Monday, January 01, 2007
Bad to the Nth Degree
I struggled for a long time to define what an individual might consider to be "evil" -- and it came down to "that individual knowing that they were doing something to someone that they themselves would NOT like to be done back to them".
Interesting. This would preclude the idea of "evil" being simply "bad" being taken to the extreme, which is more or less what I have defined as "evil" in my casual thoughts over the years. To a masochist, few things would be "evil." To a tender grandmother type something like failing to send a "thank you" card would be "evil."
I'm not mocking your definition ... I'm wrestling with the implications of this.
* * *
When I was on what I believed to be my deathbed looking back at my life - I had very few regrets. But those regrets I did have were for the times that I had behaved in the fashion that I describe above.
In this respect you have a unique perspective I cannot match. I wonder -- do others that face the very real prospect of death share the same view? I know we hear about people coming back from near-death experiences with a radically changed view of what's important. But do they also look back and regret the things they've done to others they themselves would not want? Do you have any idea if this has been studied?
* * *
But who would want to be a salesman?
I don't know. But I've seen some pretty good ones. They are remarkable. My ex father-in-law was the owner of a sewing machine store, and a natural salesman. Never pushy, never loud and gregarious, he was just a natural.
I have seen many bad ones, myself included. Myfailing was that I'm too tense about the process, and I feel bad for foisting upon the potential customer what I was selling. I wonder if that's because I never truly believed in what I was selling. Probably. Others I've seen aren't that good because the model they employ is the "Let's throw this pot of spaghetti on the wall and see if any sticks." This is the model most often seen in the world you and I live in. That's why enormous resources are used chasing "opportunities" that really aren't that at all. My lovely bride reports that it's a common element of "sales" in our world. Smaller, leaner companies who can't afford to chase bad leads are a bit more selective.
I was awful at qualifying leads. I want to help everyone.
A manager at a customer I supported when I was selling UNIX boxes told me after I'd moved to my present position: "Do you know why you weren't that good a saleman? Because you were too honest." I guess I'll take the compliment, backhanded as it was. :-)
Interesting. This would preclude the idea of "evil" being simply "bad" being taken to the extreme, which is more or less what I have defined as "evil" in my casual thoughts over the years. To a masochist, few things would be "evil." To a tender grandmother type something like failing to send a "thank you" card would be "evil."
I'm not mocking your definition ... I'm wrestling with the implications of this.
* * *
When I was on what I believed to be my deathbed looking back at my life - I had very few regrets. But those regrets I did have were for the times that I had behaved in the fashion that I describe above.
In this respect you have a unique perspective I cannot match. I wonder -- do others that face the very real prospect of death share the same view? I know we hear about people coming back from near-death experiences with a radically changed view of what's important. But do they also look back and regret the things they've done to others they themselves would not want? Do you have any idea if this has been studied?
* * *
But who would want to be a salesman?
I don't know. But I've seen some pretty good ones. They are remarkable. My ex father-in-law was the owner of a sewing machine store, and a natural salesman. Never pushy, never loud and gregarious, he was just a natural.
I have seen many bad ones, myself included. Myfailing was that I'm too tense about the process, and I feel bad for foisting upon the potential customer what I was selling. I wonder if that's because I never truly believed in what I was selling. Probably. Others I've seen aren't that good because the model they employ is the "Let's throw this pot of spaghetti on the wall and see if any sticks." This is the model most often seen in the world you and I live in. That's why enormous resources are used chasing "opportunities" that really aren't that at all. My lovely bride reports that it's a common element of "sales" in our world. Smaller, leaner companies who can't afford to chase bad leads are a bit more selective.
I was awful at qualifying leads. I want to help everyone.
A manager at a customer I supported when I was selling UNIX boxes told me after I'd moved to my present position: "Do you know why you weren't that good a saleman? Because you were too honest." I guess I'll take the compliment, backhanded as it was. :-)
Evil
The concept of "evil" suggests an objective measure of "bad."
It no longer suggests that to me. I struggled for a long time to define what an individual might consider to be "evil" -- and it came down to "that individual knowing that they were doing something to someone that they themselves would NOT like to be done back to them".
When I was on what I believed to be my deathbed looking back at my life - I had very few regrets. But those regrets I did have were for the times that I had behaved in the fashion that I describe above.
I am responsible for my own behavior, I can change no-one elses behavior, only my own.
It no longer suggests that to me. I struggled for a long time to define what an individual might consider to be "evil" -- and it came down to "that individual knowing that they were doing something to someone that they themselves would NOT like to be done back to them".
When I was on what I believed to be my deathbed looking back at my life - I had very few regrets. But those regrets I did have were for the times that I had behaved in the fashion that I describe above.
I am responsible for my own behavior, I can change no-one elses behavior, only my own.
The death of salesmen
I liked those sales killing points. Seems to boil down to relationship + listening skills. or lack thereof. Interesting. But who would want to be a salesman?
Googlezon
Yes, I've seen the video on this concept of Google morphing to become a kind of ubiquitous "force" in our existence. I don't really buy into that. The same kind of talk was used about GM, IBM, ATT, Microsoft ... etc. Ultimately it's all fantasy that a private company can have that much influence. Governments have far more money and clout.
The thing about Google is they have no particular monopoly, other than brand awareness and habit. And habits can be broken. Particularly if people are motivated to break the habit. Witness Microsoft, which everyone touted as having an unbreakable monopoly on the desktop. It's strong, to be sure, but not exclusive. I believe most of your operating system instances are Linux now, right? And witness IE ... some claimed that would force an unbreakable choke-hold on the Internet. Then along comes Firefox.
