Cars In My Shoes

Swine Flu? Really?

2009-12-05T06:56:00.000-08:00

GET VACCINATED NOW OR AND YOU WILL DIE!!!

We, as a family, have been extremely relunctant to get vaccinated lately. Aside from most vaccines being made from aborted babies, the glass bubble society syndrome, and increasing strain resistance, there are some interesting facts about the new H1N1, or Swine Flu, vaccine that trouble me and only reinforce my distrust of our government and big business.

First of all, as you all know, the U.S. began a recession in December 2007. What does this have to do with anything? Money and lots of it... going away. Well, as we have seen with the government stimulus, bailing out companies who are "...too big to fail", and essentially taking ownership of private companies (socialism anyone?) the loss of vast sums of money from personal pocket books is not acceptable to our government or CEOs. As we saw, bailout and stimulus money was used to finance multi-million dollar parties and super bonuses for the mob bosses of companies on the verge of going under (AIG). After the American public got wise, another tactic had to be tried.

Direct bailout was no longer an option. The largely apathetic populace got a kick in the fifth point of contact and the government could not rely on stupidity of the masses any longer... or could it? The best tactic in history to get large groups of people to do what you want is fear. The most powerful rulers in history used fear to keep people in line. Would it work again? You bet.

So, how do you make afeared millions of people, who are not quite as dumb as you think, to get the benjamins into your pocket? What field of study is still mysterious and only for the select elite? Medicine, both doctors and pharmaceuticals. What will people do almost anything to do? Not die. Aha! Now we have the ingredients and the recipe to get all the money we want.

The swine flu, that just sounds bad doesn't it? H1N1 virus, that sounds worse. How about the flu? Well, that is not so bad. Everyone gets the flu now and then. Research shows that one, ONE virus undergoes one mutation per infectious cycle. How many viruses in an infection and how many people? You can do the math. It seems to be that if we assign a name to a specific mutation it makes it more diabolical, enhancing the fear and driving the population into the medical livestock chutes, braying like sheep, and ready to cough up any amount of money. Certainly different strains may affect different groups of people but they are not necessarily more deadly than any other strain of the flu. In fact, the "swine flu" is not even new. It appeared in 1976 and more people were killed by the vaccine than the flu. But, no one knows that and probably wouldn't care if they did.

I believe that the swine flu is a gigantic scare tactic by our government, and others, to keep the dough rolling; this is why. As I said, the swine flu may target certain groups but is not necessarily worse or more deadly than any other. Second, the ENORMOUS push for this vaccine is suspect, especially when you know what is in it and the things done to make it. The most disturbing thing is an ingredient of this vaccine called Squalene. "What is that?" you ask? Read on.

Squalene is a natural occuring oil that is used in vaccines to "supercharge" them, or make them work better. It has also been linked to Gulf War syndrome, although the jury is still out on that. The point is, this vaccine is being mass produced with suspect ingredients. That is similar to puting lead in things because it has not been definitavely proven it causes harm. Will you take the chance? Most interesting is the fact that Squalene is illegal to use in the U.S. Whoa! It is illegal and they can use it anyway? Well sure, its not what you know, but who you know. The U.S. government has major 'contracts' with big pharmeceutical companies to manufacture this vaccine and stop the pandemic. Pandemic!? Enter the scare tactic again. Anyway, the use of Squalene has been authorized by the government and... are you ready? The two companies are immune to any legal action if their vaccine kills or injures people! Are you serious U.S. government? That is like Cheerios being authorized to use crack and not be liable when all the kiddies are raging crackheads!

This is not new. Read about the anthrax vaccine, the downwinders, polio, etc. I refuse to get this vaccine or allow my family to get it and I think the more people that get out of their apathetic stupidity will realize we are being manipulated, controlled, and duped.

That is all, carry on.

Phase 1 Complete

2009-08-27T15:59:00.000-07:00

Alright, alright, alright! So I am not the most consistent blogger in the world and I have been slacking. SORRY!

Anywho, I finished primary flight training about a month ago and selected helicopters (helos). I start that training on October 1st and am very excited to get going. As far as finishing, I was #1 in my class and astounded most instructors being able to do that with a ginormous family but it all turned out good for me cause I got my first choice and we get to stay here for a while longer. After training, we will probably end up back in San Dog (Diego) for my first sea tour. Yippee... back out to sea I go. We plan on living what we preach and living in a large travel trailer for at least a year to get out of debt and have some freedom of movement. Impossible you say? The Grahams, a family of 7, are doing it right now and have 0 complaints!

The adventure continues...

The mystery of Legos

2009-08-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent about 5 hours building Legos with my boys. It is amazing how the time just ceases to exist when you are building, dismantling, digging through the bucket, etc. I just have one question. What strange law of nature makes it so that you can dig and dig and dig through a large bucket of legos and see none of the piece you want? Then later, dig and dig and dig for a different piece and see 200 of the piece you couldn't find before?

Weird...

