SO WENT the last words of the late King George V. Or so the (apocryphal) story goes.
The question nowadays is more along the lines of "How Stands the Western World?". Well, for those of us who care, and are observant and not entranced and numbed by the indescribably vapid pop culture around us, the answer is obvious - it sucks. We live in a world where of people lead empty hedonistic self destructive lives. Examples are everywhere, form non-existent birth rates to drunken louts running amok to the worst offense of all - indifference. Indifference at the same time the culture is being overgrown by external forces hostile to the past 500 years of western heritage - here is a column from today about that very thing.
Well, fortunately, not everyone in a position of power is oblivious to what is happening. The Throne of Peter is currently occupied by one who not only sees what is going on, but who is so intellectually powerful that he has a plan to try to stop the bleeding - and re-win the battle. This aside from the fact that he has the Holy Spirit on his side - as well as at his side! Pope Benedict is a man on a mission. Not only that he is a man with a plan. Bit by bit we can see it being played out. And it is beautiful!
Today, browsing my usual blogs, I came across this post by my friend the Catholic Knight. Obviously he is onto the same thing. His Holiness sees a problem and he means to address it! A year ago, I had the feeling (as did many) that he was intending to derestrict the old mass the try to save keep the church from flying apart due to the lack of discipline and teaching and the liturgical free for all that had developed. Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi. Now it is apparent that that was only a small small part of the plan.
Then, thanks to a "google alert", I got a link to this article which is saying some of the same things. Yes I know that it's from the followers of the late Herbert W. Armstrong, and I am in no way endorsing that, but that doesn't exclude it from being insightful and correct - albeit from a different perspective.
So, bit by bit the lines are being drawn. And the people are deciding on one side or the other. It's still somewhat at an embyonic stage - actually more of a 12-week fetal stage - but it is happening. Get ready, folks. It's gonna take a while, and it's gonna get rough.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Frustration
I rarely blog about work, but today I'm pretty much maxed out. All In, as they say. Not that it doesn't come with the territory. Everyone in the surveying (or engineering) business deals with challenges - it's what we do. But sometimes the challenge is just so damn vexing and so annoying that it makes me want to pull my hair out.
The project I have opened in AutoCAD right now is one of those. Retracing two adjacent properties between which there is 10-15 feet of discrepancy. Along with the 16-20 foot discrepancies between "my" properties and the adjoining lots. Combined with (of course!!!) ambiguous deeds and plats, a road that has moved (without paper trail), and a deadline. Oh, and I am ALREADY over budget and behind schedule.
Damn...
UPDATE:
I eventually got the whole thing worked out, and produced a beautiful map for the client. As a result, he is planning on using our firm to do his site design and engineering work after he buys the property. So, in this case the pain in the arse yielded a feather in the cap!
The project I have opened in AutoCAD right now is one of those. Retracing two adjacent properties between which there is 10-15 feet of discrepancy. Along with the 16-20 foot discrepancies between "my" properties and the adjoining lots. Combined with (of course!!!) ambiguous deeds and plats, a road that has moved (without paper trail), and a deadline. Oh, and I am ALREADY over budget and behind schedule.
Damn...
UPDATE:
I eventually got the whole thing worked out, and produced a beautiful map for the client. As a result, he is planning on using our firm to do his site design and engineering work after he buys the property. So, in this case the pain in the arse yielded a feather in the cap!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The Red Phone and The Scream
Four years ago, the Democratic Party seemed to have a nominee for the Presidency. He was intelligent, attractive, well-spoken, and experienced. He was the hand's down favorite of the core of the party. He was ahead in the polls going into the Iowa Caucuses. He had basically invented the idea of internet fund raising. And in retrospect he was the by-a-long-shot best candidate the party had to offer. Might even have made a damn good president. His name was Howard Dean.
Unfortunately, following a somewhat disappointing Iowa finish, he gave a concession speech which demolished his chances of winning. That because it ended with the famous red-faced manic scream - thereafter known as "The Dean Scream".
