Charlie never dropped and we had to subject him to a surgery that more mimicked a spay than a neuter (neuter is what’s used for male pets).  A little after moving to FL, Charlie began to display amphibian eyes (bug eyes) and we learned he had ocular atrophy that didn’t hold his eyes properly in his head – nothing to do but medicate and hope it went away, and it did.  Then, we received a major shock when Chuckers had his first grand mal seizure.  A lifetime of meds for our lil’Charlie.  No biggie; we medicate and Charlie was still Charlie through the veil of phenobarbital.

A little under 6 months ago we learned that Charlie had cancer in one of his front legs in the elbow.  He’s struggling to get around and we’re doing what is possible to make him more comfortable.  He is, however, no longer shining through those big brown bug eyes.

Back to 1999, we were preparing to leave FL as the environment didn’t suit us.  We had passed a beautiful female Golden Retriever that was sequestered in an outside patio – during heat, rain and nappy weather.  We felt sorry enough for her situation we approached her owners and offered to take the dog to a large parcel of land in NC.  They declined and we drove our moving van to NC.  Several months later, we were in our new home for just a few weeks when we got the call: “Lady” was in a kennel in S.Florida and if we still wanted her we could pick her up.

So, I jumped into the Suburban and drove 18 hours straight to Kendall FL and picked up Lady (what an awful name for such a beautiful girl) and drove straight home.  That was a stupid altruistic gesture that I’ll be hard pressed to replicate (the non-stop round trip, not the rescue).  When Charlie saw Lady, they looked at one another and immediately started playing and were inseparable.  When we snapped a picture later that first day, we commented that Charlie’s courting through the screen of the patio all those months were realized in this initial meeting at our home.  Charlie and Lady were officially a couple.

Lady was pretty uneventful as a pet, with the small exception that she is an escape artist.  We chalked it up to being pent up in that outdoor space for two years.  A year ago, during our first Mastiff “Tank” cancer treatments, Lady was diagnosed with a Mast cell tumor in her back leg.  We scooted Lady into surgery to remove the tumor in the hopes it was localized, but a few months later the tumor recurred.  We’re now helping Lady up the stairs and her mobility (like Chuckers) is severely limited.

We have an unfortunate and difficult set of choices in our near future – Charlie will likely cross the bridge sometime very soon and Lady isn’t far behind him.  We’ve had to euthanize a pet before, and it is ‘never’ easy.  We’re now faced with bringing two pets to the vet for the last time and it’s tough to know what to do.  One of the options is to bring the couple to the vet at the same time; another is to wait until there’s no other plausible option.  Both are suffering from inoperable cancer and are not happy.

This process is cathartic for me; writing helps to settle my mind and clear my heart.  If anyone reads this I seek not to share my misery but to make sense of it and qualify those feelings and situations.   Life isn’t fair, loss is guaranteed and love is in the present.  My memories of Chelsea, Indie and Tank are vivid and filled with joy.  That Charlie and Lady will leave us is guaranteed; the loss will hurt and all I can do between now and then is love them and do my best to choose our next steps wisely and compassionately.

What is a victim in the world of today?  What does it mean?

There are victims of abuse & force – rape, war, terrorism, assault.  They are victims of the event; meaning they are not associated with or a party to the violence that they experience in the event.

There are other ‘victims’ who are, knowingly or not, sanctioning or giving permission to the evil that they experience.  There are many examples of this – self-pity, domestic violence, crushing remorse, etc.  I struggle with referencing these situations or individuals as victims as they have a choice in the matter; even in only aware of the choice at an near unconscious level (thank you Wachowski brothers).  The fact remains that choice is not spoken about more and more in our sanitized, politically correct and increasingly polarized world.

As an example, a recipient of welfare ‘chooses’ to accept the states check instead of doubling down and making extraordinary efforts to work and earn an income.  The choice as with all things is surrounded by the controversy of our times – what conditions were present when the choice was made; what is the historical context; what if any limitations are present to keep the person from choosing action versus accepting the liberty sucking contribution from the state?  I contend there is very little difference in the cocaine dealer giving away the first hit of powder to gain a customer than the state handing out checks to those who are perhaps not as financially affluent as others.  Once the state has a welfare recipient they want to keep that person pacified to secure more voters in their ranks.  The most altruistic of intents turns into something that would be outright rejected if presented in the open.  Attempting to help those experiencing tough times turns into power hungry elites searching for conditions that favor more state subsidies and less liberty – more people on some kind of handout.  The handout is nefarious because of human nature – once a person has something, even if that something is a lie, they will vigorously fight to keep what is theirs.  Ownership is more important that the truth and someone will fight like hell to keep what is theirs.

There are those who are born poor, disabled, with different skin tone or odd features.  There are those who are bullied, shunned, called out or ostracized as kids.  There are those who feel that past transgressions to ancestors affect their journey in life today.  None of these things control the exercise of choice and freewill.  They are conditions of the human experience.  I was born to those with modest means, disabled and a real nerd in school.  I have freewill – I choose in every case how I behave.

