I finally finished one, *and* joined deviantart! Adobe Photoshop might be great for mangling existing images, but it's a dirty mother to draw with! Anyway, y'all go look:

http://rm6f9.deviantart.com/art/Perfection-Sri-Yantra-Mandala-62863687

And let me know what you think, gently, please?

Although I don't necessarily want to agree with some of Daedalus' points (Given sufficient perspective, all human action is futile), I do enjoy discussion with obviously bright people: The measure of an edge is the heat of the forge and the strength of the stone upon which it's been ground.

231 years ago, a group of men faced the ends of their lives on earth in order to procure for us their posterity the blessings of liberty... Today, regardless what we may think of the idiots who ordered and have kept them in harm's way for no valid moral purpose, please take a moment to be thankful for those among us still willing to make that sacrifice.
As an aside, I fully intend to vote my favorite presidential candidate this next election as every election since I was eligible to run: ME! Please write in my name, Ross W. Murker, on the "President of the United States" write-in line on your ballot - if true to form, 2008 will garner me somewhere above 100 votes, and I'm only 6 orders of magnitude away. (1 per election = 24 years, I'll become POTUS by popular vote in 2032 at age 69 - Reagan was older when he swore in) - one of these days, I'm going to have to establish a website, electronic petitions to run in the states that don't do write-ins, and ask for volunteers - the only requirement is a sense of disgust with the status quo political scene.
If at all interested, I wrote an essay for an MSNBC contest...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6275862/#entry5
I wonder if that will net me more or less votes?
Anyway, y'all have a great 4th, even you Canadians, eh? (That noise to the south is your uncouth neighbors partying while their idiot-in-chief counts the time until he can escape impeachment via being replaced...)

The guy makes sense - of course, this means he's/we're doomed, but at least we'll be hearing things that sound sensible while the band plays and the cold water looms ever nearer...

Someone said "Be careful what you wish for - it says too much about you." - I feel fairly safe with these.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/2MLCC8W5O00MV/

My wife's hair is growing back, she loves her two new miniature horses, I'm employed full-time, A-N-D, I'm working on building a non-profit, 501(c)(3) incorporation so that when I launch its website, everything will be aboveboard as far as donations being tax-deductible for the kind folks who donate. In my *copious* spare time, I'm looking into admissions to an online university (cityu.edu) to finish my Bachelor's degree in Clinical Psychology.
          Anybody know any good US tax attorneys looking to get some pro bono hours logged?

I met Shadow Wrought live and in person today: I had planned a trip to Powell's as a consolation mini-vacation (my wife went to AZ for the week to see her youngest graduate High School; I had to work). Remembering that he is in the Portland area, I set up a meeting, we discussed across a wide range of topics, I enjoyed the day, the meeting, and the conversation very much. Maybe someday when I'm wealthy I'll set something up to meet all of my slashdot friends in person...

A mutual friend requested it, and haven't seen anything worth denying my /. friendship yet.

My wife is better. Better enough to be off the chemo, better in a 90% by volume tumor reduction sense, better enough to get the bilateral uretal stents removed (don't schedule ANYTHING for the 36 hours immediately after that - smooth muscle spasms make childbirth a walk in a park by comparison - her words), better enough to start the long climb back toward average healthy energy levels, better enough to feel new hair returning in the places it's s'posed to. Better.
          I am still employed, she is still employed (an aside: she had 6 chemotherapy treatments - she missed 7 days of work, total, during this regimen), and we're starting to see just how far her medical and my unemployment have set us back on our path to freedom, but we're once again making steps in a forward direction toward that goal.
          I have no internet access at work and am devoting more time to other projects, so perhaps am not posting as prolifically as before, but I still read just about everything.
          Movies of note: If you haven't seen "Deja Vu", don't bother - they take an awesome concept and smother it.
          Other wastes of time: I've been weaning myself off of TV - am down to UFC shows, and not watching all of them, although I'm occasionally guilty of listening to what my wife watches (CSI, Lost, Deadliest Catch) while I work at the computer.
          It's good to reflect every once in a while, and as I've got a birthday coming next month, this is as good a time as any, to look back, celebrate my/our successes, and be truly grateful for who we are , all we have and all we will become.
          Good call on the hungry summer/kid thing, Nizo, not a lot of people think about stuff like that.
          Here's wishing for everyone the opportunity to feel a similar sense of contented gratitude very soon.
Peace.

