As I sit at home watching the news I ponder on the days events and find myself confused.
The economy is bad and a recession is here so why is everyone spending money on Christmas this year?
At the mall, the parking stalls are full, and the approach is packed with gift buying fools.
Inside I see a crowd so thick that you could kill a dozen with an Ernest Bass brick.
I find a spot for my car to repose as I prepare to join the crowd of broke souls.
Where does it come from where does it go? The money we spend on our toys and our clothes.
When times were bad during the depression of old, a penny and an orange was a gift untold.
Today on the brink we spend, spend, spend hoping Obama will make it all end.
A stimulus package that may be the key but it looks just like welfare if you want to ask me.
For all of the broke folks out there in the malls, go home you dumb asses and stare at your walls.
Get out of debt, throw away all your cards, save up your money and stay out of the bars.
Don't look to Obama to die on a cross, he won't save you without a large cost.
Tax for the rich and none for the poor the government will give it until there's no more.
Robbing from Peter without paying Paul. Go home yon retards stay out of the mall.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The Golden Plates
A person I know was talking to me one day about various religions and weird beliefs. At some point the LDS church was brought up and questions were asked regarding many of our beliefs, one of which was the Golden Plates. It was mentioned that the plates, if made of gold, would have weighed to much for Joseph Smith to be running around the woods hiding out from his would be persecutors. Of course this made me think so I went to my trusty old computer and did a little online research. I then took this data and decided to do a little experiment. The following are the facts and the myths associated with the plates.
The first argument presented is how much would a block of gold, the dimensions of which have been reported by Joseph Smith to be 6 inches by 8 inches by 6 inches, weigh.
For me this is really simple to figure out. I used my trusty engineering skills to create a solid model of a block of gold at the prescribed dimensions in cyber space. Here are the results.
A solid Block of gold at the mentioned dimensions would weigh around 235 pounds.
Now in my opinion this would be impossible for one man to pack around in a cloth bag while running, etc. I know I couldn't do it, I could lift this much weight but not move around with it very fast.
Now before anyone gets all freaky deaky on me keep reading.
First of all we need to keep in mind the plates were not a solid block of gold but a series of thin sheets about as thick as common tin. So the next thing I needed to determine was how thick is common tin at the time of JS? With a little research I found that common tin was about .02 inch thick. about the same thickenss as the typical phone book cover.
Next assuming the plates were handmade and didn't lay flat against one another I needed to figure out how much air space would have been present.
For this I allowed a 40% reduction of the total area. This gave me dimensions, assuming at this point there were no gaps and modeling a solid block, of 6 x 8 x 4.125 inches.
At these dimensions the block would have had a total volume of 198 cubic inches. Entering this into my computer I found that pure gold would weigh in at 136 pounds. In my opinion more managrable but still heavier than what any man could reasonably hope to pack around while running. So this creates another dilema which I had to solve.
Back to the internet for a little more research.
First of all J.S. never said the plates were made of gold only that they had the appearance of gold. Therefore it can be assumed that it was very possible and most likely that the plates would have been made of an alloy. But what alloy?
The interenet revealed an alloy used commonly by the mayan and Aztec which was made using a mixture of copper and gold. For the most part this alloy was 97% copper and 3% gold. With a few calculations I determined that if the plates were made from solid copper they would have weighed about.....
63.7 lbs
If made from the alloy mentioned above they would weigh in at 66 lbs.
Now I asked myself, could a person pack around a 66 pound weight while running through the woods, jumping logs, brush etc.? For this I went out to the shop and cut me a block of steel that weighed in a 66 pounds. Yes it was larger in size than the plates would have been but I wanted to see just how hard it would be to pack this around.
Here is what I found.
I could heft the block and holding it near my body move freely about with it. I don't think I could have run very far or done any leaping over logs and running through brush. Now J.S had the plates in a bag so he could have potentially threw the bag over a shoulder which would have better facilitated the running and jumping although they still would have been difficult.
Now because I am practical I thought to myself. Who cares about the weight? Lets assume J.S. was filled with the spirit and was easily able to carry this block all nimbly pimbly around the woods.
The real question becomes, how many plates at .02 inch would there have been and were there enough plates to store the information contained in the Book of Mormon?
