Wow!

I have a  lot of revising on this site. So many old links are dead after my FIVE YEAR absence. But HI everyone! Here I am again!

Whew

I'm beat. In the last several days, I got the bed I built put in with a new mattress, new shelf and towel rack installed in the bathroom, the bookshelves built on the basement walls, the guest bed repaired (the box spring needed a new bottom cover - Blackbutt likes to get inside, and the slats were falling out), we cleaned out the totally trashed basement (from back in December when we had the water damage repaired and moved everything from the wet room into the family room). I've been drilling, hand sawing, sanding, installing, constructing, shredding, moving, gluing, stapling, washing all the bedding, and who knows what else, and some of it in the hot, hot hot, garage. Even when not in the garage, it's still hot in here when working. And I'm still not done. The store didn't have enough brackets so I still have to paint and install three more shelves, finish loading all the books, install the faux headboard for the bed I built, do the regular laundry and...I'm sure there's more but I can't remember. Yep, I'm beat.

Now to get my dose of allergy meds, shower off the dust, and get some sleep. Geocaching in the morning with Monica! New machete - here I come to whack stuff!

2666 Spoilers

I'm having great difficulty getting interested in my latest book, 2666. It seems to be a South American author "style thing" because I've encountered it before, where the author writes extremely long run-on sentences. By the time I get to the end of the sentence five pages later, I've forgotten who started the thought, who else was present, what events were occurring, and any of the content of the sentence. From the tone and syntax of the dialogue, you would think the story was set decades ago, but it is around present day. Also, by page 100 of the 900 or so in the book, I still have no idea what the story is about. So far, it's about four academics and their very twisted romantic "relationship", yes singular, they all seem to be involved together. I think it is supposed to eventually be about a mass murder investigation but I'm getting thoroughly impatient waiting for something to happen.

New Grammatical Pet Peeves

"and whatnot"
"and things of that nature"

5-speed

I can't remember how we started talking about this, but I asked Monica the other day, "Why is it guys are so impressed when a girl drives a stick-shift?" Any thoughts?

Space

Why, oh why, when people are hurtling through space at 60 mph in 2-4 tons of steel, aluminum, and plastic, do they feel the need to read, text, shave, talk on the phone, change CDs, pick up crap from the floor, eat, or anything else?

Geocaching

Monica and I had quite the adventure while geocaching today. We went to search for an item in a location we had tried before and were standing on a step stool, on a picnic table. In rolls a Hazelwood police office. He’d never heard of the activity, so we explained, then he decided to help. We did eventually leave to look in other places. One such place took us on a roundabout path behind a guard rail, through a field, a cornfield, then some woods, where we found a Glock 27, fully loaded (we did not make that determination). We called the police then Monica went to wait for them to lead them back and I waited in the woods so we would be sure to find it again, all in the pouring rain. A nice young lady officer arrived but wanted to wait for another, who was on the way. Yes, it was our friend from earlier in the day. He very cordially gave us a hard time and suggested we should maybe do our caching in St. Charles. It was the most exciting cache we’ve failed at finding!

On Birthin' Babies

I just had to post this but I wanted to do so here so a particular young woman won't see this and think I am criticizing her just because her statement got me thinking. She deserves her happy event without such a cloud, and what she said seems to be the norm for people nowadays anyway.

Question. Is there a single baby in this country born without drug inducement for someone's convenience? It seems every young, pregnant woman I know, always has a date for which she will go to be induced. She goes in to be induced whether her labor has begun or not. Now, there is medical reason to induce, which I completely understand. But young, healthy, non-smoking, non-drinking women with healthy, normal weight babies really don't need this, so why?

I'm old-school. I fought against medical tradition when my kids were born and searched for doctors who were sympathetic to my wishes for non-invasive care. Why is this practice of baby-by-schedule so common? They will arrive without the intervention. It has been happening that way for centuries.

Inception

I won't say much except that I really did enjoy the movie and I think my favorite scene was the final kick. The synchronicity was poetic. It did leave me with lots of questions and it would be fun to discuss.

Ocarinas

I LOVE this. Listen to that gal play, especially stuff non-game related. And the company is right here in town. I never realized there was such a variety! Replaying Ocarina of Time (Master Quest) has all these little tunes running through my head.

