Meet the weird neighbors

Ideas about Magnolia Ave, the minority neighborhood

nospam@example.com (admin) — Tue, 15 May 2012 23:47:31 -0400

I've wanted to write this article for quite awhile; now, sadly, it appears the ideas may be less workable. I just read a WND news article about a mob of black youths attacking two white reporters in their car.This may provide the mob some vengeful satisfaction, but can only lead to greater isolation of the African American community.

As for the news article, the page allows for comments at the bottom. By the time I read it, there were close to 400 comments. The overall tone was terrible, talk of shooting back, running people over with the car, sending blacks back to Africa. I commented two or three paragraphs, along the lines of my suspicions about the media portraying conservatives as racist, and emphasising that all blacks are not of a violent mob mentality. There were also comments saying that this is happening in other cities as well.

The above aside, following are my ideas about -part- of what could be done in the African American part of town. I don't recall when I first started thinking about what could be done there, but an event made my thoughts much clearer and urgent. I was called to do some of the same style of window advertising that I had been doing along Magnolia Avenue; only this was for an African American Lady who was moving her hairstyling business to West Knoxville, which is probably the most affluent commercial area in these parts. As I interacted with her, I learned some of what she was dealing with. She works hard, saved money, carefully bought used but nice equipment for her salon. All the styling chairs, hairwashing sinks, and tasteful decor. It was common for her to be working at 9 or 10 pm.

I don't know the details, but there was a lot of resistance from the white neighbors. They were suspicious, made phone calls, watched her, and complained. One instance stands out in my memory: a lady friend of hers was going through a difficult time in her life, and the gal who owns the salon was consoling and conversing with her in the car. The neighbor's reaction? Well, two black people setting in a car for a prolonged time, it must be a drug deal. That was part of what she had to put up with. She finally left, went back to another part of town, where she is now.

My own life hasn't been easy, some of it just my own dumb decisions, so I'm not pleading for sympathy; just giving a little insight into why on some things I can quickly be pragmatic. So it is, I figure whites have had hundreds of years to figure out that all blacks are not the same, and if they haven't got it yet, well, don't hold your breath. I got to thinking that if black business owners can't move into white areas, then what's needed is for white shoppers to go to black owned businesses, wherever they're located.

If whites think that they'll get mobbed, they'll stay far away. It was already bad enough; I'll tell you how it was, white people would be thinking and praying something like this: Oh Lord, if I drive on this road, I can cut 15 miles off my course, but Lord, PLEASE_DON'T_LET my car break down here! How did I think that kind of prayer? I probably have more interaction with African Americans than many white folks, but it was in church, with other Christians. Driving through the minority neighborhood is like:"Man, those guys there are bad lookin' dudes, they look like they're from THE 'HOOD. Of course, once I started working there in the black owned businesses, spending hours on end there, I was a lot more relaxed. I got used to being in a non church setting, they're already accustomed to the occasional white person being around.

As for my ideas, they're not complicated, maybe that's an advantage. In marketing, you pitch the benefits of the product, not the product itself. Tires are family safety, air conditioning is home comfort and health. So what pitch can be made for a place like Magnolia Avenue? For starters, diversity. There are other ethnic groups and businesses there. In order to make i visual splash with the area's diversity, one could make large exterior wall paintings with strong and distinct ethnic flair. I did an online image search for African, Mideastern, and Asian fabric patterns and pottery patterns. So the wall would be painted sort of like a mural, but simpler, fitting well withing the theme of ethnic and cultural atmosphere. I don't envision murals with political messages, just very esthetically pleasing huge wall paintings decorating that part of town.

It might even be possible to created a few jobs with the project. A few of the paintings would have to be done for free or very low cost. But maybe one could do it in this way: First, you find out from a neighbor or through casual conversation what country the owner of a convenience store, or his parents are from. You make a color sketch of his store with the pattern painted large on a prominent wall. You approach the owner of the store with this pitch: "Say Nassir, we'd like to paint this on your store." He's probably going to recognize the artwork right off, but if he doesn't want to spend much or any money, offer this deal:"Well, we'd really like to see this happen around here, so here's our proposition: You let us see your sales tax returns for the previous and the following years; and we'll do it for___ (or free).

