Maybe I have been hasty in my selection of themes for the blog. In an effort to come closer to my center, I spent the last hour (or more, as time dilates when doing something you love, hate, or uses technology) and think this format speaks to me.
Just need to keep the finger nails trimmed closely.
Phred.
Post 11 of n
While it was bound to happen eventually, I guess today is the magic day.
Welcome to my nightmare! This is the “official” launch post for my blog career. Effective 12 February 2015 I do hereby announce the phredtheelder blog to be active and subject to public scrutiny.
The focus and direction this site will take is subject to change without notice (possibly without noticing, as well). I am uncertain what the overriding message is, to be discovered over time. I do promise to provide at least three messages each week, perhaps more. I promise to provide (what passes around here as) wisdom, knowledge, and general life experiences*.
I hope that something (somewhere, sometime) you find here enriches your life in some small way. Perhaps a laugh, a “hmmm” moment, a slight spike in blood pressure. If I can provoke a thought or contemplation, it will have been worth it.
In any case, it should be a heck of a ride… Welcome aboard.
Phred
post 10 of n
*(Universal Disclaimers: Use only as directed. Do not drive or operate machinery while reading blog. Should drowsiness occur, we wouldn’t be a bit surprised. . .The characters in this work are imaginary. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Void where taxed or prohibited by law. All sales are final. Not legal for trade. Do not remove this tag under penalty of law. Close cover before striking. Keep away from children. Actual mileage may vary. Close-captioned for the hearing impaired. Dispose of properly. An equal opportunity employer (M/F/H/Q/Z/R/S/L). All times Eastern Standard. Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Substantial interest penalty for early withdrawal. This bag is not a toy. Simulated TV reception. A paid political announcement. Alcohol 0% by volume. No purchase is necessary; you need not be present to win. Do not puncture, incinerate, or store above 451F. Severe tire damage. Package not child-resistant. Author carries no cash. No step. For prevention of disease only. Post office will not deliver mail without postage. Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. This door must remain unlocked during business hours. Unleaded gasoline only. Member FDIC. . .This product is sold by weight, not by volume. Jokes may have settled slightly during shipping.)
“11 And he said , Go forth , and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by , and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out…”
An idea I learned while in the Navy studying electronics was the concept of the “signal to noise ratio” in communications. Basically, the stronger the signal was compared to the level of noise, the better you were able to communicate. A stronger signal or less noise was desired.
The most recent retreat reminded me of this concept while sitting at a meal. I had a hard time following much of the conversation at the table because of the presence of several loud conversations occurring behind me. There was a large noise component, so it was hard to get the info being presented.
In general, if you are doing the transmitting you can control the strength of the signal. If you are the receiver, you (generally) don’t have much control over the signal, but you can mitigate the effects of the noise present. A “speak louder” verses “listen harder” contest. (An example is if you have a hard time hearing a phone conversation you can move to a quieter location or ask others to ‘turn it down’ to reduce the noise level).
And so it goes with seeking the voice of God. We have little (read: none) control of how strong the message is, but we have the ability to control and reduce the noise in our lives. Increasing quietness is just as effective in making the S/N ratio larger as provoking God to yell at us… and considerably more pleasant!
Phred the Elder
DC3 Heretic Laureate
(* Disclaimer: 60 Second Sermon guaranteed if you read fast enough)
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates”
Scripture to meditate upon: Nehemiah 13:15-22
The other day I was in the kitchen doing a batch of dishes with the TV tuned to the classic rock channel on cable. I was mindlessly singing along with the music (and mindlessly doing the dishes…the proper state of mind for this kind of activity, but I digress) when the lyrics slowly sunk into my awareness. Lionel Richie was singing “… that’s why I’m easy … easy like Sunday morning …”
So much for mindless dish washing. I began to wonder about what exactly there was about Sunday that would lead to this phrase showing up in a song. I can’t date the song exactly, but it would appear to come from the mid-70s and so a history lesson is in order for people blessed with limited experience from the dark ages of the 20th century.
Once upon a time, there were generally accepted standards of behavior for people in a society. These were usually understood and instilled by tradition and were passed down as a part of a child’s upbringing. Communities were fairly closed groups and bonded together often of necessity due to the hazards and perils of living in general. Over time, with advances in technology (fire, wheels, betamax and 3-g networks) people became more likely to migrate away from their established groups and mingle with the “heathen” in the next valley. With sweeping licentious and immoral behavior (like spending the day doing “anything” else than going to church) becoming rampant, regulations were created to enforce “socially acceptable” behavior. Sunday laws or Blue laws were set up to regulate travel, trade, recreation, and other activities. In short, go to church and honor God on Sunday.
