I am in the process of mutating into a gun-nut.
The transformation has had subtle beginnings: I used to just be an ordinary guy who thought a gun would be useful for self-defense and a little fun down at the range, but I swallowed the standard line about "no one needs X gun, because that's just nuts."
But then I started reading up on guns in preparation for getting my CCW permit. I found 'gun-culture' blogs. I began hearing about the new gun control measures being proposed. And slowly, subtly, I began to change.
It first came when I learned that 'assault weapons' were a. not really assault rifles, b. extremely useful since they're effective and easy to shoot, and c. exactly the sort of things the 2nd Amendment was written to protect.
Once I accepted 'assualt weapons' as good and just, the blinders fell off and I saw the light. I realized that it's kind of odd that the one item that citizens are explicitly permitted to own has become so difficult to purchase.
The transformation had become inevitable; I would become a gun-nut at the rising of the full moon.
Why have I embraced this change?
First of all, because the gun-nuts I've read and encountered have a much higher rate of knowing what the heck they're talking about than the other side (don't believe me? Look up 'Joe Biden on self-defense' and shed a little tear for our country).
Second, because the more I read the news the more I adapt a 'survivalist' mentality and feel that the soundest financial investment at the moment is "to put everything I have into canned food and shotguns" (I love that line: Gremlins 2, in case you're wondering).
Finally, let's face it; guns are a lot of fun. I can't wait to try out that 12-gauge I've got my eye on (though I can't buy it until the weather clears up and I can go practice with it).
Molon Labe!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Rush Hour
Last night, after a long, tiring day at work (not the worst I've had over the past week, but annoying. Why does our Xerox guy only buy supplies for one of our three machines?), I decided to just go to Adoration instead of going all the way to my parents' house for karate. Had a good session with Jesus, then got back in my car, thinking about how relaxing it would be to be able to go home and not have to think about overdue invoices for another twelve hours at least.
Then, a little distracted, I realized I had missed the turn onto the expressway.
You see, the chapel where I usually go to adoration is attached to the complex where one of my friends works, whom I occassionally meet there for lunch. So, I've gotten in the habit of taking the far entrance ramp leading south to my office, rather than the nearer one leading north to my apartment. Keep in mind that it is about 5:00 PM at this point, and that both routes will get me home in a reasonable amount of time.
So, naturally, I decided to try to turn around.
Again; 5:00 PM. In a business-friendly area.
A traffic light, two parking lots, and another missed on-ramp later, I realize that in order to turn around I'm going to have to go back into the place I just came from (the complex with the adoration chapel) and essentially start from scratch.
Now, this was maybe ten minutes after I had left it the first time. At that point there had been a line of two-or-three cars waiting to turn. As I pulled into the complex for a second time, I saw a line of cars stretching as far as the eye could see and even around a corner with a stop sign.
It was about now that it occurredd to me that I really should have just taken the longer route home instead of trying to turn around in the middle of rush hour.
Then, a little distracted, I realized I had missed the turn onto the expressway.
You see, the chapel where I usually go to adoration is attached to the complex where one of my friends works, whom I occassionally meet there for lunch. So, I've gotten in the habit of taking the far entrance ramp leading south to my office, rather than the nearer one leading north to my apartment. Keep in mind that it is about 5:00 PM at this point, and that both routes will get me home in a reasonable amount of time.
So, naturally, I decided to try to turn around.
Again; 5:00 PM. In a business-friendly area.
A traffic light, two parking lots, and another missed on-ramp later, I realize that in order to turn around I'm going to have to go back into the place I just came from (the complex with the adoration chapel) and essentially start from scratch.
Now, this was maybe ten minutes after I had left it the first time. At that point there had been a line of two-or-three cars waiting to turn. As I pulled into the complex for a second time, I saw a line of cars stretching as far as the eye could see and even around a corner with a stop sign.
It was about now that it occurredd to me that I really should have just taken the longer route home instead of trying to turn around in the middle of rush hour.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Day 9: The Greatest is Love
"The Greatest of these is Love: Why?"
Seriously? You're making me justify St. Paul's conclusions?
Just kidding; I enjoy the intellectual stimulation.
There are a number of reasons why Love is a greater virtue than Faith or Hope. For one thing, Faith and Hope are both temporary virtues: we won't have either in Heaven, because both depend on things unknown. Faith is "the belief in things not seen," the divinely-inspired step extension beyond the intellect. Hope is the expectation of God's goodness; the trust in what God will do in the future. But in Heaven we will see God face-to-face, so there will be no need of Faith, and we will experience all bliss, so there will be no Hope. But there will still be Love, and indeed the fulness of Love. Faith and Hope will both have served their purpose, but Love will only just be getting started.
