Fatigue is many things.

Fatigue is…
starting out the day with an energy deficit.
being more tired in the morning than you were the night before.
wanting to cry thinking about a task to be done next week.
not remembering where you put the refrigerator, the car or the kids.
operating at half-speed.
When your limbs feel like concrete
and your brain like cotton candy.
when you cannot go
one more millisecond and have to stop NOW.
when it becomes a major chore
to walk to the mailbox.
knowing no one can really understand
unless they stand in your shoes.
oft times painful.
walking through glue.
Fatigue = Gravity X 2

Fatigue is many things.

Fatigue is a great teacher…
when we must learn to share our burden.
when we must learn to
freely let go
of some of the
control
we prize so dearly.
when we must learn to stop and smell the roses.
when we must learn to love the quiet times.
when we must learn
to let our souls and our bodies lie fallow
waiting for change that will bring new life.
when we can laugh at ourselves.
Fatigue is a great teacher if we can learn it’s lessons.
Fatigue means learning these lessons again and again.
Fatigue is about letting go.

Fatigue is many things.

I haven’t wrote in here in quite some time, so I’d like to share some things MS related I’ve recently read.  First, 2 more patients developed PML (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy) from treatment via Tysabri.  Since the FDA already “black-labeled” this drug for risks of this exact thing, and neither patient has yet died, and the risk-reward of the drug still outweighs the bad. 

I also have read about some promising treatments, such as caffeine and a new pill drug for relapsing-remitting ms called Laquinimod.  Laquinimod is now in phase III trial, which means it could be less than 2 years away from release to public.  I HATE SHOTS, and would love for this drug to take off.  I take a daily pill already for my hiatal hernia, so another pill is not a big deal to me. 

Caffeine you say?  According to an article I read, and tested on mice, the caffeine blocked a compound called adenosine that triggers the events that lead to the mouse form of MS.  Does drinking more coffee help?  Ehh, maybe not, but the equivalent to 6 cups a day blocked this compound and in some cases reversed the effects.  Shit, I drink about 12 so if it does help, I’m all set.

I talk a step outside for a cigarette.  As I glance around at the night as I usually do, I see a june bug fluttering in a bowl of water set outside earlier in the day for the dogs.  I thought to myself, “Man that sucks.”  Then it hit me, a barrage of “what-ifs”.  Was there a reason I stepped outside that very moment and saw that bug loosing his life?  What do those bugs do?  Aren’t they just a parasitic beetle that’s larva are grubs that destroy my lawn in the fall?  I don’t know, but I felt a duty to help it out.  So I did…

“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man,” said Albert Einstein.

Strange. 

As I looked around some more, I see another, pulsating on what looks to be a “helicopter” leaf.  No.  The pulsating came from a moth, with wings spread, one killing the other.  Which?  I don’t know, but I left it alone.

I have no clue on how the world’s eco-system works, and what’s purpose is what.  One day, who knows, nature could turn on us, and we could become the moth/june bug, fighting for existence in a bowl of water.

 

All of this from just needing a smoke.  Go figure.

Sanctuary

Business has been up, but cashflow is down.  I haven’t been able to take much pay and it really hurts when you live check to check.  Robbi tries so hard to be supportive and I love her for it, but I know it’s killing her more than she leads on. 

Talking to Robbi today made me realize something.  I have a sanctuary to get away from money, business, and all stress in general.  World of Warcraft.  It allows me to go into a place where none of that stuff matters.  As fekked as that sounds, it helps.  Sports does this for me too, like bowling and softball, but that’s only a couple hours a week.

“Insert Geek Jokes Now”

If I made as much money as I did gold in WoW, I’d be able to give the nice things she deserves, like spa treatments, flowers, dinners, etc.  Unfortunately WoW is not real, and when I log off, I go back to my life and deal with these realities.  Briefly, though, a couple hours a night, it all goes away. 

Mayor Wild,

This email is in response to the current legislation the current city ordinance, chapter 18 article II, as to regulating vicious/potentially dangerous dogs via Breed Specific Legislation.

You have children, imagine this…

Your 5 year old is outside playing with your loving American Pit Bull Terrier and Boston Terrier. 20 minutes later, the Warden is at your house telling you your dog MUST be chained and muzzled at all times, even in the fenced yard, and tattoo him to label him as a “vicious animal.” When explaining to your daughter why and that the city thinks he is dangerous and mean, she simply responds with a puzzled look, “But he is not.”

Yes this happened to me, which brought light to this unjust, costly, and ineffective ordinance.