When I was little (early in the decade of the 60s) I remember you couldn’t buy much of anything on Sunday, because nothing was open. No Meijers, no 7-11s, or Starbucks. Gas stations were closed except maybe for an occasional rebel on the major highway. Want to eat? Go home, because the restaurants were closed (no Ronald Mac’s either).
Fast forward to high school (early in 70’s). Still some holdouts closed half of the weekend, but you can now travel, purchase food (both prepared and basic staples from a grocery store…packaged in brown paper bags that rarely failed and made great landing zones for cookies coming hot out of the oven), and pretty much live a “normal” life.
So how to interpret the lyrics in question? I guess the idea being promoted is because Sunday morning was no longer a period of time restricted to preparing for meeting the creator God of the universe and spending a period of introspection and soul-searching. That you could spend the day essentially doing exactly what you wanted to do, not what you “had” to (like go to work/school during the week). So, since M-F was work, and Saturday was the time you had to use to do the things you “had” to do at home, that left Sunday for slack.
I guess…..
Today, it must seem bizarre to consider the idea of spending a whole day without commerce or the trappings of technology. Time communing with family and friends, of seeking silence and the still small voice of God. Going to church, gathering together with like-minded believers and experiencing the Kingdom up close and personal. Then spending the rest of the day meditating on the experience.
Rather than a round of golf at dawn, tailgating the game in the afternoon, and grabbing a burger on the way home to crash in time to drag out of bed Monday morning to go back to the 9 to 5 grind.
There ought to be a law….oh, wait! There IS one…(ten, actually).
Phred the Elder
DC3 Fireside Heretic Laureate
(* Disclaimer: 60 Second Sermon guaranteed if you read fast enough)
[Original posting to e-mail 3/9/2010]
“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance …” Matthew 6:16a
Scripture to meditate upon: Matthew 6:16-18; Matthew 4:1-2
One of the guys I race with (board game racing) came in with a couple of pizzas last race night and offered them to us. When asked about toppings he explained “his” was a double cheese and the other was a supreme (ham, sausage, onion, green pepper). Then he said if we didn’t eat it he would probably just throw it away because it was Lent.
Setting aside the obvious question (why buy it in the first place!?) I was reminded of growing up in a Catholic house. Mac and cheese and/or fish every Friday and giving “something” up for 40 days. I never understood how not chewing gum for a month made me more spiritual (still don’t understand) but that was the “usual” sacrifice to the greater glory of god. (Truth was uglier…usually cut down on consumption rather than abstain in total…but then again, that was what the Saturday confession was for anyway, eh!)
Flash forward 45 years. Seems like few people are as actively involved in the ritual of Lent today. Perhaps it’s because I circulate in a different crowd (Shiawassee county had a large population from central European countries and devoutly Catholic), but I suspect it has more to do with the global increase in cynicism. Not that many people visibly participating in the marathon (Gee, only 38 more days to go….).
And yet, we still mark the event on our calendars. Paczki and Marti Gras for the heathen, Ash Wednesday and Lent for the devout, the time leading up to Easter is supposed to provide an opportunity (or excuse) for lifestyle changes, at least for a little while. We “remember” Christ’s sacrifices in the wilderness by giving up something we like for 6 weeks. And so we feel satisfaction if we succeed or guilt (in theory) if we fail. And then we continue on with our lives after dinner on Easter afternoon.
But have you ever REALLY considered the implications of Lent? Christ spent His 40 days in the wilderness, fasting and being tried (tested) by the devil. I don’t think it is fair to envision the Lord giving up a hamburger one day a week or eliminating a petty pleasure (lint pickers) that doesn’t really have any significance and thinking that God the Father would be really impressed. The reality was no bed and breakfast, no Starbucks (Biggby around here) or Mac Gag’s drive throughs, no blueray, DVDs, CDs, Dish Network or Comcast. No soap (I thought about giving up personal hygiene for Lent, but didn’t think those closest — down wind – to me were ready to make that big of a sacrifice) or Fabreeze, Downy, Clorox or any other under the counter goodies (better living through chemistry). No internet. No signal (talk about a blank coverage map). No social network, local area network, traffic network. .