You go ahead with the project, but the goal is to be able to show the other businesses the economic benefit to having their store freshened up with the ethnic artwork. This might arm you with enough facts to be able to charge for the work, and pay the helpers, which are from the immediate area. As to how to pitch the neighborhood to shoppers from elsewhere, you might get help from newspapers and so forth.Below is a picture of artwork I made that is supposed to look African, I think this would look pretty cool done large on a wall.

That saved a spiritual retard like me...

nospam@example.com (admin) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 23:18:00 -0400

Funny how sometimes a verse or line
hits you as never before. Our youngest little guy has taken a big
liking to the song Amazing Grace, by John Newton. The words “twas
grace that taught my heart to fear” became crystal clear the other
day. Before I was a Christian, I was so lost that I didn't even take
God or the possibility of there being a God seriously; He's had to
show me how serious He is. I guess when you're thinking about how bad
the other guy is, there's that three fingers pointing back thing.

I was thinking about people I've met
who oppose God. Witchy people that work for the other side. I'm not
talking about atheists or agnostics that doubt God's existence.
What's strange is that they work against God, but breath His air,
drink His water, and so on. It really is like the lesser side in a
war calling a cease fire, then hitting up the greater side for more
provisions and ammo. Bizarre but true.

Then there are other incidents in my
life; spending the last how many years hanging out on line with
intellectuals (it was understood that I was a guest, a wannabe, etc).
I learned a lot about politics and economics (if there's a big
difference), but let my guard down in regards to their sin; many
claim to be Christian but make you wonder if it's so. I became
acclimated and wasn't walking close to the Lord. Not commission of
sin, with the possible exception of idolatry, but omission of
learning God's wisdom.

There's more, yesterday, following
another guy's lead on Facebook, I tore into the liberals. I ended by
saying something like:”Liberals are a curse, they're like locusts
in your crops or leeches on your leg. Can't hold it against them
though, poor creatures are only doing their job.” Dummy! There
were liberals reading the thread, what ever happened to:”speaking
the truth in love”? Just because something is very true, it might
not be the right time to say it. Spiritual retard, but at least I see
it.

So it is, I now contemplate the line
as: “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a spiritual
retard like me”.

Speaking of politics, I thought of
something recently. I can write about Liberals, their policies and
motivations, creating anger in hopes of it being a motivator. But the
root of the problem is people turning away from God. Shouldn't I be
making people as angry at sin as I do at progressive politics?

Speaking of slow -and- politics, just
tonight, in our family Bible study time, I think I finally understood
a verse I've read many times. It's Proverbs chapter 24 verse 21. “My
son, fear thou the Lord and the king: and meddle not with them that
are given to change...”

I used to think it was referring to
shifty indecisive people, now I think it's talking about
progressives, people wanting to do things the new way, not God's way.

levers?

nospam@example.com (admin) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 01:21:27 -0400

I won't take the time to explain all the "marvels" of our economic system, I only know an overview myself. One of the things the Federal Reserve (a group of private bankers?) does is to try and regulate the economy. The method currently is broke, because they can't lower interest rates any more, but that's another topic.

What I'm wondering about is a comparison that went through my head. They use a method that has been compared to levers: when the economy is sluggish, they lower interest rates, when it's heating up too fast, they raise interest rates. So what about unity of the masses? When the PTB want to keep the masses divided, say to keep us from realizing the real problems, they pull the division levers. Racism, hot button political issues, etc. But when they want us united, like for war, they pull the unity lever.

I'm not trying to lose friends over whether we should go to war or not, just wondering about that disunity lever.

Can we do anything about gas prices?

nospam@example.com (admin) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 22:16:26 -0400

At a popular sign makers' forum, a post was started with the title "I got robbed this morning". When you clicked on the link, the page said "Pump #6". My reply is this:

Granted, I drive an old truck, but I get much better mileage at 40 mph than 50.

I wish there was a way to stick it to the oil companies in terms of
supply and demand. Here's an idea: what about some sort of facebook like
site or app where when you're about to go on an errand or drive 20
miles in a direction, you post it at the site, then you can deliver an
extra parcel or passenger to a destination along the way; thereby
eliminating the fuel consumption of an extra vehicle.
That alone
isn't the idea that would bloody their nose, but with technology being
what it is, ideas like this could be gathered and shared...

