Welcome
- May 17, 2018
- World Hypertension Day 2018
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I have high blood pressure, aka "hypertension".
The meaning of the term refers to the pressure exerted by the blood on the walls of those vessels which contain it.
It is well controlled by a couple of pills I take each day and the consequences of not taking them are those elevated readings I used to regularly have due to poor compliance.
Among the maladies I would not have if I were to lose a hundred pounds or so hypertension is included ...
I keep thinking I'm going there again, as well. I lost 168 pounds to enlist in the Navy when I was a very young man.
Today is World Hypertension Day. Held under the auspices of The World Hypertension League (WHL) it is a common denominator in some 85 other organizations devoted to hypertension and those who suffer it's ravages.
Knowing those numbers has been pretty easy for me with my background in medical curiosa. It has been interesting to note the downward trend of "normal" in their range as well. I can recall a set of higher readings being "normal" early on only to be called "borderline" nowadays.
Anyway, its another thing to track in my existence lest I suffer the consequences of even more severe cardiovascular disease.
Luckily I have a good crew seeing to my medical needs over at the employee health center provided by the city. It's a wonderful thing that my employer would take such interest in my well being.
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- May 16, 2018
- Vaping Kills a Man in Saint Pete
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A vape pen which exploded killed a 38-year-old man earlier this month at his home. Autopsy confirmed that one Tallmadge D'Elia who was found dead Saturday on the second floor of his St Petersburg home died as the result of the explosion of an e-cig which burned 80% of his body and resulting in a "projectile wound" of his head.
I recall my days as a smoker. They went from the early 1970s intermittently through the mid 1990s and I haven't smoked for a long time now.
I smoked because I thought it made me look older. I also copped quite a buzz from the tobacco early on. In retrospect I would have just as soon left it all alone. I certainly would have been much better off.
In all those days the most serious injury I incurred were those insidious cardiopulmonary sequela of smoking and the occasional burn practicing the "art" as it were.
Smoking was more a ritual with me. The lighting up, holding the cigarette, the flicking of ashes and other meaningless forays into learned behavior and displays meant for others.
Now the incidence of exploding e-cigarette devices has been on the rise and the inhalation of nicotine via a vape pen such as that causing this death essentially equates to a freebase style event whereby massive doses of those active ingredients like nicotine are inhaled into the body. One missing element would be tar, a chief byproduct of combustion which does not happen in the process.
HOWEVER, things being as they are it appears that a secondary vector for danger lies in the functionality of the devices itself.
Regardless, 80% burns on the body as well as a penetrating wound of the cranium are certainly a rough way to go. Consequently, I will not be using any of these vape pens nor the little vials of nicotine solution for resumation of what used to be called "smoking" anytime in the foreseeable future.
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- May 15, 2018
- Peace Officers Memorial Day
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Today is Peace Officers Memorial Day. A constituent of Police Week is an observance in the United States that pays tribute to the local, state, and federal peace officers who have died, or who have been disabled, in the line of duty.
The formal memorial is on May 15, and Police Week is the calendar week in which the memorial falls.
Sponsored by the National Fraternal Order of Police under the auspices of the FOP Memorial Committee it is a time for memories and memorials of those fallen heros of our various jurisdictions.
Greg Alia was a police officer who lost his life in the line of duty on September 30, 2015.
He was struck down by one Jarvis Hall, who was 36 at the time and received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to the crime.
His father, Dr Richard Alia, was partner to one of my physicans, Dr Lawrence Erdman.
I would encounter them along with Mrs Alexis Alia during working hours sometimes in the late seventies through early 1980s while working for Dr Charlie Davis just downstairs from their office.
Everyone in the office were just the nicest people ... always ready with a greeting or a procedure along with Julie who would be there to keep me straight while smiling all the way.
I was saddened to hear of young Mr Greg Alia's passing on the local news and I always try to take a moment to remember him and his family in my prayers when times like Peace Officer's Memorial Day comes around.
Rest in Peace, Officer Alia. I hope your family's memories of you sustains them through the sad times since you were cruelly taken from them while doing your job.
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- May 14, 2018
- Harry Blackstone
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When I was a kid mom would go to the Airforce base a short distance from our house and get us all manner of toys.
There was a 'thrift store' from which she made these purchases and they were an aspect of childhood enrichment I'm sure other kids did not enjoy as much of ... or as often as we did.
In those treasures from across Aviation Avenue in Hanahan, SC were all manner of interesting things which kept us occupied for hours on end.
Usually there was a magician's set ... and I recall having several growing up.
Naturally, in my fertile over powering imagination I fantasized being the stage magician to which everyone would gravitate to enjoy my unbelievable feats of prestidigitation. In reality, I likely was about as skillful as I was at most other things at that age ... slim to none.
Anyway I would make it a point to watch various performing magicians in an attempt to glean what I could — which was typically nothing — from their acts.
One of those was Harry Blackstone.
