My life would be so... [updated]

My life would be so much easier if 2000 years ago, 11 men had not said He has risen. Because lies are so much easier to believe. listen

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Signs of the Times

Chlamydia is the most frequently reported bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Three of every four reported cases occurred in persons under age 25. Chlamydia is so common in young women that, by age 30, 50% of sexually active women have evidence that they have had chlamydia at some time during their lives.


Nationwide one out of five adolescents and adults have had genital HSV infection.

By the age of 24, one in three sexually active people will have contracted an STI (KFF, 1998).

Percent of population having had first intercourse, by age

Males	Females
25% by age 15	26% by age 15
37% by age 16	40% by age 16

Average age of first intercourse, by gender

Males	Females
16.9	17.4

27% of teenage women using contraceptives choose condoms as their primary method. (AGI, 2002).

18-29 year olds have sex an average of 112 times per year

At the end of 2003, an estimated 1,039,000 to 1,185,000 persons in the United States were living with HIV/AIDS, with 24-27% undiagnosed and unaware of their HIV infection (Glynn & Rhodes, 2005).

Almost 1 million teenage women, 10% of all women aged 15-19 and 19% of those who have had intercourse, become pregnant each year (AGI, 1999).

The one on top is my favorite

I'll take it from here, thanks

I've never been driving down the road and suddenly had the car catch fire/blow up/explode out from under me.

And so far as I remember no truck I've been driving has ever been hit and destroyed by a meteorite. Come to think of it, I've never been a passenger on an airplane and suddenly had the wings or engines fall off either.

So why think about and dwell on such things?

Just because they haven't doesn't mean they're not about to ... which is enough to move me to take preemptive control right away:

1) From now on, any time I start thinking my vehicle (or whatever car I'm riding in) might break down or otherwise not carry me the entire distance of my journey, I'm immediately pulling over, parking and walking the rest of the way. Just to make sure I get there.

2) Any time I'm on an airplane and get bored, which leads me to start thinking "The pilot has no idea what he's doing" or anxious that "I'm behind schedule because the pilot forgot my schedule's important, " then I'm (a) denying the pilot exists; followed by (b) jumping out the emergency exit to take control of and save my own life.

After all, ain't it better to have Fall-back Plan #37 ready in case God forgets what I want?


"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God."
-Luke 12:6 NIV

Zowie Powie

Last week I took this photo of Steve's (a guy on my dock) new bike:


Found out this morning a young lady chatting on her cell phone turned left and did a U-turn in front of Steve.

Steve's new bike got totaled and ended its life at just 130 miles.

Fortunately, Steve survived with only a limp.

DRIVING IS A FULL-TIME JOB WITH LIFE-ALTERING CONSEQUENCES

PLEASE DRIVE WITH BOTH EYES OPEN

Music, Joy & Sacrifice

Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.

-Psalms 27:6

Obedience

May my tongue sing of your word,
for all your commands are righteous.

-Psalm 119:172

Perfect Vanity

Nobody drops by my blog looking for perfect analogies or expecting slick intellectual insights. The Blue Book clumsily still saws each timber by hand ... and turns out 2x4's and fence posts with all their flaws and imperfections intact.

Gotta admit I have a hard time watching reality TV.

Not the shows where human beings make fools of themselves to win money or fame in fake situations that have nothing to do with "Real Life," but the real real-life shows ... like the ones on National Geographic Channel starring The Hungry Lion family or the Starving Hyenas next door.

I won't go into the gruesome details; you can click on either link [above] and see exactly what I'm talking about if you're interested. At least if you watched, you'd know quite vividly what I'm referring to.

It's amazing that

-a Zebra mare will ignore the jaws of hyenas and run beside her colt to protect and save it from being eaten alive without regard to her own safety

-a Cape Buffalo female will willingly separate herself from the safety of the herd to race forward and protect her calf from a half-dozen lions intent on eating it alive

-female Elephants will swarm around and conceal an injured calf between their legs to protect it from being singled-out and devoured by predators

I'm awed by their Courage and frankly, their absolute Fearlessness in literal life-and-death situations usually leaves me in tears. I mean Heck ... I'm awed that none of them ran away explaining that graduation or their careers or their finances or disappointing their parents came ahead of fighting to save the lives of their offspring.

Go ahead & roll your eyes ... "Hey Papa Stupid, we're different. We're not animals, are we?"

Nope, because animals don't trust what they see on TV or put their faith in lies.

Only human beings could be so vain to create a "pro-choice" culture and then argue that destroying one's own offspring is rational and a "right."

All right, young lady ...

Don't have sex.

"But I'd rather you take these than get pregnant and ruin your future. Just don't say anything to your father ... I told him it's because you get such bad cramps."