Homemaker Calculus

2009-08-26T06:13:00.000-07:00

I am always amazed at my wife's ability to get a bazillion dollars worth of groceries on the cheap. We go into the store, all the items pass the laser scanner, and usually the cashier looks up and says, "Your total is $4,025,55.98." My wife smarmishly states she has coupons and the cashier's eyes bulge as the 5 ton dump truck (which strangely fits into the check out area) unloads leaflets from every imaginable source. This is where the fun begins.

Most times, the coupons have some sort of hiccup; they either don't scan or there is uncertainty as to whether the store can do what my wife is trying to explain. At this point, the cashier gets a lesson in math that is not taught anywhere on the planet, what I call Homemaker Calculus (that is a registered trademark of mine so don't take it)! Mel starts talking by-one-get-one, dollar off, free, buy ten get $5 off, something about laws of congress and the constitution, the gold souk in Dubai, and the space shuttle. I stopped trying to understand almost at the beginning. I have had 6 semesters of math in college and I still don't get it.

Consequently, the manager is summoned because the cashier's head has exploded. Sometimes the manager just says, "Yep, she can do that," and does some cash register magic for it to work. Other times, the manager calls the corporate office, who calls the governor, who calls the Navy, who has an emergency briefing with the President to try and figure this out. I would not be surprised if the Vatican got involved to try and get some supernatural help.

After all this fun, the new cashier rings up the total and it comes to $2.55. On the bottom of the receipt it shows we saved $4 million and some change. I have told Mel, and lots of our friends, that this almost feels like stealing. Mel makes it seem so easy as she calmly tries to explain it to me. I guess it is a good thing only a few highly trained, covert experts know this system or all grocery stores and manufacturers would soon be out of business. For now, I am content to be one of the ignorant masses.

Cubby

Nectar of the Barley

2009-02-25T06:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been gone for a while. First let me apologize to my HUGE following, all 3 of you. Flight school is taking its toll and I have been in the books in a big way.

Now that that is over with, on to the new happenings in the world of me. As anybody who personally knows me knows, I love beer. I don't mean I like to get tipsy and beer is one way to do it. I mean I love beer; the way it tastes, smells, looks, and all that, a beer connoisseur if you will. In my family, we love to try and make things ourselves. In fact, we recently attempted cheese (you can read about it at Mel's blog). I wanted to try my hand at making my most favorite beverage. After dumping some casholas on the equipment, I finally go to brewin' my first batch of barley juice.

I knew the up front cost would be little high if I was going to do it right. Small time "canned" kits are available for around $100 but I wanted to go all out and do my own grain and everything. I bought two glass carboys, a 7 gallon bucket, 160 glass bottles, 1600 caps, a capper, siphon gear, cleaners, a 7.5 gallon aluminum pot, lots of copper tubing (that didn't turn out so well), and other sundry pieces. Once I got it all together, I purchased my first "mini-mash"kit.

The kit was only partial grain. I wasn't going to go all out on my first go. The process went really well and took about half a Saturday. To justify the cost, I am using the process to school my kids in math, chemistry, history, etc. They are doing a presentation on American beer history and the process of brewing. The beer is an amber ale and should be ready in about 4 days (Yippee!).

My next brewing adventure is going to be all grain and a little more complicated. It will be a Mack n' Jacks clone (for anyone who knows that beer). So far, I love this hobby and think it will be a lifetime passion. I am already looking at 6,000 gallon, stainless steel tanks for my brewery, much to Mel's dismay. She keeps me in check though, reminding me that I should make sure I am good at it and like it before I go all professional and stuff. Thanks hon!

Oh yeah, flying is a lot harder than it seems. A lot of stuff to pay attention to! I had my fourth flight in the T-34C and felt like I got ran over by a bus. But, I did land the plane 7 times, to approach turn stalls, power off stalls, turn patterns, and the home field pattern. Busy, busy, busy. So far, however, I have the highest score in the class. Even though I may not be the Chuck Yeager of the world, at least I can be the Tom Cruise of my class (to my wife's chagrin).

See you up in the sky!

Boys need dads

2008-11-01T05:54:00.000-07:00

While driving home day-before-yesterday I received an interesting text message from my wife. It went something like this, "Matthew decided to shave his mustache... side to side. Lots of blood. Love you more!" The phrase 'lots of blood' piqued my curiosity. Of course I called my wife back ready to be directed to the emergency room where my third son would be having his face reattached. Of course it was a very minor, superficial cut that bled a lot. No big deal.

This got me thinking, however, that Matthew (5) knew I shaved my face every day and wanted to be like me. The problem? I have never shown Matthew how to shave, or any of my boys for that matter. How many other things have I not taught my children that they will one day have to know how to do? Hundreds probably. Boys definitely need dads.

