Jules Verne was a genius.

He really was. I just finished watching From The Earth To The Moon. It's really amazing that he could forsee something as accurately as he did so long before it actually happened. After all, he wrote it in 1865 - 104 years before the Apollo 11 flight in 1969, and still nearly a century before the Vostok 1 flight that carried Yuri Gagarin int o orbit and the history books as the first manned spaceflight in 1961.

Because I watched the RKO Radio Pictures version, which was made in 1958, I checked out Wikipedia to see what similarities Verne had with the real thing. IT was quite remarkeable -

Most interestingly, his estimate of the cost of the project in 1865 dollars is near the cost of the Apollo 11 flight in 1969 dollars. The story bears further similarities to the real-life Apollo program:

• Verne's cannon was named the Columbiad; the Apollo 11 command module was named Columbia.
• The spacecraft crew consisted of three persons in each case.
• Verne's voyage blasted off from Florida, as did all Apollo missions.
• Verne's astronauts splashed down in the ocean, at a spot close to where Apollo 11 also did.

Apparently, the only significant error was his use of a cannon to launch the capsule into space -

The story is also notable in that Verne attempted to do some rough calculations as to the requirements for the cannon and, considering the total lack of any data on the subject at the time, some of his figures are surprisingly close to reality. However, his scenario turned out to be impossible (for example, a cannon capable of firing a projectile out of the atmosphere would have to be very long or kill the passengers by acceleration alone).

Of course, we can forgive Verne that small oversight as he was still writing 92 years before the first space-faring rocket carried Sputnik-1 into orbit. It shouldn't be much of a surprise that in the movie, the "projectile" was indeed powered by rockets having been filmed the year after Sputnik-1 was launched.

Anyway, it's time for bed. G'night.

A repost...

In light of last night events in Iraq, I thought I would repost and old email I shared almost exactly a year ago. Number 10 in the relevant one now.

Historically acceptable uses of the F-word

There are only ten times in history when the F-word has been considered acceptable for use. They are as follows:

1. "What the @#$% do you mean, we're sinking?"
-- Capt. E.J. Smith of RMS Titanic, 1912

2. "What the @#$% was that?"
-- Mayor Of Hiroshima, 1945

3. "Where did all those @#$%ing Indians come from?"
-- Custer, 1877

4. "Any @#$%ing idiot could understand that."
-- Einstein, 1938

5. "It does so @#$%ing look like her!"
-- Picasso, 1926

6. "How the @#$% did you work that out?"
-- Pythagoras, 126 B.C.

7. "You want WHAT on the @#$%ing ceiling?"
-- Michelangelo, 1566

8. "Where the @#$% am I?"
-- Amelia Earhart, 1937

9. "Scattered @#$%ing showers, my ass!"
-- Noah, 4314 B.C.

10. "Geez, I didn't think they'd get this @%#*^ing mad."
-- Saddam Hussein, 2003

The Principles of Witchcraft

That I am a child of the Mother Goddess and Father God.
That male cannot exist without female and female without male.
That the love I share will come back to me threefold.
That the hate I share will come back to me threefold.
That energy around me can be manipulated.
That all things can be mine, both good and bane.
That on one's death, you cross into a beautiful land and are with the ones you love. Forever, if you so choose to stay. If not, you may come back as you see fit.
That we are all here to evolve and to grow, and that the ultimate gift of that evolution is God/Goddess-hood.
That we are always loved by the God and Goddess.
That positive is not possible without negative and negative without positive

That we are responsible for our own lives and nothing happens as a result of "bad luck".
That there is no such thing as an all-white or all-black Witch.
That there is no such thing as ultimate evil or ultimate good. Nothing can be 100% one way or the other.
That I am solely responsible for my evolution as a being, not a minister, therapist, political figure or the like.
That I may call upon the God and Goddess in their infinite aspects/personages whenever and wherever I so choose.
That I should thank the God and Goddess for every day and every night in my life, and everything in it.
That my life is sacred and precious.
That all life is sacred and precious.
That I must HARM NONE, the oldest and most sacred law of Witchcraft and Wicca.
That I must strive to love all and to understand.

