For those that might care, here is how my Sunday went.

I got up refreshed as usual. I go to sleep easily. I sleep deeply and awake with full vigour. My wife was not nearly as lucky. Our dynamo of a son was up three times last night. Not crying, just getting into things and running around. He is ever so tiring. So, my alarm was a grouchy pregnant wife stumbling around the house griping at the kids.

Not that I blame her. Her belly button is starting to extrovert. We call it the turkey timer.

I spent part of the morning helping her around the house. We cleaned up the disaster of a kitchen from last night when we just let everything go in order to hit the sack.

Just for the record: I have an outstanding wife. She has been a delight to live with. I have 90% less drama than other men. She is forgiving and easy to get along with; sincere and forthright.

I got to reading the Adventurer’s Vault, a magic item book for D&D. I am very favorably impressed so far. My D&D group doesn’t know it yet but I plan on making this stuff generally available. Well, maybe. It’s more fun to find things.

The boys were fighting this morning and I got quite upset about it. They can’t even just watch cartoons in peace. Brugh! So, I sent them to their rooms. That really broke my spirit. I’ve been trying really hard the last four days to have peace in the house and to get to the next level personally.

Here’s the deal with that. Whenever I try to better myself significantly, everything goes wrong. It’s called the trial of faith. The scriptures are replete with examples of it: Alma and Amulek in prison, Elijah and the Widow, King Hezekiah (my personal fave– that guy had giant brass balls), and the classic Peter walking on water (tear…). Oh and Joseph Smith in the grove. Basically, everything has gone wrong in the last five days since I really got down to business (spiritually speaking). It’s to be expected. After today I think I’m ready to get my head down into the wind and keep plowing ahead.

There is no way around the trial of faith.

So, I really didn’t feel like going to church today. In fact, I skipped out on an EQ meeting (calling ahead of course). My friend John (the EQ prez) came by to check on me after. Really, a simple visit can mean so much sometimes.

Sacrament meeting was hell. Griffin just does not let up. He’s so noisy and he climbs all over me. He got into some sourpatch bears in my wife’s basket and then started biting me on my shoulders, leaving pink stains on my shirt. I took him out in the hall, but he got away from me and started stuffing licorice in the tithing slip trays. Oh, man he’s a terror. What’s the point of even going? So, thankfully I took him to nursery afterwards giving me two sweet hours of peace.

I almost just went home but I decided to give peace a chance and go to Gospel Doctrine. The teacher noticed that I had my head in my hands and called on my for the opening prayer. “Way to home in on the least spiritual person in the room” I said. I was in a pretty foul mood. But by the end of it all I was all charged up again. Glad I stayed.

Nothing to do but keep trudging along!

After that it was just a whiled away the afternoon. Kenna got her hair cut by a sister from church– it’s an adorable Jodie Foster bob. I think she’ll be happier now with less tangles. We went on a family walk with Griffin trundling along on his trike. The weather was perfect. We only did half of our circuit on account of Tamie’s condition. Griffin is such a sweet and responsive child. I think he’s living life twice as much as other humans. He’s my buddy, the apple of my eye.

If it weren’t for Sunday I would work myself to death.

Right now I’m polishing up a few episodes of Star Trek and drinking some Ovaltine. I broke down a few weeks back and bought season three of TNG on eBay. Yay!

For the five people who actually read this blog I say: keep your chin up. When you think like giving up, just take a few more steps. It’s bound to get better.

Bonus material:

I had a dream in which I saw a cage with a dead eagle in it, sprawled on the bottom. I asked the guide if maybe I had fed it the wrong thing. No, she responded, it wasn’t fed at all.

I had another dream where I walked into a hospital waiting room. Don Rickles was in there. I asked if he was all right. He said “No, I’m having a heart attack here.”

There was more to both of those, but who cares, really?

I am starting to see through the illusion of this life.

Last Word

This is from an article about the “mother of all bailouts”

Hey, how about just spending money you actually have. Most of my transactions are pay as you go here at BTP. You don’t need a loan for everything. How about paying outright for a car? That’s what I did. I bought a $500 piece of junk with no heater. I drove that lousy tin can for over a year. I saved up to buy a $900 car that is infinitely better (radio AND AC).

These banks and credit card companies would have you believe that you can’t live without them (life takes Visa, after all). The opposite is true. If we all said “pass” to interest then maybe those bankers would have to actually go produce something. I would love to see that.

