MY BLOGS

I maintain several blogs on an irregular or daily basis besides this one.

Reflections: White Scorpion ⇒ is a poetry blog that was started in 2009 to publish the poetry that I had written over my lifetime.  Each poem is accompanied by a photo to draw the reader's attention into the poem's meaning.

We Were Just Wondering ⇒  is a blog that my friend Vic Adamus and I started in 2005.  Vic and I posted everyday until his death from colon cancer in 2015 and I continued for another year until I decided that it was a blog for the two of us not just for the one.  It is full of thoughts, ideas, and opinions that might be interesting to read from a reflective standpoint.

My LinkedIn Profile ⇒  https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-hutchins-bb8b8a2/  this is the link but I am not sure if you can actually see my profile unless you join for free...  I have published numerous articles on this forum that might be interesting to read.

My Facebook Profile ⇒ https://www.facebook.com/alan.catale.1   this is the link but just like LinkedIn, I believe you have to join for free.  My original Facebook profile was hacked and now belongs to someone else, so I started a new one under a different identity.

Other blogs that have active link on the top of the first page of this blog...
My Cancer Odyssey
A  Bipolar Scorpion

POWER... WEALTH... INFLUENCE

IN MOST COUNTRIES...  the freedoms that Americans take-for-granted do not exist in other countries...  and for that, we should consider ourselves lucky...  but, therein lies the problem because most Americans make no considerations at all in this regard; instead, they are controlled and ultimately influenced by those who have POWER and/or WEALTH.

• 20% of Americans are wealthy
• 60% of Americans are average
• 20% of Americans are poor

Then we have,
1% of the whole are extremely wealthy
while
1% of the whole are extremely poor

STATISTICALLY, we have a perfect bell-shaped curve...

On the far left-hand side of our diagram are the 1% wealthy whereas the 1% poor are on the far right-hand side.  On either side of the middle "-2 to +2" we will find the 60%.  From the center to the right, wealth gradually increases and to the right, wealth gradually decreases.

From the model, we can also conclude that WEALTH, POWER, INFLUENCE gradually increase from the center out to the left and gradually decrease from the center out to the right.

ALL AMERICANS BELIEVE VERY STRONGLY...  that they have free will and make their own choices...  but, that is simply not true...  If you don't have wealth and power, then your free will and choices are influenced and controlled by those who do have wealth and power.

However...  and, this is your right, you may not believe this to be true, especially since everyone makes choices all the time some of which influence one's life and one's life direction substantially; but, those choices are still influenced indirectly by wealth and power whether you realize it or not.

You drive the speed limit when there is a cop in sight...  that is power
You pay your taxes each year...  that is power
You receive a salary from your employer...  that is wealth and power
You are regulated by medicine...  that is wealth and power
You do what your supervisor tells you to do...  that is power
You obey the lifeguard at the beach...  that is power
You are quiet in Church...  that is power
You make monthly debt payments...  that is wealth and power
You control the choices your children make...  that is power

MAGICAL

It is the serenity of photography that calms the soul, eases the mind, and softens what one sees as one ages and assimilates life...

Computer Modeling

Computer modelling consists of writing a computer program version of a mathematical model for a physical or biological system. Computer simulations that are run according to such programs can produce knowledge out of reach of mathematical analysis or natural experimentation.

For example, computer modeling is used in:

• tracking hurricanes
• population growth
• stock growth
• economic forecasting

Currently, computer modeling is being used to make predictions about COVID-19 progress which is not just impacting the USA but every single country in the world...  thanks to CHINA...

What's On My Mind Today???

Just got back from the University of TN Medical Center - Cancer Bldg. in Knoxville, TN after going through a PET Scan procedure...  Every 90 days, I MUST have a CT scan or a PET scan to determine staging of the cancers.  When cancer is staged, the Oncologist is informed by the Medical Physician interpreting the scans if the cancer has decreased/increased in size and/or spread to other organs in the body and/or started growing in a new location.

