's the typical fair food, which is the highlight of any day that you can sample it. I haven't had much of an appetite for most of the week, so tonight was a good night for it to return. My menu tonight consisted of a bowl of chicken pot pie (the "slippery" kind, to distinguish), a piece of pecan pie, finishing up Holly's cheese fries, mozzarella sticks with marinara (I think they got smaller this year), a scoop of butter pecan ice cream, & most of Bristol's vanilla ice cream. Healthy, right? Luckily, I don't care. If it tastes good, I'm all for it. Along with the food, there's the entertainment. Every year we've gone on the Friday of the festival, a band called the Fabulous Flashbacks plays. Last year they had almost a complete revamping of the entire band (at least, it's the way it seems), so it seemed they were slightly off. This year, the music sounded great, but the vocals needed some work. In case this gets back to any of them, it was still enjoyable, but there was room for improvement. Particularly, I'm talking about the lyrics. For a band that does cover songs (none original, at least at this gig) that everyone has heard for years, you'd think the lyrics would come a little bit easier, ESPECIALLY when it comes to Elvis. He's the King of Rock & Roll, one of the most influential entertainers of the 20th century, & will probably be required study for music courses in 50 years, yet the lead singer was stumbling over "Burning Love". Maybe it was an off-night? I'd chalk it up to that, except that it was the same way last year. I'm not saying I'm perfect at lyrics, but I tend to be more anal about them than most people...ok, I'm even more picky about them than an American Idol judge during top 12. IT'S ELVIS, PEOPLE. I can understand not knowing all the lyrics to one of his unreleased songs, but "Burning Love" is one of the King's most popular. If you're an oldies band, this should be second nature to you. I know what some of you are thinking: "If you think YOU'RE so great, why don't YOU do it?" I'm willing to do it. If anyone needs a lead singer for an oldies band, one that doesn't play an instrument, I'm all for it. Once I get over the initial stage fright, I think I'd be good to go. But that's for another discussion another day. BTW, the band played 3 sets of about an hour each, so I do give them props for that. Most bands would only do two 45 minute sets & be done. That being said, I'm looking forward to next year.
I spent a bit of time revamping the layout of this blog with some of Blogger's new templates & options, then I wrote this out. Doing all that while watching Big Brother After Dark makes 1 1/2 hours go by fast. Usually watching live feeds isn't that entertaining, but there were actually some funny parts tonight. Plus they showed Aaryn on TV a lot tonight. Yeah, I know she said racist comments, but she's still the hottest woman in the house. Watching with the sound off is acceptable, if she starts talking stupid.
Now it's time for bed. I don't have really anything planned tomorrow, except for watching whatever race is televised tomorrow. Maybe I'll blog about that...or it could be something else completely random. Who knows? Whatever it may be, feel free to comment as you so choose. That might help me decide if I should keep up with this!
