Getting the Word Out There is Sometimes Difficult

I have recently decided to take one of my hobbies and try to make a business out of it.  The hobby to which I am referring is Marlinspiking.  In other words, rope work.  Some may even call it Macramé, but that is an unflattering term applied to a craft that has been handed down through generations from the men who would ply this trade on sailing vessels all over the world.  Here are a couple of pieces I have made using only three simple knots:

The first one shown is made with quarter inch white nylon rope, the second is made with eighth inch white nylon rope with a loop, or lanyard, incorporated into the design.

Both of these items utilize diamond knots, a star knots, and normal plaiting.

Let me know what you think.

A Movement is Hard to Start

Recently I had started a series of posts in regard to bringing awareness to a long overdue movement to bring more accountability to our political leaders.  I had referred to this movement as voting for None of the Above.  I decided to do a little searching online and stumbled across this website.  It appears that the makers of this website have a similar directive, including putting the call out to have an amendment drafted to the constitution that would put the option of None of the Above on every Federal Ballot.  As great as this sounds, what politician in their right mind would want to sponsor this?  I know this sounds like I may be contradicting myself in regard to this movement, however, it does seem impossible to even get a sponsorship for this type of amendment even if the right amount of signatures could be gathered on a petition supporting it.

Regardless of how impossible it may seem to actually have None of the Above as an official option on a Federal, much less State or local, ballot, there is a rather simple way to do it.  That is obviously the option to just write it in when you show up on election day and enter the booth to place your vote.

Quite honestly I hope it never comes to that, but with coming off the heels of the Iowa Straw Poll, where Michelle Bachman won a nice little victory for herself, it also became clear how little stock other politicians and the media put in this event.  Which of course begs the question: Why did they even bother having it when it literally has no bearing on who eventually becomes the nominee for the Republican party, much less an actual contender for the Presidency of the United States?  Though, I guess one positive came out of it.  It eliminated at least one potential candidate who did not have the stomach for some serious competition.

Then, of course, we see a late-comer to the race in Rick Perry, who describes himself as George Bush on steroids, which really wasn't the best way to launch an campaign by associating yourself with one of the most unpopular Presidents in recent history.

There is also the other option I mentioned in a previous post.  That being the site that allows anyone to setup a profile and eventually debate issues and ultimately will actually choose someone from the general populous to run against the two major parties' nominees.  And possibly Donald Trump, but that remains to be seen.

Let's spread the word, shall we?  And, get the awareness going about the option to vote for None of the Above, if there is no clear choice to lead our great country and get it headed in the right direction again.

You Can Run for President, Too

In an article today on Newsmax they reported there is a group that is making it possible for anyone to throw their hat into the ring and be nominated to become an actual candidate for the upcoming Presidential race.

In addition to the usual two parties that will, of course, be putting up their own candidates there is now the possibility for a third party to enter the fray, without needing to come up with millions of their own money to do it.  This is what the internet has finally afforded us.

In my previous post I identified that Donald Trump is still considering a run for the Presidency, which will most likely be announced prior to June of next year.  This new group will now afford us an additional option.

Of course, I still assert that if, by November 2012, we are still left without a clear choice for President among the available choices we should seriously consider voting for None of the Above.  This new group does make it a little less likely that we will need to take that kind of drastic measure to send a clear message to our resident politicians.

Things are definitely becoming more interesting, and as soon as I find a link to the website that will allow you to throw your hat in I will post it here.

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Update:


Here is the link I was referring to.  Check this site out.  It is really interesting.  You can setup a profile and they will eventually be adding features that will allow members (free, by the way) to converse/debate about major issues prior to their convention, where they will be picking a candidate for President to run against Obama, and whoever the Republicans end up supporting.

The Pickin's are Slim.

For a while now I have been watching the increasingly heated race among the Republicans who are vying for their party's nomination to represent them in the upcoming Presidential race.  This, at times has been either enhanced, or overshadowed, by the current economic crisis.  Of course the most recent development on that front is the somewhat bipartisan passing of the debt bill.  Which, received a not so glorious reception from the public.  This also came on the heels of a recent announcement by "The Donald" that he would seriously consider running for President prior to June of 2012 if, by that time, the Republicans did not pick someone he felt would not only beat Obama, but also be able to lead this country in the right direction, and if the economy was still in the crapper.

