LIVING WITH MCL

I'm always mindful of that notable quote. A quote that so accurately reflects life, it's hard to forget. My favorite being The future is just a concept we use to avoid living today. Despite that being a quote by a fictional character, it's what Brenda said to Nate when they first met in the TV show  6th Feet Under , doesn't make it any less true, in fact, it might even make it a more compelling quote. The second is by Eric Hoffer , a moral and social philosopher who displayed particular insight into human nature, and that was In times of change learners will inherit the earth, while the learned will find themselves beautifully equipped to live in a world that no longer exists. While the latter depicts what I believe to be the perfect description of the state of affairs in the US today, here are two more quotes that come very close as well. The first one is by Eleanor Roosevelt, one of the most outspoken women in the white house, and attributed to dramatically changing ...

So anywaze, besides that, my attempt to sever myself from the internet has been met with mixed results. I did delete all my social media accounts, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Linked in, Strava, and even a few I only recently rediscovered I had. What I am having trouble with though is eliminating all my email subscription accounts. I still get some useful information from them occasionally. Plus I can't help but marvel at the naivety of so many individuals. I don't know why I'm so enamored by it, but I am. Surprisingly I have managed to refrain from commenting on [most of] those posts, which is an achievement in itself. Hopefully time will take care of the rest.

And just when I thought I had solved my problem with spam comments . After eliminating commenting on all the "information of note" posts I had in my sidebar, I was spam free for over 3 weeks. But as in politics, the honeymoon didn't last long. The spammers have managed to relocated me, and are now commenting on all my posts. It hasn't reached the amount I was receiving when I first posted (about 30/day), but the numbers are increasing. I have no doubt the numbers will reach that same amount soon. Fortunately Wordpress has a great spam filtering program to weed out the spam, so my faithful followers (all 3 of you), don't have to be bothered by them, but the question still remains. WHY? Why do they do it? It makes no sense to me, but neither does so much else that is occurring in the world today. So why I am I so surprised. BIG SIGH! :(

Here's a headline I thought interesting. U.S. millionaire count reaches 9 million Now whether you think the number of millionaires in the US (2.9% of the population) is relevant or not, you should at least be concerned by the fact nearly 90% of the population has a net worth of less than $100,000. (I wonder how many of those households have a net worth of $0?) I find that number very disturbing, as well as puzzling, considering the path many of our political leaders are trying to lead us down, and the number of Americans who support them. But what might be the most troubling is who is this Spectrem Group , why is it they know how much money I have, and what else do they know about me? Hmmm!

Finally my day in court, for jury selection in the sentencing hearing  I posted about to two weeks ago , was upon me. I arrived at the courthouse yesterday around 2 PM, had my parking validated, and then proceeded to the courtroom. I thought I was going to have to wait at least an hour while everyone before me was called in and questioned. Then, when it was my turn, I would be reprimanded for wasting the court's time, by not speaking up earlier about my views on the death penalty. Instead, too my surprise, within about 10 minutes of arriving at the courtroom, I was called in, along with 3 others, and we were all summarily dismissed. The judge thanked us for our service, even commenting about the onerousness of the questionnaire, and explaining how it is used to weed out jurors such as us. He ended by cautioning us against talking to anyone about the case, before we left the courthouse, and then added not to blog, Twitter or Facebook about it either. He claims he surfs the net. I sm...

I have been tracking the amount of spam I get on my blog for the past couple of weeks (I really need more to do), and I find it astounding to note, I average 216 spam comments a week. That's over 30 spam comments a day. Fortunately my spam filter picks 'em all up (it's a shame my email spam protector isn't as efficient), and while most of them are trying to promote porn, or some other equally obscure website, an inordinate number offer no links at all. They just spout incoherent jibberish usually, my favorite one just simply consisting of ??????????????????????? Do I just not get it? Why would anyone waste their time on such an inane, useless endeavor, or even waste their time creating a program which does it? Is it as simple as just trying to clog up the airways? If so, then I suggest those people direct their efforts somewhere else. Inundating my blog isn't going to accomplish much in the way of clogging up anything

You have to be asleep to believe it. George Carlin saw the writing on the wall 7 years ago. I realized it a year later at a time when immigration started being a hot topic. I even blogged about it back then . (George Carlin just does a better job.) So why is it so many in this country are blind to it? Still!

