Medical Marijuana blocked by Pharmaceutical Companies

Check this article out.  I saw the documentary about Rick Simpson and looked at the website phoenixtears.ca but didn't really take it seriously.  I'm starting to change my opinion.  I really believe that big pharmaceuticals have been behind a lot of blocks to progress in this country.  Our system is too prone to allowing the fox to be overlooking the hen-house.  Big business in general is too able to assert influence on regulatory agencies and legislators/legislatures.  Money is the root of all kinds of evil.  Notice the wording which is the correct meaning of the phrase.  Somehow, people have misinterpreted the phrase to mean that money is the root of all evil which can't be true because a man doesn't kill his wife after an affair because of a projected windfall profit from the activity.  For that matter, having an affair, which most people consider evil (even the participants), in most cases, has no potential monetary benefit. In fact, it very often costs the guilty parties and their associates dearly. One could go on for days debunking the idea of money being the root of ALL evil but I think my point is well made.

Why is it so hard to establish an effective regulatory agency?  Because the very need for one is driven by greed in the first place.  We, as citizens, are being robbed of medical advances because of big business.

New Enough.com

This is a site a biker friend of mine recommended for less expensive biker gear and parts.  I haven't personally ordered from here so I can't give an opinion.  If anyone knows the site and has used it, please feel free.

Great Site for Leather and Motorcycle Apparel

I just placed an order yesterday and got a message within hours that it was shipped.  Unfortunately, they were out of 2 of the items I wanted.  I would have placed my order earlier but I was waiting for an out of stock item to be replenished.  I'm not as impressed as I was at first but I'll reserve judgement until I get my order.

Who's In Control? Who Has The Power?

In any democratic society or culture, you can easily determine who has the power.

What group is it OK to make fun of?  Who has no recourse if publicly ridiculed by a comedian?  Who cannot go to the ACLU or other such organization to seek retribution for a verbal slight?  Whatever group fits that description is definitely in power in a democratic society.  Power is held by those perceived to be strong.  If one needs protection, weakness is implied.

My Top Songs

At this level, there's really no order.  Actually, from a personal standpoint, order means nothing.  These are just ten of my favorites, songs I'd put on any medium, desert island tracks, if you will.

Xanadu - Rush
The Rooster - Alice In Chains
Shine On You Crazy Diamond - Pink Floyd
Sundown - Gordon Lightfoot
No Quarter (Live from "The Song Remains The Same") Led Zeppelin
Turn It On - Trapeze
Tell Me - Dropping Daylight
Plush - Stone Temple Pilots
Burden In My Hand - Soundgarden
Rock The Nation - Montrose
Magnificent - U2
Stairway To Heaven - Led Zeppelin
Since I Been Lovin' You - Led Zeppelin
One - U2
Vertigo - U2
The Core album - Stone Temple Pilots
Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden
The entire first album - Boston
All of Back in Black - AC/DC
Highway to Hell - AC/DC
Cold Gin - Kiss
She's Waiting - Eric Clapton
It's Only Rock & Roll - Rolling Stones
Fly Like An Eaglel - Steve Miller Band
Freeway Jam - Jeff Beck
Come Dancing - Jeff Beck
'Cause We've Ended As Lovers - Jeff Beck
Led Boots - Jeff Beck
Strange Brew - Cream
In-a-gada-da-vida - Iron Butterfly
Benny and the Jets - Elton John
Faries Wear Boots - Black Sabbath
Jesus Built My Hot Rod - Ministry
Ace of Spades - Motorhead
Open Road - Wishbone Ash
Imaginary Lover - Atlanta Rhythm Section
All The Young Heroes - Gary O
Vasoline - Stone Temple Pilots
Space Grass - Clutch
Anything I've heard by Rose Hill Drive
Sweet Leaf - Black Sabbath

Irony

Isn't it amusing how the ignorant among us bandy the word about most and define it best with their own words and actions.

