Carborendum

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Posts posted by Carborendum

  1. 1 hour ago, Traveler said:

    There is in the USA a chronic disconnect between our educational system and our work force needs. 

    This may not be directly what you were talking about specifically, but...  I have an opportunity to take a position in a company that designs nuclear power plants.

    It would be a huge feather in my cap.  I've never been in that space before.  I found out why.  For many decades, those in that field became nuclear engineers because they were already in the field.  As you can guess, that meant that no one was coming into the field and the attrition rate was as rapid as the aging population.

    Now, they're looking at the entire field who is ready to retire.  So, they are willing to take outsiders who look promising.  I'm one of them.

    While discussing options with my wife an interesting point came up.  Many people are growing up learning that 2+2 does not necessarily = 4.  Can we really trust the rising generation of engineering students?  If not them, whom?  

    Even if the other job would be a better idea for me personally, I am considering this position for the future of the nuclear industry because I believe it will always be a necessary part of our power grid.

    I haven't worked with a newbie in many years.  I really don't know if any of the new kids actually understand engineering.

  2. 1 hour ago, Just_A_Guy said:

    I was privileged (ulp!  There’s that word again) to have a 10th grade English teacher who insisted on giving us weekly vocabulary lists (and, thereafter, tests) of really obscure words.  That was one of them.  :P

    Interesting.  I had a 10th grade English teacher who had a list of 1600 words taken from the literary classics which we were to read throughout the year. 

    At the time, I thought they were big time words.  But over the years, I heard them all over the place.  Yet I'm surprised at how many people either don't know these words or use them incorrectly.

    "Hirsute" was brand new to me.

  3. 15 minutes ago, zil2 said:

    Found on IMDB.  Apparently I can watch it on Amazon with ads (no Prime required - good thing, cuz I don't have it or want it).  I'll ponder.  I have zero time at the moment, but I occasionally feel the need to binge something.  Bookmarked. :)

    Just to whet your appetite:

    • A man invented a machine to give to DHS which reviews all digital data throughout the United States and anything connected to that network.
    • The government gets "relevant" numbers which are people of interest in some major terrorist attack or such.  The back door provides "irrelevant" numbers (common murders for private reasons).  No further information other than the number.
    • This man hires a retired govt assassin/operative who has become a homeless man.  This agent becomes the secretive bodyguard of certain individuals who are either going to be a victim or a perpetrator in a murder.  Sometimes, just a witness.  But they need to find out who is who.
    • They work with a couple of cops and a few other individuals. But they basically work outside the law to protect a victim.
  4. 2 minutes ago, zil2 said:

    Haven't seen (Person of Interest)  But I get it.  And yes, our heroes would not have done all they did had they not believed the character was the HW.  Now I just have to decide whether he was, and if he wasn't, who he really is. :)

    You gotta watch at least the first few episodes.  The first three seasons are really cool.  It gets weird in Season 4. 

    Abrams decided to go a different direction because he thought it was too formulaic. He made the same mistake with Alias and destroyed both shows.

  5. 16 minutes ago, zil2 said:

    Hmm.  It was definitely a good thing that they did, no getting around that.  But I suppose the "fake" HW could have wanted the source of magic healed so that he would have the power to do something sinister.  I shall have to ponder.

    The twist on the twist could be that the imposter was actually a good magician of some sort that was completely different than the wizards.  And the only way to have the heroes do what they did was to pose as the High Wizard.  And possibly, the wizards' guild has many questionable members which seem to be steering the caste into bad directions.

    Or, if the wizards knew there was a problem.  But they were proposing a really bad solution.  So, the imposter "really knew" what was going on and gave the proper directions to fix it because the guild wouldn't approve.

    If you've seen the series Person of Interest, you'll kinda get what I'm talking about.

  6. This is a graph from Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage.  Please note the black dot.

    image.jpeg.1e1888dc14c3c0b1e6e462d4f7d2f584.jpeg

    The Y-axis is self-reported happiness levels as analyzed in interviews.  The X-axis is the criterion for happiness based on the common things that people tend to believe bring them happiness.

    Mr. Achor recognized that it is obvious that the common wisdom seems to be fairly predictive of the state of being happy.  Those common things do indeed bring some level of happiness.  But what he was curious about was that black dot instead of the gray dots.  What's up with that guy?