There are those who believe that there are only oppressors and the oppressed (re: victim) and that the oppressed must rise up and defeat the oppressor(s).  There are those who believe that society must be controlled to avoid victims being hurt.  There are those who push political ideologies on the backs of made-up victims (only to control and continue to perpetuate the conditions they felt caused the bad event in the first place).

I contend there is no such thing as a victim of circumstance, of hurt feelings or of history.  How you rope-a-dope with life, racism, discrimination, taunting, oppression and any other event it takes two to tango is about choice.  The liberal/progressive activists wish deeply that no harm would come to the sensitive – that those who were oppressed have the right to give some payback to the progeny of those who harmed them in the past.  That everyone who walks this earth would be equal, have equal stuff and live in a sterile, fake Star Trek world.  We’re not there; it’s not feasible; dreaming doesn’t make it so.  We’re still in a society based on money.  We’re still in a society that is built around meritocracy.

There are those in power today in the US who have felt/played the victim role their entire lives – as minorities, academics, activists or misguided money-bags.  They either see value in leveraging the victims for their own means or they retain their very large chip on their shoulders and they feel justified in paying back the ‘oppressor’.   For humanity to take the next step we do not require socialism, communism or a form of government.  We do not need government run programs, redistribution of wealth or skyrocketing taxes.  We need the awakening of choice and the awareness that claiming ‘victim’ status must also have context and intention tied to the tapestry that is seen.

We used to see things (more often) with a broader, wide angle lens if you will – there were questions about a persons intentions, their circumstances and the context of the situation.  A claim of harm did not automatically don the veil of victimization – stuff happens and you take care of business and move on.  Today the climate is purposefully divisive.  Gotcha political games don’t just populate the halls of Congress, but in every business where those games are tolerated.  They are played in Homeowner Associations, Churches, PTA meetings and any other location where positions of “power” are available.  If you make a single error, and you happened to err against a maligned group (or one who has powerful people at the helm), you’re certainly toast.  There are no guiltless parties anymore.

“Let go and let God” is a popular saying in spiritual circles – this removes the burden of carrying perceived victimization as you are giving that to the Almighty.  It’s telling that in our secular society, full of ill-conceived and false traps built through political correctness, the individual is no longer accountable for their reactions to circumstances.  If Jesus does return to the world, and walk among us, he wouldn’t just be mobbed by the faithful – the number of delivery persons serving summons to appear in lawsuits where acts of God were blamed would potentially outnumber the faithful.

Why are you associated with the political party/ideology you believe in?

How do you choose to participate in your community and why do you choose to do so?

Those questions and many more have been in my thoughts recently.  Recognizing that as children our thoughts and beliefs are shaped in a manner that is rarely checked or controlled by the child (primarily as we don’t know how choice works at that age), it’s incumbent on individuals maturing in this world to assess their beliefs.

Belief systems aren’t all they are portrayed or revered to be – a passionate professor may influence someone to parrot a line they don’t understand or particularly fathom for their entire life.  An adult who had strong religious influence in their lives as a child may never realize or find their relationship with their God (in a personal relationship).  Faith, patriotism, political convictions and other touchstones are factors in the human condition that require the individual to research, digest and firmly understand the elements of the philosophy(ies) involved.  This, sadly, happens with astonishing regularity for a sparse group of humanity.

Much like the Matrix, there are those who for whatever reason are ready to wake up and stare into their belief systems and boldly question what they believe.  Whether through song, sales pitch or shock, a person is thrust onto a journey of analyzing what they believe.  This group is small in humanity for a number of ‘reasons’ (which are ultimately environmental or excuses) – someone scratching out an existence and worried about food will not delve deeply into philosophical questions and assess their beliefs.  An immature dilettante  cannot fathom their beliefs requiring questioning – because they are above the fray their beliefs could not possibly be ill conceived.   A stereotypical consumer of mass culture (reality TV, wrestling, soap operas) is unaware the beliefs they profess are something they choose to believe.

So what?  There are instances of ignorance and fact blind zealots throughout history.  But in the awakening of knowledge that came with the Internet and the mass consumption of data, there are fewer and fewer reasons why a person can reasonably remain asleep to challenging their positions, conclusions and reasons for faith in a thing/thought/theology.

Through several posts I’ll explore my process of digging, searching and seeking through my thoughts and feelings and share what I have found and explored.   In the relative present, I’ve relabeled (where we felt the need to label I dunno) my tags in the web taxonomy sense exactly because I chose to boldly question and discover for myself.

This is not a trivial topic – there are so many reasons why one feels compelled to continue believing what they have always settled upon or choose not to decide at all.  For some there is drama associated with seeking out your corner of the political universe they want so desperately to avoid. For others, they deeply fear touching their religion and theology maxims in order to question and confirm their faith.  These are topics left to those who are ready to have the discussion.  I would like however to encourage those who are marginally ready to begin seeking to start their journey and read, discuss, debate and relate to others who think differently than you.  You will be surprised, maybe shocked by what you find.  The last thoughts are from other travelers:

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” – Tolstoy

“The things that unite us are far greater than the things that divide us” – Unknown

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/apr/01/information-is-beautiful-military-spending

Information is beautiful: war games

Who really spends the most on their armed forces?