Another reason is the fact that Love, more than the other two, deals with the will; the core of our being. Faith and Hope both deal more with the intellect and only are tangenitally attached to the will. Love, however, is entirely an act of the will and so has the greater effect on our souls.
Finally, Love is the virtue of God, while Faith and Hope are virtues given by God. This is related to the first point, but when we are acting out of Faith we are not being like God, since God has no Faith since He is all knowing and no Hope since all time is present to Him. To Love, however, is to be like God; to live in His life. Therefore, since Love is more God-like, Love is greater.
Seriously? You're making me justify St. Paul's conclusions?
Just kidding; I enjoy the intellectual stimulation.
There are a number of reasons why Love is a greater virtue than Faith or Hope. For one thing, Faith and Hope are both temporary virtues: we won't have either in Heaven, because both depend on things unknown. Faith is "the belief in things not seen," the divinely-inspired step extension beyond the intellect. Hope is the expectation of God's goodness; the trust in what God will do in the future. But in Heaven we will see God face-to-face, so there will be no need of Faith, and we will experience all bliss, so there will be no Hope. But there will still be Love, and indeed the fulness of Love. Faith and Hope will both have served their purpose, but Love will only just be getting started.
Another reason is the fact that Love, more than the other two, deals with the will; the core of our being. Faith and Hope both deal more with the intellect and only are tangenitally attached to the will. Love, however, is entirely an act of the will and so has the greater effect on our souls.
Finally, Love is the virtue of God, while Faith and Hope are virtues given by God. This is related to the first point, but when we are acting out of Faith we are not being like God, since God has no Faith since He is all knowing and no Hope since all time is present to Him. To Love, however, is to be like God; to live in His life. Therefore, since Love is more God-like, Love is greater.
Friday, January 18, 2013
On Writing
Yesterday I had to make a very hard decision and basically scrap all the work I've been doing on my current writing project, The Chronicles of Hendricks. The reason for this is that I realized the set up I had just wasn't working as well as it should, that I was taking far too long to get to the important things like monsters and mad scientists, and that an alternate set-up that I had been mulling over for a while would simply fit the story better.
So, two or three months worth of work go down the drain, and I start over for the...fourth time? I'm not sure at this point.
But no complaints; it was the right thing to do. I'm planning on leaving Hendricks to ferment for a while: I need to work out how the new set-up will work and what other scenes/elements/characters I might need to drop to make it flow. Meanwhile, I'll be taking another crack at Lepus, which also went through a major story-change which, I think, makes the whole thing much more interesting (and gives me more room to spread out and add more story elements).
One thing I'm learning is that no writing is wasted; yes, all the work I did on Hendricks is getting scrapped, but I learned a lot from it. The characters - particularly the heroine - are a lot more developed now and have started taking on their own little quirks and personalities. I have a better sense of where the story is going and how it will unfold than I did, and I also have a better sense of what doesn't work and things I need to avoid going forward.
I'm having a lot of fun so far planning out the next draft of Lepus; hopefully I'll be able to crank it out faster than the previous draft. Stay tuned for more updates!
So, two or three months worth of work go down the drain, and I start over for the...fourth time? I'm not sure at this point.
But no complaints; it was the right thing to do. I'm planning on leaving Hendricks to ferment for a while: I need to work out how the new set-up will work and what other scenes/elements/characters I might need to drop to make it flow. Meanwhile, I'll be taking another crack at Lepus, which also went through a major story-change which, I think, makes the whole thing much more interesting (and gives me more room to spread out and add more story elements).
One thing I'm learning is that no writing is wasted; yes, all the work I did on Hendricks is getting scrapped, but I learned a lot from it. The characters - particularly the heroine - are a lot more developed now and have started taking on their own little quirks and personalities. I have a better sense of where the story is going and how it will unfold than I did, and I also have a better sense of what doesn't work and things I need to avoid going forward.
I'm having a lot of fun so far planning out the next draft of Lepus; hopefully I'll be able to crank it out faster than the previous draft. Stay tuned for more updates!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Day 8: Favorite Day
What was your favorite day this year and why?
I'm taking this to mean 'this past year,' since this year is less than a month old.
I'd say my favorite day was, if I remember correctly, Nov. 10th. In any case, that's the one that springs immediately to mind. The day started out with Mass, after which I met my dear friend AnnMarie and we went to brunch, where we spent a good couple hours talking politics. I don't know about you, but I love talking politics with someone who a). is well informed, b). shares most of my views, and c). is luminously beautiful.
