I hate writing about bad experiences, except that putting things into words, over and over again, eventually rinses whatever good can possibly come of it.

One of the sorest spots in my life right now is the BMW we bought from Percy at Conti Car Care. I never liked the car. My wife took the bait, so to speak. Her name alone is on the title. Now that it’s running on baling wire and chewing gum, she’s driving my Honda, and I’m stuck with this piece of shit.

I knew before we left the shop the transmission was going to give us problems someday, and it did. I took it back to Percy several times and he fixed a variety of things but never the real problem. Forget it, Percy. I can overlook a lot of crap, but this went way too far.

Finally, we decided to get the transmission rebuilt rather than give up and walk away from our loss. That turned out to be a sad decision too, since less than a year later, something inside the torque converter has snapped. It’s making noise in low gear and at an idle.

This whole misadventure started with me and it will end with me. I should have never gone to Percy for a car. All good business is based on trust and trust is earned - and lost.

We’ve been considering a change from Comcast cable tv for quite a while. Their service sucks. The tv blinks, it only works on one of our two tv’s, and they are always bumping their prices up without providing any tangible improvements. Comcast reminds me of a bad apartment manager agency.

So, this afternoon, when an ATT rep came to our door, I was pretty much ready to listen to what they had to offer. For the same price as I pay now, we can have faster internet, more channels and fewer headaches - plus 30 days to see if we like it or not.

My biggest concern is how to keep the Vonage service going. ATT does over VOIP service bundled with everything else but the price is no where as attractive yet as Vonage.

Time will tell. They’ll be here tomorrow to hook it up. If it works, I’ll be calling to make sure they discontinue the dryloop DSL service and Comcast will be getting their equipment back.

And good riddance.

This evening, I went out hiking and discovered my baseplate compass has finally lost enough fluid from the capsule so the needle can’t rotate around to find north. This compass isn’t even a year old and while I expected it to happen someday, I wasn’t expecting it to happen this soon. The last time this happened to me, I tossed the compass away only to regret it later. This one will continue to serve me as a map protractor. I can still use it to find map bearings and distances on a map. The Cammenga compass I bought more recently is way better for shooting azimuths. The Cammenga sucks on a map though, unless you want to always orient the map to magnetic north. I don’t. It’s easier for me to convert map or true bearings to magnetic and vica-versa. As far as which compass works better in-hand, honestly both work pretty well. They both have trade-offs. The Cammenga is way more accurate and trues up really quickly, but the numbers are very tiny and it can be a pain to read. The baseplate compasses I’ve had are great (for a while) and accurate enough for walking around.

Amazon has a few D300s cameras for sale with the amazing 18-200mm VR II lens. The original price was $2600. Thanks in large part to the release of of the new D7000, the D300s 18-200 combo can be purchased for $1800, including shipping.

That’s almost within credit card range - job or no job …

+++++

Update: It’s 2012 January and I’m seeing more and more mention of the new and widely anticipated D400. It should be a significant improvement over the D300s and the D7000.

This evening, I spent some time delving more into Google Adsense.

No, I’m not someone who belives Google Adsense is a means to get-rich-quick; nor am I one of those people looking to cheat the system in order to make a fast buck. I was surprised to go back to my Adsense account after a long time away to discover my one ad had made five bucks and some change. No, not even enough to generate a check yet. But, it convinced me there’s money to be made there.

Channels, channels, channels. That seems to me to be the key to really finding out what works and what doesn’t. A channel can consist of urls or ad-types, ad placement and content. So, for example, if you have a blog with three widely variable categories, you might set up a channel for each category to help you analyze how each one is performing.

Also, and I haven’t done this yet, it’s possible to “sell” your site to potential advertisers. Google does the leg work. In order for potential advertisers to see your ads though, they must be assigned to a channel (or channels).

I barely scratched the surface tonight. I’m gong back tomorrow and learning more. Fortunately, there’s a wealth of information on Google and Youtube.

Smiles :-)

Been using the Back2Life for about one week now. The first few days, I used it three times a day and got off the pain medication immediately. The burning pain in my right leg persisted. Each day though it got better and better. My back has remained stiff, however everyday it feels better, as if the damage around the nerve is recovering. I highly recommend the Back2Life, which can be purchased from your local Bed-Bath-and-Beyond for around $200.00. The most amazing thing is when you are using it, you will wonder if it’s actually accomplishing anything. I guess that’s the beauty of what they call Continuous Passive Motion.

