Today is day 10 on my diet and working out. I’m feeling better, getting better at the workouts, and losing weight (down 3kg…about 6.5 lbs). I bought me a tape measure last night at the store so I’m going to start recording my waist, neck, and estimated body fat along with my weight. I’m going to use this online body fat calculator. I don’t know how accurate it is; however, I used one like it before (can’t find the exact one…I really liked it) but I expect it will give me more data points to show improvement.
The NRA met with VP Biden yesterday. According to them, the NRA,
… this meeting had to do with keeping our children safe and how much it had to do with an agenda to attack the Second Amendment,” the group said in a written statement. “While claiming that no policy proposals would be ‘prejudged,’ this Task Force spent most of its time on proposed restrictions on lawful firearms owners — honest, taxpaying, hardworking Americans.
They went on to say that
It is unfortunate that this administration continues to insist on pushing failed solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems. We will not allow law-abiding gun owners to be blamed for the acts of criminals and madmen.
Exactly. The people who commit crimes should be punished. NOT law abiding citizens.
See the guy in the picture of this post? That is Sen. Ted Kennedy. His car killed more people that all of my guns, my dad’s guns, my uncles guns, and grandparents guns combined. Don’t believe me, go read about Chappaquiddick. Combine this with the fact that in NYC–New York City–you are more likley to be killed by a car than a gun. It is clear we need to ban cars (except for licensed taxis of course) from the city.
Of course that is a stupid suggestion. Accidents happen. Where there are more cars and more people jammed into a small space, accidents will happen. People will still use cars as weapons. That is a risk that must be balanced with the needs of the many to get around.
In the same way, guns can’t simply be banned. I don’t think they should be restricted for law abiding sane citizens either. In this case though, the RIGHTS (not needs) of the public trump what small percent of bad is done. If anything, the federal government needs to stop stupid programs like fast and furious, start putting away people who break existing laws, and enforcing existing law (I can’t find the link now; however, I read an article where Biden was talking about one of his recommendations being to start enforcing existing gun laws because he’s been lax). I don’t mind things like the NICS system since no records are kept of what is done: a simple yes or no is given and the transaction happens.
So why do so many people skip getting the vaccine? According to one doctor, people do not actively reject the vaccine. Instead they are merely unsure of whether or not they really need it.
Nope. I actively reject it. I make a conscious choice every year to not get vaccinated against the flu. I also think the chicken pox vaccine is a bad idea.
Well, I’m down to 110kg (sorry…my scales only do kg and stone. I can’t be bothered to work out lbs from stones. Why not ask google to convert for you…. 110kg to lbs and 110kg to stone). Yes, I’m still doing the biggest loser game on my xbox. I’m still getting up at 4am. I’m feeling better and actually look forward to my workouts.
Would you pay £4 for this? Why not just walk it? This reminds me of the lady in Columbia, MO who told us the TCBY was a “far piece” and we should drive. Turns out, it was just across the street. Here’s a link to an article about London’s Shortest Tube Journey.
I had heard there were fires in Australia, but hadn’t read too much about them. This morning, the Telegraph had a collection of pictures from there about the fires. They led with the picture below. A set of grandparents saved their grandkids by fleeing the fire into the (ocean, sea, lake…it isn’t clear) and sheltering under the dock. We should remember to pray for the people of Australia affected by the fires.
Exactly. I propose spending no more next year than the treasury takes in this year. Real, honest cuts in the US Budget. Don’t increase the debt limit. The US won’t default. The country will have to not spend beyond what it takes in. If you disagree with that, then real honest cuts are needed in the federal budget. I say start with the Connie Mack Penny Plan.
This past weekend, Cyndi, the kids, and I went to Lullingstone Roman Villa. We didn’t know anything about it other than it was a place we could use our English Heritage membership for free entry and it was close. I didn’t know what to expect, but we went. You can check out all of the pictures on our flickr set here.
