Monkey infinitum

Today is a day of observing art in action.

Art is a funny thing.  Not necessarily funny “haha”, although comedy is a special art form unto itself.

No, today’s art form consists partly of masking tape, toy cars, various home furnishings, and lots of imagination.

But those bits aren’t the arty part.

Sure, they are part of the greater work, molded by a master’s hand, sculpted into an ever-moving and ever-changing mass of work.  The master is learning at a burning rate of speed about viscosity, balance, adhesiveness and the impact of various levels of dirt picked up off the floor by the tape as he guides his cars on and around the substance.

He knows he creates things, and his solo adventures can be seen and heard from my vantage point.  He is alone at the moment but yet not alone; his hands and mind and surroundings build a nearly-tangible wall of force around him as his imagination plays out in front of the both of us.  The inhabitants of his world are put in dire peril and rescued at his command.  They are instructed in the art of diplomacy as the master commands they play together nicely and are at times put into the time-out corner when one breaches protocol.  It is a fearsome and benevolent interplay of self upon self.

This – the master’s mind and actions becoming one – is the true art in action.

It is kinetic, nearly quantum in the interplay of potential and realised energies charging into being as “playing” commences.

I observe from afar but not too distantly.  Young master brings me into his world now and again but he has clear and firm boundaries which are respected.  It’s a mutual respect of our space and time – I don’t step in when he’s furiously generating items from his mind, and now and again he’ll request/demand an audience when I’m not ready, which is a moment to reinforce the art of patience.

He sings now and again, in his husky, raspy voice.  The tunes are short, silly, and relevant to the play at hand.

We often sing together on our occasional road trip; no song is ever repeated as they are made up on the spot.  Well, except for the “help i can’t get out (of the car seat), I’m stuck” song we sing together.  It helps him to know he’s not alone when strapped into a seat belt, because so am I.

This art – this ever-moving, ever-changing reminder of my past and hope for our future – is a wonder to behold.

In him I see my children re-played, with their own wonders and frustrations and triumphs.

In him I recall my youth in a way I could not when raising my own children – over twenty years of life experience provides different eyes and ears to a man.  I can observe this artwork in a way I didn’t appreciate then.

In him is a heart and mind as big as this universe, and immediately again as small as each of us are in this swirling dust storm of creation.

It is said that true art stirs emotions in the participant.  Truer words have never been spoken.

Taxation without representation is the start of a steep downwards spiral.

Without representation – meaning we say what happens with our money – we’d be funding programmes that we can’t control.

Gov’t systems, by their very nature, demand control and money, plain and simple. My thoughts here lie in the ‘paranoid fringe’ area, but observation of current events some countries leads me to these conclusions.

It’s all about the money.

Money on its own isn’t evil – the love of money is.  And gov’t systems love money, because of the power that comes with it.

____________________________________

Please note, gentle reader, that what i write below doesn’t have to be this way.  

I’m writing in the hopes that some will see this,

give a thought to what they support,

and possibly try to keep this from happening.

____________________________________

If I were an evil gov’t genius, given virtually unlimited funding and an aim for unstoppable control, this would be my mid-to-long-term plan:

1) Prevent those who can’t be taxpayers from being born

(i.e. those with defects) – that’s why birth control isn’t pushed as hard by gov’t as is abortion.

Why spend control money on children who will never financially or ideologically support the system?

  I’d ensure that every baby born is a happy, healthy baby, ready to bring joy to his mother’s house, who will eventually become a cherished member of (gov’t) society.

2) Destroy the two-parent family unit

It’s easier to take control of a family when there’s only one parent of the children.

Divide and conquer.  Very simple.

For families with many parents (i.e. ‘shared families’) where the children live at grandma’s house, cousins’ house, ‘friend of family’ house, or sometimes in a combination of these, that’s ok too.  The key bit is to keep the children’s loyalty off the single family unit.  Especially for families that require gov’t assistance to survive.

Ideally, every family the children live in would be monitored to ensure the children have a solid education in the benefits received by the system.

  I’d ensure every child gets the care they need, even if this means placing a child in another home for a short time.  This way the birth parent(s) can get the retraining they need without endangering the child’s development.

3) Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

The gov’t needs taxpayers.  It needs taxpayers who are conditioned to support the cause from birth.

That’s why it condones people on the dole who have multiple babies and gives them money to raise them in gov’t -sponsored creches and feeds them gov’t-sponsored food (selected for its ability to leave them hungry afterwards, and that can’t be grown/produced without the help of gov’t assistance).

Dependence on gov’t healthcare schemes – now a law, and not just by preference – provides ‘free’ medical care for those on the dole.  It’s easy!  As long as you fill out the right forms, stand in the right line long enough, and come back when you find out the form you filled out at the start of the wait is no longer valid when its your turn at the window.

But those born into this don’t see anything wrong with this.

  I’d ensure that every child has a means to a safe, productive life, with guaranteed education and a way to get the help they need.  Regardless of the situation, they can always reach out to their ‘guardian angel’ who will act on their behalf if they feel threatened or neglected.

4) Remove those from the system who aren’t able to support the gov’t

This isn’t just for those who can’t provide money.  Remember, gov’t craves power.  If paying for loyalty is needed for a short while, then those supporting the cause are immune to corrective action, provided they give voting or public support when this is needed.

Gov’t mandated/sponsored ‘health care’ provides the vehicle for this.

Too old, to cranky, too ‘paranoid’?  Can’t/won’t feed the system because of these attributes?

‘Death by waiting in line’, ‘mental health issues’, ‘national security risk’ labels, in that order, will cure this.

To assist with this, I’d set up gov’t agents to review and monitor sections of the taxpayer base, and question the actions taken.  As and when the ‘offenders’ trip the right programme switches, they will be dealt with accordingly.

  I’d ensure every citizen has a safe and productive environment in which to live, free from the worry that the demands of those unable to assist will prevent them from becoming successful.

5) Buy the votes and set up shop

In the USA, why do we have so many people on the dole who could be working but the gov’t doesn’t seem to care?

At the moment these are bought votes. They are the means to the end – control of individual rights. They support the actions taken by our gov’ts that reduce our access to individual liberty.

This means – and especially means – creating ‘Executive Orders’ that have the force of law, without the legal hassle of going through representatives of the tax base.  This will cover all areas of individual liberty – from where we live, to the schools our children are taught in, to the way we physically protect ourselves and loved ones.

Those whose votes are bought will willingly allow this, by supporting the reps who won’t fight against them, and removing those who do.

It’s not just those who are bought – this includes those who are too fearful to speak out, those who honestly believe that Mankind on his own won’t make the right choices, or those who seek the comfort of someone/something to fix things for them without having to think about the details.

This doesn’t mean just Congress or the House  or the Senate – it means anyone who represents us in gov’t.  Local judges, law enforcement, city officials – they all have  apart to play in this.

In the future, if we allow our rights to be ignored and legally dismissed by executive orders, the folks on the dole will be working too, by force.  The gov’t ‘owns’ their children in school, ‘owns’ their medical cards, ‘owns’ their housing and education and will be demanding recompense for these things. Ain’t nothing free.

 Its a small victory, however.

  I’d ensure the needs of the many are taken care of quickly, efficiently, and firmly.  There are times when we can’t stop and argue about what needs to be done.  Our people expect, no, deserve, a leadership that can take action swiftly and without hindrance.

6) Put a fork in it, time to eat

The rest of us, who’ve been working and paying taxes and generally supporting ourselves the whole time?

By that time, “equal pay for equal work” will be enforced, and taxed heavily. And enforced heavily as well via the tax-paying mechanism and at gunpoint, literally.  In the USA we have the IRS and FEMA to thank for this.

If you don’t think FEMA is something to worry about because it’s only for ‘national emergencies’ think again.

FEMA is part of Homeland Security.

