It would appear that the majority of "page views" are not from people at all but from "Phishing" computers dragging their nets for keywords or key subgroups. The most frequent visitor seems to be a site that I cannot myself access, except for a tag in the corner that says, "Buy Viagra."
Before it goes generic , I s'pose. Sigh...another unintended consequence of "grow old with me, the best is yet to come" mass marketing ploys. But it is only a matter of time before Master McCorporate Worldly-Wize will be trolling not just a few demographics but your actual medical records.
"Privacy" was the watchword. "Piracy" is the reality.
We as physicians are now required to be totally transparent--as we already are to Big Gov and MAC-Donalds--to the patient, who can actually suffer harm in many cases from perusing candid medical records. This has happened twice to me already, totally transgressing the old standard of "primum non nocere." In the future, medical records will contain only the most generic,template-driven material--rather like present day "letters of recommendation" which are in most cases totally useless-- Why?
"Things your lawyer won't tell you." (because they don't want to know or take personal or corporate responsibility for all the damage people have allowed them to do by surrendering all their rights to professionals.)
I need to post this now as my new computer is eating up and auto-deleting my words worse than any previous machine. So much for problem--solving Hal and his rebel progeny.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
misery-en-scene
I have tried twice to post something this weak and failed, or been denied, yea, these 3 times. So. No; I don't just send any old thing. I foresee that I will be more discerning in the future, hopefully without the complete loss of playfulness and spontaneity.
2Cor4 is something I am studying for the last two days. My conclusion is that everything is proceeding normally. It is normal for people to want to make a religion out of everything that they personally or publicly can. Idols are merely representative of an overweening and controlling soul; It is normal for us to put ourselves at the center of these religions, that "me and mine" may have absolute hegemony over the entire universe, if only in principle. It is normal that these ambitions will be almost 100% frustrated. Hence the world is a very dissatisfied, angry, and warlike place. Pacifists, too, insist on being right, and will use the Fist to bring it about. In our own minds we are mostly, most of the time, "coercive utopians." (As H.G. Wells demonstrated in most of his stories but never applied it to himself. "This....is...typical..." (Basil Fawlty.")
Some have noticed, on a note of woe, that Christians in many if not most countries, are the "New Jews," a term used by a Jewish journalist who is or was an atypical contributor to the New York Times. Paul notes the normality of that lowly state when he says that those who actually follow Christ are "jars of clay." You probably recall the Dalit cups of clay from a previous blog. They are made to be thrown away after one use. But only to protect real people from contamination from those considered also to be human untouchable throw-aways. (people fail to realize that this practice is a logical extension of the core of Hindu philosophy)
Whatever we may take away from that observation, I can safely say that the persecution worldwide of Christians has stripped the overall rise in population. A conservative estimate is that over 60% of religious persecution world wide is against Christians, mostly in places like Egypt--or New York City; where mocking any faith other than Christian is politically and morally forbidden. Rare is the insight that comes from such a unified team of super-aggressive secularists. They in fact prefer Islam; if only because Islam also, and officially, despises Christians--a confederacy of dunces, truly...who don't mind self-contradiction and theism if it's militant enough.
So things have taken up again where the 1st Century left off. In many areas, most of the believers
are being considered what Paul said-"the offscourings of the world." In many ways we should thank the rest of my family of origin who have, in their rabidity of their anti-Trinitarianism--which I find odd indeed--for contributing mightily if rather ignorantly, to this present stated of affairs. In other words, their attitudes have, by the support of many thought- leaders just like themselves, ushered in a new-old-age condition of normalcy for most believers.
Let us hear the hear-t of the matter from Paul himself: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from ourselves. We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed; we always carry around in our bodies that death of Jesus, so that the Life of Jesus may also be revealed in our bodies."
Recall that in Paul's age, Jews were already greatly despised by nearly all other countries, barely withstanding many attempts to wipe them out, even up unto our own age. Christians then like Paul had no home in the world at all--no country, no tradition, and only a partial heritage from folks like Isaiah. They were then a despised minority within a despised minority--a larger minority who also thoroughly repudiated the lesser and newer one. This is in fact a normal Christian condition--and hope. Such that we would lean entirely on Christ; and less and less on culture, society, politics and its nasty bed-mate, religion. Christ is not a religion,(I say again--Rejoice!!!) He is the opposite of religion and politics, which look only to man and his "goodness" for power and solace. I cannot say that enough; but unless you know Christ you simply cannot see this most basic of God's wisdoms--which by very definition of God would have to be the far opposite of most of what worldly/religious systems and forms must dictate. Rather like two parents, one of whom wants to control the child forever--bad cop-- and one who nurtures us only to push us on to genuine liberty.
