Personal News
« Previous EntriesHow about we all try getting by with less ‘stuff’ in our lives?
OK, so this is my little “sermonette” (or just a rant?) for today: Maybe our nation and our world would be in better shape all around if we just all tried to get through life with less “stuff,” i.e., material possessions in general and luxury items specifically.
Sure, I know the yacht makers and luxury car manufacturers need to make a living, too. But what I’m talking about is all the individual and corporate GREED out there that leads to such crises as the mortgage industry meltdown and the Wall Street scandals. (Incidentally, if you honestly still think the stock market is even remotely predictable — at least for the short term — let me caution you to resist the urge. It’s higher stakes gambling plain and simple, on a level that would rival all of America’s casinos put together.)
Anyway, I started thinking about all the hardships we ALL suffer as a result of the very common drive to “own” or “possess” material stuff — a drive which we all have to some extent. Take me, for example. Most of the furniture I own (“we” own, as in my wife and I) is much closer to “decor by early Salvation Army” than it is something from Kichler lighting, or Macy’s, or even Target. (Although we own one or two very durable Wal-mart special items.)
Would we like a house full of fine furnishings and decor? I suppose so. But we’ve discovered the hard way that running out to buy something we want using a credit card or credit account opens a door we don’t wish to go through — the door that lets one more creditor creep in and snatch one more little piece of control out of our lives.
OK, that’s really about it. I urge you to rethink the importance of the “stuff” you possess or you want to possess. Is it worth the consequences that accompany it? End of “sermonette” now.
Heat spell makes me fantasize about travel plans from long ago
I’m sitting in the middle of a nasty stretch of hot, humid summer here in the Missouri Ozarks wishing I were someplace cooler. This early summer heat spell, I confess, is turning my fantasies back to some plans I had years ago. Actually, I’m on a “dual track” fantasy here, neither of which is likely to come true, but both of which look good today.
Fantasy 1 — My wife and I decided about 15-20 years ago that we wanted to get a sailboat, become qualified and skilled at sailing it, then take a sailing trip around the world. Setting aside recent news stories about the California teen who’s world circumnavigation trip got cut short, the reality is we can’t afford a boat and would have no place near us to keep it. (There are, however, a couple of lakes about two hours travel time from us where we could take sailing lessons.) In addition, my wife doesn’t swim and has a lifetime phobia about getting into water any deeper and wider than a bathtub or home whirlpool/hot tub.
Fantasy 2 — Before we developed the sailing idea, we always said it would be great fun to own a travel trailer (rv?) and become sort of nomadic, traveling all over the U.S. and coming home only for a couple of months at a time. This idea may someday be feasible for us, if I can generate a bit more income and we can pay off a few more debts. The two biggest problems preventing this from being our sort of “permanent getaway plan” would be — the high cost of fuel (gas or diesel) and my cowardice about learning to drive a large motor home.
But, I remain very attracted to the motor home idea. It could work. So if you should just happen to have used rvs for sale somewhere in my neck of the woods, keep an eye out for me. It could happen!
Older I get, more I enjoy my sense of humor about politics, religion
I find that the older I get, the more I appreciate having an active sense of humor — particularly when it comes to the Big Duo of cultural discussion here in America — religion and politics.
I used to take politics pretty seriously. There was a time when I was a passionate conservative Republican and a strongly “fundamentalist” Christian. They seemed to go hand-in-hand for me and I took both very seriously.
Then, as I grew out of my teen years, through my 20s and 30s, I found myself changing my viewpoint. Suddenly, the more I observed about “real life” and the more I read, I found myself growing a bit more “liberal” or tolerant about politics and religion.
At this point, I consider myself somewhere on the “progressive to liberal” scale politically, and somewhere on the “mainline Protestant” spectrum regarding religion.
But above all, I find myself thinking (especially regarding politics) that such labels really aren’t useful and mostly serve to polarize good people on both “sides” of the political/religious spectrum. When they’re taken too seriously.
I honestly think you could take 90 percent of the elected federal officials in America, line them against a wall dressed in identical clothing — and you’d never really be able to tell the “liberals” from the “conservatives” on most issues. Of course there are philosophical differences and each “brand” of politician has learned the “party line” very effectively. But above all, they are POLITICIANS, i.e., they have mastered the art of sailing with every change of political wind to get elected.
Anyway, that’s mostly just my musing and rambling for the day. In real life, when I’m with a group of conservatives, I try to keep a low profile. Generally, if I open my mouth, I stand out from the group about like a fully loaded pizza at a convention of diet pill reviewers.
But, then, it’s almost the same contrast when I’m around a group of hardcore political liberals. What does that really make me? Perhaps I think of myself a sort of a political “progressive centrist.” If there is such a thing? I dunno!
