The Generally Impressive Man

Signal, Sygnet and Sigil - The Generally Impressive Man



This is an extremely important development as far as I’m concerned. Petraeus is certainly the man for this job, for a whole host of reasons, not least of which is the astute balancing of resources by a man who knows that he has very real and competing interests in the proper execution of conflicts in both the present theatres of war and in preparing for the successful prosecution of any potential conflicts in future theatres of war.

But I am also very hopeful that his new influence will allow for the possible systemic realignment of leadership and training towards ever-greater force-wide integration of the principles of asymmetric warfare and counter-insurgency. We need a lot more officers (military wide) capable of this kind of thinking, and fighting ability, when needed.

I would also not be the least surprised to see recommendations from Petraeus, as well as implementable orders from his office covering wide-scale reforms in such operational functions as changing individual soldier deployment specifications, logistics, resource allocation, unit rotation schedules (I’m very much in favor of unit rotation instead of soldier and specialist rotation, with certain exceptions), intelligence gathering, and overall changes in theatre policy (especially and hopefully, Afghanistan.)

I am pleased thus far with the job Gates has been doing in his assignment and I’m looking forward to Petraeus as Commander of Central Command, though I know it will be quite awhile before the real turnover and real work begins.

The American military is changing, and mightily so. I suspect Petraeus is the man, as proven by his prior experience and adaptability and focus upon actionable success, for this job.

I don’t envy him this job. Not at all. Or the responsibility. But I suspect he is indeed the right man for this job.

I just have one question. Where are all of the left-wing
General Betrayus patriots now, and how come they’re not burning their bras at CENTCOM Headquarters? Maybe they’re afraid that with that many bras going up in smoke at once that their carbon footprint would be inexcusably heavy.




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HAPPY BIRTHDAY BENEDICT

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BENEDICT



I am not a Roman Catholic. I consider myself a Christian, and nothing more, yet nothing less. I am however very warmly disposed towards Orthodox and Greek Catholicism, while in many other ways remaining Protestant (Baptist to be exact), and yet in many ways I am also warmly disposed towards Roman Catholicism.

This is especially true as to many of her recent Popes. Both the popes of the last century, and of this century. I was a great admirer of John Paul, both during his life on earth, and in his power as a Saint, for so he was, and so he remains. After the passing of John Paul II I was doubtful, I fully admit, that any newly elected pope could give as good an account of the office as had John Paul.

And when Benedict was elected I have to also admit, I had my personal doubts about him as successor to the Great Seat. He seemed in many ways a far lesser man, less impressive, less great, less imposing, less sure of himself, less a better future for the Roman church, and less a better overall representative of Christ as an active force in the world.

But I was wrong. Very wrong indeed. I began to watch the man in action, saw his service, saw him overcome his own doubts in office, saw him overcome his own fears and shyness. I began to read his works and his papers and encyclicals, read several biographies of the man, listened to his presentations and speeches and dictates, observed his devotion. And by careful observation and meditation discovered him to be far greater in his strengths than infirm in his frailties.

He is a true agent of Christian reconciliation and reunification, he is compassionate and yet strong, he is a wise leader, a brilliant theologian (his Jesus of Nazareth may be the best book on Christology I have ever read in my entire life, and I very highly recommend it), he is bright and thoughtful, extremely well educated, an ardent defender of the faith, he is an excellent example for Christians everywhere of moral bravery, persistence, and dignity. He is a fine pastor, a superb priest, a careful shepherd and a dedicated Holy Father, and even if he never desired the office, God has used him well. He is also a friend of my nation and a fellow brother in Christ, an open and sincere and very good man, well disciplined and in command of his own soul, and although I do not always agree with him, I am very pleased and honored to have him as one of the chief representatives of the Christian Church within the world.

So, Happy Birthday and God bless you Pope Benedict. Thank you for your visit, it was well and mutually met. May your papacy be long and fruitful and may you accomplish and achieve much for God and Christ in this world, now and forever. Amen.



Hope springs eternal from the Fountain of Life.




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Love and Sunshine in the Middle East

The Glair - Love and Sunshine in the Middle East



By Julius Dagonet Adair for the DisMissal

Last Updated: 4:10 PM
Tuesday, April 15, 2008





Today former President Jimmy Carter met with several Palestinian leaders, including a member of Hamas. Following a brief and yet cordial embrace between the two men Hamas issued a press statement describing the meeting. “It was our pleasure to exchange mutual embraces of goodwill between ourselves and President Jimmy Carter. As most people around the world now know President Carter was the man truly elected in Florida, and unlike the criminal Bush, who has killed so many Palestinians and Iraqis, President Carter is the man who best represents the will of the American people. Like so many life-long Democrats President Carter understands foreign policy in a way few other types of people ever could.” The US State Department has declared Hamas to be a terrorist organization.

Carter expressed his many thanks for the warm reception he received by the Palestinian leaders and said that he was moving on to meet other leaders of Hamas when the opportunity presents itself later in the week. Speaking at an off-camera press conference arranged by Palestinian television Carter declared his appreciation. “Since arriving here I have been showered with wine, flowers, and chocolates. And they don’t even drink here. I feel like a real Queen of a Man.” Potential Democratic Candidate Hillary Clinton expressed interest in meeting with the leaders of Hamas only if she were promised in advance plentiful shots of rum, whiskey, and tequila. Barak Obama however announced his immediate desire to meet with any leaders of Hamas or any other terrorist group at the first available opportunity and with no restrictions on what is discussed. He did however say that he would ask any terrorist leader with whom he met if it was wise to cling to guns and religion because this was likely to alienate voters in more goat conscious desert and rural areas. “Nevertheless,” Obama continued, “I think most terrorists should continue to stubbornly stick to their previous positions so as not to lose advantage with their base. Al Qaeda means the base you know, and if you lose your base then how can you scare little white women walking down the street? It just isn’t possible. You’ve got to keep your Mojo for when it can do the most good.”

