Day 22: YouTube

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I have posted several other YouTube videos over the past few months, but here's one I have not yet used and for which I have thus far found no use in any other blog post. For many years, I have considered it one of the funniest things on that website because it makes people laugh and contains a brilliant concept presented in an entirely humorous fashion.



Doesn't his charisma just sparkle off the screen?

Don't be scared, we're just from Al Qaeda.

However, if you were looking for something more cerebral, look at my prior posts.

WU Abstains from Palin

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Yesterday, a friend of mine expressed his outrage and concern at the notion that Bristol Palin had been invited to speak on the subject of abstinence at Washington University, St. Louis. Apparently, she had been scheduled to receive, for this one engagement, approximately what my friend earns annually as an enlisted member of the US Navy. I do not have a problem with Bristol doing anything she likes, but I do not subscribe to the camp that feels comfortable with paying people large sums of money when there are better examples to be found. Accordingly, I wrote the following letter.

Dear Sir-

My friend tells me that you head the Student Health Advisory Committee at the University of Washington in St. Louis, and it is in that capacity that I address to you the following remarks. It has been brought to my attention by a friend of mine currently serving in the Navy but who attended your institution that you intend to bring Bristol Palin to your campus to give a speech on Abstinence. My friend and I both find it somewhat disturbing that you have selected an individual who is the antithesis of the topic to speak on abstinence education, however broad her appeal, exposure, and reach may be. I worry about the kind of message that it sends to reward someone with a payment (in this case the figure repeated to me was $17,000) for a speaking engagement when she became a famous advocate for it, not because of her resolute stance over years in defense thereof but because she suffered the consequences of defying it.

I can think of many other people whom I would recommend to you who would be better examples of a moral and ethical life. I can think of people who believe in and live by principles of chastity before marriage and fidelity in marriage, because they always have and not in the wake of such a personal tragedy. From a health perspective, yes this is the message to send, but not by someone who has violated the law. How is a man better who has done heavy drugs at enforcing laws against them than a man who never participated? I can only guess at the message that might be sent by hiring her to deliver this message when we have men and women fighting overseas who earn barely more than that on an annual basis. Keep in mind that I support the abstinence movement; it is with your choice of spokesman with which I take my particular exception when there are better men who can speak on other topics of health and wellness. When we tell a person, "Don't do such-and-such", they usually hear it without the 'don't', and if, by exercise in rhetoric, she follows with "be like me", subconsciously, that might invite the audience to follow not just her present part but also Palin's path entire.

As an educational professional and scientist, I respectfully request you reconsider your choice and your offer as tendered in favor of a more worthy individual and/or topic. As a man who has kept his animal urges in tact, I implore you to find someone else more worthy of emulation. Do not settle for or on her because she has become a celebrity and has exposure. Overexposed film is just as worthless as film used to capture things of no worth.

Thank you for your attention in this matter.

Palin is just not that great of a rolemodel.

This morning, I heard that WUSL has redacted their invitation. Abstinence education works every time it's tried.

Day 21: Nicknames

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I have had several nicknames over the years, for various lengths of time amongst various audiences, and for various reasons. Among the ones I remember:

Einstein: This is the most common one, and it crops up periodically and regularly with different people at different times. As you might suspect, ordinarily it refers to my intellectual capacity, my affinity for math, and my anti-social behavior. Sometimes, it also refers to the fact that there are some simple things I simply cannot do or do very well, and of which I am absolutely clueless. Albert was famous for not being able for example to tie his own shoes. As he once said, "The things I know are not very useful in the real world" and like him I frequently find that I know more about what should be than what is.

Baby Man: My father gave us all nicknames along this line of thought when we were younger. It's been years since he brought them up, but all three of us sons had some variation on the theme that we were not yet real men. Other than that, I don't remember how exactly or if there was a specific reason for mine unless it was because it was the first thing that came to mind, I being the eldest son. One of us was Baby Man, One was Tiny Man, and the third one escapes me at the moment.

Ford: I picked this one up when I went to college. When I bought books my first semester, the bookstore had the complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series on sale at a great price (I think the complete set, bound together as one hardcover cost me $12). It's how I met people when I was in college. They would see me reading it and come up to me. This is one of the only nicknames that is still in use today, and some people actually call me Ford even though it's not my real name.

Fergi: This one comes from my old screennames. No, it has nothing to do with the female singer, who came along years after I started using it. I used this as a login or user ID in many things to which I felt disinclined to provide my actual forname, and there are people who think this is my name. It makes it easy to screen spam and solicitors because they call and ask for Fergi or Fergus, and there is nobody in my household by that name.

There are a few others. They are for a unique handful of individuals or are things with which I was not in agreement, and so I have never responded to or used them in reference to myself.

Day 19: A Hobby

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Well, I have so many, I am not sure where exactly to begin.

Perhaps the most famous of my hobbies is that I run. Weather and health permitting, I run 10k thrice every week. Some of the neighbors in the new area where I live have already come to embrace me as part of their routine. The cops wave as they drive by; one older gentleman asked me "Aren't you cold?" What is the misconception, however, is that I like to run. I run because it's an efficient and effective way to manage my weight and burn fat. At one point, I thought I would work up in training to run a marathon or ironman or something. I still do it, because I like how I feel when I finish, and because I prefer to be in good shape than in any shape whatsoever.

What might come as a surprise to you is what I do while I run. Having already established that I don't have an iPOD, I needed something to do while I ran to distract me from the fact that running can be very boring. In fact, that's why I run as far as I do. It happens to be the amount of time after which I get bored running. Starting in 2008, I took historical documents with me on my runs. I memorize them while I am running. I read a few lines, recite them aloud (I have also spoken on the phone while I was running), and then add a few more until I master the document. Most of these are documents of historical relevance to American history, and it allows me to exercise my mind and my body concurrently.

I thought that might be the most interesting hobby about which I could tell you. Honestly, I do what I do because I try to fill my time with things that are valuable in their return for the time invested and because unlike many of you I have relatively few things that demand my time directly.

Maybe one day I'll run with my dog, but he runs much faster than I do when he chooses to run and not nearly as far. Perhaps I could run faster and enjoy it if there were something tangible at the other end in which I was interested, like a bird, a stranger, or some other tempting tidbit. He leads a very good life, and so do I.

Words Matter: The Bible

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Beginning this year, I have coupled my reading of the King James version of the New Testament with the Royal Standard English Dictionary. Each week, I study the selected chapters up for discussion in light of this new information in search of new meaning through connotation and denotation in the notations. Already, I have seen a change in what each phrase means to me.

The King James edition of the Bible was completed in 1611. It marks the first major and official English translation of the bible and represents heavily the Anglican leanings of the dogma as opposed to those promulgated by their Catholic cousins. By 1611, much of what we know of as Middle English had fallen out of favor and was on its way to complete revision into what most of us recognize as Modern English, or the English to which we were subjected in public schooling.

The Royal Standard English Dictionary was completed in 1788 at the behest and hand of William Perry, adjunct faculty at the University of Edinburgh. It was the first major dictionary to be bought and sold throughout the Americas, in part because its completion coincided with cessation of hostilities in the Revolution and in part perhaps because it was of Scottish origin and therefore less offensive.

While still not perfectly chronologically aligned, I have noticed several key differences in what the passages mean when you read them with only the definitions available in English linguistic canon of 1788. That alone represents over 150 years of time passed between the Bible read and the language taught to those who read it, and as I have elsewhere observed English tends to rewrite itself on a periodicity that length or shorter it constitutes but an approximation to the original translation. I have not yet come into possession of a more historically appropriate dictionary of the English language if one exists, and if so, i am interested.