Here is the interview where he discusses this with Hannity from Fox News:

One could possibly argue, and of course Trump would definitely consider this as well, that this revelation is what was the catalyst that forced Congress to finally pass the debt bill thinking this will turn the economy around and prevent the likelihood of Trump running for President.  However, with the recent aftermath of the S&P downgrading the country's credit rating and stocks taking a tumble, this really hasn't worked, so far, the way they expected.

With this and the considerations of who is currently vying for the Republican nomination I do not see any clear front runner that I would willingly vote for.  We are still being forced to choose from the lesser of the available evils.  There is no-one that stands out as a clear choice.  This is why I think it may be time to explore another option.  If, by the time the next Presidential Election comes around, we do not see someone we can enthusiastically get behind that will turn this country around and send it in the right direction, we should seriously consider voting for None Of The Above.

Of course I may be a bit naive in making this statement, but it will only take some perusing of the constitution and election law to discover what this would truly mean.  So, I am making the suggestion that if you enter the voting box in November of 2012 and you do not see anyone on that ballot that you would enthusiastically support for President, then vote for None Of The Above and see what happens.  We just might send the clearest message yet to our politicians that we will no longer be ready to settle on the least of the available evils.

Who's with me?

Some vehicles are built on other planets.

So, this past Thursday we decided, at great risk of being disowned by my brother (sorry Curtis), to purchase a 2004 Ford Freestar from CarMax.  The reason for this purchase was because of our growing family.  You see, we have a little girl that will be joining us some time in July.  Coincidentally, she her official due date is on the same date as said brother's birthday.

I must say, that either there are some issues with the clock on the dashboard/radio, or the vehicle was built on some other planet and shipped here afterward.  On the way home that night I looked at the clock and noticed it said 11:11.  I couldn't believe it was already that late, considering we had been there since just before 7.  I had my wife check the time and then she proceeded to try to reset the time.  She discovered, to both of our confusion and bewilderment, that the clock was working off of 90 minute hours.  Which means that it is not all that uncommon to look down and see the time as 8:75 or 6:67.

So, I guess our next task, concerning our newly purchased vehicle is to figure out if there is any way to fix this, or if we are stuck with the only vehicle known to man that can give you the accurate time on Mars.

I wonder if we can pick up radio stations from the moon?

The Trinity Can be Hard to Explain.

Brother Michael Pearl, of No Greater Joy Ministries, who I have posted about before, is usually pretty good at clarifying some confusing truths from the Bible, but even he sometimes comes across a challenge that may be a bit bigger than he realized.  Here he is trying to explain the nuances of the Trinity:



Admittedly, he does a pretty good job, but sometimes an explanation like this can make someone even more confused about a topic as important as the Trinity.  Personally, I have found the best explanation of the Trinity to have been written by a somewhat unknown man by the name of Athanasius.  Way back in the fourth century, during one of the most challenging periods in the history of the Christian church he penned the following creed:

Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. Which Faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled; without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the Persons; nor dividing the Essence. For there is one Person of the Father; another of the Son; and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one; the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal. Such as the Father is; such is the Son; and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreated; the Son uncreated; and the Holy Ghost uncreated. The Father unlimited; the Son unlimited; and the Holy Ghost unlimited. The Father eternal; the Son eternal; and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three eternals; but one eternal. As also there are not three uncreated; nor three infinites, but one uncreated; and one infinite. So likewise the Father is Almighty; the Son Almighty; and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are not three Almighties; but one Almighty. So the Father is God; the Son is God; and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods; but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord; the Son Lord; and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords; but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity; to acknowledge every Person by himself to be God and Lord; So are we forbidden by the Catholic Religion; to say, There are three Gods, or three Lords. The Father is made of none; neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created; but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten; but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is before, or after another; none is greater, or less than another. But the whole three Persons are co-eternal, and coequal. So that in all things, as aforesaid; the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity, is to be worshiped. He therefore that will be saved, let him thus think of the Trinity.
Furthermore it is necessary to everlasting salvation; that he also believe faithfully the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess; that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God, of the Essence of the Father; begotten before the worlds; and Man, of the Essence of his Mother, born in the world. Perfect God; and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead; and inferior to the Father as touching his Manhood. Who although he is God and Man; yet he is not two, but one Christ. One; not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh; but by assumption of the Manhood into God. One altogether; not by confusion of Essence; but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man; so God and Man is one Christ; Who suffered for our salvation; descended into hell; rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, he sitteth on the right hand of the God the Father Almighty, from whence he will come to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies; And shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire. This is the Catholic Faith; which except a man believe truly and firmly, he cannot be saved.

