Archive for Life - page 31

According to The White House Blog (of course the White House has a blog.  Doesn’t eveybody?) the fact that people were lining up across the nation to meet the enrollment deadline for Obamacare is a good thing.

People wait in line outside the Centro San Vicente at 8061 Alameda to sign up for the Affordable Care Act – credit El Paso Times

The White House can’t be that clueless.  Americans will line up gladly to be the first ones to own the latest hot gadget or book.  They don’t gladly line up to be the last ones.  If these people were excited about the prospect of signing up they would have lined up in December 2013.  They have only lined up at the last minute because there is a hypothetical gun to their head – this is their last chance to avoid a penalty.  That’s like saying all those people lined up at the post office at midnight every April 15th are doing so because they just can’t wait to pay their taxes.  Oh…hold on.  They did wait.  Just like these people.  They waited as long as possible for their sh*t sandwich.  And the sight of Americans lined up by order of the Government is not a good thing.

It’s for your own good…if you know what I mean (and I think you do)

“Truth ever defies full definition. Like electricity it can only be explained by noting its manifestation. It is the compass of the soul, the guardian of conscience, the final touchstone of right. Truth is the revelation of the ideal; but it is also an inspiration to realize that ideal, a constant impulse to live it.”  – excerpt from “The Power of Truth” by William George Jordan.

Is Truth the same as “The Truth”?  I suppose that “The Truth” could be explained as the presence of a demonstrable fact, whereas “Truth” is more amorphous idea such as Love, Hate, Good, or Evil.  In other words the concept, though it exists in the realm of thought, can only be demonstrated in concrete terms by pointing to an example rather than a definition.  And though it may be the “compass of the soul” a being with free will is free to choose to ignore it.  As a navigational aid the compass will always point the same direction and by that measure can we gauge our own direction of travel.  The truth will ever be the Truth, it is only we who may waver in our pursuit of it.  Or we may reject it outright and choose other landmarks as we travel through our lives.  At the end to the sojourn will truth be realized if a course is charted correctly?  Indeed, can it be realized?  Or is the journey the destination and  so therein lies the only manifestation of Truth?

These two stories are abvious parodies….right?

NPR: “Do Girls Scout Cookies Still Make The World A Better Place?”  Short take from the article: OMG NO!!! Because “Girl Scout cookies are just another sign of the problem of hyperconsumption. … because you’re co-opting innocent children.”

Resistance is futile

The Guardian:  “Pheromone Parties: One Way To Sniff Out a New Lover”.  I’ll just give you a couple block quotes:

After sticking my nose in a few bags it became clear there were three distinct categories of smell: the not-really-smelling-of-anything-except-washing-powder, the drenched-in-aftershave, and the bloody-hell-have-you-never-considered-deodorant?

and

“All the girls are too clean,” one bloke complained. “Weren’t the rules that you couldn’t wash?” It turned out that he had provided one of the more potently “natural” offerings on the table.

something about this doesn’t smell right

Sometimes I think that everyone on earth is crazy except you and me… and I’m not that sure about you.

In any situation, being aware of potential dangers and having a plan for what to do if the potentials are realized is a good idea.  Typically the most dangerous situation any of us find ourselves in is driving or riding in a car.  But if you ask people what is the most dangerous thing they have done they will usually say flying in a plane.  So, because I care about you here is an article with 10 tips that could save your life in a plane crash.  Click on the link and go read the whole thing (or RTWT as we say in innernet lingo).  Or if you don’t want to I’ll give you the best three out of 10.

• You’ve only got 90 seconds to get out.  Here’s the scenario – the plane’s crashed and your still in one piece.  Good.  You’ve survived the crash and if you don’t want to die in a fire then you’ve got 90 seconds before smoke and/or fire makes it impossible for you to escape.  Forget your luggage, haul ass to the nearest exit.  And to that end…
• Remember the 5 row rule.  If at all possible never sit farther than 5 rows from the exit.  When you buy your ticket, if the airline allows you to choose your seat pay attention to where the exits are on the diagram and get within 5 rows of one.  If flying on a “cattle call” airline (i.e. Southwest) you may wish to consider paying the extra $20 or so for guranteed early check in.  This will usually get you close enough to the front of the boarding line so that you can get within 5 rows of an exit,  Personally I always try to sit in an exit row, as I am willing to help others out in exchange for being right there at the exit.  Also I feel better knowing that my wife will be the first one out the door.  Bonus – exit rows are usually a few inches wider and so more legroom.
• Overcome the “normalcy bias” by having an action plan:  Look around and imagine what you will do if sh*t gets real.  Know where the exit is and have a plan for how you will make it to the exit if you can’t see because of darkness or smoke.  Be ready to take immediate action and don’t expect much help from the flight crew, chances are they will be in as bad or worse shape than you.  Also you are less likley to panic if you have a plan and execute it.

