Adventures in Floor Care

Stripping floors, in a commercial setting, can be dangerous. The very act of applying stripper to a waxed floor means you have to take great care walking around. A stripper-covered floor is incredibly slick. More than once I’ve found myself smacking the floor as my feet have done a Wile E. Coyote dance in the air. No traction at all! But that’s the price of doing the job: you take your time, move with care, and pray you won’t take a wrong step. ;)

Last night that wrong step had not a danged thing to do with a slippery floor! Oy!

So Saturday we - myself, and two co-workers - had an Animal Hospital to strip. It’s been nearly three years since it was last stripped, which is way too long between strippings. I knew we were in for a tough job, but we would be careful, and we’d strip it twice, if need be. And that’s what I ended up doing on most of the floor.

Having stripped the surgery for a second time, the floor was no longer a greased Teflon surface, but I decided to wash down the coving - baseboards - with water to rinse off the stripper and push it away from the walls. This makes vacuuming the sludge much easier, as well as the later rinse.

So there I was, with my plastic pitcher of water, crouched over, doing a rinse of the coving, and moving well. And where was I looking? At the baseboards, of course. I completely forgot the X-Ray film viewer bolted to the wall. You know, the one with the very sharp corners? Well, trust me, that’s the one!

Next thing I knew something struck my head a tremendous blow! I thought it was one of those annoying over-head light fixtures that will not stay up! I slapped my hand to my head - dang! It hurt! - and looked over to see what I had actually hit. Yep! The Viewer cabinet bolted firmly to the wall. Pulling my hand down, I figured I might have some blood - it was a whale of a shot! - and sure enough there was blood. A lot of it!

I could feel the warm trickle running down the side of my face, and slapped my hand back on it, then ambled out of the surgery to a nearby sink.

“A little cold water might stop this,” I figured.

My co-workers were out there, and probably heard my loud imprecations at the offending cabinet and my own utter stupidity, because they were both staring at me. I splashed water on my head a few times, then clamped some paper towels onto the spot.

“Dayum!” I heard one of the guys say. “You better get to the hospital, man.”

I pulled off the paper towels and saw they were soaked red.

“Oh shit, man, you better go,” said the other one. He grabbed some gauze pads and handed them to me. I realized I could still feel a warm trickle down my face, even with a new set of paper towels, so I asked him to put the gauze over the damaged place. Yep! I was holding the towels just under the actual cut! LOL

We went out, hopped in his truck, and motored down to the local Emergency Room. It took maybe 30 minutes to get checked in (I sent my co-worker back to the Animal Hospital about midway through the wait.), called to an exam room, get all the vital stats done, then find my way into one of the treatment rooms. Another 10 for the Doctor to come in and begin torturing me. ;)

Actually every step of the way the folks at the Countryside Mease Hospital were friendly and helpful. My brains weren’t leaking, so it wasn’t like a life-threatening situation. :)

The Doc talked me through every thing he did, warning me when he was about to stick a needle in, to numb the area, and so on. We joked most of the time. He seemed unimpressed at my complaints over no longer having such an awesomely pretty visage.

I barely felt the needle, only sort of felt the stitches going in - I have a nice 90-degree cut, with a little bit of *me* missing - and when he left he had explained everything. The Nurse came in about 5 minutes later, to give me a tetanus shot. I didn’t feel that at all! I don’t know what they teach Doctors and Nurses these days, but giving a hypodermic seems to be perfected at Countryside Mease! :D

Signed my release, and went outside to call my co-worker to come back and get me. So I spent the rest of the night with my head bandaged like an Apache. This morning that wrap had pretty much come off. So I had my first look at the damage.

*meh!* Not so bad. But it’s very tender, and after a shower I’ve slathered it with an anti-biotic.

And that was yesterday’s Adventure in Floor Care. :) And how was your day?

PS: I said copious thanks to the Lord for knocking some sense into me, and for the help I received, too. The Lord is always very good to me, despite the fact I'm a grubby sinner. :D

F2K & A Repost

Our little Writing University has changed a bit in the last decade. We’ve had to move the site a few times - security concerns - and lost some folks in all the packing and un-packing. The original layout of the place has changed, too. Some changes for the better, some ... not so much. And along the way some of our members have passed on. Two of my good writing friends went on to the Great Publisher last year - Joan McNulty Pulver, and Margaret Carr. Their presence is missed by those who worked with them, and called them Friends.