As the song goes, "You can have the whold world, just give me Jesus." Amen.
2Cor4 is something I am studying for the last two days. My conclusion is that everything is proceeding normally. It is normal for people to want to make a religion out of everything that they personally or publicly can. Idols are merely representative of an overweening and controlling soul; It is normal for us to put ourselves at the center of these religions, that "me and mine" may have absolute hegemony over the entire universe, if only in principle. It is normal that these ambitions will be almost 100% frustrated. Hence the world is a very dissatisfied, angry, and warlike place. Pacifists, too, insist on being right, and will use the Fist to bring it about. In our own minds we are mostly, most of the time, "coercive utopians." (As H.G. Wells demonstrated in most of his stories but never applied it to himself. "This....is...typical..." (Basil Fawlty.")
Some have noticed, on a note of woe, that Christians in many if not most countries, are the "New Jews," a term used by a Jewish journalist who is or was an atypical contributor to the New York Times. Paul notes the normality of that lowly state when he says that those who actually follow Christ are "jars of clay." You probably recall the Dalit cups of clay from a previous blog. They are made to be thrown away after one use. But only to protect real people from contamination from those considered also to be human untouchable throw-aways. (people fail to realize that this practice is a logical extension of the core of Hindu philosophy)
Whatever we may take away from that observation, I can safely say that the persecution worldwide of Christians has stripped the overall rise in population. A conservative estimate is that over 60% of religious persecution world wide is against Christians, mostly in places like Egypt--or New York City; where mocking any faith other than Christian is politically and morally forbidden. Rare is the insight that comes from such a unified team of super-aggressive secularists. They in fact prefer Islam; if only because Islam also, and officially, despises Christians--a confederacy of dunces, truly...who don't mind self-contradiction and theism if it's militant enough.
So things have taken up again where the 1st Century left off. In many areas, most of the believers
are being considered what Paul said-"the offscourings of the world." In many ways we should thank the rest of my family of origin who have, in their rabidity of their anti-Trinitarianism--which I find odd indeed--for contributing mightily if rather ignorantly, to this present stated of affairs. In other words, their attitudes have, by the support of many thought- leaders just like themselves, ushered in a new-old-age condition of normalcy for most believers.
Let us hear the hear-t of the matter from Paul himself: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from ourselves. We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed; we always carry around in our bodies that death of Jesus, so that the Life of Jesus may also be revealed in our bodies."
Recall that in Paul's age, Jews were already greatly despised by nearly all other countries, barely withstanding many attempts to wipe them out, even up unto our own age. Christians then like Paul had no home in the world at all--no country, no tradition, and only a partial heritage from folks like Isaiah. They were then a despised minority within a despised minority--a larger minority who also thoroughly repudiated the lesser and newer one. This is in fact a normal Christian condition--and hope. Such that we would lean entirely on Christ; and less and less on culture, society, politics and its nasty bed-mate, religion. Christ is not a religion,(I say again--Rejoice!!!) He is the opposite of religion and politics, which look only to man and his "goodness" for power and solace. I cannot say that enough; but unless you know Christ you simply cannot see this most basic of God's wisdoms--which by very definition of God would have to be the far opposite of most of what worldly/religious systems and forms must dictate. Rather like two parents, one of whom wants to control the child forever--bad cop-- and one who nurtures us only to push us on to genuine liberty.
As the song goes, "You can have the whold world, just give me Jesus." Amen.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Post Mosaic Post
"This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the Gospel might remain with you."
For those of you who might think that I was being paranoid in my last post, this demonstrates not just how likely this is to happen, but the fact that it is going to happen anytime you have the freedom of the Gospel manifesting in your life--which obviously, I dearly hope it is doing.
On the other hand, I,like most of your, have a hard time figuring out why anyone would want to mine my data. But, be assured, it has already happened.