* * *
I question whether "evil" can be defined in this day and age. Seriously. The concept of "evil" suggests an objective measure of "bad." How is that possible when objectivity is itself in question? "All is relative."
* * *
From the "pet peeve" department: why is it most text editors will, when the user double-clicks on a word, select the word and the blank space that follows? What's the purpose of that?
* * *
Also from the pet-peeve department: companies that send out a bill and a return envelope and the return envelope is too small for the portion of the bill that's returned with the check? That happened yesterday with me. Not small companies, either: Hydro One of Ontario. Go figure.
* * *
Interest article from the web having to do with things that kill a sale:
Note: and I'll be perfectly candid and say neither do I ... but that's why I'm not in sales.
* * *
Is Hussein truly dead? Physically, yes.
Note: did you happen to see the cell-phone video captured in the execution chamber? The Iraqi government released professional footage of the placing of the noose, but not of the actual dropping. The cell-phone video showed the trap door open and Hussein drop ... but not the body snapping against the weight. It was unsettling in a weird sort of "I witnessed death" way. Equally unsettling was a short bit of video that showed his body hanging after the drop ... his head was perpendicular to his body. I guess that's the nature of hanging.
The exact nature of his "soul" at this point is open to some wild speculation.
But here's a question sure to generate some debate: let's say after we die we find out God forgave Hussein and Hitler and Stalin and others, and they too are in Heaven. Would you (or I) be resentful? If so, why?
The thing about Google is they have no particular monopoly, other than brand awareness and habit. And habits can be broken. Particularly if people are motivated to break the habit. Witness Microsoft, which everyone touted as having an unbreakable monopoly on the desktop. It's strong, to be sure, but not exclusive. I believe most of your operating system instances are Linux now, right? And witness IE ... some claimed that would force an unbreakable choke-hold on the Internet. Then along comes Firefox.
* * *
I question whether "evil" can be defined in this day and age. Seriously. The concept of "evil" suggests an objective measure of "bad." How is that possible when objectivity is itself in question? "All is relative."
* * *
From the "pet peeve" department: why is it most text editors will, when the user double-clicks on a word, select the word and the blank space that follows? What's the purpose of that?
* * *
Also from the pet-peeve department: companies that send out a bill and a return envelope and the return envelope is too small for the portion of the bill that's returned with the check? That happened yesterday with me. Not small companies, either: Hydro One of Ontario. Go figure.
* * *
Interest article from the web having to do with things that kill a sale:
Sales Killer #1: Lack of professional appearance. If you want people to listen to you and heed your advice regarding your product or service, you have to come across--both in appearance and demeanor--as a professional expert.Now, think of our employer and ask yourself whether the majority of those "selling" our wares have a sense for this? I'd say no.
Sales Killer #2: Talking too much. When you're talking, you're telling. When you ask questions to get clients talking about their needs, you're selling; you're finding out what they want to own. Only then can you guide them to the right product or service.
Sales Killer #3: Your vocabulary. Words create pictures in our minds.
Sales Killer #4: Not investing time in building rapport. Good rapport builds trust. No one will want to make a purchase from someone they don't like and trust.
Sales Killer #5: Lack of a qualification system. A certain percentage of the people you talk with won't be good candidates for your product or service. If they don't have the need or the money for your product or service, there's no sale.
Sales Killer #6: Not knowing when to stop presenting and close the sale. Too many salespeople think they have to tell potential clients everything they know about the product.
Sales Killer #7: Ego. Selling is a service business. You must set aside your wants and needs to serve the wants and needs of others.
Sales Killer #8: Not knowing how to close.
Sales Killer #9: Not paying attention to details. If you skim over details or shortcut your presentation because you've done it so many times that you're bored with it, you'll lose sales.
Sales Killer #10: Poor fulfillment. This ties into paying attention to details. If you or your company don't have the practices and policies in place to properly fulfill the expectations of your clients, you'll find yourself working harder and harder to get new business.
Note: and I'll be perfectly candid and say neither do I ... but that's why I'm not in sales.
* * *
Is Hussein truly dead? Physically, yes.
Note: did you happen to see the cell-phone video captured in the execution chamber? The Iraqi government released professional footage of the placing of the noose, but not of the actual dropping. The cell-phone video showed the trap door open and Hussein drop ... but not the body snapping against the weight. It was unsettling in a weird sort of "I witnessed death" way. Equally unsettling was a short bit of video that showed his body hanging after the drop ... his head was perpendicular to his body. I guess that's the nature of hanging.
The exact nature of his "soul" at this point is open to some wild speculation.
But here's a question sure to generate some debate: let's say after we die we find out God forgave Hussein and Hitler and Stalin and others, and they too are in Heaven. Would you (or I) be resentful? If so, why?
Few will miss him
Wow I am really trying to play catch up with our blog - my apologies my time management skills are pretty awful right now.
On your "Bread Needs Yeast" post, yes I read your original and it's stuff we have debated before on the order of the two commandments in the New Covenant.
"Google tipping point" - you've seen the Googlezon video right? Even wikipedia has an entry on Googlezon now. But what's a hard-core leftist though? Is it so easy to categorize folks into "left" and "right"? I like their slogin "Don't be evil" although one needs to define evil of course. One definition of evil behavior could be "treating others as you yourself would not like to be treated back". I can't think of any other definitions of evil that don't need some external moral arbiter, in which case one gets into all sorts of difficulties. Google are "on the up" but all businesses (like empires) rise and then fall, and I'm sure the same will happen with Google, when this will happen is another matter and as you say -- and as Googlezon suggests -- most probably not in the next few years.