The reason it killed his campaign was simple (remember you saw it here first). As usual, the average man or woman picked up on it, while the elites in the press and politics were clueless. That thing known as common sense still exists out there. Just because the "political insiders" have scornfully sworn it off doesn't mean it has ceased to exist. Most common folk are immediately aware of the Emperor's lack of clothes.
Somewhere in the back of the minds of those common folk, they remember the football. They are aware, consciously or not, that the President of the United States is the man they are trusting to have his finger on "the button". And after seen the "Dean Scream" these common folk were not about to put anyone who appeared that unstable in charge of that awesome (and awful) responsibility.
Fast forward to 2008, and we find that Hillary Clinton, the poser of posers, has decided to play on those same instincts to try and derail the Obama Express. She has been running an ad (now famous) depicting her answering the phone in the White House at 3AM... The ad appears to be working to a limited extent, based on polling data anyway. We shall see the final results tonight! BUT the ad itself opens up a can of worms come November, where John McCain's astonishing experience make either Hillary or Obama look absolutely and hopelessly unprepared by comparison. He won't need to make a big deal out of it, or brag about it. His very existence carries with it the knowledge of his background and amazing story. Not just of his POW years, but since then both in the Navy and the senate. Yes, he's older, but old or not he is one tough son of a bitch. As the months wear on and November gets closer, people will start to think - really think - about that 3AM phone call, and I bet they'll like the thought of John McCain answering that phone a lot more than Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.
Unfortunately, following a somewhat disappointing Iowa finish, he gave a concession speech which demolished his chances of winning. That because it ended with the famous red-faced manic scream - thereafter known as "The Dean Scream".
The reason it killed his campaign was simple (remember you saw it here first). As usual, the average man or woman picked up on it, while the elites in the press and politics were clueless. That thing known as common sense still exists out there. Just because the "political insiders" have scornfully sworn it off doesn't mean it has ceased to exist. Most common folk are immediately aware of the Emperor's lack of clothes.
Somewhere in the back of the minds of those common folk, they remember the football. They are aware, consciously or not, that the President of the United States is the man they are trusting to have his finger on "the button". And after seen the "Dean Scream" these common folk were not about to put anyone who appeared that unstable in charge of that awesome (and awful) responsibility.
Fast forward to 2008, and we find that Hillary Clinton, the poser of posers, has decided to play on those same instincts to try and derail the Obama Express. She has been running an ad (now famous) depicting her answering the phone in the White House at 3AM... The ad appears to be working to a limited extent, based on polling data anyway. We shall see the final results tonight! BUT the ad itself opens up a can of worms come November, where John McCain's astonishing experience make either Hillary or Obama look absolutely and hopelessly unprepared by comparison. He won't need to make a big deal out of it, or brag about it. His very existence carries with it the knowledge of his background and amazing story. Not just of his POW years, but since then both in the Navy and the senate. Yes, he's older, but old or not he is one tough son of a bitch. As the months wear on and November gets closer, people will start to think - really think - about that 3AM phone call, and I bet they'll like the thought of John McCain answering that phone a lot more than Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
What the Church can (and should) Learn from Mickey D's
Prior to the 1950's, when traveling across these United States, there was no way of predicting the quality and level of service for food or accomodations. At the same time, innovators like Kemmons Wilson and Ray Croc founders of Holiday Inn and McDonalds respectively, built huge empires based on the simple principle of consistency of service and product.
The concept was simple. People had really just begun traveling by automobile all over the country around that time, and Croc, for example knew that those people wanted to know that no matter where they went, when the walked in to a McDonald's, the burger and fries would be exactly the same as the ones they would get at any other McDonalds, any where. Similarly, Wilson knew that people looking for a place to lay their heads in a strange town wanted to know that the facility would be just the same any where.
These men were right. They became wildly successful as a result. And their methodology has been copied successfully over and over. That is because the fundamental principle is dead-on right. People want, or better yet NEED, to know that they can count on things.