That I must learn to accept all, for we are all children of the God and Goddess.
That the Earth is our Mother and our womb, and she is to be cherished and respected.
That a person that is gay or bi-sexual is not evil or abnormal.
That there is No Hell! Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
That everyone deserves to procreate if they so choose.
That if someone cannot procreate, they should be allowed to adopt freely and without bias.
That we must accept full-responsibility for those that we bring into this world or take-on as a parent or guardian with no exceptions.
That the idea that suffering in this life with the thought that everything will be better in heaven is both irresponsible and incorrect. The God and Goddess has given us everything we need here and now, not given with the idea of "later."

That love is the greatest blessing and the greatest gift.
That perfect love is one of the most important lessons we are here to learn.

That the God and Goddess are and express perfect love to us all.
That each being has the right to freely choose his/her path in life without the fear of guilt or shame.
That all experiences, both good and bad are to teach us what we need to learn and evolve in our lives.
That dwelling in the past or by being obsessive about the future is a waste of time. Be here and now first, and most importantly.
That to abuse or use anyone or anything for personal gain or otherwise is a very serious offense to yourself and the God and Goddess.
That no other person or being of any kind is either superior or inferior than you or I.

That each of us has our own unique set of skills, talents, and abilities in this incarnation We must discover what we have and use them to grow and evolve.
That we must learn and respect each other for his own unique set of skills, talents, and abilities.
That everyone deserves the same rights and dignities as everyone else.
That everyone is here for each other as well as for ourselves. We are all in this together.

Another one I wish I could take credit for, but can't.

Ben

I know everything I need. I know nothing.

I've been on a philosophy kick recently. OK, more like a year, but it's still a pretty new thing.

Anyway, I read Sun Tzu's The Art of War this summer and realized that to really understand a lot of what he was talking about I need to study the whole Taoist philosophy. That means reading both the I, Ching and the Tao Teh Ching. I've been meaning to pick them up for awhile, and today I was in Indigo for some Christmas shopping. BTW, if you have books on the Christmas list you gave me, I only bought one book as a present, and 4 pepole that would appreciate them, so what do you think of your chances? Anyway, I figured now would me as good a time as any, so I got them both. I started reading the Tao Teh Ching first, and that's where the headline came from.

Léon: The Proffesional

Man, I love that movie! If you don't know what movie I'm talking about, read the IMDB entry on it. Better yet, rent it. I guarantee you'll like it. It's on TV right now. I always forget how much I enjoy it. I really owe Dave big for introducing it to me. Natalie Portman may have only been 12 or 13 when she made this one, but she's her usual amazing self, somehow she manages to walk the fine line between deranged hitman-in-training and hurt little girl/innocent victim. Her co-star - Jean Reno. He's one of those guys that never really stars in movies, but somehow always seems to be one of the most memorable characters. I was looking over his entry in IMDB just now, I think this must have been one of only two big movies he starred in. He was the bad guy in Mission Impossible as well.

Anyway, just thought I'd share this...

Facelift

Well, in case you haven't noticed, I've given my blog a facelift. Part of it was prompted by Blogger's offer to port over to a new version. I had been a bit leery of it since I first heard about it, but I wound up using it for the PSA Blog, and really liked it.

Oh well, time to head off to bed...

An Apology

Well, It's been more than 6 months since I posted on here... I'm sorry. I keep starting posts, get sidetracked and forget about them.

I've been making a lot of changes since Samhain. Nothing really noticeable, more mental and habitual. One of those changes is a resolution to start keeping the blog again. I know a while ago I said I was just going to use it as a forum to present my ponderings, written meditations etc., but I'm just not writing enough. So - back to a journal it is. That might not be an all bad thing.