Carter seemed to agree with this assessment and while being questioned by American reporters he grabbed his crotch several times. At one point the room fell silent when an American reporter asked Carter how he felt meeting with a man who was accused of having been responsible for the murder of over two dozen American citizens? Carter responded by saying, “I didn’t see him kill anybody, did you see him kill anybody? It’s just like on the streets of Tupelo when they accuse the bearded man of doing all of the raping and killing and such without any real DNA evidence. We’ve got to stop all of this hatred of the bearded man. It’s just plain ignorant!”

Barak Obama released a statement saying that he understood the plight of the bearded man but that bearded men should not cling to their facial hair out of fear of the baby-faced Mexican. And Hillary Clinton, asked if she feared the bearded man said, “Emphatically not! I am not now nor have I ever been a bearded man. I just drink hard and shave often, that’s all. I think it’s elitist and condescending to say that just because a woman curses a lot and has many obvious masculine traits that she is someone for the electorate to fear. If anything I think I meld the best traits of my husband with the best traits of Paula Jones after the nose job. Any terrorist would love to bag me, of course, but they would also be very afraid to snipe at me. They know I’m not afraid to launch a missile or two.”

Later in the day President Carter stopped by for a taping of a popular Palestinian children’s television show. Carter was both entertained and amused as he watched a puppet show in which several Jewish soldiers were killed by a child puppet in an explosive vest, and puppet women lamented how Americans are causing them to starve while they grow fat off the blood of Iraqi babies. The show ended with several Fatah puppets being executed by firing squad and a rousing chorus of “Allah kill the thieves.”

After that Carter stepped outside to join a street riot already in progress, then finished off his schedule by firing an AK-47 in the air at passing Israelis predator drones, and neck-lacing and burning alive a Palestinian collaborator. Carter concluded his first day on the ground by calling for international observers to monitor the next election cycle, and for UN intervention in Jerusalem. “It’s time,” he said, “to give the city of peace back to the people by forcing the UN to take control of it.”

Asked what he would do for an encore Carter replied, “I’ve already thought of that. I’m going to fight my way into Gaza and tell the Jews, ‘Tear Down this Wall!’”

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The Unfinished Man

Pesharim - The Unfinished Man


We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar

Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;

Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom
Remember us--if at all--not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.

From “The Hollow Men”



I saw a Man Unfinished, he bled labors by the score
A thousand times a million, an infinity of chores,
I thought to ask him "why do so, what is the pressing need?"
But I could not his flesh to find; above, below, beneath,
It seems that he was shrouded wrapt by nothing more than words
So everything essential always less than more occurred,
I left him lost a'wandering to find a path much clearer
And found instead a Finished Man a'staring in the mirror...


Article on UM Study

Multitasking Non-Sequitur






I more or less completely agree with the results of this study, as well as the reasons they conclude that multi-tasking is counterproductive. I learned a long time ago, by developing a set of complex time management schedules for my work and other activities, that multi-tasking, as the term is commonly employed, is actually detrimental to true attempts to become more productive, or to maintain a higher state of productivity over a long period of time.

Now I don’t disagree with the idea of multi-tasking per se, with the idea of accomplishing a number of related, or even entirely different tasks, basically simultaneously, or at least in a fluid fashion. But I do disagree with the modern impulse and common methods of multi-tasking that seem to be pursued and executed throughout all levels of our society and culture. The truth is that nothing really productive ever gets done, as I have learned through hard experience, until things get done in their entirety. Until things are both begun, worked upon, and finally successfully concluded or completed. One cannot be engaged in a dozen activities at once and expect to complete any of them successfully, or even most of them with any real degree of accomplishment. The one absolute ingredient of true success is to finish what you start, in the very way that a thing needs to have both a head and a tail to know both where it is headed and from where it originated. A half of a man is no good to anyone, and a half-resolved task or an inconclusive result or an unfinished project is about as useful as the left half of a man sans his right half.



So the only true method of productive success is to finish what you start, and to concentrate upon the task at hand until it is concluded. And far too often the person, the corporation, and the organization that is heavily involved in multi-tasking is simply taking on ever greater loads of work and effort without ever decisively completing that work or effort which needs most to be focused upon and concluded before moving on to the next task. To achieve what is true, and good, and lasting, you must complete what is unfinished. This is as true of the man, as it is of the project, or the case, or the invention, or the endeavor, or the war, or the economy, or the nation, or the enterprise. What is left to rot upon the vine is of value only to the birds of the air and the scavengers of the earth.

This is not to say of course that multi-tasking has no place or function or value to anyone. I am not drawing such a conclusion. What I am saying in contrast is that multi-tasking, as with the effort to resolve and complete any task must be undertaken in such a way as to foster real productivity and to lessen (or at least make easier) the workload, rather than to add to or burden the workload ad infinitum. And when things are left unresolved, and other work piles upon the load that is already hard to bear, then multi-tasking causes far more havoc than it resolves to ease.

Therefore multi-tasking, if it is to be a good and true agent working for the virtue of productivity and accomplishment, instead of being merely an operative vice of counter-productivity and unfocused and effete dispersal of effort, must also be well focused, meaningfully organized, and properly executed. In short it must be executed and employed in a logical fashion which allows small and unimportant tasks to service themselves so that the individual may work upon the important, demanding, even Herculean task unfettered by scattered focus or hamstrung by the thousand stinging wasps of nuisance toil. Put another way, many small things that are easily resolved may be competently multi-tasked or delegated, if the proper means or agents of execution may be found, but what is most important must be worked with diligent and focused effort until such time as the proper end may be brought to the necessary task. And only the determined man can conclude the indispensable effort.