Once upon a time, the Catholic Church was that way, too. One could walk into a Sunday Mass anywhere in the world, and know with very reasonable certainty what they would see and experience. Whether it was Seoul Korea or Seattle Washington, Warsaw, Poland or Wausau, Wisconsin - the mass was the same. This fact provided comfort to millions over the years. The Mass was The Mass.
Now, however, in our "enlightened" post Vatican II world, the mass in not only never, ever the same, it is often doubtful if it qualifies as a Mass at all! Priests feel "empowered" to change the words, the rubrics, even the theology according to their own personal whims. The result is that even in a modest sized city, one can find masses ranging from wide open Liberal Kumbaya-fests to pretty orthodox, by the book Novus Ordo celebrations. Here in my home City of Greensboro, NC we range from pretty much by-the-book Masses (two parishes), pretty good but some clapping and hand-holding (one parish), to no kneeling wide open Jesus Loves Me Can't We all Get Along Roman Protestantism.
Even architecturally, the Church is a mish-mash at best. Again in my city we have two older churches, one with the still awesome High Altar, the other much plainer and smaller, but still with the altar rail (but sadly the High Altar is history). Then there is one that is newer, but still looks like a church (albeit a Southern Baptist one). Then there is the other which is "in the round" with the most awful 1970's "mod" design. Looks like a standing rib roast on the outside, FWIW.
I think that it is no accident that the liturgical practices at the churches more or less mimic their appearance. But that is a subject for another post.
The whole thing is so so sad. A Catholic should be able to go to mass anywhere and know what to expect and how to behave. A Church should feel like a church, the Priest should act like a priest, and the doctrine should be strictly by-the-book doctrine. If you are Catholic, be Catholic. If you don't want to be, don't be, but don't expect all of the others who DO want to be to change because you like to feel like they need to be inclusive or sensitive or "in touch" or "speak to your needs" or what the hell ever. That's why there are protestant churches. Shop around, find one that "fits" you. No hard feelings, they're good people too.
The point is, that if you don't stand up and provide a stable, proven product, that offers your "customers" something that they can believe in, then you are doomed to extinction. For this reason, without a doubt, Rome needs to issue forthwith a strict set of rubrics and standards to be used world wide, without exception, if a Bishop or Priest doesn't like that, they MUST BE shown the door. A ship can have may may engineers, boilermen, cooks, etc. but it can only have ONE navigator if its to ever get anywhere. And this particular ship is hauling a lot of souls to heaven. It would be the ultimate shame if they were to wind up instead at a ... less desirable destination.
The concept was simple. People had really just begun traveling by automobile all over the country around that time, and Croc, for example knew that those people wanted to know that no matter where they went, when the walked in to a McDonald's, the burger and fries would be exactly the same as the ones they would get at any other McDonalds, any where. Similarly, Wilson knew that people looking for a place to lay their heads in a strange town wanted to know that the facility would be just the same any where.
These men were right. They became wildly successful as a result. And their methodology has been copied successfully over and over. That is because the fundamental principle is dead-on right. People want, or better yet NEED, to know that they can count on things.
Once upon a time, the Catholic Church was that way, too. One could walk into a Sunday Mass anywhere in the world, and know with very reasonable certainty what they would see and experience. Whether it was Seoul Korea or Seattle Washington, Warsaw, Poland or Wausau, Wisconsin - the mass was the same. This fact provided comfort to millions over the years. The Mass was The Mass.
Now, however, in our "enlightened" post Vatican II world, the mass in not only never, ever the same, it is often doubtful if it qualifies as a Mass at all! Priests feel "empowered" to change the words, the rubrics, even the theology according to their own personal whims. The result is that even in a modest sized city, one can find masses ranging from wide open Liberal Kumbaya-fests to pretty orthodox, by the book Novus Ordo celebrations. Here in my home City of Greensboro, NC we range from pretty much by-the-book Masses (two parishes), pretty good but some clapping and hand-holding (one parish), to no kneeling wide open Jesus Loves Me Can't We all Get Along Roman Protestantism.