My Beginning

I was born in Bethesda Hospital in St. Louis, MO on May 25th, 1966 to a father who, at the time, was a cartographer/foundry worker and a mother who did not graduate high school and had no interest in work other than that involved in maintaining a household. When I was 1½ years old, we moved to Wyoming where Dad found work hauling logs. The story goes that he packed his family in a 1956 Chevy with $50.00 to his name and headed west. My first memories are from the little town in WY where we landed: Foxpark. Altitude: 9000 ft; Population: >100. I can remember the layout of the little house. It had no bathroom, no running water. My mother used to haul water in milk jugs to fill a small tub to bathe me, to cook, to clean, to drink. I can remember peeing in a closet by the front door which also contained my ‘toy box’. I was less than 2 years old. I remember getting my head stuck in a dining room chair and having to stay in there until Mom finished mopping the kitchen floor. My first experience with fear happened when I was standing on the tiny little porch that had no railing and saw a car going by with no driver. The steering wheel was moving as if being driven but no driver was present. I was terrified and ran screaming into the house. Years later, I realized what I probably saw was a car being pulled but I made no such connection at the time. My mom couldn’t figure out what I was so upset about because I was unable to describe what I’d seen. My fondest memories of this time are of going with Mom and Dad in the log truck, an old Peterbilt my dad called ‘The Diamond T’. He used to put me on his lap while we drove up the mountain which gave me the idea that I was driving. The steering wheel was wider than my arm span. Of course I had no part in the trip down since that involved a load of logs weighing over 100,000 lbs. My mom took a few pictures of the truck and my dad on one of the trips. We still have them. Those pictures along with any Peterbilt from that time, the smell of diesel smoke and the sound of a diesel engine all evoke those memories. Foxpark was, and from what Dad says, still is a beautiful place. Judging by what I’ve seen on Google Earth, it hasn’t grown or shrank an inch since then.


This period, between ’67 and ’69 was definitely a happy one for me, probably the happiest of my childhood with the exception of a few moments here and there. The memory of childish naiveté is still fresh today. It was that time when everything was beautiful simply because the concept of ugly didn’t yet exist. The time is untarnishable. The place is recorded in my mind like the moving picture on the front page of the Daily Prophet.

Choose your examples carefully.

Both Confucius and Buddha were morbidly obese.

Verizon Sends Sales/Tek

It has kome to my attention that I'm the only hold out on my street to still use DSL.  I get DSL for $21.99/month.  Why would I want to pay more?  It's fairly reliable.  I don't download large files often enough to worry about konnektion speed.  Sure, I'd love to be able to stream live TV in HD but then I'd have to get an HD monitor.  It just isn't on my list of priorities.  This "salesman/teknisian" didn't know what he was in for.  He tells me, "You get what you pay for."  I said, "Not really!", then I proseeded to lambast him with all the problems I've enkountered with the servise.  Not reseiving my bill then being billed for a late tjarge the following month, THEN being berated by a kustomer servise rep for habitual late pays and being told, "This is the last time WE'RE going to let YOU slide".  Of kourse, it's always the kustomer's fault.  All the other kompanies I do business with send me a monthly bill even if it's the same every month but Verizon gives themselves a pass and I'm supposed to be watjing out for their delinkwensy.  I told this guy about the BBB komplaint that was resolved in my favor when they left me without internet and phone for over a month bekause they were unable to ekstend a simple dry loop to a house with previously established servise.  I told him about the hours I spent on my sell phone with kustomer servise reps in India that kalled themselves "Gary" and "Robert".  Some guy in Florida finally got the issue resolved after 32 days.  And after all that, my internet konnektion still goes down sporadikally every evening due to "inkreased traffik".  So, I said, "No, Mr. Verizon", I don't get what I pay for.  Not even klose."  He said I hadn't seen the last of them and departed amiably but I've yet to get another visit.

Spelling Rule

I before E eksept in words that have an 's' that used to be a 'c'.

Refined Alphabet

It okurs to me that the English alphabet kould stand some refining.  Spesifikally, I believe we kould eliminate C's, Q's and X's.  Q's and X's kan go without a long goodbye but the "C" will be a bit more diffikult.  For instanse, there is the kase of the word 'chicken', or any word with the "ch" sound but a little linguistik thought will solve the puzzle.  Replase "ch" with "tj".  It looks odd but now we have an alphabet with only 23 letters, not to mention a whole new industry sentered around korrekting all the literature, diktionaries and all printed matter going forward.

