Temporarily Closed, Will B Back

I will be away, but shall return.

Be Smart

Don't expose sensitive information over the open Internet. I know I deleted a post and comment, and do not like doing that, but someone put information out that was not appropriate. Swear at me, call me names, call my character in doubt all you want. Do not put out anything that can be used to exploit my family and I, or used to harm those I am associated with both professionally and personally.

Medical Wonders

Over at a favorite Blog of mine Assistant Village Idiot. He discusses a phone call he had with a doctor, and the strange response he received. I also have a similar story to this.

During my whole adult life I have had to shave on a daily basis. Unlike some men, this has not been a choice, nor has it been a "I'm hairy as hell" necessity. It has always been job related. I have always looked forward to any opportunity to not shave.

During one of my non-shaving periods around 1999-2000, I noticed a bald spot on the edge of my left side jaw line. I compensated by trying to shave in the ultra hip goatee fashion, but within a few days I developed another bald spot on my right side upper lip. Soon there after, hair all over my body started falling out in patches the size of quarters. When I was showering I would have to was the hairs off of the bar of soap I was using.

I was scared. I thought I might have cancer, or something else. I had heard of alopecia areata, but I didn't know what it was. So, I called the local doctors and spoke with a nurse.

The nurse asked what my issue was, and I explained. She stated something about understanding that it was making me nervous and called for a doctor to give me quick consult. After a brief chat, where I was very specific in explaining that my "high and tight" style haircut, combined with the splotchy loss of hair, made my head feel like a velveteen globe of the earth, the proud doctor advised me that at 31+/- I was hitting middle-age and hair loss was common. He put the nurse back on and I made an appointment, but ensured that it was not with that particular doctor.

I arrived for the appointment in good form, 1/4 of one eyebrow still present, no arm hair on one arm, barley any on my legs and other unmentionable parts, and a head that looked like I was playing with plutonium in my basement. The new doctor asked what I had done about it, and I explained the phone call and my aversion to taking any medicine. He left the room and returned with the doctor I had spoke to on the phone. His expression was priceless, bug eyed and jaw dropping. I asked if other patients had also handled middle-age so well. He sputtered an apology and they decided to send me to a dermatologist.

After the appointment and seeing the dermatologist, I went after some second opinions. As a general consensus, the belief was I was suffering some form of alopecia areata, and short of steroid treatments I could not afford, and the fact I was not suffering any other significant health issues, I would have to "suck it up" and live with it. After awhile, probably six months, the hair stopped falling out, and it began to grow back in. The hair came back in a fine downy soft texture with a white color.

Now, all that I have left to show people of my experience is a few odd bald spots on my face (when I don't shave) and a couple of spots on my head that make it look like I have chosen the worst barber of all time. If you ever do get a chance to see me, don't worry about telling me I have a bald spot. The I/Ms let me know, every time I get a hair cut.

Free Thoughts

I was riding my bike (motorcycle) in to work the other night, and in the distance was a lighting storm. It was an awesome view. The facility I work in is on top of a hill and the view is fabulous. It is also beautiful in the mornings, as the Connecticut has a fog covering that you drive down into. When the sun is showing it looks like a blanket.

Today I was shopping with the wife when we met some friends (hers). These people are extremely nice, but a little on the "Short Bus" side. During our conversation, I came to the conclusion that the common person doesn't have a clue, and that's ok.

I have decided to try for my Masters in Military History through Norwich. Does anyone have 22k laying around?

Ok, I am drawing blanks time to go.