I have a few very memorable experiences of traveling out of the body with Darwin Gross and a few instances of seeing or being near Paul as well on the inner. I don’t have any recollection let alone any desire to have any experience with David C. Lane inwardly nor outwardly, other than to give him as wide a berth as possible intellectually, and that mainly to keep on a civil and mentally balanced keel to myself.

I can clearly see his point about Paul plagiarizing the works of others, particularly Johnson. I readily accept that Lane is highly educated and measurably successful in his intellectual pursuits. I cannot see myself turning to him for any sort of spiritual assistance though.

Obviously, we don’t live, work, write or accept the same things and definitely not in the same ways quite like the people in Shakespeare’s time. Standards have changed. Times have changed. Fortunately, we have the freedom to question on the one hand whether Paul Twitchell’s alleged plagiarisms should be excused; and on the other hand, if David Lane’s work should be invalidated.

If it is one’s prerogative, then by all means — let him be the judge. As for me, I take heed from a Biblical passage: judge not lest you be judged. The exact location of that phrase and who said it may be of particular interest to someone. To me, though, it is of no particular interest, even less than grasping objects with my toes and feet.

David C. Lane has judged, though arguably, critically and some have said, correctly so. Consequently, to a measurable degree in this world, particularly in his field, he has been judged; moreover found correct and awarded with credit, honors, and maybe some remunerations for his work.

Be these as they may, they constitute responsibilities which he has taken upon himself. When I close my eyes and go to the temple within, I see David Lane as a decent human being. I don’t see him as someone who can lift me into the spiritual worlds where by the grace of God I can learn how to free myself from the endless wheel of Karma - good and bad. Within the realm of mind, spirit manifests as intelligence and reason. A manifestation, no matter how seemingly bullet-proof, cannot lift one above the realm of mind any more than a televised image of rocket ship can lift the viewer from his arm chair, even if the television set has a high-definition screen that renders in living color. When we turn to a licensed physician for medical help and he prescribes us medicine, we shouldn’t rush home and swallow the entire contents. We certainly don’t toss out the contents of the prescription because the doctor’s handwriting looks like chicken scratch.

I recall reading in Dialogues with the Master, Rebezar Tars advised Paul Twitchell to obtain a college education; not because his experiences in the far country were invalid without one. Without a college education, it would be impossible to reach a wide audience in the western world. He told Paul there were a few individuals living on Earth in remote regions who have profound experience in the far country. If these were to suddenly appear and walk in the common circles of mankind, their apparent lack of social conformity would quickly draw attacks upon them. Blindly following suit would obviously be counterproductive to someone who later held workshops and discussion groups and eventually published discourses. Even if Rebezar Tarz and these individuals were weakly figments of — my — imagination, the principle universally rings true. For example, a woman who regularly goes topless in the French Riviera does not go topless at Virginia Beach, Virginia because of the unwanted attention it would draw yet earns her living as a Victoria’s Secrets Model.

I can see Pedar Zask as a conscious co-worker with God, currently living and working at a much higher vibratory rate than what the physical eyes and ears can know. On every plane of existence, balance is the supreme law, even over the Chicago Manual of Style. I have found Paul Twitchell’s written works very beneficial. If I were to have given him more intellectual license than a brilliantly gifted child; one not certified with lofty titles and weighty degrees; one maybe even less developed in terms of grammar, eloquence or critical thinking ability; his written works continue to inspire and provide a great introduction to the inner worlds as well as the opportunity to reflect upon the very best within each of us. The Tiger’s Fang for example doesn’t constitute, nor does it purport to constitute a mystical-magical-physical stairway to heaven. If chewing on its pages could lift one into heaven - I’d long ago be ascended. Simply held in my hands, a copy of The Tiger’s Fang, Dialogues with the Master, Stranger by the River, or A Spiritual Notebook to name a few, would have no more intrinsic value than the robe of the crucified Jesus over which Roman soldiers gambled and casts lots. To paraphrase Twitchell, we can dismiss experiences as imaginary representations, yet imagination is hewn from the fabric of God.

But, isn’t that a mixed metaphor? Hewn? From fabric?

In the grander scheme, David C. Lane has played a credible and significant part; one which sympathetically invokes the law of diminishing returns.