    Most of the time statisticians would simply ignore the black dot as an outlier.  It obviously is an outlier based on statistical analysis techniques.  It could simply be that this person has a naturally high level of endorphins in his body.  Could be anything.

    But instead of simply dismissing the outlier, Achor wanted to know WHY?  Why is that guy so much happier when others are fairly miserable with the same criteria that the world tends to value and seems to be fairly predictive?

    1882917876_CoffeeMug-FarSideJustNotReachingThatGuy.jpg.78c92d693eb1fc7aaa8e45a6f3df722e.jpg

    He looked into it and found many criteria that we all kinda know is linked to happiness, but we tend to ignore.  Often, it is "just too much work."

    This got me to thinking about:

    Quote

    Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

      -- John 14:27

    The peace the Lord gives us is more enduring.  It is beyond the ups and downs of the human experience.  It is constant.  It is eternal.

    I'm fairly comfortable as far as the worldly things.  But I know that it isn't a long fall from my height of 5'-7" to being homeless and sleeping on the sidewalk.  Job was the perfect example of how we can still have some "happiness" when we really should be miserable.

    It is easy to be "happy" when you're on the far right of the graph.  It is another thing to be happy when you're near the left end of the graph.

  7. Quote

    Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

     -- Rev 13:18

    The word "count" is often translated as "calculate."  And I believe that to be a more appropriate translation into modern English.
                         (Etymology: "Count" originally meant "calculate" or "compute").  

    "Number of a man" often referred to the concept that the gematriot of a man's name was his number.

    The number is actually written as 666.  It is not just any combination of various letters that total 666, but specifically three digits:

     χ=600   ξ=60   ς=6.

    So, what is that supposed to mean?  Apparently the beast's name has the gematriot of 666.  This is the popular theory.

    Many people point out that when you write 666 in Hebrew, the letters clearly write out "Emperor Nero."  Not exactly.

    So goes the theory: If you take the Greek version of his name (John's original manuscript is generally considered to be the Greek) and then transliterate (NRON QSRN) into Hebrew, the numerical value is 666.  But if you take the Latin version of his name (he was Roman, after all) and transliterate (Nero Caesar) into Hebrew, the gematriot = 616.  Interesting enough, some older Latin versions of the Bible indicate that the number of the Beast is 616.  There goes the translational Integrity of various versions of the Bible.

    I've tried to follow the gematria through these translations and I can't figure out how they did it.  Some of the letters they use to make these sounds is beyond my understanding.  If I, were to transliterate, I'd get a very different number.  But I believe it is because it is a proper noun.  And a proper noun is spelled slightly differently in different languages even if you're using the same alphabet.  That becomes compounded when you translate between several different alphabets. 

    Since I don't know the cultural adaptations of said name into the various languages, I'll just go along with it.

    If we then believe that it is an accurate interpretation, the Beast = Nero.  So, what does that mean for us today?  I'd consider it a type and shadow.  Nero was the Type that Foreshadows a similar character in the Latter-days.  So, theoretically, if we study what Nero did, we'll have some idea of what the Beast will do in the coming years.  And if we see someone doing the various things that Nero did, that man is probably the beast foretold by John.

    Is this likely?  Well, to the ancients, the gematria would be very clear.  So clear, in fact, that they felt it appropriate to change the number because this specific gematriot would have been different in a different language.

  8. 2 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

    That being said...I don't really believe excommunication was on the table here. It's a bit of an exaggerated point.

    For some people, that may be true.  But for some, a single wrong word spoken, etc...  with the stake pres already publicly chastizing him without even hearing his concerns?

    It sure seemed like it was on the table if he pressed the issue.

  9. 52 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

    Whereas I agree with you....

    I also understand. When you get into a classroom at church, or at a family party, or etc., and half the people in there are nodding their head in agreement to something egregious and false, it very much does make you worry for your kids' sakes. I mean we homeschool just to keep our kids away from that kind of stuff...and yet we are well aware they'll get it at church. And it seems like such a simple thing for the prophet or an apostle to clarify.

    As the Sunday School teacher, I get a pretty good sprinkling of what kinds of notions people have without proper background.  I do my best to straighten them out.  But often it really is no use.  

    I know this will sound pretty pompous, but it is difficult to be patient with a lot of the stupidity that I hear from the class sometimes.  So, the fact that people just don't take the time to think about it in the right way is no surprise to me.