Who, then would be interested? Why, lawyers! They have lots of time--judging by their desperately numerous ads in the phone book and elsewhere--to do investigatory work--and besides that, they are smart enough to know that juries and even judges of the present day must go way beyond the facts, in order to win, and make the opponent out to be evil on an emotional level. There is neither justice nor truth at work, or increasingly less. The way to get to jurors is to entertain them by creating a courtroom drama and to make oneself into a super hero to boot.
But who were the lawyers of Jesus' day? Religious folk, esp. Professional Religious Figures. The idea of pleasing God by pleasing the lawyers and the keepers of the good list--the Santa Clause theory of God and man--is pervasive throughout mankind, largely but not solely because child training is usually Skinnerian, that is, "a system of punishment and reward," which very soon becomes our default mode for every problem we face--fear of man from fear of punishment by man, esp. when as in our present day, the fear of God is utterly meaningless to the vast majority, even of Christians and Jews.
So it is very handy for the law to point out the "inconsistencies" of those driven by the love and vast winds of the Spirit of God.
It also polishes our pride of self-accomplishment--see, I don't need God or Christ, I built this! I am a blessing to me and whoever "gets it," by which is meant the system of man judging not only God but those under Grace. As Screwtape inferred, it must be something else-he can't really love the little vermin, but our Research Department is still working on it.
To get the whole story of Paul's history with the Pharisees and the lawyers, most of the book of Galatians is devoted to this very issue, and it is a quick read. But the point is that we, each one of us, get imprisoned not by God but by the spirit of "every man his own lawyer, judge and jury" but only as it regards others, not one's self. The rise of international lynch mobs certainly is an extreme example of this, but historically it is also the rule, not the exception. The numbers to the slaughter is greater according to the rise in the population, hence it is increasingly common in the third world. 70% of people live in countries where Christianity is the enemy and either outlawed or pursued by moral vigilantes with impunity. With numbers like these, unless I rest in Christ Alone, paranoia is easy to come by, even if I consider myself as a very low profile person. I do not recommend paranoia, of course- it's not faith, that's sure--but rather as Paul said in 2 Cor 3:12, "Therefore we are very bold, since we have such a hope." In Christ that is, not in the law, whether of God or man.
For those of you who might think that I was being paranoid in my last post, this demonstrates not just how likely this is to happen, but the fact that it is going to happen anytime you have the freedom of the Gospel manifesting in your life--which obviously, I dearly hope it is doing.
On the other hand, I,like most of your, have a hard time figuring out why anyone would want to mine my data. But, be assured, it has already happened.
Who, then would be interested? Why, lawyers! They have lots of time--judging by their desperately numerous ads in the phone book and elsewhere--to do investigatory work--and besides that, they are smart enough to know that juries and even judges of the present day must go way beyond the facts, in order to win, and make the opponent out to be evil on an emotional level. There is neither justice nor truth at work, or increasingly less. The way to get to jurors is to entertain them by creating a courtroom drama and to make oneself into a super hero to boot.
But who were the lawyers of Jesus' day? Religious folk, esp. Professional Religious Figures. The idea of pleasing God by pleasing the lawyers and the keepers of the good list--the Santa Clause theory of God and man--is pervasive throughout mankind, largely but not solely because child training is usually Skinnerian, that is, "a system of punishment and reward," which very soon becomes our default mode for every problem we face--fear of man from fear of punishment by man, esp. when as in our present day, the fear of God is utterly meaningless to the vast majority, even of Christians and Jews.
So it is very handy for the law to point out the "inconsistencies" of those driven by the love and vast winds of the Spirit of God.
It also polishes our pride of self-accomplishment--see, I don't need God or Christ, I built this! I am a blessing to me and whoever "gets it," by which is meant the system of man judging not only God but those under Grace. As Screwtape inferred, it must be something else-he can't really love the little vermin, but our Research Department is still working on it.