By my calculations there would have been 206.25 plates in the entire book including the sealed portion. I have no idea how much data could be contained on these plates as I am not familiar with the egyptian language but I assume it is a possibility.
In my humble opinion it is possible that J.S. could have packed the plates around and the data contained thereon was enough to write the BOM. OF course there are many other factors to consider, like how corrosion would have effected the alloy of two dissimilar metals who's places on the galvanic scale are far enough apart to cause corosion of each other just by contact, or how copper tends to corrode over time when exposed to air and moisture. Another question I have is how they would have created plates only .02 inches thick with any consistency using the rudimentary metal working tools of the time.
Honestly I think this is an interesting subject and if I had all the time in the world it would be interesting to pursue further. Finding out more about the ancient inhabitants of the America's and their metallurgical skills.
The first argument presented is how much would a block of gold, the dimensions of which have been reported by Joseph Smith to be 6 inches by 8 inches by 6 inches, weigh.
For me this is really simple to figure out. I used my trusty engineering skills to create a solid model of a block of gold at the prescribed dimensions in cyber space. Here are the results.
A solid Block of gold at the mentioned dimensions would weigh around 235 pounds.
Now in my opinion this would be impossible for one man to pack around in a cloth bag while running, etc. I know I couldn't do it, I could lift this much weight but not move around with it very fast.
Now before anyone gets all freaky deaky on me keep reading.
First of all we need to keep in mind the plates were not a solid block of gold but a series of thin sheets about as thick as common tin. So the next thing I needed to determine was how thick is common tin at the time of JS? With a little research I found that common tin was about .02 inch thick. about the same thickenss as the typical phone book cover.
Next assuming the plates were handmade and didn't lay flat against one another I needed to figure out how much air space would have been present.
For this I allowed a 40% reduction of the total area. This gave me dimensions, assuming at this point there were no gaps and modeling a solid block, of 6 x 8 x 4.125 inches.
At these dimensions the block would have had a total volume of 198 cubic inches. Entering this into my computer I found that pure gold would weigh in at 136 pounds. In my opinion more managrable but still heavier than what any man could reasonably hope to pack around while running. So this creates another dilema which I had to solve.
Back to the internet for a little more research.
First of all J.S. never said the plates were made of gold only that they had the appearance of gold. Therefore it can be assumed that it was very possible and most likely that the plates would have been made of an alloy. But what alloy?
The interenet revealed an alloy used commonly by the mayan and Aztec which was made using a mixture of copper and gold. For the most part this alloy was 97% copper and 3% gold. With a few calculations I determined that if the plates were made from solid copper they would have weighed about.....
63.7 lbs
If made from the alloy mentioned above they would weigh in at 66 lbs.
Now I asked myself, could a person pack around a 66 pound weight while running through the woods, jumping logs, brush etc.? For this I went out to the shop and cut me a block of steel that weighed in a 66 pounds. Yes it was larger in size than the plates would have been but I wanted to see just how hard it would be to pack this around.
Here is what I found.
I could heft the block and holding it near my body move freely about with it. I don't think I could have run very far or done any leaping over logs and running through brush. Now J.S had the plates in a bag so he could have potentially threw the bag over a shoulder which would have better facilitated the running and jumping although they still would have been difficult.
Now because I am practical I thought to myself. Who cares about the weight? Lets assume J.S. was filled with the spirit and was easily able to carry this block all nimbly pimbly around the woods.
The real question becomes, how many plates at .02 inch would there have been and were there enough plates to store the information contained in the Book of Mormon?
By my calculations there would have been 206.25 plates in the entire book including the sealed portion. I have no idea how much data could be contained on these plates as I am not familiar with the egyptian language but I assume it is a possibility.
In my humble opinion it is possible that J.S. could have packed the plates around and the data contained thereon was enough to write the BOM. OF course there are many other factors to consider, like how corrosion would have effected the alloy of two dissimilar metals who's places on the galvanic scale are far enough apart to cause corosion of each other just by contact, or how copper tends to corrode over time when exposed to air and moisture. Another question I have is how they would have created plates only .02 inches thick with any consistency using the rudimentary metal working tools of the time.
