I Despise NEPA Winters

I love the change of the seasons.  Just when you have had it with hot summer days we start to get cool Fall days.  All good.  Spring is wonderful with warmer temperatures, flowers blooming, rainstorms, and just this feeling of renewal.  Summers are wonderful, giving you opportunities to do just about anything outdoors.

Then you have Winter.

I am slowly but surely growing to despise Winter.  Of course falling yesterday evening on some ice put a kind of exclamation point to that thought.  Note though that it was an exclamation point, with the whole rest of the sentence in tact. That sentence basically says "Warmer Climate!".

Now I don't mind a little bit of Winter.  I just get to the point in, say, January/February when I've just had enough.  It seems as if the month will never end.  It's so cold and stark outside.  So very sterile.

As I write this it is the end of January and I'm nursing some injured ribs, courtesy of falling on some ice.  A combination of time, a heating pad and the judicious use of Vicodin will no doubt get me though this little set-back.  That noted, I'm looking forward to the day, perhaps some time into the future, when I'm living in a climate where a "cold Winter day" is about 40 degrees.  Now that would be nice.  Very nice.

Time for more heating pad.

If the U.S. has been so concerned about reforms in Egypt...

...why is it that we are only now hearing the President talk about the subject?  Oh, riots and such.  Egyptian society has been operating under more or less martial law for something like 30 years now and all of a sudden we're now talking about human rights?

Now I can't just blame President Obama, as we have had Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush (mark II) who are just as guilty of supporting the dictatorship of Mubarak.

One last comment on this subject:  the Christian Science Monitor reports that Vice President Biden has described Mubarak as not being a dictator.  Story link HERE.  Now I like Joe Biden, I really do.  Heck Joe Biden is from Scranton so he is practically my "homeboy", but he his dead wrong on this subject.

Guam is a small island

Watching The Bachmann's reinterpretation of U.S. history reminded me of this. Never let it be said that either party has a lock on stupidity.




The scariest part? He was so serious when he was saying this.

Challenger Disaster

In memory of the heroes who gave their lives to further science & exploration.  I remember vividly sitting in my apartment at school and seeing this very clip on television.

Learnings & Observations

A mildly introspective rant on some things I've learned about myself, life & other stuff in general over the past few months, for no particular reason other than the fact that I've paid for this URL.

John Mellencamp is right

"an honest man's pillow is his peace of mind"

(from Minutes to Memories)

I think too much

I really do, but fortunately there is an antidote:  just start doing.

I always assume the best intentions in people

This is both a blessing and a curse.

I am steeped in Catholic guilt

Next to Jewish guilt, Catholic guilt is one of the most powerful forces in the galaxy.  Right up there with gravity, black holes and cosmic strings.

I am inherently positive

That is when I am left to my own devices.

I am not a writer

I do love to write though.  There is a difference.

I own 5 books of poetry

I own zero books on sports.  Oh, and I love ABBA.  And I am straight.  Go figure.

I've re-discovered National Public Radio

This is what happens when you let your Sirius subscription run out.  This has been a good move.

My daughters amaze me

I can't believe that I actually fathered such wonderful children.

We need a modern day version of Hunter S. Thompson

Where are the modern-day writers who can make politics actually interesting?  Chris Mathews annoys me.  Glenn Beck is a cry-baby drama queen.  

Sometimes the answer is only about 50 feet away

You just need to be open to it.

My capacity to learn

I have an almost infinite capability to learn.  This is a good thing for a 46 year old.

I have "sorta" rediscovered the concept of Faith

I'm not claiming any tent-revivals here, but I have seen & experienced some things that have given me pause.

Fear

Always be skeptical of fear.  Always.  Respect it, but be skeptical.

And on the 8th Day
God created frozen pizza (for middle-aged men who live alone).

Are these the good old days (& we just don't know it)?

Maybe Carly Simon was on to something.

Languages & Music

Are two things I wish I had an aptitude for but don't.

zSXxx65ttnm 

My cat sat on my keyboard and typed the above...I swear, it's true.  This is his contribution to NCFE.  Thanks JeanLuc!

Local bloggers

There don't seem to be many local (Scranton/Lackawanna County) bloggers.  That's a shame.

Exercise

Is something that makes you healthy both mentally and physically.  It's like dietary fibre:  all good.

Old NCFE Postings

I tried to re-read some of my postings from the October/November, but it was pretty difficult stuff to get through.  That noted, none of it is getting deleted.

Facebook

The Facebook folks apparently have an algorithm that determines the order that your friends appear.  Just goes to show you that there is no such thing as "random" in the universe.

I like what I do for a living
I get paid to do stuff that's sometimes down-right enjoyable.  And I work with some mighty talented folks. Score!

Partners

I am lucky in that I have some outstanding healthcare professionals that have helped me maintain a healthy life.

I wonder
How my sister would feel about a visit this summer?  Perhaps a D&T day?

Introspection

Is some damn healthy stuff.  Just like dietary fibre & garlic.

The Blues
I think I am now qualified to sing the Blues.  I just lack the actual talent to literally sing the Blues. Oh, and there is the whole "being a white guy" part.