In essence, no anything. Just the created world and an opportunity to draw closer to God without the trappings (distractions) of “life”. Spending a month living with scorpions, sun, sand, and solitude.
How shallow our petty promises of self-denial appear next to what our Lord embraced. Let us then try something harder and closer to the ideal. May I suggest we give up self delusion for Lent and really allow God to conform us to the image of His Son. Without moping around and enjoying the pity party held in our behalf.
Or we can do that hygiene thing……
Phred the Elder
DC3 Fireside Heretic Laureate
(* Disclaimer: 60 Second Sermon guaranteed if you read fast enough)
[Original posting to e-mail 3/1/2010]
“So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman …” Ezekiel 33:7a
Scripture to meditate upon: Ezekiel 33:1 – 9
As we were wrapping up the group discussion on witnessing this week, the leader pointed out how hard it is to “pull the trigger” and ask for a commitment to Christ and His kingdom. Because it is easier and less threatening to dodge the “are you ready to choose” than to face the flack that might come up, we tend to play it safe and wait for a better time.
On the ride home, I remembered an illustration from earlier training classes: the burning building example. Just this year the news reported a story where a neighbor saw the house next door on fire and ran into the kitchen and started yelling for the people to leave the building. A mother and her children were awakened and fled to safety as a result. In a similar way, the lost world around us are asleep in a building destined to destruction by fire.
Consider this: accepting the Lordship of Christ and His kingdom comes with a view. Think of yourself sitting on the lifeguard tower at the beach, looking out over the multitudes splashing about and oblivious to danger. In the background is the sound of a cello (dum dum dum dum….) and in the distance is a grey dorsal fin….
SHARK!!!!!!!!!
Phred the Elder
DC3 Fireside Heretic Laureate
(* Disclaimer: 60 Second Sermon guaranteed if you read fast enough)
[Originally posted as e-mail on 2/22/2010]
This whole blog thing is a strange adventure and experience. Wandering through the various pages I found a trophy case…empty. Apparently if I post an entry I will gain a trophy.
This is a post…
Welcome to my sandbox. While it may not be a surprise to anyone that has known me for a length of time, the newcomer should be (gently) made aware I play with words. Seriously play, as in puns, spoonerisms, obscure words and meanings, clever rhetorical excursions, oddly formed sentences, double entendres, malapropisms… you get the idea. I suspect it comes from a childhood spent mostly with books.
I have a comparatively limited set of memories of my younger days, say from age 15 or so. Some involving playing baseball (not very well in an athletic sense, but seemingly fun) and family vacations (camping was great fun if you could ignore the mosquitoes). But most involve a book or two…or ten.
I have always enjoyed reading, which makes getting older such a pain (needing glasses to read is life’s greatest annoyance in this millennium). I spent hours reading primarily three types of books: science fiction stories, dictionaries, and encyclopedias [Funk and Wagnalls, as mentioned in an earlier post). In my one-bedroom apartment, there are (at least, I’m not quite sure I haven’t missed a couple) twenty-three (23) shelves of books and other word-containing objects. That doesn’t include boxes in the storeroom (come to think of it, there’s a couple of shelves in there holding books as well) or the file cabinet with printed articles and pamphlets. My wallet holds five library cards and a box in the dresser has a couple more from a previous life (memo to self: the four books currently checked out are due back next Friday…).
So, in theory, writing a blog should be easy. Just open the spigot and let it flow. In practice I’m finding it to be about on par with mowing the lawn, a task I tried to avoid as much as possible when younger. Something that needed to be done and that was worse the longer I put it off, but that seemed like a waste of time (that could have been spent reading!) and (unreasonably) hard work. Fortunately I was confronted with the voice of reason (at first mom and dad, and later my ex) and (eventually) spent the time and energy to get the job done.
Apparently writers have an internal “voice of reason” as well. Some would call them Muses, but I think Nag is closer to reality. This morning, I awoke a couple of hours earlier than normal due (in part to a pee sized bladder) to an idea for a posting. Considering it to be far too early to arise from such a comfortable repose, I gently told my brain to shut down and go back to sleep. Ha! Fat lot of good that did. After only a forty-five minute struggle I dragged my lazy leaped from my bed and came here to share my delight at watching another sun rise in peace and solitude.