To get the whole story of Paul's history with the Pharisees and the lawyers, most of the book of Galatians is devoted to this very issue, and it is a quick read. But the point is that we, each one of us, get imprisoned not by God but by the spirit of "every man his own lawyer, judge and jury" but only as it regards others, not one's self. The rise of international lynch mobs certainly is an extreme example of this, but historically it is also the rule, not the exception. The numbers to the slaughter is greater according to the rise in the population, hence it is increasingly common in the third world. 70% of people live in countries where Christianity is the enemy and either outlawed or pursued by moral vigilantes with impunity. With numbers like these, unless I rest in Christ Alone, paranoia is easy to come by, even if I consider myself as a very low profile person. I do not recommend paranoia, of course- it's not faith, that's sure--but rather as Paul said in 2 Cor 3:12, "Therefore we are very bold, since we have such a hope." In Christ that is, not in the law, whether of God or man.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
STATEMENT FOR THE WICKED DATA MINERS
I was just reading --in TNY, where else? sigh-- that Upton Sinclair was Up-ended in his attempt to become the (Not Dot) Gov of California; by a new kid on the block called, "Campaigns Inc." which put in the newspapers, virtually daily, a quote from one of his many books. Many of them were out of context, such as the one which said, "I no longer believe in the sanctity of marriage." (this was out of the mouth of a depressed cuckolded and just-divorced character.)
This was a new model of campaigning, to dig up things the ordinary reporter has no time to do, even if so inclined. It was also sharply partisan and personal, and set the stage for many today to be hired to dig up dirt on the other side--but if paid sufficiently well, most of them will switch sides in a New Yorker Second.
I have already noted, somewhere, that most of my blogs would disqualify me for being elected for Animal Control Pooper Scooper Division. But it is rather piquant, is it not, that such a public or private investigator would only be semi-literate, and mostly dishonest in the first place? I don't even pretend that my friends really get what I'm trying to say, and my enemies less so, such that they would have to cobble something together out of random statements. And believe me, some of my statements can be pretty random! (But,O,Hey, that's evolution, right?)
Therefore, since Jesus said we should love our enemies; "I mean you, Bub, that's right IM talking to you!!!" I feel obligated to do what Christ said I should. (And you can read this out in, court, please do!)
"What I say to you, I say to all: watch! For the Son of Man will come in an hour which you know not."
In other words, Jesus loves you--but if you love Him not, and therefore obey Him not--well, ye shall have Him not. We get only what he have deepest in our hearts. And if your heart is full of wickedness and distorting the truth, the Truth, Way, and Life of which ye also know not one whit, you may well end up spending eternity with the people who hired you. Think about that for a minute.
This was a new model of campaigning, to dig up things the ordinary reporter has no time to do, even if so inclined. It was also sharply partisan and personal, and set the stage for many today to be hired to dig up dirt on the other side--but if paid sufficiently well, most of them will switch sides in a New Yorker Second.
I have already noted, somewhere, that most of my blogs would disqualify me for being elected for Animal Control Pooper Scooper Division. But it is rather piquant, is it not, that such a public or private investigator would only be semi-literate, and mostly dishonest in the first place? I don't even pretend that my friends really get what I'm trying to say, and my enemies less so, such that they would have to cobble something together out of random statements. And believe me, some of my statements can be pretty random! (But,O,Hey, that's evolution, right?)
Therefore, since Jesus said we should love our enemies; "I mean you, Bub, that's right IM talking to you!!!" I feel obligated to do what Christ said I should. (And you can read this out in, court, please do!)
"What I say to you, I say to all: watch! For the Son of Man will come in an hour which you know not."
In other words, Jesus loves you--but if you love Him not, and therefore obey Him not--well, ye shall have Him not. We get only what he have deepest in our hearts. And if your heart is full of wickedness and distorting the truth, the Truth, Way, and Life of which ye also know not one whit, you may well end up spending eternity with the people who hired you. Think about that for a minute.
deep calls unto deep
where would I be
without your great, great mercy
where would I be
without your deep, deep love
where would I be
without your light to guide me
O my Lord
O my Lord
My Lord and my God
what would I do
without your great, great mercy
where would I go
without your deep deep love
where would I live
outside of your forgiveness
without the risen Son?
Where would I be?
--Glenn Kaiser, from the album, "Spontaneous Combustion," sung in the key of blues
without your great, great mercy
where would I be
without your deep, deep love
where would I be
without your light to guide me
O my Lord
O my Lord
My Lord and my God
what would I do
without your great, great mercy
where would I go
without your deep deep love
where would I live
outside of your forgiveness
without the risen Son?
