Gary was the geek of the group. He was the one who came up with the MetaWing. The wing that had changed everything.
Before Gary was rich and famous... he was just a socially awkward geek. He spent most of his time as a recluse... designing on his computer like Michelangelo (at least in his own mind). Experimenting like Edison... he wished. But he had to work as a business software developer to fund his experiments. Boring work, but it paid the bills.
His work didn't allow for much fashion or hygiene . Jeans, a t-shirt, flip-flops... with some rumpled hair... that was Gary almost 24/7.
Gary liked to talk about meta-data and meta-programming. People tended to nod and say "oh... okay". But since Gary would frequently pull off minor miracles with his databases, folks would tolerate his weirdness. His weirdness hadn't been well-tolerated in his youth. Schoolkids can be so cruel.
When his software clients nicknamed him "Meta", Gary could feel an element of love, but he also knew he was way different. He knew he wasn't really understood.
As an adult, Gary often attempted to share his out-of-the-box designs. But he could tell folks weren't really receptive. He felt like everyone dismissed him as a dreamer.
But he knew. He knew he could come up with something big.
And when he finally got something big, it was huge. The MetaWing revolutionized aviation.
The wing could morph radically and transform itself from "fighter jet sleek" to "hang-glider slow". The MetaWing lift system was light, inexpensive, fuel-efficient, fast and safe.
The MetaWing combined some traditional composite wing surfaces with something Gary named the MetaFoils. In the tuck state, wing look almost like any other wing. But if you knew what you were looking for, you could see that the wing could split into a top wing and a bottom and the MetaWing would in essence change into an old fashioned biplane.
Of course that meant that there was much more drag and the plane was a lot slower... but that meant safer. And since Gary was incredibly risk averse, he felt safer was good!
But if two wings were better than one, Gary thought, what if there were 10 wings? There would be tremendous drag and lots of lift and a wing that could fly really slow.
And that was the genesis of the MetaFoils. After the single wing would split apart and morph into a biplane configuration, a set of para-foils that looked sort of like venetian blinds would spread out and catch the air between the biplane wings. This created such tremendous lift and drag that the MetaWing could be landed at 20 mph, even with a good sized load.
General aviation was never the same. And neither was Gary the Geek. He had embraced his nickname and created a new and improved image as "Meta". The money and the fame had definitely helped to heal some of the old wounds. But if you dug deep, Gary the Geek was still there. The old hurts... the old shame... it was there. Waiting there.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Prop 8, Evil Masquerading as Good
It has been said we are in a culture war. And this is the justification of the Religious Right. So they cast their votes Yes for California Proposition 8, a proposition to effectively outlaw gay marriage. They thought they were fighting the good fight. Fighting the culture war.
Two thousand years ago, their ancestors of the Religious Right cast stones, not ballots. If Jesus were to have spoken to the Religious Right, they would have heard him say "Let he who is without sin, cast the first ballot for Proposition 8".
How did Evil masquerade as Good? People believed they were voting for a good thing when they voted for proposition 8. But they were mistaken because the Yes votes disgraced Christianity. The Yes votes make Christians look judgmental and harsh. The Yes votes turn some people away from Christianity. The ugliness of these votes obscures the beauty of the Grace of God for ALL sinners and replaces it with guilt and condemnation for those unfortunate minorities. Christianity becomes ugly and Evil has control over the church.
Was it a satanic force that urged the Biblical mob to cast the stone and kill the sinner? Is it a satanic force that urges urges some to "cast the ballot" at the gays?
Why is a vote for Proposition 8 so ugly? It's a stigma. Its underlying message: you don't deserve to be loved. My sin is better than your sin.
When I witness to people, and I tell them, God wants us to be free, to live and let live. To lead lives of grace. We need to extend the grace we have been given to others. We are allowed to sin. We need to let others sin. And know that they are loved anyway.
Jesus would say to you... let he who is without sin, cast the first ballot for Proposition 8.
You cannot fight a culture war against sin and win. God gives people the right to sin, to swear, to abuse His name, to be blasphemous. God lets people choose evil. And we all choose evil at some point. Let's drop the guilt, and embrace the Grace.
Let's vote for a revival of Christian Grace! Let's Repeal Proposition 8, in Jesus name, Amen.
Two thousand years ago, their ancestors of the Religious Right cast stones, not ballots. If Jesus were to have spoken to the Religious Right, they would have heard him say "Let he who is without sin, cast the first ballot for Proposition 8".
How did Evil masquerade as Good? People believed they were voting for a good thing when they voted for proposition 8. But they were mistaken because the Yes votes disgraced Christianity. The Yes votes make Christians look judgmental and harsh. The Yes votes turn some people away from Christianity. The ugliness of these votes obscures the beauty of the Grace of God for ALL sinners and replaces it with guilt and condemnation for those unfortunate minorities. Christianity becomes ugly and Evil has control over the church.
Was it a satanic force that urged the Biblical mob to cast the stone and kill the sinner? Is it a satanic force that urges urges some to "cast the ballot" at the gays?
Why is a vote for Proposition 8 so ugly? It's a stigma. Its underlying message: you don't deserve to be loved. My sin is better than your sin.