Since I felt a LOT better today (some neck stiffness, but no pain), we decided to go to the Shade Gap Festival tonight. This has become a ritual since Holly & I were married (at least I think it's been that long that we've been coming) & I only think we've missed 1 or 2 years. Friday night of the festival is usually a pretty packed night, but still fun. Of course, there's the typical fair food, which is the highlight of any day that you can sample it. I haven't had much of an appetite for most of the week, so tonight was a good night for it to return. My menu tonight consisted of a bowl of chicken pot pie (the "slippery" kind, to distinguish), a piece of pecan pie, finishing up Holly's cheese fries, mozzarella sticks with marinara (I think they got smaller this year), a scoop of butter pecan ice cream, & most of Bristol's vanilla ice cream. Healthy, right? Luckily, I don't care. If it tastes good, I'm all for it. Along with the food, there's the entertainment. Every year we've gone on the Friday of the festival, a band called the Fabulous Flashbacks plays. Last year they had almost a complete revamping of the entire band (at least, it's the way it seems), so it seemed they were slightly off. This year, the music sounded great, but the vocals needed some work. In case this gets back to any of them, it was still enjoyable, but there was room for improvement. Particularly, I'm talking about the lyrics. For a band that does cover songs (none original, at least at this gig) that everyone has heard for years, you'd think the lyrics would come a little bit easier, ESPECIALLY when it comes to Elvis. He's the King of Rock & Roll, one of the most influential entertainers of the 20th century, & will probably be required study for music courses in 50 years, yet the lead singer was stumbling over "Burning Love". Maybe it was an off-night? I'd chalk it up to that, except that it was the same way last year. I'm not saying I'm perfect at lyrics, but I tend to be more anal about them than most people...ok, I'm even more picky about them than an American Idol judge during top 12. IT'S ELVIS, PEOPLE. I can understand not knowing all the lyrics to one of his unreleased songs, but "Burning Love" is one of the King's most popular. If you're an oldies band, this should be second nature to you. I know what some of you are thinking: "If you think YOU'RE so great, why don't YOU do it?" I'm willing to do it. If anyone needs a lead singer for an oldies band, one that doesn't play an instrument, I'm all for it. Once I get over the initial stage fright, I think I'd be good to go. But that's for another discussion another day. BTW, the band played 3 sets of about an hour each, so I do give them props for that. Most bands would only do two 45 minute sets & be done. That being said, I'm looking forward to next year.
I spent a bit of time revamping the layout of this blog with some of Blogger's new templates & options, then I wrote this out. Doing all that while watching Big Brother After Dark makes 1 1/2 hours go by fast. Usually watching live feeds isn't that entertaining, but there were actually some funny parts tonight. Plus they showed Aaryn on TV a lot tonight. Yeah, I know she said racist comments, but she's still the hottest woman in the house. Watching with the sound off is acceptable, if she starts talking stupid.
Now it's time for bed. I don't have really anything planned tomorrow, except for watching whatever race is televised tomorrow. Maybe I'll blog about that...or it could be something else completely random. Who knows? Whatever it may be, feel free to comment as you so choose. That might help me decide if I should keep up with this!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
What's Wrong With Me? (Well, sort of...)
I know recently I've been worrying a lot of you by my posts about prayers & positive thoughts for some health concerns of mine that have come up recently. Some of you I've been able to talk to, e-mail, DM, send smoke signals, let loose carrier pigeons, etc... to discuss personally, but frankly there are too many to do that on an individual basis. Believe me, that is in no way a burden; it's actually a blessing that I have so many people who care.
Let me start off by saying that I FEEL FINE. But what prompted this all was some back pain I'd been having at night, which woke me up pretty much every night about the same time. Add to that some frequent trips to the bathroom & I'd self-diagnosed as having kidney stones. After about a week of putting up with the pain, I made an appointment for the doctor. He seemed to agree with me, but also wanted me to get some blood work done, along with a CT scan & x-ray. I had all of those done in the same night & the results were available that night. The blood work was normal, but the scans did not show any kidney stones. Instead it showed some slight enlargement of my spleen & various lymph nodes.
Fast forward to now. After more blood work, a PET scan, visits to an oncologist & a consult with a surgeon, no one is still sure what is going on. For all intents & purposes, I'm a healthy person...just with slight enlargement of the spleen & lymph nodes. It could be that some infection is being fought off in my body causing the enlargements & it only showed up coincidentally due to the back pain (I had been lifting heavy things between putting a swing set together & moving items for an auction, which could explain the pain; remember who we're dealing with: a guy who doesn't DO physical labor). There are possibilities of lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or a similar disease, but I show no symptoms of these. Also there exists a chance that I have some sort of cancer (lymphoma or leukemia), but again, I show no other signs of illness. The oncologist is pretty stumped at this point because he sees a patient that would be easier to diagnose if he felt or looked sick. But I don't & therein lies the problem. In another month I have some repeat blood tests to do, which will check levels against my previous tests. If the oncologist sees a change, I'll be scheduled for a biopsy of one of the lymph nodes (probably one at my left collarbone) to know once & for all what we're dealing with.