One of the biggest changes is that WVU and F2K - the Free Basics of Fiction Writing Course - now have Social Walls, similar to Facebook. For some members that’s a nice thing. For others it’s not. And some hate it, thinking it’s just unprofessional. *shrug* The Social Walls are there. They are what we make of them.

In any event, we’ve weathered the storms, and remain. And F2K is about to start yet another session on January 25th. Registration closes on January 24th. So if you have dreams of becoming a writer, or merely want to hone your writing a bit, or need a kick-start to your writing, you might want to try F2K. The links are current, so take a look.

Below you’ll find a repost of an old post from January of 2006. It’s called “How I Became an F2K Mentor”. Have a great day!

F2K is a free writing course hosted by Writers' Village University. It's a really good writing course. So good, in fact, that I signed up for it three times! After the second session I joined WVU as a member. Been there ever since! I highly recommend it to any writers out there.

Anyway, back to F2K.

Very early during my first trip through, I found that staying in my own classroom was not quite my 'cup of tea'. I liked to peek in at the other classes, see who was in there, read what they were writing. And I'd give a little feedback, too. Hey! For me, that was fun. And I had the time, being single - hint! hint! Ladies! - and curious.

Got to know quite a few writers - fellow students - and came to be known as a 'kibbitzer' around F2K. Truth is, I know I infected a few others who then became 'kibbitzers' as well. Hehehee!

There are always a few writers who, for some unknown reason, do not get many comments or feedback on their writing. Some just show up late, and they never catch on with the others. Some don't feel qualified to give feedback, so nobody gives feedback to them. And, yes, some write horrible stuff.

It's true.

So it feels good to add some feedback to an empty board. Know what I mean? Besides, I read some very nice things in my Kibbitzing travels.

Well, fast forward to my third trip through F2K in the Autumn of 2005. I may be a better writer now, but I still enjoy the 'kick in the pants' that F2K can provide to any writer. So there I am. Taking the lessons again, and doing my thing. My thing being ... remember the word? ... Kibbitzing!

Hehehee! Yep, Ol' benning was kibbitzing the different classrooms again, even ticking off one of the Mentors. Mentors are volunteers who guide the students, answer questions, and keep an eye on things. There's a Mentor for each classroom. So, for me, nothing had changed, really. Except ...

Well, seems they needed another Mentor or two. Seems they did notice that Ol' benning got around, met the students, gave advice or steered the students to the right people to ask, and just generally helped out. Did Ol' benning know that's what he was doing? Hardly. Ol' benning was having fun. Period.

So the Head Mentor, whom I call 'MA', emailed me and asked if I'd be interested in becoming an F2K Mentor. Sheesh! Me? But that's a responsibility, right? *sigh*

Well, 'MA' and the others are friends of mine, y'know. We're all members of WVU. If they ask, they must think I can do it. Right? That's what I figured. So, I said, "Sure, I'll do it."

Some procedural things followed, and then 'MA' wanted to know if I had a Name for the room I would have. See, all the classrooms bear the name of a writer. Some I've never heard of, so I know the Mentor named it for some obscure favorite. One room is named for a former F2K Mentor - Colin R. Onstad - who passed away. Well, I'd think about it, right? I'd want a good writer to grace the nameplate of my room, right? You betcha!

Emailed 'MA' a few minutes later. "Can I have the Robert A. Heinlein room?" If you never heard of him, look him up! Sheesh!

And that's the room I'm Mentoring in right now. LOL

So far, in this, my first run at Mentoring, it's been interesting. But it's still very early. We'll see if I can actually do what the veteran Mentors can. But I haven't scared any students away. Yet.

We'll see.

Hit those links at the top of this post, or over to the left there. Great places for writers. Trust me! I'm not a politician! :D

Selah!

"Selah"

Psalm 77:1-3 "[...] I cried out to God with my voice--To God with my voice; And He gave ear to me.

