Him there is what the news calls disasters lately. Tornadoes, floods in South Florida, another natural things that happen where humans are living.
It's always interesting to me when we get so full of ourselves that we think that the order that we've imposed around us is so strong that the natural world will obey it.
A friend at work went to Africa. While there he went on a couple of trips out into the bush. Not really safaris, more like outings to go and see the wildlife.
When he came back he said it was amazing! He said it was so incredible to see elephants and lions and rhinoceroses and so many other creatures that we typically only see in a zoo or on a screen. He said they were beautiful!
But he also said something that fascinated me. He said it was so weird that the animals acted as if he and the others in his group didn't even exist. He said these big animals didn't even bother to acknowledge them. They just kept motivating along their way and doing their thing.
He said that that was almost scary because their tour guide told them the group was not a threat to them and so they're not even looking at the group. The guide said "They know we're here, but because were not prey right now and we're not a threat they just do their thing."
The weather is even more indifferent to us. We act as if we can predict it. We build things in ways that will hopefully handle whatever the weather sends at us. But then a tornado or a flood or other things happen and we try to reason it out and say we caused it with global warming, our flatulence, and our emissions.
In the same session scientists will talk about how things have been happening on our planet for eons and then say that because of our little 200 years of charcoal burning in mass cities we are the ones causing the environment to change.
It just amazes me. Is it hubris? Or arrogance?
More and more I just try to live my life and stay devoted to my God. Because I know he'll help me handle whatever comes up.
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Monday, September 14, 2026
Thursday, September 10, 2026
10 Commandments devotional ~
Recently my wife and I went through a devotional about the 10 commendments in the YouVersion Bible app. Sounds boring, right? But it wasn't because this one was put out by the Bible Project team.
It was amazing to have the 10 commandments that I have read and heard sermons about for so long explained by these guys! I really enjoyed the lofi approach to the videos and the way they brought the thing into focus in regard to the overarching story of God's love that the Bible tells.
If you're interested I highly recommend checking it out at
https://bibleproject.com/videos/the-10-commandments-as-wisdom/
or in the YouVersion Bible app at
https://www.youversion.com/bible-app
Go to Plans and then search for Bible Project 10 commandments
Enjoy!
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It was amazing to have the 10 commandments that I have read and heard sermons about for so long explained by these guys! I really enjoyed the lofi approach to the videos and the way they brought the thing into focus in regard to the overarching story of God's love that the Bible tells.
If you're interested I highly recommend checking it out at
https://bibleproject.com/videos/the-10-commandments-as-wisdom/
or in the YouVersion Bible app at
https://www.youversion.com/bible-app
Go to Plans and then search for Bible Project 10 commandments
Enjoy!
+++
Sunday, September 6, 2026
Sunflower disabilities ~
I was a support manager over an office that did a lot of different things. Our office interfaced with the facility grounds management line of business. And we told them what parking spaces we needed and when we needed extra handicapped parking spaces and that sort of thing.
My people would always get wound up when some of the employees would park in handicapped spaces and they had no business parking there. They could walk around just fine. They weren't in a wheelchair or on crutches.
They had no business apparently parking in the handicapped parking spaces. And I had to explain to them over and over that those employees had handicapped stickers and handicapped license tags and those authorized them to park in the handicapped parking spaces.
I even got complaints from people that worked around us. They would complain that so-and-so shouldn't be parking there. It got so bad at one point that I got tired of explaining it. So I came up with a phrase that captured my sentiment about the whole matter without crossing any of the EEO lines or any of the outrage-prone woke people that work there.
I would tell these people that were complaining about others getting to park close when they couldn't park close that "Not all disabilities are visible". And they would look at me and then they'd kind of laugh in a real hushed chuckle because they thought I was being funny and insulting somebody because they had a mental handicap.
What they didn't realize, because nobody ever listened when I told them, was that my wife is a nationally certified sign language interpreter. She's been doing that as a vocation for over 30 years. And a lot of the deaf and hard of hearing people that she has worked with over the years look just like everybody else.