After we parted, I went to the dojo for some semi-one-on-one training with a couple of black belts, where I spent an hour and a half or so working with sais. Then, having had a fine and interesting work out, I went to my parent's house to hang out with my best friend Tim for a few hours.
This day stands out as being both active, but not overwhelming: there was a lot going on, but I enjoyed all of it and I finished up feeling like I had really accomplished something. Of course, I always like hanging out with Tim, and any day I get to see AnnMarie automatically jumps a grade, so combine both of those with Mass, serious-though-not-strenuous intellectual stimulation, and a solid, though not overwhelming workout and what you have is a very good day indeed.
I'm taking this to mean 'this past year,' since this year is less than a month old.
I'd say my favorite day was, if I remember correctly, Nov. 10th. In any case, that's the one that springs immediately to mind. The day started out with Mass, after which I met my dear friend AnnMarie and we went to brunch, where we spent a good couple hours talking politics. I don't know about you, but I love talking politics with someone who a). is well informed, b). shares most of my views, and c). is luminously beautiful.
After we parted, I went to the dojo for some semi-one-on-one training with a couple of black belts, where I spent an hour and a half or so working with sais. Then, having had a fine and interesting work out, I went to my parent's house to hang out with my best friend Tim for a few hours.
This day stands out as being both active, but not overwhelming: there was a lot going on, but I enjoyed all of it and I finished up feeling like I had really accomplished something. Of course, I always like hanging out with Tim, and any day I get to see AnnMarie automatically jumps a grade, so combine both of those with Mass, serious-though-not-strenuous intellectual stimulation, and a solid, though not overwhelming workout and what you have is a very good day indeed.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
New Year's Resolutions:
1. Blog more often!
Self explanatory.
2. Read the Entire Bible:
I tried this once before and got bogged down in Sirach. So, this year I'm taking another crack at it!
3. Spend less time on the Computer
Slightly at odds with number 1, but I honestly waste far too much time on the computer and I'd like to change that: read, write, exercise, draw, play violin, and just do all the many non-computer-required things there are to do.
4. Develop a Writing Routine
I've made some progress with this, but there's definite room for improvement.
5. Become Conversational in Italian
Yeah, I need to step up the language studies a lot.
6. [REDACTED]
A private one; I'll let you know if I actually accomplish it.
Self explanatory.
2. Read the Entire Bible:
I tried this once before and got bogged down in Sirach. So, this year I'm taking another crack at it!
3. Spend less time on the Computer
Slightly at odds with number 1, but I honestly waste far too much time on the computer and I'd like to change that: read, write, exercise, draw, play violin, and just do all the many non-computer-required things there are to do.
4. Develop a Writing Routine
I've made some progress with this, but there's definite room for improvement.
5. Become Conversational in Italian
Yeah, I need to step up the language studies a lot.
6. [REDACTED]
A private one; I'll let you know if I actually accomplish it.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
On my New Blog
So far I am having an absolute blast with my new blog, The Catholic Nerd. For one thing, it feels like this is the kind of writing I've always wanted to do, but haven't had the opportunity to (been too wrapped up in trying to sound professional and serious). For another, I get to do things like equate the atheistic version of God to a cross between Superman and Jason Voorhees, complete with picture.
Speaking of pictures, the only real problem I've run into so far is the fact that I keep having to delay posts until I can find and/or make the right illustrations. This has necessitated my re-installing Photoshop on my old laptop and spending a little too much time messing around in Garry's Mod. It also means that I generally have to wait until I get home to publish them, since I can't make the pictures at work. Like I could have posted my recent piece on atheism today, but I decided that I really needed a Time's Square ad from an uptight spinster to illustrate my point properly, and so I must delay.
I've got big plans for this blog. I'm hoping to make something really unique and wonderful out of it. Stay tuned!
Speaking of pictures, the only real problem I've run into so far is the fact that I keep having to delay posts until I can find and/or make the right illustrations. This has necessitated my re-installing Photoshop on my old laptop and spending a little too much time messing around in Garry's Mod. It also means that I generally have to wait until I get home to publish them, since I can't make the pictures at work. Like I could have posted my recent piece on atheism today, but I decided that I really needed a Time's Square ad from an uptight spinster to illustrate my point properly, and so I must delay.
I've got big plans for this blog. I'm hoping to make something really unique and wonderful out of it. Stay tuned!
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