Right right right.

Do numbers really matter?

"A groundbreaking ABC News "Primetime Live" survey finds a range of eye-popping sexual activities, fantasies and attitudes in this country, confirming some conventional wisdom, exploding some myths -- and venturing where few scientific surveys have gone before."
-http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/PollVault/Story?id=156921&page=1

Total Number of Sex Partners
	Average	Median
All	13	5
Men	20	8
Women	6	3

Total Number of Sex Partners
	All	Men	Women
One	19%	12	25
2-4	25	16	33
5-10	28	26	29
11-20	12	18	6
21+	12	20	4

First-time sex was too young:
Men	37%
Women	50

-Sexually active young people report a median of two partners in the last year, compared with a median of one for other adults.
-Concern about AIDS and other STDs peaks, at 59 percent, among anyone who's had two or more sex partners in the last year

-Four in 10 [young people] say sex without an emotional relationship is OK

Did this really happen?

I was surprised this Clemson Homecoming Weekend to see how many folks at the marina have Gamecock decals on their cars during the week, but have Clemson season tickets, wear orange on game day Saturday and are raising their kids to be Tiger fans.

They simply explained that which team they cheered for during the week was a private matter, that they didn't want to offend their friends and co-workers (who are Carolina fans), and besides ... who they cheered for in private was nobody else's business because all teams are ultimately the same.

Yeah right, like that would ever happen.

I mean, not on Saturday anyway.

Today's "I'm Too Trashed from Church to Make The Game"* Playlist
The Noise We Make

* Nobody ever says that, do they? Because worship is postpone-able, but kickoff time ...

Add to the top of Today's Must-Have List

The definitive golf-ball display case.

Soirce.com

Yesterday, I realized...

Yesterday, I realized it's my bad, my bad, my ooh so bad, Celit(?) Masa(?) has no chance of winning the World Drivers Championship. I'm easily confused. Sorry. Oops.
Click here to listen

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RTSS/AS02

"Scientists have been on the lookout for a malaria vaccine since the 1970s but no vaccine has demonstrated a protection rate of more than 35% [emphasis added]. Meanwhile, malaria continues to ravage nations and rob children of their lives. Annually, malaria affects half a billion people across the world, killing 2-3 million people. A child is killed every 30 seconds around the world." - Vaccine kindles hope

STATISTICS ON MALARIA

• Malaria is one of the planet's deadliest diseases and one of the leading causes of sickness and death in the developing world. According to the World Health Organization there are 300 to 500 million clinical cases of malaria each year resulting in 1.5 to 2.7 million deaths.
• Children aged one to four are the most vulnerable to infection and death. Malaria is responsible for as many as half the deaths of African children under the age of five. The disease kills more than one million children - 2,800 per day - each year in Africa alone. In regions of intense transmission, 40% of toddlers may die of acute malaria.
• About 40% of the world's population - about two billion people - are at risk in about 90 countries and territories. 80 to 90% of malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa where 90% of the infected people live.
• Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the highest malaria infection rate. Here alone, the disease kills at least one million people each year. According to some estimates, 275 million out of a total of 530 million people have malaria parasites in their blood, although they may not develop symptoms.
• Of the four human malaria strains, Plasmodium falciparum is the most common and deadly form. It is responsible for about 95% of malaria deaths worldwide and has a mortality rate of 1-3%.
• In the early 1960s, only 10% the world's population was at risk of contracting malaria. This rose to 40% as mosquitoes developed resistance to pesticides and malaria parasites developed resistance to treatment drugs. Malaria is now spreading to areas previously free of the disease.
• Malaria kills 8,000 Brazilians yearly - more than AIDS and cholera combined.
• There were 483 reported cases of malaria in Canada in 1993, according to Health Canada and approximately 431 in 1994. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States received reports of 910 cases of malaria in 1992 and seven of those cases were acquired there. In 1970, reported malaria cases in the U.S. were 4,247 with more than 4,000 of the total being U.S. military personnel.
• According to material from Third World Network Features, in Africa alone, direct and indirect costs of malaria amounted to US $800 million in 1987 and are expected to reach US $1.8 billion annually by 1995.

-source here

Farewell, old friends

I've had these for 12 years and hate to throw them out.

Fear, not Choice

Back in college, Don and I had a friend named Tim. Tim was from Illinois, was raised Catholic, and played on the offensive line. You may have already guessed, because he played college football, that Tim was quite strong.

One time I saw Tim pick up a 150-pound barbell (not a dumbbell or curling bar) and do a standing military press ... with one hand ... so your guess woulda been correct.