Even architecturally, the Church is a mish-mash at best. Again in my city we have two older churches, one with the still awesome High Altar, the other much plainer and smaller, but still with the altar rail (but sadly the High Altar is history). Then there is one that is newer, but still looks like a church (albeit a Southern Baptist one). Then there is the other which is "in the round" with the most awful 1970's "mod" design. Looks like a standing rib roast on the outside, FWIW.
I think that it is no accident that the liturgical practices at the churches more or less mimic their appearance. But that is a subject for another post.
The whole thing is so so sad. A Catholic should be able to go to mass anywhere and know what to expect and how to behave. A Church should feel like a church, the Priest should act like a priest, and the doctrine should be strictly by-the-book doctrine. If you are Catholic, be Catholic. If you don't want to be, don't be, but don't expect all of the others who DO want to be to change because you like to feel like they need to be inclusive or sensitive or "in touch" or "speak to your needs" or what the hell ever. That's why there are protestant churches. Shop around, find one that "fits" you. No hard feelings, they're good people too.
The point is, that if you don't stand up and provide a stable, proven product, that offers your "customers" something that they can believe in, then you are doomed to extinction. For this reason, without a doubt, Rome needs to issue forthwith a strict set of rubrics and standards to be used world wide, without exception, if a Bishop or Priest doesn't like that, they MUST BE shown the door. A ship can have may may engineers, boilermen, cooks, etc. but it can only have ONE navigator if its to ever get anywhere. And this particular ship is hauling a lot of souls to heaven. It would be the ultimate shame if they were to wind up instead at a ... less desirable destination.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Catholic Schools Week
My late mother had a saying, "Fools and children tell the truth".
Several weeks ago was "Catholic Schools Week" and one of the things the school which my daughter attends did was make a bunch of little paper crosses, on which each student was to write something about why they like their school. Well, my lovely and lovable kindergartener, who definitely falls into mom's latter category had this to say...
I LIKE MY SCHOOL BECAUSE EVERYONE IS VERY NICE AND IT COSTS A LOT OF MONEY.
The crosses were all then taped to the BIG front window of the school office...
My wife was devastated. I am laughing to this day.
The moral of the story here is: be careful when you discuss the family finances around your 5-year old!
Several weeks ago was "Catholic Schools Week" and one of the things the school which my daughter attends did was make a bunch of little paper crosses, on which each student was to write something about why they like their school. Well, my lovely and lovable kindergartener, who definitely falls into mom's latter category had this to say...
I LIKE MY SCHOOL BECAUSE EVERYONE IS VERY NICE AND IT COSTS A LOT OF MONEY.
The crosses were all then taped to the BIG front window of the school office...
My wife was devastated. I am laughing to this day.
The moral of the story here is: be careful when you discuss the family finances around your 5-year old!
Monday, February 11, 2008
Lenten Meme....
From the Carolina Cannonball
1. What’s been your best Lenten-effort-idea ever?
Giving up meat and sweets simultaneously. Required more discipline than I knew I had.
2. And your worst?
Swearing off swearing... yeah, that lasted 5 seconds. damn.
3. What Lenten advice would you share?
Don't just "give something up" - give it up and remember WHY you are doing it. This is not just a diet or a "resolution".
4. And what you will feature this year?
This year I am foregoing snacks and sweets of all kinds - and it ain't that easy for a junk food junkie like me.
tagging, every passerby!!!!
1. What’s been your best Lenten-effort-idea ever?
Giving up meat and sweets simultaneously. Required more discipline than I knew I had.
2. And your worst?
Swearing off swearing... yeah, that lasted 5 seconds. damn.
3. What Lenten advice would you share?
Don't just "give something up" - give it up and remember WHY you are doing it. This is not just a diet or a "resolution".