"Milestones" hmm we've known eachother 9 years! Trying something similar:
Today -- my daughter and I celebrate our second New Year together
2 weeks - my daughter decides to live with me (she says "It seems like years!")
3 years -- since my 40th birthday where I went to see Paul Weller with a friend in London
4 years -- cancer
5 years -- since I moved away from work location to be closer to my daughter
6 years -- kidney removed
8 years -- since my daughter and I were separated
8.5 years -- divorced for second time
9 years -- since you and I met
9.5 years -- birth of my daughter
10 years -- married for second time
10 years -- since I joined my current department (moving from London to South UK)
17 years -- divorced for first time
19 years -- married for first time
20 years -- joined our company
21 years -- since I graduated from University, joined British Airways in London
27 years -- since I left home at aged 15 and went to live above a shop in London
36 years -- since my family moved to Wimbledon, London, UK
43 years -- since I was born
14 billion years -- The Big Bang
"Trashy Times Square" -- this reminds me of Greenpeace protesting against nuclear research, when it is the only thing that will save most life on Earth from extinction care of a large stone. When you say "remarkably unaware of the irony" that just about sums it up. My experience is a lot of those folks follow fashion and rarely bother to think for themselves.
+++
Oh and the title of the post is for Saddam, God made sure that he got his. Question: is he really dead?
+++
Happy New Year !
On your "Bread Needs Yeast" post, yes I read your original and it's stuff we have debated before on the order of the two commandments in the New Covenant.
"Google tipping point" - you've seen the Googlezon video right? Even wikipedia has an entry on Googlezon now. But what's a hard-core leftist though? Is it so easy to categorize folks into "left" and "right"? I like their slogin "Don't be evil" although one needs to define evil of course. One definition of evil behavior could be "treating others as you yourself would not like to be treated back". I can't think of any other definitions of evil that don't need some external moral arbiter, in which case one gets into all sorts of difficulties. Google are "on the up" but all businesses (like empires) rise and then fall, and I'm sure the same will happen with Google, when this will happen is another matter and as you say -- and as Googlezon suggests -- most probably not in the next few years.
"Milestones" hmm we've known eachother 9 years! Trying something similar:
Today -- my daughter and I celebrate our second New Year together
2 weeks - my daughter decides to live with me (she says "It seems like years!")
3 years -- since my 40th birthday where I went to see Paul Weller with a friend in London
4 years -- cancer
5 years -- since I moved away from work location to be closer to my daughter
6 years -- kidney removed
8 years -- since my daughter and I were separated
8.5 years -- divorced for second time
9 years -- since you and I met
9.5 years -- birth of my daughter
10 years -- married for second time
10 years -- since I joined my current department (moving from London to South UK)
17 years -- divorced for first time
19 years -- married for first time
20 years -- joined our company
21 years -- since I graduated from University, joined British Airways in London
27 years -- since I left home at aged 15 and went to live above a shop in London
36 years -- since my family moved to Wimbledon, London, UK
43 years -- since I was born
14 billion years -- The Big Bang
"Trashy Times Square" -- this reminds me of Greenpeace protesting against nuclear research, when it is the only thing that will save most life on Earth from extinction care of a large stone. When you say "remarkably unaware of the irony" that just about sums it up. My experience is a lot of those folks follow fashion and rarely bother to think for themselves.
+++
Oh and the title of the post is for Saddam, God made sure that he got his. Question: is he really dead?
+++
Happy New Year !
Trashy Times Square
There's a news story on the wire about the trash left behind from the big New York Times Square celebration of the New Year. It reminded me of something I witnessed many years ago in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
This was after the divorce from my first wife, and I was dating a woman who was an ardent environmentalist.
Note: So much so that it was really her religion. I think she would have agreed with me on that. I didn't share many of her views, and in fact ultimately my lack of regard for her thinking on this and other subjects is what led me to break the relationship. But at the time I was in pursuit of other things, and intellectual compatibility be damned.
Anyway, we went to some environmentalist lecture there at the University of Michigan. I forget what the topic was -- deforestation, I think. I recall some misty talk about "tree spirits" and "mother earth" and I had to choke back my disagreement with the whole thing. But I recall the unbelievable trashiness of the lecture hall when the event was over. For a group of people who supposedly subscribe to preservation, conservation and recycling, they seemed remarkably unaware of the irony of thousands of paper leaflets and newsprint handouts being simply discarded on the floor.
This was after the divorce from my first wife, and I was dating a woman who was an ardent environmentalist.
Note: So much so that it was really her religion. I think she would have agreed with me on that. I didn't share many of her views, and in fact ultimately my lack of regard for her thinking on this and other subjects is what led me to break the relationship. But at the time I was in pursuit of other things, and intellectual compatibility be damned.
Anyway, we went to some environmentalist lecture there at the University of Michigan. I forget what the topic was -- deforestation, I think. I recall some misty talk about "tree spirits" and "mother earth" and I had to choke back my disagreement with the whole thing. But I recall the unbelievable trashiness of the lecture hall when the event was over. For a group of people who supposedly subscribe to preservation, conservation and recycling, they seemed remarkably unaware of the irony of thousands of paper leaflets and newsprint handouts being simply discarded on the floor.
Reflecting on Milestones
I don't hold much faith in the significance of January 1st. It marks the start of a new year, but more often than not it does not mark any significant milestone. It does however offer an opportunity to look back across the unwinding of time and note milestones that occurred way in the past:
- 2 years -- since we moved from Washington D.C. to Tucson, AZ
- 7 years -- since my 40th birthday party, at which I consumed too much bourbon
- 9 years -- since you and I met, way back in 1998
- 10 years -- since I joined ATS
- 13 years -- since I moved from Michigan to Washington D.C.