When I witness to people, and I tell them, God wants us to be free, to live and let live. To lead lives of grace. We need to extend the grace we have been given to others. We are allowed to sin. We need to let others sin. And know that they are loved anyway.
Jesus would say to you... let he who is without sin, cast the first ballot for Proposition 8.
You cannot fight a culture war against sin and win. God gives people the right to sin, to swear, to abuse His name, to be blasphemous. God lets people choose evil. And we all choose evil at some point. Let's drop the guilt, and embrace the Grace.
Let's vote for a revival of Christian Grace! Let's Repeal Proposition 8, in Jesus name, Amen.
The Tai Chi Tennis Master
"Tai Chi Tom" didn't look too unusual as he stepped out onto the tennis court. But there was that long flowing hair. Coming out from under his backwards mounted baseball cap. He was still hanging on to that early Agassi look into his middle age.
Even though Tom had lost a step of his once stellar speed, Tom could still definitely project his chi on the tennis court. Tom explained his chi that first day in our tennis class.
It didn't take us long to see it. He had an inner force. And yet he was calm, smooth and effective. He made it look effortless. His energy just flowed. He taught us how to flow on a much smaller scale, but we did it.
Tom knew how to gracefully sidestep things. It was visible as he would glide to the optimal hit point, marshall his chi, and then step into the ball. It would look like it was slow-motion, yet his hits would frequently surprise his opponents with their pace.
Tom also knew how to navigate his clientele; his BRATs, he lovingly called them. Brats? Beautiful / Rich / with ATtitude. There were egos to manage, to nurture, to massage. There were egos that needed to be controlled. Sometimes there were some real challenges, but Tom usually made it look easy.
That is, except when it came to Jessica. Jessica just had a power over Tom. And the usually cool Tom could sense he was losing control. She put him out of his comfort zone. She put him off his game.
Everybody knew Jessica was stunning. She was gorgeous, athletic, intelligent and financially successful. She had this incredibly charming personality most of the time... and then there were events. Events that left Tom obsessed, angry and worst of all... dazed, confused ... and scared.
Even though Tom had lost a step of his once stellar speed, Tom could still definitely project his chi on the tennis court. Tom explained his chi that first day in our tennis class.
It didn't take us long to see it. He had an inner force. And yet he was calm, smooth and effective. He made it look effortless. His energy just flowed. He taught us how to flow on a much smaller scale, but we did it.
Tom knew how to gracefully sidestep things. It was visible as he would glide to the optimal hit point, marshall his chi, and then step into the ball. It would look like it was slow-motion, yet his hits would frequently surprise his opponents with their pace.
Tom also knew how to navigate his clientele; his BRATs, he lovingly called them. Brats? Beautiful / Rich / with ATtitude. There were egos to manage, to nurture, to massage. There were egos that needed to be controlled. Sometimes there were some real challenges, but Tom usually made it look easy.
That is, except when it came to Jessica. Jessica just had a power over Tom. And the usually cool Tom could sense he was losing control. She put him out of his comfort zone. She put him off his game.
Everybody knew Jessica was stunning. She was gorgeous, athletic, intelligent and financially successful. She had this incredibly charming personality most of the time... and then there were events. Events that left Tom obsessed, angry and worst of all... dazed, confused ... and scared.
Tai Chi Tennis
So I have this idea about a different way to teach tennis. And I would like to put together some video and post it on YouTube. I'm struggling with the title, though...
>> Tennis Made Simple?
>> Tennis Best Practices?
>> The Great Wall of Chi?
>> The Simple Zen of Rock Star Tennis?
>> Avoiding tennis elbow!
When I watch the average players at our club, there are so many of them that hit the ball late. I think footwork and point of contact should be mastered before anything else. The very best players have the very best footwork. The best players step into the ball.
They float to the ball and given time, they plant their feet, stride into the ball and groove these beautiful shots. I can visualize Justine Henin's topspin backhand. She is this teeny thing and yet she generates so much power because she steps into the ball and takes it really early.
So my idea is a combination of tai chi steps and visualization and initially slow, simple, easy "best practices" to teach players to flow to the ball, step into the ball and take it early: create the wall. Be the wall. Get everything back.
Then once the consistency is there, add the racketspeed to generate the rockstar wicked topspin groundstrokes.
>> Tennis Made Simple?
>> Tennis Best Practices?
>> The Great Wall of Chi?
>> The Simple Zen of Rock Star Tennis?
>> Avoiding tennis elbow!
When I watch the average players at our club, there are so many of them that hit the ball late. I think footwork and point of contact should be mastered before anything else. The very best players have the very best footwork. The best players step into the ball.
They float to the ball and given time, they plant their feet, stride into the ball and groove these beautiful shots. I can visualize Justine Henin's topspin backhand. She is this teeny thing and yet she generates so much power because she steps into the ball and takes it really early.
So my idea is a combination of tai chi steps and visualization and initially slow, simple, easy "best practices" to teach players to flow to the ball, step into the ball and take it early: create the wall. Be the wall. Get everything back.
Then once the consistency is there, add the racketspeed to generate the rockstar wicked topspin groundstrokes.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Playing Tennis and Living with Grace
Okay... so how does tennis fit into the prophecy? Gracefully I hope...
Will a match that starts at love end in love?