Very likely re-election of the President

nospam@example.com (admin) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 00:20:42 -0400

I enjoy classical music. I used to buy
tapes, but these days I just listen to public radio. The music is
nice, but the agenda...it's like if you want to know what Satan is up
to now, keep an ear on our public radio station. I'm beginning to
think that they don't report random news events, but deliver a very
crafted indoctrination.

One reason I think President Obama is
very likely to be re-elected is because the media is sending out a
message at an emotional level; a message of racism. I've heard people
say this before, but pretty much dismissed it until yesterday.
Earlier in the week, the station news reported how the change in
Florida's law regarding self defense was pushed by the NRA and
republicans. Friday, they report how President Obama said if he had a
son, he would look like Trayvon Martin. Then, within a short time,
seemed like an hour, they report this incident at a shooting range,
where a woman yells to Rick Santoram, as he's about to shoot,
“Pretend it's Obama”. This might all be coincidence, but it looks
like the hand of Satan and his media workers. To be clear, I can't
understand how one can justify shooting an unarmed youth. And the
African American community has called for civil justice, not riots or
vigilantes. I don't condone the incident.

Another message that will be sent out
is one of economic recovery. They keep reporting how the nailbiters
gambling society, AKA as wall Street has gone above the 13,000 mark.
Whoopty-do. The price of stocks doesn't reflect the value produced by
the companies that issued the stock, but rather, the price reflects
the value the gamblers place on it. Not only that, the 800 pound
gorilla in the room is housing prices. Stocks were an issue...in
1929. The latest bubble to burst was real estate. All this media talk
about rising stock prices does two things: it distracts from the real
issues of the day, things like how many trillions the government
continues to spend; and it props up the failed Keynesian economic
system that made this mess. I expect to see a lot of heavily
stretched and tweaked news about recovery, things like unemployment
down. Right, more people working, what they don't say is the wages.
What they're offering, I can't support my family on. Ol' Karl Marx
talked about the history of man being a history of class struggles,
there are a lot of people taking advantage of this economic downturn.

Another factor in a very likely
re-election is the lead held by Mitt Romney in the Republican
primary. As I've said before, I don't get bothered over the birth
certificate issue because what got President Obama elected the first
time was that John McCain was his opponent. Mitt Romney is McCain
number 2.

Yet another factor for re-election is
that Mr. Obama is the incumbent. His policies have been terrible
(unless you're a communist) so far, imagine what they'll be when he
doesn't face re-election. I perceived very dark days ahead. I left
California about 18 years ago, because of the changes I saw happening
in this country. California being so liberal, I figured the changes
would 'progress' there first. Ultimately, the plan was to leave the
country entirely, but we got bogged down here in Tennessee. There are
a lot of really neat things about this place, but economically, it
can drain the life out of you.

None of the above things should be
considered without thinking about what God is doing in all this. It's
not as though the working class is so pure and innocent that they can
expect God to bless them with high wages; it's not as though the
country as a whole can expect responsible leadership when they don't
practice it in their own lives. So it is, I think it's time to at
least have the passports ready, make a plan A, B, and C.

Update:

On Tuesday of this week, Congress held a forum regarding the Trayvon Martin shooting. Democrats were in attendance, but not one Republican. My guess is that this is all going to be played out as "Don't vote Republican, because they're racist".

Random_1_7_2012

nospam@example.com (admin) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 01:08:14 -0500

I've long enjoyed the subject of marketing, not entirely sure why. Probably in part because one can change his circumstances with ideas, which cost only the time to study the subject, and the time to devise the methods. We're locked in this world of physical parameters and circumstances which are difficult to change, it's nice to be able to do something about it.

Anyway, one of the books I'm reading, and highly recommend, is called (I didn't name it!) "Your marketing sucks" by Mark Stevens. He gives a number of actual events where people started with completely wrong motives or methods, and threw away thousands or millions of dollars on ineffective marketing campaigns. He's continually bringing your feet back down to the ground, to the bottom line in fact, by saying that all efforts should be measurable and return more money than they cost.

Just today I thought that it would be easy for me to sell a stack of these books. I remember how many people became members of a sign forum -to the tune of $50 a year- because I was so glad to tell them about it. I wasn't implying that they sign up for the paid status; it has only a few perks more than the free status. I was just saying that I liked it so much I paid the money. So they did too.