What I have learned is that words matter a great deal in our interpretations. Our mind is cued to read such that often it needs only the first and last letter of a word to know the exact word we mean. Likewise, our mind reads into a passage any omitted 'f's as in 'if' 'of' etc. in long passages with that repeated motif. Perhaps our mind also assumes, based on what we were taught about a language. Indeed, your mastery of any tongue is limited to the education and educator by which you gained whatever degree of fluency you enjoy.

Over 400 years have passed since the Bible was translated into English in the tome I use. At that time, they filtered meaning based on their mastery of their own tongue. In our day, fluency is a thing of the past, and we prefer to fabricate new words than to use ones that already exist, and much of what we create is ruderal at best. Rather than attempt to understand what the men who wrote the passages intended to convey, men among us have retranslated the Bible into 'modern' English to 'make it easier to understand'. Every time you translate something, you lose meaning.

I find it kind of strange that in school we were asked to interpret what the author meant and now we concern ourselves with what we might mean instead.

Three Types of Trials

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You have probably heard at least one person, in the midst of a difficult situation, ask the heavens or the people around him to explain what it is he should learn from his situation. Frequently people also ask why things happen to them. When you understand that trials come in three basic categories, it might help you understand both why the trial came upon you and where to look for an answer to the inquiry as to what you can learn from it.

Trials come in three basic types. There are the trials we bring upon us by virtue of our own poor choices. There are the trials brought upon us by the choices of others around us. Finally, there are the trials allowed to pass upon us by God so that we can learn and grow. Most people I observe assume that trials fall into the third category. They sometimes unjustly ascribe to God the things of which they were author. It sets up lots of confusion.

Much of what happens to us that is of an unpleasant nature is of our own making. You commit a crime, you get caught, you suffer the consequences. Sometimes, it's much more benign, like thinking you can go a few more miles before you buy new tires and then having one blow out on the freeway, causing an accident. Everyone says, thinks, and does at least one thing they wish they could take back after it boomerangs back with a vengeance. People often describe this type of trial as karma, and whether the universe notices us or not (probably not since we're insignificant on a universal scale), physics does teach us that for every action there is a reciprocal reaction, and if that consequence is unpleasant, why do the action that leads to it?

Unfortunately, some unfortunate circumstances result from the choices of other people. If you are not familiar, a few years back, a stripper falsely accused several members of the Duke Lacrosse team of rape. That slandered their good names, and although they were eventually exonerated, it forestalled present opportunities until the issue was resolved. I was once assaulted in the subway in Vienna, not because I had done anything, but because the man thought I was of a particular religious affiliation with which he happened to vehemently disagree. We are all suffering the consequences of inflation, house value deflation, wage cuts, higher gas prices, and a whole slieu of other economic affectors with which we probably had no involvement. Yet, we all suffer as a group from the unfortunate choices of the few, and in some cases the one. I remember well in school having to put my head down in silence because someone acted up and the teacher couldn't handle it.

On rare occassions, and I venture much more infrequently than we suppose, God allows trials to come upon us specifically to teach us something. Usually, we are minding our own business, or we decide we know better and ignore his counsel. Sometimes these are blessings disguised as trials. This is however the only type of trial that has a lesson. They either teach us something about ourselves of which we were as yet unaware, show us our strengths and weaknesses, or they teach us the consequences of choice. Frequently, these are designed to spare us more arduous circumstances down the line if we learn the lesson now at an early stage. If not, we can expect them to continue and escalate in either frequency or intensity in hopes that we will learn before it's too late.

Many people ask why God allows bad things to happen to good people. Well, the answer, with this information, becomes more clear. Some of those good people are not as good as we suppose, not that they are evil per se as much as it is that they made a mistake and the consequences came. Sometimes, the things that happen have nothing to do with God at all. Sometimes what happens to us happens because other people have a vendetta. Only in rare cases, in the third category, does God allow, as he did with Job, that the devil and his angels perturb our peace, and then only as far as he allows it.

Even after we consider that, the trial of trials is actually the trial of no trials. When everything is going smoothly in your life, what do you do? Do you thank God for your prosperity? Do you still pray as much, read the scriptures as much, serve your neighbors as much, and worship as much? When we are blessed too much, we tend to forget God. When we are bound by unbroken success, as Abraham Lincoln observed, frequently we become too proud to pray to the God who made us. It is not in our best interest to have things always go our way. That which we obtain too easily we esteem too lightly (Thomas Paine). Good timber does not grow in ease; the harsher the gale, the stronger the trees.

When you ask yourself in the middle of a trial, 'what should I learn from this?', 'what have I done wrong?', and 'why did this happen to me?', consider the type and origin of the trial. There may be nothing orchestrated by God for you to learn at all, particularly if you are a passive target of the choices of another person. Perhaps you haven't done anything wrong at all. As to the why, well, the type of trial will answer that, if you can identify it. Also consider that ignoble ease is the worst trial of all. Think about it.

If you really believe that God is omniscient, remember that nothing that happens on earth comes as a surprise to him. There is no guarantee of outcome, only an opportunity, and so much of what will be depends on choices beyond our poor ability to add or detract. Sometimes, it's other people. I thank my cousin for teaching me that last summer. If you are honestly and earnestly engaged in an effort to effect the righteous desires and will of God in your life and in the lives of people around you, trust in God to help you as he did Daniel. When you are cast into the pit, when storms gather around, and when you find yourself in the belly of a whale, remember that God is also faithful and will with the trial provide a way by which you may escape it.

Wouldn't It Be Nice...

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I love it when I read articles that make it sound so simple to solve relationship concerns. In many cases, I do exactly what they say but have not met a woman who means it, for real. So here's one for your consideration entitled Dating insights from the opposite sex, and I will summarize the points.

1. Keep things real
Basically this means, be honest, be true, and acknowledge that life is what it is.

“The best thing my friend Kevin ever told me is that it’s very important to do ‘everyday life’ things with my date early on. Instead of always having plans (like going to dinner or the theater), just have a day of doing errands or going to the grocery store. You’ll learn quickly whether he is a helpful guy or not.”
— Jill, 42, managing director of an asset-management firm, Litchfield, CT

What Jill says is actually very insightful. If you can enjoy one another's company taking care of business, you'll get along better in the long run. After all, when you settle down to the business of making a life together, there are chores, obligations, and bills that need your attention, not just the romance.

2. Let chemistry guide you
So the last date on which I went just didn't excite me much. Not that I was expecting a new star in the heavens or fireworks at least, but there just wasn't anything special that inspired me to pursue it any further.

“Nancy’s motto is, ‘If you don’t feel it, don’t fake it.’ When it’s right, it’s right, she always tells me, and if there’s no chemistry, you just need to accept it and move forward.”
— Bryan, 38, portfolio manager, Dorchester, MA

When it's time to move forward, you'll know. If you don't get it, no matter how much you may want to force it or hope that they will grow to love you, I haven't ever seen that work out. It's more a long wait for a train that won't come.

3. Maintain some perspective
A 'smart' match isn't one that's good for social, economic, or familial status. It really comes down to values. I'll use both quotes on this one because I like them.

“Jim says to ask yourself: Does this person value the same things you value? Do you want similar things out of life? At the end of the day, that’s what counts.”
— Audrey, 31, writer, Washington, D.C.

I meet lots of really fine young ladies. However, I hate meeting people just at random, because you don't know about their core. You can get attached to their anatomy or their personality and find out they lack the morals and values to back up longevity with yours. Perhaps that's why I keep insisting on the Friends First Theorem, but it hasn't worked out for me yet.

“Audrey reminds me that you need to give your dates the benefit of the doubt. It’s very easy when something comes up to just assume the worst about the other person, but try turning that around and assuming the best instead.”
— Jim, 32, physical therapist, De Forest, WI

I really love that last part. With people you really love, you assume the best and doubt the rest. It's not normal, but you often get hurt jumping to conclusions.

