Carborendum

I can understand this being scary. But here's what I've come to believe about this: We get warning shots from the Lord. 1) I don't know how much food storage was emphasized prior to my birth. But my parents took notice some time in the 70s (the stagflation recession) that the Church seemed to be re-emphasizing it again. I don't know exactly what was said. But it was enough to get my parents going on it. From that point on, it became a part of Church culture. 2) During the Obama Administration we saw "The Great Recession". And the panic button was hit again. 3) I believe this is the third warning shot that the Lord is providing us. I don't know if I've ever seen empty shelves like this in my entire lifetime. I don't believe the actual famine will happen now. I believe we've just been given the third - and possibly last - warning shot. After this recession / inflation season is over, we will have one more chance to stock up and do what the Lord has told us to do for 200 years. The next time the scare happens, it won't be just a warning shot. It will be the real deal. What we see in the worst third world countries will happen in America. Note: 70s Stagflation was an economic condition no economist had ever considered. So, it was unprecedented. The "Great Recession" was also considered unprecedented. The level of empty shelves today?? I've certainly never seen it before in my lifetime. Does anyone know if this is unprecedented? *** Hmmm. Interesting... I really hope I'm wrong, but... If we do a numerical analysis on these events, We're looking at an economic bomb being dropped prior to us coming fully out of this recession. This is purely a numerical pattern based on years between events (which are flexible based on beginning, middle or end of those periods). It has no basis in any economic principles. Put that together with some apocryphal prophecies... I really hope I'm wrong.

Interesting question. Not the more common questions... What is your favorite book? What is the most important book? Given your conditions of other books already included, what additional book would I add? If I had only ONE choice: https://www.amazon.com/Elbert-Hubbard-Treasury-Inspirations-Provocations/dp/153744025X/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1J9VJZMQB2DTV&keywords=elbert+hubbard&qid=1641492463&sprefix=elbert+hubbard%2Caps%2C132&sr=8-3 *************************************************************************************************************************** But if I were put in charge of stocking the entire library, what LISTS of books would I include? Two Required Reading List books for the required "classics" shelf: (Each of these contains many sub-lists, like the complete works of Shakespeare). Great Books of the Western World Harvard Classics Thomas Jefferson Education reading lists (adult, youth, and children) Common Educational books that are NOT common core compliant: English (this should include essay writing with an emphasis on Elements of Style by Strunk and White. Math (Basic stuff with the old-fashioned HOLT Math Curriculum from basic arithmetic to Calculus). Physicsc Chemistry, and Biology (Up through 1st year College Technical Major) I've found that non-technical majors have GE requirements that basically just re-hash what was learned in high school. Economics (specifically anything by Sowell, Friedman, or Hayek) What every XX Grader Should Know series of books. Foreign language: I've found the three-line Berlitz method to be the best for languages with the Roman Alphabet. But the Barron's Diplomatic courses (with Audio) is better for languages with different alphabets). Duo-Lingo & Rosetta Stone are fun for show. But they don't go very far. Self-Help Books The writings of Elbert Hubbard How to Win Friends and Influence People 12 Rules for Life The Seven Principles of Highly Effective People The Seven Principles of Making Marriage Work The works of Tom Peters And They Were Not Ashamed Individual books that seem to be about money, but are really about all aspects of your life. The Greatest Salesman in the World Richest Man in Babylon Think and Grow Rich Total Money Makeover Rich Dad, Poor Dad My favorite books of all time (included several of the lists above): The Count of Monte Cristo Jane Eyre Then the "Fun" books should also be there. But that will vary from individual to individual.