All dogs can be dangerous under certain circumstances. When the owner or custodian of the animal does not properly train and/or confine his/her animal, does that animal pose a potential risk to human safety? A common ingredient to the dog personality is to guard and protect its owner and property. ANY dog with that personality can become a problem to the public, if that dog is allowed to run loose and is not properly supervised. The key word here is responsibility. To say certain breeds of dogs are dangerous is not a complete statement. All dogs can be dangerous if in the hands of an irresponsible owner.

Please retract your breed specific bill/ordinance. Don’t punish all of us responsible owners that maintain our dogs as companions and members of our families. We can and do maintain our dogs so they do not pose a threat to anyone, why should we be denied our companions simply because irresponsible owners of the same breed of dog in the past have not “ethically and legally” protected others from injury?

There are several samples of existing non-breed specific legislation (i.e. the states of Il., Pa., and Ca.) that is competent to regulate the irresponsible owners and not punish those that maintain their dogs safely and humanely. I have compiled a list of 25 cities in Michigan who have retracted these BSLs since 2003, including Detroit (chap 6 Article I), and urge you to do the same. I and many others, as responsible dog owners, ask that you seriously consider the impact of breed specific legislation. The irresponsible owners don’t care what breed of dog they lose the right to own…they’ll find another dog breed to fit their needs. I deeply care, because it threatens me with the loss of a family member.

I would love to talk to you, over phone or in person, to discuss this issue and maybe even bring to light some fact you may not have known of on this subject.

Sincerely,
Matthew Paczas

All across the world, American Pit Bull Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, and American Stafferdshire Terriers are being wrongfully accused of being “vicious animals” simply by their breed.
The city of Westland, MI brought down their sanctions on me a couple days ago, telling me because of my dog’s breed, he MUST be tattooed, and chained and muzzled whenever he walks outside of my house, even though it’s gated.

States like PA and CA understand this is wrong and have a statewide ban on BSL local laws (breed specific legislation). Some cities, such as the one I live, think it is more effective to blame a dog’s breed than understand the true problem…irresponsible ownership. Irresponsible owners who neglect these breeds will just find another breed to fit their needs. These laws are costly to cities, taxpayers, and frankly ineffective.
PETA thinks because these breeds were created for fighting, we should let the breed die out. What they DON’T realize is that when this was occurring in the 1800s, if one of these dogs were vicious on a human, it was killed passing it off as a genetic defect, and did that to prevent that “defect” from being passed on.

Organizations such as National Animal Control Association, Association of Pet Dog Trainers, American Kennel Club, and Humane Society of the United States all believe these BSL laws are wrongful and should be dispelled, and instead word the laws non-breed specific and also place blame on owners, not the dogs.
According to the American Temperament Testing Society, they list the temperament of these 3 breeds as follows, with the higher number the better…

APBT – 84.3%
AMSTAFF – 83.4%
STAFFBT – 88.8%

as a comparison…
Golden Retriever – 83.3%
Labrador Retriever – 91.8%
Poodle – 85.3%
ChowChow – 70%
Jack Russel Terrier – 82.1%

As you can see, my APBT is JUST AS SAFE as a golden retriever, which is the “ideal family dog”
This is bullshit, and against families rights as citizens. Help me fight these laws if they exist in your area, and educate people on the REAL facts of pit bull breeds.
http://www. understand-a-bull. com
http://www. stopbsl. com
and a collection of information I have compiled for temperament and cities lifting bans…
http://spreadsheets. google. com/pub?key=pd9KXfp8foxwyHQcCBuMvVQ

In light of this, I’m adding a new blog category, Anti-BSL and will be adding a new information tab on this blog.

 

Received this in my email and had to share.  Wouldn’t it be nice to turn on the TV and see our president (democratic or republican) utter this speech?……

‘My Fellow Americans: As you all know, the defeat of the Iraq regime has been completed.

Since congress does not want to spend any more money on this war, our mission in Iraq is complete.

This morning I gave the order for a complete removal of all American forces from Iraq This action will be complete within 30 days. It is now time to begin the reckoning.

Before me, I have two lists. One list contains the names of countries which have stood by our side during the Iraq conflict. This list is short . The United Kingdom,  Spain, Bulgaria, Australia, and Poland are some of the countries listed there.

The other list contains every one not on the first list. Most of the world’s nations are on that list. My press secretary will be distributing copies of both lists later this evening.

Let me start by saying that effective immediately, foreign aid to those nations on List 2 ceases immediately and indefinitely. The money saved during the first year alone will pretty much pay for the costs of the Iraqi war.  THEN EVERY YEAR THERE AFTER IT’LL GO TO OUR SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM SO IT WONT GO BROKE IN 20 YEARS.