4. Take charge of your own love life
Be you. Do what you do. When Dr. Pepper used that as their slogan, it struck a chord with me. People appear to be at ease with themselves in their element. Go places where you are happy, and people will see you happy because you are doing something you love. Since they are also doing something they love, you will synergize energetically, and you have a better chance at making true connection in common elements. Above all, be yourself.

“Patrick always says you should change your scenery by going to different places. If you want to find somebody you’re compatible with, go to a place where you can be yourself, relax and have fun.”
— Sheila, 25, magazine editor, River Vale, NJ

I like the next quote. I don't like always being in charge, but in the absence of other decisions, I will make a plan of attack. I know what I feel, and it doesn't change by waiting a few days or going to a place I don't like. The other thing is that if you like playing games, you'll attract the kind of people who also like to play games.

“Sheila’s words of wisdom? You just need to be decisive. The little games people play, like waiting three days or five days before you call, forget it. If you’re going to pursue someone, put all that to the side and go for it!”
— Patrick, 25, real-estate manager, Crestwood, NY

5. Keeping things light helps love bloom
Most things work themselves out. Men like to solve problems. Women sometimes think guys don't care if they don't get all charged up and charge in to fix a problem, beat up some jerk, or whatever. Don't sweat the small stuff. Look for someone who bears with your infirmities and with whose infirmities you are also willing to bear.

“My friend Lowell says you need to give things time. I will complain that a guy is being a jerk and he’ll say, ‘Yeah, he is, but give him space. Let things be for a bit, and they’ll probably work themselves out.’ That advice has served me well!”
— Allegra, 25, public relations director, New York City

And this last thought...yes, you know it's for you. I remember you once told me, "Nobody makes me laugh as much as you." Maybe someday someone else will. Laughter keeps you young, healthy, and engaged in an honest effort to make things work.

“The best advice Allegra gave me is to find someone who makes me laugh — and make the other person laugh as much as possible, too.”
— Lowell, 26, student, Los Angeles

Wouldn't it be nice if people could actually get together with people who are good matches for them?

Day 18: iPOD Shuffle

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Haha, fooled you. I don't actually own an iPOD. I had one briefly about four years ago because I was able to buy it for about half price, but I found that I had so little opportunity or inclination to use it that I sold it to my brother. When I have earbuds in my ears, I cannot hear the world around me, the people in it, or the Spirit of Christ when he tries to talk to me. Sure, music can drown those things out too, but if you physically block other sounds, they don't usually get through at all. Also, I don't have a CD player or adaptor jack for an iPOD in my car because the cigarette lighter doesn't work, so my music options are rather limited.

What do I listen to, you ask? Excellent question. In my car I carry two mix tapes. One contains songs from Mannheim Steamroller Christmas CDs that I own and to which I listen from about October to March, and the other is a mix of various songs I happent to like from various artists. They include but are not limited to:

Worlds Apart by Journey
Jumprope by Blue October
Let it Go by John Batdorf
Tubthumper by Chumbawamba
Soul Sister by Train
Back Down by Tom Petty
Old Time Rock n Roll by Bob Seger
Takin' Care of Business by Bachman Turner Overdrive

I may make it out to the car at lunch and play through them for a few more. Remember that right now I'm listening to Christmas music still, so those are the ones that are most likely to jump to mind.

Day 17: Habit I Wish I Didn't Have

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I have so many habits I wish I didn't have, I don't really know where to begin. Many of them are innocuous or minor, but they probably account for the idiosyncrosies of character by which people excuse themselves from any kind of relationship with me beyond what they must have. I know one woman I met about four years ago who intimated how glad she was that she was forced, through work, to get to know me because she otherwise would never have chosen to do so otherwise.

That being said, the habit I wish most that I didn't have is that my natural facial expression when I am not thinking is a scowl. Frequently, I am distracted, either thinking about or concentrating on something, but I come across as daur, stern, and unapproachable in the estimation of some. I rarely laugh audibly, and if you get me to crack even a feint of a smile, consider yourself accomplished. When I need a laugh, I go to www.criggo.com but other than that, I frequently look upset and unhappy whereas I am usually neither.

No matter how much I point out that one's interpretation of a situation at face value isn't necessarily true or the whole story, I know how my face comes across. My face value leads people to frequently believe I am cross with them or with someone else, and so they frequently give me wide berth. Most people do find me to be quite convivial when they get to know me, but when I'm not with people I know well or doing something that classifies as 'fun', I am usually thinking about something I should do, need to do, have done, or of which I am in the middle. Sometimes, I'm brooding, but usually that fades within an hour or so of the event, and I return to business as usual.

Why would I like to break this habit? It makes me less approachable and it leads people to believe that I'm neither happy nor fun as company. While I could give you a handful of recommendations to the contrary, when you haven't seen me in my element you might not believe them, and most of the things that regular folks do are not things in which I feel to be in my element. Take a class with me, run or hike with me, attend church with me, or travel with me, and you will see me where I open up naturally and am myself.

For a while, I used to combat this by holding a pencil between my teeth. That became a problem for several reasons. It makes it hard to talk, it looks really strange, and sometimes (like when I'm in lab) it's not safe. But the pencil did make my muscles act like they would when I smiled when I was concentrating on something else. My master plan was to work out those muscles enough that they flexed on their own. So far, it hasn't worked as I hoped. I'll apply other solutions and let you know how they work.

Day 16: Picture of My Family

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This is actually a tricky post to accomplish, because I don't really have a 'family' per se. I have a dog. This is his most recent picture:

Like everyone else, however, I belong to a family, which is pictured here:



That family picture is slightly out of date, because my other brother was wed last summer, but there they are.

The picture of my dog is my exclusive copyright. The family picture was taken by my father using a delay timer, and is his exclusive copyright. Neither of these may be used elsewhere without express prior written consent.

Day 15: Next Three Items on Bucket List

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They're not the next three things on there as much as they are the next things I hope to accomplish this year. They include...

1. Ride a bull: there's a bar not far from where I work with a mechanical bull that several of my friends have ridden. Since it doesn't have the gore danger of a real bull, I'll head over there one night and check that off my list this year.
2. Ride a horse: this is related to the first one except that I actually want to learn to ride a real horse. It's a skill I think every man should know how to do, and since I know horses are expensive, I'll content myself to simply know how to handle one and not burden myself with its care as such.

3. See the aurora borealis
4. Pan for gold in alaska: these two are connected because I intend to go to Alaska this summer for a week. Hopefully I'll get to do and see all the things I want to, but at the very least I will be able to say I have done certain things in Alaska, which is something most people I know cannot say.


5. Publish a picture for profit: I've been working the last few weeks on putting together my photography book on Nevada for publication. It's not as 'exciting' photography as other professionals I know, but rather it's a historical explanation of why those places are significant and contains instructions on how to get there, when I went, and how I shot the images it contains so you can either go there yourself or appreciate the things I have done in my free time for the past five years or so. Wow, I've spent that long on it?

Day 14: Dream House

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My Dream house is Monticello, yes the one in Virginia built by Thomas Jefferson. If you know me, that will not surprise you. What might surprise you is that I have already worked out the schematics on a drafting program (at least preliminarily) to recreate his mansion somewhere else, probably in Wyoming. It required some changes and some guesswork, since the upper levels are off limits, but if I had the money and the space, I'd build Monticello somewhere else, since the Jefferson family is not likely to sell me the original, although I'd be open to the notion...















The pictures of Monticello on this page are my exclusive copyright. Any unauthorized use or reproduction without express prior written consent will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Day 13: What I Did Today

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0500: Wake up, get dressed, read scriptures. No more '-ites'.