Another One, Again Different

http://politics.beasts.org/scripts/results?surveyid=1142320640

Here are the questions

New roads and railways should be built by private companies, not the government.
Services like health care, education and social security should be provided by the government, not by private enterprise.
Sometimes interest rates should be raised to reduce inflation, even if doing so would cause a large number of job losses.
Drivers should pay enough tax to cover the cost of environmental damage caused by motor transport, even if that would price some people off the roads.
The wealthy should pay a larger proportion of their income in tax than the poor.
The government should raise revenue by taxing consumption rather than income.
Overall, economic migrants bring benefits to our country.
The government should subsidise farmers so that they stay in business, even if it would be cheaper to buy food from abroad.
Smokers should be required to kick the habit before receiving medical care for smoking-related illnesses.
Everyone bears a moral responsibility for the actions of their government, even when they do not support them.
Anybody who wants top-quality health care should expect to have to pay for it.
The mix of minorities in public institutions should reflect their numbers in the general population.
Having individual local representatives is more important than electing parties in exact proportion to their support.
Officials like public prosecutors should be directly elected rather than chosen by the government.
For society to be cohesive, it is important that everyone shares a common language.
Legal protection for free expression creates more trouble than it's worth.
Nobody should go hungry, even if they refuse to work.
Some art should receive government funding.
Our nation has a glorious history.
A person's social status shouldn't depend on who their parents are.
We should offer sanctuary to anybody fleeing persecution.
There are some ethnic groups who can never be fully integrated into our society.
Everyone should stand up for the National Anthem.
Class distinctions should exist.
To protect society from drug abuse, narcotics must be banned.
Alcohol is a more dangerous drug than marijuana.
Shared religious beliefs should be an important part of our society.
Family is more important than society.
Sometimes the only way to make a legitimate point of view heard is to break the law.
Our society needs more lawyers.
Some crimes are so serious that the only proper punishment is the death penalty.
Dealing with nuisance crimes like petty vandalism makes serious crime less likely.
Everyone should have the right to trial by jury.
It's more important to rehabilitate criminals than to punish them.
It is only acceptable to use proportionate force to defend your property from criminals.
Members of our society should be familiar with the history and traditions of our culture.
Overall, young people benefit from compulsory military service.
Schools should concentrate on training people for the workforce.
Schools should not teach children anything which contradicts their parents' religious faith.
Some people should not have access to the Internet.
Correct grammar is important.
Scientists bear no moral responsibility for how their discoveries are used.
Some technologies should never be used, whatever their benefits.
Some medical research would require so many animal experiments that it should not be done, whatever the benefits.
Religious faith should be based on the literal word of God.
There is a place for organised religion in government.
There are some sexual acts which are immoral, even between consenting adults.
It is immoral to be lazy.
It is never moral to break the law.
No woman should be allowed to have an abortion, whatever the circumstances.
National law should always override international agreements.
Sometimes civilians are a legitimate military target.
The people of this country have a very different character to those of our neighbours.
Aid projects abroad should always be funded by charities, not the taxpayer.
It's acceptable for a businessman to bribe a foreign official to complete a sale.
Our armed forces should intervene to stop genocide in other countries.
Our sense of right and wrong comes from religious faith.
Children should always obey their parents.
In the right circumstances, cutting taxes can increase government revenue.
Economic globalisation will increase inequality.
It's more important to make the poor richer than to decrease the gap between rich and poor.
There is a danger that some large corporations will become more powerful than governments.
Aggressive foreign policies can put a stop to international terrorism.
Drug abuse is a problem primarily because of its effects on drug users, not its effects on the rest of society.
The only way for some workers to achieve fair pay is through collective bargaining.
Nobody should be sacked for going on strike.
Small businesses are more important to the economy than large corporations.
The government should act to stop companies paying executives excessive salaries.
Workers in the public sector should be paid as much as those doing similar jobs in private industry.

I am not Moral? And a Johnson Democrat?

http://www.moral-politics.com/xpolitics.aspx?menu=Home&action=Test&choice=Long


Wow, I thought the other test were off!

I am a Libertarian?

http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz-score/quiz.php

Never quit saw that 100%.

My Political Compass.

http://politicalcompass.org/printablegraph?ec=1.62&soc=-1.59


Yeah that's me, maybe.

THE Medal of Honor

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/editorials/view.bg?articleid=1096330

I can not find the words to establish the greatness of these Soldiers.

From David Warren

The impact of this fudged film cannot be ignored. While in Iraq, I heard about it. A Lebonese friend of mine quized me about why America supports Isreal when they kill children.

"The incident was the alleged shooting of a little boy by Israeli troops in Gaza, in September 2000. His name was (purportedly) Muhammad Al-Dura, and if my reader has been watching any television over the last eight years, he will have seen the clip, probably many times. A Palestinian man and boy are shown cowering by a wall. Then suddenly the boy is shown dead in his father’s arms. The voice-over explains that he was picked off by an Israeli marksman."