"In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; My soul refused to be comforted.

"I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah"

What does 'selah' mean? It shows up over 70 times in the King James version of the Bible. More in a Hebrew Bible, I'm informed. Three times it is found in the book of Habakkuk the prophet (in the third chapter [KJV]), the rest in the Psalms. What's the point of the word? Why is it there?

Psalm 3:1-4 "A Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son. LORD, how they have increased who trouble me! Many [are] they who rise up against me.

"Many [are] they who say of me, '[There is] no help for him in God.' Selah

"But You, O LORD, [are] a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.

"I cried to the LORD with my voice, And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah"

According to the experts it may have a few meanings, though nobody is certain of its meaning. Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selah - says,

"Selah (Hebrew: סֶלָה‎, also transliterated as selāh) is a word used frequently in the Hebrew Bible, often in the Psalms, and is a difficult concept to translate. (It should not be confused with the Hebrew word sela' (Hebrew: סֶלַע‎) which means "rock.") It is probably either a liturgico-musical mark or an instruction on the reading of the text, something like "stop and listen". "Selah" can also be used to indicate that there is to be a musical interlude at that point in the Psalm. The Amplified Bible states Selah as "pause, and think of that"."

Is either correct?

Is it a musical direction? Why would we assume that? Granted, many Psalms are addressed to the Chief Musician. But the writers of the Psalms were not musicians themselves. Nor was Habakkuk. So why would, for instance David, give musical directions in his Psalms?

Habakkuk was writing a Prayer in the third book. Okay, perhaps his prayer was meant to be sung. But nowhere does that prayer says so. So why a musical direction? No, in my mind the idea that Selah is a musical direction, or notation, is way off. Nor does it make too much sense to propose that it might mean to add a musical interlude at that point. That, too, makes little sense.

So what's left? That notion of Selah being 'an instruction on the reading of the text, something like "stop and listen," may be closer, if not right on the money. As The Mountain Retreat - http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/faq/selah.html - puts it,

"With all of these "experts" making such contradictory statements, one tends to wonder, "can we even really know what Selah means?" The answer to this question I believe is yes. And the answer really shouldn't be subjective or left to conjecture. Because there is much we can learn about this word from the original Hebrew in which it is written, from allowing the Bible to be its own dictionary, and from comparing scripture with scripture and allowing God to be His own interpreter. All of these things can give us a solid illustration of this word's true meaning.

Selah, [celah], is from the primary Hebrew root word [calah] which literally means 'to hang,' and by implication to measure (weigh). This is readily understood because in Biblical history, money, food and other valuables were 'weighed' by hanging or suspending them on a type of balance (the equivalent of our measuring scale) to determine their value. We find an example of this word [calah] as it is literally translated 'valued,' in the book of Job, indicating that which is measured."

Maybe that's a little too 'literary' or 'scholarly' for us? But the base meaning is clear. It is an instruction within the text. But the instruction depends on the actual text. So we need to use context as our guide.

As Doctor Gene Scott used to say, you can simply translate it as, "Think of that!" or, "Imagine that!" And the context tells you if the word, Selah, is used in a positive or negative way. It can be mocking, too, you know. So the context might translate Selah into something like, "Can you imagine how silly that is?" In some contexts it's easy to translate Selah into, "Imagine how awesome that is!"

But it can always mean the simplest of things, as in that root of the word. So Selah could just mean, "Weigh that idea." Or even, "Look at the value of that thought."

In some places the King James translators used a bit of whimsy, as they translated the very same word. And it became, in Lamentations 1:15, for instance, "The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress." Here, 'hath trodden under foot' is actually Selah, or the root Hebrew word 'celah'. The second instance of 'trodden' in this verse is, in fact, a different word, entirely, and means trodden.

