pinakidion.*

And build with the help of eBay and an old 50’s era radio. Check out this ultimate mod.

My favorite superhero has either been Spider-Man or Batman. Now, with this handbook, I’m closer to becoming one of them.

Waiting on the dishes so I can do another load.

I haven’t had my usual Saturdays to write in about 2 months, so most of this is pent-up thoughts that I didn’t have a chance to write down until now.

In re-thinking the Ilosians based on their language, I wanted to quickly write down a couple of ideas to expand upon later.

Physically, the Ilosians exhibit a wide variation of pigmentation. Within the same clan, pigmentation is similar with individual variations (much like fingerprints or tiger stripes). However, there are a few traits that cover several clans:

Dark pigmentation on the shoulders that narrows to a thin band that runs down the back of the arms to the end of the last digit on their hands.
Unusual coloration on the pectorals muscles (Bright red, blue, or yellow)
Spots (dark colors) on the face beneath the eyes on their cheeks.
Various striping on the sides.
Legs being a different pigmentation than the rest of the body.

To augment their pigmentation, men add tatoos of intricate designs in many colors. Naturally, green is a rare color for Ilosian pigmentation, so the current fashion is green colored tattoos.

Along the lines of their physiology and how it affects their language:

A very few Ilosian singers are able to make two simultaneous vowel sounds. These singers take years of training to learn how to do it. (Most Ilosians can make two consonant sounds at the same time.)

More later, off to clean the house.

Waiting for the baby to arrive gives me some time to work on Dira in a bit of a different way. I work on it to keep myself occupied while my wife is asleep or a way to release from the day. My boss and I are trying to get a lot done for actuaries before I leave to spend time with mom and baby, so it’s sometimes hard to get a break from my work life and not take it home.

In Dira, I want to make sure that the various cultures are not two-dimensional. To that end, I figure that if their language is more detailed and fleshed out, more can be inferred about their culture. For now, I don’t want to necessarily create a language from scratch, though I have some tools that would help me do that. I want the Hesberian to feel somewhat Roman. So I decided to use Latin as a base to make a language. I added a sound or two and eliminated some others, but the result is something I hope will vaguely sound Latin, thus feel a little Roman. Read more…

No, he/she hasn’t come, yet. In the meantime, though, we are getting ready. The baby room is full of stuff, the bassinet is on the way. My mother is buying a crib and everyone else is joining in. It’s truly wonderful to see.

I look in stores at onesies and I think about holding the baby, our baby. I can only imagine what it will be like in about two weeks to hold a little one. I look forward to loving our child with all of my heart.

My wife and I agreed that she would stop working two weeks before the due date. I am so happy that she is home resting and doing little things to prepare for the baby in her own way. She still wakes up with me every morning, though she doesn’t have to, and it makes the day special.

In the meantime, we decided to attend a marriage class based on Family Dynamics. We’re read the book together, but wanted to be in a group setting. Besides that, we need help to make our marriage better - newly married and pregnant, it’s tough to know if what we are feeling sometimes is normal. On Tuesdays, we go to class from now until the end of November. I look forward to time to focus on just ‘us’.

*****

This past weekend, David McAnulty came to town from Boston. He gave a few lectures on parenting and emotional health. I enjoyed it, especially hearing about goals in parenting at specific age groups. It seemed that the psychological aspect was based heavily on Piaget and that helped me to better understand the framework of ideas he presented overall. I also appreciated that he presented as someone that doesn’t have all the answers.

All in all, I’m pretty excited - even if I stress out about money and household neatness. I don’t have the time to keep the house up to standards I’d like. I also cannot seem to get the wireless NIC working on my computer, so I stress out that I can’t put our finances into the financial program I have on my computer. ARRGH!

Oh well, it will work out, I’m sure. Even if it doesn’t, the important things are getting done. I’ll let everyone know when to celebrate the arrival of Elena/Jasper into the world.

My friend and I had our first two customers over a month ago. He has the framed “first dollar” in his apartment. Yesterday, I got a lead for two more projects with a third coming in today. Two are repairs and one is an upgrade. I can certainly use the money - both of us can.

In other news, we’re still working on computers for the condos. Thus far a could prototype OS seems to be MCNLive. It’s built from Mandriva, so it has some user-friendly GUI tools. Otherwise, I am looking at Symphony OS. It’s not only quite different as far as user interface, but the development tools are Web based.

