End of the Year Musings

  2017 is almost over. This past Tuesday, I was diagnosed with avascular necrosis of my right hip. My doctor said she was going to have an orthopedist look at the CT scan in order to determine what should be done. In all likelihood, I'll need to get the joint replaced.
  Republicans have passed their tax reform bill which Trump signed into law. This is another example of the GOP shitting down our collective throats and calling it chocolate pudding. Trump has lied repeatedly claiming that he and the wealthy won't benefit from the bill. The reality is the wealthy and corporations will benefit from tax cuts that are permanent while tax cuts for the middle class will eventually end. The bill will also likely increase the national debt and lead to cuts in Medicare and Social Security. This is just another example of trickle down economics.
  While we're on the subject of Trump, I came across a list of things authoritative regimes do in order to take away people's civil rights and freedoms. I'll post the lists here so you can see that Trump is pulling this shit right here in America.

Yet Another Mass Shooting

  Devin Patrick Kelley, 26 dead, 20 wounded.
  The list of mass shooting victims has grown again. And like every time before, the GOP, NRA and the Fascist Fucks at the Fox Propaganda Network will say that we shouldn't politicize these killings or engage in any kind of meaningful discussion on how to stem the tide of gun violence in America. Of course, the Fascists Fucks at Fox and Golden Shower Boy Trump were very quick to politicize the New York City terror attack that occurred recently. The reason was simple, the New York City attack was committed by a Muslim. The Sutherland attack was committed by a white guy. Both were calling for the end of the Diversity Immigrant Visas program. It's my opinion that the NRA wants the mass shootings to continue because it serves their agenda. They don't give a flying fuck about the victims. They're just "acceptable losses" in their never ending campaign for money and power. They want the population to be scared because scared people are more likely to buy guns which serves the NRA's masters, the gun manufacturers, just fine. The NRA has bought off the GOP for two reasons; to make sure that no form of meaningful gun control legislation ever gets passed and to make easy as possible to get a gun. More states are allowing people to carry concealed handguns without a permit. 26 states will let you carry a concealed handgun without requiring that you even know how to use one. Think about that for a moment. In order for me to operate a motor vehicle, I have to pass a written exam and  a driving test. I have to prove that I'm competent to drive a car. But in 26 states, I can carry a concealed gun even though I have no training in how to properly handle a firearm. We're talking accidents waiting to happen here. Of course, the NRA and the GOP don't give a flying fuck about that. On a related note, although the NRA was apparently in favor of regulating bump stocks, nothing has happened. Nothing that is except for their sales spiking. Looks like the gun manufacturers win again.

How Many?

Mark James Robert Essex, 9 dead, 13 wounded.
James Oliver Huberty, 21 dead, 19 wounded.
George Hennard, 23 dead, 27 wounded.
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, 13 dead, 21 wounded.
Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, 14 dead, 22 wounded.
James Eagan Holmes, 12 dead, 70 wounded.
Wade Michael Page, 6 dead, 4 wounded.
Charles Joseph Whitman, 16 dead, 31 wounded.
Stephen Paddock, 58 dead, 489 wounded.
Dylann Storm Roof, 9 dead, 1 wounded.
Omar Mateen, 49 dead, 58 wounded.
Adam Lanza, 27 dead.
  This is just a short list of some of the perpetrators of mass shootings in America. America has more mass shootings than any other country. For more information on this and a more complete list of American mass shootings, look here. After the Las Vegas shooting the Republicans, the White House and Fox News offered a bunch of hollow platitudes and meaningless prayers while claiming that now is not the time to be politicizing events like this. Of course, for them, the topic of gun control is always off limits because they're all lap dogs of the NRA, GOA, the gun lobby and the gun manufacturers. They have the power to do something. The fact that they do nothing is a clear indication that they care nothing about the victims. All they care about is money and power. These callous motherfuckers would rather lick the shit out of Wayne LaPierre's ass crack for campaign cash than make any effort to control gun violence here in America. How many people have to die or be wounded in attacks like these before they stop sitting with their collective thumbs up their asses and do something about it? It should be noted that the NRA supports new rules regarding bump stock devices.

Latest Health News & Other Items

  I saw an opthamologist a short while back. My prescription has changed slightly since my eye exam about a year ago. I don't need to upgrade my glasses just yet but I might upgrade my prescription sunglasses prior to Gen Con. Both eyes are exhibiting the early stages of cataract development. This could mean cataract surgery in about 10 to 15 years. The opthamologist also noticed that I had a weirdly twisted artery near the optic nerve of my left eye and recommended that I see a retinologist. After dilating my eyes and taking some scans and pictures, the retinologist said that it was a vascular loop and, other than looking weird, was nothing to worry about.
  My tumor markers came back negative for the third time in a row. The CT scan of my pelvic and abdominal regions showed that my organs are functioning properly. Things are looking bright on the health front.
  Plans for this year's Gen Con are proceeding better than expected. I've been making large payments on my credit card while putting as little as possible on it. I have more than enough room on it to cover my hotel bill and gas. Between my Simple and Serve accounts, I have a little over $1,000.00 put aside to buy stuff at the convention and eat. I'm going to try to add another $200.00 to the total before August. I want to get some of the Doctor books Cubicle 7 is publishing for the Doctor Who RPG plus get a copy of the revised The One Ring rule book and Bree supplement. I'm also going to see if anyone is selling the gargantuan Orcus miniature my friend TJ told me about. It will go nicely with my gargantuan blue and black dragon, colossal red dragon, balrog and Great Cthulhu miniatures.
  I've recently purchased a lifetime VPN (virtual private network) subscription from VPN Unlimited. I found out from the iDrop newsletter that they were offering these subscriptions for a limited time at 92% below the normal price. The offer was too good to pass up. PC Magazine gave VPN Unlimited 4.5 out of 5 stars. I'm including some VPN related YouTube videos to provide you with further information.