0534: Out the door. Ran 10K, did pushups and situps

0618: Shower, shave, dress, play "In Humility Our Savior" on the piccolo

0700: Breakfast- grapenuts, which is my standard faire. Take out trash.

0726: Drive to work

0758: Arrive at work, start this blog article. Dr. T arrives, concerned about our ability to accomodate double the sections of class this semester. He informs me he'll ask the Dean to send someone over to help me out on days when I need it.

0823: Dr. L arrives early for our meeting, which I thought was at 0900, and he calls Dr. S to see if she's coming, and she forgot, so we get to start at 0900

0840: Set up computers for students in lab

0903: Meeting to reorganize and reconfigure and rewrite the microscopy lab

1015: My boss arrives and asks me to sign some paperwork

1108: finish setting up computers for first week of lab that starts Monday

1145: check RC Willey ad; furniture still not on sale

1215: lunch...tilapia with rice

1245: respond to email from a student

1249: respond to alcohol article on my other blog

1317: look up fungal inhibitors and new slides to purchase for microscopy lab

1407: coordinate service project

1424: get my third call asking if this is the ESL office (about 90% of my phone calls are for this department, from which they stole my extension when they hired me)

1428: look up word of the day

1435: read the blogs I follow that have updates

1500: staff meeting: discuss with boss space restrictions and my plan to accomodate the new burden of courses for the semester. discuss changes to coursework and when we expect to implement them in the laboratory experiments. discuss the new instructors teaching labs and ask for them to move two sections of General Bio across the hall for better logistics and room optimization.

1545: put together chemicals requested by another instructor on another campus so we dont' have to buy more stuff.


1713: leave work for the day and drive home

1800: dinner

1900: HOA meeting (first one since I moved in)

2030: get ready for bed

I'll fill this in later with anything else noteworthy that happened after I left work.

Day 12: A Favorite Quote

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In "A Man For All Seasons" Thomas More tells Sir Howard, the Duke of Norfolk:

Fellowship? When we die and you are sent to heaven for sticking to your principles and I am sent to hell for denying mine, will you come with me for 'fellowship'?

In one of his last letters to his daughter, Margaret Roper, Sir Thomas More wrote this, which is the phrase from which that movie line was taken:

When we shall hence and come before God and that he shall send you to heaven for doing according to your conscience, and me to the devil for doing against mine, [will] some of you go now for good company with me?

For most of us, fellowship and company are what matter. For Thomas More, it was fellowship and company with God and his Christ that mattered most. Your true friends will never ask you to go against your conscience. It works out very well for those who can say they didn't know any better and were just following their conscience, but it doesn't work out so well for those who feel they might just be better of staying true to themselves.

The irony about the way I choose to live my life is that it's the best option. If I am wrong and the way we live doesn't matter or there is no life after this, then it doesn't really matter what your life philosophy is. We're all equally inconsequential at that point, once we pass from the memory of the people who still live. However, if I am right, about any of it in any way, well, the company of More and people like him will be a fine place to be. I will finally be surrounded by my peers- people who hope for something better, for good things to come.

Day 11: A Favorite Book

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Although not my favorite book, per se, the book I most frequently recommend is CS Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters". CS Lewis has long been one of my favorite writers, not only for his reaffirmation of my faith, but also for his introspective into the motivations and reasoning that drive human action. While I recommend Ludwig von Mises’ "Human Action", at over 900 pages, it takes more time to get to the heart of the matter than to read Screwtape. I like Screwtape because, whether you believe in a devil or a god or not, it reveals the conflicting ideas and reasoning that go on behind the scenes in the recesses of human thought. It shows how easily we abandon what is true and how simply we repaint the hues of right to rationalize and justify ourselves. The simple fact of the matter is that we are at war with everyone around us, and whether a Screwtape whispers in our ear or we play Screwtape to ourselves, we deceive ourselves and overcomplicate our lives.

When I read this book, I never do so from cover to cover. It can be a very dark book. However, I am enlightened as I realize that I have recently had similar thoughts or seen people I know and love do similar things and know that awareness is the first part of the cure. I cannot fix a problem of which I am not aware, and as I read Screwtape, I become aware of my weaknesses and poor choices and can better interact with my fellowmen, without deception, without temptation, without an agenda.

In the troughs of our lives, we have opportunity to grow the most. Some of God's choicest children have gone through longer and deeper troughs than any others. Even there, if you fall, He is pleased with your stumblings. Remember that Fear and Faith cannot exist in the same person at the same time. Choose Faith, and you will, as Lewis says, find that fort always ready to come to your defense.

Day 10: A Favorite Food

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About two years ago, after they did a health test battery for the military, I received the following comments. They told me that my LDL was too low, that my total fat was too low, and that my billirubin count was too low. None of these are linked to any kind of disease, probably because they are very uncommon. An elderly doctor who is no longer at the MEPS after that visit (I assume he retired) told me I should eat more fat, more unsaturated fats.

I looked for something I could eat that would provide these fats. In the process, I discovered young coconuts.

In a young coconut, after you drain and drink the milk, there is a gelatinous layer on the inside. Scrape it off with a spoon, like you serve up jello from a dish, and you have this smooth and milky substance. I really, really enjoy it. Fortunately for me, there is a store near where I work that has at least 6-8 of these in stock every time I visit, and I try to eat half of one every other day to get some of the fats necessary for higher metabolic processes like rebuilding protective sheaths.

For years, I have loved coconut, but I actually really look foward to coconut days. Yes, call me crazy.

Personal Mount Rushmore

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I forget exactly how many months ago it was that my friend and I began discussing this, but each of us has an opportunity to fashion in our minds our own personal Mount Rushmore. On it, you would etch the faces of the four people who mean the most to you in your life, influenced you the most, etc. There is only one rule- you cannot be a direct blood relative of any of them, to avoid hurting a sibling or parent because you included one without the other and to avoid everyone just saying their family constitutes their heroes.

My friend pointed out that some people answer this question very quickly. He is usually skeptical of that, because, he wagers as do I, they have never heard of this concept before and hastily give a trite answer. Ask yourself who would be on your personal Mount Rushmore. I will share with you the people on mine.

On the 7th of this month, I wrote this in my journal:
My choices are Thomas More, Thomas Edison, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Truelove. More for faith, Edison for fortitude after failure, Jefferson for frailty and freedom and Truelove for friendship. Each was an example of those traits enumerated, and I consider those among the most useful and important lessons imparted to me by my particular mortal probation. I have had about a year on which to consider this, and for today, those are the men I would etch into my mind’s eye as worthy of veneration. Which would you choose? It is a fascinating insight into the mind of a man.

Day 9: A Favorite Movie

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I hate to admit this is harder than I thought it would be. The nice thing is that it says "a favorite" and not "the absolute favorite", so you get treated to something other than the normal, I hope.

One of my favorite movies is actually "A Man for All Seasons". Partly, I like this movie because Sir Thomas More is one of those who would be on my personal Mount Rushmore. Secondly, I like the movie because it's among the most accurate depictions possible of historical events, especially powerful given the fact that it took place over 400 years ago. Over the last year or so, I have read many of More's works, and as I have done so, or read Roper's account of the life of More, I found where the elements were for the dialogue and was pleased to find that More really did say many of the things that issue from his character's lips in the film.

More is one of my heroes. I do not know what I would have done in his position, but I draw upon his strength and wisdom as I make decisions in my own life. More stood up to his best friend and sovereign, King Henry VIII of England. More stood on principle. More died as a martyr.