You can't tell that they're hearing impaired at all. Not very many of them take advantage of the whole handicapped parking thing, but some do and even in the deaf community, people will tisk tisk and say they shouldn't be doing that because they're able-bodied and they can walk.
So after using that phrase."not all disabilities are visible" for several years, I finally saw something on an airport monitor recently. It called them "sunflower disabilities". And the phrase that they had underneath it was "not all disabilities are visible".
I busted out laughing when I saw it. I was just astounded that somebody had actually come up with a name for that and was putting a positive spin on it.
Pretty funny.
+++
My people would always get wound up when some of the employees would park in handicapped spaces and they had no business parking there. They could walk around just fine. They weren't in a wheelchair or on crutches.
They had no business apparently parking in the handicapped parking spaces. And I had to explain to them over and over that those employees had handicapped stickers and handicapped license tags and those authorized them to park in the handicapped parking spaces.
I even got complaints from people that worked around us. They would complain that so-and-so shouldn't be parking there. It got so bad at one point that I got tired of explaining it. So I came up with a phrase that captured my sentiment about the whole matter without crossing any of the EEO lines or any of the outrage-prone woke people that work there.
I would tell these people that were complaining about others getting to park close when they couldn't park close that "Not all disabilities are visible". And they would look at me and then they'd kind of laugh in a real hushed chuckle because they thought I was being funny and insulting somebody because they had a mental handicap.
What they didn't realize, because nobody ever listened when I told them, was that my wife is a nationally certified sign language interpreter. She's been doing that as a vocation for over 30 years. And a lot of the deaf and hard of hearing people that she has worked with over the years look just like everybody else.
You can't tell that they're hearing impaired at all. Not very many of them take advantage of the whole handicapped parking thing, but some do and even in the deaf community, people will tisk tisk and say they shouldn't be doing that because they're able-bodied and they can walk.
So after using that phrase."not all disabilities are visible" for several years, I finally saw something on an airport monitor recently. It called them "sunflower disabilities". And the phrase that they had underneath it was "not all disabilities are visible".
I busted out laughing when I saw it. I was just astounded that somebody had actually come up with a name for that and was putting a positive spin on it.
Pretty funny.
+++
Wednesday, September 2, 2026
The Answerman ~
It's so fascinating listening to old time radio as part of my podcast that I make. Yesterday I was listening to a Thanksgiving show by the radio Answerman and it was actually very fascinating. He answered questions about Thanksgiving and one of them was about a food about cranberry in their Pemekin.
And that's the thing that's so fascinating about old time radio is I've only read about Pemekin, a long lasting food that preppers now create in case the end of the world comes and they can't get any supplies.
But otherwise I've never heard that word used. But I heard it on that radio show and it seemed like it was just a regular word that people knew and understood. So many of the things that we just assume because we hear them every day or deal with them online every day, we just think that that's the way it was.
But so much has changed. I listened to those radio broadcasts from the 1940s and they talked about wartime, eastern wartime and Pemekin and had commercials for floor wax and cigarettes. I even ran across one that was advertising beer but it wasn't really specifically beer it was more just the brewery.
We have a lot of that now but it's just different. And everyone seems so uptight now for all of our freedom. We're just uptight.
Fascinating.
+++
And that's the thing that's so fascinating about old time radio is I've only read about Pemekin, a long lasting food that preppers now create in case the end of the world comes and they can't get any supplies.
But otherwise I've never heard that word used. But I heard it on that radio show and it seemed like it was just a regular word that people knew and understood. So many of the things that we just assume because we hear them every day or deal with them online every day, we just think that that's the way it was.
But so much has changed. I listened to those radio broadcasts from the 1940s and they talked about wartime, eastern wartime and Pemekin and had commercials for floor wax and cigarettes. I even ran across one that was advertising beer but it wasn't really specifically beer it was more just the brewery.