- 15 years -- since I married my lovely bride
- 18 years -- since I was divorced from my first wife
- 18 years -- since I left Raleigh, NC to move back to Michigan
- 23 years -- since I graduated from college, joined our employer and moved to Raleigh, NC from Michigan
- 26 years -- since I got married for the first time
- 30 years -- since I graduated from high school in Howell, Michigan
- 38 years -- since my family moved from "the city" to "the country"
- 47 years -- since I was born
Sunday, December 31, 2006
"Google Tipping Point"
Interesting post at Instapundit.com:
The bigger question is whether there'll ever really be a movement away from the now deeply entrenched habit of typing "google.com". There are lots of search engines out there, and most will yield perfectly acceptable results. But "Google" has long since been seen as just "one of many" and is now pretty firmly viewed as "the" search engine.
Can they lose that monopoly? I tend to doubt it. Unless they do something particularly egregious. But it would have to be pretty bad.
Taken in a vacuum, a fairly trivial thing happened a few days ago. The co-founder of Firefox, Blake Ross, wrote a post criticizing Google called “Tip: Trust is hard to gain, easy to lose“. He takes issue with a new Google search feature that promotes certain of their own products over organic search results. See Google searches for Calendar, Blogging, Photo Sharing and others and see Google pushing Google Calendar, Blogger and Picasa, respectively, above what is supposed to be the most relevant results - Google search. Even a search for Yahoo Calendar has these Google results above the obvious destination the user was searching for.I use Google all the time, though I'll admit there's a degree of suspicion in my heart about the folks at Google. They are hard-core leftists who hit the lottery of life and are now billionaires. They have pledged to use their new-found wealth to promote their "progressive" vision of life. That's their right. I just don't feel good about helping them along. That said, I'm spit in the ocean.
I say this is trivial incident taken in a vacuum because, quite frankly, Google has every right to promote their own products on their website. But I think Ross’ post may be a sign of a change in attitude towards Google that’s been percolating for the last year or so, and is beginning to manifest itself. The fact that a highly respected entrepreneur finally spoke out should be a wakeup call for Google.
The bigger question is whether there'll ever really be a movement away from the now deeply entrenched habit of typing "google.com". There are lots of search engines out there, and most will yield perfectly acceptable results. But "Google" has long since been seen as just "one of many" and is now pretty firmly viewed as "the" search engine.
Can they lose that monopoly? I tend to doubt it. Unless they do something particularly egregious. But it would have to be pretty bad.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Bread Needs Yeast
Update: I had a rather long and windy post here, but upon reflection I decided that much of what I was writing was stuff we'd covered before. So I'm trimming it back. From the moment I published it to now I've had a nagging sense that I should not let it stand. So it is gone. :-)
All You Need Is Love
They invite others to behave the same way
Let me ask, once seeing the distress of others, do the bike forum insulters carry on insulting regardless? Secondly, do you think, would they, having shown some distress about a particular way in which they are being treated .. expect the person treating them in this fashion to carry on?
In this case the Golden Rule of "treat others ..." should boil down to "I do not like to be distressed by others so I will not distress them".
I really don't think the insulters like to be insulted if they are being honest. As I have said "treat others ..." does not work for masochists, but I think these people are many many standard deviations from "the norm" of the human population (and any population will have an average). You can go to most countries in the world, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, etc and in the middle of the bell curve, and a few SD's out, people are considerate of eachothers feelings, even in heathen tribes. Maybe the challenge of society is finding out why these masochistic people exist? Why are there people that actively desire to be in distress?
I guess we may always disagree that following The Golden Rule could be an ethical self-regulator for society :)
+++
What they want is no constraints put upon their sexual behavior. They are fierce advocates of constraints on other behavior they don't agree with.
Such as and such as?
+++
Is there anyone in history who has had such an impact when working with so little to begin with? Ultimately this begs the question: Why didn't Jesus just fade into obscurity?
Jesus Christ has had more impact on The World than anyone. This is very clear. Did he have little to begin with though? Let me ask, did Three Kings turn up at your birth bearing gifts? (Or don't you subscribe to that part of The Bible as being literal?) Jesus did not fade into obscurity because of The Miracles he performed. Now whether these were sourced from His power as Creator of The Universe (or perhaps "Matrix") or whether he is just a technologically advanced person living in The Universe (or perhaps "Matrix") created by someone else is unclear to me.
Note: It's even possible that the Universe is eternal and not a created thing.
What is clear to me is that Jesus was and is trying to help humanity get through its aggressive stage to some other state, and the emotion "Love" is the key. Perhaps the other state Jesus wants us to be in is necessary for the existence of Jesus Himself? All will be revealed.
Then Men took Jesus' message and decided to make money out of it. It's so very sad and such an indictment on where we are as a species, and I'm sure that He knew that men would do such a thing.
Let me ask, once seeing the distress of others, do the bike forum insulters carry on insulting regardless? Secondly, do you think, would they, having shown some distress about a particular way in which they are being treated .. expect the person treating them in this fashion to carry on?
In this case the Golden Rule of "treat others ..." should boil down to "I do not like to be distressed by others so I will not distress them".
