New video half-done

I've recorded the audio and found half the graphics for my latest video, another in my Philosophy & Religion series. Hope to have it done within the week.

4 levels of pain

I think there are four levels of pain.

From least to greatest they are: annoying, distracting, clarifying and incapacitating.

Annoying pains we ignore, the distracting we treat. A sinus headache is annoying -- a tension headache is distracting. A migraine is incapacitating.

It's the clarifying that most people don't notice. Something that really, really hurts intensely, but you can brave through it (sometimes), those are clarifying moments. Maybe that's why people get tattoos?

Anyway, I've noticed lately that when I have a pain that's sometimes annoying, sometimes distracting -- I actually get more done because it helps me ignore the pain without treating it. Of course, it has to be physical labor -- I can't do this when I'm distracted.

Am I crazy or what?

In finally know why Jesus cursed the fig tree!

We have a couple of acres of land, and we first moved here five years ago, I thought I saw rhubarb growing. Cool. I can harvest it and maybe make a pie or something.

Well, it's not rhubarb. It's a very annoying plant called Burdock that LOOKS like rhubarb. It's not edible, and it creates hundreds of little burrs that get all over everything, especially dog fur. And it spreads like a weed, too.

So, if I thought I could get rid of it by cursing I certainly would. It deserved to be cursed because it's a counterfeit.

So I think that fig tree must've been the same thing -- a counterfeit. I should have had figs and didn't. Keep that in mind next time you are tempted to act like something you aren't.

There's debate - and then there's insanity!

I've been pretty much silent on this whole "universal health care" thing. As expected, I'm on the fence (or didn't you notice the name of this blog?), trying to weigh the good with the bad. And then I saw the ugly.

Currently in the Detroit market a universal-health-care-right-now-we-don't-care-what-it-costs advocacy group is running an ad of a middle-aged black woman in a medical clinic white cloak rapping about how we have to have this RIGHT NOW! Does she know how ridiculous she looks?

But I think what really got me to write about this is the line "it's our RIGHT - take it out of our TAXES!"

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT??????????

Okay, it's not like I get mad often, but c'mon! What kind of insanity is this?

First of all, if you are one of the "working poor" who doesn't qualify for medicaid, and can't get insurance through your work, and can't afford to buy it yourself, YOU DON'T PAY TAXES!! You have little withheld to start with, and you get it all back in April. You might be in the 10% bracket -- maybe.

Secondly, since when is health care a right? I suppose you think you have a right to a new Escalade as well? And "government" should pay the insurance? Who, exactly, do you think government is? Guess what -- it's you. That's right -- this is a government "of the people", so if you get something from the government, it will cost you something. You didn't think that cheese was really free, did you?

And last, why do you think the government will run health care better, or cheaper, than anyone else? You think HMOs will try to cut coverage -- just wait until you can't get an MRI this year because everyone has to be vaccinated for Hepatitis G. [I'm sure the cancer can wait another year before detection.]

If I sound cynical, well, too bad. I wasn't going to take sides on this one, you know, so I wouldn't have to get down off the fence. But dangit, this is ridiculous. Part of me will always be socialist, but this time I just can't see it.

So good work, stupid commercial-for-a-website-for-a-cause. You managed to push me all the way to the other side!

What the heck was that?

So, I stay up late to watch Conan's first night, and I gotta say -- Conan is funny but Will Ferrell is tired. Does he have any original ideas any more? I won't be going to see Land of the Lost.

And Pearl Jam was majorly disappointing. Okay, maybe I shouldn't have expected Jeremy, but whatever that was, it was not the Pearl Jam I remember. Couldn't he get Adam Lambert or something?

Anyway, now I'm overtired so it's time to stop talking.

Later.