OIG (Office of Inspector General)  is part of FEMA.

OI (part of OIG) is part of OIG.

OI has the authority to investigate Social Security fraud.

OI has recently received, at the request of the SSA (Social Security Administration) approval for the purchase of 174,000 rounds of “.357 Sig 125 grain bonded jacketed hollow point pistol ammunition.”

This only one department – many others are stocking up as the media stories fed to the public strongly discourage personal gun ownership.  Basically we’re being outgunned and won’t be able to prevent action by force when it comes down to this.  Unless, of course we urge our reps to stop this, and they actually take action to represent us.

Jobs will be ‘graded ‘and we won’t earn more than the pay grade allows.  To move to a different grade will require gov’t approval and review.  If you know someone who has power to move you up a notch (for an under-the-table fee) then you may have a means to make a little more cash at a higher tax rate.

Entrepreneurs – those who now work free-lance or who own their own business – will be subject to heavy fees, taxation at a rate much much higher than the general tax base, and invasive, regular auditing.  This will kill many businesses as the owners decide it’s easier to just fit into a gov’t selected job slot for them, or go to a different country that hasn’t the same regulations.  That’s going to be harder to find as time goes on however.

  I’d ensure that no one is left out of the system.  The days of “owning too much” are over.  I’d ensure every homeless, down-trodden person who looks into the store window and sees the rich get richer will get a fair chance at getting a piece of this pie.  I’d ensure that everyone gets a fair amount of pay for a fair amount of work.  To do this we all have to work together – and to help with this I’ll assign specialists who can guide you on the way to success.

Yep.  That’s what I’d do.

[queue evil laugh]

—————————–

Photo credits

http://www.flickr.com/photos/niwru/2200320669/

http://www.clipartpal.com/_thumbs/election_071_02_tns.png

This is a nice bit of work a friend of mine found and shared.  It’s clever and even has some funny woven into it 🙂

Traversable Achronal Retrograde Domains In Spacetime

My only issue with any discussion of time-travel though involves space.  Not exactly “Space” as we see it looking up at the sky, but space as in, “Hey look there’s a giant boulder in front of me that’s taking up space”.  But actual Space is part of this frustration as well.  I’ll explain why.

In books, movies, even serious discussion of time-travel, every one has a time-traveller disappearing as the traveller starts to travel and then re-appears in the “real world” as time travel stops.

Ok, let’s roll with this idea, and hold that thought.  We’ll use this later on.

Now, if someone travels through time “for just an instant” and comes back, we are shown/told that the person re-appears in the same spot he or she started.

Ok.

And if someone travels for a longer bit of time, he or she may collide upon “re-entry” if something is in the same spot he or she started.  Like if a dog or chair happened to be moved into the traveller’s starting point.  Makes sense if you look at it this way.

Here’s where “Space” and “space” come into play and messes with my head, and temporarily eclipses all the fun in the fiction and discussion.

We’ll focus our attention to what the “disappearing time traveller” means.

Let’s use a specific example.

Sally has just used a time-travel device to go back 30 years in time.  She’s a fan of 1980s music and just wants to have fun.

Her friend Bob will wait around for her to return, because he’s not as big a fan of the 80s as is she.  Also he doesn’t like fun, as he’s a grumpy bear.

According to pop culture concept of time-travel, she disappears from Bob’s view.  The assumption is that she’s gone back 30 years to the past, in the same spot she and Bob are located.

Sally walks around for a week or so, admiring the headbands and spiky hair, visits a salon to have her hair style upgraded to the Big Hair look, goes back to the spot where she’d appeared, and uses the time-travel device again to go back to her frowny friend Bob.

From Bob’s perspective, she returns a few moments after disappearing with a new hair style.

They’d been very careful to not return her back immediately or overlapping her departure.  Legend has it that if time-travel entities meet, the world will end or something.  Anyway, they choose to not take this chance.

It’s easy to understand (and visualise) that if something is placed in the location where the person used to be, and the person “comes back” from time-travelling, he or she would collide with that object. Or become merged with it, ala The Fly (hellllppp meeee).

Same logic applies (in this example) to objects that “used to exist” in the spot where the time-traveller going to the past might encounter.

Like if a building used to be at the spot where Sally and Bob are standing, and she were to travel back in time, she’d collide with the building and generally make a mess of things.

These are easy enough concepts to grasp. That’s why pop culture uses these memes.

Now.  Here comes the part that hurts my head and bothers me that no one’s addressed it in pop culture time travel.

Focus on the disappearing act.

Sally “disappeared”.

She “has left the building”, as one might have said a long time ago.

Where did she go?

To the past!  Right.  I got that part.

But I mean physically, where did she go?

She has left our current plane of existence.  Let’s say, for argument’s sake, her physical body moved into another “dimension” during the travelling process.  Which makes her invisible to the viewer or anyone not moving along with her.  And not just “invisible” but incorporeal with regards to our world.

She has left our plane of existence.

Which allows her to move backwards/forwards in time.

But…

…and this is a BIG BUT…

…this also means our plane of existence can move (forwards in time, naturally) in any physical direction it has been moving, without bringing her along with it.

Look at your feet.  I assume you aren’t walking whilst reading this.

Pretty firmly planted on the ground, eh?  Unless you’re listening to music, too , and tapping your feet.

But generally speaking, you aren’t moving much.

Ah but you are placed on the Earth.  Which is rotating.  And if you’re at the Equator, you are moving as fast as 1,070 miles per hour, according to NASA.

That’s just the Earth’s rotation.

The Earth’s speed as it moves around the Sun is about 66,000 miles per hour, according to Universe Today.  Oh, and how quickly is the Solar System and our Galaxy scooting along?  Best to check with Astrosociety.org.

So even when we think we’re sitting still, we’re moving, spinning, rotating.  No wonder some of us are dizzy at times.  me more than most, I suspect.

But let’s get back to Sally.

She’s jumped out of our plane of existence.  She was moving along just like Bob was, following along in the astral roller-coaster ride we all are on.  But then she left the ride to travel through time.

Let’s assume (big assumption) that she follows Newton’s 1st Law of Motion.  That she’ll continue to move at her current speed unless an object acts on her – stopping, slowing her down, or speeding her up.

She’s become a drifter, moving very very very quickly in a single direction.

Blame The Vector Principles on this.  But don’t blame the sunshine, moonlight, good times, or even The Boogie.  It’s The Vector Principles this time.

Our physical world can’t touch her.  The floor can’t hold her.

The Earth can’t guide her and very very very quickly, rotates and eventually moves away as it continues its orbit around the Sun.

The Sun, in turn, moves along in its path in the Solar System and scoots out of Sally’s view.

So when she turns off her time-travel machine, she’ll be very surprised to find herself drifting in Space.  It’ll have been 30 years in the past, but physically, she’s a long way from home.

And this is why I can’t really enjoy time-travel movies.  It’s that durn Vulcan logic ticking away that butchers Bill & Ted movies.

—————-

Photo credits

http://www.flickr.com/photos/whatleydude/8318380582/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25477528@N00/5181143856/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ethanhein/2242736982

This week I was reminded of how precious is our health, no matter the state of it. And how precious the spirit of people can be.

On Monday morning I was cleaned, scrubbed, dressed for work. I tossed my heavy backpack over my shoulder and stepped over the child gate like I have done every workday for the last two years.

Three seconds later I was fighting to stay conscious.

Somehow I slipped or tripped, can’t recall. But I fell, and in trying to keep from falling, my right hand grabbed the open doorway and got twisted way too far back.

My left arm reached back but found nothing to grab. Then my body swiveled round, I completely lost my footing, and that’s when my jaw and mouth met the door jamb of the other bedroom.

I weigh about 170 lbs. My backpack clocks in at about 30 lbs. I was moving pretty quickly since I was falling. So basically I got punched in the chin very very hard with a wooden post while my arms were stretched behind me.