Harry Bouton Blackstone Jr. was an American stage magician who wrote books and performed on televison during this timeframe. It is said that he pulled upwards of 80,000 rabbits from his hat and various other articles of clothing.
He was a designer of illusions whereas my career as a magician was simply an illusion itself. He is one of those colorful characters who added to that which ultimately became me.
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- May 13, 2018
- Mother's Day 2018
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- May 12, 2018
- The Wasted Blog
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So this blog is pretty much a waste. It mainly contains new stuff and lacks some of my singularly proudest literary moments in my pursuit of the ideal format for me.
First there was the straight html version which lasted upwards of a year. It lacked everything but those tidbits of insightful content I covet more than anything ... and I put it down for lack of a suitable content management system for a while.
Then there was Wordpress. Ah, wordpress running on Apache on a dual processor box in my data room. It was a DSL monstrosity and exquisitely hackable by every little php loving hacker dude who thought they could exploit me ... necessitating countermeasures of my own design. HOWEVER, coding in PHP simply didn't float my boat so I dropped the loser and went with yet another PHP failure.
Serendipity. It looked good, was somewhat less hackable, supported all of my after market enhancements until that fateful day I upgraded to the latest OS only to find that they had risen beyond their level of incompetence and the thing stopped working.
Something about PHP7 blew them out of the water. They probably overcame it over time but missed their window with me. Shame too, I was pretty happy with the look of the thing.
Now I'm using a coldfusion based CMS running on a coldfusion clone I simply love.
I get to write detailed componentry and the little PHP people still try to hack PHP code which doesn't exist.
The countermeasures are exquisite and I can firewall you in an instant if you cross my patio without sufficient respect.
Then there is google who think they can come to my node and do anything they wish with my stuff. Well ... that hasn't gone too well over the years and now I'm inclined to take a break from them periodically THINKING they might get the message. They don't though. When you're a monopoly created by the stupid people of the world you think you can go anywhere and do anything.
Well you can't.
Suffice it to say that I'm not looking for a lot of web indexing anymore. I am averse to the notion of censor by script and I don't require any leftist notions determining what is proper for consumption either.
This node isn't for everyone and I know it.
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- May 11, 2018
- The Decline of Silicon Valley
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Once upon a time I was involved in "bleeding edge" technology. I was doing things few others were doing at the time and it was a bountiful easy life of choosing only those assignments I wanted and life was idyllic and blissful for many years.
Later I became involved in "cutting edge" work because there were a lot more computer people involved and we had reached the point where everyone thought they were an "expert" rather than that "enthusiast" which more accurately described their skills ...
And an idiot CEO of a local flooring company named BONITZ said how "everyone is a computer expert" at a time when that was far from the case. As a matter of fact ... it remains FAR from the case. Electrical engineers in particular think they are computer experts when they have only risen to their level of incompetence.
Nowadays I am not concerning myself with much beyond the current technology. My dreams of greatness having left oh so long ago I do the standard "bread and butter" web tech with aspects of AI thrown in for a little variety and sophistication — but I don't do ANYTHING I would classify as forefront type of work. It's simply not indicated in the world of office automation intranet web technology I typically support anymore.
Solid code is good enough these days.
CNBC had a rather alarming article projecting a time of consolidation and layoffs in Silicon Valley. They claim this "time of reckoning" for startups is at hand and is heralded by one Chris Sacca, a tech investor a couple years back.
It seems that lacking oversight and discretion will be detrimental to the raising of additional capital and the absence of truly compelling offerings will be the downfall of many that are presently squeaking by.
Then there is the frank immorality of things like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter who will circumvent your content if they don't agree with it. These entities should be brought before congress and executed, not interrogated by a bunch of legislators who really couldn't care less.
So I suppose I'm where I should be. Though the tech I provide is pretty much standard operational fare it is a feature of my workplace that people have come to expect ... and they like their office automation in accordance with their specific needs.
This is what I give them.
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- May 10, 2018
- Confederate Memorial Day 2018
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Today is Confederate Memorial Day in South Carolina. It is observed here and in several other Southern states since the end of the Civil War in rememberance of those quarter million plus Confederate soldiers and sailors who died fighting against the Union.
There was pretty much little mention of this anywhere locally but the Sons of Confederate Veterans are marking the day and state governmental employees have the day off — despite those invaders in our midst who don't recognize the sacrifice of those who gave their lives fighting under the stars and bars. These are the people who would deface or remove Confederate Monuments and vandalize Confederate cemeteries in our state.
Be all of this as it may, I lost relatives in that war and I will always remember them and it ... because it is an integral part of who I am.
While the ignorant associate the Confederate Flag with racism due the mistake called slavery and elements of society such as the Ku Klux Klan — and idiot children such as Dylann Roof who will hopefully be put down permanently in due time and should have never been provided with a weapon by his stupid father; I remain firmly rooted in that history which is mine and I remain unashamed of the Confederacy, those warriors we honor this day, or the Stars and Bars.