A few observations:
I liked it. I learned a lot about Romans in Britain.
They had hands-on things for the kids to do. A plus.
It wasn’t at all what I expected. I thought it would be something like a ruined castle…instead, it was a single building of just the foundation of the roman villa.
If you are an English Heritage member, I would highly recommend you go. If you aren’t, I don’t know that the price of admission is worth it.
Last time I bought glasses, I bought one of those bendy glasses that won’t break. Well, this morning…they broke. As I was cleaning them, the piece across the nose broke. I had to wake Cyndi up to look for my spare pair (I can’t see squat without my glasses). Here’s a few pictures:
Now, there’s a small problem: my spare glasses have normal lenses while my regular pair has high index lenses that are thinner. I’ve had this problem before, but the light bends differently through the two lenses and causes my eyes to work different. Below is a picture, but I’m going to head to Specsavers today to see if they can switch lenses…I already have a headache, but I can’t do without.
2000 posts! This is my 2000th post. All of them are here on Maxsons.org; however, all of them weren’t originally written here. I’ve used 2 other blog engines since I started.
However, I wanted to write about something serious and not simply have a YAY 2000 posts! post.
I think that in the future, people will look back on the years from 2011(ish) to 2015(ish) and be able to say that is when the US made a turn. A turn to embrace all of the current problems of Europe and then reap all of the benefits–or in this case, experience all the same problems.
Up until now, the US has resisted making many of the same mistakes as Europe. No more. What do I mean? Here are a few examples:
Obama Care: Remember the furor over Sarah Palin’s comment about death panels? Remember how everyone said that wouldn’t happen? Do you guys actually read news from Europe? At least once per week, there are headline articles in UK papers about the NHS not offering this drug or that drug because of money, having a shortage of beds because they can’t hire staff, or flat out going broke. Ummm…..it doesn’t work and if anyone would look at the facts and be honest, they’d see it.
Taxes: The fiscal cliff tax deal will only raise something like $60billion in revenue. Holy Cow…the government wastesspends goes through that in what….2 seconds? Oh, and that increase is only on people who have a large income (as the IRS thinks). People like Warren Buffet who are “asset rich” will continue to pay lower taxes than their secretaries. This tax raise does 2 things: a) it will hurt many people’s bottom line and b) it will slow the economy. The “rich” will still have their assets but other people will be taxed and unable to get ahead.
Number 2 will cause the economy to continue to slow down. Unemployment will remain at Europe levels. it will become the new normal.
As the economy slows down, taxes will rise and government will continue to grow. I pay about a 40% income tax rate in the UK. 40%. In several years, we’ll look back at this prediction and see it be true…if things continue as they are
How would I fix it? First off, implement the Connie Mack penny plan. (Hey, I just noticed that was post 1776). The debt ceiling should not be raised. The US Government takes in 2 Trillion per year…they can make cuts and spend what they take in. Will ti be hard? Sure…but it MUST be done. I loathe it when people ramble on and on about how family finances are not government finances: ok..granted they are different but the principle is still the same. Except in a dire emergency–only car breaks down, invaders come–you can’t spend more than you take in. MAKE IT HAPPEN.
Anyway, I think the US economy will continue to shrink. In 30-40 years, we’ll be in the economic mess that Europe is in now. Normal people won’t be able to get ahead. The government will be telling people how good they are because they’ve saved them £2/month. Many people will be living off the government dole. Most people will be “ok” but won’t be able to get ahead. That is the American dream: if you work hard, you’ll be able to get ahead. That is now dead. I don’t see any way to really get ahead if the US continues on this path.
This post….#2000…I hope it doesn’t happen this way; however, I fear it will.
Oh, before I quit, I want to say that this post isn’t just because I don’t like Obama or the Democrats or the liberals. I didn’t like “W” either…many of the things he did stripped away valuable intrinsic rights we have (the Patriot Act…hello!). This is a post based on my 5 years experience living in Europe and seeing where the US is headed.