It HURT.  It hurt on collision, and as I awoke a few seconds later, it hurt as I slid down the door jamb. And I knew something was on fire in that spot between my shoulder blades as I hit the ground. I wanted to scream but my daughter and her son were sleeping in a nearby room.

Thankfully nothing was broken, sprained, or concussed :D. The Good Lord saw fit to let my big jaw take the brunt of the blow and not my nose or eye sockets. That would have been very bad.

Took the day off work. Didn’t feel comfortable making big decisions (not that mine make much of a diff, heh) but mostly because suddenly my arms and hands had aged like 30 years.

And suddenly, like putting on a new pair of glasses, I “saw” what it’s like to live with chronic, invisible pain.  I’ve never been one to belittle those who deal with ongoing, acute pain that shows no visible sign of manifestation. But sympathy and empathy are different beasts.

On Monday morning I couldn’t raise my arms above my head.  Pain, heat, and pinpricks everywhere. But the troublesome bit was the complete stubbornness of my body as it refused to obey the order to raise  even one hand above shoulder level.

By that afternoon, I could move my arms freely, if by “free” you mean, “it feels like fire when you do THAT”

The evening was a mess.

I had thankfully saved some prescription-strength ibuprofen from a fall I’d taken while  roller skating (yes still a kid at heart) and that helped.

By Tuesday morning the fire was gone, replaced by sensations of tingle and bone-numbing cold. Like the feeling one has when one’s arms wake up after falling  asleep. That lasted all day, lessening in intensity over time.

At bedtime, I prayed the evening rest would speed  up the healing, and thanked God for healing powers placed in our selves.

That’s when my heart went out  to those who can’t say the same thing. Those who’s issues don’t lessen over time. Those who go to sleep (or try to) knowing that tomorrow won’t bring a freshened, renewed state.

At that point is when I honestly wept.  And thought about and prayed for my family and friends travelling on that road.

Today there is no pain. Just numbness and weakness. And that will pass.

But what won’t pass is the memory of three days of living someone else’s life.

One where my sense of time is lost, because I am focused on simple tasks like opening up a food wrapper or tying shoes and pushing back the feeling of needles ripping through the skin.

One where someone asks, “are you all right?” in word or silent stare when I can’t push myself out of a chair or lift a glass of water because I’m too weak but am embarrassed to ask for help.

One where the joyful leap of my grandson into my arms brings tears to my eyes, but not out of happiness.

One where my usually sprawling handwriting is now nearly unreadable because I’ve lost the fine motor skills needed to write. These would be the same motor skills used to button my shirt sleeves.

For those who live this life daily, I salute and pray and send good thoughts your way. When you are grumpy, short tempered, irritated, or just lost in your thoughts, I kind of know why.

And when you are nice, and kind, and graceful, I will be humbled.  And thankful for your ability to smile and persevere through the pain no one can see.

This was a sign I saw on the way to work.  It’s on a pawn shop display:

We buy broken gold

I’ve seen this sign before but for some reason, on this particular morning, it touched my heart, to the point of tears.  It was a particularly tricky part of the daily commute, so I had to buck up and make it in the rest of the way without thinking about it.

But the impact disturbed me.  I have dealt with irrational feelings – my own and those of others’ – and I really don’t like not knowing the underlying causes for irrational things.  I don’t have to control things; just knowing why something happens is sometimes enough for me.

But these four words rang throughout the morning in my head and heart, like what I’d imagine a ray of hope would do when seen by  man who thought hope had run out for him.

We buy broken gold

Then it hit me, like said ray, and the peace was deep and swift.

The phrase “broken gold”, in its most technical format, means anything gold that has been broken or stripped down.  Lockets, rings, decorative charms, etc.  Not on its own anything significant.

But examine the phrase more closely as well as the original item.

Broken gold, like broken promises and dreams, still has a value unto its own, regardless of the stresses and cracks it can develop.  This is why it’s one of the most cherished metals in existence.  Some examples are:

A damaged relationship – in some cases irreparable – can change into a new thing, or a lesson to bear in mind

A lost or forgotten gift can be found again, ready to charm the receiver of the gift when its recovered

A family heirloom, although broken and cracked, can remind the holder of the value and stories this represents

It’s also malleable and able to take on a new form under the right hand and when subjected to purifying fire.  A fire that can cause pain can also remove the impurities life and tarnished experiences bring to all.

Broken gold

These items have meaning in someone’s lives.  If the meaning still exists, can we believe that the items, although broken and discarded, remind us of what we once had and can still have again?  This suggests hope.  If the meaning no longer exists, then can the item – broken and discarded – be reborn as a new creature, ready to encourage a new beginning?  This suggests hope of a different nature – a hope for new times and dreams.  Both are heart-warming in their own way.

Then there’s the first bit of the phrase, “we buy”.  This is probably the key to the prison of despair here, and what was the core of my reaction.

Wherever there is disorder, chaos, and broken dreams, there will be someone around who is willing to help us through this.

This comes from first-hand experience.

As a Christian, I’ve come to know how true is the idea that my Creator, the one that formed the Heavens and the earth, knows my value in His creation.  As a Holy Trinity, He took my broken dreams, my broken promises, my broken relationships with Him and others, and paid for it with a dear price.  His own earthly life, and simultaneously the life of His son and brother.  He rose from the earthly and spiritual grave to take back His life and creation, and with it, to provide the hope and promise that I will live with Him and my loved ones for eternity, shining like pure gold.

He paid for all this because he knew the value and preciousness of the gold in my life, although broken, could be mended or forged anew in the cleansing fires of trials and tribulations.  And He’d be right there with me, guiding me and teaching me along the way.

We buy broken gold

Yep, it’s a deep and meaningful phrase.  Hard to believe all this can be hidden inside of four simple words.

——————–

Image courtesy of http://kootation.com/uploads/2.bp.blogspot.com*-TA01E1Qsdgw*TdjYwUUZWII*AAAAAAAAANI*K0EyXsg9zEs*s1600*Fire%20Heart%20Love%20HD%20Wallpaper.jpg

This was a sign I saw on the way to work.  It’s on a pawn shop display:

We buy broken gold

I’ve seen this sign before but for some reason, on this particular morning, it touched my heart, to the point of tears.  It was a particularly tricky part of the daily commute, so I had to buck up and make it in the rest of the way without thinking about it.

But the impact disturbed me.  I have dealt with irrational feelings – my own and those of others’ – and I really don’t like not knowing the underlying causes for irrational things.  I don’t have to control things; just knowing why something happens is sometimes enough for me.

But these four words rang throughout the morning in my head and heart, like what I’d imagine a .22 caliber bullet would do when shot into a small hollow enclosed space.

We buy broken gold

Then it hit me, like said bullet, and the wound was deep and swift.

The phrase “broken gold”, in its most technical format, means anything gold that has been broken or stripped down.  Lockets, rings, decorative charms, etc.  Not on its own anything significant.

But examine the phrase more closely as well as the original item.

Each of the broken items were not created broken.  They were created anew, fresh, and with the intent of being something hopefully special for someone.

A wedding ring, with vows to stretch through the end of a lifetime

A congratulatory gift, to celebrate completion of a hard-earned achievement

A family heirloom, with a history that stretches back generations

But now, over time, through intent, neglect, theft, or accident, these items – and associations – are what they are advertised to be:

Broken gold

These items have meaning in someone’s lives.  If the meaning still exists, then why is the item broken and discarded?  This suggests theft.  If the meaning no longer exists, then why is the item broken and discarded?  This suggests theft of a different nature – theft of time and dreams.  Both are heartbreaking in their own way.

Then there’s the first bit of the phrase, “we buy”.  This is probably the nail in the coffin here, and what was the core of my reaction.

Wherever there is disorder, chaos, and broken dreams, there will be someone around who is willing to profit off this.