Went to a birthday party yesterday for a long time friend, and as I was looking around, I saw quite a number of people engrossed with their smart phones, some showing all sorts of pictures to everyone, and others just sitting off to the side, in their own little world, playing on their so called smart phones. What struck me so was, I know I have been guilty of doing exactly the same at times, that is sitting at a party, at a dinner, or just around the table talking to friends, and checking the internet, my email, or texting someone. It annoys me when I see that, so why shouldn't it be annoying to others as well. It bothered me enough, I just switched out my DroidX for my old LG VX5500 (a so called dumb phone), and saved myself $30 in the process. I just didn't want to be one of those people any more. So from now on, if you need to get in touch with me quickly, you're just gonna have to call me, because I won't be checking my emails as often as I once did. You could try...

I was going to upgrade my smart phone to the new Samsung Galaxy S3, but when you came up with your new Share Everything Plan , I decided against it. I know I can keep my unlimited data plan, for now, but if I don't upgrade by 6/28, I won't be able get a subsidized phone after that date, and keep my current plan. And that's what pissed me off. [note]I can get a subsidized phone, and have the option of choosing a standalone data package starting at $30 for 2GB (what I pay for unlimited data now), which would be OK, as I typically use less than 1 GB a month. It's just the principle of the thing.[/note] In one regard it may be a good thing. I don't need a new smart phone. My old DroidX works fine. And I definitely don't need to waste $300 for a new one. Heck,  l'm not even convinced I need a smart phone at all . This staying connected all the time thing, and being inundated with a constant stream of news and propaganda, can't possibly be a good thing. There...

I just don't get it anymore. Not sure why I ever did, but I did, and now I'm done. I've just grown tired of all the lame posts, all the posts informing me of where everyone is, and what they're doing at every given moment of every day, the constant game requests, and especially the idiotic [and very annoying] repost requests. Why do I need to subject myself to all that useless information. If you want me to meet you somewhere, to join in with whatever you're doing, or you want to play a game, give me a call on the phone. I have one of those smart phones that I carry around with me constantly [for some other unknown reason]. So I've deactivated my Facebook account. I may come back. Who knows? I might find it important or even necessary, although I can't imagine why, but I did say I was going to stop blogging, and you see how well that worked out. I just wonder how many people will notice, or even care?

I blogged on this topic about a year ago, but after watching the video below, and considering everything going on in the country now, I thought it was worth repeating. I even learned a few things I didn't know before. Admittedly it isn't much, but it is something, and 'you never know'. At the very least maybe it could help save the US Postal Service from additional cuts . Just doing my part!

Are you as perturbed about junk mail as me? It seems that's all I get any more in the mail. I would even include it as another one of those pet peeves of mine. I especially hate it when my credit card companies sends me checks to use instead of my credit card, which I have to waste time shredding. And what's the point of that anyways? The reason I have a credit card is so I don't have to use checks. Well, if you are as aggravated as me about junk mail, then have I got a plan. It's actually not my plan. I got it from a friend, but that doesn't make it any less of a good idea. Now, whenever I get an offer for something in the mail, instead of throwing it directly in the trash, I take any documents which don't contain my name, and return them to that company in the prepaid envelope. [note]Obviously this won't work if there's not a prepaid envelope included. I'm not about to waste any money doing this, but it seems quite a bit of junk mail does include a...

It's a beautiful day outside. The sun is shining, and the temperature is right around 50°F. It's a perfect day for a bike ride, if only the roads were somewhat dry. But just like last Thursday, the roads are soaking wet from last nights rain, and I refuse to subject myself to those conditions. So here I sit, bored to death (so wanting to be out on the bike) composing one of my meaningless posts, this time about Facebook. I don't get the fascination with Facebook. Sure it's a great way to stay in contact with old friends from high school and elsewhere, who may be light years away, but what else is it good for? And what's this new craze of friends pointing out where they are at every given moment in their life? Who cares when someone checks in at the grocery store? Anyways, yesterday we went to my niece's house in Granada Hills for Christmas dinner, and for whatever reason we were discussing the "places" app on Facebook, and I ended up "checking in ...

And I have no one to blame but myself. I failed to read a contract, or at least failed to properly understand it. I thought by paying a yearly fee to Orkin for termite inspections of our home, and needed re-treatments, after the initial treatment [tenting] in 1990, we would be covered for any future structural damage [caused by termites] that might occur. Isn't that what insurance is for? Well as it turns out, the so called Orkin guarantee, does nothing more than guarantee they will retreat (at no charge) if termites are found. It doesn't matter whether they were negligent in performing annual inspections, and missed termite infestations, or if their re-treatments had been inadequate, it isn't their fault if termites return, and structural damage occurs 20 years later. [note]Sort of sounds like the health insurance industry. You pay your premiums, but there's no guarantee the insurance company is going to cover your health care expenses.[/note] So now after paying Orkin...