 Here is a great illustration of what this creed is talking about:

The literal translation of this illustration is thus:

"The Father is God, The Son is God, The Holy Spirit is God; God is the Father, God is the Son, God is the Holy Spirit; The Father is not the Son, The Son is not the Father, The Father is not the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit is not the Father, The Son is not the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit is not the Son."

 Hope this helps.

Many Corporations Have Overlooked Something

It's possible this has already been covered somewhere, but I am just too lazy to go look for it.  So, I thought I would post about it anyway.

There is something that many corporations are overlooking that they may, or may not, realize they are doing it.  Take a look at the websites for these three companies: Veterinary Pet Insurance, Hewlett Packard, and 1-800Flowers.

God Hates Sin, Not the Sinner

This is a recent video where Michael Pearl, a Christian leader of the No Greater Joy Ministry, is answering a question posed by a subscriber to his video series, about what the bible says about homosexuality and how we, as Christians, are supposed to treat them, or any other sinner.

Now most people would consider this message a message of hate, or homophobic.  Clearly it is not.  As Mr. Pearl states, the Bible calls us to respond to those who choose to live this way with respect and compassion and convey to them, in a loving way, that the way they are living is sinful.

This is the way God wants Christians to treat anyone who is guilty of sin, and is not repentant of it.  To Mr. Pearl's point, we should judge people as we would want to be judged.  Specifically, if I am living in a way that is contrary to how God wants me to be living I would hope that a fellow Christian would confront me, in love, and call me to repent.  Sometimes it takes a view from outside of ones self to see something that may be destructive.  And it can take a tremendous amount of courage for a brother or sister in Christ to confront a fellow believer.  It takes even more courage to confront a non-Christian, especially considering the possible backlash that may ensue.

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To another point that I may expound on later.  Just because someone expresses a viewpoint that is contrary to an accepted social norm, it does not mean that person hates a person, or a group of people.  They are merely expressing another point of view.

Wisdom Can Come From Changes In Perspective

A number of years ago after having seen The Shawshank Redemption my brother-in-law asked me what my favorite part of the movie was.  Not thinking too much into it I said it was the scene where Andy Dufresne (played by the great Tim Robbins) was sitting on top of a sewer pipe holding a rock and timing his strikes with that of the lightning and thunder strikes. 

My brother-in-law obviously had been looking a little bit deeper into the movie, his favorite part of the movie was the scene when the prison warden had ordered that Andy's cell been "tossed."  Which basically means that the prison guards can throw anything they want, including, or especially, anything they find that is breakable.  At the end of this scene, after the warden had picked up Andy's Bible, he handed it back to Andy through the bars of his cell and said, "Salvation lies within."

What is important about this scene is that the Warden's arguably hypocritical statement was somewhat ironic in that even though one can find salvation by studying The Bible, if the Warden had actually opened this one in particular he would have found Andy's modus operendi of escape.  For hidden within it was his rock hammer.  The tool that he used, painstakingly for years, to facilitate his escape.

The change in perspective that I gained in this conversation allowed me to view movies, and read books, differently, which opened my eyes to plenty of other aspects of them that I had been missing.  Or as an old high school teacher of mine pointed out when I was struggling to grasp the concept of "higher level meanings;"  as Sarah was told by the worm, in the movie Labyrinth, "you ain't looking at it right."

Later on I gained some additional knowledge in watching movies and reading books from someone else who showed me some "patterns" or "rules" writers use when putting together a story.  Basically, if a writer sticks the set of rules they set out with then the story should be well put together and entertaining.  But is when they start breaking these rules that cause the story to become ridiculously stupid (I am looking at you The Lake House).  There are times when it is ok to break your own rules when writing a story, as long as you do it successfully, and it fits well with the plot of the story.