This comes from first-hand experience.

It’s never easy to watch ones’ family belongings packed up into little boxes, sectioned off into separate lots, and sold at auction.  More difficult to do so, knowing that it’s a last-ditch attempt to try to hold a family together due to a myriad of horrible financial and inter-personal decisions.

Most difficult to make that phone call overseas to say, “hon, we didn’t make a profit off the sale”.

We buy broken gold

Yep, it’s a deep and meaningful phrase.  Hard to believe all this can be hidden inside of four simple words.

———————–

Image courtesy of: http://www.free-hdwallpapers.com/wallpapers/abstract/168363.jpg

Dave Ramsey’s got some good advice here about focusing on the most important things.

It is easier, however, to focus on the most important stuff when we’re not distracted with thoughts about how to pay for the not-the-most-important-stuff.

I’ve a lot of experience with the effects of impulse shopping and credit extensions set up to pay for those purchases.  Really, mom and dad’s advice is the best.

If you haven’t the money in the bank to pay for it, and have to borrow to get it (like pay for it on a credit card), don’t get it.

This especially includes things that you can’t touch after the purchase event is over.  Like vacations, holidays overseas, holiday gifts or even the “little” things like circus or movie tickets.  It also includes things we CAN touch like furniture, new appliances, and especially non-essential items (toys, games, etc).  This doesn’t mean we can’t get these things!  However if we have to use a credit card (i.e. borrow from someone else) to buy these things, we are cheating ourselves in the long run.  And this is a cheat that is a mean and unforgiving master when it’s time to pay up.

Things like car/appliance parts or other emergency purchases can go on a credit card but make a major effort to pay off the balance within six weeks – otherwise, you’ll forget and this will roll over to start biting you with increasing finance charges.

It’s tough to train one’s self to do this, but the peace of mind this discipline brings also strengthens your home and self-confidence.  Your family – kids/grandkids especially – will pick up on this and will know there’s stability at home.

You won’t be hunting around for extra hours to pay extra for things which you should have waited to pay cash for.

You won’t be stressed and freaked out when an appliance dies suddenly, because you’ve planned for this eventuality and have money in reserve for this (instead of using it up on the impulse purchase for the new TV with zero percent interest… but oops, couldn’t pay it off on time so now there’s a ton of loan payments to make now).

You won’t be missing out on the vital, life-shaping conversations with your loved ones because you will be focused on these instead of thinking about financial issues.

And, passing on this lifestyle will change the path your kids will take.  If your kids have just started working, they can be millionaires by the time they are in their mid-30s.  They don’t need a breakthrough job or need to “be lucky” to do this. They just need to understand how money works – not the stock market ventures, but how money moves around and what is the best way to pay for things.

I encourage each of us reading this to make an effort to understand these principles ourselves, use these in practice, and share the education with our loved ones.  We can help to create millionaires – ourselves, ideally, but if not ourselves, then our kids stand a chance.

And the best thing to do with our hard-earned, well-planned income?  After securing income to live off of after no one else is willing to pay us for our skills (i.e. retirement), we need to voluntarily spread the wealth.  Donate to causes that mean something to us personally.  This should include our family, neighbours, local community.

Sure, the federal (and in some places, state) tax man will want an ever-increasing amount – and will forcibly take a portion of our earnings to fund items we don’t agree upon.

But that’s what makes the voluntary donations all the more precious, and blessed.

Overheard during a test where a software programming change was being tested – and this exchange was broadcast to a large audience.

A little background here… Technical-types like it when specific terms are used to describe a situation. Business-types generally don’t care about the term itself as long as someone knows 1) there’s a problem and 2) it’s getting taken care of.

But for tekkies, terminology is as important as the general assessment, because it gives us a clue and direction where to start looking for solutions.

In this case, we see the use of the term “Bug” which means, “there’s a problem with the software and someone didn’t test properly before handing it over”. For dev-types, “Bug” is a big nasty word. However as noted in the exchange, the issue wasn’t a “bug” but an error with the data.

It’s like saying, “Microsoft Word is broken. It printed out my resume with the wrong start and end dates for my last job!” when the person typed the wrong start and end dates in there to begin with…

———————

Business tester: We have identified and corrected a bug that caused the problem

Dev-type: Bug?

Dev-type again: Umm, what exactly is the bug?

Business tester: The data we sent to you to load into the system had incorrect values.

Dev-type: This isn’t a bug, it’s a problem with the data. If you re-send correct data to load into the system we’ll re-load it

Business tester: Well, whatever term you’d like to use, some data has been wrongly loaded into the system and that’s what matters

Today I hug my children and grandchild.   I interact with my siblings and parents.  My friends are available for me to say “hello” to.

I can do this today because none of these people have been murdered senselessly by a crazed individual or taken away by an equally crazed government system.

This weekend is one of sombre and deep reflection for me personally, and I suspect many as well.  For those future-types who may be reading this post, and wonder why this is so, it’s because of the actions a 20-year-old man took in a tiny town in Connecticut, USA against children, and on the same day, the actions of a 36-year-old man in Chengping, China, also against children.  Although these actions are physically remote and distant from me, the impact stuck me and continues to reverberate where ever I go, whatever I’m doing.

The media and police reports can provide more detail than shall I, so I implore the reader to look this up to get the details.  Look up “December 14, 2012, Newtown, school” and “December 14, 2012, Chengping, children”.

Each of us, by our action or inaction, by our encouragement of certain types of behaviour, has the power to impact those who would do harm to others.  Granted, I alone did not directly create the situations that caused this terror of which I write, but I do have direct influence on my children and friends.  My purchasing habits and entertainment options are also a factor in this.  If anything I have said or done – or have failed to say or do – has contributed to the deaths of innocent men, women and children then I apologise to the families involved and pray they and God forgive me.

To borrow a quote from one of my favourite an old cinema characters, “That’s all I’ve got to say about that.”

—————————-

I’ve a position on weapon control that may surprise my friends and readers.  Then again, it may not, depending on how well those who know me actually know me.

Before reading further, dear reader, please do me a favour.  When you read my words, and those of others who put forth ideas, facts, and opinions, do one thing for me.  You will be doing it for yourself, really, and eventually for your family and community.

Seriously consider your thoughts and emotions on the concept of weapon control and usage.  I encourage you to take in new information and change your opinions as new information comes in.  This is not a trivial thing for “someone else” to “take care of”.  It’s also not a “side” that one chooses once and never “switches over” in fear of betraying one’s “teammates”.

In your consideration, take into account two major questions:

Who will control actions or access to weapons?

What is to be controlled?

This is the basis for the remainder of this article.

—————————-

I’ve three underlying foundation posts to set up before delving deeper into the topic.  These are:

1. Actions of people who choose to abuse items at their disposal are at times seemingly random and unpredictable.  However, under closer scrutiny and forensic analysis it can be seen that many of these acts are indeed somewhat predictable, had anyone known to look.
2. It’s easy to say unequivocally, “No [insert weapon of choice] allowed for civilians (or anyone)”.  In practise – in my opinion – this isn’t practical or wise – depending upon which type of weapon it is to which one refers.
3. I’ll remove “hunting” from this post with regards to my consideration and ideas.  This is – and I will gladly stand corrected if needs be – because no one has ever performed mass-murder or injury as part of a proper hunting expedition, be it for sport or actual food gathering.

—————————-

In times of civil unrest, one needs to be able to protect one’s self, family, friends and property as needed.  City, state and federal agencies exist to assist with this, but they are not, in my opinion, the first line of defence.  If someone’s threatening my child or myself I’m certainly not going to simply shout for help or dial a phone number to get a civil servant to protect us.

I’m going to use the best means necessary to halt our danger.  If that means talking to the threat, pushing the threat away, grabbing a blunt instrument, pulling out a sharp instrument, using an explosive weapon, then that’s what I’ll do to avert the immediate issue.  Only then will I call in civil servants for assistance.