Movies

Recommend: Departures
Beautiful movie about finding your place and the importance of ceremony and custom. If you've seen it, please comment.

Recommend: A-Team
Ok, big difference there. This one is just for putting a smile on your face with explosions and stuff. Suspend all reality, just leave it at the door and enjoy. **Spoiler** How could you not laugh at "flying the tank"? **End Spoiler.** I never would have pictured Liam Neeson for this part but it worked and I loved it. I didn't know the other cast members but they were quite acceptable as replacements for the old TV cast.

Meh, I guess Recommend: Alice in Wonderland
It was pretty and colorful and had some nice moments. I LOVE the Cheshire Cat. But story wise, it was rather unremarkable. Rental material I suppose.

Review Never let Me Go

So I read Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. He's a famous, award winning author. I'd heard good things about the book and I love a good dystopian story. I thought I would find something creepy like The Handmaid's Tale or something disturbing like Children of Men.
**Spoilers from here to end. Highlight text to read.**
I didn't dislike this book, it kept me turning the pages. I was fine with the writers style and storytelling, the slow reveal of the truth that the characters were born and raised as clones outside society for the sole purpose of organ donation until they give up all vital organs and die, worked for me even though it's easy to guess well beforehand what the twist will be, and the concept itself is chilling. I just never came to care for the people involved in this story. Another reviewer said that the characters never evolved and I do agree with that but even more for me, they weren't likable. To me they were deceptive, petty, superficial, unmotivated, uninterested in others or outside events. Why would anyone bother remaining friends with that nasty Ruth? Kathy's narrative seemed to show she attempted some understanding but she never seemed to quite manage it or learn from it. How could she live for more than ten years outside the school and not ask questions, learn about the situation and who they were and their place in that society? And society did seem to despise them and were subsequently afraid of them. How could Miss Emily's revelation be a surprise? And even then, Kathy didn't react at all. Had the school really drilled emotionless acceptance into all the students? Or were they really soulless? Does soullessness imply emotionless? These are the kinds of questions I was expecting Ishiguro to address one way or another. But he didn't. I couldn't decide if this lack of emotion was intentional on the author's part, showing them as perhaps, truly soulless because of the cloning, or if the characters were that weakly written, but I want to believe it was intentional and that I "got" it. But since there was no real place for discussion of the topics of cloning and souls to provide a clue, or for the societal attitudes within the narrator's frame of reference, I'm sorry that I have to conclude that they were just poorly written.
**End of spoilers.**

Still

K, now we're up to date. I think.

I still love :

NYC

We, Jon, Dave, Monica and I, all trundled ourselves to New York City for the Event of Shannon and Sam's Wedding. It was a wonderful time and I wouldn't have missed it. Even the rainy weather didn't spoil it. And even the horrendous LaGuardia problems the next day didn't spoil it. It was entertaining and sweet. I was also very pleased to meet Anne Kosseff, whose blog I enjoy, while I was there. Jon and I did wonder why no one said, "Mazel Tov" at the end of the ceremony though. We were both ready to shout but we didn't and would have been the only ones had we done so. (yeah, shoulda done it)

Dust Be Gone

And joy of joys, I have discovered I have allergies. The real kind. I always figured I was allergic to mold or something. But since I had an allergic reaction in the hospital, things have gotten worse. The trip to the allergist was actually interesting. I had the pokey caterpillar test (the thingy with all the little arms that prick your skin with a whole bunch of things at once) and the intradermal injection tests. Lo, I have tree allergies and -egad- a pretty strong dust mite allergy. This was news to me although I guess it does explain the never ending eczema, the seasonal problems outside and the 24/7 problems inside, waking up sick every morning with breathing and throat problems. Benadryl and Astepro have become my new best friends. (Percocet doesn't work on this. Well, maybe insofar as I wouldn't care...but alas, it does not relieve symptoms.)

Sleepless in STL

That's tonight and why I decided to catch up on posting. I'm still completely un-tired at 4 am but I guess I should give it another go.