(Yes, I know the King James translators did a wonderful job. But they did take liberties in places, and translated the exact same words and phrases, in different places, into different meanings. Thus, for example, you have the phrase in Genesis 1:2 'The earth was without form, and void;', yet the exact same Hebrew phrase can also be translated translated into, "And the earth became a waste and a desolation". Which gives an entirely different meaning to the phrase. And also goes a long way to explaining some of the phrases, and thoughts or ideas, found throughout the Old Testament. )

Again, from The Mountain Retreat,

"[...] Whenever we see this word in scripture, we should understand that the Lord is exhorting us to 'weigh' these things thoughtfully, and to reflect and consider in good sense judgment, what is 'really' being said.

And despite claims to the contrary, there is no substantive Biblical evidence that Selah is an interrupter to pause the music while voices continue, nor is there sound evidence that it is for the pausing of voices while the music continues. These ideas are based upon the conjecture and theories of it being a music stop. It is a presupposition rather than a well researched conclusion. But what we do know is that it is a word which means to weigh or measure. And in these contexts, to weigh the preceding words of God and wisely consider them. It is a signature exhortation from God for our thoughtful reflection and weighing of what we have just read."

Selah!

Timing

Timing is an important concept in a lot of our endeavors. In sports timing can be the difference between victory and defeat. In Art, Music, or literature timing can be important, as something may be an utter failure as Art, or Music, or Literature, simply because it is presented to the public before the public is ready for it. It's "ahead of its time," as the saying goes.

When it comes to the plans of God, our understanding of things being timely are woefully inadequate. We expect- demand - God to do things on our timetable. Why doesn't God get that? We're suffering, or in difficulties, and God is taking His sweet time answering our prayers. Though it's danged hard for us to appreciate, God has His own view of Time, and His timing is not ours. His existence is both within Time, and without. God sees the entire span of Time in terms of millennia, at the very least, and His plans are intricately laid out, and working, even as we're demanding He just do something!

Well.

Do you remember the story of Joseph? Sold into bondage by his own brothers, winds up a slave in Egypt, and eventually becomes the most powerful man in Egypt. He is reconciled with his brothers. God could easily have put Joseph into Egypt, and in that position, with speed, and ease. No pain, no fear, no suffering. But He didn't, and the tale is a powerful one for Bible readers today. It is also a nice illustration of God's plan, working His will, on His own Timeline.

Genesis 37:1-30 gives you the buildup to the amazing life of Joseph, and shows how the oldest son of Jacob - Reuben - fitted into God's Plan, and Timeline, for Joseph. And, of course, by extension, all of the Children of Israel. For even Reuben, sinful, destined to lose his Birthright, was used by God to ensure that Joseph would be spared, and that the sons of Jacob would not become murderers.

We learn that Joseph was his father's favorite, spoiled and treated openly as better than all his brothers. Jacob (Israel) thus engendered in his own sons' hearts a hatred of their own brother.

Genesis 37:3 & 4 "Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he [was] the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of [many] colors.
"But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him."

And if you read the chapter you will not be all that surprised. For Joseph is described in ways that make you wonder why he wasn't smacked around on a regular basis by his brothers. Joseph was very much a proud, boastful youngster. He had all the tact and diplomacy of a kick to the crotch. He seems to be quite proud to relate his dreams to his brothers, and his own father, in which Joseph is exalted over them all.

So picture this family, then, shepherds of sorts, who spread out over a vast territory. So vast, in fact, that it took days for them to go from one feeding area to another. Jacob was not a poor shepherd, but a rich man, for his times, and his favorite son, Joseph, was his most spoiled off-spring. And as this particular story begins, the brothers are off tending the flocks in Shechem, among other places.

Genesis 37:13,14 'And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers feeding [the flock] in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." So he said to him, "Here I am." Then he said to him, "Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me." So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.

Joseph may be a self-centered, self-important jerk, but he is also obedient to his father. And off he went. But by the time he reached Shechem the brothers had moved on, and Joseph had to go even farther, until he found them near Dothan. A rather long trek, and far from his father's home. And of course, he was wearing that many-colored coat, as he traveled. His brothers could see him coming from a good distance.

Genesis 37: 18-20 - 'Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. Then they said to one another, "Look, this dreamer is coming! "Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, 'Some wild beast has devoured him.' We shall see what will become of his dreams!"

And that would have been that, right? The brothers had blood in their eyes, so strong was their hatred of the young man. And Joseph was nowhere near home. Who would have known the difference? Certainly not Jacob.

