Drugs

Force your vaporous soul to the surface
Where it dries and blows away
The eyes a window to a not-even-haunted house
Where even the furniture is loathe to stay

It's not high
It's nowhere
Do not try
To go there

The anesthetic
Must wear off
Your thinner spirit
Is scared off

Secular Web

Making good use of the internet.

Global Warming Debunked

http://preventdisease.com/news/10/071110_terminte_co2.shtml

Sugar Rehab

If you have unexplainable medical issues such as headaches, migraines, fatigue, intestinal/digestive issues, obesity, skin problems, inability to maintain weight or any other problem that doctors are unable to explain,  get off complex sugars such as table sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup or anything ending in -ose other than glucose which is the sugar in fruit.

I'm beginning my sugar restricted diet tomorrow and I plan to keep a record of changes I experience right here.  Today, I had 12 teaspoons of sugar just in the coffee I drank which was excessive in and of itself.  My plan is to reduce that to 2 immediately which will be contained in 16 oz. of coffee.

I may eliminate coffee altogether.  I stopped smoking over a year ago and I very seldom drink any carbonated beverage or alcohol but I still feel unrested when I wake up in the morning even though I'm getting 7 to 8 hours sleep.  I don't feel energetic like I should.  I haven't felt particularly well for any length of time since I joined the army in 1984.  Combined effects of sleep deprivation, high stress, smoking and drinking excessively took their toll.  Hopefully, I can break the addiction and start eating healthier foods and consuming less sugar and caffeine.

What to do with Junk Snail Mail

What do you do with all those envelopes from credit card companies and magazines?  Do you throw them away without opening them?  That would be better than responding to them for sure.  But that helps fill up landfills in most cases unless you are able to recycle all your paper but that doesn't do anything to discourage the mailings in the first place. 

Of course I wouldn't be writing this if I didn't have a solution.  Take the Business Reply Envelopes and fill them with all the contents of the envelope along with the envelope it came in and mail it back to them.

Bully Free at Work by Valerie Cade

The Bully at Work: Are You Being Bullied? Find Out for Yourself…

After two years of working in the information systems department of an engineering company, Jason found it more and more difficult to get up for work. Where he once enjoyed the office camaraderie, he realized he was being increasingly left out of meetings and after-hours social events. He often felt like he was the target of others’ jokes, and his efforts were put down while others’ were praised. As he struggled to understand what had happened, the image of Jennifer, a co-worker, kept reappearing in his mind. He suddenly realized that Jennifer was often the person who criticized him. Sometimes she had taken credit for his good work. She was probably going to get a promotion that he believed he had earned.

Jennifer didn’t have it in for him. Or did she?

Jason, like many who are the target of a bully at work, found it difficult to accept that another person could plan and carry out a plan of action against a co-worker. While the bully’s target may feel uncomfortable, unhappy or depressed about the way someone is acting toward him at work, he may lack the knowledge or insight to identify the behavior as bullying.

If you suspect you may be the target of workplace bullying, take the self-test below.

Self-Test: Are You Being Bullied?

Consider each of the questions in the self-test below and decide if you Strongly Agree, Agree, Somewhat Agree, Disagree or Strongly Disagree with the behaviors that may be happening to you. Then, circle the corresponding number.

Does the person you’re having trouble with:

		Strongly Agree	Agree	Somewhat	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
1.	Repeatedly:            -Ignore you. -Not say hello when you greet them.          -Not return your phone calls or emails.	5	4	3	2	1
2.	Dismiss what you’re saying or “put you down” while alone or in the presence of others?	5	4	3	2	1
3.	Sabotage you or make you look foolish, by “forgetting” to tell you about a meeting (or) if the person is your boss, set you up to fail by making impossible demands of you?	6	5	4	3	2
4.	Spread rumours, lies and half-truths about you?	6	5	4	3	2
5.	Frequently act impatient with you, treating you like you’re incompetent?	5	4	3	2	1
6.	Blame and criticize you?	5	4	3	2	1
7.	Try to intimidate you by interrupting, contradicting and glaring at you and giving you the silent treatment?	5	4	3	2	1
8.	Tease, ridicule, insult or play tricks on you, especially in front of others?	6	5	4	3	2
9.	Always insist on getting their own way and never apologize? They never consider your point of view.	5	4	3	2	1
10.	Leave you out of social and work situations as opposed to welcoming and inviting you in. They deliberately make way to exclude you.	6	5	4	3	2
	Total score = _____________

To get your total score add up the numbers; there is a possible total score of 54.
If your score is 14 or below, it doesn’t look like you’re being bullied. If your score is between 15 and 25, there are indications of bullying behaviour. Naturally, the higher the score, the more pronounced the behaviour. If your score is 30 or above, you are definitely being bullied. As scores increase beyond 30, the severity of the bullying escalates.

Some who take this test find they are not being bullied. If you are one of these people, and are experiencing emotional discomfort because of a work situation involving another person, conflict resolution or assertiveness training may help you. If you discovered that you are indeed being bullied, you also need to learn what to do.

Learning how to respond to a bully at work requires particular strategies because bullies have distinctive characteristics. Bullies have a distorted view of human nature. They view people as objects to be manipulated, rather than as humans with whom to have empathy. They see all interactions through the prism of their own interests, “What’s in it for me?” and strategically manipulate others for their own advantage.

Bullies, however, do not behave like psychopaths who are unable to change their behavior. Studies show that when the spotlight is on a bully—that is, when others recognize their behavior and actions, policies and laws are carried out to stop their bullying ways—the bully, in fact, blends back into the workplace again and stops causing damage. The bully is aware.

The first step belongs to you. You may be asking, “What do I do then?” First, recognize if you are being bullied. Accept that fact so you can then take the next step of helping yourself with a sense of conviction to create protection for yourself. You deserve it!

Sincerely,Valerie Cade, Founder
Workplace Bullying Expert, Speaker, and Author of 
Bully Free at Work

Stone Temple Pilots at the top of their game.

I saw these guys at the Innsbrook Pavilion on Wednesday.  Phenomenal.  I've been a fan since '92 when I first heard them on AFKN, the Armed Forces Korea Network.  A significant event in your life will leave such an impression that you'll remember where you were and what you were doing when it happened.  Such an event occurred for me when I heard "Plush" for the first time.  I was getting a military van worked on at the company motor pool.  The radio, of course, was tuned to AFKN since all other stations were Korean.  I can scarcely describe how I felt when I heard the song.  I didn't even know who the Stone Temple Pilots were.  I had heard of Nirvana and was slightly impressed with Metallica's Black Album but for the most part, I thought music had gone to hell.  This one song changed my mind.  I bought the Core album and discovered that good writing had not died and did not reside solely in the mind of Kurt Cobain (who would have effectively killed it).  I know, this is a narrow view but I'm expressing where I was at the time in my mid-twenties.  There is and always has been plenty of good music out there.  It's up to you to find it.  If you're one of those people who let the music industry decide for you then you get what you deserve.

By the way, I'd like to call attention to the band supporting STP on tour.  Rose Hill Drive.  Wow.  Really great band.  I didn't hear a bad song in their set.  Google and Youtube have plenty of samples but none do them justice.  They are meant to be heard live.  Buy their stuff, go to the shows.  I have a knack for seeing rising stars and these guys are definitely on their way.

The only time I was wrong was with a band I heard in Indianapolis back in 2000 called Gun Metal Blue.  I don't know what happened to them.  They had some really good original stuff on their CD and they were very skilled musicians and singers.  They did a rendition of "Stranglehold" that would have scared Ted.  I guess not all good bands make it. Pity.

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.