Thinking I am brontophobic — no, it has nothing to do with literature
I think I’ve found a label for one of the problems I’ve developed in recent years: brontophobia, a fear of lighting and thunderstorms. It’s also called astraphobia, keraunophobia, or tonitrophobia.
And the headline on this article is my lame attempt at humor, playing of the name of the Greek god of thunder (Bronte) off of the Bronte sisters, a couple of wonderful English writers. I love a good pun. Although most of the puns I make are admittedly questionable.
What little I’ve learned about brontophobia I’ve learned online, using Google and Google News again. I’ve learned that it’s pretty common in children, although it seems to make a resurgence as people age. (I’ll be 63 in a few months.)
In my case, I think at least part of the problem relates to storm experiences I’ve had — bad experiences, but not horrible compared to some! — all of my life. Most of my life has been lived on or near the Plains region, with ample opportunities for thunderstorms, tornadoes, flooding, etc. A few years ago, we had a serious roof problem that culminated in water POURING into our upstairs bathroom in the middle of the night. That roof’s been replaced, however, and my wife assures me all is well. We haven’t had any leaks since, nevertheless, I keep a wary eye turned upward anytime rain starts.
Suppose I should seek some sort of counseling or help with all this. On the other hand, without health insurance, any sort of counseling or drug treatment would cost considerably more, I suspect, than OTC headache remedies or fat burners!
Nope, for now, I just screw up my courage, face old Bronte head on when she starts slinging the lightning bolts or pounding the clouds — and hide under the bed with the cat.
Sometimes finding news online is just outright fun
Depending on what website you use, sometimes finding that daily “fix” you’re seeking for online news can be fun.
Try it for yourself and see what I mean. Go to “Yahoo” news or Google news. Type a random phrase into the “search news” box and see what you get.
It always amazes me the stuff that’s online and the stuff you can find that way. Maybe it’s just that “regular” or “normal” news is getting more odd. (I used to go to a site years ago titled “odd news.”) Whatever the reason, when you add so many millions of blogs into the universal mix of online news, you both lower and raise the bar for news. You lower the bar in the sense that a lot of results have little to do with valid journalism (whatever that means online any more). You raise the bar in the sense that whole, vast worlds of information (good and bad) are opening up to the news aggregation sites.
Just now, I went to Google News — my news site of preference — and searched for “adult tricycle.” The second article that came up was a fascinating interview with writer-actor John Leguizamo about his “green limo,” i.e., the bicycle he rides back and forth to theater work in New York City, and the importance he places on saving the environment.
Not earth-shaking news, but fun stuff easy to come by. Whether you’re searching for stories about saving the ecology, apidexin reviews, information on Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show, or a good place to buy Chinese food in Toronto — you can find it all in the news with a few simple, fun searches.
I still love to read “the papers,” but honestly, I’m turning into an online news junkie, too.
Home repairs offer harsh distraction from news, newspapers
Sometimes I sit here trying to keep informed and make at least somewhat intelligent comments about “the news” — then sometimes I just get, should we say, distracted by home repairs and maintenance.
It’s the home repairs and maintenance part I hate the most! And nothing ranks higher on the “hate list” of such stuff for me than plumbing problems. When you live in a really, REALLY old house (just over 100 years old, I think), you find out that pipes are fragile and pipe joints generally cannot be budged with anything short of a bulldozer. Not a good combination.
But the biggest problem is that I am completely ignorant and inept about most home repairs and maintenance — and plumbing probably comes in second on that list of ineptitudes, just below electrical issues. (I have this irrational fear of someday working to install a beautiful new Moen kitchen faucet while I’ve forgotten to unplug the garbage disposal and being seriously injured or killed by electricity combining with water while I’m standing in it.)
My last two home repair projects both have been plumbing related. I reinstalled some plastic drain pipes that connect the garbage disposal sink drain to the main sink drain in the kitchen. (My son did the installation initially and cut the plastic pipes about 1/4-inch too short. Takes after his dad, I guess.) And I actually replaced the small faucet in our nearly-antique-but-really-just-falling-apart-from-age bathroom sink. (That one I got right the first try; the pipes are easy to reach and I generally have to replace it twice a year.)
Ah, well, the joys of home ownership. Now I’m going to wash off a bit, settle down with some coffee, and read about the many ways the latest Wall Street multi-billionaires have found to make money off our home mortgages.
A useless personal ‘rant,’ I suppose, but here goes anyway …
Sometimes you just gotta RANT. And when you’ve got to rant, well, the only way to get it out of your system is by ranting, then moving on.
I keep getting sp*m (rhymes with “ham” and is made also of pork, in the real world) comments on this website and most of my other article oriented websites. Those are comments that idiots try to post using, usually, perfectly clever and useless software in an attempt to get a link from my website back to theirs. And their sites normally, as you can tell if you see the structure of the web address in their comment link, are pushing some of the general crapola “enhancers” or outright p*rn (rhymes with “horn”) sites.