But one brother, the oldest, the one Jewish commentators believe had the softest heart of them all, could not accept murder. Reuben - the man who would lose his birthright for an ugly sin - would stand between his brothers murderous designs, and his obnoxious younger brother, Joseph.

Genesis 37:21-24 'But Reuben heard [it], and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, "Let us not kill him." And Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood, [but] cast him into this pit which [is] in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him"--that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father. So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph [of] his tunic, the tunic of [many] colors that [was] on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit [was] empty; [there was] no water in it.

And at this point Reuben leaves. There are all sorts of reasons given, such as Reuben circling around to return and pull Joseph out of the pit, to take him home; going off to watch the flocks; having business to attend to, before he can return for Joseph. Whatever reason Reuben had for leaving, just then, he had to leave. God had His own plans for Joseph, and they did not include sending him home. Joseph was to be tempered by trial. And so God found something for Reuben to do to take him away from that pit. Timing.

So Joseph was in the bottom of a pit, Reuben was off - intending to return and save his brother a little later, perhaps after sunset - and the grumbling, murderous brothers remained. And timing rears its head, as God continues to act out His own plans.

Genesis 37:25-28 'And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry [them] down to Egypt.
So Judah said to his brothers, "What profit [is there] if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?
"Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he [is] our brother [and] our flesh." And his brothers listened.
Then Midianite traders passed by; so [the brothers] pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty [shekels] of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.'

And here, if you can't feel for the young man, you have a very hard heart. Oh, he was going be better off, eventually. But at that moment he knew only that his own brothers hated him so much that they would sell him into slavery to be rid of him. And what of Reuben? For Reuben had intended to return and pull Joseph from that pit, and get him home to his father.

Genesis 37:29,30 - Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph [was] not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. And he returned to his brothers and said, "The lad [is] no [more]; and I, where shall I go?"

And Reuben mourned for that spoiled brother of his. He had no idea that God was moving His own plans along, and that Joseph would be fine, by and by. Poor Reuben.

Timing. God's timing is all, and we can accept that, or rail against our fates. God worked the timing so that Jacob's flocks were far from home, indeed farther away than he thought. He sent the one man to them who the brothers hated to the point of murder. So far that the Midianite caravan would not be seen by Jacob, nor Joseph recognized as Jacob's son, by those Midianites. God placed Reuben close enough to overhear his brothers plotting Joseph's murder, and stop them, and then sent him on his way so that he could not keep his brothers from selling Joseph into slavery. Timing.

We have our own concept of the timely, and God has His own. And God's timing wins. No, we don't always understand, but we are the clay to God's Potter. We don't have the standing to complain. If God decides to intercede, in answer to our prayers, He does so because it fits, or does not alter, His plans, His timing.

His plans for Joseph required a lot of things to happen at the right place, and the right time, in the proper sequence. And eventually Joseph would go on to unimagined power, in Egypt. Reuben, and his brothers, and family, would eventually be reconciled with their brother. For God's plans included Egypt, not only for the wealth and bounty of that land, but also as He ingrafted Egyptian blood into the line of the Children of Israel.

And what did Joseph think of all this, so many years later, as he looked at his brothers standing before him? In Genesis 42:22,23 we read that the brothers, not recognizing Joseph, have been thrown into prison. Joseph has not revealed himself to them.

And Reuben answered them, saying, "Did I not speak to you, saying, 'Do not sin against the boy'; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us."
But they did not know that Joseph understood [them], for he spoke to them through an interpreter.

Reuben remembered, still, and still mourned, I believe. And Joseph heard every word. Read the rest, and see how they were finally shown who Joseph was, how they feared for their lives since Joseph could have had them all executed. And then read this, as God continues to work His own plans:

Genesis 50:18 - 21 - 'Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, "Behold, we [are] your servants." Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for [am] I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; [but] God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as [it is] this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.'

"You meant evil against me; [but] God meant it for good," Joseph says. God had surely tempered the young man; the older man had become wise.

God's plans; God's timing. All of it He has worked out from the very Beginning, and He will see it accomplished.