I guess if I'm going to make this a journal, it might be a good idea to give a quick highlight of what I've been up to these last months, so here goes.

I've moved out of Ken and Brenda's. I'm living just off Whyte Ave. now. (Well actually I'm halfway between Whyte and Argyll Rd., but I go up to Whyte more than I go to Argyll.) It's been 7 months now and I'm almost unpacked and cleaned up enough that I won't be embarrassed to have people come over.

This year was a really good year for summer racing - even if it was busy. Between the roadcourse in Calgary, the Champ Car Grand Prix of Edmonton, the National Go-Karting Championships in Fort Saskatchewan, the annual Namao Roadcourse race, and the 4(?) autocrosses I was involved with this year, I did pretty much nothing but race and work all summer. I wanted to help out with a rally or two this summer, but it didn't happen. Sometimes there was another race I was already committed to, others I just didn't have the money to travel that far at the time.

Speaking of racing, I got invited to the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix in Montréal for 2007. YAY! I just hope I can afford it. I've got a good chunk of change set aside for it, but I have some other things I want to spend it on too. The RX-7 is being WAY too expensive to keep in race-ready condition, not to mention the fuel efficiency SUCKS. I need to find something else to drive on a regular basis.

Ok, Enough about racing...

Sex life - still nonexistent, but I'm getting out of the house a fair bit, so hope isn't lost...

Work. Well, I'm not sure what to put here. Everything is going pretty well at work. I love the night shift. I like the 4 day weeks even more. Problem is, I found out that a union first year apprentice makes about $1.50 more than I do as lead hand. Add to that the fact that we were talking about money one day when I was in for overtime, and I make now what people expect in that department after 5-10 years. I think I need to find somewhere I can get my apprenticeship. Oh well, I have a WHOLE SHWACK of paid time off over christmas, which will be nice and another big factor that I'll go into later where stability and predictability are more important than money.

OK, maybe not as later as I thought. I'm almost out of stuff to catch up with. It's bad news. Gramma (Mom's Mother) has been diagnosed with terminal Pancreatic(?) Cancer. Apparently it's started to spread to her liver already. I'll have to see how she's doing at Christmas before I decide whether I start looking for an apprenticeship in the new year.

Well, that wasn't as long as I expected. Good. I'll be back in a day or two. PROMISE!

Ben

Big Changes

Well, I can't believe I'm just getting this up now... It's been quite a while since most of this staff happened.

I'm moving. I still don't know when I'll actually be able to get in, but I have the place for May 1 at the latest. The girl that lives there now was paid until the 15th, but the landlord told her that she could take to the end of the month if she wanted. I need to get ahold of her to find out when she was planning on moving out and I might be able to get in early. Good news there too is that I'll be close enought to work I won't be driving any more. That should help me get into much better shape!

I have a new job. Same company. It was actually kind of flattering. I came back to our office to see my old boss, my new boss and the VP of Manufaturing (their boss) discussing who gets to have me work for them. Imagine - "No, you can't have him work for you. I need him too much." "He's the only person that knows the machines well enough to fix them when you're not here." The new job is essentially lead hand for the night shift in the lathe department. It's a $3/hr. raise and a 4 day work week. Or at least that's what it will be once we get caught up. There WAS no night shift before now. Phil (my new boss) says that there wasn't anyone he could depend on to keep the machines running at night before now. Anyway, we're AT LEAST 3 weeks behind, and depending how long we can monopolize the lasers we'll likely go longer than that. Apparently it's all the lasers can do to keep up with us to supply us with gasket rings. The PTB are really looking hard for somewhere to put another laser, or preferably 2. But space is a huge problem. They're BIG!

Well, I guess that's it for now...

Bone Marrow Donation

On Wednesday, I go a message from Mom the the Unrelated Bone Marrow Registry division of Canadian Blood Services was trying to get ahold of me. Turns out they think I might be a match. They had about a million questions as to my fitness to donate. Most of them were similar to the ones they ask when donating blood, but WAY more detailed. Like there was much doubt, but I passed with flying colours.