I really don't think the insulters like to be insulted if they are being honest. As I have said "treat others ..." does not work for masochists, but I think these people are many many standard deviations from "the norm" of the human population (and any population will have an average). You can go to most countries in the world, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, etc and in the middle of the bell curve, and a few SD's out, people are considerate of eachothers feelings, even in heathen tribes. Maybe the challenge of society is finding out why these masochistic people exist? Why are there people that actively desire to be in distress?
I guess we may always disagree that following The Golden Rule could be an ethical self-regulator for society :)
+++
What they want is no constraints put upon their sexual behavior. They are fierce advocates of constraints on other behavior they don't agree with.
Such as and such as?
+++
Is there anyone in history who has had such an impact when working with so little to begin with? Ultimately this begs the question: Why didn't Jesus just fade into obscurity?
Jesus Christ has had more impact on The World than anyone. This is very clear. Did he have little to begin with though? Let me ask, did Three Kings turn up at your birth bearing gifts? (Or don't you subscribe to that part of The Bible as being literal?) Jesus did not fade into obscurity because of The Miracles he performed. Now whether these were sourced from His power as Creator of The Universe (or perhaps "Matrix") or whether he is just a technologically advanced person living in The Universe (or perhaps "Matrix") created by someone else is unclear to me.
Note: It's even possible that the Universe is eternal and not a created thing.
What is clear to me is that Jesus was and is trying to help humanity get through its aggressive stage to some other state, and the emotion "Love" is the key. Perhaps the other state Jesus wants us to be in is necessary for the existence of Jesus Himself? All will be revealed.
Then Men took Jesus' message and decided to make money out of it. It's so very sad and such an indictment on where we are as a species, and I'm sure that He knew that men would do such a thing.
Friday, December 29, 2006
When Bad Manners Prevail
On the motorcycle forum which I frequent, there are several people who use very abusive language with others. They are often rude, and proudly so. They invite others to behave the same way, claiming the brusque language is simply "being honest" and that's exactly how they want to be treated.
You and I have had this debate before. I do believe an objective standard is required. The "treat others" dictum falls apart when there are people who seem to relish a kind of aggressive, combative stance.
In a purely relativistic world, their behavior is perfectly acceptable because "anything goes." In a world ruled by "treat others as you'd like to be treated," their behavior is acceptable because they're doing what they seem to enjoy. The recipients of their tirades are often the worse for the wear.
My comment about Hollywood and their embracing the "anything goes" standard was really insufficiently worded. What they want is no constraints put upon their sexual behavior. They are fierce advocates of constraints on other behavior they don't agree with. They fail to see the distinction, of course.
You and I have had this debate before. I do believe an objective standard is required. The "treat others" dictum falls apart when there are people who seem to relish a kind of aggressive, combative stance.
In a purely relativistic world, their behavior is perfectly acceptable because "anything goes." In a world ruled by "treat others as you'd like to be treated," their behavior is acceptable because they're doing what they seem to enjoy. The recipients of their tirades are often the worse for the wear.
My comment about Hollywood and their embracing the "anything goes" standard was really insufficiently worded. What they want is no constraints put upon their sexual behavior. They are fierce advocates of constraints on other behavior they don't agree with. They fail to see the distinction, of course.
Onward Christian Soldiers
they seem to rely on angry and bitter confrontation as the basis for their humor
Yes this seems to be how the youth of today interact with eachother. I think it's due to being over-privileged. Mere survival, having enough food, is no longer the primary concern for us, so our human nature which is geared towards survival has to find another outlet. So we compete with eachother in sports and insults. I guess any people moving through the survival chain to "something else" will go through this difficult time we find ourselves in, I just hope we get through it.
any behavior is okay; there is no morality or objective standard by which to measure a person's conduct
There is really no need for an objective standard. All that is needed is for humans to treat others as they wish to be treated. Jesus knew this when he gave #2 of His New Covenant. Even though I suspect it was actually #1 of His New Covenant. I don't think Jesus was wrong, I think was reported wrong though.
Sorry the movies were rubbish anyway! Now I have to go as Katherine is not going to sleep, and she wanted to call this post "whack your head with a tube" ! I will reply to your other post soon!
Yes this seems to be how the youth of today interact with eachother. I think it's due to being over-privileged. Mere survival, having enough food, is no longer the primary concern for us, so our human nature which is geared towards survival has to find another outlet. So we compete with eachother in sports and insults. I guess any people moving through the survival chain to "something else" will go through this difficult time we find ourselves in, I just hope we get through it.
any behavior is okay; there is no morality or objective standard by which to measure a person's conduct
There is really no need for an objective standard. All that is needed is for humans to treat others as they wish to be treated. Jesus knew this when he gave #2 of His New Covenant. Even though I suspect it was actually #1 of His New Covenant. I don't think Jesus was wrong, I think was reported wrong though.
Sorry the movies were rubbish anyway! Now I have to go as Katherine is not going to sleep, and she wanted to call this post "whack your head with a tube" ! I will reply to your other post soon!
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Cults of Personality
Christmas morning I came across a preacher on TV trying to make the point that "Jesus Christ was the single most important person in all of history." He used as his first argument in support of this the fact that our calendar is separated BC and AD. I thought, "Oh, poor argument. That can easily be dismissed as an arbitrary imposition by a ruler with power to impose."
Even the argument that a great church with an historical impact on western civilization is, I think, a poor argument for the thesis that Jesus was the most important person in all of history. First, other major religions based on the cult of personality (Budhha, Islam) can make the claim that in their spheres of the world they had comparable impact. Second, it could easily be argued that the Catholic church that ruled over western civilization bore little resemblence to Jesus himself.