God bless you! :D

Genesis: Strange Facts?

Genesis has, as you know, many strange facts. Part of the problem with understanding Genesis is the weakness of some areas of translation. For instance you have Enoch, the father of Methuselah. Enoch was taken to heaven without dying, according to the accepted understanding of the most popular translations, the common understanding of the verse (Genesis 5:24), "And Enoch walked with God; and he [was] not, for God took him." But if the translation was a bit off, to make sense to the translators, this could be in error. One translation I saw made it, not 'for God took him,' but 'for God carried him across [or 'over']'. And this adds to the strangeness. For where was this place? And what was Enoch doing for God in that place?

Josephus, [...] was a 1st Century Jewish scholar and historian who testified that, prior to the Great Flood, the Sethites built two great monuments to preserve their astronomical and spiritual knowledge for future generations. One was built of stone, and the other of brick. According to Josephus, these monuments could still be found in Mizraim (i.e. Egypt) during his lifetime in the 1st Century AD.

Some Ancients called the Great Pyramid the "Pillar of Enoch". So it is not a far stretch to think that Enoch was 'carried over' to build the prophetic monuments for God. It also allows for a job for those "Watchers".

And I believe I've read, in passing, of evidence of salt water found inside the Great Pyramid. Pre-Flood? Why not?

You have Genesis 1:1 where the Hebrew does not say 'God', but 'Gods'. Which presupposes the existence of more than one Spiritual being, including The Word. :D

When you move to Genesis 1:2 you have a translation that is correct, but can also be translated differently, as the same phrase is in Jeremiah. So ... "The earth was without form, and void; [...]" can also be translated as "The earth became a waste and a desolation; [...]" This opens up many avenues of thought, and explains a lot of small things in the Old testament that were baffling. Like Jeremiah's vision of Eden before Adam, and the earth, as well. :D

From Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 1:2 there may well lie an immense gulf of time, within which are the destruction of the earth, and the fall of Satan.

Thanks to Donna Sundblad for reminding me of the topic! :D

From JoshuaNet:

Methuselah comes from Muth, a root that means "death"; and from shalak, which means "to bring." The name Methuselah means, "his death shall bring." [1]

Methuselah's father [Enoch] was given a prophecy of the coming Great Flood, and was apparently told that as long as his son was alive, the judgement of the flood would be withheld. (Can you imagine raising a kid like that? Every time the boy caught a cold, they must have panicked!) The year that Methuselah died, the flood came. It is interesting that Methuselah's life, in effect, was a symbol of God's grace in forestalling the coming judgement of the flood. It is, therefore, fitting that his lifetime is the oldest in the Bible, speaking of the extensiveness of God's grace.

by Dr. Chuck Missler

Jeremiah 32:20 ~ "You have set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, to this day, and in Israel and among [other] men; and You have made Yourself a name, as it is this day."

... Continuing a Theme ...

When Dogs Fly Helicopters

Checking my email I noticed that the last two emails are from 2023! I am being messaged from the future! Cool! Sadly they are both spam messages, so ... *sigh*

Anyway ...

From yesterday's post:

If you're paying attention to the Pundits, Taking Heads, and so on ... stop! There is NO PERFECT CANDIDATE! Not one of them will align with every one of your beliefs. So stop looking for that candidate. There ain't none. Every single on of the candidates has votes, statements, actions in their past that don't look good, or go against what you, or I consider a positive thing. Remember: "The Perfect is the enemy of the Good." Look for the best out there.

Of the ones I can support, right now, it's Santorum, and Perry. If the GOP nominee ends up being Romney I will support him. I don't think I could support Ron Paul. Ever. Come November, barring a Dr. Paul miracle, it has to be ABO! Anybody But Obama.

And now is the time to rededicate yourself to electing those candidates at the local and state levels who will support, or rein in, the President. That's where Conservatives can make the biggest difference!

Seriously. What Conservative candidate will not get the Chicago treatment? The smears, lies, and distortions will come fast and furious. It's time for you to relax, and know that most of what the MSM tells you about the candidates is just so much Gollum droppings.