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Something else I discovered about Perspective, or more importantly, Perception, is in complete contradiction to what many people understand about it.  About a year ago while I was at a previous job I was getting ready to go through what is called a 360 degree review.  Basically what happens is a bunch of people who work with you, over you, or who are in significant contact with you, are given a survey to fill out to give their opinion of you.  What the coordinator said to me about this process was, "Perception is reality."  This basically means that what you perceive to be real, is real.  At the time they said it something didn't quite jive well with me about the concept.  Later I realized that this line of thinking was inherently flawed.  Though I do understand that there are people who live by this credo.  These are the people who are considered narrow-minded and can be easily duped by scams.

A more accurate statement would be, "Perception is part of reality."  By this I mean that what you perceive is not reality, but can affect it.  Reality is made up of many different things, mostly it is made up of actual events, but it is also made up of how people react to those events.  And that is where perspective, or perception, comes in.  What a person perceives happened, can be markedly different from what actually happened.  This is where conflict comes from, and ultimately leads to other events that lead to other conflicts.

The only way to rise above causing, and possibly being affected by, these conflicts is to understand that your perception may not be the same as someone else's, and that it is possible that one or more of the parties involved may not completely understand what was really the cause.

There are plenty of examples of this throughout history, but the truly wise understand that what they perceive is not necessarily the whole picture.

Co-Ed Softball Rules Are Almost Too Efficient to be Fun

Recently I joined my church's co-ed softball league after not having played in over 15 years.  Not expecting the rules to have changed any over the years I thought I would be able to pick right up where I left off.  Boy was I wrong.  There were so many changes I spent half of the first game getting accustomed to most of them.

Back when I played the last time, which was in Wisconsin, the basic rules included:

• You get 2 strikes and 3 balls;
• There was no "mercy rule";
• You played either 9 or 10 players, depending on whether or not you wanted a deep shortstop;
• The strike zone consisted of solely the carpet behind the plate, everything else was a ball;
• When running to first you are required to step on the orange bag (basically first base had two bags)

Other than that everything was pretty standard.

Some of the changes I discovered were:

• The strikes and balls part is pretty much the same, they just have a different take on it, thus you began each at bat with 1 ball and 1 strike;
• There is now some rather convoluted mercy rules that basically prevent the game from being a complete blowout;
• You play 10 players;
• The strike zone now includes the plate and the carpet behind it;
• First base still has the double bag and you are required to run and step on the orange one;
• There are now two additional things to worry about when rounding third for home:  First, there is a line perpendicular to the base line about two-thirds of the way toward home plate.  The purpose of this is if the person intending to make a play home does not have possession of the ball by the time the runner has crossed that line they must get out of the way.  Second, regardless of what is happening at home plate, the runner must run wide to the right and if they cross a line that is running straight off of the first base line to the backstop, prior to the catcher having possession of the ball they are safe.  If they step on home plate they are out.
• The game, regardless of what is going on, has a time limit.  So if you have not completed the normal 7 innings in the time allotted the game is over anyway and the team with the most runs wins.
• If a batter is walked without any strikes counted against him he can take two bases if the moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter is aligned with Mars.  Just kidding, the rule actually states that if you are walked without any strikes against you you get to take two bases if there is no one on first or second, and if there is a woman in the line-up behind you.

Now I understand some of the rules were implemented for safety reasons.  After all if you have a sprightly woman at home plate waiting for the ball to be thrown to her, you don't want some 250lb behemoth bowling into her to ensure he gets the run.  And I get that we want to make sure that the game does not last forever, but do we really need all this rules allowing extra bases on walks, increasing the strike zone, and the two different rules for making sure you don't run into anyone at home?  These last two just seem redundant.  I mean if the runner is going to be required to run to the right of home plate and cross the provided line why bother having the other line farther up the third base line?

These could just be differences between league rules developed independently in California than what is being used in Wisconsin.  Of course Wisconsinites aren't afraid of a few minor injuries, and we don't mind taking a little extra time to play a sport if we are having fun and want to actually finish the game.

Ah well, I have embarked on this little journey and will see it through.  Hopefully our team will be able to build on our last win and become a contender for the tournament at the end of the season.

Wish us luck!