Author Archives: J. Michael Jones

Monthly labs returned this morning. First the good news. My renal labs had a remarkable improvement (after dropping last month). This month my estimated GFR went from 22.2 to 27.5 which is a rather profound improvement for 30 days. Now my kidneys are functioning at about half normal rather than just a fraction. My cancerContinue reading “Heath Update: 7/22/21”

As most of you know, America and the world is on the cusp of yet another deadly surge in COVID infections, this time being driven by the highly contagious Delta Variant, which is also more deadly than the previous infections. All the computer models (the same ones that were very accurate over this last year)Continue reading “In Defense of the COVID-19 Vaccination”

I want to say that I am sincerely sorry for any offense words I have used in this blog over the past few years. I tend to feel strongly about things, good things and bad. As most of you know, I have had strong (negative) views toward Donald Trump. There is no reason to discussContinue reading “A Moment of Apology”

Just a brief follow up. I was seen at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance on Tuesday. As I described, it is hard to tell if my cancer is coming out of remission because of mixed lab findings. They agree that it is not clear. We have decided to follow one value, my gamma light chain proteinsContinue reading “Health Update’s Update”

Update: The last time I wrote, I spoke of being in a window of positive news about my cancer. My symptoms were low and the tests were favorable. I was at the point of being giddy, and guilty for feeling so good when I have friends suffering. Anyone who has dealt with a chronic disease,Continue reading “Health Update: June 27th, Is the Window Closing?”

I could not end this series without touching on these two topics for completion. As I pondered how to do that, even these parting topics had spinoffs, such as how do we find truth to start with (epistemology)? But I will let that go for now. Certainty In most religious sects, certainty is not onlyContinue reading “Pluralism, Tolerance, and Relativity; Post Note on Certainty and Agnosticism”

In 1992 I listened to a remarkable lecture titled, Possible Answers to Basic Philosophical Questions. Dr. Schaeffer, the presenter, had made the point in an earlier lecture that philosophy is really a remarkably simple discipline because, unlike biology or physics, there are only a handful of questions and an equal number of possible answers. TheContinue reading “Pluralism, Tolerance, and Relativity Part III; Relativism”

A few weeks ago I was the brunt of someone’s anger. It was one of those situations where you step into a stranger’s line of fire . . . and it had nothing to do with you. Now, I don’t even remember what it was about. But I started thinking afterwards, that we who liveContinue reading “A Dispensation of Grace”

I tell these stories, not because I think they are unique to me. It is not about “my journey” but about the human condition. I tell them because I’ve observed them and like a correspondent, I want to write about the experience because I think many others have had the same. A good friend andContinue reading “Joe, The Nocturnal Accuser”

The Art and Science of Religious Intolerance To fully address tolerance, I believe we must look carefully at the substance of intolerance. I used the term “art” in the title, not implying a positive trait, but how we work creatively to dress up or decorate our intolerances to make them more palatable. Within the varietyContinue reading “Pluralism, Tolerance, and Relativity Part II; Intolerance”