Random Thought

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Girls:

You may not be his first, his last, or his only. He loved before, he may love again. But if he loves you what else matters? He's not perfect-you aren't either, and the two of you may never be perfect together but if he can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold on to him and give him the most you can. He may not be thinking bout you every second of the day, but he will give you a part of his that he knows you can break-his heart. So don't hurt him, don't change him, don't analyze him and don't expect more than he can give.
-Jon Almovada

Best Gifts

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I have more 'stuff' than I really care to admit. Although I am proud of my collection of books and think it will one day make a very impressive library, i have plenty for my needs. When I finally buy a home, I look forward to a "throwing away party" at which to dispose of certain items.

My friend Jay says that at every turning point in life, it helps to get rid of things you own that hold you back and hold you down. Last night, I started to accumulate items into boxes for semi-permanent storage. Many items found their way into the garbage or donation receptacles, but a few things I just cannot throw away.

For me, the best gifts are the things other people make for you or at least make personal. Sure, some people have personalized things in only the most remote sense of the word. However, back in High School, I wrote everyone a personal poem instead of the common sobriquet normally scribbled into those memories.

Very few of my friends have ever made things for me that matter. The ones who have, where I know it came from their hearts, I kept. Where not enshrined in a place of honor, they remain entombed in perpetuity because I value them as I valued those friendships.

If you ever made me something or personalized it, I probably still have it. If not, I am sorry. I may have lost it in a move. I am eternally grateful that you spent a portion of your life on me.

Brethren, adieu.

Harry Reid: Presidential Puppet

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I caught a brief glimpse of Obama's speech at UNLV during the transition from Reid's remarks to his own. Aside from being a farcical circus, Reid was equally embarassing. He basically drooled over the President and then blushed as the President said Harry was the best thing that happened to Nevada since God created it. While the President praised him, Reid awkwardly fumbled for his seat with his posterior facing the audience. How embarassing.

Then he sat there in a visible but inappropriate position of honor. Why did Harry remain on the stage during the President's remarks in the only chair on stage? It wasn't even a good chair- one of those hard plastic ones we use in classrooms everywhere. When the camera was correctly positioned, he was like a page number in the footing of the frame, just to the president's lower left. He grinned like a small child. It was embarassing.

Obama in Vegas: Boon or Bane?

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After fragging Las Vegas, the President has condescended to pay us a visit today. Well, he will be here, but he will not be here to visit the people. He might be afraid. We have really high foreclosures and unemployment, and we got the least amount of stimulus money from the bills he signed. He tells people to avoid coming here. I am honestly surprised he has any fans left in this town.

Obama is here to stump for Harry Reid. He will head first to Aria at City Center, a project for which Reid has taken credit as a boon for jobs. Nevermind all the jobs Harry saved are now gone since construction is over. Then there's an invitation only rally and fundraiser for Harry's campaign. Tomorrow he will speak at UNLV, our local public university, but it will not be open to the public. None of his visit will.

To add insult to injury, Obama's visit will be a pain for the city. In addition to road closures and such, I have no idea at what cost in taxpayer money he comes here. On top of that, it's not for the people. It's for Harry Reid and other Democrat candidates. It's a campaign visit.

My consolation in this is that Obama seems to sink whatever he supports. Candidates for whom he campaigned all lost, and sports games or teams he attended or backed were losers (the World Cup game he watched was the one the US lost). Maybe this bodes poorly for Reid. I can only hope.

It gets on my nerves that Obama comes here and does nothing open to the public. I can't face him, see him, sneer at him, inquire of him, or even fawn over him (assuming I wanted to) unless I happen to be on the street when he drives by. Although I was on the corner in Washington when George W Bush drove by one night, that was only because we couldn't decide where to eat and he passed us as we debated. Vegas is not a town where you spend time on the street during the summer.

You decide. Will Obama's visit be good for Vegas? I guess that really depends on your point of view. Unlike his events, this blog is open to the public.

Life Lesson #2: Get Over Yourself

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I know a lot of people who have Center of the Universe Syndrome. They think that everything revolves around them. You know them- they turn every conversation into something about themselves and brag or try to One-up you on everything you have to say. These people complain incessantly but claim to be the biggest charitable hearts you know. Nobody is more caring about others than they are.