I usually sleep well these days

Without much in the way of augmentation either.

The Bachmann Speaks, Again

You simply can't make this stuff up.



Please, someone defend this twit.

The Bachmann Speaks

Taken directly from Minnesota Republican (& self-proclaimed Tea-Bagger leader) Michele Bachmann's alternative SOTU speech responsel:

And, the President should repeal ObamaCare and support free market solutions like medical malpractice reform and allow all Americans to buy any healthcare policy they like anywhere in the United States.

You can read the full text of her speech HERE.

Let's parse this one out.

"...repeal ObamaCare".
"ObamaCare"?  The system proposed by the President would require people to buy PRIVATE health insurance.  Maybe this should be "AetnaCare" or "CIGNACare", or just "MegaInsurerCare" because in the end, it is the PRIVATE insurance companies that get bigger here in the President's plan; there isn't any new healthcare delivery system called "ObamaCare" in the legislation passed last year.

"...support free market solutions"
We have had decades of "free market solutions" for heathcare and yet medical inflation has averaged something like 12% per year. Oh, it must be all the lawyers fault...

"...medical malpractice reform..."
You mean the thing that adds MAYBE 5% (my citation says 2%, but I will be conservative) to the nation's healthcare bill?  Now I agree that there is a dire need for reform in this area, but I'm not STUPID ENOUGH to believe that eliminating some malpractice suites or limiting damages will actually make a dent in medical costs.  By the way, don't throw the "but...but...defensive medicine" argument at me, because I'll ask for proof that doctors over prescribe/test solely as a result of malpractice threats.

"...allow Americans to buy any healthcare policy..."
This is the crux of what The Bachmann is saying, namely that it shouldn't be your employer that provides healthcare coverage for you, and it shouldn't be the government.  No, it should be YOU that buys it as an individual.  As I have said many times, I'd like to see the person among us who is better at negotiating premium costs better than, say, the Human Resources department at IBM.  Anyone here think that they have MORE LEVERAGE than a company paying millions for employee coverage?  Yet those same companies with all of their buying power haven't been able to keep medical inflation in check.


What The Bachmann is actually pitching here is a plan to get employers out of the healthcare benefit loop.  That should scare the crap out of you, because if "MegaInsurance" has been successful in ripping off the IBMs of this world, just think what they will be able to do to you.

Quasi-Obscure ABBA

Okay, I am a straight male who also happens to really dig ABBA.  I know, this is not the most typical of situations, but so be it...I simply appreciate catchy music.  Anyway, here is one of my favorite ABBA songs, one that you don't really hear all that often.

"Hey Hey Helen"

Rational Tea-Bagging Thought

This article caught my eye on Monday.

Tea Party members agree that everything is on the table.

Being a fairly conservative guy when it comes to fiscal matters, I generally agree that the government spends too much money.  As a realist & non-politician, I don't understand the logic of trying to reduce the size of government while making vast swaths of it off-limits to the budget ax.

Am I suggesting that our soldiers be denied equipment, pay, penicillin shots, etc.?  Hell no!  What I am suggesting is that within a defense budget of $700 billion, there is bound to be areas that can be cut, made more efficient and the like.

Am I suggesting that defense work be outsourced to the Halliburton's of this world?  Hell no!  But we need to talk about whether or not, for example, we need all of these over-seas military bases.  We need to talk about which weapons systems are actually wanted and needed, vs. those that are simply the pet projects of some member of Congress.

If we seriously expect entitlement spending to be open to budget reductions, then the whole budget should be open as well.  No more sacred cows.  No more political posturing ("I am for a strong defense!  Senator Doe is not because he wants to deny our soldiers the equipment they need!").

Venturing Out

It is a balmy minus 3 degrees outside this morning in my part of Scranton-land.  Inside it was a little more tolerable 59 degrees, although that necessitated turning on the space heater for a a bit.  The heating situation where I currently reside is "complex"; suffice to say I dress warm.

Soon though it's time to venture out and start the day.

I was thinking about this notion of "venturing out" to go start my car a few minutes ago (yes, I did just go out and start it) and it occurred to me that this sort of thing...a cold morning and having to go out...can also be something of a metaphor for changes in life (something I know something about).

Yes, sometimes no matter how cold it is outside you have to venture out to get your day going.  Simply huddling inside under a blanket may sound appealing, but in the grand scheme of things even the most timid eventually come to the conclusion that it is all just a waste.  You may be warm, but it's a coma-esque kind of warmth.

When you fail to venture out you certainly could be wasting your time.  Things will not be done.  New things will not begin, old things may not be concluded and the vast majority of our life's work that resides in the middle of things will remain stagnant.  All for some sense of temporary comfort?

Yes, it's pretty cold outside now, at least physically, but when I think about venturing out I am reminded of, how over the past five months, I've done a lot of venturing out. Sometimes it was painfully cold (metaphor inserted), but somehow I managed to not turn back and hide under the covers.  Cold yes, but no regrets.

Here's to venturing out...be it on cold days or in cold lives.