Gen Con & Other News

  I got into most of the Gen Con events I had on my wish list. I was 2,900th in line and only the Firefly and Paranoia events filled up before I could check out. On a related note, I finally got a copy of Narcissist: Crash Free v0.7. This game was to be a companion game to Aetherco's time travel RPG Continuum. I came across Continuum back when Gen Con was still in Milwaukee. I was slated to play a Changeling event that particular Gen Con. All the players showed up but the Storyteller didn't. A staff member said we should wait a half hour. If the Storyteller still hadn't arrived, we could get a refund on our ticket. A table near where we were sitting was about to run a Continuum game and we were invited to join them. Since I had nothing else planned, I gave the game a try.
  That day I bought the Continuum main rule book, the Further Information supplement and the span book software program. Continuum's not a bad RPG but it is one of the more complicated ones to play. As noted above, Narcissist was to be a companion game told from the point of view of the crashers. However, for reasons unknown to me, Aetherco stopped production of any new Continuum supplements and Narcissist never became a full fledged RPG. Trying to find the printed pre releases of the v0.5 or v0.7 editions of Narcissist Aetherco put together is nigh impossible and could easily cost you quite a bit of money. The Continuum main book and Further Information are regarded as rarities. I'm not sure how rare the span book program is. I tried for quite a while to get my hands on a copy of Narcissist. There was a PDF version on Scribd for a period of time but it was gone by the time I tried to get it. Other searches proved fruitless. Finally, I found a torrent that contained not only a copy of Narcissist v0.7 but it also had PDF copies the other two books and some supplemental material. If you want a copy of Narcissist: Crash Free v0.7, leave a comment down below with your email address and I'll send you a copy. I can also email you PDF copies of the other two books, supplemental materials and span book software (with registration key).
 

Health Update

  This past Tuesday, I went over to my oncologist's office to have my blood drawn in order to check my PT-INR and a1c levels. My primary care physician, Dr. Boerger, said that my a1c was 7.3 which was slightly on the high side for someone with type 2 diabetes. At her suggestion, I arranged an appointment with an Aurora opthamologist to have my eyes examined. For the most part, the eye exam was uneventful. My prescription has changed slightly since last year's exam but not enough to warrant new glasses. The early stages of cataract development have been detected. There's the possibility that 10 to 15 years down the road I may need cataract surgery. Since diabetes is a risk factor for cataracts, I'll have to be more careful controlling my blood glucose levels. The only noteworthy item from the exam was an unusually twisted artery near the optic nerve of my left eye. I'm going to see a retinologist on June 22nd in order to get a better idea as to what caused the arterial twist and whether or not it's going to be a potential problem. The opthamologist said it might be due to a blood clot.

Gen Con Update

  The plans for Gen Con 2017 are proceeding along nicely. My 4 day badge has been ordered. The hotel reservation has been made. I had to wait 7 hours and 5 minutes before I could reserve my room and thus ended up about 10.5 miles outside of downtown Indianapolis. Since I don't feel like driving into downtown Indianapolis everyday and paying for parking, I'm going to see what mass transit options exist and use those. I've set up a wish list of 8 events that I will submit when event registration goes live this Sunday at 11:00 am CST. Hopefully I won't end up way back in line like last year. I had to watch as most of the events I wanted filled up and I had to wait until I got to the head of the line before I could secure what events were still available. Then I had to pick other events to replace the ones I didn't get into and get in line again. I asked for this Sunday off so I could log in early and submit my wish list.

The Republican Healthcare Plan & Trump's Budget Proposal

  After more than 60 attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Republicans have finally revealed their healthcare plan. This plan, called the American Health Care Reform Act of 2017 is their answer to the ACA. In typical Republican fashion, this bill sticks it to the poor, sick and elderly while giving massive tax cuts to the rich. Some questions and answers regarding the Repuclicans health care plan can be found here. Needless to say, the majority of people disapprove of the plan. Senate Republicans still don't like the plan and the CBO reports that while premium costs for young, healthy people would go down, for many others, like the elderly and those with pre existing conditions, the rates will increase significantly.
  Trump and the Republicans seem to love fucking over the average American citizen while dumping large sums of money into the pockets of the extremely wealthy. Trump's budget asks for deep cuts to social programs and Medicaid while providing tax cuts that benefit primarily himself and the top 1% of the wealthiest Americans and corporations. The people that elected this tangerine turd blossom are the very people he's screwing over the most. And, to make matters worse, many of these idiots will likely vote for him again should he run for reelection in 2020.