So how does one live life? So how does one play tennis?
Sometimes I play gracefully. And then there are other times.
Sometimes I live gracefully. And sometimes I fall short.
In tennis, and in life, it is all about an appropriate response.
Sometimes we lose in tennis because we overreact. Many beginners swing way too hard and miss many shots. Even experienced players will overhit on slow easy balls. Overreaction, an inappropriate response... on the court and in life. I know these things... and yet I still overreact.
Sometimes we lose in tennis because we don't react enough. If the ball is hit short, you need to run up and get it. There are times that urgent action is necessary. I often have an inadequate response to events in my own life.
In tennis, there are some really graceful players that hit with a soft touch at times and with force and strength at others. Graceful players have appropriate responses... they react the right amount at the right time.
So, let's try to have graceful responses... :)
Will a match that starts at love end in love?
So how does one live life? So how does one play tennis?
Sometimes I play gracefully. And then there are other times.
Sometimes I live gracefully. And sometimes I fall short.
In tennis, and in life, it is all about an appropriate response.
Sometimes we lose in tennis because we overreact. Many beginners swing way too hard and miss many shots. Even experienced players will overhit on slow easy balls. Overreaction, an inappropriate response... on the court and in life. I know these things... and yet I still overreact.
Sometimes we lose in tennis because we don't react enough. If the ball is hit short, you need to run up and get it. There are times that urgent action is necessary. I often have an inadequate response to events in my own life.
In tennis, there are some really graceful players that hit with a soft touch at times and with force and strength at others. Graceful players have appropriate responses... they react the right amount at the right time.
So, let's try to have graceful responses... :)
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
The Ultimate Reconciling Item... Grace
A graceful Christian is not coercive.
A graceful Atheist doesn't need to be hostile to religion.
Let us spread God's grace.
Let us live and let live.
--amen
A graceful Atheist doesn't need to be hostile to religion.
Let us spread God's grace.
Let us live and let live.
--amen
Friday, December 5, 2008
A Life at the Intersection... of Faith and Reason
I want to share with you a life at the intersection of faith and reason... and the ultimate reconciliation.
The Origin of My Faith...
The Origin of My Faith...
- I was born at a very early age... :) ... to some very loving but very fundamentalist Southern Baptists.
- I was baptized as a 5 year old of my own free will. I had walked the aisle. I had stepped forward and said I believed.
- The preacher was skeptical. So they had a little quiz for me to make sure I understood.
- I passed the quiz. I felt saved... and loved. They said I was saved. They also said... "once saved, always saved".
- There was a time when my beliefs were unrestrained.
- When I hit my teenage years, logic began to create doubt.
- There were obvious logical flaws in the Bible, a text our family considered the undisputed Word of God. Nothing could be questioned.
- The book was the foundation of our faith. But the flaws were cracks in the foundation!
- My belief was shaken. Darwin and biology are very convincing.
- It appeared obvious... "elephant in the room" obvious, that chunks of the Bible are fiction.
- After hearing the dogmatic "It's all truth!", there was a tendency to rebel and say "it's all fiction!".
- There was a time when I considered Atheism. I could see the logic of Ayn Rand and an objectivist philosophy. "If we can't observe something in an objective experiment and see consistent proof..."
- My career is based on logic. My accounting degree and CPA put me into the reconciliation business.
- I became an auditor. Could we reconcile the cash balance per the company to the bank statement?
- Reconciling meant finding the differences, and in the process, identifying the shared truths.
- My career took me into computer programming and development. I automated reconciliation processes, making it easy.
- My hobby was trying to philosophically reconcile between atheism and faith.
- So on one side, my father is a very intelligent man. And as you may have guessed, he asserts Biblical Inerrancy.
- On the other, as my son matured and showed his genius, he adopted a fairly hard atheist position.
- I felt a strong personal need to be able to reconcile this...
- I had a life of logic...
- Interspersed with religious experiences that were really intense...
- As I got close to truth and beautiful things, I would feel this incredibly electric feeling. It was just chilling! I suspect the 80% of the people that have spiritual beliefs have probably had similar feelings when they felt near to a divine presence.
- And yet, when I heard the call to legislate morality, I felt revulsion.
- We need to lead with Grace.
- The truth is, we all have a God given right to believe as we wish.
- The grace that we are given, we should extend.
- A graceful Christian is not coercive, and should not legislate morality or wage culture war.
- A graceful Atheist should not be hostile to religion.
- Let us reassert the God-given right for each to believe as they wish.
- Let us spread God's grace.
- Let us live and let live.
- --amen
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Solomon and the Pledge of Allegiance
I pledge allegiance
to the flag
of the United States of America.
And to the republic for which it stands
one nation
under God
indivisible
with liberty and justice for all.
---------------------
Solomon sat on the court when the "Pledge of Allegiance" case was heard. And it was argued left and right, back and forth. Did the phrase "one nation under God" violate the rights of atheists?
Of course some argued that it violated the separation of church and state. Solomon could see that.
But Solomon considered that as a nation, we have never really defined God. So when a Jewish, or Islamic or Christian says the pledge, they might have slightly different opinions on God. Those folks' opinions of God are informed by the Torah, or the Quran, or the Bible. But the nation as a whole is guided by God, because the people feel guided by God.