All this got me thinking. One thread of thought was whether it's possible to argue that "Jesus was the most important person in history" without ultimately relying on the premise that he was God incarnate. In other words, dismiss that premise and the claim of "most imporant" is reduced to "one of the most important." Proving the premise is impossible. We've had this discussion many times. That's the nature of "faith".
But the other thread that went through my mind was this: has there ever been a case in all of history where the life of one person has had such a broad impact when that one person never had claim to military or political power.
This is the aspect of Jesus that I find the most compelling ("interesting" or "intriguing"): there is no reason history should note his presence at all. None. An unknown nobody from a small dusty town in a remote output of the Roman Empirse. A short period of cult status among a handful of people. Then a shameful execution. I'm certain hundreds of people throughout history -- people we know nothing about -- fit that description.
When my mind scans history -- as I know history, which is admittedly not all that well -- I am left with nobody else who has had such an impact when they had no claim to military or political power. Other martyrs have had an impact, but nothing along the lines of Jesus.
Note: I would think that Buddha comes closest to matching the impact. Some might say Ghandi or Martin Luther King, Jr., but I'd argue that history was marching in the direction of both of their causes anyway. And besides, they had benefit of the birth of mass media and governmental institutions (Britian and the U.S.) who were generally disinclined towards snuffing out such people. Had Ghandi been resisting Josef Stalin, he would have disappeared from the scene early, and without a trace ... never to be heard from again. The same for any disciples who might wish to carry on the cause.
So I go back to my basic inquiry. Is there anyone in history who has had such an impact when working with so little to begin with? Ultimately this begs the question: Why didn't Jesus just fade into obscurity? He should have. A rag-tag bunch of post crucifixion followers somehow avoid the wrath of the Jewish authorities and crucifixion themselves to go out and start a movement based on a message that is fundamentally contrary to the selfish instincts of mankind. It's all so improbable.
To me, this is the central argument for the importance of Jesus. But it's not really much of an argument as it is a ponderable leading to a personal conclusion.
Even the argument that a great church with an historical impact on western civilization is, I think, a poor argument for the thesis that Jesus was the most important person in all of history. First, other major religions based on the cult of personality (Budhha, Islam) can make the claim that in their spheres of the world they had comparable impact. Second, it could easily be argued that the Catholic church that ruled over western civilization bore little resemblence to Jesus himself.
All this got me thinking. One thread of thought was whether it's possible to argue that "Jesus was the most important person in history" without ultimately relying on the premise that he was God incarnate. In other words, dismiss that premise and the claim of "most imporant" is reduced to "one of the most important." Proving the premise is impossible. We've had this discussion many times. That's the nature of "faith".
But the other thread that went through my mind was this: has there ever been a case in all of history where the life of one person has had such a broad impact when that one person never had claim to military or political power.
This is the aspect of Jesus that I find the most compelling ("interesting" or "intriguing"): there is no reason history should note his presence at all. None. An unknown nobody from a small dusty town in a remote output of the Roman Empirse. A short period of cult status among a handful of people. Then a shameful execution. I'm certain hundreds of people throughout history -- people we know nothing about -- fit that description.
When my mind scans history -- as I know history, which is admittedly not all that well -- I am left with nobody else who has had such an impact when they had no claim to military or political power. Other martyrs have had an impact, but nothing along the lines of Jesus.
Note: I would think that Buddha comes closest to matching the impact. Some might say Ghandi or Martin Luther King, Jr., but I'd argue that history was marching in the direction of both of their causes anyway. And besides, they had benefit of the birth of mass media and governmental institutions (Britian and the U.S.) who were generally disinclined towards snuffing out such people. Had Ghandi been resisting Josef Stalin, he would have disappeared from the scene early, and without a trace ... never to be heard from again. The same for any disciples who might wish to carry on the cause.
So I go back to my basic inquiry. Is there anyone in history who has had such an impact when working with so little to begin with? Ultimately this begs the question: Why didn't Jesus just fade into obscurity? He should have. A rag-tag bunch of post crucifixion followers somehow avoid the wrath of the Jewish authorities and crucifixion themselves to go out and start a movement based on a message that is fundamentally contrary to the selfish instincts of mankind. It's all so improbable.
To me, this is the central argument for the importance of Jesus. But it's not really much of an argument as it is a ponderable leading to a personal conclusion.
Two Bad Movies
My lovely bride and I recently rented two movies, both of which were truly awful:
I ended up walking away from both; Lisa suffered through the entirety of "Sunshine" but gave up on "Talladega Nights." There's an audience for these movies, obviously. From boxofficemojo.com:
Here's what I didn't like about both movies -- they seem to rely on angry and bitter confrontation as the basis for their humor. That part of my soul that is sensitive to enmity between people screamed out during both movies. In "Sunshine" it was nearly non-stop, and in "Talladega" they even had children screaming ugly sentiments at their grandfather, all in the name of "humor." If there's an appeal to this, it's a base appeal. There was no cleverness to be found; no ultimate redemptive quality to the movie.
Note: a sub-theme of the movie was the usual "don't judge others; any behavior is okay; there is no morality or objective standard by which to measure a person's conduct." In today's Hollywood that's a given. They don't practice what they preach, of course.
The other thing that's clear to me is the producers and writers in Hollywood have decided to take off the gloves when it comes to Christianity. In "Sunshine" the contempt for God and Christianity was seething. Two examples:
I realize I'm sensitive to these things.
I need to stop renting movies. I can't recall the last good movie I've seen.