Anyone who doesn't like this may wish think twice prior to making any untoward statements in my presence for I don't take insults leveled at the Confederacy lightly by the ignorant — or the malevolent individuals out there with an axe to grind.
The Battle Hymn of the Republic
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps;
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps,
His day is marching on.
I have read His fiery gospel writ in rows of burnished steel!
"As ye deal with my condemners, so with you My grace shall deal!
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel, "
Since God is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him; be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me;
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free!
While God is marching on.
Lyrics by Julia Ward Howe, Roy Ringwald, William Steffe
© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Universal Music Publishing Group
Shapiro Bernstein & Co. Inc.
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- May 8, 2018
- Victory in Europe Day 2018
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Though I served in the Navy and "technically" did my duty to my country, the experience has left me lacking satisfaction on several levels.
My main issue with military service in general is battle.
I wanted to be involved in DEFENDING my country and not just being there prepared to do it.
I sometimes feel that had I been involved in armed conflict I could have taken it all much more seriously at the time and not messed around as much as I did during my hitch.
However, this being said, the outcome might have been quite tragic in a real battle scenario and I have been known for indiscretions in those thing for which I sometimes ask.
Today is the anniversary of VE Day.
This day in 1945 marked the unconditional surrender of the Nazi armed forces to the allies of WWII.
Some jurisdictions celebrate the day on the 9th of May 1945 when German forces occupying the Channel Islands formerly surrendered.
Regardless, the day is primarily marked as one of reconciliation and rememberance these days but not really celebrated anymore.
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- May 7, 2018
- James George Frazer
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Back when The Book of the Month Club was something besides the frivolous paperback novel selling nothing is is today I was a member.
I used to buy those books which interested me from what was then an expansive collection of wonderful literature — and so many of them did that it was a difficult matter to keep funding available.
It was at that time that I purchased a copy of Sir James George Frazer's most famous book entitled The Golden Bough which documents and details the similarities among mystical and sacred beliefs which have existed internationally.
He felt that human belief is a 3 stage process:
primitive magic
replaced by religion
replaced by science
The books left me feeling as though I understood how people and cultures evolve from a spiritual standpoint. Over the years I have been able to cultivate a sense of tolerance for the beliefs of other which are incongruent with my own.
However, of late, seeing how utterly immoral, criminal, and without conscience the democrats, so-called "progressives" and 'deep state' operatives are I am again questioning the entirety of spirituality and the conflict of right and wrong as it relates to those in control of our government.
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- May 6, 2018
- International No Diet Day 2018
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So again we have another International No Diet Day.
It is observed on each year on May 6 with a symbol of a light blue ribbon and is a body acceptance monstrosity likely initiated by a bunch of fatties who have been rejected hither thither and yon for that disgust their carcasses raise in others who can't stand to look at them.
Lifestyle changes for the better are also promoted as are the potential dangers associated with improper dieting and varying success rates.
Whenever I think about it I am drawn back to the protests of the 'Barbi doll physiques' railed against by the obese who could never attain those dimensions.
Being quite the obeast myself I am fully aware of what it takes to shape up. It's that elderly factor which has removed what was once an extreme emergency in my mind.
So happy International No Diet Day you big fat blivets and I hope you attain that nirvana of thinness so many of you covet as much as I covet winning the lottery.
Neither have happened for me but I remain hopeful.
Moo !
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- May 5, 2018
- Cinco De Mayo 2018
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- May 5, 2018
- The Global Stupidization of the New World Order
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I was reading in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution a People Magazine feed regarding the inability of children in Great Britain to read analog clocks. These are being replaced by digital versions because the children can't tell the correct time from the analog versions formerly in place.
This inability to extrapolate a time from a dial face is further evidence for the diminished intellectual capacity of those who would assume positions near the top of the New World Order.
We have education systems unable to do anything except indoctrinate children into politcal ideology where learning becomes merely an incidental aspect of little of the drivel being presented otherwise.
The dumbing down of the world is part and parcel to the New World Order and their surreptitious plans for dominating the planet as though they were even capable of doing so. The Rothschilds, the Jesuits, the Belgians, and their lackeys in the United States need to step back and attempt to evaluate their positions.
When you're stupid you don't know you're stupid.
The left simply does not have the wherewithall to realize the folly of the New World Order and it's impact on those foolish nations they have been able to suck into it's fold.
I'm glad I have a low tolerance for stupid and traitors to the sovereignty of The Republic.
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- May 4, 2018
- Help Me Obiwan
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Today is May the 4th ... Star Wars Day and promotes all things Star Wars by George Lucas. The fan base of this franchise is deep and wide with grassroots that permeate the entire world.
So, there is a great number of the populace engaged in all aspects of this genre — even though I'm not really onboard. I saw the first movie in Charleston while in the Navy. I'm afraid that exciting as it was I never took in much of any of the sequels and prequels which populate that universe.
Suffice it to say other things ensnared my attention like trying to make a buck and working on computers and networks.
As for the the rest of you, May the Fourth be with you and I hope you have a happy day !
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