Do you really want to elect a champion debater? Or do you want someone whose ideas hew closest to the US Constitution? Every one of the declared candidates has a history that you can find, read about, and think over. Just because some NY Slimes reporter can take a quote, or vote, out of context to make a candidate (or all of them!) look bad, does not mean that reporter is correct. Or even honest. You know they have an agenda, and it isn't a conservative one.

If the Obama campaign thinks it was a funny, winning shot to ask Romney for his tax records, well ... we still haven't seen any of Mr. Obama's school records, have we? Heck, we have never seen Senator Kerry's military records, and that campaign was over 8 years ago! Senator Kerry told us he'd release them ... during the campaign. Still waiting! No word from the NY Slimes on that.

So pay no attention to the media agenda-driven attacks, Folks. Use your head, do your own research, and decide for yourself. This year's election is more important than any we've had in a long, long time. Don't let the Progressive Leftists do the thinking for you!

Got it? Good! :D

By the way, if you want another good reason why this administration really needs to be gone ... try this on for size! Report: Obama Agreed To Release High-Ranking Taliban Leaders From Gitmo In Exchange For Taliban Opening Office In Qatar…

A Few Of My Favorite Things ...

M&Ms!

Okay, so there's a lot on the news, and in the world, this morning. But rather than curmudgeon my way through that ... I think I'll do a list. "A list," you ask? Yeah, why not?

My Favorite Poet (Dead): James Whitcomb Riley
     I'm not much of a poetry-lover, but Riley is one I remember from childhood, with "The Raggedy Man", and I liked it!

My Favorite Poet (Alive!): Joni Zipp
     'Course it helps that she's a writing friend of a number of years. But I can read her 'stuff' and 'see' it. And appreciate it, too. :) Her Sunday Poem blog posts are worth reading!  

My Favorite Fiction Writer (Dead): Robert A. Heinlein
     Heinlein's writing isn't always smooth, or elegant, but he can tell a very good story - mostly Science Fiction - and some of his characters are very memorable! As for those critics who whine that Heinlein was just a fascist/militarist, etc. well, that's what you can expect from Leftist custard-brained Commies. ;) "You live and learn. Or you don't live long." - Lazarus Long  

My Favorite Fiction Writer (Alive): I guess it depends on who I'm reading at the moment.
     I'm very partial to Jonathan Kellerman, and Faye Kellerman. But so many others are right there, too! And don't miss F. Paul Wilson either!  

My Favorite Color: Blue!
     Yeah, I guess that's a 'guy thing', but I do like blue. And being a Philadelphia Eagles fan my favorite shade of blue, at least during the NFL season, is Midnight Green! And Wikipedia says the Midnight Green is, well, go read it, okay? ;)

My Favorite Candy: M&Ms!
     Well, duh! That much all of you ought to know! M&Ms have a very long history in the U.S. Lots of colors, too! Hah! :)

All right, I think that’s enough for now, don’t you? Maybe I’ll add more tomorrow. ‘Course if you check my old posts you’ll see other things I’m very partial to.  

Note: The results are in and Mitt Romney seems to have won the Iowa Caucus. Congrats, Governor Romney. My own thoughts on that ... with all the money he has, and has spent, and considering he’s been running for President since 2006, I have to think this ain’t much of a victory for him. Rick Santorum was in single digits, in the polls, just two weeks ago. An 8-point win over Santorum seems more like a Santorum ‘win’ to me. Just my opinion, Folks.

Post Note Note:If you're paying attention to the Pundits, Taking Heads, and so on ... stop! There is NO PERFECT CANDIDATE! Not one of them will align with every one of your beliefs. So stop looking for that candidate. There ain't none. Every single on of the candidates has votes, statements, actions in their past that don't look good, or go against what you, or I consider a positive thing. Remember: "The Perfect is the enemy of the Good." Look for the best out there.

Of the ones I can support, right now, it's Santorum, and Perry. If the GOP nominee ends up being Romney I will support him. I don't think I could support Ron Paul. Ever.Come November, barring a Dr. Paul miracle, it has to be ABO! Anybody But Obama.

And now is the time to rededicate yourself to electing those candidates at the local and state levels who will support, or rein in, the President. That's where Conservatives can make the biggest difference! 