I don't blame you for this. I had a very similar philosophy at your age. But as I got to really understand the nature of "knowledge" and "faith", I began realizing that having such rigid ideals was quite limiting. This mentality was actually stifling both my spiritual and intellectual growth. The realization I came to was that "I believe" and "I know" are not the separated conditions that we tend to think they are. It could EASILY be said that we NEVER "know" anything (Enter: The Matrix). If so, why bother ever having such a word? Instead, I see that they are simply two sides of the same coin. If you believe, you also know. I don't see it (as many do) as a graduation from one stage to another. I see them as different aspects of the same concept. And within that concept (a coin) we can increase the value of the denomination. (I use the term "denomination" purposefully). The point most tend to miss is that we never know "EVERYTHING". So, if we come across some factoid that tends to threaten our belief system, we begin to doubt everything. That isn't even how we approach scientific knowledge. Why would be do that with deeply held religious convictions? In the scientific method, we see the Michelson--Morley experiment shook the scientific world. But we still taught the same Newtonian physics in schools, Research continued merrily along without any change. But a branch of scientific research went aside to explain it. Then came the birth of relativistic physics. It didn't really change what we knew before. It just added to it. The Lord teaches us line-by-line and precept-upon-precept. He works that way from dispensation to dispensation. He works that way from generation to generation. He works that way from individual to individual. Just because there is something we don't "know" doesn't mean that we need to throw out what we DO "know".

My BIL lives in Broomfield. I checked on them to see how they fared. He said that the fires were about 10 miles from his house. For a fire that big, 10 miles is not far. Then they got hit with a blizzard. ************************************************* Back to the topic: How do we know if this is "The End"? The way to really tell if "the end is near" can be summed up in the proper application of one word: Unprecedented. Tragedies and political upheavals happen all the time. But when we see something we've never seen before, we tend to take notice. When we see several unprecedented things in close succession, that is when we might want to push the panic button. I'm fairly isolated. So if I'm aware of it, chances are it is affecting a LOT of people. We're all aware of the pandemic. I don't know if we've ever seen that since the invention of sanitation. A true pandemic. I don't know if we've every had a "true" pandemic before. We've never seen society as a whole (not just isolated incidents) forcing individuals to perform acts that they find morally objectionable from a deeply held moral/religious conviction. We've never had a sitting President removed from office via impeachment. People thought Trump would be first. And although Trump marked the third US Pres to be impeached, "removal" didn't happen. Could it be Biden? It looks like he'll be impeached (at least that is the political projection today). But will there be enough Dems in the Senate to actually drop the axe? We'll see. Anything else that my isolated self has missed that has had a TREMENDOUS affect on the majority of the global population (or even "of the developed world")? Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times in enemy action. Maybe it isn't a Pres being removed from office. It could be anything "unprecedented" that affects virtually the entire nation. If we see three things in a row, that is not necessarily the end. It is enough of a trend for us to wake up and take notice. As we get closer to seven. MAYDAY!!! I don't know if the blaze in Colorado is enough to call "unprecedented". The frequency and size of major wildfires has been gradually increasing for decades. Only political alarmists are calling it unprecedented. I'd look more to the "Death, disease, famine, and war" aspects that tend to cry out "the end." 1. When we think of "death" we tend to think it will be from disease, famine, or war. So, why the separation? I think it is because "death" means a type of death that does not come from these other three. e.g. murder rates are up in all major cities around the US this past year and this year as well. Based on my study of statistics on many social aspects, this one is covered. 2. Disease: duh. Nuff said. 3. Famine: We're on the verge of a world-wide famine due to supply chain issues. I've certainly noticed it when going to the grocery store. Empty shelves all the time. 4. War: We've had a relative peace in this world since the end of WWII. If we see a true third World War, then we have what is called ... what is the word for a four-part "trifecta"? Quadrafecta? That sounds weird. People don't like four-syllable words, much less words with secondary accents. Anyway, it may actually be a good thing that we have a weakling in the White House. Too much show of force from the US may actually be enough for Russia & China (which are both doing a lot of saber-rattling recently) to get over their past differences and form an alliance against the west. Side note: My son was supposed to go to the Ukraine for his mission. He got re-assigned to Layton, UT because of Russia's behavior. On the one hand, if we send military aid to Ukraine, that could be the thing that pushes the situation over the edge. On the other hand, if you've read about the history of the on-again/ off-again military aid to Ukraine... I don't know what to think about that. It's all just a sad situation.