The thing about this book is that EVERY business owner or manager should have a copy. It's a relatively small paperback, but thus far, not a word is wasted. Most of the small business owners I encounter don't have a bad marketing plan, they have none at all. I'm moving in the direction now of trying to be sure that the signs I sell are part of a comprehensive marketing plan for the business. Here in Appalachia, it's difficult to sell ideas; people have a hard enough time buying the actual items: business cards, signs, ads, etc. I'll need a very solid track record to sell consultations or campaign packages.

Again, the name of the book is "Your marketing sucks": I haven't read the others. If you want a copy of the book, you can get it from the store at his blog.

Continue reading "Random_1_7_2012"

Of pickles and identity

nospam@example.com (admin) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 22:22:19 -0500

My wife is incredible. She is very
people oriented, hates wickedness, remembers names well, among other
things. Lately, she's been wanting me to have a talk with the
children after I discipline them. Sometimes it's being grounded on
this property, or in the house, or even in their room for a day.

It might be having to stand in one
place for ten minutes, write something ten times, or some other
punishment. I've always been of the mind that you can be angry at me,
I'll let that slide, but there are certain rules which are non
negotiable. She wants me to change that with these talks.

My earlier life was a lot coarser than
hers, I haven't developed the social skills she has; so I rely on and
trust her judgment in matters like these. I thought I'd be at a loss
for what to say, but I did OK. I present this for others who may feel
awkward in that situation.

It has been about a week since it
happened, I don't remember the details, so this is approximate.

The boy was caught taking something
which he didn't ask for. I sat next to him on the couch and said:

We don't like you to get in trouble,
but sometimes that's the only way to make children remember what we
expect. We need to teach you to be less selfish. A lot of the bad
things people do to each other is because they care more about
themselves than other people.

If you keep doing these selfish
things, that will be who you are, it will be your identity. You can
pretend to be something else, but it's just a big act. It's like a
jar of pickles. The label on the outside can say Kluasen, Del Monte,
or Kroger brand, but inside it's still pickles. Quite a long time
ago, there was a lady that felt sorry for all the wounded war
soldiers. They didn't have many people to help care for them. So she
started taking care of them, and getting other people to help.

Do you think that people remember her
for what her hair looked like? Or what kind of dresses she wore? Or
do you think they remember her as that nice lady the helped the
soldiers when they were hurting? You're right, they do, they remember her
as Clara Barton, the lady that started the Red Cross.

So go on now, and think about what
kind of boy you're making yourself into.

Three thoughts for Friday morning

nospam@example.com (admin) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 07:02:26 -0400

-I just heard a wicked country music song at the supermarket. A big concern is that I didn't think to say an objection to the management. Another concern is how long it took me to come up with a worthy reply to the most common answer the store people give. It wasn't for inability; rather, a lack of tenacity. The common answer is this: "We can't do anything about it". Spoken with finality of course.

The appropriate reply is:"Sorry, I have a hard time believing that; if a song said I hate blacks or I hate Gays; then you would change the music really fast. I guess you think that it's OK for families to hear this trash about ___, right?

-People need to rethink the old saying about a man's home being his castle. Now it should be a man's home is his fortress: a place where the lewd unclean communication of the world is kept out.

-I wonder if there are web sites that show the cost of the current wars by type of expense? That is, so many billions on troop salaries, so many billions on tanks, and so many billions on bombs and bullets. Could be enlightening as to motives.

A case of "the last shall be first"?

nospam@example.com (admin) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:06:36 -0400

Here's a picture of one of the cards my sister in law often sends to my children:

Continue reading "A case of "the last shall be first"?"

Random_10_30_2011

nospam@example.com (admin) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 01:25:58 -0400

I heard Ann Graham Lotz the other day
on the radio. She pointed out something very interesting, which I
should have seen myself, but hadn't. She was saying that as a mother,
she remembers labor pains as increasing in frequency as the actual
birth of the baby draws near; and that the passage where Jesus
relates end time events to a woman in labor pains should be seen in
that way. Events will be closer and closer together. So I'm wondering
if we're about to see another group of strange and disastrous
events.

I also wonder if this 'events in groups'
timing helps explain the paradoxical nature of Matthew 24, that is,
where people see strange things which should be a wake up call, but
are nonetheless caught off guard. People will become accustomed to the
lull in the storm, and will expect another break when a group of
calamities are happening; thus are they pacified into believing
everything is alright.