Honestly I think this is an interesting subject and if I had all the time in the world it would be interesting to pursue further. Finding out more about the ancient inhabitants of the America's and their metallurgical skills.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Speaking of Hidden Agenda's
I just watched "THe Last Mimsy" with my children. To say this movie sucked is an understatement.
Just some background, two kids find some "toys" on the beach near Seattle. These toys have special powers and one, a stuffed rabbit, can talk. Well talk isn't really what it does, it sounds like a cross between Charlie Brown's teacher and the little Robot on Buck Rogers. In essence these toys give the kids special ability's and of course the big bad government gets involved.
In the end we find out that this whole movie was really about saving the environment and how the "typical alien" is really just a human in a suit designed to protect humans from the toxic environment.
Honestly I don't know why I continued to sit through this movie. It sucked, it was not even halfway creative, the story line was atrocious, and talk about campy, it should win an award!
I just love how movie folk feel the need to broadcast their environmental views on the big screen in the form of children's movies. Every children's movie I see lately has the environment as it's main subject, thinly veiled in some cutesy poopsie kids stuff.
What ever happened to Uncle Remus?
Just some background, two kids find some "toys" on the beach near Seattle. These toys have special powers and one, a stuffed rabbit, can talk. Well talk isn't really what it does, it sounds like a cross between Charlie Brown's teacher and the little Robot on Buck Rogers. In essence these toys give the kids special ability's and of course the big bad government gets involved.
In the end we find out that this whole movie was really about saving the environment and how the "typical alien" is really just a human in a suit designed to protect humans from the toxic environment.
Honestly I don't know why I continued to sit through this movie. It sucked, it was not even halfway creative, the story line was atrocious, and talk about campy, it should win an award!
I just love how movie folk feel the need to broadcast their environmental views on the big screen in the form of children's movies. Every children's movie I see lately has the environment as it's main subject, thinly veiled in some cutesy poopsie kids stuff.
What ever happened to Uncle Remus?
Close Your Mind
o·pen-mind·ed (pn-mndd)
adj.
Having or showing receptiveness to new and different ideas or the opinions of
othersclose-mind·ed (klsmndd, klz-) or closed-mind·ed (klzd-)
adj.
Intolerant of the beliefs and opinions of others; stubbornly unreceptive to new ideas
An open mind is nothing like a whore that anyone can ride for the price of admission.
An open mind allows a person to entertain new ideas without absently rejecting those thoughts or ideas out of hand. Do these thoughts and ideas need to be judged? Yes. Is everything that enters the mind wholesome? No. In order to filter out the good from the bad the mind must first be open to all information and then allow that information to be filtered out accordingly.
A closed mind is a mind that does not have a filter. Instead, like a closed and locked glass door, everything can be seen for a second prior to the thought bouncing back off but nothing is allowed inside for further scrutiny. This type of mind has led to wars, extermination of knowledge, the death of Christ, the imprisonment of great minds, etc.
It is true in this world that most information is given with some type of agenda. Who to vote for, what to eat, who to worship, how to worship, etc.
Some Examples,
Gallileo, stating that the Earth rotated around the sun, heretical at the time
Fat is bad, okay but what about fat folks, do they not like being fat? Is it wrong? Who knows?
Meat is bad for you, a lie put forth by the animal rights activists. Or don't you believe in God because the scriptures tell us that animals were put on the earth for mans consumption and to not eat meat is a sin. I know everyone will argue this so feel free and then read the BOM
Speaking of which, The Book of Mormon, agenda? Should we not allow our children to read this book until they are old enough to judge for themselves the truthfulness? Or....is this somehow different?
Golden Compass, how sinister a plot to get children to hate God. IF parents are doing their job why would the child hate God based on a book or movie?
A Work and A glory, hmmmm agenda here, naw coudln't be. Although I have read that this author has gone on record stating his belief in God and the fact that all people should read his book as their faith will grow, etc.
I know everyone will be offended by this but I am trying to make a point here. Everyone in this world has different beliefs. Who is to say who is right and who is wrong?
Next argument, but we know whats right and we know whats wrong based on gospel principles. Ok but how does the rest of the world see us? Do they know what we know? Do we know what we think we know?
Not all is as it seems, perhaps a little filtered mindedness is needed.
adj.
Having or showing receptiveness to new and different ideas or the opinions of
othersclose-mind·ed (klsmndd, klz-) or closed-mind·ed (klzd-)
adj.