I ended up walking away from both; Lisa suffered through the entirety of "Sunshine" but gave up on "Talladega Nights." There's an audience for these movies, obviously. From boxofficemojo.com:
Here's what I didn't like about both movies -- they seem to rely on angry and bitter confrontation as the basis for their humor. That part of my soul that is sensitive to enmity between people screamed out during both movies. In "Sunshine" it was nearly non-stop, and in "Talladega" they even had children screaming ugly sentiments at their grandfather, all in the name of "humor." If there's an appeal to this, it's a base appeal. There was no cleverness to be found; no ultimate redemptive quality to the movie.
Note: a sub-theme of the movie was the usual "don't judge others; any behavior is okay; there is no morality or objective standard by which to measure a person's conduct." In today's Hollywood that's a given. They don't practice what they preach, of course.
The other thing that's clear to me is the producers and writers in Hollywood have decided to take off the gloves when it comes to Christianity. In "Sunshine" the contempt for God and Christianity was seething. Two examples:
- The disaffected teenage son, deep into Friedrich Nietzsche (of course), wears a t-shirt through several scenes that says "Jesus Was Wrong." There was no reference to the t-shirt at all. They could just as easily have had the kid where a t-shirt that said, "What's the point?" or "Why bother?" I'm sure the inclusion of the "Jesus Was Wrong" t-shirt was an intentional thing; a jab in the eye of Christianity by secularists in Hollywood.
- At one point in the movie the family's VW van is pulled over and the police officer asks to have the trunk open. Out falls a couple of graphic porn magazines, and the officer says: "Oh, I love these things. God bless you." Again, they could have easily dropped the "God bless you" part of that dialogue, but I'm sure their intent was to link God and porn, or at least link porn and those would would invoke God's name.
I realize I'm sensitive to these things.
I need to stop renting movies. I can't recall the last good movie I've seen.
Monday, December 25, 2006
James Brown R.I.P
I'm glad that you both enjoyed Church pal. When do you go on your brief vacation?
Being her mother's "weekend" Katherine stayed at her mothers house on Christmas eve, I saw her for most of the morning for the ritual present opening session then off she went to her mothers sisters house, with mother, mothers boyfriend and sister in tow for lunch. I'll see her again tomorrow and then all the way through - hopefully she'll be with me for New Years eve, but that's up to her ! She didn't actually go to her mother's house until late Sunday, so I had her from Friday til Sunday evening, she refuses to accept that parents have "weekend" turns.
She now has a mobile (cell) phone, I have had 22 SMS text messages from her since 1pm, 4 of them picture messages (go to a URL) and one of them a video clip she recorded of herself. I have no idea how to do all this techy stuff, but clearly phones are intuitive to nine year olds. Perhaps browser-based does mean intuitive :)
Milestone: I missed my first customer phone meeting in 20 years, and a regular weekly meeting that I arranged! So my customers dialled in, hung around and then dialled out. I thought that the call was 30 minutes later than it was. Boy did I apologize. I am officially "losing it" now, too much going on.
My daughter very much likes blogging with us, but I guess this will last for about two weeks knowing her attention span! (No offence my darling daughter :) I added her as an author, she carries this piece of blanket around in the evenings, called "The Blanky", thus her handle, she is very fond of it, having had it since birth, although it's not much bigger than a postage stamp now.
I know what you mean about Christmas, it's all so jaded and capitalist. People say that they don't have the time to get the presents they wished they could - thus the onset of the gift voucher culture. We all have far too much when there is so much poverty and starvation in the world, yet still I see folks complaining because they got "the wrong" mp3 player. We get very jaded. It is encouraging to watch the excitement of a nine year old asking "what activity can I do to make tomorrow come quicker?" .. it's the big occasion they love, not just the presents. And there once were we.
Being her mother's "weekend" Katherine stayed at her mothers house on Christmas eve, I saw her for most of the morning for the ritual present opening session then off she went to her mothers sisters house, with mother, mothers boyfriend and sister in tow for lunch. I'll see her again tomorrow and then all the way through - hopefully she'll be with me for New Years eve, but that's up to her ! She didn't actually go to her mother's house until late Sunday, so I had her from Friday til Sunday evening, she refuses to accept that parents have "weekend" turns.
She now has a mobile (cell) phone, I have had 22 SMS text messages from her since 1pm, 4 of them picture messages (go to a URL) and one of them a video clip she recorded of herself. I have no idea how to do all this techy stuff, but clearly phones are intuitive to nine year olds. Perhaps browser-based does mean intuitive :)
Milestone: I missed my first customer phone meeting in 20 years, and a regular weekly meeting that I arranged! So my customers dialled in, hung around and then dialled out. I thought that the call was 30 minutes later than it was. Boy did I apologize. I am officially "losing it" now, too much going on.
My daughter very much likes blogging with us, but I guess this will last for about two weeks knowing her attention span! (No offence my darling daughter :) I added her as an author, she carries this piece of blanket around in the evenings, called "The Blanky", thus her handle, she is very fond of it, having had it since birth, although it's not much bigger than a postage stamp now.
I know what you mean about Christmas, it's all so jaded and capitalist. People say that they don't have the time to get the presents they wished they could - thus the onset of the gift voucher culture. We all have far too much when there is so much poverty and starvation in the world, yet still I see folks complaining because they got "the wrong" mp3 player. We get very jaded. It is encouraging to watch the excitement of a nine year old asking "what activity can I do to make tomorrow come quicker?" .. it's the big occasion they love, not just the presents. And there once were we.
7:06am US Mountain Time
Merry Christmas! I've been up for an hour and a half. Our phone range at 5:20am or so, and we thought maybe it was bad news of some sort. But nobody was on the other side of the connection, and I suspect it was just a case of someone mis-dialing a digit.