Be careful about details. I never quite
understood the saying “The devil is in the details”. Does it mean
that one can spend too much time worrying about trivial details; or
that overlooking details can be costly? Probably the latter, but I
want to relate some recent events:

I had a number of people contact me
about work, enough so that if all goes right, I'll be able to stay
working and paying bills for six weeks or two months, which isn't bad
in this time and place. All the requests came in within a relatively
short time. It probably wasn't a good decision, but I decided to get
all the related office type work out of the way at once, then I would
have weeks of productive work; or so the story goes. I took more than
a week to make sketches, get measurements, call suppliers, and bid
the jobs.

Then, It seemed as though they were
all evading me. Customers weren't avoiding me or turning me down, I
can tell when that's happening. It's that everything had a delay, an
interruption, it all stayed just out of my grasp. It was starting to
seem bizarre. Upon closer examination, I found that things were
stranger than usual, but not as bad as I had thought. A client that
I've sent emails to hadn't received my latest one. I should have
called to be sure they received it, or sent it in the way that
verifies it has been opened. Another client seemed to never answer
their phone when I called it. It turns out I was using his old
number. I talk to him every couple of months; one one of those
occasions he asked me if I had his number. Granted, he didn't say my
NEW number, but now I know that instead of saying “yes”; I should
say “yes, that's _ , right?”

However, I'm not alone in slacking at the details. One of the above
clients paid me with a check made out to my name with the word signs
added to the end. I looked at it and told him they wouldn't cash it.
He said sure they will. I said no, not at all, the always harass me
about stuff like this (they do). He said look, if you have any
trouble, have them give me a call. That folks, is banking circa 1969
or so. So it was, they wouldn't cash it, and they wouldn't call him.
When he called, they still refused. The bank is attentive to joint
accounts which use the word “and” or “or”; they're also
attentive to details like exact company names.

Perhaps one finds more paradoxes when
looking for them, maybe my life is this Twilight zone sort of thing;
whatever. You know your gears are getting a bit rounded on the teeth
when you're swimming in the weird, but can't expend the effort to
contemplate it all. That or you wonder how cool a nose hair mustache
would be. I'm kidding. I don't contemplate things like that.

Back to the paradoxical. We've been
really busy since we moved into this house; getting the appearance
better, making it ready for winter, and more. So the old electric
cook stove didn't make it to the top of the priority list.

It had its share of problems; a knob
was missing, so one had to shift them around in order to use all the
burners and oven. One of the oven elements was out, so one had to
guess at what temperature setting to use, and how long to bake . Not
easy, but add to that the door needing to be held closed with a strap
on the outside. Finally, the handle broke, and there was nothing to
attach the strap to. Answers to the name “lucky”. I had no
indoor work, and a rainy day gave me a chance to take in the scrap
metal; which pays decent these days. A medium load pays at least
$120. We had no replacement stove, or money to get one; but my wife,
being the woman of faith that she is, said to add this stove to the
scrap metal load.

Now me, being a skinflint that would
put the tightest Scotsman to shame; I would have maybe opted for a
tie down strap from the truck to hold the door closed. You know, the
kind with the little ratchet thing in the handle? But not her, she
said that being rid of this one would let us get another one sooner.
Bear in mind that she is masterful in the kitchen, she takes baking
to an art form. On the truck it went.

Two days later, she finds this listing
on Craigslist, in the swap section. All the ad said was “fs or t”,
which I guess meant for sale or trade. The guy had a list of things
he wanted to sell or trade, a stove being one of them. We had to
verify that it was an electric stove, not wood. The guy hadn't been
able to sell or trade his stuff, and had to get the stove out of his
daughter's garage. So he agreed to trade it for an electric leaf
blower vac thing my wife had bought at a garage sale. Turns out that
the stove was incredible. Digital clock and timer, glass top, burners
that heat really fast; by far the nicest stove we've ever had, and
the guy went ahead with the trade. He probably wanted to help the guy
in the 33 year old truck, whatever the case, we really needed that
stove. So it was, 2 days after the scrap run, she had this awesome
replacement.