All I can ask from all of you is to keep up your prayers & positive thoughts, because that's all I can do for right now: keep on keepin' on & doing what I know to do. Again, to reiterate, I FEEL FINE. If that happens to change or if something new pops up from the next round of tests, I'll be sure to pass it along. Thank you again to all of those who have passed along your well-wishes &/or took a moment of your day to send me some encouragement. I've been on a roller coaster with this, but I'm determined to stay on the positive side of it. God only gives us things He knows we can handle & whatever it is that is thrown my way this time, I'll get through it. Knowing I have you all on my side helps.
Now, can someone please bring back the less-serious Shaun? I like him much better.
Let me start off by saying that I FEEL FINE. But what prompted this all was some back pain I'd been having at night, which woke me up pretty much every night about the same time. Add to that some frequent trips to the bathroom & I'd self-diagnosed as having kidney stones. After about a week of putting up with the pain, I made an appointment for the doctor. He seemed to agree with me, but also wanted me to get some blood work done, along with a CT scan & x-ray. I had all of those done in the same night & the results were available that night. The blood work was normal, but the scans did not show any kidney stones. Instead it showed some slight enlargement of my spleen & various lymph nodes.
Fast forward to now. After more blood work, a PET scan, visits to an oncologist & a consult with a surgeon, no one is still sure what is going on. For all intents & purposes, I'm a healthy person...just with slight enlargement of the spleen & lymph nodes. It could be that some infection is being fought off in my body causing the enlargements & it only showed up coincidentally due to the back pain (I had been lifting heavy things between putting a swing set together & moving items for an auction, which could explain the pain; remember who we're dealing with: a guy who doesn't DO physical labor). There are possibilities of lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or a similar disease, but I show no symptoms of these. Also there exists a chance that I have some sort of cancer (lymphoma or leukemia), but again, I show no other signs of illness. The oncologist is pretty stumped at this point because he sees a patient that would be easier to diagnose if he felt or looked sick. But I don't & therein lies the problem. In another month I have some repeat blood tests to do, which will check levels against my previous tests. If the oncologist sees a change, I'll be scheduled for a biopsy of one of the lymph nodes (probably one at my left collarbone) to know once & for all what we're dealing with.
All I can ask from all of you is to keep up your prayers & positive thoughts, because that's all I can do for right now: keep on keepin' on & doing what I know to do. Again, to reiterate, I FEEL FINE. If that happens to change or if something new pops up from the next round of tests, I'll be sure to pass it along. Thank you again to all of those who have passed along your well-wishes &/or took a moment of your day to send me some encouragement. I've been on a roller coaster with this, but I'm determined to stay on the positive side of it. God only gives us things He knows we can handle & whatever it is that is thrown my way this time, I'll get through it. Knowing I have you all on my side helps.
Now, can someone please bring back the less-serious Shaun? I like him much better.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Conservatives: REALLY???
This isn't going to be a long blog, because it doesn't have to be. I could make it one, but apart from being extremely dull & boring, I probably couldn't BS my way through it enough to make it a huge blog. So here goes nothing...
Specifically I want to target my conservative friends on this blog. Through the tweets, statuses, blogs, etc..., I've been seeing the information you post about candidates & this election. No one can say that you're not passionate about your beliefs! I know that most of you get into very heated discussions about who you think should or shouldn't be president. But the one thing that gets to me is when you say something like the following: "If (insert name here) gets the GOP nomination, I will not support them." This concerns me greatly & here is why...
(At this point my liberal friends may want to look away, because the rest of this blog may send you into fits. Are you all looking away? No? Some of you are still reading? Well, continue at your own risk.)