We have a lot of that now but it's just different. And everyone seems so uptight now for all of our freedom. We're just uptight.
Fascinating.
+++
Saturday, August 29, 2026
Distasteful phrase ~
I don't like the phrase "on the right side of the grass".
I'm in my 60s now and a lot of times I still fall into the trap of after saying hello to somebody asking "how are you?" it's such a shallow question and I'm trying to break the habit but it's so hard because it's so prevalent. But when somebody says "I'm on the right side of the grass" it just freaks me out! All I can think is that the person is so focused on death that I need to get away from them.
It just seems so negative, and after having so much doom thinking and negativity in my brain for so long because I lived under the gun for most of my life, I just don't like it.
I remember when I was leaving the training class in Oklahoma City after making it through air traffic controller training and the follow-on training. And this big redneck dude told me as I was headed out to my car to drive home, "keep it between the hedges". The rest of the trip that I drove for 16 hours on, I was so focused on those lines on the highway that it was amazing.
I don't know if that's my suggestibility or if that's a flaw in my thinking, but I fell for that big time. And so when others around me focus on the turd in whatever we're doing or talking about, my lasers get focused. And then my comments become very clear about the shape and the smell and the irritating position of and all the other things associated with the turd.
I'm slowly learning to focus on the other things like gratitude, thankfulness, availability, presence, possibility of these from where we are instead of negative outcomes. But it's a challenge when surrounded by so much negativity.
Thank you God for my freedom!
+++
I'm in my 60s now and a lot of times I still fall into the trap of after saying hello to somebody asking "how are you?" it's such a shallow question and I'm trying to break the habit but it's so hard because it's so prevalent. But when somebody says "I'm on the right side of the grass" it just freaks me out! All I can think is that the person is so focused on death that I need to get away from them.
It just seems so negative, and after having so much doom thinking and negativity in my brain for so long because I lived under the gun for most of my life, I just don't like it.
I remember when I was leaving the training class in Oklahoma City after making it through air traffic controller training and the follow-on training. And this big redneck dude told me as I was headed out to my car to drive home, "keep it between the hedges". The rest of the trip that I drove for 16 hours on, I was so focused on those lines on the highway that it was amazing.
I don't know if that's my suggestibility or if that's a flaw in my thinking, but I fell for that big time. And so when others around me focus on the turd in whatever we're doing or talking about, my lasers get focused. And then my comments become very clear about the shape and the smell and the irritating position of and all the other things associated with the turd.
I'm slowly learning to focus on the other things like gratitude, thankfulness, availability, presence, possibility of these from where we are instead of negative outcomes. But it's a challenge when surrounded by so much negativity.
Thank you God for my freedom!
+++
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
AI echo chamber ~
I have been reading a lot of articles about artificial intelligence and how people are using AI to enhance their productivity. Also articles on how people are using AI to confide in and journal with, and to gain insights into their own lives with.
I've read articles about people losing their minds and going into psychosis because they put all of their belief in a computer-based artificial intelligence. Come on! just like with any tool it comes with good and bad effects. People who overuse it or use it for improper things or put unfulfilled beliefs in it usually get different and odd results. Like the people that are outliers that are ending up in psycho wards and that sort of thing.
But there's a lot of hype about AI these large language models that have soaked up all the data that their creators can feed them, whether it was legal or not, spit out really cool responses that seem very realistic and very useful.
I use AI in a information tidbits so that I can have my phone whisper things in my ear to help me learn stuff. For a long time I had to go and search for individual websites, capture what was on the website into a text file, edit it so that it was in the right format, and then feed it to my system. Now with AI I ask for a list of facts and it spits out a list of facts very easily in a format that I can easily adapt to what I'm doing.
I did give in and subscribe to one of the voice recording systems that has an AI with it. They offer the ability to get insights from your notes and the ability to quickly summarize transcriptions into action items and emails and the like. I've been using that for about six months. Recording my thoughts about trips and feelings and other things happening in my life.
