NeuroTypical

Here's a recent article about brother so-and-so and his random fringe opinions. It's rather heartwarming, and worth a read. LM

'Quality control' is basically the bishop and his counselors discussing who they should ask to give a talk. It's a combination of what they know about the individual, plus any added inspiration the spirit has for them. Known wildcards, people known to be still growing in the gospel, or struggling to understand what's true and what's not, don't usually end up in front of a microphone, unless someone thinks it's a good idea. Sometimes 'damage control' may be necessary afterword. LM

Hmm. So, now I'm starting to wonder if this isn't the next round of "silly people going to sensational lenghts to get their own reality show"...

Hi Hheinze, Yeah, I see that avatar you've picked. Go sit in the bishop's hot seat. Do what you need you have to. After it's over, you'll probably feel like changing your avatar to something with bigger wings and a head held higher. Getting disfellowshipped (or whatever church discipline it ends up being) can be one of the most freeing, liberating, cleansing processes you ever go through. The more open and honest you are with your bishop, the more he can help you. I sat in that hotseat once. It was very hard. But worth it. LM

Not all social work jobs require a master's degree. There are all sorts of counselor-type jobs out there. Someone who has climbed the ladder of brain issues to where you're functional, could help others near the bottom of the same ladder, and there are ways to get paid to do it. But be warned - you say you're in a dead-end job now, social work related jobs are usually near the top of any top-10 "most hated jobs" lists out there. You say you have an idealist nature, wanting to help people? Well, this is the place. But you have to be ready for a ton of bureaucracy and a low success rate. LM

Rough Stone Rolling is out in the last few years, and hailed by both critic and believer alike. I haven't read it, just heard the good reviews.

That makes no sense to me. Loving liars or addicts does not mean always trusting them. Loving them sometimes means you don't trust anything that comes out of their mouths. Loving untrustworty people of low character doesn't always involve trust. Sometimes the exact opposite.

Maybe. If you want to gather viscious explative-filled hatemail from people who claim to be christians, publicly wondering about abortion is the way to do it. But what would be the point?

It frustrates me when people who supposedly understand about reporting news and get paid to report it, post a story about a website without giving the link. Here's the link. For pete's sake, go and vote. You could help save a child's life. And you can suggest adoption if you like. LM

I've put ours together bit by bit on a budget. It's a hodge-podge of old suitcases and duffle bags and a camping backpack I've had since 1985. It will work just fine for us if we're staying put, or driving somewhere. It won't work at all if we have to travel anywhere on foot. Bedding is very heavy - especially for colorado winter mountain weather.

Without kids, you have basically three valid choices:1- Work on your end of things and hope she works on hers. 2- Just live one day at a time, with the only goal getting to the next day. 3- End the relationship. You could make babies with her, but that's a pretty horrible option IMO. Dragging an innocent life into this mess isn't fair on the innocent life. With kids, your valid choices change a bit. You have a responsibility to your children, and it should take precidence over your own hurt and pain and whatnot. Kids are best served in families where there is a mommy and a daddy. If that's the situation, then basically, you figure out how to get over your hurt about her changing faith, and parent your kids. LM

Here's my help and advice: Based on the details you shared on your other thread, I wouldn't spend much time worrying about your mom attending your temple wedding, until you have a ring and a date from your boyfriend.

Correct. There are also a lot of ways to smuggle things on to airplanes in ways that can't be detected without making a segment of America feel like they've handed over their personal dignity. At the risk of being too explicit, there's a reason we're all familiar with the term 'body cavity search'.LM

I think I remember her explaining it once. Beefche = beef ('cuz she likes critters that moo) + she ('cuz she's a she.)

I remember after the towers fell, there was quite a bit of criticism about how we didn't have the right security measures in place, and how the administration had failed us, fell asleep on the job, etc. There was a very direct answer to all that criticism that stuck with me over the years. "When the towers fell, America had exactly the level of security that it wanted and was willing to fund and put up with." I read this thread, and I see some folks trying to increase our level of security, and I see America loudly screaming about sexual assault and unfairness and a waste of resources and whatnot. America will suffer further airplane-based terrorist attacks, partially because America is not willing to submit itself to the procedures necessary to make themselves secure from such terrorist attacks. It's a valid issue - rights and personal freedom vs. public safety and finding terrorists. America is making it clear that preserving personal freedoms are worth an occasional attack. Y'alls answer is more or less ok with me. We don't fly, and we live and work in sparsely populated areas miles away from much more attractive targets. LM

I appreciate your comments about behavioral profiling. Well, part of the point, is that they have a hard time doing so. They would have done that already if they could have. Part of Bin Laden's point in bringing the towers down, was to create a groundswell of 'homegrown terrorists' inside secular democracies like ours, that would help carry the war forward. There's been notable failure in that arena. A few isolated exceptions like the shoe bomber, but otherwise, everyone attempting to carry out terror via airplane in America and Europe are still Middle-Eastern men between 18 and 45. LM

Does anyone here disagree with racial profiling? For example, anyone have a problem with specifically paying more attention to middle-eastern men between the ages of 18 and 40? Or paying more attention to people flying in or out of countries that support terrorism? LM

Yeah. Not usually my deal, but I had to applaud Michael Moore for the various funny and sarcastic ways he counterprotested these horrible people.

It's nice to think that international law has fairness and justitutde at its foundation. Nice in the way that little kids think the tooth fairy is nice. Geopolitics is a bloody vicious nasty dirty game where all the players try to make what they have bigger and more powerful. Size and power means leverage. Leverage means more favorable stuff for your country and less favorable stuff for everyone else. Because everyone else is a potential future enemy. I'll fall down on my knees and praise God when Christ brushes all that aside and implements something truly nice. But until then, well, it's been the same game since we got the boot from the garden. I don't see fairness or justice or right suddenly becoming relevant. LM

The entire LM family just loves hair like this:

Link Interesting.

Hi Xevelous! Always nice to have a potential fellow fan of The Golden Compass to help me keep my brothers and sisters on their toes.

If you have cats and hate them, garland tinsel is GREAT! The cats eat it and die, and then no more cats. Everybody wins!

We didn't buy my daughter anything special for her baptism. She had a great time.

Your mother is manipulating you in order to hang on to you. She fears being alone. You should love her, and move away. Whenever she brings up the issue, you are a broken record: "I will always love you Mom, and I'll call you in a few days, and I'm coming back for a visit on X date." Nothing else from you about it. You love her, you will call her, you will visit her. Over and over again until she gets it. (Oh- and you also have to make good on your promises to call and visit.) To the extent that she lets you without becoming manipulative, share your life with her. If she's computer savvy, blog often. Write her emails or letters. Tell her you miss her. Figure out ways to let her know you're thinking about her. Again, if you don't mind spending time with her, you can even have an instant messager like Yahoo chat or Google Talk or something, and talk with her every day. But if she spends the together time to manipulate and cause grief and complain, feel free to shut them off. Enabling bad behavior is not how you honor your parents. You can't. And since trying is making you both miserable, you should stop trying. Go live your life - her deal is her deal.LM