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Every so often I start a book that just doesn't seem like it's worth finishing...So once a month I'm planning on posting a "not a review" for those "zero star" books...

First up...

JFK: The CIA, Vietnam, and the Plot to Assassinate John F. Kennedy

at 28% done, I decided to call it a day. the book is listed at a "bargain price" and is written by a pilot who flew with the "movers and shakers" of the war. It communicates a lot of information, but in a way that is not all that readable.

I did take away a renewed understanding of the futility of the Viet Nam war, and I guess it's a good thing that we look at ALL war with the same cynical eye.

(Edit: okay, I'm working at it again...)

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Interesting week, in which I discovered a couple of things.

I'm working the detox and discovery part of "The Plan" and 2 things:

When you're in the discovery phase, you can plan to lose 1/2 pound a day (if you're sticking to the plan.) If you find a food that **you** are reactive to, you can bump up a pound.

Almonds (which are non-reactive for most) apparently give me a horrendous sweet tooth - and cause me to bump up a pound (although whether from the almonds or from the falling to forementioned sweet tooth, I'm not sure)

white bread - makes me feel icky and bloated and gives me insomnia leaves me to think (because of the 1/2 pound weight loss) that I'm not **reactive** but am sensitive to gluten.

Go figure.

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Purpose of the post: diet, exercise, injury

It was such a sucky diet week I didn't even weigh myself. I purchased the book "The Plan" and I'm shopping tonight for the 3 day detox. They say the "cranky stage" of detox last about 3 days and this is a 3-day weekend so hopefully I'll be good on it.

Sometimes it has felt like the healthier I eat, the harder it is to lose weight and if this book is right, it explains a lot. I'll try anything once...

This week I took about 3 short walks and none of them set off major achilles pain so that's good. The weather hasn't been very encouraging for walking outdoors, but I did take a group of students for a walk in the woods on a sunny day. One of them had surgery on her foot over Thanksgiving and is just now back at school (she's vision impaired and using a white cane; using that and crutches at the same time is...impossible so she was at home) - anyway, her good leg is about 30% larger than the one she hasn't been using (hopping and crutches at home where she knows her environment) so we want to get her up to speed and that means walk, walk, walk. Today we're going into the community and we're planning a shopping trip and I'd like to get about 3 geocaches in the Hobby Lobby area. 😉

My vicodin intake is less than it has been so I'm happy about that. At the worst of this I was taking 6 vicodin a day and I'm taking about 2 1/2 a day now (the lowest dose, 5mg.)

On the sciatica front, I haven't noticed major tingling so hopefully that means that piriformis swelling is getting a little better, although I feel like I'm chasing the pain down my leg. The main point of "big pain" remains on the outside point of my hip, with "pulling pain" at my tailbone. That pressure sets off my hamstring, which is tight as a drum, according to my massage therapist, and that (in turn) pulls on my Achilles' tendon.

I spend a major portion of my time at home leaning against my bad. (explanation: I have a tall bed with storage underneath and it's just the right height for me to put a couple pillows under my top half and stretch my hamstring and Achilles' tendon for my bottom half)

So I hit the three points and hopefully next week is better all around

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Would God Be Just if He Saved No One?

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60 Second Summary: The Pill: Contraceptive or Abortifacient?

The Gist: It's time to distinguish clearly---in terminology, thinking, and public policy---between contraception and abortion.

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About that gun show loophole…

Just imagine… open forums where criminals, the deranged and the idle rich can wander in off the streets, plop down a fistful of cash and walk out with every weapon known to man with no background check. It’s an awful thing, isn’t it? Or at least it would be… if it were real.

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yucky diet week; I really have to get on this bandwagon. I lost .3 pounds (but that was after coffee)

On the other hand, I did walk twice this week - a good thing since my pain started for real.

It's going to be a nice weekend and I may try a (very) short bike ride. Last weekend I tried to climb (think walk on a steep incline) up a rock and discovered that since my sciatic nerve has been impinged, I don't have a lot of "ground feel" in my right foot. So I didn't want to be on slippery sand stone. But that also makes me a little timid about bike riding and my little walk yesterday made me realize how much stamina I've lost over the last months of pain.

Sooo...not a great week, but not a bad one either.

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I'm not going back. Here's a rundown of what I read and explored this week:
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God Did it. Man Did it! Which Is It?

If I asked you who wrote the book of Romans, would your answer be Paul or would your answer be God? Both answers are true. But it's not right to give them both equal credit. Why not? Because God is the ultimate source; they are the words that He wanted written, so we must give Him full credit. And yet, Paul and the other human authors of scripture were not merely puppets on a string; they used their own words, mind, and personality in their writing. Do you agree with everything I've just said? If so, then you also have the basic framework in place for understanding how a soul is saved.

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The Salvation of Babies Who Die (part one)

when I was making the move to the Reformed camp, Phil and I had dinner with a Calvin Seminary student and the question about babies was the first one I asked. This answer is a good answer.
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Most Perfect and Complete - a sermon and Sola Scriptura in the Belgic Confession

Virtually every cult and false religion is founded upon the following premise: “Of course, we believe the Bible. But . . . We have additional holy books that no one else has. We receive new revelations from God. We have sacred tradition in addition to the Bible. We have an inspired prophet or leader who interprets the Bible correctly unlike everyone else.” So at the end of the day, the essence of false religion is basically this: We believe in the Bible, plus, we have an additional religious authority which corrects or explains what the Bible “really” teaches, or else supplements what the Bible supposedly leaves out.

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