Does this mean I believe everyone should be armed to the teeth?  That everyone – including 10-year-old children – be sporting guns?  No.  In that way lies madness and a perpetuation of the cycle we’ve found ourselves in.

Does this mean I support the opposing viewpoint?  That all items deemed to be weapons be removed from civilians’ hands?  No.  In that way lies the foundation for horrible abuse of power from the gov’t agencies as well as lawbreakers.

Many of the mass-murders in recent time occurred in schools.  Does this mean we require private schools to hire armed and trained security guards at their cost, and use tax payer money to hire the same for public schools?  No.  In that way lies only a costly bandage to cover a mortal wound.  Do we require teachers or staff to train in the use of firearms and keep ‘stashes’ of weaponry in the school?  No.  This may stand contrary to a teacher or staff member’s personal beliefs.  Also, this does not address the murders that took place outside of schools but in other public places.  The concept of soldiers or staff stationed in public places with assault weaponry in public view all the time is not one I encourage.

What then is my position?  How can we as a community manage and protect ourselves from those who would harm others using items at their disposal?

I’m a weapon owner.  I’m for weapons control.  Surprise.

Actually, this ought not be a surprise.  After all, we drivers of automobiles and heavy equipment must pass a test to obtain (and in some cases, keep) a license to use the item.  Why would weapons be any different?

For gun owners who are not as much interested in the families of those hurt or killed by items under the influence of murderers, but more so in the right to bear arms, I present this argument, and it is at once correct and chilling:

If we don’t self-regulate, if we don’t come up with a reasonable and rational solution, one will be forced upon us.  And in the long run, this mandate will not benefit anyone.

And so I continue.  But my opinion comes with caveats.

First off, we can’t have a federal agency setting and enforcing policy for what individuals can and can’t do to protect themselves.  Many will say this is needed to allow uniformity and fairness, but in our world – and country specifically – we are so geographically different and our attitudes separate enough that a global policy isn’t manageable for all.

Secondly, we can’t say that weapon X, Y, Z is forbidden and that weapon A, B, C is permitted.  This seems illogical at first blush but hear me out and I’ll offer reasons for this statement.

—————————-

So what is my proposal?  What idea, exactly, will I be taking to my local representatives, my mayor, and my state senator, and why?

Before going into that let me state some more ideas that factor into my proposal.

Guns kill people.  They kill people as readily as so knives, poison, cars, rocks, pillows, anything really that is under the control of an individual.  The fact that they can do so more quickly than the others is certainly why these are under specific scrutiny, and with good reason.

People are crazy.  We all are.  It’s just a matter of how much crazy each of us is at a given moment in time.  I’d venture to say that most of us, gentle readers, have had a moment of intense stress or frustration – or even an extended period of time for that matter – where we’ve not “been ourselves” and have let bad judgement take the better of us.

Local city police are almost always the first civil servants on the scene during an altercation.  Emergency medical technicians may at times arrive first, but it’s the police who are equipped and trained to deal with a dangerous situation.

We’ve a national gov’t that’s itching to manage and control every aspect of our lives, from food to housing to school to medical care.  This level of gov’t also has the means to quickly transmit information across every city, county, region state at a moment’s notice.

Ok, again, so what’s the proposal?

1. Identify and classify all items that can be used as weapons, or parts of a weapon
   1. Chemicals that can be used to create explosives
   2. Guns and gun components (including bullets)
   3. Knives
   4. Gardening tools, Rocks, Pillows, etc. Silly examples but really, anything can be used as a weapon.  Making a point here.
   5. Everything.  And I mean everything.  We won’t want a lawsuit to throw out a criminal investigation because item X wasn’t classified as a weapon.  This is as much a legal battle as it is a physical access battle.
2. Assign registration ‘tags’ to those above a given classification
   1. Registration tags can be tiered – for instance a simple bow and arrow combination, single-shot shotgun or 6-shot revolver would have a different registration tag from a compound bow, an assault rifle or plastic explosives.
3. Allow individual states to determine what level of weapons are permitted in their borders
   1. That’s already in place for fireworks at the city and county level, so this wouldn’t be much different.
4. Allow only certified residents of the state to purchase, own and carry ‘tagged’ items in their physical boundaries
   1. One needs to prove competency in the use of a car before getting a driving license.  In some states one needs to show continued competency.  Driving licenses are separated into “Classes” – one can be authorised to drive a compact car but not authorised to drive an 18-wheeler truck.  It’s reasonable to take the same approach for a tiered weapons registration competency.
   2. The state would assess the physical and mental competency for the ownership and usage of a given registered weapon or component.  The level of testing would be determined by the county and local city officials, who would ‘own’ and manage the data relevant to the registration.
   3. Regular testing for re-certification would be required and enforced by the county and city officials.
   4. Those who are not certified to manage weapons of a given classification would be asked to surrender these, or not bring these into the state.  Here we would open up a huge discussion regarding border controls and etc. which is far outside of scope here.  But the idea being, if a resident is found to be unable to manage a weapon, that resident would have rights to the weapon removed, as well as the weapon itself.
   5. The number of weapons would be part of consideration as well.  Does an individual need 136 handguns, katanas, throwing stars, or poison blowdarts?  If one is a collector and the local authorities feel comfortable in his or her training competency, mental state and storage facility as part of the regular state certification, then this may be completely acceptable.  The local authorities would be the first responders in any public violent altercations, so it would stand to reason that they would be the ones who would make a determination in this case.
5. Allow the federal gov’t to manage a standardised communication infrastructure to allow counties and cities – and their local law enforcement agencies – to share information as needed.
   1. It’s entirely possible and reasonable to assume that someone from a given state – who has failed to pass certification tests – would flee (if asked to surrender a weapon) or go to a different state (to try to pass using different local criteria).  A standardised, national communication network would allow local officials to instantly communicate this information for reference purposes.
   2. It’s also entirely possible that someone who is registered in one state would simply go to a different one to commit a crime or simply enter the area with weapons that are not permitted.  This can’t be avoided, as at this point we’re dealing with not a law-abiding citizen but a lawbreaker.  For instance, I can’t enter certain buildings in my home town with a concealed weapon or I am in breach of local law.  Does that mean all concealed handguns ought to be banned?  No.  That simply means that if I choose to break that law, I should be treated for what I am – a criminal.  Having a national communication network would again allow for local law officials to communicate and compare notes when lawbreakers act out.
6. Remove gov’t-mandated “gun-free” zones.
   1. The only thing a gun-free zone provides is a few moments of safe haven where a criminal can perform as much damage as possible before police arrive.  Our issues in the recent past are not from law-abiding gun owners, but criminals and madmen who wouldn’t not heed this warning anyway.  A certified weapons owner with a weapon in his or her possession would have levelled the playing field in these cases.
7. Do NOT allow the federal gov’t to mandate what is permissible for a given region, or to ‘own’ the data each city has collected on the individuals.
   1. What’s good for one region is not good for all.  Our world, and our country, is too large geographically for a single massive government system to manage millions (or billions) of people all the time.
   2. Granting absolute power to a federal agency to manage individuals’ certification – and ability to protect one’s self, family, friends and property is an operational risk.  An enemy of the country can take control or infiltrate a national database or processes and each of us will be exposed to this risk.  Separate city-level controls would greatly limit this risk.
   3. Granting absolute power to a federal agency to manage individuals for any reason is a civil liberties risk and ought to be prevented.
   4. Without the onus of managing a national database and weapons control process, the federal gov’t can focus its efforts on maintaining the integrity of the communication infrastructure.

So that’s it.  That’s my proposal, one I plan to take to my local representatives, mayor and state representative.  If, gentle reader, you have alternate ideas please do share – but more importantly, share them not only as a “comment” or “reply” but with your local representatives.