Conservatives know what is at stake at this next election. This country has been subjected to years of leaning towards big government & all that it brings to the party with it (diminished rights, increased entitlements, debt & unemployment through the roof, etc...), not just by our current president but by ones that preceded him. The United States is sliding down a slippery slope that is becoming increasingly difficult to reverse unless we act NOW. That's why this election is so important. We have an opportunity to start the correction that sets us all back on the right course. That's why I find the talk about not supporting this or that candidate to be so destructive. Granted, there are some vying for the GOP nomination that aren't as conservative as the other candidates, but if there is a "perfect" conservative, I haven't met them yet. Chances are we won't see them in an election anytime soon either. If he/she does exist, it's a person like you or me who tweets, blogs, talks to friends, etc... about what this country should do, but doesn't possess the strong leadership qualities or financial backing to do anything about it.
To simplify my point, here it is in a nutshell. There are a couple of choices you can make when it comes to this next election. If the person you don't like gets the GOP nod, you could go third party. Currently there isn't a big enough third party movement with enough votes to defeat either the Republican candidate or President Obama, so your vote (although noble & true to your heart) is a throw-away. A write-in of one of the candidates that didn't get the Republican nomination could be done, or to vote for a Democrat challenger to Obama, but this is another throw-away. If they were good enough to be on the general election ballot, they'd have secured the nomination. With that choice, President Obama is a second-term president. You could sit at home & not vote at all, but that's even better for the Democrat party. This counteracts some of the votes they're losing to dissatisfaction & once again, you have President Obama in the White House. Then there is the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" philosophy & voting for Obama, but that makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER. If you're going to make that decision, you'd have made that already & the election wouldn't be the deciding factor in your change in political ideals. The final decision & only logical one (as I see it) is to support whoever the Republicans nominate.
I would love to see someone running that I agree with 100% of the time, but I know that will NEVER happen. It's just absolutely impossible. I can sit here & pick out at least one thing from each of the remaining GOP candidates that I can't stand, but is it really enough to not vote for them? Compare each of them to Obama, my fellow conservatives, & tell me they're not a better choice than our current president. If you honestly would place a vote for Obama over one of them, I question the sincerity of your philosophy from the very beginning.
I've said it before & I will say it again: Democrats win elections by throwing full support behind their candidate no matter if they agree with them fully or not. Don't you think the Hillary Clinton supporters were growling & snarling as they pulled the lever for Obama four years ago? Yes, but they realized it was better for their cause to rally behind the candidate chosen as the best possible to win. THAT is exactly what Republicans and conservatives need to do. When it's been narrowed to a choice, we need to throw 100% support behind that person.
Somewhere down the road I hope it becomes possible to eliminate all of the PAC's, the special interests, the lobbyists, the endless campaigning, the slanderous commercials & everything that makes presidential elections so awful. I'd like to see it become a way for anyone, regardless of their background or bank account, to be able to serve this country as president if they get the votes from the people. Let them state their case to the country for a few months as to why they are best qualified, then skip straight to a nationwide general election where you vote for the candidate that best represents you. When the votes are counted & the dust clears, the person left with the most votes will be the president.
Wow, this ended up being longer that I originally thought. But simply put, my point behind this whole blog is this: conservatives, will you REALLY not support the candidate who secures the GOP nomination if they aren't your first choice? Please let that weigh heavily on your mind before you answer that with a "no". You may be making a HUGE mistake.
Specifically I want to target my conservative friends on this blog. Through the tweets, statuses, blogs, etc..., I've been seeing the information you post about candidates & this election. No one can say that you're not passionate about your beliefs! I know that most of you get into very heated discussions about who you think should or shouldn't be president. But the one thing that gets to me is when you say something like the following: "If (insert name here) gets the GOP nomination, I will not support them." This concerns me greatly & here is why...
(At this point my liberal friends may want to look away, because the rest of this blog may send you into fits. Are you all looking away? No? Some of you are still reading? Well, continue at your own risk.)
