Busy week

A friend was telling me that his New Year's resolution is to mainly ignore world events, politics, sociological changes etc, because he doesn't agree with most of what is happening and I tend to agree. This country's politicians suck and in many other countries the same situation exists. They are only in there to get what they can get and to hell with the man in the street.

There are many wonderful people on this planet but they are not the one's in control of things. It is the CEOs of Halliburton, Enron, Bechtel, and others who have their fingers in the pie and they aren't about to let go unless forced to do so. This country has been hailed by its super patriots as a country of laws and not men. Ha! Of course, what they mean, is that we do not have to yield to force to accomplish things. We have laws in place to take care of difference of opinion. Well, those laws, my friends, are meaning less and less with each passing year. For example, California passes some strict privacy and anti-spam laws only to have the federal government usurp those laws with weaker ones which take precedence. Some right wing extremists have suggested in anger, that California should not be a part of the country. Well, I agree with them in that notion. We should secede as much of this country is out of line with basic human values and needs. Perhaps Massachusetts, Vermont, New York and a handful of other states in the northest should secede also. The only alternative would be forcibly remove George Bush and his henchman from office and that is against the law.

I am a registered Democrat who can and has voted Republican but even now the Democrats are in big trouble as they self-destruct by attacking each other (especially Howard Dean) instead of stating their positions on the issues. Sometimes I think that if NASA wanted to start a manned colony on Mars, I might like to volunteer to be one of the first to populate it. That is how discouraging life get here at times but not all the time of course.

I just retired this month after working for the same firm for 21 years and 3 months. Despite some of the frustrations of the workplace, it was the people who made it pleasant (most times anyway) and made it possible for me to continue working there for that period of time. I am appreciative of that and have many memories to take with me.

Now I start of whole new chapter in my life and have more of a chance to learn more about myself and the world. To begin that new chapter I will be heading to Thailand for a few weeks. It will be my second visit there. The first time (last year) I became ill just before leaving SF and had to go to the hospital for treatment and some medications. That cleared up the problem but whatever bug I had picked up at home left me in a difficult position for several days in that I had a severe cough and could not talk too well due to hoarseness. There was also a ear pressure problem. Hopefully this time I can avoid any such difficulties and so far so good.

I'll be back on or about the 28th of January.