My Sick Mind

I don't know what to make of the world today.  The recent terrorist attacks in Paris are the latest example of a world gone crazy.  The Hopi called it koyaanisqatsi - Life out of Balance.  That is precisely what is going on now. Changing your Facebook profile pic to the France flag colors is nice of you, but pointless.  It's exactly what they want you to do. You can pray, hope, and dedicate your life to ending terrorism in the world, and it won't make a damned bit of difference. Pragmatic? Maybe. Realistic? Yes.  Your prayers mean nothing to them. They don't subscribe to our religion, and the fact that you care so much only reinforces their desire to disrupt your life. Terrorism means that they have disrupted your life to the extent that you now have to arrive at an airport two hours prior to takeoff, can't take certain things on board with you, and your entrance to sporting events means that you are guilty until proven innocent.  That's what terrorism is. ...

I've watched the Republican and Democrat debates, and I've concluded that none of these people are qualified to run our country.  They are qualified to qualify, but as far as having the ideas and personality to lead a nation - it's debatable. They will tell you that their parents or their grandparents came from some sort of poverty or hardship, but the fact is that none of them have come from hardship.  Either they have been given some privilege in life or earned it.  Either way, they have no idea what an average American is going through.  And by average American, I mean a person living on or near the miniumum wage or on a fixed income like Social Security. They don't know how much it costs to shop for groceries, what cable television costs, or what their cell phone provider is charging them every month.  Put them on the spot and ask them those questions.  I'll bet you a week's pay (Mine, not theirs) that they don't know, or will stammer over the answer. I...

I just became a proud shareholder of the Ford Motor Company, so watch that stock tank over the next few months.  They do everything right, and when the company suffered, they didn't go to the government for a handout.  Rather, they solved their own problems. That's admirable. There's another opportunity in Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI).  I just bought a car (a Ford, coincidentally) and it came equipped with satellite radio. I used to think that I'd die before I would pay for radio, but this isn't radio.  It's customized programming over a satellite network. To call it radio is a disservice.  I'm converted, to the point that I am going to extend my free trial period for another year.  The company is growing, and since its merger with XM Radio, it is the lone provider of the product.  The only issue confronting the stock is that Howard Stern's contract expires in three months.  If he renews, expect the stock to gain substantially.  If he doesn'...

Cecil the Lion has been killed.  That's a big deal, as it should be, but as you may know ... killing lions and other "big game" has been a sport (sport) for decades - centuries - so it shouldn't have come as such a surprize to the Twitterverse that a lion was killed by a doctor on safari.  The Internet is acting like big-game hunting is a new thing.  That's sad. What is more sad (sadder) is that big airlines and Senators are jumping on the bandwagon, soliciting public opinion on behalf of an animal with a name. Cecil. It makes him seem more human.  The truth is, abominal humans have been killing lions, rhinos, tigers, and giraffes for a long time. It's about time you woke up. The Pope is coming.  You knew that, right? He's coming, and the city will be shut down for at least two days.  What's odd about that is that a church that pays no taxes will depend on a local government to provide security and transportation at the expense of its citizens - a.k.a....

Today was "Moon Day," or so they called it.  The day, in 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin landed on the moon.  I was there, as they say, if only watching on television. The space program was a big deal to me.  As a child of the 1960s (born in 1957 - my parents called my pacifier "Sputnik") the space program was the stuff of wonder for a child.  I have vague memories of the Gemini missions on TV, and more vivid memories of Apollo.  I would look back on the Mercury program of the early 1960s in the same way I would look back on the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, and the Kennedy assassination(s), and remember with childlike wonder how such things could happen in America.  I saw it, but the child didn't process it. I guess you have to be my age (57) or older to have any sort of perspective on the Apollo moon landing.  I don't think you could have been any younger than that to have any real idea what was going on.  The 1960s were a turbulent ...

Today is Father's Day.  Each year since 1967, it has meant less and less to me - and more and more. Less, because I draw further away from my father, who died on April 3, 1967; and more, because I cling to the memories of the days we had together and they mean more to me with each passing year. I have vague memories of the first time he threw me a baseball.  I remember being on the side of our home - where my mother still resides - and for whatever reason, standing at the plate as a left-handed hitter and having him throw me a baseball.  I think I did it because my favorite player, Johnny Callison, hit left-handed and threw right-handed.  It didn't seem like that big a deal.  He didn't try to change me or encourage me to "hit righty" like the other kids, and that would be the hallmark of our time together.  Be yourself, kid. At some point in the early 1960s he bought a reel-to-reel tape recorder. A Webcor, if I remember.  It was a 4-tra...

Six years ago, I brought Thor home from the Gloucester County Animal Shelter.  It was the result of a month's old search for a replacement for my last cat, an 18-year-old who had eventually succumbed to kidney disease. The process was arduous.  I had no idea what I was looking for - only that I was looking for a cat who was looking for me. That is to say, I'd know it when I saw it. When I saw Thor (the name the shelter had given him) he was a 1-to-2 year-old cat, in a cage with a tag, saying that there was no record of how he came to be in the shelter.  Usually, they know.  Allergies, financial problems, or some other reason why the cats are there.  With Thor, no reason. I picked him out of the group - mostly because of his handsome features - and partly because he kept staring at me, and when the attendants handed him to me, he reached out with his paw and held it to my cheek.  The attendants were dumbfounded. "He's never done that with anyone!"...

While going through some old CDs, I stumbled upon an essay I wrote for college on April 3, 2003.  The title was particularly intriguing, and it might be the best part of the work - although I will allow you to be the judge.  I cannot recall for what or whom it was written or what grade it got. Since I haven't posted anything new here in a while ... here is something. Who is responsible for consumer negligence?   If we can define a negligent consumer as one who is irresponsible, then by definition it is not the company.   We also cannot always hold manufacturers responsible for so-called “foreseeable but unintended harm” caused by their products.   So, that leaves us in a legal no-man’s land of product liability, which seems to be precisely where we belong.           The 2003 version of the Porsche 911 Turbo is advertised as a car to “leave the rush hour behind.”   According to the company, the car ha...