More was also a man. As I read his works and letters and the biographies of his life, I got to see him angry, frustrated, fighting with his wife, and tired. He was also Resolute, which is something I very much respect. Unlike More, I am a stranger to the cunning ways of lawyers and the artifice of law, and so I am fairly certain that were our roles reversed I would have fared less well than he, but his faith and trust in Christ continue to inspire and direct me.

This morning, I received an email from my best friend in which he said that he can see much of More in my behavior and thought. More's writings and life have transformed my own, including my verbiage since I read some of his works in the original, which means they were Middle English, and I learned to appreciate my own struggles, trials, strengths, and talents more as a consequence of getting to know this man.

Perhaps many who read this have never seen this movie. It's not very exciting, there's neither profanity nor nudity, and much of the movie, although drama, is not that to which the rising generation has become accustomed thanks to Law and Order and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. However, I believe it to be one of the most fundamental movies of our time, as powerful in its pagentry as much as in its historical fidelity to a man who showed us what it really means to be a man and more especially to be a man of God.

Day 8: A Favorite Song

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Even if you don't know much about the minutea of my life, you may know that this song has been on my playlist for many years. About five years ago, a lot of things in my life started to go wrong quickly, and one day, I heard it on the radio, changed the station, and heard the song again.

Tubthumper by Chumbawamba

Why do I like this song?

Lyrics do matter. There are a lot of songs that people like that have awful lyrics, not because they're vulgar or inappropriate in other ways, but because they are psychologically misleading. About a week ago, my sister was listening to a song that could have been so much better if the energy of the music and the lyrics had been written, not to opine, but to uplift. It was mournful instead of hopeful, but I let her enjoy what she likes.

"We'll be singing when we're winning."
Normally I don't like the present perfect tense of verbs (-ing) because they are process words, but this one works with positive energy. It implies that the thing that will echo is that we are winning, in perpetuity, and that we'll be singing. Also, they are singing, which implies that they believe they are winning and/or already won.

"I get knocked down, but I get up again."
The final thought in English is psychologically the part you want to echo. This line echoes something positive and is akin to the poem In Victus. I get up again. That's how you win.

"He sings the songs that remind him of the good times. He sings the songs that remind him of the better times."
We are prone, it seems, to think more on what is not than on what is. We have good times, we have good memories, and we have better ones. Focus on those.

I like the energy of this song. I've actually never seen the video, so I dont' know if the content is suitable, but this is a song that continues to remind me of what to remind myself. Naturally, it's not my favorite of favorites, but it teaches you something new about me, which is I think the point of this 30 Day series.

Vulnerability

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What is vulnerability?
For years, people have complained that I don’t open up and trust people. I have found it slightly ironic that these same individuals are generally those who take advantage of me when I open up and trust them despite their assurances to the contrary. Nobody really likes to be vulnerable, but it seems to be the only way in which to gain depth in any kind of relationship, from espirit de corps to fidelity. It’s kind of funny how we start as children with all the trust in the world and then quickly revoke that for anyone and everyone who subsequently crosses our path.

Vulnerability quite simply put means an ability to be hurt by someone else. Militarily, it means open to attack and susceptible to wounds, but in a broader sense, it just means that other people have power to do us harm (even if just to our ego or illusions). We see that with people who use their birthdays as passwords, who announce on Facebook that they’ll be on a cruise for a week or two, and who finally tell another person that they love them. Most of the powerful destructive forces in our lives come at us sideways and use details about us to hit us where we are weak so they can do us harm, even if it’s not personal. Sometimes, it's just that they upset the status quo or shake up the false reality with which we have become comfortable, which does us temporary harm even if it leads to ultimate good.

What makes a person vulnerable?
Vulnerability comes from several sources. First off, humans are physically vulnerable due to the sensitive natures of their bodies. We are already riddled with holes. You can break the skin with one pound of pressure correctly applied. We rely on gas exchange, ion transfer, and involuntary physiological processes that few of us understand and still fewer can force by sheer will. Microbes, toxins, and other invaders get into our bodies through various means, and we usually don’t know we are infected until they have already caused damage.

Much human vulnerability comes from our own choices. We expose ourselves to get fame and fortune. We log onto the internet and divulge details to others so that we can brag or at least seem to have something of which to brag. We sign up for surveys and contests and coupons in an effort to save money and hope that instead of John Wayne Gacey with a weapon Ed McMahan will show up with a check at the door. We say things, choose to go places, spend money, and invest time, all in such a way that we put ourselves into the company of people who may or may not deserve our trust. For those who we hope will prove they deserve our trust, we give them power to destroy our lives. Someone once said that being in love means you give someone the power to hurt you and hope they won’t use it.

A largely forgotten piece of human vulnerability comes from refusal to make our own choices. While it is quite possible we might make an error, the surrender of choice makes us by far and away the most vulnerable. Freedom once forsaken is rarely regained, and then usually only by blood. Governments make promises. People form governments. In the end, they’re all as equally frail and faulty as we are.

I really like this video that puts things into perspective. A reporter goes up in a U2 Spy Plane and comments on just how fragile our lives really are.


All the more reason to be thankful for what we have.

Hope for Humanity

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If you haven't seen this or miss it once they take it down off the breaking news ticker, there's a story that warms the cockles of my heart and gives me hope for humanity. At an AHL hockey game, an 8 Year Old girl made her singing debut. When the microphone cuts out after "gave proof", she keeps singing, even though you can hear a woman (just one) cackle in the background akin to the wicked queen from Snow White. Within a few seconds, the crowd, including the players, picks up the song in unison and sings along with Elizabeth, who doesn't seem to have noticed there's no sound coming out of the speakers.

This is what I love about people. Most of them really do have things figured out, in general at least, and it's the few who cackle at the plight of others.



Although as Spock teaches us the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one, it is also human when the many go to bat for the one, particularly when the one is innocent, harmless, and pure of heart.

Day 7: Something I Intend to Buy

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Although I'm not really prone to whimsical purchasing, there are a few things on my wish list, which I constantly update. One of the things on that list that has been on there for the longest time is this:

It's not very functional, except as a paperweight, but it is something that has inspired me since the moment I first saw the structure of DNA. Since then I have read Watson and Crick's story, their research, and the memoirs. This crystal in a crystal makes life possible. It's a thing of beauty.

On the off chance that's too expensive for you, as it has thus far been for me, there are a slieu of books on my wish list too. Let me know if you want to buy one or more for me, and I'll send you links ;).

Day 6: Something I Bought Recently

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I finally broke down last month and bought a video camera. It hasn't really been something terribly important, but I learned in October 2009 that my digital camera would capture video but would not capture sound. For times when I want to record something, that makes it tedious, because I have to combine the audio and video in other software before it's finished. For about six months, I have watched the sales and finally got one that, while not great quality per se, allows me to quickly capture and disseminate videos.

Video cameras have come a long way. I think my parents still own the monstrous one we had when I was young that holds a full size VHS tape. You know the kind- you see them carried around by news teams.

Are video cameras or cameras in general even a necessity? I was thinking a week or so ago when a friend asked online when they were going to see pictures of a newborn posted to Facebook. Not that long ago, there were no pictures of anything, and people still managed to remember important events. Maybe we even valued them more back then.

Now that I have one, I need someone to help me capture the videos. I have a few I'd like to make, except that I also have to appear in them, and it just kind of looks tacky when people can tell you are holding the camera too. Maybe it will mount on my tripod...

New McCarthyism

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This weekend, a Congresswoman was shot. The liberal media wasted no time levying unfounded accusations at people like Sarah Palin. She was guilty without any evidentiary support of their claims. The media called for national policy as a reactionary measure to a psychotic individual, because it coincided conveniently with a political aim.