I've experienced some enlightenment these past few months that I'd like to share. The reason you haven't heard much from me in the past several months is that I've been working about 60 to 80 hours per week. Some weeks more than that. It is this level of work that brought me to some enlightenment recently. Many of you know that I've got daddy issues. But I'm finally coming to understand him. And with that understanding comes some forgiveness. Much of what I'm about to say is basically what I'd kind of heard when I was younger. But not being in the situation, I just blew it off as people trying to excuse bad behavior. And maybe that was true to some extent. But the fact is that it isn't about excusing bad behavior, but about finding forgiveness in my own heart. My father had to be heavily focused on customer service. The nature of his business always required that he interact with people almost constantly. And even when he was not interacting with customers, he interacted with each of his employees. He had to keep a smile on his face even when he was being treated horribly and even being taken advantage of. He did this for 50 to 60 hrs/wk as the norm and had even busier weeks as the seasons changed. My business is not nearly as people focused as his business was. But I still have to do my share of people pleasing. One thing I found was that not only did I not have much time for my family, but I also didn't have the energy to "keep up the front." And that was when it hit me. On the one hand, he was constantly stuck in this "keep up appearances" mode because that is what customer service really is. And when he was not quite so busy at work, he had enough energy where he would be able to keep it up at home as well. On the other hand, when he did not have enough energy to keep it up, he was just brutally honest. And it wasn't kindness we saw from him. When I was younger and didn't understand the idea of deception, all I knew was that I "felt weird" around my dad. The thing of it is, I felt it not in his actions, but in his words and gestures. He was almost constantly in customer service mode. And for him, that meant lying to people. He always told people what they wanted to hear just so he would be considered a pleasant person to work with. So, he was so practiced in it that he carried it over to his home life. He could have found real traits to compliment people on. But he decided to compliment us on things that he "thought" we wanted to hear. All that did was make me feel weird whenever he tried to be nice to me. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it came to my dad. So, what was this great revelation I had? All my life, I thought of my dad as a liar. I always hated lies. It hurt me emotionally (even when I didn't understand what I was feeling) when others lied to me. And if I ever lied to others, I felt something that was almost a physical pain. That's why I tend to stay away from lies as much as I can. Although, I'll admit that sometimes, I find subtle deception to be an art that I have fun with. And it is usually in jest or for a topic of iinsignificance. What I have learned is that his "lies" were his way of trying to be better. It's "acting as if". Yes, "acting as if" is a type of lie, even if it is in a pursuit to become that noble state you're pretending to be. And it bugged me. It hurt me (as I've explained). But in understanding his motivation, I'm finding that it is becoming easier to find forgiveness in my heart when I think of him. I now see that he really was simply "doing the best he could with what he had at the time." The saying is that the purpose of the Church is to make bad men good; good men better, and better men best. My dad was a bad man. But he became better, as much as he could. He really tried. And I can see through this new lens and recognize that he did indeed become more than he was. Maybe he became a good man. I'm not in a place where I can judge that. But I now have found some compassion to realize that he was simply doing the best he could with what he had to work with. He tried. And he kept trying as best as he knew how. The other day I was talking to my son about how much I'd seen him grow. He told me the same about me. Then he described some traits that I shared with my father -- some traits which I would certainly do better without. I was initially angry. But when I gave it just a couple of moments' thought, I realized he was absolutely right. My son has a "brutal honesty" about him, which I guess he got from me. Sometimes it is annoying when your kids put a mirror up to your face. But he was right. I was like my dad in so many ways. I finally said,"You know, you're right. All I can say is that I'm doing better than my father did. And I see that you're doing better than I have." He said,"That's the way it's supposed to work, isn't it? What I realized he meant was that as flawed as I am, he was grateful that I had improved myself from the condition my father was, so that he could then improve himself even further than I had. I saw for the first time the "picture of hope" in my son. He was going to be alright. His children were going to be alright. It is unfortunate that I came to this realization this late in life. But I wasn't really ready for it earlier. And it is even more unfortunate that my father has fallen victim to dementia to the point where he doesn't recognize members of his own family anymore. It is unfortunate that he'll never know that I have finally found a way to invite forgiveness to take place in my heart for him. But I'm finally finding some peace inside myself.