Tim had even stronger morals and values than that: another friend's girlfriend once made a "suggestive overture" to Tim. He responded by first addressing her appropriately (rather than by name), then let her know she had a CHOICE to make: either she told her boyfriend what she'd done, or he would.

She had a big choice to make ... and neither outcome looked pretty or desirable.

The reason Tim didn't take the girl up on her offer wasn't because Tim was afraid of her boyfriend (or of anybody else). Tim also faced a choice , but his decision not to have sex with the girl was based on strength ... not on opportunity or convenience.

Also worth mentioning that Tim didn't have sex with his friend's girlfriend and then lie about what he'd done, or sneak around behind his friend's back and then claim that he hadn't. Tim didn't have a quickie on the floor beside the couch and then apologize "I'm sorry, but I was drunk" to her boyfriend. Or shrug "It was just that one time."

Tim could do one-handed presses with 150 pounds, for pete's sake. Tim wasn't easily impressed ... not by what either men could do or by women thought about him ... which meant he wasn't afraid to tell the truth, always, and then act according to strength.

Tim was too strong to be weak.

And lying, like making excuses, is a playground for weaklings.

Who knew?

Just found out this morning the 1985 Carver Riviera was available in a hardtop model.

Wow.

Call Me ... just don't answer

(a) I just won't necessarily answer, or (b) listen to your message. But (c) don't answer when my number pops up on your phone.


See, I have on-going & unresolved Communication Issues:
A. My phone turns itself off for no reason without telling me
B. I forgot my password to retrieve voice mails
C. Carrying my phone in my front pocket means it speed-dials folks whose names start with "N," "L" and "J" of its own accord

Better to call early, and often ...



Wednesday's "The Volume Knob is my Glazed Donut" Playlist:

Communication Breakdown - Led Zepplin

Fall Classes - for men

(Tom sent me this; I'm merely passing it along ...)

REGISTRATION MUST BE COMPLETED BY Monday, October 23, 2007
NOTE: DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND DIFFICULTY LEVEL
OF THEIR CONTENTS, CLASS SIZES WILL BE LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS MAXIMUM.

Classes begin Monday, October 30, 2007

Class 1
How To Fill Ice Cube Trays --- Step by Step, with Slide Presentation.
Meets 4 weeks, Monday and Wednesday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM.

Class 2
The Toilet Paper Roll --- Does It Change Itself?
Round Table Discussion.
Meets 2 weeks, Saturday 12:00 for 2 hours.

Class 3
Is It Possible To Urinate Using The Technique Of Lifting The Seat and
Avoiding The Floor, Walls and Nearby Bathtub? --- Group Practice.
Meets 4 weeks, Saturday 10:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 4
Fundamental Differences Between The Laundry Hamper and The Floor ---
Pictures and Explanatory Graphics.
Meets Saturday at 2:00 PM for 3 weeks.

Class 5
After Dinner Dishes --- Can They Levitate and Fly Into The Kitchen Sink?
Examples on Video.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM

Class 6
Loss Of Identity --- Losing The Remote To Your Significant Other.
Help Line Support and Support Groups.
Meets 4 Weeks, Friday and Sunday 7:00 PM .

Class 7
Learning How To Find Things --- Starting With Looking In The Right Places
And Not Turning The House Upside Down While Screaming.
Open Forum .
Monday at 8:00 PM, 2 hours.

Class 8
Health Watch --- Bringing Her Flowers Is Not Harmful To Your Health.
Graphics and Audio Tapes.
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday a t 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 9
Real Men Ask For Directions When Lost --- Real Life Testimonials.
Tuesday at 6:00 PM Location to be determined.

Class 10
Is It Genetically Impossible To Sit Quietly While She Parallel Parks?
Driving Simulations.
4 weeks , Saturday noon , 2 hours.

Class 11
Learning to Live --- Basic Differences Between Mother and Wife.
Online Classes and role-playing .
Tuesday at 7:00 PM, location to be determined.

Class 12
How to be the Ideal Shopping Companion
Relaxation Exercises, Meditation and Breathing Techniques.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours ! Beginning at 7:00 PM .

Class 13
How to Fight Cerebral Atrophy --- Remembering Anniversaries and
Other Important Dates and Calling When You're Going To Be Late.
Cerebral Shock Therapy Sessions and Full Lobotomies Offered.
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 14
The Stove/Oven --- What It Is and How It Is Used.
Live Demonstration.
Tuesday at 6:00 PM, location to be determined.

Upon completion of any of the above courses, diplomas will be issued to the survivors.

this is weird

Noticed that if I eat breakfast while on-line, I have zero association with the actual eating experience.

Meaning there's an empty plate on the table, I'm not hungry and I owe somebody three bucks.