We went to the 9:00pm Christmas Eve service last night. My lovely bride playing flute in the orchestra, me sitting in the audience. It was a very nice performance. Our pastor is someone I tend to admire ... he refuses to hide Jesus behind comfortable trappings. Last night could have been about familiar music and little more, but he made sure the primary message of Christianity -- trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior and a commitment to Him first and foremost in one's life -- was clear. Christmas Eve services traditionally have the highest attendance, and no doubt the seats were full of people for whom that message was a bit uncomfortable. But the pastor carried it off with grace.
I hope you are enjoying a wonderful Christmas day with your lovely daughter.
We went to the 9:00pm Christmas Eve service last night. My lovely bride playing flute in the orchestra, me sitting in the audience. It was a very nice performance. Our pastor is someone I tend to admire ... he refuses to hide Jesus behind comfortable trappings. Last night could have been about familiar music and little more, but he made sure the primary message of Christianity -- trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior and a commitment to Him first and foremost in one's life -- was clear. Christmas Eve services traditionally have the highest attendance, and no doubt the seats were full of people for whom that message was a bit uncomfortable. But the pastor carried it off with grace.
I hope you are enjoying a wonderful Christmas day with your lovely daughter.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
The Future of Christmas
In years past -- many moons ago -- the giving and receiving of gifts was restricted to close family, and the purpose was a sincere reflection of interest and gratitude for the presence of someone in one's life.
In time, that yielded to a wider circle of gift-giving. Soon mere acquaintences were included, some barely that. The sincerity of the giving diminished. Obligation took its place.
I've noticed this year that the advertising for gift certificates -- mostly cash cards -- has skyrocketed. Cash cards are touted as a way to provide the receiver with maximum utility, but in reality the selling point is that it relieves the giver of having to put much thought into the gift. It lessens the burden of obligation.
We are rapidly trending towards a currency exchange model of gift giving for Christmas. Person A gives out $100 in cash cards and receives $80 in cash cards. Person A is down a net $20.
Next on the horizon is the dispensing of the physical gift cards. Rather, people will simply log into some website where gifts are simply transferred monetary units. During the gift-giving season no actual money is spent. Electronic funds are merely shifted about. Come January 1 the accounts are settled. Those who are net positive may cash out; those net negative receive a bill. The website collects a fee ... and hosts advertising, naturally.
I'm being somewhat facetious here, but not much.
I sense a real fatigue with Christmas the whole "holiday season" concept. I really do.
In time, that yielded to a wider circle of gift-giving. Soon mere acquaintences were included, some barely that. The sincerity of the giving diminished. Obligation took its place.
I've noticed this year that the advertising for gift certificates -- mostly cash cards -- has skyrocketed. Cash cards are touted as a way to provide the receiver with maximum utility, but in reality the selling point is that it relieves the giver of having to put much thought into the gift. It lessens the burden of obligation.
We are rapidly trending towards a currency exchange model of gift giving for Christmas. Person A gives out $100 in cash cards and receives $80 in cash cards. Person A is down a net $20.
Next on the horizon is the dispensing of the physical gift cards. Rather, people will simply log into some website where gifts are simply transferred monetary units. During the gift-giving season no actual money is spent. Electronic funds are merely shifted about. Come January 1 the accounts are settled. Those who are net positive may cash out; those net negative receive a bill. The website collects a fee ... and hosts advertising, naturally.
I'm being somewhat facetious here, but not much.
I sense a real fatigue with Christmas the whole "holiday season" concept. I really do.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
WSSR FAQ
Q: What's the level of effort needed to organize services in WSRR?
A: This is fairly minimal since the organization of services is browser based and intuitively aligns with how you want to view the services.
Ah ... "If browser-based, then intuitive." Got it. Good enough for me. Next question? :-)
A: This is fairly minimal since the organization of services is browser based and intuitively aligns with how you want to view the services.
Ah ... "If browser-based, then intuitive." Got it. Good enough for me. Next question? :-)
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Misunderstandings
... and then she kind of took it the wrong way and got sad.
That can happen. I find things like that to be one of the most difficult things about getting along with people. I find that quite often what I say is not often understood correctly by the other person. That happens for several different reasons:
I'm also not very good when #3 happens. I usually tend to debate and get angry with people when they refuse to consider different views on things. The terrible irony is that I use #3 on other people all too often.
* * *
Next week my lovely bride and I are off to Prescott, Arizona for a few days. Our first vacation together in ... two years? It'll be nice.
* * *
Have you ever heard of the TV show called "Scrubs?" It's an NBC production and involves a team of young doctors at a hospital? It's a comedy/drama show that employs minor slapstick and poignent moments particularly well. I'm currently hooked on it.
That can happen. I find things like that to be one of the most difficult things about getting along with people. I find that quite often what I say is not often understood correctly by the other person. That happens for several different reasons:
- I didn't really express myself well or clearly
- The words I spoke didn't really match the real intent in my heart
- The other person was listening to me with a predisposition to believe only one thing
I'm also not very good when #3 happens. I usually tend to debate and get angry with people when they refuse to consider different views on things. The terrible irony is that I use #3 on other people all too often.
* * *
Next week my lovely bride and I are off to Prescott, Arizona for a few days. Our first vacation together in ... two years? It'll be nice.
* * *
Have you ever heard of the TV show called "Scrubs?" It's an NBC production and involves a team of young doctors at a hospital? It's a comedy/drama show that employs minor slapstick and poignent moments particularly well. I'm currently hooked on it.
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