We can’t address the symptoms of a serious illness by simply talking about how bad we feel about the pain.  Shouting at the illness and calling it names may help to vent frustration – and may be needed in times of stress – but that won’t address the cause.  Simply cutting off the injured parts won’t give the satisfaction we’re looking for either.  Ignoring or anaesthetising the issue will eventually lead to certain death if the illness is strong enough.

We need to understand the source of illness and apply an appropriate solution in the correct amounts.  This is what I propose.

—————————-

Image courtesy of Jeff S. PhotoArt.: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeff_sch/8021872271/

The good Lord’s blessed me with fine, intelligent children.  Each is becoming an adult in his or her own way, struggling as each must, in their individual paths towards becoming self-sufficient.  It’s not easy watching each make mistakes, and as a parent I cringe when I see one go down a path he or she’s been warned against, knowing that each must feel the burn sometimes to learn the danger of an open flame.

It’s not “sink or swim” however – part of the balancing act of being a parent is knowing when to toss out the life saver and when to let the stubborn one tread water and make his or her own way back to shore or boat deck.

And it’s not always a struggle – and many times I see the blessing that comes with their “life education”.  Such a blessing came today during a drive through the countryside.

We’d spent a good part of the weekend watching kung-fu movies and discussing gaming strategy, and then came a conversation that brought chills to my spine.

“Dad”, said my child, in a matter-of-fact way, “wouldn’t it be more intimidating for a country to invade 50 separate states instead of one big country?  I mean, if each one were able to break off and defend itself, wouldn’t that make an invader work harder to find the central command?”

“Yes”, I replied, “it would.  We’d have to make sure they and we know we are still under a united government though.  We’d not want separate states to feel isolated and try to negotiate treaties with the invaders to keep the peace.  But yep, facing multiple entities with a common cause is a LOT harder to defeat than one big one.

Think about it – if DC were to go today, and with it the Fed gov’t, which states would be able to hold their own?  Which would be helpless to defend themselves and would go into a panic?”

We then discussed the wisdom of the founders of the US Constitution, where they came up with the same basic idea my child had a long time ago by not making one big piece of land ruled by a central government, but sections of land with distinct leadership, that agreed to bind together under a common cause.

Being both gamers, we didn’t have to say what both of us were thinking – defeat the boss, defeat the level, and eventually, the game.  One big boss, one big loss.  Many bosses, more difficult to defeat.  Especially if the many bosses came at their common adversary simultaneously.

Then came the follow-up questions and general ideas of how the “winning” strategies would take place, and this is where the chills began to flow.

This was because it wasn’t my child listening to me sharing ideas about strategy; it was me listening to the strategies my child was developing to protect that which we both hold dear.

The chills weren’t chills of fear, uncertainty, or despair.  These were chills of hope.

As and when political winds change and new allies & enemies of our type of government flourish, we will have people like my child who will have listened to the elders, seen the wisdom of time, and are actively thinking about how to make things work properly again.

I pray they unite under a common cause to protect – or re-create  – a union we originally designed not too long ago.

It seems I’m a greedy bigwig.

This observation came about after ‘eavesdropping’ on a conversation today. It wasn’t entirely my fault I was listening in, as the conversation was between a cashier at a major corporation and the fella she was attending to. And they were, after all, doing the big eye-rolling, arm-waving, looking-over-their-shoulders act to make sure everyone around could see they were talking about Important Things.

She was complaining that she was scheduled to work this coming major holiday weekend – the Friday after Thanksgiving in the US is a major sales opportunity which I tend to avoid. But others like it, so stores that have traditionally understaffed the registers ask the employees to work extra shifts to make up for the ‘missing’ employees. Employees who work extra hours on the holiday weekends are asked to not come in for shifts prior to or after the weekends, so as to not work more than 40 hours in a given week. I know this because I’ve ‘been there, done that’, as well as have listened in on similar conversations such as this morning’s.

This is where the ‘bigwig’ statement came into play. According to her, the bigwigs get to have the holidays off while normal people don’t. Not fair, she commented loudly, ‘we’ ought to have the right to see ‘our’ families, too. And the bigwigs get to see their families so it’s not fair.

She’s complaining of having a legal, safe, comfortable place in which to work, where she’s been given a day or two ‘off’ in the same time period as the holiday season so she can maintain her income level and still spend time with her family.

Mind you, this is the day immediately following the day a different major corporation closed its doors due to bankruptcy proceedings, leaving over 18,000 employees with ample time to spend with family but no income over this holiday season.

So, I’m in her ‘bigwig’ classification.

I get to see my family on major holidays. Some years I even choose to take time off work so we can have some focused family time during the seasons. Is this because I’m ‘lucky’, or have ‘connections’?

No.  It’s because I’ve given up family time on a daily basis for years, working my connections and networking with colleagues to ensure I’ve got a fruitful environment in which to look for potential clients.

I’ve done split-shifts, time-shifting, and extreme unpaid overtime to build and support a global client base from which to draw up projects.  Often I’m up at 3 am to make conference calls with Singapore, in the office by 6 am to liaise with clients in London, continue to work with local clients in the city and also in NY, then out of the office by 2 pm local time to meet appointments with my children and grandchild.

It’s not unusual to run a 12-to-16 hour workday in the heat of battle, and I’ve done a 36-hour ‘workday’ to meet deadline as needed.  Yes, that’s 36 straight hours – no sleep but yes, food and toilet breaks – to get things moving along.

So yah, I’ve earned time with my family.  Not because I waited for some corporate HR person to graciously bestow ‘holiday time’ on me, but because I’ve aggressively but politely chased this time off and ensured my clients are comfortable with the coverage they have while I’m off the clock.

Speaking of off-the-clock, for me it’s ‘no play, no pay’.  I only get paid when I’m online, billing.

Thus is the holidays’ life of a bigwig.

Then it’s the other conversationalist’s turn to add to the wealth-envy-fest.  Seems that the greedy ones always take time off because they can afford to spend lots of money on their families while “we regular guys” suffer.

They even have so much money, he offers, that he gets gift cards for being a regular service provider.  He went on to explain that he provides material and labor for a company that sub-contracts him, and some of the clients “in their fancy homes” have given him seasons’ greetings’ cards with money loaded on them for him to use as he wishes.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with giving…” he notes when he sees my Vulcan eyebrow-raise motion, “but seems to me we ought to have the same right to spend lots of money on our families too during holidays, and we can’t do that, while these folks are just giving money away with their fat bank accounts.”

I wanted to ask him if he’d given the cards back or if he used them.  But since the line was backing up behind us with folks waiting to move on, and I had family waiting at home, I chose not to ask the question.

But that got me to thinking.  By his standards, then yes, I was greedy, too.  My family’s needs are met – for the most part – but not all of their wants.  This is the difference I saw in his shopping cart and mine, to take a specific example.  Could a family do without the things in his cart?  I venture to say yes, looking at the junk food, alcohol and disposable goods.  My visit was a standard-issue-run of cleaning supplies (keep the family healthy), dog food (keep the pit-bull/lab mix guard dog healthy) and winter clothing (again, keep family healthy).

What will I spend on the family for holiday season?  Probably not a lot on presents, just as in years past.  We focus on the family time portion and not on the gift portion of the season.  As mentioned above, I don’t get paid for holiday time off, so a week off is indeed very costly with regards to bank account.  But there’s no price to be put on family time, as I’ve painfully learned in the past.  So yes, if money spent=greed, then I’m guilty here.

Giving?  Seems this fella judges those who have enough money to give to others outside of the family and finds them guilty of greed as well.  Personally I encourage philanthropy – especially if one has an opportunity to freely give personally to a person or cause.  There are reasons for the stress on ‘freely’ and ‘personally’ which I won’t go into here.  But yes, I give, and therefore am greedy in his eyes.