So Solomon felt that if you are an Atheist, you believe that God was created by man. And if that is true, the image and message of God can be twisted and manipulated. And Solomon was certain the message of God has been perverted at times. Solomon knew that people have been encouraged to kill and maim and wage war in God's name.
Solomon looked at the Atheist father who wanted to protect his child. And Solomon said to the Atheist father, here is what I suggest you tell your child.
We need to embrace God as a shared set of values that has the potential to be used for good instead of evil. We need to embrace God to help us find peace and understanding. We need to embrace common shared values that will get us to live and let live.
God in His Grace, gives us the right to believe as we wish. When we extend that grace to others, we reduce conflict.
Let us find peace with God. And as usual, you get to define the meaning of the term. But still, let us find peace with God. And then let us find peace with each other.
to the flag
of the United States of America.
And to the republic for which it stands
one nation
under God
indivisible
with liberty and justice for all.
---------------------
Solomon sat on the court when the "Pledge of Allegiance" case was heard. And it was argued left and right, back and forth. Did the phrase "one nation under God" violate the rights of atheists?
Of course some argued that it violated the separation of church and state. Solomon could see that.
But Solomon considered that as a nation, we have never really defined God. So when a Jewish, or Islamic or Christian says the pledge, they might have slightly different opinions on God. Those folks' opinions of God are informed by the Torah, or the Quran, or the Bible. But the nation as a whole is guided by God, because the people feel guided by God.
So Solomon felt that if you are an Atheist, you believe that God was created by man. And if that is true, the image and message of God can be twisted and manipulated. And Solomon was certain the message of God has been perverted at times. Solomon knew that people have been encouraged to kill and maim and wage war in God's name.
Solomon looked at the Atheist father who wanted to protect his child. And Solomon said to the Atheist father, here is what I suggest you tell your child.
Well sweety, most people believe in God. They believe that God loves us and wants the best for us. They believe that when we sin, we cause pain and suffering. So God has rules he wants us to live by to avoid problems caused by sinning. Their beliefs are frequently comforting to them. Their beliefs are empowering, because they have faith. They believe God helps them to be a better person.
You will hear atheists talk about God, but atheists believe God is the creation of man, as opposed to man being a creation of God. But as practical atheists, we realize that God, even if a creation of man, God is a force in our nation.
So when the Jews and Gentiles say the pledge, we let them define God however they see fit. And as atheists, when we say God in the pledge, we get to define God as we see fit. So hear is the new atheist version of the pledge of allegiance:
I pledge allegiance
to the flag
of the United States of America.
And to the republic for which it stands
one nation
under God
(whom we deem to be created by man but it would
benefit us all if we define God to be a loving, peaceful,
tolerant God that wants us to embrace freedom)
indivisible
with liberty and justice for all.
The truth of the matter is that everyone is free to define God as they see fit. You get to believe what you want to believe. And that is the truth, we are a nation under God, whether real or imagined. The impact of the belief is the same.So when the Jews and Gentiles say the pledge, we let them define God however they see fit. And as atheists, when we say God in the pledge, we get to define God as we see fit. So hear is the new atheist version of the pledge of allegiance:
I pledge allegiance
to the flag
of the United States of America.
And to the republic for which it stands
one nation
under God
(whom we deem to be created by man but it would
benefit us all if we define God to be a loving, peaceful,
tolerant God that wants us to embrace freedom)
indivisible
with liberty and justice for all.
We need to embrace God as a shared set of values that has the potential to be used for good instead of evil. We need to embrace God to help us find peace and understanding. We need to embrace common shared values that will get us to live and let live.
God in His Grace, gives us the right to believe as we wish. When we extend that grace to others, we reduce conflict.
Let us find peace with God. And as usual, you get to define the meaning of the term. But still, let us find peace with God. And then let us find peace with each other.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Simple Truths...
The Uncertain Prophet said... we believe in simple truths. Seek ye the truth and the truth will make you free.
God wants us to be free. God wants us to live and let live. He wants us to live in peace. God doesn't want us to try and control one another. Control efforts create conflict and disturb the peace. God grants us freedom to live and make poor choices. This freedom that God has given should NOT be restricted by the state. We should not legislate morality. Let us extend the grace that God and our friends give us, and ask us to forgive and forget the selfish sins of whatever nature or choice. Our sharia mandates religious freedom; no one is under attack. However, we WILL defend ourselves from terrorists! God wants us to be free.
God wants us to lead lives of grace. Graceful relationships are possible. We need to figure out how to be graceful children that accept instruction, graceful parents that gently lead and finally graceful adults that allow each other freedom. All children, parents and adults need to learn to forgive and forget; to let go; to live with grace. Our sharia mandates religious freedom; adults are allowed to sin. God wants us to lead lives of grace.
We need to burn less and grow more. There is too much carbon in the air. We are polluting our world. We need more plants and trees to soak up the sun and the carbon. Our planet will be greener and cooler if we grew more plants. We need more life. We need to promote life in our barren spots. We need more surface area for plant life. We should colonize the seas with floating farms, forests and marshes. We need to burn less and grow more.
