On hiatus for LibertyCon

 

My wife and I, along with friend of long standing Alma Boykin, are headed out this morning to attend LibertyCon in Chattanooga, TN.  We'll get there Thursday evening, and be back home on Monday evening next week, God and the traffic permitting.

Blogging will be sparse during our absence.  I'll try to put up an article or two during free moments, but conventions typically don't include many of those!  Therefore, please amuse yourselves with the bloggers in my sidebar.

I'll see y'all on the other side.  Prayers for traveling mercy will, as always, be greatly appreciated.

Peter

Tab clearing

 

Over the past few days I've come across several very useful and informative articles.  I haven't got time to make each one into a detailed blog post, so I'll link to them here.  I'm sure some of them will interest you.

1.  What is the British military actually for?

This is about the British military, not the USA's, but nevertheless there are many common factors in the problems confronting each of them.  I daresay we on this side of the Atlantic should pay equal attention to the reasons for the existence of our armed forces, and whether (and how well) they are structured to implement those reasons.

2.  What happens if the State decides you're too expensive to keep alive?

A very thought-provoking academic study of Canada's Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID) program, and the pro's and con's of expanding it to provide involuntary euthanasia - in other words, a doctor or medical panel will decide whether your life is worth saving.  If you're a net expense to the government or medical insurance, here comes the lethal injection.  The abstract opens with this chilling statement:

"This study explores the potential economic savings from expanding medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in Canada, where it is currently a leading cause of death, to include vulnerable groups that cost the government more than they contribute in taxes. These groups include individuals with severe mental health issues, the homeless, drug users, retired elderly, and indigenous communities. Both voluntary and non-voluntary scenarios were analyzed, projecting total savings of up to CAD $1.273 trillion by 2047."

So, if the Canadian government thinks you're worth less to them alive than what it would cost them to treat your medical issue(s) . . . enjoy the euthanasia polka!

3.  The Declaration of Dependence

We are amid a significant shift in the cultural messaging around parenthood, and we can’t throw shame or money at the problem if we hope to solve it. A growing number of people in younger generations have decided that having children simply isn’t worth it. Why? ... The biggest shift ... is the acceptance of the idea that having children is merely one among many viable choices available if one is to live a flourishing adult life; indeed, it might lead to greater personal growth if one doesn’t have children at all. In very short order, the social pressure that used to insist that people who did not have children were selfish has shifted to its opposite—the idea that having children is selfish, given the world’s unsolvable problems and the need to pursue one’s own goals. From here, it is a short leap to viewing children as a burden, a cost to personal autonomy that is not worth paying. 

4.  The Loophole That Put Drunk Truckers Back On The Road

"A federal database built to flag and remove drunk and drugged truckers from U.S. highways used the equivalent of an "honor system" as its last line of defense between a family in a minivan and a substance addict steering an 80,000-pound mass of steel ... But what if a current alcoholic or drug addict could immediately get back behind the wheel by paying a third party to simply check off a box inside the database, rather than complete and pass follow-up drug or alcohol testing?"  Looks like thousands of truckers have been doing precisely that - posing a grave danger to other American drivers.

5.  Stop Nick Shirley!

Instrumental in exposing sufficient fraud so it could no longer be ignored by local or state officials is independent journalist Nick Shirley, who exposed the infamous “Quality Learing Center” day care fraud in Minneapolis, as well as many less well-known fraudulent day cares. So effective was Shirley, and so quickly did his work anger local fraudsters and state officials, Shirley received so many death threats he apparently decided to give California a try ... In Minnesota and California, honest public employees tried for years to expose fraud, but their superiors and the state Attorney General’s Office ignored them. But with Shirley’s discovery of incredible levels of fraud, the California Legislature was prodded into action: they’re criminalizing exposing fraud ... why would legislators, people sworn to protect the public, presumably at least in part by catching criminals defrauding taxpayers of billions, want to protect those criminals? It’s a puzzler, unless, perhaps, those NGOs and nonprofits are primary funding sources of the Democrat Party and Democrat politicians?

6.  Things don’t happen to me.  They happen for me

Rita is a personal friend of long standing, and shares a Substack with Lawdog, whom most of us know.  I was touched by her recent essay, and thought it worth sharing.