Conservatives know what is at stake at this next election. This country has been subjected to years of leaning towards big government & all that it brings to the party with it (diminished rights, increased entitlements, debt & unemployment through the roof, etc...), not just by our current president but by ones that preceded him. The United States is sliding down a slippery slope that is becoming increasingly difficult to reverse unless we act NOW. That's why this election is so important. We have an opportunity to start the correction that sets us all back on the right course. That's why I find the talk about not supporting this or that candidate to be so destructive. Granted, there are some vying for the GOP nomination that aren't as conservative as the other candidates, but if there is a "perfect" conservative, I haven't met them yet. Chances are we won't see them in an election anytime soon either. If he/she does exist, it's a person like you or me who tweets, blogs, talks to friends, etc... about what this country should do, but doesn't possess the strong leadership qualities or financial backing to do anything about it.
To simplify my point, here it is in a nutshell. There are a couple of choices you can make when it comes to this next election. If the person you don't like gets the GOP nod, you could go third party. Currently there isn't a big enough third party movement with enough votes to defeat either the Republican candidate or President Obama, so your vote (although noble & true to your heart) is a throw-away. A write-in of one of the candidates that didn't get the Republican nomination could be done, or to vote for a Democrat challenger to Obama, but this is another throw-away. If they were good enough to be on the general election ballot, they'd have secured the nomination. With that choice, President Obama is a second-term president. You could sit at home & not vote at all, but that's even better for the Democrat party. This counteracts some of the votes they're losing to dissatisfaction & once again, you have President Obama in the White House. Then there is the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" philosophy & voting for Obama, but that makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER. If you're going to make that decision, you'd have made that already & the election wouldn't be the deciding factor in your change in political ideals. The final decision & only logical one (as I see it) is to support whoever the Republicans nominate.
I would love to see someone running that I agree with 100% of the time, but I know that will NEVER happen. It's just absolutely impossible. I can sit here & pick out at least one thing from each of the remaining GOP candidates that I can't stand, but is it really enough to not vote for them? Compare each of them to Obama, my fellow conservatives, & tell me they're not a better choice than our current president. If you honestly would place a vote for Obama over one of them, I question the sincerity of your philosophy from the very beginning.
I've said it before & I will say it again: Democrats win elections by throwing full support behind their candidate no matter if they agree with them fully or not. Don't you think the Hillary Clinton supporters were growling & snarling as they pulled the lever for Obama four years ago? Yes, but they realized it was better for their cause to rally behind the candidate chosen as the best possible to win. THAT is exactly what Republicans and conservatives need to do. When it's been narrowed to a choice, we need to throw 100% support behind that person.
Somewhere down the road I hope it becomes possible to eliminate all of the PAC's, the special interests, the lobbyists, the endless campaigning, the slanderous commercials & everything that makes presidential elections so awful. I'd like to see it become a way for anyone, regardless of their background or bank account, to be able to serve this country as president if they get the votes from the people. Let them state their case to the country for a few months as to why they are best qualified, then skip straight to a nationwide general election where you vote for the candidate that best represents you. When the votes are counted & the dust clears, the person left with the most votes will be the president.
Wow, this ended up being longer that I originally thought. But simply put, my point behind this whole blog is this: conservatives, will you REALLY not support the candidate who secures the GOP nomination if they aren't your first choice? Please let that weigh heavily on your mind before you answer that with a "no". You may be making a HUGE mistake.
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Don't Blame Doc Brown
Already I'm hearing comments on the Internet, and even in person, from people saying, "Back to the Future was full of crap! It's almost 2015 and nothing has come true like the movies". Did you ever stop to think that maybe it's for a good reason (other than "Back to the Future" is a movie)? I thought about this today (maybe for too long) and came up with a few answers as to why none of this has happened..and don't you dare blame Doc Brown.