So why not junk the old truck and the
old computers, with their big clunky monitors? Not so fast...It's a
matter of faith not physical action. That and I think our teen agers
needed to see a miracle right then. So what's the paradox? The Bible
says to be content with such things as you have. I like my 33 year
old truck, and my old computers. The truck is a Toyota, and keeps
running smooth. I suppose that when it gets in the condition of that
stove, I can back off in the contentment department, and have the
faith that I'm doing the right thing.

But not a minute sooner. New stuff
would hinder my status as King of Cheap.

Is the cradle anti Calvinist? (& more)

nospam@example.com (admin) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 04:32:30 -0400

I have what I call the Prospector's
Bible Study; it's based on the idea that if you're looking for
something, you're more likely to find it than by accident. You make a
list of things you're interested in, say free will, or end of O.T.
Law. Then, with notebook, pen, and list, you read part of the Bible,
taking notes.

What I found was that you not only
find gems this way, but you find better mining tools; a very present
case of to he that has, more will be given...I ended up with
something like a read between the lines Bible study. But instead of
the former list of things to keep an eye out for; the new list has
principles. These are to a large degree speculative, I don't hold
them as concrete, or etched in stone as it were. In fact, the whole
point is to see if I can solidly confirm them in the Bible.

One of the things I'm definitely
seeing is this thing about anti mediocrity. That's not a
comprehensive way of saying it, it has to do with the idea that God's
will is for people to move in the direction of their heart's moral
compass. Be ye hot or be ye cold. If you're interested in His ways,
pursue a knowledge of them. If not, don't use His name in vain. You
might think that adding His title to the word damn is taking His name
in vain; but I would consider it a secondary definition. The book of
Proverbs shows that it has to do with calling yourself one of His
people, but not living it. The Gospel of Matthew has another example
of this principle. See chapter13, verses 3-15. Note that vs 9 is a warning to
the people hearing His parable. Take a close look at verses 12 and
15.

I've heard it said that Jesus was born
in such humble circumstances so that all people could relate to Him.
Now I'm wondering if there's another reason: Do you want His message?
Had he been born in a different economic strata, He might have
followers because He had a certain style, or had degrees from some
institution. As it is you have His teachings, you have to decide
whether to pursue them.

Your destiny is in your desire.

I think that the above contains
another of these paradoxes I'm seeing in life; I just didn't want to
dilute that last line with an aside. I don't want to engage in a game
of exact semantics, so don't hold me to rigid definitions of words
like will and desire in the part about “God's will is for people to
move...” I hold to the idea that God wants, desires, wishes, would
have joy in all men repenting and being part of His Kingdom. But His
will is that you go one of two directions. I want Him to help me
understand paradoxes and truth. Seeing these paradoxes brings a
certain comfort in knowing that when a difficult thing happens in my
life, it doesn't mean I'm on His B list.

Did you hear about the new ruling in
Mexico?!? Now you can get a 2 year marriage license? Um, folks, this
guy no habla Castiliano, but that's_not_really_marriage, for your
information. I have this tendency toward reductio ad absurdum, it
leads me to making advertising layouts for the occasion. How about
one where the main copy says:VEILS Y VIVA! Below, smaller copy: For
all the weddings and seasons of life. Then a group of pictures, all
small, and symmetrical in size, arranged neatly; the pictures show a
woman in bridal veils and gowns, as she ages. Below that, more copy
about a “group” plan of weddings, whereby a persons pays once and
gets all future weddings planned and catered. Copy: For all the
seasons and weddings of your life, we'll be there, highlighting the
dignity and grace you've gained, the friends and songs, the blah and
blah...the uncertainty, the kids without a real home, the lack of
investment in the future...what a wreck.

It wouldn't take much effort to turn
this into a quick cartoon, but I hesitated at the question: Am I
mocking God's ways and His word? Probably not, just highlighting
those that do.

My own Monastery?

nospam@example.com (admin) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 23:25:50 -0400

I did more exterior house restoration over the weekend; was pleased with the results. I had replaced the broken shingles the prior weekend, and now was trying to paint. Only problem was running out of paint. I wasn't sure when I started if I would have enough, it turns out not. The old shingles really absorb a lot of paint.

So I looked around and found a quart of Dutch boy white, and a gallon of Bob Villa "light tint base". It looked rather white, but I wasn't sure how much pigment it actually had. Being desperate, I reasoned that it must have -some- white pigment, or it would be clearer when I tested it on a piece of wood. Also, what store would sell just the base? The odds are that they did add pigment. So I put the quart and gallon in the pail, and it worked great. Here's a couple of pictures:

Continue reading "My own Monastery?"