Where would I be?
--Glenn Kaiser, from the album, "Spontaneous Combustion," sung in the key of blues
Sunday, September 16, 2012
New News--sort of...
In my last blog I hinted at why I was a little overwhelmed by circumstances, including some extraordinary demands that have continued from Aug. 31 on for the last 2 weeks, only in remission by dint of a weekend with no call at all.
The other factor may be that I have been waiting to have time to get into this new laptop, which puts me on par with my son Daniel, who has just gotten a work computer in addition to his Apple. I ended getting the exact same HP model as he just got, which was on sale.I figured if I had any problems with it, I would have two sons--John, who recommended this unit, and Dan, who is using it--who can help me with it. I got it a week ago but Dan just helped me with startup yesterday. In the process I managed to recover my blogspot user name and passwart. So all future blogging will be from my HP. My work computer is desperate for space, and doesn't need my >1,000 pix and vids on it!
(It still amazes me that I don't have to worry about film and developing costs.)
On another front, re: lo technico, I am not sure if I will put Dragonspeak on this laptop. I thought I would use it a lot for blogging, but it turns out that (a) I need the typing practice and discipline and (b)the process of writing seems to be different than merely dictating. Truly great writers like Milton could do just as well dictating as by using plume and ink. My writing skills and organizational abilities are already borderline enough, it wouldn't do to mix the two--unless I become blind. I think overall that Milton would have preferred to write more by sight and less by faith! (His faithful but very put-upon daughters who probably had a lot more discretionary time prior to Milton's acquired blindness) On the up side, if I were blind, I could sleep in!
With this I will close. But here's a question to ponder: should I keep my gift of the New Yorker subscription from my folks, or cancel it on principle and my visceral response to the magazine's ramped-up hostility to childbearing, motherhood, and even nursing? I am pondering--also my pent-up need to make a statement, which Flo says I should not curry--what to do. Maybe I could just cut out the cartoons I like and recycle the rest...what does the dear reader think? How much is it worth knowing what the other side is saying, when, after 30 years of being embedded in it, I find it so utterly predictable? It's not really much of an intellectual challenge anymore; nothing new under the sun, eh?
Or, since TNY will stop at nothing to advance their agenda...I could do nothing...and they would have to stop at it!!!
The other factor may be that I have been waiting to have time to get into this new laptop, which puts me on par with my son Daniel, who has just gotten a work computer in addition to his Apple. I ended getting the exact same HP model as he just got, which was on sale.I figured if I had any problems with it, I would have two sons--John, who recommended this unit, and Dan, who is using it--who can help me with it. I got it a week ago but Dan just helped me with startup yesterday. In the process I managed to recover my blogspot user name and passwart. So all future blogging will be from my HP. My work computer is desperate for space, and doesn't need my >1,000 pix and vids on it!
(It still amazes me that I don't have to worry about film and developing costs.)
On another front, re: lo technico, I am not sure if I will put Dragonspeak on this laptop. I thought I would use it a lot for blogging, but it turns out that (a) I need the typing practice and discipline and (b)the process of writing seems to be different than merely dictating. Truly great writers like Milton could do just as well dictating as by using plume and ink. My writing skills and organizational abilities are already borderline enough, it wouldn't do to mix the two--unless I become blind. I think overall that Milton would have preferred to write more by sight and less by faith! (His faithful but very put-upon daughters who probably had a lot more discretionary time prior to Milton's acquired blindness) On the up side, if I were blind, I could sleep in!
With this I will close. But here's a question to ponder: should I keep my gift of the New Yorker subscription from my folks, or cancel it on principle and my visceral response to the magazine's ramped-up hostility to childbearing, motherhood, and even nursing? I am pondering--also my pent-up need to make a statement, which Flo says I should not curry--what to do. Maybe I could just cut out the cartoons I like and recycle the rest...what does the dear reader think? How much is it worth knowing what the other side is saying, when, after 30 years of being embedded in it, I find it so utterly predictable? It's not really much of an intellectual challenge anymore; nothing new under the sun, eh?
Or, since TNY will stop at nothing to advance their agenda...I could do nothing...and they would have to stop at it!!!
Monday, September 10, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)