For instance, at home I may, before my real work begins, feed and water the dogs, set the dishes to washing in the washing machine, apply the applications which will defragment or repair my computer files, and then set my workload in order while consulting my worklist for the day. All of these tasks may be accomplished in short order, either because they are minor jobs, or I am well trained in them and they are reflexive, or because they require little focus or because they are executed by machines. For instance if I set the dishes to washing or my computer to repairing itself while I am at more important tasks then those things can be done at the same moment I am accomplishing far more crucial work. While my computer repairs itself I may sit down with a pad and begin writing, working on an invention, examining the details of a case, making an analysis, or even conducting an experiment. The computer does not need me to watch it defragment itself or run a systems’ analysis. I am elsewhere at far more vital tasks.

But when I am at the vital task then I do not squander my physical, mental, or psychological resources by attempting to attend to many unimportant things in my mind at once. I set the small things to servicing themselves first, so that they may be executed while I work, and while I work I work undisturbed and focused upon the important things at hand. I do not answer the phone, unless I see the number and think it an emergency or really pressing (if it is important then the person will always call back later or leave a message, if not, it is not important – and truth be told most people constantly answer their home phone or far more stupid cell phones simply to give the illusion that they are either socially important or immensely busy, and the real truth is, the vast majority of people are simply not that important in any way and never will be, if indeed anyone is, or put another way, they are not so socially vital that the world cannot do without them – and the world certainly will one day - and not so really busy after all or they would not have time to be pissing away with handling phone messages all day like a secretary), do not allow disturbances or distractions, and try not to let my mind wander from the job to be completed. I work the thing until it is completed or until I can make no more progress at that time. In summary multi-tasking works only when unimportant things are relegated to the background or when unimportant tasks are executed in the background, and when vital efforts and projects are worked with absolute focus of concentration and drive until real progress is achieved. When real things are achieved and good progress is made that is true productivity. Everything else is a charade of effort and a façade of illusion. To do well a thing must end well, and to end well it must be attended until it is completed. You do not interrupt the birth of a child to respond to an email or make a post on a blog. You reason and decide upon the great things first, and there go your true efforts. Lesser things are for when, and if, you have the time to spare.

The modern impulse and habit of jumping from one task to another in media res and to extolling and orating upon the enormous numbers of tasks upon which one may make multi-fluid effort (and yet no concrete gain) is not only ridiculously counterproductive, it feeds the delusion that a man achieves much merely by being involved in much. (The internet is a perfect example of such a juvenile deception. It is akin to the teenage ideal that having many acquaintances either makes one a good friend or makes one truly important. The truth is that the internet is for the most part a huge waste of time that could be much more profitably and productively spent at other and far more significant and worthwhile tasks. My advice to you is, as soon as you finish reading this, get your lollygagging, web cruising, easily distracted ass off the internet and go do something really worth doing. And don’t come back here or anywhere else on the internet ‘til you have something really worth saying, or someone else has something really worth listening to, which I’m gonna tell you right now, personal egos aside ain’t nearly as often as most people deceive themselves into believing.) It is not what you are involved in that is the real consideration, it is what you achieve by what you involve yourself with that is the true measure of your productivity and progress. You cannot be all things to all men, nor can you achieve all things in all situations. Pick your battles; fight your wars to their conclusion, and disregard and dispose of those things that would consume your time and effort and achievement with much diffusion and delay. You cannot be a Finished Man if everything about you lies incomplete, and you cannot complete what must be done if all you ever do is balance the petty and the vital in the same set of unreliable scales. Some things you do may change the world, if you apply yourself aright and towards the right end, but the vast majority of the things you do are merely killing time, and by extension, the time you have to finish what is best, and what is best not to ignore. Do not multi-task yourself into a trap-like tesseract of obscurity and triviality. Take up the Herculean task, take up your cross and finish what you start, and cast aside the petty things for they will end as they began, unnoticed and inessential. You cannot build a Finished Man, urgent, vital, and worthwhile, upon the electronic screens of your computer, upon a blog found on the internet, within the confines of a video game, or through the measureless text files of your cell phone message box. All things artificial, artificially pursued, yield but the contrived and the unreal.

Men though are built by what they concentrate upon and by what they do, and far too often in our modern world by what they fail to do because they are too busy in their garden of infinite detritus to truly ever live. Live. Leave this place and go forth and truly live. You cannot find here what you will not attempt for yourself. And do not look for treasure in a horde of useless tasks.





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A Billion Monkeys

Got a really interesting new poll up about the internet. Look near the top of the page. But I gotta warn ya folks, you’re gonna hav’ta work hard for this one.

Enjoy, and be sure and tell granma.
She might not have heard about it yet.




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The Tormos Under the Ground

The Tormos Under the Ground


Behind all things lie the Hidden Things.
Beneath the Hidden Things lie our Secret Lives.
Beyond our Secret Lives lies another kind of Mystery altogether, of a different order and magnitude to everything else we can know, or ever will know. If I could describe it, I would not; if it might be described, I would that I could not.




And that is as things are when they are known not, both for what they appear now, yet have never been, and for that night of day in which they wait patiently for what they will become when no one is intentionally watching elsewhere through the looking glass of nobody.

And that’s about the most that needs to be said about that.








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Getting X'ed

The Exchange – Getting X’ed

Right before Christmas I saw an advertisement off the satellite dish for an exercise program called, Get Ripped in 90 Days.

It looked extremely interesting to me because of the fact of the way the program was presented, and because of the apparent method by which the training operated. I have always, from a young fella on, been a big proponent of Cross Training, though when I was young I didn't really call it that, I just called it being athletically able to do a lot of different kinds of things.