Mixed bag, 9_2011

nospam@example.com (admin) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:13:46 -0400

I'm pleased with the house renovation
project. We're only renters here, some might wonder why the
motivation to improve what's not mine. It starts with the simple idea
that we want to live in a nicer place. The good thing is that there
are other benefits; it helps the neighbors retain the value of their
properties, and it says to everyone, this is what happens when the
Christian people come. Previous tenents drank a lot of bottled beer,
and shot up the out building with a shotgun. It's also an analogy of
what Jesus does in a person's life. Then too, we want to return our
landlord's kindness. He had a huge new leach line put in (septic),
and we're glad that he'll let a large family live here.

The broken asbestos shingles were
replaced with a Diebond knockoff, all the white paint is free, or
very low cost. I get it a little at a time; some given to me, some
from garage sales, and there's a city dump where they give away
usable paint . I just make sure that it's white-white, don't worry
about whether it's flat, gloss, or semi gloss. I get enough to do one
side of the house, then paint up to an edge. If the white is a tiny
bit different than the side next to it, or the gloss is different; it
doesn't matter, because the light is always hitting it at a
different angle, and people do not notice. Shoot, I work with very
slight differences in color, and I can't tell. It's about
assumptions, people assume it's all the same paint.

Yes, money is that tight right now,
but the thing is that this sort of project can be done -very- cheap,
if you want to do it. And I'm talking about 15-20 year paint. The
shingle replacement material is scrap from making signs. I did pay $5
for a can of mis-matched green, which I'm using on the trim. The
house is old, maybe 111 years old, and I get real satisfaction from
fixing it up. Good ol' house has been home to numerous families, and
is still being used that way. Which reminds me, if I do end up
promoting the historical aspect of Seymour, doing restoration at
'ground zero' is a good idea. In these pictures, you can see the
progress, the roof will be painted after the sides. I have 4 gallons
of green oil based paint that I got on a salvage run, that will be a
start.

This isn't profound, but I like it when I can see something clearer
than before: Some people lie on the defensive, some people lie on the
offensive. Take your major news media for instance. When a large
group of prominent scientists gather to question or renounce
Darwinian evolution, does that ever make the news? They regularly
fabricate stories in support of the bad theory, but never report
evidence against it.

There should be a new acronym: Chrino. Christian In Name only.

I need to get serious about a certain
investigation, that is, a moral/spiritual timeline of events in the
early to mid 20^th century. If you look at the early
1960's, it seems a very busy time of decline for the U.S. The ending
of the gold standard, Ted Kennedy's changing the immigration laws
(importing non Christian religions), increased divorce, rock music,
cultural revolution. Previously, I wondered if the removal of school
prayer was causal, but now I wonder if pornography and a covert
sexual looseness in the 1950's had a role in our losing God's favor.

Of course, some will question why I
look only at the 1900's, and not at prior events; such as the
unleashing of the monster federal government in about 1865. Was that
a curse, or just a force that God would use to shape history? Not
that I'm limiting it either-or; maybe it was a benevolent monster
that shaped world history...you know, Puff the Magic Democracy.

Misc & Blank Bible

nospam@example.com (admin) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:10:29 -0400

Some of the most exceptional people I
know have these big blind spots in their lives. Something about their
way of thinking, their reactions, spirituality or personality isn't
right. Of course, for the Christian, the first reaction to that is
the splinter-beam thing, where I'm wondering what the big blind spot
in my life is. Maybe it's blogging twice about the same thing,
telling the same story twice to a person...Naw, I wouldn't get off
that easy, it has got to be bigger than that.

If you're having a REALLY bad day, is
that Murphy 2.0?

I was sitting among some members of a
family, 3 generations. The oldest asked if I wanted to bring my
children to vacation Bible school. The next said I should put the
sign back up that I had at the previous residence. It's Psalm 51:6
“Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts.” I explained
that the reason for the sign is so many people have heard the truth
in regards to their situation, or the information is readily
available, but they avoid it.The scientist or teacher may have seen
very strong evidence in favor of creation, but admitting it would be
to lose their job. The Mormon may realize that the Bible isn't
compatible with the other books Mormons use, but to renounce the
religion would be to alienate 5 generations of family, near and
distant relations and all between. Too high a price, so they stay
where they're at. Same goes for the Roman Catholic or the liberal.