    I tend to believe that this was the reason the Bishop called me to the position.  There was too much false doctrine that people actually believed.  And he knew that I'd dispel as much as I could.

    52 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

    Unlike @old, however, despite my consternation on the same ideas, I trust that God knows what he's doing and that He leads this church, and that for whatever reason that I don't understand, He wants the general confusion instead of the explicit clarity. Which makes a certain sense. I mean Jesus spoke in parables for a reason, right?

    I don't fully understand. But I fully trust.

    On a side note: apparently in the previous ward we attended (which is my wife's parents' ward), one of the brethren started wearing a dress to church. I mean a dress, high-heels, and carries a cute little purse around. I'm so glad we aren't in that ward any longer. But what do you do about that kind of garbage?! Argh. So frustrating.

    Yes, and I would make every effort to do the same.  Endure.

    But (I'll repeat myself) there would come a point where I would realize that I had no hope of making any impact, and there would be a great danger of me and my family being consumed by the apostasy.  I'd be forced to flee the ward/stake that has become Sodom and Gumorrah.

    2 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

    @Carborendum see @zil2's answer for basically what I was in the middle of typing up.

    Yes, I saw @zil2's post.  And I agree.  That would be the first option that I'd look into.  I'd beg and plead for help from the Lord.

    But (AFAIK) selling the house and moving would either have been untenable or ineffective for @old.  AFAIK, "going to the cave in the mountains of Zoar" seemed to be the only option for him.  And if I didn't receive clear direction on how to proceed, I may have done the same thing to save my family from being consumed.

    2 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

    I'd only add...it's my perception that leaving the church for another is as good as nullifying ordinances through excommunication anyhow. What's the difference?

    I disagree.  See Zil's post above for my response as well.

    2 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

    I didn't covenant to give all my time, talents and everything the Lord's blessed me with to some other church.

    Again, if I could not see any other tenable solution to the predicament, and I wasn't receiving any divine guidance otherwise, I may have done the same thing.

    Maybe it could be considered missionary work.

  10. 21 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

    The plain fact is that the garbage is unavoidable. And it's going to get worse. And worse. And worse.

    It legitimately and truly frightens me, in particular for my children.

    I'm going to run from it too...as much as possible

    Yes.  This is pretty frightening, isn't it?

    I wonder sometimes whether Pres Nelson's message of "it will be impossible to spiritually survive... without the .... witness of the Holy Ghost." was meant to cover circumstances when even our ward and stake leaders have gone over the edge.

    What exactly are we to do if that happens?  The impression I got was that if he stayed and fought against those who were promoting apostasy, the bishop would have excommunicated them nullifying all their ordinances. 

    That's not something I'd want to happen.  I'd rather go to a different church.

  11. 32 minutes ago, old said:

    I love this response. I think it is very wise and appropriate. 

    My follow-on question...

    I don't see anything that I disagree with in that post.  Yet, I'm in an area where staying in the Church does not put my children at risk of being exposed to Sodom and Gumorrah.  You did.

    I was hoping that this difference was the only thing that drove you over the edge.  But (and I hope I'm misinterpreting) it seems from your tone, there is a lot more going on in your mind and heart that has not been in mine.  Feel free to correct me. 

    I can't read your mind, only your words.

  12. 23 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

    I think the concern is (and I understand it) that the church has allowed too many members to misunderstand this by not being more explicit and direct.

    That may be.  But it wouldn't be the first time people mistook a prophet's words for license to continue in sin.

    And it seems pretty clear to me.  He who must be commanded in all things...

  13. 2 hours ago, old said:

    ...

    So I would prefer a more honest approach, if it is acceptable to be internally undisciplined in some thought pattern, then it should be acceptable for that thought pattern to be acted out in life.

    Which means, if it is acceptable for individuals to be sexually/romantically/etc. attracted to the same-sex, then it should be acceptable to act out those thoughts/feelings in the world.

    ...

    If it is unacceptable to act out those thoughts/feelings in the world, then it should be unacceptable for someone to be sexually or romantically attracted to the same-sex. 

    There are many things that I have enacted in the world that are unacceptable; but I have to both change my outward actions and my inward actions.

    ...

    Currently, in the LDS Church it appears that in the first an individual can openly tell others they desire that which is forbidden; they can ruminate on it; think about it; explore those thoughts, feelings and it is acceptable.  As long as one does not physically act on it.