And because I am essentially an athlete (someone who prefers physical activities in which you basically compete either alone or singly, like in track and field events, or against yourself, like in obstacle courses, etc.) and outdoorsman by heart and by nature, and not a sportsman (someone who competes on teams, though I used to love on occasion playing soccer and football and baseball and a few other team sports) I really liked the look of the training program, at least as presented in the television ad.

So I ordered it (P90X) as part of my Christmas present (it was about $150.00 US in price) and got it about a week and half ago.

It came with 12 very different workout routines (though some sections overlap on the different CDs), a workout book, a chart, a very good diet and nutrition book/plan, and a few other little odds and ends. I didn't order any of the nutritional supplements since I long ago developed my own formulations and metaergogenics. But I did buy some extra Creatine.

I tried the program for three days last week, and for all five days of this week. I will also exercise tomorrow off the program and then rest on Sunday.

After that period of initial use I have to say that this is the single most awesome (as in God-awesome, as in totally and fearfully effective) workout/physical training routine I have ever encountered, and I've developed some pretty good ones of my own in the past. The variety of exercises offered is just plain incredible, the support is very, very good, the nutrition plan is very nice (as well as being efficient and useful), and the routines are superb, to say the least. It is based upon the idea of muscle confusion and believe me, it is extremely confusing in both the amount of strain it places upon the body, and in the variety of strains it places upon the various parts of the body. It is very taxing in that it is rather difficult for you to remain in energy reserve, and that makes it just that much more effective as a program. One of the things I really appreciate about the routines however is the relaxed and almost casual way the routines unfold, and he offers you a rather impressive set of modified routines, based upon your current level of physical development, and yet despite the casual atmosphere, because the routines unfold so quickly and move from one exercise set to another in such rapid succession, the body cannot easily peak. And without peaking development continues unabated.

Another thing I really enjoy about the program is the fact that most exercise sets only go on for about thirty seconds to a minute. Which doesn’t seem like much but those seconds tend to be incredibly intense. Then you move immediately to the next exercise set, no rest or break in most cases. Which over the course of an hour’s training time means you execute a huge variety of exercise types. And that means that cumulatively each routine gets exponentially worse, and yet that much more effective with each new set.

In the past, for example, in weightlifting, as all weightlifters know, you hit a plateau and then your muscles become so used to strain levels and anticipate strain levels so efficiently that it becomes ever harder to make gains. This program seems to operate on totally different principles. Muscle memory becomes far more fluid in the fact that one can develop a far greater range of movements and strengths, and yet far less static in the sense that one is far slower to peak.

And every single time I have done any particular routine it has really stressed me terrifically. Every morning when I wake up I spend about five minutes lying in bed and just stretching. After I do that then I can move normally. And my muscles ache, really ache, and sometimes my whole body aches too, like when I was a kid training for something, and so I know it's really kicking my ass and working like it should. In addition after I workout I immediately eat, and on this program I mean I really, really eat. I’ve never been a real big eater, even when I was training to put on bulk, and body build eating was far more of a chore than a pleasure. I have a high metabolism generally speaking; have always been able to burn calories quickly and easily, even by comparison as I age, and so I’ve never really needed lots of food to generate energy. Small amounts of food give me energy and then I supplement. But after running through one of these routines I eat like a mad man. And I really enjoy it for once. I’m like a pregnant woman or something, my body seems to absorb nutrients from food through osmosis, and after working out real hard my body also seems to know exactly what it wants to eat to recover (this program also has some very good recovery and recuperation advice). And I’ve also lost my appetite entirely for any kind of junk food or junk carbs. My mouth actually waters at the thought of a full and juicy orange, a good salad and a nice big slab of fish. I eat baked potatoes like popcorn. I think it’s because you use up so many different kinds of nutrients and calories with the various exercises that your body starts demanding they be replaced almost immediately, and it intuitively knows what you need to eat to recuperate. Whatever the case for the first time in my life I am eating with real gusto. And enjoying it immensely.

I expect it to help tremendously with my discus throwing (later I'm gonna take up the shot-put like I really should), my baseball batting, and my other physical activities. Overall though I'm starting to feel extremely light (because I'm losing body fat) and yet hard as a rock too. I have to warn you though, this is no body building routine (of course at my age I have no desire whatsoever in training again to become bigger), it is designed to make an extremely competitive and slim (I mean very low body fat) athlete out of you. I started out with the Classic Routine Set but later this year I plan on doing the Doubles, which is designed to make an extremely effective athlete out of you. First though I must acclimate to the wide range of stresses it puts upon the body simultaneously. I also suspect it will greatly enhance my overall state of health.

I very highly recommend this exercise program, though it is not for beginners per se. It is indeed an extreme program.
But if you want to be in excellent shape, this does the job.

No doubt about that.

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SAR: Please Help

The Exchange - SAR: Please Help

On Sunday, Dec. 23rd we sold a puppy to her new owner, who lives in the Port Wentworth area, near Savannah, Ga.
On Monday, Dec. 24th the new owner tried to put her new puppy on a leash in her yard, and apparently frightened, and it being her first day in the new area, the puppy ran away.


We would very much like to assist in finding this puppy and in helping the new owner recover her puppy, because we bred and helped raise it, and because she had bought it as a Christmas present for her children. But we live some distance from her and cannot directly assist in the physical search.