It seems odd to look at such a simple thing: I need to contribute. I need to contribute in order to receive without attending feelings of guilt. I have within me skill sets that, when applied, others and I can negotiate an agreed-upon exchange rate as far as one hour of my application of skills is exchanged for x dollars, which can then be exchanged for items I wish or services from others. In short, I successfully found conventional employment for myself!
Nor will I stop with one: I told the Mrs. I'm going forward with a second position, and will continually be looking for better while working both - never again will I allow my complacency with a single employer to create a position where our resources were so threatened by such a common-place occurrence as a lay-off: From here forward, I will exert efforts consistent with creating the situation where she and I can be *responsibly* free of the need for conventional employment.
          I am working a customer service position full-time, and will be working as a youth case-aide part-time, re-acquiring my counselor's registration, following up on finishing my degree and going forward as a counselor/psychologist with certification/licensing/educational requirement i's dotted and t's crossed.
          How grateful I feel, and how shamed I am by my 'spoiled child' huge lack of gratitude prior: I am in health much better than my lifestyle might deserve, I am loved by an angel of a wife, I am capable and have resources within me to offer, and the will to offer them regardless of whether some (most) have chosen to reject the offers, I have a mind and intellect consistently bringing forth ideas to keep trying until one or more in combination sticks in such a way as to realize the abundance we so clearly deserve. (I have friends willing to help explore these ideas, too!)
          Ever had any severe physical pain? Or a low-level nagging chronic pain? Do you know the relief when the ache is gone? How do we forget to be grateful for being pain-free???
          I will not pretend to know any answers around "Grateful to (W)whom/(W)what?" - There may very well be an Infinite Consciousness of some kind, it's an extreme form of arrogance to claim there is not based on lack of definitive evidence of One that fits into any narrowly-defined human-built box, regardless of the label placed on said box.
          After all this drought, not one job, but two. Maybe if I hadn't been so stubborn I wouldn't have suffered the increasing fears associated with ever-lengthening periods of unemployment. Maybe if I wasn't so stubborn, I'd've given up, though - it all comes out in the wash. I shall remember, and do my best to demonstrate my gratitude in continued actions.
          Peace.

If there is a God that actually cares about humanity, perhaps He/She/It could grant me understanding of my fellow humans: It's not bad enough that a very few can direct a large number to blindly pursue a war of aggression on foreign soil, not bad enough that thousands of the many have seen the ends of their lives on those foreign sands, but: During the entire process, never once has the public been encouraged to fly their flags at half-mast to mourn the fallen.
One sadly sick individual spends his final day ending the lives of some of his fellow students at an institution of higher learning here in the states, bang: Flags around are lowered.
Personally, I'll not fly a US flag at my home until our troops are home safe.
Please, grant us all the power to forgive each other and the misguided individuals responsible for the ongoing tragedy that is war.
In my imperfection, I rage and cry in frustration that such things are happening - in my short-sightedness, I do not see what possible greater good could be worth such happenings being brought to pass.
My own personal circumstances are not so terrible: Sad, tragic, that that is the best I can make out of the mess.

If I liked beer more, I'd definitely want one of these:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1021489058616973940

My fear is that our federal government, knowing that beer is a sedative keeping millions of american men from doing anything more active than pushing buttons on remote controls, may decide to make ownership and use mandatory.

Reciprocation so far. More later, in tacky reply to my own JE once I have it to post.

My wife is still responding well to her treatments (5 sessions of chemo down, 1 to go). I've done my best to keep a strong front, reminding her every time she worries that "It's not over yet - it's not time yet." I have no earthly idea how brave I can be if her post-treatment CT scan shows anything other than clear and healthy. She's... well, kind compassionate and loving enough to see something in me worth marrying and staying with for over 11 years - somewhere between saint and angel, deserving of much better circumstances than she's faced health-wise.

We've been burgled recently - replaced most of the stuff, insurance hasn't been too arduous about the claim process, the worst of it was the feeling of having been violated - home security has been *vastly* improved, proverbial barn door securely locked, horses mostly replaced.

I'm still working on trying to build a real business helping people with their Windows issues - also still applying for work...

Have seen lots of videos, including Casino Royale (They wrote him as *human* in this one, and Mr. Craig plays it very well), the Illusionist (fun), The Prestige (Very nice in an eery way, I liked it better than Illusionist, but they blew writing Mr. Tesla), Babel (Crash was MUCH better), Eragon (I want a dragon for a friend!), others I'm not remembering right now...

Read a current best-selling book called The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, and am struggling with implementations: I want to believe, I truly do, I try to maintain gratitude for the blessings realized so far, but while I'm imagining seeing the ultimate success I know to be my birthright, it has yet to be glimpsed by my physical eyes. I'm moving away from the Buddhist ideas - yes, I'm suffering, yes, it's because of my attachments to impermanent things... what is it in me that is so deeply pre-disposed to wanting more? Sitting and breathing has brought no answers, I'm tired of fighting with myself about whether I want or not. Denial didn't work for me...

I'm well aware that whiny squeaky wheels often get hammered into place by larger circumstances - whether it dents me into fitting in a little better, or pushes me into my proper track so I can roll more successfully, I just hope it happens soon.

Here's hoping life is treating all of my friends much better than the above, and that gratitude for said treatment lights your days.

Reciprocation. I find it odd when people befriend me out of the blue like that.