Whatever you tax, you discourage. We should be smarter about what we tax. We are idiots for taxing employment, because we discourage employment. We need a different tax system. We need a Natural Tax system. Instead of discouraging human resources (jobs), we should tax natural resource usage. We'd discourage big wasteful behavior. People would live cleaner and smaller or pay a lot in natural taxes for being such a polluter. People would be encouraged financially to burn less. Whatever you tax, you discourage. Let's encourage people to burn less and stop discouraging employment.
God wants us to be free. God wants us to live and let live. He wants us to live in peace. God doesn't want us to try and control one another. Control efforts create conflict and disturb the peace. God grants us freedom to live and make poor choices. This freedom that God has given should NOT be restricted by the state. We should not legislate morality. Let us extend the grace that God and our friends give us, and ask us to forgive and forget the selfish sins of whatever nature or choice. Our sharia mandates religious freedom; no one is under attack. However, we WILL defend ourselves from terrorists! God wants us to be free.
God wants us to lead lives of grace. Graceful relationships are possible. We need to figure out how to be graceful children that accept instruction, graceful parents that gently lead and finally graceful adults that allow each other freedom. All children, parents and adults need to learn to forgive and forget; to let go; to live with grace. Our sharia mandates religious freedom; adults are allowed to sin. God wants us to lead lives of grace.
We need to burn less and grow more. There is too much carbon in the air. We are polluting our world. We need more plants and trees to soak up the sun and the carbon. Our planet will be greener and cooler if we grew more plants. We need more life. We need to promote life in our barren spots. We need more surface area for plant life. We should colonize the seas with floating farms, forests and marshes. We need to burn less and grow more.
Whatever you tax, you discourage. We should be smarter about what we tax. We are idiots for taxing employment, because we discourage employment. We need a different tax system. We need a Natural Tax system. Instead of discouraging human resources (jobs), we should tax natural resource usage. We'd discourage big wasteful behavior. People would live cleaner and smaller or pay a lot in natural taxes for being such a polluter. People would be encouraged financially to burn less. Whatever you tax, you discourage. Let's encourage people to burn less and stop discouraging employment.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
The Angel said... Fear not... I bring tidings of great joy...
The angel said we should fear not.
The angel said thirty years ago, during the "Energy Crisis" of the seventies, we were afraid of running out of fuel. There were long lines at the pumps.
Now, we're afraid of global warming. But global warming is just an excess of energy. So what is the problem? Do we have too little energy or too much?
The angel said all we need to do is to figure out how to capture and then re-direct the energy. When we grow more things, we capture the energy.
We can grow our way out of our problems.
We can grow trees to store energy in lumber and use it to build things. We can store energy in sugar and grain that can then be processed by yeast to produce ethanol.
If we grow lumber and use it to build more floating islands that allow us to grow more things, we could have geometric growth in the number of floating islands.
We could have geometric growth in the amount of plant life on Earth. We can shape our earth as we see fit. We can be EarthShapers for good. We can be builders, not burners. We can balance our earth to optimize life.
We can create a lush garden paradise with peace, prosperity and freedom for all.
That's what the angel said. At least I think it was an angel.
The angel said thirty years ago, during the "Energy Crisis" of the seventies, we were afraid of running out of fuel. There were long lines at the pumps.
Now, we're afraid of global warming. But global warming is just an excess of energy. So what is the problem? Do we have too little energy or too much?
The angel said all we need to do is to figure out how to capture and then re-direct the energy. When we grow more things, we capture the energy.
We can grow our way out of our problems.
We can grow trees to store energy in lumber and use it to build things. We can store energy in sugar and grain that can then be processed by yeast to produce ethanol.
If we grow lumber and use it to build more floating islands that allow us to grow more things, we could have geometric growth in the number of floating islands.
We could have geometric growth in the amount of plant life on Earth. We can shape our earth as we see fit. We can be EarthShapers for good. We can be builders, not burners. We can balance our earth to optimize life.
We can create a lush garden paradise with peace, prosperity and freedom for all.
That's what the angel said. At least I think it was an angel.
The Angel said... seek out Sheryl Crow...
The angel said... "seek out Sheryl Crow".
Sheryl Crow wants to soak up the sun. The answer to global warming is to promote life and grow more things and soak up the sun. The more plants we grow, the more energy we capture.
We need to capture lots of energy to balance out all the energy we burn. We need to burn less and grow more. We need to make our world a lush garden paradise with an array of arks floating on the ocean, soaking up the sun.
Sheryl Crow would help the cause.
Sheryl?
Sheryl Crow wants to soak up the sun. The answer to global warming is to promote life and grow more things and soak up the sun. The more plants we grow, the more energy we capture.
We need to capture lots of energy to balance out all the energy we burn. We need to burn less and grow more. We need to make our world a lush garden paradise with an array of arks floating on the ocean, soaking up the sun.
Sheryl Crow would help the cause.
Sheryl?
The Angel said... Oprah might help!?!?
The angel came unto me and said... "Oprah might heed the call."
Well I think it might have been an angel. The angel said we should ask Oprah. How would Oprah respond if we asked Oprah to help?
If our mission is to stop global warming, promote life, promote grace and create peace, prosperity and freedom, would Oprah help? But wait, there's more... what if we could eliminate hurricanes, too? Would Oprah help?
