Opus 2025-007: Tax Dollars at Work: Dim Your Lights

One of the first things I do every morning is to check the weather.  Actually, I check the temperature.  The rest of the weather is something I’m not too worried about.  This morning I was warned, or told, that there was a “Special Weather Statement” that I needed to read.  OK.  I was open to a little entertainment so I touch the screen.

I was taken then to a “Special Weather Statement” from the National Weather Service.  They informed me, I could just hear the drum roll in the background and I imagine the deep voice, that there will be fog today.  They went on to share with me how that meant that I should drive with low beams, at a slower speed, and leave more space between me in the car in front of me.

Thank you, weather app.  Thank you National Weather Service.  I’m sure that when I went outside, I would have assumed that my glasses were just fogging up because of the temperature change.  When I took them off to clean them, I would’ve wondered why I still couldn’t see.  It’s good that I have the federal government here to tell me that it’s foggy.  I’m sure I would never notice.

Thank you weather app and thank you. National Weather Service for assuming that my father did not teach me how to drive in fog.  Actually I’ve known since before I could drive that you turn your low beams on in the fog.  I also am quite aware that driving 80 miles an hour in a heavy fog on a curvy road with lots of traffic is not a way to live to see your great-grandchildren.

I would suggest that perhaps Elon and Vivek might look at the National Weather Service as one of the things that does not need to be broadcast into every home every day.  I understand if I am flying a jet across the country I might need some kind of heads-up but not for knowing if it is raining outside my front door.  Of course, that could be just me.

We might also need a National Restaurant Service to warn us about putting white powder in our coffee out of those little shakers on the table.  Some wise guru might also tell us that it’s not a good idea to eat your peas with a knife and be careful with that fork because you could make holes in your eyeballs . Also, they might want to remind us that knives can be sharp and that glasses when they were knocked off the table might break.

You are welcome for this heartfelt recommendation.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-006: Word for the Day

The word is grand.  As I came out to begin my daily walk and looked at the combination of blue sky and heavy great clouds with sun shining through I looked for a word and that was it.

It was grand.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-005: Standing Still, and Marching On

As a new year starts to enroll, we tend to think about time.  We celebrate an arbitrary choice of days as New Year’s.  We look back and reminisce over the actual measure of one revolution around the sun.  We might even hold our breath and try to stop things from going so fast.

Is time standing still for you or does it just keep marching on?

Most people tend to think in three dimensions:  Height, width, and depth.  If they think of them they can also add time so we live in four dimensions.  These are pretty much all human beings need or are aware of.  Remember there was once a musical group that called itself the Fifth Dimension?  That was supposed to be cutting edge.  Scientists now talk in terms of dozens of dimensions.  To most of us that’s just nonsense.  It has nothing to do with the world we live in.  In their abstract way of manipulating and trying to understand the universe they find uses for them but I hope you never had to have anybody explain any of them.

Yet I accept that they exist.  I am willing to accept that up to a point.  Science tend to think in terms of what we would consider science fiction.  As long as their equations work out, they’re happy.  In many cases, it doesn’t matter if their equations say anything to you about the universe or make a difference in any aspect of existence.  They get a prize, a grant, a promotion, an interview on Joe Rogan.

We look at time as something in motion.  Some people say we live in a time machine that only goes in one direction.  We can’t stop it.  We can’t go back.  If God is outside time, then he would view it as a sculpture not a motion picture.

The nature of time is change.  Is there any change if you exist outside of time?  Some things we will never know in this life.  That should reassure you, as well as peek your create curiosity.

Get ready for more change.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-004: Christmas Balance

What a glorious day. We celebrated Christmas as a family on New Year’s Eve because the grandchildren were up North with the other side of the family.  It was worth the wait.  Not only did we get to enjoy pictures of their trip to the north with them sliding down hills and falling off sleds, but we got to enjoy them on our own schedule.  As I said, what a glorious day.

There were the normal types of things that you would expect when families get together.  That is double true when you have the children allowed to attend.  We had the normal moments of excitement.  We had broken glass.  We had spilled apple juice.  We have thorns in the flesh.  It was a typical family day and as I said, it was glorious.

So much of life is that way.  We have the ups and the downs, the good and the bad, the things we want to remember and the things we want to forget.  So much of how we view it depends upon our attitude.  Don’t you hate that word?.

One of the topics of discussion was how the kids got sick when they were up north.  There were certain events which were not described, which I assume had to do with children barfing all over their parents, but in retrospect a good time was had by all.  It reminded me of a time when my daughter was staying with us instead of flying back to Japan as she finished her second pregnancy.  My granddaughter was at that age where she had to still sleep in the same room with Mommy, but old enough for a separate bed.  I remember fondly, yes fondly, the night where I was awakened to the news that my granddaughter had thrown up all over her crib.  Pretty disgusting when you think about it, but it was my granddaughter.  We jumped in, cleaned up the mess, wash the sheets, changed the kids clothes, did the huggy-kissy thing and put her back to bed.  Even at the time I remember thinking about how I would look back on this as a great experience with my granddaughter.  She won’t remember, but I will.  Oh, the warmth of barf in the middle of the night.

An added benefit is I will be able to share the story at her wedding.