I go in for the next stage of typing on April 3rd. Apparently they just take a whole pile of test-tubes of blood. I'll hear how that goes somtime around the middle/end of May, at which point they would schudule an appointment to actually take the marrow.

I'll be sure to keep people updated.

McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 Car MP4-21

I missed the opening round of the Formula 1 Championship in Bahrain, so the first F1 I've seen this year was qualifying in Malaysia. As usual, all of the cars are pretty cool, but the McLaren Mercedes is beautiful by any definition. The lines are smooth and sleek, like every F1 car for as long as I've been following the series, but the paint scheme is one of the nicest I've EVER seen on a car, especially a race car. Click the image below to go to the official McLaren site and their photo gallery.

Winter Festival Of Speed videos are now online!

Yup. Thanks to Bdog-k9k one the 780Tuners forum for suggesting Google video to me. You can catch them HERE. or just got to video.google.com and search for "WCMA Ice Racing" and you'll find them.

Lac La Biche Winter Festival of Speed

Well, the weekend is over. I have to say that this has been one of the BEST weekends of racing I've had so far.

I really got lucky. Ray (the Chief Marshal) wouldn't let me have corner #4 when I asked for it, instead he gave me corner #3. I thanked him at lunchtime 'cause it was the best corner on the track. The cars were all coming out of an s-curve at full tilt before my station andthen hitting the brakes hard into a double apex left hander. As you can imagine, there was no shortange of carnage. I had 3 rollovers, 2 of those "roll and continues" where the car goes all the way over, and then somehow manages to right itself before the driver continues on his way. All sorts of cars going over or through the banks, some stopping before they got finished and therefore requiring a tow and varying amounts of flag waving.

It was also a minor passing zone, so I had a fair amount of contact between cars, most of it pretty irrelevant, but we did have to go out and pick up Chevette #43's front grill after a particularily nasty bump.

Most of the weekend was more along the lines of watching huge plumes of snow like this get kicked up.


The other major portion of the weekend was spent watching cars drift though the corner like this one.


I have WAY more pictures HERE. I also got about 16MB worth of video too, but I don't have anywhere to host it, so if you know of somewhere free, tell me about it and I'll post them.

The only bad thing I can think of is the dangerous driving of whever was pulling Rubber to Ice car #66 on the way home. Tailgating down a hill around a sharp corner then pulling out to pass right before a bridge, then cutting off a carload of marshalls, then tailgating the vehicle towing another race car is just plain foolish. I have to say though, that I followed the vahicle pulling Rubber to Ice car #39 for quite a distance on the way home and was VERY impressed with his courtesy.

The Decrees of Witchcraft

1) Never experiment or practice with magickal applications, symbols, or systems that you do not FULLY understand. If you do not know the full gambit of what you are doing, Do Not Do It. Retribution and causalities can be far reaching and abound in more ways than you can imagine.

2) Do not link money with your magick. It will effect the outcome and the caster. Reimbursement for supplies, time, and effort is acceptable but, never demanded.

3) Never use your skills and abilities to impress or fascinate someone. The God and Goddess do not need another arrogant buffoon. You will fail miserably.

4) Do not scare or threaten others with magickal intimidations or the like. We are Witches, not thugs. Remember the Law of Three.

5) Know that thoughts are things, and that which you create may and probably will manifest in this reality.

6) Never lie to yourself or others. This is the epitome of deceit. This becomes a circle of self-destruction.

7) All things that are -bad- in your life are most often the result of low self-esteem or negative self-think, not bad luck.

8) The power of a Witch grows in direct relation to his or her wisdom and capability.

9) Nothing can harm you or control you unless you allow it to and believe that it does.

10) Never use your abilities to harm another. However, you may defend yourself, and the ones you love, the best way you see fit.