Seven more good tips at the link.  So happy flying!  In the event of a crash you will probably be killed instantly anyway (just kidding!).  But seriously, according to an NTSB Report, from 1983 to 2000 the survival rate of crashes was 95.7%.  Remember, you survive your daily commute so you can survive a plane ride as well!

The Dogwood is in bloom…click on the image to view larger.

in a few days these will be gone…until next year…unless?

Take nothing for granted.  Each moment shall pass, never to be revisited.  Give thanks now for all things as they are expressions of the Glory of God.

In depth analysis here: How Much Pee in a Pool Would Kill You?

Any story headlined “The Truth About…” in this case “The Truth About The Most Interesting Man In The World” via Business Insider.  By now everyone must be familiar with the character from the Dos Equis beer commercials.  If you have been in hibernation or something and are not here’s what I’m talking about:

The actor’s name is Jonathan Goldsmith and he’s been acting for 40 years and if you check IMDB you see along list of credits.  According to him there is one most intersting man in the world, but it’s not him.  After reading that article I guess that is the truth about him – he is an interesting man but not the MOST interesting man.

As you know I think that Steve Howe is one of the best rock guitarists of all time.  Seems I never shut up about it.  Notice I sad ONE OF.  There are other greats as well and don’t pretend there aren’t.  Anyhoo… if you are a fan of Jimmy Page (who isn’t?), The Edge (of course) and Jack White (who?) you will want to watch this video which I came across at Ace of Spades HQ.  It’s a documentary featuring Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White and it’s called It Might Get Loud.  You have to settle for a link because embedding is disabled for this video. So you get an introduction to Jack White instead:

Pretty Crazy.  Also – Go Read Ace.

…write another music post with the sublject this time being Yes.  The English rock band YES, that is.  Founded in the 1970’s, they have undergone several incarnations and are still active today with most of the original members.  When I first heard of them they were regarded somewhat as a “stoners” band since in those days top 40 am radio still ruled and their music was definitely not top 40.  It was a little on the psychedelic side, maybe and so it was assumed you had to be stoned to appreciate it.  I will admit that I did appreciate it a time or two in that condition (including one out-of-body experience), but I love it just as much today and I haven’t been stoned in decades.  They did have a song make the charts in 1972, which was “Roundabout”.  For many of you that may be the only YES song you have ever heard.  Anyway…this music is, as they say, an acquired taste; which I guess means not everyone likes it at first but if you give it a chance you will.  I liked it right from the first time I heard it, but at that time, I was already a big fan of the Moody Blues and Pink Floyd so it wasn’t much of a leap for me.  YES’ music had the same kind of almost mystical lyrical qualities but with a little more edge.  Below is the YouTube video of a live performance of the song “And You And I”.  The song was released in 1972 on their album “Close to the Edge” and did reach #42 on the Billboard Top 100 in that same year.  This particular liver performance was recorded in 2001.

Interesting intro by Jon Anderson who obviously has a poets heart.  One other side note: Steve Howe – awesome guitarist.  I have seen him play that same yellow Fender Sho Bud pedal steel guitar on several videos as early as 1976 (!).  I wonder how many miles that thing has logged?

This is another one of those Latin sayings that seems to have stuck around for a few thousand years.  It means “there is truth in wine” or “in wine there is truth” and dates to the first century A.D.  Guess there must be some truth in it – In Vino Veritas Veritas.  We know what it says, but what does it mean?

People are seldom completely open with one another.  That is not to say that all people are dishonest, it’s just that nearly everyone will put a facade between themselves and others except for those we are most intimate with.  It is just a question of degrees.  To be completely open is to be vulnerable and to be so with another person requires a great deal of trust that the other person will accept what they are presented with.  To present oneself openly and suffer rejection could be devastating and so we are afraid to risk it.  And as we are afraid to risk it, we hide behind a mask – sometimes just a little eyecovering, or for others it is a full suit of armor.  We thus protect ourselves as we move about our daily lives, only shedding our disguises in moments of complete and guaranteed safety.

As the wine is sipped, the mask is slipped

Most likely from the time that fermentation and then distillation were first discovered, it was learned that the consumption of alcohol lowered inhibitions.  And what is inhibition?  It is a fear – fear of looking stupid, fear of being rejected, fear of being disliked.  As the blood alocohol level rises we lose our fear, our fear of the truth.  We can say what we want, be who we want and let the chips fall where they may.  We sometimes regret it later, but while the wine is in charge it’s fine.

The truth hurts

When we let our guard down we lose our fear of the truth.  We’re not afraid to tell it and we’re not afraid to hear it..  In Viking cultures drunkeness was mandatory at civic meetings because they believed it was impossible to lie while under the influence.  If only our current politics were so interesting.

Of all the fears that exist in the human condition, I find that the fear of the truth is the strangest.  Perhaps it’s a fear of being rejected by reality.  Or is it just a fear of Things As They Really Are?