I want to share something that has been much on my mind of late, but I want to preface this with the caveat that there’s a sea of pretty ideas out there that appeal instantly but that don’t stand up to intensive scrutiny ... The story I share with you below is about making a choice to perceive things from a more objective standpoint, rather than seeing every curveball as the ultimate disruptor that could have occurred, and making life a misery ... I’ve always tried to embrace the joy of living, but I’ve not always understood how to go about it. I think now I understand that this joy is not having the right things or the stylish possessions that the world dictates are the measure of a life well-lived. I think one can have a joyous life in the most humble of circumstances, if one chooses.

There you go, friends.  I hope you found at least one or two of those articles worth your time.

Peter

Late blogging today

 

I have to make an early start with some bits and pieces today, so I won't be able to put up an early blog post as I usually do.  I'll try to get to one later in the morning, but if I can't, please excuse the absence and amuse yourself with the bloggers in my sidebar.

Thanks!

Peter

On the road again

 

My wife and I are headed to Amarillo, where Alma Boykin has invited me to scare terrify enlighten her class about what Africa is really like, versus what their "woke" textbook portrays.  Needless to say, the latter bears little or no relationship to reality!

I'll be offline until Monday morning.  Amuse yourselves with the bloggers in my sidebar.

Peter

Another fiddly Friday (medically speaking)

 

I have an early appointment with a pain management specialist today, so I haven't been able to put up my usual longer blog post.  If I have time later, I may do so.

In the meantime, here are two cartoons from the past week or so that caught my eye and made me laugh.  Click either image to be taken to the cartoon's Web page for a larger view.

Wish me luck!

Peter

Busy, busy, busy...

 

Early appointments, deliveries to make, trips to take . . . I haven't had time to write my usual morning blog post.  Sorry about that, but sometimes life gets in the way!

If I can find time later today, I'll post something;  otherwise, I'll post on Sunday morning as usual.

Peter

Still up to my ears in administrivia

 

Yesterday's rough and tumble will continue today, with all sorts of loose ends to be tied up and put out of the way.  Nothing earth-shattering (at least, I hope not!) but enough to keep me from blogging as per usual.

Regular blogging will recommence with next Sunday's musical miscellany.  Please amuse yourself with the bloggers in the sidebar until then.  They write good, too!

Peter

Life is getting in the way of blogging

 

I'm being bombarded with various bits and pieces of life, the universe and everything.  I'm arguing with doctors, trying to sort out a tax question, cleaning up and throwing out a bunch of "stuff" in the garage, doing normal domestic chores, and trying to research a particular issue for inclusion in the book I'm currently working on (the second volume of a US Civil War naval trilogy).

Basically, I have to take a day off blogging to catch up with myself and some of these issues.  I'll try to make time to put up a proper blog post tomorrow.

Have fun, y'all!

Peter

I'm taking Black Friday off

 

My wife has the crud, and I'm fighting it off.  I'm going to have a quiet Friday, and leave this blog and everything else to the vagaries of chance.  See y'all on Sunday morning.

Peter

Readers from different belief systems

 

As regular readers will know, I'm a retired pastor and committed Christian.  (Some would say I should be committed, but what to, they don't specify.)  I know we have various denominations and sects of Christianity, Islam and Judaism among our readers, as well as Hindus, Jains, Shintoists, atheists and agnostics.  That's fine with me.  I strive to get along with everyone.  I don't have the right to preach at them, just as they don't have the right to preach at me.  Provided we all offer each other respect, I see no reason why we can't get along in mutual respect.

Problems arise when some incident or report causes someone's religious convictions to ratchet upward, and they begin trying to convert others.  I'm sure they feel that what they're doing is what God would want them to do, but it's also something that will annoy others of different faiths, and might lead to serious outbreaks of division, dissent and annoyance.  Two commenters today apparently took my previous post on economic issues as a clarion call to "get right with Jesus" in preparation for whatever's coming.  As a Christian, I certainly don't disagree with them.  However, I'm quite sure many other readers don't share their opinion, and will not respond well to an impassioned appeal to "turn or burn".  I've therefore not published either comment, so as to avoid that kind of conflict.

Friends, when you post on this blog, please remember to treat others with the respect you expect to receive here.  If you don't want your faith disparaged, please don't disparage others' faith.  If you have your own predictions about what the future may hold, please don't try to force them down others' throats.  If times get tougher, don't spread gloom-and-doom about "if you don't get right with God, you're going to burn too!"

As for the "rapture" or "second coming" or "end times", none of us know when they're likely to occur.  Why not wait to find out, rather than contradict the Bible - and Jesus himself - through uninformed speculation?