Over the 12 years that I have been treated for Lymphoma and the 6 years I have been treated for Melanoma, my cancers have increased, decreased, increased, spread, and maintained their size as new drugs are used to fight the disease.

Last year, my Oncologist discovered through a recent clinical trial at another hospital that when Opdivo and Radiation are used simultaneously that the results are more positive than negative.  When that cocktail of treatment was used on me, dead Melanoma cells were removed from my neck...  so, in my case, it worked perfectly.

Right now, my two cancers (non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma & Melanoma) are being contained...  at least those were the results from my last PET scan...  so, I am anxious to discover what these new results might be.
                                                                                                                       

ALSO, every time I leave home, I am really concerned about my health because of COVID-19 especially since I have NO IMMUNE SYSTEM of which to speak at all.  Today, I wore a face mask as well as disposable gloves.

Please take care of yourself and be careful when you leave the house...

Untitled

WE ARE SHIELDED BY

THE LOOSE FITTING CLOTHES

OF OUR FAILURES AND

YET, WE CONTINUOUSLY

CHANGE OUR DRESS TO

THE SEASONS OF OUR DREAMS...

circa 1977

copyright by Alex Hutchins



This poem was written over 40 years ago more or less when I was a much younger man with much younger thoughts and a much younger imagination...  Over the years, I wrote over 42,000 poems, short like this one, but many longer, and several hundred Haiku as well...  if you would like to read more of these, I started publishing them daily on my blog...  CLICK HERE to go there.

COOKING SALMON and steak...

If you want to learn how to cook a perfect steak every time, CLICK HERE...

Personally, I prefer fish and chicken.

When I had my heart attack back in 2007/2008, my Cardiologist was encouraging me to stay away from red meats because of their negative impact on the heart...  Ever since then, I have tried not to eat red meat, especially steaks.

Additionally, when I had previously eaten steak, I NEVER MUCH liked the fat and meticulously would cut that away from my steak before eating the first bite.  Interestingly, it is the fat that gives steak its flavor and keeps it moist when cooking.

Salmon, Cod, Flounder, Grouper, and Tuna are my favorite fish although I also like crab meat and lobster tails.

A couple of years ago, my wife and I took an ALASKAN CRUISE and on the first night in the dinning room, I asked my waiter if I could have SALMON every night except for the night we were scheduled to have lobster tails...  He arranged that but also arranged for me to have both Salmon and Lobster Tail on that special night.   AND, one of our excursions was a Salmon Bake and I had 5 pieces of Salmon that afternoon for lunch.

There ain't nothing like ALASKAN SALMON...

However, the Salmon that you typically are served in restaurants are "Farmed" Salmon which is not as healthy as "Wild" Salmon.

Bandana Face Mask

Palm Sunday

What is Palm Sunday?

Palm Sunday commemorates the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1–9), when palm branches were placed in his path, before his arrest on Holy Thursday and his crucifixion on Good Friday. It thus marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Lent.

So, this is a religious event...

A religious event for those who believe but not so much for those who do not believe...

What is belief?

Belief is an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.

Simply stated, belief refers to the notion that God exists and that not only did HE create the Universe but that HE created mankind and after HE created mankind HE appeared on earth through the body of Jesus and then allowed HIMSELF to be crucified on a cross to die for the sins of mankind.

The GOD Trinity:  Father...  Son...  Holy Ghost...

These three are one in the same.

The existence of God is a subject of debate in the philosophy of religion and popular culture. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God can be categorized as metaphysical, logical, empirical, or subjective. Wikipedia

Kinky Stuff

Make The Best Pancakes

GO... Go... go...

GO...  GO...  GO...

Have you ever noticed that in all the "COP" shows or in all the "MILITARY" and in all the shows that are similar to those two shows, when it is time to GO...  it is always said ONLY 3 times FAST...  Fast...  fast...                                                                                                        

I think I have only been witness to it being said 4 times only ONCE but I have never been witness to it being said less...

That's gotta mean something...  right?