First, anyone who is a sci-fi geek like I am can tell you that anything dealing with the future is an uncertainty from the word "go". While many theories exist of how time travel can occur, many agree that events that happen in the past directly affect how the future plays out. Anyone with foreknowledge of those events and means of time travel can affect the outcome. Even such a thing as killing a butterfly in the past can affect future events on a grand scale (see "the butterfly effect" on Wikipedia or elsewhere). It's very possible that Marty McFly's adventures in the future and past could have affected timelines and events so much that those displayed in the movie never occurred. Nothing shown there appears to be a "fixed point" in time, or something so pivotal to time itself that nothing can alter it. Still, not knowing how the years played out between 1985 and 2015, all of this technology could still develop sometime in the next three years. I still find it hard to believe, though, that fifteen more Jaws movies could happen between now and then. Please, for the love of Spielberg, don't let that happen.
Another theory that has just as much sci-fi goodness as the last one is that the "Back to the Future" trilogy occurred in an alternate universe. Although I don't claim to fully understand physics, some scientists are of the belief that there are universes just out of phase with our own, some with Earths having subtle differences, others having drastically different characteristics. For example, in one universe I'm writing this blog about "Back to the Future" starring Eric Stoltz (see Wikipedia info on the original screen tests). In yet another universe, I'm not writing a blog at all because electricity hasn't been invented. See how that works? Imagine a possible outcome and *BOOM* it's another universe. Want to really blow your mind? That universe both existed AND didn't exist until you thought of it. It was real AND not real simultaneously. Read up on Schroedinger's cat for more info on that bit of mind-screwing. So to recap this theory, somewhere in another universe, Marty McFly and Doc Brown are real people having real adventures.
Last, but not least, is an idea that my friend Kris thought of today, something that I hadn't considered. The technology in the movie is indeed possible RIGHT NOW, but the government doesn't want you to know about it. Yeah, I know...fit me for a straitjacket and lock me in a padded room with Fox Mulder and the Lone Gunmen (which, by the way, would be a kick-ass nerd band name). Call me a government conspirist, but I think this is totally possible. Think about it for a second with the biggest, most important technological advancement of the movies (other than time travel): FLYING CARS. Can you imagine the repercussions this would have? Citizens would all have to pass different exams to drive/fly a car. Different safety upgrades would be made for all new vehicles. Older cars would be retrofitted with this technology and THOSE cars would need to be upgraded for safety. Companies like those in the tire industry would have financial loss (why replace tires when you don't need them except for takeoff and landing?). Buildings would needed to be upgraded for safety, possibly with each including a member of Air Traffic Control, to navigate vehicles safely around them. We'd constantly have to be on the lookout for Jihadists trying to fly their explosive-laden cars into structures. Do you see the problems this causes? And that's just ONE upgrade and advancement in technology. The government probably has this stuff hidden in Area 51 with the rest of the alien technology it has captured over the years (again with the conspiracy!) but refuses to release it because of the myriad of issues that would ensue upon its release.
There may be more reasons that the "Back to the Future" trilogy hasn't come true, but I think these are three pretty good reasons why we don't see it happening in 2012 (or 2015 for that matter). I may not be able to fly my Honda Accord to work using the scraps from last night's dinner, take a leisurely ride through the park on my hoverboard, or take in a matinee of Jaws 19, but I take a minute to appreciate what I can do and what I do have. In the amount of time mankind has been living on this Earth, we've accomplished some great advancements. In an even shorter span of time those advancements have increased exponentially. If you think it hasn't, look at the smart phone you most likely carry on your hip or in your pocket. Such a thing wasn't even a reality for the general public ten short years ago. That should put some things in perspective.