And so, gentle reader, you might be wondering what any of the above has to do with a confection created by combining the fruit of the ficus carica and the flavor of plants from the genus mentha. In the spirit of full disclosure, I must confess to being slightly deceptive in naming this posting. It is, sadly, not the complete title as indented. The original title was to be “Fig Mints of My Ema Gin Nation” but I feared it would not be quite as compelling to read as the final choice. Perhaps I should reconsider my choices.
Perhaps I should have reconsidered my choice to get up early in the first place!
Hark! I hear the voice of my pillow muse calling me from the other room. Until next time, then I remain…
Phred
post 3 of n
The next several posts (it appears newest is on top…) are carryover from ideas sent to a group by e-mail. I want to make the information available, but can’t figure out how to hide them at the bottom of the list. So, especially if you are interested in chronological postings you might want to skim ahead a few (the minute messages).
Thank you for your patience.
Phred
post 5 of n (might have to reconsider this count thing…)
I was thinking about the amount of information anyone has access to today compared to when I was a kid. Doing a quick Google search for “information increase rate” led to this link http://www.emc.com/leadership/programs/digital-universe.htm which states information doubles every two (2) years. While I have absolutely NO way to prove or disprove this claim, experience since the last millennium suggests it could be valid. In any case, it meets or exceeds CEFGW standards (Close Enough For Government Work). In fact, even if it’s ten years for the double point, there is clearly more information today than there was yesterday.
Back when I was in school, THE go-to for information was the massive, 24 volume Encyclopedia Britannica (henceforth referred to as EB). Taking nearly 4 feet of linear space on the library shelf, it was the gold standard for writing papers or doing science projects. Listed as a resource in your bibliography, you were never questioned about the validity of the information in your documents. [Sadly, my family never owned the EB, rather the lesser valued Funk and Wagnalls version. The scars while not visible on the outside never the less reside deep within my psyche to this day.] Along with the Oxford English Dictionary (OED, equipped with it’s own table to support the sheer weight of the tomb and the required magnifying glass to read its micro-font print), the library was the hub and home of all the information you could ever need or imagine.
Today, it appears most libraries are storehouses for DVDs and sources for off-line music. It is much more likely (and “convenient”) to grab your device and “smurf the web” for whatever information you need. And more than you need…or want. Since you are (as far as I know) reading this by means of the internet, you already know what I am talking about. Easy, right?
But… there is a proverb that says “the man with one watch knows what time it is; the man with two is never sure.” The issue is not information, but rather confidence. There is so much information available (and, inevitably, not all in agreement), the problem is that of determining which information to believe. As a kid, when I got an answer, I KNEW it was right. Today, not so much. That Google search above resulted in “About 1,010,000,000 results (0.41 seconds)” and I only looked at the first page of results. I don’t mind using the info listed above regarding doubling rates but I would certainly hesitate if I had to risk my job on its accuracy.
And many people (my hand is up on this one, too) use the web as a source for making medical or financial decisions, perhaps without fully understanding the potential dangers of accessing too much information. In essence, you are “trusting” the search engine to be wise enough to provide you with the relevant information you need to make rational, reasonable choices. I suspect real lives and money lies in the cross-hairs of this technology. And I, for one, am at least a little frightened at this thought.
Now, I am NOT a Luddite, nor would I suggest going back to the EB as the only fount of wisdom, knowledge, and minor hernias for little kids. I still use (and intend to do so) the WWW as a source for data prior to making critical (and not so important) decisions. I would suggest, then, using another ancient source that is available and nearly as effective for obtaining information: the librarian!
Well, maybe that is too specific an answer, but seeking input from other people (average ones as well as experts) to help make decisions is both wise and farsighted. Other people have access to experience and knowledge that you don’t. They also know people that have additional experience and knowledge (remember that “six degrees of Kevin Bacon” thing that went around years ago?) and in a short time you can have a vast source of additional input to help you make decisions. (In fairness, most of these other resources will also go on the web to get their knowledge…so maybe it’s not quite as effective as it was a decade ago, but you get the drift.)
In any case, my point is the more you look, the more you find, the more choices you can make, the more uncertainty develops about making the optimal choice. My suggestion is to pause a moment before you take action based on bulk information from the world. A sanity check is always a good idea and often a sanity saver before leaping off a tall building. Maybe gravity won’t apply to you this time after all, but…
Good hunting. One thing I am certain of… I now have a headache thinking about all this. Perhaps a nap is in order?
Phred
Post 2 of n
Phred the Elder 