fountain of youth

It looks like researchers are on a good trail in the quest to understand longevity. Telomeres, the end tips of chromosomes, appear to play a critical role. You can read more about that here.

the wizard of ounces

I never knew or realized the true allegorical nature of The Wizard of Oz. It's an allegory for the banking system and the non-federal Federal Reserve System. I find it amazing that for so many people there are so many things that remain unexamined.

Here is a fun cartoon that illustrates the point.

You might want to check out the Money Masters too.

Breathe in the bad.....

It's a common mistake among new-agers and novice spiritual practitioners to attempt to breathe in the good stuff and breathe out the bad. Tonglen meditation has been around for a thousand years and has demonstrated its effectiveness.

Breathing in all the good stuff is exploitative
Breathing out all the good stuff is generous

What would you do?

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog. I'd like as many people as possible to read this because it just might help to correct what seems like an injustice.
I had a part in my truck malfunction, the "smart junction box" that controls the windshield-wipers, the radio and the power windows. How stupid is that? For two months now I haven't been able resolve this problem. That's where you can help, just by reading this story. I'll start at the beginning.

About a year ago I decided to trade-in my car for a slightly used pick-up truck. I'd been a Toyota man for about twenty years and I was always pleased and somewhat impressed with the service from Jim Barkley, but Toyota was having computer problems that actually killed people. Nevertheless, I was ready to purchase a Tacoma.

I decided to check one more place, the dreaded dealer with exceptionally high pressure tactics. Well, there was this Ford Ranger Edge that seemed like more car at a better value and I felt just a little bit sorry for the American Auto Industry with GM going bankrupt in times of economic meltdown. Besides, Ford had been the most reliable and responsible of the big three and buying American seemed like a responsible patriotic duty in light of Chinese malfeasance.

I was pleased for a while, but one early September afternoon, that changed. My stereo made no sound, I couldn't raise or lower my windows and worst of all, the wipers wouldn't function. Now I'm grumpy every time it rains. It took me and some others a week or so to figure out the problem, a Smart Junction Box, which seems like the dumbest idea I've heard in quite some time..usually preceded by, "hold my beer".

So after having good experiences with a dealership for more than a decade, I took my truck to Asheville Ford. They confirmed the earlier diagnosis and told me that the part would take three or four days to get in. They also told me that the vehicle needed some other things and gave me a $500 estimate for suggested other services. They lied, the transmition fluid was new and clean, the air filter was still fine and I forget what else didn't really need to be done, but I learned that later. I just paid them four hundred and something dollars to get my vehicle back without any repairs. They wanted the money for the part up front.

A week went by without a phone call informing me my part had arrived. I called them and got the run around for a few more days. When I finally was able to speak with the appropriate person, I was informed that the part in question had to be manufactured and was an estimated thirty more days until shipping, but don't feel bad, there are presently about 50 other people with the same problem. At least my windows were up.

middle class

Trying to get the facts straight on the middle class is daunting. Go ahead, try to make sense of the wiki entry. Compare middle class wages to gold prices.
Check out this from sustainable middle class.

But this is the winner with the best list.

I shouldn't forget this.

There's inequality.org

from the NY Times...

09/30/2010	13,561,623,030,891.79
09/30/2009	11,909,829,003,511.75
09/30/2008	10,024,724,896,912.49
09/30/2007	9,007,653,372,262.48
09/30/2006	8,506,973,899,215.23
09/30/2005	7,932,709,661,723.50
09/30/2004	7,379,052,696,330.32
09/30/2003	6,783,231,062,743.62
09/30/2002	6,228,235,965,597.16
09/30/2001	5,807,463,412,200.06
09/30/2000	5,674,178,209,886.86 Yeah, I know, that didn't paste well. I found that chart here. I like the links provided by this site, handy.

core

Exercise you core, your core needs.....look here.