The user interface is basically the Mozilla renderer modified to sit on top of FVWM. You click in the corners to access needed actions and the background screen serves as a top level file manager. (It comes with a more normal file manager, ROX Filer.) The way the screen renders, no window can open larger than the display and no window can cover the four corner buttons.

Someone asked the developers why FVWM was chosen and the reason given was that it took some serious configuration to get Mezzo (what Symphony calls Mozilla-rendered desktop) to sit on top. IceWM was the original choice, but it would not work. Personally, I would like to see if I could get parts of Enlightenment to work underneath Mezzo. Enlightenment is supposed to be very configurable, even if it’s documentation has to be . In other words, you cannot view it online on or a Windows system. It has to be compiled and installed in Linux or a BSD.

Who knows? In any case, it feels good to think about these things again, especially if I can use a tool that allows me to setup something quickly and leave it alone. I might use T2 to build this distro…

I sprained my hand Sunday playing football. To make matters worse, the ball sailed through my grasp into the hands of a speedy linebacker. I didn’t feel the injury until much later, so I didn’t ice it down on take other precautionary measures to reduce the swelling and pain.

Needless to say, I woke up Monday realizing the my left hand is not normally twice the size of my right.

I’ve spent the last couple of days since then realizing the things I take for granted. At first I thought that I’d be okay with limited use of my left hand. After all, I’m more or less right-handed. I write right-handed, but I won’t be able to bowl or shoot pool (both of which I do left-handed). However, I soon discovered that I could not do the following:

Hold groceries and unlock the front door.
Drive and drink a soda.
Open a car door without dropping everything in my arms.
Open a can or bottle.
Walk on the right side of my wife.
Get out of bed without my wife getting out first.
Clap.
Write and drink a cup of coffee.
Swat flies.

In fact, I had to re-learn how to do some simple things. Fortunately, I sprained a ligament close enough to my wrist that I can type. However, I have to think about the ‘e’ key - it’s the one I use the middle finger on my left hand to type.

On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor.

1 Co 12:22-23ff

I think that there are parts of me that I could do without sometimes. I pray for God to give me strength in weak areas or pray for God to remove a character flaw. Sometimes I wonder why on earth does God allow me to keep dealing with the same things over and over. I rationalize it sometimes by saying that I am not doing enough to overcome. Other times, I tell myself that God is doing this to teach me character. Still other times, I think that God has put these in me so that I will need to rely on Him.

But when I think about my injured left-hand, I remember that the weakest parts of me are indepensable.

In taking an honest look at myself, I realize that one of my biggest weaknesses is accepting limits. I do not accept limits in myself or situations. I am not good at living a balanced life. I am not good at saying ‘no’. I am not able to tell when to take the burdens of others and when to let them bear their own. The last one is especially hard as always taking the burdens of others is usually taken as caring and selflessness. I have learned that it is sometimes my desperate attempt to create peace around me by helping solve the problems of others.

I think of my weakness and greive at how it affects my family and my physical health. I ask God to help me change today, sooner if possible. I do not want to hurt my wife, I do not want to abuse my body.

But then I think that this weakness of mine has put me in more diverse situations and allowed me to meet all kinds of people. I’ve done so much more than an ivory tower intellectual usually does in my life. I’ve loved, lost, and loved again. I’ve moved across the country. I’ve befriended many of different ethnic backgrounds and religions. I’ve been in all kinds of strange jams and seen God get me out of all of them.

None of this would have been possible if I had been perfect in this area. I would have said ‘no’ at the perfect time and had strongly established limits. I would also have fewer stories to tell. A lot fewer.

And so I look at my weak hand and think that maybe I am benefitted by it more often that I think. Maybe God really does work through my weakness - and I can be glad of that.

Okay, here’s the deal. After you warn someone twice, if they don’t get it, have nothing more to do with them. Titus 3:10

You can hear it all straight from his mouth. Wait for the 29 - 30 minute mark for his version of events at the conference and the letters written about him.

It was bound to happen that sociologists would begin to study “the good old days” of the ICoC subculture. This book looks specifically at family life and marriage counseling.