When watching series on television of watching movies in a theater, I am looking for these iterations and inconsistencies to see how TIGHT the direction has been.  For me, the TIGHTER the direction, the TIGHTER the storyline and the better the experience of watching.

Saturday Morning In East TN

Retired at 67, now 72, so...  been retired 5 years...

Worked for 45 years full time
Fired 10 times by employers
Still managed to survive

1. Outspoken
2. Believe in change
3. Desire continuous improvement
4. Workers make the businesses
5. Against Management

NOTE:  The above 5 points are the hallmark of FAILURE...  don't follow my example...  learn to kiss ass and like it...   don't rock the boat...  and, certainly do not tell management that you believe that they are WRONG...

I have no regrets
I would do nothing different if given a second chance
But, my attitude is wrong...
Sounds like a contradiction...  perhaps...  but the point is that you should not be like me!!!

Read and Learn

Erotic Photography

Multiple Dimensions

Risk Management

RISK MANAGEMENT is the forecasting and evaluation of financial risks together with the identification of procedures to avoid or minimize their impact.

So, the two key words here are forecasting and evaluation.

Forecasting is the predicting or estimating a future event or trend.

How do you know what is going to happen in 6 months, or a year, or 5 years, or 10 years?

Evaluation is the making of a judgment about the amount, number, or value of something; assessment.

How do you know if you are right or wrong?

SO,
if you are working somewhere, what might be your risks?
1. the company closing down
2. the company laying you off
3. getting hurt on the job
4. getting sick on the job
5. working with other employees (their attitudes and beliefs)
6. getting into an accident going to/from work
7. getting caught looking for another job
8. getting caught surfing on the internet at work
9. turning in your resignation
10. having an affair at work

What about risk management at HOME?
1. Damage to home that isn't covered by insurance
2. Getting hurt working in the yard
3. Falling off the roof
4. Sending children to college
5. Fire inside the home
6. Neighbor getting hurt in your home
7. Replacing appliances
8. Water pipe leaks
9. Getting hit by lightning
10. Sending children to city schools or county schools

Doing something is better than doing nothing...

Friday Morning in East TN

We have very little control over our lives...

Yes, we have free will...

Yes, we make our own choices...

BUT, societal pressures, families, friends, and employers influence those choices without us being aware that this is what they are doing.

If you live in the South, Southern values lifestyles influence your decisions.  And, the same is true if you live in the North, West, or somewhere in the middle.  Preconceived ideas of your parents, teachers, ministers influence your beliefs and actions.

Your spouse and children's demands influence your decisions.

If you are single then other single people influence you.

It is very difficult to have your OWN THOUGHTS, make your OWN DECISIONS, and have your OWN BAEHVIOR where it is not influenced by someone else...

Understanding Multiple Dimensions

Anything Goes...

TEN POINTS BY WHICH TO LIVE ONE'S LIFE

1. SELF-AWARENESS
2. DISCIPLINE
3. DETERMINATION
4. RESPONSIBILITY
5. INTEGRITY
6. HONOR
7. MORALS
8. FAMILY
9. FAITH
10. COMMUNITY

Note:

Each one of these points are different for each one of us

Each one of these points have levels of achievement

Each one of these points is continuous evolving

Each one of these points is not to be measured against someone else

Each one of these points is mutually exclusive as well as interconnected

Each one of these points is supported with positive affirmations

WHAT'S RELEVANT?

Golden Rule:  Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You

• Nationality is irrelevant
• Ethnicity is irrelevant
• Gender is irrelevant
• Education is irrelevant

SELF-AWARENESS is listed first because in my opinion it is the most important and MUST take place before the other 9 points can be realized.

For example:

• Who are you?
• What do you know?
• What do you want out of life?
• Why do you want that?
• What are your goals?
• Why did you choose those goals?
• When do you want to reach your goals:
• age 25?
• age 40?
• age 60?
• age you retire?
• How are you going to reach your goals?
• What will you need to get there?
• Who will you need to get there?

CAVEAT:   very few people visit this blog so very few people will benefit from this knowledge...