Intolerant of the beliefs and opinions of others; stubbornly unreceptive to new ideas
An open mind is nothing like a whore that anyone can ride for the price of admission.
An open mind allows a person to entertain new ideas without absently rejecting those thoughts or ideas out of hand. Do these thoughts and ideas need to be judged? Yes. Is everything that enters the mind wholesome? No. In order to filter out the good from the bad the mind must first be open to all information and then allow that information to be filtered out accordingly.
A closed mind is a mind that does not have a filter. Instead, like a closed and locked glass door, everything can be seen for a second prior to the thought bouncing back off but nothing is allowed inside for further scrutiny. This type of mind has led to wars, extermination of knowledge, the death of Christ, the imprisonment of great minds, etc.
It is true in this world that most information is given with some type of agenda. Who to vote for, what to eat, who to worship, how to worship, etc.
Some Examples,
Gallileo, stating that the Earth rotated around the sun, heretical at the time
Fat is bad, okay but what about fat folks, do they not like being fat? Is it wrong? Who knows?
Meat is bad for you, a lie put forth by the animal rights activists. Or don't you believe in God because the scriptures tell us that animals were put on the earth for mans consumption and to not eat meat is a sin. I know everyone will argue this so feel free and then read the BOM
Speaking of which, The Book of Mormon, agenda? Should we not allow our children to read this book until they are old enough to judge for themselves the truthfulness? Or....is this somehow different?
Golden Compass, how sinister a plot to get children to hate God. IF parents are doing their job why would the child hate God based on a book or movie?
A Work and A glory, hmmmm agenda here, naw coudln't be. Although I have read that this author has gone on record stating his belief in God and the fact that all people should read his book as their faith will grow, etc.
I know everyone will be offended by this but I am trying to make a point here. Everyone in this world has different beliefs. Who is to say who is right and who is wrong?
Next argument, but we know whats right and we know whats wrong based on gospel principles. Ok but how does the rest of the world see us? Do they know what we know? Do we know what we think we know?
Not all is as it seems, perhaps a little filtered mindedness is needed.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Killing Imagination and Freedom of Speach
A few months ago I received an E-mail (spam) stating that the movie, Golden Compass, was to be avoided at all costs. It was stated in this E-mail that the theme of the movie and books, centered around the killing of God. Of course this made me curious so, not being one to take things at face value I decided to find out for myself if the rumours were true.
Interestingly a few weeks before the E-mail I had purchased the book, Golden Compass, for my daughter who had started reading it but found out about the movie and decided to watch the movie first because she know's, like all of us, that reading the book and then watching the movie, many times, makes the movie less enjoyable when the screenwriter veers steadily away from the book.
This passt week my curiosity got the better of me and I began to read.
The story is about a girl who is growing up at Oxford University where she was left by her uncle as her parents had died and left her an orphan. We find out later the her "uncle" is really her father. The girl is very precocious and very intelligent although prone to telling tall tales. Along the way children start to disapear being taken by Gobblers to who knows where. The girl has a friend that is kidnapped so she sets off in search of him. Many thing s happen along her journey which finally leads her to a mountain top with her father and mother who are both abviously crazy with power. Another world opens up and at the end of the book she enters it in order to try to find the source of dust. What is dust? Read the book to find out.
Ok, so here is what I know. This book is one of fantasy, no differnt than Lord of the Rings or any other fantsy, Sci-fi book. It does have at it's core a struggle between good and evil. God's name is never mentioned. Nobody called God is killed nor is anyone killed who might be considered God. Is there a religious undertone, yes. This undertone is vague at best and I highly doubt that any child would even pick up on it.
In my opinion The Golden Compass is a decent read although it left me anxious to get on with the story at times. I doubt that most children will even finish the book as it is a bit wordy and at times drags. I did however read it in one sitting as there is enough adventure and mystery to keep the pages turning, plus with the aspect of killing God at the end , as the media has onformed us, you can't help but be curious.
Personally I think this book is about keeping an open mind and in the end you might find another entire world that you didn't know exsisted.