    I agree with your philosophy which you outlined (the correct one).  But I disagree that the Church's position is at odds with that philosophy.  The last quote above is not what you seem to think it is.

    We never say that it is ok to ruminate on it.  In fact, that is what the Savior warned against in Matt 5.  So, let me clarify what the Church's position is.  While I'm not an official of the Church, I've heard and read enough commentaries from Church leaders that I believe I can give a good summary.

    • The fact that we all have weakness and tendencies that are not in line with the Lord's will is obvious.  It is why we need the Atonement.
    • Some weaknesses are an underlying motivation to do that which the Lord condemns.  We need to bridle our passions.  We need to do everything we can to prevent these tendencies from turning into action.  Dwelling on those tendencies and thoughts is the first step to actually committing the act.  So STOP dwelling on them.
    • Many heterosexual men will look on a woman who is drop dead gorgeous and have a physiological reaction that we don't really have a lot of control over.  And if that man is married, he should do all he can to bridle his passions in that case.
    • Let's say he is successful in shaking it off and moves on to think on other things, do we take Matt 5 literally?  Is it the same as actually committing adultery?  NO!  If it were, I believe 95% of all men would need to be excommunicated.  Committing it in his heart is a step further than simply having a reflexive reaction.  The dwelling and fantasizing is a sin.  But it is not actual adultery.  The warning is that if you keep dwelling on it, the act is not far behind.
    • The same goes for homosexual thoughts.  The "reaction" may be something that will take a LONG time to change.  But the command to bridle one's thoughts and passions is still given to those with SSA and others.

    It is the same standard.

    The fact that many tend to interpret it as you do, does not make it a correct interpretation of the Prophets' counsel.

     

  14. We skipped Ch 6?

    I was just looking at numbers and gematria recently.  And I found something that may or may not mean anything at all.  But it is interesting.  In several verses, we see that the armies were in groups of 10,000. 

    • It is unclear what the maximum number was in ancient Hebrew.  Modern Hebrew can go up to infinity. 
    • Ancient Greek the maximum number using gematria was 10,000. 
    • Ancient Latin allowed for 100,000.
    • Egyptian heiroglyphics actually went up to 1 million.  And they also had a number for zero (which was a phenomenal feat for the era of their prominence).

    So, when we see the sizes of the armies being repeatedly 10,000 that may have been a limitation of their numbering system. This means that each army could have been somewhat larger, but there was no way to number them.

  15. 3 minutes ago, Just_A_Guy said:

    worried about being accused of doxxing.

    I believe this is the biggest concern.  Specifically, if people were to sue the publication of such data as defamation, that would be a big sacrifice.  Who's willing to make such sacrifice?

    I think that the big advantage that the woke mob has over "responsible citizens" is that when you have nothing to lose, there is no sacrifice.  It is one thing to keep your values in your home and family.  It is another to have "public virtue."

    Most people don't even know what that term means.  That should tell you how infrequent we find such a trait in today's population.

  16. 14 minutes ago, old said:

    Ward Conference comes and let's just say it went down like a lead balloon. 

    As I said, I don't blame you.  I still disagree (as I said about the Brethren vs a single ward, or possibly a stake).  But if there really is no option to keep your children safe from such apostasy, I would probably do the same thing.

    14 minutes ago, old said:

    And this isn't some liberal bastian.  It is a rural area in one of the rubiest of red conservative states in the US.

    That is interesting.  I have heard of some governmental episodes like that in a red state's rural area.  But it is an absolute shame when this is coming from Saints who have agreed to abide by the Law of Chastity and claim to revere the family as the fundamental and most important unit of society. 

    That's just a dang shame.  BTW, a former forum member (Anatess) had similar experiences in her ward and stake.  And she lives in Florida.  They're certainly struggling.

    I don't know if moving is even an option for you.  But some part of me believes that your faith in the gospel and of the covenants you've made are still there.  You're just in a situation that prevents you from worshipping the way the ward should be worshipping.  If there is any way for you to do that...

    Otherwise, staying in the wilderness may be your only option.

  17. 4 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

    Do I understand correctly that, because you see the LDS church becoming more accepting/friendly of this stuff, that you and your entire family stopped going to church?

    I'm interested - do you folks figure the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's church, led by Him and His Prophets?  Or do you figure something else?

    (I've made a bit of a study over the decades on why folks lose their testimonies, and if y'all lost yours over this issue, it'll be the first time I've encountered such a story.)