I plan on ordering this book as it appears to be one of the few less subjective looks at the ICoC subculture. Here are the table of contents:

Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: “It’s Like Free Counseling all the Time”
Chapter One: Sacred Counsel: “Ambassadors for God”
Chapter Two: An Unsinkable Raft in a Foreboding Divorce Culture
Chapter Three: Collective Performances of Healing
Chapter Four: In With the Old and the New
Chapter Five: Awesome Kids
Chapter Six: Gendered Brothers and Sisters for the Kingdom
Chapter Seven: The Kingdom that Promised Too Much
Notes
Bibliography
Index

I wonder how much access the author had to actual families and materials. It should be interesting to find out. I’ll let you know sometime after the baby is born.

Missions
Baltic Nordic Missions Alliance
Crouching Tiger Fund
Eurasian Missions
International Missions Society
Taiwan Mission Adventure

The five-bladed wonder has been unleashed on the world. Maybe the next one will be the six-bladed Derringer, the seven-bladed Lucky Shear, or the ultimate forty-bladed Phlebotomizer.

I hope one day these guys make a combination hobby sander/shaving kit. You know, something where I just sand off the beard instead of using a blade? Five blades to me just increases the odds of neck bleeding. Just felt the need to share some goofiness.

I’m listening to the news and two stories came back to back. The first was an interview with Sen. Lieberman about Brown’s rise to head of FEMA. The second was an interview with Kofi Annan about reform efforts of the United Nations. I’m not concerned with the political ramifications of these stories; they just struck me with some thoughts I’ll detail later. Read more…

As promised, I took a break for awhile and it was worth it. After this, it may be awhile before the ICoC subculture becomes an issue of any kind.

My biggest outrage has always been that nothing was done about Kip. Instead of keeping him out of ministry, Seattle supported his position in Portland when San Francisco appointed him. Anyway, that is all distant history.

Today, Kip is on everyone’s ignore list. No links on disciplestoday.com or icocinfo.org or my site or icocnews.com or anywhere else. Everyone said their peace and he is out. Since then, his writings do not reflect any repentance at all. You reap what you sow.

Outside of Kip, I have also been quite upset at the LACK of financial openness. I am guessing that the day of openness will never come. All that will remain is specualtions and innuedos of the billions unwisely spent. That is a shame and an embarassment, however, it appears that there is no great impetus to face up to our past in this way.

Lastly, it appears that the old guard simply cannot get a majority of churches to sign on to some kind of central leadership. This is a good thing. Let’s have some missions societies, pool our resources, and help some people. There are some specifics that need to happen, but I am hoping those are obvious to all.

Why write all this? It’s simple. I feel like my hope for a better future has been validated. Good things are happening, the old power brokers are not able to force their agendas. These people are not going to be able to hurt my friends and loved ones here in Omaha; they are going to leave us alone. For that reason, I will comment very little about the ICoC subculture from this point forward. My church is moving away from the old ways thanks to the Holy Spirit, prayer, and help inside and outside the ICoC subculture. I feel safe enough to see it through and I continue to pray for the best. I feel confident that enemies perceived and/or real are currently at bay enough to focus internally for awhile.

We need biblical training. We need to continue to build family. We need to find ways to work locally and globally. So that’s where my energy will go.

Those that purport to be leaders on a worldwide scale can do what they please. They may be doing great things, but whatever many of them are doing or not doing seems to only hurt my heart. I have more important things to do than deal with them. I choose to guard my heart.

I thought a split was coming, but it may not happen yet. There is too much cooperation to think it is coming soon, if at all. We’ll see. I am quite happy about this and look forward to seeing ‘global’ issues change.

Until next time, expect more Dira and ramblings about my life and baby.

Eristotle’s later philosophy spoke of the prime mover as the first cause of the universe. He called this prime mover, the Brejnum. The Brejnum was known long before Eristotle, but only as the unknowable, inscrutable creator of all things. Although worship of the Old Gods is common, worship of Brejnum is uncommon. It is mentioned in the invocation of the Senate each year and in the election of the consul. It is traditional for the consuls (and before them, the em porers) to call on Brejnum to be the first cause of justice for the people and the preservation of the republic. Read more…

Added last fifteen comments to the website. Nothing fancy.

As I have said earlier, my church is studying the book, “Emotionally Healthy Church” together. Last night was the teaching on the first principle of emotional health, Looking Beneath the surface. The gist of the message is that, like an iceberg, the bulk of who we are and what is going on in our lives is below the surface. As such, it is important to understand what is not seen instead of continually manage what is seen. Good stuff and refreshing to the soul.