In my small community my daughter came home from school and informed me the librarian wants to burn all the books by this offer. When asked if she had read them she looked appalled and said she would never read anything anti-christian. To me this is repulsive. Who would burn a book that they hadn't read only becasue of a stupid E-mail. Wake up people! Open your minds and hearts to alternate possibilities.
Interestingly a few weeks before the E-mail I had purchased the book, Golden Compass, for my daughter who had started reading it but found out about the movie and decided to watch the movie first because she know's, like all of us, that reading the book and then watching the movie, many times, makes the movie less enjoyable when the screenwriter veers steadily away from the book.
This passt week my curiosity got the better of me and I began to read.
The story is about a girl who is growing up at Oxford University where she was left by her uncle as her parents had died and left her an orphan. We find out later the her "uncle" is really her father. The girl is very precocious and very intelligent although prone to telling tall tales. Along the way children start to disapear being taken by Gobblers to who knows where. The girl has a friend that is kidnapped so she sets off in search of him. Many thing s happen along her journey which finally leads her to a mountain top with her father and mother who are both abviously crazy with power. Another world opens up and at the end of the book she enters it in order to try to find the source of dust. What is dust? Read the book to find out.
Ok, so here is what I know. This book is one of fantasy, no differnt than Lord of the Rings or any other fantsy, Sci-fi book. It does have at it's core a struggle between good and evil. God's name is never mentioned. Nobody called God is killed nor is anyone killed who might be considered God. Is there a religious undertone, yes. This undertone is vague at best and I highly doubt that any child would even pick up on it.
In my opinion The Golden Compass is a decent read although it left me anxious to get on with the story at times. I doubt that most children will even finish the book as it is a bit wordy and at times drags. I did however read it in one sitting as there is enough adventure and mystery to keep the pages turning, plus with the aspect of killing God at the end , as the media has onformed us, you can't help but be curious.
Personally I think this book is about keeping an open mind and in the end you might find another entire world that you didn't know exsisted.
In my small community my daughter came home from school and informed me the librarian wants to burn all the books by this offer. When asked if she had read them she looked appalled and said she would never read anything anti-christian. To me this is repulsive. Who would burn a book that they hadn't read only becasue of a stupid E-mail. Wake up people! Open your minds and hearts to alternate possibilities.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Rockin it Texas Style
Went out last night 10/25 to see some awesome Texas bands. These guys freaking rocked! Not your normal country music type of Texas bands, oh no, more like in your face punk and southern Texas rock!
Although there were about ten bands I will tell y'all about the two best.
First let me say, if you don't live in Texas then you might as well pack your bags and step off into your grave! Cause if you ain't in Texas you might as well be dead.
So onward.........
Okay I am going to start out with the Texas Hippie Coalition. I am starting here but saving the best for last.
These guys are totally awesome. They play in you face Texas rock. The lead singer is HUGE and I mean HUGE! He has to be about 6 feet 10 inches and weighs in around 400 pounds, I am not joking, he is like me only taller! He wears a cowboy hat with hair down to his knees and a beard to his waist. He goes on stage wearing a vest without a shirt and it is so cool. And can the man sing, OMG he can sing! The rest of the band ranges from bearded hippies to long haired rockers. They perform all original songs which are distinctivly Texan!
Go check them out on myspace at http://www.myspace.com/texashippiecoalition
If you like it hard and hot these guys ar the answer!
Now for the band to end all bands. I love these guys and know them personally. They are awesome and deserve to be doing what they are doing.
Who are they?
SOMSARA
The lead singer Janardan is the best guy in the world and God gave him an awesome talent. He can scream with the best but still get down and let out a quiet side that is so intelligent it is creepy.
This band is very punk and very hard. If you like to mosh and bang your head this is the band for you. They are pure texas rock at it's finest and they are originally from right here in Grayson county Texas!
SOMSARA plays all original songs with a fervor that the biggest baddest recording artists would be hard pressed to follow. When off stage they are totally down to earth and love to hang with the crowds.
To Janardan, thanks for the shout out last night. You made me feel like the star and for a moment I was. You freakin rock!!!!!!
Go check these guys out at somsara.com or on thier myspace. You won't be dissapointed!
Now just to let everyone know. I went out last night sporting a blue mohawk and I have been growing out my goatee so that it is a little long, about 3 inches now. I dyed it and the hawk blue then sprayed glitter in both, I looked so cool!