Armed

My growing interest in weapons (moving outside swords, daggers, knives and such) prompted Jon to get me a Glock for Mother's Day. I have the oddest Mother's Days. I get to wake to Tie Your Mother Down and get swords (Glamdring if you know your LoTR stuff) and now a Glock 22. I've hit the ranges now a couple times and I enjoy it immensely. I will be getting my license to CCW as soon as I call the number and sign up for class. Now, I did like the feel of that Beretta Storm, too. Hmmmmmm....

Geocaching

So that's one of the things I've done in my wonderful, unoccupied time. Monica and I have gone out to search for treasures. We do like the puzzle variety caches and will maybe try to create one of our own with Dave.

For descriptions see the link. It's essentially a scavenger hunt using GPS to find things.

Tostitos

I miss lime and chili Tostitos. That hint of lime crap just isn't sufficient. Lime for my chili, lime for my salsa, lime for my beer. I think I like lime.

Quitting Time

I had planned my last day and was working toward it. Then...wait for it...more problems and another SURGERY. Three inside five months. I can now tell the anesthetists how to put me under and how to medicate me. And what anti-nausea drugs I need. And what pain meds work best for me. Fortunately, it was an easy one, the biopsy was fine and the recovery was nearly non-existent. Same surgeon. I think maybe she is just really good. Anyway, it turned out that I had to get this surgery in before my last day or it wouldn't be covered once I switched to Jon's plan. My doctor appointment was on Tuesday. My last day was Wednesday. Suddenly, surgery was on Wednesday and my last "work day" became Tuesday. Talk about a rush. Jon was out of town and couldn't make it back. He felt bad, like he should be here, but honestly, it was quick and easy and there was nothing he needed to do so there was no need to feel guilty. The phone call was interesting though. "Hey Jon, guess what? I'm having surgery again tomorrow. Where are you?" But all was well, my boys got me where I needed to be. Shoot, the next day, on my first official unemployed day, I ran multiple errands and finished painting the basement room. And then because I was worried that I might have overdone it, I took Percocet.

Christmas and Beyond

My surgical recovery took me through Christmas but I don't really remember anything extraordinary happening. It was a normal, nice Christmas. I went back, unwillingly, to work. I think by then I had made up my mind to "retire". I'm not old enough to retire, nor am I eligible for benefits, but I was done. Toast. Burned out. Unmotivated. Depressed. I'd been doing the same work for 25 years. No real changes in the tasks or anything. After all the drama I experienced in the last few years, I hoped a change in location and products would help revitalize my interest. It was helpful for a short time but not nearly long enough. After much nagging at home, I finally got the a-ok and quit. It was the happiest day I'd had in years. I felt no sadness, longing or regret at doing so. I wondered if I would second guess myself but all I felt was relief. Tears of relief actually, when making my way to my car the day I officially did it. While I do miss certain people, I haven't thought about the place or the job at all. And guess what? (See next post above.)

Surgery Queen

It's hell getting old. Late last year, I had surgery. Nothing really important, girly in nature, and more of the weird variety than anything else. Of course it would be of the weird variety. It's me we're talking about here. I spent a nice two weeks or so recovering, ....then.....wait for it.....I developed something entirely new and HAD SURGERY AGAIN. Inside six weeks. This was more the routine variety problem. Gall bladder. Nasty pain. That pain however, did NOT stop me from going to Memphis and eating bar-b-q at Corky's. This is how I did it: main course - bar-b-q ribs, dry rub. Dessert - Percocet. I will not miss my ribs at Corky's in Memphis for any reason. Come to think of it, I had followed the exact same meal plan at Thanksgiving a few days before. Turkey dinner, Percocet. Well, surgery followed the next week and recovery took a little longer but was not as bad as I'd been led to believe it might be. Or my surgeon was just exceptional. I had AMAZING bruises though.

Wow! It's been a while

Facebook has been the death of my blog posting. Quite a bit has happened though. Let me go through some updates.

Why witches float

So this is how they decided an innocent woman would sink and a witch would float. Hmm. They must be bad eggs!

How to Tell if You've Got a Bad Egg

How can I tell if an egg is bad without breaking it?