If the shooter had any ties to the radical Christian right, you would have heard about it immediately. Whenever someone is a Republican or a Christian (whatever denomination) or a rich businessman, they waste no time blazing that message across the sky from horizon to horizon. You are guilty, not because of what you did, but because of what you are. No longer do you have to be a certain race or nationality; those things are protected, but if you disagree with them theologically or politically, they will drag you before a congressional committee and force you to prove that you are innocent. So much for the Constitution.

Before that blood tribunal of media, they ignore the tragedy that a Representative was shot. No mention is made of the other lives shattered, children left fatherless, women widowed, and pain and suffering incurred by other victims of the massacre. It immediately became a political issue, but was a red herring. Since the shooting, they have levied accusations in editorials masquerading as news. These opinion pieces sway the opinions of people who read them, because they are not longer confined to the Editorial section.

The next time liberals pull out McCarthyism, remember this. They mentioned a gun was involved, that illegal immigration had been an issue, and so devoid of common decency for the victims they were, they immediately made it a means to an end. The victims become pawns, their bodies a vehicle to advance the agenda of the left. Reports are virtually identical across the networks, and they even parrot the exact same phrases in tandem repeats, as the endovirus of leftist thinking wedges its way into the fabric of society. The political tactic of the left is "never let a good crisis go to waste."

Earlier today, an old college friend of mine posted to Facebook that she "Dreams of a day when people will not define themselves as right or left, liberal or conservative, but simply as American. We are all on the same team." Well, notice who says those kinds of things. This shooter wasn't on the same team, and the reporters who have said he is on a team have not given him the allowance that "well, he was just doing his part of the team's job" because it's not part of the team to commit crimes against other members of the team. Yet, the left, including my friend, wants to take things from you because it's good for the team. This guy wasn't on our team. He doesn't seem to have been concerned with what's right for America because his solution was a campaign of violence. That is the tactic of the lawless, which is not American at all.

Almost a decade ago, if you forgot or if you weren't alive or aware in 2001, a lawless band of mercenaries continued a protracted war against the Law. They flew planes into buildings full of innocent people. Even if there were guilty among them, that's not how you bring justice, and it's not conducive to our justice system to treat a man as guilty until and unless it is proven. After all, DNA has exonerated many people, which proves that our system, while very good, isn't perfect either. As a knee-jerk-reaction, the left thinks we should surrender more and more liberties. They conveniently forget that they are behind the push to impose restrictions on the liberties of others. The Democrat party was responsible for Don't Ask/Don't Tell. The Democrat party forestalled the civil rights movement. The Democrat party ordered American citizens of Japanese, German, and Italian ancestry interned. The Democrat party ordered the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Democrat The Democrat party is usually the first one to point out the mote in someone's eye, unless of course that person fights against the Constitution. Before you get on the band wagon opposed to guns as a consequence of this cowardly shooting, remember that the terrorists killed thousands on 9/11, and to my knowledge, none of the victims were shot.

Day 5: Pet Peeves

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Here are a few things on my mind recently that bother me. If you read my blog regularly or know me well, you have probably heard some of these before.

10. Tailgating. Honestly, it is more likely to incentivise me to drive more slowly if you ride too close to my car. I drive a Saturn. I don't much care if it gets scratched. I can always buy another one. What's your hurry anyway? More often than not, I catch up to folks at the next red light anyhow, and so it really didn't do anything other than make everyone else just as nervous that you were that you were late or that I might cause you to be tardy.

9. Shoppers who get into the 10/20/X number items or less line who have more items than the level allows and the clerks who let them. What is the point of these signs or lanes if everyone thinks he is an exception? Rules are there for order, and any person who thinks he is beyond the rules upsets the order.

8. People who hold you accountable for things they also do. I get a real kick out of people who curse and swear all the time who make a huge hullabaloo about it when I say something that constitute a cursory approximation to the profane. Sometimes, I feel like people wait with baited breath to see me do anything wrong, anything at all, so they can feel better about themselves.

7. Government. With rare exception, government gets in my way, inconveniences my progress, and makes things more complicated, and at great expense of time, means, and materiel. While there are some legitimate functions of government, many of the people in government have not caught the mission statement of government or do not care.

6. When I rely on someone else's representations, but they didn't mean what they told me. I expect people to keep their word, to show up and do when they tell me they will what they promise to do. From coworkers to clients to students to stranges to friends to family, I make plans based on the representations other people give me. The problem is that people plan according to what others tell them, so when you yank out the foundation on which they built their life and made decisions and you tell them the prior representations were fabrication and deception, you have wasted your life and theirs.

5. Friends who were 'going to call/visit' but now don't have to because you did. That doesn't really do me any good. Well intended yet unimplemented actions only make you feel good. Also, people who are sorry. That's great. You're sorry. How does that make it better for me?

4. The introduction of words, phrases, and constructs into the language that are not proper grammar, useage, or vocabulary. While I understand that new words can and will be created, I am a bit at odds with the acceptance of slang, jargon, and the like in lieu of perfectly good words we already have in the dictionary but that people are too lazy to learn. "ROFL", "Chillax", and "noonish" are not words.

3. Women who opine the lack of good men in society. I have previously posted that the most offensive thing I have ever heard is "I wish I could find a great guy like you." You have. He stands before you. I see a lot of women talk about how much they want a great guy and then pick a guy who is only great looking or has a great fortune. The disingenuous application of this phrase annoys me. There is a good reason why there aren't more good men. The really good women have married the ones who are still interested in marriage. Very few people I know today choose a great guy because he is a great guy. Girls choose guys for other reasons, then some of them luck out that the guy they chose was also great.

2. How many 'privileges' have been converted into 'rights'. Young people have this great entitlement attitude based on what they have seen. I find it kind of ironic that what Lincoln said of his time applies to ours, that we have been bridled by unbroken success. Everyone expects you to have a cellular phone, home internet, a new car, a laptop, an iPOD, ad infinitum. Everyone likes their 'rights' to healthcare, privacy, abortion, etc., none of which are even remotely referenced in the documents on which the Founders wrote our governing documents.

1. People who don't finish what they

Aviation History Lesson

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Much has been said of these words in our culture. Not much has been said of the planes. It has been a human trait to name their modes of transportation and vessels of war (including horses) for most if not all of recorded time. Very few airplanes make the list. Faith, Hope and Charity are the exception.

At the beginning of WWII, the British station at Malta was only lightly defended. Although a British warship dropped crates for eight fighter biplanes, it took four back aboard to serve on an aircraft carrier elsewhere. Three of those left on Malta were assembled, but they were disassembled to be shipped to areas of more strategic importance. Then the air raids began. Faith, Hope and Charity attacked the bombing runs sent out by the Italians and finally drew blood on 18 June 1940, when they shot down a faster Macchi 200 fighter plane.

Unassisted, the three biplanes defended Malta for 17 days until relief efforts arrived. In order to look like there were more planes defending the island than there actually were, they flew consecutive sorties, disobeyed protocols, and then stole parts from other engines to keep the planes in flight when that disobedience damaged the engines. German bombers finally destroyed the Gladiator biplanes in an air raid February, 1941.

Faith, sometime in 1940

Gas Prices: Endure, Pity, then Embrace

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It is a common tactic by contrary forces to civilized society to inculcate into culture things that run askew from the morals of the society. From the repeal of prohibition, to legalized prostitution (however limited in scope), to penalties for those who refuse to buy health insurance (unless you're an illegal alien), to teaching the Theory of Evolution as if it were fact, to integration of gays in the military, they have a long tradition of upsetting the many to assuage the desires of a vociferous and pesky few.