One Step Method to Stop Smoking

In a word, STOP.  Pick a day and stop.  It doesn't have to be some symbolic day, either.  Just so it isn't too far in the future.  Don't waste your money on nicotine gum, Chantix, patches or any of those 'faux-smoke' gadgets.  And definitely don't waste money or time on books that claim to have the "secret".  Chances are, you are not a moron and have control over your actions.  Don't give your control to some external source that doesn't have your best interest as a priority.  If there is a "secret", that's it.  If you smoke, you've given control to some tobacco company.  How much have they done for you?  Have you gotten so much as a Christmas card from Phillip Morris?  Have they thanked you for supporting their stock price?  A few years back, I bought a nice automobile.  Now, every year, I get a calendar, a Christmas card and friendly reminders that services are due.  I do the services myself but the reminders still come.  Has a tobacco company ever thanked anyone for giving up their good health and a significant portion of their income to support their cause?  Have they sent flowers to the funeral of anyone that died of cancer?

The only method of quitting any substance that really works is:  QUIT!!  And when you're tempted to start again, DON'T!!  I'm not over-simplifying or minimizing the difficulty.  It isn't easy at first but it gets easier when you start to realize the benefits.  For me, it was the absence of that awful feeling I would have at the end of the day.  My eyes would feel like they were sunken in to my brain and my face would feel like a raisin looks.  My eyelids would burn and sting.  I would be tired but not in that satisfactory way that you get from an honest day's work but just tired and lacking energy.  I hated doing anything I didn't have to do like yard work, shopping with my wife, playing with the kids.  All that stuff took energy I didn't have and I felt a sort of energy sapping burn in my mid-section.  That was gone in less than three days.  I was 43 when I quit over a year ago (11/11/09) and I feel better now than I did at 18.  That's no exaggeration.  I smoked for 30 years, quit cold turkey and made it.  What got me through was all the little things such as waking up refreshed, having my dentist tell me my gum health was improving, not feeling putrid at the end of the day, having an abundance of energy, not feeling foolish when coming back from a smoke break during a meeting knowing everyone can smell me, not having cold hands and feet, better digestion, better breath (better stated as the lack of dragon breath), more physical strength and endurance.  Some people fear weight gain when they quit but think about the weight LOSS that happens during radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

Some of you are saying "Addiction is a DISEASE".  Addiction is not a disease.  Addiction is a lack of discipline.  You did not CATCH an addiction.  It's a psychological problem but it isn't a disease.  You have control over your consumption of any substance, therefore, a compulsion to consume is under your control.  I know what I'm talking about.  In my lifetime, I've been addicted to alcohol, nicotine and caffeine.  I'm hanging on to the caffeine addiction although I've reduced my consumption considerably.  Before I quit drinking, I thought I'd never quit because I couldn't imagine myself not drinking.  I used to imagine with dread the days, weeks, months, years of fighting the urge, missing the euphoria, the fun.  How wrong I was.  Same with smoking.  I would imagine the misery of not smoking as if that feeling you have when you have to go without a cigarette for longer than you want such as when you fly or attend meetings, church, etc. would last forever.  It doesn't.  Those are cravings and they pass remarkably soon and quickly reduce in frequency.

I'm not selling a method for quitting because there is no set method that necessarily works except just quitting and that makes for a very short book.

Turn the Tables on Big Ticket Retailers

When you purchase something large on credit, the company extending you the credit wants to know a few things about you, right?  Of course.  Unless you're using a credit card, they'll want to know all kinds of things about you.  They'll run a credit check for sure and they'll know a lot about you based on what they are authorized by the government to pry into.  If you're like me, you don't like the one-sided nature of these transactions.  I'm purchasing something that costs a lot of money and my integrity as well as my credit record are spotless.  I'd be willing to bet that I am a better, more reliable and honest member of society than the organization I'm patronizing deserves.

The next time you buy something, ask the representative of the company you're buying from a lot of questions about the reliability and integrity of the company.  This works with locally owned businesses like car dealerships, home builders, real estate agencies, etc.  Don't go into Target asking the salesperson about the reliability of the company.  You'll just get blank stares and probably hold up the line.

If you're buying a car, ask for the names of every layer of management from the salesperson to the owner of the dealership.  Ask for their tax ID number.  Ask them if they have any unresolved complaints with the Better Business Bureau.  If they answer that they're a member of the local BBB, tell them that a sticker on a window doesn't constitute a complaint free business.  Of course you should already know the answer yourself.  If not, verify it before purchasing.  Your decision whether or not to deal with the company will make itself if they lie.  But that's the idea.  Asking questions gives them every opportunity to prove themselves as a worthy seller.