11) Always do the best that you can do. No one is perfect but, we try to constantly improve ourselves and to evolve. Have faith. The God and Goddess will take care of you in the best possible manner.

12) As long as you adhere to what you believe in, do not worry about the ridicules of others. Ridicules are the result of fear, low self-esteem and self-doubt. Do not waste your time on such nonsense.

13) Regard property of another better than you would have them regard your own. Be respectful.

14) Do nothing that would endanger the Craft or someone of the Craft.

15) Do not do something that will bring about conflict with the law of the land. Do mind your beliefs, the beliefs and laws of your Coven, and the beliefs and laws of your Clan - above all others.

16) Witches may teach to others outside of the Craft if: The environment is safe to all, the teacher is knowledgeable and responsible, the student is willing and sincere, the information is already available to the general public - no secrets, and the information Harms None.

17) Perform all magick within the circle. This is especially true for beginners. Only those of great experience and ability may work outside of the circle.

18) Do Nothing to bring Shame to yourself, your coven, and your clan. We, as Witches, have a responsibility that others only speak about but, never fully practice. Each of us is a direct representative of our religion and the Craft, as a whole.

19) Always be proud of who and what you are. Know that you are among the elite and of something far greater than most will ever know. Be proud, be compassionate, and be kind, for you can afford to be.

20) Never shed blood in circle . The God and Goddess do not want us to waste their creations and their children in such a manner. All things are of the God and Goddess. Respect theirs and ours. Killing is for defense and survival only.

21) Always remember that the God and Goddess are with us. They will provide and protect us. We are never alone. As such, be mindful and remember.

22) Always keep the laws, the Rede, and the rules of the coven and clan. They are written for a purpose and not to fill space on the paper. Keep the laws and they will keep you.

23) Always follow your beliefs diligently, for they are who you are, and they define you for all to see.

24) Do not cast spells while sick, ill, or under the influence of drugs or heavy medication. The results can and probably be extremely baneful. Always be in complete control of yourself.

25) Do not let anyone tell you that what you believe in - the Craft - is wrong, evil, or bad. This is a trick to persuade you to be a puppet of another.

26) Always keep an open mind to the ways and beliefs of others. We are all here to learn and grow together. Keep yourself and your beliefs but, learn from and about others. The higher mind is a diversified mind.

27) Do not mock the way of others. For they may know something you may not - and you might not realize it ...yet.

Wisdom

The word Wicca is actually an Anglo-Saxon word meaning “Wise One”. Many people use it to refer to the members of the religion, but very few of us can actually call ourselves Wiccas and those that do, aren’t. More on that later… The more appropriate name is Wiccans. This loosely translates as “seeker of wisdom”, which is much more accurate. There are only three reasons I can think of as to why someone who calls himself or herself a Wicca would do so. One, they honestly don’t know the right word; two, they know the right word, but keep forgetting; or three, they know the right word and continue to use the wrong one to gain status and/or power in their community. The first instance, in my thinking is totally forgivable. They just need to be told the difference, and it will sort itself out. The only people who don’t know are new to the path, so how could they already be wise? The second is a little more problematic in that these people are slow to learn, and therefore could leave out other important information and unwittingly misrepresent Wicca to others. The third is totally unforgivable. The most glaring is that one of the first things one learns when gaining wisdom is that there is no limit to it. There is ALWAYS far more to be gained than anyone can ever accomplish in a lifetime. What makes this so bad is that it is not only being done intentionally, but that it is being done to deceive others.

On that note, what IS wisdom? Is it knowing things most people don't? Is it the ability to solve problems? Is it a way of living life? Wikipedia defines wisdom as "...the ability to make correct judgments and decisions." and goes on to state "...that wisdom consists of making the best use of available knowledge. As with all decisions, a wise decision may be made with incomplete information." After reading that, I realized it's a combination. It isn't so much having knowledge others don't as seeing a different significance to the knowledge. Being able to connect seemingly unrelated factors to come up with the best result. This would then lend to an enhanced ability to solve problems in a better, faster, or more efficient way. Which, in turn, would lead a person to live his life in a different manner than the rest of the general population.