Today, they run an article that says high gas prices "won't be so bad". They are trying to get you used to the idea. I don't know about you, but I have very few options to cut consumption aside from dispensing with my car. I get 36-41mpg, and it's paid for in full, and I moved closer to work to cut down on my commute. The only way I can cut consumption is get rid of this car and either 1. incur lots of debt for a 'hybrid' or 2. use public transportation, which isn't convenient or comfortable. Companies have also already done much of what they can to cut their costs. Wal-Mart, for example in 2006, stopped sending dedicated trailers to stores and started combining trips per tractor trailer to save mileage and gasoline consumption per day. Eventually, they will have to pass the increased costs on to you in the form of higher prices for every commodity you buy, which will negate the savings any hybrid offers.

The tactics are simple. They get us to endure it by forcing by fiat that we put up with something in our lives. Then eventually, they play upon our sensibilities and religious natures (even when doctrinally those things run contrary to our beliefs) until we pity those hurt by our 'judgmental' way of life. Eventually, we are either forced or convinced to embrace it, and in some cases to join into it and become a part. For years, they have had us endure the prices. For years, they have had us pity the creatures hurt by oil, greenhouse gases, and the like. Now, they want us to embrace $3.50/gallon as the new normal. When I started driving, gas was $0.87/gallon. When I went to college, it was $1.66/gallon. This morning, the station from which I usually buy it posted $3.11/gallon. Where does it end?

Face the facts. If we wean ourselves off of oil, we subject ourselves to the mercy of nations like China who do not hold themselves to that kind of sensitive concern for anything or anyone beyond their own ambitions. Defending ourselves with solar or wind-powered tanks, on bicycles or on foot against the Chinese who have potentially developed stealth technology will be as futile as it would be for the Assyrian Empire to resist the Wehrmacht. This is all predicated on the notion that one day we won't need oil. That day is not today.

Yesterday, a friend of mine came to a crossroads. Many people advised her. She called and asked me. I told her to make a decision based on what will work best for her today. The past is gone, and it cannot be changed. The future is uncertain and hasn't been written yet. We need to learn to live in the present and act in the present. Although we plan for the future, today is our day, and today we need and want certain things, however much we may wish there were alternatives.

Day 4: Cravings

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The word craving is a tricky devil. Aside from food, I actually found myself upon reflection yearning for something in stead of craving it. I miss a simpler time, a time before cell phones, internet, instant messaging, a time when we had time for life instead of squeezing things in. The security guard asked me yesterday if I took any time off during December. I did not. I have places I desire to go and things I desire to do, but I either lack money or prefer to go when the weather is more pleasant. Unlike other people I know, I don't feel the constant need to take time off from work, because I actually like my job.

As far as food goes, it's actually a matter of mood and time of day. Ask me right after I run, and I crave water. It tastes really good after 10K. Ask me about a special dinner, and I'll tell you I crave my mom's chicken paprika. It's probably really bad for me, but it has a feeling to it that reminds me of home and hearth. Ask me when I'm sad, and I'll tell you that I crave chocolate. Face it, it contains chemicals that bind my brain's reward and pleasure centers, so I feel better while I eat it until I realize I have to run more to burn it off. Ask me in summer, and I will tell you that I really miss my grandfather's raspberry canes. We used to gorge ourselves on hundreds of delicious berries on every visit and pick every one we thought was even remotely palatable.

If it were simply a matter to ask and receive, I would crave Buddy's salmon. That's probably the best food I've ever had. I don't know his secret recipe nor do I have the money to eat salmon all the time, but that was probably the best meal I ever ate, and I didn't even have that telltale fishy aftertaste.

That probably tells you a lot more about me than I thought this post would.

Obama is No President

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When a man does whatever he likes, come hook or come crook, under our governmental system, what is he? He is certainly no president. A president makes it his business to govern the people by the will of the people. Yet, in health care, cap and trade, and a slieu of other programs, he has bit his thumb in the direction of popular sentiment and forced as much of his agenda on us as possible. For the liberals who back him, they would cry bloody murder if a conservative did that. The double standard annoys me.

For a man like Obama, their will is supreme. Daniel Webster warned us that men like him might come, for even those who mean to rule well mean to rule. Then, when you allow them to legislate 'equality' and 'justice' according to their personal mantras instead of by rule of law, tyrants appear on the scene, and soon the question is not 'what is equality?' and becomes instead 'equality according to whom?'. In order for Obama to do this, he must consider the Constitution to be completely jejune, which means that men like him have no intention of honoring the oath of office, since they took an oath to uphold and defend it, not denigrate and upend it.

Why do we trust them to keep their promises?
Why do we trust them when they threaten the incoming freshman class?
Why do we allow them to establish their wills as irreversible?
Why do we allow them to rule by fiat?
Why are executive orders, bureaucratic regulations and judicial rulings, which are often not done by duly elected officials, set in stone in a government of the people, by the people, and for the people?
Who are they to be arbiters of what is fair?

Do not trust a man who cannot govern his own house to impose things upon your own. Do not trust a man who cannot govern himself to tell you how you should live. Do not trust a man to govern you who cannot justify his authority on Constitutional grounds. A President is faithful to his family, his country, and the Law.

Day 3: Pictures that Show Change

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There were some monumental changes this year, but pictures don't really do it justice. Among them:
1. I moved into a house 18 miles from where I used to live
2. Most of my old friends cut off contact with me, and new ones stepped in and stepped up to fill the void
3. I used to have to travel to visit friends:


Now, there are friends here who even sometimes come to me, or at least they meet me half way.

Perhaps what is more important is what remains the same. I am still employed, which is quite a statement because there is an almost perpetual threat of layoffs and the like as well as the few coworkers who don't like me and made waves. I still have sufficient money for my needs, despite the attempts of individuals who shall remain nameless to render me poor. I am still bearded, despite the attempts of some to get me to shave. I still run in the morning, read in the evening, hike on the weekends, and live by myself. I am still healthy, intelligent, employed, sane, reverent, thrifty, and hungry. In 2010, in sum, nothing was worse at the end than at the beginning, and a few things were even better.

The Shoe Tree

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Another landmark in Nevada that I photographed in my travels has fallen victim to the ravages of the wilderness. Police in Fallon reported Tuesday afternoon that the shoe tree was cut down by vandals. I once stopped by this tree on one of my trips as is shown in the picture below.



I suppose that is the way of things. The tree lives on in the memories of those who saw it and in the photographs of those who traveled there on purpose to see it. The shoe tree was just east of Middlegate, NV, on a state route that runs roughly parallel to US50, the loneliest road in America.

Of all the tributes, I think the following is the best. Please let me know if the link dies, and I will replace the picture with a more permanent one.

The picture at the top is my own work and exclusive copyright. The bottom picture belongs to someone else. Both are protected by law.

Green Through Coal

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The Las Vegas Review-Journal and all the readers who have thus far commented on the story are all excited about seven electric scooters donated to the police. Most of the comments in defense of the motion are comments that attack those who oppose the gesture. They illustrate that a large majority of the discourse and those who insist on discussing the 'green' movement are jejune.

Has anyone ever bothered to ask from whence the electricity comes that makes 'green' energy possible? As 'TimeRanger' puts it, unless the cars are solar powered or connected to massive wind turbines or as 'UpandOver' writes powered by hot air from Harry Reid, there is no net change in carbon neutrality.

Face it or not, the electricity generated in most of this nation and for most of this city comes from coal. The more 'green' energy they force upon us, the more coal we have to burn. The more 'green' movements they put into place, the more they try to restrict the mining, transport, and use of coal. Some people try to butter their bread while they burn it in the toaster.