More importantly, we talked about Katrina relief efforts. We took a collection for three members’ families that are in New Orleans and Mississippi. The financial board voted to give the remaining money in the budget geared towards benevolence to these family. So before it was done, the president asked the congregation to please make needs known as soon as possible so that no one that needs help is missed. One member’s family is trying to her family here. I was about to take another road trip when a good friend reminded me of my priorities: my wife is 8.5 months pregnant. I am hoping to arrange for someone else to go. My thanks to good friends that help me gain perspective.

Outside of our own members, our minister talked with the minister of the local Vineyard Christian Fellowship about a multi-church effort in our city to adopt families relocating here. More details are coming, but folks are opening their homes in preparation of this concerted event. It is encouraging to see.

All in all, it reminded me of why I stay a member of a church with such a troubled past.

To talk about current learning in regards to Magic, it is important to give a brief history of the thinkers and philosophers that make up a large part of Hesberian thought. Eristotle laid the groundwork for the physics of magic. Onhedius did much to frame the ideas behind curative magic. Despite the facr that both lived hundreds of years before the existence of magic, modern thinkers found that many of their concepts still hold true. Not everything about magic is understood. Despite the presentation of modern Hesberian thought presented here, there are exceptions to the rules that no one has been able to adequately explain. Since magic is a relatively new science, it is not as thought out as mathematics or physics. Read more…

I catch myself sometimes thinking about my spiritual life in terms of a pendulum. I think things like “I’ve spent too long in the Old Testament this month.” So, to balance it out, I’ll start reading the New Testament. Emotionally, it feels like I’m putting some balance in my life. In other words, the pendulum is swinging from too much Old Testament back towards the New.

In my head, though, I have a big problem. Thinking in terms of pendulums is a logical fallacy. Specifically, it is the fallacy of the golden mean. In essence, the correct answer always lies in the middle of two extremes. What makes it especially difficult for me is that a middle answer or compromise is sometimes a good course of action.

What to do? I have to remember a few examples. The link provides a couple of obvious ones, but I’m thinking about ones that are a bit harder to discern. Some of my friends want to go to the Olive Garden after church. Others want to go to HuHot. The right answer is to

With all the talk on the LA Unity letter, there was only one thing I could add.

My primary problem, outside of what others in Atlanta and St. Louis have said comes from the first version released two days earlier. Here is the revision history of the proposal.

Note the nominees for 4 of the 7 steering committe members. That’s my issue.

Good to get away for the weekend. Last weekend, it was KC and a conference. This week, it was Minnesota and a baby shower. All in all, it was a good time for us to figure out some details of the birth and get some much needed stuff.

I do have to say a couple of things about events that occurred while I was unplugged from the internet:

No surprise.

I am sad about what is happening, but not surprised at all.

Wonder what I think? I agree with St. Louis about the ‘unity agreement’. I cannot say it better than they did. What about Portland? Read Seattle and Phoenix’s response. What about the new article on upsidedown21? It’s not an apology.

What’s important to me is that about 40 churches have asked to help New Orleans. Houston cancelled their conference to help. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. That’s true heart to be commended. You can’t just call off one of those things the day before, you know? It was pretty big. I read about these things and it encourages me.

I believe in the inherent goodness of most members of former ICoC congregations. Not because of their theology, but because most of them just enjoy helping others. I think that is being demonstrated and will continue to shine.

Now if they will just cancel MOAC 2005 in order to help…

Actually, that needs to finish. Events of the past week need to play out.

By the way, you’ll see less about the ICoC subculture from me in the next few days. I write here to work out my thoughts and wrestle with God. Now, there seems to be an audience. It was fun, but the purpose of this site is being lost. The best way to deal with that, I figure, is to do more entries on the World of Dira and other odd things. Nobody comments on those. (Then again, no one comments on the New Orleans posts or any of the positive things I want to share.) I’ll have one more entry about the LA proposal and that will be it for awhile. If I need to wrestle out anything else, I’ll comment on salguod’s site and make more entries private. I may change my mind, so who knows.

The good news is that things are different. I can write an email to Al and Bruce in LA and my questions get answered. Used to be that asking was akin to rebellion. Others agree with me about so many things and write about them publically that I don’t need to echo their words.\

I plan to get back to teaching this winter, take care of my family, write, and do something about Clerry computers. When I do the classes, I hope to have an online version. When I finish the World of Dira, I plan on opening a lulu.com store. When the prototype computers are finished, I hope to make a little side money.

Bye for now. Maybe I’ll see you around.