The Ideal Republican Constituent

  Rich, white, Christian, conservative, straight, cisgender and male. This is the ideal Republican constituent. The closer you are to this ideal, the more likely it will be that they will lick the shit out of your asscrack in order to cater to you. The farther you are from this ideal, the more likely it is that they will pass laws depriving you of your rights, costing you more money and ruining the environment where you live. The reason Republicans are so gung-ho about repealing the Affordable Care Act is because it taxes the rich. Golden Showers pick to head the EPA, Scott Pruitt, frequently tries to undermine laws protecting the environment. Betsy DeVos, Golden Shower's choice for Education Secretary has proven woefully incompetent for the job she now has. The real reason she was appointed was so more federal tax money could end up funding Christian schools in violation of the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. They want to create a Christian nation in violation of Article 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli. Christian supremacists must be ecstatic over Golden Shower's pick. Steve Mnuchin, our new Treasury Secretary is exactly the kind of person Golden Shower railed against during his campaign. Wall Street looks to make massive profits under Trump's administration while the rest of us suffer. Conspiracy theorists Monica Crowley and Michael Flynn were picked to be the National Security Council's senior director of strategic communications and National Security Advisor respectively. Republicans only care about the average person during election time when they need their votes. The rest of the time they cater only to their ideal constituents. If the Supreme Court ever declares that money equals votes, they'll be able to ignore the average person completely.

Shitting Down Our Throats...

...and calling it chocolate pudding. That's what Trump a.k.a. Golden Shower and his propaganda monkeys Sean Spicer and Kellyanne Conway are doing to America. Their disinformation campaign is trying to rewrite history in order to suit Golden Shower's fragile ego. Conway has called for Trump's media critics to be fired. When it was thought that the Quebec mosque attack was committed by a  Moroccan Muslim, Spicer made it a point to mention this to the media in order to justify Golden Shower's Muslim ban. When it was revealed that the attack was, in fact, committed by a white French Canadian, both he and Golden Shower ignored it. Of course, Fox News, right wing propaganda monkeys all, joined in the spreading of the disinformation. White supremacists groups are celebrating the fact that Golden Shower is removing them from the Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) program. Steve Bannon, racist Breitbart fuckwad, has made it clear that the media will listen to Sean Spicer and like it.
  Trump is little more than a racist, misogynistic, homophobic narcissist suffering from delusions of grandeur. Anyone with dissenting views becomes the object of his wrath. This piss colored fuckwad wants to be God King Emperor for life of the United States and expects everyone to goose step in unison at his every proclamation. Sadly, Paul Ryan and other Republicans have proven to be little more than craven pathetic lackeys to our piss colored President. Orwell's Ministry of Truth is alive and well and exists in Trump's America. We are well and truly fucked.

"Alternative Facts"

  Trump's been in office for only a short time and already the bullshit is starting to fly. First off, this jackass is claiming that his inauguration drew in a massive audience. This simply isn't true. Obama's 2009 inauguration crowd made Trump's crowd look pathetic. You can see for yourself right here. Trump also claimed that the moment he started speaking, the rain stopped. This is simply another lie or as Kellyanne Conway calls it 'alternative fact'. It would seem that the Ministry of Truth from Orwell's dystopian novel 1984 is alive and well in Trump's America. In addition to the 'alternative facts' being spewed by this piss colored fuckwad and his band of sycophantic morons, we have the interference in the election by the Russians, his refusal to release his tax returns and his insistence on having his sons run his businesses instead of putting them in a blind trust as required by the Constitution. Could this be the reason why Republicans tried to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics?
  Trump is a lying, thin skinned, narcissistic egomaniac worthy only of contempt. He's insulted Mexico, women in general and Megyn Kelly specifically. He mocked disabled reporter Serge Kovaleski and claimed that thousands of New Jersey Muslims celebrated the 9/11 attacks. Some Jersey City Muslims did apparently celebrate 9/11 according to later reports. Unless something happens, we're going to have to deal with Trump for at least the next four years. If something should happen, wannabe theocrat Mike Pence will become president. If that happens will we have gone from bad to worse?

New Year's update

  The cancer marker tests came back negative. This is good news. At the moment I'm cancer free. I'll be retested in March. Hopefully that test will come back negative as well. My blood glucose levels have been much better lately. I don't how this happened but I'm not going to knock my good fortune. Because my blood glucose levels have been much closer to normal, Dr. Boerger wants me to stop taking the pioglitazone. If this keeps up, I might not have to take the glyburide either.
  My Gen Con 2017 badge has been ordered. Hopefully this year I won't have to wait over 3 hours for a hotel room. I also hope to get into some Paranoia, One Ring and Firefly events this year. Last year, despite having a bunch of events picked out ahead of time and submitting them promptly at the 11:00am start time, I was still way back in line and most of the events filled before I got to the front of the line. I'm going to move my state and federal tax refunds over to my Amex Serve and Simple accounts to serve as spending money at Gen Con.