Sunday, July 01, 2012

Seeking Things of Worth

Please pardon my rambling style today; it is not one of my better days. Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I often marvel at how much misrepresentation of our beliefs is out there. This has always been the case, but this post is not going to be about that. Instead it will be related to one of what we call the Articles of Faith which were written to explain what we believe in to a newspaper back in the 1800s.

In the thirteenth and last article, it says:

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul-We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

The italics are mine and the focus of a lot of thought in the last few years by me. Right now it seems like finding things that fit that description is getting harder, but I think it is more of a signal to noise ratio problem. Like an overcrowded radio tuner, so much garbage is put out that the good things get lost in the din.

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Health 6-30-2012

First results of the antibody screening for Lyme Disease are back and show significantly elevated levels. Next tests have been ordered to clinch the diagnosis.

Today has been a tough day, pain and headaches are still elevated too. Despite naps, I am woozy and shaking. But it seems trivial after looking at photos of the storm damage around the country. I am more concerned about how people recover from that.

Friday, June 29, 2012

Kimi ni Todoke Volume 3 Special Edition Short Review

Due for release on July 3, the third and final set from NIS America of Kimi ni Todoke arrived unexpectedly on my porch yesterday. Like the previous two sets, it comes in a very fancy cardboard sleeve with two disc cases and a hardcover art book inside. Both DVD and Blu-ray discs are included, so it is quite a deal.

The final volume covers the entire second season along with a couple of exclusive shorts lampooning Cinderella and Snow White, but with the twist of Kurumi starring with Sawako in the secondary roles. They are very silly indeed.

Best of all is the inclusion of Episode 0 of the second season, which is a flashback recounting of the events of the first season. What makes it special is that it is from the point of view of the villainess of the series. Rare is it that a story can turn the trouble maker into a sympathetic character while not whitewashing said character’s actions.

If you have the previous sets, this is a must have. The quality is top notch and I am so grateful to NIS America for putting this out. Amazing since the show had no broadcast or streaming showings in the USA.

Drone Hacked While Flying by College Students

That did not take long and imagine the resources foreign governments and terrorists have at their disposal. One thousand dollars is a pittance for such organizations, so expect to see more things like the drone captured by the Iranians. Since I have already gone on record with my objections to moving toward drones over manned aircraft, let me just say that this dare by the federal government was one of the most unintelligent things I have seen in a week filled with them.

Health 6-29-2012

Antibiotics are helping, but it is slow going. I will be glad to be rid of the headaches and at least the dry cough is gone. This all may be more expensive than expected, due to a change in health care providers. Minnesota moved a lot of us to UCare from MA and it turns out my old clinic is not on good terms with them. I will have to go doctor hunting and move to the Mayo Clinic system, which I do not have a high opinion of.

It could all be worse, a normal person would have been beaten into the ground by this, but since I already have CFS most of the symptoms are the same. Now to get some rest.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Obamacare Upheld Entirely

Article here.

So much for the survival of the Republic. Now that government intrusion into every facet of life is justified as long as it is considered a “tax”, anything and everything can be justified. Anyone who believes this to be a center right nation needs to look long and hard at the United States, for it has drifted firmly into the hands of the left. Tyranny has risen and will continue to rise unabated.

I wish I could feel more emotion about this than I do. But it is hard to when the writing has been on the wall for some time. What is surprising to me is how many on the right thought the Supreme Court would defend the Constitution like it was supposed to. That has not been the case for many decades.

It is fascinating that taxation was used as the justification for the package of laws called Obamacare. This country was founded by a rebellion against unfair taxation and so it seems appropriately ironic that it dies by taxation. People never learn that governments are infinitely greedy and have a hunger for taxes that is insatiable.  I pity the small business owners who will be crippled financially by all this.

There are those who believe this will be repealed. That is pretty much impossible, but running on that will give Romney the win in November.

I wonder if anyone still believes George W. Bush was a conservative after his biggest court appointee went hard left on the most important ruling in a generation?

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Ticked Off

I went to the local clinic today and the suspicion is that I have a tick born illness -- possibly Lymes Disease. Results will not be back in until the end of the week at earliest. In the mean time, I am on antibiotics. Fun and games, eh?