4. And what you will feature this year?
This year I am foregoing snacks and sweets of all kinds - and it ain't that easy for a junk food junkie like me.
tagging, every passerby!!!!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Leadership
For some time I have been thinking about leadership. What does the term even mean? And how does it fit into our world today? I am not literally talking about the meaning of the word itself. Wikipedia describes it as "The ability to affect human behavior so as to accomplish a mission designated by the leader." I think that pretty much nails it. What I am talking about are the real world manifestations of leadership. Examples abound, both positive and negative.
On one side, let's look at President Bush. Yes, he's a leader, by default the President of the United States is a leader. But what to do with it? How to use it to your, and most especially (in this case) country's best interests? After 9-11-01, the country was more or less unified - practically begging for leadership. President Bush blew it. Yes, he did the right thing in deposing the Taliban, and Saddam, but screwed up practically everything else. First, he essentially told the country "Nothing to see here... Move along now to the mall and shop 'til you drop." In other words - EXACTLY the wrong thing. People being led want - no need - to feel as it they are a part of the struggle. To be told that you can and should pretend that life is status quo ante is not only absurd, it is counterproductive. "Freedom isn't free" but you can pretend it is!!! If people are sacrificing in some noticable way, they are more inclined to "buy in" to your idea and thus keep it on course even when the storms come. Then, to follow up on that blunder, he made matters infinitely worse by adopting a policy of never ever explaining anything about what was going on in the world and why he was making the decisions that he was. I call this the Loves Me Like a Rock based on the words of the song by the O'Jays:
And if I was president
The men of congress call my name
I'd say who do
Who do you think you're foolin
I got the presidential seal
I'm up on the presidential podium
My momma loves me
She loves me
She gets down on her knees and hugs me
Like she loves me like a rock
In other words - I'm the decider and I'm right, now shut the hell up.
Now... rewind to 1961. The United States is in the deepest, darkest hours of the cold war. Another superpower is threatening to eclipse the freedoms that we as americans hold dear. President Kennedy knows that if the Soviets can make America look weak, that their converts in the world will quickly multiply. He also knows that the military (i.e. nuclear) option is madness but the US must look like the "king of the hill" in the eyes of the world. And he know that the current technological rage of space exploration is the best - maybe the only way to capture the world's attention that way. Or as his Vice President put it "Mister President, America cannot afford to be in Second Place".
So the young president gives a speech to congress. I highly recommend that you read the whole text, but I will provide out takes, with my emphasis here:
"These are extraordinary times. And we face an extraordinary challenge. Our strength as well as our convictions have imposed upon this nation the role of leader in freedom's cause... No role in history could be more difficult or more important. We stand for freedom... Read: This is serious stuff
I therefore ask the Congress, above and beyond the increases I have earlier requested for space activities, to provide the funds which are needed to meet the following national goals:
First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish... Read: This is going to be a long and tough road.
Let it be clear--and this is a judgment which the Members of the Congress must finally make--let it be clear that I am asking the Congress and the country to accept a firm commitment to a new course of action, a course which will last for many years and carry very heavy costs: 531 million dollars in fiscal '62--an estimated seven to nine billion dollars additional over the next five years. If we are to go only half way, or reduce our sights in the face of difficulty, in my judgment it would be better not to go at all. Read: Don't start what you are unwilling to finish.
Now this is a choice which this country must make, and I am confident that under the leadership of the Space Committees of the Congress, and the Appropriating Committees, that you will consider the matter carefully.
It is a most important decision that we make as a nation. But all of you have lived through the last four years and have seen the significance of space and the adventures in space, and no one can predict with certainty what the ultimate meaning will be of mastery of space.
I believe we should go to the moon. But I think every citizen of this country as well as the Members of the Congress should consider the matter carefully in making their judgment, to which we have given attention over many weeks and months, because it is a heavy burden, and there is no sense in agreeing or desiring that the United States take an affirmative position in outer space, unless we are prepared to do the work and bear the burdens to make it successful. If we are not, we should decide today and this year.
Read: I repeat, this is going to be wildly difficult and expensive!!!
