what if?

Lacking in Lake Geneva

The AnalPhilosopher is wondering where I've been.  Battling away in Lake Geneva in my quest for masterpoints is the answer!

It ain't easy.

Without going into the gory details, my results have been poor.  I am aiming to become what in bridge terminology is a Grand Life Master.  To attain this, one needs to have earned a national championship and 10,000 points.  (To give you a bit of perspective, a Life Master requires 300 points.)  At present, I've nabbed a couple of the championships - but I'm still about 75 points short.  More and more, it appears that the proverbial "a watched pot never boils" is applicable.  The harder I try, the tougher it seems to be to get those last few points.

So, instead of worrying about it, I shall simply try to enjoy the beautiful surroundings here, and the lovely weather.  No frigidity for me, Keith; balmy 40's and misty fog in Wisconsin!

Tomorrow is my last day of bridge for the year.  I look forward to 2007 - and all that it may hold for every one of us!

May Your Days Be Merry and Bright

For Greg

Some wonder why I respond to people like Greg.  Well, for one, Greg is not rude or crude (something which some earlier dissenters were most dramatically).  And others of my liberal friends wonder some of the same things that perplex Greg.  So - in an effort to attempt to answer, here you go, Greg.

Habitat for Hamas

Unfortunately, I cannot remember from where I shamelessly lifted this.  But - too good not to share with you in any case.

Please see below, too.

Just Say "Sorry"

Nothing in life is perfect.  (OK, OK; mrmollo comes pretty darn close, but....)  One can especially imagine that a newspaper couldn't possibly come close to perfect.  A wide variety of factors would lead to errors occurring - and everyone can understand this.  But - when they do, correct 'em!

The Washington Post seems to be having a tad of difficulty with this lately.

Second Chances

I am a strong believer in people taking responsibilty for their actions, and for having to deal with the consequences of their deeds.  Nevertheless, I also subscribe to the notion of redemption, and of aiding those who wish to better themselves.

Thus, this article in the Star Tribune was a welcome story for this time of the year - or really, any time.

"Empowerment teaches you how to have enough confidence in yourself to make the right decisions, to trust your own thinking," Peoples said. "No success is possible without some degree of sacrifice.

"The payoff is that you earn success. I take the salary I earn here and invest it in myself and those who depend on me. I now have choices and the power to make good decisions. Empowerment doesn't make the world go away; I still have problems. But I'm not threatened by things. I evaluate and make choices."

People learning to have confidence in themselves and thus choosing better for their lives.  If this isn't merry and bright - I don't know what is!

White Christmas

Circa 2006.  Enjoy!

Exactly

Jay Tea at Wizbang exactly captures my thoughts about the nanny state.  It may look comfy and safe on the surface.  But, just below, dark questions lurking - including, is this really what any of us should want in a free society?

One of the most fundamental rights, I have always believed, is the right to be wrong. To make mistakes. To be given a chance to choose poorly, and to live with the consequences of that choice.

Because that is one of the best ways we learn. And if we can't learn what are bad choices, what sorts of things make decisions and options wrong, then we will keep making the same wrong choices over and over and over -- and sooner or later, the state won't be able to protect us from ourselves.

And then, we'll all be like so many of today's children who are protected all their lives from failing, from losing, from learning how to deal with defeat when they finally run into something that Mommy and Daddy can't fix for them.

Something else you might contemplate.  Not too long ago, "the experts" were telling us that, in the interests of good health, dump your butter and slather on the margarine.  Hmmmm.... would that margarine now be what we refer to as the deadly trans fats??!!  I believe so.

Fortunately for moi, I ignored their wisdom.  As I kept my fat consumption low, I figured I wanted to go with the stuff that really tasted good, instead of the fake stuff that was hardly worth the calories in any case.  Turns out, not only was I treating my taste buds, I was treating my body better with butter, too!

At least, so the theory is today :)............

One Born Every Minute

Haven't finished your holiday shopping yet?  Consider this!