If my daughter brought home a lawyer, a banker, and a mechanic as potential suitors, I would spit on the shoes of the first two. I have respect for people who actually produce a service or product that people would actually want to buy. A farmer, a janitor, a factory worker; those are honest jobs.

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

Dear M,

I think I am with you on this one. It’s a sad, sad day when the democrats are starting to look like the fiscally conservative ones.

.

I look at things in terms of where the money goes.

If McCain gets into office who knows what countries we’ll be invading and fighting. An endless round of fighting. After reading his book Faith of my Fathers it’s clear he just does whatever the hell he wants. But he’s going to cut pork barrel spending! Really? Then what about the other 99% of waste and wanton printing of money?

Only slightly less disastrous is Obama’s ex nihilo tax-the-hell-out-of-business something-for-nothing government-can-help-with-everything approach. Two examples:

1) In a forum I heard a questioner complain about how businesses were going overseas and what would he do about it. Answer: tax the businesses mercilessly. What?

2) Also, in his book he says that the privatization of Social Security (here’s another idea, let’s let people just keep their money) will create losers. Well, we can’t have that can we! The problem is the non-privatization of Social Security also creates losers, except the loser is the person who actually created the wealth.

I did the math: if the taxes I collect out of my worker’s checks were invested, they would each retire with about half a house. I wonder how that measures up with what they will (might) get back from the Social Security program.

I’m still doing a lot of reading and studying. It may not seem like it, but I may still come around to Eric’s point of view. I admit that other theories might turn out to be right.

Of course, it hardly matters what the candidates are saying now. It’s all a farce. The real objective is to part the commoners from their labor (through inflation/printing of money, income tax, and lawsuits). There is a class of people who are not producing anything of value. The system is designed to protect that group and assure their lifestyle.

Imagine a settlement where only barter is allowed. Let’s say a complex community of 10,000 people. A man walks into the pie shop. Give me two cream pies, please, he says. The pie shop owner asks what he has in value to give in exchange. Oh, nothing, he says, I’m on my way down to the lake to relax for the day, I don’t really have anything to trade.

I don’t think a reasonable person would give him the pies. In fact, I think this individual would be driven out of town on a rail in short order because the deception would be readily apparent. His sloth would be on display for all to see.

The system of paper money we have currently is extremely adept at hiding this man behind layers upon layers of exchanges that we accept as fair. In fact, the entire banking system is a farce designed to make a switcheroo of valuable and tangible goods for paper. But it’s paper that can be in turn switched out for other goods. It’s like a game of musical chairs, but every round a commoner is dropped off into poverty. Four lawyers retire to Villas in Italy while four hundred workers are ruined.

Even if that hypothetical town had gold-backed money it would be the same deal. Only slightly less transparent.

I’m not talking about welfare moms here, or food stamps. While I believe those programs would be better administrated by private charities run on donations, I am talking about the bailouts. Those are one thousand times worse.

I was reading yesterday about the Fed “pumping 70 billion into the economy”. Really? That’s amazing! They left their offices for the day, rolled up their sleeves and created 70 billion worth of goods that could be used to tangibly improve the lives of their fellowmen?! Why these must be gods on earth! That’s a real fish and loaves miracle.

Hey, I’ll bet the value of the dollar will go up now.

On the other hand, BTP has accomplished at least this one thing: I got one welfare mom off the dole. She just bought her first house this last month. I think I just got more actual work done than the Federal Reserve did by electronically creating 70 billion dollars of fake money.

OK, now another mental exercise. Make a short list of all the actual tangible things you have in your life that make it better (goods and services). I’ll start:

All of those things were produced by labor. If the government cut you a check for $200,000 and you went out and spent it on those types of goods and services, does that change where they came from? Where did that money come from? It came from Blue Table Painting. I have less of those things so that you can have more. My studio is smaller, my paycheck is smaller, my house payment is smaller, I can’t afford to go to the dentist.

.

But I should stop complaining because I still have it pretty good, right? Tempting, but no.

.

It’s because whenever my business is suppressed by taxation, it by association suppresses all the people that work for the company. And that really bothers me.

.

Real wealth can only be created by honest work.

.

This is a really popular weapon loadout for a Carnifex. It takes all four upper limbs. Two twin-linked devourers put out a ton of shots, and they get to re-roll to-wound.

Anyway, a client sent me this picture. It’s made from the crushing claw arm from the carnifex kit, and a few devourers and green stuff. Very nice.

At Adepticon 2007 I saw a guy who made a quadrifoil gun to represent two twin-linked devourers.