Here's a question, what country has risked being eliminated in every one of it's wars, yet none of it's attackers did?

SOMETIMES THEY HAVE VALID POINTS

I heard an interesting comment by an otherwise some what nutty Jesse Ventura. He commented on the fact that the Fed requires/mandates all employees to retire at 65. How can we elect someone, at 72, to be the boss of people he will have to retire at 65? It is an interesting point, and definitely establishes age as a political argument and talking point. He is equally negative on the Dems and their "Get out of the War", but only after I am elected, speeches. His final point I enjoyed, was that he will not pay/fund to get elected, more than he will make in a year at the position. That was probably the neatest thing I have heard in a while. Imagine a politico that was not in debt, and a risk of being swayed because of debt.

I am back on third

Well, I am back on third, and should be posting more now. Hopefully my writing skills will improve.

In my Mind the Election Now

Why do we crucify a President for not changing his mind and policy, yet also crucify those running for flip flopping.

I want McCain to win, but he won't. I am already hearing the Bush comparisons and that is the kiss of death.

Obama looks like he will take it. I just wish I could trust change. Falling down and breaking a leg is change, but not good change. If change is more federal oversight and taxation, I can live without it. What happened to "Ask not what your country...".

Clinton..... *crickets* *crickets*

And then there is this:

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=4244798&page=1

This little "news" piece has a few bloggers talking. It is not really all that. It is surprising in a few ways.

1. ABC did a news piece where Hillary was not the obvious winner.
2. A journalist spent three months in Iraq and found only 1 McCain Supporter, 2 Hillarys, and 3 O'bama, yet 73% of Soldiers vote.
3. Does anyone really believe the 1 McCain Supporter was serious and the only one in the country?
4. Found it surprising that some people in a war zone want to come home.

Hey ABC here is a Clue, the military is about 65% Republican (it is a stat that can be found). The majority of troops, those E-6 and below generally fall along the lines of the general population and reflect often the political demographics of the area they were brought up in. It is the senior military that are predominately republican and more or less moderate on what ever side they choose.

Just Some Ideas I had, some are Stolen

1) Eliminate the two party system. Our Senators and Congressmen should be beholding only to their constituents, not to political heads from someplace else.
2) Campaigns can be declared before Jan 1 of the election year, but cannot start the campaign until then.
3) All primaries conducted in the month of April. The top five vote getters will then compete for president in November.
4) Allow only private citizens, businesses, and organizations with physical addresses within a potential senator or congressman's district to fund a campaign for that seat.
5) Ban any foreign contributors without a physical address within the US to give to any campaign.
6) Set limits on the maximum total amount any one noun, person, place, organization can give to a campaign. (and/or)
7) Require validation of a campaign through signature petition from all districts voting for the campaign
i. Give Matching funds to all validated campaigns
ii. Require and regulate accounting for all spending
iii. Require all left over/remaining funds at the end of a campaign to be given back:
iv. Proportionally to contributors
v. Or given to the Government for tax relief or the next election
8) Change how the VP is selected.
i. Must be chosen as a running mate before primaries and caucuses
ii. Or, go back to separate elections
9) Reestablish the checks and balances.
10) Adjust the roles of the President and VP. Eliminate the chief of staff and make the VP the COS. (Like the roles of a Commander (CO) and Executive Officer (XO))
11) Require all bills to be 5 pages or less and cover only 1 subject.
12) Require all House and Senate members sign that they have read and understand a bill before being allowed to vote on it.
i. Allow only bills that have been signed as read and understood by 80% of Congress to go for vote.
ii. Put expiration dates on Bill voting.
a. If you have not signed as read and understood a bill in a set time your pay is docked.
b. Dock pay for any missed votes not approved by the State Representatives Government
13) Allow line item veto
14) Get out of the UN
15) Require any company, foreign or domestic, wishing to sell in the US maintain a minimum of US standards in pay, quality, and safety.


I will more sometime……

Is Trooferism a religion?

http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=5371

An interesting opinion on the Truth Movement.