People thought I was 25, which is a lot better than the 41 i was guessed at a few weeks ago!
Oh well nothing funny to report this week. Maybe on Sunday?
Lord
Although there were about ten bands I will tell y'all about the two best.
First let me say, if you don't live in Texas then you might as well pack your bags and step off into your grave! Cause if you ain't in Texas you might as well be dead.
So onward.........
Okay I am going to start out with the Texas Hippie Coalition. I am starting here but saving the best for last.
These guys are totally awesome. They play in you face Texas rock. The lead singer is HUGE and I mean HUGE! He has to be about 6 feet 10 inches and weighs in around 400 pounds, I am not joking, he is like me only taller! He wears a cowboy hat with hair down to his knees and a beard to his waist. He goes on stage wearing a vest without a shirt and it is so cool. And can the man sing, OMG he can sing! The rest of the band ranges from bearded hippies to long haired rockers. They perform all original songs which are distinctivly Texan!
Go check them out on myspace at http://www.myspace.com/texashippiecoalition
If you like it hard and hot these guys ar the answer!
Now for the band to end all bands. I love these guys and know them personally. They are awesome and deserve to be doing what they are doing.
Who are they?
SOMSARA
The lead singer Janardan is the best guy in the world and God gave him an awesome talent. He can scream with the best but still get down and let out a quiet side that is so intelligent it is creepy.
This band is very punk and very hard. If you like to mosh and bang your head this is the band for you. They are pure texas rock at it's finest and they are originally from right here in Grayson county Texas!
SOMSARA plays all original songs with a fervor that the biggest baddest recording artists would be hard pressed to follow. When off stage they are totally down to earth and love to hang with the crowds.
To Janardan, thanks for the shout out last night. You made me feel like the star and for a moment I was. You freakin rock!!!!!!
Go check these guys out at somsara.com or on thier myspace. You won't be dissapointed!
Now just to let everyone know. I went out last night sporting a blue mohawk and I have been growing out my goatee so that it is a little long, about 3 inches now. I dyed it and the hawk blue then sprayed glitter in both, I looked so cool!
People thought I was 25, which is a lot better than the 41 i was guessed at a few weeks ago!
Oh well nothing funny to report this week. Maybe on Sunday?
Lord
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Posting as Promised
Just for Desert Girl!
I was invited to a drag queen show at a local club by some friends and let me tell you I had the time of my life.
My gosh I couldn't believe what I saw, men er ladies er yeah that looked better than most women. Unbelievable.
The show was hosted by Ivana Tramp who I knew prior to the show, She he brought several other people, with her. Crazy stuff.
I of course had to sit on the front row where I had the time of my life. My friend Ivana decided I needed to have my photo taken with her sitting on my lap. Can't wait to see it.
Now you may be wondering how I know a transvestite, yes folks he is a she completely, boobs and all. It is a long story but suffice it to say that I know a guy who plays in a band who is also a bartender at the local gay bar. I go to most of this guys performances and he introduced me to this gorgeous blonde girl who I later found out was er used to be a guy.
So that is how I ended up at a gay bar in Texas watching drag queens and having a blast. i would go back again.
Well I know this blog is lame but i thought I would share that with you. Maybe one of these days i will write something funny again but right now i don't feel like it.
Lord
I was invited to a drag queen show at a local club by some friends and let me tell you I had the time of my life.
My gosh I couldn't believe what I saw, men er ladies er yeah that looked better than most women. Unbelievable.
The show was hosted by Ivana Tramp who I knew prior to the show, She he brought several other people, with her. Crazy stuff.
I of course had to sit on the front row where I had the time of my life. My friend Ivana decided I needed to have my photo taken with her sitting on my lap. Can't wait to see it.
Now you may be wondering how I know a transvestite, yes folks he is a she completely, boobs and all. It is a long story but suffice it to say that I know a guy who plays in a band who is also a bartender at the local gay bar. I go to most of this guys performances and he introduced me to this gorgeous blonde girl who I later found out was er used to be a guy.
So that is how I ended up at a gay bar in Texas watching drag queens and having a blast. i would go back again.
Well I know this blog is lame but i thought I would share that with you. Maybe one of these days i will write something funny again but right now i don't feel like it.
Lord
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