Oprah?
Well I think it might have been an angel. The angel said we should ask Oprah. How would Oprah respond if we asked Oprah to help?
If our mission is to stop global warming, promote life, promote grace and create peace, prosperity and freedom, would Oprah help? But wait, there's more... what if we could eliminate hurricanes, too? Would Oprah help?
Oprah?
The Weatherman says...
The weatherman says it is out of our control! Aarrggh. AARRGGH! I wanted to play tennis. But the rain is coming down. And the radar shows more on the way. It will be a long day.
But what if the weather was in our control? What if we could manage weather?
If you listen to the weatherman... he'll talk about warm air masses, cold fronts. Hot air rises. Cold air sinks.
If you think globally, we have hot air around the tropics and cold air around the poles. Our goal is to mitigate the extreme weather for the midlands.
What if we had a systematic way of capturing energy in the tropics and then judiciously releasing energy to manage the weather for the continents?
The angel (I think it was an angel!) told me that God wants us to build arks. Not just one. But many.
This time, the arks won't save just Noah and his family and some animals. No, this time the arks will provide freedom and sanctuary for all of humanity AND create refuges for many of the animals.
The angel told me there was a symbol. The angel said life is a circle. And the symbol is a ring. What goes around, comes around.
The angel said we can make our world a garden paradise if we understand the rings. We need to understand the ring of truth. We need to let freedom ring. We need to build RingWorld.
The angel showed a vision of rings on the ocean. It was if one was looking at the sea from a satellite. There were these huge concentric cirles of floating islands!
The outer rings were marshy topped wildlife sanctuaries. Just within the outer ring was a ring of power generation islands. These islands were built to harvest wave and wind energy. Within the power band were a ring forest lands. Within that were the farmlands, centered around the hub.
The hubs of the rings were the central business districts and the safest location. The outer ring marshes would get pounded with the wind and the waves. The power gen belt and the forests would absorb much of the blow. The goal of the outer arks is to protect the inner arcs or farms and homes from the blows.
The angel then showed me the globe, covered with such rings of arks. The rings at the tropics were designed to soak up the sun. God wants us to create an infrastructure that will promote life at the tropics.
We start by soaking up the sun. We create floating wildlife refuges. We can take our trash, bundle it and float it and cover it with nutrient rich mud, and let life find its way. Grasses will grow. Critters will come.
The rings at the tropics need to focus on photosynthesis. The ring systems there need to mainly capture energy. So assume we soak up the sun at the tropics and then convert the plant growth into ethanol, which is then shipped to the "45th rings".
By contrast, the rings near the 45th parallel need to primarily burn energy. By choosing where and when to burn energy, we can control world weather.
So saith the angel? Was the weatherman right? Is weather out of our control? Or is the angel right? Could we really control the weather?!?!
But what if the weather was in our control? What if we could manage weather?
If you listen to the weatherman... he'll talk about warm air masses, cold fronts. Hot air rises. Cold air sinks.
If you think globally, we have hot air around the tropics and cold air around the poles. Our goal is to mitigate the extreme weather for the midlands.
What if we had a systematic way of capturing energy in the tropics and then judiciously releasing energy to manage the weather for the continents?
The angel (I think it was an angel!) told me that God wants us to build arks. Not just one. But many.
This time, the arks won't save just Noah and his family and some animals. No, this time the arks will provide freedom and sanctuary for all of humanity AND create refuges for many of the animals.
The angel told me there was a symbol. The angel said life is a circle. And the symbol is a ring. What goes around, comes around.
The angel said we can make our world a garden paradise if we understand the rings. We need to understand the ring of truth. We need to let freedom ring. We need to build RingWorld.
The angel showed a vision of rings on the ocean. It was if one was looking at the sea from a satellite. There were these huge concentric cirles of floating islands!
The outer rings were marshy topped wildlife sanctuaries. Just within the outer ring was a ring of power generation islands. These islands were built to harvest wave and wind energy. Within the power band were a ring forest lands. Within that were the farmlands, centered around the hub.
The hubs of the rings were the central business districts and the safest location. The outer ring marshes would get pounded with the wind and the waves. The power gen belt and the forests would absorb much of the blow. The goal of the outer arks is to protect the inner arcs or farms and homes from the blows.
The angel then showed me the globe, covered with such rings of arks. The rings at the tropics were designed to soak up the sun. God wants us to create an infrastructure that will promote life at the tropics.
We start by soaking up the sun. We create floating wildlife refuges. We can take our trash, bundle it and float it and cover it with nutrient rich mud, and let life find its way. Grasses will grow. Critters will come.
The rings at the tropics need to focus on photosynthesis. The ring systems there need to mainly capture energy. So assume we soak up the sun at the tropics and then convert the plant growth into ethanol, which is then shipped to the "45th rings".
By contrast, the rings near the 45th parallel need to primarily burn energy. By choosing where and when to burn energy, we can control world weather.
So saith the angel? Was the weatherman right? Is weather out of our control? Or is the angel right? Could we really control the weather?!?!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanks to all our angels...
Sometimes the spirit really moves. I feel it. That sense of rightness. Of oneness with something bigger and better.
Sometimes the spirit really moves and you share it with someone. It is like being at the movies where the soundtrack tells you something mysterious is happening.