The American people are no longer going to pour money into third world Hell holes and watch those government leaders grow fat on corruption.

Need help with a famine ? Wrestling with an epidemic? Call France.

In the future, together with Congress, I will work to redirect this money toward solving the vexing social problems we still have at home . On that note, a word to terrorist organizations. Screw with us and we will hunt you down and eliminate you and all your friends from the face of the earth.

Thirsting for a gutsy country to terrorize? Try France or maybe China.

I am ordering the immediate severing of diplomatic relations with France, Germany , and Russia. Thanks for all your help, comrades. We are retiring from NATO as well. Bonne chance, mezamies.

I have instructed the Mayor of New York City to begin towing the many UN diplomatic vehicles located in Manhattan with more than two unpaid parking tickets to sites where those vehicles will be stripped, shredded and crushed. I don’t care about whatever treaty pertains to this. You creeps have tens of thousands of unpaid tickets. Pay those tickets tomorrow or watch your precious Benzes, Beamers and limos be turned over to some of the finest chop shops in the world. I love New York

A special note to our neighbors. Canada is on List 2. Since we are likely to be seeing a lot more of each other, you folks might want to try not pissing us off for a change.

Me xico is also on List 2 its president and his entire corrupt government really need an attitude adjustment. I will have a couple extra thousand tanks and infantry divisions sitting around. Guess where I am going to put ’em? Yep, border security.

Oh, by the way, the United States is abrogating the NAFTA treaty – starting now.

We are tired of the one-way highway. Immediately, we’ll be drilling for oil in Alaska- which will take care of this country’s oil needs for decades to come. If you’re an environmentalist who opposes this decision, I refer you to List 2 above: pick a country and move there.

It is time for America to focus on its own welfare and its own citizens. Some will accuse us of isolationism. I answer them by saying, ‘darn tootin.’

Nearly a century of trying to help folks live a decent life around the world has only earned us t he undying enmity of just about everyone on the planet. It is time to eliminate hunger in America It is time to eliminate homelessness in America To the nations on List 1, a final thought. Thank you guys. We owe you and we won’t forget.

To the nations on List 2, a final thought: You might want to learn to speak Arabic.

God bless America Thank you and good night.’

If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier.

I use iTunes at work to streak media from my server, primarily music.  If anyone has iTunes, you may have noticed last week that Apple software update is now trying to force you to install Safari (Apple’s proprietary browser).  I also read last week about Apple’s release of their iPhone SDK (software development kit) and Apple’s rules you can and can not make with their kit.  In other words, they are legislating the software that companies are creating for their phone.  By doing this, they are getting 3rd party software that only they approve, and use the talents of 3rd party companies and technogeeks to work for them without paying them.

Didn’t Microsoft do this years ago with Windows and preinstalling software on it and get SUED for antitrust violations?  What gives Apple the nerve to try to do the same?

Now that Netscape is extinct because of Microsoft, Apple is pushing down the same lines Microsoft did years ago.  Will this affect Mozilla Firefox (my browser of choice)?  Mozilla took over 30% of market share of browsers the old fashion way…a quality, superior product and word of mouth. 

As of this summer, Bill Gates will remove himself from Microsoft to focus on his foundation.  This leaves only one devil left.  Maybe Steve Jobs should start a charity in Botswana and go live there.  Here’s to John Lilly and may his company thrive.

Happy Easter everyone.

So, Sunday, I came in contact with an old friend.  It’s been over 3+ years since I had even talked to him.  He was my best friend throughout high school, and continued to be so while I was in college.  When I moved back home, he was still there and we continued our friendship.  Then, one day in ’04, it just abruptly ended, for reasons to this day I’m still not sure why.  Hopefully soon it the smoke will clear and I can move past that dark area in my life. 

Regardless, it was good to see you, Phil. 

So, after a few months, I’m finally getting out of personal debt.  There are some major projects at work coming up very soon that should make sure that debt never becomes a concern again.  I never posted on it, but Robbi is pregnant again, which we very relieved and excited about, and I want to make sure that affording the kid is not a concern.  I do have some work to do to get there, but I’d like my car paid off in around 2-3 years, and majority (if not all) of debt paid. 

Before I left for college, I remember telling my mom that I’m going to be retired by the age of 30.  Well, I don’t think that will happen, but I CAN make sure that I have plenty of financial stability and my wife can retire by 30.  Here’s to a positive future **cheers**