So how do we acquire wisdom? According to Confucius, "By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is the bitterest."

For me, the fact that Confucius says that reflection is the noblest way to gain wisdom is rather flattering, because that's exactly what I'm trying to do here. How can we gain wisdom by reflection? We can do it by studying the writings of others, by meditating on their core statements, by writing, discussing and trying to pass their wisdom on to others. I would also go so far as to say it is also the most difficult because it requires that we make a concerted effort to do so.

He says that the bitterest way to gain wisdom is by experience. Certainly, experience can be a very bitter way to gain wisdom, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that all experience gained in this manner will be bitter. Everyone has the opportunity to learn from life. Many don’t. They live their life ruled by traditions and their pre-conceived notions. Unfortunately, these are the people who are doomed to an unhappy, unfulfilling life and there is nothing anybody can do about it. They either refuse or are unable to learn from either their mistakes, or those of others. The majority of people, in my experience, are what most people would call wise, or at least have a chance at becoming wise. These are the people who learn from their experiences and mistakes, and work to either repeat them or not depending on the results. After all not all experiences are bad and some mistakes wind up with a better result than if everything had gone well. The last group of people, which are the ones I view to be truly wise and aspire to be, are those who learn not only from their experiences and mistakes, but those of others as well. This would also be the most painless way of gaining wisdom by experience. Unfortunately, it is also the most difficult. We cannot observe the actions and thoughts of others leading up to a mistake or experience. We can only ask about them and observe the results. The biggest factor in favour of gaining wisdom by experience is that all you need to learn it is the ability to keep your eyes, ears, and mind open, the ability to admit mistakes, and the ability to think critically. It doesn’t require money, like reflection does in order to buy books or take classes. It doesn’t require that you surround yourself with wise people.

Confucius also said that the easiest way to gain wisdom is by imitation. I would argue that this isn't true wisdom in and of itself, because actions taken without the benefit of the reasoning behind them cannot truly be wise. That’s what tradition is, and though tradition may be useful in a great many instances, the pursuit of wisdom is not one of them. However, when taken in combination with either or even both of the other two, imitation can be one of the most powerful tools a person can use to gain wisdom.

I mentioned earlier that I am hoping to gain wisdom by reflection from writing this and I am. I think I already have, partly through the research I did putting it together. Like all research, most of it never made it to the final version. Te other wisdom I’ve gained was by thinking that research over. I’ve made realizations I likely never would have without writing this and brought up more questions to reflect on, and perhaps even answer. One of the realizations is that I am on the way to wisdom, though I have a long way to go before I would call myself wise, or even wiser than most. I’ve had a glimpse of the extent I have to go and realized it’s not going to get smaller. All I can hope for is to be wise enough.

Snap Happy!

I was listening to Sonic tonight on the way home from work and they started talking about their current contest - Snap Happy. The idea is that every day they give an assignment for people to go take a picture and send it in by 11:59 that night. The catch is that you have to have the Sonic logo in the picture. The first few were just fun assignments - Take a picture in a mall fountain, take one with a Wal-Mart greeter, then they started getting sneakier. Take a picture in a Sears bed display. Today's is to take a picture with a Goth Chick. It just so happens that tonight is Goth night at New City Suburbs, which is also one of their big advertisers. Think it's related?

On another note, I have to say that it's by far the most original contest I've heard of on the radio in a very long time.

Real Witches DO NOT !!!

Hurt people physically, mentally, spiritually, or magickally. Real witches have taken an oath to help people, not hurt people. You are not a real witch if you do hurt others.

Take illegal drugs. It is against the law, and it messes our bodies and minds up. Why bother??? It screws up our mind, and a witches magick will not work if our mind doesn't.