In real life, things happen. And sometimes things are electric and things are created and the feeling is ... wow! Sometimes these shared moments are spiritual. Sometimes they're material.
The moments of creation... the moments of wow... have given us so many blessings to be thankful for. We should extend our blessings to the world. We should live cleaner and greener. Our lives could be beautiful. Our world could be beautiful.
Another blessing I am so thankful for, is the spirit of grace I've been shown in my life. I really try (but often fail) to live gracefully.
Let us show our thanks for the grace we have been given, to extend that grace to all our fellows, no matter their color, national origin, sexual orientation, drug preference, musical tastes or fashion sense (or lack thereof! :). Let us live and govern with grace. Let freedom ring!
Happy Thanksgiving 2008!
Sometimes the spirit really moves and you share it with someone. It is like being at the movies where the soundtrack tells you something mysterious is happening.
In real life, things happen. And sometimes things are electric and things are created and the feeling is ... wow! Sometimes these shared moments are spiritual. Sometimes they're material.
The moments of creation... the moments of wow... have given us so many blessings to be thankful for. We should extend our blessings to the world. We should live cleaner and greener. Our lives could be beautiful. Our world could be beautiful.
Another blessing I am so thankful for, is the spirit of grace I've been shown in my life. I really try (but often fail) to live gracefully.
Let us show our thanks for the grace we have been given, to extend that grace to all our fellows, no matter their color, national origin, sexual orientation, drug preference, musical tastes or fashion sense (or lack thereof! :). Let us live and govern with grace. Let freedom ring!
Happy Thanksgiving 2008!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
The angel said... Burn Less
So maybe an Angel said it. Or maybe not. It is still hard for me to believe. But it sounds so true! Does it sound true to you?
The angel said to in order to stop global warming and get our Earth back in balance that we needed to Burn Less and Grow More.
If we burn less, we'll put less carbon into the atmosphere. If we grow more, we'll soak up the sun and the carbon and have a cleaner, cooler planet. It sounds simple, right?
I heard the cynical voices say: "But we'd need to change things and people don't like change."
The angel told me, you need to make the change attractive and sexy. Tell the people about the FlyPods. They are better than cars. Tell the people about getting rid of the IRS and governing with grace.
What?! Govern with grace? Get rid of the IRS? That does sound attractive.
The angel said... God wants you to be free. The IRS isn't freedom. It is partial slavery. The government owns part of you. Is it 33%? Is it 50%? Some people are half slaves to the IRS.
The IRS lives off of payroll taxes. But whatever you tax, you discourage. Employment taxes discourage employment.
How many workers and how many businesses would like it if payroll taxes went away? That might be change that is attractive.
But if payroll taxes went away, we would still need a broad based tax system. One that discourages burning. We need to burn less fuel. We need to live clean. With a Natural Tax system, we'd tax the use of fossil fuels and raw materials and we'd live smaller and cleaner.
We'd recycle because it is economically attractive. We'd live small to avoid taxes. We'd efficiently use the bounty that God has given us.
Whatever behavior you tax, you discourage. Isn't it just moronic to tax employment? Why do we discourage employment?
Let's tax fossil fuel and other natural resource usage instead. And people will head to the Pods. Efficiency will be demanded by the marketplace. Positive change will happen. It can be beautiful. You need to sell it as sexy and attractive.
The angel said... if we have but the faith of a mustard seed, we can make it happen.
The angel said to in order to stop global warming and get our Earth back in balance that we needed to Burn Less and Grow More.
If we burn less, we'll put less carbon into the atmosphere. If we grow more, we'll soak up the sun and the carbon and have a cleaner, cooler planet. It sounds simple, right?
I heard the cynical voices say: "But we'd need to change things and people don't like change."
The angel told me, you need to make the change attractive and sexy. Tell the people about the FlyPods. They are better than cars. Tell the people about getting rid of the IRS and governing with grace.
What?! Govern with grace? Get rid of the IRS? That does sound attractive.
The angel said... God wants you to be free. The IRS isn't freedom. It is partial slavery. The government owns part of you. Is it 33%? Is it 50%? Some people are half slaves to the IRS.
The IRS lives off of payroll taxes. But whatever you tax, you discourage. Employment taxes discourage employment.
How many workers and how many businesses would like it if payroll taxes went away? That might be change that is attractive.
But if payroll taxes went away, we would still need a broad based tax system. One that discourages burning. We need to burn less fuel. We need to live clean. With a Natural Tax system, we'd tax the use of fossil fuels and raw materials and we'd live smaller and cleaner.
We'd recycle because it is economically attractive. We'd live small to avoid taxes. We'd efficiently use the bounty that God has given us.
Whatever behavior you tax, you discourage. Isn't it just moronic to tax employment? Why do we discourage employment?
Let's tax fossil fuel and other natural resource usage instead. And people will head to the Pods. Efficiency will be demanded by the marketplace. Positive change will happen. It can be beautiful. You need to sell it as sexy and attractive.
The angel said... if we have but the faith of a mustard seed, we can make it happen.
The angel and the PeoplePods...
When the angel (at least I think it was an angel) shared the vision, it was pretty incredible.
