A Curious Instrument

When circumstances permit, I often walk to work. I did it as a WIC Nutritionist in Tucumcari (1 mile), a SysAdmin for ENMU in Portales (5 miles) , and a Linux Support person at Dell in Oklahoma City (4 miles). I cannot do it now as I am about 85 miles from work, but I was always looking for good things to listen to during my commute (when I am not recording my scattered, heretical thoughts). If you like TED talks , you must understand that I think they are a mixed bag of psychobabble with some nice gems.  If you want far more intelligent presentations that are consistently high-quality, I will happily point you to the excellent Long Now Seminars that are sponsored by the Long Now Foundation . As always, there are many times that I disagree with concepts spoken about, but it never fails to get me thinking! Forward and Upward!

I am always being confused with political and social conservatives, often because I see the wisdom in much that God and his servants preach. I am married to a proud conservative and my love and devotion to her is undiminished by our ideological differences.  I am not a conservative. Watch and find out. I am much more strongly aligned with classical liberalism and have been so for the vast majority of my life.  And when I use the term, it bares no resemblance to the modern prostitution of the "liberal" term. I am for small, stay out of your life government, live and let-live neighborliness, and a lively justice system that handles difficult disputes. I love the original US Constitution and Bill of Rights and am a fan of both fiscal capitalism, personal generosity, and allowing natural consequences.  Marriage has become the territory of right-wingers as more and more leftists view God's ordained union as some hateful prison of feminine servitude. It doesn't help that ma...

The people of Alaedea cry out for someone to sweep away the evil Empire and its Conclave. God promised long ago to send them a Queen, but the princess-in-waiting is a nasty vixen bent on her own purposes. How is God going to turn this rotten girl into the promised deliverer? Find the answers in the Godsend novel! https://www.amazon.com/Godsend-Navigiary-Book-Jason-Nemrow-ebook/dp/B08FCXN25F

Increasing numbers of people ignore established sources of wisdom that God provides through prophets. The world is becoming more tumultuous and the "experts" to whom many turn for answers are often revealed as vacuous and unreliable, more often wrong than right. The need for wise guidance has never been greater and those who know how to hear God will get the peace and direction that each of us desires in these confusing times. I am grateful yet again for the writings of inspired prophets of God that we have today from the Book of Mormon :   3 Nephi 11 :4-6 And it came to pass that again they heard the voice, and they understood it not. And again the third time they did hear the voice, and did open their ears to hear it; and their eyes were towards the sound thereof; and they did look steadfastly towards heaven, from whence the sound came. And behold, the third time they did understand the voice which they heard; In this instance, God was speaking to the people but they could ...

In a media-saturated world that is slanted heavily toward anti-God ideologies, I have always found it useful to get news and perspective from a variety of sources. It is getting tougher to find some balance when anything other than absolute submission to socialistic ideals is being touted as near-treason to Neo-socialistic sensibilities. Take for example a story from one of my favorite sources: Mercopress, a media provider in the South Atlantic where I can follow stories about the Falkland Islands and South America. I had never heard of  Earth Overshoot Day  before, but apparently this group marks the day when the world has used up all of a years renewable resources and then selfishly pillages resources that can never be renewed. However, God presents a more hopeful scenario: Doctrine & Covenents 104 :17  For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves. Much...

When it comes to elections, my candidates rarely win. It would probably be useful to those who seek office to consult with me, just to be sure that I don't plan to vote for them, thus avoiding a nearly-sure loss. I am not an extremist, at least I don't consider myself one.  The current political climate is rife with extremism, from succession to the "green new deal", from racism to the "cancel" culture. Society is demanding that everyone pick a side in a ideological war where fringe groups battle in a "winner-take-all" fashion and victory will never be claimed until all opposition is destroyed. In the minds of some, a winner's political enemies must literally be killed if they cannot be turned.  I am not of that ilk at all - I want all of us to survive these times and your compelled conversion to one side or the other has never been my aim. It has been windy at "the Crash Site", which is where I sleep during the work-week.  It is a sa...

My readings in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants have inspired me to use this blog to repeat and repeat the charge to all that we must repent . I woke today thinking that it might be useful to help people understand what I interpret repentance to actually is and, perhaps more importantly, what it looks like. Repentance is a change of heart and behavior that better aligns us with Christ and his commandments. It is a short statement, but there is plenty packed into it. First, it is important to gain a personal understanding of God, his Christ, and what they command us to do. Jesus did what his Father (and our Heavenly Father) told him to do, even the difficult things. Much of what we know of God comes to us from the example and teachings of Christ and his prophets throughout time. Jesus went about doing good and we should do the same. I know it would have been very useful for Jesus to have rallied his followers into an army, taken control of local government,...