Sorry if this has wasted your time, but it's been frustrating having to deal with this.  Let's do better.

Peter

Going under the knife

 

By the time you read this, my wife and myself should be on our way to the DFW metroplex, where tomorrow morning a surgeon will be helping me lose weight by extracting a defective, rather dead kidney.  It used to be the case that one would stay in hospital for several days following that surgery, but thanks to medical insurance regulations and their reluctance to countenance or authorize "unnecessary" expenses (!), the current expectation is to kick me out that same day.  Thanks to your generosity, dear readers, if it should look like a better idea for me to stay an extra day or two, I'll be able to afford it - and that's an inexpressible relief, let me tell you!

I'll be grateful for your prayers, for the journey there, the preop workup and tests, the surgery, and the aftermath.  Blogging will obviously not be happening for a day or two.  I expect to be back online by Monday morning, God willing.

Thanks again.

Peter

Late start today

 

Working on a couple of issues, so no time to blog today.  Check back tomorrow.  Thanks!

Peter

On the road again

 

My wife and I are on the way to LibertyCon in Chattanooga.  It's our "home" convention, bringing together authors, publishers and fans for a fun weekend every year.  After that, we'll be spending a few days in Georgia, researching a new book.

Blogging will be light and intermittent for the next week and a half.  Sadly, that includes my regular meme posts, as I won't have time to browse the Web to find new material.  As and when I can, I'll put up a post or two.  Regular blogging will recommence on July 1st.

Meanwhile, please check in now and again to find anything I've been able to post;  and spend a bit of time with the bloggers listed in my sidebar.  They write good, too!

Prayers for a safe journey and a peaceful return will, as always, be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, friends.

Peter

No blogging today

 

I have to devote my attention (such as it is) to a number of issues that have been neglected for too long, so I'm afraid I won't have time to blog.  Back to normal tomorrow (hopefully).

Peter

Sunday morning music will be delayed

 

Sorry - after a long and very stormy evening (rain, wind, hail, thunderstorms and not-too-distant tornadoes), I got to bed late, and overslept.  I'll try to put up a music post later today.

Peter

Busy for the next few days

 

Today sees the start of our annual invitation-only Foolzcon, named initially because it was held as close as possible to April Fools Day.  Old NFO began it several years ago, and it's grown into a long weekend filled with friends, food and frolics.  We generally have a lot of fun together.

We'll have two houseguests over Foolzcon, plus our own participation in the festivities, so blogging will be light until Monday.  I'll try to put up a post here and there, but they may appear at unusual times for me.  It all depends on what we're doing, and where and with whom we're doing it.  If you get bored, amuse yourselves with the blogs listed in the sidebar.

Peter

A reminder: foul language and rudeness are not tolerated here

 

In recent weeks, I've noticed an upsurge in comments that are vituperative, ill-tempered, downright profane attacks on other commenters, as well as very nasty things being said about certain politicians and political parties.

Folks, those comments are not going to be published here.  End of story.

I've said many times that I try to keep this blog family-friendly.  That means at least a basic level of politeness is required from those who wish to interact with other readers here.  It's not difficult, and I don't think it's unreasonable.  Simply "do unto others as you would have them do unto you".  If you don't want to be referred to or talked about in foul, intemperate terms, please don't do it to others - and if you do want to be referred to or talked about in that way, I suggest you seek immediate psychiatric or psychological help rather than waste your time commenting here.

If that offends you, I'm sorry, but that's the way it is.  If you disagree, you're free to start your own blog and say whatever you please.

Peter

Useful information and insights for "preppers" and avoiding a disaster

 

We've written a lot about that subject here over the years (see the sidebar for some article links), but we never stop learning - particularly from the experiences of others.  After the Los Angeles fires, there's a lot more of that out there.

Eaton Rapids Joe has just published three articles on his blog that you may find useful:

New "Preppers"

New Preppers: The Time-Distance-Options relationship

New Preppers: Stay or Go?

In the third of those articles, he also linked to a classic article originally published in 1989:

Backpack Fever

It examines the pro's and con's (there are many of the latter!) of "bugging out" with a backpack to avoid a dangerous situation.  There are times when one may have no choice in the matter (the Los Angeles fires being a prime example), but in general it's best to stay put and ride out a disaster in one's home (assuming one has applied basic forethought to one's preparations).

Recommended reading, all of them.