Work black magick. Witches know whether in this world or the astral world, whatever you do comes back three times three times three. If you do good stuff you will be rewarded, if you do bad stuff you will pay the price, and so dearly you will pay. Wiccans have a saying that goes: Ever mind the rule of three, what you send out comes back to thee.

Fly in the sky on brooms. We drive vehicles like everyone else.

Eat babies. We love babies, and plus...ew!

Kill animals. We love animals, they are the goddess' creatures, we love pets and honor our pets like everyone else.

Call themselves "Warlocks". Warlock means truth twister and betrayer. A
witch is called a witch no matter what gender.

Steal or break the law. We think that stealing from someone else is like stealing from ourselves, and that would just be stupid.

Summon demons. How stupid do you think we are???

Worship the Christian devil. We don't believe in Satan.. To name something is to give it power, we don't wish to give power to evil things.

believe in the Christian hell. We believe that when we do bad things we will pay either in this life or the next.

Brainwash people to join us. We believe in the power of free will.

Use satanic symbols. The witches pentacle, or five pointed star with a circle around it represents the four elements of life, and the body surrounded by the love of the spirit.

Become witches over night. It takes a lot of dedication and study to become an adept wiccan, we don't say a word then we are a witch. It doesn't work like that.

Always work magick. We do a lot, but we also pray to our maker.

Work magick on someone without their permission. If you do a spell on someone without their knowledge it will return to you times three. We believe in free will, don't destroy that!

I wish I could take credit for this, but I can't. It's been floating around on the 'net for AT LEAST a couple years. Nobody knows who wrote it...

Ben

Balance...

There's a thread going on P.A.C.E. right now about all-female covens. The prevailing thought when I'm writing this is that they are missing one of the main principles of Wicca - that of balance. The opposing viewpoint is that they are simply balancing out the massive amount of male-centered religion in the rest of the world. Then Peace came up with this question:

Does that also not include balance within genders?

And my response:

It most certainly does. I don't mean the tomboys and the princesses, or the uber-jocks and the twinks (I don't mean that last name as an insult, it just seems to fit the kind of guy I'm looking to describe). I mean all within one person. If we're striving for balance in everything, we need to strive for balance in ourselves. Since I'm so modest and all I'll use myself as an example. I'm sensitive to peoples' feelings, and have no problem talking about feelings. I'm tough when I need to be. I like cooking, sewing, cars, and power tools. I like both action and romance movies. I like figure skating, synchronized swimming, football and racing. I like to dance, and to work out. I grew up with the thinking that if you like to do something, do it no matter which sex it's normally associated with. My sister and I both had no choice in high school about Home Ec or Mechanics. We both had to take both. Now, this hasn't been without its downfalls either. I had kids try to beat me up 3 times in high school because they thought I was gay, When I start a new job, and people get to know me they are often surprised that I like girls. That can be a little awkward. But it's worth it. I am very comfortable with who I am. I KNOW who I am, and I'm confident in my abilities.

It can't stop with sexuality though. Balance needs to be in everything you do. Don't just be good at the sciences. Be good in the arts too. Don't be ultra-right or left-wing politicallly, walk the middle ground. See the wisdom in all aspects of life. By learning about the best of both sides, you can create and ever better world and life for yourself by applying them to yourself in the center. By learning about the worst of both sides, you can avoid the pitfalls and traps you may run across.

Screw this daily thing....

OK, So I'm feeling better tonight, ear is down to a dull ache. Anyway, I've decided I just can't find time to post every day. I wanted to, but one day just isn't enough to put together much more than a "this is what I did today" type post. That's just not what I wanted my blog to turn into. When I started it, it was supposed to be somewhere I could post random thoughts. A place to vent. Somewhere to write to help me sort things through. That's pretty much what it was for the first while, but I was poking around looking at some of my posts lately, and it really has shifted to exactly what I DIDN'T want, so I'm reclaiming it. I'm going to aim for a post a week. Of course, that's a very loose goal. If something big happens, I'm still going to post. If I get hit with inspiration, I'm going to post a lot more often. If I get busy, I'm not going to post.