If anyone living in that area, or any nearby area in Georgia, South Carolina, or Florida should come across this puppy then we, and the new owners, would very much appreciate your help in recovering this puppy. We take great personal pride in the puppies we breed and raise, try our best to assure their welfare, and we do not wish to see any of them lost, or harmed in any way. We want them to thrive, and to be placed in good and loving homes where they belong. Furthermore I never leave anyone or anything behind, be that man, woman, child, or even animal companion. I am doing everything I can think of to help find her safe and sound and to return her to her new owners, but I know that my readers and anyone else who sees this on the internet will greatly multiply our chances of success that she will be found and recovered. I consider this a search and rescue operation, and although I know that at this time of year many other matters are pressing for your attention, and that many greater matters of import are occurring in the world, still I leave no one behind and feel I must do all I can in this case.

Help if you can, and it will be greatly appreciated, by me, and by everyone else involved.

The puppy is four months old, large, weighs about 50 pounds at last sighting, mantle, with brown eyes, of very gentle disposition, a Great Dane-Saint Bernard mix. Her name is Tabitha. She is a good and valuable animal and pet, and very intelligent. Above you will see a recent photograph of her, taken right before she was sold.

Once again, thank you immensely for your help.

Should you find her you may contact me at: occu77@netzero.com


God bless you and Happy New Year.


Jack.




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Links of the Week 12/29/07

The Exchange - Best Links of the Week 12/29/07

Recently I've had very little time, or inclination, to do any blogging. Work, the holidays, life, and many other factors have thankfully conspired to bring my time usage ever more and more back to the real world. And not this virtual world, that to be perfectly honest, is often little else than a wasteful consumption of time best spent in other ways.

However, there are times when the internet is very useful. Such as with the hunt for Tabitha (above), as a means of communication with those who cannot easily be communicated with through any other means, and as both a research tool and a research method.

To that end I am going, in the next year, to post links once a week which previously I had been posting every day, divided by subject matter.

I am avoiding with this post any mention of events in Pakistan. The internet is already, rightfully so, a'fire with such articles. At this time I imagine I can contribute little else of value to that story. Ah hell, why not...


My Best Links of the Past Week

Crave New World

Machine Ghost in the Man

The Pirate Drone - Man, I've really been looking forward to this boat getting underway.

Majidi's Gap

A Cheerful Giver

The Renaissance Warrior

Doubting Mary

Common Word?

The Religion of God - Personally I think this article makes a very good point. And to me it is this. Religion is both a science, and an art. It is an art in developing certain ideals and modes and "characteristics of God" within yourself and your own nature, through grace, through training, through discipline, through faith, through emulation, and by other means. And that is an extraordinary, and extraordinarily beneficial task. And yet a competing, and equally beneficial task, is the science of religion. Which questions what may or may not be real in our expression of that art. That doubt and skepticism serves men and women well at arriving at the real truth, God's truth, and not just those things we assume to be God's truth or want to be God's truth. That is to say, there is a way things really are, and what man can know about that, limited as we are both as individuals and as a species. Anyway I've been reading a book lately which basically deals with the same issues, Reaching for the Invisible God. I've enjoyed it a lot. I recommend it.

Fragilus Expungus?

Renaissance Courseware

The New Muties

Oh, what a tangled Web to weave

Open Source: Yes-No?





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Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS

AND

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

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The Road to the Past

The Exchange - The Road to the Past is Paved in the Mind

Tonight, while the wife and kids were away caroling for the shut-ins, and I was waiting on a call bout a case I sat and listened to Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd, and then cuts off of Abbey Road and the White Album. Listening like this made me realize some things. 1. If not overplayed, then some rock music is downright artistic. Like in High Art. 2. Some music is seasonal. That is to say, for some reason some music in my mind is associated with certain times of the year. I don't know if it is because the first time I heard a particular piece of music it was a particular time of year, and it stuck in my kraw that way, or if the music really does have a kind of "set" or sound, which psychologically associates itself with a particular time of year. Parsifal is like that to me. Everytime I hear that opera I think of the winter, it is winter music to me. Tonight is one of the first truly cold nights we've had all season, and it is rainy, and although Abbey Road is my favorite album by the Beatles I had a hard time listening to it because to me it is summer music, late in the evening, near sundown kinda music. No. 3, what I like best about some rock music is the sense of melancholy it can engender in me. To me melancholy is one of the most pleasant emotions I can feel, and it doesn't make me pessimistic, but rather wistful about my past, grateful for my present, and sort of anticipatory towards my future. It also makes me feel inspired, in a poetic sense. It reminds me of something I read Keats say once, about being melancholy. "That melancholy is the drug of the muses." I suspect he was right. And 4. I sure do miss vinyl. Records had scratches and pops and features that added character to a recording. It was almost like another shade or layer of the music. Near perfect reproduction and resolution of music sort of reminds me of a supermodel. A little imperfection goes a long way in making a real woman more beautiful, and a good song more truly sweet.

After that, and doing some work I went and watched Bishop Fulton Sheen on EWTN. He gave an absolutely brilliant expositionary talk and analogical comparison between Superman and Christ. The similarities and the differences. Now I have thought long and hard on this subject myself, even writing an extended essay on the Three Supermen of the Twentieth Century, the Nazi Ubermensch, the Stalin (Man of Steel - Communist superman), and the fictional American Superman, who is really a sort of Everyman American analogue of Christ. Our Superman, and our super-power is the only one which has survived by the way, because our Superman is the servant, also analogous to Christ, that is to say, our superman is not a conqueror who feels destined to use his abilities to subjugate others, nor is he a self-absorbed political power reducing everything to his planned and mechanical will, rather he is Truth, Justice, and the American Way. His powers obligate him to serve and his superiority lies not in his strength, but in his willingness to serve others. He is but a secular Christ figure, and by extension, what is best about Christianity gave birth to the American ideal of citizenship; equality, brotherhood, and liberty.