The third generation family member
then spoke up, saying that the Bible is subject to interpretation. I
replied by saying that I wasn't talking abou the difference between a
Presbetarian and a Baptist; but rather, the difference between a
Baptist and a Mormon. Someone who because of additional books, must
suppress the inner conviction that they're living a lie.

Years ago, I think I was listening to
Frank Peretti on the radio, and he related how he was in a debate or
important conversation and had the perfect reply...three days
later. I can relate to that; not that my first reply was bad or
lacking, but having thought about the incident for awhile, like 2
weeks, I now have a second reply, should the same conversation occur
again.

If the Bible is subject to many
interpretations, it has no meaning, no message. If you can make it
say whatever you want it to, then it says nothing. So I wondered, why
not a blank Bible? It would have a black leather cover and gold
letters, but the pages would be blank, for you to write in whatever
you wanted. One could give it to the guys who call themselves
Christian, but live in adultery or watch pornography. Or, maybe have
every other page blank, with the word 'but' or 'although' printed at
the top of the blank pages. That way people could write their excuses
after the law of God.

But you know what? It wouldn't fly;
save for maybe the liberals, they love this kind of stuff. The reason
it wouldn't fly? Because a blank Bible wouldn't allow people to take
the full word of God and twist it to justify the actions. They need
to claim His authority for what they do.

What about you? Do you need some blank
pages in your Bible?

I repent of it

nospam@example.com (admin) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 01:04:02 -0400

Location, location, location; is what the real estate people say affects a home's value. Context, context;can make a decision difficult. I have a large family, and my income is the only one we have. Usually I work for myself, I run a one man sign shop. Very recently, three weeks passed without a significant job; and things weren't great prior to that.
Then I got a call from a contractor that I've done a number of jobs for in the last couple of years. The work has been part of commercial cosmetic renovation for Knoxville businesses. They call me for hand lettering. I knew that the work was funded largely by local government; the store owner pays a percentage of the total bill, something like 10 or 20 percent, the government picks up the rest. I'm not really wild about government being involved in this sort of thing at all, considering how much I've been influenced by Libertarian thought; but at least the local and state bodies in Tennessee do a better job of living within their means than the Federal government.

As time has passed, I have slowly learned that the money is Federal grant money. To say that those guys spend money they don't have would be an understatement. I was reluctant to participate, but I've learned a few things along life's passage. One is to be sure of the facts, another is to consider things from a different perspective. I thought that maybe it's not my job to find out where the money comes from, it's just a contractor calling for my services. Another thought is that at least it's not a handout, I'm actually working for it, in fact, I made a point of giving them a very good return on what was spent. Also, one could consider the aspect of submitting to government and authority.

Still, what if ten years from now I had to look a 25 year old in the eye and explain why I made a living at the expense of him living in a very wrecked economy. “Well, er, blah, blah, blah...” That's what all the above reasoning will sound like, the fact is that I was just another partaker in the whole scheme-scam. So I turned the latest job down, on the grounds that it was irresponsible and maybe even robbery.

It was a trying decision. The way things have been, I actually wonder if we could live without one or more of our utilities. Phone? No, if work does come in, that's most likely how it will. Internet? No, I've got good contacts from my web page, and I need to be able to send emails. Electricity? No, laundry would pile up really high, and food preservation would be difficult to learn and do. There are times when our $65 phone bill is repeatedly $100 because we have to continually pay the reconnect fee.
I'm not trying to be depressing, or elicit sympathy, just trying to let you know the context of this decision.

So often a decision is between difficult A, and difficult B. Then, after you make it, others around you think you decided wrong.. There you are, alone, and wondering. The phone doesn't ring 10 minutes later with a great paying job; as though God was saying, well done, you passed the test.
A couple of introspective days pass, but I've had some ideas about using the history of this area to promote tourism and create jobs for those with less work than me. I was meeting a neighbor, asking about history, and a generalized conversation ensued. They asked what I would charge to paint their house. I gave them a price, and got a more than a week's worth of work. As it turns out, I might just like painting houses as much or more than signs, at least in terms of the business complexity. A few other sign jobs have come in, we're OK.

Remember the future generations.