Fat bank account?  Heh well, I’m not on the ‘greedlist’ there, but aim to be, and will work diligently to get to that point.  Why?  For starters, no one will be able to help me in the future but the ‘me’ of today.  There will be no ‘Social Security’ to draw upon, and corporate pensions are not in my future, due to the type of work in which I am employed.  I choose to not afford gov’t-sponsored medical or housing care in the future – the cost of accepting these ‘free’ services is more than I can morally bear.  I can probably tap my childrens’ shoulders for help as needed, but they’ll have a social and financial mess of their own to deal with in the future.

So it’s up to the ‘me’ of today to find a way to pay for the daily requirements the ‘me’ of the future will need when he’s no longer employable.  The only way to do that is for the ‘me’ of today to spend less than he earns, bankroll the rest, and wisely plan for how to manage that extra money.  I need a fat bank account to pay for the things ‘me’ of the future will need – food, utilities, housing, etc.  And that’s just the basics.  So yes, by those standards I plan to be greedy.

Eventually the two broke up the conversation – a line manager came round to see what was the delay in the check-out line.  Interestingly enough she also had a few things to say and stirred the pot by stating that some employees from a different company are staging a ‘walk-out’ on the holiday weekend.

“Mmmm-mmgh”, said the checkout lady, who started to ring up my items, “that’s what I’M talkin about.”

[sigh]

This was a response to a suggestion to read an online article, “Parents feel stress of raising their children“** with the comment, “Are Parents More Stressed than Ever?”

————–

I’ve read the article, and although it’s based from research in Australia, I think this is a common sense of fear and frustration in general.

  Personally, I don’t think parents are more stressed now than they were, say, 20, 50, 70, 300, 2,000 or 4,000 years ago… it’s just that we parents have, by nature of parenting a growing person, a stress level unique to our situations.

As my 2nd ex-wife is fond of saying, “sure she’s scared and nervous. She’s as old as she’s ever been” – speaking of our daughter (one of a number of children) who was anxious about a school situation.

And she’s right – we (parents) are as old as we’ve ever been, meaning that this moment of frustration and fear we have with our children is as scary as it’s ever been at any given moment in time.

Just ask the parent who’s had to retrieve his or her child out of juvenile detention, or even jail. The fear we felt when we first found out Billy or Susie was watching unauthorised movies at a friends’ house – years ago – pales in comparison.

New technology adds to the stress as much as it alleviates from it. We parents need to embrace new technology and spend time learning how to maneuver around it just the same as our children are doing. That way we parents won’t be blindsided by a rogue social networking, email, or website account.

One thing that adds to stress is living outside our means. If we’re working overtime to make ends meet after a holiday spending spree, vacation trip, or ‘essential’ purchase, the money we get is paid for with something we’ll never be able to afford – lost time with the children. If at all possible, one parent needs to be home with the children, managing the home (if the kids are at school) and managing the neighborhood networking.

Easier said than done for single parents, I know. But even if a single parent can’t provide this VITAL home and relationship management, the parent can instill in the children the value of a homemaker.

We need to bring people back home, where families can not just eat and sleep, but thrive.

———

** article links:

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/lifestyle/parents-feel-stress-of-raising-their-children/story-e6fref5l-1226479471584

http://lovingparentnetwork.com/parents-feel-stress-of-raising-their-children/

———

image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/22964099@N05/2204059683/sizes/l/in/photostream/

I’d like to write a book about a government whose economy collapses.

Military rule is then put in place to distribute essential food and medicine.

Travel blockades are established to manage transportation of critical and black market goods.

Permanent detention centers are set up to manage dissenters.

Free communication established to all via internet – but heavily monitored and filtered.

I just hope it’s not a history book.

(special thanks to http://forums.androidcentral.com/wallpapers-ringtones-themes/8312-motorola-droid-milestone-wallpapers.html for the image)

I’d like to give credit to my teachers, public transport system, sanitation engineers, local authorities, restaurant and hotel employees, gov’t social welfare system, etc. etc. etc. for being the ‘someone else’ who made my indie contracting career happen.

  But I really can’t, as that’s not entirely the case. I’d be leaving out the incredibly hard hours I work, risks I personally take, dinners with my family I’ve missed, months and months of being away from my kids to take contracts to help further their father’s income stream, and time away from my friends and extended family because I’ve spent what’s left of my available free time making up for lost time with immediate family.

I don’t go through all this because I’m greedy or because I like to pay increasingly aggressive mandatory taxes to fund others who don’t do what I do to make ends meet.

I do it to show my kids how to be self-motivated, self-sufficient, and how to enjoy and safeguard the fruits if the labors they do. I do it because I want my kids to know they can live without having to juggle a decision of, “Do I pay rent or auto insurance bill?” every month.

Others benefit from my work and volunteer mentoring time as well. I don’t expect to get a “fair” cut of their profits simply because I was part of it, and don’t expect others to feel the same with regards to mine.

“Parents in a small Washington State community are infuriated after their 11-year-old children were given graphic descriptions of oral and anal sex during a sex education class led by an elementary school principal.”

http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/parents-furious-after-school-teaches-5th-graders-about-oral-anal-sex.html

——————-

The issue I see here goes beyond the experiences these kids have been given (even if in third person). The principal’s decision, if left unchallenged, will create a precedent that allows the govt-sponsored and approved teaching of all types of behavour that some may consider to be aberrant and against one’s core family values. That topic (core family values) is a particularly important one to me – so hopefully you don’t mind my soapboxing here 😛

I can see the logic stream that led to this lecture by the official by reading the article. It’s a logical but morally unsound decision that was made. It can be argued – successfully, unfortunately – that many parents won’t take the responsibility and pain to warn their children of the results of risky actions. So it’s seen as “someone’s responsibility” to do this. Hence the article we see now and the gut-wrenching feeling that (hopefully) most of us have as a response.

It’s painful and embarrassing at times to be a parent, particularly when it comes to financial and sexual topics, and much easier to let “someone else” take on the pain and embarrassment.

Unfortunately this means also that what could be a ripe opportunity to pass on family values and earn respect in our children’s eyes is also given voluntarily to “someone else” – add that to many TV shows and movies that paint parents as idiots, and it’s no wonder children are learning to turn away from their parents for guidance.

In some “families”, the children have never really looked to their parents for guidance at all, except for their financial needs, to get transportation when needed, bail them out of juvie, and provide a place to have parties when no parent is present. I can speak from experience here, as my kids have associated with those exact types of families.

So is this article showing part of the reason that children and “the collective” these days are running the show with regards to the family core beliefs? Or is it a symptom of a larger problem?

I, for one, am turning my focus on the relationship with my children in the hopes that I can still pass on family virtue. Thankfully when I mentioned this article to my youngest two (15 and 17) they were appalled. Of course then I had to go into a little bit of detail about the subject matter – sadly it was not news to them, but at least i was able to plant seeds of what i feel are moral strengths they can take with them into the “real world”.

Some days my briefcase-backpack-mobile_office is heavier than it is on other days. In it are the contents of not just my professional labor, but the weight of my family commitments and responsibilities, as the luggage also holds the connection to these as well. Those who know me know this item is rarely gone from my side. It’s a bit of a joke really, but there you are.

Still, no matter the bleariness of my eyes or the ache that may come, I still strap the thing to my back, clear my head, and press on into another day.

I can imagine what’s going through your head at the moment… but wait a moment, the narrative does get better!

This isn’t a post of sadness, dismay, or pitifulness.

It’s a post of thankfulness.

I’m thankful to my parents.

Without them I could not appreciate the beauty and hope within the layers upon layers of items inside this weight I carry – a weight that has strengthened me by its presence.

My parents have taught me patience by being patient with my own youthful decisions and childish reactions to their household rules.

Without this I could not have known how to be patient with my own children (and sometimes employees/wo-workers, haha)

My parents have taught me compassion by being compassionate to others who might have been given up upon by others.