Anyway, time for a joke, just because...

A man walks into a bar at the top of a tower whose only claim to fame is that it's the tallest building on the continent. He walks over to the bar, sits down and orders a drink. A short time later, another man walks insits down beside him and orders a drink. When he finishes it, he says to the first guy "Hey, you gotta see this." and runs over to an open window and jumps out. Horrified, the second man watches as he slowly floats back up and in the window.

"Wow, how did you do that>"

"Well you see," answers the second man, "Because of the height and the design of the building, you can get some pretty amazing updrafts. They'll blow you right back in the window."

"I've GOT to try this!" Says the first man, downs his drink, runs over to the window and jumps out. Expecting a repeat preformance, the rest of the bar's patrons rush over to the window too, only to watch him plummet to his death.

"Geez!" says the bartender to the second man, "You can be a real prick when you're drunk Superman!"

Sorry to disappoint.

Well, not really. I know I said I'd have a good post up today, but this Ear infection is hitting me harder than I expected. I can't sleep for more than 3-4 hours at a shot. I managed to drag my butt through the day at work with a good sleep at lunchtime, but I just came home and went straight to bed. OK, I checked my email first. I woke up for a bit around 7 to talk on the phone and get something to eat and then it was back to bed. I'm awake for a bit now, but the whole left side of my head feels like it's going to blow apart. The doctor on Saturday night said I just have to get vertical and it'll go away. He's right. Mostly. After a couple hours, the pain goes to a dull throb. I can ignore that. As long as I stay vertical it stays away too. Of course, after two nights of inadequate sleep, All I want to do is sleep. Hence the nap. I'm going to fill the prescription tomorrow, and with any luck, I'll be able to sleep through the night.

I'm not making any promises as to when I'll finish it, but I'd say it's going to be the weekend at the earliest.

I think the looks need to change.

I'm getting bored with this layout and colour scheme for the blog. I think It's time to change it. One of these days when I have more time than I know what to do with myself, I'll have to change it. It took me 3 days the first time and I was on holidays, so I could spend WAY more time on it than I would be able to now... Oh well, maybe I'll just make it a week's project.

I had hoped to have a better post today, but I'm still not done. The ideas are all there now, but it's not very clear and wanders all over the place... I hope I can finish it tomorrow.

Been a while...

Soooo, It's been a couple days since I posted... OK, try more than a week. I've been busy and sick.

What's new? Actually, a lot.

-- Brenda went in for her surgery to remove the excess skin after her gastric Bypass surgery 2 years ago. Final word - She's lost 277 lbs. Yay her!

-- As I mentioned, I've been sick lately. It wasn't at all bad - just a sore throat, but since Brenda was in hospital for surgery, I've been sleeping a lot and really trying hard to kick it. Didn't make it. She came home Friday. My sore throat was almost gone, but I started to cough. Then last night I was in the Miseracordia emergency room until 4 AM with an ear infection. Then, after all that, the doctor said it was almost finished running its course. He gave me a prescription, but said not to fill it for a couple days, and then only if it hasn't started to get better on its own. Well, it's already getting better, so I doubt I'll be filling it... I have to say I'm surprised. The fact that it could go from unnoticed to almost having run its course in 6 hours.

-- Operation Red Nose was interesting New Year's Eve. I wound up joining a team on my own. Courtney and bunch had a total of 7 people lined up, when they operate in group of 3, that leaves one person out. I volunteered 'cause i was the only one that didn't know everybody else. Turns out she still found 2 more people, but she didn't call me in time. I had already joined one.

Well, I guess that's it for now. I've got a couple other posts waiting, but I need to finish them. Funny how the really important stuff always takes a few days, and drafts to get to where the ideas are finished. Oh no, another post!