So, please don't blame Doc Brown, Marty McFly, or any of the other characters (well, maybe Biff) for a near future that doesn't resemble the movie. Instead, be excited for what could possibly be even better than what the movie predicted. Look forward to what lies ahead down the road. Wait..."Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads." Yeah, that still may be a possibility :)
First, anyone who is a sci-fi geek like I am can tell you that anything dealing with the future is an uncertainty from the word "go". While many theories exist of how time travel can occur, many agree that events that happen in the past directly affect how the future plays out. Anyone with foreknowledge of those events and means of time travel can affect the outcome. Even such a thing as killing a butterfly in the past can affect future events on a grand scale (see "the butterfly effect" on Wikipedia or elsewhere). It's very possible that Marty McFly's adventures in the future and past could have affected timelines and events so much that those displayed in the movie never occurred. Nothing shown there appears to be a "fixed point" in time, or something so pivotal to time itself that nothing can alter it. Still, not knowing how the years played out between 1985 and 2015, all of this technology could still develop sometime in the next three years. I still find it hard to believe, though, that fifteen more Jaws movies could happen between now and then. Please, for the love of Spielberg, don't let that happen.
Another theory that has just as much sci-fi goodness as the last one is that the "Back to the Future" trilogy occurred in an alternate universe. Although I don't claim to fully understand physics, some scientists are of the belief that there are universes just out of phase with our own, some with Earths having subtle differences, others having drastically different characteristics. For example, in one universe I'm writing this blog about "Back to the Future" starring Eric Stoltz (see Wikipedia info on the original screen tests). In yet another universe, I'm not writing a blog at all because electricity hasn't been invented. See how that works? Imagine a possible outcome and *BOOM* it's another universe. Want to really blow your mind? That universe both existed AND didn't exist until you thought of it. It was real AND not real simultaneously. Read up on Schroedinger's cat for more info on that bit of mind-screwing. So to recap this theory, somewhere in another universe, Marty McFly and Doc Brown are real people having real adventures.
Last, but not least, is an idea that my friend Kris thought of today, something that I hadn't considered. The technology in the movie is indeed possible RIGHT NOW, but the government doesn't want you to know about it. Yeah, I know...fit me for a straitjacket and lock me in a padded room with Fox Mulder and the Lone Gunmen (which, by the way, would be a kick-ass nerd band name). Call me a government conspirist, but I think this is totally possible. Think about it for a second with the biggest, most important technological advancement of the movies (other than time travel): FLYING CARS. Can you imagine the repercussions this would have? Citizens would all have to pass different exams to drive/fly a car. Different safety upgrades would be made for all new vehicles. Older cars would be retrofitted with this technology and THOSE cars would need to be upgraded for safety. Companies like those in the tire industry would have financial loss (why replace tires when you don't need them except for takeoff and landing?). Buildings would needed to be upgraded for safety, possibly with each including a member of Air Traffic Control, to navigate vehicles safely around them. We'd constantly have to be on the lookout for Jihadists trying to fly their explosive-laden cars into structures. Do you see the problems this causes? And that's just ONE upgrade and advancement in technology. The government probably has this stuff hidden in Area 51 with the rest of the alien technology it has captured over the years (again with the conspiracy!) but refuses to release it because of the myriad of issues that would ensue upon its release.
There may be more reasons that the "Back to the Future" trilogy hasn't come true, but I think these are three pretty good reasons why we don't see it happening in 2012 (or 2015 for that matter). I may not be able to fly my Honda Accord to work using the scraps from last night's dinner, take a leisurely ride through the park on my hoverboard, or take in a matinee of Jaws 19, but I take a minute to appreciate what I can do and what I do have. In the amount of time mankind has been living on this Earth, we've accomplished some great advancements. In an even shorter span of time those advancements have increased exponentially. If you think it hasn't, look at the smart phone you most likely carry on your hip or in your pocket. Such a thing wasn't even a reality for the general public ten short years ago. That should put some things in perspective.
So, please don't blame Doc Brown, Marty McFly, or any of the other characters (well, maybe Biff) for a near future that doesn't resemble the movie. Instead, be excited for what could possibly be even better than what the movie predicted. Look forward to what lies ahead down the road. Wait..."Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads." Yeah, that still may be a possibility :)
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