Without this I would not have known how to show this to my own children by forgiving their youthful acts of selfishness and showing uncompromising love for them – even though they know i still would not approve the actions they choose.

Also i would now know how to feel for others’ plight, and to teach others how to fish instead of just throwing money their way in the hopes of appeasing my guilty conscience.

My parents have taught me steadfastness by being faithful to their commitments day over day, year over year.

Without this I would not have known the pleasure in rising to plateaus in my profession because of my employers’ trust and respect in my word ad deed.

Also I would never have known how to show my children how to be trustworthy when promises made are kept on a consistent basis, and not on a whim when the time and opportunity suits me.

My parents have taught me honor by being honorable to themselves as man and wife.

Without this I would not have known what it is to be in a family that respects itself – even when the role of husband and wife is not always easy to maintain.

This is one of the shining hopes that lie before me for my children to follow.

My parents have taught me the love of God by being the types of people who are faithful to the God in which we trust.

I know this is a broad statement, but our family’s relationship with God encompasses all the above, and more.

Without this most important lesson I would never have known how to be the person I strive to be every day – and the person I pray my children yearn for and attain as they grow into the people they are learning to be.

This is why, on days when that backpack seems a little heavier than others, I stop and thank my parents.

Without them I would not know the value in what it is I carry.

Time travel is indeed possible, thanks to high school English class. Sounds like an odd statement but it happened just the other day.

My daughter and i were sitting across from each other and she was filling out a job application. I tossed out a suggestion related to filling out the form, and wondered in the back of my head where the idea had come from – as the suggestion wasn’t something i normally do or would have thought to do.

Then it hit me, and BAM!  I was sitting across from my 10th-grade English class study partner during lunch.

—

“This is stupid”, I found myself saying, “I’ll never use this idea.  Who thought this” [I waved my hand across a notebook paper covered with 10th grade-ish scribbles] “…would be helpful?”

—

And then again, BAM! I was back, sitting across from my teenage daughter, who was busily running full speed with this idea I had only just moments ago rejected with scorn.

Well, it seemed like just moments ago.  Time travel is funny that way.

I was having a chat with my mom yesterday and was reminded that:

1) You don’t HAVE to date the lonely, downtrodden and oppressed to help turn him or her a winner.

Being poor, from a broken home, or recovering from a lifetime of bad decisions doesn’t automatically mean that he (or she) will perform some magical movie-like life turnaround just because you’ve come into his (or her) life.

If you’re young and relatively inexperienced in life decisions, and especially if you don’t have the best of family ties, you’re likely to be ‘dragged down’ instead of ‘bringing anyone up from their worst’.

You’ve got enough to deal with learning the ropes yourself – getting involved with a “bad boy” (or girl) is infinitely more painful than the tv shows and movies let on.  Here’s a secret why – the folks in the tv set have many more, and far better writers than you do IRL 🙂

2) Not every jem is found in the rough…

It’s actually wiser to look for “the one” in a higher class of person than you’d normally feel comfortable in. This encourages you to aim for higher standards.

Here’s a secret – class does not equal money.

‘Class’ is deeper than that.  One thing to look for is how respectful the prospective mate treats his or her family, those he or she doesn’t need to impress, and those who might be influenced by that person’s decisions.

That’s not all that makes a person ‘classy’, but that’s the fastest way to weed out the junk from the rest.

3) And contrary to most modern movies,

sometimes a nice young man (or woman) is not some freaky psycho person hiding beneath a calm exterior, but is ACTUALLY just a nice person.

No, this guy isn’t digging a shallow grave, burying a pipe bomb, or hiding evidence of a drug smuggling run.  He’s just making his neighborhood look a little nicer by tending to his yard.

I was stuck in a couple of lines today.  Almost back-to-back.  And I was late for most of my activities at work today because of that. But I didn’t mind and I didn’t fuss.  And I’m really glad for that.

I was working “from home” on a remote connection to work and needed to pop out “for a minute” and planned to be back quickly.

Puppy

The first one today was when I picked up my pup from the kennel.  It’s normally a 5-minute task.  Not this time around… there was a cat lady just ahead of me, and she had an anecdote for every question or statement the lady at the checkout till made.

O yep, and the lady at the till was a cat lady too.

30 minutes later I had my dog.

I didn’t fuss because after awhile it was a challenge to see how many ways I could mouth the letters O.M.G in my head without breaking into laughter.  I had a calypso version going full brunt when my turn came about.

Grocery

Then, after dropping puppy off at home, I went to the grocery store.  And after shopping, happened upon (and was next in line behind) lady-who-looks-up-every-item-in-the-weekly-flier.  I mean, before the let the cashier take an item, she had to find it in the weekly store flier she brought with her.  I don’t know why.

And her debit card failed to work after everything was rung up, so we had to wait for a manager to some round to set up something.  I don’t know what.

I didn’t mind the grocery store wait, because I had my grandson with me and we talked and played and the time was precious.  Sure, I had colleagues at work waiting for me to log back online, and I’m planning to scrape the ground bowing forgiveness, but it’ll be worth it.

Parking Lot

Then there was the parking lot.  One particularly significant event took place that told me that all the lack of fussing while waiting was definitely for a good reason.

I was almost at the truck, with my goods and grandson in the cart.  A man started to quickly back out of the spot I was walking past.

Startled, I pushed my cart and grandson forward past the back of his car.  He did see me and hit the brakes hard.  I wasn’t in any real danger.

Still, my heart raced – and I still can’t think about this without choking up.

What happened?

At the same time the man in the car started quickly backing up, a little boy had broken free from his young mother’s grasp.  The boy was about 4 years old.

He was too small to have been seen by the man.  And the mother had been crouching, leaning forward to try to grab the boy.   She also would not have been seen by the man backing out of the spot.

The only reason certain tragedy was averted was because he happened to see me in the exact spot I was in and had stopped to avoid hitting me.

The tragedy would not have been the man’s fault.  After all, he could not have known these two were out of his line of sight.

The tragedy would not have been the young mother’s fault.  Children are wiggly little creatures when they want to be.

The tragedy would not have been the boy’s fault.  At four years old, he hadn’t the experience to foresee the danger he had put himself and mother in.

And, the tragedy was NOT averted because of some quick and clever thoughts racing through my brain.  I didn’t even know the situation had happened until it had passed.

So why am I writing this?

I wish to thank One who placed the cat lady and the coupon lady at the lines at just the right times to put me in the just the right place and time… and also for allowing me to see how the pieces fit in this particular puzzle today.

My bowing and scraping at work tomorrow will be done with humility and thankfulness.

The photo you see here is of a statuette that sits in a special place in my home and heart.

It represents a long struggle followed by a triumph of teamwork.

This was once placed in my family’s home, before that home was shattered.  Not physically shattered but still, the end result may as well have been the same.

My wife (at the time) had purchased this piece at a local shop.  She’s good at picking out attractive items.  The piece was a gift to me for (I think) Father’s Day.  It was to represent “Dad and the kids”.  You can see “Dad” at the top, hugging the kids.  It sat on a nice shelf, looking pretty like gifts do.

One day something happened when I was at work and this fell off the shelf onto the tile floor and shattered into small pieces.  “Ah, too bad,” said my wife, “it’s broken.  I’ll toss it out and get another one.”

My kids had a different opinion.

They painstakingly sought after all the pieces, looking under the desk and chairs until they found every one.  Then they worked as a team to glue each piece together to make the statuette whole again.

When I arrived home, I got the full story.  This moved me to tears, knowing my kids would care enough to put this back together.

I always thought this piece was pretty, but after knowing what went into re-building it, it has become beautifully stunning in my heart.

Things have happened since then.  I’m praying the kids are still working to put pieces back together.

As they do, I shall hold steady and keep this masterpiece safe for them.