Notice the difference??? President Kennedy got the NATION working towards a goal, and investing in that goal. And as a result, not only did we not forget it after his death, we MADE IT HAPPEN, because we refused to do otherwise.
On one side, let's look at President Bush. Yes, he's a leader, by default the President of the United States is a leader. But what to do with it? How to use it to your, and most especially (in this case) country's best interests? After 9-11-01, the country was more or less unified - practically begging for leadership. President Bush blew it. Yes, he did the right thing in deposing the Taliban, and Saddam, but screwed up practically everything else. First, he essentially told the country "Nothing to see here... Move along now to the mall and shop 'til you drop." In other words - EXACTLY the wrong thing. People being led want - no need - to feel as it they are a part of the struggle. To be told that you can and should pretend that life is status quo ante is not only absurd, it is counterproductive. "Freedom isn't free" but you can pretend it is!!! If people are sacrificing in some noticable way, they are more inclined to "buy in" to your idea and thus keep it on course even when the storms come. Then, to follow up on that blunder, he made matters infinitely worse by adopting a policy of never ever explaining anything about what was going on in the world and why he was making the decisions that he was. I call this the Loves Me Like a Rock based on the words of the song by the O'Jays:
And if I was president
The men of congress call my name
I'd say who do
Who do you think you're foolin
I got the presidential seal
I'm up on the presidential podium
My momma loves me
She loves me
She gets down on her knees and hugs me
Like she loves me like a rock
In other words - I'm the decider and I'm right, now shut the hell up.
Now... rewind to 1961. The United States is in the deepest, darkest hours of the cold war. Another superpower is threatening to eclipse the freedoms that we as americans hold dear. President Kennedy knows that if the Soviets can make America look weak, that their converts in the world will quickly multiply. He also knows that the military (i.e. nuclear) option is madness but the US must look like the "king of the hill" in the eyes of the world. And he know that the current technological rage of space exploration is the best - maybe the only way to capture the world's attention that way. Or as his Vice President put it "Mister President, America cannot afford to be in Second Place".
So the young president gives a speech to congress. I highly recommend that you read the whole text, but I will provide out takes, with my emphasis here:
"These are extraordinary times. And we face an extraordinary challenge. Our strength as well as our convictions have imposed upon this nation the role of leader in freedom's cause... No role in history could be more difficult or more important. We stand for freedom... Read: This is serious stuff
I therefore ask the Congress, above and beyond the increases I have earlier requested for space activities, to provide the funds which are needed to meet the following national goals:
First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish... Read: This is going to be a long and tough road.
Let it be clear--and this is a judgment which the Members of the Congress must finally make--let it be clear that I am asking the Congress and the country to accept a firm commitment to a new course of action, a course which will last for many years and carry very heavy costs: 531 million dollars in fiscal '62--an estimated seven to nine billion dollars additional over the next five years. If we are to go only half way, or reduce our sights in the face of difficulty, in my judgment it would be better not to go at all. Read: Don't start what you are unwilling to finish.
Now this is a choice which this country must make, and I am confident that under the leadership of the Space Committees of the Congress, and the Appropriating Committees, that you will consider the matter carefully.
It is a most important decision that we make as a nation. But all of you have lived through the last four years and have seen the significance of space and the adventures in space, and no one can predict with certainty what the ultimate meaning will be of mastery of space.
I believe we should go to the moon. But I think every citizen of this country as well as the Members of the Congress should consider the matter carefully in making their judgment, to which we have given attention over many weeks and months, because it is a heavy burden, and there is no sense in agreeing or desiring that the United States take an affirmative position in outer space, unless we are prepared to do the work and bear the burdens to make it successful. If we are not, we should decide today and this year.
Read: I repeat, this is going to be wildly difficult and expensive!!!
Notice the difference??? President Kennedy got the NATION working towards a goal, and investing in that goal. And as a result, not only did we not forget it after his death, we MADE IT HAPPEN, because we refused to do otherwise.
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