I find it interesting that this stems from our need, as men, for our heavenly father. God is the ultimate Dad and the One we look to to learn how we are supposed to "shave" without cutting ourselves. As far as teaching my boys, I must admit, I have been lax. It is hard, with 5 boys, to teach each one of them what they need to know to be a young man and, eventually, a father. I don't want pity and I am not making excuses. I just need to focus and do better. I, along with all other men, need to take the time, expend the effort, and get off our butts to educate the next generation of men. I am always amazed at how closely my boys watch what I do... all the time. They want to do what I do, say what I say, and act how I act. Every minute I need to be aware that I am teaching them how to be men.

I challenge myself, and all who read this post, buck up. Become aware of the example you set. Take the time to teach your son, or sons, that shaving side to side is stupid.

Vacation is over!

2008-10-18T17:59:00.000-07:00

So I finished IFS (Introductory Flight Screening) last week. This is the first part of flight school the Navy puts you through to see if you have the monkey skills required to fly. Turns out I have a knack for it, like a born natural, like someone else who wears red and blue tights (see previous post).

While in IFS, my life was pretty much a vacation. Flying almost every day and only working 3-4 hours a day, all the while getting paid, seemed almost too good to be true... and it was. So now I start API (Aviation Pre-Indoctrination) on Thursday. It is six weeks long and lots of intense studying and book work, yipee.

While in IFS, I took some short videos on two of my solos and put some music to it. It is very exciting and I hope you enjoy my video editing genius. That's all for now. Tune in next time for some more extra-super cool blog business.

Fulfilling my dream

2008-09-25T06:27:00.000-07:00

Ever since I was a little guy I have wanted to be Superman. Up until I was... hmm... 27 or 28, I was waiting for the day I would discover I could fly, get my X-ray and laser vision, and be mostly invincible.

My loving wife (Mel over at frugal heart) reminded me that over the last few years, I am becoming more and more like Superman. Let me explain. In August of last year, I had surgery on my eyes so I could become a military pilot. The procedure is called PRK and is similar to LASIK but is an acceptable vision correction procedure for the military. After I healed, the eye doctor told me that my vision was at least 20/10... AT LEAST? He said they didn't have smaller numbers to test for better than 20/10. Going from 20/200, that is a huge difference. Sound like super-human? I think so.

Yesterday I flew by myself for the first time. It was pretty exciting having the wind rushing through your hair, wondering if the powers that allow you to fly would suddenly fail, and wondering how blue and red tights could be so comfortable. Just kidding. I did fly by myself albeit in an airplane. I have a few more kinks to work out before I attempt unassisted flight. However, since flying is a prerequisite, I am getting closer.

I eat lots of fiber and vitamins every day in an effort to strengthen my skin enough to stop a bullet. I think I am ready but my wife refuses to test my theory. Shucks. I am also trying to be vulnerable to Kryptonite. I eat about 10 servings a day and, so far, it just makes me regular. No sweats or weakness or near death experience.

So, as you can see, I am closer than ever to achieving my lifelong dream of becoming Superman. I'll let you know when those other, minor issues are taken care of (I will, of course, have to post anonymously so you won't know my true identity).

Terrorist cat

2008-09-11T09:05:00.000-07:00

Some of you might see the title of this post and chuckle inside. Why? Because we have all seen or heard of the wily cat that would strike from nowhere and vanish as quickly. Most of the time this makes me laugh because our cat freaks out and hops all over the place when he does his little sniper attack. Today, however, I realized that our cat is a terrorist bent on the destruction of America. You might be asking yourself how I determined this fact and to put your curiosity at ease, I will explain. The first sign of terrorist ties our feline shows is a black mask. Most terrorists wear a black mask to hide their faces. Our cat was born with a black mask, definitely bred for terrorism. The most obvious way to tell our cat is a terrorist is his apparent disdain for America. This morning, as our children were learning geography, the cat came out of nowhere and started attacking the west coast. This was an obvious planned assault. As the country was regrouping, after the terrorist cat moved off into the Pacific somewhere, I thought to myself, "I can't believe I own a cat who hates the U.S." Just then, the cat strikes again out of thin air. I feel bad for California and Oregon. It must be rough being devoured by a giant, terrorist cat.

Tropical what?... Nothin'

2008-08-23T18:45:00.000-07:00

So I was waiting all day for this super cool tropical storm to blow in. I have never seen 15"+ of rain in under three years so my curiosity and excitement was piqued and I couldn't wait to see the downpour. Well, I would be surprised if we got 1" of rain all day. BUMMER. It is supposed to be here tonight and tomorrow. We will see. I say "Fay, bring it on. Show us yankees what you got."

I am a WINNER!

2008-08-22T17:22:00.000-07:00

Kim and Jason have done it again. They often have cool giveaways to keep us young. Not that I need much help in that area but I like to play anyway. We were asked what our least favorite superhero was. Most of the comments were drab and lacked the creative spin required for greatness. After much thought, I posted a comment that was sure to blow the socks of the blogging world. Sure enough, I won the contest and not only won the book "Its Superman" by Tom De Haven, but will go down in blogging history as the greatest-tell-us-about-your-least-favorite-superhero poster of all time. Thanks Kim and Jason. Peace out.