But Sheen in his exposition said some things that I suspect will really make me rewrite that essay, at least in part. He gave a fascinating comparison of Superman moving from weakness in Clark Kent to power in Superman, and of Christ moving from divine power to weakness and humility in the incarnation. But the best thing he said was in comparing superman as an immigrant from another world, to Christ "breaking through time" into our world. that is Superman broke through from his world to ours, but Christ broke through "time" into our world. And of Superman saving the "outer man," and of Christ saving the "inner man." It was a brilliant set of analogies.

When I was much younger I used to love watching Sheen talk (his books were fanatic too), I always thought he was miles ahead of most priests. Seeing him talk again tonight made me remember why I wanted to be a priest when younger, and why I want to be one after I retire. He was more like one of the Saints of old, like a Francis or Patrick than most modern priests. He reminded me a lot of John Paul too in some ways. The Catholic church, and Christianity in general could use a lot more like him. Hell, the whole world could use a lot more like him.

On good thing about modern technology, especially God technology, is this: with it we can sometimes break through time too.
The past can catch us again, if we'll let it.

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Thankfulness, Repentance, and the Reconnaissance of God

The Exchange - Thankfulness, Repentance, and the Reconnaissance of God


In examining what I should, and am, thankful for this year it has occurred to me that perhaps any recounting would be insufficient. After all I have too many things to be thankful for this past year.

The year before this past one, (2006 AD) was a personally dark one for me. Death all around me, the near dissolution of my marriage, failures great and small, any number of personal and family and professional and even national woes. But this past year (2007 AD) has been a year of an entirely different character. It has been one of the most productive and pleasing, not to mention rich in achievement and purpose, years of my entire adult life. Much of this change in my fortunes and the fortunes of my family is due of course to the fact that I (and we) radically changed our approach to life (from one of constant complaint and discouragement when things went against us to one of thankfulness for the opportunities and solutions offered us in overcoming our problems and once again prospering), repented of (not just admitted and confessed, but actively repented of) some sins which were interfering with our happiness. Our main problem and chief defect, as I look back upon those events and that situation with the passage of another years is that we were absorbed in the confluence of our problems and not concentrated upon the achievements of our important objectives. In short, our woes outweighed our wisdom, and our ungratefulness outweighed our humility, at least within the circuit of our own minds, and hearts. But thankfully, we had an Ally. One who was not so much concerned with our distrust and fears, as with our potential, one who was determined upon his steady and unflinching duty, while we were absorbed with the seeming solidity of our doubt.

While during my dark night of the soul I was spending my time bitching and braying and barking at the moon about the injustice of how things were drifting south into a Sargasso Sea of sterile stagnation, God was out scouting a clear path through, charting a course of movement towards salvation and safety, in short reconnoitering in our favor. Then He came and got us, and steered us clear. Because we let him of course, but nevertheless while we weathered the storm, he scouted the path, he navigated us to clear port. And so I take from all of our troubles in the year proceeding, and all of our successes in the year just passing, that I can be very thankful that while I am sometimes lost in the thorny path, caught in the storm, lashed at sea on the slim and creaking bark, there is a Navigator, a Scout, a patient Guide who finds the way and then returns to lead me, and those around me, to the safer land, the better port, along the road less taken, or at least along the road less purposely chosen. In short I am thankful that when I decided that I had run a’ground there was another who would take the wheel, who could master helm, thankful that when I was lost and wandering in the trackless wilderness of my own confusion that there was another who would scout ahead and lead me beyond the desert of my own despair, beyond the limits of myself.

Christ I am grateful for your assistance, and for what I have learned from you (and re-learned, as being a man I must on occasion be reminded of those things which are obvious, and yet nevertheless ignorantly ignored when I am in every way consumed with nothing but myself and my own interests), God I am grateful for all I have been given and enjoy, and great and Holy Ghost I am thankful that you have reminded me yet again there is a better way. And that a Ghost really does walk the earth, silent, watching, guiding, aware, waiting to turn men aside from the path of self-absorption to the trail leading through to that Undiscovered Country where all things real exceed all things imagined.

And now remembering that there is a better way, mindful of what can be done with the proper attitude and position towards all we experience, and grateful for the fresher manner in which it seems all things have been again reborn, I thank you God, that I am but a man, and yet that I am but your man. Which says not so much about me of course, but it does say this as a matter of course, where you lead I will follow. So, lead on. I’ll follow as my limitations allow. But I will follow.

For there is no better path to roam.
Or surer.


© JWG, Jr. 2007

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The Gaming Imperative

Humours of Idleness - The Gaming Imperative

For those of you interested in gaming and games, visit this site all this week:


Free Role Playing Games and Support Materials


look for the links to the free materials.






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American Superior Pups

The Exchange - American Superior Pups

For an article on the American Superior please see this link: The American Superior

Also see - SAR: Please Help

All puppies have been sold.

We have decided to have one last litter since so many people have requested an American Superior puppy, but the litter to be born sometime between March and April 2008 will be the last litter from our female.

I have decided to post pictures of all of the puppies except the one we are keeping, Sam, because out of curiosity several of the new owners have asked to view pictures of all of the pups of this litter, and I am more than happy to do that. Therefore I am re-posting pictures of all of the pups, even the ones already sold or already on deposit. If they have been sold or are on deposit then this will be noted next to their name and the information about them.

This time the litter developed from thirteen pups.

This litter has produced two varieties, mantle (black furred with white chest), tending towards short haired, and brindled (tiger-stripe) who tend towards having fur of medium length. Most appear as if they will be Saint Dane in body shape, with a couple who will apparently be Great Bernards.

Below are pictures of the litter for the readers of this blog, and for those who have already purchased one of the puppies.

They are already weaned and eating both semi-solid and solid food.