Most everything has changed in the world of cooking in the past 250 years, but not the method for determining if you've got a bad egg. There is a small air pocket in the large end of the egg. When the egg is fresh, the pocket is only about 1/8th of an inch deep and as large around as a dime. As the egg ages, however, it loses both moisture and carbon dioxide — shrinking — so that the size of the air space increases. And the size of the air space determines the buoyancy of the egg.

So if you submerge a very fresh egg in water, it will lie on the bottom. An egg that is a week or so old will lie on the bottom but bob slightly. An egg that is three weeks or so old will balance on its small end, with the large end reaching for the sky. And a bad egg will float.

According to Harold McGee, author of On Food & Cooking (Canada, UK), Hannah Glass gave this practical advice to cooks around 1750, and it's as valid today — a "way to know a good egg, is to put the egg into a pan of cold water; the fresher the egg, the sooner is will fall to the bottom; if rotten, it will swim at the top."

(from http://www.ochef.com/789.htm)

I must quit my addiction with news websites and the commentors

This poster on a news site had me falling off my chair. I'm not going to get into the goofy discussion on the birthers, I think they are whacked. I just think the post was funny.

What do Obama and God have in common? Neither has a birth certificate.

How do they differ? God does not think he's Obama.
Other differences between God and Obama, is that liberals love Obama.
God asks for only 10% of your money.
God gives you freedom to live your life as you choose.
God's plan to save us is actually written down for people to read.

Virtues. The classical ones. Temperance, fortitude, justice and prudence. Must discuss. I haven't hit my philosophy books in a while.

Same thing Continued

I think we are getting to the same ending but maybe from different tangents.

"I’m not sure I can make a separation between actions and nature though, because Jesus says that even to look at someone with hatred is equal to murder, which tells me that you can “sin” in your heart without even acting."

But would you not say that what is in your heart is a reflection of your conscience and not an overt action? The hatred is still an act of disobedience to the command to love one another. There may never be an outward action that might be considered a crime. I can still see them as separate.

And yes it is one of my pet peeves. If God moves someone to stop a particular thing like smoking, you should encourage them to be successful and not tempt them by doing that thing in front of them, or talking about doing it.

I do enjoy a good philosophical discussion.

Sin and Christianity

It has been a while, hasn't it? So anyway, Monica's FB comment started me off thinking about why I sometimes have such a difficult time with mainline churches. My ideas just don't seem to line up well with most and I spend too much time frustrated.

Here is what she posted:

Monica

is horrified by this quote: "It's all about managing your sinful desires. That's the whole point of the Christian life, is managing what you want to do based on what is appropriate." I much prefer this one, "The Christian life is far more than sin management. Behavior modification that's not empowered by God's heart-changing grace is self-righteous, as repugnant to God as the worst sins people gossip about."

We both agreed the first quote is a horrid representation of Christianity. The second part, to me, has a half truth buried in it. My main problem is I think my view of what "sin" is, is vastly different from what typically is thought. Truly, Christian life is more than sin management. But what is sin? First off, I don NOT believe in degrees of sin. Someone will disagree and say, "But surely a little white lie and murder are completely different things and one is much more serious that the other." True. But let me explain why I think this way. Sin by nature, separates us from God. I believe sin is a condition and not an action. Murder is an action based in our disobedience of God's command to not kill one another. Our disobedience is the actual sin. The action, murder, is a crime. Crimes can vary by seriousness based on effects to ourselves, society, and property. Murderers can be forgiven for their sins but will still have to pay for, and may never be forgiven by some, for their crimes. So sin, disobedience, is what you allow to stand between you and God's grace.

This is also why something can be a sin for one person and not another. For example, (and I am not picking on smokers, I just think smoking is a good example here. It is something not explicitly forbidden but is bad for us in general, especially in view of caring for the body as a temple. Consider how many Christians feel the need to guiltily hide their smoking habits because we have turned it into a "sin"), God may move one smoker to give up the habit and not another. This would make smoking a sin for one but not the other, not because of the smoking per se but because of the obedience. This is also where care has to be taken to not cause a brother to stumble, either. This is where the behavior modification comes in from the original quotes. I think the quote was correct in that behavior modification has to be led by God. But I don't think that all the behaviors they think are sin, are really sin. And the behavior changes that are directed by God will speak as a witness to others to draw them to God.

Did all of that make any sense?