So I went to the AI in that system and asked it what the overall vibe was of my notes. I figured I would put it to work and let it give me some feedback on what I sound like to the machine. The response was pretty positive.
The AI said that my notes reflect a balance of excitement for new experiences and a thoughtful navigation of personal and practical improvements. It also pointed out that I am learning to value a softening approach, pausing rather than constantly pushing, and this indicates to the AI a maturing perspective towards self-compassion and incremental growth.
I really liked its response! But this response reminded me of another article or two that I've read about the dangers of using AI to analyze journals and feelings and possibly as a therapist thing.
The articles warned that The AI is seeking to give you an answer that you want and can quickly turn into an echo chamber of whatever you're thinking about and desiring to hear others say. So I chuckled at the response of the AI to my notes, filed it away, and moved on.
I don't really get into echo chambers, but I do like it inside my bubble.
+++
I've read articles about people losing their minds and going into psychosis because they put all of their belief in a computer-based artificial intelligence. Come on! just like with any tool it comes with good and bad effects. People who overuse it or use it for improper things or put unfulfilled beliefs in it usually get different and odd results. Like the people that are outliers that are ending up in psycho wards and that sort of thing.
But there's a lot of hype about AI these large language models that have soaked up all the data that their creators can feed them, whether it was legal or not, spit out really cool responses that seem very realistic and very useful.
I use AI in a information tidbits so that I can have my phone whisper things in my ear to help me learn stuff. For a long time I had to go and search for individual websites, capture what was on the website into a text file, edit it so that it was in the right format, and then feed it to my system. Now with AI I ask for a list of facts and it spits out a list of facts very easily in a format that I can easily adapt to what I'm doing.
I did give in and subscribe to one of the voice recording systems that has an AI with it. They offer the ability to get insights from your notes and the ability to quickly summarize transcriptions into action items and emails and the like. I've been using that for about six months. Recording my thoughts about trips and feelings and other things happening in my life.
So I went to the AI in that system and asked it what the overall vibe was of my notes. I figured I would put it to work and let it give me some feedback on what I sound like to the machine. The response was pretty positive.
The AI said that my notes reflect a balance of excitement for new experiences and a thoughtful navigation of personal and practical improvements. It also pointed out that I am learning to value a softening approach, pausing rather than constantly pushing, and this indicates to the AI a maturing perspective towards self-compassion and incremental growth.
I really liked its response! But this response reminded me of another article or two that I've read about the dangers of using AI to analyze journals and feelings and possibly as a therapist thing.
The articles warned that The AI is seeking to give you an answer that you want and can quickly turn into an echo chamber of whatever you're thinking about and desiring to hear others say. So I chuckled at the response of the AI to my notes, filed it away, and moved on.
I don't really get into echo chambers, but I do like it inside my bubble.
+++
Friday, August 21, 2026
My kaleidoscope ~
I remember having a kaleidoscope when I was growing up. I loved to take it to a bright window and put it up to my eye and spin it to make the designs change inside of it. So many colors and so many changes.
I always wondered how it worked but then I just enjoyed looking at it and then I'd put it away and move on to something else just like kids do. Over the years I've enjoyed putting screensavers on my computers.
Sometimes I'd put a kaleidoscope but it would be too much for the people around me so I would turn it into something else. Now, I enjoy playing a kaleidoscope video on YouTube on my living room TV.
Relaxing and trippy all at the same time.
Fun!
+++
I always wondered how it worked but then I just enjoyed looking at it and then I'd put it away and move on to something else just like kids do. Over the years I've enjoyed putting screensavers on my computers.
Sometimes I'd put a kaleidoscope but it would be too much for the people around me so I would turn it into something else. Now, I enjoy playing a kaleidoscope video on YouTube on my living room TV.
Relaxing and trippy all at the same time.
Fun!
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