Although both of the following statements are often rude, we as a species do need to hear them from time to time: "It's not about you" and "Get over yourself". In the bottom line, we are completely insignificant. Sometimes we lose track of this because in our small environ we appear to be powerful or important, but on an Astronomical scale, everything we do and say and have is completely irrelevant. just ask an astronaut who has seen the earth from orbit how big you appear to the rest of the universe.

I wonder if God allowed us to explore space just so we could begin to comprehend how impotent and irrelevant we are. True, we are important to him, but even to our own planet, some plastic bags or flattulence or a campfire can't upset the earth too much. Even if we tried, I doubt people could destroy the earth, and we are equally powerless to save it.

You may have money or power or popularity; those things are all temporary. Eventually, we all die, and then our power and money and popularity die with us. People don't usually gather at the mosoleum of a leader millenia dead and worship his power and influence. We are just people. What we are is not important; what we do defines us.

Get over yourself and go out and do something worth doing.

Life Lesson #1: Control

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The department secretary asked me this morning how I am. I told her that everything I control is under control. My problem is that most things are not under my control at all!

We have this great delusion as a species that we have power to change things. When things don't go our way, we wonder what we could have done differently. The problem is that usually we're not the only people whose decisions went into play, and so even if we did right, if everyone else did wrong, we can't usually negate all of their activity by ourselves.

You have to get rid of your illusions of control. When you have choices to make and work to do, take control of the parts you control and do them well. If things go badly after that, take control of the products of the event over which you have control and make something of them. You may be familiar with the serenity prayer. There are things we simply cannot change. Time moves forward, gravity holds us down, and beauty is always fleeting or fake.

Basically, you control what raw materials you put in and what you do with the results of your efforts. If you put good materials in, you can get better products out, but only if the machinations that modify the materials add value. What comes out of the machine isn't under your control unless you made the machine. All you can do is make the best of what results.

Everything in my life that I control is under control. I also realize that most of life is far beyond my poor power to add or detract. When things happen beyond my control, I trust in a higher power to make something of it and look for the next opportunity to make something of my life.

Freedom for Body and Soul

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As we celebrate our nation's freedom, there are a few coincidences to consider today. True freedom, that espoused by and fought for by the Founders of Liberty, consists in freedom of body and soul. If that were not so, Jefferson's monument would have different inscriptions. If that were not so, then people would not be so willing to fight just to go through the motions.

Soldiers and statesmen fight for the freedom of the body and mind to act. Their selfless sacrifice is something we indeed treasure. Many of them lost their lives. Many of them lost their fortunes.

There is another freedom fighter we often forget. In this land and on this day, I think it behooves us to think of Jesus Christ. He also laid down his life in the cause of Freedom. By his sacrifice, we are free from the consequences of sin and death. It is indeed fitting that the Fourth falls on a Sunday.

As you remember your fathers, brothers, and sons, remember also that Other Son, in whom we trust.

God Bless America, and Happy Birthday. I hope I look as good when I'm 234 years old ;).

I Like Hikers

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I have come to find that I like almost everyone I encounter when I hike. With few exceptions, they are people who enjoy the outdoors for more than that which they can take from it. On my hike today, we found only two pieces of discarded refuse. The people were all cheerful. Many of them were helpful. Several of them treated us like old friends.

It felt like you belonged to a club. There are no dues, no regular meetings, and only one rule: leave the wilderness as you found it. Our shared interest made us instantly close unlike most people I encounter in the real world. Like me, they came to the mountain (10,200 feet above sea level) to escape most people and their incessant quest for things of little worth.

Now, there are exceptions. I have taken people hiking who came because they had an agenda. I have taken people hiking who were forced to go. Those people don't come again. The mountain is not a place for those who take the path of least resistance.

Atop the peak we climbed today is a very ancient tree. All of those we saw under its branches treated it with the reverance one has for their own elders. It stood up to the buffetings of the elements. It, like the people who came to see it, seeks strength.

Why do I climb mountains? I love the beauty of God's creations. Even the humans I encounter on the mountain are full of felicitations and fascinations, and we know there that we are brothers. It is a glorious place to be.

Problems with Environmentalist Victory

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Imagine my surprise to read an article this morning that there might be problems if the environment actually recovers. For years, the Envirostatists have made a big hullabaloo about how our activities have destroyed the ozone layer and how that could lead to an end of all life on earth. Now, it seems that in repairing it, we stand to suffer as well. Statism is a no-win scenario for most people, and this is proof positive.

