Fish in a Box

Lunch with A.M. resulted in many learnings but most interesting involved the Ichthus symbol.  Modernized to include the word Jesus inside the fish, it has also created an satire for those willing to risk lightening - namely the Darwin fish.

I liked the thought behind not infringing on the branding (fish facing left), the addition of the feet (showing real evolution), the dark solid background (and there was no light) and there is probably a hidden message in the font (maybe Times Roman).

But my research trail lead naturally to Wikipedia Ichthys and the Greek word -I CH TH U S.

Jesus, Christ, God, Son, Savior     ΙΧΘΥΣ 

Or even more intellectually pleasing the 4th century visual of the five letters superimposed into an eight-spoked wheel.  But wait..... not to be undone -  there is the Darwin Gunmetal 12 Spoked Wheel.

Now I could launch into the mathematics of two intersecting arc's with the cusp and the fact that the arcs imply two circles joining twice.   But I will leave that to the quants out there.  Maybe the proper Darwinian variation for this illustration is intersecting squares.

That would "box us" into the Creation argument.  Hmmmmm -  I'll leave that to a different blogger.

 

Vetting Allegiance

At the heart of the immigration issue it the question of allegiance.  Presumably those individuals desiring to immigrate to the United States of America have a goal of becoming a United States Citizen.  If safety is their only concern, then a risk (and associated danger) of non-allegiance will always exist.

Safety and Security come with responsibility and obligations that are clearly identified in the Oath of Allegiance in the Naturalization process for Citizenship.  “….That I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic”

How much easier could it be to have immigrants read and recite this oath as their intention and first desire before entering our country?  It would set expectations for what they will learn and publically declare should they become naturalized Citizens.  Or even more simple, just as the majority of school children do, recite the Pledge of Allegiance (if the under God is objectionable - they can use the pre 1954 version).

 

 

Vetting based on religion, color, or any other discriminatory attribute is in direct conflict with the values and principles outlined in the Constitution.  U.S Citizens safety and security is what we are trying to achieve by vetting refugees and immigrants.  Common allegiance to each other and to the Country is the solution.  Extreme Vetting complicates the essence of the beauty and simplicity of our Constitutional values – life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

We are a nation of risk takers and freedom fanatics willing to defend each other “so help me God”.  I’m willing to take the risk for those who stand with me and pledge their allegiance.  That’s the kind of “Vet” I want by my side – born here or not.      

Outback Cincinnati

Today marks the 13th Outback America in Cincinnati.  Susan, Ellen and I will take our experience at J.H. Ranch and build upon it by volunteering at the local version of this ministry in Cincinnati.  It will be our first Outback experience and from the experience we have had preparing for the event, I know it will be transformative also.


Wednesday the Men constructed "Tent City" and prepared the "Big Top" for the weekend.

We are blessed to have five couples visiting from Romania as they explore bringing the Outback International into their country.

So what exactly is Outback America?   It's about building, restoring and strengthening relationships (Parent/Child and Husband/Wife). 

For me it's another chance at a glimpse of Heaven.

Know it All

Back from Kansas, it was a good visit with family.  With 22 hours in the car there was plenty of time for reflection, phone conversation with friends, and education.  Finally I have started using all my retired phones as audio servers for podcasts, and books.  So even after a trip to the downtown Public Library to check out Great Courses, I discovered I had an overcapacity of content for even 22 hours. 

Most of the trip out was spent listening to Rev. Timothy Keller  sermons.  However on the way back I listened to Great Courses - "Creating Humans: ethical questions where reproduction and science collide" by Alexander McCall Smith, and "Understanding the fundamentals of classical music" by Richard Freeman.

So putting all this randomly together ---  what have I learned?

The mystery of God's creation will be an infinite laboratory for us to work, play and discover how much we don't know as we try to prove we know it all.

Pill Box Memories

D'Lane called me last week to reminisce about our Youth group trip to Europe in the summer of 1972.  After flying into Belgium it was a short trip to a farmhouse in Solrinnes, France near Maubeuge.  Our mission was to salvage as much materials we could from a building that would become a youth center for a local church. 

As I recall we spent the first two weeks doing the reclamation before traveling to Germany, and Poland to talk with Albert Speer (Hilter's Architect and author of "Inside the Third Riech") and then visit East Berlin and Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

One of my most vivid memories was during an evening before dinner several of the high school guys began exploring the beautiful Northern France countryside.  We came upon an abandoned German Pill Box jutting up in the middle of a field.  This is not a picture of the exact Pill Box but my memory is that it is close. 