I've been reading this blog, Far Beyond the Stars , a blog about living minimally, and the quote "less stuff more living" came to mind. That's how a family in Denmark described their life, after an interviewer commented on how small their home was. A home half the size of the average home in the US, without a lot of stuff , but a home none the less, and one that seemed quite comfortable for a husband, wife and two kids. That interview happened quite awhile ago, but that statement has stuck in my mind all this time. (It also came up while talking with the couple from Germany we met at the Aureole Wine Weekend .) It just got me thinking about how materialistic we have become in the US. Even myself, although I don't consider myself overly materialistic, or one who strives to impress anyone. Yeah, we have a lot of the usual stuff, including a 52" wide screen LCD TV, with built in surround sound (we watch a lot of TV), but that's pretty much the only over ind...

The only thing I can say is 2010 is not shaping up much better. And I had such high hopes. For starters Sylvia (my 89 year old aunt who lives with us) went back into the hospital for the 3 rd time on Thursday, and I'm afraid this time she's not going to be getting out all too soon. And the day before, as Edie was turning into the gas station, she cut the corner a little too tight, and drove right into the curb blowing out the sidewall of the left front tire. $185 [the cost of the new tire] later she was back on her way again. Edie commented that the price of gas at that station was pretty good [which it was], but it ended up being the most expensive tank of gas she ever purchased. And then today, I discovered American Express (AMEX) sided with The Golden Truffle (a restaurant in Costa Mesa where Edie and I had dinner on 11/14/2009), for which I was billed twice. Simple logic should tell you the charge was a duplication. The charges are identical, and they have consecutive tra...

There was excitement on the home front today, and as always when something like this happens, Edie was not around. She was out for her morning walk. I had just finished a short bike ride, and was just sitting down at the computer to read the news, and answer a few emails, when I hear Sylvia's coffee cup drop to the floor, and some strange noises emanating from her room. I immediately jumped up to see Sylvia flailing about. Now Sylvia has had Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIA's) before, but nothing at all resembling what was going on this time. This did not look good. So I immediately called for the paramedics. [note]I would like to thank the 911 operator for continually talking to me, and trying to calm me down. I only wish she had been more successful.[/note] Fortunately the paramedics arrived in short order, as I was starting to get a little nervous, and I had just been disconnected from the 911 operator, when my phone went into emergency mode (no joking). Well, at least that...

That was a suggestion from Lyndon Baines Johnson's National Security Advisor, McGeorge Bundy, on what to do in Vietnam, about 6 months into Johnson's presidency after Kennedy's assasination. No matter what your views on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the tapes of LBJ, as presented by Bill Moyers on PBS ( part 1 and part 2 ), sheds tremendous light on the complexities and the struggles LBJ dealt with in deciding the course of action to be taken in Vietnam. They are TRULY enlightening, to say the least, and even President Obama would do well to listen to them! IMO, it's a great piece of journalism. Something we could use a lot more of now a days. Editor's note: Johnson dismissed that suggestion out of hand, but I just wonder now what would have happened had he not? And I wonder if that same piece of advice might not be such a bad suggestion for putting an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well?

Every year it's the same thing. American Express debits my Starwood Preferred Guest card for a $45 membership fee, I call them to get a good will credit, and every year they tell me the same thing. I'm sorry we can't issue you a credit. Then I talk to a few other people, write an email, and with the exception of last year, I have always been able to obtain a credit for the membership. Last year, if you remember , was different. No matter what I did, I couldn't get any satisfaction from anyone, and I ended up cancelling the card. Of course about a week after doing that, someone at American Express, who does have the authority to give me the credit, called, and not only gave me the credit, but gave me an extra $50 to boot . So I agreed to use the card again. She also gave me her name and number to call, should this happen again. Unfortunately I lost her number, but did remember her name, so I thought I would still be able to get in touch with her, and solve my problem. Bu...

Never was a truer statement ever made! Yesterday I upgraded my WordPress software (the software that runs this blog) to the latest version 2.7.1. The developers of WordPress have made it very simple, in the last upgrade to v2.7, to do that, so with just one click of my mouse, I was easily able to accomplish that task. Everything looked good at first glance, but a few hours later I discovered that my previous post had been truncated, so if you read my blog between the hours of 11:03 AM and 9:59 PM yesterday, you did not get the full scope of my wisdom. I did manage to restore the original version, but this morning I discovered some of my theme files have been modified giving a different look to my blog. The changes are mostly superficial, and the reader may not even realize it, but from an administrative stand point and aesthetics, they are significant, and I haven't been able to figure out how to fix it just yet. Oh well, I'll work on it when I get to work this morning.  :)