All of the pups are extremely intelligent.
They will all be large dogs and will make excellent family pets, and/or guard, watch, hunting, and work dogs. All pups are one-quarter Saint Bernard and three-quarters Great Dane.

The father is a trained guard-dog. Our pups have been kept as family pets, work dogs, police dogs, and watch/guard dogs.
They are very protective of children and very affectionate.

If you would like to own one of these puppies then please contact me by email: occu77@netzero.com


Marcus - male, brindle, very exploratory and playful (Already Sold)

Achilles - male, black, largest of the black males, most physically powerful of entire litter, extremely protective and already good watchdog, extremely calm and affectionate (Already Sold)


Goddard - male, black, most affectionate male, also very playful, good kid dog (Already Sold)


Echo - female, brindle, very pretty and playful (Already Sold)


Ivana - female, black, largest and most powerful female of entire litter (Already Sold)


Mina - female, black, smaller female who is very affectionate (Already Sold)


Regina - female, black, very independent and inquisitive (Already Sold)


Tabitha- female, black, independent and very protective (Already Sold)


Jake - largest of the brindles, heaviest dog of entire litter (Already Sold)

Sasha - first sold, smallest of brindles, very fiesty and spirited (Already Sold)

Bart - father, Great Bernard (one-half Saint Bernard, one-half Great Dane)


Noal - mother, black (mantle), full blooded Great Dane






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The American Superior

The American Superior - The Creation, Development, and Training of a Brilliant New Breed of Dog

Please see also - SAR: Please Help

Update: We will be producing one more litter probably around March or April, 2008.

After that we will have out female spayed and we will not breed another litter for four or five years, when the puppy we kept from this litter is fully grown and ready to mate.

Our method in the past has always been to breed one or two litters when our males reached four or five years of age, then keep one puppy, selling and finding good homes for the rest.

We have made an exception this time and will breed one extra litter because the breed has become very popular, it possessing the best work, sociability, and personality traits of both parent breeds, and generally speaking exhibiting greater size, strength, and health than the parent breeds. Of course that depends a great deal upon the way they are treated, as with anything else that lives. Generally speaking however the assets of the breed become quickly apparent to almost all new owners, and we regularly receive pictures and reports from the owners (most of whom maintain contact with us) extolling the strength, size, work capabilities, gentleness, protectiveness, intelligence and affection they have for their new dogs.

When I began this experiment, many years ago, with the intention of helping to establish this breed through the intentional cross breeding of what I consider to be the very best precursor breeds of dogs currently in existence I wanted to create a dog which was healthier, more intelligent, more flexible and capable, and larger and stronger than most other dogs, and I wanted the new breed to retain the gentleness and manner of the parent breeds.

To that end I feel I have most definitely succeeded.

I never though intended to become a "stock breeder," that is to breed in large numbers for various clients.
I really just intended to produce a Superior Dog and to carry on the parent's bloodline by breeding a new pup for us to retain every time the previous generation reached maturity and proper breeding age.

We now have the fourth generation from the same parent stock (that is the pup we now have can trace his lineage back through the sire through to the great grandmother), though we have bred more litters than that, and been at this for many years of experimentation. So we do not breed constantly, but rather until we have the pup we want from any particular generation, then we neuter and spay the parents, retaining them as our pets and watchdogs and work dogs, and raising the pup as our pet also until he is ready to breed. By the time we breed our new pup his sire and bitch will be older and then we will find a new bitch for our pup when he is grown with whom he can mate. So we breed, then let sit fallow for four to five years until such time as our new pup becomes fully mature and ready to breed.

So we very much appreciate all of those who have contacted us, and continue to do so regarding these dogs. But we have no intention of becoming full time, year after year breeders. We will produce one last litter because of all of the requests, and we will honor those requests, but we have no intention of breeding full time, and all of the time.

Our dogs are very important to us, and have proven themselves time and again as highly intelligent, devoted and protective, excellent watch and guard dogs, good workers, and extremely affectionate. And we intentionally bred them to be this way. But we have neither the time nor the inclination to be full time breeders. That is, to turn this enterprise into a job. This was an experiment, a highly effective and successful one, but it is not a business enterprise for us. It has two real intentions, produce a Superior Dog, and carry on the bloodline of our original female, who was also half Great Dane and half Saint Bernard. And the best of both breeds.

I can recommend intentionally breeding these dogs to those who are so interested.
The cross breed produces an extremely good and useful and valuable animal.

But like all animals I cannot recommend breeding them just to breed them, that is just for purposes of selling them and for no other use.
They make incredible pets, are gentle with children, and protective, smart, and powerful. They make superb watch and guard dogs, and good work dogs. But in my opinion they should be bred for these purposes, and for other useful purposes, and not just as a collectible commodity. And of course always take care of your dog and he or she will be your faithful companion and friend. They are your responsibility as well.

So if you want an incredibly good dog, the best of the best in my opinion, the American Superior (the cross bred Great Dane-Saint Bernard) is something you should carefully consider. But after this litter it will be another four or five years in all probability before we breed again.

Thank you and I hope this information has been of value to you, and I hope we have done our part to establish this excellent breed in the minds of those who desire such a dog.
But after the next litter in 2008 we will be spaying our bitch and out of the game of producing this breed until our new pup grows to adulthood.

Unfortunately I personally don't know of anyone else in the country who intentionally produces this breed, but maybe you can find someone else who does.
If so then good luck and Godspeed and drop us a line sometime and we can talk about the virtues of our dogs.

Which are many.

Jack.