Ugh.  I cannot even imagine!  Wonder if they run your Loved One's breath through a Listerine wash before they "capture" it??!

Hat tip to Marv & Maynard's dad for this gem.....

Truth

Is there such a thing as truth?  Should denying the truth be a crime?  Should the state have an official version? 

Professor Fried expounds.

There is such a thing as truth; that is why Holocaust deniers are fools or liars. But that is exactly why there can be no such thing as official truth -- truth endorsed, policed, and enforced by the power of the state. Truth is above politics, and judges politics, which is why politics has no authority to proclaim it. Official truth is a contradiction in terms. In one respect the Turks seem worse than the Iranians: They make it a crime to tell the truth, while Ahmadinejad claims to doubt what only a fool or scoundrel would deny. Because there is a truth about the Holocaust and Armenian Genocide, this doubt is foolish, but that judgment is not a judgment of politics but of the free mind that judges politics.

CQ, CQ

Everything electronic always fascinated my dad.  In recent decades, Howard has been the guru of his community for VCR's, computers, digital cameras, televisions, answering machines and virtually any other gadget you can imagine. 

Friends will call Dad on the phone, requesting that the good Electronic Doctor come over and install, analyse, repair, replace, etc. their equipement.  Dad even gets requests from complete strangers!  And - good samaritan that he is, he trundles over and helps.  A number of these folks will then submit a donation to their favorite charity in appreciation of Dad's efforts.  Thanks to them - and my dad, too.

Ouch!

Not much has caught my eye in the past few days.  This bit of news, however, picqued my interest.

Geneticists following up the case of a 10-year-old Pakistani boy who could walk on coals without discomfort have discovered a gene that is central to the perception of pain.

A mutation in the gene knocks out all perception of injury, raising hopes of developing novel drugs that would abolish pain by blocking the gene’s function.

Of course, even the ability to completely block the sensation of pain is no 100% cure for dealing with pain in sufferers.  As the article details, pain is a critical key in protecting us from danger and harm.  Remove all ability to feel pain, and we can inadvertently damage our bodies significantly.

Nevertheless, this discovery surely will aid in promoting pain modification.  Definitely an event worth posting!

If This Isn't Love

Then I don't know what is.

Before you read this, be certain to have ample Kleenex available.  Don't miss the video at the end, either.

For Those Who Believe GWB is our Worst President

I offer this as another possibility.

Normally, I present key sections.  But, the entire piece is so amazing, I wish to encourage you to Read The Whole Thing!

A Correspondence

From Craig Westover's blog, I found this enlightening correspondence between Senator John Kerry and Minnesotan Leo Pusateri.

Mr. Pusateri responds to the Senator, once again, explaining about his "botched joke" and his "support for the troops:

You speak of the "real tragedy" of the Iraq war. Yes, in every war, tragedies happen. I have wept at the funerals of brave, young soldiers from my son's outfit who have made the ultimate sacrifice for a cause in which they believed; a cause that they were more than willing to die for.

Make no mistake; those are tragedies. But with respect to being an American, the "real tragedy" of this war is the fact that you, Jack Murtha, and other elected representatives of the People of the United States of America continue to dishonor our soldiers' efforts for reasons of political gain; and in doing so, give aid and comfort to our enemies. You have not once, to my knowledge, gone out of your way to proclaim any good that is being done in Iraq. Not once did I hear you talk about new schools being built. Not once did I hear you talk about new hospitals being built; or of infrastructure being not only replaced, but improved upon. Not even once did I hear you talk about any soldiers who heroically saved an Iraqi family from attack, or saved their platoon from slaughter, although such stories are no doubt legion. Rather, in your arrogance, you choose to portray them as "terrorizing Iraqi women and children in the dead of night."

Mr. Kerry, until this past year, never in my life would I have thought that I would live to see the day when elected officials would, during wartime, so cavalierly, publicly and seditiously go out of their way to speak ill of our soldiers' mission; while in the same vile sentences have the unmitigated gall to proclaim that they "support the troops."