So get your attitude in check, reminisce with joy, and anticipate the unknown.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-003: Click Bait: Reading Between the Lines

My wife called me in to share with me the latest Clickbait on a video she was watching on YouTube.  Yes, I sat down and looked at the headline for the Clickbait.  Several things became obvious, at least to me.  And I think probably they will be obvious to you.

The first thing was that another car had driven itself into a crowd of people killing 10.  Tesla should be ashamed of itself.  All of these self driving vehicles that are running people down in the headlines.  Now I would not have originally noticed this but I’ve seen others pointing this out time and again.  The headlines ignore who was driving the car.  Small point, I know.  They simply say that the car kill people.  The logical conclusion is that Elon Musk is guilty.  When I say this, I don’t mean the Elon Musk who is an African-American, but the Elon musk who seems to be suffering from white privilege.

The second thing that I can gain from the headline is that the driver of this vehicle, if you will excuse the assumption that it had a driver, was either a native born minority ethnic group, or a foreign-born terrorist.  You know this because if the driver was the pastor of a local, all white, Baptist Church, all of those details would’ve been part of the headline.

I don’t really need to watch the video.  If it were in print, I wouldn’t need to read the article.  I know everything that there is that I will find to be true.  Some America hater once again tries to disrupt our society by making people afraid to go out in large groups.

Unfortunately, it seems to be working at times.

Hang in there. Do your shopping. Enjoy your family. Watch your back.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-002: Orange God Bad

I am getting close to the end of the Joe Rogan program (2008) where he interviews Stephen Meyer.  Overall, it’s an interesting conversation.  Since I’ve read a couple of Meyer’s books, I am not shocked by anything he has to say or surprised by the scientific basis of what he is saying.  I did find at least two things very frustrating.

The first was how Rogan kept asking the same question every 10 or 15 minutes through the whole interview.  To paraphrase that question it would be, “Yeah, but what if?”  He kept wanting to say what if 400 years from now we have these big breakthroughs and find all kinds of neat cool stuff that just proves your point totally wrong, “What then?”  This, of course, is just an intellectual approach to playing the Why Game.  It is a pointless task based on just a wild hope that something will prove you wrong.  It isn’t that you don’t make sense.  It is not because facts are not on your side.  It isn’t because you refuse to admit the nature of science is change and new information.  It is because for you to be right people like Rogan would be confronted with a need to change.  They will sacrifice anything to cling to their assumptions.  It is almost as if they are the mirror image of what they accuse others of being.

I’m not saying that there might not be new discoveries to prove current theories wrong.  Meyer kept repeating that science is never settled and he expects there to be new discoveries.  I’m just saying that there is no basis at this point for projecting such discoveries, and it’s rather childish to put your faith in wild speculation.  

The second frustration would be on the part of Meyer to me.  One of the things I picked up in reading his books was the dishonesty of scientists in their inner motivations.  I don’t know how many times he pointed out in his books that the only real reason why many physicist had a hard time excepting the Big Bang Theory was because it would point toward the existence of a god.  In other words, their atheistic theological perspective was the assumption and mold for all of their thinking, and they refused to consider anything that went against that basic assumption.  How similar to the caricature of Fundamentalist Christians.

To use their terminology, your typical liberal, materialistic, atheistic scientist is living in his own version of “orange man bad” but in this case it is God with the orange hair.  That seems to be the answer to everything.  It has no basis in reality, but they insist on rejecting anything having to do with God, or pointing towards the existence of God, with a simple statement, “Orange God bad.”

Rogen and Meyer had a good discussion.  Both sides were respectful.  I still have about a half hour to go so I don’t know if they will reach any conclusions but I would recommend it.
homo unius libri

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-001: Are You Awake Yet?

I must admit, I whispered that because I don’t know where you are at this point in your life.  I stopped staying up to greet the new year a long time ago, probably when my last child moved out of the house.  I can remember as in my immaturity wanting to stay up all night.  I can remember as a teenager going out and running around with my friends until past midnight at least.  I can remember the challenge.  I have never been one to party hard, drink excessively, and hope I got home alive.  It was enough to stay up as late as I could.

No more.  I go to bed.  I get up.  New Year’s Day is just another day of retirement.

It is also a good day to stop and contemplate the future.  Every culture has these moments.  We know about the Chinese new year with the dancing dragons and the fireworks.  There is a Jewish new year.  The Muslims celebrate a new year.  It goes on everywhere and in addition to the celebration and partying there is often serious reflection on what direction your life should go.

One Bible verse that stands out to us this way is,

Joshua 24:15 (KJV) And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

We don’t have Amorites anymore.  Your fathers may not have served the God of the Bible.  Nevertheless, today is a day of decision.  It could simply be to be a better parent, or to spend less money on Twinkies.  Do you have decisions to make?  Of course you do.  The big decision is what is your motivating force, you’re guiding light, the compass that provides direction.  I would trust that you would make a decision today, to serve the Lord.  I would hope that’s just a repeat of last year.  I would hope it’s just a desire to do better rather than a need to make a radical change.

I pray that you would take advantage of the opportunity you have by taking the day off, spending time with family and time alone.

Happy new year. May God bless you and may you be obedient to him.

homo unius libri