Why?

Why am I called a racist if I disagree with the President? President Obama is a Democrat, I am a Republican. The policies he endorses for this nation are those of the more radical wing of the Democratic Party. How does my disagreeing with those policies make me a racist?

If dissent is Patriotic - it must be, since Hillary Clinton declared it so while George W. Bush was President - why does my dissent become labeled Racist? Is it because dissent is only Patriotic if the President is a Republican?

Why does the Democratic Party label me a ‘terrorist’ because I want the Constitution followed? Since the Constitution is the legal foundation for the United States of America, why does demanding adherence to it, by our Constitutionally elected officials, make me a ‘terrorist’, or a Racist?

Why would someone who knows me call me Hateful, or Racist, if I point out the hypocrisy of some people who call for support of Labor Unions, while hiring only non-Union workers (Michael Moore,you listenin’?)?

Why do they say I’m a Racist when I point to physical assaults by Union thugs against peaceful protestors? If I complain about a Justice Department ignoring such activities, why does that make me a Racist?

If I do not refer to the President in racial terms, nor in a hateful manner, but in sharp disagreement with his stated policy directions and aims, why is that Racism on my part?

Why?

Just some things I’m still wondering. Nothing to be alarmed about. Go on with your regularly scheduled programming. :)

Very New Year: A Fresh Start ...

Okay, so it's the first "real" day of this brand new year - a Monday! - and perhaps time to do some rededicating to the blog, and to a lot of other things, too. I've finally cleaned up the blogrolls, down at the bottom of the page. When blogrolling closed down, I just left things as they were, After all, the links were still there, weren't they? Well ... now they're gone. So I've started rebuilding those links. If you ain't there, but you wanna be, let me know.

And while playing with that, and all the vicious html that goes along with it, I rediscovered Timothy Fish's blog. Yeah, his blog is now under the Writing Pad Blogroll, so there's that. ;) His blog post for today includes this:

"The sad thing is that people are more willing to put their faith in Mayans who are dead than they are in people who are living. They are more willing to put their faith in a piece of ceramic with no evidence to support it than they are in the Bible, which has a preponderance of evidence to show that it is true. Why would you believe a calendar that has no proven claims over a book that has hundreds of proven claims and no disproven claims? That doesn’t make sense to me."

Well, I agree. It doesn't make sense to me, either. But I've listened to UFO Believers who insist that they have seen, or read, all the necessary evidence they need to prove the existence of Aliens.

Of course at the same time they look down their noses at those of us have Faith in the Word. Funny thing, that. The Biblical record can be buttressed with archaeological evidence (and is), among other things, but is dismissed by UFO-logists, and others as "unproven". And naturally the extinct Mayan culture must be correct! Why? Well ... because! Shut up!

This year I will continue to read the Scriptures, and I'll also continue to delve into Apologetics - the Defense of the Faith - which has helped my understanding greatly. Do I have all the answers? No. Of course not! But I do know which questions are serious, and which are the same old 'gotcha-style' nonsense questions. And I know that the ones asking the nonsense questions aren't seriously seeking enlightenment, or answers. So often the only answer available is, "I really don't know." Which go well with the one I have in my head: "And which scientist has all the answers, if you please?"

If you're reading this, and can spare a few dollars, I'll repeat the call for help that I posted below ... twice! My friend is in need of dental care. Right now she's fighting infections that, of course, are causing problems in her body, not just with her mouth. And she has no money. So please begin the year with some charity. Okay? Just head to her blog post, read it, and if you can, donate! Like I said before ... why waste your money on cash-happy political parties? Send a donation to someone who badly needs the help! Thanks! :D

Well, that's it for now. Maybe I'll be able to blog more, through 2012, and maybe I'll lose interest again. Only time will tell!

Happy 2012!

Update! Joni has today blog post up, so go check it out! Goals for the New Year

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! 

It's now 2012. A brand new year on the calendar, and a new start, if you want it.


The best of everything to you, and yours! May God richly bless you all the year! 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

PS: We've not gone totally Luddite, yet: NASA spacecraft enters moon’s orbit