In the first place, the software I use to run this website has some very effective tools for screening out sp*m. In the second place, no comment gets posted here unless I approve it.
But the sp*mmy messages that come along are much more sophisticated and almost realistic — much more than in previous years. Let’s say, for example, I publish an article here about the best way to get an online auto insurance quote. Such an article may be a bit complicated or detailed, depending on how hard I work at it (and I’m a lazy sort of guy).
But if some bozo who’s name and email address I’ve never seen before, posts a comment something like, “At first, I didn’t foresee to understand what you were saying at. But upon further reflection I do understand it and appreciate you should you write more on this matter” — that’s a pretty good clue that I haven’t picked up a dedicated new reader!
The part of all this comment sp*am that bugs me the most is this: Why in the name of all that’s sane and sensible do people continue to do this garbage?? I personally know of NO ONE (and I know a couple of hundred people who do writing online) who lets such goofiness get published on their websites. And I know of NO ONE who goes to these sp*ammy, worthless, and even p*rnographic sites as a result of links published on a “normal,” decent website.
AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There, end of rant for today, good readers. I feel better now. A little better anyhow. For awhile. Until I get notice of the latest sp*ammy comment I have to delete.
My respect for these chain store customer service guys grew
I have to admit that I’ve never been a fan of a certain Big Box national franchise that sells electronics and entertainment products. (I won’t name them, but their store name rhymes with “Nest Guy.”) But I learned some new respect for the customer service reps at our local Nest Guy store this week when I watched them react to a minor emergency.
I was looking at some netbook computers. I discovered that if you have the luxury of time to visit this store on a weekday morning, you actually can find reps who will talk with you and answer questions. In the process of doing a good job with the questions I had about the computer, the rep and I glanced over at the next aisle and saw another somewhat flustered rep lowering a 40-something lady gently down to the floor. She appeared to be fainting.
The guy helping me immediately said, “Excuse me, sir, there seems to be an emergency here,” and dashed around the counter to help his colleague. Within seconds, someone called the store manager, they gently comforted the woman in question, and two other reps appeared with the manager. While the rep who had been helping me trotted off to get a bottle of water, one of the other reps hustled over to the office furniture area and brought an armed, padded desk chair to help the woman into.
All was resolved within a few minutes. After the emergency ended, my customer service rep walked back over to me with a polite smile and said, “Now, how may I help you again, sir?”
Kudos to the Nest Guy customer service people. I’ve been unhappy with them in the past, but they certainly earned some respect that day!
Personal note: Yesterday’s physical went surprisingly well
I try to be very upfront about anything I discuss here, and that includes a couple of personal health facts: 1) I currently have no health insurance, and, 2) I generally too inactive and very overweight.
Which made it especially interesting to get a sort of “mini-physical” yesterday at a local “sliding rate” health clinic.
I was very concerned, given my weight and my level of inactivity, about blood pressure. Those quicky blood pressure machines at many pharmacies has been showing me higher levels of blood pressure each year. They aren’t really accurate, I’ve heard, but indications were there that the aging blood vessels were, well, aging less than gracefully.
The blood pressure was indeed elevated above normal, but not too severely. The doc prescribed the mildest available blood pressure medicine (got it for $4 per 30 days) and encouraged me to get more active. The clinic did cholesterol testing and blood sugar testing, which I won’t get results on for a week or two.
What really surprised me is that all the heart beat/heart rate stuff was good, and I actually have lost four or five pounds in the last few months.
Amazingly fit for an overweight, sedentary Old Guy, I thought. I don’t know whether to chalk that up to good genes, exceptionally good fortune, blind fate, prenatal vitamins my mother took, or what.
But I’ll take it. And, yes, I’ll try to do better.
Gossip mongers of the world — give it a rest with Tiger
Gossip mongers of the world, whether you call yourselves “journalists” or whatever label you use — give it a rest with Tiger Woods.
It truly distresses me that so-called “news” organizations continue to tell us daily about newest claims of the guy’s infidelity and messing around. Please, people, stop. I’ve had enough. I suspect most people in the WORLD have had enough!
Are rich people more prone to infidelity than the poor? Probably not.
Do rich people have more opportunity to cheat on their spouses and families? Probably so, because they have more money and attract more “targets.” Certainly adding celebrity to the mix only brings out more despicable people eager to get their 15 seconds of fame.
And 15 seconds is really more than most of them deserve. If I have to watch one more poor lost little girl (???) tell the media how sad she was and how Tiger used her then rejected her — I think I’m gonna spew.
So how about it, folks? Join me in a media boycott from now to the end of the year and see if anybody will get the message. I’m refusing to watch any network news or cable 24/7 news from now until January 1. I’ll try to refrain from spending a lot of time watching local news — because slow local news days means they inevitably pick up network feeds and replay them.
Let’s make it clear to the gossip mongers that we’ve had more than enough of what they call “news”!
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