Info is beautiful: defence budgets Photograph: David McCandless

Amid confusion over the rise in defence cuts, I was surprised to learn that the UK has one of the biggest military budgets in the world – nearly £40bn ($60 bn) in 2008.

But I was less surprised to see who had the biggest.

Info is beautiful: war chests. Graphic: David McCandless 

Yep, the United States spent a staggering $607bn (£402 bn) on defence in 2008. Currently engaged in what will likely be the longest ground war in US history in Afghanistan. Harbourer of thousands of nuclear weapons. 1.5m soldiers. Fleets of aircrafts, bombs and seemingly endless amounts of military technology.

Here’s that bloated military budget in context.

Info is beautiful: the US military budget. Graphic: David McCandless 

The defence budgets of the other top nine countries can be neatly accommodated inside the US budget.

So the US is an aggressive, war-mongeringing military machine, right? And the numbers prove it.

But is that true? Is that the whole picture?

Military units

First of all, the enormity of the US military budget is not just down to a powerful military-industrial complex. America is a rich country.

In fact, it’s vastly rich. So its budget is bound to dwarf the others.

Info is beautiful: defence budgets compared. Graphic: David McCandless 

(This is a reworking of an image from the blog ASecondHandConjecture.com)

It doesn’t seem fair to not factor in the wealth of a country when assessing its military budget.

So, if you take military budgets as a proportion of each country’s GDP, a very different picture emerges.

Info is beautiful: the biggest spenders. Graphic: David McCandless 

The US is knocked down into 8th place by such nations as Jordan, Burundi and Georgia. The UK plunges to 29th.

Why are these other nations spending so much on their military?

• Myanmar (Burma) is a military dictatorship, so that must bias their budgets a little.

• Jordan occupies a critical geographic position in the Middle East and has major investment in its military from the US, UK and France. In return, it deploys large peace-keeping forces across the world.

• The former soviet republic of Georgia was invaded by Russia in 2008. Relations remain extremely tense.

• Saudi Arabia spends heavily on its air force and military capabilities. Why is not clear.

The stories behind Kyrgyzstan, Burundi and Oman’s spending are also not clear. (If you have any ideas, please let us know).

Soldiers

A country’s military investment is not just dollars and cents. It’s also about soldiers and infantry.

When it comes to sheer number of soldiers, you can guess the result.

Info is beautiful: active forces. Graphic: David McCandless 

But, as ever, using whole numbers creates a skewed picture. China obviously has a huge population. Their army is bound to be huge.

If you adjust the parameters to a proportional view, the image shifts dramatically.

Info is beautiful 6: proportional forces. Graphic: David McCandless 

North Korea tops the league with the most militarised population, while China plummets to a staggering 164th in the world league table.

The US barely scrapes the top 50. The UK’s armed forces look tiny.

This re-ordering creates some surprises too. Israel and Iraq you could perhaps predict. But Eritrea and Djibouti?

All soldiers

To give the fullest picture of armed forces, reservists, civilian and paramilitary should also be included.

This again gives a different picture and perhaps a more revealing one. One that suggests combat readiness, primed forces and perhaps paranoia too? Who’s expecting to be invaded?

Info is beautiful: total armed forces. Graphic: David McCandless 

Here again, when all the numbers are added up, the US infantry is ranked a lowly 61st for size in the world.

So is the US an “aggressive, war-mongering military machine” obsessed with spending on defence and plumping up its armed forces? Perhaps, the numbers say, not.

The data

Military Budgets Around The World 2008
source: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
(make a copy of the spreadsheet if you want to use the sorting feature)

GDP of major nations as US States
source (IMF, Bureau Of Economic Analysis)

Africa Debt figure: UN (PDF)

About me

I run the website InformationIsBeautiful.net, dedicated to visualising information, ideas, stories and data.

My book of infographic exploria is called Information Is Beautiful. It’s published by HarperCollins. In the US, the book’s called The Visual Miscellaneum

When I heard this concept on a radio show this week I was blown away – the idea was so simple and yet hadn’t been put into focus.  AsAMom.org provides a place where moms could come together, discuss what was on their minds, ask tough questions and get the answers they might not have themselves or access to.  A place where mothers could shed the feeling they were alone or closested because they believed what they believed.

This is incredible – powerful – and uplifting.  If you aren’t politically bolted to the left of our social belief system (or even if you are) it’s a good idea to remain connected and empowered.  Get driven and make a difference.

Thanks

This is a stunning assessment by a gent which contrasts the forecasts the potential benefits of our ‘Recovery Plan’ and what actually happened when the recovery plan was instituted.  With this estimating prowess, is it any wonder that we have such conflict about the up coming plans from our administration’s majority party.

Click the link above for more – it’s crazy silly.  Wake up and get the ignorance out… Thanks

You can also look at the Woodcraft imported brand Pfiel (swiss made) gouges and chisels here:
http://www.woodcraft.com/articles.aspx?articleid=39

Either article should show the profiles adequately to confuse the heck out of you and send your head spinning (or give you an idea of what you’d need to look at the next time you’re buying carving tools).

This is a killer rendition of Cornbread that comes from the Beacon Theater show just a few days ago.