PeoplePods rolled around everywhere. And they were so cool! They looked like skinny cars! There were four wheels, but the Pods were a little less than half as wide as one of today's cars.
The interior of one of the Pods looked like a jet ski. To get in, you popped the canopy top and straddled the bench and then dropped the canopy down. Some of the Pods were single seaters. Some were doubles and triples.
The Pods were really light weight so they didn't need much of an engine. Driving the Pods was a blast. You'd lean into corners and the suspension was set to let the Pod tilt hard and still keep all four wheels glued to the road.
The Pods were really cool in that you could form PodChains. Assume you had a group of Pods all headed for the same destination. You could link up in a chain and let the leader drive. Each Pod was independently powered and braked. But the electronics in the Pod would respond instantly to the acceleration or braking of the leader pod.
It made the PodChains really efficient in fuel use because the PodChains drastically reduced average wind resistance.
But that drivable version of the Pods wasn't nearly as neat as the flyable 
version. Some of the PeoplePods could be attached to a hang glider wing. The whole Pod was in essence suspended under a Rogallo wing. The Pod had electronics to shift the weight of the pod underneath the wing just like a hang glider flyer would do.You could fly to wherever you wanted. You could land just about anywhere because the hang glider wing didn't need much runway. Then you detached your Rogallo wing and your PeoplePod could drive where ever you wanted.
If you had bat wings, you just left them permanently attached. In the tuck mode, they just trailed the pod. When you wanted to fly, you just punched a button and the wings unfolded into their wide spread mode for slow flying. After lift off, the wings went into a semi-tuck that drastically reduced the surface area of the wing. In the semi-tuck, the Pod could just zing you anywhere in a hurry.
There was this incredible fish tail power. The pod had a flexible propeller power train extending from the back of the pod. With a flick of the tail, the pod can change directions or flight attitude. The thing was incredibly responsive.
The angel said... "the future could be really cool... and it could be soon... do you want to help make a new free world?"
But of course, I struggle to believe. This can't be possible. There are cynical voices in my head that tell me I am wasting my time. I need to have faith. I need to have hope. I need to share the vision of a new free world.
Did the angel say... "We can solve global warming!"
Okay. So maybe there was an angel. Or maybe it was just my imagination.
But there were chills. And everything seemed so right. So simple. So true!
At least it seemed true to me. We have been given an incredible vision. This vision had a path to Earth as a lush garden paradise of peace and prosperity.
God wants us to be free. God wants us to take care of the earth. God wants us to live and let live. God doesn't want us to judge and condemn. He doesn't want us to control each other. He wants us to live in peace. And the first step in the path to peace is to solve global warming.
So the angel said we need to solve global warming. He said we need to "Burn less and Grow More."
The angel said... there is a yin and a yang to people and plants. The people burn oxygen and give off carbon dioxide. And plants soak up the carbon and give off oxygen. The more stuff people burn, the more plants are needed.
We are out of balance. We burn too much and we cut down rain forests. Our planet is out of balance because we have too much carbon in the air.
The simple solution: We need to burn less and grow more.
But there were chills. And everything seemed so right. So simple. So true!
At least it seemed true to me. We have been given an incredible vision. This vision had a path to Earth as a lush garden paradise of peace and prosperity.
God wants us to be free. God wants us to take care of the earth. God wants us to live and let live. God doesn't want us to judge and condemn. He doesn't want us to control each other. He wants us to live in peace. And the first step in the path to peace is to solve global warming.
So the angel said we need to solve global warming. He said we need to "Burn less and Grow More."
The angel said... there is a yin and a yang to people and plants. The people burn oxygen and give off carbon dioxide. And plants soak up the carbon and give off oxygen. The more stuff people burn, the more plants are needed.
We are out of balance. We burn too much and we cut down rain forests. Our planet is out of balance because we have too much carbon in the air.
The simple solution: We need to burn less and grow more.
If an angel asked...
If an angel came to you and asked you to help save the world, would you do it?
What if it was something really easy? Like just forwarding some email? Would you do it?
Our world could be a phenomenal place. We could have a lush garden paradise, where freedom rings. Global warming would be a thing of the past. Hurricanes too, because we can manage the weather. We would have food galore and no one would go hungry. We would promote life and an abundant life at that. We would create a New Free World where the inspired could move to pursue utopias and the afflicted could move to seek the freedom to flourish.
God wants us to be free.
I think an angel has asked me... but I'm not sure. That's why I am an Uncertain Prophet.
But I need to share the vision, and ask you... does it ring true? Read the vision. If it rings true, share it. Lend us your voice to raise the call for freedom!
What if it was something really easy? Like just forwarding some email? Would you do it?
Our world could be a phenomenal place. We could have a lush garden paradise, where freedom rings. Global warming would be a thing of the past. Hurricanes too, because we can manage the weather. We would have food galore and no one would go hungry. We would promote life and an abundant life at that. We would create a New Free World where the inspired could move to pursue utopias and the afflicted could move to seek the freedom to flourish.
God wants us to be free.
I think an angel has asked me... but I'm not sure. That's why I am an Uncertain Prophet.
But I need to share the vision, and ask you... does it ring true? Read the vision. If it rings true, share it. Lend us your voice to raise the call for freedom!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)