Too Much of A Good Thing?

With my bum back, marathoning is an activity unlikely to ever entice me.  Nevertheless, like most, I have always assumed that marathoning built a strong heart.

Maybe we were all wrong.

Does racing 26.2 miles put a heart at risk?

A new study by Dr. Siegel and colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital and other institutions is at least suggestive. Sixty entrants from the 2004 and 2005 Boston Marathon were tested before and after the race. Each was given an echocardiogram to find abnormalities in heart rhythm and was checked for blood markers of cardiac problems — in particular for troponin, a protein found in cardiac muscle cells. If the heart is traumatized, troponin can show up in the blood. Its presence can determine whether there has been damage from a heart attack.

The runners (41 men, 19 women) had normal cardiac function before the marathon, with no signs of troponin in their blood. Twenty minutes after finishing, 60 percent of the group had elevated troponin levels, and 40 percent had levels high enough to indicate the destruction of heart muscle cells. Most also had noticeable changes in heart rhythms. Those who had run less than 35 miles a week leading up to the race had the highest troponin levels and the most pronounced changes in heart rhythm.

My friend, Professor Keith Burgess-Jackson is an avid runner.  Perhaps Keith ought to adopt some healthier activity ... tournament bridge competition, anyone?

The Flying Imans?

Try the lying imans.

From PowerLine this evening.

Why They Fight

From the start when our nation contemplated war in Iraq, I never felt confident of any specific direction.  While I strongly supported the removal of Saddam and his murderously insane sons, and, like so many others, feared the potential of WMD, I also wondered about risk, reward, and the odds for success.  When we made the decision to go in, I hoped for the best.

At this stage, I leave discussion of what has gone wrong to the pundits.  Few know less than I do of war; thus why should I offer my opinion of what should and should not have been done?

All that being said, I still am amazed at those who cannot celebrate what has gone right in Iraq.  And I am amazed at those who are unconcerned with the rights and the future of the Iraq people.

Army Major General Caldwell well states why we continue to perservere in Iraq.

I see the Iraqi people suffering from overlapping terrorist campaigns by extremist groups combined with the mass criminality that too often accompanies the sudden toppling of a dictatorship. This poses a different military challenge than does a civil war.

As the Iraqi people labor to build a country based on human rights and respect for all citizens, they are moving from the law of the gun to the rule of law. Violence will increase before life gets better. Those who know that freedom and democracy offer more hope than anarchy will not give up.

Criticize the war all you wish.  Bottom line, however, is that some of what being accomplished is fine and right.  Irrespective of missteps, we should be grateful and glad for that.

Blogaphobia

A friend of mine virtually refuses to read blogs.  He's utterly convinced that if it doesn't show up on the pages of the New York Times or the Nation, it really cannot be worth his eyeball time.

Of course, literally millions of blogs aren't worth anyone's time.  Still, some of those blogs are pure gold.  Contrast them to the New York Times?  You'd find the latter on the bottom of Mr. Mollo's abode.

Here is one blog that always manages to tickle my funny bone.  This post in particular is a poetic blend of humor and too much truth. 

(One could argue that I'm biased toward Hog on Ice, as he's a birdie parent, too.  But - I plain old like his blog anyway.)

Zapped

It's now one week since I returned from 11 days of travel and bridge competition in Hawaii.

I feel as if I am yet to recover.

Yesterday, when I returned home in the early afternoon from work, I was zonked to the point of exhaustion.  I literally climbed into bed before three, so beat I couldn't even blog!  (Now that is tired!)  If I didn't know better, I'd think that I'd succumbed to a bout with mono.

Hawaii is four time zones away from frigid Minnesota.  Can that time differential alone really do this to one's body and brain?  Did the fact that I was attempting to play championship bridge when my internal clock told me it was 3:45AM have anything to do with it all?

Curious minds want to know.  More than anything, however, they wish to be returned to their normal more energetic and less fatigued state!