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.

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There are those who believe this will be repealed.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?

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?

No Longer a Cubs Fan

After not following the team in any serious fashion for several years, I am officially giving up on the Chicago Cubs. The sad thing is that they could get into the World Series next year and it would not get me back. Enough is enough and I do not have the energy or inclination to invest in losing propositions any more.

So that leaves me wondering if I am going to give up on Major League Baseball altogether. About the only option is to become a Minnesota Twins fan, but there is a distinct lack of enthusiasm being felt. With the local stations being Brewers oriented, watching games is pretty much out and there is no way to afford going to the real thing.

Oh how I miss the days of the Eighties, when I used to watch Harry Caray and Steve Stone every day on WGN. The beginning of the end was when the games were moved to limited local cable in an extremely foolish move aimed at milking more money out of the fans. The ownership change has not been impressive and frankly I think the wrong consortium won.

Ah well, at least there were some good memories in there. But I realized that I do not care a whit about the team anymore and the sport itself seems to have gone downhill. Time to let go.

Running to God

As I write this, sacrament meeting will be starting shortly at the La Crosse Ward. Too ill to be there, I find myself missing it like I always do when my health acts up. This time it is not quite as bad, because of something that happened last night.

One of the things about being a real film buff is the desire to reacquaint oneself with films seen decades earlier, especially ones seen when young. The changes in perception and understanding can be very profound, I have discovered. In fact, one film I loved as a teen, Cool Hand Luke, I now despise greatly. Deciding to be an adult is a conscious decision in our society these days and making that choice changed a lot of things for me.

Back in the early 80s, a movie won best picture and became an unlikely hit. Focused on runners in the 1920s trying to medal for the United Kingdom, Chariots of Fire is most remembered for its amazing theme by Vangelis. I remembered seeing the movie a couple of years after release and having a favorable opinion of it, but that is about it.

Anime Honorable Mentions

Having a brain as sharp as a brick this week, I omitted some animes from my worth watching list. While not up there with the rest, they did entertain me. So with no further adieu, here they are:

• The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
• The Irresponsible Captain Tylor
• Mushi-shi
• Robotech: Macross Saga (yes, I know the purists hate that one)
• Full Metal Panic (all versions, content warning on the final series)
• Vampire Hunter D (content warning on that one too)
• Outlaw Star (Firefly ripped off a lot of elements from this)
• Lensman (not faithful to the books, sadly)

One thing I have noted is that creativity seems to be dead compared to the 1980s and 1990s. Very few risks are being taken and the moe movement has done a lot of damage in pushing the superficial, if not sleazy, aspects to the fore.  Changing male leads from headstrong confident types to perpetually embarrassed wimps has been another thing I have noticed. This has not been healthy, but it does pander to the Japanese otakus who drive the business model.

Resurrecting the Dead: The Subaru Lives Again

After five months of tinkering, bending metal, and hammering, the Subaru Outback is running again. Oh there are a host of problems needing fixing yet, including the non functioning fog lights and hood catch, but it is being driven again.