This discovery is every boy's delight- especially those like me who spent countless hours watching Combat and Gallant Men TV series in the 1960's .  Fearless, I knew that many Pill Boxes were connected with underground tunnels.  So I rushed inside the box to see the hole that was either a tunnel or lower level bomb shelter.  Naturally I wanted to jump down in (no flashlight, no matches nothing).  As I was about to shinny my way down the hole, my partner in discovery grabbed my shirt to prevent my entry.  "Wait", he said and proceeded to throw a rock into the dark crevasse only to hear a splash of water.   Yes, who knows how deep I would have found myself under water before hitting bottom.

Now trying to recreate that memory, I discovered the power of information on the internet.  Yes - every interest is covered.  There is actually a group (and website) fascinated with the history, purpose, preservation and location of these structures - The Pillbox Study Group (PSG).

That first trip to Europe was full of stories that I still enjoy retelling to this day - Poland Bumper Cars, Even/Odd Elevators, Steak Tartare, Polish Zolty, and more. 

Active Investing Mountain

Today I was instructed to clean my office by M.L.  One of the most unsightly piles (yes I manage and file papers by piles) is all the correspondence since 12/28/15 from the Prime Clerk office regarding the Magnum Hunter Bankruptcy.

TWO FEET of paperwork with over 80 Federal Express envelopes delivered to my door (nearly one every other day).  The postage alone must exceed $500.  This mountain was the result of R.M. encouraging me to write the Judge asking him to consider Chapter 7 bankruptcy vs Chapter 11.  That innocent letter was recorded in the Prime Clerk office and I was listed as an "interested party". 

And.......  I continue to get paperwork even after the ruling (in favor of the Chapter 11) at the house.  I've decided to stop collecting it to add to my pile and will throw it away today.

My Magnum Hunter stock and preferred is now worthless - along with many other sorry investors..  While painful - it is not financial significant (I feel sorry for those that invested their retirement in Magnum) and I can add this to the list of other risky investments I have made (and have gone bankrupt) over the years (i.e. Symbolics, Learnout & Hauspie, Euro Tunnel, Euro Disney, Nortel, Presidential Casino, Webvan etc.).  

What have I learned in 40 years of investing? -  that passive investing (index investing) is the proper way to invest for your life savings.  Remember LeBouef's Law from his book "The Millionaire in You" -   -  "Invest your time actively and your money passively"

Does that mean you should avoid those tempting get rich quick ideas, or brilliance of buying the early Microsoft?   No - but only if you treat it like gambling and entertainment.  Expect to lose it all - "play money" is the term.  Also expect the time spent to be wasted also.  Don't have the illusion that the time spent on these activities will get any great return also (other than interesting topics at lunch or dinner).

But...... there is a whole industry focused on active investing arguing that with enough time and intelligence (and many add diversification), you can "beat the market".  There are plenty of stories and testimonials about those who have done it.  Just ignore the Nobel Laureates - Markowitz, Sharpe, Miller, Kahneman, and who cares about what Adam Smith, Bachelier, Samuleson, Fama, French, Galton, Sinquefield, Malkiel, von Hayek, John C. Bogle, and yes.....   Warren Buffet himself say.   Listen to those who will profit from your fees -  they have your best interest in mind.

But in the Financial Planner's defense -  They can protect you from yourself....... and TWO FEET of paper :)

Brighter Faith

Today at FMBS we discussed Faith - and what that means.

I remember asking R.M. on our road trip from Wilmington to Cincinnati to describe something that requires a leap of faith.  As he pondered the question he replied = "The trust in our monetary system".  He was reflecting the mystery that we all can use this paper money as a means of economic exchange that provides ongoing  security, and sustenance in our daily existence. Yet there are plenty of examples where money and monetary systems have failed or completely changed in our society.

But what about the faith in a higher order (even higher than money) - maybe faith about God and even an afterlife - something beyond daily existence.  I just finished a documentary movie "Flight from Death - The Quest for Immortality that was inspired by Ernest Becker's book "Denial of Death".   "Wealth is  a symbolic barrier to Death" was a comment by one of the scholars interviewed.  So faith in money (Wealth) is just an illusion of temporary mortality here on earth.  "Social Death" may occur as a result of poverty here on earth. But you can even have "Social Death" as a millionaire (e.g. poverty in relationships).  So faith in wealth is an illusion.

So how does one "get" faith?   G.M asked this morning.  Is it an on and off switch?  Or is it like a dimmer?  For faith in God, I believe that the Holy Spirit can't be turned off - it is always on.  So the light gets brighter and darker with each moment of worldly tests.  You can see faith in action through others. In fact like a room full of lights - the luminosity increases with both more lights and greater lumens. 

Brighten your day - turn up the dimmer switch.