Peter

Post-surgery, Niagara Falls is in full spate

 

Well, I can say for sure that the surgery on Wednesday accomplished quite a lot.

Prior to the procedure, the urologist had indicated that there were still blockages preventing my kidney from draining.  The constant pressure of fluid inside the organ had produced what's called hydronephrosis:  the kidney had swelled and contorted, putting a lot of stress on it, and preventing that half of the urinary tract from working properly.  She drove a camera up the ureter, the tube transporting urine from the kidney to the bladder, and found that kidney stone fragments were actually embedded in its walls.  She thinks they'd been broken up by earlier procedures, but had not been properly removed or flushed out, so as they ground their way down the ureter they'd become caught up in scar tissue (also the fruit of those earlier procedures) and attached themselves, becoming ureteral stones.  Due to their number and position, they had continued to partly block the ureter and prevent kidney drainage, thus perpetuating the problem.  (I'll be having words with the local urologist who performed those earlier procedures, and didn't do a very good job, to put it mildly!)

She took a laser to them, and up into the kidney as well, "dusting" every stone and blockage she could find.  She also installed an extra-large ureteric stent, to allow any remaining fragments to drain down the ureter into the bladder without attaching themselves to anything.  For the first twelve hours or so after I woke up, it did indeed feel like sand or fine gravel was coming out along with the urine, but by midday yesterday that had (thankfully!) almost completely passed.

I'm here to tell you, things are sure draining now!  I wrote earlier about the absorbent underwear I use after such procedures (because with a ureteric stent, one has no control over urine flow - when it comes, it comes, and you normally don't have time to get to a bathroom).  They have a maximum absorption capacity of about a quart.  Well, in the first 24 hours after the procedure, I went through six of them!  Even if not all were filled to capacity, that's still a lot of liquid, and it's had a dramatic effect on my pain levels.  I hadn't realized just how much stress a contorted, swollen kidney puts on any and every physical movement involving the abdomen.  I'd say it added at least 25% to my permanent pain level, caused by my spinal injury and nerve damage all those years ago.  With the sudden decrease in pressure, I'm finding it much easier and less painful to lift my legs, maneuver my body into a car seat, and that sort of thing.  I'm also regaining my appetite.  I took my wife out for a steak last night, to celebrate the improvement.  She says she hasn't seen me eat so much at one sitting for at least six months.

So, I've still got a ways to go, but this latest procedure has already greatly improved my situation.  I'll be going in again in about four weeks' time to have the stent removed, and also to undergo more tests to determine whether the drainage has done the job, or whether further intervention will be needed.  Needless to say, I'm hoping it won't;  but if it is, I think I'll be in very good hands to get it done.

Blogging will be irregular today, because I'm kinda worn out, and will catch up on sleep as and when I can.  However, so far, so good.  Thank you all very much for your prayers and good wishes.  I greatly value them.

Peter

In hospital for a couple of days

 

I'm heading down to the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex this morning, for yet another surgical procedure on my kidney.  This one's to examine the state of the organ after three previous procedures in a local hospital, about which I wrote extensively earlier this year.  According to the DFW specialist - whom I'm told is one of the top urologists in the country - they appear not only to have failed to cure the problem (hydronephrosis), but may actually have damaged the organ and/or the tube(s) leading from it to the bladder.  Apparently there is scar tissue buildup that is cause for concern.  Today's procedure is to assess the state of my kidney, and decide whether a more invasive procedure will be able to save it, or whether a complete removal will be necessary.

Needless to say, I'm not thrilled about all that . . . or about the prospect of another month or two with an internal stent, which is (to say the least) highly uncomfortable.  When you add it on top of my 24/7/365 pain from my disabling spinal injury, it makes me an unhappy camper.  In spades.  The fact that this will be my 26th procedure under full anesthetic makes it even worse.  One can't help wondering if, one of these days, one isn't going to wake up.  This gets old, quickly.

I won't be in blogging mode for at least two days, Wednesday and Thursday.  All being well, I'll be able to post something on Friday 11/15:  but if I'm admitted to hospital for a longer period, that may not work well, either.  If that happens, I'll ask my wife to put up a progress report, either here or on her blog.  Also, I won't be around to moderate comments, so if you leave one, don't expect it to appear until I'm able to get back to my computer.

I'll be very grateful for prayers for healing and Divine mercy, if you share my faith in such things.  If you don't, think kindly thoughts at me and the surgical team.

Peter