No matter what they tell you, NV Energy is mostly a non-renewable energy company. Their own website reports a peak energy consumption of 7,140MW in 2009. However, when you try to get a breakdown, all of their sweeping renewable data available easily to the public says they can provide a mere 196MW sum of renewable energy because the 1,446MW they also mention is 'planned and under development' which means it is not online. Even if it were, that still means that at best 23% of the power they provide would be renewable, assuming all of their facilities were online. That means that most of their power comes from combustion, likely of coal, at power plants like Moapa, Hidden Valley, Reid-Gardner and others.

If they had a ton of renewable energy currently online, they would boast of it. They are afraid you will be unhappy with them if they tell you the truth of what they actually do. The green dream is achieved at large still through consumption of more coal. After all, how else does that outlet in your home really get electricity?

**this article is not an assault on NV Energy, simply an analysis. They are probably doing what they think is right for their government, their stockholders, and their customers, and probably in that order.**

Day 2: Favorite Picture

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Since I brought the wrong pictures with me to work today, you get a different post than the one the schedule prescribes.

It didn't specify favorite picture of me, so here are a few of my favorites that I have taken recently.

Both of these were taken in the same month, the first on Mt. Charleston near Las Vegas and the second in the Grand Tetons, WY. If you don't know already, I hike a lot and take pictures frequently. The mountains have always been there for me and provide a great escape from the world below.

I have a lot of pictures that I like, but many of them are not digital and therefore not easily moved to this medium.

These photos are my exclusive copyright. Any use without express prior written consent will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

30 Day Net Challenge: Day 1

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I found some of my close friends from High School are following this monniker for their blogs this year. In addition to anything else that is on my mind, I will do one of these as well so that you can get to know me a little better if you like.

Here are the guidelines:

Day 01 — 5 things about you that no one really knows
Day 02— A picture of you last year and now and how you have changed since then
Day 03 — A favorite photo
Day 04 — Something I crave
Day 05 — Top 10 pet peeves
Day 06 — Something I bought recently
Day 07 — Something I want to buy
Day 08 — A favorite song
Day 09 — A favorite movie
Day 10 — A favorite food
Day 11 — A favorite book
Day 12 — A favorite quote
Day 13 — What did you do today??
Day 14 — Your dream house…
Day 15 — Next 3 on “Bucket List”
Day 16 — A photo of my family
Day 17 — A habit you wish you didn’t have
Day 18 — Put your iPod on shuffle and write 10 songs that pop up
Day 19 — A hobby of mine
Day 20 — A favorite recipe
Day 21 — Nicknames I have, and why I have them…
Day 22 — A favorite Youtube video
Day 23 — A travel story
Day 24 — Something that makes you feel better…
Day 25 — A funny (true) story
Day 26 — A child I love
Day 27 — A place I love
Day 28 — A person I love
Day 29 — Testimony
Day 30 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days


Day 1: Five Things Nobody Really Knows About Me
1. One of my favorite things to do at night, weather permitting, is to go out and lie in the driveway and look at the stars. I am sure that this kind of concerns the neighbors, especially should one decide to drive onto my driveway, as they have no idea what I am doing, but since nobody asks, I haven't told anyone. There is something comforting in them, because I can always find the constellations where I know them to be when nothing else seems to align itself in my life.

2. Until I was 21, every scar I had actually resulted from some kind of an argument with someone. I suppose it's mostly because I tend to be obstinate when I believe I am on the side of right, and although I will admit I may have started the argument, I never threw the first punch that I recall. Most of them weren't from punches anyway. They were caused by objects that hit me and otherwise left their mark.

3. My first job after graduate school required that I learn to drive a forklift (it had nothing to do with Biochemistry). I think my manager at the time had delusions of grandieur for me in the company, and so he had them certify me on every piece of equipment they owned. So, whenever we hired new people, I got to train them to use the equipment. I would spend at least one day per month watching new hires drive around on forklifts all day instead of actually working. Since it was cold, I grew a beard to keep my face warm while I watched them, which is how I ended up with the beard in the first place. My forklift certification expired in September 2010, but I still have the badge that shows I passed all the tests on the reverse.

4. I once applied for a job at Independence Square. They rejected me because I 'could not demonstrate sufficient mastery of subject material necessary to act as a tour guide'. When I visited the site in July 2008, the tour guide told us three things inside Independence Hall that were not true. She argued with me, and I left the tour in disgust. I wrote the National Park Service and complained. Several weeks later, I received a call at work from the US Secretary of the Interior who was investigating the matter. Eventually, I received a letter from his office as well as from the head of the National Park Service in apology for what had happened and with an assurance that this particular individual had been schooled and told that her job remained secure because I insisted that she not be fired.

5. One of my favorite things to do in the Winter in Las Vegas is to put on my suit and trenchcoat and go out by myself. Last year, I attended a soirette at the Encore by Steve Wynn and met some big whigs there. I walked right into the event without a pass, not knowing I needed one. If you walk through a casino like that, with purpose, apparently the guards assume you belong there. Also last year, I went to see a play and dressed up in a suit. As I left, someone asked me who I was, I suppose assuming that I was someone important because I was dressed up far better than most people were. Last month, I went to Wal-Mart after a meeting I had, and all of the people in the store got out of my way. All the employees were attentive and nicer than average, perhaps afraid that I was someone important. How you dress does change how people treat you.

Kobiashi Maru

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This weekend was kind of a rough start to the new year. It reaffirmed my feeling that it might be a Kobiashi Maru to live the way you should in a world governed by expediency and self-service. For any human-human relationship, there seems to be a disconnect between the quest for truth and the quest for what he hope truth to be. You see it when people ask things like "Does this dress make me look fat?" or "Isn't she just the cutest little baby?" or "What did you think of my talk?" People want you to validate their worth by agreeing with their premise, so if you do not, they don't like what you do.

The Kobiashi Maru is a test in the fictitious world of Roddenberry's Star Trek franchise. It is essentially a no-win scenario that tests to see if officer candidates are possessed of sufficient character to be elevated to command level. Fortunately for those who take it in the movies, novels, etc., Starfleet is more altruistic than the world at large, and candidates who show character are rewarded with promotions, medals and opportunities.

A few weeks ago, I arrived on time to an activity. When the first late arrival reached the scene, she observed that I was always reliable and on time and that I should receive a medal for always doing what I felt was right. I told her that there are no obvious rewards in this world for doing what is right. Our society reflects the New Morality that says "You only live once, so live it up" instead of "You only live once, so live well."

The only exception to Star Trek's Kobiashi Maru scenario is Captain James T Kirk. He rewrote the rules of the computer simulation, so that it was possible to rescue the ship and survive.

Every heirarchy has a quest for the status quo, and so if you challenge their comfort, you set yourself up as a threat to their peace. They will tell you not to rock the juke box, not to make waves, to accept other people as they are (even though they don't have the same reciprocal responsibility towards you to accept you as you are) and to go with the flow. This is the path of least resistance. In the Kobiashi Maru scenario, this would mean that you failed to show character by looking out for yourself instead of what you should do. To borrow from a theme last week in The Count of Monte Cristo, Dantes was promoted over Danglars because Danglars hid behind his rank to save his own skin.

When you look for truth and do what is right, in essence, you represent an attempt to reprogram the test of life to make it possible to be concurrently true and successful. Many other people, secure in their mediocrity, will cry foul and attack you or ignore you completely. You upset their utopia with an infusion of truth, and you make your way into their history books as either sinner or saint. Once you establish yourself as a threat to their comfort and ease, they will probably pretend you don't even exist.

Over a year ago, someone close to me did me a great wrong. When this person made a superfluous attempt to make amends, I told them that it is always the right time to do the right thing. Although they did not do what was right and try to make it right, they are welcome to at any time. Until then, any other relationship with a person disinterested in truth is a Kobiashi Maru for me. It is a test of character, and I know more about what the rules ought to be than what they have set the rules to allow.