Tossing Bones

Well, I guess that's how life goes.  We're all just making educated guesses, anyway.  Hitting the bullseye is just a matter of luck, no matter how much you put into it.

Buy a few extra lottery tickets.  You've increased your chances of winning about as much as you'll increase your chances of guessing your path by trying.  Still, thirteen out of three hundred million is better than one.  

It's understandable that hitting that groove can make it seem deserved, or at least earned.  To a degree, it is.  To a larger degree, in most cases, it's not.  

Give credit where it can be given.  Gratitude, if called-for.  Enjoy it and toss a bone once in a while, if you can.

Happy Easter

How've you been?  How did another whole month pass so quickly?  Time's too fast.

Salvation and forgiveness are the order of the day.  You'll have to forgive me for not posting for a while, I suppose.  If not, I forgive you.

Forgiveness always requires a sacrifice, though.  Thankfully, that price has already been paid, if you're a believer.  Even if you're not, you're good in my book.  Who am I to judge?

Go to Gulag

6 million people of the Jewish faith were killed and almost as many Russian civilians by the Nazi regime in WWII.  As horrific as the concentration camps of the Holocaust were, and as inconceivable as those numbers can be to any sane person, it is utterly mind-blowing to realize that the Soviets killed more of their own "comrades" in 'gulags' and forced starvation than the Nazis could.

Random Contact Failure

Our universe expands in random directions.  The galaxy spins off into eternity.  The Earth twirls like a top. Yet, occasionally, things line up in inexplicable and unlikely ways.  

A few weeks ago, the water went out in my parents' house.  The house is supplied by a well pump, and my Brother-in-law said the pump wasn't running.  Answering the call to check it out, I rushed over to see if I could troubleshoot the issue.  

After a bit of snooping, flipping breakers, etc., I just tried to force it on with the pressure switch.  Nothing.  On closer inspection, one of the contacts on the pressure switch was missing.  I found it on the floor nearby:

It was missing from the right side of the pressure switch, as seen below:

Two weeks later, at my house, the water went out.  I've lived in my house for a quarter century, and never replaced the pressure switch.  When I went to my pumphouse to investigate, I found this:

What are the chances of both of them failing in the same way, within days of each other?  My dad replaced his more recently, as it was much newer, but still a few years old, as he wouldn't have been able to do it the last 4 or 5 years.  Mine is probably over 30 years old.  It's not like they were replaced around the same time and both reached their end of life simultaneously. 

Quarks lined up for this.  Two universes passed through their dimensional plane at a single point of water pump pressure switch.  Or maybe it's just a weird coincidence.

Midnight Thought #5150

Whether you agree with a protestor's opinions or not, it's important to recognize they have a right to get their point across to the government.  If they're allowed to be punished for whatever form their free speech against the government takes, the level of punishment used on them is now the precedent by which you'll be punished should you disagree with government in the future.  The government is where the people should direct their protests, as the government has taken on the responsibility of ensuring the people's rights aren't violated, no matter where that violation originates.  Since the government belongs to all the people, that's where frustrations should be directed.  Failure to protect this right sets a dangerous and chilling precedent.

Many believe politics exists on a single, one-dimensional line.  You're either left or right.  This is a gross over-simplification and only serves to polarize and inhibit any real progress.  Every person is multi-faceted in their beliefs, holding positions that vary as much as fingerprints.  Just because you agree with the oppressor of your opponent today doesn't mean that oppressor won't turn against you for some other belief you hold, tomorrow.

Also, if the people are discouraged from protesting their government, they will turn against each other.  If a group feels its rights aren't being protected by government, but aren't allowed to channel their frustrations at that government, they will turn against those in their community they perceive to be violating their rights.

This becomes a self-sustaining and destructive cycle.  Say one group burns the other's businesses, beating and murdering a few of them.  When the government refuses to defend them against the arsonists, and the victims of the arson are denied a redress of grievances, they will seek vengeance against those in the community they see as opposed to them by burning their homes or attacking their neighborhoods.

This happens over and over in history.  Tyrants love this behavior, as it allows them to misbehave at will, while the people are distracted with hatred for one another.  If the people don't recognize this tyrannical behavior, they're doomed to fail as all the others have.

Happy New Year1

Has it already been a week since Christmas?  Wow!

2024 is already here.  This is my 50th year on the Earth.  Crazy.

Here's wishing a happy and fulfilling year for you and yours.  Thanks for dropping by.

Merry Christmas, My Friend!

Outside, rain wets the patio with a slow drizzle.  Drop 30 degrees, and maybe it'd be a white Christmas.  Instead, it's just wet.

But all is calm, even if it's not bright.

I like rain, anyway.  Especially the slow, drizzly kind that drones away any superfluous noises that might disturb the peace.  Except the neighbor's rooster, that is.

Hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas.  Be careful on those wet roads if you have to travel.  Enjoy time with kin and kith.  Remember that the Savior was born to bring peace on Earth...  So no arguments or fighting.