Without the shield, we would burn up. With its recovery, we now run the risk of being choked by smog.

What they will actually do is use this as a reason to reduce our ability to drive our own cars. Obviously, we must curtail ALL human activity because even when we fix one part, it exacerbates another one. Yet, the volcano in Iceland a few months back put out more CO2 into the atmosphere during its eruption than man has in all the years since the industrial revolution began COMBINED. It's about restricting freedom.

The more victories they win, the more they must win, or else it wasn't worth it to begin with. Why don't we try just leaving well enough alone for a change and see what the earth does? Obviously, the earth wasn't concerned about CO2 when the volcano in Iceland erupted. If it were a big problem, the earth would do something about it.

I believe that it is the highest arrogance to believe that we puny humans can affect anything on the planet. In astronomical terms, we are completely and utterly irrelevant. For all we know scientifically, we are the only planet in the universe with intelligent life, and so we are an anomaly, a plague. I love this satire by George Carlin:

WARNING: Contains some profanity. Listener assumes all liability for exposure to these words.

When the earth is finished with us, if there is no God, it will do away with us. Since there is a God, he will make sure things get buffered before we go to far. We don't need people to tell us that. in their godless world and on astronomical terms, they quite frankly don't matter, and neither does anything else we do.

Don't Be Sorry; Be Better

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I have often been asked to forgive things people do to me, purposed or accidental. Being sorry however doesn’t make it better. It just makes you feel better because you have assuaged your own guilt, but the fact that you are sorry changes nothing for me. How would it make it better for me that you feel better about having not done right by me? We spend too little effort on one facet of repentance: making things right.

For your benefit, I present the steps of repentance for your edification. I wish I knew from whence I drew them, but here they are:

Recognize
Remorse
Recount
Recant
Restitution
Repent
Rinse
Repeat

I will explain them all briefly.

Recognize: In order to fix a problem, you first have to know you have one and why and what you should have done. This is the only passive step, but it is often one of the hardest. Very few people take criticism well, even when they ask for it, because most people believe they are doing the best with what they have. What we really mean when we offer them advice is that we hope they will be better.

Remorse: This couples well with recognize, and is a constraint because many people think they did right. With different beliefs, values, norms, and environs, it is difficult to explain sometimes that an action is wrong. Nobody will act on the other steps until he decides to feel bad for what he did, and in order to do that, he must know what he should do.

Recount: Most of the time, you can simply recount your mistakes to God. He knows anyway, but he has impressed upon us the importance of actual verbal admission. In some cases, he asks us to recount it to someone who can absolve us on his behalf. This is designed to help make sure our repentance is complete and our conscience emerges clear. In the recounting, you specify exactly for what you realized you feel remorse and then can customize your own plan to make it right.

Recant: In order to move on, we must swear not to repeat the mistake. This is tricky, because we are prone to repeat things when we have long-entrenched habits. However, it is part of an earnest and honest effort to make things right to recant and deny ourselves opportunity to repeat the offense.

Restitution: Perhaps the most abused and overlooked step, full repentance requires that me make things right. Return what you steal, endeavor to repair reputation, etc. Some things cannot be restored. In that case, the person to whom we recount the error can give guidance on how to make it right in the eyes of the lord. Most people who are sorry make no effort to make it right. They expect me to just forgive them that they wronged me. God requires that things be set right as best they can.

Repent: You go before the Lord and ask him to forgive you. We often skip to this part. If you meet the requirements, he has promised that it will be done. You explain what you did to make it right, to make yourself better, and ask him to cover your sins through the merit of his son.

Rinse: As a first-time repenter, you get baptized by immersion as Christ for the remission of sins. Subsequently, we partake in the sacrament as at Passover in remembrance of Christ and ask him to take away the new blemishes with which our garments are stained. This is often skipped as well.

Repeat: Whenever you repeat a sin or begin a new one, as you inevitably will because you are imperfect as long as you live, it is a commandment to repent again. Christ promised that he will forgive his people as often as they repent. It is important to continually cleanse ourselves.

Be a better person. That's the real purpose of Christ's sacrifice- to give us the opportunity to overcome our shortcomings and become better people every day, people with whom God can be pleased and fellowship. The atonement of Christ, one man said, serves to make bad men good and good men better.

Don't be sorry. Be better.

*if I have offended you in any way, please let me know, and as much as lies in my power, I will endeavor to make it right.