    I can't speak for @old.  But I'll speak for myself.  I wouldn't go so far as Old, for one ward going astray.  But I would do so if the Brethren did.

    • We believe that the prophet and all the apostles are inspired by God.  Joseph Smith said that the "key that will never rust" is to follow the majority of the 12 and the records of the Church.  As such, when they say that there is a change in practice we abide by it.  This also includes a modification or change to doctrines and beliefs.
    • The Church has to be centered on Christ.  If that center changes, there was nothing to the faith to begin with.
    • Different denominations will say "this is Christ" or "here is Christ."  Lo here.  Lo there.  But what is Christ?  It is one thing to give it a name, it is another to give it a definition.
    • Whatever Christ is or is not, the idea is that He will deliver us from evil/sin and open the path to heaven.
    • What is heaven?  For us, the Celestial Kingdom is all about Eternal Marriage & Eternal Families.  Admit it or not, if sealing and eternal families are not part of the actual "core" (as Christ is) then it is pretty dang close.  So close, in fact, that the "records of the Church" (mentioned above) can only mean the records of ordinances.  And the most important ordinances of all, are those of sealing eternal families. 

    You take eternal families out of our faith, then we're no different than any other Christian faith.  Take that out and what is wrong with going to any other orthodox faith?  There is no meaning or definition of our faith that provides anything different than any other Christian faith.  Only the power to seal families for eternity.  And as I stated earlier, the LGBT ideology is completely at odds with that doctrine.

    So, if something so fundamental is being tampered with by the Brethren, then we have a problem.  I could not in all my soul go along with such a fundamental change unless I had a vision and theophany on the order of the First Vision.  It is simply too basic, too fundamental.

  18. 8 minutes ago, Vort said:

    Just so we're all on the same page, I think @Jamie123 is talking about something like this:

    b4b4f346f2872e1c626e85187072a333-large.p

    Similar.  Not quite the same.  The picture he provided is more like what my sister had.  They were wrapped up with gift wrap.  And there was a pulling mechanism (somewhat like the mechanism that party poppers are based on.  But it was like pulling apart a wishbone.

    If you pull it apart and it pops, you get your wish.  If it doesn't pop, you don't get your wish.

    At least, that is what my sister did.  And she said it was a tradition in the UK.  But I'd depend on an actual Brit @Jamie123 to verify that.

  19. 1 hour ago, Jamie123 said:

    If you don't know what Christmas crackers are, here are some: they go bang when you pull them open and they contain jokes, paper hats and other small things (such as badly made plastic whistles, combs, thimbles, fortune-telling fish, tape measures, dice etc.)

    My sister once had a party where these crackers were on each of our plate.  She described the tradition.  No one's crackers actually "popped."  We kinda wondered if there actually was any mechanism in them to make a pop, or if we just got gypped.

  20. 19 hours ago, old said:

    It is certainly possible that it is an amalgamation of stories.  I do not think has much relevance to the conversation.  He claims these are his real experiences and is currently as worthy missionary serving his mission.

    Unless one is claiming that this individual is actually not a missionary; I have no reason to doubt his story.  And given that there have been multiple instances of openly homosexual missionaries who have openly come out while as a missionary and/or openly discussed their experiences as openly homosexual missionaries, it is a believable story.

    My theory is that it is largely autobiographical.  But he had some embellishments.  And some of those embellishments may have been from other people's legitimate stories.

    The reason I chose to point that out was largely for the same motivations as what @Just_A_Guy and @Vort had spoken about.  This essay/diary is not about sharing one's personal history to share the ups and downs of one's life.  It was to write a puff piece about why we should celebrate his SSA.

    A real diary would have, or at least SHOULD have talked about ANYthing he did to actually overcome this trait and walk towards God.  But he didn't.  It was all about getting sympathy (even approval) for someone who has to deal with SSA, and why we should be understanding that he simply CANNOT overcome it.

    Well, maybe he can't.  But the Lord can.  Where in any of this entire account does he talk about reaching out to the Lord to help him overcome this?  Was there any degree of repentance over this issue?

    One thing I've thought about a lot recently is that it is hubris to think we can overcome sin on our own.  I the LDS faith, we tend to emphasize works a whole lot more than any protestant faith, and possibly more than orthodox faiths.  But we need to remember that God's grace is real.  And it is only through that grace that any of our works will ever bear fruit.