We, as consumers, as patrons of so many establishments should not let them control the transaction with questions that put us on the defensive, as if WE were the seller.  The buyer has the money and therefore the power.  Don't allow salespeople to gain the upper hand (and every single one of them will try), be the buyer who doesn't need what they're selling.  Don't deal with companies that are dishonest or unresponsive to you, the customer.

Ultimately, you shouldn't buy anything from a chain of any kind.  These places have almost completely taken the power away from the consumer.  This is especially true when the economy is good.  Have you ever felt powerless when dealing with a problem in a chain store or on a customer service line?  Don't you get the feeling that they don't care about you as an individual customer because you're more trouble than you're worth.  Have you ever felt just the slightest bit silly after threatening to take your business elsewhere and then realizing that the person you're speaking to could not care less, regardless of how many apologies they've plastered you with. The two most meaningless phrases in customer service are "thank you" and "I'm sorry".

We could completely turn our economy and our nation around by the simple act of refusing to buy from chain stores and franchises.  Buy local.  Deal locally.  Get to know the people you do business with.  But be an honest customer; don't take advantage of good people.

Large corporations want us to be homogenized so they can produce a limited number of products and sell them in large quantities to a population with very few choices.  Now you're saying, "But we have an incredible number of products and more choices than we know what to do with."  Think about this:  There used to be dozens of car manufacturers in this country making a real variety of automobiles.  Now look.  It would be difficult to make any real distinction between all the models available.  They're homogenized for mass appeal.

Don't buy them...

The Number of the Beast Explained

And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.    – Rev. 13:17-18

This post is for those of you out there that have not had the benefit of discovering biblical scholarship or the profuse amount of material written by some brilliant and very hard working biblical scholars. I was introduced to the world of biblical scholarship when I ran upon a book in the post library at Fort Hood, Texas called "A History of God" by Karen Armstrong. That was in 1997. From that point, I became sort of an amateur biblical scholar myself, emphasis on the amateur.

Over the course of not only my period of amateur biblical scholarship but most of my life, I have been fascinated with the Book of Revelations, particularly the part quoted above. So much fear and misinformation in our society is based on this passage. Why? I'll tell you why; not because it was originally intended by its author to have that effect but because it serves as a tool for propagating fear and therefore control. But that's another post. And besides, there has been so much written on the topic of religion based fear that I would be delusional to think I could do it justice.

My purpose is to kill the myths surrounding this bit of literature and hopefully eradicate some of the fear.

The current wisdom on the subject is that it symbolizes the Roman Emperor Nero based on the fact that the Hebrew alphabet had a numerical value assigned to each of its letters and the sum of the values of the letters of his name total, you guessed it, 666.

Bust of Nero at Musei Capitolini, Rome

But this parlor trick can be performed with any number of names of leaders from biblical times as well as modern. The theory has merit, possibly more merit than all others on the subject.

An alternative theory, and one that I've held for some time until reading about the one above is this: the symbols of the Roman numeral system that existed at the time Revelation was written (D, C, L, X, V, and I, M was added later to accommodate larger numbers) add up to 666. D (500) + C (100) + L (50) + X (10) + V (5) + I (1) = 666, implying that Rome, itself, was the Beast. I liked this one for a long time but it doesn't account for the specific physical description of the individual unless we start performing more parlor trickery.

Either way, the author of The Book of Revelation was definitely NOT referring to any 20^th or 21^st century figure as Christian zealots and fundamentalists would have us believe.

If you want to have some fun with your fundamentalist friends, show them this:

Bar codes work by means of interpreting black as a binary "1" and white as a binary "0". Red dots mark the areas on this particular code that represent the number 6, "101" in binary which converts to the number 5 in decimal, or the sixth number in the binary sequence of decimal numbers which of course starts with zero. Every manufactured product you buy (yes, even stuff bought in Christian book stores) has one of these on it and every one of them has a binary 101 at each end and in the middle to frame the code in order for the reader to decode the correct product number regardless of the distance from the reader or angle in which it is read. So the mark of the beast has been with us for years. How many of us live our lives without purchasing manufactured products?