There is actually some truth to what you say. But not in the way you think. Definition of Sociality: The "links" which we call "relationshops" between people. People we know here, we will also know there. Those we love here, we will love there. And, yes, if you were the kind of person who always fell into cliques and shunned everyone who disagreed with you here,... well, you get the picture. But to obtain the glory spoken of in the unbolded portion of your quote, we must learn to love everyone, not as "somebody that we used to know" but as brothers and sisters. If we don't know how to treat each other as brothers and sisters here, we will not consider each other as brother and sister there. And if we can't consider each other to be brothers and sisters, we won't have that promise of Eternal Glory.

I never thought you did. Apparently, this is a false belief since WAYYY too many people older and having higher IQs buy into it hook line and sinker. I agree. This assumes, of course, that whenever a child is exposed to something toxic, that they will let their parents know about it. With ideologies, that is not always the case. I've said many times that "There is no silver bullet." This is a metaphor to say that there is no "one-pronged attack" that will solve society's ills nor guarantee raising our children to the Lord. So, with that background, I agree. Yes, and they spent an awful lot of time each day with their mothers. What if they spent 8 hours a day with someone other than their mothers? Do you think their mothers would have had much influence over them? This is really the main point I've been making. It's fine to expose our children to other ideas -- especially dangerous ones that they need to be inoculated against. But for them to spend MORE time with people just pouring these ideas into their heads and not have equal (if not more) time correcting such ideas (or at least providing the child sufficient freedom to explore answers themselves) then they are going to go down the path of least resistance. I'm hearing you. Yes, part of my point is that this is out there so much that we don't need to willingly, knowingly expose them to it. It will happen on its own. And we need to have enough discussion in the home on such topics so that they know what to look out for, so they know to avoid it when they come across it. For ideologies, rather than "avoid" it when they come across it, they need to be taught enough correct principles to offset it. But I see no reason to purposefuly, knowingly expose them to something that is both ubiquitous and toxic. Yes. Parents. Not public school teachers.

I read it and accepted it. That latest post wasn't what I was talking about. Gator, I love you as a brother and a child of God. I know you tend to think things through after a lot of research. These qualities make me want to admire you. But you have mocked, insulted and belittled without ever apologizing. Instead, you blame me for not having a sense of humor. You can give your blanket apology of "if I've ever... I apologize." That's nice and all. But it indicates that you don't even acknowledge that you actually did anything wrong even when I've pointed out the precise thing that bothered me. And, no, I'm not playing the victim. As I said, it's a free country. You can say what you want. Something you ignored.

Yup.

I think that is an individual choice based on individual conditions. To say a blanket statement is not really taking into account a LOT of variables. I think you may have confused your concept of what I've stated with what I actually stated in the past. I said that I have a medical condition that makes it unfavorable for ME to take many vaccines. If other people want to get a vaccine, that's fine by me. But because you don't agree with my medical exemption, you think I'm anti-vax, and proceed to shame and ridicule me. It's a free country. You can do that.

Depends on the vaccine. If they came out with an AIDS vaccine tomorrow, I'd be kinda skeptical.

Who said I was anti-vaxx? I was just sharing an article that had some interesting information on the topic.

What a piece of work is man.

https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2021/07/49-people-who-were-fully-vaccinated-have-died-of-covid-in-nj-heres-what-we-know.html

As I said, most scholarships are transferrable... unless... you're really saying...