Archive for 2016

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Post-Election

Nov

10

2016

It is weird seeing the words “President Trump”. Two movies come to mind.

First, Back to the Future:

“You mean Ronald Reagan, the actor?”

image of Doc Brown from Back to the Future

I feel like Doc Brown – “You mean Donald Trump, the reality TV guy?” It seems odd that Trump will be president because he’s not presidential. But I suppose that was the point – he was elected because he is not a politician.

Second, Rocky III:

image of Rocky Balboa fighting Hulk Hogan

This one is a little more of a stretch, but it has to do with what happens during the election (the fight in the ring) and what happens afterwards (the photos and small talk). If you remember the movie, Hulk Hogan is pretty brutal during the match, but then friendly afterwards, much to Rocky’s confusion. I see the American public (mainly the non-Trump supporters) as Rocky after the fight – having experienced Trump’s battle for the election in which he has been rather rough towards various people, they are wary of anything different from him.

If you’re not familiar with those scenes, then never mind.

Another thought that came to mind when I was debating which non-Hillary choice to make: the ballot needs another option. My proposal: You still get one vote, but you can choose to vote for a candidate or against a candidate. There were plenty of people who wanted anyone but Hillary, and plenty of people who wanted anyone but Trump. With the option to vote against someone, that would count as -1 for the candidate. In other words, it would take away a vote from the candidate.

This has two benefits.

One, it allows people to more accurately express their desires at the polls, and then pundits and analysts can better tell if the winner won because of popular support for him or because of the unpopularity of the other candidate.

Two, it might allow a third-party candidate to win some electoral votes. For example in a given state, if half the Trump supporters voted against Clinton instead of for Trump, and half of the Clinton supporters voted against Trump instead of for Clinton, then Clinton would receive approximately -6,000 votes and Trump would receive +6,000 votes, and they would have been beaten by Gary Johnson who received 170,000 votes with nobody voting against him.

I think that’s a much better change than what those crazy popular-vote-instead-of-electoral-vote people are trying to do.

As the heavens for height and the earth for depth, So the heart of kings is unsearchable.

Proverbs 25:3

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Think Outside the Fence

Nov

8

2016

Delta had some schoolwork that involved a form of geometry: telling the difference between items inside a boundary and items outside the boundary.

He was to circle the horses inside the fence and underline the horses outside the fence. This is what he produced:

image of an horses inside and outside a corral

“Now I don’t have to underline any of them!” was his remark.

Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen.

1 Kings 4:26

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Oldie but Goodie

Nov

3

2016

It was an

Itsy bitsy

Teenie weenie

Yellow polka dot

image of an itsy bitsy teenie weenie yeenie yellow polka dot zucchini

Zucchini!

Better is a dish of vegetables where love is Than a fattened ox served with hatred.

Proverbs 15:17

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Backpacking Trip, Part 2

Nov

1

2016

I do not like camping. Details can be found in my previous post. Now on to the recap of my backpacking trip.

We started off in the parking lot. Not much there other than a dirt area for parking and some permanent porta-potties. Perma-potties?

I paid the post in order to leave my car overnight, and off we went. It was mid afternoon, overcast, and warm.

Since the area is used for a variety of activities, there were a variety of trails available. Those closest to the parking lot looked like this:

image of hiking in the national forest

And that’s what we started on.

(more…)

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Backpacking Trip, Part 1

Oct

27

2016

I do not like camping.

Camping is pointless.

Campgrounds are annoying. I am not a social person. Why go somewhere to get away and relax when there are a bunch of people right next to you?

I take each kid somewhere individually each year. For example, this year I took Beta, just him and me, to Cedar Point for the whole day.

And I took Alpha backpacking.

People who know me were curious as to why I was rounding up camping equipment.

“A tent? I thought you hated camping…”
“I do. That’s why I’m not going camping. I’m going backpacking.”
“What’s the difference? You walk around, you go to a campsite, and you sleep in a tent.”
“No, there’s no campsite. The difference is you make your own camp, wherever you want.”

Some people still weren’t quite clear on the concept.

The key is to find a national forest or national park that allows for backpacking (or what they call “dispersed camping”). That way you can camp wherever you please. Well, almost – they don’t want you camping next to the trail or near water. But it’s great – you walk along as far as you want and then you camp there. No “we have to make it 3 more miles to the campground”. And from the time we left the parking lot to when we returned to it, we did not see or hear any other people.

If you’re going camping to enjoy nature, then backpacking is the way to go, not camping. Or “campgrounding” as some call it. That’s the way to enjoy crowds and inconvenience.

After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.

Matthew 14:23

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Pets’ Names

Oct

25

2016

Delta has a lot of temporary pets.

There were a bunch this summer. I think it started with Crickety, which – if you couldn’t guess by his name – was a cricket that he captured in the yard.

Then came Grasshoppy. I think Gamma either accidentally stepped on him or let him escape. Something traumatic happened to Grasshoppy, because Delta came inside very distraught. Crying about “Gwasshoppy”.

After that it was firefly season. So I caught a firefly for him. Brought it inside. Delta had built a home out of blocks for Fiery, and you could hear the wails throughout the house an hour later when he couldn’t find Fiery anymore.

Given those names, I’ll bet you can guess what some the things are that he named next. Hint: no insects, mostly inanimate objects.

Quiz: What is
A. Fishy 1?
B. Fishy 2?
C. Corey?
D. Boony?
E. Boxy?
F. Walny?

Here’s some filler so you have to scroll to see the answers…
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.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
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Answers:
A. A goldfish
B. Another goldfish
C. An apply core. Yes, he saved an apple core from the apple he ate, as his friend.
D. A balloon. This was a little tougher, so congratulations if you got this one.
E. A box.
F. A walnut from our yard. He gathered probably two dozen walnuts, but one of them made the cut to be his Walny friend. Which he then stuck in my shoe to surprise me.

Among these the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names.

Numbers 26:53

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Why Johnson?

Oct

20

2016

I discussed the third-party contenders for president with someone last week. People were jumping off the Gary Johnson bandwagon and onto the Evan McMullen train.

I do not wish anything bad on Mr. McMullen and I would be pleased if he were president. But getting him into the presidency is not my priority.

My priority is to prevent Hillary and/or Trump from getting the presidency. And I see Johnson as the best means to accomplish that.

Not as the best president, but he gives us the best chance to avoid an awful president.

My main reasoning is this: he takes votes away from both sides.

McMullen will get approximately 0% of the left’s vote. Which means that he will take votes only from Trump. Which means that there is nothing slowing Hillary down.

But Johnson, on the other hand, is between Trump and Hillary. He will take votes away from both sides. We need someone who can take a red state from Trump and a blue state from Hillary.

That’s why I keep promoting Gary Johnson.

And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs;

Revelation 16:13

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