THE AMERICAN SUPERIOR

In developing a new breed of dog one naturally seeks to assure the ordinary expression of certain qualities or traits common to either, or both, precursor breeds but in certain cases to also enhance or augment desirable innate biological traits in order to produce a superior animal. To this then I have produced a superior breed of dog that I call the American Superior. Although, doubtless not the first to produce this breed, I am the only person of whom I am aware that has made a conscious effort to continue intentionally producing this breed, and furthermore because of this I have, through several generations of intentional breeding, and through the production of numerous litters come to have much understanding of this breed. I understand the inherent potential of the breed, and the obvious and instantly recognizable numerous advantages displayed by the breed, and how these various advantages factor together and work in concert to create a dog that doubtless yields a very valuable asset in the ownership of such an animal.


First of all let me quickly review the process whereby “pure-breed dogs” have been created in the past. All so called pure-breeds are the result of selective cross breeding by humans in order to produce a breed of dog which exhibited certain desirable characteristics, and/or which showed a tendency to be able to successfully execute certain functions. Those aware of genetic and breeding matters in relation to dogs know that the huge and useful variety of modern canine breeds is the result of selective cross breeding of various precursor breeds and sub-breeds by humans in order to ultimately produce the most useful and desirable “breeds” of dog. Once a particular breed is more or less established by these selective cross breeding processes, and a particular breed becomes popular with those who wish to own a particular breed, and enough of a particular breed can be produced to solidify desirable traits then the selection process is further narrowed by seeking to eliminate, or at least control, future cross breeding. So experiments are conducted in which various cross breeding is performed in order to produce a dog with the most desirable and popular traits at which point the cross breeding process becomes effectively frozen by breeding the desired dog with dogs of only the same set of trait lines and characteristics. A new breed is first created by cross breeding and then stabilized through the future selective breeding with other animals who only share the same types of traits, characteristics, and genetic breed profile. But in order to create the specialized breed numerous cross breeding experiments must first be conducted, as has been the case in the past. The end result is the production of a breed that people feel it is desirable to continue through further selective exclusionary (breeding only within the same “breed” or profile) breeding. However like all breeding experiments too much selective exclusionary breeding (seeking to exclude all but the selectively bred genetic traits which make the breed desirable) can lead to a declining or weakened genetic strain over time. Therefore over the passage of time it is a beneficial thing (in any given species) to introduce new genetic characteristics in order to produce greater variation and to reinforce those good genetic traits originally exposed and amplified through exclusionary breeding. In other words too much selective and exclusionary in-breeding in any species will result in lessened variation and eventually to lessened capability within that genetic (breed) strain. Because of that, and because I desired to mix the desirable traits of what are in my opinion the two very best breeds of dogs, I began my cross breeding experiments to produce the American Superior.

The various advantages of the American Superior as I have come to observe and understand them by breeding this dog are many. Physical advantages include gracefulness of appearance, great strength, speed, the breed seems less prone to hip and bone diseases, they’re well balanced, and well proportioned, they are hardy and seem generally resistant to most canine diseases. They have excellent hearing and a superb sense of smell, as well as sharp eyesight.


In other respects the breed also displays a great number of additional advantages. The breed is very intelligent (generally the most intelligent breed of dog I have ever observed), independent, easy to train, obedient, gentle with children and gets along well with other animals, loyal, very protective of their owner and their owners property, and they are at all times keen and alert. They make good outside dogs as well as excellent inside dogs. They make good work, police, and military dogs. They make excellent guard and watchdogs, hunters (see A Very Short History of the Great Dane below), excellent tracker and rescue dogs (see A Very Short History of the Saint Bernard below), and excellent individual and family companions and pets. Because of the beautiful and well-proportioned appearance they would also make good show dogs.

The American Superior has two main variants, or sub breeds, the Great Bernard (a rarer variant occurring about 30% of the time), and the Saint Dane. The Great Bernard has a long snout, the heavier set body type of the Saint Bernard, a coat ranging from short fur to luxuriant, long hair and with eyes of various colors. The Saint Dane has a long snout, the thinner body type of the Great Dane, a coat that is usually short to medium in length, with eyes that are usually dark, although some dogs have blue, gray, brown, or golden colored eyes. The Saint Dane also has very long, graceful legs. Both variants produce large, powerful animals ranging in size from between 120 to 200 pounds, plus. The Great Bernard tends to be the heavier variant. In coloring either variant may tend to appear to be marked like a Saint Bernard, or will be mantle, brindle, fawn, blue or harlequin in appearance like the Great Dane.


For more information on litters and the physical appearance of the American Superior see: American Superior Pups and Around the Homestead and New Pictures of Puppies and Dogs

If you would like to own an American Superior pup then please visit this link: Pups

A Very Short History of the Saint Bernard - The Saint Bernard is descended from large mastiffs of mixed blood. They were originally used as guide, search, rescue, and guard dogs for the Hospice and monastery of the great Saint Bernard, in the Swiss Alps, along the Italian-Swiss border. Eventually the original Saint Bernards were crossbred with the Newfoundland to produce the modern, longhaired Saint Bernard.

A Very Short History of the Great Dane - The Great Dane was originally a German dog (Deutsche Dogge) descended from English mastiffs crossbred with the Irish Wolfhound. Known as courageous and skillful hunters the dog is also fast, graceful, and tall. They were originally bred as war dogs and to hunt boar. The Great Dane is often called the Apollo of dogs.




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Hidden Linkages

The Exchange - Hidden Linkages

Fanum Voltumnae?


I found This particularly interesting, both for what it means and for what it implies


UAVs won't Fly

No Bedside manner


Ridden out on a Rail


Won't Grow Up - It struck me that this may very well provide a vital clue in how to tame Cancer. And I suspect it does. So I'm gonna pursue it.


Birdman


Processus contra Templarios


KGBeed - I continue to follow the Litvinenko Case, for personal reasons. I found this little article about Felshtinski interesting.


Role Play Game Theory

Syria - 1913

NATINDIA




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